Author's Note: If you saw the mess that was this chapter earlier, I am so so sorry. I'm not quite sure what happened there to be honest. I write everything on google docs and it's usually fine, but I must have edited it a bit on ao3 and then copy pasted the new version into docs so when I put it on here it was just a mess of coding and stuff (I thought it was a little strange that it was over 8000 words long tbh, but I didn't have time to check earlier because I had to get to a lecture).
Anyway, I've re-uploaded it now so it should be ok. Please let me know if it isn't. Thank you so much to the guest who left a review that alerted me to it!
Unlike most citizens of South Park, Tweek wasn't oblivious to some of the stranger goings-on that occurred every so often in the not-so-quiet mountain town.
Tweek could tell when information was being hidden. It was one of the few advantages of his abilities, but he liked to think he was pretty clued in on things before that came into play. He'd spent most of his life reading up on conspiracy theories and he had always pretty confident in his ability to sense when things weren't quite what they seemed. So without even having to use his abilities, he was at least ninety percent certain that there was something unusual about Kenny McCormick.
Tweek had been keeping an eye on him for a while now. He tuned in whenever the news did a story on Mysterion and searched youtube in his free time for shaky video clips of the superhero at crime scenes or in the middle of fights that had been captured by shocked witnesses. Tweek hadn't told anyone about his almost obsessive observation, but he had constructed a pretty substantial list of theories and reasons why Kenny might be different in the same way he was.
His interest in the superhero had actually started back when he was in elementary school, before Coon and Friends had even been a thing. At the time he'd been drawn in by the challenge of figuring out his real identity as much as everyone else in his school had. The widespread curiosity eventually died down once the other boys started playing superheroes too and everyone knew who he was. Tweek's interest picked back up again though when his real abilities began to surface, as he started to notice little things about the masked boy that bothered him.
It seemed that there were always points in Mysterion's fights where it looked like he was completely done for, moments where he was injured or took a fall and failed to get back up, but somehow he always ended up winning.
In fact, there were times he could vaguely remember seeing reports of Mysterion dying, but when he'd looked for them again he couldn't find them. He'd assumed that maybe he just imagined those instances, but there was a nagging feeling that told him that wasn't true.
He tried to tell himself not to be silly, that it was impossible that Kenny had died when he was out there fighting crime as Mysterion again the next day. He couldn't help feeling like a bit of a hypocrite though considering that he himself was a walking impossibility. It didn't really work anyway because the more Tweek saw, the more sure he became that Kenny had some kind of power.
Tweek didn't want to get his hopes up too much, but the idea that someone out there might understand what he was going through did make him feel a lot less alone. It was this that fueled his determination to keep watching in hopes of finding some solid evidence.
At times, when being stuck in the same place for so long had Tweek feeling a little trapped, he considered just going out and running wild with his own powers. Inevitably he decided that was a bit too dangerous for his liking so he decided to leave crime fighting alter egos to the experts and people with death wishes. Sometimes though, he liked to imagine a world where people didn't think he was crazy, creepy or annoying and he actually made a difference.
So far the only thing he had to prove he wasn't imagining everything was a sketchbook full of unfamiliar faces he'd seen in his subconscious. He was pretty good at art and had decided to use his skills to document the things his powers had shown him.
On the rare occasion his parents allowed him to go run an errand for them, he'd actually caught glimpses of some of the people he'd drawn, so he officially knew it wasn't just his overactive brain making up things that didn't exist. He didn't know if he should be happy about that or if he would have prefered finding out he was just seeing things at this point, but he continued drawing people anyway, partially out of boredom and partially because something told him it might be useful one day.
He was in his living room, just finishing off the shading on the nose of someone he'd spoken to the night before when an urgent news report flashed on the TV screen. Tweek placed the sketchbook down next to him and turned the volume up a little before leaning in closer.
It was pretty run of the mill at first, some person had been causing havoc, trying to start riots and so on. Then things took a turn for the slightly more sinister as security footage revealed the person breaking into the mayor's office earlier that day. They were dressed pretty normally, in jeans and a hooded jacket, probably to avoid causing any suspicion, but the mask covering the lower half of their face still ensured that their identity was hidden.
Tweek watched in shock, his eyes wide and frantic as he witnessed the Mayor being carried out of her office unconscious. The masked man turned to look straight into the security camera and a furious pair of eyes stared out at the viewers. "You can have your Mayor back," he spat, "as soon as you give me my daughter back!"
Before Tweek even had time to process what he'd seen, he could feel the familiar tug at his subconscious, the not entirely present sensation that came before being dragged into someone else's mind. He blinked forcefully, willing the sensation to pass, but it was too late.
He could hear muffled voices that were gradually becoming clearer the more he slipped away, voices from wherever the person whose mind he was about to visit was. He tried to fight the sensation of being pulled away from his surroundings, but he couldn't help slumping against the back of the couch as he lost the ability to control his limbs and his eyelids began to feel heavier and heavier.
That was the worst thing about experiencing this when he was awake, he hated not having control of his own body, especially since it was one of the few things he actually had any control over anymore.
After a few more seconds of struggling to keep his eyes open, Tweek's eyelids finally slipped closed and when he opened them again his surroundings were completely different.
The first strange thing he noticed was that this person was fully awake. He'd never entered another person's subconscious while they were awake before. He was used to seeing people's dreams and memories play out in front of him, but right now he could tell he was seeing what the other person was seeing. Tweek didn't know how to feel about that, he didn't like witnessing people's thoughts, dreams and memories because it felt wrong, like he was intruding on something extremely personal.
This felt different though, it felt like someone had dragged him along on an adventure he didn't want to be on and he had no choice but to just watch events unfold.
The second thing he picked up on was that wherever this person was, it was incredibly dark and cold and it seemed like there was more dust in the room than air. The only light source in the room was coming from an almost burnt out candle and even that was barely providing any illumination.
The final detail he zeroed in on was that he could sense the presence of someone else in the room. He often worried about being watched by someone he couldn't see, but now he could actually sense the weight of someone else's gaze upon him. He knew it wasn't actually him being looked at, but he still felt the urge to shrink away and he almost wished he had control of this person's body so he could look for the source of the stare.
He didn't have much time to dwell on this though. He heard someone shift around a little and what sounded suspiciously like the rattling of metal chains before the other occupant of the room spoke up. "Where have you taken me?" the voice questioned and Tweek instantly recognised it as both female and familiar.
"Somewhere no one will ever think to look," his person's voice answered.
"I highly doubt that," the woman contested. "My colleagues and the police will look everywhere they possibly can. This town needs me and they won't stop until they find me."
"Oh really? Is that true Mayor?" his guy's voice contested. "How many people do you think will remember that this town even has a library let alone think to check its basement?" There was a pause and a sharp intake of breath from the other side of the room before he continued. "Besides, I don't plan to keep you here for long. If I don't get what I want by next Monday, I'm going to kill you."
'Holy shit! I'm in the body of a criminal!' Tweek thought as the situation started to click. It dawned on him that he was currently actually occupying the brain of the kidnapper from the news report. Something was off though. This man didn't feel as angry as he looked and acted, if Tweek didn't know better he'd say it actually almost felt like he was scared.
"For the last time, I can't give you your daughter back!" The mayor snapped. "She was at risk of putting everyone's lives in danger and we had no choice but to step in and report her to the authorities," she explained desperately. "I can't possibly get her back because I'm not allowed to know where they took her. Hell, I'm not even allowed to know what state she's in!"
Tweek began to wonder what was going on here. Who was this man? and what had his daughter done that was bad enough to warrant her being taken away? What if she had been like Tweek and they'd taken her away for experiments? He knew that was unlikely, but after seeing one too many X-Men movies and episodes of Heroes, he couldn't help being paranoid that there might be more people out there with powers and the government might be keeping an eye on them ready to strike when they least expect it.
He was distracted from this train of thought when he caught a glimpse of metal in the darkness and realised that this man was holding a gun. "Well, you better hope those higher ups decide to spill some information," he stated and Tweek briefly heard the sound of the gun pressing against skin, "because if they don't, I-I'll be spilling your blood."
Tweek hadn't missed the slight trembling in the man's voice or shake in his hand as he held the gun to her head. He didn't think this man actually wanted to kill anyone. He actually thought that this man was just desperate to make sure his daughter was safe and had ended up letting his actions get way out of hand, but that didn't stop the feeling of relief when he saw the man remove his gun from the Mayor's head and slowly back away.
Tweek shot back into his own body so quickly that it felt like an overstretched elastic band snapping back into place. He gasped a little, breathing heavily as he took in his surroundings and confirmed that he was in fact back in his own living room. "Jesus christ!" he gasped, pressing a hand against his forehead. "What the fuck was that?"
His gaze snapped back to the tv screen as he heard the news reporter add a final piece of information. "If anyone has any information on who this man might be or happened to see anything suspicious they are instructed to contact either the police or Mysterion immediately. That's all for now, we'll be back at ten with the latest headlines from across the globe."
"I've gotta tell someone about this," Tweek mumbled to himself. He knew the police in this town would probably either laugh at him or suspect him if he told them what he knew, so that just left Kenny. "All I have to do is tell him and then I can just forget this whole thing happened and go back to laying low a-and… feeling completely trapped." Tweek sighed, running a hand through his hair and pulling at a few strands at the nape of his neck.
It wasn't that he missed school or drama or anything like that, he was actually kind of thankful to have a break from all of the pressure that came with being around so many people on a daily basis. Being alone in an empty house every day should have been his dream scenario, but in reality it just made him feel suffocated and more than a little claustrophobic.
"Who are you talking to sweetie?" his mom's voice suddenly called from the kitchen doorway. He was so on edge that he jumped and let out what could only be described as a squawk before clutching his shirt as he tried to calm his heartbeat and figure out how breathing worked again.
"Um, n-no one mom," he answered. "I was just thinking out loud."
"Ok hun," his mom answered, undeterred by what she considered to be the boy's usual erratic behaviour. "Well, your dad and I have just put dinner out if you want to come join us."
"Ok mom," Tweek answered, waiting until his mother left the room before standing up shakily and willing himself not to trip on the way to the table as he got used to being in control of his limbs again.
He sat in silence, pushing his food around the plate with trembling hands as he weighed his options. He didn't have any contact details for anyone he went to school with and his mom and dad had started turning the internet off at a certain time because of fear mongering news reports they'd seen about trolls and the possibility of technology brainwashing people.
This meant he would have to go to Kenny's house personally. The only problem was that sneaking out would be a challenge because even if his parents weren't always that vigilant Tweek wasn't exactly that capable of being subtle when he was under pressure. He eventually came to the conclusion that maybe he should just ask them. A decision that he didn't have a lot of time to deliberate over as his father chose that moment to notice his behaviour.
"You ok there, son?" his dad asked. "Picking up radio waves or just thinking?" he added, laughing a little at his unfunny joke.
"Just th-thinking," Tweek replied. He tried to calm his nerves before he asked the question, but that wasn't going anywhere so he decided to scrap that approach and just ask as quickly as possible. "CanIgotoKenny'shouse?" he blurted.
Fortunately, his parents had gotten pretty good at the art of Tweek translation over the years so he didn't need to repeat himself. Unfortunately, their faces both displayed the same 'our son is being weird again' expressions that they wore whenever they were about to shoot down something that he said and write it off as him having an eccentric moment.
"Go to Kenny's house?" his mom questioned. "Tweek, honey, there's no need for that. We don't take coffee deliveries from those people anymore, remember?"
"I-I know, that's not why I want to go over there," Tweek explained, his voice almost a mumble at this point. "I just w-want to go talk to Kenny."
His parents shared a look before sighing and looking back at Tweek, their eyes filled with pity. Tweek kind of wanted to crawl under the table and hide from those expressions. He didn't want their pity, it always felt kind of forced and insincere. It was always directed at him when they were going to say or ask him to do something he wouldn't like.
"It's a Friday evening Tweek, town is going to be busy and this is not like when we send you to do a quick task for us. We don't want you wandering around out there, exposed to all of those people for too long."
"B-but this is really reeally important," Tweek argued, "and it won't take long at all, I promise."
His dad sighed in resignation. "Look son, I know this situation is not ideal for you, it's hard for us too," his dad said. "We've had to hire someone to do all the things you used to do and it's costing us more..." his mom shot a brief look at his dad and Tweek heard her think 'that's not helping', but it failed to stop him. "It's worth it though, to protect the family business. For where else in South Park will people get their fresh, locally brewed coffee; fresh like the breeze on a summer afternoon and expertly blended with a variety of flavours for the ultimate coffee drinking experience?"
"Dad!" Tweek groaned, grabbing fistfulls of his hair. "Can I p-please just go out this one time? It's important I swear!"
"Oh I'm sure it's not that urgent Tweek," his dad replied dismissively. "It's not like it's a matter of life and death or anything."
"But it is though!" Tweek argued.
"I'm sure that whatever you need to tell Kenny can wait until the next time your mom and I see him at the coffee shop," his dad insisted. "Now eat your dinner before it goes cold."
"We're doing this because we care about you," his mom added softly. "Maybe one day if you can learn to control this thing better you can go out more often, but for now it's safer for you to stay here."
Tweek let out a defeated sigh, feeling a little guilty for putting his parents through all of this. He knew they meant well and he knew it had been hard on them to see him come home with injuries from defending himself against people who didn't like him being different, especially after things had just been starting to look up back when he'd been one half of the town's favourite couple. Sometimes he wished he could be normal just so that they could rely on him to do things without panicking or acting weird in public because of his powers. It probably wasn't easy knowing that so many people thought your child was some kind of freak.
"I understand," Tweek assured them. "I'm s-sorry."
"That's ok son," his dad answered, and they all went back to eating in silence.
Later that evening, Tweek found himself pacing his room. He had tried to distract himself, but it wasn't working. Just doing nothing was eating away at him, but what could he do? He didn't have Kenny's phone number or access to the internet.
Even if he could contact the other boy, he was pretty sure a 'Hey, I know I hardly spoke to you that much and I disappeared off the face of Earth, but Mayor McDaniels is being held hostage in the basement of the library. p.s. Don't ask how I know this, I just do.' would not go down well and would look all kinds of suspicious on his part. It would definitely be better if they could somehow talk in person so he could explain everything.
He could try sneaking out, but that would have to involve him finding a way out through one of the upstairs windows. Plus his parents would most probably check on him now that he'd made a bit of a scene at dinner, so that option was also out.
That left him back at square one with nothing though.
He was beginning to feel more than a little agitated and was about five seconds away from a small breakdown when the wall of polaroids caught his eye. For some reason he found himself being drawn towards it, almost as if someone had thrown an invisible lasso around his waist and was now dragging him forwards.
A faint ringing met his ears, almost as if he was approaching town on a busy day and could hear the hum of several conversations in the distance. With each step he took towards the pictures, the noise grew louder, until it sounded more like when he was still at school in a crowded lunch hall and everyone was trying to talk over each other.
He had no idea why, but he suddenly had a very strong feeling that these pictures held the solution to his problem. He cast his glance over the numerous pictures he'd accumulated crossing one arm over his stomach and tapping his chin with the other as his brain worked overtime to figure out how exactly this was going to help him.
The combined voices grew louder and louder and he shakily lifted his hands to press them against his ears even though he knew that wouldn't help.
There was a time when things like this used to freak him out. He vaguely remembers having a panic attack the first time he glanced at something and it pulled him into a flashback of someone else's memory. It still scares the shit out of him when unexplainable things happen sometimes, right now though he didn't have time to stress out about it. He was on a mission to figure out what the fuck these pictures had to do with his situation.
His eyes scanned over each polaroid meticulously, checking the contents of each picture. When he reached the top right corner the voices came to a sudden halt and his eyes narrowed in on the picture there.
Kenny McCormick.
The blond boy was staring back at him with a broad smile on his face and that trademark look in his bright blue eyes that gave off the feeling that he knew something everyone else didn't, that he'd seen things no one his age should see. Tweek briefly wondered if his eyes held that same look now after all the things he'd witnessed, but he concluded that he probably just looked tired more than anything else.
He stood on tiptoes and reached up to pluck the photo off the wall, being careful not to take the paint off the wall with it. On further inspection, Tweek noticed that sure enough, the background was the high school cafeteria. He also recognised Kyle sitting beside Kenny, looking like he had been in the middle of a lengthy explanation when Craig had captured the image.
Turning the picture over, he read 'Had to spend lunch with these losers. They're not the absolute worst though I guess.' in Craig's messy handwriting. He flipped it back over again and stared at the picture, his brows furrowing in confusion.
He didn't often get glimpses of other people's memories from inanimate objects unless the person still had a sentimental connection to it or remembered the item being involved in that memory. If this is what the voices had led to, then that means what he was hearing was echoes from what he assumed was Craig's memories. With that thought an idea hit Tweek like a ton of bricks.
He'd never tried to use his powers on purpose before and he had no idea if he even could. However, there was a chance that if Craig still somehow had a subconscious connection to his photos, Tweek could try and use that to establish some kind of link and project thoughts his way or possibly even bring him into his mind space to talk to him. That way, he could give the message to Craig and Craig could pass it on to Kenny, who would put on his Mysterion outfit and go save the day.
It wasn't a perfect plan, but he decided it was better than nothing and at least worth a try.
He took the polaroid with him and sat on the bed, staring at it for a good few minutes as he tried to figure out how exactly he was going to do this. It was all well and good to theorise that he could potentially communicate this way, but thinking about actually putting it into practice terrified him.
Even if he could get a hold of Craig this way, what the heck was he going to say to him? 'Sorry I've ignored all of your attempts to talk to me for the past few years, but I need you to pass on a message to Kenny for me'? Tweek knew that wouldn't be a good idea. He bit his lip as he thought about it. What if Craig was angry with him? Even worse, what if Craig was upset or disappointed?
He shook his head in an attempt to rid himself of those thoughts. He couldn't think like that right now, someone's life was at stake. That didn't stop a tight ball of anxiety from welling up in his chest though as he crossed his legs and straightened his back, assuming his meditating position.
Exhaling a shaky breath and closing his eyes, Tweek began to focus on the image in his mind, trying to imagine the sights, sounds and smells of the cafeteria on a busy day. He imagined the squeaks of trainers against tile and the buzz of chatter that he had heard previously. He imagined Craig interrupting the flow of conversation with a flash of his camera and he imagined Kenny being ready with a winning smile and Kyle being caught off guard. His thoughts were running wild with little details like the colour of the uncomfortable plastic chairs and the glare of the fluorescent lights that hung above them.
There was a brief moment where Tweek worried that this wasn't going to work, that he had overthought it and now nothing was going to happen. He had opened his eyes again, ready to admit defeat, but the sight that greeted him wasn't his cluttered bedroom.
He felt like he was in a daze as he took in his environment, turning on the spot to make sure he was actually seeing things right. The view that he was met with was without a doubt a school cafeteria, but it was almost as if it had been frozen in time. The students and staff were completely still, stuck in a variety of mid-activity poses, and it was eerily silent with the exception of Tweek's footsteps as he inspected the new surroundings from his spot in the center of the room.
His nerves were all over the place at this point as he slowly maneuvered his way through the human statues and tried to find the awkward, tall brunette he had been hoping to speak to.
"Oh no! Oh Jesus! W-what if I've messed this whole thing up and now I'm stuck here f-for the rest of m-my life?" he mumbled, his whole body shaking. "W-what if Craig is here somewhere too and I got us both trapped here and he's going to h-hate me forever?! Oh God, this is way too much pressure!"
"Hello?" a voice called in response to his ramblings, slicing through the silence and echoing off the walls of the building, causing Tweek to jump. He frowned in confusion as he realised that the voice seemed a bit high pitched and not really nasal enough for the person whose memory he assumed this would be and who he assumed he'd be speaking to. Nevertheless, Tweek inhaled a calming breath as he turned to walk in the direction the voice had come from.
Clenching his fists, he summoned the courage to call out. "C-Craig?" he shouted, "is that you?"
A small chuckle responded to his question as he shuffled his way around a group of bullies and the person they had been in the middle of tripping up. "Not quite," the voice answered teasingly.
Tweek ducked under a lunch tray that had been frozen mid flight and when he stood back up he came face to face with the table he had been looking for and the only occupant that was as present as he was. "Kenny?!" he questioned.
"The one and only," Kenny grinned, shooting Tweek a wink. "Hey Tweek, long time no see."
Tweek found himself unable to respond as he openly stared at the other boy. He couldn't believe this. Not only had he managed to control one of his abilities for the first time ever, but he also managed to get to the actual person he had needed to speak to rather than having to pass the message along. He couldn't help but gawk at the other boy as he tried to comprehend it, but thankfully Kenny either didn't notice or didn't mind. He soon caught on that Tweek was struggling to find his words and filled the silence himself.
"Now, I don't know if I fell asleep or if this is some kind of bizarre out of body experience, but I've gotta say that..." he shifted his gaze to Clyde, who was sat to his left with his mouth wide open mid-chew and a half finished burrito in his hand "... is extremely attractive." He continued to stare at him for a second and poked him in the cheek a few times before turning to address Tweek again.
Kenny gave Tweek a few seconds to respond before deciding that his attempt at an icebreaker had fallen flat and he would probably be better off just cutting to the chase. He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the table and resting his chin on his hands.
"So… what brings us here, stranger?"
