Love-Love || OLD DRAFT

twelve - eleven

A/N

Hey guys.

I'm so so sorry that this update took ages. But guess who finished her first year of college oof. So that means the next updates will be according to schedule again yay.

......

In my life, in all the long tiresome years I spent being alive, I had only come across five Supers: Roux, Linden, Aspen and before them, my mother and a bitch of a brother who resulted in me losing everything.

For reasons I never came to know, my mother had powerful enemies and we were in hiding. Until, one day, my brother set a mall on fire, bringing worldwide attention towards us.

I was five when they came for us. Father died protecting mother, my mother died protecting us and my brother died protecting me - or so I liked to believe. It was mostly a blur, all those memories. What I did know for sure was that I stayed alive because I fled. They all died fighting for one another while I, like a coward, like the selfish bastard I was, fled.

Being on the street made me tough, and all the more selfish. I stole, I lied and I killed, catching a certain angelic boy's attention in the process.

Unlike me, Linden had big dreams and a plan. Roux had determination and rage. I had greed and strength. It was a perfect little evil family and nothing could've gone wrong.

Except that they did.

It was the time when the government started working on a weapon that could kill Supers. Our metabolism was different from other people - yes, a bullet could hurt but only a bullet to the heart or the brain could kill. But this weapon, Zotak as it was called, was laced with a poison that could render our healing abilities weak, inevitably killing us.

Super Storm emerged at that time as a blessing for all Supers. His heroic and selflessness convinced the world to force the government to ban the production of Zotak. I never understood human sentimentality, or politics for that matter, but soon enough a law was passed which forbade anybody from making or procuring the deadly weapon.

That was six months ago.

To think Zotak was back on the surface, in the hands of Horwitz no less, was greatly disturbing. I knew I had to keep Roux and Aspen away from it, but I also knew how hard it was going to be.

Super Storm went after Garnet and I knew he was doing me a favour. I had to settle things with Linden first.

They were holding hostages in a large five-star hotel next to the river. I went in prepared.

"Took you long enough," Linden greeted instead of attacking the moment I rose out of the ground. He was standing on the first-floor balcony, looking down at me. "Roux was surprised by your actions, I honestly wasn't. Sleeping with the enemy is such a Ridge thing to do."

"Lin, please -"

He shushed me angrily, but held a smirk to his lips. He kept his gaze on me as he glided down the stairs. I wanted to take the time to look around to see where the hostages were being kept but I couldn't take my eyes off him. Linden had that thing about him, see - he demanded attention.

"And when I think about it, he is your type," Linden carried on. "Blond hair and what not." He ran his fingers through his own platinum blond hair.

I ignored it. "What did They do to you?"

"Oh, now you're suddenly interested?" He feigned shock.

"I -" For once in my life, I didn't know what to say. We were experts in our arguments, both too stubborn and too persistent for our own good. So instead of providing excuses, I settled on the truth. "I'm sorry."

Linden scoffed. "Are you? You only had to kill him, Ridge, and they would've let me go. But no! You were having too much fun fucking him to even think about me. I, who accepted you when no one else did, I who showed you the true extent of your powers. I who wanted big things for you, Ridge."

"Yeah? So much so that you were willing to put Roux in the line of fire," I cried.

"She could've done it," he hissed. "Only if you had trusted her, Ridge. She's so much more powerful than you think -"

"You wanted her to kill the President!" I shouted. I couldn't help it. "They had the Zotak. They would've killed her."

"You have no idea how powerful she is -"

"No, you have no idea about her or what she wants! It's always you wanting 'big things', Linden. Did you know she wanted to go to Uni? Leave this shithole of a city and start a life elsewhere, without the mask? Did you know she likes to sketch? That she uses the greens more than the other colours- that too, the lighter shades? Did you know we used to go graffiti together in the early hours of the morning, right before dawn?"

Linden's eyes flashed dangerously and I saw veins slowly creep along his arms. "What are you implying, Ridge? That I did not love her enough?"

I held his gaze, jaw clenched. "I'm implying that you did not love her at all."

"How dare you," he growled.

Instantaneously, a dozen sharp thorned stems came shooting at me. I raised a shield of earth, cutting through his attack. I raised my arm and the ground beneath him caught his legs in an immovable grasp.

We had fought each other enough times that, by now, we were too predictable. Roots shot out through the lump of earth, cracking it and leaving Linden free. He stepped out and all around me thick trunks rose up to trap me. I willed the earth to uproot the trees but as one fell, another rose. Frustrated, I touched the ground and fisted my hand, crushing all the roots in a radius of a mile. Linden let out a sharp cry and all the trees fell down dead.

I stood up to smirk at Wurzel. "I see you're -"

The window to my right shattered, breaking me off and raining glass all over me and Linden. Garnet came crashing in through it and fell hard against the floor. My feet were hurrying to her help before I could even think about it.

I froze midway as strong winds swirled in and pushed Wurzel off his feet, throwing him against the wall. A second later, Super Storm levitated in, hands raised to keep Wurzel under his hold.

"I told you, you should try fighting me in a fair fight," Storm said to Wurzel in his usual Super Storm sass and I wasn't sure why but I felt this strange feeling of pride swell in my heart.

...

A/n (another one lol sorry)

Not my best chapter I admit. It's pretty rusty and crappy af but the others will be better.

I mean, I hope so. They'll have to be. Because Love-Love just hit over 10K reads which is HUGE AND THANK YOU SO MUCH and I'll do my best not to disappoint you guys. Lol.

Imma go now. *facepalm*