the-sidekick-club - Tumblr blog

the-sidekick-club · 7 months

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Not Mender's Night

Written by: @heroes-villains-side-blog★@tratieisdabest★@just-a-space-rabbit

TW: Traps, Knife, Attempted thievery ❘〣❘〣❘ ✿ ❘〣❘〣❘

The Masked Mender was slowly walking through an alley on one of her day patrols. This was one she had without Lady Alexandria, so it had been fairly boring without the older hero's company. Mender yawned as she caught the last glimpse of the summer sun before it went behind the mountain. Turning left at the next corner, she walked further into the slowly darkening alley.

After turning another corner, this time to the right; as she often liked to make patterns when she did solo patrols to make things a bit more enjoyable; she suddenly spotted something ahead. Instantly, she was awake and alert… ish. She's more alert than previously, but still not fully awake. Moving closer, she sees that the item is just a random floating knife, with a small sticky note attached to it. In a messy scrawl, “hold on to me :3” was written.

Any other day, Mender would have laughed at it! But today… today had been too long. So she took it before even slightly thinking about it (maybe she wasn't that alert at all).

Studying it in her hand, she mumbled to herself “It looks like one of Hirra’s knives, what is this doing here—”

Her train of thought was cut off by surprise. Out of nowhere, the dagger had suddenly begun to move! Mender got dragged along by the knife as it shot up into the air, and then hit a nearby pipe with a loud twang! The echoes through the alleyways made the noises even more deafening, something Mender's exhausted mind did not appreciate.

As the sound faded, Mender tried to figure out what on earth just happened. But she was soon distracted by another sound.

Giggling.

There was a mad giggling close by, and Mender did not need to see the person to figure out whose it was.

“HIRRA!” she yelled, tuning around as steadily as they could.

Hirra was down on the ground, giggling like a child. “You should have seen your face!” was all she was able to say in-between more laughing.

“Hirra! Seriously, why would you?! Wait… ” It was at this moment Mender realised it, she turned back to the knife and tried to let go… but she couldn't… “You used superglue on your knife?!”

“Oh, don’t be so mad!” Hirra said, having finally got over her mad giggle. While starting to take a few celebratory selfies. “I just needed you out of the way for the bank robbery tonight!” At that, she began to move backwards, so Mender couldn't kick at her.

After a few failed attempts to break free, Mender finally processed what the other sidekick had said. “So… you are planning to rob the bank… again?” Mender asked casually, as if she wasn't currently trapped.

“Yeah!” Hirra yelled, clearly proud of herself.

“Huh…” was all that Hirra got back, making her turn her head back up from her phone, to the trapped sidekick. But by the time Hirra realised what was about to happen, it was already too late.

Mender had quickly and quietly taken her phone (only one hand was trapped) and dialled Lady Alexandria. “Hey, Alexandria. Just going to inform you, Hirra is planning a bank robbery tonight. She is currently at-”

There was a loud “HEY! That’s cheating!” from Hirra, but Mender just smiled at her smugly.

“Lady Alexandria will be here in 15 minutes so you get a small headstart.”

Hirra just stuck her tongue out, as she began running. “The other way!” Mender yelled, smirking. Hirra, embarrassingly, had to turn and run back the other way, Mender giving her a little wave as she passed by once more.

#heroes and villains #hero x villain #sidekick #young villain #young hero #hero x villain community #the sidekick club #hero sidekick #villain sidekick #Sadie #Hirra #tw knife #tw trap #tw Attempted thievery #snippet

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the-sidekick-club · 7 months

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Hey there!

So, there has been a lot going on in our lives lately, and therefore this blog has become a bit of a side burner.

But we just want you all to know that we are still going and that there are things in the works. It's just going to take a while for us to get all our ducks in a row.

So, in the meantime Space Rabbit has gathered some of our memes we have made on our Discord for you all :3

#memes #sidekick club memes #fun stuff

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the-sidekick-club · 10 months

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Rooftop Rendezvous

Written by:

@heroes-villains-side-blog★@tratieisdabest★@just-a-space-rabbit

TW: Past Betrayal Mentioned,

❘〣❘〣❘ ★ ❘〣❘〣❘

Lukas’s cheeks were already blushing as he read the message from Alexandria. They had been texting here and there since the night she had broken into his base. But, today, she had agreed to meet him on the roof over the old theater. It was just going to be him and her for at least an hour or two, just talking; even if Mender had been subtly (she literally told him what the perfect date was) trying to get him to ask Alexa out, he didn't want to rush things. The two had agreed to take it slow, and he didn't want to go against that… even if every time he learned something new about Alexa she seemed even closer to perfect.

He contemplated going in his super suit, but decided that a mask was enough. Quickly, he stuffed it in the pocket of his pants and pulled on a light sweater for the fall air, checking his reflection in the mirror before heading out of his room to the hidden door leading outside.

But as he rounded the corner to pass the living room, a voice startled him just as he was reaching for the door.

“And where are you going?” Hirra asked suspiciously.

“Hirra! I thought you had gone to sleep!” He needed to come up with an excuse. “I’m going out for a long walk and some fresh air.” he half lied.

But Hirra’s eyes only narrowed suspiciously, which he couldn't blame her for. She seemed to still be amped up about the whole battle against Dragonfly some weeks ago.

“Okay! I’m just craving some half moon pizza, and just get out a bit. I’ll be back in an hour or two.”

“Promise?”

“Yes, I promise. Do you want me to bring you some?” he smiled, but Hirra just shook her head (he knew she would since she only liked his homemade ones, but it never hurt to ask), before saying that she'll be on her way to bed.

Once Lukas got out and was out of range of his security cameras and mics, he breathed a sigh of relief. Hirra didn't suspect a thing! Normally, he would've told her, but with the whole sidekick club thing, he didn't, since, well… he'd really rather avoid being constantly spied on by 3 very nosey supers.

He really did need the fresh air, that wasn't a lie; he was incredibly nervous. So, instead of shadow-leaping, he chose to take a walk that passed far too fast, reaching the historical theater after what felt like a few seconds. Taking a couple of deep breaths to steel himself, he placed his mask on (the two trusted each other but decided to keep them on due to cameras), and climbed up the side of the building to the roof.

"Hi, Shadows!" Alexa said without looking away from the sky. She was on the other side of the roof, her legs precariously hanging off the edge.

He moved to sit next to her before replying softly. "Hi Alexa, what are you doing?"

She turned to look at him then and smiled involuntarily. "Stargazing! I like looking at the stars, my first sidekick loved space and taught me a bit about it. I don't really understand it to be honest, but she likes it and that's what matters. Nowadays, she even works in the Explorers branch of the GPEA doing… space things. So seeing the stars always makes me think about her. "

Sometimes when the two talked about the past they shrunk into themselves a bit, falling quiet, but neither one minded. But it didn't take long for the silence to break.

"What have you been working on lately?" Alexa asked after a minute of quiet.

Lukas narrowed his eyes playfully. "Oh, you think I'm going to tell you all my plans just because you're cute?"

Alexa pouted at that. "I'm just being polite!" She protested, trying to seem upset through a smile (it didn't work).

"Sure, sure. Well, I’ve just been taking it easy. Hirra has decided for me that I needed a vacation, or at least a break, after everything with Dragonfly, so we’ve both just been chilling. So, what have you been working on lately? Sidekick Day is coming up, got anything planned for Mender?"

Sidekick Day was the anniversary of the end of child sidekicks in Nizorro, and was celebrated every year through a parade and gifts organized by the agency and mentor heroes.

Alexa immediately grew excited at the question. "Okay, listen. I'm building her a book nook." She paused dramatically, "But that isn't the best part! I'm also teaming up with a few other heroes to build a mythology themed float, since all our sidekicks are that brand of nerd. It's very loose, and is really just gonna look like what Mount Olympus might; bright white, gold accents, pillars, all that stuff; but I want it to look like it's floating!"

"That’s very cool, but not accurate —"

"— Yes, I know,” Suddenly there were blueprints being shoved in his lap, “but it's cool enough that they won't even care. And, Lukas, think of the puns! A float… that floats. It's literally perfect. Here, look — "

She grabbed the blueprints and began explaining every little detail with excitement. Lukas was already impressed by the professionalism of it all. He was more of a simple pen and paper kind of guy, only making detailed blueprints when absolutely necessary, but hearing her be so passionate and thorough with her design almost convinced him making the tedious prints was worth it.

"And then we'll — why are you looking at me like that?"

Lukas smirked, immediately noticing a chance to fluster her. "Well, you see, I just fell for you a bit more. You're very passionate about this design and, I mean, don't get me started on the blueprints! When did you even learn to make those?"

Alexa looked away bashfully. "Well, I've always been fascinated by architecture, so I just kind of… figured it out. Watched a couple videos to help refine what I deduced on my own, and then I took a class in college on it, so… yeah."

Lukas nodded. "May I see them?" He asked, gesturing to the prints.

She nodded, handing them to him carefully. After carefully inspecting them, he gave her a few notes and ideas, which she got adorably excited about.

"How is Mender, by the way? She looked pretty beat up after everything with Dragonfly."

Alexa sighed. "She’s doing a lot better. The problem with always bouncing back after bad injuries is that you don't really give your mind a chance to rest. Like, her life was at risk, she thought you two were going to die! But now we're back to work like normal, and she insists she's fine and everything, but I worry about her."

Lukas frowned. "Surely the healers kept her for a bit just to be safe, right?"

"Yeah, she was there for a couple of days, but that meant she missed work. So now she's trying to make up for missed time, since I did start work on a couple of cases. So, now she might burn herself out after just experiencing severe emotional distress! It's not like we've never been in a life or death situation, but this was the first one she had to handle without me."

Lukas nodded in understanding before Alexa continued.

"She did say your puns helped, whatever that means?"

Lukas stifled a laugh, instead smiling mischievously. "Sorry, it's an inside joke."

Alexa glared at him. "You can't have inside jokes with my sidekick!"

Lukas clicked his tongue. "Sorry, we have shared trauma now, so we've become best friends. In fact, after this, I'm going to go talk to her — "

"Are you really? Don't you dare tell her about my plans for Sidekick Day! I don't care how cute your little ponytail and sweater are, if you mess this up — "

By now, Alexa was standing over him, so he had to look up to snarkily reply, "You think I'm cute?"

All the fight immediately left Alexa, replaced with annoyance. "You know I do, I'm sure you read all those sticky notes even if I told you not to!"

Lukas scrunched his face up in false confusion, standing up, so he could see her better. "What? What sticky notes? I don't know wha — "

Alexa huffed. "Don’t play dumb with me, Shadow Man. It doesn't suit you."

Lukas grinned at that. "Oh, am I back to Shadow Man now? Not even Shadows? You know that isn't even my actual villain name, right?"

Alexa whipped around in confusion. "It's not?"

"Nope. The agency is just too lazy to change it in my files, no matter how many requests I send in!"

"What's the actual one, then?"

"Shadow Wraith."

Alexa blinked, taking in the new information. "So you're telling me I've been calling you by the wrong name this whole time? What kind of nemesis am I?"

“Like I said, you’re a cute nemesis, and you usually call me Shadows anyway. That name’s allowed because it’s a nickname Kim gave me way back in the day. Though, it’s mostly just them and Hirra who call me that. The only one that I ever allow to call me Shadow Man, is Mender.”

“Ah, yes… Mister Shadow Man.” Alexandria smiled, remembering how her sidekick always politely calls him that, though more recently shortened to Mr. Shadows. Lukas also smiled at the name. “So, you’re telling me I’ve either been using the wrong name, or a nickname?” she asked him as they both sat back down.

Lucas nodded. “I don’t know why they’re so strangely stubborn about a name, there have only been a few other times that something similar’s happened, and they resolved that so easily, so I think someone in the agency just don’t like me… which, honestly, is probably the case.”

“What? Who in the agency would do that?” Alexandria asked.

Immediately, Lukas pivoted, “Um… Did your first sidekick teach you all the constellations?” he asked. Alexandria just shook her head, and he laid down, looking up at the stars. “Kim taught me way back! I can’t remember all of them, but I know that one is Aries, which has something to do with a bull that got sacrificed into the golden fleece. And the person who did it is someone they saved, like, what the heck? Over there's Perseus… is that the name of the constellation, or just who it's about? I… don't know, but, hey, at least after everything he goes through, he gets a happy ending! Oh, and that one is Leo, the lion constellation, its story is —”

" — Pyramus and Thisbe, star-crossed lovers. It killed one of them, right?"

Lukas hummed in agreement. It really was a tragic tale, and hopefully not one he and Alexa would experience in any way.

At this point, Alexandria had laid down next to him, and now they were both stargazing. “I didn’t know Kim was interested in the stars.”

“They used to love them a lot, back in the day… I remember whenever we had fun making designs for our dream base, Kim insisted on having an observatory. Granted, they also wanted a spaceship and pet dragons, so, you know…” he smiled.

“Pet dragon? Kim wanted a pet dragon?” Alexandria laughed. “How old were they when you made the designs?”

“They were twelve at the time,” he said, making Alexandria freeze as she heard the words, before she sat back up.

“Twelve? Kim joined you at twelve?!”

She knew that Hirra was fourteen when Lukas had taken her into his home, not that she knew where Hirra had come from, or anything else about her past for that matter. But that Kim was only twelve when joining him was news to her. She now had so many more questions about both of them.

“Where did you find Kim?”

Lukas did not answer right away, choosing to sit back up as well. “On the streets of Boreas… it was the middle of winter. They were alone and looked halfway to death. No parents, no money, just the thin clothes covering them and a tiny stolen sandwich in their hands…” he stopped. It had been a while since he had thought about when Kim was young… the betrayal still hurt. Lukas still struggled to understand how Kim could leave Hirra, leave him! After everything they went through together, he would have never guessed that Kim would choose Vulcan…

Alexa noticed that now was not the time to talk about this, and while she didn't like tiptoeing around Kim, especially considering her sidekick's friendship with them, it was clear Lukas needed a new subject. Kim would probably come back as a topic for another time, but not now.

"And what about Hirra?"

Lukas paused, trying to think of the right thing to say. This was more Hirra's story to tell, but he didn't want to leave Alexa without an answer.

"She was… mistreated by her family, and then sent far away from home to… somewhere when they discovered she had powers. Then I, and a few other villains, found her and several other kids during a heist.” He grew silent for a moment, thinking back to the horrors he saw that day. “We rescued her and the other kids. Hirra refused to go to an orphanage or anything, insisting on joining Kim's family. Luckily for her, we were already smitten by her, and, well… the rest is history."

‘If Hirra was fourteen at the time, then that lines up with the sudden destruction of… that place.’ The thought sent shivers up her spine as the memories of the horrible rumors came back alive.

Lukas paused, a warm look on his face as he thought back. "She did take a liking to Kim quicker than me, though. The first two weeks, she only talked to me while hiding behind Kim. It was adorable in the start, but it did make things hard. But then Kim was out one day, and I was suddenly one-on-one with the biggest spider I had ever seen."

“What? The great Shadow Wraith was afraid of a little spider?” Alexandria teased.

“Little? It was at least 4 cm! Anyway, I was cornered, but then Hirra saw me. She jumped into action and took the foul beast down. Guess she wasn’t very scared of me after that…”

Alexandria was not able to hold back her laughter at the mental image of Lukas scared of a little bug. And Hirra saving him from its clutches.

He blushed a bit in embarrassment, but brightened when he remembered something. "Hey, guess what?"

"What?" Alexa said, slightly suspicious.

Lukas huffed. "You have to guess!"

"Hirra stole something from Sa — um… Mender?"

Lukas smiled at that. "Good guess, but no. I made you a present as a thank you for the flowers!" He brought out an orb, inside was a light so beautiful it looked as if Shadows had plucked the most beautiful star from the night sky and placed it gently in her hands.

“How…” was all she could say.

“It will burn like that for over 500 years… I could go over the technical part of it, but honestly it isn't as interesting as the item looks.” he smiled.

"This is way more than flowers, Lukas… I can’t accept this." She tried to give it back, but he had vanished into the shadows, now near the ladder leading to the ground.

"Well, I guess you'll have to give me more flowers then. What a shame." He then asked nervously, “I hope I can see you again? Sorry, but I promised Hirra I'd be back soon and — "

"Lukas," she began softly, illuminated by the orb in her hands, "of course I want to see you again."

"Okay, great! Um, bye now."

She snorted at his less than graceful goodbye and walked over to him. After a moment of contemplation, with the two awkwardly staring at each other, she placed the orb into her pocket and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Bye! And same here. Mender will have my head if I'm not home soon."

And with that she ran off, jumping off the building and somehow landing with grace.

Shadows looked towards her slowly disappearing silhouette, frozen and flustered, a red blush going from ear to ear. When he could no longer see her, he turned and climbed down the ladder in silence. Only when his fluster finally wore off, minutes later, did he remember that he can teleport home.

He doesn't though, because he needs the fresh air… again. Spending time with the most amazing woman on Aiga can make you really nervous, okay? Especially if she kisses you on the cheek.

On the way back home, he received a message from said amazing woman.

Hey, forgot to ask you this before. But was thinking, since the trio and their club is going to spy on us, why don’t we start a club and spy on them? >:)

#hero x villain #hero x villain community #heroes and villains #Lukas #alexandria #the sidekick club #tw betrayal #snippet

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the-sidekick-club · 10 months

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We added a cover art :3

Kim… We Have a Problem 🍫

Written by:

@heroes-villains-side-blog★@tratieisdabest★@just-a-space-rabbit

TW: Breaking and Entering, Attempted thievery, Destruction of property, Food (comfort eating implied), Fighting ❘〣❘〣❘ ✿ ❘〣❘〣❘

Hirra kicked open the front door of Kim’s apartment building. She seemed to be in a grumpy mood after failing to rob a jewelry store earlier that day, but was still looking forward to today's meeting.

While the "Sidekick Club" (the name stuck after Vulcan used it) didn't have much information to share on Shadow's and Alexandria's relationship, they had still chosen to meet.

Each member had their own reasons, but Hirra had told herself the free snacks and the look on Mender’s face when she lost at a board game was too good to give up. It would hopefully make her day a bit better…

But as the echo of the door finally subsided, she stopped as the open hallway was filled with strange clicking noises followed by annoyed grunts. They seemed to be coming from the floor above, which was concerning ‘what if someone was trying to steal something from Kim?’ and annoying ‘and why are they so loud about it?’.

Sneaking up the stairs to Kim’s floor, she looked around for the source of the sound. It was only then she got to Kim’s front door, she saw what it was.

“OI! MENDER!” she yelled, making Mender jump up in fear and drop the lock picking kit.

“Hirra! Why did you scare me like that?!” she yelled back. But Hirra was too busy going for the kit to reply, “Hey, that’s my lock picking kit!” Mender yelled as Hirra grabbed it before her.

“Why are you trying to break into Kim's place?”

“Well…” Mender looked at Hirra as her cheeks reddened. “I couldn't get through the window and I have already knocked, but Kim was not home, so I…”

“Tried to steal my thing?” Hirra sounded offended, “I’m the one that picks locks here and you- eh, wait… what did you mean you knocked?!”

“I knocked on the door and Kim isn't home, and I'm good at lock picking. But I think Kim replaced the lock with a better one, because it's really complex!” Mender refused to look Hirra in the eye when she said all this.

“Well, then,” Hirra's demeanor changed completely, “guess it’s time for you to learn from a lock picking master!” She said proudly and shoved Mender to the side. “Now look closely! This is how it is done, just take it like that, and there we go!” she said as the door clicked open.

“Wait now, hang on! You didn't tell me how to do it!” Even with her mask covering parts of her face, you could still see how the hero's… everything scrunched up in annoyance.

“Tough luck” Hirra smirked and walked into the small apartment, Mender quickly followed, but with a frown. It still felt strange being here when Kim was not home, but that never stopped the two from entering anyway.

After the ‘pockets incident’ as they called it, Kim had to move out of the other apartment (as the location was compromised now that Lady Alexandria knew where it was), and into somewhere new.

Earthly and natural, would be the words Mender thought of to describe it with its old and mismatched furniture. On the surface, nothing in the room matched anything else, and yet it still somehow worked together.

It wasn't a bad place per se, though it was a bit cramped.

There was a sudden thump, as Hirra lay down flat on the sofa, typing away on her phone.

“What are you doing?” Mender asked, looking down at her.

Hirra looked up at her for a moment before turning back to the phone, and kept typing. “I’m trying to find out why Kim's late, but they won't answer me.”

“Can you at least move, so I can have a seat? I’m tired from work,” Mender said. “Also, I want my lock picking kit back.” Hirra shoved the kit at Mender without looking up from her phone.

Mender just sighed and went to the kitchen in search of the hidden club snack storage. ‘Might as well prepare for the meeting’ she thought as her stomach made a loud growl.

“What was that?” Hirra snickered from the sofa.

“Not my fault. We had four villains all of who committed crimes during my lunch break today, so I haven't eaten since breakfast!” but Hirra only laughed at her, until her stomach made an equal sound, making Mender snicker.

After some looking she finally found it, the metal box labeled "candy"... she could feel Hirra’s eyes looking at it.

“Any word from Kim yet?” Mender asked as she grabbed the box and brought it to the table.

“Not yet,” Hirra sat up as she answered.

“Well, at least we can have some snacks!” Mender was trying to cheer up the mood a bit, so she placed the box on the table, plopped down on the couch, and opened it to find...

“WHY IS THERE ONLY ONE LEFT!!!!” They yelled, looking down at the sad lonely chocolate, surrounded by the red licorice Kim had mistaken for raspberry toffee some weeks earlier.

But before they let the thoughts of who had done this, and why, there was a more urgent matter to attend to

‘Who is going to eat it?’

They both stood up and looked at each other, clearly thinking the same thing.

“This chocolate bar ain't big enough for the two of us, pardner.” Hirra said as she moved to the side for a better fighting angle.

Mender confusedly moved in the opposite direction, though she made sure not to move too far away from the little candy box. “Why are you talking like that? Never mind, I’m starving and Kim’s out of snacks and food!”

“If you want food, best you mozy on down to the grocery store and get s'more then. Git.” Hirra snickered back at her.

“I won't be mozying anywhere! If anyone will be mozying, it's you! Pardner.” Mender said in a stereotypical "cowboy" accent matching Hirra back; clearly neither were backing down, which meant only one thing.

There was a loud crash, followed by an even more concerning bang! As red starts to spread everywhere from all the scattered licorice, Hirra and Mender lay bound together on top of the now broken coffee table. It seemed like they fired their weapons at the same time, and Hirra's net guns and Mender’s grappling glove clearly don't mix well in a tight space.

They were both stuck in a tangled mess of rope and… more rope, both from the net and grappling hook.

As they both twisted trying to get loose there was a snarky “Well… that was clever of you!” from Hirra.

Only for Mender who was currently on top of Hirra to yell back “Yes, REALLY clever of you to use a NET GUN INSIDE! Where did you even hide that thing?”

“Like I would tell you!” Hirra used her power to create a knife. “Now, please move! I need to cut the grappling rope.”

“What?! No, you can’t do that! Cut the net instead, that’s what's really trapping us.”

“No way I’m cutting my precious net!” Hirra yelled.

“Well, there is no way I’ll let you cut my rope!” Mender replied, laying down so that Hirra could not cut anything.

What followed was an “Ugh… FINE!” as Hirra relaxed as well.

The room almost fell into silence before Mender chimed in, “… so, will you cut the net then?”

“No.” Hirra answered with a straight face. “I’ll wait for Kim to come home, so that they can do it.”

“Fine! But don’t complain when Kim has to cut the net open!” Mender said.

They lay in silence for a while, before there was suddenly someone calling Hirra’s phone. Hirra tried to get up but was unable to, swinging the net uncomfortably for the two.

“Hirra! STOP! We can't reach it!” Mender yelled. The call stopped and a message began to play.

“Hey, sorry, Hirra, I’m going to be late!” said Kim’s voice from the phone. “You guys just go ahead and enjoy some snacks in the meantime, see ya when I get home in an hour!”

And then silence…

“A whole hour…” the two breathed out defeatedly.

It took one hour and thirty minutes before the sidekick duo heard the door open, and Kim finally rounded the corner of the small hallway.

"Sorry, I'm late,” they said, not fully looking at the duo, as they brought in several grocery bags. “Vulcan held me up in some dumb meeting, and then I also had to get groceries after... What are you two doing…?" Kim said as they finally looked at the two of them.

“IT WAS ALL MENDER!” the villain yelled.

“NO, IT WAS ALL HIRRA!” the hero yelled.

“I can’t believe you two!” Kim says in a defeated voice as they rub their forehead in annoyance.

There was a cheeky “Can you get us out?” From Hirra, but Kim just looked back at her before answering. “Nope.”

“WHAT?” they both yelled.

“I need to get this food in the fridge. In the meantime, you two can explain why you are bound together like this and apologize for breaking my coffee table.”

As Kim got to setting the food in place, the two begin talking.

And they began recapping their day, and everything that happened before the fight started.

“And I've been having a hard day since I haven't eaten anything since breakfast!” Mender piped up trying to support her argument “Just been one villain after another!”

“Like my day was any better!” Hirra interrupted. “I spent weeks planning that robbery of that jewelry store, but then after everything went PERFECTLY, guess what?”

“What?” Kim said, having left the remaining food to sit down on the sofa and listen to the two.

“IT WAS ALL FAKE! And because of me, they got arrested! And I was left with a bag of worthless junk!” Hirra yelled.

“Yikes…” Kim said, shocked.

“Yikes, indeed.” Hirra huffed. “And then I come here, and I can’t even successfully steal a single small piece of candy.”

“What do you mean by that?” Kim said, finally noticing all the red licorice, spread all over the floor.

“Hirra refused to share!” Mender grunted. “And I was so hungry!” she pouted while giving Kim her best puppy dog eyes.

While the hero didn't have any siblings, she did have older cousins, and most teachers liked her; she'd had many years to perfect the sad sad eyes. But before she could get Kim to feel bad for her, Hirra interrupted!

“WELL, SO WAS I!” Hirra yelled back. “But when we opened the box—”

“The Box!” Kim yelled and jumped up from the sofa. “I forgot about that!”

The two looked up at them in confusion, before Mender began to ask, “What do you mean 'you forgot'…? Kim…? Why was it filled with only licorice???”

But Kim was no longer keeping eye contact with the two. When they sat back down on the sofa did the duo notice Kim’s cheeks had reddened. “I… I ate it all…” they said in a defeated tone.

“YOU!!!” Hirra yelled.

“I mean it does make sense,” Mender said. “Who else would have? But what I want to know is WHY?”

Kim was not looking at the other two as they began talking sheepishly. “Well, the thing about adult life and living alone is that you have to remember things like how much there is left of stuff and all that, and then yesterday I had forgotten to buy more food, but I did not feel like going out so… I ate it. I had planned to refill it before the meeting! But I got caught up with work…''

“What happened yesterday?” Hirra asked sounding almost worried.

Kim looked like they would rather not answer. “I got stood up... on a date…”

“You went on a date?!” Mender suddenly asked. “With who? Do we know them? Are they a villain!? I can get them arrested if they are! Who are they!?”

But Mender’s questions were quickly downed out by Hirra yelling her own questions.

“WHO DID IT?! TELL ME KIM! AND I'LL BEAT THEIR SORRY ASS!!!”

“Who it was is for neither of you to know.” Kim finally answered once the two quieted down. “And, yes, I was supposed to go on a date yesterday. Would have been nice to know that they changed their mind, before paying TOO MUCH for a new dress and dinner reservation, and then letting me sit there for over an hour waiting, but hey, that's just how dating a villain is sometimes.”

“So it was a VILLAIN!” Hirra yelled, making Mender and Kim jump. “Mender, I think we got our next case! We need to find out who the villain is and beat them up!”

But before Mender could answer with her already forming plan, Kim had gotten up and brought out an old hidden knife that Hirra had made for them years ago.

This immediately took the duo’s focus.

Kim began to move and test the different parts of the bindings. “Looks like I need to cut both the net and grappling rope to get you loose. So let's make a deal.”

“A deal?”

“Since we're all a bit to blame and all of us seem to have had a bad day.” Kim began. “I’ll cut you loose and then fix your weapons after. In return, you two need to make dinner and help me either fix or get a new coffee table. Does that sound good?”

“Yes! Deal!” Mender and Hirra nodded in agreement, seeming very ready to get separated from each other.

Then, as Kim was about to begin cutting they stopped. “Oh, and one more thing… There will be no looking to find the person that stood me up, okay?”

The duo was silent for a moment, before Mender answered, “Yes, we won't do that!”. She didn't like it, but anything to be free of Hirra. After more silence, Kim then made full eye contact with Hirra who after some time gave a half enthusiastic “Fine…”

Turns out they were a bit more tangled together than any of them originally thought, but after fifteen minutes both Hirra and Mender were out of the mess.

"Soooo, what's for dinner, Kimball?" Hirra asked, looking curiously towards the kitchen and the half empty bags of groceries.

“Kimball?” Mender whispered in confusion.

“I bought food for some Nortusen isle's style Tacos, though with some authentic spiciness.'' Kim said as they got up to look for a toolkit to fix the broken weapons.

Meanwhile, Hirra was walking over to the open kitchen throwing several fist bumps into the air in joy, clearly approving the choice.

Mender, on the other hand, looked down at the broken coffee table. “Sorry, for breaking it, it was stupid of us to fight like that.”

“Hey, don’t worry about it!” Kim said as they dropped all the needed stuff on the small dinner table. “I got it for free from some guy online, the only annoying part was carrying it here. But I think I can fix it. If not, then at least I got two people to carry the new one for me. And hey, got to say I’m impressed! With the weapons used, it is quite unbelievable that you two only manage to break the table and nothing else!” They laughed at the end of the sentence, making Mender smile.

In the end, it was a not so productive meeting, but at least it was a fun one. The trio ended up spending a lot of time chatting over good food and weapon repair.

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

Mender needs a Hug :

Master List : Character list

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the-sidekick-club · 11 months

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The Sidekick club: Promoted

snapshot from “Case of the Pockets Part 5: Truth″ art by: @just-a-space-rabbit

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the-sidekick-club · 11 months

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A Little Family

Origins: Kim - Part 2

Written by: @heroes-villains-side-blog★@tratieisdabest★@just-a-space-rabbit

TW: Implied child abuse, Theft, Break in, Fighting

Part 1 : Part 2

☰☲☷✪☷☲☰

Life with a villain.

Once Kim's fever had gone down, they and Lukas had a long talk. Lukas learned that, apparently, Kim had come to Boreas in the hopes to sneak over the mountain into the neighboring country. But they got mugged on the way and got stuck in the city since the roads down had snowed over.

When asked why they wanted to go to the country in the first place, Kim shrugged and said they just wanted to, that they had no goal other than to just travel. In hindsight, Kim felt stupid for saying it, but it was the truth.

Days turned into weeks. In the beginning, Emma kept visiting almost every day to make sure that Kim was healing well, then the visits slowly got further and further apart, until she and her family moved away to Nizorro.

There was no more blizzard, but neither Lukas nor Kim wanted to bring that up.

Lukas feared that Kim would want to leave out into the cold again, and Kim feared that Lukas would remember the weather had gotten better and send them away. So the two kept on going in this strange limbo of ‘just staying for a few more days’ until the last part of winter had left them, and they both had forgotten about it all together.

It did not take long before Lukas saw some improvements in Kim. As they slowly got healthier and more used to living with a villain, it was strange to see them go from so small and silent, to becoming more and more outspoken by the day. However, that didn’t mean everything went silky smooth.

Lukas learned quickly that a 12-year-old needs entertainment when, after leaving for a few hours to meet with a client, he came home to Kim having kindly sorted all of Lukas’s books by color, much to his annoyance and inconvenience… but also amusement.

They would also steal his tools from time to time, and hide them around the base. Their favorite spot seemed to be in the kitchen since, when he would look there, they could ask him to make them a cup of hot chocolate resulting in them spending a good amount of time chatting over chocolate and cookies.

Slowly, Lukas got to learn more about Kim. They were both surprised to learn that they were both born, and grew up, in neighboring countries. Although they technically didn’t have the same mother tongue, their languages were still close enough that they could understand each other. Kim seemed to open up a lot more after that.

He learned that Kim used to live with their grandma in their homeland of The Nortusen Isles while their parents worked in Nizorro. At seven, they moved to Nizorro, then Kim’s Grandma got ill and later passed away not long after.

But Kim still didn't tell Lukas why they had run away from their parents.

Until a chilly evening in late autumn, over a year later. Kim was now 14 years old, and was left home alone.

…

Lukas had left only an hour prior, having planned to rob a local ski lifts to get a needed part for one of his projects.

So, Kim was sitting by one of the tables doing the homework Lukas had given them.

‘Just because I’m a villain, that doesn’t mean I’ll let you get away with no schooling,’ Lukas’s words kept repeating themselves in Kim’s brain as they pouted at the still unsolved math problem.

‘Yes, I get it! But why so much MATH?!’ they thought. “Just three more! Then, I can have a cup of hot chocolate!” they mumbled to themself.

Kim was lost in thought when they were startled by a sudden loud click as the door was unlocked.

‘That’s not Lukas!’ they thought and began looking for a hiding spot. ‘He never unlocks the door! He goes through the shadows!’ Lukas did not have the budget for a grand security system, but he was smart enough to have some makeshift security measures in place. Kim was bolting to the small hidden room by the stairs, just in time for a stranger to enter the room.

“Wow, that idiot Shadows!” the thief cackled. “Got to be the worst security system I've ever seen, this has got to be the easiest break-in in my life!” he mocked as he began rummaging around the base.

Kim’s heart was rising against their chest. They could hear the sound of stuff breaking as the thief tried to find something valuable.

‘How dare they,’ Kim thought with an angry huff. But instantly regretted it as the thief turned to look in their direction.

“WHO’S THERE?!” they snapped.

‘Oh no, I said that out loud!’ they felt the cold sliver up their spine, as the thief saw the small door handle.

“I know you’re in there! Get out here!” they said, moving closer to the door.

Kim took the best fighting stance they could in the small space. They might be just half the thief’s size, and Lukas was so far away, but they were not going down just like that, they knew they could take him.

‘5 meters away, if they just got a bit closer,’ Kim thought as the thief kept talking.

“You don’t want to make me mad,” they said.

‘4 meters.’

“Let's just have a nice chat...”

‘3 meters!’

“Why are you hiding in there?”

‘2 meters!’

“You don’t know if I’m going to hurt you...”

“ONE!”

To say the thief was shocked would be an understatement, as Kim bolted full force forward and punched hard on what they had calculated to be their weak spot in those few seconds, causing the intruder to fall back in pain.

But Kim did not stop, and kept up the punches and kicks faster than what the thief was able to keep up with, until he found an opening and kicked Kim as hard as he could, causing them to fall back on the ground.

“WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?” the thief snarled as he got over where Kim lay.

Kim got back up on their feet, and was about to attack again when Shadows grabbed the thief from behind.

“That is my kid,” he yelled and threw the thief to the ground. “Get lost. If I ever see you here again, I’ll make you regret it.”

At that, the thief fled almost in tears.

Just as the door closed, Lukas stooped down and wrapped his arms around Kim, his face looked like he was at the break of tears.

“Kim, I’m so sorry…” he whispered. “I should have been more careful.” The hug lasted for quite some time.

"But I… I should've been able to stop them!" Kim protested, upset with themself.

Lukas looked down at them with concern. No anger or disappointment or annoyance was in his eyes when he replied. "Oh, Kim, no. That's not your job, you're just a kid!"

But Kim seemed to disagree. "No, I should've been able to win! It was just a thief, and he didn't even have powers! I…" Kim paused, as their breathing grew faster, they were wondering if they should tell Lukas before making up their mind. "I was a hero sidekick. I have training! I should've beaten them easily! If I just–"

"– Kim, stop. I need you to breathe." Lukas said calmly, leading them onto the couch.

Kim was quickly bundled up in a plethora of blankets which Lukas hoped would calm them down.

After his child's breathing returned to normal, he began, "Kim. I don't care if you were a hero sidekick. You were, and still are, a child. Anyone who expects you to be able to fight off a thief at 14 is being unreasonable."

Kim sniffled. "Yeah, but, like… I was taught how to – wait�� you don't care that I was a hero sidekick?"

Lukas looked over from the chair across from them; as much as he wanted to cuddle the sadness away, he knew Kim needed a bit of space right now.

"Listen. I'm going to let you breathe for a moment while I secure the base. I need to talk to you, but you don't have to tell me anything you don't want to." Lukas wanted to have this conversation now, but he'd already waited longer than he should have to make sure everything was safe. Kim was, of course, his priority, but having a second attack happen wouldn't help their nerves.

Truth.

Lukas re-entered the room, having finally secured the area. The thief was long gone, but Lukas knew that it was only a matter of time before the rumors would start to spread that there was a child here. Soon, it wouldn't be safe for Kim to be here anymore.

But he could think about all that later.

“I know that you were a hero sidekick… I’ve known for a while now.”

“WHAT! How?”

“Well, I only half suspected it.” Lukas sat down on the sofa next to the pile of blankets Kim was sitting in. “You were always too calm around people with powers, no normal child would be that casual about it, and then when you told me your parents worked in Nizorro, the city with the largest population of supers in the world, well… the odds were a bit too high.” He had so many things he wanted to learn about them, and was not quite sure where to start. So he went for the easiest questions first.

“What is your power?”

After some silence, Kim answered. “Aura Blocking. I can block my aura from being felt by others. So even if you look straight at me, I’m hard to notice, if not completely invisible.”

“So that is why you were always so good at hide and seek? Cheating little villain,” he joked.

“I never used my powers to cheat on purpose!” Kim yelled, “I can’t control it at times, if I get too calm or too scared it just happens…”

Lukas apologized for the joke, it was clearly bad timing. “How long were you a sidekick for?”

“I… I have trained since I was five, maybe even younger. But I was only a sidekick for 2 months. I graduated from the academy only five days before I turned twelve” Kim said shamefully.

Lukas could see the tears beginning to form, but he knew not to stop them.

“Both of my parents, they were… they’re both heroes. Since I was their sidekick, I was allowed to start earlier than everyone else.” Kim's sentences cut in and out, interrupted with tears and gasps that they struggled to hold back. “I hate them… No matter how hard I trained, they just kept pushing. The other kids got to go and have fun all the time, but I always had more and more and more training! I had to be the best in everything!”

Kim curled up into a ball on the sofa. Lukas sat still for a moment, before moving close to them. “Your parents sound like real bastards…”

At that, Kim moved to Lukas’s side before continuing in a tear filled mumble, “No matter how well I did, or how hard I worked, I learned that I would never be good enough for them… so, why even try? Might just as well leave… I just took all the money I had saved up with me, and left while they were busy chasing down a villain…”

“Are they looking for you?” Lukas asked.

Kim shook their head. “Not long after I disappeared… they faked my death, probably to make themselves look good. I don’t know if it was just my parents, or if the agency was in on it. I saw them declared it on the news and that was it… my hero name was removed from everywhere and life went on like I never existed”

Lukas looked at them, shocked at all these revelations. “I have so many more things I want to ask you… but it will all have to wait for another day…”

Not much more was said after that, and, some hours later, Kim was fast asleep in their room.

Lukas, on the other hand, was wide awake.

He did not know who or when, but that thief could not have found the base on their own. That he was starting to fall out of favor with the supervillain Lynx was not a surprise to anyone, but to send someone to his base like that? He had avoided thinking about it by just focusing on Kim, not wanting to worry them.

In the end, he knew that he had three choices.

Find a new base.

Give Kim enough money and supplies and tell them to get as far away from here, as Lynx would definitely target them to get to him.

Uproot everything and leave with Kim, to go who knows where…

He knew the answer… he just needed to get himself to do it. He took it one room at a time, just going through each and mentally planning what he was going to take with him.

After going to almost all of them, he sat down in the living room. But he was soon startled by the sound of small bare feet as Kim appeared half asleep with their blanket still wrapped around them.

“Nightmares?” he asked, and Kim nodded. “You want me to make you the special drink?” Kim smiled. “All right, then. Why don’t you go sit down while I make you a glass then.”

In the two minutes that it took Lukas to make the drink, Kim had almost fallen back asleep. After they finished the drink, Lukas had to lift them up and bring them back to bed.

When Kim was safely in bed, he whispered “Good night, little bird” just as he was about to leave.

“Night, dad,” Kim sleepily replied.

Apparently the word did not register until he got back to the living room. It was only after he sat down and turned on the TV that it clicked in place.

“Dad?” he whispered to himself. “DAD?!”

Leaving Boreas.

“So, where are we going?” Kim asked, as they came down the stairs with the suitcase in one hand and a backpack filled with snacks, their favorite teddy and games in the other.

By the look of the room, you would not think that the people living there were going anywhere permanently. Most of the books were still on the shelf, no furniture had been moved, there was food in the kitchen, and even Kim’s homework lay unfinished on the kitchen table. But soon they would both leave and never return.

“Nowhere specific, think we can both just travel for some time, see the world like you wanted and whatever place feels like home will be the place we stay” Lukas said, bringing Kim a warm winter coat and taking their suitcase.

“I wonder where that will be?” Kim thought out loud, as the two of them left hand in hand.

…

“Hey, look, we can just about see them now!” Lukas said, pointing to the horizon line. “The peak of the half moon mountains, just one more hour and we’re…”

“Back in Nizorro…” Kim said, joining him on the front of the ferry.

“Yeah… feel weird, right?”

“Totally, I still don’t know if I'll like being back” Kim looked over at their parent, mentor, and partner in crime. It had been three long years since the two left the cold mountain town of Boreas.

Kim had grown quite a bit since then, and did not look much like the tiny child that Lukas had taken in so many years ago. Which was the main reason he felt it was safe to come back, the years would easily hide Kim’s old identity.

At the moment Kim worked as Lukas’s assistant and trainee, helping him make gadgets and machinery. But it was already planned that when they turned 18, they would take on the role as Shadow Wraith’s Right Hand in crime.

Lukas himself had also grown a lot since the cold Boreas. Going from small theft, to full on schemes and advanced missions, he had quickly started to make a name for himself internationally.

“Hey, the city has gotten a lot better after the child sidekick ban.” Lukas said “Also, I might be able to train you in a lot of things, and don't misunderstand, your skills have grown excellently. But if you want to grow more within engineering you need a proper education; and what better place than my old uni! Good old, Mirmir Waters University, the perfect place to grow your brilliant mind! But that is still some months away, so relax, okay?”

Kim did not look nearly as excited about the idea of college as he did. But even they couldn't deny it, after everything they had been through, they have missed the city. And as the peaks of the mountains grew closer, they were struggling to hide the excitement.

“But first things first!” Lukas said, smiling, "I got an old friend for you to meet, and he… is a real egghead!"

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

#heroes and villians #hero x villain community #young villain #henchman #sidekick #the sidekick club #Kim #Lukas #TW Implied child abuse #TW Theft #TW Break in #TW Fighting #snippet

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the-sidekick-club · 11 months

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Caught In The Storm

Origins: Kim - Part I

Written by: @heroes-villains-side-blog★@tratieisdabest★@just-a-space-rabbit

TW: Theft, Starving, Freezing, Implied child abuse

Part 1 : Part 2

☰☲☷✪☷☲☰

Theft and Snow

“Well, folks!” said the meteorologist over the radio. “It’s 18:00 on the 15th of April, and it seems like the snowstorm that we’ve been expecting is just about to kick up. The mayor encourages everyone to stay home, and only travel out unless absolutely necessary. It is currently -17 degrees Fahrenheit (-8.33 degrees Celsius), and it’s expected to drop even lower tomorrow –”

The radio fades out as Lukas exits the small shop, two grocery bags in each hand. He shivered as the bitter cold hit him, immediately wanting to do nothing else than to get back to his base as fast as possible. He shot a quick glance down the icy street, the weather was getting so bad that even the usually colorful stores now looked gray and gloomy.

It had been almost five and a half years since he had been expelled from Mirmir Waters University and kicked out by his parents. So he left the country to start his life anew.

Currently, he was living in the city of Boreas and working as a small-time villain but, for the most part, he made and sold machines to local supervillain Lynx. However, he was slowly starting making a name for himself with his own crimes.

But now, it was the middle of winter, so all villains had slowed down crimes for the year, sending the city into an almost standstill as everyone bunkered down and made plans for spring.

Well, almost all…

As he waited for the green light at the busy crosswalk, he was startled by a sudden “GET BACK HERE, CRIMINAL!” from a loud, harsh voice, just as something small flew past him. Immediately, Lukas turned to see who had yelled, only to be pushed aside by one of the local heroes.

Catching himself before he fell over, his eyes shot towards the hero, who was in a mad dash after whatever that thing was that passed him. A smart part of his brain told him to leave it be, that it was late and cold, and to just go home and relax.

But then there was just that little voice in the back, nagging him. Part curiosity, part worry…

‘Who was that? And what on Aiga did they do to get a superhero that mad?’

‘NO! Don’t think about it! It’s not your problem!’

He tried to focus on moving forward, but even as the light turned green, he remained still. But this didn't last long, and he soon muttered “Damn it!” and jumped into a nearby shadow, much to the fear of those around him. He moved quickly in the darkness, teleporting through it, and he didn't have to move far before he found them.

He saw them both running down the alleyway not far from the crosswalk. It was remarkable how fast the small person was, but, from within the shadows, he could see that they were close to being cornered by another hero coming from the other direction.

‘What did you do to get two of them after you?’ Lukas thought as he sped up. ‘If I can just get there fast enough’ he thought as he began closing in on the person.

Then, in a split second, just as the person crossed into one of the many shadows in the alley, he grabbed them.

“Gotcha!” he said in a cheeky voice, as the person tried to scream after the sudden fall, but finding themselves unable to do so in this strange void they were now in.

“But… you’re… you're just a kid?” Lukas said in shock at the little figure that was staring wide-eyed back at him.

…

“So, they chased you for this?” Lukas asked, almost enraged, as he held the small sandwich that the kid had stolen from a nearby gas station. “How dare they? Calling themselves heroes and then chasing a child like that!”

It had not taken long for the heroes to give up the chase and continue on with their patrol. So he and the kid moved somewhere safer before getting out of the shadow. As he saw the fear in the kid's face, he quickly softened up. “Sorry… I didn't mean to yell, I don’t like it when heroes act like that. Are you hurt?”

The small child, still a bit startled from the shock trip into the shadow, was sitting on some abandoned boxes, and seemed to shrink down even more, before finally nodding.

“Where?” he asked.

“Everything hurts…” they whispered. He couldn't blame them for the vague answer; they looked miserable and in pain, just so small and thin. ‘How did they even manage to outrun two heroes, much less survive this far into the winter?’ He wondered as he took off his jacket and gently wrapped it around the child’s thin shoulders.

“Kid. We’re at the start of a snowstorm, why are you out here alone?” He did not have time for this, but something in him just wanted to get to the bottom of it.

“WHY DO YOU CARE?” the kid suddenly yelled defensively, more desperate than angry.

“I just need to know whether it’s better to give you back to the heroes or not,” Lukas answered firmly. “You're a kid, and it’s a blizzard. So, I’m sorry, but I’m not just going to let you go like that.”

He looked at them, shivering from… fear? Anger? Cold? He struggled to tell.

Taking a deep breath, he continued more softly, “Why were you out here stealing food?”

The kid looked away, and refused to meet his eyes before answering, “Not like I had a choice…” Lukas’s stomach dropped as he said the same thing the first time he had to steal food. “I ran out of money, it’s been two days since I last ate, what else could I do?”

“Why not go to the police for help?” he asked, already knowing the answer.

“Can’t… They'll send me back to my parents, I don’t want to go back to them! I WON’T GO BACK!” the kid yelled at the brink of tears.

“Okay, okay! Please calm down,” Lukas said, trying to make sure the kid did not do something irrational. “Listen, I won't take you to the police, or the heroes.” Clearly there was a lot going on here that neither had the time to delve into.

But there were some things he wanted to know.

“You’re not local, are you? I can hear it in your accent. Now, I’m not a cop, I don’t need to know why you ran away and from where. But at least tell me, how old are you? And how long have you been on the streets?”

The kid stared at the ground for a few moments. After some time, they said, “I’m 12… and I ran away 3 months ago.”

“Alright…” Lukas said more to himself than to them. “Well, you can stay with me for a while, at least till the storm is over.”

“What? Why?” the kid said, confused. But they were simply met with Lukas picking up the child in his arms. The kid shrank back defensively at first, then quickly realized what the villain was attempting to do. They were hesitant… but eventually relaxed and gave in, now comfortably seated on the villain’s arms.

As Lukas picked them up, he replied to himself internally, ‘NOT BECAUSE I RELATE TO YOU OR ANYTHING!’

But on the outside, he simply replied, “Consider it a favor, from one villain to another. But first, please tell me, what is your name, little villain?”

The kid eyed him strangely, seemingly not too fond of being called a villain. “My parents gave me a name, but I don’t like it or them… So I use Kim now…”

“Well, then, Kim it is. Hello, Kim. My name is Lukas.”

Shower and Sleep

“It’s not that grand.” Lukas said as the two appeared out of the hidden entrance and into the small but warm hideout. “But it’s home.”

It was homely indeed, Kim thought as they felt their cheeks reddening from the warmth finally returned to their body. It certainly didn't feel like it had been built inside an old abandoned warehouse.

They were standing in the living room, which was small and cozy but slightly messy. With a mix of old furniture and lots of books, all of which had clearly been placed out strategically to maximize the small space that Lukas had to work with.

“Why don’t you sit down on the sofa? I’ll get you some spare clothing and get the hot water ready for you. Then, while you take a shower, I’ll make us some soup.”

Kim only nodded, as they still felt strange about being in the lair of a villain.

Then again, ‘At least he didn't let the heroes take me. I can’t go back there!’ they thought as they sat down on the comfy sofa.

They began to doze off almost immediately, and they may have fallen fully asleep if Lukas had not returned after a few minutes.

“Here, I don’t have anything your size, but I got you one of my old college jumpers and t-shirts, and some sweatpants.” Kim took the comfy, but large, clothing in their hand, just lost for words. “The shower is just to the right of that door,” Lukas said as he went to the kitchen, not even giving Kim time to thank him.

It was a tiny hall, and a tiny bathroom, but wow, the hot water felt so amazing that Kim lost track of time. After the shower, and soup that they ate in silence, Lukas brought out a blanket and pillow. “Sorry, I don’t have a spare bed at the moment. Will the sofa do?”

“Thank you,” was all that Kim was able to say as they battled the sleepiness, and Lukas fully understood. There were no more words needed tonight.

…

Kim seemed to have fallen asleep before their head even hit the pillow. Once he was sure they were asleep, Lukas went to his office, and called up his friend who was a local healer. With how thin Kim was and if it was true that they had not eaten for over two days, he wanted to make sure they got medical attention right away.

His friend agreed to meet him the next day, once the plow clears the roads in the morning. Reassured, he began planning, grabbing a pen and some sticky notes.

“Okay. Now the kid can’t keep sleeping on the sofa,” he mumbled to himself as he began noting down the plan for tomorrow, “it’s not good for them. So, I’m going to have to clean out the extra room and get a bed. Should also get them some proper clothing as it’s cold. I need more food and snacks… maybe get them some toys? Do 12-year-olds still like toys? Well, maybe they like some games? Hm… yeah, I’ll get those too – not that I’m planning to let them stay here long-term or anything… ” He lied to himself.

…

The next day was filled with stress and worry. Lukas had planned to go out and buy some extra essentials and start cleaning out the spare room. But Kim had woken up with a bad fever so, instead, he was now worryingly doing everything he could to keep the fever down as he waited for his friend to show up.

Finally, at 14:30, he got a notification that someone was at the lair’s hidden entrance.

“Sorry for not being able to come earlier. It seems the blizzard is getting really bad out there,” Emma said as she dropped several bags into Lukas’s hand unprompted. “My husband went out and got some extra supplies and clothes that I hope will fit them,” she continued, while she also dumped her scarf and overcoat right on top of Lukas’ unwaiting arms.

“Emma, you didn't have to do that!” Lukas said. His friend was often kind, so he shouldn't have been surprised, but maybe he just wasn't used to truly nice people quite yet.

But Emma just saw the little body that was half asleep on the sofa and started side-whispering. “Theodore and a friend will bring over one of my kids' old beds and some toys once the storm is over, since we’re moving next month we don’t need to take them with us. Hope you can make room for one by then.”

Lukas stared in amazement at the generosity. Emma motioned questioningly towards the sofa, and Lukas nodded.

She walked up to the little child bundled in a thick blanket. “Hi, there, little one,” she said softly as Kim slowly opened their eyes. “What’s your name?”

“Kim…” they answered in a hoarse whisper.

“Well, Kim, my name is Emma. I’m a friend of Lukas’s.”

Kim only gave a small nod in response.

Satisfied, she continued. “I’m also a healer, so why don’t you just keep laying still, so I can examine you?” she said in a comforting tone. Another small nod gave her the assurance she was looking for. “Okay, then. Don’t worry, it won't take too long…”

…

“You didn’t lie about their condition, poor kid.” Emma said as Lukas handed her a soda bottle.

After healing everything that could be healed, Kim had fallen asleep again. And, although their fever was going down, their condition was still bad. “Underweight, malnourished — they even had a few broken bones! Who did this to them?”

“I don’t know… they said that they have been on the street for 3 months, maybe some scum of a villain?”

“Some of those injuries were way older. There were even scars, Luke. No kid should have gone through anything like that. You don’t think they’re –”

“— can’t be,” Lukas cut her off. “Kim is only 12. There are no hero agencies that would let a 12-year-old fight.” Lukas wanted to believe what he said, but he was not fully convinced by his own argument. He had read far too many news stories about heroes and hero sidekicks who quit or went missing from Nizorro's hero agency and others across the world. Those horrible stories, sending out 15-year-olds (or even younger!) to fight crime… If they didn’t quit or go missing, then the injuries and trauma usually stopped them. How anyone could see it as justified, as good and "right", was beyond him.

The two fell silent for a moment. Emma finally asked what was weighing on both their shoulders. “So… what are we going to do?”

“I’m not giving them back,” Lukas replied after a moment. “Not until I fully know who they are, why they were on the streets, and what can be done to keep them safe so this doesn’t happen again.”

“You can’t just keep the kid here!” Emma almost shouted. “Even if you’re doing it to help them! Yes, I don't want them to go back to their parents if they did this. But it’s still illegal for you to keep them here if you know they’re a runaway!”

“Yeah, it’s illegal, but I’m a villain following my own morals,” he smirked. “So, as long as Kim wants to stay, I’ll let them.”

Emma could not really say anything back at that. Not that she wanted to, anyway. In the end, she just laughed.

“What are you laughing at?”

“Sorry, I just can’t remember seeing you all soft before,” she said amused.

Lukas gawked… then his voice went up a few octaves when he retorted all flustered, "I AM NOT SOFT!”

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#hero x villain community #heroes and villains #villain #young villain #found family #the-sidekick-club #kim #Lukas #Emma #Origins #the sidekick club #TW theft #TW Starving #TW Freezing #TW Implied child abuse #snippet

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