#whumptember day six: torn mask

[iwritewhump]

"I never want to see your face here again" + torn mask + reluctant villain + hero's headquarters

day six of whumptember

1502 words

warnings: none that i can think of

~~

Living Weapon looks at itself in the mirror. It exhales heavily and twists, lifting its shirt. 

“Ah,” Handler says, popping in the room. “You’ve healed nicely. It’s about time to get back out onto the field!” 

Living Weapon drops its shirt and hangs its head. “Seems like it.” 

Handler sighs and walks up to it, wraps an arm around its waist and pulls it close. “I thought you were bored of laying around.” 

Living Weapon tenses and pulls away from her. It pulls a hoodie over its shirt and shrugs. Handler cups its chin and lifts its face up to look at her. “You know you have to get back out there.” 

It looks up at her and nods, “I know.” 

She combs hair out of its eyes, “And you know I don’t take any joy in sending you out there to get hurt?” 

And it almost believes her. “I know.” 

“So why don’t you want to?” she asks, pushing its face back. “Do you not believe in our cause?” 

Not even a little bit. “I just got better, it’s a little scary.” 

She scoffs, “Scary?!” 

She circles around it, hands behind her back. “You’re not allowed to feel scared anymore. Not after everything we’ve done.”

“Everything I’ve done,” It corrects, whispering. 

Handler stops and stares at it. She raises her eyebrows, daring it to say more. 

Living Weapon looks at the ground and shakes its head, “I’m sorry.” 

“No, no.” Handler says, “Let’s chat about it. Everything you’ve done.” 

It shakes its head. 

She hits the side of its head and grabs a fistful of hair. “Living Weapon, I said we’re going to talk about it.” 

It winces as she tugs on its hair and exhales shakily. It keeps its mouth closed, knowing Handler’s trying to rile it up. She puts her face right next to its and spits on its cheek. 

“You are only alive because I let you be,” She snarls, releasing the hair from her hand. She pushes it against the wall and rolls her eyes. “Clean your face and get ready to go. Hero won’t stay in one spot for long.” 

Living Weapon wipes its cheek and secures its mask on its face. It stares at itself in the mirror and takes a shaky breath. Quietly, it whispers, “You’re not who she makes you be. You’re better…you’re good.” 

Living Weapon takes one last deep breath and walks out of the room. Handler looks up, walks to the door and twists the handle, “Are you ready to go?” 

It stands behind her and follows her out the door, head hanging. Handler opens the van door for Living Weapon and it climbs in. Handler slams the door and goes around to the driver’s door. She starts the car and drives off, sending Living Weapon sliding to the back of the van. It winces and sits against the back of the van, knees pulled to its chest. 

After a few minutes of reckless driving, Handler slams on the brake (Living Weapon’s convinced she does it just to jostle it) and pulls the key out of the ignition. She slides open the van door, “Get out!” she barks. “We don’t have long before Hero notices the van.” 

The pair stalks up to the window at the back of Hero’s base and Living Weapon peeks inside. After getting a good enough look, it jumps down from the ledge and stands next to Handler. 

“It looks like he’s alone, I didn’t see Sidekick, Superhero, or Medic. What do you want me to do?” 

Handler looks down at him and frowns, “The plan is the same as always.” 

Its heart sinks just a little. “Right. I was just checking.” 

She rolls her eyes and pushes it forward before disappearing behind a tall dumpster. Living Weapon casts one more glance back and takes a deep breath. It stalks around the building and finds a cracked window on the first floor. It climbs in and finds itself in a bathroom. Using a hairbrush to prop the window open, Living Weapon walks to the door and hides behind it. 

Peeking through the crack between the door and the wall, Living Weapon finds a path to Hero through the kitchen. It prowls out of the bathroom and into the kitchen. 

It pauses, staring at a small pan of brownies. And just for a moment, Living Weapon considers disobeying Handler. It considers cutting itself a piece of the brownie and letting itself get caught by Hero. And it would let Hero win their fight, he would keep it safe from Handler. 

“Want a piece?” Hero asks, suddenly appearing in the kitchen. He turns the light on with a smile. “I’ve been waiting for you.” 

Living Weapon jumps and looks out of the window. It shakes its head, “Turn the light off!” 

Hero tilts his head, but flips the switch off. He tiptoes over to the window and looks out of it, “What are you scared of?” 

Living Weapon scoffs, “You think I’m scared? After everything I’ve done?” it glances out of the window again, “Move away from the window.” 

Hero listens and walks back to where he was at first. His hand hovers above the light switch, “I think you’re terrified.” 

Living Weapon throws itself across the room and shoves Hero away from the lightswitch. It lays on top of him, pinning his arms at his sides with its knees. Its hands wrap around his neck on instinct. “Keep the lights off!” 

Hero coughs and tries to push Living Weapon off, but all he succeeds in doing is tiring himself out. 

Living Weapon loosens its grip around Hero’s throat when his body relaxes under it. “Stay awake.” It spits. 

Hero blinks his eyes back open and he looks around wildly. “Can you get off of me?” 

Living Weapon looks back out the window and Hero uses the momentary distraction to free a hand from under Living Weapon’s knee. He swipes at its face and tears the mask off. It rolls off of Hero and covers its face with its arms. 

Hero jumps to his feet with the mask bunched in his hands. He looks at the crumpled fabric and then at the cowering figure in his kitchen. 

He holds the mask out to Living Weapon and looks over his shoulder, “I won’t look. Promise” 

The mask disappears from his hand and he waits a few more seconds before turning back to Living Weapon. 

It holds the mask in its hands with tears shining in its eyes, “You ripped it.” 

They both jump to attention when footsteps sound from down the hallway. Living Weapon puts its mask on and runs over behind Hero. “You beat me,” It whispers, putting his hand on its shoulder as it kneels. “Please.” 

Hero looks down at him and nods. He flips the light on and tightens his grip on Living Weapon’s shoulder. 

“Come on out, Handler.” he demands. 

She steps out of the shadows and claps, “I never could hide from you.” 

He smirks and takes a small step in front of Living Weapon, shielding it from her. “And I’ve got your pet now. I’d run if I were you, who knows what I’ll make it do.” 

She rolls her eyes and steps up to him, her chin almost poking him in the eye. “You didn’t beat it, it let you win.” She looks at Living Weapon and her face hardens. “Because it’s a coward who can’t do what needs to be done.” 

Hero puts his free hand on her shoulder and pushes her back, “I think you should leave. One wrong move and I’ll kill it.” 

Living Weapon looks up at him and closes its eyes. There’s always the hope that Hero got with the program very quickly, but there’s also the more likely reality that he’s finally in control of it and can quite literally crush it under his hand. 

Handler looks at it and shrugs, “Do what you have to, I’ll be back with someone stronger.” 

Hero pushes Living Weapon to the ground and it stays down, watching as he pushes Handler out of the kitchen and back down the hallway. 

“You’re going to leave now,” he says, voice dripping with venom. “And I never want to see your face here again. If I do…well, I bet you can use your imagination. Remember what Living Weapon did to Sidekick?” 

Living Weapon’s stomach turns and it waits for Hero to walk back into the kitchen. It counts his footsteps and kneels in front of Hero when stands in front of it. 

“Please forgive me for Sidekick…I had no choice. Handler…she-” 

Hero cuts it off and squats in front of it, “I know all about Handler, I know you’re not responsible for what you’ve done.” 

And with that statement, Living Weapon feels like everything’s going to work out, like everyone would forgive it for what it had done just as easily as Hero had. For one spectacular moment, Living Weapon let itself relax. 

~

part two