Continued from here
TW: Passing out
Villain lurched forward, catching Hero as they passed out. Villain wasn't smiling anymore.
"Sorry, Hero. I really thought you had figured that out already. You are intelligent enough to have realized it." Villain lifted Hero and put them back in bed. "Although this will probably complicate your choice."
—
When Hero came to, their head was throbbing. "Villain..?" They sat up. The room was dark. Villain wasn't there.
Hero opened their mouth to call for them, but hesitated, remembering the events that had transpired before they passed out. Carefully, quietly, Hero swung their legs out of bed. They pulled the IV out of their arm and turned off the heart monitor, unhooking themself from that too.
The med bay was completely empty— all lights out. Hero was alone. They sat down at one of the computers, wary as they turned it on. If Villain had set up their computers at all like how the hero agency did, then there would be a way to log on to Villain's files from any computer in the base. The problem would be usernames and passwords.
Just as they were about to start guessing, a voice sounded in Hero's ear, making them jump.
"What are you looking for?"
Hero clapped a hand over their mouth to keep for screaming.
A hand slid down their arm. "Are you trying to figure me out, Hero?"
"V... Villain, you scared me." Hero said quietly, trying to control their breathing and slow their heart rate. "Why are you-?"
"Here? Your heart monitor was set to alert me if anything unusual happened, and... well. Most heart monitors don't just turn off by themselves."
"O-oh..." Villain was still speaking so close to their ear. Hero could feel their breath.
"Now. Back to my question. What're you up to? Trying to see the database? Allow me to help you." Villain reached their arms around Hero, inputting their username and password for Hero. "There. Feel free to look. I won't hide anything from you."
Hero hesitated. "... Why are you letting me see this?"
Hero felt Villain move away. They pulled up a chair and sat next to Hero. "Because I want you to be my partner. I want you to choose to be my partner. I won't force you to join me or trick you into anything."
Hero was trembling as they pulled up the files on the computer. They did a search for 'Supervillain', but nothing came up.
"You're looking for Project Maelstrom."
"What?"
Villain leaned back in their chair, crossing their arms. "If you want to see information about me as Supervillain, you need to do a search for Project Maelstrom."
"... Villain, what if I was just trying to find intel to take back to the agency?"
"You wouldn't. If the hero agency were to find out what you are about to know, there wouldn't just be a warrant out for my arrest— they would kill me. And I know you don't support killing, no matter the circumstances. I don't support it either."
Hero took a shaky breath and typed 'Project Maelstrom' into the search bar. There were several results. As they read, they started to feel lightheaded again. They put a hand to their face. "Villain... This is... I-I think I'm gonna pass out again—"
"Hey." Villain placed a hand on Hero's shoulder. "Take a breath. You're really tense right now. You need to relax."
Hero closed the files, sitting back and taking a breath. "I-I... I'm the missing piece..? Is... Villain, is—"
"Stop. Hero, you are the missing piece in Project Maelstrom, but no, that's not the only reason I want you as my partner. If that was all I wanted from you, I wouldn't ask you to be my partner. You matter to me Hero. I want you by my side."
@hurtmebeautifully
