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fangirls-fanfiction · 1 day

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Chapter 15 hehe

♦️𝙻𝚞𝚌𝚒♠️

The sisters slammed the door open, making Porkrind jump from the nap she'd been taking while waiting on customers.

""Porkrind!"" The sisters said in unison.

"Cup-brats..." She rolled her eyes, leaning her head on her hand. "Come back to annoy me after being gone for three months?"

"Has it really been that long?" Cuphead asked, picking Lucas up from getting into things.

"Yep... Too bad, isn't it?" Porkrind's eyes rolled to the ceiling. "What's with the mutt?"

"He's our dog! Isn't he cute?!" Mugma'am ruffled the tuft of fur on his head.

"Strangest dog I've ever seen. Do they usually come with horns?" She asked skeptically.

"Uhhhhhh..." Cuphead looked to her sister for help, Mugma'am quickly changing the subject.

"We need dog food, a collar... Uh... That kinda stuff. Do you have anything?" Mugma'am quickly asked.

"Nope." Porkrind answered immediately.

"Could... Could you check?"

"Nope."

"Come on, Porkrind! You gotta have something!" Cuphead whined.

"Isn't there a pet store in the city? Like, away from here? Where you can't annoy me?"

Cuphead grumbled, Mugma'am placing a hand on her shoulder.

"Queen Dice didn't specify we had to shop at Porkrind's." She said as quietly as she could, though it proved to be quite fruitless.

"That scamming pain in the ass sent you? Where exactly are you two staying?"

"Uhhhhhhh—"

"That's not important, Porkrind, we'll get out if your hair." Mugma'am pushed her sister toward the door.

"You know what, girls, why don't I go check and see if I can find something for your sweet little pup, and we can make a deal."

"Uh—"

"Ok!"

"Cuphead I'm not too sure if we should— "

"Don't worry, I remember what Dice told me, I won't let her scam us." Cuphead whispered, excitedly heading back inside.

♠️ ♠️ ♠️

Somehow, at some point, Old Scratch and her right hand woman ended up on the lounge in the demon's office. Sharing a drink, it surely helped with the Devil's nearly blown circuit. She leaned her head upon Dice's in complete tranquillity, even so, something was on her mind. Something she was just so unsure of.

"Dice... You know they're going to find out sooner or later, don't you...?" Lucifer asked, keeping her eyes glued to the bourbon in her glass.

"Who will find out about what, honey?"

"That lady at the orphanage. She's going to find out that I lied... Hell, we can't keep this from the girls. What am I supposed to do? Ban them from going outside?" The Devil frowned.

"You've grown to care a lot about them, haven't you?" Queen Dice teased, though the Devil didn't find it very funny.

"Answer the question, Dice."

"Right—" Dice cleared her throat. "Well, we're always here if they need us... They know that. And I'll fight that woman and win if she comes by again— And you know I would."

"Yes, but that is how it works... They're 17 with no caretaker..."

Queen Dice shifted positions, the Devil sitting up to look at her girlfriend, the woman blinking as she pondered. She sipped at her drink, stringing together a plan. Her green eyes looked to her Boss as she still pondered.

"What?" The demon tilted her head.

"I'm just thinking... You know, the girls have made home here..."

"Dice." The Devil warned her.

"If they're up for adoption... I mean... I don't see why we couldn't." Dice continued.

"Dice you're not serious, are you?! Wh— Why would they want to stay here?" The Devil asked.

"I'm just sayin, maybe we could... Y'know... Keep them... Just a thought..."

"Dice..."

"Oh come on! Don't tell me you haven't thought about it! Not even once?!"

"Of course I've thought about it! But... I dunno..."

The office door swung open, grabbing their attention.

"Cuphead! We can't just waltz in like we own the place! You gotta knock!" Mugma'am scolded her sister.

"Oh... Right."

"Did you get all you needed?" Dice held her hand out for her change.

"Yep! And I even have change!" Cuphead smirked proudly, reaching into her pocket and handing Dice a single one dollar bill.

"That's it?!"

"Hey, you didn't specify how much change you wanted." Cuphead placed her hands on her hips.

Queen Dice grumbled, unable to argue as she did not in fact give the sisters a specific amount of money she wanted back.

"Porkrind scammed you, didn't she?" The Devil smirked.

"She didn't scam me!" Cuphead frowned.

"Yes she did." Mugma'am rolled her eyes.

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not!"

"Did too!"

"Did not—"

The sisters suddenly stopped at the sound of a low growl as the Devil gripped the bridge of her nose. They knew very how easily the demon's anger could get out of control.

"The Boss has had a rough day, why don't you two go downstairs and... Do something." Queen Dice said calmly, the girls nodding as they left the Devil's office.

As the door clicked shut, Dice turned back to the demon. She sighed, leaning her head in the woman's shoulder as she stared at her drink, running her finger around the rim at a slow pace.

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah, just... Overwhelmed..."

"Well, we don't have to do work for the rest of the day if you'd just like to relax." Queen Dice put an arm around her girlfriend.

The demon looked up at her, pausing as she made eye contact with Dice. Blinking, she didn't say anything, but she didn't need to;

"Or if you want some time alone, I can leave too."

"Noooo." The Devil whined quietly, burying her face in the crook of Dice's neck.

"Ok, ok, I won't go..."

Queen Dice pondered at what she could do to help cheer her up. Looking around the room, Dice's eyes fell on the demon's desk. Piled with endless paperwork in an unorganized mess, Dice could see how it could be overwhelming at times. She couldn't help but think that even just looking at the desk made the Devil feel overwhelmed and frustrated.

She pulled the demon closer to her, placing a kiss atop her head. The Devil's tense body immediately relaxed, shifting slightly to sit in a more comfortable position, still sitting right next to her girlfriend.

♣️ ♣️ ♣️

The sisters didn't speak one word to each other on the elevator ride down. Both because they were simply upset with one another and the fact that they felt guilty for making the Queen of Hell's mood even worse.

"How do we always manage to make things a million times worse?" Cuphead sighed as she once again tossed the puppy's toy for him to chase.

"We don't always make things worse... Do we...?" Mugma'am asked.

"Maybe it's just us... Elder Kettle didn't like us fighting, neither do Dice and Devil." Cuphead crossed her arms, ignoring the puppy when he brought the toy back and dropped it.

"Well, that's just it," Mugma'am picked up the toy and tossed it, the dog barking happily as it ran after it. "Maybe it's just because we fight so much... We can't seem to agree on anything."

"That's not true! You're the one that doesn't..." Cuphead stopped, Mugma'am frowning. "I guess we do fight a lot..."

"Let's promise not to fight as much." Mugma'am held her hand out to shake.

"Fine by me."

They both looked over the to Hellevator, Henchwoman walking out and sighing rather loudly, unknowing that the sisters were right in the throne room. Taken aback by seeing them, she immediately attempted to look more positive and optimistic.

"Is everything ok, Henchwoman?" Mugma'am seemed to have noticed before she hid it.

"Who? Me? Absolutely! Things couldn't be better than... Than they are now..."

"Something's wrong, and I think I know what!" Cuphead smirked.

"No! It's not what you think! I swear I'm happy for them! S— Sure I love the Boss, but I would never want her to be unhappy and..." She stopped, judging by the sister's facial expressions, she was quite off about what she thought they meant.

"What...?" Cuphead looked at Mugma'am. "I just thought you were tired from work. What are you talking about?"

Henchwoman froze in place, she was completely petrified. And the worst part was, she had no idea how to get out of this situation. She'd always been bad with secrets, even her own, she'd always wished she knew how to lie to people as easy as her boss could.

"Look... I'm... I swear that I'm happy for the Boss and Miss Queen Dice but... I... I..." She drifted off, sighing as she glanced back to the ground. "Being around the Boss for thousands of years has given me a chance to really get to know her and... And appreciate her... And..."

Two loud gasps got her attention as she drifted off once more.

"You're in love with her, aren't you?!" Cuphead asked, giggling.

"Th— The Boss?"

"You can tell us, we won't judge." Mugma'am spoke sincerely.

"I— I mean she's... She's wonderful... Sure, she doesn't have a very good understanding of emotions and how her actions can affect others... But... I dunno, there's something about her that... That I can't help but like..."

"Like or love, Henchwoman?" Cuphead snapped, getting annoyed.

Panicking, Henchwoman looked between the two of them, trying to find a way out of this. With no way out, she buried her face in her hands.

"Henchwoman, just answer the question!"

"Cuphead stop!" Mugma'am took her sister by her shoulder. "You're— We're upsetting her."

Cuphead opened her mouth to argue, Mugma'am frowning, reminding her of their deal. They turned back to Henchwoman, the purple imp uncovering one of her eyes when she noticed they weren't yelling at her anymore.

"You don't have to tell us, Henchwoman." Cuphead sighed. "We're sorry."

Henchwoman uncovered her face completely, sighing as her gaze fell to the floor.

"We shouldn't have pressured you to tell us what had happened. That's your business, not ours." Mugma'am went on.

"Yes." Henchwoman blurted out, quickly covering her mouth to stop the words from tumbling out.

The sisters gasped, turning to look at one another before turning back to Henchwoman. They both smiled, getting excited much to the demon's dismay. She frowned, creasing her eyebrows as she lowered her head. The sisters frowned, realizing the exact circumstances.

"Now she'll never know cuz I was too much of a coward to tell her before..." Henchwoman spoke bitterly.

"Is this why you've been so down?" Mugma'am asked.

"Is it obvious?"

"Yeah kinda."

Mugma'am elbowed her sister in the ribs, Cuphead glaring at the other.

"I guess I'm just upset cuz I know I'll never have a chance with her now..."

"Hey, don't be sad, who knows, maybe you'll... You'll find someone even better than the Devil." Mugma'am tried to lift her spirits.

"That shouldn't be too hard." Cuphead mumbled.

"Don't be rude." Mugma'am snapped quietly back.

"Thanks girls, but I think it's a lost cause... Love just... Isn't somethin that works out for me." Henchwoman shrugged. "But let's get somethin straight, you two don't tell The Boss or Queen Dice about this, alright?"

"Tell us about what?"

The three of them yelped, turning to face Queen Dice, who had just exited the Hellevator with the Devil.

"Nothing!"

"We weren't talking about anything!"

"Who's Cuphead?!"

Queen Dice raised an eyebrow, looking between the three of them. Smiling sheepishly, the three others stood in uncomfortable silence as they stared up at the other.

"Alright, you three obviously don't wanna tell me, and I'll respect it." Queen Dice rolled her eyes as she and her girlfriend headed down the hallway to the Devil's bedroom. "The Boss and I will be back later."

When the door clicked shut and they were completely out of earshot, the three of them sighed, relieved that they seemingly hadn't caught the whole conversation.

"That was a close one..." Henchwoman sighed. "Anyways, you two had better not tell the Devil 'bout this."

"We won't." The girls said in unison.

"Swear it."

The girls hadn't exactly ever seen or heck, even heard Henchwoman get angry before. Even with her boss. For someone who spent most of her time with the literal Devil, she didn't seem to lose her temper or get annoyed with her as Queen Dice or even the sisters did. There didn't seem to be one mean bone in Henchwoman's body. Seeing her get angry and upset at her secret potentially getting revealed was definitely surprising and a little unnerving.

"We swear we won't tell!" Mugma'am threw her hands up in defense.

"Yeah, we'll keep your secret."

"Good... I don't know what I would do if she ever found out... Now I have to go finish my duties for the day."

The sisters watched Henchwoman slump out of the room and down the hallway, off to do some of her many chores for her Boss.

♥️ ♥️ ♥️

“Uhm… Ruby…?”

“No.”

“Diamond?”

“Surprisingly, no.”

“Hmmm… It’s a gemstone that’s cherished… Can I have another hint?”

“Really?” Queen Dicr stopped playing with Lucifer’s hair momentarily, receiving quite a spit frown from her. “I’d give it away if I gave you another hint.”

“Pleeeeease…?” The Queen of Hell looked up at the woman from her lap, giving her the very best puppy eyes.

“Ugh, fine. It’s blue.”

“Uhhh… Agate!”

“No.”

“Aquamarine?”

“No.”

“Sapphire?”

“Bingo! There ya go!”

“Yay! I win!” The Devil laughed. “So that’s your middle name… Queen Sapphire Dice. I’m still surprised it’s not Diamond.”

“Well… I supposed it’s because that’s my mother’s middle name; Duchess Diamond Dice.”

Lucifer snickered again.

“What’s so funny?”

“Her initials… Are— Are D.D.D.” She giggled, covering her mouth in an effort to be quiet.

Queen Dice rolled her eyes, smiling while she shook her head.

She once again stopped playing with the demon’s hair, moving to her face, moving her hair out of her face. All the while her Boss just kept on giggling about Dice’s mother’s initials.

“I take it this is helping your stress?”

“It is… Thank you… You’re so smart, Dice.” The Devil reached up and cupped the other’s face.

“Anytime, Dev.”

The Devil paused, lowering her hands in thought.

“What? What is it?”

“Can I tell you something, Dice?”

“Sure, anything.”

“So… Back when I was… Y’know…” She drew a circle above her head in the air to represent a halo, Dice nodded, immediately understanding. “Anyways, I was… I was referred to as Lucifer… But I also had nicknames back then… Sort of like I do now…”

“Where is this going?”

“Everyone close to me back then called me Luci… No one’s called me that for eons…”

“Not even Henchwoman?” Dice tilted her head.

“No, not even Henchwoman.” The Devil shook her head.

“It’s a shame… It’s a pretty name…”

“Uh-Huh… So… I just wanted to say… You… You can call me that… If you want to.”

“What? Luci?” Dice asked.

Lucifer smiled, a tear forming in her eye before she quickly wiped it away. Sighing, she closed her eyes.

“Yeah…”

“Alright then Luci, you beautiful, beautiful being.”

Luci chuckled, her eyes still closed.

“Luci, my love.”

#welcome back to the casino au #fanfiction #cuphead au #genderbend #humanized au #the devil cuphead #luci morningstar #queen dice #devildice #cup sisters #cuphead #mugma’am #henchwoman #porkrind #<< she’s in there just a lil bit #tw angst

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gale-gentlepenguin · 1 year

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#henchman #henchwoman #second in command #the dragon #poll

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blackfemmecharacterdependency · 4 months

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Who is Ms. B. Haven in the Batman movies? | I'll Get Drive-Thru

#Ms B Haven #Batman and Robin #Henchwoman #Vivica A. Fox #snow aesthetic #Girl That's Queuedt

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whumpering-heights · 1 year

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Ada has a last name too and it's Douglas, in this essay I will-

MASTERLIST tagging: @pumpkin-spice-whump-latte @octopus-reactivated @fanastyfinder @whumpy-arts-and-crafts @arsonfrogger @burtlederp @harri-007 @akito-fuckn-fear @potatoo-whump @sunflower1000 @whumpycries

The two criminals entered the hotel room, akward silence hung between them. "Ada-" "I'm sorry, I panicked!" The younger woman, barely past teenhood, took her sunglasses of and removed her cap. "I know that name is secret, you told me not to use it ever, but I didn't want to use my dad's so I picked the first that came to mind!"

Villain took his own sunglasses off, looking caught off guard. They always made sure to protect their idenity, but extra precautions couldn't hurt. For that reason too, he'd checked in as Timothy Johnson.

"No, uh, it's good that you didn't use your own name, I get it. But, uhm. I thought- nevermind."

"What is it?"

Ada was a little confused to see her mentor flustered. She'd expected him upset, even though by now she realised he wouldn't mistreat her. He'd been nothing but patient with her. But she had been bracing herself for a telling off, at least. She shouldn't have breached the trust he'd given her. Instead, her boss looked... dissapointed? If she didn't know better, she'd say almost embarassed. He put his suitcase down on the furthest bed, not meeting her eyes.

"It's alright, let's just get ready for tonight. We have some rooms to break into."

"R-right."

Villain, for his part, felt foolish. He knew names were a big deal, especially to someone like Ada, who'd picked her own. So, when she'd used his, he's read into it. The glasses had hid his face, but had also concealed the brimming tears the entire elevator ride there. But she'd just picked his because it was the first to come to mind. Of course. It had been presumptuous to think otherwise: just because he gave her a place to stay and employed her, didn't mean she owed him anything! Nothing beyond her work, until she'd finally get some sense and walked away from him. She still called him "Boss": he shouldn't cross any boundaries, nor assume.

And yet, he found the words falling from his mouth before he could think better of it.

"You know.. If-if you want to borrow it again. For missions, or, uh. Whenever, really. You can have it."

Ada freezed in unpacking her gear. "What?"

"My last name. You can have it, if you'd like." Villain smiled, trying to sound casual, but failing quite spectacularly. "Isn't like I'm using it much anyway. And.. I liked the way it sounded with you."

Ada opened and closed her mouth a couple times. "Boss..." "No pressure, of course!"

Villain turned her back to her, feeling his cheeks grow hot. "You can just pick whatever name you like. Just- forget it, maybe-"

From behind, a thin hand touched his own, and he turned around.

Ada was a bit taller than him, even hunched as she usually was, so he had to look up. The light lit up the edges of her curls, and made the tears in her eyes shine.

She didn't make eye contact, nor initiated a hug. Neither was her style. But from her tight grip on his hand, and the small smile on her lips, he could tell how she felt perfectly fine.

"I liked how it sounded, too," she said softly.

Villain felt the tension leave him, and his own tears return. "Oh, Ada..." he whispered. He wiped a tear from her cheek. She sniffled. "I mean, I've wanted a clean break for a while, and you've been so nice to me-" Bare minimum, really, Villain thought to himself, but didn't interrupt. "So-so if you think I deserve to borrow that name... I'd be really happy to." "Not just borrow, you can have it," Villain said softly. "If you want it. And if you change your mind-" She shook her head, and he chuckled through his tears. "Well, alright. It's not official, but I'd love to share my name with you. Now, would you like a hug, miss Douglas?" She nodded, and then leaned down herself to do so.

Villain never thought he'd pass down his last name. But it seemed, there he was. It wasn't written on any papers or kept in any records, but it was real to them. And that's all that mattered.

#behind the masks #villain #aide #henchwoman #ill change her title... someday #itll be such a pain to do #my stuff #my writing #huh this really is straight up fluff! turns out im capable of writing that too!#im going to tag people in asks like these because theyre like eeny meeny chapters #lmk if thats not whats desired and ill make two taglists or something

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badlover · 6 days

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This is Grace Jones who played Mayday in A View to a Kill here you can see the Octopussy version originally Grace was supposed to play Octopussy but the producers didn't want a black villain so Maud Adams became Octopussy However, it is a pity that the version of Grace was discarded because this Octopussy was evil and devilish, should have been a cult leader of Kali and should have had an electronic whip It's a real shame, but here is the reconstruction of Octopussy as it was originally intended.

#henchwoman #villainess #female villains #grace jones #octopussy

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maxlavoie19 · 9 months

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(via Xenia Onatopp Henchwoman GIF - Xenia Onatopp Henchwoman Villains - Découvrir et partager des GIF)

#Xenia Onatopp #henchwoman #villains

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that-knife-lady · 10 months

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Ready to meet all my bosses friends! All the teasing possibilities are endless💕

#henchwoman #knife lady shit

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emma-dennehy-presents · 1 year

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I want to have a villain era, but NGL, Im more named henchperson material. Why cant I let my mxstress/mxster set boundaries for me, while I cackle and cheer lead behind them.

#villain era #henchperson of indeterminate gender #henchwoman #big sub energy

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hey-imma-fangirl · 7 months

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Oh no! There’s that gal, you’d better watch your back!

This is the third time I’ve redrawn this, idk I was just bored so I decided to redraw a redraw lol

#cuphead au #genderbend #humanized au #welcome back to the casino au #the devil cuphead #luci morningstar #queen dice #cuphead henchman #henchwoman #the cuphead show #redraw #yes another redraw lol

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fangirls-fanfiction · 1 day

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Chapter 15 hehehe

I’ll be posting it on here momentarily

Reblogging is Appreciated!! ^^

#welcome back to the casino au #cuphead au #fanfiction #genderbend #humanized au #queen dice #the devil cuphead #luci morningstar #devildice #cuphead #mugma’am #cup sisters #henchwoman #porkrind #<< she’s in it a lil bit #tw angst

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blackfemmecharacterdependency · 5 months

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Ms. B. Haven (Burtonverse) | DC Database | Fandom

#Ms B Haven #Ms. B. Haven Wiki #Vivica A. Fox #Batman and Robin #white hair #snow aesthetic #wikis #dc database #dcu #dc universe #villainess #black female characters #movie characters #henchwoman #girl that's queuedt

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minyboy · 6 months

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The Wanted Octoling dressed up as her favorite character, Doctor Octopus! On the nose, but neat!

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whumpering-heights · 2 years

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Behind the Masks: Ill-itting

MASTERLIST

tagging: @pumpkin-spice-whump @octopus-reactivated @fanastyfinder @whumpy-arts-and-crafts @arsonfrogger @burtlederp @harri-00 @akito-fuckn-fear @potatoo-angst

CWs: internalized ableism, nerve damage, arguments, meltdown

One morning, Vilian was awoken by a Vigilante talking on the phone. It seemed he was talking to his boss, asking for more hours.

“Yeah, I know I wasn’t in a lot. I’ve been taking care of that sick friend of mine.”

Villain blinked, still half-asleep, but being referred to as a “friend” was enough to catch him off guard. Although, it was probably just a lie Vigilante said to excuse his absence from work.

The conversation continued a little, before an agreement seemed to be reached. Vigilante sighed as he hung up the phone.

“Never thought I’d be glad to be overscheduled.” he muttered. “Good news is, we should be able to afford something other than noodles now.”

Villain felt something unpleasant in his gut. He already had Vigilante to thank for so much: he could lose his career and even his life if he was found harbouring two wanted criminals. Although there was no warrant yet, there was no way Villain’s escape hadn’t been noticed. Hero must be keeping it on the down-low as he searched, to avoid scandal.

Villain glanced around the crappy apartment. A thick, white paintjob on everything, even the outlets. A corner of the window was ductaped up, with cracks coming from it. The carpet looked like it might have been red, once upon a time, but it had faded to a grayish brown. Or perhaps a brownish gray, if you squinted.

Vigilante was “freelance”, meaning he wasn’t part of any official government program. Not anymore. This meant he could pick his own jobs, which usually involved dishing out justice for the people the authorities forgot. People who got into trouble, but weren’t keen to involve police, or didn’t have the funds to seek justice through the regular channels. And yes, at times he assisted with bigger jobs, like bank robberies or stopping Villain. The reward of those jobs was roughly triple what he usually got. But he didn’t fight crime for the paycheck: he wanted to help the city become safer, for everyone. For a guy who wanted to see him in prison and had beat him up numerous times, Villain had a kind of respect for him.

Being freelance, unfortunately, meant no government subsidies. No fancy lab, no superpower serum, not even insurance. He worked two dayjobs to support himself: as a martial arts teacher, and a custodian at the local police station. The latter allowed him a way to keep an ear on local criminal activities, and find the gaps in law enforcement. One would be surprised what you overhear when people think you don’t matter.

Those jobs, however, didn’t really make enough to support three people. Vigilante was very aware his apartment wasn’t made to accommodate two runaways: Villain slept in his bed, Hench took the couch, and he just threw anything soft he could find on a pile on the floor to sleep. Blankets, pillows, but also jackets and towels. It wasn’t that uncomfortable, really.

God, it had taken so very long to convince Hench to take the couch, back when Villain arrived. The kid had argued she’d slept on the street for months, so she didn’t need it. But that had just strenghtend his resolve. The argument had settled when Vigilante simply took the thin woman and dumped her on the couch. When she protested and tried to get off, Vigilante didn’t say a word and picked her back up. After repeating this about five times, she'd given up and stayed put for the night.

“Alright guys, I’m gonna grab groceries, and then I’ll head off to work. Will you two be okay?” Vigilante asked. Villian gave a thumbs up, as did Hench. Still, Vigilante knew he’d be thinking about these two all day.

Villain got dressed, as much as he could by himself. The buttons on his dress shirt were finicky, and even with the little aid that Hench put together for him, it made his right hand hurt.

Vigilante had tried his best to thrift something presentable. Despite his efforts, everything was wrinkly, too big, and smelled of cigarettes and mothballs.

Before his capture, Villain had prided himself on being low-maintenance. Why iron clothes, when that time could be spend working? But now, his disheveled appearance wasn’t by choice. He’d have to ask someone to iron or take in his clothes for him, and he refused to be that fussy. So, he wore his ill-fitting clothes and pretended it was anything like what he used to wear.

Besides, after spending a year in a simple shirt and shorts, even long sleeves felt like a luxury. It made him feel like a person.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t do it all by himself. Seated on the edge of the bed, he’d pulled the pants up to his knees. But his unreliable leg and low energy meant that he couldn’t stand for longer than about 10 seconds without falling. He swallowed what little pride he had left.

“Ada, could you..” He sighed, and mumbled. “..help me out here?”

Despite his low volume, she'd heard him. She must have been waiting outside the bedroom door. Villain pushed down his embarrassment. That feeling had no use to him anymore.

With his right arm, he clung to Ada, and his left tried to pull up the pants. It didn’t work very well. He had to balance on his wobbly left leg. It was his “good” one, though it might be more accurate to call it his “better” leg. He was shaking.

“Wait, let me...” Hench didn’t finish her sentence and reached over to help.

“No!” said Villain, and turned his hips away. Like he could actually stop her from doing anything. He felt like a petulant toddler.

“Just... give me a moment. I can do this.”

“Alright, boss. Take your time.”

Hench spoke so carefully lately, a little bit slowly. Villain would have told her to knock it off, if it didn’t make it a little easier to understand her sometimes.

He resumed his clumsy pulling, which get rougher and increasingly frustrated. His long hair got in his face, more so than it usually was.

He couldn’t see well through the overgrown birdsnest, and the brushing strands made him feel gross. With a huff, he pushed the hair back. The second his hand let go of the trousers, they fell down.

“God damn it--!” He tried to reach down, while also balancing and hanging onto Henchwoman, and his stupid hair fell back in his stupid face, and now he was crying stupid tears, and he was losing his grip-

“Woah, boss, easy! You’ll fall, hang on!”

He was pulled back to sit on the bed, as he was still reaching for those godforsaken pants. No wonder the kid didn’t respect him anymore. He might pretend, but Villain knew better. He was dumb, and slow, and broken, and his godforsaken hair was back in his face again! Cursing under his breath, he tried to brush it away, but it kept falling.

His fingers got caught in the knots, and he pulled, hard. The lighting bolt of pain in his scalp relieved his frustration somewhat. So he did it again, even harder.

When Hench tried to pull his hands away, he struggled.

“Stop!” he yelled through his tears. “I want to- I can do it myself! I just, I need-”

He lost his balance and fell backwards on the bed. He shook his head from side to side, as though his hair were pesky flies he was trying to get off. He wasn’t sure if his cursing was aimed at his hair, himself, or just the world in general.

“Boss, stop it! What’s wrong?”

“What’s wrong?” Villain asked, incredulous. His disbelief almost overshadowed his meltdown. “What’s right, Ada? I can’t dress, I can hardly stand, m-my stupid clothes are wrinkled-” Villain’s voice broke. What a foolish thing to get this upset about.

“I just... What’s left?”

Now that the adrenaline had faded, his scalp hurt. He rubbed it, and grimaced at the feeling of heavy tangled hair.

“Hench, please get me some scissors, I am sick of this.”

Henchwoman didn’t move from her spot. She frowned.

“Boss, I don’t think-”

“Get me some scissors,” Villain repeated, sitting up, “Or I will get them myself.”

“But you can barely walk.”

Villain felt the exasperation bubble up and leave his mouth as biting sarcasm.

“What an astute observation Ada, thank you. I can crawl alright, though.”

Any satisfaction he got from his comment, fizzled and faded when he saw Henchwoman’s shoulders hunch up. A dark regret and shame made him lower his gaze.

He scooted to the edge of the bed, but she grabbed his shoulders.

“Boss, I really think you should calm down before getting anything sharp.”

Villain stopped in his struggling, and looked at her incredulous.

“You think I’d hurt myself?”

she grimaced. “Not on purpose.”

“That’s even worse!” exclaimed Villain. He could feel the insult like a physical pain in his chest.

“I can’t believe- I taught you how to use a laser, and now you don’t trust me with a scissor?”

The woman pulled her hands back, and took a step backwards. “Please stop. It’s not a matter of trust, I just worry.”

“Well, don’t! I’ll get them myself, move out of my way.”

Villain kicked off his pants, and stood up. The nerves in his right leg were buzzing, he could feel how wobbly his muscles were. He leaned on the nightstand, and hopped over to the wall for support.

“Right, see.” he said, a little out of breath. “Walking. I got this-”

Just as he said that, he felt something shift, a sharp pain ran from his foot to his hip, and it gave out. With a curse, he fell. He heard his knees hit the floor before the pain registered. It throbbed, and he curled over with a groan. Someone ran toward him, bend down to hurt him- oh no wait, it was just Ada. Villain shuddered, a sheen of sweat on his forehead.

“C-crawling it is, then.”

“No, boss, stop it! Let’s get you back in bed, please, you’ll get hurt.”

Villain gritted his teeth. “Are you getting me something to cut my hair with?”

She gave up. “Yes, fine! If it will stop you from acting like this.”

“Like what?” asked Villain as he was helped upright. “Like I want to do something by myself?”

“No,” said Henchwoman, eyebrows drawn and voice quiet.

“Like you don’t care if you’re hurt.”

Villain didn’t know how to respond to that, so he stayed quiet.

She sat him back down on the bed, and mumbled something.

“What was that?” asked Villain. Only now he noticed the way the young woman had tensed up.

“Nothing,” she said, curls falling in her face.

“Hey,” Villain reached out to touch her arm, and his heart grew cold and heavy when she flinched lightly. It only a minute movement, but it made all sharp, biting annoyance leave him.

“Hey...” he repeated, gentler. “Kiddo, I didn’t mean to... You were just trying to help.”

“Yeah, I know.” Henchwoman didn’t look in his eyes and fiddled with her sleeve. She wore those turtlenecks and high-necked hoodies all the time, and Villian wondered why they felt the need to cover up so.

Villain took a deep breath, and counted to ten.

“I’m sorry,” he said, and the words felt like they barely scratched the surface of what he meant to say. “I shouldn’t have yelled at you. Next time, you can leave me on the floor if I do that.”

Her lips twitched in a smile.

“Yeah, right.”

“No, but in all seriousness. That wasn’t okay, and I’m sorry.”

Hench nodded.

“I get it. I know you didn’t mean to. But thank you.”

As she moved into a hug, Villain wondered if his apology was truly enough. Was there anything she wouldn’t forgive him for? He squeezed the woman tighter, and promised himself he’d watch his tongue more. Speaking his mind was one of the very few freedoms left to him. But he’d gladly give it up to avoid hurting Ada.

A moment later, he held the scissors, heavy and cold in his hands. Without hesitation, he started chopping. He hacked through a fistful of his hair in the back, then abandoned it when that took too long, and focused on snipping the waves hanging in his face. He didn’t care about the looks of it, he could fix that later. Right now, he just wanted it to stop the heavy, scratchy weight touching him.

“Do you want me to do the back, boss?” Hench offered.

“Why do you still call me “boss”?”, asked Villain, as he snipped another handful. Hench looked confused.

“Because that’s what you are.”

“No, I’m not. I can’t pay you, I literally have no money.”

“You think that’s why I call you boss?”

“Why, did the meaning of the word change while I was gone?”

She frowned.

“No, I guess not. But I don’t want to call you Villain, because then it sounds like I disagree with you.”

“Not much of a villain now though, am I.” asked Villain, though it sounded more like a statement. He snipped off another chunk. The sound was satisfying. He opened and closed the scissors a few times without cutting anything, and hummed approvingly at the metallic sound. He got distracted so easily these days, and every sensation was novel. The oddest things scratched the itch in his neglected senses.

“I like calling you ‘boss’,” Ada said, crossing her arms. “You’re the smartest person I know.”

“Was,” corrected Villain.

“Are,” she insisted. “You were, and you will be again. It’ll all work out.”

Villain was silent for a while.

Maybe, eventually, he would grow into his old title, like filling out a too-big shirt. But secretly, he knew he’d never return to form. But if Hench wanted to play pretend, he should let her. The kid deserved some comfort.

-----------------------------------------------

When Vigilante came home, he looked at his two new houseguests. Hench was busy trying to tidy up Villian’s choppy short cut, tongue peeking out the corner of his mouth as he snipped away at the hairs in the back.

Vigilante’s eyes glided over the dark hairs covering Villain’s shirt, the bed, the carpeted floor. He sighed.

“Would it have killed you,” he asked, voice rough from exhaustion, “to do that above the sink?”

“Oh.” the two geniuses responded in tandem.

#behind the masks #my stuff #whump #villain #my writing #villain whump #vigilante #internalized ableism #nerve damage #arguments #meltdown #guilt #henchwoman

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