Casting Shadows

Chapter 17

Chapter 17 (Mikey's POV)

"Aren't you concerned with the mental state of my brother?" I question with an obvious tinge of anger in my tone.

Xavier takes a sip of his alcoholic beverage and leans against the bar counter. "Not particularly," he casually responds.

I roll my eyes, annoyed by the lack of care he has for my brother. Gerard has been slacking even more so since the arrival of Bandit. Take now for example. The hybrid and I stand in the same room, waiting for him to finish with whatever he is doing and meet us here.  He is late again, which has become increasingly not unusual for him.

"I expect your brother to be at least slightly unstable, considering his unnatural gift and extreme pressure," Xavier explains.  "However, he does need to start working a lot harder."

It's not long until Gerard casually enters the room as if he is in no rush at all.  He sits himself down in a chair and leans back, waiting for someone to tell him the reason for this meeting.  I can see the arrogance in his posture.  It surprises me that unlike normal, he is lacking modesty in front of Xavier.

With every passing day it becomes increasingly difficult for me to look my brother in the eye. Not only because of his attitude towards everyone, but also because of Ruby. I can tell from the look in her eyes, the way she moves, and the tremble in her voice that she is slowly crumbling. I've noticed her become more and more submissive to my brother due to the fear he brings to her.  Her personality shrinks every time I see her.

"Gerard, do you know why I called you here?" the demon-angel asks.

My brother glares at me, suspecting that it is because of something I have said about him to Xavier.  I could easily expose Gerard's failure to execute the former leaders, but that would result in some punishment for him and possibly even me for not reporting the incident sooner. Not to mention how I have no interest in losing either of their trust.

"No, I do not know," he responds, sounding bored.

"Mikey has been feeding the press everything that I have asked him to.  He's been using his fame to promote the Parade so well that it almost makes up for your slacking regarding publicity."

I look to the ground, knowing that he is speaking the truth about me.  He tells me what the public should know and I convey those messages to reporters.  I know I'm a liar and Ruby does too.  She frowns upon the fact that I follow through with Xavier's orders, despite my reluctance to agree to Black Parade methods.

"Do you honestly think that my baby brother is more responsible for the public's opinion of the Parade than I am?" Gerard asks, challenging what the hybrid is suggesting.  It is clear that he completely disagrees.

"Currently, yes. You've been seriously slacking, resulting in the formation of more anti-parade groups. You need to peacefully put a stop to them before it turns into something more."

"Why can't I just have them all killed?"

"You know why, Gerard. I'm not even going to answer that."

Killing groups of resistance would only put the Parade in jeopardy because citizens would be appalled and could uprise. My brother has to know that, but he's trying to irritate us all. I have found that he often tries to seem more inhumane than he actually is. He does not like to look weak, which I know will come back to haunt him someday.