The Kids Aren't Alright (Reignfinite)

"Yes! That's it! Yeah, son! Nice-- Argh! No! Supes! Stop, you heartless--Yes! Go, Lantern!" Adam cheered as he played the newest game he'd bought pirated, Injustice: Gods Among Us, on his PC. He had beaten the game's story mode hours ago and he'd been set on finishing the missions in S.T.A.R. labs since then.

Tyler had gone out today to see some experts in the Academy who could help him with his powers. Tyler and Adam had both gone out yesterday in search of charms, spells or seals of some kind to keep Tyler's insanity-inducing powers to a down low. Why neither of them had thought of consulting the school first was a mystery to Adam. There was no reason to blame Tyler or his powers though. Forgetting that the very school they are attending may have power nullifiers of some kind was an honest mistake anybody else could have made.

Adam grinned as he pressed the appropriate key combination for Green Lantern's super move. Just then, something in the corner of his eye moved and he had missed his timing on hitting the level's boss, Superman. In a second, Green Lantern was flying high speed out of the earth's atmosphere via the god alien's laser eyes. Adam watched with his mouth hanging open as his chosen character was then given a super punch, which sent him ricocheting back through the atmosphere in super speed.

He blinked, seemingly frozen in place as Superman ordered GL to kneel for him. After a few seconds of little movement, Adam screamed. He had worked so hard on getting through to this. Eight times he's been repeating this freakin' game and he'd been so, so close. So goddamn close.

After giving a tirade of nonsense to his PC, Adam sighed in defeat. He let his body fall against the bed before he remembered the thing that distracted him in the first place. With a growl, the raven stood up and turned to see what it was.

It was an envelope. He curiously picked it up, stared at the seal and turned it over and over. "This better be good," Adam grumbled as he ripped the envelope open. His brows furrowed when he read the last few words.

It's about Tyler Colten.

He looked at the time. He had a few minutes. In that time, Adam put his computer to sleep while it was still torrenting Batman: Origins Blackgate, pocketed his phone and wallet, fixed his hair into the regular ponytail and ditched the headband he'd been wearing while playing. He then made his way to the student lounge with the letter in hand and a burning mix of curiosity and concern for both Tyler and this mysterious sender.

The lounge was fairly occupied with just enough people to make him pause and look around. He didn't know who sent the letter so he didn't know what or who to look for either. It was then when somebody waved to him.

Adam narrowed his eyes as he slowly approached. It was a woman who seemed vaguely familiar. Something about her was off, like Adam was supposed to feel something towards her. He knew that it wasn't something good though. Something told him he shouldn't like her.

He tried to remember what it was that made him feel that way towards her. As he walked closer, memories about her returned slowly. She and he had gone to the same university in college. They were from two totally different courses--he took Construction Engineering and she was a Psychologist major. He was only a freshman upon meeting her, she had been either on her third or fourth year then. He couldn't remember that one clearly.

Adam was standing in front of her by the time he remembered just what she did to him the day they met each other that made him hate her.

"You!" he said, pointing an accusing finger at her, features morphing into something that wasn't friendly or curious or polite, which was rare for him. He rarely showed hostility or dislike towards others. This was one of the rare moments and one of the rare people.

This woman--whose name he could barely remember--was the one woman who had spilled unspeakable things onto him before, a long, long time ago that was better off forgotten. She was better off forgotten for that horrible memory. Bloody guts, livers, hearts and probably even brain matter. Disgusting things that had given Adam nightmares for weeks. All those had more than caked his skin and clothes that one day they collided into each other.

"V-- V-- V-something..." he couldn't remember her name. So he settled with another accusatory "You!"

"It's Versil Arpeggio."

That's it. That's her name. Adam remembered now the rest of the memories he's shared with her--all of which weren't on friendly or peaceful terms at all. Throughout college, whenever they ran into each other, some sort of war would always happen.

"Oh, wow. That's nice. Congratulations on becoming a doctor," Adam replied with sarcasm and a bit of surprise, though he did try to hide the latter. "Let me take a guess, you treat your patients by bathing them in blood and guts, too?"

Yes, of course she would know who he is. Who would forget the person they constantly 'accidentally' spilled organs onto? Adam, on the other hand, had a perfectly good reason to forget the trauma that she brought upon him.

Adam stood his ground as Versil stepped closer. He continued to glare at her even as she pointed an accusatory finger back at him. "Hey! It wasn't my fault you carry your fresh harvest in jars and other weird containers that can be spilled so easily. You could carry them in a cooler, woman!" He bit back. "Maybe that way, you could avoid showering me and anybody else with intestines and livers and other weird things that are supposed to stay inside a body!"

He raised an eyebrow and made a scoff of his own. "Oh no," he said, as he came upon a realization. His hands came upon his face in what seemed to be anguish. "Oh, god no. Please don't tell me you gave Tyler a bloodbath as well... because that's just gross."

"No. You're wrong. Tyler's actually not a good kid. He's a great guy! Oh and the same level as me, huh? You mean the level in which I'm not a geek addicted to collecting innards of who-knows-what? I don't think that's shameful at all," Adam replied with a shrug and a smug smile. "It's great he actually belongs there, right?"

He ignored the stares of the other students. He was used to being the center of attention. This one was a different sense of the phrase, but that doesn't mean Adam was comfortable with it. He did feel a little uneasy about the staring and he was vaguely feeling ashamed for causing a scene, but he stubbornly refused to let Versil have the last word.

"Okay, fine, Doctor Verse, the weird psychiatrist who used to spill pus, viscera and bloody entrails of strange things on me back in uni," Adam said with a roll of his eyes. He crossed his arms in front of him and stood tall. "What did you want to talk to me about Tyler?"