Ex-Nemesis

CHAPTER 12: DID HE JUST SAY 'MOM'-?

It had been a few weeks since Nico had taken that day off.

He had needed it more than he thought, not just to give himself a rest physically, but watching movies with his mom all day after sleeping for a good 15 hours had given him a chance to unwind mentally.

He had barred thoughts from his other life from entering his mind.

But... all good things came to an end, right?

After his mom had left for work, Nico had snuck out, as usual.

The thing was, now his objective was different.

He knew his sister was alive now, but it was not the same Hazel he knew. Still, it was still surely her.

He initially thought about finding where she lived so he could have a serious talk and somehow make her realize that he was her VERY MUCH ALIVE brother.

Good news and bad news.

Good news?

Nico soon realized that he didn't need to search for Hazel.

She came to him.

Without fail.

Every night onwards.

Bad news?

She was out for his blood.

All Nico needed to do was put on his suit and step out into the cold night air, and she was there, ready to tear his head off.

Nico gave her what she wanted, he went out, every night, without fail.

Because then, he would be able to talk her out of this.

So far, he had had no improvement.

It became a routine, a practiced dance.

Every night, Nico would go out, he would wander the city idly, choosing different routes each time with no connection to the last (in case Hazel somehow figured out where he lived. He wanted her to come back home with him, but not like this, not when she was so... misled.).

Hazel, or 'Paragon' would show up, scream at him for killing her brother or more accurately, himself, and shoot down all his attempts at a conversation.

Then she would lunge at him and try to rip him to shreds or punch him to pulp with her cool/terrifying gemstone boxing gloves or try to (unintentionally) blind him with her brightly coloured costume, but wait- no- that was Sunshot's job.

Speaking of Sunshot.

He looked like he had no idea what to make of everything.

He too would show up, without fail but all he did was stand in the sidelines and watch as Hazel rained blows on Nico, who, while evading everything, never fought back. He knew he could win, but he couldn't even bear the thought of lifting a hand against his little sister, no matter how corrupted or misled she was.

Hazel paid Sunshot no heed, and Sunshot seemed conflicted, confused, probably about what he should do. So all he did was watch from the sidelines and make sure no late night bystander got hurt or no property was demolished.

Then the police would arrive and Nico would shadow travel away, his heart growing heavier and heavier.

That's how it's been for the past several weeks, like a broken tape, the same scenario playing over and over again.

School, on the other hand, wasn't that bad.

Nico managed to keep good grades, through all of this, he had to do it, for his mother, and he was proud of himself for it. He had met a few more people and actually made a few kinda friends.