Work Text:
If you had asked Virgil what he thought he would have been when he first got his powers, he would have easily answered villain. With his power to manipulate emotion, and his crippling anxiety, it wasn't exactly hard to imagine himself plaguing his city with a strong sense of unease just for the hell of it. It would honestly be much simpler.
Now, though?
Now, he was his city's, albeit reluctant, hero.
Don't get him wrong, he hates to see people suffering, in fact, that's the only reason he risks his life night after night. But if the citizens were just a little more cautious, a little less trusting, maybe he could live a slightly more normal, less dangerous, life.
Who was he kidding? He can control people's emotions for crying out loud; a normal life was never an option.
Shifting uncomfortably in his ratty, old desk chair, Virgil tried to focus on the information in front of him. Since Anxiety, Virgil's hero alter-ego, had first showed himself almost a year ago, more and more villains have been showing up to challenge him. Most were stupid and almost effortless to stop ( like the last guy, Deceit; what sort of chaos did he think he could cause? Yeah, making everyone speak in lies created some problems at first, but it didn't take long for everyone to realize what was going on, and then it was a minor inconvenience more than anything), but some were incredibly difficult ( like Remy, who put the entire city into a deep sleep that only he could awaken them from. Anxiety eventually made a deal with him, and over time they became, if not friends, than at least close acquaintances).
The newest villain is calling themselves "Prince Charming", and was quickly trying to gain control of the city. He'd made more progress than anyone else so far; he already had control of most of the local gangs and was working on making deals with the mob. Virgil had yet to meet him face-to-face, but that would hopefully change soon. There was an underground network ran by someone who simply referred to themselves as "Logic" that recorded all known sightings of supers--heroes, villains, and any in-between.
Virgil has been tracking Prince for a while, and finally has a good idea on where he'll be next. Finally, Anxiety is one step ahead of the latest jackass with a superiority complex.
⁎ ⁎ ⁎
Stake-outs were the worst, in Virgil's opinion. Sure, the confrontation is where all the actual danger is, but what was worse than just sitting around waiting for it to happen? Holing yourself up somewhere with nothing but your thoughts for hours, imagining worse and worse scenarios about how it all could go wrong. Virgil sighed as he tried to push himself further between the two totaled cars he was hiding behind.
The meet up was happening tonight; Prince Charming was meeting the head of a very influential mob group that Virgil had been searching for for a while. If tonight went as planned, both would be behind bars by sunrise.
Virgil was ripped from his thoughts by the sound of footsteps. Two different sets, one heavy set and cocky, the other light and confident, slowly came closer and closer to his hiding spot. Virgil held his breath as the two stopped just a few feet from where he was waiting.
"What was so important that you had to meet me here at this time of night? My office hours are clearly written on my business card. How do you expect to run this city if you can't even read simple English?" The voice was deep and croaked, noticeably damaged from years of smoking.
"Something that I couldn't risk being overheard. No offense, but I don't trust security measures unless I put them in place myself. I'm sure you understand?" The new voice was much softer, and sounded a lot younger than Virgil expected. He sounded like he was in his early twenties, which was still older than Virgil at 17, but still young as far as villains go.
"Yeah, yeah, whatever kid. Listen, I don't have a lot of time, I'm a very busy man, you know, so can we speed this along? I've met with many who were trying to do the same as you and who, quite frankly, seemed much more powerful, and they're all behind bars now. What makes you any different?"
Virgil chanced a peek from out between the cars, trying to see what was going on. The mob leader was short, with a bald spot on the back of his head and a cigar held loosely between his fingers. All in all, your stereotypical mob boss. The other was quite a bit taller, and dressed so ridiculously that Virgil had to cover his mouth to hold in his giggles. He was dressed like a Disney prince, in a pure white outfit with gold buttons across the front and tassels on the shoulders. A red sash was slung across his chest, and what looked like a katakana strapped to his side. His mask was just a red ribbon with eye holes cut out tied across his face Zorro style.
"If you truly doubt me, how about a demonstration of my powers? I can assure you, it's like nothing you have ever seen before." At the end of the sentence Prince Charming's eyes snapped away from the other mans and locked onto Virgil's. With a smirk that would've made a lesser man fall to his knees, he waved his hand in a dismissive fashion; the mob boss vanished in a puff of glitter that was swept away with the wind.
"Hello Anxiety. I've been wondering when I would run into you. I've only been in town for a short while, but everyone keeps telling me that I should keep an eye out for you. That you're the so-called 'protector' of this city. I, however, thought it only fair to give you a warning: back off, before you get hurt."
Virgil stepped out from his hiding place. Unlike the Prince's costume, which shined bright enough in the moonlight to be seen from a mile away, Anxiety was dressed a little different; a black long-sleeved shirt clung to his torso, while loose fitting black pants were just tight enough not to be a hindrance. Black combat boots came up high on his ankles, black leather gloves protected his hands, and a cloak in, you guessed it, black covered him from shoulder to shin. His mask was the same color as the rest of his outfit, and covered almost the entirety of his face; only a section from his left cheekbone to his mouth was left uncovered. A full face mask had been his first choice, but threatening criminals was a lot less intimidating when your words were muffled.
"Nice try, Princey. I've been in this city for a lot longer than you, so I feel it's only polite to give you the same warning; surrender now, and I promise not to hurt you."
He just smirked. "How nice of you. However, I think you may be over-estimating yourself just a little bit." He held up his thumb and index finger and pinched them close together. "I may be new here, but my powers easily outmatch your own. I'll say it again: back off. This is your final warning."
"Do you know how many people a week say that to me? Every one of them was wrong, why should I believe you? If your loud outfit is any indication, you seem to be over-compensating for something. It's either your powers, or something else. Is Little Princey not exactly popular with the ladies?" Virgil smirked at the shocked look on Prince's face.
Prince stood there open-mouthed for a second, before seemingly pulling himself together. "I warned you," he growled, before snapping his fingers. Two sets of strong arms suddenly grabbed Virgil from behind. He tried to spin around to get a look at who had him, but their grip was too strong; he just caught a flash of white, red, and gold before they forced him back around.
Virgil took a deep breath before releasing a strong sense of unease and fear towards the two holding him. Nothing happened. He tried again, increasing it to levels that would send even the strongest into a panic attack. Nothing. They didn't even twitch. "What the hell?" he muttered.
"Do you like them?" Prince laughed. " In case you haven't guessed, in addition to great style," he gestured to himself, " I can also create things at will. You can send as much fear, as much sadness, as much pain, as you want; they won't feel a thing. They aren't real. Tell me, little hero, how can you ever hope to fight against that?"
Virgil struggled in their hold as Prince stepped closer. The grips tightened to a punishing level, sure to leave bruises the next day, as the other came face-to-face with him.
"As much fun as it is to see you like this, I didn't come to fight. I would advise you, again, to leave me alone, but I don't think you would listen, even after all this. So, I'm afraid we're going to have to handle this like savages." Virgil gulped, and started to struggle again in earnest when Princey slowly removed his sword. "Goodnight, little hero."
Anxiety could do nothing as Princey swung hard at his head. He was surprised when instead of a sharp blade severing his head, something hard and blunt smashed against his temple. Darkness swam in his vision as the other stepped away, a baseball bat in hand, before the arms holding him vanished. Anxiety was unconscious before he hit the ground.