The Custodes

Chapter 12 - Revelation and Wrath

"Judging from what we know about Zuro, the places he's most likely to attack are the most vulnerable. Hospitals, nurseries, old folks homes, orphanages, homeless shelters, adoption centres." Noah listed all of Zuro's presumed targets, causing Neo to scrunch up his face and grit his teeth simply at the notion of said places falling under attack. "We're going to all of them. We're gonna set up a kind of camera thing...but it's also like an alarm system. It's difficult to explain, you'll just have to trust that I'll be alerted whenever Zuro shows up at one of these places." Noah explained to Neo, who gave a nod as he looked around at the pedestrians out on the street. It was strange to see them all go about their normal lives when Zuro could drop down and start slaughtering them any second. It was blatantly obvious that the streets were a lot quieter than they once were. Neo knew that a good few people had fled the city, and quite rightly so, but looking around it appeared to be far more than he'd originally assumed. The streets of the city were never exactly flooded before, but there was still enough people for it to be considered flourishing. Now however the city was far from thriving, and it seemed almost impossible to bump into someone even if you tried. It was difficult to imagine so many people leaving their homes at the drop of a hat, but then again it was more likely they were just choosing to stay with a relative until Zuro was dealt with. Neo sighed, thinking about what this meant for him. He planned on saving as many people as possible, but was that really enough? Him and the others might be the only ones that stand a chance of putting Zuro down permanently, though he knew they'd need to do everything they could to accomplish it. Was that the only way for these people's torture to truly end? The last time Neo had come face to face with the maniac he'd vowed that he would either kill Zuro or die trying. It was mostly a spur of the moment threat, but now that he was reflecting on it it seemed as though that may be the only way things would end for good. A classic superhero plot line; either the good guys defeat the villain, or they let the villain win. Thinking about this led to Neo pondering if the group actually could put Zuro down if it came to it. Hector told him he'd need all the allies he could get, but in terms of people who might be able to do as little as scratch Zuro the options were pretty scarce. Surely the authorities would be able to help. If the group worked with the police, or maybe even the military, the threat posed would be greatly lessened, though that's assuming they wouldn't be wiped out instantaneously. From the looks of things the number of police patrolling the streets had increased a lot, leading Neo to suspect that the next time Zuro appeared they may have some help without even needing to ask for it. Only time would tell, as would finding out how formidable the authorities were against Zuro. While he'd been thinking to himself, Neo hadn't noticed Noah's troubled expression as they walked, and it was only when the boy spoke up that he remembered his presence at all "This seems like a good spot." Neo glanced at their surroundings as they both stopped, realising that they were right outside a foster home nearer the centre of the city. It seemed like a fairly decent place, painted in bright colours with different pictures of animals and children playing depicted on their walls and windows. Neo couldn't help but compare it to the orphanage he grew up in almost immediately, and even though he'd only seen the outside he made a note of it being a far, far nicer place. A foster home and an orphanage were very different though, and even if his parents had chosen to ditch him and Nexus in a place like this one, he doubted the pair would ever have actually gotten adopted. Noah looked around the area, searching for an appropriate place to plant whatever device he was planning on using, ultimately settling on a lamppost on the street right outside the foster home. He walked up to it, his eyes scanning it for a second, before he began fumbling around in his pocket. Neo walked over and glanced at his pocket, then at him questioningly "Feel like explaining what it is you're doing now?" Noah chuckled slightly, continuing to search his pocket until he finally pulled out a practically minuscule metal disk. It looked fairly similar to a coin, although it was far too small to ever be mistaken for one, and it also lacked any sort of design on either side. Noah held it between his thumb and index finger, turning his hand around repeatedly to show it off to Neo "This is what we're using to watch out for Zuro. Hector gave me a good few of these, so that we can stick as many as we like around different areas. Eventually we should have the entire city covered, but for now the prime suspects for Zuro's next attack will hopefully be enough." "Huh." Neo said, somewhat intrigued by the small, seemingly powerless piece of tech "So how's it work? Does it have tiny built in cameras, like in spy movies and shit?" "Not quite." Noah said with a laugh, turning to the lamppost and placing the disk face down straight onto the pole "On its own it really isn't much more than just a regular piece of metal. The cool stuff happens when I use my powers on it. It'll not only allow me to see everything it sees, but I should also be able to detect Zuro anywhere at all in roughly a thirty meter radius." As he spoke, Noah sent an electrical pulse through the metal disk, so small that it was imperceivable to anyone not actively focusing on it. Once he'd done that he simply pulled his hand away and left the disk stuck to the lamppost, making it hardly even noticeable unless you were right beside it. "That's fucking crazy." Neo commented, amazed that Noah could do such a thing with his powers with such limited equipment "Wait, so if it's just a regular piece of metal, then wouldn't you be able to do what you did with like...anything metal. Like the lamppost itself or something?" "I said it's almost a regular piece of metal. It's...strange, and I don't exactly know the specifics of it, but it's something to do with the intricate stuff inside of it that lets it bind with my powers the way it does. Hector's not very good at explaining why things do what they do, more so just the fact that they do it. He did mention teaching Synthia how to make them with her powers, so that there'd be an infinite supply of them. Cause of that, there isn't much worry about them running out in the future." Noah smiled as he finished his explanation, happy with the fact that he'd managed to learn such a hefty amount about his powers in such a short time. "You found out exactly how to use your powers this way in a single visit to Hector's?" Neo asked, almost not believing it, but Noah simply gave a nod of confirmation "He has a strange way of explaining how to do things that makes it insanely easy to understand. Almost like he's used the powers himself before." Neo perked up at that last bit, his eyebrows raising as he looked at Noah curiously "You think that's it? The reason he knows so much?" "As interesting and plausible a theory that is, I'm afraid it's not quite right. Like I said, ask him the next time you talk and I'm sure he'll tell you." Noah said, with Neo sighing in disappointment and nodding his head. He'd forgotten that Hector explained to Noah how he knew so much, and it was a little irritating that the boy was adamant on him finding out for himself rather than telling him. He figured he'd just have to live with it, but a visit to the grumpy old man's place was already seeming long overdue. "There's more things we need to discuss." Noah said after a second, his voice turning a lot more serious in a slightly jarring quickness "We should start heading to the next place while we do, though. Come on." With that the boy turned down the street and began walking again, with Neo taking a moment to eye him curiously before following. He waited a short while, expecting Noah to speak first, but when he didn't Neo simply sighed and spoke up himself "Alright, we're on the move now. What did you want to talk about?" Noah shoved his hands in his pockets, presumably to stop him from fidgeting as Neo had noticed him doing, then let out a deep exhale while continuing to look forward "I don't want to beat around the bush, so I'll be as straight up as I can. The orphanage you'd been stuck in since birth. You remember a kid called Leon?" Neo's brow furrowed in confusion for a second, and then suddenly a flood of forgotten childhood memories came rushing back as he felt the name resonate within him. He thought back to the orphanage, immediately remembering days spent in the dorm rooms playing with whatever he could make do with toys, enjoying games of tag in the lounge room - the closest thing they had to the outdoors -, scrapping with Nexus because he'd stole food off his tray during lunch, and plenty of other wholesome, memorable times making the most out of the shitty situation he'd been stuck in. And through it all, Neo's best friend Leon had always been right there with him. A rough looking kid with chalk blonde hair and a varying personality, though who somehow always managed to be level headed and almost relaxed even in the worst of situations. Even when Neo and Nexus fought and he desperately wanted to back his best friend, he always stopped himself from acting on impulse and did all he could to defuse the situation. Neo remembered some nights where they'd sneak into one another's room, simply to talk and play make-belief like most children do, even at the risk of receiving punishment from the caretakers of the orphanage. Although they'd been isolated from the outside world and had nothing even remotely close to a family, both of them managed to actually feel like a normal child thanks to each other. A huge grin appeared on Neo's face as the warm feelings tied with each of the memories came back to him and he stopped in the street, rapidly starting to talk before he'd even considered how Noah came to learn the boy's name "Holy shit. Leon was my best friend. That kid was something else, I never quite grasped how the hell he stayed as calm as he was no matter what we got up to. Even getting beat off those fucking nuns as punishment, he just sat and took it when I cried and fought and all that. Oh man, I can't believe I'd forgotten about him. I was so devastated when Nexus told me we couldn't take him with us, and I always planned to go back and get him one day. With everything that had happened once we'd gotten out he must've just been pushed to the back of my mind. Shit, I wish I could speak to him now, I really wonder what he's been up-" Neo froze, his eyes locking with Noah's for the first time since he'd mentioned Leon. He simply watched Neo with the tiniest of smiles gracing his lips, as every feature on the boy's face contorted in confused realisation, until his eyes practically bulged out of their sockets. "Hey there, Neo." Noah said in a completely relaxed tone, as Neo stared blankly at him for a few good seconds. "How?" The boy muttered eventually, his brain clearly failing to put all the pieces together by itself in its current state. Neo didn't even know how to react, but luckily Noah cut him some slack and started explaining to him "It's a long story. After I'd learned about your disappearance it didn't take me long to figure out what had happened - you'd told me enough about your powers and your plans for me to piece it together. I probably should've told you about my own powers before you left - I'm sure things would've turned out differently then - but I don't think there's any point dwelling on what could've been. I made the decision to follow what you'd done, but I wanted to prepare a little bit first. One of the nurses, Cathy, was a lot nicer than any of the nuns, if you remember her, and over time I formed a sort of bond with her. It feels dumb to think about, but I chose to tell her my plans to leave the place and how I was never coming back, and it actually paid off. She told me all about my Dad, and how she'd learned about him from the others that worked in the orphanage and the files they had stored away. She knew how bad a place it was, and agreed that I shouldn't stay any longer, but she wanted me to at least be somewhat well off when I left. After a very long conversation, I'd made the decision to find him once I left the place. I memorised everything I needed to know from her; his last known address, his name, any family he might be living with, stuff like that. After all that, I just up and left - zapped myself clean out of the place. Only things didn't go the way I'd hoped." Noah glanced away for a quick second, but looked back at Neo to see the boy standing patiently, a permanent smile plastered on his face despite the fact he was desperately holding back from asking all the questions in his mind. "It'll be midnight by the time we're done if we keep standing around and talking. Lets walk while I explain this next bit." Noah said to Neo, who had no problem following his orders as they both returned to walking towards wherever Noah planned to go next. "After learning about my Dad I was in quite the rush to leave the orphanage. With you gone there was nothing letting me ignore how shitty a situation it was, so that only added to it. Because of this I...made a really, really stupid mistake. I never did any test runs to see if I could actually teleport like I was planning to, and because of that I nearly killed myself in the process. I got where I wanted to go, right outside the orphanage, but I quickly learned that electricity is a dangerous thing. I burned half my skin away. My clothes were tatters, I could only see out one eye, I was coated in blood, and only a few patches of my hair remained. It was horrible, and the pain that came along with it was worse than you could imagine. I was clinging to life, but I knew going back to the orphanage wasn't an option now and chose to go on the move. I like to think I put up a good fight, but after a day I knew there was no hope for me in the state I was in. I wrapped my face up in rags and dragged myself to an alleyway where I made the conscious decision to lay down and die." Neo listened intently to this, his features slowly growing darker and darker as Noah spoke about his choice to give up on life. He was starting to feel some serious regret about leaving him behind, but if he was alive and well in the present then he knew he shouldn't be beating himself up about it. Still, listening to what Noah went through made his stomach churn in the worst way, but he wanted to hear everything he could about what had happened to him. "At that point, I welcomed death with open arms. I'd lost all hope and just wanted to escape the pain I felt, so I was surprisingly okay with it. Although, I was upset that I'd never meet you, or my Dad, ever again. Then, while I lay slumped against a wall and slowly felt my vision dim I saw-" Noah paused, placing a fist against his mouth as though he was starting to get choked up, but when Neo looked at him he saw only a huge, ecstatic smile on the boy's face at whatever he was remembering. "-Kelsie. She was walking past the alley with her babysitter, I think, when she saw me and the state I was in. She approached me, and without even asking my name she-...well, you know Kelsie now. She did what she does best. In no time at all I was back to near perfect condition, with my hair even growing back, and it was all because of her basic kindness. Her babysitter didn't notice what happened, thankfully, but when she realised where Kelsie had gone she hurriedly pulled her away from the random, ragged homeless boy - understandably - and began moving down the street again. All I saw was a small wave from the girl, and then she was completely gone, so quickly that I hadn't even processed what she'd done to me. I cried with relief for God knows how long, and after a few days of searching I was reunited with my Dad. Turns out he'd left me in the orphanage after my mother died cause the grief was too much for him to raise a kid, but after I'd found him he was ready to take me in. It took a lot of work, and trust, but now we've got as good a father-son relationship as any." Noah was gleaming as he spoke, his happiness so infectious that Neo couldn't help but crack a smile at hearing about his lifelong friend's troubles finally paying off. The boy stopped walking abruptly outside a nursery building, and Neo waited by the sidewalk as he planted another one of his disks before rejoining the boy to continue talking "I owed my life to Kelsie - I still do - so you can imagine how jarring it was when I saw her again once my Dad got me to start school. She had no clue who I was thanks to the rags I'd covered my face in and the fact I'd changed my hair, but that didn't stop me from viewing her as highly as I did. I don't know what it was - maybe our mutual crushes on Kelsie - that brought me and Axel together, but in no time at all he and I were incredibly good friends, and some time after that we both ended up getting closer to Kelsie and formed our own little trio. Although, I do have to admit I was sort of the third wheel in that situation. They never seemed to mind though, which I'm especially grateful for. Kayla joined not long after, having been friends with Kelsie for a while, and although she took way more days off than your average student she managed to be a prominent member in our circle. I don't need to bother explaining how close we are. Synthia came last, after she discovered Axel was her brother and chose to live with him, and we've all been best friends ever since." Neo looked ahead at the pavement as Noah finished talking, smiling to himself as he took a moment to let everything he'd heard settle in his mind. It was incredibly coincidental, everything that had happened, but all of it led to where they were now and Neo had no doubts that that was the best possible outcome. In a sense, he had Zuro to thank for him finding the group, and Noah in particular, and that was a crazy thought in and of itself. He suddenly stopped in the street, prompting Noah to stop beside him as they faced each other, then without saying a thing Neo hugged the boy tightly. Noah let out a grunt of surprise, not moving for a second, until he realised what Neo was doing and quickly hugged him back. Neo smiled as he stayed in the embrace, relishing in finding his childhood friend again and thinking nonstop about how surreal it was that it was Noah the whole time. Eventually he pulled away, looking at Noah as the boy composed himself and grinning wide "Now that we've been reunited lets agree not to separate again, alright? I don't want to lose my best friend a second time." Noah let out a laugh, matching Neo's grin as he spoke "So I'm back to best friend status right away, am I?" "I'll let you in on a secret, you're practically the only friend I've ever had. There wasn't any competition, but sure." Neo said, smirking slightly as Noah's smile widened in a somewhat prideful way. There was a small moment of comfortable silence between them, until Neo broke it suddenly "I have one question. How did talking to Hector make you realise we who I was?" "Ah. Surprisingly, that isn't too difficult to explain. I'd had my suspicions since you mentioned growing up in an orphanage - in fact I was ninety nine percent sure at that point - but I wasn't quite sure how to bring it up to you, especially since I hadn't told anyone else about my childhood. I chose to ask Hector, to see if he somehow knew about it, and he confirmed exactly what I thought. He also gave me the push to tell you, so that's when I settled on it." Noah explained as Neo gave a small "Ah" of understanding and nodded his head, before a small hint of thoughtfulness appeared on his face. "I think you should tell Kayla. All of it." He said firmly, without much consideration, leading to Noah letting out a sigh. "I know I should, but after so much time not telling her..." He trailed off, with Neo furrowing his brow slightly. "Why didn't you tell her and the others sooner? Not the finer details, just the growing up in an orphanage thing." The boy asked curiously as Noah considered for a second, then lightly shrugged his shoulders "I really don't know. At first I was worried that they'd think I was weird but then we became really close, and after that I figured I'd been selling a lie for so long that if I told them the truth it'd be way too much of a shock." "Hmm." Neo thought to himself for a short while, then looked back at Noah "I think they've had way too many shocking things happen to them recently for this to be that huge a deal. And I think it's something they would want to know, too. As for Kayla...if you guys are as close as it seems, and it were me in your place, I would tell her. That's all I'll say about that." Noah glanced at the pavement for a minute, then let out an exhale and smiled to Neo "Yeah, I think you're right. It's probably about time I was straight with them." "Great. Anyway..." Neo shoved his hands in his pockets and looked up at the sky, then the streets around him as he walked a few steps aimlessly "It's getting dark. And I know for a fact you only took me with you to discuss this. You could be around the entire city twice in five minutes if you wanted to, you didn't need me for this task." "Damn. Looks like I've been busted." Noah said with a small laugh, leaning his shoulder against the nearest lamppost "You've caught me. You're free to head home, I'll run around the rest of these places then do the same, it won't take long." "I think I'll accept that offer." Neo smiled, starting to step away from Noah before he realised something and looked at the boy "Actually, while you're here, I should probably get your number. No point in having a Zuro sensor if you can't even reach me." Noah chuckled and pulled out his phone with Neo doing the same, both of them quickly exchanging numbers while Neo also quickly took a note of everyone else in the group's. After that, he pocketed his phone and placed a hand on Noah's shoulder, smiling genuinely "I'm glad we're together again. Honestly. I'll see you later, Leon." Noah smiled right back at him and nodded his head "Me too. Have a good one, Neo." With that, the black haired boy walked off down the street in the direction of his apartment building, leaving his friend standing by the lamppost before he too took of in his own separate direction.