#lbc fic

Pete huddled behind a counter top, sheltering several bank patrons with his body as Ae duked it out with several men, each wielding some variety of construction crew implement, but each possessing a strange power. The man with what looked like a simple hammer could smash craters into the floor. The one with the crowbar was able to make things float. Pete hadn’t been able to catch a peek at what the guy with the magic safety helmet or wheelbarrow could do, but he was fairly certain as to what the chainsaw was for. 

Pete took a glance around the corner. Ae had already requested for permission to use his next level of force and Techno had readily approved. The one with the safety helmet had already been knocked out and the one with the crowbar was currently nursing a broken arm. The wheelbarrow man had his head sticking out of his magical wheelbarrow which made Pete wonder if it actually was magical or he had simply come along for the ride. The last two, hammer man and chainsaw man, were the ones providing Ae with grief at the moment, but his construct armor was holding firm. At least until his chest plate took a direct blow from the magic hammer. 

Fine cracks spread outwards from the impact point and gradually grew bigger and bigger. Ae had already knocked the man aside, but the damage had been done and one swipe of the chainsaw cut a wide swath of the armor away.

“A- Paladin!”

“I’m fine, Cleric,” Ae ground out before taking a step back. “Maintain distance and keep the civilians safe.”

“Not for long!” The revving of the chainsaw covered up the painful thumping of Pete’s heart. “I’ll start with your arm and work my way up!”

Pete winced as the chainsaw made contact with the armor on Ae’s shoulder and nobody could tell if the grinding sound was the chipping away at the armor, the chainsaw blades, or something else. Ae moved to swing the war hammer he held in his other hand, but instead it was met with the magic hammer and shattered. 

Ae’s eyes widened a fraction even as he bared his teeth in a snarl. But everyone froze at the sound of Pete’s combat baton hitting the side of chainsaw man’s head. Pete’s eyes were firm, even as his hand shook, frozen post throw. 

“Alright, you want some too.” The two men kicked at Ae, knocking him to the side before stomping in Pete’s direction. 

Pete stood firm and just as the two were within striking range, Pete exhaled and a bright burst of healing light covered him. The result was exactly as Pete had hoped, the two men covered their eyes which was enough time for Ae to stomp over and bash their heads together. 

“Paladin!” Pete’s hand hovered over Ae’s broken armor breastplate. “Are you-”

“That was dangerous,” Ae said in a huff. “I can’t believe you did that.”

“I just-”

“Good job.” The pinch of Ae’s fingers on Pete’s cheek was both consolation and punishment. “But, don’t do something like that again.”

******

A week later, Pete found himself in a familiar situation as before. Ae tightened every strap properly and fastened every buckle. 

“Just relax,” Ae said as Pete laughed. “It’s just your second patrol.”

“Yes,” Pete said, mirth in his eyes. “How bad could it be?” 

Ae kissed Pete’s knuckles and Pete wanted to swoon just a bit. “You’ve seen how bad it could be. And it could be worse.”

“And I’ll still be here.” Pete kissed Ae’s knuckles in return. “And I will still be by Ae’s side.”

******

And on the next day…

“It’s just your third patrol.”

******

“It’s just your tenth patrol.”

******

“It’s just your fiftieth patrol.”

******

“It’s just your-”

“Ae…” Pete rested a gentle hand on Ae’s as he fastened Pete’s bulletproof vest. “It’s not just my one-hundredth patrol. It’s my one-hundredth patrol with Ae.” Pete smiled. “Thank you, Ae.”

“Ai Koon chai…” Ae drew closer and Pete’s eyes fluttered shut, but both separated at the beep of their earpieces. 

“Attention all supers! Trump Card has been sighted downtown, south-west quadrant,” Techno announced. “Situation is rapidly evolving. Trump Card has managed to procure a tank and has already neutralized two other supers. Anyone available and registered for level three engagement, please respond and engage.”

Ae immediately pressed the button on his earpiece. “Paladin reporting in.”

“Ice King reporting in.”

“Hyper reporting in!”

“C-Cleric too!”

Ae whipped his head around and silenced his earpiece. “Pete…”

“It’s time,” Pete said softly. “He’s been circling around us for months.” Pete looked down at his hands. “I think it’s time we dealt with him. You and me.”

“Command acknowledges Paladin, Ice King, and Hyper. Cleric is permitted on support,” Type replied. “Gear up and engage.”

“Race you all there!” Hyper crowed before the sound of rushing wind cut him off.

******

The minute Tin heard Can crowing about racing everyone to the fight, Tin nearly burst all the plumbing within a kilometer of his position trying to catch up.

“Hyper,” Tin said quietly into their private channel. “You can’t underestimate him.”

“Oh don’t you worry about me, last time he only got one punch. Today, I’m going to make sure he gets the full Hyper Experience!”

“Cantalope.” Tin could hear Can coming to a screeching halt. “There’s a reason why his name is Trump Card. Think about that.”

“Is it because he’s got a military grade tank? Because that’s a pretty sweet Trump Card,” Can said over the sound of explosions around him. 

“Shit, you’re there already?!”

“Speedster!”

Tin fought the urge to facepalm and failed. “Focus on disabling his tank first!”

“On it!”

“And don’t get hurt!”

Tin couldn’t see it, but he could hear the wink in Can’s voice. “Wouldn’t dream of it.”

By the time Tin arrived, shots were still being fired out of the tank as Can worked on unscrewing the top hatch. “Hyper!”

“Nearly done!” Can yelled as the hatch opened. But instead of a person, a strange combination of pillar and antenna popped out as if forced out quickly by a spring, and with a whir, Can found himself struggling to fight against gravity. “What the-”

Tin moved to slice the mechanism with a wave of water but had to shield himself instead from gunfire to his right until Can screamed out, blood blossoming out from his leg from a gunshot.

“Ah… We meet again, my liege. And speedster pleb.” Trump Card emerged from an alley, sights locked on Tin as Can’s muscles started to give out and his body was pressed against the top of the tank. “Amazing, isn’t it? Speedsters are so hard to deal with, but just multiply gravity by ten or twenty times and it’s like shooting fish in a barrel.” Trump Card immediately swiveled and shot another bullet into Can’s other leg. Tin’s arm raised up and Trump Card clicked his tongue. “Another move, and I’ll blow his brains out. There’s no speeding his way out of that, is there, Ice-” Trump Card was cut off as a cannonball construct was launched into his chest. 

Tin immediately turned around and tried to cut the gravity amplifier as Paladin engaged Trump Card. However, the amplified gravity pulled down all his projectiles.

“Let me help.” Tin turned to find Pete, now Cleric, at his side. Tin bit back his words and Pete touched a hand to his shoulder. “Try now, Ice King.”

Tin fired off another volley, now tinged with some of Cleric’s white glow. The amplified gravity still pulled, but it was just enough to slice the pillar down. Can groaned, breathing heavy, when the gravity was released. Cleric offered a small smile. “Assist Paladin, Ice King. I’ll take care of Hyper for you.”

“Pe- I mean Cleric-”

Pete’s eyes widened. “How do you…” He stared a bit deeper into Tin’s eyes and Tin knew he’d been found out. “You’re-” 

“Not now.” Tin squeezed Pete’s hand. “Please take care of Hyper first.”

Pete nodded. “I’m on it!” 

Tin immediately glanced back to Paladin and found his constructs breaking on contact with Trump Card’s body. 

“You really never learn your lesson, do you?” Trump Card cackled as he fired off several rounds into Paladin’s armor. Tin replied by slicing Trump Card’s rifle in half. “Oh! Back in the game are you?”

“Paladin, fall back. He’s already immune to your power,” Tin said as he barraged Trump Card with wave after wave of ice. 

“Just have to beat the clock on it,” Paladin muttered before firing off several construct arrows into Tin’s conjured maelstrom. 

“Not if I beat him first!” A blur sped into Tin’s bubble of water and Trump Card was sent flying into the nearest car. 

“Hyper! Don’t try to use your speed to accelerate his molecules!” Paladin called out. “Trump Card’s power will activate if you do!”

“Got it!” Can sped up his pummeling of Trump Card only to suddenly stagger back, clutching his chest. “W-wha-” Can coughed and blood trickled out of the corner of his mouth.

“Doesn’t have to be your speed,” Trump Card cackled before popping open a bottle he pulled out of his coat and chugging it down. As Paladin and Tin approached, Trump Card chucked the bottle at them before springing up and pulling out dual pistols from concealed holsters. “Well, back to it then! HAHAHAHA!”

Cleric ran over as Tin and Paladin followed the side-stepping Trump Card. However, Cleric had moved too soon. Trump Card circled around and pulled Cleric close, pressing the muzzle of one of his pistols to the underside of Cleric’s jaw before he could begin healing Can.

“Now… My most favorite pet… Welcome back, Pete.” Trump Card licked his lips. “I’ve missed you so. None of my other trump cards were ever as good as you.”

Pete glanced back at Paladin and Tin. Both of their jaw muscles were jumping as if grinding their teeth. He looked to Can. Can’s chest continued to move shallowly as he lay on the ground. “Let me go.”

“After I worked so hard to get you back? You must be joking,” Trump Card said as he started to walk backwards, taking Pete with him. “All those months of skirmishes, and now you think you can just run onto the front lines and heal your friend? Foolish!”

Pete clenched his fist. “I’m not going back.”

“And where else do you think you can go?”

Pete’s eyes met Paladins before he blinked twice. Paladin seemed to blink back. “Forward.” Pete kicked backwards, knocking a booted foot into Trump Card’s crotch. The trigger was pulled but the bullet ricocheted off Paladin’s barely there construct sticking to Pete’s skin under his jaw and down into the asphalt.

Pete stumbled away before going into a combat roll and placing his hands gently above Can’s chest and getting to work. Meanwhile Paladin had erected a screen between them and Trump Card as Tin restarted his assault. Can’s breathing started to ease before he sighed and sat up.

“Wound reflection as a counter?” Can rubbed his own chest. “What in the world…” Can moved to run back into the fight, but Pete caught his wrist before he could. 

“Hyper, wait. If Trump Card is capable of wound reflection, it’s time I upped my support,” said Pete. “Ice King, Paladin, level two combat support engaging in five, four…” Pete stood up and Can blinked as Pete cupped his hands in front of him and closed his eyes. His hands filled with what looked like liquid light. “Three, two, one.” From the liquid light, three spheres shot out hitting Can, Tin, and Paladin in their chests, causing a glow to cover their bodies. Pete opened his eyes. “Trump Card… His power has a timer, that’s true. But we don’t have to wait!” Pete pointed at Trump Card. “Just overpower him!”

“Don’t have to tell me twice!” Can ran off, nearly tripping over his own feet at his enhanced speed. 

Can’s fist made contact with Trump Card’s jaw five times just as Tin burst every pipe underneath them, creating the largest sphere of water and ice possible. Can sped off, his jaw already healing from Pete’s support, before it came crashing down on Trump Card’s head. Half of it evaporated before the rest made contact. Paladin closed his eyes and a thousand pinpricks of light surrounded the sphere before each turned into a spear that rained down, shattering the ice and piercing through. Can dodged and weaved through the torrent of constructs landing blow after blow. Many of the constructs burst into nothing just as they stopped short of piercing Trump Card’s body, but a few started to leave scratches and cuts as they grazed his sides. 

“How about now?” Can yelled over the sounds of falling spears and icicles. “Where’s your next trump card now?” 

Trump Card moved to pull something out of his jacket, but Can snatched his hand away and broke Trump Card’s arm for his troubles and tore his jacket away. Tin then blasted Trump Card off the street with another torrent of water and right into Paladin’s box he’d just constructed. Laying his hands on the box, Paladin sealed it and reinforced the construct with several enhanced layers with the remaining energy of Pete’s support ability. 

Trump Card thrashed and wailed against the walls. All four heroes stood still, waiting, until at last Trump Card slumped into the corner, only yelling. Pete walked up to the box and lay a hand on it.

“You’ll never be able to hurt anyone ever again,” Pete said softly. “I won’t allow it. WE won’t allow it.” 

“Don’t be dumb! It’s just a matter of time! Once I-”

Pete laid his other hand against the box construct and Paladin stepped away. “The reason why you have your power is a genetic instability.” Pete’s hands began to glow. “Your DNA adapts and changes to encode for a power that counters whatever it is that is hurting you.” The glow from Pete’s hands began to fill the box. “So I wonder… What would happen if I cured that first mutation that lets your DNA be unstable?”

“You don’t have that kind of power!” Trump Card started to bang on the walls with renewed strength. “You wouldn’t even know where to start!”

“I might not, but… There are supers that do.” Trump Card had no choice but to shut his eyes as the intensity of the light increased. “And one of them was very happy to share that knowledge with me because you tortured them half to death. And now that I know what to heal, I can heal it.”

“No! You’ve never-”

“No,  YOU’VE NEVER known the true extent of my power,” Pete yelled. “You’ve never known the true extent of ME.” Pete shed a single tear, but his face remained still behind his mask. Paladin placed a hand on Pete’s right shoulder. Tin did the same on Pete’s left. Can put a hand on Pete’s back.  “But now, you will know. And you’ll never hurt anyone else again.”

The light reached its maximum and Trump Card howled in agony. When the light faded, Trump Card was curled up in a ball in the corner, ready to be taken away for trial and judgement. Pete staggered into Paladin’s arms

------

In the cafe across the street from the police station, Can sat at a table, politely telling everyone the seats were reserved and impatiently bouncing his leg. Tin arrived and after a small quirk of his lips as Can waved at him energetically, he immediately stood in line to get drinks. Can whipped out his phone with lightning speed and tapped out his order before sending the text. Tin checked his phone and rolled his eyes, but continued to wait in line patiently. A few minutes later, Can spotted a pair leaving the police station and walking over, hands held tightly, smiles evident. 

“So now we get to meet properly as civilians huh,” Can said as Pete and Ae walked over. “A pleasure to meet you.”

“The same here too.” Pete offered Can a wai before sitting down. “It’s nice to meet the person making Tin happy.”

“Not sure I would say the same.” Tin gave Ae a frosty glare as he put Can’s extravagant drink down in front of him. 

“Na, Tin,” Can tugged on Tin’s sleeve to make him sit down. “Don’t be so rude. Officer Ae is my friend and-”

Ae returned Tin’s glare. “If you think you can intimidate me…”

“If you hurt Pete, I’ll freeze all the blood in your body.”

“And if you hurt Can, I’ll launch you to the moon.”

“I’m glad we’ve come to an agreement.”

“Likewise.”

Pete and Can watched as the two shook hands and said nothing else about the matter, but only vaguely continued glaring. Pete continued to look between them as Can took a big gulp of his drink, whipped cream now covering the top of his lip before saying, “Well, now that we’ve all settled down, here’s to a great job!” He held what remained of his drink aloft. “Let’s continue to work well together!”

Pete could only sigh while listening to Can’s rambling, Tin’s interjections as he wiped at Can’s face, Ae’s suggestions for drinks, and the buzz of the television in the corner as the case against Trump Card was concluded and he was given the maximum sentence. It was quaint. A slice of life he almost would have never gotten to enjoy if Ae hadn’t saved him. 

Pete reached down to squeeze Ae’s hand under the table when four earpieces beeped at the same time. 

“Calling all available registered supers!” said Techno, his voice hitting a higher pitch than usual. “An unregistered super is summoning giant animals out of a weird clay pot downtown, northeast quadrant! Requesting even off-duty supers to respond!”

He was so, so dead! Some members of the football team greeted him while he - for the first time in his life - was grateful for not being the tallest guy in the room. Paranoia made him sweat and he felt like his heart was bursting from his chest the moment he closed himself in the toilet.

He sat on the seat and tried to call Ai Pete.

Why? Why was he here? Ai Pete had said he was still in England! Wouldn’t have Ai Pete said if his best friend was suddenly back in Thailand? What was he doing here? On a party from the sports science department no less? IC students never went to such parties! Or… maybe Can just didn’t recognise them, whatever.

He looked up but the bathroom window was too tiny to flee through. Shit!

He tried to call Ai Pete again.

“Can?”“Pete?”, Can whispered. “Can? I can’t hear you? Aren’t you here? It’s Can, Ae.”“I’m so, so sorry!”“Why are you sorry?” The party noises became quieter, “Can?”“I’m really, really sorry Ai Pete!”“What happened? Did something happen? Oh, Ai Tin one moment I have to take care of this!”

Can put his hand before his eyes and was ready to cry on the spot. So he was here…

“I did something stupid Ai Pete.”“What did you do? Are you alright? Please don’t tell me you took drugs?”

Can’s panicked daze cleared for a second to feel insulted.

“I didn’t take drugs Ai Pete! I made a mistake, a horrible, horrible mistake.”“Did someone hit on you? Is someone pressuring you?”

It was sweet that Ai Pete thought Can wasn’t the culprit but the victim.

“I’m okay Ai Pete, I just… I told a lie. And it involves you and… oh man, I’m going to be so humiliated. It’s so embarrassing.”

“Can? Where are you? What lie?”

Someone pounded at the door.

“Occupied!”, Can yelled.

“Remember when you told me about your friend Tin and how he was in England and you left me alone with your phone for ten minutes?”“Can… no, I don’t understand a word.”

He was going to be exposed at the start of a new semester. Everyone at the party was going to know him as the guy who made up a boyfriend. Someone who actually existed and didn’t know he was used as someone’s fake boyfriend. P’Champ… oh by Bhuddah, P’Champ was drunk and was going to want to introduce himself to this Tin guy and would jokingly make a shovel-talk and Can was going to die from embarrassment.

“I sent pictures from your friend to my cellphone and told everyone he is my boyfriend,” Can said in a rush and squeezed his eyes shut to hide from the world. There was only silence on Ai Pete’s end.

Someone pounded at the door again. “I’m busy! Go away!”, Can shouted. “Are you jerking off in there? Other people need to go to the toilet too asshole!”

Can groaned and opened the door. “Finally!” A guy he didn’t know rushed past him and Can left the toilet in a hurry because he didn’t seem to care if someone saw him pee.

“Ai Can?”

Can turned around and stood face to face with Ai Pete, Ae beside him and him… great. The guy was even more handsome in reality and had the raised eyebrow thing going on. Can ended the call and put his phone away. This was going to be a long night.

++

“It’s actually a really funny story…” Can tried and started to laugh. It died a painful death in his throat and he coughed embarrassedly. The guy… Tin stood there, with his long legs… why had he such long legs?… and looked at him as if he was a cockroach. Ai Pete had a worried impression on his face as if he doubted Can’s sanity and Ae, bless him, just shook his head as if he was in no way surprised by Can’s shenanigans. They stood outside, the party a distant noise and how were Tin and Pete not dying from the heat and their long pants?

“Your name is Can, right?” Tin asked and Can nodded. It was annoying how good-looking Tin was. Can had thought the pictures had been lucky-shots but they guy really looked like a model. And was apparently filthy rich. Can kinda hated him on the spot. 

“And you told your friends we’re boyfriends and used pictures you stole from Pete’s cellphone.”Can cringed in second-hand-embarrassment from himself. Out loud it sounded so dumb. It hadn’t sounded as dumb when he had shown the pictures to P’Champ and the others a few weeks ago. He had thought Tin would be in England for longer. He had planned to milk his seniors for pity-meals when Tin and he would break-up. Which also sounded shitty when he thought about it…

“It was because of special circumstances… I’m really sorry. I thought you would never show up. Ai Pete said you live in England.”“Are you an idiot? That doesn’t make it better! If you make up a fake boyfriend do it like all the other losers and create a non-existing one.”

It was annoying how hot this guy looked even when he called Can an idiot and loser. What an asshole, he thought and clenched his teeth.

Wait…

“This is perfect!”, Can shouted and had to smile in relief, “you’re an asshole!”

His mind was too preoccupied to enjoy the dumbfounded look on Tin’s face. “You are an asshole! Just stay as you are and we can break up. Here at this party. Everyone’s going to understand me for breaking up with you.”“I’m sorry?”

“I know. I’m dumb and you’re annoyed and blabla, but you can be as mean as you want to be to me and like this,” he snapped his fingers, “I’m able to break up with you and everyone’s a winner. Oh! Oh, you can even slap me if you want?!”

Behind Tin Ai Pete stared at him as if he was witnessing Can steering his car into a tree. Ae just shook his head and patted Ai Pete on the back as if he wanted to reassure him. Tin frowned at him which didn’t lessen his handsomeness… totally unfair.  

“You want me to be the bad guy in this scenario?”Can shrugged. It was the perfect solution, wasn’t it? Tin shouldn’t lie, Can was sure he liked the idea of humiliating Can in front of the whole party.

“Think again idiot.”“Hey!”

“You got into this fake-dating thing yourself, you’re going to dig yourself out of this whole without making me the villain.”

“Don’t be dramatic. You wouldn’t be the villain. Just, you know… the guy breaking my heart.”

Can knew the expression on Tin’s face. Most of his friends and family member had it at least once in their lives when they were confronted with Can.

Suddenly, Tin straightened and crossed his arms in front of his chest. “You really think I’m going to make it easy for you? You showed my picture around telling everyone I’m your boyfriend. I’m going to fake-date you until you’ll beg me to stop.”“You.. what?” He wanted to do what? Can was confused. How did they go from arguing to Tin declaring that he would play along?

“Ae… You really don’t have to come to dinner if you don’t want to...,” Pete said as he buckled his seatbelt in Ae’s car. This time Ae had actually gotten through most of his desired training plan for the day without any interruption. “Mae-”

“Ai Koon Chai, it’s just a dinner. Don’t worry about it. If you’re worried about my patrol, I’ve already clocked in plenty of hours this month,” Ae said as he started the car.

“But that’s not…” Pete looked at Ae from the corner of his eye, sitting cool and handsome at the wheel. 

There were words forming on Pete’s tongue, but it was far too early for them. And Ae had yet to show he felt anything. Pete was sure he had imagined the lingering brush of fingers along his body as Ae had corrected his stance and posture during training. There was no possible way it was intentional… was there?

Pete bit his tongue, the pain a helpful distraction, and asked the other burning question on his mind. “Have you heard anything about the Trump Cards? Have they taken someone else?”

“There’s been some rumors about the Trump Cards and their leader. He attacked Ice King last night.” Ae’s expression was calm, but his knuckles were white. “Trump Card attacked a few other supers last night as well. Most of them weren’t as lucky as Ice King.”

Pete bit his lip. “Is he okay? I could heal him...”

“Oh, he’s pissed Hyper saved his skin, but he’ll live.” At a red light, Ae turned to face Pete. “Do you know anything about Trump Card, Pete? What his power is? What his goal is?”

Flashes of memory ran through Pete’s mind. “I… He’s…” Pete frowned. “Complicated.”

Ae drove on. “How?”

Pete twisted his seatbelt between his fingers. “I don’t know Trump Card’s power,” he said softly. “But I will say… Trump Card knew I could heal people… And… 

“He was the person I had to heal the most.” Ae watched out of the corner of his eye as Pete continued to fidget. “He always had plenty of injuries, many of them were clearly from supers. But he always came back after his heists. And he never said much about the supers he fought.”

Ae pulled to a stop at the next traffic light. “Do you remember anything else?”

Pete shook his head. “They have several hideouts, but they’d always put a bag over my head when moving.”

Ae started driving again, but put a hand over Pete’s, now tied up in knots with the seatbelt. “Thank you, Ai Pete, for telling me all this. It helps, I promise.”

“Ae…” Pete felt the warmth from Ae’s hands burn in his cheeks. “I-” Pete watched as a red laser dot appeared on Ae’s forehead. 

“Hmm?”

“Look out!” 

Pete grabbed Ae’s shoulder and pulled, but all it did was cause Ae to swerve the car. The bullet meant for Ae’s head hit the bulletproof windshield. Ae immediately turned down a side street to get out of field of view. 

“Are you alright?” Ae said from behind gritted teeth as he pulled to a stop behind cover. No further shots had been taken, but Ae made a barrier construct to reinforce the car walls all the same. “Are you hurt?”

“I-I’m fine! Th-t-the shot was for you!”

Ae unbuckled his seatbelt, pulling a mask over his face. “I’m not that easy to get rid of. Stay low and out of sight.” The armor constructs that Ae favored were already beginning to cover his body. “I’m going to take a look.” 

“Ae, wait! Let me-” Ae slammed the door shut and Pete bit back the rest of the words in his mouth. And then he shouted as Trump Card barreled right into Ae on a motorcycle, sending the police officer flying into a dumpster. “AE!”

“Hello, little armored hero.” Trump Card revved the engine. “I had a few questions, but it seems you’re down in the dumps right now. No worries. I’ll just take what I came for and leave.” Trump Card turned to the car and tried to pull the door open. And then tried again. Pete’s expression in the window was surprisingly smug despite his fear. “Of all things, I can’t believe he had the sense to lock the doors…”

“Get away from there!” Ae shouted as he hurled a glowing hatchet construct at Trump Card. The hatchet missed its mark, but the following baseball bat to the chest did not. The blow tossed Trump Card off his motorcycle and into the street. 

The exhilaration of the strike did not remain satisfying for long. Ae took another swing, but Trump Card grasped the bat construct in his hand and after a moment, it shattered. Ae took a step back in surprise, but continued his onslaught. A whole manner of blunt weapon energy constructs came to life in Ae’s hands and were shattered on impact against Trump Card’s body. 

“Naughty, naughty!” Trump Card pulled out a pistol in the space between Ae’s most recent swings and fired. The bullet grazed Ae’s arm, but he barely flinched as he swung a sledgehammer construct at Trump Card’s leg, which also shattered. “When will you heroes learn, you can’t beat me! I’ve got too many trump cards!”

“You’ve used your last!” Ae swung his fist, a large battering ram in the shape of a massive gauntlet manifested and although it too shattered on impact, Trump Card was pushed back, the force of the blow successful. “Got you!” Ae threw another several blunt objects at Trump Card before chasing after him. 

Trump Card dodged, but a projectile made contact and the crunch of the bones in his shoulder breaking was unmistakable. “Damn!” He looked up in time to find Ae swinging for his head and reached into his jacket.

“It’s over!” Ae followed through with his swing, but didn’t anticipate the grenade being thrown in his face. Withdrawing back to shield himself, the grenade went off with a bang and a flash.

“AE!”

Warmth, was the first thing Ae felt coursing through his body, followed by calm. Pain wasn’t even on the list. When the spots cleared from his vision, Trump Card was gone and Ae’s body was lit with the same pale light that Pete emitted from his hands during healing. All of Ae’s wounds were healing rapidly. Ae turned to find Pete reaching out from an open car door, a ray of glowing healing energy connecting them together. Ae took a step forward and Pete withdrew. The energy dissipated. 

“Are you okay?” Ae asked as he walked forward. “He didn’t hurt you, did he?”

“I’m fine… Are you…” Pete nervously looked around before stepping out from behind the car door. “Did that… Did I actually…”

“You healed me.” Ae looked at his arm, failing to even find a scar. “How did you know that you could do that?”

Pete blinked. “I didn’t.”

------

“You’re both so late, did something happen?” Putch rushed over as Ae and Pete walked in later than anticipated for dinner. “Are you both alright?”

“A minor incident, Khun Putch. Everything is fine. We just had to take a detour is all.” Ae gave a salute instead of a wai. “I hope you’ll forgive me for the delay. I wanted to make sure we wouldn’t run into any other incidents.”

“Well, I can hardly complain about that.” Putch put a hand on Pete’s cheek. “Are you okay?”

“Yes, mae… Ae made sure I was fine.”

Putch watched the way Pete stared at Ae as he stood at attention. “Oh, I have no doubts about that.”

“Mae!’

“Come, I’ll have Par Jiew heat everything up. And I expect you to tell me everything that happened.” Ae offered a strained smile, but continued on to the dining room.

Thankfully, Pete managed to divert attention away from Ae during dinner, instead talking about the way he was “helping” to deal with the gang that had kidnapped him. 

“Ae really has been great.” Pete smiled at his plate.

“So he’s definitely Ae now, and not Officer Ae?”

Ae froze, spoon halfway to his lips as Pete’s face turned bright red. “I didn’t-”

“You can call me just Ae if you want.” Pete’s head whipped around, Ae was smiling. “You let me call you Ai Pete, so if you want, you can just call me Ae.”

“Now that is very proper,” Putch said as she put another shrimp on Pete’s plate. “Go on then, Pete. Before it all goes cold.”

Ae watched as Pete picked at the shrimp shell delicately, but only managed to mangle it. “Ai Pete, are you really that bad at peeling shrimps? Give me that.” With a few deft movements, Ae pulled the shell off cleanly and Pete’s face was as red as ever. “I’m good at peeling shrimps you know.”

“O-oh…” Pete looked up as his mother only smiled a little behind her glass of water. 

Pete wondered if it was too late to change his mind and become a villain instead. At least then he wouldn’t deal with his mother teasing him about his obvious crush.

------

Can casually tossed his phone into the air and caught it. Today would be the third day in a row that Tin had “agreed” to coffee or dinner together. 

And what a surprise it was to see that the icy cold man was actually quite warm on the inside.

Tin accepted Can as he was, fast mouth, fast hands, fast eyes, and that could almost be enough. But what was beginning to win Can over was Tin’s sincerity, his earnest concern for his friend, Pete, and at least there, they could find a common thread. Protectiveness for those closest to them. 

Tin had yet to give Can all the details on his sordid past, but they had time. It was only their third date, after all.

Can froze in his steps. “Did I just think today was a date?” He rewound his thoughts. “Fuck, I did.”

“What did you do?” Can turned around slowly to see Tin’s frosty face, but his eyes… There was something warming up there. Can found himself smiling without intending to, and that was more dangerous than anything he had experienced prior. 

“Ohh…. Nothing. Yet.”

Tin rolled his eyes. “Of course.” He sighed. “Did you pick what drink you want yet?”

“I want a mocha! With salted caramel sauce! Extra whipped cream!” Can paused for a moment. “And an extra shot of espresso.”

“You don’t need that extra shot of espresso. You’ll drive me up the wall with all that sugar anyway,” Tin complained, but he got into line at the coffee shop anyway. Can smiled.

“But you’ll buy it for me anywaaaayyyyy!” Tin said nothing, but his continued silence was as loud an agreement as any. “So, I was thinking we should-”

“HANDS WHERE I CAN SEE THEM!” Shots rang out in the quiet of the coffee shop. Several men stormed into the cafe. Through the screaming, Tin and Can found themselves grabbing for the other and pulling them down behind the condiment counter. Can let go faster than Tin, who raised an eyebrow but said nothing. “Put your money in the bag!”

“This is a fucking coffee shop, and we’re right across the street from the police station!” Can mumbled as he watched the thieves come around. High-powered rifles were held easily by the majority of them as an associate walked around with the bag to collect everyone’s belongings. “Are they insane?” Can felt the air temperature drop around them. “And why is the AC on so high?”

“Priorities,” Tin hissed as he peered out from behind their source of cover. He turned to look back at Can who had similarly turned to look at Tin.

“Do you trust me,” they both said at the same time and both were similarly taken aback.

“You have a plan?” Tin asked with a raised eyebrow.

“I bet it’s better than yours.”

“Just stay down and out of my way.”

“I was going to say the same to you!”

“Hey! What are you two whispering over there!” The sound of boots stomping over grew louder. “Where-”

Before the thief could blink, his rifle was snatched out of his hands and his mouth was frozen shut with what appeared to be someone’s chai tea latte. A frozen white mask of milk rested over Tin’s face while Can had pulled his hood over his head and drawn the strings tight to minimize the amount of his face exposed. 

“Wrong neighborhood, buddy.” Can’s knuckles cracked as he clenched his free hand into a fist. “And if this means I don’t get my mocha today, you’re in trouble.” He looked over at who he thought was just little, old, rich boy Tin. But the frozen mask and posture with several floating orbs of liquids around him told Can the truth.

“You going to be okay working on this, T- I mean, Ice King?”

Tin, now Ice King, didn’t turn to acknowledge him. “Just stay out of my way, Hyper,” he repeated.

As several rifles were pointed in their direction, Can smiled. Beating up bad guys always was his favorite source of relief from stress and frustration. “I was going to say the same thing.”

Can turned into a blur, the reason for his chosen superhero name now evident as he snatched guns and punched the wielders. Tin was equally efficient, forgotten coffee drinks and teas now turned into his offense and defense. The cafe was cleared out in what felt like an eternity, but took only moments. 

As Tin reported the incident, Can stopped to watch him. Tin’s posture and tone were tight. Once the police arrived from across the street, Tin walked out, passing by Can as if he didn’t exist.

Can looked away, unable to stop him. 

One heartbeat. Then two.

Can chased after Tin. Tin could only blink before the world spun and he found himself pulled into an alleyway. Tin’s hands lashed out quickly, but Can's were faster. Strike after ice laden strike, Can deflected, but he never struck back.

At last, after Can parried another blow, Tin seemed to hesitate for a moment. Can let down his guard, but found himself frozen to the wall.

“So… Was this your plan all along? Find me out and compromise me?” Tin’s expression was dark. “Do you really want to out do me that badly?”

“What?!” Can screeched. “I could say the same thing!” He struggled under the sheet of ice that pinned him down. “You were really trying to kill me just now!”

“I knew you were fast, too fast,” Tin huffed. “And your caloric intake is ridiculous.”

Can furrowed his brows. “You’re not subtle either! You keep unconsciously freezing things when you’re upset!”

“Name one time-”

“You froze my latte yesterday because I asked about your family!”

“Your latte was already iced!”

“You literally froze it solid!”

Tin pulled at his hair before pointing a finger in Can’s face. Can went cross-eyed staring at it. “You stay away from me from now on. I’m not letting you lead me on just so you can-”

“Who said I wanted to lead you on! I literally had no idea you were Ice King in the first place!”

“That’s what he-”

“Wait, who lead you on before?” Tin nearly bit his tongue when Can cut him off. “Who did this to you before? Tin?”

Tin turned away. The ice holding Can to the wall melted, but Can was left dry. “This conversation is over. Don’t follow me.”

As Tin stomped off, Can’s eyes caught a glimpse of a mark on the back of Tin’s neck. The edge of a scar. His eyes widened. “YOU WERE THAT AQUA KID?!”

Tin immediately ran over and slapped a hand over Can’s mouth. “YOU-”

Can pulled Tin’s hand away. “Youngest hero to be allowed to go on patrol at the age of fifteen, code name Aqua. Taken off of registry at the age of sixteen due to severe injuries.” Can’s hands were gentle as he pulled Tin closer. “You were partnered with someone more senior since you were so young, code name Blaze. You were being held by a villain, called himself The Baron. 

“Blaze decided to burn you both.”