Chapter Text
Grian woke up in the Bamboozler’s bunker, having fallen asleep after a late night of checking injuries after a fight. Lizzie’s injuries were especially rough– she had been stabbed in the side by a hero trainee with a knife. Luckily, she was able to control the bleeding enough as soon as it happened, making the vet’s life easier once he had to patch her up. Jimmy and Scar’s injuries were less serious, but still tedious.
Scar still hadn’t stopped asking Grian if he was sure he didn’t want to become a villain with the Bamboozlers. Having a medic right there, out on the field would be extremely helpful, but Grian lacks every other so-called requirement to be a supervillain. He doesn’t have powers, he’s not a mutant, he can’t fight, and he has almost no physical strength. He is perfectly fine and happy as a vet, where his skillset lies.
That’s why when he looked in the mirror this morning, standing in the corner of Scar’s bedroom in the bunker, he could feel only pure shock, confusion and fear. His head was reeling. He was partially glad Scar decided to stay up watching movies in the den with Jimmy and Lizzie, because if he had come to bed, he would’ve seen this, and that would’ve been..
Well, not bad, necessarily.
But not good, either.
Grian all of a sudden had wings. He figured he had to be dreaming, but no matter how many times he pinched, slapped, kicked himself, he didn’t wake up from this nightmare. His wings were reminiscent of a raven’s, deep black, but almost purple, and the wings on either side of his face were a pure, vibrant pink.
Realistically, Scar would probably be thrilled about this change. It meant that Grian would, in fact, be competent to be their on-field medic, and even a supervillain. However, Grian was absolutely freaked out. How didn’t he know he was a mutant? Does stuff like this just happen?
Grian frantically looked around for his phone, the new weight on his back entirely unwelcome as he bent over to pick it up from the ground. He is very thankful in this moment that he slept shirtless, or else one of his shirts could've possibly been destroyed.
He opened up google and typed in, “Why would a person grow wings all of a sudden? Not previously a mutant”
And what he got in reply shocked him..
“Most mutants, especially avians, may not realize they are mutants until their mutant traits are forced to come out in their mid-to-late thirties. If a person raised in a family with a recessive mutant gene was not aware of the possibility of them being a mutant, they are not able to allow their mutant traits to show at their own pace. This leads to most mutants’ traits revealing themselves by force.”
Then, he searched, “What is an avian?”
And that answer made sense.
Bird people, exactly what he just found out he was. An avian mutant.
He put his phone down and started fidgeting with the ring on his finger. He looked towards the bedroom door, debating whether or not to go tell the villains on the other side about this. He supposed it was inevitable. He might as well get it over with.
He had no idea how to get a shirt on over the new wings, so walking out in nothing but sweatpants and socks would have to be good enough. Scar walked around shirtless half the time, so who would really mind, right?
He slowly opened the door and immediately heard Scar. He must’ve woken up a little bit ago.
“Grian! You’re up! Finally, I–”
He stopped dead in his tracks when he turned around, and saw his husband standing there, eyes pointed down, and looking very different from how he saw him last night.
Scar’s loud greeting seemed to have woken up Jimmy, Grian could see him sit up from the couch, rubbing his eyes from sleep. Lizzie must have gone home, because she was nowhere to be found. When Jimmy finally looked at Grian, all that left his mouth was, “woah..”
“What am I gonna do?” Grian asked them both, not really expecting an answer.
Scar was too distracted to notice how distressed Grian was, so as he stared at the wings, Jimmy jumped up and speedwalked over to Grian.
“Dude, don’t worry! Tango and I know a lot about mutants, we can help you out!”
“How so?”
“Tango’s from a family of mutants, and I even had a best friend in college who was one! In fact, he was an avian just like you!”
Jimmy seemed too excited for Grian’s taste. Neither Jimmy nor Scar seemed to understand the gravity of this moment for Grian. He’d never even thought it was possible for him to be a mutant, but somehow Jimmy is accepting it like it was something he’d always known.
“Can I get rid of them..?” He asked quietly.
Jimmy’s face fell, and Scar followed. The latter slowly got up, grabbed his cane, and went to stand next to Grian and Jimmy.
“Why do you want to get rid of them?”
Grian frowned. He didn’t want to upset either of them. He knows they think this is the coolest thing to ever happen to him, but..
But…
“I.. I don’t know..”
Grian took a deep breath.
“I dont know, I just.. I don’t want to lose my license."
Mutants weren’t allowed to be doctors, or veterinarians for that matter. They used to be seen as aggressive, and therefore, not trusted in the medical field, and that law just never went away.
“And.. I.. I don’t even know how to use them”
Jimmy and Scar seemed to finally understand why Grian was upset about this instead of excited, or even curious. But they were both determined to find the positives, because the truth was, there was no way to reverse being a mutant. He’d just have to live with it.
“Grian, you aren’t going to lose your license if nobody finds out!” Jimmy says.
Grian just stares at him. Is he stupid?
“Tim, how the hell am I going to hide this!”
“Grian, relax, avians can hide their wings! They retract, like those beetles! No one will find out!” Jimmy tries to calm him down.
Scar then decides to add, “Imagine how cool it would be, though, to fly across the city without needing any technology!”
“Well, he does need to exercise his wings so they don’t get too brittle”
“Exactly! And, doctor, you can exercise them by joining us on missions!”
Grian didn’t appreciate how he was left out of the discussion about how he spends his own free time. He was too occupied with how he was going to tell Mumbo about this!
“Did you say.. Hide?” He asks, carefully.
“Mhm! You can retract them back into your body, as long as you stretch them properly each day.” Jimmy explained.
And as Jimmy helped Grian adjust to doing just that, Scar called Lizzie and told her to get down to the bunker, stat. Lizzie’s reaction to Grian’s wings was not calm, to say the least. She fawned over him, saying they were beautiful, and that she was jealous. However, Scar told her she mustn't get distracted. They needed to design a costume for their dear vet after all!
~~~
An hour or two had passed and Jimmy had finally helped Grian learn to hide his wings, after an intense lecture on not hiding them for too long or it would be extremely painful. They came back to the den to see Lizzie and Scar standing over the dining table staring at a mess of papers with pink and blue and black marks everywhere.
Grian sighed. “What are you two doing?”
“Okay, okay,” Scar started, “Hear us out!”
Lizzie interrupted him, “In order to get the exercise you need, you need to be able to fly freely in the city, but you obviously can’t do that, because we can’t risk you being seen–”
“Sooo, to fix that issue, we’ve designed you a suit! That Jimmy will make!” Scar smiled.
“That way, you can join us on missions, exercise your wings, get around the city faster, and, most importantly, not lose your license! No one has to know!”
Grian gave them both a dead look. “You’re just doing this because you want me to come commit crimes with you.”
The two of them looked offended, “No! We do not!” Lizzie shouted.
Scar took a gentler approach, “Look, G, you don’t have to join us on missions. In fact, we took your lack of enthusiasm about the subject into account when designing your suit. Look!”
Scar waved Grian over, and Grian hesitantly came closer to the table to see what they had cooked up.
“Our signature colors as a team are blue, green, and red. We’ve designed your suit to be mostly pink and black. The pink was Lizzie’s idea, cuz it matches your wings, sure, but it’ll differentiate you from us, so you’ll never have to be associated with us if you don’t want to be. You dont even have to brand yourself as a villain! You could be, like, a vigilante!”
Grian appreciated the thought, but he’d much rather consider himself one of the team, than go riding on his own as a vigilante. That was even less his style. He did like the way the suit looked in the drawing, though. And after Jimmy’s lecture, he decided it’d be beneficial to his health to give this whole thing a shot.
“Okay.. I’ll try it. But I'm not doing any supervillain-y stuff yet. Just.. gotta get used to having these.”
Scar and Lizzie smiled and high fived, while Jimmy picked up the papers and promised to get to work on the suit immediately. Grian had to go to work soon, so they wasted no time leaving the bunker to get him home to change.
By the time Grian had made it to work, there was a sore ache in his back, and he began to understand why Jimmy was so adamant on the stretching thing. His whole back felt like he hadn’t moved it in ages, it was so stiff.
Mumbo, sweet, observant Mumbo, who Grian currently hated for being such a good friend, noticed immediately that something was up. So, naturally, Grian had to explain. And he wasn’t going to try lying to his best friend again.
“Listen, Mumbo.. Remember those kids we met, about 10 years ago, who came into the clinic for a stray cat they found, that seemed kinda beat up?”
“I think I do! One of them kinda looked like you in your middle school photos”
“Yeah, I guess so. What.. was it, about them, that stood out to you?”
“Well.. the blonde one had beautiful bright red wings on either side of his face, and the brunette had horns, like a ram. Also his name was fun to say.. Toby, or Tubbo, or something like that..”
“Yeah, it was Tubbo and Tommy.. I looked through our old records to make sure I had them right… they were mutants”
Mumbo shuddered. Grian raised an eyebrow.
“Sorry, I hate that word. No offense to them, but the word ‘mutants’ just feels so.. Mean! Like, is there no nicer way to say it? I vote we use the word ‘hybrids’ or something. Its nicer and it sounds cooler!”
“Okay, mumbo, you’re getting off track”
“Sorry, go on”
“Well.. Mumbo..” Grian took a deep breath once again.
“I’m a mutant. Just.. just found out this morning.”
Mumbo’s eyes went wide. Again, with the excitement, why did everyone find this exciting except Grian?! What is up with his friends??
“Really?? Oh, my god, that is so cool!! What kind??”
Grian sighed. He knew he shouldn't have been worried about Mumbo’s reaction.
“Mumbo, I’ll tell you everything, heck, I’ll even show you, but first I need you to promise me something.”
“Anything.”
“You do not tell a single soul about this. I could lose my license”
“Done. not a single person will know.”
Thank god.
“Now tell me everything!!! Skizz’s shift starts soon and I need you to tell me everything before he gets here because I cannot wait!”
~~~
“Yeah, I told Mumbo”
Scar’s jaw dropped.
“Why???”
“He’s my best friend, that’s why” Grian said, stuffing his face with rice. “I keep too much from him already.”
“G, that is so risky”
“Mumbo is the least of our problems. When are Tim and Tango getting here?”
“Any second now.”
They sat in silence for a few seconds, and sure enough, Jimmy and Tango (dressed in his full supervillain attire) arrived at their front door. Jimmy looked a bit dizzy, but Tango was there to support his weight as he picked up a zipped bag from the base of his motorcycle and knocked on the door. Scar went to pick it up, and Tango walked straight past him to see Grian.
“Hey Tango” Grian said casually. Tango, in this moment, was anything but casual, and completely ignored him.
“Jimmy won’t tell me what’s going on, why has he made you a suit??”
Grian swallowed his food and gave a look to Scar. Scar gave a small smile. That was entirely unhelpful.
“Timmy, I would’ve let you tell him.”
“I didn’t know If you wanted me to!”
Grian rolled his eyes affectionately at Jimmy and turned to Tango.
“I’m an avian, Tango”
The villain’s eyes lit up. He looked so happy. Seriously, why did everyone have this reaction?
“Oh my goodness that is so amazing!! Grian, I knew there was something special about you!!” He exclaims, “here, here, try the suit on, and show me your wings!”
Grian takes the bag that was shoved in his hand, and hesitantly nods. He gets up and walks to his and Scar's bedroom, shooing a couple of cats out of the way as he does so.
The suit was tight. Very tight, but he assumed that was meant to be that way. There were holes for his wings, and a visor to cover his eyes. The bodysuit was pure black, but the bows and accents were all pink, even the visor. There was another thing inside the bag that he wasn’t quiet sure what to do with, so he decided not to take it out until he could ask Jimmy. He allowed his wings to stretch out, and boy, did it feel good. He let out a deep sigh of relief as he felt all the muscles in his back relax, and he could finally feel like a normal person again.
He walked out of the room, bracing himself for any reaction possible. Jimmy immediately came up to him, asking if it fit well, and if he wanted any adjustments made, and Grian assured him it was fine. While Scar gawked at his husband and Tango admired Jimmy’s handiwork on the sleeves, Jimmy pulled out those other two pieces from the bag that Grian was clueless about.
“Here,” he said, “These are armor for your wings. There's built-in bulletproof armor everywhere else, just in case, but you’re going to have to protect your wings too,” He continued as he put them on for Grian. They were a bright pink that matched the rest of the suit and the wings on Grian’s face, and they actually didn’t add too much weight to Grian’s back.
“So!” Tango exclaimed, “Ready to learn how to fly?”
Grian couldn’t ignore the deep fear nagging him inside, but he knew he had to for his own health and wellbeing, so he nodded. Scar, Tango, and Jimmy all lead him outside to start.