Chapter Text
Hermitopia buzzed with life no matter the time of day, something Hot Guy always appreciated during patrol. The lights were vibrant enough to see and still allow people to sleep if they wanted, and the people were loud enough to keep him awake even at 5AM. Which was particularly helpful when half his team was missing and there was no crime along their usual route.
A yawn from his companion Ninja snapped Hot Guy out of his musing. “Man, is this patrol boring or what?” The masked man asked him.
“Careful! You might jinx it.” To be honest neither would mind if that was the case, but Hot Guy would regret it if he didn’t say anything.
They both snapped out of their joking and stood up straight when a voice came in through their comms,”Villains spotted at a nearby bank, sending coordinates to you now.” It wasn’t a voice he recognized, probably some new guy.
The brunette playfully glared at his fellow hero, causing him to shrug. ”…Woops.”
Their comms buzzed with a new message, the coordinates of their next target. While they jumped from building to building Hot Guy once more admired his city. Greenery dotted nearly every street, smells of delicious food filled his nose from all day venues, and the sun was just starting to poke over the horizon watching all of them with its wonderful warmth and light. More than anything else though, Hot Guy loved the people. Each one of them with their intricate lives, happily living in this city they all called home. The late nights/early mornings and boring patrols were worth it for the occasion he got to protect them all.
When they reached the bank the two heroes kept and eye out for any suspicious people. Surprisingly there were no alarms or signs of any kind of break in, which was impressive. The agent hadn’t specified which villain group was spotted, which could mean a couple things. Either its a new one they hadn’t seen before or-
They heard a thud around a corner and a voice trying to yell while whispering and clearly struggling,”You guys are gonna get us caught!” Hot Guy knew that voice.
“Oh please, we checked the patrols, no one’s anywhere near here-“ Bingo. He smirked to himself, Maybe this patrol isn’t so bad after all.
“Guess you didn’t check them well enough birdie.”
Turning the corner, Hot Guy found himself face to face with the villains in a long hallway clearly on their way back from a vault judging the bags they were carrying. One of the most notorious villain groups and all the more annoying to talk about because they refused to brand themselves. Hot Guy didn’t even have their individual names despite running into them a couple times while on patrol.
One of them stepped to the front, her bright red coat and white hair standing out against the muted white walls, moth wings twitching behind her. “Great. Where’s the rest of your crew, heroes?” She spat out the last word like it was poison in her mouth. Hot Guy always found it strange that she did nothing to cover her face, but the experts at the agency had said they were probably using illusion magic, so he supposed it made sense.
Ninja came up behind him,”None of your business.”
Hot Guy nodded, grabbing his bow and an arrow,”Besides, we don’t need them to arrest a couple of villies.” It was easier to label them using the name their fans had given them. (Hot Guy always found it weird that they had fans in the first place, but none of them were harmful so far so he supposed it wasn’t a problem) Even if it makes them sound much more cute than they were. It was almost worth it to see the clear irritation on their faces whenever he did it.
The bird hybrid of their group spoke up, purple eyes sprouting all over the room and surrounding them,”I dunno, we do outnumber you.” His hand rested lazily on one of the pistols at his side, but he was clearly prepped for action. Something about him always unsettled Hot Guy. Maybe it was the eye motif? Or just the nonchalant way he always talked despite how calculated he was in fights?
The final of their number, a deer hybrid, smiled from the back, wide and way too happy for his liking. “You guys want Mr. Mystery, or Snob?” Hot Guy didn’t take too long to puzzle which one was which, given his companion’s mysterious demeanor, but he was still offended at being called a snob.
All three of them dropped the bags and formed a protective circle around them. The bird hybrid aimed one of his pistols at Hot Guy, and the moth hybrid pulled her moon sickles out, rushing him before he had a chance to think. She always had a manic look in her eyes, and plenty of hatred in her words to back it up, but her vicious fighting style was what really scared Hot Guy.
The blindfolded man called over his shoulder when the deer hybrid charged at Ninja,”Don’t have too much fun Echo!” Echo. Well that’s something. The deer hybrid had a name, so it stood to reason the others would too.
He grinned. He just had to get them talking. “Two against one? Didn’t know you thought so highly of me.” The white haired woman didn’t grace him with an answer, her wild attacks proving difficult to predict.
The man however hung back next to the bags, occasionally shooting and smirking,”Don’t flatter yourself pretty boy.” He would take pretty over snobby any day, but it still took Hot Guy off guard.
Luckily, the moth hybrid lost her concentration too, quickly shouting over her shoulder,”Watcher at least try not to flirt with the enemy, yeah?” Just the distraction he needed.
Watcher, apparently, grew visibly flustered at that, sputtering and flapping his wings slightly,”I wasn’t-“ he was cut off by an arrow narrowly missing his wing, reminding all three of them they were on a battlefield.
They were silent for a few minutes, the moth hybrid focused on fighting Hot Guy and Watcher trying to hit him but struggling while he was moving. To their credit, he couldn’t get that many arrows off with how busy he was dodging both of their attacks, but it was all redundant. He spared a glance at his companion on the other end of the hallway, finding him locked in equally intense combat with Echo and her axe.
The moth hybrid sighed,”I told you this was a waste of time!” She didn’t make the same mistake of turning away from Hot Guy, but it was clear she was still talking to Watcher.
Speaking of the bird hybrid, he squawked indignantly, still laser focused on Hot Guy, though he saw a couple eyes spawn behind her, squinted as though they were glaring. Hot Guy swallowed. Definitely the eyes. “You’re the one who wanted to spite the owner!”
Once more he was caught off guard. Surely they just wanted the money right? Why a bank then? And what was there to spite? Hot guy didn’t know who kept their money here but maybe one of them? It occurred to him he had no idea why they were even villains in the first place. Normally villains are all too happy to tell him all about the injustices of the city or the agency while they make it worse.
“I don’t get you guys.” He caught himself saying “Is that all this is about? Spite?”
Watcher stopped, seemingly at a loss for words, but his fellow villain glared at Hot Guy. “‘Course you don’t get us. You’re too busy being the city’s most beloved hero to think about us as anything more than targets.”
“What?” Something about the way she was looking at him, so filled with hatred, reminded Hot Guy more of a hawk than a moth. He found himself frozen in fear, just for a moment.
In his distraction, Watcher managed to land a hit on one of his legs, the bullet dissolving the minute it caused a wound. It wasn’t too deep, but it stung and he definitely couldn’t fight with it. Hot Guy winced, fighting to stay on his feet and preparing to run.
“Hot Guy! She got away!” Ninja yelled from somewhere else in the bank, having traveled much more during his fight with Echo. The other two villies perked up, smiling at each other.
Watcher held out a hand to the scarlet clothed woman,”That’s our cue. Eclipse?” Echo, Watcher, and Eclipse the villies. Hot Guy made sure to memorize those names. The two of them grabbed the bags the heroes had forgotten in the fight.
Watcher quickly turned his head in Hot Guy’s direction and smirked, once more catching him off guard. The eyes around him all shut except one, somewhat reminding him of a wink before it was gone just as quick.
He reached out when the two of them spread their wings and took off through an open window. “Wait!” He was stopped by the injury in his leg and Ninja putting a hand on his shoulder.
“Don’t. You’re injured, it’s not worth the risk.” He sighed, knowing his friend was right. The two of them hung around for a minute, patching Hot Guy’s injury.
A single bag was left behind, inside lay some of the most beautiful roses Hot Guy had ever seen, which lent more to his confusion. Why on earth did they leave this behind? ”What a weird group of villains, right Ninja?”
His masked companion stood crossing his arms but not responding. He looked vacant, like his mind was far away. “Ninja?”
Ninja blinked a couple times and shook his head,”Sorry, spaced out a bit. Let’s head back.”
Hot Guy grabbed his grappling hook but hesitated behind Ninja, concerned for his friend. The man didn’t give any further indication that anything was wrong, just shooting out of the window and towards headquarters for their report. “Sure…”
Hot Guy relaxed a little when headquarters came into view, knowing his night was almost over and he could go home and nap. The familiar tower brought him comfort, watching over the city on the highest hill, its white walls a symbol of safety and protection. It was well lit, almost like a beacon that could be seen from any angle or distance. A promise that no matter who it was, everyone deserves a hero.