Chapter Text
By the time the employees were closing up shop, it was dark enough outside that the indoor lighting had taken on an oddly psychedelic quality. T.K.O. emerged from the back, scanning the store for its only two occupants.
He couldn't put this off any longer. It was now or never.
"Night, T.K.O.," said Enid, shrugging on a thin jacket. T.K.O. flinched; he'd hoped that she'd left already. His dull, swollen eyes glanced her up and down.
She's not that strong, taking her down wouldn't be too hard. But she is really good at escaping. If the first attack doesn't do it, or if she figures out what I'm trying to do, it's over. That only leaves one, I guess...
"Uh, T.K.O.?" Enid waved a hand in front of his face, startling him back to full alertness. "You sure you're alright? You look haunted. More than usual, anyway."
T.K.O. summoned the most murderous glare he could muster, and Enid backed away on pure instinct. He stormed past her without a word, leaving her to watch his retreating back, perplexed.
Seeing nobody else inside the store, T.K.O. walked outside, shivering at the sudden chill. He immediately spotted Rad's van, as it was the only vehicle in the parking lot. The alien himself stood next to it, fumbling with his keys.
Ice forming in his chest, T.K.O. approached, tugging on the hem of Rad's sweater. Rad turned, narrowing his eyes when he saw who it was.
"Oh, it's you." Clearly he was still upset, even hours later.
T.K.O. swallowed thickly, glancing back at the bodega. Enid was outside, struggling to find a single key among dozens of others, totally oblivious.
He decided that he didn't want her to see what he had to do, even if it was inevitable that she would find out later. She didn't need to see it.
"... Hey, um... I heard that there was this... this thing in the forest. A cool thing. We should check it out." The words tasted bitter on his tongue.
Rad furrowed his brows, confused. "What kind of cool thing?"
"I don't know," T.K.O. huffed. "Come on, I'll show you where it is." He walked away, and when he glanced behind himself, he saw that Rad was following him.
The poor fool. He was so ignorant, so blissfully unaware of his fate.
Rad didn't have any fancy tricks like Enid did; he was doomed the moment he'd stepped away from his van.
"Are we almost there?" Rad asked after a while, rubbing his arms. "It's cold out here, and my house has heating."
"Almost," T.K.O. grunted. "I'll tell you when we get there."
The two walked in silence for a long time, T.K.O. occasionally glancing back to make sure he was still being followed. Slowly, the bodega faded from view, lost behind the bushes and trees. The late autumn wind blew, cold and sharp, making Rad shiver. T.K.O. barely noticed it.
They kept going until their feet were sore, and finally, T.K.O. stopped, staring straight ahead. "Here."
"Ugh, finally," Rad groaned. He turned his head to and fro, trying to find the cool thing. When he didn't immediately see anything that stuck out, he stepped forward, peering around trees and parting shrubs. "Where is it? I don't see it."
"It's there," T.K.O. said lowly, raising his hands. Summoning his energy was harder than he remembered it being. "Just keep looking over there."
It was for the best that Rad didn't know what was coming. Let him think he was about to find something incredible. It'd be less painful that way.
Doing this in the dark was a bad idea in hindsight; Rad easily noticed the violet glow as it lit up the area around him. He turned, his look of confusion, and then alarm, harshly illuminated. "... T.K.O.?"
Cursing under his breath, T.K.O. attacked, launching a series of energy blasts. With a startled cry, Rad ran, leaving a trail of destruction behind him. T.K.O. intercepted him with ease, teleporting and landing a solid kick to the alien's cheek, sending him spinning and skidding painfully on his side. He started to push himself to his feet, but T.K.O. pinned him to the ground, one foot buried in Rad's spine and the other pressing his face into the dirt.
Rad slowly turned his head, the terrified look in his eye hitting T.K.O.'s core. "What are you doing?!"
T.K.O. dug in with his heel, his own expression unreadable. "What I have to."
Rad's eyes widened as T.K.O. balled a fist, sparking with renewed energy. That was the moment when he truly registered what was happening. "... Why?"
"Because I don't have a choice!" T.K.O. hissed, his energy growing in intensity. "Do you think I'm enjoying myself? Do you think I want to do this?" He paused when his voice cracked, but he pressed on. "I'm doing this because I have to. Now shut up and say hi to the kernels in the cornfield for me."
Rad could only look on in horror as T.K.O. stood over him, not even making the attempt to get away. He knew it was futile. T.K.O. grit his teeth, cocking his fist.
He felt the limb shake, K.O. doing everything in his power to keep him from landing the finishing blow. But even without that, T.K.O. found himself hesitating.
The circumstances didn't matter; what T.K.O. was about to commit was murder, however you looked at it. If he went through with it, he'd never be able to forgive himself, and neither would anyone else. Maybe he was putting too much thought into other people's opinions of him, but at some point over the past few months, he'd actually started to care about these people, even losers like Rad. This was his friend.
T.K.O. knew his options, he knew what was at stake, but despite that, despite all logic and reason, he just...
Gradually, the swirl of energy around T.K.O.'s fist died, casting the area in darkness once more. He released his hold on Rad, the lump in his throat so large he nearly choked on it. "... I can't."
The second he was free, Rad scrambled to his feet, putting a fair bit of distance between them before turning and shooting T.K.O. a reproachful glare. "What the heck is your problem?! I thought you were gonna kill me!"
"I was supposed to kill you. I have to, but I can't bring myself to do it," T.K.O. said in a rush, desperate to explain himself, to salvage something before the inevitable change he knew was to come. "It's Shadowy Figure, he did something to me, and if I didn't do what he said, the whole plaza could be destroyed, probably for good. And now that's exactly what's gonna happen, because I couldn't do the one thing he told me to do."
He paused.
"... Run. Get out of here. Don't waste your time with anyone else. Just go, or you'll be destroyed too, and this time I won't be able to spare you."
Visibly unsettled, Rad started slowly backing away. "What are you talking about...?"
T.K.O. gasped, clutching at his shoulder as the chip injected the serum into his bloodstream, coursing through his veins like icewater. It would only be a matter of seconds before it reached his brain. "It's Villain Tonic! For once in your life, do the smart thing and run!"
Eyes widening with realization, Rad turned and ran. His back was the last thing T.K.O. saw before he doubled over, his vision flooding with green.
(~)
K.O. and P.K.O. pressed their backs together, watching in horror as the sinister silhouettes of dozens of nano-machines touched down outside of the dome that formed their subconscious, the faded indigo becoming a sickly green wherever they landed.
"This is really bad," P.K.O. murmured.
"There's gotta be a way to stop this!" K.O. cried defiantly. "T.K.O.'s the one who got the tonic, so I bet if I took control right now–"
"It wouldn't matter!" P.K.O. shouted, grabbing K.O.'s shoulders. "We've got different minds, but we only have one brain. This is gonna hit all of us." He took in a soft breath, smirking serenely. "Although, sometimes it feels good to be bad, doesn't it?"
K.O. reeled back, pulling himself out of P.K.O.'s vice grip. The fusion grinned maliciously, his usually yellow-orange irises a dull teal.
K.O. backed away, mind racing to come up with a solution, but it was no use. Nano-machines all but coated the dome, leaving the atmosphere blotchy and pale. In the end, despite the chaos occurring outside, K.O. flashed a sinister smile of his own.
There was some truth to what P.K.O. had said, after all.
(~)
Rad ran as fast as he could, adrenaline pumping. This was bad, really bad. But he couldn't hear any explosions indicating a rampage, so he figured that if he hurried, he might still have time to warn a few people before he escaped the plaza himself.
On instinct alone, Rad ducked, the energy blast that would have connected with the back of his head instead demolishing the tree in front of him. Rad hastily crawled under a nearby bush, struggling to keep his breathing steady and hoping to Cob that T.K.O. hadn't seen him.
Seconds later, the boy himself appeared, stopping mere feet from Rad's hiding place. He turned his head this way and that, his entire form glowing faintly. He narrowed his eyes, smelling the air like a hound.
"I know you're here somewhere, hero. I can smell your putrid sweat."
Rad curled inwards, trying to make himself as small as possible. He was a sitting duck like this; he couldn't sneak away with T.K.O. standing there, and he had no hope of outrunning him. He'd be overwhelmed in seconds. Hiding was all he could do, but if T.K.O. so much as glanced down, he was finished.
Without warning, T.K.O.'s head snapped in his general direction, and he fired at the tree next to his hiding spot, sending splinters, embers, and plumes of dirt flying. Rad suppressed a hiss of pain as burning debris settled on his calf.
T.K.O. bared his teeth in agitation, stepping closer. "Come out and face me, you coward! You can't hide from me forever!"
To Rad's dismay, his bush began to smolder as the remains of T.K.O.'s last attack fluttered into it, slowly peeling away at the cover of leaves. In mere moments, Rad was exposed, the only thing between him and his attacker the bare, half-charred branches.
Upon seeing him, T.K.O.'s face split in an absolutely wicked grin. "I found you."
T.K.O. jerked forward with a start, as if struck. Snarling, he whirled around, his gaze landing on Enid, her foot raised and still smoking.
"Sorry I'm late," she said coolly.
Rad clambered out of his hiding spot, tears welling with relief. "Enid!" he wailed.
"Don't worry big guy, backup's on the way," Enid told him, lowering into an offensive stance. "Until then, I've got a plan, so follow my lead."
"A plan?" T.K.O. guffawed, charging his energy once more. "As if the two of you stood a chance at stopping me!"
"Then it's a good thing we don't have to stop you," Enid smirked.
"I really hope you know what you're doing, Enid," Rad moaned.
Growing impatient, T.K.O. went on the attack, launching a single Power Fist at Enid, who disappeared in a plume of smoke with a log in her place. T.K.O. growled and looked up, expecting an attack from above, but instead Enid charged from the front, wrapping her arms around him and pinning his to his sides.
"I love you, T.K.O.!"
"H-Huh?!"
Following Enid's example, Rad jumped onto T.K.O.'s back, enveloping him in a hug of his own. "You are loved and appreciated!"
T.K.O. fell completely still, and for a moment, the teens thought that he'd calmed down. But then T.K.O. roared, the resulting shockwave sending both Rad and Enid sprawling on the ground several feet away.
"What?! Hugging him should have worked!" Enid cried.
"But T.K.O. doesn't even like hugs!" Rad shouted.
Enid deadpanned. "Well, then I got nothing."
T.K.O. lunged, jumping at Enid with a battle cry, but Rad halted his attack by ensnaring him in his finger beam. He made to swing T.K.O. away, but the alter jerked hard in the opposite direction, unbalancing him. Before he could recover, T.K.O. grabbed the beam, spinning around and knocking Enid down with Rad's girth as she tried to stand.
Once he'd built up enough momentum, T.K.O. smashed Rad into a boulder hard enough to fracture it. He threw Rad again and again, not stopping until the beam dispersed on its own, leaving the alien battered and horribly bruised. He didn't get back up.
Enid didn't let Rad's quick defeat dissuade her. Instead, she summoned her shadow to fight, claws extended. T.K.O. effortlessly dispelled it with a Power Fist, immediately charging at Enid again.
She jumped back, exhaling a frigid gust. T.K.O. smashed through the forming ice, unhindered, forcing Enid to retreat once more. Left with no other choice, Enid used another substitution jutsu, disappearing from view.
Frustrated but not deterred, T.K.O. jumped in the air, shining like a comet as he hit the ground full force, shooting off-white energy in all directions and rudely launching Enid from wherever she'd been hiding. Groaning, she tried to get back to her feet, but T.K.O. stood over her, cutting off any chance at escape.
The fight had lasted mere seconds.
"I already know all your tricks," T.K.O. sneered, hand enveloped in violet flame. "I hope you're comfortable down there, because this is where you die."
All Enid could do was shut her eyes, bracing for the blow.
"HYAAAAAHHH!"
T.K.O. startled at the foreign voice, turning just in time to see something fall from the sky, kicking up debris and creating an enormous crater on impact. Enid peered past T.K.O.'s legs, and when the smoke cleared, there stood Mr. Gar in all his bare-chested glory.
"Oh thank Cob," she breathed.
"You?!" T.K.O. shouted incredulously. "You're barely even a step up from these losers! What makes you think you're gonna make a difference?!"
"Because," Mr. Gar replied, holding up a small vial, "I have this."
T.K.O.'s eyes widened in recognition. "Is that...?"
Enid grabbed his ankles, holding him in place. "I've got him, Mr. Gar!"
"Good work, Enid! Now, hold him still while I give him this really convenient antidote!"
T.K.O. wasn't able to pull himself out of Enid's grip in time, but it wouldn't have mattered if he had. Mr. Gar was already within arm's reach. In one swift motion, the man had uncorked the vial, grabbed T.K.O. by the back of his head, and forced the contents of the vial down his throat.
Enraged and gagging, T.K.O. lashed out, striking Mr. Gar hard enough to push him back, but the damage was done. Enid released his legs, and he staggered back, rubbing his eyes with the palms of his hands. He tripped over a tree root and fell backwards, going completely still.
(~)
T.K.O. opened his eyes, blinking away the remains of a receding headache. His swimming vision struggled to form shapes in the growing darkness, but soon he was able to make out the vague silhouettes of Enid and Mr. Gar, standing over him and evidently trying to determine whether or not he was still a threat.
It would be easy to be bitter if he could say that he remembered nothing, but unfortunately, he could recall every single horrible detail. They were right to be wary of him.
Snapping to full alertness, T.K.O. turned his head, his heart sinking to his stomach at the sight of Rad's prone form. Before his mind could catch up to his body, T.K.O. was running to him.
Enid moved to stop him, but Mr. Gar held her back with an outstretched arm. T.K.O. barely noticed the exchange.
He knelt by Rad's side, chewing his lip when he saw the extent of the damage. "Rad?"
There was no response, and T.K.O. began to fear the worst.
To put it lightly, Rad looked absolutely horrid. He was covered in cuts and ugly blue bruises, many of which looked badly swollen; there was no way that something wasn't broken somewhere. Specks of blood dotted the rubble around him, a startlingly vibrant shade of red.
Worst of all was how quiet he was. Normally, you couldn't get him to shut up. His silence now was unnatural.
Shaking his head in denial, T.K.O. hiccuped. "Rad, get up!" He received no answer. Grimacing, T.K.O. shook his shoulder. "Please, you have to get up!" Rad didn't stir, his head lolling uselessly as he was shaken. When he didn't wake, T.K.O. let out a choked cry, withdrawing his hand.
"No... I'm sorry, please, tell me I didn't..." He drew into himself, crushed by a hopeless despair he hadn't felt in a long, long time. "I-I'm sorry... I never wanted this..."
As if reacting to his dismay, Rad shifted, groaning painfully as he tried and failed to lift his torso. He blinked blearily, flinching when he saw how close T.K.O. was, but relaxing when he noticed just how uncharacteristically vulnerable he looked.
"You... You get that tonic out of your system?" he grunted.
With a relieved sob, T.K.O. threw himself at Rad, ignoring his pained wheeze. The alien could barely make out his stifled apologies through all his blubbering. He offered an awkward pat on the head, hoping to bring him some sort of comfort.
It felt really weird, seeing T.K.O. like this, but he wasn't about to stop the kid. He looked like he could use a good cry.
(~)
Some time after T.K.O. had calmed down, Mr. Gar called Carol and told her where they were; she had to have been worried sick when her son wasn't at the bodega waiting to be picked up.
While Mr. Gar made the call, Enid treated Rad's injuries with a first-aid kit that their boss had provided, and T.K.O. sat on a rock a short distance away, sulking as he tried to regain some shred of dignity. They didn't have long to wait; Carol was there seconds after Mr. Gar hung up, hugging T.K.O. and spinning him in circles.
"Oh, T.K.O., I was so worried about you! You were upset about a nightmare, and then Gene called me and told me you were here, of all places, and... Oh, please tell me you're all right."
For once, T.K.O. didn't fight her on the hug. At least, not very hard. "I'm okay, mom. I just had a really, really, really bad day."
"Why don't you tell us about your really bad day?" Mr. Gar suggested. "Villain Tonic aside, it isn't like you to lash out at everyone like you have been."
Huh. Violent outbursts were unusual for him now? Fancy that.
"Yeah, it should be safe to tell you guys what's going on now," he sighed. "You know, about how I ended up with Villain Tonic in the first place. It's a funny story, really. Hilarious."
From there, T.K.O. told them everything. In as much detail as he could bring himself to get into, he explained how Shadowy Figure had kidnapped him in the middle of the night, threatened him with the chip, convinced him to unblock the sanctuary, forced him to choose a coworker to kill, and corrupted him when he inevitably failed. He had to pause several times in telling his story; the whole topic was still rather sore, and probably would be for a very long time.
Not surprisingly, no one thought the story was funny at all.
"Yeesh. No wonder you were so tense," Enid commented.
"Yeah, that goes like, beyond evil," added Rad.
T.K.O. averted his eyes, fiddling with his wristbands. "Rad, are you mad at me?"
Rad stretched, humming in thought. "Nah. I mean, I don't like that you picked me—" T.K.O. flinched "—but it's not like you had a choice or anything. And in the end, you didn't go through with it anyway. So, yeah, thanks for that, I guess."
"I promise you, Teeks, you'll never have to worry about that man again," Carol assured him. "I have a few favors I can call in to guarantee that he'll never set foot in our house again. And he'd better hope I never get my hands on him."
T.K.O. didn't think he'd ever stop worrying about Shadowy Figure, but the gesture was appreciated all the same. "Yeah, we'll get him some day."
Carol smiled, effectively hiding her motherly rage. "We sure will, pumpkin." She pulled him into a gentle hug, the others following suit.
T.K.O. hurriedly wiped his tears away before anyone could notice them falling. He still had his image to maintain, after all. Still, he made no move to stop their embrace.
Finally, for just a little while, T.K.O. could let himself relax. He was safe.
(~)
Shadowy Figure watched the exchange, hidden by the shadows, face screwed up with a dissatisfied annoyance. Of course, leave it to that bumbling, muscle-bound fool to have an antidote, even after all this time.
Unable to bear the group's heartfelt bonding any longer, Shadowy Figure turned, making his leave. He may have damaged T.K.O.'s resolve, crushed his sense of security, but in the end, he may very well have just cemented his path to heroism in the process. That was the exact opposite of a good thing.
If this trend continued, he may have to take some drastic measures.