Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

All her life, she knew nothing but trouble.

Born on the normal neighbourhood of Torrance, she never knew when did her life became problematic. But she can say she mever knew she had powers that day.

Back then, she never cared about it. Even through the teasing and the bullying, she stayed strong. After all, her parents are there, loving her and making her feel safe. And her aunt, who though never meeting her really spoiled her with toys and such. Life back then was fine.

That was, until she was 12. She remembers that day. March 18. She was supposed to be having the best day then, being her birthday and such. Unfortunately, her 'classmates' decided to play a prank unto her and decided to dump trash onto her.

That was when she lost control and, for the first time, activates her power, unleashing waves upon waves of dark energy. When the teachers and parents came, they saw all of them in the ground, hugging themselves in a fetal position while she was kneeling there, wet and dirty from all the trash.

Back then, nobody knew what happened. A small investigation was done to make sure a villian didn't do this, but in the end they discovered it was her who did this. Apparently, she has the power to harness darkness itself. But not just darkness, but to unleash the true fear of those kids. By that standard, she should have been labelled a troubled child but since the bullying was caught on tape, the parents of the bullies were forced to pay them just to make sure this won't get out of hand.

After that, she believed she would be hated, but alas she didn't. Her birthday went smoothly that day, but by then her world has shifted. Now, students and teachers would whisper behind her back in either fear, disgust or a mixture of both. She can handle that, she always heard it after all.

Then came 5 years later, at exactly during a rainy day when none of them expected a villian attack, the road was wet and easy to slip by. The three of them decided to take a small vacation that day. Go to a park or something.

Unfortunately they got caught up in traffic and to make matters worse, an evacuation was ordered too late when Blonde Blazer and a villian begun fighting on the way. They tried to flee but it was too late as they were caught up in the fight.

The next thing she knew was she woke up in a hospital, all bandaged up. She tries to call her parents but she couldn't speak up at that time. All she knew was another woman was there, who looked exactly like her and her mother.

This was how she and her aunt meet, in a hospital. Ot was also how she learned she was, effectively, under her care now after she learnt she has lost her parents. She rarely cries, with her last cry being when she was 8, but here she cried a whole lot.

Once she was released from the hospital, she found herself living from a comfy large apartment, to a small one. She had fears, she will admit, when she met her aunt. She feared she was only putting up a facade, that she was an abusive monster who only took her in because she needed someone to hate. That she was a resentful guardian who didn't want to take her in.

This, thankfully, didn't pass and her aunt was kind if a bit awkward, considering she wasn't prepared to raise her niece, let alone a teenager. But they endured, until they couldn't.

She remembers that day very well: fresh home from school and seeing her aunt crying hard while her prized scotch was laid at the table half empty and like the bottle, half drunk. She heard her mutter about being replaced and discarded like a piece of paper after serving the company for almost 20 years.

For 19 year old Aurora, she knew one thing: All her life, she knew nothing but trouble. Maybe it's time she gives her own troubles back to it.

Chapter Text

Aurora always wondered what would have happened if she never got caught as a villian would had occured, but one thing never leaving her mind was her aunt.

Peculiar, the word she would use to call her aunt. Off as well, and perhaps a little odd. But one thing she was sure was that her aunt is a dedicated hardworking citizen. In fact, all the crimes she has done, she did for her.

Well, that and they need money to keep food on the table. The times were hard, and Aurora knew what she did was wrong but now is not the time to think about it. Sitting here, on a dark room with only a lamp on the table as the lighting of the room, Aurora is beginning to lose patience, similar to her first mugging.

It was supposed to be a small one: mug the guy in the blue hoodie and ran off immediately. Nobody told her the damn bastard was not alone, or was packing a large knife, or had been leading her along an alleyway. She panicked, accidentally letting out some of the darkness, and here she was now, sitting on the damn trash-filled alleyway, panting hard as she looked at the five people knocked down, hopefully knocked down and not head broken due to the blood pouring out.

Shaking her head off, she then stands up and began feeling up the hoodies, snatching up wallets and taking whatever is there (mostly pocket changes and shit). She looked at the watches they have, contemplating if she should steal it.

Fuck it, she told herself as she took the luxurious looking watches. Looking around, she then stood up as she then realized she didn't had any ideas where to put the damn watches. Certainly not on her wrists, and most certainly not her pockets l(because she didn't have one).

Looking around, she looked at one dude with a beanie and immediately decided to steal said beanie, putting the watches inside. Leaving the alleyway, she looked around to make sure no cops are here.

Running immediately to the closest pawn shop, she pawned said watches....and got only about 700 dollars. That was not a bad thing for a first mug, but she wished she got higher.

Deciding to spend some money for a last minute pizza takeout, she then walked back to the apartments she and her aunt lived in. Walking inside, she saw her aunt passed out on the couch, snoring quietly as a nearly empty bottle of scotch stands in the table in front of her.

Sighing, she left the pizza in the dinner table and immediately went to turn the left on TV, looking at her dishevelled aunt as she feels tears swelling up. Inhaling hard, she then went to her room instead, dinner can wait.

Before long, she heard the door open. If this was a guessing game, she would have lost immediately. Because what do you mean the person interviewing her was Blonde Blazer?

"Okay then, you must be our new hire.", she said in a jovial tone, which Aurora could only nod at. Here she was, talking to a very beautiful woman. If she was any more ignorant, she may have flirted with the hero by pure happenstance.

Thankfully she wasn't, as her aunt taught her many, many, many HR violations during their free time. And during the months she wasn't hired by any company. And if her calculations are correct, Blonde Blazer would none other be than her boss herself.

And that was a huge no-no! Of all the lessons her aunt taught her, is that office romance between boss and employee is the most problematic of all time. So, she held herself straight down to her as she saw Blazer snap her fingers right in front of her, bringing her out of her thoughts.

"Hey, are you listening?", Blazer said as Aurora sheepishly scratches the back of her head.

"Sorry, boss. I was lost in my thoughts.", Aurora could only say. Blazer nodded, though she worried about her considering her voice sounded way too scratchy. Like she hasn't had a drink for almost a whole day now.

"Do you need any water?" And she got a shake of her head as she watches her stroke her throat.

"It's fine. It's scratchy because I spent three nights ago on karaoke. I'll be fine, just need to not speak for a few days."

And with that, Blazer nodded as she inhales. "Okay, back to the start. You are a very well-known villian. Who happened to just surrender one day without any saying. Now, I have gotten your files, and I have to ask you one thing: why that name?"

"Well, it startes when I decided to rob that bank. I said I was nothing, and they truly believed that is my callsign. But at least I find it fitting. After all, darkness is the absence of light.", Aurora replies as she looked at the ceiling, a small smile on her face as she remembered how that robbery went.

If there was one thing she should have realized when robbing a bank, is that something will always, and it be always, go wrong.

She studied the guards pattern. Even studying the layout of the bank by looking up the blueprints, either blueprints of online. That was cool and all.

Her grand mistake, however, was not checking up the security details of the bank. Had she checked it up, she could have prevented a bloody hostage crisis. Well, that and maybe a dirtied up face consisting of ink. So now, she was negotiating. Badly.

"Now, we need you to give us the hostages, and we'll make sure you wouldn't get hurt!", screamed a hero from the outside. They appear to have a loud voice as their power, considering she didn't see any megaphone. Looking back at the employees and guards huddling there, she then glances at two bags of cash she managed to....bag.

Well, no better time now, as she grabbed said bags and shoved it into her shadows. She needs to understand how her powers, but that would be for later dates as she then grabbed a stapler from a table.

"Hey, don't take my stapler! My daughter got that for me!", yelled one of the employees as she looked at them. He looked angry, yes, but he also had a pleading look. Sighing, she reluctantly gave it back to the employee as she rubbed her kabuki-like mask. Looking at a stool, she then grabbed it and immediately threw it to the window.

And just like that, everyone screamed loudly as she looked at them. "Well, you are free to go now.", she said. Soon, all of them left as she looked at the disoriented mass. She took the oppurtunity to run to the back, hoping they didn't decide to have someone wait there.

"You know, I still wonder why you guys decided not to put any heroes on the back exit of that bank.", Aurora muttered, causing a groan from Blazer as she looks at her files.

"Well, it doesn't matter for now, does it, Blonde Blazer?", she asked ever so teasingly as she saw her turn the file into a specific crime. "Oh, that one."

"Yes, this one. I still didn't know how you managed to evade this. Unfortunately, you have to confess to this if you need this.", Blazer told her. Aurora sighed as she looked at her straight to her blue eyes, which was mesmerising. "Well, you gonna tell me?"

"Miss Blazer, why are am I here again? I got caught and instead of being-"

"Caught? You surrendered, actually. You didn't surrender." And with that, Aurora gave her a small glare. All around her, the darkness began to grow, surronding all around the room but Blazer sat firmly, not a notion of fear or nervous appears on any body language. "Miss Nothing, you surrendered. And we both know why you did."

Aurora, or Nothing if called by villian names, sighed and flopped down. The darkness began to disperse as she slumped her head and upper body lazily. "Yeah, I do. I need this job, I need to change. Now, what do you need me to tell you again?"

"The......Vanderstenk job.", Blazer replied to her.

Ah, the Vanderstenk job. Her most personal job, and something she would truly be proud of. "What details is there more needed? Practically everything there is duly noted."

"Well, yes. But we need to know how you managed to create the blackout." And with that, Aurora laughed.

"I just broke the main breaker outside. The idiots didn't decide to lock it up. Or even put a security there. No, they just left it put there, for anyone who actually looks up what it is."

Blonde Blazer only wrote down what she said as she then looks at the dark ceiling, wondering what job she'll get at SDN. She hopes she gets something she can handle, like janitor, or reception. Honestly, she would rather prefer to work in HR than anything else.

".....now, we just need you to sign this form here, and you are ready to go.", Blazer said as Aurora then took the form and signed. Before she could return it she reads it properly.

"Um, what is this.....job description?" And with that, Blazer smiled as she then stood up, her body proud and brash. "You are now the newest member of our Phoenix Program." And with that, Aurora realized that she really messed up.

Chapter Text

"Miss Blazer, why am I in this job?", was the question of the day, and for Blazer it was super obvious.

"Well, we need to show them that villians can be heroes. Like how phoenixes die to be reborn again. You know, redemption"

"...I will be honest, Miss Blazer, when you gave me proposal for a job, I was under the impression of either maintenance, or possibly office work.", Aurora moaned pathetically. Well, that explains why she looks confused to the brim, though this means either she didn't listen, or she was lost in her thoughts. She would bet it was the latter.

"Well, you need a clean slate, Nothing. Do you want me to call you something else?"

Aurora's mouth moved a bit as she looked at her. "It's Aurora, Miss Blazer. So until I find myself a new codename, call me Aurora for now." A nod was all her answer, and with that she smiles as she stood up from her chair.

"Well, okay then. Sorry 'bout that. Really lost in my thoughts so I was shocked by the sudden job offer."

Blazer then smiled as she then extended her hand. "Well then, welcome to SDN, Nothing."

She smiled and then took her hand, shaking it. "Well, I am at your mercy, I guess? So, should I meet the rest of my team?"

Conference Room

It has been about, 10 or 15 minutes since hiring, and she was immediately regretting this shit. She knows she would have teammates, that was obvious, but she didn't expect some of them she would recognise or be on her shitlist.

Mainly, the punk looking lady who, she was sure, stole her favorite bag. It didn't had money then, but it was something she used honest money with. Or the fire dude who she remembered jumping off a building after she smokescreened his face.

Thankfully, as she looks, none of them recognise her. Then again, she wasn't wearing her gaudy....costume. Yep, most call it outfit, she calls it costume. Blonde Blazer stands there while the rest of the team, which she referred to as Z-Team, talked with one another.

"Hello there, may I have your attention?" They did as she said, so she smiled as she motioned her hand towards Aurora, who stood there looking stiff and awkward. "This is Aurora," she began, "And starting today, she'll be-"

Before she could finish, she saw Coupe throw a knife right next to Aurora, who immediately dodges. They began laughing as Aurora looked at them.

'I am starting to feel regret once more.' And with that, Aurora stood up straight once more as she pulls the knife off the wall. "I'll be holding this for now.", Aurora meekly spoke as she then saw Coupe smirk.

"Well, like I said before getting interrupted, this is Aurora. Aurora here is gonna be a part of your team." Groaning then follows as Aurora scratched the back of her head. "I know she is a very late addition-"

"Like hell, lass. She looks like she could get snapped like a twig.", Punch-Up said, with the rest chuckling.

"Yeah, she look way too nice to be Z-Team. You sure she ain't the new dispatcher?"

Blazer then sighed, making Aurora look at her and back to her new teammates. "Why do I feel like they gonna eat me alive?"

The demon and the bat snickered lowly, making Aurora nervously gulp as she saw punk lady, since she refuses to refer to her by her villian name, look at her with sheer determination, like she is being assessed.

"You sound familiar. We met before?", was her question. She only shrugged, and that made the rest talk up as they try to recognise who she may be. Her eyes roam around, boredly assessing the others. Flambae and Punkgirl aside, she immediately recognises red demon lady, ballerina assassin lady and......was that Prism?!

"Can I have her autograph?", Aurora nonchalantly said while pointing to Prism. "I love her songs. It's catchy and helps me calm down."

Prism smiled as she looked at the rest. "Damn, girl. I like her already." And with that, Prism waved her hand as she have a hologram walk towards her and then signed on the hem of her white shirt. "There, happy?"

"I'm not washing this shirt again." And with that, she looked at the empty chair. "Can I please sit?"

"Sure, go ahead." And with that, she took a small walk towards one of the chairs, next to punk lady. She pulled it and began to take a seat......when punk girl pulled her seat and make her fall hard on the floor, everyone (well, except Prism) laughing.

She stood up, dusting off herself as she looked at punk lady. By the looks of it, her name Invisibitch did live up to her name. She only grumbles as then, she pounces on top of Invisibitch, causing the two to fall of the floor where she began smacking her head and face, with Invisibitch hitting back as well.

It became a room filled with chants and yelling, while Blonde Blazer then goes to them immediately trying to pull Aurora and Invisibitch off one another. "Hey, hey, hey! Stop that-", she yells trying to get them off. Unfortunately Aurora won't let go as she began pulling off Invisibitch's hair with one hand and her other hand trying to keep slapping her.

Thankfully, the others decided to help as they managed to seperate them, though not without harm as she was sure Sonar and Malevola got smacked on each face by Aurora and Visi.

"Okay then, this has been a very productive afternoon.", Blazer could only say as Aurora moved to the other side of the table and sat in the front seat view of Visi, who flipped her off while she only stuck her tongue out.

"Okay, we have started horribly-"

"Horribly?! She just showed us at least shows us she can stand on her own leg.", Visi said, to the suprise of both Blazer and Aurora. She only smiled as she leans back on her chair and then propping her feet in the table. "Now, what's her deal? She on parole? Or she decided to be a hero instead?"

"Please, she'll just be a small time crook."......Well, that just hurts, Aurora grumbled as she then looked at the bat dude, trying to find out where in God's name has she seen him before.

"Anyways, we are here to talk about earlier shift. You managed to, once more, make a dispatcher quit."

And with that, Aurora sighs. It was gonna be a long day then.