Chibiyu: Addictions suck.

Nick: Yup. Don't do drugs kids.

Chibiyu: And don't write awesomely fun stories. Stick to Vampire-Romance novels.

Nick: BURN!

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"You," Kevin started as he walked up, poking Nick in the arm and sending Joe and sympathetic look, "Should begin talking."

Nick opened his palm, showing the Four to the sun. "I don't think I can."

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"You can't?" Kevin stressed the two words, trying to get his brother to think long and hard about denying them this information.

Nick didn't even hesitate when he shook his head. "Just…hold out your hand."

Kevin reached over, palm exposed. Nick slowly tipped the pendant into his awaiting hand. Everyone watched the black necklace fall. As soon as it hit Kevin's skin, he jerked back, gasping in pain. The pendant fell, vanishing in the shadows. There was no crack as the snake-ornament hit the ground as it never hit the ground. It was gone. The eldest Lucas examined his hand, holding the stinging digit gingerly. There was no visible damage on his skin, just the feeling of pure hatred paralyzing his fingers.

"Kev?" Joe's voce was hesitant, his eyes searching the scared face of his older brother. "You ok?"

"It doesn't like Heroes," came Nick's soft reply, his hand covering something unseen below the nape of his neck. "Makes sense. That was just stupid of me."

"One more thing," Joe piped in, shooting the sky a glare as his eyes followed a tiny sparrow. "Why were you with Lilith?"

"Uhh…"

"Nicholas, you and that thing need to get to the Council." Everyone turned, surprised to see Sandy Lucas walked over, a frown on her face. "Joe, Kevin, make sure he gets there."

Joe and Kevin nodded, grabbing their brother's shoulders and wheeling him around. The crowd parted for them, Nick keeping his head down as though afraid. Kevin and Joe glared at the company, aware of the suspicion dotting many a Hero's face. Nick kept his eyes on his feet, his hand clutching the pendant. It has caused him a shock when it fell around his neck, jerking his head down for a breathless moment. But the Fours message had been clear; keep me away from the Heroes.

"Nick, is it around your neck?" Joe whispered, not wanting the thinning crowd to overhear.

Nick shot him an inquisitive look, glancing down to the seemingly innocent object. "Can't you see it?" Joe shook his head, looking very worried at this. The younger Lucas glanced down again, dropping his hand. "Interesting." That was the teen's only reply, his head finally lifting once they got out of the bulk of people.

"What did you mean that you can't talk about it?" Kevin decided to bring this up again, still not convinced that Nick knew what he was dealing with.

The addressed took a moment to respond, his eyes distant in thought. "I meant that I can't accurately explain it." They both watched Nick touch his shirt, knowing that he was poking the pendant, but not able to see it. "It is known as Kumori's Four. The first four Villains in all of history sealed their powers in this pendant. That is why the idiot back there could do so much. Fire, concealing, telekinetic abilities, and shadow manipulation," Nick listed off, looking at his brothers and trying to answer any questions before they were voiced. "The snake thing is the Guardian – their four souls in one being – it protects the stone."

"It let you have it?"

Nick shook his head at Kevin's suspicion, not wanting anyone to know that he was more of a Villain than Hero. "Carry it. I have no intention of using it and it has no intention of being used by me."

"So you reached an understanding with it?"

Nick looked away from Joe, recognizing the old scathing tone easily. "It's not the safest move, but it keeps the power in check. It won't be used so it won't be a threat."

"Yeah, I can't see how this won't be a threat." Kevin said, watching their backs as they wandered through the streets. "It needs to be destroyed." Nick stopped as soon as Kevin started to say the last word, gasping lightly, and hand pulling the pendant from his chest. "What happened?"

"Can you please avoid the 'd' word?" he hissed out, dropping the Four back to his skin. "Ow." Kevin nodded, fingers closing over the spot he too had been hurt by the necklace. "And I don't see how it can be taken care of." Nick dropped his head, looking down, fingers brushing over the pendant. "It won't let itself be…you know."

"And you know this how?" Kevin accused, knocking his shoulder into Nick's and sending Joe a warning glare when the middle Lucas opened his mouth.

Nick looked over and glared. "Because I know where to look for information."

"The Guardian spoke to you, Nick," Kevin took a breath, trying to calm himself. "I'm sorry that I can't exactly trust what you say right now."

"For all you know, it could be feeding me false information," Nick finished, nodding to himself. "I get it."

"You get it?"

"I do, Kevin," Nick sighed pinching the bridge of his nose in attempts to ward off a headache from the days stress. "I've been subject to manipulation before; I know the risks."

The older Hero couldn't respond to this as he knew it to be true. Guilt stabbed in his chest as it was his and Joe's fault that Nicholas has been exposed to these things enough to unconsciously look for them.

"Wait!" The trio looked up, watching with ease as the bird elongated into a girl. She landed lightly in front of them, her arm outstretched. "Nick, give me the Four."

"No."

"Nick, it will destroy the Council if you step foot in that door."

Insolent girl.

Paragon jumped at the deep voice, Joe grabbed Nick's arm, ready to defend from nothing, and Kevin looked over his shoulder.

What would I have to gain by destroying them after my first appearance in 7 decades?

"Destroy the enemy before they do damage."

A strategy best used when fear is not an option.

"Fear? That's what you are trying to cause? You're an ancient being, already feared by anyone who knows of you!"

"Don't test it." Eyes jumped to Nick as he responded, a gleam of anger in his eyes when he regarded his old friend. He moved forward, brushing his shoulder with Paragon's. She grabbed his hand, the other brothers choosing to let this unfold.

"It just told us a part of its plan," Paragon's voice was filled with urgency as she tugged on the Normal, trying to get him to face her.

"What good is that?" Nick questioned his voice dangerously calm. "Fear is a powerful resource, Para, but there are many ways for it to be instilled." Ways that Heroes will blame me for, Nick had to think, fingers clenching at the impending shame. Just because he chose to rip it from Necrophere's neck, because he chose to save them, he was damned as a Villain. A path, Nick would only admit to himself, that he has considered taking no multiple occasions, and yet his feet remained planted. "We know nothing," he finished, pulling his hand from the girl's grasp.

Paragon took a step back, hurt in her eyes from the bite in Nick's tone. She did not press him, fearing what would come next. Though they could not see the pendant, the Villain's eyes were stuck on where she suspected it lied. Joe and Kevin merely chose to look between the friends, unsure whether to step in or not.

"Then know this, Nick," Paragon eventually whispered, her told as cold as his was. "The power from the Four resonated with every Villain in the world. They will come here. They will be after you once they figure out who you are. You're not safe with it."

"And it wouldn't be safe with you."

Paragon withdrew, stung by the teen's harsh truth. "Good luck living." She turned without another word, running off into the maze of construction.

Nick walked on as if he didn't care about the death sentence – almost like he was getting tired of hearing it. But his brothers knew better. They saw the way Nick's frame tensed and how his breath shortened. The only thing they didn't see was the way their Normal brother's hand closed around the pendant, as if to rip it from his neck. They didn't see his hand drop again, but they did hear his sigh.

"Come on," Joe gently ordered, walking next to his scared brother and gripping his shoulder. "It will be ok. The Council will know what to do."

Nick lifted his head, bias filling his eyes. "And how do they plan on that? They probably know nothing about the Four's existence. Or if they do, they won't know how to defend against it."

Kevin smirked glad to be able to teach his little brother for once instead of the other way around. "That's where you're wrong, Nick."

Nick looked at his oldest brother, lost. The words "wrong" and "Nick" should not belong in the same sentence, not to him. "You are going to leave me hanging, aren't you?"

Kevin smiled, letting Nick interpret his glee. The youngest of the three fought back a sigh and annoyed retort, choosing to bite his tongue instead of ignite the fuse. Joe looked over his shoulder, an odd look on his face.

"Kev, is anyone following us?" he whispered, voice quiet enough to have Nick leaning closer to hear.

Kevin nodded slowly, having felt the presence fifty feet back. "Villain," he breathed, continuing his step so the follower would be none the wiser. "Valenteen."

Nick and Joe exchanged worried glances. Nick fought the urge to wrap his hand around the pendant as he knew the Villain was after it. Joe swallowed down a lump in his throat, not wanting to face this girl. He wished Macy or Stella would have come with them. Three males together just meant doom.

"Wait up, boys," she called, her voice lighter than the petals of a honeysuckle and just as sweet. Joe shot Kevin a scared look, Kevin nodding. The two grabbed Nick's arms and ran. But there was no need to pull him along; he was actually pulling them. "Stop." Their feet did as she ordered, nearly sending their faces into the pavement.

The three seemed to have trouble breathing – short puffs of fear were heard, no inhale longer than a second. Nick slowly turned to face the girl, hoping that this wouldn't turn into something ugly.

Valenteen stopped about three feet from them, her perfume making Nick's nose flare in distaste. She pushed her golden hair from her face, revealing her pure blue eyes. Her skin was smooth, evenly colored, not one thing wrong with it. Her mask did little to cover her face; it was a flimsy piece of plastic, the edges laced with a gold trim and a turquoise glitter design bringing out her eyes even further. Her outfit was anything but modest.

"You helped my sister, Brianna, didn't you?" the Villain asked, reaching over and poking Nick's nose with one of her perfectly manicured fingers. "She can't stop talking about the brave Nick." Valenteen scowled, not liking the fact her sister was crushing on a Normal. "About how heroic he was because he tried so hard."

Nick's eyes narrowed; he knew where this was headed.

"But I have to ask myself," the girl sighed, twisting her hair around her finger, "How could a heroic Normal be chosen to hold such a villainous object?" She smirked as Joe and Kevin turned to face her, looking forward to their defending remarks. "It must have seen something darker in you, Nicholas. It knows you are more than a Normal, does it not? It knows where your heart lies…on which side it truly lies."

"My heart lies nowhere," Nick calmly stated, meeting the girl's eyes without effort. "I am not a Villain like you are alluding to. I can carry it because I'm not a Hero."

Valenteen sighed heavily, making Nick wish he didn't say this. But he shook his head slightly, standing by his words. "You are an interesting boy, Nicholas." She turned her head away, looking at Joe with a wide smile. "It's a shame you're not as strong as your brother."

Joe swallowed again, wanting to take a step back, but his feet didn't obey. He felt her words weighing heavily on his ego, making heat rise to his cheeks though he felt anything but flattered.

"Trying to make me jealous?" Nick hazarded a guess, pulling himself out of the girl's reach, aware of the seething anger rising in him. But he could control it, ignore it. His feet did move forward, causing the girl's eyebrows to shoot up into her side-swept bangs. "Jealous of Joe?" Nick nearly choked on his held back laugh as he shot a wink towards his brother. "All brawn and no brain. Yeah, I am so jealous."

Valenteen scowled deeply, walking over and grabbing Joe's arm. "Joey, Nick's being mean to me."

"Get off of him," Nick cut across Joe as he tried to tell his brother to shut up about this perfect girl. "Leave us alone, Valenteen."

She shook her head, weaving her influence further around Joe while keeping Kevin completely paralyzed. Joe felt his heart thundering in fear when the girl told him to teach Nick a lesson because it was immoral to disagree with a girl. His fingers clenched closed, wanting to stand up for the defenseless beauty, but he didn't want to be her victim. His arm began to rise and Nick sighed, fisting the girl's hair and yanking her away from him.

"Ow!" Valenteen yelped, her spell broken as soon as she felt pain. She felt herself be pushed away, her eyes too clouded with tears to see where she tripped. Her chin met the street and she growled. Nick watched her, unsympathetic when she turned to face him, hatred on her features. Kevin blinked, not sure how Nick wasn't affected – all males were affected by her influence.

"Go," Nick ordered, crossing his arms. "Tell your sister I said hi." With that, Nick turned, dragging his brother's along and leaving the girl sitting on the street with a look of shock.

"Dude," Joe managed to say, looking at Nick in awe, "How did you stop her?"

Nick shrugged, finger pointing to his chest. "I didn't know it could do that – nullify the influence of Villains against the wearer." Nick eyed the Four with interest, unable to figure out why it bothered to even protect him. "She must have not been in its good books."

"You talk about it like it's alive," Kevin commented, not liking the way Nick was admiring the unseen.

Nick looked over to him, showing Kevin his honest curiosity. "Because it kind of is." He paused for a moment, trying to find the words that would make the most sense to his brothers. "It has its opinion, its own mind. It is alive in all aspects except for a heartbeat. It's interesting," Nick scowled suddenly and rolled his eyes at nothing. "And Heroes are terrified that it could turn me against them."

"Can it?" Joe asked, his voice hushed and filled with fear at the mere thought of losing his brother to the other side.

Nick sighed, dropping his gaze. "It could. But I won't let it." There was a beat of silence, a stricken look crossing Nick's face. "But if it does, end it. Stop it before it has me stop you."

A horrified looked crossed both brother's faces. "But Nick, that means…"

"I know." Nick lifted his head as they neared the small, inconspicuous brown brick building. "You'll have to kill me."

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Chibiyu: Foreshadowing or a psych out? You decide! Until Next Update!

Written on 1/2/12