metaheroes Inbox

[effiomsfavorite]

Comments

Phone Call

[atypical_echo]

Uh, hi. This is the OP of that thread. Not that I can prove it. Probably shouldn't give your contact info out online?

[effiomsfavorite]

[...DEEP SIGH]

Yeah, this whole internet thing doesn't exist where I'm from. Give me a minute.

[It's definitely a minute or so of Huvrye fiddling around with things while on speakerphone, but at least "delete this comment" is easy enough to find and hit. Hopefully nobody else saw that.]

Okay, I don't think it'll take me long to fly to Arizona, but coordinates would help.

[atypical_echo]

Uh, I gotta ask a quick question. Is your flying, like, magic flying? Or wings? Or just a power?

[effiomsfavorite]

It's wings. Why?

UN: Venom

[frenchkissed]

Your Secret Santa assignment is Mysterio and he's really cool, so you're in luck. He's into the classics. Good guy. Talks about films a lot. Funky lil fella.

( everything is fine and normal and, no, eddie isn't going to talk about the time his alien attempted to murder this dude. )

[effiomsfavorite]

[Huvrye just assumes Venom either threatens or tries to kill everyone at least once.]

Thanks

What are the classics?

[A Christmas Gift]

[atypical_echo]

[Delivered to Huvrye's hotel room is a wrapped package. Inside are two books 'The Greatest Meals of Central City: 2023 Edition', and 'A Visitors Guide to Central City']

Secret Santa! December 25th!

[doctopoda]

[A neatly-wrapped package will be delivered to Huvrye shortly before Christmas! Otto never used to be that great at wrapping, but it turns out the actuators are; who knew?

Anyway, contained within are a couple books: Four Quartets by T.S. Eliot and Devotions by Mary Oliver. The attached note reads:]

Merry Christmas, Huvrye! I guess you probably don't have that holiday in your world, but I'm glad you signed up for the gift exchange anyway.

My late wife was a poet, and while we don't know each other well, I believe she'd have thought you could use some poetry in your life. These were some of her favorites. I hope you enjoy them.

- Otto

Phone Call

[codicies]

Hi, my name is Dylan.

Sorry to bug you, but are you a friend of Hunter?

[effiomsfavorite]

[Huvrye had been idly scrolling through the food delivery app - Mark had really helped him out by showing him that one - when a call comes through and he nearly drops the phone.]

[It's Hunter. Huvrye has been getting Hunter's texts, and it's not enough to assuage the worry, but they've at least been consistent as promised. But he'd told Hunter to call if he needed anything, and now Hunter is calling-]

[He fumbles the phone and manages to answer.]

Hunter? Are you oka-

[-that's not Hunter.]

[That's not Hunter.]

[His stomach plummets abruptly, and then the rest of the world drops away, leaving nothing but pinpoint focus and the awful feeling that he's going to need to move very fast very soon and that he might already be too late.]

Yeah, I am. Is he okay?

[codicies]

No.

[ No use sugar coating it, really. Dylan struggles to keep his voice steady as he continues, but it still cracks just a bit.]

I... I think he'll be okay, but he was shot. We — other friends of his — we're at a clinic with him now.

He asked us to call you.

[effiomsfavorite]

[Ohhhhh no. Oh no. No no no-]

[The pinpoint focus comes in handy. His voice is tight when he speaks again.]

Give me coordinates and I'll be there. [Wait - civ.] Or an address.

Audio clip sent as text

[demigoth]

Do you always go around asking people questions in public that they maybe don’t want to answer because people are stupid? Everyone’s not as cool as Dylan and Hunter.

[effiomsfavorite]

[Boy, he really does not want to have this as an actual conversation, does he. Huvrye just texts back.]

you're the one who brought it up and I still don't understand why

I just wanted an explanation

that's all

[demigoth]

Because most people would get the joke as a joke, because they know the reference, and maybe some of them know that I can raise up skeletons and zombies.

Happy?

actioooon

[faceguy]

[Leo isn't sure when coming over to Huvrye's to do his homework started being a normal thing, but now he's doing it more days than not. It started as an attempt to get out of his homework by bothering him instead, but Huvrye hadn't let that slide; he feeds Leo, though, so it's not all bad.

The problem is that he tends to get sleepy in the evening, after all his homework is done and the food is eaten. It's not really a surprise - Leo's been going without sleep as much as possible since he came here, so it stands to reason that at a moment in time when he feels safe and full and isn't focusing on anything that it would catch up to him.

Despite the offer to nap on the couch last time Huvrye caught him yawning, Leo always took that as his cue to trek back to his room. Because the simple reality is that every time he goes to sleep he has nightmares and wakes up screaming, and he does not want to have to explain that, no thanks.

But he's really pushed it this time: almost two full days without any sleep outside a few micronaps, a stomach full of takeout food, a couch and some TV show running in the background. The perfect recipe for Leonardo to conk right out, before he's even realized he's dozing off.

Then Leo's floating through space, and he already knows what's coming before it does.

You've ruined everything, you wretched little PEST!

The fear grips him, and he tries to run, tries to hide, but he can't move. The sky is awash with red and pink, gravity keeps him pinned to the rocky ground. He's getting hit, over and over, and his vision swims and bounces and he just wants it to stop, he just wants to go home-

He crashes backward through the stone, spinning around, adrift in space with no way to save himself, and he clutches-

-the picture, the picture, where is it, it's not in his hands anymore, he let it go, he lost it-

The Krang slams into him again, tearing straight through him, and Leo jolts upright on the couch with a feral scream, clutching at his chest like he can feel a hole there.

He isn't fully aware, yet.]

let's goooooo

[effiomsfavorite]

[It's been a few weeks of this - of Leo coming over to do his homework (once he knows Huvrye will order food if he both stays and focuses) but leaving before he falls asleep completely. It's good to have someone in his apartment again, if only for a few hours a day; there's still a hole in Huvrye's life where Yin should be that nobody can quite fill, but he's gotten to be very fond of Leo, and he looks forward to the teen coming by in the afternoons. It gives him a bit of routine as well, and he hadn't realized how helpful it was to have one until it fell into place.]

[Leo never stays the night, though, despite Huvrye's offering. It's fine with Huvrye - for a while, his nights were occupied by stakeouts with the Red Hood, though that's over with now.]

[It had been pho for dinner tonight - Huvrye was due for a meal, and it's become comfort food for him by this point. Still, it looks like hot soup was enough to push Leo over the line and into passing out on his couch. Huvrye smiles and spends the next few minutes taking care of things: putting a blanket over Leo; gathering Leo's school things into his backpack; turning the TV off and the radio on low, tuned to a classical station he'd found a few weeks ago; and settling into a chair with a book - Frankenstein, like Mark had recommended (or assigned, really - Leo wasn't the only one doing homework these evenings). He'd normally be on a nighttime flyover by now, but it doesn't feel right to leave Leo alone here. He can relax for a night. It'll be fine.]

[The minutes pass, and he looks up whenever Leo shifts in his sleep, but so far it's been uneventful and the book is interesting. It turns out this Frankenstein guy is terrible and the monster has a point. No wonder Mark wanted him to read this.]

[And then Leo sits bolt upright and screams-]

Leo!

[The book drops to the floor, the chair overturns in the wake of Huvrye's speed-augmented movement, and in the blink of an eye he's in front of Leo, hands up but not touching him in case that makes things worse. Is Leo hurt? Is he awake? What happened?]

[(He thinks he knows what happened - he thinks this looks familiar - but no kid should ever go through what he went through- the things that cause that kind of nightmare-)]

[(He can't think about that now. Priorities.)]

Leo, it's okay. You're safe. Look at me. You're safe.

[Please, please, please let this work. Let him get through to Leo.]

cw: thoughts of... lack of self-preservation? also panic attacks

[faceguy]

[Leo is sweating, his chest heaving. His hands still scrabble against the hard surface of his plastron like he's making sure it's still in one piece, and his eyes are glazed over.

In his head he's still floating, still trapped in there, and the Krang is after him, and part of him wants to run or fight or do something and part of him just accepts it, because this was all his fault anyway, he might as well just succumb, it will be over faster that way-

It takes a moment for the words to register. Someone is talking to him. Someone is calling his name.

He blinks, trying to clear the red light from his vision. He sees a shape in front of him, hears, "You're safe," and he almost laughs because how can he be safe?

Instead of laughing he whimpers. His breathing is still too rough, too ragged, but the haze is starting to clear, just a little. Is he really floating? It doesn't feel like it...]

Text Message (Mid-May)

[atypical_echo]

Uh, sorry to say I'm going to have to cancel on having you over for dinner this week. Can't cook. Sorry.

For Leo | Early May| CW torture, gore, all sorts of unpleasantness

[effiomsfavorite]

[When Huvrye sleeps to heal, he sleeps lightly; evidently the idea behind that design was to be able to wake up easily and get away if whatever hurt him was still around. He sleeps lightly after being shot, but eventually still heals. He doesn't need to sleep often after that, and he's been putting it off for as long as he can manage. The first time he sleeps after healing, it's easy and dreamless.]

[The second time he sleeps, his luck runs out.]

[He's strapped to the chair again, bindings tight across his wrists and elbows, blood dripping down his face along the lines of his alchemy. His guts aren't in his lap yet. They're not that far yet. Something to look forward to.]

[Hopefully he'll wake up before that part, because he does not want to do this again.]

[(Hopefully everything after this hasn't been a dream. Hopefully there's reality to wake up into, and that it hasn't all been a pain-fueled hallucination and he's still here-)]

[He hears a giggle - if he never hears that voice again it'll be too soon - and lifts his head, knowing what he'll see. The members of Interground that he knew - his friends - Joba - dead in a heap on the floor, tortured and murdered thanks to his failure. He looks up, and-]

[It's not them-]

[It's not them-]

[It's worse-]

[It's Hunter, broken and bloodied, chest stilled, facing away from him (he can't see Hunter's face; he doesn't want to see it, because he knows what he'll see). It's Mark, facedown on the floor, spine twisted in a way he knows a human can't survive, shattered glasses a few feet from his head. It's Leo-]

[It's Leo, slumped over a chair, bleeding from dozens of wounds. His right arm is missing, wound hastily tied off but still dripping; his legs are shattered, bent the wrong way; and a deep crack runs up his shell, threatening to spill if forced any wider. His shell moves, up and down slowly, as an agonized breath rattles out of his mouth.]

[Leo is still alive.]

[Leo's alive-]

[Huvrye's gaze snaps upwards, from the perfectly manicured but gore-spattered hand holding Leo in place on the chair, to the beautiful stained-glass rainbow wingspan, to the bright, awful smile on the face of Kyriena Ketta. First lady. Chief interrogator. Main player in Huvrye's nightmares.]

No-

[That smile widens as she gets his attention. "You knew this would happen, didn't you? You got too close. The other two didn't last nearly long enough, but this one is fun." She curls her fingers into the crack in Leo's shell and squeezes. A ragged gasp breaks Leo's breathing, but nothing else - he's too far gone to fight back, but still very much awake.]

No- please-

[He's begging- it won't do anything, but it's all he can do-]

Let him go- he's a kid, Kyriena, let him go!

[That predatory smile widens even more, sharp at the edges. She's enjoying this, and there's nothing he can do to get her to stop- he can't help- he can't save anyone- this is his fault-]

["This is what happens when a weapon thinks it can be anything else," she says brightly, adjusting her grip on the broken edge of Leo's shell before she yanks-]

[A sickening series of cracks splits the air, not loud enough to cover the sharp gasp that fades into a death rattle-]

[And Huvrye screams-]

NO!

[The scream follows him into the waking world as he bolts upright, overbalances, and nearly collapses off the bed. He scrabbles to right himself, shaking off the dream (it had better have been a dream- it had better have been a dream-) and yanking blankets and sheets off of him. He's not there. She's not here. He's in his apartment, in Michigan, in the wrong dimension, and she can't get them here.]

[It's still going to take him a minute to catch his breath and convince himself of that.]

[faceguy]

[Leo's actually been sleeping pretty well lately, all things considered. His talk with Huvrye all those months ago in the Diadem had been the start, like he'd opened a release valve, and Donnie's arrival had only helped. As he's settled into his routine, found more people he can rely on, had more days where he was safe, he's had more and more peaceful nights.

Huvrye getting shot had messed him up just a little, insomnia catching him in its clutches for a few days yet again, but even that's ebbed as time has passed.

Still, his sleep has been light, like his body is waiting for another shoe to drop - and it seems like it has when he hears Huvrye scream.

He wakes in a flurry of motion, grabbing for his swords without even thinking about it. His immediate thought is that the guys who shot him (or someone worse) have shown up and are on the attack. He rushes into the hall, still in his pajamas, and for one dizzying second he debates if he should go for Huvrye or Donnie first before deciding to follow the screaming.

So Leo opens the door and shoots through it, one sword out and ready, the other slung over his shoulder, expecting enemies and finding only Huvrye, breathing hard and fast and tangled up in his bed sheets. His brain catches up with the situation, and he realizes what he's actually looking at.

I've had nightmares like that before, Huvrye had said. The kind where your body wakes up and your mind doesn't for a bit. The kind that take your worst memories and trap you in them.

Leo lowers his sword, straightens out of his fight stance, and nudges the door shut with his foot.]

...Huv?

[He watches him for signs that Huvrye is aware. That his mind is awake.]

[effiomsfavorite]

[Huvrye is still trying to catch his breath when his door slams open and Leo bolts through it, and instantly he's back on alert. Something's wrong- she's here- she can't be here- but something's wrong-]

[He tears the sheet off him and gets to his feet, and Leo- relaxes? What-]

[It should mean everything's fine- Leo wouldn't relax if they were in danger-]

[But he can't look at Leo without seeing blood on his face and his shell torn open- Leo's death rattle is still echoing in his ears-]

Leo-

[He crosses the room quickly and wraps his arms around Leo, holding him tightly. He's okay. He's okay. But Huvrye needs to make sure-]

[He loosens his grip and runs a hand firmly and carefully over Leo's back. Even through his pajamas, it should be obvious he's checking Leo's shell for injury - for that monstrous crack that had become a gaping hole. He has to be okay.]

text; dn: Accelerator

[levelshift]

[So Accelerator has Huvrye's contact info now. He hasn't added him to his contact list (that list will forever consist of only two people), but thanks to the group chat Leo started he has it now. Which is good, he supposes. It at least isn't terrible.

It's a couple of days after the incident with the museum that Accelerator decides to text him. There's something that's been bugging him, so he might as well ask.]

Yo.

Why did you join the fucking Society?

Text | UN: Huvrye

[effiomsfavorite]

[Huvrye is still hiding out in Dylan's apartment on account of still being a target for Fantastic's guards (and a wanted fugitive as a result of it), so getting a text out of the blue from a number he doesn't recognize is worrying, to say the least. The tone being familiar isn't reassuring, but it does give him a lead. He checks the group chat from Leo, and-]

[Yep. It's Accelerator. He should've known.]

Why do you want to know?

[levelshift]

[This kid has the social skills of a brick wall and it did not occur to him to introduce himself first.

... Of course, even if it did occur to him there's a good chance he still wouldn't have bothered....]

Because from what Leo has said about you you aren't a piece of shit villain, so as far as I can see there's no reason for you to wallow in the mud with the rest of us.