Fixer Upper Part 2

Once I made it safely to the Burrow, I got greeted with the same sorry sight I've seen for way too long. In an almost trance, Fury was replenishing our food stock with an almost inflamed passion. Frag and Ricochet, for some reason, had retreated in their rooms, though still causing a very noticeable name.

Gum sat at the table, working at ad nauseam in her paperback diary, which somehow remains our most remarkable feat in this digital future of ours. With my bag of goodies, I walked over to Gum first while she worked on some small targets and asked her the same question I've been asking for days now.

"Has he changed?"

"No, he's been eating Fury's meals and has been using the bathroom at least. But he hasn't left his room for anything else. I'm getting seriously worried about him now," she said in a grave tone.

At that point, anger and exhaustion formed over my subtle peace. I braced myself for what I was about to do. All the talks and kumbaya crap in the world aren't going to get Eternus out of this. Eternus got cut from the same cloth; this world only gives us our own two fists to get our point across. So it was now high time for me to be the fixer-upper around here.

"Don't worry; I'll take it from here," I said as I kicked open my door.

For the first time in a while, the sunlight had finally reached my domain, showing evidence of hundreds of thrown-together items that I've pulled out over the years. From pebbles to parsnips, tops to tobacco, and wires to wicks, I kept them all in here for the eventual day they could get used. Gum and Fury call it messy; I call it my workshop away from. Because, unlike the other Cons, I don't have the luxury of being "clean."

Every one of their powers is reliable in some way. Hell, even Frag gets up knowing he's a walking, not talking time bomb. Decades of experience have made it crystal clear that this is where I peak. Honestly, I still don't know where I get my stuff from; at first, I thought it was just me taking some poor sap's beloved trinket, but it's honestly possible that these come from a different dimension entirely.

Either way, it seems that my limit is five random handheld items every 24 hours once I reach my limit. The items themselves can be weapons, but I don't think they can't be anything that would pose an immediate danger to me. It's almost a sick cosmic joke. All the riches in the world are possibly right at my fingertips, only to end up with rags nearly every single time. And having a power you can't count on is like being born a cripple.

So to win in this muddy marathon called life, I'm more than happy to take a leg if it means I pull through. I'm more than happy to live like a packrat so I can have my full arsenal right in front of me. And I'm more than happy to do what needs to get done. So after throwing my good bag on the bed, I grabbed an old school Lousiville Slugger plus a few other assortments, and I got to work by knocking off Eternus' doorknob right off its hinges!

With a vengeance, I grabbed the sorry sad sack and dragged him into the living room! I dropped the man like a sack of potatoes, his eyes glazed over. The look itself pissed me off, even more, raising the bat and striking him with full force! However, all that meant nothing as Eternus caught my strike, looking back at me with his dead eyes now fully revived, fringes of that hateful aura started to wisp out of his body as he spoke.

"What the hell was that for Port? I'm not in the mood for bullshit right now."

I tried getting the bat out of his grip, but Eternus was far too strong, getting up with his visible injuries still very much present. The man almost looked like he was some vengeful, but that didn't stop me from speaking my mind as the other Cons walked in as spectators.

"Well, I'm not; I'm trying to knock some sense into you; I'm tired of all this self-loathing bullcrap," I said while grabbing a switchblade that swipes near his hand.

Instinctively Eternus decided to let go and back away as he made his point clear. Silently and dismissively, he tried walking away, apathetically avoiding our fight. Those eyes brought back bad memories, boiling my blood even more as I raised my bat.

"Don't you dare ignore me; I want you to tell me why?! Why on god's polluted earth are you more miserable than usual?! Because last time I checked, we beat Omna, got the cash, beat Damage, and got away scot-free. This is the most wins we've ever had, so elaborate, Eternus, why are we not getting off our asses and celebrating!?"

Eternus' rage finally peaked at that moment, revealing the answer to all my questions.

"BECAUSE HE DIDN'T HAVE TO DIE!!!!!," he said adamantly.

Those six words held more power than any weapon in my arsenal as all The Cons stood in silent shock. Eternus was so emotional he didn't even bother letting the sentence breathe.

"He didn't have to die, Port! We shouldn't have even gotten to that point! I didn't ask to be like him, lording over life and death like it was some freaking game! Yet I enjoyed every single second of it, right until that man, that human fucking being stopped existing. And from that, I felt happier than I've ever had. I thought I was better than that, but if I'm not, we're not better than that. So then what was ever the fucking point of doing all this?" he said while shedding solemn tears.

Years of resolve and spite melted away, revealing nothing more than the shattered psyche swirling beneath his beaten skin. And as his subtle cries tore away at my heartstrings. At that point, dried wit and introversion shattered as I laid my cards on the table.

Selfish emotion guided my hand as I took the switchblade and stabbed it into Eternus' hand, much to everyone's surprise! I took advantage of his surprise and gravity, putting my bat to his throat and a foot to his neck. Even with his middle finger cut from his body, Eternus remained stone-faced and crying while I took his spotlight.

"I always knew you were stupid, but I didn't think you were actually braindead! Did you actually think that we were better all this time!? Did you honestly think you were the only one of us we killed?! Because newsflash Eternus you're not, or did you forget we are literally the worst of the worst?! And all the excuses in the world won't change that! At the end of the day, we steal, hurt, and kill to get what we want. But, unfortunately, we don't have the luxury nor the power of all that code of ethics bullshit, so stop pretending that we can get peace without a little war and stop pretending that it wasn't him or us that night!!!"

At that moment, Gum pulled me away from Eternus. And in my fevered resistance, I stared at the man who reminded me far too much of myself.