mad-science-angst

[mad-science-angst]

Stolen Rings Chapter 1 ⚠️TW: Blood, violence, implied amputation⚠️

Panic coursed through his veins as his visor informed him that another metal extension was offline, torn from his back by the so-called hero beating the hell out of him. He rolled, barely avoiding another heavy blow. The victory was very short lived as he was grabbed and hauled into the air, being held up by nothing but his lab coat as his brother had them hover several feet in the air.

“Aw c’mon bud! You can’t really be powerless! Everyone in our family has something! We just gotta unlock it, you can’t rely on your little gadgets forever! Now hold still, I hear this hurts less if you're limp.” As he was dropped he desperately grabbed at anything around him, anything to slow his fall. But he hit the ground just as hard as the last few times, leaving him gasping for breath.

According to his visor his vitals were all over the place, his heart felt like it was going to explode and he could feel the blood coming from an assortment of injuries. He was pretty sure his finger was shattered as he laid on his back and felt himself slipping into glorious unconsciousness. His moment of hope was ruined however, when his visor identified his brother looming over him.

“Man, we've tried just about everything. You’ve got to be in an IMMENSE pain right now, more than enough to bring out any hidden abilities.” If Vincent had any more powers, he would have found them when he was little. The majority of his childhood was spent feeling like his lungs were on the brink of collapse, every breath stinging his throat.

And yet his brother just couldn’t get that through his thick skull. Because apparently being powerless was the worst thing in the world. “Well, I’ve got one more idea. And hey, even if it fails, I’m sure you can make a new arm!” Oh thank goodness, a final end to the pain.

Wait.

————

Two years ago Vincent saw just how little his parents would really do for him. A purple translucent visor sat on the desk, wires connecting it to the computer in front of him. Recorded video feed played on repeat as he watched his brother in slow motion over and over again, almost obsessively, studying his every move.

He wore a much older lab coat, the blood stains around the expertly reattached sleeve neglected. A painful but seemingly necessary reminder to his motives. The room was cool and dark, save for the monitors. A half empty mug of coffee sat nearby, obviously contributing to the dark circles under his eyes.

Pausing at a seemingly random moment, he switched to a different tab, rapidly typing something down before switching back to the video feed. He refused to have the audio on. He’d work with visuals alone, but he remembered every word that was said in hauntingly vivid detail.

His focus hardly faltered as he heard the elevator leading down to his lab activate. Footsteps followed shortly after as he noted the presence standing beside him. “Boss, Scorpion is here.” Vincent hardly acknowledged his presence, giving only a hum in response.

Jax sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. “You can’t keep doing this.” “Doing what?” “THIS! Vincent, when was the last time you slept?” “Friday.” “And what’s today?” “Sunday. See, I’m getting better at this sleeping thing already!” The man gawked in disbelief before forcing out an even voiced response. “Vincent, it’s wednesday.”

Vincent seemed un-bothered by this news, eyes still focused on the screen. “Really? Hadn’t noticed.” “If you die it’s on you.” “Bold of you to assume I can die.” “You know what? Fine. But would you please come up, Scorpion is freaking Jerry out.” Vincent sighed as he got up, grabbing his mug and downing the rest of its contents. “Yeah, c’mon.”

When the elevator doors opened to the upstairs, the scene was interesting to say the least. Jerry was pressing himself against the wall away from a very passive Scorpion, as Julie and Alexandria glared at her. Boris was nowhere to be seen, along with Carlos. “What in the nine levels of hell are you WEARING?” Julie looked Vincent up and down with horror. Jax glared at Vincent as he happily informed her.

“Probably the same thing as on Friday, considering he hasn’t slept since then.” Julie’s horror turned to disappointment. “Really dude?” He pinched the bridge of his nose as he muttered under his breath. “Ok, everyone who isn’t Scorpion, shut the fuck up, and sit the fuck down. Jerry, you may go to another room until Scorpion leaves. Now, you.” He pointed to Scorpion In question. “What the hell do you want?”

“Nobody’s heard from you in a while. Though I’d check to make sure you’re alive and well.” “Well as you can see, I’m very clearly alive. If that’s all then-” “you’re clearly not well though. Have you really not slept since Friday?” Vincent was silent as he met her gaze, quickly looking away and around the room. She looked at Jax, and he thought he saw them nod at each other.

Before he could register what was going on, he felt a sharp pain in his neck. Reaching up, he felt where a dart was, as his eyes widened. “Oh you mother fu-“ he collapsed where he stood, being caught by Jax as he pulled the dart out. “He's out cold. I’m just gonna put him on the sofa.” Scorpion stood up, moving as Jax dropped the unconscious scientist where she had been sitting.

“How the hell he stayed up so long is beyond me.” Jax searched for something in his pocket as they talked. “I think part of it is the dates. I’m pretty sure he spent the entirety of Sunday having a mental breakdown. Plus his mom was on the news for some Mother’s Day special.” “The sight of her was enough to make him spiral?” “I don’t think so. She listed all her kids except him. The lab was on lockdown the rest of the day.” “Holy shit. And I thought I had problems.”

Jax pulled out a small rectangular device with straps on the sides. “Here. You’re gonna want this if you plan on stopping by more often.” She took it as she turned it over, examining it. “It’s what we use so AXLE knows it’s us.” “AXLE?” “The AI Vincent made. They’re connected to all the security units. Though the units usually operate separately. They get orders from AXLE, who gets orders from Vincent, and sometimes me and Boris.”

“…….. you guys have security units?” “Yeah.” “Were those the robot dog looking things?” “Yup.” “The ones that all but shredded that burglar?” “Yup.” “Right, so I’m just gonna keep this on me, always.” “That’s probably a good idea.”

#supervillain #mad scientist #scientist villain #hero family #original story

[mad-science-angst]

Lilies and Bloodshed Chapter 4

(One day I’ll figure out the cut)

Tim’s eyes locked onto the small spherical object getting closer to him. As he took a deep breath, it slowed before coming to a complete stop a mere inch from his face. Keeping his gaze on the ping pong ball, he watched as it slowly moved and joined a cluster of other trinkets floating beside him. A voice broke his concentration as the ball faltered for only a moment.

“Why do you want us to throw things at you again? I can’t help but feel like this could be a trigger.” Mary questioned, despite grabbing a small rubber duck and chucking it at him with enough force to break his arm. Well, not literally, but it would definitely hurt if it hit him. Which was why she was the one he had throwing things at him.

“Because, if I’m going to improve, I need to practice. And plus, this is really more for day to day application than combat application. And you're not screaming at me, so it’s fine.” Mary and Andrew had visited every day the rest of the week, and tonight being Friday, they were allowed to stay later than usual. Mary had gotten his backpack from his apartment somehow. He suspected that she had broken in, though he didn’t particularly care.

Zlo had left the three under the care of Leo, who was in the living room flipping through an article on his holoscreen, looking back over the couch to check on the three. Zlo had gone to the underground to see someone about possibly burning down an old collapsing apartment building, and decided it best not to subject Tim to any more trauma.

And so Tim had taken to practicing his Telekinesis, in hopes of eventually getting to Zlo’s level. Practicing his Pyrokinesis or fire breath was a bad idea for obvious reasons, and he hadn’t quite gotten used to his shadow manipulation. His illusions never came out the way he wanted them to, and he couldn’t exercise his super speed without risking the safety of everyone’s eardrums yet.

So he used the one power he was good at. He himself was a few inches off the ground, in a sitting criss cross position. Andrew was counting the items beside him, tapping his foot with each quiet number. “You would think he’d be back by now. He left just this morning, and it’s not like he’s trying to get to the upper levels.” “Ah yes, The upper levels, home of all the corporate snobs that never have to worry about anything other than if there having lobster or steak for dinner.”

Mary’s dislike of the upper levels was justified, like many others of the working class in Neon city. And she wasn’t wrong about them. He had met many Sky Academy kids at Andrews mathletes competitions. And every single one was more than insufferable. They constantly pointed and snickered at Neon middle students, snidely asking if they hadn’t running water to take a bath.

Some families didn’t at times. Particularly in the underground, roots of the homeless population and black market of the city, comprising disabled subway tracks and old city maintenance tunnels. At least a quarter of his school had students from the underground. But everyone at his school also knew better than to mock them, often slipping down into the dark tunnels to bring homework answers, test reviews and snacks.

But Sky academy students didn’t value morals or loyalty. They seemed to always be at each other’s throats just as much as they were at everyone else’s. Mary glared at the tabletop, deep in thought. Andrew looked at her for a moment with some form of sadness on his face, before redirecting the conversation.

“Mama says Mom's ring was made from old hoverbike scraps. I know you want to get one for as cheap as possible, so if you want I can take you to the old scrap yard she got the metal from and we can try and find one that’s salvageable. Then by the time it’s fixed, you’ll be able to get your permit!” Mary perked up almost instantly at the thought of finally getting a hoverbike for herself.

“Oh HELL YEAH!” Leo visibly jumped at the noise as Mary winced. “Sorry! Hell yeah!” She whispered. She had adjusted relatively well to having to be quieter around Leo, occasionally even using sign language to communicate without noise. She rarely had to watch her volume, as her dad could never hear her, so she was used to being loud just because.

As they began arranging when to go to the junkyard, the door slid open with a mechanical wirr. Zlo stepped through, holding an umbral construct that Tim recognized as a pet carrier, and a Paws Plus bag. He was grinning widely, a hint of excitement in his eyes as he set both down. “So, two pieces of good news! One, we have permission and an arsonist! And two,”

The carrier door melted into the shadows as a flash of orange almost immediately bolted into the dining table leg. “I got a cat!” The small orange tabby kitten, who couldn’t be more than two months old, was arching his back at the table leg, batting at it. He suddenly stopped, looked up, and jumped upwards, attempting to grasp the table's edge. He barely did as he clawed his way up, onto the surface.

Mary immediately fawned over him, as Andrew teased him with a loose string from his jacket. Tim almost dropped from excitement, as he cooed at the little kitten. Leo had gotten up to see, standing beside Zlo as he explained. “Found him using my hoverbike as a heater. It looks like he’s only been on the streets for a few days, but I couldn’t leave him. Besides, I’m pretty sure he lacks survival instinct.”

As if to prove his point, the kitten backed off the edge of the table, being caught by Tim. The kitten seemed accustomed to people, playfully pouncing on the threes fingers and sleeves. “What are you gonna name him?” “Hm?” “Well we gotta call him something. And you’ve always been better with names.” Leo stared at the kitten before replying. “Arson.” “Hm. I like that. Arson it is.”

#original story #super powers #Tim just burying his trauma in cat snuggles

[mad-science-angst]

Lilies and Bloodshed Chapter 3

(Insert technological competence here)

Leo never had siblings. He was an only child. Which now that he thought about it, was probably a good thing. He may have not been AS old as Zlo, but he was just two thousand years younger. Still, it probably would have been painful to live so much longer than them. At least he knew Zlo wouldn’t die. Though at one point he thought that more a threat than a comfort.

But he had patients with younger and older siblings, and he saw the way they interacted. And this was pretty similar to that. “All I’m saying is it wouldn’t be that hard to fake my death.” “Well before we go erasing your entire identity, let’s look at our options.” “Ah yes, my glorious option of getting put into the foster care system and sold as a weapon.” “How do we know your mom will even be looking for you?” “Because she’s scared I’ll report her.” “She doesn’t think your THAT stupid does she?”

Tim gave an odd look and sighed. “Unfortunately, yes. Plus she’s scared and she lashes out when she’s scared.” He took a large bite of his cereal, crunching on it in an annoyed way. Leo didn’t blame him. He was actually handling this surprisingly well, especially for his age. His eye was already starting to heal, thankfully. He had changed into a tee shirt and out of the sweater, which he learned was actually Zlo’s. Which explains why it was so big on him. And why it had a Steven Universe character on it.

“We could forge you as his legal uncle? Say your distantly related, so if we reported her he’d probably go to you.” Leo offered. “Not so sure they’d be willing to put him in custody of a criminal. But let’s keep the legal uncle idea, we can reuse that.” Zlo typed something out on the holoscreen in front of him, as Tim spoke up. “Plus I have grandmas in Columbia from my dad's side. They don’t know where he is though.”

Zlo seemed thoughtful, before going to the holoscreen search bar. “If we did fake your death, we’d need a corpse. A male roughly your size, and we’d have to disfigure it. We could burn it. And singe the edge of your student ID so they would assume it's you.” It actually wasn’t a bad idea. Certainly better than there other options listed, such as “assasination” and “blackmail.”

But there were still holes in the plan. “Who’s going to get the body from point A to point B? If we do it we’ll look suspicious.” “Same people who are gonna help us get the body. A LOT of the underground still owes me favors. Probably as good a time as any to cash a few in.” Leo decided he didn’t want to know. Best to plead ignorance should it all go south.

Speaking of ignorance, someone was banging on the shop door. It was still early, and even on a normal day the shop would have just opened. Zlo switched tabs on the holoscreen, pulling up the security feed. There was a girl and another kid, the former much shorter and the one banging on the door. He saw the second one say something to her, prompting an irritated reactive response.

“Hey kid, Mary and Andrew are at the door. And Mary looks pissed. You want me to tell them to fuck off? Or that you're sick?” “No, it’s fine. Could we go talk to them? I kinda spam called them last night.” Zlo stood up and typed something in, unlocking the door. Within seconds they heard shouting from downstairs, seeming to primarily come from the girl.

“ZLO WE KNOW HE’S HERE I TRACKED HIS PHONE!” Leo followed close behind Tim and Zlo, as Tim came to the front of the shop. “You WHAT? I thought you said you couldn’t!” “That was before you called us ten times each last night and then WENT DARK! WHAT THE FUCK TIM!” “Well at least we know he’s not dead.” Mary sent a glare Andrews' way, before snapping her head back to Tim. She opened her mouth, most likely to scold him further, before her eyes landed on his black eye.

“TIM WHAT THE FUCK HAPPENED TO YOU!” Leo was learning that Mary was very loud, though she was likely just concerned. She grabbed his face, turning it this way and that, looking him over. Leo saw Tim begin to tear up. That was definitely his cue to step in. Before Zlo could, he lightly pushed Mary away from Tim, keeping himself between them.

“I understand you’re concerned about him. But Tim’s had a rough night, and we’re trying to help him the best we can. But yelling at him won’t solve problems, and will only upset everyone more. So let’s all take a breath, and rephrase what we’re saying, alright?” For a moment he thought she was going to protest, before Andrew piped in. “You stayin here for now?” Tim nodded his head, still behind Leo. “Aight cool. We’ll stop by after school. C’mon Mary, we’ll be late.”

“We can’t just leave him!” Mary protested. She had thankfully significantly lowered her voice. Andrew just kept walking, waving goodbye. “It’s Wednesday, we don’t have a club meeting this afternoon. Like I said, we’ll pop by later. He’ll be fine.” She gave the “Im watching you” gesture, before following Andrew. He could still hear them bickering outside, as their voices faded away.

Tim wiped his eyes on the backs of his hands, letting out a deep sigh. “You alright kid?” He seemed to ponder the question before responding. “No, I don’t think I am.” “That’s alright. Do you want a hug?” He almost immediately accepted the offer, wrapping his arms around Zlo. They stood there for a solid minute, before Zlo patted his back. “Alright kid, go upstairs and get your shoes on. We’ve got a body to acquire.”

As he disappeared into the back, Leo stood beside him, blowing a strand of long blond hair out of his face. “I can see why you're so fond of him.” “Hm? Oh, yeah. He’s a great kid. Just in a shit situation.” Zlo took a hair tie off his wrist and offered it to him. He gladly accepted and pulled his hair up into a ponytail. “I can forge a birth certificate for him. Along with a few other vital documents.” “You don’t have to.” “I know. I still am though.”

#original story #i don’t know what i’m doing

[mad-science-angst]

Lilies and Bloodshed Chapter 2 ⚠️TW: Mentions of child abuse⚠️

(Someone please explain to me how to do the cut thing on mobile)

Zlo had a pretty regular routine every week. Run the shop, visit his boyfriend, hang out with Tim. Along with other miscellaneous things, it was a nice routine. He rarely had to worry about getting stabbed or shot anymore, and he had plenty of downtime. However finding Tim with a black eye drenched in tears on his couch was not a part of this routine.

He dropped his bag and immediately rushed to him trying to see if there were any other injuries. His mind was racing with possibilities as he consoled the distraught child. Had he been in a fight, had he fallen, had he been ATTACKED? Under different circumstances he would demand names, but right now that wasn’t a priority. Though it was definitely a subject for later.

Tim mumbled out incoherent words through sobs, his arms latched tight around His legs, his knees pulled to his face. He was wearing an oversized sweater with pajama pants, the backs of his sleeves damp. Apart from the black eye, his eyes were red and puffy, and his breathing was shaky.

“Easy there kid, just breathe for me ok? Here, in for four, one, two, three, four, out for four, three, two, one.” He repeated this process, Tim copying his every breath. Soon his breath evened out, his eyes drying, Zlo saw him wince as he wiped his blacked eye. He swore silently to himself as he quickly grabbed an ice pack from the freezer.

He handed the pack to Tim, who took it with shaking hands as began speaking. “I tried to call Mary and Andrew *hic* but they wouldn’t pick up and *hic* I didn’t know where to *hic* go, so I came here.” Tim usually got the hiccups after crying, leaving him gasping for air. Typically his hiccups were a source of amusement for both, but now that only brought concern.

“How’d you mess up your eye kid?” Tim put a second, protective hand on the ice pack as he held it to his eye. “My mom *hic* got mad at me because *hic* I was *hic* a minute late, so she *hic* threw a book at me and it *hic* hit my eye.” Zlo was going to wring that woman’s neck. Later, Zlo, he reminded himself.

Obviously he couldn’t just let the kid go back. But Zlo wasn’t the best at comfort either. But he knew who was. Zlo slowly stood up, having been sitting beside Tim. “I’m gonna go make a call ok?” He saw panic flash in Tim’s eye as he snapped his head to look up at him. “Who are you gonna call?” “Just Leo. You remember him right? He’s a little more experienced with this than I am. Here, you can come with me if you want.”

Tim stood up a little too fast, clutching Zlo’s arm for balance. Zlo sat down, Tim following suit. “On second thought, let’s just stay here.” It was only now he noticed a key detail. “Hey kid, did you come all this way barefoot?” Tim looked down as he mumbled something Zlo barely heard. “I ran out the door.” “That’s alright, you have that extra pair here remember?”

Zlo pulled out his phone, scrolling through his contacts. As he clicked the name, he heard it ring twice before an answer. “Hello?” “Hey hon, do you mind coming over? I could use your…. Expertise.” “Um, yeah, no I’ll be right there, is everything alright?” “Not exactly, no.” “O-oh, ok I’m on my way.” “You're not driving, right?” “No, why?” “Would you mind staying on the phone and talking to Tim?” “Tim? Oh, yeah, just hand him the phone.”

Zlo handed over his phone, and Tim took the call off speaker, pressing it to his ear. Zlo got up and walked into the kitchen, pulling up the holoscreen on the fridge door. Zlo may not have been the best at comforting, but he knew food was a universal stress reliever. He kept a list of all the kitchen's inventory. He remembered Tim’s favorites, and regularly had them stocked.

Cheddar munchies, Strawberry Fizzle soda, blueberries, and vanilla ice cream. Tim silently walked into the kitchen, gently tapping Zlo’s arm as he handed back the phone. “Hello?” “Zlo what the fuck.” Tim had gone back to sitting curled up on the couch, a distant look on his face. “What?” “You told me he had a bad relationship with his mom, you didn’t tell me it was THIS BAD!”

Zlo let out a sight. “Because up until now, it wasn’t this bad.” “Well what’re we going to do? He can’t go back! And god help if he goes to the cops!” “I know! Listen, he can stay here, he has most of his stuff here anyways. And there’s a bed in his room, but he can sleep on the couch if he wants. But I think we should talk about it in the morning. I’ll call him in sick for the rest of the school week, and we can figure this out.” “Ok, I’m coming in right now. Just….. Jesus Zlo!” “I know.”

Zlo hung up, soon hearing someone coming up the stairs from the back of the shop. His apartment was right above it, with stairs connecting the two at the back storerooms. There was obviously the typical hand and Face ID security system. But both Tim and Leo were logged in it, so it was no surprise Tim got in.

Leo peeked through the doorway, before stepping inside. The door clicked behind him, as he took off his shoes. “Hey Tim, how are you doing?” He inquired rather awkwardly. For a therapist, he sure could have trouble starting conversations sometimes. Tim seemed to snap back to reality at the question, mumbling. “Not so great. I don’t wanna talk about it right now.”

Instead of pressing him, Leo simply smiled sitting on the far end of the couch. “That’s alright, we don’t have to talk about it for now. Do you wanna do something else to take your mind off things?” Tim didn’t respond for a few minutes, before finally nodding his head. “Can we watch a movie?” After a while of scrolling, they settled on an old Marvel movie, Captain America. Tim eventually drifted off before the movie ended, and Zlo draped a blanket over his sleeping form as the credits rolled. One of these days he really was going to kill that woman.

#original story #hurt/comfort #I might rewrite this

[mad-science-angst]

Lilies and Bloodshed Chapter 1

:readmore:

(I’m not sure how to do the cut thing on mobile)

Tim Parks was a less than average 13 year old. But there were few normal things about his life. He went to Neon city middle school, he liked indie music, his favorite color was orange. And he could make things float. Now obviously the last part wasn’t average, nor were any of his other odd powers, but again, nor was much else in his life.

His mom worked almost 24/7 as a nurse. Which was probably for the best, considering she didn’t seem to like his presence anyways. Whenever she was around she seemed to consistently make comments about anything she deemed wrong with him, from his social life to his clothing style.

So again, probably best to avoid her. Speaking of social life, he should get ready if he didn’t want to miss the bus again. He snapped out of his daze and quickly got ready, struggling to pull on his snow boots. Normally Neon city’s weather center kept clear skies, but last week they had maintenance when a blizzard blew through. Definitely bad timing.

A parka and sweatpants were the warmest clothes he owned, so those were the obvious go to. Pulling up his backpack and grabbing the lanyard that held his student ID, he quickly bolted out the door, with it auto locking behind him. A cleaning bot roamed the halls, the hum of its vacuum the most hello Tim would ever get from it.

It was chilly outside, and the bus was long gone. He let out a string of curse words as he pulled out his phone, scrolling to the contacts under Z. He clicked the only name under it, tapping his foot as he heard it ring. A chipper voice answered, and Tim felt himself let out a relieved sigh.

“Yo kid! You skippin out on school today?” Zlo was very against the idea of going to school past eighth grade, and never minded the idea of Tim spending the day with him instead. Though Tim rarely entertained this idea, it was Friday, and an early weekend sounded appealing. “Do you mind hacking the attendance records if I am?” There was a pause where Zlo was definitely quietly celebrating.

“Course not kid! Just come down to the store, and we can go to Bet’s n Breakfast!” Bet’s n Breakfast was a hole in the wall diner that had the best hash browns Tim had ever tasted, and one of those places his mom would have scolded him for hours if he even looked at. It was usually dirty inside, the neon sign having the majority of the letters unlit. And it was probably one of his favorite places in the world.

His ABSOLUTE favorite place was definitely Eldergrove flowers, the florist shop Zlo owned. Of course he didn’t sell daisies and roses like any other florist. Because nothing about Zlo was normal. Instead he sold lilies and foxglove, oleander honey and hemlock. While Zlo was technically a retired villain, some of his more homicidal tendencies remained. Tim couldn’t really say anything, not without being hypocritical.

The shop was pleasantly warm inside, a stark contrast to the outside. The small holographic panel behind the counter indicated it was seventy degrees fahrenheit inside. Healthy vines ran along the ceiling, shelves lined the walls. There were a few hanging baskets overflowing with foliage, and gardening tools in the corner. Each shelf rack was surrounded by a transparent barrier shield, as some of the plants were bad just to touch.

Tim was seemingly oblivious to the careful footsteps behind him, blissfully absorbed in looking at the budding foxglove. Zlo’s movements were slow and deliberate, he was slightly crouched so as to avoid being seen. Obviously he could shroud himself in darkness, but this way actually gave Tim a fair chance.

Right as he was reaching out to grab his shoulder in a sudden, quick movement, Tim spun around delivering a mock karate chop to his side. Zlo doubled over dramatically, falling backwards onto the floor whilst clutching his side. “BETRAYAL! BETRAYAL BY MY CLOSEST FRIEND! OH, WHAT CRUEL IRONY IS THIS? THAT I MAY BE STRUCK DOWN BY MY GREATEST ALLY!” Tim peered down at him, very clearly trying to keep himself together.

“If you’ve finished Shakespeare, I’ll be outside waiting.” “WOW, so first you strike me down, then you leave me for dead?” He wiped a fake tear from his eye. “I’m so proud! You’re becoming a true ruthless killer.” Tim couldn’t help but roll his eyes as he extended a hand and pulled his mentor to his feet. “Couldn’t you have levitated back up?” “Yeah, but what’s the fun in that?”

Zlo stuck his hand in his pocket, pulling out a card. “For a second there I thought you were gonna pull out REAL COINS.” Tim teased. Zlo gave him a look off fake offense and scoffed. “JUST because I’m thousands of years old does NOT mean I’m not with the times. And it’s 2045 nobody uses physical cash anymore.” Tim held the door open for him. “Elderly first!”

The walk to the diner was filled with banter and teasing, Zlo at one point considering dropping the young teen down into the sewers. Though if prompted both of them would probably do it just for fun. Sure they made bad decisions, but they made them together. If that wasn’t the definition of friendship, Zlo didn’t know what was.

Tim stared upwards for a few minutes before looking back at his friend. “Hey Zlo, do you think I could balance on a roof ledge?” Zlo seemed thoughtful for a moment before responding. “Probably, yeah. You wanna try it tomorrow?” Tim’s eyes lit up at the offer. “Fuck yeah I do!” “Cool, let’s hope you actually can balance, because I don’t feel like getting an earful from your mom.”

He shuddered at the thought. The last time Tim had gotten hurt he wasn’t allowed anywhere near Zlo for a month. Which got repealed quickly as his mom was reminded of his “job” at eldergrove. “I feel obligated to warn you to be careful.” Tim was no longer listening however, as he rushed through the door of the diner. “FUCK YEAH, HASH BROWNS!” Zlo couldn’t help but chuckle at his antics. These were the moments that he remembered why he retired.

#parent villain #retired villain #uncle dynamic #cyberpunk like world #villain #criminal #writing #original story