Post by Luther on Sept 25, 2020 11:58:51 GMT -8
The big day was today. Everything was set up. The preparations had been made. The day was cold. Men were dressed. Bags were packed. Rooms were tidied. Food had been cooked. Lunch had been eaten. The once notorious rap star Luther was standing in the doorway of his apartment, wearing a camouflage colored hoodie and jet black jeans, counting the amount of zeni in his wallet. Another man seemed to be wandering around the room, grabbing random things and tossing them towards the big guy called Luther. That man was Bigby, and he'd been the agent of this rapper for the longest while. Even becoming best friends with the man. Almost inseparable. However, today, they were being separated. It was just about the end of the road, now. Luther just couldn't go on with the way his life's been heading. He came to the Central Lands for something better, but things have only gone downhill from here. Just thinking about it all made the giant upset. He thought back to his conversion into an android, a couple years back. He had always thought that that moment would cement his place in the music industry, but as it turns out, there is such a thing called bad publicity. Luther had tucked his wallet in his pocket before he picked up the briefcase lying on the ground.
"You got everythin', Luke?"
Luther nodded solemnly.
"That I do, dog."
Bigby nodded this time, a sad smile on his face. It was heartfelt, and had the feel of friendship embedded in it. Luther stared back at him, determined, and feigning confidence.
"I'll miss you, man. Keep in touch, ight?"
"Ight."
Former rapper Luther stole one last glance back at his childhood friend before walking out the door, and heading downstairs towards his vehicle. His mind raced back to his career, and how quickly it all went to the trash. Bitterness clouded his mind for a moment, before Luther waved the fog out from his mental state. It was all in the past, now. Today was the start of a new chapter in his life. He started up the car, grasped the wheel, and headed off. His first and last stop for this journey would be his hometown in the West. The mean neighborhood where he was born and raised. The same place where he'd met Bigby for the first time. The same place where he was taught by that big guy called Fox. He was going back there… hopefully his brother and sister would be happy to see him.
"Damn. Where's that place at? Gotta be 'round here somewhere."
"Or maybe you just took a wrong turn. Again. Another brilliant Frederick Niko mission complete."
Two men walked down the sidewalk on one of the West's many beaches. One towered above the other, almost trumping seven feet. He adjusted the cap on his head as he walked, frowning disapprovingly at the smaller man. This was none other than Luther, looking about as upset as ever. The man he walked with shared a few facial features with Luther, although he was much smaller, standing at five feet and eleven inches. A tiny dude, compared to the big man. He wore a bright pink hoodie with cyan lettering on it, pairing it with equally bright sneakers and black jeans. A pair of headphones rested around his rather skinny neck, it's wire running down into the man's pocket. His hair was neatly combed and short, dark brown in color, complementing his dark skin tone. A pair of earrings were stapled on both of his ears. The man's name was Frederick Niko, and he was Luther's brother. He didn't look much more happy than Luther did, being chastised and all. He swung back, too.
"Man, fuck you. Hey, girl. Can you tell me where the Pundit Beach House is?"
He had approached a random stranger sitting on a bench, asking for directions to the desired destination of the two men. The woman sitting on the bench stood up from her comfortable seat in order to properly point down the road.
"Should be right down here. The place with the colored stairs."
Both Luther and Fred turned their heads over to where the woman had pointed, the latter nodding his head in gratitude.
"I see it. Thanks.
Before he could say anything else, Luther dragged him along, shoving his little brother a few paces in front of him. They kept walking as if nothing had happened, but they kept talking nonetheless.
"Can you move your stupid ass? Damn. Why didn't you ask her if she knew the owner? Or better yet, write a message in the sky saying that there's a couple of dudes down in the west about to steal some cars in case nobody realized."
"What you don't realize is that we aren't stealing. This is just business."
"Business? Yeah right. This stuff's shady as hell."
"Hey, you were the one gettin' all big on doing this lick. I'm getting my pay and everything. I'm straight, fool."
"You straight? Straight where? Tossin' up gang signs all day? Yeah, okay Fred."
"Whatever, homie."
They continued walking until they arrived at their destination. It was a rather large house with colored stairs indeed. Trimmed hedges, clean walls, the definition of classy. Fred couldn't contain just how impressed he was with the place.
"Damn. Terriks wasn't bullshitting."
Luther wasted no time, immediately opening the gate to the place.
"Get your ass in there."
"Get your ass in here. You're always tryna boss somebody."
With that, they both entered the property unwelcomed, Luther slamming the gate behind him as he walked towards the other side of the property with his sibling. As soon as they reached the other side, the first thing that caught their attention were the two high class vehicles they found sitting undisturbed in front of a garage door. Looks like what they had come for would be a lot easier to obtain than expected. Fred whistled as he saw the vehicles, rubbing his hands together. He was eager to take these babies out for a ride. The two cars were wildly different. One as white as it could possibly be, clearly well cleaned and well taken care of. It must handle like a beauty out on the road. The other was a fair bit larger than the other, and it was bright red in color. Probably just as good as the other one, though. Two top tier cars to pick from, and Luther walked over to the farthest one, which happened to be the sparkly white vehicle. Luther recalled having a vehicle similar to this one back in his early career. Too bad it got totaled, though. Like all the other cars he owned. But he'd take care of this one just fine. As soon as Luther stepped into the car he chose, Fred entered the other, teasing his bigger sibling as he did so.
"You were always a choosey kid, L."
"Yeah, yeah. Hey, this thing got a robo roof and everything, homie."
"Haha! If you wanna keep cars like these, you gotta stay on your grin-grind! Try not to wreck this one, alright Luke?"
"Please, homie. I already told you that those other times had nothin' to do with me. The Southerners are crazy people, y'know."
"Whatever man, an open roof ain't gonna make you go no faster, so hit me on the speakerphone, lo!"
Fred sped off at that moment, the sidewalk conveniently a few meters away from the garage, not separated by any fence or anything of the sort. Luther called out at him as he fled.
"Oh, it's like that?"
Luther followed him, and in a few moments, they were both driving down the road, overtaking cars and hitting the top of the speed limit. Well, Luther was. Fred had gone up quite far ahead of the bigger man, and Luther wasn't gonna call out to him. He whipped out a mobile device, quick-dialing Fred's number. Dropping it on his lap, he continued driving, sighing at the sound of his little brother's voice.
"Alright loc, I'm about to go nice and slow fo' yo bitch ass."
"Whatever you say, Fred. Aye, remember we gotta be careful with these rides, because I'm not gonna let Terriks dock my pay again."
"Pffft. Any ticket we happen to get is gonna end up on that fool's license."
"Fine, we might as well enjoy ourselves."
And just like that, Luther sped up, overtaking several cars as he did so, slowly catching up with Fred. They had both taken a sudden right, both of which produced skid marks and the loud, unforgiving noise of large tires screeching on asphalt. After that, Fred took a left, and this time Luther had slowed his vehicle for caution, but regardless, they still sped down the road they'd gone down, Luther keeping a close eye on Fred as he drove rather recklessly, surpassing the speed limit now. One of these days that boy's gonna get himself killed driving. Just as Luther was about to delve deeper in thought, he heard Fred's voice over the damn phone again. He kept giving directions, taking sudden turns and taunting Luther for not moving anywhere near as fast as he was. The former rapper didn't swing back, disregarding almost everything he said with a simple 'yeah'. Suddenly, Fred's vehicle had scraped against another that was moving in the opposite direction, not causing any accident, but slightly damaging his car. Luther loudly cursed at him through the phone, especially since the owner of the other vehicle couldn't do much about it, seeing as how both Fred and Luther had already made it at the end of the street. After a few more minutes of random turns and driving through parking lots, they had come to a brief stop in one of them, Luther slowing the small white car to a halt beside Fred's larger, red one. After hanging up on the phone in his lap, Luther chastised the other man, yelling as loudly as he could, and being angry. Just like old times, Fred thought.
"What the hell was that, Fred? Move so the damn traffic can flow through in peace!"
"Whatever man, I'll let something flow through yo ass."
"Uh, I don't think that joke works, man."
"Uh oh. I think that's the popo."
The faint sound of sirens could be heard in the air. Just as Luther had feared. Dealing with cops was the last thing he'd wanted to do today. Sighing, he reassured his brother.
"Be cool, fool. We got the paperwork."
"Whatever man, you explain that stuff! I'll see you at the dealership!"
"Explain stuff my ass!"
Fred had driven off, and Luther did the same, going down a different route to avoid the police.
Luther walked into the dealership building after parking the car outside, Fred following closely behind him. Inside were two men, a Saiyan and a human, arguing with each other. One had pale white skin and wild, spiky hair and was dressed in a pressed white shirt over a black, open jacket. Wearing an amulet and dark jeans to match. He was the obvious Saiyan. The other was a light skinned male with short, brown hair who was rather chubby, wearing a casual outfit that showcased the tattoos on his arms. The Saiyan looked like he was about to say something more, but then he saw Luther and Fred walk in. He immediately appealed to them.
"Hey, this racist here insulted me."
Fred walked up to the shorter and chubbier one, clearly displeased and making an attempt to intimidate the poor guy.
"Aye yo, what's up, fool? Who you callin' a monkey?"
The guy seemed flustered. Luther seemed equally as flustered.
"N-No, I'm not calling anybody a monkey. I don't say that man, too many people do."
"You better not, cause this man right here, is an international businessman. A multiculturist."
The Saiyan was pleased with Fred's praise of him, and bowed humbly.
"Could not have said it any better myself. But uh, I might be wrong. Maybe he isn't racist, but I don't think I can sell him a car of this caliber. I understand that zeni is an issue."
"Zeni isn't an issue."
Fred was whispering to Luther now, watching the scene unfold.
"Watch this, Terriks 'bouta reel this fool in and get all his money."
"We're leaving, Fred."
"It's the best part, man."
"'Ey Terriks, I'm out, see you tomorrow."
And with that, Luther and Fred walked out of the building, towards Luther's personal vehicle, the one that he actually owned. The bigger brother took the driver's seat, and the smaller one took the seat beside it. They drove off, following traffic laws this time.
This is what Luther's been up to for the past six months. When he had arrived back to his hometown, people looked as if they had mixed feelings about him, like they usually do. Whenever Luther made a stop down where he was born and raised, it was usually to say hello and lend a helping hand 'round the community. This time though, he had come back for a place to stay. He knew that he could have always stayed with his childhood friend, Bigby. But, he needed to see his family again. It's been far too long since he'd visited this place. Almost a whole damn year. And this year he couldn't even leave for a while. Down here, he'd find a job, get back on his feet, and head back to Bigby. Easy and simple. Unfortunately, the only job he managed to get is the one that his brother Fred currently worked. Fred really did come through for Luther, getting his brother hired by his employer, that Saiyan named Terriks. The job they worked wasn't an honest one, and Luther was fully aware of the fraudulent business practices that Terriks took part in. Fred knew it too, but he couldn't care less about it, as long as he got paid. It was a car dealership, where they loan cars out to unsuspecting customers for unreasonable prices, and as soon as the money stops trickling in, Fred and Luther drop by and repossess the vehicle in question, whether it be by force, or any other means. Damn, Luther already missed being in the rap game. And now, instead of being stuck with Bigby all the time, he was stuck with Fred all the time. Unbearable. Speaking of which, he was arguing with the small man in his car as they spoke.
"Who you tryna impress?"
"Nadia, of course. With a body like that, I gotta have it, homie."
Nadia, that girl that lived across the street from him. When Luther had first returned to the neighborhood, he was looking forward to seeing Nadia as a woman instead of a bratty teenage girl. To his disappointment, she hadn't really amounted to anything more than some drunkard that usually spends her time with other drunkards like Z. To think that Luther was the only one out of his community to actually do something with the short life he was given… and now he had lost just about all of it. Well, being an android, he had far more time to live than any of these people. But with the job he has right now, and that close shave with the cops earlier, he wondered if he'd even last that long down here. He vented openly to his brother.
"She's grown, yeah. Grown into a fucking idiot."
"Nah, she's cute."
"Pah, 'course you'd say that. Worse thing is that she'd probably fall for you with how thirsty she is."
"Crazy for a man. Exactly how I like my women."
"Damn, it's good to be home."
Luther had driven into his yard, a small suburban building with a garage to the side of it, gate already wide open for him to drive straight into it. He parked the car in the garage, and both him and Fred stepped out of it. The smaller one immediately appealed to the other to hang out for a bit.
"Hey L, can a brother come in yo crib?"
"Shut up, Fred. I'll see you at work."
"Aw, homie don't hate me just 'cause I'm beautiful. Maybe if you got rid of your old yee-yee ass look you'd get some girls to talk to you. Or better yet, maybe Nadia will call your dog ass if she ever stops hanging 'round with that brain surgeon or lawyer she with."
Fred walked off, placing the headphones that were around his neck over his ears. Luther looked at him as he left the yard, distraught. He sighed heavily, and turned around to enter his old house. He missed this place. He wasn't going to let his little brother mess it up for him. What he had to do now was make things better for himself. He just had to try and appeal to that dude Terriks. He seemed nice enough. Maybe he'd pity Luther.
It had now been a day since that last job, the same one that Luther and Fred had completed without issue. But today, Luther's schedule was a little different. He didn't feel like working for anybody, as he usually did, but he cared too much for this job he's got to really speak his mind. In a way, it felt like his rap life again. He signs for some random label, makes money for 'em, they call the shots, and Luther has no real control over his career. It was only in the closing days of his supposed stardom that he'd worked independently, and that sure ended up perfectly, didn't it? Those last few events were why Luther wanted to get himself out of this rap game as quickly as possible, and came to the conclusion that it was about time he got a real job. Even if he was over 30 years old. He was storming into the dealership, and had even taken off without Fred. He wanted to get this out of the way, without Fred shoving himself in the middle of things. Man, even with how long it's been since Luther had seen Fred, he really did try his best to avoid the headphone wearing little dude. The Saiyan that the former rapper worked for had turned around, spotting Luther advancing towards him. A smile replaced his neutral gaze. He could obviously tell that the big man wasn't happy, but that was Luther's default demeanor, anyways. He greeted Luther respectfully.
"Luther. It's good to see you."
"Yeah, yeah. I know. Say, we've been working together for like a year now, right?"
"Which is exactly why I am pleased to announce…"
He walked off, signalling for Luther to follow him. They both entered the Saiyan's office and on the top of the wall behind the chair and desk in the room, there was a square shaped photo of Luther, with the words "Employee Of The Month" embedded beneath it.
"That you are employee of the month."
"Huh?"
"Congratulations, it wasn't very easy picking the first winner."
Luther struggled a bit to take his eyes off of the photo, only managing to look away from it when Terriks grabbed his hand and performed a forceful handshake. Luther wasn't exactly thrilled to hear that he was the best working employee out of… less than five people, but could it mean that he'd be willing to listen to what the big man had to say? Well, only one way to find out.
"Between me, Fred, your nephew Silver with the switch? Look, it's an honor Terriks, but I gotta move forward with my life. It feels like I haven't done anything with it this whole year. It's like all I ever do is let other people tell me what to do and I do it and nothin' ever changes."
Terriks looked understanding. He sat on top of his desk, and smiled calmly at Luther, who was about to say something else, but then the Saiyan spoke.
"I'm afraid that's what you call a job, Luther."
"Wha-?"
"Look, just tell me exactly what you want, and I will tell you why it cannot be."
"What?!"
"Calm, Luther. I care about you, alright? I'm being good to you. You don't need anything else, do you? Y'know, I've always wanted a son for myself, but I never got one. But if I ever do, I think I want him to be just like you."
"What does that have to do with-"
"Knock, knock, homies!"
Fred had wandered into the office uninvited, and interrupted Luther in the process. But Terriks looked happy to see him regardless. The newcomer wasn't wearing the same outfit that he had worn yesterday, unlike Luther. A plain green shirt over a pair of black pants was simple enough. Not to forget the same pair of headphones over his neck.
"Haha! Welcome, Fred. Luther over here has just won employee of the month."
The Saiyan pointed at the picture on the wall behind him, and Fred followed his finger. As soon as he caught sight of the photo of his bigger brother, his wide smile vanished into thin air, immediately replaced by a look of surprise and shock… and maybe a little contempt? He slowly began to shake his head side to side, not being able to believe that Luther was chosen to be the Employee Of The Month over him. Him! Frederick Niko! His bigger brother was no better than he was, and yet Terriks chose this massive, useless hunk of meat over the hardworking, faithful Fred? He immediately protested.
"You serious? You messing with me, right?"
"We both being messed with, dawg."
"Knock it off, boss. Him? Over me? After all the work I put in?"
"Who cares about this employee of the month stuff? I'm up here tryna get us a-"
"What do you mean 'who cares about this employee of the month stuff'? If there's something to be won goddamnit, I want it, I don't care what it is."
"Chill, fool. Stuff like this makes me wonder why I ever left Big Dog."
"So that's what this is about, huh? That fatass never even lived up to his name, y'know, big dog, big nuts. If there's gonna be names put up on a board, I want my name to be at the top of that thing, and right next to it, it needs to say… 'Winner'."
The kid was determined. The kid really wanted to be rewarded for his work in any way possible. He clearly didn't care about how he was rewarded. Was the pay not good enough for him? Luther on the other hand, was angry. He didn't know why he brought up Bigby, but because he did, Fred insulted him. His friend. His childhood friend. Even if Fred was his little brother, Bigby still meant a lot more to him than Fred ever would. That may sound a bit screwed, but it was how Luther rolled. Bigby was there for him. Bigby supported him. Bigby made him feel like he was doing things right. And he knew how to give criticism. All of these things automatically make him better than Fred, since Fred had managed to accomplish zero of those things. He took a condescending step forward, fully prepared to knock some sense into Fred in his boss' office, but Terriks picked up on the tension in the room, and stepping in front of Luther, blocking his path. He was still facing Fred, however.
"Uh, maybe next month, Fred."
"Screw next month, Terriks. What about today?"
"Today's nothing, just a bike. Hasn't made a payment at all. some Saiyan from the Westside Beach. I think his name was Karif Urawa, or something. I'll text you guys the coordinates."
"Is he in a gang?"
"...I didn't get to figure that out when he bought the bike."
"We got work to do, Mr… Employee Of The Month."
"Shut up, and come on."
Luther stormed out of the office then, and Fred followed him. This was gonna be a long evening, wasn't it? Especially since they had to drive all the way down to the beach. Their employer waved at them as they headed out, flashing a rather obnoxious grin at them while doing so. The two brothers headed over to the vehicle Luther owned, which was parked nearly outside of the establishment. The men bantered with each other as they got inside. This job they were now on wasn't too different from the other jobs they've done before. It might involve a bit of violence and a bit of stealing, or uh, 'repossession' as Fred calls it. But regardless, that tends to be what their job is. It isn't much, and it isn't honest, but it helps Luther and Fred stay afloat, at least. Terriks had just shot a text at Luther as he was driving, and Fred picked up the mobile device. He read out the coordinates, and the former rapper took the appropriate route. The two men now needed to discuss how they wanted to go about this. Usually they ran in with guns blazing, with Luther being as strong as he is. It looked like that's what they were gonna do here as well. Luther asked Fred a few questions about the details of this job.
"The guy who bought the bike was that scraggly lookin' Saiyan dude, right? The one with the tattoo on his face and all?"
After Fred confirmed Luther's suspicions with a solemn nod, Luther hissed through his teeth. This might not be as easy as he wanted it to be.
"Damn. Look, Fred. I don't want any unnecessary bullshit, alright? We go in, get the bike, and we get out. Nice and easy."
"I don't care, Luther. There's a reason why Terriks pays two mean lookin' dudes to come take back what's rightfully his. We ain't girl scouts, are we?"
"In your case, I'm not so sure."
"Step up, Luther. Of course this dude's a real gangster, who else is gonna have the required surplus of paper and the deficiency of brain cells?"
"You're right, I guess. I'm just not lookin' to get killed during work, ight?"
"Alright. I'll try my best, Luther, but I'm one loud, crazy, dangerous, violent, unforgiving, shoot a man in the back typa dude. And you love me for it, homie."
"Haha, yeah. Nothing but love, homie."
Luther chuckled a bit at the definition that Fred gave for himself. It was actually rather spot on. He was definitely loud. The man probably couldn't even go more than ten minutes without talking to someone. It was like a necessity to him. Almost as much as water is. Crazy? Probably. There have been multiple instances in which Luther had suspected that Fred must've been diagnosed with some form of insanity. He was always ready to go the distance with just about anything, no matter how ludicrous or plain stupid his gameplans were. Dangerous and violent? Well, you could always ask around the hood. Everyone there knew that Fred was one of the frequent fighters in the community, always ready to throw hands at anybody. To him, the sheer insignificance of the conflicts he was involved in didn't matter. He would be up to a fight, even if it was over a rotting apple core. He'd fight over it like a rabid dog. If anyone were to ask Luther to give a description of Fred, Luther would probably admit that both he and his little brother weren't all too different, apart from Luther being much more intimidating and reliable than he was. Was Luther even reliable, anyways?
Luther slowed to a rough halt right beside the sidewalk, as they had finally arrived at their destination. Had Luther had driven further down the road, he would've found himself at the Westside Beach, one of the many beaches you could find down at the coast. But now certainly wasn't the time for swimming. Especially not at night time. The former rapper hoped that no one had happened to have that idea, as he could do without someone calling the cops on Fred's antics. The two men exited the parked vehicle, and walked over to the other side of the road, towards a metal gate. Fred climbed over the gate while Luther cleared it with one large leap, utilizing his ki to do so. Fred had basic knowledge of how to use ki and all, but he only really uses it to punch or kick harder rather than the many other ways to use energy effectively. Whatever, he was still learning from Fox, anyways. The siblings walked down a dark alley that was found on the other side of the metal gate, illuminated only by the moonlight and an oddly placed lamppost at the end of the alleyway. The placement of everything around here just screamed 'hideout' to Luther. A sleek, blue car emerged from who knows where, and drove straight past the two men and towards the metal gate, which had opened as soon as the car neared. Fred had squinted at the driver as he drove past, keeping his eyes on the vehicle even after it had passed him.
"Yeah, that's right. Keep driving, bitch."
"Man, I don't like this one bit. Could you keep it smooth, homie?"
"Your lady parts are the only thing that's smooth in here."
"What exactly did I do in a past life to deserve your stupid ass?"
"This is a routine lick, dude. Chill."
"Do them Saiyans look routine? This is shady ass alley."
"Damn, we on Westside Beach."
"The wrong side of Westside Beach, you should know, a block makes a difference."
"Aye, aye, aye. Hold up. I think the bike we're looking for should be in one of these lockups down here."
"'Should be' is the story of your life, asshole."
They had stopped their little walk at the end of the alleyway, near that oddly placed lamppost mentioned earlier. On either side of the alley, there were garages. Two on the right, and two on the left. The two men both searched the garages on the left, both searches producing no results. There was only one garage left, so they opened it up together. There was… no bike in there. Fred walked into the garage as if to examine the room further, and Luther followed him in. There was indeed no bike in here. Fred openly expressed his disappointment.
"Ain't this nice. Ain't no bike down here."
"Hey there, friends."
The two siblings whipped around at the sound of a new voice they've never heard before, only to find that three men were now standing just outside the garage, grinning at them. Luther ran a quick scan on all three. The man in the middle wore a casual black sleeveless hoodie with dark jeans, and his hood was down, letting his spiky black hair breathe easy. His tail swished from side to side behind him, signifying his Saiyan heritage. The one on the right wore similarly casual clothing, having short dark hair as opposed to spiky hair. He didn't have a tail, so he probably wasn't one of those Saiyans. The last dude was probably the most intimidating. He had quite a bit of muscle on him, slightly more than the first Saiyan, and he was the tallest out of the three. Luther's eyes were drawn to his messy beard before his bandaged tail. Typical. Fred didn't look afraid of any of these people, and he advanced towards them, Luther following him closely behind.
"'Ola, ese."
"Me and my colleagues couldn't help but notice that you guys were trying to creep up in here. You looking for something? Because we could probably find it for you."
The middle man was the guy that was speaking. His two 'friends' were cracking their knuckles, preparing themselves for an inevitable fight. Exactly what Luther wanted to avoid. Although Fred had other plans. He continued to walk forward, producing a standard blaster pistol from somewhere that Luther didn't catch. Fred pointed it directly at the other men, who instinctively took a few slow steps back.
"Oh yeah? You found this too, didn't you?"
Without warning, Fred pulled the trigger, and a couple bolts of burning energy shot straight through the middle man, who fell to the floor immediately, most likely deceased. Luther's eyes were fixated on the blaster rather than on the 'bad men'. Where the hell did Fred get one of those from? Aren't those things hella expensive or exclusive to the military or something? Regardless of where the weapon came from, it took the men by surprise, and scared them off. Although, they were going to come back in a few seconds. Luther heard the bearded man shout for backup, and he was quick to act. The 6'10" android tackled the Saiyan to the floor, entering a punching match with the guy. Fred shot a few more blasts at the non-Saiyan, successfully neutralizing him as well. Luther knocked out his opponent with a straight punch to the face that produced a cracking sound. Luther got to his feet, dusted himself off, and chastised his little brother.
"What the hell, Fred? I wasn't about to get my ass beat over a gun fight! Where'd you even get that blaster from?"
”Uh, Luther? We got company."
Fred leapt backwards, and Luther whipped around, finding three more men that were intent on punishing them for entering this alleyway. Fred pointed his weapon at them, and Luther raised his fists threateningly. Then, they heard a shout behind them. Luther and his brother turned around again, and were met with three more men, looking equally as displeased as the first three men. The brothers were surrounded. Unfortunate.
"Well, well, well… Look what we have here."
One of the men began to advance towards Luther and Fred, and both of them heightened their senses. Luther was the first to reply. He tried to reason with them, as he was still adamant on getting out of here unscathed.
"Calm down, homies. We can talk this out, right?"
"Haha, no. You see, you guys walked up on our block. Our territory."
Fred stepped forward.
"Hol' up a min-"
"Sit down, boy."
The man gave Fred a hard shove, causing the little man to forcefully stop himself from falling over using his ki. Luther gritted his teeth, glaring angrily. Fred stepped forward again, this time understandably angry.
"Ight then."
Fred swung a swift and strong left fist at the man's face, possibly breaking something in the process. As the man staggered, Fred was quick to take aim with this blaster pistol, pulling the trigger and blowing a visible hole through the guy's forehead. With the first attack being thrown, every man in the light of the alleyway began to exchange blows with each other. Fred was attempting to retreat to a decent distance in order to have clear shots at his opponents while Luther was fighting fiercely with five different people, his fists engulfed in flaming red energy. He was yelling as he was striking, no longer caring about being found out by a third party. A stray punch blindly tossed by the former rapper caught a man in the gut, forcing him to double over after coughing up a bit of spittle. Fred showcased his shooting skills beautifully, hitting only the heads or torsos of his targets. More and more thugs emerged from the shadows due to all the noise, joining the brawl. Luther gathered his crimson red energy in the middle of his palm in the span of a few moments before releasing it abruptly, knocking several thugs in the air and to the ground. In the chaos, Luther’s back touched with someone else’s. His scanners told him it was Fred. It was. Luther was quick to chastise him as usual.
”You sure picked the right people to pick a fight with, huh?
Luther shot a sizzling energy blast at another guy, who fell to the ground instantly. In the same moment, Fred scored another headshot on somebody. He replied loudly to Luther, as he wanted these thugs to hear him.
"Gimme a break, L! Just tell these dudes that this is a legal repossession!"
Sure enough, the fight didn’t stop, and Luther was forced to crack the jaw of yet two more men with a sudden sucker punch. Fred was able to continue shooting accurately while conversing with his brother, not that it impressed Luther.
"They’re thugs, dumbass. I got a better idea, anyways."
Luther chose to no longer hold back. His current power level was below five thousand in order to not go overboard with the amount of destruction he’d cause, but at this point, mass destruction seemed necessary. His red aura burst to life around him, violently thrashing around his body. The sudden power up prompted multiple men to take a few steps back, and a few to ignite their own auras. Fred dove to the side, and Luther focused a large amount of his ki into his palms. A couple of the thugs realized what was about to happen, and they scrambled to get out of the way, but Luther was not charging anything. The energy was released from his hands within a few moments, charging forth in the form of a burning red hot beam of energy. The beam engulfed everything in its path before hitting the earth’s floor near the metal gate, causing an explosion to occur. Surely someone heard something like that… Not only that, but a building had caught a bit of the flames. Fred didn’t seem too concerned, however.
"Hahaha! Don’t mess with this pyromaniac motherfucker! You still breathing, homie?"
”Barely, homie."
"Aye look! There’s the bike we’re lookin’ for!"
Sure enough, on the other side of the metal gate, in the road, was a man driving away on a bike. He was understandably in a hurry, having to worry about getting away from Luther, Fred and the fire. Luther and Fred took off towards the gate at their top speeds, with Luther reaching the gate first. He leapt over the gate while Fred climbed over it, then they both rushed towards the vehicle they arrived here in, Luther taking the driver’s seat and Fred taking the seat next to it. Luther’s scanners had luckily marked the man just before he left the android’s field of vision, and as a result, the siblings would be able to follow him.
"Step on it! I wanna get paid!"
"Paid ain’t worth dog when you’re doing a lifetime without parole. We massacred those guys."
"We did what had to be done, Luke. Just keep your eyes on the damn road. Besides, you lost him already."
"That’s a monster fucking bike he ridin’, stupid."
Following the trail they needed to follow was easy enough. Within few short minutes, the bike was in their line of sight again, and it took just about everything from Fred to refrain from shooting him off the bike. Regardless, they had to retrieve the bike somehow. Fred urged Luther.
"There he is! Put him on his ass, Luke!"
"Hang on a bit."
Luther followed the man for a couple more minutes, until it was the perfect moment to strike. They were now driving through a quiet area, one with barely any lights anywhere, and barely any people moving around. Fred took this opportunity to take aim at their target. It would be a tough shot, with there not being much light anywhere and all. He squinted hard at his man, pulling back the trigger… He hit his target. The bolt of energy flew straight through the man’s chest, knocking him off the bike with a rough groan of pain. Without a driver, the bike began to slow to a halt, and Luther did the same. The two brothers agreed that Luther would take the bike back to that meeting spot they set up, with Fred driving the car back there as well to meet up. They took different routes just in case, and in about twenty minutes, Luther pulled up in a dead parking lot, witnessing Fred exit his vehicle. Luther wasn’t very pleased with the whole situation, as he had come to realize something on his way back. He took out his frustration on the guy it was all directed towards. Fred.
"I can’t hang with your ass for a while, bro. You a psychopath, and you’ve finally lost it!"
"Luke… that’s just that hood blood in me. You’re lucky I don’t know how to shoot those giant ki blasts and make stuff explode like you do."
"We can’t repossess the assets of a dead man! Big sitting chief asshole."
"And we aren’t going to, Luke. I’m taking this bike for myself. Tell Terriks that we couldn’t recover it."
Fred mounted the bike then, and drove off without any sort of approval from Luther. He was probably heading back towards their neighborhood, wasn’t he? Luther tried to yell to him as he drove off.
"You fucking tell him, you fucking moron!"
Luther sighed heavily. He wasn’t even sure if Fred heard him or not. Knowing Fred, he definitely heard him, but he probably wasn’t about to tell Terriks himself. Luther dejectedly entered his vehicle, and drove off as well, intending to head back home to the neighborhood. He started to dial Terriks’ number while he was driving, not looking forward to talking with anyone at this point. It wasn’t the first time Fred had pulled an unorthodox stunt like that, but Luther was quickly growing accustomed to it. Maybe… if he was hopeful, and he believed, maybe next year will be a bit better.
Word Count: 7002
"You got everythin', Luke?"
Luther nodded solemnly.
"That I do, dog."
Bigby nodded this time, a sad smile on his face. It was heartfelt, and had the feel of friendship embedded in it. Luther stared back at him, determined, and feigning confidence.
"I'll miss you, man. Keep in touch, ight?"
"Ight."
Former rapper Luther stole one last glance back at his childhood friend before walking out the door, and heading downstairs towards his vehicle. His mind raced back to his career, and how quickly it all went to the trash. Bitterness clouded his mind for a moment, before Luther waved the fog out from his mental state. It was all in the past, now. Today was the start of a new chapter in his life. He started up the car, grasped the wheel, and headed off. His first and last stop for this journey would be his hometown in the West. The mean neighborhood where he was born and raised. The same place where he'd met Bigby for the first time. The same place where he was taught by that big guy called Fox. He was going back there… hopefully his brother and sister would be happy to see him.
"Damn. Where's that place at? Gotta be 'round here somewhere."
"Or maybe you just took a wrong turn. Again. Another brilliant Frederick Niko mission complete."
Two men walked down the sidewalk on one of the West's many beaches. One towered above the other, almost trumping seven feet. He adjusted the cap on his head as he walked, frowning disapprovingly at the smaller man. This was none other than Luther, looking about as upset as ever. The man he walked with shared a few facial features with Luther, although he was much smaller, standing at five feet and eleven inches. A tiny dude, compared to the big man. He wore a bright pink hoodie with cyan lettering on it, pairing it with equally bright sneakers and black jeans. A pair of headphones rested around his rather skinny neck, it's wire running down into the man's pocket. His hair was neatly combed and short, dark brown in color, complementing his dark skin tone. A pair of earrings were stapled on both of his ears. The man's name was Frederick Niko, and he was Luther's brother. He didn't look much more happy than Luther did, being chastised and all. He swung back, too.
"Man, fuck you. Hey, girl. Can you tell me where the Pundit Beach House is?"
He had approached a random stranger sitting on a bench, asking for directions to the desired destination of the two men. The woman sitting on the bench stood up from her comfortable seat in order to properly point down the road.
"Should be right down here. The place with the colored stairs."
Both Luther and Fred turned their heads over to where the woman had pointed, the latter nodding his head in gratitude.
"I see it. Thanks.
Before he could say anything else, Luther dragged him along, shoving his little brother a few paces in front of him. They kept walking as if nothing had happened, but they kept talking nonetheless.
"Can you move your stupid ass? Damn. Why didn't you ask her if she knew the owner? Or better yet, write a message in the sky saying that there's a couple of dudes down in the west about to steal some cars in case nobody realized."
"What you don't realize is that we aren't stealing. This is just business."
"Business? Yeah right. This stuff's shady as hell."
"Hey, you were the one gettin' all big on doing this lick. I'm getting my pay and everything. I'm straight, fool."
"You straight? Straight where? Tossin' up gang signs all day? Yeah, okay Fred."
"Whatever, homie."
They continued walking until they arrived at their destination. It was a rather large house with colored stairs indeed. Trimmed hedges, clean walls, the definition of classy. Fred couldn't contain just how impressed he was with the place.
"Damn. Terriks wasn't bullshitting."
Luther wasted no time, immediately opening the gate to the place.
"Get your ass in there."
"Get your ass in here. You're always tryna boss somebody."
With that, they both entered the property unwelcomed, Luther slamming the gate behind him as he walked towards the other side of the property with his sibling. As soon as they reached the other side, the first thing that caught their attention were the two high class vehicles they found sitting undisturbed in front of a garage door. Looks like what they had come for would be a lot easier to obtain than expected. Fred whistled as he saw the vehicles, rubbing his hands together. He was eager to take these babies out for a ride. The two cars were wildly different. One as white as it could possibly be, clearly well cleaned and well taken care of. It must handle like a beauty out on the road. The other was a fair bit larger than the other, and it was bright red in color. Probably just as good as the other one, though. Two top tier cars to pick from, and Luther walked over to the farthest one, which happened to be the sparkly white vehicle. Luther recalled having a vehicle similar to this one back in his early career. Too bad it got totaled, though. Like all the other cars he owned. But he'd take care of this one just fine. As soon as Luther stepped into the car he chose, Fred entered the other, teasing his bigger sibling as he did so.
"You were always a choosey kid, L."
"Yeah, yeah. Hey, this thing got a robo roof and everything, homie."
"Haha! If you wanna keep cars like these, you gotta stay on your grin-grind! Try not to wreck this one, alright Luke?"
"Please, homie. I already told you that those other times had nothin' to do with me. The Southerners are crazy people, y'know."
"Whatever man, an open roof ain't gonna make you go no faster, so hit me on the speakerphone, lo!"
Fred sped off at that moment, the sidewalk conveniently a few meters away from the garage, not separated by any fence or anything of the sort. Luther called out at him as he fled.
"Oh, it's like that?"
Luther followed him, and in a few moments, they were both driving down the road, overtaking cars and hitting the top of the speed limit. Well, Luther was. Fred had gone up quite far ahead of the bigger man, and Luther wasn't gonna call out to him. He whipped out a mobile device, quick-dialing Fred's number. Dropping it on his lap, he continued driving, sighing at the sound of his little brother's voice.
"Alright loc, I'm about to go nice and slow fo' yo bitch ass."
"Whatever you say, Fred. Aye, remember we gotta be careful with these rides, because I'm not gonna let Terriks dock my pay again."
"Pffft. Any ticket we happen to get is gonna end up on that fool's license."
"Fine, we might as well enjoy ourselves."
And just like that, Luther sped up, overtaking several cars as he did so, slowly catching up with Fred. They had both taken a sudden right, both of which produced skid marks and the loud, unforgiving noise of large tires screeching on asphalt. After that, Fred took a left, and this time Luther had slowed his vehicle for caution, but regardless, they still sped down the road they'd gone down, Luther keeping a close eye on Fred as he drove rather recklessly, surpassing the speed limit now. One of these days that boy's gonna get himself killed driving. Just as Luther was about to delve deeper in thought, he heard Fred's voice over the damn phone again. He kept giving directions, taking sudden turns and taunting Luther for not moving anywhere near as fast as he was. The former rapper didn't swing back, disregarding almost everything he said with a simple 'yeah'. Suddenly, Fred's vehicle had scraped against another that was moving in the opposite direction, not causing any accident, but slightly damaging his car. Luther loudly cursed at him through the phone, especially since the owner of the other vehicle couldn't do much about it, seeing as how both Fred and Luther had already made it at the end of the street. After a few more minutes of random turns and driving through parking lots, they had come to a brief stop in one of them, Luther slowing the small white car to a halt beside Fred's larger, red one. After hanging up on the phone in his lap, Luther chastised the other man, yelling as loudly as he could, and being angry. Just like old times, Fred thought.
"What the hell was that, Fred? Move so the damn traffic can flow through in peace!"
"Whatever man, I'll let something flow through yo ass."
"Uh, I don't think that joke works, man."
"Uh oh. I think that's the popo."
The faint sound of sirens could be heard in the air. Just as Luther had feared. Dealing with cops was the last thing he'd wanted to do today. Sighing, he reassured his brother.
"Be cool, fool. We got the paperwork."
"Whatever man, you explain that stuff! I'll see you at the dealership!"
"Explain stuff my ass!"
Fred had driven off, and Luther did the same, going down a different route to avoid the police.
Luther walked into the dealership building after parking the car outside, Fred following closely behind him. Inside were two men, a Saiyan and a human, arguing with each other. One had pale white skin and wild, spiky hair and was dressed in a pressed white shirt over a black, open jacket. Wearing an amulet and dark jeans to match. He was the obvious Saiyan. The other was a light skinned male with short, brown hair who was rather chubby, wearing a casual outfit that showcased the tattoos on his arms. The Saiyan looked like he was about to say something more, but then he saw Luther and Fred walk in. He immediately appealed to them.
"Hey, this racist here insulted me."
Fred walked up to the shorter and chubbier one, clearly displeased and making an attempt to intimidate the poor guy.
"Aye yo, what's up, fool? Who you callin' a monkey?"
The guy seemed flustered. Luther seemed equally as flustered.
"N-No, I'm not calling anybody a monkey. I don't say that man, too many people do."
"You better not, cause this man right here, is an international businessman. A multiculturist."
The Saiyan was pleased with Fred's praise of him, and bowed humbly.
"Could not have said it any better myself. But uh, I might be wrong. Maybe he isn't racist, but I don't think I can sell him a car of this caliber. I understand that zeni is an issue."
"Zeni isn't an issue."
Fred was whispering to Luther now, watching the scene unfold.
"Watch this, Terriks 'bouta reel this fool in and get all his money."
"We're leaving, Fred."
"It's the best part, man."
"'Ey Terriks, I'm out, see you tomorrow."
And with that, Luther and Fred walked out of the building, towards Luther's personal vehicle, the one that he actually owned. The bigger brother took the driver's seat, and the smaller one took the seat beside it. They drove off, following traffic laws this time.
This is what Luther's been up to for the past six months. When he had arrived back to his hometown, people looked as if they had mixed feelings about him, like they usually do. Whenever Luther made a stop down where he was born and raised, it was usually to say hello and lend a helping hand 'round the community. This time though, he had come back for a place to stay. He knew that he could have always stayed with his childhood friend, Bigby. But, he needed to see his family again. It's been far too long since he'd visited this place. Almost a whole damn year. And this year he couldn't even leave for a while. Down here, he'd find a job, get back on his feet, and head back to Bigby. Easy and simple. Unfortunately, the only job he managed to get is the one that his brother Fred currently worked. Fred really did come through for Luther, getting his brother hired by his employer, that Saiyan named Terriks. The job they worked wasn't an honest one, and Luther was fully aware of the fraudulent business practices that Terriks took part in. Fred knew it too, but he couldn't care less about it, as long as he got paid. It was a car dealership, where they loan cars out to unsuspecting customers for unreasonable prices, and as soon as the money stops trickling in, Fred and Luther drop by and repossess the vehicle in question, whether it be by force, or any other means. Damn, Luther already missed being in the rap game. And now, instead of being stuck with Bigby all the time, he was stuck with Fred all the time. Unbearable. Speaking of which, he was arguing with the small man in his car as they spoke.
"Who you tryna impress?"
"Nadia, of course. With a body like that, I gotta have it, homie."
Nadia, that girl that lived across the street from him. When Luther had first returned to the neighborhood, he was looking forward to seeing Nadia as a woman instead of a bratty teenage girl. To his disappointment, she hadn't really amounted to anything more than some drunkard that usually spends her time with other drunkards like Z. To think that Luther was the only one out of his community to actually do something with the short life he was given… and now he had lost just about all of it. Well, being an android, he had far more time to live than any of these people. But with the job he has right now, and that close shave with the cops earlier, he wondered if he'd even last that long down here. He vented openly to his brother.
"She's grown, yeah. Grown into a fucking idiot."
"Nah, she's cute."
"Pah, 'course you'd say that. Worse thing is that she'd probably fall for you with how thirsty she is."
"Crazy for a man. Exactly how I like my women."
"Damn, it's good to be home."
Luther had driven into his yard, a small suburban building with a garage to the side of it, gate already wide open for him to drive straight into it. He parked the car in the garage, and both him and Fred stepped out of it. The smaller one immediately appealed to the other to hang out for a bit.
"Hey L, can a brother come in yo crib?"
"Shut up, Fred. I'll see you at work."
"Aw, homie don't hate me just 'cause I'm beautiful. Maybe if you got rid of your old yee-yee ass look you'd get some girls to talk to you. Or better yet, maybe Nadia will call your dog ass if she ever stops hanging 'round with that brain surgeon or lawyer she with."
Fred walked off, placing the headphones that were around his neck over his ears. Luther looked at him as he left the yard, distraught. He sighed heavily, and turned around to enter his old house. He missed this place. He wasn't going to let his little brother mess it up for him. What he had to do now was make things better for himself. He just had to try and appeal to that dude Terriks. He seemed nice enough. Maybe he'd pity Luther.
It had now been a day since that last job, the same one that Luther and Fred had completed without issue. But today, Luther's schedule was a little different. He didn't feel like working for anybody, as he usually did, but he cared too much for this job he's got to really speak his mind. In a way, it felt like his rap life again. He signs for some random label, makes money for 'em, they call the shots, and Luther has no real control over his career. It was only in the closing days of his supposed stardom that he'd worked independently, and that sure ended up perfectly, didn't it? Those last few events were why Luther wanted to get himself out of this rap game as quickly as possible, and came to the conclusion that it was about time he got a real job. Even if he was over 30 years old. He was storming into the dealership, and had even taken off without Fred. He wanted to get this out of the way, without Fred shoving himself in the middle of things. Man, even with how long it's been since Luther had seen Fred, he really did try his best to avoid the headphone wearing little dude. The Saiyan that the former rapper worked for had turned around, spotting Luther advancing towards him. A smile replaced his neutral gaze. He could obviously tell that the big man wasn't happy, but that was Luther's default demeanor, anyways. He greeted Luther respectfully.
"Luther. It's good to see you."
"Yeah, yeah. I know. Say, we've been working together for like a year now, right?"
"Which is exactly why I am pleased to announce…"
He walked off, signalling for Luther to follow him. They both entered the Saiyan's office and on the top of the wall behind the chair and desk in the room, there was a square shaped photo of Luther, with the words "Employee Of The Month" embedded beneath it.
"That you are employee of the month."
"Huh?"
"Congratulations, it wasn't very easy picking the first winner."
Luther struggled a bit to take his eyes off of the photo, only managing to look away from it when Terriks grabbed his hand and performed a forceful handshake. Luther wasn't exactly thrilled to hear that he was the best working employee out of… less than five people, but could it mean that he'd be willing to listen to what the big man had to say? Well, only one way to find out.
"Between me, Fred, your nephew Silver with the switch? Look, it's an honor Terriks, but I gotta move forward with my life. It feels like I haven't done anything with it this whole year. It's like all I ever do is let other people tell me what to do and I do it and nothin' ever changes."
Terriks looked understanding. He sat on top of his desk, and smiled calmly at Luther, who was about to say something else, but then the Saiyan spoke.
"I'm afraid that's what you call a job, Luther."
"Wha-?"
"Look, just tell me exactly what you want, and I will tell you why it cannot be."
"What?!"
"Calm, Luther. I care about you, alright? I'm being good to you. You don't need anything else, do you? Y'know, I've always wanted a son for myself, but I never got one. But if I ever do, I think I want him to be just like you."
"What does that have to do with-"
"Knock, knock, homies!"
Fred had wandered into the office uninvited, and interrupted Luther in the process. But Terriks looked happy to see him regardless. The newcomer wasn't wearing the same outfit that he had worn yesterday, unlike Luther. A plain green shirt over a pair of black pants was simple enough. Not to forget the same pair of headphones over his neck.
"Haha! Welcome, Fred. Luther over here has just won employee of the month."
The Saiyan pointed at the picture on the wall behind him, and Fred followed his finger. As soon as he caught sight of the photo of his bigger brother, his wide smile vanished into thin air, immediately replaced by a look of surprise and shock… and maybe a little contempt? He slowly began to shake his head side to side, not being able to believe that Luther was chosen to be the Employee Of The Month over him. Him! Frederick Niko! His bigger brother was no better than he was, and yet Terriks chose this massive, useless hunk of meat over the hardworking, faithful Fred? He immediately protested.
"You serious? You messing with me, right?"
"We both being messed with, dawg."
"Knock it off, boss. Him? Over me? After all the work I put in?"
"Who cares about this employee of the month stuff? I'm up here tryna get us a-"
"What do you mean 'who cares about this employee of the month stuff'? If there's something to be won goddamnit, I want it, I don't care what it is."
"Chill, fool. Stuff like this makes me wonder why I ever left Big Dog."
"So that's what this is about, huh? That fatass never even lived up to his name, y'know, big dog, big nuts. If there's gonna be names put up on a board, I want my name to be at the top of that thing, and right next to it, it needs to say… 'Winner'."
The kid was determined. The kid really wanted to be rewarded for his work in any way possible. He clearly didn't care about how he was rewarded. Was the pay not good enough for him? Luther on the other hand, was angry. He didn't know why he brought up Bigby, but because he did, Fred insulted him. His friend. His childhood friend. Even if Fred was his little brother, Bigby still meant a lot more to him than Fred ever would. That may sound a bit screwed, but it was how Luther rolled. Bigby was there for him. Bigby supported him. Bigby made him feel like he was doing things right. And he knew how to give criticism. All of these things automatically make him better than Fred, since Fred had managed to accomplish zero of those things. He took a condescending step forward, fully prepared to knock some sense into Fred in his boss' office, but Terriks picked up on the tension in the room, and stepping in front of Luther, blocking his path. He was still facing Fred, however.
"Uh, maybe next month, Fred."
"Screw next month, Terriks. What about today?"
"Today's nothing, just a bike. Hasn't made a payment at all. some Saiyan from the Westside Beach. I think his name was Karif Urawa, or something. I'll text you guys the coordinates."
"Is he in a gang?"
"...I didn't get to figure that out when he bought the bike."
"We got work to do, Mr… Employee Of The Month."
"Shut up, and come on."
Luther stormed out of the office then, and Fred followed him. This was gonna be a long evening, wasn't it? Especially since they had to drive all the way down to the beach. Their employer waved at them as they headed out, flashing a rather obnoxious grin at them while doing so. The two brothers headed over to the vehicle Luther owned, which was parked nearly outside of the establishment. The men bantered with each other as they got inside. This job they were now on wasn't too different from the other jobs they've done before. It might involve a bit of violence and a bit of stealing, or uh, 'repossession' as Fred calls it. But regardless, that tends to be what their job is. It isn't much, and it isn't honest, but it helps Luther and Fred stay afloat, at least. Terriks had just shot a text at Luther as he was driving, and Fred picked up the mobile device. He read out the coordinates, and the former rapper took the appropriate route. The two men now needed to discuss how they wanted to go about this. Usually they ran in with guns blazing, with Luther being as strong as he is. It looked like that's what they were gonna do here as well. Luther asked Fred a few questions about the details of this job.
"The guy who bought the bike was that scraggly lookin' Saiyan dude, right? The one with the tattoo on his face and all?"
After Fred confirmed Luther's suspicions with a solemn nod, Luther hissed through his teeth. This might not be as easy as he wanted it to be.
"Damn. Look, Fred. I don't want any unnecessary bullshit, alright? We go in, get the bike, and we get out. Nice and easy."
"I don't care, Luther. There's a reason why Terriks pays two mean lookin' dudes to come take back what's rightfully his. We ain't girl scouts, are we?"
"In your case, I'm not so sure."
"Step up, Luther. Of course this dude's a real gangster, who else is gonna have the required surplus of paper and the deficiency of brain cells?"
"You're right, I guess. I'm just not lookin' to get killed during work, ight?"
"Alright. I'll try my best, Luther, but I'm one loud, crazy, dangerous, violent, unforgiving, shoot a man in the back typa dude. And you love me for it, homie."
"Haha, yeah. Nothing but love, homie."
Luther chuckled a bit at the definition that Fred gave for himself. It was actually rather spot on. He was definitely loud. The man probably couldn't even go more than ten minutes without talking to someone. It was like a necessity to him. Almost as much as water is. Crazy? Probably. There have been multiple instances in which Luther had suspected that Fred must've been diagnosed with some form of insanity. He was always ready to go the distance with just about anything, no matter how ludicrous or plain stupid his gameplans were. Dangerous and violent? Well, you could always ask around the hood. Everyone there knew that Fred was one of the frequent fighters in the community, always ready to throw hands at anybody. To him, the sheer insignificance of the conflicts he was involved in didn't matter. He would be up to a fight, even if it was over a rotting apple core. He'd fight over it like a rabid dog. If anyone were to ask Luther to give a description of Fred, Luther would probably admit that both he and his little brother weren't all too different, apart from Luther being much more intimidating and reliable than he was. Was Luther even reliable, anyways?
Luther slowed to a rough halt right beside the sidewalk, as they had finally arrived at their destination. Had Luther had driven further down the road, he would've found himself at the Westside Beach, one of the many beaches you could find down at the coast. But now certainly wasn't the time for swimming. Especially not at night time. The former rapper hoped that no one had happened to have that idea, as he could do without someone calling the cops on Fred's antics. The two men exited the parked vehicle, and walked over to the other side of the road, towards a metal gate. Fred climbed over the gate while Luther cleared it with one large leap, utilizing his ki to do so. Fred had basic knowledge of how to use ki and all, but he only really uses it to punch or kick harder rather than the many other ways to use energy effectively. Whatever, he was still learning from Fox, anyways. The siblings walked down a dark alley that was found on the other side of the metal gate, illuminated only by the moonlight and an oddly placed lamppost at the end of the alleyway. The placement of everything around here just screamed 'hideout' to Luther. A sleek, blue car emerged from who knows where, and drove straight past the two men and towards the metal gate, which had opened as soon as the car neared. Fred had squinted at the driver as he drove past, keeping his eyes on the vehicle even after it had passed him.
"Yeah, that's right. Keep driving, bitch."
"Man, I don't like this one bit. Could you keep it smooth, homie?"
"Your lady parts are the only thing that's smooth in here."
"What exactly did I do in a past life to deserve your stupid ass?"
"This is a routine lick, dude. Chill."
"Do them Saiyans look routine? This is shady ass alley."
"Damn, we on Westside Beach."
"The wrong side of Westside Beach, you should know, a block makes a difference."
"Aye, aye, aye. Hold up. I think the bike we're looking for should be in one of these lockups down here."
"'Should be' is the story of your life, asshole."
They had stopped their little walk at the end of the alleyway, near that oddly placed lamppost mentioned earlier. On either side of the alley, there were garages. Two on the right, and two on the left. The two men both searched the garages on the left, both searches producing no results. There was only one garage left, so they opened it up together. There was… no bike in there. Fred walked into the garage as if to examine the room further, and Luther followed him in. There was indeed no bike in here. Fred openly expressed his disappointment.
"Ain't this nice. Ain't no bike down here."
"Hey there, friends."
The two siblings whipped around at the sound of a new voice they've never heard before, only to find that three men were now standing just outside the garage, grinning at them. Luther ran a quick scan on all three. The man in the middle wore a casual black sleeveless hoodie with dark jeans, and his hood was down, letting his spiky black hair breathe easy. His tail swished from side to side behind him, signifying his Saiyan heritage. The one on the right wore similarly casual clothing, having short dark hair as opposed to spiky hair. He didn't have a tail, so he probably wasn't one of those Saiyans. The last dude was probably the most intimidating. He had quite a bit of muscle on him, slightly more than the first Saiyan, and he was the tallest out of the three. Luther's eyes were drawn to his messy beard before his bandaged tail. Typical. Fred didn't look afraid of any of these people, and he advanced towards them, Luther following him closely behind.
"'Ola, ese."
"Me and my colleagues couldn't help but notice that you guys were trying to creep up in here. You looking for something? Because we could probably find it for you."
The middle man was the guy that was speaking. His two 'friends' were cracking their knuckles, preparing themselves for an inevitable fight. Exactly what Luther wanted to avoid. Although Fred had other plans. He continued to walk forward, producing a standard blaster pistol from somewhere that Luther didn't catch. Fred pointed it directly at the other men, who instinctively took a few slow steps back.
"Oh yeah? You found this too, didn't you?"
Without warning, Fred pulled the trigger, and a couple bolts of burning energy shot straight through the middle man, who fell to the floor immediately, most likely deceased. Luther's eyes were fixated on the blaster rather than on the 'bad men'. Where the hell did Fred get one of those from? Aren't those things hella expensive or exclusive to the military or something? Regardless of where the weapon came from, it took the men by surprise, and scared them off. Although, they were going to come back in a few seconds. Luther heard the bearded man shout for backup, and he was quick to act. The 6'10" android tackled the Saiyan to the floor, entering a punching match with the guy. Fred shot a few more blasts at the non-Saiyan, successfully neutralizing him as well. Luther knocked out his opponent with a straight punch to the face that produced a cracking sound. Luther got to his feet, dusted himself off, and chastised his little brother.
"What the hell, Fred? I wasn't about to get my ass beat over a gun fight! Where'd you even get that blaster from?"
”Uh, Luther? We got company."
Fred leapt backwards, and Luther whipped around, finding three more men that were intent on punishing them for entering this alleyway. Fred pointed his weapon at them, and Luther raised his fists threateningly. Then, they heard a shout behind them. Luther and his brother turned around again, and were met with three more men, looking equally as displeased as the first three men. The brothers were surrounded. Unfortunate.
"Well, well, well… Look what we have here."
One of the men began to advance towards Luther and Fred, and both of them heightened their senses. Luther was the first to reply. He tried to reason with them, as he was still adamant on getting out of here unscathed.
"Calm down, homies. We can talk this out, right?"
"Haha, no. You see, you guys walked up on our block. Our territory."
Fred stepped forward.
"Hol' up a min-"
"Sit down, boy."
The man gave Fred a hard shove, causing the little man to forcefully stop himself from falling over using his ki. Luther gritted his teeth, glaring angrily. Fred stepped forward again, this time understandably angry.
"Ight then."
Fred swung a swift and strong left fist at the man's face, possibly breaking something in the process. As the man staggered, Fred was quick to take aim with this blaster pistol, pulling the trigger and blowing a visible hole through the guy's forehead. With the first attack being thrown, every man in the light of the alleyway began to exchange blows with each other. Fred was attempting to retreat to a decent distance in order to have clear shots at his opponents while Luther was fighting fiercely with five different people, his fists engulfed in flaming red energy. He was yelling as he was striking, no longer caring about being found out by a third party. A stray punch blindly tossed by the former rapper caught a man in the gut, forcing him to double over after coughing up a bit of spittle. Fred showcased his shooting skills beautifully, hitting only the heads or torsos of his targets. More and more thugs emerged from the shadows due to all the noise, joining the brawl. Luther gathered his crimson red energy in the middle of his palm in the span of a few moments before releasing it abruptly, knocking several thugs in the air and to the ground. In the chaos, Luther’s back touched with someone else’s. His scanners told him it was Fred. It was. Luther was quick to chastise him as usual.
”You sure picked the right people to pick a fight with, huh?
Luther shot a sizzling energy blast at another guy, who fell to the ground instantly. In the same moment, Fred scored another headshot on somebody. He replied loudly to Luther, as he wanted these thugs to hear him.
"Gimme a break, L! Just tell these dudes that this is a legal repossession!"
Sure enough, the fight didn’t stop, and Luther was forced to crack the jaw of yet two more men with a sudden sucker punch. Fred was able to continue shooting accurately while conversing with his brother, not that it impressed Luther.
"They’re thugs, dumbass. I got a better idea, anyways."
Luther chose to no longer hold back. His current power level was below five thousand in order to not go overboard with the amount of destruction he’d cause, but at this point, mass destruction seemed necessary. His red aura burst to life around him, violently thrashing around his body. The sudden power up prompted multiple men to take a few steps back, and a few to ignite their own auras. Fred dove to the side, and Luther focused a large amount of his ki into his palms. A couple of the thugs realized what was about to happen, and they scrambled to get out of the way, but Luther was not charging anything. The energy was released from his hands within a few moments, charging forth in the form of a burning red hot beam of energy. The beam engulfed everything in its path before hitting the earth’s floor near the metal gate, causing an explosion to occur. Surely someone heard something like that… Not only that, but a building had caught a bit of the flames. Fred didn’t seem too concerned, however.
"Hahaha! Don’t mess with this pyromaniac motherfucker! You still breathing, homie?"
”Barely, homie."
"Aye look! There’s the bike we’re lookin’ for!"
Sure enough, on the other side of the metal gate, in the road, was a man driving away on a bike. He was understandably in a hurry, having to worry about getting away from Luther, Fred and the fire. Luther and Fred took off towards the gate at their top speeds, with Luther reaching the gate first. He leapt over the gate while Fred climbed over it, then they both rushed towards the vehicle they arrived here in, Luther taking the driver’s seat and Fred taking the seat next to it. Luther’s scanners had luckily marked the man just before he left the android’s field of vision, and as a result, the siblings would be able to follow him.
"Step on it! I wanna get paid!"
"Paid ain’t worth dog when you’re doing a lifetime without parole. We massacred those guys."
"We did what had to be done, Luke. Just keep your eyes on the damn road. Besides, you lost him already."
"That’s a monster fucking bike he ridin’, stupid."
Following the trail they needed to follow was easy enough. Within few short minutes, the bike was in their line of sight again, and it took just about everything from Fred to refrain from shooting him off the bike. Regardless, they had to retrieve the bike somehow. Fred urged Luther.
"There he is! Put him on his ass, Luke!"
"Hang on a bit."
Luther followed the man for a couple more minutes, until it was the perfect moment to strike. They were now driving through a quiet area, one with barely any lights anywhere, and barely any people moving around. Fred took this opportunity to take aim at their target. It would be a tough shot, with there not being much light anywhere and all. He squinted hard at his man, pulling back the trigger… He hit his target. The bolt of energy flew straight through the man’s chest, knocking him off the bike with a rough groan of pain. Without a driver, the bike began to slow to a halt, and Luther did the same. The two brothers agreed that Luther would take the bike back to that meeting spot they set up, with Fred driving the car back there as well to meet up. They took different routes just in case, and in about twenty minutes, Luther pulled up in a dead parking lot, witnessing Fred exit his vehicle. Luther wasn’t very pleased with the whole situation, as he had come to realize something on his way back. He took out his frustration on the guy it was all directed towards. Fred.
"I can’t hang with your ass for a while, bro. You a psychopath, and you’ve finally lost it!"
"Luke… that’s just that hood blood in me. You’re lucky I don’t know how to shoot those giant ki blasts and make stuff explode like you do."
"We can’t repossess the assets of a dead man! Big sitting chief asshole."
"And we aren’t going to, Luke. I’m taking this bike for myself. Tell Terriks that we couldn’t recover it."
Fred mounted the bike then, and drove off without any sort of approval from Luther. He was probably heading back towards their neighborhood, wasn’t he? Luther tried to yell to him as he drove off.
"You fucking tell him, you fucking moron!"
Luther sighed heavily. He wasn’t even sure if Fred heard him or not. Knowing Fred, he definitely heard him, but he probably wasn’t about to tell Terriks himself. Luther dejectedly entered his vehicle, and drove off as well, intending to head back home to the neighborhood. He started to dial Terriks’ number while he was driving, not looking forward to talking with anyone at this point. It wasn’t the first time Fred had pulled an unorthodox stunt like that, but Luther was quickly growing accustomed to it. Maybe… if he was hopeful, and he believed, maybe next year will be a bit better.
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