#fun fact! sodium hydroxide is my favorite caustic chemical :)

[puddleslimewrites]

False Promises (Part 2)

Part 1

Hero never got bored or looked the least bit uninterested when Scientist talked about new ideas. Most people would zone out long before they really got into a lecture, but still had the decency to nod and comment politely. Hero didn't offer any empty pleasantries. It was funny how similar they were to Supervillain in that way.

Hero asked questions. Not as many as Supervillain and not nearly as introspective, but they made Scientist think. Not just about their work, but about themself, too.

Hero asked for their favorite color. They didn't know. No one ever cared. Questions like that left them feeling flustered and off balance. But there were ones they could answer more easily. Like why erlenmeyer flasks were shaped in such a funny way, or what caustic chemical they most preferred.

Both Hero and Supervillain were fishing for information. Scientist was more than aware there were alterior motives (there always would be). Supervillain poked and proded their mind for their thought process - the way anything and everything worked, how they planned to make and use their own creations. And Hero...

Hero wanted to know them as a person. It baffled Scientist, really, to be seen as more than what they'd done and what they could do. Hero didn't care much for science, but they cared when Scientist had something to say. They didn't preach the glories of a career in heroics, though Scientist was sure that's what they were sent for.

Scientist was useful to Supervillain. With them, they felt needed. Wanted. With Supervillain came admiration and awe at not only the power they had, but the potential they saw in Scientist and their work.

Their relationship with Hero was harder to place. At first Scientist was merely tolerant as Hero seemed content to simply observe and learn. They weren't sure when tolerance turned into...Scientist was reluctant to call it friendship. But Hero was there. They were present and attentive and there, which was more than Scientist could ever ask for.

~

A beaker crashed on the floor, but Scientist hardly cared for the danger of broken glass when there was a much more immediate threat looming in the doorway. "What- Wh-What are you doing here?"

It had been months since they'd last seen that face. They should have locked the doors, turned out the lights, pretended they'd gone home when Hero suggested it.

Supervillain cocked their head. Scientist could see the thoughtful look in their eyes as they considered what to say. "I made a misjudgment," they settled on. They spoke slowly and carefully in a measured effort to craft a regretful image.

Scientist didn't doubt they were regretful. But not for them. No, they felt remorse for the lost opportunities, for time wasted, when they realized that not only had Scientist survived, but that they'd been recruited by the heroes as well.

Too late Scientist realized that they'd backed themself into a corner. The only door into the lab was on the far side of the room and the windows were at least three stories up from the ground level. They didn't have an escape route.

Scientist should have known better.

They should have known better than to accept the help of heroes after hiding for so long; better than to choose a side that wasn't their own.

Maybe...maybe that was their plan all along. Superhero's speeches about the 'good of the people' never worked, so the heroes sent someone who could appeal to them. Someone who could get them to lower their guard and gradually change their mind. Someone who could be their friend.

Like a fool, Scientist fell for it. Just like they fell for Supervillain.

~

Tagging: @vallianttreedreamland