At the core of a city woven together by various highways, high-tech buildings, houses, apartments, duplexes, and stores all dotted around the location, it was midday. The sun beamed down on the cars that flew across the many roads. In one of the skyscrapers, a man with mocha skin, bright blue eyes, and braided black hair nestled into a nest on his head overlooked the city.
Nyxus had just gotten out of a business meeting. The day, he supposed, had been swell enough—no villain attacks within the daylight hours thus far, and he had no more work to do.
That left him with the decision to sit down at the cold steel table. To tinker with his wares? To research the news?
Before he hopped into the rabbit hole, he opted for looking into the news by scrolling through the news app on his phone. A new article that was released within the hour hit him first thing:
‘BREAKING NEWS: NEW VIGILANTE ON THE STREETS? ROBBERS CAUGHT BY A MYSTERIOUS FIGURE DUBBING HIMSELF E.HYDE’
A frown plastered on Nyxus’s face. This… he expected no less. He had guessed—not everyone agreed with the heroes’ methods of subduing enemies. Vigilantes were not uncommon in the city of Shuridenia, and more often than not, they were born from disagreement with the methods of officialized heroes.
Unfortunately, unless vigilantes were children, there was not much they could do. Not much, Nyxus saw, was known about this ‘E.Hyde’—just a name scribed on a note left with a disarmed and unconscious bank robber. Witnesses could’ve sworn they saw strands of either teal or blonde hair… this did not rule out anyone, as it wasn't a key trait at the moment. That said, the stature described by rescued hostages meant one of two things: A. E.Hyde was a midget, or B. E.Hyde was a kid who did not know what he was throwing himself into.
Before Nyxus could look into it, he got a message from a number he didn’t recognize.
[Mom, I am not okay. I think I had another episode? This time I woke up placing bloodied clothes in the washer… there was a note from him again.]
The text, in nature, piqued his interest. However, it was clearly a wrong number. And he was off duty, which meant he would get chastised for continuing the conversation any longer than a simple message stating what it was.
[Sorry kid, wrong number]
A few moments later, a response was sent.
[oh sorry Mister @-@ I am not having a good time]
Then the kid blocked him—a reasonable response when it comes from a stranger. A good one indeed.
Brushing off the scenario, Nyxus decided to work on his gear.
Across town, a blonde-haired boy stood anxiously in front of a washing machine. His green eyes glanced back and forth from the bloodied articles of clothing that he had dumped inside to a small letter written in flashy cursive.
‘Roe, I already set the formula in—just put the settings for cold, colored, and gentle cleaning or else the blood will stain. I’m sorry I didn’t get much time to break things down for you this time around. You are waking up. Remember to eat lunch — Ezekiel Hyde’
His hand was shaky as he stuffed the note into the pocket of his red panda onesie, listening to the letter. Then he stumbled his way to the kitchen and made a simple sandwich: tomatoes, lettuce, ham, cheese, and mayo.
Roe hadn’t been having an easy time since his father was found hanging by a rope on the chandelier. All he could do now was distract himself. But distractions did not help with the blackouts. He drank some orange juice, ate his sandwich, then ran up to his room. He shuffled around his homework, seeing it was already done.
‘…I am going to bomb my SATs this year, aren’t I?’ He didn’t remember doing this—maybe he would do fine with the school year tests. That didn’t mean the thought of failing didn’t haunt the boy. Didn’t mean he wasn’t worried by his lack of remembering when he did important things.
He didn’t feel like going to his mom’s lab, so he crawled onto the bamboo and red panda-themed comforter, curling up under that and an orange blanket.
He tried messaging his mom again.
He succeeded this time.
[Mom: Alright, I’ll try to figure out the drink your father made once I get home from the meeting again, okay sweetie? If all else fails, we can try the drink I made the other day. It seemed to keep you from blacking out—at least for a little while.]
He softly smiled at the text.
[Roe: thanks Mom. Love you <3]
He put his phone on the table, yawned, and then took a nap.
She wouldn’t be back till nighttime anyway, and Roe Jekyll felt bone-dead tired.
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