"You wanna tell me what this is, or should I start?" He asked, clearly annoyed. Boomer looked at his brother from across the desk. His hands were in his lap, knotted and twisted from nervousness. His head was down, and he wasn't looking at Brick at all. In front of him, on the desk, were tabloids. Three tabloids all reporting about the infamous Brick Johnson. Mayor of the Red sector, and head supervisor of JOJO Inc. He was a big deal.
Boomer gulped. "Well..." he started. He didn't know how to say this to Brick, it had been plaguing his mind for some time now. Boomer didn't run a sector like Brick did, so he had no idea how you ran a city. He was just in the media department, but if anyone saw the tabloids today, they would know he wasn't very good at his job. Brick poked one of the tabloids, it seemed to be reporting an affair he had twelve years ago with a miss Morbucks. Boomer didn't know who Princess Morbucks was personally, but he did know she was one of the most well respected citizens in the Red Sector. As her name suggested, she had a lot of money. "I don't think you understand how to do your job, Boomer." Brick said. "The media has been on my ass for two weeks now with this!"
Boomer still wasn't looking at his brother. He didn't understand what was so wrong about a few rumors. It was nothing major anyway. Lots of other celebrities had been subject to the tabloids. But no one's really believed them at all. "I understand your anger, but... you can't expect people to not talk about you. I mean, your Brick JoJo. Shouldn't this be nothing to you?" He said looking up at Brick. Brick slammed his fist on the desk.
"No! It means everything to me! First they report I'm an alien, and then they really dig up the dirt. What happens when the shit they spew starts to make sense to those idiots? How can I rule a city with people who think so little of me?" He boomed. He stood up, he looked very business like in that black suit of his. It had slight, silver lines going down the legs, and red cufflinks with an additional velvet tie. His hair was cut, no longer was it long or held in a messy ponytail. He ditched the hat, but he still kept it in his office on his bookcase. Most strikingly of all though, were his eyes. They were an unnatural shade of red. They seem to darken when angry, which really freaked Boomer out sometimes. Remnants of old power long gone. Bricks hands were behind his back, all serious.
"Boomer, get rid of these rumors. Now. Or I'll fire you. You can say goodbye to that apartment and scholarship I got you, unless you don't flush out the media. Leave." He said. Boomer nodded, he got up and turned toward the door.
Before leaving, he turned and said, "Um... you know it's our birthday right? Butch is planning a party this evening at the Grande Bellum Theatre. I just wanted to tell you, because you hate surprises." He said. He nervously chuckled, as he took one last look, and walked out the door. Standing there, waiting to go in was a boy his age with brown hair and eyes. He wore a faded brown hoody, with a black shirt underneath. A custom made design that read "Mitch Rules" in sketchy white lines. Mitch looked up expectantly."He didn't take it so well." Boomer said to him. Mitch slumped into one of the waiting room chairs.
"Man. I knew I shouldn't have written that story. You were right Boom." He said. Boomer sighed, and took a seat next to him. "Well at least I've got work now. I've got to make Mr. Red here as spotless as an angel. Otherwise, the media will eat up that story you wrote." He said. Mitch put his hands behind his head, sitting back he closed his eyes, and rested. "And it doesn't help with Morbucks being at the party. She might take this whole thing and ruin it." He said. The party was something that couldn't go wrong. If it did go wrong, Brick would make Boomer pay for it.
"I shudder thinking about it. Remember last year's Christmas fiasco? Oh, it was horrible! The amount of written apologies that went into that?" He shook his head. "My wrist hurts thinking about it." Mitch got up from his seat. He had a bag slung across his shoulders.
"I just remembered, I gotta go give bitchy her coffee. You know how she is." He said. Boomer could see he clearly didn't have a cup of coffee with him. He would be late no doubt, and Mitch being who he is would probably try to lie his way out. Boomer groaned.
Why did he have to be the one to lose his powers first? Years ago, when they were little. When they could fly, and crush things with their hands. When they could lift cars, and buildings like it was nothing. Boomer didn't really care about the well being of the city, but when he lost his powers, he saw what it was really like. There was no need to feel threatened, or to even feel sad about the things people said about him; not when he could fly away. He really missed that feeling of flight.
"Hey." Someone said from across the room. He was taken out of his thoughts. He looked up and saw a girl he hadn't seen before. She had bright blue eyes, and she wore a dusty halter top. She also had on big baggy shorts, that were really dirty. Ties around her waist was a big, clunky work bag, which looked as if it were tied together with duct tape. And to make things even more stranger, her hair had beads braided into them, not small beads, big bulky ones. Big, bulky blue beads that were noticeable a mile away. All of her hair tied intricately back with a blue ribbon.
"Can I help you, miss?" He asked her. She had this very serious look on her face. Boomer felt like something was off about her. Did he know her from somewhere? The girl walked closer to him. He stood up, and took a few steps back.
"Are you Boomer JoJo?" She asked. Her eyes were all serious, they were also really pretty. That blue color really fit her. As he took a second look at her, he noticed she had big hiking boots on, caked in mud and what he thought was ash. Did she live near the woods, or something? That would explain why she's so dirty right now. But despite the dirt, he couldn't help but notice she was also very pretty. He decided to stop staring at her like that, she probably thought he was some sort of pervert now. He nodded. "Yeah that's me." He said. He smiled. "Can I help you with someth-"
Before he could finish his sentence, he was blown back with a kick into the wall. His body flew, and he was flung into the next room. He landed right on Bricks desk, his brother looked down at him mortified. Blood streamed from the corners of Boomers mouth, he couldn't quite speak yet. Boomer didn't really feel any pain. He was in shock at the moment. "Boomer!?" Brick finally said. His brother looked up to the doorway. The girl from before walked through the hole Boomer made. Brick stumbled back. He fell on the floor, and hid behind his desk. Boomer couldn't move at all. He felt like everything was broken.
The girl looked at him once. Boomer looked her in her eyes, she was probably gonna kill him here. But then she broke her gaze, and went to Brick. Brick got up and tried to run, but the girl threw something at him. Boomer couldn't see what it was, but based on the sound Brick made, it must have hurt a lot. Boomer still couldn't speak. He saw white spots before his eyes. He thought this must be it. He's going to die isn't he. He closed his eyes, and waited. The white light came, and then over come by a bright, blue light.
When he opened his eyes, he found himself sitting in a chair. His hands were knotted from nervousness. This time they were shaking. He looked up, only to be met by his brothers annoyed gaze. On the desk in front of him were three tabloids, one of which reported an affair Brick had with Miss Morbucks twelve years ago.
"You wanna tell me what this is, or should I start?" He asked.