#howwww

“Okay, ready,” Sidekick chirped. In the rear view mirror, she saw Sidekick sitting in the middle seat, Villain’s head on his shoulder. Gagging, she pulled out of the parking lot and began making her way back home.

Five minutes away from headquarters, there was a startled yell behind her, and then some frantic rustling.

“Woah, you’re good!” Sidekick said, and Hero risked a quick glance back to see Villain cramming himself against the door, looking completely mortified.

“No, no, no,” he was muttering to himself, “this isn’t happening, this isn’t happening.”

Hero scoffed. “Tell me about it.”

A pregnant pause followed, then Sidekick yelled, “Hey! Leave your seatbelt on!”

Hero swerved onto a side street, stopping just in time for Villain to throw himself out of the car door. Sidekick tore after him, easily tackling him and turning them invisible before any passerby could see. A moment later, they were both back in the car, visible, with Villain visibly panicking.

“W-what are you doing to me?” He stammered, pressing his back against the door again.

“Cuff him behind his back, Sidekick, or else he’ll run again,” Hero suggested.

“We’re just here to help you,” Sidekick ignored her. “If you stay calm, we’ll explain everything.” Villain looked anything but calm, so Sidekick added, “I promise, we aren’t trying to hurt you.”

Villain’s eyes traced over Sidekick, then her, then the loose hospital shirt and pants they hadn’t bothered to change. He seemed to remember something, and his eyes widened, his body sinking back into the seat.

“Good, let’s put your seatbelt back on and we can talk.”

____________________

“So…you’re saying that some mysterious phenomenon is causing me pain, and what helps me feel better is someone comforting me,” Villain explained flatly. The further they’d driven, the more like himself he was becoming. Unfortunately.

“Something like that,” Sidekick said.

“And that’s why you won’t let go of my arm,” Villain continued.

“Yep,” Sidekick agreed.

“And, of all the options, they sent me to stay with Hero, the least comforting, most literal stone-hearted person in the world.”

She grunted in agreement.

“Hey, Hero is a total softie underneath all that rock.”

“Watch your mouth, Sidekick,” Hero said. Her apartment building came into view, but none of the usual relief came at the sight. This was a new level of bringing work home with her. Team Leader better have meant it when they offered overtime for this.

“Like, remember when we watched that movie together and you—”

“I said watch your mouth!” Hero hissed.

Sidekick quieted, and Villain chuckled.

“Seems like Hero is soft under all—oof!”

Hero slammed on the brakes, whipping Villain’s head against the front passenger seat.

“Finish that sentence, I dare you,” Hero glowered back at him, and he flinched hard, yelping like he’d been bitten. His eyes filled with pain, and he began to tremble like a scared kid, not a fully-grown man who spent his days power tripping and ruining people’s lives.

All too late, she remembered Medic’s theory about Villain’s surroundings affecting him, how touch helped him. But, it wasn’t just about touch, was it. It was about the emotion, the intent behind the comfort. Which meant that the opposite was true too.

Their emotions did affect Villain, for better and for worse.

Shame sprouted heavy in her chest.

“I’m sorry,” she muttered, saw the pain leave his face and knew that she’d found the truth.

They were so screwed.

Continued here

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