Etienne swung open the door to the mansion, full force. He turned the corner and found Gabe in the living room, sitting back in the recliner. A bulky box TV blared someone's prepared speech. An older, grizzled man with scars on his face spoke in front of Portland's police station. A graphic at the bottom of the screen read, "Jose Gabaras. Chief of Police."
Gabe watched on as the man spoke passionately.
Jose spat out, "I'm sure all of you heard about yesterday evening's massacre. 31 innocent lives were snuffed out, according to the footage the Blessad family has provided. As of now, that footage is not available to the public, but that may change in the future."
Jose took a deep breath in and slammed his hand into the podium in front of him, "The only reason Mr. and Mrs. Bleassad were at home was because they were, and still are, frightened by the recent uptick of metahuman violence. Just a few days ago, nearly two dozen of my officers were murdered by a crazed metahuman, who the INHO was unable to capture."
The crowd that surrounded him began to get louder. Jose continued, "Tens of families are now left without a father, a husband, a son. And for what? To advance these criminals' petty goals? The incident at the Blessad's estate only proves that even if you go out of your way to avoid the violence, it can still come after you! Just like all of you, I know that murder is an act of the deranged! And I, for one, will not yield to these sick individuals as they keep trying to snuff out innocent lives. We don't need the INHO, we need a new administration!"
Gabe turned to Etienne slowly, "I've been watching his speech on replay for hours. He took the words right out of my mouth. Murder is an act of the deranged."
Etienne shrugged his shoulders and shook his head wearily, "What do you want, Gabe? Do you want me to apologize, or say I feel bad? You're slowing me down, Gabe. Even if you're going to keep guilt-tripping me, you can get out."
Gabe's expression was horrified, and he hopped up from the recliner. He shouted, "S-so what's your plan? Say Petey finds whatever email you think you saw years ago, you plan to kill your entire extended family? Think about what you're doing, Eti! Forget the moral implications, of which there are many, and think about it logically for a second. There are guards, security everywhere; they have a whole division of their company just dedicated to protecting them and their assets. Do you realize how big your aunt and uncle's operation has become? They are way more than just a toy company now, they're like Nestle, they have their hands in every industry."
Etienne's eyes darkened. He clenched his fist tight, "You don't even know Gabe. It doesn't matter how many thousands, millions, or billions they put into security. I will overcome it. My powers can destroy it."
Gabe was taken aback, and he almost tripped over an end table, "Maybe you can…but what about the guards? What about their families? Those people are just innocent employees; they are just doing their job."
Etienne screamed out, "My parents were just innocent employees doing their job! That didn't stop those monsters from hitting them with a semi."
Gabe's voice became exasperated, "We don't know who was responsi—"
Etienne cut him off, "I know what I saw, Gabe! I know what I saw. Petey is going to pull all of their communications, and we'll get to see it all. Who orchestrated it, how much your father and my parents' lives were worth, we'll see everything."
Etienne bit down on his finger, "But even if we can't see everything, even if the emails only reveal they had a part in it, but they didn't orchestrate it or come up with it…well, I'll still kill them. And everyone they associate with. At least if I kill them all, I can be sure the culprit is dead."
Gabe's expression warped into concern and fear, and he shook his head slowly, "I knew I wasn't overreacting, you are not the same Etienne I knew. What did you do with the naive but optimistic kid I knew?"
Etienne shook his head and looked at the ground, "He died the day our parents did. So what are you going to do, Gabe? Are you going to leave me, too?"
Gabe sat back down and dusted himself off, "No, Etienne, I'm not leaving you. I have nowhere else to go anyway. You need someone here looking out for you, making sure you don't spiral too deep into this revenge plot."
Gabe put his face into his hand, "I-I can't be your support on those missions. I can't bear it. Every time I hear explosions and fighting on that earpiece, it's like I'm losing you all over again. But I will be your house manager and your big brother. As your house manager, I will make sure you have a diet fitting for your activites and I will make sure your wounds are always tended. And as your big brother, I will stay awake and make sure you walk through that door every night. Since my words haven't done anything, hopefully the thought of your big brother worrying about you is enough to make you reconsider some of your actions."
Gabe stood up and walked out of the living room. He called out behind him, "Now, if you'll excuse me sir, I've been slacking on cleaning the exterior since you returned. Let me get back to my normal schedule."
"Gabe!" He called out to no avail.
Etienne slumped down onto the couch and threw his head back. He closed his eyes and let tears stream down his face slowly, "I lost Gabe's trust again. For good this time. I guess I should be glad he doesn't despise me at least."