Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Cool air washed over the world as the sun began to set, though clouds had been covering it anyway. A gentle sprinkle began as Amplitude hopped from building to building. The vigilante stopped at the top of one of the computer buildings, exactly where Mimic had asked to meet him. The blonde vigilante exhaled as he eyed his surroundings. It wasn’t exactly foggy, at least not yet. He heard the flap of wings begin to approach, along with a string of curses as rain began to patter a little harder. 

“Hm, that must suck, flying in the rain.” Amplitude started as he turned around to Mimic landing behind him. The parrot vigilante let out an aggravated grunt as he flapped out his wings. He lifted the hood of his red hoodie-like top, the wings on his head retreating underneath. 

“Yeah. It is really infuriating.” The dirty-blond huffed, crossing his arms. He wiped at the mud already on his black combat boots, further attempting to clean them. His black cargo pants seemed clean enough, though they were starting to dampen already.

“Well, you ready to head to the old city grounds, parrot?” Amplitude asked, tilting his head with a slight smirk as the other man frowned. 

“Augh, NOT my city given name. I swear, that reporter- what’s his name, Timmy? loves to give us ridiculous names with no respect!” Mimic squawked, his wings flaring, further proving his birdly habits. The blonde simply chuckled. 

“You’ve got a point there, I didn’t do much aside from listening when I wasn’t supposed to in my first few weeks so ‘The Listener’ kinda… stuck.” Amplitude, well, the name under the mask was Martyn, shrugged, eyes traveling across the buildings to see his best route to get to the old city. Mimic cackled a little at that, hopping onto the edge of the rooftop. The two vigilantes were on the move the next moment, heading to the Old City called Evo City.

In all honesty, Mimic had asked Amplitude here for a favor. He wasn’t sure why the parrot wanted to investigate the old city, but he’d heard the rumors. An ancient being called “the Watcher” roamed those parts. She was a kind of myth in Hermit City, told to children so they’d not do anything bad when nobody was looking. Because “The Watcher is always Watching. Of course, Martyn was in the boat of non-believers for the so-called “Watcher.” He called bullshit. 

That didn’t mean Martyn wasn’t going to investigate. He was kind of curious, and no Heroes would be willing to do the dirty work of it. They all avoided the old city like the plague. Vigilantes though? They’d get their hands dirty, go to places no Hero would dare go. Mimic had insisted on it, the two of them needed to see what was going on. The vigilante had to agree though, due to a recent flare up in mobs and monsters coming from that area. 

The duo headed to the outskirts of the city, the rain not as bad, though it was likely to follow. Martyn unsheathed the sword he always kept on hand for emergencies. Mimic… Well, nobody ever knew what power Mimic had at any given time. He had to touch someone to get their powers, and he could use more than one at a time, but it was a temporary thing. 24 hours, if he wasn’t mistaken. And if he had to guess, mentally taxing. 

The blonde stepped in front of Mimic making sure to lead the way. His longer than normal ears flicked out, senses spreading as far forward as he could manage. He could hear everything with a certain mile radius, and was able to control said radius. The sounds could get overwhelming, due to being able to hear even the smallest steps of the ants. But he could manage, blocking out certain sounds, leaving certain things muted to his ears. 

The strange thing was, the closer the vigilantes got, the quieter the Sounds became. That came as a concern to the blonde, but he didn’t mention it. Martyn’s shoulders did tense however, the grasp on his sword tight enough to make his knuckles white. Mimic stood at his side, unsheathing a dagger from one of his belts. The blonde checked his own gear, scolding himself for not doing it earlier. 

The vigilante pulled at the deep green mask over his mouth and nose, and adjusted the black headband under his blonde hair. He checked the sheath on his black toolbelt to make sure it wasn’t damaged, his own shirt was long sleeved, a lighter green than his mask. Black fingerless gloves poked out from under it. Martyn checked his cargo pants, the same deep green as his mask. His black combat boots had golden buckles, each safely fastened. 

Mimic didn’t interrupt his short look over, though he seemed to be checking his own gear. The two met eyes, nodding their heads. As they continued walking it began to sprinkle again, which caused an annoyed huff from the parrot hybrid to his right. Martyn himself hummed in annoyance, still trying to listen for any clues. 

Strangely enough, there were no sounds of mobs walking around, no zombies groaning or creepers hissing. Granted, the steady patter of raindrops beginning to fall, along with thunder that had shivers and jolts going through Martyn’s body were starting to give him the slightest bit of a headache. He absently wished his partner Hound were accompanying them, though he had warned the other of a possible distress call if it came to it. 

Just because he owed something to Mimic didn’t mean he fully trusted the vigilante. The two continued to explore the area as these thoughts rushed through Martyn’s mind. Carefully keeping one ear open in case Mimic got any ideas. Though as the gentle pitter patter of rain started to turn into a slight downpour, the two men started feeling less and less confident. 

The entire old city was a mess. Buildings were crumbling at the edges or completely destroyed. Wooden beams lay exposed to the rain, shifting and creaking under just the wind alone. Vines, weeds, and mold lined almost every building. Some were in better shape than others, but the conditions were still terrible. Martyn looked towards Mimic as he jumped out of the way of a falling few bricks. Lightning and thunder would strike every once in a while, causing the Listener to inhale sharply and stumble slightly.  

“Mimic I’m not sure if it’s safe to investigate in this kind of weather. It’s getting harder to hear anything, and I doubt you can fly at all in it.” Amplitude stated, forcing his voice to heighten in volume due to the likelihood of the other not hearing him. Mimic only scoffed.

“We’re already this far. We can’t turn back!” The vigilante shouted over the loud sounds of the wind. It wasn’t needed, because Martyn would be able to hear him anyway. The blonde sighed, continuing to walk forward with Mimic not leaving his side. 

“We can’t even go into any buildings to properly investigate, there’s no point in being here! If anything we’re setting ourselves up for danger!” Martyn hissed as he put a hand on Mimic’s shoulder. The dirty-blonde glared at him through the red mask over his eyes. 

“I don’t care. I know I saw something the last time I was here!” That had both vigilantes stopping in their tracks. Mimic blinking with widened eyes as if he hadn’t meant to say that. Martyn stared at him with growing suspicion. 

“You were here before? What the hell did you see that was so damn important that traveling through this weather is worth it?!” The blonde questioned, voice growing louder as the other man winced. Martyn glared, crossing his arms over his chest. Mimic put a hand on the back of his neck, looking away. The two stood facing each other for a minute or so until he finally decided to speak. 

“I… I saw those… purple eyes… and I started to follow them. They lead me here. But when I got here there was only some kind of central brick circle with a rectangular symbol in it. Mobs were just… spawning from it in purple particles. And I know it’s the Watcher… She’s real, I know she is. And I’m going to find her.” Mimic explained, conviction lining every word he said. His eyes burned with determination, and that had Martyn biting down a retort. 

The blonde grit his teeth, huffing out an exhale. He looked at the broken down buildings and rain soaked wooden beams. Something did feel off about this place. The prickling feeling of… being watched made the hairs on the back of his neck rise. Martyn looked back at Mimic, who wouldn’t budge with his determined expression. 

“Okay. Then we find this… central circle thing, and we figure out if there are still mobs. Dunno how the hell we’re gonna fix this problem but we’re both good at burning bridges when we get there.” The blonde manages to actually chuckle with a shrug of his shoulders. The other vigilante blinked his eyes as they widened, looking shocked this time. Martyn nodded his head towards the continuation of the path they’d been on. 

“Maybe you lead the way, since you’ve been here. Are we close? Can you still see the eyes?” The blonde asks as he waits for the other to start walking. Mimic still looks shocked, mouth hanging open slightly. Amplitude snorts a laugh, trying to smother it but can’t manage. 

“Y-you believe- I- yeah I can- yeah.” He doesn’t specify whether he can lead the way, or if he can still see the eyes. He suspects both are the case. The two start going a wildly different direction than Martyn had been leading them. He’d been listening for any hint of mobs and though there weren’t many, some were loud enough. 

Mimic was leading them to the area that was completely doused in silence. He’d not heard a single thing from that direction. No ants walking over or under the ground, no birds chirping or shuffling to safer areas, even the raindrops sounded… muffled. Martyn realized he'd been ignoring that area without even fully realizing it. 

The two dodged and weaved through buildings, both at a slower pace than normal because of the rain starting to pick up even harder. Martyn’s hair was thoroughly soaked, though his suit was waterproof due to good design. He suspected Mimic’s suit was similar, though the pants might not have been. The other was lucky to have a hood. 

The two vigilantes' footsteps squelched on the muddy ground as it started shifting to concrete bricks. He could hear the pounding of their hearts, along with both their footsteps. He couldn’t quite see through the rain pouring down, but he could hear it pattering on concrete. It was a more muffled sound than usual, and eventually the two entered the circle of bricks. 

As soon as the two entered, lightning cracked in the center, causing Martyn to scream. His knees hit the ground, ears ringing loudly. His eyes widened as a cloud of purple particles remained where the lightning struck. The blonde looked up, there wasn’t just a circle, but also stone pillars that seemed to rise endlessly into a pitch black sky, stars painting it. It looked unnatural. The cracks in the pillars filled with some kind of sparkling purple dust, the rain didn’t stop, but the sound of it muffled even further. 

Mimic was in front of him, hands on the dagger he’d been carrying. A misshaped form appeared in front of them, too fuzzy for the blonde to focus on. It shifted in firm, hair blurring from black to purple, clothing shifting from a lot of outfits in various shades of purples and blacks. The only clear thing about the being in front of the two, was the wings on its pack and head. They were double wings, black with a darker purple ombré to the bottom, and bright neon purples at the edges. The wings on its head looked the same, and covered its eyes. 

“Watcher.” Martyn heard Mimic state in a daze, the blonde’s eyesight starting to clear. He barely processed Mimic and Watcher fighting. Flashes of silver and purple light making it impossible to tell what was going on. The vigilante stood, shaking his head and letting his vision clearly completely. He saw more than one of Watcher, and he couldn’t tell if there were more than one or if her powers had something to do with it.

Martyn took hold of the sword he hadn’t realized he dropped, and stood slowly, eyes narrowing. He realized terrifyingly, he could not hear Watcher. It might have been from the incessant ringing but… Her footsteps were completely silent, heartbeat nonexistent. He couldn’t reach out his senses to listen specifically to the Watcher, because there was nothing to Listen to at all. The blonde exhaled shakily, deciding not to dwell on it. He sent a panic call to Hound and jumped at the Watcher attacking Mimic. 

The other vigilante dodged one of her hits right as he got over. He sliced straight through, but was met with a puff of purple dust. Martyn turned around, slicing his sword in an arc to destroy whatever illusions were surrounding Mimic. The blonde grabbed the other’s hand, helping him up. 

“Thanks. But there’s no way this is over. You alright?” The parrot asking, wings brushing against the pillar behind. Martyn must have been making some kind of expression, because the other had a look of concern. The blonde exhaled, realizing it was shaky.

“I can’t hear her. At all. And I can’t see her very well either, she’s just… a confusing blend of weird purple and black particles I… I can see her wings and eyes clearly, but that’s it.” His voice trembled with every word, causing Mimic to look horrified. 

“You can’t see her? Wh—“ Just then a flash of purple force slammed between the two, knocking both vigilantes away from one another and off their feet and flying in opposite directions. About six Watchers formed from that spot, three running straight after the two vigilantes separately. 

Martyn stood quickly, sword set in a more defensive position. The three Watchers surrounded him, all looking the same but different. Their footsteps still weren’t making any noise. The blonde narrowed his eyes, ducking as one of them fired some kind of sharp projectile at him. It looked like a purple spike, though it was slightly transparent? 

The vigilante twisted as the other two sent more projectiles, slicing through one and falling then rolling as another tried to stab him with something. Martyn stabbed at her heels, but her whole form lit up into purple particles. The last one he stood facing off against, walking in a circle. He could hear Mimic actually struggling against the last Watcher he was against, though he stayed focused on the one in front of him. 

Neither made a move forward, both circling each other. It wasn’t until he heard Mimic shout out when he realized he could hear that Watcher's footsteps. Martyn’s head snapped over, watching as she stood over the other vigilante’s now unmoving form. He noticed blood leaking from the other man’s forehead. 

Martyn quickly looked back to the other Watcher as she jumped at him, though as soon as she touched him she dissolved into purple particles. It dawned on Martyn why he couldn’t hear the other Watchers and why they kept dissolving. They were illusions. The being in front of him standing over Mimic seemed to smile, wings flaring out. Her hands started to glow that sickly purple again, and in a sharp motion, everything became clearer. 

The surrounding area became a broken down mess of completely destroyed pillars, overgrowth occurring everywhere. The Watcher herself even became clearer, hair black, white mask over her eyes. That rectangle symbol that Martyn now realized he was standing on, also lay on the mask. The wings remained the same, though she wore elegant robes of black and purple. 

It took another second for Martyn to realize that he couldn’t move. The eyes on her wings were locked onto him, her footsteps slow yet graceful as she walked towards him. 

“The one who Listens, the one who Hears, the one who knows through silent Ears…” Her overlapping and intense voice had Martyn shouting out, trembling hands clawing at his ears. He hadn’t even noticed he’d dropped his sword until the Watcher rushed over. He dodged even through his daze, eyeing the way she grabbed his sword and disappeared in a plume of purple. 

Martyn swore his heart skipped a beat. The blonde listened for footsteps, hearing them surround him slowly. She’s invisible, he noted absently. The blonde unsheathed the hidden dagger attached to a strap around his thigh, thanking Hound that he’d insisted on bringing it. The vigilante heard as soon as the Watcher was about to strike, he ducked, sliding the being off his back and shoving her to the side. 

The Watcher stood with his sword, slicing at him. He blocked it with the dagger roughly with a loud clang. Martyn pushed back with all his strength, kicking at the Watcher’s chest. She caught his leg with her free hand and threw him across the clearing. His back hit an already collapsed pillar, cracking it. Various bits of rocks and debris fell on him, but it had already collapsed enough in the past that nothing more could fall. The blonde noticed the being rushing forward. Then, in a panic, Martyn let out a super sonic scream.

The Watcher hissed and screeched inhumanly, falling to her knees. All her eyes snapped to him once again as she bared her teeth. Martyn glared, tilting his head and starting to stagger forward. He heard a set of familiar footsteps running through the city. And that distracted him for a second. A second that he shouldn’t have afforded to allow. A second that gave the Watcher a moment to jump at him. And a second too late did he realize the dagger missing from his hand had been plunged into his lower ribcage.

The Watcher grabbed onto his chin with her free hand, forcing his widened eyes to look up as his body flinched. He almost passed out then and there from the pain burning in his side. Breathing became difficult, though that may have been from panic.

“Your impressive, little Listener. Though you have a voice. Only you are to blame for an unwise choice.” Her smooth voice entered his ears painfully as he gasped for air. Her hand slid to his neck, a searing feeling enveloping it. Then Martyn felt the dagger slide out of his body. It made a clang as it hit the ground and she pushed him back.

Martyn coughed. He reached for his side, gasping and stumbling as he fell. His back hit the ground, head lulling as the Watcher stalked over to Mimic. The blonde groaned in pain, trying to put pressure on the wound. His chest was rising and falling much faster than usual, his heart racing, and everything was looking blurry. The rain was finally coming to a stop, though it still mixed with the blood. Mimic and Watcher were gone the next time he looked up. The vigilante heard footsteps continue until they were nearby. Familiar. Hound had received his panic call.

“Amplitude?! Ampil- AMPLITUDE!?” The werewolf’s terrified shouts didn’t go unheard, and Martyn shoved his body up as much as he could, neck straining to see his partner sprinting towards him. The blonde visibly relaxed, crashing back onto the ground. Blood was seeping through his fingertips, though every part of him was glad that the Watcher used his dagger and not his sword.

The blonde lifted one knee as Hound finally made it over, taking off the cape he wore to put better pressure on the wound. It stung, but the vigilante felt too weak to flinch. Martyn looked up at Hound with lidded eyes, seeing the terror in his partner's expression. The other’s ears had flattened, eyes trailing over his body to observe. They narrowed on the blonde’s neck.

“Hey… I… I’ll be fine…” Martyn managed to rasp out, lifting a bloodied hand to Hound’s cheek, but stopping once he saw just how much red. Hound grabbed his hand anyway, bringing it up further. 

“Damn right you will be. I’m getting you to Necromancer, and I don’t care what I have to do.” The brunette growled, his tone leaving no room for argument. Martyn’s eyes went wide, he tried to protest but stopped as a wave of pain entered his body due to the Hound picking him up. 

“I’m so sorry-“ The werewolf immediately apologized. The blonde winced, hissing through his teeth. He let out a shaky exhale, but it got caught in a cough. Martyn shook his head at the apology.

“No… y-you’re right… but Necromancer will ask for a price… Ren… I…” The vigilante trailed off, voice fragile as he accidentally said Hound's name. He felt as if the world was getting more distant. Ren held him even tighter, shushing the blonde gently. 

“I’ll pay any price Martyn… I can’t lose you…” His partner whispered. The blonde let his hand fall from Ren’s cheek to the back of his neck. The edges of his vision were starting to darken. 

“Okay…” Martyn breathed, “Okay…” he repeated, hand slipping off of Ren’s neck. The werewolf looked down at him with panicked eyes, and the blonde realized they’d started moving. The brunette jostled him, causing pain to spike through his body. He whined, and absently knew he should stay awake. But he couldn’t stop the darkness from overtaking his senses. He swore he heard a sniffle and a sob before the darkness fully overtook him.

<•———|•|———•>

The void greeted Martyn when he felt like he was at the edge of consciousness. Darkness enveloped his mind, limbs feeling heavy, breaths and heartbeat loud. A little time passed and he heard another heartbeat, a little longer and he felt the sensation of something cushiony below him and soft on top. There were no voices, but the familiar breaths of his partner in crime, best friend, and roommate filled his senses.

The blonde eventually managed to lid his eyes open, head twisting to his right. He caught sight of Ren sitting upright, arms crossed, head down, body rising and falling. He also heard a few snores here and there, and noticed the werewolf's ears were flattened. The other didn’t seem very comfortable, though moonlight streamed over him, brightening his features. 

Martyn was suddenly very aware of the previous night’s events. Mimic had been taken. He had to find the other vigilante. The blonde tried to sit up, but found his next breath getting caught in a sharp inhale. Ren was up immediately, ears snapping up along with his head, eyes attentive. The brunette was at his side immediately, a gentle hand pushing him down. 

“Ren- wh…” The blonde recalled the… second half of that night the moment the pain spiked. It wasn’t terrible. Actually it really wasn’t that painful, and certainly not as bad as when he’d been stabbed originally. But it was just a bit of a shock. Martyn’s hand slid to his neck at a sudden stinging sensation, he winced. Ren set a gentle hand over his own.

“Please relax Martyn… you might be fully healed but it was a serious injury… I swear if Mimic did this—” Martyn shook his head to cut the brunette off. 

“No it- it wasn’t- Mimic he- he was kidnapped, Watcher did this. She’s… She’s real, Ren. She’s actually real.” Desperation poured into the blonde’s tone as he grasped his partner’s shoulder, much more able to sit himself up. The brunette stared at him with widened eyes. 

“Watcher…? that- Martyn that’s ridiculous, it’s just- she’s just a myth—“

“She isn’t and I saw her. She can create illusions and go invisible! She made that whole area all weird looking and even herself and then she took Mimic after stabbing me!” Martyn rambled, taking off his covers and standing up, feeling a little unsteady but overall fine. Ren tried to protest but the blonde kept walking till he was out of his room. The brunette followed closely behind him, though he had no trouble. 

Martyn abruptly stopped in his tracks when he realized that the pain was gone, and there was only one way that could be possible. The blonde turned his head to Ren, blinking a few times. It took him a bit to gather his words.

“You called in Necromancer. I- You said you were going to and- what was their price.” The blonde turned around, staring up at the taller man. His roommate opened his mouth to speak, but closed it after some contemplation. He looked away guiltily. Martyn crossed his arms, narrowing his eyes. He wasn’t budging until he got an answer.

“She asked that you owe her a favor. I tried convincing them that I should owe it instead but they refused. Said your life was on the line, not mine… but it was a decision about you made on my behalf I’m sorry—“

“Don’t apologize. I would’ve accepted it anyway.” Martyn interrupted with a sigh, shoulders relaxing. Ren visibly relaxed as well, exhaling. Admittedly, the vigilante had been expecting a lot more from the hero, but he was glad for only a favor. It wouldn’t be the first he owed, though the first to a hero. 

“Alright, then I feel less sorry…” The werewolf smiled, eyes closing. Now that Martyn was really looking at his roommate, he noticed the slight bags under his eyes, and the way he was starting to tilt. The blonde frowned, shaking his head as he grabbed the other man’s arm, pulling him to the couch. 

“Absolute idiot, you haven’t slept since… well, whenever the hell I got stabbed, have you?” Martyn stated, sitting Ren down on their little couch in the living room area. He stared down now, noticing the way the brunette didn’t meet his eyes. 

“Ah… well, maybe not but it’s fine… I just—“ Martyn didn’t wait for him to finish as he sat beside the other, lying on his shoulder. 

“Just shut up and be my pillow. I’m still tired too.” The blonde deadpanned, grabbing the blanket that they always kept on the couch and pulling it over them. Sometimes he wished he had wings so he could just be the blanket but well, he digresses. Ren snorts to his surprise, a laugh rumbling from his chest.

“Did you just wish to be a blanket…” The other mumbled with a laugh. Hm, Martyn hadn’t known he’d said that aloud. He huffs out an exhale, pulling on the blanket, and sliding it over Ren as well whose head already started lying on the blonde’s head. 

Martyn winced and put a hand on his neck, feeling the slight sting again. The vigilante absently noted that he should probably look at it in the morning. His eyes slipped closed, breathing calming. He listened to Ren’s heart beating, relaxing as his breaths calmed more than they had been. The blonde let the darkness envelop him this time, happy to fall asleep.

<•———|•|———•>

Purple laced whatever vision Martyn could comprehend. It was darkness, but he swore he could see the pillars surrounding him again. His eyes looked down, looking at the symbol he stood inside of. The rectangle with the top left and bottom right corner broken off. The vigilante looked up in a haze as he heard someone running at him. The blonde gasped as he pulled out his sword. 

Watcher came at him, attacks relentless, form visible but flowing oddly. She smiled weirdly, seeming to hold back her punches. Martyn felt something, well some things, wrap around his arms as his sword clattered to the ground. She stepped in front of him, head tilting. The wings over her eyes flipped out, revealing the mask over her eyes. 

“The clock ticks, the time sticks, your strong mind feels like such a waste… perhaps you will not be the toughest challenge I have faced…” Her words drawled out in a growl, teeth bared. He absently noticed she had fangs. Martyn couldn’t manage a breath, and this sound of her voice ricocheted in his mind. He tried to push and pull away from whatever held him, but the pressure grew tighter, like vines  and tendrils wrapping around his body. 

“St-stop…” The vigilante wheezed, chest tightening as the tendrils wrapped tightly around it. “What do you want—“ He was cut off but her sword being plunged straight into his chest. 

Martyn woke up screaming, his neck burning as if something had been seared into it. His breaths were ragged, hands—who was touching him?—on his shoulders trying to calm him gently. He clawed at the fabric over his chest, fully expecting to feel blood soaking his shirt. He absently wondered how it was still beating after he’d just been stabbed. 

Someone was yelling his name. He processed that after what was likely not the first time. He shoved away from them. Watcher, he thought, it had to be her. He shouted as much, at least he was pretty sure he did. The blonde hit the ground. The question “What the hell did I fall off of?!” Got his eyes to finally focus on what was actually in front of him. He’d already fully slid himself away from the couch.

Martyn felt lightheaded, his breaths were still ragged and his heart was racing faster than when he’d gotten stabbed. The first time. Not- wait- the second?

“Martyn?” A voice choked out, said blonde wasn’t sure how he’d just processed Ren kneeling in front of the couch but not quite in front of him. Tears. Ren was- he was crying. Martyn was crying too, he realized as he wiped at the wetness of his own eyes. 

“R-Ren.” Martyn managed to state through stuttering breaths. His hands traveled to the wooden ground he was sitting on, trying to feel something cool. The brunette finally started towards him, concern in his eyes. The blonde’s breaths were shaky, but they were beginning to calm down. 

“Ren.” The blonde whispered again, less dazed as said werewolf knelt in front of him. Martyn exhaled shakily, the brunette’s hands gently slid onto his shoulders. Ren’s blue eyes bore into him, glossy and terrified. Tears ran down his cheeks, though they were starting to dry. 

And Martyn melted into the touch, completely shuddering. His body trembled, and Ren brought him closer. The blonde didn’t know how to respond to the touch, so he just sunk into it. He moved his hands around the brunette, and the other gently lifted him bridal style, a familiar pose for the two of them. 

Ren brought them back to the couch, and Ren simply laid back against the armrest, allowing Martyn to lay on top of him. The blonde buried his face in the other man’s chest, a whine existing his throat. 

“Hey… maybe you should just chill here for a bit my dude, don’t have to talk about it or anything.” Ren whispered, his voice ever softened and not quite in his ears. The blonde nodded into his chest, sliding one hand around his neck and scratching him behind his ears. 

“Alright, don’t get too carried away Martyn…” The brunette teased, and the blonde liked the way his heart rate increased ever so slightly. Perhaps he just wanted to hear that it was still beating at all. Martyn did slide his hand off, though he let it rest over the werewolf’s shoulder. 

Gradually, the two fell into a silence, Martyn sinking into Ren’s touch as his hands gently slid over the blonde’s back. Martyn didn’t even try to stay conscious after that. 

<•———|•|———•>

Martyn woke up the next time with no nightmares, Ren awakened slowly at around the same time. They were both slow to actually get up, but the blonde was more relaxed than his first… wake up. He hadn’t had any nightmares since that morning, and it was a little after 1:00 PM. 

Admittedly, as soon as the two got up, Martyn couldn’t get himself to leave Ren’s side. The other didn’t mind, and they only really parted when the brunette got working on breakfast while the blonde went to the bathroom to brush his teeth. Yes he brushed his teeth before he ate, sue him. Except he hadn’t even grabbed his toothbrush. His icy blue eyes were staring at the searing symbol on his neck. 

It was that same damn rectangle. And it looked blackened and burnt with a slight purple tint. Martyn refused to look at it when he started brushing his teeth. He finished quickly, mostly because he didn’t want to look in the mirror for a second longer than he had to. Also, he wanted to get back to Ren. What if Watcher stabs him next? The blonde shakes that thought away as he walks up the werewolf.

Ren’s ears flicked in his direction, indicating the brunette knew Martyn was there. He used that opportunity to get on his tip-toes and set his chin on the taller man’s shoulder. The other stilled for a moment as the blonde’s hands wrapped around him. He sighed softly.

“Martyn I don’t know if I can cook with you being clingy like this…” The brunette chuckled, side-eyeing him. Martyn hummed disapprovingly and looked at the eggs in the pan so far. 

“You’re doin’ fine so far…” He mumbled grumpily, getting a laugh out of Ren. The werewolf only shook his head, continuing to work on the omelet in the pan. Martyn did not in fact inhibit the other’s ability to cook, he moved with him and grabbed anything Ren needed.  

They sat side-by-side at their small table, the second omelet being made with Martyn finally willing to separate and actually set the table. Well, get the paper plates beside Ren, and plastic forks at the table. As soon as the brunette sat down, the blonde laid his head back on left shoulder. This time the werewolf hummed with a more concerned expression.

“You alright Martyn? You don’t have to talk about what you saw if you don’t want to but… you usually don’t get this clingy unless you’re worried.” Ren questioned, though there was a hint of concern in his tone too. The blonde sighed, staring at his omelet. He sat up, feeling at his neck. 

“It was really… confusing. Lot of… purple smoke or… particles? I… I’m not really sure. I just know that I saw her. Watcher. She… I don’t even remember what she said… she just… stabbed me. And then I woke up and this stupid symbol was burning.” Martyn explained slowly, trying to recall the events of the nightmare. Ren inhaled sharply, looking at the blonde with concern. 

Ren gently set a hand on Martyn’s, sliding it off the symbol. In the blonde’s peripheral he saw the brunette’s expression morph from concerned to confused. 

“The symbol… I don’t really see it. It’s… it’s there, that same one from the old City. But it’s faint, like a jagged light purple outline? I can hardly see it. Doubt anyone could if they weren’t looking this close.” Martyn’s head snapped to the brunette as he spoke, eyes blinking a few times.

“What? It looked almost black in the mirror- like- it had been burned into my skin!”  The werewolf looked just as shocked, but neither could really provide any guesses. They both got to eating their omelets that had already started to cool down. 

The pair still couldn’t figure out anything even when browsing the internet. Watcher was a very mysterious figure. Again, most only saw her as a myth. Martyn did start slowly explaining the events of, what he found out was now a day and a half, to Ren. When he’d woken up the first time, it had been the night after the original stabbing. He’d taken a full day to recover. Then they’d slept through the rest of that night and woken up... well, this morning. 

Ren stayed mostly silent through his recall of that night and what happened. And the two were feeling equally worried about Mimic and what may have happened to him. The werewolf turned on the news in the background as they continued to research, in case anything came up. 

Just their luck, or maybe it was bad luck, something about that night did come up. 

“The vigilante Parrot was last seen with the other vigilante, Listener…” A very infuriatingly familiar voice had Martyn’s head snapping up from his laptop. Nothing was coming up about Watcher or the old city anyway. But hearing himself referred to as “Listener” really got under his skin. Especially since Watcher had called him that.

“So, Mr. Solidarity, what do you propose happened on that night?” One of the main news cast asked the reporter. Jimmy Solidarity. Otherwise dubbed as Tim, Timmy, or Timothy, mostly due to his public naming of all vigilantes except for certain ones. Every vigilante’s worst nightmare. 

“Well, Everyone is aware that both have been missing since one night ago, but eyewitnesses claim that Hound was carrying Listener away from the area of the old city. It’s safe to assume that Listener had something to do with Parrot’s disappearance, and perhaps fought back. The question now though, is Parrot dead? If so, then Listener can be the only one held accountable. And he should face justice for his crimes.” Martyn’s eyes widened, heart skipping a beat.

He didn’t hear what else was said, well he did, he just didn’t comprehend it very well. They thought he was the one who kidnapped Mimic. They thought he was dead. And he might be the one facing the trial for it. Ren tried to yell out for Martyn, but he wasn’t Listening. 

“Sorry Ren, I’ll be back. Just have a Reporter I need to have a chat with.” 

Chapter Text

Admittedly, the interview was going exactly how Jimmy had expected it to. Questions about Listener and Parrot. He’d been the main reporter on the case, as he was with all vigilantes. He loved it, at times, but after years of researching them, conducting interviews, and investigating leads… it felt more and more wrong to paint them in a bad light. 

His theory of Listener possibly killing or kidnapping Parrot came out of his mouth easily, practiced neutrality in his expression. But deep down he cringed at his own words. He wanted to take them back, but the facts suggested all fingers pointed to it. Jimmy worked with facts and evidence, he theorized and gave the best explanation for the papers of the week. Plus, his boss would get on him if he tried claiming that maybe someone else was involved when evidence suggested otherwise.

His thoughts drifted as he mindlessly answered the rest of the questions of one of the newer reporters on the scene. He was pretty sure her name was Katherine Elizabeth, but she seemed excited nonetheless. Her tone was respectful, and she kept calling him “Mr. Solidarity” which felt a little odd. The blonde smiled as the cameramen stopped recording due to other channels needing attention. 

“Wow! You’ve been on the scene for a long time now, right? I-I know the interview is technically over publicly, but could I trouble you with some reporter related questions?” The woman asked as both started walking back to the news station, fiddling with the notepad she held. Jimmy smiled kindly, nodding his head. 

“Yeah of course! Ask away!” He replied sweetly, putting his pen behind his ear. Katherine lit up immediately firing a flurry of questions his way.

“Why’d you wanna be a reporter on vigilantes specifically? How’s it feel being one of the big ones? How do you handle it? Have you talked to any vigilantes in your own time? Do you know any of them personally?”

“—Woah woah! Slow down a moment and let me think!” The reporter cut her off with a laugh. She chuckled nervously, nodding and apologizing. 

“I actually can’t even answer almost all of those…” He trailed off, he should be able to. Jimmy wanted to, and he was considering it… but the blonde shook his head, sighing. He can only answer one of those questions.

“How do I handle it? Well… it’s not easy. Managing this kind of job can be difficult, don’t be afraid to see a therapist. It can be terrifying. And if anyone ever tells you it gets easier they’re lying.” He emphasized with a laugh. 

“Every day is completely different, so expect the unexpected. Getting in good with some heroes can be pretty much a guarantee for your safety because once you start reporting for these kinds of people… there’s every chance one of them will come after you.” Katherine was jotting some of what he said down, not even asking why he couldn’t answer anything else. She looked nervous as he spoke, but there was a familiar glint of excitement in her eyes.

“So, it can be terrifying, expect the unexpected, make friends with heroes—somehow—always be on full guard…” She muttered to herself, and Jimmy assumed those were the things she was writing. The blonde nodded along, as she stated her thoughts. 

“Paraphrasing is also good, plus rewatching interviews of yourself and whoever interviewed you or whoever you interviewed. It can be weird to hear your own voice and watch yourself ask things you already asked, but sometimes you miss details. You won’t always have a recorded interview though, so always carry something to, well, record with.” He continued to ramble, watching her write everything down in shorter phrases and notes. The ravenhair smiled.

“Okay! Thank you so much for that!” Katherine exclaimed, flipping her notepad closed and putting her pin in the pocket of her soft pink dress. Jimmy nodded without answering, instead realizing they were already back at the news station. The two walked inside together, heading to the newsroom to set down their respective notepads and, in Jimmy’s case, recordings. Nobody else was in there, even though it wasn’t that late. Only about 5 ish. 

“I’ll see you tomorrow then?” Katherine waved cheerfully. Jimmy hummed with a thumbs up as he started organizing his files. His mind drifted as the woman left the room, leaving him alone. One of the questions she’d asked him really struck him. “Why’d you wanna be a reporter on vigilantes specifically?” 

He couldn’t answer that. Mostly because his boss had gotten on him for explaining it during the interview. His boss, some guy named John, had made it clear that his pity story wasn’t what they were looking for. His papers on vigilantes were. He’d published a few online articles talking about his own theories and experiences while living in the city. The ones about the vigilantes always got the most attention. Mostly when he wrote about them committing petty crimes and trespassing. 

He’d been living in the Old City when it had gotten demolished by a villain. Xornoth, he remembered, was the name of them. Working with who everyone believed was a myth, the Watcher. His friends and family from then… Well, he didn’t know where they’d gone. Xornoth was supposedly some kind of reincarnation? Along with the hero Aeor, who’d died that night. It was said the hero had a son, but nobody ever listened to that part of the story. Nobody really cared to

But Jimmy did. He knew. And he cared. And he cared about the fact that the faces of his best friends, his family. Three of his… well they felt like siblings to him, had disappeared that night. And the worst part was, he couldn’t remember their faces, couldn’t remember their voices, hell he couldn’t even remember their names. He doubted he’d be able to tell if he ever met one of them again. But he still knew they existed. 

And, well, Jimmy remembered waking up after the Old City of Evo was demolished. It had been the vigilantes from the sister city, Hermit City, who’d come to the rescue. Not the heroes, no ambulances. Only the vigilantes. Older ones, many who’d died and retired at this time. The heroes like Aeor were loved by even Jimmy because he’d at least tried to save them. And even so… Jimmy, the young canary hybrid with wings too small to fly with, had been one of the few to survive. Unlike his family. Unlike his parents. Unlike anyone else. 

And yet… When he and a few others got to Hermit City, nobody asked them what happened. They only wondered where he’d come from and shoved him into an orphanage. He’d met some good friends there. Scott, ever the sweetheart who could still be intimidating. Even now they were friends. Joel, who always loved to annoy Scott and try to tick him off. He was nice enough though. Lizzie, who acted like a big sister, and the one he admittedly told everything to. 

A few others were there too, some he still talks with today. Gem and FWhip, two unrelated redheads who looked and acted like twins usually stuck together. He and FWhip would usually argue over fish preferences as a joke. Sausage and Joey, well, both ended up escaping the orphanage before he really got to know them. At some point the owner of the orphanage, a young man named Pixl, decided to shut down the program and allow them to live there as a family. They all loved him, and grew up with him. 

If Jimmy was honest with himself, he wouldn’t have had his life any other way. But there was always a lingering feeling of… anger, at the heroes of Hermit City. He’d started writing about vigilantes in a good light, as an outlet, posting them to express himself. That was how he’d been spotted by John, who had liked his ideas at first. But facts and evidence came into play. Vigilantes did bad things, hurt people without proper training or knowledge. And the ones who’d saved him… slowly started vanishing. Many were believed to have retired, but some were found dead. He’d started investigating those disappearances as soon as John had hired him.

Except then he was told he had to stop. That it was, “A waste of time” trying to figure out what happened to dead or missing vigilantes. New ones came into play, and those were the people John told him to focus on. He hated it. Seeing vigilantes in action and doing… bad things, wasn’t something he’d wanted to see. Except they weren’t all bad. He knew for sure that a lot of them were good. 

Sure, Parrot tended to be on the more chaotic side, not opposed to blowing up, admittedly corrupt, companies. But he still went after mobs and creatures, not quite directly saving citizens from danger, but always managing to be there at the right time. His powers were figured out easily, and Jimmy thought it had been clever to call him “Parrot” because he could parrot or copy others powers. And, he was a parrot hybrid. Plus, he was quite talkative during interviews.

Listener, the one he’d claimed likely killed Parrot, was always elusive and not very talkative. Jimmy hadn’t been sure what his powers were at first, though he noticed the blonde vigilante always seemed to hear everything. He’d not learned about the super sonic scream thing till the man took out the whole floor of a laboratory. Even then, there was coordination. Nobody was in the lab at the time due to some kind of chemical leak. Interviews were difficult with him, but he still talked occasionally.

Hound, Listener’s partner, was the polar opposite. He was talkative, excited. His tail was often wagging, ears always pointing upward and tilted to keep his senses open. Jimmy had more than once interviewed the vigilante, and he had more than enough to say. Sure, his freakish strength had broken more than a few heroes bones, but that didn’t mean it hadn’t broken just as many bones of villains. 

Electro Byte was a vigilante who really only worked behind a screen. Jimmy hardly saw him out and about. But when he did, lights and electricity normally flickered. He honestly hadn’t done anything bad enough to write about, but it was clear that if there was technology involved in any case with another vigilante, he was likely on the other side of the coms. He’d never managed an interview with him.

Wildfire always seemed extra excited to see Jimmy, which felt… odd. He was always there to burn mobs to ash. He’d burned more than a few rich businessmen and bank owners, but a lot of times citizens would claim their balances had increased after those nights. The flaming vigilante absolutely loved doing interviews. He was more talkative than any of the others. He’d happily told Jimmy the name he wanted to be called.  

Speaking of names, Jimmy was normally the one to name a vigilante when they’d been made public. Parrot and Listener he wasn’t really sure what they actually preferred to be called. Though after they’d been named, other vigilantes had started quickly telling their own. Electro Byte had been sent to him through an anonymous and intractable contact, though he’d been surprised. 

The reporter let out a deep exhale as he got to his last note on the vigilantes. He’d written all of these things down on his computer, but refused to share them in an actual paper. Citizens really only saw the negatives. The destruction, the carnage, the carelessness. Some, like him, weren’t afraid to speak out on the specifics and how the vigilantes weren’t as bad as the news claimed. He’d agree in a heartbeat publicly if he wasn’t so sure he’d get fired.

Jimmy closed his laptop and shoved it in his bag. The blonde stood from his spot before freezing in place. A glint of green caught his eye for a moment. He whirled around to see the vigilante Listener leaning against a table across the room. The man raised a brow, then scoffed. 

“It took you almost ten whole minutes to realize I was in here. Lost in thought much?” The other blonde rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. Jimmy was pinned under his glare. And he wasn’t sure what to do. Sure he’d interviewed vigilantes but never had one come to his workplace. 

“Wh-what do you want.” Jimmy stumbled over his words, fumbling with the pocket knife he always carried. It seemed pitiful compared to the scabbard on Listener’s hip. He’d seen the vigilante’s sword and how dangerous he could be with it. 

“Oh I don’t know… Maybe I want you to stop spreading false information.” Listener hissed as he rushed forward, shoving Jimmy against the wall. The reporter yelped as the pocket knife fell from his hands, his back slamming into the wall. A few papers fell off desks and tables. 

“I-I was basing my claims off of the only evidence available—“ He sputtered in a panic, staring at the fire in those icy blue eyes. Listener’s glare bore into him for a few moments, though he said nothing. 

“Please Listener I’m just doing my job—“

“Don’t call me that.” He snapped, voice… trembling? Before shoving at the reporter and letting him go. Jimmy stood in shock, blinking a few times as the vigilante walked away, putting his hands on the back of his neck. 

“You and your terrible names Timmy. Honestly, no wonder everyone else started getting in on early interviews just so you wouldn’t give them something stupid.” Listener’s tone was full of anger, but there was a hint of humor peaking into it. The reporter processed what he’d said.

“T-Timmy?! Excuse me?!” The other side-eyed him, then rolled his eyes. 

“Yeah now you know how we feel. Can we get back to why the fuck you blamed me for Parrot’s disappearance?! Not just that but you- you think I killed him?!” The vigilante was facing him again, his voice still angry, but his arms were outstretched, eyes full of questions. And Jimmy took a bit to answer.

“I- You were last seen with him! And after the fact, you were seen being carried with a stab wound similar to a dagger! It’s not impossible to assume that you both fought!” The reporter’s voice started to rise, his explanation panicky. The vigilante stared at him with wide eyes and angrily furrowed eyebrows, but after a moment he sighed heavily. 

“Okay I can- I can get that. But there’s not even any actual evidence! I didn’t kill him! He got kidnapped by someone else! By Watcher!”

Jimmy froze, eyes going wide, next breath getting caught in his throat. He stared at Listener, hand going over his mouth. The reporter felt his heart rate speed up rapidly, as if it hadn’t been racing enough before. Watcher. She was back. Or maybe she’d never left? Did she remember him? Probably not. But the Old City had been run on a kind of dictatorship where she was in complete control. 

“God. No…” He managed, back sliding down the wall. He’d blamed Listener for something Watcher did. But that got him thinking—

“What the hell were you two doing in the Old City?” His voice couldn’t rise above a whisper, Jimmy knew it would crack. The vigilante looked floored, as if he hadn’t even expected the reporter to believe it. Listener narrowed his eyes, a thoughtful look in them. His cold glare softened. 

“You were from there, weren’t you… I knew I wasn’t insane when I pulled up the survivors list and saw a picture that looked like you just… smaller. R— er, Hound said there was no way.” The vigilante sighed, slipping up on the name of his partner but correcting himself quickly. Jimmy frowned, looking away. 

“Nobody ever cares. Nobody… Well nobody important to me made it out alive. I tried to figure out what happened to the vigilantes that saved us before but… stupid boss would probably fire me and—“ Jimmy’s head shot up, eyes staring straight at the camera in the room. He stood up, cursing. 

“The camera- if anyone sees this I’m screwed! I could be fired! But I can’t just break it I—“ Listener put a hand on his shoulder, both startling the reporter and terrifying him. 

“Don’t worry about it, Electro Byte played footage of you walking out almost 30 minutes ago, and there’s no audio. According to the cameras, you’ve been gone since then.” Jimmy gaped at him for a moment, processing what he’d just been told. Electro Byte? 

“I… thank you… Listener, or… uh—“

“Amplitude.” The vigilante added with a nod. Jimmy hummed, crossing his arms. Yesh, that was much cooler than Listener. 

“I’ll still be calling you Listener because of that Timmy comment…” The reporter huffed, a smile pulling at the corners of his lips. He’d always felt intimidated by Listener—Amplitude? Nah, might as well spite the other—but after this conversation… he watched the other blonde walk out, and followed. But by the time he got outside Listener was already long gone.

Jimmy pulled his car keys out of his bag as he walked towards his car. He unlocked it, opened the door, threw his bag to the passenger seat, sat down, buckled his seatbelt, then closed the door. The blonde put the keys in the ignition, but didn’t turn them. He simply sat for a moment. He pulled out his phone, checking for messages or calls. Nothing, no bugs or viruses either, at least he hoped not. 

The reporter looked out his window to see two figures on top of the building by the news station. One suspiciously shaped like the vigilante he’d seen moments before. He suspected they were Listener and Electro Byte. Jimmy sighed, finally turning the keys and driving out of the parking lot. 

The drive to his house wasn’t long, but his mind drifted. He’d publicly mentioned his theory on Listener kidnapping or possibly killing Parrot to the news, but without a proper basis nobody could act on it. Jimmy did feel… bad, if he was honest. He didn’t jump to conclusions without evidence, and what had happened seemed logical at the time. Maybe he should’ve waited for more evidence or explanations but… Listener could publicly defend himself if he wanted. 

Jimmy pulled into the driveway of the small house he lived in. He got out of the car much like how he’d gotten into it, grabbed his bag, and locked the door. The blonde trudged to the door of the house, steps dragging. The reporter fiddled with his keys to find the one to the house, eventually finding it and unlocking the door. 

He walked inside, closing the door gently behind him. He winced at the floorboards creaking. Jimmy sighed, putting his bag on a chair and walking to his room. The blonde stretched his arms over his head, taking his shirt off to allow his golden canary wings to unfurl and pop back into place. The reporter found it annoying, having to hide his wings from the public eye. But at the same time, he understood.

People weren’t very kind towards hybrids. Well, most people weren’t. They’d been part of society for generations, but once upon a time they’d been seen as beasts in need of taming. Those… accusations, had been proved untrue of course, with a kind of revolutionary war where hybrids fought for their place in society. Even still, many hid their features to this day and age out of fear. Especially Jimmy, someone with a status like his? Well, most places would hire, but public places like news stations were always hesitant. His boss specifically was quite… rude towards hybrids. 

The blonde shook his head along with his wings, doing stretches and flapping them out. He walked over to grab his toothbrush and toothpaste. Jimmy went through the motions of brushing his teeth, wings brushing against the bathroom wall and doorway. It was a small place, but it worked. When he was done brushing his teeth, the canary tiredly walked back to his room to change.

Once he did so, choosing out some random comfortable shirt with no back and shorts, he practically crashed into his bed. He lay on his stomach, sprawled out with his wings over the edge. Jimmy remembered he’d forgotten his phone in his bag, but he felt too tired to get it. He was off tomorrow anyway, so he didn’t need his alarm. The blonde hugged and grabbed at his blankets messily, taking a bit to get comfortable. Once he was though, he sunk into sleep easily.

<•———|•|———•>

Jimmy woke up slowly, face buried in his pillow, eyes opening slowly as he turned his head to the side. The blonde stared at the single small window in his room, light shining in at an angle where it wasn’t in his eyes. When he’d first moved in that had been an irritating problem. But it wasn’t anymore. 

The canary spent another few minutes lying in bed before shoving himself up and getting ready for… well, his day off. He brushed his teeth, took a shower, painfully, as always in his small and cramped shower where he could hardly fit his wings in. But it was just enough. After the shower he went to the living room and sat on his carpet, running his fingers through golden feathers to catch any other loose or damaged ones. A good shower usually got most out, but he never was too careful. 

He had a good schedule of preening his wings, so normally there was hardly anything to actually pull out. There were some areas he couldn’t reach, but he could probably call Scott over some time this week… the blonde sighed as he stood from his spot, heading a few feet over to his pantry. He grabbed a blueberry muffin, one that Scott had brought over some time during a prior preening. He ate it while going to his bag to grab his phone. 

Jimmy started absently scrolling through Twitter while eating his muffin. Clips of his interview were spreading, people questioning “Listener” and his intentions. Others were defending the vigilante, talking about “baseless evidence.” It wasn’t baseless. Though it wasn’t correct either, now that he’d been informed by a direct source. 

The canary finished his muffin, throwing away the wrapper and continuing to scroll through. He shouldn’t. He’d see all the terrible things said about him and how he was a “terrible reporter.” But he also saw good things, people who looked up to him and tuned into each broadcast just to see his findings. Jimmy smiled at those ones, liking them on his private account. 

He spent a fair chunk of the morning doing that, eventually deciding to turn on the TV and see if there were any good shows or movies on Netflix. Before he could even find anything though, his phone started ringing. Jimmy raised a brow but picked it up, seeing Scott calling him. He answered with a shrug. 

“Hey Jim! Sorry to call you on your day off, but there’s a kind of a situation, and the boss didn’t feel like calling you. Someone called in sick, so you kiiind of need to come in… in the next hour…” Scott’s voice crackled through, hesitant and nervous. Jimmy groaned, he didn’t hate his job but… well, he sometimes needed a day off. He didn’t say as much though  

“Yeah sure, not a problem! I’ll be in soon!” He sighed, trying to sound enthusiastic, but knowing damn well he didn’t. Scott let out a relieved exhale. 

“Thank you so much Jimmy! I’ll tell John you’re able to come in today!” The other exclaimed, hanging up. The blonde groaned, flaring his wings. It took a fair amount of effort to get himself up and to his room to change. He grunted while trying to pop his wings closer to his back so he could properly put a shirt over them. After he put on his jean jacket over a white shirt, black pants, he then put on his white socks and shoes. 

Jimmy checked his bag, grabbing his car keys out of one of the pockets, and made sure everything else was in it. It was, so he slung a strap over his shoulder and headed out. The blonde set his phone to low battery mode, mourning the fact that he wouldn’t be able to charge it. He really should get a new portable charger, but the last one had gotten destroyed during an investigation. The reporter got in his car and was off.

He got to work a little before the hour he was supposed to, aka 1:00 PM, and went inside the news station. Familiar faces gave him brief greetings, but most everyone was focusing on their own work in their own corners. Jimmy caught sight of Katherine and waved to her, getting him a bright smile in return. The blonde approached John’s office, seeing the man sitting straight in his far too nice suit, neatly combed brunette hair, and piercing green eyes. 

The reporter entered, nodding to his boss as the other nodded back, dismissing him to go and work. Jimmy kept a smile, heading over to his desk and pulling out his laptop. He suspected he’d be kept until late writing an official piece on the Listener and Parrot situation. He never really hoped for a crime alert, but he also wouldn’t be terribly offended if one happened to go off today. Preferably involving vigilantes so he could go out…

Jimmy sighed and shook his head, starting to work on the paper about Listener’s situation. He realized he couldn’t simply tell the public that he’d come to set things straight, though maybe Listener would make his own statement… the reporter sighed. It was going to be a long day…

<•———|•|———•>

It was a few hours later when Jimmy remembered to check the time. Well, it wasn’t even dark outside yet. In fact, it was only 4:37 PM… not too terrible a time, but also it already felt like he’d been there for an eternity. Scott had come up at some point, talking about his own story. He wrote about heroes mostly, but rarely actually worked any shifts, oddly enough. Scott was a great writer, and one hell of a reporter. But he simply didn’t work often.

As the day dragged on, Jimmy realized he was getting slightly antsy. His foot was bouncing, a random pencil twisting in his hand. He was getting close to finishing the paper, but it felt wrong. He wanted to wait for an official statement from Listener before actually publishing anything. 

It had been another few hours before anything interesting happened. The sun was just starting to set when the reporter sighed, rubbing his eyes. Jimmy wanted to fall asleep on his desk, but his head shot up at the sound of an alarm. A crime alert. What the… He thought, mind lagging behind.

The blonde stood from his seat, the TV screens flicking on to reveal a smoking building. It seemed like some kind of laboratory, and smoke was coming out of the windows. Some cameras panned to two individuals on the rooftop beside it. The vigilante Wildfire… and Lunar, one of the villains of the city. Said to have the ability to put people to sleep and create dreams or nightmares as she pleased if she made eye contact—

“SOLIDARITY! GET YOUR ASS TO THE SCENE!” Jimmy jolted at John’s scream. He was standing there. Right, that’s part of his line of work. Vigilantes. Wildfire, a vigilante, was there.

“Yes sir!” He squeaked while grabbing a recording device, his phone, his car keys, and a notepad and a pencil. He rushed to the door, catching Scott’s panicked expression. It confused him why the other tried to call after him. He was already out the door. 

Getting to the scene was easy, his car parked not far from where the vigilante and villain were facing off. He brought out his phone, getting a clear recording and snapping a few photos. He saw more than only two forms fighting though. The addition of the flaming red hair of Geode caught his eye. Not only that, but he saw Listener at Wildfire’s side. Jimmy snapped a few photos, capturing the battle with a full moon in the background of it all. 

Listener, Wildfire, Lunar, Geode… fighting and on the scene… rooftop opposite burning laboratory… Jimmy thought as he started noting things in his notepad. He pulled his notepad down before feeling a shockingly cold breeze go past him. The blonde turned to see Glacier, the hero with ice powers, rushing towards the burning building on a bridge of ice. He took note of it quickly, turning his attention back to the other side.

Jimmy looked back up at the fight, only to meet the eyes of Lunar. She tilted her head, an indigo glow to them. The blonde dropped his notepad and phone, suddenly feeling dizzy. He blurrily tried to keep his eyes on the scene, and only saw Listener shouting something while pointing at him. Glacier was too busy putting the building's fire out to notice. 

The world tilted, his knees hitting the ground first, shoulder slamming into the ground. His eyes lidded shut after a fair amount of trying to stay awake, and he was out like a light. 

…

Jimmy knelt, coughing mixes of dust and droplets of blood, gasping painfully as he screamed for his sister. 

“PEARL! PEARL WHERE ARE YOU!” The young canary sobbed, eyes not able to focus through the dust and rubble. He feels cold, and he can hear the sounds of Xornoth and Aeor battling around him. He runs, trying to look for any one of his siblings. ______ or _____ had to be around somewhere! He hoped… 

The blonde ran until his legs burned and he fell to the ground, scraping his hands and knees. Jimmy wiped at his consistent stream of tears, wings shrinking. Pearl had been with him moments before the house had… blown up? Exploded into vines? He wasn’t sure. His head hurt. He knew Pearl was nowhere to be seen. 

The canary couldn’t stop sobbing as he finally managed to stand, staggering forward to try to look for somebody, anybody. His eyes caught sight of a lump, no. A person. He rushed to them, seeing the bleeding form of Aeor, neither Xornoth nor Watcher in sight. Jimmy fell to his knees beside the hero.

“P-Please! Mr-Mr. Hero- A-Aeor! A-Are you okay? C-can you still save us?!” The blonde stuttered, sobbing and sniffling between words and phrases. The hero did not respond. His eyes looked up at the full moon, blood pooling underneath him. Jimmy’s every breath rattled his chest, he was looking at a dead man. That’s not a sight a young child can merely unsee—

Jimmy jolted, breathing raggedly, eyes blurrily looking around. He couldn’t really move, though he felt something… under him? Under his knees and his back, which kind of hurt his wings— he was lying against something he realized. The blonde groaned, wiping at tears that had begun streaming down his cheeks. The reporter tried looking up, only to be jostled. He gasped, starting to cling to… oh. Someone was carrying him. 

“He’s- he’s woken up I think? Or maybe he’s still sleeping— I’m not- oh my gosh yes Amplitude! I am getting him away! Glacier was on my tail, I couldn’t let him follow either!” A far too loud voice sounded out of nowhere. Though he felt the rumble of their chest.

“Holy… you’re way too loud…” Jimmy muttered, eyes starting to focus a little better as he met the surprised yet goggled eyes of Wildfire. 

“Oh! He is awake! I repeat! Jim- uh, Timmy’s awake!” The vigilante laughed, looking over his shoulder with knit eyebrows, then back in front of him. Jimmy let out a weak huff, jolting as Wildfire came to a stop.

“To his— what?! You want me to drop him off at his house— Amplitude the more I work with you the more I think you’re insane!— but fine!” The thought of How the heck does he know where I live?! Came to Jimmy’s mind, but he wasn’t sure if he cared enough to ask. Well, he also still felt a little out of it. 

He wasn’t sure. Jimmy was absently aware of the direction he was being taken, but he wasn’t fully, consciously aware until he was in his house. He blinked in confusion, feeling himself being lowered to the ground. The reporter tried to stand on his own, shoving away from the vigilante. This startled the other, though the blonde only stumbled, unable to keep his balance.

“Woah! Hey!” Wildfire whisper-shouted, grabbing Jimmy’s wrists and pulling him closer. The blonde exhaled roughly, hardly able to keep himself up on his trembling legs. He refused to meet the vigilante’s eyes, he was far too close. That didn’t stop him from leaning ever so slightly into his warm touch… the canary shook his head.

“Let go!” He tried to push the other away, but he only kept a firm grasp. The blonde’s breathing was slightly shaky, the image of a dying Aeor still fresh in his mind. He shook his head.

“Please, calm down Jimmy! I’m trying to help you!” Wildfire explained, not letting go. The reporter eventually gave up trying. He stayed silent, clenching his jaw. His back hurt like hell, being carried like that was never comfortable. Especially not for his wings. 

“I-I’m sorry. Lunar hit you with her sleeping… power. And thenI think she made you have a nightmare and then you started crying- and Amplitude was persistent about getting you out and uh- home… sorry about that, by the way.” Jimmy crossed his arms, shaking his head. He closed his eyes, exhaling deeply.

“It- how did you even get inside? Actually- how did you even know where I lived?!” The reporter demanded, getting more and more used to the vigilante’s hold. Wildfire bit his tongue, humming to himself as if contemplating.

“Uhhhh… Well, ya know, uhm… in the not legal way… annnnd actually most every vigilante is well aware of where you live. We specifically avoid your block!” Jimmy was genuinely shocked by these words. The other was smiling sweetly though, far too sweetly for a man who’d just burned a building down. Except something did click at those words. 

The vigilantes did avoid his neighborhood. They would patrol sections of the city, traveling in the shadows, always hard for the reporter to keep up with. They didn’t come near his house though. Nor near his neighbors… that had been an intentional effort? The blonde huffed a shaky exhale. 

“O-Oh…” Jimmy’s eyes slammed shut at a sudden wave of dizziness. He was lucky Wildfire was holding him, or he was sure he would’ve fallen over completely. Instead he fell forward, feeling the other’s grasp tighten, the vigilante gasped. A gentle sing-song whisper echoed in his ears.

“Something wicked this way comes…Something wicked this way comes…” Wildfire seems panicked at the words, keeping a firm grasp on Jimmy. He felt a drowsiness overtake him, and noticed the vigilante starting to wilt as well. 

“No… No no! I knew I shouldn’t have… she followed us…” Was what the blonde heard before going limp in the vigilante’s arms once again. This time Wildfire crashed to the ground with him, still holding him close. 

“Lunar… He’s an innocent civilian…” The vigilante’s voice was weakening, though Jimmy heard the huff of a young woman on the other side of him. 

“Innocent… I know he is. I’d just like to speak with him though. Just a little chat…” Lunar giggled, approaching the two. Wildfire’s back was against the wall, his grasp on Jimmy weakening completely as he realized the other had fallen asleep. The reporter closed his eyes, flinching as he saw the golden glint of the crescent shaped clasp holding Lunar’s cloak. 

She knelt in front of him, even as the blonde pitifully tried to wake the now sleeping vigilante. Her touch was gentle on his arm, but he startled as she pulled him back. For once, he tried to get back to the vigilante, struggling in the woman’s grasp. Lunar turned him to face her, staring directly into his eyes, her firey blue ones burning into his gentle browns. 

“Oh my days…” She mumbled, blazing gaze softening, then fading to an indigo. He yelped at that, trying to get away. But she held firm until he felt the darkness overcome him again.