(After the intro...)
An hour or so had passed. The former jock was on his phone, texting his friend Dane. They were discussing about what they were going to do about the exam they had to take in two days. Mark only shrugged at the question. He didn't really have that on his mind. Not right at this moment anyway. That's when the sixteen year old heard a groan. He looked down at his right to see his brother moving. He flipped on his other side, now facing his older family member. Mark watched as the pilot's eyes reopened. He was at first a bit disoriented, but eventually grasped his surroundings. He looked up to see his older brother returning the stare. Mark was about to get up. He didn't get the chance to with Ryan engulfing him in a hug around his waist. That surprised the former jock, but he didn't fully dismiss it. He returned the gesture in curiosity.
"You okay?" Mark asked while rubbing his shoulder a bit.
The pilot only hugged him tighter. This made the sixteen year old more concerned than before.
"What's up?" Mark questioned.
His little brother was silent. The older Walker brother hadn't seen him like this since he was seven. The former jock was eight at the time. The technopath was sick and he hated being alone. He stayed off from school, but around this time it was the weekend. That Saturday was mainly annoying for Mark, but it was still one that never escaped his mind.
()
"No!"
"I'll give you 2 bucks."
"What am I gonna do with 2 bucks, dingus?"
"Dollar tree?"
The eight year old rolled his eyes.
"Mom!"
Grace walked into the room. She saw the younger Walker brother laying in bed. His family member was standing up with his arms crossed. Grace glanced between the both of them before speaking.
"What's the matter?" She asked.
"Do I have to watch him? I wanna play with Dane and Sean!" Mark whined.
"Mark, your brother's sick. I need you to watch him because I'm checking on my food truck." Grace explained.
"Can't you do that later? I'm bored. Dane and Sean are outside. I need sunlight. You know, playing for an hour is what you need per day. It helps you stay active and healthy." Mark tried to convince.
Grace chuckled a bit.
"Your staying your butt in here. And if I don't check on my truck, we might not have a house anymore. Here's a scrub mask so you don't catch what your brother has." She responded.
Mark took the mask and put it on. He was still upset and sat on the floor.
"Mom, he doesn't have to watch me. Where am I gonna go? I'm stuck here." Ryan spoke up.
"Exactly. Mark's going to get you whatever you need while I'm working. Whether he likes it or not." Grace replied.
The eight year old growled.
"Now I'll be downstairs making some calls. If it's too big, come get me." Grace stated.
She about to leave when Mark stood up and said something.
"It's too big." He called.
Grace turned around.
"You want to be grounded?" She asked.
Mark shook his head immediately.
"Then watch your brother. It's not like he's some kind of weirdo." Grace finished.
She closed the door. The eight year old put his tush on the end of his brother's bed. He had an angry look on his face. The seven year old stared at him for a few moments. He had his pillow up against his back.
"Mark?" Ryan called.
The eight year old looked at him.
"Yeah?" He questioned.
"Do you hate me?" Ryan wondered.
Mark blinked for a second.
"No. Your just annoying." He replied.
The little seven year old nodded. He bit his lip as his older brother looked back at him. He sighed.
"Do you hate me?" Mark asked.
Ryan looked at him.
"No. Your just mean." He responded.
"You think I'm mean?" Mark inquired.
"You've always been mean." Ryan retorted honestly.
Mark glanced down at the bed. He crawled over to his brother. He sat next to him and shrugged.
"I guess I'm just getting the hang of being an older brother." Mark said.
"That's okay. I like having a mean, cool older brother." Ryan replied.
"Well, I can't argue with you there." Mark bragged.
"But, your not cooler than Jamie Foxx." Ryan told him.
Mark gave an offended stare. Ryan chuckled. The eight year old glanced around the room. In that moment, he felt a pair of arms wrap around his waist. He looked down at his little brother.
"Is this fun for you?" Mark asked.
"Yup." Ryan answered.
"Why?" Mark questioned further.
"Because then I know your there. Even when you don't like me, I know your there." Ryan explained.
Mark didn't bother to pry away. He instead used one arm to hug his brother back.
()
"Do you feel any better?" The sixteen year old inquired.
Ryan sighed.
"I guess." He responded.
He removed his arms and slowly sat up.
"You know why that happened?" Mark questioned.
"I didn't see anything if that's what you mean. This time I just, blacked out. It might've been because I overused my power earlier." Ryan answered.
"It has to be more than that. You were screaming." Mark disagreed.
Ryan nodded.
"Yeah, it hurt like crazy." He replied.
"I'm just glad your not in pain anymore." Mark stated.
"Well, right now I'm cold." Ryan told him.
His older brother raised an eyebrow at him.
"Really? It's like 77 degrees in here. And your even wearing a long sleeve shirt." Mark retorted.
Ryan shrugged.
"It's freezing outside." He responded.
"Does it look like we're outside?" Mark questioned him.
Ryan chuckled. That quickly died down when he jumped. He held his chest as Mark became nervous.
"What's wrong?" He posed.
Ryan looked at him.
"I felt something shoot up in my body. It hurt, but it's cold too." He riposted.
Mark was perplexed until it reoccurred. The freezing shock of pain felt like a piece of glass. It was as if something was cutting his veins. Ryan's hand clutched the edge of the bed as he tried not to holler. Mark quickly got up and opened the door.
"Leo!" He called.
The 30 year old member of the team dashed into the room. He saw that Ryan was awake, but he was still in some sort of pain. He checked the scanners once more and saw that the blue liquid was traveling quicker through his veins. Some cells were turning dusk and the intestines had an outer shell forming. This became more intense than before.
"Oh my gosh." Leo spoke astonished.
Ryan had settled down a bit. Mark was standing beside the bed. The two looked at the scientist.
"What?" Ryan asked.
Leo turned around.
"Okay so..." He began.
The boys became curious.
"Your powers are growing." Leo said.
"Growing?" Mark questioned in return.
"Yeah. Their getting stronger." Leo clarified.
"So that's it? That's why I have all this pain?" Ryan inquired.
"And why that weird blue stuff is inside of him?" Mark added.
Leo nodded.
"But why does it cause pain?" Ryan wondered.
"It's bonding with your body. It's trying to protect you from further injuries." Leo explained.
"So it's not bad?" Mark asked.
"Seems like it isn't. But I'm not sure." Leo answered.
The two brother shared a glance. Not sure? That was never usually a good sign. Leo created technopathy in the first place to help save people. How could it cause damage to the person who has it? Why is that blue liquid sending waves of pain? I guess, for now they would have to wait. They would all have to try and make sense of this weird new thing.