forum @metaphoricallyella

Started August 21, 2020 by @Calanthe

tune

Graham smiled, getting a bit of an idea, "That is possible, not too hard either, I would just have to have a compartment in the guitar, and then have it open whenever you play that chord." Then he heard the rest of the statement, "Uhm, actually, if I recalculate it, it is impossible, and I won't be able to do anything about it. Yet." He added, a sly smile on his face.

Grham waved Asher away a little bit, "Don't worry about me, I'm finEEE." He yelped as he tripped over practically nothing. Thankfully, he caught himself in time, but his pride was still hurt. He looked dow at the ground and mumbled quietly, "I guess some help would be nice after all." He walked slowly over to Asher, "So uhm, do I hold onto your arm or something? How does this work?"

Asher scowled playfully at him. "You said you were gonna do it, c'mon now!" Ash laughed. "I don't like you, you're a big meanie," he teased, obviously playing around.

Asher looked quite concerned and rushed to Graham's side once he tripped, grabbing his waist. "Careful!" he yelped, trying to steady him. Ash took Graham's free arm and looped it around his shoulders, leading him slowly through the door, through the living room, and into the small kitchen. His little house was obviously cheap, but it was all Asher could afford. It was quite tidy though, for how cramped it was. Asher made sure Graham was stable next to the kitchen counter, then let go and blushed out of embarrassment. "Sorry about the state of my house…. I don't exactly get paid a lot for my hero work…" he mumbled.

Graham rolled his eyes, "Fine, when I'm back up on my feet and able to work again, I'll make that adjustment to your guitar, does that sound good?" He chuckled a little, and just looked over at Asher, "You're calling me a big meanie? That's honestly one of the nicest things you've told me before." He said with a smirk, "But then again, you aren't wrong, I am a big meanie."

Graham blushed and looked down at the ground, still obviously embarrased by the fact that he needed help. He silently walked along with Asher, looking at the house. He sort of felt bad for the other boy, He works so hard to protect our city, yet, he has to live in this sort of state. Hell, I'm not standing for this. Once they were in the kitchen, he placed the plates down on the counter, then, he turned slowly to face the other boy a hand still clutching onto the edge of the counter, "You shouldn't feel the need to apologize, if anything, I mean. . ." He trailed off quietly, an idea forming in his mind, "Well, uhm, I don't know if it'd be fair for me to stay here in your home, due to the fact that you would have to sleep on the couch and such, so uhm, maybe I should go back to my place?" He watched the other boy, trying to gauge a reaction from him, "But, those two idiots back home wouldn't give two craps and wouldn't help me the way you did, so maybe you could come with me? Maybe stay there? We have more than enough space for you, your guitar, and your bike."

"So… would you two like to tell me what happened over here?" Axel gestured at the kid, his eyes barely seen with the hood covering it. The kid was deviating from them, further into the river, and the parents did not seem to panic just one bit. He heard a bit of stammers here and there, their futile justification to their actions. He filtered all of it out, shaking his head as he watched the toddler head out into the rushing waters, the little child curious about everything, his bright eyes looking with wonder at the danger in front of him.

It was ironic, because his parents did not even seem to notice that their child was in danger, and that Axel should be much less of a concern as compared to the importance of their child's life. He though to himself: Parents and their fucked up ways of not caring for their child. Sighing, he turned his attention back to them, the shade of black in his eyes turning just a shade darker. He raised his hand and with a wave, fire emerged in a circle, surrounding the three of them.

From the corner of his eye, he saw a passerby frantically call someone, and Axel knew, he just knew that it would be Poseidon that was coming but it didn't matter to him. His thoughts about his late grandmother dissipated in waves, much like the wave that was about to sweep the boy off his feet and to carry him along the currents. As Axel focused his eyes on the parents, he subtly moved his finger and generated a heat protecton barrier around the little boy. As much as a villain he was, Axel could not bare to see such a young soul dying. He deserved better parents, greater attention, more care. Once he was sure that the boy could be safe, he increased the ferocity of the fire circle, almost encapsulating them entirely.

"Why would you ignore your child?" he asked softly, but his voice was heavily laced with menace and anger. "What was that?" Axel clarified, as one of them said something about their negligence and they were eternally sorry. "You'll be eternally sorry when I leave you in this fireball to burn," he responded, and raised his head to meet their eyes entirely, his hood dropping back as his arms went up. The muscles on his forearms rippled as the fire rose in a cresendo, the heat overwhelming the mere humans that had no powers; their eyes blinded by the bright orange flames. They could not see Axel, and he liked it that way; the dominance over people as they started to fall apart like humans always do.

@rat-in-a-cage

Ash frowned slightly, mulling it over. "I mean, I'd love to stay with you, at your house. As long as I won't be a bother to you, then it's alright with me," he shrugged. He planned on saying more, but his phone cut him off. Asher cursed under his breath. "Hero buisness," he explained, running back into the bedroom. He shut the door and changed into his suit, then ran back out and picked up Graham gently. He carried him over to the couch and sat him down softly, then straightened back out. "You're welcome to watch tv and the fridge and pantry are always open to you. I'll be right back. There's just something going on downtown," he rushed to say. Asher quickly checked the notification on his phone and frowned. "Fire…" he whispered to himself, looking up at Graham with fear in his eyes. "If I don't make it back…" he started, then stopped himself. Asher didn't want to think about that kind of thing. "Take care of yourself, okay? Get better please." Half instinctively, he leaned down and pecked Graham on the cheek, then ran out and hopped on his bike. Asher tugged his mask on and sped off.

Graham let go of the counter to go give Asher a hug of happiness and excitement, but when the other boy moved away he quickly grabbed for the counter to keep himself from falling, "Y-you would never be a bother!" He called after him, watching the other boy rush off. He understood the fact that the other man had work to do, so he started to move to the couch, so he would be out of the way. Graham wanted to possibly help Asher out with whomever it was since he hated practically all of the villains in the city, but he didn't want to risk getting injured more than he already was. He had just made it out of the kitchen when Asher came and picked him up, and Graham -not having expected it at all- let out a quiet yelp of surprise. He pushed himself up so that he was sitting and watched Asher, worry in his eyes, "You'll make it back. And if I could, I'd fight okay? You'll be alright."

Axel was about to almost raise hell on earth- or at least, what he thought he should do because of all these undeserving parents when he heard the little boy call out. A soft cry in the wind, but yet sharp enough to pierce through the roaring of the flames.

"Mum…?" the innocent voice called out, and Axel's heart skipped a small beat, his fires flickering as he saw the parents' faces turn from fear to concern. Why do you have to care for such shitty parents? They really aren't worth your time! he thought to himself, hoping, praying that perhaps such thoughts could be projected to the child from beyond the orange and red hues. He sighed deeply, but maintained the stronghold on his fire, not wanting to let such mere emotions bother him. He was stronger than that and he knew it. Growling softly he raised his hands up even more, the fire raising back to it's original ball state. Satisfied, Axel did a gesture with his hands to make the flames stay in place as he slowly backed away, never breaking eye contact with the two mundanes who were shaking with fear; and… was that anger ? He almost did a double take but he hardened his heart and his eyes, not allowing any emotions to break through as he finally stepped out of the inferno.

The cool sea breeze ran over him like a knife stabbing a fruit. It cooled his body down, but it only fueled the flames. A smirk came upon him as he watched his fire burn. He knew that the fire wouldn't actually physically hurt the parents' to such a large extent, and was only strong enough to mentally scar them. And he liked that. It fed his darker thoughts, gratifying him in ways some could never comprehend. These thoughts were interrupted when he saw someone approaching at the highest speed from a distance, and he pulled his hood up, not wanting his face to be exposed even if he was wearing a mask underneath.

It was Poseidon; and Axel was ready.

Poseidon sped up and hopped off of his bike, standing a good distance away from Axel. "Stop!!" he cried, looking at the villain. "This isn't right! Please, just stop. I can help you. You can be good, we can work together as heroes." He called, truly believing every word he said.

((Sorry for the short response, I don't have much inspo))

((Also, I really want Asher to get beat up to almost death, and then he goes home to find Graham?))

Axel rolled his eyes at Poseidon's absolutely pathetic ways of trying to negotiate. Who did the water hero think he was?

"Fuck off Poseidon. You know that it has been like that for the past four years," Axel raised his head, his entire face still hidden in the shadows of his hood, the fire still burning behing him and the shrieks of the humans music to his ears. He raised a hand and a fireball shot out of it, hurling at Poseidon straight on towards his chest.