The Symbiote Brothers

Chapter 6: Acidic Breakdowns

        It had been a month since Trent and I gave up being heroes. We didn't use the symbiotes, so we kept them contained in glass jars locked in my old toy box. We didn't talk to Damian all that much either as he kept up his vigilante antics. Trent and I went straight home after school, did whatever work we needed to do, and then went to watch TV and play games for the rest of the day. For the past few weeks, Damian had come to school looking worse than the day before. His hair was always a mess, his lip was always busted, a new bruise on his face, neck, or body. Trent and I almost felt bad for him if he wasn't a complete ass.s

        One day, after school, Trent and I flipped channels until the local news came on. "In other news, the late night vigilante group has disappeared, leaving only one to fail at defeating crime at night." Trent and I sat up and looked intently at the news broadcast. Activity from the previous night showed how Damian got taken down by a group of criminals and thugs in an alley. Trent shook his head and sighed. "He's getting left in the dirt. He won't last long like this. Either he's gonna give up, or he's gonna die."

        I nodded and sighed. "Are we being too hard on him?" Trent looked at me like I was crazy.

"He didn't care for your safety when you almost died by a bullet wound! I think we're being hard enough on him. He needs to learn that this superhero stuff isn't for us." Trent sighed as he stood up. "Plus, what are we gonna do? Go back out there and help? That'd just mean we cave into his demands, and he'll never listen to us again. Not like he ever did in the first place." Trent walked into the kitchen as the news broadcast played. I couldn't take my eyes off it, the images and videos of Damian getting mugged himself burning into my mind.

        That night, I couldn't sleep. I tried my hardest to ignore the pounding in the box in my closet, the images of Damian's mugged body in my memory, and the urge to help. I fell asleep as my alarm went off, ignoring it completely. I decided to take the day off as I slept through half the day. I awoke to the sound of my doorbell going off, and I groaned as I sat up. I dragged my feet across the floor as I walked over to the door, looking through the peephole. It was Naomi. Naomi was one of the girls in my classes, the one that no one really paid attention to. She wasn't popular, but she wasn't bullied either, she was just there.

        I got to know Naomi in the past, around junior high and our first two years of high school. She was a kind, caring girl, always willing to help others in need. We were friends all through junior high, some people even saying we were inseparable. But in high school, the bullies kept me away from her and we kinda just drifted apart. Her parents were abusive to her, and that was the motivation she used to be a nice person to others. I felt bad for her when I saw her get hit in the middle of the parking lot in our last year of Junior High. Back then, I was a weakling who wouldn't dare try to stand up to anyone. Maybe if I had found the symbiotes then, the outcome would have been different. Her dad was thrown in jail for a few days after someone called the cops, and I felt it was my fault he even put his hands on her. She wasn't allowed to talk to boys back then, and I felt her dad hit her because he saw her talking to me. That day always stuck in the back of my mind.

        "Fang? you home at all? I came over to check up on you, and see if you were alright." I yawned as I opened the door. "Oh hey. You alright? You weren't at school, so Trent sent me over to check on you. He's talking to Damian, so that's why he sent me."

"Hey, Naomi. Yeah, I'm doing fine. Just didn't get any sleep last night, so I slept in." I yawned as I blocked the sun from my eyes. "Why is Trent talking to Damian? We're supposed to be ignoring him." Naomi shrugged as I opened the door to let her in. She looked around as I went to grab something to drink. "Where are your parents? Why aren't they around to check on you?"