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Voices and music filled the air, the atmosphere bright and pleasant. The hall was filled with people, much more than Grian was used to seeing in one place, especially with the recent events going on. Everyone was dressed up in all manner of fancy clothes, suits and extravagant dresses. Telling who was who was impossible, everyone was wearing masks that concealed their identity. As expected of a masquerade ball.
This wasn't an ordinary masquerade though. It was anything but.
Recently, there had been a villain running around the city known as the Sculk. This villain made a right mess of things, spreading an infection of sorts that destroyed whatever it touched. Many buildings had strange black and turquoise vines, no, veins, crawling across their surfaces. That had nothing on the local park. What was being called a “catalyst” had sprung up there, spreading the virus much faster than normal, even making a cave of sorts. That place had been shut down until they were able to clean up. The problem being that no matter how much they cleaned there was always more. It spread as fast as the clean-up efforts took. That's not mentioning how dangerous it was to even be around the infection, some of the heroes trying to clean up had been infected. It was feeling more and more like a losing battle.
Grian figured the only way to beat it was to defeat the villain spreading it. The Sculk wasn't easy to locate though. Those who did find the villain had been infected by the virus and forced to do his bidding, like they were zombies or hypnotized. This was a very dangerous mission, but Grian had heard that the Sculk was attending this masquerade party, so he had to try to find him.
Good thing it was a masquerade party too. Grian could be incognito here without dressing up as Cuteguy, which would definitely give his identity away. If he looked like any other guest, he could surely get the drop on the Sculk and take him out, for once and for all.
The problem now was finding him. Grian hadn't really come up with a plan for that, but who cares about plans. He believed in himself! That's all he needed! Things typically worked out for him anyway.
Standing at the back of the hall and watching the masked people dance wouldn't help him find the Sculk though. Grian needed to get out there and mingle. Maybe he should dance? He needed a partner for that. Well, he was wearing a mask, no need to be shy! He just had to ask someone to dance!
That's when he spotted someone standing a bit out of the way. A man dressed in a fine suit wearing a mask that looked like a cat's face. That man kept shifting his eyes from side to side, looking around the hall at seemingly random. How suspicious! Maybe he was the Sculk?
Grian walked up to the man, grinning beneath his own mask, decorated with red parrot feathers. Grian stood in front of him, although he didn't notice Grian at all.
“Hello.” Grian stood in his line of sight.
“Oh!” The man took a startled gasp. “Well hello there!”
Why did something about this man seem familiar? Grian worked at a flower shop when he wasn't being a hero and across the street was a bookstore. A man named Scar worked there with his assistant Cub. Scar always greeted Grian with a “Well hello there!” However, this man couldn't be Scar. Scar was wheelchair bound and while Grian knew he could walk short distances, he really wouldn't come to a party without his wheelchair. This had to be someone else. Besides, the bookstore had been closed the past few days, Scar must've gotten sick or something.
“Do you want to dance?” Grian asked him.
“Oh, well I was waiting for…” The man trailed off and looked at Grian for a moment. “Actually, I'd love to dance!”
Grian offered out his hand, “Let's dance then.”
The man took his hand and Grian whisked him off to the dance floor as the band began a slow song.
Grian wanted to take the lead, but the man nearly swept him off his feet as he pulled Grian into his arms. Nice, strong, muscular arms. Oh, that was kinda hot, actually. The man had pulled him so close to him. Grian couldn't really look around for a villain like this, but honestly this man was attractive. Grian loved being in such close proximity to him. If he closed his eyes, he could even imagine he was dancing with his crush.
They danced across the floor, a slow dance. Grian pulled himself even closer to the other man, so that their bodies were flush. Not just because he wanted to be close to him! He also wanted to look over his shoulder out at the crowd. The man didn't seem to mind at all, in fact he wrapped his arms tightly around Grian's waist.
This was really nice. Even if Grian couldn't find the Sculk, this night would live on in his memories. But he still needed to be on the lookout. Thankfully the man was spinning them both around. Huh, they were spinning quite a bit, actually, twirling all over the dance floor. Wasn't this man also looking for something earlier? Was he still looking for whatever it was?
“What are you looking for?” Grian asked the man.
“Huh!” The man jumped a bit as they danced across the floor. “I'm not looking for anything!”
“Oh, but you aren't paying attention to me.” Grian called out in a sing-song voice. “Am I not worth your attention?”
“You are! You are!” The man stuttered. “I'm looking for my, uh, partner. Not romantic, he's um. He's like my employee? He's been missing? Or acting strange?”
Wait a second. That voice tickling Grian's ear, he knew that voice. It was a voice he was very familiar with due to them working together. Or to be more accurate, this was the man Grian was in love with, “Hotguy?”
“What?” The man stopped dancing on the spot. “I'm not…”
“No, I definitely recognize your voice.” Grian whispered into Hotguy's ear. He could feel Hotguy's heart pounding against his own chest. “It's me, Cuteguy.”
“Cuteguy!” Hotguy's hold on Grian's waist tightened but he did sigh with relief. “What are you doing here? The Sculk is here! It's dangerous!”
“It's dangerous for you too.” Grian started to move his feet, pulling Hotguy along with him. Grian might be wrong, but to him it sounded as if Hotguy had some information, he must be looking for the Sculk too. “What do you know, Hotguy?”
“Nothing! Nothing!” Hotguy's voice sounded tense. “I'm as innocent as a baby bird!”
“What does that even mean?” Grian sighed. “Look, we've worked together before, it's better if we do this together. The infection is spreading, we need to take out the Sculk as soon as we can. If you know something then we can take him down together.”
“Cuteguy.” Hotguy gulped, his voice sounding a bit off. “Listen, it's dangerous. I don't want you to get involved in this.”
Why was Hotguy acting so protective? He knew that Grian was more than capable of handling just about anything. He must know something, Grian had to figure it out. What was the best way to get information out of him?
Well. Grian could seduce him.
Grian had a crush on Hotguy. It was hard not to! He was strong and sweet and just a little goofy. It made Grian want to be closer to him. Hotguy really didn't let him in though. It made sense, they both had their secret identities. That didn't stop Grian from yearning for Hotguy.
“Hotguy, please.” Grian used his best seductive voice as he ran his fingers through Hotguy's hair. “We can be a team. I want you. I need you. Please.”
“Oh. Um! That sounds a little lewd!” Hotguy chuckled.
“It can be lewd, if you want.” Grian thrust his hips a tiny bit towards Hotguy. “We can do all kinds of fun things after we catch the Sculk, let me help you.”
“Oh my.” Hotguy put his head down on Grian's shoulder. From what Grian could see, his ears were bright red. How cute, Hotguy was embarrassed. He didn't pull away from Grian either, so he must be into it.
Now was the time for Grian to make his move. He would definitely seduce Hotguy. He pressed his lips against Hotguy's neck. Hotguy shuddered into his touch. Grian sucked at Hotguy's neck before whispering into his ear. “We can do those fun things first, if you want.”
Hotguy inhaled sharply, “Cuteguy…”
“Cuteguy?”
Another voice interrupted their dance. That booming voice, wasn't that the-
“Can I cut into this dance?” The voice didn't wait for an answer.
Grian was pulled away from Hotguy by his arm. He finally got a good look at who was talking. It was…
It was Cub. But it also wasn't Cub. He was wearing a lab coat like he always did, but his face was covered in that black and blue virus, it was pulsating beneath his flesh. Was… was Cub the Sculk? He was! No wonder the bookstore had been closed the last couple of days.
Grian hated the thought of hurting Cub, but he had to. He had no choice. The virus was going to take over the city if he didn't. Grian went to punch him, but before he could, he felt a sharp pinch at the back of his neck and very suddenly he lost all control of his body. He slumped over, Cub holding him upright.
“Now let's see who you really are.” Cub reached for his mask.
“No…” Grian weakly groaned. He couldn't have his secret identity shown! At least the masquerade had been broken up, the attendees fleeing when they saw Cub show up. But Hotguy was still standing right in front of him. Grian didn't want him to see who he was! Especially after he just tried to seduce him!
But he couldn't move to stop Cub either.
Cub removed his mask, looking at Grian with his glowing blue eyes. His eyes had gone completely blue, no sign of an iris or anything. “Oh. It's you, Grian. What a surprise!”
Cub sounded so delighted. Grian felt sick. He felt like something was writhing under his skin. He felt like his mind was slipping away.
It didn't even hurt. Nothing hurt anymore.
“Well, welcome to the hivemind, Grian!” Cub said cheerfully.
Grian looked towards Hotguy, his vision going dark. “Please. Help me.”
Hotguy didn't move. He was staring. He was-
Everything stopped.