Chapter Text
Foolish was getting ready to go to sleep. He had just peeled off his sweaty hero costume and hung up his shark mask and trident when there was a soft knocking at his door. You’ve gotta be kidding me. Foolish thought. He swung open the door, an agitated expression on his face. “What do you wa—”
His rival, no, his nemesis sat hunched over on the floor in an ocean of crimson at his doorstep. Foolish’s jaw promptly fell to the ground. He’d never seen Nightmare in such a vulnerable state before, especially not this close. His normally emerald robes were stained scarlet and torn to shreds. The pristine white mask scored with a black X in the middle was missing, and instead dull green eyes looked at him in defeat. “...Help,” he whispered.
Foolish bit back all the snarky remarks and hoisted the man up into his apartment. They sat in silence as Foolish slowly patched the villain up on his couch, blood seeping into the cushions and gauze rolled out everywhere like Christmas lights. The hero carefully cleaned the shallower wounds and carefully bandaged others. “This one’s gonna need some stitches,” Foolish said. “Do you want—”
“Stitch it,” Nightmare interrupted. “Just do it.”
The hero held up a hand in a placating gesture. “Alright, alright, will do. I don’t have any anesthesia though.”
Nightmare only rolled his eyes. “Don’t care. Do it.”
Foolish shook his head and began stitching up the wound, pausing every so often to make sure that Nightmare was alright. “Why are you here, Nightmare?” He asked.
Nightmare yawned. “I’m finally getting rid of the oh-so-benevolent Hammerhead.” He smirked.
The hero pressed down on the wound he had been stitching. “Get rid of me, huh? How are you gonna do that looking like this?” He raised an eyebrow at the villain. “Now tell me the real reason you’re here.”
Nightmare gasped in pain and gritted his teeth. “I… really… hate you.” He spat.
Foolish resumed stitching. “Maybe don’t say that to the guy patching you up?” He suggested. Nightmare only huffed and turned his face away from the hero.
Foolish tied up the thread, finally done tending to Nightmare’s wounds. “You do realize I could just call the other heroes for backup, right? You don’t even have your mask on. I know what you look like now. In such a weak state it was suicide to come here and yet… here you are.”
The villain looked at the hero with an unreadable expression. “But you didn’t call them. You patched me up and didn't even try to kill me once. And you don’t have your mask or costume on either.” He hesitated. “Besides, you aren’t like the other heroes. You’re different.” Nightmare mumbled.
Foolish blinked. “Oh. Thanks? I think?”
Nightmare slowly got to his feet and started heading to the door. “See you on the battlefield Hammerhead.” He said.
The hero sprang up. “Wait you’re leaving? Where are you gonna go? Just because I patched you up a bit doesn’t mean you can run all over the world!” He exclaimed.
Nightmare’s lip quirked up a bit. “Careful there hero, someone might think you care about a villain.” And with that he hobbled out of Foolish’s apartment and into the darkness.
Foolish scowled. He really should have called the other heroes for backup. After all, Nightmare was the number one villain in the city, constantly wreaking havoc and inciting panic. And yet… Something stopped him from picking up the phone. Maybe it was how pitiful the villain looked, but Foolish just couldn’t bring himself to turn the villain in, even if he was technically a hero himself.
He groaned. At least he didn’t have to worry about the villain showing up again. He’s not stupid enough to come back, right? Foolish thought.
“Just keep heading that way for a little bit and you’ll see the hospital on your left side.” Foolish smiled brightly.
The woman nodded. “Thank you.” She turned and walked away, dragging a small child along with her.
Rose suddenly appeared by Foolish’s side, flanked by Bullfrog. “That was awesome! Did you guys see me! I finally got that dandelion cage I’ve been practicing!”
Foolish smiled. “You were great, Rose.”
She beamed and continued talking animatedly to the other heroes about the mission. Rose, Foolish, and Bullfrog had all been called downtown to deal with The Professor, a newer villain with a penchant for explosives. It didn’t take too long to disarm him, especially when he insisted on a theatrical monologue during every crime he committed. Within minutes Rose had trapped him in a dandelion cage while Bullfrog disarmed all the explosives. And Foolish? He was brushed aside to “not be in the way” because “he’d get his own mission” at some point. It was always the same. The other heroes didn’t really see him as a powerful ally, just some kid who was good at building stuff and manipulating water and electricity, albeit not super well.
That’s how it usually went. Other heroes got the spotlight, got to practice their craft while Foolish sat on the sidelines, watching his peers grow leaps and bounds ahead of himself.
“Foolish, you got the paperwork, right?” Bullfrog asked. “We’d totally help but we have to make a public appearance about the heist, you know how it is.” He shrugged.
Foolish sighed. “Yeah, don’t worry I got it.”
Both heroes grinned. “Thanks Hammerhead!” They chorused before running off.
Once again, Foolish was left in the dust. He pulled out his trident and took off through the sky towards the prison. The obsidian building stood on the outskirts of the city, shadowy and foreboding. Most of the other heroes avoided it like the plague, but Foolish didn’t really have much choice, seeing as all the paperwork he had to fill out was there. As a result, Foolish was there more than anyone else. At least, anyone else except The Warden.
The Warden oversaw the prison and everyone in it. Sometimes he talked to Foolish, sometimes not. Foolish rang the doorbell and waited to be teleported into the visitors area. The speaker next to the bell crackled. “Please state the purpose of your visit.” The Warden said.
“It’s me, Warden. I’m here to fill out the papers for The Professor.”
The teleporter switched on without another word. Must not be in a talking mood then, Foolish figured. He stepped into the purple beam and closed his eyes. There was a whooshing noise and Foolish appeared in the main entrance of the prison.
The Warden looked up from his desk. “You know the drill. Papers are over there. Don’t forget to sign in.” He drawled.
The hero nodded and scrawled his name and the date in the visitor book before heading over to the paperwork office. The office wasn’t huge, but it wasn’t cramped either. The walls were barren and the white paint was peeling off, but compared to the rest of the prison, it was almost cozy. There was one old clock above the door that clicked every few minutes but seemed to work fine otherwise. A blank report was in the middle of the desk just as The Warden had said it would be. Foolish picked up a pen and began filling it out.
He’d nearly finished the report when he heard the whooshing sound of the teleporter being used. He peered through the window of the office to see Ember walking in with a villain in fiery shackles. Foolish hadn’t seen the villain before. He was in a purple sweatshirt and a purple ski mask. Ember tugged the mask off the guy and shoved him towards The Warden. “You won’t need that here.” Ember said.
The purple guy turned to face Ember and stuck out his tongue. “Your headband looks stupid.” He said.
Ember scowled. “Shut it kid. If you hadn’t decided to rob the bank then you’d have your freedom and that mask.”
The Warden stepped forward. “Follow me.” He said to the purple guy. Without waiting for a response, he turned and walked down a dark hallway with the guy trailing behind.
Foolish quickly looked down at the report and scribbled down some more details when the door to the office swung open. Foolish looked up, feigning surprise. “Ember! I didn’t know you were here.”
“Yeah, well, I just happened to stumble upon some kid trying to steal from the bank so here I am.” He said, bored. Then his eyes gleamed. “Hey Hammerhead, since you’re already here, could you just fill out the work for the guy I got? I’m super swamped and it’d help a lot.”
“But I wasn’t even there!” Foolish protested.
Ember rolled his eyes. “Just a basic bank robbery, not much even happened anyway.”
“But—”
“Thanks Hammerhead! Don’t let me down!” With a burst of fire, the door slammed and he was gone.
Foolish groaned. He finally finished the report and now he had to do another one? He liked the other heroes, he really did, but it was hard when stuff like this happened.
The door creaked open. Foolish glared. “What do you want now?” He said.
The Warden came in and set a glass of water down on the desk. “You shouldn’t let them treat you like this. I know why you’re here so often.” He said and sank down in the chair across from Foolish.
The hero let his head rest on the desk. “It’s not that easy, Warden. They don’t even take me seriously. I’ve barely even had a chance to actually use my powers on a mission! I’m always the guy who tags along and does ALL the paperwork! And I know most of the time they’re not even busy! They just don’t want to be stuck with the boring part of being a hero!” He grumbled.
“Do you know why I always wear this mask?” The Warden asked. Foolish shook his head. He’d always been curious but never brave enough to ask. The Warden unhooked the gas mask he always wore and set it on the desk. Chemical burns marred the skin around his mouth making it angry and red. Then he smiled. Rows of needle-sharp teeth glistened in the fluorescent light. “I used to be exactly like you. Starry-eyed. Naive. I wanted nothing more than to help the other heroes and they promised that one day I would be just like them. I would be loved and talented and able to protect the city I loved so dearly. But it cost me. I was on a mission with Ember and a few others in a chemical plant. We’d just caught wind of a plan to put chemicals in the city water to make everyone a mindless drone. Long story short, I got used as bait and fell into a chemical vat. It was more painful than anything you could imagine. And then I was left like this.” He finished.
Foolish lifted his head and looked at The Warden, his eyes as wide as saucers. “That’s horrible! Did—did someone try to help you?”
The Warden shook his head. “They left me for dead. Eventually I was able to regenerate enough to live semi-normally, however, I couldn’t exactly integrate into the public looking like this. So now I work here, staying out of the public eye.”
“I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. It’s not your fault. Take it as a warning, don’t let them push you too much.” The Warden said.
“Yeah. Thanks Warden.” Foolish smiled.
The Warden nodded. Then he got up and placed on the gas mask once more. “The water’s for you. Gotta go check on the new guy now.”
Foolish hummed in acknowledgement and got out a fresh report from the desk. The Warden paused in the doorway. “You… You can call me Sam.” He mumbled. Then he was gone.
Foolish smiled and looked at the glass of water on the desk. He willed the water to rise out of the glass, forming an orb in the air. He watched it ripple and waver, teetering on the edge of bursting. He willed it to stretch like a snake and wiggle through the air making circles around the room. He smiled. He missed playing around with his powers like this. Water snakes didn’t amuse the other heroes much, unfortunately. Then he willed half of the water back into the glass while the other half floated a few inches above it. This part required the most concentration. The orb slowly dissipated, reforming into a mini rain cloud. Foolish grinned and willed the cloud to rain down into the cup, slowly filling it up. Then he dispersed it once the glass was filled again.
He glanced at the clock. He should have been able to leave half an hour ago. It was getting late and he was getting hungry. He wrote out a basic bank robbery story, hoping it would be satisfactory. He shoved the report in the filing cabinet. He’d tell Ember whenever he saw him next. For now, it didn’t matter.
Foolish filed away the report on The Professor and then packed up his stuff. He wandered out into the main hallway and waited for The Warden—Sam—to show up. He walked over to the sign out sheet and scribbled his name and the time.
“Ready to leave?”
Foolish looked up. “Yup. I’m all done for the day.”
Sam nodded and started up the teleporter. “Bye Hammerhead.”
Foolish waved. “Bye Sam.”
It was dark when Foolish stepped out of the teleporter outside of the prison. I was really hoping to be home by now, he thought. He pulled out his trident and rocketed off toward his apartment.
When he got home, he threw open the door and collapsed on the couch. He heard the door slam behind him but frankly he was too tired to care. He got up then hung up his trident and took off his mask but just left the rest of his costume on, too hungry to bother taking it off.
There was a soft knock on the door. Almost faint enough so that Foolish didn’t hear it. He stomped over to the door and opened it. “What.” He said flatly.
Turned out Nightmare had been stupid enough to come back.
Foolish stood face to face with Nightmare, but unlike last time, his robes were the typical emerald green and his porcelain mask was affixed to his face. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” Foolish threw his hands up in the air. “What do you want?” He snapped.
Silently, Nightmare pulled back the sleeve covering his right hand. His index finger was clearly dislocated, bent back enough to touch the back of his hand. Foolish gave him an unimpressed look. “And I’m assuming I’m the one who is supposed to fix it?”
“Yes.”
“Great. That’s just great.” Foolish stuck out a hand and grabbed Nightmare’s collar. “Get in here then.” He yanked the villain inside.
“You go sit on the couch. I’ll get some supplies.” The hero huffed.
Foolish ran around the apartment, collecting tape, two popsicle sticks, and a plastic bag full of ice. He sat down next to Nightmare and handed him the bag of ice. “Put this on your finger to reduce the swelling,” He instructed. “I’ll wait a bit for the ice to make the swelling go down a bit and reduce the pain, but the realignment will hurt.”
“That’s fine.” Nightmare said.
Foolish took Nightmare’s hand in his and carefully examined the dislocated finger. Gingerly, he grabbed it and looked at Nightmare. “Ready?” He asked.
Nightmare nodded in affirmation.
Foolish took a deep breath and quickly jerked the digit back into the correct position with a loud crack. Then he placed the two popsicle sticks above and below the finger before taping them in place. “It’s a makeshift splint till it heals more,” the hero explained. “That’s about all I had. Sorry.”
Nightmare held up his other hand, silencing the hero. “Thank you. I appreciate it.”
Foolish’s stomach growled loudly. Right, he’d forgotten he was just about to make something to eat.
The villain rummaged through the pockets of his robes with his uninjured hand before he produced a sandwich. He held the sandwich out to Foolish. “Here. Take it.” He stated.
Foolish eyed the sandwich hungrily. He was hungry, but it didn’t seem like the best idea to accept a sandwich from the top villain in the city, no matter how hungry he was. The hero shook his head. “Nah, it’s fine. I can just make something.”
“It’s not poisoned if that’s what you’re worried about.” Nightmare scoffed. “You’re clearly hungry and tired, just take it.” Without waiting for an answer, he deposited the sandwich in Foolish’s hands.
“But—” Foolish started.
“It’s the least I can do to make up for forcing you to patch me up twice now.” The villain interrupted.
“I easily could have refused.” He defended.
“But you didn’t.”
The hero chuckled. “Yeah, I’ve been told I don’t have a good sense of self-preservation.”
“Clearly.” Nightmare got up and headed toward the door.
“This again, seriously? I just patched you up!” Foolish groaned.
“Sorry hero, got places to go, people to see, things to steal, you know how it is.”
Foolish could practically hear the smirk under Nightmare’s mask. “Whatever. Thanks for the sandwich. I guess.”
Nightmare let out a soft laugh before exiting the apartment into the night.
Foolish wouldn’t admit it, but afterwards he ate the sandwich. It was surprisingly good.