Whoa

After being in The City for the length of time they were there, it felt good feeling the sunlight beat against Brody's face. He glanced down at the blunt he had in his hand, watching the smoke swirl from the end. The blue tinted smoke that swirled around his hand gave him a great peace. It was in that moment that he realized Nashville would be his home forever.
He looked at Kylie, a product of Nashville's beauty and told himself, "Home really is where the heart is."
Brody turned back around to gaze at the surroundings of a city that harbored alot of magnifence and a lot of pain. The Hard Rock Cafe, The Plateau of Safety, all of those places where there was still ongoing construction after one of his battles with corrupt officers and deranged E-vs, all made the ingredients of an introspective morning. He took another drag off of the blunt and blew the smoke at the tinted window, knowing that no one he didn't want to see him, couldn't. He loved the solidarity of an all black car with tinted windows and the coolest company one could keep, a super cool driver and a girlfriend who sleeps like a baby. And of course there was his best friend.
Kayla turned around and looked at Brody with a gleeful yet mischievous smile. "So are you through with crime fighting?"
He took another hit of the blunt and shook his head. "No, just starting actually."
Chevy took the blunt from Kayla's limp hand and placed the blunt to his lips, letting the smoke overtake him. While the smoke swirled around his mouth, Chevy asked the question that's been on both his and Kayla's mind, "So you still trying to save the world huh?" Brody nodded his head and rubbed his fine chin hairs. "So why the big change? I mean I thought after..."
Brody shot him a look that told Chevy to stop while he was ahead. "Don't even say it, homie. I know what I said after I killed him, and I know how it felt to kill my uncle, but now I know how it feels to know that I killed somebody I loved and not do anything to justify it. I stopped doing what was so natural to me because I was afraid of harming anybody else who I love, not knowing that I was doing an injustice to my people by not fighting for them. I was so engulfed in fear, but not anymore. I'm not afraid of anything anymore. My life is filled with more purpose."
Chevy nodded his head, part of himself not agreeing with Brody while another part of himself was completely understanding of not having any fear. He too didn't wasn't afraid of anything. The only thing that scared him was not knowing his own purpose in life. Not having faith in anything was beginning to take its toll on Chevy, but seeing the conviction in Brody's dark brown eyes reflecting back at him in the rearview mirror and hearing the determination in his small voice made a feeling rise up in Chevy that he hadn't felt in a long time. He told himself if he didn't have any faith in anything else, he could have faith in Brody. "So what's your purpose now?"
He passed the blunt back to Brody with a stoic face and in response, Brody gave Chevy his trademark smirk. "My purpose!?" The sarcasm in his voice was evident, but Chevy knew that Brody meant no malice with his question. "To take over the world, Pinky, the same thing we do everyday, love."
Chevy shook his head, but it was Kayla that turned her head. With a hint of irritation in her voice, she asked, "Seriously Brody!? What are you thinking right now!?"
The laugh that exited out of Brody's mouth was nonchalant, as if he was so sure of himself that he didn't have to answer to those who lacked faith in his new mission. "Kayla, how long you knew me?" Her face was questioning. In her mind, she wondered what exactly was the point of that question. "Long ass time, right?" She nodded her head as she watched Brody inhale the smoke. He let some of the smoke leave his mouth before asking, "When have you ever known me to do wrong, like when have you ever not known me to do right? I always come back and do what I feel is right, ya' know. That's what I'm doing now. I'm seeing that there is a reason for me to be here. I'm seeing that there is a role meant for me to play and I'm gonna play it."
"So what role is that?" Kylie asked while stretching her long slender arms to the ceiling of the beautiful interior of the smooth luxury car. Her yawn was rude. So Kylie.
"The leader of a group who stood against the corrupt officers of Nashville and beyond homie."
Kayla laughed while Chevy exclaimed, "How you gonna be the leader without no soldiers?"
The question was smug, and slightly hurted Brody's feelings, but his resolve was too certain. He knew that his feet was planted in concrete. He would take his stand anywhere on the earth and his resolve would never change. "Dog, just because I'm alone don't mean nothing to me, homie! For as long as you knew me I been a soldier! I'm gonna need you to remember that!" This was the first time anyone ever heard Brody raise his voice toward Chevy. He was like an older brother to Brody and everyone knew that. That showed Chevy how strongly Brody felt about taking responsibility for the gift he had been granted and he knew he couldn't let Brody go into this battle against tyranny alone. He was going to stand with his brother, fight alongside his brother, and die for his brother simply because in his mind they were brothers.
Kylie heard the anger in his voice and wanted to calm him down simply because she knew he was wrong. As long as she was there, he would never fight alone. She stretched her arm out and softly grabbed his shoulder to accentuate this fact.
Kayla knew that none in the car would ever let Brody fight against impossibility alone. She knew the odds were against them, especially with the evil nature of their powers., but she also knew the sacrifices that Brody had made for everybody else. She felt it was time for them to voice the sacrifice they were willing to take for him. She sighed and without turning around to see Brody smiling and falling into Kylie's eyes, she spoke with a level voice, knowing she would instantly capture Brody's attention. "Brody, you know we would never let you do this by yourself. You know us better than that and we've been through way worse than to just let someone from our family just go out alone. No way, if we fall into an abyss, we fall together. All we knew was falling, and not only did you catch us but you picked us up, and we can't ever forget about that."
Kylie turned to face Brody with eyes that reissured everything her older sister said. He smiled, chuckling to himself to keep from dropping a few tears. "I love you."
She lowered her head and found her place in his neck before leading up to his lips, her fire red lips on his dark browns. Kayla turned her head and her mischievous side escaped her, a moment that may be more rare than Kylie's mischievous side not coming out. "Hey, Brody! Don't we get no love!? We are going to fight with you too, love."
She smiled infectiously, passing the disease of happiness on to Brody. His trademark smile appearing quickly on his chocolate skin. First symptom. He laughed and glanced at Kayla with sarcasm written all over his face. "Girl, what is you talking bout sweetie? You know I love you girl!"
They all laughed as Chevy continued to steer the vehicle, the smoke flowing with the wind toward the backseat. Without turning around, he said with a still voice, "So I guess Rock-A-Poolooza isn't the main reason why you came back home."
Brody shook his head, feigning shock, and as if taking disguised offense, he answered with a voice two octaves higher than his normal tone, "Why boy...you know that was definitely one of the reasons I had to come back dog. What would Rock-A-Poolooza be without ya' boy Lucc'y Luciano." Chevy shook his head and inhaled the marijuana smoke into his lungs. "But on the real, the city was real cool. It felt real good to be around some boys I knew from back in the g, but it ain't nothing like being around ya' family dog. Me and Kylie missed y'all love. Even though we was doing alot of good, I mean alot of good, it wouldn't be the same if where we from wouldn't straight. I cleaned up New Orleans. I gave my peoples hope. Now it's time to give Nashville some hope too, baby."
They came to a red light and the cars that stopped by the immaculate vehicle had no choice but to give up their attention to the black sharp automobile that stood in between them. Chevy knew it was all eyes on their car but it felt like the whole world was peering down on their conversation, wondering the same question that Chevy was going to ask. "So this one for the city?"
Brody smiled, laughing, "It's going to always be about the city, dog." And with that, the light turned green, and they sped off toward their destiny.



On the night before the Rock-A-Poolooza, Nashville's biggest musical compilation festival, Brody stood on the balcony connected to his room, strumming the strings from his paper thin electric guitar. The design on the guitar was bright with explosive colors jumping off of what would at first look like a cardboard duplicate of an actual electric guitar. The strings let soft one note melodies float toward his ears, bringing comfort to his nerves. This was the first time he had ever really just tried something new at the Rock-A-Poolooza. He had done his own rendition of spoken word, remembering the faces of the crowd as they stared at the impossibility of a young E-v urban youth standing under five foot six stepping up to the microphone with the confidence of a man who had been performing for years. His words were graceful even then. They glided off of his tongue like an airplane taking off of a runway with the space between Brody and the large audience proving to be like the blue eternity that was the sky. Their ears were the destination for his words, Brody hoping that the message he placed in those lines would seap into their skin and ultimately their mind and their hearts. The reaction was the exact opposite of the one he thought he would receive. He thought the audience wasn't going to be as accepting of a dying art form like spoken word, but in his heart, he knew he had to speak the language of his heart to his people. The applauses continued on to his rap career as Lucc'y Luciano began a rise similiar to rappers past such as Drake, Nipsey Hussle, and all of the rappers of the past whose popularity shot into the stratosphere within months. Brody or Lucc'y Luciano as his fans called him was extremely successful in front of the audience of the following Rock-A-Poolooza. His fans swayed a his soulful croons and his hard hitting beats, but now for his third showing at the Rock-A-Poolooza, he was going to incorporate a brand new element to his act. The electric guitar.
His cousin, Toon, taught him how to play the guitar during his stay in New Orleans. Brody closed his eyes as his fingers struck the guitar strings instinctively. It was easy to see that Brody had learned quickly how to play the guitar like an urban Slash. The memory of the conversation he had with Toon, his rockstar cousin, lingered in his mind. The scene was something out of a surreal rock video. Barely clad women sprawled out all over the duplicate-Victorian furniture, his band dressed like black Emos, and Toon in the middle of all of the action with a microphone in his hand, diamonds sitting on top of his teeth, and dark shades to accentuate his diamond bright smile. His guitar hung loosely from a shoulder strap and swung back and forth from the momentum of Toon. It looked as though he were performing on a stage in front of millions instead of that small, intimate group that actually stood before him. The women's eyes glowed with desire as they peered onto the megastar. Standing beside him, Brody could feel every pupil on his cousin and the control Toon held over the audience simply with his voice and te guitar in his hand. It was then that Brody knew he wanted to experiment with that same instrument of seduction.
It was then that Toon taught Brody the delicacies of the guitar. The suttle plucks of a note, the finding of his own voice within the instrument, the legends that came before them. Toon fancied himself to be the young Jimi Hendrix. Brody prefered the stylings of Jared Leto from Thirty Seconds To Mars. If Toon was his teacher, than Brody was lucky enough to have past rock legends such as Paramore, Prince, Lil' Wayne, and many more as teacher's aides. And Brody ate every note and teaching that he could until he knew he was ready to unveil his new set of skills at the biggest annual festival in music.
Now, he stood on that balcony looking out into the stars, feeling as if he were being swallowed by destiny. It was like having Toon right beside him along with all o the greats of their past offering their constructive criticism to Brody's newly acquired skills. He was a mix of Incubus' melody, Hayley William's powerful voice, Jared Leto's threshold, and Prince's swag all balled into one almost good guitar player. Almost.
Truth was, Brody was nothing short of a rockstar. He had been the center of attention his whole life. Charming in every way, he was able to woo most, and the ones who were unable to find a way to love him were usually depressing people anyways. People were always attracted to the way he went against the grain, but this time while the fall wind travelled across the starlit sky, he wondered, with goosebumps forming all over his body, if he was taking it too far and if he would be able to come back after taking it this far. Then a soft voice came from the balcony railing. Sounding like a whisper being carried by the wind, Brody's ears perked up when the soft, melodic voice reached him. "So is this what you've been doing this whole time, huh Brody?"
His eyes slowly shifted from his grafitti inspired guitar to the open space in front of him all the way to the beautiful Gabriella that sat on the railing. She was outlined by the beautiful view Brody hardly took the time to appreciate. Now he had no choice to take in the beautiful sights that was the city lights that provided a brilliant contrast to Gabriella's light brown skin. His voice was smoky, not knowing how to greet Smartz, especially remembering the harsh words her and Kylie exchanged behind him. "Wassup?"
She smiled with seductive eyes that ran all over Brody's shirtless body and the fitted jeans that fell slightly off of his bottom. She licked her lips wantingly, teasing Brody's emotions. One thing Brody didn't like was to have his emotions tested. In his mind, he wanted answers and he wanted them now, giving evidence to his sometimes impatient nature. "Is that all you have to say to me, Brody?"
His eyes searched for a clue as to where she found a cheery attitude. "I mean last time I talked to you, you was calling me a monster so how you expect me to say anything to you? I mean yeah I was really going to kill your girl but dog, monster though?" She giggled, covering her mouth. Such a lady. "You wanna know something?" She nodded her head, letting her relaxed body language speak to him. "It was after that night when I realized what I was becoming. I saw the monster coming out of me, and I gotta tell ya, I didn't like what I saw or the look I saw on your face, love. I seen fear and confusion in your eyes and when you look at me, I don't want you to be afraid of what you see or be confused on what side I'm on." She smiled, feeling an apology would be equal to overkill. He had already forgiven her and she already forgave herself. Her head fell down with her eyes and every lock of jet black hair. She had the look of utter happiness. And is if that weren't enough to make her sure of her place in the world, he added one statement that acted as an exclamation mark to the end of the perfect sentence. "I'm on your side, love."
Her smile was as wide as the perfect rainbow. It was something refreshing about seeing the glee that covered every inch of her body. There was something attractive about seeing an angel'e halo light up ten times brighter than its usual luster. "Wow, if I didn't know any better I'd say you were flirting with me."
He took a ruthlessly coy look at her and his voice was intensely seductive when he answered back, "It has been a minute since we talked huh? You know me and Kylie something now."
The phrase would've caused any other person immense heartbreak, but Gabrielle knew it was impossible to steal the heart of the man of her dreams. Her expression never changed. "So that finally happened huh?"
Brody continued to strum on his multi-colored paper thin guitar in his confusion. He smiled and answered, "So you read our destiny in the stars huh?"
She looked him deeply into his eyes and with every iota of seduction she could muster, she answered, "It's easy when you spend as much time among the stars as I do."
He smiled and began playing riffs on his guitar. "I guess we all can't have wings huh angel?"
She looked up to the sky and gave Brody the sensation that she was leaning off of the rail. He thought she was leaning toward her death, then she leaned back on the rail with a look of such exhiliration. The conversation was a rush and you could tell simply by the look on her face. "It's not because we don't have wings or the knowledge to create them, it's simply because we forgot the desire to want to." Words wouldn't come to him. He was completely struck with awe.
He couldn't even form words after that moment. In an instant, he was filled with inspiration. He started plucking at the minute almost laser thin strings, and the most beatiful melody floated out of the instrument and into Gabriella's ears. He smiled and replied softly. "You wanna hear my new song?"
She nodded her head instantly entranced by the melody. Then his voice came out and it had to be the most seductive voice ever to be produced by man, at least to her it was. The soft, smoky voice of Brody kept every inch of Gabriella's attention. She was unsure of whether she should feel so right standing in front of another woman's man, but at that moment she didn't care. No one or nothing, especially a guilty conscious, could strip the ecstacy she felt watching him perform in front of her away. Her eyes studied his torso muscle movement as his diaphragm rose and descended with the guitar and it looked as though he were swallowing an air of destiny with every breath he took. She could no longer deny it. There was chemistry there and she knew it. "You wanna know the name of the song?" He asked interrupting her thought process.
Her head was on a swivel as she melodically moved her head to the beat. She responded with such quickness. "Yes, of course."
His smile was perfect. He looked deep into her eyes with those beautiful, dark brown pupils and he answered, "Fly." He continued to play into the night, knowing that this one moment of instant connection gave him inspiration to remind the hopeless of their own dreams to fly.



Soon the day came where Brody was suppoosed to perform in front of thousands of people in a festival that would've made Woodstock envious. He could already picture people outside, bodies filled with whatever drug put them in their happy place, ready to enjoy the musical stylings of Brody and his electrical guitar. He was their hero, the Superman of counter culture. Years ago, this was all a dream and now he was standing in front of a grand mirror, staring into reality.
His daydream was interrupted by a soft voice coming from behind him, one of the few voices he would have to hear for the rest of his life. "You still daydreaming huh?"
He turned around to see his long time best friend, Kayla standing in the doorway. The warm lights coming from off of the grand mirror casted an unnecessary shadow on her beautiful features. When he realized that he hated that unnecessary shadow that was casted over her face, he had an epiphany that he was truly blessed to be around beautiful people, inside and out. "You already know that ain't changing, love. Come in here." Easy fix.
She walked in his room the way she had whenever when she wore anything remotely provacatively, and with the tight black dress she wore that showcased her tone tan legs and her muscular body, she was nothing less than extraordinary. She walked all the way up to him and embraced him deeply, as though she were destined to never see him again. She rubbed his tense back just as she had always had. She smiled and looked up into his eyes with her piercing green eyes. "Bout that time for a massage ain't it?"
Brody chuckled lightly and placed his lean arm around Kayla's shoulder. She smiled at the sight of Brody's million watt smile. "I guess you can say that. Kylie slipping on her job ain't she?"
She just shook her head. "You silly boo. How are you feeling though? Any pressure?"
Brody looked at himself in the mirror, realizing the growth he saw in himself. Yes, he still felt that nervous feeling in his gut that he had always felt before a performance, but he found a way to control those nerves a long time ago. That same nervous anxiety transformed into a powerful energy whenever he faced that crowd. Nervous? No, he wasn't nervous. It was like another day traveling into another dimension. In other words, this challenge because it was fun.
He imagined the adoring eyes scouring all over his profile, his body. He had to be dressed right. He imagined the roar of the crowd as his words, his melody. His voice had to be perfect. He took a sip of the warm chamomile tea blend he had resting on the desk beside him where his diamond rosary beads laid. He was mentally preparing for the show as Kayla's speckled green eyes stared at him. He put his tea back on desk and picked the rosary chain up. He handed it to Kayla and she placed it on his neck. She smiled mischievously, much like her younger sister. "So I take it that's a no?"
He cocked his head slightly and answered confidently. "I haven't been nervous for a long time love. No use on starting now."
She smiled, content with the answer she was given. "That's the Brody I know."
His smile was as content as her's as he looked up to the ceiling and answered while Kayla wrapped her arms around his waist. "That's the Brody that will exist until I stop breathing." She listened and decided in that instant she would have it no other way.


The soft lighting of the dressing room gave way to the harsh autumn sun as it beamed down on Chevy as he introduced to his fellow Nashvillians a Nashville native who had achieved greatness in a short amount of time. Being already outside of his element, Chevy had his own butterflies fluttering inside of his stomach, but when he thought he had saw a mirage of Bailey in the crowd, his butterflies were instantly gone. "Ladies and gentlemen, I am here to introduce one of the greatest entertainers ever to come from the Music City. You've witnessed my baby brother rock the mic at every underground club. Then y'all had the privilege of having a mainstream artist represent the city with the instant hit, "My City". Now two years later, he is here, and without further ado, I give you..." His pause was dramatic and deliberate as he drew out Brody's stage name. He heard the roar of the crowd and he couldn't help but feel immensely proud of the person he considered to be like his little brother, even though they were both the same age. It was a pleasure to know that he had something to do with Brody's growth in the music industry. Without further ado, he closed his eyes, pictured the success that was sure to erupt after this show, and belted out his best friend's stage name. "Lucc'y Lucianooooooo!!!!!!!!" In his heart, Chevy knew this was going to be a show that the people of Nashville would never forget.
Brody hopped on stage as a ball of energy, going right into the cult classic that made him famous in Nashville, and the crowd recited every word with him as they jumped up and down in a manic behavior. Paper thin guitar in tow, sweat began to pour on his naked torso as he left every inch of blood, sweat, and tears on the stage. His song was real. The pain in it was felt as every word of it was recited by the people who he felt were his biggest fans.
The song shifted into his next single. The song was called, "Trickery", a hard rock sampled song about the deceit of an old flame. The perfect song to lead him into his experimental, "Fly". Only a few of his die hard had known about "Trickery", but it only took a verse of the rare song to take over the hearts of his people. The second verse completely emersed Nashville into the song. He had their complete and undevoted attention which in his mind meant he had the world in the microphone he held in his left hand. In the other hand, he gripped the neck of the guitar. Now that the third verse was over, it was time he introduced the world to his guitar.
He swung his guitar around and threw the microphone back in its stand. The crowd looked at him with puzzled faces. Being used to Brody's onstage antics, they all thought the guitar was simply a prop, a way to let them know that he was going to rock the crowd of Rock-A-Poolaza. If only they knew he meant that more literal than they originally figured.
A look of concentration lived on his face as he strummed his nimble fingers across the long, skinny strings on his colorful guitar. They listened intently to the soft guitar melodies as Brody simply toyed with their emotions by strumming lightly against a few of the laser thin strings. Brody looked up into the crowd and saw a young boy staring at him with adoring eyes. When their eyes connected, Brody felt like he was traveling back into time when he was staring into his own idol's eyes. He remembered his father had eyes of melancholy. He could sense the sadness leaking out of his father's soul but he admired how strong his father was. To raise him and his sister, teach them how to defend themselves in a world his father knew would be against them, it was a sign of love to Brody, a sign he wish was still here to support him. He smiled at that young boy mischievously, almost telling him to 'watch this'.
His hand came down hard on the guitar strings and an immensely powerful sound emitted from the tiny guitar. Brody leaned back as the power of the music made him feel as though the music was levitating him above the ground. His eyes closed as the Sound Bites, tiny machines that floated around Brody, amplifying the music as Brody left everything he had on the stage. His voice was powerful. The large veins on his neck were pulsating. He was so into his music he didn't notice Purple Eyes in the crowd watching intently. He didn't see the police flying in from the rear. All of that knowledge came in flashes as he picked up a piece of the information every second. He saw the panic on Kylie's face first. His fingertips were growing Gun Man's armor strumming against the guitar strings in a frenzy. Then he saw the police looking as though they were going to break the Rock-A-Poolaza up. "Just like the police," he thought calmly while still performing the song of his life. His voice echoed throughout the open space. His yellow electrical currents were forming on his hand as he jumped up and down to the rock melody.
As Gun Man's black armor was rising from Brody's hands to his forearms, Purple Eyes jumped up from the crowd in an attempt to throw the first blow at Brody. Brody saw the oncoming attack and he reacted quickly by simply sidestepping the attack. Still playing his flag song, "Fly", he stepped back and simply peered into Purple Eyes' lavender eyes. Brody had a look on his face that begged Purple Eyes to not ruin a pivotal moment in his life, but Purple Eyes had a devilish look on his face that told Brody that's exactly what his plans were. Before Brody could make any more movements, Kylie was right there in front of Brody as Gun Shadow. The crowds' eyes grew to the size of watermelons as Gun Shadow and Purple Eyes' swords collided. The crowd thought it was simply a publicity stunt when they saw Purple Eyes' wide smile, but when the police plowed into the crowd, they quickly figured out it was far from a stunt. The police officers shoved onlookers to the side as they rushed to the stage, but quickly found opposition against Kayla's pistols. Then another set of reinforcements came from out of what seemed like nowhere.
Lucky No. 7 looked as though he was surfing as he knocked W-Us and standard police officers to the side. Wiz Kid appeared behind two police officers disguised as that same young boy who stared up at the stage. He transformed after throwing the police officers into the crowd behind. His once small frame became the build of a small bodybuilder, his muscles glistening in sweat as he removed his white tee shirt. He smiled up at Sheetah as she ran around Brody protecting him from any danger that may present itself, whether it be Purple Eyes flying above Gun Shadow or the polices encroaching on the stage. Whatever it may be, he was protected, still providing the crowd with a soundtrack to listen to while fights broke out amongst the crowd. Smartz came from the opposite side of the stage and landed in the fray which involved Gun Shadow and Purple Eyes. Purple Eyes was surprises by how strong Gun Shadow had grown. It tickled his heart to see her parrying his attacks as easily as it was for him to dodge hers when he attacked her and Brody at the club. It seemed so long ago only because her powers had grown so exponentially. The fight seemed evenly matched for a while until Smartz threw her first punch at Purple Eyes. The blow caught him by surprise, lifting him off of the ground. Gun Shadow retracted her blade from the air and looked deeply into Smartz's blue disguised eyes, and she wondered to herself, "And to what do I owe the pleasure of this bitch being here?"
The look of utter displeasure didn't have a place on Gun Shadow's face for long as she quickly whipped her body around and lifted up the magnamis gun she held in her other hand. The giant shell barely skimmed past Brody's aura as he played his last guitar solo surrounded by the Sound Bites. Even under the panic of having an unknown villain, Purple Eyes, jumping on the stage to a well known villain of counterculture rushing the crowd, parts of the crowd were entranced by the spell Brody had placed them under. They swayed back and forth like zombies, almost completely oblivious to their surroundings.
As the stress of the battle surrounding him, Gun Man began to take over his being, the black armor with golden yellowish electrical currents running through his forearms with the big bulbs of energy emanating with power. This was the signal that Brody was becoming Gun Man, his armor reacting to the duress Brody was under, preparing him for war. Sheetah flew across the stage beyond the normal rate of an actual jungle cat. Her body began to transform into her feral state as her feet galloped on the wooden stage. Her running form was beautiful as she trollopped across the wooden floor. It was like watching beauty and power blend together in the form of a giant queen cheetah with two savage sabretooth tiger fangs coming down with a vicious set of teeth as neighbors in her gums. Looking in her eyes with his enhanced yellow eyes, he saw Brittney's fierceness. "Is this Sheetah? Wow, look at what she evolved into!"
But then the unexpected happened. He looked down at his guitar but he mostly focused on the change that was going on within himself. He was becoming Gun Man in front of God and everyone else, but they were so engulfed into the music that they hardly even noticed the change. But Brody did.
While Wiz Kid and Bonnie Bad Ass fought the policeman in the crowd, Brody's Gun Man armor grew to his arms and on his legs. The energy bulbs popped out of his arms and legs with an immense kinetic energy. The massive power began to pop out of his body, shredding his lower pants legs and firing out into the crowd, blasting policemen to the side, hitting the W-Us out of the air, barely missing Purple Eyes. His subconcious desire to protect himself overpowered his need to perform. The armor began to take over his whole body stopping short at his neck. He played his guitar ferociously into newer pieces as he stalled for time, the Sound Bites catching every note in his voice and spreading it throughout the crowd. He was providing a soundtrack to what was supposed to be his own funeral. Bullets attacked him. Policemen tried to rush the stage. Wasp Units came swarming down on Sheetah. More tried to take Smartz to the air while Gun Shadow and Purple Eyes carried on a fatal grudge match of sword and skill.
That's when he saw her. He looked into the crowd, belting the melody to a song he was inspired to sing, and saw Bailey and their father standing in the crowd, watching him intently. Their expressions were cold as they stared at her brother, his son. Brody couldn't read the looks on their faces, but he didn't like what he saw. But it only made him want to play harder, and that he did as he clutched the guitar tightly to his stomach and began to stroke the guitar strings roughly, emanating an angry sound from the guitar.
His body had been completely covered in Gun Man's armor by the time his final song came from his guitar. His voice was velvety smooth almost as if this were a song meant for him to sing. He named the melody "War". His voice was loud and angry as energy bombs pulsated in and out of the energy craters he had all over his body. A battle royale ensued all around him yet his face was as calm as it was if the show would have went without a hitch. For some reason, he played as though his father was really in the crowd. Knowing that his dad had never seen him perform made him realize that've had always had wished his father had watched his only son perform. His father's spirit echoed all throughout his soul. He knew he held great gifts but instead of being selfish with the powerful wealth of talent he possessed he shared it with te world, inspiring millions of people with the soundtrack of his life, offering some of the most intimate moments of his life in every page of his mental book of lyrics. His voice resonated off of the Sound Bites while everyone who was concerned with the battle focusing on throwing the next punch. Only his true fans were staring at the transformation of their inspiration, becoming a man where there once stood a boy. His father could not have been prouder standing there with his sister who looked at him with eyes similiar to his. And then they were gone, and the real battle begun.
Brody went into the final verse of improvisational song "War" when the battle went into its own climax. Sheetah, in her feral state pounced on Wasp Units barreling down into the stage. She made sure to leave them reminders of why they should never come after Brody as she peeled the armor off of the police officers. Her claws left gashes all over their bodies and she went into a beserk frenzy, flinging officers off the stage.
Wiz Kid lifted the infantry police officers into the air as he ran through the crowd of officers. His fists pounded against their helmets as they flew in all directions. His muscles tensed as he seen the sheer volume of officers all out to destroy his idol's show. It would never happen, not on his watch.
Smartz flew away from the fray going on between Gun Shadow and Purple Eyes and into the crowd she jumped, ready to protect Brody from a distance while defending the seemingly oblivious crowd. She knew that's exactly what he would have wanted her to do. Defend his people against the corruption that attempted to seep out the creativity of an artistic people with the black sludge of conformity and darkness.
Bonnie Bad Ass shot wildly into different officers, her eyes filled with intensity and rage as a few of the Wasp Units came down on her. Her mouth was agape as her screams were drowned out by Brody's intensely melodic voice. The veins in his neck were bulging as bullets exited out of both of her guns at a machine gun rate. The Wasp Units were just flying at high speeds just to fall even faster in front of the stage. It was the most beautiful thing Brody had ever been a part of. Seeing the few heroes, the few friends he had defending his creativity, his life, his people, filled his heart with a warmth he hadn't known since his father and his sister was alive. He never knew how much he had really missed his dad and his sister. He just kind of coasted troughout the rest of his life just simply not thinking about his lost family. His voice filled the Sound Bites as they passed the last chorus throughout the crowd. By this time, the crowd were standing entranced by his voice. The Wasp Units were demoralized. The officers retreated, deeming the situation uncontrollable. The only one who was still fighting was Purple Eyes, but Gun Shadow offered him no leeway. As Brody belted out his last note, the crowd was cleared of police activity and the heroes concentrated on the only villain left, the one on stage. Bonnie pointed Purple Eyes out and screamed, "Get him," in her native Nashville tongue. Wiz Kid came out of nowhere, emerging from the ground bursting into the air. It was an epic portrait of power and brilliance. For a moment, it looked as though he lived among the Sound Bites. The calm before the storm.
Sheetah and Smartz bumrushed Purple Eyes from opposite ends of the stage. Lucky No. 7 jumped on the stage from the front row as Brody received accolades from the crowd. Even though he was surrounded by what seemed like the battle of the century, he was still living in a moment of extascy as his imagination created roses that floated all around him, circling him in exuberance. He rejoiced in a light that could be seen beaming out of his brown skin. His people were watching from a few feet away and their praises created a phenomal happiness in his heart. It was honestly the happiest moment of his life and his friends were there to make sure his happiness would not spoil.
As Brody sucked in the allure from the crowd through his pores, Smartz, Gun Shadow, Sheetah, Wiz Kid, Bonnie Bad Ass, and Lucky No. 7 all surrounded Purple Eyes. Even though he was clearly outnumbered, his evil but beautiful smile never left his face. He knew he still held the upper hand. The only two that could even claim to be on a level near his power was Gun Shadow and Gun Man. He looked around to see the happiness in the crowd and he thought about wiping out every man, woman, and child in the crowd. "Yes, that would bring them down a couple of notches, if not that, surely Gun Man would want revenge," Purple Eyes thought maliciously. He summoned his purple flames and allowed the blaze to climb up and down his forearms. The group studied him curiously as the purple flames fluctuated to the length of his arms. He threw his arms up and released his Beauty into the air. The flames looked as though they were taking over the clouds in the sky. It was truly a beautiful flame. The flames poured from the sky onto the people below as the group of heroes could only stand there and watch as the populace of Rock-A-Poolaza seemed to melt in front of their eyes.
As Brody witnessed his most dedicated melt in front of his eyes brought out an anger that he hadn't felt since he lost his father. To see those screaming faces brought out a vengeance in his soul, a vow to destroy those that were responsible for this massacre. His armor transformed into fabric, silk shirt with Trademark blazer to be exact. He threw his guitar into the crowd during his transformation, his last present to his dying fans. And then everyhting went black.

Back in Nashville, a group of young E-vs were being pursued by massive devilish dark hellhounds through the mean streets of Franklin. One of the young boys looked behind him and he gasped when he saw those evil red eyes piercing back at him. The hellhound's eyes seemed to be getting closer and closer everytime he blinked his eyes. He heard the abnormally large animal's legs pumping strength against the slick wet ground, causing his heart to beat at a rate a thousand times his usual heartrate. He panicked when he saw the animal gainng on him. His little legs churned out as much speed as they could possibly muster, but when he slipped on that slippery wet ground, all hope of surviving fleeted from his eyes. He watched his friends race away. He watched his only help sprint ahead and it was at that point when he knew that they already knew to go back for him was an exercise of futility. They knew he was already dead and they had set in their minds that he would die alone. When he hit the ground with a hard thud, he looked up and the beast's mouth was agape, hungry for his blood. He held out his arm in defense and closed his eyes, not wanting to see himself become a victim of a mass mauling. The first second that passed was the most excruciating, then the second came and he thought he felt the animal's warm saliva drip on his arm. He welped, coming so close to tears as the next second came that his eyes felt like they were brooding large waterfalls inside of his eyelids. But the next second came and he was still not mauled, so he opened his eyes to see Sheetah battling the large beast in the street a few feet away.
The sight of Sheetah to the young boy who had only seen cheetahs on tv was nothing short of amazing. It seemed like everywhere the beast swung its massive paw filled with claws of mass destruction, she would not only dodge the incoming strike but she would retaliate with her own miracle blade knife sharp claws. The beast became angered as its moves became clumsy and rash. Soon the hellhound went into a beserk rage, swinging around recklessly, but Sheetah retained her calm as she ducked and parried more of the blows, returning a few of her own into the belly of the beast. The beast jumped back, almost mortally wounded. The hellhound knew its time was coming, so it searched desperately for a way to escape its fate, for a way out. Then, those same piercing red eyes fell on the young boy again and at that moment, the young man felt like a feast again.
Sheetah saw the red eyes glow brightly as if it had just seen their dinner walk by him, and she knew that the young boy was in dire peril. Before the beast could gain momentum, her claw ripped into the hellhound's face, ripping out its eye and causing blood to hemorage at an enormous rate of speed. The beast shook its face violently, trying to regain control of its rage, but to no avail, the hellhound couldn't control the blood rushing from its face or the temper that was growing exponentially.
The beast growled at Sheetah while she stood confidently with he claws extended completely. Her smile was just as sharp as the hellhound's but her eyes were filled with focus, her claws shone with a distinct confidence. She knew if the beast made any kind of move that was out of the ordianry, she would kill him. The beast knew it too, so it paced the moves it would take to gain control of the battle. It circled Sheetah, never taking its red eye off of her, unaware of the pain that was coursing through its veins. Her cheetah fur blower softly in the wind as her nose captured the impending death of the hellhound. She figured she could easily open the insides of this monster, but in a way, she felt sorry for the poor beast. She could sense the submissive thought process of the hellhound. She knew that this beautifully dark beast was being controlled by an unknown master and it was sad to see the sad, caged animal fighting for freedom inside of its red pupils. But that was unimportant now. The only thing that mattered was the life of this child. The only thing that stood between the urban youth and a vicious mauling was her, and the battle stance she took could atest to her newfound dedication to protect the unprotected. When the beast lunged toward her, she prepared herself for a battle with a dumb beast with an insatiable hunger for her and the young man's demise.
But apparently she wasn't the only one who stood in the way of the beast's ragefilled attack. Wiz Kid came down with a monstrous elbow to the beast's back. The loud welp that came out of the beast sounded like a shot puppy as the beast's knees buckled. It jumped back a few steps away from the landing Wiz Kid. When the young man saw the heavily tattooed honey skinned tall man land on his feet, questions ran through his head as he wondered, "Why does dude have on a dog catcher's uniform?"
Wiz Kid looked at the young man Sheetah was protecting. He saw the puzzled look on his face and he knew instantly that the young man was confused behind his wardrobe choice. "I guess he didn't get the joke." He said lightly. He turned around slowly to see the beast racing toward them. He didn't pause, didn't show any sense of the word fear. He simply held out his hand and an electrifying force appeared to run through finger as he grabbed the hellhound by its massive throat. He lifted the hellhound into the air as though it were a puppy and not a ten feet monster that dwarfed him in size. The beast looked like it was going into a seizure as the electricity flowed through it. Its hair stood on its ends as the roots and follicles surged with electricity. The wounds began to cauterize including its missing eye. The pain was the last thing the beast felt before taking its final breath.
Wiz Kid just threw the great beast down on the slick ground, soft rain pouring on the hellhound, soaking the once burning hair. The look of death was almost peaceful. Wiz Kid walked closely to the beast to make sure it was dead. He felt like a kid poking a dead dog on the side of the road. He shook his head and turned his back on the downed hellhound. He lifted his head up and yelled toward Sheetah, "This the fourth hellhound this week, Sheetah."
She ran with quickness to the side of Wiz Kid and spoke softly in his ear, "Hey! Shut up. That little boy still right there."
He turned around as she turned her head, and they looked at each other at the same time and they zipped toward the young boy. He closed his eyes and lifted his hand up, feeling like they only killed the beast to do worst to him. But much like when the hellhound stood above him, he didn't feel impending death. He felt the warmth of Sheetah's fur wrap around him, picking him up from off of the ground, asking him softly, "Are you okay, honey?"
He opened his eyes to see the warmth coming off of Sheetah's eyes and her smile and a sense of happiness he had never known came over him. He gripped her tightly, not wanting to let go of the moment. In a small, humble voice, he answered, "Who are you guys?"
Joking, Wiz Kid answered loudly, "The Unsung Heroes!"
Both Wiz Kid and Sheetah giggled, the young boy liking how it felt next to Sheetah as she shook with happiness. He clutched her tighter, and Sheetah, overshadowing the young boy ran her gentle fur over the young man's fade. She whispered in his ear, "My name's Sheetah, and that is Wiz Kid." She pointed to Wiz Kid and he smiled while raising his white, dog catcher's hat to show off his lowered eyes.
The young boy looked up into Sheetah's beautiful yellow hinted brown eyes and his voice traveled softly with the wind as he asked, "So are you Sheetah?" She nodded her head as the gentle breeze whipped through her fur. He let her go and a tear slowly came down his face. "Thank you."
Her usual vicious set of teeth were perfect pearls of perfection. The comfort he felt around her astounded him. She could look in his eyes and feel a potential crush developing inside of him. She knew she would never have to worry about him being one of these officers who are anti-E-v. It felt nice for a change to have somebody appreciate what she did. "No problem, honey. It's nice to be appreciated."
He looked up at her and smiled wondering how she could feel anything less than marvelous. The young man had a moment of maturity as his hands fell to her waist. He looked up into her eyes and his young voice traveled to her earlobes. "You just saved my life. I'm pretty sure everyone feels just as grateful as I do whenever you save their lives."
Sheetah shook her large mane. "Sorry, love, it is what it is. People may love what we do but that doesn't mean anything when the people who are supposed to be doing all of the protecting aren't only looking out for our best interest, but they are trying to deter the people who are simply because we're different."
She just shook her head, disappointed in the world around her. Wiz Kid treaded lightly behind her and put his hand on her shoulder. "But even though the haters try to stop what we doing, they could never stop the unsung movement. Sure we may not get no love from authority, but when you protecting people who are considered society's outcasts, you bound to make a few enemies."
The young urban youth took his eyes off of Sheetah and looked directly into Wiz Kid's lowered bloodshot eyes. "So am I....am I outcasted?"
It hurt Sheetah down to her core to hear the young man ask such a heartbreaking question. She knew the answer, the truthful answer, would shake him. She looked at Wiz Kid with hurt eyes that simply asked him, "How are we supposed to tell him he's different so society hates him. Society hates individuals that don't conform to the norm of society and that E-v rights mean absolutely nothing in the world of 2090."
Her eyes started tearing up as Wiz Kid stepped up to the young man. Almost a foot higher than the young boy, Wiz Kid kneeled down in front of him and said softly, "Don't think because they're haters doesn't make us bad. You see when people like them hate us then that's a good thing. You see they would tell you to not be yourself, to do what made the next man successful, to do what made the next man a success story in America, but in the end the only path that you could follow is your own." Sheetah watched the conversation transpire in front of her with tears forming in the corners of her eyes.
The young boy looked up to Sheetah with those same questioning eyes. "But why is it like that? I don't understand. What did I ever do to them? Why do they hate me!?"
Sheetah hurried in front of the young boy and squeezed him tight, patting his back to comfort the heart of the young boy. Pressing her ear against the young boy's chest, she could hear his heart breaking. She looked deep into the young man's eyes and wiped the tears from his face. The question had been bubbling inside of him for a large part of his life. It hurt her that she couldn't answer his question.
But Wiz Kid being the wise man that he was, he already knew the words to say. He knew he had to say it right then for the police sirens that were ringing in the air were coming closer and closer. "Look little homie, it shouldn't matter why they hate you, why they hate us. That's not important to us simply because we can't do nothing but change their perspectives of us by being better than they would expect us to be. As long as you aren't shooting no blocks up or selling nothing that poison the people, than keep doing what you do. Don't be ashamed because you're different, just feel sorry for the people who are destined to be the same as the next man." The young boy smiled. Wiz Kid turned around as he heard the police sirens drawing nearer and nearer. His voice became confident, almost godly. "Now Sheetah, take our little homie home. I'm gonna hold them boys back." Sheetah wanted to interject, but Wiz Kid held his hand up, and turned his head with a giant smile on his face. That smile was the signal to Sheetah that everything was going to be okay, and in her heart, with Wiz Kid's confidence and her faith, she too knew everything was going to be okay.
She rushed to scoop up the young boy in her arms and she smiled back at Wiz Kid. His heart was hers when he caught glimpse of a smile that reminded him of a sunlit angel. He turned around and before he knew it he was surrounded by the police with his hands up with an expression that said, "What the fuck have I gotten myself into!?"
About hundred feet up, Smartz rested inside of Nic Angel's arms, gazing down on the battle below. Her shell's elegant face and highly advanced eyes looked like a still from an old movie where the bad guys always lose and guys always get the girl. In his arms, she didn't even feel part of the universe, she was a swirling tornado in his arms, trying to focus the eye in the battle below while a torrential windstorm of emotion circled around her. "Can I ask you something?" Nic Angel asked her gently in her ear while he inhaled the sweet scent of strawberries coming from off of her neck.
She turned her head very slightly, not taking her eyes off of the battle but looking as though she were giving him her full attention. "Yeah."
"How come when we're out patrolling, when we have a moment like this when we are alone, how come you don't take your mask off? Are you ashamed to be seen with me, a scruffly shit from East Tennessee?"
She felt he had been feeling a little insecure about this since she had accompanied him to that fancy Italian restaraunt. She couldn't even remember the name of the restaraunt. She never wanted to go there anyways, so in her head, in her heart, she knew he had nothing to worry about. But him being a man, his ego was challenged and the thought of whether or not he was good enough for her always migrated to the front of his brain from the back. Tonight, while Wiz Kid stood by himself in front of an army that only had a taste for his blood, Nic Angel needed an asnwer to a question that plagued him for weeks, and the only thing that could quell his desire was an answer. "I can't see without my eyes, Nic, and the shell's face kind of comes with the eyes ya'know. I'm not special like you Nic. My suit provides my super attributes."
He kissed her on her cheek and slowly backed away while whispering, "You're special to me and that's why I have feelings like this. I just want you to think that I'm special too. Everybody needs to feel special sometimes." He shook his head and walked to the edge of the building. She smiled while she watched him walk. In her eyes, he was like a child begging for his attention. He straightened his posture, relaxed his shoulders, and looked into the misty sky. "You ready?" His look was stoic as he read the stars as though he were an astrologer.
She smiled with her eyes closed. Her shell began to retract from the center of her face the wider her smile got. "Nic?" Her eyes and his caught one another's glance at the same time and a falling star was caught in the midst of their gaze. Nic Angel could only return her smile, starstruck. He turned his head back up to the sky. "Nic?" Before he could turn around fully, her apricot lips were on his as her mask began to form around her face once again. Once their lips parted, the only thing that was her's was her beautiful, doe brown eyes looking back at Nic. She didn't need infared or any type of technological advancement to see that she loved him. She jumped off the building while still looking at her love. She looked as though she were reaching out to grasp his smile. She fell swiftly to the ground still looking up at his light green eyes. He looked to the sky and a second later he shared space with the wind rushing over his body. His blazing red hair flapped in the air like a sail as rocket powered rollerblades appeared over his sneakers. And thus the battle was on.
Smartz was the first one to land in the form of a beautiful, toned, graceful white woman with brilliant red hair and an even more brilliantly revealing red dress. Then Lucky No. 7 came down on his rollerblades, sending puddles of rainwater into the air before he stopped and stared at the apparent seargents of the police department. Their stoic faces didn't change as rainwater was reintroduced to their blue and black uniforms. Wiz Kid could easily see the fear in some of the rookies's faces, while the more established veterans were ready to finally overtake three of Nashville's more known vigilantes.
Three stood against many, only being illuminated by the stars and the lone working streetlight. Then the large raid lights the huge raid truck held on its roof shone the intense light, blinding the three for an approximate three seconds before defeaning their ears by screaming through a small megaphone, "Put your weapons down or you will be fired on." They all looked at each other, realizing that none of them had any armaments. Not yet anyways.
The lead sargeant began to countdown but his words became inaudible as Lucky No. 7 and Wiz Kid watched Smartz glide through the rain as the electromagnetic force emitted from her fire red fingernails allowed her to not be touched by the precipitation. Soon the rain turned into bullets and bounced off of the forcefield she formed around her. Wiz Kid followed slowly after her, unsure of whether or not the bullets were truly bouncing off of her forcefield or simply missing. Lucky No. 7, being no stranger to danger and a child of everything extreme, rushed ahead of both Wiz Kid and Smartz. Smartz just watched with intrigued eyes as his rollerblades screamed through deep puddles and random potholes. The bullets were no problem for him to avoid. Neither were the other obstacles that were in front of him. He was the picture of exactly what a leader should be. Fearless. Courageous. Beautiful.
The police released a set of hellhounds on Lucky No. 7 in hopes that the gigantic beasts with teeth the size of toddlers would quell Lucky No. 7's courage, but when Smartz saw the beasts coming toward him, she raised her hands above her and the electromagnetic force coming from her fingernails subdued the beasts, stopping them dead in their tracks. Then, with Olympian athleticism, Wiz Kid jumped over the force field and threw a small ball at the first beast. The beast seemingly disappeared from existence as the electromagnetic cage struck out at the policemen behind the beast. Her fist closed tightly, squeezing the power inside of her palm. Her green eyes flickered with excitement as Wiz Kid captured the other beast inside of the small ball, landing in front of her and beside Lucky No. 7. Wiz Kid rose from his crouching position, while Lucky No. 7 stood in a nonchalant stance staring at the opposition ahead of him. Without looking back at Wiz Kid, he asked, "You ready?"
Wiz Kid turned his head slightly and smiled mischievously. "You wanna see something cool?" Without waiting on a response, he snapped his fingers and summoned a gigantic white replica of the hellhounds he had just summoned. Wiz Kid's beast came rushing toward the battle with glaring red eyes and streaming white hair. The. nine foot behemoth ran until it stood with the front end of its body protecting Wiz Kid. Wiz Kid walked while petting its massive wavy mane and looked at Lucky No. 7. "You like? I haven't exactly given him a name yet, so I just call him Sparky." Sparky licked his face.
Lucky No. 7 snapped his finger, hoping to snap Wiz Kid out of his own world and back to reality. "If you're through with show and tell, we do have people with guns pointed at us."
Wiz Kid threw his hands up, "Okay!"
The sarcasm in his voice was not missed by Lucky No. 7, but he chose to ignore it. He faced the hordes of policemen with his fists clenched, knowing that the end of the day, the only people he needed, he already had. He didn't need Gun Man. He didn't need Gun Shadow or Bonnie Bad Azz. Heroes? The only heroes that were with him were Wiz Kid, Smartz, and Sheetah, and with them in mind, he smiled, knowing that he was shining in the brightest light of them all. The light of shining justice.



While Lucky No. 7, Wiz Kid, and Smartz stared down into the odds, Sheetah ran with the young boy holding on to her back tightly as they raced through the urban jungle, jumping over obstacles, clinging to walls as the police came around, and enjoying the view of the shining stars beaming down on them. Even though the light gave their position away, Sheetah liked the feelin of running under the stars.
Twenty minutes of pure running brought the unlikely couple back to the boy's run down house. She put the young boy down and stared at the lights beaming brightly in the house. She saw a silhouette pacing back and forth, pausing to see if a young boy was standing outside. She could tell that he was simply waiting for the police to come to his house with bad news. She never wanted a human being or an E-v to ever go through the pain of not knowing where their children were or any loved one for that one. To her the worry was equivalent to knowing that you were going to die as soon as death spoke the word. Knowing that every minute, Satan was watching every move made, waiting on the perfect opportunity to simply say, "Die." That's what it felt like to her to have to wait to hear the news of a loved one being found dead on the side of the road. She'd seen too many parents, uncles, aunts, brothers, and sisters grieve over lost loved ones. She decided she was not going to let that poor family wait any longer to know that their young boy was safe.
She picked him up into her arms and began to walk toward the dilapidated house blazing the street with bright yellowish warmth pouring out of the windows. He started to struggle the closer she got to the lit house. She paused and looked dead into the young boy's eyes and asked with soft compassion, "What's wrong, little boy?"
He clutched on her shoulder tightly and buried his face in her soft fur. "They're going to be mad..."
"Why?" Sheetah asked curiously.
"Because I snuck out. I just wanted to play with the big boys. I didn't know those big dogs were gonna come chase us. But my Grandma ain't gonna understand. Neither is Uncle Ronnie. How am I going to explain to my grandma that while I was out with the crew, I almost got killed by this big ol' dog, and got my life saved by a cheetah chick. My grandma ain't goin' for that."
Sheetah smiled and just envied the child's innocence. She shook her head and kissed the boy's cheek. She felt closer to the innocence she had herself as a young woman, scared to tell her father about the first boy she liked, the first time she ever used her powers, and the first time she realized she wanted to be just like him. She pulled her mane back and answered with that motherly tone that he had been without almost his entire life. With the soothing voice coming from her, she made it next to impossible for him to resist her. "Baby boy, I know it's gon' be hard to tellthe truth, but honesty is always the best way to approach to any situation. When you're honest, it's like you're already asking for forgiveness and showing the inner strength because it builds confidence and courage. You are about to learn exactly how hard it is to tell the truth." He gasped, but her smile relaxed his expression. "Don't worry. You won't have to do it alone."
She carried him to the front steps and knocked on the door. The young boy's uncle and grandmother ran to open the front door to find their nephew and a beautiful, exotic stranger standing on their front porch. The uncle's first reaction was to grab his nephew from her arms and clutch him tightly. "Boy where the hell you been!? You had us worried half to death! Where you been boy!?" The uncle yelled as he shook the boy at first before bringing him back into a tight embrace.
The grandmother walked bravely toward Sheetah. The fearlessness of the grandmother made Sheetah feel uncomfortable. This woman had to be in her late sixties with eyes of an Amazonian warrior set on a battle. Even though the woman looked as though she hadn't used her muscles for raising a fist in decades, Sheetah still knew not to underestimate the old woman because of appearance alone. After all, she knew E-vs came in all shapes and sizes.
"So how did you come across my grandson?" The straightforwardness of the elder woman made both of the women's age more evident. The grandmother seemed like she was the same age as the first wife of Eden, while Sheetah felt like she was just born.
Sheetah cleared her throat and answered with as much respect she could muster. But in the end, she couldn't help but think about the friends she had left to battle against impossible odds. Her mind wandered as she began to explain how she came across the young man. "Well me and Wiz Kid were out looking for these rabid beasts that had been terrorizing Franklin and sure enough, I saw yo' grandson being chased by what we call the Black Puppies. We've been doing some research and it seems like the Black Puppies are only attracted to our scent."
"Does that mean we're not safe, because of Freddie?" The grandmother asked, clearly concerned about the child's welbeing. She turned around to look at the young boy sleep in his uncle's arms. She shook her head, disappointed in the world around her. Venom ran from off of her tongue as she began to state her opinion on the world that seemed to be revolving without her or her family. "The world is a real different place than I remember it child. I never imagined in my life that I would have to be worried about my grandson whenever he went outside to play. I know who the people are that hunt my grandson. I know they hunt you too, and it's simply disgusting." Sheetah shook her head, agreeing with the old woman. The elderly lady began to fall into her peaceful memories of 2040. The peacefulness. The lasting life that was portrayed in the movies she used to watch to escape the reality of living in a town that suffered from overpopulation, high crime rate of all kind, and anger toward the government that abandoned them. She had to admit to herself that times back then were simpler than they were now with her in her late sixties. One thing she had to agree on was the fact that both her and Sheetah felt abandoned by the government organization that swore to protect and serve them. The only difference between her and her grandson was that he had heroes to protect him. Unsung heroes. "Back in my day, we just got beat, now they tryna kill my people every chance they get." She shook her head. "But I'm sure you don't want to sit here and listen to an old bat like me."
Sheetah shook her hands in an apologetic manner, "Oh no, ma'am! You are perfectly fine."
But the old woman was wise far beyond Sheetah's comprehension. The old woman could read signs of apprehension just like she could read the love in the form of love letters and purple hearts floating around her head. "Bull....I know it may not seem like it, but for an old woman, I am quite observant. Always been that way. I knew since I seen you that no matter how glad you were to return him to us, you had to make a tough decision to bring him here. I know you had to leave somebody behind who you really care about. Stop me when I'm getting close."
"Mama!" The uncle whispered as Sheetah blushed and shied in her cheetah spotted fur. "Stop it." He looked at Sheetah and sighed while his mother just raised her hand and lowered her head. She was at the age where she could say whatever she wanted and no one would say anything negative to her. "I'm sorry about her, sometimes she could really make people uncomfortable."
Sheetah smiled, trying to relax the tension. "Oh no, you're fine."
The young boy's uncle turned his head slightly to the side and looked at his mother with the corners of his eye. "Sometimes, it can be embarrasing, but growing up, I've come to realize that she only means well, ya' know." Sheetah nodded her head. He extended his free hand to shake hers. "But aside all of that, thank you for bringing our little Freddie back. We would've went insane if he would've stayed missing for much longer. We owe you everything and so much more." He stared deep into her yellow tinted brown eyes as he continued on, giving her the same face his nephew had given to her mere moments ago. A look that was simply overjoyed to see something as beautiful if not more beautiful than watching a sunset from space.
Then, as if she couldn't help but embarass her son one more time, she pointed out the fact that her son was massaging Sheetah's hand by yelling, "I think you've molested her hand enough don't you think, Frankie?"
He immediately withdrew his hand from hers and smiled in embarassment. Sheetah was embarassed as well but not nearly as embarassed Frankie was. His high cheek bones rose, his dark brown eyes became small and playful, and his laugh grew nervous as he looked at Sheetah to see if she took any offense. She simply smiled, hiding whatever emotion behind a set of vicious canines and the most angelic smile ever seen on a jungle cat lady. He couldn't help but feel more comfortable in her smile. He returned not only her smile, but the soft voice that came with it. "I'm sorry, I hope I didn't make you feel uncomfortable in any way, it's just that well, I kind of got lost in your eyes for a second."
Frankie's mother laughed quietly into her hand, embarassed by her son's playboy mannerisms. She just smiled and replied, "Happens to me all the time."
He liked her inert confidence. "I bet it does," he said while licking his lips. "You are a remarkable person, and words can't describe how grateful I am to have my nephew back."
"He's a sweet kid, just at the wrong place at the wrong time. I'm just glad I was there to make everything right."
He smiled and answered back, "Me too."
The grandmother interjected in, "But I'm sure you have other things to make right, right?"
Sheetah formed a mixture of a sad expression and a disappointed shoulder shrug. "Yeah I really do, but I wish I could stay longer, it's nice to be around people who appreciate us."
Frankie's mother walked up to Sheetah and even though Sheetah stood at a remarkable seven feet and made the grandmother look like a dwarf, there was still a sense of respect that was given by Sheetah to the older, wiser woman. Frankie's mother gently grabbed Sheetah's hand and cuffed her hands over Sheetah's and she said with a voice softer than cotton, "Honey, no one in this house will ever forget what you done for this family. Knowing that should be motivation enough to never stop what you are doing. You are a gift from God to us and you made a difference tonight. Without you, my grandbaby wouldn't be here right now, so no matter what anybody says, you have made one family's life better." Sheetah nodded her head. "Now go make sure other families are as safe as you made us."
After the grandmother hugged her, Sheetah turned on her heel and left, ready to face what ever obstacles cane her way.