Chapter Two

Her name is Felicia. At least she looked like a Felicia. I didn’t actually have a chance to talk to her. The building began falling down right as she appeared. My only option was to escape. After weaving my way through the burning debris crashing around me I realized she had disappeared and I was left alone. Now I am left without my father and hell of a lot of questions. My only option was to head home and recuperate.

After a short drive I have finally arrived back at our mansion. Making my way inside, I grab a healthy snack of candy laying on our counter and crash onto my computer chair. I fall asleep so fast that I don’t even have a chance to eat the candy I had grabbed. I woke up the next morning with the wave of questions still crashing through my mind and intense back pain. Sleeping in a chair was not one of my best ideas. After my shower I quickly get to work. I have a lot to figure out and I want to get it done before school begins. My first issue will be money. My parents kept strict control of our funds and with both of my parents missing I had no way to access any of our vast amount of riches. Luckily, I have a variety of skills that can be very useful for monetary gain. I choose the easiest way and hack into a low security bank withdrawing only about twenty grand. If it's so easy why wouldn't I have done it before? Good question me. This is just the only time I have really needed or wanted any money. Having safely transferred the funds over to an account I just recently made for my fake ID, it was time to move on to more pressing matters.

My biggest issue at the moment is myself. I have been constantly putting it off as unimportant, but it has reached a point where it simply cannot be ignored. My body seems to heal at an exponential rate. The deep gash on my forearm has already become nothing more than a scar. That was a wound that would have needed multiple stitches and weeks to fully heal from. That and Felicia the flame girl. There are obviously some sort of mutants living in broad daylight and I guess my ability makes me one of them. My mind has begun to float off into imaginations of a mutant academy where I fight crime or maybe a group of vigilantes teaming up to save the world. It is now that I realize which side I would be on. I am the bad guy. Well that’s what any normal human would view me as. Everything I do and have done could be considered morally corrupt on some level. With this thought my hollow laugh echoes throughout the empty house. Being a villain isn’t such a terrible thing. With this small revelation, I decide to put off this “superpower” issue until it becomes more relevant.

School and work is what I should be focused on! Since Dick is now gone I will have to take over his business for the time being. The Russian mafia should be paying our house a visit soon as well, I better do my best to be an accommodating host. I quickly walk over and turn on the land mines we have hidden across our lawn. I am not even going to try and hold a conversation with them. It is going to be kill or be killed. Just how I like it. With any luck the mines will scare them off and I won’t be forced to start shooting.

Dick’s business is another issue that I have to face. I have the right connections, I just lack the experience in negotiations. I will probably end up hemorrhaging money for a while, but I should get the hang of it soon enough. With that I call up Hector who could now be considered “my” drug distributor.

“Hector small change of plans,” I began speaking immediately once the phone picked up. “My father is off on some very important business so I will be in charge for the unforeseeable future. Prices and distribution rates will remain the same as will the punishments for disobeying orders.” With that I hung up. Never let Hector begin talking. He is a slimy bastard who is only good with his words. With that I called our other business partners with the same messages. I can be just as tyrannical as my father if necessary and they need to understand that. If not, this entire business venture will turn into a bloody one.

The gross profit from Dick’s area of work has always been a staggering figure. I had seen it before, but actually being in charge of close to 1.2 billion dollars’ worth of drugs, sex slaves, and a mixture of other illegal activities is a lot more daunting than it originally seems. I’m sure there is not a single kid in the world that can relate to my current issues. Once I become acclimated and my job as CEO is firmly established, I plan on making some drastic changes. Dick has never been very good with finances or economics. I should just say Dick is only good at being a Dick. My regime will start now and I can make a fuck load more than just 1.2 billion dollars. Another couple hours pass as I slowly work my way through my families extensive contact network when suddenly the first mine went off. It was much more powerful than expected and shook my entire house. Following the first, a second and third go off with two more earth shaking booms. The entire house begins trembling now. I hope this does not become a common occurrence. I would hate for all the buildings I venture into to collapse shortly after.

I grab a shotgun, two P90s and a string of grenades we keep in our kitchen and rush out the back door. Just as I leave a motherfucking tank blasts a giant hole in the left side of the house. The goddamn Russian mafia brought a fucking tank! I have no other options. I abandon the weapons I am holding while pulling out all the pins in the grenades and chucking the entire belt behind me. The grenades failed to any meaningful damage to anyone behind me. I begin to run for the woods although not before catching sight of a familiar face among the Russians, Hector. His goofy ass grin is easy to pick out from the crowd. I can’t believe I failed to see this coming. This was brought on by my own stupidity. If I had stayed quiet and waited for either father or mother to return home this could have been easily avoided. I was noticed when I first began running, but I think they still expected my father to be home and chose to hover around the house. Hector was always a careful one. I probably don’t pose much of a threat to them at the moment.

After running for hours I finally stop to catch my breath. Only then do I notice the large amount of blood leaking from the front of my shirt. I must have been hit by a stray bullet when I began running. Adrenaline has really fucked me over this time. My blood had already fully soaked the t-shirt I am wearing and the amount of blood I have already lost must be astronomical. I guess my healing can only accomplish so much. I quickly rip my shirt off and tightly wrap it around the wounded area. My only hope now is to reach a hospital before I succumb to my wounds. With adrenaline still pumping through my veins, I continue on my journey through the forest leaving a trail of blood as I go. I just barely make it out and reach the edge of a highway before I lose consciousness.

I open my eyes only to see an unfamiliar set of eyes looking back at me.

“Mommy he woke up! Mommy!” The voice of the little girl, previously standing over me, could now be heard echoing down the halls of the hospital I was currently placed in. Before I had a chance to check my current state of health, a middle aged couple rushed in, with the little girl from before hot on their heels.

“Thank god he’s alright, what could cause a teenager to wind up in such a situation?” the average looking middle aged man said. Average is the only way to describe him. From his haircut to his suit, everything about him screams average.

The younger woman standing next to him only continues to look at me with a worried expression on her face. She has a motherly aura surrounding her, assuming such a thing actually exists. With that I decide to finally chime in.

“What did happen?” I meekly ask. Exaggerating my condition seems like a great position to take at the moment.

“You were shot, multiple times from the looks of it. We found you on the side of the road and brought you here immediately. Do you remember who did this to you? Even a rough description could help!” Mr. Average’s talking speed was gradually increasing as he clearly became more worked up. It brought me a small amount of amusement.

I am not going to answer immediately. I need to sit in silence for a few seconds to truly gather my thoughts. I cannot remember getting shot a second time, but now that I am fully awake I can tell my leg is encased in some kind of brace. How could I completely miss getting shot in the leg? I will not fully trust this family. They are almost too nice. There isn’t anyone who cares about a strangers well-being this much.

As if understating what I was thinking the motherly woman softly said, “We’re sorry to be a bother so soon after you have woken up. We’ll give you some time to gather your thoughts. We’re just glad you are doing alright.” With those words the mother lightly pushed her husband and daughter out the door leaving me alone once more to contemplate what new hell I found myself in now.