“To this point of the story some of you might have realized that I didn’t start my villainous path neither a genius nor a mighty warrior. I had nothing going on for me, my rotten luck aside.

So you might ask, ‘how did you get so far?’

Well, I have two things to tell you. The first is, Metas have a knack for staying alive. That’s what they’re about, after all.

And the other one is: Do never, under any means, underestimate others’ survival instinct”

•••••

Some mutual threatening, hard staring and uncomfortable silence later, Lawrence walked out of the basement with two things clear. The first was that Kane aside, the other two men (Yorcht and Larry were their names) weren’t precisely genius. Most of the time, they were too busy stuttering and looking around frantically to actually answer Lawrence’s question. And when they did, it was all a low-tone mumbling he wouldn’t even bother trying to decipher.

Whatever the case were, Lawrence had gotten all the information he needed from Kane, after a decent amount of half-negotiating, half threatening. Although negotiating information in exchange of your life could also be called threatening, but Lawrence didn’t mind.

And from there originated the next issue. A very, very big issue. The ‘at the bathroom and no toilet paper’ kind. Except the toilet was in flames. And he was as well. Because by the looks of it, Lawrence had gotten himself into one nasty hell.

“This isn’t good… I’m into some serious shit. Oh fuck, oh fuck, oh fuck!!!”

He started to hyperventilate, walking around frantically and pulling his hair. His mind was racing around, trying to figure a way out of the mess.

And, as some of you should know, walking around looking at your shoes is one of the best ways to smack your head on the wall. And so did Lawrence.

“Ouch!” He fell to the cold ground. Then, after a second, he dropped there and laid out to waste. The smooth concrete floor was chilly, and perfect to let the thoughts settle in.

“Alright, let’s take this slowly… Going around head-bumping walls isn’t going to get me out of this shit.” It wasn’t a particularly attractive habit, either way.

He took a deep breath, then another, then another. When he felt like his head was clear enough, he sat in the floor and closed his eyes.

First things first, I have to update Mika about our current situation. After that, I should go home and think something along with her… Ah, but I still have those people tied up in that basement… I can’t leave them here, that’s for sure. They do deserve some kind of punishment, but starving them to death is not exactly what I had in mind. Dududut… Okay, I could bring them in to the police, but that would be risky. I’d have to explain how I got my hands on them… No, let’s discard that option.

Okay, then what? I could use them as a bargain… But knowing how big our enemy really is, I don’t think I can handle prisoners right now. Not speaking about things like making sure they don’t escape, feeding them, etc…

The way I see it, my only option right now is letting them go. It might sound crazy, but it’s better than the other choices at hand. Besides, even if they know my face, it’s not like they know my name or where I live…

“Alright, I’ve made up my mind. Now to find Mikaella…”

•••••

Meanwhile, in a certain, cold basement…

“Oi.”

A certain someone shuffles on the ground. The bindings of industrial plastic fiber keep him tightly affixed to a cold concrete column. He makes his best effort to shift around and, after a short time, several bruises and a slightly aching body, manages to end up in front of his partner.

He leans slightly, whispering as low as he can.

“Oi, Larry!”

Unfortunately for him, starving wolves howling at the moon keep it more quiet than his ‘whisper’. Fortunately for him, their guardian, the so called Shade, has temporarily left, muttering something about ‘bathroom’ and ‘too tight to run away’.

“Come on man! Wake up!” With enough effort, he manages to land a kick at his partner’s ribcage. He also manages to almost break his own leg, but such thoughts don’t trouble him right now.

Or so he would wish. He bites his tongue to stop himself from yelling the loudest “FUCK!!!” the basement has ever heard (if basements heard things). A few second after, the pain recedes and, at last, his partner awakes, albeit slow enough for him to sob a bit, mourning his now quasi-leg.

The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.

“Whaddya want?” His partner growls after a yawn big enough to catch a glimpse of his underwear… through his throat. As impossible as it might sound. Who wears duck undies anyway?

Lawrence would have been very, very angry at that comment, by the way.

“Can’t you do the explosion thingy again?” He asked his partner.

“What? Are you crazy? It charges up with time, and I spent three days’ worth of power before. If anything I can manage a big smoke screen and a spark or two…”

He smiled nervously, looked around for their dreadful warden, and said:

“That’s going to be more than enough. Now listen, I’ve got a plan. Do you know where Kayne is?”

“How should I know? I’ve been here just as long as you, sleeping at that. By the way, you should try that, this columns are just great for your neck-”

“Seriously buddy? Don’t you think we’ve got bigger things to take care of right now?”

“…Right. Uh, so, what’s your plan?”

“Alright, so here’s my idea…”

•••••

Twenty minutes later, Lawrence was done putting his act together. Right now, he had to find Mikaella. After that, he could manage the three man-sized issues on the basement.

He wasn’t used to this building yet (why would he?), so it took him some time to get somewhere. Regretabbly enough, while the somewhere he had wanted to end up was the basement, he managed to get to the bathroom.

Which was well and all, except for one thing.

The bathroom’s lights were on.

Did the Holy Inquisition forget how to properly exorcise a house?

Mikaella…? No, she should be watching over the other two guys. Now that I think about it, I did leave Keneth alone earlier. Or was it Keith?

Let’s wait and see.

Lawrence hid behind the door and waited for it to open. He didn’t have to wait much longer. A couple of minutes later, the sound of a toilet being flushed was heard from within the bathroom, followed by steps on a marble tiles floor, and then…

Creaaaaaak…!

“I hate dirty toilet seats…”

“Mikaella! Why are you not watching over our guests?”

“Nyah!!!” With a shriek that would’ve put cats to shame, she jumped away from him and landed on four legs, hissing.

What the hell are you supposed to be?!

“Oh, chief!” After that demonstration of feline behavior (seriously, what the fuck did I just see?) she recognized Lawrence in her attacker and dropped to the floor with her legs closed. “I just really, really had to pee…”

“And leave two dangerous men without supervision? Have you never before watched a movie or read a book? That is exactly what allows villains to escape in this kind of situation. Be Genre Savvy, Mikaella. It does to a person… sort of well.”

“But we are the Villains, right?”

“We are the lawful evil. But that is not what matters right now. Now hurry up! I am done with Kurt and, let us put it this way: The sword hanging over our neck would put Damocles’ to shame.” He sped to the basement (at least he intended to, in this damnable maze one never knew) and Mika followed suitly. “Is it bad?”

“It is quite not good. But worry not, if I have a talent it is the one to get away from precarious situations relatively unscathed…”

“Uh, chief?”

Lawrence stopped and turned around.

“Yes, Mikaella?”

“The bad guys are that that way” she pointed towards a hallway to the left.

“Fuck me… Fine, let us get going…”

It took Lawrence about ten minutes and four more interventions from Mika’s part to get to his improvised jail. He kicked the door- uh, smacked the curtain aside and hurried inside.

At that same moment, as coincidence had it, Yorcht signaled Larry to put their plan in motion.

“Now!!!”

Lawrence came to a stop. Mika, crashed into him and they both fell to the floor. In that same moment, a blinding light flashed before their eyes, and a deafening boom followed. Deprived from his sight and hearing, he found himself momentarily disoriented. Adrenaline rushed through his veins, his heart beat faster and faster…

And with no previous warning, the world came to a stop.

Huh…?

He was locked. Locked in a land of white. Silent. Nothing but him existed.

What happened?

He tried to breathe. He discovered he couldn’t. He also found out he didn’t have to.

What is happening?

He couldn’t blink. He couldn’t move. He couldn’t even feel. He felt doubtful about his own existence, and it was driving him mad.

Help…

But no one came. Nothing changed. He was trapped in this eternal world of neverchanging light. Nobody came to rescue him.

Help…!

Once again he asked for a savior. Once again, his plead was ignored.

…

……

………

And then, one single memory flashed on his mind.

“Why won’t you ask for help?”

“…”

“Why…?”

“Because this world is cruel, yes, but never unfair. Remember this, kid:”

“Your will is all you need”

And it clicked.

•••••

“Now!!!”

At Yorcht’s voice, Larry used his Meta-Ability. In less than a second, he felt a terrible preasure building up inside him, increasing with each passing moment. And then, he let loose.

There was a flash and then a piercing sound, and a spark burnt the skin around his waists. It hurt… But it was worth it. The coils around his hands were severely damaged. He applied a little force to them, and the ropes gave in, setting him free.

The room was soon full of smoke. However, being a thing of his own creation, or rather his skill’s, Larry could perfectly see through it. He hurried towards Yorcht, and used what he was left of fuel to cause another explosion and burn his partner’s bindings. Soon, they were both free.

“Stay here, and keep your ears perked up. I’ll go get them while they’re disoriented!” Larry left his partner and lunged himself forward, tackling down Shade. He then raised his fist and, putting all of his might on it, he punched her straight in the head, knocking her unconscious…

Or so he thought.

Instead, he found himself punching the hard concrete floor through a cloud of black mist. He couldn’t see through it, which meant it was not his doing. Then…!

He tried to turn back, but it was too late. Mikaella shadowjumped behind him and masterfully hit him in the neck leaving him out of breath. Sadly, while years of living in the streets had forged her into someone more than capable of fighting, her constitution was still that of a malnourished young girl, and her strength was not enough to knock Larry out of the fight.

He fell to the floor and used that momentum to roll and try to get back up. However, before he was able to stand up, a hand grabbed him by the neck, slamming him against a wall and breaking his nose and some of his teeth.

He turned his head around while in unbearable pain.

What he saw behind him could not be called anything but an amethyst-eyed demon.

“The hard way it is, then.”