Druid in the Marvel Universe Chapter 28: WE ARE FAMILY

Seeing George's interest, Alvin laid it on thick, using his smooth talk to reel him in. He knew exactly what a girl's dad wanted to hear: safety, focus, and top-notch teachers—all the stuff the community school had in spades.

Matt, who had just finished chowing down, strolled over and said, "I can back up everything Alvin's saying. No way a kid from that school wouldn't make it to college."

After he spoke, Matt's mouth twitched. That school was like a boot camp, cranking out nothing but study robots and test-taking machines.

Matt thought to himself that if he had gone to that school, he wouldn't have ended up at Columbia Law School but probably Harvard Law School.

It was rare for Matt to back him up, so Alvin, feeling generous, decided to let him coast on welfare for a few more months.

After wrapping up his business, Chief George had another beer and then took off. He didn't seem to have a driver, but as the police chief of New York City, no one was dumb enough to hassle him for drunk driving.

Watching George leave, Matt looked like he had something to say but was holding back. Alvin pulled out two cigars, handed one to Matt, and led him outside the restaurant.

Lighting the cigars and giving a nod to Saul and Dom, Alvin grinned and said, "Matt, just spit it out."

Matt thought it over and said, "If what Chief George said is true, then there are vampires in Hell's Kitchen. And I might've run into them."

Alvin was a bit taken aback. Vampires in Hell's Kitchen? How come he hadn't heard about this?

Alvin asked seriously, "Where? When?" He couldn't stand the idea of such dangerous creatures near his school; they were totally off-limits.

"About half a year ago, I heard noises a few times and rushed over. The victims were already dead, but there was hardly any blood at the scene.

The last time, I got there before the creature left, and the victim was still alive. I scared the creature off. The victim said 'vampire' before dying."

Matt recalled and described the events carefully. He couldn't see, so he had to rely on his hearing, and a lot of details were fuzzy.

Alvin rubbed his chin and asked, "How tough is it? Easy to handle?"

Matt thought for a moment and said, "It's a real pain to deal with. Almost impossible to kill. It's super fast and crazy strong."

Alvin didn't know if the vampires here were the kind he knew about. But he'd find out soon. He got in touch with his crows, telling them to keep an eye out for suspicious folks at night, especially those who brought someone home late and never went out during the day.

Matt hadn't mentioned any recent run-ins, so either the creature had left Hell's Kitchen, or it was hiding out somewhere.

After finishing their chat, the two headed back into the restaurant.

Inside, Ginny was laughing as Foggy entertained her. Alvin walked over, scooped up his precious daughter, and gave her a kiss. Looking at Foggy, he said, "If you got no plans tonight, stick around. I'm treating. Nick found his dad, and we gotta celebrate. Drinks are on me."

Foggy cheered and said, "Awesome, Alvin! This is worth celebrating. I need to get hammered; I haven't had the cash to drink myself under the table lately."

...

That evening, the Peace Hotel closed early, and the official dinner kicked off at 8 PM.

Two long tables were pushed together to form a big square table, seating Jessica, Ginny, Nick, JJ, Frank, Matt, and Foggy.

Alvin stood up, raised his glass, and kicked things off, "Tonight's all about celebrating Nick finally finding his dad, Frank. I'm stoked that our family just got a little bigger."

Alvin tilted his head towards Frank, "Whether you like it or not, you're Nick's dad, and that makes you family. And in this family, there's only one rule: never betray family."

"Cheers!"

Jessica, buzzing with excitement about her new family status, chugged a big glass of beer. Her face all flushed, she looked at Alvin and said, "So, you're my brother now?"

Alvin grinned, patted Jessica's head, and said, "Silly girl, I'm your boss-brother, and you're my waitress-sister. That's never gonna change."

Jessica, a bit puzzled, asked, "What does that even mean?"

Nick, the big mouth, chimed in, "It means Alvin's still the boss, and you're still the waitress. Jessica, you're so dense. Good luck finding a boyfriend; no one likes a fool!"

Ignoring the troublemaking Nick, who was now getting his ear yanked by an angry Jessica, Alvin raised his glass towards Matt and Foggy, "You guys are my best buds in Hell's Kitchen. Here's to our friendship lasting forever!"

"To our friendship lasting forever!" The three clinked glasses and drank heartily.

"JJ, you jerk, when are you bringing Temple back? Our family could use another member. And starting tomorrow, get your butt next door. Don't forget to clean out the storage room before you go."

"Boss, thanks!" JJ pretended to wipe away a tear and clinked glasses with Alvin. Alvin could see the guy was actually tearing up but trying to hide it. Fine, he wouldn't call him out.

Looking at his precious daughter Ginny, who was holding a glass of apple juice, Alvin said, "And of course, my darling." He clinked his big beer glass with her small water glass, laughing and drinking together.

Ginny looked at Alvin happily and said, "Daddy happy, Ginny happy. Hee-hee."

This girl was so sweet, way better than that silly Nick. His real dad didn't see him getting smacked around by Jessica without a word of complaint.

After dealing with the foul-mouthed Nick, Jessica sat next to Alvin, pouting and not saying a word.

When a woman acts like this, a man should just apologize and sweet-talk her; otherwise, the consequences could be brutal. This was advice from a married man, learned the hard way.

Rubbing Jessica's head, Alvin smiled and said, "No matter what you think, I've always seen you as my sister. You've always been family to me. You stuck by me during my toughest times.

This world has been rough on us, making us lose our blood relatives. But it's also been fair, letting us find each other afterward."

Jessica, moved to tears, lowered her head and mumbled, "I don't want to be a sister."

Alvin pretended not to hear, patted her shoulder, and was about to turn to JJ for a drink when Jessica suddenly hugged him and kissed him hard on the cheek. Alvin smiled and said nothing. Getting kissed by a beautiful girl? No complaints here!

Nick, about to unleash his acid-tongued remarks again, was quickly silenced by Frank, who covered his mouth. Frank had a feeling that if his son caused trouble now, his other leg might not be safe.

Seeing Jessica kiss her dad, Ginny insisted on doing the same. Alvin picked her up, let her kiss him hard, and then kissed her back, feeling like his life was complete.