The Undoing Of Villains | ✓

seventeen

(a/n: it's been a crazy time for me lately hence the TRASH update frequency. just ran an obstacle racing course and i've 400 blisters but i wanted to update so i band-aided them and sucked it up. enjoy! LOVE U! dedicated to RandomIsFunny for motivation <3)

(i already have another chapter ready to go and the goal is low because i really want to get back into writing and updating <3 so if you guys show the support you've been so generous with thus far it'll be out by tonight ;) ) 

seventeen

TETRA, AS IT turned out, had named herself fittingly. The name derived from a scientific experiment in which a rhesus macaque was cloned. I was almost irked her nickname sounded neat and still remained historically accurate, but at least I could comfort myself with the fact that she was a villain - in my book, that neutralized whatever bonus points her name gave her.

Of course, these thoughts had not been my initial ones upon hearing Vector's exclamation.

"What do you mean 'she's supposed to be in jail'? You sound more like a parent learning their child's playing hooky rather than a concerned super."

Vector didn't so much as flinch at my response, but I could see his hand tensing and relaxing continuously - he was agitated over this piece of news, too.

"I assume you know her." I said, instead, watching the rare play of emotions cross his face. He'd let his control slip, and I had the privilege of seeing it. However tempted I was to reach for popcorn, I wouldn't want to ruin the moment.

"I co-put her in jail. With another super." He clarified, the words nearly jumbling together. I caught sight of his eyes, brows furrowed as he thought fervently, "Two years ago, perhaps. One and a half. "

I spun the empty water bottle around in my hands, silently watching him. I didn't know Vector well at all, and he barely knew me (considering I'd even given him a fake name.) but he seemed the type who shouldn't be pressured into talking. Instead I sat back, regarding him with intense scrutiny.

Everyone had nervous ticks, and his seemed to be reaching for his hair, running a hand through it multiple times. I could see his han tensing again, resisting the urge. Whoever this Tetra was, she was not your ordinary playground antagonist. I filed that thought away with the rest, my mind spinning to create a thread with which to weave a possible scenario.

It was impossible for her presence not to be linked to the bombing at the public health authority. It was all too coincidental for my taste - and perhaps my new job had made me a lot more paranoid than your usual passersby, but I thought I could smell something bad brewing. Something was definitely rotten in the state of Dynamo.

The sheer display of power she'd put on, the effort she'd gone to, just to prove to me - no one but a mere amateur super - made me all the more wary of her presence here. And Sawyer's sudden appearance in Dynamo after working under the radar for a long while ...

I was unsure when Vector had stopped glancing off into the distance and instead chosen me to study, but when I surfaced back to the present his eyes were drilling holes into my face. I assumed he was attempting to read my mind, too, not that it was going to work. I probably just looked tired and worn, as the scuffle with Tetra and Ningen had left me more than battered. There were bruises and wounds in places there shouldn't be - places I wasn't even aware existed.

Drumming my fingers on the countertop, I sought his gaze and leveled it evenly: "So? Why do you think she's here then?"

I said it casually, as if she was nothing more than an annoying aunt or cousin coming for a sudden, out-of-the-blue visit. Vector shook his head, shoulders still tense.