The Battle of Tarjét

Adam and Brandon Underwood were twin brothers who did everything together. Since they were born they shared almost every milestone. They took their first steps together. They learned to speak at the same time. They even discovered their super powers on the same day! Adam could harness the power of Ice and Brandon could harness the power of Fire. Although there were other mutants in the world who had come out of hiding, the Twins made the decision to keep their powers a secret. Their parents (who also wielded superpowers) and their girlfriends were the only civilians who knew of their special abilities. The only other connection the Twins had that was aware of their powers was their employer.

The Twins both worked undercover for an agency called the L.S.A. (League of Super Assassins). The LSA was a small, secret organization where Adam and Brandon were both employed as international bounty hunters. Once they received a mark, they would travel to a classified location and carry out their orders. On occasion they would receive individual assignments but the majority of the time they worked to bring in (or take out) their marks together.

One sunny July afternoon, the Twins were shopping at their local Target with their girlfriends; Jenna and Joy. The aroma of expensive coffee filled the air combined with the beeping and booping of the checkout lanes. Adam and Jenna were planning their wedding so they were creating their gift registry at Target. Jenna pulled out her little black notebook that itemized their wish list of housewares, wall decor, and furniture.

As the couples walked past the electronics department, there was a distinct ring tone that cut through the noise of the crowd. The Twins' smart watch communicators were going off to notify them of a new bounty. As the group looked at one another, the Girls knew what this meant. It meant they weren't going to see their men for a couple of weeks but they were used to it at this point. They knew Adam and Brandon were efficient at their jobs and they would return home safely with cash in hand.

The Twins ducked into an isle to check their comms. They each scanned their fingerprints on their devices as a grainy, blue hologram projected out of their screens. A block of information was displayed including a face, a name, and a bounty. The Twins looked at each other in shock. There must have been some mistake? How was this real? Adam's bounty was for Brandon and Brandon's bounty was for Adam. Both to the tune of $20k.

"What the hell?" Adam scoffed. "This can't be right?"

"There's no way." Brandon retorted as he turned off his device. "We need to contact HQ."

But both of them knew deep down what this meant. You NEVER reject a mark. They swore an oath to follow orders and complete their objectives. If they didn't follow through, they were dead where they stood. But what did it matter? They both had bounties on their heads. There could be LSA assassins lurking around every corner. They knew they had to devise a plan if they were going to make it out alive.

They talked amongst themselves and made a decision. Adam would freeze Brandon with his ice powers and bring him in to collect the bounty. Brandon would be safe because of the fire in his core and their headquarters was neutral ground; a sanctuary for assassins. Although Adam had a mark himself, he would be safe from harm. So long as the LSA didn't realize that Brandon was feigning death.

Just as they were hashing out the final details of their plan, a hail of gunfire blasted through the aisles. Video games and glass shattered in every direction. A stray bullet ricocheted off of a stereo as 'Dance With the Dead' by The Starfoxx Project began to play at full volume. The Girls dove for cover under a shelving unit as the Twins quickly assessed the situation. Customers and employees alike were screaming and running for the exits.

Suddenly two men in suits appeared. It was Chadwick Rose and his powerful bodyguard, Joshua Cross. Chadwick was the head of the LSA and Cross was his right-hand man. He had over 1,000 confirmed kills and was extremely powerful. Cross slid a silver briefcase down the aisle towards the Twins. Assassins of every shape and size moved in to flank them. The Twins were surrounded as Chadwick began to speak.

"Ah, the Underwood Twins. My most loyal assassins." Rose boasted. "Today we find ourselves in a predicament. It seems that one of you has double-crossed me and has been stealing money from my accounts for quite some time. So now, I need the two of you to sort it out."

"That's bullshit and you know it!" Brandon shouted. "You know that..."

"THIS is what we're going to do!" Chadwick interrupted. "One of you stole twenty-thousand dollars from me. SO, in that briefcase in front of you is twenty grand. The two of you are going to fight and whoever is left standing gets the briefcase. One of you gets the money and I have one less problem to worry about. And if either of you step out of line, I'll have the two of you dealt with accordingly."

Guns cocked all around the Twins and random patterns of light emerged from the fists of various assassins who flexed their super powers. Adam whispered to Brandon as they began to soak in the gravity of the situation.

"I don't know what this is about but we're obviously being framed." Adam asserted. "What are we going to do? If we fight each other, they're just going to kill us both anyway."

"I know what we're gonna do." Brandon responded. "We're going to show these bastards what happens when they try to frame the Underwood Twins. Follow my lead."

"Have you come to a decision?" Rose barked.

"Yes we have." Brandon answered. "We all know there's a snake in our midst. So it's time to cut the grass."

Brandon turned toward Adam in a fighting stance, showing Chadwick and his henchmen he was ready for battle. Adam clenched his fists and readied his stance as Brandon motioned to the ceiling with his eyes. Adam looked up. Right above their heads were three nozzels from the sprinkler system. Brandon spread his arms and screamed a battle cry. Flames burst from his hands and scorched the ceiling of the retail giant.

The flames set off the sprinkler system as water poured down around them. Adam quickly reacted and blasted beams of ice from his fists; encapsulating Chadwick and his bodyguard in a polar prison. Bullets streaked by while a barrage of miscellaneous super powers rained down on the Twins from every direction.

The Twins managed to take cover; blasting fire and ice through shelves of laptops and printers. The booming bass of the music was almost like war drums for their impromptu battle.

Suddenly, an assassin teleported in front of them. The three highly-trained assassins began to fist-fight in a rapid, almost choreographed fashion. Brandon blasted the Teleporter with a mighty fireball as he blew through several racks of televisions. The Twins shot fire and ice in every direction as they almost effortlessly dismembered and dispatched Chadwick's henchmen.

Shelves full of plush toys exploded into the air. Dumbbells and other workout equipment went hurling across the store. The smell of burnt plastic and wood filled the air as cold water continued to rain down from the sprinkler system. Adam used this to his advantage. He let out a powerful burst of blue light that froze the remaining assassins to death; glaciated and trapped in their icy tombs.

A silence fell on the store as the music came to an end and the sprinklers were frozen shut from the blast of ice. The Twins slowly approached the enormous igloo that encapsulated Rose and Cross. Suddenly the ice began to melt as a ray of green light bursted through; shattering the frozen fortress that entrapped the villains. Joshua belted out a scream. His hands blasted green gamma rays that catapulted the Twins into a wall.

Adam and Brandon projected bursts of fire and ice from their fists as they combined their powers in a swirling vortex of molten fire and glassy ice shards. Cross volleyed a powerful beam of gamma rays at the twins as the three of their powers collided in the center of the electronics department. Chadwick was thrown into an iPhone display case from the blast. He crashed to the ground with a kaleidoscope of glass. Cross' strength was unmatched but he was not strong enough to withstand the power of the Twins combined.

The Twins screamed in unison as their energy grew stronger; overtaking Joshua's gamma rays. Cross was blasted into a display of sporting equipment as he met his demise; impaled through his chest by an assortment of broken hockey sticks. The Twins shifted their focus toward Rose with fire in their eyes.

"You know this isn't over." Rose stuttered, igniting a force field around himself as he struggled to stand. "I will rain hell on you. I will return with an ARMY!"

"We were framed and you tried to turn us against each other." Adam growled in a sinister tone. "You can build whatever army you want. We will find you and we will make you beg for death."

Rose scoffed and curled his lip, "Then I guess I'll see you in Hell."

Just then Rose disappeared in a cloud of black smoke; teleporting away in his defeat. The Twins hurried back to comfort Jenna and Joy who were still safely huddled under a broken shelving unit. Brandon flipped over a pile of metal debris and collected the silver briefcase that was buried under shards of ice.

"That will teach them to take on the Underwood Twins." Brandon grinned. "Who wants to get a drink? First round's on me!" Brandon smiled as he held up the briefcase full of cash.

The Twins helped the Girls over the icy debris as they exited the war-torn Target store. Crowds gathered and gawked as they all exited the building. They all loaded into Adam's vehicle as the group debated on where to celebrate their brazen victory. As they drove off down the road Jenna pulled out her little black book and sighed, "looks like we'll have to register at Walmart..."

THE END