#literally slammed a kid into a moving training cause he wanted to save his dad like that’s top tier loser behavior | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

glacecakes · 3 years

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Slowly Led up From the Deep

Despite what anyone else (Lance) said, Eugene wasn’t a mother hen. He wasn’t! There was a distinct difference between being cautious and prepared for the worst due to living on the streets, and mother henning the shit out of everyone.

(“You mother hen the shit out of everyone,” Lance would say. “And I’m a dad. With the same past as you.”)

Case in point: Varian.

(Or: the Baron tries to kidnap Varian to get back at Eugene.)

Weeee another project! This one is a lil different tho Basically I have ideas for four (maybe more? Debating whether or not to expand to 7) angst oneshots with each oneshot pertaining to an element. So this is water, I have a plan for earth, air, fire if I decide to go thru with this. Poor Varian, sorry not sorry

(“You mother hen the shit out of everyone,” Lance would say. “And I’m a dad. With the same past as you.”)

Case in point: Varian. Following the events of… well, yknow, life , Eugene was a bit nervous about letting the kid out of his sight. After all, he got kidnapped, drugged, assaulted, imprisoned, and flung out a tower. And that was all in one day! So excuse him for being concerned about his friend's health. The guy had a death wish, and clearly someone had to watch over him or else he would die from falling, or forgetting to sleep, or setting himself on fire, and then Eugene would have a very angry beef-tittied man at his throat.

Since his redemption, Varian had quickly weaseled his way into the man’s heart, not unlike how Rapunzel did. He’d always wanted a younger sibling as a kid, and Varian fit the bill. His tiny frame and nervous demeanor made him a prime target for Eugene to try and instill life lessons into, no matter how much Varian protested. So long as he worked in the castle, Eugene saw to it that the kid got three square meals a day.

And when he’d failed to keep Varian safe...

Being trapped in unbreakable rock, helpless while Varian slid across the floor, the fading screams as he plummeted to what should’ve been his death…

Let’s just say Eugene has bolted awake to those sounds more than once.

And now he was Captain of the Guard, on top of being a big brother. Which meant that he had to oversee the Royal Alchemist’s (aka Varian’s) more… delicate experiments.

As of this moment, Varian was mixing a glowing red liquid, goggles pulled over his face. Eugene had tried to peer over his shoulder and watch, but the younger pushed him away, grumbling something about not spilling it all over.

Gloved hands wrapped around a pipette as he worked, mumbling scientific jargon under his breath. Rapunzel was able to follow along a lot better than he was, which meant Eugene had no clue what was going on.

“Hello, Allo, Varian?” He waved a hand in his face, startling Varian and nearly causing the liquid to slosh out its beaker. “Hi. Yea, I’m still here and I would like to know what’s going on.” He gave the kid an unimpressed eyebrow raise when he turned, sheepish. Clearly Varian forgot about his “lab partner”.

“Right, sorry.” Varian coughed, setting aside the pipette to hold up his substance. “So, the thing with the water tanks is that… they’re really hard to work on once they’re up and running. Right? You can’t exactly go into the tankers,” he snorted. “I mean, you could, but you’d boil alive.” His brows furrowed and he brought a free hand to his chin, deep in thought. “Actually, I don’t know what would happen… maybe…” His brain was off to the races, already miles away from the current conversation.

“Varian,” Eugene snapped, crossing his arms in frustration. Not that he didn’t want to be here, but he really didn’t want to hear about Varian’s new plan to throw someone into a vat of flynnolium to see if they’d survive. “Royal Engineer, more like Mad scientist.”

“I take that as a compliment,” Varian said, turning back to his lab table with a grin. “Aaaanyway, this stuff should, if my calculations are correct, and they are,” He added, knowing Eugene had already opened his mouth. “This stuff should dissolve stuff like rust, but only when exposed to water. So basically we’d just throw a vial of this into the tankers, wait a few minutes, and drain it. Then, tada! Sparkling clean tanks, good as new.” His voice floated with each step, bouncing around his workspace with eagerness and joy. Varian hummed under his breath, grabbing a pitcher and filling a small cup with water. Water from the nearly full pitcher sloshed around, nearly spilling onto the table as he sang along to the song in his head.

“Hey, kid, isn’t that the jug you use for drinking?” Eugene asked, walking over.

“Hmm?” Varian glanced back, not really caring, too in the zone. “So it is.”

“And it’s full, even though I gave it to you this morning?”

“Yeah?”

“Which would mean…” He circles his wrist, expectant gaze meeting Varian’s confused. The boy lifted up his goggles to reveal eyes bluer than any sky. “...That you haven’t had anything to drink?”

“I had some juice at lunch.” Varian said.

“That’s not the same.” Eugene responded.

Varian shot him an annoyed gaze. “Seriously? We’re doing this now?” He asked, a hand moving to lean on his desk. He missed, sending him stumbling, but he kept his gaze trained on Eugene.

Eugene simply hummed, walking over and plucking the red vial from it’s test tube. He placed it in his coat pocket. “Yea, we’re doing this now. No experimenting on that glass, you are to drink it right now.”

“What?” Varian’s face turned slightly green. “This thing hasn’t been properly washed in who knows when! I use it as my paint cup!” He gestured to the wall, covered in notes, writings, and the odd Rapunzel doodle. The one Varian was pointing to was a doodle of his pouty face, perfectly matching his current expression.

Eugene didn’t miss a beat. “Fine. Drink from the pitcher.”

“No!”

“Right now, chug it! Come on, you won’t do it, pussy.”

“I’m not going to chug it,” the alchemist pinched the bridge of his nose. “And didn’t Rapunzel tell you to stop calling people that?”

“No experimenting until you drink it. Captain’s orders.” Varian threw his arms up in frustration. “Why are you so against drinking right now? Come on, I know you’re thirsty!”

“I need the water for the experiment! If I drink it, I’ll have to get a refill!” Getting a refill meant going upstairs, disrupting his thought process and ruining the zone he had been in all day. It was hard to get into that state of absolute concentration, and leaving the lab would surely cause his bubble of productivity to pop.

“Oh no, a refill! The absolute horror!” Eugene fake gasped. The younger’s face burned red as his older friend draped his hand over his forehead in mock distress. “Whatever shall you do, cursed to go get some fresh air by… going upstairs!?”

Varian growled. He wasn’t going to win this argument, they’d had it often enough. But between his excitement over his invention, and Eugene’s teasing, and pulling rank… his ears burned as he took a long swig from the pitcher. He’d be dead before he told Eugene how soothing the cool water felt on his throat, how it spurred him to gulp down half of the pitcher in one go. “There.” He bit out, eyes narrow as daggers. “Are you happy?”

Eugene’s eyes, which had closed in his mock despair, opened to see the teen’s melancholy. Honestly, he was so moody over drinking water , it was ridiculous! All he was doing was making sure the kid didn’t die, oh how wicked of him.

“Yes, quite!” He grinned. “See, wasn’t that hard! I swear, you give me more grey hairs every day. How your dad kept you alive, I’ll never know.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Varian asked, eyebrows raised in offense. Did Eugene not think he could handle himself?

“Well, y’know, the guy always ignored you for hours on end, the fact that you didn’t die of dehydration or starvation is a miracle,” Eugene snorted.

The atmosphere grew tense in a heartbeat. Varian froze where he stood, fingers outstretched towards the cup quickly retracting. "What did you just say?" Varian hissed, eyes narrowing as he turned.

“Just that your dad wasn’t there for you like I am.” Eugene couldn't stop the words that escaped his throat. Jealousy clawed at his mind, sinking sharp talons and cutting his common sense to ribbons. He’d been looking after Varian during his stays at the castle, both before and after he’d become Royal Engineer, and yet he was the bad guy here? He was the one who risked falling off a tower to crawl out to Varian while his dad, who was well versed in the moonstone, had decided he’d rather play with his pumpkins then get involved, despite his son being asked to translate a death spell.

“You did not just say that,” Varian growled, trying to keep himself in check. He hated getting mad, especially at his friends, seeing as he didn’t exactly have a good track record with it. “You did not just suggest that you’re better than my dad.”

“Hey, all I’m saying is that he literally let you cause earthquakes with no supervision when you were fourteen and then got mad when it didn’t exactly turn out great.”

“At least my dad didn’t abandon me for three months.”

“At least I came to save you when Cass kidnapped you.”

Varian slammed his fists on the table. “Did you even tell him about that? Or did he not know I was missing, just assumed you were taking care of me until I came home with broken ribs!?” The alchemist whirled around, marching up and planting a finger on Eugene’s chest. “He thought you guys were keeping me safe, but no ! So what, now you’re trying to make up for it by breathing down my neck? I’m not a little kid, Eugene! It’s one thing to look out for me, but a whole other to smother me and insult my dad!”

The man huffed. “I’m not smothering you, I’m concerned for you! What reasonable parent is ok with their kid forgetting to eat or drink?”

"Well I’m sorry he trusts me to! You’re just a control freak who can’t accept that not everyone needs his input! You don’t trust my judgement at all!" The anger in Varian's eyes... Eugene hadn't seen it since the battle of Old Corona. He couldn’t stop himself from what came next; it was like a reflex, some leftover anger from before.

"WHY SHOULD I TRUST YOU!?" Eugene screamed, before quickly covering his mouth in horror.

Varian's eyes widened, filling with tears. Then he carefully schooled his face back to impassive and cold.

Eugene faltered, guilt boiling red hot in his stomach. He really messed up, didn't he? It wasn't that he didn't trust Varian, far from it. From his sassy remarks to dorky antics, and the way he was so passionate about everything, it was clear that Varian put his heart and soul into everything he did, and he only shared that with the people he trusted. Eugene was honored to be one of those people. Now, he might have just lost that.

He trusted Varian with his life. But Varian's life? He couldn't trust anyone with that. It was too precious to him. He'd failed to protect Varian so many times, he just wanted to do it right from now on.

Eugene tried to reach out. "Kid, I didn't mean it like that," he began, but Varian ignored him. Instead, he shouldered past, marching up the stairs towards the main castle, pitcher in hand.

"I don't know, Eugene," Varian spat as he walked, words as bitter as the feeling in Eugene's gut. "Why should you? After all, I'm just a traitor to the crown. I could be a spy for the Baron or Saporia, you never know."

"Come on, I know that’s not true," Eugene stepped forward, moving to follow, but refrained. He could see the quaking of Varian’s shoulders, almost imperceptible to anyone who didn’t know him as well as he did. "Varian, you've come so far, you're an amazing kid, I just.."

Varian whirled around, showing that sure enough, his eyes were brimming with tears. "You just what? Fear me? Like everyone else? It's fine, go ahead! Just next time," he sniffled, brushing away an angry tear. "Next time, don't pretend to care. Don’t pretend that you are monitoring me just out of the goodness of your heart. Just treat me like the criminal you think I am.”

He left the lab, leaving Eugene alone with his still untested compound.

About a minute after Varian had stormed off, a guard poked his head in.

“Hey Captain… is now a bad time to tell you a prisoner escaped?”

He groaned.

You could practically see the steam coming out of Varian’s ears as he stomped through the castle, to the point that all the maids and guards gave him a wide berth. His cheeks puffed up as he stomped. Stupid Eugene, stupid pitcher, stupid rules, stupid stupid stupid!

“Ugh!” He cried, kicking at the ground and delighting in the scuffing noises. What did he know anyway? Varian was perfectly capable of taking care of himself, he had been for years! He’d been fine on his own in the months he’d been abandoned, after all. He didn’t need Eugene then, and he didn’t need Eugene now.

Never mind the fact that his descent into madness had been because no one was there.

He burst into the supply closet with all the fury of a thousand suns, thankful that no one was in there at the moment. His hands shook as he placed the pitcher under the pump, letting out his frustration at each up and down motion of the lever.

“What does Eugene know,” Varian hissed. “He was on his own for-fucking-ever, and yet here he is thinking that I can’t handle myself? Says he doesn’t trust me to not die, I survived just fine without him!”

He was so focused on his task, on letting out his anger and ignoring the tears that fell into the pitcher, that he didn’t hear the muffled yelling, or the shuffle of guards, or even the heavy groaning of iron on wooden floors.

The door slammed shut with a heavy thud, and Varian frowned. So much for being left alone. He didn’t want to look up, didn’t want to face who he assumed was looking for him. For a moment, the only sound was the other party’s heavy breathing, and Varian’s sniffling.

“What do you want, Eugene?” He hissed. “Come to yell at me for not taking a break?”

The other person doesn’t speak for a moment. Then, a gruff, and decidedly not Eugene speaks. “Are you talking about Flynn Rider?”

Varian startles. He glances up to see the buffest man he’s ever seen (and considering his dad that’s saying a lot) is bent over, fiddling with something on his shoe.

“...yea. Eugene.” He says, turning back to the pitcher. Odd, no one in the castle called him that anymore. Maybe this guy was a visitor? A tourist who got lost? Ambassador, even? He wasn’t sure. Despite his technically high status, he wasn’t exactly welcome in court. Which meant he was often invited to royal balls only to not know a single person or anything about the current politics. It sucked.

There’s a clink as the man unlocks something. He smirks, turning back to where Varian is distracted. “So, you know him?”

“ Know him?” Varian scoffs. At the silence, he realizes the guy is serious. “Yea, I do. He’s annoying.”

“Tell me about it.” The man gruffs. Unfortunately for him (or, more accurately, unfortunately for Varian), the boy takes the invitation.

“He’s like a big brother to me, which is nice… except for the fact that he treats me like a baby brother instead of a younger one. Constantly hovering, always worried about me. I get that he means well,” he goes on, completely oblivious to how the man’s face lights up in a wicked grin, before shuffling around the closet, searching for rope and linen. “But god, it’s so frustrating when I’m trying to do something and he’s just yelling at me to take care of myself! He just wants to, to keep me locked away or something! And then today, he-he insulted my dad, tried to imply that my dad didn’t care. I get that to him it seems that way, since he’s only ever seen my dad a few times…” he let out a sigh. “I just… I appreciate what he’s doing, but he needs to chill.”

“I don’t know,” the man hums. “I’d argue he’d be valid to be concerned at this exact moment.”

Varian furrowed his brows, eyes glancing back and forth as he tried to make sense of the statement. “What does that…?” His eyes widened as the man turned around. Long blonde hair… rope in one hand… a ball and chain in another.

The Baron smirked.

Eugene kept a brisk pace, anger and annoyance growing by the second. Of course the one time he needed to be looking for Varian, he was stuck instead looking for a maniac. Leave it to Stan and Pete to mess up a prisoner transfer.

“Any sign?” He calls as he passes a guard, who turns to keep in step.

“No sir, but we have reason to suspect he hasn’t left the kingdom.”

“Good. I want all units on the lookout.” The guard saluted and ran off to execute. Their forces would be spread thin, but it was their best bet. He just hoped no one else would run into their convict.

Especially considering his past with the bastard.

No sooner does he make that wish, there’s a loud crash, akin to glass breaking, and a scream.

An all too familiar scream.

“No no no…” He breaks into a sprint, following the source of the noise. Please, for the love of god, let this not be the case. Let him be wrong, it’s just a scared maid, he just spooked him, let him be ok…!

He skids around the corner, and his heart stops dead in his chest.

Varian was strewn over the Baron’s shoulder, violently thrashing. His arms were bound behind his back, and a cloth tied into a gag over his mouth. Tears of desperation budded as his eyes were screwed shut. Strewn at his kidnapper’s feet were shards from a vase. Said man turned, and he saw how it was broken. Varian’s legs had been tied together, with one also chained to the iron ball that had been used to keep the Baron contained. A lot of good that did.

“How on earth are you still fighting?” The giant hissed. “That chain should keep your legs from moving!” Varian glared daggers down at his kidnapper, no doubt spitting fire through the cloth the likes of which would make Lance faint.

Eugene’s shock quickly morphed as he drew his sword with shaking hands and leveled a glare. He couldn’t protect Varian the last time he was kidnapped, but he sure as hell wasn’t going to fail this time.

The Baron smirked. “Ah, Rider. How nice of you to join us.”

Varian’s eyes snapped open, trying to look over his shoulder to see his brother. Large, tear-filled eyes met dark brown in a silent plea. Their previous argument no longer mattered. All that mattered was keeping him safe.

“Let him go. Now.” Eugene’s voice was deadly level, no longer filled with its usual charm and life. “And maybe I’ll be lenient on your sentence.”

The baron hummed, readjusting Varian in his fireman’s carry. “I have an alternative idea. See, I know you, Rider. And I know how weak you are for your friends. Your family.” The last bit caused Eugene to briefly glance up at Varian, before returning his glare to the Baron. “You’re going to let me walk out these halls, and out of this kingdom.”

“And if I don’t?” He really didn’t want to ask, he knew the answer. But he needed to know. How much danger was Varian in? It was one thing to hurt Lance, an adult who already was disliked by the Baron. But an innocent kid…?

The Baron smirked. “Let’s find out, shall we?” With that, the man thrust his fist into the giant window beside him. Glass spewed from the wound, splinters causing both Varian and Eugene to flinch, the latter taking a step back. It was all the advantage the Baron needed, climbing out and into Corona’s sprawling streets.

“Fuck!” Eugene hissed, leaping after, but it was too late. The man had vanished into the maze. He only had one option left, he realized, his gaze turning to the mainland.

“I wasn’t planning on taking hostages, but you’re the Royal Engineer, hm? And Rider’s little brother. I’m sure I can fetch a pretty penny… though I’m not opposed to just killing you,” The Baron hummed, moving through the city’s alleys at a speed that really shouldn’t be possible when the man had a squirming teenager on his back. But the words had stunned Varian into submission, helpless to do anything but try and kick his chained leg. If he could just get the damned ball to move, he could potentially use it as a weapon.

Maybe then Eugene would actually trust him to take care of himself.

The main bridge was fast approaching, unguarded, with nothing stopping the criminal from making off with his prize. Wait… there! Straight ahead, a lampost. Varian didn’t need to move the ball, just get the chain stuck around it, and that should buy him some time!

Slowly, so as not to alert the Baron, he began to swing his leg, letting the ball’s momentum begin to carry. He couldn’t swing very much, its weight too much, but his timing was just right. The ball swung around the pole as they passed, hooking on. The Baron was not prepared for the jerk, and so he stumbled, Varian slipping down his grasp and tripping him further. He fell to the floor, grunting slightly in pain.

He only had one shot. If he didn’t get himself back up now , his attempt would fail. Nimble hands twisted around in his bonds, trying to slide out of the rope, but they were too tight.

Come on Varian, he thought to himself. Eugene taught you how to escape this stuff! Think! How do you get out of ropes?

His mind trailed to the post-Cassandra “Hostage 101” seminar Eugene had given (read: forced onto) him. Something about using your elbows to create a space in your wrists? No wait, that was for when your hands are in front of you! Gah!

Despite it all, Varian can’t help but let frustrated tears prick at his eyes, slicing down his cheek and cutting open his soul, leaving it raw, exposed to the elements, to this bastard. He couldn’t even get his binding undone! At least with his last kidnapping, he could not escape because it was literally unbreakable. Here, he was just too weak. Too naive. Too oblivious.

If Eugene was here, this wouldn’t be a problem. Eugene would never let anything bad happen to him on his watch, it was his job, after all. And he was damn good at it.

If only Varian hadn’t stormed off.

He squirmed forward, trying to drag himself away from the Baron and buy himself more time. But it didn’t work. The man grabbed onto the ball, and yanked hard , dragging the teen over rocks that slashed at his skin.

“I will admit, that is exactly what I should’ve expected from you,” he growled, his massive form towering over Varian. With one smooth motion, he hauled the alchemist up by his shirt collar, forcing their eyes to meet. “But you won’t get away that easily.”

“Neither will you!”

The Baron turned, a feral smirk crawling over his face as he saw Eugene’s panting form. “Rider. I thought I told you not to follow?” He clicked his tongue, more akin to scolding a small child.

Eugene didn’t back down, sword drawn and pointing straight at his prey. “Let him go. Now.” It wasn’t a suggestion, but an order.

The Baron raised an eyebrow, hand still tightly gripping Varian. “You took everything from me. My daughter, my legacy, my empire. You really think I should let him go?”

“He has nothing to do with any of that!” Eugene barked, protective rage racing through his veins and spitting out of his mouth like flames. “Release him. Or I will engage.”

The Baron teeth were bared, canines flashing. “Good.”

He turned and threw Varian off the bridge.

Time moved in slow motion. Wind whistled in Varian’s ears, ruffling his hair and sending it spiral above his head, filling his vision with raven edges. The sky seemed to shrink, growing farther and farther away.

Eugene’s horrified face from high above was the last thing he saw before he hit the water.

Water rushed up his unprepared nose, spilling into his soul as he choked and tried to spit and cough it out. But he couldn’t, gag remaining firmly in place. He thrashed, trying something, anything, to stop his rapid descent, but the heavy ball on his ankle prevented any success. Blue overtook his vision, rays of sun fading more and more along with his loss of oxygen. His ears ached with increasing pressure, more and more until finally the ball hit something, vibrations rocketing up his leg.

He tried desperately to think of something, anything that could help him, but as the fog of unconsciousness creeped ever closer, the haze growing stronger and stronger, all he could think of was Eugene .

It was his last thought before darkness overtook him.

“VARIAN!” Eugene shrieked, watching as his little brother hit the water with a splash . His horrified gaze whipped around to see the Baron calmly walking away. “Get back here!” He yelled, running forward with his sword prepared to strike the man down once and for all. It hit its target, slashing the Baron’s shirt open and his form onto the floor. Blow after blow, he whaled on the large man with fists so fast his enemy had no time to strike back. The Captain raised the sword with both hands on the hilt, preparing for the final strike in a fit of fury…

“Sure,” the Baron grinned through a split lip. “Kill me, go ahead. But you’ll be killing him too.”

Eugene froze mid air.

He had a choice to make.

He could fulfill his duty, keeping Corona safe… at the cost of his baby brother…

Just like during the blizzard, just like in the months after…

The Baron cackled, seeing the emotions flicker across Eugene’s face. “Tick tock, Rider!” He yelled, laughter ringing in the captain’s ears and drowning him in panic just like how Varian was drowning now-

He dropped his sword in horror, sprinting over to the bridge’s edge, barely able to make out a familiar shape down below.

There was no more hesitation; he dove straight down, teeth gritted as he took a deep breath and fell down into the murky abyss.

There was one small blessing, and that was that the bay wasn’t terribly deep. It didn’t exceed beyond 20 feet in depth, and while that wasn’t much, it was still enough to cause a problem when you’re fucking drowning .

His boots hit dirt level, eyes straining in the freshwater as he tried to make out Varian’s face. It was slack, no emotion, no open eyes… he was running out of time.

Think, Eugene, think! He’s dying! His panicked mind screeched. In theory, the gag and hands could wait, but the ball and chain needed to go. Where were his lock picks, he thought as he rifled through his pockets until he landed on a vial.

His eyes widened as he took it out, the red glow illuminating Varian’s rapidly paling face. Of course! The kid’s alchemy! Thank god he’d listened, god his brother was so smart!

Please, please work, he prayed, smashing the vial on the ankle chain, watching with delight as it dissolved like paper in water. Immediately, Varian started to float. His big brother wrapped his arms around him, pushing up off the floor to propel them to the surface.

He gasped, lungs aching as he treaded water, Varian’s head lolling against his chest as the captain struggled to keep them both afloat. Thankfully, the mainland was right by, and in no time he was pulling Varian onto a grassy bank.

He wasted no time, starting chest compressions the second they were both on shore. “Come on kid, come on, don’t die on me!” Eugene hissed, water dripping from his hair onto the teen’s face. “You survived fucking Zhan Tiri you do not get to die from this-”

He was cut off as Varian began to cough violently, rolling over onto his side as he threw up water. A soothing hand ran over Varian’s back, consoling him as the kid slowly came back to life.

Finally, he stopped gagging, only panting heavily as each breath felt like heaven. Clouded blue eyes glanced back at his savior, melting into relief when he saw who it was.

“Eugene,” he sighed, letting the older man pull him into a hug he quickly reciprocated.

“Fuck,” Eugene breathed, laying his chin on Varian’s head. “You ok, kid?”

“...I think I drank enough water for today.”

Eugene laughed, tightening his grip just a bit more. “Yea, ok, you got me there.”

The walk back to the castle was slow going. By the time they both got there, they were shivering like crazy, so much so that the maids took one look at them and tossed towels their way.

For now, they were settled in the infirmary, letting the doctors check Varian over to make sure he wasn’t at risk of secondary drowning. A fresh fire crackled nearby, permeating the room with a comfortable atmosphere as Varian laid his head on Eugene’s shoulder.

“Did…” Varian was the first to speak. “Did you catch the Baron…?”

“...No. He got away.” Eugene sighed, defeated. He was not looking forward to writing a report.

“I’m sorry,” Varian whispered.

“Don’t be.”

“But I am!” The teen leaned back, frustrated blue meeting confused brown. “If I had just remembered any of the stuff you taught me, I would’ve been able to escape on my own! I shouldn’t have to rely on you for everything…!” His face burned red at the admission, guilt overpowering.

Eugene frowned. “Hey, whoa. You were panicking, it’s ok to not remember! If you want a refresher I can give you one.” His eyes glanced elsewhere. “Or maybe. Someone else should. Don’t want me hovering after all.”

Varian was quiet for a moment, eyes looking anywhere but his brother as the words evaded him. “No. I… I don’t really mind hovering. Sometimes,” he added, holding a finger up. “Sometimes. It’s nice to remember you guys care. But… you need to trust me to not fall over at the smallest push.”

“You mean like this?” Eugene joked, poking Varian in the side, smirking when the kid leaned heavily and fell onto his back, resting against the cot.

“Not fair,” Varian grumbled, but sure enough, there was a small smile on his face. It faded slightly. “I’m sorry for blowing up. You were just trying to help.”

Eugene smiled, slightly pained, but still a smile. “Nah, I deserved it. I’m sorry for all the stuff I said, kid. You know I trust you with my life, right?”

Varian nodded, grabbing Eugene’s arm and pulling him down till he was resting beside the younger. “And I trust you with mine,” he said.

“Well, I would sure hope so.” Eugene snickered. “So, we good?”

“We're good.”

“Excellent. Now, I don’t know about you,” the man wrapped an arm around Varian, till he was resting his head against Eugene’s chest. “But I am exhausted. You exhaust me, you know that?”

“Someone’s gotta keep you on your toes,” Varian teased, but didn’t argue as his eyes slid shut.

“Grey hairs, Varian. Grey hairs.”

#varian #tangled the series #tts #tangled #rapunzel's tangled adventure #eugene fitzherbert #tts varian #tts eugene #team awesome

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stxn-the-mxn · 5 years

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Supergirl || Freddy Freeman X Reader

Request: Could you write something where the reader is the daughter of Superman and meets Freddy and he starts crushing on her really hard and she crushes on him hard too and eventually Superman and Shazam get them together? - Anon

A/N: This is literally 23k+ words pls read

Warnings: Shazam spoilers

***

Y/N Kent was the new student at Fawcett Central School. Her father had decided that she needed an actual education and not just hero training, and she had been on board until her dad set out the rules.

No powers. No cheating. No this, no that.

Was he trying to kill her? She’d never survive school at this rate. She was no longer looking forward to the first day of school. But unfortunately, Monday rolled around, as it did every week.

***

“Dad, why are you setting so many rules? It’s just school…” You said through mouthfuls of toast, and your dad sighed for the millionth time that morning.

“Y/N, it’s a public school. With regular people. It’s a place for learning, and hanging up the cape for six hours.”

You dropped your toast straight onto the butter knife, which rocketed it towards your dad. Naturally, he caught it without even looking away from his newspaper, which he still chose to read for some reason.

“It goes for six hours?” He nodded, and you collapsed backwards in your chair. Six hours… legally, they can’t make you do that, could they?

“And those six hours start soon, so you better head off.”

You slung your back over your shoulder, looking both ways before speeding to school. People probably saw, but they were also probably used to it, what with the Justice League and everything.

You came to a stop in an alleyway across the road from the school, where no one would see you. Walking out, you saw a group of six kids standing in a line.

“Big school. 2,000 students. You might think ‘wow, so many strangers’ but not if you think of each of them as possible future friends, then it’s ‘wow, so many friends’!” The shortest girl said as you all crossed the road.

The young girl kept talking, saying something about the principal. Someone in that group must be new too. Walking into the school, you felt a tad overwhelmed by everything. Security guards checked all the bags as you entered the halls, and you began to panic.

Had you left some alien thing in there? Were you about to expose yourself on your first day? Would everyone figure out who you are? Would that affect your dad? Would th-

“Excuse me?”

A boy, about your age, looked at you with concern etched on his face. His eyes were trained on your face, examining it. Was this a regular occurrence? Would I have to deal with this daily? Why did I not mind this boy staring at me?

“You’re new here, right? I haven’t seen you around before, so I figured.”

You passed the security guard your bag, forgetting all your thoughts as the boy talked to you.

“You seem scared. Don’t be. It’s just a new school.” He smiled, and you felt like you would melt on the spot. Who was this perfect boy? He picked up his bag, giving you a small goodbye before walking off to the girl who had been talking before.

You noted that he had a crutch. A disability, most likely.

Maybe school wouldn’t be so bad.

***

By the time lunch rolled around, you had discovered that school was definitely bad.

Classes were boring, teachers were aggravating and some kids just weren’t fun.

Stepping into the cafeteria, you were overwhelmed by the smell of it all. Was any of this legal? You grabbed a tray, copying everyone else and stood in line for food. A small tap sound from behind you made you aware of the boy from this morning standing behind you.

As you were pushed out of the line, you faced all the tables of kids, not exactly knowing what to do.

“Follow me.” Crutch boy - you still didn’t have a name - led you to a table where another boy was already sitting.

“Flight or invisibility?” He said, and the boy with the red hoodie looked up, annoyance on his face.

“If you could have one superpower, what would you pick?” No one had time to respond before he kept talking. “Everybody chooses flight! You know why?”

Red hoodie - once again, you still didn’t have a name - spoke up, a shit-eating grin on his face.

“So they can fly away from this conversation?” You chuckled, thinking about the times you’d do just that when you and your dad argued.

“No, ‘cause heroes fly! Who doesn’t want people to think they’re a hero, right?” This kid was trying to get some kind of point across, but you weren’t sure what exactly that point was.

“But-But invisibility? No way. I mean, that’s pervy! Spying around on people who don’t even know you’re there. Sneaking around everywhere.” Red hoodie stood up, leaving the table, storming away. Crutchie’s voice grew louder.

“It’s a total villain power, right?” The whole cafeteria stared at crutchie as he picked up his crutch and went after hoodie.

You stood in silence, everyone’s eyes moving to you. Crutchie turned around, gesturing for you to follow him again, so you did.

“Then they did this study, and this is a real thing. They asked people the same question, you know, what power would you want? But this time, they made it so that the answers were anonymous.”

Shit, this was actually really interesting…

“And-And most people, since they knew that it was secret, said invisibility. And I think that’s ‘cause most people don’t feel like heroes on the inside, deep down.”

You had followed hoodie and crutchie down the hall to the boys' bathroom, hoodie trying to escape this conversation.

“You’re gonna run away. I mean, you stole my Superman bullet.” Your head shot up at the mention of a Superman bullet. If he lost it, you could always get him a new one…

“Dude, I get it, I get it. You’ve been screwed over way too many times. You don’t trust anyone,”

You stood by crutchie’s side awkwardly, feeling like you weren’t meant to be hearing this.

“But that’s the thing about invisibility. You end up all by yourself.” You kept your eyes focused on anything that wasn't crutchie or hoodie. This seemed like a personal conversation.

“I didn’t steal your dumb bullet.”

Hoodie slammed the bathroom door behind him, leaving you and crutchie outside.

“Sorry about that. Billy’s just like that.”

So that was Billy. You still didn’t know who crutchie was, though. He didn’t seem like he was planning on introducing himself, so you took that job for him.

“I’m Y/N.” You stuck out your hand out of instinct. That’s what your dad always told you to do. Crutchie shook it gently, giving you a confused smile.

“I’m Freddy.” Crut- Freddy said.

“Look, we still have ten minutes of lunch left. You wanna discuss superheroes over some shitty cafeteria food?”

You watched his jaw drop before it changed into a smile. He held out his hand, which you happily took, leading you back to the cafeteria.

“So, who’s your favourite superhero?” He questioned before you’d even sat down.

“How about we say it at the same time? Like on the count of three?”

You watched as his smile widened, yours automatically doing the same. He counted up from one, taking pauses in between, at the times when he started laughing a bit.

He reached three, both of you yelling a bit louder than intended.

“Superman!”

He let out an odd, yet adorable, laugh, which made you giggle too.

“God, you’re literally the best person I’ve ever met.”

Your mind wandered back to the conversation earlier, and the stolen bullet.

“Hey, if you want, I could get you another Superman bullet.”

Once again, Freddy’s jaw hit the ground. Jesus, could you be any more amazing?

“Wait, really? How?”

“My dad, uh, he knows Superman.”

Nice save Y/N.

“Holy shit! Have you met him?”

You were in deep shit now.

“Oh, yeah, a few times…”

***

The bell rang, and students piled out of their classrooms, in a mad dash to get home. You waited for Freddy, who happened to be in your current class, to finish talking with the teacher about the mark he’d gotten on a report.

“Freds, we should probably go.”

You’d started using the nickname at lunch after a small game of Superhero Would You Rather. When asked if he’d rather have his childhood nickname as his superhero name or have his least favourite person pick his superhero name, he had decided that Freds would be a better name than anything the Breyers would come up with.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming.” The teacher sent him off with a wave.

You walked outside with him, neither person noticing your incredibly close proximity. He walked over to the group of kids from this morning. His friends, maybe. He greeted them all, apologising for holding them up.

“No, actually we’re waiting for Billy. Did you see him insi- oh, hello.”

Four pairs of eyes met you, and you tried not to freak out.

“Oh, guys! This is Y/N. She’s my new best friend. Y/N, this is Darla, Mary, Eugene and Pedro.” Freddy smiled proudly, acting as if he’d just won an award for something.

“Well, Y/N, it’s lovely to meet you.” The tallest girl, Mary, said, her voice incredibly sweet.

“Not to be so forward, but would you like to come over for dinner tonight?” Freddy spluttered out, his smile not faltering.

You smiled too, nodding in acceptance. From behind the group, you saw Billy coming down the stairs.

“Hey, how was it today?” The same girl asked, but got no response.

“That good, huh?” You joked, Billy sending a small glare your way, which surprised you. You hadn’t done anything to him.

The whole group headed to cross the road, only for a car to come speeding down the street, headed straight in your direction. Fuck, you couldn’t get hit by a car. Not here. If you did, everyone would find out your little secret.

Freddy noticed the car and immediately pushed you away, allowing himself to be rammed into.

“Freddy!” You screamed as he was knocked to the ground, his crutch being tossed aside. Two boys jumped out of the car, laughing.

“What the hell is wrong with you?” You yelled, gearing up to punch the two unless they had some reasonable excuse, which was impossible.

They picked Freddy up off the ground, shoving him against the car.

“No way that’s gonna buff out.” One of the boys said, shoving Freddy again.

“You gonna pay for that?”

“For the dent you made almost hitting me? Yeah, sure, um, do you guys take these?”

He held up his two middle fingers, making you snicker louder than intended. Your laughter ceased as they threw Freddy to the ground.

“What’s so funny, new kid?”

You stepped forward, not listening to Freddy’s yells for you to stay back.

“New kid? That’s the best you’ve got? Jeez, at least try to be creative.”

You hands curled into fists, trying your hardest to not just obliterate them right there.

“Aww, do you need your fake family to stand up for you?”

You were seething by this point, but you knew that if you did anything, you were absolutely screwed. All you could do was watch, hoping for some assistance. The boys kept taunting Freddy, kicking him as you all yelled for them to stop.

“What are you gonna do? Go home and cry to mommy? Oh, yeah, you don’t have a mommy.”

That was the last straw. Just as you reared back to punch the dickwads, they were hit over the head by Freddy’s crutch. Billy threw the crutch over to you, and you caught it with ease.

“Man, sorry about that. That wasn’t fair, but then again, guys don’t play fair, so.”

As Billy took off, the boys in pursuit, you kneeled beside Freddy, easing him onto his feet. Handing him his crutch, he ignored it at first, leaning against you in a hug/physically support kinda situation.

“You’re still coming over tonight, right?”

“Jeez, Freds, you could’ve died and that’s what you’re worried about?”

He shrugged, smiling sheepishly.

“Yeah, I’m coming over tonight.”

***

Slamming open the door to your home, you ran in yelling about your day. Your dad was at the dining room table, reading some book he’d recently bought. You skidded to a halt, slamming your hands onto the table, causing a chunk of wood to break off.

Your dad raised an eyebrow, as you chuckled nervously, chucking the wood into a trashcan full of other wood pieces. Your end of the table grew smaller constantly.

“Sorry. Anyway! I made a new friend at school!” Your dad smiled, finding your excitement extremely infectious.

“And! And! He invited me over to his house for dinner!” Clark couldn’t say no to you, especially not when you’d been so adamant about not enjoying school earlier.

“Well, since we won’t be able to have our daily conversation over dinner, we might as well have it now.” You sat down, bouncing your leg extremely quickly.

“So, how did you meet?”

“Uh, he just helped me get over my first-day nerves. And we sat together at lunch, talking about superheroes. He absolutely loves superheroes! You’re his favourite, by the way.” You smiled, leaning on your hand.

“And then after school, these kids almost hit me with a car, but he jumped in front of me… they beat him up.” You trailed off, feeling tears spring to your eyes. “They, uh, they beat him up ‘cause he has a disability. And something about a ‘fake family’.” Your father leaned over, wiping away your tears.

“Oh, uh, it’s getting close to dinner time. I should head out.”

“Maybe get changed first. Dress up for your new best friend.” He winked, as you lit up red.

“Dad, seriously? I really can’t do anything with you around.” You tried to act seriously, but your dad kept winking with different eyes, and you walked away, sighing as you tried to hold in laughter.

You hated that he was right. You also hated that you were going to be late because you were trying so hard to look nice. Why were you trying to look so nice? Were you trying to impress his family? Maybe. Yeah, that was it. Impress his family.

“Y/N, you’re aware of the time, right?”

You were out the door without a response.

***

Freddy paced in his room, as fast a pace as he could manage, panicking. Billy hadn’t come home, Y/N was coming over and everything was in utter chaos.

The doorbell rang, and Freddy wished that he was able to run down and get the door for you, but he was still getting down the stairs as Darla swung the door open.

“Y/N!” She immediately pulled you into a hug which you happily accepted.

“Darla, I wasn’t expecting to see you.”

Freddy slapped his forehead. God, you were about to be so confused. He didn’t explain the whole ‘group home’ situation. He wanted to explain everything, but Eugene had already appeared at the door.

“Eugene?”

Freddy moved as quickly as possible but still wasn’t able to beat Mary to the door. He saw your eyes darting around the room, your eyebrows furrowing more and more.

“What’s next, Pedro?”

Said boy, upon hearing his name, poked his head around the corner.

“Okay, I’m very confused.”

“Y/N! Follow me!” Freddy called from the stairs, and you walked through the crowd of kids, stopping to hug Darla.

“Welcome to my home. Sorry about that, I should’ve said I lived in a group home. I’m a foster kid, by the way.” He looked down, as if ashamed.

“Freds, if you think I’m gonna judge you for being a foster kid, you’re dumber than I thought.” You laughed by at the end, making Freddy laugh softly too.

Looking up, you saw a Batarang on a shelf. Walking over, you admired it, examining it closely.

“Yeah, that’s my Batarang. It’s a replica, obviously, but it’s really sharp. Like ‘could definitely kill you’ level sharp.”

You gave him a jokingly concerned look.

“I’d show you my Superman bullet, but, yknow…”

“Hey, as I said, I can get you a new one.” Placing a hand on his back in comfort, you felt him tense under your touch. You pulled away, afraid you were being too forward with the boy you’d met that morning.

“Hey, what happened to Billy?”

“Oh, he probably ran away. I wouldn't be surprised.” He shrugged, going to sit down at his desk. You chose to sit on the bed, being careful not to hit your head.

You sat in silence for a while, both of your minds racing. Freddy thought about you, and how he actually had a girl, who wasn’t his family, talking to him. A pretty girl, none the less. You thought about Freddy, your first-ever friend. In less than 24 hours, he had quickly become the second most important person in your life.

He moved from the chair to beside you, sitting close to you, but with enough distance that it wasn’t awkward or uncomfortable.

“Yknow, I don’t think I’ve ever met someone who likes superheroes as much as you.” You broke the silence, glancing over at him through the hair that fell around your face.

“I could say the same about you. I was amazed when you said you liked them. And we both think Superman is the best, which makes it even better.”

He was utterly adorable. The way he rambled, stumbling over words as his mind worked faster than his mouth, never ceased to make you smile. You hadn’t even known him for 12 hours, but there was already something there.

“Dinner!”

Freddy glanced over at you and took this as another opportunity to continue the little trend you’d started. He stood up, smirking slightly, and held out his hand.

“Follow me, again?”

“You’re a dork, Freddy.” You laughed, immediately placing your hand in his.

***

“Freddy, could you do the dishes, please?” Rosa gestured to the kitchen, and Freddy huffed, making his way to the sink.

“If you want, Mrs Vasquez, I could help him with the dishes.” You offered, Rosa smiling warmly, thanking you for your offer.

You walked into the kitchen, seeing Freddy at the sink, collecting the dish soap and sponges.

“Need any help?” He turned his head, nodding slowly. He handed you a towel, mentally telling you to dry the dishes after he’d cleaned them.

You could hear Rosa and Victor in the other room, talking about Billy. Rosa was on the phone, talking to someone about Billy. She mentioned something about him running away 23 times.

Freddy was also listening in, unaware he was splashing soapy water everywhere.

“You know guys, I’m happy to look for Billy. More than happy.” He splashed soap onto your nose, and you blew it off. He was yelling back into the living room but eventually gave up and turned back to the dishes. “But no, you gotta wash the dishes, that’s what’s more important. What are you gonna do, Freddy? Run after him? Hahaha. Very funny.”

You placed your hand on his wrist, and his eyes flicked up to yours. His tense expression softened, and his dishwashing pace slowed. Neither of you broke the eye contact, finding no actual reason to.

A slam on the window made you yelp, clutching Freddy’s wrist tighter. He screamed, clinging onto your arm. The man at the window held up a sign, saying not to scream. Both of you had done so anyway.

“No, no! I said don’t scream!”

Freddy ignored his request, screaming out for Victor.

“It’s me! It’s Billy! It’s Billy!” The man whisper-yelled, trying to stop Freddy, who continued to yell out for Victor.

“You asked me ‘flight or invisibility?’. I thought it was stupid but now I look like this and I need your help! Meet me back here after lights out?”

Holy shit. It was Billy.

As Victor entered the room, Billy ducked back behind the wall.

“‘Sup, bud? You alright?” Victor said, and Freddy froze, thinking of a lie.

“Sorry, Victor, we’re just a bit distraught about Billy.” You spoke quickly, trying to sound truthful.

“Yeah, yeah. I’m just… I’m really sad. Because Billy’s gone.” Freddy spoke, far less convincing than you. “And, you know, maybe it’s my fault. Maybe I did it. Uh, you know, maybe I-I snore.”

“Hey, hey, hey. Not your fault, son, all right?” Victor pulled him into a hug, Freddy standing awkwardly still, as you stood beside them, eyes darting to the window. “We’ll find him, ‘kay?”

“You don’t snore that bad. But you kinda smell.” Victor left the kitchen, as you tried not to laugh. Freddy gave you a “haha very funny” look, before turning back to the sink.

***

“Hi, Dad, uh, I’m gonna be home a little late tonight.” Freddy watched you talk on the phone, making sure no one woke up or caught you sneaking around.

“No, yeah, I understand. I just figured you wouldn’t mind. No, I’m not going out this late. Just, the family decided to watch a movie and wondered if I wanted to stay.” Freddy was impressed at how easily you lied to your dad.

“Yes, thanks, dad. I’ll be home later. Goodnight, love you.”

You hung up, turning around to meet Freddy. With a raise of your eyebrows, you held out your hand. Freddy giggled like a little schoolboy, grabbing your hand. You snuck down the stairs, helping Freddy to miss the bum step.

He unlocked the door, pushing it open incredibly slowly to avoid it making any noise, closing it in the same fashion. He brought you round to the back of the house, seeing Maybe-Billy ahead of you, looking in a car mirror.

Freddy charged over, as fast as he could charge.

“Hey, stop right there! How do we know you’re not a supervillain using telepathic abilities to make us believe that you’re Billy?” He held up his phone, 911 pre-dialled. “All I have to do is press dial on this thing.”

“No, no, no I have proof! I have proof, here. Look, I lied okay.” He grabbed his backpack, ripping it open accidentally. “I took your bullet.”

He pulled out the bullet, in its plastic bag, only for it to slip out. You lunged forward, catching it just in time. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief, Freddy and Billy worried about the bullet while you were more concerned about them noticing your reflexes.

“That was close. Nice catch.”

“Guys, you know it’s me. And I know we’re not close friends or anything, but you guys are the only people I know that know anything about this caped crusaders stuff.”

“That’s Batman.” You and Freddy muttered in sync, leaving Billy extremely confused.

“What?”

“Forget it. Can I?” Freddy gestured to the glowing lightning on Billy’s chest. Billy nodded, and Freddy moved closer, outstretching his hand towards the suit. The lightning substance had some kind of elasticity to it, as it reached out to meet Freddy’s fingertips.

Freddy let out some kind of shriek or joy, which made you giggle lightly. He truly was a dork. He continued to play with the lightning, as you decided to try as well. The feeling was strange and sent a tingle down your spine, but you kinda liked it.

“Oh my god…” You whispered, a smile growing on your face.

“It’s crazy, right?”

“What are your superpowers?” Freddy piped up, and you eyed Billy excitedly.

“Superpowers? Dude, I don’t even know how to pee in this thing?”

“Oh, that’s far too much information, Billy.” You said in disgust.

“Okay, c-can you fly?” Freddy suggested.

“Freds, he just got his powers and you think he’s able to fly already? Flying is difficult.” You said, not even realising what you said. The boys looked your way confused but didn’t question it.

Not even a minute later did Freddy have his phone out to keep video evidence of this.

“Okay, let’s do this,” Billy said, preparing for his first flying attempt. “How do we do this?”

How the hell did he end up getting superpowers?

“Just, um, just like, Superman it.” Freddy imitated the sound of Superman flying, and you raised an eyebrow. Dork. “Obviously, you have to jump. Come on.”

“How is any of that obvious?”

“Try, uh, to believe you can fly. I know it sounds stupid but, I did this deep dive into the pyramid studies of superpowers and, uh, in 6 out of 10 cases, belief is the key.”

You looked down, embarrassed by your rambling. Unfortunately, by looking down, you missed Freddy’s lovestruck gaze and Billy’s knowing look.

“Belief, belief, belief. Okay, okay. I believe I can fly?” Billy questioned his own words, which really didn’t help the belief part.

“No, yeah, I believe I can fly.” Billy ran towards a nearby car, leaping onto the hood. “I believe I can fly.”

He came crashing to the ground, and not in a graceful manner whatsoever. Billy looked at you and Freddy, both of you busy crying from laughter at his descent.

“D-did you believe?” You struggled out between the laughter. You found yourself struggling to breathe, laughter still pouring out. Freddy noticed the pain in your eyes as your chest and throat clogged with giggles.

“Woah, you okay, Y/N?” He said wiping away the stray tears escaping from your eyes. He had stopped laughing some time ago, but after he had heard your laughter, which sounded beautiful to him, he hadn’t wanted to stop you.

But now you were basically choking on laughter. Freddy flicked your arm, quite hard, and you stopped laughing, instead having to fake a yelp of pain. Blending in with humans was hard.

“Thanks, but also, ow.” You rubbed the spot he hit, hoping to at least come across as hurt. They seemed to believe, luckily.

“Oh, you wanna try invisibility?” Freddy suggested, still holding his phone out. Wait, did that mean he had video evidence of you actually dying from laughter?

“How do I do…?” Billy looked at you and Freddy for help.

“You… Forget it, you know.” Freddy sighed, deciding to give up on the whole ‘believing’ thing.

Billy stood still, eyes closed, possibly believing he was invisible. Freddy nudged you, before whispering something about tricking Billy. You were definitely on board.

“Oh my god! It worked!” You yelled, and Billy snapped his head up.

“Where’d you go?” Freddy looked bewildered. He was surprisingly very convincing.

“I’m right here, you can’t see me?” Billy had a stupid look on his face, not knowing you could see everything.

“I’m invisible!”

Billy danced around, looking like a complete idiot. You were trying everything to not burst out laughing again, but it was very difficult, considering how much of a fool he looked like.

“Hey! Nice outfit, dipshit!” A random passerby called out, breaking Billy’s gleeful jig. He looked at you and Freddy, and you both cracked up again.

“W-we may have been testing invisibility and super-intelligence at the same time.” Freddy wheezed out, his phone shaking from the laughter that reverberated through his entire body.

“Freeman, Kent, I’m gonna come over there and beat you two.”

Billy pointed angrily at the two of you, a spark of lightning exploding from his fingertip, hitting an electricity box on a pole. It sparked and exploded, and since you were right beneath the pole, Freddy pulled you into him to get you away from the sparks.

“Are you alright?” Freddy asked, dropping his phone to place his hand on your face. He had genuine worry in his eyes, his eyebrows furrowed softly.

“Yeah, yeah, I’m good.” You mumbled, not even noticing yourself lean into his hand. He did notice, as did Billy, and while Billy stifled obvious schoolboy giggles, Freddy was an alarming shade of red.

After a few seconds, he pulled his hand away and you tried not to whimper at the loss of his warmth. A small whine escaped, but it was quiet enough to go unnoticed.

Freddy picked up his phone, which was still recording, and checked for cracks, of which there was none. He sighed in relief and turned back to Billy.

“The lightning emblem! It was staring us in the face the whole time. Literally!” He exclaimed, both his and Billy’s face lighting up with excitement.

You spotted a metal climbing frame at a nearby park. Metal conducts electricity. Could Billy do something to it?

“Hey, guys? You wanna try that electricity business on that thing?”

Billy and Freddy shared similar expressions, probably of weird and possibly dangerous ideas forming in their minds.

Billy walked faster than everyone, mainly because you stayed behind him to talk with Freddy, though you would’ve been able to keep pace with Billy.

“This is insane, right?” Freddy exclaimed though you shushed him, as you were passing by homes. “We know an actual superhero now!”

If only you knew, Freds. If only you knew.

“I know, it’s kinda strange. You think he’ll be good at it?”

“With some training, maybe. Maybe Robin level, but nowhere near Superman.”

“No, no one can compete with Superman.” You smiled.

“Well, maybe Batm-”

“I’m gonna have to stop you there.” You giggled. Freddy chuckled too, agreeing that his statement was a bit far-fetched.

Up ahead of you, you could see Billy messing with the metal climbing frame. His electricity was surging through it. The metal was a conductor after all. He looked impressed with himself for actually controlling his powers.

After another minute or two, you and Freddy reached Billy, in awe of what he had done. You stayed back, still a bit worried that something could go wrong, and your invulnerability would show through and then there’d be a shit ton of explaining to do.

“Billy, we gotta give you a lightning themed superhero name now.”

A screech resounded in your ears, and you had to fight the urge to scream in pain. Unlike your dad, you hadn’t fully controlled your superhuman hearing. So distant sounds were extremely loud, and it hurt. A lot.

Freddy gestured in the direction of the scream, telling Billy to go be a hero. It wasn’t getting through to him, though.

“Jeez, Billy, you kinda suck at being a hero.” You said, pushing him in the direction of the scream.

“Oh, right!” He started to run in the right direction but suddenly shot across the park, crashing into a figure.

“Hyperspeed, check!” Freddy cheered.

You groaned, massaging your temples. It was painful, not being able to just give Billy real superhero advice that you had gotten from your dad.

You heard the interaction, trying not to scream. Billy was utterly useless. You were so caught up being frustrated with Billy that you didn’t notice Freddy walking over to join Billy. When you did notice has wasn’t by your side, you looked around for him.

Jogging after him, you got to his side pretty quickly.

“I’m sorry, who are you?” The woman with Bill asked, concern on her face.

“His name,” Freddy approached them all, a smile on his face “is Thundercrack. Hero to the people. With the power and speed of lightning all in one.”

You were about ready to ditch the boys, just out of pure frustration.

“Dude that sounds like a butt thing.”

“Mr Philadelphia.”

“That’s a cream cheese thing, dude!”

You hit your head against a tree repeatedly, not realising it was splintering until it toppled over in your direction. It was about to land on you when someone stopped it. It didn’t take a genius to figure out it was Billy.

“Are you alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine.” You walked back to Freddy’s side. Freddy’s eyes were wide with concern as he hugged you quickly. He didn’t need words to convey his worry for you.

“Uh, as I was saying,” Freddy started again, “Powerboy, cause he’s got all the powers. Cause sometimes, pepper spray can’t protect against evil.”

“Powerboy, do you know these children?”

“Like, like a teeny little bit. I don’t really know-” Freddy smacked him in the chest. “Yeah, they’re like, my managers. They’re like miniature managers.”

“Yeah, we’re his managers.” Freddy nodded, and you once again sighed in disappointment. This was difficult work, and you were unsure when you became a babysitter.

“Powerboy’s not gonna work either, okay? So work on something else…”

“Hey, hey, hey...”

“Electricity manipulation, hyperspeed, super strength! Dude, you’re stacked!” Freddy had that giddy look on his face again, that you couldn’t help but love. “You’re as cool as Superman!”

“Almost.” You corrected, in sync with Freddy.

Looking into his eyes, everything seemed to go in slow motion for a second. Was that normal, or some time-stopping ability you were yet to discover? You made a mental note to ask your dad later about it.

You were thrown back into a regular pace by the woman Billy was “protecting” shoving cash into your hands.

“I didn’t see you or what’s happened here. I don’t wanna know, just don’t hurt me.” The woman jogged away, leaving the three of you behind.

You looked at the money in your hands, Freddy glancing over to look at it too.

“Holy shit… we just made 73 bucks!” He took it out of your hands, but not in a rude snatching way, as he gave you an apologetic look afterwards.

“73 bucks?” Billy gaped at the money, and an idea flashed through his mind.

“Guys? It’s late. You should go home…” You said, but the boys didn’t listen, too busy awing over the money. “Guys?”

Billy muttered something about having an idea, and just like that, they were walking away, leaving you behind. You contemplated leaving them behind and going home, but when Freddy turned around, and everything went slow again, you had to grab his outstretched hand once again.

***

“I’d like to purchase some of your finest beer, please,” Billy told the woman working the counter, in quite an over-the-top voice. You and Freddy stood behind Billy, hidden by his wide figure.

As he walked away, you and Freddy met the eyes of the cashier, and with an awkward moment of silent eye contact, walked back to join Billy at the fridges. You kept glancing back at the counter, suddenly nervous for some reason.

Something didn’t feel right.

“I don’t know about this…” You muttered, hearing Freddy hum in agreement.

“I mean, we don’t have a fake ID.” He continued your thought perfectly. Maybe he was the one with the superpowers.

“Guys, would you two relax? Look at me, I am the fake ID.”

A terrifying thought crossed your mind. Was Billy gonna take this seriously? Or would he abuse these new powers for his own personal gain?

The doorbell jingled, and all of a sudden there was shouting from behind you. Spinning around, you saw two men in ski masks with guns. You let out a surprised yelp, alerting the two robbers to your presence.

Their guns pointed towards you before their eyes even reached the three of you. Freddy stood to Billy’s side, while you were directly in front of him. No one has time to think before a gun is fired.

The bullet zooms towards you, and at the last second, Freddy pulled your arm extremely hard, the bullet just grazing your arm as you collapsed onto him. The bullet hit Billy in the torso, right where you had just been.

The bullet clattered to the ground, as the three of you breathed heavily. You and Billy had just almost died, and your entire weight was on top of Freddy.

“Bullet immunity.” You gasped, as the bullet rolled next to you. You got off Freddy, wildly aware of your red face, and his very similar one.

“Y-you have bullet immunity!” Freddy exclaimed as you helped him up, handing him his crutch. He pulled out his phone, opening the camera.

“I’m bulletproof.”

“Today is December 8th and this is video proof of authenticity.” That damn smile was back. That damn smile that you couldn’t help but replicate. “Shoot him again.”

“Freddy, what the hell?” You expected Billy to argue with Freddy, and avoid getting shot again. But no, he encouraged it, inviting the robbers to shoot him in the chest. And they did, each bullet like the last.

You watched as Freddy shoved them in his pocket, and when he noticed you staring, he murmured something about memorabilia.

“W-w-w-wait!” Everyone faced Freddy, who still had his camera out. “We don’t know if the suit is bulletproof, or if you are. Shoot him in the face.”

You sighed into your hands, walking away from the group of idiots. You walked down another aisle, listening to the gunshots ringing. Dumbasses, the lot of them. You tuned out everything, simply pacing up and down the aisle.

The smash of glass hurls you back into reality, as you watch the robbers land outside on the pavement. Freddy joins you, a familiar concern on his face.

“You almost got shot…” He places his hand where the bullet grazed, his panic and worry blinding him from the fact that his hand was very close to your waist.

You were very much aware of his hand but tried to ignore the warm feeling it brought.

“Yeah, I’ve had a bit of a shitty night, huh?” A sudden boost of confidence struck you. “Luckily, I’ve had two heroes to look after me.”

Freddy turned a light shade of red, nervously giggling. Billy appeared behind him, a smirk on his face and beers in his hands.

“You two done being gross? I got the beers.”

You happily took a beer, needing one after tonight. Your dad wouldn’t care. You couldn't get drunk, anyway.

“Sorry about your window! But you’re welcome for not getting robbed!”

Freddy and Billy took a sip of their beers, immediately spitting them out. You, however, kept drinking yours. Their eyes widened as you chugged the whole bottle in a minute.

“Damn, alright.” Billy chuckled, as Freddy just watched you with amazement.

“You guys aren’t gonna drink those, are you?”

“No, not at all. Tasted like vomit.”

Billy headed back inside, buying some regular junk food, using up the rest of the $73.

“Yknow, habanero jerky, if you eat enough of it, could burn a hole in your stomach,” Freddy said, earning a disgusted noise from you. “Probably not you, though. Probably got stomach superpowers.”

You snorted softly. Stomach superpowers? Weird. You glanced at your phone, noticing the time. It was late. Very late.

“Shit, I’m sorry guys, I have to head home.” You sighed. “I wish I could stay later, but my dad wants me home now. It is a school night, after all.”

Freddy and Billy shared similar, sad expressions, though Freddy’s looked sadder. You awkwardly hugged Billy’s giant form, not noticing Freddy’s glare on the tall boy-man.

And then, you moved to hug Freddy. It was much tighter than the one you gave Billy. You didn’t want to let go, and something told you he didn’t want to either. As you did pull away, you pressed a kiss to his cheek.

“I’ll see you tomorrow.” You smiled, walking away from the boys, a stupid smile forming on your face.

A similar smile appeared on Freddy’s face, as he placed a hand on his cheek. Billy nudged his shoulder, as they watched you leave.

“You’re whipped, Freeman, absolutely whipped.”

“Yeah,” Freddy grew extremely flustered, “Yeah I am.”

***

You rushed home, almost slamming through the door in excitement. Your dad flicked on the hall lights, making you freeze in your tracks.

“Uh, hi dad! I just got lost finding the bathroom.” You didn’t even try to sound convincing.

“You are aware of the time, right?” He leaned in the doorway, pointing at the clock on the wall. It read 12pm.

“Yeah, uh, the movie was long.” Your dad raised his eyebrow, and you sighed. “No, uh, one of the kids, Billy, just got superpowers. Freddy and I were helping him out.”

“He got superpowers?” You dad asked, curiosity splashing across his face. “Overnight?”

“Yeah, basically. And since Freddy and I know the most about heroes, we had to help him get used to it.” You walked into the living room and sat your dad down. “Let me tell you everything.”

And so, you did. You explained everything; the lightning and sparks, and how Freddy had pulled you out of the way. The woman, and the tree, and how Freddy had comforted you after it had almost crushed you. The service station, the robbers and how Freddy had pulled you out of the way of a bullet.

You were about to tell him about Billy being bulletproof when your dad cut you off.

“You talk about Freddy a lot.” He smirked and your eyes widened. Talking about Freddy a lot hadn’t been intentional, but he was just always there. He was your first friend, and he liked the things you liked, and he talked to you and he was adorable and sweet and kind and h-

“Do you like Freddy?”

You froze. Did you like Freddy? With everything you’ve said in the past few minutes, all signs pointed to yes.

“I… I think I do. But I only met him today. Is that too soon?” You fell into a panicked ramble, every thought about Freddy spilling out into a chaotic sentence that didn’t make sense to anyone but you.

“Okay, okay, calm down. It’s okay to like people early on. Ever heard of ‘love at first sight’?”

“Dad! It’s not ‘love at first sight’.” You argued though something told you that maybe, just maybe, that was exactly what it was. Was ‘like at first sight’ a thing. Love seemed too strong at this point.

“You wanna talk about it?” Your dad placed a hand on your shoulder, as small tears slowly slipped out of your eyes. Why were you crying? This situation didn’t warrant tears. You weren’t sad, or angry or anything. You were just overwhelmed.

Overwhelmed.

There were far too many emotions swirling in your head. Good and bad. You couldn’t do this right now. You hadn’t known Freddy Freeman for a day, and yet you were undoubtedly head over heels for him, but you weren’t ready to admit that to anyone.

“I… I’m tired. I’m gonna go to bed.”

You ran out of the room without a second thought.

***

Arriving at school, you instantly spotted Freddy and his family across the street. They were hard to miss, in a good way, of course. After last night, you were conflicted about whether to avoid Freddy or be around him, but unfortunately for you, your mouth moved faster than your brain.

“Freddy, wait up!”

He spun around, smiling brightly as he locked eyes with you. It was then that you noticed that Billy wasn’t there. Odd. but he did technically run away yesterday, so maybe he didn’t go with Freddy last night.

“H-Hey, Y/N!” He stumbled over his words, earning small giggles and chuckles from his family as they headed up to school without him.

“So, you have first period with me and Billy, right?” He asked, very clearly planning something. Freddy, you now discovered, always looked like he was up to something.

“Um, maybe? Do you have science first, with Ms White?” He nodded, his smile still there. “Well, then I guess we have first period together. Why?”

“You’ll see. Just stick with me and Billy.” You raised an eyebrow at the mention of Billy, who was still a no-show. “Yeah, no, he’ll be here. He had something he needed to do first.”

As if on cue, a loud crash caused you to jump out of your skin. Spinning around, you saw the same boys who had beaten up Freddy staring at their destroyed truck.

“I’m gonna assume that’s what he needed to do.”

“Yeah. Come with me, I wanna rub it in a little more.”

Walking over to the boys, you both examined the destruction. The car was absolutely destroyed, and there was absolutely no way it could be restored. Freddy wandered over to the boys, a smirk on his face.

“You know guys… I don’t think that’s gonna buff out.”

You subtly high-fived him as you walked away from the car, but as your hands met, he intertwined your fingers. From the way he kept walking, he hadn’t even acknowledged what he’d done, and from the way your mind was racing, you really didn’t mind.

You entered the school building, passing through security easily and heading over to your locker. Freddy’s locker was across the hall from yours, so while you did, unfortunately, have to let go of Freddy’s hand, you easily kept your conversation going across the hall.

When you went across to join him, the conversation topic quickly switched to Billy and his new superhero alter-ego. You wished you had the confidence to reach over and hold his hand, but luckily for you, Freddy instinctively did it for you.

“So, last night, when we went home, we found out how he can switch between forms.” He whispered excitedly, his voice rising every now and again as his excitement grew, but a soft hand squeeze from you was enough to quiet him down.

Out of the corner of your eye, you saw a flash of red and brown darting towards you and Freddy.

“Morning, Billy.” You said as Billy caught up to you, eyes instantly darting to you and Freddy’s interlocked hands. He raised an eyebrow, directing it specifically at you, and you really didn’t have an explanation.

“Nice job with the Breyers car.”

The school bell rang, and as everyone else moved off to class, the two boys pushed you into a storage room to hide. You tried your best to ignore the lack of distance between you and Freddy.

You looked up, meeting Freddy’s eyes. His face was as red as yours felt. As awkward as you both felt being so close to each other, you couldn’t look away from him. Without even noticing, you shuffled closer to him.

“Coast is clear, let’s go.” Billy stepped outside, scanning up and down the hallway. He went to leave, but upon not hearing the sound of Freddy’s crutch hitting the ground, he looked back into the closet, seeing you and Freddy.

“Guys? Guys! Seriously, can you do this some other time?” He groaned, causing Freddy to whip his head around, still blushing. Billy chuckled, and Freddy gave Billy a look that screamed ‘we don’t speak a word of this’.

As Billy headed for the front door of the school, you still stood frozen in place. Freddy had been so fucking close to you. Your heart had been racing, your mind screaming and all the emotions from last night had almost come tumbling out.

“Y/N? You okay?” You reached for his hand, even though he hadn’t reached out as he usually did. He happily accepted your hand in his, feeling a familiar warmth as your hand slid perfectly into his.

Billy had been watching over his shoulder, finding a certain enjoyment in the pure awkwardness of the whole situation between his- his friends. As you and Freddy walked down the hall, hand-in-hand, Billy caught the soft smile on Freddy’s face.

“Absolutely whipped.” He muttered to himself.

***

You sat on an empty oil barrel, watching as Billy used his lightning powers to blow up his school books. Freddy was throwing the books, both of them quite enjoying themselves. You didn’t know what to think.

Billy was a superhero now, and sure, he was still figuring out his abilities, but he didn’t show any signs of wanting to be an actual hero.

You had hoped that Freddy would teach him what actual heroes did, and yet he was encouraging Billy. You couldn't hate them, though. Billy was your friend, and Freddy was- well, he was something special.

“Hey, Freds?”

Freddy dropped the English book he was holding, jumping at your voice which he hadn’t heard since the three of you had found the abandoned warehouse. He had been surprised that you didn’t want to participate but didn’t question it, afraid that if he was nosey he would lose any chance of actually getting you to like him.

“Y-yeah? What’s up?”

“I was just wondering if we were gonna spend the whole day exploding things? Why not test out some other skills?” You suggested, hoping to actually get something done today, and not have wasted a day that you could’ve spent actually learning something at school.

“Well, yeah, we could. What do you have in mind?”

“You’ve got your camera with you, right?” Freddy nodded, and your idea fell into place.

You brought the boys over to another part of the warehouse, pulling an empty notebook out of your bag.

“Freds, can you set up your camera, please?” He happily obliged, as you scribbled out a warning message onto the notebook. Freddy finished setting up the camera and started recording. You held up the sign in front of the lense.

A few seconds later, you flicked it over to reveal the page reading ‘Super Strenght Test 1’.

“Right, super strength test, go!” Freddy informed Billy as you moved the page away, only to reveal Billy doing some weird dance-thing. You gave him a death stare, careful not to trigger your heat vision accidentally.

Billy noticed your glare, and he was surprisingly intimidated.

“Oh.” He walked over to a stone pillar, rearing his arm back to punch it, and as his fist collided with the stone, it cracked and crumbled, leaving Billy and Freddy wide-eyed, while you simply watched on, impressed.

“Right, well, how about we test flight next?” You pointed to the old skate ramp outside, the boys’ faces lighting up.

***

The next few days continued much the same, with you writing down what test you were doing and making notes of Billy’s attempts, Freddy recording it all, sometimes helping Billy with the tests and Billy just trying not to die as you put him through all these tasks.

Your dad was yet to find out about you skipping school, though you knew he wouldn’t be too mad, especially if he knew what you were doing.

Billy had failed most of the tests, only succeding in hyperspeed and super strength currently. Freddy had pulled out the weirdest tests, like time-reversal and telepathy, while you stuck with the more classic superhero ones. He couldn’t teleport, but he was immune to fire, as you and Freddy found out the hard way.

At the end of the day, you always found yourself at Freddy’s house, uploading the videos of Billy on YouTube. With each video, the superhero name changed, your personal favourite being ZAP-tain AMERICA.

During these days of “superhero training” you found it difficult to stay out of the Superman-related conversations. Freddy often compared Billy to your father, and recently, you were discovering a new-found struggle of lying and keeping secrets from Freddy.

You told your dad everything, so he was up to date on Billy’s situation, often giving you tips that you always had to say you “read online” to keep from being suspicious. He still didn’t know you were skipping school, thinking that this training was the reason you were always home late.

In reality, you were home late because you didn’t want to leave Freddy’s home. You liked it there, and you liked his family, and yeah, you definitely liked him.

***

This morning, after you’d obviously ditched school, you once again found yourself discussing Superman.

“More powerful than a locomotive.” You nodded, agreeing with Freddy

“Locomotive? What are you, an old prospector?” Billy teased, as you thwacked him in the chest.

“He can leap tall buildings in a single bound.” You stated, gesturing to a massive office building in the city. It was a way away, but Billy hoisted you and Freddy over his shoulders and just ran.

Freddy looked dizzy when he was set down, so you rushed to steady him. He thanked you, that adorable smile returning. You smiled back, as Freddy fumbled for his camcorder. He almost dropped it, and you went to catch it, before realising he had added a wrist strap onto it.

“Right, so, single bound, ‘kay?” You turned to Billy, before looking at the giant building. Maybe you should’ve picked a smaller one.

Billy prepared to jump, and as he left the ground, he went flying into one of the windows. You gasped, hearing the screams from inside. You hit the recording button on the camera, stopping it in a rushed panic.

“Let’s edit that one before posting it.”

A few minutes later, Billy came out of the building, looking quite embarrassed.

“What’s up, Bill?” You giggled at his expression.

“I had to take the elevator.” He mumbled under his breath, but you heard it anyway. You laughed loudly, Freddy looking extremely confused. You whispered what Billy had told you, and Freddy lost it.

“Oh, yeah, yeah very funny.” Billy glared at the two of you, who were clinging to each other in an uncontrollable fit of giggles.

“You two are useless. I’m hungry, let’s get food.” Billy started walking towards a nearby shopping strip. As your fit of giggles ended, you trailed behind Billy, your hand in Freddy’s once again. It was a force of habit, now.

As per usual, you and Freddy wandered a tiny bit back from Billy, discussing whatever came to mind.

“Your phone’s charged.” Electricity came out of Billy’s fingers, hitting passerby’s phones. He kept doing it, some people looking impressed, while others looked weirded out.

You caught up with Billy, both of you stopping for Freddy. Freddy had his typical expression on, which meant he was either planning something or that something was just on his mind.

“You know what? You really need, like, a mic-drop catchphrase after you do something cool.”

You sighed. A catchphrase? You loved Freddy dearly, but sometimes his ideas weren't exactly that good.

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Of course Billy had been. Billy and Freddy were two halves of a whole idiot. “I was thinking, what about, what about this? ‘That’s why you don’t mess with electricity.’.”

You snorted. That was truly, utterly terrible. Freddy seemed to agree, considering his raised eyebrow, and humoured smile.

“Catchphrases, obviously, aren’t one of your superpowers.”

“Your phone’s charged,” Billy said, again, striking one man’s phone which sparked and exploded, and the man was most certainly not impressed.

“You need to stop doing that.” You patted Billy on the back, making Freddy laugh.

Billy, however, wasn’t laughing, a suspicious expression on his face. You went to ask what he was planning, but he picked you and flung you over his shoulder, hyperspeeding his way out of the shopping mall, leaving Freddy behind.

“Billy? Y/N? You’re coming back, right? Guys?”

***

After that day, you found yourself being pushed aside in Freddy and Billy’s escapades. Everything became less about training Billy to properly control his powers and use them for good, and more about just figuring out what they could get away with.

Billy claimed that everything was helping him become a better superhero, but you weren’t sure how a strip club, lair, and video games helped with that. Freddy didn’t agree nor deny with what Billy said, and you honestly felt a little upset about that.

You would have thought that Freddy, of all people, would take this at least somewhat serious, considering his love for superheroes. Even your argument that Superman wouldn’t abuse his abilities like this had no effect on the boys.

So that evening, after uploading all the videos Freddy had taken while the boys played video games, you packed up your stuff to leave.

“I’ll see you guys at school, hopefully.”

They didn’t notice, too wrapped up in their game. You couldn’t ignore the tears that rapidly fell from your eyes. Going down the stairs, you were met by Rosa and Victor, who were still hanging up Christmas decorations.

You really loved Rosa and Victor, and you hoped they liked you too, considering how often you were around. It would be awkward if they didn’t like you.

“Hey, Y/N, are you alright?” Rosa asked, and in a split second of confusion, you forgot about the tears streaming down your face.

“Uh, I just hit my elbow on a table edge. Yknow how much that hurts, haha.” You could tell that they didn’t believe you. “Uh, Freddy and Billy were ignoring me. It’s stupid, don’t worry.” You spoke quickly, trying to pass it off as nothing, but the crack in your voice said otherwise.

Rosa brought you over to the living room, inviting you to sit down. She sat beside you, while Victor sat across, both looking at you with concern in their eyes.

“They’re ignoring you?” Rosa placed a hand on your knee, in a comforting manner. God, she was the best mother on this planet.

You nodded, not speaking in fear of your voice breaking again. You wondered if you were stupid, being so broken over two boys, who you’d only known for a week, ignoring you.

“Just know that they don’t hate you, especially not Freddy.” You looked at Victor in surprise. What did that mean? “You’re all he talks about, ever. Not even Darla gets to speak at the dinner table now.” He chuckled, while you flushed.

“H-he talks about me?” You wiped away some tears, a small smile forming. Freddy talked about you. All the time. Rosa and Victor nodded, smiles on their faces too.

“He really likes you, Y/N. Billy does too, but nowhere near as much as Freddy does. We honestly can’t thank you enough for bringing them closer.” Rosa hugged you, Victor piling on top.

“Thank you, so much. But, uh, I should head home. My dad will start to worry.”

They nodded, walking you to the front door. As you opened the door, a creak from the stairs alerted you to Freddy’s presence. He came down to the door, hugging you tightly.

“See you at school tomorrow.” He whispered, kissing your cheek quickly. You were frozen as Freddy gave you a final hug and went back upstairs. You had forgotten that Rosa and Victor were there until Victor whispered a “told you so”.

“Heh, um, well, I’ll probably see you tomorrow?” You smiled, hand instinctively going to your cheek.

“And probably more days after that.” Rosa giggled.

With a smile, you left the Vasquezes home, now looking forward to tomorrow.

When you arrived home, you didn’t even notice your dad in the kitchen. He definitely noticed you, and the stupid smile on your face, and the way you were humming to yourself. It didn’t take a genius to know what was going on.

“What did I say about love at first sight?” He said, to no one but himself.

***

Walking the school halls, all you heard were whispers about Philadelphia’s newest superhero. Thanks to the videos you and Freddy had taken, Billy- you were yet to decide on a superhero name- was quickly gaining popularity.

It seemed as though everyone only had superheroes on their mind. Obviously, that included your little trio of friends. It was somewhat nice, being the talk of the town, even if no one knew you were the talk of the town.

“Hey, yknow, you guys gotta wonder who’s filming those, right?” You looked curiously at Freddy, as did other students. A wave of worry crashed over you, something feeling off. “I mean, that’s bravery in and of itself.”

“I mean, is it, though?” Billy commented, and then you knew that something was definitely not gonna go well today, so you kept your mouth shut.

“Yeah. I’d argue maybe even more brave.”

“Holding a camera?”

“Staring in the face of danger?” You felt the urge to make some comment about how neither of them had faced any real danger before, but you knew that would simply lead to a neverending run of questions, curious ones from Billy and concerned ones from Freddy.

You blocked their bickering out as best as you could, but the second the Breyer brother approached, you got ready to punch either of them if needed. They grabbed Freddy’s shirt, and you stepped closer to him, protectively.

“Hey, Freeman.”

“I-I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Freddy glanced at the fist around his shirt, before looking back at Burke.

“What? Is your bestie gonna hit us with a wheelchair this time?” Brett raised an eyebrow, mocking Billy. Your teeth clenched together.

“No, maybe not him, but I have another best friend.” Shit. You could see where this was going.

The brothers turned to you, half of your body covering the side of Freddy.

“Oh, so you need your girlfriend to protect you, too?” They mocked, using stupid sing-songy voices. You flipped them off, glaring.

“She’s not my gir- No. My other best friend. Who might hunt you down and destroy both of you.” You really wished Freddy could shut his mouth every once in a while.

“Okay, Freddy.” You and Billy both whispered, attempting to drag Freddy away from the Breyers, but to no avail, Freddy stood his ground.

“You may have heard of him… Uh, uh, The Human Power Storm. Frequency Flinger, Sir Zaps-A-Lot. Yeah. He’s a man of many names.” You sighed. Neither you nor Billy looked impressed in the slightest. Freddy was wonderful, but sometimes he really needed to know when to stop.

“You know the Red Cyclone?” The Breyers, understandably, didn’t believe Freddy in the slightest. I mean, why would you? “You? My ass you do.”

“Oh, we’re a lot closer than you think. Maybe even at this very moment.”

“Prove it.”

Oh no. Oh god no. It would’ve been a great time for you or Billy to jump in and shut Freddy up, but both of you knew how suspicious that sounded.

“I will, tomorrow. Tomorrow he’s gonna come to lunch.” You stared at Freddy, wide-eyed. This was not happening. “And… Right, right, Billy?”

Billy looked petrified, eyes darting between Brett, Burke, Freddy and you. Both your faces held concern and just a hint of fear.

“Oh, yeah, and then Superman’s gonna be bringing us dessert, right?” Freddy’s eyes immediately landed on you, and for once you didn’t fluster at this.

“Yeah, Y/N here knows Superman. Right, Y/N?”

Everyone's eyes fell to you, including the highly skeptical eyes of the Breyers. If there was any time to be frozen with fear, this was not the time you expected. With a sharp inhale, you nodded quickly, as to get it over and done with.

The bell rang, and finally, the crowd of students disappeared. It felt stupid, but you wanted to cry. The Breyers remained in front of you, and you had never felt so intimidated.

“Tomorrow at lunch. You’ll see.”

“And when they don’t show,” Shit, they were including Superman in this? “Then we’ll kick both of your asses.”

Your hand found Freddy’s, squeezing it tightly out of fear and pressure. What were you meant to do now? Freddy started walking, Billy following quickly behind.

“So, wait, my identity's a secret so no one I know can get hurt. Except when it makes you look cool, then it’s all good.”

In a common occurrence from the past few days, you insisted on keeping your mouth shut, instead choosing to focus on the feeling of Freddy’s hand against yours.

“Billy, it’s not like they’re supervillains-”

“They’re close enough.” You murmured.

“They're just super douchebags.”

“So you’re breaking your own rule? Got it.”

You were amazed that no one had figured out Billy’s identity, considering the volume at which the two boys spoke. For someone determined to keep a secret, Billy was awfully loud.

“This thing is as much mine as it is yours.” You couldn't even find it in you to argue that; 1) no, it really wasn’t and 2) why didn’t he include you.

“Starting to think you think it’s all your thing.” Billy stormed into his classroom, Freddy hopelessly calling after him. When he gave up on Billy, he turned to you, a desperate look on his face.

“Y/N? Do you want to stay for dinner tonight?”

***

“All hands on deck,” Victor called, everyone besides Billy putting their hand in the centre of the table. You hesitated, until Freddy placed his other hand on yours, bringing it up to meet the others.

“Thank you for this family. Thank you for this day. Thank you for this food. Sorry Billy’s hand’s on vacay.”

You absolutely adored the Vasquezes and their crazy family that all perfectly worked together. Everyone’s hands dropped, grabbing cutlery and eating.

“Big news in Philly. Got a costumed hero. He’s doing good.” You smiled at the mention of Billy until you saw the looks on Freddy and Billy’s faces.

“Yeah, but is he, though?” Eugene piped up, everyone immediately intrigued by his comment.

“Ooh! Controversy, into it. Share with us your perspective, Eugene.”

This was sure to be an interesting dinner.

“Just saying, he’s what? Charging people’s phones? So what? I can charge a phone with a plug.” You smiled at Eugene. That was an extremely valid point. Billy was, in no offence to him, kinda useless right now.

“Preach. Pedro, any thoughts?”

“Costume’s stupid.” You giggled, fully agreeing. It did look kinda dorky. Everyone else laughed along too, except Billy, which was even funnier to you. “Big white cape like he’s getting married or something.” You burst out into giggles, remembering when you had told Billy exactly that.

As you giggled, you didn’t notice Freddy’s hand on top of yours, or the smitten gaze he had. Everyone else, however, most definitely did.

“What if he didn’t get to pick his costume?” Billy finally spoke up, drawing everyone’s eyes to him. “Ever think about that?”

“You’re a specialist Freddy, and I’ve heard that you are too, Y/N. What do you two think?” Rosa prompted you and Freddy.

“Yeah, guys, let’s manage to see the positive.” Billy eyed you both warily, and as you went to speak, Freddy immediately cut you off.

“Okay, well, I think it looks likes he doesn’t have gratitude for what he’s been given.”

You wished Freddy had telepathy, just so you could tell him to not make this personal. But alas, he had no such ability.

“Very specific. All right. Y/N, what were you going to s-”

“Maybe to the superhero, gratitude doesn’t mean having to be clingy.” Bill retorted.

“Clingy? Wow, interesting take.”

You didn’t want to be overdramatic, but you were sure you had never been more stressed in your entire life.

“You know, maybe sometimes a superhero just wants a little me-time.”

Shit, they were making it personal. You kicked Billy under the table, only getting a glare in return.

“You know, me-time could also be construed as pushing away his family.”

You could feel the confused gazes burning into you like lasers. This had to be the most suspicious conversation ever.

“Family. Is that what they are now?”

You hid your face in your hands, sighing in annoyance. Why did you ever think that this would be a nice, normal dinner with your friends and their family, especially after school today?

“It’s a classic symptom of “Superhero Syndrome”. Coined by German psychologist Heinrich Von German-Something, where superpowers become an all-consuming narcotic.”

Billy immediately got up from the table, and you watched with a fearful look in your eyes as the chaos came to an upsetting end.

“Son, we’re still eating dinner.” Victor tried to call Billy back, but it was useless at this point.

“What he needs is a sidekick,” Freddy called after the boy, and then everything clicked.

“Name one cool sidekick.” Billy stormed up the stairs, leaving the rest of the family sitting awkwardly. You didn’t realise how nervous you looked until you felt Freddy’s fingers tracing small circles on your leg. The action was calming, and you shuffled closer to him.

“Darla, why are you so quiet over there, baby? You’re never at a loss for words.”

From the way in which Darla glanced at Freddy, Billy’s empty chair and you, you realised that Darla knew a lot more than you thought.

“I’m eating.” The small girl mumbled through food, just to get her point across.

Once dinner wrapped up, Freddy went to head upstairs, until you reminded him that Billy was up there, and that didn’t seem like a good idea right now. Instead, you took him out to the front porch, sitting on the steps, gazing up at the sky.

“It’s beautiful up there.” You mumbled as Freddy sat beside you. For a while, the two of you sat in silence, just gazing at the sky and the few stars you could see. The night sky always reminded you of the first flying lessons you had with your dad, back when you first started developing your powers.

“Yknow, I’ve always wanted to fly.” Freddy broke the silence. “It probably sounds stupid, but flying sure sounds better than walking, especially with this stupid thing.” He chucks his crutch to the ground, both of you wincing at the sound of it hitting the ground.

You don’t speak, not because you’re ignoring him, you just don’t know what to say.

“This… This was a bad night for you to come over. I’m sorry it went like that.”

“It’s fine. I’m sure there’ll be plenty of other dinners for me to join in.” You didn’t notice the impact of your words, but for Freddy, the idea of you coming to more dinners was like getting hit with a ton of bricks.

Freddy instinctively moved closer to you, which was no longer a big deal to either of you, but this time Freddy was trying a something else. He moved ever so slightly closer, and you finally realised what was happening.

You moved closer too, your heart practically running a marathon. The moment seemed perfect, and for a while, it was. He was about a centimetre away from you now, and that distance was only getting smaller.

“Freddy!” He jumped away quickly as the front door swung open. Rosa smiled sweetly, not realising what had just been happening. “Could you walk Y/N home, please?”

***

By lunch the next day, you were still thinking about last night. You had almost kissed Freddy Freeman. Twice. The first time, Rosa had stopped you just in time, asking if Freddy could walk you home.

The second had been outside your home. He had just dropped you off and thought that would be his chance. Unfortunately, your dad had other plans, swinging the door open, also not aware of what had been going on. He had thanked Freddy for walking you home, and you looked forward to the day when Freddy realised he had just met his idol.

They were the only thoughts that clouded your mind as you sat with Freddy at the lunch table, a massive crowd waiting for Billy and apparently Superman to appear.

You were unfortunately skeptical about Billy showing up, especially after what Freddy told you about this morning. Billy had walked to school with Freddy, and then immediately ditched. Freddy didn’t want to believe it, but he didn’t think Billy would show either.

You looked worriedly at Freddy, knowing that there was no chance Billy would show. The Breyers were staring you two down, and you were getting very nervous with all the eyes on you.

“I’ll just call him. I’ll just make sure.” He got out his phone, holding it up to his ear. “It’s ringing.”

Freddy was not a good liar in any way, shape or form. Not one single person here believed him. You knew that if you didn’t know the truth, you wouldn’t believe him.

“Red Cyclone, hey! Hey, what’s going on?” He paused for belief. Of which there was none. “Oh, that’s crazy! Yeah, it’s Freddy, by the way. Yeah, it’s crazy! Great story.” Someone from behind you snatched his phone away and you knew you were screwed.

“He’s not talking to anyone.” The crowd laughed and booed, and you immediately lived in fear of what the Breyers were gonna do.

“I was! I was! We’re friends. I know him, I do!” The crowd dissipated. “I know him! I know him! Uh, yeah.”

The Breyers laughed at your humiliation, and you latched onto Freddy in fear. You were royally screwed now.

“Shit.” You muttered in unison, giving each other frightened glances.

The Breyers dragged you out to the back of the school, to the alleyway between the school building and the hall.

Brett dragged Freddy aside, while Burke grabbed onto your shirt. Out of the corner of your eye, you saw Brett carrying Freddy by his underwear, and when you looked back, Burke’s fist collided with your face. It didn’t hurt, nor did it leave much of a bruise, so you simply let him at it.

Better to let him get it all out now.

You did, however, get in one good punch on Burke’s face.

“Eat shit and die, Kent,” Burke yelled, punching you again.

“Eat shit and live, Breyer.”

Once the boys let you be, you rushed to help Freddy back to his feet. He looked like he was in a lot of pain, so you tried to act like you were hurt too, just to make him feel better.

“Are you alright? Burke packs a pretty mean punch…” Freddy’s hand traced where he had seen Burke punch you.

“Nothing I can’t handle.” You grinned, which made Freddy smile too. His smile, however, quickly turned to a grimace.

“We need to find Billy,” Freddy grumbled, not just annoyance, but anger in his voice. As if on cue, you spotted a spark of lightning in the distance. You spun Freddy around so he could see the sparks too.

“Found him.”

***

Freddy marched up to Billy, who was performing some stupid show in front of a crowd of people. What a surprise. Billy was abusing his powers. He even had a box laid out for money. Why, of all people, did Billy get to have superpowers?

“Hey. Hey!” Freddy pushed the crowds out of the way, anger seeping through his words.

“Hey, young man!” Freddy kicked Billy’s speaker, causing the music to stop. “Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! What are you doing? I’m in the middle of a show right now. How can I help you?”

You scoffed, rolling your eyes. Was Billy really this much of an idiot?

“We just wanted to say thank you for showing up to lunch today.” From the look on Billy’s face, he had just recalled his plans. “Yeah, I got a little something called a, uh, suitcase wedgie, right? I don’t know if you’ve ever heard of it, but it’s when someone grabs your underwear like that,” Freddy acts out his words as he goes, the crowd all with their phones out, “and holds you like a suitcase and walks you down the hallway.”

You scrunched up your nose imagining how painful that would be.

“And this was my underwear.” He throws the stretched out fabric in Billy’s direction, though it doesn’t go anywhere near him.

“Gross.”

You stepped in line with Freddy, looking up at Billy in disappointment.

“You said you’d come.” You uttered sadly.

“You said I would come!” You jumped at the outburst, grabbing Freddy’s wrist in shock. “I never said I was… I’m a superhero, dude!”

You very quickly went from being disappointed to just angry.

“Yeah? Well, you’re acting real heroic.” You spat out. “How much people paying you today?” The venom lacing your words was thick, even Freddy looked at you in surprise.

“Listen, I have serious responsibilities now, okay?”

“Oh yeah, very se-”

“But that’s cool because I can carry that burden with my… hands! Lightning with my hands!”

One strike of lightning struck much further away than you anticipated, hitting a distant bridge. It hit a wheel on a bus, and the bus came crashing off the side of the bridge. You gasped, catching Billy’s attention. He looked at the accident, before hyperspeeding away.

“We’ll just walk, I guess?” You asked, turning around to see Freddy already walking in Billy’s direction.

The walk was long and tiring, and probably not good for Freddy in the slightest. You could see the whole situation unfolding, sighing as Billy did all the wrong things. What you wouldn’t give to go be better than him.

Reaching Billy, you saw a news reporter leaving, but there were still news cameras everywhere.

“Guys! Did you see that?”

“Yeah. You electrocuted a bus and almost killed these people.” Freddy stated, but it clearly wasn’t getting through to Billy.

“And then I caught it! Guys, I caught a bus with my bare hands! I caught a bus like people catch fly balls!” If it was any other day, you’d be impressed, and proud of Billy for using his power for good, but today you weren’t happy, and neither was Freddy. “Like, who does that? I do that!”

“Billy! You do nothing.” Freddy cut him off. “You take selfies and make people pay you.” You placed a hand on Freddy’s shoulder in comfort. “You know, forget it. I can’t really talk to you when you look like this.”

You and Freddy turned to leave, Freddy’s hand finding yours instantly.

“You just wish it was you.”

You both froze, turning back around to face Billy.

“No shit! You think? I would kill to have what you have.” You felt tears welling in your eyes. You had figured out why Freddy was so angry not too long ago. “Because everything I do is, like, some desperate attempt to get people to notice me. To not feel sorry for me.” He glanced over at you, seeing the tears on your cheeks.

“I mean, look at me! Look at me. Do you even see me? ‘Cause most people don’t. ‘Cause they don’t want to. And now you don’t either. I mean, you think this is who you are? I mean, Billy, you’re 14 and now you’re no better than the Breyers.”

You could hear Freddy choking up, so you stepped in to help him.

“All this power, and all you did was turn into a show-off and a bully.” Your voice cracked, tears heavily flowing now. Freddy took your hand again, his one source of comfort, leaving Billy alone.

“Whatever, kid! I do what I want! And I’m like mid-20s probably! Maybe even, like, 30.”

You and Freddy didn’t turn back, storming away from the asshole you had once considered a friend.

You were a fair distance away when you heard the sound of glass shattering from behind you. Judging from the height of the broken window, there was only one person it could be.

“Billy?” Freddy questioned, as said boy flew- wait flew?- towards you.

“Guys! I need your help!”

“You can fly?” Freddy exclaimed, his smile coming back. Billy was about to respond when another figure flew from the building, grabbing Billy and sending him to the ground. The concrete where they hit broke as easily as the glass, and you immediately went to inspect it.

Freddy joined you, staring into the open floor.

“Who’s the other guy?”

There was no response, but you and Freddy had the same thought.

“Supervillain.”

Screams could be heard in front of you, and you looked up to see swarms of people running out of a nearby shopping mall. That’s where they had to be. Why else would people act like that?

“Freds, this way.”

Freddy made his best attempt to run, only tripping a few times. Eventually, you made it into the mall, seeing the heard of people running in a panic. Billy was nowhere to be seen.

“Billy?” Freddy called out. “Billy?”

“Billy, where are you?” You joined in, yelling, searching for any sign of Billy.

So far, nothing. Freddy called out a few more times, but you had stopped, seeing the bald man scanning the mall. That was him. The supervillain. It took a few more seconds for you to register that the supervillain was flying towards you.

He grabbed both you and Freddy, slamming the two of you up against some lockers. Your heart was beating at an irregular pace. How did your dad do this?

“Billy. Where is he?” The bald man asked, and you tried your best to stay calm. Freddy was not doing well in the calm department.

“Supervillain…” He said quietly, his eye wide with fear. This was the sort of shit you see on TV and in comics, not everyday life. “Supervillain! Supervillain!”

His screams were useless. No one was coming to your rescue.

“Worse. Much worse.”

You didn’t want to cry, but there was a high probability you would.

“Radioactive anthromorph?” Freddy asked. “Psychic energy manipulator? I won’t let you read my mind. My mind is blank. You can’t get in.”

“I don’t need to read your mind.” He slammed both of you against the lockers again, making you whimper in fear. “Because you are going to tell me. Where is he?”

As hard as you tried, you couldn’t find Freddy’s hand.

***

You found yourself outside Freddy’s home, still being held by the supervillain. Fear was rushing through your veins, and guilt, knowing that if you were able to use your powers, you could’ve easily stopped this.

The supervillain rang the doorbell, and the door was immediately swung open, Darla only seeing Freddy at first. He was shoved inside, you pushed in next, hitting into a wall. You hissed in pain and caught Freddy’s concerned glance.

“How quaint.” Mr Supervillain said, glancing around the room. Everyone’s faces held similar expressions of terror. “Actually, I take that back. What a shithole.”

You were grabbed by the supervillain again, and he scanned you up and down, his brow furrowing. Shit, did he figure you out? He threw you back with the other kids, and you stumbled backwards into Freddy.

Freddy dug in his pocket, hoping to find his phone, but an ominous chuckle from Mr Supervillain gave you a good idea of where Freddy’s phone actually was. He pulled out the familiar black phone, dangling it mockingly in your face.

You were all shoved onto the couch, ordered to stay like you were dogs. Mr Supervillain unlocked the phone, his eye glowing. When did he have hacking as a power? You all watched him, too scared to look away.

A sudden pressure on your hand made you look down, seeing a familiar hand in yours. It had only been an hour, but it felt like much longer since you had had Freddy’s comfort. You moved closer to him, shaking with pure terror.

“F-Freddy?” He looked down at you, and you didn’t have to say anything for him to pull you in closer. You had Freddy, but you wanted Billy here too. You wanted protection and safety and the knowledge that you’d be alright. You wanted your dad.

The familiar sound of a phone ringing startled you, and whoever was on the other side quickly picked up.

“Freddy, you were right. I’m so sorry I yelled at you.” You heard Billy through the phone, and both panic and relief set in.

“Come home, Billy. Come home.” Mr Supervillain spoke, eyeing you all evilly. You shuddered under his gaze, holding Freddy tighter.

“Billy! Supervillain! Supervillain!” Freddy yelled, hoping to be heard through the phone. The call abruptly ended, Mr Supervillain stalking around the house once more. He picked up a Christmas wreath on a door, throwing it to the ground.

“Who are you? What do you want?” Mary asked, Darla clinging to her jacket.

What do I want? I want...” The lights flickered, and the sounds of rumbling thunder could be heard from outside. You saw the golden glow outside the frosted window, knowing who was on the other side of that door. “That.”

Eugene whispered a quiet “Whoa” from beside you as Billy landed outside.

“Kick his ass, Billy!” All five of you turned to Pedro in surprise. You had never heard him speak that loudly.

Mr Supervillain pointed his hand at you all, a cloud of dust and smoke billowing out, the face of a monster forming in the cloud.

“No, no, no, this isn’t real. This isn’t happening.” You repeated your mantra to yourself, only stopping as Billy pushed some hair out of your eyes. You looked up at him, as he leaned close and whispered in your ear.

“Don’t look at that. Just focus on me.”

And you did. You gazed at Freddy, studying his face. For a while, you managed to forget about your surroundings. Not fully- how could you forget about the monster snarling and growling at you?- but enough for Freddy to be the main thought circling your mind.

“Let them go and I’ll come inside,” Billy yelled.

“Oh, first you come inside, and then maybe I’ll let them go.”

Billy did as told, storming towards the house. As he did, Mr Supervillain pulled the monster cloud away from you, and you relaxed a little. You were still on edge, but noticeably less so. Billy opened the door, fully entering the house.

“Good boy.” Mr Supervillain walked towards Billy, a smirk on his face. “Cause that’s all you are, isn’t it? How old are you?”

Billy stared the supervillain down, taking into account his glowing blue eye.

“Basically 15.” Mr Supervillain grabbed Billy’s face, humming in disdain.

“When I was a child, the old man told me I wasn’t good enough,” From beside you, you heard a faint whisper of “Evil monologue.” from Freddy. “Yet here you are, a coward. Run from me and the wizard chooses you? You’re not a hero.”

You almost yelled that he was more of a hero than Mr Supervillain would ever be, but the sudden feeling of Eugene clinging to your coat stopped you from going anywhere.

“But I’m gonna give you the opportunity to be one.” Mr Supervillain continued. “Give me the power of the champion.”

“No, don’t do it, Billy!” Freddy yelled, regaining the attention of both Billy and Mr Supervillain. The supervillain walked towards the couch, all six of you tensing up. You jumped slightly as a beam of lightning, not dissimilar from Billy’s, shot out from his hand.

It hit a door, seven rows of repeating images appearing, and an ominous glow from beneath it, as well as smoke that most certainly didn’t give you a good vibe. It opened itself, revealing what looked like a cavern of some sorts.

“Give me the power and I’ll let them go.”

“Billy, no! You can’t do that!” You found your voice, yelling at your friend. From beside Freddy, Darla stood up, running to Billy. Mary followed behind her, calling for Darla not to go over there.

“Don’t go, Billy!” She pleaded over and over again, hugging the tall boy-man. You felt tears prick at your eyes, huddling your face in Freddy’s side more, so as to not see anything that could unfold.

“No, I have to.” Billy stumbled out, and you looked up, seeing Mary trying to pull Darla away. This was all too much. “It’s what a good brother would do. Right?”

Billy walked towards the open door, Mr Supervillain not far behind.

“Billy,” Freddy said, trying with any hope to get Billy to stay. His attempts were useless, as Billy entered the door. You all watched on hopelessly, but the still-open door gave you and Freddy an idea.

“Freddy, we have to go help him.” You said, quickly forgetting how afraid you had been just a few minutes ago. You heard scuffling behind you, spinning around to see everyone gone. “Guys?”

“Y/N!” Freddy’s voice called from upstairs. “Get a weapon!”

You looked around, spotting the open kitchen door. You ran in, grabbing a small, but a sharp, knife and running back out to join the others. They all had their own weapons, but you glanced wearily at Pedro’s.

“Pedro, is that a lamp?” You asked, and he looked between you and the lamp.

“It’s an ugly one.” He stated, and you saw no reason to argue.

“Well, let’s go get your brother back.”

You stepped through the door, glancing around everywhere. You marvelled at the beautifully terrifying cave surrounding you. It seemed to go one forever.

“Well, Y/N, where do we go now?” Mary asked, still holding onto Darla.

A familiar yelp of pain echoed through the cavern, followed by the voice of Mr Supervillain. It didn’t seem like much to go off, but you had some help. You pointed forwards, knowing exactly where to go.

“There.”

The cavern tunnels opened up into a strange temple-like place. You pushed everyone behind some rocks, blocking them from sight. You couldn’t have them getting hurt. You watched on, as the supervillain continued to speak, telling Billy of his past.

Billy started to push himself off the ground.

“I get it. I get what that’s like. Feeling like you’re all alone in the world.” Mr Supervillain demanded Billy to stand. “Feeling like there’s that one thing, if you could just find it. Then you’d finally be good enough.”

Billy stood, Mr Supervillain holding out some staff-thing.

“The champion’s name. Say it.”

Your leg bounced in anticipation, as the same dust clouds swarmed around the supervillain like earlier, except this time they formed seven full monsters. They surrounded Billy, snarling and baring their teeth.

Each one was horrifying, towering over Billy. Their mangled faces sent shivers down your spine, yet you couldn’t look away from them. Their glowing red eyes seemed to speak, digging into the deepest corners of your mind.

“Look, no offence, mister, but I don’t think those things have your best interest at heart,” Billy argued, and as you stared intensely at the scene unfolding, you missed Freddy’s call for everyone to follow him.

But his hand back in yours, pulling you with the group was enough to get your attention. The monsters spoke, their gravelly voices haunting. They spoke to the supervillain, telling him of his actions.

“Don’t listen to this child.”

“Take the staff.”

“Hold it and say the champion’s name.”

They were using him. This wasn’t a team effort for them. These monsters had simply taken another victim for their own personal gain. From what Billy said next, it seemed he had realised what was going on too.

“They’re using you. You have to see that, that they are using you.” He said as you and the five others gathered in the centre of the room. Freddy poised himself, replica Batarang in hand.

He looked at you for confirmation, and you nodded. He threw the Batarang as hard as he could, and everyone watched as it soared through the air. As he threw it, you handed him your knife, so he’d still have some protection. You could fight without a weapon, he couldn’t.

“Say your name.” Mr Supervillain said, just as the Batarang came in contact with his head. It clattered to the ground, Mr Supervillain, the monsters and Billy all turning to face you.

“His name…” Freddy smirked, as you all got into a fighting position. “Is Captain Sparklefingers.” You finished.

“And we’re gonna keep throwing things at your big, fat, ugly-eyed head until you let our brother go,” Darla said, and you were amazed by the young girl’s bravery.

The monsters were taken back into the supervillain's body, taking quite a dramatic exit. He moved towards your little group, each of you taking a few steps back in fear. Out of the corner of your eyes, you saw Billy reaching for the discarded Batarang.

You drew your eyes away from Billy, scared to give away his plan. Sparks erupted as he picked up the Batarang, and even more flew as he stabbed it into Mr Supervillain’s shoulder. Billy flung the supervillain into the rock wall, hopefully knocking him out for a bit.

“Boy, am I glad I didn’t sell that Batarang.”

Now wasn’t the time to be mad about Billy trying to sell Freddy’s stuff, but you’d grill him later about it. Billy came down the stairs, looking back at the supervillain every now and again, juts checking he was still out.

“Pedro, is that a lamp?” You let out a soft snort at the question you had asked earlier. Pedro sighed, muttering the same answer he had given you earlier.

“Come on, come on, come on.” Billy pushed you all to start running, and you did, not wanting to be there when Mr Supervillain came to. “Guys, I appreciate the thought, I really do, but I don’t think your weapons are gonna help. I mean, Y/N, you don’t even have a weapon.”

“Don’t need one.” You shrugged, Billy giving you a skeptical look.

As you turned the corner, you all stopped, one singular thought in everyone’s minds. Eugene was the one to voice the collective thoughts.

“The door was right here.”

“Billy, how do we get outta here?” Mary asked, but everyone knew that it was unlikely that Billy had any idea.

“What, you think I know? I don’t know!” He rushed over his words, as he so often did.

“This way!” Darla pointed at a tunnel through the caves.

“Go, go, go. Follow Darla. Good job Darla. Go, go, go!” You all ran through the cave, waiting to find some kind of exit. Or at least something that wasn’t a tunnel. Unfortunately, it just seemed like tunnels.

“How long are these tunnels?” You groaned as you turned yet another corner into yet another long strip of rocks.

“Hey, Y/N?” Freddy spoke up, completely out of breath. This was unfair for him, having to run so much. “I’m sorry I dragged you into all this.”

You looked at him, bewildered. His eyes were downcast, staring at his feet as you both strayed behind the group. You lifted his chin up, looking into his gorgeous brown eyes.

“You didn’t drag me into this. I chose to come along, and up til now, it’s been pretty fun.”

He would’ve kissed you right then and there if it weren’t for Billy’s frantic screams for you to catch up, and the looming knowledge or the supervillain finding you. So you simply took his hand, as you so often did and ran as fast as Freddy could bear.

“Pedro, Pedro, come on.” You heard Billy up ahead, growing more frantic with each second. He turned around, seeing you and Freddy up the back of the group. “Freddy? Freddy, keep up. Darla, stay in front. We gotta hurry.”

The tunnel ended, and you found yourselves on a bridge, stretching across a frighteningly deep chasm. You tried not to look down, but your curiosity overpowered your sensibility, as you glanced into the neverending pit.

Any wrong move and you could be falling down there. Great, well at least it was a motivator and not just a giant pit of doom. Past the bridge, there were simply more rocky passageways.

“Would it have hurt,” You complained. “To put up a signpost, maybe?”

Pedro, Darla and Eugene stopped, scanning their eyes over the room. As you moved closer, you saw that it was filled with doors. So many doors, it could have beaten the scene from Monsters Inc.

One of these has to be a way out, right?” Mary asked, and everyone’s eyes trailed upwards, even more doors coming into view.

“Yeah, I would hope so.”

Eugene opened a door, and you peered inside. Three alligators in suits sat at a table, seemingly playing cards. Their heads snapped towards the open door, charging forwards. Eugene slammed the door in time, shaking his head.

“Not this one.”

Pedro opened the next one, revealing a misty view. A shadow moved forward, and as it broke through the fog, you saw a strange-looking creature. It reminded you of something out of ‘The Mist’, a book you had read earlier this year. It snapped suddenly, lunging at Pedro, who slammed the door on it. It kept writhing until Pedro finally got it inside.

You opened a door, seeing nothing but a forest inside until a giant eight-legged creature descended from the treetops. It’s eight beady eyes glared into your soul and you found yourself frozen in fear. The spider snapped its fangs, scuttling forwards. You felt like you could cry, almost screaming until someone closed the door on it.

“Y/N? Are you alright?” You nodded, only barely registering Freddy’s voice.

“Okay, no more doors. Nobody open any more doors.” Billy announced, watching Freddy shaking you away from you fearful state.

When Freddy did bring you back, he sighed in relief.

“Jeez, let’s keep you away from doors, huh?” You smiled, thankful for Freddy and everything he ever did for you. You moved back to the group, standing exceptionally close.

“Come on, Billy. What are we gonna do?” Darla cried.

“Darla, I don’t know.”

“Yes, you do. Just think. How’d you get out last time?” Everyone’s voices were filled with panic, fear and nervousness, the sound of rocks breaking alerting you to a certain supervillain’s nearing presence.

“Uh, last time, I thought about the subway, and I was on the subway.”

“Okay. then, Billy, look, think about the subway.” Freddy babbled. “Think about any place except for here, okay?”

“What is this, The Wizard of Oz?” You said, trying to bring a bit of light into the situation. Only Freddy laughed, and it was more of a short sound than a laugh. Everyone was far too on edge right now.

You saw the moving glow of the staff from down the tunnel. You didn’t have much time now. If Billy didn’t think of someplace soon, you’d all be dead. Or injured, at the very least. Either way, it didn’t end well for you and the Vasquezes.

“Billy? Any time now…” Your eyes darted between Billy and Mr Supervillain, panic rising like a volcano, waiting to explode. The lightning symbol on Billy’s chest glowed brighter, but so did the light emanating from the staff held by the supervillain.

Your eyes remained on Mr Supervillain as he shot his hand out, a beam of light coming straight for you. If Billy didn’t get you out of there soon, you were all dead meat. To everyone’s relief, your cave surroundings disappeared just as the lightning was about to hit you.

When regained your bearings, your jaw dropped at your surroundings. Mary frantically covered Darla’s eyes, while you did the same to Eugene. In the midst of the chaos, you lost Freddy in the crowd. Billy’s height helped to navigate the exit, and as much as you tried to focus on the red and white in front of you, the noises coming from left and right were heavily distracting.

You pushed open the doors, feeling relieved to be out of there. It was crowded, and sweaty and sticky and you hated it. None of you were particularly impressed with Billy right now.

“Why are you covering my eyes?” Darla asked, Eugene nodding in agreement.

“Really? This is the first place you think of? Wow!” Mary rolled her eyes.

“You’re welcome!” Billy had a point. At least you weren’t dead.

“Why can’t I see what’s inside?” Darla asked again, Eugene nodding again.

“You two are not old enough.” You and Mary said, only taking your hands off their eyes once the door had properly shut.

“Old enough to know that was great music.” Darla smiled, and you couldn’t help but smile at the girl’s innocence.

“Not my thing,” Pedro muttered softly, and you suppressed a slight chuckle. You looked around, realising a certain blue jacket-wearing boy was missing.

“Where’s Freddy?”

As if on cue, the strip club door swung open again, Freddy stumbling out, saying something about “Siracha”. You raised an eyebrow, but hearing Freddy wish them a “holly, jolly Christmas” made you laugh.

“Freddy! What are you doing?” Billy yelled as Freddy rejoined the group.

“Uh, n-nice people.”

“Nice people? Come on.” You marched over to Freddy, grabbing his arm gently.

“Is that glitter? They have glitter! Can I get glitter?” You had to commend Darla for always finding a positive, even when they were all being chased by an evil supervillain.

“No, not from them.”

A sudden crack of thunder had you all turning around to look back at where you came from, seeing a flash of lighting, much like Billy’s. Mr Supervillain was back on your trails. He burst out of the roof, a plume of smoke billowing from the building.

“Shit.” You muttered.

“Go, go go. Everybody, go!” Billy pushed everyone to start running, but you simply looked worriedly at Freddy, who was trailing.

“Freddy, Freddy, Freddy!” Billy rushed behind him. “One, two three. Up, up. Up we go.” He picked up Freddy, bridal style, hyperspeeding ahead of everyone. You all kept running, not looking back at the supervillain, in fear of being spotted.

You all ran into an alleyway, the Christmas Village just across the road. Glancing around, you did a headcount, finding exactly six others, thank god.

“Alright, all people accounted for, let’s move.” You spoke, mainly to yourself. As long as you could count the six heads, you knew that you hadn’t lost anyone. Six heads. Just six. Six. Wait, zero?

Everyone else had run into the carnival, leaving you in the alleyway. Your eyes darted around, searching for Billy’s towering figure. In the distance, you spotted a familiar white cape in the distance and ran in that direction.

Billy was being surrounded by people with their phones, all taking photos and videos f him. You pushed through the crowd, only getting hit a few times. One person’s phone connected with your nose, and you yelped in surprise.

“Y/N?” Freddy’s voice sounded from inside the circle. He could recognize you just from you exclaiming out of pain? You couldn’t tell if that was a good thing or not. Right now, it was very good as he fought his way through the crowd to drag you with him.

“Shazam!”

A lightning strike hit the ground, and soon Billy’s tall alter-ego was gone, replaced by his regular self, who was refreshing to see amidst all the chaos. You pulled Billy into a quick hug, finally finding a chance to.

The crowd murmured about the sudden disappearance of “Powerboy” and you and the Vasquezes made your way out of the crowd, hiding behind one of the booths. You thought you had a moment to rest until you realised that Mr Supervillian would have seen the transformation lightning. Your cover was blown.

“Champion!”

“Shit.” You muttered as the seven of you watched the supervillain fly over the top of the carnival

“You don’t deserve that name. Hiding behind innocent people who will now die. Because deep down you’re still just a scared, little boy.” You all shared very similar glances at the mention of people dying. Fuck, where was your dad when you needed him?

The crowd of carnival-goers was silent, simply watching Mr Supervillain above them. Then, all at once, all hell broke loose. People were running everywhere to get away from the ensuing battle. Mr Supervillain began his destructive descend upon the carnival, blowing boots up and striking the Ferris wheel.

It sparked, shifting to the side. You could see everyone on the ride, panicked and fearful. You even felt bad for the Breyers. Even they didn’t deserve to die. The wheel was collapsing, and none of you could do anything. Except for-

“Well, you guys wanted me to be a hero.”

“You kidding? Okay, no. Old guy’s up there, harbouring multiple spiritual entities.” Freddy rambled, tripping over his words.

“Plus, he has the same powers as you.” You added, “And, no offence, but I mean, he knows what he’s doing.”

“Plus, I mean, you’re one of my best friends I don’t want you to die.” Freddy finished, muttering the last part nervously, his eyes moving between you and Billy.

“If a superhero can’t save his family, he’s not much of a hero.” As panicked as you were, a smile spread across your face at Billy’s words. You were well aware of Billy’s familial struggles, having been both Freddy and Billy’s go-to person to talk about problems they had.

“That was a decent catchphrase,” Freddy said, making you both smile and smack him in the chest at the same time.

“Shazam!” And just like that, your big red friend was back, ready to destroy whoever dared to mess with his family and friends, in your case. He jumped into flight, seeming to have already perfected a skill he gained that morning.

You felt useless, watching Billy do all the work as you simply stood with the others. You should have been up there, by his side, kicking evil ass with your friend. But then again, Billy could protect all of Philadelphia, you just needed to protect his family.

You all watched the fight intensely, trying not to alert anyone to your whereabouts. Billy seemed to be winning, from what you could see. He sent the supervillain hurtling to the ground, a resounding thud echoing throughout the empty carnival.

Billy flew down, landing across from where you were all huddled.

“Or try that again!” He looked to you all for approval, only receiving an ‘eh, sure’ from Freddy and a ‘never say that again’ from you.

“Billy, look out!” Freddy yelled, having seen Mr Supervillain preparing for his next move. Billy ducked just in time, but you and Freddy both felt that his move was not over yet.

“Laser eyes! Guys, he’s got laser eyes! Too bad your aim sucks balls!”

You were about to tell him that, no they weren’t laser eyes, when the wooden planks behind him exploded, revealing one of those damn monsters again. It lifted up Billy, throwing him with ease.

You all watched on in fear as Billy landed in a nearby carnival game booth, Mr Supervillain stalking over to him.

“That’s his power matrix.” You said, watching both his glowing staff and glowing eye.

“His what-what?” Eugene looked at you in bewilderment.

“When the demon guys leave his eye, he loses his powers,” Freddy explained, you simply nodding along with what he said. “That’s why the Batarang hurt him.”

“Hey!” Mary suddenly shouts, you all turning to stare wide-eyed at her. “Over here!”

“Wait, what are you doing?” Concern and confusion are etched onto Freddy’s face, but realisation flashes across yours.

“Divide and conquer.” You said, Mary confirming your statement. “If we separate the monsters from the eye, he’s just an old man.”

“Gather the mutts” Mr Supervillain unleashes the monsters, and you all take off running. Mary and Darla are leading, while you help Freddy at the back of the pack.

Freddy is snatched away from you, and you speed up, yelling at yourself to not look back and keep running. You hear Pedro and Eugene yelping, knowing they got taken to. You speed ahead of Darla and Mary, only to hear the sounds of them screaming for each other as one more monster takes away your last two friends.

It’s just you, running as fast as you can. As fast as you can without using hyperspeed. You hide in a ring toss booth, hoping that the monster didn’t see your tumble in. Your breathing is heavy and ragged, but when the coast is all clear, you make a run for it.

Turning the corner, you see Mr Supervillain holding Billy, and not superhero Billy, but regular Billy, down into ice water. He’s not transforming, so you figure he isn’t able to. You look around for anything to help with, seeing a gun from some shooting gallery game lying discarded beside you.

You pick it up, aiming it towards the supervillain.

“Hey!” He turns to face you and the barrel of the gun. You fire, sending the bullet hurtling towards him. You suspect he’ll catch it, and it won’t do anything, but maybe it’ll distract him just long enough for Billy to transform.

And that’s exactly what happens. He perfectly catches the bullet, which was level with his eyes. You can sense the monster behind you, and now it’s too late to stop it. Just as it reaches out to grab you, you see Billy’s head leaving the water. You sigh in relief, happy that your plan at least worked out for him.

“Shazam!”

The lightning strike sends Mr Supervillain flying backwards, but he catches himself, properly flying to the open tent where you and your friends are held captive. Billy rises from the shattered ice, seeing all of you held kidnapped.

You’re struggling against the arms of your captor, as are your friends, but the monsters are stubborn, and they’re not planning on letting go anytime soon. Mr Supervillain stands at the centre of it all, awaiting Billy’s first move.

“Nice trick. Catchy. One simple word. I have a better trick. Four words.” You all stare at the supervillain, fear, stress and now pain on everyone’s faces. You can’t look away from Freddy and his face contorted in pain, and you find him doing the same.

“Kill the special one.”

Everyone’s eyes flick to Billy, expecting a monster to go after him. What they aren’t expecting, however, is for the monster holding you captive to growl, bearing its teeth, poised and ready to kill you with no hesitation.

There are screams of protest, and the monster nears. You can’t tell if you’re breathing properly, but your guess is no. The loudest screams are from Freddy, who you can tell is crying from just his voice.

“Don’t hurt her!” He screams, only to be cut off by the monster holding him tighter, his words turning to hisses of pain.

Your head is in the mouth of the monster, and by now you’ve given up fighting. If this is how it ends, so be it. There could be worse ways to go out.

“Stop!” Billy yells, and you let out a breath you were unaware you were holding in. the monster puts you down, and all you want is to be by Freddy’s side. Billy comes closer to the tent, Mr Supervillain smirking as if he’d achieved something. As he walked closer, the monsters held on tighter, taunting and tormenting Billy.

“Billy, there’s one more demon guy in his eyes! You gotta just rip it out of his face hole.” Freddy yelled, before having a monster hand clamp over his mouth. He fought against the monster but to no avail.

“It’s where he gets his power!” Mary finished. The monsters moved in, surrounding Billy, all of you still held tightly in their many, many arms.

“Reach for it. I dare you.” Mr Supervillain taunted, as Billy knelt to the ground before him. “Wise decision. Hands on the staff.”

“Billy, don’t do this. Billy!” Freddy protested, but once again, no one listened to his pleas. You all joined in his plea, begging Billy to not do as told.

Billy ignored you all, doing as he was told, wrapping his hand around the glowing staff. As he did, the monsters dissolved, leaving all of you to gather yourselves. Freddy stumbled right over to you. You caught him in a hug, feeling the exact level of comfort you both needed after that.

“He called you special. Why?” Freddy’s hands found your face, holding it softly as if he was scared to hurt you in any way.

“You saying I’m not special, Freeman? I’m a little offended.” Now did not seem the time for jokes, but hey, wasn’t that the perfect time to pull one out?

“You are so special, Y/N, but I need to know what he me-” He was cut off by Billy grabbing the staff, and slamming it into Mr Supervillain. He went flying backwards, buying you all some time.

“All hands on deck.”

You knew what Billy was doing. He had told you exactly how he got turned into his superhero self, so you stayed behind when everyone else held onto the staff. They all waited for you to join, but you didn’t move.

“Y/N? All hands on deck. That includes you.” Freddy smiled, but you just shook your head. He tilted his head in confusion, going to pull you over as Billy said something about running out of time.

“Y/N, come on.”

“I think I’ll be fine on my own.” You smiled, knowing that finally, the time had come.

“Freddy, come on, we gotta do this now.”

They all grabbed the staff, waiting for Billy’s next instruction. Freddy and Billy kept looking back at you, as you kept an eye on Mr Supervillain in the back.

“Say my name.”

At the same time, all five of this Vasquezes yelled out the same thing.

“Billy!”

You laughed softly, having had a feeling that that would happen.

“No, not my name. Say the name I say to turn into this guy.” You saw the realisation on their faces, as they all got ready to yell again.

“Shazam!”

The most powerful lightning strike you’d ever seen came crashing down, and for once, you didn’t have to run or hide from the sparks. It felt nice finally being able to be yourself. Once the light died down, you saw that the five kids and teens had been replaced with five adults.

Freddy’s crutch fell to the ground, and your excitement grew wilder. You stood beside Billy, seeing the five identical lightning-shaped glows coming through the fog. Your smile widened as they emerged, buzzing with happiness. This was probably the best-worst day of your life.

Pedro stood in green, Darla in purple, Eugene in grey, Mary in red and Freddy, your Freddy, down the end in blue.

You watched as they all gawked at themselves, impressed by their superhero counterparts. You were kinda jealous that you didn’t get a cool adult transformation, but that had been your choice so you wouldn’t say anything.

“Guys,” Freddy said, and when you looked at him, you saw that his feet weren’t on the ground. “What’s happening?” He kept moving upwards slowly, and something clicked in your mind. “I can fly!”

You giggled at his excitement, unable to forget your current thought. Freddy said something, back when Billy first became a hero. Belief was the key. Freddy had always believed he could fly.

Even in a grown-up body, his excited laughter was still as dorky as it was usually. You were so distracted by Freddy and his everything, that no one noticed Mr Supervillain rising from the floor.

“Guys. check out these guns.” Pedro said, and everyone looked at them grinning in shock and surprise, Darla even leaning over to poke said ‘guns’.

“Hey, Y/N, are you sure you’ll be fine without superpowers?” Freddy asked, to which you just smiled and shook your head.

“No, I’ll be fine without your superpowers, specifically.” You explained, leaving them as confused as they were before.

“No. It’s not possible.” You all turned to see Mr Supervillain, rising from the ground.

“Gee-whiz mister,” You had to hold yourself back from laughing at Billy’s childish words coming from his grown-up body, “Sorry I took your cane. You want it back?” Billy snapped it in half, and you couldn’t stop smiling like an idiot.

“Guys, I don’t believe in violence, but I think we should kick this guy’s butt, like, really hard,” Darla said, everyone getting ready to fight. Freddy floated in the corner, holding up two middle fingers at the supervillain.

Mr Supervillain shot out his lightning at Darla, sending her flying backwards. The blast set the booth alight, but you watched Darla speed away from it. She ran back over to you all, stumbling a bit, but you steadied her.

“Guys, I think I can move really…” She sped her way inbetween Mary and Freddy, “fast.”

“Hyperspeed! Check!” Freddy pointed excitedly.

Mr Supervillain sent out the monsters again, and for once you weren’t scared of them. You eyed one up and down, searching for where you thought would be it’s weaker spots. All hell was about to properly break loose.

“Billy! The eye!”

Mr Supervillain lunged at Billy, sending them both up and out of the tent. It was just the six of you now, against six monsters. Perfectly balanced.

“Look out!” Eugene spun around just in time, as a monster lunged for him. Lightning strikes sparked from his fingers, sending the monster flying backwards. He looked down as his electrified hands, as did everyone.

He accidentally set off another spark, hitting exactly where Darla was. She was, once again, flung backwards, but ran around to where Eugene was.

“You almost exploded me.”

Another monster appeared behind Pedro, and he put out his arm to defend himself. He hadn’t been expecting to catch the monster's arm and hold it away from himself. He threw the arm down, punching the monsters, as it soared backwards.

You and Freddy held similar expressions of unadulterated joy and excitement. Sure, Philadelphia could be destroyed by a supervillain and actual demons, but you were superheroes!

You saw a monster sneaking up behind Freddy, and without thinking, set your heat vision in action. You burned the monster, not stopping until it had run away to deal with its injuries. Everyone watched you, slacked jaws.

“What? I said I didn’t need your superpowers.” You said nonchalantly, though your mind was screaming about how good of a reveal that was.

“Y/N, you have superpowers? Oh my god, you have superpowers!” he went to lift you up to his level, but you simply floated your own way up. “Holy shit, you can fly, too!”

“Freddy, you’re flying right now, don’t be too impressed.”

“Yeah, but you can fly without having to say the word!” You had never seen Freddy geek out as much as he was right now. He was questioning everything you could do but didn’t ask how you got your powers. You told him everything you could do, and you felt that if he wasn’t losing his mind, he might have made the connection he needed to make.

The monsters didn’t seem to get hurt easily, as they kept coming back to attack you again. Mary got tangled up in the branch-like hands of one but threw it off her. You were busy helping Darla with an exceptionally big one when you heard Freddy from beside you.

“Dude, I’ve studied the fighting techniques of every single superhero. What do you got?” The monster you were fighting had scurried off to fight someone else, so you kept a watchful eye on Freddy.

The monster flicked its long claws out before they grew and sharpened even more.

“Well, that’s terrifying.” The monster prepared to lunge for Freddy, but he started running away from it. He took to the sky, the monster, unfortunately, having wings and following him. You wanted to go after him and help, but Eugene was having some problems and he would’ve needed more help.

“Eugene! Zap him over here!” You called, gaining Eugene’s attention. He zapped the monster, and as it flew towards you, you readied yourself to punch the ugly thing. You did, sending it soaring, ripping a hole in the tent.

You had to stand on your toes to high-five the now very tall boy. You used your arctic breath to freeze on of the monsters temporarily, allowing Pedro to weaken it more. The sound of whooping caught your attention, looking over to see Freddy flying through the carnival, the winged beast not far behind.

The monster crashed into the Ferris wheel, and it was then that you remembered that there were still people on the wheel. The impact from the monster caused the wheel to bend more, sitting at a terrifying slant.

“Oh my gosh, those people!”

You watched as one woman fell out of the side of her chair, clinging on for dear life. You wanted to go save them, but you couldn’t. You didn’t have anything masking your identity, and the Breyers were up there.

The woman fell, and Darla ran to catch her. As the woman landed in her arms, you sighed in relief, before pinning around to punch the beast sneaking up behind you. Looking back, the wheel was still bending under its own weight.

“Pedro! Try and hold it up!” You instructed, said boy doing exactly that. And he did it well. The wheel was no longer collapsing, perfectly held in place by Pedro. You once again sighed, only for it to be revoked when you saw a four-armed monster on top of the wheel.

“Shit.” You didn’t really have anyone else to send out after the monsters. Did you risk the reveal of your identity? Your thoughts were whisked away by Darla cartwheeling in to save the day. She grabbed the two citizens, taking them safely to the ground, as Freddy flew past, still battling the flying beast.

“You’re not gonna believe this,” You used your enhanced hearing to listen in on him, only half paying attention to the monster you were fighting. “but you’re actually the first villain I've ever fought. It’s, like, kind of a huge deal for me.”

The monster growled, sending Freddy off flying again. You turned your full attention to fighting a beast, punching it a few more time, successfully knocking it out. Your mind drifted to Billy, wondering how his epic showdown was going. Hopefully, he was winning.

You watched Darla save a screaming Santa Claus, running him to safety, as Eugene electrocuted the monster, yelling out some Street Fighter reference while doing so. The monster you had just been fighting rose, targeting Pedro next.

You could see the conflict on his face, as the monster charged. You had to help, so you lunged onto the monsters back, punching it repeatedly. It simply flung you off its back, and slammed you against a wooden wall. You felt dizzy, trying to stand up, only to fall back down.

You saw Pedro getting tossed aside, same as you had been, and watched as the beast pulled the Ferris wheel down. The support beam snapped, while the other one continued to bend, the monster still pulling it as hard as it could. It continued to tip over, at a much more rapid rate now.

It seemed that everyone besides the Breyers had been saved, and you could hear them screaming. You were about to risk everything and save them when a blue streak pulled them from their seat. The wheel hit the ground, all people finally off the ride.

From above you, you could hear the Breyers screaming, while Freddy had an amused expression on his face.

“Is he giving us suitcase wedgies?”

You giggled softly, busy finishing off another monster fight with Mary. Freddy finally got his comeuppance with the Breyers. He landed, harsher than the other times, just to get the last laugh. You rolled your eyes at his childishness, before flying up to meet him.

“Nice going, hotshot.” You smiled, earning one back.

“Yeah, I really showed those monsters what I’ve got.” He grinned proudly, his cape flapping in the wind. He looked happier than he ever had.

“I know, the Breyers were really screaming.” You giggled. Freddy suddenly dove down, swooping you up into his arms, which only made you giggle more. He flew back down to meet the others, and it seemed that the monsters had backed off for a bit.

“M’lady,” He said, placing you softly on the ground. You floated back up, pecking him on the cheek before touching the floor again.

“My hero.” You said, in an overly-dramatic and mocking tone. That sent you both into a fit of giggles, the other four watching with amused looks.

“This is nice, but maybe do it when you both look the same age,” Eugene commented, which made you and Freddy glow a bright red. “It’s just a little weird.”

The other nodded, and you smiled at the ground bashfully. No one noticed the monsters charging at you again.

Two of them latched onto Eugene, who kicked and punched as hard as he could but couldn’t shake them off. Mary swooped in to kick the one that Pedro hadn’t seen, sending it hurling out of the tent, landing near two more of the creatures.

Mary and Darla went to take care of those three, while one more came after you, Pedro and Freddy. It was easy enough to keep one down with the three of you, so you ran to help Darla, who’s hyperspeed wasn’t doing much right now.

You went to land a hit on its ugly face when it dissolved right in front of you. Turning around, you saw Billy reaching in to rip our Mr Supervillain’s eye. You all watched as the glowing blue orb was torn from the socket, the demon entities being sucked back inside.

Eventually, the orb was fully removed, and the supervillain collapsed to the floor. Billy held the glowing orb in his hand, staring at it.

“Here’s the thing about power. What good’s power, if you got nobody to share it with?”

All five of your friends landed behind Billy- Freddy had insisted on carrying you bridal-syle, and who were you to deny him his fun- looking at the defeated man before you.

“Ta-da!” Billy exclaimed, presenting the evil orb to you all.

“That’s disgusting,” Pedro stated, and you had to agree with him.

“Fatality.” Eugene once again referenced Street Fighter and laughed in amazement of himself. “I got the voice.” He smiled, everyone smiling in approval too.

“What’s that?” Your heads snapped in Billy’s direction, the laughter ceasing quickly. Billy was staring at the orb, bringing it closer to himself. “I can have anything I’ve ever wanted?”

“Billy.” You said, your eyebrows furrowing. What was he doing? Realisation dawned on everyone, protests coming from every person.

“No, no, no!”

“Stop it!”

“Don’t look at that!”

The orb was at eye level now. Was Billy really about to do exactly what Mr Supervillain had done? He couldn’t be that stupid, could he?

“Billy don’t do it!” Freddy yelled, and you all jumped as Billy suddenly pulled the orb away from him. You groaned, rolling your eyes.

“That wasn’t funny, Billy.” You walked up to him and punched him in the shoulder. He yelped in pain, grabbing his shoulder. You walked back beside Freddy, happy with yourself.

“Jeez, you pack a mean punch.” It was then that the six of you realised that Billy didn’t know you had superpowers yet. Well, he’d find out eventually. “You got super-strength or something?”

“Actually, yeah, she does,” Freddy announced, the others nodding in agreement.

“Well, anyway, we can talk more about that later. You really think I’m gonna put a demon ball in my head? That’s disgusting,”

There was a debate between the seven of you as to whether Billy’s joke had indeed been funny or not. The consensus said no, except Eugene.

“Uh… Guys.” Mary said, regaining everyone’s attention.

You all looked to see a crowd of people walking your way. You ducked behind Freddy and Pedro, jumping down to hide in the fallen Ferris wheel, both of them looking at you strangely.

“No disguise. No secret identity.” You whispered, Freddy immediately nodding and making sure to cover up your entire figure while you hid, along with Pedro.

The crowd clapped and cheered, while you all just stood awkwardly. Darla waved to the people, in her energetic little kid manner.

“Alright, we did it!” Billy cheered, his family moving to line up with him. You wanted to be up there, but you’d have to wait until you got a costume and an alter-ego for that. “Hey, alright, yeah! We did it! We did it!”

The crowd cheered louder and louder, more people coming to applaud the heroes. You smiled from below the Ferris wheel, picturing Freddy’s face as all his dreams come true.

“Hey, you guys are all safe. There’s no more danger anymore.”

Your friends still stood awkwardly, not really knowing what to do, besides Freddy who was completely owning this moment. He was truly in his element.

Eventually, the crowd died down, people leaving to go home after that night’s adventures. You floated up to join everyone else, who were still on a high from everything that had happened in just an hour.

“They all really love you guys.” You mused, earning happy smiles from everyone.

“They’ll love you, too, once we get you a costume,” You smiled softly at Freddy, his compliment meaning a lot to you, “I mean, how could someone not love you.” He rushed out his words, mumbling them quietly.

If he had been in his normal teenage body, you would’ve kissed him right there.

“Oh, guys, what do we do with this?” Billy gestured to the orb.

“Put it back where it came from, I guess.” You shrugged, not really having any other idea. “Which would be the temple cave thing. You transported us out of there, can you get us back in?”

Billy gave you his typical “I don’t know” face before it switched to one of concentration. He focused on taking you all back to the temple. Nothing seemed to happen, so you thought of something else.

“What if you all try?”

You watched them all concentrate on teleportation. You thought you might as well try too, closing your eyes tightly. When you opened them again, the bright lights and skyline of the city were gone, replaced by the rock walls of the temple.

“You guys can teleport!” You said, in a very Freddy-like manner.

Billy held the orb, looking for where it went. His eyes darted wildly, but Freddy’s locked on to something, Terminator-style.

“The pedestal, over there.”

“You sure this is gonna work?” Billy asked, placing the orb over the pedestal. A weird cage thing solidified around it, holding it floating in place.

“Told ya,” Freddy announced, as seven plumes of smoke left the orb. The plumes rebuilt broken statues of the monsters you had fought, each one even as terrifying in stone as they were in real life.

You just hoped they remained as stone for many years to come.

“You guys know what this place is, right?” Freddy asked, and you nodded in excitement. He had whispered it to you earlier, and you had to try very hard not to geek out.

“A dark, haunted cave with demon statues,” Darla said, and she wasn’t wrong.

“Well, yes, but also…” You and Freddy looked over at Billy, who looked at you weirdly. You saw the confusion being replaced by realisation, and then excitement.

“Lair! We got a lair!”

No one else was anywhere near as excited as you, Billy and Freddy were, but that didn’t matter.

“We got a lair.” Freddy smiled stupidly, giggling to himself.

“What’s a lair?”

***

That night, after Freddy had flown you home, even though you insisted you’d be fine on your own, you had told your dad every single detail of the events that had just occurred.

Two hours after your return, your dad knew everything. Billy skipping school, going with Freddy to find him, the bus, the argument, the supervillain, getting kidnapped briefly, the monsters, the temple, and the final battle.

He had listened intensely, saving his questions for the end of your story. When you wrapped up your story with Freddy bringing you home, your dad opened his mouth to start his questions.

“Are you hurt?” Head shake no.

“Did any of them get hurt?” Head shake no, again.

“So they know about your powers?” Head nod yes.

“And Freddy brought you home?” Head nod yes.

“And you’re together now?” Head nod y- wait, what?

Your jaw dropped open, as your dad didn’t try to hide his laughter. You burned red, fiddling with your hands. Your dad either maintained boundaries or never had them, and there was no in-between.

“W-We’re not together. Sure, I like him and I think mayb-” You looked down, not only because you were saying too much, but because you felt your phone buzzing in your pocket.

You saw Billy’s contact, looking at it in confusion, but you picked up the call.

“Billy? What’s up?” You saw your dad listening in.

“I need your help with something. You said the other day that your dad knows Superman.” Once again, your comment has landed you in deep shit.

“Uh, yeah, what about it?”

“Can you get him to come to school for lunch tomorrow?” Your eyes darted up to your dad, who could hear the entire conversation.

“I’ll, uh, see… what are you planning?”

“I thought you’d want to help me surprise Freddy.” Now that Freddy was in the picture, you couldn’t back out.

“Oh, yeah I’ll see if I can get him immediately.”

“Thank you so much, Freddy will be thrilled. See ya tomorrow.” He hung up, and you looked sheepishly at your dad.

“So, uh, abo-”

“I’m going.” You blinked a few times as if that would confirm that you heard your dad correctly. “Look, I want to meet this Freddy you keep talking about. Make sure he’s good enough for my baby daughter.”

“Fine, just be gentle with Freddy. I don’t want him running away from me.”

“He’s in love, he won’t go running.” Your dad smirked, seeing how flustered you got. You stood up from the couch, heading out into the hallways, but not before turning back around, trying not to laugh at your dad’s childish actions.

“I’m going to bed before you embarrass me more.”

***

Freddy walked through the cafeteria, trying to find a table with some empty seats. He spotted one up near the back and redirected his path. Sitting down at the table, it wasn’t long before everyone at the table got up and left.

Freddy acted like he didn’t care, but deep down, he felt a pang of sadness. He hadn’t seen you since before school, and he already missed you. He wasn’t ashamed to say that maybe he might be in love with you.

“What are you doing?” The annoying voice of Brett Breyer came from beside him. “Waiting for your imaginary BFF to show up?” Burke went to grab a chip from Freddy’s plate when his hand was swatted away by yours.

“No, just waiting for me.” You sat down at the table, moving your chair closer to Freddy’s. The brothers walked away to a different table, not before Burke knocked Freddy in the head with his elbow. You gave them both middle fingers, much like Freddy had done when they almost ran him over.

“Sorry, I'm late. I got caught up in class,” You lied, “Teacher wanted to talk to me about a paper we had to write.”

“All good things, I suppose?” Freddy smiled, leaning on his hand.

“Yeah, yeah. She said it was an outstanding piece of writing.” You kept lying, only feeling a pang of slight guilt.

“Well, yeah, duh. You’re smart enough to go to MIT or Harvard or something.” You went an alarming shade of red. Freddy always knew the right thing to say, even when you were blatantly lying to him. “Just, don’t go there without me.”

“I’d never dream of it, Freeman.”

Your little moment was interrupted by four trays hitting the table, and four people sitting in chairs. Freddy looked at his siblings in confusion.

“What are you guys doing here?”

“Well, we’re having lunch with you,” Mary said, as if it were the most obvious thing in the world.

“But you guys have different lunch periods.”

“Well, we made a very special arrangement.” They all nodded in agreement. You tried to look past their not so great acting and lying skills.

Freddy’s eyes moved to his little sister.

“Darla, what’s going on?”

“Why are you asking me?” She asked, innocently, though she suffered from Freddy’s issue of always looking slightly suspicious.

“Freddy Freeman.” You all hid your smiles as Billy walked into the cafeteria. You heard a wave of silence pass across the entire room. Freddy covered his face in surprise and embarrassment. “This guy taught me everything I know about being a dope superhero. True story. You should get some pointers from him.”

Billy sat down on the seat besides Freddy, really laying his acting on thick. “What’s going on, my best bud in the whole world? Hey, Y/N, you’re here too! And also new kids that I’m meeting for the first time but seem very cool.”

You let out a short string of giggles, only continuing when you saw the dumbfounded looks on the Breyers faces.

“Uh… I invited another friend. I hope that’s okay.”

You couldn’t keep the smile off your face as you saw your dad walk in, red cape and all. Every single person in the room gasped, pointing at the man that just walked through the door. As your dad approached the table, Freddy turned his head away from Billy, noticing the shadow.

He looked up, letting out an adorable yelp of shock as his idol stands beside him. You move a seat over, letting your dad sit down. Freddy seemed to be frozen in shock, only his eyes moving. You had a stupid look of affection on your face, so utterly in love with this dork.

Freddy suddenly broke out of his frozen state, a sudden tsunami of questions spilling out. He barely left any time for your dad to speak. Your dad glanced down, seeing your gaze on Freddy and the lovestruck expression on your face.

The bell rang, and Freddy sighed, going to grab his crutch and go to class. Billy held out an arm to stop him, and Freddy looked at his brother in surprise.

“We got special permission to miss the last lessons of class, we just have to stay in here.” You explained, “But they only let the two of us stay. Apparently any more than that, and it would be way harder to explain.”

Freddy said goodbye to his sibling, your dad also wishing them farewell. Once they were gone, your dad dropped his proper superhero facade, but not completely.

“So, Freddy,” You smiled at Freddy’s gasp of shock at hearing his name coming from his idol’s mouth, “I hear that you’re some new, hotshot superhero, alongside Billy here.” Freddy nodded along, wondering if Billy had told Superman everything.

“Well, if you need any tips, I’ll make sure to get back to you.”

“Sure, dad, you can’t even message me back and I’m your own kid.” You snorted, not realising what you had said. Freddy and Billy stared at you wide-eyed. “What? Did I say som- Oh. well, haha, surprise?”

You looked to your dad for help, but he was looking at the clock on the wall.

“Well, my time is up, I have work. See you after school, Y/N. Have fun explaining. It was great to meet you, boys. Freddy, you have permission to date her.”

And with that comment that left you and Freddy a burning red, your dad ran out of the school building. Billy went to speak but just ran out with no words.

You turned to the curly-haired boy, who was staring at the door in which your dad had run out of.

“Freddy, I’m s-”

“I’m in love with you.”

“W-what?”

Freddy grabbed your face, practically smashing his lips against yours. It was extremely messy and chaotic, and neither of you knew what you were doing, but it was perfect. You pulled apart eventually, both of you giggling like preschoolers.

“I’m in love with you, too.”

#freddy freeman #freddy freeman x reader #shazam #shazam x reader #dc #dc x reader #dceu #dceu x reader

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