“Oh... unfortunate.” he finally said, his voice somber.
“You think?” Reacto said. Reyes shook his head.
“Do Miranda rights still apply to those on The League's hit list? I’d at least like some clarity as to why I’m being put to death.” Reacto let out a low whistle in response.
“Man, Stiletto’s got you right, Crooked Eye. So single-minded you can’t pay attention to what’s happening around you. Even if you're the cause.”
“Excuse me?” Reyes said.
“Then again I’d assume you lacked depth perception,” Reacto said. The tiny smirk the hero clearly tried to resist caused Reyes to grind his teeth.
“I’m going to assume you’re very proud of that one.“
“Eh, a little bit,” the hero replied.
“Don’t be. Now, what are you talking about?” Reyes asked. Reacto took a step forward before he spoke, forcing the villain to stare directly up at him. The steam overhead formed an ominous dark cloud, as if being delivered a divine message by a cruel glowing deity, ready to set him on a path of hardship.
“What happened is - you messed up. Looks like your boss finally took his little battle with The League too far. The guy used one of your tools against the Captain.” Reacto said. Reyes’ eyes widened
“Righteous...Captain? What did one of my tools do against the world's strongest hero? Strip him naked to the masses?”
“It did a lot.” Lady Stiletto said her tone was still serious. Reyes's stomach vacuumed, twisting and turning inside itself. His eyebrow crooked.
“What does ‘a lot’ mean..? What did one of my tools do to Righteous Captain?!” Stiletto gave him no answer save for a hard stare. It was enough.
“I...wait...no way?” he said in utter disbelief.
“Congrats bad boy. You made God bleed and, from the reports, he’ll never be the same again.” he said leaning down so he could get right into Reyes's face. “You were raised in a church right? Ever heard of Armageddon?” The villain stayed silent.
Lady Stiletto began to elaborate. “The entire League of Heroes is on this. Anyone involved in the incident will be dealt with within the week - permanently. No media attention of any kind. No traces or movement without The League’s say so. Everything is to be wiped clean.”
“A rapture if you will,” Reacto added with a smile, clearly enthralled by his bible metaphors. Stiletto continued.
“Your boss was already considered a serious problem for recruiting young specials to be his own child soldiers, but he never did anything to warrant an all-out assault until he hurt the Captain. The League considered his latest actions a declaration of war. The idea goes, in war, there are no rules. No…survivors.” Stiletto said, swallowing hard as the words left her mouth.
“You guys won’t last the week,” Reacto tagged on. Reyes said nothing. Reacto cleared his throat
“Now when I found this out, I was like ‘good, The Bronx is getting cleaned up the fast way.’ We know who the enemy is. Hell, if we finally take you out, moving up in The League’s ranking would make the last few years mean something. You know?”
“Still attributing your worth to things as hollow as your skull, Rollins?” said Reyes
“Shut up. You're just lucky Stiletto had other ideas. Otherwise, I’d have roasted you myself,” the hero spat at him. Reye’s eyes shot back towards her. She wouldn’t meet his gaze. She opted to look at her feet when she spoke.
“When we were informed on the hit list, we spent the whole week looking for you... to track you down before The League could.” she said. Reyes titled his head.
“What? why?”
“Because of our history together. Because we were friends once. Reacto and I have decided to help you escape your fate,” she said. Reyes was left speechless in disbelief.
“You have thirty-six hours to leave the city before they begin their descent on The Bronx.” Stiletto stated very sternly, her piercing eyes now back on his. “You must leave for good.” Reyes' jaw dropped.
“I...What?! That-that's RIDICULOUS!! You can’t just uproot someone like that! I have things to do, I have responsibilities...you can’t just do that to-”
“Carlo.” Lady Stiletto said with a sigh, lifting up her hands. She slowly opened and closed them as she spoke with forced civility. “This isn’t a negotiation. It's barely even a warning. It’s a fact. If you stay here you will die.”
“Facts?! you don’t get to talk about facts! The only facts are that I survived here long enough without help! IN FACT, YOU TWO HAVE ONLY BEEN A HINDRANCE!”
“Carlo please-”
“-Destroying my home, beating me up? Is that your way of giving me a fighting chance? You have no right to-”
“ENOUGH YOU STUBBORN SON OF BITCH!” Stiletto shouted at the top of her lungs. Reacto jumped back with his hand over his chest.
“Oh shit.” he said nervously, keeping his distance. Reyes was not so lucky.
“IF YOU EVER GAVE A SHIT ABOUT EITHER OF US, YOU’D TAKE WHAT WE’RE GIVING YOU AND GET THE FUCK OUT OF TOWN!” she cried out. Her eyes quickly turning red, her yell erupting from her gut like the beating of a drum.
“Sil-
“DON’T ‘SIL’ ME YOU ASSHOLE! YOU THINK WE’VE BEEN ENJOYING THE LAST SEVEN YEARS? WE HATE THIS! WE ALWAYS HAVE! I HATE THIS, CARLO! I FUCKING HATE THIS! CHASING YOUR SHADOW, NEVER HAVING A PROPER CONVERSATION ABOUT WHAT HAPPENED OR WHERE YOU’VE BEEN! FIGHTING YOU- oh god. WE WENT FROM HOLDING HANDS TO BEATING THE SHIT OUT OF EACH OTHER WITH ROBOTS AND LASERS! DO YOU THINK THAT'S HOW I SAW MY LIFE GOING?!”
“I-”
“-BECAUSE IT WASN’T! WATCHING CARLO REYES FALL FOR A DECADE ONLY TO BE SNUFFED OUT WITHOUT EVEN KNOWING….DAMMIT CARLO. YOU DYING IS….IT’S...SHIT!” She stopped and turned away from him, cupping her mouth taking heavy breaths. Reyes looked on, unable to move or say more, his tongue pulled back by the growing weight in the base of his throat.
“Just go...please. This is your only warning,” She finally said, looking over her shoulder before walking away. Reacto, who had taken several steps to the right at the start of her rant, looked over at her then back to Reyes.
“You got thirty-six hours. Good luck, Crooked Eye. Hope this is a ‘cakewalk’ for you too.” Reacto said before he turned to follow Lady Stiletto out.
****
Carlo watched them leave through the giant hole that used to be his living room wall, back into the city streets. He listened to the footsteps of his would-be saviors echo through the night until they were gone. He then released a heavy exhale while laying back, his exhausted body not wanting to move. Above him, he stared up at the open sky, now visible through a lack of ceilings. An open road to nowhere he hadn’t feared in a long time. He closed his eyes, attempting to calm the storm building within-just as he felt the first raindrop.
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