Chapter 22 (hero enough)
"Hey Dante, smoochy-face, we're back in the warehouse. Hopin' your fire-hot face can fly on over here. SG wants her phone back undamaged."
Victor screwed up his face in confusion. "What's smoochy-face?"
Ette giggled, turning the phone towards him. "The kissy emoji."
"Yeah, Ette," Ivy clasped her hands behind her head, leaning against the ocean window. "I don't think Victor would actually send that."
"Hold on," Ms. Marvel reached for her phone. "That's my phone," she shot dagger eyes at Ette. "You never said you were writing a love letter."
"It's from Victor," Ette said.
Victor blushed.
"You never said you were doing it!"
Ivy rolled her eyes. "It's what I would've done."
Squirrel Girl snorted.
"Okay," Victor interrupted. "Can we just tell Dante where we are?"
"I took out the emoji," Ette said, showing Ivy the phone. "How's this?"
"Change Dante to babe. Then--"
"That's my phone!" Ms. Marvel's arm stretched across the circle and snagged it from Ette, who swiped for it but missed.
"And you gave it to me!" Ette hopped to her feet and scurried after Kamala's receding arm. Kamala rolled away and ran into the darkness outside their ring of flashlights, Ette chasing.
"Why would I call Dante 'babe'?" Victor whispered.
Ivy cackled.
"It sent!?" Ms. Marvel exclaimed. "Ette, you bumped me! Why'd you bump me?"
"You just snatched the phone out of my hand, why do you think?"
"It's my phone," Ms. Marvel's voice echoed.
"Why would I call Dante 'babe'?" Victor repeated.
Squirrel Girl sighed, perched on Ray Beam, who laid face down on the concrete. "Babe is what mushy people in love say to each other."
Ivy snorted.
Victor furrowed his eyebrows. "I thought babe was the same as baby. Like a newborn baby. Why...?" he shrugged, at a loss for words.
"It's a term of infantilization to denote how cute you think someone is," Ivy said. "Because babies are cute, so therefore someone you're in love with and think is cute should be called the same thing. Made popular by hit love songs on the radio, probably."
"You sound like a dictionary," Squirrel Girl said. "I nearly fell asleep."
In the distance, Ette and Ms. Marvel yelped.
"So," Victor hesitated. "I should call Dante 'babe' because he's supposed to remind me of a newborn baby? But he doesn't."
Ivy laughed. "Good. I'd be worried."
Victor frowned deeper.
"You can help me edit the videos!" Ms. Marvel exclaimed. "Now quit trying to steal my phone!"
"Ivy," Squirrel Girl hissed, "I think you broke Victor's brain. He hasn't moved in five seconds."
Victor shook his head. "I don't get it."
"In my humble opinion," Ivy said, "people calling other people 'babe' or 'baby' is stupid. I don't want to talk about Ette like a helpless newborn who can't do anything but cry and eat and dirty diapers. I want to talk about Ette like a competent person, albeit with a possible cell phone addiction--"
"I'm not addicted," Ette popped into the ring of flashlights. "I just haven't had a phone in months. And Kamala took it away after she said I could text Dante."
"I didn't say you could send Dante a mushy text!" Ms. Marvel approached them with crossed arms. "What if my mom checks my phone?"
"I haven't had a phone in months either," Ivy leaned against the window. "And I'm perfectly fine."
"Ms. Marvel," Squirrel Girl said, "if your mom does check your phone, she's going to freak out at your superhero alter ego a whole lot more than a mushy text."
Ms. Marvel winced. "Don't remind me."
Behind Squirrel Girl, the water elevator creaked open. Victor hopped to his feet. "Dante?"
"Yeah?" the door to the water elevator creaked again.
"You--"
"Ette sent that text," Ms. Marvel interrupted. "I had nothing to do with it."
"Um, you hit send," Ette elbowed her.
Dante stepped into view, pulling out Squirrel Girl's phone and staring at the screen.
Victor hesitated. To stop his hands from fluttering he balled them into fists.
"I didn't even read this," Dante squinted at the phone. "Hey babe? Fire-hot face?" He frowned at Ette.
"You were supposed to think it was from Victor," Ette said.
Dante blinked. Then he held up the phone, grinning. "MM is your contact name for Ms. Marvel?"
Squirrel Girl nodded.
Dante laughed. "I would've thought this was a total stranger at first."
Ette sighed loudly. "Seriously? It says the warehouse. And SG wants her phone back."
"I would've read 'hey babe' and thought Squirrel Girl was into someone."
"Hey!" Squirrel Girl exclaimed. "I am not--"
Ette sighed again, shoulders slumping. "Another practical joke succumbs to the joked-upon not getting it."
"Can I have my phone now?" Squirrel Girl said. "It better not have been damaged in the fire."
Victor sat on the ground, crossing his arms. Dante hadn't even read the text. So Victor was...relieved?
Dante handed the phone to Squirrel Girl. "It was fine. As fine as my clothes," he motioned to his spotless t-shirt.
"What'd you do when the sirens arrived?" Victor asked.
"I stayed in the fire," Dante shrugged. "An ambulance got there first, then some fire trucks showed up a few minutes later. I snuck out the back when they got the hoses out. They looked terribly confused at why the flames were pink. Then I flew over here."
"So we saved it?" Ivy asked. "Nothing burned down?"
"Nothing except the first building."
Ivy applauded. "Mission accomplished, Kree Annihilators. Where should we go to celebrate?"
"Not the donut shop," Kamala muttered.
"Anyone up for ice cream? Ette suggested.
"Hold that thought," Squirrel Girl prodded Ray Beam with her shoe. "We still have a supervillain to worry about."
***
"You smell like smoke."
Victor tilted his head.
Dante leaned over and whispered, "did he just say they smelled like smoke?"
"That's what I heard," Victor whispered back.
"Be quiet," Ivy hissed.
"What were you doing burning down a donut shop?" Squirrel Girl shouted. A single flashlight bobbed in her hand, lighting up Ray Beam, tied to a crate near Rescue's elevator.
"Just tell us, and we might let you go," Ms. Marvel said, stepping beside Squirrel Girl.
Ray Beam squinted between them. "Who are you? And seriously, you smell terribly."
"Okay," Squirrel Girl growled. "We're asking the questions here."
"Squirrel Girl actually makes a decent bad cop," Ette whispered.
An elbow jabbed Victor in the ribs, knocking the air from his lungs before he could agree. "Oof, sorry," Ivy whispered. "Can't see anything."
"No problem," he whispered back. He shifted to his knees on the hard concrete.
"What did you want with the donut shop?" Ms. Marvel asked softly.
"I wanted a donut," Ray Beam squinted at the flashlight. "What else would I want at a donut shop? A bagel?"
"You...wanted a donut," Ms. Marvel repeated. "You weren't trying to steal their money? You were being a...decent person?"
"Money's stupid," Ray Beam scoffed, tugging against his restraints. "I just wanted a donut. And that old guy wouldn't give me a donut."
"You murdered an old man by burning his store down?" Squirrel Girl growled. "What sick, twisted--"
"Murder an old man?" Ray Beam interrupted. "I didn't murder a human. That's boring."
"But you burned down his donut shop," Squirrel Girl said.
"Nah. Where've you been? That was my donut shop for a whole afternoon. I took myself a donut and everybody left the whole place. I just got bored of it after a few hours. There were no more donuts left."
"So what you actually did was use your powers to scare everyone away," Squirrel Girl growled. "And then you stole a donut and claimed the shop."
"That's what I said."
"Ray Beam, you can't burn down property like that," Ms. Marvel said. "And just because the owners ran away doesn't make it yours."
Ray Beam rolled his eyes. "And just because the cops tried to take it from me probably makes it theirs too, huh? You sound like Jaguar."
"Ahem. Who's Jaguar?"
"Jaguar? You probably wouldn't know her, since I don't know you. Got jaguar spots, likes climbing...she's not even from earth though, I guess she thought Jaguar sounded exotic."
Victor gulped. He remembered Jaguar; she attacked him when he dropped the boat in the warehouse.
"Great," Squirrel Girl said. "More of you running amuck in the city," she sighed, shoulders slumping. "Can you please just go back to your homes and act like normal people? You don't have to cause chaos anymore."
"Hey, can I ask you something?"
"Sure," Ms. Marvel said.
Squirrel Girl straightened up, glaring at her.
"Rodent tail here," Ray beam nodded at Squirrel Girl, "beat me up last night, but she wasn't alone. I never saw you there," he nodded at Ms. Marvel.
"What's your point?" Squirrel Girl crossed her arms.
"You didn't beat me in a fair fight. I was ganged up on. And my wrists hurt. So can you free my wrists?"
"Wha?" Squirrel Girl snorted. "Nope."
"No way," Ms. Marvel shook her head. "Not yet."
A neon green light glowed from behind Ray Beam.
"We beat you, fair and square," Squirrel Girl said. "Just because you didn't have friends around and we did isn't our problem. You're our...guest right now. So if you don't quit glowing, I will kick you."
Ray Beam's green light went dark, leaving him awash only in the pale yellow light of Squirrel Girl's flashlight.
"And the name's Squirrel Girl," Squirrel Girl leaned toward him. "Don't forget it."
"I don't forget people who beat me in a fight."
"Good."
"So now what are you going to do with me?" Ray Beam's face hardened. "Keep me tied up forever? Keep me as your servant?"
"Ew!" Ms. Marvel exclaimed. "Why would we do that?"
"The hierarchy," Ray Beam blinked. "You bested me, technically, so I have to obey you, technically."
"Ew," Ms. Marvel repeated.
"But please give me special privileges as a servant. Lightning Storm is collecting human servants that she bests in combat, and I can't be as low as them."
Victor frowned in Dante's direction. Human servants?
"R-right," Ms. Marvel stuttered. "What does she need with servants?"
"They're fun to watch scurry around," Ray Beam laughed. "They do it a lot better than kree ever did."
"You're a person," Ms. Marvel said. "Making other people scurry around isn't fun."
Ray Beam snorted. "Shows what you know."
"Where's Lightning Storm?" Squirrel Girl asked.
Ray Beam shrugged.
"If you take us to her, we might let you go," Ms. Marvel said. "As long as you promise to leave...humans alone."
Ray Beam stuck his tongue out. "Maybe I'd listen to your strange demands if you bested me in one-on-one combat."
"Why is he so obsessed with one-on-one combat?" Dante whispered.
Ette whispered from behind Victor, "might makes right, right? The strongest inhuman gets to call the shots."
"So...that's why he hasn't tried to run away yet?" Dante asked.
"I think so."
Victor shuddered. Ette was right. Hala had basically worked under that logic. The strongest inhumans were useful, the ones who showed weakness weren't. "I think I'm done watching," he whispered. "I'm going to walk around the warehouse."
"I'm coming too," Dante's hand found Victor's.
"Really?" Ette whispered.
"What? It's not like we can do anything with Ray Beam knowing who we all are. And he's not listening."
"I'm staying," Ette said. "In case something goes wrong."
"Same," Ivy whispered. "Ray Beam needs payback for how often he tried to kill me in those practice rooms."
Victor silently rose to his feet, tugging Dante along.
"We're not keeping you as a servant," Ms. Marvel was saying. "So your options are stay tied up here, or show us to Lightning Storm..." they paced away into the darkness, Ms. Marvel's voice fading out.
"Maybe we should've just left him by the donut shop," Dante whispered. "What if he tries to break free and his lasers smash the ocean window?"
"We need to stop the wild inhumans," Victor replied. "And he probably knows where they are. So we need him."
"True..."
"Dante, I think it's my fault they ended up thinking of humans as nothing but servants."
Dante halted, fingers squeezing. "Uh, how's that your fault?"
"I took them to Hala's spaceship," Victor muttered.
"You also did it to Ivy, and Ette, and those other inhumans in that river cave. None of them went crazy about hierarchy and being the strongest and thinking they deserve to steal donuts. Goodness, even you didn't get like that."
"How do you know that?"
"Because with Hala gone, Ray Beam's still acting like that. You're not."
Victor scoffed. "Only took me several years of thinking I had to please Hala to survive."
"But now you're an actual superhero!" Dante whispered. "Saving burning buildings, taking down invading aliens, rescuing innocent people..."
"Yeah," Victor muttered.
"You're amazing, Victor."
Victor's cheeks warmed. "Dante, why do you want to be a superhero?"
Dante's hand slipped free, and footsteps shuffled back. "What would I do instead, go back to Illinois? Finish high school and get a boring job I have to wake up every day for? Why would I want that?"
"So, you're here because it's less boring than the alternative?" he whispered.
"No. I'm here because of you, and Squirrel Girl and the others. It's exciting when we walk into a donut shop together and no one there knows about our secret powers or that we just wrecked a whole spaceship. They could stare at us and make fun of our clothes or what awful things they think we teenage boys did last night, but I just get to laugh at them, because we saved their lives and they don't even know it. That makes me feel ridiculously awesome, Victor."
Victor crossed his arms. "I think I do it because I feel guilty."
Dante paused. "What?"
"Dante...I only wanted to stop Hala so she wouldn't capture more kids and turn them into me, or Ray Beam," his fingers dug into his palms. "And, I want to stop those wild inhumans because if I hadn't taken them to Hala's ship, they wouldn't have ever thought about having human servants. They'd still be with their families, living in peace.
"That's really great you get to laugh at people who don't know what you did to save them, but I want to melt through the floor just thinking about some stranger learning about what I've done. So I need to undo as much of it as possible. We need to catch Lightning Storm, and Jaguar, and maybe Rescue or Tony Stark can build something to contain Ray Beam--"
"Victor," Dante grabbed for both of his hands, fingers fumbling about in the dark. Victor reluctantly uncrossed his arms and sightless, their palms slid together, thumbs to pinkies to cool wrists. "You've done enough. Just be a superhero because it's fun."
"But I haven't done enough. Lightning Storm has human--"
"You've done enough, because I forgive you."
"...What if you weren't the one I hurt the worst?"
"I don't look at you and see someone who's done terrible things and should melt into the floor," Dante whispered. "I see a hot boyfriend who helped me figure out my powers and doesn't know a thing about earth technology but goes crazy hard with a sword. You're not afraid of me even when I scare myself and I love you and--and goodness, you love me back. You know how crazy that is?"
"You were easy to fall in love with," Victor muttered. "I was trying not to but I still did."
"I thought nobody could love me," Dante mumbled into Victor's shoulder. "Hiding who I was for so long, then gaining powers that burn whatever I touch. And yet, here you are, Victor. Perfectly whole and real and amazing."
"Yep," Victor hugged him back. "That's totally me." Silence. "You're amazing too, Dante. Just so you know."
Dante laughed softly. "Thanks."
***
author note: vote to let someone else know they're amazing
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