Brighter Epilogue

While Brody slumbered and Kylie rested on that rooftop, Chevy sat in the living room with a blunt, reminiscing about times past to the sounds of some old soul music. The smoke swirled in the room creating his own atmosphere of memories. It had been a long time since he was able to simply sit down and think about his first love. Bailey had avoided his mind for a while but she still owned a house in his heart, so he knew that it wouldn't be long before before she commuted to the city that was his mind.
While on the road of memories, Bailey saw memories of her and Chevy when they were merely babies of the earth, before the Evil Virus, before her father was still alive, and everything was right in the world.
She glanced at a small pink house where a lot of house parties were thrown, and she remembered that was the first place her lips had ever touched his. Chevy remembered her lips tasted like bubble gum with the texture of a cloud. They were just fifteen then. Brody's overprotective nature didn't even come into play when he found out that they were talking. As far as he was concerned, Chevy was already family, and this simply confirmed it.
He shook his head as the memories delved deeper. He remembered the first time they ever spent a full night together at Brody's house. It was almost like a slumber party, with Bailey inviting one of her younger long time friends over and Brody inviting Chevy to the house. Chevy remembered their dad being away on business, but even back then, Bailey and Brody were smart enough to figure out that their father was on a mission. He remembered seeing tears leave Bailey's sparkling brown eyes, a side of the Brody hardened girl he had never seen before. He found out that night that she hated when her father had to go through these missions, even though he had trained both Brody and Bailey, and Kylie and Kayla to fend for themselves if he should ever leave the earth for Heaven, she still felt a strong emotional attachment for her father, knowing that she would need him, knowing that she still needed him, not just for his advice, but for his laugh, his smile, the joy he brought to her spirit. She explained to him why Brody didn't feel the same attachment for their father as she had. She told Chevy something that Brody never told a soul in his entire life. She told him how Brody used to cry at night when he was younger, wanting his mother and she remembered how stoic his face had grown when he realized she was never going to be a part of his existence. She told him how alone he felt without his mother and she told him that was the reason he found it so hard to open up to anyone. Chevy just always thought he was quiet. He never thought there may have been a reason behind that. He never seen that side of Bailey before. It made her more human. Before he thought of her as a beautiful female version of Brody, but now he saw a vulnerability that attracted him to her that much more. He was able to fully expose himself in that moment which made her comfortable enough to allow him deeper into her being, the first and last person who would ever be granted that privilege.
He remembered the first time he had ever met their father under the pretense of being his daughter's boyfriend. He had been as nervous as a snowball in hell, wondering to himself if Daddy Gun would ever accept him to be apart of his daughter's life. He was surprised that Daddy Gun had been so welcoming to him. He thought for sure that he would show him the door, knowing about his past, knowing that he had put his father behind bars, but Chevy guessed in his mind that Bailey's father had understood his circumstances, and didn't fault him for being born to a night nurse and one of Nashville's most notorious drug traffickers. He thought of Chevy as a family friend when Brody first befriended him after his father had been charged with domestic violence, trafficking, and first degree murders under the New Rico laws, but when Bailey reintroduced Chevy to her father as her boyfriend, he hugged him and Chevy never forgot the next thing he had said to him. Daddy Gun was the first man to ever hug him, and in that instant he had hugged him tightly and whispered in his ear, "Guess you're a part of the family now, son." Chevy wanted to cry then, he damn near cried while he was reminiscing with only the blunt as company. Daddy Gun was the only father Chevy ever had, and a tear dropped when he thought of the crying Brody on the front porch of his house with the large pistol in his hand, screaming, "I'm sorry, Chevy! I'm sorry, dog!" All the taller Chevy could do was place his arm around Brody's shoulder.
That lead Chevy's mind into the darkest recesses of his mind. It was there where he began to explore the depths of his relationship with Bailey. Him and Bailey had been going together for at least a year. On their one year anniversary, she had a surprise for both Brody and Chevy that would change their lives forever. Brody had noticed that Bailey had been getting sick in the mornings before they went to school and he told Chevy about it. Chevy, having been around women all of life, knew exactly what was going on. At first he was excited but scared. He wanted to ask Bailey about her being sick, but knowing Bailey, that would only cause trouble between the twins and make trouble for him. One thing she did not like was for people to know her business. That was one thing her and Brody had in common. They both hated the outside opinion of people they didn't know, so Chevy kept his mouth shut while his nerves became electrified with anticipation. The longer he waited the more the fear died down, and the more he simply wanted for Bailey to deliver the news to him. A month had passed before he finally found out and by then she was already two months into the pregnancy.
When she finally told him, all he could do was smile. Only being fifteen, sixteen, he thought about how he was going to support his child, but one thing he had already promised his unborn child was that he or she was going to have a better life than he had, and he was going to be the kind of father that Daddy Gun was to Brody and Bailey and not like how his father had been to him. He was going to take care of Bailey and the baby by any means necessary.
They decided to wait a little while longer before telling Daddy Gun about the new addition to the family, but they were already discussing potential names for the baby. Johnny Jr. after his father if it was a boy, and Beauty if it were born a girl. Chevy wanted a son more than anything but he knew if he had a little girl, she would be the direct reflection of her mother's beauty. He started to imagine how the baby would look, how it would act when it got older, what it would want to be when it grew up, what its favorite color would be, and everything else that could possibly be thought up as he and Bailey lay in the bed looking up to the ceiling into the infinite sky imagining even more infinite possibilities for their child.
In his heart he knew that everything would be alright. Everything would turn out just fine, but then the E-v came and changed everything for the worst. That's when his thoughts became hazy. He wasn't present when Brody watched his father die or when his sister tried to kill him, but he did witness the tears running down his best friend's face and it was that same night where he had suffered the worst heartbreak he had ever experienced. It was worst than his father going to prison. It was worse than watching his mother get beat up by his father. Worse than seeing his friends die from gun fire. This was his child and his child's mother, and he realized at the end of that blunt he couldn't even shed a tear for the love he had lost. He bowed his head in respect for both the child who he had loved with the entirety of his soul and the woman he would have given his heart too, wishing that they both rest in peace.



Around noon that day, a few hours after Gun Shadow and Brody finally stumbled back home, Brody rested silently on his king size bed with Kylie by his side, stroking his face gently. Hoping he would wake up soon, she traced his hairline with her finger. Kayla opened the door softly so she wouldn't attract to much attention. She smiled when she saw Kylie lean over and kiss his dark lips. "You know he's going to wake up completely refreshed, hungry enough to eat up the whole house talking about where the weed at, huh?"
Kylie laughed, not even moving her brown eyes off of Brody's smooth brown skin. "Yeah. We better have Dice's Pizza on speed dial for when he wakes up. You know that's exactly what he's going to want."
Kayla shook her head mockingly, "Oh Brody, you and your weed."
Kylie turned around and looked into her sister's eyes. "No....Brody and his pizza. That boy loves him some pizza. You remember when we was all in Mama Chevy's house? All he would holler about was some pizza." Kylie laughed and caressed his gentle face, "You would've thought he was a baby, but he was so cute." She continued to laugh, releasing some of the tension that was present in the room. "Awww, I don't care to get him some pizza though, as long as he's alive to eat it, ya' know." She turned around to meet her sister's gaze once more and Kayla nodded her head signaling that she understood. Kylie turned around to watch the subtle twitches in Brody's face while he slept. She sighed, "Can I ask you something?"
The older sister instinct kicked in. Sensing that Kylie had something to get off of her chest, her voice filled up with concern. "Yeah wassup."
"What do you think about Brody's decision to step out of the fight against renegade E-v's? Do you agree with it?"
"Why you asking me that?"
"Just curious, I guess."
"Well, to be truthful, I don't really agree with it. I think we were blessed with a gift to help others and that we should. I think we have a lot more to learn about our powers and that we can't do that by simply acting like we don't have them, ya' know."
Kylie nodded her head. "That's what I thought at first too, but I understand his decision now."
"What you mean?"
Kylie thought about the night before where her and Gun Man fought the most powerful being they had ever faced in their life. She had realized that even with her powers ascending rapidly, that they had barely survived that fight, and had it not been for Gun Man's quick thinking, they would have died and the demons Kayla would have been fighting alone would be her baby sister and her best friend. "I felt like that too at first, but now I kind of understand why he doesn't want to be a 'superhero' anymore."
"What happened?"
"What do you mean?"
"I mean what happened to make you change your mind? I know it had to be something because you were the one out of all of us who was most excited to get out there and kick ass, so what happened?"
A grimace appeared on Kylie's face as she began to think about The Beholder. She barely even knew anything about him., but she knew she had already hated him and everything he stood for. "I met him."
She threw her head back, thinking along the lines that her sister had met a new man. "Who?"
The scowl never left Kylie's face as she started to explain about The Beholder and Thirteen. Her voice was solid as if her subconscious was already plotting revenge. "The man who almost killed us." Her voice wasn't its usual melody as she explained about The Beholder and Thirteen. Kayla gasped the more and more she heard. "I think Brody was truly affected when Smartz called him a monster," she said while stroking the sweat off of his forehead, "But when we met The Beholder for the first time, I think it really sunk in that maybe we weren't meant to be saving the world. I mean one of the world's most successful murderers wants us to join his ranks to take over the world. Between that, him killing his uncle, and Smartz calling him a monster, I think he had reached the breaking point and decided that enough is enough."
Kayla gestured toward her baby sister, "So are you going to follow him on his path?"
Kylie smiled as she watched the corners of his mouth twitch in his sleep, "I told him not too long ago that I would follow him to the end." She turned to face Kayla and she saw the face of an innocent woman who only wanted to help people. It wasn't too long ago that she had been that same look on her face, but not anymore. Things were too complicated, too convoluted. "I have to walk by his side on this one, Kayla, I have to agree with him now."
This was a new side of Kylie that Kayla never seen before. She was almost subservient in her eyes. "Walk by Brody's side. Do like Brody. Is she like his parrot or something?" But she knew it was deeper than that in her heart. She knew it was something more than she was letting on and she knew exactly how to pry the information out of her. "So you're like his puppy now?"
Kylie looked back at Kayla confused. "What do you mean?"
"I mean so what if someone else thinks Brody is a monster? You know he's not right? So like why stop something that you obviously love to do because he stopped and FYI, he can't fool me either, I know he's going to miss the action. He was gungho to find anyway to help his people out, and now you're telling me that you both are going to quit because some dude wants Brody to become a murderer? Are you serious?"
Kylie shook her head. "You're not listening."
"What's their to listen to? He's giving up, you're giving up. I guess you guys want me to give up too, right?"
"You do what you want, but I'm not doing this anymore. I can't."
"Why not? What's the big deal!? So some crazy dude is after Brody! What is he some kind of prophet for death or something!? You act like you haven't known Brody your whole life or something. You know he ain't gonna turn into a monster."
"That's the thing, Kayla...." She was all ears now. "He already has. When we fought the Zoo Crew, we was fighting one of his family members. I bet you didn't know that did you? That was the reason why Brody was wearing a suit when we fought the tiger and King of the Jungle. You didn't notice how ready he was to kill any and everything? Maybe it's easy for you because your powers don't come from a dark place..."
"What did she mean 'we'?" Kayla asked in her mind.
"....But for us, evil is right around the corner. That's why The Beholder was so interested in him. He wants to bring out that evilness brewing in Brody's heart, and he knows it's only a matter of time before something happens in battle to where he has no choice but to transform into the man who killed his uncle, who destroyed King of the Jungle, and the same one who almost destroyed poor, defenseless Sheetah, and did what I could do? Do you see the shadows taking over more and more when I see you're in danger? I'm growing stronger by the minute, and that's why it's not safe for us on the battlefield." She snapped her fingers for emphasis. "Our lives could be over in seconds and that's all it would take for us to become monsters! I know it must feel nice to have control over both your powers and your destiny, but we don't have that luxury!" Tears began to stream down her face and Kayla understood finally why her baby sister had to let her dream go of a crime fighter. She walked behind her sister as she turned back around to face her love in his sleep. She hugged her sister tightly around the neck to make sure she knew that she was there for her. It had never donned on her that her baby was a superhero with a super problem and that she was being selfish, jealous that her sister had found someone she could be powerless around and still be safe. She knew because her powers weren't of the same breed as Brody and Kylie that she had a different path to take, but she knew she had to learn to accept Kylie and Brody's new path and she knew she had to let them walk that path together. Kylie's tears poured down from her face as she remembered holding the barely conscious Brody in her arms on that morning sun lit rooftop, thinking to herself, praying to herself that he survived. She shook her head in Kayla's arms, tears and sobs far from muffled and she yelled, "I just need a vacation from all of this, Kayla. That's all I need."
Kayla shushed her sister. "I know, baby. We'll all just chill for a while okay. We'll all take a vacation together, okay Kylie?"
Kylie sucked up the tears, feeling like she was seven years old again being comforted by her big sister, the only person she looked up to. "You're not mad at me anymore?"
Her voice was so childlike that it made Kayla smile, seeing that same seven year old girl, complete with missing teeth and a colorful tongue looking up at her. "I could never be mad at you, Kylie. No matter what you do or who you choose to be with, you will always be my little sister, and I will always love you."
Something about hearing those three words from Kayla made Kylie feel completely at ease, realizing that not only did she have Brody watching out for her, but she also had an angel of a sister watching out for her too. She smiled, still rubbing Brody's smooth face. With her free hand she clutched at her sister's and whispered, "I love you too, Kayla."