The Great Pretender

by Squ1sh1e

Summary:

Dakota Cole wants nothing more than to be a superhero and protect the people he cares about. He just has to keep up the secret, navigate school, and manage all of the difficult social situations that come with being a hero.

-

The best part about being back in the city was Dakota’s little side gig secret. He was a superhero…. or at least as close as he could be without being officially licensed by W.A.T.C.H. Last year, he spent a lot of time getting his powers in check. Controlling them. This was the first time he’s actually gone out to be a hero! However, he wasn’t expecting to be the talk of the town and the school's favorite topic of conversation.

Or

Basically, PD but their identities are secret and the team is also hiding their true identities from each other.

Notes:

There are not enough Dakota-centric fics out there. I'm hoping to make this fic a bit of a longer one but we will see where the road takes us! I have about 3 chapters written, after those are released, updates will probably be a little sparse. I hope you enjoy it! This first chapter deals with some heavy stuff.

*TW: Substance abuse, Death, grieving*

Dakota has been through a lot and I need the community to see how deeply traumatized this little superhero boy is.

Chapter 1: New Adjustments

It took time to adjust. It always does when you lose everything. At first, Dakota was happy living with Aunt Alaska. It was an easy choice with her being the last living relative of the Damascus family.  Aunt Alaska took great care in helping Dakota settle into his new life despite the lower-income lifestyle. Dakota didn't even have to switch schools because she lived in close proximity to the one he was already attending.  It wasn't much. Dakota's room consisted of a mattress on the floor and a few scattered belongings of his. It didn't help that Dakota, despite being small, was still growing out of his clothing. It wasn't much, but he was happy and content there with her.  

However, Alaska wasn’t always… present. At the start, It wasn’t every day. She’d have moments of being fully present and engaging with Dakota and whatever he wanted to do. The death of her brother seemed to have sent her spiraling into grief that often was hidden from the new child she was taking care of.  Still, there were plenty of nights when the walls broke down and Alaska along with Dakota wept over their shared loss. It took a toll on the two of them. Maybe that was the reason it got so bad. Dakota couldn’t tell you monthly addiction became weekly. And the weekly became daily. The tiny apartment they shared became a mess. Needles scattered across the floor. Half-eaten plates of food. TV left on late hours into the night. Dinners became microwave meals and the bills for rent began to stack. 

Dakota was living with Aunt Alaska for about a year before their first eviction notice appeared in the mail. It was evident that rent was not being paid and Dakota, being so young, had no way of helping. Alaska had tapped into Dakota’s savings, which his parents had left behind, to help catch up on the backlog of bills. With winter being a looming threat, they still had to survive. That would be pretty difficult without heat. 

The first day of  8th grade was the second worst day Dakota had lived. He didn’t attend school. Instead, he found his caregiver unresponsive in her chair by the TV. He was only 14 and didn’t have any of the correct skills to help her. He couldn’t help but feel how backward it was. He felt like he was more of her guardian than anyone else. Of course, he would help her no matter what. He would help anyone no matter what. That’s just how Dakota was. It was just that in this situation, all he could do was call for someone else's help.

The first responders were kind to him, but they brought up one of Dakota’s internal worries. The foster care system. It was always said in such soft tones, trying to keep it from Dakota for as long as possible, but he didn’t want to get torn away from his family again. He was fighting at every chance he could in order to stick with his Aunt and Alaska wasn’t exactly keen on losing custody of Dakota either. When Alaska went to rehab, they had to pay with all cash it was the only way to keep them off the records.  No one needed to know that there was a 14-year-old boy all alone in the apartment. It didn’t leave much money for the apartment, but it was enough to allow Dakota to stay there for a while… just maybe with fewer utilities. He visited Alaska as often as they let him, but in the early stages of rehab, it wasn’t much. 

The apartment was lonely. Quiet. It was a rough start to his summer. So Dakota opted to spend as little time there as possible. He really just needed it as a place to sleep. Admittedly Dakota felt a little defeated, so he decided to do something about that. Was it reckless, yeah. All of it was. Everything he chose to do now was reckless. Dakota wanted to be a hero. He wanted it more than anything. He spent a lot of his time at the skate park easily taunted by his peers into attempting tricks, all well above his skill level. Dakota wasn’t super strong. He was short for his age and his arms were scrawny. It didn’t help that he never had proper meals in the summer. He often skipped meals too, opting to put the money towards something else instead. Tony’s was always a good place for him to stop. The owner liked him. Gave him free pizza nearly every time he stopped by. If he knew of Dakota’s situation, he never questioned it. 

Alaska had given him her smartphone and told him that he could reset it to be his own. There was nowhere near enough money set aside for an actual phone plan but Dakota could often leech off the other tenant’s wifi so he could use some social media apps. He never really took up enough bandwidth to be noticeable. 

Dakota got super into parkour. He loved it. It felt like the perfect mix of terror and flashiness that made him feel like a superhero. To Dakota, it felt like people would cheer him on, but in actuality, most would just egg him on, and push him past his limits so they could laugh at him when he fell.  Then they could call him stupid or idiotic for doing such a dangerous thing. Dakota didn’t let it bother him. 

Dakota had a few routes in Rockfall he liked to run, but just as he was starting, he was stopped by a girl. She had jet-black hair. It was cut just above her shoulders. Half of it was up in a spiky ponytail. Colorful bandaids dotted her legs and hands. Most of her clothing was kinda baggy. She looked like a total tomboy. 

“You’re that Parkour kid, right? Dakota?” She began. Something seemed different about her. Her eyes sparked when she looked at Dakota and he had the realization that she thinks he is cool. She wasn’t about to ask Dakota to do some crazy risky thing. She seemed genuinely interested. Dakota nodded energetically.  “My name is Katori! It’s nice to meet you. I’ve been watching you… I don’t mean that in a weird way! It’s just you sometimes use the fire escape by my window on your route.”

“Oh, sorry! I didn’t mean to cause any disruptions.” Dakota quickly apologized. 

“No! It’s alright! I was actually hoping I could join you.” Dakota smiled and instantly offered out his hand. 

“You think you can handle it? I’m pretty fast.” Dakota preened. 

“I think I might surprise you.” Katori shrugged after shaking his hand. 

“We can start tonight if you want!” Dakota never feared coming off too strong, or perhaps he wasn’t aware of it. “I was going to go on a more challenging route but we can go on something easier.” Katori glanced down at her shoes and gave each toe a tap on the concrete. 

“Yeah… Okay.” She agreed, only slightly apprehensive. 

The first route they went on had Katori panting. It was a lot of running and she had no clue how Dakota had that much stamina. He stopped a few times to let her catch her breath, even offering his water bottle. After their first session together both of them were drenched in sweat. Katori lay with her back on the pavement staring up at the now darkened sky. 

“I want it,” Katori said between labored breaths. 

“Want what?” Dakota questioned as he pulled his drink away from his lips. He was sitting, resting with one knee pulled up to his chest and the other spread outward. 

“The sky,” Katori said as she reached her hands up into the air and opened and closed her fists a few times as if she were a small child asking to get picked up. Dakota looked up. There weren’t many stars. They were in a well-populated city so it was much more common to see planes than any astral bodies. 

“Then I’m gonna help you get it.” Dakota decided

-

Dakota wasn’t sure if Katori was going to come back after that first night. It was far more intense than it needed to be. Even if she didn’t show up again, that was one of the better days Dakota has had in a while. 

To his surprise, Katori did show up again and Dakota was determined to be a decent teacher. They started slower, just the basics really, and some of the easy flashy, stylistic moves.  Katori was a fast learner and an even faster friend to Dakota. Dakota has always been a socialite, but he hasn’t had anyone this close to him in a while. They spent a good portion of their summer together, often going to Tony’s for lunch and chatting. Despite their closeness, it was clear that neither felt romantic feelings for the other. Truly, they just needed to be each other's friends and nothing more. Dakota didn’t share much about what was going on in his life. He wasn’t sure how she would take it or if she would pity him. However, Katori shared a lot. In some ways, Dakota could relate. 

Katori’s family was stupidly rich, but Dakota never planned on using her for that. He was just appreciative of her company. She explained that she wanted to be able to do her own thing and make her own choices instead of her mom making them for her. She was often forced to go to business gatherings with her parents or follow a career path that lined up with her parent's ideals

Similar to Dakota, parkour was a way for her to escape. When you run, you make a lot of quick choices in the spur of the moment. It felt like she was her own person. In turn, Dakota felt like he was himself too when he ran. 

Katori advanced fast. Since they spend most afternoon’s trying out different routes. Their cardio endurance was great, but their upper body strength kinda suffered a bit. When they ran, Katori always had a certain level of grace that Dakota never seemed to manage. Dakota always looked wild and energetic. Katori looked elegant. 

Dakota decided to take her on his favorite route. He simply enjoyed the view of it. It wasn’t really the sky, but it was as close as he could get her to it.  You could see all of Rockfall from one of the tall skyscrapers. The route wasn’t super difficult. It was all skills the two could complete with ease. There was just one large jump. It was an easy gap with enough speed. It was supposed to be easy . 

Dakota turned just in time to watch her fall. Her toes grazed the edge of the rooftop and the rest of her body fell forward. Her chest hit the ledge knocking all the air out of her lungs. Katori let out a painful whimper as her fingers scraped the rough surface of the ledge as she desperately tried to cling on. Dakota ran to her, grasping onto her forearms and pulling with all his might. It wasn’t enough. Their sweat caused their hands to side and Dakota, desperate to hold on, was now halfway over the edge clinging onto Katori. 

“Don’t let go!” Dakota begged. He knew he needed to be brave, but he couldn’t stop the lump in the back of his throat and the burning in his eyes. “I’ll pull you up, okay?” He promised, squeezing Katori’s hand with all his might. 

“D-Dakota,” Katori sobbed. “Please.” Don’t cry , Dakota reminded himself. He tried to heave her up. He pulled her a few inches but he lost his progress as his muscles strained under his friend’s weight. Katori wailed as her body hit the side of the building, but she clung to Dakota. Don’t cry. 

“I-it’s okay. I’m going to save you.” Dakota wished he could have said it as confidently as a hero would, but he was trying his best. “J-Just don’t let go.” Katori’s nails dug into Dakota’s skin, making raw little half-moon imprints into Dakota’s hand. Their hands began to slide apart and Dakota leaned over even more. “Y-you gonna fall...” He whispered under his breath. “Just don’t let go.” He begged. Dakota’s limbs shook. He could feel his ligaments stretching and tearing the longer he held her there. More and more of his body hung over the ledge as he refused to let go.

Something had to give. 

He couldn’t hold her there forever and he wasn’t strong enough to pull her up. Dakota leaned more, keeping contact with his friend's hand, but it was just enough to tip the scale. Dakota fell over the edge with her. He flailed for a moment before maneuvering his body in the air. With all his remaining strength, he wrapped Katori in a hug and positioned himself so he would hit the ground first as if he could cushion her fall with his body. Not that it would even matter at this height. 

This wasn’t how it was supposed to happen. He was supposed to give her the sky, but now he could only watch as it was ripped away from the both of them. Still, as he stared upward crying, he couldn’t help but think about how pretty the clouds looked as he fell with her. 

-

Dakota didn’t expect to live. He was certain his eyes would shut and they would never reopen. His body felt like it was on fire. Every fiber of his being ached with an unfathomable amount of pain. Even if he wanted to, he couldn’t move. He only held onto consciousness for a meer moment before his body gave in and he closed his eyes. 

The next time Dakota opened his eyes he was in a hospital. Something was wrong with him. His heart was beating too fast and he couldn’t do anything to calm it. He needed to find his friend. Katori. If he was alive, surely she must be too.  Some man was leaning over him, holding syringes and other medical tools. Dakota was barely conscious, hardly even aware of anything. He panicked and tried to move upward. Stitches awkwardly pulled on his skin as he felt every nerve spike with pain. He let out an embarrassing whimper as he tried to push the doctor away from him. His whole head felt like it was pounding. Jostling a bit, he accidentally yanked on his IV, pulling it out and causing him to bleed. It didn’t look right. It wasn’t natural. It was… Blue. Before Dakota could do anything else, the doctor jabbed him with the syringe. Instantly he relaxed and fell back into a deep sleep. 

When Dakota awoke again, he was far more aware of himself. His body hurt and his heartbeat couldn’t slow down but he forced himself to move. He needed to find Katori although was certain he was having a heart attack. The same man was leaning over him with a syringe but Dakota had no desire to take another nap. He needed to make sure his friend was alright. 

He swiveled his legs over the hospital bed and ran away from the man. He didn’t care that he ripped out his IV again . Find Katori, he repeated over and over in his brain. When his feet hit the ground, he moved at an incredible speed leaving a gust of wind in his wake. 

Dakota didn’t know where he was going or how to manage this new super speed so when he encountered stairs, they were his greatest enemy. He couldn’t seem to put on the brakes so he went tumbling down the stairs. Every step he hit on his way down made him recoil from the pain. He lay at the base of the steps for a moment before he heard: 

“Dakota, Wait!” A voice echoed down the hall. Glancing upwards he saw the doctor again. He didn’t trust him. On shaky legs, Dakota pushed himself upward despite the agony he was feeling.  He ran, trying to put more distance between them. His new super speed was not easy. He had to consciously think about how to run like a normal person and his heart continued to hammer on in his chest. Eventually, Dakota stopped when he got to what looked like a receptionist and waiting room. 

“K-Katori. Where is she?” His voice sounded hoarse and broken. The receptionist looked at him with a mix of shock and concern. Dakota was in a hospital gown, blue blood dripping from his arm. 

“Y-you’re the boy who fell.” She gasped, bringing her hands up to her mouth as the realization hit her. She stood up slowly as if trying not to spook a wild animal. “I’m so sorry… The girl… she…” 

Dakota cried. She didn’t need to finish her sentence. Dakota knew how phrases like that ended.  He fell to his knees, his body unable to keep up with how weak he was currently feeling. It felt like is heart was going to explode and he couldn’t breathe. A part of him knew how unlikely it was for both of them to survive. He is not even supposed to be alive right now. He should have died when he hit the ground. Failure was all he felt, nowhere close to the hero he wanted to be. 

“It’s okay. Let’s get you-” The receptionist moved over to where Dakota sat on the floor of the waiting room. Her gentle hand tried to reach out to comfort Dakota, but he moved away from it. Dakota got up and ran. He didn’t know how to process anything that was happening So he ran away from it. With his newfound speed, there was no way anyone would catch up to him, even though it took him a while to navigate the hospital. Dakota had superpowers now, but he couldn’t help but feel like they showed up too late. He wasn’t enough to save her. 

Dakota kept running. Barely even a streak as he dashed through town. Dakota didn’t stop running. He wasn’t even sure where he was when he finally slowed down enough to take in his surroundings. He was in the woods. He wasn’t even sure where the nearest forest was to Rockfall. He eventually stopped when he saw a cabin. He jumped slightly when the door opened and a hunched old lady with a wooden cane exited. She must have noticed him through the window.

“What’s wrong with you, boy?” She asked, voice sounding ancient. Dakota didn’t know how to respond. Even just the thought of him answering that question made him want to cry. “Well don’t just stand there. Come in. A little boy like you shouldn’t be out here on your own. Got any folks around?” Dakota just fell to his knees and sobbed. “Come on. Moping out there won’t get you anywhere. Come on inside. Mato will be around soon to take you into town.” She practically ordered. Dakota shakily stood up and trudged toward her. “There you go. That’s not so bad now” 

It took Dakota a long time to calm down enough to explain, and even when he was explaining it still felt like an impossible task. He wasn’t even sure what had happened. Dakota didn’t go back into town that night. Instead, he stayed with the two people he learned to be Mato and Grandma Cole. He didn’t go home the next night either. Or the night after that. 

He liked staying with the Coles. It wasn’t lonely. Grandma Cole was a little abrasive and Mato could be a little intense, but they were awesome. Dakota looked up to them.

With the discovery of Dakota’s newfound strength and agility, Dakota finally came to terms with the fact he had Actual Super Powers. Which, if he didn’t think about the fact that his parents were dead, His Aunt was dealing with substance abuse, and his best friend was dead, Superpowers were kind of awesome. He wanted to use his powers. Train. He wanted to be a hero.

 

Chapter 2: New Students

Summary:

Dakota meets some new students and fights a villain.

Notes:

Sort of spoilers in the Trigger warning

*TW: Nausua, electrocution*

Dakota didn’t mind school. He enjoyed seeing his friends and participating in the few sports he still could. Last year was his first year with his last name changed to Cole instead of Damascus. He didn’t mind being the new kid, but he was sorta happy that he wasn’t the talk of the school anymore. There were a bunch of rumors spread about Dakota, some of them true, others outrageously false. 

The worst true rumor was when Dakota lost control over his powers during a soccer match. As soon as it happened he felt terrible. Dakota managed to kick a soccer ball at mock speed into another kid's stomach. Major internal damage was caused and Dakota was removed from the soccer team even though it had been an accident. He got a little bit of a reputation after that one, but if anyone actually sat and talked to Dakota they would realize the size of his heart was massive. 

It was tough for Dakota to be away from the Coles too. He got used to the routine with them. Their cabin was too far away for him to stay and also attend school. Grandma Cole insisted he went to get an education. He stayed at Aunt Alaska’s even though Alaska wasn’t actually staying with him. He had enough money to manage the rent, and utilities as long as he was thoughtful about it. School provided him with breakfast and lunch so most days he could make his own dinner or survive without it. 

The best part about being back in the city was Dakota’s little side gig secret. He was a superhero…. or at least as close as he could be without being officially licensed by W.A.T.C.H. Last year, he spend a lot of time getting his powers in check. Controlling them. This was the first time he’s actually gone out to be a hero! However, he wasn’t expecting to be the talk of the town and the school's favorite topic of conversation. It was hard for him not to interject about it, but overall his alter ego was well-liked. He wasn’t a huge fan of the nickname he received. Little Red. It made it sound like people were underestimating him but he couldn’t deny the fact that he was physically short.  He didn’t mind when the name got shortened to just Red. That, he could live with. When he was at school he spent some time scrolling through Twitter and reading up about his alter ego. He didn’t have Wifi at home unless he was freeloading from a nearby apartment. He didn’t think any of them minded too much.  

He hadn’t done much as a hero yet. Most of it was just him being in the right place at the right time. He helped evacuate people from a house fire and stopped a robbery of a local grocery store which helped make a good reputation for him. He was a friendly neighborhood kind of hero. There were a few blurry photos of him in his superhero gear. He wore a thin black mask that tied around his head and had two slits for his eyes. The ends of it streamed behind him like he was a Teenage mutant ninja turtle. He wore a mask around the lower half of his face too, concealing as much of his identity as possible. The lower half was an old respirator mask that Dakota found. He painted it black and red as well as covered it in little designs and smiley face stickers… maybe even some hearts with Ms G’s name in them. He wore a tight black athletic shirt with a cropped vibrant red cargo jacket with some old patches on it. Sensible combat boots covered his feet and he had plenty of pockets in his black cargo pants. Again, most of the photos were blurry so it hardly even mattered what he wore. Dakota always had a hard time sitting still but the incident and following surgery caused his restlessness to be even worse. However, Dakota was still pretty happy with how he looked as Red. 

Dakota was dreading first hour a little bit. It was homeroom. They wouldn’t really be doing much other than go over expectations that he already knew. He was going to use this time to catch up on sleep. Patrolling almost all night was exhausting and he could use the extra shut-eye. However, his teacher, Mrs. Druthers, announced that there would be two new students joining the class today which caught Dakota’s attention. 

The first was a taller boy. His hair was a silky purple. Most of it was pulled back into a small ponytail except for a few strands that didn’t seem to stay. He was wearing large headphones that covered his entire ears. He looked a little bit like a deer caught in headlights standing at the front of the class. Confused would be the best way to describe way to describe his expression. 

“Class, meet Vyncent Sol. He’s brand new to rockfall and not from around here.” The teacher announced as she presented him. “Anything that you would like to add Vyncent?” 

“Umm no, mam,” Vyncent said very politely. 

“Okay dear, why don’t you go grab a spot next to Dakota there.” as she gestured to the red head. Dakota smiled and waved, making his presence known as Vyncent moved over to him. Dakota shot his hand out to offer a handshake.

“Hi! I’m Dakota. It’s nice to meet you Vyncent!” Vyncent flinched back slightly. For a second Dakota thought he was about to get jumped.  He could have sworn he saw Vyncent reach for a knife but when he looked down at his hands, he wasn’t holding anything. “Sorry man, I didn’t mean to spook you.” Dakota relaxed his posture a little bit but kept his hand out for Vyncent to shake. Eventually, Vyncent shook his hand, a little bit ungracefully, like he didn’t know if he was doing it right. Dakota smiled at him anyway. 

“Thanks, Dakota.” Vyncent relaxed as he took a spot at his desk. They both turned their attention to the front of the classroom as the next student stood right next to the teacher. He had pretty, black, curly hair and brown eyes. It looked like he wanted nothing more than to put his black hoodie up and let it swallow him. Fidgeting, he crinkled the edge of his paper. 

“This is William Wisp.” The teacher gave him a light push on his back to get him to step forward further, “He’s from Deadwood. New to Rockfall as well. Maybe you and Vyncent will find some things in common, as you both are new. Anything else you want to add?” William glanced down at his paper before shrugging. 

“William Wisp is a 16-year-old boy that typically goes unnoticed.” William stared at his paper as he continued rambling about his own appearance. It was a bit odd and it got a few snickers from the class. William pushed his shoulder up and kept his head down as he walked to his desk in front of Jimmy. Jimmy kept flicking scraps of paper into the back of Will’s head but William didn’t say anything even though there was a look of annoyance on his face. 

Mrs. Druthers went through basic expectations for the school year and gave the rest of the class some free time to reconnect and share about their long vacation. Dakota was about to introduce himself to William but Summer intercepted his route. He knew Summer a little bit from last year, they didn’t really start talking until the end of the second semester.

“Dakota! Have you heard about this new Red guy! He’s so cool!” Summer explained. “Superhero stuff is kinda right up your alley right? You talk about Silhouette and Hexpert a lot.”

“Yeah! I think he’s trending on Twitter right now right? Saved some people from a fire last night? It's so cool that we have someone right in Rockfall now.” Dakota smiled. He really hoped he no longer smelt like smoke. He did take a shower so he was probably alright. She didn’t really seem suspicious of him. 

“Yeah! I think he’s younger too! There are a few crazy theories about him, but imagine if he goes to our school! Probably like a senior or something, but wouldn’t that be cool? I might try to-” 

There was a loud thud and everyone turned to look. William was on the ground with Jimmy laughing in his spot. If Dakota had to guess, it seemed like Jimmy tripped William as he was getting up which was not cool, especially for Jimmy. Dakota and him were friends but maybe they wouldn't be after this. Dakota moved over to help William up.

“Not cool dude.” Dakota admonished Jimmy. “You alright?”  He pivoted, offering his hand to William. Dakota couldn’t help but notice how icy his hand was. It felt like he just stepped out of an industrial freezer. 

“Sorry. I’m fine.” William explained as Dakota pulled him to his feet. 

“I’m Dakota by the way. It’s nice to meet you.” Dakota smiled brightly. “Do you know where your next class is? I could walk you there if you need me to since you’re new to the school and all.”

“Seriously? You’re planning to hang out with him Dakota?” Jimmy snickered and Dakota’s face dropped. 

“So what if I am? He’s cool.” Dakota defended William. 

“Come on, him? Dakota, what is up with you? First, you left the soccer team and now you’re choosing him over me?” Jimmy complained. 

“I’m not choosing anyone over anyone!” Dakota retorted. “I just don’t want you to be so mean!”

“Boys!” The teacher scolded. “It’s the first day of school. Please don’t make me send anyone to the principal's office first hour.” 

“Sorry Mrs. D!” Dakota apologized bowing. The bell rang and everyone rushed towards their next class. Dakota hardly had a chance to talk to William before he disappeared out the door. Vyncent and Dakota were the only ones left in the classroom. Vyncent was staring at his schedule utterly confused. Dakota leaned over his shoulder and glanced down at his class list. 

“Oh, you have the same math as me! We can walk together!” Dakota explained. 

“You understand this sheet of paper? What is Algebra? What does that mean?” Vyncent asked while squinting at his schedule. 

“Were you homeschooled before?” Dakota squinted getting really close to Vyncent’s face. 

“Ummm maybe? I didn’t really go to school. Nothing like this.” Vyncent added. 

“Oh. Okay. Well, you can just follow me around today. I’ve been to school a lot so I know how it works.” Dakota explained confidently. He motioned for Vyncent to follow him and the two went off to their math class. 

Vyncent looked even more confused as the day went on and teachers explained their lessons to him. It made Dakota wonder why he was so sheltered. He supposed if he only ever lived with the Cole’s it would have felt out of his depth at school too. Even if Dakota didn’t have the same class as Vyncent he still walked him to each one, basically dropping him off and picking him up every time.

 Dakota had yet to see William again, so he was determined to find him during lunch… which was easier said than done.  Willaim seemed to easily disappear in a crowd of people and blend in like he was invisible. After Dakota scanned across the cafeteria a few separate times from different vantage points, he determined William wasn’t there.  

“Sit here for now. I’m gonna go find the other new kid!” Dakota informed Vyncent as he sat his tray at the last empty table in the lunchroom. He thought about sitting with his normal group of jocks but after the incident with Jimmy this morning he really didn’t feel like rehashing the argument. 

Dakota felt a little bad for leaving Vyncent all by himself at the table but he would be back soon with William too. That’s the goal at least. There weren’t that many places William could be. If he was wandering in some hallway, the teachers would have directed him to the cafeteria. He supposed he could be in some teacher's room but William seemed too awkward to ask for permission to sit in during lunch. That only left two other options, the main office or the bathrooms. 

Dakota checked the bathrooms first. He wasn’t all that surprised to see the beaten-up black Converse William was wearing at one of the bathroom stalls. Dakota strode over and gently knocked on the door.

“Will?” Dakota tested, not one hundred percent sure he was correct. He didn’t get an answer, but he watched a fork clatter to the ground and fall out of reach for the stall. “Hey, buddy! Whoever’s in there, it’s okay! You don’t have to be a mysterious, tragic bathroom eater. Come have lunch with me and Vyncent! And, uh…” Dakota squinted at the fork that clattered out of the stall. “You probably don’t want to use that fork again. Seriously fucking nasty.” There was a long pause before the bathroom stall unlatched its lock. The door slowly swung open and William peeked around as if he was hoping Dakota left. He practically jumped out of his skin when he noticed Dakota was still standing there.

“There you are!” Dakota said with a grin that could probably be seen from space. Before William could protest, Dakota snagged his wrist and started dragging him out of the bathroom. “Let’s go, pal. You’re coming with me. Bathrooms are for peeing, not eating—unless you’re, like, a raccoon, and last I checked, you’re not.”

William could hardly keep his tray of food level as he got yanked around by Dakota. For a moment Dakota had to remember to loosen his grip. William felt… fragile for lack of a better term. His arms were so cold and scrawny. 

“I-I was really content just eat-” William began to explain but Dakota forced him to sit at the table across from Vyncent. 

“Vyncent!” Dakota cheered, happy he didn’t need to wrangle him again too. “Don’t let him out of you sight. He’s a sneaky one.” Dakota squinted at William and he just stared back with the most confused gaze. 

“Where are you going?” Vyncent asked as he watched Dakota continue walking away even after depositing William at the table. 

“Fork!” Dakota explained loudly, causing some people to stare over in his direction. Vyncent sighed and turned towards William. 

“Hi.” Vyncent greeted. 

“Uh, hello.” William returned awkwardly. 

“Dakota’s a little…” 

“He’s an introvert's worst nightmare.” William deadpaned as he stopped tracking Dakota with his eyes. 

“He just has a lot of energy.” Vyncent shrugged, a slight smile on his face. William stared like he was crazy.

“FORK!” Dakota bellowed, holding the utensil above his head like it was Excalibur. Heads turned. He didn’t care.  He proudly handed it to William with a flourish. 

“Fork.” William nodded taking it from his hand. He realized he never picked up the fork from the bathroom. Someone will probably wonder why that's there. Oh well. 

 “Fork.” Vyncent added finally understanding why Dakota continued wandering around for a moment. He finally sat down and it was the first time he’d seen Dakota actually be still for longer than twenty seconds. Dakota began chowing down, stuffing his face full of his lunch food. 

“So what’s your deals?” Dakota asked when it got too quiet, mouth still full of food. 

“Deal? I didn’t realize I was trying to buy something.” Vyncent tilted his head confused.

“No, he means like… Why are we here? Like, tell him something about ourselves.” William clarified.  “What’s your deal? Why the interest in the new kids? Don’t you have some jocks to be hanging out with?” The black-haired boy countered, staring down Dakota. 

“I was new last year. I know how hard it is.” Dakota answered honestly and William seemed surprised. “So what brought you two to Centurion High?”  

“I’m just new… in general. I’ve never been to a school like this and the guy who I’m staying with told me I need to go here.” Vyncent explained. 

“Guy you’re staying with?” William questioned. “Like A foster parent?”

“I don’t know what you call it here. Like he’s not my dad but he looks after me?” Vyncent explained. 

“Just where exactly are you from?” William continued interrogating

“Uhhh… a different world?”

“A different wo-”

“Will, don’t interrogate him too much.” Dakota leaned over and whispered into William’s ear.  “Everyone copes differently,” he added before changing the topic completely. “What about you? Deadwood, right? What made you move here?” William’s eyes dropped to the table and just when Dakota seemed to be getting through some of his armor, William closed off again.

“It wasn’t really my choice to be here. I just couldn’t stay at home anymore so now I’m staying with my brother,” William sighed. 

“That’s cool! I’ve always wanted a sibling!” Dakota added hoping to spin it into a positive light. 

“Yup. Really… cool.” William added sarcastically and Dakota decided to drop it.  “What's your deal then Dakota? You never really answered.” 

“Oh, I lost my parents in that other fight with Dark Star the one where Origami… you know.” Dakota trailed off. He had to keep a positive attitude, even if the negative thoughts were arising. “I’ve been staying with my aunt and some… family friends in the summer.”

“I’m sorry- I didn’t mean to-” William began, clearly not expecting something so heavy from Dakota’s constantly cheery display. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. It was a while ago now.” Dakota waved it off. 

“It’s cool that you guys have superheroes here,” Vyncent interjected changing the topic. “There’s that new one that everyone is talking about. Red right? My… I don’t know what you call them. The other person I'm staying with but he’s my age?”

“Foster Brother?” William added helpfully. 

“Hmmm. Not a brother.” Vyncent shook his head “Not a sister either. Like a sibling. Can you have a foster sibling?” Vyncent asked and William and Dakota nodded.  “Okay, My foster sibling was really interested in him. Doing all sorts of research on him. I think he’s cool.” Vyncent expanded.

“Yeah cool but kinda stupid.” Dakota tried very hard not to be hurt by William's comment, but it did sting. “Don’t get me wrong he’s doing a lot of good things out there! He could very well be the best superhero I’ve seen. He’s actually doing good for the community. But the rumors say he is close to our age. Without proper equipment or a team to back him up, I wouldn’t be surprised if he got seriously hurt or killed.”

William made some valid points, but at the same time, it wasn’t like Dakota could sit back and do nothing. He has superpowers and training. He can’t let that go to waste.

“What do you think about him, Dakota? You’ve been here longer than the two of us” William continued. Oh shit. Dakota was not prepared to answer that. What did he think about his own superhero identity? Mostly pretty positive. Of course, there were moments that he wished he had a little more support from either a team or someone at home. 

“Oh umm. I like him! I hope he becomes a full-time hero. But you’re right. I think he would do better if he had a team.” Dakota hoped that was a decent reply. He had to keep his identity a secret and keep all the awesome cool superhero details to himself.

“Hmmm. A team. That would be… pretty cool to do that and be a hero.” Vyncent added. William was about to tack on something but the bell rang dismissing them and students instantly began to shuffle around to their next classes. 

“I’ll meet you here tomorrow, okay?” Dakota hurried to shove the last few bites of food in his mouth before picking up his tray. “Vynce, you ready for social studies?” Vyncent nodded and followed Dakota like a lost puppy. 

William followed them behind them awkwardly. It took Dakota and Vyncent an embarrassingly long time to notice him there. They both turned to look at him as if questioning why he was tailing them. For some reason it put Dakota on edge, it felt like he was being hunted down. 

“Social studies is my only non-AP class,” William explained. Dakota nodded, he supposed it made sense that he didn’t see Will all day then. “There is only so much history to learn. What am I supposed to do? Learn it faster?”

“Isn’t that how all the smart kid classes work? You must be pretty smart if social studies is your only class that isn’t for the super smart kids.” 

“I guess.” William shrugged. The three split off from each other to sit in their assigned seats and Dakota didn’t get to chat that much throughout the class. Vyncent looked like his whole world was caving in as he was trying to use a laptop for what seemed like the first time in his life. He was both amazed and confused. William took a quiet moment to explain how it worked to him. 

The first day of school moved quickly and without any incidences… sort of. William got picked up in some fancy car and Vyncent had to ride the bus. Seemingly a new concept to him. Dakota only worried slightly that Vyncent would just never get off at his stop and ride the bus for eternity. He helped him to the bus line and explained how to get on and off, hoping that would be enough. He could ask tomorrow how it went. 

Dakota was itching to get home. Not that he wanted to be at home. Home was quiet. Lonely. He just wanted to be Red again. Go out and patrol. His heart has been hammering in his chest all day and it’s impossible to stand still or for him to sit and focus for so long. He had to remind himself not to use his super speed to get home. Instead, he just got on his skateboard and made his way back to the apartment. It wasn’t that far and as soon as he got home he could put on his superhero gear and finally release all the energy bubbling under his skin. 

-

In retrospect, Dakota knew he should have had something to eat before heading out on patrol, but the truth was that there just wasn’t much to eat at home. He’s gotten used to rationing out his food and now with school, he gets breakfast and lunch which is helpful. However, his new superpowers are draining. If Dakota could eat twice as much food he would, but that's not a luxury he has. It’s not a problem yet. He’s never felt ill or faint because of the lack of nutrition, but he certainly has an uncomfortable hunger looming over him most of the time he is on patrol.

Most of patrol was quiet. Stopped some muggings, and helped some people carry groceries to their cars. Simple stuff that just was him being kind but now Dakota felt a little out of his depth. He’s had some experience training with the Cole’s but he’s never really fought another person before. The robbers were a different story. Those were people trying to make ends meet. The kind of People who are forced to steal and take. People who were not practiced fighters. Now, Dakota was facing up against a proper super villian

It started when the streetlights started going out. It was late into the night now, sun well below the horizon. The villain he was currently dealing with called himself Black Out. Claimed to be doing good, saving the planet and all that. Eco-terrorism. As much as Dakota wanted to see the stars and cut back on light pollution siphoning power from twelve blocks in every direction was not the way to do it. This guy was powerful, crackling with electrical energy. He seemed to wear a suit made of rubber with bright green highlights on the seams. His eyes seemed to glow with unnatural light. Dakota wasn’t even sure if he could stop this kind of villain on his own, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try. 

The first thing Dakota did was stop a car from crashing into another.  When all the streetlights and stoplights suddenly turn off, it is confusing for the drivers. It was a little nerve-wracking standing in front of a car going well over twenty-five to try to stop it from moving. Dakota widened his stance, bracing for impact. It wasn’t perfect, and it hurt when the car hit him with such force his writs and forearms felt a surge of pain when it collided with him. He was definitely going to have bruises after this. For a terrifying moment, he thought he was going to be sandwiched between two cars, but he skitted to a halt and prevented the car from hitting the one moving in the opposite direction. It took him a moment to catch his breath again, but he couldn’t stop. Not when the villain is still at large. His body ached as he glanced upwards to make sure the passengers were okay but once they seemed alright Dakota zoomed off, stopping two more crashes from happening. Each one makes his body ache more. 

Blackout wasn’t far from Dakota now. Blackout seemed unaware of his presence as he continued spouting about how we need to rid the world of fossil fuels and move to renewable energy. All great if he wasn’t causing mass panic. People were outside with flashlights. Watching the display now. Blackout still crackled with energy. Was he storing it? Could he release that energy back out at Dakota, or worse, someone else?  Dakota mustered up the energy to confront him. Although he could take advantage of not being seen, it felt wrong. So instead Dakota shouted at him.

“Hey, you! Villain. Blackout.” Dakota shouted. His mask has done a decent job distorting his voice so far. He hoped it would stay that way. Blackout turned and Dakota, whether brave or stupid didn’t even flinch. 

“Villain?” Blackout countered, clearly offended. “Oh Red, I was hoping you would my side.” He sighed heavily. 

“You know who I am?” Dakota smiled, almost giddy that some Supervillian was using a superhero name for him. 

“Of course I do. You’ve been trending on Twitter.”  The thought of this villain using Twitter was comical to him. 

“Well, you should know I’m gonna kick your ass then.”  Dakota moved into a fighting position. “Unless you just wanna stop, ya’know draining all the energy,” Dakota added in an attempt to de-escalate. “ There’s like hospitals and shit. Some people need that to live” 

“Survival of the fittest.” Blackout spat. “We should bring things back to how they were before. All-natural. Give in to human nature.” 

“Alright, I guess we have to decide who is more fit between you and me then.” That’s the thing that pushed Dakota over the edge. He surged forward with incredible speed, so fast that Blackout didn’t have time time to react. Dakota landed a kick right into Blackout's side. It was a solid hit. It clearly did some damage to Blackout as he fell to his knees coughing and sputtering. Dakota knew how much damage he could really do, so he tried to tone it back, just a little. Unfortunately, There was just as much damage dealt to Dakota too. As soon as his shin collided with the villain electricity shot through Dakota, leaving him convulsing on the ground in a fiery pain. He had a feeling if a normal person touched that much voltage they would die, but his Super heart from his after-fall surgery seemed to be keeping up with the extra electrical pulse surging through him. Still didn’t change the fact that he could hardly see straight now. His vision was a bright white then a blur. His ears were ringing so loud he couldn’t tell if Blackout was saying anything else.  He felt pathetic. If anything it felt more like a draw. He had to get back up though, despite how much the world felt like it was spinning. Dakota staggered to his feet. Ready to fight some more but Black Out seemed out of commission. He seemed to be dealing with some of the repercussions of the energy he stole as well. 

Dakota was about to move somewhere safer to fully recover from the violent shaking he was undergoing. It’s truly a miracle he’s standing upright. But he heard Blackout call out for help and Dakota turned to him. It was desperate and quiet, but pleading and full of pain. It was hard for Dakota to really tell what was going on. His vision was blurred by tears and he was thankful his mask covered his watery eyes. Blackout’s suit seemed to be damaged and shocking him relentlessly.

“I’m s-sorry. I can-” Dakota’s words slurred together slightly. 

“ Please! ” Blackout screamed, his voice cutting through the static ringing in Dakota’s ears like a jagged knife. “It’s g-going to k-kill me!” he begged, his words punctuated by violent, convulsive jolts.

Dakota could barely think through the chaos. His mind felt foggy and disconnected like it was trying to separate itself from the reality of the moment. But one thought cut through the haze with brutal clarity: He’s right. It’s going to kill him. And then another thought followed, cold and sharp: How did I even survive this much voltage?

He didn’t want Blackout to die. He didn’t want anyone to die. not ever again. Not on his watch. He swore to himself, swore on every mistake he’d ever made, that he’d do whatever it took to keep people alive. Even if it meant being reckless. Even if it meant being stupid.

And what he was about to do wasn’t brave. It wasn’t heroic. It was just stupid.

The plan (if it could even be called that) formed in his head in a messy rush of desperation. If he could get the suit to expel the remaining energy into him instead, it might stop frying Blackout alive. That was it. That was all he could come up with. No backup plan. No guarantees he’d survive. Just do it.

His legs felt like lead as he staggered toward Blackout, nearly tripping over his own feet. His body screamed at him to stop, to back away, to do anything but this. He ignored it.

“Your h-hand,” Dakota croaked, his voice barely audible over the crackling electricity and Blackout’s choked desperate gasps. Blackout didn’t hesitate. He reached out, his trembling hand extending as if to shake Dakota’s. The moment their hands connected, Dakota’s world turned to fire.

The electricity hit him like an explosion, ripping through his body with merciless fury. It wasn’t just pain—it was annihilation. His nerves screamed, every synapse in his body firing all at once, like his entire being was short-circuiting. It felt like the sun itself had ignited inside him, its heat liquefying his insides. His muscles locked up, convulsing violently as wave after wave of pure energy burned through him. His vision went white, the world around him vanishing in a haze of agony.

He screamed, a raw, guttural sound torn from deep inside his chest. It didn’t feel like his own voice. It was primal, and animalistic, the sound of a body pushed far beyond its limits. Tears streamed down his face, hot and uncontrollable, mixing with the sweat pouring off his skin. He could feel his mind slipping, unraveling under the unrelenting assault. His thoughts  were scattered, incoherent.

And then, suddenly, it stopped.

The silence was deafening. It was no longer constant. his body still trembled, convulsing with aftershocks that felt like echoes of the storm that had just ravaged him. He collapsed to the ground in a heap, his limbs twitching uncontrollably, his chest heaving as he struggled to breathe. Every nerve felt raw, and exposed, like his skin had been peeled away to reveal the fragile, vulnerable tissue beneath.

He didn’t know how long he lay there, drifting in and out of consciousness. Time didn’t feel real. His body felt fried, literally and figuratively like there was nothing left of him but a shell. The world around him was a blur, faint shadows swimming in his vision as he tried—and failed—to move.

But he had to get up.

Heroes always get back up.

The words echoed in his mind, a mantra he clung to as he forced his battered body to respond. His arms shook as he pushed himself upright, every movement sending fresh jolts of pain through his fried nerves. His head swam, his stomach churning with nausea, but he didn’t stop. He couldn’t.

Finally, his vision cleared enough for him to make out Black Out. The man was kneeling a few feet away, the rubber mask of his suit pulled off to reveal a surprisingly ordinary face—a guy with shaggy blond hair and wide, haunted eyes. He looked... human. So painfully human.

Blackout’s breathing was uneven but steady. He was alive. Stable. And as he looked at Dakota, there was no anger in his expression, no malice. Only gratitude.

“Thank you,” he said, his voice low and steady.

Dakota couldn’t find the strength to speak. He just nodded weakly, his body trembling as he willed himself to his feet. His limbs felt like they were filled with lead, every step a monumental effort. He stumbled out into the night, his legs barely holding him up as he made his way home.

It took twice as long as it should have. His head was a mess, foggy and disoriented, and he kept taking wrong turns. His stomach roiled with nausea, and he had to stop several times, leaning against walls and gasping for air, trying not to vomit. The world spun around him, but he kept going. He didn’t know how, but he did.

Finally, the dark outline of his apartment building came into view. Relief washed over him, dull and muted, but it was enough to keep him moving. He staggered through the door, every inch of him screaming for rest.

He had school tomorrow and school was really going to suck. 

Notes:

I was just too excited to post! (this was supposed to go up tomorrow) I really tried my best to make Dakota's origin timeline make sense... and I think I kinda got there, but it is slightly different from Cannon. (Same with Vyncent) I love writing the boys' interactions and honestly, I think I nailed it in the next chapter. Writing Dakota is not easy for me but I'm doing my best.

Anyway, tomorrow is my birthday, so If you feel like giving me a birthday gift you could leave a comment or a kudos and It would put a huge smile on my face.

I hope you are all having a lovely day! Remember to take care of yourself. You are loved <3

Chapter 3: Teammates

Summary:

Dakota goes to school after the fight with Blackout. It goes better than expected. He also meets some "new" heroes

Notes:

Okay, Most of this chapter is pretty silly goofy I promise!

*TW: Mention of nausea and vomiting, description of pain and injuries*

When Dakota arrived home at three A.M. He instantly ran to the toilet and threw up any and all contents in his stomach. When you get hit by that much electricity, it doesn’t just zap you and end. It continues over and over like some electrical circuit with no shutoff. Dakota was incredibly disoriented and could hardly walk straight. It was a miracle he even got home at all. Shocks shot through his body over and over again and it was impossible to stay standing for longer than a minute. He opted to sleep on the couch simply because it was closer than his own bed. 

Morning came all too quickly for Dakota Cole. He got maybe two hours of sleep total last night, maybe even less considering the fact he kept waking up from the after shocks. Being electrocuted with the same amount of energy that powers the full twelve square blocks in the city will do that to you. He shouldn’t be alive, but his artificial heart still pounds in his chest and makes his blood rush in his ears. 

Last night was awful. He doesn’t regret the choices he made. The city needed him in that moment and he rose to the occasion. It still didn’t change how difficult the aftermath is. If he cried himself to sleep last night no one needed to know. It was mostly from the pain, but also from how incredibly alone he felt. There was no one here to help him recover. No team to help aid him. He had to take care of himself.

 Looking in the mirror, Dakota’s body is bruised and he’s received some crazy Lichtenberg figures that cover his arms his arms, chest, and legs. As well as some bruising on his torso, wrists, and inner arms from literally catching cars. It was a long-sleeved shirt day and probably would be for a while. Dakota put on a red flannel and his signature black tie headband even though it hurt to hold his hands over his head.  

  He splashed water on his face in an attempt to wake himself up more. Really, Dakota was doing well all things considered. Dakota doesn’t have crazy regeneration, but his super surgery does seem to help him recover a little faster. He could survive school. He was exhausted, but he was certain that food would make him feel better and school had free breakfast. He was quite literally starving and there was nothing left in his stomach. 

He rode his skateboard to school the same as normal. He arrived at the same time William arrived. William was dropped off in a fancy black car. His family was probably rich or something. It reminded him of Katori. 

Dakota took a deep breath. He had to be himself. Not some vigilante that spent most of last night taking down a villain. 

“Morning William!” Dakota waved cheerfully as he rode in on his skateboard.

“Morning, Dakota,” William greeted, sounding about as enthusiastic as a brick. Honestly, it seemed like he was the one who had spent all night fighting supervillains.

“What’s got you down?” Dakota asked, kicking up his skateboard with ease. He caught up to William’s slow, trudging pace.

“What do you mean, ‘got me down?’” William asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Well, I dunno, you sound like… you just lost a bet and had to eat oatmeal out of a boot or something.”

“I think that’s just how I sound, Dakota. I always sound like this,” William replied, deadpaned.

“Oh, wow, that’s tragic. So you’re not sad, you just sound sad? Or… wait… are you always sad? Because if you’re always sad, that’s super sad. Like… ‘Dropped-ice-cream-cone’ levels of sad.”

“I’m not always sad,” William snapped, crossing his arms defensively.

“Well, good! But if that’s your default voice, I think we need to get you a new one. Like, seriously, can I download you an update or something?" Dakota poked at William, lifting up one of his arms and examining him. Will swatted him away and Dakota did his best not to wince at the pain from even the soft touch. "Maybe ‘William 2.0’ has a happier setting. Hey, do you take batteries?”

William just sighed.

“Anyway,” Dakota said while bringing his hands in to fidget with one of the wheels on his skateboard. “I’m grabbing breakfast. Wanna come with me? You can watch me set a world record for how fast a person can inhale a muffin.”

“No thanks. I already ate.” William turned to head into the English classroom.

“Suit yourself!” Dakota called after him. “But just so you know, if I don’t see you at lunch, there will be consequences. Dire ones. Like, I’ll make us partners in Social Studies, and you know how I get with glue sticks.”

William didn’t respond, but as he walked away, Dakota could have sworn he saw the corner of his mouth twitch upward. It wasn’t a full smile, but it was close enough for Dakota to claim victory.

When Dakota got to the cafeteria he was practically falling asleep in his oatmeal. Eating did help him feel more restored. He got up for seconds and thirds but now that his stomach was full he felt like he could curl up on the disgusting cafeteria floor and fall asleep there. Doug came over and landed a hard pat on the center of Dakota’s back jolting him awake from his brief slumber. For a b moment, it felt like another aftershock. Pain jolted through Dakota and he clenched his teeth hard so as to not make a sound. That was certainly one way to wake him back up. If anyone was looking at his face, they probably would have seen him wince. He would have to be more careful about that. 

“Sup Broski! We missed you yesterday at lunch.” Doug said as he sat down with his own tray next to Dakota. He didn’t seem to notice that Dakota was in any pain 

“Oh, yeah. I was eating with William and Vyncent. I think I’m going to have lunch with them today too.” Dakota explained 

“Yeah, they seem cool. You’ll have to introduce them to your old Brochahco here.” Doug smiled. “It will have to wait for today though. I’ve got an appointment during lunch today. So tomorrow?”

“Sure! I can introduce you tomorrow.” Dakota smiled. 

“Okay! See you around Broslice.” Doug pat his shoulder again as he got up to leave and Dakota’s teeth clenched again as he smiled trying to do everything in his power not to wince at the touch.

Once the bell rang Dakota got up to go to math and hopefully Vyncent would be there and he figured out how buses work. Thankfully he did because Vyncent was seated at the front in his assigned seat. Dakota sat two seats back behind him and decided that he wouldn’t try to distract Vyncent during class. He looked really focused and genuinely wanted to understand more. Dakota however couldn’t be more bored. Once the bell finally rang Vyncent packed up his things and finally registered Dakota. His eyes seemed to light up once he saw someone else he recognized.

“Dakota, Those bus beasts are crazy. I thought cars were wild but that thing was massive. How do you train them?” Vyncent said. 

“Train them? Like a Drivers license?” Dakota tilted his head like a curious dog “There are classes you can take to learn how to drive.” Dakota explained. 

“Hmmm, how do I take those classes?” Vyncent questioned.

“That’s something you need to ask your foster dad about.” Dakota decided on. He really didn’t know how to get enrolled in driver's ED. “Anyway. Do you want me to walk you to your classes again?”

“Only if you want to. I think I remember how to get around now” Vyncent said. Dakota still walked with him anyway. Even though he was exhausted, he appreciated the company much more.  

 

-

 

Eventually, lunch rolled around. William was sitting at the same table they sat at yesterday and honestly Dakota was just happy he didn’t need to pull him out of the bathroom again. His eyes were glued to his phone, seemingly hyperfocused on it. Before Dakota could ask what he was watching, Vyncent cut in while taking a seat opposite side of William 

“What are you looking at?” William didn’t even glance up. 

“William?” Dakota questioned while taking a seat next to him. Still no response. “Will?” Dakota asked as he leaned in uncomfortably close to William. Startled by this William jumped back slightly and took out one earbud. 

“Sorry.” Dakota and William said to each other in near unison. 

“What are you watching?” Dakota repeated.

“The news story about Red and his fight with Blackout last night. I live in a part of town that was affected by the power shut off.” William explained as he turned his phone so the others could watch too 

“Red was on the news? Like, the actual news?” Dakota’s eyes widened as he grabbed William’s wrist, pulling the phone closer to his face. Pictures of Red stopping car crashes flickered across the screen, and a grin crept onto Dakota’s face despite the weird knot forming in his chest. “Look at him go! That’s gotta be good for his superhero résumé, right?”

He couldn’t hear the audio—probably still playing through William’s earbuds—but honestly, who needed sound when the visuals were this dramatic? Cars screeching, sparks flying, Red being… well, a hero. He was a hero.

“Yeah! I watched the news story this morning with Ashe, my foster sibling on that big magic box thing. You know, like what Will is holding but… bigger?” Vyncent chimed in, crossing his arms like this was a totally normal sentence.

“…A television?” William asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Yeah! I think that’s what Ashe said it was.” Dakota blinked at Vyncent for a moment, then turned to William, their eyes meeting. How sheltered could one person be? 

“So why are you watching it, William?” Dakota asked, releasing his friend’s wrist and tilting his head, his tone turning teasing. “I thought you weren’t a fan of Red.”

“I never said I didn’t like him,” William replied defensively, eyes glued to the screen. “It’s just that—” He stopped mid-sentence, his jaw tightening as the video played on. Dakota glanced back down, and his chest tightened.

It was that night . Except now, Dakota was watching it like he hadn’t been there. Like it hadn’t been him screaming, sparking, hurting. Like it was someone else being swallowed whole by that moment. He leaned closer to the phone out of habit, even though he already knew exactly what happened next. There was Red, stepping in to stop Blackout. And there he was, absorbing the electricity—the crackling, flashing kind that still haunted Dakota’s dreams sometimes. The same kind that still made his muscles feel like they might snap if he moved too fast.

His stomach churned as Red hit the ground in the video, collapsing under the weight of everything he’d taken on. Dakota pressed his palms flat against the table. It wasn’t a big deal. It wasn’t . He’d felt worse before. Probably. And it was over now, wasn’t it? No point in dwelling. No point at all.

Beside him, William scrambled to turn down the volume, no doubt to mute the sound of Dakota’s cries that had been captured on someone’s phone. I know it’s there, Dakota thought bitterly, swallowing hard. His throat still hurt from that night, a phantom ache that wouldn’t go away. Dakota exhaled sharply through his nose, sitting up straighter. “Man, they always make it look so dramatic,” he said with a forced laugh, trying to shake off the itch of static under his skin. “Bet Red loves the attention, though. I’m sure he’s okay”

William paused the video, his face grim. “I just think he’s reckless,” he muttered, his voice quiet. It made Dakota frown “He can’t be much older than us, right? According to the reports. And… I don’t know. Watching that.. it was hard. Seeing someone go through that.”

“He was being heroic, though,” Vyncent offered, his tone oddly thoughtful. “That’s kinda what heroes do , right? Value everyone else’s lives above their own?” He hesitated. “You’re right, though… that was hard to watch. And listen to.”

Dakota shifted in his seat, leaning back like it was no big deal, but the movement made his body throb. He ignored it. He was good at that. What was pain, anyway? Just a signal, like an annoying alarm clock you could snooze forever if you tried hard enough. He crossed his arms over his chest casually, leaning one elbow on the table.

“I can’t imagine how painful that must have been,” William added softly.

I can, Dakota thought, but the words stayed firmly in his head. No point in saying it out loud. What good would that do? They’d just worry, and Dakota didn’t need that. They don’t need that either.  

“This is what I was talking about,” William continued, oblivious to Dakota’s thoughts. “Red doesn’t think before he jumps into things. I don’t doubt that he has good intentions, but someone that reckless is bound to get hurt—or hurt someone else.”

William’s words hung in the air, and for a second, Dakota’s grin faltered. He’d already hurt someone, hadn’t he? And he didn’t even need superpowers to do it. But before the thought could settle in, he shrugged it off, slapping the table lightly as if to punctuate the moment. “C’mon, give the guy a break. He’s doing his best, right? Heroes don’t exactly get a handbook for this kind of thing.”

“He didn’t go right into the fight, though,” Vyncent countered, pointing at the phone. “His first priority was saving people from car accidents. That’s about as heroic as it gets. I think that kind of recklessness just comes with the job. Right, Dakota?”

Before Dakota could respond, Vyncent reached across the table to pat his shoulder. Dakota tensed immediately, wincing as the touch sent an electric jolt through him—or at least it felt that way. He flinched before he could stop himself, his body still hypersensitive to everything.

Vyncent noticed and pulled back quickly. “Sorry! I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

“Hurt me? Nah, dude!” Dakota waved him off with a lopsided grin, trying to shake off the static crawling up his spine. “It’s nothing. Just wiped out on my skateboard last night. Landed weird. Shoulder’s a bit sore, that’s all.” He added a nonchalant shrug for good measure, even though it made his back scream in protest.

William frowned. “You sure you’re okay? You looked like you were in pain.”

“Me? In pain? Never!” Dakota declared dramatically, flashing a too-bright smile. “But if I was, I’d probably say something super noble like, ‘Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine!’” He struck a mock-heroic pose, winking at them. “You know, classic hero stuff.”

It worked… sort of. Vyncent laughed lightly, though William still looked concerned

“But back to Red,” Dakota continued, steering the conversation away from himself with practiced ease. “He’s just trying to do what he thinks is right, you know? Save as many people as he can. Make sure no one dies on his watch. Pretty admirable if you ask me.” He relaxed in his seat, crossing his arms and flashing them both a casual grin.

“I suppose that’s all anyone really can do in the hero business and he might be more of a hero than some of the other pros. They have to follow protocol and all that.” William agreed. “Tide put out a statement about him too.” 

“Really! Tide talked about him?” Dakota’s eyes lit up like a kid in a candy store. He was a big fan of Tide. One of the pro heroes. A pro hero noticed him! “What did he say?”

William typed on his phone for a second and then unplugged his headphones so the other two could watch the interview with Tide. 

“I am thankful that Red was in the area and I regret that I could not be there sooner.  Then perhaps, a young hero such as Red wouldn’t have gone through such a painful experience. I hope he takes the time he needs but makes a quick recovery. He’s done good work so far but we are looking to get him operating under the Pro Heroes as soon as possible. We can’t leave super-powered people unsupervised and without order.” Tide concluded and William paused the video. 

“Even a Pro hero thinks highly of him!” Vyncent stated. 

“Then why hasn’t he tried to go pro?” William asked, more to himself than to the table. He thought for a moment before his face turned even sadder. Dakota didn’t think it was possible for William Wisp to look even more sad. “Maybe the rumors are true. Maybe he’s not old enough to join up… maybe he’s even younger than us.” Bingo. William got it right. Of course, he did. He's a smart kid. If Dakota went to the hero agency He wouldn’t be allowed on the field until he turned 18. That's a little over two years away. His powers would never let him sit still for that long. 

“Do you still think he would do better with a team?” Vyncent asked

“Yeah… I don’t think that anyone should really be doing that alone… it’s tough. I wonder if he was born with superpowers or not.” 

“You’re really taking an interest in Red.” Dakota smiled. It was going to be hard to keep this a secret from the two of them. 

“Well, I love a good mystery,” Will stated just as the bell rang for lunch to end.

 The three walked together to social studies and lucky for them, were able to choose groups for a school project based on the history of different superheroes and their impact on Prime. William and Vyncent were outsiders to most cliques.  Even though Dakota was asked to join two different groups, he decided to stick with the new kids instead. It was meant to be more of a fun starting project and only last until the end of this week so none of them were all that stressed about it. If they hated working together, they wouldn’t next time. William said that he would go to the library tonight to do some research and then come back to school with some options of what hero they could choose. 

Nothing else exciting happened at school that day. Dakota was thankful for that. He could go back home and take short rest before going out on patrol again. And yes. Dakota does know that he should take the day off from being a superhero to recover from his injuries. Will he? No, he will not. He feels like he has to keep going. He has people to protect and save. His heart is still beating for a reason. It’s so loud and strong and he has to keep moving. Keep going. 

Dakota looked at his makeshift suit for a moment. Honestly, it held up pretty well considering the high voltage it underwent. It looked pretty much normal besides its normal wear and tear. He enjoys being Red… but it’s still hard to push the memory of his encounter with Blackout away. He dawned the rest of his gear and left out the fire escape. 

It was quiet for so long that Dakota almost fell asleep on the rooftop he was on, staring up at the sky. He was barely holding onto consciousness. He knows he should be on guard as Red but it was so peaceful up here. …Maybe he did fall asleep for a little bit. It’s hard to say. 

He was instantly alert when he heard footsteps approaching him. Dakota whipped his head to look at whoever was coming up to him. At first, he thought it was going to be a security guard or owner of whatever building he was on but it was neither. Instead, he saw someone hooded but pointed ears poking out the sides. A cloth mask covered the bottom half of his face. He seemed to have a sheath for both a sword and a dagger attached around his waist. Dakota instantly prepped himself for a fight. 

“Woah, hey!” The figure said as he lifted his hands into the air. A voice modulator was evident as he spoke. “I’m not looking to fight! I’m actually a fan and I thought I could help.” He explained. 

“Help how? Like a team member?” Dakota questioned. Virion whispered something as he pressed his hand to his ear. 

“Yeah, I found him… Yeah, you were right… I’ll ask just- Sorry, I go by Virion. My abilities are… a bit hard to explain. But I promise that I can hold my own in a fight.” Virion explained. 

“Who are you talking to? How do I know you’re not a villain?” Dakota interrogated. 

“Oh… I’m talking to a… friend of mine. We haven’t come up with a code name for them yet. They told me that they are kinda like a ‘guy in the chair’ whatever that means. They helped me find you. They told me to give you this.” Virion offered his hand out to Dakota with a flat palm. He was holding some sort of earpiece which Dakota cautiously took. 

“Hello? Red? Can you hear me?” Again the voice had obvious signs of distortion. 

“I can hear you,” Dakota confirmed. “What is going on? Are you a villain?”

“Virion and I noticed that you don’t have a team and we thought we could join you. I’ve been trying to track you down since you started.” The voice explained. “I’m a big fan!”

“Oh well thank you!” Dakota preened. “But… How do I know you aren't a villian?” Dakota asked while squinting his eyes at Virion. 

“Umm well. I’m not attacking you, or turning you in.” Virion shrugged. 

“How old are you?” Dakota questioned, crossing his arms.

“How old are you?” Virion repeated

“I asked first.” Dakota shot back 

“I asked Second!” Virion responded. Dakota continued to stare at him making the silence grow uncomfortable. “17,” Viron replied with a sigh. 

“I’m 16.” Dakota replied quietly. 

“So the theories were correct! What are your powers exactly? Most reports say enhanced speed, agility, strength, and healing.” The guy in the chair questioned. 

“Yeah I’m super fast and strong as fuck but… Healing not so much.” Dakota confirmed. He watched Virion’s shoulders slump. If Dakota could see all of his face he is certain he would see a look of disappointment and concern.

“You’re still injured then?” Viron asked. “I can’t imagine one can recover that fast from being electrocuted.” Dakota just nodded and eased himself to the ground. He was tired of standing. He was so tired. His whole body ached but he had to be a hero. He wouldn’t forgive himself if someone got hurt and he wasn’t there to help. It might have been a bad idea to show his weakness to a stranger but Dakota really wanted to trust Viron and this ‘guy in the chair.’

“I could try to heal you with my abilities.” Virion suggested as he kneeled down to match Dakota’s eye level. 

“You have healing powers?” Dakota questioned, eyes brightening. He hadn’t really considered the fact that Virion has powers too. He wondered how got his powers and Dakota hoped it was nothing like how he got his own.

“Well sorta… It's kinda tough to explain. It’s like I’ve got these people in my brain and they all have powers and I sorta ask one of them if I can borrow their power.” 

“Right.” Dakota nodded unbelievingly. He wasn’t sure if he was a hero or a phone call away from the loony bin. 

“Okay, how about I just show you? Are you okay with that?”  Virion asked. 

“Yeah let’s see it.” Dakota nodded, He watched as Viron’s form shifted. There was a soft orange glow around him and suddenly he had a poncho, cowboy hat, and two pistols in his hands.

“Howdy,” Virion said in a thick southern accent. “Yer’ looking for some healing, ain’t that right?” Dakota nodded slowly still skeptical “Alrighty then. Now I just haf’ta make sure I hit you with the right one.” Cowboy Viron said. “One of these will heal ya if I got the right bullet inside, the other, well you ain’t gonna want to be hit with that one.” 

“I’m not sure if I feel comfortable getting shot,” Dakota explained. 

“Nonsense! You’ll be alright partner!” Viron said as he loaded one of his guns with a glowing green bullet. He raised his gun, closed one eye, and shot at Dakota. Dakota, with his superspeed instantly dodged out of the way.

“You are a Villain!” Dakota screamed, pointing at him. 

“I ain’t! I am one of the Greats! I’m try’n to heal you god damn it!” He said reloading his gun with another green bullet. “Now hold still!” 

“Nu uhh, Villian !” Dakota declared

“He seriously is trying to help you,” the voice crackled in his ear.

“Nope! You’re in on it, mysterious man of chairs!” Dakota said, pulling the earpiece out of his ear. Virion shot another bullet at him and missed as Dakota dodged again, zooming around.

“Now, come on. Hold still, would you? I’ve only got so many of these.” 

“Stop shooting at me!” Dakota shouted. Cowboy Virion shot again, but this time his his shot was thrown off-kilter by some invisible force. A hand grabbed his wrist and forced his aim skyward. 

This caused Virion to stumble back and this once invisible force appeared and stumbled right onto him. A figure with a hood and bright white hair materialized out of nowhere and crushed all the air out of Virion’s lungs as the two locked eyes. The cowboy attire dissolved from Virion as he stared at the stranger leaning over him. 

“You have a third person you’re in Kahoots with!?” Dakota exclaimed pointing at the new person added to the scene. 

“Oh my- I can’t believe I just did that.” The white-haired figure scurried off of Virion and brushed himself off as he got to his feet. “No, no, no. I’m not a Villian. I was trying to save you from getting shot by this guy.” He explained as he gestured, gabbing a thumb over his shoulder to Virion who was now regaining his composure as he stood up.

“I was trying to heal him!” Viron defended, crossing his arms. 

“By shooting at him?” The white-haired person fired back raising his eyebrows. There was something that felt familiar to Dakota about this situation, but he couldn’t for the life of him figure out why. 

“You can go invisible?” Dakota questioned, tilting his head as he looked at the new person. He was wearing a half-cloth mask that covered his nose and lips and a black oversized hoodie that covered most of his stark white hair. His voice wasn’t as nearly distorted as the other two, but it had some sort of effect. It almost seemed to crackle and flicker like a fire. It made it sound like he was talking on an old radio. 

“Well… yeah.” He shrugged. “That’s kinda how I got here without you seeing me.”

“That's so cool!” Dakota explained. “So you’ve got invisibility, and Virion can turn into an evil cowboy! I didn’t think I would meet other people my age with superpowers. Or at least close to my age. Wait. How old are you?

“How old are you?” He fired back. 

“Why does everyone keep doing that?” Dakota threw his hands up in exasperation. “I’m 16. Happy?”

“I am too…. Also, what is the deal with this guy?” He asked pointing to Virion. 

“Oh, he’s cool. He’s just got an Evil Cowboy in him.” Dakota explained as if it were the simplest thing in the world.

“What?”

“No! I’m not evil! I was just trying to help” Virion explained. “Ram has healing bullets.”

A soft noise emanated from the earpiece in Dakota's hand. He popped it back into his own ear to realize it was laughter. 

“All of you are ridiculous!” The guy in the chair snickered. “Who’s this new guy?”

“Oh good Question!” Dakota nodded. “Let’s introduce ourselves. I’m Red.”

“Oh right. Superhero name… I’m uhh.. The Whisperer.” he announced trying to sound cool. It didn’t work very well.

Dakota squinted at the white-haired boy. “The Whisperer? Like… you whisper at people?”

“No! It’s because I can turn invisible, and I have these things called Wisps. Have you seen the movie Brave? It’s like ghost things…” the boy said defensively, folding his arms. “But you know, like a whisper. Quiet. Subtle. Mysterious.”

“Right. Very mysterious,” Dakota said, squinting at him harshly, only to break into a grin a second later. “Hey, don’t worry buddy. It’s better than ‘Evil Cowboy.’” He pointed a finger at Virion twirling it around. Viron groaned.

“I don’t call myself that and I have more abilities than Just “cowboy’ ” Virion muttered.

“You might as well call yourself that,” the voice in Dakota’s ear chimed in, struggling to suppress a laugh. “At least it’s accurate.”

“Oh my Gods, You know he isn’t -- ” Virion pinched the bridge of his nose. “You know what? Never mind. Let’s focus on the real issue: why he ”—he pointed at the Whisperer—“decided to body slam me out of nowhere.”

“I saved you from yourself,” the Whisperer shot back, crossing his arms. “You were pointing a gun at him!”

“Which is how I heal people!”

“That doesn’t make any sense!”

“Look, I don’t have to explain my powers to you, random invisible guy!”

“ Whisperer. ” The boy corrected muttering under his breath, though his confidence wavered slightly under Virion’s glare.

Dakota looked between them, eyes wide with fascination. “Wait, wait, wait. So you’re telling me—” He turned to Virion. “—that you can shoot people to make them feel better ? Like, actual healing?”

“Yes! That is literally what I told you.” Virion exclaimed, throwing his hands up in exasperation. “Finally, someone gets it!”

“And you—” Dakota spun to the Whisperer. “—you can go invisible , and you thought tackling him was the best way to stop him?”

“Hey, I didn’t exactly have time to think it through,” the Whisperer muttered, shoving his hands into the kangaroo pocket of his hoodie. “He had a gun. ”

“I’m actually immune to injuries from bullets. You can’t shoot minors.” Dakota added, nodding sagely.

The Whisperer groaned. “You’re both insane.”

“Welcome to the club,” the voice cut in, the snark practically dripping from the earpiece. “You’ve just joined Team Dysfunction. Applications are open, but we’re kind of full up on weirdos at the moment.”

“He can’t even hear you right now” Virion grumbled, rubbing his temples. 

“Wait,” the Whisperer said, frowning. “What?”

Dakota tapped the small earpiece in his ear. “Oh, he’s Virion’s ‘guy in the chair.’ You know, like in superhero movies. Except he’s way more entertaining.”

“Thank you , Red,” the voice replied, preening at the compliment. “Virion, Pass me to the whisperer. I want to talk to him.” 

Dakota grinned. “Yeah, okay, guess you're pretty tired of babysitting an Evil Cowboy.”

“I’m not evil! ” Virion shouted hands balled into fists. He didn't make any motion to give his ear piece/

“Whoa, whoa!” Dakota stepped back, waving his hands. “Easy there, partner.” Dakota mimicked the southern accent. “We don’t need another quick draw contest. Especially since I don’t know you actually have healing here.”

 “Look, I know how this looks, but I’m trying to help here. I told you it was complicated.” 

“Sure, because nothing says ‘helpful’ like a cowboy with a gun, ” the Whisperer said, raising a skeptical eyebrow. His bright white hair glinted in the moonlight as he folded his arms. “For all I know, you’ve got a split personality thing going on.”

Virion remained quiet and Dakota couldn’t help but feel like the Whisperer poked the bear a little too much.  The Whisperer turned toward Dakota, who was still crouched low on the rooftop, barely keeping himself upright. 

“You okay?” The Whisperer turned to Dakota, his arms still crossed. “Why are you even out here? You’re obviously still hurt.” Dakota frowned. He didn’t think it was that obvious. He survived school just fine. 

Dakota’s tone turned a little sharper than usual. He gestured vaguely at the city around them. “People need me. I can’t sit around doing nothing just because I’m tired.”

The Whisperer paused, his expression softening slightly. “You’re gonna burn out.”

“Yeah, well…” Dakota smirked faintly, though it didn’t reach his eyes. “I’ll burn out faster if I don’t try.”

For a moment, the three stood in awkward silence, the only sound the faint buzz of the city below. Then Virion cleared his throat.

“Okay, fine. Maybe I could’ve explained things better,” he admitted reluctantly. “I just want to help. It’s not like I’m out here shooting people for fun. ”

“That’s comforting,” the Whisperer said dryly.

Virion ignored him. The Whisperer, still leaning casually against the roof’s ledge, tilted his head curiously. “So… you’ve got cowboy powers? And also other abilities but you’re terrible at explaining them. Red over here’s got the whole speedster, super strength, thing going on. For the first time, I almost feel like the normal one.”

“Normal?” Virion snorted. “You showed up out of nowhere, invisible, and tackled me off my feet. That’s not normal.”

“Okay, fair,” the Whisperer conceded with a shrug. “But at least I’m not running around shouting ‘hold still while I shoot you!’ ”

“Why are you even here?” Virion asked, glaring at him. 

“I just… wanted to see what was going on. Maybe help, if you guys don’t kill each other first.” He glanced at Dakota. “And, uh, maybe make sure this guy doesn’t die.”

“I’m fine,” Dakota said with a quick smile. 

The Whisperer didn’t look convinced.

Virion sighed, running a hand through his hair. “Well, great. Now we’ve got three people who are basically strangers all stuck together on a rooftop. What do we do now?”

Dakota perked up slightly, raising a finger. “Pizza.”

“What?” Virion blinked.

“You heard me. Pizza. I mean, we’ve got the start of a pretty solid team here, right? What better way to celebrate than over Pizza?”

The Whisperer stared at him, then turned to Virion, then back to Dakota. “If you trust us already we really need to work on your self-preservation skills. We just met.”

Dakota grinned. “Come on, don’t tell me you’re not into it. Getting Pizza is, like, the perfect team-building activity. Share a slice! Part of a whole How else are you supposed to make friends?”

“We’re not a team… yet” the Whisperer said flatly.

“Yeah exactly! We could be,” Dakota replied, his voice teasing but sincere. “Isn’t that what you’re both here for? You saw my awesome heroing and now you want to be a hero team? We’ve already got a great dynamic: me, the lovable underdog; Virion, the mysterious man with I dunno knives and sometimes guns…and questionable methods; and you, the broody stealth guy who’s pretending he doesn’t want to hang out with us.”

“I’m not broody,” the Whisperer muttered.

“Broody and in denial,” Dakota added with a smirk. “We can-”

Alarm bells started going off in the street below them. It was a high-pitched rigging that cut through the air and ended their bantering. It was easy to see there was some kerfuffle happening at a nearby bank as a small handful of people were running out the doors.  

“Okay, Dudes. So, what do you say? First team mission?” Dakota smirked looking at the other two. This was certainly going to be interesting.

Notes:

I love the dynamics in this chapter. (I promise ghostknife too, but not yet.) I still don't think I'm writing them completely accurately, but I think I'm getting better every time. Also, this is the last of the prewritten chapters so updates from now on may be sparce.

If you have any ideas for a codename for "the guy in the chair" (Who totally isn't Ashe. Shhhh.) Let me know! I have a few ideas, but I'm not super attached to any of them.

Thank you for reading!

Chapter 4: Mission Accomplished

Summary:

Our group of heroes fight a familiar foe. Dakota is sleepy. Whisperer and Virion chat.

Notes:

It's like Episode 1 but a little to the left.

*TW description of injuries*

“Be careful!” The voice in Virion’s and Dakota’s ears chimed in. “I’m looking for access to the security cameras now. Their security is actually not bad... But not good enough! I’m in!”

“Nice work!” Dakota replied. “What do you see?”

“Oh. Umm... well…” the guy in the chair began hesitantly. “Honestly, I think you should just see for yourself. I don’t think you’d believe me.”

“It’s safe to go in?” Virion asked.

“Yeah. He doesn’t... look all that dangerous,” the voice confirmed, though it sounded more like a question than a statement.

“How come I don’t get to talk using the earpiece?” The Whisperer complained in an exaggerated whisper.

“I only had two,” Virion explained. “If we can get another one, I’ll bring it next time. Also, we really need to think of a code name for you.”

“Here! Take mine!” Dakota offered the earpiece to the whisperer. Who tucked it into his ear.  “Okay, I’m going in!” Dakota declared, instantly zooming forward and crashing through one of the large glass windows lining the first floor. Virion followed at a slightly more measured pace, while The Whisperer phased through the window instead of leaping through shattered glass.

Inside, they were met with an unexpected sight.

“Oh hon hon hon! Is zat some ‘eroes ‘ere to stop me?” The speaker was a middle-aged man clad in a ridiculous homemade frog costume—complete with a green hoodie, floppy fabric frog legs sewn onto his shoulders, and large, round reflective goggles that gleamed absurdly in the dim light. A swirly mustache twitched proudly beneath his nose. He dramatically stuffed money into a bag while keeping one hand perched on his hip like a villain in a cheap Saturday morning cartoon.

Dakota blinked. This was Le Frog ? Like the Le Frog, he’s heard news reports about? Honestly, he’d been expecting something... more.

“You are already too late!” Le Frog crowed, theatrically tossing another handful of cash into his sack.

“Stop it, villain!” Dakota exclaimed, trying to match the over-the-top energy.

“Are you sure you want to be fighting moi?” Le Frog twirled his mustache with a flourish, then gestured toward a cluster of frightened hostages tied up on the floor. “Be’old! Za ‘ostages! And if zat was not enough—voilà!” He dramatically pointed to a bomb strapped to one of the captives, its red LED countdown blinking ominously. “Tick tock, mon ami! Tick... tock.”

Virion stepped forward, dagger appearing in his hand, his expression skeptical.

“... what is going on?” Viron questioned. Confused by the sight. 

 “Are we really doing this right now? A frog-themed bank robber with a bad accent?” The whisperer added, exasperated. 

“Bad accent?” Le Frog gasped in mock horror, clutching his chest as if mortally wounded. “How dare you! Zis is a classic French accent, passed down through generations!”

“Generations of cartoons, maybe,” The Whisperer muttered, already making his way toward the bomb.“I’ll handle the bomb,” Whisperer added more audibly. “You two handle... that .”

Le Frog grinned, twirling his sack of money like a lasso. “Ah, ah, ah! You sink zis will be easy, eh? Non! For I am Le Frog! Agile, cunning, amphibious! You cannot catch me!” He struck a ridiculous pose, one hand extended in a ‘leapfrog’ motion.

Dakota leaned over to Virion, whispering, “Did he just call himself amphibious?”

Virion nodded grimly. “Yep. He’s either delusional or really committed to the bit.”

Le Frog’s eyes gleamed behind his goggles. “Do not mock za amphibian power! You shall feel my wrath... in about five seconds when I finish zis very important pose!” He froze dramatically, holding still as if waiting for applause.

“Can I kick him?” Dakota asked.

“Please do.” The guy in the chair responded. 

Dakota sped forward, leg drawn back to deliver a kick to the gut but at the last second, Le Frog hopped backward with surprising agility, croaking loudly as he went. “Hah! Too slow, mon ami! I told you—ze frog is slippery!”

“I’m not slow! I just don’t want to explode your stomach!” Dakota argued back

“Did he just... actually hop away?” Virion deadpanned, lowering his sword slightly.

“Yes,” Dakota said, rubbing his temple in disbelief. “You get back here you slimy little frog. Let me kick you.”

“Zat’s right!” Le Frog called out triumphantly.

The Whisperer, still fiddling with the bomb, couldn’t help but snort. “Honestly, I kinda respect the commitment. He’s ridiculous, but, like, artistically ridiculous.” The whisperer was finally able to detach the bomb and the hostage he got if off from began untiying the others. “Alright, I have to figure out how to defuse this! I’m not very good at fighting so… You too got this!”

Dakota nodded and turned his attention back to Le Frog. “You better not detonate that bomb while he’s holding it!” he said, jabbing a finger at the frog villain.

“What!? He can do that?” The Whisperer’s voice cracked, panic rising.

“Oh hon hon hon! I can!” Le Frog declared proudly. He reached into his pocket, pulling out... a small ziplock baggie of goldfish crackers. He paused, looking at them in confusion. “Oh... zat is not what I meant.” Calmly, he slid the baggie back into his pocket and, with a grand flourish, produced a remote with a cartoonishly large red button on it.

Virion, who had been quietly observing the exchange, tilted his head. “I’ve never had Goldfish,” he admitted, his tone almost curious.

Dakota turned to him, mouth agape—not that anyone would see it under his mask. “You’ve never—wait. What?! How have you never had Goldfish?” Dakota clenched his fists in mock outrage. “Okay, that’s it. I’m getting you those Goldfish, Virion. I swear it.”

Le Frog chuckled smugly. “Zey are ze flavor blasted ones, my friends.” He held up the baggie triumphantly as if it were a priceless treasure.

That was enough for Virion. In a flash, he darted forward, sword drawn—not to strike, but to swipe. With precision, he snatched the bag of Goldfish right out of Le Frog’s hand.

“Hey! Zat was my little snack!” Le Frog protested, clutching at the empty air where his snack had just been.

Before Le Frog could react further, Dakota was already in motion  He dashed toward the villain, leaping into the air. With a perfectly timed spinning kick, Dakota’s foot connected squarely with Le Frog’s head.

Le Frog’s goggles spun wildly as he staggered back, arms flailing around before he collapsed to the floor with a dramatic croak. His ridiculous mustache twitched once... then went still.

Virion examined the bag of Goldfish in his hand, turning it over as if it were some exotic artifact. Dakota landed gracefully and dusted himself off. 

Dakota dug his hand into the bag of goldfish from Virion and was about to pop one in his mouth before he realized he had a mask that covered it. 

“Well, Mission accomplished! Looks like the frog has croaked” He glanced at Le Frog’s prone form. “Flavor blasted and frog-blasted .” Dakota rushed off turning his attention to the frightened civilians who were still huddled together behind an overturned desk. He lowered his voice, trying to sound as calm and reassuring as possible. “Hey, you guys okay? It’s over. He’s out cold.” He gestured toward Le Frog, who was now snoring softly, his ridiculous mustache swaying with each breath

A man in a disheveled suit hesitated before speaking up. “W-What about the bomb? That guy—he took it, but... is it safe?”

“Yeah, Whisperer’s got it under control,” Dakota said, giving them a thumbs up he hoped looked more confident than he felt. “He’s just... relocating it. You don’t have to worry. We’ve got this handled.” He crouched down, offering a hand to help a woman up. “C’mon, let’s get you guys out of here.”

Meanwhile, Virion stood over Le Frog. He used the ropes that were previously tied around the civilians. “This guy might be ridiculous, but we’re not taking chances.” He knelt down and started tying Le Frog’s wrists and ankles together with methodical precision. He gave the bindings a final tug, ensuring they were secure. He stood and looked toward Dakota. “Red, are the civilians all good?”

“Yup!” Dakota Cheerffully added “You got Le Frog wrapped up?”

“Yes! He shouldn’t be getting out of that,” Virion replied, sheathing his sword. 

“Great! What’s the situation with Whisperer?”

“Hi, Sorry. The Whisperer and I have been trying to figure out how to defuse a bomb so I muted us” The voice crackled in Virion’s ear. “We don’t really-” A loud explosion echoed from the rooftop, but it didn’t seem like it caused any damage. Virion and Dakota instantly panicked.

“Whisper? Are you okay?” Virion questioned, Concern lacing his voice as he pressed his Earpiece further in to listen for any sounds.

“I-I’m fine.” The whisperer responded shakily. “I’m okay ” he added as if he was trying to convince himself. “I sorta blocked it with my powers.” 

“He’s okay.” Virion relayed to Dakota, giving a relieved sigh. 

“Okay. I’m still going to run up and check on him.” Dakota explained before he zoomed toward the stairs. He took each stair two at a time as. As he reached the roof he felt a new wave of anxiety. Last time he was on a roof with someone he considered a friend. He was the only one that made it out alive. He didn’t want to be too late again.

The sight was unexpected. The whisper held his hands up seemingly focused on this spectral orb. Inside that orb was a mix of blue smoke that was being contained, Likely, the actual bomb was inside of the Whisperers’s creation. 

“Dude! That's Awesome!” Dakota exclaimed staring at it. “I didn’t know you could do that!” 

“It’s called ghost shaping.” The Whisperer explained as he released his hold on the bomb. The smoke drifted outward from his hold and the makeshift bomb contraption clattered to the ground. He coughed a little as he inhaled some of the fumes since he was much closer to Dakota. “I can pretty much make anything as long as the wisps agree to it.” 

“You’re okay though?” Dakota questioned.

“Yeah, I’m alright! I still have no idea how to defuse a bomb, but yeah. I’m unharmed.”

“Good! Mission accomplished then.” Dakota smiled. His eyes then drifted shut as he was standing. Ever since his super surgery, he’s had a hard time staying awake. He isn’t sure if it's from all the energy he uses throughout the day or something else, however, with the lack of sleep and the dull ache from sustaining injuries the previous night. He couldn’t fight sleep any longer. Very suddenly, he was crashing to the ground. 

-

“Red!” Whisperer shouted, his heart leaping into his throat. He barely had enough time to react, diving forward and catching Red before he hit the ground. The weight of the hero collided with his arms, and for a moment, Whisperer staggered, adjusting his grip before gently lowering Dakota to the rooftop.

“Red? You okay?” Whisperer asked, voice tight with worry as he knelt beside his friend. Red’s face was pale beneath his mask, his breathing was even and steady. Whisperer shook him lightly by the shoulder. “Red? Say something.”

No response.

A cold knot of fear tightened in Whisperer’s chest. 

“Virion, Red just collapsed. Did anything happen in your fight?”  The Whisperer asked over the intercom. 

“No. Not at all. He took out Le Frog easy.” Virion answered. The hostages are out now and there are police here. I’ll meet you on the roof”

It felt far to long waiting. Above them, the stars shimmered faintly through the thin veil of smoke still lingering in the air. Somewhere in the distance, sirens wailed, growing louder as emergency responders neared the scene below. Whisperer barely noticed them, his focus entirely on the unconscious hero in his arms.

Moments later, the rooftop door burst open. Virion strode through, dagger in one hand and goldfish in his other. He crossed the distance quickly, kneeling beside them.

“He just… dropped” The whisperer explained. 

“How is his pulse? Tell me his symptoms?” The voice echoed in Virions and the Whisperer's ear. Virion pressed two fingers to his neck. 

“Rapid. Like crazy fast.” Virion reported back. “Could be part of his powers? He has super speed, so I don’t really know what is normal. What’s normal for a human?” 

“Anything else that you notice? If I call an ambulance it will probably get you all in trouble so I want to avoid that.” The guy in the chair continued. The whisperer’s hands hovered over Red’s mask, tempted to take it off. 

“Don’t” Virion warned. “We can’t jeopardize his identity.” 

“He could also be having a heart attack!” The whisper argued. “What if it’s from before? He was electrocuted. What if this is after-effect? I just want to see what else might be wrong.” 

There was a crackle over the comms as the voice said something, his tone cautious but focused. “Okay, uh, quick theory. Based on what you’re saying about his pulse and what we know about his powers... could it be some kind of metabolic crash? Speedsters burn through energy faster than normal people, right? Maybe he’s just... running on empty.”

“I suppose anyone would be after… He was probably… Did you see that news report?” The whisperer asked. 

“Yeah, we both did.” The voice in his ear cut in and Virion nodded. The Whisperer’s hands hovered over his torso now.

“Are you going to stop me if I check for other injuries?” He asked. 

“As long as you keep his identity a secret, it's probably a good idea to check.” Virion agreed. The whisperer tugged a the bottom edge of Red's shirt and lifted it upward.  Both of them fell silent as their eyes took in the strange, branching scars splayed across his skin.The skin around his scars was bright red, twisting outward like tree roots or frozen lightning bolts. Part of them almost seem to be tinged blue as well. It didn’t look natural The whisperer let out a saddened hum. With two fingers he gently traced some of the battle wounds. It was difficult to tell with Red’s mask on but he could have sworn he saw him wince. He pulled back his hand and just stared at the injury with concern. He wondered how much of his body was affected. Probably most of it. 

“Hello? What’s happening? There aren’t any cameras on the roof and you two have gone silent.” The voice chimed in on coms. 

“His injuries from his last fight don’t look great,” Virion responded solemnly. “Definitely healing faster than a normal person, but they didn’t look very well cared for.” 

“I can’t believe he was fighting with those injuries… I knew he couldn’t have been fully healed but this is…” Whisperer muttered, shaking his head.

“Virion could still heal him. He genuinely does have magic healing bullets.” The guy in the chair explained.  

“You really want to shoot him? I can’t, in good conscious, believe that is a good idea.” The whisperer still seemed apprehensive. “I don’t even know if that would wake him up. The voice… We really need a code name for you.” He interrupted himself.

“Oh, yeah I was thinking about that too! Maybe Summoner?” The voice asked. “Like it could mean to summon people to a meeting spot and it also kinda relates to my… uh… my powers?”

“You have powers too?” The whisperer questioned.

“Yeah, but I can’t really go out and fight like you guys can. It’s more complicated than that. Like my powers can be used in combat, but I’m still just kinda.. Normal?” Summoner explained. 

“Okay, Well Summoner. That will work.” The whisperer acknowledged. “Any other thoughts about what we should do with Red?” 

“I’m gonna shoot him,” Virion decided, his voice calm but resolute.

“What?!” Whisperer recoiled, eyes wide with disbelief. “You can’t be serious!”

“I’m completely serious.” Virion was already shifting, his casual stance transforming as an ethereal glow flickered around him. His form shimmered for a split second before he reappeared in his cowboy attire, hat tilted low, duster billowing slightly in the night breeze. Whisperer opened his mouth to protest, but the transformation caught him off guard just long enough for Virion to draw one of his custom revolvers.

“Virion, wait—” Whisperer started, stepping forward, but he hesitated. His gloved hands tightened into fists at his sides. “You really think shooting him is the best plan right now?”

Virion didn’t look up as he carefully thumbed through the bullets on his belt, selecting one that gleamed faintly green in the dim light. “I’ve done this before. it works. These bullets ain’t like normal ones. They’re enchanted to heal, not harm.”

“That doesn’t make this any less insane!” Whisperer hissed, glancing down at Red’s unconscious form. The glow from Virion’s revolver reflected off the branching scars across Red’s torso, making the wounds seem even more unnatural

“Relax,” Virion said with a smirk, though his eyes never left Red. “I’ve got this. Just trust me.”

Whisperer’s jaw tightened, but he forced himself to step back. He didn’t like this plan, but they didn’t have many other options. Whisperer exhaled sharply through his nose and gave a reluctant nod. “Please don’t kill our Teammate.”

Virion loaded the green bullet into the chamber with a satisfying click. The revolver gleamed faintly as if responding to the magic within. He aimed carefully and fired.

The bullet hit Red Square in the chest with a soft thump , releasing a swirl of glowing green energy that pulsed outward in waves. The magic seeped into his skin, wrapping around him like a shimmering blanket. Whisperer watched in silence, not breathing. For a moment, nothing happened—then the angry red burns across Red’s torso began to fade, softening into pink scars. The branching, lightning-like wounds no longer looked inflamed, and the faint blue tinges faded entirely.

Virion’s cowboy form flickered briefly before vanishing. He then crouched down beside Whisperer, inspecting their teammate.

“You have to admit,” Virion said, breaking the silence, “those are some sick-looking scars.”

Whisperer didn’t respond right away, still staring at Red’s now-healed torso in disbelief. Slowly, he knelt beside Red, pressed two fingers to his neck again, and frowned

“His pulse is still crazy fast”  The Whisperer tugged down the edge of Dakota’s shirt again, covering the scars.

“What now?” Virion asked. “He’s not waking up yet, but he’s not getting worse either.”

 “He seems to be stable” he muttered. “I suppose we will have to run with the Summoners theory. Exhaustion. Metabolic crash? We keep an eye on him,” Whisperer said firmly. He rose to his feet and put his hands on his hips. “Stay with him till he wakes up.”

“Okay, let’s talk then.” Virion agreed sitting crisscross on the roof, making himself comfortable. 

“About what?” The whisperer asked. 

“I dunno. Anything.” Virion shrugged. 

“How do your powers work?” The whisperer questioned. 

“Wow straight to the point, aren’t you?” Virion raised his eyebrows, but the Whisperer just stared at him. It was difficult to make out his expression. He looked uneasy but there was something analytical about his expression. He was focused on this conversation, and ready to listen to whatever Virion had to say. It was oddly comforting. 

“It’s kinda hard to explain.” Virion began. “I’m not from here at all. I don’t really know how to get home either, but I have other people from my home that are trapped in my head.” The whisperer nodded, face seemingly neutral from the way his eyes looked. The mask covered the rest of his face. 

Virion continued. “It’s like I can call on them and ask them for their power and they are amazing! But its hard to… Focus? I don’t know how else to describe it.” The whisperer was quiet for a moment. He turned his head away from Virion, piercing blue eyes no longer staring into him. 

“I’m sorry about that comment I made earlier. I-I didn’t know.” The Whisperer apologized. 

“What about your powers? How do yours work?” Virion asked. 

“Oh, ummm… I don’t-- I’ve kinda got ghost powers?”

“So are you like, dead? Are you a ghost?” Virion asked. It was an innocent question, but it caused the whisperer to wince. He was silent for a long time, long enough that Virion though about saying something else to change the subject, but then The whisperer responded. 

“Maybe? I don’t know what I am.” The whisperer stared at his feet, not willing to make eye contact anymore. 

“Well, I’m glad you were here. I have no idea what I would have done with a bomb. I’ve never actually seen a bomb before.” The Whisperer let out a weak laugh.

“Well, I can’t exactly say I know how to deal with it either. It did explode,” he tacked on. 

“You prevented the damage so that has to count for something?” Virion suggested. And the Whisperer shrugged. “Why did you decide to come out? I came out to try to find Red to join him.”

“I suppose I was doing the same thing. I saw that report and knew he was young. I just thought I could help. I’m not really cut out for this hero stuff though. I’m not very strong or fast.” A few blue wips swirled around the whisperer's fingers and then seemed to form together into a spectral blanket that drifted down to cover Red.

“That’s amazing though!” Virion said, looking at the ghost shaping that he just performed. ”I think you are selling yourself short here.” 

“Thanks.” the whisperer smiled softly. 

“Do you want Goldfish?” Virion asked while shaking the bag. “They are the Flavor blasted ones. Red was very insistent that I try them.”

“Where did you get Goldfish?”

“Le Frog had them.” Virion answered as he opened the Ziploc bag and gave them a sniff. 

“You’re going to eat food that a villain had on him?” The whisperer stared at him, his eyebrows pushing together. 

“Well that Villian was Le Frog, so I’m going to guess that they aren’t poisoned,” Virion said taking a handful and then offering it out to the Whisperer, who sighed. 

“You know what? Fuck it.” He agreed also taking a handful. The two politely turned away from each other to lift up their masks and eat their food. Virion's eyes lit up as he ate them. 

“These are delicious! Red was right. Almost better than rat stew!” Virion cheered. The whisperer looked horrified at that sentence. 

“Rat. Stew?” He asked. “Like actual rats? Or like Ratatouille? Or like the soup that Remmy makes in the movie?”

“No, I mean like a stew that’s made from rats. I don’t know what movie you’re talking about” The whisperer almost seemed to gag at that response.

“That's so gross.” The whisperer turned his nose up at that. “How do you not have like, a thousand different diseases?” 

 “Hey, don’t be rude! That’s like a delicacy where I’m from!” He explained. “And if I ever find a way to get home, I’ll make you try some.” 

“I actually think I would die… again.” Whisperer gave a weak chuckle, though there was a noticeable tension in his voice at the mention of dying. “And we have to watch Ratatouille sometime. That movie is a masterpiece.” 

“I’ll see if we can get some for you, Virion. Goldfish that is. Not rats. Whisperer is right… rats here are… not good.” Summoner added.

“Oh, Sorry. I forgot you were here!” Virion added.

“No worries… you two seemed like you were having a moment.” Summoner explained. 

“Yeah, I’m still here,” Red mumbled. “Are you two done flirting?” He asked, rubbing his eyes. 

“We were talking, ” Whisperer said defensively, though his ears burned under his mask.

“Mmm. Sure.” Red received an eye roll from both of them. 

“Are you okay?” William asked. His concern outweighed his annoyance. “You just kinda, collapsed up here.” 

“Yeah! Sorry about that. It just sorta happens. I actually feel great! Better than before.” Red explained as he stood up and stretched. He was surprisingly flexible. His hands were pressed flat to the ground as he reached down to touch his toes. Virion and the whisperer looked at each other as if debating if they should tell him that he technically got shot by Virion

“Well, Virion wasn’t lying. He was able to heal you.” the Whisperer explained. 

“You let him shoot me! I’m a minor!” Red argued. 

“We all are!” the Whisperer added. “And it worked so now we know!” 

“You should get heading back, Virion,” Summoner suggested. “I recommend all of you go back home for the night actually. I assume you all go to school.”

“It’s still pretty early. Blackout didn’t come out until 1 am.” Virion added. 

“I can stay on if you like. Search for crime alerts and update you. Could we use Discord?” Summoner suggested. 

“You want to use Discord for Superheroing?” William asked. 

“Oh, that’s a great idea!” Red agreed. “I’ll have to make a different account. Let's see if this bank has Wifi...” Red clearly did not realize the two were talking to The summoner. Red took out his phone and began taping at it.  The whisperer shrugged and did the same. 

“Virion doesn’t have a phone, right now. Nor does he really understand how they work.” Summoner began. “I’ll give you my info and I’ll try to keep you connected to Virion too.” 

“Summoner says he will keep us updated with crime reports so we can head home and get some sleep,” Whisperer explained. 

“Summon who?” Red asked

“Right, you were asleep. Virion’s friend.” The whisperer pointed to his ear and Red nodded. 

 The three of them spent a few minutes exchanging contact info before agreeing to part ways. 

 “Whisperer, make give the earpiece back to Virion. It has some tracking, and I value your privacy. I’ll keep an eye on things from here. Get some rest.” The whisperer nodded and gave the earpiece back. Virion left first. Then the whisperer vanished and Dakota was alone again. 

 Dakota decided that he liked having a team, and next time, they were definitely getting Pizza.

Notes:

I really hope you enjoy it! there are some parts of this chapter that I love, and others that I'm not very happy with. My goal for updates is at least once a month. Which isn't a whole lot, but it's something. I've also been kinda sick and without a voice for a couple of days so I've had a little more time to write than I normally would.

Thank you for reading. I hope you are having a wonderful day! You are loved <3

Chapter 5: Panic

Summary:

Group chats are made, Fan art is made, Vyncent is adjusting, and a new threat makes its presence known.

Notes:

*TW: Panic Attacks and Body horror*

If I missed anything let me know!

Dakota’s phone pinged as soon as he got home. Excited, he yanked it out of his pocket, hoping for something interesting. Maybe some exciting intel. Instead, he got a Discord message:

 

Summoner:
I’ll keep an eye out for news or social media reports. Seems pretty quiet tonight.

Whisperer reacted with a thumbs-up emoji.

Red:
:)

At first, the chat stayed relevant—Summoner dropped occasional updates about boring news articles and minor incidents around the city. But as time dragged on, it became painfully clear that nothing serious was going on, and Summoner’s boredom took over. For the first hour or so, the chat remained semi-relevant, with the occasional brief update or comment about the mission. But, as expected, things quickly devolved into Summoner spamming memes and sharing random boring news articles. Dakota chuckled to himself as another meme popped up in the chat Dakota sent a meme back. 

Whisperer: Go to sleep 

Summoner:
I said I’d keep you updated. Also someone on Twitter made fan art of you three.

That caught Dakota’s attention. He immediately clicked the link Summoner sent and found himself staring at surprisingly well-done art of himself, Whisperer, and Virion standing heroically on a rooftop, looking out over the city. Red’s black bandana tails drifted in the wind, Ghostly wisps swirled around the whisperer, and Virion stood ready with two daggers glinting in the moonlight. 

Red:
Yo, I look awesome in this.

Summoner:
Right? They nailed it! But did you see the other one where Virion’s holding a bag of goldfish like it’s a weapon? Iconic.

Dakota burst out laughing, nearly dropping his phone. He quickly saved both images, already planning to use one as his wallpaper. A few more memes and fan theories later, Dakota finally passed out, figuring that if something serious happened, Summoner would ping him.

-

The next morning, Dakota woke up feeling ten thousand times better than before. He stretched, letting out a satisfied groan as he admired the scars crisscrossing his torso. The faint red and blue lines looked like frozen lightning, and if it weren’t for the whole secret identity thing, he’d totally be showing them off.

“If only battle scars were socially acceptable at school,” he muttered, pulling on a white tee and flannel shirt. “But nope, gotta look like a regular teenager. Lame.” 

While brushing his teeth, his phone buzzed again. It was Summoner, linking an article titled:

“Red and Other New Heroes Enter the Scene in Rockfall”

Dakota skimmed it. The article included a few blurry photos of him, Whisperer, and Virion, likely taken by one of the hostages. Most of it was just vague witness statements, but it didn’t matter—by the time Dakota checked Twitter, #LeFrog, #Red, #Whisperer, and #Virion were all trending. Social media was ablaze with wild theories about their powers and identities

There were thousands of people talking about them, speculating things about them. Where did they come from? Are they all young vigilanties? What were each of their powers? Most people nailed down Dakota’s by this point. Super speed and super strength. Its a pretty open and shut case. Reading about the Whisperer and Virion was far more interesting. It made him very curious how school would be with this news. 

Summoner:
Y’all are famous. Also, someone did more fan art.

Dakota opened the link and immediately started laughing. This one was much less serious. It was a drawing of all of them as frogs fighting a larger frog with a swirly mustache. Dakota could practically hear the french accent radiating out of the silent image.

Dakota always arrived to school early to have breakfast. It was pancakes on Fridays which was awesome because Dakota loved pancakes. It’s actually difficult to find a food Dakota doesn’t like. He will eat anything. He’s learned not to be picky. Once finishing his meal he moved onto his first hour. Homeroom doesn’t meet every day so he will have to wait until lunch to talk to Vyncent and William.

School was agonizingly boring. He saw Vyncent in math, who he helped with his work. not that Dakota was much of a teacher, but he did know more than Vyncent. Something seemed off about him. He was far more quiet than usual and quick tot get frustrated. He held his temples as if he had a headache, rubbing his fingers in tiny circles. It made Dakota wonder if he wasn’t feeling well. He didn’t know Vyncent all that well and definitely not well enough to read him, but something seemed wrong. 

By the time lunch rolled around, Vyncent and William were already sitting at their usual table. William was leaning over, scribbling something on Vyncent’s notebook, likely helping him with homework. From the look on Vyncent’s face, it wasn’t going well.

“Sup, you two!” Dakota waved cheerily as he plopped his tray down across from them. A mound of mac and cheese wobbled precariously on his plate.

“Hey, Dakota,” William acknowledged, only briefly lifting his head from the equation he was explaining. “You’re late.”

“Ms. H would not stop talking.” Dakota explained 

Meanwhile, Vyncent was gripping his pencil like it might explode if he held it any tighter. William was carefully explaining some chemistry equation, but Vyncent looked about two words away from having a mental breakdown.

“It’s okay, buddy. It’s just science homework,” Dakota consoled, reaching for his spoon like he was about to dig into this emotional mess along with his lunch.

“I just don’t get it. It’s so confusing here,” Vyncent sighed, dropping his pencil like it weighed a ton of bricks. William glanced at him cautiously, like he wasn’t sure if he should keep explaining or back away slowly.

“This is nothing like anything back home. It’s frustrating.” Vyncent rubbed his temples as he slumped in his seat.

Back home? Dakota thought, puzzled. He vaguely remembered something about Vyncent being new in town. Maybe he’d grown up in one of those households where science was considered witchcraft or something.

“You’ll get there,” Dakota said, shoveling a giant spoonful of mac and cheese into his mouth. He spoke around the bite, cheek stuffed with food. “Science is just fancy guessing anyway.”

“It’s not about getting there! It’s just so hard to think and focus!” Vyncent snapped, his voice rising enough to make the nearby table glance over. Dakota froze mid-chew while William recoiled slightly, his expression like a deer caught in headlights.

An awkward silence followed, broken only by the sound of Dakota hastily swallowing. Vyncent instantly deflated, looking like he regretted his outburst as soon as it left his mouth. He rested his elbows on the table and dropped his head into his hands. “You don’t understand how hard it is for me here.”

“D-do you want to talk about it?” William asked hesitantly, his voice barely above a whisper. He looked like he was bracing for another explosion.

Vyncent sighed, lifting his head just enough to flash a tired, humorless chuckle. “I don’t even know where I’d begin.”

“It’s fine, dude,” Dakota said, trying to sound casual. He gave Vyncent a crooked grin. “Start with the beginning and work your way to the end. Or, better idea! Skip to the middle. That’s where all the action happens, anyway.”

Vyncent snorted despite himself. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to… freak out. I know it’s only the third day of school, but it’s just… overwhelming sometimes.”

“Is that why you always wear those?” Dakota asked, pointing to the oversized headphones around Vyncent’s ears

“Yeah,” Vyncent admitted, swallowing hard. “There’s another reason, but… I don’t really want to talk about that right now.”

“Whenever you’re ready, man,” Dakota said with a shrug. “No rush. But when you’re ready, I promise we’ll listen.” He went back to his food, giving Vyncent some space.

The table fell into silence until Dakota, always one to rescue a dying conversation, perked up. “Did you guys see the news about Red? Looks like he’s got a team now!”

William straightened a little, pulling out his phone. “Yeah, I saw something about that. Virion and The Whisperer, right? There wasn’t a lot of information—just the hostage testimonies.”

“Dude, did you see social media?” Dakota asked excitedly, practically vibrating in his seat. He reached over to tug on William’s wrist like a kid begging for candy.William tugged his hand back, his expression flat.

 “Dakota, you have your own phone. Don’t you?”

“Fine, fine.” Dakota pulled out his phone, grinning as he opened it.  “They were trending this morning! People have all these wild theories about Virion and The Whisperer. Like, apparently, The Whisperer might be a ghost or something?”

“A ghost?” William asked, his voice suddenly sharp. He stared at Dakota with an intensity that made Dakota pause mid-scroll.

“Yeah. Like, dead-but-not-gone kind of ghost. Unfinished business and all that.” Dakota tapped on an article with one hand while stuffing another bite of mac and cheese into his mouth. “I mean, I don’t think it’s true, but who knows?” Dakota shrugged. William murmured something under his breath, but neither Dakota nor Vyncent caught it. “Oh, while I have my phone out we should exchange numbers.”

“I don’t have phone yet. I don’t know how they work.” Vyncent added as, William and Dakota traded phones to type in their numbers. 

“That’s okay, dude. We can send notes the old fashioned way. Like mail or messenger pigeons.”

“Shame I don’t have Ezekiel. He’s a good messenger pigeon.” Vyncent nodded sadly. 

“What?” William just blinked at him and Dakota chuckled.

“Well apparently, we all just need to get pigeons and train them to deliver messages”

Dakota smile faltered for a moment when noticed William’s untouched plate.

“You gonna eat that?” Dakota asked bluntly, gesturing with his fork. It wasn’t exactly subtle, but he’d learned that asking William directly if he was okay usually led to William clamming up. This way, he could ask without really asking.

William pushed the plate toward him without a word. Dakota grinned and immediately started scarfing down the leftovers. He even considered pocketing the Teddy Grahams for later but decided against it. 

-

Social studies was business as usual. The three had teamed up for a report on Ms. G, and Dakota was ecstatic. She was his favorite superhero. He already had half the research memorized, and he spent the whole class rattling off facts while William quietly took notes and Vyncent chimed in with the occasional questionThings were going fine until Vyncent excused himself to go to the bathroom… and didn’t come back.

“Do you think he’s okay?” Dakota asked as they walked out into the hallway after class.

“I don’t know.” William looked genuinely worried. “Did we say something that upset him?”

“Maybe.” Dakota paused, tapping his chin in thought. “Or maybe he’s, like, doing a vom bomb in the bathroom.”

William turned to him, horrified. “Dakota. What?”

“You know, a vom bomb. Projectile—”

“Stop. Just stop.” William lightly slapped Dakota’s arm, but Dakota laughed anyway.

“Fine, fine. I’ll stop.” Dakota smirked. “But, like, if he is doing a vom bomb, we probably need to check on him.”

William sighed, clearly resigned to being the responsible one. “I’ll find him. Text me if he comes back to class, okay?”

“Got it. If there is any person who could sneak away and not have any teacher notice and save our friend, it’s you.”

William rolled his eyes but disappeared into the crowd without another word.

-

About halfway through his next class, Dakota’s phone buzzed. He looked around to make sure the teacher was distracted before sneakily checking it with it still partially in his pocket. 

 

William:
Found him. Not sick. Panic attack maybe? I think. Bathroom in the English hallway.

 

Dakota stared down at his phone, frowning at the text. He drummed his fingers against the edge of his desk, debating what to do. He was already in his english class. Technically, he was supposed to be paying attention to whatever essay prompt was, but the image of Vyncent, alone and panicking in the bathroom, stuck in his mind. That wasn’t cool. What if Vyncent needed someone to talk to? What if William didn’t know what to say?

Dakota shot a glance at the clock. There were still twenty minutes of class left. He glanced at the teacher, then at the door. He raised his hand. “Bathroom?” he asked, already halfway out of his seat. The teacher gave him a tired look but waved him off without a word.

  Dakota took his time weaving through the halls, glancing into classrooms to make sure no teachers were lurking. As he pushed into the bathroom he approached as slowly and quietly as possible, hoping to go unnoticed. 

Through the crack in the door he saw Vyncent sitting on the ground with his knees pulled up to his chest. William slowly walked close to him like approaching a scared animal. He sat across from him cross legged, a comfortable distance away.

“Vynce? It’s alright.” William consoled softly as Dakota eavesdropped. “Can you hear me?” Vyncent didn’t respond, he hardly even acknowledged that William was there. “Vyncent?” William tried again. 

“Sorry.” Vyncent stated, he didn’t turn to look at William at all. He swallowed down a what seemed to be a sob. 

“It’s okay. Is there anything I can do?” William asked. “I messaged Dakota because he was worried about you too. I can ask him to come here if you would rather talk to him.” Dakota hesitated to make his presence known untill Vyncent responded. 

“It’s stupid.” Vyncent admitted 

“It’s not stupid if its making you feel like this.” William added softly. Vyncent took a few deep breaths before responding. 

“I just miss home.” Vyncent confessed.

“Vyncent, thats not supid at all.” William affirmed. “It’s okay if you miss your home.”

“Do you miss yours?” William thought for a moment, deciding how to respond to that. 

“I miss my parents and my friends, but Deadwood isn’t all that exciting. There’s a lot of things that I don’t miss at all.” William responded truthfully. “But, I’m not you Vynce.” 

“I didn’t choose to leave. I wasn’t supposed to.” Vyncent whispered. “And now everyone is expecting me to figure this out and it’s so loud.” Vyncent held his headphones tighter to his head as if they would help the silence they were already in. 

“Can I help? What’s so loud?” William asked, hands cautiously hovering around Vyncent as he inched closer. Vyncent opened his mouth to say something but couldn’t find the right words. 

“I have… These voices in my head and they all want me find a way home. But don’t even-” Vyncent hicupped, letting tears fall from his eyes. Dakota felt like an intruder now, like he shouldn’t be watching this. William looked like he didn’t know how to respond either, he inched closer again and offered his arms for a hug, but he looked incredibly awkward. Still, Vyncent accepted the hug. Dakota froze at the door way for a little longer before making his presence know. He waited for Vyncent to pull away and wipe his face. 

“Hey,” Dakota said, his voice softer than usual. He leaned against the wall a few feet away, giving Vyncent his space. Vyncent didn’t respond.  His hands fidgeted with the cord of his headphones, twisting it around his fingers like it was the only thing keeping him grounded. William gave a small nod to Dakota as if giving him permission to come closer. 

““Look, man,” Dakota sat down on the floor, crossing his legs like they were just hanging out in the cafeteria. “if you keep disappearing like this, people are gonna start thinking you’re hiding a secret identity. Like, first it’s the headphones, then it’s the ‘mysterious bathroom breaks.’ Next thing we know, you’ll be ripping off your hoodie and fighting crime in a cape.” Dakota said lightly, trying to coax a smile out of him. That got a small laugh a tiny, breathy sound, but it was something. Dakota latched onto it like a lifeline. 

“I wouldn’t wear a cape. I watched a movie that told me not to.”

 “All the best superheroes have capes! You could totally rock the cape vibe!”

William sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose. “Dakota, could you try taking this seriously?”

“I am taking this seriously,” Dakota said, pointing at Vyncent. “Do you think I’d joke about capes?”

Vyncent laughed a little at the two but the three stayed quiet for a long moment. Vyncent was staring down at the floor when, finally, he took a deep, shaky, breath. “I just… I don’t feel like I belong here,” he said quietly. “This school, this town -it’s all so… different. It’s like I can’t think straight. And then everyone expects me to just… figure it out. Like I’m supposed to just know how to be normal here.”

Dakota frowned, his usual smile fading. “That sounds rough,” he said simply. “But hey, you don’t have to figure it all out at once. You’ve only been here, what, three days? Give yourself a break, man.”

Vyncent huffed a small, humorless laugh. “Yeah, but what if I can’t figure it out? What if I never do?”

“Then you don’t,” Dakota said with a shrug. “Who says you have to figure everything out? Maybe you just… take it one step at a time. Like, today? Step one: Get through the day. Step two: Eat some pizza after school with your awesome new friends. That’s it. That’s the plan.”

Vyncent looked up at him for the first time, his expression hesitant. “Pizza?”

“Yeah! Big pizza. Free pizza, even, because Tony loves me.” Dakota grinned. “And if you’re not feeling it, that’s okay, too. But, you know… pizza does fix, like, 90% of problems. It’s science.”

Vyncent snorted. “Pretty sure that’s not science.”

“Hey, I thought you didn’t believe in science,” Dakota teased, nudging him lightly with his foot.

Vyncent rolled his eyes, but some of the tension in his shoulders seemed to ease. He let out a long breath and looked at his two friends. “Thank you.”

“Anytime, dude,” Dakota said, standing up and brushing off his pants. He held out a hand to Vyncent and William “Now, come on. Let’s get out of here before a teacher thinks we’re graffitiing the stalls or something.”

As they stepped out of the bathroom Vyncent paused for a moment. William turned to look at him. “You okay?” he asked softly.

“Yeah,” Vyncent said, his voice steadier now. “I’m okay.”

Dakota clapped a hand on Vyncent’s shoulder. “Now, let’s get through the rest of the day so we can all go eat our feelings in pizza form.”

William sighed, but a small smile tugged at his lips as he followed the other two down the hall. 

Getting back to class was the tricky part. Vyncent would likely be excused because he was new and Dakota was pretty certain William could get in and out without anyone noticing. Him, however, teacher noticed when Dakota Cole was gone. Mostly because it becomes quiet. When Dakota did come back he was noticed almost instantly. 

“Gone for quite a while Mr. Cole. Is everything alright?” The teacher asked in a slight passive-aggressive voice. “I hope you didn’t fall in.”

“Sorry” Dakota bowed politely before taking a seat. 

“Don’t make a habit of it, Dakota.” Teacher said before returning to her lecture. 

“I won’t.” Dakota agreed, but as soon as he did he felt his phone buzz again. He had expected it to be William, but was he glanced down he noticed it was a discord message that was sent from the Summoner. He must have been pinged in the message, meaning it must be important. Dakota glanced down at his phone again to read the message. 

 

Summoner:

Bad news. Some sort of creature is going on a rampage in rockfall. It looks bad. I can’t really tell but this thing is massive and looks like it has a bunch of animals combined.

 

The PA system kicked on, making Dakota hyper aware. He shoved his phone back in his pocket hopping the teacher didn’t notice.

“ Due to a possible threat near the school, we will be going into lock down. Please move to your Extreme weather safety locations.” The announcement mumbled over the loud speakers. 

The classroom fell into uneasy silence. The only sound was the shuffle of chairs and the hushed murmurs of students exchanging confused glances. A few kids took the lockdown procedure seriously, already moving toward the designated shelter area near the back of the room, but most lingered at their desks, waiting for the teacher to give clearer instructions.

Dakota’s heart pounded—not from fear, but from adrenaline.

A creature. A massive one. Some kind of hybrid.

He barely resisted the urge to pull out his phone again to check Summoner’s messages. Instead, he forced himself to breathe, to keep still, to blend in. Don’t look suspicious. You can’t help if you get caught.

The teacher clapped her hands twice. “Alright, everyone, let’s move to the designated area. No one panics, no one argues. Let’s go.”

As students shuffled toward the interior wall away from the windows, Dakota subtly moved to the back of the group. He needed to get out of here. If that thing was heading toward the school, sitting around wasn’t an option.

His phone buzzed again. He risked a glance.

Summoner:
I think it’s headed toward your school.

Dakota’s stomach dropped.

Okay. That was not good.

He quickly weighed his options. The teacher wasn’t watching him too closely yet, too focused on making sure the class stayed put. If I time it right, I can slip out. He inched toward the door, waiting for the perfect moment.

Then, the floor shook.

A deep, guttural roar echoed from somewhere outside, loud enough that even the students who had been quietly joking around stiffened. The lights flickered.

The teachers voice was calm, but firm. “Phones away. Stay where you are. This is not a drill.”

Dakota clenched his jaw. Okay. Definitely on the clock now. It was now or never.

As the teacher turned her back, making sure the students were settling down, Dakota slipped through the door. He moved fast but quiet, keeping close to the lockers as he hurried down the hall.

He needed to get outside but every main exit would be locked down and guarded. Gym doors? Maybe. Back entrance? Could work. He was still debating when he nearly ran straight into someone rounding the corner.

He was shocked to find Vyncent.

Dakota skidded to a stop just in time to avoid crashing into him. Vyncent’s grip on his backpack straps was tight, knuckles white. His oversized headphones hung loosely around his neck, slightly askew like he’d ripped them off in a hurry. His wide, tense eyes darted around like he was trying to make sense of the situation.

They stared at each other.

“…What are you doing?” Vyncent asked cautiously. His gaze flicked toward the rattling windows. “What’s going on? Is this a dragon attack?”

Dakota blinked. “What? No. Supervillain attack… maybe .” He shook his head. “Either way, you should get to one of the extreme weather safety locations.”Vyncent squinted at him like he wasn’t buying it.

“Shouldn’t you go there too?” he questioned. Before Dakota could answer, the ground shook again—a deep, rumbling tremor that rattled the lockers and sent a few ceiling tiles quivering. Both of them stumbled, barely keeping their footing. 

Dakota caught himself against the wall. “Yeah, uh—about that.” He shot Vyncent a tight grin. “I really don’t like sitting still.”

Vyncent frowned, then exhaled sharply. “Fine. I’m coming with you.”

Dakota blinked. “Wait, what?”

“You clearly have a plan. Or something close to a plan. And if there’s a villain attack, I’m not sitting in a classroom waiting for things to get worse.” Vyncent adjusted his headphones, shoulders squared. “So, where are we going?”

Dakota hesitated. “You really don’t have to—”

Another distant crash echoed through the halls, followed by something heavier— footsteps .

Dakota tensed. That wasn’t a teacher.

The ground trembled again. A deep, rumbling snarl echoed through the corridor, closer this time. Then, he saw it.

The creature stalked into view, its massive form barely squeezing through the hallway. A twisted mix of fur, scales, and exposed sinew stretched across its hulking body. Too many eyes. Too many teeth. The worst part was that some of it seemed like it was human at one point. Human hands stretched out of its sides, making it look like an insect with an excessive amount of limbs. Its main legs and arms looked like those of a bear. Its jagged claws scraped along the lockers, leaving deep gouges in the metal as its snake-like tail lashed behind it.

Dakota clenched his fists. He needed to stop this before anyone got hurt. 

Beside him, Vyncent went rigid, eyes locked onto the creature like he was hoping it was like a T-Rex and wouldn’t see him if he didn’t move. 

The creature sniffed the air, its eerie yellow eyes flicking side to side, scanning. Searching.

Then—a distant noise. 

A door? A fallen book? Maybe some unlucky student realizing they left their phone on full volume at the worst possible time? Whatever it was, the creature’s head snapped toward the sound. Its body tensed, muscles coiling like a spring. Then, slowly, it began moving away from them,heading toward the noise.

Dakota grabbed Vyncent’s sleeve and whispered, “We need to split up.”

Vyncent turned to him, expression caught somewhere between are you insane? and explain faster.

“I’ll go left, you go right. Find somewhere to hide.” Dakota kept his voice low, already mapping out his next move. “I’ll meet you after.”

Vyncent hesitated. “That’s-”

“ Just go. ” Dakota shoved him lightly in the opposite direction.

Vyncent shot him a deeply unimpressed look. “This is a terrible plan.”

Dakota grinned. “Nah, terrible plans are the ones that don’t work.” He winked. “This one’s gonna work. You were just fine with following my plan before!”

Vyncent muttered something under his breath but didn’t argue. He ducked into a side hallway, disappearing around the corner.

Dakota exhaled. Good. That should buy me a second to-

The creature's head snapped around, its glowing yellow eyes locked right onto him.

Dakota's already rapid pulse kicked into high gear as the creature let out a low, guttural growl.

“Hi, buddy. Big guy.” Dakota said, like he was greeting a tiny, harmless dog. “You don’t really want to eat me, do you?” His voice was so genuinely hopeful that, for half a second, it almost sounded like a real question.

The creature didn’t stop. It took a slow, deliberate step forward, claws scraping against the tile.

Dakota sighed, hands on his hips. “Alrighty then. Maybe you do.”

Notes:

I wrote each section of this so far apart I don't know if it flows very well. Like, this chapter was a STRUGLE so I'm glad it's done. Overall, I'm happy enough with it and now we can get to the more exciting bits. (I do really enjoy writing their dialogue at school... too bad it's about to get destroyed)

Anyway, If you leave a comment, or a kudos, or even a bookmark with a funny little description, you will make it onto my list of favorite people. Sometimes I also just need the validation.

Thank you for reading. I'm shooting for at least one chapter a month. So see you in March? Unless I am blessed by the writing gods, then I will see you all sooner. Sorry for the somewhat rambly end notes. I'm just feeling chatty today. Remember that you are loved and people DO care about you. <3 Have a wonderful Day/afternoon/night!

Chapter 6: Prey

Summary:

Dakota finds a way to deal with the amalgamation while keeping his identity intact.

Notes:

*TW: Blood, Injuries, Mild body horror*

Percing yellow eyes stayed locked on Dakota. He couldn't use his powers yet. He wasn’t Red right now. He was just Dakota. Normal highschooler Dakota. He needed something to cover his identity so he could take this thing down. Regardless, He knew he couldn’t fight this amalgamation right now. 

The creature prowled curiously, like a cat on the hunt, as it approached Dakota. He had to duck away. Out of sight. Better yet, maybe he could lead the beast away from anyone else currently in the school. Dakota took a slow step back and the pace of the creature increased, sensing its prey is now trying to flee. Spinning on his heel, Dakota ran—not full speed, but fast enough to lure the beast away without looking too unnatural. Just a normal, totally human, non-superpowered kid sprinting for his life.

Dakota darted around the corner trying to lead the creature away from large conergations of students. Dakota busted through the double doors leading to the cafeteria, zigzagging around the tables. The beast didn’t care. It plowed straight through, crushing them like cheap plastic folding chairs or sending them flying. Dakota dove into the kitchen, silently praying the lunch ladies had already left.

Peeking over the counter, he saw the creature had gotten distracted. It was sniffing through the garbage cans, ripping into old leftover food like a raccoon the size of a car.

Dakota let out a slow breath. Not the smartest monster, huh?

It gave Dakota some time to put on something that would hide his identity. He found a box that once stored those little truit cocktail cups, punched out two holes for the eyes and then put the box over his head. He took off his flannel knowing it would be too recognizable and stached it in one of the cupboards. Despite his lightning injuries being healed,  the scars were still visable on the uper arms. Dakota grabbed a dirty apron from off a hook  to covercup the rest of his clothes. Just in time, too—because the beast had apparently decided old pizza crusts weren’t enough.

“Alright Big guy!” Dakota called out. “You ready for the main course?” He asked as he cracked his knuckles. The makeshift costume wasn’t ideal. It blocked out a lot of his peripheral vision, but something as trivial as a little bit of obscured sight would never stop Dakota Cole. With his lightning quick speed he was able to get the jump on the creature, literally. Dakota lept into the air and swung his right leg down hard as it crashed into the place where the tail connected to its body. The impact sent a shockwave up his leg, but he clung on, wrapping his arms around its back like some kind of discount rodeo champion.

The beast did not appreciate that.

It bucked him around wildy, slamming into counters, sending metal trays flying. Dakota held on, gripping tight as it whipped around the kitchen like a mechanical bull set to “instant death.” but Dakota was to strong to be thrown off of it.One of its human-like hands reached back, grabbing Dakota’s wrist in a vice grip. Dakota winced. It was cutting off circulation like a tourniqute. His fingers tingled as he struggled against its grip.

After a moment of flailing—and kicking wildly in the air like an angry toddler—he finally landed a solid hit to its side.His food collided witht he creatures side and It let out a horrible noise. Dakota hesitated. It sounded… wrong. Not angry. Not aggressive. More like pain. It sounded like crying. There was an odd human like quality to it, one that made Dakota feel terrible for injuring it.

It dropped Dakota to the ground, but like a cat, landed on his feet. He staggered for a moment before fully steading himself. He looked at he beast as it flaied wildly. It didn’t really seem to even be wanting to harm him. It looked like it was in pain, and not just from the attacks that Dakota landed. The beast whipped his tail around as it turned to exit the cafeteria.

This thing was moving again, and although maybe not actively seeking out destruction, it definitely would cause it. It began stalking toward the library. That was one of the safety zones. Students were in there. Dakota decided that was not happening. Dakota lunged, grabbing hold of its snake-like tail. If he could slow it down—just for a little while— help would arrive soon. The tail whipped wildly in his grasp, jerking him forward. Dakota dug his heels in, using all his strength, but the sheer weight of the thing still dragged him along the floor, leaving deep grooves in the ceramic tiles.

The library doors were getting closer. Gritting his teeth, Dakota yanked hard.The beast whipped around fast, slamming him to the floor with one massive claw pressing into his chest. It turned on Dakota fast and pressed a massive claw to his chest pinning him to the floor instantly. He wheezed, pinned in place, as sharp, fish-hooked talons pressed dangerously close. One wrong move and they'd puncture skin, but something interrupted the action. Footsteps followed by a voice.

“Hey!” William shouted, getting the beast’s attention. Dakota barely had time to process before a book went sailing through the air and bounced off the creature’s head. …It did absolutely nothing. Not that William was really strong enough to throw something hard enough to damage this thing.

William frowned slightly, lowering his arm. “Huh. That worked in the movies.”

 The creature then ignored Dakota and turned to William This thing had the attention span of a goldfish. Mybe even worse than Dakota’s attention span. William stared at it, frozen look of horror on his face. He wasn’t really looking at the beast, more like above it or next to it, like he could see something Dakota couldn’t. Dakota didn’t have time to figure out what that meant. He moved—fast. 

 Dakota pushed himself off from the ground and zoomed over to protect William from the beast. Dakota practically tackled William in an attempt to rush him away but a slash from its weaponed nails streched out and managed to leave an open wound on William’s shoulder despite Dakota attempting to take the hit for him. Dakota kept moving, Knowing he could outrun the beast even with pulling William along with him.  He kept running until he found an open empty history classroom he could deposit William in.  He pulled William inside and set him down before slamming the door shut.

William looked like he was disoriented and maybe a little sick. Superspeed does tend to do that to a person. William held his arm as blood started to trickle over his fingers. It was impossible to see how bad it was with William’s dark hoodie covering over it.

“Fuck. Fuck. I-I can’t believe I just did that.” William hyperventalated. Dakota opened his mouth to say something. Probably a thank you first, but also something along the lines of ‘that was so stupid. Why would you do that? ’ but then realized with out his normal mask and modifier, William would recognize his voice. Dakota’s hands hovered around William’s injury trying to think of something he could do for first aid. William just stared at him, studying him.  Wordlessly, Dakota began rummaging through the drawers of the teachers desk looking for tape or even a first aid kit. They normally have those in teacher classroom’s right? He found a pack of bandaids but that really didn’t help much. Instead he took a roll of tape and the box of tissues off the Desk and moved back over to William. Dakota motioned to the injured arm and William slowly shrugged off his hoodie, wincing. 

William was even scrawnier than Dakota had thought. His collarbones jutted out sharply, his arms thin enough that Dakota swore he could see the faint outlines of bone beneath too-pale skin. His hoodie—now pulled aside—looked too big on him, swallowing his frame like he was trying to disappear inside it.

It made Dakota think back to lunch, to the barely touched plate of food. He hadn’t thought much of it at the time. Now? Now he was wondering why William hadn’t eaten.Dakota gently took his wrist. It was ice cold. Not just cold, but unnaturally so—like he had just dug his hands into snow and left them there too long. Dakota’s brows furrowed. How isn’t he shivering?

The injury stretched from William’s shoulder to elbow, an ugly, jagged wound that looked worse in the dim classroom lighting. It wasn’t as deep as Dakota had feared, but it wasn’t exactly minor either. Too much blood. Borderline needing stitches. Dakota began pulling out tisues and laying them over the wound until it was completely covered. He added more and more to cushing some of the blood escaping.

“Quite the i-interesting look you have here. Gotta be careful or the media will start to call you Sir fruit cup.” William joked, trying to ignore the pain. “ William gave a weak, breathless chuckle. “Better than Abstinence Boy, though.” Dakota huffed through his nose. He would’ve laughed if the situation wasn’t so grim. Instead, he grabbed the roll of tape and started wrapping—tight, but not too tight—securing the makeshift bandage. William suppressed a wince. “You are Red, Right?”

Dakota gave a small nod.

“Y-you go to school here.” He didn’t phrase it like a question, he stated it like it was already deduced. William’s eyes flickered over him, scanning for details. “Is that why you aren’t talking?” 

Dakota paused for a moment before nodding again.

William let his head drop back against the desk. “Okay.” He swallowed. “Yes or no questions then. “A-are you okay?” Dakota nodded again. 

“Do you know what that thing is out there?” Dakota shook his head.

As if almost on cue there was a loud crash followed by some other concerned yells. Dakota held his hand up as if telling William to stay there. 

“A-Are you going back out there?” William questioned. Dakota gave a firm nod. “Yeah. Figures.” William sighed before watching Dakota zoom off again.

It didn’t take long to find the creature again, luckily it didn’t seem like it went into the library at all. It probably tried to chase them down but Dakota was too fast. Good to know. He felt bad leaving William all alone, but he needed to make sure this thing stays distracted. Dakota continued watch the creature from behind the corner, only opting to intervene if people are in immediate danger. 

Then there were a new set of footsteps, heavy, metal and quick. There is someone approaching in armor, a large shield, and a long broad sword. The figure charged at the beast sword drawn and slashed it at his legs. 

“Die you fowl beast!” The exclaimed and the sword connected and gorged a wound into one of it’s back legs. It let out another horrible noise, a plea, one that made Dakota want to cover his ears. The beast didn’t fight back, Instead it tried to flee. It sounded like it needed help. The armored person continued following the beast ready to strike again. “Demonic creature, you shall be purged from this world.” The knight slashed again Injuring its other hind leg. The creature stumbled and tripped trying to get away. It was crying, breathing heavily, clearly defeated. The knight approached it and lifted the sword ready to plunge it into the main body of the creature and Dakota could no longer stang back as this creature begged and pleaded. This person was about to kill it and despite it being this amagamation, Dakota doesn’t think that it deserves to die. 

Dakota interposed, catching the knight by the wrist. “Stop” Dakota whispered, hoping his voice wouldn’t be a dead give away. “It’s done. You don’t need to kill it.” Dakota held the sword up for longer than he should have needed to, but then the arms of the knight started shaking, trembling so much that sword clattered to the ground and then dissipated in a golden light. The armor dissolved in a similar way leaving Vrion behind in his normal hero attire. He was looking down even as Dakota still held his hands up in the air. Stray tears escaped Virions eyes and Dakota noticed the way his breath got caught in his throat. 

“Sorry. I-I’m sorry.” Virion quivered. Dakota slowly let go of his hands and Virion droped to his knees. He continued to stare at the ground, disassociating. Dakota placed a hand on his shoulder as to offer some sort of comfort to Virion. At this moment, he could not feel more ridiculous with a box on his head. He was surprised that Virion was even able to take him seriously. 

Virion’s breath came fast and uneven, his hands trembling against his thighs. He sat there, knees pressing into the cold tile, eyes locked onto the floor like he wasn’t really seeing it. Dakota stayed still, his hand steady on Virion’s shoulder, a silent I’m here.

The creature—the amalgamation—made a soft, wounded sound behind them. Not a growl. Not a threat. Something weaker. Something tired.

Virion flinched at the noise, his breath hitching. He curled his fingers into his pant legs, clenching his jaw so hard it looked painful. Dakota squeezed his shoulder once, firm and grounding.Virion’s lips parted like he wanted to say something, but nothing came out.

Dakota finally pulled back, taking a slow step toward the beast. It shrank away from him, its many eyes fluttering open and shut, almost like it was struggling to focus. Its massive, disjointed body trembled with every breath.

Closer now, Dakota could see just how badly it was injured. The deep gashes along its hind legs still oozed dark, sluggish blood, the wounds from Virion’s sword attack refusing to clot properly. Its chest heaved in uneven gasps, like even breathing was a battle.It didn’t look like it could get up again.

Dakota crouched slowly, keeping his movements deliberate. He wasn’t sure if the creature could even process language, but his actions needed to be clear. I’m not here to hurt you. One of the human-like hands twitched, curling into itself. The thing let out a low, warbled whimper, something that sounded disturbingly human. Dakota’s stomach twisted.

Had it ever actually been trying to fight? Or had it just been running?

A shuffle behind him. Dakota turned slightly, catching Virion slowly getting to his feet. His hands were still shaking, but he was standing, which was a start. Virion didn’t look at him. His eyes were locked on the creature, his expression an awful mix of guilt and uncertainty.

Then, a noise.

Footsteps.

Dakota tensed immediately, snapping his head toward the far hallway. Someone was coming. Multiple someones. The sound of hurried boots, of movement—Authorities.

Dakota shot Virion a look, nodding his head toward the exit. Virion blinked at him, still dazed, still not entirely there. Dakota grabbed his wrist, tugging firmly but not roughly. Virion hesitated for only a second, then nodded. Dakota turned back toward the beast. He had no way to communicate with it, no way to tell it to stay down, to not attack when people arrived.

It was already losing blood. It wasn’t going anywhere. But if the wrong person found it? Dakota clenched his fists. He wanted to do more, but time was up. With one last glance at the amalgamation, he turned and took off, dragging Virion behind them as Dakota ran at superspeed. 

He pulled him into the same classroom he left William in. William, who had apparently been midway through trying to stop his own bleeding, jumped at the sudden intrusion. His wide-eyed panic melted into relief when he saw it was just Red and Virion—not, you know, the giant nightmare beast from the hallway.

Virion finally got his breathing under control, but the second the door clicked shut, he slumped dramatically to the floor, looking like a puppet with its strings cut. William, still holding his hastily taped-up arm, hesitated before asking, “A-are you two okay?”

Dakota shot him a thumbs-up while still panting from the sprint.Virion, on the other hand, remained face-down on the floor, muttering something in defeat.

“…I’ll take that as a ‘no.’” William sighed. “What happened?” Virion tilted his head up just enough to respond—then paused. His eyes landed on Dakota’s extremely questionable first aid job. Virion stared.

“…What happened to you ?” he asked instead, pointing at the clump of blood-soaked tissues and tape clinging to William’s arm. William glanced down at his own injury like he’d forgotten it was there. 

“Oh. Uh. I tried to help Red and it didn’t go very well.”

Virion lifted an eyebrow. “You don’t say. Wi- What’s your name?”

“Right. My name’s William.” he added belatedly, shifting where he sat. “Sorry—I kinda already know both of you from the media, so I didn’t think to introduce myself.”

Virion nodded once in acknowledgment but didn’t let go of the fact that William’s bandaging job looked like a first aid attempt made by a sleep-deprived raccoon. 

“…You need better first aid than whatever… that is.” He gestured at the clump of tissues, now steadily leaking blood again. Dakota huffed and folded his arms. In his defense, he was in a rush. “I can fix it,” Virion offered, already reaching out—

Dakota quickly tapped him on the shoulder, pointed both hands at William like finger guns, and nodded. Virion stared at him.

 “…What are you doing?” Dakota did it again, this time more intensely. William, clearly enjoying this too much, smirked.

“He can’t speak right now, so he’s resorted to charades.”

Virion whipped around to face him. “What is Charades ?”William blinked. 

“Uh. It’s a game where you try to guess a word, but your only hints are the movements or gestures of the other person.” Virion frowned, thinking that over for a second. Then, nodding slowly, he turned back to Dakota, who was already aggressively doing the finger guns again. Virion squinted. “You… want me to shoot William?”

Dakota froze mid-motion. 

William made a choking noise. “ Y eah! Great thought but, Uh… no thanks. I would rather not be shot.” 

Virion’s confusion deepened. “Why would I do that? He’s already injured.” 

Dakota groaned and face-palmed, only to awkwardly bonk his own fruit cup box helmet. William swallowed a chuckle as he watched the scene unfold. 

Dakota sighed and went for a new approach. He lifted his shirt just enough to show his lightning scars, pointed a finger gun at himself, then pointed a finger gun at William’s wound. Virion watched the movements carefully, nodding slowly.

“You want me to shoot you first, then William.” Dakota threw his hands in the air. “Dude. What?”

Dakota aggressively shook his head, pointing back at his scars and then William’s arm again. Virion squinted harder. “Oh… ohhh! You want me to heal William.”

Dakota all but collapsed in relief, nodding so hard the fruit cup box nearly fell off his head. Virion, though, suddenly looked uncomfortable. His posture stiffened. “I-I don’t think I can do that right now.”

Dakota paused.

Virion swallowed harshly, wringing his hands. “I think I just need to… be me for a moment.” He wasn’t sure what that was supposed to mean. Virion was always Virion, right? William didn’t look convinced either, but after glancing at Virion’s still-trembling hands, his expression softened.

“…That’s fine,” William said, breaking the silence. “I can just do what I was doing before. Which, to be fair, was probably going to give me an infection.”

Virion let out a weak laugh. “Probably.”

Dakota tilted his head, still trying to process the phrase "be me for a moment," but eventually just sighed and nodded in acknowledgment. Whatever that meant, Virion needed a breather. And Dakota, apparently, needed to get better at charades.

William hesitated before stepping closer, eyeing Virion like he wasn’t entirely convinced about this whole "getting better medical care" thing. Still, he offered out his arm, trying his best to look casual about the fact that he was still bleeding all over the place. Virion took one glance at Dakota’s horrific first aid job and immediately started undoing all of his hard work.

Virion examined the wound and then squinted at William.

“This looks pretty bad…” he muttered. “We… we should really be taking you to a hospital. I’m actually impressed by how well you’re holding up.”

William gave a weak chuckle. “Oh. Yeah… Must be the adrenaline.” Dakota wasn’t convinced. William was pale as hell. William twitched and squirmed anxiously under Virion’s stare. “I’m really fine though. It just looks worse than it is because it’s all—wow.” He blinked rapidly. “That’s actually quite a lot of blood.”

He promptly turned his head away, very quickly. Dakota snorted. Virion just sighed like a disappointed parent and got to work, wrapping the wound way neater than Dakota’s “tape it and pray” method.

Dakota sat back, watching them with a bored expression. Tomorrow’s lunch conversation was bound to be interesting. If they even had school tomorrow.

He thought about the blood in the hallways, leaking from the creature. He really hoped the authorities would help it. Absentmindedly, Dakota rubbed his own wrist, feeling the bruising starting where the beast had latched onto him earlier.

William glanced up after a moment. “So… did you two stop it?” Virion tensed. Dakota, not eager to get into that conversation, just nodded. William looked like he was about to ask something else, but then stopped mid-breath and seemed to reconsider. Probably for the best.

Dakota fidgeted. Okay. He was officially bored without being able to talk. He glanced toward the door, checked the window for police or other heroes, but didn’t see anything. He cracked the door open and peered outside. Still quiet. Behind him, Virion eyed him suspiciously. “Are you leaving?” Dakota nodded.

He waved a hand, trying to silently convey "Stay here until they announce it’s safe." William and Virion both just stared at him.

“…So, we’re supposed to guess what that means?” William asked.

Dakota sighed deeply. He made a stay put gesture. More staring. Then he pointed at the floor, waved his hands like a referee calling a foul, then dramatically pointed at them again.

Virion tilted his head. “…You want us to engage in a dramatic dance battle?”

Dakota made a frustrated noise and face-palmed—immediately thunking his head against the fruit cup box. But it made William snort so at least thats kinda a win. 

Dakota gave up, aggressively waving goodbye.

Virion, still visibly confused, hesitated, then awkwardly waved back. William lifted his good arm and gave a tiny two-finger salute.

And just like that, Dakota slipped away into the halls.

Notes:

This chapter has been kicking my butt. I had such a hard time writing it, but now we can move on and get more into the interesting bits!

Sorry I missed an update last month! Really shooting for monthly chapters.

Chapter 7: Debrief

Summary:

Our Trio has a conversation after the attack at school, we meet a potential new friend, and a plan is made.

Notes:

*TW: Mild Injury*

I think that's it. If there is anything I should add, let me know!

It was surprisingly calm after the intrusion. The authorities handled the beast, captured and contained, alive. Dakota was thankful for that. Apparently, even Tide was there, If he had known that he might have considered sticking around longer but he also understood how damaging that would be to his identity. 

The most difficult part was seeking back to the kitchen to remove the apron, box on his head, and get his flannel back. He sped past the police knowing they were already preoccupied. As he slid back into the kitchen, he took of his makeshift mask and pat the box as if he was trying to say “Job well done.” It served his purpose well. He untied the apron and placed it carefully on the hook where it was and then put on his comfy flannel back on, covering the Nasty looking bruise forming on his arm. Hopefully, it will heal quickly, could have definitely been worse. It could have been what happened to William. He had tried to take the hit for him and failed, but he was thankful he didn’t need to hide that injury. 

It was odd. Virion was right when he said that William hadn’t been reaction to that injury as much as he should have been. He was definitely in pain, that was obvious. but he should have been in more pain. Adrenaline can do a lot, and maybe he could chalk it up to that, but it still seemed odd. It was also strange when they were fighting the beast. William wasn’t horrified of the beast itself, but almost instead by something next to or above it. Dakota wished he could just ask him about it but if he asked now William would know something was up. Dakota would have too much info that he wasn’t supposed to know. 

Before he could spiral deeper into that thought, the loudspeaker crackled to life. "Attention students: Due to today’s events, school will be released early. Buses will be arriving shortly. Parents have been notified for pick-up." Dakota exhaled. Finally. At least something made sense today.But before he left, he had to find Vyncent. The guy had led a sheltered life—he was probably confused as hell.

Dakota only ventured back into the hallway when the early dismissal bell rang and there were students out and about. Dakota didn’t have to worry about getting on a bus or being picked up from school so he could search around until he found his friends. Assuming they would be somewhere in the school still. 

Eventually, Dakota found Vyncent in the bathroom. Likely that he was just hiding out here until the monster passed. 

“Okay Dakota, what the Fuck?” Vyncent questioned as soon as he saw his friend enter. 

“What do you mean, what the fuck?” Dakota tilted his head genuinely concerned. 

“Well you shouldn’t exactly be out and about while a monster is attacking! What were you even doing? What was your plan?”

“You were out there too,” Dakota stated matter-of-factly.

“Yeah, but I didn’t know what was going on. You did.” Vyncent countered. Dakota pressed his lips together in thought. 

“I-I just really like superheroes. I thought I could get a peek at some.” Dakota responded. Not entirely false, but it was nowhere near close to the truth. “I think Red was here and Virion too”

“You saw them?” Vyncent asked. “H-how much did you see?” He added in a little softer tone. 

“Not much” Dakota shrugged. “Only really that they were here fighting. Or at least I think they were. They both looked really different but Virion had this really sick armor when he showed up.” Dakota explained. Vyncent exhaled, nodding slowly. Dakota took that as his cue to change the subject. “Do you need to catch a bus? School is being let out early” 

“Shit, you’re right.” Vyncent realized as he slung his backpack over his shoulder. Dakota wondered when he got it. He didn’t have his backpack before when he had bumped into him in the hallway during the attack. 

“I’ll walk with you,” Dakota suggested.

“How do you get home?” Vyncent questioned as they exited the bathroom into the busy halls. 

“Oh, I just walk. Or skateboard.” Dakota responded. “I really don’t live that far so it seems pointless to ride a bus or car and burn those nasty fuels for me to get to school.”

“What do you do when it gets cold out? It does get cold here, right? Like snow and stuff.”

“I wear a coat,” Dakota answered simply. “Are you from a place that doesn’t get cold?”

“No it got cold where I used to live, but I came here recently so I don’t really know what your seasons are like. And weather is… different for me this time of year.” Vyncent explained. Dakota nodded as they walked out through the main doors of the school.

 They both saw William sitting on the steps. He always got picked up and dropped off in that same sleek, fancy black car. He was probably just waiting for it now.

Dakota spotted him sitting on the steps, scrolling through his phone. His injured hand was gripping the device, while his good hand pressed against his side. His hoodie sleeve had a gaping tear, but he kept his fingers carefully positioned over it—almost like he was trying to hide it.

Dakota waved as they approached. “Sup, William!” William glanced up, flashing a lazy two-finger wave in return. The movement looked small, controlled and then Dakota caught it. A wince. Tiny. Almost imperceptible. But enough for Dakota’s stomach to drop. Because now he could see it. The long slash across William’s hoodie.

“Shit.” Dakota’s grin vanished. “Dude, are you okay?” He pretended like he hadn’t seen this injury before like he hadn’t already known. Vyncent picked up the pace, his gaze locking onto the patched-up wound. William blinked, like he’d forgotten the injury was even noticeable.

“Oh, yeah. Uh… kinda got too close to the thing.” He gestured vaguely with his free hand. “I was trying to help Red, but then I got attacked. So then Red tried to help me, but I was already hurt, so he rushed me away-” He waved his good hand again. “-then Virion showed up later and patched me up better. So… it’s kinda been, you know… a lot.”

Dakota tried to ignore the way his stomach twisted at that.

“You’re sure you’re okay?” He asked, voice more serious now. It was the question he’d been wanting to ask the whole time but couldn’t, not without revealing his identity..

William hesitated, then shrugged. “I mean… I don’t really know.”

Dakota and Vyncent exchanged a look.

“What do you mean, you don’t know?” Vyncent asked brows furrowed.

William scratched the back of his head. “I, uh…so, I have some sensation loss from an old… incident. So I don’t feel things as much as I should. I mean, it definitely hurts, and there was kinda a lot of blood-” he made a vague circling motion with his hand like he was talking about a small mess, not a potentially life-threatening injury. “-but I can move my arm and I’m not bleeding that much anymore, so it’s probably fine.” Dakota narrowed his eyes. 

“Probably fine? ”

“That is not fine,” Vyncent deadpanned. “That’s one of the most concerning things I’ve ever heard.” William waved him off. 

“I’ve had worse.” He said like it was some joke that was funny, but only to him. Vyncent stared at him, clearly not reassured. 

“What if it is bad, though? What if you’re just not feeling it? Then what? You should go to the hospital.” For a second, William just stared back. Like he was trying to process the question. Like he hadn’t even considered it.

Dakota was about to say something, maybe even agree with Vyncent, when he noticed it. William’s eyes shifted. Not toward them. Not toward his injury. Past them. Dakota turned his head, following his line of sight.

The creature.

Police officers were carefully hauling it away on a massive stretcher. Dakota didn’t even know they made stretchers that big. But William wasn’t looking at the beast. He was looking at the space around it. Above it.

William’s whole body tensed. His jaw clenched and his fingers twitched slightly against his hoodie sleeve. He was trying to play it cool, but Dakota saw the way his eyes glossed over like he was about to cry.

He looked Scared. Maybe even sad. It was impossible to really tell. 

“Will?” Dakota said, softer this time. William flinched. It was so small, barely noticeable, but it seemed to break him from his odd trance. “You sure you’re okay?” Dakota pressed. “You kinda look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

William let out a bitter laugh. “Yeah. Yeah, I’m okay.” He nodded too quickly. He just looked down and away from the beast. It felt like William could see something that Dakota couldn’t. 

Vyncent just squinted at him and gently pressed William's injury with the tip of his finger. Will jolted like he was electrocuted and cringed at the pain. 

“Dude, What the fuck?” William asked, whipping his head to Vyncent. 

“You should go to the hospital,” Vyncent stated again. “I hardly poked you, man.”

Dakota raised an eyebrow. “I could go flag down an ambulance if you want me to.”

William immediately grabbed Dakota’s wrist before he could move—thankfully, not the bruised one. His grip was firm like he fully expected Dakota to sprint off and do it.

“No. I don’t need an ambulance,” William said firmly. He let go just as quickly and exhaled. “I was patched up by a hero, and yeah, it hurts, but it’s not like a hospital is gonna magically make me feel better.” He adjusted his hoodie, wincing again. “I just have to keep it clean so it doesn’t get infected.”Vyncent did not look convinced. 

“Yeah, that’s exactly what people say right before they die of disease.”

Dakota smirked. “You do kinda look like a patient zero in a zombie apocalypse.”

William gave them both a flat look. “Wow. Thanks for the support.”

“Look we just don’t want to find you died tomorrow morning” Vyncent explained.

“Y-you won’t. I’m okay.” William replied much softer. 

Dakota rocked back on his heels, thinking about how to change the subject. Then, an idea struck him. Maybe it was selfish, but he was curious.

“So… what were they like?” Dakota asked, as casually as he could. “Red and Virion.” William blinked, looking a little thrown off by the question.

“Oh… Well, interesting Red couldn’t speak because he didn’t have his gear.” Dakota nodded. “He’s funnier than expected. He was trying to use charades to communicate and was… not very good.” Dakota made a mental note to learn sign language or something.  William continued, rubbing the back of his neck. “He tried to save me from getting hit and I hope he realizes that it wasn’t his fault. It was stupid of me to try to step in when I did.” Dakota clenched his fists. It was his fault. 

 “I didn’t really get much time to talk with him. I tried to ask yes or no questions and found out he goes to this school.”

Vyncent’s eyes widened. “Wait, what?!” William nodded. 

“Yeah. He didn’t say it, obviously, but he reacted. I’d bet money on it. I would guess that Virion does too because he also showed up. They both were very nice when they were patching me up. Red had to leave to go back and fight but he seemed like he felt bad leaving me by myself.  Virion seemed to have practiced patching people up and stayed with me for quite a while after the attack to make sure I didn’t pass out.” William rubbed his shoulder absently, his voice dropping a little. “We talked about heroes for a bit. It was nice, actually.”

Dakota nodded slowly, taking it all in. “That’s cool.”

William exhaled, and his fingers twitched against his hoodie sleeve again, as if nervous about saying this next part. “But something still seemed… off. I don’t know what happened during the fight, but I think something upset both of them.” It was odd. That statement seemed to make Vyncent tense up.

“Wow, We should get you a detective badge or something.” Dakota joked. ”You seem to notice a lot” 

 “Well I have I do have eidetic memory,” William explained. 

“You have what now?” Vyncent asked.

“I remember everything. I have nearly perfect recall after seeing something once.” William explained. Dakota kept his face neutral, but inside, his mind was spiraling. Keeping his identity from someone with perfect recall? Impossible. William is basically a walking security camera.

Dakota hates lying. He hates when people lie to him, but he can’t stand the thought of William or Vyncent getting hurt because of him. William already has. Even if he didn’t blame red. He should have been faster. He should have been able to protect him. Dakota was about to say something—maybe joke about how having a perfect memory must make school easier—when someone called Vyncent’s name.All three of them turned to see a person jogging toward them, wearing a yellow beanie over their long, white hair. Their skin was pale, almost as pale as William’s, but they looked to be around the same age.

“Ashe?" Vyncent blinked. "What are you doing here?" Ashe barely slowed down before pulling Vyncent into a hug. Dakota and William exchanged a look. Dakota mouthed, who’s that? William shrugged. 

Ashe pulled back and frowned. "We came to pick you up. Obviously. Y'know, because of the giant monster attack?"

Vyncent sighed, rubbing his temples. "I mean, yeah, fair. But, like… are you even allowed to be here? Is it safe for you?" Dakota tilted his head. Safe?

"One time going to school probably isn’t gonna kill me," Ashe said with a shrug. "Mark is just… protective."

William raised an eyebrow as he slowly approached. "Who's Mark?"

"My Dad. Never lets me go anywhere really." Ashe answered. He looked back at Vyncent. “Are you sure you're okay?”

"Fine. We can talk more at home." Then, as if just remembering Dakota and William were there, he turned and gestured vaguely behind him. "Uh. You guys are staring."

Ashe glanced at them. "Oh. Right. Should I… introduce myself or—?"

Vyncent rolled his eyes. "Yeah. Dakota, William—this is my foster sibling, Ashe." He gestured lazily. "The short one is Dakota. The awkward-looking one is William."

Dakota and William simultaneously frowned.

"Okay, rude," Dakota said.

William just sighed. "You know what… Fair."

“It’s nice to meet you, Ashe!” Dakota smiled.

“I’ve heard lots about you two from Vyncent.”

“Hopefully good things?” William asked, mostly as a joke. 

Ashe hesitated “...Mostly positive?” 

“Great. That's reassuring” William added sarcastically 

“Sucks to suck William.” Dakota teased.

“I was asking about both of us.” William clarified. 

“Oh. Well, I still think I’m doing better on Vyncent’s friendship ranking than you are.”

“It’s not a competition, Dakota.” William rolled his eyes and crossed his arms.

“We could make it one. Don’t you want Vyncent to like you?” William turned about three shades more red upon hearing Dakota phrase it like that. It’s the most color that Dakota has seen in his complexion since William always kinda looks like he is allergic to sunlight. He must have a vitamin D deficiency or he's a vampire. 

“You are both my friends. No one is higher up on my friendship ranking.” Vyncent intervened. 

“Ey, Kid!” A voice called out. “Come on. Get Vyncent and let's go. We don’t got all day.” A blond-haired man called over his silver van. He had bandages covering part of his face. 

“Sorry, We’ve got to go. Maybe see you two around?” Ashe looked apologetic but William and Dakota understood

“Yeah, Next time under better circumstances” William assured.

“Yeah! We can all get pizza at Tony’s or something!” Dakota suggested.  Vyncent and Ashe said their goodbyes and then rode of with Mark in the Mini-van. 

“Someone picking you up?” William asked after the silence stretched a little to long. 

“No, I walk,” Dakota explained. “I thought I would just stay with you until you got picked up in that fancy black car. And now, to make sure you don’t pass out and die.” 

“i don’t think that will happen. If it was going to happen it would have by now.” William concluded as he moved to sit down back on the steps.  Dakota smirked. 

“Well, I don’t know…” Dakota stretched out in a sing-songy kind of way. “You were looking a little weird when I brought up you wanting Vyncent to like you.” 

“I-I don’t know what you’re talking about.” William stuttered and turned away so Dakota couldn’t see his face.

“Hmmm. Sure.” Dakota fake agreed as he sat back down next to William on the steps. He let a quiet moment pass between them before speaking again. “Are you sure you’re okay though dude?”

“Dakota, The injury really isn’t that bad.”

“Sure, but like… You just look sad. And when you were looking at the beast just now… it just looked like, you could see something that I couldn’t,” Dakota stated.

“It…” William swallowed like it was difficult for him to speak. “It just looked like no part of that creature was happy. It shouldn’t exist… not like that. Wherever that thing came from… it needs to be shut down.” 

“I agree,” Dakota said firmly. He put one hand on Williams's back to offer some comfort. “It didn’t really look like it wanted to be here. Vyncnet and I saw it in the hallway. We slit up because I figured it couldn’t chase both of us. Must have gone after you after that. I’m sorry you got hurt.”

“It’s not your fault, Dakota.” Yes, it is, Dakota's brain retorted unhelpfully. “Really that creature should never have been in the school to begin with, and I’ll be honest, the heroes are really slacking. Red has now been in, what I would argue to be two major incidents.” Dakota didn’t want to admit that William was kind of right about that. Heroes should have been to those locations much faster. Although he doesn’t regret handling the Black Out situation, It was something that he shouldn’t have had to handle on his own. Heroes should have stepped in. “At least there is Virion and the Whisperer to help now too, But it really doesn’t seem fair.” Dakota stayed quiet. Part of him wanted to defend the heroes. There are probably other threats happening behind the scenes, but for something of this scale to attack a school? You would think people would arrive much faster at the scene. 

The black car pulled up and a guy in his probably mid to late rolled down the window and motioned for William to get in the car. He looked very professional in his grey suit with his hair slicked back. Pretty unlike William with the causal hoodie he always wears. He wondered if that was actually William’s brother or not. 

“See you tomorrow, Dakota.” William waved as he trotted off to the car.

“Yeah! Try not to die before then!” Dakota smiled, jokingly. 

“Trust me, I will try my hardest not to,” William called out from the open passenger seat window. The car drove away leaving Dakota to be all alone again. 

He didn’t like how bitter he felt about it. He wished he had someone to pick him up from school, to worry enough that they would take time out of their day to show up for him. He just didn’t. He would go back home to a quiet, empty apartment, make some microwave meals, turn on the TV, and pretend like someone was there with him. At least as Red, he has a team now. The start of friends who will have his back when things start going wrong. At least he hopes to have that. 

As he was walking home his phone vibrated, a message from Summoner. And a notification that Virion had entered the chat 

Summoner:

I was doing some research, as much as I could on the incident at Centurion High. Seems like the monster escaped from Blackwood Tech. Looks like they locked up almost everything about it. Super classified restricted info. Blackwood is being investigated by the police right now. The only other thing I could find is that they have a research facility on Hartawa Island and it seems really shady. Lots of experimental work with people and animals. Could be worth investigating and shutting down. 

Whisperer: 

Looks like Hartawa Island is pretty far from here. Have any ideas about how to get there?

Summoner:

I’m working on finding a boat you could get on. There have to be shipments made there if there are scientists doing research. 

Red: 

Okay! Let us know the first boat we can get on! We’ve got a shady company to take down! 

Dakota paused, staring at the screen. The words blurred for a second as his mind replayed the fight, the creature’s screams, Virion’s hesitation. If he hadn’t stepped in… would Virion have killed it? They needed to have a conversation about it because he did very clearly regret it afterward. 

Red:

You in @Virion? 

Virion:

I’m ready to meet up whenever you all are

Notes:

Lots of dialogue in this chapter (because thats my favorite) but I'm looking forward to this Hartawa arc with things being a little different. My favorite part of this chapter was hinting at Ghostknife and I can't wait to play around with that more. Looking forward to shaking them all in my little jar more. Sorry if this chapter isn't super exciting, but they deserve to have a little cool down before the trauma I'm about to send their way.

Anyway, have a lovely day, and remember to drink water!

Chapter 8: Dangerous Noodle

Summary:

Dakota and William have a heart-to-heart over Pizza. Three heroes get on a boat to Hartawa. Virion learns what a snake is.

Notes:

* TW: Minor Blood and injury, implied animal cruelty, Cannon typically Wiwi Angst (Mentions of death), Implied eating disorder*

Dakota didn’t want to be home alone. School had been canceled so there could be repairs done after the monster attack. Dakota was positioned upside down on the couch. His head was hanging where his legs should be. Stared at whatever news was playing on the TV. It was just the weather. A sunny day today. Dakota wasn’t really paying attention to it. He mostly just had it on so the apartment wouldn’t feel so quiet and empty. 

His stomach grumbled. School wasn’t the most exciting thing, but at least he could get breakfast and lunch for free. Dakota trudged over to the fridge and glanced inside at the contents. There wasn’t much. Mostly just condiments that didn’t have anything to be used on. It didn’t make sense to keep a lot of refrigerated food. Sometimes Dakota would have to skip out on the power bill. It didn’t make sense to get food that would go bad anyway. 

He opened the other cabinets and pulled out a box of Froot Loops and ate a handful of them. There was no milk to have it with, so it didn’t feel worth it to pull out a bowl. He moved back to the couch and sat for a while before being bored out of his mind. Dakota started doing push ups. As many as he could, which was a lot with his superpowers. 

Dakota’s body was still achy. He didn’t realize how sore he was from the fight yesterday. The bruising on his wrist was bad. His chest and back hurt too from when the beast pinned him to the ground. With a heavy sigh, he walked over the bathroom and opened the cabinet to find some over the counter painkiller. He dumped two extra strength Tylenol in his hand and then swallowed them down with some water. It would still take a while for it to kick in. 

He thought about going out as Red. It’s very rare that he could go out during the day, but it feels like more crime happens at night anyway. Most of his patrol would likely be boring, but at least he could burn off some of his super human energy. He was about to suit up when his phone pinged. 

Summoner:

Found a boat at the southern Docks that departs at 6 pm tonight. Can you all be there by then?

Red:

I’ll be there

Whisperer:

o7

Virion: 

What does that mean? Is that a code

Whisperer:

It looks like a person saluting.

Virion:

Theres a person in there?

Three dots popped up as the whisperer drafted his message to Virion. It was there much longer than it should be. It even disappeared a few times as if he didn’t like the message he was writing and then erased it all. 

Virion:

Nevermind, Summoner explained it to me. I’ll be there o7 

Dakota chuckled lightly at the interaction, but before he put his phone away he opened up his contacts and navigated over to his messages with William. He wondered how he was doing. The wound definitely wasn’t great. He had seen when it had happened. He tried to prevent it but failed. Guilt clawed at him and before he knew it he was hitting the call button below William’s name. 

It rang for far too long, and Dakota was feeling impatient and worried. William didn’t pick  up, and he was sent to voice mail. Instead of leaving a message, he called again, nerves not subsiding until he would get a response. Finally on what might have been the last ring William answered 

“ Hello?” William’s voice was worrisome. It was like he was afraid of answering the phone. 

“You okay, dude? I was getting ready to report you as missing.” 

“Sorry,” William added softly 

“Are you alive? Didn’t die in the middle of the night? Not a zombie?” Even though Dakota was on the phone, he could sense the eyeroll William was giving him
“I’m alive, Dakota.” William dead panned, the strain in his voice now relaxing.
“Well, that’s good. Feeling okay? Do you want to go get pizza?” Dakota still felt the need to check on him. Make sure he’s okay for real and not just saying it. Maybe make sure he eats something. He’d like to check in on Virion too after the whole attack but he supposes he will see him at six. 

“Umm, not any worse than I have been.” William sighed. 

“That’s depressing. You need pizza.”

“Do I?” William stretched out, unamused by Dakota’s antics.

“Yes. I read somewhere that pizza cures anything that’s wrong with you.” Dakota added cheerfully.

William hummed skeptically. “And where exactly did you read that?”
“The internet. Trust me, I’m basically a doctor.” Dakota announced proudly.
“Right.” William added, clearly not having the energy to argue anymore
“So, pizza? Yes? Great. I’ll meet you in twenty.” Dakota decided.
“Wait, I never said yes-”

 “Too late.” Dakota interrupted. “Decision made. See you at Tony’s in twenty!”

Dakota hung up before William could even have the chance to argue. William is too nice of a guy, he wouldn’t leave Dakota there to eat by himself. He would show up. Dakota is certain of it. Before he put his phone away, he shot another message to William. 

Dakota:

Do you have Vyncents number? We should invite him too. 

William: 

Vyncent doesn’t have a phone He claimed he didn’t understand how they worked. And then also got weirdly specific about messenger pidgeons

Dakota. 

How are we supposed to invite him to our pizza party? 

William:

Messenger pigeon I guess. 

-

 

The smell of melted cheese and garlic filled the air as Dakota pushed open the glass door of Tony’s Pizzeria . The little bell above the entrance jingled and he stepped onto the old checkerboard flooring that had a handful grease stains. A few Dakota had memorized from spending so much time here. Tony loved him and knew enough about his situation that Dakota could eat here for free.

Dakota took a seat at his normal booth and idly glanced over the menu even though he already knew what he wanted. William was punctual. He arrived exactly 20 minutes from the time Dakota had suggested it. The black car that William was always chauffeured around in drove away and Dakota watched through the glass doors and window until it disappeared.   When William entered, he looked tired. His skin was pale, dark circles smudging under his eyes, and he held himself carefully, like any sudden movement might hurt. Dakota resisted the urge to run over and help him. William probably wouldn’t appreciate the help much since he had insisted that he was fine before. 

“Hey, dude!” Dakota waved. “You okay, I know you said you weren’t a zombie on the phone, but you’re kinda looking like one.” William winced at that a little, Dakota was trying to keep it lighthearted, but he couldn’t help but feel like he said something wrong. 

“It hurts worse today.” William admitted and Dakota wasn’t expecting the truth. 

“Is there anything I can do?” Dakota offered wholeheartedly. 

“It’s alright. It’s healing, but it’s slow and sore.” William explained. “It’s really only bad if I move it in certain ways.” Dakota nodded thoughtfully as William sat down across from him in the booth. He opened up a menu and began flitering though It.

“You can get whatever you want. My treat. Sort of… I’m friends with the owner so we can eat free”  Dakota explained. William nodded. 

“I’ve never been here before, is there anything you recommend? I’d be fine with splitting whatever you’re getting. If I don’t like the toppings, I can just pick them off.” William suggested.

“That's right! I forgot you are new to Rockfall. Man, I’ve got to take you and Vyncent on a tour around town. There’s so much to see.” Dakota practically bounced in his chair with excitement. “Oh, and as for the pizza, I like the pepperoni with extra pepperoni. The Roni on the Roni, you know?” William paused, unsure of how to respond to that. 

“...You know what? Sure, sounds great!” William agreed and closed the menu. 

“If you want something else we can get something else.” Dakota suggested reaching out to open the menu for William again. “I’m really not picky so we-”

“Dakota.” William’s voice dropped, something serious lacing his tone. 

“It’s just pizza, Will. It's really not a big deal.” Dakota assured. William just shook his head, Eyes focused on one of his hands. For a second Dakota though he might have had a bug or spider on him or something. 

“Your wrist…” William stated. His eyes flicked back up to Dakota’s face searching his expression now. Dakota didn’t realized that his shirt sleeve shifted upward. He swallowed hard, now desperately tying to come up with a good excuse for why his wrist was all kinds of shades of purple, green, and yellow. 

“Oh you know, just another skateboard trick gone wrong.” Dakota explained, trying to sound casual. It didn’t work very well. 

“That’s what you said last time.” William stated softly. Clearly, he didn’t buy it this time. “God, Dakota, doesn’t that hurt to move?” Dakota just stared at William, shifted his eyes to his injured shoulder and then back to him. 

“Okay yeah… But my pain tolerance is weird and inconsistent.” William defended. “I just- Look, it’s… fuck…” William took a deep breath and then still struggled to find the words he was trying to say. “Dakota… Look, if you ever need to talk to someone… if something is going on, you can talk to me. I know we aren’t super close, but if you need someone… I can listen.”

Dakota didn’t know how to respond to that. Part of him just wanted to tell William right then and there that he was a superhero. He couldn’t decide if that would make it better or worse. William had watched Red get injured on multiple occasions now, whether it be online or in person. He couldn’t let William know that right now, he doesn’t need to have that worry on his plate too. 

“Thanks, William.” Dakota smiled gratefully. “The same goes for you, if you have something on your mind and just want to share it… I’ll do my best to listen if you ask me too.” Dakota reflected. 

William nodded, but he also seemed a little disappointed by the response. He was hoping to have Dakota open up. But the same thing could be said about Dakota’s attitude towards William. 

Eventually the sever came around to take their order. They decided on a half cheese and half extra-roni Pizza. William didn’t eat very much, just a slice. Even then he ate it slow, like he didn’t really want to eat it. Dakota hated how heavy this outing was turning out to be, but he would hate himself even more if he didn’t attempt to bring it up. 

“Do you not like it?” Dakota asked cautiously. 

“Oh, no. It’s very good.” William amended quickly. If William was lying he was very convincing. “I’m really… just not that hungry. Honest.” Dakota was tempted to believe him, but he squinted at him, trying to figure him out. 

“Would it help if I feed you?” Dakota asked. 

“What?” William raised his eyebrows at him, unbeliveing that he would actually try to do that. William learned to never doubt Dakota ever again. Dakota grabbed a slice of the cheese and lifted it into the air. 

“Don’t,” William warned. Dakota smiled a devious smile. 

“Here comes the airplane!” Dakota announced before leaning halfway over the table making airplane nosies as he swirled the pizza in the air. William pushed and swatted Dakota away, but it was playful. William even cracked a smile. 

“Okay, Okay! Fine.” Dakota relented. “As long as you promise that you’ll eat your fancy dinner.”

“It's not that fancy.” William explained. 

“You have a chauffeur.” Dakota argued. 

“Sure… but that’s just because my brother doesn’t want to drive me around. He’s too busy anyway.” William seemed bitter about that. 

“What does your Brother do?” Dakota questioned. 

“He is the CEO for Bell Tech.” William explained. “I don’t really know what he does all day, but hes always busy with something. Even at home he’s on some business or conference call.” William explained. “I think I’ve said like three sentences total to him since I moved here.”

“That sucks, dude. I’m sorry.” Dakota empathized. 

“Don’t worry about it. We’ve never been close and I don’t really mind it he stays out of my hair.” William sighed. 

“Sounds lonely.” Dakota breathed out. He hadn’t really meant to say that. Part of the reason why he said it was because it reminded him of his own life. 

“Yeah, I guess” William shrugged, wincing at the motion. Man, it really feels like Dakota can’t win today. After every step forward with William, he ends up taking two steps back. 

“Well, now we just need to hang out more then!” Dakota brightened. “And we need to get Vyncent a phone so we can invite him too. That way he can stop kidnapping birds.”
“I don’t think he kidnaps birds, Dakota.” Wiliam stated flatly. “Besides, birds aren’t real. They are drones sent out by the government.” Dakota looked at William as if he was trying to decide if William was telling joke or not. William’s face was neutral, not even a hint of a smile pulling on the corners of his mouth. 

“You’re joking right?” Dakota asked genuinely. “Birds are real.”

“Nope. It's all a sham.” William leaned back, taking another bite of pizza. William was so serious, that Dakota began to feel paranoid that the birds knew his secret identity and told someone. They spent a while chatting over the logistics over if birds were a government funded project or not. Dakota can’t say he’s convinced, but now he’s slightly suspicious of the feathered creatures. 

Eventually, the black car stoped outside the front door of Tony’s and William excused himself from the table. He waved politely and promised Dakota that he would hang out sometime soon. The pizza was long since finished by Dakota. William ended up eating two slices while Dakota ate the rest. 

-

Dakota had a couple hours before he had to be down at the dock and he was back to being bored. He paced back and forth in the apartment before deciding he should just suit up early and patrol. 

It felt good to wear his suit and expend some energy. As expected it was quiet, nothing was really happening. There wasn’t even any petty theft to stop. He just zoomed around watching over the city, breathing in the fresh air. Most people would be annoyed by the sounds of the city, but Dakota appreciated it. It reminded him that he wasn’t alone. There were people all around him. 

Dakota arrived first to the docks. He held back on top of a nearby building, the meeting location. Stealth wasn’t exactly Dakota’s strong suit, but he was pretty certain that Virion or the Whisperer would be able to help him out. They both seemed better equipped for that kind of situation. 

Dakota was definitely right about that. When the Whisperer appeared right behind him, he nearly jumped out of his skin. He couldn’t understand how one person could be so quiet. Dakota has heightened hearing. Nothing crazy, but enough to keep him alert. There were no footsteps. It was almost like he didn’t breathe. Maybe he didn’t need too. 

“Geez dude!” Dakota shuddered. “Don’t do that!”

“Do what?” The Whisperer asked genuinely. 

“Sneaking up on me like that!” Dakota explained, throwing his arms up in the air. 

“Sorry.” Whisperer appologized, bashfully. “It kinda comes with the territory.” 

Virion appeared shortly after the Whisperer. He made quick eye contact with Dakota before instantly looking away. He seemed… embarrassed? Guilty? Dakota couldn’t tell and it was even more difficult to read the expression with a mask on. 

Wordlessly he head his hands out. There were two earpices, assumably one for Red and one the whisperer, but there was also a tiny camera with some straps attached to it. 

“Stuff from the summoner. We can all have earpieces now so we can talk to each other and summoner.” Virion explained. “They also gave me a camera. I figured we could figure out who would wear it while we are all together.” They each grabbed an ear peice and tucked it securly inplace. 

“Hello! Can you all hear me?” Summoners voice crackled through the earpiece.

“Loud and clear, Summoner.” 

“Glad to hear it, Red. Whisperer?”

“I hear you.” William confirmed 

“Great! I have different channels too. Right now because you are all together I have it set so you can only all hear me and not each other because there would be an echo. But I can set it it so you can all hear each other, or just hear one other person.” Summoner rambled. “Bear with me though. I’m still getting used to all the switches.” They paused before adding, “I can always hear you, though. Just FYI.”

Dakota immediately saw an opportunity. “Ohhh, so if I start singing ‘Never Gonna Give You Up,’ you have to listen?”

A beat of silence.

“…Please don’t.”

Dakota grinned. “Noted. Anyway, thanks for setting all this up, Summoner. You’re the best!”

“I’ll try my best,” Summoner corrected. “If I mute you guys randomly, I swear it’s not personal.”

Virion muttered, “I wouldn’t blame you if it was.” Dakota gasped, clutching his ches, faking offence. 

“You just don’t know true tallent” Dakota scoffed 

Whisperer sighed. “This is gonna be a long night.”

“Anyway.” Summoner’s voice cut in “The boat we’re looking for should be docking in about 5 minutes. It’s coming from out of town, and according to my sources, it’s a cargo ship. It’s carrying like, food and other supplies for the people working on Hartawa. Could be worth searching as well. Any questions?” 

“And the cars go where?” Dakota questioned. 

“What cars?” Virion cut in. 

“Cargo is what you call things being transported on a ship, Red. There are no cars going anywhere.” Whisperer explained. Dakota let out a soft ‘oh.’ “How long is the ride to Hartawa?” Whisperer asked. 

“Good question. Its about an hour. This is the only ship going there tonight and its the only ship returning tonight. It departs from Hartawa at 10. So you have about 3 hours to do all your snooping.” Summoner continued. 

“Alright, I think Whisperer should take the camera.” Dakota suggested. 

“Me?” The Wisperer looked shocked. “Why me?” 

“I think you’re really smart and you’ll be the one to find all the big important stuff… and I think I’d break it if I wore it.” Dakota answered honestly. Whisperer seemed bewildered at the compliment. 

“I think Red is right.” Virion tagged on. “If you are okay with wearing it, I think you should.” Virion offered it out to him and Whisperer took it and strapped it on. 

“T-thank you.” He stumbled over his words a little bit, but lucky for him the boat docked, giving him an easy escape. “Okay, lets figure out how to get on that boat.”

-

It was surprisingly easy getting on the ship. Dakota zoomed while no one was watching, and Virion and the Whisperer practically disappeared into the shadows. Dakota sat with the cargo. Summoner was right, it was a lot of food. The probably wouldn’t need a shipment again for a long time. This was enough for a couple months. Dakota heard something else though. Something noisy, shuffling noises that werent quite human.

Dakota moved to investigate, far less cautious than he should have been. Behind the shipment of food were cages, some covered in large sheets and others were wooden with holes drilled into the sides. Animals. Over 20 different species all locked up in boxes far to small. Dakota was surprised it was as quiet as it was. Maybe this was just the beginning. 

“Summoner,” Dakota quietly called. 

“I hear you, Red,” Summoner confirmed

“There are a lot of animals here. Lots of food too, but a lot of animals. You sure you didn’t put us on Noah's ark or something?” Dakota asked. 

“Could be some shady shipment to Hartawa. Seems like they are experiments-”

“They are going to experiment on them?!” Dakota sounded horrified. “We have to save them! Set them free.”

“We’ve already set off.” Whisperer cut in as he approached Red, finally catching up.  “If we let them out now, it would just be chaos.” Dakota begrudgingly agreed. Virion moved closer to the cages to look at each one. He looked amazed, like a kid in a candy store.

“Wow! I’ve never even seen these animals before.” Virion announced as he neared a cage of a capybara. Without any fear, he reached his hand into the cage and pat the animal on his head. The capybara didn’t really seem to mind much. It hardly reacted at all. 

“I’d be careful touching those animals,” Whisperer warned. “They are all probably pretty scared.”  Dakota moved to pet the capybara as well and whisperer faceplamed. 

“When we dock again, we should set them free.” Dakota demanded. 

“I’m not sure all of these animals could survive on their own, besides, there are predators and prey all combined here.” Whisperer continued. 

“In a cage is no way to live.” Dakota argued. Whisperer seemed to bite back whatever else he was going to say, seemingly agreeing with Red. Virion was now climbing onto some cages. He was trying to peek into a one of the wooden crates, and when he didn’t find what he was looking for he began to open the crate without warning the others. 

“Dude! What are you doing?” Dakota questioned. 

“Well you were the one talking about freeing them!” Vyncent argued, still prying open the box with his knife. “Besides, i think this one is empty.” Vycent pulled it open and peered into the box. “Awe, it’s like a little dragon, but without wings… or arms… or legs” Before William or Dakota could stop him, Virion reached down to pet the creature. 

The thing inside lunged.

Three lightning-fast strikes. Fangs flashing. Virion jerked backward with a shout, the crate falling with a crack as the snake slithered out and vanished into the darkness.

“Ow! Fuck! ” Virion grunted, clutching his arm. Blood seeped through his glove. “It bit me!”

“Well yeah!” Whisperer aknowleged while rushing over to him. “I told you to be careful!” 

“Are you okay?” Dakota cut in after Whisperer was done repremandeing. 

“My arm feels a bit tingly and bleeding a bit, but other than that, I’m fine” Virion shrugged. Whisperer’s face dropped and Dakota didn’t really understand why.

“Summoner, Did you get a good look at what kind of snake that was?”  There was a long pause before Summoner responded and whisperer looked increasingly uneasy. 

“...Don’t panic.” Summoner began.

“That is not a great way to start this sentance.” Dakota commented.

“I’m pretty sure that snake is a Black Mamba… which is extremely venomous… and now somewhere on this ship.” Summoner explained while trying stay calm.

“Great, So we have a very poisonous snake on the loose.” Whisperer sighed. 

“Snakes aren’t that bad.” Dakota shrugged. “They are just like noodles that can bite you back. I caught them all the time during my training.” 

“You had training?” Virion asked. 

“Yeah, out in the woods with my master.” Dakota confirmed with a nod. “Honestly, the snake will probably leave us alone. They only attack if they feel threatend.” 

“How many nature documentaries have you watched?” Whisperer questioned

“Okay!” Summoner interrupted, voice sharp and brittle with panic. “We need to focus. Virion was bit. How many times?”

“I don’t know… Three?” Virion squinted, brows pinched together, like he was struggling to rewind time that had only just passed. He was pale—sweat already beading along his temple.

Summoner exhaled, the breath trembling out like they’d been holding it for minutes. They ran a hand through their hair, fingers shaking. “Alright. First—apply pressure and wrap the wound. We’ve got ten minutes before symptoms kick in hard. Maybe two hours before long-term effects.”

“So how do we fix it?” Whisperer asked, hovering near the doorway, tension thrumming off him.

“I—I don’t know for sure,” Summoner admitted. “But if they’re transporting dangerous animals, the guards must have some kind of antidote, right?” Dakota raised an eyebrow, a crooked grin tugging at the corners of his mouth despite the urgency. 

“So... not a stealth mission anymore? We find a guard, knock ’em out, take the antidote?”

“That’s our best shot.” Summoner’s voice cracked. “Hartawa might have something better, but... we risk Virion’s condition worsening if we wait.”

“I’ll scout ahead,” Whisperer said, already backing toward the door. His silhouette blurred against the dim lighting of the storage hull, pale hair catching the flicker of a sparking overhead light. “I’m not the combat type, though. That’s on you, Red.” He gave a casual two-finger salute, clearly trying to lighten the mood, then slipped out.

Dakota turned back to Virion. Blood welled from between the other boy’s fingers in slow, thick pulses.

“How are you doing, buddy?” Dakota asked, voice soft as he crouched. Virion’s breathing was shallow “You should sit down,” Dakota said, laying a hand gently on Virion’s shoulder. Virion gave a faint nod but didn’t move. Dakota guided him down slowly, easing him to the floor and letting him rest against the cold metal wall.

“Okay. just stay here for a moment, okay? I’m going to find something to patch you up.” 

Dakota glanced around the dim hull, eyes darting from one caged shadow to the next. The air smelled metallic and stale, like rusted iron and animal musk. Somewhere nearby, something shifted in its crate with a low growl that echoed through the chamber.

He moved quickly, grabbing one of the dusty sheets draped over a nearby cage. The sudden shift of light made the creature inside stir—a broad-feathered owl blinked up at him, eyes luminous in the dark.

“Sorry, buddy,” Dakota murmured, tearing off a strip of the fabric. The sound was harsh and jarring in the stillness. He draped the rest of the cloth back over the cage, dimming the owl’s world again. The fabric felt coarse and brittle between his fingers. Not ideal. Not even close to sterile. But it was all he had.

Dakota returned to Virion, who was slumped against the wall, arm cradled against his chest, his face pale and glistening. Blood still oozed sluggishly from between his fingers. Dakota crouched and reached for his hand.

“Alright, let me see,” he said gently, peeling Virion’s fingers back. The bite was angry and swollen now, already tinged an ugly purple at the edges. He began wrapping the cloth around the wound, careful at first.

“You need to wrap it tighter,” Virion mumbled, his voice rasping like dry leaves.

“Oh… yeah, sorry.” Dakota adjusted the pressure. “I have, like, super strength, so it’s hard to tell sometimes. I don’t wanna crush your arm.”

Virion blinked slowly, as if that fact had just registered. He gave a faint nod.

“Is this better?” Dakota asked, watching for a reaction. “I’m only used to patching myself up.”

“Yeah. That’s good now.” Virion’s gaze dropped to the floor, and his voice softened like he was retreating into himself. “I-I’m sorry.”

Dakota paused, one hand still on the makeshift bandage. “It’s okay, dude. You didn’t know it was a mean snake.”

“No. Not about that.” Virion swallowed hard, his throat visibly bobbing. “The beast… in the school. Thank you for stopping me.” He clenched and unclenched his fingers, the movement nervous, twitchy. Dakota’s hands paused mid-wrap. He looked up, meeting Virion’s eyes, which were glassy now, unfocused like he was halfway between two worlds.

“Oh…” Dakota said softly, surprised. “I—I wanted to talk to you about that.” Virion gave a faint nod, eyes drifting to the floor again.

“You didn’t really seem like yourself.”

“I wasn’t,” Virion admitted, his voice thin and distant. “The way my powers work… it’s like I’ve got these people in my head. I can borrow their power, but when I do… they sort of take over.”

He gave a shaky laugh—quiet and bitter. “Sometimes it’s hard to feel like myself at all.”

Dakota frowned, heart tugging at the edges. He shifted a little closer, crouching low to be level with Virion.

“But you can control it, can’t you?”

“Most of the time,” Virion whispered. “But if one of them feels something really strong—rage, fear, grief—they don’t ask. They just… hijack me.”

Dakota’s brow furrowed. He could see the tension in Virion’s jaw now, the way his fingers twitched restlessly against the cold metal floor. He was unraveling right in front of him.

“Well, then tell them to fuck off,” Dakota said firmly.

That got a reaction—Virion let out a surprised breath that might’ve been a laugh, though it didn’t sound amused. More like he was laughing at how impossible that idea seemed.

“These people…” he murmured, “They’re called The Greats. In my world, they’re legends. Saints. Soldiers. Heros. I’m not sure I have the authority to tell them anything.”

His shoulders shuddered suddenly—whether from the fever or from whatever weight he was carrying, Dakota couldn’t tell. Dakota scooted closer and instinctively placed a hand against Virion’s back. His skin was burning up. Fever was setting in fast.

“Dude, they’re in your head, right?” Dakota said, trying to keep his voice steady. “I think you can say whatever the hell you want. They don’t get to use you like that. That’s not fair.”

Virion blinked at him slowly. “There’s… a lot of them,” he said, his words starting to blur at the edges. “And yeah… they can hear you.”

Dakota looked around the room instinctively, as if trying to catch a ghost. “Good! Then I’ll say it louder.” He leaned a little closer, addressing the unseen. “Hey! All of you in there? Leave him alone. He’s not your puppet. Got it?”

Virion squinted at him, head tilting slightly. His pupils weren’t focusing right anymore.

“Everything’s… foggy,” he said. “Can’t see straight.” Dakota’s heart skipped a beat. He placed his hand against Virion’s cheek. Burning. Too hot.

“Okay,” Dakota murmured. “As soon as you’re better, I’m giving them a piece of my mind.” Virion smiled faintly, though it barely reached his eyes.

“They’re not s’bad,” he slurred. “Don’t feel s’loney… I should get them home.”

There was something in the way he said it that stopped Dakota cold. He’d been so focused on patching up a teammate, he hadn’t really seen the boy behind the powers. But now, seeing the way Virion’s fingers curled weakly around nothing, how his eyes barely held focus—it hit him. Virion was scared. Dakota swallowed hard.

 “Do you know how to get home?”

Virion shook his head slowly, the movement loose and uncoordinated. “Stuck… Not even sure how I got here.”

He leaned into Dakota’s side without meaning to, eyelids fluttering.

“Well,” Dakota said, voice quiet but steady, “I promise to help you get back. If that’s where you want to go.” He extended his pinky, holding it up between them. A promise. The kind that mattered when words weren’t enough. But Virion didn’t reach for it. His hands stayed in his lap, trembling, unfocused. “Virion?” Dakota whispered.Virion blinked a few times, eyes glossy with fever. He wiped at them weakly.

“Still here…” he murmured. “Don’t feel good.” Dakota nodded, trying not to let the fear show in his face.

 “I know. I’m sorry.” He tapped his comms. “Whisperer? Summoner? Any news?”

“Whisperer is on his way back,” Summoner’s voice crackled through the earpiece, calm but tight with urgency. “He was able to stealthily grab a first aid kit. It has a temperature-controlled container.”

Dakota let out a shaky sigh of relief, but he didn’t take his eyes off Virion, who had slumped further down the wall. His skin looked even paler now, lips tinged with blue.

“How’s he doing?” Summoner asked.

“Not great,” Dakota murmured. “He’s burning up. Breathing’s sharp. Shaky. I don’t think we’ve got much time.”

Almost on cue, the door to the storage hull hissed open, and Whisperer stepped through, jogging toward them with a sleek black case clutched in his hands.

“I’ve got it,” he announced, already dropping to his knees beside Dakota. “Move aside.”

Dakota shifted, hovering close but giving Whisperer the space he needed. He flipped the case open with practiced hands, revealing rows of sealed vials and a small injector wrapped in foam.

“Okay, Summoner,” he said into his earpiece. “What am I looking for?”

“Should be labeled Anti-Venom , blue or red cap on the needle. Be careful. Some of those are species-specific.”

Whisperer scanned the labels quickly, fingers moving fast. “Got it,” he said, pulling out a small syringe with a translucent red cap.

“Inject it into his forearm—the one with the bite,” Summoner instructed. “Slowly. Ten full minutes to empty the vial. Any faster and you’ll overload his system.”

Whisperer exhaled, steadying himself. “Alright. Virion,” he said softly, taking the boy’s injured arm in both hands. “This is going to help, okay? Just stay with me.” Virion whimpered, eyes fluttering open. They didn’t seem to focus on anything.

“You’re… an angel?” he asked blearily, blinking up at Whisperer. “Hair’s white. Pretty.”

Whisperer froze. “Uh—no, I—I’m just…” he flushed and stuttered, looking momentarily flustered. Dakota bit back a laugh, the sound catching in his throat. “Okay,” Whisperer muttered, refocusing as he uncapped the needle. “Here we go.” He slid the needle into Virion’s arm slowly. The boy flinched, a pained gasp slipping past his lips, but he didn’t pull away. Whisperer’s hands trembled slightly, but he kept the injection steady, drop by drop.“You’re doing great,” Whisperer murmured. “Just a little longer.”

Dakota stayed close, watching Virion like a hawk. Every breath was thin and shallow. His shirt was soaked through with sweat, and his head kept drooping forward. A single minute crawled by like five. Another moment passed. Virion let out a slow breath, his eyes sliding shut again.

“Hey, hey,” Dakota said, patting his cheek gently. “No napping. You gotta stay with us, remember?”

“I’m here,” Virion whispered. His voice was steadier now. Still weak, but less broken. “Just… tired.”

Whisperer glanced at the vial. “Almost halfway through.”

Dakota nodded, shifting to sit beside Virion so their shoulders touched. He could feel the fever still burning off him but it was slowly cooling.

The last of the serum pushed through the injector with a soft click. Whisperer slowly pulled the needle out and pressed gauze to Virion’s arm. “That’s it,” he said, softer than before. “You did great.”

Virion didn’t speak right away, but his breathing shifted—less shallow, more even. His jaw relaxed, and the sharp edge of pain faded from his features. His skin, still pale, was warming in tone. Not much, but enough to let both Whisperer and Dakota breathe again.

Dakota leaned in a little. “Hey,” he said gently. “You still with us?”

Virion blinked, lids heavy, but his gaze found Dakota’s. “Still here,” he rasped, voice faint and dry. “Head feels like… fog. And bees.”

Whisperer huffed a laugh through his nose, the tension still draining out of him in slow waves. “Sounds about right. Let’s just… take it easy for the rest of this boat ride.” That landed a beat of silence between the three of them.

Virion’s fingers twitched slightly against the floor. Dakota instinctively reached over and steadied his arm, surprised—and relieved—to feel that the feverish heat had already begun to fade. He glanced at the two of them. 

“Whisperer? Virion?” Both turned toward him, a little more alert now.Dakota hesitated, then said, “I really don’t know that much about either of you. And I’d like to.” He rubbed the back of his neck, voice softening. “Especially if we’re gonna keep ending up in life-threatening situations. Like, what if we end up fighting some peanut butter-themed villain and one of you’s allergic?”

That got a weak smile from Virion, and even Whisperer’s expression twitched with amusement. “I’m not saying tell me your identities or anything,” Dakota added quickly. “But if we’re going to be a team, we’ve gotta trust each other. I just wanna know who I’m working with.”

Whisperer tilted his head. “So serious, Red. That’s unlike you.”

“Yeah, I know. Weird, right?” 

Whisperer pulled his knees up to his chest and wrapped his arms around them, his tone easing into something quieter. “I don’t wanna do awkward icebreakers or whatever. But… we can talk. Virion and I talked for a bit. On the roof, when you were passed out.”

Dakota blinked. “Yeah… that happens sometimes. My powers give me a ton of energy, but it’s easy to overdo it.”

“And you were injured,” Virion added. “Badly. You can’t hide that.” Dakota gave a half-nod.

 “Yeah.” A beat passed.

“…Do either of you have someone who knows your identity?” Virion asked.

“Do you?” Whisperer countered.

“Summoner knows mine. And I know theirs,” Virion said.

“I don’t,” Whisperer admitted. “I don’t think anyone even knows that I…”

He trailed off. Dakota and Virion both looked at him, their attention quiet and focused.

“…Know what?” Dakota prompted gently.

Whisperer’s arms tightened around his knees. His voice cracked just slightly.

“That I died.”

Silence fell over the room.

“Oh…” Dakota said. “So you’re like… a ghost?” He immediately winced. “Sorry. That sounded-”

“No. It’s okay,” Whisperer cut in. “And… no. I don’t think so. At least I hope not.” He stared at the floor, fingers twitching where they curled into his sleeves. “I don’t really know what I am.”

Virion turned his head toward his earpiece. “Summoner? Does this sound like anything in your book?”

“I could try looking,” Summoner replied, their voice coming in low and tentative. “But I’m not sure what I’d even search for…”

“Summoner’s got a connection to the spirit world.” Virion offered. “Maybe they could help?” Whisperer didn’t respond. He just kept holding his knees, chin tucked down like he didn’t want to take up space.

Dakota leaned in slightly. “Thanks for telling us that.” He paused, then added, “I didn’t… technically die when I got my powers, but I must’ve been close. I woke up in a hospital with a heart that was going, like, a hundred miles an hour. And then suddenly I could run at, like, mach twenty.”

Virion blinked slowly. “How did you end up at the hospital?”

“I don’t know,” Dakota said, shrugging one shoulder. “Someone must’ve found me after I fell off the roof.” He said it like it was nothing. Like it was normal. “No one… came to get me. So I guess someone decided to study me instead. Pretty sure the experiments are what saved me, so I can’t really complain.”

Whisperer’s brows pulled together. “No one… came to get you?” he asked, voice tight.

Dakota shook his head, casual. “Nope. I don’t really have anyone anymore. I sort of live by myself.”

Whisperer blinked. “You’re… in high school.”

“So are you. We’re all, like, the same age,” Dakota pointed out.

“Yeah, but I don’t live alone!” Whisperer said, a little louder than he meant to.

Dakota just shrugged. “The less people who know, the more people I can keep safe.”

That quieted the conversation again. Not because anyone disagreed—but because it felt like something all three of them understood too well.The silence between them stretched for a while. No one seemed in a rush to fill it.

Whisperer stayed curled in on himself, but less tense than before. Virion had gone quiet too, his eyes half-lidded as he leaned his head against the wall, breathing slow and even. Dakota sat nearby, legs crossed, arms resting on his knees.

Then, a soft chime sounded overhead.

“Approaching Hartawa Island. Docking in five minutes.”

The ship shifted beneath them, enough to feel in their spines. The hum of movement was slowing. Whisperer sighed and pushed himself to his feet, wincing a little as he stretched. 

“Guess we’re getting close.”

Dakota stood too, brushing dust off his pants. “We still need to make sure Virion gets proper treatment too.” He offered a hand to Virion an gratefully took it.

No one said anything else for a beat. Just the sounds of the shipa vent rattling in the corner, a soft mechanical whir. Outside, distant waves hit the side of the hull.

“Hey,” Dakota said, glancing between the two of them. “Thanks. For talking.” Whisperer gave a slight shrug. 

“We didn’t really talk. Not properly.”

“Still counts,” Dakota replied. Virion pressed a hand to the wall for balance.

“Alright, gang. We’re here to gather evidence and take this shady business down. We’ve got three hours. Everyone ready?” Summoner asked over the comms. Dakota glanced at the others, then toward the hatch where pale light spilled in.

“Yeah,” he said. “Let’s get to work.”

Notes:

This chapter got way longer than intended... and more dialogue. I hope you all like Dialogue because that's the main thing I write.
Anyway, I hope you enjoyed!

Comments, Kudos, and Bookmarks are always appreciated. Thank you so much for the support so far!

Chapter 9: Divide and Maybe Conquer

Summary:

Our Crew tries their best to work together and explore Hartawa

Notes:

*TW: Animal Cruelty, Brief mention of blood*

Dakota was certain this was a good plan. His teammates, however, did not share his confidence. The moment they docked, everything unraveled into chaos. Crates bucked open and cages clattered as Dakota, flanked by Virion and Whisperer, released every single animal from the cargo hold. Snarling, hooting, and squawking erupted as birds shot into the air, a wildcat bounded down the ramp, and a trio of goats charged toward the nearest bush like it owed them money. Dakota refused to leave the ship until the last latch was undone, standing with his arms folded, jaw set. He only convinced the others by insisting, with manic certainty, that it would be “the perfect distraction.” He wasn’t entirely wrong, but they still never found the snake that bit Virion. 

The island was wrong. Not in any one obvious way, but in a dozen small ones that made your skin prickle. The trees were a mix of oak, pine, and palm. Their trunks overlapped awkwardly, their roots fighting for space in mismatched soil. Even the air was confused. The weather hovered between humid and cold, which just felt uncomfortable. It’s like your body couldn’t decide if it should be sweating or shivering. Dakota kept adjusting his sleeves, pushing them up and pulling them back down again, his brow furrowed.

Navigating the island wasn’t hard. Any guards on the ship were probably chasing a screaming lemur. The destination itself was hard to miss. At the center was a three-story building built from grimy cinderblock and covered in choking vines. The windows were already sparse, and the remaining windows were almost entirely swallowed by greenery. It looked like the kind of place where bad things were made to look official. Inside, Dakota imagined buzzes and beeps, flickering fluorescent lights, and the sterile sting of antiseptic. Like a hospital designed to make them lose their sanity. 

A small lot behind the building held two trucks. One was piled with sealed crates, the other with what looked like pieces of a disassembled drone. There were no guards in sight, but cameras glinted in the trees. No electric fences, but technology watched everything. The real challenge wasn’t getting to the building. It was getting inside, past the cameras, and through the locked doors that would only open for a keycard none of them had.

“Okay. Remember, we are just here to get enough information to shut this place down. Look for any documents that might imply there is some shady shit down. I’m also recording through the camera on the Whisperer’s vest. Hopefully, that will be plenty of evidence that we can spread over the internet.” 

“Right.” Whisperer nodded. “Any thoughts on how to get in? Looks like if we get any closer, those cameras are going to spot us, we will need a key card to actually get in.”

“Well, you’re the sneaky one here.” Dakota pointed out. “Can you just go invisible and block the cameras so we can get through?”

“That’s actually not a bad idea… My powers can be a little inconsistent, but I’ll try.” Whisperer added. Virion shifted slightly, and a dark brown cloak materialized over him. Several belts appear around his waist with pouches filled with various things. 

“Alright. A stealth mission. That I can work with.” Virion stated. “Summoner. Give us the signal when it's clear for us to go.” 

“Is there any way to hack into the system from your end, Summoner? You did that earlier with the bank.” Dakota suggested. 

“This place is way more encrypted,” Summoner said through the comms, their voice crackling slightly with static. “Maybe once you’re inside, or if you can find a terminal or hardline access, I could try to break into the database. But for now, we’ll need to do this manually.”

“Alright.” Virion stood, already scanning the edges of the building for a way in. “I’ll try to snag one of those key things. A card thingy. Whatever they’re using. I’ll be careful. You two secure our route.”

Whisperer nodded, quiet and focused. Dakota gave a half-salute, more casual than the moment probably warranted.

“Okay… here we go,” Whisperer muttered, exhaling slowly. And just like that, he shimmered out of sight, fading into the air like heat on pavement. A second later, Virion vanished into the shadows, his silhouette barely more than a ripple as he slipped away.

That left Dakota. Alone.

He crouched behind the half-toppled stack of cargo crates, fidgeting. Waiting had never been his strength. He bounced his leg. Tapped his foot. Checked his comm—no updates. Presumably, Summoner was off helping guide another team member through something complicated and techy. Boring.

And then, movement.

From the edge of the parking lot, just beside one of the trucks, a low metal clatter drew Dakota’s eyes. A man in a dark uniform was struggling to load something into the bed of the vehicle. Something inside a tall, reinforced cage. Dakota narrowed his eyes.

The thing inside the cage shrieked. sharp and shrill like nails on a chalkboard. The creature thrashed violently, the cage rocking so hard that the handler staggered back with a curse. Feathers or fur puffed through the bars, and a pair of glowing, animal-bright eyes caught the light.

It looked like a bird, maybe. But it wasn’t. Its shape was all wrong. The legs were too powerful, the ears too long. It had a beak, but also twitching whiskers. Wings beat against the cage in a frantic, jerky rhythm. It was some kind of hybrid—like someone had taken a hawk and a jackrabbit and stitched them together with guesswork and bad intentions.

The guard yelled at the thing and banged on the side of the cage. That was enough.

“I’m taking a slight detour,” Dakota muttered into the comm, not knowing if anyone was still listening. Maybe Summoner. Maybe nobody. Either way, he was already moving.

He zipped forward in a blur of motion, barely more than a streak in the camera’s eye—if they caught him at all. He halted just feet away from the man, hands on his hips.

“Hey, dude. You look like you’re struggling with that!”

The guard flinched so hard he dropped the cage with a jarring clang . The creature inside let out another agonized screech, flapping and colliding against the bars. Dakota winced as the cage slammed the pavement, but he didn’t give the man a chance to react.

Before the guard could even reach for the pistol at his hip, Dakota stepped in and drove his boot square into the guy’s face. There was a wet crunch, and the man went limp, collapsing beside the cage with a groan and a spray of blood from his nose.

“Nap time,” Dakota muttered.

He stepped over the unconscious body and turned the cage upright with a grunt, the metal scraped from the fall and bent in one corner. Inside, the creature was panting, one wing half-dragged, feathers ruffled and broken.

“It’s okay. I’m gonna get you out of there, buddy,” Dakota said gently. He crouched beside the door and angled it away from himself before unlatching it. The lock clicked, and the door creaked open. For a moment, the creature hesitated.

Then, with a flutter and a lurching bound, it launched from the cage. It took three awkward hops across the asphalt before catching the wind, its broad wings opening in full. It soared into the air like a crooked arrow and vanished into the trees, still trailing soft, pained squawks.

Dakota watched it go, chest tight. That was definitely not a natural creature. And whatever this facility was doing, it was connected to the amalgamation he’d seen before. This wasn’t random. This was designed.

He turned back to the unconscious guard and knelt down, rifling through the man’s jacket. A badge. ID card. Pocket knife. Nothing fancy. The card read: Robbie Welchest . Nothing that screamed high clearance—but it had a magnetic strip. Maybe enough to get through the outer doors.

“Thanks, Robbie,” Dakota muttered, tucking the card into his belt pouch. “Sorry about the nose.” 

“Okay, Red? Hello?” Summoner’s voice crackled through the comms again, quick and distracted. “Sorry about that delay. Still getting used to all this switching. How’s everything where you are?”

“Great! I got a keycard,” Dakota chirped, crouched behind a rusted-out truck bed like a kid showing off a trophy.

There was a beat of silence. “You… How did you—? Shoot, give me a second—”

The comms cut out again mid-sentence, leaving Dakota with only the soft, electric buzz of silence. He tapped his foot and peered cautiously around the truck. Nothing moving yet.

“Summoner?” he said, testing. “Everything okay?” A few seconds passed. Then a soft pop of static. 

“Sorry, what did you say, Red?”

“Everything okay?”

“Ummm… yeah. Just let me patch Whisperer and Virion in—hold on.” More clicks, more tapping, and then two new voices filled his ear.

Whisperer was first: “Okay… so remember when I said my powers are inconsistent? Well, I accidentally phased through a wall… And the floor. So I’m kinda in the basement now. Or at least one level. I don’t know how deep this place goes. But there’s some weird stuff down here. I already have enough evidence on this camera—Summoner’s seen it too. Anyway… I can’t get back out.”

“You’re stuck?” Dakota asked, frowning.

“Pretty much trapped in a classified nightmare, yes,” Whisperer replied dryly.

Dakota stood. “Virion and I will meet you inside. I’ve got a keycard. Virion, if you’ve got a way in, meet me near the loading bay.”

“Got it,” Virion said. “On my way.”

Dakota zipped off, weaving between abandoned forklifts and shattered pallets until he reached one of the nondescript metal doors near the massive garage. He swiped the card—green light, a soft click . The door creaked open, and he stepped through into a dimly lit corridor, then froze.

Half a dozen heads turned. Lab coats. Tactical vests. Security personnel. A janitor with a mop who instantly threw it aside. Eyes widened. Then hands moved—to radios, to holsters, to alarms.

Dakota’s eyes widened. “Oh. Hey.”

The air cracked with the first gunshot. He blurred sideways, narrowly dodging the bullet that embedded itself into the wall behind him. Shouts filled the hallway as two of the guards rushed forward, weapons up, while another bolted to a side door. So much for subtle.

Dakota dove behind a stack of supply crates, heart hammering. He risked a glance—five hostiles, maybe six. Lightly armed, none looked like top-tier elite, but it didn’t take much to be dangerous when they had guns and he had… speed and poor planning.

He pressed a hand to his comm. “Summoner? I sort of alerted a lot of people to my location,” he admitted, voice tight. No response. “Hello?” he tried again. “Kind of need some help here?” Still nothing. Just a hiss of static. “Okay. No big deal,” Dakota muttered to himself, trying to psych up. “You’ve been in worse situations. Probably. Maybe. They’re just... armed and trained and probably aware of every inch of this facility.” Another burst of gunfire cracked over his head, splintering the top of a crate.

He flinched and crouched lower. “Alright. Time to make some moves.”

He peeked out again—two guards were advancing, using cover, moving to flank. Another had taken a position behind a pillar. One stood in the open, too focused on trying to aim at where he thought Dakota was. 

He took a breath. Then zipped out from cover in a blur, zigzagging toward the distracted guard. Bullets whizzed past, too slow to catch him. He launched into a slide, swept the guard’s legs out from under him, then spun and delivered a sharp elbow to the jaw—one hit, and the man was down.

One down. Four to go. Dakota ducked behind a metal cart as more shots rang out, clattering off steel and sparking against the floor.

“They probably aren’t stupid enough to shoot toward their allies,” he muttered, watching them second-guess their line of fire now that he was weaving between their own men. “Probably.”

One of the remaining guards barked something—an order, maybe—into a shoulder mic, then broke left, trying to cut off Dakota’s path. Another raised a stun baton crackling with voltage.

“Oh nope nope nope, ” Dakota muttered, darting away from the cart just as the baton slammed into it with a bang! The cart exploded in a shower of sparks and metal, flipping sideways.

Dakota pivoted mid-run, aiming for a short wall up ahead—probably meant to divide workstations. He launched himself over it, landing hard on the other side and right into the path of another guard.

The man hadn’t moved, hadn’t even shouted. He was older, calmer. Waiting. His fist came out like a piston—fast, practiced—and caught Dakota square in the ribs before he could dodge. The air left his lungs in a violent oof , and he tumbled backward, crashing into a rolling stool and a shelf of metal canisters.

Something sharp sliced through the back of his thigh as he fell.

“Shit—!” Dakota slapped a hand to the spot. Wet warmth was already soaking through his pants, hot and fast. He gritted his teeth and rolled to the side just as the silent guard tried to stomp down where his head had been. The pain bloomed properly now. Not crippling, but bad. A clean slice, maybe glass or exposed metal on the shelf he’d hit.  

Dakota pushed himself upwards and landed a solid kick to the man’s left abdomen, causing him the keel over and take a knee. As Dakota put more weight on his leg, he hissed through his teeth. It wasn’t that bad. Sure, it was bleeding and definitely uncomfortable, but after you survive a lightning strike, this doesn’t seem so bad. Dakota turned to take out another guard. With one hand, he pointed his opponent's gun to the sky, and with his leg, he swept the guard's feet right out from under them. They tumbled backwards and Dakota couldn’t help but laugh as the man fell flat on his ass. 

 Dakota took another deep breath as he zoomed around the bullets shot at him. He had to deal with this situation before more guards showed up. Luckily, backup didn’t take too long to show up. Virion seemed to appear out of nowhere. He threw a dagger into one guard's thigh and another one into the back of one's shoulder.

“Careful! We aren’t trying to kill them!”

“I know. Just doing what I can to help!” Virion called back as he put one guard in a headlock. Dakota kicked the last guard in the side of the head, knocking them out instantly. 

“Let's get moving. We need to find whisperer.” Virion stated, dropping the guard to the ground as soon as they passed out. 

Dakota nodded and gestured to the hallway that led into the facility. Dakota slowed his pace so Virion could keep up. They continued moving until they reached a quiet and empty meeting room. 

“What’s on your leg?” Virion asked, his sharp eyes narrowing as they landed on the jagged gash along Dakota’s thigh. Blue blood oozed sluggishly from the tear in his pants, shimmering faintly in the low light like some alien chemical spill. Virion took a cautious step closer, face unreadable.

Dakota followed his gaze and shrugged, wincing slightly. “Oh, that? Yeah, I cut my leg on some sharp scrap back there. It’s not a big deal. The blood’s just… blue. I’m totally fine, dude.”

Virion didn’t say anything at first. He turned his gaze to Dakota, unamused and unimpressed.

“What?” Dakota blinked, genuinely puzzled. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“Sit down,” Virion muttered, placing firm hands on Dakota’s shoulders and steering him toward a half-busted chair. “Let me patch it up.”

Dakota raised an eyebrow but didn’t resist. “Dude, seriously. I can do it myself. I’m not, like, dying.”

Virion didn’t reply. His cloak-like attire shimmered, dissolving away in an elegant shimmer of dark fabric until he was left in his more functional gear. He crouched, pulling medical supplies from a small pouch on his belt, and got to work.

Dakota flinched as the bandage wrapped a little too tightly. “Ow—dude, easy! My leg’s attached, you know!”

“Then stop moving,” Virion snapped, yanking the bandage into place with a final tug. Dakota grumbled under his breath. “ I could’ve done it if you didn’t wanna help.”

Virion didn’t look up. “You said you’d tell us when you’re injured.”

“Wait—every injury?” Dakota asked, incredulous. “Or just, like… the life-threatening ones?”

Virion sighed, exasperated. “I have a feeling you don’t know the difference between the two.”

Dakota gave him a mock-offended look. “Dude.”

“If you're bleeding,” Virion continued, voice flat, “you tell one of us.”

“Fine, fine.” Dakota threw his hands up. “Next time I get a paper cut, I’ll let you know.”

Virion rolled his eyes but couldn’t stop the faint smirk tugging at the corner of his mouth.

“I think you get what I mean,” he said. Then, after a moment, he added, quieter, “Also… if you don’t mind me asking… are you human?”

Dakota blinked. That was a question he didn’t get often. Or at least not asked so directly .

“Oh. Uh. Yeah, mostly,” he said, scratching the back of his head. “I mean… I feel human.  Had this weird-ass surgery, and now my heart’s mechanical, my blood’s blue, and… here we are. ”Virion studied him for a moment, like he was seeing him through a different lens now. “The blue blood’s a little off-putting, not gonna lie,” Dakota continued. “But you don’t seem that weirded out by it.”

“I’ve seen a lot of weird shit where I’m from,” Virion said with a shrug. “I was just curious if you weren’t from Prime.”

Dakota grinned. “Nope. Born and raised right here. But thanks for caring, dude.” Virion stood, brushing off his hands as Dakota tested the bandage with a cautious flex of his leg. “Alright, let's go find Whisperer. Hopefully, he hasn’t gotten into much trouble.” 

-

“This place is so fucked,” William muttered under his breath, voice barely audible. He wasn’t sure if Summoner could still hear through the comms, but at this point, it didn’t matter. His eyes swept across the room—rows upon rows of cramped, rusted cages, stacked unevenly like an industrial afterthought. Inside each cell twitched something unnatural: grotesque fusions of animals, stitched or fused together in ways that defied biology. Some had too many limbs, others had none. Some looked asleep. Others watched him with eyes that glowed dimly, as if begging to be understood... or ended.

The air reeked of copper and antiseptic. It was sterile, cold, but underneath that was something raw and putrid. William’s stomach turned.

It made him feel vindicated—relieved, even—that he’d listened to Red earlier and freed the animals in the lab above. He didn’t know what had happened to those ones, but anything was better than this. He would’ve never forgiven himself if he’d left them for this .

It was horrifying. Maybe even worse for him , in a way others couldn't quite grasp. He could feel them—the souls . His bond to the spiritual world made it impossible not to notice them. These creatures weren’t just mangled bodies. They were twisted lives . Fractured identities. Some of the hybrids had souls that had merged peacefully, strangely at ease in their misshapen forms. Others were… wrong. Torn. Like their spirits had been stitched just as crudely as their flesh. Some of them should have passed on long ago. And yet, something still tethered them here, anchored them to this cruel place. He shuddered, hands curling into fists. 

Was he any different?

 Just a spirit loosely anchored to flesh and bone, clinging to life out of habit. It was better not to think about it. A voice buzzed to life in his earpiece, distracting him from his own thoughts

“Okay,” Summoner cut in, their voice a little crackly. “Sorry. I’m sorta new at talking to all of you at once. I think I can patch everyone back into the same call now that things are mostly calmed down. Can everyone give me a sound-off?”

“Here,” William said automatically, like a bored student answering roll call.

“Here,” Red chimed in a beat later, his usual lightheartedness returning.

 “Present,” Virion added, clipped and professional.

“There’s also some blueprints I found, but they’re old,” the Summoner added. “From what I can tell, Virion and Red are about to meet back up with you, Whisperer.”

“You okay, Whisperer? We haven’t heard from you in a while,” Virion asked, his voice a little softer than usual.

“I’m alright,” William replied, his tone flat but steady. “This place is just… fucked up . There are a lot more experiments like the one we saw. Smaller scale, but still—wrong.”

“We are on our way!” Red’s voice brightened. “I can run ahead if you want me to?”

“Please don’t split up more than you have to,” Summoner practically begged, their voice speeding up slightly. “It’s hard enough keeping track of you with only one camera and three different lines of audio.”

There was a sudden flash—a streak of scarlet in William’s peripheral vision—and Red skidded to a halt beside him. The blur startled William enough that he flinched, his shoulder twitching in pain from an earlier injury.

Red noticed and laughed. “I guess that’s payback for sneaking up on me earlier,” he said, nudging William’s arm with his elbow. William gave him a tired look, but before he could answer, Red’s face changed.

The moment his eyes fell on the cages—on the pitiful forms trapped inside them—his smile vanished like a switch had been flipped. His whole body tensed. William hadn’t known Red long, but even he could tell—this was different . He’d never seen him look so angry. Not annoyed. Not flustered. Furious. Without a word, Red strode forward and began opening cages. No plan. No coordination. Just raw instinct.

“Woah, hang on—” William stepped in front of him, placing a hand out to slow him. “I agree we need to free them, but this is going to alert everyone to us.”

“What sort of black magic is this?” Virion’s voice echoed from the hallway as he arrived. He looked visibly shaken, eyes darting between cages. “What cruel sorcerer would do such a thing?”

Red barely looked over his shoulder. “Virion, dude. You talk like you’re in one of those old video games.”

“Well, he does play a lot of RPGs,” Summoner offered over the comms.

“We need to free them!” Virion declared again, his jaw clenched tight.

“Yes, okay,” William said, raising his voice slightly. “We’re all in agreement. BUT —hold on.” Virion and Red hesitated. Slightly. “I think we need to take this entire place down,” William said, scanning the ceiling for vents, cameras, anything that could help. “And if we’re going to do that, we should get all the people out first. It'll be way easier to reason with survivors if there isn’t a giant stampede of hybrid animals trashing the place.” Red turned back to him slowly, and to William’s surprise, his expression shifted again.

“Dude,” Red said softly, cracking a small grin. “You’re so cool.”

“What?” William blinked, caught completely off guard.

“Yeah, that is kinda badass,” Virion added, nodding solemnly.

William blinked at both of them. “Okay… thanks, I guess?” 

“How do you want to shut this place down?”Summoner cut in, voice thoughtful now

William crossed his arms and looked around the room again. “Well… I was thinking we could start it on fire?” Confidence was slowly draining from his voice

“ Hell yeah! ” Red whooped, pumping a fist in the air, which brought back a glimmer of the confidence Will had before. William turned slightly, refocusing. 

“Summoner, if we find a terminal and give you access, could you tell us how many workers are still here?”

“I could get a close estimate. If I had access to the internal cameras, I could check for heat signatures and maybe map movement patterns. Setting off the fire alarm would also help—it’d force most of the staff to evacuate.”

“Perfect,” William said. “So, step one: find some kind of fancy computer, plug you in, and let you do your hacker magic.”

“Got it,” Summoner replied. “Just don’t blow anything up until I’m done.”

Red cracked his knuckles. “No promises.”

Notes:

Sorry, it's been so long! (I also think this chapter is kind of mid, but it needed to happen, and I wanted to post something in this mini hiatus. I just finished my first year teaching, which is very exciting, but it's been pretty busy in the last few months. I've also had to go to the hospital and get a new car so my bank account is unhappy with me.

But we are so back! I'm not going to promise more chapters, but I'm hoping to go back to at least monthly chapters now that I get a summer break. I'm also hoping to do more POV swapping in the future. (Inferno inspired some scenes that I think will be fun to add and make sure that I keep interested in the story.)

Have a good Evening/Afternoon/Evening! Comments, Kudos, and Bookmarks are always appreciated, and they make my day :)

Chapter 10: Friend or Foe

Summary:

PD has started enacting a plan to take down the facility. Not everyone is in on it....

Notes:

TW: Controlling figure, Blood and injury*

The hallway felt sterile, like it had been cleaned far too many times with bleach. It gave Dakota a headache walking through. Virion,  who had been leading the pack, suddenly stopped when the space opened up a little bit more. It caused both Whisperer and Red to Bump into him. In front of them were a series of office spaces, each with a window that led out to the hallway. Each space had a worker dressed in a white lab coat, all laser-focused on a computer screen in front of them. They seemed to be typing mindlessly. Dakota wasn’t even sure if they were blinking. Dakota stepped around vyncent and walked into the halfway space. 

“What are you doing?” Whisperer quietly questioned, trying to grab his wrist. He only managed to just brush his palm. 

“Relax!” Dakota shrugged. He continued forward and tapped on the glass to one of the offices, the same way a kid would tap on a fish tank. The scientist inside didn’t even flinch. He just stared blankly at the computer screen, typing away on some document with too many words that Dakota didn’t know. “I don’t think they’ve noticed us.” Whisperer and Virion continued forward, with him trying to make a headcount of just how many people were here. It was odd how they all just sat, almost all following the same rhythm as they twiddled their fingers against their keyboards. 

“This feels… Weird.” Whisperer stated. “Why aren’t they reacting to us being here?” 

They reached the end of the corridor, just a few steps from the elevator, when a sudden bang reverberated glass behind them. All three jumped and spun toward the sound.

At the very end of the office row, a woman stood pressed against the inside of her cubicle window. Her graying brown hair was pulled into a low, loose bun, and her eyes were wide with exhaustion and desperation.

“Please—you have to help me!” she begged, voice muffled slightly through the glass. “Get me out of here. You look like heroes! Did the Primeforce send you? I thought they were sending Tide.”

“No pro heroes sent us,” Dakota replied, stepping forward and flashing his usual friendly confidence. “But we’re happy to get you out!”

He swiped a nearby keycard across the reader next to her office door. The card reader blinked red, then let out a sharp beep-beep-beep , denying access.

“Oh…” Dakota winced. “Well... I guess I can break you out!”

He raised one leg like a cartoon character ready to karate-kick the glass—but Whisperer quickly placed a firm hand on his shoulder, grounding him.

“Wait,” the Whisperer said calmly. “Can you tell us what’s going on here? What’s wrong with all the people?”

The woman looked over her shoulder at her motionless coworkers, her expression twisted with helplessness.

“I don’t know,” she whispered. “Brainwashed? Hypnotized? I don’t think they’ve moved in hours. Please… you need to get me out before he comes.”

“Before who comes?” Virion asked, eyes narrowing. She lowered her voice even more, glancing nervously toward the far end of the corridor.

“The big scary dude,” she said. “ Wavelength. ”

Dakota’s face lit up like a kid unwrapping a birthday present. “A villain ? Awesome! ”

“No, not awesome,” she snapped, frustrated. “Who sent you here?”

“No one sent us,” Virion explained, his tone measured but a little defensive. “We’re just here… investigating.”

The woman let out a shaky breath and leaned her forehead against the glass.

“All right,” Whisperer said, stepping forward. “I have an idea. Red, Virion—give me a second.” Both of them nodded, stepping back.

Whisperer closed his eyes, inhaled slowly, and let his form flicker. A faint blue glow shimmered over him like moonlight caught in mist. His shape blurred slightly at the edge, letting him phase through the glass wall.

“Nice work,  Whisperer!” Virion cheered. 

“Great! Now lets go!” the Lady scientist urged. The whisperer wasn’t looking at her; his eyes were fixed on a stack of papers on her desk. He studied the forms, trying to absorb all the information. “Hello? Let’s leave, please.” She begged, tugging lightly on the whisperer's arm. He wiped his head to look at her.

“Bell Tech paperwork?” He questioned,d staring at her with such intensity that it made Dakota uneasy. 

“Bell Tech and Blackwood Tech are two of this place's biggest funders.” She explained. “All corrupt corporate, but what isn’t these days?” 

“I-I see.” Whisperer nodded. 

“I’ll be sure to look into that.” Summoner cut in through the earpiece. The Whisperer offered his hand to the woman, who took it, and just as he was about to go intangible, the elevator Door dinged and began sliding open. 

“Hide,” Whisperer ordered before disappearing from sight, along with the scientist next to him. 

Dakota pulled Virion along, backtracking at super speed. Virion was only slightly disoriented at the speed. Dakota hissed through his teeth, forgetting about in injured leg. After a quick glance down the bandage and gauze were still a pristine white. That's a good sig,n and it means that he should probably take a few lessons from Virion regarding first aid. 

“I’ve got sights on Wavelength,” Summoner announced. “I can see him through the whisperer’s cam. He’s got some crazy gear. Looks pretty powered up.”

“Oh fuck.” What Dakota assumed to be Wavelength said. “How the fuck she’d get out?” His footsteps quickened as he approached where Dakota and Vyncent were hiding. Dakota readied his stance, and as soon as Wavelength turned the corner, he delivered a roundhouse Kick straight to the gut. It sent Wavelength skidding backward, but didn’t knock him off his feet.  The man was built. It was impossible to see his face with the gas mask he was wearing. It seemed to glow red and disguise his voice with some raspy imperfections. 

“Who the Fuck are you?” He asked. “How did some kids get in here?” He questioned, mostly unphased, but Dakota could tell he was holding his ribs like it hurt. 

“Thought you’d hear of us by now. Guess news doesn’t get out here much.” Dakota shrugged as he landed another Kick to the man’s shoulder. 

“I’m going to take the Scientist into the elevator with me If you two can keep him distracted. I’m not… I’m really not the fighting type so… You two got this!” Whisperer encouraged through the coms.

Virions form altered again. This time, his form was wearing a suit of armor, just like how he looked back at school. He bashed him forward with his shield. 

“Evil scum,” Virion spat. Dakota decided he didn’t like this form very much, but it was no doubt stronger than some of the others when it came to sheer strength and close combat skills. He moved like a pro even in the heavy armor. 

-

It’s weird to let people take control of your own body. Most of the time, its fine. Vyncent has grown up with the greats. He’s trained alongside them, even if they were a bit brutal at times, it only ever made him stronger. He knew they cared. He knows they care now, but it still feels odd when you aren’t entirely in control. Most of the time, it feels like he’s holding their hand and they are just guiding him through the motions. 

All accept for Alphonze. Alphonze has always been hard on them. He’s a knight. A paladin. He’s studied and has undergone rigorous training. People say that people will teach the way they’ve been taught, and Vyncent doesn’t doubt that for a second. Alphonze is brash and only likes to have it his way. When he takes over, it’s more like he stands in front of Vyncent, like he doesn’t trust him enough to hold his own. 

He’s thankful for the greats, really. It makes him feel much less alone in this foreign world. But he thinks that if Alphonze had it his way, he would be in control all the time and Vyncent would just be on autopilot in the background. The others don’t stand up to him either. It feels like they just watch. Like all that Vyncent can do is watch. He can tell his body is moving. He’s tired. He’s fighting, but fighting is exhausting, especially in that armor. He can't tell what he's saying or what he's doing. Alphonze isn’t listening to anyone. He thinks he's winning. He can see flashes of Red moving around, fighting alongside him. It feels like looking through fog right now. Maybe more like dreaming. 

Wavelength goes down and he expect that to be it. He expects Alphonze to give him back control, and he can be himself again. But he wasn’t stopping, he lifted his sword up into the ai,r ready to send it to Wavelength's chest. He can hear Red yelling at him, but for some reason, he can’t make out the words.

Vyncent felt the satisfying weight of the blow—the slam of steel against flesh, the grunt of air being forced from the villain’s lungs. He hit the floor and didn’t get back up.

That should’ve been it. That’s when Vyncent expected Alphonze to release control. To let go. To let him be again. But the armor didn’t fade. The grip on the sword didn’t loosen. Alphonze wasn’t finished. He raised the blade high, its sharpened edge catching the cold fluorescents as he took a step forward. The target: Wavelength’s chest. Vyncent screamed inside his own mind.

“ Enough! ” he shouted, clawing through the thick fog of psychic resistance that kept him locked in the background. Alphonze’s voice rumbled through their shared space. Calm. Unbothered. Rigid.

“This needs to be finished.”

“No- you don’t have to- he’s already down, it’s over, just—” But the sword was already moving.

Vyncent felt it. The weight of it through his fingers, the shift of his shoulders as the momentum carried forward. The world blurred.

And then Impact.

But it wasn’t the solid give of armor or bone. It was resistance. It was something soft but unyielding. The sword hit something. N o, someone. There was a collective, audible gasp from the Greats inside Vyncent’s mind. A dozen voices rising in alarm, like they were all watching a soap opera with some baffling reveal.

He fought harder than he ever had in his life. Scraping for control. Willing his hands to stop. To drop the blade . To look down. And finally,y Alphonze relented. Grudgingly.

The knight’s presence faded from the front of his mind, stepping back with the disappointed silence of a disapproving instructor. Vyncent blinked. His eyes burned. His chest heaved.He could see again. Be again. And then he saw it.

Red stood in front of him, both hands wrapped around the blade. His palms were bleeding—slow, steady lines of blue blood running down the metal, dripping onto the floor. His body trembled slightly, whether from pain or restraint, Vyncent couldn’t tell. The sword hadn’t struck Wavelength at all.

Red had stopped it. With his hands.

The armor around Vyncent vanished, followed by the sword in his grip. All of it disappeared like mist on a breeze. And in the sudden, deafening stillness of that moment, Vyncent choked back a sob. His knees went weak.

“I’m not going to be teammates with a murderer,” Red said with conviction. Cold. The kind of cold that didn’t come from anger, but from betrayal. Vyncent had never heard him sound like that before.

“I-I didn’t…” Vyncent’s voice broke. “I’m— I didn’t mean to—” He looked at Red’s hands, the blood, the bruises. “I’m sorry. Your hands—”

“They’re fine,” Red replied quickly, jaw clenched. He curled his fingers into fists despite the wounds.

“Let’s leave Wavelength here,” he said. It wasn’t a suggestion.

“I-I can help. Your hands… I just—” Vyncent reached out without thinking. But Red stepped back.

“Later,” he said, exhaling deeply. “Let’s meet back up with Whisperer. We’ll talk about all this together .” He turned toward the elevator without waiting for a response.

“R-Right,” Vyncent whispered. They walked in tense silence. The air between them crackled with unspoken words.

 

“Virion… Are you okay?” Summoner questioned. “We are on a separate channel. The other two can’t hear us right now.”

“I’m uninjured,” he replied mechanically. The words came out clipped. Hollow.

“That’s not what I meant. Like, are you okay with what just happened?” Summoneer questioned. Vyncnet paused for a while. A long while. Long enough for summoner to think that he may have disconnected. 

“No.” He finally responded. 

“You should talk to him. Alphonze.” Summoner suggested

“Min is talking his ear off. Atmonishing him. Sure, the others will start too.” 

“It will mean more coming from you. Also, how do you know words like Atmonish, but you don’t understand how to use a phone?” 

“Culture differences, I guess… Can we talk later… It’s getting loud. Too loud.” He didn’t mean the environment. He meant everything. His thoughts. The voices. The guilt.

He looked up to see Red staring at him, not angry, but… puzzled. “Sorry,” Vyncent said quickly. “I was talking with Summoner. I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s alright,” Red said, his voice distant. “You just reminded me of someone.” He didn’t elaborate. He turned again. “Let’s go.”

Vyncent opened his mouth—unsure whether to apologize again, or say nothing—but the comm crackled in his ear, cutting off his train of thought.

“Holy shit , guys?” Whisperer’s voice came through, laced with static and urgency. It layered over the low buzz of the argument still happening in Vyncent’s head—Alphonze being berated by the other Greats.

“You need to get down here right now and see this.”

Red immediately tapped into the comm channel. “We’re on our way. Wavelength is…” He hesitated, glancing back at the slumped figure. “Unconscious for now. But I don’t know how long he’ll be out.” He looked toward the mic. “Whisperer—are you okay?”

“I-I’m fine but…”

There was a loud crash of shattering glass, followed by the roar of water through the mic, rushing, sudden, and wild.

“Fuck. Okay. Maybe less okay now!” Whisperer blurted out.

Red raised a brow, a half-laugh slipping out despite himself. “Dude, why does this always happen when you’re alone?”

“I don’t know! It’s not like I’m trying to make these things happen!” Whisperer replied, voice pitching slightly higher with panic. “Shit- . ”

“Okay, Whisperer… that might’ve been my fault,” Summoner admitted, sheepish through the channel. “Sorry?”

“ Dude, what the fuck? ” Whisperer snapped.

“I’m sorry , okay! The person who was saving all these files had no organizational system! Everything was tagged ‘Untitled_4’ or ‘NewFinalDraft_v3’—I had to dig to even find anything!” Summoner shot back.

“But what happened ?” Red asked, more serious now.

“We can trade stories when you get here, ” the Whisperer cut in quickly, breathless. “

-

Dakota didn’t wait. He reached out and grabbed Virion by the wrist again, dragging him forward in a streak of red and white light.

He didn’t care that he was leaving a trail of blue blood behind him—or that it smeared onto Virion’s arm with every jolt and turn. He barely felt the burn in his injured leg anymore. Adrenaline was doing most of the work now.

Virion, meanwhile, looked horrified. He hadn’t said a word since they started running. His gaze was locked on the drying blood across Dakota’s hands. The proof of what he’d almost done. What he would’ve done if he hadn’t stopped him. Dakota noticed the way Virion wouldn’t meet his eyes.

He didn’t know how he felt about him right now. He thought back to the conversation they'd had on the boat. Virion wasn’t always in control, and it had been just like when he stopped him before at the school. 

The Elevator felt slow. Deatly quiet and awkward. Dakota didn’t know what to say or do. His hands stung if he thought about it too long. He should wrap them up. He knows he should. He’s bleeding a lot and it’s gross and sticky. 

Virion shuffled things around in his bag until he pulled out some bandages and offered them to Dakota. 

“If-if you don’t want me to… If you don’t want me, I understand… But you should bandage yourself up then.” He kept his hand out, offering the materials until Dakota took them. His hands he was used to bandaging them up. There had been plenty of times when Dakota fell he was doing parkour and caught himself with his hands. He’s going to have to go back to wearing his fingerless gloves. It’s going to be difficult to hide these scars from his friends. 

The elevator dinged. The doors creaked open. And both boys just… stared.

The room in front of them was massive—far bigger than the narrow corridors above. The tile floor was completely flooded in a thin layer of greenish liquid, glass shattered and glittering like frost. 

At the far end of the space, Whisperer and the scientist were crouched under the desk of a large, humming computer terminal. Likely, where Summoner had hacked the system. Whisperer had his hand up to his lips, signaling them to keep quiet. But none of that was what made their jaws drop.

It was the creature standing in the center of the room. It was the massive, hulking body of a T Rex, but covered in shaggy fur. A long, fluffy tail swept lazily behind it, and its head looked more canine than reptilian. Elongated snout. Rows of dagger-like teeth. Oversized ears that twitched at every sound.

Dakota froze. So did the creature. It stared at them. And Dakota just… stared back. To everyone else, it looked like a monster. To Dakota, it looked like one big dog.

He tilted his head slightly. “Sit,” he commanded, pointing at the ground like it was the most obvious thing in the world. The creature blinked. 

Then sat. 

A ground-shaking thump echoed through the room as it planted its fuzzy butt on the floor.

“Good boy!” Dakota grinned, stepping forward and reaching up to scratch at its thick fur. The creature let out a happy-sounding huff and leaned down into the touch, tail now wagging in wide, sweeping arcs that splashed green water across the room.

Dakota beamed. The creature panted, tongue lolling slightly to the side. Behind the desk, Whisperer slowly leaned out, eyes wide with disbelief.

“… What? ” he said flatly.

Notes:

Okay... so this chapter is a little shorter, however the next chapter is already like halfway done so hopefully posts should be a little more frequent for a little while.

Chapter 11: Setting Fires

Summary:

PD Makes a New Friend. Things don't go well. Everyone needs a nap.

Notes:

*TW: Animal Death, other mentions of Death, Injuries/blood*

“You cannot keep him,” Whisperer said sternly, eyes narrowed at Dakota like he was trying to speak logic into a brick wall. Dakota turned to him with wide, pleading eyes—the most ridiculous, exaggerated puppy dog eyes he could muster.

“Come on, look at him!” he said, gesturing toward the hulking hybrid creature beside him. He reached up and scratched under the beast’s jaw, which earned him a happy, tail-thumping wag from the creature. “He’s adorable!”

“Red. He’s gigantic,” Whisperer said flatly.

“Well, yeah,” Dakota admitted, patting Bino’s shoulder affectionately, “but we have to get him out of here anyway. We can’t just leave him in the fire we’re about to start.” 

“Wait… you’re going to set this place on fire?” the scientist asked, her voice pitching up in horror. “You can’t be serious!” Everyone ignored her.

Whisperer just stared at Dakota for a long, tired moment. Then he closed his eyes and sighed.

“You know what? Fine. This is insane, but sure. Why not. Add ‘kidnapping a genetically-engineered apex predator’ to the list of today’s crimes.”

“Great!” Dakota said cheerfully, slapping his hands together. “His name is Bino.”

“You already named him?” Whisperer blinked.

“Wow. You had that name ready,” Virion said, clearly impressed.

“I can be persuasive when I want to be,” Dakota replied with a smirk.

Then Whisperer’s expression shifted, and his gaze dropped to Dakota’s hands. “Okay. Okay… wait. What happened to your hands? Why are you… bleeding blue?”

Dakota’s smile faltered. He exchanged a look with Whisperer, then quickly looked away. The air in the room went a little heavier.

“Blue blood is kind of… the reason I have powers,” Dakota said, his voice a little more careful now. “The injury happened during the fight with Wavelength. I stopped something that—”

He stopped himself. Looked down at his hands as he finished wrapping them. The bandages were snug, tight, and already faintly stained. “We should talk about this later.” Virion nodded, not meeting the eyes of the other two.

“Alright, crew,” Summoner's voice came through the comms, brisk and focused. “I think I found some override codes for emergency protocol. It’ll trigger alarms, unlock most exits, and should push the staff into evacuation mode. You’ll be in charge of handling anyone who doesn’t take the hint.”

“Perfect,” Whisperer said. “We can start the fire down here—make it look like Bino escaped and somehow triggered it. Like a lab accident.”

“You’re going to blame arson on Bino?” Dakota cried, scandalized. “He’s done nothing wrong. Ever.”

Whisperer raised a brow. “Well, it’s not like they’ll arrest him. He’s a big fuzzy dinosaur. He can’t commit arson on purpose, so technically, it’s just a... tragic incident.”

A tiny, flickering flame drifted into view—a ghostly blue wisp, dancing around Whisperer’s fingers. The temperature around them shifted. Dry. Tense.

Dakota and Virion exchanged a knowing look. They instantly understood how the fire was going to start.

“Alright,” Dakota said with a grin, already climbing onto Bino’s broad, furry back. “Everyone on.”

“No way. Absolutely not,” the scientist said, backing away. “You’re all insane.”

“Look, lady,” Virion said, trying to sound patient but definitely losing it. “We’re trying to help you, but you’re not making it easy.”

She hesitated—clearly torn—but shook her head. “Okay... good luck with whatever this is. I appreciate the assistance, but I’ll find my own way out.”

She turned and disappeared down one of the adjacent corridors, leaving the group to their plan.

Whisperer stepped closer to the center of the room and dropped the wisp. The fire caught immediately. Blue at first—eerie and quiet—but then the color shifted, licking up the walls in deep reds and oranges.   Flames burst outward as they fed on chemical residue and old wiring. The colors kept shifting, reacting with all the different chemicals. The Fire shifted to greens, and blues, even sometimes purple. It was an astounding rainbow of colors, lighting up the smoke rising from the building. The lab would be gone in minutes.

They didn’t waste time. Luckily, the freight elevator was still functional. It was massive enough for Bino to fit inside thanks to Summoner rerouting control through the override system.

It was a little ridiculous, guiding a building-sized dog-like creature around a burning laboratory. But Whisperer had a solution: he ghost-shaped a massive, glowing dog bone and floated it like a lure in front of Bino’s nose.

“Come on, big guy. This way,” Whisperer coaxed.

Bino followed obediently, tongue lolling as he chased the ghostly treat into the elevator. Dakota patted his shoulder proudly like they were in a slow-motion hero movie.

The elevator brought them to the animal loading bay, the same route Dakota had entered through earlier. It provided a relatively easy exit, wide enough to move Bino without breaking through any walls. For once, the facility’s design worked in their favor.

As soon as they stepped onto the main floor, Summoner triggered the alarms.

Screaming.

Running.

Lab coats were scattered in every direction as klaxons blared overhead and flashing red lights bathed the halls. The sight of a giant fluffy T-Rex only made things worse—people sprinted for the exits, slipping on tile, tripping over desks, dropping laptops and files in a storm of panic.

All was going mostly according to plan until they got outside. And that’s where things went bad.

Really bad. 

A wall of black-armored soldiers was already waiting—military-esque uniforms, faces hidden behind visors, guns raised. They saw Bino. They opened fire.

“ NO -!” Dakota shouted, yanking hard on Bino’s scruff to try and turn him back, but the creature froze in fear as bullets began to ricochet around them. The soldiers weren't aiming for the team. They were aiming at Bino, and Bino was hard to miss.

Flashes lit up the night. The air filled with the shriek of gunfire and the sharp tang of smoke. Bullets pinged off the pavement, off Bino’s thick hide. He growled in pain, confused, and he was whimpering, crouching down low.

“They’re going to kill him!” Dakota cried, eyes wide, heart hammering. “What do we do?!” He turned to Whisperer—eyes pleading. Whisperer was the smart one. Whisperer always had a plan. There had to be something. Dakota’s voice cracked. “I-I could run in front of him. Take the bullets. I can move fast enough to be a shield but-”

“No,” Whisperer said instantly, his voice calm but sharp. “Absolutely not.”

“But they’re hurting him!”

“I know,” Whisperer said. “I know. Just give me two seconds. I-” Another tortured cry tore from Bino’s throat. Whisperer’s voice faltered. His eyes went glossy. “…Fuck.” He turned to Virion. His voice was soft. Resigned. “Catch me. Okay?”

Before Virion could even respond, Whisperer slumped forward, collapsing limp against Bino’s back. Virion lunged and caught him by the shoulders, steadying his body.

“Whisperer?” Dakota asked, alarmed. But something else was already happening.

His white hair changing into black curls like ink soaking into cloth. Somehow familiar in a way Dakota couldn’t place. Something rose out of him.

A glowing, bluish-white wisp lifted from Whisperer’s body, humanoid in shape, but radiant, ethereal, untouchable. Hair bright as frost and eyes lit like twin moons. The new form hovered above the battlefield with a grace that defied gravity, otherworldly and calm. It was Whisperer, but not like they’d ever seen before. Dakota and Virion stared, struck silent, mouths slightly parted.

The soldiers shifted their aim and opened fire on the ghost. Bullets ripped through the air, but they passed cleanly through the spirit. Each shot that connected burst into sparks of blue light, like bullets trying to strike a reflection on water.

Whisperer’s wraith form didn’t even flinch. He raised a hand.

From his palm, a spiral of blue flame ignited, cold-looking, bright, and soundless. It sailed through the air like a sword swiping through it before erupting outward in a wall of energy that roared across the battlefield.

The soldiers screamed. Their formation broke. Panic took over. They scattered. Guns dropped. Orders shouted. Retreat signals blared. Within seconds, the line was broken, just smoke, confusion, and the echo of fleeing footsteps. The light from Whisperer’s flames slowly faded. He turned back to his friends.

Dakota and Virion were still staring.

“Dude, that was totally awesome!” Dakota stared at the ghost, stars in his eyes. Whisperer just awkwardly crossed his arms as if comforting himself. 

“I-I just want to be back in my body.” 

“Oh uh… yeah sure.” Virion nodded thoughtfully. The two forms merged once again as Whisperer's soul merged back with his body. 

-

William hated this part. Not just disliked it. He despised the fall back into himself. His body didn’t welcome him back. It resisted. The moment his spirit sank in, it was like crashing into bone and nerve and too-tight skin all at once.

It felt wrong. He felt wrong. Pain bloomed instantly. His shoulder igniting with sharp, blinding heat where once there’d only been a dull ache. His stomach clenched, turned, and flipped. Bile crept up the back of his throat. His head pulsed. He gasped quietly, eyes fluttering open. His hearing returned in an overwhelming rush. His heartbeat thundered, his breath felt jagged and wrong in his chest. Even blinking stung.

This is normal, he told himself. This is what it means to be in a body. You’re still human. You’re still human. You’re still you. 

“Are you okay?” Virion asked gently.

William opened his mouth, but nothing came out. If he spoke, he might throw up. He gave a slight nod and curled in on himself. His fingers gripped the fabric of his coat like it might hold him together.

“You are so cool!” Red said, still beaming. “That was totally sick, man! I had no idea you could do that!” William glanced up through blurred vision. Red looked amazed. Bright-eyed. Genuinely impressed. It made William feel… worse. Like the thing he hated most about himself had just become the coolest part of someone else's day.

“I-is there any way to convince you both you never saw that?” he mumbled.

Virion blinked. “What? Why! Your power is incredible!”

“I just…” William shook his head, his voice fraying. “I don’t think it’s good for me.” He pressed his hand to his shoulder, trying to steady the pain. The ache pulsed with every breath, raw and searing.

Virion’s voice was quieter now. Measured. “You have to do what’s best for you first in order to help others.” He paused. “If it’s not safe… then maybe it’s for emergencies only. But, you really are amazing.”

William looked at him. There was a warmth in Virion’s gaze. Soft. Steady. Comforting in a way he wasn’t used to. Was he hitting on him? William couldn’t tell. Didn’t have the energy to analyze it.

He managed a small, tired smile. “Thanks.”

Bino began to slow beneath them. The pounding of paws on soil grew sluggish. Uneven. Then, with a deep, rattling breath, the creature stumbled and fell forward hard. The sudden jolt knocked the wind out of everyone. Red yelped as he hit the dirt. Virion tumbled off the side, landing in a crouch.

William hit the grass hard, right on his injured side. Pain ripped through him like lightning. He gasped sharply, a choked whimper escaping as he clutched his shoulder. The world blurred. The sky spun. The earth felt like it was tilting beneath him. He lay still, every breath feeling like it scraped against the inside of his ribs.

Bino groaned beside him, massive chest rising and falling with each labored breath. The forest around them was quiet again. But it felt like the stillness before something else. Something worse.

“Everyone okay?” Summoner asked through the coms. Red was the first one back on his feet. 

“I’m fine!” responded. “Virion? Whisperer?”
“I’m okay!” Virion acknowledged.

William didn’t answer right away. He wasn’t sure he could. He slowly pushed himself upright. And held his arm close to his body, trying to relieve the pain he was feeling. 

“I’m okay,” Whisperer responded. His voice betrayed him more than he wanted it to. He couldn’t keep up with these two. They seemed so unfazed by everything. Red’s bandages around his hands were nearly soaked through, and he was acting like he wasn’t injured at all. They took down a villain together.  “Is he okay?” he whispered, gesturing to Bino. 

They all looked at Bino, quietly. Breathing, but just barely. Red went up and put his hand on the side of Bino’s face.

“It’s okay, buddy. It’s gonna be okay. You did so good getting us out of there.” Red encouraged, softly comforting the creature.

There were patches of red all over. Difficult to see through the thick fur, but there was definitely plenty of damage. Bino whined and leaned into Red, nearly knocking him over in the process. Red looked back up to him and Virion. “Is there anything else we can do?”

Virion, determined, shifted to the cowboy version of himself. He fired two healing bullets into Bino, and it definitely helped, but it was like putting a band-aid on a bullet wound. The healing bullets could only help so much. Bino was large with many injuries. It didn’t seem like the healing magic was designed for anything on that grand of a scale. 

“I-I’m sorry… I don’t think I can do anything else for’em. I have two more bullets, but it’s not look’n to be help’n him much,” Virion explained. “It would benefit the two of you more.”

“But, I’m not the one dying!” Red argued. “He’s going to be alright. We can figure this out.” William brought his knees to his chest and just rested his head on them. He failed. Maybe if he had used the Wisp form sooner, then he could have saved Bino. He shouldn’t have hesitated. It’s not so bad, even if he’s certain he’s killing his body in the process. He failed. 

“I’m sorry.” William lifted his head just barely enough to see Red in his gaze, “I wasn’t fast enough to save him.” 

“No. He’s going to be okay. He’s not going to die.” Red denied.

“Red…” William’s voice broke. “There isn’t anything else we can do.” Red sat down in the grass, pressed his forehead against Bino’s muzzle, and began petting him. Slow. Gentle. Like if he just kept doing it, maybe Bino would hold on.

Then the breathing stopped. There was no gasp. No drama. Just silence. Bino stilled beneath Red’s hands. No one spoke. For a long time, the only sound was the gentle rustle of the trees.

Then Red sobbed. Loud, open, and raw. He didn’t try to hide it. His grief came out in jagged, broken sounds that split the silence like glass. William cried too, quiet and shaky. Guilt twisted deep into his chest. Virion followed, his shoulders shaking as he tried to hold back at first, but eventually gave in.

The mission was supposed to be simple. Recon only. Now they were in the woods, half-broken, with the creature that saved them lying dead at their feet. And nothing about it felt like victory. Maybe this team had bitten off more than they could chew. Maybe they weren’t the right people for this kind of job after all.

The silence stretched, broken only by the occasional sniffle or quiet sob. Then Summoner’s voice buzzed in through the comms, soft and apologetic.

“…We missed the boat back.” No one moved. “I have a feeling they’ll send more ships once they realize the facility’s burning,” she added. “Between the fire and the evac, there’ll be a response. You can probably catch one of those… but for now, I think you should rest.” No one responded. Then, bang.

A sharp sound, and then a heavy thud that made William’s body lurch forward. Warmth rushed through him. Soothing.  It wrapped around his injured shoulder like a balm, like sunlight after cold. Virion had shot him with one of the remaining healing bullets. William blinked slowly. The pain dulled and slowly evaporated

Another bang. Red flinched and glared at Virion as the second healing bullet hit him square in the back. Wordlessly, he took the bandages off his hands and examined the scars on his hands.

Red didn’t look happy or thankful for the healing. He looked pissed for lack of a better term. It the only word that felt like it matched his intensity. 

“Was it you or someone else who made the choice to heal me?” Red asked. The question was directed at Virion, but he didn’t face towards him.

“I did,” Virion said.

“Who is I?” Red questioned. “I’m not trying to be rude. But I don’t know.” Red stated.

“...Me. Virion.” He responded as the cowboy attire vanished.

William wasn’t sure when to intervene. He still wasn’t really sure what had happened. All he got was bits and pieces of an augment he heard over coms. Even then he was preoccupied with his own things. William decided to stay silent for now, but if it started to escalate, he’d need to step in. 

“Sorry. I should have healed Wavelength, too, but I… I wasn’t thinking about it.” Virion continued. Red finally turned to him now and stared at him. William held his tongue. He wanted to butt in but didn’t want to overstep. His head turned to Red, expecting some sort of rebuttal. 

“I meant what I said before.” Red began. “I’m not going to be on a team with a murderer. I just want to know who I’m working with… I know we can’t share our identities, but I’m a pretty open book. I’ll answer whatever I can. I thought we all had some agreement here.” Red was clearly frustrated, but Will was impressed by how composed he was keeping himself. 

“Where I’m from… we don’t have much of a court system or whatever you call it. It’s like a monarchy. Where a king or a queen decides someone's fate, and it’s often execution. There is more freedom in my world to take your own action and decide on the lives and deaths of others. There is evil. Genuinely evil beings that just kill and take. And take.” Vyncent took a deep breath and wiped away tears. “I’m really far from him. I don’t know why I have all these people in my head, the Greats in my head. I know that killing is wrong here, but they don’t get it. They see evil and think it’s best to vanquish it from the world.”

“Killing is always wrong.” Red amended. “Your world sounds fucked up,” Virion looked genuinly hurt by that. He sounded homesick more than anything. 

“Red.” William cut in. “That's too far.”

“I’m pretty sure it’s widely considered that killing is wrong,” Red argued back.

“Not that part. We have no idea what Virion’s home is like. That was insensitive.” William stated. 

“Right… I’m sorry. I just… I just can’t imagine that.” Red tacked on. “All I want to do is save as many people as I can. It just sounds wrong to be something so opposite of that.”

“Sometimes you have to kill one to save many. It’s like the trolley problem. Change the track to one to save the three,” William explained.

“That’s a horrible mentality. Change the track to one and untie the one before the trolley comes. Then go over to the three and untie them too. I’m just saying, I’d rather try everything I can to save everyone than justify that someone’s death is okay because it saves more people.” 

William thought that Red might be the best hero he’d ever met. Maybe naive, but he spoke with such confidence that he believed that Red might be able to do that. Corporate heroes all seemed so corrupt nowadays. Like they were only in it to make headlines and get famous. Red just seemed like he genuinely wanted to help people. 

“I just need you to tell me.” Red decided, turning towards Virion. “Like if someone else is taking over, and you know you can’t control it. I need you to tell me first, and I will be there to stop you from doing something you’ll regret.” Virion's eyes watered, but he agreed. It seemed like it meant a lot for Red to say that to him.  

“Okay.”

“We should talk about your ghost form too,” Red suggested.

“Do we have to?” William deflated. 

“Dude! You were incredible! I’ve never seen anything like that before! Even the pro heroes.” Red began. 

“It’s just… not very… it feels like every time I use it… It’s harder and harder to go back to being me.” William began. “It feels like I’m walking on a tightrope between life and death. And when I used that form… I’m not sure if I’ll be able to come back. Like I could tip and fall, and I’ll just be stuck.” William explained. “It makes me scared.” William placed a hand on his chest again, making himself aware of the heartbeat that still sounded too loud. At least it was there. 

“Your body didn’t have a pulse,” Virion explained. Will assumed this was the case, but he didn’t have the evidence until now. He wondered if it had some sort of time limit then. Like he could only leave his body to be dead for so long. He shuddered thinking about it. It felt weird seeing his own body; however, it was even worse to know that his body was a corpse and not just asleep. 

“I don’t know how many times I can do that,” William stated. “I think it might kill me for good.” Red nodded. 

“Okay. Then it’s only a last resort option.” Red agreed. There was silence again. It stretched for a long time. 

- 

Dakota was bored. Not restless. The kind of boredom that crept in when there was nothing left to do but wait. He lay flat in the grass, arms behind his head, staring up at a sky that stretched endlessly above them. Out here, far from the polluted haze of the city, the stars were plentiful. Some of it was obscured by the smoke starting to fill the sky, but it was still beautiful. It made him feel worse. 

He kept his gaze fixed on the sky, refusing to glance toward where Bino lay still. He didn’t want to cry again. The silence between the three of them was thick but comfortable. No one had the energy to talk.

Then, faintly, Dakota heard it. The low hum of an engine, muffled by distance. He sat up, head tilting toward the sound. The others noticed and followed his gaze. A motorcycle rumbled into view, pulling to a stop at the tree line. Wavelength. He hadn’t seen them.

He looked rough. Slouched over the handlebars, he was breathing hard. The glowing panel on his gas mask flickered as he exhaled. He was holding right where Virion had stabbed him, blood soaking through his sleeve.

Behind him, slumped awkwardly against the back of the bike, was the scientist. She looked unconscious. It was impossible to tell whether he was rescuing her or kidnapping her. Dakota moved to stand, instinct pulling him forward, but Whisperer extended an arm to hold him back. So they just watched. 

Wavelength didn’t look like a villain. Not now. He looked like someone just trying to breathe. Maybe the only reason he’d stopped was because he couldn’t keep going. Virion swallowed hard. He didn’t say anything, but Dakota could see the tension release slightly in his shoulders. He was grateful Wavelength was still alive, even if he didn’t say it out loud.

A tremor rippled through the ground beneath them. For a second, Dakota thought they’d been spotted. He braced, ready to move. But then he turned, eyes widening.

 A gigantic wave, more like a wall of water, loomed high above the burning remains of the facility, glowing with captured moonlight. Then it crashed down.

A single, earthshaking impact. Flames hissed. Smoke exploded skyward. And just like that, the fire was gone. Dakota stared, frozen. He had seen powerful people before… but this was something else. He didn’t need anyone to tell him who it was. It was Tide.

The pro hero they were supposed to be waiting for. He hadn't even shown up until after everything was over, and yet, with a single move, he’d done what none of them could. Put out the fire. Saved the building. Made it all look easy.

Dakota looked down at his hands. And he had never felt smaller. He wasn’t strong enough. Not yet. Tide operated on an entirely different level. The pros always seemed untouchable, untiring. And after everything they'd lost, after Bino, after the pain and the mistakes…Dakota clenched his jaw. He needed to be better. He needed to be stronger than Tide if he wanted to be a pro hero one day. 

When Tide dropped down near Wavelength with a wet thud, the three boys were silent. They stood watching in Awe. Dakota couldn’t be more excited to watch a real hero this close up. He hasn’t been this close to a hero-villain fight since the Black Star fight with the Prime Force. 

“Look, you can take her,” Wavelength said. “Not worth dying over.” He lifted one hand in the air in surrender, but kept the other hand over his injury from the earlier fight. 

“You will still have to come with me. An attempted kidnapping and arson are still crimes.” Tide stated. Tide always had a specific way of talking. Dakota has watched a lot of different interviews with Tide. He’s gotten used to the slightly robotic way he speaks. He sounds like he’s programmed with voice lines for each specific situation. Like A human who’s trying to make sure he sounds human and kind. Being a hero, you have to be careful of the media and make sure you say the right things. If you don’t, you end up looking like the villain. Dakota had always thought that Tide spoke like that for interviews, but apparently that's just how he sounds. 

Wavelength sighed and put up his hands, ready to fight. Instead of going for a strike, he extended one arm out directly at Tided and fired at him like he was fucking iron man. Dakota and Virion had the realization that Wavelength was likely going easy on them, afraid to really hurt them because they are kids, at least that's how he saw them. It was fascinating to watch them go all out. It was clear that Wavelength was outmatched in his current state. He was going to lose this fight, and if anyone was holding back now, it was Tide. 

“There’s a boat. I you three can sneak away, I suggest you go now.” Summoner’s voice echoed in their earpieces.” Dakota had a hard time tearing his eyes from the fight, but he had no doubt that Tide would win. Virion tugged him along. At some point, Whisperer had made them invisible, at least he thinks he did, because Tide definitely should have seen them go by; they were directly in his line of sight. 

Dakota was exhausted. He was sure all of them were. He could hardly stay awake at his point, Virion was wavering on his feet too. Whisperer, the only one to seem mostly alert and coherent, helped them sneak onto the boat without issue.  From the deck, the three quietly admired the magical looking array of colors from the dwindling fire. They slipped below, found a dark, hidden corner, and all promptly fell asleep. Was it the smartest idea to have all of them asleep? No, probably not. They were all tired and needed rest, and no one was going to withhold that from the others. They could deal with whatever problems they faced after their nap. 

Notes:

Alright, a lot happened in this chapter, and everyone is going to have their own trauma to sort out in the next one! I feel like Bino's death, especially in canon, was such an impactful moment in the series for me that it felt too important not to have in this story. However, I'm looking forward to being further away from cannon after this. Might be some time skipping too, not like a whole lot, but some. Thank you for reading! We have over 100 kudos now!

Comments, Kudos, and Bookmarks are always appreciated! <

Chapter 12: Burning out

Summary:

It's like pretty fluffy for like most of this chapter. A tiny time skip happens. Also... it's gonna be a lot of angst from here on out so... be prepared. Enjoy the little fluff you have. I'm a hurt/comfort writer, but like I plan to make it HURT.

Notes:

*TW: Underage Drinking, Burns, and fire (Not super descriptive, but it's there), Nightmares, and injury*

When the boat docked again in New Haven, it arrived without issue. It was deathly silent even as the three young heroes exited the vessel. Virion woke up first and gently woke the others by shaking their shoulders. They said quick goodbyes, returned the camera and earpeices with trackers back to Vrion, and then went their separate ways. 

It didn’t take long for Dakota to make it home. With his superspeed, it only took him 6 minutes to get all the way across town. When he did arrive home, he went in through the fire escape. It felt too tedious to walk through all the hallways and staircases. The elevator was to slow for him.

As he arrived in his messy, cold apartment, he immediately dove under the covers of his bed. He thought he was still tired, but he couldn’t seem to sleep. The function simply did not work despite how exhausted he felt. Staring at the ceiling, he tried to organize his thoughts which felt entirely overwhelming. Virion almost killed somebody. Wavelength could have died. He lifted his hands out from under the covers and looked at the matching pair of scars on his hands. Fingerless gloves it is from here on. He wondered for a moment if he could gaslight his friends, but then he remembered that William would see right through him with his crazy good memory. 

He thought about Bino and the Whisperers' ghostly form. It felt like they bit off far more than they could chew. They weren’t prepared for anything on that grand scale. Their teamwork was all over the place. That would be something they need to work on.  Develop closer relationships. Make sure they stay together so Summoner can keep them all on the same page. Make sure Whisperer doesn’t need to use his crazy power. Make sure Virion doesn’t get taken advantage of by the people in his head. 

Eventually, sleep won despite how fast his own brain was spinning. He let his body relax and let himself sink into the mattress. He’s sleep was far from peaceful. He woke up several times to different nightmares. The first one was about Bino. The large beast crawled in a way that looked unnatural. He was heading for Dakota, not in a mean or malicious way, but in one that was tormented and pleading for help. He crawled over to Dakota until he couldn’t move anymore. He died again, large muzzle falling into Dakota’s lap. Dakota took a few deep breaths before falling asleep again. The next one, Whisperer and Virion, were with them. Virion was wrong, though. Attaching them instead. Whisperer used his special ghost form to fight back, but Virion had just charged towards Whisperer's limp body and began stabbing into it. Dakota fell too slow in his dreams, powerless. He woke up, bolting upright, breathing heavily. He wasn’t scared of them. He wasn’t. He needed to help them. He was afraid of failing them. 

Dakota got up that time and turned on the TV. He lay on the couch in the living room. At least that way, if he woke up again, he would immediately be distracted but whatever images were flashing on the TV. 

-

William didn’t know how to approach David. He’s never known how to approach his brother, even when they lived in the same house. In fact, they mostly avoided each other. Even living with each other again, they hardly saw one another. David didn’t even notice that William had left that night. There were no missed calls or texts from a worried brother. Nothing.

William entered through the lobby to get to the penthouse. He had already changed out of His whisperer attire in a gas station bathroom he phased into. He assumed David would be sleeping. His assumption was wrong. David was in the dining room, staring at a laptop. He hardly looked up when William entered. 

“You were out late.” He muttered as he turned his attention back to the computer in front of him. 

“Just with some friends. Sorry, I fell asleep there.” William is not a very good liar, but he was exceptional at omitting the truth. Nothing about what he said was false. 

“Mom will be happy to hear you are making friends here,” David said. 

“Yeah. I’ll call her tomorrow.” William nodded. He hesitated a moment. He didn’t know how to bring this topic up. Bring up the fact that Beltech was directly involved in the experimentation on animals and people, and death. So much unethical death. He wasn’t supposed to know any of that.  Whisperer knew not William. William looked away from his brother. David had to have known, right? He was the CEO. The big corporate boss. It might have been his decision to be involved with the Hartawa facility, and that made William feel sick. “What are you working on?” William questioned. David looked up at William again, slightly surprised and perplexed.

“You don’t normally ask about work,” David said. “Our company just lost some resources from a fire at a sister facility. I’m doing damage control and making sure our workers are reallocated to here or Headquarters in freedom city.”

William nodded quietly. He knows. He’s involved. That fire? William caused that. He’s talking about Hartawa. 

“Sounds tough. Sorry about that.” William responded as calmly as he could. 

“Yeah, just some dumb teens that don’t know what they are doing and are messing with things they shouldn’t. Probably a worker's kid.” Or younger sibling, William’s mind added. 

“I’m going to go to bed. Night, David.” William said before shuffling off to his bedroom, abruptly ending the conversation. David turned back to his computer and began typing again, not even responding with a goodnight in return. 

William lay in his room, entirely unable to sleep. He kept trying to think of ways to bring up the topic with David, but he couldn’t think of a way to keep his own identity a secret at the same time as he confronted him. It’s nights like these that William goes out to the balcony. He has a small one that leads out of the door of his bedroom. It’s not very big, maybe 3 people could fit on it max. Any more than that would feel crowded. The balcony was empty, no chairs or furniture, but William didn’t mind. He sat with his back against the closed door to his room. Wisps circled around him, playing and messing with his hair. It was a little annoying but endearing, so he didn’t stop them. 

He stayed out for a while, somehow expecting to see Red or Virion on some nearby rooftop despite knowing they must be as exhausted as he was. He checked his phone, expecting some random message from Dakota to show up, but his notifications were blank. He thought about messaging him. After seeing that bruise on his arm and the way he recoiled with pain when Vyncent touched his shoulder, William has been worried. It looked like abuse, especially with the way Dakota avoided talking about it and lied about it. The places where injuries were were in more hidden locations. He’s also been orphaned; it's more likely that someone who isn’t his birth parent would be the one to hurt him, too. Maybe he’d bring it up with Vyncent and see if he’s noticed anything else off about Dakota.  

William got up to go back inside, only to realize he locked himself out and had to phase through the door to get back inside. He switched into some more comfortable clothing. In the process, he slowly unwrapped his previously injured arm. There was nothing but a faint pink scar left in it’s place. The healing bullet that was used on him was powerful, and Will was thankful for that. However, the rapid healing was nearly impossible to explain. He decided to bandage himself back up for the sake of pretending he was still healing from the injury. Sinking into bed, he fell asleep after at least an hour of staring at the ceiling first. 

-

Ashe was ready for when Vyncent would get home. They had a system. Ashe always left his bedroom window open for Vyncent to sneak back inside. They always had a first aid kit open, even if he wasn’t injured. Vyncent would give back all the electronics he took out, and Ashe would have some clean clothes to change into. Vyncent normally went to bed shortly after getting back, tired from being up all night fighting crime. All would happen nearly wordlessly.

This time was different. Ashe knew they would need to talk. Even if Vyncnet didn’t want to, they needed to talk about what happened. So this time, after getting a text from Mark saying that work was keeping him late, Ashe made two mugs of hot chocolate. They don't know if Vyncent likes hot chocolate, but they figured it was worth a shot.

When Vyncent arrived, he didn’t say anything, just simply started his routine with Ashe. When they got to the end of it, Ashe lifted the mug to hand to Vyncent. 

“What is it?” Vynce asked as he took the warm cup in his hands. 

“Hot Chocolate. Normally we have it in the winter here, but I thought… Well, it's like a good pick-me-up. It’s sweet.” Ashe explained he clinked his cup against Vyncent’s and then took a sip. Vyncent mimicked the behavior, seemingly liking the drink as he went back for another. They sat on Ashe’s bed for a while in silence before they finally spoke up. 

“Are you okay?” Ashe asked softly. Vyncent stared into his mug and swirled it a few times. 

“I- I don’t know. Like, I know that wasn’t me, but it's so hard to know where I stop and they begin.” Vyncnet explains. “It’s hard to talk about it when they’re all technically in the same room.” 

“Do… you want to talk about it?” Ashe probed. 

“I’m sick of feeling like they don’t trust me.” Vyncnet explained. 

“You should tell them that.

“Oh, they heard,” Vyncent stated bitterly. “Doesn’t mean it will change anything.” Ashe just frowned at him. “Tonight was a lot.”

“I know,” Ashe agreed. “It was hard to keep track of everyone.”

“Definitely were not making it easy for you.” Vyncent acknowledged. 

“I-I’m sorry. If I had guided you all better or taken you out through a better route, then Bino wouldn’t have had to die.” Ashe turned away,y staring at the floorboards.

“Ashe. You can’t blame yourself for that, man,” Vyncent stated. “There was so much going on.” 

“I know. It’s just I want to feel like I’m helping you.” Ashe admitted. 

“We would be lost without you. I think you’re the only one who has a sensible mind.” Vyncent praised. “I hope you know that we do appreciate you.”

“Sorry, I was supposed to be making you feel better, not the other way around.” 

“I do feel better, but while we are talking about this, there is something else I should tell you.”

“Yeah, okay.”

“I think the whisperer died.” 

“Well, yeah. He told us that before.” Ashe nodded.

“No. Like when he was all ghosty and Blue and shit. His body… It didn’t have a pulse.” Vyncent explained. “I just… I don’t know it feels weird to let him do that again. I thought you might know more about it with that creepy book of yours.”

“Well, I’ve definitely seen the name Whisperer come up several times,” Ashe explained. “Some sort of planeswalker. A bridge between life and death. He’s supposed to help spirits pass on. Kinda fits the bill.”

“He doesn’t seem to like it though… or control it all that well.” Vyncent continued. 

“Maybe he’s new? I’m not really caught up to date on the whole spirit world politics…. or know how any of that works.” Ashe pondered. “A lot of these words I still don’t understand either… You seem worried about him. The whisperer that is.”

“I want to make sure he doesn’t have to use that power again.” Vyncent determined,

“I don’t know… If he is the whisperer, like the one in this book? It would probably be better to learn how to use his powers, wouldn’t it?” Vyncent frowned, now not knowing what response was correct.  “You could talk to him about it.” Ashe suggested. 

“You should talk to him about it. You know more than I do.” Vyncent countered. “Have you thought about joining us out on the field?”

“I think I will some day, but for now I’m feeling like helping from the sidelines.” 

“Can’t be good staying in your room all day.” 

“Well, when I leave, I get sick from literally anyone else who’s sick so…” 

“Okay… well, Mark is a little too overprotective. About you, specifically.” Vyncnet argured. “How about we go and get Pizza? Will and Dakota were talking about that, we could all go together.”

“Did you… Set up a time to go see them?” Ashe questioned. “Or like a way to contact them?”

“Well… No. Not really. We were going to go after school, but then the thing attacked, so…” Vyncent shrugged. “You and I could get pizza.” 

“How about you give them my number? Or if they have Discord, you have an account now. You could give them that too…. But maybe that's not a good idea if you accidentally use the wrong account. You know, bad plan.  Nevermind. Just give them my number.” Ashe suggested as he pulled a sticky note from his desk and jotted down his number. “Here, just give this to them,” Ashe explained when Vyncent looked confused. “They will know what to do with this.” Vyncent grabbed it and put the note next to his bed. 

“Do you think Mark would let you go out and get Pizza tomorrow?” Vyncnet asked. 

“I’ll ask,” Ashe stated before they both finished their Hot chocolates and got ready for bed.

-

Meeting up at Tony’s happened by sheer coincidence. Dakota had just been hungry.

He didn’t have much money for groceries, so whatever he picked up from the store had to be as cheap as possible. Unfortunately, that meant it wasn’t usually very healthy. He had plenty of pasta—sometimes even sauce—and off-brand cereal. Meat was a luxury, something he could only afford occasionally. Without school meals to rely on, his diet had become even more repetitive. To stretch what little he had, he figured he could swing by Tony’s and snag some free pizza.

He brought his phone charger, too. He had a feeling he’d need to cut the electricity later this month. He’d have it until the middle of this month, but after that… well, heat took priority now that the colder months were creeping in. And he couldn’t go without water. Clean drinking water was essential,l and he really liked being able to shower when he needed to.

What he didn’t expect was to see Vyncent and Ashe already sitting at a booth when he walked in. Without thinking, Dakota’s face lit up, and he hurried over.

Vyncent smiled and scooted over, making room. “Hey, man”

“I didn’t expect to see you here, Dud,e” Dakota grinned as he sat down. “Order anything yet?”

“No, we haven’t been here very long,” Vyncent shrugged.

“Okay, great! Then pizza’s on me!”

“You have pizza on you? Like you’re carrying it?” Vyncent asked, raising an eyebrow.

“No, he means he’ll pay for the pizza we order,” Ashe explained dryly.

“I know the owner, so it’s more like we get free pizza anyway,” Dakota added with a grin.

“Still sick though,” Ashe nodded in approval.

“If it’s cool with you guys, I’m gonna message Will and see if he wants to come too,” Dakota said, pulling out his phone. The screen stayed black. Dead. He rummaged through his pockets, pulled out a charger, and ducked under the table to find an outlet. “Well… after my phone charges.”

Ashe smiled politely but fidgeted a bit awkwardly. “Fine by me. It’s nice being around other people my age. I don’t really get out much.” 

“If you don’t mind me asking, When You came to school to pick up Vyncnet, Vyncent asked if it was safe and” Dakota dropped his voice to a low whisper. “Are you safe here? Is someone after you?” 

“Oh,” Ashe chuckled. “It’s not really like that. I have an Autoimmune Deficiency.” When Dakota still looked confused, they continued.  “So like… I get sick a lot. I do some online school because there are a lot of germs, and my body doesn’t really know the difference between the good and bad things going on in it. I get flare-ups sometimes, but I’ve been doing pretty good with it overall.” 

“Oh dude, that sucks.” Ashe just shrugged. 

“It is what it is. I just need to be careful going to hospitals and schools and whatnot. Wear masks, sanitize my hands, that sort of thing.” 

“Okay, well, I’ll try not to get sick then so we can hang out too.”  Dakota smiled. “What do you do all day then? I’d get so bored.” 

“Ummm, I have like online school. I can kinda do that at whatever time I want. I’m more of a night owl. I… uhhh…I play a lot of video games, sometimes I play the drums.”
“Woah, you have Drums? Vyncent, do you play any instruments? We could,d like, start a band or something!” Dakota suggested. 

“Well… Not anything that I would say I play well.” Vyncnet laughed.  “Do you play anything, Dakota?” 

“Well… No, but I could sing!” Dakota said. He began singing a slightly off-key version of ‘Never Gonna Give You Up’  and both Ashe and Vyncent couldn’t tell if he was singing poorly on purpose. They all laughed for a little bit after Dakota finished the chorus. 

He then pulled out his phone, now that it had a little bit more of a charge, and messaged William. After all three ordered and William still hadn’t responded, he sent another message. When they all got their food and William still didn’t respond, Dakota decided to call him. It rang three times before William picked up. 

“Hello?” William responded groggily. 

“William!” Dakota Cheered. “Dude, did you just wake up? It’s like almost 1.” William didn’t respond and Dakota took that to mean that he was correct in his assumption. “You should come to Tony’s. I ran into Vyncent and Ashe there.” 

“That's cool, man. Think you can hang out there for like twenty minutes? I’ll see who can give me a ride.”

“Yeah, we’ll hang out here and wait for you. You want me to order something for you?” 

“No thanks, I don’t really want pizza for breakfast.”

“It’s like… Lunch time, dude.” 

“I just woke up.” William defended. “See you in twenty.” 

“See ya!” Dakota said as he hung up his phone. “William will be here in twenty.” Dakota relayed to the group. 

“Oh yeah!” Vyncent dug his hand into his pocket and retrieved a little sticky note. “That’s Ashe’s phone number, but that’s also probably the best way to reach me to with you electronic message system,” Vyncent stated. Vyncent continued to be an enigma.

“Sick! Now we can like plan things!” Dakota said as he input the number into his contacts.

The three continued to chat in their booth until they saw the black car pull up through the windows of the establishment. William exited, politely thanking the driver and then entered the building. They all waved at William as he entered. He looked… better than before. At least better than the last time Dakota saw him. 

“Yo, dude! How are you doing?”

“How’s your shoulder?” Vycnent chimed in.

“Oh, um, it’s much better today. Or at least it’s not bothering me.”

“You look better,” Dakota said bluntly. “You looked really rough yesterday.” 

“Yesterday was… rough.” William sighed. Dakota nodded as did Vyncent and Ashe. Apparently, they all had a pretty rotten day yesterday. Or at least a rough night. 

“Well, William. I know you just got here, but if you want to play video games over at my place, you’re welcome too. We were talking about heading there just before you got here.” 

“Oh, umm, sure.” 

“We can hang out here for a while, too! I just figured it might be more fun.” Ashe added when they didn’t quite get the reaction he wanted. Dakota didn’t notice it at first but Ashe looked just as anxious as William did sometimes. “My dad is gone on some business trip, so we will have the house to ourselves.” 

“No, yeah, that sounds good. Just a little off guard by it.” William reassured. 

“Okay, cool. Vynce and I just walked here so. We could walk again, or we could take a train.”

“Aren’t you more likely to get sick if we take a train?” Dakota asked, testing to see if he fully understood the whole autoimmune disorder thing.

“Yeah, but I can wear a mask. I probably won’t have too bad of a flare-up either.” Ashe said. “Besides, I like the train. My dad doesn’t let me ride it very often.” 

“Well then, we should take the train!” Dakota decided triumphantly. 

It wasn’t a long train ride and it might have been even faster to walk, but Dakota liked the fact that he could watch both Ashe and Vyncent stare out in amazement through the windows. The closest stop was actually a little bit past where they needed to go. It would have been better to take the city bus. They still ended up walking quite a bit to get to the suburbs. Regardless, It was an enjoyable time.

 The conversation never stopped between them. William and Ashe talked about horror movies while Dakota and Vyncent were deciding who would be the first to die in said horror movies. They talked about different video games and their favorites. Dakota talked about heroes and who his favorites were. He spent probably 75% of that time talking about Ms. G. However, Vyncent seemed rather interested in Origami. William suggested that they all watch the original Origami movies. The ones with the actual Origami in them and not just the shity remakes. Dakota agreed that the first 3 were the best. Oddly, 5 was also really good, but out of 12 movies total, that’s not that high of a success rate. William brought up a very obscure movie that Origami wrote and directed that no one had heard about. He said it was very artsy and early in his career but a solid movie. 

When they arrived, some barking could be heard from the other side of the door. Ashe turned to Dakota and William. 

“Sorry, I forgot to mention my dog. Are either of you allergic? Or I don’t know… afraid of dogs?” Ashe asked before opening the door. 

“All good. I like dogs,” William responded. 

“Yes! Let me see the puppy!” Dakota cheered. 

“Okay, then. Good,” Ashe breathed a sigh of relief. Ashe’s dog happily greeted them. He was a light brown toy poodle. “This is Flip,” they said, gesturing towards their dog. Both Dakota and William ogled over the dog for a bit. William spent a second looking at Dakota. More specifically, his hands. Of course Will would question the fingerless gloves. Maybe something else too. It took Dakota a moment to realize that his nasty bruise had vanished from Virion's healing. William definitely noticed it was gone. Will looked like he wanted to say something, but he was interrupted by Ashe, “Sometimes we call him Flipsy, or Flipers.” 

“You are so cute, little Flippity do da!” Dakota cheered as he gave Flip a few head scratches. As they all walked inside, somehow Dakota ended up migrating to the backyard to play Frisbee with Flip. He learned very quickly how Flip got his name. Every time he caught the frisbee he would tumble forward and do a small Flip. It was adorable. Eventually, Dakota tired out the dog enough that they both went back inside. 

 “Dakota! We are gonna start a round of Super Smash, you want in?” William called out

“Fuck yeah!” Dakota agreed as he sat on the couch next to Vyncent. Ashe put his name as ASWI, and Vyncent put his name in as VYSO. 

“First two letters of your first name and then first two letters of your last name,” Ashe explained. Dakota easily put in DACO, but William sighed. He hesitated before typing in WIWI. The three others burst out laughing at the name.

“Oh man, dude, Wiwi?” Dakota was still bent in half, trying to catch his breath from laughing so hard. 

“Well. William Wisp.” William stated. He rolled his eyes, but wasn’t really bothered by the mocking of his name. He found it slightly amusing too. Dakota once recomposed, changed William’s contact in his phone to Wiwi. 

Dakota had expected to spend the night alone. To get pizza and charge his phone so he could watch a show at home. This was far better. He couldn’t help but to be thankful for these new people. He liked his other friends too, but it didn’t feel like this. 

-

The four of them began falling into a pattern after school picked back up. Vyncent started to understand be less overwhelmed at school. William often acted as a tutor for them, helping them during lunch. After school, they would frequently meet at Tony’s or at Ashe’s and Vyncent’s. Eventually, Mark came back home, and it became more difficult to hang out with Ashe, especially because they got sick after their second outing at Tony’s. Sometimes it would be a voice call with Ashe instead. But it was easy to talk with one another. 

Dakota loved how little he spent at home. He was either with all of them, or one of them, and then when he wasn’t with them, he was being a superhero with The Whisperer, Virion, and Summoner. Their teamwork improved over the next month they spent being heroes. They all agreed after Hartawa, they would stick to the smaller events and villains until they became stronger. They stopped Le Frog about every other day from trying to rob a bank. How he escapes from the Rockfall Police department, they’ll never know. 

Fires started getting more consistent around Rockfall. It was Whisperer who suggested they might be connected. That was most of what they did towards the end of September and into October: damage control. Whoever set these fires was smart, making them look like accidents. Their priority was saving people. Summoner spent a lot of time searching for connections for each location that was hit. They weren’t having much luck. 

When October rolled around, they talked about plans for Halloween. Doug was having a party that they were invited to on Halloween Eve, but truly, Dakota just wanted to go out as Red and make sure another fire wasn’t going to be set. He wouldn’t take away the opportunity for William and Vyncnet if they wanted to go. William, for the most part, seemed unenthused; big parties were not that fun for wiwi. Vyncent seemed genuinely interested in what a party was like, and that was enough for Dakota and William to say yes. 

-

They had all walked to Doug's together from the usual meet-up spot at Tony’s. He lived in a similar area to Ashe and Vyncent, meaning that Vyncent definitely traveled much further than he should have. It was already loud when they arrived. At least half the school was crammed in this tiny space. 

“Dakota! You made it!” Doug cheered when he opened the door for them. “We are just starting to do some beer pong. You want in?” Dakota turned back to both of his friends. he didn’t want to abandon them here, but they gestured for him to go with Doug.

“Yeah man, I’m down!” Dakota smiled. 

William quickly lost Vyncent in the sea of people. He had no idea who he was going off and mingling with. Maybe he went off to play whatever party games there were. William sat on the couch, thankful it wasn’t crowded with people. 

“William?” Summer asked, and he turned to her. “Wow, I didn’t expect you to be here.” She said with a red solo cup in hand. “Wait… I didn’t mean to be rude. I just didn’t think you would like being at parties.” 

“I’m here because Dakota and Vyncent wanted to go,” William explained. 

“Well, while you’re here, do you want a drink?” Summer suggested. William hesitated before nodding. Summer disappeared into the kitchen and came back with a can of Twisted Tea. “Sorry. I don’t really know what you like. I would have mixed you something,g but I didn’t want to do that if you couldn’t see me do it because I didn’t want you to be like worried I mixed too much or put something else in it.” Summer said.

“This is fine. Thanks, Summer,” William returned politely as he cracked open the can. It was slightly bitter, like how you imagine Ice tea would taste if it was just slightly past its expiration date. It wasn’t bad though, so William kept drinking it. He knew his tolerance would be weak with his body the way it is. He was already feeling tipsy after one. And then he had two. And then he had three. Maybe a fourth. 

He spent a long time talking with Summer about random stuff. About school, about superheroes. Their opinions on the heroes people were now calling Prime Defenders. William may have been drunk, but he was still smart enough to know that he needed to keep his identity a secret. 

When Vyncnet reappeared, he had one arm over Dakota’s shoulders. He shouldn’t have been jealous. He knew that Vyncent was just as drunk as he was and Dakota was helping him. 

“Wiwi, on a scale from one to Vyncent, how drunk are you?” Dakota asked. William gigled a little. 

“If Vyncent is a Ten… probably like 8.5,” William stated. 

“Okay. We should go home.” Dakota decided. 

“I wanna watch a movie.” Vyncent slurred

“Me too.” William agreed 

“We can watch a movie after you’re home.” Dakota decided. He wasn’t used to Dakota sounding so stern. It felt like he was mad at them. Maybe he was. “Can you stand Will?”  William stood up slowly and walked over to Dakota. He was slightly uneven on his feet but walked just fine. 

“Okay. Ashe and Vyncent’s place is close. I’m going to ask Ashe if it’s okay for you to go there.” Dakota said while pulling out his phone and presumably texting Ashe. “Okay? You two ready?” 

Dakota was very good at keeping the two of them upright and walking in a mostly straight line. The walk was probably twice as long as it needed to be with all the redirection Dakota had to do for the two of them. Eventually, they arrived at the house, and Ashe opened the door. 

Ashe ushered them to the couch and handed William the remote to watch a movie. Dakota handed them each a glass of water and made sure both of them drank it. And then he made them drink even more water after they finished that. William fell asleep first, leaning on Vyncnet’s shoulder. Vyncent didn’t even seem phased as he leaned his head onto Williams. 

“That will be fun to see when they wake up.” Ash smiled while looking a the two. “Are you staying over too, Dakota?” Dakota stared at an empty cup on the table. “Dakota, you okay?” Dakota was used to taking care of people. Used to taking care of his Aunt. At least he knew what to do in these situations. He should go see her soon.

“I think I should go home,” Dakota said. 

“Are you okay?” Ashe asked again. “Dakota, if something-” Ashe was interrupted by some sort of explosion. It sounded far away. They both turned to look outside and saw the plume of smoke billowing. 

“Sorry, Ashe. I really have to go. Can you take care of Vynce and Will?” Dakota asked.

“Are you going towards that?” Ashe questioned. 

“I’m going to see if I can help. I’ll be careful.” Dakota nodded. “Are you okay being here with them?” Dakota asked again. It was rare to see Dakota so serious it took Ashe off guard. they nodded. 

“Message me, okay? When you’re home. You didn’t drink at all, did you?” Ashe asked.

“No, I’m alright. I’ll message you when I get home.” Dakota decided before turning and jogging towards the fire. He didn’t have his full gear to go out as Red, but he had enough to cover his identity. As soon as he was sure he was out of eyesight from the house, he changed into his gear. He got a ping from Summoner. 

Summoner:

There's another fire. Looks like it started at a Party City? It’s spreading to an antique shop on 32nd Street. 

Red:

I’m on my way! Coms?

Summoner: 

I’ll get on as soon as I can 

 

The sky turned red as Dakota got closer. There was a crowd of people forming around the fire. There were apartments above the shop below, and Dakota would bet money there were still people in there. He dashed in, not bothered by the flames licking his ankles. The first people he found were a husband and wife with their young daughter. 

“I’m going to get you all out of here, okay?” They all looked terrified. “Can you all walk?” They nodded, and Dakota guided them to the safest exit. The next person was far worse. This building was coming down. It was a younger man trapped under some rubble. His leg was nearly completely crushed under a fallen, burning support beam. Dakota pulled him out and used his super speed to get him to a paramedic. The building was crumbling around him. He felt alone. There was no sign of Whisperer or Virion showing up, and Summoner still wasn't on coms. Dakota was getting burned. Quite literally. His fingertips were slightly singed, and his right forearm had grazed against a hot metal pipe. Leaving a perfect line seared into his skin. He had got 12 people out of the building, and he only had one last room to check. The building was disintegrating around him. He could hardly see through all the smoke. 

There was an elderly woman lying in her bed. She didn’t even wake up to the fire. Dakota lifted her barely breathing body and was about to dash out of the flames, but the floor gave out from under him, and the burning building crumbled. The woman he was holding on to screamed in confusion and coughed. Dakota did everything he could to protect her from the fall, taking most of the damage himself. It burned when he hit the ground, his whole back lit up with fiery pain. The woman in his arms was coughing. Dakota removed his own respirator mask and put it over the woman's mouth. He didn’t care about his identity right now. He was just worried about keeping her alive. He wasn’t affected by the smoke immediately, but it slowly crept into his lungs. He pulled his shirt up over his nose, but it didn’t help much. 

Forcing himself upright, he trudged out of the flames, carrying the woman. Once they were out of the direct fire, He took his mask back, before anyone else could see his face. His whole body ached. He felt like he was being electrocuted again, but heroes always get back up. He delivered the woman to the paramedics and then walked to sit on a nearby curb and catch his breath. 

“Red, do you read me?” Summoner questioned. “Please” 

“I hear you,” Dakota responded, voice hoarse and raspy. Summoner let out a relieved breath. 

“Are you alright? It looks like everyone made it out.”

“I’ve got some burns,” Dakota stated weakly. 

“Do you need help?” Summoner asked. 

“Any word on Whisperer and Virion?”  Dakota asked, feeling like a small child. 

“No, but I can come help you if you need it.” Summoner offered. 

“I-I think I do,” Dakota admitted.

“Okay, I’ll be there as soon as I can,” Summoner responded. Dakota lay on the sidewalk and tried to remember that he wasn’t alone anymore. Summoner was coming to help. That's more than he had after his fight with Blackout. He had no idea what Summoner would look like. He was wearing a black mask and hoodie. Around his waist was a large book that was leather-bound with ornate details pressed into the finish on it. 

He didn’t say anything to Red when he got there; instead, he just flipped open the book and chanted some words that Dakota couldn’t understand. There was a sudden bright light that made Dakota close his eyes for a second. When he opened them again, he saw a knight with too many eyes and wings that wrapped around him. Then he unraveled like threads in the wind, and Dakota felt significantly better. 

“You have superpowers,” he said while in awe of them.

“Not really. Not like you, or the whisperer, or Virion. I’m not much without this book.” Summoner said. 

“I get your name now,” Dakota said as if he had just had an epiphany. Summoner chuckled lightly. “You should be out on the field with us, too.”

“I think it would be better if I were only out for emergencies.” Summoner countered. 

“Thank you for being here,” Dakota said. “I feel much better now.”

“Good.” Summoner agreed. “Are you okay enough to get home?” Dakota nodded and moved to stand up. Once he was standing, Summoner pulled him into a hug. “I’m sorry I wasn’t online sooner,” Summoner said. “I was worried when the building went down and you were still inside.” 

“It’s gonna take a lot more than that to kill me.” Dakota smiled. “I need to get home, though. I’ve got someone else who’s worried about me making it home.” 

If only Dakota knew he was talking about the same person he was talking to now.

Notes:

So much Ashe Winters this chapter and its longer than I expected. I love them <3 Also, a reminder that I use He/they pronouns for Ashe. I miss my silly little superhero boys and now we can get into the really fun angst of this story. This chapter was like the last ones of what I consider to be the slow chapters. Dynamics are established, and now everyone is aware of the messy and complicated dynamics. Like this is going to get crazy. Like, there are all these villains in PD and they are going to start overlapping with each other, and it will be a lot.

So anyway, I had more fun writing this chapter than I thought I would. Now that we have all of that out of the way. i can start really hitting us hard with angst.

(Dakota taking care of people who are using Drugs and alcohol hits me in a way that I never expected to hurt, but maybe that's just me)

Comments, Kudos, and Bookmarks are always appreciated. Comments, especially, are a great motivator for me. I can not describe the sheer joy I get from reading them. Have a wonderful Day/Afternoon/Night <3

Chapter 13: Unlucky

Summary:

William Wisp does not have a good time.

Notes:

*TW: Blood, Injury, gunshots, vomiting*

Let me know if I missed anything.

It took William a moment to register where he was when he woke up, and when he realized that he had fallen asleep on Vyncent’s shoulder, he accidentally phased through the couch they were on. Vyncent jolted awake now with the absence of support for his own head. He leaned forward to find William on the floor. 

“Ummm. Good morning,” Vyncent greeted as William stared awkwardly at him. 

“G-good morning.” William stuttered. 

“Is there a reason you’re on the floor?” Vyncent asked, trying to mask a small bit of laughter. 

“Just stumbled when getting up… I-I didn’t mean to wake you,” William responded, knowing that his cheeks had flushed a light pink. 

“That’s okay.” Vyncent stood up, stretched,  undid his ponytail tail and then shook out his hair. William felt like melting into the ground while looking at him. He also realized this was the first time he was looking at Vyncent without his headphones. His ears were long and pointy, like those of an elf. They stuck out a little bit even with his hair down. “Gods, I have a headache.” 

“Me too,” William affirmed. He definitely had more than he needed to last night. “Do you know if Dakota is here?” William asked. Vyncent just shrugged. 

“He went home last night after dropping you two off,” Ashe said as he came downstairs. He was still wearing pajamas, but also carrying a bottle of Ibuprofen, likely to give to the two of them. It rattled in his hand as he reached the bottom step. “You’re lucky Mark is gone.” 

“He lives all the way out by Tony’s. He went home by himself?” William asked. 

“About that. Do either of you know where Dakota lives?” Ashe asked as he poured two pills into each of their hands.

“Why? Did he not make it home okay?” Vyncent asked. 

“No, it's just… I was thinking about what Will brought up earlier.” Ashe said grimly.

“About the possibility of abuse?” William asked seriously. 

“Yeah. He never talks about home. Or anyone at home. Or where home is.” Ashe explained. “Last night… I feel like I’ve never seen him so serious and worried. Maybe guilty? I don’t know, but something was off. He messaged me when he got home, though.” William and Vyncent both frowned. 

“He says he stays with his Aunt,” William added, “but you're right, he never talks about her or home at all.” 

“I felt like I should have made him stay here. If you are right about this…” 

“I don’t have any real evidence yet, so it’s best not to jump to conclusions,” William warned. “The best thing we can do right now is just be here for him.” Ashe and Vyncent nodded.

On William’s walk home, he checked his phone and saw the news report about the fire and the building collapsing on Red. William felt guilty. He was stupid to drink so much. He should apologize to Red, and he should thank Dakota for taking care of him last night. 

He started with the message to Dakota.

Wiwi:

Thanks for helping me and Vynce last night. We owe you

Dakota:

No problem. How are both of you feeling?

Wiwi:

Headaches, but it could be worse. Plans for today?
Dakota:

Nothing really. I figured you and Vynce wouldn’t want to do anything today. 

Wiwi: 

It is Halloween. We could watch a scary movie tonight?

Dakota: 

So you have an excuse to fall asleep on Vyncent’s shoulder again?

William felt his face go red again, and he chose to stop messaging Dakota. 

They did have a movie night as William suggested. This time it was at William’s place, which they had only been to once before. The TV there was gigantic. It was like a small movie theater screen. They watched Halloween. The classic. No better time than to watch it on Halloween. It seemed like William intentionally kept them away from his brother because both times, he was nowhere to be seen.

Dakota checked his phone occasionally, smiling at all the posts of People dressed up like the Prime Defenders. It was adorable, and it was nice to feel like he was looked up to. That he was a hero. The movie wasn’t all that scary to Dakota. Michael Myers was definitely a scary guy, but Dakota did think that he could easily take him in a fight. They all watched Halloween Town after that as kinda a joke. Just to sit and laugh at it, truthfully, they talked over most of it. Eventually, it was time to head home. They both thanked Dakota again for looking out for them and then parted ways. 

It was back to the quiet, lonely apartment. Dakota grew to despise it. It always got harder and harder to leave, especially when they kept inviting him to stay the night. It was even worse this time of year. Especially as the time ticked into November. All the holidays just reminded Dakota of the people in his life that he no longer had. He made it up in his head that he would go see Aunt Alaska for Thanksgiving break. 

The rest of tonight, he would go out at Red. It was funny. No one really believed it was him. They all thought it was a really good costume. He had to show off his super speed in order to get people to believe him. Even then, some people weren’t convinced. He didn’t really do much as Red that night other than help some lost trick-or-treaters get home.

-

It was early November now. Vyncent was the first one to see the ping from Summoner on their shared computer.  There were no other details. Just a location. Their location. Vyncent instantly knew something was wrong. Ashe had gone out to a tech supply store to upgrade some gear for the prime defenders. They mentioned wanting to get something that would be able to help them check everyone's vitals, so if someone went down, the others would be alerted. It was a precaution that they hoped they would never need. Regardless, they both agreed it was a good idea. 

Virion:

On my way. 

He typed as he got into his hero gear. For a moment, he didn’t know who Ashe needed. If this were a Vyncent emergency or a Virion emergency. He decided that because he sent the location out under the summoner ID. It was likely more important for him to go out as Virion. Red and Whisperer both Chimed in, saying they were on their way as well. 

It didn’t look good. There were already cops lining the scene, but they were just waiting outside. Vyncent let Strider take over as he dipped into the shadows, looking for an alternate entrance. Whisperer and Red arrived shortly after him. 

“What is going on?” Red asked as he approached Virion. 

“Hostage situation,” William stated. “I think that's the most likely. That's why the Police are waiting.” 

“Why here?” Vyncent whispererd

“It’s a Tech resale place, maybe some high-tech thing is here, and people want it?” William suggested. He sighed when he checked his phone. “No new updates from Summoner.” 

A gunshot was fired, and Red instantly zoomed inside, leaving Whisperer and Virion hot on his tail. From the looks of it, the shot was used as a scare tactic. The bullet was fired at the ceiling. There were four men dressed in black. Ski masks covered their faces. Each one was armed with a gun. Two of them were talking to what seemed to be one of the workers. They were demanding some tech that was supposed to arrive today. Two of them were stationed by the hostages, guns pointed at civilians. Ashe was at the end, gun pressed up against the side of their head. Virion’s stomach swooped when he saw Ashe. Ashe didn’t dare to look around. They paid attention, took orders, to afraid to break the unspoken rules and get shot. 

Red made eye contact with Virion. Even without coms up, they could understand the plan. They’d each take on one of the criminals who were ‘guarding” the hostages

The first goal was to disarm them. They didn’t seem like they would be much trouble without their weapons. Whisperer moved to take out the other two guards, but for him, it was one against two. The opponents were far more dysfunctional and chaotic the more things started going wrong. It was hard to predict their movements because it was clear they no longer knew what they were doing. 

The whisperer was not afraid of getting shot. He knew that he’d be able to phase through the bullets. He dodged around them, putting up small ghostshapped shields around the hostages to protect them from any collateral damage, but two against one was not easy to manage. Whisperer wasn’t the best fighter. He knew that. But he also knew that there were hostages. That Ashe was here. He had to do something.

By the time he had awkwardly wrestled the weapon out of one guy’s hand, the other had a gun pointed at his stomach. The whisperer had to make a decision. He was too close to the civilians. He glanced over his shoulder, looking at all of them. Then he made eye contact with Ashe . He couldn’t phase through it. If he did, the bullet would hit Ashe. So, he didn’t. 

The gunshot was deafening, but it wasn’t nearly as loud as Ashe’s scream as the Whisperer fell right in front of them. Red and Vyncnet both turned to him, instantly registering what had happened. Ashe inched forward, hands still bound behind their back. They struggled against the restraints, trying to break out in order to put pressure on the wound. The Whisperer didn’t move. His eyes weren’t open. His hair shifted into black waves once again, like how it had when he was in his wisp form. 

“Dude, what the fuck was that? You weren’t supposed to kill anyone!” One of the armed men said. “Injuries. No death. Fucking idiot. We need to get out of here.” 

“But-” the other guard left standing looked at the other two men passed out from Red and Virion’s attack

“Leave them.” The man shouted as he backed away and started running. Virion and Red’s attention was focused on the fallen Whisperer. They let them get away. It didn’t seem nearly as important now. Not as important as the whisperer. 

Red put his hands over the bullet wound, blood instantly covering his hands as it seeped out of his friend. His fingers sank into the gash, causing him to gag. There was blood all over. So much that He couldn’t stop. The bullet likely went all the way through, from the pool that was gathering beneath him. 

“Virion. Heal him!” Red begged. Vyncent forced him self to swallow as he looked at the Whisperer. He couldn’t heal this. That was all he thought. I can’t heal death. “Virion!” Red begged again, and Vyncnet nodded, letting Ram take back over.

His hand shook as he aimed it at his friend. It felt wrong. He didn’t want to listen to another gunshot. How could he shoot his friend? Not when they had just taken an actual bullet. Ashe was crying, folded over himself. He was certain that he could hear some of Red’s sniffling.

Ram pulled the trigger. Vyncent couldn’t bring himself to do it.  The healing bullet sank into him with a short, brief glow, but nothing else happened. He laid there, limp and lifeless. Vyncnet fell to his knees, and Ram gave up control. Leaving him just to be Virion again. 

“Do it again!” Red begged. 

“It won’t work,” Vyncent said, sounding hollow, defeated. “H-he’s dead.” 

“ He’s not!” Red argued back. “He’s not dead! He can’t die twice!” Vyncent is trying to keep his lower lip from trembling. “He’s not dead. It’s just part of his powers.” Red determined, still holding the wound as if it would heal. Virion wiped his tears, trying to hide them as he slowly turned towards the hostages and began freeing them. Most of them quietly thanked him and left after Vyncnet directed them to the police. Ashe stayed. He didn’t even attempt to get up. 

“You s-should go ho-” Vyncnet began

“He saved me,” Ashe said softly, still sniffling. “He’s dead because of me.” 

“Don’t say that.” Red interrupted. “He’s not dead!” Vyncent reached down towards the whisperer’s mask, but Red swatted his hand away and instantly returned to putting pressure on the wound. “Don’t.” He warned. 

“He’s the same age as us. He must have family. Friends. W-we have to know who he is… so we can tell them what happened.” Virion stated, and He watched Red recoil. 

“He’s going to be fine. We won’t need to worry about that.” Red defended. Ashe’s head suddenly snapped up, looking at something. Red and Vyncnet both turned to see what Ashe was looking at, but there was nothing there. 

“Will?” Ashe asked softly. There was a pause. 

“What?” Vyncnet asked, turning to Ashe.

“Will… Will you stop arguing?” Ashe asked. “...Look. I know this sounds crazy, but I see Whisperer’s ghost.”

“I told you he wasn’t dead!” Red cheered. “Alright, where is he?”

“He just tied your shoelaces together,” Ashe explained, and Red looked down; sure enough, the laces were looped together.

“What the fuck, dude?” Red complained.

-

William didn’t know where he was when he first opened his eyes again. It felt wrong here. Too cold. Flashes of green lightning illuminated castle ruins. A throne room. 

“Hello, Whisperer.” A voice echoed from behind William, making him jump. “Is this your first time here?” The man looked evil as fuck. He had black hair with streaks of white running through it. The ends of his hair twisted into horns. His skin was too pale and dry and seemed to clash with his perfectly ironed suit. William heard the clack of his heels as he approached him. 

“My name is Mallard Conway. It’s truly a pleasure, Whisperer.” He stated, offering out a hand. William didn’t take it.

“Where am I?” William asked instead. 

“The spirit world. I thought you would have known. It appears you have much to learn about his world. I’d be happy to show you.” Mallard suggested. 

“How do I get back?” William questioned. 

“To the waking world? Funny, you seem so confident that you can do so. This is it for most people. You seem to believe you are an exception.” Mallard smiled. “Very well, If that’s what you wish. Perhaps we can talk about what you are next time, Whisperer.”

When William opened his eyes again, he was back. Mostly. He felt distant and far away. Everything was covered in a hazy fog. He could barely see his friends. They were arguing? No. Crying? 

“He saved me.” That was Ashe. “He’s dead because of me.” William could just barely see his body, but as he moved to get closer, the sight of it made him feel sick. Red was covered in blood, his blood. He didn’t think that he could throw up as a ghost, but he certainly felt nauseous. 

“Can we just-” William began. He tried to put his hand on Virion’s shoulder, but he passed straight through. He went ignored. Clearly, they couldn’t see him. Or hear him. He couldn’t interact with them. It was agonizing. 

“Don’t say that.” Red interrupted, pushing harder into the bullet wound.. “He’s not dead!” Vyncent reached down towards the whisperer’s mask, but Red swatted his hand away. “Don’t.” He warned. 

“He’s the same age as us. He must have family. Friends. W-we have to know who he is… so we can tell them what happened.” Virion stated, and He watched Red recoil. 

“Fuck. I’m sorry. I’m right here. I’m not gone.” William’s breath hitched despite not needing to breathe in his current state. “I just need to get back in my body. I’ll figure it out.” Willian assured. 

“He’s going to be fine. We won’t need to worry about that.” Red defended. 

“Yeah, Exactly. What Red said.” William nodded.

Ashe’s head suddenly snapped up as if suddenly noticing William’s ghostly appearance. 

“Will?” Ashe asked softly. William blinked at him.

“Ashe, you see me?” Ashe gave a small nod. “Fuck, you see me. like me, me.” William felt his face, noticing that his mask was no longer there. “Don’t tell the others that it’s me, okay? Please”

“What?” Vyncnet asked, turning to Ashe.

“Will… Will you stop arguing?” Ashe began, eyes flashing back and forth to the heroes and then to William. “...Look. I know this sounds crazy, but I see Whisperer’s ghost.”

“Nice! Good save, Ashe.” William cheered. “Okay… oka,y” William recollected himself. “Let’s see what we can do here,” he attempted to get back into his body, but he just phased straight through his own limbs. “Okay…” William eyed one of Red’s untied shoelaces. To his surprise, he could grab it. He had a devious smirk and then looped the laces together from both shoes.

“I told you he wasn’t dead!” Red cheered. “Alright, where is he?”

“He just tied your shoelaces together.” 

“What the fuck, dude?” Red complained, but clearly he was still somewhat relieved. “You know, it's actually pretty cool that you can do that! Well… not cool that you died.”

“Okay… so,” Virion began. “How do we get you back in your body?” 

“I have no clue.” William shook his head. “I tried to do what I do when I use the wisp form, but that didn’t work.”

“He says he doesn’t know.” Ashe relayed. 

“Oh yeah, who are you? I mean like, thanks for seeing our ghost friend… but…” 

“Oh, my name is Ashe… I don’t know why I can see him, but I definitely can.” 

“Well, what should we do then? I don’t want him to… Decay” Red shuddered.”

“Why would you say that?” William asked, turning to Red even though he knew he couldn’t hear him. His hands combed through his hair as he paced back and forth

“You won’t decay,” Ashe assured.

“What if I do?” William countered. “Look, I’m… I’m really scared. I don’t… I don’t know what to do. I don’t know what’s happening to me.” William felt like he couldn’t breathe. He knows he doesn’t need to right now, but it’s not changing the tightness in his chest. His hands were shaking, and he crossed his arms to hide it. 

“You won’t decay. We can figure out how to get you back in your body.” Ashe reaffirmed. William wasn’t convinced.

“You don’t understand what it’s like,” William said. “Going back. I’m… I’m scared to.” Virion raised his hand like he had a question, and Ashe turned to him.

“Why can’t we see him?” Vyncent questioned. “We’ve seen his ghost before, but why not this time?” 

“That’s a good Question.” Ashe acknowledged. “Whisperer?” William thought carefully. “What did you call that other form?” 

“Wisp form?” William questioned

“Are you in it?” William looked down and examined himself. 

“…no” 

“Can you be?” Ashe asked. William sat on the floor and brought his knees to his chest. He wanted to curl up and cry. 

“I’ll try to be?” William offered despite not wanting to. He closed his eyes, focusing on his core. His very being itself. The part of his soul that kept him tethered here. There was a bright blue flash and a few wisps that circled around him. Thankfully, his wisp form was wearing a mask. The exact same clothes, including the bullet hole in the hoodie. 

“Dude! I can see you again!” Red cheered and stood up. “Can I hug you?” William flinched at he blood coating Red’s hands. His eyes then drifted to his body on the ground. He stared at himself, the blood still seeping from him. Red dropped his arms upon seeing Will’s expression 

“I-I’m sorry.” Virion offered, “We should have… yeah… Sorry” 

“It’s…” he wanted to say it was fine, but it wasn’t. “I-It’s going to hurt,” William stated flatly. “My body.” His eyes didn’t leave his corpse. “I don’t know if I can…”

“What do you mean by hurt?” Red asked, eyebrows knitted with intense focus. 

“Being back in my body… look at it. I don’t know if I can…” William wasn’t sure if he could cry in his wisp form, but he could have sworn he felt a tear fall down his cheek. 

“We are going to be right here, okay, man?” Virion offered. “We won’t leave you. Just… whenever you’re ready.” Whisper nodded and moved to step into his body. He let himself fall backwards into it. He despised that feeling. He hated waiting for the impact.

His eyes shot open, hair turning bright white once again. He gasped on the inhale only to cough on the exhale. Everyone let out a sigh of relief, but then the impact. 

 It was excruciating. William couldn’t remember how to breathe. His lungs spasmed as he tried to intake air. His stomach, where the wound was, felt like it was on fire, like his own blood was lava coursing through him. His hair instantly shifted back to its natural black. He was writhing in pain, eyes watering, vision blurring. He wanted to curl in on himself, but someone prevented him from doing so. 

“Whisperer!” He couldn’t tell whose voice it was, but he could hear the concern lacing their voices as panic swirled around them. Someone was pressing his hands into the wound, and he wanted to kick them away. He couldn’t tell whose hand he was clinging to as he let out pitiful cries. “Virion heal him!” Red shouted from next to him. 

Virion fumbled for a second but still executed the action. There was some amount of relief when the healing bullet hit him; the burning eased, but he still couldn’t figure out how to breathe. His lungs ached as he forced himself upright. He couldn’t get his heartbeat to slow down, and it was thundering in his ears. He barely got himself up enough to throw up. Turning away from the group, he tore his mask off one ear and began emptying the contents of his stomach on the tile floor. His organs felt wrong and mismatched, like they weren’t working anymore in this body. Red stayed next to him, offering a comforting hand on William’s back. He was barely strong enough to hold himself up on his two hands. He kept heaving, and he spat up blood. Red pulled him closer when he saw it and helped hold him up. He still was respectful not to look at the whisperer’s identity.

Once it stopped, he pulled his mask back over his face and laid down, still next to the pile of blood and vomit. Red let him. He knows he looks like a crime scene. He’s covered in sticky blood that he knows he can’t get out of his clothing. His whole form trembled, and he just laid there and cried. 

Red sat next to him. Patiently waiting for when he was ready. Virion joined in, putting a cautious hand on Williams' head and brushing back his hair. It took William a while to realize that everyone was crying. Probably just as traumatic for them, too.  

“Whisperer… Are you… Do you want to go to a hospital or something? I’m worried,” Ashe suggested. He wanted to say no. Say that it wouldn’t help, but all that came out was a breathy, raspy sob. It sounded like his throat was a garbage disposal.

Williams' arms shook when he pushed himself up. Virion and Red steadied him and then pulled him into a hug. Ashe looked like he wanted to join in the hug, but held himself back. He supposed he could understand why. Ashe only knows everyone as heroes. He shouldn’t know the Whisperer is William. Ashe was smart. He was helping keep his identity secret.

“Can you stand?” Virion asked. William gave a small shrug. He felt exhausted. “I-I’m going to help you stand up.” Virion decided as he looped his hands under William's arms. He collapsed into Virion when trying to stand up all the way.  Virion simply bent at he knees slightly to stabilize himself and keep Will upright. 

“Can we help you get to a hospital?” Red asked. William shook his head no. “Home? Or close to home?” William nodded, too afraid that his voice would be nonexistent after the raw damage to his throat. “Okay. Just point me where to go? Think you can do that?” William felt like a little kid because of the way that Virion passed him over to Red. He nodded again. “Virion, can you make sure Ashe gets home safely?” 

“Yeah, of course.” Virion agreed while turning to Ashe. “Just get home safe.”

“You too.” Red returned. The four split into pairs and then went in separate directions. It was getting a bit chilly at this point of the year, so Red ran into a nearby secondhand clothing store and bought a nice coat for William. Mostly because William looked a bit like a zombie and would draw a lot of attention for how much blood was on his clothing, but hopefully, it would also help keep him warm. He returned to where he had deposited William beforehand and helped him put it on. blearily pointed directions. They moved at Williams' pace, which was very slow. 

“I could carry you if you want. I’m really fucking fast if you just want to get home.” Dakota offered after about 10 minutes of walking through crowded streets. William would wince every time someone brushed past him or bumped into him. “Of course I don’t want to make you sick because like… I don’t want to make you feel worse than you do right now.”

“Can we just walk?” William’s voice was absolutely demolished. It was hardly over a whisper. It cut in and out when he spoke, like losing a station on a radio. 

“Yeah, dude. We can walk.” Red agreed. They continued on in silence for a few streets until they had to stop at a red light, and Red spoke up again. “It won’t happen again. I promise it won’t. I’m sorry I couldn’t protect you. I also thought you couldn’t get shot if you were a minor.” William let out a laugh on a short exhale at that, which made Red smile in return. “I am serious. I won’t let you get hurt like that ever again. I’m sorry I wasn’t fast enough this time.”

“Not your fault.” William rasped

“We’re a team. It’s our fault.” Red determined. William shrugged. 

“We’re here,” William said abruptly, and Red stopped just as abruptly. “This is close enough.”

“Can you walk on your own?” He slowly eased away from supporting William but kept his hands hovering around him just in case. William shuffled a few steps, moving like an elderly person. 

“I can make it from here,” William assured. “Thank you.” Red hesitated. It was clear that he didn’t want to let William go by himself, but he nodded and let William go off on his own. 

When William arrived home, it was well past dinner. Didn’t really feel like eating anyway. Instead, he just laid in bed with his eyes closed and did his best to rest. David didn’t come in to check on him after he trudged past him. William thought their relationship would get better, but after the whole situation with Hartawa, he had no idea how to approach him. There was too much to think about and no way to shut it off anymore. William stumbled around to find his headphones and tried his best to focus on the music. Despite how exhausted he was, sleep never came for William Wisp. 

Notes:

This is the start of Sad Wiwi, and I'm looking forward to writing it. This chapter was so much fun. I love angst.
anyway. We might be getting back to Monthly updates again soon, but I'm going to have less and less time to write in the future. :(
I hope you all enjoyed!
As always, comments, Kudos, and bookmarks are appreciated. Have a wonderful morning/afternoon/Evening!

Chapter 14: Tension

Summary:

Ashe and William talk for like... most of this chapter. I promise plot stuff happens though! Also, Mark is Mark... Maybe a little too Mark but he will get better.

Notes:

*TW: Implied Suicidal thoughts, Questionable Parenting, dissociating kind of?*

They talk about some serious stuff without ever specifically saying it. It's mostly inbetween the lines.

Ashe and Vyncent investigated the Tech resale place once it had been cleared out. It was Vyncent who pointed out the fancy black suitcase that was latched shut. It looked out of place in the back storage area. They were both afraid it might be a bomb, but they opened it anyway. Inside were three metal discs. Each one had two small lights and a button in the center. Still concerned they were bombs, they decided not to press the buttons, but Ashe took them home to investigate further as to why these might be important enough to kill for. 

Ashe didn’t sleep very well. They couldn’t stop thinking about what happened. William was the Whisperer. He watched the Whisperer die. He watched William die. It was their fault. He shouldn’t have sent his location. It was stupid, too. He wouldn’t be surprised if William figured out that he was Summoner. They didn’t have a good cover-up or excuse for why he sent that location. Maybe he should just tell William, but that might not be fair to Vyncent is Virion. William is smart; he’d figure out Vyncent is Virion. Ashe didn’t know what to do.

He should have let the police handle it. Then maybe William wouldn’t have had to die. Apparently, this wasn’t even the first time William had died. Ashe wondered how many times something like this had happened to him. He needed to talk with him, maybe bring his spirit world book to him, and talk about that. For now, he needed to sleep, but neither of them slept until they got confirmation from the Whisperer and Red that they were both home safe. 

The next morning, Ashe sent a message to William. It was just a check-in message. 

Ashe:

How are you? Are you doing okay? Can we please talk about what happened? 

 

He could see that William had read it, but he hadn’t responded yet. Ashe tried not to let it bother him. Instead, he took out one of the Discs from the suitcase and began investigating it when Vyncent was at school. They couldn’t help but keep checking their phone to see if William responded. He hadn’t. It was entirely impossible to focus on anything but they did their best. 

Ashe refocused his attention on the disc. He had pretty much determined that this thing wouldn’t detonate. It wasn’t a bomb, which was good. They probably should have been more thoughtful about bringing these home, especially if they were explosives. Live and learn. Ashe didn’t feel confident about testing it by himself. So he would wait until Vyncent got home and they would figure it out together. Ashe’s phone dinged and pulled his attention away from the investigation. 

 William:

I’m okay. Stayed home from school today. How are you?

Ashe:

I’m fine. Can I come over?

William: 

Told my brother I’m sick. Doubt Mark will let you come over.

Ashe: 

I don’t think you’ll get me sick. I don’t think I can catch what you have.

 

William didn’t respond again. Maybe Ashe offended him, but he decided he was going to show up at William’s house anyway. Ashe was just about to head out when Mark stopped him at the door. Ashe hadn’t even realized that Mark was home. 

“Where are you going?” Mark asked while blocking the door. 

“I’m visiting William,” Ashe answered truthfully. Mark squinted at him.

“At this time of day? Shouldn’t he be at school? Shouldn’t you be doing your school work?” Mark interrogated. 

“I can finish it later tonight,” Ashe said.

“Ashe, you can’t go,” Mark said sternly. “I’m not letting you go out with those loud kids who keep getting you sick. I saw the news, kid. You were at that shop that got attacked.” Ashe winced at that. He supposed one of the other hostages may have been recording part of it too. Or there were security cameras that were shown to the public. They hadn’t checked social media; they hoped that nothing was released regarding what happened to William. “Why didn’t you tell me what happened?” 

“I didn’t think you were home.” Ashe turned away from their father. 

“How many times do you leave the house when I’m gone?” Mark continued pressing. When Ashe didn’t answer, his father’s frustration only grew. “No wonder you’ve had so many episodes this month. Look, Ashe, I’m trying to keep you safe. Clearly, I’m not doing a very good job if you almost got shot.” Ashe’s eyes began to water. They couldn’t explain to him that a friend had been shot. That William took a literal bullet for him. Ashe did feel guilty for going out yesterday, but not for the reasons his dad thought. “Look, just stay in today, okay?” Mark said. He tried to reach out to Ashe and put a hand on his shoulder, but Ashe pulled away and went back to his room upstairs. He shut the door a little to harshly behind him. 

Ashe checked their phone again. This time, they called William. He probably should have waited until he’d calmed down, but this was eating at him. He needed to talk to William.No answer. Ashe knew William didn’t like phone calls. Still, he called again. And again. On the third ring of the third call, the line finally connected.

“Hello?” William’s voice came through the speaker, rough and gravelly, like he hadn't spoken aloud all day. “Is everythi—”

“I’m sorry.” It blurted out before Ashe could even say hello. There was a pause on the line, thick with confusion.

“Is everything okay?” William asked, gentler this time.

“You died yesterday. I saw you die.” Ashe said, voice cracking. “It’s not okay.”

“I got better?” William joked weakly. Ashe could almost hear the forced smile behind the words.

“Are you better?” Ashe’s voice climbed. He squeezed his phone tighter, knuckles whitening. “William, you could hardly move. You were crying and—”  His throat caught. “Are you okay?” A long pause.

“Are you a Summoner?” William asked quietly.

“You’re dodging my question,” Ashe countered, eyes darting across the cluttered floor of his room. He was pacing now without realizing.

“So are you,” William retorted, calm but pointed.

Ashe’s pacing stopped. Their hand curled tighter around their phone.

“Yes,” he said finally, exhaling. “I’m Summoner. Your turn to—”

“Is Virion, Vyncent?” William interrupted sharply.

“Stop dodging the question, Will!” Ashe shot back, more forcefully than he intended. His heart was hammering in his chest. “Will you let me be worried about you?”

 Silence.

 Ashe sat down on the edge of his bed, waiting. He could hear William breathing, shaky on the other end.

“Ashe…” William began. His voice trembled. “I don’t know if I can do this.” Ashe gripped the edge of the mattress, knuckles digging into the blanket.

 “Do what?”

“I’m so tired,” William whispered. “And I just want to go to bed.”

“I’m sorry,” Ashe said quickly. “If you need to sleep, then—”

“No, you don’t understand. I-I can’t sleep,” William interrupted, voice rising in frustration. “No matter how tired I am. I can’t sleep.”  He paused. “Trust me, I’ve tried.”

Ashe could hear the tears now—barely held in. His own eyes stung.

 “Oh… Will…”

“I don’t know if I can keep doing this,” William said again, quieter this time. His voice was breaking. Ashe held the phone close to his chest for a second before pulling it back to his ear. His voice softened.

“What do you mean, Will? What’s ‘this’?” he asked gently.

“I don’t know,” William admitted. “All of it?”
There was something so painfully hollow in his voice. It echoed in Ashe’s chest.

“William,” Ashe said carefully, “are you at home right now?”

“Yes, but—”

“Okay. I’ll be over soon.” Ashe was moving before the last word even left his lips. 

Their hands were shaking slightly as they slid the phone into their pocket. The adrenaline was making it hard to think straight, but their body was already on autopilot. They knew how to sneak out the window. After all, they’d helped Vyncent do it more times than they could count. The old screen popped free with a soft snap . The cold evening air bit at their face, making their eyes water.

If Mark came in and found the room empty, so be it.

Ashe pulled on a face mask, mostly out of habit, partially for warmth. Partially to hide how pale and shaken they looked. They took the train. It was faster than walking, and right now, every minute counted.

William needed someone who understood what had happened. Ashe wasn’t going to let him face it alone.

The elevator ride to the penthouse felt endless. Every floor ticked by slower than the last, and Ashe’s foot bounced anxiously the entire ride. The metallic hum of the elevator felt louder than it should have. When the doors finally opened and they stepped out into the hallway, a sudden weight settled in their chest. This building was far too quiet.

Ashe reached the door and hesitated. Their hand hovered over the buzzer, second-guessing for just a moment. What if William doesn’t want to see me? What if I say the wrong thing? What if I already have?

Before they could spiral further, the door opened. The man who answered wasn’t who Ashe expected.

“Umm… hello?” the man said, blinking in surprise. He looked to be in his early twenties, wearing a well-fitted suit with his brown hair slicked back neatly. He didn’t seem threatening—just tired.

“I’m, uh…” Ashe stumbled. “I’m here to see William.”

“Oh, you’re one of his friends?” he asked, stepping back slightly. “It’s nice to meet you. I’m David, William’s older brother.” He hesitated, then added, “William’s sick today, so…” He trailed off awkwardly, his eyes flicking toward the hallway like he wasn’t sure how much to say.

“Right…” Ashe nodded, shifting their weight from foot to foot. “That’s actually why I came. I wanted to check in on him.” David rubbed the back of his neck, sighing.

“Well… he hasn’t been able to keep anything down all day,” he said, “Doubt you want what he has.”

Ashe’s brow furrowed. William hadn’t mentioned throwing up again or not eating. The concern in their chest flared hotter.

“Maybe just sit outside his door and talk to him?” David offered, stepping aside and motioning down the hallway.

“Thank you,” Ashe murmured, bowing their head slightly as they stepped in.

The penthouse was sleek and modern, but Ashe barely noticed the luxury. Every inch of their attention was on getting to William.

Their footsteps were quiet on the hardwood floors. The hallway felt too long, like it was stretching just to test their nerves. When they reached William’s door, they stared at it for a moment, suddenly unsure of what to say. Then they raised a hand and knocked—soft, but steady.

“William?” Ashe tried after no response.  He heard some shuffling around, the movement of cloth, and them footsteps. 

When the door opened, it was slow and lethargic. William looked awful. His eyes were unfocused, shadowed with deep, dark circles. His scrawny frame barely filled out the T-shirt hanging off his bony shoulders. His skin had lost all its warmth. No pink on his cheeks, nose, or ears. He looked like he hadn’t slept in weeks or like maybe he never truly came back from dying. He held his side where the bullet wound had been. The gesture was subtle, but Ashe’s chest ached seeing it. He was still hurting.

Without thinking, Ashe stepped forward and hugged him. They wrapped their arms tightly around William, clinging like they were trying to hold his soul in place. William was Ice cold, it made Ashe wonder why he wasn't shivering. It took a moment for William’s arms to respond, to slowly rise and wrap around Ashe. William gripped Ashe's shirt, holding handfuls of cloth. They hadn't been able to hug William when he first returned; this was making up for it. Ashe didn't let go until William did, and if they had matching tear stains from the other person, neither said a word about it.

They moved into William’s room silently, shutting the door behind them as they entered. William’s room was exactly what Ashe expected it to be like. It was mostly tidy except for a few scattered clothing items on the ground and a few crumpled-up papers that missed the trash can. 

William sat on the edge of his bed, head in his hands, staring through the floorboards like they held the answers. Ashe couldn’t see his face, but the silence was so loud it made their own heartbeat thunder in their ears. They didn’t sit next to William. Not yet. They lowered themself to the floor, giving William space. 

“Do you want to talk?” Ashe attempted. He wasn’t sure how it would be received. 

“Is Vyncent, Virion?” William asked again. William’s voice was soft, nearly monotone. He still didn’t look up. “He said that you know his identity. The voices in his head… that all lines up”

Ashe hesitated. It wasn’t really Ashe’s place to tell someone else’s secret, but he felt like William had figured it out anyway. No point hiding it. 

“...Yes,” Ashe admitted, “Do you want to tell him you're the Whisperer?” Ashe asked cautiously. 

“I don’t think I could do that to him,” William responded. “I wish you didn’t know.” Ashe felt a little conflicted at that. He was happy to be there for William because he needs someone to talk to right now. Maybe it’s selfish, but part of them understood why William would wish that. It's hard to look at William without thinking about his ghost or dead body. 

“If you don’t want him to know, I won’t tell him,” Ashe promised. “I don’t think he’s suspicious or anything. He’s kind of oblivious if you haven’t noticed.” Ashe chuckled lightly.

A tiny bitter smile tugged at the corners of William’s lips. “Oh, trust me. I’ve noticed,” William agreed, letting out a single laugh on a breath. “I’d feel bad if Red was the only one left out of the loop, too.” 

“I went out as Summoner the night that you and Vyncent were drunk. Red was covered in burns from when the building fell on him. I think he would have just tried to walk home and take care of it himself if I hadn’t shown up. He fights through pain a lot, I think.” Ashe explained.

“I wish he could teach me how he does that.” William’s voice cracked slightly. It was meant to be told in a joking kind of way. Ashe didn’t laugh. “...About the fires. I think they are a trap.” William said. 

“How so?” Ashe asked back.

“It’s… I don’t have evidence. But I think it’s the same person setting them. I think they are observing us. Seeing what we do, how our powers work. That sort of thing.”

“If that is the case, then how do we stop them?”

“They must be making their big move soon; we will just have to confront them then.” William shrugged, but the motion made him wince. Without warning, William suddenly leaned forward and pitched the bridge of his nose. The movement startled Ashe slightly, causing him to stand from the ground. William put his other hand under his nose to catch the droplets of blood that fell from it. 

“Fuck, Will, are you okay?” Ashe asked. 

“I keep getting nosebleeds. This is the 3rd one today.” William muttered. It was bleeding fast, even with his nose plugged. Ashe scanned around the room and spotted a box of tissues that he offered to William. For a moment, William looked like he might pass out, but his eyes refocused and he steadied himself. “I don’t know why it keeps happening. After affect, I guess?” Ashe stared at William with their eyebrows pinched and their mouth pulled into a line. “What?” 

“...Your brother said you haven’t kept anything down.” The words were careful, quiet. Like speaking too loudly would shatter what little strength William had. William looked at Ashe for a while, debating how to continue. Like he was trying to think of how much to say. It made Ashe fear that his current state was a lot worse than they had anticipated. 

“I don’t think my body can really process food anymore.” William nearly whispered. His voice caught in his throat when he spoke, but he continued anyway. “I can still smell and taste, but anything solid just doesn’t work. I can handle liquids; I might be able to get away with a smoothie. An Orange Julius sounds so good right now.” 

“I bet Dakota or Vyncent will bring you one after school if you really want it.” Ashe suggested. “I’m sure they will stop by anyway unless you message them and tell them not to. I wouldn’t put it past them to just show up here.”

“Yeah. I’ve already got a few messages from Dakota.” William said. “I told them I’d be back tomorrow.” 

“You feeling ready for that?” Ashe asked gently. “It’s okay if you need more time than that… If you didn’t want to be Whisperer for a while, I don’t think anyone would blame you.” 

William was quiet again. Ashe sat quietly and waited for Will to process his thoughts. 

“It's… I’m scared.” The words felt heavy. Like a new weight settled on both their shoulders, “I feel like I’m on this tightrope and I'm just barely balancing between life and death and I’m really scared I’m going to fall and I won’t be able to get back up.” Ashe’s throat clenched. Their chest hurt just listening.

William whipped the last of the blood from under his nose. “It… I don’t know if I’m really… me.” William continued spiraling. “Like William died. Am I really the same William who got back up? Like normal people can’t do that.” His voice cracked again, barely holding together. “I don’t think the William I was before could do that after I died the first time. What if I’m just something else pretending to be me and-”

Ashe moved closer, sitting next to his friend now. “William, I don’t want to invalidate your feelings, but I don’t think it matters to any of us. If this is who you are now, then we will still care about you. I know Dakota and Vyncent will feel the same way. And I know that doesn’t really fix how you are feeling, but we will be here for you.” 

William’s breathing slowed. “...How could you see me when I was a ghost? You mentioned before that you have some sort of superpowers. Is that part of it?” It was a quick change in topic, but Ash let it happen. Ashe pulled out a leather-bound book from his bag and placed it in front of William. 

“This book is from the spirit world. I can read it for some reason. It actually… it has stuff about the Whisperer in this too…” Ashe flipped to the page with on the Whispering Woods. William looked down to study the book. The words floated around the page to him, he couldn’t make heads or tails of most of it. He recognized a few words like ‘spirit’ ‘wisp’ “whisperer’ but he couldn’t quite tell what he was looking at. 

“What does it say?” William asked, unsure if he really wanted the answer 

“Uhhh… I’ll paraphrase. Basically, the Whisperer is some sort of planeswalker and a bridge between life and death. He’s supposed to help spirits pass on.”

“I have no idea how to do that.” William sighed. “I didn’t even know I was that … when I died, I went to the spirit world. There was a guy who wanted me to stay there and talk about what I was. Maybe that’s why I feel like… You know.” 

“Maybe it would be good to talk to him.” Ashe thought out loud. “Not that I want you to die again,” They quickly amended, “but he might have some good info for you.”

“Ashe you don’t understand, this guy looked evil as fuck” William explained. “I don’t think its a good idea to trust anything that comes out of that guy’s mouth.” 

“Right… Well. Sorry, I can’t really help you out much more. There’s still a lot of this book that I don’t understand…and can’t control,” Ashe added much softer. They closed the book suddenly, making William jump. Ashe pushed the book away from himself like he couldn’t stand to be near it.

 Maybe Mark was right when he said to burn it. Something keeps stopping them from leaving it entirely; maybe it’s because their mother had been the first one to be so invested in it. Maybe it’s because Ashe wanted to be like her and not like Mark. Maybe because they think that it doesn’t need to be a cause of death. They healed Red with it. They can do good with this. Not everyone will end up like his mother. They don’t want to be the cause of someone’s death anymore. Never again. Maybe if they had had the book at the time, then William wouldn’t have died for them. Maybe it's more selfish than that. Part of him hopes that he can use it to see his mom again. 

“Ashe?” William asked softly. 

“Sorry… It's just this book hasn’t always been good.” Ashe sighed. 

“That's okay. We can talk about it later, yeah?”

“Yeah.” 

“And uh… Thanks for coming over.” William’s voice was quiet again, slightly uncomfortable with being so vulnerable. “It… uh… It meant a lot.” 

“I’m glad you’re here, Will.” Ashe’s chest ached with the truth it. “If there’s anything I can do to help, just let me know.” 

“Yeah… t-there’s a lot we should probably talk about, but you should get back home before the school day is over.”

“Yeah. I’ll see you tomorrow?” Ashe asked 

“Yeah. See you tomorrow.” William nodded. 

-

Ashe was able to get home before the school day ended. He attempted to be quiet as he went back inside the front door.  It was all going well as he stealthily moved through his house. He thought he had avoided Mark entirely, that is, until he opened the door to his bedroom and found Mark waiting there for him with his arms crossed and eyebrows furrowed. He was holding one of those metal discs that they had taken from the tech place.

“Where the hell were you?” Mark interrogated.

“Visiting William,” Ashe answered truthfully.

“The William that isn’t at school today because he’s sick? Ashe, what are you doing? What are you thinking? You’re going to get yourself killed.” Mark yelled.

“He needed help,” Ashe argued.

“Yeah, well, whose gonna help you?” Mark retorted. “You think you can do these things, but you just can’t. You got dealt a shit hand, and I’m sorry. But if you’re not going to take care of yourself, then I will.”

“You’re hardly here.” Ashe’s voice was much smaller now, but still defiant. “Maybe if you told me-”

“I don’t want to hear it. You know that I’m working to keep a roof over our heads.” Why do you have this?” Mark asked while holding the briefcase and one of the discs. 

“Why are you going through my stuff?” Ashe countered

“Well, if you keep hiding things from me, then yeah, I’m going to go through your fucking stuff.” 

“You’re never here for me to tell anything to! I don’t even know where you go or what your job is. You can’t keep me here forever. I’m not a prisoner.”

“Okay… Fine, keep up whatever defiance act you have going here, but I’m taking these. You took them from that Tech resale place, yeah? Bet this is what those goons were going after. I don’t know what you’re getting yourself into, Ashe. But stay out of it.” Mark stormed out, slamming the door, taking the unknown tech with him.

Ashe took a deep breath and sat on the edge of the bed. He resisted the angry tears that threatened to spill over his cheeks. There was a knock on the door, and then Vyncent emerged. 

“Uh. Hey,” Vyncent waved awkwardly as he stepped in.

“Did you hear all that?” Ashed asked while wrapping his arms around himself.

“Just the end of it.” Vyncent admitted. “Sorry.” Ashe just shrugged. 

“Sorry, I let him just take the discs. I didn’t figure out what they did.” 

“It’s okay.” Vyncent nodded understandingly. 

“How was your day?” Ashe asked.

“It was good. But Dakota kept stealing my chicken nuggies at lunch today, and William was out sick,” Vyncent shared. “Dakota and I were talking about trying to check on him today, but Dakota said he was kinda ghosting him… whatever that means.” Ashe couldn’t help but laugh at the irony of that. 

“It just means that William isn’t responding to Dakota’s messages,” Ashe explained. 

“Well, he said he would be at school tomorrow and that's it.”  Vyncent shrugged. “I don’t want to bother him if he needs to like sleep, though.” 

“I think he’d appreciate it if you and Dakota showed up there. I was texting him a little bit this morning, and called him later in the afternoon. Oh! If you do show up, you should bring him an Orange Julius.”

“I have no fucking clue what that is.” 

“Just tell Dakota. He’ll understand.” 

 

Notes:

Okay, now updates will get slow again. Also, I have such a terrible toothache and it is making it a pain to sleep, however, you get this chapter sooner! so at least there is a positive to this situation. This Chapter is like all dialogue, and I'm really sorry if it drags. I did my best to keep it interesting and let you in on all the things that are coming together now.

It's time for me to try to sleep. I hope you have a wonderful Night/Evening/morning. Comments, Kudos, and bookmarks are always appreciated!. Thank you! Remember that you have people who love and care about you too <3

Chapter 15: Betrayal

Summary:

So... Ghostknife and then plot < very accurate summary of this chapter

Notes:

*TW: Minor blood, Minor descriptions of burns,*

Dakota could tell something was off about William. He acted pretty much the same as usual at school. He didn’t look great, but Dakota could chalk that up to being sick yesterday. He was a little more pale than usual, and he already looked allergic to sunlight. Maybe he needed to get William to touch grass more. Maybe he was just vitamin D deficient. He also looked like he hadn’t slept well either, but he acted more or less the same. 

When lunch time rolled around, that was Dakota’s real chance to study him. Neither Dakota nor Vyncent was smart enough to be in William’s morning classes, but during lunch and in social studies, that was the longest extent of time Dakota had to see William at school. 

William was already at their typical table tray in front of him. He stared at the spaghetti as if it were going to eat him instead. Vyncent sat next to him while Dakota sat across. Reaching over Dakota stabbed his fork into William's food. The action made him jump, and he looked up at Dakota. 

“Sorry Dude, you just looked like your food was going to kill you, so I thought it might help if it looked like I killed it instead,” Dakota explained as if it made perfect sense. William just blinked at him for a moment, trying to process the thought process. 

“You alright, man?” Vyncent asked, bumping his shoulder. 

“Sorry, J-just don’t have much of an appetite.” William shrugged. “Still feeling sick from yesterday.”  Dakota and Vyncent frowned at him.

“Okay, well. I won’t make you eat today, but tomorrow, I’ll get out the airplane if I have to.” Dakota said almost triumphantly. William looked almost mortified. 

“What do you mean, Airplane?” Vyncent asked. William turned to him and smiled a little. He looked at Vyncent in a way that Dakota hadn’t seen before. In a way that's more endearing? It's been obvious to Dakota that William has been developing a small crush on Vyncent this past month. The way they talk and sit with each other, Dakota can see it even if Vyncent has been completely oblivious. Something about this was different, though, like he saw something that Dakota hadn’t. Maybe he was a little jealous, not that he liked either of them in that way. He’s not really sure if he likes anyone in that way. It's just that part of him is scared of feeling like a third wheel when they hang out if they turn into anything more than that. It’s been the first time in a while that Dakota hasn’t felt all that alone, and he doesn’t want to go back to that. However, if Vyncent can make William smile, he thinks it might be worth it.

“Vyncent, do you know what an Airplane is?” William asked. He was polite about it, and he was careful about his tone to make sure that it didn’t sound like he thought Vyncnet was stupid.

“Umm, sort of,” Vyncent said. 

“It’s kinda like a flying bus. It looks really different, but it's made to transport people all over the world.” William explained. Dakota thinks that William enjoys explaining things to Vyncent.  

“So why did Dakota say that he would take out the airplane tomorrow?” Vyncent asked. 

“Oh! I can explain that one!” Dakota exclaimed. He twisted his fork in spaghetti and then lifted it into the air and made airplane noises as he dove his utensil towards Vyncent. “You’re supposed to open your mouth,” Dakota whispered. As soon as Vyncent's mouth opened enough, Dakota dug his fork inside. Vyncent chewed and nodded in understanding. “It’s just kind of something that parents do to get their kids to eat broccoli and shit they don’t want to eat.” 

“We have something like that back home, too,” Vyncent added after swallowing. 

“What do you say instead of airplane?” William asked. 

“Oh, we say…” Vyncent looked happy to share, but something stopped him. “Never mind. I’ll tell you later. Speaking about food, Ashe was explaining Thanksgiving to me… I don’t really understand the history behind it, but they said I could invite you two over to join.” Dakota can’t remember the last time he had a proper Thanksgiving meal. 

“I’d love to go… Except then I have to eat dinner with Mark.” Dakota spat the word Mark like he had eaten something bitter and wanted to get it out of his mouth. 

“Why do you hate Mark so much?” William asked. 

“Because he keeps Ashe in his room all day!” Dakota explained. “He’s a shitty dad. Sorry, Vyncent.” 

“No, I agree. He… he was really mad at Ashe yesterday, I don’t even really know why.” Vyncent explained. William squirmed in his seat, fidgeting slightly. “Anyway, Ashe is kinda sick today, so maybe he went out somewhere? If Mark has it his way, he would keep Ashe in a little bubble.”

“Yeah! Exactly. Like, I get that Ashe gets sick easily, but he doesn’t let them do anything!” Dakota ranted. 

“Well, he’s inviting us over for dinner, so at least that’s something.” William nodded. “I’d like to go too, but we will see when I’m going back to Deadwood for my family's Thanksgiving. As long as that doesn’t overlap, I’d go.” William agreed. 

“Great! I was also going to suggest we watch a movie tonight too. There was one recommended to me a while ago, too, that I want to watch… but if you're still sick, Will, it's probably not the best idea to bring you over when Ashe already isn’t feeling well.”

“We could watch at my place if you would rather.” William offered. “I mean… I don’t want to get you two sick either, so if we want to postpone, we can do that too.”

“I don’t mind,” Vyncent said. “If you’re okay enough to go to school, then you’re okay enough to hang out with me today. And like, we would already get sick from hanging out with you at school, so I don’t really think it will matter.” Dakota’s eyes flicked between the two of them, and he knew what he needed to do. 

“I’ve actually got some other plans tonight,” Dakota said. “I don’t mind if you two watch without me, though.” Dakota smiled. William and Vyncent turned toward him, almost confused. It wasn’t like Dakota to decline at any instance, and William and Vyncent were aware of that. 

“Plans with who?” William asked, clearly suspicious. 

“My Aunt,” Dakota said. He wasn’t lying. He was planning on seeing her, especially with the holidays coming up. 

“Right. What are you doing with your Aunt?” William continued to interrogate. 

“Probably eating dinner together and watching some show she's into now.” Dakota shugged.

“What does your Aunt do for work?” William asked, clearly studying Dakota as he answered. He would be taking notes if he could, Dakota is sure of it. Dakota doesn’t want to lie. He really doesn’t. He’s already lying enough with his secret identity. 

“Does it really matter, William?” Dakota asked in lieu of answering.

“You just never talk about her. I was curious.” William replied with the same intensity in his eyes. 

“We haven’t really, like… sat and talked for a while.” Dakota shrugged, trying to be nonchalant.  “I haven’t been around much lately,” Dakota responded. 

“Do you want to talk with her?” Vyncent asked. 

“Yeah. I do.” Dakota nodded. 

“Okay.” William nodded, but he looked concerned for some reason. Dakota didn’t get it.

-

Dakota did exactly as he said. He walked to the rehab facility after school to meet with Alaska; unfortunately, the front desk said that she was unavailable today. They didn’t tell him much more than that, but he did schedule a time that was closer to Thanksgiving, and the receptionist assured him that she would be available at that time.

So then Dakota went home, and it felt quieter than ever. It was dark and cold. Not only did he not have electricity, but he also didn’t have heat for November. He decided he could survive without it, so he’d be able to buy Christmas presents in December as well as pay for heat when it got snowy. He didn’t mind the chill when he was working out anyway. Push-ups, sit-ups, pull-ups, Handstand push-ups, swats. Dakota could get in a lot of reps before he was even close to being tired. As the night ticked on, he messaged Ashe. 

Dakota had a theory since he ran into Ashe as Red. For some reason, Ashe could see ghosts or maybe just Whisperer's ghost, and since then, Dakota had wanted to test it. The only issue is that he had no idea how to do that as Dakota. Red was the one who knew that info. 

Dakota:

Vyncnet said you’re sick

Ashe: 

Yeah, nothing new though. 

Ashe’s reply was almost instant. 

Dakota: 

Do you believe in ghosts?

Ashe: 

Well. Yeah, why do you ask?

Dakota didn’t think this far ahead. 

Dakota:

William has a Luigi board at his house. I saw it when we visited him yesterday. I think we should use it. 

Ashe:

Lol, it's Oujia, not Luigi, but okay. You do realize it's like November, right? Also, I heard you aren’t joining William and Vyncent for movie night. 

Dakota:

William needs all the help he can get. 

Ashe: 

So you were being a wingman?

Dakota:

Yeah. I did have plans, but they fell through. 

Ashe:

Oh sorry man

A loud explosion pulled Dakota’s attention away from his phone as he turned to look out his window. Another Fire. Dakota instantly put on his hero outfit and was on the move before he got the ping from Summoner. 

-

It was a little awkward at first without Dakota. Dakota was always the one to start a conversation; without him there, William had no idea where to start. 

“So uhh… what movie did you want to watch?” William asked as he got the TV set up.

“Oh, Rattata?” 

“Rattata is a Pokémon,” William said. “... Do you mean Ratatouille?” William smiled. He was reminded of one of his first conversations with Virion on the rooftop top and now he was deeply concerned about Vyncent eating rats.

“Yeah, about cooking rats?” Vyncent asked. 

“Well… It’s more like rats cooking, but yeah, close enough.” William navigated the streaming service he was on and pulled up the movie. Vyncent was sitting close to him, and Wiliam wasn’t sure if he always sat that close and he didn’t notice until Dakota was gone or if he was sitting closer because Dakota was gone. Their shoulders brushed against each other, and William wasn’t sure if he should scoot away. He ended up staying there, not daring to move close or pull away. Vyncent seemed to enjoy the movie. Occasionally, he would ask questions that William didn’t mind answering; he’d seen the movie enough times.

“Vyncent?” William asked softly, as credits were rolling.

“Hmm?” Vyncent turned to him, face a little closer than William was expecting, and he felt his cheeks grow a little warm. There were a lot of questions that he wanted to ask Vyncent now that he knew he was Virion. He wondered if the people inside his head watched the movie too and if they also liked it. 

“You don’t have to wear those headphones if you don’t want to,” William said. Vyncent reached up to grab them as if checking they were still there. Vyncent hesitated a moment before taking them off, letting his pointed ears show. An elf? Williams is not really sure, but he knows that Vyncent comes from a very different place from here.

“My ears are… just sorta weird looking,” Vyncent said, turning away from William. 

“Ears are just weird, dude. That's just how ears are.”

“They don't look like mine. Not here.” 

“Do you still miss home?” William asked. Vyncent was quiet. 

“Yeah. I do. A lot. I miss my mom.” Vyncent answered honestly. 

“You can’t visit?” William already knew the answer to that. It felt cruel to ask, but he had to press on carefully. 

“No. Even if I could… I-I’m not sure if I would be able to come back here.” Vyncent explained. William hadn’t considered that. He wanted to help Vyncent, he really did, but he wasn’t sure he could do that. He wasn’t sure he could let him go, knowing that he wouldn’t see him again.

“If you had the choice, do you think you would go?” William asked, afraid he already knew the answer. 

“I think I would, I have a lot of reasons to go back, but I would miss you and…” Vyncent’s eyes widened slightly when he looked at William. “Shit, Will, your nose is bleeding.” William’s hand instantly went up to his nose to plug it. Sure enough, there was blood spilling out of it. “Fuck, are you okay?” 

“I’m fine.” Truthfully, William felt woozy, like he might pass out. His nose was bleeding a lot. William felt his phone buzz in his pocket. William knew that it was an alert that something was going wrong. “You should go. It’s just getting to be the dry season. So it's okay.” William said. “I’m alright.” 

“You don’t look alright,” Vyncent said, grabbing William by his shoulders to keep him upright. He hadn’t realized how much he’d been swaying to the side. 

“I’ll be okay,” William assured. Red might not be. Red is a fully capable hero, William knows that, but He can’t leave him without backup again. He already faced a fire alone. He’s faster than they. He’s probably already there. He needs to make sure Virion can get there, and then he can go there as Whisperer. 

“William.” Vyncent's voice was firm, and he squeezed his shoulders. Fuck, were his eyes closed? He needs to be awake. He can’t fall asleep. He can’t sleep. “You with me?” 

“I’m here. I’m alright.” William stated again, not sounding that much more convincing than he did the first time. “You should go.” 

“William, I don’t want to leave you like this,” Vyncent stated. 

“I’m okay!” William stated, making sure to make eye contact with Vyncent.

“You’re not!” Vyncent argued back, and William only now noticed the tears gathering in Vyncent's eyes. William felt like crying, too. “Just tell me what’s wrong.” William wanted to. He really did.

“I don’t know. I don’t know what's wrong with me.” William said. Partial truths were easier than lies. “J-just help me to my room?” Vyncent nodded and then helped William get to his feet. His bullet wound still ached, but he ignored it as they shuffled to his room. By the time he got there, he could walk and stand on his own. 

“William?” Vyncent. Sat on the edge of William’s bed after grabbing a rag and wetting it in the bathroom sink. William took the rag from him and wiped the blood away. 

“Yeah?” William responded. 

“Have you eaten anything today?” Vyncent asked. 

“No,” William answered truthfully.  

“Do you want me to get you something?” Vyncent asked. 

“No,” William answered again. 

“Okay.” Vyncent nodded, but he got up and started pacing back and forth. “Can I do anything to help?” Vyncent asked. “Because I-I don’t know whatto  do right now.”  Red is the one who needs the help. William’s phone buzzed again. This time it was continuous. Someone was calling him. Ashe was calling him. William picked it up.

“Will? Is Vyncent still there with you?” Ashe asked; he hated how urgent his voice was. Something was wrong. 

“Yeah, Vynce is here with me,” William answered. 

“You two need to go to the location I sent. Red is there. He’s fighting someone, but his coms suddenly went offline.”

“Yeah, you can talk to Vyncent,” William said as if Ashe had called just to reach him. William reached out his phone to Vyncent. “It’s Ashe.”

“Hello?” Vyncent was holding the phone upside down, but William didn’t bother to correct him. 

“Yeah, it's just that William is…” Vyncent began. “Right… Okay…. I’ll be there soon.” Vyncent hung up and then handed the phone back to William. 

“I’m okay. I’m feeling better. It sounds like Ashe needs you.” William stated. It was clear Vyncent didn’t believe him for a second. 

“Okay. But we should talk about this later.” 

“We will,” William assured, despite not wanting to. 

-

Dakota was instantly moving to the fire. It was at the Tech resale place that they had just been at and it seemed pretty likely that the events that happened here are connected. Dakota expected this to be the same as usual. The culprit is already gone, and it would just be clean up. Saving people or expensive items from more damage. That’s how it started. Summoner was guiding him the best he could with the damage to the security cameras. Luckily, there weren't many people left inside. Most of them had gotten out when the alarms first went off. Unfortunately, Dakota couldn’t do much to actually put the fire out.

He checked the back storage area for any stragglers, but shortly after opening the door, he took a hard punch to the stomach. It nearly knocked the wind out of him. Dakota instantly looked at the attacker and readied himself to block another hit. The assailant was wearing a skull mask and had heavy equipment strapped to his back. Most of his clothing was black with some depictions of flames at the bottom edge of his pants. Dakota might have even thought that he looked cool if he wasn’t a villain.

“Oh, come on, no friends with you today?” The villain said. He didn’t use a voice filter and Dakota definitely recognized the voice. “I thought for sure you would show up with your buddies. Shame really.” 

“You’re the one behind all these fires?” Dakota questioned, ready to attack when needed. 

“Just wanted to see what you three could do before I stepped in… Or should I say four? You’ve got a friend in your ear, don’t you?” He smiled. “Let's take care of tha,t shall we?” he clicked some sort of device he was holding, and for a second, Dakota thought something else would start on fire. Instead, Dakota heard static in his earpiece and then felt a sharp zap. He tore the tech from his ear and let it fall to the ground, ringing left it its place. 

“Isn’t that better, Dakota?” He emphasized his name, making sure that Dakota heard every syllable. “You’re getting involved with things you don’t understand, brochacho.”

“Doug?” Dakota pieced together, finally recognizing his voice. “Why are you doing this? People could have died because of you!”

“Nah… I knew you’d save them. You would do that, you wanna be hero. That's always what you have been.” Doug raised his arm, on it was some sort of hand cannon that connected to the pack on his back. A fiery beam shot toward Dakota, who easily dodged out of the way. 

“You’re a villain.” Dakota spat, feeling betrayed. They were friends. One of the first ones Dakota had after Katori.

“You’re simple-minded.” Doug scoffed. “I’m just someone who needs money.” 

“This is not the way to get money! Get a fucking job or something! Not this!”

“Take off your fucking mask, Dakota!” he said while ripping off his own. “I know it's you. No one else is here.”

“I like being able to breathe in the fucking smoke, dude! I’m not taking off my mask. That’s just stupid!” Dakota argued back, he charged in to hit Doug with a powerful kick. A wall of flames came up as protection, but Dakota dove through it, landing a kick that sent Doug sliding back. 

“Holding back? Come on, you destroyed some kids' organs with a soccer ball. You can do better than that, broski.” Doug taunted. “Or is it because I'm your friend?”

“You were my friend.” Dakota seethed. 

“Oh, ouch.” Doug scoffed, not offended

“How?” It was one word, but Doug understood. 

“When you were at the party, you left a little before I set the explosives to go off. The original idea was to check who left shortly after with some lame excuse. No one else left, though. I convinced everyone else to stay. My best guess was you. Coming to school exhausted with injuries? Showing up at school with some makeshift costume? It was a jump, but you always talked about being a hero. It lined up with you smashing that kid's guts in, too.”

“My teammates?” Dakota questioned. 

“No fucking clue, but last I saw one of them was barfing out his insides and could barely walk after getting shot. Overlord isn’t concerned with them. They aren’t even here to help you.” Dakota didn’t have enough time to process what Overlord meant before he was dodging flames. Part of a beam caught his right fore arm, singeing the fabric instantly and leaving a scalding burn. Dakota returned with a kick to Doug’s chest, and they continued trading blows. Sometimes Doug would throw in a punch because there must have been some sort of cooldown on his flame thrower. 

It was clear that Dakota outclased Doug with stamina. Dakota was far more affected by fire; it was hot, and he was losing places to stand, but it didn’t stop him from fighting. He fought through any burning sensations he felt and let the adrenaline carry him. With one final surge, Dakota pinned Doug to the ground with his foot, smashing the equipment in the process.  Doug just smiled at him face already forming bruises. 

“If I’m going down, I’m at least taking you with me.” With one final movement, Doug lifted his arm and pointed it straight up. Fire engulfed the ceiling, and the support beams caved. Rubble dropped around them. For the second time, Dakota was inside a burning building as it collapsed.

Notes:

Okay, so a lot is going on in this chapter... However, I'm actually pretty happy with how it turned out. The fight scene is a little fast, but it needed to happen before William and Vyncent could get there, and if fight scenes go on too long, I get bored, so enjoy the villian spiel I gave our Broski, Doug! Also, shout out to Orpheexist, who totally figured out what Inferno/Doug was doing. (If you're reading this, I felt very validated as a writer when you wrote that comment.)

Also, I had my roommate read this chapter (Also a JRWI enjoyer and Fic writer, they are currently writing a wonderlust fic where Troy is the classic protagonist in a horse girl movie), but they were reading the part about the food airplane and then said "Wait, what does vyncent call it where his is from?" and I just say "Dragons" and they proceeded to laugh at that... so incase anyone was wondering, thats what it is.

Anyway, have a great day! Comments, Kudos, and Bookmarks are always appreciated! <3

Chapter 16: Argument

Summary:

Dakota has a pretty bad time for like... this whole chapter.

Notes:

*TW: Descriptions of burns, minorly referenced eating disorder, Dissociating (sort of)*

When Vyncent arrived, all that was left was the smoldering remains of a building that once stood there. Water from a fire hose attempted to douse it, sending smoke billowing up into the air. Some broken electronics sparked, igniting new flames in the rubble. The sky was a colorful red, and it was brighter than any night Vyncent had seen on Prime. Large shadows were cast behind the crowd of people that gathered to gawk at the scene. It felt far too casual for them, like they had all just gathered around a bonfire as if it were just some party. Police tape was being put up around the area, and it would likely be investigated once everything cooled down. Vyncent didn’t have time to wait for that. 

“Virion.” Summoner's voice crackled through the earpiece. “Are you there? I don’t have any cameras up, just the news feed and…” Summoner's voice broke. Vyncenct couldn’t tell if it was from him crying or from Ashe being sick. “God, I think he’s in that.”

“I’m there.” Vyncent reported. His legs were moving before he could even process whether it was a good idea. He could feel the heat radiating from the scene, but didn’t think twice about how hot it would be. He didn’t think it mattered. He would go into it anyway. He ducked under the police tape despite the yelling of the cops behind him and began digging through the rubble. He could hardly hold onto things for long with how scalding it was. 

“Red!” Virion called out. “Red!” Virion screamed, still digging through rubble. It felt endless. There was too much to sort through. Piles of electronics, shelves, rebar, cement, wood, broken light fixtures. He couldn’t search through all of it. Virion tried calling out his name again. “Red!” Vyncent held back tears as he continued searching. Crying wouldn’t help right now. It wouldn’t help anyone. Not Ashe, who he can hear sniffling on the other end of the call, not William, who he left alone in some horrible condition, not the Greats whose voices are overlapping in his brain trying to console him or keep him focused, and not Red, who is somewhere in this fiery hellscape. 

“Summoner? Virion?” Whisperer’s voice echoed through his earpiece. “I-I can’t make it there. I’m sorry. I-” Deep breath. “Any updates?” 

“The building collapsed. Red has been radio silent,”  Ashe explained. Whisperer and Ashe continued talking, but Vyncent couldn’t tell what they were saying. Instead, the voices of the Greats were too overwhelming. Alphonze was going on about some sort of revenge plot. Min was trying to comfort him. Strider was telling him to keep searching. Ram was trying to get him to calm down. Chungus wanted to plow through this rubble in the fastest way possible. Grayson was trying to get him to wait until the area cooled down. None of it was helpful.

“Shut up,” Vyncent muttered as he continued sorting through the wreckage. “Shut up!” He said again when it did nothing to quiet any of them. When he still heard people talking, he screamed. “ Shut up! ” he cried, and for the first time in forever, Vyncent heard complete silence. “You’re all so damn loud. Just… just give me a moment to think.” 

“Sorry.” Summoner and Whisperer muttered over coms. Vyncent's hands hurt as he continued rummaging around, but he didn’t stop. He couldn’t stop. Not until he found Red. Then he saw it, the tiniest movement. It could have been nothing really, just a trick of the eyes. It could have been nothing, but Vyncent still sent himself stumbling over to it. 

He began digging again, hauling things out of the way to hopefully find his friend. Then, more movement, a shift, like someone was trying to push something up. Vyncnet didn’t stop moving. Calling upon the barbarian powers, he pushed using all his might to move a support beam over to the side. That’s when he could see him.

Red.

He was hunched over, barely holding himself up on his forearms and knees. He was leaning over somebody as if he had protected them from the cascade of debris that came down on them. It probably did save the person they were protecting, but not all of them. Part of the building had smashed their legs. Vyncent isn’t even sure if he could get the other person out on his own. 

“I found him.” Vyncnet alerted, letting a relieved sigh leave his lips. The relief was echoed on the other side. 

Vyncent dropped to his knees, scooping Red beneath the arms and dragging him back. Red collapsed into him, limp and barely holding on. His clothing was torn and scorched, his arms and back blistered and bloody, with patches of skin fused to what remained of his shirt. Blue blood oozed slowly from beneath charred fabric. His breathing was shallow.

“Red? Can you hear me?” Vyncent asked as he hugged Red in his arms. He looked terrible. His clothing was almost entirely covered in soot. It was difficult to even tell what injuries were there but, Vyncent was certain it hurt immensely. “Red? please.” Vyncent begged. Red didn’t speak. He just nodded and cried. Vyncent held on tighter, letting himself cry too. “Thank God.” 

He glanced down at the person Red had been protecting and was surprised to see that he recognized the face. It was Doug.  There were bruises forming that weren’t from the fire, and he had some sort of arm cannon that connected to broken machinery. 

“I-is this who started the fire?” Vyncent asked. A nod. “And you saved him?” another nod. 

“h-his legs are…” Red started. Vyncent reached down to check a pulse on Doug, and sure enough, he found one there. 

“He’s alive.” Vyncent assured. “You’re alive. I’m going to-”

“You have to help me get it off his legs.” Red begged. He weakly tried to push himself from Vyncent's arms, but it was clear he didn’t have the strength. He desperately fought Vyncent as he tried to get back to Doug, but Vyncent just held him tighter. 

“The paramedics will get to him.” Vyncent stated. “It’s okay. Just… just rest. I’m sorry I wasn’t here.” Vyncent let Ram take over, and he shot two healing bullets into Red. He still had a hard time pulling the trigger after what happened with Whisperer. He hoped it did more than it looked like. Red’s appearance didn't change much. 

Red collapsed into Vyncent, clinging to him and crying into his shoulder. Vyncent returned the action. At some point, Red crashed. If he had to guess, Red was probably exhausted and in too much pain to sleep. As soon as the pain went down, he was out. Vyncent resituated him and carried him away from the ruins, far enough away to where the temperature cooled.  

“How is he?” Summoner asked.  

“Alive. Exhausted. Just kinda fucked up” Vyncent explained. “I don’t know where to take him.” 

“A hospital?” Whisperer suggested. 

“They would find out his identity.” Summoner countered. “Just find a quiet alley or something? It’s not ideal, but it will have to do. Just stay with him until he wakes back up.” 

“Someone else was in the fire. The person Red was fighting, they are alive. Someone needs to get them medical attention.” 

“I’ll try to contact the police performing the investigation. Just stay with Red.”

Vyncent did what was suggested. He did whatever first aid he could on the bad burns, but really, they were all over. He didn’t have burn cream or bandages on him to wrap him up like he normally does. He had been in such a rush that he forgot to pack everything. He decided to hit Red with yet another healing bullet, hoping it would correct all of the minor burn spots and it did. It was still entirely difficult to tell what was burned clothing or burned skin. 

Vyncent sat in the alleyway for about 3 hours until Red stirred again. Red clearly gained some strength back since he was able to sit up on his own. He seemed confused for a moment as he looked around and then was instantly panicking, like the fight won in his fight or flight response. Vyncent put a hand on his cautious hand on his shoulder. Light pressure as to not aggravate any of his injuries. Red jumped, ready to attack, but once he seemed to register that it was Virion, he relaxed. 

“How are you doing?” Vyncent asked.

“I could be better.” Red shrugged, barely lucid. His words slurred together when he spoke. “The person… I was fighting someone…” 

“He’s being taken in to emergency care.” Summoner offered through the coms.

“Summoner said that he’s getting care now.” Vyncent relayed. Red sighed and then pushed himself up to his feet and brushed himself off. 

“That’s good.” Red determined. “He uhh... said some stuff that we should all talk about but… I- don’t think I can… I need to go home” 

“Are you, like, okay enough to get home?” Vyncnet asked. Red, very clearly, wasn’t.

“You’ve healed me enough,” Red assured. Vyncent reached out and grabbed his wrist, and Red couldn’t help but show the immense pain he felt. His face contorted, and his knees buckled. 

“You’re really badly injured, Red.” Vyncent stated firmly. 

“I can keep going.” Red defended. 

“Just because you can doesn’t mean you should.” He retorted. 

“ I can make it home. I’d probably win if we raced.” Red said. Words still collided when he spoke, and He was still trying to stand up straight. 

“Red said that he lives by himself.” Whisperer cut in. “I don’t think that it's a good idea to leave him alone.” It wasn’t a good idea to leave William either, Vyncent thought to himself. Why does this keep happening to him tonight?

“Red, I don’t think you should be alone right now,” Vyncent said. Red’s bravado dropped, and he just hung his head. 

“Okay.” He agreed and slumped back to the ground. It was clear he was still in a lot of pain despite the healing, unsure if he wanted to hold his arms or have nothing touch his body. Regardless, he wasn’t masking the pain anymore. Unfortunately, Vyncent couldn’t do much about it.

“I’m going to try to meet you at your location. I’ll bring some first aid things and a change of clothes for Red. It might take me a while.”

“Whisperer is coming with some supplies. He might be a bit.” Vyncent said as he pulled his knees to his chest and wrapped his arms around them. He couldn’t help but feel like the longer he was sitting here, the longer he was abandoning William. He has two friends who desperately need his help right now, but he can’t be in two places at the same time. Leaving Red might be worse. He’s got severe burns that are going to get infected if they don’t heal properly. But then he thinks about William and that he doesn’t think he's seen him eat anything in the past two days. What if he passes out and no one is there to help him? Because God knows his brother probably won’t even notice. It’s just a constant back and forth. He’d send ashe to go check on William, but Ashe is already sick now, and if he goes to see William, he might get worse. 

“Virion?” Red asked. “Are you okay?” He let out an unhumorous laugh. Of course, Red would be the one to ask that when he looks like that. He seriously doesn’t know how Red is functioning right now. Red moved to lie on his side on the cold pavement. 

“There’s just a lot going on,” Virion said. 

“Are your voices loud?” 

“Oh, uh. No, not really. It’s just that I left someone important to me to come here, and they really aren’t doing very well right now, but also, if I had left when they told me to, maybe I could have stopped this from happening to you.” Vyncent put his head in his hands. “And I don’t know what to do about it because I can’t stop worrying about them or you. Or Whisperer, really for that matter, since he…” Vyncent tried to shake the thought from his head. He couldn’t erase the sound of a the gunshot, the pool of blood, and the awful cries that haunt his nightmares. “It feels like all my friends are falling apart, and I can't do anything to stop it. I don’t know what to do or how to help.”

“I-I’m not… I’m not good at stuff like this.” Red started. “It takes me a while to process things. People call me slow or stupid because of it. Which is kinda funny because I can run really fast. But you helped me out of the fire, and I’m a lot better now because of you. I don’t really know how to help your other friends, or to help whisperer, but your helping me right now.”

Vyncnet just nodded, unsure of how to respond. He caught sight of a figure at the other end of the alley, unmistakably Whisperer with his white hair poking out of his hood. He was carrying clothing and a small case, likely carrying first aid materials. He came over wordlessly and knelt down and then hugged both of them.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered. “I’m so sorry.” 

“It’s okay, dude. You like, died last time.” Red said, returning the hug.

“We get it if you need some time.” Vyncent tacked on. “I don’t think that situation was great for any of us, but especially you.” Whisperer just nodded before changing the subject

“I brought some clothes for you. I figured it would be easier to see how bad your injuries are if you could get out of your burned outfit.” Whisperer explained. Red took the clothing from him and set it on his lap. He moved to take off his clothing, and he winced when he moved his arms. He kept trying, breath catching in his throat like he was crying. He probably was. He was in a lot of pain. Vyncent amost forgot because of how well he could mask it, but it looked agonizing for him to move around. 

“We can cut it off of you, if that's okay,” Whisperer interrupted once he saw him suffering through the action. “I don’t think it's going to be salvageable anyway.” Red nodded slowly, letting a sob cut through.  If he was surviving on adrenaline before, it was wearing off now. Whisperer quickly dug through the kit to find scissors and split his shirt down the middle. Vyncent helped peel it off of him, and Red took it like a champ, besides the occasional jolt, yelp, and constant tears. The most notable areas were on his back and one of his arms. Some of the fabric adhered to the blistering burns, some of his blue blood seeped through, making his injuries look purple instead. 

Vyncent worked through picking out all of the larger scraps of fabric in his back, even though his own fingers twinged with a slight burning sensation. Whisperer went in with tweezers to pull out the small pieces out of the injury on his arm first, carefully not to pull pieces of skin with it.  All other spots seemed to have been fixed with the healing bullets they used. 

Red begged for a break a few times as they dug sound his skin, but they always obliged and waited until he was ready to start again. After another hour, they were applying some burn cream and then wrapping jup the injuries. The three of them just sat there. Summoner was completely silent on the call.  Everyone was burnt out, Red literally. He fell asleep again. Which was good considering how late it was now. They only had a couple of hours before sunrise at this point. 

“You should get some sleep too,” Whisperer suggested. “I’ll stay awake if you want to get some rest.” 

“What about you?” Vyncnet countered. 

“I can’t really sleep anymore. I don’t think I need to.” Whisperer explained softly. 

“Oh.” 

“Yeah.” A long pause stretched between them. Everything felt so unbearably heavy right now. “I should have been here sooner. I just… when I…I was getting ready and all I could think about was… you know. That . And I’m just scared.”

“If you need more time, that's okay.”

“I’m not sure time will fix it, Virion.” Whisperer sighed. “Just get some sleep, okay?” Vyncnet opened his mouth to say something, but closed it before any words got out. He wasn’t sure what he even wanted to say or what he could say to fix it. Maybe words couldn’t fix it. Instead, he just laid down and tried to sleep.

When he opened his eyes again, it was significantly lighter. The sun was rising, but still just below the horizon. Whisperer was in the exact same spot he was before, and the weirder thing was that he was looking directly at Vyncent. Once Whisperer noticed that his eyes were open, he immediately looked away. As Vyncnet got into a seated position, he noticed Red was gone, which sent panic running through him. 

“Red woke up about an hour ago and wanted to go home.” Whisperer started as if he was reading Vyncent's thoughts. “I gave him my earpiece and had Summoner stay on the line with him until he arrived home so you wouldn’t be left alone here. He arrived safe, though. Summoner sent a message in the chat.”

“I-I should go home too,” Vyncent said. 

“Yeah,” Whisperer nodded. “I should, too. There are things to do today. “ Whisperer stood and offered a hand to help Vyncnet up, which he accepted. “I’ll see you later as long as you are okay enough to get home.”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Vyncent said as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “I’ll see you later.” Then the two walked off in different directions. 

-

 

Dakota moved significantly slower than he wanted to. Every step sent a dull throb up through his spine. The ache in his back flared even if he twisted even slightly. His arm still burned in pulses, like the skin was pulling too tight with every movement. The oversized button-down shirt Whisperer gave him clung to him in places where the skin was raw. It made him chench his teeth.

He had no idea how he would hide this from his friends at school, or what he would do if anyone asked about Doug. Just thinking Doug’s name brought a wave of heat to his face, not from the burns but from the memory of the fight. If his family didn’t know Doug was a villain before, they would now. The thought twisted something sharp in Dakota’s chest. He didn’t think he’d see Doug again. He wasn’t sure he even wanted to.

“Keep talking to me, Red,” Summoner said in his ear. His voice was calm, steady, but Dakota could hear the faint rasp of someone who was far from well.

“Summoner…” Dakota’s voice came out weaker than he intended. “I have a favor to ask.”

“Yeah?” Summoner replied, tone gentler now.

“Can you heal me? I—I think your powers are stronger, and I… I could use the help.” 

Summoner hummed in thought. “Well… I’m kinda sick. I’ll be honest, I think I’ve had a fever for the last hour.” Dakota instantly felt selfish.

“And you’re still trying to help us?” Dakota asked, a mix of guilt and disbelief slipping into his voice. “You should be getting rest if you’re sick. How are you supposed to get better then?”

“I could maybe heal you if you meet me in the middle?” Summoner suggested. Dakota hesitated. The idea of making him walk anywhere with a fever felt wrong, but His burns made even breathing feel like a chore.

 “Dude, if you’re sick, it’s okay.”

“I want to help if you need it,” Summoner said firmly. “I’ll meet you in the middle. It’ll be fine. I just get sick all the time anyway. Just follow my new directions, okay?”

Dakota wanted to argue more, to tell him not to do it, but his whole body was pulsing in uncomfortable waves.. He felt like a bad friend for putting someone else in danger… and yet, he knew he wouldn’t make it through the school day without help.

“Okay,” Dakota said reluctantly.

He backtracked toward their meeting spot, each step pulled at the burns along his back and side. The walk felt longer than it should have. The exhaustion wasn’t just in his body; it was in the pit of his stomach, in the way his thoughts kept replaying Doug’s easy smile as the ceiling gave way. Doug had been planning for this moment.

The station came into view, a small bus stop, empty except for Summoner sitting on one of the benches.

Summoner was coughing into his elbow, mask still on. He lifted a hand to wave when he saw Dakota, but it took him far too long to stop hacking.

“Sorry, I can’t mute myself in real life,” Summoner joked weakly as he pulled out his book and flipped through it.

“You’ve been coughing that much and just muting yourself?” Dakota asked, trying to ignore the way his knees wanted to buckle every time he shifted his weight.

“Yeah. I figured it would sound gross if there was someone hacking away in your ear,” Summoner said. “Ready?”

“Uh-hmm.” Dakota nodded, immediately regretting it as the motion tugged at the burned skin on his neck. “Is there a way to focus the healing in one spot?”

“I’ve never tried. Want me to focus on your back then? I assume that’s what hurts the most.” 

“Yeah.” Dakota nodded again, biting the inside of his cheek to keep his face neutral.

Summoner said his chant, and the same knight with too many eyes and wings appeared, its light so bright it made Dakota’s vision sting. Then came the cool sensation, starting between his shoulder blades. It rolled over his shoulders and down to his hips. The relief was instant and overwhelming, the fire under his skin dimming until it was only a dull ache. His breathing came easier, his stance steadied. His arm still throbbed sharply with every movement, but his back almost felt normal again.

“Wow,” Dakota breathed, flexing his shoulders slightly just to feel the absence of pain. “Your powers are so cool!”

“Course. Now I have to get home before I pass out or throw up,” the Summoner admitted.

Dakota frowned. “Do you need someone with you? I don’t mind. I could run you home.”

“Nah, then I’d definitely throw up. It’s not far. I’ll see you later, Red.” Summoner stood, coughing again as he walked away.

“Thank you!” Dakota called after him, before running home, so he would have time to shower before school.

-

Dakota made himself look presentable enough. The cold shower also helped soothe his raw and angry skin. He stayed in there a lot longer than he normally would, and since he wasn’t paying for heat right now, he could afford the longer showers. The coolness of the house was normally offsetting and made things feel hollow and empty. This time, it was oddly comforting. It helped relieve his body from the pain it was experiencing. Dakota wore a long-sleeve flannel and made sure it would cover the bad burn that was still left on his arm. He was cautious to make sure that his sleeves wouldn’t accidentally roll up and reveal the new wrap job he gave himself after the shower. He was getting better at first aid, he thought to himself confidently. It was getting difficult to hide his injuries. He had them all over; there were more and more places to cover. At least it made sense to dress warmer since the temperature has been dropping.

Most of school was fine. Dakota had a few moments where he winced from someone brushing up against his arm, but he didn’t think anyone noticed. When the teachers called Doug’s name, Dakota instantly whipped his head to look at his normal spot as if he was expecting him to be there. There was no way he could be. Dakota tried to forget about Doug's crushed legs under the ruins of that old building, but sometimes when he closed his eyes, that's all he could see. Yes, Doug is a villain, but he didn’t want to see that happen to him. 

The Day pressed forward until it got to lunch. Lunch was a little awkward. Vyncnet was at their table first, and Dakota sat across from him. 

“Hey, man.” Dakota began.

“Oh, Hey,” Vyncent replied as if only noticing Dakota now after he spoke. Vyncent looked exhausted, borderline almost as exhausted as William, which made Dakota a little suspicious of what had happened after the movie night. Although he can't guarantee that he looks much better right now. 

William sat down next to Dakota and, unfortunately for him, just barely bumped his arm, sending a wave of fire shooting through his arm. He clenched his teeth, hoping that Vyncent and William wouldn’t notice. Fuck, he should have come up with a lie to tell in case this happened. 

“You okay?” Vyncent asked, giving Dakota a concerned look. 

“Yeah, dude, I’m all good. Just an incident with a kettle yesterday when I was making some tea.”

“You were making tea?” William questioned. “What kind?” 

“Mint,” Dakota answered smoothly despite not enjoying the lie. He liked the smell of mint, and he was definitely sure that mint could be a tea. Aunt Alaska used to have mint tea a lot, and sometimes she would make some for Dakota with extra honey in it, so it was nice and sweet. He found himself missing it.

“What happened?” William continued to interrogate. 

“Oh, I accidentally burned my arm. I was getting a cup ready to pour it, but my arm hit the kettle.”

"Were you with your Aunt when this happened?”  William continued interrogating. 

“No, she… She was somewhere else when it happened.” William squinted at him as if trying to make his story make sense. William reached out and put a hand on Dakota’s back as if to comfort him. It was odd, William wasn’t one to initiate touch, not that he hated it or anything, but it was rare for him to offer it first. Before Summoner's healing, He probably would have been on the floor writhing in pain, but now, there was just a slight sting that he could ignore. 

“Sorry, man. You know, you could have called us if you were by yourself.” 

“I didn’t want to interrupt your movie night. How did that go?” Dakota asked.

“Oh,” William pulled back his arm. “It was good. It went good.” William seemed flustered, but not in the normal gay panic sort of way. It seemed like he wanted to change topics. 

“William,” Vyncent said, and William turned to look at him. “You know we have to talk about it.” 

“Here? Now?” William asked. 

“Talk about what?” Dakota intervened, he looked back in forth between the two of them when it took too long for them to respond. Did William Confess? Dakota didn’t think he had the balls to do it. Maybe Vyncent said no? Is that why he doesn’t want to bring it up again?

“William, got a bloody nose out of nowhere last night, and then was shaking and almost passed out. I just want to know what happened.” Vyncent answered. Dakota was concerned hearing that, but also mildly disappointed it wasn’t about their love life and that drama. 

“Look, I don’t know,” William stated defensively. “I’m really not sure why it's happening.”

“It’s happened more than once?” Vyncent asked, incredulously. 

“Yes, but they normally aren’t so bad. It’s alright.” William said. “They just started happening after I got sick. I think they will go away.” 

“...You still haven’t touched your food.” Vyncent began. “Will, listen-” William looked down at his plate and then reached for his fork and jabbed it into his steamed broccoli. He took a bite almost just to spite them, but then he continued eating.

“Wow, you must be really scared of the airplane threat.” Dakota joked.

 “William, I just want to help if something is wrong, and I know you know what that feels like.” Vyncnet's eyes flicked toward Dakota just for a moment. Dakota wasn’t sure if he was supposed to say something or not. He didn’t quite understand what Vyncent was sayin,g but he did agree with wanting to help William. 

“It’s just something I need to deal with. I’m sorry for worrying you.” William said. Vyncent didn’t look satisfied with that response, and Dakota wasn’t satisfied either. 

“That doesn’t mean you have to deal with it alone, dude,” Dakota said. William just glared at him. Dakota didn’t understand why. 

“Why don’t you ever talk about home, Dakota?” William questioned. “You never invite us over either. I want to know why.”

“William.” Vyncent warned. 

“You keep coming to school with injuries. You have to understand how that looks.” William stated. 

“How what looks?” Dakota asked seriously. Did William figure him out? How long has he known?

“Your Aunt Alaska…. Does she… Does she do anything to you?” William asked. 

“What? What do you mean by that?” Dakota asked. 

“William, I don’t know if now is the time to-”

“Does she hurt you?” William asked. “Because you keep coming to school and trying to hide the injuries and you're good at it. I don’t even know if I’ve seen every injury because you’re good at hiding it. But you’re a terrible liar, and I don’t understand why you’re trying to hide it.” William exploded. 

“What? No! She would never hurt me! Not like that,” Dakota defended. “She isn’t hurting me.” William stared at him as if he were trying to see through the lie. 

“You don’t need to protect her. We can-” 

“Stop!” Dakota yelled. “You don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“Dakota,” William said, like he was trying to be comforting.

“No!” Dakota yelled. William didn’t understand what he was doing. If people found out what was actually going on, he’d be put in the foster care system. It would be harder to be Red. They would probably make him move schools. He doesn’t know if he will see the Cole's again. Dakota doesn’t want that. “Stop it! You have no idea, Will.” 

“Then tell us!” William yelled

“You first!” Dakota shot back. That silenced both of them. Both of them were breathing heavily, clearly angered by the other.  

“I’m going to the bathroom. Don’t wait for me to walk to social studies.” William said before getting up and walking down the hallway to get to the restrooms. 

“He’s just deflecting,” Vyncent said quietly once William was out. “He’s just worried about you. We both are. But he doesn’t like the attention on himself.”

“He hasn’t been the same since he’s been sick,” Dakota noted softly as he stirred his mashed potatoes in circles. 

“Yeah, I’m worried that he’s sick with something really bad and he doesn’t know it because of his weird pain thing. Or he won’t admit it to us,” Vyncent said. 

“Yeah,” Dakota agreed. Dakota cleared his tray and William’s. He and Vyncent walked to social studies together. William showed up late, which was unlike him. He hardly said a word to Dakota or Vyncent the whole time, just the necessary things for when they worked in a group. William really did look terrible. His face looked sunken in. His arms wrapped around himself as if he were trying to keep himself together. He didn’t say a word to them when social studies was over either. 

“You should talk to him.” Dakota nudged Vyncent's shoulder. “Sometimes I can be a little too much for him.” 

“He is worried about you. We both are.” Vyncent responded as they walked to their next class.

“Dude, I’m fine. William is the one who fucking looks like he’s on death's door.” Dakota redirected. He was fine . This was nothing outside his normal day-to-day life these days. “I really think he’ll talk to you.” 

“I’ll talk to him,  if I can even find him.” Vyncent agreed.

Dakota didn’t see Vyncnet or William after school. He had no idea where they were or what was happening with the two of them.  He doesn’t know if Vyncent was even able to find him. Dakota walked toward home without saying goodbye to either of them, which was odd. Dakota didn’t know what to do to fix this. It felt like watching everything crumble in slow motion. He has superspeed. He should be able to fix it before it all comes undone, but he doesn’t feel like he can. 

He knows he should contact Summoner tonight, which means he needs to charge his phone, and he doesn’t have any power at home to do so. He rerouted himself to the public library. It was a nice and quiet space. There were always a few people there, so it didn’t feel barren and empty like home. When he let his phone charge for a bit, he went off to gather a few comic books to read in the meantime, mostly Prime Force issues, but he read other things too. Sometimes adventures of Peelburt or the Chronicles of Halo-Ghram and Holo-Steve. 

Once his phone was charged enough, he checked his messages. There was nothing from William or Ashe. Which was a little disappointing if he’s being honest. There wasn’t anything from the Prime Defenders either. Dakota switched over to the news and Doug’s school photo was plastered over every news station. They were talking about him, saying he confessed to every fire that was set recently. He sustained serious injuries to his legs and likely would no longer be able to walk after he completed his recovery. He would be taken to a juvenile detention center. The next footage was of Dakota as Red. It was saying something about how Red was the only one to show up at the scene and that Virion had not shown until after the damage was done. There was footage of Virion searching around the rubble for him and pulling him out. The news said that it was speculated that Red had helped protect Doug from life-threatening injuries since he was found out in the open. 

Dakota checked Twitter to see that all three of them were trending. Whisperer was at the top, with the most common result being “Whisperer: Dead or not?” Below it had attached clips of what happened at the Tech resale place. All of it on camera. Summoners normally took care of that stuff, but they couldn’t this time for some reason. 

Dakota nearly dropped his phone when the gunshot rang out. He hadn’t seen it happen. When he was there, he only saw the aftermath. It was horrible and made Dakota want to gag. Part of him still felt like he had whisperer’s blood coating his hands and clothes. He decided he couldn’t watch it. 

The comments were all over the place. Some were saying how weird it was that one of the Hostages stayed and how they looked like they were talking to no one. Someone commented about how Whisperer hasn’t been to the last two fires now. Others were talking about Virion and his ability to change forms. They were talking about him more with the video of Virion pulling him out of the ruins. There were a few voice clips attached with shitty audio, but it was definitely them talking. Dakota can hardly remember what he said to Virion after he was pulled out but this clip was definitely playing their conversation. Many were talking about how desperate and sad Virion had sounded when he was calling out for Red. Others were talking about him screaming Shut up when everything around him was quiet. There were lines of theories talking about it. Dakota turned off his phone and just sat there for a moment, not doing anything. 

He wasn’t sure how long it was that he did absolutely nothing. Part of him screamed that he should go out as Red and figure out this whole Overlord business, but he couldn’t. He just sat there, staring at the back of his phone on this little wooden desk. He should message Summoner and tell them about Overlord, but that isn’t what he wanted. What he wanted was to talk with his friends, but he had no idea how to approach William right now. William knows he’s been lying to him. He doesn’t know what to do to remedy that. He could come clean and tell him his identity, but William seems like he has enough on his plate right now. Everyone does. Dakota brought his feet up onto his chair and wrapped his arms around them. He doesn’t know who to talk to or turn to about these things. He shouldn’t let it bother him, and no matter how much it is bothering him, he can’t let people see it.

He doesn’t know when he fell asleep in the library. It wasn’t until a nice lady tapped him on his back and told him they were closing. He politely thanked her, returned the comics, gathered his things, and left. When he got home, he took out his phone to message Summoner. 

Red:

We should talk about the fire. 

Summoner:

Sure, any new info is great if you have it.

Red:

Have you ever heard anything connected to Overlord?

Notes:

Okay, so our crew is falling apart here, and I just feel so bad for them. Like, yes, I know I'm the writer here, and yes, I do have the ability to make them all happy again, but we've got a story to tell here. Also, you might notice a new tag. It gets worse before it gets better, and I'll be so real with you, it will get worse than this and that tag should have been here from the beginning

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed! Comments, Kudos, and Bookmarks are always appreciated. <3

Have a wonderful morning/afternoon/night

If you're anything like me, Ao3 is my bedtime story

Chapter 17: Conflict

Summary:

Things get better and then get worse again.

Notes:

*TW: Talk of suicide and suicidal thoughts, Vomiting, Eating disorders (sort of), Blood and injury*

 William has been avoiding Dakota and Vyncent. He knows it’s petty. He knows that there is something wrong with Dakota. He knows that Vyncnet is frustrated with him. He has several messages from Ashe that he’s been refusing to open. He’s been exclusively messaging as Whisperer.

Ashe had been focused on digging into the Overlord lead Red brought up. William had done his best to dig into the case, too, spending nearly the entire night researching. There was nothing else for him to do anyway. He couldn’t sleep. He still can’t eat either. He can get away with it by excusing himself to the bathroom, but it's not exactly pleasant throwing up after every meal. It's a shame, too. He can still taste things, and sometimes they are really good, but the fact that he has to taste it twice with a mix of stomach acid is enough to deter him from eating entirely.

 He just tries to eat enough to keep Vyncent off his back about it. He doesn’t want to have to tell him that he is Whisperer. That he died. That he thinks he’s still dying. Or maybe that he’s already dead. Call him selfish, but he almost enjoys how much Vyncent has been worried over him. They’ve spent a lot more time alone together in these past two weeks. He knows he should be looking after Dakota.

Dakota is arguably in more trouble than he is, especially if he was right about the abuse. He's positive that the reveal of Doug being a villain also hasn’t been easy on him. They were friends before this, good friends. He knows it's got to be tough to lose that, but William still misses his friends in Deadwood.

Something was off about Dakota. Maybe it was the way that he reacted to the accusation of abuse, but William couldn’t figure out how Dakota was getting hurt if that was the issue. There was a possibility that Dakota was Red. The same arm was injured as Red’s, and Dakota has stated that it was a burn, but his back was arguably worse with the burns and injuries. William painstakingly removed little scraps of fabric that were fused to his skin. Dakota is good at hiding injuries, but not that good. When William put his hand on his shoulder, he should have felt it, which disproves his theory. So, back to his prime suspect, his Aunt Alaska.

Alongside looking into Overlord, William has been trying to dig into whatever info he can about Alaska. There were no results for Alaska Cole, which meant that she might have been married or from his mother's side. William began looking into the entire list of casualties from the second Dark Star attack. He didn’t find the last name Cole there at all, which was odd and led him to another dead end. He would need to get more info from Dakota if he wanted to research her further, the thing is, he’s blown his chances now that he’s even brought it up to begin with. Dakota won’t talk to him about it if he assumes that Alaska is being threatened. He will have to figure out something.

During lunch, he sat in the greenhouse, which was located on the rooftop of the school. William was always cold, so he enjoyed the warmth that came with it. He has ‘eaten’ here  the past three days, and Vyncent hasn’t found him… until today. William was smart enough to go through the lunch line and get a tray even if he wasn’t going to eat it. It was wasteful, but if he was found, at least he would look like he was eating by himself.

“William?” Vyncent called out. Once he spotted him, he walked over and took a seat next to him on the bench.

“You aren’t eating with Dakota?” William asked

“He’s eating lunch with Summer today. He told me I should go look for you.” Vyncent explained. Vyncent didn’t bring a tray with him, meaning he probably didn’t get lunch.

“How is he doing?” William asked.

“You should talk to him yourself,” Vyncnet countered. “Or Ashe. Or me.” He added bitterly.

“Sorry,” William stated. He scooped up a pile of peas and ate it. He didn’t want to. He knew it would come back up later.

“Neither of you are getting better like this,” Vyncent said. William wasn’t going to get better. He’s dying. He thinks his body is shutting down. Sometimes he can’t even hear his own heartbeat. Some days, he isn’t sure he even has one. “William, I’m worried about you. I’m worried about Dakota. Neither of you are telling me what's going on or why you’re hurting.”

“Has Dakota had any more injuries?” William asked.

“I don’t know.” Vyncent shrugged. “It’s not important right now.”

“What do you mean it’s not important?” William questioned, shocked by the phrasing.

“I’m not concerned that Dakota is…” Vyncent's voice rose and then fell. “Is going to… to kill himself.” Vyncent wasn’t looking at William; he was staring at his shoes. Purple sneakers with one of the laces undone. If he hadn’t noticed it was untied, he did now with how much he was looking down at it.

William won’t deny that he thought about it. How much easier it would be if he wasn’t here. He wasn’t being much help anyway. He was making things worse. Everything felt wrong. He doesn’t feel like himself. Everything hurts. He can't eat. He can't sleep. But there’s still something stopping him anyway. The fear that he would just come back worse anyway. The memory of the pain he experienced from being shot. The way that his parents would react to his death. The way his friends would react to his death. He won’t do that to them. He can’t.

“I won’t,” William offered quietly.  

“I feel like you’re lying.” Vyncent admitted. His shoulder shook, and William could see tears fall and leave little wet spots on his knees. “You know I care about you, right? We all do. I know you don’t get along with your brother, but I’m sure he cares, too. I don’t want you to die, William.”

William hugged him and could no longer hold back his tears. He sobbed into Vyncent’s shoulder. It was stupid. All of this was stupid and petty, and he knows that. He knows that it's not as bad as it is. He knows Dakota doesn’t hate him. He knows Ashe is worried about him, but he still hasn’t found a way to climb out of this hole.

“Vynce…” William began. He swiped at his eyes. “There’s something I should tell you.” Vyncent looked at him, fully focused even though his own eyes were still watering. “I know that you are Virion.” Vyncent straightened, clearly baffled by this news.

“H-how long?”

“Since the first tech resale incident. I also know that Ashe is Summoner.” William confessed.

“How? I don’t-” Vyncent began, struggling to find the right words to say.

“I’m Whisperer.” William admitted. Vyncnet’s look of horror was the exact reason he didn’t want to tell him. Vyncent's hands moved to  William’s stomach, where he had been shot as if he was trying to close a wound that was no longer open. He drew his hands back when he saw William just silently looking at him.

“You… you died. I saw you die. Your..” Vyncent looked like he might be sick just thinking about it, but he shook himself out of it. “William, I’m so sorry. Is that why… I didn’t… Fuck. I watched you die.”

“I got better.” William joked, but Vyncent didn’t even pay attention to it.

“You were gone from school the next day… I should have… Ashe went to see you? That’s why Mark was pissed?” Vyncent questioned.

“When Ashe saw me as a ghost, they saw William, not Whisperer,” William explained.

“Ashe has known too?” William just nodded.

“I asked them not to tell you,” William added. “I was afraid that you…” I was afraid you wouldn’t like me anymore. That you would be weirded out. That you wouldn’t love me if I was like this.

“William, you don’t need to be afraid to tell me anything,” Vyncent said, grabbing William's face and holding his head up in his hands. At least William was sure he still had some blood flow because he could feel his cheeks and ears grow warm and red. Vyncent was so close to him. His face was so close, he could feel his breath against his lips. William was tempted to kiss him, but he knew that would be too forward. He doesn’t even know if Vyncent likes guys, or likes him like that.

“I can’t sleep anymore,” William said instead, gently pulling one hand away from his face. “Or eat. My body won’t digest it anymore.” William explained.

“The bloody nose?” Vyncent asked.

“A side effect, I guess? They’ve been getting less frequent.”

“That’s why you wanted me to leave. You knew Red was by himself.” William nodded, still feeling guilty at that. He still felt bad about the time both of them were drunk and couldn’t help Red then, too. “Okay, if you need anything, just let me know, okay?  And… can you come back to the cafeteria? I can’t be in two places at once, despite how many people are in my brain, and we should stay with Dakota. He needs people right now, too.”

“Yeah.” William agreed, standing up, only to realize that the peas he ate were catching up to him, and he leaned over to hurl in a nearby plant. Vyncent put a hand on his back, rubbing soothing circles. Probably one of the least attractive things William could have done.

“Will, I know that I invited you to Thanksgiving at my place, but… If you can’t eat anything… You don’t have to go.” Vyncent suggested.

“No… I want to go. I do.” William assured. “I think that we should both be there, for Dakota’s sake.”  

They pretty much missed all of lunch, but they walked to social studies together. William sat by Dakota, and when it was work time, he leaned over to talk to him.

“I’m sorry.” William apologized. “I shouldn’t have ambushed you like that.”

“It’s okay, dude.” Dakota shrugged. “You okay?” William glanced back at Vyncent, who was now so focused on cutting out different countries on Prime that he was sticking his tongue out. William turned back to Dakota and nodded. “So… you and Vyncent… do anything?”

“No. I-it wasn’t like that, Dakota.”

“Did you want it to be?” Dakota had a shit eating grin on his face, and William immediately jabbed him with his elbow.

“Shut the fuck up.” William shot back, lovingly.

-

It had been quiet since Doug was taken into custody. Dakota was back to doing his normal friendly neighborhood things. It was never anything crazy. Just robberies here and there, finding lost pets, and helping people carry groceries. That’s all that Red has been doing lately. His gear was pretty messed up from the fire, which was a shame because he really liked his jacket. Whisperer was correct, though, it wasn’t salvageable. Not really. He was lucky someone on twitter had made a posting and tagged Red in it, offering a custom made jacket after seeing that his was wrecked in the fire. It looked sick as hell. It was almost an exact replica with a few upgrades. Nicer, more durable fabric. A removable inside lining so he could wear it in the winter with some extra warmth. There were spaces to add his patches if any of the old ones were still intact. Dakota decided to take him up on the offer. They gave them specific directions of where to leave the clothing, and when he went out to go pick it up, he wore his old gear even if it was in shambles.

There was not much word on what was happening with Overlord. Whisperer was going back out on patrol, too. He was working his way back up to the big stuff, so he’d be ready to face someone like Inferno, as the internet called him. That was just Doug’s villain name. Summoner suggested it might be a code name that was used when Doug was under Overlord’s employment, but Summoner was running into a lot of dead ends.

Regardless, it was Thanksgiving now, and Dakota had plans to visit Aunt Alaska. They had off of school for the rest of the month. Mark’s event was on Sunday afternoon. Meaning he would have a couple of days before then. He was hoping they would let him stay in Alaska’s place overnight, but he wasn’t sure they would let him.

The receptionist let him in right away since he had already made a prior appointment to see her. She was sitting on the couch watching the news when Dakota came in. She turned to him and smiled gently. She looked better than she was before, but it was clear she still wasn’t healthy.  She looked really skinny and almost gaunt, but her smile was genuine.

“Dakota,” She stood up and offered a hug with her arms out. Dakota accepted it instantly. He missed this. He missed having an adult in his life that wasn’t Mark or a teacher. Just a presence that was older and wiser. Someone who could tell him what to do when he didn’t know.

“Alaska!” Dakota cheered. “How are you doing? Feeling better?”

“Getting better every day.” She smiled. “How are you, Dakota? Tell me how school has been. Do you have enough money?”

“Oh, I… I have some new friends. William and Vyncent. I think you’d really like them.” Dakota felt his eyes sting when he spoke to her. He wasn’t really sad, but for some reason, he felt like crying. “An old friend of mine… he got into some trouble and I don’t really talk to him anymore.”

“I’m sorry, sweetheart. Do you want to talk about it?” Aunt Alaska ushered Dakota to the  couch and sat down next to him.

“Alaska, can I tell you a secret? It’s a really important one. You can’t tell anyone else.” Dakota asked. He held onto her hand and gave it a tight squeeze.

“Are you okay?” Dakota nodded quickly. Alaska breathed a sigh of relief. “You can tell me anything if it will make you feel better.”

“How often do you watch the news?” Dakota began. He knew he was on it. He knew there was footage of him getting hurt over and over again. “Have you seen anything about the Prime Defenders?”

“Oh yes! That new Superhero group. Yes, I’ve seen them a few times now.” Alaska smiled, but it slowly fell the longer that Dakota looked at her. “Why do you bring them up?”

“I’m Red,” Dakota confessed. “You can’t tell anyone, Alaska. Please don't tell anyone.”

“I… honey, I know you want to be a superhero, but… You should wait until you’re old enough to register. It's very dangerous out there. I’ve seen you on the news a few times, and a lot of it is good, but sometimes you get really hurt.” Alaska had tears welling up in her eyes despite how careful she's been to keep her voice level and calm.

“I just want to help people.”

“I know, Dakota, you always have.” She smiled. “But…”

“Can I just talk to you?” Dakota asked. “I need someone to talk to.” Alaska nodded.

“I’m going to heat up our food, and then you can catch me up. You can talk about whatever you want.”

Over dinner, Dakota told her nearly everything. He skipped the worst parts. The blood, the burns, the moments he thought he might not make it.  But he spoke about Whisperer, Virion, Le’Frog, Bino… and finally, Doug. When he reached Doug’s part of the story, his words slowed, his eyes locked on the table. He could still hear Doug’s voice in his head, casual, cruel.

Dakota barely kept his composure, but Alaska had her arms wrapped around him again, holding him as if she could shield him from the whole world. She asked him to stop being Red, even though both of them knew he wouldn’t. Regardless, It felt like a huge weight was lifted off Dakota’s chest.

Dakota stayed the night even though he wasn’t supposed to. He fell asleep on the couch, and when he woke up, there were several blankets over him. It was the best he'd slept in weeks. He normally doesn’t sleep much at all after he goes out as Red, and when he gets back home, it's cold. It's only getting colder, too.

Alaska was gone by the time Dakota got up, but she left a note out saying that she has a morning appointment, there are pancakes ready for him, and that she loves him very much. Dakota wrote a note back saying that he loves her too and that he will come back to visit on his birthday in December and then Christmas too.

Dakota decided that he should get started on both Vyncent’s, William’s, and Ashe’s Christmas presents. Dakota had taken up knitting as a hobby recently. Alaska used to knit, and she sat and taught Dakota how to do it when he was younger. With how cold it was getting, Dakota conciderred making a new blanket out of the left over yarn. His first attempt was a mess. He blanket it more like the size of a towe,l but with how fast he could move, If he got good at the pattern, he could get a project done in no time. He stopped at the store on the way back from the rehab center to buy some new yarn. Dakota bought blue for William, and two different shades of purple for both Vyncent and Ashe. He planned on making a new beanie for Ashe, some earmuffs for Vyncent, and some nice mittens for William.

Home was cold. He bundled himself in several blankets and sat down on the couch for a bit. It was quiet. With no power, he couldn’t turn on the TV for background noise, and his phone was dead, so he couldn’t use that either. He started on Ashe’s project first, working to be thoughtful and not make mistakes. He sat there for a while, getting a decent start, but then he got bored. He did what he always did when he got bored for too long. Either work out or go out as Red. Virion had mentioned that he would be out tonight last time they scheduled patrol shifts. Summoner was likely online with him. There wasn’t a whole lot of reason to go out with how quiet it’s been, but also at the same time, if there was an emergency message from Summoner, Dakota wouldn’t know. He can’t turn on his com because it has a tracker, and if it sits just at this spot for a while, then they will either think that he is in trouble at this location or they will figure out that he lives here. He could always go out later and make sure nothing is happening. Dakota couldn’t ignore the pit in his stomach when he thought about it. He can’t get that fight with Doug out of his head, and he wished that someone else were there with him. Dakota dressed in his costume and went out. Once he was far enough away, he clicked his earpiece on.

Summoner and Virion were chatting about some band that Summoner liked, and music was playing through the coms, which Dakota didn’t know they could do.

“Dude, you should totally play some epic fight music while we are in battle. That would be sick.” Dakota announced his presence.

“Hi Red. It's pretty quiet tonight,” Summoner responded. “If you want to take the night off, I’m sure Virion can handle it.”

“Nah, I’m just bored. Figured I would just burn off some energy. Let me know if you have anything or if I should meet up with Virion.” Dakota responded while hopping down a fire escape.

“I’ll let you two know if I see anything.” Summoner nodded. The night was a lot more of the same. Dakota took a few photos with fans, but it was just simple, slow things. It was nice

-

Ashe had been trying to dig into Overlord for a while now. He’s barely made any headway with it until today. Dakota and William were coming over in less than an hour to their Thanksgiving meal. Mark was attempting to cook something. Ashe knew the turkey would be dry and the stuffing would be underseasoned, but he still appreciated the effort.

He finally got a result that looked interesting, a connection to Overlord and a facility near BlackwoodTech. Supposedly, there was a research project that was focused on the development of Technology and the manipulation of time. There was a bunch of redacted information that Ashe couldn’t decode, but maybe if they could head by the blackwood tech facility and take a look around, they would find something. He put a message in the chat to start scouting around the area.

Ashe’s attention was pulled when he heard the front doorbell ring. Someone got to the door faster than him but he could tell it was William who arrived first. If it were Dakota, it would be much louder here by now. William was dressed in nicer clothing than usual. Dress pants and a pale blue button-down.  He looks better than he normally does, and Ashe thinks that's partially due to the fact that he told Vyncnet the truth. He still doesn’t know how William is going to get through this dinner without eating anything.

Dakota arrived shortly after. He too was dressed a little nicer. He still wore a flannel, but over a black turtle neck, and he had nicer pants instead of the cargo pants he normally wears. Everyone was ushered to the table. Mark was still in the kitchen cooking, and It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown was playing on the TV.

“How was the trip back home?” Vyncent asked William, sitting across the table from him.

“Uh, it was nice… It was nice to see my parents.” William explained. “We didn’t stay very long.”

“Yeah, you just went for the night?” Ashe asked.

“Yeah, David was busy, so he didn’t want to stay for too long,” William explained. But my dad did start teaching me how to drive, so that was fun…” When the conversations didn’t continue, William tacked on another question. “How have all of your breaks been?”

“Oh, pretty good, I’m working on a research project for school, and I made some decent headway today,” Ashe said, hoping that Vyncnet and William picked up on what they were really trying to say. It seemed like William registered the info. Vyncent had not. “If you want, I could show you later. It might be kinda boring though.” Ashe added.

“Nah, Dude, if it’s important to you, then it won’t be boring.” Dakota smiled.

“What have you been up to, Dakota?” Ashe asked. “I haven’t really seen you over break.”

“Oh… I had a very nice dinner with my aunt. I haven’t done much besides that, really.” Dakota shrugged. Ashe found it odd how often Dakota wore his fingerless gloves. He covered most of himself, even with this turtle neck, something felt off. Like he was kidding about something. They think William might be right. He’s hiding injuries for sure, but if he was hiding his neck… that felt more serious. What if someone had tried to choke Dakota? What if it was so bad it left marks?

They all heard the oven timer go off, and shortly after, Mark was walking into the dining room carrying a platter with a whole turkey on it. He brought over some potatoes and steamed veggies as well. It smelled delicious.

“Whoa, Mark, you can actually cook!” Dakota smiled.

“Fuck you, Course I can cook,” Mark said while sitting at the table himself now that all the food was put out.

“Well… you just… You don’t seem like the type.” William kind of agreed.

“Well, I can cook,” Mark said before stabbing and carving away into the Turkey. Everyone began dishing up their food. William took some food but didn’t eat any of it. He got through most of the dinner just chatting. They talked about random things. Plans for winter break or the holidays. They briefly talked about the prime defenders. But their conversations tend to steer away from that these days. They talked about what games they would play after dinner. They questioned why no one uses the phrase “beat the bush” and  instead said to “Stop beating around the bush.” Maybe that's what led them here.

“William…” Dakota began. “Are you going to eat anything?” He asked seriously as he put down his fork.

“Oh…” William looked down at his food and stabbed into the dry turkey to take a bite.  Dakota just studied him for a moment. He then looked over at Ashe and then at Vyncent, who looked more worried now that he was eating food than they did when he wasn’t eating anything.

“What is going on?” Dakota asked.

“What do you mean? What's going on?” Vyncent questioned.

“You and Ashe… You know something that I don’t.” Dakota continued.

“What are you talking about, Dakota?” William asked, trying to eat like he was completely normal.

“You know what I’m talking about. You’re smarter than I am, William. I know that.” Dakota explained.

“Ey, Kids, this is no time for an argument here,” Mark said as he started cleaning up dishes. “You’re supposed to be thankful for what you got. That’s what this holiday is for.”

“Why don’t we head up to my room. We can play some games or something.”  Ashe suggested trying to change the subject.

“...Do you not trust me?” Dakota asked.

“Dakota, it’s not like that.” William shot back.

“Then what is it like? How can I prove to you that I'm strong enough for you to trust me?”

“Do you trust us?” William asked. “Because it sure as hell doesn’t feel like it,” William said. “You still haven’t told us how you keep showing up to school injured. Is that why you’re wearing a turtle neck to hide something? That's serious, Dakota. We are worried about you. We want to help you t-”

“Stop trying to spin this on me,” Dakota argued back.

“Stop it, you two!” Vyncent interjected. “You had this argument before, and it got you nowhere.”

“...I’m going to leave.” Dakota decided.

“You don’t have to,” Ashe interjected. “I’d like it if you stayed.”

“I don’t want to… feel left out,” Dakota stated. “So I think I’m I’m just gonna go.” William looked like he was going to say something, but instead, he turned and went towards the bathroom. Vyncent looked at Ashe, then at Dakota, before following William’s tracks.

“Thank you for having me over,” Dakota said politely to Ashe, bowing slightly. “You can maybe tell Mark thank you too, but don’t let him know it was from me.”

“Are you sure you want to go?” Ashe Questioned.

“I just need to go blow off some steam, that's all. I’ll talk to you later.”

“Text me when you get home, okay?” Ashe requested. Dakota just nodded and left to go back home. Ashe stepped back inside and then knocked on the bathroom door to check how William was doing. He could hear him throwing up from the other side.

“Dakota just left. Everything okay?” Ashe asked.

“Yeah, I’m going to walk William home after he’s done,” Vyncent responded through the door.

“Okay. I’m going to keep researching.” Ashe agreed before heading upstairs to his room. Part of him was looking forward to digging into Overlord now. He finally overcame the hurdle, and he feels like he could find something of substance now. However, when he entered his room, He saw Mark sitting there at his computer.

“Oh, kid. What the fuck have you gotten yourself into?” Mark asked.

“What are you talking about?” Ashe tried to feign ignorance.

“Don’t give me that bull shit.” Mark snapped back. “You have no Idea what you’re getting into, and you need to stay out of it.”

“And you do?” Ashe shot back, “You know what this is, don’t you?” Ashe’s hands clenched into fists. “Are you working with them?”

“Ashe, I’m telling you to stay out of it,” Mark argued.

“No! I do what you say all the time. You don’t let me go anywhere, and you don’t tell me anything about what you are doing.” Ashe argued back.

“I’m handling it.” Mark retorted

“Handling What? I don’t get it! At least I feel like I’m helping people with what I’m doing.” Ashe argued.

“Yeah, you working with those vigilantes?” Mark questioned. “That’s why you almost got yourself killed? Cause you’re following those kids around?”

“They saved me.” Ashe sithed. “One of them died for me.”

“Yeah, well, maybe if they left things to the adults, no one would have to die,” Mark argued. “You need to stop this, Ashe. Stay away from it.”

“No. I’m not abandoning them.” Ashe stood defiantly.

‘Well then, you’ve left me no choice.” Mark took out one of those dics from the Tech place and held it up against Ashe’s chest and pressed the button. Ashe froze completely and entirely. His clothing didn’t move. He didn’t breathe just completely frozen as if time had stopped. Mark left Ashe’s room and closed the door behind him.

-

Dakota didn’t go home. He didn’t want to. He was feeling frustrated with the whole situation. He’s worried about William, and clearly, Vyncnet and Ashe know more about the situation than him. He just doesn’t want to get betrayed by a friend again. He feels bad about lying, but he isn’t sure what else he's supposed to do in that position. If he tells them what is actually happening, he will reveal his identity and that might put them in more danger if they know. But if he doesn’t tell them, then he might get CPS called on him.

Dakota opted not to think about it and instead just go out as Red. His phone was completely dead, and he didn’t bother to turn on the earpiece; he didn’t feel like talking to anyone, really. He wandered around the city looking for little odd jobs. He was by the port of the river when he spotted iconic glowing red tubes of Wavelength. How stupid. It looked like he was trying to stealth into this building, but he literally had a beacon attached to him.

It had been ages since Dakota had last seen Wavelength. Their last interaction had been on Hartawa Island. He sort of thought Tide put him in custody since that was the last time he saw him. Apparently, he didn’t.

Dakota clicked on his earpiece but still silently followed Wavelengh into a warehouse.  For the most part, it was empty. Just a few crates and boxes. Dakota got in through an upper-level window and was on the catwalk above. He looked down and saw that someone else was there. They looked almost intentionally suspicious. They wore a fedora and a trench coat in the classic disguise kind of way. It did do a decent job of maskin the otherones identity.

“Look, we gotta speed this process up. I’ve got family getting involved.” Wavelength said. “I’ve been doing all the stuff you’ve been telling me. You’re still holding true to our deal, right?” Wavelength asked the stranger.

“My team will be ready at the start of December to infiltrate Overlord’s Headquarters.” Dakota was surprised that he recognized that voice. He was certain it was Tide. Absolutely positive it was him. Dakota has watched hundreds of interviews of Tide. He knew his voice. But why was he working with a villain? Dakota, while trying to lean forward to better confirm it was in fact Tide in a trench coat, accidentally knocked over a box from the top catwalk onto the ground.

Before he could even register what was happening, Wavelength had his gauntlet pointed at him and fired. Dakota attempted to dodge the beam of red energy, but it still caught his left side. He couldn’t tell if he was burning or bleeding, perhaps both. It Fucking hurt. He fell on the metal path clutching at his side as his blue blood seeped through his fingers.  He heard footsteeps fast approaching him

“Oh Fuck.” Wavelength said, dropping next to him.

“You shot a kid?” Tide asked. “Red?”

“Well, I didn’t fucking mean to! You said Don’t let anyone see us. I was trying to keep that up.” He argued.

“I did not mean to kill whoever saw us! That is illegal.” Tide Defended. Dakota coughed and gagged on the blood filling up his mouth. Fuck, this is bad. This is so bad.

“Hang on, just let us remove your mask so you can breathe better. Tide reached down to Dakota to try to help, but Dakota forced himself upright despite the scream of protest from his side. He still kept a hand there, trying to slow what bleeding he could. There was no way he would let a villain know his true identity. And although he trusts Tide, he doesn’t want to get recruited quite yet. He still wanted to go out there and do hero things.

Dakota staggered backward. He was bleeding a lot. He was coughing up blood. It burned his side to move. It burned his throat to breathe. Everything was agonizing, but he needed to get away. He bolted, knowing that neither of them could keep up with his speed. He just needed to get home. It doesn’t matter how bad it hurts. Or if he feels like crying. He just needs to get home so he can take care of it. There hasn’t been any communication through coms, and Dakota’s phone is dead. He’s on his own for this. He just needs to get away.

He thinks that’s the fastest he’s ever made it home. He ran so fast he thought his heart might explode with how fast it was pounding. He collapsed onto the apartment floor, crying and holding his side. It was bleeding a lot, so he knew he needed to stop that, but it hurt worse to touch it.

He crawled into the bathroom, smearing a dark trail of blue blood across the floor tiles. The first aid kit rattled in his shaky hands as he yanked it down from the cabinet. His vision blurred with every blink. He rummaged through gauze, tape, antiseptic wipes, and anything he thought might keep him alive for the next few hours.

Peeling up his shirt made his stomach lurch. The fabric had already fused with the wound in places, and tugging it loose made him hiss through clenched teeth. Blood welled up fresh and hot, soaking his fingers before he even reached for the gauze. He tried pressing down, but the pressure made him scream so loud he half-expected the neighbors to bang on the wall or call the cops.

With trembling fingers, Dakota shoved a wad of gauze directly onto the gash. The pain was white-hot, exploding through his whole chest, but he forced his hands to stay there, holding until the shaking in his arms felt worse than the burn in his side. He reached for the roll of bandages, fumbling it twice before he could pin it against his stomach and start wrapping. His hands were slick with blood, making the bandages slip.

He bit down on his sleeve to keep from sobbing outright, tugging the fabric tighter and tighter around his ribs. Every breath was a saw blade in his lungs. By the time he tied it off, his hands were sticky, trembling, and covered in smears of dried blue. The bandages were already blotting through.

He didn’t bother with antiseptics. He couldn’t even imagine how bad that sting would be. The best he could do was wind the strips so tight his vision spotted black at the edges. He sagged against the wall, panting, sweat mixing with the grit of smoke and blood. He clicked off the earpiece, hoping that no one heard him crying on the other end.

Still, he forced himself upright. Jacket off. Flannel on it was something softer than the ruined gear. It hurt to even lift his arms, but the idea of leaving the bloody shirt on was worse.

He staggered, catching himself against the sink, then half-collapsed back down to the floor. He poured Tylenol straight into his palm, swallowing more than he probably should have with the barest sip of water. The effort left him gasping, clutching his side again.

The tiles felt cold beneath his cheek as he lay down. Cold was good. Cold slowed the bleeding. He just had to hold on, stay awake, survive until morning. The pain was too sharp to let him drift, anyway. Every beat of his heart felt like it was squeezing more blood out of him. Dakota could do was press his palm against the bandages and hope he wouldn’t die if he fell alseep.

Notes:

The next chapter is the one I've been waiting for. I am so excited! I kinda made a lot happen in this chapter, but I wanted to get to this next little arc, and I'm really looking forward to seeing what you guys all think of it!
Also, SketchTheTofu made this really amazing art for the end of Chapter 15

- https://www.tumblr.com/sketchthetofu/791632278327623680/if-im-going-down-im-at-least-taking-you-with/replies/791649078849224704

^ Link to the Fan art! (Also I have no idea how links work on Ao3 so you may just need to copy and paste it)

Comments, Kudos, and bookmarks are all appreciated!

Chapter 18: Discovery

Summary:

Ghost knife, Ashe, then angst. Specifically, Dakota angst

Notes:

*TW: Blood, Reference to abuse, neglect, bad parenting, mention of nausea and vomiting*

Vyncent hadn’t intended on staying over at William's house; it just sort of happened that way. William had requested they watch a movie. He felt guilty and he said that he knew he needed to apologize to Dakota, but he also said that he needed some time to calm down first, so Vyncnet stayed with him.

They watched Groundhog Day, and Vyncent couldn’t help but let his tired eyes drift to sleep. He was already so tired and full from the meal that it was pretty easy to let sleep overcome him. Guess he’ll never figure out if he gets out of the time loop or not. Vyncent had fallen asleep on William's shoulder, he only really noticed after he woke back up for a bit and William was playing something different on the TV. Some anime or something. He forgot that William didn’t need to sleep. He supposed this was a normal night activity for Will. Vyncent hadn’t said anything; he just let himself fall back asleep there, resting on his bony shoulder. 

William tapped him awake in the morning.  They had school today. Vyncent woke up slowly, stretched, and rubbed the sleep out of his eyes. His neck was sore from the way he had slept, but he thinks he would do it again anyway. 

“Good morning,” William said. “Sorry, I just let you sleep. You seemed like you needed it.” 

“That’s alright.” Vycnet agreed. “Do you have any clothes I can borrow?” William nodded and went off to his room to get a change of clothes. In the meantime, Vyncent walked over to the bathroom and began fixing his ponytail, which was a mess because he slept in it. William politely knocked on the door, and Vyncent opened it for him. 

“Dakota is going to have a field day with this one.” William chuckled to himself as he passed off the clothing. 

“What do you mean?” Vyncent asked, tilting his head to the side like a puzzled dog. 

“Oh… Uh… It’s nothing.” William’s face turned red, and he faced away. 

“Come on, what do you mean, Will?” Vyncent tried again. 

“It’s just… Dakota thinks there is something going on between us.” William began. 

“Well, isn’t there?” Vyncent asked.

“What?” William turned to look at him. Really look at him. 

“Well, we are friends, aren’t we? This is what friends do here, right?” Vyncent asked.

“Right, Friends.” William nodded awkwardly. “Yup, this is what friends do.” When Vyncent took his shirt off to change, William couldn’t help but gawk. Vyncent was jacked. He was muscular and had abs that he could probably use as a washboard. Vyncent noticed him staring, and William instantly looked away. Vyncent just brushed it off as William looking at the scattered scars he had from training. 

Vyncent briefly wondered what William’s scars looked like. What the bullet wound looked like, or if he had scars from the first time he died. Vyncent had to remind himself that William died even before the gunshot wound. It didn’t sit right with him; he thought about asking William what really happened, but it felt like that would be too personal. He has a feeling that asking about death or what it felt like must be traumatic for the person it pertains to. Vyncent decided that he wasn’t going to let William die again. He’ll protect him. 

William moved to his own room to get dressed. He wore a baggy hoodie and some ripped-up jeans. William couldn’t help but giggle a little when he saw Vyncent. The shirt he had given him looked more like a crop top because Vyncent was so tall. William couldn’t deny that it looked cute on him. 

“What?” Vyncent asked, almost looking a little hurt that William laughed at him. 

“I can find something that will fit you better.” William offered. 

“I kind of like how it looks,” Vyncent said. “And I like seeing you smile.” William had to reboot for about 3 seconds before he could respond to that. 

“W-well I think it looks good on you.” William stuttered. “I just thought you might not be comfortable in it because it isn’t what you normally wear.”  

“So you think it's good?” Vyncent asked. 

“Yeah, I do.” William nodded. “You might get dress coded, and it's a little cold outside for a Crop top. But yes, I think it looks good on you.” William turned back to dig through his closet and handed Vyncent a zip-up hoodie. “There. You can wear that open, or if you get cold or a teacher tells you to cover up.. You can.” 

“Thank you.” Vyncent smiled. He leaned over, looking slightly past William and out the window. He stepped a bit closer and peered through the blinds. “Is it… Snowing?” 

“Yeah, I guess it is.” William shrugged, but then he noticed the look of amazement on Vyncent's face. “Have you seen snow before?”

“Never in person. It only snows on the mountains in Fauna, and I’ve never been to them.” Vyncent explained. “Can we go outside?” 

“Yeah, we should probably leave for school soon anyway. Do you want any breakfast before we go?” William asked. 

“I’m alright. I can always grab something at school. Maybe run into Dakota then, too.” Vyncent responded. William tensed upon hearing Dakota’s name 

“...Do you think I should tell him?”

“That you are the whisperer?” Vyncent asked, and William nodded slowly. “I think it might help him to know… I think that learning that Doug was a villain was really hard on him and he’s worried something like that will happen again.”

“That was… Very profound of you, Vyncent.” William acknowledged. “But…”

“Obviously, you can do what you want. I get not telling him too. You just asked for my advice. So…”

“Thanks, Vynce.” William nodded. “Ready?”

The two went outside to look at the snow before heading to school. Vyncent stared straight up into the cloudy white sky as snow drifted around him. It was the first snowfall of the year and it melted as soon as it hit the pavement, but it was still beautiful and still a comfortable cold outside. 

“Did you know you can eat snow?” William asked. Vyncent shook his head no. “Stick out your tongue.”  

“Are you trying to mess with me?”

“No! Not at all.” William waved his hands in front of him. “There isn’t really enough snow to make a snowman or anything, if you look up and stick your tongue out snowflakes can land on it and melt. It’s just frozen water,” William looked and stuck his tongue out. Vyncent matched him and let the snowflakes melt onto his tongue. It was kinda a nice sensation, but the snowflakes didn’t land on his tongue all that frequently. He eventually ended up closing his mouth and just staring into the sky.

 Vyncent spent the entire car ride looking at the snow, and William spent the entire car ride looking at Vyncent looking at the snow. They arrived a little later to school than they normally do, so Vyncent didn’t have time for breakfast or to talk to Dakota, but as the day went on.

 Vyncent realized that Dakota wasn’t here at all. They had a lot of shared classes, and Dakota wasn't in any of them. It immediately felt wrong. Dakota doesn’t miss school. He doesn’t necessarily like school, but he wouldn’t miss it.

William was already at their table. He didn’t have to go through the lunch line, so he could get there a lot faster. Instead, William had a monster energy drink. Vyncent sat across from him.

“Dakota isn’t here today.” Vyncent informed. “He hasn’t been in any of his classes.” William frowned, red flags immediately popping up in his head. 

“Dakota doesn’t miss school,” William said firmly.

“I know.” Vyncent nodded. “I feel like something is wrong.” William pulled out his phone and sent several messages to Dakota. He even called him, too, expecting him to pick up. He always picks up. It went straight to voicemail. “The teachers say he’s out sick.” 

“...That could be true, but he would still message us right… Well, maybe not me right now… He’s probably mad at me. I’ll see if Ashe can get a hold of him.” William switched to calling Ashe. It rang a few times, but Ashe didn’t pick up. He tried again. Still nothing. “I can’t get a hold of either of them. Can you have Ashe try to send a message after you get home? We still have no idea where Dakota actually lives.” William said, clearly a little panicked and flustered. 

“Okay. You’re always the one saying not to jump to conclusions, but I’m doing a lot of jumping, man.” 

“I know. I know. Really, he might just be sick and not answering because he’s asleep. But...” William sighed and dragged a hand down his face. “Fuck… maybe this is my fault. I just… Maybe he’s avoiding me?”

“You think Dakota would do that?”

“I don’t know? Maybe?” William said. “Look, we should talk to Ashe tonight. I have a feeling that they will be better at getting a hold of him. Or tracking him down or something.” 

“We just wait then?” Vyncent asked. 

“There isn’t a lot we can do right now, Vynce. We could try to tell a teacher, but they have to go through all the legal channels to investigate a household.” William explained. 

Neither of them could focus on the rest of the school day. William had sent several more messages to Dakota and received no response, which did not help their nerves. 

-

When Vyncent arrived home, he knew Mark was gone because there were two closed Tupperware containers on the counter filled with leftovers from the Thanksgiving meal. Guess that was dinner tonight. Vyncent marched straight up to Ashe’s door and knocked on it. There was no response. 

“Ashe? You home? Can I come in?” Vyncnet called through the door. When he still didn’t get a response, he opened the door slowly. “Ashe?” Ashe was standing there entirely still. They were standing, but no part of them was moving. Their hair and clothing didn’t sway. It didn’t even look like they were breathing. 

“Ashe?” Vyncent tried again. They put a hand on their shoulder and tried to shake them, but they didn’t budge at all. Vyncent couldn’t even change the position of their hair. It felt like it had been covered in a cement hairspray. Upon further inspection, Vyncent noticed one of those little disc devices with the button pressed in attached to Ashe’s shirt. Vyncent didn’t know what to do or if he should touch the button again or not. Glancing over at Ashe’s desk, he noticed Ashe’s phone there. He decided that calling William would be the best course of action… if he could figure out how to call him. 

He could see missed calls from William earlier that day, and then clicked on the banner from those. He was surprised to see that it started calling immediately, he held it up to his ear

“Ashe, have you heard anything from Dakota?” William asked as soon as he picked up.

“Will.” Vyncent began.

“Vyncent?” William questioned from the other line clearly confused.

“William… there's something wrong. Can you come over to my house?” 

-

William was at the Winter’s household faster than Vyncent had expected. William was dashing up the stairs, skipping two at a time. He tripped when he got to the top and landed with a soft thud when he reached the stop. Still scrambling, he pushed himself up and continued to Ashe’s room. 

“What… the fuck?” William said panting as he looked at Ashe’s statue-like state. 

“I don’t know! I just found them like this!” Vyncent said. “I think it has something to do with that little thing attached to his shirt. That's what the robbers at the Tech place were after.” William took out his phone and began recording. “What are you doing?”

“Recording so Ashe can see when we… unfreeze them,” William explained. “And if we end up like him, then, at least someone will know what happened,” William said as he circled around Ashe. 

“Should I press the button?” Vyncent asked. 

“I don’t fucking know, dude. I’m just as confused by this as you are.” William said. 

“I’m gonna press it.”

“Okay, do it.” William nodded, trying to sound decisive and confident. Vyncent pressed the button, and he heard some sort of mechanism click, and the device fell to the floor. And Ashe moved. 

“Why can’t you listen to me fo-” Ashe started yelling, but stopped abruptly when he noticed Vyncent and William looking at them. 

“Are you okay?” Vyncnet asked. 

“Where is Mark?” Ashe seethed. 

“He’s out right now. He left us Dinner on the counter downstairs.” Vyncnet continued. 

“Dinner? We just ate.” Ashe said, entirely confused. 

“Ashe, what day is it?” William asked cautiously. 

“It’s Sunday. We just had Thanksgiving here, and Dakota left, and you were throwing up. And then Mark-”

“Ashe. It’s Monday.” William clarified. “Vynce and I just got back from school.” 

“What are you talking about?” Ashe asked. William pulled his phone out and showed Ashe the video he just took. 

“This is sorta… Fucked up… God, this is so fucked up.” Ashe slowly sank to the ground next to the device and sat there. “Mark fucking froze me.” Ashe spat. 

“Maybe Dakota’s right, he is kinda a shitty dad,” Vyncent added. Ashe didn’t look amused. 

“That’s not even the worst part of it!” Ashe continued. “My dad. He… He’s connected to Overlord. He was snooping on my computer and telling me to stay away from it, to stop helping you guys. He knew something, though. Maybe he's working for Overlord right now. I don’t know.” Ashe sighed. “Fuck.”

“Wait, last night you said that you discovered some new info, right?” William asked. “Maybe if we can track down Mark, we can figure out what's going on with all of this and get Mark out of it before he does something stupid.” Ashe took a deep breath and walked back over to the computer. 

He began typing, and William and Vyncent waited patiently as he sorted through files. His fingers moved a lightning speed, probably crushing any words per minute that William could manage. Eventually, he pulled up documents and photographs of a warehouse by the river. 

“I don’t have anything concrete yet, but I think a lot of the trades and deals are happening here. It's a quiet spot, and it looks normal to be transporting things. There was a shipment last night, I think. I would have asked you to investigate, but…”

“Right.” Vyncent picked the device up and studied it. “If I press this, do you think I will freeze?” Without waiting for an answer, Vyncnet pressed it and froze him. 

“Okay… so with this device. Time doesn’t pass for whoever it's affecting? That could be useful. That’s also like super broken. You could live forever doing that.” William said before pressing the button to release Vyncnet. 

“Dang it didn’t work, let me try again,” Vyncent said, pressing it again. William and Ashe both face-palmed. This time, Ashe released Vyncent and held on to the arguably overpowered object. 

“Vyncent, it works. We can mess around with it later.” Ashe said, using his spiny chair to turn away from them. “I’m going to hang on to this for now. I’ll make a plan to have us investigate tomorrow. I just… I need some time to process.” 

“Ashe… I totally get that if you need some time or space to catch back up, but have you heard from Dakota at all recently?” 

“Well, from my perspective, I just saw him an hour ago.” Ashe checked his phone and then frowned at it. “He didn’t message me when he got home. I asked him to do that when he was leaving. I don’t have anything recent from him,” William sighed heavily. The pit of worry ate at his stomach. The guilt of the situation. He should really just tell him. Maybe this all could have been avoided. If Dakota truly is in a dangerous home life situation, he can understand how lying to Dakota about his issues made him feel hurt. Or like William wasn’t a safe person to be around. Maybe something William said had inspired him to stand up to his abuser, and it went wrong. Dakota is strong, William knows that. He’s probably okay. That’s what he's telling himself now anyway.

“Okay, tomorrow we'll see if he’s at school? And if he’s not, we should search for him. I don’t want to jump the gun if he is just out sick today.” William said earnestly. “I’ve been doing that a lot. Making accusations even when I don’t have the evidence. I definitely don’t want to make the situation worse either, and I feel like I already have.” 

“Tomorrow.” Vyncent nodded. 

-

Dakota wasn’t at school again. William felt the wave of dread wash over him again. Maybe this time he should have acted instead of waiting, but he didn’t know what to do or how to help because any time he’s brought up the issue in the past, he’s only made it worse. He didn’t know how to find Dakota, but he definitely couldn’t just sit at school waiting. 

Vyncent and William hardly said a word during lunch. Both of them were thinking about the same thing. Neither could get it out of their head. William was thinking about almost every worst-case scenario possible. He needed to apologize to Dakota before anything else. 

Vyncent decided to head back to Ashe because he would have the best luck tracking down where Dakota lives with their hacking skills. William decided that he would just start walking the way that Dakota would walk once he left school. He can’t be that far, right? He couldn’t imagine that Dakota would live more than a mile away. Maybe if he were skateboarding, but he walks just as frequently. William noticed Tony’s and started moving toward it. Maybe he could ask If Dakota was seen there recently, or maybe, if he is lucky, get the address. 

William walked right up to the front counter, and there was a college student running the register. He didn’t really seem to be paying attention and only noticed William when he cleared his throat.

“Hello, is Tony here? I have something I’d like to talk to him about.”

“Tony! Some kid out here wants to talk to you,” the cashier called out behind them. Tony came out, wiping his greasy hands on his apron before getting up to the counter.

“Eh, buongiorno! How can I help you?” Tony asked, clearly expecting William to be some Karen who’s about to be complaining to him.

“Hi, I’m William. I’m friends with Dakota.” William explained. “I was wondering if you’ve seen him around recently?”

“Dakota?” Tony’s brow furrowed, and he looked down, trying to hide a frown. His accent thickened when he spoke again. “Ahh, il mio bambino… I ’m sorry. He hasn’t been here.”

“Then would you happen to know where he lives? I’m really worried about him,” William asked.

Tony studied him, squinting like he was weighing if William was trustworthy or not. After a long pause, he nodded slowly.
“I seen you here with Dakota, eh? All right, I give you his address — but you bring my boy some pizza, capisce? He’s fallen on hard times.”

William’s chest tightened at the softness in Tony’s tone. “Of course,” he nodded quickly.

Tony scribbled the address on a napkin, his handwriting looping wildly. “I make you a pepperoni. Extra roni. You take it with you.”

“Thank you,” William said earnestly, already pulling the address into his phone. The apartment wasn’t far, much closer than he expected. William let Ashe and Vynce know that he was following a lead from Tony, and he would report back with any updates. 

William stepped out into the cold, the pizza box held carefully as if it were a peace offering.. He couldn’t shake the thought that this was his fault. All of it. He replayed the last real conversation they’d had, the way Dakota’s face had fallen, how William had just let him walk away. 

Each block felt longer than the last. The guilt kept layering itself, heavier and heavier. He should have noticed sooner. Should have checked on him yesterday. Should have pushed harder when Ashe didn’t answer either. If he's too late then… He gripped the pizza box tighter, his hand trembling around the edges of the cardboard. 

The apartment complex loomed closer, old brick and narrow stairwells climbed up the sides of the building. William stared up at it, his stomach twisting so violently he thought he might throw up. He hesitated at the bottom step, frozen, part of him terrified of what he’d find on the other side of Dakota’s door. He paused there at the top for what felt like forever. 

William finally let his knuckles hit against the door after double-checking the address to make sure he was in the right spot. 

“Dakota? It’s William. Are you home?” William called. He didn’t get a response, and the silence made his stomach churn. “Hello?” William knocked again, and no one answered. His anxious nerves made him reach for the handle and try to turn it. Of course, it was locked. Things could never be easy. William had to get in there. He had to find Dakota. If Dakota wasn’t here, then he would have an entirely different situation on his hands. What if Dakota’s caretaker kidnapped him? What if it was because of what William had said? If Dakota was missing, they would have to file a report. An Amber alert or something. 

William glanced around, checking for security cameras, and when he couldn’t find them, he turned himself intangible and phased through the door. He would deal with whatever happens on the other side, but he just had to ensure that Dakota is okay. Maybe just sleeping. That’s why no one answered the door. 

William didn’t really feel cold anymore but he did notice that the temperature hadn’t changed that much since phasing through the door. It was dark in the space, too. The only light was coming in from the windows. It illuminated the large room that incorporated the living room, dining, and kitchen. Shoes were half-heartedly thrown by the door. Dakota’s shoes. At least he was in the right place. William set the pizza on a small round table that looked to be covered in utility bills and rent due papers. 

“Hello? Is anybody home?” William called out, a little more cautiously this time, unsure of who else might answer. 

“...Will?” Dakota’s voice echoed weakly from a door down the hallway that branched off from the living room. William quickened his footsteps as he approached the sound. It got darker as he walked away from the windows of the main room. He stopped at the door of what he assumed to be a bedroom or bathroom. 

“Dakota? Can-” William lightly knocked on the door, but it must not have latched because the door pushed open when he touched it. He could just barely see Dakota’s silhouette. He was on the ground in a crescent shape, body curled around the base of the toilet. He was trembling slightly, and his forehead was slick with sweat, which made his hair stick to it in weird ways. It didn’t occur to William that Dakota might actually be sick. Dakota looked at him blearily and even in the dim light, William knew that they were unfocused. When he tried to flick on the light switch but it didn’t work. Either the light was burned out or there was no electricity. William dropped to his knees and pressed his hand to Dakota’s forehead. He couldn’t help but let out a hum of worry as he reached his friend

Dakota felt like fire. He was burning. His fever must be crazy high, especially if he’s shaking too. He leaned into William’s touch, and for onc,e he was thankful for his cold, zero-circulation hands.

“Fuck, okay… okay..” William murmured under his breath. “Hi Dakota, how are you doing?  Is anyone here? Are you home alone?” William questioned. He felt Dakota nod slightly, as to what he was responding to, William wasn’t sure. He asked too many questions at once. 

“Aunt ‘laska’s still gettin’ help” Dakota slurred. Hearing him talk like this was heartbreaking. Dakota shouldn’t sound like this. William tensed when he heard him mention his Aunt. William has never met her, but if she thought it was okay to just leave Dakota like this, there must be something seriously wrong with her. 

“Getting help for you, Dakota? You are really sick.” William tried to explain, but Dakota seemed borderline delirious. Not that he is ever easy to reason with, but this definitely felt worse.

“She’s too. Rehab.” Dakota explained. Whining as William pulled his hand away from Dakota’s forehead. The gears started turning in his head now. Things weren’t lining up. 

“How long has she been in rehab?” William asked cautiously. 

“Don’t ‘member. Long ‘ime” Dakota continued to shiver and string his words together. 

“How long have you been alone?” William felt like his heart was in his throat. Dakota didn’t really answer, maybe it was because he was afraid to. This was neglect. Dakota is sick and he’s been dealing with it alone. He’s been by himself all this time?  

“Dakota, we have to get you to a hospital. Your fever is really high an-” William added, his voice beginning to quiver. 

“No ‘ospital!” Dakota cried. He reached out his hand to hold onto William’s wrist. “Please. No Hospital. Can’t. I don’t want’a be alone. I can’t.” Dakota pleaded and begged. He could see the tears welling up in the corners of Dakota’s eyes. Dakota, the guy who charged into everything without hesitation, was scared . It was like nothing William had ever seen from him.

“Okay, okay. No hospital,” William lied softly, trying to keep his voice steady, though he was anything but calm. He needed to be reassuring, even if it meant lying to his friend. Even if that's what caused this in the first place. He put his hand back on Dakota’s forehead, trying to offer whatever comfort he could. Dakota leaned into the chill like it was the only relief in the world. “But your fever’s really bad, Kota. Like, really bad. Have you taken anything? Do you have fever reducers here?”

“Think I took s-something. On counter.” Dakota gestured weakly with one hand before giving up on the action and letting his hand fall back to his side. William’s eyes tracked the path to the bathroom sink. A bottle of extra-strength Tylenol was open and tipped onto the counter. He had to strain his eyes to see in the dark, but he noticed a few pills spilled into the sink as well. 

“Okay, how much did you take?” The messy nature of the scattered pills made William’s anxiety spike. It looked concerning. “Do you remember how long ago?” 

“Mmm.. Couple hours… Could ‘ake more.” Dakota said. The pauses between his words stretched longer, and his eyes seemed to stay closed more than they were open

“Stay with me. I-I’ll let you get some rest soon, but you can't sleep yet,” William hated how much his voice wavered, but he could tell this was bad. “How many, Dakota?” 

“...Six?” Dakota said, the word barely audible. He sounded almost ashamed. “Just... wanted it t’stop. Don’t feel good...”

William’s stomach plummeted. Six was too much. Definitely more than the recommended dose. And with the way Dakota’s fever was still raging, the medicine wasn’t doing what it was supposed to. A sick dread crept up William’s spine. He should be calling 911. He needs to call 911. He should have already called 911. 

“O-Okay. You’re feeling nauseous, right? Is that why you’re in here?” William asked, trying to keep his voice even, but it wavered under the weight of his rising anxiety.

“Mmhmm,” Dakota hummed, his head nodding faintly before it slumped forward again. “Threw up a lot...” His voice cracked, and he let out a shaky breath. “Not now...I just... can’t...”

William swallowed hard, his throat dry. “Okay. Alright. I want to get you somewhere comfier, okay? Let’s get you out of the bathroom.” He reached out, gently moving to help Dakota sit up, but the moment his hands touched Dakota’s torso, his friend let out an agonized cry that echoed loudly in the small bathroom. The sound was raw and visceral, like something torn from deep inside was fighting its way out. 

 “Dakota?!” William exclaimed, jerking his hands back as if he’d been burned.

Dakota’s body curled inward, trembling violently as he clutched at his left side. His sobs came fast and unrelenting, tears spilling freely down his flushed face. His hands pressed against his lower flank like he was trying to hold himself together, like something inside him might rip apart if he didn’t.

“Dakota…” William whispered, his voice barely audible over Dakota’s cries. He felt helpless, completely and utterly helpless. The pain didn’t seem to be subsiding, and he realized with growing horror that it must have been there all along, masked until Dakota couldn’t hide it anymore.

“Are... are you injured?” William asked, forcing the words through the lump in his throat. He didn’t want to ask. He didn’t want to know. But he had to.

“I-I’m f-fine,” Dakota stuttered, his voice shaking as much as his body.

“We both know that’s bullshit, Dakota!” William snapped, his voice rising sharply before he could stop it. The stress, the fear, the sheer helplessness of the situation all came bubbling to the surface in an explosion of emotion. “You come to school hurt all the time! Is someone doing this to you? Are you doing this to yourself? I’m worried about you, Dakota!”

His words hit like a slap, and Dakota flinched hard, his face twisting in pain as another sob escaped him. The sight made William’s heart twist. Now Dakota was looking at him with wide, tear-filled eyes, shaking like a leaf.

“I-I’m sorry,” William stammered, his voice breaking as he tried to reel himself back in. “I just... I don’t know what to do. I’m scared, okay? You’re scaring me, Dakota. Please... please tell me the truth. Are you hurt? Is someone hurting you? Please, I need to know.” Dakota’s head dropped, and his sobs grew quieter, almost muffled. But his hands stayed clamped over his side, gripping the spot like it was the only thing tethering him to reality. 

“You’ll hate me.”

William’s heart shattered.

William’s breath came in shallow, uneven gasps as he knelt there, watching his best friend unravel in front of him. He felt like he was drowning in the weight of it all. He can’t fix this on his own.

“Dakota,” William said softly, his voice trembling as he leaned closer, “I-I would never hate you. I swear I’m not mad. I just... I need to help you. But I can’t do that if you won’t let me.” His throat tightened, but he forced himself to keep talking. “I’m not leaving, okay? I’m not going anywhere. But you have to let me help you.”

For a long, terrible moment, there was only the sound of Dakota’s uneven breathing. William didn’t dare move, didn’t breathe, as he waited for a response.

Finally, Dakota let out a shaky whisper, barely audible but unmistakable.

“Y-you can’t ‘ell anyone Will.” Dakota pleaded. “Promise?” 

“I’m not going to make that promise until I know you are safe.” William determined. Dakota studied his expression and then swallowed hard. His hands, trembling, slowly lifted the hem of his sweat-soaked shirt.

William’s breath hitched.

The bandages wrapped around Dakota’s torso were stained through with blood. It was dark, discolored, and... blue. The skin around the bandages was swollen and angry, purple streaks spreading outward like spider legs. The wound itself was obviously infected, and the sight of it made William’s stomach drop.

William’s brain fought to process what his eyes were seeing. The bandages, the streaks, the infected wound. And the blood. Blue. Just like... His breath hitched. 

No, that’s not possible.  

That is Not Possible. 

Every time William had ever seen Red injured flashed through his mind, each one finding its matching scar on Dakota. Suddenly, everything made sense. The exhaustion and the injuries were just a consequence of being a superhero. 

William has eidetic memory. It’s a blessing and a curse. But now he can only think about how He watched Dakota get injured countless times now. He thought about the fight with Blackout, back before he had a team. Before William started going out and being the whisperer. He thought about the horrid cry of pain that escaped Red was electrocuted; even now, he could see the aftermath of those injuries. William thought about every time He watched Red take a hit. Why didn’t he realize it was Dakota the entire time? 

No wonder why Dakota was so afraid to tell him. William hasn’t always spoken the kindest about Red. He made him watch the video of Red getting electrocuted, probably the day after ti happened.  He thought about when Dakota started wearing the gloves and how it ended up after he saw Red’s hands bandaged after the fight with Wavelength on Hartawa. William thought about Doug too. How Dakota had been the one to face him. To try to protect him. To be so violently betrayed by someone who you thought was a friend. He thought about the aftermath of that fight and the horrible burns that covered his back. 

“Red.” William vocalized as if he had to say out loud to process the fact it was true. “You’re Red.” A brief look of shock crossed Dakota’s face. That makes sense, William supposes. Dakota doesn’t know that he is the Whisperer. William has never seen the blue blood before. Only the Whisperer has. That look was quickly replaced with something more complex, a mix of guilt and maybe relief. 

“m’so sorry.” Dakota unfolded. 

“I’m the one who needs to apologize.”

Dakota pushed himself upward with the remaining strength he had, pain flashing onto his face with the motion. “I-I didn’t want to lie. I just ‘anted to keep you safe.” William stared at him, still trying to process the info. With lack of better judgment, he threw his arms around Dakota and hugged him. 

“You have been, Dakota,” William assured. “More than you know and we can talk about it once you’re better. You need to… It’s infected. I-I can’t take care of that.”

“It hurts so bad Will,” Dakota confessed. In all the time William has known Red and Dakota, he’s never heard him cry like this. He’s never heard him confess to being in pain.  Dakota’s arms returned the hug loosely, nothing like his normal bone-crushing hugs William was used to. “I-I can’t pay for the hospital. I don’t want to go back t-there. I don’t want to be a-alone. I can’t wake up by myself again.” Dakota hiccuped, “Please just make it s-stop. It hurts so much. I’m so tired.” Dakota is dying . William realized.  He had to do something or Dakota would d ie. “Please, It hurts.” He couldn’t get his brain to function like it should. 

“I-t’s going t-to be okay. I promise.” William reassured, though he wasn’t even sure if he believed himself. Would the hospital even know how to take care of him? His biology is different. His blood is Blue. How would he be able to hide that? Nurses would see. The secret would be out. They would find out he has been enhanced.

Before he could spiral further, Dakota’s body went slack in William’s arms.

“Dakota?” William’s voice broke as he shifted his friend’s weight, holding him up so his head wouldn’t hit the tile. He gave him a gentle shake, his panic surging. “Dakota, you need to stay awake. Do you hear me? Stay awake!”

But Dakota didn’t stir. His head lolled to the side, and for one horrifying moment, William thought he wasn’t breathing. Then he saw it, the faint rise and fall of Dakota’s chest. The sound of his heartbeat, loud, rapid, and unmistakably inhuman, pulsed in William’s ears. 

He needed an adult. Dakota needed an adult. William’s chest burned with bitter anger as he thought about the adults in their lives. absent, uncaring, useless. If I hadn’t found him... he would’ve just... The thought was unbearable. William took a deep breath and dialed a number on his phone.

It rang four times.

“David? It’s William. Don’t hang up.” He tried to keep calm, but he was certain he sounded like a wreck. “It’s an emergency. I’ll send you my location.”

“Emergency? You okay?” David questioned, actually sounding concerned.

“I’m fine. I-it’s my friend, he’s really hurt.” William elaborated. 

“If someone is hurt, you should call 9-1-1.”  David retorted. 

“It’s complicated. Dav-”

“If you’re involved in some drugs or-” 

“David!” William shouted. “I just need you to get here, okay? Fuck… I will literally do anything. You can even send me back to mom and dad because I know you don’t want me here, but please, just this one fucking time. I’m begging you.” There was a pause. For a moment, William thought he might have hung up. 

“Okay.” David Agreed. “Send me the location.”

Notes:

So... I've been looking forward to this chapter. I've already had half of it saved in my docs. William's revelation in this chapter was honestly what inspired this whole story, and I've been waiting for this scene. I'm so happy I get to share it with you all. This chapter might be one of my favorites!

Anyway, Comments, Kudos, and Bookmarks are always appreciated! I hope you are all having a wonderful day/night!

Chapter 19: Hospital

Summary:

So... things do not get better. In fact, it is pretty bad for our little guys.

Notes:

*Spoilers in the TWs*
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*TW: Seizure, mental breakdown, Coma, Hospitals*

William thought he could wait for David. He told himself that twenty minutes wasn’t long, that he just had to hold on. David could throw money at the problem and make it all disappear. That’s what he’d done with Hartawa. That’s what William needed him to do now. Hide this. Cover it up. Protect Dakota, because clearly no one else ever would. He thought he could wait. But waiting twenty minutes while your friend is actively dying turned out to be so much harder than William anticipated.

It started with a tiny whine in Dakota’s throat. Then his whole body went rigid. His back arched, and then he snapped into violent motion. His body jerked and thrashed, limbs flailing with a force. One wild swing nearly caught William in the ribs. 

“Shit. Dakota!” William’s voice cracked as he scrambled closer. Panic clawed at his chest, but his hands moved on instinct. He slipped them under Dakota’s head, cradling him. He did whatever he could to pad the blows so he wouldn’t split his skull open on the cold, white tile. 

Every muscle in Dakota’s body seemed to spasm and twist. His heels hammered against the ground. William’s heart pounded so hard it felt like it might seize too. He wanted to scream, to call for someone, but there was no one else. Just him. All William could do was hold him and pray he didn’t choke, didn’t break something, didn’t… didn’t die right there.

He decided he needed to call 9-1-1. He was out of his depth. Dakota needed a hospital. He knew that he needed one from the moment he saw him crumpled on the bathroom floor. For a moment, He thought about calling Vyncent. Maybe he could heal him with his bullets, but would it heal an infection? William didn’t know. Dakota needs antibiotics, and strong ones at that. If the injury was healed, it’s not going to do much good if the infection is running through his bloodstream. On top of that, he doesn’t know if it's okay to tell Vyncent. It's not really his secret to share, but at the same time, taking him to a hospital is going to reveal his identity to a lot more people. 

William dialed 9-1-1 and waited for dispatch to answer the phone. It didn’t take long. At some point during the phone call, Dakota stopped seizing. William’s hand instantly went back to resting on Dakota’s pulse, the fast thrum on his heartbeat beneath his fingertips. It was almost relieving. He was still entirely unconscious, but he was almost panting or crying. William couldn’t tell. 

The ambulance arrived before David and William knew that he was going to have to explain his friend's condition in some way. The inhuman heartbeat and the unnatural blood were probably quite concerning to a medical professional, but William is going to need to tell them something. He ended up explaining to them that he had some sort of experimental surgery before this and that he didn’t know what caused the injury he had now. 

He supposed that was true. It was about as much as he knew right now. William had a hard time watching them roll him away on a stretcher. He had a hard time leaving Dakota alone. He would have ridden in the ambulance with him, but he wasn’t immediate family, and Dakota wasn’t awake to consent to having him there

 He was reminded of something Red had said. ‘That he was on his own,’ Or that ‘he didn’t have anyone anymore,’ part of that almost hurt William. The Dakota hadn’t turned to him, Vyncnet, or Ashe about his personal struggles. He felt like he had no one. He supposed that might have been their own faults. They were all dealing with their own things, so Dakota decided not to weigh them down with his own issues. That would be exactly what Dakota would think. Then again, maybe he didn’t really know Dakota at all. 

 William waited for David to show up. He brought his knees close to his chest and held them there as if trying to get himself a hug. Composure. He needed to keep his composure. This wasn’t done yet. He could cry about it all later; for now, he needed to make sure Dakota was taken care of. He needed to get back to him before he wakes back up. When David finally did arrive, Williams' first words to him were,

“I need you to drive me to the hospital,” William said flatly. His voice carried no room for argument. He stood, brushing past David without another glance, and stormed toward the car.

“William. What is going on?” David called after him, following close behind. His tone was indecipherable.  Furious? Concerned? Or just confused? William didn’t answer right away. His chest was heaving. His hands shook as he yanked open the passenger door and dropped into the seat, and gripped his knees 

 “I need you to help pay for my friend, Dakota’s, hospital bills,” he muttered finally, once David got in the driver's seat. His throat tightened on the next words. “He can’t afford it. I think he’ll die if he doesn’t get help.”His brows furrowed as if William had just asked him for the impossible.

 “That’s a big ask, William.” He slid into the driver’s seat, but the keys dangled motionless in his hand. “What kind of hospital bills are we talking here? That’s not cheap, you know.”

“I know.” William’s voice cracked. His fingers dug crescents into his jeans. “That’s why I’m asking you. I had to call an ambulance for him so… at least that expensive. Can you just… drive?” David’s hand hovered over the ignition, but he didn’t turn it. 

“Can you explain what’s going on?” William snapped his head toward him, eyes burning.

 “Does it matter? Why do you care?” The words were acid, but underneath them was panic. David stiffened, his grip tightening on the steering wheel.

 “Well, you’re asking me to spend a lot of money on a friend of yours I don’t even know!” William’s chest heaved, his nails digging into his palms now. 

“Oh, so you care when it’s about money?”

“No!” David’s voice rose, then broke. “It’s not just that, Will. I want to know what trouble you’re getting involved in. There’s clearly something you’re hiding.” William turned away, staring out the window. His voice dropped to a bitter mutter. 

“I don’t get it. Why do you care now?” David slammed a hand against the wheel. 

“Because I care if my little brother is getting into some shit that’s going to get him killed! I don’t want to see you dead, William!”

That cracked something open. William snapped his gaze back, eyes sharp with fury and something far more fragile beneath.

 “Really?” His voice rose into a raw shout. “Because you didn’t fucking care the first time!” His words came like glass shattering. “Have you even noticed that I haven’t eaten anything in weeks?” David flinched at that, his tone softening. “...Have you even noticed?”

“William…”

But William wasn’t done. His voice shook now, not just from rage but from the gravity of his entire situation. “You’re good at covering things up, right? That’s what you do, isn’t it? That’s what you did to Hartawa.” He leaned forward, eyes wild. “That’s what I need you to do here. Pay off the doctors, make this disappear. Tell them everything regarding Dakota’s medical diagnosis is top secret.”

David blinked, trying to ground himself. “Woah- William, slow down—”

“Look, can we just talk after the hospital. I think we need to talk. But can you take me there first?” David nodded and turned the key in the ignition.

-

At the hospital, William sat hunched in one of the plastic chairs, his knee bouncing restlessly. The fluorescent lights above made his head pound. The air smelled sterile. He picked at his fingernails, ripping at skin until it stung.

David returned after what felt like an eternity, his expression carefully composed. He had been speaking with all the medical professionals who asked him questions about Dakota that he would have no way of answering. William had no doubt that they talked about he enhancements. David knows that Dakota is altered in some way. He’s smart. He’ll put the pieces together. David lowered himself into the chair beside William.

“They took him into surgery right away,” David reported. His voice was steady, but William caught the tension underneath it. “Put him on intravenous antibiotics. They said they’ll give us more info once he’s stable.”

William only nodded, eyes locked on the floor tiles. The words should have been reassuring, but his chest was still heavy. David exhaled through his nose. 

“We should talk about what’s going on.” A humorless laugh escaped William before he could stop it. It was bitter and sharp.

“I don’t even know where to start. It’s all a mess.” David leaned forward, searching William’s face. 

“Well, start with you. Are you safe?” William nodded after a pause, though the gesture felt shaky.. 

“Yeah,” His throat tightened. Not always. David’s eyes narrowed.

 “And you haven’t been eating? You just ate at Thanksgiving.”

“I throw up whatever I eat,” William admitted flatly. His voice sounded distant, like it belonged to someone else. “When I was in my room for a while at home, I was hurling into a trash can.”

David frowned, his jaw tightening. William pressed on, sounding hollow. “I also haven’t been sleeping either. I don’t think I really need to anymore.” David blinked a few times.

 “What do you mean, ‘anymore’?”

William’s hands curled into fists in his lap. His chest rose and fell in uneven bursts. He didn’t want to say it, but the words spilled out anyway.  “Back in Deadwood… I died. And maybe I’m still dead, or dying, or whatever. I don’t really know. But I died .” He swallowed hard, then pushed on. “And then I died again later. I got shot. And I got better, but now… now I can’t eat, I can’t sleep. I don’t feel right. I don’t feel… alive.”

David turned toward him fully, his expression pinched with concern, almost pity. “William, if you want me to look into psychiatric care… I can. It’s not normal to think of yourself as dead.” William’s chest ached like it couldn’t contain everything anymore. He leaned back in the chair, head tilted toward the ceiling.

“You aren’t listening to me.”

“I am ,” David pressed, voice tight, like he was holding his patience together with a string. “I really am. But you’re not making any sense. I want to support you. Truly, I do.”

William’s gaze flicked toward the waiting room around them, the nurses at the counter, the other patients in the corner. He made sure no one was watching. No one could see.

Then he let his body blur at the edges. His hand shimmered faintly, translucent, before slipping cleanly through David’s shoulder like it was water.

The plastic chair squeaked as David jerked back, eyes wide. His mouth parted, but no words came. He just stared, unblinking, at William’s ghostlike hand resting impossibly inside his own chest. William pulled his hand back and made it tangible once again. The two just sat there in silence until Willaim broke. 

He sobbed loudly in the waiting room. Someone probably thought he had just received terrible news that a loved one had passed, but truthfully, it was just everything catching up to him. It all stacked on him like a heavy weight on his chest. He felt like he couldn’t breathe. His breath came in unevenly as he allowed himself to cry. David still didn’t say anything. He wasn’t trying to be comforting. William wasn’t even sure David knew how, but David didn’t leave. William continued to let his shoulders shake, trembling like a leaf in the wind. Tears constantly slid down his face, cheeks turning red from how much he rubbed at his face with the sleeves of his hoodie. He still felt like he couldn’t breathe, like something had hold of his lungs and was squeezing them tight. He held himself tightly, arms wrapped around himself, trying to hold everything together. Trying to breathe. 

It was a nurse who came to his aid. She reached out and put a hand on his shoulder. And William looked up at her, still trying to intake air and stop his tears. 

“Hey, I just wanted to let you know that your friend is alright and he is stable.” She explained calmly. “I thought it might help to let you know that.” William pressed his lips together and nodded, trying to hold back a relieved breath. “Okay, one other thing that I need to mention. He’s currently in a medically induced coma. ” Panic washed over William again as she spoke, twisting his lungs all over again.  “He’s alright, I promise. He will be just fine.” She soothed. 

“W-what does… What does that m-mean?” William asked, trying to breathe through his words. 

“Right. To give him the best chance at fighting off this infection and healing from this injury, we are giving him controlled doses of anesthesia.” She explained. 

“W-when will he… He wake u-up?” Her smile dropped ever so slightly, and it made William’s stomach churn. 

“Well, we know he will be out for a week. However, with this, the waking processes aren’t always consistent. He could wake up as soon as that week is over, or it could take up to two months at most.” She explained. 

“C-can I see him?” William asked. The nurse looked over to David as if seeking approval. David nodded, and the nurse offered her hand for William to take. She led him down a series of hallways until she stopped at a door and then opened it for him. 

“I’ll give you some time alone.” She said, closing the door behind her as she exited. 

Dakota looked so small in the hospital bed. He was covered series of tubes and wires. The heart rate monitor was wrong. Dakota’s heart should be beating much faster. He knows that it should be rapid and artificial and not this steady beat. David must have done what he asked. He wondered where all the real data was being sent to. William pulled a chair over and sat next to Dakota’s hospital bed. He would make sure that he would be here when Dakota wakes up. That he would make sure that Dakota knows that there are people here who care and love him, that he doesn’t need to be alone, that he has someone. 

William reached for his phone, hands still shaking. He struggled to pull up Ashe’s number and nearly clicked on someone else's by mistake. It rang a few times before Ashe picked up. 

“Hey Will, any update?” Ashe asked nonchalantly. 

“Is Vyncent with you?” William asked, knowing that his voice sounded raw and damaged. 

“Yeah… do you want me to put you on speaker or…” Ashe questioned, clearly noting the fragility in William’s voice. 

“Yeah.” William agreed. He took a deep breath, trying not to break down again. 

“Hey Will, What’s up?” Vyncent asked.

“Dakota’s in the hospital.” William blurted, he hiccuped again, composure breaking once again. 

“What?” Vyncent asked. While Ashe layered on “Why?” 

“I don’t know,” William confessed. “I don’t really know what happened. But it’s bad. He’s stable but…” William didn’t know how to tell them. He was so tired. “Can you come to the hospital?”

Notes:

Okay! So, School officially starts back up for me tomorrow, so sorry to leave you here, but there is no possible way I can keep up the update schedule I've been on because I've been grinding in these last few weeks of summer break.

I've been looking forward to that conversation with David and William, and it turned out the way I wanted it to! I actually had to rewrite this chapter because I stated it, and it was not the vibe, but I'm so happy I wrote it again. Anyway, David will be a little bit more around in these next few chapters because he and William have a lot more to talk about. They just scratched the surface with this conversation.

Sorry, this chapter is a little shorter than usual, but I think there is definitely still enough substance there.

Anyway, I hope you are all doing well! And if you are about to start the school year, I wish you luck! <3

Comments, Kudos, and bookmarks are always appreciated! :)

Chapter 20: Difficult Conversations

Summary:

William has some uncomfortable conversations about himself and Dakota

Notes:

*TW: Hospitals, Coma, Mention of abuse*

Vyncent and Ashe rode the bus to the hospital together. They would have asked Mark if he was around, but Vyncent doubted Mark would have let Ashe go. If Mark had his way, Ashe would probably still be frozen in his bedroom, untouched and silent.

William had sent the room number in a short text message, nothing more than that — except a warning that it might be past visiting hours. No explanation. No hint of what they were about to see. The lack of detail only twisted the anxiety in both of their stomachs, making the ride feel suffocatingly long.

Navigating the hospital turned out to be harder than either expected. The white hallways all looked the same. Vyncent had never been in a place like this before. Everything about it felt foreign and dangerous. Ashe took the lead, their eyes darting between signs and arrows as though sheer determination would make them faster.

When they finally reached the right floor, a nurse blocked them from going any farther. Vyncent tried to argue, Ashe tried to reason, but the words stumbled out clumsy and desperate. Their voices must have carried, because William appeared in the doorway just down the hall. He looked pale under the fluorescent lights, shoulders tight, like the air itself was weighing him down.

“They’re with me,” he muttered to the nurse, his voice low but strained. He opened the door just a crack, enough for them to slip past him, then shut it quickly behind them.

Dakota was asleep. It was easy to tell because Vyncent had no doubt he would say something to greet them as they came in. Dakota lacked all the natural enthusiasm he normally has. In fact he was entirely void of any energy. Whatever happened was bad. He looked like he was part of a machine. Tubes connected to his wrists, feeding him some sort of clear liquid from a bag hanging next to his hospital bed. There were tubes in his nose and a clear mask over his face. There were monitors next to him, displaying information that Vyncent had no idea how to interpret.

Ashe slowly walked over to the bed and held onto Dakota’s hand. The skin was hot to the touch, dry in some places, clammy in others, his fingers limp in Ashe’s grip. He looked at the monitors as if he was trying to gain something from the information that appeared, red lines rising and falling, the steady beep filling the silence with a rhythm that felt both reassuring and cruel. Ashe looked at Dakota and then at William. Vyncent couldn’t tell if it was out of anger or not, but it was a face that Vyncent had never seen Ashe wear.

William turned away from them. He sat back in the chair that was pulled close to Dakota’s bed and stared at his hands as he clasped them together. He held them too tightly. Vyncent could see the strain against his skin. The way it pulled. The way his knuckles turned white. Behind him, Dakota’s chest rose faintly under the thin blanket, each breath shallow, the hiss of the oxygen mask sounding far louder than it should with how high the tension was in his room.

“What happened?” Vyncent asked quietly. William didn’t respond. He pulled in his lips, forming a straight line. He blinked a few times, and Vyncent thought he might start crying.

“William?” Vyncent tried again. He put a hand over William’s hands, that was squeezing so tight that Vyncent thought he might hurt himself. The action caused William to glance up for just a moment to look at him.

“I d-don’t know,” William responded under his breath. It was so soft that Ashe probably didn’t hear. His voice cracked halfway through, and he dropped his gaze to his lap as though ashamed of the weakness in it. The monitor next to Dakota gave a loud beep as if to underline the confession.

“Where was he?” Ashe asked. William looked at him and took another deep breath, his chest visibly shaking.

“A-an apartment. He w-was by himself.” William began. He opened his mouth to say something else, but he couldn’t seem to get the words out. The two waited, unsure what else to do. William’s jaw clenched hard. The words stuck in his throat. “H-he was r-really hurt. He still… W-whatever happened, it was infected.” Dakota stirred faintly at the word hurt , his body twitching under the sheets, though his eyes never opened. Everyone looked at him, holding their breath, expecting something to change. Dakota’s status remained the same. 

“Do you think his family-”

“No.” William cut off instantly. His head jerked up, eyes flashing with sudden sharpness. “It wasn’t his family. H-he was by himself. He has been for a while, I think.” William was breathing heavily, as if he was trying to hype himself up for saying something. His fingers twisted together restlessly. Ashe cut in again before he could say the words that were trapped behind his spiraling thoughts. “So if it wasn’t a relative, who injured him?” Ashe continued interrogating.

“I-I don’t know. I don’t know who did this to him, okay!” William nearly exploded; he seemed just as frustrated as Ashe. His chest was heaving, and tears were falling from his already red-rimmed eyes. His voice wavered on the edge of breaking. “I just know that… If I had…” William mumbled to himself, shaking his head as though trying to push away the thought. “Ashe… Was… was Red active at all Sunday night?”

Vyncent watched Ashe’s shoulders fall as if he realized something that Vyncent didn’t get. Ashe pulled up his phone. It was much harder to access the information on his mobile device, but he decided that it would be best if he could work from somewhere else if he absolutely needed to. It would give him more options instead of just sending a location to the group chat and hoping they all show up. He pinched and zoomed in on the screen, hands trembling slightly.

Ashe must have found something because he looked back up to William, nodded, and then nearly started crying. His lips pressed together, face crumpling as he looked back at Dakota. He then slowly sank to the ground and held his knees to his chest, shoulders quaking. 

“What?” Vyncent asked, eyes flicking between William and Ashe. His voice cracked, betraying the dread already forming in his stomach. “I don’t get it. I feel like you two are leaving me out of the conversation here!” William hesitated a moment.

“Dakota is Red,” William explained. It took Vyncent a moment to process the information. His breath hitched, and his mouth opened slightly, as if words had been stolen from him. He didn’t know what to do or how to react to it.

“Are you-”

“I’m sure.” William nodded. His head bobbed once, heavy and deliberate, his eyes rimmed red with guilt.

All Vyncent could think about was pulling him out of that fire. The dread that Vyncent felt then tripled now. Dakota would try to protect the villain, especially if it were Doug. Red was fast enough to get out of that building, but Dakota would stay if it meant helping someone. He should have been doing more to support Dakota after that. He felt guilty for letting him fend for himself. Dakota was so strong. Vyncent knew that. But the thought back to those burns and the sheer exhaustion he was facing in that moment made his throat tighten painfully.

“H-he’s in a coma,” William added, as if finally getting enough confidence to say it. His voice shook, the words breaking apart in the silence. That was the nail in the coffin for Vyncent.

Vyncent started crying, tears slipping down his cheeks, his world going blurry around the edges. His shoulders shook, and he scrubbed at his face helplessly. He didn’t know what he was supposed to do. It felt like all his friends were falling apart around him. He couldn’t be there for all of them. He doesn’t know how to support Dakota. He doesn’t know how to navigate Ashe’s relationship with Mark. He doesn’t know how to help William through what he’s going through either. He doesn’t even know where to start with that. He misses home. In this moment, it feels selfish, but he misses home. He misses his mom.

The three sat there and cried for a while. It was well past visiting hours at that point. The room filled with quiet sobs, broken only by the steady beep of Dakota’s heart monitor. 

“I-I know that we all need to talk.” William interrupted the silence once their quiet sobs turned into small sniffles.  “But I don’t think I can today,” he admitted. 

“Okay,” Vyncent agreed. “We should get going anyway.” Ashe just nodded and quietly moved back over to Vyncent. “Tommorrow. After school. We can talk then.” Vyncent determined. William nodded in agreement. 

“Aren’t you doing home too?” Ashe asked as he turned back to look at William 

“I can’t leave him here by himself,” William confessed. “It’s not like I can sleep anyway. I’ll stay with him.” Ashe and Vyncnet nodded and left. 

-

William didn’t know what to do in the seven hours he had before he was going to talk with David. He sat in Dakota’s hospital room. He read different labels on almost everything in the room. He learned about all possible side effects of any medication left in there. He knew the brand of hand sanitizer they kept there. He texted David a list of things that he would like him to bring from home. He didn’t respond, but William could tell that he had read it. He spent a lot of time on his phone, checking Twitter or watching YouTube. Most of it was just mindless videos. He learned something about the 7 most haunted places on Prime and was not surprised to see Deadwood on that list. He listened to some music too. In fact, he wanted constant sound or else it felt far too quiet. 

Night stretched by slowly but eventually, William saw sunlight beginning to peak through the blinds, and he decided to open them. Shortly after that, a nurse entered the room, nearly jumping out of her skin when she saw William standing there. 

“Sorry.” The two apologized to each other. 

“Good morning.” She greeted. “I just need to collect some blood samples and make sure he still has enough antibiotics.” William nodded. He politely stood back to let her do her thing. He watched as she drew the blue blood from Dakota’s arm. “Certainly an interesting one, isn’t he?”

“You should see him when he’s awake.” William joked, and the nurse smiled at him.

“Well I look forward to meeting him properly.” She added. “I’ll be back around noon.”  She left quietly, taking the vial of blood with her. 

William moved to sit in his chair again, but the door opened before he could settle. This tim,e David stepped in. He carried William’s backpack, hopefully filled with the items William had requested, and set it down stiffly beside the door as if he wasn’t sure if he should even cross the threshold.

This was the first time William had seen David look so casual. Jeans and a button-down, untucked, collar a little wrinkled. It made him look more human, less untouchable. William stared too long, and David seemed to notice.

“I took off work today,” he explained, glancing down at his shirt like he was suddenly self-conscious. “I was hoping we could talk?”

William nodded wordlessly. He couldn’t think of a response that didn’t sound bitter. David pulled one of the uncomfortably plastic hospital chairs over with a scrape and sat down, the legs squealing against the tile. For a moment, the sound of Dakota’s monitors filled the silence between them.

“I-I’m sorry about… not noticing earlier.” David’s voice cracked slightly.

“It’s not like I gave you many opportunities.” William shrugged, though his eyes stayed fixed on the floor. “I don’t really like talking about it.”

“I haven’t really given us much time to talk either,” David admitted. His hands folded awkwardly in his lap, knuckles pressing white. “I understand not wanting to talk about it. It sounds traumatic.” William blinked at him, suspicion flashing across his face. He wondered if David had watched some video titled How to Talk to a Traumatized Teen on the drive over.

“Yeah…” William agreed, but the word came out thin, unconvincing. He shifted in his chair, restless.

“Can I ask you a few questions?” David asked, hesitating like he was afraid William might say no. William cautiously and slowly raised his head to nod once.

“Okay… do Mom and Dad know that… that you…” David’s voice faltered.

“That I died?” William finished for him, surprised David was struggling to even say it. His tone was flat, almost mocking. “No. To them, I was missing for a night.”

He paused, fingers worrying at the seam of his sleeve. “I’ve gotten a lot better at controlling what I can do now, but when I first got back, it was difficult to hide.  going intangible and accidentally phasing through things or turning invisible when I didn’t mean to.”

David nodded slowly, but his brows knit together. “Why did they send you here then? Ma had just mentioned you needed a change in atmosphere or something. Said something about you wanting to stay with me, too.”

William let out a shaky breath, his throat tightening at the memory. “I-I always had ghost sight. Deadwood is crawling with horrors and creatures that shouldn’t be there. They were scary, and everyone thought I was crazy.”

“Well… if it makes you feel better, I believe you now.” David tried to joke, but the humor fell flat in the sterile hospital room. William breezed past it.

“After I died, they were… attracted to me. Bad things started happening to my friends. It felt like I was cursed.” His voice cracked as his eyes flicked toward Dakota’s pale, still form in the bed. “Guess it still feels like that.” David followed his gaze, then looked back.

 “So, your friend here, Dakota. Is he injured because of your ghost powers?”

“…No. No, it’s not like that.” William shifted uncomfortably in his chair, the plastic creaking under him.

“Is it because he’s Red?”

William froze. His stomach dropped like a stone. He knew he had told David too much — he’d been stressed and scared, words spilling out without thought. Of course David pieced it together. Especially after bringing up Hartawa.

“…Yes. I don’t actually know what happened to him, but that’s my guess.”

“So you are the Whisperer then?” David’s tone was careful, like he was tiptoeing across thin ice. William nodded stiffly. “So why did you set the facility on Hartawa on fire?”

The word Hartawa felt heavy. His hands clenched into fists, pressing half moons in his palms. “Do you even know what they were doing there?”

David frowned. “What do you mean? It was a research facility. They were running Respilin drug trials for us. You don’t just burn that kind of place down—”

“On animals?” William cut him off, his voice hard.

“What? No!” David blurted, startled. “No, it wasn’t-”

“Don’t lie to me, David.” William’s voice cracked, and suddenly all the air in the room felt tight. “I saw it. I was there . The things in those cages weren’t animals anymore. They weren’t even alive the way they should’ve been. Parts of them were dead . Sewn together. Their souls… were twisted.” His words caught, his throat thick. 

David froze. His mouth opened, then shut again. His face drained of color, and for the first time William had seen in years, his brother looked completely, utterly lost.

“That- no,” David stammered. He shook his head, too quickly, his voice trembling. “That wasn’t in the reports. We got cell structure data, regenerative testing, yes, but… Christ.” He raked a hand down his face. “William, I swear to God, I didn’t know all of that.” William studied him, trying to decide if it was the truth. William let his shoulders relax. 

“So… what have you been doing as the Whisperer then? Other than sneaking out every night?” David added after it grew silent. William rubbed at his wrists, staring at the floor.

 “Not very much after getting shot.” His voice was flat, like he was trying not to let anything slip. “I’ve been… kinda working my way back up to it.” David’s jaw clenched. 

“You’re going to go out still?” His voice was steady, but there was a sharp edge underneath. “Don’t get me wrong, William, I’m glad you are trying to help people, but I saw that clip of you getting shot.”

The reminder made William flinch. His shoulders folded in, his chin dipping low. It was like the air got heavier just at the mention of it. His mind flashed back to the crack of the gun, the tearing pain, the way the world bled white before it went black.

“Well,” William said finally, his voice small, “I think Dakota probably would’ve been okay if… if someone was with him.”

“William-”

“I wasn’t there,” William snapped, louder than he meant to. He bit down on his lip until it hurt, trying to reel himself back in. His throat felt like it was closing up. “We had a small argument before all this, and we… we talked about it, but…” His voice shook. He turned his face away, blinking fast, furious with himself for letting tears burn at the corners of his eyes. “I don’t really like the way we ended things. Just… Just don’t tell anyone, David. About our identities”

Silence stretched between them, thick and uncomfortable. David shifted in his chair like he wanted to reach out, but his hand froze halfway before retreating to his lap. William stayed curled in on himself, knuckles pressed against his mouth, as though bracing for an impact that wasn’t coming.

“I want to stay here with Dakota,” William said suddenly, breaking the quiet. His voice was soft but stubborn. “Vyncent can bring my schoolwork here. I promise I won’t fall behind.”

“You’ll need to come home to-” David caught himself, the words snagging. His brow furrowed as he realized the absurdity of finishing that sentence. William didn’t need to come home. Not to sleep. Not to eat. The silence that followed was sharp.

“Dakota… he was really scared to come to the hospital,” William continued, eyes fixed on Dakota’s still form. “Kept mumbling things about not wanting to wake up alone. I just… I just want to make sure someone is here for him.”

David shifted again, uncomfortable, like the truth of that hit somewhere deep. “Must be a good friend of yours then,” he said after a pause. His tone was awkward, but William still took it as permission.

“You should call Mom. Tell her about him,” David added, as if to soften the moment.

“Thanks.” William’s reply was small, almost grateful, though his gaze never lifted from the bed. The silence swelled again until David broke it, hesitating.

 “…Do you want me to stay?” He cleared his throat, eyes flicking away. “I don’t have anything going on today.” William shrugged, trying to look casual, though there was a flicker of vulnerability in his posture.

 “…We can catch up if you want to. I think that’s what brothers are supposed to do.” Something unspoken passed between them. Guilt, longing, maybe even relief.

“Okay,” David said at last, voice quieter than before. It didn’t erase the years between them, but it was something.

They sat in silence for a while, the hum of the hospital machines filling the space between them. David tried to steer the moment into something lighter, fumbling through questions about school, about hobbies William used to have, about things he hadn’t thought anyone remembered. William answered in fragments, nothing too revealing, but the effort still caught him off guard. It wasn’t smooth, and it wasn’t comfortable, but it was something.

For once, David seemed to be trying. Not perfectly, not even well, but trying. And that was more than William had expected.

-

William felt more prepared for when Ashe and Vyncent would show up. The atmosphere still felt heavy, and Dakota was still entirely unaware of the world, but William felt like he could collect all his thoughts again.

Vyncent arrived by himself a little bit later than when he was supposed to. Probably got lost in the hospital. These kinds of places were always set up like a maze. Ashe wasn’t with him, which meant Mark must have been back home. Vyncent had picked up all of William’s schoolwork and brought it over. William waved at him, but he quietly handed it over, almost stoically, like he was delivering bad news.

“William,” Vyncent said flatly, still holding the edge of one of the folders like he wasn’t sure if he should let go.

“Yeah?” William tilted his head, already suspicious that something was off.

“Mark shot Dakota,” Vyncent stated.

“What?” William blinked at him, waiting for the punchline. But Vyncent’s face wasn’t breaking. Not even a twitch.

“So uh…” Vyncent shifted his weight awkwardly, scratching at the back of his neck. “Mark came home yesterday. Ashe talked to him because he had a connection with Overlord. Turns out Mark is Wavelength, and he’s working with Tide right now, but accidentally shot Red during a meeting?”

“Dude, what?” William set his homework down, stunned. 

“Well, he knew that Ashe was helping the Prime Defenders, so he confessed that he accidentally shot Red. And he was gone because he was trying to look for him to get him some help. He thought Ashe might know, so he owned up and asked them. So… it’s a little weird at home.” Vyncent explained this all in one breath, hands flailing helplessly like he was untangling Christmas lights.

“Okay, wait.” William leaned forward, holding up both hands. “Vynce, you said all of that way too fast. Mark is Wavelength?”

“Yeah.” Vyncent nodded, dead serious.

“But also working with Tide?”

“Also, yes. I think to take down Overlord.”

“And somehow Mark, as Wavelength, ended up shooting Dakota, as Red, and put him into a coma?”

“Yeah, you’ve got it,” Vyncent confirmed, finally plopping down into the chair William normally sat in. The chair gave a small squeak like it didn’t approve either.

“Wow. What a mess.” William laughed, a sharp little bark of disbelief. “Dakota already hates Mark. He’s really going to hate him after this.”

“Yeah…” Vyncent trailed off, staring down at his knees. “I also like… almost killed Mark.”

“What?” William’s laugh caught in his throat.

“Yeah… you weren’t there for that.” Vyncent’s voice was casual, but his eyes flicked to the floor, almost ashamed. “Guess that’s the reason why Dakota started wearing fingerless gloves.”

William’s brows knitted. “Those cuts on his hands from Hartawa?”

“That was from stopping my sword.”

The silence stretched, thick with things unspoken. William’s mouth opened, then shut again before he finally asked, “Do you… want to talk about it?”

Vyncent crossed his arms, leaning back with a little huff. “I’m just going to call us even now after what happened with Dakota. Ashe Is trying to get Mark to apologize when Dakota wakes up.”

“That’s fair.” William let out a half-smile, half-grimace. The two just sat there in the hospital room, processing this new revelation. Even in the middle of everything, they found themselves caught between tragedy and absurdity. “So, what else do you want to know? About what happened.”

“Whatever you feel like sharing, I guess.” Vyncent shrugged, his gaze drifting to the ceiling for a moment before returning to William. “I really just don’t know what I’m supposed to ask at this point.”

“I think Dakota has been living by himself for a really long time, probably since we’ve known him.” William started, fingers twitching nervously against the arm of the chair. “He was in a really bad state when I found him. He had a crazy high fever, and his words were slurring together.” He shivered at the memory, glancing over at Dakota, peacefully asleep. Not shaking, not seizing, not beading with sweat. He was okay.

“He begged me not to take him to the hospital. He said he didn’t want to wake up by himself.” William paused, running a hand through his hair. “He mentioned before, as Red, that he fell off a roof and… I guess I can understand how much that—” He took an uneasy breath,  shaking his head to clear the thought. “Anyway. He woke up in the hospital after falling off that roof. He said that no one came to get him. I think he’s scared something like that will happen again.”

Vyncent leaned back slightly as he processed the words. “Do you think he’s been alone since he got his powers?”

William nodded slowly, eyes following a crack in the ceiling. “Or even longer than that, if no one came to get him. Oh, also, that heart rate monitor is wrong, by the way.” Vyncent squinted at the screen beside Dakota, not knowing it was to begin with

“Dakota’s heartbeat is way faster than that,” William explained

“Will.” Vyncent stood, pacing a few steps before stopping beside him. He paused, taking a deep breath, then, without warning, wrapped William in a tight hug. His grip was firm but comforting. William stiffened for a moment, then relaxed. He felt safe with Vyncent. “I’m really glad you found him,” Vyncent murmured, voice muffled against William’s shoulder.

“Yeah. Me too.” William breathed back

Vyncent sniffled quietly, pulling back just enough to wipe at his eyes with the back of his hand. He swallowed and took another small breath. I was really scared. I still am.” His gaze flicked to the floor, then to Dakota. “I’m worried about Dakota, Ashe, and you. When Dakota didn’t show up at school, I was really worried. I can’t be at two places at once.”

“I—I’m sorry.” William said softly.

“It’s okay. I know you were going through a lot, too.” Vyncent forced a small, shaky smile. “I know this is really selfish of me, but I miss my mom. I feel like she would know what to say to everyone right now. I really miss her a lot.” His voice cracked slightly, and he looked down at his hands. “I can’t say that to Ashe or Dakota because…,” he swallowed harshly, “you guys are all I have right now, so I need you all to be okay.” His shoulders shook as he cried softly. William stayed still, resisting the urge to wipe the tears from Vyncent’s face.

“I think the Greats are—” Vyncent faltered, biting his lip and glancing at the floor. “You know… we can just talk about it all when Dakota wakes up.” He rubbed his eyes with the heels of his hands and took a shuddering breath. “Does he know that we are his team?” Vyncent asked quietly, tilting his head slightly, the question heavy in the air.

“I don’t think so.” William shook his head softly. 

“Then we’ll tell him together when he wakes up.”

Notes:

Okay, if I can keep up writing entire chapters in one day, then we might be okay during the school year. I know that there are already an egregious number of errors in this story, but bear with me here. I just want to get content out to you all. This might end up being my "September" post, so if you don't see a chapter posted in September, it's just because school became way too busy. (i love writing this fic, so I doubt it will be that long) Enjoy Dakota being in a coma for the time being!

Comments, Kudos, and Bookmarks are always appreciated <3
(Mostly the comments, because nothing improves my day more than seeing an email from Ao3 in my inbox that says someone commented on my newest chapter)

Hope you are having a wonderful Day/Night!

Chapter 21: Going Out

Summary:

Ghostknife. That's it.

Notes:

Honestly? I don't think there are any major TW's! Enjoy the mostly fluff.

Vyncent was worried about William. It had been exactly one week since Dakota was admitted to the hospital. The nurse had explained to William that there was no chance of Dakota waking up within that first week, but that hadn’t stopped William from spending every moment he could at Dakota’s side.

He and Vyncent had fallen into a routine. Vyncent would collect all of William’s homework and bring it to him at the hospital. He would then sit with William and Dakota until he headed home after the sun set. During this time, Vyncent slowly saw William grow worse. If that was even possible.

William already looked terrible, but there was a point where Vyncent thought that William should be the one in the hospital bed instead of Dakota. His dark hair was matted and greasy. His eyes looked sunken, ringed with purple bags that hadn’t faded in days. His skin was so pale it nearly looked translucent in the hospital light. Even his shirt seemed to hang off him more than it should have, like he was slowly disappearing inside it. Vyncent knew William couldn’t do much about those things, but it still hurt to look at him.

Vyncent expected to fall back into the same routine again. Go inside, sit down, work through homework with Will. Maybe try to encourage him to eat, shower, rest, anything. It never worked, but Vyncent always tried.

However, when he arrived that evening, he froze. Someone was already standing in the hallway outside the room. David. He was well dressed, wearing a neat suit that made him look out of place in the hospital. In his hands were two drinks: one a to-go coffee cup, the other, some sort of juice in a plastic bottle dripping with condensation. David didn’t look impatient, exactly. More like he was waiting for something. Or someone.

Vyncent blinked. He had never once spoken one-on-one with David. William always tried to keep everyone away from his brother for some reason. Most of the time Vyncent only saw David in passing, like David was the ghost instead of William.

“You’re Vyncent, right?” David greeted, lifting two fingers from the cold bottle in a casual wave. “Will’s friend.”

“Uhh, yeah.” Vyncent nodded, caught off guard by the interaction.

“I’m David, William’s brother.” Vyncent studied him closely. At first glance, David and William didn’t look much alike. A few features, sure, the line of the jaw, maybe the shape of the eyes, but nothing obvious. You had to be told they were related before you could catch the resemblance.

“I was wondering if you could try to convince William to come home for a bit?” David asked. His tone was polite but edged with concern. “Or maybe offer to stay with Dakota so he doesn’t feel bad leaving him?”

“Oh… um, I can try.” Vyncent agreed, already having thought about suggesting the same thing himself. “I can’t guarantee he’ll listen to me, though.”

“I appreciate the effort.” David’s smile was small, polite, a little tired. He shifted the drinks in his hands. “One other question.” He hesitated, choosing his words carefully, “I know that William hasn’t been… eating well. Does he drink anything?”

“Yeah,” Vyncent confirmed. “Mostly energy drinks. I don’t remember the last time I saw him drink water.”

“Well, I got him an apple juice.” David extended the bottle toward him. “I really don’t know what he likes and what he doesn’t, but at some point he liked apple juice. Ma asked me to keep some around in case he visited.” His mouth pulled into a faint smile, like the memory was half-pleasant, half-painful. “I would’ve gotten him a coffee too, just for something different, but I don’t know how he takes it.”

“I think he’d probably just drink it black,” Vyncent said, almost joking. “He’d probably drink any coffee you gave him.”

“Does the caffeine… help?” David asked, squinting at him slightly, like he was speaking in some code Vyncent might not fully understand.

“I’m not sure what you mean.” Vyncent stated. He didn’t know how much David knew but clearly more than he had before, and Vyncent wasn’t sure how much to share. It seems David was in a similar circumstance, like he didn’t want to accidentally say something he shouldn’t. “Might help if you ask him.” 

“Right,” David nodded. “I’ll try. Just… try and get him to come home?” 

“Will do.” Vyncent agreed, taking the apple juice and turning towards Dakota’s hospital room. 

There was always a part of Vyncnet that hoped he would walk into the room an see Dakota awake and talking with William. He had to squash his hopes everytime he entered. Dakota remained the same. He still slept there, oxygen mask hissing at an even rate. 

William was huched forward leaning so his elbows were resting on Dakota’s bed. His arms were folded and his head was resting on them. To anyone else, they probably assumed William was asleep. Will sighed and sat up when he heard Vyncnet enter. 

“Hey,” Vyncent greeted, he handed the bottle of apple juice and assignments to William as he entered. He then picked up all of William’s completed work from the near by table to take it back to school with him on Monday. 

“Apple juice?” William questioned as he looked down at the label. 

“Your brother actually gave it to me to give to you.” Vyncent explained, while placing neatly his homework on the table in the room, muscle memory taking over. “He- Will, how much does he know?” William tensed for a moment, shoulders tightening. “Not that… Like it’s okay, man. I just don’t know what to say to him.” 

“...Well, he doesn’t know about you.” William expanded, as he got up to join Vyncent at the tiny table. “H-he knows that I died… twice. He knows that I’m the Whisperer. And he knows that Dakota is Red.” William shifted uncomfortably as he sat down at the pastic chair oppposide of Vyncnet. “Sorry, it’s a lot more than I’d like for him to know.” William's head tilted down, chin to his chest, almost ashamed

“I think its good.” Vyncent stated, this caused William’s head to whip up to look at him. “I mean, I think it’s good for you to have someone else to support you. There were plenty of nights that if i didn’t have Ashe, I don’t know what i would have done. I also like… always have people with me in my brain too. but, David seemed worried about you when I spoke with him.” Vyncent set his pencil down, knowing that he wasn’t going to get work done right now. “He was wondering if you would come home for a bit?” 

“Vynce, I can’t leave.” William shook his head, glancing back down at the hole he was drilling into his paper with his pencil. “Especially now. Now that he could be walking up ” 

“Okay. Give me your phone.” Vyncent ordered, holding out his hand. 

“What! why?” William asked, but he was still digging for it in his pocket to hand to Vyncnet.

“I’m going to call Ashe and he is going to to stay here with Dakota for the day.” Vyncent decided. “And you and I are going to go so something after you go home and take a shower.” 

“Vyncent, Is it even a good idea to have Ashe at this hospital. What if they get sick?” William asked, as if trying to defend himself in a court case. 

“Ashe will be fine. You are starting to sound like Mark!” Vyncnet sighed running a hand down his face. “Just go out with me today. Just the two of us. Come on, school has been so boring with out you, man,  and i’m worried about you spending all your time here.” Williams face flashed a bright red, the color of a cherry tomato. For  a moment he couldn’t tell if William was breathing. He thought that he might need to call a nurse in for him, but William just made a small squeak and then said. 

“Okay.” He let out a huge breath, removing all that previous tension. “As soon as Ashe gets here, we can go.” William looked back at Dakota, guilty look on his face. “I just… We can't let him be alone.”

“I know.” Vyncent acknowledged. “He won’t be.” 

Ashe arrived about twenty minutes later along with Mark. Vyncent couldn’t imagine Dakota being very happy about waking up to Mark in the same space, but there was Ashe there to also help aid if Dakota did wake up today. 

Vyncent walked with William to his house and they agreed to meet back up in about two hours. Vyncent said that he would figure out what they were going to do tonight so William didn’t have to worry about it. 

-

The shower was pleasant The warmth soaked into his skin and loosened the stiffness in his body, scalding water running over him like it could wash away a week’s worth of emotions. But when he stepped out, and began toweling dry his hair, William felt that tight knot of guilt in his stomach return. He tried to swallow it back, tried to ignore it the way he ignored everything else.

He should be with Dakota. Ashe was there now, and that was enough to keep the worst of the guilt at bay, but still… William wanted to be the one at his bedside when he woke up. The words “Please. No Hospital. I don’t want’a be alone. I can’t” played like a broken record in his head. He remembered every part perfectly, the begging, the feverish panic, the awful sobs that shook Dakota’s body. He remembered holding him and feeling powerless. He tried not to gag at the memory. Every detail was etched into his mind too deeply to erase, playing again and again no matter how hard he tried to think about something else. 

He hesitated at his closet. He had half a mind to cancel his… what was it, even? A date? No. Vyncent probably didn’t even mean it like that. Vyncent didn’t know allthe culture, the correct phrasing, of words on Prime. He probably just wanted to get Will out of the hospital for a night. It wasn’t romantic… probably. And yet, William stood there longer than he should have, staring at his clothes like it mattered. Like Vyncent might notice.

He settled on an old band tee from a concert he’d gone to last year, a black bomber jacket, and distressed black jeans with a chain belt. The shirt was comfortably worn, soft in a way that made him feel less breakable. His curls were damp but no longer plastered to his head with grease and sweat. For the first time in a week, he looked somewhat alive. A knock startled him. David’s voice filtered through the wood. 

 “William? You here?”

“I’m here.” Will opened the door. David stood there with a sigh of visible relief, his expression softening as he took in William’s cleaned-up state.

“You’re looking better now,” David said, gesturing vaguely at him, his clothes, his posture, or maybe just the fact that he didn’t look like a corpse. “I never really knew what to bring you at the hospital. I just grabbed whatever looked comfortable.”

“It was good. Thank you.” William nodded, shifting awkwardly under his brother’s gaze. “And uh… thanks for the apple juice.”

“I’d bring you something different if you let me know what you like,” David offered. “Vyncent said you drink coffee?”

“Yeah.” William rubbed the back of his neck. “I like lattes. But I’d also just take it black.” David hummed thoughtfully. 

“Does the caffeine… help you? With not sleeping? I thought if it did, maybe we could try melatonin, see if it forces your body into rest.” Will blinked at him, surprised at how clinical it sounded. Like he’d done research for him. 

“Oh… well. I don’t really think caffeine helps. Sometimes I pretend it does, like a placebo, but…” he trailed off with a shrug. “I feel about the same.” David tilted his head, studying him like a puzzle. 

“Have you thought about injection dosages? I could probably get a shot of melatonin for you.” The suggestion made William stiffen. Involuntary recoil.

 “David, I appreciate it… but that’s… I’m scared of doing that. I’m scared of going to sleep…I-” His voice cracked as he remembered the time he’d been shot, how it felt to claw his way back into his body. That horrifying darkness. “I don’t want to do that.” David hesitated, then backed off. 

“Okay. Just… think about it,” he said gently. “It might help you live with whatever’s going on.” William’s throat tightened at the wording. ‘Live with.’ Cruel, unintentional irony. He wasn’t even sure he was alive anymore. The phrase clung to him.

“Sure,” William muttered, though he’d already decided otherwise. He glanced toward the door. “I’m meeting Vyncent tonight. I’ll go back to the hospital afterward, but we might stop back here first.” David raised a brow. 

“Oh, is that why you’re dressed so nice?” William froze.

 “What?” Heat rushed to his face.

“...Will, are you…” David hesitated, clearly choosing his words and failing to find the right one to put at the end of the sentence. William’s ears burned. 

“I’m not having this conversation with you right now,” he snapped, trying to avoid the awkward situation. “I’m hanging out with Vyncent tonight. I don’t know if we’ll be back before the hospital. Uh bye." He fired the words out in one breath,  and slipped past David out the door before his brother could say another word.

In the lobby, waiting for Vyncent, William rubbed at his face with both hands. His heart was still hammering. He told himself it was fine, that it didn’t matter. But he couldn’t shake the guilt of leaving Dakota behind, or the nervous flutter of what tonight with Vyncent might mean.

The first thing he noticed when he saw Vyncent arrive was that he had also changed. He was wearing some cargo pants held up by a belt and a black shirt that looked to be slightly cropped. Over the top he wore a purple puffer jacket that he really should have zipped up. It was far to cold in this December weather. He must have borrowed one of Ashe’s beanies too since that was placed over his head and his hair was tied in a lower ponytail. Vyncent’s hair always looked silky and perfect. William swears he’s probably better than most girls at putting his hair up. 

Vyncent smiled at William when he saw him. He think’s its the first time since Dakota has been in the hospital that he’s seen Vyncent actually smile. “You look nice!” Vyncnet said. 

“Well it’s easier to look better than how I did before.” William shrugged. Trying his best not to preen at the complement. “And you look nice too.” William added before his brain could tell him not to. 

“Well, I figured you might dress nice, so I was trying to match you.” Vyncent explained casually. “You ready?” gesturing for William to follow him out the door. 

“Yeah.” He agreed, and jogged slightly to match Vyncent’s stride. “What did you decide on?”

“Well It’s okay with you, I want to go iceskating. I want to do all the winter things while I’m here.” Williams heart twisted with the phase ‘while I’m here.’ He knows Vyncnet will have to go back home eventually. It’s not fair to keep him here if he doesn’t want to stay. It doesn’t matter how much William wants to ask him to stay here instead, he wouldn’t do that to him. 

“Yeah. I’d love to go ice skating with you, Vynce.” William agreed, smiling at him. 

-

The rink was buzzing with life. The scrape of blades rang out sharp against the ice. laughter and the muffled thrum of holiday music bounced off the ceiling. Strings of white lights crisscrossed overhead, casting a glow that reflected in the sheen of the rink like stars scattered across glass. The cold was crisp and clean, but the sweet smells of popcorn and hot chocolate drifted from concession stand.

William was laughably bad on ice skates. Even before he made it onto the rink, he was stumbling awkwardly on the blades, his arms flailing as though balance was something he’d left behind on solid ground. The floor itself felt like it was conspiring against him, and by the time they stepped out onto the ice proper, he was already hugging the railing like it might save his life.

Vyncent looked like he’d been skating for years. The moment his skates touched the ice, he was gliding smoothly, weaving between slower skaters with grace. There were a few moments where he fumbled but he looked beautiful.

Meanwhile, William was dragging himself around the rink wall barely managing half a lap. Vyncent had already passed him twice, each time looping back with a grin. This time, he slowed down and stopped in front of him, extending a hand.

“Come on. It will be easier if you hold my hand instead of the wall.”

William stared at the offered hand. His heart was pounding, and for a moment he wasn’t sure if he was more terrified of falling or of what would happen if he touched Vyncent. Slowly, he let go of the wall and slipped his hand into Vyncent’s.

Vyncent’s fingers curled around his instantly, firm and steady. The warmth of his grip was startling but pleasant. He tugged gently, pulling William away from the railing, and William felt his body lurch into motion. He wasn’t really skating more so being pulled along by Vyncent.

“How are you so good at everything?” William muttered. It wasn’t anger in his voice, just awe. Vyncent laughed, the sound carrying over the rink.

 “I’m not. Will, you literally have to help me on every homework project I get.”

“Vynce, you’re from a different world. You know like 4 different languages. Considering that, you are doing amazing at school.” William countered, trying not to trip as Vyncent pulled him into another loop. “You’re good at being a hero too.”

“Yeah, well I also got like poisoned on the trip to Hartawa and also almost killed the person who’s been taking care of me…”

“Again, Vyncent, you just didn’t know.” William’s voice softened. “You’re a lot better at talking to people than me, and you’re level-headed and…”

“Well. I kinda have to talk to people all the time. I’m stuck with them. And I also overthink like everything or, I don’t think about it at all and I just do it.” Vyncent explained. “I’ve been told I can be… dense. I think it’s just… I don’t think I’m naturally gifted with any of that stuff. I was raised and trained and in a way, being here just feels like more training and I know how to do that. I’ve had to work hard to be the things that people want me to be.”

“Sorry, Vynce… I didn’t mean to… I don’t mean to make it sound like you aren’t putting in the work. I just think that you are amazing because you have. That you are willing to try things and do things.” Vyncent slowed to a stop, blinking at William. The normal confidence slipped from his face. A small, almost fragile smile tugged at his lips. 

“Thanks. I—I’ve been thinking lately because…” His words tangled, and he nearly tripped, forcing William to steady him for once.

“What were you saying?” William asked, once he was steady again

“Oh… um I’ve been thinking about you.” Vyncent said. William froze, his breath catching. The noise of the rink seemed to fall away, his heartbeat pounding in his ears.

 “...What about me?”

“That I…” Vyncent stuttered. He let go of William’s hand, pressing both of his own to his temples as if trying to hold his thoughts together. “That… fuck there’s a lot going on. I just… the Greats are I don’t know, fading I guess. And I was going to wait until Dakota was awake because I don’t want to put more on your plate, man, but I don’t know if I can. I-I think they are going to die unless I can figure out how to get back home.”

“Fuck, Vynce. Don’t feel like you need to hide that!” William blurted. “If there is anything that I can do to help, I will.”

“I don’t want to leave you.” Vyncent confessed, eyes glossy as he looked directly at him. “If it’s only a one way trip… then…”

“You got here before, you could do it again.” William consoled, though his chest twisted painfully with every word. He had no right asking Vyncent to stay, no matter how much he wanted to.

“I’m sorry, man, I’m supposed to be cheering you up and I’m probably just making everything—” Vyncent began, but William reached out instinctively touch and console him and that was when his skates betrayed him. His legs shot out from beneath him, sending him forward with a startled yelp. Vyncent reacted instantly, looping his arms under William’s to catch him before he could crash into the ice.

William clutched at him, trying to steady himself. When he lifted his head to say thank you, their noses brushed. Then their lips. Just the briefest, spark. Soft, slightly startling, and gone almost as soon as it happened.

Both froze and then instantly turned away from each other. Heat flooded William’s face, hotter than the flush of skating. He stumbled back a step, words tumbling out. 

“Sorry. I-I didn’t… thanks for catching me.”

“Yeah um… Do you want to get some hot chocolate?” Vyncent suggested, struggling to look back at Vyncent.  

““Yeah, sounds good.” William nodded. His voice was soft, almost relieved for the excuse to do something normal.

Vyncent grabbed his hand again, not even asking this time, and pulled him along. The gesture was casual on the surface, but William could only focus on the warmth of his palm. He had expected Vyncent to let go once they stepped off the ice, but he didn’t. He only released him once they sat on a bleacher, Vyncent crouching down to untie his own skates and then William’s. 

William blinked when Vyncent scooped both pairs up and returned them to the counter without a word. When he came back, he didn’t hesitate, his hand found William’s again, their fingers lacing together like it was the most natural thing in the world.

The two didn’t say anything as they made their way to the concession stand. The line moved slowly, giving William too much time to notice the heat of Vyncent’s palm pressed against his cold, almost numb hand. He glanced down when he felt Vyncent squeeze tighter. Vyncent didn’t look at him, gaze fixed ahead, but the pressure didn’t ease. It was like if he let go, William might dissolve into the crowd.

Vyncent ordered the drinks, paid in cash, and only released him long enough to pass over the steaming cup. The moment William’s fingers brushed the paper sleeve, Vyncent latched back on, clutching his hand again with a determination that made William’s chest ache. He felt bad. He knew his skin was icy, but Vyncent held on anyway.

They found a bench by the rink, the glow of string lights reflecting off the ice, painting both their faces in pale silver and gold. William sat, curling his chilled fingers carefully around the hot chocolate while their other hands stayed intertwined.

“Is this okay?” Vyncent asked at last, his eyes still fixed stubbornly on the skaters looping around the rink. His voice wavered, but his grip didn’t loosen.

“Yeah. I’m okay with this.” William nodded, watching their joined hands instead of the ice.

“I-I like holding your hand.” Vyncent admitted, finally daring to look at him. His voice cracked slightly, but his gaze was steady. “I just, I feel better when I do.”

William’s throat tightened. The words spilled before he could hold them back.
“Vyncent, I like you. And you… I feel like you might feel the same too. And not the way you like a friend. I like you more than that. And like… I don’t know if you… if you liked guys and like maybe you don’t, that’s okay. And I know everything is a mess right now and Dakota is—”

“Will.” Vyncent interrupted, gently but firmly. “Remember when I was saying I do impulsive things?”

“...yes?” William replied cautiously, heart thudding hard enough he thought it might shake the cup in his hands.

Vyncent set his hot chocolate aside on the bench and tugged William closer. The pull was slow but steady, a clear invitation rather than a demand. William’s breath caught, and his eyes fluttered shut just as Vyncent closed the distance.

Warm lips met cold ones. William felt the contrast immediately—Vyncent’s face soft and heated from skating, his own skin still chilled from hours in the hospital. Vyncent didn’t hold him there, his grip light enough that William could pull away if he wanted. But he didn’t. He stayed, letting himself sink into the warmth, savoring it as though he could thaw the frozen parts of himself.

When they finally parted, both of them looked at each other with wide eyes, fighting not to break into awkward laughter. Their breaths mingled in the cold air, fogging between them.

“Was that okay?” Vyncent asked, voice hushed and uncertain. “I-I should have asked.”

“Yeah,” William smiled, “Yeah.” He said again unable to stop the curve of his lips even if he tried. The two sat there for a while, watching the skaters loop around the rink. “We are going to have a lot to tell Dakota when he wakes up.” William joked. 

“Next time we should bring Dakota to the rink with us.” Vyncent added. “I bet he could do Laps around everyone.” 

“We should probably get back to him. Dakota. I still just…” William’s hands shook talking about it. Thinking about it. Vyncnet squeezed his hand tighter. 

“It’s going to be okay, man” Vyncent assured. “I’ll walk back to the hospital with you. I’m sure Dakota will be up soon.”

Notes:

Listen. Okay, I see that picture of Condi and Charlie looking longingly at each other for the unwittness protection program promo, and I love it, but I know that Condi is not playing Vyncent, and it pains me in a way that I did not know I could experience. Anyway, enjoy ghostknife. I really ignored most of the plot in this chapter, like they were supposed to talk to each other more about some stuff, but Wiwi is a little desperate gay boy who needed the love, so that's been pushed to the next chapter. Also, the reason why Vyncent likes holding onto his hand so much is because he feels like he's losing everything, and he likes to have the assurance that William is here with him and tangible. They all have so much trauma to work through, but hey, at least William knows about the issue with the Greats!

Anyway, I wrote this instead of sleeping, and I've got school tomorrow. I'm lucky that I can use caffeine.

Comments, Kudos, and bookmarks are always appreciated <3

Have a wonderful day/night!

Notes:

I hope you enjoyed this Chapter! It's mostly a character study of Dakota's past. I promise next chapter we will have all the silly little superhero boys together.

If you liked this chapter, please consider leaving a comment. They literally make my day. I can not describe the sheer amount of joy I get from seeing a comment. I try to reply to all of them too!

Bookmarks and kudos are always appreciated too. <3

Also, Happy Holidays for whatever you celebrate!