Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Cold wind danced through the empty streets of Empires City.

While the city lights flickered faintly, but enough that no stars could be seen in the sky despite it being clear.
But it was peaceful and quiet except for the occasional cars passing by and his footsteps.

Solidarity stopped at the edge of the roof and sat. The patrol was quiet today and it looked like it would be the same for the
rest of the night.

So he can go home now.
He got up and dusted himself off, he headed back towards the ladder but just as he was about to climb down, a screaming alarm rang out from a distance. "so much for a peaceful patrol" he thought.
He pushed himself back onto the roof and quickly headed towards the source of the sound.

--- --- ---

"Do you have everything" the thief asks. "Yes yes, let's just go. we don't have much time lef-"
before the other could finishes his sentence, Solidarity interrupts him by breaking in the door.
"Hello boyz. Wong time to rob a bank huh" He said.

(Well it's never a good time to rob a bank because it's illegal but he won't cut himself now.)

The thief pulled out a gun and pointed it at him. Solidarity quickly dodged the shot by crouching down and then he lunged himself at the thief and grabbed the gun, ripping it from his hands and throwing it away.

Thief growled and attacked the dirty blonde with his knife meanwhile the other one took the opportunity and ran away with the bags.
The thief struck the dirty blonde again and again and again while Solidarity tried to avoid it as much as possible.

(If he could admit he wasn't the biggest fan of one on one combat.)

But since he didn't really have much of a choice, he had to stop him.
If only he could use his powers but there was no water.
For his hydrokinesis he would need already existing water because he can't just make it out of thin air like his sister.

Then he kicked the thief and ran into the offices looking around for any kind of water, and then he found a water dispenser "great" he whispered to himself.

The man quickly ran after him and when he entered the offices he was immediately hit by a wave of water from the side.
He slammed his head hard into the wall and groaned as he collapsed unconscious.

Solidarity wiped the sweat from his forehead, then unhooked the fishing net from his belt and tied up the unconscious thief with it.

"Thanks void for this water dispenser" He whispered to himself.
Now he can just leave him here for the police to pick him up.
Meanwhile he can still catches the other one.

--- --- ---
He ran down the street.
His footsteps echoed in the silent night.

He's been here for a couple of minutes and still no sign of the other thief.
Sirens began to wail louder and louder in the distance, Apparently the police finally responded to the alarm at the bank.

He quickly climbed back to the roof where he had a better view of what was happening.
Although he'd rather continue with the mission, there was too many cops in front of the bank, and hey, he's also somehow breaking the law by being a vigilante, so he better go before anyone sees him.

"Solidarity" a voice came from behind.

--- --- ---

It was 2am when Scott was called in to the hero tower, for a bank robbery.
Even though it was late he wasn't sleeping.

In fact he was reading when his phone rang.
So now he had to leave this for later and go to work.

-
When he arrived at HT, he immediately went to the changing room where he changed into his costume. And then head on to the streets of Empires city.
-

When he arrived at the bank, the first thing he noticed was the broken door.

He entered, it was quiet. Shards of glass cracked with each step he took.

"strange" he thought.

And then he kicked something bigger.
It was a gun.
Now he was sure that there was someone else here besides the thieves.

he went even deeper into the building and arrived at the offices not long after.

Everything was destroyed in here. Clear signs of a fight. But it was wet, as if someone had spilled a lot of water and then he saw thief leaning against the wall. He was tied up but not with an ordinary rope, but with a fishing net.

Water, fishing net... Scott sighed of course. Now he knows exactly who the uninvited guest is.

--- --- ---

The dirty blonde quickly turned around.
He knows that voice and it's not a good voice not now.

"Hey major" he said as he thought of all possible ways to escape this interaction.

"Hello to you to Solidarity" Major answered in a harsh voice.
"I assume you know vigilantism is illegal, right?"

"If it weren't for me, the thief would have escaped a long time ago." Solidarity replied.

"Sure, but one's still on the run, isn't he, and that's the one who actually had all the stolen money."

Solidarity opened and closed his mouth.

He was right, but in his defense he wanted to go after the thief, he just wasn't fast enough and the cops blocked his way.

"so I think it's time to surre-"

"it was nice to chat Major but I think we should save that for another time."
The dirty blonde said before jumping off the roof.

Major immediately ran to the edge and looked over. the dirty blonde landed in the garbage container and was already running away.

Major sighed as he stared into the dark night.

--- --- ---

The handle shook and then the door slid open. The footsteps of heavy shoes echoed through the empty apartment.

"meow meoow!" "hey Norman, hungry?" More loud meowing followed. "okay okay I got it"

Even if he was still in costume it can wait his cat is in the first place.
After giving Norman food he went to the room to change. it always felt so good to put off all the armor and uncomfortable clothes and get into comfortable pyjamas.

He threw costume over the chair and let himself fall into the comfortable bed, letting sleep pull him into the embrace of nothingness.

~

Chapter Text

The alarm clock started ringing.

Jimmy growled and turned to the other side of the bed. He covered his head and tried to ignore (it didn't work).

So he reached his hand out from under the blanket and waved it in the air until he hit the alarm clock and turned it off.

He pulled his hand back to him and enjoyed the sweet silence.

It lasted only a few minutes until a thought suddenly popped into his mind. A thought why he set the alarm clock in the first place.
He quickly opened his eyes and pulled the blanket off of him.

How could he forget.
He quickly jumped off the bed and ran to the closet.
He got a little dizzy because he stood up so quickly, but it didn't matter.
He took out a pair of clothes that were the first to be reached and quickly went to the bathroom to change.

When he came out, Norman was already waiting for him, staring with his big green eyes.

He purred loudly and began to rub against Jimmy's legs.
The dirty blonde gave him a quick pat and rushed into the kitchen with Norman following.

He opened a can of cat food and tossed it into Norman's bowl on the floor.
Jimmy, on the other hand, quickly grabbed an apple for himself because he didn't have time for breakfast and then ran out the door and out of the apartment.

he quickly ran to the bus stop, but bus had already left.
"great just great" he thought.
Now Lizzie is going to kill him.

But he had no other choice but to sit down and wait for the next one.

The thing was that his sister asked him if he would come and help in her cafe today, because one of her cowokers got sick.

But here he was, first he slept through the alarm and now he missed the bus.

He only had twenty minutes left until opening.
Of course he will be late.

--- --- ---

The bus doors opened painfully slowly, but when they did, the dirty blonde quickly jumped out and ran towards the cafe.

When he arrived he went through the back door that led to the back of the cafe. He quickly checked his watch and he was about fifteen minutes late.
He slowly closed the door behind him and tried to be as quiet as possible.

He turned and right behind him was Lizzie.

"Jimmy" she called "you're late"

Jimmy straightened up and looked at her nervously. She was looking straight at him her arms crossed.
She wanted an explanation and he was going to give it to her. yes.

"I'm so sorry Lizzie. I-well-uh-I-I slept through the alarm a-and then I remembered why it was and then I ran but not fast enough because I missed the bus and thenIwaitedforanewoneandnowI'mlate andyoureliedonmebutIletyoudow-"

Hand on his shoulder pulled him back out of his mind.

"Okay okay. It's alright it was only fifteen minutes. Take it easy." Lizzie said softly.

Then she pushed the apron into his hands. "Now let's go to work" The dirty blonde gave her a quick nod and tied his apron around his waist and headed behind the counter.

Lizzie wasn't mad at him, not at all. She was worried. Because lately she feels like Jimmy is hiding something from her. For example, sometimes he just disappears and doesn't tell her where he was, or he has some strange injuries and so on. She just didn't want anything bad to happen to her younger brother.

--- --- ---

It was 11:30pm they had been working for four and a half hours now.

It was nice, the ringing of the bell above the door as customers came and go, the strong smell of coffee, the hum of the machine.

Right now he was making the coffee and Lizzie was behind the cash register taking orders.

--- --- ---

The time was 3:00 pm there were still three hours until closing time.

Jimmy was getting a little tired because he didn't sleep well last night, but when the bell above the door rang, he still peeked to see who the new customer was.
It was a guy with blue hair. He was wearing a blue shirt similar to his, with a white T-shirt underneath and brown pants.
Over his shoulder he had a dark brown messenger bag decorated with pins.

He walked up to the cash register and placed his order.
Then he and Lizze even chatted a bit. "They probably know each other" he thought. "he looks nice"

Anyway

In a minute Lizzie gave him an order and he went back to work.
When he finished he put the coffee on the counter and started to clean the machine.

"Hey" Jimmy flinched at the sudden sound. "You take the order to him" she whispered. "W-what?" "come on I saw the way you were looking at him~" "n-no I didn't" he protested. Lizzie just gave him a look.

He sighed and resigned himself to his fate. Lizzie grinned as she picked up the cloth and picked up where Jimmy left off.

Jimmy, on the other hand, took the coffee and carried it to the blue-haired guy.

--- --- ---

As he walked across the cafe, each step seemed like an eternity.

Why was he even doing that, since he doesn't even know what to say to him.
Wait why would he even say anything he'll just bring him coffee for God's sake.

He's really not good in these situations, isn't he?

When his mind was running wild and he wasn't paying attention he somehow managed to trip over his own tail.
He fell face down on the floor but held the tray with coffee in the air above him so that luckily he didn't spill it.

In the background he could hear people laughing and talking, he could feel eyes on him.
He just wanted to sink into the ground and disappear.

"hey are you ok" came a voice.
Jimmy looked up and sure enough, of all the people, standing there was the guy he was bringing coffee to.

Dirty blonde blushed and then quickly nodded "yes yes everything's fine" he said nervously.
"okay..." the blue haired guy didn't look convinced. Then he held out his hand "here let me help you" Jimmy accepted the hand and the guy helped him up. "thanks uh-" Jimmy wanted to thank him but he didn't know his name. "oh yes my name is Scott" "I'm Jimmy" The dirty blonde shot back.
Scott smiled at him.

And then they both stand in silence until the dirty blonde snaps out of it
"so yeah uh this is for you" jimmy motions to the coffee on the tray. He places it on the table, nods to Scott and heads back to the counter. Scott nods back and sits down at his table.

When he got back to the counter Lizzie was waiting for him.
She was smiling.

"how did it go?!" she asked. "Lizzie I literally tripped and fell on my face. The whole cafe was laughing at me!"
"well you're the only one who manages to trip over your own tail. But I mean how was it with Scott"
Jimmy blushed
"he just helped me up"
"You two didn't talk?"
"no not at all"
"then why are you blushing. Are you covering something~?"

Jimmy just turned and walked to the other side of the counter. Lizzie laughed at him and went back to work.

--- --- ---

When they worked for the last couple of hours, the cafe closed.
All the customers had already left and only the two of them remained.

Jimmy couldn't stop thinking about Scott for the rest of the workday.
Like how did he even manage to have a crush on a random person whom he sees for the first time and doesn't even know. (Guess crushes work like that.)

When they cleaned up the entire cafe, they too could go home.
"bye Lizzie" Jimmy greeted "bye Jim" Lizzie replied.

And so he walked home.

~

Chapter Text

Jimmy helped in the cafe for the next few days, and now he was no longer late for work.
He was filling in for Lizzie's sick coworker. And if he admitted this job was pretty fun. Although it was difficult to combine being a vigilante at night and a waiter during the day, but since he will work here only until the worker comes back it's okay.

He enjoyed working with his sister, even if she kept nagging him to talk to Scott.
Well, somehow he wanted too, but it was harder than it seemed.
He tried but failed, every time he got close he became more and more nervous and then he rather just turn away and go in the other direction.

Scott on the other hand. He found Jimmy cute. He also wanted to get to know him better, but it was fun to watch the poor man struggle to say something.

So one day he decided to help him a little.

That day he came to the cafe about an hour before the end of the shift.
He ordered as usual and sat down. After a few minutes, a dirty blonde came out from behind the counter.
He wore a white T-shirt with short sleeves and dark brown pants covered by a light pink apron.

Scott looked at him as he approached and smiled. This time Jimmy came up to the table almost without no hesitation and greeted.
"hi" he replied "thanks for the coffee" The dirty blonde blushed "you're welcome" he said and then smiled as he went back to the counter and Scott continued reading his book.

--- --- ---

As the cafe was closing and the customers were leaving, he and Lizzie started cleaning up.
As Scott got up from the table he waved goodbye to Jimmy and the door rang as he left the cafe.

Now that the place was empty Lizzie went to clean the tables and it wasn't long before she called out "Jimmy"

"yeah" he replied tiredly. "look" the dirty blonde raised his head and saw his sister holding a book in her hands.
"is that-" "yes, now come here" Jimmy walked over to her and she immediately thrust the book into his hands.

"Huh? what do you want me to do with it?" Lizzie sighed and grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him to the same level. "don't you see, this is a sign. Take the book to him"
"what n-no I can't" "Uh Jimmy come on. Look me in the eyes not everyone gets a chance like this so take advantage of it. Now go." Dirty blonde listened to her and the words hit him. She's right he has to do this.
"okay i'll go" Lizzie pulled him into a hug and then let go "fingers crossed" she smiled. Jimmy smiled back at her and ran out the door. When the bell rang, Lizzie was left alone in the cafe.

--- --- ---

It was slowly getting dark as the sun was setting behind the horizon.
Cars drove by and birds flew between the tall buildings of the Empire City.

Jimmy walked quickly in the direction he saw Scott go. "He probably can't be that far. It hasn't been that long. Five minutes at most" he thought.

When he was busy walking, he looked at the book. It was a fantasy story, but he didn't know it because he wasn't much of a reader himself, but it had a nice index.

He didn''t see it whole but at the top was a beautiful pendant of a white deer with golden antlers and blue eyes, hanging on a string.
Something about it was different special.
It was give that strange feeling, so he put it away under his arm and continued on his way.

When he looked forward he finally saw Scott. Fortunately, the man stood out with his hair, otherwise he would probably have missed him.

So he sped up walking and when he was only a few meters away he called "hey uh Scott right"

Blue haired guy turned around. He looked surprised as he looked into Jimmy's face and then, his eyes flicked to the book in his hands and back.

"Hello" Scott greeted. "what are you doing here?" "You forgot the book in the cafe so I thought I'd bring it back to you" Said the dirty blonde.

"Oh thanks" Scott said as Jimmy handed him the book. "I didn't even notice it wasn't here." "You're welcome"

Jimmy chewed on his lip and then said "yeah well uh so I'll go now." so he turned on his heel and started walking.

"Wait"

Came a voice and the dirty blonde stopped in his tracks and looked back.
Scott was still there "if you want you can go to the park with me. I watch the stars there from time to time. It's a clear sky today and it's the least I can do when you walked all the way here to return my book."

Well, he didn't expect that.

Then he replied "I can but I'm not the best at star stuff"
"Great, then I'll teach you"
Scott grabbed his wrist, Jimmy blushed and they left together.

--- --- ---

The sky grew darker and the stars began to wake up in the dim moonlight. City lights shone palely as they entered the park.

They went deeper into the park where there was a free space with a bench and a view of the sky.
They sat there and talked for a bit before starting to looking at the stars.

Scott told him a lot about the stars it was pretty cool. He probably watches them often. All Jimmy knew was
the north star. But it was okay because the elf taught him how to recognize more of them.

And so they sat side by side in the starry night. Scott was happy that his plan had worked.

~

Chapter Text

It had been about two weeks since he and Scott had been stargazing.
Jimmy no longer worked at the cafe, but he was still seeing Scott as they exchanged numbers last time.

Many times they went for a walk together or returned to the park, but this day was different.
Jimmy finally worked up the courage to ask him out, and he said yes!

He invited him to the beach outside the city.
They agreed to meet there at 8:00am.

--- --- ---

The bell rang and the Dirty Blonde entered the cafe.
He walked to the back of the bar where he found his sister.

"Hey Lizzie" he greeted. Lizzie turned around. "Hello Jim, how are you" "I have wonderful news" Lizzie looked at him playfully. "go ahead" "I asked Scott out" Her sister's eyes lit up and she immediately ran to her brother to hug him.

But then she remembered "He said yes, right?"
Jimmy quickly nodded "aw that's great, I'm so happy for you" Dirty blonde smiled. "I'll take him to the beach outside of town at 8:00am. I was planning a picnic. Do you think that's okay?" he said. Lizzie gave him a sympathetic look. "it's wonderful Jimmy. Just be yourself and everything will be fine." "Thanks Lizzie, you're the best" "Anytime. Now go get dressed you look like someone pulled you out of a bush" Jimmy giggled. "I will, I will"

The dirty blonde was about to leave, but his sister stopped him
"here, you can take this" she pushed a box of pastries into his hands. "Lizzie I-" "it's fine take this as a gift. Now go so you won't be late" "Thanks" he said "You're welcome." She waved goodbye as he left.

--- --- ---

Sun was already approaching the horizon, leaving behind a golden light.

Scott was already preparing to meet Jimmy.
He had been in his bathroom for about an hour looking in the mirror and deciding what to wear. It has never been so difficult to choose between clothes as it is now and to be honest, it got on his nerves a little.
And after a painfully long time, he finally found something right.

He wore a white shirt with loose sleeves and a crocheted blue vest over it. He had dark brown pants, black boots and a pair of gold earrings in his ears.

"That will do"

-

Jimmy, on the other hand, was already dressed and on his way to the beach where he was going to meet Scott

-

Footsteps rumbled through the crowded city streets as Scott made his way to the bus stop. When he arrived, he sat down on a bench and waited.

Sun shone warmly on him, soaking into his light blue hair. he liked the sun like a warm hug. The feeling was nice.

He couldn't wait to see Jimmy.

As he saw the bus approaching from a distance he got up and walked closer to the road. When the door opened, he walked in and sat down on the seat.

And then his phone rang.

There was a message.
And as soon as Scott's eyes landed on it, he knew it was bad news.

Hero tower -
ORANGE ALARM,
come now, we need you!

But he was supposed to have a day off.
He wrote back.

Can't you send someone else, I'm supposed to have a day off today.

I know, but everyone else is already in the field, you're the only one who can help.

I have important things to do today.
Send some interns surely they can take care of it.

Major. Move your ass over here now.

And that was the end of the conversation.

He sighed angrily. He hated his boss so much.

So he had no choice but to get off at the next station and head towards the hero tower.
He didn't want to go, but what other choice does he have.
He will have to tell Jimmy thet he isn't coming, and the worst part is thet he can't even tell him why.

-

When he got to the tower he immediately went to his locker, ignoring everyone who passed by.
Of course, he also met the boss, who wanted to start a conversation, but like with the others, he just walked by.

Yes, he's in a bad mood and the last thing he wants is to stay here longer.
All he wanted was to finish as soon as possible and make it up for Jimmy

He pulled all his clothes out of the closet, got dressed and then he turned on the communicator to which the location and information in the mission had already been sent.

And Aeor must hate him today.

Apparently some villain broke in to the labs down town. And he has deal with it.

He walked with heavy steps up the stairs towards the roof (the elevator was under repair) and when he arrived at top he wide spread his wings and launched himself into the air.

He flew over a city teeming with life.
Flying was one of his favorite things, the feeling of freedom the wind in the feathers. He never realizes how much he misses it until he does it again.

He checked the communicator, which already said that he was approaching the location.
That's why he got closer to the ground where he had a better view. There was a hole at the connection of the building, the possible entry of the villain. He quietly lended and looked around for any singhts of life. But there was nothing, he didn't like it, it was wey too quiet.
But after a few moments he took a deep breath and put all the stuff on the edge of his mind. Now he hes to focus.
So he took his first step into the building. His boots clattered as he stepd over broken glass and crushed concrete.

--- --- ---

Jimmy is waiting on the pier by the beach. It was twenty past eight in the evening, and Scott still hadn't arrived.
He dipped his feet in the cold dark sea and lost himself in thoughts.

Maybe it was all too fast and Scott wasn't here because he just didn't want to see him. Or he's just late, but this wasn't like him, he was usually always on time.
He probably just didn't want to come.

Jimmy sighed. He waited another fifteen minutes and then headed back home.

-

When he opened the door to his apartment, he was immediately met by Norman. Cat stared at him with big green eyes and then meowed.
Jimmy looked at him with a weak smile and picked him up from the floor.

He closed the door behind him and went to the kitchen. He left Norman back on the floor while he rummaged through the cupboard for a can of cat food.
When he found it, he opened it and shook it in a pot. he placed it on the ground and the cat immediately rushed into it, and he crouched next to him and petted his soft fur.

After a couple of moments he got up and went to his bedroom. He threw himself on the bed and lay there for some time, then he turned on his side and the costume came into view, it was stacked in an open wardrobe.
He stared at it and then thought thet he could go on patrol. It's not like he has somthing else to do anyway. Fresh air might help to clear his mind.

So he put on a costume and turned on the radio that fWhip (his ex) had made for him. Although when they broke up he removed most of the things he gave him, but he made this as a gift when Jimmy trusted him with his hidden identity.
It was a radio that had been modified to track police and heroic call signals. He could intercept their conversations and listen to it.

So there he waited, spinning the wheel until the sound of annoying static turned into a voice.
At first he couldn't make it out, but then it became clearer, the voice mentioned a lab break and something about the villain, but he didn't hear much, he listened further and heard the location. Then he turned off the radio and slipped out the back door, disappearing into the dying sunlight.

--- --- ---

When he got to the labs he first looked around and it didn't look like anyone was here so he started to look for an entrance.

And he soon enough find one through a side door.
He wandered through the empty silent hallway, everything was scattered and abandoned.
The lights were flickering and a light mist was rising above the ground, he didn't like it, it fellt strange.

Then, when he turned in the hallway, he arrived in some kind of hall which was like a center from which more hallweys extended.
He hummed and looked around the hal. Nothing looked different than before, everything was in chaos.

And then something caught his eye something thet he would wish not to see.

There was a bloody path, a chill ran down his spine when he took the first few steps and then he saw a person lying motionless on the ground.
He got closer to her, she was a scientist probably worked here before any of this happened.
He crouched next to her and shook her if she would give him any response but there was none
"Hey can you hear me. Wake up" he whispered and then he turned her over to reveal a large blood stain on her chest.

He felt sick when he reached for her neck with a trembling hand and realized that there was no more pulse.
He quickly stood up with shaky breath and took a few steps back.

(he certainly didn't have this in mind when he said that the patrol would help him clear his mind)

Loud sound rang out from the distance, followed by footsteps.
Jimmy quickly looked around and hid behind the reception desk. He tried to stay as silently as he could when the footsteps came dangerously close to him and then everything went quiet as the footsteps stopped right in front of the counter.

Taking another deep breath, with no hesitation Jimmy stood up quickly and jumped over the counter onto the stranger.

The stranger yelled in surprise as Jimmy tackled him to the ground.
His mind and body were racing with adrenaline as he held the stranger down.
"Get off me" the stranger yelled as he kicked Jimmy in the stomach.
The dirty blonde whimpered as he rolled onto his side "ah, that hurt" he muttered.

At this time, the stranger picked himself up from the ground and stood in front of him.

Jimmy looked at him and froze in place. The stranger was no longer a stranger too him.
They both exhaled at once

"Solidarity?" "Major?"

~

Chapter Text

Major broke eye contact as he grabbed the dirty blonde and threw him behind a nearby overturned table and quickly followed himself.

"wha-" hero covered the others mouth with his hand and signaled him with the other to be quiet.
Jimmy stopped making muffled sounds and nodded slightly. Major slowly removed his palm from the other's mouth.

Hybrid whispered "what was that, what are you doing here?" "Oh-what am I doing here is my job to be here while you always just show up everywhere and make things harder" Major hissed.

Solidarity threw his hands in the air and sighed "How many times I have to tell you that I'm doing this to help"
Elf said nothing and turned away (simply ignoring the other)
and after a moment he continued "we are not alone here, Hades broke in to steal whatever it is and I think he's connected to the cameras, he can see everything and everyone"

"including us" Solidarity said thoughtfully.
"Yeah, we need to find him before he finds us"

"Now, we're a team only because we need each other otherwise forget this ever happened"
the dirty blonde rolled his eyes "of course"

"okay so, this will be quick, I'm going to destroy the cameras with ice spikes and then we move to the hallways"

Solidarity nodded and when Major gave the signal they jumped out of the shelter and as said, Major immediately anchored ice in each camera on the wall and he ran into the hallway and waited for the hero to follow him.

--- --- ---

Laud rumble came as Hades smashed all the test tubes and containers full of chemicals as he searched for materials and lab research he needed.
He walked up and down the premises, destroying everything in his path and after a while he wandered through the hallways until he noticed the door to the control room.
He kicked the door, which opened wide with the crack of the lock. A security guard stood inside, his eyes wide and clouded with fear. He held the gun with trembling hands

Hades grinned widely showing his fangs. He leaned against the arch of the door
"I see you saw the show" he pointed at the monitors of the cameras set up throughout the building.
"S-stand back or I'll shoot"
"Heh, I don't think a gun will help you"

The security guard took a step back as Hades approached. There was only a couple of meters between them and villain took advantage of that and attacked he dodge the shot and pushed himself forward to grabbed the security guard's forearm
-
Chill ran down his spine when the villain grabbed his hand in which had the weapon and squeezed hard until the gun fell to the ground.
"p-please" the man bagged but villain just smiled evilly in his ear, and then without warning he stabbed him in his side.
Man groaned as warm blood spilled all over the villain's hands. then he threw the security guard into the wall and the man collapsed on the floor.

Hades smiled in satisfaction and turned to the monitors, immediately began hacking into the system and with the blink of an eye he had control over the cameras which he connected to the communicator he carried on his arm.

He sat down on a chair for a moment and watched the cameras around the building, and then something interesting caught his eye.
A hero wandering through the hallways, and a moment later a vigilante, who he knew quite well, arrived on the scene.

"oh this will be fun"
he giggled

--- --- ---

"Man this place is huge, how are we supposed to find him, if he's even still here of course."
"Well we can't really know that but maybe you could use your ears/fins or whatever it is. I heard that fish hybrids can hear well"
Said hero.

"I can try, but I don't hear as well as some other fish hybrids, it depends a lot on the individual. In my case, I'm just very sensitive to high-pitched sounds. Which is more of a weakness than anything else."

"So you can try?"

the dirty blonde nodded and stopped in place and so did Major.
Solidarity closed his eyes and focused only on the sound. For a while there was nothing but then his fins twitched as he heard drops of water falling to the ground, then he heard the door creak and finally he heard a sound similar enough to footsteps coming from the right side.

"What's on the right side of the building"
he asked, eyes still closed. "I think the labs." there was some more silence and then Solidarity opened his eyes
"I think I heard footsteps"
"okay let's go"
-

They walked forward and slowly approached the laboratories.
Major disabled the rest of the cameras, as Solidarity scanned the area for any sign of life. (he didn't know if Major saw the woman he found, but he doesn't want anyone else to fall victim to the villain)

"We're here" he whispered snapping Jimmy out of his thoughts.
They stopped at a sliding glass door which led to the laboratory premises.

"Ready?"

"Ready" Jimmy nodded.
The door creaked open and mist poured towards them like water.
They walked in slowly, first there was nothing but then the smell of chemicals hit his nose leaving a strong sharp feeling in his throat.
He immediately started coughing, it was loud and he knew he should stop but easier said than done.
Then he pulled a scarf over his nose and slowly calmed down. His eyes stopped watering and he looked up at the Major who looked like he wanted to strangle him "Are you okay" he asked.
Solidarity gave a thumb up as he held the scarf over his face with his other hand.
"I'm fine, just this smell is strong"

When they looked around the room it was terrible.
Chemicals were spilled on the floor, papers scattered everywhere, cupboards opened and knocked over.
Fortunately, there were no workers.

Jimmy's flins twitched.
He heard a slight knocking from down the hall so he immediately made his way to the source of the sound, forgetting about the hero he left behind.

-

Scott looked at a couple of papers he had picked up from the floor.
There were some research findings of difrent experiments.
He placed them back on the counter, because be honest he never liked such things. Made him feel uneasy.

So then he turned and he was alone.
he looked around and nothing,
"where did he go" he thought.

Panic rose in his chest as he called out "Solidarity?" and again "Solidarity!" as if he disappeared into thin air.
He walked around nervously, listening for any sign of the hybrid.
And there was none.

"well, well, well!" came the voice from behind a voice that does not belong to his partner.
"Major, it's very nice to see you~"
The hero slowly turned around and on the table a few meters away stood a figure in dark clothes, but what caught his eyes the most were the bright red goggles covering his eyes.

"Hades..."

Villain smiled then charged at him.
Major immediately dodging attack kicking the villain in the back. Hades ducked and turned back towards the hero.
"Let's have some fun" the villain took a knife from his sheath.
Scott scowled at him, but if he wanted to play dirty, so be it. Ice spikes grew behind him as a warning. But Hades wasn't spooked by this he just looked more excited.

They hit each other again.
And the next few moments passed in a blur.
Scott tried his best to avoid the knife, because the villain was surprisingly fast and agile.
When he swung at him once more, Major grabbed his arm and tried to hold him back, because the knife was now getting dangerously close to his neck.

Time moved slowly but his thoughts were so fast.

So then he tripped him and Hades fell forward on him and they both rolled to the ground and the knife flew a few meters away.

Villain growled and pushed the hero away to go after the knife but Scott grabbed him by the neck and pulled him back.
Hades gripped the arm around his neck and dug his fingers into it.
Scott squealed and let go just enough for the Hades to turn around and punch him right into the face with full force, Major groaned and fell back.
Black spots appeared in his vision, "Aeor it hurts" he breathed out as he felt his nose "well that must be broken" he thought.
Then he slowly picked himself up from the ground, still a little dizzy.
"up here frosty"
It was a stupid mistake when he looked up as the leg swung towards him and hit him in the head.
He fell back to the ground, everything was white with pain and the spots in his vision were getting bigger, he felt so sick.

"Where the hell is Solidarity" he thought.

--- --- ---

Jimmy was running down the hall when someone called for help.
After turning a couple of corners, he arrived in front of a loose gate. He entered and saw several camera monitors and next to it, a man, probably a security guard based on his uniform, thet was leaning against the wall.
"hey are you ok what happened?"
"I've been stabbed" guard muttered.
Solidarity bit his lip then crouched next to him
"can I see" he asked.
Man nodded and lifted his shirt, exposing the wound.
Jimmy hissed at the sight. "okay I can handle this until the paramedics come. It'll be fine"

Man was quiet as hybrid took a bandage from his belt pouch and began to wrap it around his torso.
"Now put pressure on the wound" he said and the man did so.
Then he helped him to his feet and led him out of the room towards the exit. As they walked Jimmy remembered
"who did this to you?" there was a pause before he answered "Man with the red goggles, I didn't see much, he was fast"

Solidarity stopped and everything hit him at once.
He had forgotten that he had left Major behind, uh what must the hero think of him like he just ran away like thet leaving him,
and that villain, oh, he knew him too well.

"hey, will you managed to get to the exit yourself the paramedics will be there in a while. I have to go back someone may be in danger"
"yeah, I'll make it, go help. And thanks alot." said the man as Jimmy let go of him and run back towards the labs.

-

Major was on the floor leaning against the wall.
Villain was approaching him with a knife in his hand.
"I thought you'd last longer Major. But apparently all it takes to stop you is one hard blow to the head and boom you're done. Pathetic."

Oh he's so done with that guy.
He pulled himself to his feet and with a wave of his hand he created spikes of ice that shot out of the ground straight at the villain.
Hades didn't expect this because he didn't get out of the way in time and one of them hit him and made a deep cut in his cheek.

Villain's expression darkened as he touched his cheek and felt warm blood on his hand.

Now they stood facing each other just a few meters apart. Hades reached into his waistband and pulled out a gun, which he took from the security guard and aimed at the hero.
Scott stood frozen in place.
"Major, it was fun, but everything must comes to an end." said the villain with a smirk.

Scott swallowed and closed his eyes there was nothing more he could do. That was the end. He didn't want to believe that it would end like this.
And then everything happened in an instant. He heard footsteps and then a shot rang out.

But nothing hurt him, didn't he shoot him? What happened?
He slowly opened his eyes and he witnessed the horror before him.
Hades stood motionless still in the position of the shot as a faint smoke came from the gun.
Standing in front of him with outstretched arms in a defensive position was none other than Solidarity.

"S-solidari-"
he was cut off as the hybrid cryed out and fell to the ground.

Scott's thoughts were clouded all he saw was red.

He looked at the villain and the man was still in shock and he snapped him out as he created a barrier of ice spikes separating him from the two of them.

"now go or I swear I'll kill you in an instant" Major growled.

The villain once more looked at the injuried Solidarity, then gave Scott a death glare turned and walked away.

Major watched him until he disappeared and when he did he immediately turned to his partner on the ground.

Scott immediately grabbed him by the shoulders and pulled him into a sitting position by leaning him against a nearby counter.
Solidarity groaned as he was moved but kept his hand on the wound the whole time.
"Aeor help" Scott thought before speaking to Solidarity. "Why in the world did you do that? You could have killed yourself,"
"I didn't want him to hurt you" he replied.

Scott froze, well that was-he hadn't expected this for an answer.

Then he snapped out of his thoughts. "where did he shoot you"
Solidarity slowly raised his hand and exposed the wound
he was shot in the side.

-

Everything was in pain when Major moved him.
He felt sick, dizzy, and black spots already started to appear in the corners of his vision.
When the hero undid my leather shield and lifted the white bloody shirt the wound was exposed and it didn't look good he was bleeding.
Jimmy hissed as Major touched the wound. Then he had move a little so hero could see if the bullet exit the body.

And luckily for him, after a moment he told him that it was out and that there was no increased risk of infection.

Then Major stood up and said he'd be back soon, and Jimmy was left alone on the cold floor too confused to do anything except watch himself bleed.
-
Scott got up and went to see if there was a first aid kit anywhere.
I mean labs probably have such things, he thought.
But after about a minute, he didn't find anything and he needed to return because Solidarity didn't have that much time to spend.
When he came back to Solidarity he was just as he had left, he was holding the wound with his hand and blood was already seeping through his fingers.

"Major is back" Jimmy thought as he saw the blurry appearance of the hero.
He was talking to him, but he wasn't quite sure what he said due to ringing in the ears.
Something about the police and that they had to go. Will he hand him over, he can't go to jail not like that.

Major touched him, but Jimmy flinched and go as far as he could from the others hand.

"I just want to help you, please. The police will be here anytime. We have to go" Major repeated but Solidarity didn't respond except for the occasional whimpers thet escaped his throat.
"At least he can do is to help him get away from this place and the police but he's probably not thinking clearly anymore. He had already lost too much blood" he thought

So he ignored all of Solidarity's protests grabbed and lifted him to his feet.
He held him tightly because the dirty blonde could no longer support his own weight, then he grabbed one arm and pulled it over his shoulder and with the other, he went around his torso and gripped him tightly.
Solidarity struggled to place his feet one at a time as they walked, but most of the time he just stumbled.

They walked slowly but it was better than nothing.
Scott led them to his safe house which was the best idea since it was the closest and inside he had all the equipment to be able to treat Solidarity's wounds.
-
Every step was like a new bullet piercing his body.
Nausea had clouded his thoughts by now. His vision was blurred and he felt dizzy. Even though he tried to walk as fast as possible his legs were heavy and even if he tried with all the energy he had left he just stumbled everywhere.

the journey dragged on and on, and there was still no end to it. He didn't know how long they had been walking but they were no longer in the building.
-
Scott was getting tired, hybrid was heavy and he himself had taken a couple of injuries from the fight too so he wasn't in his best condition, but he kept going he had to get to the house and he had to help his partner no matter what.

House was already coming into his view when he sped forward
"Just a little more, we'll be here soon" he said and then, not even a minute later, he heard a painful cry.
Solidarity's knees gave way and he fell forward but was caught by Major who tightened his grip around his torso.

And so they stopped, Scott placed him in a kneeling position and leaned him against himself.
"uh that wasn't good" he thought.
Solidarity groaned. "Hey, hey look at me" he shook his shoulder "Please open your eyes. Just a little more, we can make it. Solidarity? Solidarity?!"
-
His eyelids were heavy and everything hurt, he couldn't take it anymore, his knees gave way and he collapsed.
The next thing know was that he was sitting there on the cold floor leaning on the hero.
He said something to him but he didn't register anything anymore.
He just stared into the dark, he was tired and sleep was already calling for him.

Major was probably calling his name as he closed his eyes, it was warm as he surrendered to the darkness and disappeared into nothingness.

~

Chapter Text

Scott was shaking, his thoughts were clouded as he stared at the unconscious Solidarity.

Time passed and he did nothing, he knew he had to move and bring vigilante to the house but his limbs just wouldn't cooperate.

--- --- ---

The sound of waves filled the air as Jimmy lay in the sand. Sun shone pleasantly on his skin and left a warm feeling.
He was looking at the blue sky with almost no clouds as the birds flew by and played in the light breeze.

He slowly sat up then he heard footsteps crunching on the sand.
"Hey jimmy" came a voice
"Hello Scott" he said as he pushed himself to his feet to greeted him.

"I'm glad you made it"
"I wouldn't miss it" Scott replied with a smile. "I have something for you." The dirty blonde said, pulling a bunch of poppy flowers from behind his back.
"I collected them by myself, hope that's okay"
A smile grew on Scott's face as he took hold of the flowers and sniffed them. "They are beautiful Jimmy" he said happily.

Then they sat together on the ground, as the pleasant silence formed between them. They watched the waves crash against the sand and descend back into the sea.
It was nice, peaceful, and he loved it.

--- --- ---

Major managed to get back on his feet and was now dragging poor Solidarity along the ground until they reached the safe house.

Fortunately for him, the safe house was away from the city, otherwise someone would have seen them by now.
And if that was the case he'd be in big trouble for helping a vigilante.

But what should he do, man saved his life, so he will return the favor.
-
He kicked the door open and carried the hybrid all the way to the living room and laid him on the couch. Then he quickly ran to the bathroom, where he kept first aid and other supplies he'll would need to care such a wound.
When he found everything he needed he went back and knocked everything off the coffee table with his hand and placed the supplies on it.

He turned towards the still unconscious Solidarity. Only now in the light did he see how pale he was.
So took off his leather armor, threw it on the ground and then unbuttoned his shirt and lifted it up to reveal the wound.
He hissed at the sight, the wound was nasty, there was blood everywhere, but luckily it wasn't bleeding as much as before.
He took a cloth and started to clean the area around the wound, and when he finished, it was time for the hard part, the hole will have to be stitched up.

Scott could only be grateful for all the medical hours he had to complete in the hero program. Otherwise this situation would end up badly.

He disinfected the needle over the fire of the lighter, then took another qick look at the vigilante before starting to sew.

When he finished, he disinfected everything once more, then put gauze on it and wrapped it tightly with bandages all around his torso.

Scott sighed and wiped the sweat from his forehead.
Solidarity is now stable and just needs to rest, so he decided to give him one of his t-shirts since his was bloody, so he grabbed a blue t-shirt with short sleeves from his closet and put it on him himself.
He also took off his shoes and covered him with a blanket because he was cold from the blood loss.

Now that he took care of the vigilante, he could focus on himself.

He went into the bathroom and looked in the mirror.
Briefly he looked awful.

His hair was stained with blood where he had been kicked in the head.

"I mean Hades has hard boots like they're made of iron or something" He thought.

And his nose was injured from the punch. So he took off his mask and washed his face.
When he was done he put a patch on his nose and went to the bedroom where he changed into some more comfortable clothes, and put on a clean mask.

Then he put the costume and Solidarity's shirt in the washing machine.
And returned to the living room, vigilante was there just as he had left him and his color was starting to come back, which was a good sign.

He sat down on the floor and leaned against the wall from where he had a view of the guest in case anything happened.

But since he was pretty tired from everything, it didn't take long before he too collapsed into sleep.

--- --- ---

Jimmy was in the void everything was dark and endless. he could feel the body but it was difficult to move.
He thought he was lying down which was most likely.
He wanted to open his eyes and look around to see anything but his eyelids were so heavy.
But despite his struggles he managed to open them. The light immediately stung his eyes so they started to close and his vision was hazy but all he saw now was the ceiling.

Then he tried to move to a sitting position, but the pain in his side immediately stung and he hissed.
"Oh yeah, I was shot" he thought as he somehow forgot about it.

Now that his eyes were more used to the light he could be more aware of his surroundings. And he realized that he was covered with a blanket and when he pulled it off he was not wearing his costume but a loose blue t-shirt.

And then he heard footsteps approaching him from behind. Panic rose in his chest and he tried to sit up again but a cold hand pushed him back.

"I'm glad you're awake" a voice come.
"ugh M-major" he replied in a daze, his brain still going one per hour.

"Yeah one and only. But you really shouldn't be getting up, so lie down" he comand.
Jimmy did as told.
"I have... many questions"
"Go ahead"
A small pause of silence filled the room before he asked
"w-why did you help me"
Major sat down next to the couch.
"Well you saved my life, helping you is the least I could do. Even though it wasn't the smartest thing, you could have killed yourself."
Jimmy smiled slightly at that, hero was right it was kinda stupid thing to do. But still, if he hadn't do it, Major might not be here now.

"How long was I out." was the next question.
"Weeell it's been two days"
Jimmy was hit by these words like someone would threw a knife at him.
Oh no no no Norman! He was at home without food for two days! He must go now. And tried to stand up again but the pain stopped him and he fell back
"I told you not to do that"

Jimmy scowled. He hated when his body wouldn't let him do such basic things.
"Where exactly are we?"
"In one of my safe houses. Every hero has them around town."
Major replied then stood up. Jimmy looked at him in surprise at the sudden movement.

"um I made instant soup. I guess you must be pretty hungry considering you haven't eaten anything in two days."

Jimmy hadn't thought about it before but now that food was mentioned he was getting quite hungry.
"Yes that would be good" He replied.
"Okay, great"
Major then helped him to his feet.

He was sitting at the table when the hero brought the soup. And only then did he realize how strange this situation was. How they both sit at the table, eating soup together. Because they were always known as opponents. Major always chased him and tried to arrest him and he on the other side always teased him and stuff.
They fought many times and both got awful injuries from it.
But now they are here as if none of this happened.
Major could have handed him over to the police, let him bleed out and die or looked under the his mask revealed his identity when he was unconscious, but he didn't.
Jimmy then broke the silence and said "Major I just want to thank you again for your help"

Major raised his head and met Solidarity's eyes "You're welcome" he replied and then connected "I know this all seems strange to you but I really couldn't leave you there. Regardless of our past." And Jimmy nodded at that.

When they finished dinner Jimmy spoke again. "You know I'll have to go. I have a cat at home and he hasn't had food for two days." "I'm not stopping you from going, but I don't know if you could manage with this injury. You can barely walk. And other heros are probably patroling around the city."

Jimmy muttered a sound of agreement.
He was right, but what was he supposed to do, Norman can't wait any longer.

"I think you better sleep here tonight and leave tomorrow morning more rest will only help you"
"You're right" He replied as he limped back to the couch.
He grunted in pain as he sat down.
As he looked at the wall clock and realized that it was already past midnight.

And then Major came into the living room with a pile of clothes in his hands and placed them on the coffee table. "Here's your shirt and armor, they're washed. I didn't want you to leave bloodstains on my couch"
Jimmy looked at him in surprise and nodded.

"Now I'm going home myself. but regardless of everything that happened here, the fact that I helped you doesn't change anything. The next time I see you I'm arresting you. Right"
Jimmy swallowed and then
"Only if you catch me" He said with a smile. Hero rolled his eyes and turned to leave
"Good luck codboy" "Bye frosty" And so the door slammed shut and Jimmy was left alone.
So he just lay back on the couch and stared blankly at the ceiling until exhaustion pulled him back to sleep.

--- --- ---

He woke up when the light shined in his face through the hole in the window curtain.
He slowly opened his eyes and then pulled himself up into a sitting position then yawned and looked around the room.

It was around six in the morning, which was perfect because there weren't that many people outside and it would be easier for him not to be noticed.

So he didn't waste anymore time,so he pulled himself to his feet. He could feel the pain still stinging his body, but it wasn't as bad as the day he was actually shot.
Which was of course a good sign.
He took his shirt and changed, then he put on his armor, blindly arranged his hair and was good to go.
He left the T-shirt that the hero had given him folded on the sofa, and then left the house and headed home.
-
He had been walking for some time now and was finally getting closer to his home.

The sun still hadn't risen, but the horizon was already beginning to lighten, and his time was running out, as well as his energy.
He was now in one of the back streets. Such streets are rarely used by anyone so they became more or less his way of traveling around the city as a vigilante, so he knew them like the back of his hand.

Journey dragged on and his wound was already throbbing with pain, so he gritted his teeth and continued.

Then something rattled and Jimmy quickly huddled next to the nearest dumpster for shelter. He looked up and across the narrow gap between the roofs of the street, two figures quickly jumped over.

Jimmy's fin twitched, and only when the footsteps were so far away that he could no longer hear them did he breathe a sigh of relief. "Heroes are still patrolling" he thought.
He really wasn't in the shape to deal with heroes right now.
He slowly pulled himself back to his feet, which barely supported his weight, and continued.
He walked and walked, longing for the warmth of home and the thought of his cat, now he won't give up.
-
And after a while he reached his apartment. When he made sure that there was no one around, he stepped through the basement hatch as usual and slipped inside.
There he had a sweater hidden in some box, then he took it out, pulled it over his costume and removed his mask.
Although he rarely met his neighbors in the hallway, if there were any at all, since this block is quite empty, but he is always careful with such things.

When he was ready, he came up the stairs from the basement and headed to his apartment. He lived on the second floor, so there were quite a few more stairs waiting for him, but when he made it to the top and reached his door, he couldn't have been more relieved.
He quickly took the keys from his sweater pocket and unlocked the door.
And as soon as he took a step inside, Norman rushed into him, meowing and whining loudly as Jimmy picked him up.

"Hey there big man. I'm so sorry I've been away for so long."
Norman meow angrier at this and looked away.
"You must be hungry, oh I'm so sorry."
He dropped the cat on the floor and walked to the kitchen and put a double measure of food into Norman's potty. The cat immediately began to eat and purred happily.

Jimmy, then went to the room to change into more comfortable clothes.
And when he took off his armor and shirt he noticed all the bandages that wrapped around his torso and a small spot of blood thet was visible at the wound site.

"These bandages realy need to be changed" He thought.
He sat down on the bed as he slowly began to unwrap them.
He hissed as he pulled the gauze off the wound and finally exposed it.
It was all stitched up and it made him feel a little sick to look at, but otherwise it wasn't too big, but damn how much pain it was causing.

He took the disinfectant he had prepared earlier and cleaned it, then put a new gauze over it and after the shower wrapped it all with clean bandages.

At this time, Norman also finished eating and started following him around the apartment.
And when Jimmy finally sat down on the couch, Norman jumped into his lap and curled up into a ball. Jimmy looked at him with a smile and began running his fingers through his soft fur.

He was home.

~

Chapter Text

Two days passed since Jimmy returned home.
And he didn't do much in this time.

He was mostly still recovering from gunshot and spent most of his time on the couch playing with Norman.
He's also taken a break from vigilantism, at least until he's in better shape. He only went out once, and that was only to the store to get a food supply.

But he managed to forget Norman's food, so he planned to go again today

It was 5 a.m. when he decided to go get cat food.
He pulled hoodie over his head, which hung loosely on his shoulders, took wallet and left.
-

The sun was already setting as he walked the streets and tried not to be noticed as much as possible.

(these streets are dangerous)
And if there was one thing he didn't like, it was the feeling of weakness (especially now, due to his injurie).
And if someone were to attack him, it would not be good.

(Although his wound has now healed enough that it no longer bothers him when he walks, there is still a risk that it could open again.)

It had happened to him several times that he had been dragged into the street as an attempted robbery, or had been caught walking alone at night, and been simply attacked by grup of people.

But those times he was able to defend himself, and avoided it quite well.
He would be an easy target now.

This area of ​​the city is not the safest and that was one of many reasons why he became a vigilante.
Heroes rarely came here, so crime only rose.

He went to the bus that took him closer to the store and when it stopped he got off and walked the rest of the way on foot.

The bell rang when he entered, there was a woman behind the cashier who didn't pay much attention to his entry and keept reading the newspaper as if he wasn't there.

There also weren't many people in the store otherwise.
Jimmy walked around, and a soft melody of a song thet sounded familiar floated in the air and he hummed it to himself as he searched among the shelves

When he finally found the cans of cat food he took three and headed for the cash register.

-

The sun had already set and the streets were empty only the pale light of the street lights was still shining, when he was returning and when he was almost home a dark shape appeared walking towards him.

Jimmy just wanted to think it was nobody. He lowered his head and stared at the ground avoiding eye contact. His ear-fins twitched, footsteps were getting closer and closer to him and the man, just passed by.

Jimmy exhaled and smiled to himself at how paranoid he looked. He should really relax more.

And then, out of nowhere, a hand grabbed his shoulder and he cried out in fear.

"Oh my, Jimmy it's just me."
The dirty blonde pulled away from the hold stumbled and looked back to see Scott standing there, confused. Jimmy was so relieved to see a familiar face. He probably almost had a heart attack.

"Scott, hi!" he said after taking a few deep breaths.
"Hi, are you ok?" Scott asked worried. Maybe I shouldn't have snuck up on him like that
"Pretty much yeah" Jimmy scratched the back of his head as answered.
Scott nodded slightly then changed the subject.
"I saw you across the street and wanted to say hi. We haven't seen each other in a long time." Elf paused and then continued "...sorry about the date, I really wanted to come but... my boss's really difficult and made me come to work I-"

Oh so he wanted to come?!
"It's okay" Jimmy giggled
"Silly but I thought you just didn't want to come"

"wha-Jimmy no. I wouldn't do that. I would never just leave you for no reason."
Jimmy blushed at this and a smile crept onto Scott's face, he grabbed the dirty blonde's hands and pulled him closer and kissed him on the cheek.
"and I mean it"
If Jimmy was only a little pink before, now he was red from blushing, and even his fin-ear had become a darker color.
Now Scott was also blushing as a pleasant silence passed between them.

"Would you make up for the last time and go on a walk with me" Jimmy whispered, breaking the silence, and held out his hand, Scott grabbed it. "I would love that"
"Then let's go." Jimmy pulled him forward and they continued together hand in hand.

When they were walking, Jimmy felt much safer with Scott compared to before.
-
After half an hour they reached Jimmy's apartment and stopped in front of the door.
"So this is where our paths diverge"
Scott began "Yeah" Jimmy added.
Elf tilted his head "See you soon then. Promise"
Jimmy smiled "can't wait"
Scott playfully nudged him "silly"
"So until next time" Scott waved as he turned to leave
"See ya" Jimmy greeted as he headed into the building.

Doorknob rattled and he stepped into the apartment. Norman, as always, ran up to greet him.
Jimmy put down the cat food and picked Norman up, lifting him in front of his face. "You won't believe what happened"
Jimmy had sparks in his eyes while norman just meowed tiredly.

-

The night was dark and the moonlight shone silver on the warehouse.
The door creaked open and then slammed back with a thud.
Heavy footsteps echoed through the large room. fWhip looked around for any singhts of life and at thet moment avian swooped down from the roof pillar and landed right in front of him with the wind.

It was Emperor, or the most annoying guy he knew.
His wings spread out behind his back as display his pride. Even though the light was limited to only the glow of the moon through the window, the colorful feathers were still quite noticeable and his smiling eyes glowed red like a diamond crown in his hair.

"You're late" Emperor said.
"Yeah I figured." fWhip replied.
And without another word the avian already flapped his wings and launched himself back into the air.
FWhip muttered something under his breth and followed deeper into this big werehause.
-
"Hey Hades. Haven't seen in a while"
Mythical call out.
FWhip waved back in greeting.

They stepped into a hidden meeting room. Mythical was already sitting with his feet up behind the round table as the two entered. When all three sat down, the meeting began.
"Xornoth isn't coming. According to them they 'have other things to attend to'" Mythical began. Joey sighed at that and leaned back in his chair.

"Isn't this the second time they haven't come?" FWhip asked, leaning forward
"I thought they were in charge here"

Mythical sighed "They are. Xornoth said they won't be here today so be it. If you have any other questions you can find them and ask yourself. But let me remind you that you are not officially a member yet, and I wouldn't push my luck with them if I were you."
Fwhip kept the same position. He didn't move, he just stayed firmly in place.
Brunette stared back at him with red eyes.

Emperor on the other side supported his head with his hand in boredom and waited for the two idiots to stop this nonsense, and after a few tense moments-

"so!" the brunette clapped his hands, drawing the others attention back to him in a good mood as if nothing had happened.

This sort of thing has happened many times since fWhip has been working with these villains.
Mythical often had mood swings, sometimes he would be in a good mood then he would look like he wanted to kill you for the smallest thing and then all of a sudden he would be like nothing had happened.
He had known Mystical for a long time before that, and he had never behaved like he did now.
He wasn't sure, but it seemed like that initiation had something to do with it. Thet's why he himself has not yet agreed to fully join the group. (He still didn't trust Xornoth)

But now it was best to pretend like nothing happened.

"So Hades how did it go in the lab, got the thing" FWhip grinned pulling files from inside his coat and throwing them in the middle of the table
"Here's everything" as the two villains went through the papers he leaned back and continued. "But there were some problems"
"Yeah?" Emperor looked up.
"Major and Solidarity showed up, but I took care of it"
"Well that's interesting~. What did you do?" Avian asked.
"Well?" Mystical encouraged.

He already regrets saying that.

"Well, I fought with the Major" he pointed to his cheek where the ice caused a deep cut .
"I had enough, and I was going to shoot him." he simply shrugged, "but Solidarity appeared from nowhere and the bullet hit him-" "Wait you shot your ex" Emperor looked pleasantly surprised.
"look, me and him have been nothing for a long time and it will stay that way, if he gets in my way I'll get rid of him" fWhip snapped.
"shesh harsh" Mystical whispered to Emperor who nodded.

FWhip sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose "Okay whatever let's continue." The two villains nodded after a moment and straightened up in their chairs.

"So we can probably agree that certain heroes are really getting annoying when we're doing our jobs" Mystical changed the subject.
"Yeah especially Major, man prevented me from a mission last time too. And I couldn't even touch him with my powers because of his stupid ice" Emperor complained.

“Well, he's not just like that among the higher heroes, he's good. I don't know how you managed it, but you were the one who beat him in a long time" Mystical looked at the redhead.
fWhip put his hands behind his head, "Guess I'm just better than you two."

Joey rolled his eyes at that.

"But besides him, there are still others like Mad King and that axellotl vigilante, even if she hasn't been active for a while, I believe there is still a possibility of her return." Fwhip continued.

"You're right" Emperor adds. "if we wanted to move the plans forward, we would have to get rid of some big names first"

"Then the sooner we start the better" creepy smile crept onto Mythical's face as he said that.

~

Chapter Text

Leaves and grass rustled underfoot as the two walked through the dark night.

"Will we be there soon?" Jimmy asks curiously for the third time.
"Just a little bit more" Scott replies as he leads the dirty blonde through the woods blindfolded.
He holds his hand firmly and points out any possible obstacle so he wouldn't tripped somewhere.

It was a surprise and he wanted him not to know where they were going.
He decided to take Jimmy to a special place for their now first real date.
And after a moment the forest expanded into a clearing with a lake in the middle.

"Okay, now you can take off the blindfold" Scott said as he turned Jimmy in the right direction. Jimmy reached up to his face with his hands and pulled down the blindfold and immediately his eyes opened to new surrounding, the stars shone in the sky like infinite little lights, and the lake in the middle of the clearing reflected their beautiful silver color the grass was thick and soft under their feet, and a slight wind stirred it.

Jimmy turned to Scott who looked at him lovingly "You like it~?"
"Like it? It's wonderful Scott"
Jimmy answered happily.

Scott took the dirty blonde's hand and they walked to the lake together.

There was already a picnic blanket spread out on the floor and a basket next to it. They sat down together on the soft ground. "when did you manage to prepare all this?" Jimmy asked in surprise as Scott pulled tea and muffins from the basket.
"it's a secret" he said with a smile. "now try it. I made them myself" "really" Jimmy took one of the muffins just like Scott and tried it. "They're good" he smiled.

A pleasant silence spread between them.

"So first date huh" Jimmy spoke up
"Yes, a real one not just a walk or something" Scott giggled
"This is a really nice place"
"I thought you would like it. When we went out that night and I showed you the stars, they shine even brighter here."
"And the lake reflecting them is really perfect" Jimmy added.
"you're perfect~" Scott says sweetly. Jimmy blushed.

-

They had been outside for about an hour now and the air was getting colder and colder.

They were lying on the ground and watched the sky, competing to witch one will see the shooting star first.
They were both focusing on the sky and-"Ha there." He point up in the sky "i won" Jimmy calls out praudly.

"yap you sure did. I think you've become even better at it than me." Scott says nudging the dirty blonde.
Jimmy grinned
"But we should continue another time. It's late and it's getting cold too." "yeah you're right" Jimmy adds and slowly stands up.

"Do you need help" blonde asks elf who was still lying on the floor "Please, it's too comfortable to stand up by myself" Jimmy giggled. Scott grabbed the offered hand and Jimmy pulled him to his feet.

As Scott stood in front of him, Jimmy took the opportunity, he took his hands and held them in between them.
"I wanted to thank you, for all of this Scott, I love you so so much"
Scott blushed "Aw I love you too"
Scott gently cupped jimmy's face
"and i always will"
Jimmy could see the sparks in his eyes as they both slowly went into the kiss. He closed his eyes, Scott's lips were warm against his. Jimmy let himself be swept up in the magic and reached his arms around Scott's waist and hold him gently. He could feel Scott's hand running down his neck and into his hair.
They went apart bouth catching their breaths and Jimmy could feel his face go red as Scott giggled at him.
"come now~, let's go clean up" Dirty blonde nodded couldn't stop smiling.

They put everything in the basket, took one last look at the lake before walking back down the path into the forest.

When they walked they talked about everything. Scott asked him what he did for a job and he told him he was a programmer, of course he didn't mention anything in vigilantism to him, but he didn't lie to him either.
Then Jimmy also asked him the same thing, although Scott hesitated for a while, he then answered that he works for the government, but did not specify how Jimmy didn't push and just took that as an answer.
Then somehow they got on the topic about pets and Jimmy ended up talking about his cat for next ten minutes.

Chapter Text

Footsteps echoed across the solid concrete as Solidarity jumped from rooftop to rooftop.

It had been a week since the break into the lab and his wound had practically healed by now. And it was also his first appearance in public since then. He was on a classic neighborhood patrol as a start.
He didn't even realize how much he missed this feeling until now, the cold city air in his hair, the freedom to use powers, all city lights.

He sat on the edge of the roof and looked up at the sky. The stars now reminded him of only one person.

Then worry tugged at the back of his mind
How on earth would he tell Scott his secret? He feels guilty continuing to cover up his double life to him, but on the other hand, he can only puts him in danger with this information.

He shook his head and tried to forget everything, he was at work now and he shouldn't be focusing on that. He stood up and walked on.
-
After a few minutes of patrolling, he encountered two people fighting. He crouched on the edge of the building and watched what was going on in the street. He narrowes his eyes and tried to make out who they were.

The two were moving fast but he still managed to recognize'em, on one side was the Mad King one of the higher ranked heroes and the other was Mythical villain, he recognized him by his staff and thet wird red eyes.

It looked to him like Mad King had things under control so he just stayed there and watched the fight unfold.
Well thet was until Mythical summoned a fireball and fired it at the hero who luckily dodged it but it still hit the building behind him and a fire broke out.

Ater that Jimmy couldn't just stand and watch anymore, he ran across the building and climb down into the back street.

--- --- ---

"Lad you really should try harder" Mad King laughed as villain missed again. "Oh you'll see" Mystical growled and conjured another fireball with his staff. Mad King dodged it and the fireball hit the building behind him.
Joel swore under his breath as the fire spread throughout the building. Fortunately, these were only offices with no people in them.

"Don't worry we are sending someone to your location" came a voice from his earpiece.

"Why so quiet now?" Mystical said with with a wicked smile.
As much as Joel wanted to react, he didn't even blink and just lunged himself towards the villain. "I guess we'll do this the good old fashioned way" Mad King smiled and threw a punch at villain.

Mythical tried to dodge the blow, but as soon as he dodged, Mad King was already waiting for him with another punch.
Joel had a great advantage in one-on-one fights with his mind reading because he knew all of his opponent's moves before they even made them.

And so it went Mythical tried to defend as much as possible while still landing some good hits but with not much benefit. The Mad King then swung his leg and threw the villain to the ground. Mythical quickly grabbed his staff and disappeared in a cloud of black smoke before the hero could attack him again.

Joel quickly turned and looked around the area. Mythical didn't just disappear and he knew it. Although he didn't detect him with his powers, he knew the villain well enough to know that he hadn't given up yet.

And just like he thought he reappeared behind him and before the Mad King could even turn all the way around the villain kicked him in the back and the hero hit the ground with a thud.

Joel was on the ground and tried to pick himself up but was pinned to the ground by the villain's boot on his back. "You're not going anywhere. Hero~"

Mythical flipped Joel so his back was now facing the ground and pressed his boot to his chest.
Joel buried his fingers in Mythical tried to lift the villain leg but with no use, there was no way he was going to get out of this one the villain was just stronger then him.

And then, without warning, Mythical raised his leg a bit and immediately pushed it back, literally squeezing all the air out of Joel's lungs.

Mad King groaned at this and tried to catch his breath.
Mythical then picked him up by the collar and pulled him towards himself so that their faces were only a few centimeters apart.

"Now! You're coming with me" he said with a low tone as his eyes glowed bright red.

Oh that was bad, he was still gasping for breath, unable to wriggle out of the villain's steely grip but he won't just let himself be kidnapped like that or whatever that bastard meant by that.

"In your sick dreams" Mad King spat as he kicked Mythical in the knee with all his strength. Villain cursed and headbutted Joel, who then fell to the ground as the villain released him.

He couldn't catch himself and fell to the ground hitting his head again.
His vision was now flooded with black spots. He tried to pick himself up but was pushed back to the ground.
And now he realy coudn't took it anymore. All he could make out from his vision was Mythical's evil grin before the world went black.

Mythical smiled as he looked at the limp figure on the ground.
"Finally" he thought to himself, then he picked up the unconscious hero and slung him over his shoulder and he was already on his way from the scene.

"Mythical!" someone called out.

Villain stopped and looked back.

Major, of course, it was Major.
"What do you want" Mystical growled. "This here is none of your business. I wouldn't interfere if I were you"

Major was fixated on the villain as he stood firmly in place.
"Oh but I will. Because what's happening here," he pointed with his finger at the unconscious Hero "it's very much my business"
Mythical dropped Joel to the ground, took his staff from the holster on his back and struck the ground with it and cracks appeared on the concrete floor.

"I'll beat you just like I beat him" he said with a smirk.
"Don't say it too fast" Major corrected him.

-

Solidarity poked around in the shadows and watched the fight unfold but it didn't end well. Mythical beat Mad King.

But then Major came just at the right time to help otherwise who knows what wound had happened to hero.
(I mean he himself would have stepped in to help, but it wouldn't have had much effect. Mythical is simply stronger than him.)

Now that Major was distracting Mythical, the dirty blonde snuck behind where the villain left the Mad King on the ground.

He approached the hero as quietly and quickly, trying to remain as inconspicuous as possible he grabbed and dragged him to a side street away from the fight, where he leaned him against the wall.

Guy looked terrible, he was all beat up, had a couple of burns all over him, his nose was bleeding too.
He grab him and shake him by the shoulder if he would wake up, but he didn't.

(Sure he can arrest him if he wakes up, but he probably won't. Right?)

He shook him again nothing, and then he used his powers to draw water from a nearby puddle and throw it in the hero's face.
Mad King gasped and then began to cough.
"Welcome back" Jimmy smiled.

"What the- where-" hero rubbed his head
"d-did that bastard knock me out" he was talking more to himself than to Jimmy.

"Yeah, something like that. What happened back there?"
Joel blinked again and looked at the dirty blonde sitting about one meter away from him.(only now realizing who was talking to him.)
"Wait Solidarity, you, why would I tell you anything"
Jimmy shrugged "wellp... you don't have to but I'm curious"

"Then I'll pass" "okay" Solidarity struggled and scrambled to his feet while the hero was still sitting against the wall.
"Otherwise, how do you feel. Because you don't look the best."
"I'll be okay, you don't have to worry lad"

Jimmy looked at him suspiciously, not believing him.

"if you're alright then stand up because you're obviously in danger considering Mythical wanted to take you away earlier."

"I don't need your preaching, thanks" he snapped.

"I just want to help, you can trust me"

Joel sighed and slowly stood up facing the vigilante. Solidarity took a step back as he felt something tug at the back of his mind.
He looked nervously at the hero.

Mad King sighed "Okay. Let's say I trust you"

Jimmy smiled."So can you walk then?"

"Of course" Joel rolled his eyes and took a few steps forward.
It was fine until it wasn't, and dizziness hit him like a car he saw double and was overcome with nausea. He didn't know which foot came after the other and so he slammed his side against the wall.

"hey, take it easy here." Solidarity ran to the hero and sat him back down on the ground.
"Guess I can't walk then" hero said with false humor

Jimmy ran a hand through his hair "oh man, you must have a concussion or something"

"yeah that's quite likely. Hit my head several times pretty hard... Buuut you're right and I have to move, so let's go" hero muttered and was already on his feet again.

Solidarity nodded "so where are we going?"
"As close to the division as possible I guess."
"Sounds like a plan let's get going"

They slunk down the side streets as far as possible from the fight that was still going on between Mythical and Major.

--- --- ---

Scott keep foughting on, oh he wasn't going to lose, Mythical looked tired he wasn't going to last much longer.

He made another ice wall to defended himself from the villain's attack. When the fireball hit the ice it shattered like glass but before the ice flew into him, he waved his hand and the sharp ice turned to snow before it could reached him.

Mythical stepped forward and swung his leg at hero, Scott jumped back and lunged forward again swinging his fist hitting Mythical right in the jaw.
The villain growled and took a couple of steps back in disorientation, the staff fall from his hands.

Now it was his turn and he waved his arms around creating several razor sharp ice spikes around Mythical.

But villain regardless of Scott's threat wanted to pick up his staff.

"Don't you dare" Scott said in a low tone and one of the spikes lengthened and came dangerously close to Mythical's neck.

"So what, are you going to kill me~"
"don't challenge me" Scott said through gritted teeth.
Mythical smiled and raised his hands in surrender.

Major took a few steps forward but all of a sudden he got this feeling as if something was wrong.
And the smell of burnt concrete stopped him in his tracks. Although there was a small fire in the background, the smell did not come from there.
So from where- Mythical grinned at him and Scott took a step back. "Something is so off here" he thought.

The ground shook and bubbling lava began to pour out of the roadside drains.

Ice around Mythical began to melt and the villain took hold of the staff grinning at him as he disappeared in a puff of black smoke.
Major couldn't do nothing about it and just looked around trying to find the cause of the lava.

And then he heard a deep dark twisted voice "Brother, it's been a while"
Scott turned looking towards the source and there it was a figure standing on a nearby roof, a figure that didn't look human, a figure that everyone recognized.

"Xornoth" Scott growled.

"I won't be staying long brother, but I want you to know that I will be back, and this time, no one will stop me from taking over the city, not even you~"

A chill ran down Scott's spine at the threat and although he didn't want to show it, he knew that Xornoth noticed it as smiled wickedly at him.
"see you soon brother~" were the last words before he turned and walked away.

Major stayed where he was, looking at the spot where Xornoth had stood a second ago. He couldn't move.

He snapped out of it only when he heard the firemen siren started to come closer.
He looked around and Mad King was nowhere to be seen.
He's probably already on his way to division, he thought, he hoped

~

Chapter Text

It was a quiet day at the cafe.
Lizzie stood behind the counter wiping glasses with a cloth while the last customer left with the sound of the door bell bihind.

Today was a pretty quiet day, there weren't many customers through the day and now the cafe was already empty,
even though it was still two hours until closing.
But that suited Lizzie just fine.

Just as she finished wiping and put the cloth over the edge of the sink, she heard her phone ring,
"huh who could it be" she thought.
As she reached for the phone that was on the shelf.
*Joel*
Wasn't he supposed to be working today.

She answered the call.
"Hi, Joel, are you not working today"
"Hey Lizzie. Uh I do I do. I'm just calling because a few things went wrong on patrol and I don't want you to find out from the others first, so just that you know" Joel said
"Joel what happened! Are you okay!" Lizzie replied worriedly. "I'll live, don't worry" The tone of his voice was not his normal so he wasn't okay.
"I'm coming home. Now." She didn't let him continue and just quickly started packing her things and with the swich of the sign on the door to 'closed' she was already rushing home.

-

Footsteps echoed down the hallway closer and closer until the handle shook and the door jerked open. "Joel!" Lizzie stormed into the room and closed the door behind.

"Hey Lizzie" brunette waved at her weakly.

Lizzie stopped and stared at him with big blue eyes. "Joel?" her voice grew quieter. Joel gave her an awkward smile.
He was sitting on the couch, his hair was dusty and disheveled. He had bandages wrapped around his head and some gauze on his hands where the fire had burned him.

"what happened are you okay?!" She said as she walked closer, sat down next to him and started looking at all the bandages.

"I'm fine... Just another day at work" He said.
Lizzie crossed her arms clearly not satesfidet with the answer.
"Sorry but this doesn't look like 'another day at work' to me."

Joel sighed. "Well I was in a pretty bad fight with some vilian" "Which one?" "Mythical. And he clearly beat me" he gestured sarcastically.
"But I walked away with only a few burns and a concussion."
"Concussion!" "I'm better now, you don't have to worry"
She took his hand "Joel of course I'll worry. This job is dangerous and we both know that."
"I have alot of questions so could you please just tell me all that happened?"

Joel sighed "Okay, okay I'll tell you"
Eventough by the low he shouldn't be telling anyone about anything thet hapens in the mission he always made an exeption for Lizzie. Atlast she was the only one who know his secret identity.

...

"-and since the hero tower was too far away I told him to leave me on the street and then I came home by myself. That's it"

"So Solidarity is a vigilante, huh I've never heard of him." Lizzie said as she thought about the name.
"Yeah I think he showed up, around the same time you quit being vigilante"
"And what if he would betrayed you to villains, how could you trust him. You know not all vigilantes are good"
"weell" Joel sighed "first I didn't have much choice because of my injuries and second I checked him out and he didn't have anything bad in mind" well he tried to read his mind before going with him but his powers were kind of hazy from the concussion but Lizzie didn't need to know that.
He's here now and that's what counts.

"So how are you feeling," Lizzie continued. "A little better than before, but my head is still killing me."
"Do you want some pain killers?"
"Please,"
She patted his shoulder and went to the kitchen to get some medicine.

--- --- ---

Major landed on the roof, he quickly straightened his disheveled feathers, and headed inside the building.

"Xornoth is back, Mad King is gone" is all that was on my mind. He had to break the news and call a meeting, he had to act quickly.

He walked almost ran to the main areas where workers and heroes gather during breaks. When he arrived it wasn't too crowded but there were a few heroes there Lady, Wolfspirit, and Pix but he didn't saw Mad King.

"Hi Major, uh are you okay, you look a little stressed" Lady asked as she saw him walked in.
"I-yeah yeah I'm okay just did anyone see Mad King" everyone remained quiet, so no. Scott pinched the bridge of his nose "I really hope he's okay wherever he is" he whispered blankly. "Major?" came wolfspirit's worried voice.
"look, I have some bad news come to the meeting hall in ten minutes" he said and walked out the door.

"Uh what was that about" Pix asked. "Nothing good" Lady replied.

-

As Major walked down the hall something vibrated in his pocket. He pulled out a phone and saw there's been one new messege.
He click on it and it was from Mad King.
"Hey lad, sorry I didn't wrote sunner but I'm at home.
I've been hurt in a fight and my apartment was closer then the HT soo
I'm probably off for a few days
Bye!"
Scott sighed, he was worried sick thet some vilian took him, but now he can breath more easy knowing that he's safe.
"Man I was so worried something happened to you, you could've wrote me sunner"
The answer was qick
"Sorry I've forgot :P"
"Get well soon, bye"
"Thanks. See ya"
And so he put the phone back in his pocket.

-

Ten minutes later as said all the main heroes and bosses gathered for a meeting.
As everyone was wondering what the bad news was Major sat at the end of the long table and after a minute of listening to the whispers he stood up with the creak of a chair.
His ears twitched when everyone fell silent he took a breath and spoke.

"Thank you all for gathering so quickly. As you know I have some important news-"

His voice broke and his hands were shaking, all eyes were on him, he quickly put them behind his back and continued.

"A villain who hasn't been seen in years has returned. Xornoth has returned. I think they are working with other villains I saw him with Mythical but I think that there's a possibility that Emperor and Hades have something to do with it too. We need to prepare."

The room was flooded with worried voices as everyone started talking over each other.
Scott's eyes flicked over people's faces and he was starting to feel sick there was too much of everything voices, movement, eyes, all news in Xornoth, he was overwhelmed.
"So what do we do now?!"
"Major what do you think"
"How do we defend ourselves?"
"What's their next move"
"Major"
...
Scott's hearing became muffled and he felt his heart rate rise.
oh no he wasn't going to have a panic attack was he. And before he knew it his vision started to blur and he was breathing hard.
He sat down on a chair and put his trembling hand on his chest as if that would help "I-I have to go" he said through his teeth and quickly ran out of the room. The voices of people were getting louder and all eyes were on him until he closed the door behind.

He went into the first room he saw in the hallway. He went inside leaned against the wall and slowly slid to the floor.

He closed his eyes as he tried to calm his breathing. He focused on the silence in the room and followed the rhythm of the air conditioner clicking on the ceiling.

He was better now, everything is okay, everything will be okay he kept repeating that in his head.

When his breathing calmed down he slowly opened his eyes and released the grip of his hand on his chest, he exhaled loudly through his mouth as he leaned his head back and looked at the ceiling.

He put all thoughts on the side and tried to imagine the stars in the park and how he and Jimmy were sitting together on the soft grass.

Everything will be okay.

~