#oc ethan

ethan is fiercly loyal, and if you have him on your side then you know that he's got you no matter what*. he's kind of like if a weird dog was a guy and nothing like a dog at all actually. focused and efficient - you can rely on him to get a job done, and most importantly done well. he's primarily a hunter, and he knows every shot counts. when he's given a task, he won't stop until it's done, so you know he leaves behind no unfinished business or loose ends** charismatic, in a way where he can smoothly talk himself out of basically any possible situation. very indirect way of insulting the offending party, can talk circles around people all day long given the opportunity. let him run his mouth and you'll have a perfect 10 minute window to escape undetected. he's a relentless yapper but sometimes it actually comes in handy. *in most cases. coughs **this is very funny and you'll laugh about it when you understand

💔 BROKEN HEART — what are three of your oc's negative traits?

why only three. he's arrogant, self-centered, self-serving, sort of has the Would've Been A Really Good [Derogatory] Cop In Another Life vibe that he brings to the table. strong personality, very opinionated and argumentative at the best of times. not to be trusted with secrets - he can and will find a way to hold them against you no matter how trivial they may be. also a liar. and not in a fun way. this is why he gets beat up so often. please for the love of god someone shut him up. permanently if possible. please. he has so many things wrong with him.

🍝 SPAGHETTI — what is/are your oc's favorite food(s)?

deer stew 🔥🔥🔥 tastes like home, reminds him of his parents, of being on the road, of his ex when things were still good, generally just really comforting and it always puts him in a somewhat better mood once he's had it. he'd also be an absolute fiend for peanut m&ms if they still existed in this universe. guy who has trail mix in his pocket ready for any situation and somehow never runs out of it. you understand.

😊 SMILING FACE WITH SMILING EYES — what are your oc's career/general life desires? what do they want to get the most out of life?

Dev had already been stripped of so many human rights and Alden hated to take away any more, but this was how they’d get the publicity out of their faces. The heroes were another matter. Alden knew they wouldn’t want Dev invading their base, but really, what was he going to do in this state? There wasn’t anywhere else for the man to go. Alden pinched the bridge of his nose, thinking about how he would deal with the repercussions when he got to them.

Someone opened the door for him and he stepped outside with the city’s most feared villain curled up in his arms.

A van waited a few feet away, parked on the curb. In front of it stood Alden’s “partner in crime” as he liked to call it, since Ethan was always a fan of irony. Non-powered employees of Oneirogate stood at either side of the pathway, guns raised, pointed, and ready to shoot in case Dev had any willpower to try anything at all.

The precautions they took for someone so small and weak were almost laughable.

Ethan held his hands up, power activated. His ability of casting energy nets helped capture difficult villains, but Alden knew Dev wasn’t going to try and escape. He wasn’t even awake to see the spectacle. As soon as Ethan laid eyes on the sleeping figure in Alden’s arms, his hands faltered, the rusty-orange energy on them flickering and growing dim.

Dev nuzzled his head into the crook of Alden’s neck, hiding his face under the mess of his own matted hair. The gesture seemed instinctive even in his sleep—to hide. The shirt Alden had helped him into was already stained red with blood and one sleeve hung limply next to the villain’s broken arm.

Ethan slowly lowered his hands. His mouth fell open, likely without him realizing it, the expression of shock and disbelief practically comical in its exaggeration.

“Is that…” he started, trailing off. He pointed at Dev.

Alden nodded. Ethan rubbed the back of his neck.

“Shit.”

“Yeah.”

Alden carried him over to the van and Ethan opened the door for him to get on. Inside, he spotted the restraining board—a platform with connected leather straps for the wrists, ankles, and waist to secure particularly dangerous villains. Alden eyed it dismally.

Ethan stepped into the van and sat down. He saw Alden’s gaze directed toward the restraining board and raised a brow.

“You gonna put him on that thing?” he asked.

Alden shook his head and sat down across from Ethan, adjusting his arms so he could wrap both around Dev’s body to hold him up.

“I’ll just hold him,” he replied.

Ethan looked like he wanted to say more, but didn’t. His eyebrows furrowed together as he inspected the villain’s battered body, likely coming to the same conclusions Alden had. They couldn’t have left him in that place a day longer. Too much had already gone on without them knowing and it left the biggest villain of the city in a state such as this.  

Dev whimpered and Alden thought the movement of the van starting had woken him, but his breathing evened out a moment later. His face still held that pained appearance. Alden held him close, looking down at the sleeping form in his arms.

“They really did a number on him, huh?” Ethan said.

Alden didn’t bother responding and merely sighed.

—

The heroes base came into view, along with the mass of people Alden had just pissed off. The public thought they were going to deal with The Puppeteer in a way that didn’t include rehabilitation, but the heroes knew a different story. They knew the cells at the base weren’t equipped for maximum security, so what Alden was doing was technically a huge risk to everyone involved. A mistake.

The people Alden worked with glared angrily at the approaching van and he knew they were expecting the city’s most feared villain. The one who could mind control an entire crowd and bend them to his will. The man with the silver tongue who could spin pretty lies and speeches about his greatness while he made you cut off your own tongue simply because he asked.

They didn’t know they’d be getting such a broken thing. That Dev had been beaten and bloodied time and time again until he was near unrecognizable. His body was emaciated, his bones broken, his feet burned. His skin was a patchwork of bruises and lacerations, it was a wonder he hadn’t already died of blood loss. He wouldn’t even be able to walk, let alone break out of the heroes base.

But they didn’t know that.

The voices grew in volume the second Alden opened the door, even before he stepped out. Ethan held it open for him as he carried Dev out, and instantly shouts surrounded his face.

They crowded around him, faces too close. Hands reaching for him, mouths pulled in sneers and snarls. Alden’s heart raced, beating heavily against his chest. His breath caught; he hated the attention. He wanted to step back and hide in the van but he knew he had to pass through this to help Dev.

“What were you thinking?” someone shouted at him.

“He’s dangerous!”

“He’s a monster!”

“He’s evil!”

The voices surrounded him. Dev cried out, awoken from the noise. He made a strangled sound and buried his face even more into Alden’s shoulder, shifting around in his grasp as if he were trying to make his body even smaller than it already was.

Alden cringed. If the clamor was enough to frighten himself, he couldn’t imagine what Dev must’ve been feeling. He could guess though, having the villain pressed against his chest, shivering with the force of a leaf in the wind. His breathing quickened, coming in short, pitchy gasps, and his hands tightened on Alden’s shirt as he pressed his face into it. Small whimpers escaped his lips, louder than all the voices encompassing them. Alden had to stop them before Dev hyperventilated himself into passing out.

“Everybody shut up!” he yelled.

He felt Dev flinch. The others went silent.

“You’re scaring him,” Alden said in a quieter, but just as stern voice.

Dev was trembling again. He had one hand grasping Alden’s shirt like a lifeline, broken fingers and all. Alden winced, imagining the pain it must have been causing them.

“Hey, it’s okay,” Alden said to the villain, unsure if he was even in the right state of mind to process his words. “You’re okay. You’re okay. No one’s gonna hurt you.”

Alden kept making gentle shushing noises, even as the rest of the heroes and various other employees gathered around and gave him strange looks. Dev’s breathing still came short and fast, too rapid for him to properly take in the air. He’d stopped thrashing at least, but his body trembled so fiercely that Alden had to hold him tighter to avoid dropping him.

“It’s gonna be okay,” Alden cooed.

He moved through the throng of curious onlookers and in through the main doors of Oneirogate. He was glad to be so naturally recognized as top hero that he didn’t need to show the guards his ID badge, since both of his hands were occupied and there was no way he was setting Dev down until they reached the medbay.

“That’s really…” the receptionist at the front desk began, but trailed off.

Alden didn’t bother answering her. He knew he’d have a lot to answer for later, but Dev took precedence over everything. Alden would deal with repercussions when he got to them.

His team was always telling him he had a bad habit of putting things off.

Alden stroked Dev’s shoulder with his thumb again, slow back and forth motions that he hoped were enough to center him. The hero looked over his own shoulder.

“Can somebody get Lorelei for me?” he called out, hating the way Dev flinched at his raised voice.

He’d get Dev to the medbay and…oh.

Citrine, another member of his team, stood frozen in the middle of the lobby, a stricken expression on her face. She was a deer in the headlights, staring at an oncoming car without any sense to move away from it. Alden saw her gasp, her eyes wide and horrified.

He knew she was the most terrified of Dev and what he could do. She’d always worried what he’d do if he ever managed to break inside the heroes base while he was in control of the city—the heroes last safe place.

And here Alden had the very same villain in his arms. Citrine turned and ran.

Alden squeezed his eyes shut tight—this was just another problem he’d have to deal with. Ethan came up from behind Alden and settled a hand on his shoulder. “I got it,” he said, nudging his chin in the direction Citrine had run off in. “You take the Big Bad to the medbay.”

“Small Bad at this point,” Alden mumbled, but set off.

All he’d wanted to do was save a man from endless torture, because no one deserved that kind of fate no matter who they were. The heroes could complain, could yell at him and scold him all they wanted, but he knew he made the right choice.

Dev, snuggled up in his arms, was not a god. He once claimed to be, sure, but he was just a man. One that had been so badly hurt, he was nearly unrecognizable from who he used to be.

—

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