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As the S-Tier’s fist stood hovering just before the D-Tier’s nose, and the silence stretched beyond the realm of comfort, each of the villains grappled with a different aspect of the situation they found themselves in. As Alex’s brain scrambled to grab hold of what in tarnation had just happened, Morgan was employing every single ounce of control they had not to scream. As Alex tried to absorb the fact that the only person they ever loved had summoned them from the only place that could imprison the greatest villain of all time, Morgan was coming up with a valid reason why they had summoned the person they had run away from and subsequently avoided for almost a decade. As Alex’s fist came slowly down to rest at their side, an automatic apology forming in their lips, Morgan stepped away and slumped down on their couch, looking unbothered at their TV, and spoke first.
“That’ll fuck the heroes up for a good long while”, they say, as if commenting on the weather. “They’ll probably figure the Eternity Area can’t hold an S-Tier.” Morgan puts their feet up on the couch, and sinks comfortably onto the back cushions. “There’s water in the kitchen if you need it, otherwise there’s the front door”, they state, pointing with the remote to the hallway.
Alex remains stunned for a second, only to suddenly realize they are still butt naked due to Morgan’s power’s limitation with non-biological matter. They snap their closes back onto themself from the Eternity Area. Despite their powers, a glass of water feels like exactly what they need, so they make the familiar trip to Morgan’s kitchen.
As Alex moves away, Morgan has to remind themself that taking a deep breath in the presence of someone with super hearing is not a subtle action. They hear water pouring and the noises of clinking glass. They hope to hear their front door next, but the sound never comes. Morgan gets up and finds their ex-partner standing inhumanly still in their kitchen, staring ahead, holding an empty glass.
They look different , Morgan thinks, shrugging the idea off their brain almost as soon as it forms. It’s none of their business.
“I reckon you’re entitled to some questions, given the… unexpected and sudden nature of our current position?” Morgan offers.
Alex looks at the glass they're holding and moves slowly to place it back on the countertop.
“Why?”
“Wanted to fuck with the heroes”, they shrug. “Didn’t think it’d actually work, if I’m honest.”
“How did you know?”
“The news.”
Alex nods almost imperceptibly. “Thank-”
“No.”
Alex looks up for the first time, meeting Morgan’s gaze.
They look mad , the S-Tier thinks. It’s not the look that haunted them for the past 7 years, but it’s the same brand. They recognize the same fire behind it. The same walls rise again on that face. Protection. On the face of the only person in this world - aside from their parents - that doesn’t need to ever be afraid.
“I’m sor-”
“No, none of that, either”, Morgan cuts them off. “If you don’t have any other questions, you can leave.”
The snap’s echo lingers in the empty kitchen. The drops of water run down the empty glass left on the counter. The D-Tier finally releases the breath they were holding, as a phantom pain settles in the emptiness of their chest, reminding them of better days, and worser days, of yellow cat-like eyes, and warm cups of coffee in the morning, of crossed boundaries, and broken trust.
==
There’s always a rippling sound that happens after teleportation. It’s usually inaudible to humans, unless of course they have super hearing. The sudden materialization causes the atoms to shift around to make room at the destination, as much as the dematerialization causes a small vacuum that suddenly sucks the atoms around it until it reaches equilibrium again. Alex knows these sounds well, even relying on them to pinpoint enemies on occasion. They know a lot of sounds that the silence makes, and they find it reassuring that their home planet is never quiet. Except today.
Today, the noise of silence is deafening. Earth is unbearable. Humanity is deplorable. So, Alex goes to outer space, far away from the Solar System, away from the liquid lights of the Milky Way. And they scream. It’s deep and light simultaneously. It’s old like the mountains are old, new like electrons through copper cables. It’s visceral, they feel rippling through their throat. It’s synthetic, they see it manifesting static between the electrons. It goes on for so long it may never end. It ends so abruptly and completely, no one will ever know it existed. And Alex is tired and enraged and sick to their stomach.
They would destroy Earth. They really would. If only they could bring themself to erase the images of curly hair and green eyes, of late sleepless nights spent teleporting cups of coffee and threatening forced sleep, of evenings spent losing videogames, sprawled on an old couch, catching the sunlight on their stretched body.
Alex dematerializes among the stars, feeling the emptiness of space, counting the heavy elements melting in the cores of creation, floating among the gasses, combusting whenever they get the chance. They transform their matter in pressure and chemical reactions like an S-Tier level deep-tissue massage.
It hardly matters how much time passes until the S-Tier reminds themself that they have a body. It’s all relative.
Their one fixed point told them to leave anyway.