Double Trouble

Things had been mostly uneventful lately, something Byron was very thankful for.  He was not one of those people that sat on the edge of their seats waiting for more problems to arise so he could save the day.  No, he preferred when things were quieter and much more peaceful.  That serene feeling that, at least for a moment, all was right.  It figures though, that it was not meant to last.  This much should be obvious as in high school, bullies seem to be ever present.  

It was the end of the day, so most of the students were heading home.  Down the hall, between the classrooms, there were two beefy seniors picking on a lone freshman.  Byron did not know the freshman, so he had no way to know if he had powers or not, but that didn't seem to be the source of the bullying anyway.  From the sounds of it, they were just making fun of him for something he liked that they thought was stupid.  There were few people left now, but those that were just ignored what was going on and walked right by, either uncaring or too afraid to do anything.  Every time.  These people just don't know how to be respectful, even to those younger than them.  

Byron sped down the hall and straight to the scene.  "Hey! What do you think you are doing?" Byron shouted as he neared them.  The seniors turned around, at first thinking, based off his tone, that a teacher was coming.  When they saw it was just Byron, one of them smirked.  Byron had become a bit notorious for standing up to bullies in the school at his own expense, sometimes receiving detention himself as a result.  Byron, despite being a sophomore, was a big guy, so his own intimidation was sometimes enough.  However, these guys were both just as big as him, and there were two of them.  They felt confident they could handle Byron, and that he wouldn't dare use his powers, the fact that he was a super also having been spread, for risk of worse than detention.  "Hey look, its Kelvin." he nudged his partner.  "That's none of you business, so back off or else."  

These people made Byron's blood boil, and not just in the figurative way.  He had been keeping better tabs on his powers since the incident where he messed up that ink delivery, but sometimes he just couldn't suppress his insides from sizzling.  "You think I'm just gonna back off to people like you who show no respect?"  Byron clenched his fists, not about to punch them, but readying himself for the consequences of his interference.  Byron just stood in front of them and watched them eye to eye defiantly.

School was over, and that meant about half an hour until rehearsals started for the musical that Yin and Yang Equilan. They often amused themselves by roaming the halls of the school and looking for something entertaining to either observe or interject themselves into. The two were well known around the school for being know-it-alls and teacher's pets, while still being antagonizing of their fellow students.
Today, while perusing the halls, they saw two seniors pushing around a freshman, some kid who was still learning the ropes of school, and didn't know how to defend himself yet. The twins were about to walk over and strike up a "friendly" conversation with the seniors to try and get them to leave, but then, to their surprise and amusement, Byron Kelvin strode up to them from the far side, yelling at them with some noble drivel about respect. The twins looked at each other and smiled.
"Poor little Byron, always sticking his nose where it doesn't belong, don't you agree, sweet sister?" Yang asked his sister.
"Nosy little boy indeed." Yin replied. "I think this could be quite entertaining to watch, don't you, kind brother?"
"Very entertaining." Yang agreed. The two loosely linked fingers and silently strolled towards the action, close enough to hear, but far enough away that they would go unnoticed by the participants in the action.

Byron stared down the seniors, not budging an inch. He wasn't one to get phased by being outnumbered.  He glanced at the freshman cowering on the other side of the bullies.  He looked confused, as if he was surprised that someone would help him.  Byron had not seen the whole thing, but he saw enough to notice the boy just taking it and not fighting back.  Byron narrowed his eyes looking past the seniors right at the freshman.  When they caught eyes, the boy seemed to start.  Byron spoke, "You, why aren't you standing up to them?  They think just because they're older and there is more of them that they are superior to you.  So why are you just accepting that?  People like you, acting like that, it just ticks me off."  His face was serious, staring daggers through the freshman.  The boy almost tried to sink through the lockers he had his back too, and was starting to wonder if this guy did indeed come to save him.  

"You forgot to mention stronger."  One of the two spoke up, causing the other to laugh.  "But!" Byron turned to the senior that spoke, a fire of rage beginning to ignite in his eyes.  "Its people like you that start this imaginary hierarchy that piss me off the most."  Byron was revving up now, just waiting for the bullies to start something.  "So you back off. NOW."  He would be scorching now if it wasn't for his self control.  He exhaled and a small steam cloud floated up.  "We warned ya, Kelvin!" The bully let his fist fly.  Byron pulled up his arms in a cross block, stopping the punch from reaching his face. The situation was escalating and the other bully would likely intervene soon as well.

The two slowly circled their way around the fuming parties, stopping a good distance from them, but standing so if they walked straight forward they'd be standing right between Byron and the bullies. Byron's little speech was hilarious to the twins, seeing someone who looked like Byron spouting ideological, anti-hierarchical beliefs was ridiculous in the same way that watching a dog chase its own tail was. Once the first bully threw his punch and Byron blocked it, the two couldn't contain their giggles anymore, it turning into full-fledged laughter, a cold, almost sadistic laugh as they watched their soft minded peers fighting like children before them. The second bully seemed like he was about to get involved in the fight, but stopped and turned to face them, confused at their laughter.
"How silly of them, don't you think, good sister?" Yang asked his sister in a loud, mocking tone.
"Which ones, sweet brother?" Yin innocently asked her brother.
"All of them!" Yang exclaimed, and the two of them laughed loudly again.
"Two meat heads who think they can prove their strength by pushing around a child half their size, strength, and numbers..." Yin began.
"...And a boy who thinks he can change the world by getting a black eye." Yang continued.
"Again." They said in unison, and laughed again.

Just before the second senior got involved an interesting pair appeared taking all present by surprise.  Everyone listened to the twins go off, talking only to each other yet still managing to demean everyone else.  During the little spiel of theirs both Byron and the first bully lowered their arms a bit so they were no longer touching.  All eyes lay on the twins.  I didn't notice them come up.  Who even are- wait, I think I've heard of these guys.  The Equilan twins.  What are they even doing here?  Byron watched the twins as if inspecting them. The second bully spoke up, "The twins huh?  You wanna start something too?  All of you need to learn to stop butting in on other peoples business."  The senior towered in front of the twins, acting confident and superior.  

A hand appeared on his shoulder.  It was Byron, "Hey, I'm not done with you yet.  I don't care what beef you have with them, but I'm making this my business."  Byron turned to see the first bully about to take action, hesitating when Byron turned, and the freshman boy still behind him.  "You, what are you still doing here?  If you aren't even going to stand up for yourself, then at least just get out of here." The boy jumped and turned to leave.

The twins laughed as the bully directed a question towards them. "What do you think, sweet brother? Do we want to start something?"
"It seems like it's already started on its own, curious sister."
The two simultaneously raised an eyebrow when Byron intervened once again, seeming to be a perfect reflection of each other. Yang directed his attention to the freshmen and called out to him, finally talking to someone other than his sister. "No, stay and watch."
"Yes, please stay. It seems as though one way or another, your two oppressors are going to get their just desserts. Whether at the hands of your knight in heated armor..." Yin added.
"Or my darling sister and myself."
"And who wouldn't want to see that?" They asked in unison with a slight giggle.
The twins locked their eyes on each of the bullies, Yin focusing on one, Yang on the other. Yin spoke first. "Don't listen to silly little Kelvin. You don't need to stand up for yourself."
"Not when the people you'd stand up to are already being stood up to, anyways."
"And conveniently outnumbered..." Yin batted her eyelashes innocently at the bully she was staring down as she said this, her black mascara and eyeliner a stark contrast her abnormally bright eyes.

The freshman hesitated when the twins directed their attention to him.  He was completely baffled.  The freshman was taking turns looking between each of them and his escape route, unsure of how to act.  Byron thought to himself, What is with these two.  At first I thought they just showed up to just cause trouble, but now they are taking a stand against these guys too?  What are these two thinking?  Byron directed a questioning frown towards the twins, but soon turned away his attention.  He looked the bully standing between him and the freshman in the eyes.  "So, are you ready to step off you pedestal yet?"  The senior responded, "As if.  You think we are going to back off to a short tempered brat and a couple pipsqueaks?"  The second bully standing in front of the twins shook off Byron's grip and made a grab for Yang's shirt.  "There may be more of you, but you still couldn't beat us if you tried without your little powers.  Use them on us, and you could be suspended or worse."

The twins stepped back in unison, swatting the bully's hand away with their outside hand; only Yang's moved his, but the two seemed to move as one person. Their eyes flared up with anger as the bully attempted to grab them. "Don't touch us, idiot." They snapped in unison. After a moment of staring, their demeanor returned to their confident smiles as they adjusted their hands to be palm-up, and an orb of glowing energy appeared in their palms; Yin's was black, Yang's was white.
"But who said we'd get suspended?" Yin asked innocently. "There would be no proof we even got involved."
"The only evidence that our powers were even used would be a few burns on your skin..." Yang added.
Yin turned towards Byron and smiled. "By the way, thank you so much for being here, and being willing to take the fall for us." The twins bowed slightly to him in thanks and turned their attention back to the bullies.
"And even if you tried to tattle on us, who would even believe you?" Yang asked.
"We're star pupils, well behaved, on the honor roll... We never participate in delinquency." Yin added. Her eyes widened slightly and she closed her palm, the energy evaporating as she did. She covered her mouth in mock surprise. "And what would father say when some delinquent accused his darling children of participating in violence on school grounds?" She turned to her brother, how mimicked her mock surprise.
"Why, he would go to the principal and immediately have the slanderous liar thrown out of school the next day. Father is very close to the principal, after all, sweet sister."
"Very close indeed, beloved brother." Yin agreed. The two turned back to the bullies, opening their palms again with the energy orbs and smirked; the entire thing was, of course, a bluff. The teachers took power-based violence very seriously, and if they were accused of it, they would have to investigate. And father was equally hard on them about using their powers for anything other than self-defense, and his "friendship" with the principal was only due to his generous donations to the school. Still, the twins found that a lie told with complete confidence was just as good as the truth, and these meatheads were far too stupid to try calling them out on any of this.

The aura of the room seemed to change for a moment as the twins snapped at the bully.  Byron turned to the twins, watching their actions carefully.  They suddenly reverted to their normal demeanor, but things weren't over yet.  Spheres of energy formed above the twins open palms.  They began telling the bullies that no matter what they do, they would not get in trouble.  When Yin mentioned using Byron as a scapegoat, he shot them a dirty look.  Byron had been directly involved in this, and he was not one to shirk off the consequences of his actions, but taking the blame for these two was something he would no accept.  Before he could offer any protest, the twins continued, talking of their connections to the principal.  Is this a bluff, or are they telling the truth?  I wonder...  While Byron pondered this, he wasn't about to voice his thought.  At least, not while the two seniors were still around.  Regardless, Byron had decided that whatever was the case, he did not like the twins.  

The bullies were stunned for a moment, wondering what to do after what the twins said.  They turned to each other, then to the freshman, and finally on Byron and the twins.  After a bit of a growl, the first bully said, "Whatever.  Lets just get out of here.  We've got better things to do than play with you brats."  He turned to walk away.  The second bully turned to his partner in protest, but before saying anything, reluctantly followed along.  Byron watched the whole way as the seniors walked down the hall until they were no longer in view.  When they disappeared, Byron turned to the twins and opened his mouth to say something, but stopped himself.  He gave a frown at them, and then turned away towards the freshman.  "Now then, your turn."  The freshman flinched as Byron directed his attention to him.  "I'm not here to protect you.  You need to protect yourself!  There isn't always going to be someone around to defend you, and you shouldn't subvert yourself to others so easily."

The twins closed their hands as the bullies caved, and politely waved to them as they huffed off. Byron quickly regained their attention as he started snapping at the freshmen. Such a peculiar little boy, don't you think, good sister? Yang thought.
Most peculiar indeed, observant brother. Yin replied in their shared mind.
The two walked up behind Byron as he yelled at the poor freshmen, their hard-bottomed shoes clicking loudly on the tiled floor.
"Leave the poor boy alone, little Kelvin." Yin cooed, her voice soft and melodic.
"Yes. You just saved him from two people destroying his self esteem, and now you take their place in the same task?"
"How silly, loving brother."
"How silly indeed, perfect sister..." Yang agreed, and the two laughed again.
The freshmen seemed thoroughly confused and concerned at the entire situation, but he nodded to Byron. "S-sorry... I-I just didn't want to get hurt. Thanks for helping me, at least..." He turned to the twins and nodded thanks again. "A-and thank you two, too..."
The twins cocked their heads curiously, the tops of their heads lightly touching in the middle. "Why are you thanking us, fresh meat?" Yang asked, seeming genuinely confused. "We didn't come in to help you."
"Not at all. You're horribly boring and bland. Not worth trying to 'save'." Yin added.
"We simply intervened because we like to put people back in their place on the ground back where they belong. Those two seemed to think they had power of some sort..."
"...So we decided to remind them that they have none. We didn't do it to help you..."
"But to amuse us." They said in unison. They turned to face each other and giggled slightly, a hollow, almost stage laugh that seemed to echo through the halls.

Byron definitely didn't like these guys.  The more time he spent near them, the more uneasy he felt.  The twins began mock reprimanding him for talking to the freshman like he had, saying he was doing the same as the bullies.  These guys were completely reinterpreting what Byron was saying and turning it into something different.  They seemed to do it just for the laughs, and the fact that they thought what everyone else did as practically a joke.  Their whole personality either creeped him out or completely irked him.  This was further proven in their response to the freshman.  Their laugh was really getting to him now, further agitating him.  He had wanted to just ignore them, but he needed to say something.  "Stop making another persons life into your own personal joke."  Byron looked at the twins, his brow furrowed.  He did not have an aggressive stance, but the irritation was slipping into his voice.  "If you aren't here to help then just go."

The twins giggled again. "As much as we'd love to just go, rehearsal doesn't start for another twenty minutes." Yang explained.
Yin giggled and leaned forward slightly, quickly patting Byron on the head once before retracting her pale hand. "And we're not about to stop having fun just because the school's student vigilante told us to."
"We're not turning people's lives into our own personal jokes, little Kelvin. People have a knack for doing that for us."
"We're just here to laugh at the punch lines." They said in unison, laughing again.
At this point, the freshman was thoroughly weirded out by the twins, and decided it would be best to leave. He didn't want them to turn their attention to him, and he didn't want Byron to start yelling at him. As the group continued their exchange, he slowly started to slip away.

Byron's eyes narrowed, "What do I care how long it is until your rehearsal.  Go find your friends to entertain yourselves with."  Byron moved up his arm to block Yin from patting him on the head.  
When the twins laughed, stating people made their own lives jokes, the freshman managed to sneak away and scampered off to head home.  He would try his best to avoid both the Twins and Byron in the future.  
Byron responded, "If you have nothing better to do with your time than laughing at another person then fine, but don't go and make up ideas like that on your own when you don't even know a person.  Don't act like you are better than us because you can laugh at something you imagined."

The twins' eyes widened when Byron spoke with some surprise. "Don't act like we're better?" Yang asked.
"Little Kelvin, we don't think you understand, we're not acting better. Acting is what you do on stage, when performing, when lying. We're not acting better." Yin added.
"We simply are better." They said in unison.
"We have better grades, better clothes." Yin began.
"Better financial statements, better credit scores." Yang continued.
"Better friends, better philosophies."
"Better records, better lives."
"When everything we have and do is better than those around us, it is only logical and intelligent to assume that we ourselves are, in fact, better." They concluded in unison, smiling condescendingly at Byron.

Byron clenched his fists as tight as he could.  Everything the twins said just made him hate them more and more.  It was as if they were the embodiment of all that he stood against.  He felt that he could punch either of them and have a completely clear conscience.  But he didn't.  All that internal heat he build up began to dissipate.  He just said what came to his mind, letting his anger drain away with every word. "You can talk about that all you want.  But being better isn't about what you have.  Being better is about respect.  Something it seems you two very much lack.  Maybe I worded that poorly.  Maybe you don't act like you are better.  You just behave like spoiled children.  I may be younger than you, but the fact that you can't seem to understand what I do speaks volumes.  Someday, maybe not today, or sometime too soon, but someday, you two will get knocked off your high horse.  And when that happens, I'm not going to be there to laugh at you.  Or kick you while you are down.  Or to say 'I told you so'.  No, when that happens, I'll be there to pick you back up, dust you off, and push you forward instead of letting you watch from on high.  Maybe then, you will learn what it means to live a life of your own, and not as if you are watching one of your plays."  When Byron finished, he was still frowning, but it was more from the seriousness of his expression than of any sort of anger or frustration.  He observed them for a moment, possibly a glimmer of concern peaking through the cracks of his demeanor.  Without waiting for any sort of response from the twins, Byron turned and walked away.  Whatever the twins said now, Byron would keep walking.  At this point, he wasn't even listening to whatever that had to say anyway.

The twins simply stared at him with one eyebrow cocked, more intrigued than anything. He was talking in a surprisingly mature manner for someone younger than them, and they had to give him credit for that. Even so, they couldn't hide their amusement of his spiel, a small half smile sitting on their lips. They watched in silence as Byron strode off.
"Such high morals, don't you think, loving sister?"
"Very high indeed, kind brother. Quite noble for someone so young."
"It sounds to me like you respect his views, sympathetic sister."
"Hardly, good brother. They are foolish and naive."
"And quite blind to how the world truly is."
"But we are not much older than him, are we? How are we sure that we are the ones who are correct?"
"We don't know that. Nobody does. That is how the world is. We are all right."
"And we are all wrong."
"And that's the punchline."