(Let me say right off the bat, this is a long one. For some reason, the Black Hat POV chapters always tend to be. So if you're on a bit of a time crunch, keep your tab open.)
"Wait wait wait, so he decided the best thing to do in that scenario was to hit him with fucking paper plates!?" Black Hat asked incredulously, trying not to break out into full blown evil laughter.
"That's what I said!" The guy across from him exclaimed. The entire group burst out laughing and spilling their drinks. "He had the whole cafeteria to hit him with, the tables, the chairs, the other people, even the freaking plastic trays and shit, but nope! He went with the paper plates!"
"Oh my fuck." Black Hat said, face-palming.
"Hey, no one ever said being telekinetic made you smart!"
Another round of laughter as Black Hat cradled his face in his hands and kept his laughter as light as he could manage. Dem, who'd pulled him off to introduce him to some friend from high school she recognized, was next to him and leaning on him heavily as they both lost their shit listening intently to this guy Marco, who seemed to have the best stories of all the things Black Hat hadn't been around to witness. All in all, not a terrible way to spend his time. Especially up on the third floor where it wasn't as noisy or obnoxiously crowded.
He was wondering, though, in the back of his mind, just a passing thought, nothing more, what Flug was up to. He wasn't a social person by any means. Black Hat was fairly certain that the he and Dem were about the only people here he really spoke to outside of school. Well, the other members of his club were here, somewhere, assuming that they even came, so maybe he'd find them and they'd all spend a few hours huddled away being antisocial together.
Unlike Black Hat, who was kind of forced to be social. Not that it wasn't entertaining, but there wasn't much substance. Just dumb fun. Made sense that these were people Dem knew. Their names all blurred together, he just remembered Marco because he was the one who was drawing everyone in. He was funny, the downside was that there didn't seem to be much else to him. Same for everyone, in a disappointing sort of way. They seemed to just be ordinary students at a party having fun. Which admittedly is what Dem probably seemed to them as well but Black Hat was still watching her closely. And he was starting to see something.
He saw restraint.
Sure, she seemed as relaxed and carefree as much as the next young woman, but Black Hat could see the very subtle tell-tale signs that she was holding something back. The laugh that was done more because it was appropriate to laugh rather than because something had been funny. The responses so flowing but so...automatic. Like they'd been rehearsed. Even her posture, if seemed she was clinging to Black Hat not strictly because she wanted to, but because it was what was expected when you come to a party with a guy you like.
Felt like she was putting on a show. Being in the moment, but not exactly there.
He wondered what it was she needed to hide from her supposed friends.
He couldn't wonder about it for too long though, because someone (her name might've been Dolores) screamed in her drunken stupor that they should all go swimming and everyone else seemed to think it was a great idea. For a bunch of drunken idiots to go down two flights of stairs and stumble their way outside. As amusing as it was watching these morons try and stumble their way towards the stairs (Oh please knock each other down like dominos), he had no interest in joining them.
Dem, however, was adamant that they go down with everyone else.
"Yeah, no, I'm not going swimming." He said in a monotone voice.
"Why not?"
"No."
"That's not a reason!" She pouted.
"It's a refusal."
"Well I refuse your refusal!" She said, placing her hands on her hips.
"I refuse your refusal of my refusal."
"Well then I refuse your refusal of my refusal of your refusal!"
"Ok I lost all sense of where to go from that, but my answer is still no." Black Hat took one of the not empty shot glasses laying around and downed it. Oh damn, whoever was mixing the drinks knew their shit because that was strong.
"I just realized," Dem said with a wicked grin. "I've never seen you without your hat."
Black Hat grabbed his hat with both hands. "Don't you even fucking try."
"Oh what, is it your favorite out of all 30 of your identical top hats?"
"No, it's my only one." He said with a narrowed eye. And he'd already had Flug mess it up once, he didn't need this loon putting her grubby hands all over it!
"Ugh, fine." She rolled her eyes. "Keep the hat on but let's go!" She tried pulling him up again. Well, she got him up but he still wasn't going. What, was she going to try and get him in the pool with his hat still on? No way in HELL!
"Hey, I'd respect your no." he said, still resisting the insane woman.
"I am respecting your no. You can leave your hat on if you really want but everything else has to go!"
"No, I refuse that as well."
"Why not!? And give me a reason this time!"
"I can't swim." He lied.
"Oh." Dem stopped trying to drag him for a second. "Well, just stay in the shallow end, you'll be fine! Or, I could teach you." She smiled seductively. It had no effect.
"Dem, I'm not going down there." He said plainly.
"Oh come on, it'll be so much fun!"
"You just want to see me naked don't you?"
"Noooooo," She said, fiddling with her hood. Black Hat noticed that she had a spiked scrunchie holding her ponytail back. "But, you know, it'd be such a shame to get such expensive looking clothes wet."
"I know. That's why I'm not going."
"Oh for the fucks sake Black Hat why wont you do this!?" She said in an actual angry tone this time. Damn, where did this girl get off? "Do you have some body image problems or something?"
"What makes you say that?" He said, a bit offended. And not willing to admit to how true it may or may not be.
"Because you won't do this." she hissed. "What, are you self conscious? Worried about what everyone else would say behind your back?"
"You really think I give a damn at all what anyone else thinks of me?" He replied in a bored voice.
"Nope." She said with a shake of her head and a swish of her hair. Goddamn, you could make a whip out of that. "Which is what I don't understand. If you don't care, what do you have to hide?"
"What do you?"
"Wh-what are you talking about?" She asked with a rather forced, carefree-sounding laugh.
Black Hat got close enough to whisper in her ear. "You've been holding something back all night. I don't know what it is, but I can see you're struggling to keep it under wraps. You're trying so very hard to make sure no one else sees anything but some dumb punk girl who doesn't care about anything besides having a good time. Congratulations, you've got everyone else fooled. I really don't think a single other person has caught on. So what is it? What is it that you have to keep from your supposed friends?"
Dem was silent for a beat before responding. Her voice was shaky. "You don't know me half as well as you think you do."
"Yeah, I guess if you ignore all that stuff you told me about your family and your high school troubles and your dreams of being a musician, I barely know you at all." Black Hat said. "But I can see you."
"Oh yeah? And what do you see?"
"The same tells I had until I got called out on them enough times to hide them better."
"And what is it you're hiding?"
"I asked you first."
"Uh, no you didn't. I did."
"Mmmm, no, I'm pretty sure it was me." Black Hat said.
"Oh ho ho, no. It was definitely me who asked you first." She said, getting back into her usual attitude.
"I don't know, I think I'd remember that."
"Well I remember it, and I remember that I asked you first."
"Are you sure you're remembering that right?"
"Are you, after all the shots you've had? You know you're the designated driver, right?"
"It's a party. I came here to party."
"So you'll get undressed? Cool! Let me help!" She began pulling at the sleeves of his trenchcoat.
"No no no. I did not consent to this, no." He protested blandly. Maybe he was a little drunk, he wasn't fighting her off as much as he could be. She actually did get the coat off. "I'm not taking off my clothes."
"Why not?"
"I have this thing, where I don't get naked in front of crowds of complete strangers." He replied hotly. "Do I look like a stripper to you?"
"Nah, more like a male escort. High end, you know? The kind that cost you thousands."
Ok Black Hat didn't care if she meant that as a compliment, she basically just said he looked like a hooker and that would not stand.
"Give me back my goddamn coat." He said in an extremely annoyed tone.
"No way, not unless you can give a legit reason why you won't do this with me."
"I'm not interested in you and I don't want to take my shirt off." He said, getting angrier. He was trying to stay calm, trying not to cause a scene, but damn this woman was testing him.
"In me specifically or any women at all?"
"Mainly you."
"You are so fucking rude!"
"I'm being rude?! You want to talk about rude?! You're the one trying to strip me against my will!"
"C'mon, it'll be great! If it'll make you feel better I'll start right now~" She unzipped her dark blue vest, revealing a white tank top. Black Hat could vaguely see that her bra was a neon pink sort of color.
Was she always wearing a spiked choker?
Black Hat rolled his eye. "Dem, seriously. The coat. Now."
"Oh, I don't think so," She slipped the black garment over her shoulders, only for it to slip off to one side. "I think it looks better on me." She struck some ridiculous pose.
Black Hat shot her his patented I'm not fucking around with you anymore glare, and she just sighed dramatically. Really, was that all the reaction he was going to get? Usually people were afraid, they shook in their shoes, their eyes went wide and they fumbled to comply with whatever it was he wanted. Hell, a few of the people around the two of them were starting to back away, like they expected things to get physical.
Was he losing his edge? Or was she just stupid?
It seemed that she would be returning his coat though, until a voice from somewhere behind Black Hat spoke up and made her freeze in place, her eyes zooming in on whoever had spoken.
"Demencia?" The voice said. "Is that...is that Demencia?"
Black Hat silently took note that her hands had slightly twitched, before turning and seeing who was talking.
It was...some guy. He was kind of short, average build, stupid haircut, dark tan. He was with that guy from before, the one who was throwing this little get together. Leo-something. No, that wasn't quite right...
"R...Rufio." She managed to get out. Her breathing was getting shallow, Black Hat noticed. And she rushed to zip her vest back up.
"So, is this the latest guy you're throwing yourself at Demencia?" Rufio asked in a mocking tone.
Black Hat was confused. Demencia? He might not remember what Dem's full name was, but he was sure it wasn't Demencia. If he wasn't mistaken, "demencia" referred to a mental illness, usually one characterized by memory loss or impaired judgement/thinking skills.
He looked between the both of them, hoping someone would clue him in.
Dem wasn't really speaking, she was still frozen in what seemed to be immense shock. Her hands still twitched ever so slightly, and she was trying to get words out, but they seemed to get stuck in her throat.
So Rufio turned to him. "Let me give you some advice, buddy; Get out now. This one goes through men like a snake in a hen house. She'll be on another guy in a week. Oh wait, more like under!" He laughed at his own joke. Which was both pathetic, and not at all funny.
He raised an eyebrow at Dem, who cringed and tried to hide under his coat, pulling it around her tighter and hoisting it up her shoulders. It wasn't staying, not with her hands shaking so badly.
"Is that your coat?" Oh, yeah, this guys name was Aurelio. He was pointing at Dem.
"Yeah," Black Hat said with a shrug. "Looks better on her anyways."
"Heh, you could stick trash on her and she'd look better than she does in her torn up old raggedy-ass shit!" Dem visibly shook now, hiding her face in the upturned collar of the coat. Her hands were twitching even more noticeably now. Not that Black Hat was at all concerned. It wasn't like he really cared at all about her.
Still, this was rather confusing. Dem didn't strike him as the type to just stand there and take abuse like this from...whoever this guy was. Someone from her high school?
Wait, was she crying? She was starting to tremble and her breathing was very uneven.
"Rufio, would you grow the fuck up?" Aurelio said, not sounding like he really cared about what he was doing either, just bored.
"Aw, c'mon Lio, it's not like Demencia can't take a joke! Ain't that right, Dem?"
And then she exploded. She lashed out and was on him so fast Black Hat could've sworn he actually missed the impact itself when he blinked. Dem had one hand on Rufio's throat and the other lifted up above her head. Her face was the image of unbridled rage.
"MY-" She punched him in the face. "-NAME-" Punch. "-IS-" Punch. "DEMETRA!"
She got right in his face and screamed "And you don't get to call me Dem!"
Rufio screamed like she'd hit him again or something, and then Demetra just ran off. Leaving Black Hat coatless, and dumbfounded. He felt like he'd just witnessed a meltdown a long time coming, but he had no idea what led up to it or what about this particular time had broken her down and made her snap.
Aurelio didn't even help his friend up, he just ran after her.
Rufio pulled himself up rubbing the side of his face. He drew his hand back, revealing blood and a few slim gashes across his cheek.
"That...that fucking bitch!" He yelled. Everyone just kind of went back to what they were doing before. "She fucking scratched me! That little whor-"
He was interrupted by Black Hat's fist colliding with his face. The guy went down immediately, but Black Hat had no intention of leaving it at that.
Black Hat took a minute to examine his face first. He was surprised to see just how deeply Demetra had been able to cut him with just her bare fingernails. Now, she was deceptively strong, but Black Hat wasn't convinced that brute strength alone would be enough to slice someone's cheek open this cleanly. She had actually managed to slice a few thin slits in the side of the man's face. Nice, straight cuts, not jagged like one might expect. She had not scratched him, she had clawed him.
Very interesting.
The man (Rufio, wasn't it?), opened his eyes hazily. Black Hat rather harshly grabbed him by the throat. He barely responded.
Black Hat punched him in the face again. His head knocked into the solid wood floor and his eyes rolled into the back of his head. Black Hat hit him again, and his nose made a sick cracking sound. As well as bent at a funny angle.
Black Hat continued to beat him until he was lying unconscious in a small pool of his own blood.
Was he holding back? Oh so very much.
Did it make for a decent enough show? Yeah, probably. It would be satisfactory enough for all the witnesses, gave them something to talk about.
Black Hat picked Rufio up by the collar of his shirt and tossed him off into the corner somewhere. Hey, he was nothing if not considerate. Rufio would interrupt everyone else's good time if he was just sprawled out in the middle of the floor. It would be a trip hazard. And with all the booze going around, no one needed anymore of those, funny as it would be to watch them stumble around his limp body.
He couldn't stay for that, he had to go find Demetra now. Lord knew that after what he just saw, he wasn't forgetting her name any time soon. Find Demetra, get his coat, and perhaps some kind of explanation. He very calmly exited the room and just managed to catch her bolting down to the second floor, followed by Aurelio.
Well, after what his buddy Rufio did, Black Hat liked this Aurelio even less. Black Hat at least had the excuse of being confused and having no idea what the situation between Rufio and Demetra was, and he beat the guy to a stain on the floor anyway. What was Aurelio's defense?
He followed after them fast as he could, pushing and shoving his way through the people in the halls. One hand on his hat to ensure it didn't fall off or get caught on anything. Once down the stairs, he looked around and didn't see either of them. Ugh, it should not be this hard to spot a woman with bright green hair as long as she was tall, and wearing his coat. Or to just spot the guy half the school was fawning over. Seriously, Black Hat could understand that he was very attractive, but it escaped him why so many people seemed to want to bend over backwards for him. Was he missing something? Was there something to the man that Black Hat just wasn't seeing?
Oh wait, there he was! So Demetra had probably gone this way! Black Hat ran down the hall, just in time to be hit by the scent of recreational drugs and pass by the group of people who'd been smoking them. He passed by Aurelio, he noticed. Fine by him, meant he had a better chance of catching up to her first.
He figured that maybe she had run into one of these rooms, but damn, would these people never get out of the way?! He was going to start shoving people to the ground if need be! It was such a chore to have to go through every room one by one trying to find her.
In one, however, he found someone surprisingly familiar.
"Phoenix?" He asked in confusion.
The petite redhead waved off whoever she had been talking to and approached him. Yeah, that was her. There was no mistaking that caramel skin and vibrant red curls. Even if he was used to seeing them tied back in a long braid.
"Hey Black Hat. Try not to use that name in public. Call me Phoebe."
"Uh, ok. What are you doing here?" He responded back in her native tongue of english.
"Looking for you," She said simply. "Dr. Morte has a message."
Oh fuck what did he want now? Black Hat liked the guy, and owed him a lot, but Black Hat could never tell what his motives were until he'd already gotten what he wanted from him. And he'd gotten...some things that Black Hat would've rather kept to himself. Which made being around him extremely nerve-wracking because Morte, while being sort of nice, was also about 1,000 years old and incredibly bored. The only reason he didn't just allow himself to wither away to dust was his passion for bringing misfortune to others.
And that was not limited to heroes or civilians.
"What is it?" He hesitantly asked.
"He wants to know if you're coming to his birthday party."
Black Hat's face scrunched up in confusion. "That's in April."
"Yes. He wants to know if you're coming."
"...It's November."
"Your point?"
Black Hat sighed. She was as impassive as ever. "Yeah, I'll be there."
"Oh good." Phoenix took out a small pad and pen. "Have you found someone willing to sell you their soul yet?"
"Yes actually."
"Cool, usually that takes longer. Will they be attending as well?"
Black Hat thought about it. On the one hand, Dr. Morte was kind of an ass who would take every given opportunity to amuse himself at the expense of others. Including his own staff and guests. On the other, Dr. Morte was a very sophisticated and accomplished villain and pulled out all the stops for his birthday. Black Hat had been to his birthday party once before, and it was a night he often looked back fondly on.
Hey, it would technically be Flug's first villain-gathering! Could he really ask for a better opportunity to impress him with all the side of evil had to offer? Hey, Maestro would surely be there! She'd never pass up an opportunity to show off! Syren too! Blade might show, if he was around. He wondered if the Nightmare Demon would make an appearance. Oh, so many possible partygoers!
It'd be a terrific chance to get Flug acquainted with their future clientele.
"Yes." He finally said.
"Ok cool, Black Hat plus one. That's all I really came here for." Phoenix put the notepad and pen back in her pockets.
"You couldn't have just called me?"
"You know the doctor. Still so old fashioned after all these years." She took a second look at him. "You know, you look like Lucifer's bartender without your coat."
Black Hat ignored the comment. "Speaking of my coat, did you see a woman with bright red and green hair come through here wearing it?"
"Try the third door to your right."
"Thank you Phoen...Phoebe."
"See you at the party." She called as he left.
Well, that had been unexpected. But hey, now he had something to look forward to in a few months. He was going to have to update his calendar-
He ran smack into Demetra in the hall.
"There you are! What was all that? Who was that guy? Why'd you just run off like that? Why was he calling you..." Black Hat trailed off as she just stared up at him, tears welling up in her mismatched eyes. She was clinging his trench coat around her body like a security blanket.
Greeeeeeeeeeeeeat...
With a sigh, he put an arm around her and walked her down to the first floor. He led her to the backyard and they sat down together a few feet away from the pool, neither of them speaking yet.
He thought perhaps he should leave her alone, let her get it all out (whatever it was exactly), but she reached out and grabbed him tightly by the arm.
"Can you just...can you just stay with me, for a while?" She asked, still huddled up pathetically in his coat.
"Sure, I'll stay with you." Black Hat said, a bit annoyed that he had to console this lunatic. But, she was in a very vulnerable state right now. He could possibly use that to get her to divulge a bit more about herself. Maybe get closer to finding out what it was she was hiding from everyone else. He begrudgingly adjusted his coat so that it wasn't sliding off her shoulders every five seconds. Besides a few sniffles here and there, it seemed she was calming down.
Not really knowing how else to get something resembling a conversation started, Black Hat said, "I want that coat back eventually."
Demetra barked out some shaky laughter. "Yeah, yeah, sure. You and your coat fetish."
They were silence for a little while until Demetra spoke again. "You want to know what that was all about, don't you?"
"It'd be nice to know what I knocked that guy out for, yes."
She stared at him in shock. "Y...you-"
"Beat the guy who called you a whore to a bloody, bleeding pulp? Yeah. What of it? You did a decent number on him too, you know." He gave her a mad grin. "I don't think I've ever seen anyone leave cuts that clean with just their fingernails."
He noticed that she quickly hid her hands. Hmmm...
"I, uh, I went to high school with that guy." She said, looking away. "He, and a few of his friends, used to pick on me. A lot."
"Was that the first time you fought back?"
"Against him, yeah. It's stupid, but...well..." she searched for the right words. "It's like...I've wanted to beat Rufio into the dirt for so long. But every time before, I stopped myself and just let it happen until they got bored and left. I was always told that's what you're 'supposed to do' when someone picks on you. Just ignore it and they'll stop. Guess what never happened?"
She fixed him with the saddest smile he'd ever seen on her.
"I fought back in primary and middle school, it always just landed me in more trouble. Eventually I guess it just wasn't worth it to have my classmates and my family treating me like shit. Just easier to let it happen and move on. Especially when all it is is just words. See, the whole 'Demencia' thing started back in school. Even back then I was a freak who didn't fit in with anyone." She offered a bitter smile. "And I guess 'Demencia' was a more latin name than 'Demetra' so, it just stuck. Heh, I swear, one of the teachers slipped up and called me that once."
Black Hat said nothing, but he felt a scowl coming.
"And...I'm used to being called crazy. And weird. And a whole bunch of other things." She gave an involuntary shudder and wrapped Black Hat's coat around herself tighter. "They made fun of me for anything. Even the few normal things I liked. Like I wasn't allowed to have any normal things. There was always some way they'd twist them around to make it more weird things to make fun of me for. Or say I was just pretending to like them. But, when he called me 'Dem'...I don't know. I just had enough. It was one thing I wasn't going to let him twist around this time."
Black Hat laughed a bit. "I wished I hit him sooner."
"I wish I had stuck around to see that."
"Well, you got me down here. Can that be enough right now?"
She chuckled and leaned against him, resting her head on his shoulder. "Take off your shirt and we'll call it even."
"Call what even? What did you do for me?"
"I got you down here."
"I didn't want to come."
"You're smiling."
"Shut up." He said as he faced away.
He felt something being wrapped around his shoulders. He looked down and saw his coat haphazardly back on him. He slipped his arms through the sleeves and decided that one revelation deserved another. It would put her more at ease and coax her into speaking plainly with him again. That was all there was to it.
Even if he was meeting her autobiography with a footnote.
"Look, uh, the real reason I don't want to take anything off is..." He rubbed the back of his head awkwardly. "I have a lot of scars and I don't like to show those off. Or really talk about them at all."
She frowned. "Flug has scars. No one gives him shit for it."
"I have...more." He said, without his usual confidence. He wasn't lying, he really didn't like talking about them. He didn't like them. And unlike Flug, who could explain his scars quite simply as being from a plane crash and leaving it at that, Black Hat...couldn't. There were things lining his body that just couldn't be explained away so easily. Black Hat much rathered keeping them all under wraps.
"What from?"
"Didn't I just say I don't want to talk about it?" He said angrily.
"Sheesh, ok ok!" She put her hands up. "Sorry for showing an interest in your life!"
They spent a few more moments sitting in silence.
"But thank you for telling me." She said.
"...Whatever."
"For the record, scars are a major turn on."
"Why don't you ever flirt with Flug then?"
"Pretty sure I'm not his type." She said with a knowing smile. "And I tried once, I think it went right over his head."
"What makes you think you're my type?"
"Nothing." Demetra said simply. "But damn if I don't shoot my shot before Flugsy steals you away for good." She latched onto his arm, much more naturally than she had before. That smile was genuine. Her little laughs weren't forced anymore.
She looked much better to him now.
"Demetra!" Called a voice behind them. They turned and it was one of the guys from before. Not Marco, someone else. Tony? Terry? Black Hat was pretty sure it started with a "T".
"We got your song all queued up girl! You up for it?"
"Oh yeah I'm there!" Demetra jumped up and ran to the patio where all the sound equipment was. Was she going to sing? Could she sing? Black Hat got up and moved closer, so that he had a good view of whatever it was she'd be doing.
It was a Friday night and I wanted to go out to
Oh god, Club Villain. Black Hat knew this song. Hell, the year it had come out it had been nearly inescapable! Most of the major radio stations refused to play it, on account of all the controversy and protest from concerned parents, but the ones that would to capitalize on the shock value and appeal to young, impressionable, rebellious 16-25 year-olds played it on repeat almost indefinitely.
Seriously, you just couldn't get away from it! All these kids were either calling in demanding to hear it, or downloading it themselves and blasting it for the rest of traffic to suffer through. Singing along and acting like it made them actual villains. When it reality, if any of them so much as saw what an actual villain get together was like, they'd scream for their lives and run in terror. They had no idea what an actual villain party was like! No matter the caliber, high or low class, blood would be shed!
He waved us in, and we randomly met the
Mr. Hannibal Lecter, he was handlin' records
In the DJ booth asking which was the best selection
To make an impression on the Wicked Witch of the West and the
Witch was
Honestly, even when it was between cordial acquaintances, it was understood that not everyone was making it home. If not, it would be considered a dull affair. Be it either the nights entertainment or a squabble that couldn't wait, someone was dying. It made for good stories to tell at the next get together. Black Hat would always remember his first evening out, how the ballroom had been splattered like a morbid Jackson Pollock and he and the rest of the survivors had laughed. And then finished off the rest of those little sausage things. Damn those were good.
And boy oh boy was he looking forward to what would go down at Dr. Morte's birthday party. Morte could do some incredible things, when prompted.
Black Hat hadn't even really disliked the song the first time he heard it. It was...okay. Nothing special but nothing that really appealed to him as an adult. Nothing to get worked up about either. It was just a song. But he just heard it over and over and over and it was just everywhere it was just too much. It was oversaturated and it got stuck in his head and he was immensely embarrassed by the fact that had this song come out years ago, he'd probably be one of these annoying brats, trying to impress their friends and just trying so very hard to be "edgy". Oh god his face screwed up in horror just thinking about it.
Catwoman and Harley Quinn I swear I saw those hoes kiss
I laughed at Jason Voorhees rockin' glowsticks
And Dr. Octopus was also gettin' physical with Ursula
The two were makin' out and touching tentacles
Admittedly though, Demetra was not a terrible singer. Nor was she bad at performing. She had mentioned that it had been her dream to be a musician, and that she had taught herself to play the guitar. Had she taught herself to sing as well? Had she focused intently on the tv, memorizing the way singers moved and motioned and practiced doing the same? Had she spent nights watching herself in the mirror, copying the moves and poses until she liked what she saw?
She had some actual stage presence. Her long flowing hair making her a spectacle that was embraced by her asymmetrical outfit and only further shone from her personality.
It was a shame that "Demencia" held such bad memories for her, otherwise Black Hat would suggest she use it as her stage name. It would be rather fitting for for her.
I looked up and saw Venom doing Jager Bombs on the ceiling
Black Hat shook his head. He really shouldn't be getting as into her performance as he was. He shouldn't be smiling as he watched her get the party pumping and singing along. This song was just some wannabe kids fantasy of what a life of crime was like. Some pipe dream of villainy. Completely unrealistic. Unfounded. Utterly ridiculous. Pure nonsensical daydreaming.
But god dammit, Demetra made it seem like she herself was living out the dream and everyone here wanted to follow her lead. Like they'd all followed her back inside. The girl could lead a crowd, who'd of thought.
Black Hat turned his head and- HEy was that Flug? And...Aurelio?
That's when I saw her there, from across the room
Poison Ivy doing Jello shots with Dr. Doom
Like the Eye of Sauron, I couldn't look away
She was with some Joker, but dude was probably gay
Black Hat tried to catch Flug's eye, but the man wasn't looking at him. He was watching Demetra, too wrapped up in the show to notice him. Meanwhile, Aurelio was getting them more drinks and-
And did he just put something in one of the cups?
Shit.
SHiT.
Goddamnit Black Hat didn't like the way Flug was slumped over on Aurelio like that. He didn't like it one bit. Fuck. It didn't seem like he could stand on his own. Fuuuuuuuuuck.
Well shit. He was gonna have to go over there and slap a bitch up.
Get the fuck out of Black Hat's way peoples, shit's going down.
Pushed Elmer Fudd out the way, so that I could get closer, and
I don't mean to be a Predator, but I gotta get at her
Wait, was Aurelio trying to take Flug somewhere? Um, ha ha, nooooo I don't think so motherfucker. The only place that boy is going is home. Which you don't know where that is so there.
Yeah Black Hat might've been a little drunk. Fuck those shot glasses and their tiny portions.
I took her home, and she and I spent the night chillin'
Up in the bedroom partyin' with one hot-ass villain
Black Hat approached, said nothing, and smacked Aurelio across the face. The fiend unhanded the villains subordinate and stepped back with a rather shocked look on his face. Which Black Hat paid no mind to as he tried to see if Flug was capable of supporting himself.
"Flug. Flug!" He called, shaking the man slightly. "Can you stand?"
The man struggled to open his eyes, squinting through his horn-rimmed frames at the world. A bit of recognition seemed to come into his eyes the longer he looked at Black Hat, and he might've tried to say something. He reached out as if to touch Black Hat's face, until he collapsed forward.
"Ok, so, that's a no." Black Hat said to himself, holding the smaller man against him so he didn't crash onto the floor. What a pain. He leaves the guy alone for a few short hours and look what happens!
"What the hell?" Aurelio said, very agitated.
Black Hat completely ignored him and started making his way towards the door. If anything, he should be the one asking him that! Thankfully Flug was very light and pretty easy to carry. The position wasn't the best, his feet were dragging, but with everyone so transfixed on Demetra the danger of Flug being trampled on was acceptably low.
"Hey, I'm talking to you!"
Black Hat continued ignoring him. He had more important things to deal with right now. The man could wait until Black Hat took care of Flug.
"Where are you taking him?" Aurelio asked angrily, grabbing a hold of Flug. Black Hat fought the urge to glare at him and scream that he was taking him away from the man who just drugged him. And subsequently punch said man through a wall. Then through the floor. Assuming there was anything left to punch.
"Home, obviously." He said calmly, rolling his eye. "I really thought he'd learned his limit after how drunk he got when we went out. He's such a lightweight."
Aurelio chuckled a bit. "Yeah, so I see. It's really not necessary for you to cut your own evening short just for him. I was about to put him in one of the upstairs rooms myself. It'd really be no trouble for him to crash for the night."
And what would you do to him once you got him upstairs and away from prying eyes? Black Hat thought. What were you planning on doing while he was drugged up and in your house?
"It's no trouble for me to just take him home." Black Hat countered. "I'm sure he wouldn't want to impose."
"Oh it's no imposition. Truthfully."
"He'd be really uncomfortable putting you out like that."
"It'd be fine." The pleasantries were quickly dying down and the two men were beginning to let their true colors show. Black Hat fought to keep his responses short and to the point. Who knew what he'd say if he spoke for too long.
"No I think I should just take him home."
"Really, he can stay." Aurelio said, his frustration bleeding out.
"He wouldn't want that."
"And you know what he'd want?"
"Probably a bit better than you would." Black Hat said. "Or else you'd know he hardly ever goes out and had to basically force himself to come here tonight. And he only did because it was you that invited him. Tomorrow, he's going to be so embarrassed that he made a fool of himself in front of you, why not spare him the shame of having to wake up and realize he also spent the night in your home? Why make him feel like a burden? He does that enough to himself, he doesn't need you adding to the weight he carries."
Aurelio tried to come up with some kind of counter argument, but was at a loss. It was evident on his face that everything Black Hat had just said left him with nothing. Even if it wasn't any trouble to put Flug up for the night (Black Hat wasn't convinced at all that was all he had in mind), the man himself would never want to. Especially not after he (as far as he knew) got blackout drunk right in front of this guy. Whoever he was, Flug held him in high regard for some reason. Black Hat didn't have to know why to be able to piece together that waking up in the man's home would be a situation he wouldn't be able to handle very well. Leaving out the drugging, Black Hat had a decent enough idea of how he'd react, and it wouldn't be good for his underling's health.
As part of the contract, Black Hat had agreed that he would protect his subordinate. He wondered vaguely if Flug had realized that was part of the deal. If he had read that part when the two of them went over it and understood what it meant. They hadn't talked about it exactly. It seemed to Black Hat as something that went without saying, that he would protect what was his. It was in the contract because he believed himself fully capable of taking care of his mad scientist. If he couldn't even look after him here, how was he supposed to keep him alive and working and pumping out machines of war in the future?
Flug was going home and that was final.
"Black Hat! Black Hat!" A high pitched voice called. He and Aurelio turned to see Demetra making her way through the crowd towards them. Her face fell when she saw Aurelio and how close he was to the two of them. Her gaze fell to Flug, still slumped in Black Hat's arms. "What's, what's going on?" She panted.
"Flug is passed out" He said. "I'm taking him home."
"Really, it's no trouble for him to stay in one of-"
"No!" Demetra yelled, surprising both men. "I mean, he wouldn't want you to go out of your way like that. He really should just go home. Besides, you should never leave a person passed out at a party. You never know what could happen to them." She seemed to stare very intensely at Black Hat at those last few words. Like she was trying to send him a psychic message or something.
"Dem, would you mind cutting the evening short?" Black Hat asked. "I feel a bit partied out myself."
"Oh count me in! This party was a bore anyway!" She said enthusiastically. "You need any help with him?"
Before Black Hat could say yes, or she could just grab him, Aurelio butted in with a "Please allow me." Black Hat locked eyes with Demetra, and it seemed neither of them liked Aurelio being close to Flug like this. Touching him. Black Hat made a mental note to ask what turned her off from the man, she seemed just as starstruck as anyone else when they'd all met.
Aurelio "helped" to carry Flug out of the house and to Black Hat's car. Aurelio gave him an annoyed kind of look, maybe because he parked on the grass, but didn't say anything about it. They put Flug in the backseat and Demetra crawled in with him, to hold him steady she said. She sat there with Flug's head in her lap, holding him almost protectively. Black Hat didn't fully get it, but he trusted her far more than he did the man next to him.
That being said…
"Well, thank you for your help," He said, trying not to gag on his words. "We can take it from here. So off you go, back to your party. Good night."
"Are you sure?" He asked. "I'd be happy to come along and see him home."
"Yes, very sure. Totally sure." Demetra called from inside the car. "You can go now, he's with friends."
Hmm, friends. An interesting concept to be sure. Black Hat would go along with it for convenience.
"Yes, friends." He said. "Besides, do you really want to leave your own party just for him?"
"Well, it's more for him actually. Him and all the rest of the Engineering Club members. To celebrate how well today's demonstration went."
"How thoughtful of you," Black Hat said, not even bothering to mask the disgust and sarcasm in his voice.
"You got a problem, hermano?" Aurelio got right up in Black Hat's face.
Bitch I might is what Black Hat would've said, had Dem not butted in with, "Yeah, actually, I do. Flug's getting kind of restless back here and I think it's all this not-at-all-subtle fighting over him the two of you are doing. Can you guys do this later, he can't swoon right now!"
Black Hat looked in through the corner of his eye. Flug did seem to fidgeting a bit, twitching his head back and forth. Hey, maybe Aurelio used something really weak and he'd wake up in the car. Well away from him. And Black Hat and Demetra could tell him their version of the nights events.
Black Hat smirked a bit. Perhaps Aurelio would think it was just in response to Dem's teasing. Fighting over something that was already his, how silly.
"Well, you heard the lady." Black Hat said with a grin. "We'd best be off."
"I-"
"Lio! Lio!" Said an annoying and broken voice. The three conscious ones looked over to the front door and saw that guy Black Hat beat up earlier rushing towards them. He hand a hand over one of his eyes and there was still blood running down his face. He also reeked of alcohol.
What was his name again? Rudy?
"Rufio?" Aurelio said. Eh, close enough. "You look like shit. What-"
"Lio, Lio this asshole- GAH!" He screamed and threw his hands up when he saw Black Hat. It made him chuckle a bit.
Aurelio turned to him with fire in his eyes. "You did this?"
"He insulted my friend." Black Hat said with a shrug.
"So you broke his nose?"
"It's just the kind of guy I am."
"Hell yeah!" Demetra yelled from the car. Flug made some kind of grunt.
"Lio, I need to talk to y-you." Rufio said, keeping his distance from Black Hat and still eyeing him like he thought Black Hat was going to jump him and give him another beating. God Black Hat had missed seeing that fear in people's eyes. It had been too long.
Aurelio gave him another glare, but walked off to see what his little toady wanted.
Now was their chance. Black Hat got in swiftly and started up the engine. He was out of there within the span of a few seconds.
"Gracias a Dios." Demetra said from the backseat. "I thought we'd never get away from him." Yes, it had been a struggle getting Aurelio to leave. He was so insistent on seeing to Flug. What was up with that? Was there some new development between the two of them that Black Hat had missed?
"He seemed awfully...concerned, didn't he?" Black Hat asked. "About Flug?"
"Maybe he wanted to make sure Flug kept his mouth shut about what he saw."
"What?" Black Hat's ears perked up. This sounded important. He just barely noticed the car coming up in his rearview.
"Ok, so, after...what happened with Rufio, I was running around, looking for somewhere to be alone. I was just throwing doors open, trying to find an empty room. When I didn't find one, I just kept running. I finally get to someplace that seems empty, and I figure I can just hide in there for a while, maybe cry a little until I can go back out there with everyone, and Aurelio comes in not long after I settle down and curl up in your coat. By the way, your coat is, like, so super comfortable and warm. Can I have one of your least favorites?"
"Demetra, please stay focused." Black Hat said, flicking his gaze between the road ahead and his rearview mirror. That car made the same turn as he did.
"Yeah yeah ok, alright." She said. "So, Aurelio comes in, and at first I think he's trying to help me. He apologizes about Rufio and helps me stand up all gentlemanly, but then I'm frozen and can't move my body and he starts asking me all these weird questions about you and Flug."
"Me and Flug?" Black Hat asked. Was...was Aurelio jealous? Was he jealous of how close the two of them seemed to have gotten over the past week or so? Was that what all this was about? What did Demetra mean she couldn't move?
"Yeah, like, what's the deal with the two of you, why do he and I hang around you when you're so weird looking, why do we not have a problem with it, stuff like that. For the record, I think you look terrific. Nose or no nose. I'm sure Flug feels the same."
Black Hat noticed that Demetra was poking Flug in the face. And he was shifting around trying to make her stop. Was that the same car from before? It was a bit farther away, so it was difficult to tell.
"And then?"
"I guess he didn't like that?" She said with a shrug. "He didn't seem happy, and, um...I kept telling him to let me go, to stop moving my body like he was...but he wasn't stopping." Demetra seemed very...afraid right now. "He was coming closer, and making me move closer, and..." She trailed off.
Well, now, Black Hat wanted to make what he'd done to Rufio look like a scraped knee. He wanted to put Aurelio in the hospital. Preferably the morgue. He was just a total ass who for some reason seemed to have something against him and was taking it out on his acquaintances. How pathetic. If Aurelio had a problem with Black Hat, he should just take it up with the man himself.
Although he still didn't fully understand what she meant by Aurelio moving her body.
"So, um, Flug walked in right then." She continued, gaining a bit of her composure. "And he let me go after that. That's when I ran into you, heh."
"And then he drugged Flug." Black Hat muttered to himself.
"What?"
"And then he went after Flug." Black Hat said, a little louder. He didn't want to tell her what he'd seen just yet. He still wasn't sure how he could best use that little tidbit of information against the man. He would be keeping it to himself for the time being.
"Wait..." She said. "You don't think that he was going to..?"
"He was trying to take him somewhere when I stopped him." Black Hat said. "You're guess is as good as mine as to what he was going to do."
Demetra cradled Flug's head closer to her. She looked so worried and concerned for him.
"I just...wanted to get him away from him. Cuz he's clearly a bad guy. Not like you." She said. Oh girl, please don't insult Black Hat like that. He was no saint. He was being "nice" now, but that was just because he had a personal stake in what happened to Flug. The only reason he tolerated Demetra's presence was that she was mildly entertaining and a bit intriguing. Useful on occasion. He still hadn't figured out what it was she was hiding, but he was closer. Tonight had surely rocketed him so much closer to the idiot revealing her secrets to him. They truly seemed like they'd be worth the time and effort he put in. And once he'd found that out, if there was nothing else of interest to him, he would cast her aside with extreme ease.
"We might not have done even that."
"What do you mean?"
"That car has been following us ever since we left Aurelio's." He stated.
Demetra whipped her head around to see. Yeah, it was definitely the same one. Which could only mean that Aurelio had jumped in a car and was now following them. Jeez, what was this guy's problem?
"Son of a bitch!" Demetra cursed. "Black Hat! Shake these losers like a bad case of fleas!"
"Since when do I take orders from you?" He snarled.
"Do you want him following us to Flug's apartment?" She replied testily.
"Well...no..."
"Then drive, handsome, drive!"
He tried to lose them. He really did. It always seemed that no matter what insane last second turns he made or whatever street he took, they always found them again. Black Hat was tempted to start running street lights, damn the traffic laws, but ultimately didn't want the added attention. Or have to suffer through Dem whining about it. If she even would. Hell, she might encourage him.
Buuuuut...it may cause unnecessary trouble for him if he was witnessed doing something even so insignificant as running a red light or five. On top of being a bit under the influence. With a guy passed out in the back.
UUuuuuuuuugggggghhhhh why was this so needlessly complicated?
"Screw it, I'm taking him home anyway." He said.
"What?!" The harpy screeched. "You're just gonna let him follow us?!"
"He tries anything, I'll show him first hand how badly I messed up his little cronie." Black Hat said darkly.
Dem was silent for a full minute before she spoke again. "You know about his Gift, right?"
"Not really no."
She shook her head. "It's like this; he touches you, and suddenly you can't move on your own. But he can move you. However he wants. And you can't do anything about it."
Oh. So that's what she meant before. She was being literal.
Well...wasn't that just fucking dastardly. If he wasn't starting to loathe this guy so much he might ask him to become his subordinate. There may be something to this Aurelio Cruz guy after all.
"So don't let him lay a hand on me." Black Hat said calmly. "Got it."
"I wouldn't want to touch him either."
"Does it work through clothes? Because I'm pretty well covered." Black Hat said with a raised hand, flexing his gloved fingers.
"I...I don't know." Demetra said. "When he did it to me, I think he just held my hand and that was it." She examined her own gloves. Both the black leather glove on her right hand and the red striped arm warmer on the left had the fingers exposed. "Maybe he needs it to be skin-to-skin to work?"
"Well now, aren't you glad I kept all my clothes on?"
"Ehh, yes and no." She said with a smirk.
They were coming up on the block. That car was getting closer. Shit, they mobilize fast. What now?
Not really having a plan besides "Get out, fuck them up if they try anything, get Flug home and get on with his night," Black Hat parked right outside, asked Demetra if she had a smoke, and leaned against the outside of his car nonchalantly, waiting to see what these pests would do. Were they really going to go so far as to park and get out? What was the plan then? Drag Flug back? Good luck explaining that one.
"At least tell me what it is you're going to do!" Demetra whined.
He shrugged. "Depends on what they do."
"So...you have no plan?" She asked, sounding very unimpressed.
"I'll get him to back off." He said, taking a long drag. "Just leave it to me."
That quieter her down. Just in time too, as the Creep Squad was just pulling up. There were four of them present; Aurelio, Rufio, and two guys Black Hat didn't know. While the Rufio found a place to park, Aurelio and the two unknowns got out in front.
Black Hat blew some smoke and very casually said "Well, you're persistent." There wasn't much malice in it, unless one really looked for it. He could see just under the brim of his hat Aurelio and his buddies giving him dirty looks. "Why exactly are you here? I told you I'd take him home. No need for the escort. Are you here to supervise? Make sure we don't get up to anything naughty?" He asked with a thin smile.
Black Hat and Aurelio locked eyes, both of them fixing the other with the stare of "Back the fuck off."
"Hey! So, is anyone actually going to actually get this guy home? Or are you both too busy comparing dick sizes?" Demetra asked from inside the car.
Black Hat cracked a toothy grin as he flicked his cigarette off. "I assume you're going to want to 'help' carry him again?"
"I'd probably be a bit more helpful than she would." He said pompously.
Black Hat wouldn't be too sure about that. Regardless, he opened the car door and motioned Dem to bring him out. She gave him a confused look, like What the fuck are you doing?, but complied. As he picked Flug out of her arms he leaned in and whispered "Stay here and make sure no one follows us in."
As he pulled back she nodded to show she understood. She still had a bit of doubt lingering in her eyes, she didn't know what he was up to or what his plan was but she wanted to believe that whatever it was he would do, he'd be getting Aurelio to leave their "friend" alone.
Why that involved the two of them taking Flug inside together, she'd never guess.
Black Hat offered a malicious smile, which quickly morphed into something more neutral as he turned to face Aurelio. Black Hat supported Flug on his left side while Aurelio took him from the right. The two of them carried him through the doors, Demetra doing as asked and stalling the two others when they attempted to follow them. Black Hat directed them to the elevator, and instructed Aurelio to hit the button for the third floor.
Flug stirred a bit while in the elevator. He kicked his feet out like he was trying to move or walk. His head lolled unsteadily from side to side, never fully lifting. Black Hat wondered just what it was Aurelio had slipped him. And felt bile rise in his throat at the thought that he was leading the man who drugged his mad scientist to that same scientists home. But, this was most likely his best chance to get the man to leave the both of them be without violence. He really wasn't in the mood to hold back right now and killing the people around him was a great way to get himself found out as a villain. What would he say, that Aurelio fell down the stairs? And managed to break every bone in his skull somehow? No, couldn't do that. Black Hat needed to settle this without raising any more hands tonight. His comfort depended on it. Luckily he had just the thing to get this man to take a hike without Black Hat having to do very much at all.
Black Hat was a fan of the old adage, "Show, don't tell." He believed that actions were far more convincing than mere words. Anyone can just say something, it's far more effective to show people instead. That was what had ultimately convinced Flug to join him, after all. He showed him how serious he was. In most instances, what a person does is far more telling than anything they say.
Leading the man to apartment 302, pulling out his keyring, and unlocking the door told a lot without Black Hat having to say hardly anything.
And when words were a necessity, they should be chosen wisely.
"He's going to be thirsty," Black Hat said as he flicked on the light. "Why don't you get a glass of water for him? Kitchen is to the left. Glasses are in the cupboard to the right of the sink."
Aurelio hesitantly released his hold of Flug and walked with slow steps off in the direction Black Hat said. Like he wasn't sure Black Hat would be telling the truth. Or perhaps it was that he wasn't sure if the location of the small kitchenette and it's drinking glasses was something Black Hat would know in the first place.
"Where are you going?" He asked suspiciously as he noticed Black Hat stealing off with Flug.
"To the bedroom." He said with a roll of his eye. "Where else? Would you rather I leave him on the couch?"
He huffed and went on his way down the hall, but it did NOT escape his eye how questioning Aurelio looked right now.
Oh this must just be so odd for him! To see Black Hat so well acquainted with Flug's living space! He'd already been aware that Black Hat knew where Flug lived, and it wouldn't be unthinkable for Black Hat to know which apartment specifically it was, but to see Black Hat just nonchalantly going, "Kitchen's that way, bedroom is this way," must be putting all sorts of ideas in his head! Questions of how often Black Hat had been in here. Why had he been here. What he (and Flug) had been doing in this unsettlingly closed off apartment.
And how familiar Black Hat was with the bedroom.
Although seriously, Flug, did you not think covering every window with old newspaper might come off just a tad bit odd? Could you be anymore obvious that you're hiding something? Why else would you go to such lengths to ensure your privacy? Black Hat would have to think of a way to work that topic naturally into a conversation somehow, maybe he should see if Flug would object to his coming over tomorrow. He could just pretend that it would be his first time inside and make some remark about it. He'd call him sometime in the early afternoon under the guise of checking up on him and just ask if Flug would mind if he came over. Oh wait, didn't he have a shift at his part-time job tomorrow afternoon? Perhaps an evening visit would work better.
Black Hat flicked on the light and glanced around the room a bit. It was a bit different being here in person again after peeking in from a computer screen over the last few weeks. As his gaze fell on the desk and laptop, it clicked in his mind where he'd seen Aurelio's face before. And he felt an even greater rage shoot through his mind and it took some real restraint on his part to gently deposit Flug in his bed and not storm out to rip that bastards head clean off. He removed Flug's glasses and set them aside in their usual spot on the nightstand with the practiced false calm of a man who regularly shoved down his anger.
Oh, Flug. You fell for a pretty face, did you? A pretty face that sought to steal you away for some nefarious purpose. Damn him, that's what BLACK HAT was doing! He got to him first, asshole!
No matter. Black Hat would make sure that the aggressively annoying puppeteer was no longer a bother.
Aurelio came in shortly after. As he handed the glass to Black Hat, Black Hat pondered on what he should say here. Should he confront the man now? Or wait and see how Aurelio behaves around both him and Flug after this? Would it be more advantageous to hold off until a later time, where it could potentially be used against him with even higher stakes? In what scenario would the fact that Black Hat saw Aurelio drug Flug be the most incriminating? What would have to happen for it to be something so damaging that Aurelio would have no choice but to do whatever Black Hat wanted to keep it secret?
Perhaps...if Aurelio tried to approach Flug again, it could become more potent. Black Hat didn't like the thought of this guy trying to put the moves on Flug, and was already brainstorming ways of coaxing Flug to avoid him on his own, but if he had something like this in his back pocket then perhaps he could make the man back off if it came to it.
Black Hat decided that he would hold off on letting Aurelio know he had been witnessed. He wanted to see what the man did from this point, leave him thinking that no one was the wiser to his misdeed. No reason for Black Hat to waste his one bit of leverage so soon in the game. However, there was something burning in Black Hat's mind that he did want to address.
And maybe he could just act like he only maybe knew about what Aurelio had done to Demetra.
"Dem tells me you're quite curious about Flug and I." He said nonchalantly, leaving the refreshing beverage on the nightstand. "About what we are to each other."
Aurelio averted eye contact. "Yes, well, Flug himself cleared the situation up."
"Did he now?" What had Flug told him? Shit, he'd been drinking. He hadn't gone and told him about Black Hat being a villain, did he?!
"Yes. In his own words, the two of you are nothing serious. Just fun."
Ah, well, he supposed that was accurate. They didn't have any strong emotional attachment to each other. That one drunken night of passion had been just that; one drunken night of passion. It most definitely had been fun for Black Hat. It made him smirk to know that Flug enjoyed it as well. As much as he could, with what little he remembered.
At least Flug hadn't went and outed himself as a newly-minted villainous henchmen. Although he might've accidentally outed himself as gay. Oh well, there wasn't much Black Hat could do about that.
Outwardly, he shrugged. "That's true. It's not as though I own him or anything." Although he did. "What's it to you?"
"Oh, nothing." Aurelio said coolly. "I was just curious."
"If you want him, go ahead and make a move. Don't let me stop you." He said. Although Black Hat had no intentions of allowing him a fair chance. Black Hat would get to Flug first, and would quickly work on getting him to reject any advances the man may make. Perhaps he'd tell him what he'd seen and let things work out on their own. Although he didn't like losing the one thing he had on the man so soon, if he was going to tell Flug he should do it quickly. The longer he waited, the less it would be about Aurelio and become more about why Black Hat had kept such a thing secret for so long. Truthfully, the only other thing he could think of at the moment was wooing the man himself. Maybe a better plan would come to him in the morning. As fun as it would be to have Flug's heart as well as soul wrapped around his finger, it would undoubtedly get messy down the line. Little more than a hassle to maintain.
While stringing him along would be a very evil way to gain his unwavering loyalty in all things, it potentially opened a can of worms Black Hat would rather just not. They had a decent thing going for them so far, why muck it up needlessly? That and Flug himself was maddeningly delicate, in emotional terms at least. He needed to be handled with care. It would be a long con with no guaranteed benefits, and the potential risk of overcomplicating things should they go sour. There was no need to get such trivial things as feelings involved without good reason. If it was going to be just sex, then let it be that. No need for either of them to get overly attached like that and fuck things up for nothing.
"I never said I wanted him." Aurelio said, a bit defensively. Oh, playing coy, was he? Well, what else would your end goal be, hmm? Were you asking for a friend or something?
Black Hat played with the ends of a few strands of Flug's hair. "Whatever you say," He said quietly.
He was about to leave and usher Aurelio out with him when Flug's arm reached out for him. He heard him mumble out one sad-sounding word.
"Quedarse."
Well, with Aurelio watching him like he was, how could he not? And how could he just leave it at a mere reply?
Black Hat crouched down and cupped Flug's face in his hands. He lightly kissed him on the forehead and whispered to him, "Sure, I'll stay with you. Now go to sleep." In a voice that was just barely audible he added "That's an order."
He thought Flug might've smiled a bit, but perhaps he was just seeing things. He could see Flug's body go limp as he drifted off. Black Hat smiled down at him, content that he was out for good.
Don't worry, Flug. He thought. Your soul is mine. My orders are absolute. You couldn't disobey me if you tried. You rest easy while I get rid of this piece of filth that dared to come into your home.
Never mind that it had been Black Hat that let it in in the first place.
And it looked greatly confused by the display of tender affection. Black Hat couldn't resist smiling wider at it. He walked past him calmly and put his hand on the lightswitch. "Well, come on," he prompted. "Do you intend to stay the night and let all those morons leave your home a wreck?"
He chuckled. It sounded completely fake. "They will anyway." But he got up and left as Black Hat turned out the light.
"Do you intend to stay?" He asked him in the living room.
"I was asked to." Black Hat said simply. His eye fell on the spot where Flug had bled out the night before. Honestly, what had he been thinking? He was such an intelligent man, what made him think he should test out his inventions on himself, and alone no less! Black Hat nearly ran over to save his stupid ass (in very fetching white lace), but didn't. He'd been too transfixed seeing Flug move himself, even though it was clearly with great difficulty and he'd needed to watch for a while to make sure he wasn't just imagining it. Perhaps his soulless desensitization had played a part in how he was able to accomplish such a feat.
He couldn't resist texting him out of the blue, just to check that he was indeed ok. He hadn't put cameras in the bathroom, he wasn't that big of a voyeur. The daring little thing had the nerve to give him half-answers, vague and not entirely untruthful. Black Hat was impressed. Obviously he had no plans to ever tell Black Hat what he'd done (and had no way of knowing that Black Hat had seen him), but he wasn't outright lying to him about it.
It was very intriguing, and Black Hat quickly ended the conversation to ponder on it more freely. His eye traced the open wounds of his future doctor on the screen, thinking how he'd looked on the floor; helpless, powerless, at the mercy of his own machine. Until he wasn't. He could take care of himself.
Aurelio put a hand on Black Hat's shoulder. The contact irked him, but at least he had some protection against the man's ability.
"You admitted that there's nothing really going on between you two. Nothing serious, at least. So what was that in there? Seems you're more serious about things than you let on."
Hmm, what explanation to give? How should Black Hat respond to that? Should he say that yes, he is serious? He was, if you looked at it from the perspective of how seriously he wanted the man out of this apartment and out of Flug's life.
"Maybe I am." He said, brushing the hand off his shoulder. "Up to Flug if he wants either of us in the end."
"Yes, it is up to Rocinante." It wasn't lost on Black Hat how he'd said Flug's first name. How smug. "And, you know, I'm not sure he feels as strongly as you might."
"And what makes you say that?"
"He seems rather...shy, about those little 'love marks' you gave him."
Oh was he serious? Was that what this was all about? Black Hat left Flug with a neck full of marks and this guy noticed and got jealous? It'd be funny if it weren't so trite. Would it make him feel better to know that Flug pleasured himself to his pictures fairly often? That he was the object of his fantasies?
Something that would be changing. Count on it.
Black Hat damn near shoved Aurelio out, saying "Oh, by the way, tell Demetra she'll need another ride home." Before he slammed the door on him.
Yeah, kind of a dick move on his part. And after she was such a big help, too. Oh well. Perhaps it would make it clear that he just didn't want her. He swore, he couldn't tell if she wanted him to date her or Flug. It seemed to change every time he saw her. One day she was gushing over the two of them, the next she was flirting with him. Maybe she was trying to swing for a threesome.
Black Hat mulled over Flug's disposition. He would probably never agree to something like that. Even if Black Hat did begin seducing him, and succeeded.
Hmph, given how he'd responded to Aurelio, perhaps that was the way he should go about things. Let him think that Black Hat really was after him in that way.
Perhaps he could get Flug to agree to play along, if he couldn't get his interest genuinely. If all else failed, he could just order Flug to stay away from the nuisance. To hell with what he might think of it. It'd be a challenge to slip it into a normal conversation without revealing the supernatural compulsion he held over him though. Black Hat imagined that Flug would have a...less than thrilled reaction to just how much he was really owned. How much power that contract gave Black Hat over him. Black Hat wanted to see what he could do on just his wits and charm first, see what he could get Flug to do on his own.
Get him to play along...seduce him...Black Hat could feel a devious plan begin to take shape.
It was just a shame he couldn't plot in the privacy of his own home, where he could let his guard down. Even when the only other person in this apartment was fast asleep, Black Hat didn't feel fully secure. He hardly ever did when he was around other people, no matter who they were. He felt a large amount of pent up aggression take shape inside him. A dark weight that he wouldn't be able to shed until he was back in his own space. Or, more accurately, he'd be able to get rid of it once he found something suitable to take all his rage out on.
He settled in on the couch in the dark living room, his shoes removed, already dreading what his back would be like in the morning. Maybe if he woke up early enough he could stretch himself out. Fully, letting his tentacle-esque protrusions flex a bit. That always relaxed him, letting go for even a few minutes out of the day. They got antsy, if that made any sense when speaking about limbs. They craved to be unleashed. They longed to be free to move.
Black Hat removed his hat and set it on the small coffee table.
Flug would probably want an explanation as to how Black Hat had gotten into his apartment. As well as how he'd gotten there, what had happened at the party, and just how much had he embarrassed himself in front of the man he jerked off to.
Whatever should he tell him?
And when would he let him know that the man he lusted after drugged him?
Translations:
Gracias a Dios = Thank God (Spanish)
Quedarse = Stay (Spanish)
Oh, and before I forget, this is the song Demetra/mencia sings: watch?v=sB2BKdgSW4U Club Villain by Your Favorite Martian
