Chapter Text
September, 2811
Slam!
Pain shoots up Donghyuck’s back, vibrating in his skull as he slams into the brick wall. His orange prisoner jumpsuit does little to cushion the impact, and Donghyuck can faintly taste blood on his tongue.
A scoff. “They let a weak bitch like you become the de facto leader of an entire anti-hero rebellion? No wonder you got arrested only in a couple of hours.”
Donghyuck wipes a spot of blood from the corner of his lips, slowly looking up as his gaze hardens.
“Better a failed rebel,” Donghyuck spits, voice dripping with venom. “Than a coward like you .”
A foot jams into Donghyuck’s guts, and he has to bite on his tongue to stop a scream of pain from slipping through. Donghyuck’s vision goes white, and he unwillingly doubles over. Before he has time to recover, a hand grabs onto the front of his shirt, and Donghyuck is yanked upwards to meet gaze with his pleasant conversation partner.
Huang Renjun, expert thief and former member of one of China’s biggest criminal networks. The other prisoners call him ‘the Fox’, for no one has ever crossed Renjun and lived to tell the tale. It didn’t matter how strong the victim was, or even how many people they’d killed before. One way or another, everyone met their fate, be it through his silver tongue or the daggers no one knew where Renjun got from.
The thing is, Donghyuck knows more than what Renjun lets on, courtesy of his Volos.
It’s written all over Renjun’s face the first time Donghyuck meets him. He’d been powerless once, unable to even control his own body. He would do anything to never feel like that again, even though this prison can play him like a puppet. He’s a liar and a thief, only seeking to control everyone by holding onto what’s most important to him.
In short, he’s powerful but easy to rile up. By resisting him, Donghyuck earns peace and quiet from the other prisoners. No courtyard bullies, no annoying bitches on his back at mealtime, no one to disturb him while he’s looking for some peace.
At least, that was the original plan.
Now, it’s just personal .
“I’ve killed more people than you’ve ever seen in your life, Lee,” Renjun hisses, delivering another punch to Donghyuck’s guts. His throat closes up as a scream threatens to spill, but he can’t do that. He won’t give Renjun that satisfaction.
“You missed a spot,” Donghyuck grits his teeth, glaring daggers into Renjun.
Renjun scowls. “My apologies, your majesty,” he snarls, before throwing another punch. But before it could connect, a hand reaches over and grabs onto Renjun’s arm, mere inches away from Donghyuck’s right cheekbone. Renjun whips his head upwards, eyes fiery with rage.
“What do you think—” Renjun begins, jumping onto his feet as he swings a punch at the interruptor. The third figure ducks out of the way before bringing up one leg and kicking Renjun, sending him flying backwards before he could react. Donghyuck looks up, eyes full of confusion as he looks at his unrequested saviour.
Almost instantly, Donghyuck’s expression sours.
Lee Jeno, model prisoner and the quiet mediator for ninety percent of the brawls. No one dares to cross him, not even Donghyuck or Renjun. Reload’s former top assassin has brought down empires and even killed heroes. Now, he’s just quietly waiting out the rest of his life in a rotting prison cell.
Fucking boy scout.
“Inspector’s coming in five minutes,” Jeno hisses. “I suggest you two clean up your mess before you both get sent to solitary confinement.”
Renjun grunts, pushing himself up as his gaze turns to steel. Almost immediately, another figure bounds over from across the courtyard, dropping down next to Renjun with concern in his eyes. Donghyuck resists the urge to sneer.
“Injunnie? Are you alright?” Jaemin says with a tone of worry. Renjun pouts, every trace of cold rage gone from his expression as if someone flipped a switch on his personality. He looks at Jaemin with small eyes, and Donghyuck resists the overwhelming urge to barf.
“I’m alright,” Renjun mutters, the fakest tone of hurt Donghyuck has ever heard in his life. Manipulative bitch.
Jaemin turns to Jeno with a glare. “You shouldn’t have done that,” he chides, and Donghyuck thinks he’s actually going to barf.
Renjun and Jaemin’s… relationship, if one could even call it that, is no secret amongst the inmates. Everyone’s seen Renjun and his puppy somewhere, how Jaemin is seemingly blind to the conniving asshole’s plight of terror. No one dares call him out on it, however, not even Donghyuck. He could quite literally kill them all with a touch, and even mistreated inmates value their own life. It doesn’t matter how much everyone can see Renjun’s obvious manipulation of the puppet named Na Jaemin, he himself doesn’t have a brain in that thick skull of his.
Just like a doll, Donghyuck chuckles mentally. A useless, worthless doll, who sits on his legs and wags his tail on command just for something as pathetic as a touch of physical affection.
“Just take him away, Na,” Jeno says flatly. Jaemin glares at him again, but takes Renjun’s hands and pulls him away regardless. No one knows why Renjun is immune to Jaemin’s uncontrollable Volos, but Donghyuck would rather not find out. If he has to see that pathetic excuse of a couple again, he might actually throw up.
“Get off the ground, Lee,” Jeno sighs. “And don’t expect me to come to your help again next time.”
Jeno turns on his heel to leave, and an ugly flame of rage flares up inside of Donghyuck. He fumbles along the ground, reaching for a pebble as he throws it at Jeno with all of his might. It bounces off of his head, which makes Jeno falter in his step for a fraction of a second.
“I didn’t ask for your help, boy scout!” Donghyuck yells. Jeno only turns around, expressionless as usual.
“No one asked for you to piss him off either, Lee,” Jeno says with a flat tone. Donghyuck scowls.
“Who are you, my fucking mom?” Donghyuck jeers. Jeno raises an eyebrow, stone cold in his gaze.
“I wouldn’t think so. After all, I’m not dead, am I?”
Sometime in 2793
“Mommy?”
Donghyuck’s mom doesn’t look up from her laptop, dutifully typing away. Donghyuck chews his bottom lip.
“Mommy?” he tries again. Donghyuck’s mom ignores him again, but Donghyuck catches her pursing her lips in exasperation. Her mind is loud, like an oven timer as it just begs for Donghyuck to poke in. He could just—
No. She doesn’t like him looking into her head. It makes him… different, she says. Weird. Strange.
A freak.
Donghyuck swallows nervously, opening his mouth to try again, “Momm—”
“What,” she snaps, turning to Donghyuck with quiet fury in her eyes. Donghyuck flinches. Her hair is messy, tied up in a half-loosed bun as dark bags line the underside of her eyes. Her thick, black-rimmed glasses are crooked on her nose, yet they somehow make her look even scarier.
Donghyuck swallows again. “I–I just— TV— my s—show…” he stammers, slowly trailing off as his mom rolls her eyes and turns back to her work. There’s a distinct look in her eyes that Donghyuck’s little five year old brain can’t decipher. It feels… wrong. Like she had hoped for Donghyuck to be or do something… different.
She’s always wanted that. Ever since dad left when Donghyuck was three, his mother has stopped indulging Donghyuck almost entirely. She just wants him to be… different than who he is. Wants him to just become a boring, obedient child who doesn’t bother her every three seconds when she’s trying to work.
“You and your stupid superhero obsession,” she mutters. “You’re just like your father…”
Donghyuck doesn’t know how to respond. His mom sighs, getting up as she passes Donghyuck the remote from the coffee table. The look that she gives him is cold, almost emotionless. Donghyuck knows there’s affection in there, from the occasional times where curiosity takes over and he takes a tiny trip into his mom’s mind. Those almost… never go well. She’s too good at spotting him while he’s concentrating.
“Go,” she snaps. “Watch your little show. Don’t bother me.”
And with that, she gets off of the couch and storms off, leaving little Donghyuck frozen, not sure what he’s done wrong.
In hindsight, Donghyuck should’ve seen the disappointment coming from a mile away.
September, 2811
“Could you tell me a story?”
Donghyuck peeks out of his covers, trying to ignore the itchy material on his arms. He opens one eye and looks over, finding a child next to him. It’s long past curfew, and Donghyuck knows for a fact that solitary confinement means complete isolation—not even mice could sneak into his cell.
Well, all but one mouse, apparently.
“Aren’t you, like, twenty one, kid?” Donghyuck grumbles. “Go bother Jeno or something.”
Jisung pouts. “He doesn’t do stories,” Jisung mumbles. “And I’m bored.”
Donghyuck resists the urge to scoff. Park Jisung, the pride of Reload’s Volos magnification-slash-human-enhancement program, is pouting at Donghyuck. The kid has levelled towns and has the blood of thousands on his hands, and yet here he is, asking for a bedtime story.
“They’re gonna eat you alive for sneaking in here,” Donghyuck points out. It’s way past midnight at this point. He doesn’t have the energy to snap at Jisung at this point.
Suddenly, something waves in front of Donghyuck’s face. He cracks another eye open, blinking in confusion before his vision focuses, and a chill runs down his spine. It’s a small sun charm, engraved with six letters and dangling from a tiny metal chain. Donghyuck thought he had lost it forever when that bastard Renjun swiped it from him on their first—
Donghyuck sits up abruptly, trying to snatch the earring. Jisung pulls away at the last second, a smirk on his face as he hovers beside him. Donghyuck scowls.
“How did you even get that?” heasks, trying to conceal the undertone of vulnerability. He had gotten it confiscated the first time they put him in solitary confinement a few days ago, and he thought he’d never see it agai—
“One story, one pair of earrings,” Jisung bargains, a sly smirk on his face. “Do we have a deal?”
Donghyuck scowls at him. “You know, you can hang around that kid Chenle and his friend Renjun as much as you want, but don’t start doing what Renjun does,” Donghyuck says. Jisung only shrugs.
“But he gets everything he wants, so he can’t be that bad,” Jisung argues, and Donghyuck can only sigh in defeat. He purses his lips, cricking his neck as he gives Jisung a complacent look.
“Alright, what will it be tonight? More stories of outrunning death? The time I nearly shot down 127’s airship had it not been for a self-reviving asshole? The city hall story again?” Donghyuck hums, listing Jisung’s favourites. He’s been in the cell for a little over a week, but the kid acts like Domghyuck hung the sun in the sky or something. Jeno wouldn’t like this arrangement of theirs, but then again, Donghyuck lives to piss assholes like Lee Jeno off.
“Tell me about the earring,” Jisung decides. “LDH must be you, right? So who’s LMH?”
Donghyuck freezes, his throat closing up. The earring’s origins and significance is a… touchy subject for him, to say the least. It’s his longest lasting possession, after all, and longevity tends to carry a breadth of the bane of Donghyuck’s existence.
Memories. Bittersweet ones, to be exact.
“Would’ve thought they taught you some manners in that lab,” Donghyuck sneers. Jisung flinches slightly, but he swallows quietly and slowly pulls his arm and the earring away with an exaggerated motion.
“Oh well, I suppose you won’t be needing—“
“Wait,” Donghyuck interrupts, unable to sit still. “I’ll tell you. I’ll tell you about Minhyung, just—“
Jisung raises an eyebrow. “Minhyung?” He repeats. “Lee Minhyung? That Lee Minhyung? Or as he’s better known as, Mar—”
“Shut up,” Donghyuck growls decisively.
Donghyuck bites his bottom lip, debating a lie. In the end, his begrudging and growing fondness for the kid who sneaks him stuff in exchange for bedtime stories wins, and Donghyuck relents.
“Once upon a time, there were two kids,” Donghyuck begins. Jisung scowls.
“I’m twenty one,” Jisung points out. “I’m not here for fairy tales.”
Donghyuck pointedly ignores him.
“One of these kids was a brilliant young genius, who could create anything and everything from just a pile of bolts and a small collection of junk food. He was brilliant, no doubt about it, if not from his Volos and its ability to read people, then from his natural talent and gift with tinkering and—“
“And the other kid?”
Donghyuck scowls. “It’s rude to interrupt people, you know?”
Jisung shrugs. “I don’t need to hear you waxing poetic about yourself. What about Minhyung?”
Donghyuck huffs, nose scrunching up as he thinks of the topic he had so desperately tried to get rid of. Where does one even begin with Minhyung?
“He was a friend, and a very kind one,” Donghyuck decides. “Had a heart of gold and a resolve of steel. He wanted to help people feel safe, and would stop at nothing to achieve that goal.”
Jisung raises an eyebrow, bringing his knees to his chest as he politely folds his arms on top of them to rest his head.
“Why the past tense? He’s still alive, no?”
Donghyuck bites his bottom lip. “Physically, yes. But when he was eight… something happened, and it changed him forever. Turned him… cold and uncaring.”
“What happened?” Jisung asks. Donghyuck purses his lips.
“The anti-heroes attacked our neighbourhood. They took my mom, one of Minhyung’s dads, and countless other lives too as they razed the area to the ground. The heroes were useless. They didn’t make it in time, and that was when we realized the only person you can trust in life is yourself.”
Jisung makes a sad sound in the back of his throat, and Donghyuck has to resist the urge to laugh. This lanky, barely-an-adult kid has probably stared at people in the eye before blasting their heads into a million pieces, yet he’s sympathetic over the death of the parent of someone he doesn’t even know. It’s ridiculous.
“But Minhyung became a hero, in the end. A beloved, wonderful hero who strives to make sure no one has to feel the sting he once did,” Donghyuck says bitterly, turning away before he gets emotional. Minhyung has worked hard to get where he is, and no matter how much Donghyuck hates it, he can't deny Mark’s words. He saw the results first hand after all. Barely any anti-hero ever makes a second meeting to strike at the heroes.
Silence passes for a moment, and Donghyuck tries to grab for the earring about a second in. Jisung jerks away, displeasure written all over his expression.
“You’re withholding something!” Jisung whines. “He’s a whole ass hero, yet you called him cold and uncaring! Something’s not adding up.”
Donghyuck gives him a light hearted shrug. “It is what it is. This is real life, Jisung not—“
Jisung holds the earring over the ground, a challenge in his eyes. “Tell me or I’ll drop this and break it.”
Donghyuck’s stomach lurches, and he curses Huang Renjun for teaching innocent Jisung so many tricks. That bastard has the entire prison wrapped around his pinkie, and he knows exactly how to make sure his assets stay with him.
Donghyuck wishes he’d punch him earlier that day, when they were still outside.
“Fine,” Donghyuck growls. “The first little kid—“
“—You—“
Donghyuck ignores him. “—had a dream once. You see, some people are born gifted, chosen by their Signum Fortus spirit at birth. The kid was one of them, and despite wielding a Forti 1 Volos, the kid did not waver. He wanted to become the best hero in the world, and nothing was going to stop him from doing just that.”
Jisung frowns. “But you didn’t become a hero,” Jisung points out. “You’re here.”
Donghyuck mimes a shushing motion. “But just as life was looking up in second grade, tragedy struck him and his very best friend, and the friend changed for the worse. The friend believed true heroes wouldn’t have let him suffer because they would’ve been fast enough to stop the car. He looked at the first child with disdain, and he said two sentences that would change the first child’s life forever.”
Donghyuck leans in, and Jisung involuntarily does too.
“What did he say?” Jisung asks, absolutely engrossed. A smirk tugs at the corner of Donghyuck’s lips and he reaches out, swiping the earring clean from Jisung’s hand before he can react.
Jisung makes a muted yell of shock, trying to reach over to steal the earring again, but Donghyuck is too fast. He clasps the earring onto his ear, revelling in the familiar weight. A memory to carry around. A reminder of Donghyuck’s beginnings, and how a single boy was responsible for making who he is today,
“You tricked me!” Jisung whines. Donghyuck scoffs.
“You’re in a prison with maximum security prisoners, Jisung. If you weren’t being tricked, I’d be concerned,” Donghyuck points out, lying back on his too-stiff bed with a smile. Jisung scowls.
“You’re so mean,” Jisung huffs. “No wonder you didn’t become a hero.”
Donghyuck scoffs. “It wasn’t a matter of me being mean, Jisungie.”
Jisung frowns. “Then what else could matter? Heroes are heroes because of their steadfast personality, no?”
Donghyuck shakes his head, waving Jisung off. “Nah,” Donghyuck laughs. “Heroes are heroes because they listen well to orders from the agency, and they have a strong enough Volos.”
“But Doyoung definitely doesn’t listen, while Taeyong has a Forti 2 Volos, doesn’t he?” Jisung points out. “And yet they’re some of the greatest heroes in history.”
Donghyuck shrugs. “Then I suppose me and my crappy luck couldn’t convince people,” Donghyuck laughs bitterly.
You want to become a hero? But you’re too weak to save people on time, the tiny voice in the back of Donghyuck’s head chirps, persisting nearly a decade and half later. It’s like a ghost Donghyuck can’t escape.
Spite is all he knows. Spite for his childhood heroes who didn’t show up in time. Spite for all of the people who told him he couldn’t make it. Spite for Mark, for destroying his childhood so… casually .
He’s lost everything. Everything . Mark doesn’t understand loss the way Donghyuck does. He’s always had his dream, and he knew exactly how to get there. And now, he’s the hero, the shining golden boy that everyone loves. But Donghyuck? He’s nothing more than a liability. A punching bag for others to feel better after beating him down.
Donghyuck may not have wanted to be a villain at first, but was there really any other outcome for him?
They remain in silence for a little while, before Jisung pats him gently on the arm. Donghyuck freezes at the touch, creaking open one eye to glare at Jisung.
“Don’t patronize me,” Donghyuck sneers. “I became an anti-hero in the end. If the heroes won’t accept me, then, well, I’ll just destroy them all and create a world where I can be a hero.”
Jisung frowns. “You… chose to be an anti-hero?” Jisung asks with a lace of disbelief.
“My motivations are none of your business, kid,” Donghyuck says simply, turning away from Jisung.
Sometime in 2795
“Duckie!” Minhyung yells, barrelling down the street as he chases after Donghyuck. Donghyuck turns around to him with a grin, bright and childish as he waves Minhyung’s lollipop in the air.
“Better luck next time, hyung!” Donghyuck shoots back with a smile. He sticks the lollipop in his mouth, watching as Minhyung’s face contorts in childish anger.
“Hey! That was mine !” Minhyung protests. Donghyuck turns back to his path, running into the sunset.
“Can’t hear you! I’m too fast!”
Ten minutes later, Donghyuck buys Minhyung a whole jar of watermelon-flavoured lollipops from the little allowance his mother gave him. He doesn’t even like ketchup-flavoured lollipops anyway. Donghyuck knows he bought them out of pity for the girls selling them outside of the school, because Minhyung is just like that.
“Why do you always do that?” heasks. Minhyung looks up from his lollipop, resembling a cute puppy that Donghyuck wants to squeeze and pet.
“Do what?”
“Do things you don’t want? I’m supposed to be the hero between us!”
Minhyung just shrugs. “Papa Mark says it’s just a nice thing to do,” Minhyung argues. “And he’s always right. Plus, you’re not a hero. Not yet.”
He is indeed always right. He is right when he tells Minhyung and Donghyuck to hide in the closet one night, and to plug their ears and be careful to not make a sound. He is right when the anti-heroes show up, setting the whole neighbourhood ablaze when they couldn’t fight the child with the special Volos in his eyes.
He is right about Donghyuck not listening to him, bursting right out of the closet as his eyes light up and Donghyuck reads the anti-heroes like an open book. He is right when Minhyung and Donghyuck trick the anti-heroes and run them in circles through childish traps and delays, finally escaping into the night where they know the anti-heroes can’t catch them.
He is right when he says that he won’t make it, and that his life will disappear into the ashes that paint the night sky red and gold.
One year later, Minhyung becomes Mark, and he is right.
Donghyuck wasn’t a hero.
In fact, he never became one.
September, 2811
In hindsight, Donghyuck never should’ve accepted the agency’s offer.
He thought it was a good idea at first. Get out of that stinking prison and become physically close to Mark again to finally enact revenge and make his life the same living hell Donghyuck has had to live through. He went through so much trouble for it too, constantly stirring up trouble in the prison to make sure they’d see him and his potential. He’d even risk having to team up with the soft criminals like Jeno and Jisung, who’ve probably never known a day on the streets, but—
“ You ?!” Donghyuck growls. He glares at Renjun in front of him, out of his orange prisoner jumpsuit and wielding a very prohibited amount of daggers strapped onto his personnel. He looks nothing like the Renjun Donghyuck is used to, the crazed lunatic who keeps everyone under his thumb with a silver tongue and the right amount of empty threats. Now, Renjun almost looks like an actual threat, with the sharp blades practically on his every limb and—
Wait.
Is that makeup ?!
(It looks good. Makes his eyes sharper and his smile impossibly more calculating, like he knows everything Donghyuck doesn’t. Donghyuck won’t tell him this, of course. He’d rather die.)
“Why are you here, vermin?!” Renjun scowls. “Who let a weakling like you tag along?”
Donghyuck scoffs. “Excuse you, they invited me, and I’m sure you must’ve misread yours because there’s no way they let a manipulative piece of shit like you become a fucking he—”
Before he can finish the sentence, a jolt of electricity shoots up Donghyuck’s neck, and his eyes flash bright white as his body jolts in pain. Renjun does the same, doubling over as a pained grunt slips from his lips. Their hands fly to the chip around their neck, an unremovable collar courtesy of the prison. Donghyuck growls, looking up to the source of his torture.
“Boys,” Mark begins, voice completely monotone and dead serious. “Play nice.”
Donghyuck glares at him, overwhelming hatred filling him. He briefly considers lunging at him and just stabbing the guy to get it all over with. It would be so satisfying , and it would save Donghyuck whole months of trouble and—
No. Donghyuck has a chance here. A chance to break down every part of Mark and give him a fate worse than death. He can’t just throw that opportunity away just yet.
“You’re not my fucking boss,” he spits instead. Mark raises an eyebrow.
“For tonight, yes I am,” Mark counters. “And as your leader, I’m telling you all to get your shit together. Tonight, we have to fight together .”
Mark turns his back to them, stepping into the portal that connects the prison and their destination. Renjun gets up first, charging straight at Mark with his fist balled up and eyes burning with rage. Mark stops in his tracks, side stepping for a fraction of a second before elbowing Renjun and grabbing his forearm.
With a single motion, Mark throws Renjun over his shoulder, slamming his back onto the dirt as the loud thud resounds through the air. Everyone in the vicinity freezes, and Donghyuck has to bite his tongue to stop himself from saying anything stupid.
“Does anyone else want to be thrown back into the jail cell you came from?” Mark announces loudly. Despite the overabundance of criminals who have spent their entire life defying more theoretically powerful people than this singular hero they could overpower together, no one moves a muscle.
“Good,” Mark growls. “Fifteen minutes until departure. I’ll be back to get you guys when we arrive on the battlefield.”
With that, Mark opens a portal behind him and disappears, leaving the rest of them in the tiny square in the middle of the prison's courtyard. Renjun curses from the ground, pushing himself up with quiet anger. Donghyuck can’t help but snort, causing Renjun to whirl around to him with a silent glare.
“Not. A word,” Renjun growls. Donghyuck scoffs.
“Beaten by Mark Lee ,” Donghyuck taunts. “Arguably 127’s most useless hero. I’ve probably beaten him more than a hundred times at this point.”
Renjun glares at Donghyuck. “And yet this time, you didn’t even lift a finger,” Renjun shoots back. “What? Scared of him now?”
Donghyuck shrugs. “I pick my fights.”
“More like you’re a coward.”
Donghyuck’s expression darkens. “Things are different now,” he argues. “We’ve got these cursed things on.”
Donghyuck points to his collar, where the taser Mark used earlier is still warm. Renjun smirks, giving Donghyuck a smug look.
“So you are scared.”
Donghyuck flips him off, and he looks away to avert Renjun’s gaze. Donghyuck glances around the room, scanning the people he’ll have to put up with for tonight and, hopefully, the few months. Jeno and Jisung are off to the side, where Jeno seems to be wrapping some kind of bandage around Jisung’s legs to prevent bruising later on when Jisung will be doing all of his martial arts tricks. He can sense the quiet affection in Jeno’s touch. He’d do anything for Jisung, and Donghyuck quietly contemplates how he could twist that to his benefit in the future.
On the other side of the room, Jaemin rushes to Renjun’s side, picking him up as they whisper their stupid lovers’ concerns and words. Donghyuck only had to spend approximately three seconds digging into Jaemin to find everything that the puppet wants. Physical affection is nice to have sometimes, sure, but Jaemin should know better than to develop an attachment to it. In the underworld, it’ll only get him killed.
Suddenly, Donghyuck can feel the hairs at the back of his neck raise. He whirls around, trying to conceal his surprise as he finds the last member of their ragtag little ‘team’ in the corner of the room. Zhong Chenle is sitting almost perfectly still, completely silent as he watches everyone. He sticks out like a sore thumb, dressed in an almost offending shade of neon green from head to toe. In his hand is some kind of pill bottle that Chenle fiddles with, tapping on the cap semi-rhythmically.
As if on cue, Renjun and Jaemin float to his side, and Chenle visibly brightens up. He beams at Jaemin, somewhat pointedly ignoring Renjun and Donghyuck can’t help but frown in mild confusion. Renjun and Chenle were partners in crime, after all. He briefly wonders what’s up with the sudden rift. Donghyuck peers closer, calling on his Volos as he digs into the trios’ inner thoughts.
He pokes around Jaemin’s head first, finding him just as boring as usual. It’s almost completely filled with Renjun, a mark of his absolute obsession with the Fox. He’s locked in an internal debate on whether or not to reach out and grab Renjun’s arm, like an incessant little fly in his head yapping at him to find physical affection.
Disgusting, Donghyuck thinks, before moving onto Renjun. His head is dark, like an all consuming void. On some levels, it almost looks like Renjun is being controlled by some kind of invisible force, playing him like a violin as it maneuvers Renjun through his words with fake sincerity. Donghyuck can faintly hear a tiny cry of help in the back of Renjun’s brain, as if some humane part of him was trying to reach out and regain control. But then again, that could just be another trick. Looking at Renjun now, it’s clear that that humane voice isn’t going to succeed anytime soon.
Finally, Donghyuck turns to Chenle with a hesitant look. He’s been in the kid’s head once, and only once, out of curiosity about his and Renjun’s origins since Renjun’s brain offers seemingly nothing. Donghyuck had only listened in for ten seconds, but—
Failure. Failure!
You’re a monster. Nothing but a crazy beast with no regard for anyone but yourself because you are evil .
The heroes should’ve killed you when they had the chance.
Fifteen pills is the limit. The nice human friend always gives you so much more to play with.
Death is the only option for vermin like—
Donghyuck shakes his head, snapping out of his connection to Chenle’s brain. It’s loud. Too loud. As if a million hornets were screaming inside of the tiny space in Chenle’s head. Try as Donghyuck may, he’ll never be able to decipher Zhong Chenle in his entirety.
Shame, really. Donghyuck was hoping to have someone that powerful on his side.
“Taking an interest in Chenle?” Jeno’s voice pulls Donghyuck out of his daze. He turns to him with a scowl.
“That’s none of your business, Lee,” Donghyuck snaps. Jeno brushes it off with frustrating casualness. Donghyuck can never figure him out. Everytime he tries to dig into Jeno, there’s just a massive wall placed in the middle of his connection, as if Jeno’s Volos knows exactly what Donghyuck is trying to do.
Donghyuck has gathered that Jeno cares about Jisung and is a cold asshole, but he can never quite figure him out. What makes him tick? Insults don’t work. Jeno could bench fifteen of Donghyuck, so physical threats are out of the question. And then there was a matter of his assassination train—
“Look,” Jeno prompts, and Donghyuck reflexively follows his words and whirls back towards Chenle. As if on cue, Chenle takes off the lid of his pill bottle, his hand shaking ever so slightly as his eyes start to water.
Renjun seems almost indifferent to Chenle, no affection in the hand he tries to put onto Chenle’s shoulder before the latter jerks away. In contrast, Jaemin reaches out to pat Chenle’s back with a look of concern, only stopping when he remembers his Volos. His hand falters, dropping to his side awkwardly as he whispers soft words to Chenle.
With a shaky nod, Chenle puts the pill into his mouth and swallows it dry. His eyes suddenly dull, reverting into his characteristic listlessness as they dry. As if the pill was its own kind of magic in terms of regulating emotions.
“That’s his seventh one today,” Jeno hums. “No one knows where Renjun gets them, but Chenle seems to never run out of the stuff. Says it helps keep him sane.”
Donghyuck purses his lips, thinking of the cacophony he heard in Chenle’s brain earlier. For a brief moment, a twinge of concern nags at Donghyuck, but it’s quickly dismissed. There’s no room for empathy here when Donghyuck is still trying to plot his detailed, sixty-step plan to enact revenge on one Mark Lee.
“And how do you know that?” Donghyuck asks, turning back to Jeno to stop himself from growing a spot of concern for someone who might become a sacrifice for his grand plan to break Mark Lee in every possible way.
Jeno shrugs. “I have my contacts,” hesays mysteriously, before turning on his heel and walking back to Jisung. Donghyuck meets Jisung’s gaze as Jeno turns back to him, catching him in the middle of a strange kind of look. Donghyuck’s only seen that kind of look for one type of person. A strange sense of responsibility settles on Donghyuck’s shoulder, created from the quiet hope and expectation in Jisung’s eyes.
In a deafening realization, Donghyuck realizes what the look means. Jisung thinks Donghyuck could fix Chenle’s problem, whatever it even is. He thinks Donghyuck’s actually some kind of reliable hero.
For some reason, Donghyuck can’t find it in himself to say no to the kid.
Whatever. Surely Donghyuck can find space in his master plan of destroying Mark’s life to help Jisung’s friend.
Even if it meant working with Huang Renjun.
October, 2811
The mission goes surprisingly badly, all things considered. The world’s no stranger to alien invasions, monolith overcharges as commonplace as a particular holiday. The heroes are more than capable of pushing them back most of the time, unless there’s some new kind of alien trouble. This time, it was just a simple overabundance of aliens, and while one could argue they did well by managing to separate half of the invading force away from South Korea, Donghyuck wouldn’t count ‘delaying the inevitable’ as a particular win .
But in hindsight, he can’t really hope for a better outcome. After all, this new threat in the East China Sea is the reason Donghyuck gets a job now. He’s not fond of the newfound attention and expectation on him, as if a million eyes are always on Donghyuck, expecting him to do heroic things. It certainly doesn’t help that the agency’s struck a deal with that publication to have one of their news-hungry vultures follow him around for the next seven months, but oh well. You win some, you lose some.
“Alright, who wants to start?” Mark says, sounding like an insufferable camp counsellor. They’re littered around the living room of Dream’s new base, lying on the sofas as an impromptu meeting room while the control center remains under construction. Their luggage and stuff are scattered everywhere, since room assignments haven't been done yet. Mark had insisted they all sit down and introduce themselves first, as if they don’t already all know each other.
Donghyuck feels ridiculous while they go around in the circle to state their name and ages like they’re at some kind of ice-breaking session for a summer camp. The metal collar they put around his neck is too tight, constantly reminding him that one toe too far over the line could spell the end for Lee Donghyuck.
“I guess I’ll start,” Mark sighs. He smiles, and it’s disgustingly warm. What is he, a melted popsicle? Donghyuck resists the urge to just punch him right then and there. But then, Mark could probably switch on some secret button, and Donghyuck would literally fizzle out and die at his feet. As much as he despises Mark, he’d rather not go like that.
“My name is Lee Minhyung, but you can call me Mark,” Mark introduces brightly. “And my favourite breakfast food is eggs, although I’m not very good at making them.”
“No one cares, dipshit,” Donghyuck mutters under his breath. Mark shoots him a glare, looking around the room.
“Um… Jeno, do you want to—”
“No,” Jeno says flatly, wholly uninterested in the conversation. Mark frowns.
“Come on, Jeno,” Mark tries. “You gotta—”
“No.”
Silence hangs in the air like thick butter, impossible to cut. Mark falters for a moment, face starting to fall with defeat and Donghyuck silently thank the gods because they might finally get to disperse and—
“I’ll go!” Jisung suddenly jumps in, and Donghyuck mentally flips the universe off. Mark whips his head to Jisung, gratitude in his eyes.
“My name is Park Jisung, and I like pancakes!” Jisung chirps. Mark nods.
“I like pancakes too. They’re pretty nice.”
Mark pauses, turning to the rest of the room. No one says a thing, and Mark gulps again. Suddenly, Jaemin sighs.
“Alright, I’ll bite,” Jaemin says, although Donghyuck can detect a hint of excitement in his tone. That little bitch was excited for this.
“I’m Na Jaemin, and I don’t eat breakfast,” Jaemin says. Mark frowns at him.
“What do you mean you don’t eat breakfast? It’s the most important meal of the day.”
Jaemin shrugs. “32 shots of espresso before noon,” hestates simply. Mark’s expression morphs into mild concern.
“You what ?!” Mark asks. Besides Jaemin, Renjun’s lips twitch into a tiny smile.
“Noon would be an understatement. Jaemin could drink until the sun goes down,” Renjun snickers. Jisung looks at Jaemin with mild horror.
“ Dude ,” he gapes. “How do you even sleep ?”
“I don’t,” Jaemin says solemnly, and Donghyuck can’t tell if he’s joking or not.
“O...kay,” Mark says with a tone of concern. He turns to Donghyuck, about to open his mouth before Donghyuck beats him to it.
“Don’t ask it if you know what’s good for you,” Donghyuck warns. From across the room, Renjun scoffs.
“Someone clearly hasn’t gotten laid in years,” Renjun taunts. Donghyuck glares at him.
“Someone clearly hadn’t been loved as a child,” Donghyuck snaps. Renjun frowns, eyebrows knitting together in anger when a sudden snicker rings in the air. They whip their heads towards Jeno almost simultaneously, a mixture of confusion and disbelief in their eyes.
“You’re both losers, we get it,” Jeno snorts. Renjun stands up, about to explode when Mark beats him to it.
“Renjun,” Mark says firmly, and Donghyuck fights back the urge to laugh. Who is he, their babysitter?
Renjun, evidently sharing the sentiment, doesn’t hold back.
“Mark,” he says mockingly. “You’re out of your league, hero,” Renjun spits, making the word ‘hero’ sound like an insult. Donghyuck is almost impressed.
Mark scowls. “You’re being difficult for no reas—”
“ You’re being difficult for no reason ,” Donghyuck jumps in, making his voice high pitched and mocking. Mark freezes, turning to Donghyuck. He’s losing ground, Donghyuck can tell even without his Volos. It’s written all over Mark’s face.
“Hey now, don’t—”
“You’re out of your league, pretty boy,” Donghyuck snaps, knowing exactly how much that insult digs into Mark. He’s been the ‘extra’ of 127 for nearly five years, that one member who’s supposed to be great and everything, but always falling flat. He’s scared of failure, scared of being nothing more but a pretty face in a group shot. There’s a reason he’s here while all of his members get their big shots and interviews.
“Why don’t you scamper back to Seoul and go back to taking photoshoots and giving your fangirls someone to fawn over,” Renjun adds, as if he could read Donghyuck’s mind. Donghyuck glances at him, a silent truce passing between them. No matter how much he may want to strangle Renjun on principle alone, they’re more alike than Donghyuck would care to admit.
Namely, a giant fucking grudge on all forms of authority.
“I—” Mark begins, slowly shrinking. Donghyuck stands up alongside Renjun, slowly approaching Mark. He feels a rush of power coursing through him, as if in this moment, despite the omnipresent death collar around his neck, Donghyuck and Renjun hold the upper hand over Mark.
“Those friends of yours really overestimated you, didn’t they? Did they really think a useless little runt like you could ever even dream of becoming our ‘leader’?” Donghyuck spits, venom dripping from his tone. Before Mark could even respond, Renjun jumps in.
“No strength, no charisma, no leadership… They must have been stupid to choose you . Aside from that face of yours, what do you even have, porcelain Prince Charming?” Renjun growls.
“Constantly sidelined, sent to the safest side of the battlefield, and now they even send you all the way to Shanghai, just because they knew they couldn’t trust you,” Donghyuck lists off, casting a sidelong glance at Renjun. Renjun meets his gaze, and Donghyuck feels a strange sense of kinship with this silver tongued asshole. He could use someone like Renjun on his side.
“Face it, Minhyung …” Renjun begins.
“ You’re useless ,” Renjun and Donghyuck chorus, like the final dagger being lodged into Mark’s guts. He shrinks, taking a tentative step backwards as his expression falls in utter defeat. Undesirable triumph spreads inside of Donghyuck, finally able to extract revenge from Mark without someone to come to his rescue.
Then again, no one can come to him now. They’re in Shanghai, where criminals and lawbreakers hold more power than any kind of authority.
Out here, heroes mean nothing.
(A strange prick of guilt pulls at Donghyuck. He ignores it, favouring to revel in his victory. He defeated the Mark Lee, his lifelong archnemesis. Why the fuck would he be guilty ?)
Suddenly, a look of determination returns to Mark’s eyes, and he straightens. He inhales deeply, soothing his nerves and Donghyuck can’t help but feel confused. They just ripped him apart like a pair of vultures, and Mark crumbled . How the fuck does he expect to regain power n—
“Fine,” Mark breathes, gaze hardening. “You want to do this the hard way.”
Mark raises one arm, his white and blue wristband starting to glow as the holotech shoots out from it. It materializes into a longbow, although Donghyuck’s seen enough of it to know that it’s not a signature Spirit-assigned weapon. Just another sign of Mark’s unqualification.
“One match. The six of you, one of me,” Mark declares. “If you can disarm me, I’ll give leadership to you two if you think you’re so qualified.”
He pauses for a moment, before adding. “Of course, I won’t be using your collars. That’s just not a fair fight.”
Donghyuck raises an eyebrow, leaning back on one foot. He hadn’t expected the chance would come so soon. He has no desire to lead Dream, but the chance to prove he’s superior in direct combat…
“What happens if you win?” Jeno interrupts from behind them, and everyone turns to him. He’s twirling a dagger in one hand, seemingly intrigued. Mark doesn’t waver.
“Nothing,” Mark says simply. Donghyuck frowns.
“Then what’s the point?” he argues. “You don’t even gain anything from it.”
The corners of Mark’s lips twitch, ever so slightly.
“That’s for me to know, and for you to find out,” Mark says cryptically. Donghyuck steps forwards, about to argue again when a massive portal opens beneath everyone in the room, dropping them all out of the living area.
They land with a thud on the other side, the fall too quick to react to, and before he knows it, they’re all standing in the middle of a large grassy field, only a couple meters away from a massive cliff. Mark stands with the sun behind his back and a bow pointed at them in one hand.
“Well?” Mark says loudly. “Do you accept my challenge?”
A dagger flies at Mark in lieu of a response, barely grazing by his ear, and all hell breaks loose.
Renjun is the first to move, as per usual, leaping after his dagger as he draws two more from the holsters around his thighs. His body illuminates as his Volos activates, a giant black spider rising from his hip bone as it practically picks Renjun up into the air. His eyes change to a brilliant neon green as he stabs both of the daggers at Mark. Mark jumps backwards, stepping into a portal as he appears above and behind Renjun, bow drawn.
Before he can fire a shot, the ground beneath them shakes and shatters as Renjun’s spirit changes into a hornet. He roars in tandem with it, shaking the entire ground as two massive boulders are thrusted into the air. Renjun whirls around, his spirit changing once again as it shifts into a mouse. Renjun’s hands morph, elongating as they slam into the boulders and enlarge them. With a shout, Renjun slams the boulders together, threatening to crush Mark in his grasp.
Mark redirects his arrow and fires at one of the boulders, causing it to explode as the other one slams into him, sending Mark flying back towards the base—and the rest of Dream. Donghyuck snarls, reaching into his compactor tool belt as he pulls out one of his inventions: a tiny, electricity-filled spider about the size of his pinkie, or, as he lovingly calls it: the Taser Spider.
“Jisung!” Donghyuck calls, thrusting his hand to his right. Jisung flies by him, snatching the spider out of Donghyuck’s hand as he jumps into the air to meet Mark. Metal shoots out from Jisung’s boots, wrapping around his calves as the silver coating seemingly crackles to life. Neon green accents leave trails of light behind as Jisung leaps into the air. He shrinks himself into the size of an ant, concentrating all of his force in a single punch as he lands the punch into Mark’s guts, sending him flying up into the air.
Jisung’s boots fire off a propulsion blast and he returns to normal size, fists still drawn. The momentum carries him upwards, where Jisung spins his leg in a wide arc to slam his boot into Mark’s side. Mark suddenly grips onto the outstretched boot, glowing brightly as he pulls Jisung into a portal with him. Their orientation is flipped as Mark slams Jisung into the ground, firing off three quick arrows as they stop Jisung’s movement for a fraction of a second.
Jisung grits his teeth, trying to swing his arm upwards to attach the shocking spider onto Mark. Mark catches it out of the corner of his eyes, swinging his bow upwards to knock it away as the tiny spider soars over the cliff and towards Renjun.
“Watch out!” Chenle yells, and Donghyuck faintly registers this being the first time he’s ever heard Chenle speak. His voice is… strangely raspy, as if he’d been screaming all day.
Weird.
A giant translucent hornet growing out of the back of his neck as his scream solidifies into a massive shockwave. It knocks the taser-spider away from Renjun, throwing Mark off balance for a split second. At that moment, Renjun and Jeno charge towards Mark from opposite sides, weapons drawn.
Jeno makes the first attack, thrusting his spear towards Mark as Mark narrowly ducks out of the way. Renjun takes the chance to slash at Mark’s side. He makes contact with the body of his bow instead as Mark swings his leg in a wide arc on the ground. Renjun is forced to take a step backwards to avoid the attack, but Jeno’s spear gives him the range to twist his spear and jab downwards at Mark. Mark rolls out of the way, raising one arm to block Renjun’s sneaky follow up kick as Jeno uses his spear as an axis to swing both of his legs into the air for a kick.
The kick connects with Mark’s side, eliciting a grunt out of him as he’s knocked to the ground. A dagger stabs into the ground besides his head as Renjun smirks at him.
“End of the line, Prince Charming,” Renjun taunts. Mark’s lips twitch into a smile, and out of the corner of his eyes, Donghyuck can spot a series of portals opening behind Renjun. Realization hits Donghyuck as he recalls Mark’s favourite trick, sending his limbs into action as he charges towards Jisung, who’s still pinned to the ground. Donghyuck reaches into his tool belt and pulls out a miniature plastic cover.
“Is it really?” Mark replies and Donghyuck barely has time to throw the plastic cover to Jisung and pray he understands. Jisung’s eyes widen as he catches the plastic shard, glowing brightly as his mouse spirit flies into the air and grabs the plastic shard.
The piece of plastic enlarges to cover almost the entire battlefield as a rain of arrows descend on them. The sound that comes is deafening, startling Renjun out of his perch as Mark pulls back one leg and kicks him in the guts, sending Renjun flying backwards. He fades into the ground through a portal, and before Donghyuck can even register where Renjun flew towards, a series of portals appear around them, trapping everyone inside.
Moments later, arrows fly at them from every angle, one even nicking Donghyuck’s cheek as he tries to dodge it. They all throw themselves to the ground in an attempt to avoid the onslaught, barely out of range of the whizzing storm of arrows above them.
“Any of you fuckers got an idea?!” Donghyuck yells.
He’s gloriously answered in the next second as an ear-splitting scream pierces through the air, shattering the arrows midair as a shockwave from the sound slams into Donghyuck and sends him rolling towards the cliff. Donghyuck grunts with each impact, feeling pain explode in every limb as he tries to look up.
Jisung and Chenle have teamed up against Mark now, fighting like a well oiled machine as Jisung delivers kick after sweeps to keep Mark off the ground. Chenle follows him on every off-beat, throwing wild jabs and swings at Mark like some kind of lunatic. They match and complement each other perfectly, with Jisung’s reserved and calculated strikes becoming extremely unpredictable with Chenle’s nonsensical punches, as if they’ve been fighting for years. Donghyuck knows it can’t be the case, since the prison isn’t exactly a training centre, but…
Well, there’s no other way to put it. Chenle and Jisung just simply click on the battlefield.
Chenle delivers a swift jab towards Mark, shouting along with it to use his Volos and slam a shockwave into Mark. He staggers backwards, and before Mark can probably even register the pain, Jisung spins midair and smashes the sole of his feet into Mark’s back. Mark drops to the ground, seemingly defeated as Chenle hovers over him and opens his mouth.
With a deafening scream, Chenle’s voice seems to gain physical substance as it slams Mark deep into the ground at an alarming speed. Donghyuck winces, covering his ears in a poor attempt to block off the dizzying sound.
However, just as fast as they seize the fight from Mark, a portal appears at Chenle’s feet, pulling him through as Chenle falls through. A few metres away, a pair of portals appear, looping Chenle into an infinite drop, courtesy of gravity. Mark pops up above ground moments later, firing another arrow at Jisung. Jisung side steps to avoid the attack, only for the arrow to explode into a giant boxing glove and slam into him, sending Jisung flying off of the cliff, barely hanging on by his fingers on the ledge.
Donghyuck grits his teeth, doing a mental headcount in his head. Renjun is down for the count, lying against a boulder nearby as another net traps him against the rock with no way to move his limbs. Chenle is in an infinite drop, and Jisung is as out of it as it gets, leaving Donghyuck with only two alli—
Wait.
Where the fuck is Jaem—
Mark’s scream of pain snaps Donghyuck out of his daze, drawing his attention back to the battle as Jaemin hovers over him, a hand on his shoulder. Dark black and green energy pours out of Mark and into Jaemin, and Donghyuck can’t help but pale at the sight of Mark’s skin practically turning gray before his eyes.
“You,” Jaemin seethes, eyes glowing bright red. “Will not win this.”
Mark plants a palm onto the ground, shakily pushing himself back up as he gives Jaemin a single pointed look.
“And you ,” Mark breathes heavily. “Underestimate me.”
With a pained roar, Mark’s body glows brightly, a lion cub sprouting from the tattoo on his right arm. As it struggles to break out of Jaemin’s hold on Mark’s Volos energy, the lion cub shifts, flickering once, twice, thrice, before a deafening roar fills the air. The lion cub disappears, replaced with a giant, full grown lion as it slams into Jaemin, knocking him backwards.
The instant Jaemin’s hand leaves Mark’s shoulder, Mark’s skin returns to its normal shade, and his eyes fill with newborn vigor. He stands up with heavy pants, firing an arrow with yellow liquid at Jaemin as it jams into his neck. The tranquilizer fluid (at least, Donghyuck assumes it’s a tranquilizer. Mark’s still a hero, and heroes don’t kill unless absolutely necessary) drains into Jaemin as his eyes roll backwards, his body going limp.
Out of the corner of Donghyuck’s eyes, he spots something glinting on the ground next to Jaemin’s limp body: a tiny silver spider, barely larger than a pinky. Donghyuck grits his teeth, his brain whirring at a million miles per hour. If he could just get close enough to Mark and the spider, Donghyuck could end this right here and now. He just needs a distraction, something that could let him sneak up to Mark and—
Clang!
Jeno comes out of nowhere, swinging his spear and jabbing at Mark with lightning speed as Donghyuck’s prayers are answered. He leaps out from his hiding spot, running towards Jaemin’s limp body as Jeno and Mark spar off in a bout of good ol’ melee combat. Jeno keeps trying to get close to Mark, but Donghyuck knows that Mark knows of Jeno’s powers. The moment he even so much as grazes Mark, Jeno’s Volos can activate, and Mark will lose his most powerful weapon: his Volos.
Fortunately for Donghyuck, there are other ways to decommission someone.
“Hey, loser!” Donghyuck yells. “Catch!”
With a heave of effort, Donghyuck throws the tiny spider at Mark, aiming precisely for his back. Mark whirls around in a split second, his eyes going wide as time seemingly slows down. Horror dawns onto Donghyuck as he watches Mark open a tiny portal, just about the size of a pinkie as the spider slips through. It teleports behind an unprepared Jeno, latching onto his back as a massive jolt of electricity zaps into him. Jeno yells in pain as his body crumbles, falling to the ground with an unceremonious thud.
Fuck.
Before Donghyuck can recover from his shock, Mark charges at him and sweeps Donghyuck off his feet—literally. Donghyuck lands on his ass as Mark presses a bow against his throat, trapping Donghyuck under his hold. The air is sucked out of Donghyuck’s lungs as he struggles to even breathe.
“Do you surrender?” Mark growls, and the rebellious voice in Donghyuck screams to fight back. He’s losing too much air, though, painting black spots in Donghyuck’s vision as he struggles to even think straight. He was so close. So close to beating Mark. So close to finally extracting revenge without someone interrupting his plans.
But this time, Donghyuck has no one to blame but himself.
“H–how?” Donghyuck croaks, disbelief settling into him. How did Mark… do that? He’s supposed to be the weak one. The useless porcelain doll that Donghyuck’s triumphed over for countless years. What changed him into this… strong and capable hero?
“It’s much easier to fight when you don’t have to worry about collateral damage,” Mark smirks, and reality slaps Donghyuck in the face. Mark’s always had a handicap. There was always something in Donghyuck’s favour, something to guarantee his win. Because in reality…
Donghyuck can’t beat him.
None of them can.
Mark Lee, the previously-assumed useless from the best superhero team in the world is superior to them. All of them. And if Donghyuck can’t even beat him , then how is he going to even dream of dismantling all of the heroes?
“I s–surrender,” Donghyuck groans with difficulty, closing his eyes as defeat settles into him. He lost, in arguably one of the fairest fights he'll ever get with Mark. He lost, all because of his stupid little mistakes and his inability to coordinate with the others. It was a six versus one, for fuck’s sake, and they couldn’t even beat him.
The weight on Donghyuck’s throat leaves as Mark steps off him. He turns to the cliff, extending a palm as he portals Chenle and Jisung back to the field. Chenle lands on the field with an unceremonious thud, slamming right on top of an exhausted Jisung as he looks up, eyes burning with rage.
“I have been falling ,” Chenle shouts, sounding absolutely winded. “For five fucking minutes .”
Mark laughs gently, and Donghyuck feels like a massive splash of cold water has just slammed into him. Mark Lee? Gentle ? No, this isn’t the Mark Donghyuck knows. The Mark Donghyuck knows is a nervous wreck on camera and a menace off camera. The Mark Donghyuck knows shoots people down before they’re given a chance, and is completely emotionless once he defeats them. The Mark Donghyuck knows—
“You did really well,” Mark hums, smiling as he offers Chenle a hand. “Just need to watch out for your stance. It’s never over until it’s over, right?”
—is an absolute sweetheart?
Chenle gives Mark a troubled look. “Th–thanks,” he mutters, conflicted on how to react. Mark chuckles, bending down to gently pry Jisung from underneath Chenle.
“You good, buddy?” Mark asks. Jisung gives him a look of pure awe, and Donghyuck can’t help but feel like a knife has been driven into him. Jisung only gave two other people that look: Jeno, who’s been with him since forever , and Donghyuck. So why is—
“You were so cool, hyung,” Jisung gapes. “You’ve gotta show me how to move like that.”
Mark laughs. “Maybe someday, Jisung.”
Jisung nods, satisfied with the answer. Donghyuck watches in horror as Mark taps on his wristwatch, disabling the net around Renjun and sending some kind of shockwave through Jaemin to wake him up. Renjun staggers to his feet, a conflicted look in his gaze.
“I’m not becoming your subordinate,” Renjun growls. Mark shrugs it off, as if the possibility has never crossed his mind before.
“I don’t plan on making you my subordinate,” Mark says casually. “We’re a team. And teammates are equals, at the end of the day.”
Renjun just looks conflicted. Donghyuck pales further.
Jaemin groans as he sits up, taking in the sight before him, looking between Renjun and Mark with mild confusion before he gives Mark a shy smile. From the other side, Donghyuck’s spider finally wears off, and Jeno sits up with slight difficulty. Donghyuck looks at him with pleading eyes, begging him to not do what the others did and—
“You’re pretty strong, Mark,” Jeno barks a laugh. “You could probably have my back in a pinch, huh?”
Mark grins at him. “Whenever you need me to,” he says simply. Jeno nods, sliding into a sitting position with a groan. He gives Mark a tiny smile, barely a quirk of his lips, but the sincerity is practically blinding.
“Alright then,” Jeno sighs. “Let’s give this a shot.”
Everyone turns to Donghyuck, half-expectant. Donghyuck freezes, looking from person to person as he feels his entire being fading away. He lost. He lost in every way imaginable. He can’t beat Mark. He just can’t .
Although, now Donghyuck’s not sure he even wants to.
“Who… who are you?” Donghyuck whispers, tone full of confusion as he stares at Mark. Mark tilts his head, a small smile on his lips as he walks over to Mark. He bends down, offering Donghyuck a hand.
“My name is Lee Minhyung, but you can call me Mark.”
Sometime in 2796
“I’m gonna become the greatest hero there is!” Donghyuck declares, screaming from the top of the play structure. Around him, a group of kids scoff and pointedly ignore him. Donghyuck announces his intentions like clockwork, and at this point, no one is surprised or even remotely interested.
“Yeah, yeah,” one of the boys yells, exasperated. “Just throw down the ball, will ya?”
Donghyuck scowls at him, but he complies anyway. He snatches their missing red ball from a nearby tree, catching a whiff of the sharp scent of magnolias as he buries his face deeper into the branches.
“H–hey!” one of the boys yells. “Be careful!”
Donghyuck smirks, turning back to the boy with a wink.
“Heroes don’t need to be careful!” Donghyuck yells. “They don’t look at what they can’t do!”
They don’t look so convinced.
He turns back to the branches, shifting his weight upwards and further away from the play structure as he reaches out with his grubby little eight-year-old fingers. The tip of his fingers grazes the bright red ball, the scent of magnolias clinging onto Donghyuck as it pulls him higher. His hand drifts to a branch, pulling himself up further. He’s so close. Just a little—
Snap.
“Donghyuck! No!” someone yells, but Donghyuck barely registers it. He yelps, trying to cling onto the broken branch as he tumbles through the tree. Magnolia petals fall from their delicate hold and follow Donghyuck, swarming him as he feels the sharp branches slicing through his skin.
Suddenly, he lands softly on the ground, as if the distance between his previously afloat body and the ground disappeared. Donghyuck blinks, confusion settling in as he vaguely makes out someone yelling his name.
“Duckie!” Minhyung—wait, no. He’s Mark now—shouts, running towards Donghyuck as he kneels besides him. Donghyuck blinks again, clearing his vision as he looks up to meet Mark’s eyes and—
Oh.
Oh, no.
He’s angry.
“Why… Why would you do that?!” Mark yells, tears pricking the corners of his eyes. “You… you could’ve died !”
Donghyuck’s head swims, a dull pain in his head as his eyes struggle to focus. There’s something strange behind Mark, like some kind of… floating lion cub spirit. He’s also faintly glowing, resembling some kind of angel who came to Donghyuck’s rescue… somehow.
“Heroes don’t—” Donghyuck begins, and Mark shakes him violently out of anger.
“You’re not a stupid hero!” Mark yells, tears streaming down his cheeks. “And you… you’ll never be one! You’re… you’re so… I can’t… don’t go… not you too...”
Mark’s grip on Donghyuck’s shirt loosens, and he starts to cry, burying his head on Donghyuck’s shoulder. Donghyuck freezes, eight-year-old brain unable to process anything but Mark’s first sentence.
You’re not a stupid hero.
You’ll never be one.
The sharp scent of the magnolia flowers digs into Donghyuck’s mind and takes root as Mark sobs into his shirt. He’s… not a hero?
“Miss! He’s over here!” someone yells in the background, but Donghyuck doesn’t register it. He doesn’t even register someone coming over and prying Mark away from him, and Donghyuck feels like the magnolias are drowning him now.
He hates it.
Hates the sharp sweetness that feels like a knife digging into Donghyuck. Hates the disappointed look on his teacher’s and Mark’s faces. Hates the accusatory looks pointed at him from his peers, like Donghyuck was some kind of… villain of this story.
“Donghyuck, you shouldn’t have done that,” his teacher begins, icy cold in her tone. Donghyuck’s head continues to scream, too loud and overwhelming. Somewhere in the process, his teacher’s voice and Mark’s voice molds into one, and Donghyuck can’t help but feel their words molding into the overwhelming scent of magnolias, dragging their fingernails across Donghyuck’s skin.
“Detention after school,” someone says, cold and emotionless. “I want five pages from you, got it?”
Donghyuck nods shakily, too busy drowning in his own head and Mark’s words to do much more.
He’s not a hero.
He’ll never be one.
That afternoon, Donghyuck doesn’t show up for detention. In fact, he doesn’t show up anywhere at all.
That evening, a gang of anti-heroes stumbles across a bitter eight year-old-child, and they take him in out of nearly uncharacteristic pity. Donghyuck should hate them, should hate the stupid anti-heroes who killed his mom in the first place, but he can’t. They practically raise him, becoming the family Donghyuck’s never really had, even if he ends up betraying them a couple of years down the road. Anti-heroism teaches Donghyuck three fundamental truths about the world, and he'll live by them forever.
Number one: the only person who can help you is yourself.
Number two: love makes people weak and susceptible to making stupid decisions and misplacing trust.
Number three: at the end of the day, the world is nothing but a cold, lonely prison cell to rot in.
October, 2811
Mark doesn’t remember him.
Donghyuck’s not sure he should feel grateful or offended that his childhood friend doesn’t remember him. On one hand, that offers Donghyuck the greatest opportunity of stuffing embarrassing childhood memories into a box and throwing it into a volcano. But on the other hand, that also means Mark doesn’t remember how much pain and suffering he’s unknowingly inflicted upon Donghyuck.
And the problem is, it’s kind of hard to guilt trip someone who doesn’t remember what they should be guilty about.
“Donghyuck, I really couldn’t give less shits about you or your stupid grudge against Mark Lee,” Renjun deadpans, sharpening his dagger. Donghyuck pointedly ignores him, throwing a mini temper tantrum on Renjun’s bed as he harasses one of the giant moomin dolls on it. It’s strange to think that such a cruel and manipulative villain like Renjun would be interested in something so… cute , but life lately seems to be full of surprises.
“What even is the point of me being here if I can’t make his life hell?!” Donghyuck exclaims. “I can’t torture and mentally beat someone who doesn’t even remember how they’ve hurt me. And now he’s so… nice and everything! I snapped at Jisung this morning, you know? Because he took my yogurt and shit, and you know what Mark did instead of yelling at me?”
“Did he buy you a new one?” Renjun guesses flatly, wholly uninterested in Donghyuck’s dilemma.
“He bought me a new one! Can you believe it?!” Donghyuck exclaims, absolutely frustrated as he flops backwards on the bed once again, crushing Moomin under his back.
Renjun sighs. “Yes, I can,” Renjun deadpans. “I was there.”
Donghyuck sits up and gives Renjun the stink eye. “Don’t judge me.”
Renjun gives him an unamused look. “You come into my room, slander my teammate, defile my bed, put my Moomin through physical torture—”
Donghyuck rolls his eyes and pulls Moomin out from under his back.
“—Thus, I have full right to judge you and your enemies to lovers arc with Mark fucking Lee.”
Donghyuck scowls at him. “Enemies to what ?”
Renjun gives Donghyuck a teasing smirk, sheathing away his dagger as he pulls out a journal from an open desk drawer. His collar shifts with his movements, the metal band touching the tip of his collarbone, making Renjun flinch for a second. He ignores it, returning to his seat as he opens the journal. Donghyuck watches in mild confusion as Renjun flips through the pages, finally coming upon what he was looking for.
“‘October 7th, 2811’,” Renjun reads aloud. “‘Lee Haechan called Lee Mark ‘an insufferably cute ass’ that he ‘can’t bear to yell at’.”
Donghyuck’s face falls in horror. Renjun gives him a smug glance.
“‘October 9th, 2811’, Lee Haechan spends forty five minutes screaming into the pillow about how Lee Mark has ‘no right being that fucking attractive covered in sweat and dirt from patrol’,” Renjun continues, and Donghyuck’s face flushes red.
“Shut up,” Donghyuck hisses. Renjun, predictably, does not.
“‘October 10th, 2811’, Lee Haechan happens on an opportunity to snap at and insult Lee Mark for spilling coffee all over his shirt, but was too enamoured by his ‘stupidly pretty eyes that have no business being so bright at 6 AM in the morn—”
“Okay! I get it!” Donghyuck announces loudly, throwing the Moomin plushie at Renjun. Renjun catches it with one hand, but spares Donghyuck further embarrassment by putting his journal down. Renjun gives Donghyuck a smug look.
“So, which chapter are you on, idiot in love?” Renjun teases. Donghyuck glares at him.
“Shut up,” Donghyuck hisses, but Renjun doesn’t even so much as flinch.
“You love me,” Renjun points out.
“No, I hate you,” Donghyuck argues.
“The line between love and hate is as vague as it gets,” Renjun winks, and Donghyuck briefly considers punching him in the face.
Sadly, he doesn’t feel like getting up right now.
The journalist arrives at the base two weeks into Dream’s stay in Shanghai, and there’s an unspoken threat in the air to make sure they treat the guy right. After all, what he writes about them could mean life or death for Dream.
Then again, it’s hard to be mean to someone so… earnest .
“Just pretend I’m not even here,” the journalist (who Donghyuck learns is named Jung Sungchan) grins. They’re in Dream’s half-finished training facility, trying to ignore the ear-splitting construction noise in the background. A light layer of concrete dust covers the right side of the room, with annoyingly bright yellow-and-black tape sectioning it off. Everyone is scattered around the room, running through some individual training.
Donghyuck raises an eyebrow at him.
“You’re literally, like, a beanpole,” Donghyuck deadpans. “What do you mean ‘ignore me’ ?”
“Donghyuck, play nice,” Mark warns, stopping mid-drill to throw hima glare. Donghyuck rolls his eyes, leaning on one foot as he crosses his arm.
“Or what, you’re gonna get mad and ground me, mother?” Donghyuck says icily. An odd feeling pricks at the back of his head, a mixture of irritation, annoyance and… deja vu.
Strangely enough, despite the cold autumn weather, Donghyuck can’t help but catch a whiff of magnolias from somewhere.
Mark sighs, turning back to his archery targets. “I’m not mad,” Mark mutters.
Donghyuck freezes, feeling the telltale prick of dread travelling up his spine. No… Don’t say it. Don’t say the d w—
“Just disappointed.”
Fuck.
Donghyuck curses himself for the way his stomach drops. In the distance, Renjun snickers, and Donghyuck makes a mental note to strangle him in his sleep. The metal collar around his neck feels ever so slightly tighter, as if Mark was squeezing his fingers around Donghyuck’s throat to try and force him into the superhero mold. Donghyuck hates it. Despises it. Despises Mark .
“Fine,” he grumbles. Turning back to Sungchan, Donghyuck shoots him a glare.
“Make sure you get my good side,” he snaps. Sungchan flinches, recoiling a little as his camera arm trembles with fear. Donghyuck suppresses the urge to smirk. God , it feels good to be feared again.
Donghyuck turns on his heel and marches deeper into the training facility. He takes up a spot beside Jaemin and Jisung, picking up a roll of bandages to wrap around his knuckles. His movements are heavy and sharp, the slightest hint of anger in his limbs. Out of the corner of his eyes, Donghyuck can see Jeno and Jisung locked in some kind of heated whisper debate, throwing occasional glances at Donghyuck.
Of course.
Of course they’re talking behind his back.
“Hey,” Donghyuck growls, turning to Jisung and Jeno. “If you’ve got something to say, say it to my face.”
Jeno gives him a cold look, but turns away without a comment. On the contrary, Jisung flinches.
“I–I wasn’t—” Jisung stammers, shaking his hands defensively. Donghyuck glares at him.
“Don’t deny it,” Donghyuck sneers. “I could hear you from a mile aw—”
“Donghyuck,” Mark interjects, suddenly beside him. His voice is stern and stiff, and the unhelpful part of Donghyuck’s brain can’t help but feel the disappointment dripping from his tone. On some levels, it almost reminds Donghyuck of his mother.
Donghyuck whips his head around, a challenge burning in his eyes.
“Shut up!” Donghyuck screams. “Get off my ass, for fuck’s sake!”
Silence.
Mark’s expression shifts for a fraction of a second, like he couldn’t decide between being stern or compassionate.
Ultimately, he does exactly what Donghyuck expects him to do.
“Donghyuck, don’t say that,” Mark chides. “It’s mean and you know it. Your words have consequences, you kn—”
A metaphorical vein in Donghyuck’s neck snaps, and he explodes.
“ My words have consequences , huh?!” Donghyuck yells. “You’re one to fucking talk, Mr. Dream Crusher!”
Mark flinches, stepping backwards instinctively. He reaches for his bow out of reflex, but stops himself midway. Donghyuck, however, catches it. He throws his arms into the air gesturing to himself as he glares at Mark.
“Go ahead!” Donghyuck shouts. “Shoot me! You’ve tried to kill me hundreds of times at this point, why not finish the job , huh?! Or maybe you want me to fall to my knees and become your stupid little puppy again, just like when we were kids?!”
Mark’s eyes shake. “W–what do you me—”
Donghyuck growls. “Don’t play dumb with me!” he screams. “You know exactly what you did! Or is there just absolutely nothing in that thick skull of yours?!”
Mark doesn’t respond. Donghyuck barrels on.
“Fifteen years,” Donghyuck seethes. “You took away fifteen fucking years of my life! You wanna know why I became an anti-hero?! Why don’t you fucking ask yourself, you fucking playground bully?!”
Mark frowns, eyebrows knitting together in confusion. “I–I have no idea wh—”
Donghyuck throws his hands into the air, exasperated. “Here we go again,” Donghyuck snarls. “Back with his bullshit. I spent the first eight fucking years of my life with you, and you don’t ever fucking remember me?! Or did you just wipe my entire existence from that brain of yours when you called me stupid and humiliated me in front of the entire school?!”
Donghyuck briefly registers someone snickering in the background. He ignores it, stepping closer to Mark.
“I wanted to be a hero, you know?!” Donghyuck yells. “Wanted to be just like you and your insufferable ass! And you know what you went and did, Mr. Hero?!”
Realization finally dawns on Mark, and Donghyuck can see the dread start to hit him full force.
“Duckie, I’m so…” Mark begins, voice faltering. A fresh wave of anger surges through Donghyuck, mixing in with the nonexistent scent of magnolias as he swings his fist right into Mark’s face, colliding with his nose as Mark staggers backwards.
“Don’t call me that!” Donghyuck screams, seething with anger. “You lost that privilege fifteen fucking years ago!”
Mark blinks, touching his nose as a droplet of blood drips onto his finger. He slowly looks back up to Donghyuck, eyes round with guilt and regret.
“Donghyuck, I’m sor—”
“No you’re not!” Donghyuck yells, a strange moisture to his cheeks. Is he… crying?
It doesn’t matter.
“You’re not sorry!” Donghyuck screams. “You never have been! You weren’t sorry when I fucking dissapeared! You weren’t sorry when I saw you again and we were enemies! You weren’t even fucking sorry when you fucking humiliated me in front of everyone by tasing me to the ground!”
Mark’s eyes start to water, and the tiniest trickle of guilt pulls at Donghyuck. He ignores it.
“I’m so sorry,” Mark whispers in a broken voice, dropping to his knees as he hangs his head. “I’m… I’m sorry. I didn’t— Duckie—”
“I said, don’t call me that , you fucking—”
A pair of arms grab Donghyuck from behind, dragging him away before he can deliver another punch to Mark’s stupid face. He’s not even looking at Donghyuck anymore, practically sobbing as he buries his head in his hands. He doesn’t get to do that. Not after what he’s done to Donghyuck.
“Let me go!” Donghyuck screams, kicking and flailing against his captor.
“No,” Jeno growls. Donghyuck’s face heats up in even more anger.
“I need to—”
“What you need is to calm down ,” Jeno hisses. Donghyuck turns around, swinging his fist at Jeno. Before his knuckles could make contact, however, another hand grabs onto his wrist out of nowhere. Donghyuck turns to the offending party with furious eyes, only managing to catch the tiniest glimpse of Jaemin’s cold look before exhaustion slams into him like a ton of bricks.
“Sleep,” Jaemin orders.
With boiling irritation, Donghyuck unwillingly does.