A Bad Guy

“So how was your night?” I ask Mary as I eat a bowl of cereal.

“Well we hung out at her place for a bit, got some food and watched a movie. I thought it was a comedy, funny as hell and I just stayed at her place” I could smell their scents on each other and I’m hoping that's just because they hung out a lot.

“It was pretty fun but did you do anything Richard?” Rachel asked, oh nothing much just rob a museum beat the shit out of a hero escaped the police and oh yeah figured out my childhood hero is a psychotic crime boss who's been constantly putting me in conflict over the last week trying to make into a weapon and oh yeah I got to work with him or he’ll kill everyone I love.

“Just watched tv and did some work in my notebook” I need to figure out how Whale shark is always watching me

“So got any plans today Richard?” Mary please don’t I’m just gonna get caught up in more bullshit.

“No not really” dammit that's essentially saying yes

“Well Me and Rachel wanna head to the mall and check some things out, buy some stuff, hit the food courts stuff like that, wanna come?”

Just say no just say no you only need to say one little word that's all you need to say “sure” fuck.

Now I am currently in Rachel's car again heading to a mall hoping I have a relaxing day. Once again I sat in the back silent as Mary and Rachel talked and I ignored them. I was trying not to think about what happened last night and the fact that there is someone who is actually altering my life so he could get a weapon, it’s what he does.

I stopped looking out the window to look at Mary and Rachel talking with each other. Laughing at the dumb puns they heard from the movie they watch and how the popcorn was so expensive but so good. I thought to myself why are things so much simpler for her then me and she’s had her powers longer than me.

Hell even if Mary has had her powers only 2 more weeks than me it’s been nothing crazy while I have a lot of shit going on at the moment and I know that's selfish to say but I just can’t stop thinking about it. At least with Rachel I don’t know what she's been through because I haven’t known her for so long but she seems so carefree like nothing really bothers her. Maybe it’s an act even with my ability to read people. It's not perfect, I kinda wish I could read minds sometimes, you don’t.

I sigh to myself maybe I should try that mentality and act carefree but it’s hard because a lot of things bother me. I go back to looking out the window and just look at the bright sunny sky. Even though I don’t like going out socializing I think I need some time to hang out with some people that aren’t technically criminals.

“You ok?” I turn to Mary as she looks at me with hints of worry in her eyes.

“Yeah I’m good” you're not

“You sure you just kinda seem not there”

“Did something happen?” I hear Rachel say as she looks at me through the front view mirror, A lot actually some of it involves murder.

“I’m fine just bored” they both shrug as I lay against the seat.

Eventually I see the massive shopping mall in the distance, I swear each time I see this mall it just gets bigger. We park near the front of the mall as I prepare myself for probably for social interaction, my favorite.

I get out of the car as I spot crowds of people heading into the mall but what did I expect? It's summer break and of course the mall will be packed. Mary and Rachel talked about what exactly they wanted to do but I just ignored them because I knew they were just gonna go to the most interesting places they see at the moment. I walk through the crowd as some people give me looks but what do I expect? I'm a giant albino guy with scars of course I’ll draw attention. We get to the main area of the mall where there's only a couple stores, nothing interesting and maps.

“Hey got any ideas of where we were gonna go first?” Mary asks as she looks at the map.

“No”

“Of course Mr no opinion” I roll my eyes.

“Well I think some new clothes would be nice because some of us need a wardrobe change” Rachel gives me the stink eye I don’t know why because my wardrobe is fine, it consists of gray and black baggy clothes, no shirts and a bunch of hoodies.

“I like that idea Rache, I think it's time for Richard to get a new look” she grins as I start thinking of the nearest escape route.

“Come on, let's go!” I feel Mary grab me and drag me away as I mouthed help to some random onlookers.

We get to some clothing store as Mary and Rachel drag me around. Mary really doesn't care for clothes that much but for some reason she tries to get me to add stuff to my wardrobe. They Look through different sets of clothes. None of them I like well except for a hoodie with a skull on it simple but with some sort of design.

I only got the hoodie but it was able to keep Mary happy since it's at least slightly more unique then what I usually wear. Mary convinces Rachel to get some tank tops while Mary gets herself some jeans and a shirt that depicts a cat killing zombies with hack and cat in big letters on the top. Mary likes cats if that wasn’t obvious. After we buy the clothes, I swear that the cashier wanted death, we leave the store.

“So you guys wanna check out the Arcade” Rachel says as her tail hisses at a man that tries to touch it.

“Sure I hope they got that one racing game I like” Mary smirks as I remember the many times she beat me in hell racer

“Richard?” I just give a nod as we walk to the arcade.

The arcade was only a couple minute walk as I could see the flashing lights and hear people playing video games and getting annoyed at how many tickets they needed for a teddy bear. I had to turn down my smell from the mix of old pizza and soda stained carpets.

Mary had a massive smile and child glee in her eyes as she looked around. They both immediately grab a bunch of coins as Mary drags Rachel over to a racing game. Mary goes on a rant about the lore of the hell racer series and how she's played every single one of them even the spin off where you played as a dog.

I smirk as I let the happy couple have their moment and stop myself from becoming a third wheel as I walk away. I head over to the token machine and put in some money as I get the cup full of tokens and look for some game options. How about one of those shooter games? No, we gotta play the games that get us the most tokens!, maybe one of those wheel spinner games. Let's do the punch strength test and see how hard we can punch. Let's do savage lands. That fighting game is the best, the gore being the best part!.

I spot whack a mole and walk over, I feel disappointment in the back of my mind. I always liked this game and thought it was simple fun. I put in the tokens as I grab the hammer like baton, this game had the moles escaping a prison.

I toss the hammer in the air as I hear the game count down to one. The first mole slowly comes out as I quickly knock it back down. Then another quickly follows afterwards then two pop up as I knock them both down at the same time. Second after second more pop up as I pick up a bit more speed and hit them a bit harder. I go faster and faster hitting more moles until the scenes start to smoke and spark a bit as I realized I got so excited I forgot to hold back.

I look around and see only a janitor who stares at me as I gently put the hammer away, grab my tickets and walk away. I pocket my tickets as I spot skee-ball and walk over. I put some coins in as I grab a ball, time to show off my amazing accuracy. I gently roll the ball forward as it quickly moves up the ramp and into 10000 points as I smirk. I keep hitting the 10000 point mark as I grin at my enhanced accuracy. I know I’m technically cheating due to my powers enhancing my accuracy but hey no ones gonna know.

This time I didn't break the machine as I heard some people clapping behind me as a couple gathered to watch me get probably one of the best high scores. I spend the next 20 minutes playing different games from basketball to a shooter game and I’m actually having some fun.

I can hear Mary and Rachel having fun with a dancing game as I could hear them laughing as they try and fail to do the dances. I’m glad they're enjoying their essentially date as I walk over to Savage lands, a fighting game I played a couple times, thought it was pretty good, a bit too gory, the gore is the best part. I get over to the machine and start it up and get ready to play but then I hear someone walk up and put a coin in.

“Hey, do you mind if I play?” I turn and see some guy around my age who is of Asian descent. They stood around 5:11 with athletic build. They also had short black hair and a jagged car on their lip. They wore a pair of sunglasses that hid their eyes and a white tie with black pants, some tennis shoes and a black jacket with a hood up, they sounded familiar.

After a couple seconds of my brain screaming at me because I'll have to do social interactions I give an answer “sure”. Fighting games are alway more fun when you're playing with another person. We get to the character select screen filled with monstrous characters. I picked scorched earth, a humanoid dragon made of flaming magma with righteous anger in its eyes while sunglasses picked experiment 205 a albino tiger man with broken cuffs wrapped around wrists and blood covering their mouth and wore a crazed expression as we selected the sinking ship stage.

“Come here often?” he immediately use a special and dash as I block

“Nope” I try to get them with a tail grab but he uses a counter that stuns me and hits me with an uppercut.

“Any reason you here or you just like the mall” He goes for a grab but I block and use a foot dive and a slam

“I came with my sister and her friend had nothing else better to do” They fired several ranged slashes. I block him but he tackles me in a maul.

“I just like it here always came over with my friends still do” he goes for a super but I counter and knock him into the air into a air combo

“Not really an arcade guy but it's been fun” I get him with a grab and slam into the ground then I hit him with a blast of fire.

“So how did you get that scar on your cheek?” He dashes out the way as I go for a ground pound then tackles me again and bites me in the shoulder, healing themselves a bit.

“A very nasty cat gave it to me, you?” I hit them with a flaming pillar then pulled them in with a tail grab and pile drive.

“I got mine I guess from an ex friend got some other scars but they're under my shirt” he gets up as we both use supers and hit each other ending with a double ko.

“That sucks, wanna go another round” they nod as we keep going, both of us doing pretty well and eventually I hear Mary and Rachel.

“Hey Richy, me and Rache are hungry, wanna grab a bite?”

“Sure” I turn around as sunglasses turns with me and he and Mary look at each other.

“Hey Mary” Sunglasses says

“Hey Tora” Mary says guess they know each other.

“This your brother?” Tora gestures towards me.

“Yep the extra large mole rat” ow, my feelings.

“You weren’t kidding he’s tall” or everyone I know is just short.

“So what are you doing here Tora?” Mary asked as Rachel was holding a stuffed seal.

“Oh got pretty messed up last night going solo and doc decided I needed a day off even after he healed me so I went to chill at the mall” I give them a quick look as I noticed there height, body shape, hair and voice are familiar like I’ve seen someone with similar physical characteristics before…………wait a minute.

“Well since you're here now wanna come with us to get some food and chat a bit?” yep there was no denying this guy was the same guy who tried to take that mask away from Ryan meaning there also that hero we beat the shit of.

“Sure I could use a bite” Tora said as I realized that I’m about to sit down and eat with that same hero who might recognize me yay.

After we left the arcade we quickly got to the food court and after a bit of talking we all agreed to get Chinese. So there I am sitting at the same table as the hero bit a chunk out of last night as we eat Chinese. I was eating a box of noodles as Mary was talking with Tora about what he’s been doing and how the rest of the squad is doing with Rachel throwing in some questions and comments once in a while.

I noticed Tora giving glances at me once in while I couldn’t tell if it was him slowly recognizing me or wondering how me and Mary are twins. Obviously they weren't gonna say anything in this public area but that wasn’t what I was worried about I was more worried about what if they sent a text to Mary or talk with her about when he gets a chance then Mary will confront me and whatever is letting Whale shark watch will know what's going on and Whale shark will deal with her.

“So Richard heard you’ve finally joined the family business” My train of thought was taken into the back and shot as Tora was looking at me.

“I guess so, I’ve done nothing big so far” I pop a dumpling in my mouth.

“Well heard you did pretty well against a gang and even took out so evolve by yourself that's pretty good for someone who’s had their powers for only a week”

“Yeah he’s pretty good but he does need to work on controlling his strength” Mary was eating some chicken.

“Yeah that's a problem most people have hell even I had nearly turned a guy to ash when I started out with my power” He chuckles as his eyes glow purple under his glasses

“Thanks I guess” he most likely recognizes it's me.

“So what exactly messed you up last night?” I give Rachel a side death glare as she keeps tossing jell-o cubes into her mouth.

“Oh I was doing a patrol near a museum saw some people sneaking in and decided to check it out saw they were robbing the place and I tried to stop them but what I didn’t know they had a enhancement type who was fireproof and another enhancement type who bit a chunk of my shoulder total psycho” I can feel him stare at me a that last part as they move there jacket and shirt to reveal a large bite scar,

“Jeez were you fighting fucking Ravager junior?” Mary muttered to herself as she looked at the scar.

“Don’t know exactly what the cannibal power was but he had a couple definitely and one of them involved consuming blood they seemed to get stronger after that” I was digging my fingers into the table slightly due to nervousness.

“Did you catch them?” he wishes he did, he only caught these hands hehehe kill me well again.

“Nah I got hit by some weird kinetic gun and then when I tried to get up I got hit by a car out of nowhere knock me out for a minute” it was fucking hilarious!.

“That sucks” I stopped digging my fingers into the table as I felt it about to crack.

“Well I’ll try to catch those bastards again next time I get a chance, can’t let them embarrass me like that” you can try fuck face.

“Well if you need help me and Rachel are willing to help” Rachel nods with Mary as her mouth is too full to talk.

“Well I’ll gladly accept any help especially from you guys” he gives a massive as I push away the thought of fighting Mary or Rachel as soon as it appears.

“I’ll help if you want” Tora smirks at me.

“That would be great, heard you got a pretty strong power set” his grin is pissing me off as I just wanna smash those teeth in.

“Yeah well yours gotta be pretty strong too, got any tricks besides fire?” I feel his gaze intensify as we stare at each other.

“Well I’m gonna go use the bathroom, be back in a sec” he gets up as he gives me one last glance as leaves.

“Hey Richy, you seem tense, is there something wrong?” Mary looks at me as she seems mostly confused.

“You seem angry” Rachel mutters as her tail gives me a suspicious look.

“I’m gonna go buy some stuff to meet up with you guys later” before they could ask any questions I got up and disappeared into the crowds of people.

Since we both are aware of the situation I’m gonna have a little chat with Tora and make sure he doesn’t say shit, that's more like it!. With a quick sniff I pick up his scent smelling like ash and follow him to the restrooms. I get to the restroom as I turn down my smell obviously and enter in.

I lean against a wall as I use my hearing to make sure he’s the only person in the restroom and I only hear him flush the toilet and walk out. I let him wash his hands and as soon as he turns I rush forward and grab him by the throat, lift him and pin against the wall.

“That was quick” I squeeze my grip around his throat as he starts to choke. It would be so easy, so easy to just simple squeeze and with a pull have that pretty little throat in my hands god I could make him into ART!. I shake my head getting rid of the images of ripping his throat out.

“So you just gonna kill me here and walk back to your sister like nothing happened, not the best plan” I tighten my grip around his throat as I feel his windpipe, just one squeeze is all you need.

“Shut up and I won’t end this conversation early” he nods as I lighten my grip.

“So how is this gonna go? You just gonna threaten me, well news flash that won’t work, not really scared of death and I know you won’t kill” I Turn my fingers into claws as they have a slight sheen to them and gently drag it from his stomach to his heart.

“I won’t leave that much blood” his cocky smile falters.

“Jeez maybe you will kill me but what makes you think I won’t tell your sister?” I feel anger pour in my being like a flood as I think of a simple way to shut him up.

“You're an only child, parents died when you were younger” his smile slightly falters.

“Killed by a villain I’m guessing. Maybe when you just got your powers you probably tried to stop the villain and failed and gained a hatred for villains and the wanting to protect people” his eyes widened and his grin fell.

“You were raised by your sister who you dearly love and say if that said sister was found in front of the hospital with say severe bruising and maybe some eternal bleeding maybe after you tell someone something they shouldn't know, am I getting close?” I see his eyes feel with rage as he grits his teeth and I can feel the heat coming from him.

“FUCK YOU!” I tighten my grip again as he starts choking, interrupting his focus. I know his type well, the wannabe shonen hero who thinks they are the main character in a superhero story, Sadly no one is.

“No fuck you because If my sister slightly dips her fucking toes into what's going with me right now she will get dragged in and held down until you can stop seeing the bubbles so I’m a but angry some random hero fucked might tell her”

“So you're going to listen to me ok or” I lift up my right hand and turn it into steel as I dig it into the wall inches away from his face.

“Or I’ll make sure both you and your sister will be sharing a hospital room ok?” he spits into my face as I slam him into the wall.

“Bite me!” I tighten my grip as I feel myself open my mouth with a growl as I nearly go to follow his command.

“Come on do it you fucking animal!” I feel a hunger rise through my body, that same urge to just sink my teeth into his throat and feel that sweet blood hit my tongue.

God I want to so badly but I don’t and I drop him as he grabs his neck. I noticed my canines go sharper in my mouth as if it was ready to bite into him. I kneel down in front of him and stare into his eyes.

“I don’t want to hurt you or your sister. I really do so please don’t tell Mary or Rachel but if you do I will show that I am a man of my words” I get up and go to leave the restrooms. “Don’t worry I won’t need to tell her” I hear him say as I walk out of the restrooms. I walk for a bit longer as I take a seat at a bench and think.

I was pissed not at Tora but at myself for doing any of that. Maybe I could have talked it out but I just resorted to violence like always. I was just pissed at everything at whale shark trying to make me into his weapon and has been controlling my life over the past couple days. I’m poised I can’t Mary or anyone or they might get hurt. I’m pissed I’ll be forced to be a criminal for that fish faced bastard. I’m pissed at the fact I still don’t know what's going on with these powers. I’m pissed. I'm willing to hurt innocent people because it's convenient.

What I need is to let off some steam, maybe I should try some solo work. Beat the shit out of criminals or maybe even a villain. I quickly text Mary I feel tired and I’m heading home as I quickly leave the mall.

I immediately start running home as I feel myself grinning. Doing some actual good should make me feel better I hope. I should probably make all that gear I drew blueprints for, good to have a nice arsenal of weapons so I'm prepared. Tonight I’m gonna let off some steam and do some good, something that I need especially after everything that's been going on. Lets just hope that everything doesn’t go to shit I hope.