Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"Please, don't concern yourself with that." The young woman smiled as she held the door open. "Wouldn't want the door to hit you on the way out, would we?" She grimaced through her teeth.

"Thanks!" Lin Ling grinned as he walked through the side door of Hero Tower with his arms full of shopping bags. Instead of his usual white hero outfit and long cape, he wore a dark jacket, cap, and bright yellow sneakers.

"Why didn't you just use the front door? It's automatic." Lou Li let go of the glass door and it swung closed, clipping Lin Ling's heels, and making him jump forward and lose his grip on the mountain of bags he was holding.

"Woah!" Lin Ling managed to regain his balance, elegantly turning his stumble into a graceful leap. "That was close, that would've been such a mess.. urgh. Miss J would've killed me for making such a scene in the lobby. As you can probably tell, I'm trying to be incognito today. That's why I went through the side door, less eyes."

Lou Li gritted her teeth together. Whatever he was up to was surely no good. The bags were probably full of explosives, or laxatives, or something equally henious. Whatever schemes Nice was up to, she'd put a stop to them. "And what would've made such a mess, huh?" She stepped closer and grabbed the edge of one of the bags, pulling it down so she could have a look. Lin Ling almost dropped the bags again. "Hey, be careful! There's fragiles in here!

"Huh? Eggs? Flour, sugar?" Lou Li stared down at the baking ingredients in disgust. What kind of evil plan could someone accomplish with these?

"Yeah, yeah, I know I could've just had someone pick it up from the store for me, but shopping for ingredients yourself is part of the baking experience." Lin Ling laughed sheepishly.

Lou Li stepped back and turned her eyes towards Lin Ling's face. "Baking? That's... It?" Her eyes narrowed.

"Yes? What else would I be doing?"

Lou Li stared at Lin Ling's face. "What else? Hm, let me think." She tapped her finger on her chin and walked around Lin Ling. "Anything coming to mind, Nice?" She spat with venom.

Lin Ling blinked. "Uh, cooking?"

Lou Li snapped. How could he act so oblivious, so innocent, so, so nice? "Whatever, just wait until our rematch at the tournament. I'll show you how far I've come." She turned on her heel and stomped out of the lobby.

Lin Ling shook his head. Weird. Nice and Lou Li had never fought against each other in the tournament, and he would know. Treeman would've had him pumping out dozens of ads after the fight.

Lin Ling went over his conversation with the younger hero as he waited on the elevator, watching the people in the plaza get smaller and smaller as he ascended. He could barely make out Lou Li's pink ponytail as she entered a long black car. Somehow, she looked angry even at this distance. Lin Ling shuddered. "What did you do to offend her?" Lin Ling whispered as he looked at his reflection in the glass of the elevator. Nice's white hair, no, his white hair now, his blue eyes just stared back at him silently. Lin Ling sighed. He had bigger problems now. The elevator gently came to a stop, and an impersonal woman's voice said "Floor 15" as the doors slid open onto Nice's- Lin Ling's floor. He stepped onto the landing and gently kicked on the white door in the middle of the room. "Moon, my hands are full." Lin Ling called out.

Moon swung the door open. "What took you so long? Signing autographs for the fans?" She laughed and grabbed two of the bags on top of Lin Ling's tower.

"Actually, I ran into Lou Li in the lobby. She was kinda weird." He walked past the giant statue of Nice that was splattered in several shades of fruits and into the kitchen. There were several dirty marks on the sparkling countertop. He had to wipe them off.

"She's a proud member of the anti-Nice club. I can't blame her." Moon started putting away the groceries haphazardly, tossing the bag of sugar in sideways, and putting the eggs in the fridge upside down. He'd fix that later. He had to.

"Haha, very funny."

"No seriously, we have hats, do you want one?" Moon tossed a teatowl on Lin Ling's head, and laughed when he whipped it off and smoothed his hair down. "Whatever it was, it doesn't matter now. We've got something way more important to do!" Moon grabbed a spatula. "These brownies won't make themselves."

Lin Ling shook his head and smiled. "You're right, you're right. I'll get started on the dry ingredients"

Chapter Text

Why wasn't it raining today? Lou Li glared at the sky with narrowed eyes. It should be a rainy day. In movies, rain always accompanied a sorrowful moment. Real life was often a disappointment, as she had found out at a young age.

The sun stubbornly shone above the hospital, reflecting off the windows and straight into Lou Li’s eyes. Stupid sun. She lowered her head and stared down at the cracked concrete sidewalk. All around her was a sea of shoes, parting only for her. Sadness was contagious, apparently.

Lou Li took one step into the crowd, and then another, and another, until she was sprinting across the concrete and down the path. The doctors had said that Nounou would wake up years ago, but still she was trapped in that coma, so close, yet out of reach. Her body had healed, but her brain was a different story. If brains were as easy to fix as machines, she would've fixed Nounou’s brain right at the beginning.

Lou Li turned into an empty park several streets away from the hospital, the quiet trees and indifferent ducks wouldn't be bothered by her. The rhythm of her shoes hitting the concrete was the only thing she could hear, apart from the swirling thoughts banging around her head. Why had those heroes attacked the research team that night? Why did they murder her father, the other researchers, and put Nounou in a coma? They weren't hurting anyone. Why could no one answer her questions? How were those murderers ranked so high?

Faster! She had to run faster, if only to silence the neverending questions with no answers. She sprinted past a small lake, as hot tears started to roll down her cheeks. The hero tournament was a month away. It was so annoying that Nice hadn't reached the top ten yet. Lou Li’s hand itched for her bat. If only her feet could carry her into next month. She'd have to make do with E-Soul this tournament.

Just as she was imagining whacking E-Soul with her bat, a jagged piece of sidewalk tripped her up, and Lou Li crashed into the ground.

“Owowowow.” She exhaled sharply, her knees on fire.

That's when a soft hand entered her view. “Thanks.” Lou Li grabbed it and roughly pulled herself to her feet. She looked up to talk with the person that saved her and-

Nice was standing there. Next to her, holding her hand. Or, rather he was holding her hand, she ripped it out of his grasp as soon as her brain caught up to the fact that she was standing in front of her nemesis.

Lou Li ripped her hand away. “What’s your problem?!” That jerk, how could he pretend nothing had happened, when everything had changed?

Lin Ling looked confused. “Sorry?” He stepped back, his white cape flapping in the wind behind him.

“Stop acting like everything’s fine. You don't have to pretend around me. It's not like it would matter.” Lou Li wiped her hand on her shorts, and noticed her now red knees. Whatever, the pain of having bloody knees was dwarfed by the agony of being around Nice.

“Oh, uh. Sorry.” He repeated. “I was just having a break in this park between photoshoots.” He waved towards a seat next to a large pond. “I finally managed to escape my manager.

“Sure.”

There was an awkward pause in the conversation as Lou Li glared at Lin Ling as if he was the dirt underneath her shoe. Lin Ling shuffled his feet. “So, about what happened,” he hesitated, like he didn't even know what he was apologizing for. “I'm sorry. If there's anything I can do to make up for it, just let me know.”

As he said that, Lin Ling’s face suddenly lit up. “Actually, the other day when I ran into you at the hero tower, all those ingredients were to make this!” Lin Ling reached into a hidden pocket in his suit and pulled out a squished, deformed brown lump wrapped in plastic wrap.

Lou Li stared at it wordlessly, countless emotions crossing her face.

“Uhhh, ok stupid idea.” Lin Ling stepped back and threw the offending brownie into a nearby rubbish bin. “It was fine when I left the tower, it probably got squished when I had a nap in the car, sorry about that.” He laughed nervously.

“Did you seriously just offer me a brownie?” Lou Li whispered, her face dark.

“Yes? Oh no, are you allergic or something?”

“Why the hell would I accept home baked goods from you of all people, Nice!” Lou Li exploded. “After everything you've done, you don't get to pretend to be a nice guy. You can put on a mask to fool the world, but I've seen your true self, and guess what, it's hideous! You'll kill or hurt anyone to rise in the rankings, even innocent bystanders! You're not a real hero. You're a villain disguised as one.” Lou Li stepped closer to Lin Ling, who had a completely confused look on his face. “Never, ever talk to me again, or I'll smash your perfect face in with my bat.”

Lin Ling stared at Lou Li with wide, slightly panicked eyes. “Wait, I’m not-”

“I meant it.” Lou Li spun around and stomped off. “Your brownie was probably one of those weird healthy ones anyway!” She called over her shoulder, just catching the look of horror on Lin Ling's face. She rolled her eyes and marched down the path.

He didn't try to follow her, good. Lou Li muttered to herself as she walked down the path. Out of all the parks in the city, why did he have to come to this one? It wasn't anything special about it, there weren't any art installations or interesting gardens. There were just boring trees and the ducks paddling on the lake. Which were kinda cute, Lou Li had to admit to herself.

Lou Li glanced at a duck lazily waddling across the sidewalk in front of her without a care in the world. Lucky duck.

Just as Lou Li passed the small lake, a shadow appeared above her. Danger. She barely had time to say, “Suit, on!” before something heavy smashed into her side and she faceplanted into a tree.

Her suit had absorbed most of the impact, but several warnings still flickered across her visor screen. Urgh, she hated starting a fight on the backfoot.

Lou Li picked herself up and spun around just in time to dodge another swing of a giant hammer welded by a tall, slender man.

“What's your problem! Only a coward would start a fight with a sneak attack!” Lou Li’s metal bat materialized in her hand and she gripped it with both hands as she bashed it against the hammer handle.

The only reply that she got was a screech that burned its way through her eardrums before her suit adapted and blocked it out. The figure paused, looking down at his weapon. His limbs twitched slightly, and had some dark purple goo oozing out of several cracks in his arms, and his face was covered by a helmet with thin red jagged lines painted on it. It certainly stood out, even though the shade of the red clashed with the purple fear leaking out of him.

Lou Li ordered her suit, “Run analysis of helmet against hero database.”

Several seconds passed as her suit reported back. “90% match of subject helmet with helmet of deceased hero Soundwave.”

“Bingo. Soundwave, with your powerset that sounds like you.” Lou Li grinned. This would be all too easy.

Upon hearing his name, Soundwave howled, the sheer force of his voice pushing Lou Li back until she activated her jetpack and blasted towards Soundwave’s right, smashing it into his ribcage. He stumbled and lost his grip on his hammer, and Lou Li took the opening to whack him several more times before he kicked her in the chest and sent her flying into the ground.

“Another dirty move.” She snarled and twisted around. Soundwave had grabbed his massive hammer and raised it above his head, but he wasn’t even looking at her, instead his focus seemed to be on the earth at his feet.

“Jerk, I’m over here!” Lou Li gritted her teeth. Time to end this before this fight grew old. She launched herself at Soundwave just as he swung his hammer down. She was too late. A scream forced its way through her helmet, and a wave of dirt and rocks swept her off her feet.

Her suit cried out, “Warning, damage to jetpack, damage to right- damage to-” before its calm voice suddenly switched off. Had her suit lost power? No, there wasn’t any time to think about such things as it went dark, and light, and dark again as the tsunami of earth dragged her along. Her hands desperately grabbed bits of earth and stones as she struggled to grab onto anything solid, but everything around her was part of the wave now, and so was she.

Then, someone from outside the wave pulled her out of the dark.

“Are you ok?” That person asked, their voice full of concern.

Urgh, that was his voice. Nice.

“You can just drop me.” She groaned and took off her helmet.

Lin Ling gently placed her on a wooden park bench. “I wouldn’t do that, besides, you’re injured.”

“My suit took most of the damage.” Lou Li dropped her helmet on the grass.

“Your suit’s trashed.” Lin Ling grimaced as he looked her up and down.

“Shut up, it did its job.” Lou Li carefully took a deep breath in. Good, no broken bones. “Help me finish him off.” She stood up. “I’ll use my suit's emergency power.”

A look of horror crossed Lin Ling’s face. “Absulutely not. Stay here and I’ll deal with the villain. Knowing you, they’re probably on their last legs already.” Before Lou Li could argue further, he flew over the mound of debris and went out of view.

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A thick purple liquid pooled underneath the fear villain’s body as Lin Ling watched, panting. When he arrived at the scene, the villain had already been struggling to stay on his feet. After only a few hits from Lin Ling, he just collapsed. Was he and Lou Li that closely matched, or had his landslide injured him too? Lin Ling chewed on his lip, why did it have to be a dirt villain? His hands twitched and brushed off his suit. Great, now his hands were dirty. So, he rubbed his hands on his pants. No, his pants were dirty now.

“Thanks, I guess.” Lou Li’s voice cut through his thoughts and he glanced up at her.

“Just doing my duty.”

Lou Li just rolled her eyes and hobbled closer. She’d abandoned most of her armour, revealing the various cuts and scrapes on her arms and face.

“Are you alright?”

“I’ve survived worse.” Lou Li stopped next to him and looked down. “His name was Soundwave. He used to be a hero, before he died.”

Shivers went down Lin Ling’s spine. “Well, he didn’t stay dead.”

“Or he never died. I’m not sure which one is worse.”

“So, this is what fear can do.” He blinked and stared at Soundwave’s body. His face was still covered by his helmet. “Just what did he look like under it?” Lin Ling thought.

Lou Li gave him an odd look. “Duh. You’ve seen fear before.”

“Of course.” Lin Ling tore his eyes away from the corpse, his face paler than normal. “It just seems different this time.” He laughed nervously.

“Y'know, you can stop the innocent act. It's seriously weird.” Lou Li leaned against an uprooted tree.“I’ve said thank you for saving me, but I still can’t wait to beat you in the tournament.” She threw a grin at Lin Ling, her eyes lighting up despite how beaten up she was. “I’ve been practicing since our last fight, I hope you have been too.”

Lin Ling sighed. Right, just what had Nice done? That jerk, leaving him with this mess to clean up. “Last fight, uh, about that, Lou Li. I have something to tell you-”

“It’s a bit late for an apology, don’t you think?”

“No, it’s not that.”

“Then what is it?” Lou Li’s demeanour suddenly shifted. “What else could you possibly have to say to me about what you did?”

After what she told him earlier, she had every right to be angry with Nice, whatever it was that he’d actually done. But Lin Ling wasn’t Nice. He couldn’t undo his wrongs or fix his mistakes, but there was one thing he could do. Something that Lou Li deserved to know, and something he was tired of hiding.

“I’m not Nice.”

Lou Li stared at Lin Ling in silence, before bursting out in laughter. “Not Nice? Who are you then? His cousin, Mean?”

“No! I’m pretending to be Nice.”

“So you’re a Nice impersonator?”

Lin Ling held up his wrist, and the pale blue Trust Value numbers flickered across it. “I’m not just an actor, I have his abilities. But, I’m not him.

“Can you prove it?”

“Oh.” How was he meant to do that? Physically, they were the same now, the person Lin Ling used to be was as good as dead. Just like the real Nice was. Was he still Lin Ling?

“Well?” Lou Li’s voice cut across his spiraling thoughts.

“Nice is dead. I saw it happen myself. Treeman replaced him with me because we looked like twins.” Now wasn’t the time to have an identity crisis. Even if Lou Li didn’t believe him, someone else had to know the truth.

“Nice is dead? No, you’re lying!” Lou Li yelled in his face.

“I’m not-”

“Tell me the truth!”

“I'm trying to, ok! He jumped off a building!”

“He.. what?” All the air left Lou Li’s sails at that. “But no, I have to beat him in the tournament, how can I do that if he's dead?”

“I'm sorry.”

“Don't apologize! Urgh, you have nothing to apologize for, except wearing his stupid face.” Lou Li took a shaky step back. “When?”

“About a month.”

“Oh.” Lou Li said flatly as she glanced at him. “So that’s why you don’t know.”

“Know what?”

“What really happened at the Ruins Incident.”