Brilliant, Chapter 2
Summary: Sabo has grown up in a world where superheroes are good and villains are bad. At sixteen, he runs away from home to start a new life as a hero, and to escape an abusive father. But not all is as it seems. Whisked into the dangerous world of villainy, he struggles to stay alive, and along the way he meets two brothers who change his life forever. Is he truly meant to be a hero? AU
Warnings: violence, explicit themes, dystopia.
Enjoy! Please review if you can!
Chapter 2 - Heroes
The train shudders to a halt. Sabo jolts awake, head snapping up, as people around him begin to move and stand from their seats, flooding towards the door. He blinks sleep out of his eyes, disorientated. More people must have entered the carriage when he was asleep. Outside, the sun is shining brightly and Sabo can see a busy train station platform. There is a sign on the wall that reads, 'BROCKTON BAY'.
A jolt of excitement rushes through him. He stands, tugging his sweatshirt down from where it has risen up in his sleep, and slips out into the aisle, moving towards his suitcase. His legs feel wobbly with sleep. Out on the platform, somebody is blowing a whistle, telling people to hurry off the train. Tiny flutters near his head, drawing stares from the other commuters, and Sabo finds that he doesn't care. Grabbing his suitcase off the luggage rack, he extends the handle and steps out into the station, dragging it at his side.
Immediately, he is hit with a rush of cold. Brockton Bay is a northern city, known for bad weather, and the chill makes Sabo shiver as it seeps through his sweatshirt and freezes him to the bone. The air smells like oil and gasoline, and it's damp like it was raining all night, moisture lingering in the wind. He takes a deep breath, makes sure Tiny is still nearby, and strides through the station along with the tide of commuters, letting himself be pulled out onto the street by the flow.
Outside the large double-doors to the station, it feels even colder. Sabo stands there for a moment, in front of a busy street, and has no idea what to do. What now? Which direction should he go? He feels abruptly, horribly panicked, alone and unknowing in a city he's never seen before. Is this how it feels to move someplace new? A small part of him feels like he would rather be at home-
No. He forces the thought out of his head. No. He would rather be in hell than back home. With a new resolve burning in his chest, Sabo turns and starts off to the left, pacing down the sidewalk resolutely. Huge skyscrapers tower in every direction, making him feel extraordinarily small. The sky is a dark, gloomy grey, and cars screech past on the road beside the station. Sabo passes a lamppost and plastered to it is a poster reading, 'PARAHUMANS ARE TO REPORT TO THE HEADQUARTERS OF THE WARDS IMMEDIATELY'.
Sabo stops walking. The Wards - the government funded group of superheroes who protect this city. They're the people he aspires to join. He hesitates, considering finding their address and going to them. Surely they could offer him some place to stay? Shelter and guidance? The idea is more than tempting. But at the same time… he can imagine going to them now, and explaining his situation, and the thought of that makes his stomach curl. 'Hi, my name is Sabo. I'm from halfway across the country. My father was a little harsh so I ran away. By the way, my power is controlling bugs. Practically useless, I know.'
Okay, so maybe not the Wards. Not yet, anyway. Maybe, if he can find a place to stay, Sabo can get a little experience - he can go out in costume, get the feel of these streets to start. Maybe he can even try to take down a few villains. It would be good to come to the Wards with a bit of experience under his belt at the very least. He decides to stick to that plan for now and sets off again, resolving his mind to pretend he never saw the poster. It's hardly the law to report to the wards, right?
Sabo walks a few blocks north, through the hustle and bustle of the central city. Brockton Bay, he soon realises, is...not how he had expected it to be. Sure. the tall buildings and the wide roads are stunning, shocking in their sheer size. But everything else is strange. Off. He had expected cleanliness and grandeur, almost, and… there is nothing of the sort. The people are grimy and sullen, heads down, moving hurriedly, and the crowds are occasionally split by police and people in Parahuman Regulation Team uniforms. The PRTs put Sabo on edge. He feels like he should be hiding from them, even though he doesn't know why.
When he's about a mile from the station, there is suddenly a loud commotion behind Sabo. He turns around, subconsciously moving into the shadows a little. A little ways behind him, a policeman has his hand wrapped around the wrist of a skinny little kid who is obviously struggling to escape.
"No! Let me go! I didn' do anythin'!"
"Give it up, kid, we know who you are-"
The kid struggles harder. He looks twelve or thirteen at most and his voice is shrill with panic. "No!"
Before Sabo has even thought about it, he has stepped out into the light and his hand is on the police officer's arm and his fist is in the man's face. It's not a hard hit but the asshole reels back, grunting with pain. People in all directions scatter, yelling, and Sabo's blood goes cold. Fuck.
The kid looks up at Sabo wide-eyed. His sandy blonde hair falls into his eyes. He looks terrified. Sabo reaches out a hand - to do what, he doesn't know - and the child flinches back. Turning on his heel, he sprints away down the street, away from Sabo and out of sight, skinny form disappearing around a corner. Sabo stands for a moment, stock-still and stunned, before the sound of approaching policemen startles him out of his shock.
Fuck. That was stupid.
A dark shape - another police officer - breaks through the crowd. The first one is nursing a bloody nose, hand on his radio. Somebody puts a hand on Sabo's arm and he bursts into action, tearing himself from their grip and taking off down the street. His too-small trainers make his feet ache as they pound on the concrete. Fear hits him hard. No. If they catch him now, he'll be sent back home, and his father will kill him, surely, he'll rip him apart-
He turns off into an alleyway and sprints through the shadows, running as fast as he can force his body to go. His footsteps echo. He can hear the pounding of the boots of the police behind him, chasing him, rounding into the alleyway just as he turns around and out of the other end. Making a split second decision, he forces himself into an alcove beside the alleyway, squeezing in under a set of metal stairs, clutching his suitcase to his chest. He barely breathes as he hears the police thunder past - two or three of them, holding batons and guns, chasing him. They don't see him. He doesn't dare to move an inch until they disappear down the street.
...fuck.
Still pressed into the hollow beneath the metal stairs, Sabo slumps back against the wall, eyes wide. He hugs his suitcase tightly to his chest, sliding down until he hits the floor and ends up crumpled there, breathing hard. His knuckles burn with pain. He feels the adrenaline leaving him slowly, seeping out of his body. His ears are ringing.
Hoards of spiders skitter around his feet. Sabo can't muster the will to send them away. He feels Tiny whirring near his ears, wings a blur, obviously sensing his distress. Fuck. Sabo realises, heart sinking, that he hadn't even been in the city a day and he's already committed a crime. Let's just hope they didn't get a good look at his face. Heroes are hardly people who get on the bad side of the police.
A little voice in the back of his head says, yes, but heroes help people. And that little kid obviously needed help. Isn't that being a hero?
Sabo's brain is too muddled to think about it properly. He needs to get moving, he knows, before they come back this way. He struggles to his feet - his legs feel numb, like they've been drenched in ice cold water. Police sirens wail through the streets, echoing up towards him, and Sabo hopes that something worse has happened so they will be distracted. He doubts his stunt would call for a police car.
The spiders are everywhere - there are ants too, and cockroaches and bluebottles and moths. Sabo can feel them all around him, in every direction. He is acutely aware of every bug for a mile around and the sudden onslaught of information and sensation nearly makes him fall back against the wall. Fuck. He knows he needs to calm down and he tries to reel his power in, taking deep breaths. Tiny - simple-minded and familiar - is a soothing presence as she flits around his head. Focusing on her, Sabo eventually manages to keep his power from going out of control.
By the time he does, a relatively long amount of time has passed. Sabo is pretty sure at this point that the police aren't going to still be searching for him, but he still keeps his hood up and his head down as he slips back onto the street, one hand still dragging his suitcase. Every passerby feels like somebody watching him. Each second makes him feel more wary. The excitement of coming here has worn off.
This city… there's something wrong about it. Something almost evil. Sabo intends to find out what.
A kid wanders into the shop. It's one of the establishments on the richer end of the boardwalk, the kind of place where people like him shouldn't be. The cashier narrows her eyes at him as he trails dirt through the entryway, making his way over to a rack of $200 coats and looking through them, grubby fingers dirtying the white leather. She glares, like she's trying to burn holes through him with her disapproving eyes. He ignores her.
He looks ten or eleven, maybe, and he's very small. His scruffiness stands out in the staunch, white cleanliness of this place. The cashier steps around the front counter and marches towards him, a sickly sweet smile on her face that doesn't match her aggressive posture. He continues to ignore her, tugging at a price tag labeled with a sum that he most likely hasn't even dreamt of laying eyes on. She knows his type - street kids who get overconfident, who come to places like this to get a kick out of getting chased out by security. It'll be a hassle to get him out without disturbing the real customers.
She coughs pointedly, crossing her arms as she stands behind him. He continues to ignore her, until she puts a hand on his arm. "Excuse me."
Twenty-eight. Grew up on the richer side of town. Has never been in a fight. Doesn't want to be in a fight. Lives with boyfriend. Boyfriend is cheating. Boyfriend is abusive. Boyfriend is thirty, boyfriend is an alcoholic, boyfriend grew up with an adoptive father, father was-
The kid shakes his head firmly, stopping the flow of information about the cashier. Fuck. Out of all of the powers he could have gotten, this is one of the worst ones - information? Really? All he wants to fight with is his fists, not knowledge. Knowledge is useless when you're trying to stay alive. It's stupid, anyway, and it gives him headaches. Stupid power.
She shakes his arm, turning him to face her. "Excuse me, but I think you should leave."
Luffy raises an eyebrow. "Wha?"
"I said, brat-" her tone is clipped and tense. Doesn't want other customers to hear. Afraid to get fired. It's hard to get work. Her boyfriend will be angry. He might leave. They live near the docks. The docks are cold this time of year. They first moved in last summer-
"Ugh, stop," Luffy mumbles to himself.
"What?!"
"Nothing, nothing-" he rubs his forehead. "Look, lady, leave me alone."
He's got a slight New York accent. She wrinkles her nose. Thinks people from out of town are irritating. Doesn't like change. "Look, kid, if you don't leave I'm going to call security."
"Why?"
"What do you mean, 'why'?!"
Luffy blinks. "I mean, like, why should I leave? I didn't do anything, right?"
"Your...kind shouldn't be in here," the cashier hisses. "I doubt you could even afford to look at that jacket. Go back to the docks, little-"
Suddenly, there's a huge crash from the front of the shop - smashing glass. The cashier screams, hands over her head, and Luffy turns towards the noise with mild interest. A body has been thrown through the glass shopfront - a preteen, with dark hair and angry eyes, scrambling to his feet in a pile of shattered glass. Two PRT officers storm into the shop, guns raised towards him, and he raises his arms in front of his chest like he can deflect the bullets with his bare skin.
A rush of information floods into Luffy's head all at once. Foreign. Underweight. Scared - terrified. They've been searching for him for a long time. Powerful. Very, very powerful.
"Put your hands up!"
One of the PRT officers edges around the boy, gun still pointed at him. "Down on your knees - I said, down on your knees!"
The boy is trembling, with anger or fear. Both. "I'll use my power. Put your guns down, or I'll use my power, I swear-"
There's a loud crack as one of the guns goes off. It misses the boy by inches as he rolls to the side, and all of the lights in the building flicker out at once. Luffy edges closer to the older boy in the dark and, as the PRT officers are distracted, grabs him by the hand and pulls him towards the exit. The other struggles for half a second before following, keeping pace with Luffy as he sprints out of the door and into the street. They run for what feels like hours - down the boardwalk, into a sidestreet, through the myriad of alleyways and narrow backstreets to the docks. Luffy doesn't get tired easily- he used to run around the city a lot, back home - but when they finally come to a stop, both he and the boy are gasping for breath.
They end up stopping in a backstreet, a few blocks from the docks, hidden in the shadows and out of the view of any PRTs who could be searching for them. Sunlight filters down on them from gaps in the buildings high above. Luffy leans against the wall, panting, and the strange kid slumps down and ends up curled in a ball on the ground, back pressed against a rotten, metal skip. Neither of them speaks for a moment. For a while, the only sound in the alleyway is fast breathing.
Eventually, Luffy's new companion pulls himself to his feet. "Why did you help me?"
Accent. He's south-American. Hasn't been in this country for long. Things were bad where he used to live. Very bad. Knows seventeen different swear words in Portuguese-
Stupid brain. Stupid power.
"I'm Luffy! Hi!" Luffy extends a hand to the other boy. "I saw you got into some shit."
"You heard them. I'm…" He struggles for the word. "Podero- powerful. Too powerful. They're hunting for me, even in this country. You should go."
Luffy pouts. "People hunted for me, too, back home. It doesn't mean you're bad."
"It… doesn't?"
"Nah!" Luffy sits down on the cold concrete ground, gesturing for the other boy to do the same. He does, hesitantly. "It just means they think you're different, and they think it's wrong. And they're stupid. So you shouldn't listen to them."
"I shouldn't?"
"Of course not!" Luffy puts his hands behind his head. "I never do."
Slowly, the boy relaxes a little. "Do you live here?"
"I didn't until a while ago. Ran away from home. This place is pretty cool."
"Why did you run away?"
"Meh. I dunno. It was good at home, but… I wanted something new! An adventure, y'know?"
The boy blinks at him. "...No?"
"Nevermind." Luffy laughs. "Anyway, where are you from?"
"Brazil… " A sad sigh. "Ran away too. Things got too bad at home."
"Family?"
"No. The g-government. Don't like gifted people, in my country."
"Gifted people?"
"You call them para...para…"
"Parahumans?"
"Parahumans, yes."
"Oh." Luffy frowns. "That sucks. They sound like dicks."
The other boy lets out a little laugh. "They are. But… I got away."
"I'm glad." Luffy scoots a little closer. It's starting to get dark, and the streets are cold. "Are you gonna tell me your name?"
The boy stiffens, then curls up tight, hugging his knees. He shakes his head rapidly. His breathing quickens up. "They know my name. I can't… I can't tell anybody. Can't let them find me."
Luffy wrinkles his nose, reaching out to press himself into the boy's side. "Do you want a new name?"
"A new name?"
"I mean, like, starting fresh. New country, new name, right?"
"...Right?"
"Yeah, right!" Luffy giggles. "Okay, new name… what about… Yasopp?"
A tiny laugh. "No."
"Too bad. I know a cool guy called Yasopp." Luffy thinks for a moment. "Ben?"
"I… no."
"Um… Lucky? That's a cool one."
Another little laugh. "I don't think it fits. Not for me."
"Fair enough." Luffy sighs. "We'll get one eventually. But… I did kinda wanna ask something."
"What is it?"
"You said they were hunting you, right? The PRTs?"
"The people with guns?"
"Yep, them… so, why? What'cha do?"
The other ruffles a little. "I didn't do anything. When I first came to this country, they asked me if I had a power. I said yes. I thought your people didn't… hate us. But then they gave me a test, to see how strong my power was."
"Ooh!" Luffy perks up. "On the number scale? One to twelve?"
"Yes."
"And what did ya get?"
A tiny whisper. "Eleven."
"Whoa!" Luffy's eyes go wide. "Wow! That's really high! No wonder they're hunting you! They probably want to kill you. Or make you join the Wards. "
"The… Wards?"
"Assholes. Ignore them - I do." Luffy sits back, apparently not willing to change the subject. "Wow… eleven! That's ace! My power-"
"You've got a power?"
"Yeah! And it's only a seven, and that's pretty powerful according to dad-"
Luffy suddenly goes very quiet. A tense silence falls quickly and absolutely. It feels like a cold gust of wind has rushed through the alley and stolen any warmth that the conversation had previously held.
The boy looks up at Lufffy. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah… yeah, I am." Luffy nuzzles into his side, over-affectionate as always. "Just miss dad. A lot. I don't want to go back, but… maybe someday, when I'm a supervillain, we can meet again!"
"You want to be a supervillian?"
Luffy nods eagerly. "Yep! What about you?"
"I… I don't know yet." He sniffs. "I think I don't want to be alone anymore."
"That's a good goal." Luffy smiles. "And you're not alone! You got me."
His head snaps up. "I do?!"
"Of course you do!" Luffy grins warmly. "I don't wanna be alone, either."
"You don't want me as a f-friend." A thick gulp. "I'll get you in trouble. Get you killed. You should just stay away from me."
"Maybe." Luffy looks up, up through the darkness of their shaded spot to the light pouring in from the sky above. "But I'm gonna be your friend anyway. Trust me, they used to hunt dad a lot more than they hunt you."
"Who's your dad?"
Luffy grins. "A supervillain."
"Oh…"
"Anyway, that doesn't matter." Luffy claps his hands. "Have you chosen a name yet?"
"I- I mean, not really, but- something you said earlier-" He takes a deep breath. "Ace. I like Ace."
"Okay, then you're Ace!" Luffy beams. "It's decided! And I like it, by the way, nice name!"
For the first time, Ace turns his face to him. A flood of information pushes its way into Luffy's head all at once; happy. Shocked, but happy. He's made a friend. Can't remember the last time he did that. Scared of being alone. Scared of this country. Scared of the government. Tired of being scared. Wants to get stronger. Powerful. Very powerful. Almost too powerful-
Luffy forces the flood back. "Anyway, can you show me your power?"
Ace cracks a little smile. "I can do more than show you."
"Luffy!"
Luffy's head snaps up as he jolts awake. His forehead is throbbing where it was resting on the tabletop - fuck, he fell asleep at the breakfast table again. Ace is glaring at him, hand on his hip. There's something wet on Luffy's cheek. Milk, his power tells him. And some pieces of cereal.
"You stayed up late? Again?"
"Heheheh, about that…" Luffy shifts guiltily. "Nami came back, and Koala. And we ended up watching all the Die Hard movies. Again."
Ace crosses his arms. "And you got to sleep when?"
7am. "4am," Luffy answers innocently. "It wasn't too late, promise!"
Ace narrows his eyes at him. "Why don't I believe you."
"It's true!"
"How are you supposed to be a hyper-alert supervillain, ready for anything, when you're falling asleep eating breakfast?"
Luffy pouts, crossing his arms. "Stingy…"
Ace sighs, sitting down opposite Luffy and rubbing away the milk on his cheek with his sleeve. "Anyway, you've been asleep so you didn't hear the news. Antlers - guy from the Undersiders, y'know? - apparently got into a scrape with the police. He's only a little kid but they recognised him out of costume, in the street."
"I like that kid!" Luffy straightens up, worried. "What happened to him?"
"Some random guy stepped in, decked the police officer and let Antlers run. Nobody knows who he is - not a villain, we don't think. Is your power telling you anything?"
Luffy concentrates for a few seconds. Nothing. "Nah. Sucks that the one time I actually wanna use the stupid thing, it doesn't work."
Ace laughs. "And that's why you were unlucky to get a Thinker-class power. I mean, seriously. You."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, you're not really the type to do a lot of thinking. You do a lot more punching than thinking."
"Oi!"
"Tell me I'm wrong."
Luffy sighs, swiping at his still sticky cheek. "Fine, whatever…"
"Alright." Ace puts his elbows on the table. "Tonight, we're all going to do a job."
"Ooh! What?"
"We all decided while you were asleep-"
"Just tell me!"
"Okay, okay!" Ace chuckles, winding his bandana around his fingers. "We're going to try to take down Kidwin. You know, that rogue hero who's been causing trouble for the Undersiders for a while now?"
"I know the guy." Luffy frowns. "Why tonight?"
"He's been spotted a lot downtown. Nami's going to lure him out, and we can take him down easily, so long as we don't make too much of a ruckus. I mean, the guy's Blaster-class. He's hardly the best at melee combat, and he doesn't have the Wards at his back."
"Okay!" Luffy agrees cheerily. "I can go with that."
"Good." Ace stands. "But until then, you're sleeping. Got it?"
"You're not my dad!"
"Yeah, but he's not here, so I'm the second best thing."
"Asshole."
"Brat."
"Prick!"
(But, of course, Luffy ends up going to sleep anyway.)
I hope you enjoyed!
BlueAutumn1, Chapter 1, Jan 30:
wow this is a really awesome start, looking forward to more :D
Thank you so much!
FireArrowAce, Chapter 1, Jan 30:
This seems like another good story! I'm excited for the next chapter.
Thank you lovely! Aaa you're such a faithful reviewer ily~
Mistywaterflower22, Chapter 1, 5h ago:
This seems really awesome! I love the way you delivered important information, like with Sabo's diary and the train ticket. I can't wait for the next chapter. Good job!
Thank you so much omg! That's so sweet! I hope you like this chapter, ilysm!