《Villain Syndrome》 Prologue "They''re dead." Theodore''s face was ashen as he felt all the blood drain out of his body. He sunk into his armchair with a defeated gasp of air desperate to escape the harsh reality that had come down upon his body. He didn''t want to believe his deputy''s words but he knew there was no way he could deny it. Soon enough he would be forced to see their bodies and hold onto their cold little hands. Tears gathered in his eyes and he didn''t even bother to stop them from falling. He had failed them. He had failed them all. The weight of his mistakes crushed him and he clenched his fists in agony. Sobs wracked his body as he pictured the children''s wide eyes and hopeful smiles when he greeted them with open arms. There was no way to deny it he had loved them as if they where his own. His own children had died and he was the cause. Or at least one of them. Had the blood of their parents splatter on their nightgown''s that night? Did they only cry out for him in a fit of pain and terror? Theodore gave a shutter and opened eyes feeling them burn. He wanted to hold them one last time in his arms. Like any would he begged openly for forgiveness even if they could no longer hear his voice. Across from him sat his deputy a young stoic woman with a piercing gaze. She didn''t seem that affected by outburst with the exception of the slight gape in her mouth. A small headband binded her long brown hair but besides that she was plain. Glimmers of emotion gleamed in her blank eyes and he thought that it was pity. Scratching her head she let out a breath. "Sir..." She spoke in a soft whisper of a voice, delicate but firm demanding you pay attention. "I presume you had a relationship with the victims?" More then a simple relationship. The thought of defining his involvement in the horrific crime made his stomach turn and palms sweat. As if he where in a fever induced dream of sorts he felt his body begin to sweat profusely. Guilt. Sadness. Remorse. All at once he felt it all. He set his hands on the table clasped to avoid clawing at his skin. "Yes I did. They where the children I had saved ten years ago on my first day in this department. I visited them years afterwords, helping them threw physical therapy, bringing them candy, I loved them as if they where my own." He stopped abruptly and wiped at his forehead which was now drenched in sweat. Looking up he noticed his deputy had a pained look on her face as if she were holding herself back. Trimmed nails played with the ends of her hair as she looked at her lap deep in thought. He wondered dully if she blamed him like he did or if she even understood what he was telling her.This story is posted elsewhere by the author. Help them out by reading the authentic version. "Sir. If I may ask...if they where like blood to you why didn''t any of them just give in? Why didn''t they turn their selves in to the authorities knowing you''d protect them?" "Would you turn yourself if you knew death was certain?" He said holding his head in his hand the other on his leg. She blinked looking shocked for a split second before taking in a breath and becoming a calm blank slate again. It didn''t surprise him that she thought it was right for the mutant kind to turn themselves in only to be subjected to cruel experiments under the guise of a cure. They weren''t sick but like everyone else in the world with eyes and ears they had been taught to believe so. "If it would save someone else''s life then yes." She said her voice becoming tense and her fingers clenching. She had become nervous and he knew he shouldn''t try to push it any further. Would children dying save humanity or what remained of it? Even if they where the cold hearted monsters that society labeled them as he wouldn''t be able to pull the trigger when meeting their eyes. Not in this life or the next would he be able to kill a child in cold blood. His chest tightened just by making it a possibility. "Sir?" His deputy said putting a hand on his shoulder knocking him out of whatever trance he had been in. "You starting to look a little pale. I think you need to take a leave from this case." He wanted to protest but he knew she was right. Just because he had lost a few of the children didn''t mean he had the right to jeopardize the rest due to his emotions. Setting his hand on her''s he removed it from his shoulder and looked her straight in the eye. If there was anyone he could trust with this case he knew it could be her. Six years of working together had taught him that. "You''re right. I want you to take over the case for me." He held up a hand stopping her outburst. "You know that I''m connected to this case personally now. I don''t want anyone else to know that. I know I can trust you to not let anyone control your decisions London." The Albanian woman nodded her head albeit stiffly. A wave of relief went through Theodore''s body as he knew that she would do it. Everyone in the area knew how stubborn the woman could be when she wanted to and her respect for those who listened to logic over reason. Reaching into his desk''s drawer he pulled out a thick black folder and sat it in front of her. In the folder where the continents of six years of research and even more time spent on with witnesses. Superhuman children weren''t a oddity to him anymore but a mass production. Everyday more and more where born meaning more to save. More to protect. "This is where you''ll start." The Beginning: Part One A L T A I R The Beginning Part One Freshly cut grass and dead leaves kicked up into the air as a pair of bikers rode threw the streets with their bookbags hanging off of their backs and their helmets discarded onto the ground behind them. The humid summer air had shifted into the cool breeze of autumn. Children entered their first week of school and buses whizzed past them as they rode down the rural road. Birds chirped as they sat perched atop trees and many people had gone out to enjoy the calm environment. Truly, the English countryside was beautiful this time of year. Skidding to halt the boys changed there course and turned down a narrow trail that lead towards a small bridge. The bridge was wide enough for both of them to pass over it with it going into a small street lined with townhouses and family owned shops. Parents arrived home from the beginning of the evening traffic and the fragrance of barbecued meat filled the air. It seemed like everyone was out and about the busy neighborhood. Riding in the front the older of the two skidded to a stop as they neared there house and hopped off of his bike, letting it fall to the ground as he walked towards his front yard. Entering the house he ditched his bookbag and let his jacket fall to the ground. "Mum are you home?" Altair yelled out into the room with his brother coming in after him and slamming the door shut behind the two. From the door led into the home''s living room which was barren besides a small, antique rug the family inherited from distant relatives, a tv and vcr set and two small recliners. A small potted plant sat on a nearby window sill with a small stalk of lettuce growing out of it. "Mum?" He asked again walking into the kitchen to meet the back of his mother who seemed to be ignoring the two and chopping up the remnants of there supper. "Mum!" Jumping she dropped the knife back onto the cutting board and turned to face them with ear buds hanging from her ears. She took one out and dusted her free hand off on her apron. "Oh did you want something boys?" "Nothing mum we where just checking if you got off of work early." The younger of the two said taking a seat at the kitchen counter. Altair followed suit sitting next to his brother and taking a piece of the chopped carrots off of the cutting board and popped it into his mouth. It tasted salty and crunched despite having been left out the entire time she had been cooking the food. He reached for another one while ignoring his mother''s scathing scowl as he took them. "Wait until I''m done to start eating sweetheart," She said smacking a wooden spoon down near his hand. "Also the office let me out early today due to my boss getting food poisoning." His brother raised a eyebrow and gestured towards the empty driveway before taking his own carrot and nibbled at it. Taking the cue Altair cleared his throat and nudged his head at it.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation. "Really?" He asked biting the bottom of his lip. The driveway was empty with no van in sight and there mother still had her work clothes hanged on the clothesline outside in the front yard. "Yes really." She sighed putting her utensils down and scooped the cut vegetables into the bubbling pot on the stove top. Sweat dripped down her face. "Now do you want to help cook or not?" The two teens looked at one another with the youngest shaking his head and the other frowning. Both of them recognized the tone in her voice and neither wanted to push her any further then they already had. So leaving the kitchen was the only good option for them to use. "Nah we''ll just go upstairs and study." The youngest muttered pulling the back of his brother''s shirt as he started to leave the small room. There mother frowned and shook her head with a small tsk. "Okay then but I don''t want to hear you two arguing while I''m in here or no phones for the next week." She warned them as her arm stirred the wooden spoon in the pot taking it out to take a sip of the curry. Before she even finished talking the two had already left the room and began heading up the stairs that led to the second floor of the house. Even though it was only a townhouse the home had enough space to fit the family of seven in it. With three bedrooms and a basement all the siblings had a place to sleep despite there being seven of them. The two actually only shared a room together so it was easier for them to slip in and lock the door behind them. It was a relatively small room with a bunk bed on one side and a futon on the other. Next to the bunk bed was a medium sized closet and dresser sat right behind where the futon sat. While Altair took to sitting on the bottom bunk and crossed his legs with his head perched on his hands, his brother just stood with his back against the door. He could tell from the way he held himself that the boy was frustrated as his body was tense and his eyes closed. Sitting, he toyed with the shoelaces on his sneakers. He didn''t want to be first one to say anything or be in such a position. "Do you think she''s having a affair?" The question jolted him out of his thoughts and made him drop the shoelaces back onto the bed''s thin sheets. "Our mother is not having a affair Gabe," He gritted his teeth at the last part hoping to get the message across to the stubborn teen. "Why the hell would you even say something like that?" Gabe stared at him emphatically and sighed with a low shudder. "She''s getting more money then she''s ever gotten before, her car hasn''t even moved in the last week and she''s always coming home with the smell of cologne on her body." Altair narrowed his eyes at the last few words. "When dad''s on the road she always puts his cologne on. It helps her cope with him being gone so long. You know that Gabe." He watched as the teen nodded his head seemingly agreeing with what he said but not giving up. "Gabe." "Dad''s been gone for over a year Altair and mum always becomes depressed every single time. But not once in the past twelve months has she even shown any sign of worrying about him or even caring about anything but her so called job." He shook his head. "She''s always either sleeping when we get home or still in her pajamas." "So, she can just be overworked from taking care of us all by herself." He sighed giving him a look filled with disappointment. "Can you just let this go?" Gabe opened his mouth as if he where going to argue with him but he must have seen the look the other was giving him as he shut his mouth and walked over to the bedroom''s window. His face was red as he kept his back to the other with his lips in a firm line. He didn''t care that he was upset as he felt that it was disrespectful to even think of there mother sleeping with another man. It made his stomach feel queasy and he wanted to banish any remnant of the idea from his mind. And he couldn''t even imagine what made his brother think of there mother in such a way. Sighing, he turned onto his side and faced the roof of the bunk. Stickers and cracked wood stared back at him and with a yawn he closed his eyes as the exhaustion from the entire day collapsed onto him. The Beginning: Part Two A L T A I R The Beginning: Part Two The evening melded into night as the teenager laid unconscious and by time he woke up the room was pitch black and empty. His brother was not in the room with him anymore as the door was wide open and he couldn''t see him anywhere. One of the bedsheets had been pulled up onto his body, safely tucking him in. Altair bit his lip and pulled the sheet off of his body feeling a small spark of guilt before snuffing it out. He would only forgive his brother once he actually apologized not when he did something nice for him before running off. His body felt sore as he sat up and he scratched at his arms. It didn''t look like it was to late but he needed to get ready for dinner with the smell of roasted beef slowly hitting his nose. His mouth watered a tiny bit while he got off of the bed and took off his socks and slipped on some slippers. The walk down into the kitchen helped take away the sleepy fog that sat in his body allowing his eyes to see the full vicinity of the house. A few lights where on and his siblings bedrooms where closed, while his parents room was locked again by the looks of it. Curling his toes into the ragged carpet beneath his feet he reached the top of stairway. Below him the dining room was mostly empty with only his younger sister sitting in a recliner with a textbook in her lap and a glass of what looked like tea next to her feet. She had her hair down which wasn''t odd to him however she was still in her school uniform and her backpack was still strapped onto her back. "Aggie? What are you doing down here?" Altair asked careful not to knock over her drink as he came near her. "Where''s mum?" Moving her hair out of her face, Aggie set her book down and reached down to grab her glass. Taking a dainty little sip she swallowed the large gulp she took and wiped the remaining residue from under her lip. She looked exhausted with large bags under her eyes which where bright red. "Mum''s taking a nap with the little ones and I''m doing my history project. It''s going to be on the Korean War." She answered her voice empty and face blank. "Oh well have you seen Gabe anywhere? I need to talk to him about something." He asked ignoring the part about her project.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. "He left." Aggie muttered giving him a quick glance before crossing her arms over her chest and laying back into the chair. "He was really ticked off though, he even pushed me when I was coming in. What happened." Could he tell her? He knew if he told her about their brother''s conspiracy theory she''d either laugh it off or go straight to there mother with what he told her. However if he lied she''d most likely know and would be made at him the entire time they ate dinner. He shook his head and swallowed the lump that had grown in his throat. "I wrecked our bikes." Aggie looked at him before repeating what he said back to him. "You wrecked your bike and Gabe''s but he only got mad at you hours later when i got home from school? Really." He could tell from the way her voice went from low monotone to mocking that she didn''t believe him not one bit. And she wouldn''t believe anything else he told her maybe not even the truth but he feared her more then Gabe. He watched her observe him with her normally blank eyes but this time they where almost gazing at his soul. A lot more then Gabe. "Okay I lied to you we got in a argument over mom." He said feeling relieved to see her calm down and wait quietly for him to go on. "And I shut down Gabe before it could escalate enough to get her attention." "Well whatever your argument was about has him prowling the streets like a rabid animal drunk off his ass." She growled. "Oh no we have to get him home." Altair said feeling his heart begin to pick up. They couldn''t let him fall apart like this. "Get up let''s go!" "He''s probably at his friend''s house but there''s no guarantee." She yelled as he threw his jacket on not even bothering to get on any shoes. The front door was wretched open by him and he started to run out. "Slow down Altair we still have some time to get to him!" He kept going looking around outside for there bikes. His was still there but Gabe''s was missing along with his backpack. Cursing under his breath he picked up his bike, wiped it off and hopped on. Biking there would be faster then just simply running the entire way. "I don''t care we still need to find him before mum comes down and sees he''s gone. Now hop on my back so we can start riding." He muttered just as she ran out the door with her coat pulled halfway onto her body and hat plopped onto her head. She frowned but followed his instructions albeit reluctantly. Her arms wrapped around his waist with his hands locked together and her hair dipping down next to his chin. It was now freezing cold and the two shivered against one another. "Come on let''s go. I want to be able to find that bastard before it becomes pitch black outside." Aggie said growing inpatient as she pushed against him urging him to move. He wanted to pinch her but he withheld the urge feeling the need to find Gabe suddenly return and make his gut twist. Resting his feet against the bike''s pedals and tightening his hands on the handles, he moved Aggie''s hair out of the way earning a hiss, had one quick panicked glance at his mother''s window, before he finally took off.