Chapter Text
Nothing left, now I'm feeling numb… And just like you, I couldn't love someone.
Booted feet stumbled…
Tall body crashing into one of the walls of the narrow alleyway.
Blood splattering onto uneven, worn, asphalt. Staining the wall red.
A quiet thick curse left bloodied, chapped lips.
He didn’t have time to fall now!
He had a matter of utmost importance to deal with before he would let himself keel over!
A bloodstained hand, left the side it had been gripping, to instead slap against the worn, peeling, plaster on one of the tall concrete walls of the building, to steady themselves.
He hissed as his arm gave out, slumped against it with his shoulder.
A wet cough.
Filling his mouth with more blood that he spat out onto the already dirtied ground.
She had really done it now.
If he had known things would go to shit this quickly- he would have made popcorn…
As it were…
In the narrow, mostly forgotten, alley between two big skyscrapers of the Metropolis…
Darkness was drawing closer at the edges of his vision, threatening him with a good time.
Unless he did something about his steadily growing blood loss.
He ground his teeth in a snarl.
Stumbling over his booted feet again.
Almost falling over, before stomping the ground hard to stay upright.
Jarring every wound covering his body.
“Fffffffffffffuuuuuuuuuck-” he hissed. Voice rough and raspy from the bleeding cuts that marred his throat.
Her bastards had tried to cut his fucking head off!
After turning him into a sieve with all the bullets they shot through him!
He stumbled again.
He mutely hoped the rookie was okay.
The last thing he remembered seeing of them, was catching the sight of the shock of colour that was their orange jacket, as they booked it out of the pub’s secret back door. Just before the pub was set ablaze by her goons.
They weren’t a team, per se.
Not like that.
They weren’t heroes…
Hero's had teams.
Whatever they had going on wasn’t a team.
It was something…
but he had no idea what to really call it.
They weren’t the good guys.
Frivolous childish wants like “friends” or “family” was not something they had the fortune of wishing for, having or keeping.
Any point of weakness could be dangerous, exploited or blackmailed.
He coughed again
Crashing his other shoulder first into the brick wall on the other side of the narrow alley.
Curse his weakened heart.
It was making him act fucking stupid…
Instead of finding some dark burrow to hide in, in order to lick his wounds…
He was going to grovel at their fucking feet.
He shook his head. Dark, blood soaked hair, falling into his eyes. The shock of white, now tinted pink, made him blink sluggishly.
An exhausted, breathy laugh left his lips.
Would he gain more white hairs?
Or just add more scars to his ever growing collection?
The alley he had been stumbling along was coming to an end.
The light from the good sunny bright side of the Metropolis was blinding from there he stood, still hunkered in the cold, uncaring shadows.
A bloody grin spread on his lips when he caught sight of the tall skyscraper belonging to the Hero Society’s main hub, seeming to almost glow as it reflected the sunlight, with all it's windows.
He, despite that, couldn’t help but compare it to an ant hill or termite nest.
He closed his eyes.
Letting the pain settle for just a moment.
He was almost there.
He kept his eyes closed.
Tipping his head back with a slow exhale.
Bringing forth his morning star from the void like pocket space he kept it in.
Gently gripping the well worn leather of the handle
Letting the heavy, spiked head slam into the ground, leaving a dent in the concrete.
He rolled back his shoulders, taking a deep breath.
Ignoring the pain that came from all the wounds all over his body, and the urge to cough.
He took another, deeper breath.
Filling his slowly collapsing lungs with fresh air.
The wounds all over his body started to bubble and frizzle, as if someone had poured green dyed water over baking soda.
The bubbles and frizzle grew louder, before the reaction goop shrank away and vanished.
Revealing freshly healed scarred skin, pink and irritated in places.
The only thing showing he had ever been wounded in the first place were the gashes and holes all over his clothes, oh- and the blood.
He couldn’t help but laugh, a slightly manic tinge to it.
Screw his stupid heart.
He would grovel.
He would beg.
He would do anything if it meant they would help…
He stepped out into the light.
A long step, as if dramatically stepping off an escalator.
Stomping hard onto the ground when his foot landed, making the concrete crack underneath his boot.
Shattering into pieces, once he kicked off, with a strong leap.
Sending himself shooting up into the air with a loud screech.
He distantly heard the civilians screams of terror over the roar of the wind blowing past his ears, but he had no care for them.
It wasn’t part of his plan to be a menace to society today.
The stories of the skyscraper flew by.
He started to slow his ascend as he neared the right floor.
He twisted to pull his morning star behind him and with a loud cackle, threw himself to attacked the big window.
The glass cracked-
fractured-
and shattered into million tiny sharp pieces.
His reflection turned from one to a thousands.
Reflecting blood stained frazzled hair, wilder than normal.
Dark eye bags from exhaustion, badly hidden under purple eyeshadow.
A manic grin, still full of blood.
But most of all it revealed almost neon glowing green eyes
full of urgency and panic.
- o -
The day started calm and a tranquil, atmosphere relaxed an safe.
A beautiful day, not too hot or too cold, sky a clear baby blue with minimal clouds in sight.
None of the four heroes of the Spectral Squad had any inkling that their day of calm would be shattered and thrown into unprecedented chaos.
In the main hub of the Hero Society’s skyscraper. Located on the 30th floor.
Not high enough to make Stormcloud’s fear of heights start to mess with his powers, but still high enough you got a nice view of the Metropolis’s glorious skyline.
The name for their team had been chosen by Bifrost, way before Neuron and Stormcloud joined their team, back when it was only him and Heartbeat.
It was written in a beautiful font at the door to their office.
He had struggled over the letters, size and font, for five weeks to make sure it was perfect.
Now it only required upkeep to make sure the paint wasn't faded, cracking or peeling.
The living space was more than just an office, it held several rooms, a kitchen with the necessities, as well as two bathrooms. Some of the rooms still stood mostly empty or were used as storage space.
Heartbeat was the one who added most of the, at first unnecessary, but later on cherished, furniture.
Along with decorations and plants, making the office space become less of a soulless collection of office rooms and more of an apartment someone could call home.
The other’s general vicinity in the shared space, added their own touches to the atmosphere.
There were always some of Bifrost’s craft materials or sketches for future weapons or creations to make strewn about, or the random piece of clothing he was fixing or mending for his hero costume.
Random electronic scraps, the random book or blueprints belonging to Neuron, taking up random flat surfaces, controlled in the uncontrolled chaos.
Even Stormcloud had put his own mark on the place, here and there the random Halloween decoration still stuck around all year long. Together with the random glove, cape or hoodie, giving the space a pop of purple to its myriad of already existing colours.
As it were…
Stormcloud sat slumped over the kitchen table, scrolling on his phone, hood of his cape down off his head.
Doing his best to tune out Bifrost’s and Neuron’s argument. The two were fully consumed in checking over one of Bifrost’s newest weapon ideas.
Some kind of laser or energy gun, the details were still blurry, and Stormcloud really didn’t want to ask… the risk of getting pulled into the argument himself, far too great.
Neuron pointed out all the flaws that would make the gun not able to work, while pointing out what needed to be changed or modified for it to actually function, resulting in a complete redesign of said gun.
While Bifrost just kept repeating that it would work, because he would make it so that it would work, while keeping the design as is for the gun.
And round and round they went.
Heartbeat might have intervened in the past, but he had grown used to their bickering.
Now he was moving about in the apartment, watering plants by the windows, humming to himself. Only interfering if the two heroes started to get loud or threaten to get physical in their disagreements.
A shadow flew by the window.
The sunlight falling through the window to land on the floor flickered momentarily from the shadows distortion.
Stormcloud blinked, frowning slightly.
It could have been a bird’s shadow he'd seen…
but no bird was that big.
Alarms started ringing in the back of his mind.
He pushed himself away from the table while throwing his phone onto the table with a clatter, pushing back the chair to scrape against the floor.
Something was wrong-
Only problem was he had no idea what
but something was going on-
The shadow suddenly returned, this time descending, growing in size.
Stormcloud acted before he had time to think.
He reached out a hand, wind swirling from the palm of his hand out his fingertips whooshing out and wrapping around the light blue themed hero, sending him flying across the room. The watering can was sent flying from the sudden motion, hitting the floor with a clatter, splashing water everywhere.
Heartbeat himself landed with a yelp in a disorientated heap behind the younger hero, one of the ends of his scarf landing over his head, cushioned by another gust of air that curled protectively around them both.
Neither Heartbeat, Neuron nor Bifrost had time to question why Stormcloud did that-
before the big window,
Shattered into a myriad of glittering pieces.
Raining down over the floor and plants
Reflecting the sunlight like tiny burning stars
Attacking the whole main room with an army of tiny rainbows.
Followed by the metallic glint of a familiar morning star, and the green and black mass of a body.
It crashed in a heap onto the floor amongst the glass
Unmoving.
The sound of the window shattering was enough to snap Bifrost and Neuron out of their bickering.
Neuron grabbed the closest thing within his reach, a stapler, while Bifrost summoned his sword and shield in the blink of an eye.
Stormcloud's protective shield of wind, kept him and Heartbeat safe from the rain of glass.
The body twitched before it started to shuffle with a small cackle.
The Heroes stilled
They knew that laugh.
“Kraken!?” Neuron and Stormcloud blurted out at the same time.
The morning star vanished through the floor, once more swallowed up by the void pocket.
As bloodied hands were placed palms down, against the wooden floor.
“You- You Fiend! Why are you here?!” Bifrost screeched, pointing the tip of his sword at his twin.
Kraken didn’t reply to his brother's angry cry, instead pushing himself up from where he had face planted on to the floor, into a sitting position.
A bloody body-print, staining the wooden floorboards where he had landed. Surrounded by the myriad of shards of glass.
His expression was tired but manic, random pieces of glass sticking to his blood stained skin and clothes.
The shards still on the floor dug into his legs there he sat, threatening to cut the fishnets he was wearing underneath his shorts and complicated legwarmers.
If he felt the glass cut into his skin he made no grand show of noticing it.
“You’re covered in blood?!” Heartbeat called, having managed to get back on his feet, now peering over Stormcloud’s shoulder, eyes wide behind his rose tinted visor.
“Did you kill someone?!” Bifrost accused, waving his sword threateningly in Kraken’s direction.
“Psh, no dumb shit. The blood’s mine-”
“How’s that supposed to be-?!”
“You’re HURT?!” Heartbeat cried as he pushed past a objecting Stormcloud.
Hands starting to glow pale blue from his healing powers activating.
“Woah, woah there pop star-” Kraken barked, waving his arm to get the hero to back off, sending some shards of glass flying and clattering across the floor “Trusting much?!”
Heartbeat meant to answer the green themed neutral power user’s words, but it was turned into a choked off croak of surprise when Stormcloud pulled him back behind him by the scarf.
“I’m fine, don’t touch me!” Kraken barked.
“Why are you actually here, Kraken. Did Ouroboros send you?” Neuron questioned, lowering the office utensil he had grabbed as a weapon. When it became clear that the power user wasn't about to attack them.
Kraken shook himself like a dog, sending more drops of blood flying and glass scattering over the floor.
“No one sent me… I’m not some errand boy you can just send-" Kraken grouched, with a pout, before he held up one finger "But. He is one of the reasons as to why I am here.”
Kraken shuffled there he sat, the pieces of glass crunched underneath him.
The noise grated on the four heroes's ears in the silence that followed.
Bifrost lowered his sword with a confused frown. His bewildered “What?” wasn't addressed as Neuron continued.
“I will need you to elaborate on that, what do you mean?”
Kraken tilted his head to the side as his eyes landed on the dark blue hero.
Neuron wasn’t unnerved by the calculating contemplating stare, he had gotten used to it in the past.
His past history with Ouroboros was still part of his person, fresh in his memory.
Despite how much Hero Society wanted to ignore that specific part of his past and history as a power user.
Kraken sighed, playing with a hole in his sleeve, caused by a knife or bullet, it was hard to tell.
Looking both more tired and annoyed than before.
He glanced up at the four heroes again, before he spoke the words none of them expected to leave between his chapped bloodied lips.
“The Dragon Bitch, took Janny.”
“Wait, wait wait wait! What do you mean she took Ouroboros?!” Stormcloud stressed.
Dropping his protective stance, losing concentration of the wind shield that dissipated into nothing.
“They don’t even like each other?!” he shouted, pushing his hands into his hair.
“Did he go with her on his own accord?” Neuron spoke up, an urge in his tone that told he wanted- no, needed to know the answer to that specific question.
Kraken rolled himself into another position, only to almost fall over when a sense of vertigo struck, before he managed to right himself again with a hand on the floor.
Sure, his powers might have healed the wounds, but his blood loss was still a problem until he had gotten something to eat and a good night's sleep.
He held up his hand in a stop motion, when he heard someone move closer, shaking his head, he didn’t need help.
He would be fine.
He just had to let his body get the memo they weren't actively dying any longer.
“She’s been pestering him to join turfs with her for a long time.” Kraken mused once he was certain he could speak again.
Picking at his teeth with his pinky nail, once more seemingly unbothered by the situation.
The others watched him with varying expressions, swinging between annoyance to uncertainty.
“I guess after you three snatched Sparky back from her clutches again, she grew angry and wasn’t going to take another no as an acceptable answer. Not caring about who actually said it.” he finished with a shrug.
“You didn’t answer my question, Kraken.” Neuron pointed out, voice tight.
Kraken twitched, something dark flashing over his face before he looked at the dark blue hero with a serious expression.
“I don’t know, okay!” he snapped, voice getting the loudest it had been since he arrived “Her goons, led by one of her stupid fucking underlings, just showed up to the pub out of the blue yesterday! Firing their stupid fucking automatic guns and torched the place!”
“They WHAT?!” Stormcloud panicked shout was ignored, as Neuron continued with his questions.
“Was Ouroboros with you when she had them attack the pub?”
“No. He was out on some broker business. I don’t know the details, but he was supposed to be back three days ago...”
“Then how can you be certain it was The Dragon Witch that took him?”
“The villain that contracted Ouro for his broker services. They’ve been getting awfully friendly with her for a while now. She’s likely been buttering them up with money or power.”
Kraken glanced out the broken window. The wind blowing inside making his drying hair sway slightly.
“Janny isn’t the fighting type…”
“So… what are you saying?” Bifrost asked, not following the conversation at all.
Kraken sent him an annoyed glance, but didn’t have to answer himself, as Neuron spoke up instead, he always liked that about the ex-broker, he knew how to connect the dots.
“He’s saying that Ouroboros likely got ambushed by the villain who contracted him for his services, and was likely sold out to The Dragon Witch.” Neuron frowned in thought “When he's in the middle of using his powers… his awareness of his surroundings are lower than normal. It’s not a farfetched theory he was caught by surprise in a moment of weakness.”
“Then why are you here? I was expecting you to rush into the danger, guns blazing.” Stormcloud inquired as he turned his attention from Neuron, back to look at Kraken expression confused, clearly bewildered by Kraken's very presence.
Kraken huffed, with a grimace.
“You’re… heroes…” he started.
Kraken shifted on the floor then, and suddenly he was bowing, deep enough his forehead almost touched the floor.
His grimace wasn't visible to the others, face scrunching up as if the words he was going to speak were fighting him about being actually spat out.
But he had made up his mind.
He was going to grovel.
He was going to beg.
He would do anything if it meant they would help…
“… I need your help. As much as I want to, I can’t save Janny on my own. Please. Help me. I’ll do anything!”
Kraken started when a hand was suddenly placed on his back.
The touch almost burned like a brand through the leather and fabrics of his clothes.
He glanced up with a slight hesitance, finding how Neuron had moved over, crouching at this side, mindful of the glass under the soles his shoes.
“Do you know who he was going to and when? It will help me narrow down the surveillance sphere I have to search through.”
Kraken’s eyes widened and he pushed himself up to stare at the dark blue themed hero.
It could be a trick of the light but Kraken looked like he was about to actually cry.
“Wait, we're actually helping?” Bifrost shocked tone filled the silence.
“It’s only fair we return the favour, they did help us.” Heartbeat spoke with a beaming smile.
“They’re villains!” Bifrost argued. This went against everything they had been taught when becoming Heroes.
"They're not villains." Stormcloud grumbled. "They're both... unaffiliated…"
The noise of loud complaint that left Bifrost's throat at that, sounded like it hurt.
- - o - -