Oct 9, 2023
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"Reserved for V.I.P."
Wouldn't the literal biblical interpretation make that self-evident?
Der Unglaube des heiligen Thomas; Das Rockox-Triptychon, zwischen 1613 und 1615 von Peter Paul Rubens
Continued from here
TW: Disbelieving Caretaker, head trauma, passing out, broken bone mention
"... and they've got one of the worst concussions I think I've ever seen." Villain heard as they started to stir.
"I see... are they going to be alright?" Came a familiar voice.
"They... it's hard to say for sure. They've been in a coma for three days. I can't guarantee anything. Even if they do wake up, there's no way to know if they'll remember anything."
"I see... if they wake up... thank you, doctor."
"I'll be back tomorrow. Let me know if anything changes."
"I will."
Villain struggled to open their eyes and managed to get them to open a slit. They scanned the room and their eyes finally settled on Hero- the source of the familiar voice. A vague sense of fear pricked Villain's heart at the realization of their vulnerability.
Hero saw the doctor out of the room and then turned to Villain. Hero paused for a second and then yelled for the doctor again before rushing to Villain's side.
"Villain? Villain, are you awake? Can you hear me?"
Villain tried to speak, but everything felt so heavy... a soft breath escaped their lips, but nothing else. Hero touched Villain's cheek and Villain's eyes fluttered closed again for a moment before they forced themself to look again.
A tear fell from Hero's eye and they smiled hugely. "You're awake- damn you I was so worried. I... D-do you recognize me?"
Everything started to go out of focus as Villain managed to whisper, "Of course..."
-
When Villain awoke again, their head felt a little clearer and everything felt less heavy. They opened their eyes and their heart skipped a beat as the saw Hero, sitting by the bedside. "H-Hero?" They muttered, then cleared their throat- their voice sounded odd.
Hero's eyes shot open. They were red and bloodshot. "Villain??" The pair locked eyes. "... a-are you... is this real?"
"The hell do you mean, 'is this real? '"
"You've been in a coma for a week! What do you expect me to say! I was afraid you weren't gonna wake up!"
"A-a week..?"
"Yeah, a week."
Villain tried to sit up, but a combination pain and Hero pushing them back stopped them.
"You can't go anywhere, Villain. You've got a bad concussion, broken leg, and several other more minor injuries. What happened? Do you remember?"
"I-I... look, I have to go... a new moon is just three days from now... you don't understand."
"Villain, you can't leave. And what's this about a new moon?"
Villain froze. "... I... I can't tell you..."
"Villain, who did this to you? Was it Superhero? Or Supervillain?"
"It doesn't matter." Villain tried again to get up and Hero pushed them down again.
"You need to tell me. What happened? Do you remember?"
"No." Villain lied. "I don't remember. Just let me go, I have to go."
"I don't believe that." Hero was still holding Villain down. "You're absolutely not leaving until you tell me, first, what the hell happened, and second, what the hell is about to happen."
As Villain struggled to push Hero off, a bout of sudden nausea swept over them and they went slack.
"... are you okay?" Hero asked, hesitant concern creeping into their previously irritated tone.
"I'm..." Villain stopped mid sentence and took a shaky breath. "I-I’m just going to lay here for a minute..." They murmured, closing their eyes.
"Villain..." Hero let go of them and sat back down. "Villain, who did this to you? Please, you have to tell me."
"Why?" Villain muttered.
"Because it's important." Hero hesitated. "If you don't tell me willingly, I'm going to find a telepath or something and figure it out myself."
Villain didn't have the resolve to argue. "... i-it was Sidekick."
"Sidekick? Really?" Hero gave Villain an incredulous look. "That little upstart beat the shit out of you and you let them?"
"No." Villain said firmly, then more softly, "No... th-they aren't what they seem..."
"What's that supposed to mean?"
"L-look, Hero. I feel like shit right now. It h-hurts to talk. All you need to know, is that Sidekick is way more powerful than anyone you've ever met, and on the new moon, their power a-always gets stronger. If you ever want to be able to take them out, you'll have to do it now, before the new moon." Villain squeezed their eyes tightly closed. "H-Hero, I th-think I'm gonna pass out..." Villain started to slur.
"Shhh, it's okay. Just rest. I'll... I-I'll investigate Sidekick, but you've hit your head really hard and, well..."
"You have to believe me!" Villain tried to sit up again, but their head started spinning and Hero caught them as they fell back again, unconscious.
"Shhh... don't worry about it, Villain. Everything will be okay."
Seriously!
Phroyd
Cima da Conegliano - Incredulity of Saint Thomas with Bishop Magno. 1505
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way - in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.
A Tale of Two Cities, Charles Dickens