Bad News

Bad News

Villain knew Hero could see them through the wall, so when they grabbed the trash can from the street and threw it in their direction, they expected the hero to duck. When they peeked around the corner, they looked up just in time to see the metal container miss the hero by a concerningly-small margin. Hero just stood still, like they hadn’t even noticed how close they had just come to decapitation by dumpster.

Villain was dumbfounded by the hero’s careless behavior right in the middle of a fight.

“I could’ve seriously taken your head off!” Villain yelled, but their anger subsided when they saw the look on their enemies face.

Eyebrows pinched, mouth downturned, and eyes distant.

Distress, plain and simple was written all over their features.

Their suspicions were confirmed when they were able to successfully rush and grab hold of the hero, crossing their arms across their chest and preventing their escape. The hero squirmed, but they could do nothing caged tightly in the villain’s arms.

“What’s on your mind?” The villain inquired to their new, confusingly-distracted hostage.

“It’s nothing,” Hero deflected.

“It’s not,” Villain challenged, loosening their grip so that it wasn’t so harsh. When the hero flinched, Villain shifted to a gentler tone.

“It doesn’t take x-ray vision to see your heart isn’t in this right now.”

Reluctantly, Hero admitted, “I got some news, okay?”

“What kind of news?”

“Not good.”

The hero with enhanced vision turned their head and huffed.

Carefully, Villain asked, “How bad?”

“Not sure yet,” Hero sighed, going quiet for a moment before snapping, “Its always one thing after another. It never fucking stops, it’s just shit on top of an already heaping pile of shit-“

They cut off with a choke. When Villain looked down, they saw tears welled in their eyes.

“I just don’t know how to deal with it all. It’s just…too much.”

Hero sagged, and Villain’s restraining hold turned into something more reminiscent of a hug.

“Hey, I may seem like the strong one here, but if we measure in anything other than bone-crushing-abilities I think you’d have me beat.”

A moment passed in silence. Around them, the city buzzed. Cars passing, drivers honking, lights changing, life continuing. To Hero, the world shrunk. It was only the gentle breeze of their own breath passing through their lips, the rise and fall of their chest beneath the Villain’s arms.

“I don’t want to be strong,” they finally whispered.

“I know,” Villain hushed, “I’m sorry you have to be.”

Hero laughed weakly in an attempt to lighten the mood, “Since when does my nemesis apologize?”

Villain allowed the abrupt shift, responding easily, “Since you started getting all sad I guess.”

Hero chuckled lightly in their arms, then sniffed.

“It’s okay to take a break, you know.”

Hero used their freshly released arm to wipe their sleeve across their nose.

“Nah, I’m right where I want to be. Plus, who else is gonna beat your ass if I’m gone?”

“Sad and delusional I’m afraid,” the super-strong criminal replied.

Villain stepped back, and the hero turned to face them.

“Thanks,” Hero offered awkwardly. They shifted on their feet, unsure of where to go from here.

Villain simply nodded, walking backwards across the concrete until the hero broke eye contact.

“Don’t mention it,” they called as they turned and left. The hero didn’t stop them as they cleared the crosswalk and disappeared.

Helloo I love your work I wanna just munch on it every time you post >:)

I have a request but you totally dont have to do it I bet your probably busy with others anyway lol

If you could could you do a scenario where the Hero gets pretty sick and cant go out, but they have a public reputation they need to hold on to. And the Villain owes Hero for saving them once so they have to go out and impersonate the Hero? And they start to realize how hard and miserable the Hero has to work after saving somebody? Tyy :D sorry if to specific lol

(Hey! Thank you for the request, it’s my first and I’m flattered! Hope you like it <3)

Calling In Sick

A faint jiggling could be heard from inside their desk. Villain sighed, hanging their head for a moment before opening the drawer and answering the call.

“I’m not interested in purchasing an extended warranty-” they began, only to be cut off by a familiar voice.

“It’s Hero, dummy.”

Villain pulled the phone away from their ear to glance at the number on the screen.

“How did you get this number?”

“That’s not important,” Hero spoke hurriedly, “What is important, is that I need you to be me for today.”

“You need me to be what now?” Villain questioned, raising their eyebrow in a show of confusion, despite being completely alone in their office.

“It’s simple, you just have to put on the costume-”

“Why would I do that?” the villain asked incredulously.

“Because I’m sick!”

Hero coughed pitifully for emphasis.

“Surely you have someone else you can call,” Villain replied, dumbfounded.

Was this a joke?

“Not on such short notice. Please, Villain, I have a reputation to uphold.”

“Why would I care about your sterling reputation?” Villain laughed.

They were a villain, after all. Their entire role consisted of making the hero look bad.

A sniffle and sigh traveled through the speakers before Hero spoke again.

“You remember the City Tower?”

Of course Villain remembered the City Tower. They remembered the blaring of a horn, a hard shove on their shoulder, and the burning of skin against pavement.

How could they forget when Hero saved their life and never let them live it down since?

“Ugh! Seriously?! You push me out of oncoming traffic once-“

“Twice, actually.”

“What do you mean ‘twice’-”

“City park?”

Damn it. The pond incident.

“Fine! I’ll put on your stupid costume,” Villain grumbled.

A little impersonation was nothing compared to saving a life. Plus, if they really thought about it, the villain supposed the deception of the act was villainous enough to justify partaking in.

“Great! I’ll text you where to pick it up,” Hero informed them cheerfully before promptly hanging up.

A chime and a buzz came through the phone a moment later, and Villain gathered their things and headed for the door.

One finicky zipper and some shimmying later, and Villain was passable as the city’s golden savior.

Now what?

They wandered around town aimlessly for a while, getting a multitude of strange looks from citizens going about their day. They froze when they heard sirens whooping around the corner, before they realized that they were currently residing on the right side of the law.

Right. Think like a hero.

First order of business, save some people.

The spotted the red and blue lights, breaking into a sprint to follow them around a corner. They arrived at a building a few blocks later, and walked in just as a perimeter was being set.

“Hero! Thank God you’re here! My baby, he’s still up there!” A woman cried, pointing up to a balcony that appeared to be on the verge of collapse.

A boy hung off the side of it, feet kicking to try and find a grip on the wall.

Villain took off running towards the building, climbing three flights of stairs before they realized they hadn’t stopped to count what floor the boy was stuck on. They quickly located the nearest window and kicked out the screen, ducking their head out and looking down then up.

There, two floors directly above them dangled the kid, and it looked like he was loosing his grip.

His fingers slipped away, but Villain was ready. They braced their legs against the wall and leaned out as far as they could. As the child dropped, Villain caught hold of his forearm, stopping his momentum and allowing Villain to pull him inside to safety. The boy was crying, probably a product of the terror of falling combined with the shoulder that had just been wrenched from its socket.

“You’re okay, I’ve got you. It’s okay,” the villain-turned-hero repeated in a whisper as they carried the boy down the stairs and past the (too-late) emergency personnel that had flooded the building.

Stepping outside, Villain easily located the hysterical mother and making a beeline for her. The second she saw them coming, she burst into tears and broke out into a run.

Villain handed over the kid they had cradled in their arms to the woman who reached them at record speed.

Relief washed over the mother’s face while she looked over her son. She pushed his hair back behind his ear, whispering to him how worried she was and how glad she was to have him back on ground level.

Something changed when she saw his arm, however. Fury overtook her features as she realized that an injury had been sustained by the boy during the ordeal.

“You let my baby break his arm?!” She screeched, whipping her head back to the temporary hero.

“It’s not broken, ma’am,” they started to explain, “it’s just dislocated-“

“I’m going to be telling the news about this!” She spit, turning towards the ambulances on the perimeter and marching away with a huff.

“Absolutely unacceptable!” The villain could hear her yell as she walked away, injured-but-alive child in tow.

“I had no idea this profession was so thankless,” Villain murmured under their breath.

It wasn’t until they had to fight past the sea of cameras and wall of reporters shouting questions (that really sounded more like accusations) that Villain realized just how idealized they’d viewed the job of hero. There clearly was no simple fame and glory to be earned here. From what Villain could tell, it was mostly ridicule and media coverage masquerading as a reward for their heroism.

And no sick days?

Hero must be truly miserable.

If Villain was a little easier on Hero after that day, then nobody was any the wiser.

Alone

“Does it ever get lonely?”

Villain’s nemesis turned their head slowly, caught off guard by the question that broke the careful silence between them.

“What?” The hero questioned dumbly, trying to process the sudden inquiry.

They weren’t by themselves. Their enemy was sat at their side, now giving them a look that Hero couldn’t quite decipher.

“Like, people treating you differently, I guess,” Villain stumbled before continuing, “Don’t you ever just want to feel normal?”

Hero froze, furrowing their brow in confusion.

What wasn’t normal about their life? They ate, slept, went to class, did their work. Saving the world was just…a hobby.

Everybody had those, right?

Hero shook their head automatically.

“Thats just what happens when you lose the mask,” they dismissed, “People treat you differently. It is what it is.”

They weren’t sure what to make of their enemy’s abrupt curiosity. Their face reveal was nothing more than a practical decision. One they had never doubted.

“So you don’t miss before?” Villain queried.

What was there to miss about anonymity?

Now, they didn’t have to worry about struggling with secrets, goggle malfunctions, or their identity being used against them. It made everything easier. The decision had helped them do their hero work more efficiently and live their daily life without constant mistruths.

“Of course not.”

So why did it feel like they were still lying?

They didn’t regret it, they knew they didn’t. It’s just that, somewhere in the process of making life easier, it had somehow simultaneously gotten harder.

Without the mask, there was no hiding. Now, there was only staring at every turn, high expectations in every area. Now, their friends could only share sympathy, not empathy. Without the mask, at the end of the day, it was just them.

“Yes,” they breathed.

“Yes, what?”

The response was too far removed from any question to be sure what the hero was referring to.

“Yes, I miss it. Yes, I want to feel normal. Yes, I feel so alone.”

Their words crescendoed, then fell back down to a whisper at the final confession.

The silence greeted them again like a familiar friend as a few seconds passed.

“You’re not, you know,” Villain spoke into the air.

It was Hero’s turn to ask, again, “What?”

“Alone. You’re not.”

Villain looked up from their fiddling hands, attempting to share their sincerity through their gaze.

Hero’s throat tightened.

Weren’t they?

Sometimes they wished they could just glue the damned thing back on their face. It wasn’t what was best for them, but it was less scary, being ignored. No one knowing them. No one seeing them.

The lies had been destroying them, but the truth was just so much harder to live.

The disbelief showed through on the hero’s face as they picked absentmindedly at their nails.

“Just because you’re my archenemy, doesn’t mean you’re my only enemy.”

Their eyes met, and Hero realized Villain was serious.

“You…fight other people?”

“Of course I fight other people,” the villain laughed lightly, “Did you really think you’re the only hero in the world?”

They didn’t, but…they didn’t think it was the same. It was so easy to get caught up in their own coverage, their own issues. Plus, the superheroes operated on a different level. They couldn’t possibly struggle with something as trivial as an identity reveal.

Hero opened their mouth, but no sound came out.

“I’m gonna give you some numbers,” Villain pulled a pen out from their pocket, grabbing the Hero’s hand from where it rested and writing ink down across it, “Call them. It’ll help, I promise.”

Hero blinked down at the symbols now written in blue on dorsal side of their hand.

It was a strange day to be taking advice from their nemesis, but they’d be lying if they said they didn’t want to try.

Maybe, they really weren’t as alone as they thought.

Hey, ok? You're probably not ok if you got bad news but are you getting by? Do you want to vent or want us to ask about it? Sometimes that helps I think

One step at a time, one day at a time, ok?

❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹❤️‍🩹

This is so sweet, thank you.

I am indeed getting by.

I usually try not to share too many personal details online, but since I’m struggling a bit with this, I figure yelling into the void (tumblr lol) might help.

Below is some discussion of medical issues (absolutely no obligation for anyone to continue reading, especially if the topic makes you uncomfortable. Please don’t forget to take care of yourselves too <3)

Yesterday, I visited a new specialist who did some testing due to a recent autoimmune diagnosis of mine. I have been dismissed a lot in the past, so I usually go in expecting test results to be normal. This time, I was wrong.

Apparently, I have moderate pulmonary obstruction, that I’ve just…never noticed?? I guess between disabling POTS and the tendency to convince myself symptoms are all in my head, shortness of breath must not have concerned me.

(Yeah, that’s about as concerning as it sounds)

So, yay, more testing.

Best case scenario, I have asthma (never thought I’d be hoping to have asthma lol). Worst case scenario, there is disease activity in my lungs, courtesy of my wonderful immune system. There is also a possibility of vocal cord dysfunction, but I don’t know much about that.

I already live with a plethora of health issues, but this one just caught me off guard. It hits harder when you’re not expecting it, and quite frankly it’s a little scary.

Whatever I find out, though, I will continue to get by. Not my first rodeo, and definitely not my last.

Either way, at least I always have Hero and Villain to project onto if I get overwhelmed LMAO.

I think this helped, thank you anon for checking in on me.

That’s Not Help

“Hey! Somebody help! We need med-

Oh shit.”

Vigilante froze. Standing just around the corner was about the farthest thing from help they could ever get.

Vigilante had hoped to find a member of the team stationed around the building that could help her get the person behind her to a medical extraction point. Villain’s large and imposing frame was not what she had hoped to find when she dashed down the hall.

He stared back to where her feet were planted, and Vigilante inwardly cringed at the amount of muscle in front of her.

She was not built for that kind of fight.

She took a step back, but Villain took a longer one forward.

“Who’s around the corner, Vigilante?”

Vigilante didn’t think he was particularly trying, but his voice was effortlessly intimidating.

She swallowed back a thousand pleas and quickly ran through the odds in her head. Her enemy was advancing, and the hall behind her was a dead end.

“They’re hurt, they can’t chase you,” she reasoned, but Villain’s face did not change.

“Who.”

It was forceful this time, and Vigilante steeled instead of risking a glance back. They both knew she didn’t have to tell him, he could push past her in a heartbeat. She would be wounded, or dead, either way no help to the hero.

Cooperation was the only viable tactic here.

That, or run.

Since Vigilante was no coward, she opted for the former. Still, she hated to reveal someone so vulnerable to someone so dangerous.

“[Hero].”

Villain strolled forward, but Vigilante stepped in front of him.

“It’s bad. You don’t need to go over there. They’re not a threat.”

Villain humored them by stopping his advance, but he looked down on them nonetheless.

“I don’t care if they’re a threat, I need a way out of here,” he stated obviously. Like Vigilante was just a foolish child who didn’t understand what the grownups were doing.

Vigilante was surprised by the admission and stepped out of the way to allow them both to stride over to the fallen hero before the exchange turned to confrontation at a level she could not contain.

Villain was not one to explain himself, demeaningly or not. Her anxiety eased slightly; it did not seem like Villain was planning to finish the injured party off.

[Hero] remained sprawled out on the ground, arm bent at an unnatural angle and hand pressed to a bleeding stomach wound. Their head barely lifted at their approach.

“They can’t help you.”

Vigilante tensed as Villain crouched down, but he only swatted [Hero]’s uninjured hand away and lifted the fabric from the wound to assess the damage.

“Better than nothing.”

Vigilante shifted uncomfortably on her feet.

What was his plan here?

“They need medical attention,” she pointed out warily, “they’ll be coming for them.”

The last thing she needed right now was more people walking into whatever this was completely unprepared.

“Good, I want them to.”

Villain leveled Vigilante with a stare. It was a bit of a question, almost a dare.

Vigilante took him up on it.

“I can get you out,” she suggested confidently, and Villain looked back amused.

“Are you volunteering yourself?”

His arms were crossed and his head tilted slightly with the question.

“That’s not exactly what I had in mind but-”

Voices rose from around the corner and Villain wasted no time springing to his feet and catching Vigilante by the wrist, pulling her to him and in front of [Hero]. It took every fiber of Vigilante’s being to not resist when Villain tilted her head back and leveled a a dagger against her throat.

So much for a simple escape plan.

When the team rounded the corner, they were met with much more than the simple extraction they had bargained for.

“Stop,” Villain called forcefully, and the team of six tentatively complied, slowing to a stop about thirty feet away.

“Villain,” a man in the front acknowledged while taking in the sight in front of him, “put the knife down. We’ve got you outnumbered.”

Villain made no move to do any such thing.

“We do not do hostage negotiations,” the man continued, “Plus, she is not a member of The Association.”

It didn’t take a genius to sense the contempt there.

“A civilian then,” Villain spoke, raising his eyebrow in a classic dare for contradiction.

The leader pursed his lips, clearly not happy with this turn of events.

Vigilante knew that he would never sink so low as to acknowledge the existence of unlawful vigilantes supplementing heroic actions in the community that were less-than-politically-optimal or bureaucratically-delayed. He would, however, acknowledge that it would make for some decently bad press if he were to allow anyone’s throat to be slit on his watch, let alone a beloved vigilante. Not to mention the official hero bleeding out on the ground behind her.

“What do you want?”

“I want out of this building. Not followed.”

“Done,” the leader acquiesced. The words seemed to pain him as much as [Hero]’s wound was paining them.

“And how should I believe you?”

Villain was no fool, and he would not fall for something easy.

“To your left. Go out the door, follow the hall with the red pipe. It’ll lead you to a set of double doors. They’re guarded, but the guard has been ordered to stand down. Our helicopter was grounded. That is all I can give you.” He nodded towards an opening on the other side of the hall.

Villain considered it for a second.

“I want your coms. All of them,” he ordered, as if he was the one really in charge, which admittedly he kind of was.

“I can’t possibly justify handing over tens thousands worth of tech to a-“ the leader began to argue.

“Can you justify letting a hero bleed out?” Villain responded harshly.

That was met with silence.

“I’ll consider leaving them outside,” he mocked.

And with that, a representative of the group gathered up all their wrist bands and slowly brought them over the villain.

“Theirs too,” Villain nodded behind him to the ground.

The tech was handed over with shaking hands to a less-than-enthused Vigilante, who was still being held closely at knifepoint.

With communications taken care of, Villain backed to the opening in the wall, pulling the vigilante along before shoving her out in front of him and leading her forward with a knife at her side.

Vigilante really wasn’t sure if this was all for show or if she was indeed an unwilling participant in whatever was happening here.

“You know I really hate to ask-”

“You volunteered.”

No room for argument, not that she had any.

They turned off at the first left that the hall with the red pipe allowed. Villain didn’t trust the leader, and Vigilante didn’t blame him.

A few more turns and they were out a side door. Apparently, Villain knew his way around here, which was further proof that the vigilante had made the right call.

She didn’t wait for a command to dump the bundle of gadgets onto the grass. Villain was still scanning the surrounding rooftops, but the knife was lowered.

Maybe she was free to go?

She still didn’t dare take a step, but instead took the opportunity to breathe in the fresh air- a sharp contrast from the strong must of the building in which she had spent most of the afternoon.

“If I leave you here, are you gonna go back in there?” He questioned, his full attention back on the unofficial crime fighter.

“Fuck no. To the guy that only elected not to sacrifice me because he thought of the press release? I’d rather not,” Vigilante replied genuinely. Lying to Villain never really seemed like a good idea.

“Alright,” he chuckled, before looking thoughtful. “Disappear for a few days.”

He did not offer an explanation, and Vigilante didn’t ask for one. She was off in the opposite direction of the building they came from, not wasting a beat.

When Villain lets you go, you don’t wait to be told twice.

Defiance

“Surrender yourself,” his voice boomed through rapidly-emptying event courtyard, courtesy of the poor-sound tech being held hostage.

“Or I will destroy this city.”

Hero faced the final remaining civilian, gesturing towards Villain with his thumb.

“This guy can’t be serious.”

The hostage stared blankly, vaguely shaking next to the sound equipment.

“I am most definitely being serious,” the villain hissed, “Now, come with me.”

It was not a request. The command was like ice on his tongue, meant to freeze any thoughts of defiance.

Unluckily for him, Hero liked the cold.

“No, I don’t think I will,” Hero responded, following it up by spinning and landing a solid right hook with record-breaking speed.

Wrong move.

Villain saw it coming, allowing the hero’s fist to collide with his face as an opportunity to grab his arm and twist, wrenching it behind his back.

The civilian intelligently took their cue to run.

“If you don’t start listening to me, this is going to get ugly-”

Hero rammed their elbow back into the villain and ducked, slipping their arm out the hold and sweeping at Villain’s legs.

Unfortunately, Villain was built like a tree and did not wobble, leaving Hero to scurry away a few feet before rising.

“I’m sorry, did you say something?”

Hero stayed back, measuring his next move carefully.

“You know what I-”

Villain was forced to take a step back as Hero rushed forward and landed a series of successful gut punches.

“I couldn’t hear over the loudness of your ego.”

Villain stuttered as he tried to discard his affrontedness to parry the attacks. As strong and strategic as he was, he was still no match for the hero’s next combination.

The heel of his palm struck the villain’s nose in a flash while his left fist flew and found its target behind the ear. Villain now sported a bloody nose and a dazed look on his face, forgotten fists falling limply to his sides.

A final kick and he was down, lying flat on his back on the concrete. He immediately grabbed his head, groaning and rolling over pathetically.

Hero laughed, victorious.

“Now who’s surrendering?”