After finding out his dad died because of the incompetence of the police, Vito Damiani, usually just referred to as Vito, turned to crime to go against what the police stood for. He knew his mamma wouldn't appreciate it, but it felt like what he needed to do. Nowadays he's a working goon for Fendrich, along with two other goons, Big Betty and Hacksaw Hank. 

At first, he wasn't one to work with people, let alone get close to them, but over the years he felt himself soften a little and became friends with his co-workers in crime. Not to mention he sort of had a soft spot for Hank. He wasn't sure why, but he thought he was cute.  

"Welp, I'm going on a smoke break." Vito stated, getting up from the chair he was sitting on. "Hey, you shouldn't be smoking. Smoking kills." Hank stated. Vito would have given attitude if it were somebody else, but since it was Hank, he decided to listen. "Oh yeah? So what? If I die, I die, I'm going to die anyway so what's the big deal?" He teased as he reached for his cigs. He had a point there. "But you'd die sooner. Why do you even smoke?" the hacksaw carrier asked.  

"Stress relief, but why do you care?"

Hank made a grab for Vito's wrist, using his other hand to take his cigarette pack. "I'm just worried, if you keep smoking like this your teeth will get all yellow and stained no matter how much you brush. Or you could lose all your hair through chemo." He exclaimed. "I don't want anything bad to happen to you. 

Vito couldn't help but blush at what his longtime partner said, unfortunately it appeared the chubby criminal was holding the hand with the birthmark on it. "Uh, you're concerned with me?" 

"Why wouldn't I be? I lo- I mean... Like you. Besides, the boss might fire you if he catches you smoking in here." Hank mumbled. His soft face had a hint of blush the more he held onto Vito. "Uh, I could think of other things you could do instead of smoke. I like to do woodwork myself, I'm just as good with a chisel as with a hacks-eh?" 

Vito's face paled, the concealer on his hand got smudged off. "Uh, it's nothing important. Just a little tattoo. I... Uh..." 

Hank cocked his head, then had an idea of what was causing him so much stress. "Hey, I won't tell nobody about this. I never thought I'd meet a real Balloonman."

"Shh, keep your voice down. I don't want anybody else to know about this capito?" Vito asked. "Yeah, I promise you my lips are sealed." The chubby criminal stated. "But anyway, if you want to cover that up, I suggest you use the 'stay-put' concealer by this one brand. I actually have some if you want to use it." He added pulling a small make up bag from his pocket. 

"You wear make up? Not that there's anything wrong with that." The Italian asked. "Well obviously, I don't look this good without it." Hank stated, pulling out the concealer as well as a small container of setting powder. "I mean, you'd probably look just as good without it." Vito stated, blushing a little bit from having his mark covered up by someone he cared about a lot.  

"Yeah right, I wouldn't have been made fun of in high school if I was naturally pretty." Hank sighed before powdering the concealer on Vito's wrist to dry it as well as seal it in.

Once the birthmark was sufficiently covered up, the slimmer man took a seat beside his partner. "You got made fun of? I know the last few years of school are always the worst, but I didn't think you of all people would be considered ugly." 

"Uh, me? I mean I had some nasty scars on my face, most of them from sawing accidents. Everyone called me an... Uh, I don't know if I could say it out loud. But it was nasty." Hank mumbled. "My parents had to pull me out because it got so bad, especially in gym. Heh, I guess that's why I'm out of shape these days." 

Without thinking, Vito pulled him into a hug. "Ah! Uh, sorry. I don't know what got into me..." He awkwardly said, he was about to pull away when Hank snuggled further into him. 

"Don't be, it... It feels nice." He admitted. "Mm, it feels really nice actually. I've never been hugged before, not by someone who wasn't family anyways." Hank continued to hold onto Vito, softly purring the more they stayed together. The latter found himself growing more relaxed as well, he could get used to having someone to hold. "Um, does this mean we're, y'know, boyfriends?" 

"Uh, if you want to. I could be your ragazzo." Vito whispered into his ear. "Truth is, I thought I would end up alone. Especially after losing my dad." 

The Italian criminal was so relaxed, he noticed he was starting to inflate softly. "Whoa, been a long time since I swelled." He squeaked. "Uh, you don't mind, do you?"

"I don't mind. I could grab onto you and nuzzle you when you're inflated aha." Hank said before pausing. "Wait that sounded weird, sorry-" 

"Don't apologize to me, amore, the idea is kinda cute, if I'm being honest." Vito stated blushing a bit from thought. "Though, maybe we should go to the bathrooms to do it. Since we're the only two that use it. Then you can fully inflate." He whispered, taking his hand before strategically going to the bathroom. 

The two went into the handicap stall, which was only placed to comply with the ADA, since most of the people who worked for Fendrich were able bodied.Once the stall was locked, Vito sighed, inflating to his maximum compacity, taking up two thirds of the stall. He wasn't massive by any means, but he was still rather big. And upon him inflated, Hank snuggled up to him.

The inflated man blushed as his new boyfriend held onto his belly, laying his head on it. "You're so comfy, like a giant bed that can snuggle you back. Oh! Or maybe like a giant teddy bear that's also a tight blimp you can lay on." He purred. "How does it feel?" 

"It, it feels really good actually. Like I can just relax and let life pass me by, inflating is a bit weird feeling at first with your limbs getting smaller and forced apart. Heh, it's like I'm your life-size stress ball. Mmm, careful where you squeeze, it kinda turns me on~" Vito admitted. "Aaah, hard to believe this was seen as a witch's curse." 

The couple never wanted this moment to end, unfortunately it had to at some point. Fendrich's voice came on the PA. "QUIT MESSING AROUND!! I want all my employees into my office AT ONCE!" He screamed. Vito seemed to have immediately deflated as soon as he heard his boss' voice. They didn't know what he could have wanted, hoping it wouldn't have to take long. 

Once all the air came out of the slimmer man, the pair entered Fendrich's office. Inside was Betty alongside two newcomers, both wearing the same black masks the multibillionaire made all his goons wear when they went out. "You're late, but I'll let it slide for now. I've hired Clara and Frankie Lupelli here, so I want you three to show them around and what we do around here." 

"You hired new criminals? Is this about your election?" Hank asked. 

"I figured I could look better to the public if I take in some prisoners on probation."

"Ah..." Vito said simply, not really caring. "Now then, show these two around. Now!"  

As Fendrich yelled at them, the trio of original crooks lead the newbies out to show them around. It wasn't that interesting, just showing them where to the breakroom is and efficient ways to get to Fendrich so he doesn't yell at them.  

"What is it that you do for him, anyways?" Clara asked. "Oh, we usually just steal for him, mainly so he isn't caught. I mean, it's not much but the pays alright." The Italian stated. "So... Is there anything he wants you to steal, at the moment at least?" 

"I don't know, but I'm assuming he wants us to steal the mayor's medical files. I don't know why Fendrich would want someone's medical files, but he's the boss." Hank stated. "He's probably going to use for a smear campaign or something." Vito theorized before the five of them were called back into Fendrich's office. 

"I don't know, but I'm assuming he wants us to steal the mayor's medical files. I don't know why Fendrich would want someone's medical files, but he's the boss." Hank stated. "He's probably going to use for a smear campaign or something." Vito theorized before the five of them were called back into Fendrich's office. 

"The mayor's work shift is ending in five minutes, that's enough time for you to barge into his office and find everything there is to know about the mayor's health! No one would want a physically inept person to run the city, especially since the one in charge should have always been ME!!" The multibillionaire demanded. "Not Sinclair and especially not some guy who dresses like a corn cob!" 

"Uh, no offense boss but I don't think-" 

"Stop questioning me and just go!" The two newly hires squeaked, but the others had grown used to Fendrich's outbursts by this point. "Your getaway car is parked right outside, so don't even think about taking a joyride in my limousine!" 

"Yeah, sure boss." Vito replied, leading the crime team down to the car. Since he was the only one with a license, he got to drive. "What's gotten him so interested in Fleck's health? He already told the public about his autism when he got elected." 

"Uh, well maybe there's something else he's not telling us? There could be something he wants no one to know." Hank suggested. "Oh, we're here. Now how do we get in discreetly? Boss didn't pack us any disguises or anything." He got his answer when the rest of the team climbed into the air shaft. "Oh, that works." 

The mayor's office was now in reach, as were his medical files. But before Vito could make a reach for it, he saw a bill on the desk. "The... Adriano Act?"

The mayor's office was now in reach, as were his medical files. But before Vito could make a reach for it, he saw a bill on the desk. "The... Adriano Act?"

"He named this bill after my papa. I knew he came to my childhood home, but I didn't think he was serious about what he said back then." He thought as he read the bill. 

"Hey, whatcha looking at there?" Frankie asked from the vent, causing Vito to flinch a little. "Ah, it's a bill, but, it's not important." The Italian crook responded, placing the bill back on the table before looking for the files. "Wait, maybe we should bring them with us, y'know, see what he has in store for the city and use it against him. That seems like something Fendrich would want."  

"Well, he didn't ask for that now did he?" Vito snapped at the newbie before looking through the file cabinets. While he was distracted, Frankie, who was honestly curious about it now, got out of the vent and took the bill before rushing back. 

"Alright I got the file, let's go." Vito stated before entering the vent and escaping with the rest of the crew.

He was lost in his thoughts so much that he nearly crashed their getaway car three times on the way back to the tower, he didn't think Fleck was that close to his father. "They might have worked together a couple times, then again he did help us bury Papa. Merde, I really don't want to do this now..." Vito thought as they entered. "'Ey boss? We got those files ya wanted." 

"Excellent! This is all I need to reach the top! And why the long face? You look like you just lost a puppy." Fendrich sneered, grabbing the medical folder right out of his hands. "Oohoho, oh yes indeedy. Fleck is one of those blimpy freaks, he really should have kept it better locked up!" 

There was an awkward silence among the criminals, that is until Frankie piped up. "Um, he was working on this new bill." 

Vito immediately snapped out of his daze. "You took it?!" 

"What? I didn't think-" But before the newbie criminal could finish his sentence, the ravenette made a lunge for the paper. "H-hey! What's gotten into you, Vito?!" 

"Look, it's none of your business!" He snarled, grabbing the bill. Only for Fendrich to yank it out of his hand. "And what do we have here? Adriano? The guy that popped years ago? Weird choice to name a bill after him."

He read it, "So he thinks that freaks like himself should be protected, huh? Heh, this will definitely secure my victory, and then I will run the city as I should have!" 

Vito was about to lose it. He dares disrespect his papa as well as himself. "Dici che è un mostro? è come mio padre, come me, stronzo!!" He shouted in Italian. "Huh? What this meatball talking about?" Fendrich sneered.  

"He called you an asshole." Frankie stated, knowing some Italian. "He what?!" 

Fendrich glared at Vito. "You think you can stroll up here and call me, your superiour, an asshole in a funny ass language and get away with it?! I should fire you right here on the spot for being so out of line." The older man shouted. "Y'know I wouldn't even care." Vito stated in response. "Wha-" 

"All I've gotten was an abuse workplace and less than a living wage. Why the fuck should I stay here if you're going to insult my dad like that?" He continued, pausing as he realized what he said. "You're dad? So, you're a carrier of this gene, you freak!" That was all Fendrich could get out before being decked by the Italian. He wasn't one to use violence, Afterall, that's what killed his father, but he felt like he had to.

It took the rest of the team to pull the enraged criminal off their boss, not that they weren't also angry at Fendrich for disrespecting a man's deceased dad. "I'm going right to the mayor; I'll tell him everything you're gonna do." Vito hissed once he got up. "And don't expect me to come back here!" 

Fendrich would have yelled if he wasn't heavily bruised and dealing with a bloody nose. Once Vito stormed out, Hank followed, then the rest of the gang. "Those traitors! If Poppers haven't been outlawed, I would have dealt with him easy, eh it's not like the cops will believe a longtime criminal." He grunted. But he still had one more chance to gain control of the city, the debate tomorrow morning. "And the first thing I do is round up every last one of those inflatable terrors." 

The night passed by quickly, perhaps a little too much so. The gang was in a rush to find Mayor Fleck and warn him about what Fendrich was planning, Vito especially wanted avenge Adriano's death. "You don't think he's gonna relegalize those hunts, right?" 

"Non posso rischiare, with how he always talked about the Balloonmen he's gonna resort to something worse than popping us. I don't trust the police, but we got no choice."

And so, the crew made their way to the police station, only for Vito to feel something. It was a familiar feeling, but he wasn't aware of what it meant but he felt it around some people. He was going to get the reason for the feeling once they went inside. 

"Huh? What are you criminals doing here? Turning yourselves in?" Duke stated, ready to cuff these guys immediately. "Aspettare, aspettare." Vito started, hands up to show he's not going to do anything. "As much as I don't want to come to you for this, but Fendrich is planning on fear mongering the voters into voting for him since he found out Fleck is a Balloonman. I know you don't care, probably are disgusted but-" 

"Hold on, I need to bring you to the chief." He said, bringing the group to the Chief's office. "Yo, Dukester what's up?" He asked before looking at the group of criminals with the lieutenant. "Whoa, was there a bust I wasn't aware of?" 

"No, but, apparently, Fendrich got a hold of Mayor Fleck's medical records and found out he's a Balloonman, which is probably why he wasn't accepting random drop in meetings." Duke explained.

The cloud birthmark on the two officers had once again turned bright blue once the gang entered, they knew at least one of them was a fellow Balloonman. "I figured it was the case, the mayor will be notified right away!" Duke assured them. "But why are you doing this?" 

"I... Uh. Well, it's personal." Was all Vito could say. "Nothing a cop can understand." As soon as he said that last sentence, Duke removed his gloves. The gang was surprised that one of the most trusted men in the city was also a carrier of the gene. 

"The chief and I are Balloonmen as well, as are two other citizens. There might be more in the city, I hope so anyways." The lieutenant explained. "Knowing the mayor is one of us, we'll be able to back him up when the debate happens. That will be in fifteen minutes, we should hurry!" 

"Um, and the rest of us? We should get a lesser sentence for doing all this." Hank mumbled. 

"Since ya did no crime stuff today, there won't be any arrests today. Now we gotta see Fleck about this!" Wheeler exclaimed, kick flipping out the door. "Look out Douchdrich, you're going down!" 

The mayor in question was doing his breathing exercises before the big event, this was his last chance to win the people back on his side. "Alright, just remain calm and it will all be alright." Carol was concerned as well, she wanted to do everything to keep her friend calm. 

"Mr Mayor!" A tiny voice called, bursting through the door to hug his leg. "That big bully won't beat you." 

"Eep! Madison, I told you to stay in my office." Carol squeaked.

"Carol, it's fine... Sort of. Someone did steal my medical records. I didn't get around to locking them up and now they're gone, and most likely in the hands of Fendrich, I just..." The mayor paused, taking some deep breaths to calm down. But he could feel the presence of more people, they weren't in the room, but he could feel them nearby. "That's odd..." 

"What's odd?" Carol asked. "I'm not sure, I just feel like three or so people are going to burst through the d-" Before he could even finish his sentence, Fleck heard the door open. "Oh, uh... Good evening officers and... Hold on Vito?" 

"Huh? You actually remember me?" Vito asked, kind of confused since it was a 20 or so years since they last met. "Yes, I indeed remember. Anyway, what brings you to city hall-" 

"Dude! OMG Bro Fendrich is finna use scare tactics to win the election!" Wheeler stated. "Uh..." 

"Basically, Fendrich has your information and is going to use that it to get the people against you." Vito explained, as well as giving more details. "I see... But how can we stop this?"  

"Well, here's how I think about it. People were murdered because of the Stigma and the newness of the Balloonmen gene. So basically, if Fendrich is against them, he's basically for genocide." Wheeler said. "It's a bit of a stretch but I'm pretty sure we can say that."

He knew exactly what to say now, if he gets exposed for having the gene he could now expose Fendrich for enabling people to be killed. "I am ready for the debate, especially now that I know I'm not alone in this." He said with utmost confidence. Although he still had to be wary, there was no telling what sort of tricks the billionaire had up his sleeve. 

He marched right up to his podium, grimacing as Fendrich strutted right to the opposite podium with his medical papers in hand. The multibillionaire shot Fleck a dirty smirk, as if he was sure the city would turn on the old mayor the moment they knew of his condition. "So I might have lost some employees, they'll be begging to come back to me once I win!" He thought. 

Fleck was first to speak. "Thirty one years ago, I went to apply for a job in the council. If it weren't for a kind man named Adriano Damiani I would never have gotten as far as I have. But despite everything he had done, he met a terrible fate, a group of people barged in and murdered him in cold blood. And for what? Because he happened to have a gene that caused him to inflate." 

Fendrich was at a loss for words. "Do you hear that?! He was hired by one of those Balloonmen! Their condition may be contagious! And who knows how they pass it on to others!" 

Fleck held out his hand. "So, are you saying it is right to kill people? All over something beyond their control?"

"I, well, I wouldn't put it like that-" 

"Really? From what you're saying, you see a genetic disorder and see a lesser person. Do you see all genetic disorders as something that should be eradicated?" Fleck asked, causing a few murmurs from the crowd. This wasn't looking good for the multibillionaire. 

"Now then, if I am reelected as mayor, I will fight for their safety and their rights, since no one deserves to be killed. Not to mention, the only thing this gene does is make a person inflate, which could be controlled." The corn suited man continued.  

Fendrich, thinking he had a leg to stand on, decided to speak. "Oh, how would you know, unless you are one!" Fendrich stated, pulling out the medical files. "You stole his privet information?" Someone from the crowd asked. "Well, yeah, he was hiding the fact that he was a balloonman!" Fendrich stated.   

This was a poor choice since A. having it explained made it seem a lot less scary and alien, and B. Fendrich invaded somebody's privacy. Knowing that made him seem a lot less trustworthy, since what if he steals their information for his own use.

"It is true, I am a carrier of this gene. And yet I have been more than capable of keeping the city from falling into chaos." Fleck replied, he rubbed the concealer off his palm to reveal his birthmark. "The only reason I hid was because of everything that was done to those who carried the gene, the Poppers as they were once called." 

Duke stood up immediately afterwards, showing off his own cloud marking. Followed by Wheeler, then Harl and Buster exposed their birthmarks. "All these men have done nothing but good for the city, but even if they didn't, they shouldn't be treated as lesser over their conditions." Fleck continued. "There may be many more in hiding, fearful of what will happen to them." 

Fendrich was reduced to a screaming mess, spouting off his usual ableist insults now that he no longer had a leg to stand on. It was clear who will be elected by this point, especially now that more of the crowd were holding out their hands to show off their own cloud birthmarks. 

"I, urrgh. Fine! Let the freak continue to be in charge!" He screamed as he stormed off the stage. All he could think was getting petty revenge on the mayor and his former employees. "Oh, I'll get them yet, one way or another."