Stay Tuned: Season Two (Part 4)

Meanwhile, in another part of Seattle, we see a diner. Inside the diner, many patrons were enjoying their meals. Suddenly, two people entered the diner. Both were eighteen years of age. One was a white male with a fairly muscular build. He had spiky black hair and green eyes. He wore a dark blue tank top, black elbow pads, white bandages wrapped around his wrists, white football pants, white socks and black cleats; the other was a  mixed race female who was half-black, half-Hispanic. She had long, dark brown hair and brown eyes. She wore a dark grey tank top that exposed her midriff, a golden pendant in the shape of a capital R, both under a black leather vest. She also wore blue jeans with a brown belt and chain, brown work boots, and black fingerless gloves. She wore a black bandana in the style of a do-rag, and had bandages wrapped around her right forearm.

These people were named Joseph Crocker and Rapta Vile. They were two of the most notorious thugs in Seattle. They both had rap sheets a mile long, whith crimes ranging from aggravated assault to corruption of minors. But they each came from a different background.

Joseph Clark Crocker was born into a renowned family of athletes. His father, Martin Crocker, was a football player, his mother, Evelyn Crocker, was a tennis player. Because of the Crockers' obsession with sports, you'd be hardpressed to find a Crocker that didn't take up at least one sport. Growing up, Joseph played an assortment of different sports, but football was his favorite. In fact, in high school, he was the star player and was set for great things, such as a football scholarship to a prestigious college. But the Crockers also had one fatal flaw: they were obsessed with winning at any costs. They had natural talent and skill, but to them, that wasn't enough. Natural talent and skill didn't always guarantee success, so they turned to something that would: anabolic steroids. With the drugs in their bloodstream, they smashed their way to the top. Unfortunately, cheaters never prosper, as they were eventually caught using these performance-enhancing drugs, especially after Joseph was tested positive during a drug test. This disgraced the Crockers, as not only Martin and Evelyn were stripped of their awards, but were also banned from ever competing professionally and denied any chance of ever making it into the hall of fame. Joseph, meanwhile, was also stripped of his awards, kicked off the football team, and his scholarship was revoked. Subsequently, Joseph dropped out of high school in shame. Eventually, the Crockers lost their finances, forcing them to resort to jobs that ranged from shady to outright illegal. Martin resorted to drug dealing, Evelyn turned to prostitution, and Joseph became a criminal, committing robberies up the wazoo.

Rapta Vile was born Rita Michelle Abella. At a young age, her parents were murdered, forcing her into a life of the streets. Her life was hell; she lived in fear, her "home" was a cardboard box in an alleyway that was big enough for her, and she only took whatever food she could find. All that changed one day when she was taken in by two thugs and raised into being a criminal, mostly committing robberies. As she got increasingly adept, she adopted the alias Rapta Vile, embracing her new lifestyle. One day, she ran into Joseph and gradually bonded with Rapta, leading them to become lovers.

The two shoved aside several people as they took seats at the service counter. A waitress arrived and took their orders and left. Minutes later, she returned with two glasses of soda. Some minutes later, she returned again, this time with two plates. One was a double cheeseburger with bacon bits, onions, ketchup and mustard, complete with a side of fries. The other was a large turkey sandwich with lettuce, cheese, tomato, mayo, and onions, with a side of mozzerella sticks. They quickly began chowing down.

CROCKER: Mm. Good shit.

RAPTA: You got that right, babe.

There was some silence, but Crocker broke it.

CROCKER: Hey, Rap?

RAPTA: Yeah, Joe?

CROCKER: How long have we been together?

RAPTA: Two years.

CROCKER: Wow, two years. Long time, ain't it? Anyways, I've been thinking.

RAPTA (talking with her mouth full): What?

CROCKER: For two years, we've been robbin' convienience stores, gas stations, and banks. Maybe someday, we could settle down, get married, maybe start a family.

RAPTA: Whoa, slow down there, tiger. Way too early to tell right now. Mierda like that takes time. You can't just go into it head-first.

CROCKER: Good point, but hey, a guy can dream, can he?

RAPTA: I'd be lyin' if I said no.

Suddenly, a tall man came walking into the diner. It was Spike, except he was now sporting a new outfit. He now wore a black shirt, black jeans with a black belt, and black combat boots, all under a black coat with red at the cuffs and spikes along the shoulders. He came up behind Crocker and Rapta.

SPIKE: Excuse me.

The two turned to see Spike.

CROCKER: What do you want?

SPIKE: Are you Joseph Crocker and Rita Abella?

RAPTA: It's Rapta Vile, bub!

Rapta got up and threw a punch at Spike, who caught the punch. This enraged Crocker to the point where he got up and threw a punch of his own, only for Spike to catch that as well.

SPIKE: I'm not here to fight you.

Spike shoved the two back into their seats.

SPIKE: I'm here because I'm formulating a plan to go after certain people, and I need some muscle. (pulls out a tablet) After looking at some criminal records, I came across your records. Let's check your offenses. (clears throat) Evading police, grand theft auto, aggravated assault, armed robbery, assault with a deadly weapon, mayhem, corruption of minors, and unlawful possession of weapons. Very impressive rap sheets, you two.

RAPTA: Huh. Didn't think you'd approve of our criminal backgrounds? What're you, the devil?

SPIKE: Well, actually, I used to work for him.

Crocker and Rapta were wide-eyed in disbelief. They looked at each other in confusion before turning to Spike.

CROCKER: Who are you?

SPIKE: Spike. Lost my job a year ago. These people are the reason why.

Spike handed Crocker the photo of the Knable family, and he and Rapta examined the photo. It didn't long for Crocker to recognize a face.

CROCKER (pointing at Bradley): I recognize that guy. Used to go school with him.

We flashback to several years ago. Bradley was in middle school (seventh grade, to be exact), getting stuff out of his locker when without warning, he found himself struck  in the head with the locker door. The culprit was Joseph Crocker.

CROCKER: Hey, loser. Don't lose your head.

Mind you, this was pre-accident Bradley, so he didn't fight back. He instead tried to ignore Crocker, but he got hit in the head again.

CROCKER: Hey, Bradford! Look at me when I'm talking to you!

BRADLEY: Don't call me Bradford!

Finally, Laurie ran in to intervene.

LAURIE: Get lost, Crocker! What'd he ever do to you?

CROCKER (sarcastically): Oooh, here's Laurie coming to the rescue! I'm so scared!

We return to the present day.

RAPTA, SPIKE (in unision): Then what happened?

We flashback again, this time to a later point in time. Sometime after Laurie died in the accident. A mourning Bradley opened his locker and got his things as usual. Crocker was standing right behind him, smugly crossing his arms.

CROCKER: So, Bradford. How does it feel knowing your girlfriend is resting in Hell?

Suddenly, something inside Bradley snapped. He turned around and kicked Crocker hard in the groin, grabbed him and tossed him head first into his open locker. He repeatedly slammed the door on his head until a fellow student intervened. By that point, Crocker's head was reduced to a bloody mess. We flash back to the present.

CROCKER: And I haven't bothered him since. Well, Spike. If you need someone to deal with him, count me in. (to Rapta) What about you, babe?

RAPTA (shrugs): Eh, why not? It gives me something to do.

SPIKE: Excellent. But we are going to need to make some adjustments for you two. Follow me. I'll pay your check.

We now go to Miami, Florida. Now you're probably asking, "How did the Knables get from Seattle to Miami in the span we cut away from them?" Well, we wanted to try to keep things from dragging out too much longer, as by this point, not much has happened in this story. Anyway. the Knables and company were at the beach, performing various activities. Roy only wore red trunks that resembled boxer briefs, exposing a decent build; Helen wore a dark blue bikini with a white zig-zag pattern. Her body was in pretty good shape for a woman in her early forties. Bradley only wore a black wetsuit that covered his entire body and also wore black wet shoes; Darryl wore light blue trunks with a dark blue pattern and a light grey T-shirt, as he was easily susceptible to sunburn; Diane wore a dark pink one-piece swimuit that had white stripes down the sides; Laurie wore a green two-piece swimsuit, with a bikini top resembling a sports bra; Bella wore an orange bikini that has a bandeau top; Jack wore black and white boardshorts; Sophie wore a grey tankini.

Roy and Helen were both relaxing in beach chairs, Bradley was napping on a beach chair with a Captain Underpants book covering his face, Jack was buried in sand from the neck down, Diane was messing around in the water, Sophie was building a large sandcastle, and Bella, Laurie, and Darryl were swimming in the water. While Darryl was down in the water, Bella and Laurie were having a conversation.

BELLA: So let me recap. Darryl built a robotic body in your likeness, somehow inserted your soul into it, and completed it with a blood transfusion.

LAURIE: Pretty much.

BELLA: Whoa.

LAURIE: Yes. And when I told you that you could date Bradley if anything happened to me, you seemed pretty skeptical about it.

BELLA: I thought you were bluffing at the time.

LAURIE: I wasn't.

BELLA: But why would you plan something like that?

LAURIE: You know Bradley has had a history of mental issues. Someone had to be around to keep him from completely going off the rails. Fortunately these days, Bradley has gotten much better about keeping himself in control.

BELLA: Forming Insanity has done that to him. But do you think he could slip into his more dangerous side?

LAURIE: Only if he's pushed far enough.