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  #1  
Old August 6, 2011, 08:55:25 PM
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I know it's sort of weird for me to have two threads going at once, but I have two stories I want to write at once, so there. I also want to see which one gets more positive feedback so I can know whether or not to focus more heavily on one than the other.

Now then:


Philanthropy

A FOREWORD BY THE PROTAGONIST: NATHAN KYLER

Not all heroes are born heroes. Not all heroes are able to grow into the mold cast upon them because of circumstances that arise which force them to become heroes. Not all heroes are given some life-changing resolve which causes them to grow as a character and become heroes. Not all heroes are made. Sometimes, heroes are normal people. And I'm not talking about the everyman walking down the street who helps an old lady over the crosswalk. I'm not talking about the people who work for the police or the military or the government who risk their lives for the citizenry. I'm talking about actual heroes. Superheroes. Superheroes who don't come from a broken home, or whose parents died, or who went through a tragic accident. I'm talking about heroes who, through some random, indeterminate probability, became a hero. Heroes who just up and decided to become a superhero simply because they had the ability to. Everyone has a choice. Bruce Wayne could've been the Joker. Peter Parker didn't have to be Spider-Man. Superman could've taken over the ****ing world. Luke could've turned to the dark side. Normal people don't have to be heroes. But, normal people can be heroes.

This story is about a young, unmotivated, lazy, careless, but satisfied and happy man who was given a choice. Something that gave him a lot of power fell into his lap. He was given several billion options, but the two that were the most clear were: He could use this power for himself to kill and rape and steal and profit through greed and evil, or he could use this power to combat those who would take it and ruin the world. He chose the path of good. And the only reason for him choosing that path?

Because he had absolutely nothing better to do.

This is a story about love, hate, friendship, betrayal, lies, conspiracy, power, greed, life, death, happiness, melancholy. These themes all revolved around this one young man. His choices didn't make him. His singular choice did. From that point forward he was bound into a universe which could change based on one little variation in his choices. He knew this but did not care. He had a positive philosophy and he stuck to it. And he came. He saw. And he conquered evil.

In case you couldn't tell, this story is about me.

My name is Nathan Kyler. I'm sometimes known to the public and media at large as Nathan Kyler. I'm sometimes known to the public and media at large as Hercules. But we'll get to that later in the story. For now, just know that at the beginning of the story, my parent don't die in a ****ing back alley after getting mugged. My uncle didn't tell me that great power brought unto me great responsibility. My parents weren't killed in a mass planetary genocide. My dad didn't cut my ****ing hand off and then tell me I was his son. Darth Vader needed counseling, by the way.

No. My story begins at what was probably one of the lower points of my life, yes, but it wasn't so bad now that I look back. I was basically being a mopey, angst-ridden, lovestruck loser. If I could go back in time, I'd punch myself in the face. I'd tell myself, "Hey, ass-wipe. **** gets better. Quit your *****ing," and then I'd leave, hoping to God I understood what just happened. I went through what every hormonal young adult my age went through. We had to grow up. Some of us didn't grow up as quick as others. I was scared of becoming a member of society. I wanted to just finish high school. Then, after that, I could room with my sister. Indefinitely. But that's not what life is about. Eventually, I had to grow up.

This story is about something that happened to me which helped me become an adult. There were good times and bad, but in the end I think I came out okay. And I think everyone else involved is still fine, so all in all I did great, not to flatter myself or anything though. This story is a story about me preserving life. This is a story about me coming to love life. This is a story about me finding out what it really means to be me. This is a story that has underlying lessons towards humanity. Humans can take power. They can use it for themselves, or for the world. This is a story about philanthropy.

And, I think it's a story you'll enjoy.

-Nathan Kyler

P.S. Dapper Metroid Will Rock On Forever
  #2  
Old August 8, 2011, 01:43:38 AM
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Chapter One: Beginning of Winter


"Nate."

It was an early Friday morning in the suburbs of the city that never sleeps. The sun's rays gleamed through the half-open blinds of a young man's bedroom window. The room itself was very neat and tidy, but the furnishings were cluttered. The walls were painted black, and there was a mess of assorted film posters adorning the walls- from Clint Eastwood's spaghetti Westerns to George Lucas's space operas to even superhero films and Tarantino's outrageously violent comedy-dramas. The only actual furniture was a desk with a computer tower and monitor, a bed, and a stand with a television set and several gaming consoles. Resting on the bed, under the various sheets and blankets, was the room's occupant- an unkempt, lanky young man with greasy black hair sticking to and fro due to either bed-head or simple lack of hygiene.

"Nate."

Standing over the young man's bed was a woman a few years older than him. She was wearing a fashionable blouse and skirt, and had applied an amount of makeup that wasn't so heavy as to be exaggerated, but still managed to accentuate her appearance. Her clean, glowing brown hair was done up in a single un-braided pony tail and came down upon her shoulders. She was obviously frustrated at the sleeping man's lax behavior.

"Nate!"

The young man stirred, opened one green eye, closed it, rolled over, and resumed his peaceful doze.

"Nate, goddammit!"

The woman's frustration was growing. She lifted up her leg, her foot adorned in a stylish stilleto heel, and quickly jammed it into this Nate individual. Now, Nathan was surely awake. He leaped up and screamed in pain as the sharp heel of the shoe dug into the flesh between his ribs and his back.

"Oww! Jesus ****in' Christ, Sarah! The hell are you doing!?"

Sarah sneered at her little brother, who was writhing on the floor in agony and clutching at his chest. "It's the final day of school before your winter break. Or did you forget already, you lazy little ****? You'll be late- you have an hour to get ready."

Nathan groaned at Sarah's literal and figurative jab. "An hour left to sleep in, you mean. Give me a break."

"You've been given several breaks your whole damn life, you clown," said Sarah, now picking up Nathan's arm and dragging him to the opposite end of the room. "Which is why Mom and Dad sent you to live here with me, or don't you remember? I'm not gonna be there to take care of your sorry ass for the rest of your miserable life, so until then, wake the **** up and get your ass to school!" She gave up pulling him along when she reached the closet door, and set down his arm. "I made you breakfast, but it's not like you can't ****in' cook for yourself, you lazy-ass. Be ready by the time you have to leave!" She opened and shut the bedroom door behind her, and could be heard hopping down the steps in the hallway on her high-heels. Nathan rolled over on the floor, contemplating.

"What a ******* *****. Why is she always on my case?" He picked himself up, tossed the sheets from the bed back onto it as they had been dragged along with him, and pulled a change of clothes from the closet. He then opened the bedroom door and walked down the hall to the bathroom, closing it behind him as he performed various morning hygienic routines and got dressed. When he finished up, he started down the steps and entered the living room. Sarah lived in a large, nice house, especially considering she was a student at a university studying fashion design and living off-campus. Through the living room, he passed into the kitchen and picked up a paper plate with a stack of toasted waffles coated in syrup. He crammed a waffle into his mouth and chewed vigorously, without sitting down at a table or any form of proper eating, then opened up the fridge and pulled out a carton of orange juice. He attempted to pour it into a glass, but filled it less than halfway. He shrugged, tossed the carton into the sink, and grabbed a pen and notepad stuck on the fridge. He wrote down "NEED MOAR OJ" onto the pad and stuck it back to the fridge, then took a large gulp of whatever juice he had and ate another waffle. After he was done, Nathan set off and walked through a door in the living room and into the garage. He pressed a button on the wall that opened the garage door and got into his beat-up uninspired used Toyota from the 90's, made sure his backpack was in the backseat as he placed it there the night before, started the car with some engine trouble, and pulled out of the driveway and headed to school.

~~~

"Class dismissed."

Nathan had been drooling into his calculus textbook for the entire period. Apart from an English test on Macbeth, the entire day had been non-stop cramming before the break and assorted notes. As the bell rang and the students got up and shuffled out of the classroom, Nathan's head jerked out from between the pages of the book. He quickly shoved it and the rest of his materials into his backpack as he picked it up and slung it over one shoulder, and quickly power-walked to the door with the rest of his classmates so as to avoid the embarrassment of sleeping through the whole lecture. His locker was conveniently across from the classroom door. He opened it up and haphazardly dumped a majority of the contents of his backpack into it, taking care not to misplace certain things like his iPhone and some light reading material that didn't pertain to his education. He then started down the hallway, pushing his way past the groups of teens socializing along the corridor, and walked out the exit of the school.

As he stepped out, another young man stopped him. "Hey, Nate!" He had dirty blonde slicked-back hair and he wore a green windbreaker and baggy jeans. He hadn't shaved in a while.

Nathan acknowledged his presence with a slight wave of his hand. "Hey, Trent." Trent was the supposed leader of a small garage band Nathan was in- supposed because although Trent was the high-energy drummer of the group, Nathan was the lyricist, singer, and bassist for the group, and even came up with the band's name and logo, Dapper Metroid.

"So, like, we've got a few weeks off." Trent began.

"Yeah. That's what winter break is." Nathan nodded unenthusiastically. Trent was a half-decent guy, but he smoked and had a bit of an overbearing presence. Nathan didn't enjoy being around him under certain circumstances, especially since he wanted to get home right away.

"We've got band practice tomorrow. Did you write the new lyrics?"

"I emailed them to you."

"I haven't gotten them yet."

"I sent them a week ago. You've been bugging me ever since."

"I haven't seen them yet."

Nathan sighed and pulled out his iPhone. He logged into his browser and checked his sent emails. "Yeah, I sent them a week ago today. Make sure to check them out. Scot also sent the new songs out to everyone." Scot Young was the group's songwriter and talented guitarist. He was also in charge of the band's equipment- Scot's role was the most important in the group, with Nathan's lyrics trailing closely behind. The most interesting member in the band, at least in Nathan's eyes, however, was the band's rhythm guitarist, Amanda Thomson. Ever since the group had formed at the beginning of the school year, Nathan had become infatuated with the short but beautiful brunette.

Trent shrugged. "I'll check when I get home. Don't forget, Scot's place tomorrow, 'k?" He began walking away.

"Yeah, I won't forget!" Nathan yelled back to him. He then muttered something about Trent being a total ass and why does he have to mooch off Scot's basement as a studio, and made for the student parking lot.

~~~

Nathan opened the door and walked back into the kitchen. He pulled a note that read "DO IT YOURSELF ****-HEAD" off of the fridge, smirked, crumpled it up into his fist, and tossed it into a trash can beside the dishwasher. He headed back to his room upstairs and collapsed onto the bed. As soon as he did, his iPhone began playing a Beastie Boys ringtone. He pulled it out of his pocket and checked. He had received a text from Trent. It read "k got da lyrics very nice also scot writes some stupid drumlines". Nathan rolled his eyes and texted back "not stupid just fast. theyre fun if you know what youre doing". He then remembered that it was winter break, in spite of the fact that Trent's cigarette breath had told him a while ago (and Nathan was not one to forget mildly unpleasant experiences with cigarette breath.) Upon coming to this conclusion, he scrolled down his address book to 'Thomson, Amanda' and opened up a text message. His large thumbs got in the way but he eventually managed to type out "hey mandy wanna head to the mall w me on monday? its winter break~" and he hit Send. A few minutes later, he got back a reply: "sorry nate got plans alredy. maybe later? also band practice 2moro" He frowned in disappointment. "Plans with whom?" he mused to himself. Ignoring that, he sent back a reply: "yeah trent only got the ****ing emails w the lyrics and sheet music just now. wat a dumbass". Another ring back: "lol watta moron its been like a week and the rest of us kno the songs" Nathan chuckled. He typed up one last text, saying "lulz ikr anyways so were all going for dinner after practice rite?" Amanda replied with "ya but idk were scots taking us and im paying the tip this time so see you there?" Nathan decided that a final reply after the final reply would be necessary. "yep see you there". He realized that he was holding his breath the entire time, and exhaled before taking in another deep breath. Tomorrow would be a slightly dreary day. The only thing he'd really have to look forward to would be sick bass lines and dinner with the girl of his dreams... Nathan rolled over in the messy sheets and fell asleep.

Last edited by LiteTheIronMan; August 8, 2011 at 02:03:28 AM. Reason: forgot chapter title
  #3  
Old August 9, 2011, 08:42:17 PM
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Chapter Two: The Repugnant Thug

"Nate! For God's sake, didn't I tell you to get the ****in' OJ?"

Nathan was shook awake from his self-subjected routine after-school nap by his sister. She had come home from her classes and had expected her little brother to make an errand run for groceries she needed to prepare dinner. Then again, she expected a lot from her little brother.

Nathan sluggishly rose up from the bed and shook himself out of the sheets. "Okay, fine. I'l go get the OJ. Is there anything else you-" Sarah held up a long list of items she needed, written on both sides of a sheet of loose-leaf notebook paper. "-need. Alright, I'll go." Nathan took the list from Sarah's hands and started down the stairs.

"My debit card's on the table! And if you bring home any more stupid movies bought with my money I'll strangle you!"

~~~

Sarah had prepared a slightly decent slightly bad meal of chicken soup. It was a family recipe passed down by her mother. Nathan didn't care much for it, but he ate it anyway; at least he had a roommate who didn't stock the fridge with instant ramen like all the other college students.

Nathan then remembered to ask Sarah about tomorrow. "Oh, Sarah, I forgot. Can I borrow some money?"

Sarah rolled her eyes. "For what?"

"It's band practice tomorrow."

"Oh, yeah, fine. There's a few 20's in my purse."

"Thanks." He took a drink from his glass of water and got up to put his dishes in the sink.

"By the way..." Sarah began. "How's that stupid band even going?"

Nathan sighed. "Why do you care if you think it's stupid?"

"Beee-cause my little brother's unrequited love and object of his eternal affections plays a guitar in this stupid band." She leaned back in the chair, balancing it on two legs, and turned around to look at Nathan.

Nathan blushed. "What's Mandy got to do with anything? I'm not one of the characters from your trash TV shows. Quit prying into my life, okay?" He finished rinsing the dishes and opened up the dishwasher, stacking them inside.

Sarah grinned. "Aww, don't be embarrassed. You're in loooooove!"

Now Nathan looked away. "She turned me down for a date on Monday."

Sarah paused. "Oh." She set the chair back down. "Sorry."

Nathan shrugged. "Nah. I'll try again later. We'll be seeing a lot of each other anyway, since we'll have practice a lot during winter." He walked back to the dinner table and picked up his sister's dirty dishes, and repeated the cleaning process. "I'm going to go to sleep. Night."

"Night."


~~~

Nathan pulled into the driveway of Scot's place. Scot's parents were usually away on the weekends. They were very lenient with Scot's personal schedule, so whenever he asked them if he could have friends over for band practice or a party, they would be kind enough to leave him alone for the duration. Nathan turned off the engine and stepped out of the car. He unlocked the trunk and pulled out the case containing his bass guitar, slung it over his left shoulder, and walked up to the front porch. He rang the doorbell twice and waited for the door to open. Nathan craned his neck and peered back into the driveway. Mandy's car was here too. He gulped loudly. He turned back around as the door swung open, and lo and behold there she was.

Amanda Thomson stood a little bit over than a foot shorter than the extremely tall Nathan Kyler. She wore her hair down to her shoulders and never put on any makeup, which Nathan personally found very attractive. She didn't care much for the fashion of her fellow girls- this particular occasion, she had on a T-shirt a size or so too big with a Dr. Pepper logo and loose-fit black jeans.

Nathan stuttered a bit. "Uhhm. Hi. You look nice. Today. Particularly."

Amanda smiled. "You're such a dork, Nathaniel. Hi. I'll take your hoodie." She read people very easily. Nathan was completely unaware that Amanda was completely aware of Nathan's puppy love crush.

"Oh, uhm. Thanks." He set down his bass, slipped his sweatshirt over his head, and gave it to her, who hung it by the cap of the hood on the coat rack beside the door. "Where's everyone else?"

"Trent's car broke down. I had to pick him up. God he's such a loser." Amanda put her hands behind her head and stretched. "They're both in the basement. I came to get you. C'mon." She opened up another door beside the entrance and walked down the stairs. Nathan picked his bass back up and followed her down.

The basement had been converted into a bit of an amateur recording studio. Really it was just a couple of amps Scot had brought from work- he and Trent both had a weekend part-time job at a local music store- set up around the room for the band, and he had a large computer setup which he used to record music. He also had a mini-fridge stocked with snacks, some water and soft drinks. Scot himself was sitting on a stool in the back of the room, with his feet up and his guitar set on his lap around his arms. He held his hand up and waved at Nathan. "Yo, guy. You made it." Trent was sitting at the drum set behind Scot's stool. He had a candy bar halfway in his mouth. As he chewed, he sort of half-shouted his greeting to Nathan, "Hghi Nafvhgtan. Rheady to regchord?"

Nathan returned Scot's wave happily and then waved at Trent slightly less enthusiastically. Scot, too, was appalled. "Dude. Finish your Twix and then talk. That ****'s gross."

Trent crammed the rest of the bar in his mouth, chewed a bit, and swallowed. "Sorry. Alright, let's do this! Where do we start?"

Nathan opened up his case and pulled out his set of sheet music and lyrics, set them on a stand in the middle of the room, and then lifted up his bass and slung the shoulder strap over his neck. "Uhm. Maybe we should practice one of the shorter songs."

Amanda piped up. "Livewire?"

Scot grinned. "Ooh, I really like what I did with that one."

Nathan liked this choice. "Was that the one in 6/4? That's a bit tough. It's fun but it's tough."

"Oh, you're a wuss. 6/4's not that hard." Amanda leaned back and sat down on another stool.

"For Trent, it is." Nathan pointed at his fellow in the rhythm section.

Trent scoffed. "Ha ****in' ha. I can keep up with your bass."

"No you can't. We should practice this one to work on that, I bet." Scot enjoyed partaking in the jokes made at the band leader's talent. Trent was a decent drummer but Nathan had a tendency to fool around and experiment with tempo, which Trent didn't quite appreciate nor ever get used to.

Trent slammed his sticks down and performed a drum roll. "Okay, fine then, let's start with Livewire then."

"Fine by me." Nathan adjusted the mic on the music stand and plucked a few strings on the bass, and cleared out his throat. Scot tuned his guitar, and Amanda walked over to him and waited for him to tune hers. After the instruments were set up, they walked back to their appropriate positions, sat down on their stools, and got ready to play.

"Oh, by the way, before we start?"

Everyone turned around to look at Trent. Scot was a bit impatient. "What? What've you got?"

"I booked us a show."

"What?!"

"I booked us a show for next Friday!"

Amanda's jaw dropped to the floor. She began raving and yelled "What the hell, Trent? It would've been nice to know this a while ago! When'd you get the show?"

"Calm down!"

Scot, too, was a bit distressed. "Trent... we've never played shows. We only record. And we don't really record much."

"Oh, come on. It'll be cool! This guy at work who comes in a lot asked me if I knew any customers who actually had a band, and I was all like, 'actually, yeah, me' and he was all 'cool can you play at our bar's battle of the bands thing' and I was like 'yeah cool.'"

"Who was this guy?" Scot inquired.

"Mr. Peterson?"

"That guy owns a bar?"

"It's some *****y hipster minor's bar. They have a battle of the bands thing every Friday. Two garage bands perform for the crowd and whichever one they like more wins."

Nathan, too, was curious. "Wins what?"

"They get double the pay for the show."

"Double the pay? We're getting paid?"

"It's not really much. We get a couple hundred each if we all win? I thought it'd be cool!"

Nathan clicked his tongue on the roof of his mouth. "Okay. But we should've heard this before. Where's the bar?"

"You know that place where we go to lunch during the school day, right? It's in that little shopping center."

Amanda was familiar with this. She asked Trent, "Is it that one minor's bar? They had some lame name. The Three Rockets or something."

"Three Rockets. Yeah."

"Ooh. I've been there with a few friends. It smells like bad."

Nathan tilted his head to the side in confusion. "What does bad smell like?"

"Bad." Amanda's description wasn't very helpful.

Nathan gave an exasperated sigh. "So we're playing at a trashy *****y hipster minor's bar that smells like 'bad.' You're an *******, Trent."

"Okay, fine. Let's just play the damn set and we'll go to dinner."

~~~

Nathan drove behind Amanda and followed her car into the parking lot of the group's favorite dive- the Fast Nice Dine. They were a new chain of fast food restaurants popping up around the five boroughs that served delicious, fresh, well-cooked meals. Some locations even had small unknown bands that came in and played shows. Nathan parked and he and Scot got out of the car. Amanda parked next to them and she and Trent stepped out. They all walked into the restaurant as a group, Nathan holding the door open for everyone else. Scot went to go find a table while Nathan and the other two stepped up to the register and ordered their meals before going back and sitting down with Scot.

Scot awkwardly tried to strike up conversation. "So, like. How's it been goin', guys?"

"Boring," said Nathan.
"Great," said Amanda.
"I need a smoke," said Trent.

Scot coughed. "Uhh. Okay. So how about that show on Friday, huh?"

"Yeah," agreed Nathan.
"Mhm," grunted Amanda.
"It's gonna suck," moaned Trent.

Nathan jabbed Trent- who was sitting beside him- in the side with his elbow. "Quit being an ass. You reserved the show."

"Yeah, but I don't even know who we're playing against. I dunno if they suck worse than us or if they're like, Van Halen, or something."

"Why would Van Halen play at a hipster dive?" Amanda said as she rested her head on the table, seating it on her arms.

"It was a joke. I've never heard of the band, and I actually forgot the name of the band. But it was something mean-sounding. And 'Dapper Metroid' doesn't sound very mean."

Nathan threw up his arms into the air. "No... it sounds awesome. And we agreed on that, I thought."

"Yeah, it sounds great." Scot nodded.
"It's got a nice ring to it." Amanda shrugged.
"Meh."

Two waitresses came over to their table, one with their food and another with their drinks. After the appropriate meals were passed out, everyone began eating. Nathan dug carnivorously into a burger, while Scot cut up a small slice of steak and Amanda and Trent both had their own individual platter of fish.

"By the way, Nathan." Scot said as he divided his steak into portions.

"Mmphrhm?" Nathan swallowed his bite of the hamburger.

"That was some pretty dark stuff. In those lyrics."

"Oh." Nathan picked up his glass of soda and took a drink. "I've been listening to some Seattle grunge. Pearl Jam. Nirvana. They're good."

"Nirvana, huh?"

"What's the problem?"

"Nah, nothin'. I'll talk to you later about it."

Nathan leaned back into the seat, and shrugged it off and took a bite of the burger. The table was silent. Amanda coughed and tried to break the silence.

"This is good fish. Nice salmon."

"Mhmphm. Ishmg pghpood." said Trent, who was eating the same meal.

~~~

The four said their farewells after they were done. Amanda left to take Trent back home and to go home herself. Before Nathan got back into the car, Scot stopped him.

"Yo, Nathan."

"Yeah?"

"So, Nirvana, huh?"

"They're a good band. What's the problem?"

Scot shuffled his feet before deciding on what he wanted to say. "Okay. So, you know who Kurt Cobain is, right?"

Nathan nodded.

"Okay," Scot continued, "so you know that Kurt Cobain supposedly blew his own head off, right?"

Nathan shifted his weight to one leg. "Supposedly."

"Well, what do you believe?"

"I think that Courtney Love did him in."

"Ah, so you did research on him. All the conspiracy theories."

"Mm."

"Okay, so here's the thing." Scot held his palms out. "The people who think he killed himself-" Scot put his right hand forward "-think that because they believe he was a depressed druggie with nothing to live for. The people who think he was murdered-" now his left hand "-think that because they believed he had a life to live for."

"What's this got to do with me?"

"Those lyrics were a bit violent. They had a meaning to them- it sounded like the narrator was in a bit of a tough spot, but he was clinging onto life."

"Uh huh..." Nathan was starting to take the hint, but he let Scot continue.

"True writing comes from the heart, soul, and mind, my friend."

"If you're trying to suggest that I'm some angst-ridden emo kiddie then let me tell you something-"

"You've got it wrong. I just want to ask you something."

"What, then?"

"Do you have anything to live for? I mean, you don't really have anything set after high school, your relationship with Amanda is one-sided-"

"Woah woah woah woah woah. I'm working on that."

"-is being worked on, you're living with your sister, and you don't have a job. Do you have something to look forward to, or are you going to take your head off with a shotgun?"

"That's a bit dramatic."

"My point is, you shouldn't be so depressed if you are. Just set out your priorities. We're teenagers. ****'s not so bad. Let's go." Scot climbed into the passenger seat of the car. Nathan paused briefly, stomped once on the ground, then hopped into the driver's seat, turned on the engine, and drove out of the parking lot and away.

~~~

Nathan woke up on Monday morning. He had spent Sunday messing around on the Internet and watching movie marathons on television. Today was the day he was supposed to go out with Amanda, but since he was turned down, he decided to go to the mall on his own. He snuck a bit of money out of Sarah's purse while she was still asleep in her room, left her a note that said "I TOOK SOME MONEY DON'T WORRY I CAN PAY YOU BACK BY FRIDAY" and headed out.

~~~

The local mall was also somewhat nearby the high school Nathan attended, so it was a popular local for students and other young people. Of particular appeal for Nathan himself was the music store Trent and Scot worked at over the weekends, and a film memorabilia shop that he frequently scoured for random cool stuff. He had just picked up some Dirty Harry movie posters and a Raiders of the Lost Ark T-shirt and decided to head to the music store after picking up some treats at the food court.

Nathan browsed through the small shop's aisles. He looked rather odd, with a large bag of merchandise around his shoulder and stuffing his face with a churro. He picked out a Soundgarden tab book from a stand, and turned the corner to look for some picks and spare bass strings. In the aisle was a slightly intimidating blonde young man wearing a black leather jacket and skinny jeans, who was with a girl shorter than him. Much shorter.

"Wait a second." Nathan analyzed the scene for a moment, and then recognized said girl. Had he not possessed such an amazing tolerance for shock, he would've urinated himself.

"Uhm. Mandy. Hi."

Amanda turned around, recognizing Nathan's voice, and smiled at him. "Oh! Hi, Nathan! I didn't know you'd be here." The intimidating man by her turned slightly to face him as well. "This is a friend of mine. His name's Hiroshi."

Hiroshi outstretched a hand to shake Nathan's. He wore a smug grin. "Hey."

Nathan refused his hand; less because he had a delicious Mexican sugary pastry in one hand and various merchandise in the other, but more because some smug-looking punk was on a date with the object of his affections. "Uhm. Hey. What're you two doing here?"

"Oh, I was just showing him around. He just moved here from the Bronx. I've known him for a while though, so I decided to acquaint him to the music store here."

"You've known him for a while." Nathan's heart hung itself on a noose. "And you're taking him around."

"Yeah. It's nothing. He's in a band too! What's it called, Hiroshi?"

Hiroshi nodded. "Ah. We're 'The Repugnant Thugs.' I formed the band. I also play bass, and I write the songs and lyrics. I sing lead, too."

"You write both the songs and the lyrics. And you sing and play bass. That's. Cool." Nathan had clearly laid it out that this Hiroshi fellow was a fellow contestant in a game wherein the prize was Amanda.

"Yeah. We've got a show on Friday."

"Where at?"

"The Three Rockets. Some battle of the bands thing, but I've never heard of the other band."

Nathan gulped loudly- a nervous habit. He began speaking more quickly. "That'sfunnyyoushouldsaythatbecauseI'minabandtooan dwe'replayingabattleofthebandsonFridayatTheThreeRo cketstoo."

"What'd you say? You were going a bit fast there."

Amanda quipped, "Nathan and I are in a band. We're actually your band's opponents at the gig on Friday."

"Oh! That'll be fun. What'd you play... Nathan, right?"

"Uhm. Yeah. I. I sing. And uhm. Bass. And I write the lyrics."

"Ahh. A fellow bassist. I'll look forward to Friday, then!"

"Uh huh. Well. Uhm. I gotta go." Nathan rushed up to the cash register and paid for his items, and bolted out of the store. As soon as he knew he was out of earshot of the store, he began quietly yelling at himself. "Oh my god Amanda's dating some smooth-ass jerk slash bassist slash band leader slash songwriter oh god competition what do I do what do I do I'm going to DIE." He shoved the rest of the churro down his throat and shook the thoughts out of his mind. "No. Can't think about it now. We've just gotta. Win. That show. On Friday. That's all. No pressure Nathan no pressure no pressure no pressure oh god **** my life." He dashed to the exit of the mall, got into his car, and left. What was he going to do? He had less than a week until the show...

Last edited by LiteTheIronMan; August 11, 2011 at 12:19:39 PM.
  #4  
Old August 14, 2011, 06:39:02 PM
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LiteTheIronMan LiteTheIronMan is offline
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Chapter Three: The Three Rockets (and whatever the hell happens to our protagonist after)

Nathan had passed out on the floor of his bedroom in a strange state of emotional unconsciousness. The new information he had gathered today at the mall was too much for his mind to handle and the first thing it did as soon as Nathan got home was direct him straight to his bedroom and shut itself down. It was an unusual method of "sleeping on it." Suddenly, the door opened behind him- as usual, Sarah was back from her classes and had to find another thing to rant to him about. However, the fact that her brother was lying half-dead on the floor pushed her "why the hell did you borrow money from my purse without asking" speech out of her mind temporarily.

"Nate! Are you okay?" Sarah knelt down and gripped her brother by the shoulders, shaking him vigorously. "Wake up!"

"Uughhh..." Nathan slowly came back to his senses. He had been drooling slightly into the carpet, and he wiped himself on the sleeve of his sweatshirt. "Hi, Sarah." He drowsily pushed himself back up against the nearest wall, rubbing his eyes with his palms. Yawning, he slowly groaned, "Are you here to yell at me for taking money from your purse, or what?"

"Uhm. I was going to, but then I thought you were dead. What happened?" Sarah made herself comfortable sitting cross-legged on the floor.

"Mandy happened."

"Oh, you saw her at the mall?"

"With another guy."

"Ohhh..."

"Yeah."

Sarah leaned backward, placing her hands behind her on the carpet for support. "Well... that's..."

"Really ****in' awkward." Nathan buried his face into his palms.

"Yep."

"I can't worry too much about it though. But it's really ****ing hard not to. Especially considering this guy is also in a band, is also a bassist, also sings and writes the lyrics, and one-ups me by being the band leader and writing the songs."

"What's that got to do with anything?"

"Because we have a show on Friday at some trashy hipster bar and this guy is also one of the acts lined up."

"Wait, seriously?"

"Yeah. How much more coincidental can this get?"

Sarah sighed. "Just put it out of your mind, Nate. I'm sure they weren't even on a date."

"So you say."

"Well, it's not like they were making out or holding hands or groping each other, right?"

"No..."

"Then they weren't dating."

"...Do you base relationships on how much bodily contact the partners engage in in public?

"Yes."

"You're a horrible big sister."

"You're a horrible little brother. Stealing out of my purse."

"I'll pay you back when I get money from the show." Nathan slowly slumped down the wall and closed his eyes. "The show's on Friday. Hopefully it goes over well."

"Alright then. I'll leave you alone. And you'd better pay me back." Sarah stood up and walked out of the room, closing the door behind her.

"I will. God ****ing damn."

~~~

Nathan pulled into the parking lot of The Three Rockets. Amanda's and Scot's cars were already parked, and observing the entrance, Nathan could see them and Trent waiting for him outside. He got out of the car, and approached him while he went to take out his bass from the back.

Amanda was the first to greet him. "Hey. How's your week been, Nathaniel?"

Nathan winced a bit. He sort of spent the entirety of the week moping about Amanda and practicing his parts on bass. "Uhm. It was okay."

Scot crossed his arms. "The other band's not here yet, and we don't start for an hour or so. Relax for a bit."

Trent pointed his thumb behind him at the bar. "Anyone want some drinks? On me."

Nathan nodded as he pulled his bass out of the trunk. "Yeah, get me a Coke. Tell them to hold the ice."

Amanda raised her hand. "Oh, get me some coffee." At this, Scot also held a hand up. "Same."

Trent nodded and began to walk off, before stopping. "Oh. Wait. How do you take it?"

"Black," said Amanda
"Cream and a bit of sugar," said Scot.

Nathan was slightly surprised. "You take your coffee black? But isn't it like. Bitter?"

"So?"

"Okay, so I'm getting two coffees, one black, one with a bit of cream and sugar, and a Coke with no ice."

"Yeah," said the three in agreement.

"Okay, I'll be back. Wait for me in the bar, 'kay?"

~~~

"Damn, Mandy."

"What?"

"You were right. This place smells like bad."

Now he knew what Amanda meant exactly by 'smells like bad.' It was a very indescribable stench, but from what he observed, the odors contributed to it were the smell of stale cigarettes smoked by the male hipsters, and the amount of perfumes applied by the females, with a bit of nondescript scents thrown in that didn't accentuate anything positively. Scot moaned and said, "This place sucks. I'm going to go get a seat. Unless these kids reserved them all for their friends with their scarves or something." Nathan and Amanda followed him down to a small table for four. Trent came back with their drinks and a glass of root beer for himself.

Amanda slapped Trent on the back of the head. "This is a lousy dive. And it's your fault we're here."

"Ow!" Trent gagged on his sip of root beer. Rubbing the back of his head, he grunted, "Oh, hush, you. We're getting paid for this."

"Who said we cared about money? We've been putting out our music for free for the greater portion of the year." Scot managed a site where torrents of their albums were free to seed and download.

"Bah. I saw an opportunity and I leapt for it."

"Okay, fine." Nathan waved away the discussion. "Anyway, where's the other band?"

"Oh, there they are. They're at the entrance."

Nathan took a large gulp of his Coke before setting it down. "Oh god really?" He turned around slowly to observe them.

The Repugnant Thug was comprised of four members. They looked and dressed notably different from the hipster crowd that filled the bar, and stood apart from Dapper Metroid's members. Hiroshi was clad in the same outfit as he was on that fateful Monday- a black leather jacket worn over a grey wife-beater, and skinny jeans. Two other young males were in the band as well. One had slick black hair partially covering his right eye, but a part of it stood up in the back too. The other had dyed his hair blue, and it hung down over his eyes as though he was a shoegazer. The final member stood apart from the other three men, particularly because the final member was a woman. She had a short blonde haircut and wore a red sweater and loose-fit jeans, and had brown-rimmed glasses for sight. She saw Nathan looking at her and blushed slightly, turning away. Nathan saw her tightly clutching a pair of drumsticks, which she held in front of her with both hands. So she was the band's drummer.

"Okay guys. We've got a couple minutes left, so let's go set up." Scot tapped Nathan on the shoulder and beckoned for everyone to get up.

~~~

"Your attention, please. Tonight is our weekly Battle of the Bands contest! For those of you who don't know, every Friday, we invite two up-and-coming unique amateur bands to perform for you, the audience! Whoever you like more gets to walk away with double the pay! In 10 minutes... we have a band from the Bronx, The Repugnant Thug! After them, we have a local band, Dapper Metroid! Get ready, folks!"

The backstage room of The Three Rockets smelled like more 'bad' than the rest of the bar. There were two couches opposite each other (The Repugnant Thug on one, Dapper Metroid on the other) three doors- one led into the room from the side of the bar, one led onstage, and one led into a small unisex bathroom, which Trent was currently occupying. Nathan was extremely tense, hugging his bass guitar tightly as though it were a child's comfort object. Amanda was leaning back into the couch, relaxing while sipping on her coffee. Scot was trying to ease the tension by practicing a bit on his guitar and tuning it and Amanda's. Hiroshi was sitting with his guitar case at his side. His chin rested on the top of his hands, and his elbows were balanced on his knees. The other two male members were chatting on about something, and the female was fidgeting with her drumsticks and observing Nathan from across the room. Whenever Nathan noticed, he'd look over at her, which caused her to blush and turn away.

Amanda broke the silence between the two bands. "So, Hiroshi, who're these other guys? Introduce us."

Hiroshi lifted his head. "Ah. These guys are two friends of mine from down here in Manhattan."

The one with the slick black hair made eyes at Amanda. "'Sup, hun? I'm Travis." He reached out and offered a hand.

Amanda rolled her eyes and refused him. "Uh-huh. And you are?"

The one with the dyed blue hair flicked it back, revealing deep black eyes and deep black circles around them. "I'm Chris. Pleasure to make your acquaintance." He gave a hesitant grin.

Amanda pleasantly grinned back. "And what's your name?"

If one could blush loudly, the blonde girl could. "Uhm...! My name is Samantha... but you can call me Sam or Sammy or anything you'd like."

Nathan was bemused by Samantha's almost comically shy antics. "What's the matter? You nervous?"

"Uhm... no... yes... sort of."

"Have you not played live before?"

"...For our school rhythm section..."

"I'm sure you'll be fine. If you guys suck we'll suck too. It's just a crowd of hipsters anyways." Nathan let go of his guitar to grab his Coke and took a couple sips.

"And now, ladies and gentlemen..." The bar announcer was speaking onstage again.

Hiroshi stood up, taking his guitar out from the case. "Oop. Looks like it's our cue. Come on guys, get your stuff." The other three members of The Repugnant Thug got their instruments out (although Samantha need not bring drums) and waited for them to be called onstage.

"Give it up for The Repugnant Thug!"

The quadro stepped out and onto the small stage as the audience applauded. As they did, a flushing noise could also be heard, and Trent stepped out from the bathroom. It smelled like more 'bad.'

"Jesus Christ, Trent. Wipe and clean up," said Scot, pinching his nose.

"What? Are they on right now?" Trent said as he zipped up his pants.

"Uh. Yeah. We'll see how good they are." Nathan finished the last of his soda.

The guitarists plugged their instruments into their respective amps. Samantha sat down at the drum set. Hiroshi stepped up to the mic and tapped it a few times to make sure it was on.

"Is this on? Hey. Hello, all you kids out there. This song may or may not suit your tastes, but **** you. I wrote this song and we thought it'd be awesome to play."

There was a small but loud round of applause.

"Very rude, isn't he." Nathan snorted.

"He's always like that. He doesn't really like people. Not all people anyway," sighed Amanda.

The band began counting down. One, two, three, four, ticked Samantha's drumsticks. Suddenly, she slammed down into the drums furiously and Hiroshi began playing a fast bass line as Travis and Chris joined in with bloodcurdling guitar licks. Hiroshi began yelling into the microphone:

"I'm stood fast down on the ground beneath me
Your dark cold stare above is all I see
I can't run no I can't hide
The only option now is for you to die
"

He slammed his foot down in rhythm with Samantha's drums as Travis began picking a violent arpeggio of low notes. Hiroshi started the chorus:

"I'm headed straight to Hell
Yeah I'm headed straight to Hell
But if I go out I'm taking you
Yeah I'm dragging you to Hell!
"

Nathan began feeling queasy. The lyrics Hiroshi spun out were dark and brutal. Every guitar chord felt like a punch to the stomach.

"You used to be my greatest friend
I swore we'd be together till the end
But now you've betrayed me and brought me down
Now I swear I'll smash you to the ground
"

Travis began another solo, a much longer one with hammer-offs and power chords. The bass line became slightly slower now, and Samantha's drums eased up a bit to catch up. The chorus began again.

"I think I'm gonna be sick." Nathan rushed into the bathroom and upheaved the contents of his stomach into the sink.

The song picked up pace again after the chorus.

"You used me as a stepping stone
To achieve my place on your throne
Well I've come back here to let you know
You'll feel my hatred, blow by blow
"

After one final round of the chorus, the song was over. Nathan dragged what was left of his depleted, soulless body out of the bathroom.

"Are they done?"

"Yes," said Dapper Metroid simultaneously.

"Oh. Good. I need something to drink. That song made me sick." Nathan collapsed back onto the couch.

"Here." Amanda offered what was left of her coffee. She had drank half of it since they got there.

"Uhh. Your coffee?"

"What's wrong with it?"

"You take it black?"

"Man up."

Nathan groaned, clutching his stomach, and downed the coffee cup in a single gulp. The hot, bitter, black liquid scorched his throat and woke him up from his stupor. "Ohh. Ughh."

"Feel better?"

"Loads."

The crowd let off a loud round of applause as The Repugnant Thug stepped offstage. Nathan and the others were unsure of whether they were actually pleased with the performance or if they were happy that the band had finished.

"We're glad you liked 'em! And now, for the next band up! Dapper Metroid!"

Nathan picked himself up. Amanda helped him stand straight, and handed him his bass.

"Don't worry. We'll be fine," she said as he took the bass from her.

Scot stepped over and handed Amanda her guitar as well. Trent walked forward and procured his drumsticks from his jacket pocket. "Ready, guys?"

"Yeah." said Dapper Metroid simultaneously.

"Then let's do this!"

~~~

Nathan stood over the crowd. The Repugnant Thug was standing in the back of the room, observing. The hipsters were on their toes, waiting for Dapper Metroid's performance.

"Uhh. Hey guys. Name's Nathan, and we're Dapper Metroid. Uhh, this next song, is, uhh, something that Scot and I wrote together, and uhh, we really like it, and we hope you do too. Ready, guys?"

The other three band members nodded.

"Okay. One! Two! Three! Four!"

Nathan began drawing up a slow and steady bass line as Trent tapped lightly on the drums. Amanda then began playing a smooth repetitive chord in time with the beat, and suddenly Scot tore in with several more jam chords. Nathan began singing.

"You're gone, you left, without saying a word
You never told me, and nobody heard
you slip out through the front door
and now you're not coming back anymore

Woah!
"

Nathan began spazzing out on the bass. He was embedded into the rhythm- it was emanating from him and being channeled into his fingers which played an intense bass line. He began moving faster- Trent was struggling to catch up. Amanda and Scot noticed, but didn't mind. They adapted to the change of the tempo and played faster chords.

"Yeah, I'm on a livewire
You've set my soul on fire
Yeah I'm on a livewire
My heart's gonna retire
"

Nathan felt electricity running down his spine. They were playing well. His queasy stomach had resided. He saw The Repugnant Thug observing him from across the room. Some members of the crowd were stepping in rhythm to Nathan's beat. He grinned and began the next part of the song.

"I chased you down, night and day
I'd never give up no how no way
I'd win you back, if it took my life
Your love cuts my livewire like a knife
"

Scot began a solo part, jamming on his guitar, playing assorted fast-paced unorganized random chords. Nathan and Trent kept the song in time while Amanda played the song's main chords. The crowd was entranced by Scot's thundering frets. Suddenly, a slam of Trent's drums and the solo was over. Nathan continued singing.

"I got you back, baby I'm here
I never gave up, I had no fear
You came back to me, it's alright
But damn, you gave my livewire quite a fright!"


Scot and Amanda began performing the outtro while Nathan sang the chorus. The tempo slowed as Trent and then Nathan brought the song to a gradual close. The audience went wild. Nathan's eyes went wide and his mouth dropped wide open in both exhaustion and surprise. They loved Dapper Metroid!

"See that?"

Nathan turned around. Amanda was standing beside him.

"Nothing to worry about. We did it."

~~~

Nathan was resting on the couch. He was immensely tired, despite the massive caffeine intake during the night. But the night wasn't over yet- the staff had to tally up how many people enjoyed Dapper Metroid's performance over The Repugnant Thug's. Amanda walked in and brought Nathan another cup of Coke. She also had a second cup of black coffee.

"Oh, thank you." Nathan sipped on the brown cola as he relaxed on the couch.

"You did really good out there," said Amanda as she also took a drink from her coffee. "I was impressed. You poured a lot of heart into that performance."

"Ehh..."

"Don't be modest, Nathaniel," Amanda teased him and shook him on the shoulder. "From the tallies so far, it looks like we won. And it was all you."

"Don't you mean, 'you and Trent?'" said Scot, chuckling as he, too, came in and sat besides Nathan and Amanda.

"Ha!" Nathan stifled a laugh. "It's funny because he doesn't even ****in' do anything other than organize the damn band."

"I know, right?"

"Yeah, they were actually looking for you out there cuz they were expecting the lead singer and lyricist to be the band leader, not the drummer in the background. They saw Trent come up to count the tallies and they looked all confused and ****." Scot put his hands behind his head and stretched. "Anyway, everything'll be fine after this. We get paid quite a bit for this apparently."

Someone knocked on the side of the open door to the band room. It was Samantha, the drummer from The Repugnant Thug. "Uhhm. May I come in?"

Scot nodded. "Yeah, sure. Sit down." Gratefully nodding, Samantha took a seat on the couch across from the three.

"So...uhm. It looks like you won... from the tallies, I mean... so, congratulations."

"Thanks," said the three Dapper Metroid members simultaneously.

"Uhm. I was surprised to find out that you weren't the band leader, though... what was your name...?"

"Me?" Nathan pointed at himself. "My name's Nathan. It's nice to meet you, Samantha."

"Yeah, hi. Anyway, they're announcing the winner right now, but the lead band member is the only one needed to sign off on it, so you don't have to go out there."

Nathan looked down at his cup of soda. "Man. I really thought we'd lose, though. Your band's so intimidating."

Samantha blushed. "Well... It's... the other three guys sort of scare me. Travis is always hitting on me... and Chris just looks creepy... and Hiroshi just looks really mean."

Amanda shrugged. "I've known him for a while. Almost stereotypical Asian upbringing. He's sort of cynical. Don't worry about him."

"And it's sort of weird... playing in a band that's totally not the type of music I really enjoy playing... it's so violent and thrash-y..."

"Yeah, and you're sort of cutesy and innocent." Nathan took a drink of soda. "Well, to each band their own."

"Guys, guys!" Trent barged into the room, with a couple of brown paper bags stapled together.

"What?" said the three members of Dapper Metroid simultaneously.

"We won!"

"Really? We had no idea," said Amanda sarcastically. "What's that in the bags? Our pay?"

"Yeah. Each bag is your cut." He tucked one bag into his pockets and tossed the other three to each other member of Dapper Metroid. Nathan opened up the bag and inspected it.

"*******, there must be, like..."

"It's about $200."

"Really? Sick."

"Oh, and they invited us for next week."

"Why would we come back next week? It's Christmas next Friday," said Amanda. "Quite frankly I'd like to spend time with family, not **** around at a *****y hipster bar."

"Oh. Right." Trent looked crestfallen. He had also apparently forgotten that his bandmates did in fact have lives. "Well... uhm. That's all, I guess. We're out. Amanda, you're taking me back?"

"Yeah, I guess I have to." Amanda got up and finished her coffee. "See you guys." She and Trent began walking out the door.

"Wait!" Nathan rose up and stopped Amanda briefly.

"Hmm?"

"Err... never mind. I'll call you later."

~~~

"Hey, sis!" Nathan walked in from the garage. Sarah was cooking dinner in the kitchen.

"What?"

"Catch!"

Sarah turned around to see a giant brown paper bag flying at her face. She quickly caught it, taking care not to spill the large pot cooking on the stove. "What the hell is this?"

"I won, that's what the hell it is."

"Oh! Congrats!"

"Yeah yeah. Take only what I owed you." Nathan began walking back upstairs and headed into his room, sitting down at his desk. He put his feet up on the bed, pulled his iPhone out of his pocket, and checked his text messages. There was one unread message from Amanda: "k so what did you want to talk to me about"

Nathan quickly began typing up a reply. "i dunno was wonderin if you wanted to go out on christmas maybe see the tree at 30 rock" Amanda replied back. "nope srry actually planning on goin there w family maybe well see each other there?" Nathan was disappointed, but it couldn't be helped. "owell. how about new years? i dont wanna be left alone w my stupid sister" Amanda sent back another text. "hmm okay could be fun. let me know when and where k?" Nathan fist-pumped and sent back a simple "k". He put down the phone, sat silent for a few seconds, then spazzed in some form of ecstatic emotional response. "YYYESS I'm going on a date with Mandy!"

~~~

Christmas in New York wasn't Christmas until one went to observe the tree in Rockefeller Plaza in all its glory. Nathan had left home on the condition that he'd damn well come back and open up Sarah's gift to him or she'd kill him. And that would make it a very unpleasant Christmas. Although the spectacular holiday monument dazzled him every year he had been there, this time he was looking for one thing in particular. After standing out in the cold snow for a while and no sign of Amanda, Nathan left.

~~~

"Look. I'm sorry she didn't show up, okay? You don't know whether she decided to just stand you up last minute or whether she actually had something... anything could've happened. But for the love of God, eat your sushi, and quit drinking that sake before I slap you!"

Nathan had gotten a bit drunk. In spite of the fact that he was underage, he was often given alcohol without being carded. He was also drinking out of Sarah's glass of sake. The two were at a sushi bar celebrating New Year's Eve. There were monitors featuring the live countdown at Times.

"What's it matter to you? I was really hopin'... to end this year... on a good note... and now it's going to end really bad because she's not here." He sighed and clumsily put another roll of sushi into his mouth and chewed slowly. "Uughh. This is really bad."

"What's bad?"

"I shouldn't have had any sake."

"Yeah, dip-****, now I have to drive you home. I was gonna have some fun tonight, I thought."

The ball dropped down the pillar. It was New Years Day.

~~~

"You don't have to drive me home... we're nearby... I can walk."

"You're going to walk."

"Yeah... I'm tired and it's New Years, okay? I'll be back. Like Schwarzenegger."

"Suit yourself."


~~~

Note    
Beginning now, each part within each post will begin with an introduction to the month, date, and time.


January 1st, 2014
5:30 AM


Nathan slowly woke up. He tried to get up but his feet and hands were chained to something. He had a headache. It was a hangover. The sake. He shook his head and tried to inspect where he was. A warehouse. He was chained to a chair in a warehouse. He also observed that there was a figure in the dark. He tried to get a better view but he was chained down and he was still drunk. Or hungover. He couldn't tell. The figure stepped closer. It was a woman. A beautiful red-headed woman.

"*******. What was in that
sake?"
  #5  
Old August 16, 2011, 10:01:44 PM
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LiteTheIronMan LiteTheIronMan is offline
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Join Date: May 2009
Location: Final Destination
Posts: 2,854
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Chapter Four: Hercules


January 1st, 2014
5:30 AM


Nathan slowly woke up. He tried to get up but his feet and hands were chained to something. He had a headache. It was a hangover. The sake. He shook his head and tried to inspect where he was. A warehouse. He was chained to a chair in a warehouse. He also observed that there was a figure in the dark. He tried to get a better view but he was chained down and he was still drunk. Or hungover. He couldn't tell. The figure stepped closer. It was a woman. A beautiful red-headed woman.

"*******. What was in that sake?"

The woman was a secretary type, clad in a professional-looking skirt and suit, with black stockings and boots. She had her vivid red hair up in a bun and she wore black-tinted glasses. Her skin was pale and accentuated her bright cherry-red lipstick. She wore no jewelry. She began to speak. "Nathan Kyler, age 18, born August 2nd, 1994 in New York City."

Nathan was still in a daze. He promised himself to never drink alcohol in excess again. "Uhhm... sorry... lady. But... I don't know you. Did we have some... time last night... or something? Because... I'm drunk as hell."

The woman shook her head. "No, you don't know me. For future reference, you may refer to me as Miss Tape Deck."

"Miss Tape Deck." Nathan squinted at her. "What is this... like... Reservoir Dogs... or something? Am I kidnapped? Are you going to cut my ear off and douse me in gasoline?"

"Not quite. This is a different kind of movie."

"What kind?"

Miss Tape Deck clapped her hands together and the lights within the warehouse turned on. Nathan closed his eyes tight together. "Oww goddammit didn't I tell you I'm drunk I'm hungover I can't ****ing see bright light aahh!!!"

"My apologies. If you could open your eyes for a moment to observe the uniform?"

"What uniform? And hell if I open my eyes. Turn off the ****ing lights!" Nathan peeked between his eyelids slightly to see what the woman was talking about. He looked down at himself. "Ughh... uhh... what the... hell am I wearing?"

"My employer has randomly selected nine qualified individuals across the country of the United States of America to participate in the beta testing of the Hercules power suit."

"Uhhm... what?"

"You're a fan of films, Mr. Kyler. Have you seen any Japanese superhero films?"

"What... like... Power Rangers and ****?"

"If I had to explain it to you, I'd tell you that the suit you're wearing is much like that of a Power Rangers suit. It augments your physical strength to the peak of human performance and is incredibly durable. The only limits to it are the threshold of blunt force you can endure, and the stamina you can exert."

"So... uhm... this is... a superhero costume."

"In layman's terms, yes. However, there are conditions to wearing this suit-"

"Hold on hold on hold on hold on. I. Am. Drunk. This is probably just a hallucination. If this was a superhero suit, I'd break out of the cuffs you put me in."

"If this was a hallucination, you wouldn't be cuffed. And what sort of alcohol have you consumed that would make you hallucinate?"

"...Fine. But. This is just some random ********."

"I can explain in detail later. For now..."

Another bright light turned on. This one was pulsating from the center of Nathan's chest.

"Aaaahhh for God's sake enough with the damn lights!!" Nathan kicked furiously and something snapped beneath him. The leg of the chair. "Ohh God what the hell I'm falling-" He had torn the leg of the chair out by kicking with the cuffs still on.

"So it does work. Impressive. That central battery in the center of your chest is a clean nuclear power source. It's highly advanced, but it's still in beta along with this suit."

"Ugh... you're going to have to slow down for a bit..." Nathan tore his hands free from the chair as well, and forced off the cuffs around his wrists and ankles. His eyes were adjusting better to the light- he was clad in some sort of black skintight bodysuit.

"Okay. So. Start from the beginning. Who are you... and why am I here exactly?"

The woman sighed and clicked her heels impatiently. "I don't have time to explain, but since you appear to be very disoriented and slow to catch on, fine. My name is Miss Tape Deck. I found you wandering Manhattan drunkenly. You were one of nine of my employer's chosen individuals to test the beta version of the Hercules power suit. Since we can't exactly approach people directly..."

"...you take the Jason Bourne approach to it and you just kidnap me or force me into doing something."

"Precisely. I apologize if there's any sort of inconvenience or strangeness to this encounter."

"It'd make a lot less sense to someone who hasn't seen any good films. It'd make a lot more sense to me if I wasn't drunk."

"If it makes you feel any better, it was either we brought you here to test the suit, or we left you to pass out drunk on the pavement."

"I was passed out on the pavement?"

"You're not very alcohol-tolerant."

"Uughh... and what do you mean, 'test the suit?'"

Miss Tape Deck smirked. "Ah! This is the fun part. We are conveniently located in the territory of a very protective but not very large or bright gang of children, unimaginatively designating themselves as the Pitbulls. And I believe there will be a couple of them waiting outside for you. With that suit, however, you shouldn't have much of a problem disposing of them. Once you've finished, I will brief you on more information regarding the suit. Oh, and pull up the protective hood for your face."

Nathan sighed. He was less in shock about this whole experience than he was when he saw Amanda with Hiroshi. He tugged up a black mask on the neck of the suit and pulled it over his head, securing it tightly.

"Also, there are some small HUD displays which should be visible. Can you see them?"

"Yeah." The part of the mask that concealed his eyes had several vital sign statistics such as his heart rate, pulse, and brain waves.

"There's also an Auto-Combat program loaded into the suit which you can activate via voice command. Clearly speak, 'request auto-combat' and it should do the rest. Now then, off with you." She pointed at a door on the far wall of the warehouse.

"So I just beat the crap out of whoever's there?"

"Essentially."

"Ugh. But I'm druuuuunk."

"Whose fault is that?"

Nathan grumbled "Mandy's" under his breath, before walking cautiously to the door. He pushed it open.

The warehouse was along the side of a river. There were several large abandoned storage containers surrounding him. It looked like a shipyard for transport of goods over water.

"Hey! You!"

Nathan turned around. A large, bald, fat man in a denim vest and wife-beater whose arms were adorned in tattoos was staring at him. One of the tattoos resembled a cartoon pitbull.

"Oh...great."

"Hey! You! This ain't a safe place for kids like you ta be!" The man slowly approached him, drawing a switchblade.

"Hey, listen, bub. I don't want any trouble."

"Well, you got trouble, now, son!" The man swung his heavy arm up at Nathan, who jumped away from the knife almost instinctively.

"Ahh! Don't wave that thing around. You could hurt someone." Nathan taunted after dodging successfully.

"You little punk! I'mma tear you a new one!" The fat man rushed at him. Nathan couldn't help but stifle a laugh at how humorous it was to watch a fat man try to run at someone only feet away from him. He dodged the knife again, and gripped the man's swinging arm.

"I said, you shouldn't play with knives." Nathan squeezed tight on the man's arm, causing him to howl in pain and drop the knife. As the man stumbled backward, Nathan picked up the knife and ran the blade across the material of the suit. It couldn't cut through, no matter if he cut or stabbed.

"Oh. So there wasn't anything to worry about." He walked over to the fat man, who was still reeling in terror over the pain in his arm, and kicked him in the stomach, causing the man to collapse and sink into unconsciousness.

"Damn. I'm good. And I'm drunk, too." Nathan massaged his forehead.

He heard a couple of people yelling at him behind him. "Hey! What the hell do you think you're doing, punk?" Two more thugs with pitbull tattoos were watching him from beyond a storage unit. In another direction, three more gang members stepped out from behind another unit. Nathan took a couple of steps backward until he was surrounded. He counted twelve gang members.

"God. I hate Mondays." He whipped the switchblade around in his hand and held it in a stabbing posture. He snarled in a deep voice, and grunted, "Go ahead, punks. Make my day."

Two thugs charged at him and swiped their muscular arms at his head. He ducked and punched them both in the stomach with the free arm. Another man came at him from behind- Nathan saw him in a map-like HUD on the visor, and almost immediately stabbed behind him with the knife, sticking him in the thigh and causing him to trip and fall. Removing the blade from the wound as the man fell, Nathan ran toward another brute who lunged forward and tried to grab him. He grabbed both of the man's hands with his one free hand, and then landed a devastating uppercut to the man's jaw, sending him flying backwards. Suddenly, one of the thugs who Nathan didn't observe on the HUD picked him up and began to strangle him. Struggling, Nathan gripped the man's arms around his neck with the free hand and stabbed down at them with the other. The man howled in pain and dropped Nathan, who, regaining his breath, elbowed him sharply in the groin, knocking him out. Two more attempted to double team him again, taking swings and punches at Nathan, but his skinny, nimble body allowed him to deftly avoid the blows. He slid down and sweep-kicked one of the man's legs out from under him, causing the other man to trip over his partner. As soon as he jumped back up, a gunshot rang out. Nathan looked down and saw a smashed bullet pellet fall down off of his chest. The suit was bulletproof. He looked at the man who fired the gun, who began trembling and stumbled backward. Grinning underneath the mask, Nathan leapt forward at the man and aimed a punch at his face, but pulled back at the last second, causing him to flinch and fall backward, dropping the gun. Nathan picked up the gun and pistol-whipped the man on the ground, knocking him out. He then swiftly turned around and pointed the gun at the remaining thugs surrounding him. He grunted in the same fake deep voice he put on earlier and yelled, "Get the hell out of here." Obviously intimidated, the five gangsters turned tail and sped off in the respective opposite directions. Nathan tossed the gun to the side and leaned against one of the storage containers. It was exhausting engaging in fist-fights while hungover.

"Most impressive." Miss Tape Deck stepped out of the door of the warehouse. "Though, I was a little disappointed in not being able to see you take down the rest."

"I didn't need to." Nathan pulled the mask off of his head. "So, what else do I need to know about this suit?"

"Ah. Now that you are familiar with how it works, there are a few clauses to you being able to use it."

"I'm listening. And drunk. But mostly listening."

"One. You may do whatever you wish with this suit except use it for personal gain."

Nathan cocked his head to one side. "Huh? That… seems… a bit gray. What does that constitute as?"

"You may commit crimes with this suit. However, personal gain includes and is defined by this clause as using the power the suit grants to corrupt."

"To corrupt…"

"You can't use it in coercion to climb any sort of political or financial ladder."

"Uhh… huh."

"I agree. In the end it all depends on what my employer thinks about your activities using the suit."

"Okay then." Nathan slumped back and rubbed the bridge of his nose with his palms. "Carry on?"

"Two. One must possess the suit for the entirety of 365 days."

"So I have to keep it till New Years Eve, 2014."

"Correct. Three. One may only remove the suit for a 24 hour period and must wear it for at least one hour in between every 23 hour period. You'll find that the suit can retract or conceal itself to resemble a sort of spandex swimsuit, if it's convenient for you to wear it underneath your typical attire."

"Okay, that makes sense."

"Four. One may not sell or give away the suit to any other party."

"Is that it?"

"Last one. Five. I can grant you seven quote-unquote wishes at any time, but they must abide by the previous four clauses."

"And what happens if I don't abide by said clauses?"

"Failure to play by the rules will cause the suit to be dismantled, and, under most circumstances, elimination of the suit wearer."

"Dismantlement and elimination?"

"The suit's nuclear battery will be detonated, and you will be killed."

"That's nice." Nathan squatted down and covered his head with his hands. "God this sucks."

"Anyway. Now that we are done here, I can take you back to your home and you are free to do as you wish so long as you don't break these five rules. Are we clear?"

Nathan looked up at Miss Tape Deck. During the whole conversation, she never broke from her serious expression. She seemed like a typical worker bee type, and reminded him a lot of his sister. He sighed. "Yeah, fine. Take me home. And give me my clothes back."

~~~

7:13 AM

Sarah was still asleep. Nathan had checked to make sure she didn't wait for him or any signs that she threw a fit when he didn't arrive home, and coming to a satisfactory conclusion, deemed it best to pretend that nothing happened the night before and sunk under his sheets and rolled over in the bed, trying to go to sleep. One thought crossed his mind, though. He couldn't just not do anything with the suit, as that would be boring. And he had to wear it almost constantly by the rules of possessing it. He shrugged and rolled over, face down into a pillow. He mumbled to himself as he fell asleep…

"Maybe… I'll be a superhero…"
 
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