Chapter 11

Melee kept to her room, she couldn't stop the tears from falling. No matter how hard she tried, they refused. What Genus said brought her joy and pain all at once. She knows having her brothers back means the world to her; never did she consider the notion of having them cloned before. However, it would be playing God. How could she explain to them how they came back? Would they still be the same brothers she grew up with? Would they turn their lives around from being heroes to being villains for they are not the same men?

She had no answers to her questions, but the one she wanted to know most was. Would they remember her?

The last time she saw her brothers, she was only 14 years old. Despite her age, she appeared a little older than she looked, which secured her a job with Amai Mask. Street and Knuckle never saw her grow up, they don't know the young woman she became... or what has become of her.

Genus tried to tell her that memories can come back to a clone, however it needs to be done so slowly, so it does not overwhelm them. "I've seen them go mad when they take on too much information. They have to be ready for it." She remembered him saying.

She wanted to see them, she wanted to know if they knew her. If they didn't, she would leave them alone and let them live their lives without her. If her brothers could be kept safe and have a fulfilling lives, she would gladly step away and allow them to have it.

They would do the same for her.

"Melee…"

She froze to the gentle voice of Garou, but, she also heard pain in it too. Slowly, she turned to face him. His eyes said it all. "What did you do?" she whispered.

He was silent. He said nothing about his action, but she knew he had done something terrible. Taking a seat at the edge of the bed, he couldn't bring himself to look at her. "Garou…" she said, her hand reached up as she gently turned his face towards her. "What happened? What did you do?"

He then peered at her. "I fought your brother." He said.

She froze, she felt the blood drain from her face as she digested the notion. "I didn't hurt him… much… I hit him once… but not hard!" he explained. "I think he wanted to test me."

"He did test you." She whispered. "He was seeing what kind of person you were."

"Yeah… well… I was on my way to see Genus, after your ran to the room. I wanted to know what made you upset when I had to stop a monster. Only, after I did… I saw them. Your brothers standing before me with two Neo Heroes, I knew then and there why you were crying. When it became clear… I got pissed off."

She knew he would. Garou doesn't like it when she gets upset, but still. In his anger he is capable of terrible things. "I… accidently attacked the Neo Heroes HQ…" he said.

"What…" she whispered. "Garou, you know the agreement Drax put in place for this family!"

"Yeah… and I blew it." He hung his head, yet still he growled, clenching his fists in rage. "But they hurt you, I mean who the fuck do they think they are! Who gives them the right to screw around with the dead? They are your goddamn brothers and they are using them!" he roared.

Melee froze, he was far more upset about it than she was!

"Garou, we can't just go out and do things like this…"

"At the moment, I could give a rat's ass! Melee, they are family!" he announced.

She was taken aback by his words. He sighed aloud, but appeared to already regret his action. "I didn't want to see you cry anymore… I wanted to go to Genus and see what we could do to get your brothers to remember you… I wanted to talk to Alley about another extension on the house so they can live here."

He was planning all this in his head for her. Melee began to tear up again, but it was out of pure love and devotion. "You were going to do all that, for me?" she asked.

"Yeah…" he whispered.

She threw her arms around him, bracing him tighter than ever before. "Garou…" she wept.

He held her tightly, they fell silent for the longest time until Melee felt ready to face the family again. "We… will figure something out. For now, I am just glad to know they are back in this world." She said.

He nodded in agreement, they left the room together, yet froze as Snek, Goliath and Draven had covered the Triplet's ears. They finally let them go when they saw them leave the room.

"Wow… dad… I don't think I have heard words like that come out you in a while!" said Draven.

"Sorry, heat of the moment… let's leave the TV off for the night." Said Garou.

"Too late, you're already treading on Twitter." Said Snek.

"Damn social media."

"Mommy, are you okay now?" asked Luna.

Melee smiled and nodded. "I'll be fine, mommy got a little upset over something." She explained.

Akira, Eclipsa and Luna were quick to give her a hug. "It's okay mom," whispered Akira. "We're here for you"

"Right in the feelings kids…" she wept.

The room paused as Drax emurged from his room, in hand was his phone as he turned and glared at Garou.

Garou swallowed his pride before stated.

"I blew it."

Drax froze to the comment. "What… what were you thinking?"

Garou told him everything that happened, he blew the arrangement made with the Neo Heroes. Yet, he tried to explain why. "I want you to meet two of the new guys for us, Street and Knuckle. When you do, I will tell you why I am so upset…" he paused as Melee began to weep once more. "Probably sooner than later."

He was confused, a hint of anger came over him but he took a deep breath and nodded. "Okay… Okay…" he muttered and went to his room one more. The door slammed shut, even Snek cringed.

"He's pissed."

"ANGRY!" protested Luna. "Why must everyone say bad words!?" she demanded.

"Sometimes… sweetheart, bad words come out because the ones that don't hurt, aren't good enough to say." Melee explained. "When you are older, you will understand."

Luna was confused by her explanation. "Does this mean we get to swear when we're older?!" asked Eclipsa with a slight hint of excitement to her voice.

"Yes, but not at your siblings, your family or those you care about. Everyone else is fair game, but if we are trying to be polite to someone new or rather important and they say something back, hold off until you get home." Garou explained.

Akira even appeared excited to the news, they will be able to swear when they get older.

#

Drax was fuming.

He paced about the room, wondering why Garou went and ruined the agreement. Not only that, it puts the whole family at risk again. Even his father! He had to talk to someone about it, anyone for that matter! Taking his home phone, he made the call.

"Amai Mask."

"Do you have a moment… I really need someone to talk to." He tried to keep his voice strong, yet he himself heard it wavering. Drax was upset to say the least, but he never felt this angry before.

There was silence on the end, but he also heard a production going on in the background. "Maybe another time then…"

"Wait!" Amai said. He could hear the phone pull away, then a voice calling out. "I need two hours… please, a two hour break."

There was silence until he heard. "Where would you like me to meet you?"

"Outside of Bang's dojo if you please, is that possible?"

Amai snickered and said he would be there soon. With that, Drax walked out of his room, he didn't tell the family where he was going or why, he just left before anyone could question him. He waited no more than ten minutes outside of Bang's dojo when he appeared.

Amai dressed to the nines to say the least, but he was also in the middle of production. He smiled warmly at first but saw Drax wasn't smiling back. "Ah, I take it you know then."

"Yeah… Garou blew it!" he growled. Frustrated tears soon followed. "What the hell is his problem?"

Amai took a seat on the step next to Drax, he sighed aloud. "This was part of the reason why I thought he should be killed. Garou has a great amount of power within him, and one wrong move, or action would set him off. I do think it is remarkable that he didn't kill anyone. But the damage done is quite extensive."

Drax shook his head to it all. "He attacked the Neo Heroes!"

"Fifty of them are in hospital." Amai explained. "He did extensive structural damage to the front barricade and them the main lobby. There has been no explanation as to why just yet."

"He told me something about two new guys the Neo Heroes hired, saying I have to meet them in order to understand. I didn't pay attention to the names, I was too pissed off!"

"I don't blame you the least bit. Garou needs to keep his temper in check or he not only risks his own life, but that of his family's. I don't know what will happen now, but if the Neo Heroes do decide to strike, it will be war no doubt. I don't even think they know what they would be getting themselves into if they happen to go after him. None of the S Class did, I most certainly didn't when I first faced Garou in such a state."

"I only heard bits of that story of Awakened Garou," said Drax.

Amai sighed. "I don't wish to tell you the full story, but I do recall, when I spoke with Saitama a while back. What we faced back then, Awakened Garou… is nothing compared to the Garou of today. His strength is nearly double what it was, probably greater now considering how much time has passed."

"Whoa…"

"Indeed. Which is why I keep a close eye on him. He cannot do this again, if he does… the world will think he has lost control, when the world turns on you. It's a battle that will not end well for anyone." He stood up off the step. Amai kept peering at the boarded up Dojo and sighed. "I do wonder where Bang has gone off to. Now would be the time to have the old man slap some sense into him."

Drax snickered to that, but Amai wasn't. "I do apologize, I have to go back, are you going to be okay?"

"Yeah, thanks for listening. And thank you for dropping everything to do it."

"Any time." Amai made his way down the stairs once more, but half way down, he made a dead leap to the bottom step. Drax froze for the moment, remembering what he did to a monster. The strength he possessed, that wasn't coming from his father. It came from Sweet Mask!