I Would Destroy This World For You - Chapter 2

Rand sat on the couch of the house he shared with his sister and brother, his cellphone sitting on the glass coffee table in front of him. It had been hours since Marcus had told him he was going to speak with his brother regarding Reese's whereabouts, he said he would call him as soon as he knew anything. That was at eight this morning, it was now three in the afternoon. Rand was beyond worried. What if Anthony had done something to Marcus? Without knowing where he was, there was nothing Rand and his sister could do. A cup of hot green tea was set in front of him, causing Rand to break from his concern for a moment and look up. Rayven looked back at him, her mismatched blue and brown eyes looking back at him softly.

“I'm worried about them too.”, she offered, holding her own cup of tea.

She moved to sit on the couch next to him. Rand sighed deeply and shook his head.

“We should have followed him.”, Rand said.

Rayven took a sip of her tea.

“He wouldn't want that.”, Rayven said softly.

“It's been eight hours, Rayven. And two days since we've seen Reese.”, he said, dropping his head to his upturned hands.

His waist length white hair was pulled into a tight ponytail that draped over his shoulder. Rayven's black hair was pulled into a tight bun behind her head. She set her cup on the coffee table and laid her hand upon his shoulder lightly.

“I don't think Anthony would hurt them. Marcus may hate the fact that he is a Villain but he's still his brother. And Reese has been his boyfriend since school. He wouldn't hurt them, Rand.”, she offered.

“I can't trust that! Marcus should just lock him up! He's caused so much destruction and despair in McAllister. He needs to be locked up! Now he has Reese and may have Marcus. What kind of Heroes don't know where the main Villain is and allows him to take two other Heroes at his whim??”, he grumbled.

Rayven frowned. Rand had been upset since they found Reese missing two days ago, now Marcus could be missing too and he was nearly inconsolable. He blamed himself. He and Reese had a huge argument before Reese disappeared. It was about his relationship with Anthony. They had all spoken to Reese and tried to get him to see that his continued relationship with Anthony wasn't in his best interests, a well established and highly respected Hero in love with the most feared Villain in the United States was foolish and could destroy Reese's reputation. They had screamed and yelled and would have come to blows if Rayven hadn't broken them up. Reese refused to leave Anthony, he'd refused to even listen to their side of the argument, blaming them all for Anthony's decision to be a Villain. Rayven had tried to be the Devil's Advocate, trying her best to understand both sides of the dispute but in the end, she had failed to calm Reese. He stormed off to his room and locked himself in, they only realized he was gone when Rayven came to retrieve him for dinner. His room was dark and silent, the window open and some of his things gone. They'd been searching the city for him since.

Rand growled loudly and grabbed his cup of tea, throwing it across the room to shatter against the wall with the loud sound of breaking ceramic, tea spraying the wall as he stood. Rayven sighed softly.

“Rand--”, she started.

“What the hell is he thinking?! What does he think this will accomplish?! I just want to punch him right now. He's being so childish, so stupid, so fucking ignorant!”, Rand yelled at no one in particular.

Rayven stood from the couch.

“He is in love, Rand. Can we really fault him for this? We tried to take him away from Anthony. They have been together since school, even when Anthony made his intention to be a Villain known and destroyed half of the suburban borough, Reese never saw him any different. We locked Anthony up and he escaped, Reese was the first to find him and protected him from everyone. He got hurt trying to stop us from capturing Anthony and helped him escape. No matter what we say, he will love him until his dying breath. We know this.”, she said.

Rand grit his teeth tightly.

“He nearly died and he still runs to Anthony's side at the snap of his fingers. He doesn't use his head. He never thinks about how this will affect US!”, Rand yelled.

Rayven laid her hand on Rand's shoulder.

“Calm down. I know your angry, I'm upset too. But we know Reese loves with his whole heart, it doesn't matter what Anthony does, Reese will still love him.”, Rayven offered.

“And in his mind, it's not about us. It's about them.”, she continued.

Rand clenched his hands into tight fists, rage boiling in his stomach. He was going to find his brother and kick his ass. It was five years ago that Anthony had went on a rampage in Church, the suburban borough of McAllister. He'd destroyed half of the small town with a stolen fire power, forcing the town to be evacuated as he laid waste to it. Rand had been the one to capture him and render him unconscious after a long battle. He'd had the lucky break that Anthony had overused the power and in turn started to get sick, his stamina draining easily and his lungs fighting to stop him from breathing. Ever since he was a child and had nearly died from that respiratory ailment, his lungs would start to shut down if he overexerted himself. Reese tried to stop the battle that happened and was furious with Rand for hurting Anthony, when he saw the blood that covered him as he lay unconscious on the ground. Once Anthony was moved from the Medical Wing of the High Security Prison to a cell, Reese finally started speaking to his siblings again. But the day he went to visit him and Anthony escaped, Rand was sure Reese had helped him. Even though Reese fervently denied the accusation. He was always protecting Anthony, arguing his case to his sister, brother and Marcus every chance he got. Rand refused to hear it, accusing Reese of wavering loyalties. When he was found again, hiding along the outskirts of McAllister, Reese reached him before anyone else could. He took on the five Heroes that had come to capture Anthony again, Rand, Rayven, Marcus, their friends Draco and Ember. It was when Draco used his power to control air and Ember used her power to create fire that they were able to trap Reese. Rand and Marcus caught up to Anthony and Rand swung his sword to stop Anthony from escaping. Reese had escaped the others and ran to them, pushing Anthony out of the way as Rand's sword penetrated Reese's abdomen. Anthony jumped onto Rand then, trying to kill him as Reese lay bleeding out on the ground. Marcus stopped the fight but Anthony had stolen Rand's ability to jump long distances and, with Reese's instruction, used the ability to escape. Rand was furious with his brother and, after his year of house arrest and rehabilitation, thought he had gotten better. He thought he had gotten over Anthony. He had no idea that Reese was even still seeing Anthony until he accidentally overheard one of their conversations a few days ago, planning to meet that night. Rand lost it. Storming into Reese's room and taking his cellphone, screaming at Anthony that he would never see Reese again before crushing the phone. He and Reese then argued and it was ugly. Rand called Reese so many horrible and ugly names and Reese yelled back, his words just as hateful. It was when things in the room started to be broken loudly that Rayven intervened. Only to have them move into the living room of the large house to continue their fight. Rand yelled that Reese would be stripped of his Hero status, he would lock him up himself and see to it that he never saw Anthony or the light of day again. He yelled that he was disgusted by him though he hadn't meant that. If Rayven hadn't grabbed Reese when she did, the punch Reese planned to land would have surely injured Rand and put him in the hospital. The fight was horrible and Rand knew he had only succeeded in chasing his brother into Anthony's waiting arms. He hadn't meant any of it, he hadn't meant to say those things, he hadn't meant to break Reese's heart that way. He loved his brother deeply and only wanted what was best for him. He didn't want this. He flinched when a drop of water fell to his clenched right fist. Slowly, he opened his hand and raised it to his face. He hadn't even realized he was crying until now. Rayven came behind him and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him. She could feel his conflict and his torment but there was very little she could do for him. Rand lowered his head, his left hand opening and coming up to rest upon her arms as he started to cry more.

“I didn't mean it, Rayven. I didn't mean those things I said to him.”, Rand said, his voice soft but even.

“I know.”, she said softly as she rested her cheek upon his back.

“I just want him to come home. I'll forget all of this if he just comes home.”, he said, tears streaming from his eyes as he clamped them shut.

He was angrier with himself then he was with his brother and Anthony. Rayven reached up to lightly place her hand over his heart.

“We'll find him, Rand. For now, go take a shower and try to calm down. I'll make us an early dinner, you haven't eaten in two days and that's not going to help your mood at all.”, she said softly.

Rand nodded but didn't move until she slowly pulled her arms away. He bowed his head and moved towards the second floor to go to his bathroom and shower as she instructed. Rayven watched him go, a frown upon her lips. She glanced at Rand's cellphone a moment. She was just as worried as Rand was but she was handling it a lot better then he was. The fight a few days ago had taken a lot out of all of them but it was hitting Rand the hardest. He was always the more stubborn and adamant of the three, Reese was the kindest and most caring. Rayven was always in the middle. She loved her brothers very much and hated what was happening between them. She pulled her phone from her pocket and looked at it before opening it and scrolling through the contacts. After a moment, she found who she was looking for and pressed the icon to Call. After two rings, the call was answered on the other side and she stopped breathing for a moment, having expected the call to go to voicemail. After a long moment of silence, she spoke.

“We're worried about you.”, she said softly.

“Somehow, I don't believe that.”, came the harsh response.

She flinched. He was still angry, she could feel the rage through the phone.

“Reese--.”, she started.

“Just stop, Rayven. Rand made his feelings towards me very clear. I disgust him.”, he said, his words dripping with venom.

“He didn't mean that!”, she responded quickly.

“Then he shouldn't have said it!”, Reese growled.

“He was just angry and hurt.”, she said, glancing up the stairs to make sure Rand wasn't listening.

“And I'm not?! I'm your brother and he's labeled me a Villain because of who I love. He will see to it that I am stripped of my Hero status and locked away. He called me such horrible names, he attacked who I am and who I care about. He made it clear that being a Hero is far more important to him then anything.”, Reese said, his voice soft but clearly projecting how hurt he was.

“Reese, please--.”, she started.

“Well, he doesn't have to worry about it anymore. Neither do you. I'm going to help him strip my Hero status.”, Reese said and she could tell he was smiling.

She could only imagine the bitterness in the smile her brother now wore.

“Ricochet is dead, Rayven. When we meet again, you will be introduced to Deadeye. I love you, Rayven. And no matter what happens, even though Rand hates me, I don't blame you for any of this.”, he said, then hung up.

“Wait—Reese!”, she started but the line was already dead.

She pulled the phone away from her ear slowly and looked at it, her heart shattering in her chest at his words. He never reacted like this but then, he and Rand had never fought like they had, they had never said such hateful things to each other. She tossed her phone to the couch and turned to head into the kitchen, ignoring the tears that were falling down her cheeks.

Rand sat at the table, staring blankly into his dinner. He looked up at Rayven a moment, her eyes were red and she wouldn't look at him. She hadn't eaten anything herself, pushing the homemade shrimp fried rice around her plate absentmindedly. His eyes drifted to the empty chair to his left, where Reese usually sat for their meals. He stared at the empty place for a long time.

“I called him when you went to shower. I had expected to leave a message but....he answered.”, Rayven said softly.

Rand turned his eyes from the cold, empty chair to look at her. Tears streamed from her eyes and dripped to the table under her as she kept her eyes on her uneaten food.

“He is so hurt. I could tell by his voice. He took everything you said to heart. He said he's going to help you strip his Hero status.”, she said, her voice shaking ever so slightly with sadness.

Rand frowned. He hadn't expected anything he said to tear them apart like this, he hadn't wanted it to. But he hadn't thought before he spoke, he didn't consider the repercussions of his words. He had hurt Reese and now he had hurt Rayven.

“He said Ricochet is dead. He is now Deadeye.”, she said, her voice so soft that he barely heard her.

“Rayven --”, he started.

She looked up at him, her eyes angry, wild and full of pain as her tears started to stream down her cheeks.

“You told him that he disgusted you. Why??? Because he fell in love with Anthony?? Because he loves a Villain?? He's our brother! And you pushed him away because you didn't want to understand him and how he felt. He almost died to protect Anthony, Rand. He fought us to protect him. Isn't that what you do for someone you love as much as he loves Anthony??”, she said, her voice starting to raise.

Rand bowed his head, ashamed of what he had said to his brother.

“We promised our parents that we would always protect each other, we would stick together no matter what. I miss him. I want him to come home. He thinks you hate him!”, she said, gasping for air to keep herself from breaking down.

Rand raised his head to look at her, horror at her words showing in his face. She glared at him.

“YOU did this! YOU drove him away!”, she said, pushing her chair back from the table and standing.

Rand stood quickly and came towards her as she turned to leave the dining room. He reached out and grabbed her arm gently. Rayven spun around and only the sharp sound of skin striking skin in the room told Rand's mind that she had slapped him.

“I don't care who he loves! I don't care that he wants to be with Anthony! I want him to come home! I am so angry with you for what you've done. Do you understand that?? I want to beat your head in for being so stupid, so condescending, so hateful!”, she said to him, her voice raised and angry.

She tried to pull her arm away but Rand wouldn't let her go. She swung again to hit him but he reached up and grabbed her hand. She screamed shrilly, her eyes clamped shut as she struggled in his arms.

“This isn't fair! I'm so mad!”, she screamed.

Rand moved forward and pulled her into him, hugging her as she balled her hands into fists and beat against his strong, muscular chest. He didn't release her, tears started to stream from his own eyes. It was a full minute before she stopped fighting him and collapsed into his arms, sobbing hysterically against his chest. He simply hugged her, he knew the fight he'd had with his brother had upset her but he didn't know how much. He had been an idiot and now he had to think long and hard how to make this right. He wasn't going to give up on Reese, he was going to get him back and make him understand that their fight was stupid, he had been stupid, and no matter what he loved him and wouldn't forsake him. No matter whom Reese loved.

“I'll get him back, Rayven. WE will get him back.”, he whispered to her, hugging her tightly as she cried against him.

“I'm sorry, Rand. I didn't mean what I said. I—I just want Reese to come home. I know you didn't mean to say those things, you didn't mean to hurt him. Just the pain in his voice was so jarring and stark. I didn't mean to hit you. I want this to go away.”, she cried.

“Sssshhh, I know.”, he shushed her, holding her tightly and letting her cry against him.