"Get your filthy hands off him!"
The twins immediately stopped whatever they were doing as Mikey quickly turned around with a look of surprise plastered on his face. He hadn't expected anyone to spot them, let alone discover their secret. Watching with widening eyes, he watched this adult with utmost wary of the consequences they will soon face.
"What do you want?!" He shouted, attempting to sound tough despite his terrified expression, hands instinctively clenching into fists from being discovered in time like this.
Toby lay sitting on the ground, his eyes focused on the scene happening before him; he did not expect anyone to come to his rescue in the dead of night.
"Danny?" Relief and confusion filled his voice as he stared at the familiar figure looming over them, his gaze darting between Mikey and Michael at the thought of finally getting their due punishment.
Although Danny is clearly startled from finding the twins torturing Toby, his reaction remains surprisingly calm compared to Mikey and Michael's frantic behavior.
Taking in the horrific scene with wide eyes, he witnesses the broken branch and the fallen boy. "Hey! What the hell do you two think you're doing?!" Keeping in safe distance, he notices the eleven-year-old boy holding a baseball bat being used against a helpless victim of their bullying.
A disturbing sight he had witnessed before being forced to intervene, as he could not bear to let this continue onward without any sort of intervention, regardless of the fact that he doesn't have some bond of friendship with his recently adopted son.
Sweat profusely appeared on the twins, their faces flushed from a mix of fear, guilt, and anger. Gripping the makeshift rope tightly, Mikey glared defiantly at Danny, his jaw clenched, "This is none of your business, asshole!" Snarling venomously, struggling to comprehend how their dirty little secret was discovered.
"Who do you think he is to you anyway? Just a fucking orphan, not worth shit!" Speaking spitefully, as if trying to convince himself as much as Danny of Toby's worthlessness, "So fuck off and don't come back!"
Danny's eyebrows furrowed, his nostrils flaring slightly as a low growl rumbled in his chest. "His, my son!" The moment he said those words, everyone present realized the true nature of his relationship with Toby and the profound depth of his feelings for the boy.
His voice was laced with a simmering rage, a dark fire burning behind his eyes as he locked gazes with the twins. "I'm going to make sure your parents and I are going to have a chat after this is over." Without any further ado, he began to walk forward courageously to his adopted son.
Toby was shocked beyond belief, hearing a bold declaration about him being someone's son. The implications of such a claim were staggering, and he found himself wondering how this man, this stranger, could possibly say those words when they only just started living together.
He just can't fathom how anyone would call him his son when everyone in this world is just selfish or cruel—a bitter realization that pierced his heart. But as Danny approached him cautiously, Toby noticed the genuine concern and anger in his adoptive father's eyes, a comforting warmth that seemed to seep into his very bones, easing the terror that gripped him so tightly.
No matter how hesitant Danny was in bringing Toby to live with him, the boy could see remnants of left-over kindness buried deep within the shell of his new guardian's hardened exterior.
The way this man walks with preserve determination in doing the right thing is extremely noticeable, and for once, Toby allowed himself to believe that maybe, just maybe, he can open himself more with strangers than expecting malicious intent from each and every one of them.
Just as he got close enough to Toby, Mikey quickly moved to block the man's path. "I don't care if your his father; I am not letting you take him away!" His grip tightened around the makeshift rope, his knuckles white with tension.
"So you better back up or else." Despite their height differences, he fully believes this five-year-old teenager could overpower him and decided to try intimidating him instead as a last resort to continue their tired game of hurting their defenseless victim.
Stopping a few meters away from this bully, Danny stared at him with growing but reserved anger, "Or else what?" He questioned calmly, "You do not realize what I am capable of, don't you kid?" Staring coldly down at the teen while acting nonchalant and unafraid, wanting to give the impression that Mikey should be scared of him rather than the other way around.
In this way, fear helps to enforce submission from others and lower their chances of attacking him, a common practice everyone knows whenever they are in a tense conflicting situation.
Eyes narrowed dangerously, Mikey glanced the side of Danny, quickly giving his little brother a signal to use the bat behind this supposed father of Toby. "If you touch me, I'm going to tell everyone you hurt me and my little brother," crossing his arms together in display as he turned his gaze back at the man, grinning smugly with pure confidence in his tone of voice.
"And since we're living in the same building, no one would believe a grown adult over two innocent kids." His smile spread wide on his face, pleased with himself for pulling out a clever trick in distracting this person away from impending danger.
While the little brother was hesitant in complying with his elderly brother's gesture, he nonetheless understood the meaning behind those gazes, and with a tight grip on the baseball bat he used against Toby, Michael quietly sneaked a few steps closer behind this man, the weapon raised menacingly overhead, ready to strike the unsuspecting guardian at any given moment as the game they had planned turns into a genuine fight for survival and dominance of preventing any future consequences they will soon face.
Unaware that the young man was being played under this teen's trap, he continued their conversation as if there was no one sneaking behind just now, "Where the hell is your father?"
Danny questioned with exasperation, "How could he let his sons act so brutally towards another child?" He scowled, his hands clenched into fists at his sides as he struggled to keep his temper in check, determined to resolve this conflict peacefully. "I am warning you, stop this nonsense right now before things escalate even further."
But Mikey laughed it off with no big deal: "Our parents let us do whatever we want without bothering about it, so it's pointless to reason with him when he will do nothing anyway," casually shrugging his shoulders as he speaks, showing utter disrespect for their absent parent.
"Besides, its too late for that; it's already too late!" Grinning wickedly while tightening his grip around makeshift rope, his little brother Michael was ready to swing his baseball bat upon receiving his command to do so.
"Danny!" Toby hurriedly pointed at Michael and the bat; his panicky voice was apparent when he realized the gravity of their situation: "He has a bat!" Scrambling to his feet, he desperately tried to stand up only to fall down due to the inflicted injuries done earlier by his tormentors.
Yet still, he managed to keep shouting in hopes of alerting his adopted father of the impending strike that is about to land behind Danny, aiming directly at the back of his head just 2 inches away from succeeding in causing serious concussion.
The young man's eyes widen in surprise and horror; he was scared not because he was going to get seriously hurt or possibly killed from this because Danny knows he is not going to receive any of that; instead, it was his concern that the little boy behind is going to get badly hurt or murdered because of his own Esper powers.
And he doesn't want any of that to happen. However, it was already too late, as just mere moments of turning around in hopes of preventing this child from continuing any harm to himself or anyone else.
Danny's powers immediately spew into action, causing Michael during mid-swing to suddenly and accidentally throw his weapon into the air before ricocheting onto the surface of a tree as it bounces back onto the side of the boy's head, seriously injuring him, rendering him unconscious instantly.
"Michael!"
The older twin's scream of agony echoed in the quiet night as he watched his beloved family member fall down on the ground in such a sudden turn of events that left everyone speechless except the saddening Esper, who was partially responsible for it.
Watching the big bully rush towards his unconscious little brother was heartbreaking to say the least. Even though they deserved what was coming for them, it can't be helped how tragic it must be to see a 15-year-old teen cried hysterically over his family member who got severely injured from his own actions, making Toby feel guilty for surviving this ordeal while Michael continued to lay unconscious on the cold, unforgiving ground, bleeding profusely on the inflicted wound on the side of his head.
Kneeling down with both of his legs, Mikey grabbed Michael in embracing as he wept uncontrollably, his sobs shaking his chubby frame, tears streaming down his flushed cheeks as he clutched his brother tightly, his face etched with anguish and despair.
"You promise we will be together after mom disappeared." A low whisper of sorrow and desperation filled his heart, clutching onto his fallen sibling, hoping that his dear brother wouldn't leave him forever like their mother did.
The person responsible stood frozen like a statue, unable to move or speak as he witnessed the scene unfold before his very eyes. Danny slowly approaches them cautiously, his expression full of remorse for what he had done. "I'm sorry; let us help him, okay? We'll make sure his—"
Before he could finish his sentence, Mikey snapped back at him with his teared, sobbing face along with untold anger, and fear filled this teen's gaze from everything that had happened just in one night.
"Fuck you! You did this! You hurt my little brother!" Accusing fiercely, striking at Danny with his fierce words, "Go to hell, you monster! Go to fucking hell!" Screaming at the top of his lungs, he continued throwing insults and threats at Danny, his emotions reaching a boiling point, fueled by fear, pain, grief, and betrayal—a volatile mix that threatened to consume him whole as his remnants of sanity or humanity were rapidly slipping away in a moment's notice because of this unfortunate circumstance.
"I can explain—"
"Danny, let's go." Cutting him off, Toby looked at the horrific scene of Mikey mourning his brother's injury, hating how powerless, "There is nothing else we can do about this." Watching his adoptive father turn around with a look of disbelief in hearing the 10-year-old boy say those words, he quickly continued to explain.
"It's not our business to help them if they don't want to be helped." Harsh reality slapped at the man's face, and the empathy Danny felt for these two twins was replaced with cold detachment and an unshakeable belief that cruelty can sometimes be necessary.
"But they are only..." He doesn't know else to say about this; everything here is horrible, and staying longer makes him feel more uncomfortable by the minute.
"Are you sure?" Glancing over his shoulder to see the crying teen, he doesn't feel certain if this is the right thing to do. It just doesn't sit well with him knowing that he is abandoning someone in dire need of assistance. "What if we alerted others about this? Maybe they'll do something." Putting up forced, awkward smile left on his face, he waits for a response from the only one willing to make the right decision for themselves.
Tired, exhausted expression formed on Toby's face. "I just want to go home... please?" The boy finally breaks, pleading with Danny.
The anguish in Toby's eyes cuts deep, a silent plea to just head back they deem safe and cozy. "I just can't keep looking at this... this horror show anymore," he mutters brokenly, expressing how much he wants to escape from witnessing any further suffering or cruelty that plagues this area.
He was hesitating, Danny desperately felt awful for what had happened, but in the end, they brought themselves to this, and the consequences had finally come down to those twins. If it wasn't going to teach them a lesson about hurting others, then what was the point of it all?
This situation has shown him the darkest sides of humanity, and it seems like nothing was going to change in this miserable world they lived in. "Yeah," he agreed melancholy, "let's get out of here." Walking to the boy, he gently and carefully picked up Toby with hands as to avoid injuring him further from over exerting himself after he just been through.
"I'm going to kill you." Gaining their full attention, Mikey's vengeful glare locked onto the surprised duo, his lips curling into a sinister snarl. The coldness in his eyes was chilling, a deadly promise hanging heavy in the air.
"You think I won't remember this?" Baring his teeth furiously, he promised death, a vow of revenge that would haunt them for the rest of their lives: "I'll make you pay for what you did to my brother. Mark my dying words."
