ouatnextgen

[ouatnextgen]

chapter summary: in the aftermath of an explosion, hope finds that gideon has been fatally wounded. chapter word count: 1395 a/n: hey look at me! posting on time! I hope you enjoy this chapter! taglist:@accidental-spice @kanerallels @ouatnextgen @booksteaandtoomuchtv (if you'd like to be added to my cygnet scholar taglist, let me know!) also on ao3!

#9: Tears Fall

 Hope's eyes opened, and she took a second to finish the healing process her body had already begun. To her left was a crumbling wall, in front of her was a charred, sparking hunk of electronics, and to her left was Gideon's dad, and her parents, gathered around…

 No.

 No.

 Laying on the floor in front of them was what appeared to be a body.

 Hope had never seen a grown man cry before (except her dad when he was cutting onions,) but today she did. Mr. Gold was crying, and her parents were comforting him, as if just for this moment their supercharged enemy identities didn't matter at all, and all that mattered was their shared identity of parenthood.

 Hope got up, slowly, not for lack of strength but for fear of confirmation. Her worst imaginations proved themselves right, as she saw the face of her best friend, motionless on the ground, severe burns on the back of his head and shirt.

 She fell to her knees as the tears fell from her eyes, and she looked up to her parents for comfort.

 "My efforts to save him," Mr. Gold offered, "became his undoing."

 "It's not just your fault," Hope said. "It's mine."

 "Hope, love," her dad said, "there's no way you could have…."

 "I told him not to come!" Hope snapped, though not at him. "I told him it was too dangerous, and that I knew this would happen, but he didn't listen! All that time I spent ignoring him, why did he choose now to start ignoring me?"

 Despite the heat of her anger, she only held softness as she picked up Gideon's wounded hand in hers.

 "I knew I couldn't save him."

 Her tears poured out onto his knuckles as she pulled his hand close to her heart and closed her eyes, replaying the memories of a beautiful life that ended too soon.

 "But you can, can't you?" Mr. Gold asked.

 Her tears gave way to fury again. It was bad enough she blamed herself for this, she didn't need anyone else joining in.

 "What are you talking about?" She asked, with righteous indignation.

 "You've got—" he turned to address her parents, and asked, "she's got power acquisition, right?"

 "We've never felt a need to test." Emma said.

 "Well, now would be the time." Mr. Gold responded.

 "Test what?" Hope asked.

 "There's a special ability…."

 "Now's not the time for explanation, dearie," Mr. Gold said, "not if you want to save him."

 "There's still a chance I could save him?" Hope asked, her namesake magnified by the teardrops in her eyes.

 "Yes, but you've got to act fast," he said. "You can heal yourself, right?"

 "Yeah."

 "Try it on him."

 Hope almost felt like laughing. She didn't have the ability to heal anyone else. She'd tried, once or twice, but she never could manage to remove Gideon's papercuts or alleviate mom's cramps.

 But none of those had really mattered in the long run. This, though? This was important. Maybe if she focused hard enough…

 She pulled his lifeless form into her lap, cradling his back and the burnt patches in his previously golden-brown hair. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then concentrated, with every fiber of her being, on how important it was to her that Gideon would be okay, that their story didn't have to end here, that there'd be dozens more battles and celebrations in the lair, and maybe even some normal teenager stuff like quadratic equations and studying, and maybe even study dates, and proms and dances and all that stuff Hope had never bothered to think about. Maybe there'd still be stolen glances at that warm smile, life behind those rich brown eyes, a heart that always sought to support her.

 As far as she knew, she couldn't save him.

 But, maybe she could.

 She was started out of her train of thought when she heard a coughing sound in her arms, followed by her, admittedly, almost dropping her friend, not solely for her new lack of energy— healing others apparently zapped a lot of her strength— but also out of mere surprise at the fact that it worked. There was a cough. There was motion. There was a heartbeat. There were intelligent eyes and a perfectly dorky smile and arms that, weak as they were, almost knocked her over with a grateful hug.

 "I knew I could trust you." Gideon whispered, as she buried herself in his embrace.

 Their hug soon became a group hug, with their parents joining in, before the awkward conversation that lead to a shiny set of matching bracelets for Mr. Gold and a one-way trip to a holding cell with his name on it in the League's headquarters, an idea he warmed up to when his son promised to visit him as often as he could and help him work things out.

🩷•⚡•💛

 Just like healing yourself took a lot out of you, it, apparently, took a lot of energy to heal someone else, and to be healed. At least, that was the excuse Hope and Gideon gave as they sat side by side against the wall while her parents searched the whole of the lair for any more captured superheroes to rescue.

 "So, do you think your parents found out?"

 "About code orange?" Hope asked. "About you knowing my secret all along?"

 "Yeah." Gideon said.

 "Probably."

 He nodded. "Well, now that the secret's out, what's gonna happen?"

 Hope shrugged. "I'm guessing I'll get my power priviledges revoked for a little while. They might change the locks on the lair too."

 "Well," Gideon smiled, "at least we'll have a lot more free time together."

 Hope smiled as he placed his hand on hers, but their conversation was cut off by her parents' reentry.

 "And that makes twenty-eight." Her mom said.

 "Twenty-eight what?" Hope asked.

 "Twenty-eight recorded slip-ups." Her dad said. "We've been keeping track."

 "You've been keeping track of all the times I mess up?" Hope asked.

 "Not exactly." Her mom said. "Today marks twenty-eight times that we've heard you mention your superpowers around Gideon, which we've been keeping track of as a league requirement."

 "You knew?" Hope asked.

 "We're your parents." Her dad said. "We know everything."

 "For how long?"

 "Well," her mom said, "when I told you had powers and you immediately ran out to the backyard and called Gideon over, that was a good indicator."

 "And you've been letting me live a lie for the past five years?" Hope asked.

 "No." Her mom said. "We've been letting you practice for the last five years. If you can keep a secret from your parents, it'll be no problem for you if you move into a dorm and have to hide an alias from a roommate, or an employer, or a nosy neighbor conspiracy theorist."

 "So, I'm not in trouble?"

 "In trouble?" Her dad asked. "If you were keeping any other secrets from us, yes. But we'll let this one slide."

 "Thanks," Hope said. She felt a huge burden lift off her shoulders.

 No more lies.

 No more secrets.

 No more running around behind people's backs and hiding parts of herself from the people she loved.

 No more worrying about what happens when someone finds out the truth.

 No more worrying about those she loved getting hurt.

 "Mom?" Hope asked. "What's 'power acquisition?'"

 Her parents looked at each other. Though neither of them could read minds, they often thought on the same mental wave.

 "That's a conversation for another time." her mom said.

 "Right," Her dad nodded. "Right now, we'd best leave before more reinforcements arrive."

 "We can sneak out the access tunnels." Gideon said. "They're reinforced against any kind of attack, with the perfect compound of concrete and molten…."

 "Or we could just use the universal wormhole transport." Her dad said, holding up the teleportation device on his gadget hand.

 "You mean I get to teleport?" Gideon's eyes lit up. "I get to experience firsthand one of the most practical of the forbidden experimental sciences?"

 "Sure."

  Hope stood up, then helped Gideon to his feet, and after he wobbled for his first couple steps, she draped his arm over her shoulders to steady him.

 Hope's parents held hands, and mom placed her other hand on Hope's shoulder, and they were gone in the blink of an eye.

🩷•⚡•💛

[ouatnextgen]

chapter summary: golden girl and her sidekick break into the dark one's fortress. chapter word count: 2071 a/n: look at me posting on time. bon apetit friend! taglist:@accidental-spice@kanerallels@ouatnextgen@booksteaandtoomuchtv (if you'd like to be added to my cygnet scholar taglist, let me know!) also on ao3!

#8: Ill Boding Patterns

 Within twenty minutes, Hope found herself crawling through the dark one's fortress, Gideon at her side.

 "I didn't know vents were this big in real life." Hope said. "I thought they just made that up for the tv shows, and Among Us, and stuff."

 "Oh, they did." Gideon said. "I told you, this isn't the ventilation shaft. It's a labyrinth of connected tunnels designed as an emergency exit and entrance, entirely reinforced against any disaster, and can be used to get from one side of the lair to the other without difficulty."

 "That can't be secure."

 "That's why it's got a triple fireblock anti-intrusion system."

 "So how did we get in?"

 "I've been cracking triple fireblock anti-intrusion systems since I was seven." Gideon said. "Did you not pay attention when I explained this to you?" "When have you ever known me to pay attention?" Hope said.

 "You're right." Gideon said. "I should've expected less of you."

 "Thank you."

 "Let's just get this over with," Gideon said. "The door's just up ahead."

 "Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Hope asked, trying to read his expression in the tunnel's low lighting. "I mean, going head-to-head against your dad…." "Of course." Gideon said.

 "Okay." Hope nodded.

 "And, hey, whatever happens out there," Gideon said, "it's been a pleasure."

 "I can say the same."

 Gideon pressed a couple buttons on his watch, and the hatch in the ceiling in front of them popped open.

 "Now, you remember the plan, right?" Gideon asked. "The plan that doesn't involve running in there willy nilly and getting us both killed?"

 "The plan is to run in willy nilly and get us both killed?" Hope asked, pretending she only heard half his warning. "A little unorthodox, but okay!"

 Before Gideon had a moment to stop her, she jumped out of the access hatch and into a dimly lit room. Hope readied herself for a fight, but saw none coming.

 "Hey?" Hope asked. "What gives? Where are the henchmen? The goons? The baddies?"

 "Not here." Gideon said, crawling out of the tunnel.

 "Then what was with all that 'we need a plan' stuff you said?" Hope asked. "The sneaking and waiting?"

 "That 'stuff' should be standard protocol." Gideon said. "Besides, I knew you wouldn't listen anyways, so I figured we may as well open into the empty corridor next to the main control room, just as a precaution."

 "Not fair."

 "Just trying to keep us both safe." Gideon said.

 "I appreciate it." Hope nodded, walking towards a large door. "So, behind this door is an armada of enemies you'll defuse with your sleeping dust, buying us enough time for you to deactivate the fortress' defences and give the supers in their holding cells a chance to escape and cause distraction while we delete any files they have on the League?"

 "Not quite." Gideon said.

 "Ugh." Hope rolled her eyes, "What, was 'deactivate' not the right word for the delicate computer process you're gonna undertake?"

 "Nope." Gideon shook his head.

 "So you want me to refer to your 'sleeping dust' by its proper scientific name?"

 "Don't be ridiculous, Hope." 

 "Is holding cells the wrong…." "No." Gideon interrupted.

 "Then what did I get wrong with my otherwise perfect relaying of your plans?" Hope leaned against the door behind her for dramatic effect.

 Gideon smiled. "That door leads to the lavatory. The control room's over here."

 He nodded in the direction of another large door, and she followed him there with a bashful silence.

 "Now, follow my lead this time." Gideon said. "I'll crack the door open just enough to get my sleeping dust into the air, then…"

 "I get it." Hope said. "Just, hurry. Who knows what they're doing to mom and dad."

 Gideon nodded sagely, then pressed the screen of his watch, opening the door just enough to let in the nozzle of a spray gun at his belt.

 He pulled the sprayer out of the door and it closed in front of them. He held up his hand, counting down on his fingers, then pointed to the door as he got down to one, and, almost as if in response, the sound of several bodies thudding and clanking against the floor came muffled through the closed door.

 "You're a genius, Gid."

 He smiled. "It's a gift."

 Hope rolled her eyes, then shifted to her game face as Gideon opened the door.

 Hope had figured this would be something like the hub in the Lego Star Wars game they'd played as kids, with a giant circular console, a couple scattered people (though instead of minifigures, these would be sleeping bodies of henchmen) and maybe some panels on the wall or giant windows or something.

 Her assumption wasn't too far off. There was a central computer, but it was more boxy than expected. There were a couple unconscious bodies, but instead of scattered across the room, they were regulated to a cage in the corner, aside from one in the center of the room, between Hope and the console, one that, instead of snoring on the ground, was standing, and laughing.

 "Ah, nice to finally meet you." The stranger said, clad in deep grey clothing with a dark hood, and a scaly mask across his whole face. "It's Golden Girl, right?"

 Hope tried to keep a brave face, knowing that, since the sleeping dust hadn't worked, it was time for plan B— distract whoever was left standing long enough for Gideon to sneak in and install a macrovirus to the fortress' hardware. She hadn't counted on "whoever was left standing" to be Gideon's dad, but she didn't let that stop her.

 "And I take it you're The Dark One?" She asked.

 "Dark One?" He asked, then laughed a little. "Doesn't have a bad ring to it."

 "How do you know who I am?" Hope asked. She began to sidestep away from the door, and The Dark One kept his eyes fixed on her.

 "Just because the League doesn't keep tabs on you doesn't mean I don't," he smiled. "You've been in this game for five years, but didn't make the big leagues until you took down Abominable last July. You have honed your skills in flight, self-healing, and standard fisticuffs, and have the ability to teleport both liquid and solid nonliving objects over a distance under and up to twenty feet away. While you usually work alone, you sometimes team up with," and he stopped and laughed again, "oh, where are my manners? I believe you've met my guests."

 He nodded in the direction of the large cage in the corner of the room, and Hope realized the bodies on the floor were a bit too familiar. She ran to the edge of the cage and saw, sure enough, her parents, lying on the ground.

 "What did you do to them?"

 "Me?" The Dark One asked. "They were perfectly fine until about seventeen seconds ago, when someone flooded the room with a sleeping powder. Truly a visionary plan, if only it worked."

 She looked over his shoulder to see Gideon already at the main computer, holding up three fingers.

 "Three minutes?" Hope thought. "Three seconds? Three hours? I'll stall as long as I can, but I can't guarantee any of those."

 "The plan would've worked just fine if we knew you were here."

 "We?" The Dark One asked. "I thought Golden Girl works alone."

 "I do." Hope lied.

 "Well, if you do," The Dark One said. He turned his head, and in a flash teleported behind the console, then back in front of Hope, now holding a squirming Gideon by the scruff of his neck, "then who's this?"

 "No one." Hope said, trying to see a plan through the worry clouding her mind.

 "Well, if he's no one," The Dark One asked, "then would you have a problem if I removed him from the premises? Permanently?"

 Gideon shook his head no, trying to warn Hope not to try to save him, but the fear in his eyes and her own said otherwise.

 "You don't want to hurt him." Hope said, and this was, according to the intel they'd recently uncovered, very, very true.

 "Oh, I think I do." The Dark One smiled.

 "No." Hope shook her head. "Trust me, you don't."

 "Well then," he said, "I guess I have no choice but to hurt you instead, Golden Girl."

 He summoned a fireball into his free hand and raised it to strike her, but stopped mid-swing as a cry of "Dad, No!" rang through the room. The fireball stopped just before Hope's face, then fizzled out entirely as The Dark One set the boy down in front of him, before uncovering his son's hood and mask, and then his own.

 "Gideon?" The Dark One asked, his face wrought with distress. "Gideon, my boy. It's not what it looks like."

 "I know what you are, father." Gideon said. "What I want to know is why."

 "Why?" "Why did you do any of this?"

 Both heroes studied the look on the villain's face, waiting patiently for the explanation that followed.

 "Gideon, my son." he shook his head. "I did all of this for you."

 "For me?"

 He shook his head. "I wasn't strong enough to save your mother. It almost destroyed me, if not for you. You gave me purpose. I couldn't let the same thing happen to you. I made myself strong to protect you."

 Hope reasoned that this was a pretty good excuse, if you ignored the atrocities that came with it. Gideon, apparently, caught the same drift.

 "You made yourself evil to protect me." Gideon said. "Cowering behind a mask, sending others to do your dirty work, hurting people just because you can? That's not strength. That's fear. I didn't need any of this. You did."

 "I just," the dark one shook his head, "I wanted to be your hero."

 "By becoming a villain?"

 He looked over his son's shoulder at Hope, and nodded, pieces clearly clicking in his mind.

 "And is this a hero, then?" Gideon's dad gestured to the girl behind them, then spoke directly to her. "By the way, Hope, I know that's you. Did you really think I'd forget a face, or a name, or how they fit together?"

 "It's been awhile, Mr. Gold," Hope said.

 "It doesn't feel like it." He replied. "You know, you're all my son ever talks about. 'Hope said this.' 'Hope did that.' 'Hope's dad makes the best chocolate chip cookies.'"

 "He does." Gideon interrupted.

 "I know, right?" Hope said.

 The dark dad continued. "He neglected to mention the most super thing about you, though."

 "You're the last member of this family to talk about secrets." Gideon interjected. "When did you intend to tell me about the little family business you're running?"

 "It doesn't matter when I intended to tell you." His dad said. "You know now, and there couldn't be a better time for it."

 "What do you mean?"

 "Why, it's the eve of our great triumph!" He laughed. "Right now, the League of everyone who wants to gatekeep everything I need to protect you is hacking away at our mainframe to delete some files I compromised. There's quite the surprise waiting for them, though."

 "What did you do?" Gideon shook his head. "Dad, you didn't."

 "The next computer that breaks through my device's firewalls is going to have quite the surprise in store— a technical overload, and a virus so sophisticated, it'll blow up their computer, and their whole IT department along with it."

 "Then we're in big trouble!" Gideon ran to the console in the middle of the room. Hope and his dad followed.

 "I placed a hack chip right before you grabbed me." Gideon said. "I've got a series of algorithms working at it as we speak that are gonna have no problem with this puppy. The whole things's liable to blow at any second!"

 Red lights and automated voices screaming "DANGER! DANGER! YOU HAVE NO CHANCE TO EVACUATE!" strobed across the rooms. The prior conversation had been technical mumbo jumbo, but this was something Hope understood.

 "We have to get out of here!" She said.

 "No time." Gideon shook his head. 

 Gideon jumped up from his spot in front of the computer, pushing both Hope and his dad out of the way as a brilliant flash of light burst from the console behind him.

🩷•⚡•💛

[ouatnextgen]

chapter summary: Hope and Gideon have a conversation. chapter word count: 1440  a/n: Here's today's chapter, since the one I posted earlier today was really last week's chapter! taglist:@accidental-spice@kanerallels@ouatnextgen@booksteaandtoomuchtv (if you'd like to be added to my cygnet scholar taglist, let me know!) also on ao3!

#7: No More Secrets

 "You've been keeping secrets?"

 "Just one." Hope said. "I thought it was for your own good, but after you told me about your dad…."

 "What is it?" Gideon asked, staring at her so intently neither of them may as well have been wearing masks.

 "My parents." She said. "They're heroes."

 "What kind of heroes?"

 "The same as me." Hope shook her head.

 "Saving Grace and Captain Guyliner?" Gideon asked, and when she nodded in response, he threw his head back in frustration.

 "I'm sorry." Hope said. "I've been lying to you for years, and I thought it was protecting you, but nothing has hurt me more than knowing I hurt you. I never wanted you to get hurt."

 "I'm not the one you should be worried about." Gideon said. "Your parents are."

 "What?"

"I heard my dad mention it this morning, while I was doing a little recon…."

 Hope smiled at the rebellious streak he was showing. "You were spying on your dad?"

 "I knew he was planning something." Gideon said. "Can you blame me for wanting to know if you were the target? I thought it was fortunate that the only supers left on his list were Saving Grace and Captain Guyliner, but now…."

 Hope shook her head again. "I have to go. I have to save them."

 Before she got a chance to take off, Gideon grabbed her arm. She looked down at his hand, and then back up at his face.

 "We have to save them." Gideon said.

 "No way." Hope said. She'd watched enough movies to know that bringing her powerless best friend into battle might as well be signing his death sentence. "You're not coming with me."

 His expression hardened. "I thought you said you still trust me."

 "I do." Hope said. "I trust you to always have my back, and I trust you not to steer me wrong, and I trust you to do whatever it takes to help me."

 "So let me come with you."

 "No." Hope said.

 "Why not?" Gideon asked. 

 "My parents will find out you know my secret identity."

 "And what's so wrong with that?" Gideon asked. "Hope, aren't you tired of this? Of all the lies, all the pretending, all the sneaking around behind their backs?"

 "Of course I'm tired of it!"

 "Then let me help you." He grabbed her hand, adding emphasis to his words. "Let me go out there and fight alongside you. Who cares about code orange? Let your parents find out. You don't know how they'll react. Who knows, maybe they'll even recommend me to the League as well, and we can save the world together, Hope. Don't you want that?"

 For a moment, she considered it, but then she shook her head.

 "No."

 "Why not?" Gideon asked, letting go of her hand, and she would've flown off while she still had the chance if he hadn't shaken his head gently and said, "No more secrets, Hope."

 "Fine." Hope said. "You wanna know why I don't want you going out there with me?"

 "Yes!"

 "It's scary out there, Gid." She said, and the rest of a conversation that was years in the making tumbled out of it. "I know I put on a brave face, but sometimes it's almost too much for me— me, Gideon. Me with my flying and my clever quips and my right hook and my self healing abilities. There are fights out there that I almost don't win, days when, if I'm being perfectly honest, I don't know if I'll make it back to the lair for a victory cocoa and chamomile tea. I have all these incredible powers, and I'm barely strong enough."

 The concern in his eyes told her to continue.

 "So what happens when you're out there? And you've got no powers, and no computer screen to hide behind, no backups or fail safes or algorithms for when you're up against something too big for you? If I can't even guarantee my own safety, what kind of hero would I be if I let you out there with me?"

 She looked down at the ground between them, and added, in a mumbled whisper.

 "I don't know what I'd do if I lost you."

 "And why do you think I want to be out there with you?"

 Hope shrugged, her head still pointed down low.

 "Trust me," Gideon continued, "the idea of going head-to-head with another henchman like the dragoness is terrifying. Sure, maybe I'd be safer if I was in an underground bunker, tapping away at a screen and giving you the best advice I can while optimizing your playlists from a safe distance. I'd be so safe if I spent my entire life in the chair— but I wouldn't be any less scared."

 Hope looked up at him in surprise. "What do you have to be scared of?"

 Gideon sighed, then smiled, then took her hand again.

 "Every time you go into battle," Gideon shook his head, "when the little red light beeps in the lair, and you jump into action like it doesn't even faze you, and go out there and risk your life to save the world, I'm just as scared as," he paused, and gave a silent laugh, "well, I suppose as scared as you are. I guess I just know that someday there'll be a fight you can't walk away from, and every time you go out there, I'm afraid it's gonna be the one."

 "Gideon, I…."

 "You're not invincible, Hope." Gideon said. "Powers or not, you're still human. You're still just a kid— we're still just kids, Hope. I don't know, the thought of you going out there, dying alone in the streets at the hands of some villain of the week, and me, a million miles away, and more powerless than ever. A piece of me dies whenever you go out there and risk that."

 "Gee," Hope said, and though his words were genuine and beautiful, she could only push out the most genuine, "I didn't know you cared, Gid," she could muster.

 His eyes met hers. "I care about you more than you know."

 Hope nodded. "I know."

 For a moment, they studied each other's expressions, with more fervor than either of them had put into studying anything in their lives.

 "I know you want to keep me safe," Gideon said, "but if you care about me at all, don't put me through this anymore. Let me come with you."

 Hope nodded. "Okay."

 His smile was worth all the risk of losing him. "Thanks."

 "We've wasted enough time talking." Hope said.

 "Right." Gideon nodded, as though suddenly realizing that all that time spent begging to come to battle was in preparation for this very moment.

 But he wasted one more second on talk.

 "Thank you for trusting me," he said, "even if it took a little while." He took the risk of planting a precious kiss on her cheek.

 Hope tucked a hair behind her ear and smiled.

 "Thank you for making it easy." She replied, stealing a moment's gaze into his eyes, planning out a long and beautiful conversation that would need to be had when all was said and done.

 "And I trust you too." Gideon smiled. "Always have, always will."

 "Good," Hope's hand still in his, she gripped it tighter, "because you're really gonna need to."

 Keeping a firm grip on Gideon, making sure she'd never lose him again, Hope jumped in the air and began flying, despite Gideon's screams as they soared above treetops and buildings.

 "I didn't realize you were still such a baby about heights." Hope said, judging by the amplitude of Gideon's screams and how tight his grip was on her soon-to-be-broken knuckles that he did not enjoy flying as much as she did.

 "Not about heights," Gideon screamed, "about falling from them!"

 "You know," Hope said, "Lois Lane never complained like this."

 "That's because Superman had an almost limitless amount of strength," Gideon yelled, "and may I remind you, they're in a comic book!"

 "Chill out, Gid." Hope said. With one barely-supercharged pull of her arm, she lifted Gideon a little higher, then slipped both of her arms underneath him, carrying him like Superman would've on all the covers of all the aforementioned comic books.

 "That better for ya, Smallville?"

She expected him to still cling to her for dear life, to practically strangle her as he screamed and they'd both start to plummet. But instead, the way he held onto her, much like the way his eyes now held her in their gaze, was something gentle.

 "Yeah." He smiled. "A lot."

🩷•⚡•💛

[ouatnextgen]

chapter summary:when hope swan-jones learns she's going to develop superpowers, the first person she tells is her best friend, gideon gold. chapter word count: 1478 a/n: So I suppose I owe you guys an explanation, huh? The short version is that laptops are not supposed to be inflated, and when one finds themself with a laptop that has begun to inflate itself, they cut off all power supply to the laptop and don't use it, and their readers have to wait an extra week for the next chapter of their fic because the house miiiiiiiiiight set on fire if they don't and they're not taking any chances. The end. taglist:@accidental-spice @kanerallels @ouatnextgen @booksteaandtoomuchtv (if you'd like to be added to my cygnet scholar taglist, let me know!) also on ao3!

#6: The Team-Up

 When Hope's parents had asked her that night what was wrong, all she'd told them was she and Gideon had gotten into a fight, and maybe they'd get over it, and maybe they wouldn't, but either way she didn't want to talk about it yet.

 She had hoped that when she saw Gideon at school the next morning, she could explain everything and put everything back to normal, but for the first time in his life he didn't show. That afternoon she did her homework by herself, sitting in Gideon's abandoned chair in the lair, while simultaneously checking the scanner on the computer for any villain activity.

 She was more thankful than ever when the computer beeped its usual danger warning. As terrifying as the idea of a solo fight was, there was nothing better to get her out of a funk than punching out bad guys and locking them up for good, a fact that made her wonder if she either needed a more robust social calendar or a good therapist.

 Hope changed quickly into her super suit and rushed for the door, which opened before she got to it. For a moment, she hoped that her guy-in-the-chair had returned. She was disappointed when, instead of a shaggy-haired nerd panting, "I came as soon as I heard," she saw her parents, dressed not as Mr. and Mrs. Swan-Jones, average white picket-fence parents, but as Captain Guyliner and Saving Grace, two heroes ready to take on the world.

 "You're coming with us on this one." Hope's mom said, and as Hope glanced at the digital dossier, she knew why. A trio of henchmen— or, in this case, henchwomen— were wreaking havoc at city hall, and it would take a trio of supers to give them an even match.

 "Let's do this." Hope smiled.

🩷•⚡•💛

 Neither of Hope's parents could fly, but her dad had a teleportation gadget, which was a much faster means of transport anyways.

 "Now, remember," her dad said, "the League didn't approve freelance agents on this one. You came to fight on your own, didn't know we were here, and have only met us in passing."

 "Yes, sir." Hope said.

 "Stay safe out there." Her mom said.

 "As long as you guys do the same."

 They gave each other one last hug before her parents teleported into the battle, while Hope waited a few moments on the sidelines before flying in. The agreement on team-ups was simple— only join in on the fight if needed, act like you didn't plan on running into each other on this one, and keep the family secret, well, secret.

 She waited her customary moments and watched the fight. The trio of henchwomen were all dressed in black jumpsuits, but other than that, they couldn't be more different. One had a deep red fur collar and seemed to be allspeaking at the nearby animals to get them to fight on her behalf. Another had purple tentacles that packed quite a punch. The third, and probably most terrifying, had seemed unassuming at first— you know, until she started breathing fire and sprouted dragon-esque wings.

 That was when Hope knew it was time to jump in. Her parents would have no trouble with a couple powerful villains on the ground, but a flying, fire-breathing, henchdragoness was much more Hope's style.

 She cracked her knuckles, readied her fist, and charged at the dragon lady at top speed, with a surprise attack that stopped the fires raining down on her parents for only a moment as the villain flew several feet backwards.

 "Thought you two could use a hand." Hope called.

 "Appreciate the save as always." Captain Guyliner said, blocking a couple octopus-arm attacks, "watch your head."

 Hope looked up to see the dragoness charge her, then ducked, before giving her a powerful kick to the stomach as she passed by overhead.

 Her parents, however, didn't seem to be faring quite as well. While fighting in the air, there were infinite directions to dodge, and incredibly limitless mobility. On the streets, however, fighting was in close quarters, and those quarters seemed to get closer and closer by the minute. One moment, this fight seemed like simple, routine hero work, and the next, Hope looked down to see her parents surrounded, not merely by the henchwomen, but the army of stray dogs that had come to the fur collar's call. A pair of handcuffs was thrown on Saving Grace, and given her reaction, it seemed to be of the kind that neutralized powers.

But Hope had problems of her own to deal with, as her fight with the dragoness brought her higher and higher above the streets.

 "And what makes you think you've really the power to defeat me?" The villain taunted.

 "I almost never think," Hope said, "but I always know— and I know you're no match against the forces of good."

 "A noble sentiment, if not inaccurate." She laughed. "Look how well those two precious fools have fared."

 Hope looked down to see her parents, slung on the villains' shoulders and carried away.

 She then looked up to see the dragon-winged lady charging her at full speed, sending her hurtling to the asphalt below with a terrible crackle.

 It felt only a second before she recovered, to some extent, staring at her surroundings as they blurred into view— a street that, while littered with carnage, left no record of heroes, villains, or canine army— just herself and a fearsome dragon henchwoman standing over her.

 "The League didn't have you in their files," she said, "but I think you'll make a nice surprise for the boss."

 Hope pushed herself up, hoping to ignore the pain in her entire body for long enough to land a crippling blow, but only finding herself crumpling. It would take her a moment to recover, and it didn't look like Hope would have that kind of time.

 "Unfortunately for you," she said, "there were no rules against 'extra crispy.'"

 She could feel the heat of her fiery breath as it bellowed towards her, then disappeared into a cold powder, followed by an exasperated scream from the dragon lady. Hope looked up to see a new superhero standing over her, a boy about her age in a gold and pink outfit.

 "What are you…?"

 "Go heal yourself," he said, aiming a fire extinguisher into the henchwoman's mouth.

 "But who…?"

 "Even the great heroes have a sidekick, Golden Girl," he said, and though his outfit was meant a disguise, there was no way she wouldn't recognize the smile shadowed under his hood, "and you've got me."

 Gideon had come back for her.

 She slid off to the side, next to a nearby dumpster, and began breathing heavily. Self-healing was a difficult process, and it took almost a full minute and nearly all the focus Hope had. She wasn't sure her new hero could survive in a battle that long, but he'd been pretty clear in his instructions, so she trusted him and began to heal, closing her eyes, finding her health and powers coursing back through her system.

 She opened her eyes feeling healthy as ever, only to see Gideon thrown against a wall by the dragon henchwoman. This had its advantage, as it gave Hope exactly the distraction she needed.

 "Do you really think you can defeat me, boy?" The dragon lady asked, standing over him. "What do you really have that could possibly outdo me?"

 Gideon smiled over her shoulder, his eyes meeting Hope's.

 "I have her."

 The dragoness turned back to Hope, only for her head to turn back around the other way as she was met by a firm punch in the face.

 "Ready for more?" Hope asked.

 The dragoness made a noise that sounded like a slogan from an early twenty-tens Hot Topic T-Shirt, then followed with, "you two weren't on my list anyways. You're not worth my trouble."

 She flew off into the distance, and Hope found herself helping Gideon off the ground.

 "Are you alright?" Gideon asked.

 "Me?" Hope asked. "I'm fine, always am. You however, look like you got run over by an ambulance. Twice. Both times going forward."

 "Gee," he laughed, somewhat sadly, "I didn't know you cared."

 "Of course I care, Gid. You're my best friend. At least…." she interrupted her thought with a heavy sigh. "I thought you wanted nothing to do with me."

 "I could've said the same thing," Gideon said, "after what I told you yesterday."

 "After what you told me?" Hope asked. "Is that what this is about?"

 "Is it not?"

 Hope shook her head, but suddenly realized that with two heroes captured, a villain defeated, and a new super on the block, the media would be on the scene faster than you could say a formal apology.

 "I'll explain everything on the way out of here." Hope took his hand and led him through a couple sidestreets.

 "Please do."

 "I'm not upset about your dad," Hope said, "that's something he did— is doing— whatever. I wouldn't judge you for that. I wouldn't judge you for any of it."

 "It's not about what I said?" Gideon asked.

 "No," Hope said, as they slowed down in front of a nearby gelato place, "It's about what I never said. What kind of hero keeps secrets from her sidekick?"

 As she said this, she pulled them both into the nearest alleyway, and he pushed her further in, her back against a wall in the shadows.

🩷•⚡•💛

[ouatnextgen]

chapter summary: gideon discovers the identity of the city's greatest villain. chapter word count: 945 a/n: n/a taglist:@accidental-spice @kanerallels @ouatnextgen @booksteaandtoomuchtv (if you'd like to be added to my cygnet scholar taglist, let me know!) also on ao3!

#5: Partners You Can Trust

 Hope finished the homework in record time, partly due to Gideon's prior instruction, and partly due to his absence. She could always focus a lot better when he wasn't there with her— though without him around, the task of doing anything that involved the word "study" was much too daunting to even start.

 She was surprised to finish without a single text from Gideon, with a "you're never gonna believe this" or "hurry up; this is INCREDIBLE" or "this is so obvious I can't believe I didn't see it sooner." The fact that Gideon hadn't sent her a single teaser or spoiler in the twenty minutes he'd been sitting on this information was uncharacteristic, but maybe he'd just gotten into computer troubles, or was lost in some bonus research and forgot his own existence. He was frustratingly good at that.

 But when she got into their lair, the screen was inactive, and Gideon sat still, staring at the ground in dismay. Any air of joy he'd had when he left had been zapped. He didn't even look Hope in the eyes.

 "Gideon," Hope asked, "is something wrong?"

 In response, he turned back to the computer and clicked the mouse, revealing a large image on the screen— a grainy, darkened image, almost like security camera footage, of none other than Gideon's father.

 "You think your dad would be able to hire a better photographer." Hope said.

 "My dad didn't know this picture was being taken." Gideon said. "This— this is the only confirmed photograph of The Dark One."

 Hope shook her head. She couldn't remember exactly what the five stages of grief she'd learned about were, but she was sure they'd run through her head at lightning speed in the seconds that followed, and were taking much longer for Gideon.

 "Gid, I'm so sorry."

 "I should've known." Gideon said, with a laugh that screamed of delusion. "You don't own a mansion running a pawn shop. All those late night meetings with 'associates' who I was never allowed to talk to. All those business trips. The convenience of him never being home to see me sneak out during your battles. It was all right there. Gosh, I'm an idiot."

 "No, you're not," Hope said, pulling up the lair's other rolling chair and sitting next to him. "You're the smartest boy I've ever met."

 "My dad's the head of the largest affiliation of supervillains in the world, and I had no idea." Gideon said. "You call that smart?"

 "I call that 'trusting.'" Hope said, and though she'd never done anything like it before, she found her hand reaching for his. "It happens to be one of the things I like most about you."

 The self-loathing in his eyes only diminished slightly as his hand gripped hers.

 "Really?"

 "Of course. After all, you didn't have to trust me with this." She nodded slightly to the blown-up security footage of his dad, and squeezed his hand. "But you did."

 "Of course I did. You're my best friend." And a pang of guilt washed over her as he added, "We tell each other everything."

 Such a nice sentiment wouldn't have made her feel so guilty if it had actually been true. Maybe he told her everything, but he had no idea that the converse wasn't true, that she'd been lying to him since eighth grade. How many times had she lied to him in the past twenty-four hours alone just to keep her parents' secret identities secret? How many more lies had she scattered through the latter half of their friendship?

 Gideon had always been creative and clever and loyal, but what she appreciated most about him was how he'd always been so trusting. She could've confided anything in him, and he'd always trust her on it, but he had no idea he'd only gotten half of the story. Gideon had just found out a horrible secret about his father, and he immediately told her everything. In contrast, Hope had known a wonderful secret about her parents for six years, and had jumped through hoops lying to keep him from knowing. What kind of friendship was that? How would it break him to know the truth?

 Her hand slipped out of his grip.

 "Is everything okay?"

 "I just need some air."

 "Hope…."

 She knew him well enough to know he knew her well enough, well enough to know that 'I just need some air" was her own way of saying, "I'm upset, and if you ask why, it'll only make things worse."

 Usually, when this happened, he would ask her why anyways. He would follow her out of the lair, through the play-pretend fort that had housed their whole childhood, across an overgrown lawn and right through the back door, until she'd tell him what was really on her mind.

 But this time, he didn't. In a way, she was relieved, glad that she wouldn't have to watch all that trust and devotion wring itself out of those warm brown eyes as she yelled and cried and told him how she'd been lying to him for half a decade. In a way, she was relieved that she'd had a thirty-minute walk to clear her mind before she had to approach Gideon, that she'd had enough time to figure out how to word the nail in the coffin with the least amount of people getting hurt.

 But all that relief washed away into regret when she returned to the lair and found it deserted, finding in the abandoned desk chair a note that said, "you deserve a partner you can trust," laying neatly next to his walkie-talkie from when they were kids.

🩷•⚡•💛

[ouatnextgen]

Melody

She grew up in the Enchanted Forest till age 11, then she moved to storybrooke with her parents

she is best friends with Hope, Rose and Robyn

she used to have a crush on Robyn but that ended sometime after Robyn rejected her

She started to date Alex, someone on the swim team and football team

She is captain of the girls swimming team at her school. (which she had to beg her mom to try out for)

She started to notice strange things happening one day when she was swimming (she could stay under water longer, and swim faster than normal) and found out she could turn into a mermaid

this caused problems for her and the swim team.

Melody is also part of her school's choir and band choir, she's also tried out for drama club.

she invited her friends once to her house for a sleepover while her parents were away and they invited people from school and threw a big party.

she is not much of a socializer

Her nicknames are: Mel, Guppy, Curls, Ariel jr, the littlest mermaid, Ariel with no tail (The Bimbette cousins)

her mermaid abilities are similar to H2O, but she has to wear a special hair pin so she can turn into a mermaid at her own free will

she likes collecting shells and makes jewelry out of them (everyone always complains about the smell)

Her favourite meal is seaweed salad, the cravings happened more once she developed her mermaid abilities. (her friends find it really gross)

She has a beautiful singing voice, that can hypnotize people

her and her friends pitched that the school throws a winter ball

if her hair isn't down, she usually puts fishtail braids in. (she loves braiding her friends hair)

she follows the coquette style, in her clothes and her bedroom style

[ouatnextgen]

Cygnet Scholar Enchanted Forest prt 2

[ouatnextgen]

Cygnet Scholar Enchanted Forest Edition

[ouatnextgen]

Hope Swan-Jones Enchanted Forest Edition

[ouatnextgen]

Boris Lucas: Are you having another depressive episode?

Winnie Rogers : A depressive episode?

Winnie Rogers : I'm having a depressive series and we're just on season one.

God, I feel that Rowena XD

[ouatnextgen]

No one:

ABSOLUTELY no one:

Rowena whenever Killian is about to do something he'd regret or do something extremely bad that's out of character:

(She appears the fuck out of nowhere, especially when she's a preteen).

Lmao. And that's even before she figures out her magic XD

[ouatnextgen]

I don't know if I'll ever write how Hazel came to the family but I had this funny idea:

Whale *holds up a baby Hazel clearly confused* It's a girl?

Emma, too tired to even question it: Guess you aren't beating the girl dad accusations, Hook.

Killian: This family gets more and more confusing as time goes on.

Whale: Does that mean you don't want to hold the-

Killian: Give me my bloody baby.

I like to think that Emma wasn't even pregnant, and Hazel just... appeared out of thin air.

And at that point in their careers, Emma and Killan just roll with it.

[ouatnextgen]

We talked about David not liking anyone his kids date now I want you to imagine this being the case with Killian. But with Henry being the sole exception to this rule (what can he say? He liked both girls well enough).

Alice starts dating Robyn? It's Killian and David all over again but Killian warms up to Robyn a lot quicker than David did.

Harriet starts dating Anthony Tremaine? Killian is just at the diner glaring him down as he works.

Harry shows interest in Uma, Audrey, or Gil? Killian is immediately suspicious/anxious regarding their intentions.

CJ starts dating Freddie or Zevon? Killian is just grimacing (mainly at Zevon. He's more of 'Please god don't give her anymore ideas' when it comes to Freddie).

Hazel starts dating someone? Doesn't matter who it is. Killian does not trust them on principle and will likely have a good reason for it.

Hope starts dating Gideon or Philip? Protective dad mode activated.

Hort (from school of secrets the movie specifically) starts dating Sophie/Sophia? Killian hates Sophie/Sophia (can't remember which rn) with a passion. It's David and Killian all over again only it takes a lot more for the girl to win him over because Hort's his youngest.

David is very smug about all this. He pulls the "now you know how I feel" card all the time

[ouatnextgen]

David *stares*

Alice/Tilly *stares back, hanging upside down from a tree in her bunny mask*

Harriet *glowering like Killian*

Harry *Too busy trying to show something off to Killian to even notice the staring*

CJ *Trying to steal something from Killian's pocket only for him to swat her hand away without looking, causing her to pout*

David: YOU'VE HAD FOUR KIDS THIS ENTIRE TIME?

Hazel *jumps up beside him, causing him to jump backwards* Close Mr! He has five!

(I'm work shopping my 'A Wish Fulfilled' story. Imagining David's reaction to this info is always funny).

XD

Now, is it worse or better in the Madhook universe, where Killian has even more kids, but isn't trying to date David's daughter?

[ouatnextgen]

*Will Scarlet if The RWYLM group were teenagers during first curse*

Will Scarlet: I have to ground you. I am grounding you. You are grounded.

Haul Scarlet: What about work?

Will Scarlet: Fine. Other than work. And no Tv.

Haul Scarlet: My Tv's broken.

Will Scarlet: Then no computer.

Haul Scarlet: I need my computer for school.

Will Scarlet: Then no uh… * sees Rowena Jones enter from the other room* Rowena!

Rowena Jones: What? No Rowena?!

Will Scarlet: No Rowena!

Haul Scarlet *Flabbergasted*

XD

How will he live?

[ouatnextgen]

i'm not the man i used to be (but we inhabit the same flesh)

gideon gold moodboard | do not repost | playlist

[ouatnextgen]

I'm so glad someone else understands the Gideon Gold angst.

Growing up as Gideon Gold after the final battle must be like. I'm normal, right? Why don't I feel it? I feel like I've done all of this before. I feel like I've been on this planet before but I still feel out of place. Why is everyone so scared of my father? I wonder what my mother is always researching? No one ever tells me I look like my dad. The older I get, the more I notice it. When did the sheriffs start tensing up when they see me? What is that darkness I see in my dreams? My mom started another story, but stopped partway through. Why won't she let me see my birth certificate? I feel like I've lived my entire life before. If I've always been safe, why do I feel scared? If I've always been good, why do people fear me? Why do I feel like someone I've never met? Why am I like this? Who even am I? What even am I? How long will it be until I'm ready to know truths about myself that the rest of the world has already accepted?