Chapter Text
Ezra knew a few things for certain.
1. Always visit the downtown market on Tuesdays for free ice cream.
2. Steal everything you need.
3. Never ever get in the way of the heroes or villains.
So far, in his fifteen years of life, he’d gotten pretty good at them. Well, the last two at least. He’d missed the free ice cream last Tuesday. But the other two, Ezra would say he was an expert at. However, that was about to change.
It was a bright and beautiful Wednesday morning and Ezra was out to buy groceries. Well, steal groceries. The details didn't matter. He weaved through the crowds relatively unnoticed. A shabby teenager didn’t catch much attention anyways. He never stole in broad daylight, that was a recipe for trouble. But he was out of bread and he had forgotten to go out last night. Normally, this wouldn't have been a problem, but Ezra had a thing about unfamiliar foods. He knew exactly what was in the foods he normally ate, how they’d taste and what texture they would be. Most of those meals involved bread, which probably wasn't too healthy. His neighbor, who had quickly become a mentor to him, constantly scolded him for his poor food choices. But after a few months of Ezra’s stubborn nature, she had given up.
Ezra dipped out of the crowded sidewalk and into the nearest alleyway. He put up his hood and took a deep breath. Excitement pumped through his veins, the way it always did before he stole something. Something about the risk of it all made Ezra giddy. Stealing was necessary for him to survive, so why shouldn’t he have fun doing it?
Ezra climbed onto the dumpster and used it to boost himself up the wall, gripping onto loose bricks. He scrambled up and onto the roof without a lot of trouble, he had done this numerous times before. Ezra perched on the roof, overlooking the city below him. But there was something he didn't expect to see, a flash of bright colors below. Ezra narrowed his eyes, trying to make out the source, then his eyes widened. The source was a woman in colorful techwear, a visor covered her eyes and a bit of purple hair stuck out the back. Ezra recognized her, who wouldn’t have?
Vinci.
Vinci was once a superhero, now she was one of the most feared supervillains in Lothal City. Her and her team, The Spectres, had been locked in a battle against the Imperial Hero Corporation for years, long before Ezra was even on the streets. He had seen her on the news countless times, but never in real life. Ezra’s breath caught in this throat. What were the Spectres doing out in broad daylight? Normally they commenced their attacks under the cover of darkness. Then again, so did Ezra. Plus, who knows if it was the whole team? Maybe Vinci was just out looking for trouble. Trouble Ezra hoped to avoid. This had gotten more complex. He was going to get his bread and go home.
Right before Ezra turned to leave, he saw another person who he had hoped not to see. He knew from his dark trench coat and green blindfold. Heimdall. Another villain Ezra did not want to mess with. He had heard too many stories of Heimdall’s foresight predicting whole battles before they even happened. Rumor said he could look inside your mind and see your darkest fear. Ezra preferred not to have his mind read by a supervillain, thank you.
It was way too complex now. Ezra reached into his backpack and pulled out his grappling hook. He threw it up and it hooked on a pipe on the building across the street.
“Okay, Ezra.” He gave himself a short and quiet pep talk. “Get the bread and get out.”
Ezra gave himself a running start and swung across the street, landing on the opposite roof. He pressed the button on the grappling hook and it retracted into itself. On the roof of the supermarket was the cooling system. With little work, Ezra popped open the vent. He took a deep breath and hopped inside.
Crawling through the vents was a normal occurrence for Ezra. He was quite small for his age, so usually he didn't have a problem fitting in them. And with his grappling hooks, Ezra found that the vents were really convenient for thievery. Ezra turned the corner, coming across the vent cover he was looking for. Unscrewing a few convenient screws, Ezra popped it open. He pulled his mini grappling hook from his bag and lowered it into the store. He pursed his lips as he focused. Ezra managed to hook the bread and grinned. He pulled it up and into the vent, patting it as it safely made it into his hands. Ezra grabbed his screwdriver to close up the vent but then he stopped. A tall and burly man had walked into the bread aisle, his watch glimmered in the light. Ezra’s eyes widened. That thing probably would be worth enough to pay his rent for at least a few months.
“No, no.” Ezra silently scolded himself. “You swore that you wouldn’t do stupid shit like this again. Leave it be.”
But Ezra found that he was unable to take his eyes off the shiny watch. Like a moth to a flame. Ezra bit his lip and forced himself to turn his eyes away, but he couldn’t move his hand to refasten the vent cover in place. Ezra sighed in defeat.
“Okay, fine.” Ezra conceded. “But this is the last time!”
Ezra put his backpack on and dropped into the aisle adjacent to the one with the watch. He brushed himself off and walked to the edge of the aisle. He peeked around. The man hadn’t moved, almost like he was waiting for something or someone. Ezra wasn’t too concerned about the man’s business, he was about to become his business.
Ezra stuck his hands in his pockets and turned down the aisle. The man was looking the other way, it was perfect. Ezra pretended not to know where he was going and slammed directly into the man, slipping the watch off his wrist in the confusion. The man turned to him with an angry glare and Ezra quickly slipped his hand back into his pocket.
“Hey! Watch where the hell you’re going!” The man growled.
Ezra raised his hands in an apologetic gesture. “I’m sorry, so sorry. I was just distracted. It won't happen again.”
The man huffed. “Yeah. It better not. Get lost, kid.”
Ezra happily obliged, speed-walking down the aisle and turning back to where he dropped down. Once he was around the corner, he pulled the watch out of his pocket and examined it. It was definitely valuable. A luxury watch with modifications. Ezra wasn’t quite sure what all the buttons did. He would have to tinker with it to find out before he could sell it. Vizago wouldn’t buy it if he had no idea what it did. Ezra had to stop himself from bouncing with excitement. A new project!
Ezra’s giddy thoughts were interrupted by a loud and angry yell from the next aisle over. Shit.
“My watch!” The loud voice yelled. “That punk took my watch!”
Double shit.
Ezra stuffed the watch into his pocket and scrambled up the shelves. Unfortunately, the watch owner saw him. He pointed at Ezra with a rage filled look.
“You!” He yelled. “Give me my fucking watch back!”
Triple shit.
Without wasting a second, Ezra leaped back into the opened vent. He screwed it shut in record time and crawled through the vents even faster. He popped up onto the roof and took off running. Ezra lept from rooftop to rooftop, ignoring the series of angry growls behind him. He looked over his shoulder briefly.What was up with this guy?
Ezra turned back around and his eyes widened. He dug his heels into the ground and skidded to a halt. Before him stood one of the people he did not want to meet. Her entire body was engulfed in flames, with large burning wings protruding from her back. Phoenix.
“I believe you have something that belongs to my friend, young man.” The supervillain said, extending a hand. Ezra took a step back as flames licked at her hand but did not burn her up.
“Well, it belongs to me now.” Ezra replied with a harsh tone. He refused to let go of it, especially now that he knew that the Spectres were interested in it. Its value just skyrocketed. “Tell your friend that he can not-so-kindly fuck off.”
Phoenix crossed her arms and chuckled softly. “You can tell him yourself.”
A loud crash behind Ezra sent him in anxiety mode. He slowly turned to see a purple bear climbing up the roof, making a lot of clatter. Shit. That had to be Lycan. Had he just stolen from Lycan? Oh shit. Ezra’s anxiety skyrocketed. The bear transformed into the burly man, the watch owner. He smoothed back his purple hair and scowled at Ezra. He gulped.
As Lycan reached out to snatch the watch from Ezra’s hands, his anger got the best of him. He sidestepped Lycan’s reach, causing the villain to growl in anger. Ezra gripped the watch tightly in his hands.
“Give me it back, you punk!” Lycan growled.
“Hey!” A voice called from below, Vinci flew up to the roof with her jetpack. She dropped Heimdall down onto the roof after her. “There's a punk right here, asshole!”
“I wasn’t talking to you, Vinci!” Lycan snapped, but he didn’t seem as angry with her as he was with Ezra. Vinci just rolled her eyes, unbothered.
Phoenix stepped forward, but Heimdall put a hand on her shoulder, shaking his head. The two exchanged a silent conversation with a glance.
“Lycan, Vinci.” Phoenix called out to the other two, her voice was hard with authority. “Do a perimeter sweep, finish the mission. Chop will meet you at the rendezvous.”
“And what are you going to do?” Lycan asked, shooting another angry glare at Ezra.
“That’s an order, Lycan.” Heimdall said, his voice was gruff but it held a softness that Ezra hadn’t expected.
Lycan shot one last glare at Ezra before turning away and motioning to Vinci. Lycan transformed into an eagle, and the two took off into the sky. Ezra was left alone with the other two villains. He gripped the strap of his backpack and scowled at them.
“Why did you send them away?” He asked with bitterness in his voice. “Did you just want to kill me yourselves?”
Heimdall took a step forward, to which Ezra took three steps back. Heimdall raised his hands.
“We’re not here to hurt you, kid.” He said, his voice held a genuine tone that made it hard to not believe him. But Ezra knew what these two were capable of, he’d seen Phoenix destroy entire buildings and he’d heard stories of Heimdall’s power to bend any mind to his will. Why were they being so kind to him? It didn’t make sense to Ezra, none of it did.
“Love.” Phoenix whispered, taking a step forwards and placing her hand on Heimdall’s shoulder. She glanced from him to Ezra. “He’s scared.”
“I’m not scared of anything!” Ezra spit, trying to hide the mass amounts of anxiety that was being pumped through his veins. He couldn’t let them get the upper hand. “Listen, I don’t know what you all want from me, or why this watch is so important, but I stole it fair and square! So, that makes it mine now.”
“No.” Heimdall extended a hand for the watch. “It makes you a thief. It’s not your watch just because it’s in your possession. Didn’t your parents teach you that?”
Ezra crossed his arms and avoided looking at Heimdall. Ezra clenched his fists, the metal of the watch digging into his palm. How dare this villain talk about his parents, they didn’t know shit about him or his past. He heard Heimdall sigh.
“I don’t know anything about you, kid.” He said quietly, but it still held an air of firm authority. “But I do know that watch belongs to my friend. So, please, kindly return it.”
Ezra unclenched his fist and looked down at the watch. He couldn’t help but feel an obligation to keep it. Maybe with the money he could help his neighbor, Ahsoka. She was always so kind to him, giving him food, secretly paying his rent, pretending not to notice when some of her baked goods went missing. Ezra just wanted to do something for her in return. But there was something about the sympathetic look Phoenix was giving him and the kindness of Heimdall’s demeanor made him want to trust them. So, he decided to be honest. He clenched his fist about the watch and looked up at them.
“I can’t.” Ezra replied, anxiety rising in his voice. “I need the money to help a friend.”
“Not yourself?” Phoenix asked, seeming surprised by his answer. Ezra shook his head.
“I can steal to survive just fine.” Ezra explained, determination rising in him. “But I have a friend, she’s always helped me out for as long as I’ve known her. I want to repay her.”
“Then let us help you.” Heimdall placed a hand on Ezra’s shoulder. “We can pay you for the watch.”
Ezra blinked. Pay him? The people he stole from were going to pay him to return what he stole? No, it had to be a trick. But something in Ezra knew it wasn’t, an instinct. So, against his better judgement, Ezra nodded.
“Okay, how much is it worth?” Ezra asked. He flipped the watch over in his palm, examining it. “It seems like it’s heavily modified. It has a button here... Is this a communicator?”
“You’re very perceptive.” Heimdall noted. Was that pride in his voice? “Yes, that is one of our communicators.”
“Then, this thing is one of a kind!” Ezra exclaimed, in awe of the invention before him. He had never seen one this compact before, how was this even possible? He fiddled with the buttons and controls, trying to understand how it worked.
“It’s Vinci’s design,” Phoenix explained as she pointed to one of the buttons. Ezra almost jumped back as her flaming finger got close to his hand, but as Ezra’s hand passed through her flame, he didn’t burn. Hell, not only that, but his skin tingled with a comforting warmth. He stared down at his hand then back up at her.
“How–” Ezra asked, voice full of awe. Phoenix chuckled in response.
“Not all fire destroys,” She explained, reaching out her hand. Ezra tentatively took it, the tingly warm feeling returned. ”Some heals and creates.”
“I…” Ezra released her hand, genuine surprise evident in his expression. “I didn’t know you could do that.”
“That’s not surprising.” Phoenix said with an exasperated sigh. “The Imperial Hero Corp wants to make us out to be as villainous as possible. Of course they would only show my ability to destroy!”
Heimdall placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. The two had another silent exchange and were really making Ezra feel like a third-wheel. He looked down and kept fiddling with the watch, enamored by its design. He knew Vinci was master at her craft, but this was the first time he had seen one of her designs, and so close! Ezra was determined to figure out how it worked. He fidgeted with a dial and a hologram screen popped out of the watch face. Ezra let out a small yell from surprise.
“Shit!” He exclaimed, then calmed as he examined the screen. “Wait, those are the blueprints to the Communications Tower… Are you guys planning a strike there?”
Heimdall took the watch out of Ezra’s hands and closed the screen. His lips twisted into a frown. Shit. He was spot on for sure. Ezra raised his hands in surrender.
“I won’t tell anyone!” He exclaimed, trying to be as genuine as possible. “I hate the Imps more than anyone. Whatever you’re planning, I hope it works out.”
Heimdall sighed and passed the watch to Phoenix. “Get this back to Lycan.”
“And you?”
“I want to have a chat with Ezra.”
Phoenix placed her hand on his shoulder and the two pressed their foreheads together. They were having a silent conversation again, and it was starting to make Ezra annoyed. But his irritation vanished as Phoenix flew away in the direction Lycan and Vinci had disappeared to. Heimdall sat down on the roof, crossing his legs. Ezra felt awkward standing, so he followed suit. After a few long moments of silence, Ezra cleared his throat.
“Listen, man.” Ezra said, trying not to sound as awkward as he felt. “This has been great and all, but I need to get home–”
“You could have turned us in a long time ago.” Heimdall interrupted, sounding as calm as ever. “I know you were watching us before you even entered that supermarket. So, why didn’t you call the authorities?”
Ezra scoffed. “The authorities? Really, dude? I don’t know if you can tell, but I really hate the so-called ‘heroes’.”
“Why so?” Heimdall asked. Ezra couldn't understand how he could be so calm all the time. But, Ezra hesitated. Did he want to tell one of the most wanted people in Lothal City his past? Did he have a choice? He knew that if Heimdall really wanted to know, he could just pry into Ezra’s brain. Why was the villain even asking him? He could find out without Ezra needing to say a word.
“I don’t want to violate your boundaries by looking into your mind.” Heimdall replied suddenly, shaking Ezra out of his thoughts.
“Isn’t that what you just did?”
“Those were your surface thoughts.” Heimdall explained, sensing Ezra’s confusion. “The mind has layers. Memories are one of the deepest levels, to pry into someone’s memories is violating. Which is why I try to avoid doing it.”
“Oh…” Ezra trailed off, his confusion was only growing. “Why are you so kind, man? You’re supposed to be a villain. I don’t understand.”
“We are labeled as villains because we stand up against the Imperial Heroes.” Heimdall explained, not even angry at Ezra calling him a villain. It almost annoyed Ezra how calm he was. But he couldn’t be angry with him, he was just like his parents.
“I understand that.” Ezra sighed and curled his legs into his chest. “My parents…”
Heimdall didn’t press, but he didn’t need to. It was obvious what happened. Heimdall reached out, placing a comforting hand on Ezra’s knee.
“I’m sorry, kid.” Heimdall said. He sounded genuine. That wasn’t something Ezra was used to. People weren’t genuine, there was always an ulterior motive to their actions. People were always sympathetic when he said he had lost his parents. But the moment they found out how his parents had died, the fact that they were vigilantes who fought against the heroes, that sympathy died. He’d got every excuse in the book. That, maybe, if they followed the rules they would still be alive.
Once, a hero sympathizer told him that his parent’s deaths were ‘good riddance’ and he hoped Ezra wasn’t like them. If he was, he might as well meet their fate. That was the one time Ezra had ever lashed out and used his powers on another human being. He refused to do it again, as much as he loved seeing the man’s instant regret.
“Ezra.” He murmured, surprising himself and Heimdall. “My name is Ezra.”
“Well, Ezra,” Heimdall squeezed his shoulder, voice kind and comforting. “You’re a brave kid. I’m sorry you’re doing this on your own. If you ever need anything, anything at all, don’t hesitate to contact us.”
Ezra nodded and opened his mouth to respond, but the sound of police sirens below interrupted him. Heimdall stood and glanced over the roof.
“Well, I guess that’s my cue.” Heimdall turned to leave but paused and reached into his pocket. He pulled out a roll of cash and tossed it to Ezra. “Is that enough for the watch?”
Ezra’s eyes went wide at the amount of money he had just been handed. He glanced from it to Heimdall over and over again.
“Are you serious?” He asked, in complete shock. “You can’t be. This is…”
Heimdall chuckled. “You deserve it kid. Put it to good use.”
He stepped up to the edge of the roof and saluted at Ezra with two fingers. Then, he fell off the roof. Ezra had to admit he made a good dramatic exit. But his mind was still focused on the amount of cash in his hands. He hadn’t seen this much money in his life. Ezra eventually stood and stuck the money into the pocket of his backpack. He jumped from roof to roof, heading home.
His apartment wasn’t far from here. It left much to be desired, but it was home. He was lucky to find it, especially for as cheap as he got it. It also helped that Ezra was very persuasive and was able to haggle the price down with the landlord. He still wasn’t sure how he pulled that one off.
Ezra slid down the fire escape ladder and hopped into his open window, landing on his sofa. He sighed and closed his eyes for a moment before he realized he was laying on his bread. Ezra quickly unzipped his backpack and pulled the bread out, it was only a little squished. He also pulled out the money, still in shock over the whole interaction. He flipped his tiny TV on, wondering if the Spectres had made it onto the news.
The news started playing, and Ezra found himself surprised and confused by the title. Teenager assists feared supervillains: The Spectres. He listened intently as the news anchor began to speak.
“This just in: The Spectres, led by Phoenix, attacked a factory this afternoon. No casualties, but there is mass property damage. But, the most surprising turn of events, Heimdall was not with the group during the attack. A witness spotted him on the roof with what looks like a young teenager. This video clip shows the villains tossing something to the kid. It appears to be a roll of cash! This kid is still unidentified, but if anyone has any information, Head Hero Koios is urging you to call it in. We will update as this story unfolds.”
Ezra froze, dropping the roll of cash to the ground. His mind raced as the new station went to commercial break. There were so many things that were running through his mind, but Ezra knew one thing for sure.
This was not good.