Heroicide (Villainous AU origin story)

Absence of Awareness

Nerd was making pancakes about a day after he had been deemed well enough to go about his day without medical attention. He'd seized as he put the last of the pancake batter on the frying pan. Nerd was just going blind, deaf, and paralyzed all at once, standing there as the pancake burned.

Eventually the scent of something burning disturbed Slug from his lab reports, he set his laptop down and spedwalked to the kitchen. "Nerd, what is that horrid smell!?" He saw Nerd standing there, as if lost in a daydream. "NERD, ANSWER!" Geno approached, slapping Nerd across the back as an attempt to catch his attention. Nerd started to fall forward, but Geno pulled him to a chair and sat him down before dealing with the burning mess on the stove.

Nerd heard nothing, saw nothing, felt nothing. He could not move a muscle of his own will. Quite literally, the pale eldritch thought he was dead. He was internally freaking out about how he didn't want to die. And, suddenly, he slowly found he could wiggle his fingers. A slight tingle spread through his body as he regained normal functioning. He felt... Like he was sitting, he didn't remember sitting down. That scared him. What scared him more was he saw an angered Slug dumping a burnt pancake. Wait, burnt?! Nerd couldn't fathom it, how long was he 'dead' for!?!

"Nerd. What the hell was that?!" Slug growled, noticing the other's consciousness. "What the actual fuck just happened?!!" He seemed pissed, and rightfully so. His employee blatantly ignored him AND purposely burnt food. Probably intended to burn the house down, too!

"I-I-I -" Before Nerd had a chance to explain himself, Geno had grabbed his tie and started studying his face. Nerd swallowed air, trying to back up. He didn't like being this close, it made his heart race in terror- made his body quiver in fear. Too afraid to try and come up with anything other than to meekly mumble, "I-i-i d-don't kn-know, S-sir..."

Noting how afraid the other was, Geno gave a squinting judgmental glare and watched the fear intensify with no attempt to mask itself. Okay, Nerd wasn't lying. "Explain yourself: Why were you standing there like a test dummy while the food burned right in front of you?!!" He pulled Nerd slightly closer, their faces weren't close enough to touch but Nerd could definitely feel the warmth from Geno's anger.

"I-i..." Nerd pauses, trying to regain some control over his nervousness. "I, uh... I-i c-couldn't see, c-couldn't hear, o-or m-move... I-i-it sc-scared m-e-E-" Nerd was interrupted in his last word by Geno picking him up and slinging him over his shoulder. Like he weighed nothing. Nerd was startled by this, very frightened that Geno was going to be angry with him and leave another mark on his form.

Geno felt the fear of the other, tightening his grip on the lighter male as he felt Nerd struggle. Nerd was still weak... Geno felt a pang of guilt randomly stab him again. He blamed himself for Nerd's current state. He was determined to figure out what this absence of consciousness was and to get it remedied somehow. "Stop struggling, or I'll make you stop." Geno grumbled, starting to grow annoyed.

The vague threat nearly caused Nerd's heart to skip a beat. He didn't need to be told twice, he tensed and awaited what he assumed was going to be some kind of punishment. He noticed they were heading towards the lab and started to freak out, his imagination sending him places involving test tubes and hazardous chemicals.

Geno felt the complete distrust from the other, the rapid pulse he was feeling from Nerd's chest told all. He was like a small rabbit, panicking over the way it's being held while not being able to do anything about the bigger creature forcing it to stay. Geno sighed, "Relax, I'm not going to hurt you." These words had only slightly calmed his eldritch down.

Nerd didn't dare ask why he was being carried, he wanted to argue that he was perfectly able to walk... But he was afraid Geno would become angry at that and just let it happen. Especially since the nonverbal responses were met with threats and or disapproval.