‘’HEY STEVE!’’

‘’STEVE, YOU CAN’T RESPAWN!’’

‘’I HATE YOU STEVE!’’

‘’STEVE, STEVE, STEVE!’’

‘’I DON’T WANT TO BE YOUR BROTHER

‘’YOUR SELFISH!’’

‘’YOU ARE JUST AN NPC!’’

‘’STEVE…WAKE UP’’

‘’WAKE UP!’’

‘’STEVE, COME ON!’’

‘’COME ON!’’

‘’’CAN YOU HEAR ME?!’’

Steve wakes up slowly in his house, feeling heavy and disoriented. He finds Shaun in front of him, crossing his arms. Steve is confused, he rubs his groggy eyes, his blurry vision disappearing.

‘’What the…’’ Steve mutters confused. He tries to get up but fire strings tied to his arm pull him back.

YANK!

BAM!

Steve hits the couch, shocked. ‘’What is this?’’ He looks around panting heavily. Shaun pats Steve’s head, ‘’Relax, kid. It’s temporary.’’

Steve looks at Shaun with horror in his eyes, ‘’What do you mean temporary? I can’t move! I can’t be left with my own thoughts; they swallow me alive!’’

Shaun chuckles softly, ‘’You really have a bad memory, kid. You and Bradley fought remember?’’

Steve’s pupils dilate. His mouth is shut. His expression changes to anger. As he faces Shaun with his shut mouth, eyes not moving. His mind trying to convince Shaun to ‘’don’t remind me’’

Shaun is shocked, ‘’Okay, Okay! I got it!’’ He tries backing away, ‘’But it’s true you know! Bradley punched you in the head, and you were like unconscious for an hour, man!’’

A pancake hits Shaun, ‘’That was 25 coins.’’ Shaun mutters to himself. A paper hits Shaun, ‘’Stop it!’’ He says, containing his frustration. A toy hits Shaun, a squeaky sound.

‘’Did you release the rage?’’ Shaun asks. Steve just nods silently to Shaun. Shaun raises a thumbs up, which immediately goes down, like a wet noodle.

‘’Now, where are the others?’’ Steve asks. Shaun scoffs, ‘’Pfft. They left. Because of your ‘’murder’’, they all ran like chickens.’’

‘’THEY WHAT?!’’

‘’Shh. I’m not the only one here.’’

John enters the room in a bathrobe, wearing cucumber glasses. He turns to Steve, ‘’Kid’s doing better?’’

Shaun looks at John, scanning him from down to up, ‘’You look like you’re from making love.’’

‘’There’s no humor in this situation, Shaun.’’

‘’But there is, by the way your looking! Do you become horny listening to Billie Eilish songs or what?’’

‘’Shut up, Shaun. You failed to get a degree at Architecture in school, dropping out for an indie rock band that shutdown after 9 days.’’

Shaun’s eye twitches. John sees his swords and katanas on the table, ‘’I’m in the mood for a boss battle, I don’t know why, but I just do.’’

‘’Surprised the theatre kid left.’’ Shaun says, in a bitter tone. John looks at him, ‘’Do you miss him or what?’’ Shaun bursts out laughing, ‘’Why would I miss a nerd?’’

Steve is still in shock, looking up, ‘’So the group shut down? It fractured? They all dispersed?’’

John sighs, ‘’Look, Steve. Bradley was in a bad shape. So, there was a vote for Who Wants to Stay or Who Wants to Leave. And surprisingly, a lot of people wanted to leave. So, they did. And we are also banned from entering Rita’s. Sadly.’’

Steve stares at John for seconds, he then looks down. His eyes becoming watery, he blinks tears away, trying to sound confident and like he knows how to solve it. But he doesn’t. He doesn’t know how to solve, He doesn’t know how to bring them back, He has realized he has messed things up.

Tears stream down Steve’s face, he then cries. Full ugly silent crying. John and Shaun turn to Steve, they exchange looks. John touches Steve’s cheeks, trying to comfort him.

‘’Hey, relax. Everything’s gonna be okay.’’ John says softly, Steve is still sobbing, and sniffing. Shaun stares at Steve and feels bad, his expression changes. But he quickly puts on his smug façade.

‘’So, kiddo has hit rock bottom. This is gonna be fun.’’ Shaun says, half-laughing. John turns to Shaun darkly.

‘’SHUT UP.’’

‘’Hey, the mood is so gloomy. I just want to make it a little bit lighter. Can I?’’

‘’Unless you pay your rent and complete your degree.’’

‘’Ugh, Degrees suck.’’

‘’You’re not helping.’’

 anger, panting heavily. John and Shaun both turn around.

‘’I think I need some alone time.’’ Steve says solemnly. He then sniffs and wipes his nose, walking away. John and Shaun stare at the space where he left.

‘’You know our power levels have reached Level 2, right? Meaning we can do more things with our powers?’’ Shaun realizes.

‘’I hate video games’’

‘’You literally live in one!’’

‘’So, you’re saying a The Fault in Our Stars reference now?’’

‘’It is?!’’

Suddenly, the doors bust open. BAM! John and Shaun all turn around, startled.

‘’What the hell was that?’’ John asks, agitated. Shaun laughs, ‘’Never expected Albert Ninjerstien to be frightened.’’ John shouts at Shaun, ‘’Shut up, Shaun! Even geniuses get frightened!’’

Shaun rolls his eyes smugly, ‘’You know the trope in fiction of ‘’whoever isn’t frightened, should open the door?’’

John’s eye twitches, ‘’Stop making crap up. But if you say so....’’ John bows before Shaun, ‘’Passez, monsieur.’’

Shaun’s smirk widens as he walks, humming. He then opens the door and finds Rejji Vasquez standing before them, cracking his knuckles.

REJJI VASQUEZ

AGE: 26

POWERS: MUSCLE, SUPERHUMAN STRENGTH.

WEAKNESSES: PREDICTABLE ATTACK MOVES.

Shaun gasps, ‘’Oh my god. It’s you, Rejji Vasquez. My idol, my inspiration. My reason to be…someone.’’

Rejji cracks his knuckles, ‘’First of all, I’m flattered. Second of all, how do you feel about a superstar kicking your ass?’’

Shaun is confused, ‘’Wait, What?’’

BAM!

Shaun gets slammed into the wall with brute force. Breaking some of the furniture, he is bruised and hurt. John gets up from the table he was ducking and looks at Shaun, ‘’You know this guy?’’

‘’Shut up and help me.’’ Shaun says weak.

Rejji flexes his muscles and looks at them, ‘’Before I make you regret your life, where is Steve Watson? It’s about time I gained recognition.’’

John looks at Rejji, ‘’Woah, muscle man. You are an enemy, and my dream of finally defeating an enemy came true, didn’t it?’’

Rejji walks towards John with his heavy footsteps, ‘’You want some of this?’’ John is silent, reaching for the katana from his pocket, ‘’Uh…no…’’

He then swings it, aiming for Rejji’s chest, but Rejji grabs the katana and crushes it. Shards streaming from his hand. John is shocked.

‘’No, No, No! Not my katana! That was my special weapon! It was a gift from my master!’’

Rejji laughs bitterly, the laugh echoing in the room. John’s blood has officially boiled. He throws a punch at Rejji but…

Rejji grabs his head, and twists it, making John yell in pain. He clenches his hand as he does a massive headbutt toward John.

BAM!

He flies towards the war, smashing his body and breaking the furniture, he is heavily bruised and hurt, sliding down the ground where Shaun is lying down. Has Rejji done them?

Rejji dusts of his hands while he smirks, ‘’A little weak for a guy whose father was a top-ranking hero’’

John is shocked, ‘’You knew my father?’’ Rejji looks at John, ‘’Donald Schneider. That badass swordsman. He was worth 4 diamonds. Everyone feared his name. Me and him used to fight every day. Rejji vs Donald. Donald would always win, and later on, was the second in command to Professor Abel.’’

Rejji reminisces, ‘’Man. Those two were unstoppable. The Diamonds of Egress were impossible because of them. Until one day— ‘’

John cuts him off, ‘’Don’t you ever talk about my father’s death. And also, you will pay for that katana.’’

Rejji laughs loudly, ‘’I don’t pay for things, Schneider. I’m just here to defeat Watson. With you two gone, this job will be easy.’’

Rejji dusts his hands for the last time. He then walks but stops in his tracks and faces John, ‘’Oh, and John. You will never be like Donald Schneider.’’

Those words hit him like a ton of bricks, John wants to yell, he really wants to. But he’s weak and hurt, he just accepts those words. Rejji walks away on the stairs. John reflects on those words.

‘’Where are Rita’s, when you need ‘em?’’ Shaun says, weak.