Chapter Text
Being a hero was nothing like it’d been cracked up to be. Sure, it meant protecting the city from evil but it also came with so much lying and hurt, and honestly Mysterion was becoming a bit numb to it all. He knew how to smile and come up with excuses – reasons as to why he arrived late or unexpectedly canceled plans without being able to explain beforehand. It wasn’t like Mysterion could ever be Kenny McCormick, the resident party hound with a wide grin and who always carried supplies for anyone that asked.
Until something unexpected happened.
Patrolling the city had always been one of the easiest parts of his job. Mysterion was perched on top of a rooftop, quietly surveying the people down below. It was bustling with activity as civilians headed into work or intermingled with loved ones, friends and family alike. Nothing seemed to be hair out of place; Hell, it was quiet .
Though right as he considered leaving, a sudden burst of fire came from one of the buildings.
He swore under his breath as he called the shadows forward, dark forms encircling around him before vanishing from the rooftop and reappearing at the building’s front. Mysterion’s eyes roamed the place for any injured civilians or passerby who’d been caught in the middle of it.
Upon seeing no one, he rushed into the building - under the impression there might be someone behind this. With the amount of crime in Denver, he wouldn’t put it past some dunce to have set this off as a joke. Just to prove they were the tough guy on the block.
“Mysterion!” A civilian cried out.
“Are you hurt?” Mysterion asked gruffly, checking them over before ushering them outside. “It isn’t safe right now. If the building comes-” He startled as footsteps rang out followed by very familiar, boisterous laughter.
“I should’ve known you’d be behind this, Chaos .” He let out a low, unamused growl, seeing the civilian run off before turning his attention on the supervillain.
“Who, me? Nonsense! Why would I target a place like this, Myste~?”
Mysterion narrowed his eyes at the villain, as if wondering whether the professor himself was telling the truth.
“You’re serious?”
“Myste, I’ve got better things to do with my time! And it doesn’t involve going after people who’ve never wronged me!”
“Fine,” Mysterion reluctantly admitted right as his attention was caught on the ground shaking beneath him. That did not sound good. “ Don’t move . I’ll handle this.”
“Wait! Mysterion!”
The cloaked hero ran inside, barely acknowledging Chaos before he cupped both hands to his mouth. “Everyone, out! This place is unstable!”
The less unnecessary casualties, the better.
“Oh, hamburgers,” Professor Chaos quietly groaned from behind. He huffed before staring at Mysterion as if he’d grown a second head. “Do you always rush into places like this? Seriously, these people are already doomed!”
“They’re still worth saving.” The hero snapped.
The ground lightly shook again, knocking supplies off of desks and leaving cracks lining the walls, but he stalked off to the fire alarm against the wall. He stared at it for a moment before breaking the glass and pulling the handle down, the shrill noise serving to have the workers scrambling to get out.
Mysterion frowned before running up the stairs, making sure there weren’t any stragglers left behind on the other floors.
“Mys- Mysterion! Come on , why won’t you just leave?” Professor Chaos exclaimed.
“If anyone gets left behind, they might die,” Mysterion snapped.
“You’ve done enough! Now come on before-”
“Chaos, enough. I sure as hell didn’t ask you to follow me in here,” Mysterion growled, only to falter in his steps for a second.
The cracks lining the wall seemed to be growing bigger, exposing the building’s infrastructure - the poles holding it into place sticking out, among other nonsense the hero wasn’t all too familiar with. Though this really wasn’t looking good.
“We have to leave.”
“That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you!” Professor Chaos shot back, exasperated. “You just won’t listen.”
The lights from above began to flicker wildly and the floor trembled, Mysterion grabbing his nemesis by the arm and moving to drag him out. Right when they reached the hallway, his ears pricked as something suddenly exploded – just barely aware of someone shouting, only for his body to be knocked clean against the wall and everything went black.
He didn’t have a clue how long he’d been out.
Mysterion’s head was pounding as a low groan escaped him, straining to open his eyes. He coughed and pushed himself to move upright, only to frown because he could barely see anything. Debris littered the ground given the hallway managed to cave in on itself; slabs of cement could be seen knocked against the floor but Mysterion could feel a pool of dread begin to form.
Where was Professor Chaos?
“Chaos!” He shouted hoarsely. “Damnit- can you hear me?!”
Silence greeted him for a second before Mysterion spotted the cape, unmoving, and immediately staggering to his feet. He slowly and carefully made his way over to the unconscious villain, calling his name out again.
“Shit. Why’d you have to follow me?”
Nothing.
“Chaos! Answer me,” the hero growled right as a weak, raspy cough escaped the villain. “You’re- Don’t you ever do something like this again!”
“Ugh… My-Mysterion?”
“Can you stand?”
Chaos hissed, but gave a tiny nod and slowly stood back up, gingerly touching a hand to his forehead. He stared at the wet blood for a second before asking, “what are we going to do?”
“Find our way out of here. What else?” Mysterion scoffed like the answer had been obvious from the start. He didn’t seem too injured, save for the dust clinging to his cloak but that wasn’t anything surprising.
“Yeah! You got it,” Chaos chuckled lightly.
Mysterion led the way forward, keeping the professor in his close vicinity; reminding himself it was only because he seemed a little worse for wear and the last thing he needed was for Professor Chaos to suddenly collapse. He could not lend his guard down if they had any chance of getting out in one piece.
“You’ve got to be fucking with me.” He deadpanned.
The hallway door was blocked off and there didn’t appear to be another exit.
“Oh, hamburgers,” Chaos muttered under his breath before his attention turned to Mysterion. “You know, I could destroy it with my powers!”
“I- That might be the only way.”
“Perfect. Now move, Mysterion, let the pros show you how it’s done!”
Chaos concentrated as his gloved hands lit up a vibrant blue, bringing one of them back to form a fist. A grin quirked on his face before rushing forward and slamming his fist against the door and surrounding obstacles, watching with glee when it burst apart at the seams.
“See? I told you it could be done!”
Mysterion gave a stiff nod as he pushed some of the broken cement aside, having no choice but to lower himself down and crawl through an opening just to reach the other side. He stopped, casting a glance at Professor Chaos - sighing, “watch your step. This is still a tight fit.”
“Oh, you can count on me, Myste~” Chaos purred back.
Once they’d managed to make it through, the duo took a minute to regain their breath. Mysterion’s lips were pursed as he stretched his legs out - not saying anything for a moment.
“This isn't as easy as I thought it’d be!”
“And you’d be right on that front. Being stuck in here hardly compares to our usual fights.”
“But it sure makes things interesting, doesn’t it?” Chaos chirped.
Mysterion growled from the back of his throat, sharply glaring at his rival. “I wouldn’t go that far. This is not what I’d call fun, professor.”
“Oh come on! You’re such a worrywart,” Chaos teased, eyes glinting. “Don’t worry the hairs on that head of yours, Myste~ We’ll be out of here right as rain, I reckon!”
“Keep moving. We’re wasting time,” Mysterion growled.
The hero and villain continued on in relative silence, and thankfully getting out of this floor hadn’t been too terrible. Having to work together like this seemed to spark something in both of them as Chaos suddenly piped back up, “hey, Mysterion? You know, I was thinking-”
He cut himself off, as if he wasn’t up to continuing the mask he put up around Mysterion.
“Why do you never put yourself first?” He settled on, voice quieting and morphing into something more serious.
“What do you mean?” Mysterion sighed.
“Well, you’re always off running around - saving people,” Chaos continued, “but you just don’t- they’ve never done anything for you! You could be so much more powerful if you put your abilities to better use than protecting a broken city!”
“The city needs me. Its citizens deserve to feel safe.”
Chaos chuckled dryly, “you’re limiting yourself, Mysterion. If you joined me, we could really be unstoppable.”
“That would never work.”
“Oh come on now! Don’t you want to go a little apeshit?”
He didn’t get an answer.
It seemed the maze out of the building would never end, but they continued progressing along, winding further down. Mysterion hadn’t said a word - lost in his own muddled thoughts and making sure there weren’t any unexpected accidents. Even if Chaos was his enemy, he didn’t feel too keen on seeing him die .
Not like this.
“Mysterion?”
His gaze snapped up, turning his head to put his attention on Chaos.
“I don’t think it’s the time for talking.”
“Can’t we just fight together? Instead of on opposite sides!”
Mysterion stared, uncertain on how to respond. Whatever he’d been expecting, it definitely hadn’t been that.
“ Why ? We’re enemies, Chaos,” he pressed, eyes narrowing.
Chaos frowned, taking a half step back. “I just thought- Mysterion, if you and I used our powers - we might be able to properly rule over the city!” He exclaimed, voice raising.
“I don’t want to rule over the city, Chaos.”
“You’re not listening, Myste! This is about something bigger than we are!”
“What are you not getting?! I am not joining you!” Mysterion hollered back, rendering Professor Chaos silent. His shoulders were shaking and he took a step toward Chaos who just watched him with wide eyes.
“I didn’t mean-” Chaos began, only to yelp as the ground shook beneath him again.
Except this time it was much harder than before.
“Chaos, walk toward me. Slowly.” Mysterion ordered, reaching out with one hand to pull Chaos in his direction.
“Mysterion-”
The rumble got worse and then everything seemed to slow down. Chaos screamed as he was yanked forward, feeling Mysterion’s cape drape over him right when something fell from the ceiling.
Silence permeated the room.
He felt his eyes slowly open, coughing weakly as he struggled to move.
“Oh, golly,” Chaos got out. He nearly jumped at feeling the fabric of Mysterion’s cloak nestled against him. “Mysterion…? You-”
Mysterion had protected him. Something Chaos couldn’t fully wrap his head around, but then he felt his breath catch in his throat.
“Mysterion!” The villain cried out, all pretense going from his voice once he noticed the unmoving form of Mysterion, blood and debris staining the hero’s clothes.
If it weren’t for that, he’d almost look like an angel but somehow that hadn’t been the worst part.
Part of the infrastructure had fallen, leaving a metal pipe impaled in Mysterion’s side.
And it didn’t look like he was breathing.