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obliqueblade · 10 months

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Desert Duo- Superhero AU Chapter 2

Chapter 2 Is finally here! (cross-posted on AO3)

Cute Guy’s POV

Cute Guy was sure Hot Guy had a death wish. The proof of this statement?

He had absolutely no survival skills. Truly it was a miracle he had lived as long as he had. If Cute Guy had the time, she’d spend weeks researching just how in the world Hot Guy had managed to keep himself alive. Honestly, though, even if they did have the time, Cute Guy was not sure if the possibility of Hot Guy having clones was low enough for them to feel comfortable running the experiment. Knowing Cute Guy's luck, that would be the case, and that was frankly a world too horrifying to imagine. One was enough to give Cute Guy nightmares, there was no need to bring more into the case.

“Hot Guy! Are you immune to instinct or just that crazy,” Cute Guy yelled sitting up on top of Hot Guy. Why on top? Well, circle back to ‘Hot Guy had no survival instincts’ and as a result must be tackled sometimes out of danger. Now would it have been possible for her to keep them safe without having to tackle them out of the way?

Potentially, yes, but that was not the point.

Cute Guy is now sitting on top of Hot Guy. No, she wasn’t… stuck on that fact, it just happened to be the truth. Nothing more to note. Most certainly not something that was taking up a decent portion of her attention. Nope, not even with him smirking up at him, with strands of his brown hair escaping the tie at the base of his neck.

She rolled her eyes as Hot Guy stared up dazedly, before moving to get off. As adorable as Hot Guy could be, Cute Guy was not really looking for another photo op from the press. She had been made fun of enough for the first time, and while Hot Guy most definitely got into more heat for it, Cute Guy could not allow his flock any more ammo against them. He could already hear the chortling of Mumbos laugh now.

Although, the first one had been extremely cute, and Hot Guy was extremely fun to mess with, seeing as how easy it was to turn his cheeks red-

Shaking his head, Cute Guy banished that thought.

Nope, nope, nope. His heart was already spoken for, and besides, she wouldn’t be like those fans who couldn’t separate the person from the job. Nope, she liked their tentative partnership as it was, and did not need to make it any more difficult later. They could stick with this casual flirting and nothing more for the foreseeable future.

“Hey, I’ll have you know I’ve never had any issues before you started joining me,” Hot Guy stated playfully throwing a hand up to be lifted off the ground. Cute Guy smiled, grabbing hold of the hold and lifting him before pulling his face closer in the same movement. Hot Guy’s eyes darted back and forth between Cute Guy's eyes and his mouth, Cute Guy noticed.

“Are you saying you get distracted by me, Mr. Hero?” she asked tilting her head, letting her pink wings lift her up to get closer to Hot Guy’s now burning face. Hot Guy’s eyes darted wildly as he blinked up at her.

“Umm,” Hot Guy started eloquently before Cute Guy laughed releasing his hand and moving back. Maybe the reason Hot Guy had survived as long as he had was just due to the fact that he was adorable.

“It’s okay Mr. Hero, I am Cute after all,” she giggled and winked behind her heart-shaped glasses before turning away and back down the alley ignoring the sputtering frozen hero. As adorable as he was though, Cute Guy was determined to continue to mess with him. Balance the universe and all that.

Originally, Cute Guy had been handling the massive mobs appearing in Upper City on her own, before Hot Guy appeared claiming he was there to help. As adorable as it was, the ‘help’ seemed to come from Cute Guy making sure the hero didn’t get them both blown up. If Cute Guy had not already despised the Hero Association, she would definitely be questioning their judgment in not only allowing Hot Guy to be a hero, but the number 1 hero.

“Hot Guy, are you really meant to be helping right now or did you just miss me?” she called back while aiming one of her pistols at the creeper that had steadily been making its way toward the two.

“Can’t it be a bit of both?”

Cute Guy rolled their eyes before turning and firing at another creeper further down the alley. As cute as it was, the situation was less than ideal. Creepers were best fought from a long distance, or at least in the open. It was bugging Cute Guy slightly though, that rather than perch somewhere and shoot down into the alley where it would be safer for Hot Guy, the hero had decided to march straight into the alley. There were a few reasons that they could have decided to do this, the least likely is that he wasn’t aware of what creepers did. It was basic knowledge that creepers exploded if you got too close and as self-destructive as the hero had proven numerous times over the years, he wasn’t that dense. So then why?

The alley that the two had found themselves in was dangerous. Long, narrow, and with a dead end right behind them. If they weren’t careful they could get boxed in and cause an explosion. An explosion with this many structures around, so closely packed together would cause major destruction in the nearby areas. Cute Guy could only hope that there were some heroes nearby who had evacuated the nearby citizens.

“Well, Mr. Helpful, unless you can figure a way to get out of this alley you’re not going to be much helpful to anyone,” Cute Guy pointed out gesturing to the four more creepers that had started their way. Hot Guy smirked pulling an arrow from his quiver and aiming down the alley.

“Oh please, I’ve got this,” Hot Guy stated assuredly before firing down the alley, hitting one of the creepers. Dropping his bow slightly he turned his head to wink up at Cute Guy.

“See, totally hande-”

“Get down!” Cute Guy yelled lunging at him and pulling him back just as the creeper exploded. The blast sent Hot Guy and Cute Guy hurtling down the alley. Immediately, Cute Guy's back erupted in pain, burns scouring up his back and shoulders. Wincing as the blast ripped several feathers out of place, and searing the rest. Hot Guy slammed into the dead-end wall hard, and Cute Guy grimaced at the sound of the impact.

Behind the buildings croaked ominously, as a deep rumbling began behind Cute Guy. Hesitantly, Cute Guy spared a glance back as the buildings' groaning increased. Alarmed, Cute Guy raised their wings, wrapping their arms tighter around the dazed Hero. Ignoring the immense pain that shot through her wings as she did so, Cute Guy pulled Hot Guy close and began to shakily fly up to get out of the fallout area. If they stayed where they were, they’d be crushed to death. Wouldn’t exactly be their finest moments, though Cute Guy wasn’t sure if it would breach Hot Guys 10 ten ‘not finest moments’.

If Cute Guy allowed herself to go out that pathetically, she’d never hear the end of it.

With every flap of her wings though, they seemed to grow more and more unsteady and weak. There was no doubt that straining them as much as she was was only going to worsen them in the long run, she pushed the thought aside. Right now, this was their only way of escape. Focusing her gaze entirely on the sky above thorough, Cute Guy resolved to ignore the pain. Hot Guy stirred slightly in his arms, and if Cute Guy had any faith in the Old Gods, she might have sent a prayer begging that the hero remain still until they could get out.

But she knew better than to rely on them.

Pieces of the buildings began to rain down, and Cute Guy groaned at the extra strain of having to dodge the crumbling projectiles. Quickly dodging left, Cute Guy focused entirely on plotting a course safely out of the debris field. Carrying the unconscious hero, and trying to navigate the now extremely hostile environment was proving more challenging than Cute Guy had wanted the day to go. Ducking underneath a rather large part of the building, Cute Guy's eyes widened as they realized they were running out of places they could go, more and more of the building pieces were falling in larger sections.

Glancing down ensuring the hero was still in fact unconscious, Cute Guy weighed the odds. As the pieces grew closer, though Cute Guy knew there was no other choice. While risking their own life was something they had no qualms doing, they wouldn’t risk Hot Guy’s.

Closing his eyes momentarily, Cute Guy reached deep within himself tugging at one of the numerous threads within him. Threads that she hated, and suppressed more than anything, no matter how much they demanded to be seen. To be used. Opening his eyes, he was thankful for the pink-tinted glasses that hid his eyes. He knew it would be obvious up close, and the eerie purple glow she knew her eyes were giving off would raise alarms within the Hero Association.

Alarms that Cute Guy would rather they not be aware of.

Without loosening her grip on Hot Guy, Cute Guy glared at the falling pieces, slightly pushing them away to create a wide enough gap for Cute Guy to shoot the two of them through while bringing her wings close to her body. They shot through the gap, clearing all the debris as they did. Relaxing slightly, Cute Guy aimed them to the closest stable rooftop preparing for a nasty landing. As they crashed into the roof, the grasp Cute Guy had on Hot Guy loosened and the hero went rolling several more yards in front of Cute Guy before coming to a stop, still unmoving. The hero's back was to her, and Cute Guy ignored the many doubtless scrapes now littering her elbows and knees.

Cute Guy herself raised herself to her hands and knees, finally suppressing the powers within herself, before raising her head to check on the hero. Shaking her head and determinedly not checking on her wings, Cute Guy crawled over to the hero to ensure he was still breathing. Rolling him over from his side to his back, Cute Guy placed two fingers on his neck, only relaxing when his pulse still beat strongly.

Letting out a breath, Cute Guy didn’t realize she was holding, she sat back on her haunches and stared up at the sky. Relaxing his wings, proved to not help all that much, but still Cute Guy refused to check. Knowing nothing good would await them by looking, they were more worried about how Jimmy was going to react to his wings. That would not be a pleasant welcome home.

“Ughhh,” Hot Guy groaned intelligently, raising his hand to his head before squinting one of his eyes open.

Cute Guy stared down at him, unimpressed.

“So in my defense, I did not know that they could do that,” Hot Guy defended covering his eyes with his arm. Cute Guy almost wanted to laugh at how quickly the hero knew why the stare had been leveled at him, but more than anything Cute Guy was glad the hero didn’t seem to have sustained any brain damage. No more than he already had at least.

Instead of issuing a response, Cute Guy just laid down on her stomach next to the hero.

“Can’t exactly fault you for not knowing. It’s a new “feature” they added to them in the Lower City.” Cute Guy mumbled, angrily remembering how only a few short months prior the newer versions had emerged. Countless citizens had died before people had figured out how they were different from the original, and even then the destruction they had caused was limitless.

Immediately, Hot Guy shot up, “What do you mean a “new feature? How do you even know they’re in Lower City?”

Dumbfounded, Cute Guy stared over at the hero.

“What part of avian did you miss? Of course, I know what happens in the lower city.” Cute Guy started plainly. And to be fair, what kind of question was that? All hybrids, at least with the hero's knowledge were on the other side of the wall. Cute Guy should be the only exception to that rule that Hot Guy would know about. Hot Guy fixed him with his own unimpressed stare.

“Well, obviously, I know that, but how do you know like recent stuff, if you’re on this side of the wall? You’d be seen immediately if you were crossing the walls repeatedly.”

Cute Guy only laughed, before sitting up themselves. Of course, that was the theory the Hero Association had come up with to explain how Cute Guy was getting into the city. At least that meant that her secret was still safe.

“Well I obviously don’t cross every day, that would be a lot of traveling, but I have my ways to get back and forth, Ways I’m afraid, Mr. Hero, I will not be sharing right now.” Cute Guy explained laughing slightly. No doubt whatever Cute Guy told Hot Guy would make its way back to the Hero Association. While they would no doubt eventually uncover her identity, Cute Guy wanted to cause them a bit more trouble before then. She, after all, still had work to do.

“As for your second point, there have always been new features added to the mobs on the other side of the wall. Upper City has just gotten lucky it has such a … dedicated Hero Association to protect them,” Cute Guy practically spat out. Hot Guy winced at the clear hatred in the vigilante's voice, and Cute Guy almost felt guilty. It really wasn’t Hot Guy’s fault what the Hero Association had done, and he had no real way of knowing regardless. Still, sometimes her resentment leaked through that understanding.

“You really don’t like the Hero Association do you?” Hot Guy asked hesitantly.

“It’s a mutual thing” Cute Guy answered immediately, not fully ready to delve into just how they mutually hated one another. Sparing a glance over at the hero though, Cute Guy quickly added, “You’re not too bad though,”.

Immediately, the hero brightened at the compliment.

“Awee see I knew you liked me!” Hot Guy exclaimed lunging at the vigilante, throwing his arms around them to pull them into a tight embrace.

As the hero's hands brushed over his wings and back, Cute Guy let out an involuntary yelp as the pain seared through him once again. They had almost been able to forget about the burns and feathers she had gained during the explosion. Hot Guy immediately jerked back, rescue mode engaging, before turning the vigilante slightly to inspect why she had yelped in pain.

Cute Guy watched Hot Guy’s face drop as he inspected what was doubt a gnarly sight. Belatedly, Cute Guy wondered if she should have just left immediately after ensuring the hero was in fact alive.

“That bad huh?”

At the question, Hot Guy’s eyes darted to Cute Guy's face, and even behind the tinted visor, Cute Guy could see the guilt and worry in his gaze. Brushing the hands off of her shoulders, Cute Guy rose to her feet.

“Wait, Cute Guy, we need you to get you to a -” Hot Guy started, scrambling to his feet to chase after the retreating vigilante. Before he could continue though, Cute Guy cut him off.

“To where? A hospital? There’s no hospital in this entire city that would treat a hybrid. There are too few hospitals on the other side of the wall, with far too few supplies for me to justify going there either. So no, Mr. Hero, this is where I bid you adieu,” while it wasn’t fair to snap at the hero about the situation the world was in, Cute Guy couldn’t help the remark.

“But it’s my fault! Please, I know someone who could help you. They won’t ask any questions,” Hot Guy pressed, still following her as she walked toward the edge of the roof. Guilt raced through her as she regretted the comment. Maybe they wouldn’t, but there was no doubt that the Hero Association would be watching the both of them extremely closely. While they wouldn’t be able to harm Hot Guy, associates wouldn’t have the same luxury. They’d use them as a bargaining chip, and when the deal went through they would kill them regardless. Cute Guy just couldn’t justify that risk, not to one of Hot Guy's friends.

Sighing, Cute Guy sighed before turning her head to stare at the hero.

“Hot Guy, it’s fine. It wasn’t your fault, I made the decision to pull you out of the blast range. I know it looks bad, but it’ll heal up in no time.” Cute Guy assured before turning back to face the roof's edge, reading herself to raise her wings and attempt to fly. The pain reared its ugly head once more, but Cute Guy held in her wince, not wanting to give the hero any more reason to worry.

“But if I can at least help,” Hot Guy kept up, grabbing onto Cute Guy's pink cropped sweatshirt sleeve. Cute Guy had to admit, that while she admired his spirit, he was almost as stubborn as she was.

“But nothing Hot Guy. I know the Hero Association is watching you, and I don’t want to put you in a difficult spot,” Cute Guy replied, prying the hero's hand off of her sleeve, before lifting herself into the air and out of reach.

“I would never turn you into them,”

Surprised, Cute Guy spun in the air to face the hero.

Hot Guy stared up at her, defiance in his eyes. Smiling slightly at the sight, Cute Guy turned away once more. It was that very fire that had pushed Cute Guy to act now of all times.

“I knew you were a true hero,” she said softly before launching herself further into the sky and away from the stunned hero.

Flapping her wings and going as fast as she dared, she raced through the sky at near-breakneck speeds, unsure of just how long her wings would be able to maintain their weight. She knew she had to make it to one of the passageways to Mumbos before they did so.

Still though, despite the pain of the day, Cute Guy was glad to have run into Hot Guy.

Mumbo and Jimmy, however, might have different ideas about it though.

Sighing as one of the alleys that held a passageway came into view, Cute Guy resolved themself to no doubt an endless bereavement from the two about her recklessness. It would be a difficult night for all of them, and the next day of work wasn’t going to be any more promising either.

It was a lecture he was used to hearing at least.

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