Work Text:
Flug is not sure if he has ever felt this kind of pain before.
I'm not referring to physical pain. By no means, far from it, None of them could even be compared to the pain the scientist was feeling in his earlier hot core..., He had imagined that the physical and psychological pain could be severe, Yet he imagines that this kind of pain was a completely new experience from anything he had ever felt so far, It was a mixture of cold and hot feeling, But it wasn't pleasant, It was cracked and empty, Completely hollow and colorless inside.
It still hurt...Not as much as the shock of recognition it took at the time, But the pain still lingered there, pinned hard against his chest and refusing to let go, All the wave of emotions mixed in a single body staying together himself after they had left the place his mission was assigned.
Even after he was thrown into the ship by dementia and they got out of town as quickly as possible.
The cold feeling was still there.
It was as if she had lodged in her body, in her mind and in her thoughts, Sticking to the broken fragments and filling in the broken and empty holes that remained over her chest, No one really broached the subject for a few hours, Her face was terribly expressionless as they returned to the island, the blank expression and the silence of dementia and 5.0.5 were enough for him to understand the signal and play along, keeping himself in a heavy, tense silence...
Both the image and the sensation still lingered inside his Skull, Trapped in his memories, mocking and mocking himself aloud.
Silence prevailed on the trip.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
It was complicated...
He would have come here the same day a few hours after she was detained and arrested by the police and security agents, Though the visit would have been for his work, Seeking an answer and information for his own dark side, Flug really wished that was it the last time you interacted or even looked at the person behind those rose-flecked protective glasses, Almost the same hue as your cell scribbled with scribbles and drawings and almost completely empty for lack of objects — That's... except for the pen. —
Yet the scientist was here again.
Two days after the news was aired.
Two days after leaving prison and retreating away from the female figure,
Which he swore was the last time he would ever see her again.
But here it was:
Facing the same soft pink cell, Scribbles and writing smeared against the glass and walls of the small transparent room, a depressing sight to behold, although it wasn't so dark, because of the pink color and all, Even your bed it was that cloying pink... Her eyes landed softly on the female figure sitting with her back to her, huddled against herself, Not noticing the presence of the other figure staring at her from the other side of the glass, The short pink hair messed up in places in his head, He sighed approaching in slow steps.
"Hey..."
He said softly, He noticed the woman give a little jump of surprise, Turning her thin face towards him in an expression of Surprise, emotion seemed to run from her vocal cords, yet her voice was low and soft, Almost too small and empty as he expected to leave.
He almost flinched at hearing himself.
The woman looked at him, the surprise on her features was enough to understand that she hadn't expected to see him here a second time, her pupils shrank in acknowledgment, but she didn't move, keeping her back to the man who was staring at her. through that paper bag in your face.
" I-I..." His voice trailed off, he tried again, clearing his throat. "I know you're mad at me."
He said softly, Not really expecting a reaction... She just remained silent, staring at him over her shoulder with her eyes wide.
"But…I couldn't not come to visit you." He said softly, his hands stuffed into the pocket of his dark sweatshirt as his feet swayed gently on the floor.
"I didn't...expect this to happen."
He said, Somberly embarrassed, Lowering his head and keeping his feet on the ground now still, They both knew perfectly well what they were talking about now.
It was almost inevitable anyway.
"Like, you know: You suddenly show up after years and"... Steal my designs and use it against myself, He thought bitterly, Settling for such words echoing in his subconscious. "And...uh" The words died in his throat as he shook his head.
How complicated...
On the other side of the glass the woman lowered her head, Ashamed.
Her arms tightened around her knees that were close to her chest as a shaky, troubled sigh left her lips.
"Kenny..."
Her name escaped her trembling lips, Her voice was hoarse, And she seemed on the verge of crying any second.
Oh no...Flug didn't want someone to collapse in front of him.
That someone who was too important to him, Who swore half his life was close, Someone who understood.
Someone who shared the same thoughts, Someone who shared the same opinions, Someone who did him really good.
And this same someone who took everything and threw it in the trash, Someone who only approached you for sheer self-interest and benefit, Then simply reappeared in your life to give you yet another headache.
He was furious. . .
"I...Just wanted to understand why?" The scientist questions, It was almost possible to hear the sound of his teeth grinding against each other with force. He didn't mind letting the poison escape from his lips covered by the bag's paper.
"Why did you do all this?!, What was the point?, Gain a measly following on your social media and get ME involved in it?."
Anger spills from her lips, Her heart aches, And her head is pounding.
Flug felt the sting in the sides of his eyes building..., NO!, he wouldn't collapse in front of... her.
The woman shrugged, Her eyes widening even more for a brief moment, Shame creeping across her face, As her shoulders hunched sadly, Avoiding eye contact.
Flug let his eyes close for a moment, Before his nostrils drew air into his lungs, The bag still lingering on his face, making him smell the paper he was used to.
"II…" She stutters, the scientist's eyes opening in surprise.'' I'm sorry…'' A wave of sobs started, Before the ex-hero knelt against the floor and collapsed in a wave of cry.
The scientist watched in silence, Feeling his insides twist in his stomach at the sight, As his own heartbeat felt heavy and painful, Flug struggled not to redirect his hand to his chest, Choosing to just watch the weeping woman .
"You used me for years, pretended to be my friend and stole my designs..., and when you thought I wouldn't be useful anymore, You just discarded me as a worthless object, Why?." Flug asked once more, Kneeling down to the ex-heroine's level behind the protective glass of her pink cell.
"Why…II just wanted someone to like me Kenny." A shaky sob escaped her lips, Her body nearing the glass and shrinking against it in annoyance, To where The scientist was kneeling. "Just that..."
He said between tears and Hiccups.
This scared Flug.
He expected everything, Except this, To be honest after so many heroes they've already faced, The stories about "Revenge, use to do good and help those helpless" didn't stick on her:
She Simply stole your research and used it to draw heroes, Villains and civilians into her reach, To applaud her, To give her attention.
To... use them to just raise her own image, That's why the heroes themselves were acting weird for a few months, She manipulated them to make them look inconvenient in public, So there would be fewer popularity contestants, so she was the only good shoe.
Disgusting, Sad, But disgusting.
Flug Had to swallow the bile that rose in his throat.
Although The Scientist...Indeed understands why, Na Black Hat Institute —The place where they studied villainy together as classmates— Used to be...complicated, Obviously during their Teens neither Flug nor Heed...
Not even Cecilia were the most popular students.
Far from it actually.
Two nerds excluded and frowned upon by other peers, Maybe that's what made them both close and end up becoming close friends — Though not to the point where Flug shows him his face, But very close. — So maybe the looks, And the words that both she and Flug received; Both by actions, as appearance had made her insecure with herself.
Unleashed this hatred, And having done what it did for positive attention to its own image, Even if it involved using civilians, Stealing her work and forcing an entire "army" of passionate followers to worship her as their queen.
All so that she would see them just as mere numbers without values.
Gold Heart was apparently the only one that mattered to her, Uh?.
"And for that you used me..."
He concluded, seeing her shrug and look away from the man, Who just looked at her sadly from behind his goggles, In a sigh of annoyance the scientist sat back against the concrete floor leaning his back against the glass, Just keeping you company.
"People really hate me now..." She commented, her face grimacing before her eyes filled with tears again as she struggled against the faint sobs her throat let out, and that was her own fault, maybe she knew that. "H-they..." her voice trailed off and again the woman burst into tears.
The scientist knew perfectly well that it was the truth: Her reputation had been tarnished out there, in the city and in the media, and also why she was here in the first place: not for using her powers to control civilians and heroes, Not for cheating in that competition to become the new representative of the city of Atreno...,but for having Kissed a villain.
For kissing Flug.
It was painful, It was as if he still felt her soft lips against his... he still wanted to question why the kiss, A kiss that she refused to give to her subordinates, and maybe even Gold Heart, Flug he still struggled with sour anguish and confusion: If she loved Gold Heart so much... Why did she kiss him then? ...
His eyes closed wearily and For what seemed like hours he just sat there in a silence almost tense and somehow almost calm, until the woman calmed down and stopped crying, her voice faltered a little, debating between her heart and its logic, before Simply saying:
"Do you remember that time: That we ran for our lives after throwing pink paint and glitter on that classmate who kept teasing us?" the Boy commented, Giving a weak smile.
Oh she remembered, Remembered that day perfectly, Remembered the desperation and adrenaline coursing through her veins as they both fled and rounded the aisles.
A small smile of recognition appeared from behind her bag, their eyes meeting for a second.
"How could I forget? I still remember that tantrum he threw over the glitter."
At that comment Flug let out a weak snort while Cecilia giggled weakly at the memory, And for the first time since she'd been there, Flug felt the tension slip out of place, And suddenly "Heed" felt more like "cecilia", He was happy so, Although still a little upset, At least this was still a less tense conversation than the previous ones...
The woman looked a little confused by the quick change of subject, but she let it flow…letting go of the conversation.
"Oh, and that time together when we created a little Goo monster in the lab and he ended up escaping in the classrooms?"
Flug gave a loud laugh accompanied by the woman, Oh no, Not that day!, it was hilarious to see the future upper class villains climbing on their chairs and screaming like scared little girls, for a simple purple goo that crawled on the floor innocently, It was a Harmless creature!, it was a lab error! not even could bite anyone.
"Do you remember?, that red minotaur that ran away from the classroom?" Flug remembered the shameful scene, Eliciting another laugh from Cecilia.
"YES! He was screaming for about five runners because of the goo he stuck to his leg."
And so their afternoon went on: Flug and Cecilia simply sharing old memories of their high school days, Making fun of their old classmates—And sometimes their old versions of the past. —
Good memories that both lived together, In their teenage years, sharing smiles and laughter, Everything perfect...
They had had so much fun with ancient fragments of Memory that Flug almost forgot the time.
Too bad that afternoon had had to be finished, Saying goodbye to the girl was probably the hardest thing he ever did, after all the conversation. Unfortunately, the scientist had had to leave the room and go back to his laboratory in his own home.
It wasn't as bad as he thought that little "date" would be.
The woman looked much more like Cecilia than “Miss Heed”, Much more truly human than that fake behind her social networks, Flug almost felt again…comfortable in her presence.
Perhaps that's why Flug gave him a second chance.
Flug never thought he would actually do this someday. Usually it was attributed to heroes: A second chance to start over, like a pardon through action.
Flug was by no means a hero and would never be one, But he didn't do it for heroism, He just wanted his Cecilia back...That old friend who shared her villainous plans with her.
And who knows...convince her to go to the dark side of villainy beside you, as it should have been from the beginning.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
And that's how the next few weeks went by: Flug daily visited Cecilia in her prison, just there keeping her company and talking, hours talking about her high school days, Hours talking about interests in particular, Hot talking about close friends and avoiding everything and any matter about the incidents...or the kiss.
Flug wanted to forget everything that happened and they both seemed to agree with it
Cecilia however still remains inside her cell, until her own recovery, She was still clearly unhappy with her tarnished reputation out there and the Bad memories, Flug felt empathy for her former classmate..., there were times when she fell in tears in front of him from the memories and from his locked cell, And Flug watched trying to find something to give him comfort.
Today was no different:
There they were both, The pink-dyed-haired girl in tears as Flug was watching her in silence, a sad look stamped on her dark glasses and goggles, Both sitting close together as usual, Fat tears escaped and ran down her cheeks, sliding down her face and dripping onto her clothes.
Flug just wanted to go through that stupid glass and wipe her tears... it was sad to see her in this situation, he just listened to her in silence for now, listening to the outbursts coming out of her trembling mouth.
"W...they won't take me back into s-society, W...ee..." Her voice faltered into a new wave of sobs and stammering, and once again Flug hated that she were right.
You see: Villains, thieves or the like were hardly accepted back into society as normal people. No matter how hard they tried, people would never accept them or see them as "reformed" People who were arrested and reformed enough to get back to theirs Normal lives were hardly successful, among 80% of the villains who underwent this reformation, About 20% —or less — succeeded in being accepted and re-living among people, The other 60% either returned to their criminal or
They suffered other tragic fates.
In addition... Not even the heroes who even insisted on the reform seemed to care or notice the change. The vast majority of those who call themselves supposed "heroes" still treated the reformed villains and thieves as villains... or pieces of meat unimportant poor, Even when they were trying to live like a normal person...it never seemed to make a difference to a hero.
Penumbra was a good example: She wasn't a villain, far from it actually... she just had her reasons for acting that way with Sunblast and the city of Atreno at the time, and until they both managed to create a little bond of fellowship over time. of time, All because Sunblast actually Heard her, something hardly a current hero would have done.
Unfortunately for her friend, Penumbra was not accepted in society after returning home: She was still seen as "The villain who covered the sun", "The terrible shadow of death" and among other names that denigrate her image, DAMN even after months in silence trying to live her life they insisted on treating her like a villain, even creating fake news about her person in newspapers...
Flug remembers the difficult times he used to talk to her: Until she was wanted her home because of the amount of news Denigrating her image, those were really difficult times for the woman...
But still: She was taken in by Dark Phantom and Ghoul, Both villains who invited her with open arms to live in their secret complex.
Very noble...
Even the villains looked more human than the heroes themselves.
Flug blinked his eyes as he realized he had moved away from his main focus:
"Look..." The woman lifted her face and watched the doctor. "Unfortunately I think you're right this time..." He said Simply, But still keeping his voice calm and low.
He didn't miss the shock in her expression when I heard him utter those words, His face turning pale and his pupils — Naturally the brown hue he preferred — shrinking in horror, Clearly not expecting that answer, it hurt to agree with her in that regard, But Flug couldn't lie to the woman, That's why he went on:
"People just can't tell you from the past and you're renewed... No matter how hard you try, They won't make any effort to recognize your changes" Flug said soothingly, Shoulders slumped loosely, As if it doesn't go away up for casual conversation from a high school break.
Cecilia seemed to be in a struggle of feelings, And thoughts that clouded her mind.
"What's Kenny implying...? She questions, the same calm tone of voice, though still sounding tense." That I...give up everything?"
There was a moment of silence between them..., before the young scientist stood up, staring into his face, the reflection of his goggles causing a glare that could almost be deadly serious, it was frightening in a way.
"Join us...Cecília."
What...?
" What?"
His eyes widened, Join them??? Like...next to villainy?!.
Cecilia wasn't a villain, She recognized it perfectly, Though she had gone to college for just that purpose: To be a villain and maybe start a big business, She left it all behind, Almost burned away any memory of it.
Although both parties recognized that acts like: Mind control and theft could hardly be considered an act that a hero would do, especially when most of the victims were civilians and heroes.
Both agreed: "Miss heed" In no way seemed to act like a heroine.
His actions were worthy of a villain.
As it always should have been.
" Cecilia...,I know it's hard to hear, But it's the truth, I don't want you to be upset when you leave here: Heroes and civilians don't change their minds as fast as you think, Hardly someone like us can be even considered Relatively safe to go back to society and live their lives, Heroes don't believe in change like people like US...but villains... He paused leaning his hand against the pink glass in front of him. "The villains recognize this, The villains know they cannot go back to living normally, For this reason they welcome each other, they form their own groups and form close alliances: Because they understand each other."
The young scientist finished, a tired look that could almost be considered sad stamped on the lenses of his glasses.
"Please Cecilia..., Join us."
He begged, His voice lower than normal...
The female figure paused to consider for a second...what awaited you outside prison in the first place? A miserable life where everyone hates you because of your bad choices? A place where no hero will even consider returning to the team on the good side, looks of disgust?, no...that wasn't worth it, Probably all your dough and patrimony of your products were all gone by the time the news of the kiss was aired.. .
She had nowhere to go.
Cecilia placed her hand on the glass in front of her.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
Flug smiled to himself as he walked to his cell the next day.
He managed to convince him to become a villain, Both could finally follow the same path of villainy and perform the evil deeds like in the old days!, and maybe if Flug had a little luck...
Convince Black Hat to make it part of the team.
Your spine tingled 12 different degrees just at the thought,
Okay, he recognized that asking his boss such a thing was not one of the smartest choices he could make...But he could try to argue that the more subordinates...the better the sales: Besides, Cecilia really had a great gift when it came to that subject: She was fast, she was smart, and she could even work with him in the lab!
A big smile spread under her bag at the thought of both sharing the same workspace, How... When they were Teens doing group work, Cecilia really was very, very smart. She would be a wonderful scientist!.
So inside his thoughts, Flug didn't even realize that he had already gotten close to the glass, As he had promised the day before, unfortunately he had problems getting there today. He had received some problems in his laboratory and was trapped for a few more hours inside.
Well, what matters is the intention, no?
"Good night Cecilia..."
The doctor greeted her in a low, gentle voice, as friendly and gentle as the Kenny the woman recognized in her teens. Her heart fluttered as the woman approached where he was, a faint smile drawn over her lips, she looked like a little tired, maybe because of the time Flug arrived.
"Hi Kenny..." her sleep-soaked voice answered sweetly to the man in front of her as she gently rubbed her eyelids.
The scientist almost felt guilty for waking her like this.
"I'm sorry if I woke you up, I didn't mean to!"
He apologized softly, smiling weakly, as the woman lowered her head and smiled gently to herself.
"It's alright, I wasn't sleeping anyway, You were late today... did something happen?"
The worried tone was visible in his voice with that questioning, Flug almost forgot how it felt...
"It's just... you know: Work heh."
The man was nervously giving a brief shrug, The woman gave a low murmur of acknowledgment, not seeming to take her word for it, Her expression of skepticism was evident, But choosing to remain silent, Cecilia looked away for a minute after the silence that ensues over them both in that room.
"Hey Cecí..." The woman looked towards the scientist. Recognize...?"
Her brown eyes widened in pure surprise, The momentary shock passing and hitting her like a wave of strong nostalgia at the sight of the so familiar object in the hands of the man in front of her, Her heart seemed to have stopped beating for a moment.
"That's..." She stopped composing. "Did you keep it?!" She questions with wide eyes.
A smile spread under his bag as his hands held the object in front of him:
It was the cat-ear tiara she wore in high school.
"I kept it in storage all this time."
The scientist explained with a genuine note of happiness in his tone of voice, As he maneuvered the tiara into the hole in the side of the glass, The one where the food tray was served, It was big enough for the tiara to pass smoothly and arrive hands on the other side.
Slender, delicate fingers touched the particular object, Brown eyes gleaming in recognition as her mind studied the tiara:
It remained totally intact.
Nowhere did it look broken or even with some wear and tear, yet the paint appeared to have been retouched, And it looked shinier too...
The cat's ears were still there, perfectly intact.
The man couldn't help but feel his chest warming up pleasantly at the sight, She looked so…happy.
He couldn't help but notice the smile that formed on her lips.
But while they looked happy, there was still a trace of sadness behind that layer for some reason.
"I just retouched the paint, as the old one was kind of chipped on the sides and weak." he assured in his voice so sweet and low it was almost downright adorable.
The woman stared at the tiara for a long time, Feeling her heart ache, But still... Feeling extremely flattered that someone had kept something about her for... years.
Cecilia found herself fighting tears.
"O...thank you...K...kenny."
She said in a weak sob, hugging the tiara to her chest, The other's face was red under the bag and he was grateful he had it for the beginning of the story... unfortunately his gaze betrayed him, the girl can't let herself wondering why he looked away and glanced at his watch, before looking worried or anxious.
"You're welcome... Cecilia I unfortunately don't have much time, I have to arrive before the guards catch me here, so I'll be quick..." The scientist said while constantly staring at the front door with suspicion, Before to turn back to the woman. "You remember my proposal from yesterday...don't you?"
Cecilia swallowed hard before nodding her head in agreement, Of course she remembered...
"Great...you can say goodbye to this place, you won't need to stay in it anymore." He said smiling weakly at the girl behind the glass, seeing her eyes widen in shock.
He was talking about....no it can't be...
"P...sorry?" she stuttered in sheer shock at the sudden words.
"About getting you out of this Place?...Yes!" He responded by getting up from where he was sitting, And the woman gave him the best expression of shock he'd ever seen, Struggling to form any words, and failing miserably, he would have stayed quiet and waited for her answer, But he kind of ..was with prey.
"Not today...I have to get out of here before it's time for the guards to arrive, But: I promise..." Again, he smiled putting his hand against the glass.
"I promise that when tomorrow comes: you will become the new queen among the villains, It will be as awesome and as well-received as your old job, I can even convince Black Hat to hire someone else for our team if you want."
Flug mentioned with an excited smile hiding behind his face.
But the woman's expression faltered for a second, her face dropping to a worried frown.
"Tomorrow…?" His low voice questioned, his eyes locked against the male figure in front of him.
Flug felt confused, but assumed his concern for finally getting out of this prison and leaving so quickly.
I think anyone would feel a little lost at first...but that's okay, he would help her out when they got out of here.
"Tomorrow, I'll come pick you up so we can leave, yes?"
He nodded, and Cecilia smiled weakly, nodding her head in agreement, and with a big satisfied smile: Flug left the cell.
━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━
She's gone...
Her heart slammed against her rib cage, her body stiffened in front of Cecilia's open and now empty cell, the kitten arch lying outside, next to the button that kept the glass locked.
She's really gone...
he didn't understand...everything was going well, they...they were getting along again!,they almost forgot everything that happened to them!,they were doing well,they were going to be villains together...
Was he so naive?
His expression however was dangerously unfamiliar.
His body language was rigid, Flug didn't dare move from his current position, His eyes weren't visible behind his lenses, the reflection of the lights making them look eerily neutral.
She used it...
A cool hand landed against her left shoulder, A firm grip—But not rough, almost comforting, but still: Firm.—
Flug didn't have to look to know who it was...
She used it for the second time...
The sound of silence was tense, De depends the whole atmosphere turned as cold as a big block of ice —And the scientist was pretty sure it wasn't the presence of Black hat.— His stomach lurched, and his chest writhed wistfully against your chest.
Her body language didn't even flinch, something that hardly ever happened...
The grip tightened.
She actually manipulated him the second time...
A dark stain formed on the tie the man wore, A familiar liquid running down his cheek.
Then another. . .
And other. . .
And other. . .
However: No sounds of misery escaped the man, There were no Hiccups, No sniffles or even some broken, shuddering breath.
Only tears.