Fighting Fire with Fire

"I don't plan on either one of getting hurt, alright? We're gonna trash some shop, pocket some cash and just wait, y'know? The kid's bound to turn up and then we'll just... I dunno, we'll work it out. You ain't getting hurt," he promised, offering a firm kiss on the lips as a show of his confidence, before wandering out. Admittedly, he was a tad nervous, even if he hated feeling like that. There was someone out there who could somehow injure him; who could injure him with a bog-standard kitchen knife that, if used by anyone else, usually wouldn't even enter Brandon's body. That petrified him-- but at least he knew he could heal afterwards. It was a completely different thing for Skyler to confront, given one stab wound could be fatal.

That said, it didn't stop Brandon from enjoying himself once in some uptown designer store, trailing a hand through the £500-plus dresses while keeping his other hand on his gun and trained on the several women customers who were sat terrified on the floor, hands on their heads. None of them appeared to be the 'hero' Brandon hoped to come face-to-face with, and time wasn't really on his side. A few more minutes, and armed policemen in their dozens would be outside the store.

"Where the fuckin' hell is this guy?" He grumbled, pulling himself onto the counter to rifle through the cash register, tossing Skyler his gun to do so. "I mean, jeez, what a fuckin' let down. Hey, after this, I'm gonna have some beers. I don't drink, but fuck, I need it. My side is killin' me because of that hero asshole."

In Brandon's distraction, with his back turned as he rooted through the till and shoved wads of cash into his backpack, he'd failed to notice the fact that, seemingly out of thin air, said 'hero' had appeared with a fun pressed to the back of his head before the loud gunshot went off and left the villain unconscious on the floor.

"Y-You. Oi, you, I'm-- I'm talking to you. Take your gun off those people and... and let them leave," he murmured with the gun aimed directly at Skyler... albeit in an incredibly shaky hand. Unlike the villains, the hero hadn't worn a mask or anything to really disguise his identity, which let it be known just how young he was, even though he was rather tall. His young age of perhaps 14 or 15 could explain his nervousness, which was not only shown through the shaking and stammering, but also the anxious shuffling from foot to foot. Hell, he was still in his school uniform, though his tie was dishevelled and his school jumper a little worn and torn. The teenager, with his bronze skin tone, green eyes and array of freckles, was rather cute-- though probably not in Skyler's eyes when he had a gun aimed at him. "I... I'll shoot, you saw what I did to that other guy, so... so let the people go, alright?"
 
Aiming the gun right back at the teenager, he had to put off his sudden horror at the unconscious Brandon to keep a steady composure, compared to the kid's. Taking slow steps forward, he thanked his mask to hide his clearly confused expression. Adjusting his tie calmly, he offered a chuckle.

"Look, this cute kid decided to crash our party. That's sweet, yeah?" Skyler cooed teasingly, though his seemingly calm facade was broken just a tad by the fact that he did keep a good distance. After all, if Brandon could be hurt so badly by a little kid, there's no way he couldn't be kllled by one shot. "Let's made a deal, yeah? I'm going to take the cash, and I won't shoot you or any of these hostages, hm? I don't want to kill a child, one that clearly doesn't understand this whole business."
 
"I-I am not a little kid, I'm... I'm old enough to stop you hurting innocent people and being completely disregarding of human life and the law and... and I'll shoot you if I need to," he retorted back with as much confidence as he could introduce into his voice... which really wasn't all that much, if he was honest. Still, he managed to stand firm and keep himself rooted to the spot, refusing to even lower his gun.

"I... I want you to let these people go and leave without taking anything, you have no right to do that," he continued, his spare hand moving to fiddle with his school tie to loosen it a tad. "I... I've got powers, I can do things, so... so I may be younger but I-- look, I managed to hurt your friend, and isn't he, like, invincible or something? So... stop being arrogant a-and leave, how about that?"
 
"Yeah? What powers are those, then?" He questioned casually as he loosened his posture. He was ready for the boy to shoot him, after all, so while he relaxed visually, he knew that he had to be on his guard. Nodding towards one of the whimpering hostages, he placed his free hand on his hip.

"You really don't like to make things easy, do you? All you would have to do is relax, we'd leave, and you'd be able to enjoy the rest of our day. I really don't enjoy killing people, as you should know, but I'm not afraid to if it means you'll learn a little something. You don't fuck with me - or my partner here."
 
"Partner-- so you're working together now? I... I didn't know that," he admitted openly, his surprise at the statement meaning he didn't have much control over blurting out his lack of knowledge, nervously glancing back at Brandon the moment the boy began to stir. He could apparently stab Brandon and injure him, which he figured was down to the force he had behind the knife, but bullets were useless. Still, it had knocked him out and would disorientate him, so it wasn't a complete waste of time.

"I... I'm not afraid of you," the schoolboy mumbled, pursing his lips and standing a little taller to prove that he wasn't prepared to do what the other said, or be bullied into doing so. "You're not all that. Neither is your friend. I-I'm... prepared to do what I need to to... to make sure you stop hurting innocent people, s-so... so fuck off."
 
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"No one is ever innocent, kid," he grunted, before making slow steps back towards a the register, by Brandon. Making sure the other was first still alive, he grabbed the bag of money as well.

"I've made my offer, and it seems you don't want to negotiate. Fair enough. I mean, I wouldn't negotiate with my partner, either." He teased, while glancing over to Brandon. Once Skyler knew the other was at least to his feet, he took aim at the child's shoulder. As he had proven prior, Skyler was a pretty fucking good which was in the boy's favor, since he knew he didn't hit anything vital. He didn't want to kill the kid, but he would if he had to. This, hopefully, would cause him to at least second-guess himself.
 
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Brandon, clearly, chose the perfect moment to regain consciousness and get to his feet because it happened to coincide with the schoolboy being shot. As soon as the villain got to his feet, groaning and rubbing where he'd been shot -he may not have taken serious damage, but it still left a solid bruise at the back of his head-, he let his eyes glance across to the hero who was now clutching his wounded shoulder in unsubtle agony. And Brandon's reaction to that was to grin behind his mask. Of course he was delighted! Regardless how young this boy was (which admittedly surprised him when he fully saw him) he had still stabbed Brandon in an alleyway and shot at him. So no, he had no sympathy-- particularly when he angrily grabbed the boy in his distracted agony and slammed his head against the counter to knock him out cold.

"You got the cash, right? Awesome-- we gotta go back to my apartment, I wanna take this kid there, question him a bit before, y'know, killing him," shrugged Brandon, throwing the kid over his shoulder with ease before casually strolling to the door. "And then I'm gonna make it up to 'ya for, y'know, helping me out 'cos I didn't see myself getting fucking shot in the back of the head."
 
"Jesus Christ, Brandon," Skyler whispered, barely able to hide his tone of horror. Sure, the villain was notoriously cold to many, but even he had a bit of sympathy for someone so young. Grabbing the bag of cash quickly, he phased through the wall to keep from waiting for the two to push through the door, especially once hearing distant police sirens. Briefly checking the kid for any real signs of damage, he began to run quickly, not really planning this far afterward. They could change out of their outfits, sure, but they still had an unconscious child to deal with.

"Let's uh... fuck. This is why we plan things out, Brandon!" He hissed quietly as he moved to the alleyway, clearly panicking as he rummaged through his own bag he had left outside of the store to switch out the bags. Once he was aware that there were no cameras or police, he tugged off his mask and pulled on his varsity jacket. "Where are we going to hide this kid?"
 
"Planning is for losers, Sky. Like, sure, we didn't plan this but everything worked out for the best, didn't it? Like, just-- chill out! I got shot in the back of the head and I'm chill," shrugged the villain, dumping the young teenager onto the floor while he tugged his mask off, thus allowing his smug smirk to be shown. As he tugged off his shirt and changed into something else, he did eye the self-titled hero at his feet, frowning at just how young the kid seemed to be.

"...He fucking stabbed me. Do you realise that nobody else can do that? That nothing can harm me? Yet this kid managed it-- so yeah, I want him dead. Don't you want him dead? What if he just... kills me next time, or you? He's, what, 14? So what?! He's still a busybody ruining our fun, Sky."
 
"He's also 14. First of all, I've never dealt with a kid, Brandon. Secondly, there's a difference between killing some old fuck and killing a kid that clearly has people who care about him. If we killed a kid, we'd definitely get attention, and not the kind we want. I... I mean, he didn't see our face, right? Maybe we could beat him up, threaten him a tad so he doesn't fuck with us, yeah?" He babbled warily before pacing a tad, only to run a hand through his hair.

"Look, lets just... leave. We can take the back alleys and get to the apartment, figure out shit there," he insisted once calming his breath.
 
"Hey, hey, calm down! Honestly, don't sweat this, okay? We'll just rough him up a bit then. Considering he fucking stabbed me and shot at me, I think I can justifiably hurt him a little. Or a lot," grinned Brandon, leaning across to make up the distance between them to offer a kiss, hoping it would at least put an end to the other's panic. Characteristically, Brandon didn't grasp the reality of the situation, or its severity. He was quite happy to do what he wanted regardless of consequences, and what he really wanted was to question the kid about his powers and why he thought it smart to try and get in his and Skyler's way. Especially when he was just some lanky schoolkid.

That 'lanky schoolkid' didn't take too long to come around, groaning as the pain hit him when he awoke in the apartment, unceremoniously tied to the radiator so he couldn't make a rash escape. At least, Brandon hoped super strength wasn't a power of his, or the ropes would be broken pretty easily. When that didn't happen, the villain gave a sigh in relief behind his mask, having slipped it back on the moment he realised the kid was coming around again.

"Yo, do you want some pop or something? How about a sandwich? Kid looks hungry, right Sky? I'll make him a sandwich."

"I... d-don't w-want a sandwich," grimaced the kid, stammering in understandable nervousness as his brown eyes travelled from Brandon to Skyler. "...You... c-can't keep me here. This is... kidnap."
 
Leaning back in the armchair he had pulled to face the teen, he had gotten back into his outfit much like the other, his cheeks beetroot under the blank mask. With a beer in his hand, Skyler was sporting a light buzz in an attempt of self-medication to calm his nerves. When noticing the teen come through, he sat up stiffly.

"Look, kid, we aren't going to kill you," he reassured flatly, his accent thickening a tad with the alcohol in his system. "Oh, you think we give a shit about the law? That's... pathetic, really. You should know by now that we don't follow the law."
 
"You won't... get away with this, you know. My... My father's really important, he'll find out where I am and you both will g-get in trouble and--"

"And that's the biggest load of bullshit I've ever heard Harry," cooed Brandon from the entrance to the living room, smugly waving the teenager's wallet in his hand. "I mean, it's cute that you write your name on the wallet. Adorable, really, that you write your address on it too. The orphanage, huh? That's pretty rough. I can't imagine there's many people who would care that you've gone missing, kid. Other than, say, a few careworkers. That's it, really. Pretty shit existence you have. And look, you have a cute photograph of a cat! They let you have cats at the orphanage, huh?--"

"S-Shut up, that's... not... my father is important, he's just... I don't... know where he is right now. Look, g-get off my things or I'm... I'll be mad," the boy mumbled, his cheeks flamed red in a mixture of humiliation and anger. "...You guys a-are just crooks, you know? And I'm trying t-to do some good a-and... and help people and... and if you're threatened by that, it's real sad."
 
"That is sad, isn't it?" Murmured the other in agreement, his lips pursing tight under his mask. If there was anything that plucked at his heartstrings, it was family issues. Letting out a heavy sigh, he took the wallet from the other to inspect the wallet. After rummaging through the wallet quickly himself, he tossed the thing to the side.

"So you're an orphan? I'm surprised you're so... sweet," he continued. "If I were an orphan, I'd want nothing more than to fuck as much shit up as possible. You'd be a good villain, you know - with... whatever power you have. What even are you?"
 
"Yeah, what is up with you?" Continued Brandon, dumping the bread he'd been buttering to head back across to the teenager, poking his shoulder harshly in an attempt to get a reaction from him, grumbling angrily to himself when he received nothing but a meek grimace. "C'mon, what is it? You know what my buddy and I can do. It ain't fair if we're kept in the dark. I'm less inclined to kill 'ya if you just start, y'know, talking."

"...I want to go home. You can't intimidate me, I'm not s-scared of you," he instead remarked, even if his attempt at bravery was, one again, undercut by his stammers. "Y-You're both just... bullies. I-I'm... just a normal kid, really--"

"Yeah, okay. Be a stubborn little prick then, that's fine. You ain't leaving 'til I know what you can do, so that's fine." Brandon yawned, flopping back to the couch beside Skyler with an unsubtle snort. "Ignore 'im, he'll talk eventually."
 
Leaning in close to Brandon, the university student lifted his mask just above his lips as to hide his identity still. Making sure as to know that there was no way Henry could hear, he warily frowned.

"I can't be here all night, I have my research paper due Tuesday," he whispered, his concern hidden under his mask. Unlike the other, Skyler cared quite a bit about his future - to be able to have political power was something he had dreamed of since he was young. Lowering his mask once again, he eased back in an attempt to seem relaxed.
 
"Then you can go and work on that and I'll say here with the kid until he decides to talk. I mean, I'm sure you can get a lot more work done in our dorm without me bothering you anyway, so it works out just fine, doesn't it? You go, get that work done and I'll just... lounge out here until the kid realises he has to talk. I swear, I'm not gonna, like, burn him alive or anything. Maybe a little burn or two to prompt him, that ain't too bad," shrugged Brandon as he relaxed back against the few pillows he'd decorated the apartment with.

With one simple glance towards Harry, he decided he could at least try and shock him into talking. Harry had been pretty surprised by the fact the two villains were simply working together, so Brandon was certain that finding out they were dating would at least get some comments from him.

Which it definitely did. He had been trying to distract himself by staring at a spider in the corner of the room, but the moment Harry saw the two men kissing, having lifted up their masks a tad, he was admittedly astounded by it.

"--Is this a joke? L-Like-- you're not-- this is just to f-freak me out, right?"
 
Admittedly, the sudden kiss in such a fragile situation was a bit of a shock as well to the villain. Sure, the thrill of a robbery was one thing, but the situation was far from over and done with. Not only that, Skyler was banking on Harry to be too distracted the 'dorm' comment.

"... yes, well, why does does that freak you out?" Skyler curiously cooed once regaining his disposition.
 
"It doesn't freak me out, not like that, I... I just mean, I... didn't know y-you were dating," he admitted with the same confused and astonished expression on his face, beginning to squirm uncomfortably. It was much, much easier when he thought the two hated one another. He could focus on one of them and, once captured, have them arrested or placed in a high-security cell-- then he could go after the other.

Having them be this close to each other meant that if he wanted justice, he had to take them on at the same time, and given he was currently handcuffed to a radiator, that wasn't going entirely to plan.

"...Can't you just let me go now? I... I'm supposed to be back at 4 or they'll go looking for me. I... I've got a reputation for sneaking out so they're e-extra strict, so... so unless you want to, you know, get caught by the police who search for me, I-I recommend you let me go now."
 
"We'll let you go if you talk," he replied flatly as he eased back into the couch as well once relaxing a tad, especially at seeing the other stutter. "I promise. We'll let you frolic back to the orphanage, nearly unharmed, if you tell us what makes you so fucked up?"

He hid his growing frustration well as he tapped his finger on the arm of the couch, biting his lip hard under his mask. "I don't want to kill you, even if my cohort does. I'm not a bad guy, Harry."
 
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