Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Ranboo had known what they’d wanted to be their entire life. Ever since that moment when they were 5 years old and doodling on the floor, only for their vision to suddenly go red before falling onto their kitchen table, they had known it was their destiny to be a hero protecting Lostfield. Ranboo’s power, to shift between dimensions in a way that allowed them to teleport, was as unique as it was strong, a guarantee they would be able to be a hero. So Ranboo chased that dream with everything he had. Every day was spent training to be as strong as possible, hours upon hours spent in gyms learning to fight, countless glitchy teleports before hopping between planes of existence was second nature. Nothing mattered as much as becoming a hero, and anybody who saw that hopeful child could testify the same.
And after years and years of blood sweat and tears, finally he got his chance, and the Showfall Heroes Association accepted him as the hero he was.

Standing behind the stage, Ranboo finally knew that he had made it. The sound of the press waiting to report on the newest hero was almost deafening, but Ranboo was too proud to pay them any mind. Ranboo just stood there soaking in the feeling of their dreams coming true, when suddenly they were interrupted by the feeling of a hand coming to rest on their shoulder. Usually the touch would have made him panic, but he knew who it had to be, and his pride only grew as a voice spoke from behind him.
“Ranboo! Do you think you’re ready to face them?”
Ranboo turned to see the face of the leader of the Showfall Heroes Association and his personal mentor, Hetch. Well, he didn’t exactly see a face. Hetch kept his face covered at all times with a pitch black mask covered in red marks that resembled the markings on a circuit board; a mask that never betrayed any emotion, but Ranboo could feel the easy smile behind that mask.
“Of course I’m ready,” he responded as soon as he came down a bit from the giddy excitement that had clouded his mind. “I’ve been doing this for so long, there’s no way this could go wrong.”
“Just remember Ranboo, they will love you. You are a hero and as long as you play your part, they will all love you!”
Ranboo nodded enthusiastically, taking a few deep breaths as the din of the crowd quieted and the time for his reveal approached.

“One thing I forgot. I know you have your suit,” Ranboo looked down at the simple red suit patterned with gray and smiled once again without even thinking. “but you don’t have your mask yet. So here it is!”

Hetch’s hand was outstretched now, and in it sat a metal mask. The metal looked harsh but there was gentle padding on the inside to protect his face. Four red strips of lights were embedded into the metal, two on each side that highlighted his face shape perfectly. On the back were wires, just for show Hetch assured him, that seemed to be cleverly disguised straps for holding it on. At the back where the wires clipped together was a small version of the Showfall logo, the sight of which made Ranboo swell with pride at the reminder that he had finally made it.

Ranboo reached forward eagerly and grabbed the mask. Hastily he pushed it onto his face and clipped the wires behind his head.
A perfect fit.
Made just for him.

And as the mask slipped onto his face, finally it came time for Ranboo to be presented to the world.
Hetch moved forward between the curtains onto the stage, and began the presentation.

“Here at the Showfall Heroes Association, we are committed to ensuring the safety of our wonderful city. All of our heroes are hand picked and trained to be the best, all so that they will be their best selves and keep everybody safe. And I am so excited to show you our newest hero.
Citizens of Lostfield, I present to you…”

This was finally it, what they had waited so long for. It had to be perfect, they had to know their speech, they had to teleport right, everything had to go well.
Just before the anxiety could really get to them, the moment finally came.

“GLITCH!”

That was Ranboo’s cue as the crowd began to roar. He dipped into the bright reds and blacks and other unimaginable colours as the other dimension sped by him, before appearing in a burst of red in front of the crowd.

Their roars of excitement only grew when he appeared, and he stood there waving and taking it all in.
The next few minutes passed as a blur.
His speech that he had rehearsed until it was second nature felt blissful to finally speak on stage.
His oaths to the city spurred the crowds on further as the sight of the audience blurred in front of his eyes.
And finally the clarity of a hand gripping his shoulder as his mentor stood by him once again.

They had truly made it.
Now, they just needed to prove they belonged.

Chapter Text

Adjusting to life in the hero tower took a long time… probably longer than Ranboo would have liked.

It was a big change of course, so it made sense that it took him a while, but life in the tower was kind of strange.
All of the hallways and common rooms were bleached white, no real life or character outside of the lobbies and the heroes’ personal bedrooms. People were rarely seen apart from the heroes and employees that staffed the entire building. All of the employees of the tower wore fresh pressed suits no matter their jobs, and sometimes an employee would be seen wearing a mask emblazoned with the Showfall logo that gave them a weird uncanny valley feel. Everything felt just a little too clean, a little too flawless, too perfect.
It was just really strange.
But soon enough, Ranboo adjusted, and that type of life became normal.

And anyway, despite the weird vibe in the tower, his coworkers made up for it. He obviously wasn't the only hero: there was an entire team of heroes all dedicated to protecting Lostfield, and spending time with them was maybe his favourite part of the job other than being able to protect those weaker than him.
They made everything feel normal no matter how strange the tower was.

Today was another one of those strange days that the other heroes helped with.
It was a few months into Ranboo’s time at the tower, and he was adjusted to the tower by this point, but not the new sleep schedule involving a very early wakeup to make sure they would ‘never miss an emergency’.
As Ranboo shambled in, still only half awake, he headed straight for the coffee machine and poured himself a dark cup of pure caffeine. Immediately he downed it, and then refilled the cup before finally forcing his eyes fully open and facing the people sitting at the bench tables for his team, who were all looking at him with what seemed to be mild concern about his caffeine intake. The rest of the cafeteria, a mix of heroes from other teams and various employees, ignored their desperate attempts to consume as much caffeine as possible.

At the end of the table looking at them with the most concern of anyone in the team was Mermaid. They didn't know her real name, and he wasn't meant to, but that didn't make their friendship any less real. She had always been the kindest and most protective over them, but sometimes she would be a little strange. Her emotions could change in seconds, sometimes going from protective to distant, kind to angry, happy to sobbing. Ranboo didn't understand her very well. But she seemed to be alright today, so they smiled underneath the simple cloth mask they wore off duty and waved before heading to the breakfast buffet.
Next to her sat Charm, one of the few heroes to not wear a mask since his power was, well… being charming as suggested by the name, and his winning smile was too important to lose. His dark brown hair was combed back perfectly and somehow even now when it was so early, he looked impeccable.
Sat at the middle section of the table was another hero by the name of Stockpile, who was currently shoving a plate into the interdimensional holding portal he could open at will: Showfall had tried and failed to stop the stealing a long time ago, but now they just gave him cheap plates in hopes that he would notice and stop taking them. He didn't.

There was another hero on their team once, a little while before Ranboo was recruited. There wasn't much information out there about them, so all Ranboo knew was from rumours and one encounter with the hero in question. Apparently he went mildly insane over his pet fish: he had started crying whenever he had to go on a mission and leave his pet behind. Eventually Showfall put him on indefinite leave and let him just stay in his apartment in the tower. Ranboo had only encountered the hero once during a midnight snack run. One look at the shadowy figure clutching a fish bowl had sparked a half mumbled half sobbed rant of “Don’t touch Turner, I need to feed him okay, no-one can hurt him, leave Turner alone.” before moving back into the shadows. Ranboo didn't really want to run into him ever again.

Finally Ranboo finished picking up their bacon and toast from the buffet table manned by somebody wearing an apron over a suit, which made Ranboo pause as they remembered just how weirdly strict showfall was with the dress code. Really what cook needed to wear a suit?

Their train of thoughts into the randomness of the hero tower was quickly derailed by a shout from what had quickly become one of their favourite voices to hear.
“Hey dude! Come over here before we run out of time to eat breakfast.”
The loud voice came from a table in the corner with two very familiar people sitting at it; one man dressed in a simple pair of jeans and a t-shirt waving enthusiastically, and the other with his face buried in a bowl of cereal and a blue hoodie pulled so far over his head they could hardly see the messy brown hair sticking out from underneath it.
Ranboo shook their head fondly a couple times before heading to greet their best friends at the tower, Charlie and Sneeg.
Charlie was loud, outgoing, and extremely bouncy, both metaphorically and literally; his power was that he could just turn into slime whenever he wanted, an extremely random but also weirdly helpful ability. There was also another ability, one that Charlie didn't use very often, much to the annoyance of Showfall when they were in a sticky situation. Anybody who came in contact with Charlie’s slime would be controlled if he wanted them to be, but… Charlie never liked the idea of exerting his will on another. His chosen name was very fitting, Slimecicle, and it was a name he wore with pride.
Sneeg was known as Snag by the rest of the heroes, and Ranboo and Charlie never got sick of giving him shit for his alias being so close to his actual name. His powers were pretty basic all things considered, just some super strength. Not enough to make him one of the strongest there, but enough that he was still an asset in any mission he was assigned. He was stubborn and hardheaded and chronically sleep deprived, but beneath it all he was a damn good friend.
Technically Ranboo shouldn’t have known either of their names, but when he was assigned to share a floor with them, they became fast friends. Showfall was a scary place to be as a new recruit, and the corridors that seemed like endless labyrinths, tough training, and long days could wear someone down pretty quickly. But even though it had taken its toll on Ranboo, Charlie and Sneeg had been there to lift them up. Soon enough they had all taken off their masks together and called each other by their real names in private. It's not like Showfall could know about it, and the whole identity thing was only a problem if one got captured, and they had all made a vow: if any of them got captured, they would fight tooth and nail to get the other back, or die trying.
It was them against the world, and had been since the moment they met.
Ranboo was overwhelmed with happiness thinking about just how lucky he was to have them as his friends.

A thud sounded from Ranboo’s plate hitting the table as he sat next to Charlie, causing Sneeg to pull his mask back up and briefly raise his head to give a nod of acknowledgement, before going back to his cereal.
Just as Ranboo went to bow his head and pull off the mask to eat, a blaring alarm sounded through the entire building, signalling that there was an active villain threat to civilians.

“What the? Oh come on, seriously??”
Ranboo sputtered in disbelief going back and forth between taking their breakfast with them, before finally abandoning it and running to the nearest changing rooms to suit up, everybody else following behind in a well rehearsed routine.

It's probably that Puzzler guy being an idiot again, Ranboo thought as they hastily changed into their Glitch persona.
Time to go be a hero.

Chapter Text

An ordinary bank was where the heroes were directed by the commands of home base that rang through their communications systems and blasted their ears until they followed the commands, as they always did.
Everything just has to be efficient was Ranboo’s guess as to why they were so strict, but nobody really knew. Everyone just knew that if Showfall ever told you to do something, you didn’t question it.

So Ranboo shrugged off Hetch’s orders and reprimands and followed the instruction to their target, the rest of the team following close behind.
Finally, blissful silence fell upon the team as the last voice came through comms
“This is the location of the alarm. Find out who did it, and stop them.”

Then silence.

Strolling forward first was Charm, an easy smile on his face disguising the way his eyes flitted back and forth looking for any signs of danger.

Silence.
Mermaid walked up next. A red veil hid any emotion that might have shown, but Ranboo could tell she was tense. Her back was straight, there was a stiffness to her walking that made it look like she agonised over every choice to make a step forward, and her hands flexed by her sides as if itching to grab at the nearest water for defense.

Silence.

Near the back of the group, Stockpile reached into his portal. His hand slipped into a tear in the fabric of reality, and then neatly stitched it back up as he pulled out an axe and tossed it to Slimecicle. Waiting for other equipment requests, he stepped back and surveyed the scene.

Silence.

Sensing that nothing will get done without action, Ranboo hesitantly stepped forward. In an instant Slimecicle and Snag stood at his side, a silent show of support and companionship, and together they approached the doors of the bank.

But still, only silence greeted them.

This is strange, why is nobody here? The thought ran through Ranboo’s head; a quick glance at his teammates showing that they are all thinking the same.
It’s too quiet.
The desks lay abandoned with only a few hastily scattered pens and the tripped silent alarm to show that anyone had been there at all. The seats usually filled with people waiting for meetings or needing help all lay empty.
Usually quiet is a good sign. In most situations involving a bank there would be hostages, innocent lives at stake, a grinning villain with a gun held against someone’s head demanding money. When it's quiet, it means there aren't civilians: there aren't civilian casualties.
But this?
This was the calm before the storm. This was a forest gone silent as all the animals hide from an unseen predator, smarter than the humans that go stomping where they don't belong. This wasn't right.
Something was wrong.
And walking into the room, they realised a second too late what they'd been scared of.

A wire snagged on Ranboo’s ankle.
An obnoxious laugh rang from a screen.
“GLITCH” a woman screamed from behind them.
And the bomb went off.

Ranboo couldn't register what happened in time to teleport.
Luckily they didn’t have to.

Strong arms tackled Ranboo to the floor as Slimecicle dove on top of him and shifted into slime to protect him, and together they braced for the hit.
A blast of heat hit their faces. But the blast never came.
Shakily they both looked up towards a figure cloaked in red, wielding a shield of water bubbling from the heat.
“Oh thank fuck Mermaid, thanks for the save!”
Slimecicle was the first to speak up as he stood from the floor and brushed his suit down, hiding the shaking of his hands so well that nobody but Ranboo could ever notice.
Ranboo stood next, gratefully accepting a hand up from Slimecicle, relishing in the friendly and reassuring touch before pushing his fear back as far as he can, and taking a step back to assess the damage.

The once pristine bank was now a charred mess. Everything lay askew and blackened; everything apart from a lonely screen and a speaker up in a corner that the fire couldn't reach.
And as an infuriating voice rang through the ruined room, the same one that had laughed earlier, the same voice that this particular team has heard many many times, Ranboo had to suppress a sigh as his ‘rival’ began another monologue.
On the screen was the image of a man wearing a pristine suit and holding a cane. The signature mask held in front of his face holds a blank stare at the scene in front of him, its bleak plastic visage making him look like a toy that was ripped from a shelf and thrown into a Saw movie.
“The Puzzler is here, are you kidding me?”
The muttering was lost underneath the sound of the Puzzler’s droning.

“Hello Heroes. Hello Glitch. Welcome to my newest game. As you can see, you have found yourselves in a bank, and I’m sure that you can tell the place is booby trapped. I left you an easy trap in the lobby. Now, you have one hour to find me, or I will explode the place with all of you still insi- wait did you set off the bomb?”
The Puzzler’s sinister monologue is cut off with an almost concerned tone to his voice.
“That was easy, did you really set it off? Hello? Are you there? Oh shit. I can't see on the cameras so I think you set off the bomb? Uhhhhhhh”

Rolling his eyes, Snag stepped forward and yelled as loudly as he could.
“WE’RE HERE DUDE, YOU STILL CAN’T KILL US.”

“Oh good I can hear you yelling. Fuck I thought I’d killed you. Oh well there's still time for you to die!
One hour heroes.”

Click.

The screen shut off, and the silence fell again, but a little less ominous now that the threat has made itself present.

“So Mermaid, how’d you pull the shield move off? We aren’t near a water source right now.”
The tactfully placed question from Slimecicle broke the silence, but did little to dissolve the tension in the room now that they know the bank is rigged. The Puzzler may have been the least threatening villain in Lostfield, but he was still a villain, and the title was earned for a reason. Him being here, and doing enough to rig up several traps meant something bad.
“Oh also thanks for saving me back there” Ranboo added on, still unnerved by their very near death.
“Oh there was a water dispenser over in the corner, and it was just a firebomb so it was easy to disperse. Honestly The Puzzler really should have picked up on that, I’m always here, you’d think he’d know I could handle that easily. Also it's no problem Glitch, I’m always happy to help!”
Mermaid finishes her sentence with a gentle smile that could barely be seen through the veil, but gave a little confidence to the rest of her teammates anyway.

Nodding to Slimecicle and Snag, Ranboo once again took the lead, shaking their head a little as they vaulted over the security benches and stepped forwards into the next room, although a little more hesitant this time.

The next room was dark at first as the team of heroes stepped into it. Then one red light popped up. Then another. Then another and another and another until the entire room was covered in lasers sweeping across the room. Upon closer inspection Ranboo could see that the room was actually a corridor, probably leading towards the vault.

Snag spoke up, clearly having made the same observation as Ranboo,
“This looks like a security corridor. I think the lasers were already here to set off alarms, but knowing the Puzzler he’s probably pulled something with them, since usually they're invisible.”
Snag’s assumption was nearly instantly proven right as a screen at the end of the corridor switched on to show him sitting on his signature chair, a red and gold throne complementing his suit.

“Hello again heroes. In front of you, you will see a room filled with deadly lasers. Be careful because if you touch them, you will be OBLITERATED. But don’t think about avoiding this room. Every other exit has been blocked off, and remember heroes, you have only one hour. Good luck! You’re going to need it.”
The speech was cut off by a maniacal laugh that quickly descended into wheezing, before the microphone suddenly cut off.

“Well, while he’s busy saving whatever dignity he has left, does anyone have any ideas of how to get over?”
Snag adjusted his dark blue jacket before stalking towards the lasers and putting the sleeve directly in the line; within seconds the hem was singed and Snag hurriedly pulled it back.
“Yeah he’s not lying. I can see a lever on the other side though, so we can probably turn them off if we can get to the other side.”

“Or we could go backwards?” Charm suggested with a thumb pointing backwards over his shoulder gesturing to the still open door. “That seems like an option. I don't fancy dying, I have too many wives and children to get back to.”
The comment drew a snort from Stockpile. A glare was shot across the room, Charm’s smile falling with annoyance for a single second before it was replaced with another smile, but one more forced this time, a twitch in Charm’s eye betraying that he probably wanted to punch Stockpile.
Ranboo shifted uncomfortably from where he was standing. The team was tight knit but sometimes tensions would be high, and that was never good on a mission.
Thankfully the moment was interrupted by a figure in a rat mask giggling behind the door, and then slamming it shut and plunging them into complete darkness apart from the soft glow of the lasers.

A hush fell over the room, calming Ranboo enough for them to take a deep breath in relief that a fight had stopped; that relief was quickly replaced with a stab of fear as they realised the situation in front of them.
We’re trapped. We have to go through. We’re gonna die..
His breathing quickened and suddenly their mask felt too tight for their face, their vision blurred in front of them, a fog settled over their thoughts.
Spiralling further and further down just at the thought of being trapped, Ranboo finally froze.
They couldn't tell how long it was, maybe it had been seconds, maybe minutes, none of it mattered to them. All that mattered was the fear clouding their mind and overwhelming every protocol and instruction that had been drilled into their mind by Hetch.
Until a hand settled and squeezed their arm, and with teary eyes they turned to see Snag looking at them.
Sneeg knows he thought. It was almost annoying to Ranboo how easily they were read, but also comforting that a friend knew him that well.
Slowly they came down from the panic attack, tears clearing from their eyes as they blinked.

The noise of the room increased again as their ears stopped ringing and they focused on the conversation again, and tuned back in after one last breath.
Stockpile could be seen reaching into the portal again, pulling out a towel.
“Glitch do you wanna try to throw this? You have a good arm!”
“Yeah- Yeah sure I can throw it. Need me to hit anything in particular?”
A quick explanation was given by Sneeg of where they had to throw it to block the lasers, and the towel was handed over by Slimecicle who had just been gearing up to throw.

Ranboo stepped up to the lasers, pulled back his arm, aimed exactly where to throw the towel, felt the weight of the slime clinging to it, and finally chucked the towel full force at his target.

Sailing through the air as if guided by the hand of god, the towel flew: right towards the target. All of the heroes held their breath in anticipation, waiting for it to hit the box they had spotted on the wall.

The towel unfolded and glided gently to the floor…
Burning with embarrassment Ranboo took a step back and leaned against the wall.
He fidgeted with his mask, and tried his best to ignore the exasperated looks from his teammates who had placed trust in his ability to throw a towel.
Even though the Puzzler couldn't be seen, Ranboo could feel the slightly judgemental and dumbfounded look from the mastermind through the security cameras.

Great. Just great.

Nobody knew what to say, and Ranboo certainly wouldn't be the first to talk after that.
Five minutes passed in awkward silence before Slimecicle cleared his throat.

“Well if nobody is going to do anything, then I guess I’ll try to cross. I’m goopy enough to do it.”
In the blink of an eye the normal human man had been replaced with a gelatinous goopy mess shaped like the hero. The lasers were hardly an issue for Slimecicle, he didn't even struggle to get through. Simply squeezed and squished through the gaps, the lasers doing nothing more than slightly smoking when they made contact with the slime.
After only about a minute the slime came out on the other side, bowing slightly as he shifted back into human.

He turned around with a flourish to pull the lever, causing the room to flicker into darkness for a few seconds as the lasers finally shut off, then light flooded the room again as Slimecicle opened the door and held it open for everyone to step through.

Every hero not wearing an eye mask blinked rapidly as their eyes readjusted to the new room and took in the sight through the doorway.
Evidently this was the main vault in the bank. Physical cash wasn't too common any more, but the banks still needed somewhere to store it.
It was completely empty though. Some shelves lay on their sides after having been tipped over, but the only other thing in the room was a screen; while all the other screens had felt natural in their placement, this screen was obviously newly installed, and everyone had a good guess at who had done it.
Ranboo immediately recognised that the place had been robbed, but also it hadn't just been robbed: it had been hijacked. The walls looked slightly too strange, there was what appeared to be a black door set into the solid metal, and the door behind them looked like it should have had heavy security, but they just… walked in.

This is a trap.

The Puzzler’s laugh echoed throughout the room once again before Ranboo could warn his teammates. The vault door slammed shut with a loud thud. The screen flickered to life.

“Hello heroes. The room you now find yourself in is-” The audio distorted and tapered off and the screen fell a little bit out of the wall with wires trailing behind it.
“What? Did it break? Oh shit I shouldn’t have installed it that quickly. RATS WHY WAS IT NOT DONE PROPERLY? Oh I’ll just go talk to them myself”
The voice now came from the wall with the strange black door, and it lacked the strange twinge that the audio filters always gave The Puzzler’s voice on camera.
All the heroes looked at each other in confusion, then turned their eyes towards the sound of scratching at the door as that pitch black door slowly opened.
A doll, one with a face matching The Puzzler’s mask, was pushed through the slim opening in the door, and The Puzzler’s voice boomed from behind it.
“This room you find yourself in will crush you in ten minutes if you cannot find the key I have hidden around the room. But oh don't think it will be easy. I have- OH DAMN IT”
The doll’s neck snapped as the words were spoken. The head lolled forwards and rolled onto the ground and further into the room. Soulless eyes stared into Ranboo’s soul as the head came to rest at his feet.

Following the doll’s head, a well dressed man wearing a soulless mask and clutching a cane walked into the room.
Ranboo sucked in a breath as subtle as possible, more nervous seeing him in person than he had been when seeing him on the screen. The Puzzler was dangerous: seriously dangerous. He was the rival of Hetch’s mentee for a reason, even if they didn't know exactly what that reason was. They knew that even though they had survived this far effortlessly, The Puzzler could have easily killed them. Most of the other heroes on the team treated him like a nuisance, but Ranboo knew better. This man was dangerous and if he wanted to, all of them would be dea-

A void opened beneath The Puzzler and he dropped like a stone. Stockpile held back a laugh before seeing his teammate’s horrified look and quickly putting his hands up and explaining with a laugh “It's safe I'll let him out in a minute, that will just make it easier to get to the next room.”
Suddenly a deafening grinding sound began, causing everyone in the room to flinch.
Slowly but surely walls began to move inwards towards each other, pushing a few shelves around as they did.

“HE WAS TELLING THE TRUTH ABOUT THAT? When did he have time to install walls in the bank?” Ranboo exclaimed in shock, but also mildly impressed that The Puzzler had managed to do all of that.
“He said we had ten minutes, but it's going off now, so we should go.” Snag stated very bluntly and calmly, probably a bit too calmly for someone standing in a death room, but these were very standard Puzzler shenanigans, so the more experienced heroes were a lot calmer than Ranboo.
While Ranboo had had plenty of encounters with The Puzzler since starting, he’d never been in the traps before, so they were not having fun. As the rest of the heroes stepped through the still open door, Slimecicle had to grab Ranboo’s hand so they could keep going.
Ranboo just wanted to lie down and cuddle with his roommates so he could get some sleep; but hero duties come first, so he proceeded to the next room hand in hand with his goopy friend.

As the band of heroes stepped into an upscale boutique, finally it seemed that the group had escaped the bank.
Not The Puzzler, that was far from over, they all knew that.
But now? It seemed like they were in the last room.

Mirrors and clothing racks lined the walls, plush seats were scattered around, and two people wearing rat masks stood immobile staring at them all.
Oh the rats were here.
Ranboo awkwardly waved at one of the rats and received an excited wave back. He liked the rats to be honest. They were classic evil henchmen, but they were honestly fun. Also they never tried to fight if The Puzzler wasn't there.
And they didn't try to fight now.
The rats just sat down on the seating while waiting for their master to return , still staring at the heroes but in more of a subdued fashion.
Both parties just looked. Waiting.

Then in a cloud of glitter and spare socks and random junk, The feared Puzzler fell onto the floor flat on his face. A small crack could be shown on his mask as he looked up at the rest of the people with tangible annoyance in the way he moved even with his face still covered. A pink feather boa was strung tastefully around his neck, he was adorned in shiny jewellery, his hair had been pushed out of place by a hat covered in slime, and in his arms he was holding a wooden duck.
Everyone in the room stifled a laugh, which just caused even more annoyance to come from the bejeweled pile on the floor.

“Well, you still havent won because I just look fabulous now”
The hat was thrown onto the floor along with the duck as he got up, but the boa and jewellery all stayed.
“I may have to leave, but we will meet again heroes, and I will win.”

Without warning one of the rats pulled something out of their pocket, and smashed it into the floor, creating a huge cloud of smoke.
Through the smoke screen, three figures could be seen running out of the door and out of the building into the street far too fast for heroes to follow.

“Well there's a duffel bag over there, probably with the money, and he's gone soo… we can go home?”
Snag’s suggestion was met with enthusiastic agreement by all the other heroes, all tired after another day of dealing with The Puzzler’s bullshit.
Ranboo agreed quietly: they just wanted to go home. Even though they’re a hero, they’re new, and dealing with all of that was far too much for just one day.
But he was proud of himself. He had done good work, helped protect civilians, and stopped the bank from being robbed.
So he got into the car Showfall sent along with the other heroes, and went home.

Finally Ranboo got home and settled into the bed in their apartment.
Snuggled up in the blankets, this was the comfiest they had felt in a long time.
Exhaustion weighed heavily on their bones, but it was comforting knowing that all of that was worth it.

As he pulled up his laptop to check on the security footage from the bank, a small brown and white sphinx cat prowled up and lay on his chest.
"Aw hi Moose!"
Ranboo felt his heartbeat slow as he reached up and pet Moose while softly laughing at footage of The Puzzler struggling to attach clamps to the wall to set up the vault trap.

The door to his bedroom opened and Charlie peeked his head inside to see how Ranboo was doing, smiling softly when he saw the adorable scene laid out in front of him.
Charlie exited quietly and closed the door behind him to leave Ranboo to his work.

And as their apartment often was, it was peaceful.

Chapter Text

Ranboo’s bedroom was silent as they lay in bed that night. Well, not completely silent: a persistent but light ticking could be heard from the manual clock in the hallway of their apartment, not that they needed it with the digital display on their phone showing 3:42AM. But other than that, silence.
Ranboo sighed softly as to not wake the cat sprawled next to his head, and turned over underneath their covers to try to get more comfortable. Despite the luxurious accommodations provided by Showfall, Ranboo had suffered from insomnia since moving in.
Sleeping always felt wrong, as if staying alert was life or death, as if falling asleep would mean the end of the world. Some nights, training was exhausting enough that they would pass out as their head hit the pillow, but tonight was not one of those nights.
So Ranboo sat and stared into the darkness, focusing on the metronome ticking in the hallway to try and lull them into oblivion.
….
Tick
….
Tick
….
Tick
….
Tick
….
Ping
A notification rang out through the rooms, probably from someone who forgot to silence their phone.
….
Tick
….
Tick
….
Shuffle
Someone in another room was probably just moving in their sleep again.
….
Tick
….
Tick
Step
Tick
Step
Tick
Step
Creeeeaaaaaakkk
….
Someone was getting up and leaving?
This was what led Ranboo to sit up with their eyebrows raised in inquisitive confusion. Nobody should have been up at this time.
Moving their covers as carefully as possible to not wake Moose, they shuffled out of bed, and tiptoed towards their bedroom door. Opening it just a crack, they could see Sneeg’s door ajar, and the front door stuck open, with no Sneeg in sight.

That's mildly worrying… I should go check on him
Grabbing a casual mask from where it was discarded on the kitchen counter and slipping on their trainers, Ranboo exited the cozy apartment into the bare halls of the Hero Tower.

Halls, usually corporate standard, while normal in the daytime, felt so different to Ranboo at night. The bare white walls usually mellowed by the soft daylight stood in stark white light now, feeling like sterile perfection rather than home. Every sound echoed, causing Ranboo to flinch when they stepped too heavily in fear of being caught. Caught for doing what? They didn't know, but some instinctive feeling screamed in their mind not to get found. The echoes were useful though; Ranboo could just distantly hear the heavier footfalls of their beloved friend, and followed them diligently.

Until the footsteps stopped.
Then a door closed.
Then voices too muffled to hear what was being said.

Ranboo moved a bit closer, taking extra care to be silent now.

“So Sneeg, I hear you have a friend that we haven't been told about.”
Hetch’s voice could be heard clearly now, just a few rooms away.

“I don't know what youre talking about Hetch.”
Even without being able to hear Sneeg, Ranboo knew his friend well enough to know that he sounded nervous. Nervous? Why would he be nervous?

“Of course you do Sneeg. We know everything. And I know that you might have a little friend outside of work, or maybe more than a friend? Well honestly I couldn't care less about what his relationship to you is. What I care about is… well I think you know why I’m asking about him.”

“What do you want with Frank.?”
Sneeg sounded almost like he was grinding his teeth together being forced to spit out that sentence. To Ranboo, the malice in that would shake them to their core. But Hetch seemed unaffected.

“So! You do know who I’m talking about. And don't be so aggressive, there's really no need. All I want…is for him to join us here!”

“NO- no I-I mean no. Why would you want him here he doesn't… he doesn't have powers”
Sneeg’s breath was coming faster now, more erratic. Something was panicking him, though Ranboo couldn’t tell what.

“Don’t act stupid Sneeg. You know better than anyone else that we know everything. But... if you want it spelled out then I guess I will oblige. We know that he’s a necromancer. And we want him on this team! Wouldn't it be great to work with your friend? He can have the wonderful life that you have here too! Just tell him to join, and it will all be done.”
Hetch sounded angry. Ranboo knew that they could be cold and harsh, but something was different here. Hetch sounded pleased: like hearing Sneeg so panicked brought them some sadistic joy. Ranboo didn’t like the version of Hetch they were hearing.

“You aren't going to get your hands on him! He doesn't want to be a hero, I've asked him already!”
Sneeg shouted now, desperation seeming to overtake their normal chilled out demeanor.

“Oh well, the easy way isn't the funnest way, so I don't care if you don't make this easy.”
Hetch sounded gleeful now, like their joy couldn't be contained.
Someone stood, a chair screeched as the person in it pushed back.

“NO DON’T TOUCH ME”
Sneeg screamed in terror.
Ranboo ran to the door, every moment of hero training they had ever received roaring to life, muscles tensed ready to defend their best friend.

Ranboo slammed into the door with enough force that the hinges buckled and the wood warped, eyes desperately surveying the scene.

Hetch sat calmly in a plush wooden chair, leaned back, dressed in their full attire, holding a strange looking employee mask in their hand, fully out of place for the ungodly hour in the morning.
Sneeg stood in his old band t-shirt and plaid pyjama pants, looking at Ranboo with an uncanny calmness on his face, his chair fallen at his feet.

“Oh Ranboo! My favourite mentee! I’m so sorry, did we wake you? I was just having a little chat with your friend about his new training regime!”
Hetch sounded normal again, greeting Ranboo with the same prideful demeanour that he had held since Ranboo first joined the heroes.

“But- but I thought I heard something happening?”
Ranboo rubbed their eyes, looking again at the scene in front of them for some sign that what they had heard happened, but no. Both Sneeg and Hetch were there, and calm.

“How tired are you that you're hearing things? Go back to bed now, Sneeg will take you back. Goodnight Ranboo.”
Sneeg walked past Ranboo with an almost robotic nature, heading back to their room. After one last look at the room, Ranboo joined him too, jogging up to his side.

“Hey, Sneeg? Are you okay?”
….
I guess we’re both tired.

The rest of that walk back to the room was silent, and Sneeg went straight to his bedroom, shutting the door behind him as soon as they entered the apartment.

So Ranboo went back to their room too, laying in silence, contemplating the events of that night.
Even as the sun rose and painted the familiar room in a golden hue, he lay with Moose in his arms, silent.

It was only a few weeks after that a new hero was introduced. One with bone white hair, a skeletal mask laid over his face, and the ability to raise the dead from the ground. He wasn't seen much, but when he could be seen, he stood with an arm around Sneeg. Sneeg had acted normally since that night as well. Whenever Ranboo tried to question about the events, it would be met with a strange look, and then an answer about a new training regime, just as Hetch had said.

That night should have faded into obscurity in Ranboo’s memory.
But the insomnia didn't leave.
It never left.
Something had happened that night.
Something…

Even as Ranboo, Charlie, and Sneeg sat down for another normal movie night, sharing laughter over some terrible romcom, that one question still plagued their mind.

What the fuck happened?
I think I’m losing my mind….
I think I’ll lose it if I don't find out….


I will find out.

Chapter Text

Week after week, day after day, every second that Ranboo wasn't on duty, Ranboo had spent investigating since that night.
Keeping an eye on Sneeg showed very little promise after a few weeks, as everything seemed to have returned to normal, and the monitoring started to feel a little awkward after nothing was found. So they quickly gave up on that.
But investigating Hetch? It had shone a light on Hetch, far more illuminating than Ranboo had wanted it to be.The investigation had only really been to reassure Ranboo, the findings supposed to confirm that the paranoia was just that, paranoia.
But the investigation had done only the opposite.
The comforting blanket of ignorance had been torn off Ranboos shoulders by their surveillance, leaving only a cold truth biting at their skin.

Something is wrong with Hetch.

Hetch had performed all of his duties perfectly. Ranboo’s training was going well, Hetch always helped them in every way possible. Many late nights ‘accidentally’ walking past Hetch’s office revealed only a mountain of paperwork the diligent man worked through with a cup of coffee by his side. His bright voice still carried all of its power and influence in every public event he attended.
But…
A few times Ranboo had heard Hetch’s voice take the same darkened tone he had heard in that office, but now during hushed phone calls accompanied by hurried glances at anyone nearby and rushed demands to call back another time. Some of the interactions with other heroes didn't seem as friendly as Ranboo had always assumed they were, Hetch acting more like a harsh boss than an assertive friend.
And the most noticeable to Ranboo’s keen eye: Hetch disappeared every Saturday evening. He would emerge from his office carrying a briefcase, take the elevator outside, get into a car, and drive off.
Of course Ranboo had only assumed it was a meeting at first. After the third time, they looked a little more carefully.
The briefcase? Hetch seemed to struggle to carry it, as if it weighed far more than just stacks of paper would.
The car? A black unmarked car. The type of car reserved for heroes on stealth or deceptive missions.
The meeting time? Being a hero might be a 24/7 job, but administration had far more normal hours. Hetch’s job sat in a strange gray zone between the civilian roles and active heroes, so maybe he could have had something at that time, but anyone he would be meeting with would certainly be off the clock.

Those details echoed in Ranboo’s head as they paced in their room on the Saturday after that realization. The golden light painting the room only highlighted the tired bags under their eyes and the marks from their tread burning into the floor over hours.
Back and forth, back and forth, he walked with his head in his hands, the grimace twisting the corners of their mouth visible with their mask discarded on the floor.

What if it's something normal and I’m just overthinking?
The nice sounding but still slightly troubling thought raced through Ranboo’s head before immediately being overwhelmed by the next.
But what if I’m not and something bad is happening? Like being blackmailed by villains?
I can’t do nothing!
Ranboo ground to a halt, their head turning towards the setting sun.
I’ll follow him just this once Ranboo finally decided.
If nothing happens, then I’ll leave. And if something does… Ranboo gulped, their face softening in a quiver for only a second before it hardened with confidence. If something happens, then I can help. I won’t let Hetch face whatever this is alone.
The decision finally made, they began to pull on their suit.
Watching the last dregs of sunlight disappear, they pulled on the last piece, the cold metal settling on their face.

Whatever this was, Hetch wasn't going to go through this alone.
No matter what, everything would go back to normal tonight.

This would end. Glitch was going to make sure.