Chibiyu: Ok, addiction is back. *sigh*
Nick: Admit it, you like me being cocky.
Chibiyu: I will never deny this.
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Nick looked to his hand, aware that it had never stopped burning from the encounter. "Yeah, I think she was." He was silent for a moment, his thoughts clearly elsewhere. "Come on, Joe and Kevin will kill us both when they see we're gone."
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"Wait," the pair stopped in the middle of the street, the speaker holding out his hand to stop his companion. "You should probably go, Para. Heroes are all over right now."
Paragon put her hands on her hips and pursed her lips, not buying this story. "Like I am going to leave you alone."
"I'll be ok," the curly-haired male reassured, his eyes showing nothing but the truth he believed in. "I have something I need to do. Nothing dangerous." He added the last bit at the glare of his friend.
"Joe and Kevin will murder me if I left you alone."
Nick looked over to her, dropping his arm. "Would you believe me if I told you that I won't be alone?"
Paragon's eyes darted between Nick's, trying to find his meaning. "What are you up too, Lucas?"
"I want to know more about the stone."
The response was blunt and made the Villain's posture tense dramatically. "Stay away from it, Nick. The less you know the less obsessed with it you will be. It's part of its power; enticing those who seek it."
"I don't want to use it, I want to know if it can be beat," he explained, looking down the road for any sign of his brothers. "For safety, if it does happen to show itself."
Paragon studied her friend, leaning closer to true and find any deceit. "Fine, but please be safe."
Nick nodded once. "I promise."
Kevin turned his head, eyes narrowing when his brother vanished from his mind's tracker. Suspicion mounted in his chest as well as the heavy fear; this was the third time in less than a week. Though Nick was able to block off Kevin from finding his exact location, he could always sense his brother. Now, it was like he never existed, like they never met. He would voice this phenomenon to Joe, but it would only send the brother into a near state of panic. Said brother was almost ready to snap as it was; he was still so very troubled by last night.
And Kevin would be lying if he said any different. Last night had taken its toll on everyone, no matter the side. All around him were shattered hearts, swimming in their own tears and struggling against the riptide. Kevin himself was denying these feelings, trying to tell himself that despair was worthless. His brother was alive, a bit worse for the wear yes, but still here. Even so, the Lucas family was all ready to crack. One thing wrong would send them over the edge.
The oldest brother sighed, giving up the search for the plant-girl. Macy and Allegeilist both knew it was futile as well – the Villain would be long gone by now. Still they searched, trying to find the closure, the revenge that the heartbroken longed for. He turned his attention towards the Villain they had left Nick with. He was mildly surprised to feel her shooting over the west side of town, away from them.
What was Nick up to?
"Kevin," he looked over, unsurprised to see Joe walking over him. His eyes flicked to the sweat coating his younger sibling's brow and to hear the pant in his breath. Even the strongest had a limit with how much work they could do. "Nick ok?"
"Yeah."
Joe was oblivious to the lie and smiled, letting some worry leave his forehead. "Him and Paragon run off?" No anger was in his voice, just acceptance.
"Unfortunately he still follows his own orders," but this was said with humor on Kevin's part.
Joe cracked a smile too, shaking his head in a way of disbelief. "Same old, same old, I guess." The middle Lucas sighed and turned back to the wreckage when his name was called again. He was quick to walk away; the job of a Hero was never done. And that left Kevin able to sink back into his thoughts. No one would think this odd; he often got a blank look when searching for someone.
Kevin closed his eyes, feeling Paragon land in the place she called home. He felt her touch a new presence, one he could not lock onto, saying that he had yet to meet this person. Joe had mentioned that Paragon had a brother, asking if he was ok during Florice's attack. She had a Normal brother. No wonder Nick was so attached to the girl – she could easily understand him and knew how to protect him without being overbearing.
Normals were always sheltered in that way. Overly so. Kevin had thought of it often, but he was never able to put himself in his brother's shoes. He would never be able to understand the feeling seclusion and uselessness from being dogged everywhere outside the home. He could barely even comprehend the way Normals were used in society as bait. Bait to lure out the more powerful in order to stop the Heroes and Villains alike. Heroes took them to try and convert them to their own ways. Villains took them for their own means. Each reason was more messed up than the last.
Nick didn't know it, but Kevin thought of it often. He knew Normals were humans too. He knew they had emotions and value to their life. But no one else seemed too. Even if there was a Normal in this family, the family members seemed to look down on them, lock them away or send them out for reasons only known to them. And in this regard, everyone, himself included, were villains.
Daily he would look out and hope for a change, but every time he was met with dark emotions towards the powerless. Thoughts that disturbed him deeply. Thoughts from his own family. And thoughts from the Normals themselves. It had gotten so bad that even the powerless owns lost their self-pride, confidence and free thinking. Some tailed their siblings as mindless slaves. The ones who did as they were told normally lived until 16. The ones who had a mind of their own never were as lucky. Nick seemed to be the only exception, though his rebelling nature of late was bound to bite him in the butt. I can only hope that Joe and I are by his side when it does.
This whole setup is messed up. The only thing that Kevin can't see is why it is set up like this. If you asked Nick, he would scoff and say because no one bothered fighting it. In a way, this is true. But a rebellion may not be the right way. In a way, it would cause the dogs to fight the dogs. Villains would gain more anger and the Heroes would gain more to fight for. It would seem this society was set up by Villain's themselves. Ones who would gain by putting others through misery – the evil.
Kevin can't say that all Villains possess this level of darkness. Paragon is an exception, the only one as he is concerned, but even she has the dark aura of most Villains. The kind of aura a person is born with. Everyone has it in them, but some people are born darker than others. Becoming a Hero and a Villain, it wasn't a choice. You were born into the category. That is what Kevin believed.
And this is why Nick called his older brother blind.
Kevin's head jerked up when his brother came back into his sight. He sensed another with him, someone with darkness that seemed eerily familiar, but he couldn't place it. He waited for them to walk closer before going to meet the two. Joe too turned his head, waiting carefully when he saw his brother and the new girl emerging.
Long red hair and a young face, came into view. A girl in a white polka-dot dress who was about Nick's age was speaking lowly to him, her hands waving slightly as she spoke. Nick looked forward, listening intently though no emotion crossed his face. The girl looked away from him and unto Joe, her scowl becoming more pronounced. She stopped, refusing to step further.
"It's ok," Nick tried to say, but she just shook her head. "Thanks for everything." She nodded, never speaking. I expected her to turn and leave as her anxiety was making my skin crawl, but she stayed. It was like she was waiting for something to happen. "Are you sure about this?" His question, though whispered, carried easily.
"Yes," the first word the girl spoke was short and chilled, her eyes never leaving Joe. "Best place for it."
For what?
Nick took a breath and nodded, looking at Kevin as if he knew that Kevin could feel the nerves rolling off him.
The girl drew in a breath, her hand going to his arm.
All of the Heroes froze. Nick shifted, uncomfortable. The girl looked unfazed, though a gleam of delight entered her eyes. Everything turned black inside. No light filtered through Kevin's sense. Spikes stabbed at him until he retreated back. The feeling of pure malice weighed down on them, nearly bringing the Heroes to their knees. No one could stand up to this sheer power. No one knew how.
Ray pointed to the sky, a scream etched on her face though nothing slipped from her lips.
Kevin looked back to Nick, seeing him slowly backing away, eyes on the sky and a cautious, but scared look on his face. The girl backed away too. Joe stepped closer to them as a bird landed at Nick's feet, it ruffling its feathers, not happy.
Kevin finally looked up, not understanding what he was seeing. As soon as his eyes met the terrible ruby, the feeling of malevolence vanished. Standing on a bent beam that Joe had earlier moved, was a figure in all black. The silver of their mask and clawed gloves glinted in the pale sunlight. The mask itself was enough to give nightmares to children; the mouth showed teeth, long and pointed. The eyeholes, though large, were covered with black cloth so the identity of the person was completely concealed. The gloves seemed to be metal, but bent easily as the person clenched his/her fists. The joints showed clearly and the nails were elongated and sharp. The costume itself was simple: a black hooded robe, the hood over the person's head.
"Necrophere," the name was breathed out the girl's lips, Nick's head turning at the name, fear engulfing his entire frame.
And hanging from their chest, was the Four.
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Chibiyu: Again, short. I have too many ideas but not enough time to type it. You get to see the fun side of a seemingly docile Villain next chapter! Until Next Update!
