"Ahh rubbish mate, just try it! It's not like you are eating bollocks or anything," Will said.

    "No, that's not why I'm worried," I said distracted, as Tristen got closer.

    "Don't be a damp squib! Just have a gander at it! Ay mate, don't look now, but it looks like a kerfuffle is headed this way," Will said nodding as Tristen sat down beside me. I gave Will a look that I hoped said to him, "No dip Sherlock."

    "Hello Tristen. Do you need something...?" I asked.

    "I heard you were walking with my fiancé," he said with a deadly look. He looked so serious that I couldn't help it, and I burst out laughing, my laughter causing Will to laugh with me.

    "Who... ha ha ha ha... who in their right mind... ha ha ha ha... would say yes... ha ha ha ha... to you?" I asked, laughing my ass off the whole time, mirth in my eyes. Yes, I know I'm an asshole at times, but you really can't blame me.

    "Ha ha ha ha, they must have lost the plot mate... ha ha ha ha... because he is absolutely... ha ha ha... minging!" Will exclaimed, causing both of us to convulse into more laughter. Even if some of the shit Will says makes no sense what so ever, he was still a pretty good friend and I was glad to have someone to laugh with.

    "Shut up! Both of you!" Tristen barked at us. It took a moment, but we both managed to stop laughing.

    "So who is the... hmmph... lucky girl...?" I asked, trying not to burst into laughter all over again.

    "Gabriella Estrella, if you must know," he said smugly. My heart dropped, and I felt cold and clammy.

    "Seriously mate? I can't believe you won her over proper jammy," Will said with disbelief. Proper Jammy? What the heck does that even mean? Is this guy even British?

    "Believe it, mate," Tristen said in a mocking British voice, then laughed, got up from the table, and walked off.

    "Well, at least he forgot to throw a wobbly on us, right? This is a real cock up..." Will said.

    "Yeah... sure..." I said quietly. Beside Will's... gibberish... I felt... empty. Like Gabby filled something inside me. But I don't really care about her... right?

    "Don't be a blue bloke now! Not like you cared much anyways," Will said, as if he read my mind. We sat there in silence for a moment, and the bell finally rang.

    "Well, I'll see ya later," Will said, and walked off. I went through the rest of my day dazed. Even in Chem. With Gabby, I didn't speak much, and avoided eye contact as much as I possibly could. Finally, the last bell rang. Like a machine, I went to my locker got my stuff, and left the school. I didn't feel like being Knifeslinger at the moment, so I took the long way home, aka walking. This might take me quite a few hours. I got about five miles when a car came behind me and started honking. I walked over to the driver's side to see Marie at the wheel.

    "Get in," she ordered. I didn't really want to ride with her but something about her tone told me that I needed to get in. I walked to the passenger side and got in.

    "Something is up, and you better tell me now or I will jump out of this car," I told her.

    "Don't be smart with me, now you better answer my questions honestly, because you are in some deep shit," she stated angrily, shooting me a dirty look occasionally.

    "What are you talking about?" I asked.

    "I'm asking the questions here. Where were you Saturday and Sunday?" she asked me.

    "Saturday I was at Gabriella Estrella's house for a good chunk of the afternoon, and afterward I was at my base, doing little things here and there. Sunday, I slept in till like one in the morning, then just sat around being lazy. I wasn't that productive," I said with a chuckle.

    "And you swear that you weren't anywhere else?" she asked.

    "I swear," I said.

    "Swear on Jenny's life," she said. Suddenly it felt as if someone punched me.

    "Jen is dead," I said bluntly.

    "Yes, I know, and you know what I mean. Swear on her grave Leonardo," Marie said. Now I knew that something serious happened. She never, and I repeat, NEVER, has called me Leonardo. And she dared to mention Jen too.

    "I swear on Jennifer Sutton's grave. Now for God's sake, what is going on?" I asked.

    "Someone is out there killing people dressed and acting like you. I heard about the chemical factory but as you said, you were only there for five minutes. On Saturday, at the dock I sent you to steal that package a few days earlier, they found the dead bodies of a bunch of guards that were there. All the bodies were unidentifiable except one. Does the name Ilya Sokolov mean anything to you?" she asked me. I thought about it for a second. Russian name...

    "Nope, doesn't ring any bells. I'm guessing he is the one they identified?" I asked.

    "That is correct. Like I already said. Anyways, at the crime scene they found your mark seared onto the bodies of the victims, and the bodies were arranged to look like your mark," she said. How interesting...

    "Sounds... sort of like something I would do. It's got the extra extravagance I like to add," I said.

    "This is serious Leo! And to top it all off, the mayor of Fenross was murdered, and his head was chopped off and sent to the mayor of Slowsilver with a note saying he was next! All of this with your mark at the scene!" Marie exclaimed frantic.

    "So what? Even if I'm not one for murder, this boosts my street credit! And Mayor Ambrosone needs a good scare. I'll look good to the other villains again, and be feared by wannabe heroes! Just like the old days! Everyone would think twice before crossing my path," I said nonchalantly.

    "So, you are fine with this? Because the other day you were freaking out about being framed for crimes you didn't commit! And this is serious shit! More than petty crimes! More than kidnapping some guy! Knifeslinger is a monster, me and you know that. You remember the terror you spread as villain master? Yet you act as if you are guiltless. Maybe Leo left me at the White House, but I refuse to see you like this," She yelled at me, ecstatic.

    "Look Marie, this is just what I need! Petty crimes and kidnapping don't make me a true villain! To Helix I'm just child's play! I've thought about this. I enjoyed being top dog, I enjoyed the power! No one could stop Knifeslinger! I don't care if this is the T.G.C.A.'s way of framing me for whatever it's planning!" I exclaimed.

    "Did you say the T.G.C.A.?" she asked, suddenly calm. 

    "Yes...?" I said confused.

    "That's who I had you steal from... but that doesn't make any sense..." she said distracted.

    "I stole that crate from them? Why would they kill their own guys though?" I asked her.

    "That's what I was asking myself..." she said.

    "Look, I'll try and get in contact with the Conglomerates. I'm decent friends with The Conductor, maybe I can get some information for you, if it'll make you happy. But I'm not going back to being small," I told her.

    "Yes... you do that for me, understand? And I'm not dropping this conversation. I feel something big is going on and I don't like the sound of it..." she said.

    "I understand," I said.

    "Look, don't do anything stupid," she said, coming to a halt outside of my home.

    "I can't promise that love. I need to keep my façade up. Be a real villain," I said, getting out.

    "Come on Leo... this is a dangerous path. Last time you wanted to make someone out of yourself, you got really hurt," she said.

    "This isn't last time! I'm stronger! I'm better than I was last time! You don't even understand!" I exclaimed, and with that, slammed, the car door and stalked off. The last time was my fault. I did not plan enough, I was stupid, reckless, and young. Now I'm more powerful. My powers are stronger now. Team Amazing won't stop me again.

    It was supposed to be an easy job. That's what I told myself. Kill the president. Marie didn't have to know about it. She would find out eventually, but I would figure out what to do with her later. This would get the world's attention. Show Helix Double that I was a force to be reckoned with. It went easy at first. Get my hacking contact to take down the electronic security, I would do the rest. I got in, took out a few guards. Started feeling too good. Got lazy. Played around too much with my prey. I found out I could not dodge all bullets. I got caught by surprise by a group of soldiers. I had tripped an invisible alarm that my hacker guy forgot to turn off. I was over confident. I was able to take down three of the five people, but got shot. Five bullet wounds from an automatic pistol. One of the soldiers had hidden it on his body. 

    I got away. I wasn't about to give up now. I injected myself with some adrenaline, just to help keep the pain away and make me stronger, or at least feel stronger. Got to the oval office, and ran into Team Amazing. I fought them the best I could. I kept it up, put up a fight, but the adrenaline started wearing down. Each blow hurt more and more. I started realizing that I wasn't going to win. I managed to get away, but I was broken for many months. And then I fought my way to the top of the chain. I embraced true evil. This time will be different. I won't fail at this.