“Have you learned your lesson yet?”

“Bro, you act like you were anticipating that someone somewhere just had the fucking existence deleter nine thousand on hand.”

“You got too careless.”

“Fine, you’re right. What now?”

“We wait.”

“For what?”

“For the clones to regenerate.”

“So they can spawn camp us for the rest of eternity?”

“You are unbelievably stupid.”

“Hey, I might be dumb- but I’m not stupid.”

“Whatever- Just get ready to finish the job.”

“Cryptic asshole.”

So I guess we wait then. But for what? What does he know that I don’t? One… two… three… four… one-hundred eighty-three… one-hundred eigh- is that my body? What the fuck? So he really did know something. But why was everything still dark then? I was quite sure that my eyes were back now. I couldn’t see the rest of the clones either- but we could still touch each other? I was absolutely positive that we were still in light form as well so what was going on?

You're encased in a prison dumbass.

Oh- I must be fucking stupid or something. That being the case me and the clones all pointed in random directions and fired our modified light beams outwards- and inwards. I had just found out the hard way that friendly fire was indeed active. God damn, this shell must be stronger than I thought. We summoned some of the boys in the already crowded enclosure we were in and had them help us in breaking out as well. It was surprisingly calm and quiet despite everything we were doing, light didn’t make noise after all. However, that calm and quiet wasn’t very reassuring because we had no idea if we were making any progress whatsoever. Maybe we were being too passive about it, in addition to the light beams we were shooting out we also began pressing our bodies into the walls.

Unlike the normal dirt we had been playing with earlier our bodies disintegrated very rapidly and the regeneration was having a difficult time keeping up. How fun, this must be the consequences of my own actions. Were there any physics systems I could abuse? Maybe I could try cold and hot? How could I build pressure in here? Creating an air vacuum wouldn’t cut it and introducing more air was pointless. I needed water, heat and water had very powerful potential. The only problem with that is that I haven’t gained the ability to create water yet… or have I? Technically, venom is a liquid right? I summoned all the boys I could possibly fit in here and then had them all start spraying venom. For the most effective result we swapped back into our physical forms and allowed the layer of venom to slowly rise from ground level until it eventually completely enveloped.

At this point we were pretty much drowning in venom- but I had to continue increasing the volume of liquid. To do that I simply recalled the boys one by one and waited for the entire prison holding us to fill completely with venom. When I summoned the boys again this time the pressure on us suddenly increased vehemently. It really did feel like we were kilometers beneath the ocean and were being crushed. In a way I had already abused the rules of physics. It was like teleporting gravel into a jar of water without removing the mass and volume of either. Physically, this should be impossible, but obviously, I make the impossible possible. Now for the next step- heat. This part was much simpler and quick. Simultaneously, we all switched to light form and directed as much energy outwards as we could.

Pop!

Did it work? It sounded like it did. But why can’t I see anything?

I thought you would have figured it out by now. The stuff they dropped on you was the light version of the metal eating disease.

Your point is?

All the light around you has been consumed- so how are you going to see you fucking idiot?!

Ah- Fair point. Ok… cancel light eating disease or whatever. Oh- I really could see now. I could see very clearly that the wave of light was now scattering in all directions. We couldn’t have that now could we? In a flash we were able to surround the light and begin firing pitch black laser beams at them. It was honestly really satisfying to watch the darkness spread and take over the light. One of my favorite past times had been to play simulators and have one force take over another. I didn’t know what about it was so entertaining but I guess I could call it a guilty pleasure. As the darkness quickly spread to all of its surroundings I was becoming aware of the ability to summon more and more clones. This gave me a very naughty idea- what if I didn’t stop the darkness from consuming everything? What would happen then?

Huh. I ascended back up to orbit while sending the clones to rapidly dart across the world and spreading the darkness everywhere they went. With their speed it took less than a minute to completely circle around the world on their paths. The only issue was that the darkness was much slower to spread than they were able to move. Whatever, sooner or later it would completely engulf the world.

What are you doing?

Just something.

The entire world is in panic right now.

Good. We can become their saviors then.

You are aware that you have probably just wiped out several species right?

Of course, the number of clones we can summon just jumped up to a thousand.

We have either killed millions or billions.

Don’t think so hard. That’s just part of conquering the universe.

It was too easy though. Something doesn’t feel right.

Stop jinxing us you daft fool.

BEGONE!

What?

What?

That wasn’t you?

That’s not my fucking voice!

Whos-?

…

What?

What is?

What am?

Where am?

So empty… so… So?

What is so?

What is what?

What?

Who?

Who?

I am…

I am?

I?

What am I?

What are you?

I am…

You are?

You are?

I am?

I am V-… I am V-…

You are V-…?

No. I am Va-...

I am Va-...

No. I am Va-...

No. I am Va-...!

We are Va?

We?

We?

We Are Vaun.

We are Vaun.

We are Vaun.

Who is Vaun?

***

I should just die. I should just die. I really should just die!  I’ll just die! I can’t stand it anymore! Why? Why?! Why?! WHY?! I’ll just jump off and die! Will that make them stop?! Why won’t they just stop?! I’ll just die then- they’ll stop then. They’ll stop then… I can finally rest…

…

Shouldn’t I have hit the ground by now? Maybe it’ll take a little longer than I thought? I wonder if mom and Lily will miss me. Knowing dad he’ll probably just spit on my grave and call me a coward again. Will I even get a grave? Will mom and dad get in trouble? Maybe I should have just burned myself to death. Will Lily be okay without me? What if they attack her instead? No… No, No, No! I can’t let that happen! I have to protect her! I can’t die! I can’t die right now! Is there anything to stop my fall? I quickly opened my eyes to look for anything to grab- had I been holding onto the railing this whole time? I swear I hadn’t grabbed it.

How pathetic. I can’t believe I had really tried to do that. Dad was right when he said that suicide was the easy way out. But… What should I do now? What am I doing now? Why is my body moving? Stop! I can’t go back that way! That’s where they are! That’s the alley where they are! You can’t go in there! There they are! Run! Run!

***

Where had that little cunt gone? There was no way he had run away right? He was smart enough to know that they would just find him again. So what was he doing?

“Hey, where did Vaun go? Is he back with the vapes yet?”

“I don’t know, I just saw him go that way.”

“Go threaten his sister or something. That’ll make him come back.”

“Isn’t that him right there?”

“What took you so long? You fucking retarded or something?”

Clang!

What the fuck!? The fuck did he think he was doing?

***

They’re coming!

Clang!

What? What was that noise? Did I just hit him? Where did I even get the metal rod from? What was I doing? Wasn’t he already on the ground? Stop! Stop!

Clang!

He’s going to die! He’ll really die!

Clang!

What’s happening? Why can’t I control my body? Now the rest are coming!

Thwack!

I could only watch as my leg kicked directly into Rogelio’s stomach and sent him toppling backwards into everyone behind him. One of his friends had managed to dodge and was still rushing towards me but my body swung the rod directly into his skull and knocked him over. I thought that was it but my foot had suddenly been lifted and was speeding down towards his neck. This wasn’t me! This definitely wasn’t me.

Before I could process what I had just done my body had already rushed over to the group who were still trying to get up and swinging indiscriminately into their heads. I was sure that every strike was lethal because I could feel all of the force in my body snapping the rod into their skulls. I couldn’t become a murderer now. It would ruin my life!

“Hey fucker!”

My focus snapped to the voice and I saw Rogelio holding the knife he always carried with him. Fuck. Fuck-Fuck-Fuck-Fuck. What was my throat doing?

“Y- Yo- You. A- An- Annoy. Me.”

“Shut the fuck up!”

After yelling he started rushing towards me. What now? He’s going to stab me!

Crunch!

In the midst of my panic and his swing the sound of something snapping interrupted us. When we both comprehended what it was he dropped to the ground and began screaming in pain while I advanced towards him rapidly. This time something different happened. I wasn’t aiming for the head anymore. I was swinging into his arms and legs and mangling them. I should run away while I still have the chance. Why can’t I stop? What am I doing now? Now I was beating the heads of the already down friends. I really am trying to kill them! I was sure that every single one of them was dead without a doubt.

What am I going to do now? Everyone knew that they always dragged me around with them. There was no way I wouldn’t be the prime sus-

Thwack!

Ouch! What the fuck!

Thwack! Thwack!

Why am I hitting myself?

Thwack! Thwack! Thwack!

Stop! I’ll really kill myself at this rate. I was definitely getting beaten even worse than they were. Nothing on my body was left unscathed. Just when I thought everything was over a jarring blow to the side of my head knocked my world over and sent me straight onto the floor. While fighting for my consciousness I could feel my hand reaching into my pocket and grabbing something. While on the ground I was hit twice more in the head before hearing the rod get tossed away. What in th-...

…

“Vaun! Vaun!”

Huh? What? What now? Did I miss the alarm?

“I’m awake. I’ll be ready in a little.”

“Ready? Ready for what?”

“Please relax ma’am, he has sustained severe trauma to the head and may still be in a dazed state.”

That’s not a familiar voice. Did we have a guest over? I opened my eyes and as soon as I did my body froze up. I had lost control again.

“Honey? Vaun? Are you okay? What’s going?”

Of its own will my body suddenly embraced my mom and tears started leaking out of my eyes. This wasn’t my reaction, I had no reason to cry.

“M- om.”

There was that weird voice again. Did I really have mental issues now? Maybe it was just a breakdown? How was I going to explain this to dad? Why wasn’t I letting go yet? Hugs shouldn’t last this long.

“Hey, let go of mom.”

That was definitely Lily. Upon hearing that voice my body instantly jumped up and sprinted towards it.

“What are you do-!”

“Li- ly- safe.”

How long has it been since I hugged her? Quite a few years if I remembered correctly.

“Let go!”

“O- k.”

“You’re being really weird. Are you sure he doesn’t have brain damage?”

“The scan results are completely normal.”

My body returned to the bed and I mostly regained control- with the exception of my eyes. They were glued on mom and Lily. Who were those other people though? They didn’t really look like they belonged here.

“Is it ok if we begin questioning now?”

“It’d be best to wait until he can get his thoughts in order.”

“Who- are- they?”

“Don’t worry too much honey. Just rest up and recover.”

“O- k.”

Those were the police! Without a doubt! I was screwed!

Do not- Panic.

What? What was that voice? Hello? Is someone there? As I sat there questioning my sanity a wave of aches hit every part of my body. This fucking hurts! It hurts so fucking much!

“Are you in pain? Doctor! Give him painkillers!”

“Too many medications will interrupt his natural recovery process.”

“Then just give him whatever you can. The pain must be unbearable.”

“I’m- fine. It- does- not- hurt.”

Yes it does! It really fucking hurts!

“Stop pretending to be tough and just take the meds.”

“I don’t- want to- sleep.”

“Hey, are you really sure he’s ok? I think his brain is really messed up.”

“Shut up Lily.”

“Yes mom.”

“Where- is- dad?”

“At work. Like always.”

“That’s- good.”

“Doctor, you really should scan his brain again.”

“...”

“When- can- I go- home?”

“You should stay in bed as long as you can.”

“I- don’t- have time.”

“What do you mean? You have plenty of time, you’ve even gotten a free pass from school.”

“How’s Vaun!”

I looked up to see Eva. Why the fuck was she here? Shouldn’t she be busy spreading rumors or something? Since when did she give enough of a fuck about me to show up at my hospital bed? What was my body doing now? She most definitely wasn’t someone I was supposed to hug.

“Are you- my girl- friend?”

“Are you asking me out?”

“No- you aren’t- my type.”

“Weren’t you the one who got caught peeking at me changing?”

“I don’t- remember. Can you- show me- again?”

“So it’s true. You really do have brain damage.”

“What- do you- want?”

All of a sudden she leaned in real close to me and whispered in my ear.

“I know what you did. I even have a video.”

In response to that my arms latched around her body and trapped her.

“Let’s keep- that as- our- secret- then.”

I was okay with everything else but what happened next practically assured my downfall. Without giving either of us time to think my lips teleported onto hers and immediately retreated. As if that wasn’t enough my own hand climbed to the top of her head and patted it a couple times. I was doomed.

“You two are a thing? I thought you hated her!”

My body returned to the bed and slid under the covers before falling under my control again. I had no idea how to recover this situation. Everything was all messed up now, far more than it was before. What had even happened to all the other guys?

“What happened to Rogelio and them?”

After asking that the police detectives in the room suddenly perked up.

“That’s right! What happened to you and your friends?”

“Someone- attacked- us.”

“What did he look like? Do you remember anything about him?Are you sure it was only one person?”

“It was- one per- son.”

“One person beat all of you guys?”

“I was- already- beat by- them.”

“Who is them?”

“Rogelio- and friends.”

“They beat you up?”

“Yes.”

“Why were they beating you?”

“Because- I don’t- fight back.”

“Are they bullies? Were they bullying you?”

“Yes.”

“Then did they bully other people? Maybe there’s someone who might want to attack them?”

“It’s not- my job- to do- your job.”

“This attitude won’t help us solve the case.”

“Then don’t- solve it. You are- good at- letting- people- get away.”

“How can you act like this when your friends are dead!”

They were dead? No way. This was bad. This was really bad!

“They were- not my- friends.”

“We can arrest you for obstruction of justice! Withholding information is illegal!”

“Go ahead- prove how- useless- you are.”

“You-!”

“Stop! Can’t you see he’s a victim too? Maybe if we could do our jobs properly then none of this would have happened in the first place. Let’s go. And kid, if you have anything you want to tell us feel free to drop by the station.”

“Ok- You are- someone- I like.”

It was clear to see who was the leader in that group of detectives. But what was up with that weird ass finishing sentence? After they left mom suddenly held me tight and started sobbing. Here come the wetworks, I had put a lot of effort into making sure no one knew I was being bullied and it had all come crashing down in mere moments.

“Don’t cry- it’s a waste- of your- energy. Let’s just- eat- I am- hungry.”

“You-re hun-gry? Ok, m-om will b-e ri-ght back.”

Mom dashed out of the room at a speed I thought her incapable of and I was left with Lily and Eva.

“Hey, you better not tell anyone that my brother’s being bullied.”

“And if I do?”

“Then I’ll shove my foot so far up your ass it comes out of your mouth.”

“I’d like to see you try.”

“Don’t- fight. It ann-oys me.”

“That’s rich coming from you.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“You really don’t know? Wow, you must not know your brother at all.”

Oh no. Here it comes- the end of my life.

[Writers Note - It was indeed too easy... time for a change of pace. Maybe a reality check as well.]