CWs/TWs: Torture, inhumane punishment. There's also a scene where things get a little heated, but there's no actual making out or smut, just some neck kissing

Anyway, enjoy the chapter!

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"Running right into a fire," Jimmy sighed as he and Scott walked into their penthouse, and Scott groaned.

"I'm fine," Scott said.

Jimmy whirled around and stared down at Scott, making the other man feel small. "Your temperature got up to almost thirty degrees, Scott," he said disappointedly and angrily, jabbing a finger at Scott's chest. "You could've gotten seriously hurt!"

"But I'm fine," Scott repeated. "Look, I'm all cleaned up and-" He paused when Jimmy's eyes started to water. "Oh, Jimmy..."

Jimmy cupped Scott's face in his hands. "I can't lose you, Scott," he whispered, a tear rolling down his cheek. "Please, don't be so reckless anymore."

Scott nodded. "I won't."

Jimmy took a deep breath and wiped at his eyes. "Go lay down, you look tired," he said. "I'll make you something to eat."

Scott wanted to say something, but stopped himself when Jimmy turned to walk toward the kitchen. His husband was already upset and he probably had a panic attack or two upon seeing the news of Aeor being out of commission from the heat of the fire. He knew Jimmy was only worried for him. He'd be worried for Jimmy, too, if he was hurt. Sighing, Scott decided to just listen to his husband and go to his bedroom to lay down. It was better than arguing.

Jimmy was right anyway. Scott could have died. He can't survive having a body temperature over thirty five degrees, and he got pretty close to it.

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"We're home," Grian announced, letting Willow walk inside first. "Scar?"

"Where were you two?"

Grian jumped at the sight of Mumbo, then scowled. "What are you doing here?" he said, almost in disgust.

"Hanging out with my boyfriend," Mumbo answered honestly. "Scar's in his room sleeping. I cut up carrots and cucumbers for a sna-"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," Grian huffed, walking past Mumbo. "If Scar's asleep, why are you still here?"

Mumbo grinned. "In case some evil villain comes and tries to take him away!" he exclaimed, then snuck up behind Grian to pick him up by the waist and sit him on his shoulders.

"Wha- Mumbo, put me down!" Grian shrieked, grasping handfuls of Mumbo's slicked-back hair. "Scaaaaaar!"

Willow giggled. "Gri, looks like you got caught by an evil villain," she teased, and Grian glared at her.

"Be quiet," he huffed, and Willow giggled some more. "Can you put me down? I have homework to do."

"Nope," Mumbo said, and Grian gasped.

"Scar, your stupid boyfriend won't let me go!" Grian yelled, and Scar poked his head down the hallway.

"Why is that my problem?"

Grian groaned. "Because he's your boyfriend!"

Scar smirked. "You're the one on his shoulders," he said. "Not me."

"But-"

"Your problem." Scar went back inside his bedroom and closed the door, locking it behind him.

"Scar!"

"Don't worry, G," Willow said. "I'm sure someone will save you." She waved and walked down the hallway toward her bedroom.

Grian gasped. "Willow?!"

"Bye, bye."

"You guys are the worst!"

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Zedaph giggled as Impulse and Tango carried two trays of food into their bedroom, each one covered in an assortment of yummy foods. "You guys," he said, his voice nasally. He'd been sick for the last few days, and Impulse and Tango hadn't spent a moment not pampering and taking care of him.

"Only the best for you, boo," Tango said with wink and a smile, making his husband laugh.

"Are Gregory and Matteo home from school yet?" Zedaph asked.

"Matteo is," Impulse said, handing Zed a bowl of soup and some crackers. "Gregory is with Maxine."

"Pixl's daughter?"

Impulse nodded.

Zedaph sneezed and grabbed a tissue to blow his nose. "I hate being sick," he murmured, grimacing at the gross tissue. "Ew."

"The soup should help," Tango said. "With the runny nose and sore throat, at least. The crackers are just so it tastes good."

Zed laughed at that. "Thank you both," he said sincerely, and the two of them smiled brightly.

"Anything for you," Impulse said, then kissed Zedaph's cheek.

"Dads!"

Tango laughed. "Matteo's probably coming in for a snack," he said, making his way toward the door. "I'll go take care of him. Imp, you stay with Zed and make sure he actually eats something this time."

Zedaph sighed. "It's hard to eat when I don't feel good," he grumbled, and Impulse gave him a soft and gentle, understanding look.

"I know," he said, "but you can only get better when your body gets the minerals and proteins and carbs it needs to fight off this flu. And that way, you can get back to beating up those supervillains."

Zed giggled. "Okay." He took the soup from Impulse and took a long sip from the bowl. "Mmm, this is delicious," he said. "You made this?"

Impulse's smile turned from gentle to confident. "Yes, sir," he said proudly. "And I cut up a bunch of fruits since you need vitamin C." He leaned over to kiss Zedaph's cheek again. "I'll grab you some water, be right back."

"Okay!"

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Buttons took off her mask and threw it across the tiny room to hit the door. "Stupid Aeor, getting in my way," she huffed, pulling her knees to her chest. She wrapped her arms around her legs and rested her chin between her knees, then sobbed. "I didn't want to let them go, I just..." She squeezed her eyes shut. "Aeor was going to hurt him to save his own skin, and I couldn't let that happen! It's not my-" She jumped when Leviathan hit the door hard.

"Quiet in there," he sneered, and she quieted her crying.

She hated being locked in the closet. They usually left her in there for hours, if not days with the permission of Warden when the older villains decided she'd been especially irresponsible. They would give her no food or water when she needed it, either. Not to mention the fact that nobody else was punished that way. Maybe because if they touched her, then she could force them to stop. But this felt much more cruel than pulling out hair or simply slicing skin.

"Can I come out, please?" she asked after calming down. Surely it had been at least an hour by now. Besides, she was really hungry. "Levi?" She could hear murmuring outside the door, but she couldn't make out what any of them were saying. "Hello?"

The door opened, and Catalyst stood in the doorway, holding a duffle bag.

Buttons began to laugh nervously, backing herself up against the wall. "Hey, C-Catal-lyst," she stammered, trying to reach for something to grab and throw at him.

"I'd be careful if I were you," he warned her, then pulled a camera out of his bag and a strange, blue bug carried it to mount in the corner of the ceiling. "I've got some very special and one-of-a-kind equipment, and if you break it, you're dead. I'll devour you in sculk in two seconds flat."

She gulped and stopped looking for things to throw. "Y-you're not going to experiment on m-me... are you?" she asked hesitantly and he smiled gently at her.

"Of course, I am."

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"Which one is x?" Willow asked, showing Grian her math homework. She and Grian had gone over to Macbeth's and Irene's to do homework with them and Jamie.

"The horizontal one," Grian answered, not looking up from his essay.

Willow frowned. "The up one or the flat one?"

Grian did look up this time, though only to give her an unimpressed look. "The flat one," he said, mocking her. "It's called horizontal. Y'know, like the horizon? The sunset?"

Willow looked down at her paper and gasped. "Oh! Oh, oh, I get it!" She slammed the paper down on the table and Macbeth giggled.

"I think she gets it," she said to Jamie, "but I'm not sure."

Jamie laughed. "Don't pick fun."

Willow stuck her tongue out as she scribbled down answers on her algebra paper. "There, I think that's right." She handed it to Grian, who reluctantly took it to check. "Is it right? Is it?"

Grian rolled his eyes. "Give me a second to look at it," he mumbled, then scanned over the page. "No?" Willow gasped, clearly shocked. "None of it is right. You switched up all the numbers." He handed her the paper back. "The x comes first, not the y."

"Oh." She frowned. "That's how Mrs. Glutting taught us."

"I doubt that. Mrs. Glutting is the best algebra teacher there is."

Sighing, Willow began to erase everything on her paper. "Whatever."

"You did everything else correctly, though," Grian mentioned absentmindedly as he continued working on his essay.

She beamed at him. "Really?!"

"Mhm."

"Awesome!"

Jimmy peeped his head outside to the balcony not too long later to check up on them and to tell his daughters, Macbeth and Irene, that Scott was home and resting from a long day at work.

"Okay, Dad!" Irene replied. "Tell Pops I said hi!"

Jimmy smiled. "I will," he said. "Hi, Grian, Willow, and Jamie." He waved and the three kids waved back. "How are you doing?"

"I'm good, Uncle Jimmy," Willow said cheerfully with her usual bright smile. Grian rolled his eyes at the word 'uncle.' "How are you?"

"I'm alright." Jimmy walked outside, bringing a plate of little pastries with him. "Who wants mini tiramisu cakes?"

"Me!" they all shouted in unison, except from Grian who was focused on his essay.

Jimmy set the tray down on the table. "Here you-"

"Timmy!" Grian shouted, slamming his hands on the table and startling the man. "You're covering my research papers!"

"Uh, sorry?" Jimmy lifted the tray and chuckled. "It's almost funny how similar you acted back then compared to now."

Grian narrowed his eyes at him, then looked away. "Don't say that," he murmured.

Jimmy sighed. "Anyway, I'll leave this with you kids," he said, handing the tray of tiramisu cakes to Macbeth. "You each get two. I have to go tend to Scott, but you know where I am if you need me." He kissed Macbeth's forehead, then Irene's, and walked back inside.

Macbeth huffed. "You don't have to be a dickwad," she huffed to Grian. "You can take a break from your essay to have a-"

"I can't," Grian interrupted. Scar will kill me if I don't get my grades up before report cards come in. "I have too much to do to take a break."

Macbeth sighed. "Maybe the break you need is from being Avi," she suggested.

Grian looked up at her. "What? No!"

"The reason you have so much homework is because you skip class to fight villains," Jamie said, crossing his arms. "Try putting school first for a little while."

"Ha! And prove to those awful heroes that they're right how being a vigilante is too much for a teenager to balance with school?" Grian scoffed. "You're funny, James."

"Just a suggestion."

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"Please, stop!" Buttons screamed as Catalyst sliced down her stomach with a scalpel, though she was unable to flail around to get him to stop because of the restraints keeping her on the ground. "Stop!" she wailed.

He glared at her. "You won't die, relax," he grumbled, then refocused on what he was doing. "It'll just sting a little."

"A little?!" she shrieked, then screamed when he opened the wound further with his hands.

"Be quiet," he ordered and she sobbed. "I said, be quiet! Or do you want me to actually kill you?" She shook her head frantically. "That's what I thought."

Buttons squeezed her eyes shut as he used the scalpel to cut through the muscle in her tummy. Think happy thoughts, think happy thoughts, think happy thoughts, she repeated in her mind over and over again as she tried to psych herself out of minding the pain. She knew this was just punishment, that it would be over soon and she deserved it, but still... it was terrifying and it hurt. She hated this kind of punishment.

"There we go," Catalyst hummed, and Buttons gagged when she felt him insert something between her organs. It spread a bit, tentacle-like things curling around her organs and squeezing a bit, making her feel uncomfortable.

"Wh-what did you do?" she stammered, and he sighed.

"I gave you something that will ensure you follow through with your missions," Catalyst said coldly. "Stay quiet, I still need to stitch you up."

Buttons swallowed and nodded. She gasped as he started to stitch up the incision and bit her lip to distract herself from the pain. Happy thoughts, happy thoughts-

"And done."

She let out a heavy sigh of relief at the words. It was over, finally.

"You can lay there for a while," Catalyst said, and Button's stomach dropped. "Don't try to escape. I'll know." He gathered all of his things aside from the restraints keeping her down. "I'll notify Warden that I'm finished."

Buttons waited until Catalyst closed the closet door to start crying again. She knew she messed up and she deserved all the punishment they threw at her but... this felt so cruel.

She wanted Pixl.

Her Papa.

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Scar sighed happily as he felt Mumbo climb into the bed with him, giggling a bit when Mumbo wrapped his arms around his torso. "Hi, babe."

Mumbo nuzzled his face against Scar's neck and closed his eyes, breathing in deeply. "Hey," he said. "The kids went to Jimmy's and Scott's to study with their daughters." He rested his forehead on Scar's shoulder, then rested his hands on his hips, rubbing circles into them.

"Yeah?" Scar's hand rested on Mumbo's, then moved up his arm. "Are you suggesting something?"

Mumbo opened his eyes a bit and kissed Scar's neck, making the other sigh. "Perhaps." He moved his hands under Scar's shirt to run over his stomach, mouthing at his neck passionately.

Scar melted at the touches and craned his neck so Mumbo had better access. "That feels good," he breathed, then gasped a little when Mumbo took some of the skin between his teeth, sucking lightly. "Mumbo..." He leaned back into his boyfriend, closing his eyes. "Not now, Mumbo," he murmured.

Mumbo stopped and kissed Scar's cheek. "Okay," he whispered, then rested his chin on top of his head. "Too tired?" Scar hummed in confirmation, and Mumbo smiled softly. "I get it." He rubbed Scar's sides with his thumbs, earning a soft sigh. "Feel good?"

"Mhm..."

"You want me to keep doing this?"

"Mhm..." Scar yawned and pulled Mumbo's arms further around him. "I love you," he whispered, and Mumbo chuckled.

"I love you mooooore," Mumbo drawled out, his voice low.

Scar giggled sleepily. "Impossible, because I love you..." He yawned again. "The most..." He took a deep breath and let it out in a long, sleepy sigh.

Mumbo listened carefully as Scar's breathing evened out and waited until he fell asleep to kiss his cheek again and climb out of bed. "Now that you're asleep," he said, "I can do some cleaning for you."

He'd been wanting to do something around the house for Scar since the poor man worked himself half to death all the time, and he figured that cleaning up some for him would be the perfect treat. And he'd have no one to get in the way since Grian and Willow had gone to their friends' home, too. It was perfect.

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"Bye, you guys!" Willow said, waving to Macbeth and Irene. "See you at school tomorrow!"

"See you," Irene said.

"Bye!" Macbeth said.

Grian rolled his eyes and closed the elevator door. "I wish stupid Timmy would let us stay longer," he grumbled as the elevator began to take them down to the first floor. "I was actually getting stuff done, but with Mr. Money Man who always wants to play heroes and villains at home, I'm going to get nothing done."

Willow smiled at him softly. "I'm sure you'll work around it," she said. "Maybe if you tell Mr. Mumbo that you need to do your homework, then he'll leave you be. It's worth a shot, right?"

Grian looked away. "I guess."

The elevator doors opened to reveal the ground floor lobby and the two walked out of the elevator and out of the building toward their house.

"I'm so glad we were able to hang out with Irene, Mac, and Mac's boyfriend," Willow said, making awkward small talk. Even though they were half siblings, Willow still struggled to make a steady conversation with Grian. "I think I'm finally getting the hang of algebra now."

Grian nodded. "You're getting-" He was interrupted by shrill, horrified screams coming from nearby. "-better..." He glanced around, finding no commotion whatsoever. In fact, each and every pedestrian seemed to not hear the screaming.

"What's wrong, Gri?" Willow asked. "You look pale."

Grian blinked. "You don't hear that screaming?" he asked.

Willow stopped to listen carefully for a moment, then her eyes widened. "I do," she said. "But it's very faint. How did you hear it so easily?"

Grian shrugged. "Don't know, "he said, "but I do know that we've got some people to save."

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I promise the main plot moves along in the next chapter. Trust /gen

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! Love you guys, <33 /gen/p