I Don’t Talk To Heroes.
This is just a little thing I wrote for a universe I’m working on. All you need to know is that Myles was raised by super villains (who call themselves The Cloud), but has since been captured by the heroes. They’re trying to help him, but he’s difficult, stubborn, and spiteful. Justice is a dork who’s apprenticed to the hero(Hera) that is looking after Myles. They don’t really get along super well, but their relationship is slowly improving. Hera is trying, but cannot deal with everything going on. She needs help.
Myles never spoke until a villain called Morie decided to get himself caught on purpose and granted him permission to speak. With that, I present to you; “I Don’t Talk To Heroes”.
Justice perched on the arm of the couch, watching Myles. The other boy sat on the other side of the room, on one of the chairs. It was the only one that he ever sat in, even if it was more inconvenient to get to than the others. Hera walked into the room, followed by Oracle. Justice grinned, excited to see another hero. He’d never met Oracle before, but he had heard of her.
Apparently, the Cloud was stirring, causing some trouble. They needed Myles to tell them what he knew, if anything.
“So, he still isn’t talking?” Oracle was asking. Hera shook her head, lowering her voice. Justice nearly laughed. She should know by now that Myles would still hear.
“No. He hasn’t said a word.” Hera whispered. “Are you sure he can?”
“What do you mean?” He asked the question without thinking, earning attention from both of the heroes.
“Oracle was wondering is he’s spoken, and-“
“I’ve got that part, I’m just…” He bit his lip. Why didn’t she know? He could feel Myles’s stare from across the room, sharp and dangerous. The words caught in his throat, but… “He does talk. He has since visiting Morie. The, uh. The villain that you guys caught.”
Hera looked confused. Oracle just smiled. For some reason, it felt far more dangerous than it should.
“Wonderful.” She said. “So he speaks to you?”
Justice nodded, glancing at Myles. The boy was glaring at him, expression dark. “He doesn’t… He hasn’t said anything to you?”
“No.” Hera murmured.
Oracle smiled, turning her gaze on Myles. “Alright then. Lets get to work.”
Justice groaned, walking down the hall. A whole four hours of Oracle trying to get anything out of Masky had given them nothing. He hadn’t said a word, and his expression had barely even shifted.
“Hey!” He called, rushing to catch up to the boy in question. “Why didn’t you talk to her? I know you don’t talk about the villai- er, your family, but why didn’t you say… anything?”
Myles frowned at him, glancing around the hall as if expecting Oracle to be there, though she’d already left. Finally, he just shrugged.
“I don’t talk to heroes.”
Before Justice could say anything else, Myles was gone. Didn’t- he didn’t talk to heroes? But Justice was a hero, and Myles talked to him. Maybe it was because he didn’t have his license. Or he was just an exception. That was it. It had to be.
“How long did it take you to learn this?” Justice groaned, rubbing his aching shoulder. Myles had been trying to teach him a particularly difficult move, one that he was able to pull off with ease. Justice, on the other hand, just couldn’t get it.
“A month.” He responded. Well, that would explain it then. He’d long given up trying to deny that Myles was a phenomenal fighter, though he’d only ever fought him in hand to hand combat. Could he use weapons as well? A question for another time. Justice doubted that Hera would let them fight with weapons anyway.
The point was, Myles was good at this, and it had taken him a full month. It wasn’t that Justice was bad, then, just that this move was actually difficult to master. They continued for a time, before a sudden voice made Myles freeze.
“Not everyone can pull that move off,” Hera said, standing in the doorway. “Must have taken a while to learn.”
Masky stared at her, unmoving, expressionless. Finally, Hera left the room again, footsteps echoing down the hall. Justice frowned.
“Why don’t you answer?” He asked. “You’ve never said a word with her around.”
Myles shook his head.
“I don’t talk to heroes.”
He had ran. He had disappeared. Myles was gone. Or well, he was here, but he was hiding. Justice didn’t know what had set him off, but Hera definitely had something to do with it. Now, though, she was calling for him. Telling him to come out.
Justice frowned, pausing in his search. Perhaps… they didn’t like each other, too many disagreements and fights for that, but… well, they spoke to each other. They fought together, as Justice wanted to learn and Myles wanted to keep his skills sharp. And… Myles was currently upset with Hera... There was no way he’d come out if she was here.
Justice walked up to her, hesitating for only a moment. “Hera?”
“Did you find him?”
“No, but… I have an idea.”
She paused, looking at him. “What is it?”
“It... I think it might be best if you leave.” He said. He could see her shock, her hurt. He panicked. “It’s not that- well-… he’s upset with you, right? So he’s not going to come out for you.”
She frowned, thinking, before she finally nodded. A moment later, she had left the house. He took a deep breath.
“Myles? Could you come out? She’s gone.” He called. After a minute, Myles dropped down from the ceiling. Justice jumped, letting out a startled shriek. He looked up, noticing the vents and ceiling beams Myles had probably been hiding in. How on earth had he gotten up there?
“Why did you tell her to leave?” Myles asked, watching him warily.
“Well,” Justice said, “you don’t really talk to heroes.”
Justice would swear that he’d seen Myles smile for a moment before he covered it up.
Justice gasped for air, clutching his shoulder. Blood seeped through his shirt, staining his fingers. His ears rang with a static whine, and he fought back tears. There was… someone was yelling. Calling.
He fought past the static in his head, and ran, grabbing a gun from one of their many hiding places as he went. The building was slowly filling with smoke, and one room he past had one wall completely torn down. Villains had attacked. They bore the mark of the Redaction, one of the few groups of villains that stood against the Cloud.
The voice was calling from the roof, and he ran up the stairs, taking them two at a time. Finally, after what seemed to have been far too long, he burst through a door up to the top of the building. The sun shone down, taunting him. Such a wonderful day for such a horrid tragedy. One man was standing on the roof, a bloody rose insignia presented proudly on his back. One of the Redaction. Two people were struggling to get back up, hanging from the roofs edge, repeatedly pushed back by the Redaction member. He could have killed them at any point, but instead he chose to wait until their strength gave out and they fell. Justice had rarely felt so angry.
One of the struggling people was unfamiliar. The other was Myles. His face was bloody, nearly covered completely in the dark red liquid, but it was him.
Hands trembling just barely, Justice raised the gun and fired. It didn’t hit in any fatal spot - his aim was still off, had to work on that - but the man still fell. ...Off the roof. He didn’t have time to think about what he had just done, instead rushing to the edge of the building. He helped Myles up, and the boy stumbled on what looked like a broken leg, before Justice helped him to the ground.
He rushed back to the edge, and froze. The other person... they bore the symbol of the Cloud. A villain. A small voice in his head told him to save them, but… This one. He recognized this one now that he was this close. Their name was Shriek. And they had done some very, very bad things. Justice hesitated. In that moment, Shriek looked up at him. No, not him. At Myles. They smiled in a kind of satisfied way, before they turned their gaze on Justice. Their smile was warm and he heard them whisper a soft, ‘protect him for me. Salt’ll be mad if you don’t.’ He reached out, part of him still screaming at him to leave them to fall. Save them, he decided. Save them. And… they lost their grip in the ledge, right before he reached out for them. They were still smiling when they hit the ground.
Broken, bloody, limp, and lifeless. They stared up at him.
And they were still smiling.
Myles had avoided him ever since. It had only been two days, but… it was odd. There’d been a time that they’d ignored each other, but recently, despite mostly disagreeing, they’d started to speak to each other more often.
Justice bit his lip, fingering the badge that had been newly pinned to his shirt. They had had a ceremony, several apprentices and heroes alike, awarded for this victory. He’d been presented with a badge of honor, courage, and heroism. Killing not one but two villains - and he fought the image of a broken smile, blood pooling around a serene face - and saving Myles had granted him much attention and gratitude.
Maybe that was why Myles had been avoiding him. He’d gotten attention from several heroes, and a lot of others, so… maybe Myles just didn’t want to be around that many people at once. Especially the heroes and reporters. Yeah... that sounded about right.
Now, Justice scanned the crowd. Hera had forced Myles to come, so he had to be here, right? After a painfully long moment, he saw him. There. In the corner of the room. He slipped through the crowd, approaching Myles.
“Hey- uh. Are you doing okay?” He asked. Myles was definitely worse for wear. One leg was wrapped in a cast, and a few bandages were on his face. Justice knew that he had other injuries, he’d been there at the hospital when they’s treated his leg, but they were hidden beneath his clothes. Myles glared at him, silent. “...Myles?”
There was no response. Myles just stared, the same emotionless glare that he usually reserved for Hera and the other heroes. A chill ran down Justice’s spine. Why wasn’t he- Suddenly, it clicked. The Cloud. Myles had been part of the Cloud. He refers to them as family, even still. And Justice had let one of them die.
“I, uh. About the villai- a-about Shriek, I’m-“ Myles brushed past him, towards the door. Justice ran after him, catching him in the hall. “Myles, wait, I-“
Myles turned on him, face dark. He reached out, lightly tapping the badge on Justice’s chest. Justice searched for any emotion in his eyes, finding none. Just empty, painful apathy.
“Sorry,” he said softly, voice dull. “I don’t talk to heroes.”
With that, he stalked away. Justice stood there, frozen, staring after him. They had never been friends. They had fought far too much for that. But still… for some reason… he felt his heart sink.
He’d never thought that being a hero would make him feel so… weighed down. So tired. A broken smile etched in blood. Though Shriek had been horrid, he couldn’t help but feel guilty for their death. And… a whispered demand to watch over Myles. A soft smile, satisfied with the knowledge that Myles had been saved. A smile, warm and soft. Bloody and broken.
Justice was supposed to protect Myles. It had been a dying wish. He was supposed to be a hero, but it hurt. He should probably tell Myles about what Shriek had said, but… well.
Myles doesn’t talk to heroes.