Just about ten minutes ago, when the lava was rising...
As the lava rushes, we see Quadeem jumping on and off rooftops, looking for his little brother.
"This little a** n***a gonna just run straight into some bulls**t without me? That bull lucky I'm—-wait, what in the world?"
Quadeem front-flips and lands on a rooftop and then rolls to get some cover. But he's not just hiding. He's also listening.
The artist and his assistant are on the next rooftop, watching the battle between HeroDude and The Liquefier play out. The Artist stand on the edge with confidence while the assistant tries to keep his stance.
"Uh boss? The lava is... kinda getting close. "
"Aye Bumboclat. You scared of a little of wet water are you?"
"Sir…..that's not hot water….THAT'S F**KING LAVA!"
"Relax…Relax. Besides you're a human. The "Hero" will save you."
"Well…well, sir. Even if he is gonna save me that don't mean we should just stand here and wait for it to happen! Is there a plan to this?"
"Plan? No no. It's a simple trope an artist has. You see, sometimes to make art, you need to observe. Look around for ideas, for inspiration to make your piece more magnificent. Or… sometimes you'll see something that you…don't want to see in your art."
"And the Hero is someone who is an anomaly to my work. You see, when I destroyed that excuse of a museum. Something that I did not account for is that a reality sorcerer would appear so quickly."
He points at The Liquefier
"Liquid boy over there was that sorcerer."
"So me and…"that" had an intense battle. It was truly art. But then I sensed the Hero. I sensed the anomaly."
"I wanted to battle him myself. But… I saw what he did to The Behemoth. So I didn't wanna fight him with an empty mind. After all. You can make art with a blank canvas. Not a blank mind. So I covered Liquid boy with paint, controlled his body, and made him one of my artworks. And made him fight the Hero."
"Now, with them two fighting, I can watch…see how the hero fights. Why he fights. And how I could turn that into art! You get it now?"
"Dude"
The Artist turns and sees Quadeem holding a knocked-out assistant
"Are you seriously monologuing? You could've just said that you mind-controlled liquid bull so you can watch him and HeroDude fight! You know…like what a normal person would say."
The artist sighs
"Another anomaly…. I seen enough anyways."
"The Artist splats paint into the ground. He then steps on it as the paint levitates with him on it."
"Sorry mister, but at this moment, I'm an observer."
Quadeem points his sword at the artist.
"Just like how you was observing that museum getting destroyed huh? Yeah! That kinda made the news."
As the two are talking. Paint starts to take over the assistant's body.
"Oh. The news saw the worst of me, but not the best of my work?"
"….I mean I guess I don't know."
Suddenly, the Assistant grabs him and traps him in a bear hug.
"Like I said! I'm the observer. But my assistant. He's the fighter!"
The Artist flies away, leaving his assistant and Quadeem alone.
"You know, my dad taught me like… 5 ways to get outta a bear hug, right?"
Present time.
HeroDude and Quadeem both stand over the assistant as firefighters and cops start to surround the area.
"Yeah. So, long story short., this dude knows might know a lot about this Artist…
END OF CHAPTER