Part I. The Birth of Mysterion
If there was one thing that everyone should understand is that not being able to die is definitely not as great as it may seem. Not only is it an inconvenience to find yourself stuck in Hell for a day or two before being brought back to Earth, but no one ever seems to remember when you die. At first, it makes you feel crazy. Everyone gives you concerned looks as you desperately try to remind them of being hit by a car or struck by lightning or getting eaten by a bear. It makes you doubt your own sanity. You can so vividly remember all of these events that there is no way they could be dreams. You remember the fear you feel at that moment, the rush of adrenaline seeping into your veins. You remember your friends calling out in shock as they watch you die right before their eyes before slipping away into darkness. Most importantly, and this is the worst part, you remember the searing pain of it all. As many times as Kenny McCormick has died, he never became numb to the pain. He remembers how each horrific death felt, how it felt to be ripped apart and to bleed out so the snow beneath him runs red. It was the sad truth, but unfortunately for Kenny, he also never grew numb to other pain as well, like the pain of his own father's hand.
Life at the McCormick house was never an easy one. His father always seemed to be between jobs, his mother was often trying to find a way to make ends meet, and the both of them, regardless of their intent, were often too intoxicated to take care of their three children. Deep down, Kenny would like to believe his parents cared about them. For many years, he blamed their behavior on the unfortunate circumstances they found themselves in. As time went on, Kenny had a harder time accepting that. His older brother, Kevin, was rarely home once he entered high school and most of the time Kenny had no idea where he would go to. It would sometimes be weeks before Kenny would see Kevin again and he never once gave an explanation.
Kenny completely understood why Kevin would run. As the years went on, his father become more violent to them. He would strike them to the ground and blame them for the world's problems. It usually ended with his father sobbing and apologizing, but after each time it grew harder to accept any form of apology. The only reason Kenny stayed at home instead of trying to disappear like his brother is for his younger sister, Karen. He remembers thinking how stupid his parents were for getting pregnant again when they first told him he was going to be a big brother even at his young age. They couldn't even afford to feed the kids they had so why would they bring another into the equation? He secretly hoped that his mother would miscarry so the poor soul inside of her would be saved from their dysfunctional household. His mother gave no indication that she was going to stop drinking during her pregnancy, so he could only imagine what she was doing to the fetus growing inside of her. The day Karen was born, however, Kenny knew what it felt to love for the first time. She was so small and helpless, but when Kenny looked into her eyes, even at his young age he knew that Karen was going to mean the world to him. Since the day she was born, Kenny has done everything in his power to protect her from harm either from their parents or otherwise. It has resulted in quite a few of his own deaths but Karen was worth it. For a long time, she was the only one that was worth it.
When he was thirteen years old, his father had ended up beating him after an altercation about nothing. His lip was split open and his eye was swollen shut, but as soon as he knew his father was passed out from drinking and Karen would be safe, he slipped out of his window and started to walk down the street. He slipped a cigarette that he had stolen from his mom's purse between his lips and lit up. The smoke filled his lungs and his body started to relax. His whole body still hurt like hell, but the tension in his muscles slowly started to slip away. He walked around town with no particular place in mind. The sun was starting to set and the town was settling down for the night. Besides a few passing cars, the only sounds to be heard was the wind whistling through the trees and the sound of the snow crunching under his feet. He ended up at Stark's Pond, as he usually did. He sat down on the cold, snow-covered bench and continued to inhale the nicotine from his cigarette. Usually this time of night the park is empty, but this particular night, Kenny heard the sound of footsteps approaching him but he didn't want to look up to see who it was. It was a small town so no matter what, it was going to be someone he knew and he didn't want to give them the satisfaction of seeing him wounded so they could run home and talk about 'that McCormick kid' and how bad they felt for them. Kenny was not one who wanted sympathy.
It wasn't until he heard the voice call out his name that he looked up at the person standing in front of him. It was Craig Tucker, one of the boys in his class. He and Craig were not particularly close to one another growing up. They both had their own friend groups that they mostly stuck to, but he definitely one of the kids he respected the most in his class. Craig was obviously inspecting him, taking in all of the damage done to his face, but instead of commenting on it, Craig asked, "Can I have a drag of your cigarette?"
Kenny was kind of surprised that was what came out of Craig's mouth, but without question, he offered his cigarette to Craig. He stood there, examining it before taking it into his mouth and inhaling. Kenny watched him as he let the smoke stay in his mouth for a moment before slowing blowing it out into the night air. "I didn't realize you smoked," Kenny said as he accepted the cigarette back from Craig.
"I don't," he replied. "But you know what they say, 'smoking make you cool'."
Kenny let out a laugh which made his lip crack again and start to bleed. "Fuck," he muttered as he brought his hand to his lip. It wasn't bleeding as badly as it was before but it still stung deeply.
"Dude, you're getting blood all over your jacket," Craig said in a voice that almost seemed annoyed. It was always hard to tell with Craig what he was actually feeling. Kenny shrugged his shoulders and continued to dab his lip with his sleeve. "Come on, dude," he said. "That thing is covered in blood. You should definitely wash it."
Kenny stood up and threw his cigarette to the floor and stomped it out. "I don't need your sympathy, Tucker."
Craig rolled his eyes at him. "Who's giving you sympathy? I'm offering you having your coat cleaned, not turning you in to social services or offering you a hot meal. Stop being a pussy and come with me."
For whatever reason, Kenny followed Craig that night to his house and let him clean his clothes. If he was honest, he wasn't sure the last time he actually washed his clothes since it sometime took a couple of weeks before he had enough quarters to wash his and Karen's clothes at the laundromat. They sat around in Craig's room while they waited for the clothes in mostly silence. It wasn't an awkward kind of silence, and if he was being honest, it was almost pleasant. Craig wasn't asking uncomfortable questions. He wasn't trying to get Kenny to talk about his home life or why he was covered in blood in the first place. It was nice, and when it came time for Kenny to leave, Craig didn't act like he expected a thank you. He also didn't make an effort to try and ask Kenny if he was okay the following days at school. Occasionally he made eye contact with Craig from across the cafeteria or in the hallway, but Kenny was never sure if it was a coincidence or if Craig was looking out for him.
Even though they didn't speak much, the next time Kenny found himself walking around town at night after a fight, he found himself outside of the Tucker residence without realizing he was walking there. Since he still really hadn't talked to Craig since the first incident, and he wasn't sure if Craig would be as generous as he was the first time. Would making it a two time thing be weird? He wasn't quite sure. After almost ten minutes of serious contemplation, he picked up a small pebble and tossed it at Craig's window. After a few failed attempts, eventually the curtains opened and Craig peaked his head out. As soon as he saw it was Kenny, he disappeared from the window and didn't reappear until the back porch light flicked on and the sliding glass slid open. Craig didn't ask what he wanted but when Kenny vaguely gestured at his dirty, blood-stained parka, Craig stepped aside and let Kenny come in.
This wasn't the last time Kenny found himself at Craig's house. Slowly over time, it become like a routine. Got into a fight with his dad, go to Craig's house. Found his mom passed out from a drug binge, go to Craig's house. Craig never asked or judged and Kenny found himself trusting Craig and considering him a friend even though their conversations were few and far between. It was nice to be around someone who you couldn't tell if they were judging you or your situation. Craig was neutral. Craig was Switzerland. Craig was safe.
It wasn't until Kenny showed up with Karen one night that Craig started to ask questions. The fight was happening when Kenny walked through the door after hanging out with Stan, Kyle, and Cartman. He heard the yelling before he even opened the door. He saw his father towering over Karen who was sobbing on the floor. Kenny rushed in and before he knew it, he was throwing punches at his father with a velocity that he never knew he had. Only when he saw blood on his hands that he knew wasn't his own did he stop. His father was on the floor with his nose gushing blood and he didn't seem like he was going to be moving any time soon. Kenny would have been horrified that he had done that if he wasn't so concerned for his sister. He took Karen, whose cheeks were still damp from her tears, and rushed out the door before their father could get up and possibly retaliate.
Just as he always seems to do, he ended up in Craig's backyard again and throwing pebbles at his window. When Craig came downstairs to let him in, he noticed Karen hiding behind her brother with her fingers clenching tightly at his parka. Craig's eyes briefly looked worried as he noticed how shaken she was and the noticeable blood on Kenny's hands. He let them in and Craig led Karen into the living room where his sister, Ruby, was currently watching TV. Thankfully, Craig's parents seemed to be out for the evening and while it wouldn't have been the first time that they had found Kenny McCormick dressed in a pair of Craig's clothes while they sat quietly in Craig's room waiting for his clothes to dry, they had never seen Karen accompany him as well. Like Craig, his parents never seemed to ask questions about why Kenny was there, even the first time they saw him there. It was common knowledge in town how the McCormicks were, so they probably could fill in the blanks themselves. They didn't give him sympathetic looks whenever he was there, didn't go off into the other room to whisper about him like many of his friend's parents did. Craig's mother always greeted him kindly, asked if he wanted something to eat or drink, and then let them be. Even Craig's father who appeared to be a typical redneck drunk like the rest of the town never talked down to Kenny or acted uncomfortable about why he was there.
Kenny went into the kitchen to wash his hands off in the sink after making sure Karen was okay and comfortable. Craig came into the kitchen and watched Kenny carefully. "That's not your blood, is it?"
At first, Kenny didn't know if he wanted to answer. He could lie, he guessed, but Craig had already done so much for him without ever asking for an explanation so he figured he owed him at least a little. "Yeah," he said as the caked-on blood ran down the sink. "I came in and I saw my dad standing over Karen and she was crying. I don't even know if he actually hurt her but I lost it. He can do whatever he wants to me, I can take it but I refuse to let Karen ever get hurt."
There was a short lapse of silence before Craig spoke again. "I know it might not seem like it, but I get it," he said. "I'm not exactly the most expressive guy, but I would do anything for Ruby." Craig looked over at the two girls sitting on the couch and giggling at the TV. Kenny couldn't help but crack a smile at how happy Karen looked. It had been a long time since she had seemed so at ease. Craig looked back over at Kenny and smiled at him. "You're obviously like me in that way. You're a good dude, Kenny. Give me your jacket, I'll go wash it."
This was probably the most Kenny and Craig had ever spoken in the near decade they had known each other. Craig was definitely more passive than Kenny was. While Kenny and his friends would often find themselves getting into trouble, Craig was usually one to step back and not get involved. It was because of this that Kenny never thought he could be close with Craig, but now more than ever he was glad that he was wrong.
Craig's parents didn't really ask questions when they got home to see two of the McCormick children sitting in their living room. Craig shared a look with them before Thomas went upstairs and Laura asked Karen and Kenny if they wanted any cocoa. It was nice to be welcomed with such warmth from a family that didn't even know him well. While Stan and Kyle's parents, and hell, even Cartman's mom at times, welcomed him into his home, that was mostly because the four of them had been friends since they were in diapers. There was history. That wasn't the case with Craig's family so Kenny didn't really know how to take it.
He didn't understand just how caring the Tuckers were until nearly a year later. Kevin had been gone for a few months now that he was eighteen but he would occasionally show up, toss Kenny a carton of cigarettes, and then leave again. Maybe he felt guilty for the burden he knew Kenny always had to carry and this was his way of showing his gratitude. Just like most things in this family, it wasn't ever actually spoken about.
One night, Kenny and Karen were sitting in their room and Kenny was helping her with her homework. His parents were fighting about something or another but at this point it was almost like background noise to him. Suddenly, there was a loud crash coming from the front of the house and then a ton of stomping footsteps and yelling. Kenny turned to Karen and told her to stay where she was while he looked out from their room. There was an entire SWAT team in their living room and they were slapping handcuffs around his parent's wrists. There was so much commotion going on that he didn't even know what they were being arrested for, although Kenny knew it could be a lot of things.
Eventually, an officer approached him and asked, "Are you Kenneth McCormick?" Kenny nodded his head and made sure he was blocking the door so Karen wouldn't see out. "I'm Officer Swanson. Your parents are being arrested for the production and distribution of methamphetamines and endangering the lives of minors. Is Kevin or Karen McCormick in there with you, son?"
Kenny knew his parents were active drug users themselves, but he had no idea that they were actually making or selling anything. If he was being honest, he didn't think his parents were smart enough to make meth. "Karen is here, but Kevin has lived here for months," Kenny replied.
"Don't worry. Everything is going to be alright."
After their parents were removed from the property, both Kenny and Karen were escorted out of the house and into the back of the police car. Karen was grasping on Kenny's arm tightly as the drove away from their house for hopefully the last time.
That next day was a confusing blur. Both him and Karen were both taken in and out of so many different rooms and talked to by so many different people that Kenny couldn't even remember most of the interactions. It wasn't until the topic of foster care did Kenny become hyper-aware of the situation they were in. "You can't separate us," he said firmly. "I'm not letting Karen go to a different foster home than me. You'd have to kill me first."
The two officers in the room chuckled which only infuriated Kenny but one of them put their hand on Kenny's shoulder before he could respond. "Don't worry, son," he said. "You two aren't being separated. In fact, we have a family that has agreed to take you in right here and town."
Kenny's eyebrows furrowed together in confusion. He was honestly quite shocked that someone in town was going to take them in. As much as he loved his friends, their parents were more of the "look the other way" sort of people. They'd talk about how unfortunate it was that Kenny and his sister were being sent to foster care, but they wouldn't do anything to help them either. On the way to the Police Station, Kenny had already thought of how he would say goodbye to his friends when they inevitable had to be moved to a foster home. Now, he was completely in shock that he was supposedly staying in town. Who had agreed to take them in?
The two officers led him and Karen out of the room to the main lobby of the Station and standing there was a bored looking Craig Tucker and the rest of his family. As much as the Tucker's had been a big help to him over the past year, he couldn't believe that they would ever take on this tremendous responsibility of being foster parents to two kids from a broken home. Laura was smiling kindly at them and even Thomas seemed to try to be sensitive to the situation. It was unexpected, but for the first time, Kenny felt safe.
If Kenny was surprised by Craig's family taking him and his sister in, it didn't compare to the shock that went through the school. No one thought that Kenny and Craig ever interacted, let alone enough knew each other enough for his family to take on the responsibility of taking them in. Stan, Kyle, and Cartman were hounding him with questions about it but Kenny just shrugged them off. Things didn't change that much at school between him and Craig which probably seemed to confuse people further. Kenny definitely didn't want to discuss his situation, and Craig obviously respected that.
Living with the Tuckers was an adjustment. They only had one spare bedroom and Kenny insisted that Karen have it. He was used to sharing a room with all three of his siblings and Karen deserved to finally have her own space. Moving into Craig's room was pretty easy considering Kenny didn't have much to move in. Craig didn't seem to mind Kenny being there, but he warned him to always be careful about handling Stripe. The boy was serious about his guinea pig.
The other thing that was adjusting to was the living environment. He didn't have to worry about the water shutting off while he tried to take a shower. When he opened the fridge there was actually food staring back at him. When he went to bed at night, the only sounds he could hear was the soft breathing of Craig across the room. No yelling, no bottles breaking, no tears.
As he spent more time with the Tuckers, however, the more bitter he became about his own family. He tried to understand why his parents did the things they did, he tried finding a way to justify it. He never could and he felt anger in the pit of his stomach whenever he thought about them for too long. There were more people out there just like them. Good people turned bad because of the situations they find themselves in. People who were bad because they knew no other way. People were hurting others because they either didn't care or because they needed something that they thought the other person had. It made Kenny sick. He thought of Karen, of her growing up and possibly getting hurt. As much as he wanted to keep his sister safe, he could only do so much.
It was about three months into living with the Tuckers that Kenny first came up with the idea. He knew it was dumb, it was risky, but what was life without a couple of risks? Laura wanted Kenny to throw out some of his older clothes that no longer fit or were too ragged to wear anymore, but Kenny was able to sneak some of the fabric that was meant for the trash for his creation. It was simple, but he thought it was good enough for his intentions.
After Craig went to bed one night and his breathing slowed, Kenny snuck out of bed and took out his new outfit from it's hiding spot in his pillow case. He put the ensemble on and as quietly as he could, climbed out the window and down into the back yard. As he carefully approached the town, he had to admit he felt stupid. What if he went through all of his trouble and nothing ever happens? What if gets caught and people find out? The Tuckers had done so much for him and his sister, and he didn't want to ever disappoint them. He just had to be smart about this, tactful.
Kenny was jumping from rooftop to rooftop, peering over the edges of the buildings of downtown South Park for anything of interest. After almost an hour of complete silence, he suddenly heard a cry coming from nearby and he quickly ran towards it. He looked over the side to see a man approaching another in an alley with a knife. He was threatening the man for his wallet and it made Kenny bubble with anger. He jumped down from the roof and landed right in front of the mugger. Both men jumped back and gasped at the sudden appearance of another person. "Who the hell do you think you are, kid?" the mugger barked at him.
Kenny didn't speak. He stood there, staring at the man without a word, but as soon as the man took a step forward with his knife raised, Kenny striked. He kicked the man's knees to knock him off-balance, and the man dropped the knife from the strong blow. Kenny kicked the knife as far away as he could and started throwing punch after punch to the mugger. While he was fighting with him, Kenny couldn't help but think of his father; about all of the times that his father raised his hand to him and made him bleed. He thought of all of the times he had to go to school and explain away bruises and cuts and how no one seemed to care about what was obviously happening. It went on for fourteen years before anything happened, and Kenny had so much built up anger about his father, about everyone who didn't help him. With one final blow into the gut, the mugger lied there on the ground gasping for air and holding his aching body. Kenny turned to walk away from the alley but heard the other man speak up from behind him.
"Who are you?"
Kenny stopped in his tracks for a moment, before answering. "My name is Mysterion."
About three times a week, Kenny would go out as Mysterion and look over the town. Some nights he would find something, many times not but his persona eventually gathered a quite a lot of media attention. Everyone was wondering who was behind the mask or whether or not he was even real. Both Karen and Ruby got caught up in talking about it one night while they were having dinner.
"I don't think he's real," Ruby said as she chewed on a piece of chicken.
Kenny wanted to chuckle but somehow managed to keep a straight face as he ate his dinner.
"Well, I do," Karen said softly. "I think he's real."
Kenny looked up from his plate and smiled at Karen. This was all for her, after all, and even if she didn't know it, he was glad she believed in him.
This went on for a few months without anyone catching on. He came back after a night of fighting off some car burglars and quietly snuck back through the window to his and Craig's room. When he turned around he saw Craig sitting in his bed and staring at him. Kenny gasped and quickly removed his mask. "What do you think you're doing?"
Kenny bit down on his lower lip and started to change out of his costume. "I'm not doing anything," he said with a shrug of his shoulders.
"You're an idiot," Craig said. "What are you even trying to prove? You're just a kid, Kenny. Jesus."
Kenny turned around and huffed at Craig angrily. "I've never been a kid!" he snapped. He knew he had to keep his voice down as it was late and the rest of the house was asleep. Craig was usually good at leaving Kenny to deal with his emotions, being there only when he needed him to. He wasn't a pusher. "Since I was barely old enough to wipe my own ass, I stopped being a kid. I had to take care of myself, I had to take care of Karen. Hell, I even had to take care of my own parents more than they took care of me. I know I'm young, Craig, but I'm not a stupid kid."
Craig didn't say anything for a long while. Kenny was still standing there in nothing but his underwear and his Mysterion costume tightly grasped in his hands. The tension in the air was thick and Kenny couldn't move. After a while, Craig finally stood up and walked slowly over to Kenny on the other side of the room. After a moment of hesitation, he reached out and pulled Kenny into his arms. This was the first time they had hugged, but Kenny instantly sank into Craig's arms and started sobbing. As angry as he was at his parents, as many negative emotions he has stored inside of him, he never let himself cry about it. He didn't even realize he needed to cry, to actually let it all out until he was safely locked in Craig's embrace. He cried for what felt like hours and Craig didn't once complain.
Eventually, Kenny's legs felt weak and he pulled away from Craig. His eyes felt heavy from all of crying and he wiped the dripping snot from his nose on the back of his arm. He sniffed a couple of times before finally looking up at the other boy. "Thanks, Craig."
Craig nodded his head and walked over to Kenny's dresser and pulled out some pajamas for him. "Here," he said. "I'm sick of seeing you in your underwear."
Kenny laughed much harder than he should considering the circumstances, but he was very grateful in that moment for Craig being there for him. He got changed into the clothes and climbed into his bed while Craig was getting comfortable in his own.
It was quiet, so quiet that Kenny was sure that Craig had fallen asleep but then Craig's voice came from the other side of the room. "Why do you do it?"
Kenny sighed softly and stared up at the ceiling. "I guess I want to keep the world safe," he said. He sighed again. "No, that's a lie. I want to keep Karen safe."
"She's doing fine, Kenny," Craig replied. "She's laughing a lot more. Opening up. You don't have to keep being her guardian. You can't always be there to keep her safe, dude."
"I can try."
It was silent again. Kenny was tired, he didn't want to have to explain himself anymore. Usually Craig wasn't like this. This is the first time that he ever pushed him to talk and it was too much. "You can get hurt," Craig said. "Someone could hurt you and then what good would you be doing for Karen?"
"I can't die, Craig."
"I know."
Kenny sat up in his bed and looked over at Craig who was still lying on his back. "What do you mean 'you know'?"
Craig chuckles and turns on his side so he was facing Kenny. "You've been dying for years, man. Did you think no one would notice?"
Of all the years he has been on this Earth, no one ever remembers his numerous deaths. He'd show up to school a day later and everyone greets him like normal. It took a long time for him to accept that he was in this alone and he'd have no one to ever talk to about it, but now Craig is saying he knew that Kenny couldn't die like he just announced that it was raining outside. "No one ever remembers."
Craig rolled back over on the bed so he was facing the wall and yawned. "Well, I do." He yawned again and pulled his blanket up to his chin. "Just be careful, dude."
The conversation seemed to be over even though Kenny was now reeling over this new information. Why was it that Craig was able to remember him dying when no one else can? He's only been close to Craig for not even two years so what makes him so remarkable? Kenny looked over to Craig's bed again and saw that he was breathing deep and even. Kenny sighed before he got back under his own covers and closed his eyes with a million questions still on his mind.