You're a supervillain in high school.
Unbenownst to you, your nemesis actually attends the same school as you, and when some new super-powered idiot comes to town and won’t stop causing trouble during exam week of all times, the two of you decide to team up to take them down.
Prompt courtesy of @united-under-skyfall and @writing-prompt-s
"And stay out, you dumb jerk!" the hero yelled after the retreating figure in the sky. "Ow," they added and sat down hard on the gritty roof of City Hall.
The villain slid out of the shadows, brushing ash and magic off their shoulders. Dawn was breaking and from their perch they could see all of their stupid, podunk little hometown; the park, the 80s era office complexes, the half dead mall. Other than the blast radius over by the high school, it was all still standing.
They'd done it. They'd run off a full-blown adult mask, thanks to the villain's smarts - and the hero's ability to take a punch as well as dish it out.
The hero. They were huddled in themselves, cloak pulled tightly around their shoulders, head resting on knees, back exposed and unguarded.Â
The villain felt suddenly dizzy and hot. Months of chasing each other over rooftops, battling in the streets, and now the hero had left themselves exhausted and open. They could attack now. They should attack now. The hero was totally, entirely at their mercy. The villain glided forward... but for some reason stopped a few feet back.
"You... okay?" they said.
"Fine in a minute," the hero said in that relentlessly chipper voice. "It's mostly the other guy's blood."
"Huh," the villain said, readjusting their strategy. "What are your parents going to say?"
The hero chuckled with an oddly bitter undertone. "That's the least of my worries when they - wait." The hero bolted up to a knee, already in guard stance.Â
The villain threw back their head and laughed. It was a pretty good evil laugh. They'd practiced it a lot. "What, you thought it wasn't obvious you're nothing but a child?"
The hero narrowed their eyes behind their mask. "Uh huh. And you're not out here between AP homework and SAT classes?"
"Uh - I - what? No!" the villain stuttered out, in the complete opposite of cool. "You're the - the kid, so stupid and optimistic!"
The hero grinned, their teeth still bloody. "Like your whole gothy-angry-dangerous thing doesn't scream angsty teenager."
"How dare you," the villain said, but couldn't muster up too much heat. The adrenaline rush of discovery was already fading, and exhaustion was coming on fast. And for some reason the villain couldn't quite put their finger on right at this moment, they didn't really mind the hero knowing they were about the same age. Especially if the hero thought they seemed dangerous.Â
The villain kicked over an old crate and sat. The hero cautiously settled back into their meditation pose. They stared at each other in the early dawn light and the villain suddenly felt very much at a loss for words.
"So-" the villain said finally, right as the hero said "We should-"
"Sorry, I -"
"No, I was -"
"No, you go."
The villain cleared their throat. "So, what's the deal with your parents? Are they oblivious, or are you a legacy or something? Gotta guard this shithole before you go big time?"
"This is not a shithole," the hero said huffily. "At least it wouldn't be if it weren't for psycho explodey guys. Or -" they glared at the villain "- idiots who waste their powers on petty larceny and vandalism."
"Hey. Nothing petty about my larceny, baby." The villain pantomimed finger guns at the hero, and then immediately wished to fall off the roof and die.
But no such luck. The hero leaned back, bloodstained smile even wider. "Wow," they drawled. "I stand corrected." But their tone, though teasing, wasn't mean. The villain was starting to think the hero really didn't have a mean bone in their body.Â
In the light of day the villain was desperately aware of their shitty homemade get-up, the heat in their face that was surely obvious behind a Halloween store mask. The hero, the hero had real gear, real training. They sat straight, chin up, spotlighted in sunlight like they were ready for their close up. The villain felt dizzy again, unsteady on their crate.
The silence stretched. The hero cleared their throat. "You, uh, you know Starlight Burgers makes breakfast burritos?"
"No they don't," the villain said.
The hero gave a little shrug. "It's off menu. The cooks sell em out the window before the place officially opens. If you fly us down, I can hook you up - ever since I saved the place from getting magically robbed."
"Hey," the villain said. "I would never go after Starlight Burgers. I have some limits."
"Great." The hero stood, held out their hand with absolute trust. "Let's go."
The villain raised an eyebrow, crossed their arms to keep their heart from suddenly pounding out of their chest. "Is this a trick?"
"Yes," the hero said straight faced. "A trick to get you to give me a ride to Starlight Burger. I need carbs and protein to finish recovery and I don't have a car."
The villain gingerly took the hero's hand. They didn't flinch. "Well," the villain said. "I guess if I carried you through this battle, I can carry you to breakfast."
The hero snorted but didn't let go. The villain pulled and the hero... the hero came willingly into their arms, into the shadows with them.
The burritos were delicious. The rest of their finals were a disaster.



















