Chapter Text
After that Grease musical aftermath debacle with Kurt, Blaine wasn’t too keen on setting even a foot at McKinley.
So that weekend was the hardest till date since the breakup.
He knew when he’d done it, that it would have consequences.
For example, the hardest of them all, losing Kurt.
But nothing had prepared him for the pain it would bring him as well, he felt dirty, simply inadequate.
Because McKinley was Kurt’s, all his, Blaine was an intruder, an intruder Kurt wanted there at first, so they could be together, finally so, after a whole year of falling for one another, and he probably didn’t mind that he was still roaming those halls, he graduated after all, but Blaine hadn’t, that had been the beginning of all their relationship problems.
In short, the guilt was eating Blaine alive.
By Sunday, he knew he needed a distraction.
The last time he needed one, he cheated, he knew, but this time it was different.
He was going to get it right.
Like that song Rachel wrote for the New Directions, made especially for the regionals the Warblers lost to them.
So what better righteousness than being a superhero?
He spent most of the monthly child support money from his dad on the costume.
He’d probably kill Blaine for spending it on that, but he was the one who decided to give it to Blaine instead of his mom after their premature divorce, so sue him.
That’s how Nightbird the Nocturnal Avenger was born.
By Tuesday, most of his Glee Club friends and another classmates had followed his lead.
Their costumes were diverse and colorful, some bought, some handmade by themselves or their parents, some just grabbed the first thing they had in sight, like Sam.
“The Secret Society of Superheroes Club is now in session,” Nightbird (he) announced now that its members were all together at last, “It is the purpose to this club to fight injustice, to right all of that which is wrong, and to preserve truth, justice and peace in the halls of McKinley High.”
“First order of business,” Nightbird began solemnly, “roll call, go!” he cried, pointing to Tina.
She began, instantly, “Asian Persuasion here, my superpower is being the mistress of manipulation,”
“Blond Chameleon here,” Sam took off after her, “My superpower is I can impersonate anybody, George W. Bush, heh,” he finished by pointing to Joe Hart.
“Tarantula Head here,” Joe said with narrowed eyes, “my superpower is lashing you with my dreads,” he gave it meaning by lashing his dreads in a swift move.
“Sweet ’n’ Spicy here,” Sugar Motta declared with a rapid voice, her face broke into a grin as she ended with a, “My superpower is money,”
With that, Nightbird continued his orders, “Second order of business- inducting new members into our ever-swelling ranks,”
“Candidates, come forth,” he ordered with a wave of his hand.
Artie cleared his throat as he and others made their way into the classroom, “Excited to be here, Blaine,” he said with moderated enthusiasm.
“First of all,” Nightbird said with little annoyance, “no civilian identities here, okay? I’m Nightbird, the Nocturnal Avenger,”
“Second of all,” he continued as Artie nodded, “I hope you’re not trying to pass yourself as a certain telephatic leader of a certain group of superhuman mutants because that would be a copyright violation,”
Artie froze and stumbled his words numbly, “Uh, I’m Dr. Y, and my superpower is wheelies?”
Nightbird smiled with approval, “Welcome, Dr. Y, next,”
“I’m Queen Bee, and I can sting like a bitch,” Betty Jackson introduced herself with a buzz.
“Welcome, Queen Bee, next,”
“I’m the Human Brain,” Brittany S. Pierce said, blankly, narrowing his eyes at Nightbird.
Nightbird narrowed them back, “Welcome, Human Brain,” his tone confused.
“What’s this?” he went on nonchalantly but a little excited, “A text just came through my NightPhone,”
“‘Have you talked to Kurt?’” Nightbird read aloud, regretting it immediately, he sighed and looked at Asian Persuasion, “I already told you, Asian Persuasion, this Twitter account is only supposed to be for emergencies, and you cannot use your powers of manipulation to coax me into getting back with my ex, so stop trying,”
Chai Tea, Dottie Kazatori, Tina’s freshman assistant, entered the classroom shortly after that.
“What is it, Chai Tea?” Nightbird questioned with worry.
“Emergency in the choir room!” she said, leaving the room just as fast she entered it
First meetings were always essential to build the bases for a team, theirs was not an exception, Blaine just wished Asian Persuasion (a. k. a. Tina) hadn’t brought up the topic of Kurt unto the table, the whole point of being superheroes was forgetting their secret identities, which Blaine let Asian Persuasion and the rest of the team already know.
“To the choir room,” Nightbird ordered to the group as they made their way out.
All of then ran to the choir room in seconds, their capes flying behind them as they passed the halls.
Sure enough, in the choir room, there was a laptop standing in front of an empty-looking trophy case.
Glee Club’s nationals trophy was gone, Blaine realized with a chill running down his spine.
Chai Tea was the first to talk, with rapid exaltation, “Someone took your nationals trophy and left that laptop in its place,”
Where the trophy should be, a laptop stood there instead, open.
“Who leaves a laptop?” Dr. Y wondered, incredulous.
“Someone rich,” Nightbird responded, hastily, “Someone who wanted to send us a message,”
“I got this,” he said with sureness and pressed play as the ‘PRESS PLAY’ displayed on the open laptop indicated.
It soon revealed a teenage boy of around seventeen or eighteen, or so it apparented, he had slick brown hair, his face was blurred by pixels, he was holding their nationals trophy, but most queerly, he wore a Dalton blazer.
Sebastian, was Blaine’s first thought.
“Greetings, New Directions,” he greeted, his voice like a robot’s, “You have been living as national champions on borrowed time, and that ends now,”
He caressed the trophy with horrendous tranquility as if he wasn’t an scholar criminal. “We have your trophy, soon we’ll have your title as well,”
“A great reckoning is at hand- sectionals,” he said deliberately, swinging a little on his chair.
“Your move,” he finished with the distorted voice he was speaking with, who edited the video clearly knew their job, Nightbird could give them that.
Then he disappeared with a glitch of static.
“What now?” asked Dr. Y with unusual dread.
“Guess I’ll have to take a multiple hour trip to Dalton Academy,” responded Nightbird with determination, his hands on his hips.
“No way you’re going alone, dude,” said Blond Chameleon with uneasiness.
“Yeah,” Asian Persuasion agreed, “They’re privileged psychos, they could maim you!”
“It’s my former club, my former school, my archenemy,” Nightbird dismissed to the frowning faces staring at him, “it’s my mission,”
Although, he and Finn had their differences when he first transferred to McKinley, Blaine could call him a friend, but now that Mr. Schue flew to Washington in the name of defending the arts to the big names, Finn was the director of Glee club, which was fine, but sometimes Blaine wondered if he was a little too young and unprepared for the job, but, hey, experience makes excellence.
Right?
But as he watched Finn struggle with finding markers after he broke one, those doubts intensified, Blaine could tell the others felt something similar, if their expressions were to be trusted.
“Screw it, uh-” Finn gave up on the quest of looking for a marker and turned around to face them, walking forward, “The theme is “Foreigner”, we’re gonna sing songs by Foreigner in foreign languages, wearing all the costumes of the world’s nations,”
Dr. Y chuckled, Blaine was speechless to put it simple.
“Wait, seriously,” Dr. Y began with incredulity, “That’s your idea?”
“Yeah,” Finn replied with a grin.
“Kiki, what do you think?” Blaine heard Human Brain speak into her phone.
A female robotic voice spoke out of it, “I think I’m alive, and you’re the machine,”
Blaine ignored that and said calmly, “Finn, times have changed, we’re nationals champions now, which means we have to exceed all expectations, so if that’s your best idea, I- I don’t think we stand a chance,” with his last sentence, he stood up decidedly, his cape flying high behind him, air hitting his back.
“Wait, where are you going?” Finn asked, confusion written all over his voice.
Blaine turned around, finding the whole Glee Club staring at him, he explained the elephant in the room to Finn with a calm but obvious tone, “I’m going to get our trophy back from the Warblers- the one you haven’t even noticed is missing?”
Finn instantly flashed his eyes to the trophy case, “Crap, uh-”
Blaine took that as his cue to leave.