Disclaimer: I do not own Glee or any comic/publishing company mentioned within this story. All names or likenesses to other comic book or television characters are merely coincidental and unintentional.

Mike Chang knew he was a special person. His dance moves could not be replicated by almost anyone in Lima, he had an above average intelligence, and people found him very likable. Mike didn't need to be noticed, and it was okay that he was occasionally ignored or pushed to the wayside.

Well, it happened more than occasionally, to be fair. But that was okay with him, really. Take Glee Club, for example.

"I will be performing the amazing Broadway number 'Let Me Entertain You,' originally performed by Ethel Merman, may she rest in peace."

Rachel snapped her fingers at Brad and cleared her throat. She straightened out her pleated wool skirt as the first few bars were played, but Kurt raised his hand from the back of the choir room just as Rachel opened her mouth to begin. "Rachel," he said, a hint of annoyance in his voice, "Gypsyis my musical."

Rachel raised her brow and pursed her lips, automatically taking a defensive stance with her hands at her hips. "You sang 'I'm the Greatest Star' from Funny Girland everyone here knows that's my musical, Kurt."

"Yes," Kurt began slowly as if speaking to a child. "And you wouldn't let it go for a week. Then we both claimed a musical, never to perform songs from them if the other had picked it. You claimed Funny Girl; I got Gypsy."

Blaine leaned over and put a hand on Kurt's shoulder. "Kurt, just let it go-"

"No, Blaine, I will not let it go! We swore on a WickedPlaybill, that's a promise you can't break!" Rachel and Kurt started bickering back and forth as Blaine and Finn tried to calm them in vain. Mr. Schuester was looking around in confusion, having just glanced up from his extensive text conversation with Ms. Pillsbury. He stood up and got between them, and Mike could hear Tina laugh to his right as Mr. Schue attempted to reestablish order in his choir room.

"Aren't you glad we never get involved in this stuff?" he asked her, pulled her in close and kissing the crown of her hair. "It almost makes me feel sane."

"Yeah, I guess. But it's not like we ever get to sing either." She shrugged sadly and Mike rubbed her arm soothingly.

"I know what will cheer you up! Come hang out with me after practice." He gave his girlfriend his signature grin, and she was lifted by his aura.

"I'd love to Mike, I really would. But my mom wants me home to study tonight, I have a math test tomorrow that counts for a pretty big part of my grade this semester."

"Hey, that's fine. Tomorrow?"

"Sounds good." Tina cuddled closer to her boyfriend and the two watched the chaos unfold, happy to be far away from the mess.

Mike was actually happy that Tina hadn't decided to join him after practice. Once a week, if and when time allowed it, Mike would go to The Ink Blot: a small comic book store along the outskirts of Lima where Mike had secretly been sneaking away to since Freshman Year. The shop was in the back of an old building that didn't seem inhabited by anyone else, yet the inside was well furnished and stretched out so far that Mike could easily get lost within the aisles and boxes of comics.

Tina had no idea that Mike was a comic book junkie, and neither did any of his friends. In fact, no one knew of his habit but the owner of the shop, a quiet sort of man with thick glasses and a small, pale frame. His name was Ethan Massey, and he had owned and operated the store for as long as Mike could remember.

Never did it cross his mind that he never saw another customer in the shop; Mike had always assumed that he just came in at obscure times of day.

"Hey, Ethan." Mike walked into the comic book store and set his bag down near the front counter, smiling at the store owner. Ethan glanced up from his Deadpool comic and waved shyly, then spun around in his chair to face the storefront as Mike browsed. He walked straight towards the aisle containing the Spider-Man issues and picked through them, despite the fact that he had read almost every one available over the years. Once he had looked through the boxes and eventually started finding the newer prints that had been created digitally, Mike frowned and walked to a different area of the store. Comic books just weren't the same anymore; the old, hand-drawn copies of classic Marvel comics made by guys like Jack Kirby and Frank Paul had been replaced by new age technology and shiny paper. Mike hated it. It was like line dancing compared to the intricate moves he practiced day in and day out; it was always the same, so the comics were boring and less like art than their older counterparts.

"Ethan!" Mike called across the store. "Have you got anything new in that I haven't read yet?"

"Ummm..." Ethan began bumbling around behind the counter. "I finally got the full series of Marvel Secret Wars in, but it'll cost ya."

"That's fine," Mike said, walking back over. "I've already got the first couple at home. I'll just grab the next one."

"It's a deal. Your total is thirty-five dollars."

"Thirty-five-! That's a lot..." Mike walked over to his back and peeked in his wallet. There sat ten crinkled dollar bills, a few random coins shoved between them. He sullenly pulled out his debit card. "Well, I might as well buy some more if I have to use this thing anyway." He walked around for a bit longer, soon returning with an X-Men issue and two different Avengers crossovers. "I think I'm all set now," he said, gently placing the comics on the counter. They were in pristine condition, wrapped carefully in a plastic coating that would remain on them unless they were being read- and even then, Mike felt bad about taking it off. He paid the man and went out to his car, eager to go home and read his new purchases.

"Mike! Mi-ike! You up here?" Mike lurched forward and shut his comic, quickly wrapping it in the plastic and hiding it under his desk.

"Tina? Is that you?"

Tina cracked open Mike's door and waved from the hallway. "My mom said I could stop by and your mom invited me in. I'd love to hang out now, if the offer still stands, that is."

"Yeah, of course!" Mike grinned and rolled his desk chair over to the door, opening it all the way and pulling Tina into his lap. "Hi."

"Hi to you too," she giggled, leaning in for a kiss. Mike leaned back and ran his fingers through his long black hair as she worked at his lower lip with her teeth, pausing to deepen the kiss ever so often. Yet he had other things on his mind; Mike peeked with one eye to make sure that Tina's eyes were shut tightly before slowly rolling his chair backward. The wheels bumped into the cardboard box full of comics that Mike kept hidden under his bed. Mike leaned back in the chair and reached down with one hand, fishing for the box in his peripheral vision as Tina continued to explore his mouth. He suddenly made contact with the box and pushed it as hard as he could, hoping that it would make its way back to its hiding spot.

"Michael!" Tina jumped away from her boyfriend when she heard his mother call up the stairs. "I don't hear any talking!"

"That's because we're talking quietly, Mom!" She huffed audibly and began yelling at him in rapid Chinese. He shouted back, "I'm sorry! I'll leave the door open!" She grumbled and could be heard walking away, but the mood had died. Tina was sitting on the floor, trying not to laugh out loud or turn bright red.

Mike looked down at his girlfriend. "Hi," he said again, lacking a better expression.

Tina laughed. "Hi. What's that?" She pointed underneath his desk, where she saw something reflecting light that she hadn't noticed before.

"What's what?" Mike asked coyly, rolling his chair over to hide the comic.

"You know what, Mike. You're room is spotless," she said, gesturing around her. His dirty clothes were in the hamper, the items on the desk and shelves were in their proper, organized place, and the walls were painted perfectly with a sky blue primer that matched the recently vacuumed cream carpet. "You don't leave things lying around on the floor. So what's that?"

"Oh, you meant that. It's uh... it's a magazine. It must've fallen on the floor when I got the mail today." Tina raised an eyebrow suspiciously. The two had a staring contest, Tina looking determined and Mike pleading, before the girl launched across the floor and grabbed the thin object.

"Is this a comic book?" Tina undid the seal on the top of the plastic and shook out the Avengers crossover.

"Be careful! That's in mint condition!" Mike snatched it off the ground and took back the plastic cover, resealing in and setting it on his desk.

"Oh my god, you're a comic book nerd! Aren't you?" Mike blushed, making Tina's jaw drop in surprise. "What?" she said with a laugh. "How did I not know about this?"

"It's not like I go around telling people..."

"Well, I guess I would just have expected you to tell me, that's all." Tina stood up and looked down at the cover art. "So, Mr. Comic Book Guy, how big of a nerd are you?" Mike turned an even deeper shade of red and pulled the box out from under his bed, revealing what was only about a fourth of his comic book stash. When he told her as much, Tina laughed out loud.

"Mike! Why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I knew you would laugh at me! And you are!" Mike made a sad puppy face, making Tina laugh even harder.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Mike. It's just so cute!"

"You really think so?" he asked quietly.

"Yes, I really think so. I love everything about you, Michael Chang, and this is just something more to love. I'm a vampire, you're a dancer and closet nerd. A match made in heaven!"

The smile slowly returned to Mike's face. "Wanna read a few with me?"

"I would love to."

They spent the next hour or so going through all of Mike's boxes, boxes that he had once kept so carefully hidden. Mike warned her not to take any out of the plastic unless she planned on reading them. He also warned her not to tell anyone in the Glee Club about his collection; she promised, then shooed him off to finish reading the comic on his desk while she settled down with one about Jubilee, some pretty Chinese girl who seemed to hang around Wolverine a lot and could control energy or something. Tina wasn't paying too much attention, she just thought the artwork was nice.

"You know," she said after a long period of silence, broken only by the turning of pages, "if I were a superhero, I wouldn't have an alias."

"What?" The idea baffled Mike. "That's ridiculous!"

"Well if I was a hero, I would want recognition for my good deeds! It hardly seems fair," she began, her speed picking up as she became more and more passionate about her words. "I mean, firemen and policemen get thanked for helping people. Why not superheros too?"

Mike shook his head. "You don't get it," he replied, exasperated. "They're good people who have the special means to do good things, and they don't need recognition for it." He ran his fingers over a copy of The Amazing Spider-Man, staring at one of the pages until the ink blurred into pink and blue blotches of newsprint. He closed it and put it back in the plastic slip, the feeling of ink smudged on his fingers acting as a small comfort to him. "I wouldn't want any recognition. Sometimes it's good to just do nice things for people who don't get all the kindness they deserve."

"Oh really?" Tina asked mischievously. "So if I were some Mary Jane wannabe and I came up to you while you were in costume and said, 'My goodness, I must learn your identity and thank you properly!' then you would just turn me down? To avoid compromising your identity and getting some serious acknowledgment for being so awesome?"

Mike laughed and kissed her forehead. "Why would I need a Mary Jane when I have a Tina Cohen-Chang?" She smiled and leaned in, expecting a kiss, but Mike had already turned away. "Besides, superheros are stupid to get involved with significant others while in costume. They're just asking for trouble. It's totally not worth it." Tina smirked and pushed her boyfriend, laughing quietly. She glanced around the room, noticing the clock for the first time.

"Shit! Mike, I'm sorry, I've gotta go. God, I barely studied for that test and it's almost ten o'clock already!" She jumped up and scrambled to find her bag and clean up as much of the mess as she could.

"It's fine, I'll take care of this. Go home and get some sleep." She thanked him quickly and kissed him on the cheek, shouting a hurried 'I love you' over her shoulder before leaving. "I'll help you cram in the morning!" he called out. He barely heard her thank him as she ran out the door, almost forgetting to say good night to his parents as she left.

The next week, Mike made his usual trip to The Ink Blot with a special idea in mind. Ethan was behind the counter as usual, an Incredible Hulk comic propped up against some graphic novels. "Hey Ethan, I had a question for you." The man look up and waited expectantly. It wasn't often people asked him questions, let alone spoke to him. "Which Psylocke comics can you recommend? I wanna impress my girlfriend with one, and I think she could really get into those."

"You wanna impress a girl with comic books?" Ethan looked amazed at the preposition.

"Yeah, she's cool like that," Mike said with a laugh.

"Well I've got plenty of those, but I've got something to show you if you really wanna impress her. Come with me!" Before Mike could ask where they were heading, Ethan sped off to a green door that Mike had never entered. There were three bolts, and Ethan had to unlock them all before grinning and Mike and slowly pushing the door open. He flicked on a lightswitch and the room was bathed in green light from the overhead flood lamps. There were strange mechanics hanging from the ceilings, and Mike felt a chill run up his spine when he spotted the large tanks filled with a peculiar, unidentifiable liquid.

"What is this place, Ethan?" The pale man was dyed green in the light, and his appearance was suddenly more haggard than Mike had ever seen it.

"This," he said at a whisper, "is my project. I've been building a dummy lab to pull in more customers, for photo ops and stuff like that. Isn't it beautiful?"

Mike looked around with a critical eye. "I have to admit, this is how I imagined a lot of evil lairs."

Ethan made a giddy noise and jumped around the room. "It's the lighting, right? I think I did a pretty good job."

Mike looked around, and a large stain in the corner caught his eye. "Is that blood?" he asked, squeamishly jumping backward.

"Prop blood. I think it adds to the atmosphere, don't you?"

"Yeah... sure it does." Mike walked around a bit longer, squinting in the dim lighting. Electrical wires dangled from the ceiling and connected to oversized machinery that filled the room with a dull hum. The equipment on the walls ranged from harmless screwdrivers to a massive chainsaw that made Mike shudder as he passed it. "Do you really think this thing is going to make you money? I mean, it must've cost a fortune just to build it."

A small, knowing smile crept across Ethan's face. "I put my life savings into this room. One way or another, this will make me money. I can feel it." He grabbed a strange helmet that swung low from the ceiling and stuck it to Mike's head. "I'll take a picture of you, if you'd like. Free of charge for my best customer!" He grabbed a small camera off a nearby table and held it up expectantly.

"I don't know if this would really impress my girlfriend," Mike said, unsure of his surroundings. If anything, he wanted to leave the room as soon as possible; it was giving him a bad vibe.

"Come on, man. How often do you get to take a picture in an evil lair?" Mike thought it over momentarily, but he knew Ethan was right. How could he pass this up? He posed as someone who was being electrocuted, making a silly face with his mouth opened into a pretend scream. Ethan smiled and clicked the button on the camera, but the instant he did so Mike felt an actual shock, one that froze him in place and shook him to his very core.

Suddenly, Mike was on his back in the main lobby of the comic book store, being slapped lightly in the face.

"Hey, buddy! You finally came around!" Ethan helped him up, but Mike had to steady himself against a nearby shelf. "I think there was a weird strobe light effect with the camera in that room, because you totally blacked out."

"How... how long was I out for?"

Ethan shrugged. "I don't know, I didn't really keep track. I grabbed some of those Psylocke comics for you while you were out, though."

Mike paid for the comics and left without asking for his picture, stumbling the whole way to his car. The sun was setting already, and Mike attempted to drive home before his curfew despite his dizzy state.

Before the start of classes every morning, Mike had a habit of going to the school dance studio and practicing his moves. Brittany usually joined him, so he changed and started stretching and warming up while he waited for her. He was sitting on the floor, eyes shut tightly as he stretched past his feet. He heard someone enter and could hear Brittany's Ke$ha playlist blaring through her headphones. He continued to stretch, a strange tingling sensation radiating from the small of his back.

His eyes shot open when he heard a scream.

"Brit!" He looked around frantically and saw her cowering by the doorway. Something was terribly wrong though. "Brittany, why are you upside down?"

"Why are you sitting on the ceiling?" she stammered. Mike's eyes widened and he threw his head back, seeing the floor just as he screamed and it came rushing towards him. He shut his eyes, waiting to hear bones crack or feel his neck snap as he impacted... but nothing happened. That strange tingling returned, more intense than before, and when he opened his eyes he saw Brittany staring at him with a mixture of horror and amazement. More importantly, he was sitting on the windowsill completely out of harm's way.

Brittany relaxed slowly as Mike made sputtering noises of confusion. "Mike, you must be part dragon or ninja or something," she said, shaking her head knowingly, "because that was magical." She smiled as walked out, leaving Mike perched on the windowsill and completely unsure of what had just happened.