Unprofessional Behavior - Terra

Leroy and I appeared at Brice's office door.

Leroy said, “Brice, we really need to talk.” (Leroy is being stern, almost as if Brice were the bad guy in his eyes.)

Brice looks up and responds nonchalantly, "sure."

I felt Brice trying to scan me. I needed to keep him blocked until me and Leroy got to the bottom of this. "Look.” I said. “We don't want this to seem like some kind of interrogation. But we need to know what happened on top of the building the other day. I looked over at Leroy. "Show him the totem."

Leroy held out the totem he received. "What can you tell us about this?" I asked.

Leroy asked Brice, "Does this look at all familiar? Or perhaps you can imagine another one just like it... with your face on it.”

Brice clenched his fists and stood to look at me and Leroy, eye to eye. Then Enigma Arose-"I don't know from whence these trinkets have arisen, but I will relay this to you and whomever else dare trifle with my pursuit in the knowledge of their beginnings-Don't! I will uncover their origins and when I do, the person, persons or whatever else will know I am trailing them! Now is their anything else that Wonderwoman or Superman would like to accuse me of, or have your thirsts for tabloid-like fodder been quenched?"

I thought: 'Wonderwoman?' 'Superman?' Who in the hell did he think he was? "Brice, or Enigma, or whoever the hell you are today, put your ego in your backpocket and listen. This affects all of us. Whoever's making these totems isn't just after you. This is beyond JUST YOU!" I poked a finger into his chest as I leaned over the desk at him. I had to step away for a moment to cool off. "Look. Nobody's trying to attack you. Nobody's jumping on you. But we all need to work together on this. As a team. Like we're supposed to be."

Brice sneered: "A team?!? A TEAM?!?!?!?...that's absolutely laughable."

Unfortunately, patience is not one of Leroy's qualities. Leroy walked up to Brice, almost nose to nose. "If I find out that you have anything to do with my friends getting hurt, I'm gonna tear you in two pieces."

I don’t know what Brice said that made Leroy clench his right fist as he stepped back to close his office door with his left. "Maybe you need to call Dispatch and ask him why he brought you here, because as of this moment you are no longer wanted." Leroy flexed every muscle for intimidation. I could feel the tension.

I tried to control myself. It had been so long since I let myself go completely, because it was so hard to pull back. Even when fighting I tried to restrain myself and only use my strength. My head snapped back as my eyes changed to a deep, hard green. I could feel my skin tightening as my tentacles slithered from under my clothes. I didn't need this to happen to me at work. But the thought of my other friends being in danger was just too much.

"Brice," I said as I felt myself losing control. "Do we really have to go through this?" I whispered. "Please...let's work together."

Brice kept his eye on Leroy and spoke to me. "Terra...we don't have to do anything, but you need to get your showboating counterpart off my back or the whole neighborhood will quake!"

Leroy bristled. "What, you afraid of a lil' vibration..."

Brice zoned a message to me. "Get your boy or it will all end here!"

Ean walked in just then saying he had gotten a call from Dispatch. Leroy and Brice werenose to nose. Ean demanded an explanation.

Leroy said, "It's already over..." Leroy grabbed Brice by the throat and slammed him against the wall. Cracks formed at the impact.

Ean is in disbelief that this brouhaha is all over a little totem. He warned both Brice and Leroy that he will take his gloves off and shut both of them down for quite awhile if they don't start acting like professionals, but then Leroy looks like he's going to hit Ean, too. The next thing I knew, Ean’s left glove comes off.

He looked thoughtful for a moment, then the glove goes back on and Ean pulls out his cameraphone.

The building began to shake a low rumble and Brice’s eyes glazed red. He grabbed Leroy's wrists. There was a look of shock on Leroy’s face. Brice snarled. "One day you will learn that my concession to your lead is truly not because of who you are or what you believe you can do. It is my role. Can the tiger not rip the Lion apart limb for limb? Does the wingspan of the Condor not eclipse that of the Eagle? Can the venom of a rattlesnake not paralyze the great Anaconda? Do not test the power of those beneath you for they are the support upon which you draw during battle. Do not attempt to extinguish the wind beneath your wings for your flight will end abruptly!"


I saw Leroy’s eyes roll to the back of his head and he started to grind his teeth. "You want to raise the stakes... Let's do it." He released the explosion of sonic energy directly at Brice. The backlash shatters the windows and blows Brice’s computer.

He looked down at Brice. "You look like you the anaconda just crushed the breath from your lungs." Then he picked up his desk to hit him with. "There is a reason the lion is king, b!t@h!"

Brice looked up and said, "Yeah...because he hasn't been tested. Let's do this." The whole building was shaking and people were beginning to leave out in a panic. The desk Leroy was holding began to shake in his hands. Brice walked over to him. Leroy dropped the desk and began to throw blows. Brice matched him blow for blow.

"Dammit! Enough is enough! This shit ends now!" My tentacles extended and grabbed each one of them by the neck, lifting them several feet from the ground. "You two handle that macho bullshit at another time." I lifted them away from each other and sat them across the room from each other. "Leroy. Take a walk before we don't have a job to come back to. I don't know about you guys, but I need the paycheck. I pulled myself back together as both gritted their teeth. I know they both wanted at each other, but that was gonna have to be another time, another place.

Once I had myself together, I walked over to Brice and placed my hand on his shoulder. "Will you talk to me?"

Everyone's eye's shifted to Leroy as he grabbed the totem and walked out.

Brice snarled, "Your boy needs to calm that sh!t down. I am not gonna disrespect his role, but I will be damned if he comes in here treating me like some villain in need of correction. He does nothing that would warrant a fear for his power, in my heart. He knows that and it burns him. He will know that until the day he dies, for if I go first, I will continually whisper it to him at night!" He slammed his fist into desk. Everyone looked up again, this time it wasn't at Brice. It was at Leroy again as he charged toward Brice!

Leroy walked quickly back into the office where Brice stood next to me. We both looked a bit shocked to see Leroy come back, and I wondered how much damn space did Ean have on his camera phone. Just as quick as he re-entered the office, he stepped up to Brice, pushed me to the side and planted his foot right into Brice's chest. The kick forced Brice through the wall. I see Leroy was determined to get the last word.

"See me on the play ground later, school girl...", he called out as he left the office.