fluorescent adolescent

' isn't there some saying about revenge? he who seeks it, ought to dig a grave for himself as well?

  something over-poetic my dad would have said.’

he can’t help but give that cocky smirk because he didn’t see a point in holding more than one vendetta at a time. why chase hide that travels in herds. pin the stragglers rip out their throats, and move onto the next.

some of those throats were already in the streets. so why bother here? for him, there HAD been a job which, was now no longer, and ellis. he’d stay for ellis as long as they were together. if anything He’d leave this place with him, find somewhere new. but for now, they were in seattle, under the scrutiny of the d-u-goddamn-p.

   For a brief moment, he thinks about Shane and    himself on that cliff and his face twists, a cross    between dark amusement and grimness. 

"Well. Not so bad advice, I guess. But whoever said that underestimated some people, don't ya think?"

   People like me. 

   Fetch raised his eyebrows at the smirk. Hell, maybe    this guy had more of a survival instinct than he was    giving him credit for. He knew survival like the back of    his hand, but for him it was a dark, gritty thing that tasted    like coffee made with battery acid. Before, survival had    been waking up to find out you weren't stabbed in the    alley you slept in. Now it was getting up to a big city you    helped save and superhero-ing the shit out of the bad guys. 

   Some things change. 

"Anywhere over the Cay."

   He crosses his arms, looking up. If he could he'd storm the    prison tomorrow and free every poor bastard still locked up    in there, and laser every DUP off the side of the mountain.    But not everything was that easy.

         ‘not smart—just no tolerance for bullshit.’

the only drawback was the power restriction. late night use was all he could squeeze in but it prevented him from suffering so he couldn’t complain. head perked slightly at the name, and a crooked smirk appeared on his lips.

   Fetch smirked, internally pleased at least one person    in the city had a sense of humor. People on the news kept    saying how amazing it was that the entire operation had    been able to be taken down by just three Conduits -     But come on, he thought. 

"Good point. Can't go around makin' exceptions for that. Especially not here." 

   He nodded at the introduction, trying to think if he'd read    his name anywhere, seen it on the scoreboard in Curdun    Cay. He hadn't. Good on him.

"Most people think I didn't. But I gotta lot to do here - People to save, scores to settle."

that was the only benefit to being himself. many conduits hadn’t gone unnoticed, because they lacked finesse when using their ability lacked subtly. he could easily distract the dup while making a slick get away if he had to.

of course, constant hiding made him irritable, and often bound to snap or kill if angered enough. lately, alcohol had diluted anger and replaced it with drunken splendors with his partner.

   Fetch almost found himself smiling. People willing to    object to the DUP's presence were rare, those brave    enough to outright insult them even scarcer.Though    always on his guard around new people, he found    himself becoming a little less wary after the comment.

"You're damn right they are. How some kinda new wave hate group that couldn't find their ass with both hands and a map took control of a city is beyond me. I've seen more intimidating Christmas movies."

   Being so high on a government wanted list wasn't the    sort of thing Fetch would have ever chosen for himself,    but being able to use his powers to help was a thrill. Locking    them away, letting them go dormant, even if for his own    good felt like chopping off a limb. Besides, he had a lot to atone for.

"Very true. You're smarter than the average guy. Must be nice - Simpler, anyway." 

   Chances were the guy'd heard his name before, seen    him around, ran across a stack of neon-wrapped bodies    in some alley before. He gave a nod of his head anyway.

   "Funny. A criminal comedian."    "Speakin' of getting things checked out,     I heard there's a free clinic down on River Street.     Though you've probably got some shit antibiotics can't cure."

"You’d believe me." there is already some stencil graffiti on the inside. Done by yours “Hey you could put your bed in here”.

' why: because the dup is here? i’ve been around before they were.’

the key to lying low was just that. lying low, making your name disappear. he had one little rampage once and vanished after that.

   Hm, well, he clearly wasn't new to the city. 

  "Oh? Then maybe I should be taking tips from you."

  Even if Fetch wanted to blend into a crowd, it would   be way too difficult. With reports of escaped conduits   and being branded as a neon-killer on the news put him   too high on the DUP Public Enemy list.

 "Don't catch many people thinking like that. Most around   here are too scared to say anything. Here before 'em or not."