Lio
4 Years ago
"Mommy... I'm scared...," I whispered to my mom as we crouched, hidden in my closet. My mom clapped a hand on my mouth, her eyes darkening.
"If you fuck this up to I'll give you the beating of your life Lionel... Got me?," She hissed. I gulped, going still.
"MARIA VALDEZ!! ITS THE POLICE! COME OUT WITH YOUR HANDS UP," A man yelled from the living room. My mother's fist clenched around my throat.
"Search the bedroom," another voice ordered. I resisted the urge to cry, though I couldnt stop the tears from streaming down my face.
My mother ran a hand through my hair, pushing us closer to the wall. I yelped, not loud, but loud enough for the rustling outside the door to get louder. My mother's hand went to my throat, clenching hard. I gasped silently, struggling to release my windpipe. The closet door opened, and a light shined inside, briefly touching me before disappearing.
"Clear!," The voice called. Another voice spoke up, sounding disappointed.
"Call the locals, Have them put out an APB put on a Maria Valdez,"
I froze. No... Please dont leave me!! I should scream!! I should cry I should thrash.
'Shes in here'I should say. I should let them take her away. But I can't. My heart pounds angrily in my chest, my fear clogging my throat like a rag shoved in it.
"Let's go!," They yelled. Five minutes later, the house was silent.
My mother stands and yanks me out of the closet, throwing me to the ground. I sob.
"Mommy I'm sorry, please dont hurt me!," I pleaded. She sneers, a look that will forever taint my nightmares.
"YOU LITTLE SHIT!," She screams, going to grab me again. I cry, trying to crawl away.
"STOP IT!! SOMEBODY HELP ME!," I screamed. She grabbed my ankles and dragged me back to her, turning me over so I could face her.
"SHUT UP!," She roared, wailing down on me. I scream louder and louder as her volley of assaults grew bigger and more bold. Why me. Why couldn't I be normal. Why must mommy hate me....
After a few minutes she stepped back, wiping the sweat off her brow. She turns, grabbing a wash clothe from the dresser and throwing it at me.
"Clean up your mess," She growls, before leaving the room. I cry some more, all the while cleaning up the blood around me.
I sit up in a cold sweat, the alleyway I'm sleeping in almost as cold as my ice. I shiver, thinking back to my mother's evil smile.
My father left me when I was five, and the abuse lasted all the way up until I was 12 years old. Eventually, a teacher reported the situation. I'm not sure what happened between that time period though. In the time if abuse, all I can remember from those years were her evil sneers and the way her fists felt.
Until now. That was the very first memory I have of the true abuse happening... And how it ended. Others I remember it starting. Others I remember it ending. And Magnus came into my life a week or two after she was arrested, so That's the only full memory I have before meeting him.
I touch my lip, remembering the faint scar there that used to shine almost as brightly as my mother's eyes. Almost.
If I could I'd gouge out both my eyes, if it could mean I'd bear no resemblance to my mother. But the sad truth is.. I do look like her. I have her green eyes, her slim frame, her tall physique. What I didnt have was her hair. A platinum blonde like no other. Instead I got my father's hair. Black. Soon after my father left, I think she dyed my hair to what it's been these last few years. A golden blonde. Black suits me far better.
"There you are... Get up...," A familiar voice hissed at me. I turned, seeing Magnus, Lyra and Dylan all staring at me. I slowly rise to my feet.
"Magnus I'm-" I try, but instead I get a punch to the face. I stumble back into the wall, holding my bloodied lip.
"You left... You stabbed the boss and left on a rampage because you felt bad for me... Why is that huh? Why did you think I deserve your pity? Better yet! WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I WANT YOUR PITY HUH!," He screamed, his fist slamming into the wall above my head. I gulped, seeing the angry look in his eyes that I used to see.. In the months before our partnership.
"I dont think you need my pity... I dont pity you... ," I looked up, glaring at him, feeling a familiar buzz of rage fill me.
"My mother was in there too. You wouldnt know this, but my mother's release date was today... She got a few years cut off on good behavior. She went to rehab... She was getting out," I hissed. His eyes widened, giving me just enough time to shove him backwards.
"She was a horrible mother... BUT DAMMIT SHE IS STILL MY MOTHER!," I cried. I felt my hands tremble, and slowly I start to bite my knuckles, trying to bring back the coldness I felt when I stabbed Lyra.
"And Now I'm a wanted runaway. So I cant go back to Michelle. All because of you!," I added, shoving a finger into his chest. He backs up, his back hitting the wall.
"If I never got involved with you... I wouldnt have gotten this god forsaken power and been kidnapped by this lunatic gang who wants to call themselves villains!?," I laughed, turning my head. Glaring at Lyra.
"No... You're just wannabe trash who wants to feel more significant in their lives. You know what that's called?," I asked taking a step closer to Lyra. Her fists trembled, her red eyes darkening by the second.
"That's an obsessive compulsive need to be the center attention. The second your trashy gang gets anywhere we all know you'll take all the credit, when in reality the only reason you're thriving is because I havent chosen to kill you all yet," I smirked, laughing sadistically. She screams, drawing her knives and sprinting at me, her eyes brimming with tears.
"NOW YOU'LL FREEZE," I roared, touching her forehead as she goes in for the slash. Almost instantly, she turned into a block of ice. Magnus and Dylan stare at me in shock. I laugh, kicking her over and watching her shatter in a million pieces.
"This way you'll stay dead you rotten bitch," I growled, turning around, looking at Magnus and Dylan.
"That's enough of your disguise Ryan... The gangs gone... The person who burnt the PD down took care of that," Magnus whispered. Ryan dropped his disguise, turning back to normal.
"Screw you guys, I'm going home," I whispered my eyes burning. Nobody said anything as they went their separate ways. The Silverclaw gang was finished.
?????
I kneel in the alleyway, standing over the smashed crystalline that used to be Lyra.
"You failed me... As expected," I sighed, rubbing my hands together.
"Luckily for me, I kept the true branch of the SilverClaw gang to myself... Your thugs can enjoy their life as piles of mud. You all were just stepping stones to my success," I bragged, cackling with excitement. I kick the ice around a little bit, glancing up at the moon.
"Its all going according to plan..." I finished with a smirk, before walking out of the alleyway. I think it's time to make myself known to this precious town.
Magnus
I enter my mother's hospital room in silence, ignoring all the doctors staring at me as I do so. I pull up a chair, sitting by her.
"Hi mom," I whisper, my voice going hoarse. She didnt move. No reaction to the sound of my voice. I grabbed her hand, tears streaming down my face.
"I'm back now... We beat them I guess... It was so easy... Almost too easy... But I'm home now... And I hope you will be here soon too," I murmured. I stood up, leaning over my mother and kissing her forehead.
"I love you... I'll be back tomorrow," I whispered. As I left the hospital, all I felt was regret. I shouldve never left.
I shouldve never gotten involved with Lionel Hall.
Lio
I enter my house, shutting the door behind me softly. Laying on the couch, Michelle lied asleep, an empty bottle of wine laying next to her head. I walked over, picking up the bottle and setting it elsewhere, before returning and kneeling.
"Hey mom," I mumbled. Slowly, her eyes open, a look of full blown surprise entering her features.
"Lio...," She whispered. She sat up, her eyes brimming with tears.
"Hi," I replied with a slight wave. Before I knew it she flung herself down to my level, wrapping her arms around me.
"Thank god your ok... They lost all leads on you... You were presumed dead... I was so worried!," She cried. I rub her back, feeling my eyes burn with tears.
"I'm so sorry mom, I promise it wont happen ever again," I promised. She leaned back, a grin covering her face.
"You must be starving!! Let me make some dinner!," She cheered, her tears drying up significantly. I smiled, nodding happily.
"Yes that would be wonderful," I cheered honestly. I cant remember the last time I ate anything other than canned reserves.
"Come on, come wait at the table!," She chirped, dragging me to the kitchen and seating me down. I smiled and as I waited for her food I wondered.
Why I ever refused to come home in the first place.
The next morning, Ryan, Sarah and Charles all came over to see me. I know Ryan spent alot of his time with me, but he still came none the less.
"Damn dude!! You really filled out since I last saw you!," Charles exclaimed. I smiled, touching the back of my head anxiously.
"I wouldnt go that far," I retorted, my face burning.
"Its true Lio! Last time I saw you before you were kidnapped, you were a twig who'd struggled to hold his well to Magnus Branwell. Now you look almost as muscular as he is. But you're more lean, so it's a lot hotter," Sarah cheered. I looked down, full on blushing this time.
"Stop," I mumbled, feeling embarrassed. They cheered, slapping the table.
"So.. What did happen with you and Magnus?," Sarah asked. I glanced at her.
"You dont know?," I demanded. She shook her head, looking away from me.
"Magnus was last seen visiting his mom at the hospital. That was yesterday. He hasn't tried to contact anyone. We all thought you would have talked to him too, since you spent the last two months with him," She added. I scratched my neck, looking down.
"He wasnt kidnapped... The night he disappeared, I invited him to come join me. Ryan here had been undercover, placed of course by Detective Branwell. He offered to let me help bring down the SilverClaw gang. They helped me train. And when the opportunity arose, I invited Magnus too. But yesterday Magnus and I got into a fight," I gulped. I also killed Lyra.
Ryan cleared his throat, and I could swear his nose grew three times bigger.
"So I'm the badass undercover agent! That role guarantees me a job as a deputy when I get outta here," He cheers. I glared at him, resisting the urge to smile. I look around the table.
"Thank you guys, for being friends with me when nobody else would," I murmured quietly. They looked at each other, grinning.
"Oh what the hell, What can I say I'm just that amazing," Ryan's nose seemed to grow another three inches oncemore, his arms crossing as he grinned widely. Charles turned, punching him in the gut.
"Ouch," Ryan moaned before collapsing on the floor. Sarah glared, her hands going to her hips.
"Delayed reaction much?," She hissed before turning back to me with a sweet smile.
"Anyways, your welcome. Also, I knew you were a badass before you got your powers, but just so you know, You're even more of a badass now. I think you're cooler than even Magnus," She claimed with a giggle. I shrugged, looking down.
"No... if anyone will surpass him, it wont be me," I mumbled under my breath. The room went silent.
"Does anyone want some tea?," My mother asked entering the kitchen with a rosy grin. We all look at each other with smiles, before nodding in unison.
"Also, your house is so cool!," Ryan yelled. I shrugged, looking around. My house is a three floor home, the basement reserved for games and a family room and even an extra kitchen. The base floor consisted of a calm gray walls, oak floors and large furniture. In the living room was a television set, only used for Television. The walls were all covered of pictures of me and Michelle, or just me at some points. Now that I think about it, I'm the only kid she ever took in, I'll need to ask her about that later.
Upstairs was the rooms. There was Michelle's room, which I'd never seen before, a guest room that's pretty bare, then my room.
My walks were white, posters hung up everywhere, some about volleyball, others about soccer. The walls were lined with book shelves, books filling each to the brim. My closet was tidy, all my clothes organized in some position. And My bed was just a normal bed with blue coverings.
"I guess its nice," I respond. They all smile, and we go on chatting about the happiest things we could think of. But deep down, we all knew something big was coming.
Later that night, Michelle and I sit on the couch, turning on the news. On the tv, I could see a note in the top right hand corner.
"Mom, turn it up, " I asked her politely. She nodded, turning up the tv.
"Earlier today, a note came from a anonymous persons. The note reads, ' My name is Flare. I am the murderer, of teen boy Lyon Kingsley... I am the one who burnt down the Police Department. I killed the top branch of the SilverClaw gang, leaving only three to survive. I am the attempted murder of Local hero Detective Laura Branwell. I am responsible for all these things. I will kill again. This town will burn in the ashes of their own despair, and in their own incompetence. For those Gang Members I let live, who go by the name of Frostbite, Inferno, and Alter... I want you to watch as your homes burn, and everyone you love along with it," The reporter finishes reading the letter. I gulp, clutching my chest. What is this feeling... Fear? How the hell can I defend my home from someone who melted the police station to the ground!?
I turned to Michelle.
"Mom we need to leave," Were all the words I got to say, before the house turned red.