Battle Heroes X Vetera: S01E11

Turmoil is the eleventh episode of Battle Heroes X Vetera. The plot revolves around the heroes dealing with one issue after another in their lives.

The team deal with an attack on a loved one.

## The Episode

Night had fallen over Belview City. Popple stepped out of the local corner store, a paper bag filled with goodies in her hands. Julius stepped out behind her with his own bag and the two began walking home. He inspected the contents of his bag

"Pretty sure I got everything...right?" He said carefully. "You think it'll make him feel better? I hope it does."

Ever since news got out that the teens were responsible for shutting down the biggest Halloween part of the year, they had received nothing by disdain at school. They were stripped of their status as popular kids. Popple was mildly disappointed at the loss of her newfound girl friends. Zack didn't really care, and with the way Julius was acting, it was hard to tell. Part of Popple knew that Julius felt guilty about how things went down.

"It's really nice of you to buy all this for Cloud, but it's not your fault. We all mentioned shutting the party down together, and it was for the greater good."

"Yeah, I know," Julius agreed. "But I just feel bad when he's like that, all down in the dumps."

"Alright, but I'll be expecting this same mindset when it's time to get me a present!" Popple said jokingly. The two laughed.

Soon, they were back at the boys' house and Julius opened the door so they could walk in. Cloud was slumped on the couch, channel surfing. His face was void of emotion, a complete 180 from his usual demeanor.

"Hey, Cloud!" Julius began, setting his bag on the coffee table between the couch and the TV. "We brought you some stuff you might like from the convenience store."

Popple put her bag down as well and the couple sat on both sides of Cloud. The blonde teen reached into the bag and brought out a bag of green candies speckled with sugar.

"Green Apple Sour Balls?" He said, brightening up a little. "You got my favorite candy."

"Keep on going!" Popple encouraged.

Cloud reached in again and withdrew a bottle of soda. "Hey, cherry soda!" He opened the bottle and took a swig, then kept pulling things out. A bag of chips, some more soda, a pack of snack cakes. Soon, the table housed an assortment of treats. Cloud was certainly happier than before.

"Man, I don't know what to say. Thanks, guys!" Cloud said gratefully as he opened the Green Apple Sour Balls and popped some into his mouth.

"Of course, Cloud. Just couldn't bear to see you all mopey," Julius replied. Popple nodded in agreement.

The front door opened again and Zack stepped in. "Evening, gang."

"Hey, Zack," Cloud waved from the couch.

"How're you feeling, man?"

"Better than before. Julius and Popple bought all my favorites from the store!"

Zack smiled and walked towards the kitchen. "Glad to see you improving."

"Who needs those guys at school, anyway?" Julius said. "We've got each other."

Cloud looked to the ceiling wistfully. "True, but when we were popular, it was heaven. Shopping trips, hanging out at the rich kids' houses..."

Popple quickly grabbed a snack cake from the table and offered it to Cloud. "Yellow Delight?"

"Please!" He took it and opened the plastic wrapping to take a bite.

Popple got up from the couch. "I gotta go. Dad wants to watch a movie together."

"Thanks again, Popple," Cloud said.

Zack returned to the living room with a can of soda in hand. "See ya, Popple."

Julius got up as well. It was a tradition for them to walk each other to the other's house. Together, they returned outside and crossed the street.

"Looks like it all went according to plan," Popple said. She held her hands behind her back. "Promise that if I'm

The two stopped in front of Popple's house. "Promise," He answered.

Popple kissed him on the cheek before walking up the porch steps. "Night, Julius."

"Night, Popple," He said, turning back around and heading back home.

Popple reached the door to her house and pulled her keys out of her coat pocket. However, when she put the key in, the door slowly opened by itself. It was already open. The lights were off.

"Dad?" Popple called out as she walked in. "I'm home!"

As soon as she stepped inside, she could immediately tell something was wrong. From what little she could see, chairs were tipped over on the ground and there were some smaller objects spilled on the floor. She instinctively reached for the light switch in the dark and turned it on, revealing to her that things were even worse than she thought. On the floor, she could make out red dots. Popple followed the trail from the floor to the living room carpet. The couch was overturned, the TV laid on the ground, shattered. A weak groan came from behind the couch and her blood turned cold. Popple rushed over and checked behind it. Try as she might, she couldn't hold back her emotions and let out a blood-curdling scream. Laying before her, in a pool of blood, was her father.

...

The night was absolute chaos for Julius. What started as a good evening became a nightmare. When he heard the scream, he ran out as fast as he could with Cloud and Zack to Popple's. That's when they saw him. Popple was holding him in her arms, crying uncontrollably. Julius' eyes widened at the sight of all the blood. He froze, stiff with fear. Cloud grabbed his phone and dialed emergency services. Julius snapped out of his own shock and bent down, gently laying a hand down on Popple's shoulder.

"Popple..." He was at a loss for words, nothing came to mind that could help. She couldn't stay here, that couldn't be healthy. Right?

Everything else was a blur. Eventually, help arrived. Julius and Cloud got out of the way while the authorities did their work. As he sat on his house's steps, he felt out of place, like he didn't belong in the image. Later, Julius sat in the hospital lobby, head in his hands. Cloud walked up next to Julius, two bottles of water in his hand.

"Thirsty?" Cloud asked, offering one to Julius. He put a hand up.

"I'm good, Cloud," He replied sullenly. The two sat in silence before Julius spoke up again. "Have you been up there yet?"

The blonde teen shook his head. "They wouldn't let me through. The doctors are still trying to stabilize him."

"Oh..." Julius said weakly. The silence continued, Julius raising his head up and rubbing his forehead. *This is serious. This is bad, really really bad. There is now way this is happening. These things aren't supposed to happen...*

"Alright, how're things looking?" Zack's voice brought him out of his thoughts. Julius looked up and saw his teammate walking towards where he was sitting.

"We don't know yet, Zack. Just trying to keep optimistic," Cloud responded, taking a drink from his bottle of water.

Julius got up and turned to Zack. "Where have you been?"

In an uncharacteristic move, Zack looked away. "I've been out. Something came up that I'm dealing with, but I'm here now."

"Something more important than being there for our teammate?"

Zack now faced Julius. "What's your problem? I'm here now, and it looks like the docs are still working on him."

Further down the hospital lobby, the elevator door opened, and Popple emerged. She looked small in her yellow jacket, her head looking down at the ground.

Cloud took a deep breath and got up. "Come on, guys, she needs us."

As Popple walked towards them, Julius scratched the back of his head and took deep breaths of his own. "Oh no, oh no..."

Zack put a hand on Julius' shoulder and shook it. "Julius, now isn't the time to start flaking out."

"Yeah, yeah...right," He quietly replied. He stared ahead at his girlfriend. *What do I do what do I do? Come on, don't just stand there.* He took a step forward, then another, and another. As he got closer to Popple, he noticed her red eyes, the tears streaking her face, a snot bubble coming from her nose. *Do. Something.* He reached his arms out. "Popple..."

Popple broke the distance and rushed into Julius' embrace. Her whole body was wracked with sobs. Julius raised an arm up, mechanically moving it to Popple head to stroke it. "It's...gonna be al...alright..." He struggled to get the last word out. What did he know about things being alright? After what just happened, who can say that?

Cloud looked on at his ailing teammate. "How is your dad doing?"

Popple moved her head from Julius' chest and looked at Zack and Cloud. She adjusted her glasses. "He's..." She sniffled. "...Breathing on his own now. He's getting a blood transfusion. He lost so much..."

Julius looked up to the ceiling, thinking of what he should say next. "Well...we're all here now. Together. And we're gonna go through this..." He scratched the back of his head again. "Are you hungry?"

As Zack watched Julius carefully, he heard his phone ring. He took it out of his pocket and checked it. "Ah, shit. I gotta go."

Popple wiped her nose with her sleeve. "Is everything alright?"

"Yeah...well, it's complicated. Ranger things, I'll try to be back," He quickly answered. Zack stepped forward, as if to hug Popple, but back stepped and turned to leave the hospital. Julius looked on, eyes widening. Seeing a chance to leave, he followed after Zack. "I'll be right back, guys."

Zack was out the door into the cool autumn night when he heard Julius yelping behind him. "Zack, where're you off to?"

"Told you, ranger things," Zack responded, exasperated. "Shouldn't you be in there with Popple? She needs you."

"She needs all of us, man. We're a team. I'm not buying that SPD story. Come on," Julius reached out for Zack, who took a step back.

"You and Cloud are enough. What're you so afraid of?"

"Nothing! I just..." He hesitated. Zack looked at him for a few more seconds before turning to walk away. Julius groaned and turned back around to the hospital. He shuffled his feet as he reluctantly returned. Cloud and Popple were talking, but both looked up as he approached them.

"Doctor said that the room is all-access now. Popple wants to go see him." Cloud announced. Popple nodded in agreement, back to looking down at the ground.

*Oh God, we're gonna see him? What to do now?* "Alright, let's go."

The three teens began walking towards the elevator. As Julius found himself stuck in his thoughts, he felt Popple's hand take his own and squeeze tight. He looked at his girlfriend and couldn't stop focusing on her face. What was once beautiful was now twisted in pain as she struggled to keep herself together. *This is going to be a long night...*

...

Julius stood in front of the room's window, looking out at the city. He would trade anything to be anywhere but here. He turned around, watching Cloud and Popple. The former sat with his hands together in his chair. Popple had moved her chair next to her father's bed. He was covered in bandages with splotches of red disrupting the pure white. His face was bruised and swollen, smaller bandages covering cuts and gashes.

*These things aren't supposed to happen. They're supposed to work out. We're heroes, heroes don't have their families attacked in their homes. Yeah we've been around danger, but nothing like this. There's always a plan. Where's the plan? Where?*

Suddenly, the familiar sound of a morpher went off. Cloud fumbled for it and quickly answered, darting his head around for any signs of nurses. "Hello? Yes...yes sir, we're at the hospital with her...Zack left, said he has ranger business...yes sir." He hung up and rose to his feet.

"What's happening?" Julius queried.

"I have to go to Earth Base, Roy wants me to answer some questions about tonight."

"Does he want me, too?"

"He did, but he knows how important it is for Popple to not be alone," Cloud explained, walking to Popple and giving her a hug.

"Thanks, Cloud...for being here," She expressed softly.

"It's what friends do! Alright, gotta go." And with that, Cloud left, leaving Julius and Popple all alone. For a moment, the only sound in the room was the steady beeping of the heart monitor  Popple turned back to her dad.

*Alright, Julius, time to be there for her. Like a good friend would do. A boyfriend. A leader.*

"Look at him, Julius," Popple whispered, slowly putting her hand in her father's injured one. "Who would do this? Why? *Why?*"

Julius looked on, frozen in place. Popple now moved her hand to her father's face, slowly caressing it. "I just got you back into my life, Dad...and I don't want to lose you!" The tears returned in full force as she began sobbing again.

This was awful, but Julius could hardly focus on Popple's tragedy. All he saw was the turmoil. The brutally maimed man who was barely clinging to life. His teammate and girlfriend, inconsolable. Her face, still twisted and ugly. All of this wasn't good, and he couldn't deal with it.

"Popple, I...I gotta go," He heard himself say, backing towards the door.

She turned to him. "Y-you're leaving?"

The words kept spilling out of him like a cascade. "I gotta get out of here. I can't handle this. You...him...stuff like this isn't supposed to happen!"

Popple looked on, incredulously. "Julius..."

At this point, he was now at the door frame. "I'm, I'm sorry Popple. I don't know what to do with this, or with you. I-I have to leave."

The teen then ran away from the room, as fast as he could. Popple's gaze linger at the door, then she looked around herself. There was no one there for her. She never felt so alone. Her mind wandered to those words of her dad that she lived by. 'Smile and the world smiles back.' And as she sat, caught in a sea of pain and torment and confusion, she put the rest of the phrase together. Cry, and you cry alone.

...

Julius sat on the steps of Popple's porch, hands clasped. The cold bit at him, but with how preoccupied he was, it felt like nothing. He had lost track of time, must be after 2:00. *What the hell did you do? You fucked up you fucked up you fucked up.* His morpher went off and he took it out of his pocket. Cloud, again. He hung up and shoved it back in his pocket so he could return to his original position. He didn't, couldn't talk to anyone until he fixed this mistake. Caught up in his own feelings, he had left his vulnerable girlfriend alone next to her injured father. The morpher rang again and Julius finally decided to answer it.

"Julius, you alright? Come on man, get inside. We'll see her tomorrow," He offered.

As the words went in one ear and came out the other, Julius saw Popple's mother's car pull into the driveway. Her grieving mother stepped out first, accompanied by her daughter. Julius perked up and rose to his feet. "I'll call you back." Before Cloud could respond, Julius hung up and walked towards them.

Popple's mother sniffled and blew her nose. "Julius...what are you doing here? It's very late."

"I...I wanted to check on you two," He said, finally finding his voice after so long. "I'm so sorry about everything." He gave a thin smile and Popple's mother reciprocated.

"Thank you, Julius," She said.

As Julius turned to Popple, he was met with a blank expression. "Mom, could I talk to Julius alone?"

"Of course, honey," Her mother replied, bending over and kissing her daughter on the forehead. She then went up the steps and unlocked the door to her house, closing it behind her. Julius and Popple were left outside.

Julius took a deep breath. "Popple, I'm really--"

Popple stepped forward and poked his chest with enough fury to cause Julius to touch the area. "Save it, Julius. You are the most craven and cowardly guy I've ever met!"

He was taken aback. "Popple, let me--"

"I can't believe that I could ever feel *anything* for someone who acts like you! Unless we're saving Earth, I want *nothing* to do with you! Understood?"

Julius had no words. He was absolutely speechless. Popple looked into his face, clearly disgusted. "Just get out of my way," She said, pushing Julius to the side and walking up the steps. The door slammed behind her.

He continued to stand out in the night, hoping deep down that if he stood completely still, time would stop around him. Eventually, he turned around and shuffled back home across the street. *What did you do what did you do what did you do...*

Julius was greeted with Cloud sitting at the table when he came in. "Julius, is everything alright? Y'know with you and Popple?"

Julius pinched his temple. "You were here, you probably heard the whole thing. No, it's not alright. Nothing is alright!" He threw his hands into the air. "I just...I'm going to bed."

Without another word, Julius trudged up the stairs, hoping for a sleep he would never awaken from.