~The Grubs, warehouse~
The villain was gone, but his friend had stayed behind. Mercy was in the back office with Felix. The little brother had stayed quiet for the past few weeks. Pierce hadn't come back to the warehouse to see his plans, no matter how much Mercy told him to. Well, Felix told Mercy to tell Pierce.
The little leader wasn't working on anything. He sat quiet, silently rolling around in the wheeled chair. He had invited Mercy over but said nothing, and since she could sense his thoughts through his emotions, she stayed silent too. Even sharing the same room, Mercy remained on the other side of the office. She believed Felix had probably forgotten she was even there, given how deep in his head he seemed.
She didn't seem to care. Her attention stayed on the drugs in her hands as she scarfed them down. She was living in the moment while the man across the room felt his world crashing down.
A sudden knock came from the office door. Before Mercy could react, Felix was already up and at the door. He opened it, coming face to face with Corbin and Octavia.
The sudden sibling invasion made the high woman shift slightly. She leaned back against the seat in the corner, watching as the two older siblings came in quietly. Still, no words passed between them as they sat down across from each other at the middle table.
Octavia glanced toward Mercy, who looked back at her. Corbin was the first to speak. "Are you sure you want her in here to hear all this?" he asked his younger brother.
"She's too high to remember," Felix responded, shuffling through the desk drawer. "Even so, I don't care. Who would she tell?"
Octavia rolled her eyes, casting a glare at Mercy. The woman tilted her head back, feeling tired. She really couldn't care less about what the siblings would discuss—obviously, since she'd already started to doze off.
"Alright," Corbin started, pulling his sister's attention back to the three of them. "Back to the topic at hand. We need to see the drug, Felix."
Felix looked up at them from the table. He shuffled around loudly for something, and the siblings hoped it was the drug. Instead, he pulled out a large bottle of what looked like cheap wine and set it on the table in front of them. The siblings looked at it, then at him.
"What?" the younger brother responded with an innocent face.
Corbin gritted his teeth in irritation. "Felix...! We don't—"
"Here, I have cups." Felix cut his brother off, pulling plastic cups from the same drawer. He set one in front of each of them, then looked up with a smile before grabbing the wine bottle.
"Felix..." Corbin growled again. He noticed how Octavia had stayed quiet; she was supposed to help convince their younger brother to hand over the drugs, yet she hadn't said a word the whole time.
"I'm thirsty. You guys should drink some too." Felix poured himself a drink and downed it in one gulp. He let out a satisfied sigh and turned the bottle toward the others. "Aren't you thirsty too?"
"That's not...!" Corbin sat up.
"Fine." Octavia grabbed her cup. Felix tipped the bottle, filling it, then turned to Corbin as Octavia drank hers down.
Corbin didn't know what to think. This wasn't a game. The only reason they'd come here was to get what they wanted, not to drink with his unstable younger brother. Yet Felix acted as if it were all a game.
It reminded Corbin so much of Pierce that he couldn't help but shake. His face went ashen white, and after swallowing his fear, he pushed his cup forward.
Felix gave him a wide smile. "That's more like it."
Corbin sneered at him, lifting the cup to his mouth and gulping the liquid down. While he did, Octavia and Felix exchanged a few glances. Felix raised an eyebrow at her.
"So, I assume you got what I asked for," Felix said, directing his words at Octavia. Corbin lowered the cup from his face, glancing between his sister and Felix.
Before he could speak, Octavia cut in. "Yeah, I do." She hissed the words out in a cold tone.
Felix responded with a smile, catching the slide of papers she sent his way. He scanned them, his face unreadable, which made Octavia panic slightly. Corbin stood still, watching Felix's reaction, careful not to stir anything up.
A few more silent seconds passed before Felix dropped the papers back down. His head hung low, and he let out an audible sigh.
Octavia stiffened, gathering her courage before speaking again. "I know it's not a lot. But we're still working on it—actually closer this time!"
Felix mumbled a few words, shaking his head. The older siblings looked at him in confusion. Octavia was about to ask when Felix spoke louder. "Where he lives..."
The words registered with her instantly.
"I need to know much more than this, Oct." Felix spoke in a hushed voice, shaking his head in disappointment.
Corbin finally caught on to what this was about. He sat up, shoving the chair out from under him so it clattered to the floor. "This is about Oxzy!? Really, Felix, why does it have to be about that asshole!" he yelled. Felix stayed motionless as Octavia tried to calm her older brother.
"Why wouldn't it be?" Felix responded. Sitting up, he pointed to the papers on the desk, then to the shelf behind him where the drugs lay. "If you want it so badly, get me the information," he said, directing his last words to Octavia.
"This is fucking bullshit! Octavia, why did you agree to this!?"
"Just shut up," she responded, trying to push him toward the door. She turned to Felix. "I told you before, it takes a long time. But the man is closer to Milo now." She turned fully to face her younger brother, almost pleading. "Please, I promise to get that for you. We just need the drugs."
"No location," Felix responded, staring down at the cluttered table. "No drugs for you."
His sweet smile made the older siblings glare at him. Corbin cursed under his breath as he left the office. Octavia gave him one last look, words silently exchanged between them, before she exited as well.
"Ugh... so noisy..." Mercy covered her head in irritation. Felix turned to her, a smile forming on his face.
"Yeah," he whispered, "so damn noisy."
~Hallway side, the streets~
The hero stood where he had been last week, near the trees, replanting the one Pierce had burned down. He had grown a new one to take its place, pressing soil first over the roots. The hero felt a bit more comfortable than he should have.
He stood right near the slums, the smell of fire and drugs not too far from his keen sense of smell. He kept his eyes open and his body ready for anything.
When he finished with the tree, he looked down at the small plant. Slipping his fingers between the branches and leaves, he took a breath. The tree suddenly grew bigger, sprouting new branches that grew thick and long. Bright green leaves sprang up along the branches, climbing higher and higher into the sky.
When the hero saw it reach the same height as the trees around it, he removed his hand. The tree instantly stopped growing once his energy left it.
Oxzy let out a small breath, feeling calm even after using his energy to regrow a tree. It was a strange feeling, but after days of recovering his energy at home, Oxzy felt a bit more alive. Pierce hadn't been out since their talk. As far as Oxzy knew, he hadn't caused any trouble.
It was both a good and bad thing. The villain was unpredictable—he could do anything, whenever he wanted. Since Pierce had stayed silent after their "meeting," Oxzy feared the worst.
He had to stay ready for anything the man might do.
Not only did Oxzy have to worry about Pierce, but he also tried his hardest to ignore Milo and the station altogether. He hadn't received any calls; Milo might have been ignoring him right back. It was the best outcome he could hope for.
Even though Oxzy knew he'd eventually have to talk to the sheriff again, he savored the feeling of being ignored by the man.
He couldn't feel the same about Pierce. The villain crept into his mind whenever he didn't want him there. Unknowingly, Oxzy found himself thinking about him, worrying mostly about what he might be feeling, though a small amount of curiosity lingered too.
He also knew Pierce would always seek him out. He could never truly ignore the villain—it was impossible, given his position as the hero of the small town.
Just then, a dark voice spoke from behind the distracted hero.
Oxzy spun around, meeting the villain's dark brown eyes. He immediately raised his hands, ready to fight, and dug his feet into the dirt as he glared daggers at Pierce.
Surprisingly, Pierce stayed in place, his arms tucked into his ripped hoodie. The evil man gave Oxzy a smile—mocking or not, it still unnerved him.
"So, you're back here, hm?" Pierce looked around, ignoring Oxzy's defensive stance. His eyes landed on the tree standing tall behind Oxzy, and a smile grew on his face, softer this time.
"Picking up the mess."
Oxzy watched his every move, ready for a sudden attack. He expected Pierce to strike, but instead, the villain walked around his side, eyeing the tree as he drew closer.
The hero nearly struck him first, but Pierce merely looked back, one eyebrow raised, his posture relaxed. The villain clearly wasn't going to attack—if anything, Oxzy would be the one to start it. And then he'd have to clean up the mess all over again. He didn't feel like fixing what he'd only just repaired.
Silently, he lowered his arms, though his whole body remained tense, shifting slightly at the villain's every motion. Pierce noticed. "Whoa, do I scare you that much?"
"Scared my ass," Oxzy responded through gritted teeth.
Pierce smiled and crossed his arms. "A response—that's nice of you."
Oxzy rolled his eyes, and a laugh rumbled from the villain's deep voice in response. "I knew that's all I could get from you, anyway." Pierce looked up at the tree again. "It looks so much fuller than the last one that stood here."
Oxzy wanted to fire back with a snarky comment, but he shut his mouth instead, watching as Pierce moved closer to the tree from the side. Oxzy stepped back, putting distance between himself and the man now standing beside the tree.
The hero had no idea what to expect next. As always, the villain was unpredictable. To Oxzy's surprise, Pierce placed his hand against the trunk—and no fire or black dust came from the gentle touch.
The hero watched as the villain took in the tree, his eyes turning soft. A flicker of something human crossed Pierce's face as memories from high school surfaced in his mind. The tree looked just like the one he, Mercy, and Rosamee used to smoke beside.
The memory brought the villain a small flash of happiness.
He turned to the hero, the man who had made the tree. A wave of nostalgia swept through Pierce, and he turned around, sliding his back down the trunk until he settled onto the dirt, leaning comfortably against it.
Oxzy stared in shock, unsure how to react to the villain's strange behavior. Pierce opened his eyes, watching the leaves drift down from above. Then he turned to the hero, who stood in the same spot, wearing a look of confusion.
Pierce let out a chuckle. "What? Want to come sit with me, Ox?"
Oxzy blinked a few times before the words registered. A faint blush rose on his face, but he shook it off and growled in his usual tone. "Why the hell would I do that?"
"Well, you're still here, for one," Pierce replied.
The hero rolled his eyes, feeling his body relax slightly. "Not because I want to." His words earned a raised eyebrow from the brown-eyed man. Oxzy didn't feel he owed the villain an explanation, but he gave one anyway. "I don't know what you're going to do. I have to make sure you don't do anything bad."
"Oh? What would I do?" Pierce let out a laugh, pushing himself off the tree, a mocking smile on his lips. "Actually, don't answer that."
The laugh irritated Oxzy even more. He glared at the villain, wishing he could grow a plant right under his ass—that would shut him up.
"Okay, okay, I know you well enough to understand you won't sit next to me. I've never seen you relax, not once in your life. Not even in high school!"
High school? Oxzy flinched slightly at the memory. He wanted to snap back that he was always tense because of the villain, but that wasn't entirely true.
Yes, Pierce was the main reason for his tight shoulders, furrowed brows, and shadowed eyes. But he wasn't the only cause of this tension.
This brokenness.
Oxzy shook his head and sighed aloud. "So annoying."
"I get that a lot. Not just from you, of course," Pierce said with a laugh, looking up at the leaves before rambling on. "Actually, I think I hear you swear at me more than anyone. I mean, you're not afraid I'll kill you for it, so I guess it makes sense!"
"So fucking annoying," Oxzy groaned again.
A laugh answered him. The atmosphere between them felt light—though the tension and rude remarks remained, something about it felt different now. That feeling shattered when both men heard a sound before they saw its source.
Chatter, loud voices, and the rumble of cars rolled in from behind Oxzy, from the direction of Daylight, where the markets stood.
Oxzy recognized the voices before Pierce did. He heard Milo barking orders from within a car to the men walking behind it. The static crackle of a walkie-talkie reached his ears as Milo issued commands to men in the trailing vehicles.
The sight of two police cars and at least four officers made the villain rise from beneath the tree. He watched as the police advanced before stopping directly in front of the two powered men.
Pierce recognized the irritating voice coming from the sheriff. He watched Milo step out of the car, one hand resting on his gun, his eyes fixed not on the villain like the other officers, but on the hero.
"Oxzy?" Milo said, stepping in front of the car and the officers standing at the ready. They all trained their eyes on the villain, hands hovering near their weapons, waiting for Milo's command.
When the sheriff shook off the feeling of shock, his face turned upside down as a deep frown grew on his lips. "Why are you with the villain... Oxzy?"
Pierce watched as the man in question gave no response, his face emotionless toward the police in front of him. Only, Pierce saw his shoulder immediately tense up.
The quiet response only seemed to anger Milo more. "The fuck are you doing talking all sweetly to the villain!?" he shouted out, as if he wanted the whole town to hear him. "You're the fucking hero, talking with a killer...!"
His voice was stone cold and threatening, yet it only earned annoyance from the villain. Pierce's eyes rolled like a teenager getting a lecture. "Damn, who said he was talking to me?"
His voice caused the police to flinch, their guns almost instinctively rising toward him. Milo flinched slightly, taking a step back when he looked the villain in the eyes. Pierce only gave a smile and a joking response. "I mean, he didn't even talk while I blabbered on."
Oxzy groaned quietly at the man behind him. He heard the villain walk away from the tree.
Then, all of a sudden, the sheriff made a daring move.
Gun raised, he shot at Pierce three times. His aim was bad; instead of striking the villain, the bullets hit the branches of the tree now behind him. The branches crashed to the ground, leaves flying from the force.
Pierce glared at the broken branches. Without looking back at the policemen, he summoned a line of fire from midair in front of Oxzy and the sheriff. It made the men step back in shock, and Milo shouted at his men, who stood frozen at the sudden fire.
At Milo's command, the men shot at the villain all at once. Bullets flew from the powered men's guns. Oxzy ducked away as soon as he realized they were all shooting at the two of them. They were trying to hit Pierce, but they'd forgotten Oxzy stood in front of him.
The hero dashed away from the bullets; the fire blocked his path forward, so he retreated toward the buildings and trees. He watched as bullets flew around him, striking the buildings, shattering glass, and sending leaves scattering. More branches fell from the trees, accompanied by more shouts from Milo.
Pierce felt a sting in his heart as he watched the tree get shot. He stepped backward into a dark shadow, and as he dissolved into the darkness, his arms moved outward and a spark leapt from the fire. The flames grew larger in front of the officers, and shouts of pain rose from beyond the sparking blaze.
Bullets still flew at the villain. Milo's yelling only made him angrier, drawing him out from the shadows, his hands now fully ablaze with energy. His hoodie had burned away along his arms, smoke rising from the charred fabric, and the foul smell of burnt flesh spread around him.
He hoped some of the men had been burned by the growing flames. He used the fire on his hands as a shield. It hurt him terribly, but it melted the bullets that came his way.
The villain bent down, and with a loud smash against the ground, the fire burned brighter and taller. It seemed to take on a mind of its own as it crept closer to the police cars.
Milo noticed it and, turning away from the growing heat already sparking toward him, shouted to the people behind him. "Back in the car! Stop shooting!"
The men obeyed, rushing into their cars, which had already begun to deform at the front from the fire.
Before Pierce's growing rage could worsen the blaze, Oxzy rose from the ground, and ice erupted from the base of the flames. Starting at the bottom, it drew in all the heat, turning to water that burst into steam.
Pierce felt a hit to his side as the hero struck from another direction. He lost his balance, the fire sucked back inside him as he looked at the curly-haired man before him. Without a second thought, Pierce swiped his hand to the side.
A blast erupted just beside Oxzy's face, and he staggered back from the force. All he could hear was a tight buzzing in both ears. He was distracted for only a second, but it was enough for Pierce to rush forward, pushing him back until he slammed into a hard surface.
The villain readied a fire beneath the still-recovering hero, but stopped when he noticed what stood behind the man. The tall, once-vibrant tree now shook, its leaves scorched at the edges by the fire. Branches littered the ground, and holes pocked its once-sturdy trunk.
Pierce paused to stare, his gaze shifting from the tree to the standing hero. Oxzy held his head, blood trickling from his burst eardrums, a slanted hole visible in his shoulder. His body remained tense, ready to attack or defend against whatever came next.
His eyes burned with hostility, but behind that was pain.
Pain that Pierce realized he hadn't caused alone.
Oxzy, seeing Pierce frozen, ran forward and kicked low into the villain's chest. Pierce fell backward, looking up as Oxzy prepared to bring a punch down on him. He rolled off the ground, dodging the strike.
Pierce watched as the hero pressed on, seemingly numb to his own pain, fully focused on him. It filled him with a strange delight—the hero fighting so hard to stop him, hurting himself further in the process like a fool. Yet it annoyed the villain that he wasn't the sole cause of Oxzy's suffering. The police had shot him without warning, and that enraged Pierce.
The villain seized on the hero's delayed reactions. Grabbing him by his now-bloodied sweater, he spun Oxzy around. The hero would have collapsed if not for Pierce's firm grip on his waist.
Oxzy winced at the tight hold, pushing weakly at Pierce's chest with what little strength remained. The villain's grip pressed directly into a wound in his shoulder he hadn't even noticed.
The hero had learned to numb pain, so instead he focused on the villain, shoving hard at his chest until a blast of ice erupted and threw the two apart. Pierce staggered back, steadying himself, while Oxzy slid across the dirt before pulling himself upright.
The two faced one another. The villain seemed more irritated than the hero now, watching as the police fled the chaos they'd caused. All he wanted was to kill the blond man, to tear his flesh apart before his very eyes.
That would have to wait—the hero still stood before him, blocking his path to the retreating officers.
"You're protecting them after they shot you?" Pierce huffed. A fake smile crossed his lips as he shook his head knowingly. "You're so fucking pathetic."
"Mh..." Oxzy gave a short but understanding reply.
Rather than striking again, the villain met the reply with a chuckle. Turning, he walked away from the hero and disappeared into the shadows.
~Formay, police station~
The sheriff swept everything off his desk, his shout sending the men who had followed him scrambling out of the office. Only Jamisen and Jayce remained with him.
Jamisen couldn't understand Milo's anger. In all honesty, the team should have let the two men be and gone straight to the grubs to finish their task. Instead, Milo had panicked, firing impulsively at the first opportunity. The villain had already been distracted by the hero—the men could have slipped past him easily and done what they'd come to do.
Instead, they'd fled back to the station with melted cars and burned officers. The fault lay squarely with the sheriff for not thinking of a better plan. Jamisen was ready to confront him about it, but the door had already shut behind them.
"That damn villain! He does whatever he wants, destroys all our work, the environment!" Milo shouted to the only people left in the room.
Jamisen rolled his eyes, while Jayce stepped closer to the blond man. "Why was Oxzy even there, though? He wasn't fighting Pierce—they were actually... talking."
Milo looked at him, raising an eyebrow as he absorbed the thought. Jayce wasn't wrong. The image of Oxzy talking, being near the villain in a way he'd never been with Milo, made his chest tighten. His skin prickled with heat at the thought.
He pictured Oxzy standing calm, without purpose, in front of the villain, blocking the police from reaching him. The villain's hands running down his waist, a smile on his lips. It wasn't what Milo wanted to believe—he knew the two had ultimately fought—but he could only see one thing: the villain and hero being close in a way that had nothing to do with hatred.
It needed to involve hatred.
Jayce studied Milo's reactions, leaning in to meet his eyes. "Do you think... the hero might be on his side? Like, working with the villain?"
"That's fucking stupid." Jamisen shook his head at the young officer's theory. He expected Milo to dismiss it too, but to his surprise, Milo looked as though he'd realized something important. "Milo—"
Before Jamisen could finish, Milo stood up abruptly. "That would be very dangerous if those two were working together. The hero would be betraying the whole town."
"Oh my fucking god," Jamisen groaned.
"Right—he could be a danger to everyone, and we wouldn't even know it. It's like he's playing us..." Jayce agreed immediately, making Jamisen look at him as though he'd heard pigs talk.
Milo closed his eyes, weighing the evidence that suggested it might be possible. The hero had deceived him before; he could be doing it again. Milo was the sheriff, the protector of the town—he had to stop it before it turned worse, even if it was only a possibility, even if he had feelings for the hero.
"We should be more careful with him now," Milo finally said.
Jayce had an idea, turning his attention to Milo's files. "You have information on him, right?"
Milo glanced at the files as well. "Yeah, but not much."
"Don't you think we should find out where he lives?" The question struck Milo like a spark. He felt foolish for not having figured it out sooner—Oxzy kept everything about himself secret, so no one knew where he lived.
"We should investigate him."
"Milo!" Jamisen cut in. Milo turned to him. "Our focus is the killings happening in the grubs, not the hero!"
"We'll still focus on that, Jamisen," Milo replied quickly, turning toward Jayce. "Have a group go back to the grubs. I'll put together a team to start investigating Oxzy."
Jayce nodded eagerly, leaving the office with a smirk.