THE FOLLOWING MONDAY AFTER THE MURPHY VISIT
POV: Nerovsky
Why do I come to these? I fall asleep 2 minutes in anyway. Oh wait, now I remember. It's because they're fucking compulsory. There's some sort of fine and a personal visit from the government people themselves. That's the last thing I need. As more people streamed in and took a seat in the hall, I yawned for the 8th time in 10 minutes and regretted living a bit more. Aiden had already dozed off on my right shoulder and was on the brink of drooling on my suit. Oi assface, I still have work after this and unlike you, I can't just turn up to work in a hoodie. I put my hand on his chin and shut his jaw shut, causing the man to wiggle uncomfortably on my shoulder before he found a comfortable position again, releasing a large, peaceful exhale in the process. How the fuck are you sleeping like that? We're standing for fuck sake (We hadn't sat on the chairs and stood at the back of the room for a quick escape out). I looked back to the stage and then to the entrance again to find that there were still more people entering. You know... I'm starting to call bullshit on the whole 'People who have an Oddity make up 0.5% of the world's population.' There are way too many people here. Maybe, they all migrate to big cities so they can flex. Yeah, most look like snobby assholes. They're definitely all in the metropolitan area to flex their specialness.
A quick explanation of what was going on and where we are. As mentioned before, us special people make up 0.5% of the population which isn't a lot but it was large enough for the world to not ignore our existence. The world had set a bunch of universals rules and laws for us to specifically to follow. Some countries may be stricter and have additional ones or others might just ignore the rules and live laxly with us. The rules were set in place so we didn't do the whole world domination thing. Even superheroes were an uncommon thing, mainly due to the lengthy process of training and all the legalities of using their powers without consequences. Places where there was a high concentration of us also had an Oddity "ruler" alongside the country's ruler. They're placed to deal with the country's politics but mainly focused on issues Oddity related. The leader also usually dealt with training and growing the police force, regardless of Oddity or not.
At least once a year, the Oddity leader held a meeting for all us, in or near the area, where attendance was compulsory, regardless of any circumstances (unless you're bedridden in hospital or something to that extent). Luckily, the meeting excused you from everything and there weren't any consequences if you, for example, had to go in the middle of work. The meeting's held at the end of the year and just ran through the entire year's events. However, very rarely, there was an emergency meeting held in the middle of the year. That usually meant trouble or issues that one of us (or more) that needed immediate attention. This was one of those meetings.
The meeting was pretty early morning so I was missing the morning half of work and going in the afternoon, probably staying back a bit later than usual. Which was annoying but oh well. The meeting is meant to start in 3 minutes and people are still lazing in. I bet my bank balance that they don't even get fined or some shit. I might as well come into the meeting halfway through. At that moment, I saw the tied-for-number-one bachelor duo enter the establishment and immediately, the noise in the hall increased by 5 folds. The place was filled with squeals, whistles, whispering, talking, etc.
They tended to have that effect.
This was the one place where common folks like us could sit with celebrities or big named people without any fuss (there was a rule not to hassle the VIPs) or restrictions as such. The females were either fangirling quietly or trying to capture their attention so they would sit with them or get their number or seduce them or try to get laid. Then and there. And this is the exact reason why I'm gay. Well... that isn't a fair comment since there are a couple of dudes who are trying to do the same thing. They're just more subtle and less slutty. It looked pathetic because Leo and Erwin didn't even bat an eyelash to them. They just moved to the empty seats near the front.
As if he remembered something, Leo stopped in his tracks and began searching the hall. Erwin wasn't fazed by his friend and rushed towards the seats. I wonder who he's looking for... god he looks delicious today as well... it hasn't even been a minute since he entered and I'm already lusting for him. I think I need to go to a doctor or something. Suddenly, Leo made eye contact with me and held it. Oh shit, I got caught staring. Abort! Abort! Except before I could abort, Leo sent me the happiest, relieved smile in the world and my heart did two cartwheels, a backflip, two front flips and a somersault. I wasn't the only one who noticed his change in expression because 3/5 of the venue made some sort of shocked noise and began searching for the cause of the blissful sight (the girls looked like they're about to eat whoever got his attention. It was fucking terrifying). I managed to send back a polite smile myself but I almost failed since I was focusing all my energy pushing down the redness from my face and neck. I hate how he can do that without any effort. Leo seemed satisfied and resumed finding his seat next to Erwin (he does stare at Aiden for a little bit before shrugging whatever was on his mind off).
"Wow. You're pretty whipped for him, aren't you?"
I stiffened at the voice on my shoulder before I looked toward the stage, annoyance clear in my eyes. "Shut up."
He sniggered (coming from next to me rather than into my shoulder) and it took my all to not to slam his head into the wall. The fact that Ms. Oddity leader was at the speaking podium acted as a form of restraint. What's her name again? Lindy? Linda? Yeah, I think it is Linda Cross. Wow, am I shitty citizen or what? She formally began the emergency seminar with a formal welcome.
"Welcome everybody. I'm so thankful that you could make it today (well nah shit. You're gonna fine us otherwise) and apologise in advance if there is affecting any other commitments of yours. I plan to make this short so we won't have to be here for too long."
That's what they all say.
"Ok. So, there is a lot that does need to be discussed but there is one thing that is in need of more urgent attention so we will be discussing that today. I am sure you guys have heard of the incident that occurred last week with the vice-president of The Hanes Group and the incident from 7 months back with the employee from MegCorp. It's come to our attention that the person who physically harmed the victims (exCUSE ME?! VICTIM? Just who are you calling victim here, you incompetent whore?) is someone who possesses an Oddity, meaning one of you guys."
Aiden leaned closer and whispered into my right ear, "Well, what do you know? They've finally caught wind of the attacks. They're only like, oh I don't know, 6 years late. It seems we overestimated how useless they could be." I snorted at his comment and shook my head in amusement.
"Now from what we know, the person only goes after people who's done something to break the law in one way or another. As of now, we do not know the gender of the person nor the power they possess. The perpetrator is good at hiding their tracks. What we do know is that their pattern is to leak all the information to news outlets through illegal hacking as well as visiting the victim to harm them. They do the latter probably to force them into turning themselves in or make them weak enough so they cannot escape from the police. It seems the order of the methodology does not matter."
"nnng. That's wrong your honour. There is actually an order but occasionally, we don't follow it due to unseen circumstances. Also, it isn't just one person who's doing all this. As if Nero is smart enough to hack. Nice try though." I rolled my eyes at his hushed commentary. Aiden was having way too much fun with this.
"You're really craving my fist in your mouth today, aren't you?" Aiden gulped and focused on the stage. Really hard.
"-you could probably call them so sort of justice vigilante. They have good intentions at heart but the way they go about it is wrong and illegal. Plus, who says they won't lose track of their initial goal and go rogue, attacking innocent bystanders instead? They have broken several rules including the primary one; do not use your power under any circumstances unless you are in danger. Have gathered you all here today to tell this one person to stop their actions immediately and turn yourselves in. I know you're here. If anyone else has any other leads, please report them immediately. There will be rewards if it helps us out. The sooner we stop this, the sooner everyone else will be safe."
Somewhere along the lines, I clenched my fists and jaw together in frustration. Aiden seemed to be feeling the same because he quietly spat out, "Of course we're fucking treated like criminals for doing their jobs for them. I bet they don't want it to leak that their incompetence is due to their leader spending her time and effort literally sucking the President's dick rather than training the task force." His eyebrows were creased and he was practically growling. A hand on his shoulder told him to calm down and he listened. He loosened his tense shoulders and his face went back to neutral. Aiden added on with frustration, "What pisses me off is that we can't even defend ourselves without putting the suspicion on us."
As if they were reading our minds, someone in the seated audience stood up and inquired Ms. Cross, "With all due respect madam, I don't see the issue here?"
The whore looked puzzled. "What do you mean?"
"Yes, they're breaking the rules set in place but they're breaking them for a good cause. The vigilante is exposing the criminals and serving justice for any victims. Last week's incident was messed up. He was a sexual harasser and a near-rapist for more than 3 years. It would've been much longer because he did it so well but he finally got caught out by the vigilante."
There is hope for society!
Cross was thrown off. She straightened herself up and responded with, "I understand where you're coming from. And I'm glad such a dangerous man is put behind bars but we have the police force and detectives to deal with this situation. We do not need an untrained civilian trying to play hero. They can just apply for a hero licence. And as I mentioned before, there is a possibility they may go rogue, proving to be a dangerous villain instead."
And then something happened that took everyone for a surprise. Well except for Aiden. That asshole just looked smug. Mr. Leonardo Covell stood up and spoke up as well. "I agree with the man over there (said man fainted on the spot), I don't see the problem here. You said that we have the police and detectives to deal with these kinds of issues, yet for the past 3 years, they hadn't caught a single whiff of his misdeeds. So can we truly rely on them? And if we cannot rely on them, then who do we rely on? Moreover, you keep mentioning how they might go rogue but that's just baseless claims. You don't even know what kind of power they have, let alone know how they think!"
Everyone's, including ours, jaws dropped through the floor. No one's ever seen the CEO of MegCorp be this passionate about something. Who knew the boss had a thing for justice?
Our jaws dropped for a different reason though. We'd never seen anyone defend us like that before. Granted, no one knew about us till like now (7 months ago in Leo's case) but I meant in the general sense. We were both pretty lonely people so we never had other friends to stand by our sides. When we were passionate about something that was against the mainstream, we'd usually just get shunned out completely. Our honour being defended felt pleasant. We felt appreciated, like our actions didn't go unnoticed. It felt a little less... lonely. Aiden's smug mode was switched back on and playfully told me, "Well would you look at that? He's just as whipped for you. Maybe secret you but he already has a hunch that it's you anyway so..."
"Aiden. I need you to shut the fuck up like right this minute."
President's mistress managed to pick her jaw up from the stage and collect herself. She calmly replied (there was an undertone of distress), "Yes well... I understand where you are coming from Mr. Covell. Look, the following information is meant to be kept confidential but to reassure everyone, we were actually on Mr. Murphy's trail and near uncovering his actions."
OH YOU'VE GOT BE FUCKING KIDDIN-
"BULLSHIT!"
I whipped my head to face Aiden, I nearly got whiplash. The fucking dumbass was shooting lasers at the lady on the stage and was breathing very heavily. He had his fists clenched and was glowering at his target. I harshly but quietly called out "Aiden! What the fuck are you doing?!" At that point, everyone had turned around in their seats and stared in our direction. They didn't know who it was but it didn't stop me from groaning and covering my face with my hands from second-hand embarrassment. I am not dealing with this. Through my fingers, I saw that Leo and surprisingly, Erwin knew who it exactly was. They were staring at the light blue-haired male with evident intrigue.
Cross was flabbergasted from the sudden outburst and stammered out, "Ex-Excuse me?"
"Aiden... don't..." The ηλίθια σκύλα (stupid bitch) didn't listen to me. Great now he got me swearing in Greek. How long has it been since that happened?
"I said bullshit. You guys were never on his trail. Like ever. Because if you were, the motherfucker would've been caught at least 2 years ago. From what the news has kindly shown us, the shit he's done were so fucked and so large, a single scent caught would've immediately put suspicion on him and eventually, he would've been held accountable. But that never happened, did it? Instead, you try to make the one person who did finally stop his fucked up shit look like a criminal and make yourselves look good by taking partial credit. It's because of this reason that I've never liked you guys and probably never will. You guys couldn't even save my mother from a simple murder nor could you give her death any justice."
The entire hall was eerily silent, a pin drop could be heard. Slowly, everyone turned around to face the stage, waiting to see Cross's response. Her face was slowly becoming redder in anger and embarrassment, hands were clutched around the microphones tightly and her eyes were trembling in rage. Even with all that wrath, she managed to coolly say, "This seminar is over. You may all leave," and presumed to walk off stage to the back. No one moved for a minute, perplexed at what just happened before eventually, someone slowly made their way towards the exit. Soon everyone else followed with a lot of chatter.
Aiden turned to me and gleefully expressed, "Did you see her face? I totally just- and that's not a proud face. Or a happy face. Or any positive face." Aiden's mood dropped immediately.
He was right. I wasn't looking at him proudly. It was the opposite. I was mad and disappointed in him. Big time. There was venom seething out of my words when I remarked, "Aiden. You're fucking insane and stupid and I'm really fucking pissed right now."
"What? Why? Nothing happened!"
"BUT SOMETHING COULD'VE HAPPENED AND YOU KNOW THAT! YOU KNEW THAT PRETTY GODDAMN WELL WHEN YOU SAID WHAT YOU DID. YOU COULD'VE RUINED EVERYTHING RIGHT THERE AND THEN. I told you to fucking don't but did you listen to me? Nooooo."
Aiden flinched at my booming voice before bitterly retorting back. "I knew what I was doing... Yes, it was in the heat of the moment but I'm not that much of an idiot to say something that would expose us like that. I even gave them a fake mother story to justify my outburst."
THAT'S NOT THE POINT! I closed my eyes and inhaled a deep breath to calm my vexation. I opened my eyes, stepped backwards and coldly said back, "That's not the poi- You know what? There is no point arguing with you right now. Until you understand what was wrong with what you did, don't talk to me. Leave me alone. I need to get to work now."
I turned around and went for the exit. There was a tug on my wrist and over my shoulder, I was met with an anxious Aiden. He pleaded, "Wait, Nero. You're not serious- I'm sor-"
I tugged my hand away from his grip and decidedly announced, "Figure out what you did wrong, then come to me. I'm not accepting any apologies until then. You know I hate sorries for the sake of forgiveness. Figure out your mistake Aiden." I really don't want to do this but you need to understand. Please understand. I don't want to leave you alone. I miss you already.
As much as it broke my heart, I left the hall, with a teary Aiden looking at my back, helplessly.