Monsoon carefully slid down a metal support beam, his breathing slow and quiet as he observed the scene before him. Simon Psionic was speaking quietly to someone over the phone; no doubt planning something diabolical. Monsoon sneered, lowering himself to the ground with a gentle tap of his bare feet against the cold stone floor.
He could hear Simon's voice softly speaking, he sounded distressed, "No, I'm not going to do that. I don't care about that. No, no, I'm sorry … Fine."
They were in Simon's newest lair, an abandoned warehouse on the edge of town. Honestly, he was so predictable. At this point, Monsoon wasn't surprised by anything. Yup, nothing could catch him off guard.
Except the big, loud piece of scrap metal that he stepped on. It bent under his weight and made an echoing wob wob noise. Monsoon cursed his luck, as Simon turned around, his dark eyes locking on Monsoon instantly.
"You again!" Simon said, annoyed. He turned back to his phone and said, "I'll have to call you back. I have a pest to deal with."
Monsoon scowled, clenching his fists. Simon's next movements were slow, calculated. He's always so calculated, it drives Monsoon insane. Simon sets his phone down and turns to watch Monsoon, he leans back against the counter behind him, his ankles crossed. His gaze tracks up and down Monsoon's body, a small smirk playing at his lips.
"I was expecting you." Simon said, a strange something in his tone that Monsoon could never figure out.
Monsoon crossed his arms, "Miss me that much, huh?"
Simon scoffed, rolling his eyes, "Please, Monsoon, as if I would ever…"
Welp, the friendly banter box has been checked off, now it's time to fight. Alex sprinted forward, grabbing his baseball bat from off his back. He held it firmly in his hands, raising it above his head to swing once he got close enough.
Simon's eyes widened slightly, but he calmly raised his hand and said, "Stop."
Instantly, Alex froze in spot, unable to move his body. It was like being in a dream; he was trapped inside his body and he couldn't force it to do what he wanted. Instead, he just stood there, holding the bat above him, face twisted in anger; while Simon let out a small breath and stepped forward.
Monsoon hated when he did this, it was horrible. To have no control of your body, to instantly obey without consent, it was - terrifying. Monsoon tried to fight against the other man's power, but it was impossible, he was trapped.
"Monsoon…" He cooed, like he found Monsoon's attempt to stop him cute. Simon Psionic ran a hand over his clothed head - his costume was a dark, loose jumpsuit that covered the upper half of his head, with holes for his eyes. All Monsoon could see of his rival's skin was his hands and part of his face. He knew the other man was black, but other than that, he had no clues as to who could be standing before him. "I wonder, tell me, why do you always try to stop me, when you always fail?"
He doesn't always fail, it's more like a 60/40 kinda deal. He wins some, Simon wins some; it's a good back and forth that they got going. Monsoon would like to remind him of this, but he doesn't currently have control of his mouth.
"Really," Simon sighed, shaking his head, "our lives would be so much simpler if you just stayed away." When Monsoon didn't reply, Simon's mouth twitched, a small sign of annoyance. "Relax, and talk to me."
"Firstly," Monsoon said as he placed his hands on his hips, his movements natural and smooth. He felt all his anxieties and tension drift away and, bazarly, he hated it. He didn't want to be relaxed, he wanted to fight. "you don't win every time! Secondly, I have to stop you. You're the bad guy, I'm the good guy. I come here, and stop your evil plans. Every four year old knows this, Simon."
Simon rolled his eyes, "You'll come to find that black and white thinking like that is immature. Kind of like four year olds."
Monsoon felt his cheeks flush a little. He wanted to rush forward and punch the villain, but he wasn't allowed to; he was told to talk. So, he talked. "Really? But I'm right, aren't I? What's your big, evil plan this time?"
Simon shrugged, looking down at his nails, completely unbothered by Monsoon's angry tone, "It's not my plan, really. I would've thought you'd figure it out by now. You're usually smarter than this…"
Monsoon's mind ran wild, rapidly trying to figure out what Simon's alluding to. Suddenly, it hit him. "This is a distraction. Where are the others?!"
Simon's lips pulled up into a smile, his eyes shining, "Ding ding ding! We have a winner."
Monsoon's earpiece crackled to life, and his commander's voice shouted in his ear, "Monsoon! Where are you!? We're at the Northwest Diamond Store! We're outnumbered!"
His blood ran cold, he stared at Simon with shock, furious at himself for getting distracted. He clenched his fists, glaring at the man he hated more than anything.
"I'm really sorry about this, darling." Simon sighed, punching Monsoon square in the jaw. The impact was so harsh that it sent Monsoon falling to the ground, his head smashing into the concrete. The world went silent except for the painful ringing in his ears, his mind was spinning and his vision was fuzzy. Monsoon groaned quietly, trying to force his eyes to stay open. All he saw before he blacked out was Simon's boot stepped towards him.
Alex dragged his tired ass up the stairs to his dorm room. His superhero outfit was tucked away, safely hidden in his backpack. His head was pounding and he wanted nothing more than to curl up and sleep for years. Each step took enormous amounts of effort, and he was starting to wonder if this hero stuff was worth it. He was going to get his ass chewed out by his commander, who was no-doubt furious that Alex had messed everything up. The jewelry store got robbed and Alex wasn't there to help. Instead, he was talking to Simon like a dumbass.
It wasn't your fault. He told himself. He tricked you.
Still, it didn't make him feel much better.
Finally, he had reached his dorm. He pulled out his key and unlocked the door, stepping inside quietly. He didn't want to wake up his roommate, a super attractive guy named Aaron. Alex wasn't stubborn enough to deny his feelings for the other man - but that doesn't mean he'd ever say anything about them.
Regardless, when Alex shuffles into the room, he's unsurprised to see Aaron awake. The other man was doing his homework at his desk, the small lamp beside him the only light in the room. Alex set his backpack down quietly and shut the door.
"You're up late." Alex comments softly. He watches as Aaron works, unbothered by Alex's presence.
Aaron shrugs still typing away at his computer. "Couldn't sleep."
Alex nods to himself, sliding onto his bed. He pulled off his shirt and kicked off his shoes, wanting nothing more than to fall asleep.
Aaron's typing stops. "What happened to your face?"
Alex looked up, seeing Aaron's concerned expression. Alex flushed, his eyes darting away, "Oh, um, I, um, got in a fight."
"Are you alright?" Aaron asked next, his hands hovering over his keyboard.
Alex nodded, waving him off, "Oh, yeah, fine. You should see the other guy."
Aaron watched him for a moment before he looked back to his computer, "You shouldn't stoop so low to condone violence."
"Right. I'll remember that next time." Alex muttered, finding small amounts of amusement in the man's comment. See, the thing is, superpowers are kind of a natural thing; tons of people have them. And that means that there's, unfortunately, tons of people who abuse them. People who'll use their powers to attack people like Alex, who don't have any. So seeing people without any powers walk around with bruises or burns is, sadly, a normal sight. It doesn't surprise Alex that Aaron wasn't shocked by his bruise. It's just the way life is.
It was worse on Nevis. At least in America the police are somewhat competent. They'll be able to find the super that hurt you and they'll throw them away in one of those fancy, supervillain jails, away from all the poor, harmless normal people. Like Alex.
Maybe that's why Alex started fighting crime as Monsoon. He wanted to help people that were helpless, the ones that reminded him of his younger self. So he took a ton of martial arts classes and hoped a good punch was better than laser vision. Stupid, probably, but what did he have to lose? He didn't mind getting hurt, as long as it meant that someone else wasn't.
All these thoughts made him wonder about his roommate. He watched as Aaron got back to work. He didn't let the man type more than four words before he asked suddenly, "Do you have any powers?"
Aaron paused. They had been living together in this dorm for a month or so, but the topic never came up. Alex doesn't like to brag that he's powerless, so he usually doesn't ask. But for whatever reason, he wanted to know about Aaron. Maybe his head was hit too hard. Oh God, he hopes he doesn't have a concussion.
"I might. I might not." Aaron shrugged, "Sometimes it's hard to tell. Do you?"
"No." Alex said quietly. "Neither did my mom. Or my brother. We were all just … normal."
"There's nothing wrong with that." Aaron said. Alex looked up at him, surprised to see a small smile on the other man's face. It made Alex's heart stutter in his chest and he wanted to run across the room and squeeze the other man in his arms. "I think 'normal' is far more preferable."
The world certainly would be more simple if no one had powers. There probably would be less violence, less wars. Elections would be less intense. History, religion, it all has some weird connection to powers. Alex has always wanted to be the president or some high-ranking government official, but there are so many loops he'd have to jump through just to qualify, since he's powerless. It's probably harder for those with powers, he supposes, but, really, the whole system is a mess.
Alex watched as Aaron stood up and started messing around with the stuff in his desk. To Alex's surprise, the man turned to him, holding out two pills and a bottle of water.
"Whoever did that must have a strong right hook." Aaron said, his eyes on Alex's jaw. "It's bruised pretty bad. Does it hurt?"
"Yeah." Alex admitted, too tired to lie. He took the painkillers and water from Aaron, throwing them both back quickly. He sighed after he swallowed and smiled to him, "Thanks."
Aaron stepped away without another word, replacing the lid to the painkiller bottle. Alex tipped his head to the side, squinting a little at Aaron.
"Why do you say you might have a power?" Alex asked, "What's, like, out of the ordinary for you?"
Aaron didn't say anything for a very long moment. Alex sees his head duck down for a second before he shook his head. Alex, realizing he might need more prompting, asked, "Are you super lucky or something?"
Aaron turned off his desk lamp and shut his laptop. Alex huffed, but crawled under his covers, understanding that this was the other man's way of saying that he didn't want to talk anymore.
As Alex laid down in bed, he stared up at the ceiling and replayed tonight's events. When he woke up after being knocked out, Simon was gone. His head was resting on a pillow and a little note was left for him, along with a bottle of water. The note just said "Sorry!" in loopy handwriting, with a little heart under it. Alex didn't drink the water, he didn't need to be poisoned by his nemesis. He hated that Simon always called him things like "darling" or, worse, "sweetie". He hated the dumb hearts and the condescending tones. It was like all of this was some game to Simon, and it drove Alex insane.
He was still thinking about Simon when he started to drift off, exhausted. But he didn't want to dream of his nemesis while he slept, because that would either be annoying or just weird. So he forced himself to think of something different with his last cohesive thoughts.
As he dove deep into the land of slumber, he thought of the warm, gentle hands of his crush-slash-roommate. He imagined Aaron kissing his bruise better, his lips gently running over his jaw. He imagined pulling Aaron into his bed, and by the time he imagined what they'd do in bed, he was already asleep.
Tell me what you think!