Chapter Text
Darrell giggles to himself as he sneaks over to the plaza, various feelings of excitement and adrenaline whirring through his circuits. After four long weeks of miserable sadness and no attacks being sent to the bodega for no reason other than 'KO not being there anymore', he's ready to do something to get everyone back on their toes and ready for a fight. A grin creeps onto his face as the thought of what stealing the bodega doors might entail, and he's hardly able to contain the joy that comes with committing an act of villainy.
He comes to a stop in front of the bodega and rubs his arms together excitedly. Surely Professor Venomous wouldn't mind if he uses his bio-upgrades for the job... It is a crime he's using them for, after all! Quietly, Darrell sneaks to the side, out of view, before reaching forward, squeezing his arms into the space where the doors connect to the wall, and pulling. The door doesn't budge, and he huffs out a breath and grumbles as he tries a different approach that was sure to get the doors off their hinges.
He tries pulling again, and then a third time, and finally... pop! Both doors fall and clatter to the ground, and he laughs maniacally as he swipes them up and runs off as fast as he can. "Ha! Take that!" His voice and laughter echo across the parking lot as he darts back towards Boxmore before anyone has any time to catch up. The door slams shut behind him as he enters, and he tightens his grip on the bodega's doors as he whips himself around to face the entrance, waiting.
Tick.
A minute passes, and Darrell continues to stare at the front door.
Tick.
Darrell raises an eyebrow and lets his tension drop as two minutes pass by. Where are the bodega brats? Usually footsteps could be heard approaching by now, but there isn't a sound except for the quiet whirring and humming of the machines at Boxmore.
Tick.
As a full three minutes pass, Darrell sighs and releases the doors. A loud shattering noise echoes across the room as they fall on top of each other and break, but he pays little mind to it as he heads to the front and peeks outside. A single drop of rain falls from the clouds overhead, but there's no sign of either of the teens. "Well, that's weird," he says to himself, bringing his attention to the plaza across the street with a squint. They care about their doors, don't they? Even if they're sad, they'd at least want them back, right? Would it be too much to ask them why they aren't chasing him? He rubs his chin in confusion and thought for a solid thirty seconds before letting his arms drop back down to his sides and heading back across the street.
Upon reaching the store, he peeks over the side and through the now doorless doorway. "Hey, I stole your doors," he says, stepping inside. Enid and Rad look over at him, silent, with pained, grief filled expressions. The latter's voice is flat as he responds with a hushed, "so?"
"Aren't'ch'a gonna come get 'em? You'll get squirrels otherwise!"
"We already have squirrels, dude."
Darrell blinks and looks around the store, deflating with a comedic balloon sound-effect as his expression forms into a frown. Various piles of trash clutter up a single corner; other, smaller piles of trash spread across some of the aisles; a few stray cans, wrappers, and stains are spread across the dusty floor; and, of course, some squirrels run around aimlessly.
All he can mutter is a quiet "oh..." before he brings his attention back to the two employees. "Well," he huffs, "do you want more squirrels?"
"We'll take care of them eventually," Enid responds, voice cold, before falling silent. Darrell opens his mouth to protest, but closes it again upon not finding anything else to say, and sighs as he heads out of the store. "Man, they're a tough crowd," he mumbles to himself. He looks up and glances around the plaza, tapping his chin. "There's gotta be something I can take to get their attention…"
His gaze lands on one of the letters from the Gar's Bodega sign, and a sudden lightbulb pops up over his head. "I got it! I can steal a letter from the sign like Raymond did!" He giggles, using his arm like a grappling hook to fling himself to the roof and grab the A. "I'm a smart boy," he says with a grin, "they'd have to come and get this! No heroes are gonna wanna come to Gr's Hero Supply and Bodega, because that's not his name!" The giggles turn into full-on cackles as he hops off the roof and runs back across the street.
He throws the letter on the ground next to door frames and the concerningly large pile of glass beneath them. "And now, to watch them come running like little children!" Rubbing his hands together evilly, he waits, and just like before, they don't come.
"Hm," he ponders, "I wonder if I need to steal more letters?" He glances at the Boxmore entrance, looks over at the stuff he's already stolen, and then back at the Boxmore entrance once again, before darting outside with another cackle.
Darrell runs back and forth between the plaza and Boxmore for nearly half an hour as he continuously steals various objects and parts of signs, back to back. The D from the Fitness Dojo sign, the i from the iFrame store, the entire "Neo" in the NeoRama Arcade, and all sorts of other letters and items of importance he can find. He finally comes to a stop after stealing a single trashbag from the dumpster, huffing out an annoyed breath as he throws it to the side.
"Ugh! It's like they don't care about anything anymore since KO stopped showing up!" He throws his hands into the air and yells as he sinks to the floor. "It doesn't make sense!" A loud groan escapes his throat as he lays there, gears turning in his mind as he tries to think of what else he could possibly try and steal. "Maybe they'd follow me if I took something of his?"
He's silent, before he closes his eye and yells, "I DON'T KNOW WHAT OF HIS I CAN STEAL THOUGH IF HE'S NOT COMING BACK!!!! All they have in the store is his stupid mop— "
"Wait!" Darrell shoots up, eye growing wide with realization as he gasps, "I can steal his mop! That'd grab their attention for sure!"
A sudden rush of adrenaline surges through his circuits once again as the excitement from before returns, and he runs outside and over to the plaza faster than he's ever ran before. "Haha, this is perfect! I'm gonna steal KO's mop, they're gonna follow me, and we're all gonna have fun fighting again, just like how things were before!" He skids to a stop as he reaches the front of the bodega, before quietly shuffling inside. Enid and Rad pay no mind to him as he tiptoes across the store. Any possible doubt about the success of his plan flickers out of existence when Rad and Enid snap their gaze over to Darrell as he approaches KO's mop, and he grins.
Enid opens her mouth to speak, but doesn't get the chance to as Darrell takes the chance to grab the mop and bolt. "HEY!!!" She jumps over the counter and immediately starts chasing after him, yelling, screaming, and swearing at the top of her lungs as Rad runs behind her while doing the same (though with significantly less swearing). Darrell's laughter echoes across the sky as he runs as fast as his feet can take him, and he squeezes the mop tightly as he enters Boxmore once more.
Enid and Rad bang aggressively on the door as they try to get it open, and Darrell takes a step back with a harsh laugh. The former's voice breaks as she yells out, "GIVE IT BACK!!! THAT'S KO'S!!!", and the faint sound of crying between screams and mostly incomprehensible yelling can be heard coming from Rad. A vague feeling of uneasiness washes over Darrell, but he opts to ignore it as he yells in response, "NO!"
The door flies off its hinges and shakes the building as it hits the wall, and Darrell takes a few more steps back, away from the duo. Enid stands in the doorway, fists clenched and breathing heavily, tears hidden underneath the shadow that crosses over her face; and Rad stands behind her, breathing also heavy, as tears stream down his cheeks. They take no time in jumping at him, and Darrell flinches harshly, quickly grabbing the bar of one of the platforms above and launching himself up.
"GET BACK HERE!!! " Enid begins to climb the bars like a ladder, but lets go and falls to the ground as a purple smog fills up the room. She coughs and places a hand over her mouth and, behind her, Rad collapses to his knees as he breaks into a coughing fit. Despite the ringing in her ears and darkness creeping into the corners of her vision, Enid tries to grab back onto the bars to pull herself up and chase after Darrell, to no avail. She faceplants onto the floor, breaking into a coughing fit of her own as she attempts to fight off the sleepiness that washes over her. "Get... back here... with K... O's... m... o.. . p . . ."
She falls unconscious. Rad attempts to call her name to see if she's okay, but he can't get the words out as he falls onto the floor, asleep.