Here's an extra long chapter. Hope you enjoy! :)
“Hero!” Villain lost all composure seeing them. They were tied to a wall in chains. The dank air of the room was nauseating.
Villain stumbled on their feet getting to them. Held their face between their hands. Hero's eyes fluttered open and Villain's heart lurched. “Hero…” their voice came out as a whisper.
“Hey there sugar” oh how rough their voice was. It sounded like wet sand between your toes. But the smile… oh that smile made them break. It was beautiful. Covered in blood but hopeful and so trusting.
“Don't ‘hey there sugar’ me!” They sobbed and hugged them. “Everything is going to be okay! We're going to get you out. Okay?” Villain let go of hero only to scramble at the chains. “Please do. I don't really care to have another torture session with superhero.” Villain could tell Hero was trying to joke. But it wasn't a joke. Not really.
The shackles came off and Hero collapsed on to villain. Villain didn't mind. They missed Hero's weight on them. “Sorry… I don't have… a lot of balance right now.”
“Shut up! You know I can carry you.” Villain was sniffling. They hoisted Hero, draping their arm over their shoulders and supporting them.
Hero leaned on them. “Mmmm I know. But hey I'm still a gentleman.” Hero smiled, their eyes crinkling warmly.
Hero was heavy. Heavier than they remembered.
“I'm going to get you out.” Villain gritted out. “Then I'm going to burn this whole place down.”
“Don't burn it down, burn superhero. There's some good stuff here.”
“Oh I'm going to burn Superhero. I'm going to make sure people can't find their pathetic ashes.” Villain growled readjusting Hero on their shoulder. They kept slipping.
The exit was at a left. They can make it. Villain readjusted Hero. Why did they keep slipping?
“We're almost there. Just hang on okay?”
The exit was right there. Just a few feet ahead. Just a few steps.
Even hero's weight started lifting. They were going to make it. They were right there!
Villain crossed to the exit. Hero's weight was gone.
“... What?” Villain looked over at where Hero was leaning on them. No Hero. “No… no no no no no! Hero?! HERO!?”
“Shh it's okay.” Hero was standing upright right near the exit. “You knew it was a dream.” They smiled that bright smile. “No no!” “You can come find me. I believe in you.”
Just like that Hero faded. The building faded. Villain sat up in their bed panting, practically dripping with sweat.
They looked around the darkness of their bedroom.
They slowly tucked their knees in to their chest. It was a dream. Of course it was a dream. What did Villain do before they dated Hero when they had a stupid nightmare? Oh right! Go outside and pull a fight with… Hero….
They stood up from the bed. They weren't going back to sleep again tonight.
Vigilante clicked their tongue.
Out of all people. Superhero is retraining Hero. Hero. Didn't Superhero tell them that they wanted Hero to replace them? As if. Hero couldn't replace them if they tried. Hero was too kind. Too compassionate to keep going forward with shit like retraining and mercilessly training children.
Hero would've been better. They would've made the place right.
“What are you thinking about?” Other Hero's question snapped them out of their train of thought.
“I asked about what you were thinking about?”
Vigilante shrugged. “Nothing much. Why?”
Other Hero shook their head. “No… it's just… I was thinking…” “uh oh that can't be good.” Vigilante flicked the cigarette butt on to the ground and lazily stepped on it.
“Ha ha. Funny.” Other Hero jeered. “I was thinking about what you said about the retraining room.”
“Well my dear Other Hero, I'm too sober for a full deep dive on that.”
Other Hero groaned. “You're always too sober for anything.”
“C'mon. Please? I've been thinking about it for so long.” Other Hero prodded.
Vigilante thought about it long and hard, and shrugged. “Bottle of gin. The good kind.”
“Get me a bottle of gin. And I'll tell you.”
Other Hero sighed. “I am not fueling your alcoholism.”
“Then you are also not hearing about the retraining room.”
Other hero stared at them for a good minute.
Forty minutes and 200 Dollars later Other Hero thrusted a Monkey 47 in to Vigilante's chest.
“Ooo~ you have good taste.”
Other hero rolled their eyes. “Now will you tell me?”
Vigilante held up a finger and proceeded to uncork the bottle taking a swig. “Hold on I'm not drunk enough yet.”
Other hero let out a long suffering sigh while Vigilante took a hearty gulp of the gin.
“Whoo! That's some good stuff.”
“Hold on you fuckin giraffe. I'm not drunk yet geez.”
Other Hero pursed their lips.
Forty five minutes later Other Hero was closer to giving up than Vigilante was to finishing the bottle.
“Are you drunk enough yet?” Other hero asked not even expecting a coherent answer from them at this point.
Vigilante looked like they considered it. “I could trauma dump, yeah. You want some?” They held out the bottle.
Other Hero's lips curved. “No thanks.”
“Suit yourself.” Vigilante took another deep gulp and wiped their mouth with the back of their sleeve of the beaten down jacket. “Hmmm where to start…” they looked up as if the skies had an answer.
Other Hero let them have a minute.
“Do you remember Honey Badger?”
Other Hero did. He were an upcoming Hero back in the day. He wasn't that famous but Other Hero looked up to him because their powers were similar. But one day he stopped getting airtime. Then he stopped being seen around the headquarters.
“Do you know what happened to Honey Badger?”
Other Hero shook their head.
Vigilante let out a sigh. “Honey Badger… was a good hero. But he didn't play by the rules. You're a hero, you know the rules. ‘no matter how bad the situation is always tell the civilians it's okay’, ‘Never make press calls of you’re not authorised.’, ‘never let the villains go’ yada yada yada the whole shpiel.”
Other hero listened as Vigilante slurred.
“Honey Badger did not like that. He thought if someone was gonna die, they should know. It would be cruel to give them false hope at that point, that way the person at least had time to pray one last time…. Or something like that.”
Other Hero flickered at that. “Wait… is this about that time when that bomb blast victim survived and said Honey Badger told them they were going to die?”
“Are you telling the story or am I?”
Vigilante grumbled something under their breath before continuing. “Anyway before you interrupted I was talking about honey Badger…. And yes this is about that. But also not.”
Other Hero watched Vigilante take a heavy swig.
“Honey Badger…. Before the bomb blast, there was an incident. I was part of the league then. So before the blast there was this other incident… Honey Badger let a henchman go. Supervillain’s new henchman. They were young at the time. And the injury honey Badger got didn’t explain how a low level henchman got away. So… it was obvious he let them go.”
“So what happened after the league found out?”
“Do you remember what happened to you in the retraining room? You said you were there for a couple of days.”
Other Hero let out a thoughtful breath. “Let's see…. I was restrained, made to memorise some stuff, roughed up a little… you know stuff like that.”
“You mean, tied down, brainwashed and beaten up maybe possibly whipped?”
Other hero winced and nodded.
“Honey Badger went through a week of that for the henchman incident.”
“Superhero was going for a month. But I stopped them.”
Other hero felt their eyes widening.
From all of this Vigilante forgot to mention another thing… when other Hero was in the retraining room food was also occasional. To think honey Badger would've been half starved for that long… to think now Hero is…
“So he went through a week of that. In the normal retraining room where you were…. Then the bomb blast thing happened. From all honey Badger knew that citizen was going to die. He was too. The civilian was stuck under rubble that he couldn't clear out. He could've left but I'm assuming he didn't want to leave them to die alone… or maybe he just didn't want to be a hero anymore. I don't know. But I guess he had cold feet last minute… he held the civilian, transformed in to an elephant and the bomb went off. Honey Badger got the brunt of the blast.”
Other Hero watched as Vigilante took a deep draw from the bottle. They didn't say anything to break the silence afterwards. They remembered what happened to Honey Badger afterwards. The blast was strong. The wounds were too much. They went in to intensive care. The league delt with the civilian’s baffled, but grateful claims of “I thought I was going to die! Even honey Badger said so!”. It was a PR nightmare. Gravitrix was the new PR. She smiled at the cameras and never mentioned it but the news teams never let it go. They ran with it. Every poster, every TV channel, every newspaper, every radio broadcast. Everywhere you looked it was “are the heroes too sure of theme?” “Honey Badger: The Good guy?”, “Is the League lying to us?”. All the while the man himself was tied up to machines pumping him full of breath..
Other Hero didn't know what happened after that.
“You okay? Should I go on?”
“You sure? Your hands are shaking…”
Other hero didn't realise that their hands were indeed shaking.
“Suit yourself. I ain't offerin again.”
Vigilante hummed. “Hmmm let's see… after the bomb blast honey Badger went to the hospital. Considering he just took a bomb, they were surprisingly okay. Burnt up, fractured ribs, half of his left leg was gone. But the rest of him? Unscathed. He could've done a press briefing. He wanted to meet that civilian, he wanted to explain himself… but superhero was mad. He got better and went straight in to retraining again. This time… in to that back room.”
“What's there in the back room?” other Hero managed to force out.
Vigilante leaned back and let out a deep breath. “The hidden room… few go in there and even less get out. If you thought regular retraining is brutal then… I don't think you have a stomach to hear this.”
Vigilante stared at other Hero. And other hero crossed their arms over their chest trying their best to not show Vigilante that they were shaking.
“In that room time no longer makes sense. You are not you anymore. Fully soundproof. Lights on constantly. No windows. No solid food. The only mercy… is the drugs. They hop you up on that shit constantly. So you don't know which way is up. It messes with you and… from what I could tell you start hallucinating. A lot. When Honey Badger was there he kept on having conversations with his dead sister.”
Other Hero was breathing hard. They were trying to keep it steady.
“What… what happened to Honey Badger? Did he… did he die?”
“Oh Honey Badger died alright. The man who came out of that room was not honey Badger. Honey Badger died when the bomb went off.”
“He became a trainer. He probably even trained you. He couldn't be a hero without a leg.”
Other Hero's jaw dropped. Surely if honey Badger trained them they would've noticed? He was their role model after all. But.. out of Hero costume…?
They thought back to their trainers. One with a prosthetic leg. Oh right there was one. Quiet. Kept to himself. Always went hard.
“But… trainer Hanson left a few years ago.”
“Yeah yeah don't worry. He's alive. He's okay now. After all the years at the league he left and came to me.”
Vigilante shrugged. “No. But I see him from time to time.”
Other Hero bit their lip. They couldn't believe it. Honey Badger. Their Hero. Their role model. They were there the whole time. They trained under them. Even after becoming a Hero, they saw them in the mess hall. Always alone. Never sticking around to talk. Other Hero remembered how scared they were of sessions with trainer Hanson when they were a sidekick. Then they remembered how close he was with superhero. How superhero was almost always the only person he would gravitate towards. It was harmless back then. Some sidekicks even joked and gossiped that maybe superhero and trainer Hanson may be in a secret relationship.
Other hero shuddered at the thought.
“Want some gin?” Vigilante slurred holding the bottle out towards them again. And for a second Other Hero actually considered it, but in the end shook their head no.
“What's… What's he doing now?” Other Hero asked hesitantly.
Vigilante shrugged taking another swig. “He gets pension. From the league. Time and money in his hands he doesn't know what to do with.”
“Don't think that's a good idea.”
“Because you have that look on your face that Hanson would definitely hate.”
Other Hero blinked. “What look?”
Vigilante looked at other Hero and took another sip as if considering their next carefully. They finally nodded finding the right words.
The chair they were restrained to was cushioned. Hero readjusted the best their restraints allowed. The soft and plush kind of cushions. Villain loved these types of chairs. They would cuddle in the chairs like this at their hideout all the time.
If villain was here would they still have curled up on them? Would they still say that they were warm? Would they still smile at them?
They'll probably burn the chair.
They wouldn't want the chair anymore.
Why would they? Hero touched it. Hero ruined it. They ruin everything.
Villain would never love a rat like them.
“They're crying.” A voice cut through.
“We can see that.” another voice grumbled.
Someone walked in front of them. “Hero?”
Hero blinked up at them slowly.
“Hero? Do you know who I am?”
Hero stared at the person.
Black hair with green streaks. Blue eyes. Black mask covering half her face.
“Blindside…” Their voice was rougher than they remembered.
She nodded smiling at him the way someone would when a child learns how to tie their shoelaces for the first time.
Hero felt Superhero's hand on their shoulder.
“Maybe you should start Blindside.”
Blindside shot superhero a look. “Don't rush me. I'm not dealing with training simulations and exercises here. I'm dealing with someone's mind.”
Hero felt Superhero's fingers twitch.
Holding their head up was so tiring. The chair was so warm and plush and nice… Hero let their chin touch their chest. Their head was too heavy for their neck.
The voices around them were starting to melt. They didn't try to decipher the noise. There was no point really. It was too garbled for them to ever be able to make sense. Might as well close their heavy eyes. They had no use in keeping their eyes open anyway. What could they do? Nothing.
“Hero?” Blindside spoke again and Hero forced their head up.
“I'm going to touch your temples.”
Why was she telling them this? She could go ahead and do it. What was Hero going to say? No?
No Hero can't say no. They're too tired to say no.
Blindsides fingers tapped lightly on their temples smooth and warm.
Blindside tried to look around, but everything started hurting.
Everything was sharp edges. Everything.
Normally when she went in to someone's head it was softer. There were sharp edges, yes, but mostly it would be soft. Every person would be different but… Hero was even more so.
And the feeling in her limbs… heavy and tearing was new. And unpleasant to say the least. It made her thoughts slow.
Blindside treaded through the cavern avoiding the jagged crooks.
She felt like she was treading through water looking out for sharp rocks.
She was panting. She had only taken 5 steps and her knees felt like they were made out of toothpicks.
Blindside whipped her head to the sound. The voice was musical and soft as it broke in to a melodic laugh.
“Hero~” the melody spoke again.
“Ugggh come out already? You know I can't find you.” The second voice was as soft and playful as the first.
… Wait.. the second voice was Hero.
Was she listening to a memory? She had to find it quickly. She had to see.
She stumbled through, ignoring the churning in her stomach and the weight of her limbs.
“Awe but what's the fun in that?” The first voice drawled.
The voice was close. She was getting closer to it. If she could just… walk faster.
She felt her foot catch a crevice and the surroundings started spinning. She covered her face. She was tumbling down or up she couldn't tell but she was falling. Small crevices and rough terrain was catching her and leaving scrapes and bruises.
She landed somewhere with a thud and a groan.
Yeah. She's never doing that again.
“Caught you!” Hero's voice bubbled from behind her and she tilted her head back just in time to see Hero hugging someone from behind.
The person broke out in to a laugh. “You're a menace.”
Hero kissed the top of their head laughing. “Hey it's my job to find the big bad villain and put a stop to their evil ways. You're job is to not get caught.”
The person - she assumed, villain - Rolled their eyes turning around and wrapping their arms around hero's neck.
Villain raised an eyebrow. “Oh is that so?”
Blindside saw the way villain looked at Hero, their eyes shining and playful. She could feel the warmth that spread through hero's chest.
Blindside groaned managing to stand back up on wobbly legs. She needed to go to the memory. She needed to look closer. It could've been fabricated if the claims of mind control we're true.
“Have you eaten yet?” Villain asked after they had finished rolling their eyes.
Hero hummed. “I could eat. Have anything in mind sugar?”
Villain leaned in humming thoughtfully. “Ooo I'm craving chilli fries from that one diner.”
Blindside was standing next to the memory looking at hero hold villain.
It was…domestic. The way they spoke. The way they behaved like a married couple.
It made Blindside want to smile.
The memory was the only soft thing the place had to offer.
She hissed as she felt a sharp spike stab the underside of her foot.
“Are you hungry?” Villain asked.
Blindside took her foot off the new spike and kept it elsewhere.
Hero chuckles. “Yeah I mean I wouldn't say yes to chilli fries if I wasn't.”
The new place she kept her foot on subjected her to the same fate. Blindside hissed.
“Wh… what?” the chuckle hero gave was confused and nervous.
Blindside looked up at the exchange. Villain's playful teasing face with the crinkling eyes were gone. In its place was a scowl.
The voice shook the entirety of the cavernous space.
“I-I am! I am!” Hero was panting.
Pain shot up from behind Blindside’s eyes and they blurred. But she could tell that villain shoved Hero.
“Then fucking starve!” Villain spat. “Starve like you made me! Starve because you deserve it. Any food that goes to you will be a fucking waste. You… understand… feel-s…”
Her ears were ringing. The voices were hard to pay attention to.
Blindside jolted her hands away from hero's temples falling back she scrambled away. At least the floor was uniform and not made with knife-like terrain.
She felt a hand on her shoulder making her jump.
“Easy. It's me.” Kronos's voice was the gentlest she's ever heard it. So gentle she almost didn't recognise it. “Here.” He held out a handkerchief.
Bleeding? Her eyes darted to her feet and hands. They held the sharp pain but they were not bleeding.
“Calm down. You're breathing too fast. Breathe slow.” Kronos took the handkerchief back and pressed it to her nose. “Breathe through your mouth.” He spoke to her as if she was a frightened deer.
Blindside couldn't focus on the wide eyes of the league or the questioning look of superhero. She couldn't even focus on the words Kronos was saying.
All she could see was how Hero was silently staring at their lap with the blankest expression she has ever seen.
@i-am-a-radioactive-paperclip
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