Arch Frenemies

Part 35: Mon Ami

Half an hour later Toxic was fully costumed, blasting away at an abandoned factory with his ray gun; green bursts of energy tearing away at the ancient red brick.

Now vandalism wasn't usually his bag, but tonight, he needed to do something new, something villainous.
He felt he needed to do something just because he was evil and he could.
Blow shit up. Wreak some havoc for pete's sake. To get his mind off of her.

"Toxieek?!?" He heard a familiar voice call out from behind him while he was aiming for a 4th floor window.
The radioactive superhuman rolled his eyes and pulled the trigger again, hoping it was just a figment of his imagination. But no, the annoying voice persisted and called out his name again.

"How did you find me Pierre?"
Toxic groaned in between shots.
"Ahhh, so it is you." The charismatic shifter's melodic voice chuckled in the darkness.
"I was listening to the policia scanner. Green fireworks being shot at an abandoned building. You came to mind."

Though the guilt empath wasn't fully paying attention, the super thief's voice told him the morpher was on the job. Holstering his weapon, Toxic turned to face him.
Informal was carrying a giant square package under his arm, wrapped in brown paper.

"What's that?" He asked, even though the guilt empath would only need to hear his voice once more to know.
"La Mona Lisa." The Frenchman shrugged casually, pulling back a fold of the brown paper to reveal a peek at that iconic smile. It really was her. Toxic would have laughed if he didn't know Informal was in fact telling the truth.

"You stole it?" he asked even though his powers had told him that already, because Mastermind had taught his son that it was good manners to let other villains boast their tale, even if he had read it all ready.

"Actually I am returning it." He explained, running his hand over the edge of the frame.
"Every month I 'borrow it', and replace it with a fake. Then the next month I replace the original, it's just a game for me. To see how long it takes before they notice."

"Nice!" The younger villain had to vocally applaud him, other villains might have seen it as a waste of time, but as a fellow, non-lethal villain, Toxic could appreciate his coworker's irony and dramatic flair.
Sirens could be heard in the distance.

"Come on mon ami, this way." Motioned Informal. His voice read that this wasn't a trap and he really just did want to 'help a brother out'. Toxic felt he should have just gone the other way, but instead, he chose to follow Pierre. He was led through the alleyways, and up the stairs of another abandoned apartment. It was quite old, and looked like it had 'survived' the Second World War, more or less anyways. The room they finally stopped at had one giant, conspicuous hole where the outside wall used to be. Toxic walked to the gape in the wall, from this third story room, you could see a good portion of the area. Toxic glanced down at the street below and took a cautious, acrophobic step back.

"Tell me this isn't your lair..."
Asked Toxic, not turning around.
"No, just one of my hideaways. I have many throughout the city, I use them to store my prizes." And by prizes, he meant stolen properties, not some medals or awards of excellence.

The building the unknowingly sexually frustrated teenager had just blasted at was in his line of sight as well, and the French police now swarmed the area like ants at an all American picnic.

_____________________

A/N: Hey guys,
Two chapters today, and I hope you enjoy them. Been a little stressed out financially this week, so I hope you all can forgive me for not posting.
Just found out the company I work for will be closing (for the summer) at the end of this month, so I've been scrambling to try and find somewhere else to work.
Thank you guys so much for your patience and understanding.

-QueenOfGeeks