Of Heroes and Villains

The Chapter Where He Meets the Gang

A door opened behind the counter, and the most handsome man Don had ever seen stepped out. The stranger flashed him a smile, and Don's heart started beating faster. The man was tall, blond and muscular, with dark blue eyes that resembled sapphires. He was wearing what was no doubt an expensive black tux. Don knew exactly what type of guy this was.

"Hey, you must be Dellinger," the man spoke, walking up to him. "I'm Dean. It's a pleasure."

'Oh, God. Even his voice is hot.'

"Y-Yeah. You can call me Don, though." The two shook hands, and Dean started leading him to the counter, then got behind it.

"So, what'll it be, Donnie?"

"I'm not really much of a drinker. So, uh."

Dean turned back to look at him. "Yeah?"

"Is this really a bar? I was expecting something a bit more... office-y."

Dean chuckled, and Don used a small bit of his vapor to force a blush to appear on his cheeks. It should have been mentioned before that his vapor also allowed him to make slight modifications to his own body. He had used this as a teen to keep himself pimple-free.

"Well, we're getting our salaries no matter what," Dean started to explain, pretending to unconsciously loosen his tie. "Jobs don't come to us that often. Espers are pretty easy to identify depending on what vapor they've got, because of the registry. It just doesn't pay to do crime for us. The rare few times when an esper does go wild, we take care of them. We've gotta have something to do while we're free, and since we have to be in this building for it to count as work hours, we decided to make it more fun." He leaned in across the counter, setting down a glass that Don hadn't noticed he'd been pouring. "What do you like to do for fun, Donnie?"

Don leaned forward, too, taking a hold of the glass. "Oh, you know; Stuff."

"Just stuff?"

"No, not just stuff. Things, too."

Dean chuckled again, getting even closer. "You're a tricky one, aren't you? Anyone else would be telling me their life story by now."

Don downed the glass in one go, proving himself a liar. "Your vapor has something to do with your looks, doesn't it?"

Dean nodded, smirking. "Clever kid. I'm basically a male siren. Everything from my looks to my voice to my personality is my vapor. I can charm anyone into telling me anything, or doing favors for me. My job is tension relieving."

Don almost rolled his eyes. "Doesn't seem to be a lot of tension in here."

"Well, I guess I'm pretty good at my job then. Still, that's not the type of tension I was talking about."

Don was about to ask what he meant, but a newcomer spoke from behind him.

"His job is to lessen the chances of physical conflict in tense situations. His voice is perfect for that."

Turning around, Don came face-to-face with the scariest man he had ever seen. He was as tall as Dean, but a bit thinner, and had ridiculously pale skin. His eyes were grey and cold, and his black hair was styled neatly. The only thing making him seem less scary was the apron he was wearing.

"I'm Sean Serious, the leader of Helter Skelter. You were late."

'Nevermind. He's scary even with the apron.'

Don wasn't about to let his nervousness show, and straightened up. "I'm Don Dellinger, sir. Sorry about that. My alarm clock didn't go off."

Sean leaned in, then sniffed him. "You're responsible for cleaning up any mess you make in here. Understood?"

"Yes."

"Make that a "yes, sir". Understood?"

"Yes sir."

"Has Dean done anything to embarrass our office while you were alone?"

'This guy is intense,' Don thought, desperately wanting to glance back at Dean. 'I better not break eye contact.'

"No, sir. He was just telling me the ropes."

A phone rang from one of the other rooms, and Sean went to answer without another word.

Don turned to face Dean. "He's a big, fat weirdo."

The blonde nodded. "He's uptight, but not really as scary as he seems. Think of him as your mom."

"Don't you mean my dad?"

"Why would I mean dad?" Dean's confusion was obvious.

"Never mind then." Not wanting to be forced into an awkward silence, Don gestured toward the woman on the couch. "So who's that?"

Dean sighed. "That'd be Jordan Jones. An alchy, through and through. You're not likely to ever find her sober. There's a fifth member, too, but I don't think she's in today. Luckily, too. She's way scarier than Sean is."

Speaking of the devil; Sean walked back into the room. "Your chance to prove yourself has come sooner than I had anticipated, Dellinger. We just got a job. Be ready to move in five."

Don looked at Dean, who shrugged. "We're good to go in these. We don't really have any special gear."

Don pointed at Jordan.

"Oh, you're gonna wanna see this one."

Sean walked over to the woman, holding a glass of water. He emptied it all over her face. She didn't wake up until the last drop hit her forehead.

"Are you fucking kidding me!? He was just about to take his shirt off!" She then seemed to notice to whom she was speaking, and allowed herself a small yelp. "O-Oh, hey boss. What can I do for ya?"

Sean kept glaring. "Hostage situation after a bank robbery went wrong. We're moving out. You better be ready to earn your paycheck, or there won't be any more of them coming your way." With that, he turned around and stomped off. Don just assumed it was to take the apron off.

Jordan finally noticed the new recruit. Grinning, she stumbled over to him. "Oh, hiya, rookie. I'm Jordan. Aren't you just the cutest little thing?" She threw her arm around Don's shoulder, then held him close.

'We're actually the same height.'

Still, he couldn't help but grin back at her. These people were interesting, and he was already about to go do something dangerous. "So, what do I do?"

The woman shrugged, laughing nervously. "Haven't really read your file yet. My bad. What can you do, exactly?"

Dean sighed from behind the counter, handing Jordan a glass over Don's shoulder. She looked at it, then made a face.

"Do I have to?"

"You know you do. You're dead otherwise."

She took the glance, pinched her nose with her free hand, then started drinking.

'Whatever that it, it's gotta be gross,' Don thought, then smirked. Releasing a tiny bit of red vapor, he became a 5-year-old girl. Jordan spat her drink out in surprise.

"Whoa, so you really can become anybody," Dean commented. "Why a kid, though?"

Don looked up at him, tears forming in his eyes. "N-Nobody wants to hurt a sad little girl."

Dean burst out laughing, then started preparing a new drink for Jordan. "Don't think I forgot, girl."

"I'm not that drunk! Come on, dude, you're killing me."

"Sean'll do that to us both if I don't make you take it."

Sighing, Jordan took the second glass. She finished this one.

Don was about to ask what his role would be, but the boss man himself returned to the room, wearing an oddly mundane outfit. He had on a black t-shirt and grey hoodie with matching sweatpants. Topped it all off with the most average black shoes Don could think of.

"Alright, we're heading out."

"Yes, sir!" Jordan and Dean responded. Don quietly added his own "yes, sir" to theirs, but only after Sean started glaring at him."