“So,” the Monkey King began, his face a mask of cold neutrality. “You’ve killed a man.”

  “Yes,” Ethan replied robotically. He sat on his legs in the middle of Uncle Sunny’s cave as the Monkey King paced around him. Nothing had changed in his progenitor’s dwelling, yet the atmosphere felt oppressive. Every rustle of leaves, drop of water, and padded footstep of the Monkey King echoed as loud as a rumbling gong as Ethan sat on the ground and waited for judgment.

  The moment Ethan returned to his base after dumping Cotton in the desert, he went to Mount Huaguo and told the Monkey King everything he had done. Ethan didn’t try to sugarcoat his actions, he told Uncle Sunny what happened between him and Cotton point-blank and waited for his punishment.

  Ethan might have been surprised at his eagerness to take responsibility for actions, but ever since leaving Death Valley, he’d been feeling strangely numb. The panic and nausea he felt during his flight to California were gone now, replaced by an emptiness that seemed to spread to the rest of his body. He noticed his hands shook slightly, even as he clenched them into fists and pushed them into his legs.

  Uncle Sunny continued to pace around the room, scratching his head as he pondered over the situation. While he looked like he was lost and confused, the Monkey King’s face remained stoney, stopping Ethan from guessing what Sun Wukong was thinking. All the boy could do was sit and wait for the verdict. He tried to mentally prepare for the worst, but all his mind was capable of doing at that point was take in the smoothness of the cave floor.

  Eventually, Uncle Sunny stopped pacing and picked up his staff. He then turned to Ethan and gestured for him to stand up.

  “Since you're here, we might as well continue your training.” Ethan stared at his ancestor in mute astonishment. That’s all he had to say? Ethan just admitted to murder, but Sun Wukong wants to just continue business as usual?

  Slowly, Ethan rose to his feet and cautiously observed his mentor. Ethan was itching to say something, ask why Uncle Sunny wasn’t punishing him, but he dared not push his luck. Ethan was prepared to face a death sentence for his actions, but if, for some reason, the Monkey King decided to be lenient, then he’d be foolish to mess that up.

  “Well?” Sun Wukong asked, gesturing to Ethan’s empty hands. “Are you going to arm yourself? Or do you want to fight me barehanded?”

  ‘Oh, right,’ Ethan snapped back to reality and shoved his twitching hand into his pocket. The villain was so nervous that he fumbled a bit to grab his pen-sized staff. Then, when he finally grasped the tool, Ethan forced it to enlarge too early, causing one end to get caught in the pocket and rip it open as Ethan forced the weapon out.

  “Take a moment to collect yourself,” Sun Wukong ordered, clearly unimpressed with Ethan’s fumbling. Ethan did as he was told and closed his eyes to calm himself. His mind was blank, but Ethan could feel his body twitch and writhe in place, like it was seconds away from going ballistic. Ethan took a moment to simply breathe and ease the tension within him, and slowly his body stilled.

  The next moment, the Monkey King was on him. In an instant, Sun Wukong was next to Ethan and swinging his staff towards the boy’s head. Ethan moved on instinct and raised his staff in time to block the strike. The loud clack of their sticks hitting each other brought Ethan out of his trance and forced him back to reality.

  But it also brought back the tension. The second Uncle Sunny moved back, Ethan felt his body start to tremble again. The grip on his weapon loosened as his hand was too busy twitching to hold it properly.

  The Monkey King didn’t relent. If anything, he seemed to be going faster in response to Ethan’s quivering. The First Wukong jumped forward and thrust his staff into Ethan’s face. The villain managed to block but found himself stumbling to the side. The Monkey King then vanished before Ethan’s eyes, and before the boy could wonder what happened, he felt himself roll forward and heard something swish above him.

  “You’ve got good instincts,” Uncle Sunny said from behind him. “Even with your clouded mind, they're keeping you safe. That’s good.” Ethan scrambled to his feet and then turned to face his ancestor with his staff at the ready. Sun Wukong just stood in place, his staff casually resting on his shoulder.

  “Ready to keep going?” he asked.

  “Y-Yes,” Ethan replied, trying to sound confident. The Monkey King didn’t give him time to second-guess himself. Again, he disappeared, then reappeared next to Ethan and rammed his staff into the boy’s side. Ethan did his best to block the attack and managed to avoid a painful jab, but still found himself pushed back.

  Sun Wukong continued his disappearing act, popping up all around Ethan to strike him in separate spots. Ethan did his best to keep up and counter the blows, but the Monkey King was striking faster than Ethan could block. He had a split second to worry about his body’s twitching before he shut off his mind and committed fully to defending himself.

  Ethan wasn't sure how long he stayed in that cove; all he knew was that he found himself kneeling on the ground, fruitlessly waving his stick around to block some of the storm of blows that pelted him.

  Then, slowly, Ethan managed to stand up, and he started swinging back. The boy still couldn't hit the Monkey King, but he was somehow finding openings to strike. Slowly, Ethan found himself standing up, and then he went on the offensive. Rather than wait for the Monkey King to pop up and attack him again, Ethan was now meeting him halfway and striking first. This should have been a turning point that showed Ethan a milestone the boy reached in his training, but that wasn’t what was happening.

  Ethan didn’t know where he was, but he wasn’t the one sparring with Uncle Sunny. He watched his body move on its own, swinging wildly at his opponent with reckless abandon.

  There was no martial arts finesse being used, just animalistic rage. Ethan’s body was going berserk; the tension he felt had exploded, and his muscles were lashing out without his mind’s input. The body didn’t care about training or skill; it just wanted to attack the creature that provoked it. At some point Ethan started screaming, at least, he assumed that was where the screeching noise was coming from and why his throat was hurting.

  Uncle Sunny stopped attacking Ethan and simply allowed the boy to swing at him. He dodged with so much ease it almost looked like the other Wukong just couldn’t aim properly. The frustration of missing every swing only fed Ethan’s dissociated tantrum, making him thrash about even harder. Ethan swung his staff so fast it let out a slight ringing sound as he cut through the air, but the boy still couldn’t touch the Monkey King.

  Ethan wasn’t sure how long they had moved like that, but the dance ended when something crashed against the top of Ethan’s head. The boy fell to the ground, clutching his injured cranium. He let out a choked gasp, and Ethan realized how out of breath he was. The boy blinked slowly as he tried to catch his breath. The tension was gone, and Ethan felt he was lucid again, if a bit run ragged.

  “Tell me,” the Monkey King began as he casually walked around Ethan. “Why did you kill that man?”

  “W-What?!” Ethan gasped out as he slowly rose from the ground. He didn’t have the strength to fully stand up and could only force himself to his knees, so he stayed there and tried to recover. But while his body wasn’t freaking out anymore, his mind was still too foggy to think properly. “I-I already told you why.”

  “No, you told me what led up to you killing him,” his ancestor explained. “I want you to tell me your reason why.”

  “I-It… It was because… He was going to be worse… than he already was. He was going to be an even bigger bastard than before and blame me for it. I couldn’t let him do that, so I stopped him.” Ethan continued to breathe heavily as he waited for Uncle Sunny’s response, none came, and only the boy’s panting filled the cave.

  Ethan’s mind had regained some of its functions, and it immediately started panicking over the Monkey King’s silence. Why wasn’t he saying anything? Did he not approve of Ethan’s response? He wasn’t lying; that was the reason! Maybe he was looking for something else? Before he could stop himself, Ethan opened his mouth and spewed out more of his feelings.

  “I was angry at him. Angry at how he could be so hateful and… I don’t know, proud of it? He acted so entitled to his cruelty that I just wanted to smash him to pieces! At the same time… I was so disgusted by him, I wanted to throw him away like rotten garbage! Dumping him in Death Valley did both.”

  Uncle Sunny still didn’t say anything, and the silence prodded Ethan into speaking again.

  “I wanted to see if I could break him. Him and people like him. People who feel entitled to be assholes. People who think they can do whatever they want, no matter how much it hurts other people. People who’ll get worse out of spite if someone tries to stop them.

  You should’ve seen the way that cop looked at me. He knew what was happening, he knew he was getting what was coming to him, and yet he glared at me and said loud and proud that he would get worse. All because I dared to stop him. If the other people I wanted to go after were that stubborn, nothing I’ve done so far would’ve phased them. So I wanted to bring Cotton to his knees, to see if I could do the same things to the others.”

  There was still no answer from the Monkey King, but Ethan had no other reason to give. He stayed kneeling on the ground and waited for whatever verdict was coming his way. But after a few more minutes of unnerving quiet, Ethan risked looking up at his ancestor.

  Sun Wukong was once again sitting on his couch of leaves. He stared down at Ethan with a gaze that seemed to observe every cell in the boy’s body in frightening detail. Ethan found himself moving to sit in front of Uncle Sunny’s look and went back to waiting. He felt clearer now, though that just meant he could feel a different kind of tension in his body that was starting to mingle with despair.

  His action almost certainly crossed the line, and that meant he’d be getting his gifts taken away. And without his powers, Ethan would have to stop being a villain. Which meant no more revenge, no more freedom… No more mur-.

  “I must say I’m worried about you,” the Monkey King finally spoke. “The path you're on is a dark one, yet you’ve managed to avoid tainting your soul, so far.”

  “So far…?” Ethan repeated with confusion. Did that mean he wasn’t in trouble, despite what he did? Hope started to sprout within Ethan’s chest, but he dared not act on it.

  “Your fight with this Cotton fellow is the most troubling,” Uncle Sunny added thoughtfully. “While I can’t applaud your actions, I felt you’ve acted honorably enough, given the circumstances.”

  “Does… that mean I can keep going?” Ethan asked cautiously.

  “I’ll allow it,” Sun Wukong said sternly. “But from this point on, I want a daily account of your actions. I can tell from now on you’ll have more dark secrets that need examining before they’re allowed to become something truly damning.”

  “I understand,” Ethan replied while sighing in relief. He bowed his head as a show of respect. It didn’t hurt to be extra deferential, especially if you were being let off the hook. That being said, Ethan would still have to tell the Monkey King all of his exploits from now on, and if Uncle Sunny disagreed with anything Ethan was doing, he’d have to be ready to explain himself or face the consequences.

  Surprisingly, the idea of being made to report to the Monkey King wasn’t so bad. If anything, he felt relieved to have Uncle Sunny examining his actions and getting a second opinion on them. Sun Wukong had been pretty open-minded so far. Ethan felt he could trust in his ancestor to give him a fair judgment, unlike most of the other adults in his life.

  Ethan left the mountain soon after, while Uncle Sunny wasn’t giving the boy the cold shoulder, Ethan still felt on thin ice and didn’t want to overstay his welcome. He especially didn’t want to talk to his Cousins, who were as overly friendly to him as always.

  Their behavior was such a stark contrast to the people Ebenezer usually dealt with that it still gave the boy tonal whiplash. While Ethan didn’t want to avoid his extended family, he couldn’t help but feel awkward around them. Not just because his cousins were so welcoming to him, but because he was afraid to talk to them about what he was doing as Ethan Sun.

  Klara said the Wukong were naturally rebellious, but Ethan wasn’t sure if that meant they would support what he was doing. Uncle Sunny didn’t, even if he wasn’t kicking Ethan to the curb, he made it clear he didn’t like his descendant becoming a villain.

  What would happen if the others found out? Would they try to convince him he was making a mistake? Joke about how dumb he was being? Or would they start shunning him anytime he showed up?

  Mount Huaguo was chaotic with all of the energetic monkey people living there, and while Ethan wasn’t used to the lively atmosphere, the thought of it becoming cold and unwelcoming broke his heart. Better for everyone if Ethan kept to himself and avoided any awkward conversations. Ethan was used to being alone in crowds, so he’d manage.

  Besides, he had bigger issues to deal with. The moment Ethan returned to his base, his body started shaking again. Something about the silence of his factory base drove Ethan to think about Cotton.

  He remembered how desperate he sounded when he begged for his life. How his pleas for mercy mingled with his tears and devolved into a sobbing mess that couldn’t be understood. Images of Cotton reaching out with that hysterically terrified look of his as Ethan flew away were burned into the villain’s mind.

  If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. Please report it.

  Ethan collapsed on the couch and curled in on himself, trying to block out the memories and the dark thoughts that swirled around him. He covered his ears as he swore he could hear the echoes of Cotton’s screams bouncing around the workshop walls. Ethan closed his eyes and gritted his teeth, trying to will away the guilt and just stop feeling, but he knew that was pointless. He had to accept these feelings or else be crushed by them.

  So, that’s what Ethan did. He uncurled from the coach, then leaned back to stare at the ceiling. He allowed his emotions to run rampant through his body, all while gazing at the empty ceiling.

  Ethan wasn’t sure how long he stayed like that. He vaguely remembered getting up and eating the last of the Clearner’s provision, and started setting up his stolen consoles. Then he sat back down on the couch and wasted the day just playing video games. But, for the life of him, Ethan couldn’t remember what he played despite switching through multiple games.

  Ethan only broke out of his fugue state when his clones contacted him and asked what he wanted to do about school.

  “School?” the boy repeated dumbly.

  “Yeah, boss,” the Homework Clone replied. “Tomorrow’s Monday. You’re suspension was over on Friday, so you have to go back”

  “Oh…” was all Ethan could say. Given everything that had happened, he had completely forgotten about school. He also forgot about his classmates, which was crazy, seeing as they are the main reason he wanted to be a villain in the first place. But Ethan was so focused on being seen as a villain that he put aside his desire for revenge, then let it slip from his mind entirely.

  Ethan also forgot about his micro-rebellion against said classmates, too. This would be the first time he’d face them after Leanora and Roth showed up. While there weren’t any more attacks, they were probably waiting for Ebenezer to return before they punished him for his disobedience. The idea might have terrified Ebenezer, but post-murder Ethan couldn’t be bothered to worry about some bullies.

  “One of you will go in my place,” Ethan answered. There was no way in Hell he was going back there. He had half a mind not to show up at all, but Ethan wasn’t ready to have Ebenezer disappear just yet. He wasn’t sure what was holding him back, as he had no real reason to keep up his civilian identity. Neither his school nor his family cared about him, but Ethan still felt hesitant to cut out that part of himself.

  “When you go there, don’t talk to anyone. Just stay quiet unless one of the teachers asks you to answer a question or something. If anyone tries to confront you, just keep quiet until they leave.”

  “Got it,” the clone replied without hesitation. For a second, Ethan was worried that the double would complain or be nervous about going into that lion’s den, but the copy took its orders without a second thought.

  It reminded the villain that his dopplegangers weren’t real people, just copies of him. He could talk to them, and they’d respond, but it’d be like talking to an NPC in a video game. They weren’t real people, and all of their reactions and emotions were simulated.

  Ethan leaned back on the couch as another weight was put on his shoulder. Or more accurately, he was reminded of one that was already there. Ebenezer had been isolated for most of his life. His family ignores him unless they need to yell at him, and his peers just use him. Ebenezer had no real friends, and that didn’t change when he became Ethan.

  He had thought he had gotten used to the loneliness, but really, Ebenzer was just numb to it. Then, when he became Ethan, the clones were able to supplement his need for companionship to a point. Whether it was his depression or him simply growing tired of lying to himself, Ethan reached that point and had to see the cold solitude for what it was.

  Ethan didn’t realize he slipped back into unconsciousness until his clones reached out to him again.

  “What’s wrong?” Ethan asked, only slightly dazed over his sudden lucidity.

  “Stuff happened at school,” the clone replied. “I wanted to report back.” Ethan blinked in surprise. He could’ve sworn it was Sunday afternoon a few seconds ago. How could a day pass without him noticing? Then he registered what the copy said and let out a sigh. Ethan braced himself for the worst as he allowed the double to pass on his memories.

  Given the way Leanora and Roth had reacted to Ebenezer’s refusal to do their homework, Ethan was expecting to find himself in a schoolyard brawl or to be ganged up on by his classmates. He was mildly surprised to find himself in the principal’s office instead.

  Ebenezer sat across the desk from Principal Wade, who was looking as cold and lifeless as usual. Her pale skin was disconcerting enough, but combined with her dark eyes and tightly wound hair bun, she looked like the evil teacher from a middle school Halloween special that was itching to turn into a big, scary monster.

  Wade stared at Ebenezer with her cold gaze. Her look was a subtle mix of neutral and disapproving as she stared down the boy with the intensity of a hanging judge. It was the same look she gave the boy when she suspended him, and it immediately put Ethan on edge.

  “I must say, Mr. Giroux,” Wade began, her voice smooth and as emotionally detached as the rest of her being. “Your behavior over the past few days has been disappointing to say the least.” The double said nothing, as instructed, it just stared at the Principal and waited for her to continue.

  “We had hoped that your suspension would give you time to reflect on your actions,” she continued, her voice somehow becoming colder. Ethan was surprised the room didn’t start icing over. “But it seems you are determined to be a problem for this establishment.“

  At this point, Ethan wanted to take over and spit in the principal’s face, but he couldn’t. This was a memory, so there wasn’t anything for him to do other than watch and hope his clone acted in ways that he could work with.

  ”Causing a scene in class is one thing,” Principal Wade continued, her voice rising ever so slightly to convey a hint of outrage. “But actively sabotaging your classmates is another.”

  “If they were smart enough to do their own homework,” his clone began, his tone almost matching Ward’s in iciness, but with a touch of hostility to give his words some edge. ”They wouldn’t have anything to worry about.”

  Those words went against Ethan’s orders, but the clone was probably acting on what Ethan would want to do in this scenario. Not that the villain was complaining, as he wouldn’t want to let Ward walk all over him again.

  The Principal stared at Ebenezer in silence. Ethan couldn’t tell if she was trying to cow the boy back into meekness with her gaze or if she was stunned by his newfound audacity.

  “Being flippant won’t help your case,” Wade replied. Her gaze became even sharper, as if any minute Wade’s eyes would turn into daggers and stab Ebenezer.

  She examined the student closely, as if this was the first time the woman had seen him. Ethan hadn’t had many dealings with Principal Ward in the past, and the few times he did she always seemed distant and uninterested. Like she knew Ebenezer didn’t matter and she couldn’t be bothered to pretend otherwise. But the way she stared at him now, like he was someone worth watching, it unnerved him slightly.

  “Tell me, Mr. Giroux,” Ward began after a moment of silence. “Why shouldn’t I expel you on the spot?”

  “Are you threatening me?” the clone asked. Ethan could feel his double’s eyes narrow.

  “I simply wish to make you see the gravity of your situation,” Principal Wade responded casually. “Your behavior has been unacceptable and it could be grounds for expulsion, which would negatively affect your-.”

  “Do it,” the double interrupted with a growl. Ethan a chill rush through his veins. His clone just dared the Principal to expel him?! Why would he do that?! To spite her the way Cotton tried to spite him?!

  “Excuse me?” Principal Wade asked. Her eyes had widened over Ebenezer’s words ever so slightly.

  “You heard me,” the double spat. “If your going to expel me then do it! I’ve already wasted enough time dealing with you bastards, I’m not going to sit here so you can take your sweet time screwing me over.” There was a beat of silence as Wade returned to staring at Ebenezer. The clone, for his part, kept his gaze locked onto the Principal’s not blinking or hesitating even once.

  “There seems to be a misunderstanding here,” the older woman said after a moment. “I have no intention of expelling you, Mr. Giroux. However, your current attitude is still an issue. Regardless of your reasoning, we can’t have you cause a scene in class and sabotage the work of other students.”

  The more the Princiapl talked, the angrier Ethan got. While he expected Wade not to give a shit about him, the way she talked about the welfare of everyone else like they mattered more than him made Ethan want to start ripping heads off. He guessed that was why the clone dared the Principal to expel him. Even if Wade called his bluff he’d be away from her and the leeches in that school.

  “I believe further disciplinary actions are required to rectify this situation,” Wade added. She stand up from the desk and walks over to a nearby bookshelf and starts perusing the covers. Ethan wasn’t sure why, was it some kind of intimidation tactic to make him seem small? Looking at it from Ethan’s perspective now, it seemed like a petty move, and he was sure it only pissed off the Ebenezer copy.

  “Starting today, you’ll be spending your time in school in detention where you will be correcting the assignments you vandalized and complete any other schoolwork that is accumulated during your penance.”

  “So, your going to force me to do everyone’s homework now?” the double asked, simulating the anger Ethan felt as he glared at the back of Wade’s head.

  “If you wish to interpret things that way I can’t stop you.”

  “And you can’t make me do this! I’d rather die than write another paper for those shitheads!”

  “Mr. Giroux, I’m not giving a choice in the matter,” Wade shot back, her voice taking on the slightest hint of annoyance. She turned her head to glare at the student who met her gaze with his own outraged gaze. “You will do this or-.”

  “Or what? You’ll expel me? Go ahead! I’ll take that before I go back to being everyone’s homework slave!”

  “Do you even know what you’re saying?” Wade’s voice took on a subtle mocking tone as she continued to glare at the petulant child. She fully turned to Ebenezer now and was now trying to loom over the boy as her voice took on a gravely serious tone. “Expulsion isn’t something to take lightly. It’s not something that can just be shrugged off like in the movies. It has lasting consequences. You’ll be seen as a troublemaker and it can hamper your chances of getting into a good college.”

  “I don’t care!” the clone spat. “All you people do is use me! Even if I play nice with people like you I’ll end up dead and forgotten anyway! If getting expelled means I don’t deal with you scumbags anymore then so be it!”

  Silence grew between the two as the adult and student stared each other down. Ward with her slightly irritated look and Ebenezer with his furious stare. Ethan couldn’t tell how long the two stayed there like that, but it didn’t last long. To his surprise, Wade leaned back and took in a deep breath.

  “Let’s try this a different way,” the principal said slowly. Her tone was a bit rough, like she was forcing the words out of her clenched throat. “If you agree to do this, I’ll strike the incident from last week off of your record. No one will know about your little outburst or your following suspension, so it won’t affect your prospects for college.”

  Ethan was speechless, not that he could talk while watching this memory. But the fact that Principal Wade was willing to negotiate with Ebenezer over this was insane. Plus… it felt rushed, like Wade was jumping the gun and pulling out a trump card way too early in the game. Something wasn’t right about this offer, and it wasn’t because the deal sucked.

  “That’s it?” the clone sneered, clearly agreeing with its maker. “I go back to slaving away and all I get is a clean record? Expulsion still seems like the better option to me.”

  “I’ll also throw in a letter of recommendation,” Wade added, the irritation in her voice now loud and clear. Ethan wouldn’t be surprised if the woman started grinding her teeth. “To whichever college you want. I’ll be sure to rant and rave about your dedication to academia and how much of a team player you are.”

  Ethan held his breath as he watched the room grow quiet again. The boy felt like he should be angry over the obvious jabs Wade threw at him, but he was more interested in seeing what the clone would do.

  “Fine,” the double replied in a begrudging tone. At that point the vision faded away and Ethan found himself back in his base. He allowed himself to breathe again and found himself feeling a bit lighter. The deal his clone struck with Principal Wade still felt weak but Ethan felt it was smart to quit while it was ahead.

  “Letter of recommendation,” Ethan repeated, his tone not quite mocking but it flirted with the idea. The villain wanted to let out a derisive snort but held himself back. Those letters were supposed to be a big deal, and getting one from a Principal should have some weight behind it. The question was if Ethan would ever use it.

  Ebenezer hadn’t made any plans for the future. It was difficult enough to survive each week with all homework he was forced to do so he never got around to it. Even now, as Ethan, he was too busy worrying about his reputation and quest for revenge to think about the future. But now, with Wade bribing him with that letter, Ethan couldn’t help but think about it.

  If Ethan managed to get his revenge and survive high school, what would he do next? Life wasn’t just going to end after all of that, unless Ethan got really unlucky.

  What the vision really showed Ethan was that he had no idea what to do next if he completed his current goals. Would he keep being a villain or would he go back to being Ebenezer now that his enemies got their just deserts? Neither option sounded appealing at the moment, but if Wade kept her word, Ebenezer would have some good options, at least.

  Ethan rose from the coach and stretched out his limbs. He didn’t know how long he was sitting there, but it had to have been a day, at least. The villain would have to check in with Uncle Sunny, to at least tell him why he didn’t show up for training that night. And then… Then what? Where does Ethan go from this?

  The memory of Cotton’s murder still bothered the boy, but it didn’t threaten to crush him with guilt like before. Ethan could keep going if he wanted to, but did he? If being a villain meant he’d have to kill more people was it worth it for revenge?

  Ethan’s musings were interrupted by his phone buzzing. When he took it out he saw he got a message from an unknown caller.

  Unknown: Hey loser! Heard yur stuck in detention now! Servesyou right shitstain! Cant run away and acct like a little bitch now can you?! Whe n I find you Imma kick yor ass so hard youll have to do my homework while lying on the floor! Yu try to pull anymore stunts like you did last week Ill fucking kill you! All your good for is homeowkr you should be glad Im giving something to do! So stoip your crying and just fucking do it!

  Ethan didn’t know who sent him this, but he could take a guess given the topic and the terrible grammar involved. Pery. How that asshole got ahold of his number, Ethan had no clue, but it was soon joined by other texts with similar messages.

  Each text came from a different number, and they all swore at Ebenezer while threatening to do terrible things to him if he didn’t get over himself and just do their homework like a good little work slave.

  Ethan stared at his phone with a blank expression. The somber mood he was in was slowly being ebbed away by a familiar feeling of anger. He had forgotten about this, too. About who he was targeting and who he wanted to hurt.

  It was strange that all of his classmates suddenly had his number now, but Ethan couldn’t care less about the reason why. He actually found himself being grateful for it. The villain was seconds away from giving up his new goal, but thanks to his classmates’ usual bullshit, he had the anger he needed to move forward.

  Pocketing his phone, Ethan grabbed his staff and made his way out of the factory. He thought about blocking the unfriendly numbers from his phone, but decided against it. Ethan could use them as reminders if he ever lost sight of his goals again.

  When he was outside, Ethan stared at the afternoon horizon. Somehow, standing out in the sunshine while desiring bloody retribution seemed fitting. But first, he needs Poppytown to get it through their thick heads that he’s a villain.

  “Welp,” he said to himself, a mirthless smile spreading underneath his mask. “Back to work.”