A/N: I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry! You guys probably hate me for not updating. I would also hate me if I hadn't updated in like three months. It's just I've been busy with so many things. Plus, my grades are dropping, so I must study harder! Though that's no excuse, that's what happened. But I hope I will have enough time to still update this story because I'm not giving up on it! You guys have messaged me about it, and I love the fact that you guys can't wait until the next chapter! You guys encouraged me to continue! I love this story idea, so I will continue to work on it! Wow, this is a looonnnggg chapter! I hope it makes up for all the time I haven't updated. So, without further ado, this is "Brawler Part 2"!... Wow, that rhymed ^_^
"Don't look up. I'm invisible." Apparition whispered, taking the empty seat in front of Portal. Portal did as he was told, already used to Apparition being invisible when in public. "Did you find anything?"
"Names besides the hero names that is," Portal flipped through a profile before putting it down and picking up another. He had printed out each and every one of the hero's profiles and had begun searching through them. Apparition cocked her head to the side, a sudden thought occuring to her.
"I forgot to ask, but what did you do about the file on the computer?" Apparition asked, worried that the government had found the secret files.
"I programmed a virus to delete all the files after uploading it onto this USB." Portal reassured, not looking up.
Apparition raised an eyebrow at him. "All the files? I thought we only needed the Hero files." She asked.
Portal shrugged. "You never know when we might need the other files too." Apparition nodded her head in understanding. There's nothing wrong with being too precautious. "There are even some towns labeled here. One thing's for sure no Titan left Earth for good."
"So you're saying they could be anywhere in the world?" Apparition inquired, a spark of hope bubbled through her.
"Could be," Portal put down the papers titled 'Aqualad' and picked up another. He seemed to be highlighting all the towns on each profile. "Then again, these haven't been updated in twenty years." He replied, shuffling through Bumblebee's file.
Apparition's shoulders slumped a bit in disappointment, but kept that tiny ray of hope. "Well, at least we know where to start." Silence engulfed the two. Nothing but the sound of paper could be heard. Apparition fidgeted in her seat slightly. She felt the need to bring up the topic of the metahuman that had saved her not too long ago. Should she tell him? The meta could help them fight against them; he could be a possible ally. The words poured out of her before she could even process what she's doing, "I saw a meta today, Portal." She whispered softly.
Portal stopped his shuffling and finally looked up at the empty space in front of him. He put down the papers and checked around to see if anyone was listening in on them. He leaned forward in his seat. "Another metahuman?"
Apparition nodded before remembering he could not see her. "Yeah, at first I thought he was just being a good samaritan, saving me from those idiots who were trying to hit on me. But when I saw him fighting-"
"Woah, wait. Back up. What do you mean saving you from idiots? What happened outside?" Portal asked, nearly shouting. He almost stood up in his seat out of fury and anger. He felt furious yet worried at the same time. Portal knew that Apparition can take care of herself, but it doesn't mean he couldn't worry about her safety. They've been by each other's side for a while now. They only have each other to rely on. If something had happened to her, and he wasn't there to stop it, he would never forgive himself.
Apparition winced. That wasn't supposed to slip out... "I may have been cornered by a few guys..." She trailed off, her eyes avoided looking at Portal's furious stare.
Portal let out a frustrated sigh. "You should have been more careful. Did anyone see you use your powers?"
Apparition's shoulders slumped a bit. He was only worried about if she got caught using her powers? For some reason, she could help but feel a bit disappointed. "No, I didn't use them. And I was careful! It's not like I purposely attract perverts!" Apparition lowered her voice, noticing that they were getting louder and louder by the minute. She glanced around the room. After checking that no one was looking at them, she whispered back. "Besides, you know how I am when people I don't know touch me. I was so close to punching the guy in the face."
Portal's jaw tightened, his hands balling into fists underneath the table. Just the thought of a bunch of morons trying to "feel her up" brought sickening feeling to his stomach. "They tried to touch you?"
Apparition flinched at the tone of his voice. She's never really heard him get so angry. Portal is the most calmest between the two. It's weird for him to act so out of character. Even when he fights, he's calm and reserved. "Tried to... But like I said they didn't do anything. I was saved by the meta before anything happened." She explained, putting a reassuring hand on his.
Portal visibly relaxed. He looked down at his hand, and, though he could not see it, he knew her hands was there by the pressure over it. He held her hand, rubbing his thumb across the back of her hand. "As long as you're all right." Portal felt her pull her hand away and watched as the papers moved in the air before landing in front of her seat. He picked up the papers in front of him. "So about the metahuman..."
"Where have you been, Eddie? You've been out all morning," Jack, one of his best friends, had asked him as he walked through the door of Jack's home. Eddie took a seat on the couch, exhausted by the fighting he had done just a few minutes before. He had been staying at his home for the past month. Then again, it has been a routine to switch from friend to friend's home ever since the incident...
"Went out for a morning jog." Eddie answered, shaking the thoughts out of his head. He didn't want to think about that right now. There were bigger matters to worry about. Take that girl for example. So far, he hadn't heard any police sirens going off, and he hadn't been handcuffed on his way here. That's a good sign right?
"But you usually come back by 9. It's 11:30!" Jack exclaimed, wanting an explanation. Eddie shrugged, not as worried as his friend. Eddie knew he was only being a good friend, worrying about him especially after all that's happened to him. Out of all his friends, he and Jack were closer. They've known each other since grade schools. They even kept in touch when Eddie decided to drop out of high school. They were basically like brothers. Jack has always been there for him.
"Just got sidetracked that all. Don't worry too much about it, man. I'm fine." It wasn't necessarily a lie. He did get sidetracked. Sure, Eddie got hungry during his jog, stopping by for a sandwich did somewhat alter his schedule a bit. And the mysterious girl incident really put him off schedule... He didn't think he would come back this late.
Eddie's thoughts trailed to the mystery girl. He didn't even get a name or if she was okay. For all he knows, she could've been injured and is bleeding somewhere! Eddie inhaled deeply before exhaling. He shouldn't stress over this. Whatever happened, happened. She's the one who ran when she had the chance. Let's just hope she didn't catch him using his powers...
Picking up the remote, Eddie clicked on the TV, immediately broadcasting on the news channel. He needed to take his mind off that subject.
But the TV just didn't give him a break. The screen showed chaos on a street; many people were running and yelling in fear. Cars were overturned and everything was on fire. What's strange was that ice covered the ground, the ice spreading from a girl. Eddie saw another girl, probably about 19 years old, holding a sword and stabbed vehicle gas tanks. Another teen looked to be blowing things up, while another one stood in the middle of the street, just taking in all the chaos. He looked amused with it all before he turned to a tree and carved two L's into it.
"... Are metahumans finally coming out of hiding to cause chaos? It seems our theories have been proven: metahumans are dangerous. Are we safe to say that this isn't the end of this madness? Stay tuned for the rest of tonight's story, 'Metas Gone Mad'-" Eddie immediately turned off the TV, no longer interested in watching it. He just wanted to shout at the news anchor that not all metas are evil. There used to be a time where metas could live without having to keep their powers a secret. When some metas were actually heroes, saving the planet from destruction on a daily basis. But now, metahumans like him are forced into hiding and following through the law because society is scared of them.
"Metahumans. Man, it must be cool to have powers. But they're just going too far; it's like they just want to show off their dominance." Jack commented, making Eddie flinch a bit. Jack is a really great friend, but Eddie has not told Jack his secret. That he's one of those metahumans, that he also has cool powers. At times, he finds himself wanting to tell him or anyone in that matter, only to be shot down when they make comments like that. Eddie just couldn't take the risk of getting caught.
Eddie offhandedly replied, "Who cares, I'm just happy people weren't hurt. Though, back then not all metahumans were bad, so you can't really judge metahumans in general." He then shrugged.
Jack laughed at his comment. "Typical Eddie, always so laid-back and honest. If you were a metahuman, you would either be a lazy hero or a hero with the power of honesty."
If only he knew...
"Are we safe to say that this isn't the end of this madness? Stay tuned for the rest of tonight's story, 'Metas Gone Mad'-" Apparition cringed away from the TVs.
"They already destroyed a street, Portal. We have to find those heroes fast." Apparition glanced back at the TV behind the window glass. She bit her lip. "Do you think they'd be willing to help?"
Portal continued to stare at the TVs with a blank expression. This is certainly not giving metahumans the right impression. They have to be extra careful now. The police may just be searching high and low for these guy and will possible arrest any metahuman that stands in their way. The police would most likely believe that all metahumans are in on this attack, planning a rebellion or something. Portal couldn't get caught now. He especially couldn't let Apparition get caught either.
They were in this together, and they will end it together as well.
"Heroes have a sense of responsibility, Apparition." Portal turned his head to look at her. "They see that the whole world and its inhabitants are their responsibility to keep safe. If they see danger, they'll be more than willing to step in and stop it."
Apparition couldn't help but feel the slight doubt in her heart. It was typical for Apparition to worry about all the negatives in the situation. "But it's been twenty years... People can change, even superheroes." Her voice whispering the last part. Apparition stared at TV in guilt. Portal put a reassuring hand on her shoulder.
"But we can hope because that's all we have left to turn to."
When night came, Eddie decided it was time for Brawler to make his nightly rounds of patrol. After suiting up, he escaped through his bedroom window and out to the streets of Denver.
Denver wasn't that busy tonight. There were barely any cars out on the streets and the sidewalks were nearly deserted. People were probably scared after hearing what had happened on the news. He knew it was always more dangerous at night. Not to mention, it gave him a chance to clear off the stress in his head.
Save a girl from rapists and risk getting caught? Not worrying too much. Lying right through your teeth to one of your best friends? You get used to making up excuses. A bunch of metahumans coming out from hiding and destroying a whole street of people and property? A problem like that hasn't occured in- well, twenty years. This could be the uprising of an evil metahuman rebellion.
Either way, its good to think it out at night. No one would be able to see you lose control of your powers. Still, he had to be extra careful. After hearing that news report, Brawler already knew they'd be upgrading the police system.
A noise alerted Brawler, making him snap his attention to an alleyway. He sighed a bit. 'It's always an alleyway...' He thought to himself as he crept toward it, trying to be as stealthy as he could.
He heard two voices, a girl's and a boy's. The girl's sounded slightly peeved off just by the tone of her voice. Yet, he can't help but feel as if he's heard it before... "Again with the dumpsters? Really, Portal. I'm starting to think you're doing this on purpose."
"I was thinking of an alleyway. I couldn't think of an alleyway without a dumpster..." The boy, who Brawler assumed was Portal, replied back just as annoyed.
"Well, try making us land next to the dumpster instead of in it." The girl shot back. Brawler peeked from the entrance of the alleyway. There he saw a boy jumping out of the dumpster. From what he could tell, the boy had long dark hair nearly covering his dark eyes. He wore a leather jacket and cargoes, his black shirt showing off a white circle on his chest. A black backpack was slung over his shoulder.
Brawler couldn't see the girl's face because of her black hooded-cloak. She wore silver fingerless gloves, a silver long sleeve, black cargo pants, and silver combat boots. He couldn't put his finger on it, but she did look familiar. One thing's for sure, she was no normal teenager. She floated out of the dumpster and landed next to the boy.
Before he could do anything else, he heard the sirens of a police car passing through the empty streets. Without thinking, Brawler ran inside the alleyway to avoid getting spotted, tripping over the garbage cans on his way. He was caught before hitting the ground, a hand over his mouth. He turned his head, coming face-to-face with a pair of gray eyes. "Shh..." She shushed him, keeping one hand on his mouth. For a moment, a burst of coldness flooded through him as she touched him. She grabbed the other boy just as the police car stopped right in front of the alleyway.
A policeman stepped out of the car. He walked in through the alleyway, flashing the his flashlight around.
Brawler was beyond panicking. He could feel the sweat trickling down his forehead. He tried to calm his beating heart and keep his powers under control. The situation would become worse if his powers became out of hand. He swallowed down the lump in his throat as the policeman got closer and closer... Only to walk past him as if he weren't there at all. Brawler's eyes widened as he watched the policeman turn back around and headed back to the car, driving away immediately once inside.
As soon as the flashing lights died away and they could no longer hear the sirens, the girl removed her hand from his mouth. Brawler couldn't stop shivering once she released him. He felt as if his whole body temperature lowered to 10 degrees.
"Please don't scream. We're the good guys." She told him, a tone of urgency in her voice. The girl seemed to notice his shivering because she immediately apologized. "Sorry. The first time turning invisible are always the coldest." The girl explained apologetically. Brawler turned to her. They were invisible? Was that why the policeman didn't see them?
"I-i-invisible?" Brawler stuttered between his clattering teeth. He rubbed his hands together to bring back the warmth to his body.
"Yeah, you know. Not able to be seen or not visible for that matter." Portal stated calmly, looking at Brawler up and down. "By the way, you're not so stealthy, are you?"
The girl elbowed Portal, who let out a small yelp of pain and rubbed his arm. She paused to stare at Brawler, recognition lighting up her features. "Wait, I know you. You saved me today!" She turned to Portal. "Portal, this is the guy! The meta from earlier!"
Brawler narrowed his eyes to try to see her better in the dark. When she stepped into the moonlight, Brawler immediately recognized her. It was that girl he saved before! At least he didn't have to worry about her going to the cops on him. Because she was like him. He bets the boy is also a meta as well.
What surprised him the most was that her hood was now off, and he could finally see the color of her hair... Or the lack thereof. Pure, snow white yet with a glint of silver through them. Abnormal for a teenage girl, but then again, I think he already established how she wasn't normal in the first place.
"Yeah that was me..." He started before straightening up and extending out his hand. "The name's Brawler."
The girl reached out to shake his hand only for Portal to grab her wrist. "Wait, how do we know we can trust him, Apparition?" Apparition removed his grasp from her wrist.
"He saved me. Isn't that proof?" the girl, Apparition, asked, but Portal shook his head.
"It could've been just an act to get you to trust him!" Portal glared at Brawler and eyed him cautiously.
"He's good, I can sense it. You know, my senses are usually never wrong." Apparition kept her ground. "Besides, we need all the back-up we can get. We don't know what the others will say or if they will agree to even help us!"
Brawler opened his mouth to say something, but was cut off by another siren. This time, it was the alarm to the bank across the street. The sound of glass breaking and heavy footsteps were heard through the cold, night air.
Six men ran out the doors of the bank, each one wearing black clothes and ski masks. In their hands were bags of cash. They looked content and amused at how they got their job done tonight.
Apparition's eyes flashed light blue before she sunk through the ground. Portal created a blackhole and jumped into it. Brawler looked around for any signs of them.
'Where did they-?' His thought was cut off by a questioning gasp.
He snapped his attention toward the bank robbers then noticed where the two metas went.
Portal stopped in front of three of the robbers. He opened a small portal and picked through it, taking the bags of money out of the hands of the robbers without even touching them. He threw them to the side before turning to them. "So, who's first?"
"No way. It's metahuman!" Shouted one of the men. The man then smirked, turning back to him. "I think the cops would rather take him in than one of us. Take him down boys!"
One man tried tackling Portal to the ground, but he was one step ahead of him. Portal opened up on of his blackholes in front of him, and the guy jumped through it and landed behind Portal, unconscious. Another guy threw a punch, which Portal caught before elbowing him in the back of his head, knocking him unconscious immediately. The last robber tried to run, but Portal step through one of his blackholes and landed in front of him, cutting off the robber's escape. "Going somewhere?" Portal asked before punching the guy in the face, also knocking him unconscious. "Now to get the job done." Portal stated, rummaging through his bag before taking out the duct tape, and started on rounding up the three unconscious men.
Three of the bankrobbers skidded in their tracks when Apparition appeared up from the ground. She flashed them a small smile. "I'll take those." Her eyes lit up light blue again as the bags of money also lit up light blue and floated above in the air. The bags of money were thrown to the side, stopping by the wall of the bank. Her eyes turned back to their gray color as she tilted her head to the side. "Taking things that are not yours is not nice." She commented, bravely yet her voice was soft and timid.
"It's a meta-freak!" Yelled one of robbers. Apparition seemed to flinch at the name. "Then again, it's only a chick. Three against one, we can take her."
Apparition just stared at them with a blank look. She shook her head at them slightly, her fingers twitching at her sides. Apparition then shrugged, cracking her knuckles a bit. "Don't say I didn't warn you."
One guy lunged at her, but she was too fast for him. She kicked him in the stomach and to the side. He fell to the ground. Another guy tried throwing a punch at her only for her to knee him in his holy place.
The guy she had kicked got up from the ground and held her back. Her eyes glowed a vicious electric blue color. The man yelped in pain as some sort of blue fire appeared from her hands, singeing him only slightly. "Never touch a girl. That's simple knowledge." Apparition dodged a kick that was thrown at her and began dodging all the other punches and kicks.
All the while, she didn't notice that the third one held up a gun. He shot, but the gun was kicked out of his hands. He turned to face whoever had done that, but was met with a fist instead. The force of the punch caused a cracking noise, resulting in knocking the man unconscious.
Brawler let out a sigh of relief before turning to Apparition to see her throw a guy against the wall. She kicked the other man before elbowing him behind the head, knocking him unconscious as well. Brawler walked over to her, but stopped as he saw her grasp her arm and wince in pain.
"Hey, are you alright?" Apparition turned to face Brawler, her hand still over her upper arm. Brawler could see the blood forming on the sleeve of her shirt.
"The bullet," stated Apparition as if that answered his question. Brawler furrowed his eyebrows.
"What?" He asked as Apparition pointed toward the gun on the ground.
"I was grazed by the bullet he fired." Apparition replied, nodding her head over to the first unconscious man. Brawler stared at her arm worriedly before untying the bandana around his forehead. He handed it to her, and she instantly applied pressure onto her wound. "I must say, thank you again."
"But your hurt-"
"But if you hadn't kicked the gun away, I would've been dead." Apparition chuckled. "Or at least permanently dead." Brawler looked at her questioningly, not really getting her joke. "I'm technically a ghost since I have all the abilities of one."
"Oh..." Brawler responded, getting what she was saying.
"And your powers are?" She asked, trying to take her mind off the pain.
"I'm a meta-kinetic." By the look she gave him, Brawler could tell she had no idea what that was. "It means that when I move with purpose, the amount of effort put into it is amplified and projected an inch or so from my body."
Apparition's mouth formed in an 'o' shape then she nodded understandingly. Apparition smiled at him gratefully. "But again, thank you."
"I should be saying thanks as well." The two turned to see Portal walking up to them, a first-aid kit in hand. "You saved my partner."
Brawler shrugged. "It's nothing, really. She would've done the same if the situation were switched."
Portal shook his head. "But most people wouldn't have. You saw danger and stepped in to stop it." Portal's lips tilted up in a small smile. "That's what heroes do."
Brawler felt somewhat proud that he earned Portal's trust. He watched as Portal turned his attention back to Apparition, who smiled at him just as proud. He whispered something to Apparition, who nodded and tied his bandana around her arm. Portal then threw the duct tape at Brawler, who was unprepared at the throw, nearly dropping the roll of tape.
"Round them up, Rookie. We should be heading out soon." Brawler did he was told and put the three robbers together in a small circle before wrapping duct tap around them on their wrists. He taped their mouths shut as well. Once he was done, Apparition walked past him and stood in front of the unconscious men. A black sharpie floated near her and uncapped itself before writing on the face of one of the robbers who touched her.
"Wouldn't the police know it's your handwriting?" Brawler asked, but Apparition shook her head.
"I'm not handwriting it. I'm mindwriting it." She stated before capping the sharpie and stepped away to admire her work. On his forehead the word 'IDIOT' was bold. On one of his cheeks was written 'HE'S YOURS' and on the other it continued, 'TO TAKE'.
Brawler couldn't but snickered at Apparition's childish scribble on the man's face. Apparition smirked and turned to Portal, who was already opening a blackhole for their escape. Apparition glanced at Brawler. "You coming?"
Brawler was taken aback by her question. They expected him to come with them? He couldn't just leave... But then Brawler couldn't think of a reason for him to stay either.
Making up his mind, he followed the two into the blackhole leaving all that he knows behind him.
When Jack woke up the next morning and went to check up on his friend, he found that all his best friend's stuff was gone. The bed was clean and folded neatly, the closet was empty from all clothes, and his best friend was nowhere to be seen. He was about to call the cops until he spotted a note on top of the desk.
Jack picked it up and began reading it to himself.
Jack,
I'm leaving. Well, that was easy to understand since I'm no longer there as well as all my stuff. But I won't be coming back. At least not for a long time. I don't have time to explain, but trust me, I'm perfectly fine. Don't worry about me or try to find me. Continue with your life. If this all blows over, maybe I'll come back and visit. Don't tell the cops or your parents or anyone for that matter. Cover for me and say that I just couldn't stand living in Denver anymore and decided to live with a relative (finally). People will understand. I trust that you will follow through with what I'm saying. Seriously, man. I'll be okay. I can take care of myself. Stay strong, and I hope for the best.
Your best friend,
Eddie Maxwell
By the end of the letter, Jack so desperately wanted to chase after him. After all, he was his best friend, of course. But Eddie wanted him not to look for him. He trusts Eddie just as much as he trusted himself. If Eddie wants to stay hidden, then Jack will let him stay hidden for as long as he like. And maybe one day, he'll come back and tell him where he's been. Wherever he is, Jack knows that Eddie is safe. Eddie knows what he's doing; he always does.