Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Supposedly, Avid was lucky. One of the luckiest people in the world!

Less than 1% of the population had powers. And he was one of them!

He didn’t feel very lucky as he clocked in for his shift at the local coffee shop after running around chasing villains all night.

He was tired.

He wished he didn’t have to have a second job, but when you weren’t a hero under The Militia, your pay was… less than ideal.

Avid worked as more of a bounty hunter. He was acknowledged and approved of by The Militia. Not employed by them, though. They just paid him for every criminal he turned in and sent him off.

The Militia paid its heroes generously, at least that’s what Kuna said when he asked about her salary. He once asked The Militia if he could try out, but they turned down his application immediately. Whatever.

At least citizens seemed to like him. They gave him the nickname ‘Hunter’, which was probably much cooler than what he could have come up with.

Another con of having a shitty second job was–

“Hello?” A pale hand with blood red nails waved in front of his face. “Earth to Avid. Are you in there?”

Scott.

Scott was a regular at this god-awful cafe he worked at. And he was quite possibly the worst, stuck up, fake, condescending, rich, spoiled brat Avid ever had the ‘pleasure’ of meeting.

And he always showed up during Avid’s morning shifts. Every. Single. Day. To order the same stupid coffee every time. Some pish-posh rose and lavender iced latte with far too much cold foam and vanilla drizzle to be tolerable.

Avid let out a deep, long, exhausted sigh as he stared coldly at the man in front of him.

“Your usual, sire?” Avid practically growled, body filled with frustration.

“That would be great!” Scott sneered haughtily. “You always make it perfect. Take your time, now.”

“Right away,” Avid’s eye twitched as he approached the coffee machines and got to work.

He was not in the mood to deal with this. His entire night consisted entirely of him chasing down the leader of The Coven, Vampire himself.

Vampire was the most elusive of the group, as well as the most powerful… and beautiful… Ugh! Avid wasn’t allowed to think like that. Back to his job.

He yanked the cold foam out of the blender and poured it on top of the now completed latte that he had made so many times he could make it in his sleep. He squeezed the vanilla syrup over the top, imagining that the drink was Scott’s stupid condescending face.

He snatched the drink off of the counter and practically slammed it in front of his most loyal customer with a loud huff.

“Why thank you!” Scott drawled, picking up the cup with that horrible condescending grace. “Record time!” Scott reached into his pocket and pulled out a 50 dollar bill. “That deserves a reward! Keep the change.”

Before Avid could shoot back a snarky reply, Scott had already left the store.

God, he hated that guy.

 

✩₊˚.⋆🕸️⋆⁺₊✧

 

Scott sipped on his latte as sauntered into the parking lot. He much enjoyed his daily visits to his favorite civilian. When he took over the city, he would be making sure that pathetic wet cat of a barista would be safe.

And goodness gracious could that wet cat make a smooth latte. Perhaps he could have Avid as his personal barista when he ruled the city of Oakhurst.

*Vampire?* The comm in his ear sprung to life, Shelby’s digitized voice ringing through. *We’ve just hacked into The Militia’s database on us! Wanna come help grief it with us?*

Scott grinned. Would he ever!

“That sounds wonderful!” He chirped after pressing the speak button on his comm. “I’ll be there in ten.”

Scott looked around, ducking into a nearby alleyway after confirming no one saw him.

He looked down at his drink and grimaced before– gracefully– gulping the rest of it down. He shuddered at the horror of what he had just done and gave one last check to make certain the coast was clear.

When he was satisfied, he snapped his fingers and materialized in his base.

“Vampire!” Shelby cheered, clapping her hands.

“Fledgeling!” Scott cheered in return, clasping his hands together and popping one foot.

Pyro stood behind them, still in uniform. He must have just been on a mission. Their dramatic black cloak billowing slightly, his eyes still glowing red, and the white mask still covering his head. He also had not yet taken the time to wash out the white hair chalk.

Owen stood a little bit back from the rest of the group, but stayed close enough to see Shelby’s screen.

“How much do you think is on these?” Shelby squealed, kicking her legs and spinning in her chair. “Maybe they even left their heroes’ identities on here!”

“That would be incredibly foolish,” Owen snarled from his distanced position.

“Let the girl dream, Vengeance,” Pyro waved his hand. “Nothing wrong with a little hope and positivity.”

“It will consume you if you allow it,” Owen muttered before crossing his arms and facing away. “Watch your back. Tragedy will strike as soon as you let your guard down.”

Scott rolled his eyes and shook his head.

“Whatever, just open it up already,” Scott grinned. “We’ll see how stupid those little heroes really are.”

Shebly squealed and pressed the ‘Open File’ button. The four of them crowded around the computer as the screen slowly loaded.

Scott huffed as he read. All they had were descriptions on their costumes, along with logs of their various sightings.

“I’m not sure on whether I should be disappointed or relieved,” Pyro crossed their arms and huffed at the screen. “They’ve got nothing! We did all this work to break in and ruin their stuff, and there isn’t anything to ruin!”

“This could still be helpful!” Scott tsked. “Now that we’re in their database, we can simply re-check this file every so often, see what they know about us. It will be far easier for us to know exactly what they know.”

“Vampire’s right,” Shelby sighed as they pushed back her chair away from the screen. “No sabotage today, but we’ve got intel now! That’s worth celebrating!”

“And celebrate we shall!” Scott catwalked over to his dressing room to change. “You all have a nice rest of your night, whatever you’re doing. I’m going to go jewelry shopping~”

“You have fun,” Owen said as he grabbed his bag and walked to the elevator. “I’m turning off my comm so don’t need me.”

“Good luck, boss,” Pyro offered a deep bow.

“Thank you,” Scott smiled and opened his room. “Have a good weekend.”

“I’m going to stay here for longer!” Shebly beamed. “I’ll keep trying to hack into their other files! And I’ve been reading this really good fanfiction during my breaks and OHMYGOSH it’s so cute! I can’t wait to tell you about it tomorrow when I finish it!”

“I shall be eagerly awaiting,” Scott nodded as he shut the door behind him with flair.

Scott pulled off his current outfit and slipped into his dramatic gold and red suit, long black cape flowing behind him. He walked over and sprayed the synthetic white through his ice blue hair, roughing it up slightly to be less recognizable. Painful to the soul, but necessary for anonymity. Finally, he pulled a skull mask with pointed fangs out of his drawer and attached it to his face.

Scott did one last turn around in the mirror to make sure he looked good– as always– and up to standards before snapping his fingers to teleport to the heart of Oakhurst.

Showtime.

 

✩₊˚.⋆🕸️⋆⁺₊✧

 

Avid let out a long sigh of relief as he finally threw his bag off of his shoulder and onto the floor of his apartment. He was finally home.

He shook off his shoes and crashed into his soft armchair.

He laid there, face first on the plush surface for a good five or ten minutes before pulling himself up to sit straight. He reached to the mini-fridge he kept next to his chair for this very reason and grabbed himself a pouch of juice.

Before he could even finish the container, his phone began ringing. He groaned and picked it up to check who it was.

Infinite’s contact buzzed on his screen.

Avid sighed and picked up the phone. He couldn’t ignore a call from his manager. She was the one who organized his work with The Militia, and it was her who let him know when he or someone else was in danger.

“Hello?” Avid suppressed his frustrated tone. “What do you need?”

“Hunter!” Infinite’s voice sounded wild on the other end of the phone. “Vampire was spotted trying to enter a jewelry store from the roof! I caught it on a police radio– he doesn’t know that anyone knows yet! This is your chance!”

“What?!” Avid shot up from his seat and immediately started changing into his suit. Purple denim and back leather covering his body. Fingerless black gloves with baggy purple sleeves to go over his wrists.

He pulled up his big dramatic hood, adjusting the purple mask to cover the lower half of his face. He then waved his hand in front of his face, adding faux silver streaks through his hair and changing his naturally purple eyes from his disguised blue to a disguised red.

“Send me the coords,” Avid distorted his voice as he spoke, using the conversation to his advantage. “I’ll be over there ASAP!”

“Sent them to your wrist comm,” Infinite returned, a beep sounded off of Avid’s wrist. “Call me if you need anything.”

“Got it,” Avid clicked off his phone and placed it on his charger before running over to the balcony, opening the door, and sliding down the gutterpipe.

As soon as his feet hit the ground he took off running.

Despite his outwardly serious demeanor, he was very excited.

He was about to chase down the hottest villain in town! And– and catch him. Of course. Turn him in. Yeah!

Vampire’s silky voice, confident attitude, and gorgeous sense of style was simply a fact. A fact that did not at all affect Avid’s ability to work. Nuh uh. Never. Nope! The only reason Avid prioritized Vampire every time was the massive bounty on his head!

No other reason at all!

Avid scaled up a nearby roof and took out a bottle from his pocket. The vial instantly filled with glowing green liquid as his power filled the container.

This was gonna go great.

Chapter Text

There was something so freeing about being under the mask.

It was exhilarating, liberating.

Scott loved it.

As Vampire, he could truly be himself. He didn’t have to pretend to be a crystal vase at his parent’s mansion. He was doing something for himself, rather than it being handed to him on a silver platter.

He could be elegant in a way that wasn’t forced of him. He could still be refined, he’s just freer like this. He was filled with poise and grace on his own accord, not because his family asked it of him.

And right then, he was graceful as he cut a hole in the glass ceiling of the most exclusive jewelry store in the whole country. Lucky that he lived in the same area.

He flicked his cloak as he dove into the building, landing softly behind the register without a sound. His cloak fluttered once more before laying back flat.

Scott held his dancer-like landing pose for a moment to take in the thrill before stepping over the counter with two elegant strides, using his flight power to make it over with little effort.

He let out a satisfied sigh before casually browsing the display cases.

Whenever he saw a camera, he gave it a sophisticated wave and continued hunting for his perfect treasure to take for himself. Something that would display perfectly in The Coven’s secret base, or perhaps to give to one of the other members. His costume was already perfect.

He paused as a black and red circlet shined from the far corner of one of the displays. Such a stunning piece, it would be such a shame to leave it in a display case for its entire existence. Scott considered, walking over to the case to get a closer look. The black metal had such eloquent shapes, the ruby was of such high quality. I just have to take it! It’s begging to be worn! This would be perfect for Fledgeling’s costume.

Scott smiled as he took out his glass cutting tool and cut a circle into the display to free the artwork. His hand delicately grabbed the metal band and carefully placed it into his bag.

“And how do you plan on paying for that?” A staticy, echoy, overlapping voice called out from behind him. Scott winced at the grating sound. “Cash, or card?”

“Hunter,” Scott turned around, eye twitching from behind the mask. “What. A. Pleasure.” He made sure to add as much venom as possible on the last word.

“We meet again, Vampire,” The bounty hunter squinted at him with glowing red eyes, a green potion in his hand. “Mind putting that back? Then we can have a nice conversation about this outside.”

“No can do, I’m afraid,” Scott let out a sharp laugh. “I’ve got places to be. I best be going now.”

Scott flicked open his cloak and propelled himself back through the hole in the ceiling.

“Bye bye now~” Scott sneered, waving back down at Hunter.

He let out a much more cheerful and proud cackle as he made his escape across the roofs of Oakhurst.

 

✩₊˚.⋆🕸️⋆⁺₊✧

 

It would have been so much easier to catch Vampire if he wasn’t so goddamn attractive. Avid would have been able to stop Vampire from flying through his getaway exit if he hadn’t been so distracted by how beautiful he was.

Drift, his roommate, loved to make fun of Avid for having a crush on a faceless villain. But the internet agreed with him! The amount of edits this man had was insane. Maybe the people shouldn’t be thirsting over a literal criminal, but Avid would be a hypocrite to call them out.

It wasn’t about the face! It was about the way he carried himself. Confident, exhilarated, and somehow always graceful while doing it. The man just looked so liberated with everything he did.

A gorgeous and free soul– if you ignored the blatant criminal habits.

A truly ethereal being.

A being that Avid was supposed to be chasing right now.

Avid cursed sharply before rushing outside the building and looking around for the pale-haired villain.

His eyes caught a flash of gold and red and Avid snarled as he locked on his target. He whipped his head around and spotted a ladder up the side of one of the complexes. He scaled it in seconds.

He darted over the tops of the buildings, leaping across gaps, catching up with the notorious villain.

“Vampire!” Avid barked as soon as he had closed enough ground between them. “Stop running and talk!”

“I’m afraid I’ll have to decline!” Vampire called back, a laugh seasoning his quick breathing. “Like I said, I have business elsewhere!”

Avid took out a glass bottle and let it fill with blue liquid before launching it at the taller man.

Unfortunately, Vampire had noticed the action, as he caught the bottle effortlessly.

“Ultramarine?” Vampire laughed. “You think that you’ll be able to catch me if my powers are disabled for a little bit? Ha! I have other ways of getting you off my tail. But for now–”

Vampire threw the bottle back at Avid, who dodged it just in time. That could have been bad.

“–I’ll use my cheap tricks,” Vampire snapped his fingers. Avid’s eyes widened and he pounced at Vampire. “Sayonara~”

And with that, Vampire disappeared right before Avid could make contact. He tumbled onto the concrete roof and quickly turned his fall into a roll to minimize injury.

Avid cursed as he brushed off his pants and shook himself off. He checked himself for injuries, and at least he was unharmed.

“Infinite?” He brought his wrist comm up to his mouth to speak. “He teleported out.”

“Damn it,” Infinite groaned from the other end.

The line was quiet for a few moments before Infinite spoke again.

“If you’re going to keep patrolling tonight, you’ll have to contact The Militia by yourself,” Infinite yawned on the other end of the line. “I’m going to go home and get some rest.”

“That’s fine,” Avid sighed, stretching his arms above his head as he slowly walked back in the direction of his apartment. “I should probably sleep too, I’ve been up for like– fourty-eight hours now?”

“Jeeze!” Infinite hissed in lieu of wincing. “Okay, bud, you really should head home. Rest well, okay?”

“Will do,” Avid nodded as he hopped down into an alley. “Have a good night.”

Avid closed the comm and looked around before swiftly taking off the outer layer of his costume, which left a casual undershirt and jean shorts. Hey, that may be a crime to wear jean shorts under a hero costume, but at least no one would suspect it!

He shoved the rest of his outfit into his bag, waving his hand to rid his hair of the shiny, metallic streaks, and changed his eyes to the blue society expected from an average civilian with no powers whatsoever.

He then casually walked out of the alley and walked to his apartment building.

He trudged through the front door, down the hallway, up the stairs, and to his apartment door. He tried the knob and found it wasn’t locked. Drift must be home.

His roommate had really odd hours for her receptionist job for some industry company. Which benefitted Avid because she never got suspicious of his own strange hours as a barista.

He had a lie prepared if he ever did need it, but because of her own erratic schedule, she never inquired.

“Oh,” Drift looked over from the fridge. “Hi Avid, how was work?”

“Same old, same old,” Avid let out a tired laugh as he tossed his bag into the corner and freed himself of his shoes. “Difficult customers. That prick Scott Goldsmith.”

“Still?!” Drift closed the fridge, a yogurt cup in her hand. “Why does that rich asshole still go to your tiny little coffee shop every day? The coffee is okay at best.”

“It does suck,” Avid made his way to the kitchen and grabbed himself a cup ramen. “Maybe he’s never had anything better because all they serve him in that literal castle of a home is some fancy stuff that has to be aged in dirt for two-hundred years or something.”

“What a weirdo,” Drift groaned as she ate her horrible excuse for dinner. “He needs to get a different hobby that doesn’t involve pestering minimum wage workers.”

“Right?!” Avid laughed, pouring the hot water over the noodles. “Get a life!”

The two of them giggled in exhausted comfortability.

“Anyway,” Avid turned to Drift as he grabbed a fork from the silverware drawer. “How’d work go for you?”

“Oh, you know,” Drift waved her hand in a circle. “Just helping clients I work with navigate some things, organizing files, all that boring stuff.”

“Sounds like we both got the short ends of the stick,” Avid smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “Neither of our jobs seem amazing.”

“I mean,” Drift interjected. “I like my job, it just sounds boring when I explain it to you.”

“That’s good at least,” Avid shook his head and slammed back the noodles.

“I’m gonna get ready for bed,” Drift threw away the empty yogurt cup and dropped the spoon in the sink. “Goodnight, Avid. See you tomorrow.”

“Mhm,” Avid sat on the counter and watched as Drift walked off to her bathroom. He sighed and looked at the ceiling to think.

Avid found the mask to be suffocating.

Like he had to be someone he wasn’t.

He needed to be bold, stern, emotionless.

Hunter didn’t feel like him, Hunter felt like a role to be filled.

He was one of the very rare people to possess powers, he had to use them. It was the right thing to do. There were so few people that even had the ability to stop villains with powers, it was practically his duty.

He had to protect them.

For Elle.

If he didn’t, there would be more victims just like her.

He had no choice.

He just wished he could at least be paid better for it. He couldn’t understand why agencies didn’t want to hire him. ‘Too unpredictable’, they called his skills.

Hey! Just because they didn’t understand how they work, didn’t mean Avid couldn’t control them! Avid knew exactly how to change his appearance at will. Exactly how to find the optimal pathing to someone. Exactly what he had to think of when filling his vessels with his power to get the effects he wanted.

Even then, his alchemy powers weren’t that impressive to the higher ups, it seemed.

And so he would get paid per-job, rather than per-hour. And while it was nice that he was getting paid for his destiny, it wasn’t reliable and consistent enough to consistently meet his financial needs. And so bounty hunting became some sort of bizarre side job of his.

What a strange thing; to be a barista as his primary career and save the city as a side hustle.

But because of his need to pay rent, utilities, and eat consistently, on top of his massive stack of medical bills, it was the arrangement that was necessary.

Sometimes, he wished that he wasn’t born with powers. So he would be allowed to do his own thing, and not be societally forced into putting himself in danger every day. That he didn’t have to put on some fake, perfect persona.

But Avid’s whole life was composed of him never getting what he wanted.

So why would this be any different?

Avid threw away the empty cup of noodles and crashed onto his bed.

Chapter Text

Scott loved it when the people around him were passionate. The energy fueled his extra abilities, so it certainly made sense.

Rich people had none. All of them were too focused on their image to seek true fulfillment.

That’s why he collected The Coven. All of them had their own deep meanings and dedications.

Even if some of these passions were… unconventional.

“So anyway,” Shelby continued giddily describing the concept of her most recent read. “The avians pass by the Desert Kingdom on their migrational path, so it basically becomes a horrible temptation for him. Y’know, because he’s a troublemaker.”

“Mhm,” Scott nodded, trying to follow along. “And both sides are convinced the other is the bad guy?”

“Yes!” Shelby jumped up and down in place. “Precisely!”

“I can see the romantic appeal,” Scott smiled. “Forbidden love, star crossed lovers. Is it ‘doomed yaoi’ material?”

“Actually, not so much!” Shelby excitedly ranted, waving their hands around. “I think they can change everyone’s minds if they communicate fully and uncover the truth about the history.”

Before Shelby could continue describing the plot, Owen walked in.

“Whoa!” Owen looked at Shelby’s new headpiece. “Look at you! Is that what Vampire stole last night?”

“Yes!” Shelby twirled to show off their entire getup. “Isn’t it perfect?! It compliments my outfit soooo well!”

Just as Owen opened his mouth to say more, an alarm on Shelby’s phone went off. She walked over and frowned when they saw the name of the notification.

“Awe man!” Shelby slumped. “I have to go get ready for work”

“You could just quit,” Pyro chimed in from the corner, not once looking up from his phone. “We’re villains with a Goldsmith as our leader. You could write fanfiction, be gay, and do crime all day if you so wished.”

They were right. Scott would happily support Shelby if she wanted to be a part of The Coven full time.

“Yeah,” Shelby sighed, already removing her accessories. “But then I wouldn't be able to see my coworker friends every day! Avid would miss me! And how will I get front row seats to a blooming romance if I’m not there during some of Scott’s daily visits? I’d be a no-good friend to either of you to quit!”

“I don’t get what you see in that guy,” Owen grimaced. “He’s just some sad, minimum wage civilian.”

“He’s passionate,” Scott grinned. “And he’s cute. He makes my coffee perfectly, he always puts so much effort into everything he makes. I could go on all day.”

“He is literally just a guy, Vampire,” Pyro groaned. “There is absolutely nothing special about him, and you are way out of his league.”

“I think it’s adorable,” Shelby finished as they walked into her changing room. “I love enemies to lovers!”

Scott laughed heartily as Shelby disappeared behind the door. He hoped Avid didn’t see him as an enemy, but there wasn’t much he could do other than keep doing what he’d been doing.

 

✩₊˚.⋆🕸️⋆⁺₊✧

 

Avid didn’t think his primary job was the worst thing in the world. He certainly did hate it, but he understood that there were worse jobs to be stuck doing. If it paid more, it would be much more enjoyable for him.

He found making the various drinks very enriching. He adored making them as perfect as he could. Seeing the finished product was very fulfilling to him.

If only it could cover his bills on its lonesome.

Not having powers would also help.

He missed getting a good night's sleep every night.

His sigh morphed into a yawn as he tied his apron and stepped behind the register to get ready for opening.

“Morning, Avid!” Shelby’s voice chirped from the kitchen. “How’d you sleep last night?”

“What does that word mean again?” Avid said as dryly as possible.

“That bad again?” Shebly frowned and put their hands on her hips. “What do you even do all night?”

“Uh,” Avid froze for a second, but forced himself to act casual. “Nothing! I just can’t fall asleep no matter what I try! It’s the worst!”

“And the melatonin doesn’t help?” Shelby’s eyebrows furrowed.

“Nope,” Avid silently thanked his lucky stars that his lie landed. “I must have a high tolerance or something. And I can’t exactly afford seeing a doctor about this at the moment.”

“I could loan you enough for an appointment?” Shelby offered. “You can take as much time as you need to pay me back.”

“I appreciate it, I really do…” Avid sighed and shook his head. “But the last thing I want is to see another doctor right now. If I hear one more treatment that can’t help one of my various issues, I’m going to tear my hair out. I’ll push through.”

“If you’re sure…” Shelby looked down as they adjusted her glasses. “Please take care of yourself though, alright?”

“Yeah, sure,” Avid smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “I’ll do that.”

Shelby looked like they had more she wanted to say, but all they did was give a reassuring nod before heading back to the kitchen to put their hair up and wash their hands.

Avid took one last deep breath before customers would arrive and he would have to put on his customer service attitude.

His coworker, who he honestly didn’t care to learn the name of, flipped the sign to open and walked back behind the counter.

“Ready for hell?” His coworker ran a hand through his dark brown hair with a green streak and sucked in a deep inhale.

“Unfortunately,” Avid returned, looking for a nametag, which his coworker did not have. “Good luck in the kitchen, man.”

“Do me a favor and tell Goldsmith to suck a–” His coworker started before getting interrupted by the clearing of a throat behind them.

The two of them turned to find their head manager standing behind them, tapping her foot.

“Do we talk about our customers like that, darling?” Lizzie raised an eyebrow at them.

“No ma’am,” His coworker froze. He turned to Avid and nervously laughed. “Tell Goldsmith to have a wonderful day when you see him, Avid. I’m going to go get to work now. Bye!”

Avid forced a nervous laugh and turned back to the door, avoiding Lizzie’s gaze like the plague.

He wasn’t sure if he preferred Lizzie’s rage as he watched Scott haughtily stride through the door. He certainly considered turning back around to get scolded for a moment or two. Possibly even three.

“Welcome to Truffle’s Coffeehouse, valued customer,” Avid grumbled, only following the script because his manager was behind him. “How can I help you on this fine morning?”

“Hello, Avid~” Scott smiled. “I’m sure you know what I want by now.”

“Right away, exclusive regular,” Avid’s eye twitched as he spoke. “$8.25.”

Avid forced down a frustrated huff as he passed Lizzie, who was still watching him like a hawk. He focused entirely on the same latte he had made hundreds of times by now, adding the perfect proportions and the pretty pattern in the syrup.

As soon as the drink was perfect, Avid carefully picked up the cup and placed it delicately on the pickup counter.

“Drink for Scott?” He called out, despite the blue haired prick being right in front of him.

“Why thank you!” Scott sneered. “Could you fetch your manager? I’d love to compliment your service.”

“What–?” Avid gawked. This is new. “Fine. Lizzie?”

“Yes, Avid?” Lizzie was still a few feet behind him, watching him closely. Most definitely to make sure Avid didn’t follow his coworker’s original request.

“I have a customer that wishes to speak with you,” Avid explained with a clenched jaw, very much considering it.

“Get back to work,” Lizzie walked past Avid and sighed. “I’ll talk with our paying customer.”

“Right,” Avid’s mouth pressed into a tight smile.

Avid tuned out whatever Scott and Lizzie were talking about as he got into the groove of taking orders and making coffee.

The staff worked like a well oiled machine. As soon as an employee took an order and walked back to make the coffee and grab any food, another employee would step forward to take the next customer. Work flowed in a smooth routine. It was soothing, in ways.

Sometimes, this job was tolerable.

✩₊˚.⋆🕸️⋆⁺₊✧

Avid changed his mind. This job was not tolerable at all.

He might have been influenced by the fact he just had a nine hour shift, but he was allowed to have reasonings and be dramatic.

If one more person asked him for a ‘fully mixed macchiato’ he would probably strangle somebody.

He felt half-dead as he hung up his apron and finished wiping down the counters.

“See you, man!” His coworker, who he still hadn’t figured out the name of, slapped his back as he ran past him. He had thrown on a studded leather vest, sunglasses, black leather gloves, spiked leather bracelets, and studded biker shoes.

Avid stared in disbelief at the shocking change in appearance.

“Where are you going, babe?” Lizzie called after him.

“Out with The Boys!” His coworker called back as he pushed through the doors. “I’ll be home in time for dinner!”

“Okay,” Lizzie sighed. “Have fun. Be safe!”

Avid watched as his coworker stepped outside, where he hopped on a motorcycle– Avid had no clue he had one of those– and peeled off with two other equally ridiculously dressed men. It was a bizarre sight to see at 4pm on a random Monday. How did he never see this before?

Maybe he should have been paying more attention to his coworkers.

Chapter Text

Scott hated other rich people.

He hated his parents’ friends and company.

Everything was just so draining.

How was he supposed to be content with his life when every single interaction he had sapped up his energy like a kid with a capri-sun? Nobody in his home held enough passion to fuel his powers and keep his energy up.

Sure, there were a few that had a bit more liveliness in their step, but that was stomped out fast. As a child, he had befriended someone at the private tutoring gathering. A Woodhurst offspring. The two of them were close for a while before the Woodhursts drilled etiquette lessons into his friend’s mind. When he lost the last of the spark he had at the time, Scott became uninterested in spending any time with him and dropped him immediately.

The Goldsmith household was a prison to him. When he had left for college, he finally learned that fact. All the passion from the freshmen starting their new life had given Scott so much energy he couldn’t keep himself from tears– which he quickly wiped away and suppressed, of course.

But ever since then, he knew he had to chase that feeling, to live.

From an early age, his parents forced him to suppress his powers, not wanting him to associate with any sort of affiliation that could leave him scarred. Appearances were everything to the Goldsmiths, and they couldn’t have their heir visibly marred.

Up until he started The Coven, he never used them in any other way than accidental bursts, and even then he suppressed that.

Being Vampire made the Goldsmith mansion look even more like a cage.

The feeling of wind in his hair as the passion of his chosen people flowed through him, power bursting from his fingertips, was possibly the best feeling in the entire world.

How could anyone expect him to do anything different?

Evidently, there were many ‘anyones’ that did not approve of his freedom.

Hat Trick and his posse of hooligan vigilantes certainly held that opinion. To his credit, Scott had enjoyed messing with ‘The Bad Boys’ in the past. In fact, Scott would still go out of his way to mess with them at times.

Scott was honestly not sure how he managed to rope in two very capable bounty hunters into composing a group of unpaid biker gang street heroes. Scott had previously been under the impression that the only reason Mimic did bounty hunting was for the payout, but the fact he was decked in leather and doing loops around him in a motorcycle as a vigilante made him second guess his assumption. He didn’t even try to conceal the fact that he and Mimic were one in the same, still wearing the shirt to his bounty hunter outfit, only with black leather pants, a leather jacket, dark sunglasses, and black shoes.

All three of them looked absolutely and utterly foolish.

Solitary* being involved was equally as baffling. A guy that could turn invisible being part of such a strange group was quite bizarre. Yes, Solitary refused to go on solo missions, but surely there were better, less childish groups to join.

*(A.N. I know his handle is SolidarityGaming, not Solitary. This is a play on his power.)

From what Scott had experienced from the few times he had run-ins with Mimic and Solitary, he wouldn’t have expected them to add a foolish hobby like vigilantism to their schedules.

He definitely understood Hat Trick’s spite towards him. There were many times that Scott swooped in to ruin whatever washable graffiti or other ‘rebellious’ non-crime. It wasn’t his fault he was so easy to mess with!

This was the first time it felt like a fight might break out.

The way the three of them were circling Scott like hungry sharks on motorcycles was enough of a threat as is, but the angry expression that possessed Hat Trick’s face was the icing on the cake.

“Nowhere to run, Vampire!” Hat Trick shouted. A few scattered ‘yeah!’s echoed from Mimic and Solitary. “Your career of evil-doing is OVER!”

“Do you just refuse to do research?” Scott raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. “You are aware I can teleport, yes?”

“I’ve been doing more research than anyone else!” Hat Trick screeched, already baited into a hissy rage. “Yeah, you can teleport, but it takes a lot out of you!”

“Yeah!” Solitary egged on. “He knows you!”

“And we watched you teleport twice before ending up here!” Hat Trick called out, looking more excited than angry now. “No way can you do that again!”

“Mhm,” Scott grinned, this was very amusing. Hat Trick had no idea that his passionate hate was refilling his energy by the second. “It is quite draining. Though, your little jumping trick isn’t very helpful in a fight.”

“You’re one to talk!” Hat Trick hissed. “You have a mobility power, too! That’s equally useless in a fight! But we both know that powers like ours can be powerful when we use ‘em smart.”

So they didn’t know about the drain? Well, he hadn’t exactly used it in battle on anyone other than Hunter yet, so maybe people thought the name he picked was because of his outfit.

They had no idea what was coming for them.

“You’re outnumbered!” Mimic giggled, wings splayed. There was no way that was comfortable to do while actively doing donuts on a motorcycle. “Not much you can do with me right here.”

“Let’s see it then,” Scott laughed. “Copycat, invisible boy, and ‘mom look what I can do!’, amazing for combat.”

“GET ‘EM, BOYS!” Hat Trick shrieked, revving his motorcycle.

Scott looked around and saw that a crowd of people had been forming. He would have to be quick in taking them down, lest a more competent person was alerted of his location.

“Let’s make this quick,” Scott smirked and jumped at Solitary right as he was turning invisible. Better to take him out first, he’d rather not get surprised mid fight and lose any leverage.

Solitary screamed as Scott slammed into him, instantly canceling Solitary’s ability. Scott grabbed his wrist and began draining.

Scott had drained maybe 60% of Solitary’s battery before suddenly being pushed back by Hat Trick. A flash of magic burst from a small charm around Solitary’s neck. A curse ward? What did he do to piss off a witch? Scott slammed into Hat Trick, forcing him into the gutter. One down.

“Teleportation sounds like a treat,” Mimic said casually. Scott looked up to see Mimic pointing at him. A sizzle sounded from around them and Mimic warped away.

“Oh!” Mimic’s voice sounded from behind him. “This is fun!”

Scott quickly turned around and grabbed Mimic’s arm. He attempted to drain his energy, but it didn’t seem to work. Scott could feel the sensation of draining someone, but his own energy level stayed the same, and Mimic seemed wholly undeterred. Could he be immune? Interesting.

“Oi!” Solitary crashed into Scott’s side. “Set him down!”

“You three are annoying,” Scott grumbled. He threw Mimic to the side and grabbed for Solitary yet again.

Mimic, of course, was unaffected and simply flapped his wings to get his balance. Scott would have to make this quick.

Scott quickly sapped up the last of Solitary’s battery before letting go and turning his full attention to Mimic.

“Ah,” Mimic whistled, sharper and higher than necessary. “I see why OaCorp hasn’t been able to capture you yet.”

“Neat trick, isn’t it?” Scott struck a pose, hands elegantly shrugged. “What’s your plan? I’m not exactly outnumbered anymore, am I?”

“You’ll see,” Mimic stood his ground, hands clenched at his sides.

“How long do you plan on sitting around?” Scott laughed, tasing sweet victory and the extra battery on his tongue. “The media loves you– well, when you’re a bounty hunter. This vigilante hobby? Not cute. –The media is a great place! You can find tons of very detailed descriptions of gifteds’ powers.”

“I copy powers,” Mimic huffed, feathers fluffing. “There’s not much more to say about that.”

“I’m talking about your time limit!” Scott chirped. “You can’t keep it up forever, and you’ve got a little bit of a cooldown between uses.”

“Guess I just have to make the most of it,” Mimic disappeared once again. Scott looked around, waiting for Mimic to jump him.

His eyes locked on a figure on a nearby roof, looking down on the scene. The man had dark brown hair with grey extensions, which were pulled into a long ponytail, and had a grey cat mask covering the top of his face, with a cat ear headband to match. He was wearing casual pants, and wore a sturdy, tan lace-up shirt– which didn’t cover much. The man’s chest was almost completely exposed, showing off a map of scars across his body.

It was Thorns, a hero that Scott didn’t feel like facing off against today.

Scott gave Thorns a wave to show off that he spotted him before preparing to teleport away.

“Bye now~” Scott snickered, feeling absolutely wild that he was getting away with this. Mimic reappeared several feet away and lunged for his mask. Scott gave the crowd a final bow as he was instantly transported to The Coven’s secret base.

He stretched, he should thank The Bad Boys for letting him get a good workout in. It was rude of them to get his costume dirty, but it was nice to get his muscles working.

It was fun to fight enemies that weren’t Hunter.

But based on who had almost made his acquaintance due to the squabble, he shouldn’t make a habit of it.

It was better to fight edgy lone wolves than skilled fools that could call for even more dangerous friends. Even if Hunter was an absolute gutter drain when it came to passion. Did that guy hate his job or something? Perhaps he was depressed.

Scott’s thoughts were cut off by a sudden surge of energy flooding him. ?! There wasn’t even someone near him to drain. He whipped his head around, sheerly baffled.

What was that about?

 

✩₊˚.⋆🕸️⋆⁺₊✧

 

Avid was wholly disappointed when he arrived at a distinctly Vampire-less crime scene. He had rushed over as soon as Infinite had given him a heads up about a Vampire spotting near the heart of the city.

Avid slowed his run and approached the other crime fighters that were already on the scene. He quickly recognized Thorns. He’s worked with him before, Avid’s potion production pairing wonderfully with someone who possessed a perfect aim. He was a bona fide professional hero. Avid could practically smell how lucrative his paycheck must be.

The other three were not people he had seen before. All three of them wore… oh my god…

It was his coworker and his friends. It seemed ‘The Boys’ were more than just a group of dude friends being idiots.

Looking at the other two, he felt very foolish for not noticing earlier. One of them literally had massive, multicolored wings on his back. A mutant.

Hold on, he knew this guy too! A fellow bounty hunter, Mimic. They only ever worked together once, and it was a very quick ordeal. Mimic seemed chill enough, but he did try to convince Avid to split the bounty money unfairly in Mimic’s favor. From what Avid could tell, the man was greedy and had no shame about it.

“…What are you wearing?” Avid asked incredulously.

“Hm?” Mimic turned around. He was holding three granola bars and eating them ravenously. “This is my Bad Boy outfit. I’m off the clock, which means I’m a Bad Boy.”

“Hunter!” The third person in leather approached Avid. Avid genuinely did not recognize this last guy. “Oh, wow. Nice solidarity feelings you got there. Just gonna take that, thanks!”

“Uh, yeah,” Avid laughed awkwardly. “And you are…?”

“WHAT?!” The blonde man looked offended for a moment before recomposing himself. “Oh, right. We haven’t met. I just know about you from TV. Sorry for that, I’m just used to knowing heroes more personally.”

Avid bristled when he referred to Hunter as a hero. If only he got the paycheck to show for such a title.

“I’m Solitary, I’m also a bounty hunter,” Solitary said, outstretching his hand. Ah, so he uses the term hero in a non-official sense. “I only work for heroes.”

Avid shook Solitary’s hand, but raised an eyebrow and looked at his leather outfit at the last comment.

“The Bad Boys may be bad boys,” His coworker walked up, holding an ice pack to his forehead. Avid quickly looked away from his coworker’s injury, cringing at the pressure. “But we’ve got hearts of gold. We’re not villains. Just bad boys.”

“Uh,” Avid was still confused, but nodded along. “Sure… Okay. Mind introducing yourself too? I’m not sure we’ve met.”

“They call me ‘Hat Trick’, though I could have come up with a much cooler name,” Hat Trick grumbled, but held out his hand to shake as well. “Even though I can jump more than three times! Nice to meet you, Hunter.”

“The public sure does love drawing quick conclusions…” Avid trailed off. “I didn’t get to pick my name either. I would have gone for something that related to my powers.”

“It’s so unfair!” Hat Trick scoffed, but there was no venom behind it. “They picked such a cool name for you! Sure, it’s a little basic and pretty vague, but it sounds so badass!”

“I don’t find it very creative,” Avid dryly stated. Just another reason to dislike being a bounty hunter. “Why am I just ‘Hunter’, wouldn’t ‘Potions Master’ or something be a better descriptor?”

“Well there’s not much you can do about it now,” Solitary shook his head. “Now that the public knows you as one thing, it’s hard to push back.”

“Okay, stop!” Mimic pushed himself to the center of the conversation. “No more chit-chat! We need to talk about the fight!”

“Yes please,” Thorns laughed awkwardly from behind Mimic. His ponytail swayed as he walked forward. It really looked like a cat’s tail with the length. If that was intentional, it was really clever considering the rest of the cat theme with his outfit. “I just got called over by G… Mimic here, I still don’t know what happened.”

“Vampire got us!” Hat Trick waved his arms around like a maniac. “We had him outnumbered three to one and he soloed!”

Avid was glad he had a mask over his face and eyes as dead as a corpse to hide the smile on his face. That’s right, he would be the one to catch Vampire. No one else knew Vampire’s powers and patterns like he did.

“I can’t say I’m not shocked,” Avid replied bluntly.

“You go after Vampire a lot, right, Hunter?” Solitary asked. Avid nodded. “Could you tell us how he sent me to the bench from just grabbing me?”

“He can leech your power battery and further your energy,” Avid grinned under the mask. “You can’t let him hold on to you in any way, otherwise he can eat it up like it’s Christmas dinner.”

“That explains why Mimic collapsed right after his ability wore off,” Thorns nodded.

“I can’t identify any change in my energy level while I’m copying,” Mimic supplied when Avid only stared blankly in response to Thorns’ statement. “The loss of energy only kicks in when I run out of time with the power I’m copying. I got grabbed in the fight and he looked pretty confused about it, he must have tried to drain me then.”

“Ah,” Avid nodded. “Makes sense. Still tired?”

Mimic nodded. Avid pulled out a glass bottle and filled it with a cherry red liquid, little flecks of white shimmer flickering through it. Avid handed the bottle over to Mimic, who raised an eyebrow.

“Healing elixir,” Hunter explained, gesturing at the bottle. “It’s part of my powers. I’d like the bottle back when you’re done.”

“Thanks,” Mimic chugged the entire bottle and handed it back. Avid began making two more for Hat Trick and Solitary.

“He’s the worst!” Hat Trick stomped his foot as he received a bottle, very clearly still mad at Vampire. “He thinks he can do whatever he wants! Messing with me! With everyone! I hate that guy!”

“We’ll get him someday,” Thorns laughed, sounding cheery and content.

“Vampire is quick and knows when he can’t pull something off,” Avid explained. “He will run off as soon as he believes he can’t handle something or if he gets bored.”

“We’ll keep that in mind,” Hat Trick nodded, clearly taking in the information thoroughly and thoughtfully.

“I guess I’ll head out and look for him,” Avid sighed. “There’s a 50/50 chance he either went home or he’s not far. Might as well go patrolling anyway.”

“Thanks for helping us keep the people safe!” Thorns called cheerfully. “Keep up the good and noble work, mister!”

“Thanks,” Avid felt a little sour about his duty being referred to as ‘noble’. It certainly didn’t make him feel better about himself and what he was required to do. He’d rather just make latte art, mix drinks, and maybe dabble in music than run around chasing dangerously powerful individuals. “You too.”

Avid didn’t wait for any more small talk before leaving down an alleyway.

“Any reports, Infinite?” Avid spoke into his comm.

“All quiet,” Infinite’s voice responded almost instantly. “Other than the incident you just investigated, it’s been an uneventful day.”

“Got it,” Avid bit back a tired sigh. “I’m patrolling now, so just contact me if you hear of anything. I’ll let you know when I call it a day and head home.”

“You got it, bud,” Infinite replied before the comm beeped to signify the end of the exchange.

Avid sighed and began dutifully checking every corner of every alley. All the while, he thought back on something Solitary had said.

‘I only work for heroes.’

Avid felt strangely about the way he said it. Like it was a reassurance of sorts. Like they were better than other bounty hunters in a deep moral sense.

It was an important classification to make, of course. Most bounty hunters were willing to switch sides from job to job, chasing whatever amount of money was highest.

The statement Solitary made got Avid thinking.

Would Avid ever take a job from a villain?

He’d never really thought about it before. OaCorp had a program with bounty hunters they found extremely useful, where their bounty hunters could report a quote they’d been given by a villain. OaCorp would then make sure to pay more or promise priority contact for potential nearby bounties to make sure the bounty hunter was on their side.

Hunter was one of these. Most likely because they didn’t want him against them, since they had rejected his hero applications so frequently.

He’d been offered jobs by villain groups in the past, but after reporting them he would always receive a bigger quote. He tried to think back on his thoughts in those moments, but he couldn’t unblur the noise.

Seriously. Would he have taken the job if the heroes couldn’t match or raise the pierce? Was he desperate enough for money?

No.

Why would he ever even consider that?

What was wrong with him?

A villain had taken away his best friend when they were just kids. He had to hold the girl who was the closest thing he ever had to a sister as she died. He had to lay on the floor for hours, feeling his blood pool under his head from the massive wound on his neck.

It was the day he discovered his powers. They activated after he saw Elle get hit by one of the attacks. Avid had killed the horrible villain for taking her away from him. He didn’t even mean to, he just reached out towards the villain and it screamed. Avid didn’t remember the actual fight, he just remembered looking at his bloody and bruised wrists as he felt life escaping him.

First, he went to the doctors.

They couldn’t do anything to seal the wound on his neck. The cut was too close to arteries to attempt much. They stitched up most of it and bandaged it carefully, but it never closed. Not even on the stitched portions.

They took him to scientists and specialists in powers.

It was rare for powers to show up to someone this relatively late. He was twelve at the time. The average age people discovered their powers was around age six or seven.

They thought it was fascinating.

Avid found it insulting.

Why did they show up after his best friend was gone forever? Would he have been able to save her if he had known? If he had trained to use them?

He didn’t want to think about it anymore.

Back to Solitary.

It was always weird having people approach him when he was Hunter. He felt really awkward when people knew so much about him while he knew nothing of them. He didn’t know it would feel even weirder when he was expected to know who they were in return.

With his job at the coffee shop and his desperate attempts to get enough money to pay his hospital bills from his frequent checkups on his neck, along with the checkups themselves, left him very little time to look at social media or pay attention to the news.

Maybe he would have more of an advantage in a fight if he did.

He was sure there was plenty of coverage on the abilities and habits of various villains and negative vigilantes, and knowing what the gifteds that were on his side could do would also be very beneficial in a fight.

Maybe he should start looking at social media.

Not today. For now, he should focus on his real life. He needed to learn more about his coworkers. He didn’t even know Hat Trick’s real name! And he was married to the head manager!

Learning Hat Trick’s civilian name was priority number one.

Was it wrong to do this? It felt invasive.

No. It wasn’t like he was stalking someone and then trying to get to know them just because of their alter ego. Avid already knew the guy, he was just going to find out more.

No harm in looking for info that would gladly be given out.

Avid clicked the button on his watch to signify the end of his shift and quickly slipped his hero suit off, revealing the inconspicuous civilian clothes.

He pulled out his phone and looked at the shift schedule to see who he was working with that day.

“Joel,” Avid hummed as he looked at the list thoughtfully. Good information to have.

He didn’t know why knowing someone’s secret identity and keeping it to himself felt so right.

He didn’t dwell on it.

Avid walked home and sorted his various medical bills until Drift came home and told him to go to bed.

Chapter Text

Shelby loved her side gig.

Not only was it nice to talk with some friends that weren’t in The Coven, but she got to count things, sort things, get paid for it, and best of all: they had front row seats to toxic yaoi.

When Scott walked through the door Shelby giggled and shot him a discreet thumbs up and a wink. While they had to pretend they didn’t know each other, in fear of being caught in the lie, Shelby could still send her encouragement.

Scott winked back, though it was partially covered by his elegant hair.

Shelby bit back an excited squeal as Scott approached the register. They looked at Avid, who looked annoyed to his very core. Perfect enemies to lovers material right there. They were so writing stuff later.

“You’re later than usual,” Avid droned.

“My, my, how observant!" Scott grinned.

From the outside, one might assume it was condescending, but Shelby knew better. Scott was genuinely happy to be talking to Avid. Shelby knew Scott, and Shelby knew how romances like this went in fanfiction. They were going to be so in love before anyone saw it coming. It was going to hit everyone like a truck. This was no hopeless unrequited crush story, this was destiny. Pyro and Owen were wrong, this was so happening.

“I was hoping you had fallen ill,” Avid stared with a blank face. “Hm. Oops. Must have misspoken.”

Scott laughed heartily, which Avid clearly did not expect based on the shocked expression on his face.

“Uh…” Avid stared blankly for a second. “I’ll get your usual.”

“You always make it so well,” Scott smiled somehow wider than before as he practically glided over to the pickup counter, gazing at Avid as he busied himself making the drink.

Scott’s enamorment had inspired Shelby to observe Avid’s drink mixing habits, and they had to say, Scott wasn’t exaggerating when he said that Avid was passionate about making his drinks just right. They’re going to be so cute. Shelby thought to herself as they looked back and forth between the two.

“Shelby?” Lizzie’s voice so close behind her startled them. “Is there a reason you’re just standing there instead of shutting off the untouched sink of dishes that is currently spilling onto the floor?”

“Oh!” Shelby turned red in embarrassment, quickly shutting off the water and reaching over to grab a mop. “Sorry! I just got a bit distracted.”

“Getting distracted occasionally is fine,” Lizzie sighed, heading back to the ovens. “Just make sure nothing gets broken or ruined during it.”

“Got it!” Shelby called out before tearing their attention right back to their free entertainment. She was devastated to find that Scott was preparing to leave.

“Bye~” Scott walked away with a wink. “See you tomorrow!”

Avid made a growling noise and started muttering words in something that might not even be a real language. The dark aura was all Shelby needed to know.

“That’s so sweet!” Shelby walked over to talk to Avid, leaving the dishes neglected in the sink. “He came by again today? What a guy!”

“How much money a year do you think this guy wastes on overpriced coffee?” Avid ignored Shelby’s statements in favor of taking jabs at Scott. “He comes here every single day. Sure, he’s rich, but what a terrible use of money.”

“I don’t think he’s here for the coffee,” Shelby wiggled their eyebrows at Avid, who crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. “But you make coffee like weirdly good. It doesn’t make sense! I could make it the exact same and yours would taste better.”

“Oh come on,” Avid scoffed playfully. “That’s a little dramatic. Very sweet of you, but that’s just ridiculous.”

“Let’s put it to the test!” Shelby smiled, eager to prove themself right. They were right. His coffee was just… better, somehow. Which honestly shouldn’t be possible. Shelby was the one with she/they pronouns. Avid just had he/him. His coffee prowess went against the very fabric of the universe.

“Okay!” Avid’s face broke into a wide smile and the two of them began giggling as they ran over to the coffee station. Joel could handle the customers on his own– there were only like, maybe two in line.

Avid and Shelby took out measuring cups and spoons to make sure their portions were exactly right. They filled the coffee cups the exact same amount and set up their add-ins.

“Okay,” Avid beamed. “We’ll add them in the same order and stir at the same time.

“Okay!” Shelby was giddy. This was really fun. Foolish ideas are always better when you’re on the clock and supposed to be working.

Shelby kept their eyes on Avid’s method of stirring, pouring, and speed as he composed the drink. He worked so smoothly, so efficiently. Like it was the only thing in the world that mattered. Like the world would end in fiery agony if he didn’t make it perfectly. Shelby copied everything as best she could.

When the drinks were completed, Avid’s looked slightly more appealing. The steam somehow moved in a much more alluring way, the scent was somehow more fragrant, the foam somehow perfectly framing the latte art in the center. It looked straight out of a commercial, almost magically enticing.

“Wow…” Shelby stared at the drink Avid had composed with stars in their eyes. “How is this even possible?”

“I don’t see that much of a difference,” Avid chuckled, but his swaying told Shelby that he was just being bashful.

“Joel!” Shelby called out.

“What?!” Joel snapped, frustration painting his face. Oh, right. She and Avid had just shoved all of their work responsibilities onto him. He probably wasn’t happy.

“Come taste test these, tell us which one is better!” Shelby returned, quickly moving the coffee to be one in front of the other rather than one to each side to prevent bias. They made sure Avid was watching so he knew which one was which.

“You guys know I don’t drink our coffee,” Joel rolled his eyes, firmly resisting Avid and Shelby’s herding. “It is so gross…”

“Pleeeeeeease?” Shelby put on their best sad puppy impression. “Just one sip of each? I’ll do your cleanup duties after work…”

Shelby turned and saw that Avid was also giving puppy dog eyes at Joel. It was nice to see Avid having fun with something. It had been a while.

“Fine! Okay!” Joel grumbled as he stomped over to the cups and picked one up. Shelby’s. “No take backsies!”

Joel took a sip of Shelby’s latte and grimaced. “Yup. This is Truffle’s coffee alright. Very mediocre.”

“Oh, be nice!” Shelby teased. “It’s not that bad! It has good qualities!”

“Yeah,” Joel barked a laugh as he grabbed the other cup– Avid’s. “Caffiene.”

Joel brought the cup to his lips and took a sip.

For a moment, the three of them stood there, frozen and in aching silence.

“Dude!” Joel finally gasped. “What is in this?! This is great! Where did you get this?!”

“Yes!” Shelby pumped their fist. “I told you, Avid! I told you that you were great at this!”

“How is that even possible…?” Avid stared at Joel, who was downing the entire cup, in shock. “We made it the exact same way…”

“You put magic in there,” Shelby reached out and patted his shoulder. “The magic of ~PASSION~ of love!”

“Uh,” Avid rubbed the back of his neck, looking away. “I don’t know about that…”

“Joel?” Shelby turned and pointed at the man. “Is that coffee magical or WHAT?!”

“It’s definitely magical,” Joel nodded. “That it’s from HERE! It’s gotta be witchcraft…”

“Oh,” Shelby bit her lip. “Maybe let’s not say that one. Someone might take us seriously. You know how people get about witches.”

“Puh-lease!” Joel waved his hand dismissively, but did bring his voice down. “It’s not like Avid is out here cursing people. The people know he’s not a witch. He’s just Avid! Avid’s the most normal guy there is!”

“Hey!” Avid laughed. “I thought we just established that I make a mean latte.”

“A latte so mean you’ve seduced the Goldsmith heir into visiting us lowly plebeians daily, just to get a taste of your work?” Shelby dramatically draped an arm over their head. “An impressive feat. I heard the guy hates going out.”

“I’m surprised nothing’s happened to the prick,” Joel scowled. “He just strolls in every day and not one person tries to kidnap and ransom the guy?”

“Oh come on,” Shelby faux scolded. “Scott can’t be that bad!”

“I have two enemies in this world…” Joel’s expression turned dark and dramatic. “Scott Goldsmith, and Vampire. I hate them equally and with such fervor it would probably cause anyone other than me to… um… blow up a bunker!”

“Do not blow up any bunkers! Not you, not Avid, not Shelby, and none of ‘The Boys’ either!” Lizzie called from the other room. The three floor employees froze. “And there better not be any customers waiting in line while you three are horsing around out there.”

“No, babe,” Joel called out after double checking there were no customers. Good, that would have been awkward. “No customers!”

“Alright then,” Lizzie sighed from the other room. “You three keep an eye out though. You can keep messing around as long as it doesn’t involve any of the customers. Looking at you, Avid.”

“Got it!” Avid affirmed. Shelby and Joel both nodded with noises of agreement.

And speak of the devil, the bell to the door rang as a customer entered. The three of them scrambled to their respective places, a silent promise to keep chatting later.

✩₊˚.⋆🕸️⋆⁺₊✧

Shelby maaaaaybe regretted offering to do Joel’s portion of the chores.

Watching Joel smugly walk out the front door as soon as they started closing was absolutely devastating.

They were just so caught up in the moment! She honestly should have thought that one through. Welp! Too late now! Might as well make the most of it.

Shelby checked to make sure Lizzie wasn’t in earshot before speaking up.

“So,” Shelby smiled to themself at the mischief she was about to make. “Scott, huh?”

“Ugh!” Avid rolled his eyes. “He’s just another condescending rich guy who wants some boy to be his trophy– pet– whatever! He’s not even cute! I don’t get why anyone would see the appeal in such a fake guy. He’s so insincere.”

Shelby bit back her defenses for Scott. Citizen Shelby doesn’t know Scott Goldsmith personally…

“Okay,” Shelby decided to pivot. “Do you have any crushes on anybody?”

“Are you that deprived of fanfiction?” Avid stared blankly. “Are you trying to gossip with me?”

“Yeah,” Shelby grinned, knowing what was coming.

“Really?” Avid’s faux cold expression slowly shifted into an evilly gleeful grin. “BECAUSE I’D LOVE TO GOSSIP WITH YOU!”

“Hehe shhhhh!” Shelby shushed him as she giggled, looking around to make sure Lizzie wasn’t approaching to figure out why they were being loud.

It was nice to see Avid look so alive. It really had been a while, and Shelby didn’t realize just how much they missed it.

“Okay, okay,” Shelby tried to whisper, but they were too excited at the prospect of gossip and the joy on Avid’s face to consistently keep that volume. “Tell me, what’s been catching your eye recently, hm?”

“I’ll give you a hint,” Avid giggled, also looking around. “But you can’t tell anyone if you figure it out.

“Ohoho!” Shelby was even more excited. “I promise I won’t tell a SOUL!”

“So villains, right?” Avid shamelessly started. Shelby knew how quickly Avid could get… intense about his opinions on people. This was good though! This enemies to lovers civilian x hero toxic yaoi to doomed yaoi slowburn could definitely happen. “Hey-ey-ey! I know it’s bad!”

Shelby couldn’t help but squeal at the top of her lungs. “No, no, you’re right, villains are hot. Keep going, keep going!”

“I don’t want to give it awayyyyy!” Avid giggled like a schoolgirl, pushing Shelby playfully. “I was just stating a fact!”

“Hmmmm okay!” Shelby excitedly waved her hands around, splashing a bit of water from the rag she was holding on the wall. “But you had better tell me if something happens!”

“Oh, come on!” Avid pretended to throw the cleaning spray at Shelby. “Crushes on villains are like celebrity crushes. They don’t happen! That’s just for fantasies, right?”

“I don’t know,” Shelby shrugged, egging Avid to spill more. “I mean, I haven’t seen all that many that seem to be dating each other. And there’s no way none of them have lovers. And they have got to be civilians. Or even heroes! I’ve read some great fanfiction about it.”

“Okay,” Avid huffed, but it was in a bantering manner. “But this is real life, not a fanfiction. Nothing crazy like that will happen.”

“Hey,” Shelby held up a finger. “Fiction can reflect real life and real experiences! I’m certain there is at least a vigilante or a morally grey bounty hunter that’s dating a hero somewhere out there.”

“My money’s on Mimic and Thorns,” Avid said without skipping a beat. Shelby laughed suddenly at the abruptness at which Avid came to a conclusion.

“Oh,” Shelby thought about it for a moment, thinking about the many times the two worked together. “I can actually see that really well. You might be onto something…”

“You know what you’ve gotta do now,” Avid shot Shelby a grin fully vacant of shame. “Your docs are calling you…”

“They are…” Shelby rubbed her hands together mischievously. “I have so many ideas already. Avid, you are a genius!”

“I didn’t tell you to do anything,” Avid held up his hands in defense, a reserved expression on his face. “I just encouraged you to ponder.”

“Oh, I’ll be pondering alright,” Shelby’s smirk widened. “I know what I’m doing on my day off.”

“Are you guys cleaning up out there?” Lizzie walked in from the other room. Avid and Shelby quickly jumped to appear busy.

“Uh,” Avid let out a forced-sounding laugh. “Yup! Working hard!”

“I’d say you’re the other half of that phrase,” Lizzie put her hands on her hips, but she was smiling at them warmly. “Now get to it so you can go home and rest already.”

“Thanks, Lizzie!” Shelby beamed as they immediately got back to working twice as hard as before.

This was why Shelby liked staying employed.

Chapter Text

Legundo, by all technical means, did not have to be working.

Due to his participation and service, he was already offered a steady stream of money to cover expenses for the rest of his life.

But the guilt of the things he had done… he couldn’t bring himself to just sit around all day. He had to atone for his actions somehow. For his own peace, and for the sake of the lives he ruined.

He had gone into that mission truly believing he was simply gaining the trust of horrible villains, a spy for the good of society. They were witches, of course they were ill intentioned, right? They were people that could bend the universe to curse and hex others.

Dangerous.

Even still, when he watched heroes break down the sanctuary and tear the witches from their families, screaming and wailing as they reached out to their loved ones… they didn’t seem like horrible, wretched beings of malice.

And even after his betrayal, the remaining people trusted him to sneak all of the children out of the sanctuary and to an orphanage willing to keep their mouths shut.

A pair of girls broke his heart the most. One a gifted, and one a witch. Both of them kept reassuring the other that it would be okay, that their mothers and fathers were okay and going to come for them as soon as they were safe.

They were so small, so innocent.

They were no monsters.

And Legundo would never be able to forget their faces.

Despite the thank yous, the money, and the respect it got him, it didn’t feel good. It felt like he had made a terrible mistake. It had only taken him a week to quit his work as a spy for OaCorp.

And that was why he worked at a charity hospital. No income, no questions as to what or who they were, just people helping the hurt and sick.

He didn’t do it to make himself feel better.

He did it because it was right.

Because every time he looked a grieving person in the eyes, he saw the same scene of the peaceful community being torn to shreds by the very heroes that were supposed to protect the city. It had been fifteen years, and almost all of those ‘heroes’ had retired by then. Yet, when Legs looked at those modern heroes, he could see fragments of the ones before them.

Noticing when someone was grieving had become a skill Legundo had, through no will of his own.

And that was reason number one on why he was intrigued by the new janitor.

The man had shown up one day, around two months prior, and refused to talk to anyone. Though based on the timing and prior descriptions, Legs put together that this was most likely Louis’ fiancé.

Oh, Louis.

What a great guy he was. Louis would come to the hospital, rain or shine, to visit the patients. He would bring toys for the children, tell stories to the middles, and listen thoughtfully to the elderly’s ramblings. He would often gush about his husband-to-be when engaging in small talk about his day.

He was a man full of love.

Was.

Legundo had rarely spoken with the man, only interacting in passing, but his loss felt like the heart of the hospital had been shattered like glass. The very walls of the building seemed to cry and crack at his absence.

It was a housefire. A tragic casualty in a fight against a hero and a villain. The hero’s fire powers had lit a dry bush, and the blaze ran too wild, far too fast. A true heartbreaking tragedy. A horrible mishap.

Legs could only imagine how much pain his fiancé– Owen, if he remembered his name correctly– must have been going through.

Legundo was no therapist, but maybe reaching out to him would help.

“Hey,” Legundo approached the man, who flinched heavily at the sound. Legundo paused for a moment before he slowed his pace. He looked at the man’s hands, which were bandaged heavily. On his left ring finger, two rings were placed. One pristine, and one with rings of color, indicating heat stress. “Owen, right?”

“And just how do you know that?” Owen snapped, looking absolutely furious. “Are you some sort of stalker?”

“No,” Legundo shook his head softly. “Louis spoke of you often. I’m so sorry for your loss.”

Owen looked Legundo up and down with a blank expression before scoffing and continuing to mop the floors. Understandable. Everyone grieves in different ways, and for a person that was to be wed with the kindest man Oakhurst had ever met, any type of grief was purely justified. The heartache of losing such a benevolent person that was to be yours, the pain of losing who promised you to be theirs… it must have ached like fiberglass under flesh.

But still, underneath it all, Legundo could sense his grief.

Legundo would keep reaching out. Patiently, and non invasively.

Legundo would help him.

 

✩₊˚.⋆🕸️⋆⁺₊✧

 

Ariana groaned as she scrolled on her phone. This was lame as hell. Grian’s recommended videos and posts on social media were boring.

She couldn’t be too mad, though. He was the one who was out the most, so he had the most time on their phone. Maybe she should just make her own accounts.

 

⭕⭕⭕ - ARO WARNING. (scroll to next set of ⭕ emojis to skip)

 

“Hey, babe,” Mumbo walked up behind Ari, leaning on the back of the couch. “Who am I speaking to?”

“Ariana,” Ari responded smoothly. “I’m trying to doomscroll but Grian has the worst taste in videos.”

“Oh, hi, Ari!” Mumbo rested his head against the side of her head. “That sucks.”

“You can kiss me if you want, Mumbo,” Ari smiled smugly. She felt a kiss get pressed to her cheek, moustache tickling her face.

Just then, the door opened behind them. Ari and Mumbo both turned and saw Scar standing in the doorway, duffel bag in hand.

“Well hello there!” Scar smiled and hung his bag on the wall, grabbing his cane from its place on the shoe shelf. “Who’s this?”

“That’s Ari,” Mumbo answered for her. She grinned and tossed her hair, suddenly becoming disappointed that it was still short.

“Wonderful!” Scar clasped his hands together and made his way to the couch, flopping over the arm and onto the cushions, adjusting to use Ari’s lap as a pillow. Ari rolled her eyes, but her eyes shone as she ran a hand through his hair.

“You two do realize that I have a patrol scheduled in two minutes, right?” Ari laughed, covering her mouth with the back of her unoccupied hand.

“I’m just getting as much as I can get!” Scar made a sad face hugging Ari. “That way I have something to tide me over until you get back.”

“You could skip…” Mumbo offered. “You’re a bounty hunter, not a hero. You choose your hours!”

“And this time is crime rush hour!" Ari teased. “I need that bank! Plus, we like to have structure, routine, schedules. I don’t want to break our carefully balanced life.”

“Okay…” Scar looked up with pleading puppy dog eyes. “We’ll miss you though.”

“I’ll miss you too,” Ari stood up, giving both of them a kiss before sauntering over to the bathroom to change into her Mimic costume.

 

⭕⭕⭕ - ARO WARNING OVER.

 

Ari pulled on the Mimic costume, happy to find that the previous person did remember to wash it. Perfect! The bare minimum!

Ari laughed to herself as she pushed the mask over her face and straightened out her wings. She looked in the mirror, smoothing down the costume, before stepping back out into the living room.

“Bye, boys!” Ari called out behind her as she closed the back door.

She breathed in a deep lungful of air, stretching her wings before taking to the sky, meeting clouds like a swan.

The sky was home to her. The wind hugged her feathers, gravity trying in vain to bring her down, but she was stronger.

She was stronger than physics.

Better than the rules of the universe.

And she was going to kick ass.

She screeched to a halt and flapped to keep herself in the same spot in the air as she saw a mop of white hair in an alleyway. A telltale sign of a member of The Coven. She brought a hand up to shield the light from her eyes as she squinted down to identify the villain.

Vengeance.

Ari smirked to herself. That guy had killed many people, enough to make his bounty absolutely, utterly, and deliciously huge. Perfect pickings.

She dove to the ground, heel first. Her platform boot met the concrete with a loud click, announcing her presence.

“Hey there!” Ari waved her fingers around, flapping her wings to add to the image she was giving. “What are you doing around here, hm?” She tilted her head, keeping her casual and aesthetic aura.

“Mimic…” Vengeance growled– he growled! How brutish.

“That’s my title,” Ari checked her nails with a smug smile. “Don’t wear it out too much.”

Vengeance huffed and propelled himself into the air, landing effortlessly on the roof of a nearby building.

Ari frowned, rolling her eyes before pushing herself off the ground, soaring through the space between the buildings.

“Really?” She called out. “Jumping away from the one who can fly?”

Vengeance did not grace her with an answer, to which she grumbled.

Hold on.

Ari suddenly stopped, landing on a nearby roof and watching as Vengeance continued running, periodically looking back at her every few seconds.

The Coven usually traveled in groups. Well, most of them. Vampire liked to go solo sometimes. For any of the other three? It was rare for them to move alone.

This was probably a trap.

Ariana laughed and launched herself much higher than before, making loops around the area, keeping her eyes peeled.

Then she saw it, around an alley. An alley that Vengeance was sprinting right into.

Behind one of the bins, she spotted another Coven member: Scythe.

This was a trap! A trap Ari had spotted.

She laughed and swooped in front of the alley, making sure not to get too close. As she observed, she noticed something else.

A button sat in the middle of the alley in full view. Ariana squinted at it suspiciously, looking around it for signs of whatever games they were playing. And there she saw it: a net connected to the mechanism. Ha! They were trying to capture her! What a foolish trick!

She ignored the fact that it would have worked on her if she hadn’t figured out the trap beforehand.

Even further, she ignored the fact that it probably would have worked on Grian regardless of if he noticed the trap beforehand or not.

What could she say? They liked buttons!

Their system was too curious and chaotic for their own good.

“So close!” She cheered into the alley. “But you’re going to have to be more clever than that if you want to catch me!”

“Wait,” Scythe called out. “We have a job for you. We will pay you handsomely.”

With that, Ariana paused. Interesting.

“Uh huh…” She landed softly, but made sure to keep her distance. “How much ‘we talking, and what do you need me to do?”

“$15,000,” Vengeance hissed from the darkness. Ari’s eyes widened. “All we need is either the identity of a member of The Militia, or their patrol schedule.”

Ari whistled at the number. “That’s easy money right there…” She grinned. “We’ll see what I can get you.”

“And if you talk to OaCorp to get one of those blasted counterpays to rat us out…” Scythe made a cutting motion over their throat. “We’ll reveal your identity to the public, Grian.”

Ariana couldn’t help but break into a fit of full, hearty laughter. They seriously thought that was something they could use as a threat.

“Nothing about this is funny,” Vengeance snarled, crossing his arms. “We are serious about this, Mimic.”

“I’ll do whatever I damn please!” Ari chirped, splaying her wings to be on full display. “People recognize me as Mimic every day during my life as Grian, and I have people recognize me as Grian when I’m doing Mimic work! My identity is practically public knowledge! People aren't stupid. That threat means nothing to me!”

Vengeance and Scythe turned to look at each other, which only made Ari laugh harder. She had to hold her sides to prevent herself from falling over from the fit.

“Aha!” Ari cackled and hollered, barely able to contain her laughter to speak. “You two are a HOOT! Oh goodness, I wasn’t expecting to laugh so much today! Hehe… ahhh I’m going to go talk to an OaCorp manager. You two have a good day! I’ll see you soon… maybe~”

She took to the skies before either one of them could answer, still cackling her feathers off.

Villains were so unserious.

✩₊˚.⋆🕸️⋆⁺₊✧

Heroes sucked, actually.

Grian huffed as he stormed out of the office. He couldn’t reveal what Ariana had found out, lest they refuse and then simply keep too close of an eye on them to prevent the mission from succeeding.

Unfortunately, ‘no risk of harm or injury’ paired with such a high price bar led to them brushing her off. Grian switched in to yell at them, but his presence and help didn’t seem to work in their favor.

“They’re gonna regret this…” Grian grumbled as he stormed down the hallway. He was really hoping for a higher sum of money, and now OaCorp knew he had an outstanding job from a villain. They were definitely going to keep an eye on him. Though, they didn’t seem to pay him much mind in the first place, so maybe he was home free?

$15,000 dollars for someone’s secret identity was fantastic, and Grian was more than willing to find a Militia member’s legal name to get it. Easy money!

Grian paused when he saw a meeting room with the door left open. He peered inside, far too curious to let it go.

The room was full of fresh bounty hunters and heroes. Grian doubted any of them had fully hit the field yet, judging by how young they all looked.

Grian glanced at the whiteboard that a hero– Zombie– was writing on as they spoke. Witches: How to Spot Them and What to Do. If only Grian could find a witch. Any witch delivered to OaCorp was a HUGE paycheck, and G wanted that money.

“Now the most obvious way to spot a witch is their purple e–” Zombie spoke in her teacher-voice, pointing at the board. Their orange curls bounced as they moved.

“Witch week!” Grian chirped as he walked into the room. “I remember witch week!”

“Hello, Mimic,” Zombie turned their attention to the bird hybrid entering the room. The students all turned to face him as well. “You have a high alert watch on you. Where’s your tail?”

“No one will be tailing me,” Grian waved his hand dismissively. “I’m too fast! And I’ve got money to make.”

“Is it blood money?” Zombie raised an eyebrow. Their class started murmuring amongst themselves. Grian rolled his eyes.

“No,” Grian grumbled, crossing his arms.

“Why do you look disappointed?!” Zombie pinched the bridge of their nose. “Do you want to kill people?!”

“No!” Grian waved his arms around. “They just– if I were given a job to kill someone, they would have given me a counteroffer!”

“Okay,” Zombie sighed, long and dull. “Whatever. Don’t do whatever you were asked to do. I mean it!”

“I don’t know…” Grain looked around the room, trying to look as casual as possible. “$15,000 is a lot of money for something that doesn’t cause any physical harm…”

“Mimic.” Their statement was aggressive, final.

“As much as I’d love to say and help out with witch week,” Grian stretched and slowly backed out the door. “I’ve got some stuff to do, people to see, places to go… You all have fun!”

“Mimic!” Zombie shouted after him, but Grian was already zooming through the halls– towards The Militia’s meeting room.

If he was lucky, they were having a meeting.

He slammed into the door, thrashing his head around to survey the room.

Kuna looked at him, looking both shocked and concerned.

“Mimic? What are you—” Kuna began, but Grian was quick to whirl around and run off.

If one of them was here at her desk, the others were likely out and about.

And Grian knew who they wanted to know more about.

Uproar.

Of course they would want Uproar. Someone who could send someone’s mind reeling to the point of immobility for fifteen whole seconds?

And, of course, the other thing he could do.

But The Coven didn’t know about The Listener, and that secret could get him far more than fifteen grand. He’d hold his tongue on that one.

Anyway– It just made sense for him to go for Uproar. Mythic didn’t have a combat related power, Kuna’s power was pretty average stuff, and while Tracker was a threat, he wasn’t quite as dangerous to them as Uproar.

Grian perched on top of the OaCorp building, looking around for anything he could use– or better yet, Uproar himself.

Grian wasn’t that lucky, but he caught sight of Tracker, which was enough for him. He could waste a few of his extra powers to manipulate Tracker’s abilities enough for him to find Uproar. Xelqua surely wouldn’t mind… right?

Well! Better to beg for forgiveness than ask for permission!

Grian pointed at Tracker from where he was perched, feeling as his power flooded his body. Yes! Grian focused on opening a third eye, hoping not to disturb Xelqua too much.

When he got it open, he quickly changed his version of Tracker’s power to be a bit more… usable in this situation. Grian needed it to be a bit more powerful.

Grian pointed to the sky and sent a wave of energy, hunting down Uproar’s presence.

“Come on, come on…” Grian muttered as he struggled to keep the extra eye open.

Right as the eye started to flutter closed, he caught Uproar’s scent. Weird. Grian scrunched up his face. His power is smell based?

Well, no time to think about that.

He had maybe ten minutes before the use of his powers would leave him too exhausted to move. He would need to figure out who Uproar was and get to a safe spot ASAP.

Grian clambered across the roof on all fours, flapping his wings and diving off the edge, gliding down before swinging back up again. He went high, higher than he honestly should, high enough that his lungs began to beg for oxygen that his surroundings couldn’t supply.

Grian took a deep breath of the practically useless air and turned his treading flap into a glide, which he brought into a swift dive, heading straight for Uproar’s trail.

He found the trail easily, landing in front of a clothing store.

He bounced up to the window, pressing his face against the glass and peering inside, ignoring the gasps and murmurs that surrounded him.

There he saw the person that matched Uproar’s scent.

No way! Grian’s mouth fell open. Listener is Martyn?!

Why didn’t you tell me? Grian attempted to ask Xelqua, but no one in his head responded. He grumbled and quickly gave up.

Well. He got what he came for. That was easy money.

He gave a satisfied huff and marched off.

This is wrong… Someone voiced their concern, but Grian pretended not to notice. Hey, $15,000 was a LOT of money.

Grian let out a happy chirp as he flapped up to a rooftop to rest.

They were going to be rolling in dough pretty soon.

Greed can be good.

 

✩₊˚.⋆🕸️⋆⁺₊✧

 

“Okay,” Shelby gestured around with their hands dramatically. “Would you rather get used as a ransom by villains? Or be used as bait by heroes?”

“Hm,” Avid bit his lip, looking like he was thinking hard. “Ransom.”

“Why?” Shelby furrowed her eyebrows, a little confused. She didn’t expect him to pick that.

“Uh,” Avid tapped a finger to his chin in thought. “Villains tend to have things more thought out. If I get hurt, it’s the heroes’ fault. If I get hurt when being used as bait, it’s still the heroes’ fault.”

“Oh,” Shelby’s eyes widened. That was an interesting way to think. They didn’t fully agree, the villains did still hold some blame… but it was better to keep Avid’s opinions on villains lighter, in case Shelby’s secret ever got out. “That makes a lot of sense.”

“My turn!” Avid grinned. “Would you rather–”

They were cut off by a sharp trill as wind messed up both of their hair. Shelby looked up to see Mimic soaring above them, his flight pattern was absolutely giddy

“Oh, that’s fun,” Shelby smiled. Pyro and Owen must have succeeded in talking to him. Obviously, he wasn’t captured, but clearly, some kind of arrangement had been made. “He seems happy.”

“He seems weird,” Avid’s face scrunched. “I don’t know what to make of him.”

“Well, it’s not like either of us have met him,” Shelby smiled slightly. Oh, Avid. If only you knew. “But yeah, I’m not so sure what’s going on with him either.”

They continued walking back to their respective homes in silence for a moment longer.

“Would you rather…” Avid broke said silence. “Be stuck in a room with someone you hate for an entire week, or be stuck in a room with a friend you only kinda know for a month.”

Shelby smiled warmly. It was nice to see Avid happy again.

“Be stuck with someone I hate,” Shelby giggled mischievously. “Great ‘enemies to lovers’ material right there. I might write that.”

“Pft,” Avid rolled his eyes, but his smile betrayed him. “That’s so dumb! I love it.”

They would.

Shelby beamed brightly as the two friends set on their separate ways.

Today was nice.

Chapter Text

Pearl hummed to herself as she threw more herbs into the chicken soup she was making. Her wonderful partner would be hungry after work, and Pearl just happened to want to cook today.

Something really drew her to poultry though.

Huh! Weird!

If it was a vision, she’d receive confirmation right about…

Then.

Her phone started ringing and Pearl tsked, turning the soup to low heat as she brought the phone to her ear, already walking over to the shoe rack.

“Hello?” Pearl grabbed her necklace off of the shelf and awaited Cleo’s request.

“Hello, Moonbeam?” Cleo was using her Zombie voice. Pearl was right! She had a job to do. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything?”

“Nothing crazy,” Pearl laced up her shoes and laughed lightly. “Where do you need me?”

“I need you to catch a bird,” Cleo grumbled. “Mimic’s got a job from a villain that the big bosses didn’t think was worth paying him not to do and now he’s running about somewhere. Up to no good. I’m teaching a class right now so I can’t go after him.”

“On it, love!” Pearl sang into the microphone. “I’ll follow him around until he gets bored. That guy’s got the attention span of a bug. It should be easy enough to distract him!”

“Thank you, dear,” Zombie sighed over the line. “I best get back to the lesson, but it was lovely to hear your voice.”

“You’ll hear it again when you get home,” Pearl promised. “Bye!”

Pearl hung up her phone and ran out the door.

As she sped down the street, she grabbed the feather on her necklace and her body molded itself into the shape of a hawk.

She propelled herself into the sky, soaring high above the buildings to try to spot the hybrid.

It was disappointingly easy.

Less than two minutes passed by the time she landed next to the rogue bounty hunter, who was curled on a random rooftop.

“Ahem,” Pearl made a faux noise of clearing her throat. “Mimic.”

“Hm?” Mimic opened one jet black eye and stared at the hawk girl. “Moonbeam?”

“In the feathery flesh,” Pearl morphed back into a person, sitting on the ledge of the concrete, one leg crossed over the other. “Mind telling me what you’re doing?”

“Napping,” Mimic pulled a wing over his head.

“On the top of a roof?” Pearl raised an eyebrow.

“Birds love heights!” Mimic stuck his tongue out at Pearl in a very immature manner.

“I’m thinking you’re recovering your powers,” Pearl laughed. “So!” She made eye contact. “What did you do?”

“Nothing,” Mimic sat up and stretched like a cat, his wings on full display. “… yet.” He smirked mischievously on the last word.

“Mimic…” Pearl used a warning tone, her eyes narrowing at the unpredictable bird-boy.

“Mooooonbeam,” Mimic’s shoes clicked on the concrete as he approached the edge of the roof.

“Don’t you dare,” Pearl shifted into an eagle.

“I love dares!” Mimic chirped as he threw himself off the edge, quickly reappearing as he shot straight up.

Pearl rolled her eyes with a smile and took off behind him, closing the distance almost instantly.

“Give it up,” Pearl squawks. “Let’s head back to OaCorp, hm?”

“$15,000!” Mimic laughed wildly, dropping and changing directions erratically. “I can’t pass that up!”

“Is it worth that in the long run?” Pearl called after him, slowly falling behind.

“Absolutely!” Mimic chirped back. “Easy money!”

Pearl grumbled, no genuine frustration.

“Want to know what’s easy, mate?” Pearl called out.

“What?” Mimic was all cackles and happy flutters.

“Catching you!” Pearl morphed back into a human as she was above him and they both fell onto a roof with an ‘oof’ and a loud squawk.

“Oh no!” Mimic bounced back onto his feet. “You’ve caught me! It’s simply not worth it to go on!”

“Uh…” Pearl furrowed her eyebrows in confusion. “What?”

“I guess I’ll just go home and turn in for the night…” Mimic sighed, long and melodramatic. “You showed me the way, Moonbeam! It’s simply… not worth it. OKAYBYEEEEE!”

And with that, Mimic scampered across the roof and trilled loudly as he took off towards the more residential areas.

Huh. What a weirdo.

Pearl picked up her phone and shot Cleo a text to report the experience.

Pearl stood there, alone on the roof for a few moments before shrugging and walking in the direction of her and Cleo’s house.

She had a different bird to defeat.

Time to conquer chicken noodle soup!

Chapter Text

“I’m afraid there’s nothing I can do about this,” The doctor shook her head sadly as she set down her clipboard and began typing on her computer. “I can find you a specialist though.”

“You’re the fourth specialist they’ve sent me to!” Avid’s voice came out broken. The frustration bubbled and settled in his throat, threatening tears. “You’re saying you don’t know anything?”

“Your labs came back normal,” The doctor shrugged, the action sent waves of anger down Avid’s spine. He hated those words. “But I can clearly see a problem. If this wasn’t so well documented, I wouldn’t have believed you when you told me that this wound was from nine years ago.”

“Yeah,” Avid had to bite back a scream. “I get that. I get that a lot.”

The doctor made a noncommittal noise as she continued typing. “Well, you’re free to go home. I’ll have the specialist call you if you get approved.”

“IF?!” Avid coughed and recomposed himself after realizing he had shouted. “Sorry. If?”

“I’m not in control of their scheduling,” She shrugged again, not even looking behind her.

“Whatever,” Avid stood up and put a bandage back over the wound, pulling his shirt back over it and buttoning it up. “I’m going home.”

“Have a great–” He slammed the door behind him before she could finish.

Oh! Yeah! Avid was having a great day alright! For sure! The new stack of bills he was about to be handed and the complete lack of answers was awesome! His day was just grand.

He stormed all the way back home, biting back screams and forcing himself not to kick every rock and branch on his path.

Over and over.

Never ceasing.

No answer ever given.

Ladies, gentlemen, and the best of us all…

The medical system.

Months of waiting, hoping, praying, begging everything to give you some sort of answer, some type of reprieve.

All for a tight smile, another set of labs that ‘came back normal’, another expensive specialist, another doctor that didn’t believe you, another doctor who blamed everything on the uterus.

Avid wondered if they would have found what was wrong with him already if he was born a boy.

Avid almost ran into the door to his apartment complex. In his fury and distress he had lost track of time. He let out a broken sob and pushed through the doors, charging straight through the lobby to minimize the chance of someone seeing him in tears.

Avid was sick.

Avid was sick, and the doctors still couldn’t help him.

Avid was sick and no one was taking him seriously, allowing him to drown in debt without a cure.

He needed treatment if he didn’t want to die, but he also needed to eat for the same reason.

He threw open the door to his apartment and took a deep breath of air, letting the scent of Drift’s pumpkin spice candles soothe his senses.

He crashed onto his chair and grabbed an apple juice from the fridge. He took a long swig, the cold, sweet liquid staving off tears.

This is fine. I’m fine.

His phone buzzed.

Nevermind, everything is evil.

He knew what it was before he even picked it up. The stupid bill from that stupid, useless appointment. He turned it on and logged into the patient portal and–

I can’t afford that.

The number was so much higher than it should have been. Why would they charge so much just for them to tell him they couldn’t do anything?! What was wrong with people??

Everything.

Avid grabbed his notebook that he did his budgeting in and started adding up the numbers to see what he could do. Every passing calculation sent another sting of dread through his body.

Avid sucked in a deep breath as he stared at the final draft of his budget. He didn’t have enough for all of his needs.

He needed rent, that wasn’t debatable.

He went through his list, crossing off ones that weren’t optional.

His heart broke at his final three.

He had the choice of only eating the free employee meal he got from working at Truffle’s each day– opting out of every other meal for a week, not buying his next prescription of lamotrigine, or not buying his next prescription of testosterone. All three of these things could be argued to be too crucial to be left on the table as something to be given up.

Did he want to go hungry for seven days, roll the dice on a depressive swing or a wave of mania, or feel absolutely horrible in his own body for a while?

He grabbed a throw pillow and shoved it against his face to muffle the sounds of his frustrated screams. Tears burned his face and soaked the pillow. Why couldn’t anything just be easy? He was in pain and no one was taking it seriously.

He stared at his three choices, considering each option deeply.

Food would suck. Sure, he would have the free meal from Truffle’s, and he was sure Lizzie would let him take more if he asked, but the food there was… not sustainable. It was a bakery-coffeeshop. It was designed to be a quick snack and pick-me-up place, not a place for full meals. He would feel awful all week, and he really couldn’t be skipping more meals. Plus, Drift would notice and get concerned– and he didn’t want his roommate fussing over him. She’d tell Shelby and it would become this whole thing and–

Yeah, he wouldn’t be skipping food.

His lamotrigine? That was too much of a dice roll. If he had a hypomanic or hypodepressive episode, it would be fine, but a full on depressive or manic episode could lose him everything depending on how bad it got. Plus, he was on a really high dose– the side effects from stopping cold turkey could get pretty bad.

Testosterone. Sure, it wasn’t as much of a need as food was, but he would probably end up crying a lot. He would be so uncomfortable and dysphoric without it. Even though there wouldn’t be any visible physical changes from going just a week without, estrogen messed with his brain and made him feel woozy.

He would skip on testosterone.

Unless he could catch a bounty?

Avid pulled the pillow away from his face and sniffled. Right. He was a bounty hunter! He was someone with powers! All he had to do was get a bounty and he wouldn’t have to skip on anything. He rubbed his eyes with his sleeves and walked over to his room to change into his Hunter outfit.

✩₊˚.⋆🕸️⋆⁺₊✧

Avid felt like he was going to start crying again. He had been running around for hours and still hadn’t found any bounties.

Sure, he had found a few villains, but they either got away or were swooped up by other bounty hunters before he could get a paycheck. His hope was draining by the moment.

He stopped running across rooftops when he heard a familiar voice yelling in an alleyway.

“Get away from me, you brute!” It was Scott Goldsmith. Avid moved to get a better view and found two muggers trying to restrain the man.

Where the hell are his body guards? Avid looked around, but the four of them were the only ones around.

Well! Avid started to walk away. That’s what he gets for being foolish.

Avid felt a tug in his chest and he stopped dead in his tracks. Remember why you’re doing this. Elle is dead because of petty villains. You can help. Do your stupid job and help.

He still hesitated. Paycheck. He sighed and whirled around, charging into the alleyway.

“Leave that man alone!” Avid shouted, tossing a bottle in the air and catching it as menacingly as possible. He really hoped his presence alone was enough to scare them.

“Fat chance,” one of the muggers spat. Avid should have known his luck was still cursed. “We’re gonna get a good ransom on this richboy."

“Right,” Avid laughed, absolutely at his wits end. “Let’s dance.”

The muggers swung first, the one on the left wielding a bat. Avid jumped back just in time, hitting the ground and sweeping his leg to knock them over. They hit the ground with a loud ‘thud’ and Avid quickly got back up and kicked them again, hard enough to move them at least a foot further away. He swiftly removed one of the black leather belts from his costume– one on his arm– and tied the mugger’s hands behind their back.

He turned back around, suddenly realizing that the other mugger might have run away with Goldsmith while Avid was distracted with the first one. His eyes widened at the sight. Scott Goldsmith was standing over the other mugger, heel pressed against their face. His arms were crossed, his face was a little bruised, and he wore a very angry expression.

“Sir,” Avid forced himself into his serious Hunter voice. “Are you alright?”

“Ugh,” Scott rolled his eyes. Avid bit back a groan. More insufferable than usual… “Those animals ruined my face! Not to mention I’m going to be sore for days. Ugh!”

“Aren’t you worried about your safety?” Avid was baffled at the relative nonchalance that Scott was portraying. “You were almost kidnapped.”

Avid tied up the second mugger, and Scott stepped away.

“I could have–…” Scott trailed off. “As much as I hate to say it– and I sure do hate that I’m saying this– you’re right. Ugh, I’m simply miffed at the audacity. Far too much so to think clearly.”

“Hm,” Avid sneered. He was grateful that his mask covered the lower half of his face, lest that Goldsmith prick taunt his expression. “I’ll turn these idiots in. Invest in a bodyguard.”

“H-hold on!” Scott called out as Avid threw the muggers over his shoulder. “You’re just going to leave me here?! After what just happened? I don’t think so.”

“What?” Avid’s face scrunched up as he continued walking, paying no mind to the Goldsmith heir throwing a fit behind him.

“Hello?” Scott scoffed. “You just watched a defenseless civilian almost get kidnapped? Aren’t you going to escort me back to my estate?”

“Huh?” Avid raised his eyebrows. “What? It’s your fault you’re out here alone. Are you asking me to fix your mess?”

“I am a harmless civilian,” Scott crossed his arms. “Your job is to protect innocent people like me and turn in those wretched freaks.”

A wave of anger washed through him as Scott spoke. Vampire is a villain. Fledgeling is a villain. Scythe is a villain. They’re not freaks. They’re free. It was wrong of him to think this way. It was! But he couldn’t help but empathize with them when he saw the thrill on their faces. Avid recognized freedom because he didn’t have it.

Of course, he couldn’t voice his thoughts– especially not in this company. Who knew what kind of trouble sympathizing with The Coven could get him in.

“Feel free to follow me,” Avid rolled his eyes. “But I’m turning in these criminals first.”

“Hmph!” Scott turned his face away. “Fine!”

Scott was acting really strange.

What a weirdo…

 

✩₊˚.⋆🕸️⋆⁺₊✧

 

Scott hated being recognized.

He loved his trips to Truffle’s, obviously, but there were times people got bold. It’s not like he was a celebrity, but his parents being rich put a horribly large target on his back. And he was not a fan of stripes.

Getting noticed especially sucked when those bold people decided that Scott was just some helpless, coddled boy who has never even considered doing anything himself.

Scott had been trying to sneak into an alleyway to teleport back to his home before getting jumped by two lowlife street criminals.

No matter! Annoying, yes, but it was a simple fix. He could just take them out as swiftly as possible and then be on his way.

Of course, nothing was ever that simple.

“Leave that man alone!” Hunter’s voice grated from down another alley. Scott could already feel his battery depleting at the mere thought of that miserable, passionless dog being nearby.

Scott tuned out whatever the rest of that wannabe hero and weak criminal preached about and swung, landing a swift right hook to the other mugger’s jaw. He scoffed at how easily they went down and pressed his heel against the side of their face, holding them down as condescendingly as possible.

“Sir,” Hunter started walking towards him, the drain on Scott’s battery already snapping into effect. “Are you alright?”

“Ugh,” Scott rolled his eyes. What a stupid question. “Those animals ruined my face! Not to mention I’m going to be sore for days. Ugh!”

“Aren’t you worried about your safety?” Hunter tilted his head, looking much like a dog. “You were almost kidnapped.”

Hunter approached the mugger with a belt, and Scott stepped away to allow him to tie them up.

“I could have–…” Scott stopped himself– he was supposed to be the heir to the Goldsmith family, being proficient in hand to hand combat didn’t fit that image. If he wanted to keep suspicions low, he would need to change up his behavior. And what if Hunter called someone to check on him, only to find no trace? “As much as I hate to say it– and I sure do hate that I’m saying this– you’re right. Ugh, I’m simply miffed at the audacity. Far too much so to think clearly.”

“Hm,” Hunter seemed unconvinced, but that may have just been Scott’s lack of a read on his feelings– if he even had any. “I’ll turn these idiots in. Invest in a bodyguard.”

Appear weak. Appear like a spoiled, pampered, bratty child.

“H-hold on!” Scott called out as Hunter threw the muggers over his shoulder. “You’re just going to leave me here?! After what just happened? I don’t think so.”

“What?” Hunter questioned, but didn’t even pause his progress forward.

“Hello?” Scott let out an annoyed sound, mortified at what he was doing. He felt like a spoiled little girl. “You just watched a defenseless civilian almost get kidnapped? Aren’t you going to escort me back to my estate?”

“Huh?” Hunter actually had confusion in his voice. Interesting, considering his constant monotone, serious, and angry patterns. “What? It’s your fault you’re out here alone. Are you asking me to fix your mess?”

“I am a harmless civilian,” Scott crossed his arms, swallowing his pride. It’ll be worth it in the end. “Your job is to protect innocent people like me and turn in those wretched freaks.”

“Feel free to follow me,” Hunter droned in his usual miserable tone. Gosh, he was insufferable to be around. “But I’m turning in these criminals first.”

“Hmph!” Scott turned his face away, cringing at his own behavior. Humiliating. “Fine!"

Hunter didn’t reply, silently continuing towards a police station. Scott sighed as quietly as he could and followed close behind.

Just being nearby Hunter put a damper on Scott’s power battery, his total lack of passion was horrific. This man definitely needed some therapy, some sort of medication– something. He had to have some kind of serious problem.

Scott looked at Hunter’s eyes. Bright red. Unlucky for him. Scott was fortunate enough that his powers caused his eyes to be blue– a more natural color– rather than something so noticeable. Sure, the blue in his eyes was a bit brighter than most, but he passed it off well by dying his hair. How on earth had no one found Hunter’s secret identity yet? His red eyes should have been a dead giveaway.

Hunter seemed to find ways to nag him in every dimension.

His fashion taste was awful, too. All the purple and black might have worked well together if there was just a bit more detail, the belts everywhere were a bit much, and denim and leather? That was just about the worst combo for running around and fighting.

Maybe going sleeveless would do him good. Scott wasn’t sure how muscular Hunter was underneath those big sleeves, but based on the fact he was carrying two people at once with absolutely no effort… Scott wouldn’t mind seeing his arms. For research purposes. Maybe Hunter did have redeemable traits?

But alas, Hunter’s shoulders remained veiled and his personality bland.

Scott honestly had no idea how a person could be so passionless that they straight up take from his power battery. Why couldn’t Hunter be vivacious like Avid? It would be a heck of a lot easier to have a stalker that had emotions.

“You’re so bland,” Scott sneered, very much against his better judgement. “Is there a reason you’re hollower than a choux pastry?”

“Excuse you?” Hunter snorted. “Is there a reason you’re stuck up, selfish, and reckless? Haven’t your parents taught you not to go to town alone?”

If only you knew, Hunter. Scott had to force himself not to laugh. This idiot has no idea he is speaking to Vampire!

“It appears no one taught you manners,” Scott snapped back. “Were you raised in a barn?”

“HA!” Hunter barked out a laugh, the slightest bit of emotion simmered around him before quickly dying off. “Did your parents not pay enough attention to you to tell you when to shut up?”

Ouch. That one actually struck a nerve. Scott’s head spun for a moment before he shook it off. He got Hunter to waft some emotion!

“You projecting?” Scott muttered.

Hunter huffed in response, but didn’t entertain the conversation further. Scott could only groan and roll his eyes again.

This was so dumb.

 

✩₊˚.⋆🕸️⋆⁺₊✧

 

Avid knew he was going to feel joy as soon as he got home. By being attacked and giving Avid some criminals to turn in for money, Scott Goldsmith had unintentionally saved the day. Avid could almost thank him!

Almost.

Scott was still pretty much the worst person alive. But this, this was one positive.

Uh, the tips that he gave at the coffee shop were also nice.

That was it though!

Avid shook himself out of his head and collected his prize. He sighed and walked back outside, Scott still tailing him.

“Okay,” Avid’s sigh morphed from a tired relief to an exhausted frustration. “Where’s your palace?”

“Firstly,” Scott scoffed, admiring his own nails. “Not a palace. It’s a mansion. Secondly, how do you not know where the Goldsmith estate is? It’s quite noticeable. We host those s… splendid hero receptions every year.”

“Ah,” Avid pretended he knew what Scott was talking about. The heroes have some kind of rich person party at the Goldsmiths’ every year? Nevertheless, Avid had a guess as to where it was. “Got it.”

“Looks like you do have some intelligence!” Scott sneered. “I believed in you!”

“Haha…” Avid rolled his eyes. “Let’s get going.”

“You could still stand to learn manners,” Scott peered from around him. This guy was quicker than he appeared. Skill can come in the most unexpected places– like a rabbit among turtles. This man was swift and agile, but he was vulnerable and soft no doubt.

“This again?” Avid raised an eyebrow.

“Yes,” Scott rolled his eyes. “This again. You better learn to be polite if you even want anyone to like you. Ever. You seem insufferable to be around.”

“Ditto,” Avid smirked under the mask. Scott had no idea that the guy he had been visiting every day for months was the one walking alongside him. “Though I do have friends… and people who desire my presence.”

“I doubt your words,” Scott huffed. What an idiot. He has no clue! "Speaking with you is about as fulfilling as speaking to a garden stone.”

“All you know how to do is whine and pine,” Avid snorted, not kindly.

“Your claims have no backbone,” Scott hissed, anger furrowing his eyebrows. “You say such foolish things with nothing to show for it. Where does one even dream up of such accusations?”

“You have been whining this entire trip,” Avid started, listing with his fingers to add insult to injury. “And there’s gotta be some reason you’re out and around town with no bodyguard, no shopping bags, no chauffeur… nobody to know where you’re going. What, are you sneaking off with some star crossed lover?”

“You know nothing of me,” Scott grumbled, crossing his arms. “Such abhorrent things to say. Get us to the estate faster.”

What could Avid do to make them go faster? Scott was already quick on his feet, but Avid could never see Scott running willingly. What did this prick expect Avid to do?

Y’know what? Avid stepped behind Scott and held out his arms. If he’s going to be annoying, I’ll just get worse.

“The hell are you doing?” Scott scrunched his face at Avid, leaning away from his arms as if they were coated in blood.

“You wanted to get there faster?” Avid smirked. “Then get over here and we’ll be there before you know it.”

And that’s how Avid found himself bounding across rooftops with a surprisingly calm spoiled brat in his arms. Not exactly how Avid saw the day playing out, but it was interesting. Better than the same old same old.

He jumped across the last rooftop and chugged an elixir before bounding one last time to reach the front gate of the Goldsmiths’. His powers granted by the liquid allowed him to gracefully touch the ground, light as a feather.

“Here you are,” Avid caught himself before he called Scott ‘sire’. That was a thing regular coffeeshop worker Avid did to try to make fun of Scott, and if he said it as Hunter… that might lead to some issues.

Scott pointedly did not thank Avid as he gracefully removed himself from Avid’s arms and began striding towards the gate. Avid was shocked by his immediate adjustment in balance, he didn’t even wobble once.

“How did you learn to balance so well?” Avid turned his head. “You’re very quick.”

“Gymnastics,” Scott rolled his eyes and slammed the gate behind him.

Avid furrowed his eyebrows as he began walking off to find an alleyway to change. Balance training wasn’t applicable to other balance related tasks. Balance was something that wasn’t a blanket skill to train. To be good at balancing after being practically flown and thrown around town, you’d need to practice in something similar. Huh. Avid didn’t take the guy as someone to do such over the top acrobatics if his training was able to be applied here.

As soon as Avid was all changed into civilian wear, he grinned as he began skipping back home.

Paycheck!

Chapter Text

Scott frowned and crossed his legs as he watched Owen tumble around as he and Turbo brawled. Owen had requested Vampire’s presence as backup as he attempted to assassinate the flamey-haired hero. Owen had caught him by surprise, leaping out from an alley with force, but Turbo had quickly wriggled free and was now in a shockingly balanced fight.

I guess the vengeance of Vengeance is well matched with superspeed.

If Scott was being honest, he really doubted that Turbo had been responsible for the housefire. Sure, Turbo’s mutant appearance gave him the fire hair, but Scott had never been burned by it, and he couldn’t find any reports of rogue flames originating from the gifted.

However, it was better not to stand in Owen’s way when it came to things like this, and Scott was okay with a little murder. Especially if it came with the benefit of removing a powerful hero from the scene. Scott figured Turbo’s superspeed must not take all that much energy if he was still keeping it up.

“Vampire!” Owen hissed, snapping Scott out of his bored daydream. “A little help?”

Owen had been thoroughly pinned by Turbo, who was reaching for handcuffs. It was only a matter of time before he would be fully incapacitated.

“Certainly!” Scott cackled as he teleported right behind the hero and grabbed his arm, starting up his leeching ability. Can’t speed around if you’re running on fumes.

Scott’s systems were suddenly flooded with white hot energy. His energy storage suddenly overfilled by a landslide, like a flooded basement sink that had left ankle deep water throughout the entire floorplan.

“OW!” Scott shrieked as his powers started going haywire, his body stuttering around as his teleportation desperately tried to drain as much as possible to reach a stable level.

Turbo had jumped back in reaction to Scott’s thievery, and Owen had gotten up with the opportunity. The two of them were staring at Scott with shock, horror, and concern. He was sure his glitching body was quite the scene, based on their reactions.

Turbo seemed to be prioritizing Vampire now, as he sped around trying to grab a hold of him. He was still able to run?!

Scott now knew how Turbo could run around for so long: his power battery storage was ENORMOUS. If Scott had taken enough to render his abilities uncontrollable, and Turbo still appeared energized —as if Scott hadn’t even left a dent in his storage— Turbo has suddenly become a much bigger threat than anticipated.

Scott yelped as Turbo had almost caught him, but he was able to duck and force a teleport several feet away. The sensation of the movement made his limbs sting with numbness. The further from his chest, the more pins and needles were present. He sucked in a pained breath as he was torn from his location yet again.

“Vengeance!” Scott screamed, teleporting halfway through the word. “You can’t run this guy dry! You gotta kill him as fast as you can!”

Owen snarled and took out a weapon.

All of a sudden, both of them were a threat. Scott grinned as he watched Turbo’s face twist in concern. Good. The Coven was supposed to be terrifying. Scott ignored the pain that began rippling through him and the sweat that was gathering on his skin in favor of reveling in the hero’s terror.

“Backup, backup, backup!” Turbo screamed at his watch, which Owen quickly shattered. “Shit.”

“This is between you and Vengeance, Turbo,” Scott smirked, hoping his condescending aura wasn’t tainted by his unstable position. “Your little hero friends won’t be able to save you now.”

Suddenly, the area around them darkened and his eyes started stinging. If his intimidation hadn’t failed before, it certainly had just then.

They had company.

 

✩₊˚.⋆🕸️⋆⁺₊✧

 

Joel loved his official Hat Trick costume, it was so whimsical! It matched the Shadow Lady costume quite well, both of them having a very colorful and extravagant vibe about them. It even had an actual hat! He lived up to his name that way.

He didn’t often get the opportunity to use it, as most of the time he was on the field was with the other Bad Boys. But for times with his wife or when he was solo, he got to use the rainbow-decked circus outfit.

Lizzie had received an alert only moments ago, and while she wasn’t currently logged in as on shift, she was only a block away from the scene, so they called her anyway. And since Joel was right there, he would be joining her in taking down whatever villain had been causing trouble.

Lizzie was faster than him, especially in changing into her own bounty hunter costume, so she was already on the scene by then. Joel was quite a bit behind, but he trusted that his wife had already improved the situation drastically. She was amazing.

Joel finally turned the corner and rage instantly filled his brain as his eyes fell on Vampire. Not only was Vampire the villain they had been called to handle, but he was currently in a fierce pushing match with Lizzie.

Joel launched himself into the air, bouncing on nothing, before pencil diving directly into the villain. He yelped as the two of them were suddenly about twenty or so feet above the ground. Vampire quickly teleported again, on the ground once more, and Joel flailed his arms around. He swiftly regained his focus and waited right before he hit the ground to activate his jump ability again.

Vampire’s frustration filled the area around him, instantly being absorbed by Joel. Joel grinned as the energy he had just depleted refilled.

“Thanks for the…” Joel trailed off as he caught sight of the villain once again. He looked to be in pain, wincing often, and his posture was low and protective. Good. This should be easy for once!

But before he could even begin to approach Vampire, his vision blacked out, and the sound of Lizzie’s voice shrieking stung his ears. He whirled around, darting in the direction of the sound. He opened his palm and let his battery deplete in favor of shooting off green sparks that cleared his vision. With this new level of sight, Vengeance grabbing what seemed to be thin air caught his attention.

“Let go of her!” Joel yelled as he replicated his double jump pencil dive maneuver, knocking Vengeance to the ground.

“Shadow Lady! Hat Trick!” Turbo called from the side, smiling. “Thanks for the backup! You guys handle Vengeance, I’ll get Vampire!”

“Got it!” Lizzie spoke as she fizzled back into visibility.

“Well that’s not fair,” Vengeance spoke low and spitefully, as if he had been horribly wronged. Joel snorted at the concept– how could Vengeance be offended when he was the one who had brought a second guy to attack Turbo unprevoked… What was up with that anyway?

“That’s blooming stupid!” Joel cackled, drawing out more annoyance. “You’re the ones who jumped out of nowhere to attack Turbo!”

“You don’t know that,” Vengeance growled. Growled. The man must have been insane! “There’s no way you could have learned that in the time it took you to get here.”

“Well, I know Turbo didn’t start it,” Joel shrugged, noting down Vengeance’s reaction confirming his suspicions.

“That’s right!” Lizzie chimed in, circling to be on the other side of Vengeance, the couple herding him closer to a less open area. “Turbo isn’t one to just attack like that, so we know you started it.”

“You’re delusional if you think you two’s non-battle oriented powers can match my claws,” Vengeance grumbled, a smile that didn’t match his eyes taunting them. His earlier complaint about being outnumbered was completely overtaken. “Jumping and a little bit of blindness doesn’t matter if you’re bleeding out.”

“How much are you willing to bet?” Lizzie laughed, adjusting to a more aggressive position.

And just like that, Vengeance pounced at Joel’s perfect wife. She yelled out as he tried to bite her arm, but she easily kicked him away.

“You might want to move out of the way!” Joel shouted, putting on his best cheerfully insane voice, cackling in between breaths. He pulled off his hat and power posed, relishing in the rise he was getting out of Vengeance. “You couldn’t match our strength in your dreams!”

That seemed to work, as Vengeance shrieked and launched himself at Joel at full throttle, soaring above the concrete like a bullet. And while Joel jumped on time, Vengeance reached up and tore through skin right as he leapt.

“Hat Trick!” Lizzie called out. “Are you alright?!”

“Everything is fine!” Joel shouted back, biting back a wince as he gracefully recomposed himself as he made his way up the air with pointed steps. “Everything is normal! Don’t worry, Shadow Lady!”

“Disgusting,” Vengeance’s face scrunched up. When had he lost his mask? Joel quickly tried to memorize his face, but a very deliberate looking scratch across the villain’s forehead veiled his features, crimson liquid running through his eyes. A morbid display of desperation, a grasp for anonymity. “Keep all that lovey-dovey stuff to yourselves.”

At least Vengeance’s attitude was filling the surroundings with enough charge for Joel to leap on the invisible footholds only he could access with no fatigue. As soon as some power was drained, the annoyance and frustration in the air quickly refilled it like a devoted waiter refilling your water glass at a high-end restaurant.

Well. Time to wrap this up. Joel took off his hat yet again, arms up in the air like a ringmaster receiving applause as he fell through the air– a modified pencil dive directly into the villain’s chest. Joel could practically feel the entire contents of Vengeance’s lungs returning to the wind with the strike. Direct hit!

“Nice shot!” Turbo called from across the field. “Wrap him up, I’ll need some support for Vamps over here!”

“Thank you, Turbo!” Lizzie answered for them. Joel could tell she was smiling beneath her mask as she waved. She then took out rope and swiftly tied up Vengeance before he could recover, attaching the bindings to a nearby streetlight.

Joel hopped through the air, excited to try his signature foot-first dive on that stupid villain that drove him crazy. He grinned as he dropped and lightning-fast speeds, ready to knock the wind out of him, just like he had done to his ally.

But Vampire looked up at him, clearly pained, huffing before he choppily displaced around ten feet to the right.

“Oh for goodness sake!” Joel grumbled as he accepted the fact it was too late to recover and launch back up.

He couldn’t suppress the yelp that escaped his lips as his ankles screeched as his feet slammed into the asphalt at full speed. He instantly toppled onto the ground and hissed in pain.

“I’m fine!” Joel called before either of the other supporters could express concern and change their priorities. “I’ll be up in a second! Everything is normal!”

“O-okay!” Turbo stuttered, before charging at Vampire once more.

“You…” Vampire started, but he trailed off and his eyes widened. Joel turned and saw what he was looking at: Vengeance. Vampire opted to let out a frustrated huff instead as he tore through the universe once more, reappearing next to the incapacitated villain and grabbing his shoulders.

“NO!” Joel shouted out, his voice almost frantic as Vampire and Vengeance glitched through matter, leaving their vision before any of them could do anything. Joel’s face fell and he slammed his fist against the sidewalk. “Damn it!”

“We were so close!” Lizzie sighed, shaking her head as she made her way to Joel’s side, supporting his weight as he wobbled through the searing pain in his ankles. “We’ll get them next time, darling.”

“You two okay?” Turbo screeched to a halt in front of the couple, glancing over their forms for injury. He pointed at the scratch across Joel’s legs. “That one looks deep, man.”

“Yeah,” Joel winced, letting Lizzie support most of his weight. “We’re gonna have to stop at the OaCorp medical center to get this healed up.”

“Let’s do that sooner rather than later,” Lizzie hoisted Joel’s body to be almost entirely supported by her. “Come on, dear.”

“Make sure you report everything,” Joel called out as Lizzie began guiding him towards the OaCorp building.

“Already drafting it up in my head!” Turbo called back, saluting to the pair. “See ya later!”

They’d get him next time.

Joel would bring that man to justice, even if it was the last thing he did.

 

✩₊˚.⋆🕸️⋆⁺₊✧

 

Scott and Owen didn’t really talk on the way to Pyro’s. They had decided that being picked up via a car would be best, since Scott’s teleportation powers were fried (they had teleported the two of them into a random mall bathroom just minutes ago.)

“Pst! Evildoers!” A whisper originating from the shadows of an alleyway shot adrenaline through Scott’s veins. “Oh calm down, you wanted me to contact you again, hm?”

“Oh,” Scott relaxed. “You’re our little spy, aren’t you?”

“Yes,” Mimic stepped out of the shadows, wearing a long black and purple cloak with a purple crescent shape with the points facing the sky adorning the top-front of the hood. “Do you have my payment? Because I do believe you’ll be more than satisfied with the information I’ve gained.”

“Call Scythe to bring the money,” Owen turned to Scott with intensity seeping into his tone. Scott rolled his eyes, but sent a message to Pyro regardless. “And you,” Owen growled– that was an uncouth habit that Scott wanted to break sooner rather than later, but now was not the time. Scott held his tongue and pointed at the bird hybrid. “Tell us what you know.”

“No.”

“Excuse me?” Owen scoffed, clenching his fists. Scott raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, tapping his foot to signal that the hybrid should elaborate.

“I’ve never worked with you guys before,” Mimic shrugged, their smirk barely visible under the large hood. “How can I trust you to pay me in proper? Half before, the rest after. How’s that, hm?”

“Fine,” Scott sighed, shaking his head. “Reasonable.”

The three of them stood there, standing in an awkward triangle, waiting for Pyro to arrive. Scott crossed his arms and leaned his weight on one hip. Owen huffed every few minutes, tapping his foot impatiently. Mimic just held their hands behind their back, whistling in a very birdsong-like manner.

“Must you be so noisy?” Owen grumbled, speeding up his foot tapping.

“The world may end if I don’t!” Mimic snickered, covering what was visible of their mouth with a delicate, yet deliberate, hand. “So, yes. I must.”

“But you’ve just stopped…” Owen glared, crossing his arms.

“Guess we’re all gonna die, then!” Mimic giggled, clearly finding themself hilarious. Scott sighed and rolled his eyes. “Shame.”

Just then, Pyro rolled up in his Scythe getup, looking around cautiously with a very suspicious looking briefcase clutched to their chest. Is it even possible to be more obvious? Scott groaned to himself.

“Wonderful!” Mimic clasped their hands together and stepped forward. “Now, deliver half of my prize, and I can share what I know.”

Scott snapped his fingers and the briefcase was placed into his hands. Scott thumbed through the stack, handing $7,500 over. He then placed the briefcase back into Pyro’s arms.

“Thank you!” Mimic grabbed the stack and stared at it silently for a few moments. His posture suddenly shifted and his wings flared out, threatening to flee. Before Scott could do anything, he was in the air.

“DAMN YOU!” Owen shrieked, stomping aggressively, threatening to launch and tear at the winged bastard’s feathers.

Mimic slammed back into the ground after a few seconds, guffawing with overwhelming joy. “Sorry! Sorry!” He doubled over laughing. “I couldn’t help myself! That was just a scare! I am true to my promises and jobs!”

“You’re a horrible mercenary,” Pyro crossed his arms, the three of them now glowering at Mimic.

“Pft,” Mimic waved them off, flipping the hood off of his head, shiny, dirty blonde reflecting what little light shone through the dark alley. “I came back, didn’t I?”

“Just tell us what you know,” Scott sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Of course,” Mimic bowed, though the action was certainly in a mocking manner. “I have gotten you the identity of Uproar, and would love to offer you one question on the workings of my abilities as consolation for my prank. And it may encourage you to hire me again? I’m simply a bit of a prankster.”

“Uproar?” Scott perked up at the name. That was something they wanted to know. “Spit it out then.”

“A ‘Martyn Woodhurst’ is the man you seek,” Mimic grinned wildly. Scott’s face definitely faltered based on the way Mimic grinned at his reaction. “Oh? Is this a name you’re familiar with? Juicy…”

“Silence,” Scott scoffed, struggling to recover. Martyn? His friend from his younger years? Scott had no idea he was a gifted. Huh. “Your powers. Are there any powers they can’t replicate?”

“Excellent choice!” Mimic trilled, his void-black eyes shining. “I can’t copy a witch’s powers, I can’t gain hybrid’s traits, and while I can copy sorcerer’s powers, I struggle to control them.”

“That’s no issue,” Owen nodded, looking satisfied at the information. “The only witch that works with those heroes is The Scarlet Witch, and she doesn’t often make any appearances.”

“She’s also crazy,” Mimic grinned, looking much like what he was accusing. “But she’s proven her loyalties and you have to get curse wards somewhere. There are some good ones, but they’re pretty rare.”

“Witches are rare in general,” Pyro grumbled. Scott understood why– a witch on their team would make everyone terrified of The Coven. The threat of being cursed by such a rare gifted might even be enough for the team to score some serious political power. Plus, some witches could make soothing salves and tinctures, which would be a great way to help Owen on his bad days, or maybe even cure him. The Coven knew this, and trying to find a witch for these tasks had been a casual goal. Not a priority by any means, but mentioning it stung like isopropyl in a papercut.

“True,” Mimic agreed, holding his chin in a taunting faux thought. “That’s because they’re easy to spot and are taken care of pretty quickly.”

“Purple eyes, slightly faded or strangely vibrant hair colour,” Owen rolled his eyes, puppeting his hand like a mouth yapping. “Yeah, yeah. So we’ve heard.”

“Eye colour isn’t a guarantee though!” Grian winked, a wave of periwinkle flashing through his eyes. “The occasional shapeshifter and unlucky gifteds happen to have this trait. What really tips you off is if they were able to hide it.”

“What of your eye colour, then?” Scott squinted at the inky abyss that was Mimic’s eyes. “They were purple for a moment there.”

“No,” Mimic shook his head. “I’m no witch, I’m something greater. If I was a witch, I’d be sitting in a nice OaCorp funded home being pampered as I made curse wards for people. Witches are valuable. You should learn more about them.”

“What’s with your little speech, huh?” Owen’s patience was clearly wearing thin. Scott couldn’t help but share the sentiment. Mimic was doing a lot of talking. Was he on some kind of strange power trip?

“Where’s my money?” Mimic’s hand extended, his eyes locked onto the briefcase. “Or do you think my words on top of my task aren't enough to get paid? I can certainly set off a remote alert if you don’t feel like completing your end of the deal.”

“No,” Pyro rolled his eyes, tossing the briefcase at the mischievous vigilante. Sarcasm poisoned their voice as he spoke. “Tell us another witch fact.”

“They don’t tell villains this for obvious reasons,” Mimic smiled, their expression growing to the same cold detachment from the beginning of their conversation. “But witches can be turned in to OaCorp for a pretty penny.”

“Just how pretty are these copper beauties?” Scott raised an eyebrow, perhaps they could snag a vigilante to do their hunting dirty work.

“Starting from fifty grand,” Mimic shrugged, their wings swinging around, clearly trying to be dramatic. “Usually much higher.”

“A little strange to be buying people, wouldn’t you say?” Pyro scratched the back of their head.

“Witches,” Mimic responded, face completely blank.

“…Right,” Pyro shot a look over to Scott, who gestured back in a reassuring shrug. Pyro hadn’t said anything strange– at least to Scott’s standards.

“Thanks for informing us,” Scott stepped away and began sauntering to Pyro’s car. “The Coven will remember your help.”

“I’m counting on it!” Mimic smiled and eased themself into the air before taking off in a smooth, slow soar.

“What a weirdo,” Owen grumbled as they arranged themselves in the car, Scott taking the front seat, Owen laying down in the backseats.

“Weirdo? Sure,” Scott followed up, resting his head against the window. “Powerful ally if we can establish it? Yes.”

“We got what we needed,” Pyro pulled himself into the driver’s seat and buckled up. The car started and they pulled into the main street as nonchalantly as possible. Rushing would only draw attention and suspicion to them.

Maybe I should study witches. Scott watched out the window as they passed his favorite coffeeshop.