Summary: Fictober Prompt 3) “Now? Now you listen to me?” or Roman is a #dumbdumb and Logan is there to fix it.
Word Count: 297
Warnings: Blood, Injury.
***
Logic was unsurprised when The Prince left HQ without his shield. He was also unsurprised when he came back hours later covered in blood and dirt.
“I think I should’ve taken the shield.” He puffed, hands cradling the torn uniform on his waist as he stumbled through the door. His legs managed to carry him half-way into the room before promptly giving out, his sidekick barely having enough time to catch him before they both ended up on the ground.
“Now? Now you listen to me?” Logic sighed, lifting his ‘genius’ friend up onto the table and gathering the first aid supplies. This had become a common occurrence, not the not listening but the returning covered in injuries. The life of a hero was never easy.
“I know, I know. ‘I told you so’, I’ve heard it a hundred times. Just fix me and berate me later, Book Germ.” Logic nodded and began his work, disinfecting and covering the various cuts and scrapes that covered the hero’s skin, smirking each time he grimaced and whined at the pain.
“This is your own fault.” Logic pressed against one cut slightly harder than the others, relishing in The Prince’s flinch.
“Technically, it’s Shadow and Glass Heart’s faults. I’m not the one that threw knives across the room nor am I the one that threw me into a wall.” He pouted, Logic ignoring his words as he packed away the kit, turning to his partner. The now covered wounds still glared under the harsh lighting of the basement, the computer screens and devices littering the room not helping to soften the look of pain in his eyes.
“Take the fucking shield next time.” Logan surged forward, pressing his lips to Roman’s with a passion the later didn’t realise he held.
Roman used to be a Prince. He used to be a superhero. Now, he and his fellow villain Patton are the biggest threat to the status quo of Harmony City, and there’s no pair of heroes more trusted to stop them than Logan and Virgil. What happens when they clash? Another goddamn hero story, that’s what.
Main Characters: Creativity/Roman; Morality/Patton; Logic/Logan; Anxiety/Virgil; Character Thomas
Secondary Characters: Joan; Talyn; Sleep/Remy; Deceit/Damon; Valerie; Terrence; a whole host of OCs (mostly moms)
Ships: established queerplatonic Analogical & romantic Royality; eventual romantic LAMP; background Remceit
Story Warnings: Graphic descriptions of violence, extreme poverty, major fandom character death (past), grievous bodily harm, mental illness and descriptions thereof including ADHD and bipolar; comas, hospitals, hallucinations, dissociation, emotional manipulation, intentional harm inflicted by main characters, government registration/involvement in daily life; further/specific warnings by chapter
Read on Archive of Our Own
1. Midnight Marauders
2. The Best of Us
3. Only Gold is Hot Enough
4. Every Tainted Soul
5. Watch Them Run
6. The Fear of Falling Apart
7. A Whisper in the Dark
8. To Dust or To Gold
9. Dark Side of Hope
10. Pray for the Wicked
11. Fall to Rise
12. Epilogue: Lay Us Down
To be added to the taglist, please send me an ask!
Extras:
Another Goddamn Hero Playlist
Character art: The Heroes by misplaced-my-notes
Character art: The Villains by misplaced-my-notes
Character art: unforgettable by @blinksinbewilderment
Character creator: Meet the Parents
Blog Tags: #another goddamn hero story #aghs #aghs extras
Anything can happen one minute your normal the next you could have powers, or you could be born with powers, or someone could raise you from the dead and then give you powers! Either way, if you haven’t noticed yet this isn’t about a person who does or doesn’t have powers. It’s about the categories people are put in you have people like Prince Lightening he’s what people call a daytime hero the hero you see in broad daylight,Wearing a cool costume, And acting like he’s just awesome treating his sidekick like he’s the best buddy Princey could ask for but i have my moments where I don’t believe it’s true. Then there’s Lógica or in English Logic who people call an anti Hero an ex villain only problem: people don’t know anything he was never a villain he was just seen a villain because his tactics well...involved him getting to know his enemy better. He didn’t always like it but as a result he always got his man. Then there’s the Dark knight a hero that mostly works at night that almost no one knows about half the time he breaks the law trying to stop crimes of course just like Logic they aren’t sure what to call him a villain or a hero. But since I’m his sidekick i’ll explain it to you most of the time he’s neither he only jumps into things when he needs to like if someone’s robbing a bank or someone’s house he’ll stop it but there are plenty of things he refuses to stop which is where I come in I’m more the do gooder in our partnership but i stop when he tells me to...most of the time.
Anyway there’s one big Villain in town his name is The Dark Heart. He shows up in broad daylight he shows up in the middle of the night people have connected him to thefts, Kidnappings, stuff like that and just to taunt us he shows up in person every time knowing we can never catch him. He’s the worst villain and the best he never ever gives us a scratch of evidence not one little hint like he says “can’t catch something you don’t know anything about” and we’ve tried I know for a fact Logic is the closest to getting anything on the guy. But the problem is that he’s a step ahead of us. Always. And it is extremely annoying. And like my partner in fighting crime I hate waiting around for something to happen for him to give something away. But i’m talking like I’ve never met the guys so let’s start at the beginning.
Morning came and Virgil awoke feeling quite sore on his side, though he also felt safe and warm. He opened his eyes looking around not recognizing the room for a moment till he looked next to him, Starli- Logan. He was in Logan’s room… his apparent boyfriend. Virgil laughed softly to himself as he pulled himself out of bed.
Logan shifted slightly at the loss of Virgil but didn’t wake up and simply cuddled into the blankets.
Virgil smiled softly and looked around, he went over and opened Logan’s dresser, he grabbed some jeans and a random t-shirt before carefully getting dressed. He made sure to not to turn too much and damage the stitches or anything more than it was as he dressed.
Virgil finished then went to Logan’s closet, opening the door he looked in it before finding a small bag and taking it, after he grabbed his uniform from under the bed stuffing it in the bag. Virgil went to Logan’s desk writing a note that he’d return what he borrowed soon. He then decided to add a small heart to the corner before putting the pen away.
Virgil took one last look at Logan before stepping out of the room silently. He was sneaking his way to go out the door when suddenly there was a hand on his arm. Virgil turned to see Logan’s roommate, Roman.
“Morning, Logan’s boyfriend… mind if we chat before you run off.”
“You know… I really… I gotta go…”
Roman smirked slightly, “I only need a moment of your time, and at least a proper introduction.”
Virgil stared at him, this guy was going to be a real pain wasn’t he… Virgil sighed brushing Roman’s hand off his arm, “I’m Virgil, and I really should be going.”
Roman pulled him to the side and pushed him onto the couch, sitting on the coffee table in front of him.
Virgil winced when he was pushed onto the couch, making a mental note to maybe visit the hospital, or to visit a friend who was at least proficient in medicine.
“So… why have I never heard about you unil last night?” Roman asked.
Virgil stared, “Because… Logan wanted our relationship to be a secret. We weren’t ready yet.”
“Why were you here last night.”
“Logan called saying he was sick and wouldn’t meet up so I wanted to see him.”
Roman glared before sighing, shaking his head, “I know you’re lying… I know you came for a specific reason, maybe to do with the large amount of blood?”
“I’m fine, I just wanted to see him.”
Roman reached over and pressed his hand against Virgil’s side with adequate pressure. “You see, I’m trying to protect Logan. Along with being his roommate, I’m his best friend. And, I don’t trust you. You’re clearly hiding something, so was he last night.”
Virgil winced and gasped, “We’re not hiding anything.” he growled, “Take your hand off me.”
Roman stared at him, “I just want to protect Logan. And there is something about you…”
“I understand, you don’t trust me.”
“No I really don’t.”
“And you shouldn't,'' Virgil nodded, continuing to glare. His side was starting to hurt like hell from Roman pushing against it. He just kept breathing, keeping himself calm though to not tear Roman apart.
Roman glared back at him not noticing as a bit of blood was seeping out of the stitches under Virgil’s shirt.
Logan had woken up seeing he was alone, his enemy had left… though in a way the lines were seeming to become blurred between them, it was unclear if they really truly were against each other. Logan shook his head getting up, he noticed a note on his desk and put on his glasses before reading it. Logan smiled softly at the paper when he read it and pushed back his hair. Logan grabbed his doorknob and paused hearing voices… seemingly hostile voices. Carefully Logan opened his door and looked, right across from him he saw what was happening. Roman sat on the coffee table leaning over to virgil his arm resting heavily on Virgil’s side. Virgil sitting on the couch glaring down Roman, his hand clenched into a fist.
Logan walked swiftly over, “Roman… what are you doing?”
Roman didn’t notice Logan there till suddenly he heard his name, Roman looked at his best friend then back at Virgil seeing his slightly pained expression. Instantly his eyes widened and he pulled himself back, “I’m sorry, I’m so sorry. I um…” Roman shook his head and went to make breakfast.
Virgil glanced at Logan after Roman left them, he nodded in thanks and stood slowly, bracing himself against the couch arm rest once standing.
“You alright?” Logan asked, reaching forward.
Virgil took a step back and lifted the shirt slightly, just glancing at the blood before putting the shirt back down. “I’m fine. Now I need to go.”
Logan sighed, “I could take you home.”
“I could manage alone.”
“Alright, I better not see you tonight.”
“Same goes for you.” Virgil said before grabbing the bag and going to the door.
Logan stood there in place watching Virgil leave. Virgil… it was so odd to think, he was on a first name basis with his enemy, but Phantom wasn’t really his enemy, and he didn’t seem to be truly villainous either. Logan stared as Virgil walked out the door. His… opponent was a puzzle. But he could figure him out maybe.
Roman glanced over at Logan when Virgil left, “Sorry about interrogating your boyfriend.”
Logan snapped out of his thoughts and looked over, “Hm? My… oh my bo- Roman, Just don’t do it again.” Logan replied with a nod before going back to his room.
Virgil walked out the door and looked back for a moment before walking down the stairs, a hand lightly pressed to his side. Roman was right to not trust him, all he did was hurt Logan... Star. All he did was hurt everyone, that’s what got him labeled as a villain after all. Virgil got to the bottom of the stairs and closed his eyes leaning against a wall. Everything was fine though, he protected those who mattered to him, that was all he needed to do. Virgil opened his eyes for a moment before letting his shadows engulf him. Virgil fell back into his abyss traveling across the city, making the jump a few times before he finally got home. He was definitely grateful to Star for helping him, otherwise he wouldn’t have made it home, and he probably would've been torn apart by his own method of travel.
Virgil got to his apartment and got dressed into his grocery store uniform. He would have a break later.
_________________________
General Tag List
@crazy-multifandomfangirl
@aceawkwardunicorn
_______________________
A Call For Help
@star-crossed-shipper
@simplyapannightmare
Chapter Warnings: Minor Character Death(s); Dissociation/Hallucination; Graphic Violence; Graphic Threats of Violence; Mild Gore; Emotional numbness/depressive episode; Grief; survivor’s guilt; Mentions of human experimentation; Mentions of child abuse;
Sofia Rodriguez was in a hurry and really didn’t need any more delays right now, thank you very much. She checked her watch again in frustration, as if being more aware of the time would make her less late to her after-school job. You’d think a bodega only two blocks from her home would be the most convenient thing, but today she despaired that she hadn’t prioritized proximity to school instead. Police had roped off the streets she normally took home for three square blocks, and her watch blinked the seconds urgently at her as 2:45 crept closer and closer.
She winced, as much at the time as at the reminder that her only working watch was still the plastic Disney Princess one she’d begged her mama for as a little girl. It was far too childish for a sixteen-year-old, not to mention about two gasps away from needing a new battery anyway. Maybe she’d be able to buy one with any extra money she made from this job, anything on top of helping with groceries and household expenses.
That is, if she wasn’t so late that she lost her job on the spot today.
She looked at her wrist obsessively again, walking as fast as she could without breaking into a run. 2:39, and she was definitely more than six minutes away. With a groan she ducked down an alley. The police hadn’t roped off her shortcut, luckily, so there was a chance to be less than five minutes late, maybe.
Coming out into the better-lit street, she heard a distant rumble. ¡Puñeta! Those damn supers better not be in the Heights, she thought angrily. Since the Fang Patrol had been rounded up when she was young, her neighborhood had been having a respite from active super activity, comparatively, at least. Tía Stephanie still prayed in thanks for how few attacks they’d had recently, while Sofia had often sat on the stairs eavesdropping while her family cursed the city for the old damages that had yet to be fixed.
Though, at the same time she hoped for uneventful days, there was a tiny part of her that still watched all the supers, that kept mental catalogues of her favorites, that admired their outfits. She pretended not to watch the news coverage on the tiny TV in the bodega, but she secretly thrilled to hear any coverage with heroes’ quips and catch phrases or villains’ dramatic manifestos. In a tiny box hidden well under her bed, she still had a tiny crown. She’d thrown it away in a fit of tears, when she’d first seen the beautiful Prince’s transformation, but she hadn’t been able to part with it, in the end, and dug it out of the trash.
She shook her head away from childish, daydreaming thoughts and picked up the pace towards her job, practically jogging now. She was now only a block away, and it was 2:45 exactly. She’d barely be late at all!
Someone bumped her as they passed, full-out sprinting. She almost cussed him out before she realized he wasn’t just an obnoxious jogger from a nicer neighborhood, but what looked like a worker in a polo and slacks. She looked around her and saw that he wasn’t the only one - people were running or ducking into houses or stores all around her, and some shops were preemptively rolling down their metal shutters. She risked a look behind her and cussed loud and long, a mixture of Spanish and English, as she sprinted the last distance to the bodega.
There were approaching clouds of smoke and debris, several blocks away now but approaching far too quickly, punctuated with rumbles and booms she’d been ignoring. She ducked into the safety of the store, the normally-friendly Mrs. Santos practically tugging her to the ground as she got Sofia inside and locked the doors. She muttered under her breath, something about shutters and madness. Two patrons who’d already been inside were huddled as far back from the windows as possible, but Sofia couldn’t bear to be in the dark - she had to know who or what was outside.
She peered out from the side, as little of her body exposed as possible. The cloud had gotten closer, and now she could see it was advanced by a series of explosions. Buildings burst with each rumble, glass and brick dust sprinkling down. There were now two distinct sounds - the screech of metal scraping against brick followed by the almighty crash of buildings bursting and falling. Sofia risked sitting up on her heels to get a better look.
The villain had dark silky hair that fell in long sheets far past her waist. Skin as golden-brown as Sofia’s own was set off by the dramatic black-and-purple costume she wore. She had what looked like feathered ornaments around her neck and wrists and cheeks. With a twirl, the villain’s mouth opened, and the sound of metal scraping rock sounded again as pieces of yet another building crashed to the ground. The ragged, torn skirt of the dramatic, medieval-style gown revealed scuffed black boots underneath as she turned once more.
Sofia realized with a shiver that the villain was breaking the buildings with her voice. The metallic screech was emerging from her throat. Which meant this must be The Violet Condor, one of the least predictable villains in the city. There was no sign the Condor’s most frequent companions, either, so the outlook was bleak, unless someone like Dr. Vectorious could be bothered to come all the way out to the Heights. Hopefully, she’d keep attacking just pieces of buildings, not collapsing them entirely regardless of occupants.
Suddenly, the dark-clad woman jerked and spun. She looked enraged, but wasn’t using her power to attack. It looked almost like there was a bee buzzing around her head.
Then the bee suddenly grew many sizes and proved to be a super, a short man who hit The Condor across the face before shrinking once more, zooming around her head. Who is that? He’s one of the ones who hardly goes in the field, isn’t he? Why’s he here of all places? Sofia wondered.
The hero seemed to be winning, exhausting the villain with his dodging in and out, growing and shrinking in the blink of an eye. The Condor was unable to keep up with his changes, and had lost any focus on destruction of the neighborhood. Sofia breathed a sigh of relief. It was nice, feeling protected again, even for just a day.
And then with a start, she realized there was a civilian out there, in the blast zone. No, not just one, but several, hiding against the walls - how had she not seen them before? Was that…?
She screamed as she recognized her mom, her mom’s siblings, their children - her entire family was crouching against the far walls of the street, perilously close to the supers’ fight. Standing, she sprinted to the door, struggling to undo the locks with shaking hands. Mrs. Santos was there behind in an instant, and Sofia prepared herself to tell the well-meaning woman that she didn’t care if it was unsafe, she could not just sit by while her family was hurt. But the bodega owner just helped her unlock the door, running out into the street before her, swearing in Portuguese.
Sofia was dimly aware of others sprinting into the open street, but her vision and attention were fixed only on her family members and the terror on their faces. She dodged rubble and other civilians as she raced across the block to them. A trash can flew through the air and landed by her as debris swirled around. She paused for just a moment, grabbed the lid to protect her head, and ran on. As she reached the opposite side of the square, she could see her little cousin Maria reaching out a hand towards her as she wailed. Sofia reached out to grab it, only to have her fingers meet air. The flame of protective fear was extinguished, replaced by the cold, curling knowledge that they’d never been there, that Sofia had run into the exposed street for mere shadows.
She whirled, seeing her sudden realization reflected in the faces of the civilians that now flooded the streets as she saw a very different emotion on The Condor’s face. It was abject terror and anger.
“No!” the purple-clad woman screamed. “No, you can’t take me back!” The feathers around her neck and wrists rippled. Sofia swallowed bile as she realized they weren’t ornaments after all - they were implants, growing out of reddened, angry flesh, flapping uselessly in the wind. “You won’t burn us again, cabrón!”
Sofia had less than a split-second to react. She dove behind a brownstone’s front stairs as the sonic blast of the Condor’s voice howled through the street. It wasn’t just chunks of buildings falling out, now, but entire floors being removed and ceilings caving in. Sofia clutched her garbage lid with clammy hands, suppressing the urge to scream as chunks of stone and shards of glass landed on it and slid off. She wished in vain for an extra hand to cover her ears as she heard the cries of those who were more exposed than she, of the people who’d been out in the middle of the street with no protection. What could she do? She was just a sixteen-year-old girl, with a metal trash lid and no powers whatsoever. She was only just barely able to keep a part-time job to help her mom. The most she could hope for was getting out of this day alive.
Peering as much as she dared over the wall, braced to hide once more, she saw the size-shifter grow once more. His eyes darted across the street, and she could see his distress even from here. He seemed to stare through the villain rather than at her, more concerned with the threats he saw around him, somewhere. Sofia felt ice spreading in her veins. Just like she had, just like the others who’d run out into the open heedless of danger, both hero and villain were seeing apparitions, convinced of their reality. And when supers were convinced of close danger…
The Violet Condor started to scream again, walls trembling and crashing as pavement rippled. The hero (what was his name, Sofia couldn’t think of it, something about bugs?) seemed deaf and blind to her attack until he started flying directly towards her, shrinking as he went. He flew directly into the shockwaves of her ongoing scream, somehow able to struggle against the blast towards the very epicenter.
Sofia stifled a gasp as the hero, only just visible from the bright colors of his jumpsuit and jetpack, flew directly into the Condor’s mouth. Her screech wavered and distorted, until she started to hack and cough, choking on the hero himself. The sonic vibrations, instead of fading, got deeper, shaking the ground just as much as the air. Sofia risked a looked and flinched back under her trash can lid as the roar grew in volume and intensity, a terrible, apocalyptic melody over the percussion of debris and destruction. Parts of brick, shards of glass, and pebbles clattered on her lid, scratching her face as they missed her makeshift shield.
She thought she heard her mother’s voice, or Maria’s scream. She thought she saw her uncle standing in the street, or maybe her childhood Prince, the one whose gift of a crown was the only reason she was sure he hadn’t been a daydream. Or maybe, she just saw a smile, a smirk, a predatory grin through the dust clouds before something hit her head and everything became darkness.
~~~~~~~~~~
[UPDATE] D.R.E.A.M. Index #337261
Classification: A.3.i [Tertiary Tier Hero, Legacy]
Name: Swallowtail
Status: DECEASED
/////////Recognition: Pending Honor Roll ‘18
Civilian Name: [CLEARANCE: TOP SECRET] Terrence Williams, Jr.
Affiliation: Hero
///////// H.A.T.C.H. Status: Inactive
Partners/Sidekicks: N/A
Primary Foes: N/A
Powers: Shape-shifting: size reduction and addition; Tech-assisted flight;
Costume: Bodysuit in bright florals; yellow, black, and white jet pack painted with namesake butterfly wings
Age: 25
Height: 5’3”
Pronouns: He/His
H.E.A.R.T.S. Class of ‘11
Note: Unconfirmed relation to members of DI#Z-3286 - Fang Patrol, but confirmed Hero and son of supers; Classmate and fellow scientist to DI#337255 - Dr. Vectorious; A less active hero, primary role as research/support to S.E.A.M. Stokes and Mayor Stokes.
/////////Killed in IR 18-Z-0011 by DI#Z00000 - Unknown Villain
~~~~~~~~~~
Everything was dark. Roman hated the dark. Or did he just dislike it? Or maybe he just wouldn’t mind, were the dark to go away. He was… apathetic towards it.
But, wait. Was it really dark? He wasn’t sure. He could see defined shapes, but everything was as washed out as twilight. There was a bed underneath him, one he could feel. It was strangely hard today. The lights were both too bright and too dim at once. The sun’s rays through the window struggled feebly to light up anything past the sill.
Roman didn’t have a window in his hidden home.
Sitting up was a monumental effort as he struggled against the invisible weights that dragged on every fiber of his muscles and skin. He wasn’t on his couch, not on his bed. He wasn’t home. He was somewhere alien, with no memory of how he’d arrived there.
Dimly, he realized he should be infuriated, or terrified, or… something. He should feel something. He should be worried that he didn’t. Was this the grey? Had it come on with no warning?
Where was Patton?
Where was he?
And why couldn’t he feel worried about not being able to answer any of these questions?
He looked around the small room. Plain, metal-framed bed. Small bathroom. Sparsely-populated bookshelf that was bolted to the wall. Postage-stamp window. Rough grey stone floor. Speckled, industrial style ceiling tiles. Fluorescent lights that seemed to be humming much louder than most of their kind. Either that, or there was some other electrical feedback, and it was putting his teeth on edge. He could feel the headache coming on. At least he was feeling something.
He stood, grunting with effort, and shuffled to the door. The handle was locked, a fact he accepted without surprise or anger. But it confirmed his suspicion. He was in some sort of prison or hospital. He frowned, trying to piece together his last memories before waking up. They’d been fighting the heroes, and he’d visibly flustered ‘Flex for the first time, and then there’d been screaming and… dark.
So probably a prison, then. He’d never been in any prison before, but this one seemed a lot nicer than TV prisons always looked. Maybe Harmony City spoiled everyone. Or, at least, everyone outside of Sycamore Heights.
God, why was he so tired? Or maybe not tired so much as… drained. Lethargic. Colorless. He knew without trying that he wouldn’t be able to summon any constructs. It felt like a another depressive episode, but he wasn’t usually this self-aware, not without his partner.
Where was Patton?
Roman leaned against the door, already losing energy fast from the effort of standing. He noticed the electronic hum got louder as he did so, and frowned. Was it coming from the door, not the lights? He squinted through the opaque glass and was able to make out a faint blue glow. It pricked a memory, not a strong one, but a relatively recent one. Where had he seen it before? Something in a street, he thought, and he’d seen it from ground level. The weird van, from the day before. When they’d interrupted the heroes. That one villain had been handcuffed and pushed quickly into a truck with this same glow.
As if summoned, Moonshadow appeared on the other side of the fogged glass, sunglasses balanced jauntily on their nose. They removed something from their neck and held it near the door. Some odd clicks and whirrs later, it swung open.
“Hey there, Red,” Moonshadow drawled. “You gonna sit in there all day, or you want to party?”
Roman stepped out into the hallway, and immediately felt a wash of adrenaline and anger and nerves. “How did you get out?”
The other villain smirked, petting the snake coiled around their wrist. “My honey never abandons me for long. C’mon, let’s go get yours.”
“Aren’t there guards?” Roman asked, flexing his fingers as he summoned his costume and a makeshift mask.
“Oh sweetie, put that away. Just follow my lead, yeah?”
Roman pouted, but kept the mask as his construct melted back, leaving just the loose t-shirt and drawstring pants he’d woken up in. He follow the lanky villain, listening to their quiet murmurs to the snake that was now snuggled around their neck.
He took the opportunity to take in their surrounding. It still looked more like a hospital than a prison, but each room’s door was a heavy slab of metal, and a glance out the intermittent windows showed high fences with barbed wire surrounding the building. The metal flickered with that same glow of the doors and the handcuffs.
“Have you been here before? What is this place?” Roman asked, speaking low just in case.
“Oh, yeah, all the time,” Moonshadow said. “Welcome to cheeku.”
Or, that’s what Roman heard, at least. “Whomst?”
“Cheeku. C-H-E-A-C-U. They like making their acronyms pronounceable, haven’t you noticed? It’s for City of Harmony Enhanced Abilities Containment Unit. Aka, Super Prison. Aka, home away from home! All my faves are here, and they know my favorite snacks and everything!”
“How do you escape so easily every time? Just this guy?” Roman asked, gesturing to the snake, who flicked a forked tongue at him.
“Nah, babes. He just comes when he gets clingy and doesn’t want to wait for me to escape on my own.”
The snake wriggled, falling off Moonshadow’s very high shoulder and landing on two human feet. “Yeah, that’s why,” the man said. “Not because you got caught the same day as two powerful villains who can give us some cover for our escape, for once.” He waggled his still-scaley fingers in a little wave at Roman. “Hey, don’t think we met during the heist. I go by the Viper, but at this point it seems silly to hide real names. I’m Damon. This is Remy, who is unfortunately my partner.”
“Shut up, you love me,” Remy said, pulling the shorter man in for a kiss regardless of how very serpentine his face was.
“I do,” Damon replied softly, kissing back.
“This is precious, but can we free my boyfriend now?” Roman asked patiently.
Remy was clearly rolling their eyes behind their dark glasses, but they broke off anyway and walked to the next door down. “Any other super friends who might be in here or just the wind-boy?”
“Wind boy? Really?” Roman glared at the tall villain, who ignored it. “No, no one else.”
They finally came to the room with a label on the door of “DI#337437 - Gale Force.” Roman peered through the door. It was easier to see from outside - Patton was lying on the bed, seemingly bored more than distressed. Damon was fiddling with the lock, his hands shrunk into tiny lizard appendages, until he grinned and the door swung open.
“Sunshine!” Roman cried, darting through to wrap Patton in a hug. “I missed you!”
“Oh, we’re free now?” Patton asked, looking over Ro’s shoulder at the tall villain and their boyfriend. “Thanks!”
Patton walked into the hallway and experimentally hovered, testing his powers. “Oh, good, for the a second there I thought I’d forgotten how!”
“You have the rooms to thank for that,” Damon muttered, shaking his arms out to try to get them more human again. “They’re Enhanced Ability Neutralization and Stasis Chambers. EANSCs. It works on all supers - no one can use their power while in one.”
“Is that what was in those cuffs, too?”
Remy nodded. “It doesn’t last as long or as effectively. Transporting supers here is the most dangerous part. Especially when it’s me. I’ve broken out before getting here about… hm, 70 percent of the time?”
“I didn’t realize your power was escapism,” Patton commented. “I thought it was invisibility or something.”
“Oh, no, hun. People get to see me, and they are welcome for it. They’ll just never remember, if I don’t want them too. All I need is a second of distraction and eye contact.”
“And what about you, slimy boy?” Roman asked.
“I’m scaley, you ass. I can only become reptiles. As you can see, though, it takes a while to get back,” Damon explained with a frown at his still-lizard-like fingers.
The small group finally came out into a open air, a guard station with a TV. The uniformed guards all started, standing with glowing wands, but Remy just wordlessly slid their glasses down and stared. The guards froze, their eyes turning to marble as blank as Remy’s own.
Roman walked over to one in interest, and flicked the woman’s head experimentally. No reaction. “Damn, that’s powerful.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Rem,” Damon’s voice interrupted. “You should look at this.” He stood in front of the TV, watching frantic news coverage.
Roman and Patton turned with Remy, all three trying to make sense of the chaotic footage. The street on the screen looked like a full-scale invasion had just ripped through. Everywhere, there was destruction. Not a single visible building remained standing and intact. And there were bodies strewn everywhere, like so many fallen leaves.
“Holy shit,” Remy whispered. “This… who is this?”
“They don’t know,” Damon murmured, stricken. “There was only one survivor, and she saw next to nothing.” The camera cut to a teenage girl, bruised, bloodied, and trying not to break down as medics extracted her from the rubble.
“That’s the Heights,” Roman said. “Someone attacked the Heights, and I wasn’t there.”
“Honeybear, it’s not your fault,” Patton cooed. “It’s those terrible heroes, we’ll just fight them extra hard, okay?”
Roman sighed. “That won’t help, Patton.”
The reptilian man in front of him stiffened. “Patton?”
“Oh, sorry, we haven’t introduced you. Gale Force aka Patton, this is Damon aka The Viper.”
Now Patton stared as well, mouth agape. “...Damon? Damon McLeggan?”
“Oh my god, it’s you. Pat? This… you survived the collapse?”
“Dam’, I thought you died years ago. In the explosion, in the lab…”
The two supers reached out, grabbing hands as if they expected the other to melt away. “I used to wish I had, Pat,” Damon said soberly. “Still do, sometimes. He was the one who did this to me,” he said, gesturing at the burns and scales alike that covered his face. “He’s the reason I’m a freak now. Not a proper super, too weird to be a civilian.”
Roman’s heart leapt out of his chest as he saw Patton actually start crying. “Did… do you know what happened to her?”
“She survived, if you can call it that. She… he deformed us both. But my mind wasn’t as affected. She was his favorite ‘project,’” Damon said with a shudder.
“Patton, who’s she?” Roman asked softly, supporting his partner with a warm hand on his lower back.
“Val,” Patton said, voice cracking. “Valerie.”
“My sister,” Damon said. “More related than blood could ever know. She… you’ve seen her, probably. She snapped. Only I can calm her down, ever. She’s out causing havoc as The Violet Condor now.”
“…oh god,” Remy said with feeling. “Damon… look.”
Everyone turned in their direction. They pointed a shaky finger at the screen. A solemn-faced reporter was flanked by headshots: a smiling black man, and a scowling Latina woman. “Civilian casualties are still being finalized, with the most recent count being 23. But we are able to confirm two known supers who were also killed, apparently by each other under the influence of the unknown threat: Swallowtail, a close associate of Mayor Stokes, and The Violet Condor, a tragic survivor of the Mystic Magician’s experiments. Families of the fallen, if any, have been notified.”
The last two people who’d ever called Valerie “family” stared in heartbreak and horror.
“Fuck this,” Damon spat out. “Fuck heroes and villains and this whole damn city.” Remy placed a hand on their partner’s shoulder, but Damon hardly seemed aware. “If not even she can survive in this shithole, why did we have to live through any of this? There’s a new bad whose bodycount has already passed records and I’m not staying around to see any more people I care about be added.”
“But we could get revenge for her, Damon,” Patton said. “We could make the bastard pay for taking away our sister. For our family.”
“…she used to say the same thing, after the home was flattened,” Damon said softly. “You two were always so alike, thick as thieves. Kanga and Pooh. I can’t do it, Pat. I can’t risk it anymore. I need to have something left - or someone.” He reached up and grabbed Remy’s hand where it was still resting. “Rem… let’s run. Leave this city, find a new one. Please?”
“Of course, my love. Anything for you,” Remy said softly, looping both their arms around Damon’s shoulders and kissing the top of his head. They looked up, making eye contact with Roman. “Take these stairs to the bottom and go straight out. I’ll stun the guards for your escape, but only if you follow that route exactly. Gucci?”
Roman nodded, and they were gone. Or rather, they’d never been there. Or rather, Roman and Patton had always been alone in this room, surrounded by frozen guards. Patton stared at the TV still, tears leaking out of his eyes. Roman wrapped his arms around him, holding him close. Patton was oblivious, not even leaning in as he normally did.
“I failed her, Ro. She survived, all this time? This is what happened to her?”
“Patton, it’s not your fault-”
“And this unknown comes out of nowhere, kills her, kills heroes, kills kids just trying to get home?”
“Pat-”
“I thought… I thought there was no more family to hurt,” Patton said, his voice a tight whisper. “I thought I had nothing left to lose. Well, now I definitely don’t.”
“Patton, you’re scaring me.”
“Good. If I scare you, they’ll be scared too. That bastard will pay for what they’ve done, whoever they are. I don’t care whose help we need.”
~~~~~~~~~~
D.R.E.A.M. Index #337498
Classification: Z.3.ii [Tertiary Tier Villain, Acquired Powers]
Name: The Violet Condor
Status: DECEASED
Civilian Name: [CLEARANCE: CONFIDENTIAL] Valerie Torres-Rosario
Affiliation: Villain
Partners/Sidekicks: DI#337500 - The Viper; DI#337397 - Moonshadow
/////////Much like his relationship with DI#337397, Viper is more a friend and caretaker than partner-in-crime to the Condor
Primary Foes: DI#337255 - Dr. Vectorious;
Powers: Supersonic auditory blast; Additional Powers - Unknown
/////////Blast/stun effect while in earshot, less powerful at further distance
Costume: Long-sleeved medieval-style ballgown in shades of purple with black leggings/boots;
/////////Despite the appearance of ornamentation, the feathers are actually part of her skin, though do not serve any functional purpose
Age: 21
Height: 5’4”
Pronouns: She/Her
H.E.A.R.T.S. Class N/A
/////////Attempted to enroll her along with DI#337500, but she dropped out at age 11
Note: Survivor of DI#265333 - The Mystic Magician’s experiments, one of few successes of DI#265333’s attempts to imbue civilians with superpowers.
/////////Pending: formal request to change term from ‘success’ - while no physical deterioration occurred due to the experimentation, new information from other sources indicate dramatic psychological change and damage, particularly loss of ability to filter emotions and a seeming loss of empathy/sympathy for anyone except DI#337500 and DI#337397
/////////Killed in IR 18-Z-0011 by DI#Z00000 - Unknown Villain
~~~~~~~~~~
“So.”
“So.”
“…since the moment we met? Really?”
Virgil reclined on Logan’s couch, lying upside-down. A perk of super-healing and a side-effect of flight was a lack of headrush no matter how he sat. He glanced up at his best friend and crush, who was sitting more sensibly with both feet planted on the ground. It was a lazy morning
“Yeah, Lo. I showed up at school, this huge kid who was absolutely terrified of himself and the world, and this tiny, beautiful nerd walked up and said ‘Hello, welcome to H.E.A.R.T.S., we’re here to help.’ Of course I fell a little bit in love immediately.”
“You don’t have to emphasize the ‘tiny,’ you know,” Logan muttered, adjusting his glasses over his continuing blush.
“But it’s part of your charm, L. You’re all this intelligence and energy in a small package, but never let anyone underestimate you. You’re a superdense bundle of brilliance.”
“…I… um. Thank you,” Logan responded, blushing deeper than he’d thought was physically possible.
“But, yeah, we had those two years of becoming friends. I was so worried when you and Terrence graduated, I thought you were gonna leave and I’d be alone again. But then you stayed, to get your doctorate. So I got to keep seeing you, keep spending time together. I thought you knew that I had a crush and just, you know. Didn’t return it. I wasn’t gonna let it affect anything, ever, especially while you didn’t seem to mind. And then I was 18 and you weren’t, so I really backed off until we’d graduated and you still weren’t tired of me.”
Logan adjusted his glasses again. “I… apologize for my complete and utter ignorance, Virge. I am truly unsure of how I managed to be so oblivious for…”
“…yes. That.” He ran a hand through his hair, then paused as realization arrived. “Oh goodness, is this why you never dated anyone in all this time?”
“Nah, I haven’t dated because I’m awkward as all fuck out of costume,” Virgil said blandly. “But I’ve also yet to meet anyone who compares to you, so…”
Logan raised an eyebrow at that. “Not even the Marauder? I’ve seen how you’ve been flirting with him.”
“Okay now you recognize flirting? Not when I asked you to prom? ”
“…you asked me to prom?”
Virgil’s only response was to bury his face in both hands at once and groan.
Logan looked down at his best friend and super-partner of the last four years. He was aware of Virgil’s objective attractiveness, of course. His vision didn’t need that much correction. Virgil was tall, and muscular, and utterly committed to protecting as many people as he could, whether he knew them or not. And he had a soft side, the loveable teddy bear side, where his whole body would shake as he giggled at memes, and he spent hours on the phone with his siblings and moms in between biweekly visits, and he got misty-eyed over street cats. He was powerful, but unassuming. He was aware of his ability, and did his best to do good, but never believed he was the only one capable. And Logan felt grateful, every day, that they were friends and partners. They were an excellent team as heroes, but even better as people who spent so much time together that they practically knew each other’s minds.
Oh.
Oh, perhaps that’s what Virgil meant by having a crush. Perhaps that was why Joan kept “accidentally” sending him links to aromantic spectrum identities. And why Talyn kept mentioning quoiromantic and demiromantic attraction recently.
Oh my god, I’m a fucking idiot, Logan thought.
“I mean, you’re also a PhD at 22 but go off I guess,” Virgil replied, one eyebrow raised. Logan clapped a hand over his mouth. He’d said that part out loud, apparently.
“Virgil, I apologize for taking so long to realize it, but-”
A sudden, urgent buzzing at their wrists immediately caught both of their attention, and they leapt up in an instant, changing into costumes and exiting through the window.
~~~~~~~~~~
They were being sent to Sycamore Heights, just the two of them. No, all active supers were being called in. Fuck, no, it was Blackout level: everyone, every possible hero or neutral. Even the chaotic goods and quasi-villains.
And then the call vanished, replaced by summoning just Logan and Virgil to City Hall.
They walked in, not sure what to expect. The assistant at the front desk had his face buried in his hands. There was no bustle of activity through the halls. Virgil gently urged Logan to walk in front of him so that he could guard his back.
They entered the mayor’s office to find Joan and Talyn both sitting at the table, not the desk. Talyn’s makeup was smeared and wiped off. Joan looked older, more tired than either hero had ever seen them.
“Joan?” Logan asked softly. “What’s happening?”
“They killed Terrence,” Joan whispered. At the words, tears started to flow down their cheeks once more.
The blood drained from Virgil’s face. While he’d been flirting unsuccessfully with his best friend, caring more about relationships than the city, Terrence had been killed. He could have stopped this if he’d just been on patrol, just been anything other than selfish.
Logan made it to a chair before sitting heavily, in shock. “Who…? How…?”
“We have no idea,” Talyn said miserably. “He and The Violet Condor took each other out, somehow, because of a third villain we’ve never heard of. And we’ve got practically nothing. Just one single eyewitness who is also a terrified and definitely traumatized sixteen-year-old.”
Logan turned from his seat, and reached out to pull Virgil towards a chair too. “V, you’re gonna collapse if you just keep staring into space,” he said softly. “Sit, okay?” Virgil obeyed, numbly. “I’m here,” Logan whispered, rubbing the other’s hand. “We’ll figure out what to do together.”
Virgil shuddered, still staring into space. “I… we were gonna go to the club this weekend,” he said, voice low. “Terrence kept complaining that I never went out, and he’d convinced me to try. He was gonna help me pick out an outfit and everything.”
Talyn made a strangled sound into their hand, and tears leaked through their fingers. Joan wrapped a protective arm around them, rubbing their back.
Virgil was gripping the sides of his chair, white-knuckled in his effort to keep it together. Logan kept rubbing gently, but when the tiny ping of the intercom went off, Virgil flinched and a chunk of the chair came with him.
“Fuck, sorry Joan,” he said as the mayor went to answer the summons. “I… crap, please tell me you two have a lead. If I don’t go punch something right now…”
“We can go to the supers’ gym,” Logan interjected quickly. “You can’t fight anyone like this, Virge. Not someone entirely unknown.”
Talyn sniffed, but straightened. “I… let me tell you what we do know, okay?”
“Is that okay, Virge?” Logan asked, peering at the tall man’s face for confirmation. “We can wait-”
“No, tell us now. We need to know. We need to avenge him.”
Talyn’s mouth was a thin line as they looked from Virgil’s tear-stained scowl to Logan’s impassive mask. They sighed, and pulled a notebook over.
“This is from our sole survivor and eyewitness, Sofia. She, and she believes many others, thought she saw her family in the street and ran out of safety to find them. On reaching them, they disappeared. She says she also saw both the Condor and Terrence yelling at empty air in the last moments before… So the power appears to be some sort of mass hallucination and distress.”
“Did she see anything or anyone who appeared to be causing it?” Logan asked. His question was addressed to Talyn, but his gaze was fixed on Virgil.
“She thinks… a smile, in the debris clouds.”
“Very Carrollian,” Logan commented, trying to get any sort of reaction from his partner. “But that means either a further illusion, or an actor who did this deliberately, with full knowledge of the effect.”
“So, a whole new level of evil,” Virgil said. His eyes were bright with tears and fire. “A new low bar of wrong. But we’ll make it right,” he said, turning to Logan with determination. “Whatever it takes.”
“Whatever it takes,” Logan echoed. “I promise.”
Joan was standing at their desk, phone receiver to their ear. They slowly, slowly lowered it, staring out the window at the skyline of Harmony City. “Guys?”
“Yeah?”
“There are… visitors. At the front desk.”
“Oh dear, is it the families already? We can go-” Logan began, but Joan shook their head.
“They’re… for you. I don’t believe you’re expecting them. But… I think you should see what they want.”
“Who-?”
But Virgil was interrupted as the doors sprang open in a burst of wind. The Crimson Marauder and Gale Force strode in and stopped just beyond the threshold.
“Oh good, you’re here,” the Marauder said.
“Sorry about the door, my precious ruby over here just got a little impatient!” Gale Force said with a giggle.
Virgil was immediately in between the villains and the rest of the room, tensed in a fighting stance.
“You really don’t want to mess with me today, airbrain,” he growled, low and dangerous. “I would love an excuse to beat that fucking grin off your face.”
“Now, now, Flex, jumping to conclusions is just so rude,” the Marauder chastised. “We aren’t here to fight. Or at least, not to fight you.”
“That’s right,” Gale Force added. “We’re here to make you an offer. It’s about this new villain.”
“Let me guess, you’re in league with him and you’ve brought his demands,” Logan said cooly, braced at Virgil’s side and ready to get Joan and Talyn to safety, if needed. “We’re not interested. We don’t negotiate with terrorists or mass-murderers.”
“My dear, sweet Doctor, you’ve got us all wrong,” the Crimson Marauder said, stepping forward with wide open arms. “We lost family today. We don’t want to bargain with that mamabicho piece of merde.”
“We want to destroy him,” Gale Force said, eyes cold. “We’re here to help you do that. We may hate this city, but the people deserve the best there is.”
“And here we are,” the Marauder finished. “So. Partnership?”
Logan and Virgil made eye contact. Both had an eyebrow raised in skepticism. Eyes flicked up and down, to the villains and back, a silent conversation whose vocabulary had been formed over five years of school friendship and four years of crime-fighting as a unit. Finally, Virgil turned back to the villains with a curt nod.
“Whatever it takes.”
~~~~~~~~~~
D.R.E.A.M. Index #337505
Classification: Z.1.iv [Primary Tier Villain, Unknown]
Name: Agent Whisper
/////////Coined by civilian eyewitness S.R. [They] didn’t exactly leave a calling card
Status: ACTIVE
Civilian Name: Unknown [Unregistered]
Affiliation: Villain
/////////We need a new affiliation label. Villain doesn’t cover it anymore
Partners/Sidekicks: None
Primary Foes: [Unknown]
/////////Can we list everyone?
Powers: Pathokinesis - Broad Spectrum; Illusions - Broad Spectrum; Additional Powers - Unknown
Costume: [Unknown]
/////////Reports vary from black shapeless cloak to jumpsuit with psychedelic patterns that moved, suspected use of illusions
Age: [Unknown]
Height: [Unknown]
Pronouns: [Unknown]
H.E.A.R.T.S. Class Unknown
/////////[They] could have been a student and we wouldn’t know. The power profile doesn’t match any records, however
Note: All we know about [them] is that we know nothing about [them]. [They] are responsible for the deaths of the following:
/////////list clipped as of 2018.11.17: see Incident Reports 18-Z-0011 through 18-Z-0047;
~~~~~~~~~~
~~~~~~~~~~
a/n: Is Agent Whisper my worst fuckin’ nightmare? Yes, yes he is (and he’s yours, too)
[Note on timing: This story is set in 2018, when I first started writing it. The first chapter takes place in September, and we've now progressed in-world to early October]
