The radio played loudly in a boy's bedroom of a dirty apartment in the Bronx. Four young boys gathered around a television set, making a great deal about how awesome a new video game was. One of the boys was really good, and he often came by to play the game with his friends, even letting him sleep over just so he didn't have to walk home in the late-night hours. Today was no exception, he had arrived at the apartment Friday night, and it was already Sunday morning. He only rested for sleep, which amounted to 22 hours, due to his lack of sleep at home. Finally, a knock came to the door and the father of the apartment stood in the door-frame. He informed the boy that his parents called and said that they would be over to pick him up if he didn't come home immediately. It took a lot of persuading from his friends, but he finally packed his stuff and went home.

The boy walked through the front door of his small house in one of the older neighborhoods. Before he could take off both of his shoes, his parents came marching up to him. "Where have you been Lon?" his mother shouted with some blood dripping from her lips.

"Out like usual, momma" the boy replied in a passive tone.

"Out playing that Halo shit with those boys again, aren't ya?" his father added "instead of doing your homework and chores, like your supposed too."

"Whatever," Lonnie snapped back as he walked passed the pair, "I'll get to them." Within an instant, young Lonnie felt a crushing grip on the back of his neck. He felt himself fold over slightly from the force and heard the thundering sound of his father's voice echo throughout the house.

"Don't be smart with me boy. Do we need to have a talk again?" Lonnie never really liked to 'talk' with his dad, even though he didn't give him much of a choice most of the time. He would find himself in these uncomfortable circumstances after dinner or he would barge into his room while he was sleeping to express his thoughts.

He sniffled a bit before saying that he didn't want to have another talk. "Exactly," his father fired back and releasing his grip, "now get yo ass in your room. I expect that homework done when I get back from the game." He grabbed his jacket and stormed out of the house, leaving Lonnie and his mother standing quietly in the main hallway.

"Goddamnit, Lonnie Thompson Lincoln," she exclaimed, "why must you always be away for so long." Tears were streaming down her bruise cheeks, and her lips shivered as she spoke.

"You know exactly why momma," he retorted.

"You know your father is a very impatient man."

"I know I know, and I have to wonder how is it that you put up with him for the past 14 years."

"Your daddy has been nothing but protective of us for as long as I've been with him." Lonnie scoffed at this show of affection and proceeded to the staircase, while his mother continued to lecture. "It may not seem like it, but he truly cares for us."

"I can't believe you're seriously saying this shit" he groaned as he ascended the stairs.

She shouted up back up to him, "He's a good man, Lon..."

"A good man because he beats me?" he said turning around quickly atop the staircase. His posture was firm, his abdomen slightly crunched trying to keep himself contained. His hands were in tight fists, and he felt like connecting them with something to let his anger out. He breathed deeply as he stared down at his scornful, yet guilt-filled mother. "Answer me mom, is he a good man because he beats me? Is he a good man because he beats you? What about him make him such a good man."

Lonnie's mother's head hung so low, she could've been a hunchback. The expression on her face was one of massive confusion and regret. Her bruised eyes sparkled in the little streams of tears that were running quickly as she tried to hold them back. "Lonnie, I know. Ok..., I know. I know that his actions don't make him a good man, but I need you here with me."

"Why would I ever want to be with you while he's around?"

She slowly starts to climb the stairs to approach him, his emotions settle with every word she speaks. "Because you're my hero Lon. Every time you come home on time, do want your asked, or even accomplish something, he becomes the proud father he always dreamt of being. And when he's like that, it keeps the both of us safe." She reaches the top and reaches out to rub her son's arms in comfort. "Please son, we both know we can't just make him stop. So why don't we make it up to him by doing the best we can to make him proud."

Lonnie thought long and hard about everything she said. To her credit, he did often leave him alone if he was accomplished in school or some other outlet. He breathed heavily, feeling his mother's touch as she rubbed her hands up and down his upper arm. He didn't know why, but that feeling of his mother always supporting him made him feel safe, just as she felt safe with him.

"Fine," he said reluctantly, "I'll try to let you guys know where I am next time." His mother smiled as they embraced in a warm hug. With his head pressed against her chest he mumbled, "I don't mean to make you worried momma."

"I know baby..., I know." They held each other lovingly for a few more seconds before she sent him to his room to finish his homework. When the boy reached his bedroom, he dropped his bag on the floor next to his small desk and plopped down on the bed to think things through for a moment. He stared blankly at the white ceiling above him, noting the cracks that had formed from age. There, he thought about ways he could be successful, make his mother and father proud, and hopefully never having to go through another 'talk' with him again.

---- ---- ---- ---- ----

Back in the present day, a group of adolescent boys and a couple adults are all chilling in an abandoned subway station. Some of the boys are messing around with a basketball in the back, while others are taking inventory of a collection of stolen phones, watches, and tablets. They unpack each item and place them in their respective piles set by the young man laying down not too far away from their prize. He laid out staring at the cracked cement ceiling above, thinking about the life he had lived. However, his thoughts were soon interrupted when a tall shadow cast over his face. He looked to the side to see a familiar face standing over him and smiling.

"Man, you look like you're seeing a shrink" Kevin joked.

"Ha," Lonnie smiled, "with the life I grew up with, some people would say I should." The two laughed at his joke, and Lonnie sat back up, brushing away the dirt in his black and silver streaked hair with his hands. "How's everything looking?" he asked his friend.

"We're looking good," Kevin replied with a positive tone, "we have everything that we need, and we reached out to a guy that knows how to upgrade tech."

"How many people know about our little celebration?" Lonnie asked.

"Pretty much anyone that is an acquaintance of these boys."

"Excellent, should be quite the party." They both smiled to each other before hearing some footsteps from behind.

J-Mac came up behind them and smirked, "A piece of cake, like I said it would be." he gestured his hands to everything around them as he referred to their heist at the tech shop. Lonnie and Kevin nodded in agreement. "Sure as hell glad we got to squish a bug in the process" he continued.

"Man, that felt good," Lonnie said giving J-Mac a fist bump, "but as good as it was, he still poses a problem. And if everyone knows about the party like you say Kev, it may be difficult to go unnoticed."

"Lon," Kevin cut in, "everybody is going to be having a party that night. Why would we have to worry. What would make our party any different than everyone else's?"

"Because he's seen me and J-Mac's face, twice in J-Mac's case" Lonnie explained. "If he's smart, he'll know that the best night to make a move is when it's difficult to tell the difference between a gun shot and a firecracker."

"Should we call off the party?" Kevin suggested.

"That's dumb," J-Mac interrupted, "we've already got almost a hundred-people coming. We can't just tell them the party's off. What we need is a distraction. Something to keep the web-head's attention away from the party, and so everything goes on without hitch. I have an idea on how we could do that, if you're in."

Lonnie smiled, "I'm all ears."

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A/N-  Guess who's back!! Glad I'm back after a long absence. I've formed some ideas and concepts over the past three weeks, and can now safely say that updates are back to a weekly schedule.

This chapter could have gone in 3 different directions, but I ultimately went for this one. Is it short, yes. Is it a story worth telling, maybe. I just know that in my gut, it's going to be difficult to write a decent narrative for any villain, so hopefully you guys are liking Tombstone's story.

Hope you guys enjoyed the chapter. Leave a vote if you did, and don't forget to express your thoughts in the comments. Feedback (positive or negative) is always appreciated.

Until next time, BYE!!!