What the wattpad chapters look like before I transfer the google doc ^

When Ms. Libelle took him back to the base, Janus felt like he was in a daze.

His hands were covered in blood, and his guns felt heavy in their holsters. He couldn't even speak, throat tight. Still, though, he didn't cry, even though he desperately wanted to.

"Janus," Ms. Libelle turned to him, "I have something to show you."

Oh, yeah. She had mentioned that earlier, hadn't she?

He forced his tongue to unstick from the roof of his mouth. "What is it?"

She waved her hand, and suddenly Ursula and Facilier were walking over, going to stand on either side of her. "Hello, Golden Boy." The latter grinned, eyeing the blood on his clothing in satisfaction.

Janus just nodded.

Ursula took the necklace off of her neck, holding it up. It was a shell, which looked to be...glowing?

"What--?" Janus began.

"Morality's powers are in here." Faciler pointed to it, instantly shutting Janus up.

Janus furrowed his brow, looking at the necklace again. "What?"

"It's a little creation Facilier and I made." Ursula smiled smugly. "No contract or deal needed, just an ingested substance." She chuckled. "Thank you, by the way, for making this possible."

"This is another test." Ms. Libelle told her son flatly before he could decide how felt about the praise. "You are one of the few people in the world who know where Morality's powers are being kept. If you keep this secret, then you pass, if you don't, then you fail."

"Haven't I already been through enough trust exercises?" Janus murmured, looking away. "I thought I was ready."

That was the reason he was doing all this, wasn't it? To get a seat at the villain's table, to finally accomplish his dream? To be able to stand shoulder to shoulder with his mother?

"Ready?" Ms. Libelle scoffed, like he had said something completely ridiculous. "Janus, you're far from ready."

Janus pursed his lips. That couldn't be right. "I thought we agreed that I would get a seat at the table now--"

Ursula laughed harshly. "Oh, goodness! When did we ever say that?"

Janus frowned. "What? You did! You said that..." He trailed off, replaying the conversation where he'd been assigned the mission in his head.

His mother had said it, surely.

Or maybe Facilier, they had spoken too, hadn't they?

Someone did. They must've.

He wracked his brain for when it was said, coming to one, horrifying conclusion.

He...

He had never been promised a seat at the table.

He had never been promised anything.

"Consider this part of your training."

That's all it ever was.

Training.

Janus paled.

That meant everything he's done to the heroes has been for nothing. His own delusions fueled his decision to side with his mother. All the months he spent with the heroes, wasted. All of the guilt and pain, for naught.

Remus had died for nothing.

The thought should've made him angry at the villains, but he could only feel an intense self-loathing wash over him, practically choking him alive.

"Your mission was successful. Consider that your reward." Ms. Libelle crossed her arms. "Go to your room now, Janus. I'll call you back when we need your services again."

Janus felt his face twist up in outrage. That was it? After everything, he would end right where he started? In that stupid room, with only his thoughts to keep him company?

He wanted to scream, to demand they let him have something to prove that he had a good reason for what he did. He needed there to be a reason.

He didn't, though.

Instead, he just turned and walked back to his room.

The walk back was silent, the air oppressive despite the fact that he was alone. It was like the universe itself was disgusted by him.

He entered his room, closing the door behind him.

It was bigger than his room with the heroes, but it felt more claustrophobic nonetheless.

He slid down against the door, taking his mask off and staring at it.

Who was Deceit?

Was he the hero that everyone in the city looked up to? The man who stopped crimes with vigor, who would do anything for the other members of the League of Heroes?

Or was he the filthy traitor who murdered his best friend in cold blood? Who used the heroes for his own personal gain, who lied to thousands of people just for a seat at a table?

Which one was Deceit?

And which one was Janus?

Were they completely different, or were they the same to begin with? Was he neither? Was he both?

A few months ago, he probably would've said the second one was him, that the first one didn't exist at all.

Had he been right?

Was this his fate?

Was he a bad person?

"You're a good person."

Was Remus wrong about him?

Was he ever good? Or was that a trick too?

Who had he even been lying to?

The heroes?

The villains?

Himself?

Janus clutched his head, gritting his teeth. "Shut up." He growled at himself.

Would the heroes still love him?

They promised him that they would, hadn't they? Forever, Remus had said. Or, well...

"You--" Janus pulled away from Roman, turning to look at Remus. "Really? No matter what, you would still love me?"

"Until death." Remus shrugged, a smile easily forming on his face.

Until death.

Janus burst into tears.

He was gone. Gone. Without warning, without mercy, without reason. Ripped from his life in a fraction of a second.

And it was all Janus' fault.

"I'm sorry." He gasped to no one, curling into a ball. "Sorry." He sobbed. "I'm sorry, Remus. I'm sorry."

"I forgive you!" Remus would say, a warm smile on his face as he wrapped Janus up in his arms.

But Remus was gone, and Janus was alone.

The only person to blame was himself.

He threw his mask across the room, before he pressed the balls of his palms to his eyes, his entire body shaking.

And Janus cried.

Janus cried for the loss of Remus.

Janus cried for the loss of the heroes.

Janus cried for the loss of a family.

Janus cried for what could've been.

---

The heroes hosted a press conference the next day.

His mother had called him in to watch.

It was clear that all the reporters had noticed the absence of The Duke and Deceit.

Roman looked worse than Janus had ever seen. He was staring blankly at the table, hair falling messily in his face, instead of all being pushed back like it usually was.

Virgil wasn't much better, fidgeting restlessly as he looked over the crowd. His hair was messier than usual, eyes darting around nervously, but sometimes stopping to fix on the two empty chairs next to him.

It was easy to tell that Patton had been crying. He was sniffling, eyes red and puffy. He had wrapped his arms around himself, and Janus could tell that he felt out of place next to the heroes. Another thing that was Janus' fault.

And finally, Logan. He was the most put together out of the four of them (only four?). He was sitting up straight, stoically looking out towards the crowd. Janus could tell that he hadn't slept, though, based on the slight droop of his eyelids.

"Hello." Logan began, instantly silencing the crowd. "I bet you're wondering why we're here today." He cleared his throat, sounding uncharacteristically choked up. "We...There's been an accident." He began, almost immediately having to pause to take a deep breath.

"An 'accident.'" Ms. Libelle scoffed from Janus' left. "It seems they still want to protect you."

Janus didn't reply.

"The villains have stolen Morality's powers."

Horrified gasps rang out across the room, and Patton closed his eyes as he winced slightly.

Logan held a hand up to silence the crowd. "We are doing our best to find out what they've done with them. Deceit and...and The Duke are currently looking for them as we speak."

What did they even do with Remus' body? Since they weren't telling the people about his death, they couldn't just bring it to the hospital or something, could they? Where would they take it? Janus didn't want to think about it.

A reporter raised her hand, and Logan gave a stiff nod towards her. "Lydia Bell, Vine Updates. With Morality's powers gone, is it safe to say that the city is more at risk than it's ever been?"

Logan frowned. "I don't think--"

Another reporter raised her hand, speaking without being called on. "Dahlia Knight, from the Morning News." She spoke coldly. "The Duke has been seen questioning people about a 'ball of light' for days, only recently having been joined by The Prince, Paranoia, and Deceit. How long have Morality's powers been gone, and why have you not shared this information sooner?"

Logan furrowed his brow. "No, it's--"

The next reporter didn't even bother raising his hand. "Jake Weston, The Alarm. The villain attack is either today or tomorrow. How do you expect to protect us without Morality's healing abilities?"

Logan shook his head. "We will do everything we possibly can--"

"Susan Wojcicki, Your Voice." She raised her hand. "How did Morality even lose his powers in the first place?"

A silence swept over the room, all of the reporters wanting to know the answer to that question.

Logan paused, glancing at the other heroes. After a few moments of silence, and a quick nod from Virgil, he took a deep breath. "We were betrayed." He spoke softly. "I'm afraid I lied. Deceit isn't currently looking for Morality's powers. He...he works with the villains."

His mother let out a surprised laugh. "Their secrecy sure didn't last long."

Instantly, the conference room erupted into chaos.

"Why did you lie?!"

"Was Deceit working for them the whole time?"

"If Deceit isn't looking for Morality's powers, does that mean The Duke isn't either?"

"Please, calm down." Logan weakly attempted to appease the crowd. "One at a time, please."

"The villains most likely have more information on you than ever, is it even safe to trust you anymore?"

"How do we know that none of you are also working for the villains?"

"Clearly, we can't trust the heroes' judgement."

"Shut up."

Silence.

Virgil was gritting his teeth. "We understand your concern, but trust us. We're going to do everything in our power to see to it that justice is served. "

Janus pursed his lips. So, that confirmed it. The heroes had no love left for him, and it was impossible to blame them. He wasn't sure if he would forgive himself either.

One reporter raised their hand. Virgil glanced at them. "Speak."

"With all due respect, this is only one of many examples of your affairs putting the people of the city at risk." They stated bluntly. "I don't believe I stand alone when I say that your actions need to start being monitored."

There were some nods of agreement around the room.

Even Roman, who had shown nothing but apathy the whole meeting, frowned at that.

Logan spoke up. "What you're suggesting would put us on a hypothetical leash." He frowned.

"I'd rather have you put on a leash than continue being a threat to the city." The reporter responded, the lack of hesitation taking them all aback. "If you can't trust each other, how are we expected to trust you?"

The heroes clearly didn't know how to respond to that, based on the way they fell silent. Their lack of an answer caused restlessness to settle among the crowd, hands shooting up in an attempt to get Virgil to release their voices.

"They're slipping." Janus murmured, more to himself than to his mother. She heard it anyway.

"Isn't it beautiful?" She chuckled. "Look at them, desperately floundering to pick up their pieces. Have you ever seen anything so wonderful?" Her smile widened. "You've left them vulnerable."

Janus loathed those words. He did his best to not have a physical reaction. "That's a good thing for us."

Ms. Libelle hummed, before she turned to Janus. "The next time you run into one of the heroes, this is what I want you to say." She began.

The words that followed were horrible. He knew that saying them aloud would make him want to vomit.

He also knew that he would say them nonetheless.

A/N:

Not the League of Heroes + Janus going through their depression arc 🙃