I return to my apartment, closing the door behind me as I sluggishly throw my bag on the floor. I look around. The couch had been picked up off the floor, but the rest of the apartment was the same as it was before - a mess.

But that didn’t matter right now. Nothing did. Alex was taken by Cyclone because I had to go out and chase some dead ends. I didn’t stay and protect him like I should have.

I must have been up for 48 hours straight, trying to find where Cyclone was keeping Alex. I had never been able to find where Cyclone was hiding all this time, but now I desperately needed to.

I had to stop him before he made his wish or worse, hurt Alex.

After a few days of not being able to locate him, I decide to turn to the only person who might know anything.

Emphasis on might.

“Hey, Laf, wait up!” I call out, catching up to the tall man as he leaves class.

He turns around and smiles. “John! Good to see ya buddy, where have ya been?” He asks.

“I had some personal stuff to attend to. But anyway, I have a question for you.” I say, not wanting to waste any time.

He stops walking and nods. “Well, okay. What's up?”

“Do you by any chance know anything about where Cyclone might be hiding out?” I ask. “I mean, you've got that whole blog dedicated to him, maybe you know where he's frequently seen or where he might hide something?”

“What do you need that for? You're not trying to go find him, are you?” He asks, seeming concerned.

“That doesn't matter, I just need to know where I can find him. This is important, and time sensitive.”

“John, I don't know if it's such a good ide-”

“Please, Laf. He has Alex. I have to get him back. I can't let him hurt Alex.” I beg, grabbing his hand.

He stares for a moment, hesitating. He knew something.

“Laf, if you know anything, you have to help. You have to tell me.” I say.

He sighs softly, and pulls out his phone. “It's not much, but I have seen him around this area in Jersey a few times.” He says, pointing to a spot on the map on his phone.

I grab my phone and quickly type in the area, before looking up at him again. “Thank you, thank you so much.” I say as I start to head out.

“Hey John!” He calls. I stop and turn. “Be careful, okay?”

I nod at him before running out of the building. I quickly hide and change, needing to get to Jersey as fast as possible.

When I get to the area, I scope it out, carefully looking for any place that could be a hideout. After around 10 minutes of looking, I spot a barn on the outskirts of the town, seemingly abandoned.

I quietly approach the building, trying to sneak a peek through any of the boarded up windows.

I fly up to the roof and see a skylight, maybe the one window not boarded up. I look through and see Cyclone walking around, setting something up, but no Alex.

I try to look from every angle to see if I could find him, but to no avail. He's either hidden somewhere in this barn, or he's somewhere else, which would not be good. No, Alex had to be here.

He just had to.

I examine the sky light, trying to see if there would be a way to remove it so I could sneak in. Luckily, it pops right off, making a quiet noise. I glance at Cyclone to see if he noticed, but instead see him leaving the room. He exits through some back door and I quickly fly in.

I land and look around. There was a circle drawn out on the floor, with seven mini circles within it. In the center there was a pedestal, where I’m assuming the box was supposed to go. I then look around my surroundings. It was one big, open room, so there was no way Alex was anywhere in this room. He must have been in the back room that Cyclone had walked into.

I walk over slowly, creaking the door open ever so slightly. Once again, I see Cyclone, but not Alex. He was turned away from the door, a glowing light in front of him. It had to be the box. I look him over a bit more, and I could see that he didn’t have a mask on. He’s got the rest of his outfit on, sure, but no mask.

I had two options; I could either walk away and try to find Alex, or I could stop Cyclone from making the wish right here and now.

I know what you’re thinking. I know it sounds like an easy option. Realistically, I should stop him from doing any more harm.

But it was so hard to let go of Alex. To try and not go find him right this moment. The box didn’t even mean anything to me at this moment, I just needed to make sure my Alex was alright.

I knew my duties as Hyperion came first, though. I had to stop this wish from happening.

I slam the door open, making my presence known. “It’s over. Put down the box.” I declare.

He quickly brings his hand to his face, wiping something away. A tear, maybe? Weird. He then swiftly puts his mask on, turning around.

“Hyperion, you found me.” He says, almost in shock.

“Yes, and this ends here. First, you’re going to hand over the box. Then, you’re going to give me Alex back.” I say, tightening my fists.

He laughs softly. “I’m afraid neither of those things are going to happen. I warned you already not to get in my way.”

“I’m not leaving without Alex.”

He smirks gently, tilting his head. “Oh, really? You must really love this boy.” He taunts. “Tell me, if you had to choose between him, or this little music box, which would you pick?”

I frown, frozen in my spot. “I..” I sigh, looking down at the ground. “I’m here for both things.”

“But please, amuse me. If you knew you could only walk away with one, which would you pick?” He picks up the box and takes a step closer to me.

I look up at him, glaring slightly. “I won’t answer that.”

He nods silently, before examining the box in front of him. “Your refusal to give an answer is one in itself. I know exactly what you’d pick.” He then takes another step towards me, holding the box behind his back now. “And now, you know exactly why I'm doing all this.”

I raise an eyebrow. “What on Earth are you talking about? I could never understand how you think-”

“You’re willing to sacrifice everyone else’s safety. To let me walk away with this music box, if it means you got your loved one back.” He interrupts, the playfulness leaving his tone. He starts to circle me. “Don’t you see? Don’t you see that’s what I’m doing?”

I don’t say anything. This was so wrong. I couldn’t possibly be on the same page as this guy. He was a bad guy, there was nothing else to it. He leans in from behind me, speaking in a soft tone.

“Now tell me. If that’s what makes me a villain, why do you get to be the hero?”

I turn around and shove him backwards, letting out a shout of rage. He flies through the open door and into the bigger room, stumbling into a pile of hay. As he brushes some hay out of his face, he glares at me.

“You’re angry because you know it’s true.” He declares, standing up. “You’ve branded me as this super villain, when you know you would do the same if you were in my shoes.”

“No, you’re wrong!” I shout, running over to him. I throw a couple punches but he blocks both of them, ducking behind me. I turn and see him running towards the room we were just in, looking for something.

I chase after him but he had grabbed whatever he was looking for just in time. A glove? He slips it on and holds it out, electricity zapping against it. I stop and hold my hands up in defense. I almost ran right into his trap.

“A gadget? Are you telling me you made this? Do all of your ‘powers’ come from gadgets?” I ask.

Out of breath, he slowly walks towards me, holding his hand out still. “Not all of us are fortunate enough to have powers thrust upon us. Some of us have to think of other ways to get what we want.” He says.

“Maybe you weren’t given powers because the universe knew you wouldn’t use them for good.” I say, flying over him and trying to land a hit on him.

He senses me, though, and grabs hold of my arm, sending electricity through my body. I collapse to the floor but quickly prop myself up on my elbows, trying to get back up to fight. He walks towards me and pushes me back down with his foot, keeping his foot on my chest.

“Yeah, well, that wouldn’t surprise me. The universe has never seemed to like me very much.” There was this recognizable pain in his voice that made me stop fighting for a moment. It couldn’t be.

I grab his ankle but he reacts fast and places his hand on my chest, zapping me again. My hand falls to the floor and I lay back, the light seeming to dim. As I begin to black out, I hear Cyclone sigh sadly.

“I’m sorry, John.”

1653 Words

I'm ngl, I'm a bit surprised I was able to get this out on time. The last couple days have been stressful, so I apologize for any typos or whatever in the chapter. On the other hand, shits getting real.