Chapter Text
Kenny woke up with the sensation of guilt whispering deep in his soul. He was getting used to it. He knew he was going about this the wrong way, but there was also no right way. And things were getting done. Sort of. They were making progress taking out small hideouts. Damien was making progress. He was an honest to god star in anything brute force related.
Kenny’s issue was that he didn’t know how to actually be nice to him about it. Every attempt at his normal Damien seemed to take as a taunt, only making him retreat further inwards, which was Kenny’s own fault. The whole situation was a fucking headache. It was a persistent, tiny hammer droning away at the base of his skull, waiting for him to crack.
He sat up with a sigh. It was still early, but sleep wasn’t going to come back to him. He moved about their base like a ghost, starting a pot of coffee. He took a slow sip as he floated into the war room, intent on just sitting and existing. His eyes went towards the whiteboard as he walked in, they always did. But they didn’t land on the whiteboard. He froze.
Someone was standing there, arms crossed, intently staring at the board in question. Someone with a mop of copper curls barely held together by a hair tie.
His mug shattered, causing both of them to look down at the thing that was now in pieces on the ground. He looked back up, blinking hard. “Wh-what are you doing here?”
Kyle smirked. “That happy to see me, huh?”
Kenny’s brain snapped back in place as he hopped over the mess, running across the room and straight into Kyle’s arms. “What the fuck, man?! Why are you here right now?! Aren’t you supposed to be in–”
“Chris broke up with me.”
Kenny pulled back, thoughts immediately running in six different directions. He looked exhausted. “What? Why? Fuck, are you okay? Dude–”
“One at a time, dude. I just got in,” he responded quietly.
Kenny hugged him tighter. “Are you okay, man? I know you really cared about him.”
“I’m fine,” he murmured, finally hugging Kenny back.
“What happened?”
He let out a hum. “Sort of… Conflicting desires, I guess.”
“The fuck does that mean?”
Kyle laughed quietly. “I think… I am under the impression that relationships are supposed to compliment your life, not be your life. Chris seemed to lean more towards the opposite.” He sighed. “We’ve been fighting for a bit. ‘Bout stupid shit. And Stan called me the other day while he was over. It turned into a thing. I admitted I wanted to come home after the semester ended. Make sure everything was okay. He told me I might as well just go and not come back.”
“Kyle, what the fuck. Why didn’t you tell anyone?!”
“Semester ends next week. I was busy taking my finals and shit early.”
“They let you do that??”
“Said someone died. Worth it.” Another laugh escaped him. “So like… I’m back.”
“Fuck, I’m happy to have you back, man what the hell! Are you like, here? Or are you just visiting, I’m–”
“I’m back. For real. At least until whatever has you guys so fucked up is done. Harvard will still be there if I skip a semester.”
“Did you even tell anyone you were coming back?”
“Figured I’d surprise you guys.”
“Color me fuckin’ suprised man,” he responded with a laugh.
Kyle tensed up slightly before letting go of Kenny. “So you’re the antichrist,” he said carefully.
Kenny quickly looked between Damien and Kyle. “Stanny told ya?”
“Mhm.”
“And you believe him?”
“Always believe him. We’re gonna have to do something about the whole…” He awkwardly waved his pointer finger around, not taking his eyes off Damien. “Curse business.”
“Nice to see you,” Damien said flatly.
“Right. We’ve met.”
Damien nodded.
The tension was palpable. “Um… Dame, you wanna go grab Stanny?”
“Nah, it’s fine,” Kyle said, brightening up slightly. “I’ll go get him.”
Kenny nudged him. “Alrighty. Enjoy.”
Kyle brushed past Damien, quickly disappearing down the hallway. Damien was left staring at him like a deer in headlights.
Kenny shifted slightly. “Hi.”
“Um… Hi.” Damien seemed equally uncomfortable. He also seemed to not have slept very much, a bit too tired for confrontation.
“What’s up?” Kenny asked awkwardly.
Damien sidestepped the broken glass, taking a seat. “I wanted to apologize,” he said quietly, voice coming out stiff and genuinely uncomfortable as he avoided eye contact.
Kenny blinked hard. “I’m sorry?”
“For last week.”
It was like the universe was trying to send him into shock today. “What?”
“I didn’t follow orders. When it’s clear you’re in charge here. And I jeopardized something important to you, despite that being a violation of our contract.” He cleared his throat. “Very unbecoming of me.”
There was something really cute about all this. His lips quirked up slightly. “Very.”
Damien looked up, eyes narrowing slightly.
Kenny closed the gap, taking a seat across from him. “Thank you. For saying that.” He smiled softly. “Means a lot.”
“Yeah, well... Needed to be said.” He looked back down at his hands. “I will try and do better.”
“You’ve been doing better,” Kenny responded. “Really.”
“Careful,” he responded, lips curling up slightly. “Sounds awful close to a genuine compliment.”
“All my compliments are genuine. You just choose to think I’m making fun of you.”
“Right.” He caught his cheek on his hand. “So what’s his deal?”
“Kyle?”
He nodded slightly.
“He left us to go to law school. Wanted more than just hero work. So he’s been doing that for a while.”
“Law school is more than hero work?” Damien questioned, genuinely curious.
“To some, yeah.”
Damien squinted at him.
“Mortals are weird. Even powered ones.” Kenny blinked. It was a slip.
One that Damien clearly caught. But he decided not to call attention to it. “Huh. So why’s he back?”
“Seems like everything holding him back gave.”
“Oh, to be free,” he breathed, quiet, almost playful.
Kenny felt his lips curl up. “And here I thought we were making a breakthrough.”
Damien stood, reaching out and ruffling his hair, the action sending warmth and goosebumps through him simultaneously. “Good first attempt. Can’t get too overzealous.” He let out a quiet yawn, exposing that stupid little fang. “I’m gonna try and nap though. Later.”
And Kenny spent the rest of the morning trying to pretend he wasn’t stuck on that.
—
“Okay, wait wait wait,” Kyle interrupted as Kenny tried to brief them. “They’re using actual paranormal shit. This isn’t just, like, villains?”
“They seem to be using the paranormal to get a leg up so they can reform this world into a better place for people like them,” Kenny informed.
Kyle dropped his head into his hands. “Oh my fucking god.”
“I know,” Tweek breathed.
“Okay. Thank you. I’m sorry. Continue.”
“Thanks. So Wendy found coords on another relic they’re trying to use to summon something.” He nodded at her. “Wends?”
“The abandoned station under third that got evacuated and never opened back up.” With a flick of her wrist, a phone was in her hand. She tapped it, the projector displaying a simple back orb onto the whiteboard. “As far as I can tell, there’s not much human activity down there. As for guardians of the non-alive variety, I can’t really be sure until we get down there. Surveillance has been out for decades. Worst case, I can always try for an EMP.”
“Yeah, so you can vom all over the place while frying us too,” Kyle snarked. “Lunatic. Between Tweek and I, it’ll be fine.”
“And Damien,” Craig said, leaning into his arms with a tiny smirk.
“What?”
Kenny looked between Damien, Craig, and Kyle. Craig was his usual nonchalant self, Kyle was vaguely confused, and Damien seemed a bit on the bashful side. Again. He didn’t seem to do compliments very well.
“Damien has fire,” Craig responded.
“Oh, yeah, cause that’s gonna be real helpful if we run into tech guardians.”
“It’s hellfire. Melts anything.”
“Anything?”
“Yes??”
“Like even steel and shit?”
The two were having a genuine conversation that Tweek trampled into with a tiny sputter, the blonde’s ears tinting red. “Pleasestoptalking I havehad this jokeoonthetipofmytongue for weeks and noone wants me to startblurting out bad 9/11 jokes.”
Kenny bit back a laugh.
“Oh my god, like jet fuel?” Stan asked, partially clueless, partially feeding into it.
A laugh forced its way out of Tweek before he clamped a hand over his mouth. “Shut up!! We’re supposed to be taking–” A tiny laugh bubbled out, interrupting him. “This seriously!”
Craig and Kenny were now both trying really hard not to laugh over what they were all thinking.
“Okay, I will not be sending out any EMPs,” Wendy relented, shooting Kyle a pointed look. “But I don’t throw up. Anymore.”
Everyone stayed silent, looking at her, unimpressed. Including Damien.
She scowled. “Fuck all of you.”
Kenny dragged his hands across his face, pulling himself together. “Alright. Everyone suit up. We’re out in ten.”
—
Kenny was staring at Kyle as they walked down the abandoned block towards the entrance, unable to help himself. It was genuinely unreal to see him back, un-shapeshifted, in his hero uniform. Kenny completely understood why he dressed up as human, but he thought Kyle was adorable the way he was with his pale skin, gunmetal scleras and orange ringed irises. Aliens weren’t necessarily a big deal anymore. But it did come with issues that Kenny didn’t blame Kyle for wanting to avoid when he so easily could.
His same muted teal shirt and baggy pants topped a dark gray and black body suit. He still had the same silvery gray cowl and goggles that sat on his head in an attempt to keep his hair at bay. It was obvious he was excited to be back. He even threw on his eye makeup—an orange circle just below each inner corner of his eye and streams of orange ran down his cheeks, perfect sleek lines with just a bit of shimmer.
Stan was staring too, though that was less of shock and more of undying adoration that bordered on genuinely upsetting. He was so completely devoted to him and Kyle seemed to have no idea. Some fucking how.
He could practically smell Tweek wanting to make a comment because he wanted to make a comment. His eyes darted over. Tweek looked at him, biting his lip.
Don’t you dare, Kenny mouthed.
He raised his hands up slightly. I’m not!!
Kenny glanced over just in time to see Kyle fall in step with Stan, bumping his shoulder against his. He looked back at Tweek.
There’s no way he doesn’t know!!
Kenny shook his head. He doesn’t!
Tweek rolled his eyes. I hate gay people.
“Pot meet fucking kettle??”
“Huh?” Stan muttered looking at him.
Kenny dragged a hand across his face, letting out an exhale. “Nothing.” He took the lead as they found the crumbling subway exit. They were left at the mercy of flashlights and a ball of fire courtesy of Damien. Kenny kept throwing glances at him. He was actually focused. Ready.
He didn’t comment when Damien took the lead with him as they breached the door that would lead them down to the tunnel they needed to go to. The air was heavy and moist, smelling like a mix of ash and rot.
“Mold poisoning for ten bucks,” Stan muttered behind them, barely audible.
“Toxic mold sickness,” Tweek corrected, just as quiet.
“Or mycotoxicosis,” Kyle added.
Damien breathed out the tiniest of laughs, fang poking out. Kenny looked back towards the bottom of the stairs, ignoring the way the warm orange from the flame seemed to perfectly highlight his face.
The air felt like it changed the moment they stepped off the last stair. There was a single floodlight that just barely kept the tunnel illuminated, right above the artifact they were looking for. It was a smooth black orb, hovering motionless at the center of the room. The occasional pulse of white seemed to glow out of it. It looked harmless. Like a decoy. Though Kenny knew it wasn’t.
He could hear it whispering.
The concrete walls were covered in grime and old graffiti, curving towards the top.
No one spoke.
Kenny’s steps were slow and deliberate. There was nothing alive down here except for them. But something was off. Kenny kept glancing around the room before glancing back at the orb. He nudged Damien slightly. If anyone had any clue, it would probably be him.
“Do you hear it?” It was so quiet Kenny wouldn’t have been able to hear it if he wasn’t staring at him.
He heard it alright.
It was speaking in something old and demonic, the words twisting and coiling, sending auditory static into the air around them.
Then it blinked. It wasn’t a pulse. It was a blink.
That was all the warning they got before tall shapes unfolded from the surfaces around them. Rigid geometric bodies forced themselves up revealing arms that doubled at the joins and uneven legs. They didn’t have faces, just grooves in the metal where faces should be.
In a breath, they were almost completely surrounded.
The metal beasts moved fast and fluidly. Kenny didn’t flinch, he just made space, letting tendrils explode out from him, piercing the ones closest.
“Three on your left, Storm!” Wendy shouted.
The room devolved into a series of different colors of light, cracks and crashes, and heat. Kenny was focused on the monsters coming for him. He snapped tendrils outwards, wrapping around and piercing writhing forms, cutting into them. It was fine up until one of his tendrils severed—gone in a tiny flash of light.
The things were learning.
He sent three more appendages forward, whipping through the air. The beast dodged the first and second before the third shot straight through its chest. It froze, flickering slightly, before crashing into the ground.
Kenny saw silver movement out of the corner of his eye. He whipped, seeing one of them going towards the orb.
But Damien stepped in before he could even react. Fire came to life in his right palm—quiet and elegant. Practiced. Controlled. He didn’t say anything. Didn’t shout. He just burned.
The flames ran up its back peeling away layers. The thing shrieked. Damien’s eyes were locked on the orb.
Kenny risked another glance as he took down another amalgamation of metal. He really was getting better. It was almost like he was finding his element.
The beasts that weren’t completely fried or torched kept pulling themselves together, trying to get back up.
“GUYS I’M JUST GONNA CLEAR THIS PLACE!” Tweek barked.
“SUNSHINE!” everyone but Damien shouted.
Kenny ran for him, grabbing him by the wrist and yanking him towards the steps. “Wha–”
“I promise you don’t wanna be in that.”
The group quickly escaped, running halfway up the stairs before Wendy quickly let an approval rip through their coms. Bright purple and white exploded below, a silent, scorching flashbang. There was a beat where no one even breathed.
Their coms crackled to life.
“Fuck guys,” Tweek breathed. “I’m getting fucking old.”
Craig pushed past everyone, running down the stairs two steps at a time to grab Tweek before the poor blonde could potentially pass out. It happened one time and Craig never let him hit the ground again.
Kenny and the others were quick to follow him down. Tweek was in Craig’s arms, lazily swatting at him, already complaining as Craig ignored him, intent on carrying him home. Kenny walked towards the quiet lull, not even realizing Damien was right next to him.
“Can you understand it?” Damien whispered.
Kenny shook his head.
“I think it’s meant for me.”
Kenny blinked before looking at him. Damien looked uncomfortable. “Do you think they know you’re here or something?”
“No… I think they’re trying to summon me.”
“Oh.”
He just nodded, plucking it from the air before turning around, pulling himself together. “Alright. Time to go.”
—
Kenny had the orb in Bebe’s office, lazily turning the thing under a magnifying glass. There were dozens of sigils and phrases carved into the smooth stone. He had spent nearly an hour looking at the thing, trying to figure out exactly what about it was throwing him off so badly besides the whispering. Because that wasn’t it. There was something.
And then he finally figured out what the something was.
The handwriting.
He wouldn’t have even caught it had it not been written out for him.
Right there, wedged in between dozens of other letters were two signatures.
Professor Chaos
Doctor Chaos
He placed it down, dropping his head in his hands. “Oh, fuck me, dude,” he breathed.
“What?” Bebe asked, looking up from her computer.
“Bebe, how sure are we about the Chaos twins being dead?”
She paused, blinking slowly, face blank. Then it contorted into something of frustration and vague panic. Betrayal. “Don’t you dare fucking tell me—”
Kenny sighed. “Time for a meeting.”