Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Can you believe how fast time moves?" Mihaly asked as they were on a date with Liza. "It feels like not too long ago, Lilac was our little baby girl. And now she's seven."

"And our little boy…it feels like just yesterday I was pregnant with Timmy, and now he's five." Liza added. 

"The neighbors hardly charge anything to babysit. It's a miracle. They're so sweet." Mihaly held Liza's hand softly, and gave it a kiss. 

As the two settled down at a tiny brick cafe on the edge of town, they had no idea that today was going to go horribly wrong.

It started out with just a distant bang in the distance.

The two thought nothing of it.

It's probably just construction for a building nearby.

Then, there was another bang.

That's weird. Must just be a big truck going by. Or maybe a thunderstorm?

This was a peaceful part of Dancity. But even so, it was incredibly apparent that everyone else was beginning to worry.

"Hey, do you hear that?" Liza asked.

"Yeah…it's starting to not sound good."

Mihaly looked out the window.

There was a flash of red moving by, preceding all the explosions.

Bombs.

Amanita was blowing up the city, and by chance, they'd ended up in the crossfire.

In an instant, everyone was up from their seats in the panic.

But everyone running at once ended up slowing the others down, as the fleeing crowd blocked the exit.

Mihaly held onto Liza tightly.

I won't lose her again. We’ll get out of here somehow. 

But they were wrong. 

A deafening bang filled the area, and everything went dark. 

Wanderlust was having an ordinary day, reading a book, when Discoball rolled up to him in a panic.

"Disco? What's wrong, buddy?" Wanderlust asked.

Discoball squeaked. 

"Amanita blew up the city? Yeah, I know, she does that. It sucks. But why do you want me to get involved this time?"

A few more squeaks.

"...Mihaly? And Liza?"

They bounced up and down, affirming that Wanderlust had understood.

“Holy shit…alright little guy, let’s go kick some mushroom ass. She messed with the wrong family.”

“Name?” 

“Mihaly…”

“Last name?”

“F-Friday…have you found my wife yet?” 

“Not yet, but we’re looking, we promise.”

Mihaly was in the back of an ambulance, talking to the paramedics. 

“My phone isn’t turning on…I need to call my babysitter.” Mihaly’s phone had been shattered in the blast. They had a broken arm and several bruises, along with a cut that needed stitches. 

Despite the severity of the incident, Mihaly couldn’t stop thinking about Liza. 

“We’ll be able to make some phone calls for you once we get there. This kind of thing happens all the time.” 

“Well it shouldn’t.”

Yeah, I guess Amanita does bomb the city all the time…that’s weird. The Without Me Trio are supposed to stop her, but do they? 

Huh…I've never thought about that before.

"Have you found her yet?"

"I promise, we're in contact with the rescue team, and they're saying they're-"

"Still looking, doing everything they can, I know…sorry, that came out too harsh."

"No, you're fine. Stressful situations make people snappy sometimes, it's natural."

Mihaly was now in the hospital. 

As they laid in the bed, they turned on the TV in their room, only to see a news report that that didn't expect.

Amanita dead. Danceverses Prince Wanderlust Nova intervenes. 

Well. Guess I don’t have to worry about calling Wander.

Wait. Wanderlust just killed someone? 

Holy shit, Wanderlust just killed someone.

Not that she didn’t deserve it, but I didn’t think he had it in him. 

In just a few moments, Wanderlust portaled into their hospital room. 

“Oh my god. Mihaly, are you okay?” He asked. 

“It hurts…”

“I can heal you, hang on. Hold still.”

Wanderlust made a triangle shape with his hands. They glowed for about thirty seconds, before Mihaly’s injuries disappeared. 

“Woah. Thanks.” Mihaly was stunned. Sometimes I forget he can just do that. 

In an impeccable case of perfect timing, a doctor walked into the room at that moment. “Good news, we’ve- oh my goodness, Prince Wanderlust! How can we help you?”

“I’ve come to heal the victims of the attack. But I’d like to start with my friends, if it’s alright. Liza Marie Friday, is she here?”

“She was just brought in about two minutes ago. I’ll lead you right to her.”

“Thank you.” Wanderlust turned to Mihaly. “I’ll go take care of her, and then…it’s only fair if I help everyone else, too, so it’ll probably be a bit before I come back to visit you. But I’ll make sure to tell everyone else."

It was three hours before Mihaly and Liza reunited. 

"Bunny!" Mihaly shouted, running up to her. Wanderlust had healed them both in full, so they gave each other a large embrace.

"Mihaly…I'm so glad you're alright."

"I was so worried about you." Mihaly told her. "That Without Me Trio has some explaining to do, how could this happen? I've been watching the news, and…the number of people injured is over 200! And there's already two confirmed deaths…Wanderlust has been healing people left and right, but it was just too late by the time he got to them."

"This whole thing is a mess, but…the city's heroes did their best I'm sure of it."

"You're probably right…"

So why am I not sure of it?

Maybe because…Liza could've been one of the people that didn't make it. Either of us could've easily died, and our kids would've been absolutely destroyed. 

Well I saw on the news that the trio were going to make a statement tomorrow…I'll just try and withhold my judgment until then.

Chapter Text

Mihaly and Liza sat in front of the TV. They had been discharged from the hospital, and the death toll from the incident had climbed up to ten.

This was the big moment. The ‘Without Me’ Trio were finally going to make a statement about the casualties, and the death of Amanita. 

“Let me guess. They’re probably gonna say ‘we’re sorry we didn’t kill her ourselves’.” Mihaly remarked. 

“No, they’ll say it in a more PR-friendly way, like ‘we’re glad that Amanita is no longer on the streets hurting civilians’ or something.” Liza joked back. 

“Oooh, it’s starting, it’s starting!” 

On the TV, they could see Phone Girl walk up to a podium. Hairman and Pool Man stood behind her, looking solemn. 

“People of Dancity, I would just like to say that we are so sorry about the lives lost during this tragic incident.” Phone Girl looked nervous and withdrawn. “We never could’ve imagined that she would do something like this.”

Never could’ve imagined?? You never thought a serial bomber would serial bomb people??

“Amanita was a ruthless villain, but no other incident has had so many casualties. Dancity will take a long time to heal from this, both structurally and emotionally.”

Why did she mention the buildings that got blown up before she acknowledged the trauma here? 

“We want to pay our respects to the victim’s families. Their loved ones did not deserve to die, especially not in such a horrific manner. Their lives are gone, but they will never be forgotten.”

I’m glad she mentioned that, but that sounds like the most generic PR canned response to a tragedy I’ve ever heard. 

“We’d also like to thank Prince Wanderlust for his service in helping the victims injured. His kindness will never be forgotten, and he will forever have our respect.”

How about you thank him for taking out the villain that YOU were supposed to stop??

“Thank you very much to everyone for coming.”

“Wait, that was it?” Mihaly asked, as the trio walked offscreen. “That was dumb.”

The audience clapped, and Liza turned off the TV. 

“Gotta keep it short and simple, you know? I’m sure they’ll elaborate later.” Liza assured them. “Right now, they’re probably just preparing a bigger statement. Either that, or they could be reaching out privately to the families rather than saying it all publicly. Actually, yeah, I’m betting that’s it. I’ve heard of them doing that before.”

“I can’t believe people liked that. It was so…generic. And so much was missing.”

“This is a stressful situation for them, too. They’re in shock.”

“They’re in shock that a supervillain blew up the city?!”

“They’re shocked that ten people died under their watch. They’re probably so remorseful…”

“THEY SHOULD be!” 

“Mihaly, hey, keep it down, the kids are in bed. Don’t wake them.”

“Sorry, sorry, sorry, you’re right. Still, I just…don’t know how to feel about that.”

Many business in Dancity had shut down for a few days, just out of respect. But on Mihaly’s first day back at work, they had to take an alternate path. The area of the attacks was still considered a disaster scene and a mass casualty incident, so everything was closed off while the rescue team made extra sure there were no more bodies. 

My usual way to work got blown up, so I’m taking this way, I guess. I suppose it’s not the worst…

Just as they suspected, work went smoothly. Most people seemed to just be happy that things were going back to normal. 

But on their way back home, they encountered something strange. A small door in the ground, with a sign reading "authorized personnel only", with no other context. 

Curiously, they pulled out their phone and looked it up. According to their search, it was a storage area used by CCTV maintenance workers in the area, but it had been abandoned a year ago with everything inside. 

“Huh. Cool.”

When they got home, they tried to forget about it, but for whatever reason, it was still in their mind. 

“Wow. The Without Me Trio are so brave for coming on TV and talking about this! They must be devastated! I love them so much!” 

Mihaly scrolled through their social media, reading online comments about Phone Girl’s statement. 

“Did you SEE Hairman and Pool Man? They were too upset to even speak!”

“They did such a good job handling this.”

“They’re my heroes!” 

Heroes? They couldn’t even stop an overgrown mushroom. People are ridiculous. Mihaly thought, as they continued to scroll through. 

But there was one comment in particular that filled their heart with rage. 

“Thank you to The Without Me Trio for keeping our wonderful city safe!” 

KEEPING IT SAFE? TEN PEOPLE DIED BECAUSE THEY DIDN’T KEEP IT SAFE. HOW CAN PEOPLE STILL BE ON THEIR SIDE? THEY SHOULDN’T BE THANKED, THEY SHOULD BE APOLOGIZING FOR BEING FAILURES! THEY SHOULD APOLOGIZE FOR NOT STOPPING AMANITA SOONER! 

Where the fuck is their “we’re so sorry for not doing enough” speech? When are they going to say “Prince Wanderlust never should’ve had to interfere, and we promise we’ll do better in the future”? How about they do something meaningful like pay for the victims’ funerals instead of just TALKING? 

Has everyone in Dancity lost their minds?

Chapter Text

The days after the incident turned into weeks, and while everyone else was moving on, Mihaly’s anger only grew. 

No one was holding The Without Me Trio accountable! They’d never apologized for failing to stop Amanita before this, they’d never apologized for the lives lost during that day, and they’d never apologized for all the trauma. All those three could muster was “we’re very grateful to the emergency workers who came to the rescue” and “we promise, we’ll still be around to stop any future threats”. 

Oh, the future threats you’ll stop. Just like you stopped Amanita. Got it. 

“I’m sorry, bunny, I need a bit to clear my head. I’m going outside.” Mihaly told Liza one evening. 

“No, it’s fine…just make sure you bring an umbrella or something, it’s supposed to rain pretty bad.”

“I will.” They gave her a kiss on the head as they headed out. 

In lieu of an umbrella, Mihaly was wearing a blue hat, alongside a matching jacket with a peace sign on it. They had a lighter blue t-shirt with the letters “JD” on it, and red shorts on top of blue, ripped leggings. Putting on their dark blue rainboots - jeez, I wear a lot of blue - they stepped outside, and found it beginning to rain already. 

By the time Mihaly reached their destination, the sprinkles had turned into a full-on thunderstorm. They stood on top of a bridge, one that Sara had told them looked like a human bridge known as Golden Gate. The resemblance was purely a coincidence, of course, but Mihaly thought of it every time they visited the place. 

From there, they could see the whole city. 

It was a beautiful place. 

One that The Without Me Trio had failed miserably to protect. 

People were dead because the three of them couldn’t keep one mushroom in jail. And yet, the general public still fell at their feet, praising them for “doing their best” and “never giving up”. 

Bitch, what? 

Doing your best isn’t good enough when people DIED. And even more people ALMOST died. 

The bridge was equipped with a radio and speakers, and soon, they found themselves dancing to the upbeat but bittersweet song playing. 

微妙な空気… 空気 ( Complicated atmosphere, atmosphere)

飲み込まれそうになるから ( ‘Cause it’s like I’m being swallowed up)

Please, shut up! 

ふられちゃったワ WHY… ( Just brushed me off, why, why?)

誰にも言えない SO 1人でCRY ( Don’t have no one to talk to, so alone, I cry)

I just feel like no one gets it. How can everyone just keep praising them like this? They’re failures. 

Someone really needs to put these guys in their place. One of these days, someone’s gotta humiliate them. Someone needs to show the world who they really are.

Wait…

Why can’t I? 

No, that’s crazy! I can’t do anything like that! Where the hell did that thought come from?! Liza would freak out, not to mention I’d never hear the end of it from Starlight…

…but who says they’d have to know?

だケドこのままじゃ 何もできない ( But to the person I become when I’m feeling down)

私らしく LET GO ( I just need to let go)

しがみつかない ( Can’t cling on anymore)

そんな弱くない ( Can’t be weak anymore)

痛みなんて 飲み込んでやる ( From now on, I will swallow my pain)

The Without Me Trio are so worthless. 

Well, maybe not worthless, they’ve done some good things before!

But they failed. And no one seems to recognize that. I have to make sure the world can see what I see in them. 

In a way, I’m protecting everyone. People need to rely on these lunatics less. 

Once I show the world how incompetent they are, maybe I’ll even be considered…a hero! A real hero!

No, not quite a hero…people will never understand. They might even think I’m the villain. 

That is, of course, if I actually go through with this. This is just a fantasy, I’d never do that.

壊れそうなGLASS… GLASS ( You think I’m broken glass, glass)

少し握れば割れてしまうような ( A little touch will shatter me to pieces)

そんな不安は私にはないから IT'S ALRIGHT ( But I don’t have this worry, so it’s alright)

This is NOT a fantasy. I have to do this. 

But what could I even do? I don’t have combat powers. 

I suppose I could use weapons…but I’m too recognizable! There’s no way they wouldn’t notice that I’m one of the Just Dancers! This isn’t a cartoon where everyone is completely blind! People would film me, and they’d go “wait that’s Mihaly Friday” and then I’d go to jail, and my sweet, innocent kids would be without one of their parents.

Wait. How about that strange storage bunker I found the other day?

I could hide in there, and send out…well, I’m not handy with machines, but drones would be easy to work with, right? You can get those for pretty cheap these days. 

Pretty cheap? Who am I kidding. I’d probably need to steal them. Even if I paid in cash, the cashier would still see my face, and…

This is nuts. I can’t do any of this. I’d never do this. This is too crazy, this is too convoluted, this is too illegal! 

It’s never going to work.

I hate this. 

But someone needs to do something about those three.

The world needs to know who they really are. Dancity needs to know that The Without Me Trio can’t be relied on. 

Those three deserve to lose their reputation. They deserve to lose EVERYTHING. 

So if no one else will take care of them, I will. 

信じてるものも 本物か分からない ( And the things I believe, I don’t know if they’re really real)

傷つきたくない だから BE INDEPENDENT ( But I don’t wanna be hurt anymore, so I gotta be independent)

They’re going to pay for this. 

They all will. 

They have to.

Chapter Text

This is just one harmless little…joke. Yeah. It’s just a joke, no one is actually getting hurt. 

Mihaly repeated the phrase in their head as they looked for the mysterious door they’d seen the other day. Wearing dark clothes, trying to avoid everyone’s sight, they heard a metallic clink under their feet and knew they’d found it. 

They bent down, and when no one was looking, picked the lock and got inside. 

The news article I read said that this bunker still had its old CCTV equipment inside…let’s see if that’s- holy shit. 

As they stepped down the stairs of the strange area, they noticed all the equipment was still set up. Not only that, but there was far more than they imagined. There were so many screens, they could see camera footage from all over the city.  

This is perfect!

After triple-checking that the door was sealed shut behind them, they pulled out their bag. In addition to the camera equipment this room came with, they’d brought something else. 

The previous night, they hadn’t slept. They’d found an old notebook, and spent the entire evening researching radio signals. How they worked, how to hide their location of origin, and how to hijack them. 

They set their equipment out on the table, and got to work. 

On one side of the table was radio equipment. They’d use this to get their message to the world - the Without Me Trio were bad heroes. On the other side was a radio, so they’d know their voice was being heard. 

“Frequency…yes, there we go…perfect…almost there…YES!” Mihaly mumbled to themselves as they got it going. They could hear their voice on the other end of the radio. 

I did it. I actually hijacked a radio station in Dancity. 

…fuck, there’s no going back now. It’s suddenly real now. Now what? Okay, I just forgot my entire evil plan, I swear. 

Hey, it’s not an EVIL plan, it’s just…unorthodox.

“People of Dancity, The Without Me Trio are not who you think they are.” Mihaly began, putting on a deep, mysterious voice, talking into a tiny microphone. Watching the screens in front of them, they could see a few people in town start to look confused. 

They really CAN hear me. This is incredible. 

“Those three parade themselves as the big damn hero of Dancity, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. They’re failures. They can’t do a single thing right, and at the end of the day, they’ll never protect you. They can’t stop even the lowest-level threats, as I’ll demonstrate in a moment. This is where the REAL FUN BEGINS!” 

Mihaly pulled something else out of their bag. Three drones, armed with explosives. They propped the door of the room back open, and sent the drones out. One on the north end of town, one on the south end, and one on the west end.

It wasn’t long before The Without Me Trio showed up. The three of them split up, each taking down a separate drone. 

But when the trio were distracted, on their way to take down those three, Mihaly sent out a fourth, on the east end of town. 

“See? They can’t do shit. Watch this!” Mihaly detonated the drone, destroying three trees and igniting the sidewalk. 

Did I just do that? 

Oh my gosh…I just destroyed something…

…it feels GREAT! This is so much power. 

No, come on Mihaly, focus. This isn’t about power, it’s about humiliating them. 

“Do you see my point?” Mihaly asked. Oh, this probably sounds SO badass combined with the radio static from the station trying to take back control. “They couldn’t even stop one drone. They couldn’t even stop a couple fireworks. I bet they won’t be able to stop those other three drones, either.” 

Mihaly stared at the screens with amusement, then with horror. Phone Girl, Hairman, and Pool Man were each holding one of their drones, destroyed and disarmed. 

“You…stopped me.” Mihaly kept their lowered voice, but their confidence had slipped. Their panic quickly turned to anger, and they began to shout before they could think. “SO, YOU THINK YOU CAN DEFEAT ME THAT EASILY? WELL I’LL BE BACK, DANCITY, I’LL BE BACK. AND I’LL BE SO MUCH STRONGER NEXT TIME. THIS ISN’T THE LAST YOU’LL SEE OF THIS MENACE!”

“Mihaly, I’m so glad you’re home!” Liza greeted them in an instant when they got back. “There was this…there was this crazy supervillain attack, some new threat that just popped up. They had…drones, and they blew up part of a sidewalk, I saw it all on the news. I don’t really know the details, I was busy with the kids…you weren’t in the area, were you?”

“...Not quite.”

“Oh, thank goodness. But you did hear about it, right?”

“You could say that.”

Liza sighed with relief. “Now that you’re back, can you help with the kids? Lilac got into an argument with her brother, something about not sharing his crayons..it was kind of messy, but long story short they’re both on time out now, but I have to head back into the office unexpectedly, so if you could take over…”

“Of course.” 

Liza always hates it when Lilac fights with Timmy. I keep trying to tell her that they’re siblings, of course they fight, but I guess with the way she was raised…

…wait, did I just lie to Liza about where I was? 

Nah. That’s not lying. I never explicitly said it wasn’t me. 

I committed to doing this again, didn’t I? I told Dancity I would. 

Do I actually WANT to try this again, though? 

I have to. 

I wasn’t able to humiliate them this time. 

I have to try again. The world needs me to. It’s for the greater good.

Chapter Text

“Hey bunny. I’m just texting you to let you know I’ll be home a little late. Probably about an hour. I just have some errands to run, I’m sorry.”

“No, of course! It’s fine! See you as soon as you get back!” 

Mihaly texted Liza with a white lie. The truth was, they were going back out to the bunker.

Alright, so the last incident didn’t really humiliate The Without Me Trio enough. I’ll have to bring something badder. I need something…big. And I know exactly what to target. 

In Mihaly’s bag was another set of drones.

Instead of targeting a random sidewalk, I’m going to target something bigger. If there’s one thing that goes up in flames quick, it’s trees. 

So, after setting up their equipment, hijacking the radio signals once again, Mihaly sent out a drone armed with explosives to the nearby lake. 

This won’t actually hurt anyone, right? It’s just trees. 

I don’t know what I’m actually going to do if this doesn’t work. I didn’t plan for this at all.

Over the past few days, the press had been talking all about their last stunt. They were being called “new criminal”, “new threat to Dancity”, but most excitingly…”menace”. 

They think I’m a menace? That’s so cool. Be gay, do crime! Hell yeah I’m a menace! That’s exactly what I want The Without Me Trio to see me as. I want a little MENACE to expose them for who they really are. 

So, after their drone was deployed, they decided to introduce themselves properly. 

“Citizens of Dancity…this is The Menace speaking. I want you to watch today as The Without Me Trio show that they’re worthless once again. And this time, I won’t lose. That’s a promise.”

That’s my name now, I guess. I don’t mind it. I mean, this isn’t a long term thing, so why not?

By the time the heroes arrived on the scene, it was too late. Several trees around the lake had ignited, and were burning down to a crisp. 

Hey, that’s right. I have all these screens, I can actually see them fail at saving the lake. 

Mihaly looked up at one of the many screens in front of them. I guess it makes sense that a lake would have CCTV. Gotta make sure murderers aren’t dumping bodies there.

There was a clear image of Pool Man and Hairman talking to Phone Girl about something. Phone Girl nodded, and stuck her hands out. 

Huh. What is she doing? 

“Hello there, ‘Menace’. Can you hear me?”

It was Phone Girl’s voice, coming from their radio. She’d hijacked their signal. 

“No! I mean, yes, but- how are you-”

“It’s my wavelength powers!” Phone Girl explained enthusiastically. “We just want to talk to you about why you’re doing this. Maybe we can…reason with you? Is there some reason you don’t like us?”

“Uh…yeah? Because YOU FAILED at stopping Amanita! You should’ve dealt with her years ago. You seemed so surprised when she blew up the city as if she wasn’t regularly in the business of blowing up the city !”

“Oh…is that all? Listen, we tried our best, we really did-”

“BUT IT WASN’T ENOUGH!” They shouted back. 

Woah…where did that scream come from? That was way more aggressive than it was supposed to come out as.

“I can’t…I…I just…I’m sorry…” Mihaly stuttered out. 

“It sounds like there’s still good left in you. Am I right about that?”

“Of course there’s still good in me. I fight idiots all the time. I’m a goddamn hero, and unlike you, I have real threats to deal with. You’re barely a blip on my radar in the long run.”

“Threats? I mean, if there’s a criminal that’s bothering you, you can just tell us, and we can help you take care of them.”

“Now that’s a fight I’d watch.” Mihaly laughed. Imagine these dumbfucks fighting Night Swan, seriously. “No, actually…don’t bother with that. You’d just get captured and that’d be far more work for us.”

“Don’t say it like that, it’s- oh, Pool Man, you got it covered? Great!” 

Wait, what? 

Mihaly looked at the screen again. They’d been so caught up arguing with her, they hadn’t even noticed the fire they’d ignited was already out. And not to mention, there was minimal damage to the area. 

“Great job, guys!” Phone Girl gave her teammates a high five.

They defeated me again? 

What now? I didn’t have a plan beyond this…

“YOU MORONS THINK YOU’VE DEFEATED ME?” They hollered, refusing to show that they were close to giving up. “You may THINK you’ve had the last laugh, but this is NOT the LAST of THE MENACE! I’LL BE BACK!” 

But before Mihaly could angrily shut off the signal, something happened. Phone Girl collapsed.

Oh my god, did I do that? Was that my fault? Taking over the signal, that must’ve been it…

That night, it was on the news. Phone Girl had collapsed while trying, and struggling, to trace where the signal was coming from. 

So it really was my fault. I didn’t expect her to get hurt…I didn’t want her HURT, I just wanted her humiliated. Is what I’m doing wrong?

Their existential crisis was interrupted when they got a phone call from their friend, Lindovica. 

“Mihaly, hey.”

“Lin- I mean, Starlight, how are you?” they asked. I’m still getting used to calling her by that.

“I’ve…been better.”

“Why, what’s wrong?” Is she okay? She’s never like this. “You don’t sound super cheery today. Is everything alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.”

Normally she’s absolutely screaming with how excited she is to talk to me. “Okay, I know something’s wrong because we’ve been talking for a full twenty seconds and I still have eardrums. Did something happen out there?”

“I got hurt…not- not seriously, I’m fine, I’m safe, and I’m recovering at home, but I’m still a bit shaken up. I was bleeding, and I almost got knocked out.”

Phone Girl must be feeling the same way right about now…fucking hell, I didn’t MEAN for that to happen! I really didn’t…

“That sounds horrible.”

“Yeah. It was. Can you imagine being so caught up in your ideals that you end up hurting people?”

Ouch. If only she knew…

“No. I can’t. Nothing is worth hurting people, you know?”

If she has a problem, she should just…she should just talk about it.” 

Maybe I should just talk about it. She’s right. 

After making plans to meet up with their friend, Mihaly broke down into tears. 

Is all of this wrong? Is this bad? 

Maybe I am a bad person…

…but I’m too far in now. Besides, Phone Girl deserves it. Lindovica, or I guess Starlight, she’s innocent. But Phone Girl and her friends deserve it. So it’s different. 

Yeah. It’s different. I’m not evil. 

Chapter Text

“-AND IF YOU THINK THAT WAS THE LAST OF ME, YOU’RE WRONG! YOU HAVE NOT SEEN THE LAST OF THE MENACE!” 

“The Menace”. Their nickname had stuck, and it was now plastered across hundreds of newspapers across the Danceverses. 

It’s a stupid name, but I guess it works. I just don’t like that they’re calling me a supervillain. 

Mihaly had just got done destroying some streetlights, which the Without Me Trio had quickly put a stop to. 

How do these idiots keep stopping me? They’re dumb! They’re stupid! They’re not supposed to be this competent!

Rather than admitting they may have been wrong, it filled them with rage. 

The Without Me Trio aren’t supposed to be able to do anything right. This is a problem with me. I don’t want to hurt anyone, but I need to step it up. Even just a little bit. 

After disconnecting their radio equipment, returning the airwaves to normal, they heard an all-too-familiar monotone voice from behind them. 

“Mi-ha-ly, what in the actual hell are you doing?”

They whipped around in an instant. “Saxo! It’s not what it looks like- I can explain- why were you watching me anyway? How long have you been there? I mean…”

“Wow. You went through all five stages of grief at once. I’m almost impressed.” Sure enough, it was Saxobeat. And they were getting the sense that she’d just seen everything . 

“How…much did you see?” Considering her magic, I don’t even have to ask how she got here…

“I saw the whole thing. I saw it the first and second time, too. You’re busted.”

“Busted?”

“Look, Mi-ha-ly, I’m just confused. I don’t understand why you would do this. You’re a good person. You’re not a supervillain, so why are you pretending to be one? Someone could actually get hurt.”

“I am not pretending to be a supervillain. And no one’s getting hurt. I’m just exposing the Without Me Trio for being a bunch of frauds.”

“How are they frauds? I don’t get it. They’re heroes.”

“They failed at defending the city during Amanita’s attack.”

“Oh, so this is because you and Liza got hurt in that attack, isn’t it?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, that’s not something I agree with, but I think I can understand now. So you’re upset because they couldn’t stop Amanita before it became a huge issue like this?”

“Exactly.”

Saxobeat took a deep breath. “I almost see where you’re coming from. But I just can’t get behind this, it doesn’t feel right. I’m still here for you, but at the same time, if this continues, I’m going to tell Liza.”

“No you won’t.”

“Yes I will.”

“No you won’t.”

“Yes I will.”

“I know for a fact that you won’t, Saxobeat. You’re just trying to scare me.”

“Would I lie to you?” She asked.

“Yes, you would.”

“Yeah, I would, fair point.”

“So how do I know you’re serious this time?” They asked. 

God. Why can’t she just be supportive of me? 

“I wouldn’t lie or bluff about something so serious.”

“Yes, you would.”

“Yeah, I would.” Saxobeat sighed. “You don’t have to believe me, but I thought you deserved a heads up.”

Saxobeat vanished without another word. 

I can’t believe them. They’re supposed to be supportive of me. 

Oh well. It’s not like she’d ever actually go through with telling Liza. 

I’ve got more important things to worry about right now. 

My drones are too weak. Those three shouldn’t be able to take them down that easy! 

That was on Mihaly’s mind as they headed to the “sketchy” part of town, wearing a hoodie to hide themselves. Inside a dark duffel bag were destroyed parts of their drones that they'd managed to recover.

After getting dragged to so many parties over the years, they’d picked up several business cards from dozens of questionable people, and today, they were using that to their advantage.

In their hand was a grey business card with an address to a mechanical repair shop, simply known as “Fix-It Shop”. According to the small text on the bottom, the shop specialized in “robots, drones, wiring, and plenty of other things I can’t say in case a cop sees this”. 

Perfect. This isn’t dangerous at all…

As they walked inside, a bell rang above the door, signaling their entrance.

Almost immediately, a girl with large glasses and bright pink hair rushed towards them. "Oh my gosh, a customer! I hardly ever get customers anymore!"

"I can't imagine why…" Mihaly looked around, and noticed the lack of security cameras the place had. The walls were crumbling, and some of the windows were inexplicably tinted. 

"So, what can I do for you today?"

"Well, I've got drones in need of repair…I'm…also wondering if there's a way to make them stronger. They're just not good enough right now…" 

"I love drones! They're like tiny little agents of chaos. Can I see?"

They unzipped their bag, showing her the parts. "They're pretty knocked around, they hit a…a…tree."

"You know, I saw on the news the other day. These exact models of drones have been getting stolen all around Dancity for a couple weeks now. And coincidentally, it's the same model being used by that one new supervillain…'Menace', was it? Dumb name, but…"

"I don't know anything about that." Okay, this was a bad idea! 

"It wouldn't happen to be…YOU, would it?"

"Uh…"

"I'm not a snitch. As long as you've got the money for me, I don't care what you're up to. You could be a serial killer for all I care, just as long as I'm getting paid. Oh, and just as long as you tell the cops I knew nothing if they ever catch you. I'm already banned from Cyberfunk, don't need to be banned from here next."

"Do I even wanna know what you did to get banned from an entire Danceverse?" They asked her.

"I play both sides so that I always come out on top…and unfortunately, ONE side did not like that I was also playing the other side, and ratted me out to the authorities. The supposed 'good' side got me expelled from the place I grew up. I haven't seen my family in years."

"That's horrible! Heroes are just so…thoughtless, sometimes. Selfish." A rush of anger hit them as they listened to the mechanic's story. Good to know heroes are dumbfucks in any Danceverse, it's not just us.

"Anyway, I can probably get these in working order again for you. In fact, for a little extra, I can get them even better than they were!"

"Really?"

"Yeah. These are just tiny little remote control things, putting extra armor on them wouldn't be that expensive because there's hardly anything to cover." She explained. "So…after that, it'd probably come to about $600? I only accept cash, but- oh. You actually have it."

Mihaly had $600 sitting in their hand. "I took out $1000 from the ATM just in case. I've got a rich family member, he won't notice." Okay, that's…not entirely a lie. Master Panda lets me use his credit card for ANYTHING. He'll notice, but he's loaded. He won't ask about the missing money. 

What if he does, though? 

Nah. Revenge is more important. 

I doubt he'd agree, but…he's said I can use his money for ANYTHING. This is ANYTHING. 

"Alright, and just one last thing. I'm going to need your name for this. Just so I can label things and make sure all your stuff gets back to you."

"...is that-"

"Yes, it's necessary. Again, I'm not gonna rat you out, I promise," she reassured them.

They took a deep breath. "M-Mihaly…"

"Wait…" she stared at them for a moment. "Like…one of the Just Dancers?"

"I-"

"That's hilarious! You stopped the apocalypse and then turned to a life of crime. Your secret's safe with me." 

"Oh…alright, then." Breathing a sigh of relief, Mihaly turned towards the door. But then, they stopped, and turned back towards the strange mechanic. "You never gave me your name."

"Fix."

"Okay, that is NOT your real name."

"You're right, it's not." She shrugged. "But you've gotta be a level 5 friend to unlock my true identity and level 10 if you want my tragic backstory."

"I…okay."

"Your stuff should be ready by Tuesday."

"Awesome, thanks Fix-even-though-that's-not-your-real-name!" 

Chapter Text

"Liza, I hate to be the one to break bad news like this, but there's something I need to tell you. Your kids are still at school, right? There's no chance of them hearing this? It's important." 

Liza hadn't expected Saxobeat to approach her with something like this. But for the fourth time, Mihaly was mysteriously "getting home late", and she suspected it had something to do with that.

"Yeah, the kids are still gonna be at school for a while, it's only 11…what's up?"

"It's about Mi-ha-ly."

"What about Mihaly?" Liza asked innocently. "They're not…cheating, are they?"

She laughed. "You're gonna WISH it was cheating when you get a load of this."

Saxobeat grabbed the TV remote, and turned the TV to Dancity News Network. The news report displayed the Without Me Trio fighting against "the Menace" again. 

"The…that 'Menace' villain? What about them?" Liza asked.

"Call Mi-ha-ly right now."

"Um…okay." Still confused, Liza called Mihaly.

It could be seen on the TV, the live news report showing them ramble at the Without Me Trio again.

"YOU'RE THE MOST PATHETIC HEROES IN ALL OF DANCITY. It's almost amazing how- wait, my wife is calling me. Hang on." 

It was still completely visible on the television. Communication from "The Menace" going to static, and then, a few seconds later, Mihaly picked up the phone.

"Hi, bunny! What's up?" They asked in a casual, cheerful voice.

Liza's heart dropped to the ground as she realized what Saxobeat was trying to show her.

"Mihaly…where are you right now?" Were the only words Liza could muster. 

"I'm…just home from the errands a bit late. I just got running behind."

"Mihaly, where are you?"

"I'm downtown running to a couple shops. Then I'm coming back."

"Right, right…" Liza paused. "What shops were those, exactly?"

“That’s not… really important, is it? Look, I’ll be home soon, but right now I’m just a little busy. I love you, bunny!” 

Mihaly hung up, and only seconds later, communications from “The Menace” were being shown live again. 

“AS I WAS SAYING, YOU THREE ARE THE MOST-”

Saxobeat shut off the television before Liza could hear the rest of it. 

“No.”

“Yes.”

“No! I…” Liza’s head was in her hands as she sobbed. “...why would they do this?”

“It’s hard to explain. I mean, I know the answer, but it’d be best if you heard it from them personally.”

“What do we do?!”

“Well…first, we should probably start an intervention. Have everyone they care about talk to them. If that doesn’t get through to them, we’ll go from there.”

“An intervention, right…” Liza looked down. “What will we say to them?”

“Start off easy, but say that we know the truth. Now come on, we’ve only got a little bit of time before they get defeated.”

“D…defeated?”

“You know, when the Without Me Trio manage to stop them.”

“Right, of course…” Liza looked away. “You don’t think there’s any chance they could get hurt doing this, do you?”

“Absolutely, there is. That’s why we have to convince them to stop. They could get hurt or hurt someone else.”

“They’d never hurt someone else.”

“Not intentionally.”

Liza desperately wanted to say something, but quickly realized she couldn’t argue with that.

When Mihaly got home that day, they immediately knew something was up. All the kitchen chairs had been pulled up to the living room, and almost every single one of their friends were there. Liza was sitting on the couch, and sitting in one of the pulled-up chairs was Saxobeat. That much made sense. But not only was Saxobeat there - they’d called up Lindovica, all the Just Dancers (Wanderlust, Brezziana, Jack, and even Sara somehow), and even Icona, who Mihaly hadn’t talked to much over the past few months at all. All of them were sitting around the living room, looking at them with a mixture of anger and sadness. 

I’m busted. They knew it immediately. 

For a moment, they backed up instinctively, but after a sigh, they sat down in the one empty chair. 

Before anyone could say anything, Icona remarked “hello, ‘ Menace’ .”

“Icona! We agreed we were going to be more subtle than that!” Liza scolded her. 

“Okay, let’s just start from the beginning like we agreed…” Wanderlust looked like he’d been crying. “Mihaly, we know that you’ve been doing some things to the Without Me trio. And while we’re not mad-” 

“Yes we are!” Jack shouted, cutting him off. 

“-while most of us aren’t mad, we’re just confused and have no idea why you’d do this. Can you explain to us what’s going on?”

Mihaly looked away. “A-After…the attack…I was angry that they couldn’t prevent it. So I thought I’d get revenge by planning another attack that they couldn’t stop, but then they actually did stop me, and it all just snowballed from there.”

“So you’re mad that they couldn’t stop someone from blowing up the city…” Liza began, “...and your response is to blow up the city?!”

“I am not blowing up the city!” Mihaly insisted. “Unlike the mushroom bitch, I don’t want to hurt anyone. Not physically, anyway, maybe emotionally…”

“Well congratulations, Mihaly. You’ve already done that.” Icona practically hissed the words at them. 

“But it’s alright now!” Sara interjected. “Now that we know, you can finally stop-”

“I’m not going to stop.” The blunt words came out before Mihaly had a chance to think about them.

Why would they think I’d stop? This is so important for me. 

They just don’t understand. They just don’t get it. 

In a fit of pure, immature frustration, Mihaly rushed off into their room, and slammed the door shut. They could overhear Liza begin to cry in the living room, and everyone left there consoling her. 

Figures. No one’s checking on me, they’re all checking on her. 

Well…they just don’t get it yet. They probably think I’m a monster. Of course they’re siding with her, of course they’re rushing to keep her comforted. 

They’ve told almost everyone I know! I guess just as long as they don’t tell the kids, I can deal with this. 

Twenty minutes later, Liza slowly came into the room. “The others have- oh my god.”

“What?” Mihaly asked quietly. 

“Look at you.”

“What about me?”

“Your skin. Your hair.” 

Mihaly looked down at the sight, and gasped. 

They’d gone completely grey again. 

Chapter Text

Everyone hates me now. 

They say they don’t, but I know they do. 

After the intervention, I found out they told just about everyone I’ve ever met in my life, even the people that weren’t there. Master Panda said he’ll always love me, but that he’s disappointed…Saxobeat says her mom wants to talk to me about letting go and living well…Wanderlust says his mom wants to talk to me about my “mental health”...and Mx. Scarlet was honestly just kinda impressed. They said that they were impressed I had it in me, that none of the others expected me to be a “criminal”. 

“Criminal”. That’s dumb. The Without Me Trio are the REAL criminals, committing negligence with every fight. 

For some reason, I can’t think of any specific examples lately, but they’re always messing things up! 

The only person they didn’t tell is my sister. Liza explained that Amanda had been spending TOO many years looking for me, only to get heartbroken by this revelation. That she couldn’t do it to her. That it’d be too cruel. 

You know what I think is cruel? The fact that everyone is on the Trio’s side. No one is completely on mine. It’s the worst. Some friends they are. 

Those were Mihaly’s thoughts as they began to set up their radio equipment. The bunker they worked out of was getting colder every day, as the temperatures outside were dropping further and further. It wasn’t a suitable environment for a space heater, and they couldn’t exactly hire someone to install built-in heating either. So there they were, bundled up in coats and blankets, counting the days until warmer weather returned. 

Following their usual process of turning on their screens, they took over the radiowaves once again. 

“Ladies, gentlemen, and everyone in-between in Dancity. This is ‘the Menace’ speaking again, ready to give you another announcement. The Without Me Trio will not be able to stop me again this time, as my drones have upgraded to advanced features, courtesy of…a friend.” 

These were armed with explosives, as usual. It was the same process as always. But this time was going to be different, now that they’d been upgraded with better armor. And more importantly, they decided to change their method. 

The last few times they’d attacked, they’d picked something that wouldn’t risk causing any harm to anyone. And while they still didn’t want to hurt anyone, they had to pick a higher level target, one that people would care about getting damaged. 

In Dancity Square Park, there was a water fountain made of marble, meant to commemorate the square’s 100th anniversary. This would be a huge loss for the city, and it’d also be taken down fairly quickly. The Without Me Trio didn’t stand a chance ! Even if they got there and destroyed the drones, it’d be too late. 

Grinning, they sent their drones out. But before blowing anything up, they simply moved the drones around. They knew very well that someone could get hurt if the area wasn’t evacuated before the explosions! And that’s not what they wanted at all. As the peaceful park-goers could be seen on the CCTV footage running off screaming, they breathed a sigh of relief. No one was going to get hurt. 

When no one was left in the area, they were seconds away from hitting the red button on their control panel, when the Without Me Trio landed in the area. 

“If it isn’t the big idiots that think they’re going to stop me.” They noticed a bit of crackling in their signal, but thought nothing of it. “You guys are just never going to quit, are you?”

“We could ask you the same thing, evildoer.” Hairman replied back to them, pulling out a tiny radio of his own. Typically, they’d communicate when Mihaly sent out a radio broadcast, they’d hear the broadcast, and a news crew would be nearby to pick up the Without Me Trio’s response. That CCTV camera didn’t record audio, and neither did several others, which meant that wasn’t an option. However, it didn’t seem like a news crew was coming this time - was it too dangerous, or were they worried that Mihaly only wanted attention? They weren’t sure, but they didn’t let it bother them. 

What did bother them, however, was the “evildoer” insult.

“You call me an EVILDOER? I have no ‘evil’ intentions, I just-” 

Halfway through their sentence, they heard a static sound. Their connection to the radiowaves had just been cut off. 

Looking back at the CCTV footage, they saw the Trio high-fiving. They’d somehow managed to cut the signal while they weren’t looking. Pounding the desk in frustration, they tried taking the signal back, but it was no use. It was being overridden every time. 

If they couldn’t shout about how The Without Me Trio were useless, then what was the point? If they couldn’t get their message out with words, what was the point? It just wouldn’t work the same. So with a heavy heart, they retreated, sending their drones back into them and disarming the explosives. 

It was the last thing they ever wanted to do. Now they’d look like a coward ! But there wasn’t much else they could do, besides figure out how to get a stronger signal. 

As they left the bunker, they realized - that’s why Hairman had been carrying his own radio, that was the real reason. He, Phone Girl, and Pool Man must have used that to send out their own signal, completely blocking theirs! 

While they weren’t sure how to get around their latest stunt, they vowed to make sure it wouldn’t happen again.

When they got home, they got a phone call from their friend Lindovica. It had been a long while since she was just "Lindovica", though - ever since she'd pursued her dream of becoming a magical girl, she'd been quieter and less excitable. I hate seeing her like this, I wonder if she's really as happy as she thought she'd be.

"Mihaly." She greeted the phone with a flat tone. 

"Li- I mean, Starlight." I'm STILL getting used to her new name…I feel awful I haven't completely gotten it down yet. “I mean…do you still prefer Starlight?”

“When it’s just us, yeah.” Her tone sounded uncertain.

“You sound kinda deflated, that’s not like you. I saw on the news you had another battle with that crazy lady, did that go alright?”

“It went fine. I’m just getting tired. What about you, how’s your emo phase going?” They could certainly he ar the exhaustion just in her voice, her lifestyle clearly taking a toll.

“Well, it could be going worse…do you still think I’m crazy for blowing stuff up?” I should not have said it like that, that sounds unhinged.

“I never thought you were crazy, I just…you’re my friend and I care about you so much! You mean everything to me. That’s why this just feels…I can’t explain it. I just wish…”

“You just wish I’d stop. I know.” Unsupportive as usual.

“What’s it going to take for you to stop? You aren’t going to get what you’re looking for this way. Do you perhaps need a visit from Captain Starlight?”

Their stomach dropped. The absolute last thing they wanted. She could get hurt if she did that! 

And yet, I can’t help but feel like the more I protest, the more likely it is she’ll do something reckless.

“You don’t have to get involved.” It was the only thing they could think to say.

“But I might have to. If you keep it up…you’re going to get a special guest next time.”

What can I really do to stop her? I know what she’s trying to do, she’s trying to get me to quit because she knows I can’t fight against my own friend!

Well, it’s not going to work. 

I’ll just go easy on her. 

Or maybe she’s bluffing, maybe she’s just trying to scare me. Yeah, I think that’s it. She wouldn’t actually do anything. 

Chapter Text

“So if I use this, my signal should be stronger?” Mihaly asked. After their defeat last time, they’d gone back to Fix for help. I won’t let them take my signal back before I’m ready. Not again.

“Yep! It sure will be!” She assured them. It was a device, meant to amplify their own signal and minimize others - not only would they have an easier time taking over the airwaves, even OTHER nearby frequencies might have trouble getting through! 

This is so perfect. Nothing could go wrong. 

With a grin, they headed down to their mysterious bunker, getting ready to attack.

Okay, so the frequency is set, all screens are on…is the radio on? Upon realizing that their transmitter was off, they sighed and switched it on. I’m not having the best of days today. Why don’t I have it together at all? 

My mind’s been all over the place. What kind of awesome supervillain can’t even remember to hit an “on” button? Well…then again, I suppose I’ve got a lot going on. I’ve got two kids to take care of and a full-time job! Most of the cartoon villains have nothing going for them, that’s why they’re evil. 

I’m not evil, am I?

They were so fixated on their mistake, they didn’t even realize they were connected to the airwaves. Dammit, okay- “This is the Menace speaking, ready for another round of terror on the Without Me crew. If you’re as sick of these guys as I am, get ready for my next trick!”

This time, Mihaly hadn’t armed a bunch of drones. 

They’d set out explosives directly, inside three abandoned buildings across Dancity. The buildings were far from anything important, of course - otherwise, someone could get hurt ! But once the first building went up, the Without Me trio’s reputation would surely be done for.

It would only be a few minutes now. Glancing at their CCTV stream, it seemed as though no one was in the area. While they were waiting for the explosive to detonate, they began talking into the receiver again. "In about two minutes, the abandoned marketplace building on the corner of Relevé Street is going to blow. There’s no off switch, so nothing you say will get me to diffuse it. The Without Me Trio are just going to have to stop me themselves. Oh wait, they can’t. They don’t do shit. There are a total of three explosives set out in abandoned buildings, all across town. Good luck!”

Thank god no one’s actually around there…I wouldn’t want anyone to get hit by debris…

They waited, watching their monitors for any sign of the heroes. But there was still no sign of them, even when the timer made its final beep! and the building fell to the ground. 

They laughed. They failed! They failed to stop me, I won! I WON! Even if they somehow manage to diffuse the others, I finally got one up on them! People will remember this forever! I left a mark on their past forever, they couldn’t stop me this time!

The next one goes off in 20 minutes. It’s in the abandoned warehouse down on Tambourine Boulevard. But they don’t know that…

As they were fantasizing about the public’s opinion of the Without Me Trio completely falling apart, they heard static. 

No fucking way. They got through my signal? But how? 

But rather than hearing the voice of the Without Me Trio through the airwaves, they heard a stomach-droppingly familiar high-pitched voice. “NOT SO FAST, ‘MENACE’!”

Shit. 

Starlight is here. 

She told me she would show up, but I didn’t actually expect her to show up! Now what? I guess…just continue on? I didn’t put an off switch in the timer, so she’s pretty much set up for failure. That’s not what I want for HER! 

“Well, if it isn’t the cheery little Captain Starlight. What are you here for, to throw some glitter at me?” They asked. 

“No, I’m here to help the Without Me Trio, because you’ve totally lost it! YOU CAN’T KEEP SETTING THINGS ON FIRE OR BLOWING THEM UP JUST TO MAKE A POINT! You could’ve done this so many other ways, and maybe even gotten people to listen to you if you had done this peacefully. But you didn’t! No one wants to side with a criminal, so now if there WAS anyone who agreed with you, they’re gonna be afraid to say it which means the public opinion of them is going UP!”

“I think it’s going to go back down, actually, considering they just failed to stop me from blowing up a building. And they’re about to fail at stopping me from blowing up another-”

“Let me guess, it’s in the abandoned warehouse on Tambourine Boulevard. I know you too well, ‘Menace’.”

How the fuck did she know that? Am I that predictable? No, she just knows me so well because she’s my friend… “So you read me like a book. I’m not gonna disable the explosive just because you’re here. I’m not gonna make this easy for you.”

“You’re just saying that because you didn’t give it an off switch, and you’re just secretly hoping I either do find the explosive and disable it, or that I’m not in the area when I go off.”

Dammit, she’s good. “NO! It’s not like that at all!” 

They looked up at their cameras, and saw the group had already made it to the warehouse. The Without Me Trio were there with Captain Starlight, forcing entry so they could remove the explosive device. 

By the time they get in, there will only be a few more minutes left. They won’t know how to disable it, it’s going to go off. She’s going to get so hurt. I have to warn her, but I can’t look weak about it. 

“Better get away from that building when it goes kaboom , otherwise you might get hurt.” Nailed it. 

As the minutes passed, they only grew more and more concerned. Okay, there’s gotta be SOME way to turn that off! Isn’t there? I don’t actually want her to get hurt! I don’t want ANY of them to get hurt for REAL! 

When tears started falling down their face, they turned their microphone off. Definitely don’t want to broadcast my mental breakdown to the world, that’ll make me seem like my heart’s not in this. And only a few short minutes later, a horrifying bang , followed by a crumbling sound, could be heard.

I can’t look. I can’t look. They forced themselves to look up at the monitors, and relief washed over them when they saw that everyone had gotten out. They don’t seem hurt…not seriously, anyway. Debris hit them, but that doesn’t look hospital-y. 

“My back hurts…” Starlight cried. 

“Let me see.” Pool Man could be seen walking up to her, checking her injuries over. “I’m not a medic, but that cut is deep. That’s going to leave a scar.”

A scar? I gave her a scar?! No no no no no he’s wrong. Play it off. Mihaly turned their microphone back on. “Heh…not the first time I accidentally gave you a huge, horrific scar, is it?”

“DO NOT GO THERE, YOU KNOW THAT WAS DIFFERENT! I’m sure I’ll be fine, anyway. What’s one more scar at this point?”

They looked away. It breaks my heart, knowing she’s gone through so much that she thinks about it that way. 

They watched, silently, as the Trio and Captain Starlight found and took down the third explosive. They didn’t even make an “I’ll be back” remark, before running home, finding an incredibly angry Liza waiting for them in the living room. 

“Bunny-”

“Don’t ‘bunny’ me right now.” Liza’s tone was cold, far from how she usually spoke to them - even when upset. “You blew up a building?!”

“An abandoned building. No one got hurt.”

“You blew up a building. How am I married to someone that blows up buildings?”

“I-”

“You know what? Maybe I’m not. I need a break from you, Mihaly. You’re sleeping on the couch until further notice, I want no more affection from you, and absolutely no ‘bunny’ talk.”

“Are- are you divorcing me?”

“I’m not legally divorcing you, but I’m breaking up with you for the time being. We’re not going to go on date nights, we’re not going to cuddle and watch movies on saturday nights, and I don’t want you to tell the kids anything about what’s going on. Act completely normal, I don’t want you to traumatize them. Because how would I ever tell them that their beloved parent blew up a building?”

Their throat tightened, all words completely stuck there. She’s breaking up with me. 

When Liza slammed the door of the bedroom shut, leaving them alone, they broke down into sobs. 

None of this would have happened if The Without Me Trio had just done their jobs. They’re going to pay for ruining our relationship. 

Chapter Text

“I miss my wife, Fix.” Mihaly looked down, sitting on the countertop in Fix’s repair shop once again. “I miss her a lot.”

“Understandable. I can’t blame her for stepping back, and I know you really can’t either, but it still hurts whenever relationships fall apart.” Fix was tinkering with some gears, barely looking up as she spoke. Still, they could tell she was completely sincere. 

“I know.”

“And your kids…you mentioned having kids before? Do they know you’re on the brink of divorce?”

“Not at all. We’ve been keeping things under wraps. Our oldest, Lilac, she’s only seven . She’d never be able to understand what I’m doing or why or anything like that. And our other kiddo, we call him Timmy…he’s only five! Five year olds don’t even know what divorce is ! He still doesn’t even talk much yet, this would be way too much for him.”

“Absolutely. I don’t have kids but- ow-”

“Are you okay?” Mihaly asked her.

“Yeah, just poked myself with the screwdriver. Don’t care how ‘used to it’ other mechanics tell me I’m ‘supposed to be’, it still hurts. My pain s- my pain nerves are just really sensitive.”

“You were about to say something else. That’s interesting.”

Fix pulled her glasses down, staring them in the eyes. “I know I’m a smartass too, but don’t throw that attitude back to me.”

“Oh…sorry, I-”

“Because that’s how I get attached to people. I like people who are bold, and brave…but I don’t like getting attached to people . My entire business model rides on not caring about anyone .”

“I’m sitting in your shop on a Friday night, on top of the counter, telling you about my near-divorce. I think you’re already more attached than you think.”

“Fair enough. Just know that however high our friendship gets…you are never gonna see me without these glasses on. Pulling them down like that was one thing, but you’re never gonna see me without them on. So…” she sat on the counter across from them. “What are you gonna do when you’re done with the whole ‘Menace’ act? Once you’ve humiliated the trio enough…what are you gonna put your life into?”

“Well, I have a lot of dreams. First of all, I wanna drive a car. I know it takes a long time to get a license, and cars are expensive, but it just looks so fun . Plus…I want to get a high school diploma equivalent, and then I wanna go to college. That’ll have to wait until the little ones are all grown up, though. I’m not missing out on their childhoods for that. And then, I wanna become the ultimate shaman. I want to train, and study, and all that stuff until I’m just as smart as Master Panda. Maybe I’ll even get another dog.” They looked down with a smile, remembering their deceased golden retriever “Goldie”. “After our dog died, we came close to getting a kitten, but Liza’s pregnancy complications, back with our firstborn, they started happening around the same time and it just wasn’t practical. That was seven years ago and we’ve just been petless since.”

“What about after that?”

“Well…maybe before all that, I…” They turned to the wall and stared for a moment, letting their mind wander off. “...I want to mend things with my wife, let her know how much I love her…and then, I want us to try and have another baby. Just one more. But it’ll probably be a while before she’s willing to forgive me for this…”

Elsewhere, Liza had gone out to the mall with her cousin, Elizabeth. 

“So, that babysitter you left your kids with…she doesn’t mind staying late?”

“Nope! Kelsie is the neighbor’s daughter, it’s not like she has a long ways back home afterwards.” Liza explained. “We pay her well, twice the average babysitter rate, and we’re willing to help her family with absolutely anything in exchange.”

“You got lucky.”

“Yeah…I guess I did get lucky with that…” she looked down. 

“Hey, I took you out here to get your mind off of whatever problems you’ve been having with Mihaly. Let’s not think about them…oooh, you’d look so badass in that top over there!”

“But it’s so short-” 

“Try it on!” 

“Well…alright.” 

It was a blue crop top, with no sleeves. It was completely unlike anything she typically wore! And yet, when she slipped into the dressing room, and tried it on, she felt a surge of excitement. 

“You were right! I actually kinda love it…” 

“See? I told you!” Elizabeth smiled reassuringly. “Hey, how about after this, I take you back to my place so you can switch into all the new clothes you’re getting, and then we go out to the club?”

“Absolutely.” Liza said it almost instantly. It had been years since she’d gone to a nightclub without Mihaly. Normally, it was something they’d do together on a date night. But the idea of dancing to forget about them, even for a moment, felt bittersweet yet perfect. 

“Kids, I’m back!” Mihaly arrived home, just before the childrens’ bedtime.

“Mx. Friday, you’re back early!” The babysitter, Kelsie, seemed a bit surprised. 

“Yeah, I wrapped up what I was doing quicker than I expected.” They hadn’t planned to return from Fix’s shop for another half hour, but she’d gotten tied up with something else and needed them to step out for the night. They handed Kelsie some money from an envelope. “Here’s your pay. I slipped in an extra $50 for you.”

“Thank you so much!”

When the babysitter left, Mihaly found Timmy in his room. “Hey kiddo, I’m home.”

“Are you and mama gonna get a divorce?”

They paused. I guess he knows what divorce means after all… “A divorce? Why do you ask that?”

“Lilac said that people don’t sleep on the couch unless they’re gonna get a divorce. She said she saw it in a movie once.”

“It’s nothing like that, sweetie. Grown ups fight sometimes, but your mama and I are going to work everything out.”

“Promise?”

I can’t actually promise that. But what am I supposed to say here? “I promise. Let me go have a talk with your sister.”

Love songs. Just what Liza needed. Every song that came up on the speakers was a love song. The nightclub wasn’t very busy that night, either, which made her anxiety spike at the thought of everyone judging her for being alone. 

She was wearing the blue crop top from earlier, with some pink shorts, long boots, and gold jewelry. She had also straightened out her hair, which had been trimmed a bit shorter than she usually liked the day before. It was a brand new look for her, and in the moment, she had no idea how she felt about it. 

“Hey, there you are. Still clinging against the wall…do you wanna head out?” Elizabeth asked her. 

“No, I’m fine, I just need a minute…actually, I need them to stop playing cheerful romance music. Everytime We Touch is one of my favorite songs, but it is not helping right now.” Liza’s entire body was stuck in the corner, watching everyone else dance.

“Hey, I’ve got an idea…I wonder if they take song requests. I’ll be right back.”

Elizabeth ran off, and as the last song faded out, a new one faded in. 

When I’m underneath the bright lights

When I’m tryna have a good time

Slowly, Liza stepped away from the wall, moving her arms to the music. Finding a free space, her subtle arm waves quickly turned into a full dance, as she imagined a colorful background moving behind her. 

I’m over you, and I don’t need your lies no more

‘Cause the truth is, without you, boy, I’m stronger

And I know you said that I changed with my cold heart

But it was your game that left scars

Oooh, I’m over you

She pushed her arms forward with emphasis, watching Elizabeth film her. Maybe she’d show this spontaneous dance to Mihaly later, in order to drive home the point that she was furious with them. Or maybe she’d keep it to herself, as her little secret.

Don’t call me up

I’m going out tonight, feeling good now you’re out of my life

Don’t wanna talk about us, gotta leave it behind

One drink and you’re out of my mind

Na-na take it up, baby I’m on a high! And you’re alone, going out of your mind!

But I’m here up in the club, and I don’t wanna talk

So don’t call me up

By the end, all the doubt she’d been holding had left. She was having a great time dancing by herself, ignoring everyone else around her. It didn’t matter what anyone else thought. She looked great, she danced great, and she was having the best night she’d had in months . The way she felt, she could continue dancing for hours.

But as the clock on the wall changed from 9:59 to 10:00 p.m., she knew it was time to head home. 

At home, Mihaly knocked on Lilac’s bedroom door. “Lilac, sweetie, can I come in?”

“Yeah…”

They slowly walked in, finding her sitting on her bed, staring out the window. 

“Honey, what’s wrong?” They asked. 

“You and mama are gonna get a divorce.”

“No…we aren’t.”

“But you’re sleeping on the couch! Doesn’t that mean she hates you?” she asked. 

“Relationships are complicated. It’s not that simple. There’s a difference between upsetting her, and having her hate me altogether.”

“So…does she hate you?”

I don’t know, actually. “Of course not.”

“Why is she upset at you?”

I’m not dragging the kids into our conflict. “It’s a long story. How about I tell you when you’re older?”

“You always say that. But then I keep getting days older and you and mama still don’t tell me anything!”

“You’ll understand someday why I didn’t want to tell you now.”

“Someday when I’m older?”

“Yes, kiddo. When you’re older.”

“I can’t wait to be older!” She grinned. “Then I’ll know everything!” 

“I’m sure you will. Now come on, it’s time for you and your brother to brush your teeth.”

“So, you’re not gonna tell me what happened between you and Mihaly?” Elizabeth asked her. The two were sitting in Liza’s driveway, looking up at the stars. She’d “needed a minute” before she went inside, knowing that Mihaly would surely be home by now. 

“It’s…complicated.” Liza looked away. “I…don’t even know if I can say. If I tell the wrong person…it could be devastating.”

“Whatever it is, you can tell me and I won’t tell a soul . I promise.”

“Well…” she lowered her voice, on the off chance that Mihaly could hear her from inside. “You know that crazy ‘Menace’ attacker that’s been everywhere on the evening news?”

“That’s…them?”

“Yeah…”

“And you’re not filing for a divorce from them?!”

“No…”

“LIZA!” Elizabeth shouted. “You’re crazy! Take the kids and run! Why aren’t you LEAVING them?”

“It’s not that easy…” Liza looked away. “It’s just not. Mihaly isn’t just any other partner…you don’t even know the extent of what they’ve done for me. They’re my hero.”

“Are they…or were they?”

Liza stayed silent, realizing she had no idea how to respond.

Mihaly was sitting on the couch, curled up with a blanket, when Liza walked into the house. When they saw her wearing her new outfit, their breath was taken away. She looks so gorgeous…

“Woah…Liza, you…sorry- sorry- I know you said no sweet talking for now-”

“I said that, but…” Liza brushed some hair out of her face, looking up at them. “...what do you think?”

“I…I think you look beautiful.”

“Thank you.”

Mihaly desperately wanted to say “I love you”, but didn’t think she’d want it at the moment. I have to keep those thoughts to myself for now, I’m not violating her boundaries. 

Liza walked back into the bedroom for the night, saying nothing else but a quick “goodnight”. 

Chapter Text

Today is just a normal day. 

That’s what they told themselves on a cold, Wednesday morning, as they turned on the TV. The kids were in school, Liza had just left for work, and they didn’t start work that day until the evening. The house was all to themselves, and they intended on using the time to decompress. Tomorrow, they’d be going after the Without Me Trio again, with some new weapons that would humiliate them this time for sure!

That plan fell apart almost instantly when they turned on the TV to Heroes News Network. Rather than hearing about the Without Me Trio’s latest victories, they were instead greeted by the sight of Phone Girl close to tears, being consoled by Pool Man and Hairman, as the Dancity police chief spoke on a podium.

“-and we have poured extra funding into determining the true identity of this perpetrator before this incident happens again. We are dedicated to ensuring the safety of our wonderful heroes, and…”

Wait, did something happen? Tuning out the TV, they pulled up the news on their phone. Quickly, they were greeted by a dozen news articles. Headlines reading “ Without Me Trio devastated as villain overpowers them”. 

Someone beat them? That’s not news, that’s just long overdue. About damn time. 

But when they looked up at the TV, and saw Phone Girl on the verge of a breakdown, their heart was sinking. That’s weird…shouldn’t I be happy about this? I almost kinda feel…bad, for her. She’s my enemy, I’m not supposed to feel bad for her! What’s wrong with me?

Despite their conflicted feelings, they read through the news article on their phone, becoming more horrified with every word. 

“Dancity was left in shock this Wednesday as the supervillain “Pinball” displayed “stronger magical abilities than expected”. During The Without Me Trio’s heated battle against her on West 67th Street, “Pinball” abruptly took over Phone Girl’s mind and body, turning her against her companions.”

Oh. Oh god, that’s horrible! No wonder she’s so devastated! Thank goodness she’s okay now at least…

…where did THAT come from? I’m supposed to hate her! But I guess this just hits a little close to home for me. There’s no way I can go through with my plans tomorrow now. I’ll have to wait, I’m not going to add to her pile right now. She needs rest after an ordeal like that. 

I know Liza still wants space from me, but maybe I should give her a heads up just in case. Seeing it in the news unexpectedly might trigger her…

“Hey Liza, just cheking, did you see the news about Phone Girl? I feel awful for her!” They texted. 

Almost immediately, they got a response. “You do?”

“Of course I do. No one deserves that shit.”

“That’s very empathetic of you. That’s sweet.”

Their heart fluttered, reading that message. She just called me sweet…that’s a good sign. 

Phone Girl looked so upset on that news broadcast. Maybe I should do something or say something to comfort her. 

At this point, their confliction had gone out the door. Something horrible had happened to someone - it didn’t matter who she was. 

Fuck am I supposed to do, buy her chocolate? That’d be nice…except she’s totally gonna think they’re poisoned coming from me. Flowers? Hell no, she's gonna think those are poison too. 

Maybe just a card would be nice.

"Dear Phone Girl:" they began to write on a blank card. They wore gloves to avoid fingerprints getting on anything, and were writing with their left hand to make the handwriting less identifiable. What do I even say? "I still hate you but I'm sorry that happened"? That's weird. Maybe I'll just start off comforting, the way I would in any other situation like this. "I heard about your recent altercation with Pinball. These kinds of situatons hit very close to home for me, and I would never wish it on anyone - not even you or your teammates. That kind of magic shouldn’t still exist and shouldn’t have ever existed. I understand the trauma you're facing will sting you for months, if not years or the rest of your life, and I'm very sorry this hapened to you. I'll be hoping for the swift defeat of Pinball soon, so that this doesn't happen to you or anyone else ever again. Please get some rest, drink some water, and take it easy for the next few days.”

Okay, now how do I end this letter? I really wanna sign off as “Menace” for dramatic effect, but none of this sounds tough or intimidating. I don’t want her and her teammates to think I’m weak! 

They stared at the pen for a few minutes, their mind wandering off. After a bit, they regained their focus, and decided to end it with “Signed, “Menace”. P.S. I’m gonna leave you alone tomorow so you can rest but I’m still gonna kick your ass next week.”

Perfect. 

When Liza walked in the door, the first thing she said to Mihaly was, “I think it’s sweet what you did for Phone Girl.”

“Wait- you know about that?”

“Oh yeah, everyone does. She found it so funny and sweet that her enemy was wishing her well, that she posted it on her social media accounts. It’s everywhere.”

“Do people think it’s weird?”

“They’re surprised, sure! But it’s more of a wholesome surprise than an upset one.”

Mihaly looked away. “It just seemed like the right thing to do.”

“It was. I’m really proud of you.” 

She walked over and kissed them on the cheek. 

She just kissed me. Does this mean…

“Mihaly…doing something nice for someone you don’t like, just because it’s the right thing to do…that’s so kind. And it’s made me realize, I don’t want to fight anymore. I missed you. I miss you so much…I don’t want space from you anymore, please.”

“You’re…taking me back?”

“YES!” She pulled them close. “I never should’ve walked away from you in the first place.”

“No…you should’ve. With what I did, I mean, I went really far that day. I don’t blame you one bit. I never have, and I never will.”

“I love you so much…so, what was it like leaving Phone Girl that card?”

“Chaotic. You should’ve seen the place when I dropped that card off in front of their headquarters. There were so many flowers and gifts from her fans, you’d think she’d died or something.”

“Wow, I hope that’s not foreshadowing another book!” Liza remarked, staring at the fourth wall. 

“I felt like I was walking on eggshells, just trying to avoid stepping on anything. I kept looking, I kept checking for cameras, thankfully there weren’t any…”

“That’s good, just please be careful. If you get arrested-”

“I won’t. I promise.”

Chapter Text

It had been a few weeks since the shocking incident involving Phone Girl, and Mihaly had gone back to fighting against the Without Me Trio. While Liza still wasn’t happy with their choices, she couldn’t bring herself to leave them again. 

“-AND IF YOU THINK THAT’S THE LAST OF ME, YOU’VE GOT ANOTHER THING COMING! I’LL BE BACK AND I’LL BE SO MUCH BETTER! I KNOW YOU’LL FAIL EVENTUALLY, ALL HEROES ARE STUPID, I JUST CAN’T PROVE IT YET!” Mihaly screamed into the receiver. They’d just been defeated yet again, and they were furious. 

I hope saying that actually makes me sound tough, I honestly have no idea. I actually don’t think it does, I sound like a cartoon villain. Maybe I should ask Fix for some tips on how to up my intimidation game instead of just tech stuff…

Mihaly stormed home, angry, thinking about the fight. 

I hate all superheroes. They act so high and mighty, but they can’t stop anything. There’s nothing they can do against the highest of threats. 

That’s how I know I’m not “the highest of threats” yet. I can’t wait until I kick their ass! But metaphorically. It’d be bad if they got hurt. I just want to see them sad. 

Stupid fucking heroes.

None of them are good. 

When Mihaly got home, they saw the time was a lot later than they’d realized. The kids should be home from school any minute. 

While they were still alone in the house, they took a moment to scream into a nearby pillow, then throw it onto the ground in anger. Master Panda says I have to get my temper under control if I want to be a great shaman…but I have no idea what he’s talking about, I have a RIGHT to be upset! So what if I’ve been seeking revenge? So what if I haven’t visited him in weeks because I’ve been too busy with this? Once I’m done with this, I’ll settle back down gladly. 

A half hour later, the kids had come back home from school. They’d both gone into their rooms to work on homework, and Mihaly laid down on the couch to rest before work, thinking it would be a normal night. Liza would normally be home soon, but she got off work early to spend some time out with her siblings and her mom, and she won’t be home until a bit later…

But just as they had unwound from another defeat, they got a strange text from Liza. 

“Hey, just a heads up, don’t turn on the Hero News Network Melosia channel right now. ”

That’s the same news network that they broadcast Starlight’s fights on… “Why not? ”

“I just know you’re a huge fan of Captain Starlight and I wouldn’t want you to see that right now. It’s going to be too upsetting. ”

Shit, something happened to her. In an instant, they were turning on the network, making sure their friend wasn’t dead. 

But rather than seeing a corpse, they saw something that almost scared them worse. 

The bright, cheerful Captain Starlight - their childhood friend, Lindovica - was standing frozen with dulled, dilated eyes. 

She was brainwashed. She’d gotten in a battle, and her enemy took control of her. 

Oh god. No. 

I can’t do anything to save her. I can’t leave the house, I have to watch the kids. And even if I could, I don’t know what I’d even do…

Lindovica…

They broke down into tears as quietly as they could. I definitely don’t want the kids to hear me crying and have to explain this to them…

Horrified, the only thing they could think to text back was “Oh my god. ”

“I know, it’s horrible. They were showing the broadcast in the bar (don’t worry I’m not drinking) and I immediately thought of you. ”

Stupid Dancity bars, showing live broadcasts of hero fights like they’re sports matches… actually, fuck the news network for showing this in the first place, aren’t they supposed to turn the cameras away for disasters of this scale? “You don’t fucking understand. ”

“I guess I don’t, with that tone. What don’t I know about? ”

In their panic, all their inhibitions had gone out the door. “Captain Starlight is Lindovica. ”

Liza’s response was a series of three text messages. First, a simple “oh .”, followed by “I knew I recognized that high pitched voice from somewhere. ”, followed by “shit .”

Yeah. She gets it now. Oh, I’m so gonna regret outing her later…please be okay, Lindovica, just hang in there…you’ve got this…

They watched as the camera zoomed in on her. 

Yeah, hang on, this is super illegal actually. Heroes like her have so many protections, they’re not supposed to actually show this when it happens. 

She looks so helpless.

Come on now, breathe. It’s okay. Back when Lindovica had first become a magical girl, they’d given her a gift - a shiny, jingling friendship bracelet, deliberately meant to catch her attention and remind her of who she was if something like this ever happened. If she looks down and sees it, just for a minute…fuck, I hope to god it works.

As they bit their lip, they looked back up at the TV, only to find that Starlight’s expression was still entirely vacant. She’d better be okay…this was so inevitable. She kept crying “I wanna be a magical girl!” and forgot what happens to EVERY magical girl in pretty much every anime. I just wish I was there for her right now. I feel pretty useless, sitting here at home…

They looked to their left, seeing the kids’ bedrooms. No, I have to stay here with the kids. No matter how much I want to run to Starlight right now, I’m a parent first and foremost. Besides, there’s nothing I could really do to help her regardless, I can’t fight a crazy supervillain by myself. I’d get killed faster than Mx. Scarlet killed their husband.

For a while, there was no progress. But as she took a step forward, she could be seen on camera looking down at something. Their heart started to race with hope instead of fear, watching her stare down at her wrist. Yes! YES, that’s it, come on! It’s okay Starlight, you’re gonna be okay! 

She's okay! Oh my god, she's okay...

Everything from there was a blur. When Liza got home, they sped to Lindovica’s house as fast as they could, not even processing the long train ride there.

When they arrived, they practically kicked down the door, shouting her name. 

“Starlight, are you okay? Oh god, you must’ve been scared…”

Lindovica was laying on the couch, tears in her eyes, and the only thing Mihaly could think to say was "wow...you look awful". As they glanced over at her, they noticed she had the TV on, watching the news replays of the incident.

“I’m just stressed…”

“Yeah…I can imagine. You're watching-”

“I know, but stepping away from it is like…moving on. I’m still just in shock. How am I supposed to sleep tonight, knowing this happened to me? How am I supposed to go into my day job tomorrow morning, pretending like everything’s normal? I can’t just carry on with my regular life after this…”

“I know the feeling.” Mihaly sat down next to her. “But you’re gonna be okay.”

“You’ve been through things like this before…how did you ever move on?”

“I didn’t. I just learned to live with a heavy weight on my shoulders.”

“But that’s terrifying. I don’t want to live like that.”

“Neither do I.”

“And there’s no other solution?”

“There is. But in order to get help, you have to acknowledge you’re deserving of it, and that’s always been the most difficult step for me. Please…no matter what, take the step. It’s always been one of my worst nightmares that you’d end up like me.”

Chapter Text

Thursday afternoons were when Mihaly liked to strike the Without Me Trio. That’s how it had been for months now. 

So one Thursday morning, when Liza got the day off work, and she asked them to come over and visit her mother with her, their first answer was almost I can’t. You know I can’t. I have a fight to get to.

But something in me just has a feeling I should do this. I can’t shake the feeling I need to go with her. Damn shaman intuition…

Liza’s parents had once been quite difficult on them and their relationship. But when her parents divorced, Liza’s mother slowly began to mellow out quite a bit. Now, Liza was trying to rekindle her relationship with her, and while Mihaly had initially been reluctant to participate, all they wanted was for her to be happy. 

“Alright…I’ll go with you.”

“Thank you.” Liza gave them a hug. “I know what this means you’re giving up.today, and I’m proud of you.”

She’s proud of me…those words alone make this worth it. 

“Mihaly! It’s good to see you, how have you been?” Liza’s mother asked. 

“Oh, I’ve been doing pretty good…” They lied. 

“How are the kids? Are they doing well in school?” 

“They’re doing great. I’m just glad they’re still getting along with each other at home…I’ve always heard that siblings start fighting when they get older, but so far I haven’t seen much of that,” They admitted.

“That’s wonderful. You two can have a seat on the couch - oh, actually…Liza, can you do me a favor and get some hot chocolate going? It’s still cold outside, you must be freezing.”

“Of course, mom.” 

The moment Liza stepped into the kitchen, her mother sat down on the sofa next to Mihaly. 

“Mihaly…” 

“Y-yeah?” That’s a concerned tone. I’m in trouble. 

“I couldn’t help but notice that you seem a bit troubled. Maybe I’m just worrying too much, but are you really all right?”

Okay, so she doesn’t actually give a shit about hot chocolate, she just wanted to have a heart to heart with me. Great. Perfect. I’m about to get yelled at by another parent. 

“I’m completely fine.” They insisted. 

“It’s just…your colors all looking dull. That doesn’t happen to people who are ‘completely fine’. You don’t talk about your family much, but if you don’t have anyone to open up to…” 

"I have plenty of friends, and I have a- a panda…dad…sorta.” They fidgeted with their hands. 

“What about your birth family? I assume you weren’t born to a panda…I don’t mean to pry, I’m just curious. You hardly had anyone at you and Liza’s wedding all those years ago, and you’ve never mentioned anyone outside of the panda.”

“It was really only a few years ago that I found my biological family…” they admitted. “I never felt like I had a connection with my biological dad, it just…felt awkward to me to explain to him all the great times I had growing up without him. He didn’t raise me, he doesn’t know me. But I have a sister who’s pretty nice, I just…” they trailed off. Shit, when was the last time I called Amanda? She’s pretty much the only person in my life who didn’t hear about the whole “I’m trying to take down the Without Me trio’s reputation” thing yet. After I spent so many years separated from her, it’d just break her heart too much to know what I’m up to now.

Although honestly, even though she’s great…when I think of siblings, my first thought is Saxobeat. She’s basically an adopted younger sister. I sure hope nothing bad ever happens to her.

“You’ve been getting into some trouble lately, haven’t you?” Liza’s mother asked them. 

How did she know? “Uh…no. Not at all.”

“You’re normally quite short and irritable around me. The fact you’re opening up and acting casual means you’re compensating for something. And not only that, but Liza has admitted to me that there’s been some kind of trouble in your relationship, something you did that upset her.”

“I-”

“I won’t ask what it is, Mihaly. I’m sure you have your reasons. But let me tell you something.” Liza’s mother took a deep breath. “The biggest mistake I ever made in my life was staying with a man who didn’t respect my children or love people the way they were. I didn’t used to be so uptight, not until I got with him and he started rubbing off onto me. Now I’m just known as a fussy old lady who doesn’t like anything.”

“It’s…great to see you acknowledging that, actually.”

“If I can pass along any piece of advice to you, I want you to make sure you prioritize your family and kids above anything else. The last thing I’d ever want is for Liza to end up like me. Please, no matter what you’ve gotten yourself wrapped up in, be kind to her, alright?”

“Of course.”

“I know you have a good heart. Liza is always talking about how lucky she is to have a…oh, what’s the gender neutral term for husband or wife?”

“Spouse?” Hey, at least she’s trying now. 

“Spouse, that’s it. Liza’s always telling me that she’s lucky to have you as her spouse. So that’s why it came as such a shock to me when she came to me one day and said she’d gotten into an argument with you. I can’t imagine you’d do anything that bad-”

“It’s… pretty bad. There’s no sugarcoating it, it’s pretty bad.”

“You didn’t cheat on her, did you?”

“Gosh, no, of course not. Just…general mischief. Like…petty crimes?” They winced. Too far, too far, shouldn’t have said that. 

“Oh, I get that. I had a bit of a wild streak when I was young myself.” Liza’s mother started to smile. “When I was fourteen, I actually almost got arrested. I was shoplifting earrings at the mall, and it wasn’t the first time, just the first time I got caught. But when the security officer asked me why I did it, I said it was for fun. So he asked me if I’d enjoyed it so far…and I realized I didn’t. I’d convinced myself it was fun, but it wasn’t. It never had been. It was all artificial.”

Wow. I can’t imagine Liza’s mother as anything other than the cranky bigot she was when I met her. “It’s…actually kinda cool to hear you talking about this kinda stuff. Normally, when we talk, it’s just…well…”

“I get it.” There was a long sigh, as she looked away. “I wasn’t very kind to you when we first met. But I’m trying to be better.”

“And you’re doing a decent job of it.”

“I guess what I’m trying to say is…take a step back, and think about whether or not you truly enjoy what you’re doing. Think about whether or not it’s worth it, really worth everything in the end.”

“Mom! Mihaly! I got some hot chocolate for you!” Liza came into the room carrying some mugs, which ended the conversation quickly. 

Liza’s mom used to be a prick. But I guess pricks can change. Talking to her today was actually kinda nice.

It had been two days since Mihaly had spoken with Liza’s mother. 

“Liza, I’m home!” Mihaly called out quietly after a long shift. “Are the kids in bed?”

No response. 

“Liza?”

Quickly, they went into the bedroom, and found Liza sobbing on her bed. 

“Bunny-”

“My mom…” Liza turned to face the wall. “...she’s dead.”

“Dead?! But she-”

“She had a heart attack. We don’t know what caused it yet. I know it was only recently that I started getting close to her again, but…she was my mom .”

"I know, I get that...do your siblings know?"

"As far as I know, yeah...just my luck, I was one of the last people to find out."

“I’m…” What do I even say to her? “I’m really sorry…I know how much you cared about reconnecting with her, and I know you were looking forward to having more positive memories with her.” 

I kinda was too…

Chapter Text

“I’LL BE BACK!” 

“YOU HAVEN’T SEEN THE LAST OF ME!” 

“I’LL BE STRONGER NEXT TIME!” 

“YOU CAN’T DEFEAT ME FOREVER!”

Time and time again, Mihaly screamed at the Without Me Trio, trying to intimidate them. Unsurprisingly, it didn’t work. But what they didn’t understand was how they kept losing. 

There’s no way they’re actually competent. They just keep getting lucky. I’ll get them one of these days…Fix agrees with me, even if no one else does, that’s gotta count for something. 

Then again, just the other day, Fix went into vivid detail telling me a story about how she stabbed a guy. Maybe she’s not the best life coach…whatever, I know I’m right here. I have to be. After all this time, if I were in the wrong, that’d make me a bad person. Everyone else must just be wrong. 

After so many defeats, their motivation was finally beginning to falter. I’m sure there’s a perfectly reasonable explanation for why they keep winning, right? I mean there has to be. They can’t just be that good…can they?

Feeling doubt, they decided to head home, and talk to Liza about the matter.

“Liza…am I doing the right thing?” They asked. 

“No.”

Jeez, harsh. “Why not?”

“Maybe because superheroes shouldn’t be defined by their failures.”

“But- but they’re really screwups. They’re absolute jokes !” 

“Are they, or is that just bias because you hate them?”

“I hate them for a reason. A good reason.” 

Liza sighed. “I suppose your mechanic friend has been giving you plenty of reassurance that you’re doing the right thing?”

“I mean…I’d sure hope she’s on my side, considering she’s the one that creates a lot of my tech. Why do you say it like that?”

“She’s not…she doesn’t seem like the greatest person.”

“Come on now, Fix is so much fun to be around! I’d totally be besties with her, even without the whole thing I have going on.”

“Mihaly, yesterday you told me that she admitted to stabbing a guy for taking the last bag of her favorite chips in a vending machine.”

“Dude probably had it coming. Besides, he supposedly lived, what’s the issue?”

“Mihaly.”

“Okay, so she’s not exactly a saint, but just because she says I’m right doesn’t mean I’m wrong. Something about broken clocks being right sometimes, you know?”

“I know…but…don’t you ever wonder if this is all gonna be worth it? If you succeed in destroying their reputation…you’ll have just ruined the lives of three people. Will that really make you happy?”

“No. It won’t. But it’ll bring true justice to the people that have lost their lives from their inability to stop Amanita.”

“If you say so.” 

Just at that moment, Mihaly’s phone rang. Wanderlust's calling. “Hello?”

“Hey, Mihaly…my mom wants to talk to you.”

Okay, so I’m totally about to get yelled at by ANOTHER parent…but I can’t just say no to Danceverses Queen Alien Deity Si’ha Nova. Fuck it, I’ll go. “Okay, that’s fine.”

“She says she wants Liza there with you, in order to help get the point across.’

“That’s fine too, but I need like half an hour in order to get a sitter for the kids then. Is that alright?”

“Of course it is. I’ll open a portal to my mom’s map for you when you’re ready, just let me know.”

“Mihaly, there’s so much good in your heart. You’ve done so many great things for the Danceverses, and you have so many people that care about you.”

Just as I suspected. I’m getting yelled at by another parent. “I know, I just…this is important to me.”

“But why is it so important to you? Revenge is a complicated thing. Believe me when I say, you will regret this later.” Si’ha Nova’s voice was gentle, but her words were stern. “What’s going to happen if you go to jail? Once you ‘succeed’, those heroes will still be after you, and your life will be ruined. Just look at Liza, she’s been so upset and worried about you.”

“She’s right, you know.” Liza nodded. 

Si’ha Nova gently placed a hand on Mihaly’s shoulder. “ You are a hero, and you’re one of my son’s closest friends. Because of that, I can’t help but worry about your future and wellbeing. Right now, this isn’t sustainable, and I feel as though you’re not considering the long term impacts.”

“I’m not a hero , don’t compare me to those idiots.” 

“But you’ve saved the Danceverses, time and time again. What else does that make you?”

“It…I…I don’t know.”

“Just think about it for a moment. If-”

“Guys…guys, what’s that?” Liza’s tone was terrified, as she pointed to something dark in the distance. 

Si’ha Nova went quiet, as she turned to look. “...I’m not sure.”

That’s a liar tone. 

“It’s…it looks like it’s coming closer.” Liza clung to Mihaly’s arm in fear. 

“I’m sure it’s not, it’s probably just the light…” They tried to comfort her, but they were getting worried as well. Si’ha Nova has bodyguards and stuff…surely this can’t be serious. Any sort of threat would never be able to get this far.

No, she’s right, it’s coming closer. 

“It’s just darkness…what’s the worst it could be?” They asked. 

“I don’t know, it’s not like we have any enemies or anything!” Liza remarked sarcastically. “We should probably go…”

“You two are alright, I’ll protect you.” Si’ha Nova insisted. But as the darkness got closer and closer, it started to travel up her legs. Her color disappeared, and the last word she could get out was “ run ”, before it consumed her entire body, turning her into a creature they both recognized all too well. 

The queen of the Danceverses had just been turned into a swan minion. 

This was Night Swan’s doing.

Adrenaline taking over, Mihaly grabbed Liza, and started running, trying to find shelter as the darkness began to approach them as well.