Brotherly Love (Mark)

[Christian Lucas]

Chris was in his office late. This was no unusual, given that he had nothing special at home other than to take care of Mozzie. So he would oftentimes just sit in his office until late at night and read a book, or doodle on a piece of paper, or even work on a screen play he was thinking over.

It was nearly nine in the evening when his phone rang. He looked at the incoming number but didn't recognize it. Weighing the fact he didn't want to talk with anyone with the time of night, he answered on the fourth ring. "Speak." This was his normal answer unless he knew the person and didn't feel it was appropriate.

A strong feminine voice replied from the other end of the line. "Is this Christian Lucas?" Of course Chris confirmed this with a word. "Well I need you to pick your brother up from downtown. He's been cut off for the evening and is in no position to drive." Chris was confused. his brother might be in the country, but he certainly wasn't in Pilot Ridge.

"I'm sorry Ma'am, there must be a mistake. There is no way that my brother could be in your bar. I think that someone is playing a prank on you." He had barely finished these words when he heard a familiarly annoying voice in the background say "Hey tell your boyfriend that you're busy here... We were having a riveting conversation."

Letting a puff of air out of his nose, Chris Spoke again quickly. "I'll be right there. What's the address?" As she gave him the name of the bar and the address, Chris took some deep breaths. Great, now Mark was in town... This wasn't going to be good.

Oh well, what else is family for?

[Mark Lucas]

Mark had arrived in town by cab earlier in the day and had prowled around for several hours. His mind had been rather clouded lately, his father had died a few days ago, and his funeral was the next day. Mark didn't know how to feel about it. He didn't know why he'd come to this crap hole of a town. Perhaps it was because his brother was here. Perhaps it was because he wanted to find some solace with one of his few remaining family members. Either way he found his way to a bar after a few hours of wandering.

Several hours, and a bottle of scotch later Mark was feeling on top of the world. Liquor had always been his escape from life's problems, his pains and failures. He sat at the bar with a glass in one hand and a half empty bottle in the other. "Hey barmaid.." He called to the incredibly attractive woman whom had sold him the bottles of booze. He raised his glass that contained nothing but air. "I'm outta ice.." Mark set the glass on the bar top and waited till the woman came to refill it before he made his move. "Hey Babe, what time do you get off? Because I'd love to be there for it." She muttered under her breath inaudibly and placed the glass complete with fresh ice back on the bar top. "Sorry, I don't fuck drunks." Her reply came with venom and it took Mark aback. He was confused. Never before had that line failed that he could remember.

Another hour passed and by this time he was down to the very last of the bottle. With a solemn face he poured the last of the Amber liquid into his glass and raised it into the air. "Here's to you Dad!" He shouted with vigor that was very unlike him. But when he raised his arm he'd knocked the empty bottle which subsequently fell to the floor. It was at this point that a very angry barmaid came over. "What the hell is your problem!?" She shouted in his face. "Hey.. Hey. There is no problem gorgeous. The only problem is that you aren't going home with me." He spoke as smoothly as he could given the amount of alcohol in his system. It was at this point that she snatched his phone off the bar. "Who lives in the area that could take you home?" Somehow this question pierced his alcohol addled mind and he produced the answer, "My brother, Christian.."

[Christian Lucas]

The drama teacher was glad he had driven to the school that day. Normally he would take his bike or even jog. However he had needed to transport a number of props and while his 2010 Hyundai Genesis Coupe 3.8 Track wasn't the perfect shuttle for the items, it served a purpose. He drove it to the bar, pleased that he had already picked up on a shortcut or two.

Finally he reached the bar. Walking across the parking lot quickly he reached the doors and went inside. It was busy, but not busy enough to disguise the younger Lucas. Christian quickly crossed the room to him and grabbed the back of his shirt. "I'll take him home ma'am, if that's alright with you." He spoke to the bartender, ignoring the fact his brother seemed to have been caught completely unawares.

[Mark Lucas]

Mark felt a hand take a hold of his shirt. Suddenly he felt rage course through him. "Christian. Joy! My wayward brother is here!" His sarcasm was thick and obvious. He was making a scene but he didn't care. "Good to see ya brother!" He stood surprisingly steadily from the bar, the alcohol in his blood only serving to enhance his anger. "I've got great news for you brother, our bastard father is dead!" He laughed sickeningly he seemed happy that the old man had kicked the bucket. He shook Christian's hand off of him not entirely stoked about being held. "Join me for drinks in celebration of the asshole's death!" He turned and shouted at the Barmaid for the thousandth time that day. "Hey Lady! Another bottle of black label!"

He moved to sit back down and gestured for his brother to do the same. Mark was curious of how Christian's reaction would be to his behavior. He didn't exactly look all together. His suit was disheveled and his shirt was un-tucked. A small backpack rested by his feet, and suddenly Mark sat up stock still. "Luis!" He shouted and jumped off the stool he sat on. He crouched down and unzipped a pocket and retrieved a black chinchilla. Whom he proceeded to place on the counter. He gave the rodent a peanut from his pocket and looked at it like the animal was the second coming.

[Christian Lucas]

Mark's rather loud proclamation did nothing to help calm Christian. "Yeah, I'm the wayward brother. Sure." The barmaid didn't bring any drinks over, just Mark's keys and a bill that it was obvious would need to be paid. "Jeez, what'd you drink out half the bar?" The drama teacher asked this just as Mark shouted a name.

When Christian saw the rodent he remembered Mark's loving obsession with chinchillas. "What happened to Cooper?" The barmaid however didn't let any answer come out. She started screaming at them to get out and Chris realized that it was probably a good idea. Grabbing his drunken sibling by the arm and the ball of fur that was happily devouring the nut with his free hand he dragged both of them out the bar before any argument could happen.

Once they were outside he halfway threw Mark to keep him moving away from the bar. "What the hell are you even doing here?! Mom said you were going to be on a plane to Europe to be at dad's funeral! What the hell kind of stunt is this supposed to be?!" Chris still had the rodent... Luis, that was his name. He still had Luis in one hand. "AND WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED TO COOPER?!?"

This was going to be a wonderful example of familial reconciliation. Sean Neville would have loved it.

[Mark Lucas]

"I'm here because I can't afford the fucking plane ticket!" He shouted in the elder brother's face before taking back his chinchilla and proceeded to place him on his shoulder. The rodent was used to resting there it appeared as it was able to balance with no problem. "And Cooper died a couple months ago. Then I picked up Luis." He seemed genuinely saddened by the loss of the rodent. "This 'stunt'" He used air quotes around the word, "Is to show that I hated John! That bastard did nothing for me but ship me off the first chance he got!" At this point he swung his small backpack onto his back but not before allowing Luis to jump down into his hand. "Him and Mom both did nothing for me! They hated me! I will NOT go to the funeral." He glared into his brother's eyes with malice.

He sighed after that. He replaced Luis into a pocket in his backpack and slumped his shoulders. "It is good to see you Chris, it's been too long." He turned and looked around the parking lot with surprising stability given the amount of alcohol in his blood stream. "What are you doing in this rat hole anyway brother? Got yourself a woman yet?" Mark allowed a small smile to creep onto his face. He had missed his brother in however small way.

[Christian Lucas]

Typical of his brother, Mark had shifted the blame for everything onto someone else. Chris managed to keep himself from getting any angrier but he certainly wasn't allowing himself to calm down just yet. He let Mark get all of his say out before he even tried to interrupt. If there was one thing he had learned, it was that trying to talk over Mark was pointless. The brat could talk over anyone when he was determined.

"If you needed money, you could have asked me or mom... I'm sorry about Cooper though. I know I'd be pretty upset if Mozzie died." Mozzie was Chris' pet ferret. Both brothers had a thing for strange rodents. Mark had grown up with Cooper, the two quickly becoming inseparable and Mark always carrying him around like some kind of toy poodle.

Chris wanted to respond to Mark's comments about being shipped off, but saw no point in it. Mark had decided a long time ago that their parents hated him and wanted nothing to do with him. Nothing he said right now was going to help that issue, though he knew it was going to come up again sometime soon.

"Listen... I can pay for a plane ticket. If we get you on a plane in the next couple hours you can make it there in time to clean up and make it to the funeral... It's five hours ahead, so we're looking at three in the morning... It'll take about nine hours to get there from here... You could be there by noon, two at the latest. The funeral is at six..."

Chris let himself be distracted by this, mumbling on about how to get his brother to the funeral and ignoring his later comments about how he ended up here and any comments about a girlfriend. Most of this came from having ignored his younger brother for most of his life when he said something that was supposed to embarrass them. It was a handy trick.

[Mark Lucas]

"What part of 'I'm not going' did you not understand Chris?" Mark was steadfast on this issue. There was no way in hell he was going to John's funeral. The man had shipped him off and treated him like dirt. He would not honor him in any way shape or form. "John can rot in hell for all I care. That man is not my father as far as I'm concerned." The younger sibling crossed his arms across his chest declaring the issue closed.

But then a thought occurred to him. "Why aren't you on a plane back to Europe?" This had come to Mark in a moment of brilliance. Why should he have to go to a funeral for a man who hated him, when the golden son isn't going either. He glared at his older sibling and wondered for a moment why they were having this conversation outside of a bar and not somewhere less public. He didn't even know why he'd come to this back water town in the first place.

[Christian Lucas]

"I'm not going because my students are here. I have to take care of them, and as much as I'd like to give dad my respects I can't right now." He emphasized the word 'dad' in his sentence and glared at his brother. "He did everything he could for you, you just don't understand or appreciate it. When the hell are you going to grow out of this damned rebellious phase?"

He walked right up to his brother, having an inch or two of height on him, and stared him down. "You're going to the funeral. That's not a question. Now go get in my car and I'll drive, you're still wasted." His eyes left no room for argument. He was used to dealing with Mark, and he hoped that this sternness would end the debate, even if he was almost certain it wouldn't.

[Mark Lucas]

"Who do you think you are? You can't make me do shit." Mark was not at all motivated to go, and in his mind he had no reason to. He was about to punch Chris in the face for ignoring what he wanted to say. "And that's a shitty excuse, 'my students are here'" He spoke in a mocking voice, "What utter crap! There is no way that they wouldn't let you leave to go to YOUR father's funeral if you asked." Mark emphasized the word your to communicate the disconnect between him and his father. "You don't get it do you? They hated me! You were the problem child, but they loved you. It was me who caught all the flak! They shipped me off to another country man! They did it to get rid of me!"

Mark stood his ground, while his brother may be a little taller than him, he knew that he was a pacifist and wouldn't make him do anything. Mark on the other hand, was not. "If you try to take me to the airport, I will not get on the plane. All I have to do is shout 'Help! This man has a bomb!' and they'll shut the place down." Mark smirked, he was not one to make empty threats and he knew that Chris wouldn't be excited about a cavity search. The odds were good he would back down in lue of that.

[Christian Lucas]

"Now you're making shit up again! They didn't send you away to get rid of you, they wanted you to see the world and not have to go to the same school that I was at. You know this!" Defining Chris as a pacifist wasn't too far off, he was good at holding his temper and never threw the first punch if he didn't absolutely have to.

But there was something about siblings that made him ball his hands into fists and really suppress the urge to punch his brother's lights out and take him to the airport. He didn't move an inch away from Mark's face. Instead he just glared daggers at the younger man. Taking a deep breath he maintained his calm, but barely.

"How are they going to stop me if there isn't a man next to you. You know that most people still think Metas are a hoax. How will you get away with screaming about an invisible man. Yeah. You want to try something, you'd best do it now. I'm not in the mood for you behaving like a five year old. My life here is important. You've been avoiding mom and dad ever since you left Europe."

Gee, nothing like family, right?

[Mark Lucas]

That was the last straw. Mark drew on the martial arts training he received during his travels across the globe. Suddenly it seemed as if the alcohol he had consumed over the past few hours evaporated out of his blood stream. With lightning speed he applied two quick jabs to Chris' chest in between breaths forcibly removing the air out of his lungs. As his brother was doubled over gasping for air Mark delivered a powerful rising knee to his face causing him to fall over backwards onto his ass.

Mark looked down at his older brother and shook his head. "You don't get it do you?" He reached back and removed a Glock 18 from a concealed holster in his pants. He held the weapon at his side and held his gaze with his older sibling. "Any plane you put me on, I'd teleport off." He cracked a smart assed grin. "You had that coming by the way." Then his face turned serious once again as tried to decide whether or not to continue beating Chris. From the look of the elder Lucas and the amount of blood pouring from his nose, it was broken. Mark had mastered Muay Thai and a form of Shiaolin Kung Fu in his time around the world. He wouldn't be taken down easily.

He stepped back out of the range of a kick and returned his gun to it's holster, having decided that Chris would have seen it by that point. He also knew that there was no way he could kill his brother.

[Christian Lucas]

Chris didn't expect the blows. His brother had always been faster, though never stronger. Regardless though, they hurt. He wasn't sure if his nose was actually broken but it certainly had plenty of bleeding to do now. He could taste blood in his mouth as some of it drained down his sinuses and into his throat. Oh boy.

"You athhole!" Chris tried to insult his brother but his words came out funny because of his now. That didn't stop him from standing up and staring his brother down. He was angry, but he still had his mind. He rushed at the younger Lucas and let him think that he was going to punch him in the face.

At the last possible moment, Chris let himself become invisible and ducked low beneath his brother's guard. He sent a flurry of punches into the chinchilla lover's solar plexus before backing away. He let himself become visible again and then raised his middle finger as a gesture of insult. "Nithe moveth jackath."

He knew his brother though, and while Mark had got a lucky shot in earlier now he was prepared. They both had martial arts training, though from different schools. Chris was ready for his brother's normal trick of teleporting up and attacking someone when they didn't expect it. He had his invisibility and good instincts to prevent the next blow.

[Mark Lucas]

Mark expected retaliation from his brother, and the blows to the gut caused him considerable pain but once he felt the first blow land he vanished and rested in teleportation Limbo. He then looked out through the equivalent of a window at his brother. Who stood ready in his chosen fighting stance. The elder Lucas had his head on a swivel looking for Mark. It was at this point that Mark chose to laugh about the hilarious way that Chris was talking just now. Then Luis poked his head out of his pocket and squeaked. "Oh Luis." Mark then removed his backpack and set it down. As far as he could tell, he could summon anything he left in Limbo if he concentrated hard enough. He then looked back to his brother and vanished.

He reappeared a second later to deliver two quick jabs to the back of his knees before disappearing for a second time. The jabs to Chris' knees had caused the older sibling to begin to crumble for the second time that evening. Mark capitalized on this by appearing above him and driving home a hard kick to the chest accelerating Chris' fall to a point of pain. He disappeared once more and appeared a few feet away. "Had enough?" He watched as his brother groaned in pain. "Still confident you mother fucker? Still wanna give me orders?" He looked at his brother, the object of all his parents loved and he felt himself filled with a mixture of respect and hatred. "You know Chris.. Ever since we were little, I dreamed of this.." His face grew sincere, "Of kicking the shit out of you.. You've had this coming my dear Brother.. for a long time."

[Christian Lucas]

Roughhousing had never been Christian's favorite game. It always ended with someone bleeding at the very least. But now he had decided to make an exception of his normal displeasure for it. The little punk had it coming. So he played along. He hadn't expected the strikes to the knees, but his own martial arts training had given him the ability to anticipate the chest strike. While he didn't have time to stop it entirely, he was braced for it and so even as he fell, his body was moving to react.

Mark apparently had forgotten that the two of them used to fight a lot. So Christian managed to anticipate his brother's gloating, and even as Mark was beginning to ask about orders, Chris had closed the gap between them and gone invisible. Two quick blows to the solar plexus should send Mark to the ground for a moment. After that an unnecessarily rough elbow to the forehead would certainly get his attention. Generally Chris would try to talk this out. But this was his brother. He needed a lesson.