Break-ins were a common fair for ToolShed. More often than not, the second he showed up, the trespassers would panic and he'd use their confusion to capture or incapacitate them. Every now and again one would try to fight back only to have their ass handed to them.
When he received an alert that someone might have broken into the zoo during his patrol, ToolShed expected teenagers or drunk young adults. When it came to places like that, he couldn't imagine actual criminals trying to steal from there.
He waited at the top of the clock tower in the middle of the zoos' square, scanning the area. The alert claimed some passersby saw someone hop the fence, but they weren't sure who. Just as he reached up to turn his goggles to infrared, something caught his eye in the moonlight, near the lion enclosure.
After dropping to the ground, he readied his screwdrivers, just in case, then moved forward.
Chaos' cape fluttered in the breeze as he leaned against the railing. He tapped out a short rhythm against the metal before he turned.
ToolShed's hand inched towards the communicator in his ear. He should call back up. Chaos was a high-level threat. He racked his brain a moment, trying to remember who was out on patrol tonight as well.
Oh, that's right, Mysterion...
ToolShed dropped his hand. He had accepted Kenny keeping Mysterion a secret, but he still struggled to understand his decision to be Chaos' support system.
He even tried to view the situation through Mysterion's eyes in an attempt to puzzle it out but got no farther than before.
Sure, ToolShed believed that people were born good, but some people, like Chaos, were so far down the path of evil, it seemed impossible for them to return.
Kenny claimed that he had no problems taking on Chaos, and vice versa. ToolShed was inclined to believe that, having seen some of the fights they'd gotten into in the time he knew they were dating-there was no love in those blows. Maybe it was a sense of jealousy, but ToolShed couldn't bring himself to call Mysterion in.
He would deal with Chaos himself tonight.
"And a good night to you too, hero." Chaos greeted, looking close to the shadow ToolShed hid in, but not quite looking at him. When ToolShed gave in and stepped into the moonlight, Chaos seemed to stiffen.
Not who you were expecting, huh? ToolShed thought somewhat bitterly.
"Oh, ho? ToolShed? What brings my favorite Home Depot-themed hero out tonight?" Chaos asked casually, leaning back against the railing. If ToolShed came too close, he could easily flip himself backward and activate his rocket boots to escape, so ToolShed stayed his distance.
"I could ask you the same." He crossed his arms.
"Is it illegal now to look at sleepin' animals?" Chaos nodded to the lions. Only a few of them slept. The rest were prowling around the enclosure. ToolShed remembered reading somewhere that lions were nocturnal, but he didn't know if that was true or not.
"It is when the zoo is closed and you don't pay the admission fee."
Chaos shrugged then turned his back to ToolShed to gaze fully over the enclosure.
"I hate zoos." He said suddenly. "I hate that they keep the animals in pens like this. They should be in the wild."
Did Chaos plan to release the animals? Was that why he was here? To scope out the zoo and its facilities?
ToolShed tensed at the thought of having to detain all the wild animals if they were allowed to run amok through the city. There would be no way to return them all without hurting or traumatizing them. His stomach twisted.
"Some of these animals can't live in the wild. They're too old or hurt. They'd be killed by another animal or die of starvation," ToolShed explained. "Or poachers would see them as easy targets. It's not the best zoo, but it's better than nothing."
Chaos turned halfway around, fixing Toolshed with a probing look. ToolShed held his ground, never swaying. He couldn't fight him, not with all these animals around that could be put in harm's way by either of the super-powered men's attacks. For the animals' sake, he had to make sure Chaos understood what a terrible idea releasing them would be.
"Some of them could," He replied, then added after an eye roll, "And I know, but I don't think they should be kept in pens or tanks just to be gawked at. No one should be kept in a pen."
There were a bitterness and anger to his last statement that made ToolShed shiver.
"No, you're right. Many of these animals need much bigger areas than what the zoo can afford," Toolshed relented, praying that giving Chaos and inch wouldn't mean he'd steal a mile.
The villain hummed in thought. "They need more fundin' then."
"Yes, they do. Most good animal and animal rights organizations do. I know that from experience." ToolShed frowned.
Chaos took a step closer, tilting his head a bit to the right. The moonlight glinted off his helmet.
"Are you going to arrest me, ToolShed?"
"No. Not if you leave now and don't cause any harm." He found himself saying, though he didn't understand why. He should arrest him. Chaos was trespassing, along with all the other crimes he was wanted for. Letting him go was not a heroic action in the least.
But Toolshed couldn't bring himself to feel guilty about the offer.
Chaos raised an eyebrow.
"How generous." He looked around. "What's the catch?"
"No catch. Just get going."
"Well, thank you! That's real sweet of you!" A child-like innocence crept into his voice. "The full moon supposed to make people into monsters, but I guess it does the opposite for you, huh?"
With that, he hopped back, flipped over the railing, then clicked his heels together to activate his rocket boots. He took off into the air with a burst of fire. The awake lions in the enclosure jumped at the sound and lights then scrambled to hide in their rock den. No wonder he climbed over the fence to get in.
Once again, ToolShed tried to bring up any feelings of regret or guilt for what he had just done, but for the second time found not a one.
Mysterion rested against the side of a building, his eyes shut and breathing low. If Leo didn't know any better, he would have guessed he was asleep, but the moment he crushed a can underfoot, Mysterion's head shot up.
Leo waved at him, pulling his coat tighter around his body. The spring air still held a touch of winter coldness that Leo would rather keep out.
"Hey there!" He greeted warmly.
Mysterion straightened up. He stood tall and proud. An air of power rolled off him. Leo wondered often if he did that intentionally, or if the cowl and mask gave him an extra confidence boost, like how his Chaos outfit did to him.
"Leo," he greeted with a sharp nod. "It's late. Why aren't you at home?"
He shrugged, not pointing out that Mysterion had been the one who texted him asking to meet up.
"Had some business."
"'Business'?" Mysterion narrowed his eyes.
"Nothin' bad, I swear." Leo held up his hands in a settle down gesture. He knew very well never to talk about his evil schemes to Mysterion. He might mention them to Kenny, but only in the vaguest terms. Usually Kenny would try to talk him out of it, and, as of late, usually, he would succeed.
Leo kneeled down then sat on a turned over trash can. "I went to visit the zoo."
"You told me you hate zoos." Mysterion slipped down the side of the wall to sit on the cold, dirty concrete.
"I do." Leo laughed. "Zoos are just animal prisons."
He waited to see if Mysterion would point out a flaw in his logic but was pleasantly surprised when he didn't.
"Then, why did you go?" Mysterion asked instead.
"I wanted to look at the lions," Leo replied. He decided not to mention he wanted to also check out how secure the zoo was and how easy it would be to unleash the animals from their pens.
"Because of your name?" Mysterion tugged his glove absentmindedly. "'Leo' means 'lion' doesn't it?"
"Um, yeah! But that's not what 'Leopold' means." Leo laughed when Mysterion fixed him with a surprised expression. "It's Germanic or Dutch, I think? It means 'brave people'."
"Huh, I think it sort of suits you, in a way. You know what my given name means? It won't surprise you in the least." A cheeky grin formed on his face. "It means 'handsome.'"
Leo snickered then gently shoved Mysterion's shoulder. He didn't resist and fell to the side then rolled to his back. Mysterion kicked up his leg and rested it on the trash can near Leo's side.
Leo had seen how Mysterion acted towards the other heroes the few times he'd teamed up with them. He was friendly enough and joked occasionally, but he mostly kept himself cut off and reserved. He only let all of that start to slip around Leo, which was something Leo took great pride in.
"Back on topic, why did you want to go look at lions?" Mysterion questioned.
"Because I like 'em. They're oversized kitty-cats, after all. What's not to like? I just didn't want to deal with the crowds." Leo leaned over and began to untie Mysterion's boot. "While I was there, though, something weird happened."
"Weird how? Did the animals start talking?"
"ToolShed showed up."
Mysterion tensed for a heartbeat. If Leo hadn't been paying attention, he probably wouldn't have noticed.
"Did he?" Mysterion muttered. "Why? What happened with 'Shed?"
"Nothin' much." Leo pulled the laces tight before he began to retie them. "He showed up. We talked a little about the zoo. He let me go without trying to arrest me."
"Interesting." Mysterion leaned back and shut his eyes. "He probably didn't want to start a fight and spook any of the animals."
"Probably." Leo tugged the bunny ears of his knot. "He seems like a nice person. I never get to interact with him without everyone else around."
Mysterion hummed. "He is. Most heroes are nice people."
Leo frowned to himself. Of course, Mysterion saw through his pry. He always did. No matter
how casually or vaguely Leo asked, he could never get any information out of his boyfriend about the other heroes. He understood why Mysterion kept that information so close to his chest, but would it really hurt all that much to tell Leo just a few things about them?
"You gonna bring it up to him?" Leo asked.
"Why? How would I know what ToolShed does on his patrols?" Mysterion raised his leg to better examine his boot knot. Nodding in satisfaction, he began to stand back up. "You should head home, Leo. I should, too. Want me to walk you? My shift ended an hour ago."
Leo snorted a laugh. "Is that a solicitation of some kind?"
Mysterion grinned a purely Kenny grin. "Only if you want it to be."
For someone whose entire evil persona was about chaos and disorder, Leo's heart was probably one of the most comforting and consistent sounds Kenny knew.
He nestled closer, enjoying the lulling sound. Leo stroked his hair, adding an extra layer of comfort.
Since they started dating, it had become so easy for Kenny to disconnect 'Leo' from 'Chaos.' At first, it worried him that he would have a harder time fighting Chaos knowing under that mask of evil was someone he truly cared about, but that never seemed to be the case.
Leo was Leo, and Chaos was Chaos.
Once, Kenny asked if Leo had the same disconnect between him and Mysterion, and Leo only laughed and claimed, "You and Mysterion are different, but not in the same way me and Chaos are."
When he asked for an explanation, Leo shrugged and told him, "Mysterion is something different from you. You told me yourself you can feel his power as its own being sometimes. Chaos isn't some other person in me. He's something else, and I want to keep 'him' as far away from 'me' as possible, so if anything ever goes wrong, I have a fallback."
Kenny never asked which one, 'Leo' or 'Chaos', was supposed to be the fallback.
Kenny peeked open his eyes. Leo was doing something on his phone. It looked a little like a banking app.
"What's that?" Kenny nodded towards the phone.
"Charity," Leo replied, closing the tab and setting his phone on the side table. He snuggled down, pulling the thick covers over them.
"What for this time? Another fundraiser? Do you need help at it?"
"No, just an anonymous donation." Leo yawned.
"That's nice of you."
Kenny wanted to pry, find out what organization the donation was going to, but didn't want to risk it being Chaos-related. Maybe it was selfish, but when they were like this, bringing up their other lives seemed wrong. There was a line that neither of them was allowed to cross. If one of them was super then they could toe the line, but only then could their civilian lives and their super lives step on each other.
Though, that seemed to only apply with Leo. Stan was a whole different story. In the few weeks since their reveals, life had actually become easier. No more vague lies of 'working late' or trying to find an excuse to sneak away when an alert came on their phones.
He didn't even need to duck and hide to take off his uniform before going to crash at Stan's. Now he could just ghost in. Stan also seemed a lot less stressed about the whole ordeal, though he still nagged a little about Chaos whenever news of him came up.
Speaking of Stan, Kenny had gotten a text from him earlier but hadn't bothered to check it.
He wondered if it had to do with what happened at the zoo tonight. It would be a lie to say he didn't wonder why ToolShed let Chaos go. It's not like Kenny made him promise to treat Chaos special or anything. In fact, it had been the opposite.
"Hey, Leo, hand me my phone, please?" Kenny asked, refusing to leave the warm sanctuary of blankets.
"Sure." Leo took his phone off the side table and handed it over. Kenny unlocked it and went to his messages.
His eyebrows shot up.
"Oh, wow," He muttered.
"What? What's wrong?" Leo frowned, trying to crank his head over to see Kenny's screen.
Kenny looked up, his eyes gleaming in the dim light from his phone.
"Well, Leo," Kenny shut off his phone with a short, contented chuckle, "it looks like Stan finally wants to meet you."
Stan had never gotten this close to Professor Chaos before. They were both ranged attackers. Neither of them did too well in hand to hand combat. Even the few times Chaos had teamed up with Freedom Pals, ToolShed had never been assigned with him.
But now, in broad daylight, Stan stood less than two feet from Professor Chaos.
No, he's Leo. Kenny said not to confuse the two, Stan reminded himself.
Leo was a towering man, taller than Stan by a few inches and taller than Kenny by a few more. He took up a lot of space but somehow didn't come off as a threatening presence. Maybe it was how soft and round his face was.
The only deterrent that came off as at all unpleasant was a jagged scar that tore from midway through his forehead, down his eyebrow before ending at the top if his cheek.
His scarred eye was a dull, cloudy grey-blue, unlike the bright sky-blue of his other eye. Professor Chaos had a screen built into his helmet that obscured part of his face, particularly one eye.
Stan understood why now.
Leo grinned brightly, holding out his hand. "Howdy! I'm Leo."
Stan took the hand, surprised with how strong and professional the shake was.
"Stan. It's nice to meet you. Kenny's told me a lot." Stan said, glancing at Kenny. Kenny beamed, positive energy rolling off him in waves.
"Likewise!" Leo dropped his hand. "I'm really happy to finally meet you, Stan. Kenny gushes about you all the time. Even on dates. So much, I think he forgets we're dating too." He laughed, but Stan heard no malice or spite behind it.
Kenny opened his mouth to defend himself when Stan stated, "Don't worry. He goes on and on about you when he's with me, too."
"You know what, just for that, you two can both pay for me." Kenny spun around on his heels then headed towards the restaurant. "This man's getting steak. Split that up how you want."
The restaurant was small and quaint and rustically-themed with an outdoor dining area. They chose a table outside to enjoy the spring sunshine. As the waiter walked off to get their drink orders, Kenny leaned back in his seat, taking the feet of the chair off the ground.
"It's such a nice day. Great weather, good company. Simply perfect." He sighed.
Stan reached over and pushed his chair back down on all fours. "Perfect until you fall backward and crack your head open."
"What are you," Kenny teased, "my third-grade teacher?"
Leo snorted and Stan just rolled his eyes. He turned to Leo instead of continuing any banter with Kenny.
"So, Kenny says your an entrepreneur. What's that like?"
Leo looked away shyly. "Oh, it ain't nothin' special. I helped found a company or two when I was in school and when I made enough that I could live well, I started givin' the rest to start-ups. So many people have amazing ideas but not the money to make them come to life."
"Oh, that's really cool. Are the companies you founded any I might have heard of?" Stan asked.
Leo's face went red and he looked away. "Oh, ah, well, maybe?" He began to tap his knuckles together. "Um, you ever heard of 'Butters's Kissing Company', the escort service? Um, ha-ha, that was one of them."
Stan stared, shocked. "You started an escort service when you were in college?"
"Not college, um, high school." He laughed nervously. "I, uh, I didn't actually know what escorting was then, I just, um, I knew people would pay money for friendship and fake relationships and stuff. It started as just a few girls and one guy at school, but then it...well, it got out of hand."
"'Out of hand' is putting it lightly." Kenny rested his chin on his knuckles. "I remember hearing that your agents made five thousand a day. I nearly signed up, actually."
"N-no one made that much," Leo stammered. "Besides, it doesn't matter anymore. I sold the company to the workers, and they've changed the whole thing."
"How?" Stan asked.
The embarrassment on Leo's face left, replaced with a proud grin. "The girls I left it with turned it into an employment agency! They even got a daycare for parents who wouldn't be able to work otherwise."
Stan listened with interest as Leo rambled on about the other improvements the company had done since he sold it. The waiter brought out their drinks as Leo spoke about one of his first adult agents starting up her own bakery, and Stan forgot for a moment that the man in front of him was a supervillain. It almost didn't seem possible that someone who seemed to care so much for others could possibly be Professor Chaos.
"And her daughter is the cutest dang thing!" Leo was saying. "Got the same hair as her mama and the spitfire tempter of her mom. She's gonna go so many great places. I'll make sure of that myself."
"Wow," Stan whistled, "that's amazing. Kenny was right: you are a really nice person."
"Well, from what I hear, you are, too. Kenny told me you volunteer to help at the animal shelter." Leo leaned across the table, nearly knocking his glass of Sprite off.
Stan chuckled. "I wouldn't call that nice. I just really like animals is all."
Leo's expression changed suddenly into something unreadable. "I like animals, too. How do you feel about the zoo? Do you like it? Go there often?"
Kenny stiffened at the question, scooching closer to Leo. Stan wasn't sure but it looked like Kenny was trying to gently push Leo back. Did this have to do with what happened that night at the zoo between Chaos and ToolShed? No, Kenny promised him that Leo didn't know who Stan was.
Stan took a breath.
"I think zoos have their place in the conservation of wild animals and in education, but some animals shouldn't be kept there, like whales." Stan took a drink of his Coke. "I wish our local zoo had the funding to expand
and give the animals all the room and enrichment they'd ever dreamed of."
Leo leaned back, smiling. "I wish it did too."
Kenny sighed to himself then rested both his arms across the table. "Didn't someone donate a lot of money to the zoo recently? I remember reading about—" His phone began to ring. "Oh, uh, sorry, one sec." He scooted his chair back to stand then walked to the corner of the restaurant's wooden fence to talk.
A moment later he came rushing over. A little annoyed, he dropped his coat over the back of his chair.
"I, um, work." He glanced at Leo. Stan felt a small pang of jealousy but swallowed it down. Leo didn't know that both of them knew Kenny's secret.
"Work? What's wrong?" Stan asked, trying to sound less curious than he actually was.
"Teenagers fucking around," Kenny replied in a deadpan.
"Ah." Stan nodded.
'Teenagers,' so he must be called to deal with Mesphesto's mutants. They weren't too difficult of a threat. Mysterion could probably beat a small batch of them quickly.
"Yeah, it shouldn't take long." He pressed a kiss to Leo's temple, then Stan's. "Order me something good and expensive, since I'm not paying," He called as he hopped the fence and darted down the street.
Leo chuckled into his hand."He's such a hard worker, but I'm glad he's gone."
Stan raised an eyebrow. "Why?"
"Come on, didn't you notice? Kenny was nervous." Leo frowned. "I think he didn't think we would like each other. Which is silly! I like you a whole lot." A smile spread across his face.
"Oh, yeah, I like you, too," Stan replied, though with less sincerity. With Kenny off on hero business, Stan couldn't help but be reminded just who Leo was.
If Leo noticed, he didn't have time to reply since the waiter returned to take their orders.
"Sorry for the wait," The waiter said. "What can I get you—oh, your friend's gone. Should I come back?"
"No, we'll order for him." Leo waved his hand. "A number five for him." As Leo went on to explain which sides Kenny would like, Stan scrambled to scan the menu. They'd been so busy talking, he hadn't bothered to choose an order.
He winced. Like the homie, Midwestern charm the rest of the restaurant was trying to convey, the food was nothing less than the most stereotypical midwestern and southern foods: steaks, ribs, and chops, deep fried fish and chicken, and a variety of Tex-Mex style foods.
They did have salads, but that didn't sound all too appealing today. He'd half-lived off baked and mashed potatoes the last week before payday. Maybe—
"Uh, sir?" The waiter cut into Stan's thoughts.
"Oh, uh, sorry, sorry." Stan turned the menu. "Is it possible to get this but without the beef?" He gestured to the quesadilla and chips.
"Of course. No trouble at all." The waiter bobbed his head. "Anything else."
"No, I'm good. Leo?" Stan asked, handing his menu over.
"Nope. Thank you, though." Leo mimicked his action. The waiter took all the menus then spun around to take their orders to the cook.
Leo tilted his head before asking, "No beef, huh? Are you a vegetarian?"
Stan laughed. "Only sometimes. The restaurants I usually go to, I make sure the meat they use comes from humane sources or only eat non-meat foods. Since I've never been here, I figured it was better safe than sorry."
He tensed, waiting for the inevitable scoff or snort, but unlike when he went out with his family, Leo didn't make any snide remark.
"Well, shucks, I wish you'd told me! I would have made sure we went to a place like that." He reached over the table and patted Stan's hand. "Sorry about that."
"No, no, it's fine." Stan shook his head but didn't take his hand from under Leo's. "Thanks for being cool about it. When I first took my parents out, my dad wouldn't shut up about me being 'so millennial'." He rolled his eyes dramatically. "I love my dad, but he's a huge asshole."
Leo winced. "My dad's an asshole, too, but I don't love him." He drew his hand back, leaving the cold to settle over Stan's skin. A heavy silence filled the air. He chewed his lip, unsure how to break it, when Leo chuckled, embarrassed.
"Sorry about that. I just...I really hate that guy." Leo beat his knuckles together again. "Change of topic, what's it like working at the animal shelter?"
Back on a topic Stan comfortably knew and could discuss, they carried on in conversation until the waiter returned. He refilled out their drinks and apologize for the wait.
"It should only be a few more moments before—"
He was cut off by a car hurtling down the street. It crashed into a building. Mysterion followed along seconds afterward.
The masked hero rolled into his fall before bouncing to his feet. A flurry of swears escaped his lips as a monstrous creature came barreling down the road with its large, hairy arms raised up in rage.
The mutant threw its arms down, nearly hitting Mysterion. Mysterion dove out of the way. He pivoted on his toes to land a punch into the mutant's cheek. It toppled to the ground, blood oozing out of its nose.
"Oh, my WORD!" The waiter screamed, dropping the pitcher of Coke he brought out to refill Stan's glass.
Stan jumped to his feet, mind instantly switching to hero mode. First things first, he had to get the waiter and other restaurant goers inside, or, preferably, get them to leave the area, but as Stan, he knew that wasn't possible.
Leo, though, Leo was a problem. There wasn't quite enough chaos that Stan could easily ditch Leo and make it to his car where his hero uniform lay hidden under the back seat.
Stan shook his head. He could deal with Leo later, right now, he had to protect the civilians.
"Everyone, get inside!" He called, pushing the waiter towards the door. The glass of the pitcher crunched underfoot.
The other restaurant goers didn't need to be told twice since most of them were already shoving their way through the only door back inside. The waiter took off not long after the last patron disappeared through the door. Stan went to grab Leo's hand, about to sling him inside, only to find Leo standing at the edge of the fence and not near their table.
"Leo!" Stan ran over. "We need to go."
Leo stared out at the battle, his lips twitching in anger. His nails dug into the stained wood of the fence.
"Leo," Stan tugged on his sleeve. "Mysterion can handle this. He's a hero. We need to get inside."
Leo glanced back at him then sighed in defeat and nodded. Before the two could make it back to the door, something large, grey, and very angry crashed through the outdoor seating.
Stan had seen many of Mephesto's human-animal experiments before, but this one was new. A horn protruded from the middle of its pimple-covered face. Thick, leathery hide covered its arms and back. Three-fingered hands with stumpy digits pushed it up from the ground.
"A rhino?" Stan gasped.
It shook its head before turning its attention to Stan and Leo. The mutant narrowed its eyes before pawing at the ground, preparing to charge.
"S-shit!" Stan gripped Leo's hand. As the rhino began to charge at them, he pulled them to the side. The rhino barely missed being crushed.
Without missing a beat, he was on his feet and towing Leo down the street. They ran past Stan's car, leaving him with a wince on his face.
He felt powerless without his tools. He had one singular screwdriver he kept hidden up his sleeve at all times, but what good would that do? If only he had his chalk line, at least then he could trip the damned thing!
"Stan! Zig-Zag! Go sideways! Rhinos can only charge in a straight line!" Leo called.
That sounded right enough to Stan, though at that moment, he didn't have the time to think if he'd heard that logic from a reliable source or an action movie.
With a bolt of speed spurred on by adrenaline, Stan pulled them towards an alley. The rhino rushed by a second later.
Stan hauled them behind the dumpster. He pressed his back against the brick of the building, clenching Leo's hand tightly.
"I don't think it knows where we went," Leo panted. "Are you ok?"
"Fine." Stan glanced around the dirty alleyway. Piles of trash bags had been left along the walls. Many of them were torn open, probably from wild animals attempting to find a meal. Spray painted names and drawings of dicks covered the walls while boards had been nailed to the lower windows. The high wooden fence in the back had barbwire attached to the top, making a quick escape over it to the back lot beyond it nearly impossible.
"The fire escape." Stan pointed when his eyes fell on it. "If it comes back, we'll be too high to get."
Leo nodded. "Right. Good thinking, Stan."
They ran over. Leo hopped up to the first rung and began climbing. Once he was near the first landing, Stan stepped to follow.
The moment his hand touched the rung, the sound of crushing metal filled the alley. The rhino mutant shoved the dumpster aside then stamped closer. It's stumpy fingers grabbed for Stan.
With a gasp, he jumped up, skipping the first two rungs.
"Go! Go! Go!" He screamed, but Leo had already hustled up to the first landing. Turning on his knees, Leo watched Stan climb for his life with wide eyes.
The rhino let out a roar before grabbing the ladder of the fire escape. It twisted the metal and shook it. Stan gasped, pressing close to the ladder. He was so close to the top, but with all the shaking, he wasn't sure he could make it.
At the top of the ladder, where it attached to the first-floor landing, the metal began to stretch from all the abuse. If the metal didn't give out first then the rattling bolts would.
Leo grabbed hold of the railing before reaching out his hand.
"Stan!"
Stan swallowed, then swung his hand up to grab Leo's. Seconds after he did, the bolts finally gave way. With one last mighty pull, the rhino ripped the ladder off, smacking Stan across the knees.
He let out a yowl of pain, wishing he had Mysterion's
healing abilities. His knees weren't broken, but they weren't well either.
Bracing himself, Leo tried to pull Stan up as the rhino chucked the ladder over its shoulder.
It jumped to grab hold of Stan's legs. With a gasp, Stan swung his legs up as high as he could manage. When the massive creature landed, the ground shook. Leo nearly stumbled forward.
"Leo!" Stan swung his other hand up, gripping tight to Leo's wrist.
"S-Stan, I don't think I can pull you up! Not with it jumping like that!"
Stan clenched his eyes shut. Shit. Stan couldn't do anything, but what about ToolShed?
He looked down, scanning around in vain for anything, any power tool just laying around. Even without electricity, he could still make it move at least, but, of course, there was nothing. Not even a discarded power drill.
All he had was the screwdriver up his sleeve.
The rhino jumped again. Its fingers brushed his jeans but didn't manage to grab hold of his leg.
He had only one option.
"Leo, please, promise me you'll let me explain and that you won't be mad at Kenny," Stan pleaded.
"What?!" Leo choked out.
This time when the rhino tried to grab Stan, he succeeded in ripping off his shoe.
"Promise me, Leo!" Stan screamed.
"Ok! Ok! I promise!" He swore.
Steeling himself with a breath, he took one hand from Leo's grasp. He flicked his wrist just right, sending the screwdriver from its holder at the bend of his elbow down into his hand.
"Get screwed, asshole!" Stan yelled, throwing the screwdriver down with practice precision.
The tool hit its target, the rhino's eye. The mutant screeched, doubling over to clutch its face.
The moment it stopped rattling the ground, Leo was able to pull Stan up enough he could grab the back of his shirt with his other hand and haul him to safety.
Falling to his stomach, Stan panted.
"F-fuck." He muttered.
"That was—" Leo began, but a new screech of rage cut him off.
The rhino, blood oozing down its face, had pried out the screwdriver. It tossed it aside, stumbling until it fell over the discarded ladder.
Leo dragged Stan to his feet. "The roof!"
Stan winced but followed Leo up the rest of the fire escape to the roof. They waited a moment before looking back down. The rhino, still shaking, stumbled back out of the alley, finally giving up the chase.
Stan slumped down and rolled up his jeans past his knee. Dark purple bruises already spread down half of his leg. He leaned back and stretched out one of his legs. A cool breeze blew through the fabric of his sock to press against his toes. At least he would have a good reason to take time off from work now.
A boot came crashing down on his chest then.
When his head stopped spinning from the impact, he looked up to see Leo's once sweet and kind face morph into one of bitter anger.
"I knew this would happen," He growled, so low and spiteful that Stan froze. "I knew he would betray me. Everyone does sooner or later. I should have known to never trust a hero. Isn't that right, ToolShed." He ground his boot against Stan's sternum.
"S-Stop! Leo, you—ah!—you promised you'd listen! You promised you wouldn't be angry at Kenny!" Stan grabbed his boot, but he didn't have the energy to push him off.
Leo raised his lip in disgust.
"Then explain! Tell me why I shouldn't pick you up and dump you off the side of this building right now!"
Stan took a shaking breath. "Kenny thinks you're a good person. I-I do, too. I don't know what in your past failed you so much that you went down this path, I really don't, but I want to help you. I want to be part of your support system, like Kenny. Please, Leo."
He offered up his hand. Without taking it, Leo stepped back off his chest. Coughing, Stan forced himself up into a sitting position.
"What did Kenny tell you. You two aren't even dating, right? 'Stan' was just a lie he made up to bring you into the picture, isn't he?" He fixed his scarred eye on Stan, sending shivers down his spine.
Rubbing his chest, Stan shook his head. "My name really is Stan, and Kenny and I really are dating. I didn't even know he was Mysterion until a few weeks ago. You've known longer than I have."
Leo's face switched, for just a fraction of a second, to a softer expression, before his mask of anger returned.
"How much did he tell you about me?" He demanded.
"About 'Leo' or about 'Chaos'?" Stan rolled his shoulder in its socket. "Kenny's told me a lot about Leo: how he's a painter and can play the flute and drums, how he's a kind person who likes to help people, but a shrewd and clever businessman. He's told me nothing about Chaos besides that he and Leo are the same person."
Leo considered that for a moment. He shut his eyes.
"Do the rest of the heroes know?"
"No, as far as I know, I'm the only one besides Kenny to know who you are."
"Hmm..." He opened his eyes. "You love Kenny, don't you?"
Stan nodded slowly. "Yes. He means a lot to me."
Leo crouched down. He met Stan's eyes with his own and held his gaze as he spoke.
"You love him, so you must understand how detrimental it would be to his life for news of his secret to get out."
Stan didn't look away. "I do."
Leo stared him down for a few more heartbeats before standing himself. "Alright then." He held out his hand. His expression softened into a gentle smile. "If your house is close, I think we should go there. If not, we'll go to mine. You need an ice pack and an aspirin or two as soon as possible."
Mysterion's head felt like heavy cotton from the beating he took. His limbs ached. A sharp pain pulsed from his back with every heartbeat.
At least he knew Leo and Stan were alright.
Out of the corner of his eye, during the fight, he had seen Mephesto's new rhino mutant chase after them.
In a state of panic for their safety, he went all out with his powers, pulling the gorilla mutant he was fighting into a tight, shadowy grip until it choked on the thick smoke and passed out.
The rhino got the same treatment once Mysterion tracked it down. Looking over its body, he couldn't help but cringe.
The wound to its eye had to be from 'Shed. A blood trail lead him to a nearby alley. Investigating the alley, he found the discarded, bloody Phillips head and Stan's shoe next to a twisted ladder.
He turned over his shoulder, about to slap the rhino awake and demand answers, but forced himself to think rationally.
The rhino had stumbled away from the alley, so Leo and Stan must have escaped somehow. Even if it did see where they went, it would be cruel to put the afront to nature through any more pain.
Both the gorilla and the rhino were just kids, at one point. Kids with families and futures that Mephesto tricked into being human guinea pigs for his experiments. These kids didn't have a future now. Most mutants didn't live more than a year or two after their creation.
The Netherborn began to pull back, allowing the pain of his wounds to pound back to life. His crime alert buzzed. With a spinning head, he whipped it out before slumping against the alley wall. Small bits of the crumbling brick dug into the wounds across his back.
A message from ToolShed flashed back at him from the screen.
'Leo and I are at my house. Please come by soon. We need to talk.' It had said.
Mysterion didn't wait until the police and animal control showed up to leave. Timmy can bitch at him about it later. He didn't care about rules right then.
Ghosting through the crack in Stan's living room window, Mysterion made himself known by knocking over Stan's guitar that had been left against the wall.
He was so tired and hurt so much, he barely made it back by slipping unseen through the dimensions.
At the commotion, Stan's head appeared in the doorway. He wore a pair of shorts that Kenny was sure were actually his own. The lower half of his legs were purple and red in color. Kenny wondered what happened. Couldn't have been too bad if Stan was still able to walk, though, he figured.
"Kenny!" He rushed around the couch. He froze, eyes growing wide. "That's a lot of blood on your uniform. Is it yours?"
"H-hey, dude, don't worry about it. It's fiiiine." Kenny tried to smile but knew it came out more like a wince. He braced himself against a shelf.
Leo followed close behind Stan. He narrowed his eyes at him. Unlike Stan, Leo was used to seeing Kenny with blood across his clothing from their years as sworn enemies and paid it little mind.
"Guess the cat's out of the bag?" Kenny joked.
"Which cat?" Leo snapped. "That Stan's Toolshed or that you told him who I was?"
Kenny blinked hard. Why were there two Leos and two Stans? He needed a nap.
"Oh. Both cats." He nodded slowly.
"Don't act like this isn't serious, Kenny!" Leo snarled. "You promised you wouldn't tell anyone! Stan already told me what happened, but you could have at least told me that you blab—"
Kenny stumbled forward, holding his fingers to one of the Leos' lips.
"Shhhh, baby," He slurred his words together. "We can talk all about this later, but for now..." He took a step, only to fall forward to his knees. The carpet rubbed against the cuts and tender bruises on his legs, but he paid the pain no mind.
Resting his folded arms on the couch, he leaned against them.
"For now, I need to sleep. So tired..." His eyes began to slip shut.
He heard a gasp, then felt arms on his shoulder, brushing his cape from his back.
"Kenny, the fuck happened! Your back is—oh God." Stan brushed his fingers along the destroyed skin, and Kenny tensed.
"Stupid mutants got me good," He muttered. "I used up too much power stopping them so I could save you both, but..." He laughed drunkenly, "Looks like you didn't need it."
Leo came up beside him, pushing his hood and mask back from his face before struggling with the scarf around his neck. Kenny listened to them talking. They sounded worried, but he couldn't
quite figure out why.
He's immortal. There's nothing to worry about! They both knew that, but if Stan and Leo wanted to fuss over him, he might as well let them. It could count as bonding time for them.
"Hey, do you guys like each other?" He asked as Leo pulled his cape off over his head. "Did I do good in letting you meet?"
Stan sighed, brushing Kenny's hair from his face.
"Yeah, Kenny, we do. You did great."
Kenny smiled at that before he rested his head on the couch again. When he woke up from his nap, they would have to celebrate.
AN: Is that...stutters I smell? =^)
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