Power Shift
Lee paces the length of his room, moving between his window and the door too many times to count. He isn't sure how he ended up being the one tasked with keeping an eye on and attempting to catch the guy using his superpowers to disrupt government, but he has, and now he has to work out how to intercept the man who can be in two places at once. Lee doesn't even know his name, which isn't helping.
"Will you stop pacing? It's driving me insane," Hermione says, breaking the silence that had fallen.
Lee can't help but roll his eyes. "I swear you get bossier every time you visit. First, you tell me I have to track this guy down, now you're telling me I can't even walk in my own house."
"Just because I'm the boss, doesn't make me bossy. I'm only asking you to do your job."
Lee bites his tongue to stop himself from speaking. He wants to say he doesn't want the job, that he doesn't understand why he's been given this fool when there are more dangerous villains out there. But he doesn't. Hermione is the head of the Order of the Phoenix — named after the late Albus Dumbledore whose superhero alter ego had been Phoenix — and he knows it's large enough that he could be easily replaced and left with nothing to do.
"And does Lavender provide any more helpful information than what you've already provided?" he asks. It probably comes across a little more sarcastic than necessary, but Hermione has never had a personality that mixes with Lee's particularly well.
"Only what I've already told you; she saw that he was going to crash an art show tonight, one that Lord Voldemort—" Hermione sneers as she says the supervillain name the man they're tracking down has called himself. "—is rumoured to be attending, so we need it to be a smooth operation."
The park is quiet. Lee is sitting on a bench pretending to read, while really watching the odd passerby on a job or walking their dog. He's watching to see if the man he's tracking down comes past. He should do; the tube station is on the opposite side of the park to the art gallery and going through the park is the quickest route.
Lee kills the time by mulling over names to call the man. He doesn't know much about him which doesn't help. He knows the other man is ginger and can appear in two places at once. That's about it. He's never been close enough to the other man to see anything other than the luminous glow of his orange hair, and that was only once. Despite Lee's super speed, every other time the man has been long gone before Lee gets there.
Not this time, though. Lee is determined to confront this guy face to face.
A flash of orange in the corner of Lee's eye catches his attention, and seconds later he's across the park and intercepting the redheaded… woman.
Damn.
"Sorry," he says, his voice much cheerier than he feels. "Thought you were someone I know."
The woman hurries off with a baffled look on his face. Lee heads back to his bench and stops short. Sitting there, pretending to read the book with the same worn navy blue cover that Lee was, is a man. The man.
"I think you left this here," the man says, holding the book out to Lee.
Lee takes the book automatically. His brain can't comprehend that the man he's chasing down, the one he's got a one-sided rivalry with, is sitting in front of his and doesn't even seem to care.
"Why are you here?" he finally asks.
"I've found that it's always easier to resolve conflicts face to face," he says with a shrug. "And besides, I wanted to find out who it was that was trying to catch me."
"Who says there's a conflict here?"
The man laughs. "Oh, come on. You're waiting around hours before the art show just to catch me before I pull anything. There's definitely a conflict of interests here."
"And why are you here hours before the show?"
"We're not so different, you and me. We're both dedicated to our cause. You wanted to scope me out, I wanted to scope the gallery out." He shrugs, and Lee can't help but marvel at how nonchalant the man is being.
"You do know who I work for, right?" Lee asks. "I could have you arrested."
"You won't though," the man says. "Because I'm not going to do anything. I may not be innocent, and I may not be a hero, but I do want to help."
Lee isn't sure what to do. He knows the other man is right — Lee won't turn him in if he isn't going to do anything — but for him to go from causing mischief to offering to help the heroes, it's too crazy for Lee to comprehend.
He sits.
"Good," the man says. "I was just about to tell you to sit down. It's probably best since my information is bound to shake you to the core."
Lee can't help it. He wants to laugh. He knows he's supposed to be on his guard, but he can't deny that the man is funny.
"I know Lord Voldemort's real name," he says.
Lee doesn't want to laugh anymore. The humour has gone and both Lee and his rival are serious.
"I overheard him talking to the woman on reception in the gallery. He's decided not to show tonight, but he's bought two of the paintings."
"Well, what's his name?" Lee asks impatiently. He knows he should be listening to the man; getting as much information on Lord Voldemort as possible should be the number one priority, but he wants to know the name.
"Tom Riddle."
Fuck.
"Are you sure?" Lee asks.
The name is familiar to him. He hasn't met the man personally, but Phoenix knew him, and Lee knows that Tom Riddle is the last man Phoenix visited before he died.
"I know what I'm talking about. Now, if you don't mind, I must be off. I have to plan my next attack since today was a bust."
The man starts to leave, but Lee calls out before he can get too far.
"Wait! What should I call you?"
"I go by Mischief Managed," he says. "But you can call me Fred. Fred Weasley."
Lee stretches when he wakes up and can immediately tell something is wrong. He doesn't feel unwell, but he doesn't feel right either.
He gets out of bed and walks to the bathroom to splash some water on his face and clean his teeth. When he goes back into his bedroom, he does a double take. There in his bed, still sound asleep, is himself.
Am I dead?
But I can't be dead. I just used my toothbrush.
He moves closer to the bed, wanting to get a closer look at his sleeping form, and that's when he realises what else is wrong.
He's slow.
Not as slow as a snail, but after a lifetime of having super speed, Lee finds walking at a regular speed agonising.
It only takes a few minutes to track down Fred's address, and half an hour later — twenty-five minutes longer than it would have taken Lee if he still had his speed — he's banging on Fred's front door.
"Hell— Oh! What do you want?" Fred says as he opens the door.
"What did you do to me?" Lee demands.
"I— Do you want to come in?"
"I want to know what the hell you've done to me"
Fred's eyes dart between Lee and the street before standing aside and holding the door open. Lee doesn't want to go inside, not really, but he does, sensing it's the best way to get answers.
The inside of Fred's house isn't what Lee had expected. He'd expected to see framed newspaper clippings of the mischief Fred had caused, to see pranks items and joke books lying around, but there wasn't. The walls were lined with pictures of his family and there were no books or misplaced items in sight.
Fred appears with a mug of tea in his hands. Lee hadn't even noticed him leave. It isn't until Lee takes the first sip that he realised how thirsty he is. He wishes he hadn't drunk the tea, though. Seconds later, there's a burning sensation in his throat and he doubles over coughing.
"Too strong?" Fred asks. "I must have got the measurements wrong."
A second later, Fred hands him a glass of milk.
"I promise I haven't put anything in this one," he says, and Lee believes him. "Sorry about that. I just hadn't had a chance to test my newest batch of chilli tea on anybody yet."
"I don't care about your chilli tea!" Lee exclaims. "I want to know what the hell you did to me yesterday."
A look of confusion spreads itself across Fred's face. "What's the problem?"
"The problem is that I woke up this morning and there was another version of me still asleep in bed! I thought I was dying."
Fred's eyebrows shoot upwards and his eyes widen with surprise.
"Well, shit," he says. "That explains the speed."
At Lee's confused look, Fred explains, "We're soulmates. You're going to have to tell me how to control this, by the way. I'm got travel sick just coming downstairs this morning."
"So… so when you were in two places at once. That was your superpower?" Lee asks.
Fred nods. "Yep. He's supposed to be a guardian, I think — he always was as a child — but as I grew up he started helping me with the mischief. I named him George." A worried look crosses Fred's face. "But, I guess he looks like you now. Treat him well."
"And how exactly do I do that?" Lee asks, his voice sharp and cutting.
Fred shrugs. "Just talk to him. He's still human. Well, sort of."
Lee just stares at Fred. How can he be so nonchalant about having a copy of himself?
"How long do you think this will last?" Lee asks, but then Fred's words fully hit home.
They're soulmates, destined to be together forever. That means they'll have each other's superpowers forever too.
Ah, hell.
Word Count: 1,741.
This is for:
Hogwarts Yearly Event – Insane House Challenge;
796. (song) Holding Out For A Hero – Bonnie Tyler
Hogwarts Yearly Event – 365 Prompts;
38. Superhero!au
Hogwarts Seasonal Event – Days of the Year;
Superman Day – Write a superhero!au
Hogwarts Seasonal Event – Summer Prompts;
(word) Park
Hogwarts Seasonal Event – Fire Element;
(word) Luminous
Hogwarts Seasonal Event – Gryffindor Themed Prompts;
(character) Lee Jordan
Hogwarts Seasonal Event – Astronomy Prompts;
(scenario) resolving a conflict
Hogwarts Writing Club – Character Appreciation;
5. (word) rivalry
Hogwarts Writing Club – Book Club;
Nick – (dialogue) "We're not so different.", (colour) navy blue, (word) guardian
Hogwarts Writing Club – Ami's Audio Admirations;
10. Write about a small part of a large organisation or group
Hogwarts Writing Club – Sophie's Shelf;
20. Fred/Lee
Hogwarts Writing Club – Em's Emporium;
11. Emy – (quote) "It's always easier to resolve a conflict face to face."
Hogwarts Writing Club – Angel's Arcade;
Lui Kang – (word) hero, (plot point) confronting an enemy, (trait) determined
Hogwarts August Event – Sophie's Tearoom;
Smoked Salmon Palmiers – (character) Fred Weasley
Hogwarts August Event – Holmes Mystery Challenge;
Prologue – (word) unwell
Hogwarts August Event – Romance Awareness;
Day 7 – Everyone has superpowers and when you meet your soulmate you swap powers
Hogwarts August Event – Auction;
(dialogue) "I know what I'm talking about."
Hogwarts August Event – Gobstones;
Red Stone – Good vs Evil
A – (dialogue) "how long do you think this will last?"
P – (word) innocent
T – (dialogue) "What's the problem?"
Hogwarts August Event – Dragon Breeding Club;
Swedish Short-Snout (Peter) – (word count) 1,741
Hogwarts Fortnightly Event – Chocolate Challenge;
Milk – (word) smooth
Hogwarts Fortnightly Event – Amazing Women;
2. (dialogue) "Just because I'm the boss, doesn't make me bossy."
Camp Potter – The Fairy Woods;
Write about someone who fought for the light