Chapter Text
It was a quiet night. Scott was thankful for it. He enjoyed his job, sure, but it was stressful. People were hard to save, who would’ve thought? Even with his powers, Scott often found himself overwhelmed by run-of-the-mill criminals. Supervillains were a whole different story.
There was one Supervillain in particular that had been causing trouble recently - Exor.
They were one of the newer villains, but they’d quickly become well-known and very active. Their fire powers were some of the strongest and most destructive. Scott had had to fight them nearly every week, which was very unusual for villains. Usually it took Supers like Scott a while to regain their energy before they could fight in another full-out battle, especially if they had been defeated in the previous one, but Exor never seemed that affected.
It was worrying, to be honest.
Scott’s thoughts paused when he heard a small scuffle from behind. He tensed and summoned his Rune Blade. There was another scuffle, this time closer.
Scott took a deep breath, steadying himself, then whirled around with his blade outstretched.
There was a squeak of surprise and a flash of green as something - or someone - literally jumped behind a large bush.
Scott raised a brow and took a cautious step closer to the bush.
“Come out.” He ordered. “I know you’re there. There’s no use trying to escape or hide.”
The bush quivered, and then a being slowly moved out from behind the bush. It was a human, Scott assumed, wearing an obnoxiously green and, frankly, shoddily made supersuit. In lieu of a mask, the human had a large, brown fish head on his head.
Still, looks could be deceiving. Perhaps this was a new, powerful Supervillain.
“Who are you?” Scott demanded.
The person raised their arms up. Their eyes, visible through the holes of the fish head, widened and stared at Scott’s Blade.
“So- Solidarity!” The person stammered. “I’m not a threat!”
“Obviously.” Scott huffed. He narrowed his eyes at Solidarity. “What are you doing here?”
“I just wanted to help!” Solidarity answered.
Scott huffed and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, right. I’d know if there were another Super joining the League.”
“I’m not part of the League.”
“You’re not?” Scott asked, grip tightening on his weapon. “Why not?”
“They rejected me.” Solidarity said. “But I can still help! I protect the Cod District all the time!”
Scott blinked. “There’s, like, twenty people living in the Cod District.”
“Twenty-five, actually!”
“And there hasn’t been a crime in that District for over two years.”
“All thanks to me!” Solidarity claimed, putting his hands on his hips.
“Really?” Scott asked, unconvinced.
Solidarity nodded. “Yup! I’m out patrolling every night!”
“And have you ever prevented a crime or engaged with any villain?”
Solidarity hesitated.
“Well, uh, no.” He admitted, sounding sheepish.
“Then you’ve got nothing to do with the lack of crime in the Cod District. The population is just too small and connected for anything remotely interesting to happen.”
“Hey!” Solidarity protested, his eyes glinting. “The Cod District is awesome!”
Scott dropped his defensive stance, effectively convinced that Solidarity was not a threat - and if he was, he was a bad one.
“It’s not that awesome. There’s only a few houses.”
“And a cool church and museum!”
“Whatever.” Scott turned and started walking away. “I’m busy. Go back home.”
“Wait!” Solidarity called. Scott heard the other’s footsteps as he ran after him.
“What?” Scott asked in a dull tone.
“I wanna help you!”
“Not a chance.” Scott laughed. “You were rejected from the League. What makes you think you could help me?”
“I’m really good!” Solidarity insisted. “I’m not as powerful as Li- some of the other Superheros, but I’m not useless.”
“Debatable.”
“Listen-” Solidarity grabbed Scott’s forearm and Scott reacted out of instinct. He spun around and shoved, sending the other man flying back. Solidarity hit a wall with an audible thud. Scott was worried for a second that he’d hurt him, but Solidarity just winced and stared up at Scott with wide eyes.
“Do not touch me.” He growled. “You’re not a Superhero, so you are of no use to me. Go away.”
Solidarity’s eyes hardened. “No.”
Scott inhaled and resisted the urge to pinch the bridge of his nose.
“Then you leave me no choice.”
* * * * *
“Hey! Let me go!”
“If you want to behave like a child, you will be treated like a child.” Scott said.
He tightened his grip on the back of Solidarity’s supersuit (it was more of a costume, really) as he dragged him back to Spawn.
“Close your eyes.” Scott ordered as they drew nearer to the secret Superhero base.
“What? Why?”
“Just do it.”
Solidarity looked like he was about to protest, but Scott raised an icy hand. The other man grumbled but shut his eyes. If only Scott could get him to shut his mouth, too.
Scott continued down to the entrance and put in his code. He kept an eye on Solidarity to make sure the other did not open his eyes. The door opened slowly. Scott checked to make sure no one was around, then he pulled Solidarity inside. The door shut behind them.
“You can open your eyes.” Scott said. He continued to walk down the long hallways towards the main space.
“Is this Spawn?” Jimmy asked, awe in his tone.
Scott slowed to a stop and looked down at the man. Only official members of the League should know Spawn even existed.
“Where did you hear that word?” Scott asked, suspicious.
“I-”
“Jimmy!”
Both flinched and looked up as a familiar woman with bright pink hair came running down the hall. She pulled Solidarity out of Scott’s grip and shook him.
“What are you doing here?! And why are you wearing those ridiculous clothes?!”
“I’m just trying to help!” Solidarity said, nearly whining.
“I’ve told you before, you’re not supposed to be out and about!”
“But Li-”
The woman, fellow Superhero and friend of Scott, Lizzie - known to the public as Shadowlady - cut him off with a glare.
“So,” Scott drawled. “What’s going on here?”
“What’s going on is that my brother thinks he’s meant to be out acting like a Superhero when he should be at home in bed.” Lizzie hissed, glaring at Solidarity.
Scott raised a brow. “Brother?”
Lizzie hadn’t mentioned a brother before, which seemed odd to Scott since she hadn’t been hesitant to share about her life with him before.
Scott was a Solo-Super, he worked alone, but on the rare occasions the Council decided to team him up with another Super, he was often paired with Lizzie. She was one of the few Supers he could stand to work with (or be around for extended periods of time). He would even consider Lizzie a friend.
“Yes, my brother.” Lizzie growled. “Though I might not have one for long if he keeps acting this stupidly.”
“I can help!” Solidarity protested. “You’re the one who thinks I can’t!”
“Because your powers aren't strong enough!”
“You would see that they are if you let me try!”
“The Council decided that you were not meant to be part of the League-”
“No!” Solidarity interrupted with bite. “You and Riffs and Beans decided I wasn’t meant to be part of the League and you told the Council so! You sabotaged my application!”
Lizzie’s mouth pulled into a tight line at that. She took a half-step away from Solidarity and crossed her arms.
“How did you know that?” She asked, her voice quiet and resigned.
Solidarity seemed to lose his steam after. He shoved his hands into his pockets and shifted from one foot to the next.
“I heard you talking about it to Riffs.” He said. “Why would you guys do that to me?”
“Don’t be upset with them, it was completely my fault.” Lizzie said.
Solidarity looked away, his eyes filled with hurt. “Do you just think I’m useless?”
“No, of course not.” Lizzie sighed. She glanced over at Scott, her gaze calculating. “Look, can we talk about this later? Maybe, when there’s not other Supers around?”
“Whatever.” Solidarity mumbled.
Lizzie pursed her lips. “Wait here for me, I’ll take you home. I’ve got to finish up my report from tonight, but it shouldn’t take long.”
Solidarity just shrugged.
Lizzie shifted her weight, then she nodded at Scott.
“Smajor, care to join me?” She asked.
“Of course.” Scott answered. He followed after Lizzie, but not before catching one last glance at Solidarity.
The other man was slouching against the wall and looking very much like an abandoned puppy.
Scott shook his head and continued towards the offices.
“I’d appreciate it if you didn’t mention Solidarity’s name to anyone.” Lizzie said quietly.
“I wouldn’t think of it.” Scott promised.
It was custom for Superheroes not to reveal their citizen names to other Supers, to protect themselves and each other, unless they were very close. Scott knew Lizzie’s name, and a few of the other Supers’, and they knew his. Scott also now knew Solidarity’s real name, but he was truthful with Lizzie. He wouldn’t be telling anyone Solidarity’s name.
“I feel like I owe you an explanation.” Lizzie said.
“Only if you’d like. I’m curious, but I won’t press you for answers.”
Lizzie shook her head. “I’ll tell you, just come with me.”
Scott entered her office and took a seat as she closed the door behind them and went around to sit at her desk. She let out a long breath and rubbed at her eyes.
“Sorry for making a scene in front of you.” She apologized. “I’m not the most rational when it comes to Jimmy.”
“That’s understandable.” Scott said.
“I panicked when I saw him there with you. I hadn’t thought he was still out, pretending to be a Superhero. I guess it was silly of me to assume he’d give it up after being rejected from the League.”
“Did you…” Scott paused, unsure how to phrase his question. He didn’t want to offend his friend.
“Did I sabotage my brother’s application?” Lizzie asked with a dry laugh. “Yes, yes I did. I felt a lot of guilt over it, though. That’s what I was talking to Riffs about, how guilty I was.”
“Why would you do that?” Scott asked, genuinely curious. He didn’t think Lizzie was a liar or anything. Her husband Joel - also known as Beans, for whatever reason - was definitely unhinged, but lying to the Council was out of character for him as well. Riffs was the Head of the Council, and his involvement was the most shocking to Scott.
“Jimmy is my little brother and he’s sweet and well-meaning, but he’s a bit of a bad luck charm.” Lizzie said. “He’s always getting hurt or somehow finding trouble. He’s not the most in touch with his powers, either. Riffs knew this, and he presented his findings honestly to the Council. This alone probably would not have led to his rejection, because there’s so many programs to help adjust Supers like Jimmy, but Joel and I decided to over-exaggerate our recommendations. We said he was untrustworthy and self-serving, amongst other unkind things. We lied and they believed us, and Jimmy was rejected from the League.”
Scott stayed quiet at he processed the information. He didn’t want to judge too quickly, not when Lizzie looked torn up and on the verge of tears, but he couldn’t help but feel offended on Jimmy’s behalf.
Lizzie must have seen this in his expression.
“I know, I know it’s horrible. But he’s the last of my family and my little brother, I can’t see him hurt, Scott. And, knowing Jimmy, it would only be a matter of time before he took on the wrong villain and…”
Lizzie shook her head and slumped back in her chair.
“I just want to protect him.” She whispered.
Scott ached with sympathy, and perhaps that is what made him lose his reasoning.
“Well, I could always mentor him.”
Lizzie straightened, looking as shocked by the offer as Scott felt.
“You would?” She asked.
Scott swallowed. He was such an idiot. He hated working with people and hadn’t started off on the right foot with Jimmy, so why would he offer something like this? It was too late to go back on it.
“I would.” Scott said. Mentorships were required for all new Superheros and were meant to be between two Supers that hadn’t known each other already in order to prevent any sort of bias and to help keep the participants from acting out of emotion, which is why Scott assumed neither Lizzie nor Joel would be able to mentor Jimmy. Riffs probably could have overridden the rule since he was the Head of the Council and known for his calm and professional demeanor, but he didn’t do field work unless the situation was dire.
Scott wasn’t sure why Lizzie hadn’t asked another member to help, but perhaps she wasn’t as close with them.
“Scott, you’ve no idea what your offer means to me.” Lizzie said earnestly.
“It’s nothing.” Scott shrugged, a bit uncomfortable with how intensely Lizzie’s mood had changed.
“It’s not nothing.” Lizzie said with a shake of her head. “You don’t understand. This has been Jimmy’s dream since he was a child. He was crushed when he was rejected from the League. You’re one of the best Supers I know, if anyone can keep Jimmy out of trouble it’d be you.”
Scott bit his lip. “I’m not sure that’s true. Exor has been causing me a lot of trouble recently.”
“I’m sure he’s still loads safer with you than on his own.” Lizzie said, waving a hand. She stood abruptly and moved around the desk. “I’m going to go talk to the Council right now and try to clear things up. You might not see me for a bit if I get myself suspended for tanking his application, but it doesn’t matter. Thank you so much.”
Lizzie left before Scott could reply.
“No problem.” He said to an empty room.
What had he gotten himself into?