Making Cookies

It was a lazy yet hot afternoon for all of West City. The streets were quiet, the sun was slowly beginning to set and people were at the tail end of their work day. This frustratingly hot and humid day seemed to affect everyone, the normally lively streets filled with people were mostly empty, making everything seem quiet and time seemed to be moving at a slow pace. The laziness and heat of the day even affected the young man who normally spent his free time being more active than most by masquerading as a costumed hero: Nicolas Mclendon. The young man was currently dressed in incredibly casual attire, he was sporting a plain white t-shirt and a pair of breezy gym shorts. He was currently spending his day sprawled out on a pile of pillows that were resting on the comfy brown couch of his cramped yet homey apartment. He had no work or school to worry about today and since things were so quiet and tranquil outside he had no real reason to be outside playing the role of West City's friendly neighborhood super hero. So he decided to spend the day inside playing a few video games.
Why would he go outside when it was so hot out?


His Gamestation 4 was currently on (With the title screen and opening cinematic of the massively popular online game: The Last Tale XIV: A World Remade playing on a constant loop.) Though he wasn't paying attention to it. Rather he had a strange three screened hand held that was creating holographic projections of the game before him. The holograms displayed various images of licensed characters brawling it out in an epic melee. (He was currently playing the crossover game: Ultra Bash Bros for the 3HS.) Though even the high tech hand held wasn't keeping his attention. He sighed, flipping the three screened device off as he set it on a table resting near the couch.

“...Darksteel.” He muttered to himself as he looked up to his ceiling. His forest green eyes looked to the spinning fan that was helping him keep him cool during the blistering summer afternoon. As he stared at the hypnotic fan he let his thoughts drift back to the encounter with the cybernetic criminal. The man that seemed to be far more of a machine than a human had a way to accurately scan and estimate the power of the young man with the strange device built into his head. It was like one of those 'scouters' that could track someone's strength. In this case, he assumed the term was 'power level' given how the cybernetic riddled man critiqued his during their battle. The fact that he was able to accurately find his strength level was problematic to the young hero.

“If it really was one of those 'scouters' than those things are more dangerous than I thought...” He muttered closing his eyes with a frown. “I didn't think that my super powers would be picked up by those things... I guess that just means I'll have to keep on practicing holding my power back when I'm not in costume.” He sighed, as he opened his eyes again staring to his ceiling with a thoughtful expression. “I have gotten a lot stronger, so maybe my sense of control has been slipping.” He reasoned as he pulled himself up to a sitting position. He leaned forward and began scratching the back of his neck as he let out a lazy yawn. “Seriously though, the last thing I need is some baddie finding my 'power level' and bursting in here letting the entire city know who I really am. So I should probably get to work on disguising my energy by suppressing and controlling it.” He let out a deep yawn once more as he forced himself to stand up.

He stood on shaky legs and took a wobbly step forward. The fact that he had spent the whole day lounging about on the couch made his legs far weaker than they should be. “Ah crap...” He muttered to himself as he stumbled a bit (the neighbors down below were sure to love that.) He grunted as he stood up and breathed in deep before he arched his back and let out the air in a strange grunt/exhale. He sighed, rolling his arm as he approached his Gamestation and flipped it off. “So I've gotta practice controlling my powers... Simple enough.” He muttered to himself as he glanced over to the kitchen that was separated from his living room only by a bar top. “With how fast I've been increasing my power It's lucky I haven't been found out yet.” It really was lucky, either he hadn't run into anyone that could measure his power or they just glanced passed him. Either way it was a lucky break for him.

He reached into the fridge as he let his thoughts wander, craving something sweet. He looked about but couldn't find anything. He grumbled under his breath as he let a few complaints: some were about being broke and others were about how he never bought enough food. He moved his searches for something to satisfy his sweet tooth to the pantry beside his fridge. He was hopeful but eventually his hopes were dashed once again. “Crap!” He complained slamming his pantry shut. What was he to do? He wanted something to snack on but he didn't have anything. He could go out to the store but that would take time away from his training. The young man scratched at his beard for a moment as he thought of the possibilities.

He snapped his fingers with excitement as an idea sparked in his head suddenly. He'd kill two birds with one stone! He was going to bake cookies while at full power to practice his energy control! What could possibly go wrong? He could not think of a single downside to this clearly well thought out plan. So, without further ado he slipped on some nice soothing classical music from his phone and began his 'training.'

“Ooookay!” He shouted loudly while clenching his fists and lowering down into a ready stance. “Lets get started! Powering up to max!” He cried out before letting his golden aura explode around him in a fiery display of power. He grit his teeth, muscles tensing beneath his casual wear as he pushed his body to it's maximum power. A few people outside would be able to catch a glimpse of the flickering light radiating from his window but nothing else of the super hero's actions. With a burst of energy the aura would dissipate leaving the hero at his peak. “Yes! Full power!”He laughed dramatically as he stretched his arms out wide. “Yahahahaha! Now, to make the cookies!” He grinned before sweeping his arms to the refrigerator. “Refrigerator! Surrender your ingredients!” He grinned, eyes narrowing on the cooling device containing his food.

“...Wait a minute, I don't know how to make cookies from scratch...” He said placing his hands on his hips frowning at the sudden realization. He looked down before sighing a heavy sigh. Well so much for that plan, that was disappointing... Why didn't he ever learn to cook? He could really use a good- “Cookbook!” He shouted excitement returning to his tone. “Thats right! Mom gave me one of her old cookbooks when I moved! There's got to be a recipe in there!” He smiled smacking his fist into his palm in victory. “Where is it though...” He muttered before opening some of the numerous cabinets he had in his small kitchen. “Nope. Nattta. None. This is a cabinet actually? No-Ack!” As he opened the last cabinet a heavy cookbook would slip out and smack him in the head. “Oh there it is.” He muttered, rubbing his head instinctively as he flipped open the large book.

“Oh! Here's something... Sugar cookies. That'll work, if I had the chocolate chips for chocolate chip cookies I'd just snack on those.” He mused as he closed the book with a loud slam. “Eh? Oh that's right... I need to be focusing on holding myself back. This world may as well be made out of cardboard at my current level of strength...” He laughed nervously as he scratched at the back of his neck again. “Right! The first ingredient then!”He said with a nod “That was...Erk, crap why did I bother closing the book?! I'm getting ahead of myself!”

After getting all his ingredients and utensils Nicolas would begin. “Alright! Time to make the best super sugar cookies (while mastering my power suppression!)” He announced to no one in particular as he began. “Okay, so the first step...” He said looking to the cookbook. “Preheat the oven to three hundred and fifty degrees.” He read before looking to his oven. He gulped. The image of him smashing his oven and breaking it filling his mind. He definitely couldn't afford a mess up like that.”Alright Nic, you've got this. Just relax... And press...The...Button...” He said as he slowly inched his finger towards the button. Focusing on all his might to prevent himself breaking the expensive kitchen appliance he would carefully press a few buttons to set up the preheat. He let out a sigh of relief as he managed to hold himself back. Looks like he wasn't going to be totally screwed after all! “Right next step. Get all the dry ingredients in the bowl. This should be easy enough!”

With extreme confidence he would move to the first ingredient. Flour. He grabbed the bag and tore it open without thinking. His super strength caused the bag to explode open sending flour everywhere around him. “Wha?! No-No! Don't do that!” He cried out as he was soon coated by the fine mist of powder. He coughed once and blinked some of the white dust out of his eyes. “...Crap.”

After taking a bit of time to clean up, and (somehow) get a few cups of flour into the mixing bowl he'd continue on with the recipe. The rest of the dry ingredients were put in without issue. There was a bit of baking powder and a bit of baking soda sifted with the flour. “Right-o now that that's taken care of I gotta grab another bowl and start mixing in all the sweet stuff!” He grinned grabbing another larger nearby bowl to begin.

“First, the sugar.” Learning from his previous mistake he gently opened the bag and poured in the correct amount. “Woah, a lot of sugar goes into these huh? Guess why you call em sugar cookies hehe.” He chuckled to himself before reaching into the fridge to grab the butter and eggs. “Alright now I just need one egg.” He said opening the carton. It should have been a simple task, after all he was getting the hang of controlling his power already. He reached into the carton containing the dozen of eggs and went to grab the first one. His fingers however, while attempting to get a grip on the delicate food, pulverized the first egg before he could even take hold of it. “Ech! That's no good.” He complained, flicking his yoke cover hand to send some of the sticky ooze splattering away. “Alright lets try that again... One egg.” He said this time gently pulling it out of it's container. He grinned, excitement sparking in his forest green eyes as he suddenly let out a cheer. “Haha! Yeah! I'm really getting the hang of this!” He playfully tossed the egg into the air and caught it with a flourish. A loud sticky crack echoed out into the room as he made his catch.

“...”

After washing his hands he'd go back to the carton once more, a determined scowl on his face as he eyeballed the remaining fragile oblong spheres of delicious nutrition. He had to formulate a plan of attack, this was a simple thing. He couldn't be bested by something so weak. He had to prevail! “One egg!” He roared grabbing the next two eggs. If he failed with the first one he'd have another as back up! There was no way he could fail twice in a row! “Now! This is your end! EGGGGGGG!” He cried out holding one of the eggs into the air before slamming it down towards the side of the bowl. The resulting force caused the shell to explode into an eggy shrapnel while the delectable innards slammed down against the counter top. “Crap!” He growled clenching his fists in frustration. A loud sticky crack echoed out into the room as he suddenly felt something sticky in his other hand.

“...”

He washed his hands once again, his head hanging low in defeat. He shuffled over to the carton and gently took an egg and lightly tapped it against the side of the bowl letting the yoke fall into his mixture. While he technically got what he wanted he couldn't help but feel that somehow, the egg had bested him. He'd beat them, one day.

Everything else went by mostly smoothly. He mixed all his ingredients rather easily till they became like the smooth cookie dough he was used to seeing. Using a stencil cutter he would fill a cookie sheet with little sugary star shaped cookies and open his preheated oven. He winced, the extreme heat nearly blowing him back as he waved his hand in front of his face. "Dang that sucker fires up quick! It's sweltering!"

He slid the cookie sheet into the heated appliance and gently closed the door of his rented oven. Now all he had to do was set the timer and he was all done. Upon finishing his preparations he would smile and nod with confidence. "I...I did it! I managed to contain my power! This is awesome!" He cried out happily as he released his full powered charge. "I mean I made a bit of a mess but mission successful all the same! No major damage was done or anything! With a little more practice I might be able to make this power suppression thing second nature to me!" He smiled as he did a playful little victory jig to celebrate.

As he was dancing like an idiot he'd hear the sound of his door being opened. His heart stopped for a single moment. Who the heck was that?! Who had access to his apartment?! He didn't have any roomates and management usually knocked before they entered. He exited his kitchen "Hey! What do you think you're-" As he walked around the corner ready to confront his would be intruder he would stop.  In the main hallway he'd see a familiar young man standing. He was a tall young man (though slightly shorter than himself) with trimmed yet messy brown hair and a pair of thick black glasses resting on his nose. He was currently dressed in a collared shirt, a black apron, black slacks, and a pair of no-slip work shoes. He had clearly stopped by Nicolas' home on his way home from work. He wanted to come and try and see his older brother.

"Luke? What are you doing here man? You should have called!" Nicolas said with a smile before turning. "C'mon in man! I managed to make some home made cookies! Can you believe that? Oh and take your shoes off." Nicolas said walking into the living room. Lucas didn't respond however, he just sort of looked ahead listlessly as if he were waiting for someone. His lip quivered lightly after a long silent moment but he shook his head, hardening his expression as he walked into the apartment. His breath was shallow and shaky and his eyebrows were knitted with determination.

"Nic. Come on out!" He cried out as he stepped into the living room with purpose. He didn't bother taking off his shoes, he didn't have the time for that. He needed to see his brother. He had to. He didn't come all this way to be ignored.

"What's up dude?" Nicolas called out from the kitchen, he just wanted to take a moment to check if he set the timer right. He could already smell the sweet sugary scent of fresh cookies wafting from his oven and it made his mouth water.

"NICCCC!" Lucas cried out with enough force to let his voice echo through the modest apartment. His voiced sounded frantic, strained, and upset. The sound was enough to alert him and urge him to heed his call.

"Hey dude! No need to stress, I'm here. What's up?" He asked as he rushed inside to his living room. His brother sounded almost panicked. What was going on with him? Showing up uninvited... Not talking to him... Yelling at him... It was really weird and honestly it was upsetting him lightly.

Luke's eyes scanned about before he settled his gaze towards Nicolas and the kitchen. Nic blinked as he got a good look at his younger brother's face. His eyes had thick bags around them and were red, practically bloodshot. They both remained quiet for a moment, staring in each other's eyes. After a moment Nic's eyes would shoot up in alarm. The hardened expression his brother was trying to keep up started cracking as tears began to burn in his eyes. His quivering lip broke into a gnashing of teeth as he fought back his building emotion. All was silent for a few tense moments. Nicolas found it hard to breathe seeing his brother contort in such emotional agony. He swallowed, before speaking to him in a soft voice.

"Luke what's-"

"YOU BASTARD! YOU FUCKING BASTARD! HOW COULD YOU DO THIS!?" Luke screamed out in fury as the tears freely streamed down his face. He tried to contain himself but all he could do was tremble and shake all over as he began to sob uncontrollably. He thrashed about for a few moments as he let his bottled emotions free. He wasn't sure what he was expecting when he came here but he was letting everything out now. 

"Luke! Luke! What's going on?! Talk to me! Please!" Nicolas pleaded, worry overtaking him as he moved to comfort his brother.

"Fuck you Nic." Lucas spat as collapsed, falling to his knees. Bitter tears splattered unto the apartment's wood flooring as he continued to sob, leating his tears fall freely. "Why aren't you here? Where did you go? Why aren't you home?" He asked as he continued to cry.

"Luke... I'm here... I'm right here... I never left! Look at me..." Nicolas said as he placed his hand on his brother's shoulder. "Snap out of it man... What's going on?" He said trying to reassure his brother and himself.

"...Where are you?" Lucas asked, unfazed by his brother's words. "Where...Where did you go?" Luke asked, fear taking hold and causing him to choke suddenly. The bitter tears of rage turning into tears of sorrow.

"Luke?" Nicolas asked before he noticed things starting to shift and fade around him. He looked to the arm clasping his brother as it suddenly started to burn away charring before his very eyes into nothing but black cinders. Nicolas' eyes widened as he fell back suddenly.

"Where did you go?" Those were the last words he heard as he began to fall away into a steamy hell. Nicolas helplessly watched as his brother was torn away from him. He cried out in agony, his body burning away to a crisp as he reached out, the thoughts of consoling his brother overtaking all the pain and agony.

"I'm here! I'm here! I'm here! I'm here!" He screamed, desperate to let his brother know that he didn't abandon him. How could he do that? He would never think such a thing! He had to let him know! He had to let him know that everything was alright.

"I-I'M..." 

His vision returned, the sight of his trembling black limb greeting him as he reached out... His brother wasn't there anymore... No one was... All there was... Was that word... The one his mind kept going back to.