Michael continued on with his shrill screaming, not showing any signs of stopping any time soon.

But Magnus, on the other hand, had something to say about that, taking up the butt of the blaster once more, he cuffed Michael on the back of the head with it, and said to him very frigidly, "Shut up."

At once, Michael did as he was commanded, just so that he could get the pain to stop. He looked up at Magnus with defiance in his eyes as blood rolled down his lips from his broken nose.

Magnus shook his head to himself, at the folly, the fool is continuing to commit. The idiot does not even realize the situation he found himself in. His minions cannot help him, the whole room is turned against him, and now, the person who he was threatening to kill has his life right in his hands.

Yet he is looking at Magnus with no shred of fear, and a sneer. 'This idiot is hopeless,' Magnus thought.

Before Magnus could continue with what he was doing, a voice interpreted him, and it was from nobody else except for Aunt Avril. “Alright, that is enough from the two of you,” Avril said as she walked up towards Michael and Magnus, with a swagger and a shotgun slung over her back.

“If the two of you want to continue with your little show, then take it outside. I will not have you brawling or shooting at each other in my bar. Is that clear?” Aunt Avril asked as she looked at each young man right in the eyes.

Magnus immediately surrendered, as he placed both of his hands up in the air, gesturing that he will comply with her rules. But Michael, on the other hand, did not take Avril's underlying threat seriously. Still feeling anger and trying to find an outlet to pour all of his frustration and displeasure, Michael had the bright idea of going up against Avril bidding and wishes.

“Listen here, you old hag, I…”

Magnus promptly sucked in a cold breath of air once he heard what Michael called Aunt Avril. 'Oh, the poor fucker is totally dead now, didn’t he ever hear, not to call a woman, old?'

And that is exactly how it came to be, in a streak of light, Avril was upon Michael, and with a one, two, both of Michael’s legs were broken against Avril’s shotgun.

Michael didn’t even have a chance to scream out in pain and protest; the only thing he was able to do was to drop to the floor like a puppet whose strings were cut off. His eyes rolled back into his socket, foam started to come out from his mouth, and in a second, he was unconscious as his mind could not handle the extreme pain.

Everyone in the bar, just watched as Avril dispatched Michael, nobody dared to even look at the she-demon’s eyes as a ghost of pain passed through their ankles. The two goons of Michael had their mouths hanging wide open in shock and fright, then they glanced over at Avril, who stood over Michael with a vacant look.

Then as if sensing their gaze, Avril turned around to look at them, instantly, without their control, they trembling from head to toe. In their opinion, if Magnus was to be compared to a frightening beast, then Avril could be compared to a spine-chilling, hair-raising, blood-curdling monster of pure terror and...badassery.

“The two of you,” Avril said as she pointed at the two goons with her shotgun, “stop squirming around like little girls and come pick up this piece of shit, and get the fuck out of my bar.”

For the first time in forever, a pure and genuine expression passed through the two goons face, this one was not that of fear or shock, it was one of pure relief. Relief that they will be keeping their lives, and somehow be able to get their boss back home, breathing, and alive.

They quickly ran up to their patron, hastily collected him as carefully as they could, all the while fearing that the she-demon would retract her statement.

As they did that, Magnus was able to catch the conversation that the two of them where having. For a moment there, he thought it was the grunt and growl of a beast, but somehow he understood it.

“I hope the boss does not come back here ever again.” Lobal or Jovel said, “This is literally a den of monsters.”

“Is that what you are worried about.” The other one asked.

“What?” The first speaker asked his companion.

“What do you mean, ‘What?’ aren’t you worried about what will happen to us when we go back?”

“Uhhh, I guess that is a secondary worry for me.”

The second speaker just looked at his co-worker, then he sighed in defeat, “Yeah, I guess you are right.”

Magnus merely stood there, frozen in place, as his brain tried to process what it was hearing. The only thing that raced through Magnus's mind was, “Holy shit! They can fucking talk.”

Without noticing the bombshell that was playing through Magnus's mind, the two brutes hurriedly ran out of the bar once they had their chief, safely in their hands.

Magnus watched them go, he rubbed his eyes, once then twice, and came to a final decision. “You know what, I think I just dreamt that,” he said, as he bobbed his head, more to assure himself than anything else.

“What did you just say?” Avril asked Magnus as she looked at him, puzzled.

“Oh,” Magnus said, “Nothing, really. Anyways, why did you have to interfere, Aunt Avril.”

“Well, I thought it was obvious,” Bret said, as he coasted into Magnus and Avril's conversation, “You were really about to kill the worthless little thing.”

Magnus chuckled in amusement at Bret’s remark, “I could say the same for Aunt Avril. She brought him more pain, then he experienced in ten lives.”

Aunt Avril rolled her eyes at Magnus witty retort, and said in a gruff voice, “That shit does not matter right now,”

“Really,” Bret said as he interrupted Avril, “because I think that little Magnus, over here, made a life long enemy, who would stop at nothing to see him suffer.”

Avril merely glared down at Bret, with a blank look that told of much pain and suffering if he did not shut up. Bret quickly sensed the meaning of the stare, and he promptly betrayed a sheepish smile and promptly shut his mouth.

Once Avril saw that no more interruptions were forthcoming any more, she turned back to face Magnus as said to him in a growl. “You have a lot of explaining to do, young man.”

Magnus immediately swallowed down on the lump building up in his throat, as a cold sweat broke through his forehead. 'Why couldn’t I started punching at Michael when he came walking through that door,' Magnus wailed in his mind.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“You take care of yourself, Magnus,” somebody shouted in the now meager crowd. Magnus waved in the general direction that the voice came from as he walked towards the exit.

“Yeah,” another person cried out in the agreement, as he waved his fist, which held his drink, into the air.

“All you got to do, Magnus, is tell if that bastard comes around again, and we will set him straight.”

“Thanks,” Magnus said to whoever said that.

“Forget that, we will go to his house and ripe him a new one.”

Magnus quickly turned his head to face the idiot who yelled that out, very concerned. He saw it was a man who was too deep into his cups, and sighed out a breath of relief. There comes nothing good from messing around with a gifted person, and inside of Michael’s house is three gifted people.

As he turned around to stroll out the exit once again, somebody tapped him on the shoulder. Magnus rounded on to the perpetrator and saw that it was Anthony, “Ms. Avril told me to give you these,” he said as he handed Magnus some keys. “In her very own words, she said, ‘there is no cab coming down here, so you better take my car, home.’ Also, she said, ‘you better make sure to tell it to come back here, it is the only ride I have.’ ”

“Oh, thanks, Anthony,” Magnus said as he yawned involuntarily, “Well, I better get going, it is pretty late, now. And if I ever have any hope of getting Aunt Avril car back to her before you guys close, I got to hurry.”

Magnus tried to walk away from Anthony, but the man held him tightly in his grasp and did not let Magnus move even a millimeter.

Magnus looked up upon Anthony bewildered, and a bit cross then asked him, “Is there something else you need to tell me, Anthony?”

The giant, bald man inclined his head at Magnus's question and said, “Yes, and this is from me, personally.”

“Oh?” Magnus said, never expect this from Anthony, the man is somebody of a few words, he never talks if it is unnecessary. So Magnus immediately straightened up and listened closely to Anthony had to say since this was a first.

Anthony bobbed his head up and down, once he saw who serious Magnus has become, “All I wanted to say is be careful. All my life, I had known been of service to one scumbag to another, and the one thing I have learned is that they do not forgive the slightest of insults. And you, on the other hand, have gone far beyond that, so once again, I will say this, be careful, Magnus.”

Magnus looked on in surprise, not at what Anthony said, no he knew that already, deep inside his heart, but he was shocked at the underlying telltale of what Anthony said. 'So he used to work for, What? Rich people, no, maybe gifted people, that would make more sense. Anyways, rich and gifted are always tied together, so there is no point dividing them up.'

Magnus shook his head, as those thoughts raced around in his head, 'Anthony’s history is his history and his history alone, not mine. All that matters is I take his good advice with a nod of the head, and a smile since it was a good one, even though I knew it. It is always appreciated when good advice is repeated over and over.'

Still looking on at Anthony, Magnus wiped away at all other expressions except for a smile, “Thanks for the advice, Anthony.”

Anthony nodded his head and let go of Magnus, “Ms. Avril’s car is out in the back.” He shouted after Magnus as he made his way out of the bar.

“Ahh, today has been a long day,” Magnus said to no one in particular as he followed Anthony’s guidance, and made it to the back of the bar.

“Yeah, I would say,” Codex said, as she finally decided to show herself.

“Oh, hey Codex,” Magnus said as he gazed around the back of the bar, looking for Aunt Avril’s car. “You have been awfully quiet the whole time I was in the bar.”

Codex, Pff-ed, Magnus, and said to him, “Well, I am a helpful person, unlike you.”

“What do you mean?” Magnus asked as his brows furrowed in puzzlement while he walked toward Aunt Avril’s car, which he had finally found.

“Well, while you were getting an earful from Aunt Avril and having a sob fest with everyone in the bar, I was helping out. There was a bot out back in the storage room, and I took it over and used it to help with the jam.”

“Hey!” Magnus shouted indignantly as he fumbled with the keys, trying to open the car door. “I will have you know I asked Aunt Avril if she needed help, she said, NOOO! Okay! And on a side note, I never saw you!”

“Like I said,” Codex said, “You were having a sob fest.”

Magnus grumbled under his breath as he got into the car, too ashamed to talk about the tears and all the other acts he committed under the influence of alcohol. 'Seriously, though, that shit is the killer of all intellect.'

“Can you just drive, Codex, and for the love of god, could you please stop chastising me every single moment that you get,” Magnus asked, hopefully.

Codex just laughed, “Ooo, poor little Magnus, don’t you know, this is what I live for.”

Magnus just groaned in despair at the bleak outlook of his life as Codex uploaded herself into the car and drove off into the distance.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

“We’re home!” Codex immediately shouted once they walked through the door of Magnus’ apartment.

“Ohh, you are so loud!” Magnus said sleepily, as he walked unsteadily towards his room as he kicked off his shoes.

“You should go brush your teeth before you head off to sleep, and maybe even shower while you are at, you smell like vomit and alcohol.”

“I am so tired,” Magnus said as he paused in his step towards his bedroom, “I will do that in the morning.”

Codex sighed, it was a long and excruciating one, she looked down upon Magnus, in a metaphorical sense, and said to him. “Magnus, Magnus, Magnus, I would hate to stop you from your sleep, but you know what will happen if you do not follow the ground rules we have set up.”

Magnus groaned in helplessness once he heard that hidden threat from Codex, just thinking about what she would do made him involuntary shudder in dread. The only thing he could do was cry out like a little child, “This is tyranny, you hear, Codex.”

“Yes, yes,” Codex said, as she dismissed Magnus childish outburst, “Now will you follow the ground rules we have set up, brushing your teeth before going to bed?”

“Yes,” Magnus growled, “do I even have a choice?” He also asked, but the question was more to himself than Codex.

Codex helplessly rolled her eyes as Magnus acted like melodramatic, and at the same time he made his way to the only bathroom in the apartment.

“It is easier if you shower and brush your teeth at the same time,” Codex said.

“Yes, mother,” Magnus replied back to her sarcastically.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

After a while, Magnus, at long last, came out of the steaming bathroom, with only a light blue towel wrapped around his waistline and another one he was using to wipe his hair.

“Ahhh,” Magnus voiced as he exhaled a breath of relief and contentment. “Now that is what you call a shower,” he said out loud to no one in particular as he made his way to the living room of his apartment.

“You do know that your bed is that way, right?” Codex asked, stumped since Magnus was making himself comfortable in his living room chair.

“Well, Codex,” Magnus drolled on, completely calm as he turned on the Holo TV and started to switch channels. “I would have been asleep right now, tucked away inside my bed, having pleasant dreams and whatnot, but you had to bring up house rules. Well, I will have you know, I could do that too. House Rule number 31; Magnus is a fully grown man, so he could sleep whenever he wants to.” Magnus completed sayings, as a wide and happy grin played on his lips.

“HA!” He then added while he came to a new channel, “Let's see you wiggle your way out of this one, Codex.”

“AAAAA!” Codex shouted in exasperation and spleen, “You know what, FINE!”

“Fine,” Magnus intoned after Codex, but she was long gone by then.

.

Even though he would live on to regret this decision he has made today, still, it felt exhilarating to defy Codex once in a while.

Anyways all relationships work like this. Once in a while, a partner needs to blow off some steam, after all, is said and done, they come back to each other stronger and more steadfast.

He was feeling content as a cat with himself, since Magnus was able to blow off some steam, physically and emotionally, speaking. He sat back on his couch, made himself comfy once again, and turned his attention to what is on the news.

BBC News: Once again, Ghost stricks out, this time it was the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom! Late last night, authorities found the body of the Prime Minister in The Lanesborough hotel, which he had checked into late that evening. Also, the body of young superstar Olivia Sunfor was also found in the scene, some are theorizing that they were having am an affair.

Magnus chuckled at the reporter's gross understatement, they were totally having an affair.

BBC News: In other news, the Arabian Federation and the Sanskrit Empire are at it once again. This time the Sanskrit Empire have shot down an Arabian Federation drone, which they say has crossed their airspace. The Arabian Federation officials have gone out to sa-...

At that Magnus switched the channel to something more local, you can’t go by a day unless you hear something depressing, huh! Truly, this is the state of the world nowadays.

KARE 11: Welcome back folks, today some shocking has come out. Governor Johnson has been funneling state tax for years now.

Wow, even they have downcast news, Magnus thought, maybe I should have listened to Codex and gone off to sleep. Yeah, I got to wake up early to go to work anyways.

With that thought, Magnus got up from the couch and went off to his room.

But what he did not know was that the news continued on…

KARE 11: We also have some tragic news to report, just a few hours ago, a gifted individual ran rampant in Saint Fairlane Hospital, killing a total of 66 people and injuring even more. The perpetrator of this atrocity is Lamon Gilbert, a 47-year-old psychotic patient at the hospital.