V.I.R.A.L

"What do you think? I feel either Relentless… are you even listening? Alton?"

Alton snapped from daydreaming looking down as Sam who was lying on his legs taking up the whole sofa. She had a small notebook as she was going over streamer names. "Sorry I was ugh…"

"Typical, of course, you weren't listening! I was asking for streamer names bozo. You're going to help me with them."

"Whoa, why me? I'm terrible with streaming names. Should we wait till the others turn up?"

Sam shook his head, punching Alton's leg. "No, no, I want your opinion I gave you your name. It's only fair you help me choose mine."

"So, the choices again?"

"Well, there was relentless. As you know, never to give up."

"Sounds too dark. I would mistake you for a villain with that name. Didn't you want more of a heroic name?"

"Well, the other choice was Ingrid."

"I thought we were discussing streaming names, not our future child?"

Sam snorted coughing up her drink, unable to control her laughing tantrum. "Are you serious?! That has to be a joke. Fuck off, our child is going to be called Genevieve."

"Genei- what? That's a crazy mouthful."

"Genevieve. Take it or leave it."

Alton rubbed his face sighing. "The streaming name."

"Oh, right. So? Which one do you like? Or unless you have a better name?"

Alton began thinking. He hummed to himself before speaking the name he had at the tip of his tongue. "How about Unity?"

"Unity?"

"Yeah? I thought… well, your our leader. You bring us all together as one. It's cringy, I know. On second thoughts, forget it! This was dumb! Dumb!" He yelled, pushing Sam off his lap standing up, looking embarrassed. "We should wait for the others."

"Unity?" Sam muttered before smirking. "Unity. I like it. Nah, bro, I love it! That name is the shit, and you doubted yourself? You're good at this shit. Unity and Avalanche the heroic duo ready to take on the world!"

"You know we are streamers? We stream stuff like our daily activities. Reactions. Gaming. Maybe a fight or two."

"But what if we could be more? Look at that dawnguard bloke."

"You mean Vanguard?"

"Yeah, that git. He's around fighting crime and saving the day. Why can't we do that? We have the powers to back it up. We could be heroes!"

"Heroes? Speak for yourself, Sam… I am not cut out for hero work."

"Ah, don't give me that shit. One look at you and I can see a hero right there. One who won't falter to evil one who fights to protect the people he cares about. One who never gives up. You Avalanche are that hero."

"Ever thought about going for student president?"

"I'm serious dude. I wouldn't just make this stuff up. I mean it. Alton, you are a hero. Don't ever forget it."

"Alright, alright jeez…"

"Promise?"

"What now?"

"Promise me you won't forget. If we are going to be partners, I need to know where your head is at."

Alton crossed his chest, raising his hand. "Cross my heart and hope to die."

****

"The hero life doesn't suit you, Alton. You're nothing like those pricks in tights. You understand what it means to be happy. To get what you want. Being a hero steals so many possibilities from you. You have to stick by a code. Being a hero is unfair. It's cruel. The real world doesn't care what you are. Hero and streamer. There's no difference. They'll discard you like trash once they get bored of you."

Alton gritted his teeth, trying to keep the distance between him and Vanguard going as his ring of water would counter-strike any ground he would try and make. Alton jumped back sweating knowing all too well this fight wasn't his to win. "Just like what you're so worried your fans are going to do to you? Ruining other peoples lives for your self-interest so what? You can stay at number one? Something so pointless and useless in retrospect. Is it that important? How much could it possibly mean to you anyway?!"

Vanguard slammed his foot forward as the ground shook. Alton froze over his ring of water, creating a barricade. Throwing a single punch, the ice shattered. The shards cut Vanguard apart as he stood idly without much care. "Number one? Streaming it's all pointless. Being number one means nothing to me."

"What? Then why? Why go through all that trouble?!"

Vanguard shook his head sighing. "It's pointless having this conversation. Each of us trying to find out our own truth. Thinking our ideas are fact. The difference between us two, though. While your prancing around holding your truth close, I discard all of them. I can never be happy with any truth."

Alton raised his hands as all the water combined above Vanguard. The streamer just stood there, allowing the attack to happen. Ripping his hands back violently shaking them the blast of water collided burning Vanguard to pieces. Alton panted hoping that would be it. He flinched seeing Vanguard completely unaffected, although his body was burnt to a crisp, he mentally didn't seem affected. Alton gripped his hand together as soon enough, his body was getting dropping in temperature. Cold air eradiated from his mouth as he pulled his arm back as ice rapidly formed around his fist. His blue eyes turned into a dead white as all colour from his body faded. Thrusting his hand forward the shards of ice created together into a spear flinging at Vanguard. Meeting the attack with a punch, the ice shattered into nothing. Vanguard began approaching his movement much slower and heavy as each step shook the ground leaving small craters. Alton bit his lip shaking his head.

"I've run away my whole life. I share no traits with a hero. I'm a coward, a fraud and a monster. I cannot deny that. I am no different from my father, and that terrifies me. I would rather die than remotely be like him. But no more. I refuse to run from my problems any longer!" Alton punched the ground as shards of ice came out from the ground stabbing at Vanguard. They stabbed deep into his legs, but he kept walking like it was nothing. Alton screamed, readying his final attack only for Vanguard to fly forward like a moving feather floating before crashing back down to the floor.

Alton stumbled back by the shockwave messing up his attack. Stunned and out of options, he threw a punch of desperation. As the hit landed Alton retracted screaming out as merely punching Vanguard broke his hand. Vanguard laid a single impact on Alton slapping him. The sheer force smashed him to the ground taking Alton down in a single blow. He laid back bleeding struggling to stay awake. He began crawling around, trying to flee as Vanguard towered over him like a predator ready to finish off their prey. Alton scrunched his face together, not prepared to give up. Controlling his blood, he rippled it forward, freezing it over as the ice made of blood dug into Vanguard's shoulder. He didn't budge. Vanguard merely looked at the attack and the hole in his shoulder, amused. "I assume that would hurt. Pretty sure all those attacks hurt. The burns. The ice. Anyone would probably fall to those incredible feats of power. But Alton, I'll let you in on a little secret. I Can't feel any of this. Not one bit."

Alton's eyes widen as a second strike was taken. This finished the job knocking him out cold as blood echoed down his side. The icicle made from his powers crumbled apart returning to its normal state. Vanguard picked Alton up by the head, inspecting his prize. Ready to finish the job, he suddenly was stopped hearing someone enter. "Marcus! Marcus!" Vanguard turned his head, seeing Rodger running in panting. "I found you… the wait is that? That's Alton Brantley..."

"He found out too. Tried taking me down."

"Marcus, your hurt."

"Am I? If I can't feel it, am I really hurt?! My body won't tell me otherwise! Team Rhapsody have meddled in our plans long enough. I'll finish him off and send a message to not just his pathetic team but all of V.I.R.A.L that Vanguard is not to be messed with."

"Wait! Wait!"

"What?!"

Rodger walked over, raising his hands. "Spare him, just for now. I have a better idea for him. We make him kill his friends."

"The mental overload?! That didn't work on him in the first place. Your promise is obsolete! You said any anti-human would fall to the garden's power."

"And they do. He will. But we need to find out why he didn't in case any more cases show up. We take him to the ruins. We give him the full force of the garden and then when he kills Team Rhapsody, you finish the job and get all the glory."

Vanguard held Alton before throwing him aside. "I don't like this. We cannot trust the power of the garden. It's far too dangerous."

"Don't worry about that. I promise you it will all work out."

"It better. You do this, and I'll let you into my team."

Rodger gasped covering his mouth. "You mean it? You mean I can stream with you?!"

"Only if this works, got it!" Rodger nodded as Vanguard moved his shoulder around. "I suppose I should get this looked at. Move Alton to the ruins, team Rhapsody won't be too far behind."

"Yes, Marcus…" He muttered, watching him go. As he was alone, he began jumping around, acting like a child on Christmas. He looked down at Alton laughing. "You here that scum, you're going to be my ticket to being a streamer. An actual streamer. I really can't thank you enough." Rodger began dragging Alton away as the small drone fell from his pocket. Rodger didn't notice as the blinking light kept going. Soon the drone spun around hovering having recorded the whole ordeal. It turned around before darting out of the building heading towards the location the it was intrusted to go to—the downtown karaoke bar.