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He’s been in this city for a long time, and he likes to think of it as his. Heroes have risen and fallen, but he’s the one that’s left standing.
Mostly, he leaves everyone alone. He doesn’t really care about politics or whatever it is most villains are concerned with; he doesn’t want to be in charge. He just wants everyone to know that he’s the most powerful man in the world.
They called him Error in the early days, back when he was just getting a grip on his abilities. He would reach into the very fabric of reality and twist it, make it his, and it caused more harm to his quest than good. He wound up in jail a few too many times, and that’s where he honed his power.
These days they call him Code 404. He lives in a hidden bunker far on the outskirts of the city and he rarely shows his face. When he does, it’s always because some hero is taunting him; Soot rises with his magical melodies and 404 twists reality so that he loses his voice, or Philza flies in from the heavens and he tightens gravity’s hold a little more. These days, they mostly leave him alone; they know this city is his.
Apparently, someone didn’t get the memo.
He’s heard of Dream. Of course he’s heard of Dream. The up-and-coming supervillain three major cities to the southwest, a man known for insane parkour skills that are nothing short of superhuman. He seems to always have luck on his side, and his fighting strategies are insane. 404’s spent many hours analyzing phone recordings of his attacks.
They seem similar, the two supervillains. 404 wants his power, wants to be known; Dream wants to be perceived in the same way, only he’s much more vocal about it.
He’s also working his way up to 404’s city, establishing himself as the most prominent villain in each location he conquers. It doesn’t come as a surprise when Dream finally arrives, leaping across the buildings, posting a video online from an account that 404 can’t track.
“I’m here, Code 404!” Dream cries in the video. There’s a mask over his eyes and nose with a smiley face painted on it. His mouth has a smug grin. “This is my city now!”
404’s on the move approximately twelve seconds after the video is posted.
It doesn’t take him long to get to the exact building Dream is standing on top of. He just reaches into the fabric of reality and into his own layers and twists, and then he’s there, standing across from the masked man himself. He’s decked out in a horrid piss-yellow color that 404 figures is probably green. He twists reality a little bit, takes away his own color-blindness for a moment, and indeed, it’s bright neon lime. Disgusting.
“Oh,” Dream says, and that grin only widens. “I didn’t think you’d get here so fast.”
404 is not one for letting people upstage him, especially villains who think they’re all that. He doesn’t like cocky assholes, even if they’re deserving of their ego. So, he does what he always does in these situations: he twists reality and drops Dream off the building.
He’s at the edge in three long strides, and he peers down to see Dream pulling himself back up the side of the skyscraper. 404 knocks him down again, then once more for good measure. He pushes him back, so there’s nothing to grab onto, and then pulls him up so he’s resting on the roof. He doesn’t want to kill Dream, he just wants to send a warning.
“That wasn’t very nice,” Dream huffs. He’s still grinning.
“This is my city,” 404 snarls. “Get out.”
It’s not that he doesn’t appreciate someone trying to upstage him, especially someone worthy of the title of super villain. He understands Dream’s quest completely. But Dream has a very, very famous rivalry with a certain superhero trio, and 404 really, really doesn’t want Innit, Underscore, and Boo infiltrating his city. They’re relatively new to the crime-fighting scene, but already they’ve destroyed three major metropolises and four small towns in fights with Dream. 404 doesn’t want to have to kill three minors.
He’s been around for a long time. He was a minor once, an orphan, the tragic villain backstory. These days it’s rare that he shows his face in the city more than once a month. So why, then, is he back the next week, this time in the middle of a busy road, facing down Dream?
“I thought I told you to get out of my city,” he drawls, bored, as he rises from the ground and into the air like some sort of messiah. He’s got his red and white cape, his blue sweatshirt, goggles carefully covering his eyes.
“You look prepared for a fight,” Dream snorts. 404 glances down- he’s wearing sweatpants. The only reason he’s not in full pajamas is because he has at least somewhat of an aesthetic. The cape was stylistically necessary. The goggles, of course, are a must, and that one isn’t a fashion choice.
“How do you want to die, then, Dream?” 404 asks. He sounds bored again, probably because he is. He’s seen what Dream can do- he knows he can take the other villain in a fight. Maybe he’ll let Dream get a little farther this time, show off his skills. Maybe not.
“I’m not dying today,” Dream says with a grin. “I’m not dying any day. They call you the code god, but I- I am a god!”
404 blinks once. Twice.
“I prefer the term code entity,” he says dryly, because that’s what he is, he’s done the research. They’re rare, and most of them don’t gain popularity like he did, but there’s a name for what he can do. Dream- Dream is just lucky, and athletic, and- well, if he can’t die, maybe he is a god. That would be interesting.
“Code entity, then,” Dream concedes. “Whatever you are- I’m a god, Code 404. You can’t kill me.”
404 reaches into the folds of space and transports Dream to the middle of the Arctic Sea. That’ll keep him out of his hair for a while.
It takes three days before Dream arrives back in the city. This time, he brings the gaggle of heroes with him. God, 404’s got the worst headache today, too.
“Alright, alright!” he yells as he descends from the heavens, arms spread wide, dressed in his actual get-up today. “What the hell are you all doing here? Don’t you know this city’s occupied?”
The four of them are fighting outside of the city’s largest library. Fucking atrocious, honestly, libraries are sacred places. There are cars overturned and alarms going off, and several plumes of smoke in the distance tracking their battle. They all freeze when they see him. The three heroes back away nervously. Dream grins like they’re old friends.
“404! Buddy!” he cries. “Here to help me out?”
“I literally detest you,” 404 replies. He turns to the side- the three heroes are staring at him. Their leader, Innit, is standing forward defiantly, fire dancing at his fingertips. Boo is flickering in and out of reality, huge sword grasped in his grip. Underscore is just standing there.
He reaches out through the folds of time, tracking their progress, what’s gotten them to this point- Innit is a fireborn, classic hero complex, tragic backstory, the works. Boo is part Ender, a teleporter, similar tragic backstory. Underscore is the same, and… is another code entity.
Not in his fucking city.
“I detest you three more,” he decides. He extends his arms and lets the overturned cars around them rise into the air, targeted at the three heroes. He gives them plenty of time to plan an escape before sending the cars flying down, and watches Boo grab his two friends and then disappear.
“You’re welcome,” he says before Dream can say anything. The guy’s got a nasty cut on his arm, and it’s bleeding gold. He changes his vision for just a moment, just to check, and- yes. Dream’s blood is golden ichor. “Do you need me to patch that up?”
“A place to stay would be nice,” Dream says with a sheepish grin. “We should team up. The kids are gonna be back and they’re gonna be targeting you now.”
404 hates that implication. He hates the implication that he and Dream could ever work together.
He sighs and weighs his options. It’s not like Dream’s going to kill him.
“Fine,” he huffs. “Come with me.”
He doesn’t give Dream a chance to say anything before he disappears into the time-space continuum, dragging the other villain along with him. They reappear in the entrance to his base.
“Oh my God,” Dream heaves. “What was that?”
“My way of traveling,” he answers. “You have a problem?”
“Not at all,” Dream says. “So, you gonna tell me your name? Or are you really called Code 404?”
He weighs his options again. He hasn’t gone by his real name in a long time, and he figures Dream will just laugh at him.
“You show me your face, I’ll tell you my name,” he says, sliding his goggles up on his forehead. He’s curious, sure- he doesn’t think Dream’s ever shown his face, anywhere.
The villain laughs and tosses his mask to the side. He’s… hot. He’s really hot. Shit.
“George,” 404 offers after a beat. “My name is George.”
“George,” Dream snorts. “What a horribly bland name for a god.”
“Code entity.”
“Right, sorry.”
“You’re the god, I think. You bleed gold.”
He reaches out and heals the injury quickly. Dream looks surprised as his skin knits itself back together, but he grins gratefully.
“Georgie, I think this is the start of a great partnership,” he says proudly.
“Shut it. I’m going to go to sleep for about a day, and I’m trusting you not to kill me in my sleep. Try not to destroy my house.”
He should not be trusting Dream even a little bit, but with the universe telling him he can- well, whatever. He’s wasted too much energy today to care.
He sleeps for twenty-seven hours, and when he wakes up, Dream is watching American football and eating an entire pint of ice cream with a large spoon.
“Where’d you get the ice cream?” George asks with a yawn, flopping onto the couch. “I don’t have any.”
“Went out and stole it,” Dream replies, taking another bite. “Want some?”
“No, not really.” He reaches out and takes the pint anyways. Plain vanilla. Jesus. Dream grins at him.
What follows is six months of the best partnership of George’s life. Code 404 and Dream become even more powerful, the two of them conquering every city in the entire region, beating back the three young heroes time and time again. George teaches Dream a bit of reality manipulation, and in exchange Dream teaches him how to parkour.
“So tell me,” he says. They’re sitting in a completely empty restaurant penthouse that they broke into. It’s three in the morning, and they’ve got a candlelit dinner. It’s not a date, George tells himself. “Are you really a god?”
“I don’t know if you’re prepared to hear the answer to that question.”
“I’ve seen it all,” George huffs. “Try me.”
“Yes.”
And with that, Dream changes. George can feel the reality surrounding them shifting as Dream stands up and lets something else, something inhuman, take over. He grows in size until he’s nearly twelve feet tall, golden rings surrounding his head, his face and skin morphing into that piss-yellow color George knows is green. He looks like a god. He looks like a god.
“Hi,” the god says, with no mouth moving. “I’m Exdee. American deity of luck and strategy.”
“Jesus,” George breathes out. “You’re beautiful.”
Dream drops down into his human form immediately, and the tension in the air drops like lightning. “Really?” he asks, face bright red. George laughs, and Dream wheezes after a moment, both of them watching each other.
“You’re always beautiful, Dream,” George tells him honestly. “I- thank you for showing me that.”
“You’re welcome,” Dream says. “I don’t- I don’t do it very often. But I will if you like it.” He looks so earnest, so hopeful, and George knows what he’s thinking.
Making a hasty decision, George grabs Dream’s hand and tugs him toward the window. He transports them both to the roof so they’re standing on the very edge.
“Careful,” Dream says, reaching out to put his hands on George’s waist. “Don’t fall.”
“I know you’ll catch me,” George replies. He’s seen Dream do crazier tricks off the sides of buildings. “Watch.”
He holds his arms out and makes it rain.
The roses drop from the sky and coat the entire city, filling the streets and the rooftops and the balconies. Dream laughs loudly, brightly, as George catches one and holds it out.
“A gift,” he says. “For you.”
“Thank you,” Dream breathes out. George turns in his grasp so they’re facing each other, Dream’s hands still on his waist. His eyes dart down to George’s lips, like he’s asking, and George nods.
The kiss is magical; a deity and a code entity, together, and it feels right. It feels like they could take over the world. And maybe, some day, they will.