ALTIDUDE
WRITTEN BY: WOLFPACK PRODUCTIONS
PROLOGUE
An older man dressed in a lab coat carefully handed the younger man a vile of red liquid, the pony-tailed man placed the vile into a holder that pulled it through a machine, causing the machine to make a bunch of loud noises. The two men gleefully waited at the end of the machine. “This is it, Ven, after our three years of testing, we’ve finally discovered-,” the younger man interrupted the scientist, “Doc, you don’t have to tell me what we discovered; I was there.” The red liquid was pushed through the large machine, except now it was bright and pulsing. The two stared in amazement before touching the glass bottle. A bang on the laboratory doors surprised the men; they traded looks of confusion. The older man went to answer the door and was met by four men wearing leather jackets with a lightning bolt engraved on the sleeves. “How can I help you gentlemen?” The scientist asked. They demanded everything in the lab; the man laughed assuming the men were joking, but, they showed off their machine guns. The man named, Ven, pushed a cart full of heavy equipment towards the men, knocking them down. He and the scientist escaped the room and made their way to an elevator; Ven frantically pressing the ‘up’ button as the four men riddled the hallway and elevator with bullets. Eventually the elevator closed and rose to the surface. They ran inside of the closest building, The Airport, and anxiously searched for an escape from the men. They found an exit and burst through the doors, tumbling down a flight of stairs leading them outside where a single plane and one helicopter were stationed. “Inside the plane, they can’t find us th-,“ a shot sounded off and the scientist suddenly stopped talking and fell into the arms of the younger man. The scientist couldn’t communicate beyond the gurgles of blood slowly choking him, but, he placed the glowing vile into the hands of his partner. Ven sprinted behind one of the planes and chugged the liquid, forcing him to his knees as he clinched his throat coughing profusely. The four men divided and searched both sides of the plane. Ven magically disappeared. “Up here!” The floating man swooped down like a vicious eagle and took one of the attackers by the back of the head and threw him against a plane causing it to explode. The others continuously shot at the flying man until he lifted the attack chopper and dropped it on two of the men. Instantly killing them. The remaining man tried to flee but was cut off by the raging man fueled by revenge. “I am sick of you freaks!” the man attempted to shoot his gun, but, was disappointed and angered when the gun failed to release any bullets. He unsheathed a knife and approached the man in a sprint. Ven quickly overpowered the man and ripped off his arms like a toy action figure, then followed the dismemberment with a kick the chest. Police surrounded the man who sat next to his dead mentor in tears. They put him in cuffs and drove off, leaving detectives and a fleet of emergency units to witness the destruction and massacre.
CHAPTER I: 4 YEARS AND 1 CHANCE LATER
The clearly inebriated man was splashed with a large pale of ice water; he then jumped up, cussed loudly, and held an empty beer bottle as a weapon; “so, this is where you’ve been all night?” The man wearing a cop uniform asked, “how did you find me, Baker?” The wild-haired man asked while slurring his speech, “it’s not that hard to find the infamous Ven Costello. I just follow the trail of destruction every time.” The cop then picked up a barstool and sat next to the troubled man, “I don’t need another life lesson,” the cop slammed his hand on the table agitatedly. As the man noticed what the cop had placed on the sticky surface, tears filled his heavy brown eyes. On the table was a picture of the cop, an Hispanic woman with a radiant smile, and a happy baby boy; “-Marianna says Happy Birthday.” As the cop the left the ruined bar, Ven chucked a glass bottle at the door and stuffed the picture into his coat pocket, before heading towards the back exit. As he walked to the bus stop he was approached by a group of loud teenagers who should have been in school at the moment, “look at what the shit-storm brought in,” the apparent leader of the group insultingly said. Ven continued to walk past the misfits, ignoring their remarks; “hey! We’re talking to you,” said the leader. Once the boy gripped Ven’s arm, he quickly twisted it, then, ascended into the air, cracking the sky, and launched the crying thug as far as he possibly could; causing him to land in the ocean surrounding the little island of Altona.
Ven’s appearance on the bus caught everyone’s attention, and not the good kind. Murmurs of cuss words filled the awkward silence as he took a seat alone in the back. “You have some nerve continuing to show your face on this island,” a woman whispered across from him, “yeah? Well, you have some nerve coming out of your house without re-waxing that monster from under your nose,” the woman was appalled by his drunken response. He put on his headphones and reached into his pocket to observe the picture once more; he then flipped the picture around and noticed the writing on it, “despite all the trouble you harbor, Ivan, still needs a connection with his dad. When you’ve got help, you may visit us.” He exhaled from his nostrils and asked the bus driver to let him off. The other riders sighed with relief as Ven left the bus. He gave the bus “the finger,” before launching himself into the air and flying to his destination. He stood in front of a small brick house distant from the rest of the island’s “attractions.” The door opened and instantly shut, “don’t be like that,” Ven shouted. The door opened once more and a lady wearing barf-green scrubs stepped out; not allowing the inside of her house to be shown. “What do you want, Costello?” She pushed her long, free-flowing, brown hair behind her ears revealing her vibrant brown eyes, and then folder her arms. “I need a favor,” she immediately cut his sentence off; “a favor? Are you kidding me?” She began to enter the house, but Ven lightly stepped in front of her. She kneed him in the groin, and then pushed him from the stoop. “Thanks a lot, sis!” Ven grunted out as he attempted to regain balance.
There were no clouds in site, just the sun warming the little island giving life to everything. Everything except Ven Vendalia Costello, whom was sitting at his local bar chugging down pints of beer back-to-back. “You can’t just drink your problems away,” the young male bartender said while handing Ven the bill, “fuck off,” said the drunkenly depressed man. “Where’s Louis?” Ven asked, “he left me in charge, what do you need?” Ven slid the pricey bill back to the bartender, then added, “I don’t pay for drinks here,” the bartender then pointed to a board that read, No Free Drinks, Ven, “I take it that you’re, Ven.” “put it on my tab,” he said, staggering from the barstool. “I’m sorry, sir, but I can’t let you leave without paying,” Ven got frustrated and grabbed a tip jar from the live band, then, set it by the bartender; “there. Enjoy your day, Otto.” As Ven walked away from the bar, he was hit in the head with a guitar and fell to his knees, “the hell?” A leather boot connected to his face and he found himself getting jumped by the band. A blue SUV pulled up across the street from the altercation, “that’s enough,” a woman’s voice projected. The band stopped attacking, then, returned to the bar, “I didn’t need your help,” Ven yelled, “-then why did you show up at my house?” He dusted himself off after spitting out the blood from his busted lip and handed her the picture. “I need to get my life back on track, for my family.” Helena agreed to take Ven into her home as long as he quit drinking, found a job, and wouldn’t use his abilities. Ven noticed the Barbie Dolls and dollhouses scattered around the living room, “when did you have a kid?” He curiously asked, “her name is Leilani, and she hasn’t had a man around since she was three, so I’m trusting you to be a good role model,” Ven chuckled and then added, “-I can be a decent role model.” Helena tossed Ven a garbage bag filled with her ex-husband’s clothes, “burn that jacket, it’s been through hell,” she commented. The two siblings sat at the small table and conversed about the past, “-how about that time dad caught you in his car when you were supposed to be taking exams,” she reminisced, “-that has to be the angriest I’ve ever made him,” Ven replied barely getting the words out due to his laughter. Their stories were briefly interrupted by a phone call to Helena’s phone; it was from her job, so she dismissed herself before taking the call in her room. Ven stood up from the table and looked at all the pictures placed around the pale blue room. Leilani looked to be the age of a middle schooler, she had curly brown hair, and a light dusting of freckles spread across the bridge of her nose. Helena returned from her room, dressed in her scrubs, “Toledo’s Gang attacked another business man, branded him with a ‘T,’ Ven shook his head and tossed his sister her purse, “have fun,” he said sarcastically, she uttered, “I hate these scrubs,” before leaving the home.
Later that day Leilani returned from school and was confused at the sight of Ven sleeping on her couch, she quickly drew a knife from the kitchen and held to Ven’s neck, “where is my mom? And why are you in my house?” She interrogated; Ven’s eyes opened quickly as he was stuck awkwardly positioned, “you must be Leilani. I’m your Uncle, your mom went back to work,” she glared at him before putting the knife away, “you’re the reason no one can leave the island,” Ven shamefully lowered his head, “technically.” She retrieved her pinky backpack and went into her room, shutting the door. He decided to take a walk to the Altona Police Department to check-in on his old friend, Jayden Baker. The police looked at him in disgust as he walked through the tense building and met with Jayden, “what are you doing here?” He asked with a puzzled expression, “I’m trying to get Marianna and Ivan back. I realized I made a bunch of reckless mistakes and risked the lives of many,” Jayden nodded understandingly, “so, what can I do for you?” Ven scratched his head nervously before answering, “I need a job, man.” The chances of Ven Costello getting a job after his extensive background were as slim as a string of yarn, “I could have a talk with Judge Delano, he and I have become friends from our encounters thanks to you. Meet me at the Courthouse tomorrow morning,” the two men shook hands before Ven departed.
A sharply dressed man darted across the flooded streets as the five teenagers dressed in white tracksuits with a silver “T” printed on the on the back. The man found himself backed into an ally clinching his briefcase against his chest for dear life. One of the guys put on a metal brass knuckle that also resembled a “T”. When the thug made a fist, the T lit into a red glow that gave off waves of heat. The man cried out for help as the group approached closer to him. Before the smoldering metal touch his forehead, a cracking sound made everyone jump; it was Ven Costello standing in a cliché Hero Pose. “That’s enough, Ned, drop the knuckle duster and leave, while you still can,” the group took their focus from the older man and approached the unmoved Ven. “This won’t end like the other d-,” Ven refused to let the familiar teen finish his threat, instead, he quickly grabbed him by the face, tossed him in a dumpster, then, threw said dumpster far into the ocean. The others ran towards him with knives. Ven disarmed each teen by squeezing their hands and breaking them, finishing each one off by slamming them into brick buildings. Ven offered his hand to the cowering man, “behind you!” He shouted; Ven instinctively ducked, as one of the thugs got ahold of the dropped brass knuckle and swung his fist at Ven’s head. He buried his fist into the thug’s stomach, then, held the weaponized hand against his chest, branding him. Police swarmed the vicinity as they got a call due to the boy’s screaming. They huddled over the business man who urinated his suit pants, “are you alright?” Officer Baker questioned, the man nodded with a grin and tears in his eyes, “what happened here?” the sobbing man took a breath and a stated, “a hero saved my life.”
The next morning Ven was up early to pick-up coffee and meet with Jayden. “You actually showed, off to a good start,” he joked while they entered the courthouse. Court was currently in session, so, the two took their seats in the back, unnoticed by Judge Delano; “Mr. Josephine, you are here because why, sir?” asked the bald, serious-faced Judge, “drug possession,” mumbled the Defendant, “what else, Mr. Josephine?” added the Judge, “-conspiracy to sell, weapon possession, distribution, murder, attempted murder, and, I’m pretty sure you’re going to add armed robbery after APD searches my warehouse.” The judge roared in laughter before sentencing the man to seventy-seven years on Red Steel Prison, which was on a remote island. Extremely difficult to escape. The cops cuffed him and dragged him out of the courtroom. As the courtroom emptied, Jayden approached the Judge, “Deputy Baker, you did a great job tracking down Josephine. How can I help you this morning?” Jayden stood before the Judge and spoke, “A year ago, Altona lost its entire Airport, do you remember that?” The Judge nodded his head, “it was that destructive menace, Ven Costello. Why do you ask?” Jayden nervously swallowed and continued, “I’m asking because, I actually spoke with Mr. Costello, he’s adamant that he meant no harm, he was ‘defending,’ as he puts it.” Judge Delano’s face was no longer amused, “he wants to make amends with his wife and kid, and the only way for that to happen is if he behaves civilly,” he then added, “-look, if you could just get him a job, I can assure he will be no problem.” Ven emerged from the seats and stood next to Jayden, “I understand that I cost our island it’s only form of aerial transportation,” Jayden quickly added, “-and put us three million in debt,” the two exchanged a combative look. “What do you expect out of this meeting, Mr. Costello?” Ven took a second to think before voicing his answer, “Judge, you’ve seen me in this courthouse at least twice a year since the age of sixteen. I’ve never willingly entered by choice until now, I don’t want to be the Island’s Catastrophe anymore. When I lost my mentor, I spiraled into a deep state of depression and drinking, and I did many things I regret so much. But, the thing I regret more than anything is losing the woman who rooted for me despite my past and losing the happiest little boy this island has. I’m asking you as a former father and husband to help me be a normal civilian.” The Judge stared at Ven blindly before opening his mouth, “you are not a good father, and an even worse husband. But, I do see enough potential to turn you into one. Professor Gordon was a personal friend, why he would mentor you, I will never understand, but, he saw something in you that you will prove to not only me, but to your wife, son, and the rest of this island. One slip up and not only will you be locked up in Red Steel, but, Deputy Baker will lose his job.” Jayden gave Ven “the death stare” while the Judge continued to talk; “you have one month to apprehend each member of Jose Toledo’s gang, and, bring Mr. Toledo in. If you kill anyone in the process I will charge you; if you fail to bring in Toledo, you will cost your friend his position. Deal?” Ven shook his head and responded, “deal.”
CHAPTER II: OTTO AND THE COMPASS Of CRIMES
Ven explained to his sister about his deal with Judge and naturally she was concerned for his safety appropriately because of Toledo and his gang’s history. Ven wasn’t afraid, in-fact, he was excited to for the opportunity to rid the island of the thugs. “Have you thought about counseling? Psychologist? Anything other than this would be better,” she expressed concernedly, “the APD can’t do what I can. This is a problem the ‘Justice System’ can’t take care of.” Leilani entered the kitchen and greeted her mom, ignoring Ven’s presence, “you’re going to be late for school,” Helena said while observing her watch, “-and I’m running late for work,” she frantically added. After an exchange of verbal contemplation, Ven decided he would take Leilani to school so Helena could be on time; the young girl was not happy about the decision but went along with her Uncle. “Why do you kill people?” Leilani blatantly asked while the two walked through the empty paved road, “I don’t kill anymore,” replied Ven; “why did you kill?” Ven nervously scratched his head and simply stated, “it’s a long story, kid.” Leilani noticed Ven’s sorrowful undertone and continued to walk in silence. “It was my first time ever having power,” Ven randomly clarified after reaching finally reaching the end of the road, she gave him a raised eyebrow; “literally or figuratively?” After some time had passed it was clear that Leilani was going to be late at the rate they were walking, Ven offered the girl his back to ride on as he flew to the middle school; luckily for Leilani there weren’t many people around to see her associating with the mot hated man on the village. Suddenly an array of sirens was heard zooming by following a black sports car. Ven’s smile grew grinchily as an idea manifested in his head. He took off into the air, swooped under the car, and practically tackled it. The four men quickly escaped the car seemingly unharmed, but, very much armed. Bullets shot out of the AK-47’s as Ven nearly ascended and escaped them. The police finally arrived at the scene, half of the masked men turned their guns to the police; the other two continued shooting at Ven. It was chaos in the middle of the road, only a mile from the school. Ven quickly created a circular barrier of cop cruisers around the deputies, “I got this,” he said before jumping over the cars. He was soon astonished by the four men now unconscious with their rifles in a pile away from them. “Thanks for the distraction,” said a cheerful voice of an African-American teen. Ven looked around turning his head at every angle until his eyes focused on a hooded boy wearing a dark green face mask that only covered his eyes, and a pair gloves that emitted sparks of electricity; “Is somebody pranking me?” mouthed the confused Ven. The cops arrested the men and hauled them off to the Police Department.
Ven followed the kid to his hideout which was a small garage hiding under the highway, inside was a computer, a refrigerator, a couch, and some low-tech lab equipment. “You’re into electrostatics,” Ven stated after observing an open book titled From Stationary to Shock written by Professor Philip Gordon. “-Who are you?” He added, the clean-cut teen motioned for Ven to look at his computer screen before speaking, “I’m the man who’s going to help you bring down Toledo’s gang.” Ven looked the boy up and down, then commented, “you’re like sixteen,” the teen replied with a matter-of-fact attitude; “-eighteen, but, you still need my help. Their divided on each part of this island; drugs get ran in the North, guns here in the South, trafficking in the East, and Jose himself controls the entire West.” Ven realized that the mysterious boy knew exactly what he was talking about. He would be a fool not to join forces, “fine, but first, you answer my question now,” the teen looked nervous but agreed. “Who are you, really?” He played in his hair before speaking, “my name is Otto Justine, I’m just a kid who likes electricity, science, and Justice,” the teen removed his mask and hoodie, revealing that he was in fact, the bartender from the other night. Ven mentioned the book, “where did you get it?” Otto explained that he followed the Police after they raided a lab, the only thing left behind was that book. Ven got angry but he knew there was nothing he could do, for now. “I’ll contact you whenever I see movement from the North,” Otto said before Ven dismissed himself. He flew to the location of the lab’s entrance, a metal door that was placed on the ground, feet from the airport that currently held no planes. To Ven’s surprise, the lab he grew accustomed to was completely empty. “I won’t let them destroy what we worked so hard to make.” He swore in a whisper while clinching his fist.
Ven and Otto met at the garage and made their way North, where Toledo’s men were setting up to accept a shipment of highly-calibrated snipers. They waited on top of a tall building watching the transaction be played out. The eerie dark ship silently stopped at the dock as the buyers stepped out of their cars, there were at least fifty of them, but, one buyer wore a suit and had a horrible comb-over. “Is that all of the money?” The large bulky Russian asked, “indeed, my hulk-like friend.” The Russian whistled and his men set duffle bags at every buyer’s feet, once that was done, the buyers handed over the suitcases that was held in each hand. “Pleasure doing business with you, Ka Mea Kala,” said the brute, “we’re friends now, Sergey, please call me, Ray.” Once the ship was far enough away from the docks, Ven swooped down with Otto in one hand, then, followed the convoy of black SUVs. “There’s seven cars, each car holds six people, except the middle car, that one only holds Ray Ka Mea Kala and a driver, I’m estimating around forty armed men,” Otto called out to Ven. Ven scanned the street and saw exactly what he was looking for. The yellow barrels of water found on the road. “When I give you the signal, give the ground a slight jolt,” Ven instructed as he dropped off Otto and flew to the front of the line of cars and proceeded to kick the oncoming leading vehicle towards the barrels. The big car caused all of the barrel’s liquids to cover the street and the men’s feet; they began shooting their pistols into the night hoping to hit the flying Ven. “Now!” He shouted, and just as he did, blue sparks emitted from the darkness and flowed up the liquid ultimately electrocuting each of the men, rendering them unconscious. The terrible haired man burst from the SUV and unloaded his gun at the young boy, but missed every shot, he turned in pure fear when the sky made a cracking noise and from that noise came Ven flying at the man in nightmarish speeds. He was forced in the grasp of the flying man and brought to the highest height the two could stand, and Ven dropped the man from an elevation so high the two of them could see an explosion coming from a distant State. Before the man hit the pavement, he was caught by the throat and punched in the gut with a heavy hand, “one down, three to go,” Otto excitedly exclaimed.
CHAPTER III: TO THE RESCUE
“-on other news; the North end of Altona has already seen a major change in fear levels and a gigantic decrease in gun violence. No one yet has claimed responsibility for the heroic actions displayed last week.” Helena and Leilani turned their attentions from the television to Ven who was casually eating in the dining room, “I’m assuming you had something to do with that,” Helena said, “oh yeah, I had help from this kid with these weird gloves that shoot electric-” as Ven rambled on, the doorbell rang, and Leilani went to answer it. “What’s up, officer?” She asked, “I’m here for him,” the unfamiliar cop pointed at Ven, “you’re not my Parole Officer, what do you want?” The cop removed his sunglasses and stated, “well, Mr. Costello, I have a warrant for your arrest, breaking-and-entering and trespassing,” Ven was just as shocked as Helena and Leilani. Ven was placed in cuffs and shoved into the car, “we’ll meet you at the jail,” Helena shouted to her brother as the cop shut the door, “no, don’t worry about me. Take Leilani to school and get yourself to work, I’ll be fine,” the cop then sped off and up the long gravel road. “I’m not going to school, am I?” Leilani asked, “get dressed, something seems off.”
“Why don’t you just allow me to talk to Judge Delano?” Ven asked, the cop slammed on breaks and made Ven hit his head on the bars separating the two. He noticed that the cop passed the jail and continued West. “Where are you taking me?” He angrily asked, “have you ever heard the Island’s folktale known as The Wolf and The Wounded Deer?” Ven said nothing in return, “well, I guess I’ll tell you,” the “cop” stopped the car in an empty lot. “Once upon a time there was secret forest that inhabited a Pack of wolves. In this pack were three Betas, an Omega, and an Alpha. One day while the pack was hunting they stumbled upon a rather large deer. Only one problem, the deer was hurt; shot in the hind leg. The Betas wanted to go after the wounded deer; for they haven’t eaten anything bigger than a hare, The Omega wanted to use the deer for bigger bate, but The Alpha got this sense that something was wrong, so, he told the pack to wait until late noon. If it wasn’t a trap, the deer would still be there at sundown.” Ven was getting tired of the seamlessly pointless story and tried breaking out of the cuffs, “you won’t be getting those off, they’re made from Titanium Immorsteel. Anyways, the sun had begun to set, and the deer had finally bled out. The Betas rushed in to retrieve the deer, but, a rifle’s bullet shot through both wolves, killing them both. The Omega plotted to seek out The Hunter when he was then shot and killed. The Hunter emerged from the top of the highest tree and awarded The Alpha with the dead deer, while he took the power from the dead wolves.” Ven was now aggravated and shouting for the mysterious man to let him out, but the man laughed and refused. Then, candy red sports car furiously drove into the empty lot and parked next to the cop cruiser. “Who is that?” Ven repeatedly asked, but he just smiled and exited the car. The man shook hands with the casually dressed driver of the sports car and made conversation briefly before Ven’s door swung open and the end of a golden pistol was pointed at his face. “Long time no see, Costello.”
“I’m sorry, but if Ven Costello was booked here, trust me, the whole island would know,” said one of the officers before leaving the Department. Helena and Leilani were running out of time to find Ven, so they desperately asked every uniformed cop in the building, “have you heard anything about Ven Costello?” Helena interrogated Deputy Jayden Baker; he got a worried look and said, “he was supposed to report to Judge Delano an hour ago, when was the last time you seen him?” Leilani explained to Jayden that the cop arrested him and planned to take him to jail. She even described the “officer” from his greasy black hair, to the slight tilt of his right foot when he walks. He instructed the females to follow him as he quickly got into his designated cruiser and headed West going two times the speed limit. “Is my brother in trouble?” Asked Helena, Jayden tried to sound calm and responded, “I’m sure he’s fine.” Leilani secretly prayed for her Uncle’s safety. Jayden, Helena, and Leilani arrived at the parking lot that was now full of people surrounding a young man wearing a black beanie that covered most of his head. “Roman Edwards, I’m going to ask you one time, and one time only. Have you seen Ven Costello?” The dealer laughed and replied, “-and if I did? You think I’ma snitch just so you can lock me up again? No deal, pig,” Leilani pushed her way towards the guy and clenched him by the tank-top nearly ripping it, then forcefully punched him in the nose. Helena pulled her daughter away before more damage was done; “you better say something, or I’ll let her go,” Helena yelled while the crowd of buyers scattered off like roaches to the light. “Alright! I seen Crisis hand him off to Toledo earlier, you can probably find them at the Mill, but, I would hurry because Toledo never interferes with dirty work which means shit is serious.”
Ven’s mouth was taped and he was tied to a chair while Toledo sat in front of him comfortably; gun in one hand and a glass bottle in the other. “Last drink? It’s Belvedere, Professor’s favorite, right?” Ven glared at his old acquaintance with no emotion less than hatred, “you really hit the deep end, Ven-Ven. First you were the runaway trouble maker that Altona despised, then, you became the Professor’s most cherished pet, then, you became known as the worthless drunk who trapped everyone on the island. And now, you’re the nameless hero who fucked with my operation. I don’t think you realize how dead you are, or, you just don’t care.” Toledo stood up and placed his gun inside of his waistband and soon left the room before returning with a more improved version of the knuckle duster one of his gang leaders wore. “It sucks, you and I could’ve ran this entire island with no problems,” He clenched his weaponized fist and revealed that the titanium knuckle duster emitted an ominous red glow. Ven closed his eyes as the metal came increasingly closer to his face, but, the lights shut off in the old Mill. Blue sparks bounced off the walls as Toledo blindly punched the air creating a mini light show of blue and red. A set of hands grabbed Ven and felt around him until the small fingers touched the duct tape and ripped it off, “come on,” directed the girl’s voice, “I can’t, I’m tied to the chair,” Ven whispered back. As Leilani untied Ven, Otto continued to distract Toledo until Deputy Baker flicked on the lights. It was now just him and Toledo. “You’re going away for a long time Jose,” confidently explained Jayden, Toledo began to roar in laughter, “do you honestly think locking me away will cease my businesses? If anything, you’d just be opening the biggest can of worms you’ve ever seen,” he dropped his weapon that cracked the ground on impact and allowed himself to be arrested. Ven, Helena (who was expressing her worries to her brother), Leilani, and Otto watched as Jayden loaded Toledo into the cruiser. “It’s not over for any of yo. All of your lives are in danger as of now.” The crime-boss was silenced by Jayden and drove to jail where he was then processed and sent to Red Steel Prison.
CHAPTER IV: BIG BROTHER IS ALWAYS WATCHING
It was a quiet day in the middle of March, Helena was at work, Leilani had just got home and walked in on Ven and Otto sitting at the small kitchen table with papers completely covering it, “what’s going on?” The two quickly peered their heads up with looks of exhaustion, “we’re just doing some taxes,” Ven lazily lied. Leilani’s interest was erected, and she hovered between the two; “is this all of Toledo’s workers?” She asked while going through the documents, “-holy shit, every one of these people have kids at my school.” Ven snatched the folder back, “go do your homework, or something,” she retrieved the file back and sassily said, “you aren’t my dad. Let me help.” Otto began to speak, “think about this: I can’t get into Altona Prep without an I.D., and everyone hates you,” Ven nervously stared at his niece, “your mother would murder me,” Leilani’s face suddenly expressed a look of sorrow; “if you really cared for my mom you’d do anything to keep me safe, and the best for that is to let me help you get rid of these drug movers.” Ven exhaled and agreed with the request, “I’m heading to the hideout, we’ll need some way to track these guys,” Otto said while packing his bag with the papers.
Once Otto left Leilani decided to speak with her Uncle about his past; “how far back do you want me to go?” She laughed and answered, “three weeks ago I believed you were a psychotic killer with flying powers who destroyed our only transportation to leave the island, and now here I’m helping you clean our piece of island. Take me to the beginning, the truth.” Ven leaned into the table and begin to speak, “I was born in Southern California, May 8th, 1991; the day my dad split and left my mom with a newborn and a three-year-old. We did fine without him. On October 26th, 2004 our mother went to a bank to get enough money for our Halloween costumes for the party she allowed us to throw. Helena and I sat on the couch excited, but when three hours went by we felt uneasy. That’s when we got a knock on the door, hey kids, it’s Detective Diaz; he was our mom’s boyfriend at one point. I opened the door and he entered with a woman, both teary-eyed. Kids, someone hurt your mommy at the bank. I remember shutting out everything she was saying to us, I was a thirteen-year-old who was just told someone murdered his mom. I flipped. I had all this anger inside of me, I swung at Diaz but held onto me, so, I headbutted him and ran away. I saw my school bully sitting on his porch pointing at me and snickering, I saw red. I grabbed the largest stone and chucked it at his house window; shattered the fuck out of it. He came after me, so I smashed hi head into his dad’s Mercedes window. I sat next to him while he bled and waited for the cops to take me away. Diaz brought me to his house while your mother and I waited for our dad to take us away. I hated Altona; dropped out at 10th grade, ran away, and started hanging out with Toledo and his other College friends. One day his Professor caught us drinking, he saw I was a minor and made me sit in his class while he tried to contact my dad. He is no son of mine, was his words. I won’t get you put into Juvie if you promise to come to class every day, since you like being on campus anyway. At the age of eighteen I had my PhD Aeronautics. The Professor and I hung out a lot and he taught me so much; Aerology, Aerostatics, Anemology, and how to fish. He told me about his latest project, Project Zero Aero. Its what gave me my powers. On December 1st, 2012 we finally created the Zero Aero atom that would be concentrated and made into Anti-Aero, allowing the consumer to defy gravity on command. Then, these four guys came into the lab. No keycard or anything. They just walk in with their UZI’s and demand the serum as if they knew exactly when and where we’d make it. We ran to the airport thinking we could hide inside a plane until they left. They shot him dead and I drank the serum; I guess with my rage mixed with the Anti-Aero wasn’t the best combination because all I remembered was seeing the planes destroyed and blood on my hands. I got arrested and on that same day my girlfriend; your mom’s friend, Marianna Bianchi, calls me from jail and tells me she’s having a boy. Fast-forward to four years in February and I get out on parole, the first thing I do is go check in on Marianna. I knock on the door and some guy answers it and has the nerve to tell me that I’m not allowed around my family. Before I could react, she steps in and tells me to leave. I had no where to go, the island hated me for ruining the only planes to allow us to leave, no friends, so, I went to your mother. It was your third birthday, I came in and everyone there got quiet. Pissed was an understatement for Helena, she practically threw me out of the house. The only person who gave me a chance was a bar owner named Louis, for a year he and Scotch was all I needed.” Leilani stood from her seat and put her arm around Ven and said, “we will clean this city and get you back into your family’s life.”
Helena was a little skeptical of Leilani’s new friend (Otto), so Ven pretended to play his role as “overprotective dad.” “So, Otto, what are you planning to do with niece tonight?” Otto did a great job transitioning into a nervous boyfriend, he cleared his throat and keenly said, “-just going to the school’s talent show, sir.” Helena smiled at her brother as he interrogated the boy, “I expect her back no later than ten, do you understand?” Otto nodded profusely and left the small house with Leilani’s hand, “he’s a good kid,” Helena said nudging her little brother. Leilani rode on the back of Otto’s scooter to Altona Prep, while traveling he explained to her about the trackers, “I was able to attach a GPS chip into each one, but, the only way they can be activated is if you get them close enough to their cellphones, from there I have a friend that can hack into my trackers and follow them,” Leilani was confident that she would get the job done, “I have an idea, did you bring your gloves?” Otto patted his backpack where he kept his hoodie, mask, and electric gloves. They arrived at the parking lot of the school where it was flooded with cars and families supporting the talent show. Otto gave Leilani a pair of thick glasses and quietly spoke, “with these I will see everything you see,” she put on the glasses and entered the gym, “you’ll be looking for Elliot Danvers, Hector Kahan, and Robert Ortega, are you familiar with those names?” Leilani scanned the area and spoke into her phone, “all too well. Do me a favor,” she commanded, “yeah?” replied Otto, “take out all of the lights, I won’t be able to get close to these guys, they’re right next to each other.” Otto searched around the exterior of the school for a Generator, he spotted it but of course there was school security posted near it, “time to test out the new upgrades,” Otto whispered to himself before pulling out his new gloves, they discharged a bright green energy (built up electricity). He took cover behind a car and shot out a ball of electricity that set off every car at the school, “oh shit,” expressed Otto unaware of the power. The security looked at each other and decided to flee, leaving the generator. Otto placed his hands on the generator and without warning the power from the generator transferred to the gloves causing them to glow brighter. The entire school went dark, but the Violinist continued to play, easing the audience. Leilani saw the three men pull out their phones to use their flashlights, she took the opportunity to slip the tiny red devices into their pockets without being noticed. “I got the first three, whose next?” Asked the excited thirteen-year-old, “let’s get you out of there, most likely they’ll meet up at the same place,” Leilani headed for the exit. “The Peeping Toms have been set in place,” announced Otto to a boy and girl dressed as heroes as well, “perfect, Call-Girl and I will track them and send you the location of their meeting spot, EMP out,” “thanks bro,” said Otto. The video call ended and the two high-fived gleefully, “nerve racking, right?” He asked, she exhaled and smiled, “-more like thrilling.” They got onto the scooter and headed back Leilani’s house… The cell door opened, and Toledo was escorted to an interrogation room by two armed guards. He was forced into a chair. A hidden male figure in a sharp suit slid a clipboard to Toledo, who was sporting a blackened eye. “The hell is this?” A smile from the suited man shown from the darkness, “it’s your deal with the devil. You want to get out, right?” Toledo read over the papers, “the Lab is cleaned out, I can’t help you,” The man went through his designer bag and laid a metal skull mask on the table. “On the contrary, Mr. Toledo.”
CHAPTER V: #ALTIDUDE
A week had passed since the Talent Show and Leilani was becoming impatient, she wanted anything to pop up. Otto had started teaching her the basics of Boxing everyday after school. Ven and Jayden were on their way to visit Judge Delano at an event held at the Altona Epicenter. They were told to dress casually, so, Ven found Helena’s ex fiance's Tuxedo. He inspected the red-and-grey suit and got dressed, “why aren’t you wearing a tux?” He asked Jayden who was wearing a white button-up and black slacks, “he said casually, not prom ready.” The two left the house and drove to the center of the Island where the vast coliseum type building stood, “what’s going on inside here?” Ven asked anxiously reframing from walking forward, “calm down, Costello, it’s probably a play or something.” Ven pointed to the excess number of cars, “that’s too many cars for a shitty play,” Jayden forced Ven to walk into the building. The security guard nodded at Jayden and motioned for the two to make their way to the V.I.P elevator, “what the hell? Any other day those guys would try to throw me out,” Jayden smirked and continued to ascend the elevator. The doors slowly slid open. Ven was shocked and fell backwards. The entire Island packed the Epicenter applauding him, a giant poster falls and hangs from the ceiling showing Ven in a hero stance. The two stepped on the platform with Judge Delano and shake his hand, “nice tuxedo, the colors are perfect for this,” Judge Delano then gave a group of kids two thumbs up and they dropped red and silver confetti strips down onto the heavily populated building. “What is all of this?” Asked Ven, before the Judge could respond a crew of camera men stormed the stage, “Mr. Costello, how did you know where to find the drug peddlers?” “Ven, Ven, how did you get the traffickers back home without any problems with Toledo’s men?” It all became clear. Someone did his job within a week and left no scene, but who? Why? “Ven opened his mouth to confess, but, his breath seized to escape once he noticed who was coming on to the stage. Marianna and Ivan. He dropped the mic and zombily walked to his ex-wife and estranged son. His fell to his knees and hugged his son tightly, tears fell from his brown eyes and bounced onto the back of the boy’s plaid shirt. Marianna placed her hand on Ven’s shoulder and said, “It’s so good to see you doing good for once,” he awkwardly chuckled and asked, “your boyfriend couldn’t make it?” She pointed to the handsome large man standing at the bar with a group of wealthy men, “-and his name is Latrell.” Ven ignored her remark and kneeled in front of his son, “he knows all about you, Ven. He’s always wanted to meet you,” tears filled both of their eyes, “is it true you hurt people?” Ven glanced at Marianna who cut her head away, “no buddy, I hurt bad people.”
The DJ started to play music and the party begun, Ven felt uneasy about the whole situation, but said nothing as long as he was I his family’s life. Judge Delano called Ven to his corner and introduced him to a young man pushing a tall box with wheels, “Ven Costello, this is, Peter Reyes. This kid created something for you,” Ven greeted the boy and allowed him to open the box. “Mr. Costello, I present to you: The Alti-suit,” announced Peter. The suit was mostly red with a grey stripe going down each side, it was made out of a leather-like material, “Peter, this is a bit much don’t you think?” Peter chuckled and handed him a business card. Brought to you by Arcadium Labs. PS: Thanks for saving my life hero, here’s a piece of my gratitude. CEO Camden James. Peter saw a chiseled man make his way to the food table and said farewell to Ven and Judge Delano before following. “He paid for this event, you know?” Delano said to Ven, still intrigued by the suit, “Peter? He doesn’t look old enough to drive,” replied Ven, “no you jack-ass, Mr. James. He’s a multimillionaire who runs basically runs the whole city of Sactowne, and you just made it into his inner circle, congrats Costello.” Judge Delano patted him on his shoulder and joined a clique of lawyers. Ven’s gut continued to disturb him so he vanished from the party after seeing his son and Marianna off. “It’s not like you to leave a free party,” Marianna’s voice echoed through the vacant hallway, “-everything fine?” Ven took a deep breath and faced his past lover, her white studded dress illuminated the dimly lit corridor, “I’m great, just needed some fresh air,” she looked around the corners to make sure no one was coming before asking to join. The two sat on a bench overlooking the body of water, “how did you and him meet?” Ven decided to ask after a few moments of awkward silence, “do you really want to know?” He rolled his eyes jokingly and said, “I’m genuinely interested in your relationship.” Marianna looked off into the distance and filled Ven in on her life, “Helena hired him as our Event Planner for Ivan’s 8th Birthday, by the way he loves boats. Latrell and I became good friends and started seeing each other.” A brief silent pause occurred before Ven opened his mouth once more, “whose bigger?” Marianna looked at the serious-faced Ven and replied, “you’re the biggest,” a smile grew across his face, “-asshole I’ve ever met.” The two laughed before Ven’s name was called from the distance; it was a horde of reporters rushing the bench. “Mr. Costello, now that you’re the Island’s Hero don’t you think you need a cool name?” One of the reporters asked, “how about Fly-Man?” yelled another, “that’s stupid, he needs something that scares threats like: High-Rise.” The reporters continued to barrage Ven with names, he soon found himself and Marianna surrounded by the group. “His name is Altidude!” Yelled out a male’s voice, the crowd turned their heads and saw Otto (masked) standing by his new ATV, “-and I’m his partner, Zero.” The group of reporters rushed to Zero and drowned him with questions. Marianna yanked Ven by the arm and escaped into the Epicenter and made their way to the exit with their families. “So, if we didn’t take those guys down, who did?” Leilani asked while sitting at the dinner table with Ven and Otto, “you are not included in this, but, I have no clue who could’ve done it,” Otto pulled out his phone and went through the list of drug movers, “what if we go to the jail, question these guys, and hopefully they tell us what we need to hear?” Ven thought the plan was a good idea. “I’m in, but, I’m bad cop,” Otto scrunched his face and said, “no way, it’s my plan therefore I’m bad cop,” Leilani slammed her hand on the table, “I’m coming too,” Ven quickly denied her request, “I get it, you’re just afraid of my mom. Pussy.” Leilani began to walk towards her bedroom before she paused when Ven murmured the word, “wait.” She slowly turned with a smirk on her face, “you can come, only if you stay completely quiet. Deal?” Leilani yelled out, “deal!” Ven sighed and whispered to himself, “I get the feeling these next few Chapters are going to be hell.”
