NOW

"Lonnie, you f*cking son of a bitch!" J-Mac cried out, recovering from the hard hit he had just taken from his friend. His knelt on the pavement of the alleyway, summoning enough strength to stand. When he did, he saw Lonnie looking him dead in the eye with a ghostly expression of calming anger. "You ain't got nothing to do with this!" J-Mac continued shouting, lunging at his attacker. Some of the detergent covering his shoes made contact with the ground, causing him to slip and lose balance. Though he was able to throw a punch, the slipping redirected his swing, completely missing his target. Lonnie didn't spare anytime in throwing his own punch right in J-Mac's stomach. The force made J-Mac slip again, this time falling onto his back. He groaned at the impact of the punch, as well as hitting the pavement.

"Doesn't matter man," Lonnie barked at him. "Why is she here." He pointed down to where  J-Mac had been choking out Michelle and Felicia, the two girls still recovering from the violent act. Lonnie stood over his friend, waiting for him to respond.

"She was here to stop us, man. Like she did with Spidey earlier" he lied, making it seem like Lonnie had been pointing at Felicia.

"Don't f*cking play with me" Lonnie scolded fiercely. "You know who I was talking about."

"Man, F*CK YOU! You know why, why you need me to say it?"

Lonnie paused for a moment, completely dumbfounded that J-Mac pursued Michelle despite his attempts to hold him back. In despair, his turned around and looked upon the two girls on the ground. Michelle had lifted Felicia's head into her lap, trying to keep her awake until the moment was over. To Lonnie, Michelle looked so scared for the blonde's life, yet so calm that she could provide aide. Lonnie turned back to his partner.

"No... " J-Mac's head perks up at Lonnie's disturbed voice. "No...," a little more disturbed, "I can't have you doin that."

"Ha," J-Mac teased, "And whatcha gonna do about it." He crunched his body up until he sat up, his arms and hand on the ground supporting him up. "You and I are thick as thieves, cool as ice. Tighter than any family we've ever had. You'd never hurt me." And in a hesitant, soft voice, Lonnie responded back with a hint of regret that he must do what he knows he is capable of.

"You'd be surprised what I can do to those closest to me."

PAST

It should have been the best day of Lonnie's life. An "A" on his Algebra Test and he had just made the varsity basketball team as a Freshman. So logically he would expect that his parents would be proud of his achievements, shower down endless helpings of appreciation for his perseverance. It only made sense that this was undoubtedly the outcome when he got home. Sadly, life isn't always as happy as one thinks.

Young Lonnie came home to his father charging toward him, grabbing him by the throat and dragging him to the living room. He was so confused as to what was going on, especially after all the good that had happened in the day. His father dragged him until they reached the couch, where he violently threw Lonnie like a rag-doll. Lonnie composed himself, preparing to ask why this was happening. He looked up at his angry father as he struggled to unbuckle his belt. The figure of his mother stood in the background in front of the window. Her face seemed wet, probably from the tears of whatever hell her husband had put upon her before Lonnie entered the house. She frowned painfully, as if she couldn't stand to watch everything unfolding.

"You always have to ruin things for us, don't you boy!" his father growled, slapping the butt-end of his belt against Lonnie's side. Lonnie jolted from the sharp pain. His father not wasting another second striking him a second time.

"I didn't do anything, I swear..." he pleaded.

"No f*ckin' kidding," his father said, "you never had done anything. You never will do anything. You've never committed yourself to anything." Lonnie was even more confused; his father was being very vague about his motives.

"Now because of your stupidity, we might just loose the house."

"What?!" Lonnie asked, "why am I being blamed for that?" Another crack of the belt struck his arm, and Lonnie groaned in pain.

"Are you really that stupid, son?" the angry man exclaimed. "No wonder your mother spent all of last night helping you with your homework. And she slept til the bank closed, so we'll be late on our mortgage payment."

"But she wasn't helping me," the boy cut-in, "she was..."

"SHE WAS WHAT!? On a trip to the moon, when will your lying stop!" his father shouted, and stuck him once again, repeatedly.

Lonnie's mother continued to watch from the back. Her eyes slightly looking away from the horror in front of him, but the sound of it was too much to bare as well, so she just left the room all together. She knew in her heart that she was solely responsible for not turning in the money on time. However, she did just want a piece of happiness, some time to not worry about her husband beating on her. She needed to survive just as Lonnie needed to, but she also needed to have some freedom. Maybe that's why see called her work friends over the night before and drank a little more than she should have, to earn back some freedom.

Lonnie on the other hand, was not gaining any freedom from this. Even after showing his father the Algebra Test and telling him about making the team, Lonnie didn't earn anymore respect. All because his mother set him up to take the fall. And it's not like all the beating mattered in the end, for the bank allowed them to keep the house, just with an additional charge for being late. But Lonnie was fed up with the life he was enduring. Constantly trying to please his parents, to avoid the brutality of his father, to live up to the expectations of everyone else. He couldn't take it anymore, but he never expressed it to anyone. He just bottled it up inside, letting it build with every hit, strike, or kick that came when they thought he screwed up again. It just kept building, and building, for months, increasing the amount of anger he had toward those sworn to raise and protect him. Some protection, he often thought that he was in more danger with them than with anybody else. But again, he never showed it, until the time came.

*** *** ***

It was just under a year after that beating, and the family had taken a day out into the city. They were strolling through Bryant Park near the library, when a bright blue beam of energy shot up into the sky, creating a giant wormhole. The family looked up in awe and confusion, wondering what was going on. Soon after, thousands of small space-cruisers zoomed through the wormhole with aliens on-board  and opened fire on the city. Large alien snake creatures also came down, slamming themselves into buildings and causing a lot of damage. People ran and panicked from the alien invasion, frantically looking for shelter. The family ran too, straight up 42nd Street. They hoped the library would be open to take shelter, but it turns out the library was closed.

They spotted a small bank a block ahead and settled on that, but before they could reach it, a squad of alien cruisers stormed down the avenue. Led by a man in green and gold garbs, the cruisers rained down hell with their blasters, creating a large fireball that engulfed a large section of the block. Dozens of cars and trucks flipped over, the ground rumbling from the explosions, and many civilians and police officers fled for cover. Lonnie felt a wave of uncertainty as the black smoke from the blast surrounded the area, obscuring his sight from everything around him, and all he could logically think about was how to survive, just like everyone else was trying to do.

The smoke cleared and the first thing he saw was his mother reaching for his hand and asking where his father was. She frantically searched in all directions, but Lonnie found him almost instantly. He was edged under a taxi that had been flipped over from the blast. Both of his legs were stuck underneath, and his bald head was bleeding from the pieces of rubble that hit him. Lonnie paused for a moment, looking at his father helplessly trying to free himself. He thought about telling his mother that he found him but didn't.

"He's not here, let's go" he exclaimed to his mother, trying to lead her away from where his father was.

"He is here," she pleaded, "why are you so ignorant? We have to find him."

"Momma, he's probably dead, and by the time we find him we'll be dead too."

"I can't believe that, I won't believe that."

"Fine," Lonnie hollered, "you won't accept the truth, then I'll show you where he is." Lonnie walked back to where he saw his father and pointed him out to her. Her reaction was one of relief and horror, as she saw him struggling to fight against the heavy car pinning him down. "Here he is" Lonnie barked at his mother, "even if we free him, he won't survive the attack, no matter how long it lasts."

"We can't just leave him, Lonnie. We need to help him."

Lonnie was growing more and more annoyed that his mother was siding with his abusive father in recent months. He thought that now in a scenario where they could be free of his torment, they would be able to live their lives peacefully going forward.

"You want me to help him..." he said to her, turning around and climbing over a hill of rubble away from his parents. His mother watched him in confusion as he walked away and bent down reaching for something. When he came walking back, his face seemed stressed, as if he was having difficulty carrying something. When he stood at the top of the hill, his mother's eyes expanded in reaction to what he had in his arms.

A large chunk of a building was just barely staying in Lonnie's clutches. His knuckles turned pale from the massive weight as he carefully came down the hill to the spot in front of his father. "Lonnie..." his mother said worried, "don't do you're thinking. It won't make up what he has done to us."

"US?" he exclaimed, "You think that you're being abused as much as I am. YOU ABANDONED ME! YOU LET ME TAKE THE FALL FOR ALL YOUR MISTAKES! WHY, TO SAVE YOUR SCARED ASS FROM GETTING HURT! Now you want to spare his life after watching EVERYTHING he's done to me, while you stood aside and let it happen!

"If you do this son," she pleaded, "you won't have a place with me no more."

"I already don't, so why threaten me?" His mother broke into tears, falling to her knees as she watched Lonnie muster enough strength to lift the chunk of concrete over his head. He breathed through his teeth from the amount of work it took to keep it in control, and he looked down upon his father as his eyes begged for mercy.

"PLEASE!" his mother shrieked, and Lonnie looked back to her. "Lonnie, I'm sorry. Just don't do this. I can change. I can help you through whatever pain is driving you."

"The only pain I've had to endure are from you two. His constant beating, your constant lying, sabotaging everything good about my life." He hesitated for a moment to reset his hold on the block in his hands. The burning sensation of lifting, plus the slow release of anger toward his mother culminating into an emotional trigger to everything he said and did. "Daddy always criticized me for not being focused on what is important. And the only thing important to me is to survive, even if it means getting rid of my abusive parents." He looked down at his dad one last time, and in his eyes for the first time, saw all the regret he had for abusing his son. In Lonnie's mind, he had every right to think this way. He was at the end of his rope and it gave his father a chance to think about what he had done to him. But frankly, Lonnie didn't care about what he was thinking. He had his chance to apologize, to make amends, to do things right, but he was too late.

"Y-you do t-this" his father muttered, "y-you carve out your o-own... t-tombstone."

Lonnie gave a demeaning smug as his father tried to beat his words into him once more. "I don't have to listen to you anymore..." he taunted, his adrenaline starting to spike. "You're dead to me."

He screamed violently as he hurled the large boulder at his father's head. His motion was brief and smooth, hitting his target with great accuracy. The sound of the skull crunching blended with the sound of stone crumbling to the ground, creating a terrifying sight to behold. When the dust cleared, his father's face was punch inwards, no longer displaying any features that would identify him. Lonnie looked at him with no regret, believing himself free from his father's tyranny.

His mother screamed from a few feet away, almost matching the sound of the large leviathan roaring overhead. She charged for her husband's body, trying to find some comfort. She came up to Lonnie and he shoved her into the rubble.

"You son of a bitch" she yelled at her son.

"Says the bitch" Lonnie replied, walking away from the scene. His mother took offence to the comment and threw a pebble at his head. Though it was a very weak toss, the fact that it still hit Lonnie was enough for him to get angry. And with no hesitation, he charged his mother and started swinging away, left and right. The bruises that formed on her face turned red and black rapidly, and each grunt that escaped her mouth became less heavy as each fist shook her body. Lonnie never stopped, and when he did, he finished his assault with a strong double-fisted smash to the center of her face, completely denting her forehead.

Lonnie stood up, staring at the lifeless bodies of his parents for a moment before running away to safety. As he ran, the realization of what he had committed struck home, and a few small tears started to stream down his face.

NOW

Lonnie stared down at J-Mac, still wondering whether he should show the same brutality he gave his parents. He looked back to Michelle and Felicia, who had woken from her beaten state. They both watched in anticipation for what the two gangsters would do to each other.

"I asked you to not to go anywhere near her" he said to J-Mac, "and I can tolerate most of the shit you do, but I won't stand for your lustful crusades anymore."

"Fine," J-Mac sneered, "have it your way." He reached behind his back and activated another small grenade and tossed it at Lonnie's face. Lonnie anticipated some surprise maneuver and swatted the incoming projectile to the side. J-Mac jumped to his feet and lashed out at his friend. Lonnie felt a fist hit his left cheek, and he stepped back from the force. He squared up ready to fight, and J-Mac launched himself at him, sending both to the floor next to the girls as the grenade went off behind them all.

Michelle and Felicia crawled away from the brawl, seeking rest against a nearby garage. Felicia groaned a bit from her injuries, but Michelle made sure she was able to rest in safety.

The boys tussled and rolled all over the alley, trading punches and shoves everywhere they went. Lonnie seemed to give the hardest blows, whenever he could get around his slippery opponent. The detergent all over J-Mac may have given him a few slipping problems, but when your wrestling around of the ground, it helps to slip out of your enemy's hands to keep yourself in the fight. At one point, J-Mac straddled himself over Lonnie, throwing punches at his face relentlessly. The large boy put his arms over his head to protect himself, but it only did so much. Suddenly, J-Mac raised his arms to deliver a double-fisted smash to the face. Seizing the opportunity, Lonnie kicked his knee up, hitting his crotch from behind and making the boy on top freeze. Lonnie flipped him over, now being the one on top. He gripped his neck with one hand and started wailing away with the other, causing the tan-skinned boy with wavy, detergent-filled hair to grunt and wheeze from a brutal suffocation. J-Mac shook and shivered within fifteen seconds of his beating, his hands and legs starting to give up on his body. He mumbled something that sounded like he said "stop," but Lonnie tightened his grip on his neck and put more force into his punches, until he felt his friend's body go completely still.

Lonnie paused, feeling the cool summer night air blow against his back. His muscles started to loosen and his conscience resuming control over his mind. The throbbing in his knuckles started to register in the pain center of his brain, and the warm blanket of blood covering his fists was dripping down as he observed his hand. He had just committed his third kill..., and he didn't know how to feel.

He looked over to Michelle and Felicia, the former standing as she observed the tall boy with blood on his hands. He could see in their eyes the true horror of what they had just witnessed. Two boys, with no super powers or weapons to protect them, had just fought to the death, and one of them made it out alive. Nothing you would see on T.V. or some video game that would look cool, it was the raw, natural power of two human beings trying to kill each other.

Lonnie didn't know what to say or do. He just stood up and shifted his gaze between the girls and boy he had called his friend and partner. A quiver took hold of his lip as the realization hit him, and he couldn't fight how much he hated the morality of his actions. It didn't help either that the girls were looking at him like he was some form of monster.

Suddenly, some commotion was going on a few houses down. Police sirens were rolling up to the party and officers were swarming the house from the front. Lonnie became frightful about what he could be facing. Also, he spotted Spider-Man land on top of the house, watching the cops storm the house.

Not wanting to find out what will become of him, he looked at the girls and J-Mac one last time before running off into the darkness of the alley in the opposite direction. Michelle walked after him a bit, trying to stop him, but he was gone before she could say anything.

Within seconds, Spider-Man landed on one of the garages in the alley and sighed in relief that Michelle was okay. He then looked to an exhausted Felicia and J-Mac's dead body in the spotlight and couldn't help but say, "What happened?"

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A/N- Hey guys, long time no update. I just realized that I didn't give you a time when I would be posting this in the last chapter. I do apologize for not letting you know, but I hope this enough to make-up for it. Anyway, I hope you liked the chapter.

Wrapping up Lonnie's backstory, and the reasons for why he does things. I may take it a little further in an upcoming chapter, but it will be relatively small compared to the three chapters dedicated to telling his story. Now we know why he's called Tombstone.

Again, I hope you all liked the chapter. Leave a vote if you did, and don't forget to express your thoughts in the comments.

Next chapter in two weeks. Until next time, BYE!!!