Dynamic | pt. ix
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Scenario: Superhero AU Pairing: Chen/Reader Word Count: 3356 Rating: T (warning: violence, implied graphic description)
Summary: You’re the leading superhero of the city, and you’ve fought Dynamo for years. It’s the way it should be - good vs. evil, hero vs. villain. But what happens when a bigger evil threatens everything?
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For a moment, it’s like the world has frozen. You see every second of it in slow motion, your ears dead to the sound. The Dragon stays motionless, blooms of an inferno spreading around its legs, rippling reflections of red spreading across its metal body.
You can smell the fire. It’s not contained, and you watch in horror as the flames spread faster than you would have thought possible. The boom of the impact comes a moment later, a deafening sound that startles you into action.
“I’m going in,” you say, moving away from the podium. “You can cover me if you want.”
“Y/N-” Chen starts, but you’re not listening. You’re starting to feel the tingle of the smoke. It’s all your fault - the Dragon is attacking you, and only you. These people are dying because of you. It’s more crushing than any realization you’ve ever had.
“Y/N, it’s not safe,” Chen says. “You should wait for backup.”
You shake your head. “I’m going,” you repeat. And then you’re rushing forward. Blinking forward, jumping from place to place, teleporting for longer distances than you should be, but not feeling the effect. Along the way, you push people out of the path of the flame, keep them from stampeding straight into it. You pull a little girl to here feet where she cowers, her family nowhere to be seen. Looking around in dismay, you pick her up into a carry and blink away, reappearing at the edge of the lawn to safely deposit her in front of a police officer.
You look back on the chaos, and you go back in.
All you can think of is finishing this, once and for all. The Dragon can’t get away with this anymore. Good always trumps evil, and you’re going to make sure it stays that way.
Closer to the site, you can feel the heat. This isn’t normal fire. It’s turned into a raging conflagration, and it has to be from someone’s ability. Someone must be controlling the flames, making them burn hotter and spread further.
You don’t want to look around at the people, but you have no choice. More than seeing them - you’re moving too fast for that - you hear them, the screams, moans of pain. The bitter scent of burnt grass is in the air, mingling with something you hope beyond hope isn’t the smell of burnt flesh.
Finally, you’re at the Dragon’s feet. Staring up at the skyscraper height of it as it dwarfs you. Looking at your minuscule reflection in the polished steel of its leg.
“I’m here,” you shout, squinting against the smoke that stings your eyes. Somehow, the fire has cut a path around you, leaving you in an empty swath of charred ground, surrounded by a solid wall of flame that cuts you off from the rest of the world. “I’m here, you bastard, come and get me!”
It moves. Slowly, but the massive creak of its metallic joints resounds through the open air as they grind against one another. The head tilts down to look at you, its whole body moving sinuously, its great metal wings spreading on either side.
“So small,” the voice comes from the creature, but you recognize it as the Dragon’s. That voice gives you chills as you remember your last meeting. This is evil, Rush. This is what you can’t fight.
“So small, yet you stand so tall,” it rasps. “You make a formidable opponent.”
Your mouth curls into a snarl. “Your battle is with me. Not with these people.”
There’s a clanking sound from its head, something that you realize is supposed to be a laugh. “You can’t always save everyone, Rush. Sometimes you have to lose. Sometimes, evil has to win. It’s how the world maintains a balance.”
“Evil never wins,” you say, and inside - within yourself, within the very part that makes you a hero - you know it’s true. “Evil never wins.”
That clanking sound comes again. “If that’s what you believe, then I’ll just have to prove you wrong.”
Not if I can help it.
In the split second before the Dragon can attack, you spring into motion. Blinking up into the air, you flip and land on the tip of its tail just as it raises to slam into you. The movement is too fast and you almost lose yourself, clutching onto the smooth, hot metal with every last bit of strength you have. From there, you run up the tail, scrambling over the segments as fast as you can. It’s too risky to try blinking yourself up, because the Dragon can move anywhere at any time, and you could find yourself falling through the air. And you might not have anyone to catch you this time.
The Dragon swings its tail around to its front - just like you’d expected - raising it up closer to its head. You barely manage to hold on as you’re slowly lifted into the air, closer and closer by the second -
When it’s close enough for you to blink, you do it. Without any warning, you’re gone, dislodged from its tail and standing steady on the top of its head. You’ll have to move fast. If the Dragon can see you, you’re a goner.
You pull your Blades from their straps on your back. But you’re not sure where to attack. The last time, your Blades had barely even dented the metal of its body, and it had taken numerous hits to the face before you managed to shatter the glass that covered its head.
You’re sure your second of hesitation has cost you, but in the very same thought you realize that the Dragon has frozen. Its tail is in the same place, its head locked in the same angle it had been looking down at you from. A thought runs through your head. Could it be…
You crouch, waiting a second longer. Two seconds longer. It swings its tail back down, straightening its spine. Head tilting to look left and right.
It is!
The last time you’d fought the Dragon, he’d been in a building some distance away, watching every second of the fight from an outside angle, able to see your every move. But now, the head is moving around like one would when trying to look around itself. Like it can’t see behind itself any other way.
When you’d shattered the glass face, you’d seen a control room within the skull. One that he could very well be inside now.
But how would you get there?
You don’t have any longer to think, because the Dragon moves. A sudden jerk of its body that sends you flying off.
Not again!
You feel yourself falling through the air, the wind buffeting your back as you feel it ripping fast. The heat of the flames below grows stronger. You close your eyes.
The panic swallows you. You feel your grasp on your ability weaken until you can barely feel it, the muscle memory of it inaccessible. You push yourself harder - to no avail. You’re going to crash into the ground and it’s going to be over. You’re going to let him win.
No.
You repeat the words that have kept you strong for years. The words you tell yourself in every battle. The words that put you to sleep when the guilt of two kills kept you awake. The words you’re going to prove today, no matter what it takes.
Evil never wins.
You open your eyes. You’re still falling, but you feel the panic seep away, your body reinforced by the strength of your will. With one burst of all the energy you have left, you teleport yourself out of your freefall, not even focusing on where you want to go. Only caring about getting to safety.
Your vision blurs. Beyond that, though, you feel the stable ground beneath your feet and you almost faint with relief. You’re going to live to fight another day.
The heat surrounding you smacks you back to reality.
You’re going to have to get past these flames first.
Somehow, you’ve managed to land yourself in a clear patch of land, the burnt grass crunching beneath your boots preventing the fire that rings the clearing from coming closer. It’s definitely not natural fire - the wall of flame stretches twice your height, the heat forming a mirage that doesn’t let you see beyond.
A shadow emerges from the fire in front of you, and you hold your breath.
He’s a hulking mass of muscle, his skin somehow made of rock. White-hot veins shoot across his body, the same color as his eyes and his open mouth. It must be the super who’s controlling the fire. You have no idea what kind he is - volcanic? Some other kind entirely?
You move into a fighting stance, only just realizing that you’ve dropped one of your Blades on the way to safety. There’s no time for regret before your opponent is gathering a ball of fire in his hands, a glowing mass of heat that grows almost too blinding to look at, ribbons of pure energy crackling around his body as it gathers. There’s nowhere to run but up into the air. Your eyes go wide, and you blink twenty feet up just as he lets the fire go. The energy dissipates below you as you fall back down to the ground, landing in a crouch in the aftermath.
He’s solid fury. His eyes grow even hotter, his skin ignite. You wrap your hands around the hilt of your only remaining Blade and hold on to it tight. Despite yourself, your hand shakes, your grip on the slick metal wavering.
With a yell, you charge forward - only to be thrown back by a burst of energy. You sprawl onto your back, groaning, barely inches from the wall of fire. The ends of your hair catch fire. You scramble to your feet, batting it out.
You bite your lip, feeling that panic of falling come back. There has to be some way to get rid of this guy - you just need to think. But you find that you can’t, your mind coming up blank. You’re trapped, literally.
He gathers another ball of fire in his hands, this one smaller and bright red. Letting instinct guide you, you roll out of the way as he lets it fly at where you stood moments ago. Another one hits, and you dodge. Again, again. You’re getting closer to him with each movement, the gap between you growing smaller by the second.
When you’re close enough, you don’t think. The end of your Blade cuts through his foot like a hot knife through butter. The stump glows white, cauterizing itself as he screams. You spin, and cut through his other leg, closer to the knee this time, and he tumbles backward into the fire. The pain has made him lose his grip on his power, and you see the rocky texture of his body melt into normal human skin, the surface of it exposed to the heat.
You look away. The smell of burning flesh is enough for you to know that he won’t be getting up again.
Instantly, the fires quiet, shrinking down to nothing. Through the haze of the smoke, you see figures flying through the air around the Dragon - your backup. There’s Seism, and Whirlwind, hoisted into the air by a small tornado beneath his feet. They’re enough to keep the Dragon occupied until you can get there to help.
Which might take longer than you’d hoped. You feel fatigue starting to turn your vision black.
“Easy there,” comes a voice just as you’re about to collapse. You melt into a familiar pair of arms, a warmth that’s held you many times. A warmth that you immediately accept, despite everything. Or maybe because of it.
“Jongdae,” you croak out, the tears that sting your eyes more from the smoke than anything else. “Jongdae, I’m so tired.”
“It’s not over yet, Y/N,” he says. “Come on, you can do this.”
You squeeze your eyes tighter shut. You don’t want to open then, don’t want to go back. Don’t want to see. “I can’t. I’m so tired - so tired of being Rush.”
You feel him move his hands to your shoulders, holding you upright. “Maybe you don’t have to be Rush. Maybe you can just be Y/N.”
Slowly, you let yourself open your eyes. Through the sudden, blinding light, you see his face. He’s tilted his visor up just enough for you to see his eyes. “Maybe the world needs Y/N now.”
A tear slips out onto your cheek. “I - I can’t. I’m not enough.”
He shakes you, once. “No. I know Y/N, and I know Rush. And I know you’re the same person. I know you can be both.” His grip is firm, thumbs pressing into your shoulders. Holding you solid. “Everything that makes Rush great, everything that makes her a hero, is because of you, Y/N. There’s no Rush without you.”
You turn to look up at the sky, where the fight is still going on - the Dragon showing no sign of backing down. If anything, he’s growing more powerful. The other heroes are barely able to hold it off, barely able to dodge its attacks.
“Do you trust me, Y/N?”
You swallow. Nod once. “I trust you.”
“Then trust me when I say you can do this.” And with that, he steps away, his hands no longer holding you upright - but you manage to keep your back straight and your head up.
“I can do this,” you repeat, and look back at the Dragon.
Can you really? Can you really be Rush and Y/N at the same time? Suddenly, it dawns on you that you never needed to make that distinction between yourself and your alter ego. You were never two separate people, just the two sides of one coin. You drew your strength from Rush, and Rush drew that same strength from you. You were united by the same values. The same drive to be a hero.
You’re going to be your own hero - and the people’s, too.
“Let’s go,” you say. Jongdae smiles and clicks down his visor, leaving you unable to see his face once more.
Taking a deep breath, you start to run. Towards the battle, the clash of the fight growing louder, more real by the second. You speed up, and in seconds you’re there again, at the feet of the giant Dragon. Except this time, you don’t feel small at all.
It’s time to end this.
Again, your thoughts return to your earlier plan - getting into the Dragon, fighting him one on one. But how are you going to do it? Breaking the glass was hard enough last time - you have a feeling it’s not likely to happen again. You stare up at the Dragon’s body, running your eyes over every inch of it, every joint. Nothing.
He’s got to get in there somehow...
And then you see it. It’s barely visible, and you don’t even know how you’re able to make it out, but it’s there. A thin line where two panels must fit together, running in a line between the Dragon’s jaw and neck, looking very much like…a door.
“I have a plan,” you breathe, and nod at Jongdae. “Get me-” you point “-up there.”
You don’t know if he sees it, if he understands what you’re trying to do, but he holds out his arms anyway. You press into him, letting his arms wrap around you once again as you both lift up into the air, flying the eighty feet up to the Dragon’s head. You’re behind it, unseen as the Dragon battles Whirlwind on the other side.
“There,” you say, hushed. Closer to the head, you see it’s obviously a door, and you have no idea how you missed it before. A rectangle outlined on the back on the Dragon’s skull, just the perfect size for a person. Jongdae brings you closer, his hold on you tightening as if he remembers you’re now almost seven stories above the ground.
Jongdae’s visor slides open, and you see just a hint of worry in his eyes. “Are you sure?” He asks, and you know it’s not just about the door being the right way to go. He’s asking you if you’re ready. If you can do this. If you need to go back.
But you don’t. You’re ready.
“I’m sure,” you say, and smile at him. “I know you’ll always catch me if I fall.” And it’s true. Despite your falling-out, you know there’s something between you that isn’t just chemistry. It’s trust. Belief.
You’re right in front of the door now, Jongdae holding you to him as you think of a way to get it open. You’re almost second-guessing your plan - what if you’re wrong? What if there’s no way to get in? What if the Dragon isn’t inside at all?
There’s no going back now, though. You need to work fast, before the Dragon figures out what you’re trying to do. This is your last shot. Gritting your teeth, you grip your Blade, thrusting it into the seam between the door panel and the rest of the skull. Once, twice. You work the tip of the Blade around, running it down the gap until you feel something hit it. A latch? You shove the Blade into it. The sound is hollower, less metallic. You try to pry the panel off, putting your whole strength into the movement, but it’s no use.
“See if this helps,” you hear Jongdae shout. He turns, pressing his palm to the metal. You see the crackle of electricity run along the edge of the panel. A strange noise emanates from within, a kind of metallic groan. This time when you use your Blade to push the edge, it pops open. The groan cuts off.
Inside, it’s dark, cool. There’s the low, sinister hum of something machine-like, accompanied by tiny, rhythmic clicks that echo every few seconds. It’s definitely a door, though - inside is a hallway sort of thing, like an airlock. You enter and Jongdae sets you down.
The door shuts, blocking out every bit of noise. A tiny strip of lights in the ceiling illuminates the way ahead, revealing another door a few feet ahead.
The Dragon freezes, as if it senses you.
You step up to the door, trying to push it open. It doesn’t budge. You reach for your Blade again, to try jamming it open, but Jongdae puts his hand on your arm, stopping you.
“That might not be the best idea,” he whispers, and cocks his head toward the door. You make out a small red light and below that - a keypad. It’s locked electronically. You nod, and he steps forward, squinting at the setup. Carefully, he touches the pads of his fingers to the keys. With a small exhale, current shoots forward, frying the lock.
This time, when you push on the door, it opens.
You feel the world go still. It’s so silent, without any of the mayhem of the outside permeating the interior. It’s dark, too, and your eyes immediately gravitate to the one thing that’s visible. The figure of the Dragon silhouetted in blue light. Facing you. Watching you.
In the next second, you’re springing forward, blinking onto him and sending both of you toppling over. There’s a scream, and you only realize it’s you screaming in rage after you’ve already got your hands wrapped around the Dragon’s throat. Squeezing hard. He gasps, chokes on air under your hold.
Something hits you in the back of the head, hard: a floating bar of metal. You’re forced to let go. The pain leaves you reeling, your vision blacking out for the second time today. You fight it off as much as you can, but it hits you again, harder this time. Your skull rattles.
You only hear Jongdae calling out your name as everything fades away.
a/n: i’m nearly done with the last part of this!! ahhh i can’t believe it’s almost over! sorry this is late, tumblr was being a piece of shit and wouldn’t let me log on
p.s. i love jongdae :’)