Astoria – Paragon City

Fall 1987

"Hey wait up!" he called out, running as fast as his legs would carry him. Ahead he could see Ian McCormick, his best friend since he'd first gone to school. Ian didn't hear him or didn't care, he continued running up the hill, laughing.

"C'mon, you're so slow, Nick!" he called back without turning to look at him. Nick scowled and ran faster, suddenly determined to catch his friend. His worn shoes bit into the soft earth and kicked up small clods of dirt as he scrambled the last few feet to the top of the hill and looked out over Astoria. Nick doubled over and gulped down air and then looked up at Ian who wasn't even breathing hard at all.

"Wow… this place is huge." Nick gasped. Ian nodded. From the top of the hill they could see all through Moth Cemetery and it was expansive. Ian and Nick dropped down and sat with their feet hanging over the edge of the cliff.

"How many people you think are buried here?" Ian asked. Nick shrugged.

"A lot."

They sat in silence for a moment, watching as the sun began to set. When the sky turned a blazing orange, Ian's smile widened.

"My mom took me to Atlas Park yesterday, she wanted to do some shopping, and you'll never guess what I saw!" he said, turning towards Nick. Nick looked at him.

"What'd you see? Was it Statesman?" he asked, suddenly eager to find out what his best friend had seen. Ian shook his head furiously.

"No. There were bunches of people in an alley. I snuck away from my mom while she went into a boring old jewelry store. They all wore bright red and orange outfits. They were the coolest people I've ever seen!" Nick's eyes widened.

"D-didja talk to them?" he asked. Ian smirked.

"Yeah, I did. They said they're called Hellions!" Nick's eyes went wide at his friend's casual use of a bad word. Well, a little more than just the bad word.

"What do they do?" Nick pushed.

"That's the best part!" Ian continued. "They do whatever they want! They don't have moms or dads to bother them and they got all sorts of cool stuff. Look!" Ian fished his hand into his pocket and pulled out a red bandana and thrust it in front of Nick's face. Nick leaned back and examined it. The bandana was dirty and stiff, and it had red stains on it that Nick couldn't and didn't want to identify.

"They said that when I get tired of my parents to come and find them, and they'll let me join them!" Ian said excitedly. Nick frowned. Why would he want to leave his parents? The McCormick's were nice and as far as Nick could tell, they gave Ian whatever he wanted. He had a TV in his room that was bigger than the one Nick's parents watched the news on in their small family room. Come to think of it, Ian's room was bigger than Nick's family room.

"Are you gonna?" he asked. Ian closed his fist around the bandana and shoved it back into his pocket.

"Duh! 'Course I am! I'd have to be an idiot not to!"

"But, your parents are kinda nice. You don't really wanna leave them, do ya?" Ian frowned.

"Yeah, I do." he said, pushing himself to his feet and burying his hands in his pockets as he hunched forward. Nick frowned and got up too. It was a long quiet walk back to his apartment complex. He waved goodbye to Ian and swallowed hard. He was late. He thumbed the call button on the elevator and solemnly got in when the doors parted before him. The elevator stopped on the fifteenth floor and he stepped out into the hall and headed for his home. As he approached he could hear the television blaring. He reached out and took the doorknob in his hand.

It was locked.

Nick swallowed hard. He knew what was coming. He reached up and knocked on the door.

Nothing. His dad probably couldn't hear it over the TV. He knocked again, harder this time and the sound of the TV suddenly cut out.

"Sandy! Tha brat's home!" Nick winced at the sound of his father's voice. He sounded drunk. Very drunk. The locks on the door clicked and his mom's face appeared in the crack in the door.

"I told you to be home on time!" she whispered angrily. She reached out with a thin hand and grabbed Nick by his scruffy brown hair, pulling him in and shutting the door behind him. It hurt, but not compared to some other things. Nick's mom had been beautiful once Nick knew; he'd see the older pictures of her that she hadn't smashed yet. But that was before she started drinking and taking those pills after she wrenched her knee a few years back. Now she looked haggard and drawn, and had gained a lot of weight from doing little more than eating, drinking and sleeping.

"Go explain to your father why you're home late." she said to Nick, shoving him unceremoniously towards his dad. His dad had been the same for as long as he could remember. He sat in his beat up chair and stared blankly at the small TV across from him. He had a beer can in his hand, and several more lay scattered around him. Nick lowered his chin to his chest.

"H-hi dad." he muttered. His dad slowly craned his head towards him and dropped the can in his hand to the carpet, adding what would soon be a new stain to the floor.

His dad was well past drunk.

"Where tha hell haff ya been?" he slurred. Nick looked down at his feet nervously.

"I'm sorry dad. I was out playing with Ian, and I lost track of time." he muttered. His dad fixed his glossy eyes on him and sneered.

"Tha rich boy? Didja bring me any money?"

Nick shook his head. His dad's eyes narrowed and his hand lashed out and caught Nick in the temple. Nick staggered but remained on his feet, his vision blurred and pain shot through his head.

"You will answer me, son!" he barked. Nick sniffed hard.

"No dad, we weren't at his house. I didn't get any more money for you." he said. He willed his eyes to stay dry. If he cried, it'd only get worse. Experience had taught him that.

"What good are ya, ya little shit?" he grunted and pushed himself unsteadily to his feet and began to head for the kitchen. Nick didn't move and waited for his father to return to his seat, a fresh beer in his hand.

"Go to your room. And I better not hear a goddamn sound from ya, understand?" he hissed and turned the volume on the TV up louder.

"Yes sir." Nick said with a nod and retreated to his bedroom. He shut the door behind him and moved over to the mirror above his dresser. Already the side of his face was red and he could feel a bruise forming. He sighed and took his shoes off slowly, allowing the tears to flow freely now but not making any sound. Then he crawled into bed and drifted off to sleep.

Ian threw open the door to his house and abruptly threw it closed behind him. He made his way straight for the stairs in front of him. As he climbed he cast a brief glimpse into the family room and saw his family there watching television, if you could call it that. His mom and dad sat with their backs to him, sharing their wide oak desk and typing at a fast pace on each of their computers. They were executives that did something or other, Ian never paid any attention to them, and they didn't pay any attention to him; which was fine with him, so long as they continued buying him whatever he left a note asking for.

His little sister however, did see him. She was sitting just behind her parents playing with a doll they'd bought for her recently. She, unlike Ian with his things, set it down gently on the couch before scampering through the archway to follow after Ian.

"Big brother!" she said happily, using both her hands to help her up each step. Ian rolled his eyes and kept climbing. Iris was barely four years old, and Ian, try as he might, couldn't figure out when his parents would've had time to bring a new life into this world to ignore, but they had. Iris scrambled after him, chanting 'Big Brother' like it was somehow helping her climb the stairs faster.

"Big Brother, wait for me." she whimpered. Ian rolled his eyes and stopped at the top of the stairs and looked back at her.

"Wouldn't you be happier playing with your doll?" he asked, sighing as he did so. Iris shook her head and continued her climb.

"Nah uh, I want to play with my brother." She paused in her climb and smiled up at Ian. Ian struggled not to smile himself and after a moment he smiled and descended the stairs to take her hand and help her climb the rest of the way.

"Why don't you ever ignore me like mom and dad?" he asked as they headed down the hall towards his room.

"But I don't wanna ignore you. You're my brother."

Iris looked up and smiled wide at Ian, who smiled back. Iris was quite possibly the only person that Ian cared about, but he'd never tell anyone. As far as the kids at school and even Nick were concerned, he cared about nothing and no one, and that's the way he wanted it.

No ties.

No one to be responsible for.

Save for Iris of course.

He opened the door to his room and let Iris in first. She scrambled over to his bed and climbed on top of it and turned to sit on the edge. Ian smiled and kicked off his shoes, which flew across the room and knocked a lamp off his dresser. The lamp broke on the floor, and Ian looked at it for a moment, and then shrugged and sauntered over to his bed to sit next to Iris.

"What'd you do today?" she asked him, genuinely interested. Ian shrugged.

"I hung out with Nick at Moth Cemetery." he said. Iris frowned.

"Why do you two always hang out there? Aren't you afraid of ghosts?" Ian gave her a dismissive wave.

"Ghosts in Astoria, that'll be the day." Ian fell back onto the bed and stared up at the ceiling. "Hey, Iris?"

His sister plopped back next to him.

"What?"

"Would you come with me if I left?" he asked. Iris sat up like a shot.

"You're not leaving? Are you big brother?" she asked, tears already welling up in her eyes. Ian shook his head.

"It was just a question. Settle down." Ian stared up at his ceiling, thinking about the bandana in his pocket.

Maybe one day…he thought.