Superheroes

Chapter 7

"Oh my god." Nick clutched his head, as Vix was once again screaming in agony.

"What, Nick, what is it?" Alex's voice seemed to pierce through Vix's howls. He didn't know why, but Nick felt something with Alex... He couldn't quite put his finger on what it was, but Alex got to him in a way no one else could.

"It hurts!" He finally shouted, just before curling up in a ball on the floor. Alex slumped down next to him and put his arm around Nick's shoulders. Nick looked up at Alex in a daze, and Alex looked surprised, and a little concerned... actually he looked a lot concerned. There was a thick, dark blue substance running from Nick's eyes and nose.

"What's happening?!" Alex's voice broke, and he stood up in a panic, looking at Ty, who was standing in the corner with a fearful look in his eyes, and then to Jackie, who was on the floor, stroking Cassie's hair, whispering to her, telling her it was going to be okay. Alex was clearly confused by this, but Nick's body ached too much to explain it to him.

"I can't breathe..." Nick whispered. "I don't understand!" Tears began to roll down his face, leaving streaks where the blue goo had run down his cheeks. It didn't matter though, because the syruppy sludge quickly poured down his face again and covered the proof of his crying. Alex looked down and tried not to show how concerned he was, but Nick could tell he was faking it. "Alex..." He reached for Alex's hand, and Alex didn't pull away. "I'm sorry." He said softly. "I didn't mean to get you tangled up in all this."

"How could you say that? None of this is your fault, besides, I've been in all of this since I was born." Alex looked at Nick's hand in his. "What is this?"

"What is what?"

"Your hand, and mine... what does it mean?"

"You don't- I mean, it doesn't really mean anything. It's just something we do around here."

Ty laughed, and Nick shot him a glare, which was hard to do with all that gun in his eyes. Alex looked confused, but Nick didn't exactly know why they were holding hands either. All he knew was that it seemed to be the only thing that made Vix stop screaming, and it helped with the pain somehow. Eventually, slowly but surely, Alex helps him up, and Ty makes a trip to the bathroom to get paper towels to wipe off the... stuff.

Nick finally feels like he has the strength enough to ask Vix what was going on, but Vix was still weak, and fragile.

"Vix, buddy, come on man, talk to me. What's going on pal?"

'First of all,' Vix almost sounded drunk. His voice made him seem loopy, and tired. 'I'm not your 'Pal.' Second of all... I tried to warn you about that stone... but did anyone listen?' There was a pause for a moment, as if Vix was waiting for an answer from Nick, but he answered himself shortly after he got no response. 'NOOOOOOO.'

"Look, I know you're mad, but we're in this together, so I need you to tell me what's going on!"

'That blue stuff...' Vix started, 'It's brain fluid.'

"WHAT?!" Nick's eyes widened and Jackie finally looked up at him, but there was no concern in her eyes. In fact, she almost looked mad? But how could she be mad at HIM? It's not his fault Cassie blacked out... unless?

"Vix, you better explain this right now."

'The stone is my weakness! Don't you understand, the blue stuff is literally my brain being melted and leaking out of your thick skull!'

"Okay, but what happened to Cassie?!"

'She's connected to the stone now. They sucked her into their universe, duh.'