Dave was always the life of the party, joking and keeping everyone entertained. Gus thought back and realized that he had no idea that Dave was struggling with anything.
Have I been so caught up in my own drama that I couldn’t see that anyone else needed anything?
He’d have to get better at improving his awareness of others. Especially those who meant a lot to him. If he couldn’t do that, how did he expect to be this great hero? He was ‘saving’ psychopaths, and not there for his friends. Not a great start.
“Sorry for killing the mood, man. We can talk about something else if you want.”
“No, it’s not you, I was just thinking. Hey—if I was too into my own stuff to not be there for you, I want to apologize, man. I had no idea, but I feel like I should have.”
“Don’t blame yourself, Gus. It’s something that I thought I had a handle on, and it turns out I didn’t. Just stupid of me trying to hide from my problems, knowing what I know. It’s a stupid pride thing, but I didn’t want you guys to think less of me. Sometimes life pours it on though, and even though you know better, you betray yourself. At least that’s how it is for me. Everything happened at once, I got really down and fell back to old patterns. I’m just glad you guys haven’t seen me at my worst.”
“I don’t think any less of you, Dave. You know that, right? I doubt any of the rest of us feel any differently than I do, either. And while I probably have been a little checked-out and into my own thing in the past, I’m putting all my crap on hold if you need something. Got it?”
“You’re gonna make me all weepy,” Dave mockingly sobbed.
“I’m serious, man. You know all the drama I’ve had with my dad. Some of what I’ve gone through on the island was crap, but it helped me grow up, at least a little. At times I acted like a little bitch, and I see that now. My perspective is a little different, and hopefully, you get that my bros are a priority now more than ever. All of you have been a rock for me and carried me in the past, when you probably didn’t know what I was going through. Some days I was more down than you knew, down on myself, upset from something that happened with my father or brother, and just being around the gang boosted me and made me forget all the garbage. In hindsight, it probably wasn’t even that significant, but it was to me, and you guys were there. So thanks.”
“No problem. I should have trusted you guys more; I think I had convinced myself that I didn’t need help. Or that asking would come off as weak, somehow. Too late to worry about the past though, amirite? If things work out for me legally, then I’m going to be calling you on your promise. Don’t get too busy saving the world. I won’t lie, I’ll probably be a damn pest about it, too.”
“Bring it,” Gus said, laughing.
“Well, what do we talk about now that we’ve aired our dirty laundry?” Dave asked, his voice returning to its typical jovial quality.
“Well, I’m going to need some eyes and ears back home to figure out what threats I can expect. I don’t know who is coming or the scope of what I’m dealing with. Can you look up anything you can find out about a guy named Methiochos?”
“How do you spell that?”
“M-E-T-H-I-O-C-H-O-S.”
“Okay, but why? Isn’t that the guy you beat?”
“Yeah, but that message said that they were going to ‘reclaim what was theirs.’ That makes me think that he must have stolen it from someone else. I’d like to know a little bit more about who that could be, if I could. It might help me better prepare. If you find him, see if there’s anything about the manor, who built it, and what its capabilities are. There might be nothing, since it seems like great lengths were taken to keep it secret.”
“Got it. That it?” Dave replied, obviously scribbling things down.
“Any idea how my dad is doing?”
“Sorry, can’t say that I do. He hasn’t reached out to us or anything.”
“Well, I can’t say that I’m surprised,” Gus grumbled.
“Yeah, I’ll bet you’re probably used to it by now. Still sucks though.”
“Alright, when is a good time to call you back? I don’t even know what day of the week it is.”
“Must be nice on your tropical getaway. It’s Thursday, fool.”
“Okay, I’ll call you next Thursday, around this time. Cool?”
“Yeah, totally, totes magoats.”
“Later, bro. Good talking with you,” Gus replied, laughing.
“Catch ya later. I’ll try to see what Chuck has been up to, he could help. Good talk.”
Gus clicked off the connection and sat there with a stupid smile on his face. Even hearing Dave’s bad news and being reamed by him for his own idiocy, it was good to talk to him again. Maybe he could even do something to help him out when he made it back to the mainland.
Gus reached for the keyboard, about to contact his dad, but thought better of it. Maybe later. He didn’t want to spoil the feeling he had right now. No bad vibes. At least for a while.
Chapter Ten
Incredibad
“Basileus, you will be in charge. Anyone who ignores his orders will be terminated… in every sense of the word. Understand?” The group of supers nodded their agreement to the orders. Archon turned and headed up the
