𝗥𝗼𝗯𝗯𝗶𝗲: 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗔𝘄𝗮𝗸𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴

Ghosts of the Past(part 2)

Brian snapped back to reality as the elevator jerked to a stop. He looked up as two boys entered the elevator with a big trolley table, that had a tarpaulin covering it. They both wore the signature blue jackets of the Jefferson County College . "Hurry up, we can't let the Izuki twins from Delores College beat us!" Ah yes. I almost forgot that Ben held the Interstate School Science Competition this year again. That means it's gonna be a lot of people in there. The mention of Ben caused Brian to scratch his chin, once again being surrounded by memories of the past.

Two years after the lunchroom fight.

Brian and Ben were both at school, each watching the other from the corner of their eye. It was the College science fair, and Brian had spent weeks perfecting his project. It was a phone that could be disguised as a pen, while having all the best features, even better than the latest phone. Ben had a simple backpack on his table. Brian knew better than to underestimate Ben, or any of the students at his college for that matter, but he couldn't think of anything cooler that his pen phone. He tried to peek into Ben's bag with x-ray vision, but he had lined the bag's insides with Organium. Brian shuddered as he remembered his last interaction with the horrible metal. He had managed to get rid of all the evidence, and he had moved on with his life. Brian sighed. The inspector finally came to check each one of the student's projects. Brian smirked. He was going to win.

An hour later

Ben Bryson came in for first place in the Science Competition. His winning invention was a suit that enhanced it's wearer's strength. It was a thick brown suit with circular disks. Ben really was serious about beating him. He was wrong to underestimate him. Now he placed second place in the science competition. Brian hurried beyond the school gates, chasing after Ben, trying to congratulate him. "Hey Ben! Congrats on winning the science fair." Brian said, extending his hand. Ben looked at Brian as if he wanted to reach out and beat him senseless. Turning around he began to walk off. Brian knew that he had to do something. It was now or never. "Benny!"he called, fully aware of what he had coming. Ben stopped. He balled his fists, ready to fight Brian. "I thought I told you never to call me that again." He said, turning around.

Brian had to think quickly, otherwise, he was going to get a good beating. "Look Ben, I made a mistake two years ago. Two years ago. I'm trying to fix this, but you won't let me!" He said, trying to appeal to him. Ben, who had reached up to Brian by now, shouted:" Oh, so you think I'm just going to let you walk back into my life and my good graces, just because ' you're trying to fix this' ? Brian nodded his head. I know, it will take time and effort, but I'm willing to try Benny. Hitting Brian across the face, he shouted:"Don't you dare call me Benny! You've lost the right to call me that when you-" Brian's eyes widened. "So, you knew?"he asked. Ben nodded. "They don't call me a genius for nothing. After you distanced yourself from the team, I knew something was wrong. I tried everything that I could think of, but I just couldn't find out what was wrong. Thats when I overheard something about you doing some secret classes to recover from what you did. That's why I'm mad at you. You didn't trust me enough,after all those years of working together, to even tell me what happened!" Brian hung his head. "I didn't not tell you because I couldn't trust you, I didn't tell you because I didn't know what you would think of me. The fact that I killed someone." He said, looking away. Ben's expression softened. " Hey, I won't think of you any different because you made a mistake. Everyone makes mistakes." Brian smiled. "So, we cool then?"  Ben raised an eyebrow. "What the hell do you think this is, a movie? We will put this behind us, sure, but you're asking me to totally forget about this. You're gonna have to gain my trust back Brian." Brian nodded. Well, can we at least start by walking home together?"he asked. "Yeah, that sounds about right."Ben replied, following Ben down the path to their neighborhood.

The elevator dinged, causing Brian to snap out of his thoughts. Stepping out, Brian looked around at the many people all in line to show their inventions and discoveries. Brian looked at a number of them, impressed. On one kid's table he saw a spherical ball with label beside it saying: Quantum Ball. Brian smirked. These kids are prodigies. Brian looked around, trying to find Ben. Ben was a man who could hide in plain sight. He was good at disguises and was even better at  walking silently. Brian adjusted his glasses and headed upstairs. Going onto the upper balcony, he pulled out his phone and called Ben. The phone rang twice before picking up. "Brian? Everything good?" Brian hesitated. "I wish I could say that." Ben sighed. "Meet me at the roof." He said, cutting off the phone.

Brian opened the door to the roof , seeing Ben standing there, his black silk jacket blowing in the gentle breeze. Brian waved to Ben, his face wearing a grave expression. "Gee Brian. You look so grim. What's up?"he asked.  Brian sighed. " Do you remember  Herman Malcolm's eldest son, Robbie?" Ben nodded. " Well....he has powers. He picked up the identity of Fortitude a while back. And he is rapidly growing in power. He is currently learning to fly, and even though I hate to admit it, he has the potential to become stronger than I am." Ben scratched his stubble, furrowing his eyebrows. " I'm assuming that he doesn't know." Brian nodded. "We have to keep it that way. This could mean the difference between new superhero or new supervillain, and believe me, that last thing this world needs is a supervillain. Brian sighed, looking out at the city. "You don't need to tell me that. I can feel the storm brewing."

Heyy guys! I finally wrote this chapter guys. I'm sorry I didn't update earlier.  Things are finally coming full circle. Poor Robbie getting caught in this mess. He doesn't deserve this. A fight is about to go down. Hope you enjoy. Here's a grape 🍇. ☮️ Peace.