Work Text:
The duality of life as a hero and life as a teenager was difficult to manage, especially for a guy like William Wisp. He wasn’t exactly the type of person to walk around with an entourage of friends, and he surely wasn’t the type of person who would be able to take a sizable hit in battle. But despite all the chaos that came with being superheroes in a world like Prime, he and the rest of the Defenders wanted to have fun. They were still kids, after all. So they decided to be just that. Ashe had gone online and found a nearby arcade where they could hang out, and they managed to convince a begrudging Mark and a concerned Tide to let them go, if only for an hour or two.
That's how William ended up here, standing in front of the Ridge Arcade in downtown Rockfall. He wore his signature black hoodie, with which he used to hide a few lone wisps that he still couldn’t control just yet. The others had likely been inside already for ten to twenty minutes, as he had arrived later than they had agreed. It was mostly due to the fact that William was actually considering not coming at all. He didn’t bode too well with large crowds. It’s not that he disliked the people–it was easy enough for someone like him to go unnoticed–what he didn’t enjoy was the sensation of being walked through continuously like a ghost. He only caved when Vincent made it clear he had learned to use his Prime watch–for texting at the very least–leaving William with a barrage of messages asking where he was.
He forced himself to push open one of the double doors, nearly bumping into someone who he thought maybe went to his school, though he wasn’t sure. Thankfully, she didn’t take much notice of him. Perks of being invisible, he supposed. In the figurative sense, anyway. As he stepped inside, the visuals were a bit overwhelming. The floor was mostly carpeted, with colorful and intricate swirling designs, except for an area he could hardly make out, which was nicely polished wood. There were plenty of large arcade machines with bright screens and blinding neon lights, not to mention the place was packed with people. There was enough noise to make the party he, Dakota and Vyncent had held at the old base sound pathetic; the chattering of crowds of chaotic teenagers, the distant music and game sound effects, the clacking of the air hockey machine. The clacking of the air hockey machine.
Oh. William thought as he spotted Vyncent and Dakota across the room. His tall, purple-haired friend and his loud, red-haired friend stood out like sore thumbs. It certainly made them easier to find, that was for sure. He didn’t see Ashe at that moment, but was sure he was close by as well.
William began to approach the two of them, but stopped as something–or better yet, someone –caught his attention. He noticed a person who was maybe an inch or two taller than himself, and likely not much older than he was. From what he could tell in the dimly lit space, they had blonde hair with a few silver streaks running through it, and some steampunk-esque goggles that sat atop their head. They wore a white lab coat over a brown vest and a plain button-up shirt, and they held up their pants with an intricate-looking utility belt, brimming with any tool anyone could ever need. All of their clothing seemed as if it hadn't been washed in a good while.
But the most eye-catching part of it all didn’t even have to do with their strange choice of arcade wear. No, what made William stop was their ears. They were long and pointed at the end–very much like someone else he knew–the only difference being that this person made no attempt to hide their odd, most definitely inhuman features, which most supers–heroes and villains alike–knew to do when off the job. They were standing off to the side, fidgeting and leaning over to look through the crowds with wide eyes, seemingly lost. Part of William wanted to ignore them and keep walking, but curiosity got the better of him.
“Hey-” William began, lightly tapping the person on the shoulder. He seemed to startle them as they flinched and let out a small “Oh!”, which he half expected, considering they were in a place where it was fairly easy to sneak up on someone, accidentally or otherwise.
“Are you okay over here?” He asked, in a calmer, more hushed tone this time. “Uh, yeah,” They nodded, a little flustered. “Sorry about that.” William didn’t feel like it was a very good idea to just point out the person’s nervous demeanor, so he simply asked, “What's.. your name?”. He was definitely a little less confident than he was initially. Social interaction was not his strong suit.
They were silent for a moment. “Alastyr.” They said, straightening up a bit. “My name is Alastyr Cross. It’s nice to meet you!” They reached out to shake his hand and he accepted.
“You can call me William.” He replied. There was another beat of silence that followed. As silent as a bustling arcade could be, anyways.
“So, are you waiting on some of your friends or something?” He asked as nonchalantly as possible. He saw Alastyr nod almost instantly. It was absent-minded and small, like he was only really acknowledging the question rather than considering it, but William saw it all the same. “Something like that.” They finally mumbled. As if reminded of their goal, they began glancing around again. There was definitely something off about this person.
“Are you?” They turned to William, pulling him out of his thoughts. “Am I..?” It took a few moments to click in his mind. “Oh! Nah, more like they’re waiting for me . I kind of showed up a little late. They’re somewhere over there,” He pointed his thumb in their general direction, turning to see if they were still there. Sure enough, there they were at the air hockey table. He was shocked that Dakota was even allowed to use one of those, judging by the force of each of his hits. Vyncent had good reaction time though, so it seemed to make for a good battle. He noticed Ashe leaning onto the back of some machine nearby, drinking from a cup he was holding.
“Hey, if you want, we could go talk to them, and maybe my friends and I could help you look for yours?” William blurted out. He wasn’t sure how to leave the conversation without making the strange lab guy feel like a nuisance. Not to mention, helping people was kind of their whole job. Well, it was more like an unpaid internship, but who was keeping track anyways? Alastyr seemed to consider this. They shifted from one foot to the other and began to fidget their hands again. As they looked around at the arcade, though, something in their eyes seemed to spark. Something adventurous. They nodded once more, a big smile spreading across their face. “Sure!” They seemed pretty enthusiastic to meet the others, turning the vibe of the situation on its head. It was as if the conversation from just a minute ago had never happened.
William shrugged. At least his invite seemed to shake off their nerves. “Let’s go then.” He turned to start leading his new acquaintance to the rest of the Defenders, attempting to strike up a little bit of small talk as he did.
“Dakota and Vyn are a little chaotic, but I promise, they’re pretty cool. I haven’t known Ashe for too long, but I’d say he’s a pretty fun guy as well!” He said, holding two thumbs up for no one in particular. He looked over his shoulder to check if Alastyr was still following and they were certainly not.
They had stopped to stare into one of the massive crane machines with various balls and plushies and pillows for a handful of the more popular sports teams, their focus on William completely lost. William slowly walked back over to them, leaning in to see what had caught their interest. It seemed like a pretty average game to him. The only thing of notice was a weird golden ball with no particular logo or team on it. It wasn’t exactly ball-shaped either. More like an egg. It was likely a collectors item or something. Weird to have in an arcade of all places, but William wasn’t much of a sports guy anyways.
He turned to Alastyr. “You okay, dude?” They seemed to think for a moment. Finally, he replied, "Uh, yeah. I think I saw my friend over there." He pointed in the direction of one of the crowds. William glanced back over towards the rest of his friends for a moment, then over to Alastyr again. "Okay, then should we just-"
But Alastyr was just gone.
What a weird guy.