forum @metaphoricallyella

Started August 21, 2020 by @Calanthe

tune

Axel heard about the bank robbery from one of his fellow villain, Storm, and rolled his eyes as he instinctively and almost immediately knew that it was Poseidon and Saiko that had stepped in. He texted the lady back: "At least you gave that Saiko a good beating. He's too soft for a villain. Might as well join forces with that water kid. After he hit send, Axel placed his phone down, sighing, before laying back on his bed and placed the back of his hand on his forehead, closing his eyes, the tingling of his hair bothering him just slightly.

It was one of those days where he had ended work early, and had time to think about everything. And most of that deviated back to his grandmother. He would never forget that day; her terrified eyes, her frail body- simply begging for him to use his powers to protect both of them. But even in such a simple task, Axel failed. Worthless fuck, he thought to himself, his mood declining even more. The only therapy was for him to cause havoc, take away some of the imperfect individuals in the world. Axel liked a good fight, and had always wanted to fight the renowned hero, Poseidon. Fire and water- a medley of elements. Despite all the hearsay about Poseidon, Axel had never actually seen Poseidon in action, much less fought him. But was it worth it? Did he have the energy to even create such mayhem? He held up his hand, a faint flicker of fire appearing. Closing it, Axel took a deep breath, getting out of his bed and dressing up.

The moment he donned his clothes and robe, the regular gloomy, pizza restaurant waiter had transformed into the Villain that was the talk of the town - Blaze. He used the gadget that everyone had, to open a portal, stepping into it and appearing at a bridge at the edge of town. He saw a couple seated by the riverside, seemingly enjoying their couple time. A faint smile almost appeared on his face, when he spotted a child barely of 2 years wandering alone, almost into the river. Could… it be? He noticed that the mother had glanced at the child, and shrugged, before turning back to the father. "Fuck heads," he muttered, and walked with determination to the couple, his hands filled with balls of fire, his body tingling with emotions. "Hey you two," he called out, his eyes hidden under the shadow of the hood; and he was met with eyes of arrogance that quickly changed to fear.

Let us begin.

(( I'm going to stop here first, to let you guys continue. It's a bit long XD ))

Graham chuckled a little bit, "I really do love this book, it's been a while since I've last read it, but I am truly enjoying reading it again." He said with a smile as if he was chatting with an old friend rather than the hero who had kidnapped him the night before. Waiiittt, why is he doing this? He could have tampered with the food or something and then turn me in. But, would he actually do that. He looked up from his food and studied Asher closely, I don't believe he has the capabilities of doing that, or he seems a bit too nice to do so. So, he gingerly took a bite of the toast and waited for Asher to come back into the room. As he chewed on it, he looked around, quietly admiring the things around the room, This must be Asher's bedroom, it's very nice. Compared to Graham's it was, the boy's room was nearly always covered in different elements that he was trying to work with, suits of his, regular clothes of his, books that he had started and stopped reading for no apparent reason, and just a lot of mess. Although he might act as though he was a proper English man or something, he was just a big mess, and disorganized one to be exact. He started to eat the scrambled eggs, then remembering his former suspicions, quickly lifted the plate to sniff the eggs. Once he was sure he was safe, he continued to eat them. He had started to relax a bit more as he continued to eat, the large knot of worry in his stomach gone. But it seemed as though the first knot disappeared another one formed. The one that reminds him of all the things that he would have to do when he got back home, and also the fact that he would have to somehow avoid Storm and her cronies, and pretty much every other hero in the city, This should be fun. . . He thought to himself, a deep frown forming on his face.

He smiled a little bit, or at least tried too, at Asher when the man came back reetnered the room. Then, as he sat on the bed, watching Asher's face for a reaction, and honestly hoping that the other boy would like the idea he had come up with. Then his smile faded and turned into a frown when he heard the other man's opinion. "I understand the whole, being a hero thing means doing the best for others and such, but, if you turn in those boys you would be doing the best for the city, I hate to say it, but, if you leave them alone and ignore them, they will become more and more dangerous, and more of a threat to the city. But again, it's up to you, do as you wish. Doesn't really bother me too much, after all, I'd enjoy to watch this town burn down to the ground." He said with a slight smirk, then seeing the look on Asher's face smiled sheepishly, trying to play off what he had said as a joke, "Sorry, I didn't really mean that. Too much at least." He added under his breath before he took another sip of his coffee, "She's the kind of villain that holds a grudge when you take the last cookie, and her girlfriend. I didn't think she would get mad about either, or at least too mad, but she did." He said with a shrug, "But uhm, I'd leave her alone for a bit, maybe have someone else catch her, or work with someone since she's pretty dangerous, you know?" When Asher got up and walked away, Graham figured that he had probably said something wrong to the other man, and was trying to figure it out. But when Asher came in with two glasses of apple juice, his normal frown broke into a giant grin -which made him look like an overly excited three year old.- "I swear, you are an amazing person! Even if you are a hero." He said, remembering that he had to behave like a jerk, which wasn't too hard, it was basically a six sense to him. "And thanks for the juice." He added, taking a sip of it.

((Okay, done, I think))

Asher smiled. "It's no problem, on the juice bit. Apple juice was on sale a while back, and I bought it like it was going out of style. You can have a few of my jugs, if you want. I won't use them all," he laughed. "Not by myself, at least. I'll admit, it has been somewhat lonely living all alone. But that's besides the point," Ash laughed again. He sat down in the same chair again, crossing his legs in his usual fashion. Sipping his apple juice, Ash's face slowly turned serious again. "I do think it would be helpful to catch the boys, and I would love to, actually. But I can't ask you to help me. I'll avoid Storm if you wish me to, but I don't want your help with the boys. They shouldn't have to deal with a villain helping a hero. That's just kind of unfair to them, in my opinion. And I try to keep things as fair as I can. So thank you for the bike and for the offer, I really do appreciate it. But I'll get the boys on my own," he smiled softly. Asher lost himself in thought for a few moments, thinking about his past actions. Was beating up a villain actually heroic? It was cruel, that's what it was. He could just easily trap them and turn them in. Ash's face darkened, thinking about all the times he had put Graham in the hospital.

"Graham…" he started softly. Asher paused. Stopped. Swallowed and took a deep breath. "How are we going to go back to normal after this?" Ash asked, meeting his eyes. "I just… Knowing you now, I can't just beat you up all the time. I can't just put you in the hospital all the time. I can't. So… I'm not asking you to stop doing crime, because I know that you want to do it. I'm just saying that I might not be around anymore. I can't bring myself to hurt you now that I know you as a person. There are plenty of other heroes in this city to beat you up for me. I'm just one of the lesser heroes, nothing like the big guys. I'll just move cities, find somewhere new, find a new villain, find new crime. Maybe it's time for me to move on. Now that you know who I am, and where I live, and what I look like thanks to my stupid decisions, maybe it's time I go. I'll take care of the boys, pack up my stuff, hop on my bike, and take off. And I'll go wherever the wind takes me," Asher shrugged. "It was fun being a hero for this city while it lasted. But now that chapter of my life has closed, I think."

Asher shook his head quickly, not wanting to end on a slightly sad note. He smiled again, nodding to Graham's tray of food. "Tell me when you're done, alright?" he smiled. "I want to give you a sort of going away and thank you gift. It's a surprise, so I won't tell, but I will say that it has to do with music. I hope you like rock," he laughed. "I certainly do. I've had one particular Foo Fighters song stuck in my head for days. It has some lyrics that really ring with me, that's mostly it. It's called 'The Pretender.' Because well…" Asher trailed off, not wanting to say he felt like a fake. A fraud. A villain. "It's a good song," he finished. Asher suddenly noticed the glass of apple juice in his hand again and chugged it, finishing it off. Ash stood and placed the empty glass on his bedside table, then flopped back in the chair. This time, he was somewhat more guarded in his body language, his arms and legs both crossed and his shoulders slightly hunched. Reminding himself that he was a villain tended to put Asher in a bad mood.

Graham chuckled a little bit, "I can certainly understand that. But I wouldn't take it from you, after all, wouldn't that be rude? I have more than enough for myself, so why horde? Especially if you enjoy it this much, or anywhere near as much as I do, which I must admit is aquite a lot." He said with a smile, acting a lot less like his normal, sort of snobby self. "But about the boys, I do agree that perhaps it isn't the best idea to have them caught, at least with my hand in it. I can see how that would be traumatizing, and earn me another enemy. Which at the moment, is the last thing I need. Because currently, I have you, Storm, and practically every civilian and hero in the city." His smile turned into a frown as he thought about what he had said, "Oh wow, I didn't realize how many people in this city actually hated me. . . Oh well, I hate most of them back, so I guess the feeling is mutual." He took another sip of his apple juice, a smile on his face once again, "I'm glad you enjoy it, I had been workshopping it for a while, kind of just using it as a hobby, but when I destroyed your bike I decided that it was time to that bike to good use. Have you figured out all the features yet? I added some with your specific powers in mind, but I'm going to tell you how to find them, that's for you to do yourself." He smiled with satisfaction of his hard work, and started to think about something else he could possibly invent. Maybe a bike similar to the one he made for Asher?

Then he heard Asher's voice bring him back to reality. He looked over at the other boy, and sensed that perhaps he was feeling guilty or something of that nature. "You don't need to feel guilty for what you've done to me. It isn't your fault that I decided to use my powers for evil. Well, I'm not using them for evil, I'm using them for I think is right, if that makes sense. I'm having my own sort of fun, and playing jokes or whatever against the people who control this city. I'm doing my own thing, and so are you. You shouldn't feel guilty for doing what you believe is right, as you can see the other hero's don't. They think that we're the bad guys, that we're scum, and if in their eyes that's true, then in their world and in their conscience it's true." He stopped and took another sip of his juice, "Does that make sense? If you're doing what you believe is right, then you're not doing the wrong thing. At least, in your mindset you aren't doing anything. So, if you truly believe that I am a villain, then you shouldn't feel bad for beating me up or whatever." He said with a sigh, "Although, I will probably sound like a masochist or whatever, but I don't exactly mind the beatings or whatever, I've sort of gotten used to the pain and the threats. I don't know how many times you've threatened to either drown me or freeze me, and of course there are the other heroes who have actually attempted it, so I think you're fine." Then, when he fell silent, he realized how weird that must of sounded, "Wait, no no, I mean, well, in my opinion,your not as bad as the other heroes here, so if anything you can stay the others can leave." Then, he sort of got an idea, "If it makes it any easier, perhaps I could possibly try being not as bad of a bad guy? I mean, although my body is somewhat used to the beatings, I can't go on like this forever." His eyes lit up as the idea he had been trying to grasp at finally formed in his mind, "What if we tried to take down Storm together! After I heal up of course."

His usual smirk of self-satisfaction reappeared on his face as he waited for Asher's response, Maybe I just solved this problem, actually no I solved two, and if this works three, and if all of this comes together possibly four, and you know what? What if I solved all of the problems in the world? What if I just solved world hunger!?!!? He shook his head a little bit, thinking about the last one, No, that might be pushing it a little bit, but if it works, who knows! Then he looked down at the plate of food, realizing that he hadn't eaten too much of it, "Oh, uhm, you don't need to worry about that, when I finish, I'll clean up after myself, or at least I'll try too. I don't really eat too much to begin with, so I don't want you to have to wait on me once everything is done. That wouldn't be fair to you, to have to wait on me me hand and foot, especially since I'm not in the hospital, and you're not being paid for any of this." As he studied the boy's body language and words, he got the feeling that he wasn't alright, and was still thinking of himself in the wrong. So with all the strength he had, he pushed himself off the bed, and walked over to him. Wincing in pain, and biting his lip to keep the grunts of pain to himself, "Asher, please don't feel bad about what has happened, or what you did. You were trying to protect yourself, and your identity and that's alright. I scared you, and I really should have left you alone. Please don't think that you aren't the hero, to most of the people in this city, you are on of the top tier heroes, and you should continue to think of your self in that way, at least in my opinion, you should."

Asher laughed. “I’m sure I don’t enjoy it as much as you. I can tell you really love apple juice,” he chuckled lightly. He smiled at him, happy to see there was something he really enjoyed. Ash suddenly frowned. What am I doing? He’s a villain, I shouldn’t be happy for him. But…. He was jolted back to reality as he realized Graham was speaking again. Asher nodded at the man as he spoke. “Yeah, I’ll figure out a way to catch them on my own. They can’t outrun me,” he laughed, somewhat sarcastically. Asher frowned again. “I mean, we are enemies, but I don’t hate you. You’re a good person that does bad things. And right now, with you sitting in front of me just talking to me? I can only see the good in you.” He trailed off a bit, just observing Graham for a second. It was probably pretty awkward for the other man, but he hadn’t ever really gotten a true look at his face before. Not since he had known that Graham was Saiko. Asher paused for a moment, the finally spoke again. “….I like your hair,” was all he decided to comment on that. Truely, he thought Graham was actually quite handsome, but he already knew he couldn’t say that aloud. Asher smiled at him again once he started to speak about the bike. “I really do like it, and I can’t thank you enough! It’s really cool, and just my style, but I’m afraid I haven’t really figured out any of the features yet. It takes me a while to learn new things,” Ash explained. There it was again, that crippling self-doubt and self-hatred. That was the truth, as Asher did take a while to learn new things. But, he said something different than what he heard in his mind. Asher thought “I’m stupid and slow, so it takes me a long time to pick up on new things,” but just said “It takes me a while to learn new things.” Asher knew he might be stupid, but he was smart enough to know that Graham wasn’t loving the self-hatred.

Asher nodded slowly, listening to Graham. “I do believe you’re a villain, but not a bad one. Like I said earlier, you’re a good person doing bad things. In my eyes, at least.” He fell silent again, listening to Graham talk. He nearly burst out laughing when the other man mentioned masochism. He struggled to keep in the laughter, taking a deep, shaky breath. “Sorry,” he breathed, still trying to keep it together. “I did NOT expect you to say that, not at all.” He listened momentarily again. “Oh, and thanks. For not thinking I’m a horrible person and the scum of the earth,” he smiled, laughing a little. When Graham spoke again, he Asher nearly exploded. He jumped out of his chair. “That’s a great idea! I could really use the help! If you didn’t know, I’m kind of the runt of the heroes. They treat me like a little kid, and kind of shun me, so it would be great to have some help for once.”

Asher got lost in thought himself. He had never really had anyone around to help him with his hero work, so it would be great to have someone, even if he was a villain. He slowly sat back down in his chair, thinking of all the possibilities. He could stop Storm with Graham, save the city, get the recognition he wanted. He might even be able to turn Graham into a hero, and they could work together as partners, and then maybe fall in love…. Asher’s eyes widened and he jolted slightly. Where was he going with that thought? He shook his head slightly then looked back up at Graham, who had already started talking again. “Hm? Oh! Yeah, the food.You can clean it up, if you really want to. I don’t mind, I don’t want you to feel like I’m waiting on you hand-and-foot.” He paused, concern in his eyes as Graham stood. Ash quickly stood as well and gently laid a hand on Graham’s chest, guiding him into the chair he had just been using. He knelt next to Graham, his elbows on the arm of the chair. “I’ll try to keep thinking of myself as a hero, okay? I will feel bad for a while, but it’ll go away soon enough. But don’t feel sorry, or anything. You literally got kidnapped, so…” Asher trailed off, laughing a bit in spite of himself. “Wait here,” he said quickly, standing and walking into the other room.

Asher came back with his blue electric guitar. “Surprise!” he smiled. He knelt back down next to the chair, balancing the guitar on his leg. “Since you were so kind as to give me a bike and not turn me in, I want to teach you a bit of guitar. It’s my passion, and I’d like to share it with you,” he smiled brightly. Asher was unlike Graham had ever seen him. For once, he seemed really happy and relaxed talking about his guitar. He strummed a few chords, humming along to them lightly. Ash stood again and plugged the trailing cord into a nearby amp, setting the volume to low. He sat back down next to Graham, then held the guitar out. “Want to try?”

Graham smiled a little bit, "I don't know, I guess it's just a bit of a guilty pleasure, I'm supposed to be evil, dark, or whatever, utilizing the powers of the different elements for my own use, while when I get back home, I drink apple juice in unhealthy amounts. It's kind of funny, at least in my opinion." He said, laughing as well with Asher. The boy's laughter was honestly contagious, and he couldn't help laugh with him. Then he started thinking, Is it a bit sketch that I'm staying with this other boy in his home? I mean, I have work tomorrow. Hhmph, that's funny, I don't work besides cleaning up after those "children", but other than that, not too much, at least anymore, but I at least need to check my stocks. Wait, does that count as work? I mean, I'm somewhat getting paid for that. . . Wait, oh he's finished talking, okay, from what he said, and the look on his face, let's see if I can somewhat successfully continue the conversation. "I think that you'll catch them on your own time." he said with a smile, "And once you do, you;ll be back in th limelight, and everyone will love you and all that stuff too." He said with a smile, then a blush when he felt Asher's eyes on him, _Why in the world is he looking at me like that? I swear, if I got kidnapped by a real psychopath, I'm in trouble. Then the blush on his cheeks grew more when Asher complimented his hair, "T-thank you." He mumbled, for once at a lose for words, "I think you have pretty eyes." He added, not wanting it to be weird and not give the boy a compliment back. "W-wait, you think I'm a good person? Me? A good person?" He started to laugh loudly, then realized that Asher wasn't laughing at all, "Oh, you weren't joking, awkward. . ." He mumbled, looking down at the bed, "But, uhm, I'm really not a good person at all, to me arson is a hobby, not a crime. To me death isn't that big of a deal. I've become so numb to the things that a good person would cry over. I am simply not a good person at all, and I don't want you to lie to yourself, and think that I am." He said with a shrug as if it was that simple, "Don't be upset please, I just don't want you to live a lie or anything." He said with sigh, then smiled a bit, after hearing Asher's response to the bike, "If you want, once I can actually help you with it, I could show you some, if you'd like to me to ruin the surprise or something."

"I uhm. . ." He mumbled his cheeks pink now that he realized what had slipped out of his mouth, "Yeah, uhm I don't have a filter, at all." He said sheepishly, "But, uhm about the working together thing, I don't want you to think that this is permanent or anything, we'll be catching Storm, turning her in and such, and I'll be back to my own private life, I have to take care of my friends. . .Oh god, they are in my house right now. . ."By the time I get back there it could be gone or something. Oh shiitake mushrooms. He thought, then turned back , "You know what, let's not worry about that right now. I'm sorry, but uhm, let's see here, make you the envy of all the heroes, get rid of that annoying Storm, and let me be once more? Does that sound about right?" He said with shrug, then looking closer at the other boy quickly added something, "Mind you, I'm not going to be a sidekick or anything, I will be working with you, not for you, and not exactly helping you either. We both have the same goal, so we will work together to accomplish it. Does that make sense? And once we're done, I'll go back to being a villain, and you a hero. Or maybe I'll just settle down or something, I like inventing things, that's how I utilize my elements, so maybe I could start just inventing to help mankind." Seeing the happy look on Asher's face he burst out laughing, "That's a joke, I would never do anything like that. I'd probably be using them to destroy mankind, or overtake it or something." He smiled a bit, his grin growing more and more as he spoke, "Then, once my inventions become powerful, think about it, robots, anything dangerous, AI's, who knows maybe I'll create some animatronics too that'll force mankind into submission! Then I will be the ruler of alllllllllllllll!!!" Then seeing the nervous/ angry look on Asher's face sheepishly smiled and looked down at the tray of food, "Or, maybe I'll just be the next Elon Musk."

When he was sat back down, he pouted a little bit, wanting to actually take care of himself and not have to sit back down again, That's what I've been doing for the past 2 hours, I want to try to walk or somethiiiiiinnnnnnggggg. He mentally whined, and started to come up with a list of grievancs to give Asher, his normal bravado and snooty self in full rear. Then, when he saw the guitar, his jaw dropped, No wonder he was so sad that he had lost his guitar, now I really feel bad for him. Waittt, should I? I made him a new motorbike to make up for the old one, then doesn't that make things even? Never mind, this'll be one of my late-night exstestential questions that I keep myself up with. "Oh, I uhm, I wouldn't want to mess anything up or something. I'm really good at that, whenever I touch something, it somehow always finds a way to break." He said with a sheepish smile, "Excpet my inventions, those somehow last being around me, Drew, and Clark, surprisingly." He looked down to see the slightly disappointed look on the other boy's face and sighed, "Why don't you play something for me? That'd be nice."

“Thanks!” Asher smiled. “Hopefully I will catch them.” He blushed back, not expecting a compliment from Graham. “Sorry if I just made things weird. I just like telling pretty people that they look good,” he shrugged. Ash thought for a moment, then continued. “But I do think you’re a good person. Just… doing bad things. A truly bad person wouldn’t have made me the bike, or have laughed with me. So… I guess you’re not good or bad. You’re a certain shade of gray somewhere.” Asher nodded, liking that metaphor. “And it’s okay! I want to be surprised, so I can figure it out.”

“No, no, I get it, don’t worry!” Ash smiled. “I know that you love being a villain, so I won’t take you away from that. We’ll work together as equals for a while, then go our separate ways once the job is done. I understand, don’t worry.” As he listened to Graham he was indeed nervous, so he quickly decided to drop that conversation.

Asher laughed at Graham’s stupified expression, then nodded. “It’s okay! I get it. I wouldn’t trust myself around any of your inventions.” He sat quietly for a moment as he tuned up the guitar, listening for the correct notes by ear. He played a quick riff, making sure everything was in order, then threw the strap around his shoulder and stood. “Hm… Today I’m feeling like ‘Heart-Shaped Box’ by Nirvana. I’ll play that for you,” Ash smiled. He slid a pick out of his pocket and started off with the main riff, getting into character for the song. No longer was he a happy, bouncy hero. Now, he was a broken and angsty adult, his expression dark and brooding. His voice matched his expression as he began to sing.

“She eyes me like a Pisces when I am weak
I've been locked inside your heart-shaped box for weeks
I've been drawn into your magnetar pit trap trap
I wish I could eat your cancer when you turn black
Hey!
Wait!
I've got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Hey!
Wait!
I've got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Hey!
Wait!
I've got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice, your advice
Meat-eating orchids forgive no one just yet
Cut myself on angel hair and baby's breath
Broken hymen of your Highness, I'm left back
Throw down your umbilical noose so I can climb right back
Hey!
Wait!
I've got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Hey!
Wait!
I've got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Hey!
Wait!
I've got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice, your advice
She eyes me like a Pisces when I am weak
I've been locked inside your heart-shaped box for weeks
I've been drawn into your magnetar pit trap trap
I wish I could eat your cancer when you turn black
Hey!
Wait!
I've got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Hey!
Wait!
I've got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice
Hey!
Wait!
I've got a new complaint
Forever in debt to your priceless advice, your advice, your advice, your advice….”

Asher trailed off on the last note, then slowly strummed the main riff once more. Silence ran out for a few seconds, and then Ash brightened and perked up again. “How was it?”