Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Click.

Mogar stiffened at the sound and looked in Avery’s direction, his shoulders relaxing when he saw them lowering their phone. He grunted and turned back to the pond, watching for fish.

“What’s up?” They asked. “Gotta know what’s on my muse’s mind.”

He shook his head. “Mogar can’t word his thoughts very well.”

Avery hummed. “Fair enough. Tell me if you can though, okay?” They went back to their writing when he nodded.

They opened up the picture again: the early afternoon sun shining down and reflecting off of Mogar’s shoulders, slumped in thought. His curls hid part of his face, though that just added to the mysterious nature of the photo--well, mysterious to everyone that wasn’t Avery or Vav.

They checked the time on their phone and sighed in disappointment. “We gotta head back to town. My client needs her employee payroll done by tonight and I haven’t even started.” As they packed up their notebook and phone, they could hear Mogar stand up and walk over to them. When they looked up, he was standing in front of them, a hand outstretched to them. They gave him a small smile and grabbed on, letting him pull them up.

“You haven’t eaten since this morning.” Avery looked at him and nodded, unsure of how he knew. “Mogar will stay until you eat something.”

“Well, she has a lot of employees, and you already know my progress on this one. If I fuck it up and don’t get it done on time, she's not gonna pay me at all.” They shrugged. “I gotta eat, yeah, but I need to make sure I can afford eating first.”

Mogar grumbled something incoherently and flipped the bear pelt over his head, crossing his arms. Once they neared the city limits, he climbed up the side of the nearest building. Avery didn’t mind it too much; he didn’t want to be noticed, and they liked some time to themselves every now and again--if it was light enough outside, of course.

It didn’t take long for them to reach their apartment. As always, though, Mogar managed to beat them there. When Avery set their things down on the coffee table, they noticed him hanging from the few bricks that stuck out above their window. They sighed and shook their head as they walked over. As soon as they opened the window, he swung through and landed semi-gracefully on the floor.

“You know, you can just wait outside my door instead of risking your life like that.” Avery grabbed his arm and pulled him up.

“Mogar does not want to be seen unless I am needed for help.” He dusted himself off. “You go eat.”

They playfully rolled their eyes. “Alright, mom, geez.” As they walked to their kitchen, they added, “You want anything to eat?”

“I ate when we were in the forest.” Avery gave him a thumbs up and searched around in their cupboards before pulling out a can of tomato soup.

“Is it alright if I eat while I work, or are you gonna chokehold me in my sleep?” They mostly meant it as a joke, but when they glanced over at him, they saw genuine hurt in his eyes. “What’s wrong?”

He stood and walked over to Avery, placing a hand on their shoulder. “Mogar will do no such thing to you. You have not hurt me or my friends, so you do not need to be choked.” Even as he retreated back to the couch, he left them standing in the kitchen trying to process his words.

Whatever, you’ve got work to do. Mogar’s always a little weird, you’re not gonna change that anytime soon. Or ever.

---

Mogar ended up staying until Avery finished their soup, and only because there was a call of an attempted arson. Apparently it didn’t happen as often as it used to; crime had dropped severely since the Mad King had been driven out months ago. It didn’t help that X-Ray, Vav’s ex-partner, had disappeared with them, but it hardly affected anything. At least in Avery’s world, it did.

“Are you done yet?” Mogar’s voice made them jump, and they turned around to see him halfway through the window. Avery smacked their head for forgetting to close it.

“Somehow, yeah. But it’s late, you should head back to the forest.” As they said it, though, an inkling of hope in them wanted Mogar to say no.

He frowned and climbed the rest of the way through the window. “Mogar needed to know you were safe before leaving.”

They shook their head and stood, walking over to the window. “That’s sweet, bud, but I’m twenty-eight. I can take care of myself. You can go back home.” Mogar gave them one last glance before jumping the rest of the way out the window. Avery caught a glimpse of him landing on the building across the street before they turned back to their work. It had already been submitted, but they were waiting for a reply to their submission before going to bed.

Their mind turned back to the picture they’d taken before they and Mogar had to come back to the city, and opened their phone again. The peaceful yet mysterious vibes still resonated in it, and Avery smiled. If nothing else, he was great for making cool aesthetic shots.

The familiar ping of a new email coming in sounded from their computer, and they clicked on the notification.

Miss Linwood,

They winced at the Miss,but read on.

Thank you for completing my employee payroll on time. A direct deposit will be in your checking account by tomorrow morning.

Regards,
Carol Simmons (Monarch Labs Supervisor)

If they hadn’t moved in three months ago, seeing that company name would’ve made them wince. But now, it was just a technology development lab, without the CEO that wanted to take over the city (and probably the world, but that was never confirmed as far as they knew). And that was all Avery knew it as.

Hopefully, all that they would know it as.

---

“Guess Mrs. Simmons liked how I did with her employee payroll.”

Vav--well, Gavin--cocked his head. “Why d’ya say that?”

“Maybe the fact that she added a bonus on top of the money she paid me along with the fact that she wants to hire me again. Bad part is I actually gotta show up there.”

Gavin stuck out his tongue in disgust. “Blue, if I were you, I’d vom if I had to go anywhere near there again.”

“Good thing you're not me!” Avery stood and playfully smacked his head with their wallet. “I gotta head in tomorrow. She didn't say anything about clothes or whatever, but I’d assume business casual.” Gavin pursed his lips, seeming like words were stuck in his mouth. “What's up?”

He bit his lip. “Nothin’, just...you're not planning to work there full time, right?”

They shrugged. “Not if Mrs. Simmons doesn't ask. Apparently they do have higher wages and more employee benefits now that MK’s not in control anymore.”

Gavin mumbled something under his breath, and Avery cocked their head. He sighed and repeated, “Might not be that way for long, though. I heard MK wants to make a comeback. Bigger than any of us’ve seen.”

They placed a hand on their hip. “And who'd you hear that from?”

“Around…” Avery blankly stared at Gavin, and he groaned. “Look, you know neither me or Mogar are comfortable with you working there in the first place!”

“You're projecting onto Mogar. I don't even think I’ve told him who I’ve worked for in the past.” They also doubted he even knew what accounting was, but he could probably learn. “Look, Vav, I’ll believe you when I personally witness MK doing evil shit. Now, get out of my apartment and go do superhero shit while I pick out clothes for tomorrow.”

Chapter Text

Now I remember why I hate wearing heels. Avery stood in front of the doors to Monarch Labs. Even when it was still being built, it loomed over them, the pristine finished floors as intimidating as Gavin had always made it out to be.

Still, as far as they knew, the worst thing in there was the greed of the higher ups. No evil geniuses trying to undermine anyone that got in their way, and no one too foolish enough to miss their intentions.

Avery took a deep breath and pushed the doors open, praying the wobble in their steps wouldn’t be noticed. They approached the receptionist in the center of the room and laid their employer’s business card on it. “I’m, uh, here to see Carol Simmons? She wanted me to come in after completing her payroll numbers.”

The receptionist took one look at them and turned to her computer, typing something on the keyboard. “Are you Miss Avery Linwood?”

They winced at the name, but nodded. “She’s in room 571. There is still construction going on there, so be mindful of that.”

Avery nodded again, their hair bobbing in the tight bun they pulled it into prior. “Alright then. Thank you!” They turned and spotted an elevator on the other side of the room. Trying to push through the crowd while being polite as possible proved to be a difficult task, but they ducked inside and pressed the button for floor 5.

On their way up, they could hear murmuring around them. They were in the elevator alone, but as they pressed their ear to the walls to hear better, the voices were gone.

Regardless, they reached the fifth floor. As the receptionist had said, construction was going on. The deafening whirring of equipment and the messed up layout of the floor made finding Mrs. Simmons’s office that much harder.

It took Avery longer than it should have to reach 571, but they made it despite the construction. They knocked, and a strict feminine voice calling “Come in!” beckoned them inside.

An older woman, likely in her fifties, sat at the desk a few feet away from them. Her hands were folded on the desk, and though her mouth was in a tight neutral expression, she smiled lightly when they entered. “Miss Linwood, I assume?”

Avery swallowed thickly and nodded. “Yes, ma’am. You asked me to come to your office today?”

“Of course, have a seat.” She motioned to one of the chairs in front of her desk, and they sat down. It was comfortable, but the air around them was still nerve-wracking. “Miss Linwood, I don’t have much time for this, so hopefully this will be quick.”

Mrs. Simmons’s hazel eyes felt like they were boring into Avery’s soul. “The finance department was very impressed by your work these past few days. We recently fired a good number of our accountants for...misconduct, as it were.” They pursed their lips. From the way she said it, “misconduct” was likely another word for “employees were speaking up against unfair conditions, and it hurt my feelings.”

“And what would this have to do with me?”

“I’m glad you asked, dear.” Mrs. Simmons dug around in the drawers of her desk for a moment before taking out a tan folder with a piece of paper inside. “Because of this shortage, I commissioned you to help with our most urgent task at the time. And because of your exceptional work, the head of our finance department wanted to hire you.” She took the paper out of the folder and handed it to Avery. At the very top was Monarch Labs’s logo, something they knew would send a chill down anyone else’s spine.

“You’re giving me a job application?” They looked back up at her.

She nodded. “Precisely. As much as I would like to hire you right now, there are regulations. If you take this home, fill it out by Wednesday and take it back to front desk, we can schedule an interview. You should bring a copy of your cover letter and resume for said interview; there will be people other than me there.”

Why would that affect anything? Avery questioned, but knowing it would cause trouble if they said it aloud, they stayed silent. “Anything else I should know?” They asked instead.

Mrs. Simmons shook her head. “That will be all for now.” She stood and extended a hand, “It was very nice meeting with you, Miss Linwood.”

They nodded in return and stood as well, grasping her hand in a firm handshake. “The same to you. I’ll look over the application tonight.”

With that, Avery left the office and let out a sigh of relief they didn’t know they’d been holding. It was immediately replaced with more tension when they had the idea of checking out the voices they heard earlier.

They had anticipation flooding their veins as they neared the elevator. From what they could remember, the voices were the loudest around the third floor. Avery entered the elevator after letting two younger looking men in suits through, and pushed the button for the third floor. Sure enough, as the elevator stopped and the doors opened, they could hear the murmuring again.

The sound quieted as they walked out. After looking around the hallway for a moment, Avery spotted a branching one that traveled down past the elevator. They took it, and slowly, the voices became louder and more coherent.

“...around is in the forest. It’s illegal to hunt there--”

“Do you think I care if it’s illegal?” A voice that sounded calculated, like it was trying to hold anger in, interrupted the meeker voice talking before. “Disguise yourself if you must. This project is long overdue and I will not tolerate any more delays!” The sound of someone being shoved and falling to the floor was heard. Avery stiffened and took extra precautions to make sure their heels didn’t click on the tile. Was this what Gavin was talking about yesterday?

“My a-apologies, Your Majesty.” The first voice accompanied someone scrambling to their feet. Avery pursed their lips and kept going, even if at this point their feet were starting to ache. They approached caution tape wrapped around a doorway, restricting their access--maybe this floor was under construction as well.

“I need that rabbit’s foot in four days. Get back here with it, or I will ensure the blood I need for this is yours.” They froze and frantically looked around for any security cameras before crossing the caution tape. Avery spotted an opening (lacking a door, they noted) and poked closer to it.

A scene came to their limited vision: a dark room with various items strewn about on the floor: a metal bucket (likely filled with something), salt, various herbs they’d never seen before, and a severed horn from some kind of animal--one they couldn’t put their finger on. Behind the items were two people: someone cowering in the presence of the other person, looking ragged and stressed. The second person, well--if Avery had to describe what the Mad King looked like, this would be it: a tall man with a cracked crown on his head, wearing a suit on top and a kilt on the bottom.

The first person answered their question for them: “Of course, Mad King. I’ll be off.” They scurried off towards Avery, and their eyes widened. Without much thinking, they dashed off, accidentally tearing the caution tape off the walls. “Wait!” The person called, but to little avail as Avery kept running.

They disappeared into the elevator hallway and frantically pressed the down button. While they waited, their adrenaline started to pump even more when they saw the Mad King himself chasing after them. He had shoved the first person to the side, and was halfway through the hallway when Avery ducked into the open elevator.

Before they could breathe a sigh of relief, he stuck his hand between the elevator doors and tried to pry them open. Their mind still in a panicked state, Avery lashed out with their foot and kicked his fingertips. He yelled in pain and retracted them, just as they pressed the button for the first floor.

The short elevator ride did little to calm Avery’s nerves, as they were quivering from the events that just occurred. They shook their head as the door opened and they entered the lobby, hoping they didn’t look too harrowed.

Now that they thought about it, the Mad King making...something wasn’t the only odd thing. Mrs. Simmons was certainly acting strange, talking to them like they already had a job there, and from what they could remember, the three of them were the only people on the third floor. Not to mention very few, if any, security cameras on the same floor. Avery had spotted a few on the other floors, so what was going on?

They sighed and exited Monarch Labs, digging out their phone. They glanced up at the sky after pressing a contact and holding the phone to their ear.

“Avery?” Gavin’s voice sounded distant.

“Yeah, it’s me. We gotta head to Mogar’s treehouse.” They weren’t a hundred percent sure if he would be there, but it would be an added bonus. “I’ll be there in fifteen.”

Gavin sighed. “Twenty.”

“That’s fine. I’ll see you there, bud.” After exchanging goodbyes, Avery closed the call and pocketed their phone.

Now, when they looked up at Monarch Labs, they knew where that discomfort came from.

-

As promised, Avery trekked up to Mogar’s treehouse. It took a little longer than they would’ve preferred (the main reason being that their feet ached from running in heels), but here they were, standing in front of the rope ladder attached to the treehouse’s floor. They sighed and slipped off their shoes, hooking them on one finger and starting their ascent.

Once they reached near the top, Avery knocked on the trapdoor above them. They heard footsteps for a short moment before it opened, revealing Mogar’s face. They held out a hand to him and he grabbed on, pulling them up into the treehouse with ease.

“Vav should be here in a bit. We gotta talk about stuff.” Mogar nodded and sat down in a corner. Avery felt a pull in their chest to sit next to him, and they obeyed the pull. They set their heels down a ways away and sat next to him, leaning their head against the wall.

“Will there be time to finish my home?” He asked, motioning towards the far right of the treehouse. The roof was still unfinished, and the wood was now soaked through with a late night rainstorm.

Avery shrugged. “We’ll probably have time between now and Wednesday.”

Grunts were heard through the trapdoor, and Mogar gripped the handle of his sword. He relaxed when Gavin popped his head through the opening. “Afternoon!”

“Here,” Avery stood up and pulled him onto the floor. “Don’t worry, you didn’t miss much.”

“I figured. What’d you need us here for?” Gavin sat down in front of Avery and Mogar, looking at them expectantly.

They sighed, trying to sort through everything that had happened within the last hour. “Both of y’all remember that the person who hired me wanted to come to Monarch Labs, right?” Mogar looked confused, but that was to be expected. “Well, it was a thing, and I was supposed to come in today. And as you can tell,” Avery gestured to their clothes, “I went in and did it.”

“What’d they want you for?” Gavin asked.

“Apparently the woman wanted to give me a job there?”

Gavin’s eyes widened. “Wha--did you take it?! Avery Lin--”

“I didn’t take it, Jesus!” They huffed. “All she did was give me an application. But that's not what I wanna talk about.” Avery looked to Mogar, who was cocking his head. They explained the whole thing--how they heard voices in the elevator and went to investigate after the short meeting, and everything that they saw. Gavin grew more and more shocked as they continued and finished the tale, and Mogar went from worried to trying to hold in his rage.

Once Avery was done, Mogar practically lept from his spot and gripped their shoulders, his anger seeping through his voice. “If Mad King hurt you at all, Mogar will…”

“He didn’t hurt me, it’s fine.” They carefully removed his hands from their shoulders. Mogar reluctantly complied and sat back down. “I wanna investigate more and find out what he’s up to. I know I’m not the fighting type, but I can relay information back to you guys and give advice. But it’s gonna look weird if I keep coming back when I seemingly have no reason to be there.”

Gavin pursed his lips and spoke, dejection coating his words, “You’re gonna take the job, aren’t you?”

Avery nodded. “I gotta. I have a steady income and I can spy on MK, which’ll help you guys bring him back down again. And honestly, even if neither of you wanted me to, I’d still take it.” They saw Gavin bristle out of the corner of their eye, so they continued, “You're still my friends, but that shouldn’t limit me from doing shit y'all think is dangerous.”

Mogar sighed and looked back up at them. “Mogar understands. I still believe it’s dangerous, but I know you can take care of it.” He smiled, and Avery returned it.

“Yeah, as much as I wouldn’t wanna do it, I know you’ve got a strong head on those shoulders.” Gavin patted their head, receiving a wince and a stifled giggle in exchange. “‘Sides, if there’s any trouble, you know who to call.”

“Even if I wind up stomping on his fingers like I did last time?”

“Oh trust me, he’ll be more pissed than defeated if you do that,” Gavin replied.

-

The three of them didn’t stay for much longer; Gavin had to leave due to a robbery nearby, and Avery left soon after. They made a mental note to text Gavin about when they should start working on Mogar’s treehouse again, but the thought slipped their mind as the need to sleep settled instead.

They stepped out of their bathroom then, hair still damp from showering and the sounds of a news station coming from the TV. Avery took a glance at the story airing now--something about new additions to the county zoo a few towns over--and turned it off. They were tired as hell, even if it was just past eight in the evening. Running away from an evil genius in heels while not trying to act suspicious would do that to a person.

Avery shut off the lights in the living room and retreated to their bedroom, plugging in the fairy lights strewn across the curtain rod. It lit up the small room once the turned off the main lights. Once they turned around to plug in their phone for the night, though, they heard something--someone, they guessed--knocking on their window.

Any tense feelings in their body faded when they saw who it was. “Mogar…” They sighed and opened the window. “What is it? I could’ve been naked, y’know.”

They swore they saw pink tinting the tips of his ears. Either that, or it was because he was hanging upside down. Probably the latter; they didn’t want to assume.

“You gonna be okay like that?”

“Like what?”

“Hanging upside down. Don’t want you to lose circulation, man.” Mogar grunted and flipped rightside up again, now clutching to Avery’s windowsill.

“Mogar needed to know you were still safe,” He finally replied. “With the Mad King back, everyone is in danger.”

They sighed, “Mogar, I’ll be fine. You and Vav gotta worry about an entire city. You don’t gotta focus on just me.”

He narrowed his eyes, still suspicious. Avery pursed their lips and reached out, grabbing one of his hands and giving a gentle squeeze. “Just be safe, okay?” They asked.

Mogar looked away. “Only if you stay safe too.”

“I know, I’ll do my best.” With that, he was gone, already jumping from story to story on their apartment building back to the forest.

Chapter Text

Gavin had come over the next morning, used to Avery’s presence enough that he could just flop down onto the couch and watch TV while they worked on the job application. He would take quick glances at them every so often, only to sigh when he realized they weren’t done. The sighs had gotten progressively louder and more passive aggressive, and Avery was about ready to throw their pen at him.

A particularly loud sigh sent them over the edge, and they aimed the pen at Gavin’s head. He let out a yelp and covered the point of impact with his hand. “Christ, what was that for?!”

“I’m trying to concentrate, obviously. Look, if you want something, you can just ask.” Avery turned back to the application, realizing too late they didn’t have anything to write with. “Can I have my pen back?” They asked, voice resigned.

Gavin stood and picked up the pen, placing it in their hand. “You do have good accuracy, I’ll say that.” He pointed to the small ink dot on the top of his forehead. “And it’s just...I know I can’t stop you from applying to work at Monarch Labs. But that doesn’t mean I like it.” He glanced out the window. Monarch Labs still sent chills up his spine, especially now that he knew the Mad King was still lurking there.

Avery shrugged, “You don’t have to like it. I’m just relaying the info to you and Mogar so y’all can actually do something about it. God knows I can barely fight.”

“You kicked the Mad King’s fingers out between an elevator door!” Gavin countered.

“Yeah, when I was panicking!” They groaned and rested their head on the desk. “If nothing else, you gotta promise you won’t interfere unless I ask you for help.”

“I will, I promise.” Gavin looked at the clock on the wall and sighed. “We should probably head out to the forest to help Mogar with finishing the treehouse.”

Avery looked back at their application. “Yeah. I could use a break from this anyway.”

---

“So, lemme get this straight.” Hilda glanced over at Avery. “From what Vav told me, you were asked to come to Monarch Labs to get a job application, and through some investigation you found out that Mad King’s not only back, but he's doing demon shit in one of the unoccupied floors?”

“Mostly,” they shrugged. “It might not be demon shit, but it's definitely ritual shit. Whatever it is, it can't be good.”

“Fair enough.” Hilda went back to nailing down a piece of plywood, still trying to keep her focus on the conversation. “Then both he and his loony chased after you and you kicked his hand out of an elevator?”

Avery nodded. “Basically. Then I called those nerds up--” They pointed to Mogar and Gavin, “--and told them to come here.”

Hilda broke off of her work and walked over to them, holding up her hand for a high-five. Avery returned it, a satisfying clap sounding between their hands. “Dude, nice. I’m surprised you had the guts to even go to Monarch Labs, considering how new you are around here.”

“Eh, don't worry.” They replied, “I’ve had enough excitement for the rest of the week ‘cause of that.”

“Can you two get back to work?” Gavin called from the opposite side of the treehouse. “This isn't a two-man job.” He reached a hammer up to Mogar on the roof, but Mogar refused it and used his fist to pound in the nail.

Avery grabbed a piece of sandpaper from the makeshift pile of supplies and started rubbing it against the walls, in an attempt to get rid of any splinters. “Vav’s worried about me going back there.”

“Well, of course. It's Vav you're talking about.” Hilda shook her head. “Then again, MK is a legitimate threat. Maybe not now, but who knows what'll happen if he completes that ritual.”

“And that's why I wanna stop him before he can!” They responded. “It's just...I know he and Mogar are worried about me, but stopping MK’s for the greater good.”

Hilda hopped down from the roof, finished with her side and tossed her hammer into the supply pile. “Lots of people have limits for what can be sacrificed for the greater good, Blue. And you gotta know yours before you put yourself in unnecessary trouble, got that?”

“Yeah, yeah.” They sighed, brushing sawdust out the window and letting it flutter to the ground. Not like if I died, people would miss me long after I was gone, they wanted to add. As if saying that would go down well, just when they had finally finished the treehouse.

Gavin let out a small woop, “Not bad, everyone! Not bad for four people who don't know jack about carpentry.”

“Definitely better than the last time we tried,” Hilda muttered.

“Should we celebrate?” He gasped in excitement before anyone could respond, “Blue, you have the nicest place out of the four of us! We could have it at your apartment.”

“Wouldn't it be more appropriate to throw it here? It's not my treehouse we just finished building.”

Gavin looked back at Mogar, cocking his head.

“Mogar does not want you to ruin his home right after you made it,” he replied.

Avery sighed, “Fine, we can have it at my apartment. But nothing crazy, and y'all are helping out the next morning. I’d also prefer it if we had it tomorrow? Cause I still gotta finish that application.”

Gavin pursed his lips and looked down, but nodded. “Fair enough! Is five a good time?”

“If you mean PM, then yeah. I could buy some snacks and dig out some old video games for it, but that's all I got.”

“It should be more than enough, don't worry.” Hilda clapped a hand on their shoulder. “It'll just be the four of us.”

Avery nodded. Maybe the others thought of the party as a way to take everyone’s minds off the new threat, but they had a feeling that was the opposite of what was needed.

Chapter Text

By two-thirty in the afternoon, Avery was completely set for the “party”--more of a get together in their mind, considering there would only be three other people and there wouldn't be any loud music. Leaves me with more time to work on the Mad King shit, they thought.

But where would they even get the information? Monarch Labs was already under construction when they moved, and they knew no one else aside from their little group had any suspicions. Any information would be lost under dead ends, and besides--

CRACK.

“What the fuck?!” Avery turned around to see a huge hole in their apartment door, with fragments of wood and dust scattering the floor. Looking closer, they saw Mogar’s face through the door, a look of confusion on his face. “Mogar, what the fuck did you do?!”

He paused before responding, “Mogar just wanted to knock.”

Avery hid their face in their hand, resting their elbow on their other hand. “You're goddamn lucky I have renter’s insurance.”

“Can Mogar come in?”

They sighed, “Fine.” They walked over and opened the front door. “Why are you here anyway? No one else is gonna come for like, two hours.”

“Mogar has no concept of time.”

Avery pursed their lips, wanting to give a rebuttal and still knowing trying to wouldn’t go anywhere. “If that’s the case, I should make a call to my landlord. Please don't break anything else.” After Mogar nodded, Avery took out their phone and disappeared into another room.

Mogar glanced around the living room. As they had said yesterday, Avery had laid out a bunch of snacks on the coffee table, and a couple of consoles had been hooked up as well. He could hear their voice in the other room, trying to explain the situation. Avery would probably shoo him out if he tried to follow them, so he looked through the window he usually entered through to see the city.

Before long, he spotted something--or rather, someone--that seemed off. After a brief glance to check that Avery wasn't watching him, Mogar ducked out of the window and slid his way down the apartment building.

The person he recognized had ducked onto another street, and he followed, narrowly missing a car as he pursued them.

“You!” Mogar soon caught up with the man and grabbed onto his collar, pulling him backwards. Even if he had shaved his head the last time Mogar saw him, he still recognized his face. The man seemed to recognize him too, but before either of them could react, the man reached up and grabbed a lock of Mogar’s hair.

Mogar growled in pain and shoved the man off of him, watching as he fell to the ground with a thud. He wanted to grab at the man again--ask him what was in the bag, why he leaped at him--but the man was already scrambling to his feet, and Mogar knew that if he stayed out any longer Avery wouldn't just notice, but start worrying as well.

With a sigh, he retracted his steps back to Avery’s apartment, climbing through the window like he usually did to find his friend standing in the kitchen, arms crossed (even though their worried eyes betrayed any sense of anger they tried to muster).

“What the fuck was that for, why'd you leave?!” They huffed, poking a finger right in the middle of Mogar’s chest. “I can't leave you alone, can I?”

“Mogar saw someone. Had to track him down, but he got away.”

That only earned another sigh from Avery. “So then the whole thing was pointless, wasn't it?” Before Mogar could answer, they looked up and cocked their head. “Lean down just a bit.”

Once Mogar complied, Avery took his face in their hands and inspected a fresh bald spot along their hairline. “Did...did a lock of your hair get ripped out?” They ran a thumb over the new smooth area. “Are you hurt anywhere else?” He shook his head. “Christ, you're too much sometimes.”

He placed a hand on their shoulder. “Mogar is sorry for making his friend worry.”

They quickly brushed it off, as much as they wished they were secure enough to let him stay there. “It's fine, we can just hang out until everyone else comes.”

And they do, but it's mostly Avery making last minute checks with the games--making sure the controllers work, that nothing’s too glitchy--and trying to explain what they're doing to Mogar, even if it doesn't go anywhere. He's curious, and it fills the void of silence, so they can live with it.

Soon enough, though, there's a knock on Avery’s door and a question as to why there's a giant hole in said door.

“Well, here goes nothing.”

Chapter Text

Once Avery opened the door, Gavin quickly hugged them before letting go. “Avery, why’s there a giant hole in your door?” They silently pointed to Mogar--who was currently in the kitchen--and he hummed in realization. “Should've guessed,” he chuckled.

"I found some Mario Kart, if you're interested. Figured I could ruin some friendships, y'know?" Gavin stifled a laugh and nodded, sitting down on their couch. "What happened with Mogar, anyway?"

Avery sighed. "Long story short, he busted through my door trying to knock and then got himself hurt chasing after someone." Gavin stopped setting up the game and looked at them, confused. "I dunno either, man. I didn't see it go down. Was trying to talk to my landlord about the hole." They side-eyed Mogar, who tried to pretend he wasn't there. "You know what you did, bud!" He simply grunted and turned to look out the window.

"Hilda should be here soon. Working on some tech stuff, or whatever." Gavin shrugged and opened up the game, choosing 4 player (in the hopes that Mogar wouldn't end up breaking a controller, or he actually understood the rules for once). "Mogar, you wanna play?" he called.

Mogar grunted and shrugged. That was enough of a yes. Gavin chose Dry Bowser and tossed a blue controller to Avery. "I mean, we could just do some three player racing before Hilda gets here." Once Mogar walked into the living room, Avery handed him a spare controller. "Use the arrows on there to choose something," they explained. They pressed down on the D-pad to show him, the third player cursor moving down a selection. Mogar repeated the action, and the cursor followed suit. He contemplated the TV for a bit before choosing Link.

"Green human has a sword like Mogar."

"He sure does, dude. Oh, uh, and press that button to select him." Avery pointed to the controller again, and Mogar complied. "Wanna sit down?" He nodded and took a seat next to Avery, now squished between him and Gavin. "God, this is gonna be hell when Hilda gets here."

"And hell arrives." Avery could hear the chuckle in Hilda's voice. As they expected, she poked her head through the door hole. "Avery, maybe it isn't such a good idea to let Mogar have an expensive controller in his hands when he busted your door."

Avery waved a hand. "It's fine, dude. He has a spare one for a reason." They got up off the couch and unlocked the door, letting Hilda inside. "Down for some karting?"

She shook her head. "Not in the mood for more stress right now. You kids can kill each other on your own."

"Fair enough."

"Can I select a course this time, Avery?"

"You did last time. Plus, it's my apartment."

Gavin groaned when he saw the track set Avery selected. "Sod off, you know I hate this one!"

"Exactly why I like it."

---

Several rounds of Mario Kart and a couple drinks later, the four of them had fully settled in the living room. Avery was using their old GameCube to play Animal Crossing, Gavin was watching them and occasionally making comments, Mogar had fallen asleep at some point, and Hilda had taken to working on a gadget she brought over.

"God, Goldie is a fuckin' mood," Avery mumbled, already tipsy from the wine they had.

"Why do you say that?" Hilda asked.

"Self-deprecating," they replied. Hilda hummed in acknowledgement and turned back. "Apologizes for everything," they continued.

"What, Hilda, you haven't played this?" Gavin gestured to the TV.

She shrugged. "Just don't have the time. Too busy making sure you--" She looked at Gavin. "--don't die while you're trying to 'enact justice.'"

"'S fair." Gavin sighed and leaned back into the couch. "Hilda, when did you say you needed to be back?"

"Shit, uh...oh fuck, I was supposed to get back ten minutes ago." She sighed. "Gav, come on, we're leaving." A whine from Gavin only made Hilda sigh louder. "You're drunk and it's nearly nighttime, there's no way you're gonna stumble around the city like that."

Gavin reluctantly got up. "But Hiiiiilda, I've only had four beers!"

"Yeah, and you're a lightweight."

"'M not that far from Avery's place!"

"You're far enough that I'm driving you home." Hilda grabbed Gavin's wrist, and he sighed and let her guide him to the front door. She looked back at Avery and Mogar, with the latter sleepily waking up. "Hopefully you do something about the hole quick, Avs. This is gonna be real dangerous soon enough."

"I know, I know. Drive safe, or somethin'." Hilda chuckled and nodded, leaving the apartment with Gavin. Avery opened their inventory and turned to Mogar. "Evenin'. You stayin' here?"

"Mm?" He blinked at them, slowly registering what was going on.

"You stayin' the night, bear man?" They sighed, just realizing then that they were definitely going to have a hangover tomorrow.

Mogar contemplated the question for a moment. "Avery needs to be safe. Can't protect themselves like this." He gestured to them, and Avery snorted.

"So's that a yes?" He nodded. "Yeah, hell yeah." They leaned over, accidentally dropping the controller to the floor as their head landed on Mogar's lap. He froze, the sudden contact stopping his thought process. They definitely weren't attacking him--not at all--but at the same time, the most that happened between them was a quick hug.

Still, contact was contact. Hesitantly, he patted Avery's head, careful not to smack them. They stirred and moved closer to his torso. Mogar could feel his face grow warm, but the temperature in the room didn't increase, and it wasn't like Avery was smothering him.

"Avery must sleep." They yelped when Mogar picked them up.

"Wait, wait! Fuck dude, I didn't save." He sighed and put them down again. Avery quickly picked up the controller and saved the game, doing their best to shut everything down fast. "Okay, okay, we're good now. But I mean, I could jus' sleep on the couch, man."

"Hilda says sleeping on couch is bad." Mogar lifted Avery into his arms again, letting them rest their head on his shoulder. His face grew even warmer as a result. If nothing else, he could blame it on the fact that nearly their entire body was pressed up against him. He had no other explanation.

Mogar walked throughout the apartment, soon reaching Avery's bedroom and dumping them on their bed. They bounced a bit before settling. Before he could turn back to the rest of the apartment, though, they grabbed his arm. "Don't you wanna sleep in here? 'S way warmer."

"Mogar doesn't need warmth," he quickly replied.

"Oh." He could hear the disappointment in Avery's voice, and felt his heart sink along with it. Truth be told, Mogar certainly wouldn't mind sleeping in Avery's bedroom with them, but he had been told that being drunk--just like they were now, he realized--made people do or say things they wouldn't normally. Maybe Avery was just acting out, he thought. Maybe when they weren't drunk anymore they would be shocked that he was there--he couldn't even imagine what it would be like if they slept in the same bed (which was apparently more intimate than just sleeping in the same room).

Human culture is confusing, he thought. "Mogar changed his mind. Can he stay?"

"Fuck yeah, you can stay." Avery had snuggled under their covers while he was deep in thought, and they were now patting an empty spot next to them. Mogar gently sat next to them, and transitioned to lying down facing them. There was...something in Avery's eyes, something Mogar knew wasn't tangible. And yet, he still couldn't make it out. That, and the alcohol might've had some effect on them.

"Good night, Avery." Before they could reply, Mogar turned away from them and closed his eyes.

He couldn't focus on whatever weird feelings he was experiencing. Something suspicious was going on, and even if Avery knew about it, that was what he needed to focus on. Mogar can only fight well, he thought. If he could barely figure out a game controller, he definitely couldn't figure out what was going on between him and Avery, if there was anything.

But that was a problem for tomorrow. He sighed and drifted off to sleep, focusing on Avery's quiet breathing to lull him to sleep.

Chapter Text

“Hey, boss.”

The Mad King looked up from his desk at the voice. One of his assistants--his most trusted one--stood in the doorway of his office, the darkness partially blocking his short, stocky figure.

He turned from his desk to his assistant. “Well? How goes the search?”

“I couldn't find anything on your list. Sorry about that. Had a run in with that stupid bear guy.”

The King's eyebrows rose. “Mogar, you say?” His eyes drifted to the bruise blooming on his assistant's shoulder. “Well, he is a heavy hitter. But that's no excuse for bringing nothing to m--”

“I did bring something, though,” the assistant retorted. He walked over to the King and opened his once balled up fist, revealing strands of curly, reddish-brown hair. “I got some of the bear's hair in the scuffle. And I got an idea of what to do with it.”

The King leaned back in his chair. “What kind of idea?”

“You'll see. Give me some time, and I'm sure you'll be impressed.”

The assistant looked at the King, silently pleading with him. Finally, the King sighed. “Fine, fine. But if you disappoint me, I'll do so much worse than fire you.”

“Yes, of course, boss. I would never fail you.”

“Good. Now, get to work.”

---

The weak morning sun shining through the blinds got Mogar to wake up. He had been so used to sleeping upright against the wooden walls of his treehouse that Avery's cushy mattress and warm covers were almost jarring to him at first.

Not that he minded. He opened his eyes, only to find that Avery wasn't next to him. Their side of the bed had been disturbed, the covers half off and folded onto him.

Mogar looked around. There weren't any signs of a struggle: no scuffs or holes in the walls, no blood...they woke up early, he thought.

He thrust the covers off of him and left the bedroom. The lights were off, but he could see a pair of legs behind the fridge door. Sure enough, they belonged to Avery, who had fished a milk gallon out and uncapped it to pour some into their cereal. “Hey,” they said, voice weighed down with sleep. “Don't turn on the lights. Gonna give me a headache.”

Mogar cocked his head. “You had no problem with lights earlier.”

“Yeah, well, I'm pretty sure I drank a bit too much last night. Should be gone by the afternoon, but y'know. Still morning.” Avery grabbed the bowl of cereal and a spoon before retreating to the living room. Mogar followed like a lost puppy and sat down on the other end of the couch from them.

He appreciated the silence, after yesterday. It looked like Hilda and Vav had been kind enough to clean up what mess they'd made, even if it wasn't much. Now, with only natural light, and with just the two of them, it was...nice? Nice didn't feel right.

He'd figure it out eventually. Avery was smart. Smarter than him, at least.

“You can go back home, if y'want,” they said, looking at him.

He probably should go home to enjoy the treehouse they'd all worked so tirelessly on. But something made him want to stay. Eventually, he shook his head. “Mogar will stay,” he finally replied.

Avery shrugged. “Suit yourself,” they mumbled. “Not gonna be much to do, though. Application still needs finishing.”

“Why?”

“Well, if I don't have a reason to be there--like a job,” they started, picking up the half finished application from the table. “I won't be able to get very far in the building without drawing suspicion.”

He huffed. “Mogar still doesn't like Avery going there.”

“You're not the one going. I don't see why you'd be so worried.”

Mogar looked down, clenching and unclenching his fist. He couldn't see why either.

“Mogar can go back home, if you want.”

“No, that's…!” Avery raised out their arm to him, but slowly lowered it after processing their outburst. “I don't mind you staying here.”

“Would you rather Mogar leave?”

The two of them stayed silent for a bit before Avery replied. “No, if...if you can help it, it'd be nice if you stayed. I know I have to do stuff, but I could use the company.”

Mogar blinked. “But you’re…” He trailed off again. “You’re…”

“Introverted?” Avery suggested.

“Is that the one where you hate people?”

They stifled a laugh. “Well, sort of. I don’t like being around people, especially a lot of them.”

“But Mogar is here too. Friends were here last night.”

“Yeah, but…” Avery paused, trying to find the right words. “I guess it’s like...you guys don’t count as people, y’know? Like I don’t mind being around you guys. You’re better than most people.”

He beamed. “Mogar appreciates the compliment.”

Mogar did not, however, appreciate that Avery was content with doing nothing besides filling out the rest of their application. He sat cross-legged on the couch beside them, the sounds of the city being muffled by closed windows. At some point, he got up and opened the window closest to him, if for nothing else than fresh air. If he leaned in close enough to Avery, he could hear the music they were listening to through their earbuds.

Eventually, Mogar picked up the same controller he was using last night. He wanted to stay in the apartment, but it didn’t help that it was worlds different from the forest. He poked Avery’s arm and motioned to the controller.

“Oh, you wanna play something?” Mogar nodded, and Avery got up from the couch. “Alright, hold on a sec.” Before his eyes, Avery turned on the console--taking extra care to make sure Mogar saw what they were doing. “Which game do you wanna play?”

“Uh…” He couldn’t recall the name. “Mogar had green human with sword in a car.”

“Mario Kart, then?” He nodded again, and watched as Avery took out a colorful game case and inserted a chip into the Switch. “You remember how to play, right?” Another nod. “I’ll leave you to it, then.”

Every so often, Avery would look up from their application to watch him play. He wasn’t doing...great, necessarily--from his character looking disappointed whenever he finished a race, he assumed as such--but he was doing better than last night. More often than not, he and Gavin would be eating dust. After placing fourth in the last race, Mogar repeatedly tapped Avery’s arm to get their attention, before pointing at the screen.

“Hey, look at you! Nice job,” they said, holding up their hand for a high-five. “Put your hand on mine,” they instructed, and Mogar held up his hand. He simply touched his hand to Avery’s, but he was still a little surprised at how small their hand was compared to his. “And it just so happens that the application’s all done!” They tucked the application in a folder and tossed it on the coffee table with a flourish. “I mean, I need to print out my resume, but that’s already been done. You want me to play with you?”

“Um…” Mogar hesitated. As much as he liked spending time with Avery, he still didn’t like being cooped up in such a small place. They did have some plants in their apartment, but it was still a whole other world compared to his forest. He was starting to miss just sitting in nature, feeling the grass against his legs and tree bark against his back. He missed seeing his mother--surely she’d be excited to see him again. “Mogar has to go,” he finally said.

“Well, alright then.” They stood up with him, reaching to ruffle the curls on his head. “See you later, bud.”

Mogar couldn’t put into words what he felt when Avery ran their hand through and messed with his hair. It wasn’t bad at all, not by any means, but he wished he knew.

If he wasn’t so antsy to get out of their apartment, he would ask them. For now, he needed to think in the forest. After waving goodbye to them, Mogar left through the open window.

Chapter Text

Avery still had a stabbing headache, but the grogginess of morning was gone. They figured that, since Monarch Labs was going to be open in the afternoon, they could drop off their application then. They got dressed and showered--silently wondering how Mogar didn’t comment on their smell, for how blunt he was--before heading out, carrying their application and resume in a folder. Maybe, if they had enough time before the building closed, they could head back to the third floor and check out more of the Mad King’s makeshift lair. It wouldn’t hurt to get some more information, especially if they didn’t end up getting the job.

They headed to the center of town, the families with small children running around clearly marking the day as a Sunday. Avery could see Monarch Labs a street over--with all the construction equipment around, how could they not--and headed to a sandwich place for lunch. After they sat down with their food, they idly chewed on their sub as they looked over their application, just to make sure that they filled everything out.

Once they were done, they threw their trash away and headed to Monarch Labs, noting that automatic doors had been installed since the last time they were there. They waited at the front desk for the receptionist to notice they were there, and handed them the folder.

“This is the place where I can get things to employees working here, right?” The receptionist nodded. “Can you deliver this to Carol Simmons? Tell her that it’s Avery Linwood’s application.”

“Need anything else?” They shook their head and walked off as the receptionist took their folder and placed in what was probably a mail slot of sorts. As they shook off their nerves, Avery checked their watch. Three hours before I’ll get kicked out, they thought, and pressed the “up” button for the elevator.

Once they made it to the third floor, Avery realized that much of what they saw was exactly the same. At least now, they could actually get around without any heels getting in the way of their movement. The only real difference they could point out was that it was silent, to the point that they could hear ringing in their ears. No threatening murmurs to speak of.

Still, they went down the same path they did when they first traversed the floor. The same caution tape, the same lack of security cameras guided Avery back to the same opening. When they looked inside, though, the place was completely devoid of people: no cowering lackeys or intimidating villains with a superiority complex to see them.

After looking to see they could properly enter the lair, they went through the opening and stepped down the stairs into the belly of the beast. They turned on their phone’s flashlight, seeing that the only source of light in the room was a distant, flickering desk lamp.

“What the fuck…”

Despite whispering, Avery's voice carried throughout the dark, dingy room. Their phone's flashlight lit up the immediate area, mostly being used to ensure they didn't step on anything. They didn't exactly know what they were looking for--a written down plan from the Mad King, anything that would confirm he had nefarious plans--but all they could find was some weird list of ingredients.

They already had a feeling they knew what MK needed candles and chalk for. They tucked the list away in their pocket, only to stumble back into a table and drop their phone. Standing silently right behind them was the Mad King himself, and from what little light the flashlight offered them, he had an amused look on his face. The way the light formed shadows on him, though, exposed the sinister underside of the look.

“You know, it's rude to shine bright lights in people's eyes.” MK bent to pick up Avery's phone, and they immediately scrambled for that.

“Hey, come on, asshole!” He held it above his head, far beyond what they could ever reach. Avery hardly reached MK's shoulders, there was no way in hell they could reach their phone from that high up. “It has a password lock anyway. Won't be of much use to you.”

He scoffed. “While I do have hackers in this building that could easily figure out that password...I won't waste any effort. Perhaps I'll just keep it.”

“Like hell you will!” Before either of them knew what was happening, Avery lept up and threw a punch at MK's face. They could hear something crack--a tooth, maybe--as he stumbled back and dropped the phone. Avery lunged for their phone and snatched it up, frozen in place as to what to do next.

MK stood there, and in the dim light, Avery could see that his nose was bleeding, and a tooth of his had gotten chipped. The hand they used to punch him started stinging at that moment, their knuckles stained with his blood. They tried to shake off the stinging, but it didn't do much.

He started laughing, but definitely not the kind of laughing that suggested he was having fun. “Perhaps you're not as helpless as I first thought. But it's going to take more than a good punch from some short, chubby person to stop me.” He wiped at his nose, only smearing the blood across his face. “You know me by the Mad King now, but when my work is complete, you'll call me by something so much more.”

“Not if I stop you first!” Avery knew full well it wasn't worth it trying to fight him here--he had a height advantage of over a foot, not to mention he probably knew way more than they did about fighting. Anything more, and Avery would likely end up in a hospital.

At least they had more knowledge about him now. That was what they came here for, so it was time for them to leave. Avery scrambled up the stairs and out of the room, more careful this time to not trip over the caution tape. They didn't hear any footsteps aside from their own, so they walked back to the elevator at a normal pace, hoping they wouldn't see anyone on the way out.

Either way, they had a hell of a story to tell their friends when they got back.

Avery ducked their head down, careful to not give away that their body still felt like it was on fire. They saw the actual Mad King, the same one that had terrorized the city before getting defeated by Gavin and X-Ray. How did he come back without anyone even taking notice?

Or rather, how did he come back without the wrong people taking notice?

Once they were away from the busy center, Avery tucked themself into an alleyway, letting out a big sigh. They slumped to the ground, their glasses lifting up as they pinched the bridge of their nose.

At least the wifi from Monarch Labs was still detectable. Avery pulled out their phone and decided to send a message to their group chat with Gavin and Hilda.

[12:42 PM] avery: uh. guys.
[12:42 PM] avery: i may or may not have found mk in his lair and i may or may not have punched him in the face before running away
[12:43 PM] avery: i’m like 90% sure i just fucked myself for life
[12:45 PM] Gav: God, we really can’t leave you alone for an hour, huh?
[12:45 PM] avery: shut up

They checked their pocket for the list, sighing in relief when their hand came in contact with the folded paper.

[12:46 PM] avery: the bright side is that i found this weird list in the lair. if mk has a terrible memory i may or may not have also stopped him in his tracks
[12:46 PM] Gav: Well now you’re definitely gonna be on his shit list.
[12:47 PM] Hilda: We could always just make a copy of it. We’d have to make it really convincing, though. I doubt he’s gonna want anyone, much less someone who’s friends with his arch-nemeses, running around with something of his. Especially if it’s important.
[12:48 PM] avery: we can look it over when i get home

At the sound of a small chirp, Avery turned their phone off and looked at where the sound came from. Behind a pile of boxes, there was a gray and white kitten peeking out at its visitor. It meowed again, but it still came out as a chirp. It didn’t look much older than eight weeks old. They held out a hand for the kitten, letting it come up to their hand and sniff it. It gently pawed at their palm, its claws feeling more like pin pricks that fell short of piercing their skin. The kitten bent down to rub its head against their palm, and Avery lifted up their hand to pet it.

“We should take you to a shelter, buddy. Gotta make sure you’re not lost, and that you don’t have rabies or something.” They opened their phone’s map feature and found that the nearest animal hospital wasn’t far outside the city limits. Maybe, after they dropped off the kitten at their apartment, they could pay their friends a visit.

For now, though, they had new information and a new friend.

Chapter Text

After a taxi ride and a visit to the animal hospital, Avery learned several things about the kitten: it didn’t have a microchip, and it likely didn’t have vaccinations regardless of if it was lost or a stray, due to how young it was. The kitten was clearly uneasy around the staff there, but it was oddly calm around them—it had been since Avery decided to take it. Either way, they paid to start vaccinating the kitten just in case. As they left to pay, one of the vet techs that had helped them out recommended that they start putting up found flyers for the kitten, since there was still the possibility that it already had an owner.

Buying a (temporary) collar and leash on their way out, Avery clipped the collar around the kitten’s neck and attached the leash to it—they didn’t want it to get lost, first or second time. As they got a ride back to their apartment, they looked down at the kitten, stroking the soft fur on its back. They knew they shouldn’t get too attached to it, but they were already thinking of names.

“What about Cloudberry, baby?” They asked the kitten, in a quiet, high-pitched voice. “Does that sound good?” The kitten ‘mrrp’ed in response. “I’ll stick with it for now. Unless you actually have another name…”

Dammit, I’m in too deep already.

They paid the taxi driver and stepped out, silently thanking their landlord for allowing cats in the complex. One of the few good things, I guess, they thought immediately afterwards. Avery carried the kitten—Cloudberry, now—inside and headed up to their apartment. The Minecraft poster they moved to cover the hole in their door was still there, so clearly no progress had been made. However, they were greeted with a surprise when they opened the door and found Gavin and Hilda in their living room.

“Welcome back!” Gavin chirped, before his eyes immediately went to the kitten. “Aww, where’d you get this little guy?” he cooed, rushing over to Avery.

Cloudberry’s eyes widened, and it jumped out of Avery’s arms, only being caught by them grabbing the leash and picking it back up again. They brought it inside and closed the door behind all of them. “First of all, I found her when I was telling you guys what I found. Second of all, did I ever give you a key? Because it wouldn’t be out of character for you to just break into my apartment.”

“No, Gav has a key,” Hilda replied. “I wouldn’t be here if that was the case.”

“Hey, what’re you saying about me?” Gavin countered.

“Okay, guys, no fighting,” Avery interrupted, holding their hands out between the two others. “I assume you’re here cause of the thing I found, right?”

“Yeah. We were here for like, nearly an hour. What the bloody hell were you doing?”

“Uh, checking that Cloudberry didn’t have a microchip? And accepting the fact that she might have an owner and thinking about making found flyers?” Avery cocked their head at Gavin before taking out the list they grabbed from the Mad King’s lair. “Anyway, I haven’t gotten a good look at this yet. From a first glance, though, none of this makes sense.”

“Here.” Hilda took it and set it on the coffee table, with everyone kneeling or sitting down on the floor to look at it. “Well, half the stuff on here is crossed out. Salt, a rabbit’s foot, a set of ram horns, and just something called a ‘mixture.’”

“Sounds like some ritual bull,” Gavin said.

“Yeah, looks like he’s abandoning technology this time around.” Hilda took a second look at the ones MK didn’t cross off. “Oh my god, ‘the blood of five enemies’? The fuck?”

“Hold on,” Avery said, rotating the page for them and Gavin to see. “Jesus fuck, what?”

“Guaranteed we’re three of the five,” Gavin added.

“Who’re the others, then?” Avery asked. “Mogar, probably.”

“Does he know Ray’s gone?”

“Probably,” Hilda replied, drumming her fingers on the coffee table. “My next best guess is Ash, but not many others after her.”

“And he’s probably gonna get plenty of blood if we don’t copy this and put it back soon enough,” Avery said, picking up the list.

“Look, Aves, as much as me and Gav appreciate the help, you don’t need to keep going back to his lair. At some point, you’re not gonna leave as easily as you came.”

“Well, no shit. I fucking punched him this time around.” Avery looked at their knuckles, now starting to bruise from said punch. “But it’s not like you guys have any better of a chance of getting away. Plus, I’m probably gonna be working there soon, so I won’t seem as suspicious if I’m just in the building.” They sighed. “We’ve been over this. I’ll be as fine as anyone sneaking around in the lair of a criminal mastermind.”

“So, not fine,” Hilda retorted.

“You get my point.”

“Avery, seriously, leave this kind of thing to us,” Gavin said, pointing to himself. “The entire damn point of being a hero is not getting civilians hurt!”

“I think it’s a little late for that, dude.” Avery rubbed the back of their neck. “The Mad King knows who I am. He knows what I look like. I can’t just hide, ‘cause he’s gonna find me. So I gotta fight back. Obviously I’m not gonna do it alone—honestly, I doubt anyone could do that—but I’m not gonna stand on the sidelines and let you guys fight my battles.”

“But Av—”

Gavin’s protest was cut off by Hilda putting a hand over his mouth. “Alright. We get that you’re not gonna let this go. You promise you’re gonna be safe?”

“As safe as I can be,” they replied.

“And you’re gonna ask for help when you need it, or accept our help when we offer it?” When Avery nodded, Hilda turned to Gavin. “See? We’ve got nothing to worry about.”

“I hope you’re right…” he said, his voice muffled by her hand.

———

“How goes your little project, Jeremy?”

The King’s assistant looked up from his desk. Several old books containing the secrets of the occult were scattered around, opened to certain pages--some had been torn out and pinned to the wall. He’d been trying to perfect cloning for some time, but this was going to be his magnum opus.

“It’s...well, it’s going,” the assistant confessed, wringing his hands together. “I want this to be perfect. That’s why it’s taking me some time.”

“What is ‘this,’ if I may ask?”

The assistant grinned. “That’s what I was gonna show you, boss. Look up here.” He pointed to one of the pages he’d torn out, titled Blood Clone in cursive. The King didn’t want to read every single word there, but he saw something about gathering all the materials present in a human body, a piece of the original human, and blood.

“Remember this?” The assistant grabbed a test tube and waggled it, and the King saw that the clump of Mogar’s hair from the scuffle his assistant had was inside. “I’m gonna clone that bear. Gonna make him loyal to only us this time. Now he won’t have some stupid cow holding him back from true loyalty.”

“I see…” The King liked the sound of that, but he had subordinates who didn’t follow through on their promises before. “Tell me, Jeremy. How do you plan on making this clone loyal to me?”

“That’s where the blood comes in,” the assistant explained. “I’ll need a drop of blood from you and a drop from me. Without it, the clone is fairly aimless and just does whatever its instincts rely on. But the blood forms a connection between the clone and the person the blood belongs to—almost like a family. And from there, the clone will obey our every command.”

“Our?” The King questioned.

“Well, I wouldn’t want you to be stuck in the heat of battle,” his assistant said, almost too quickly. “You couldn’t tell this clone what to do if you couldn’t see it in the first place. I’m willing to do the dirty work for you while you stand aside, you know that!”

Do I? The King narrowed his eyes, but he dismissed it. He’d rather get whatever use he could out of his assistant before he disposed him for disloyalty. “Of course I do. When do you think this will be done?”

“I’ve been testing it out on things like fungi and plants, which has been alright so far.” He motioned to four pots on the desk—two containing identical-looking brown mushrooms, and two containing very similar violets. “But they are...less complex beings. I’m working on cloning a fish now. I want this to be perfect, boss, you understand that, right?”

“Yes, you’ve...said that already, Jeremy.”

“Well, it bears repeating. Once this clone is complete, we’ll be able to drive Vav and his little friends away for good.”

The King chuckled. “And then nothing will stand in the way of what I want.”

“Of course, boss.”

Chapter Text

“Y’know what...I’m sweaty. And a little stressed. Think I might just take a shower.” Avery walked further into their apartment, pushing themself between Hilda and Gavin. “You guys can go home, I’ll...I’ll figure something out.”

Before Gavin could speak up, Hilda shot him a glare. “Alright, Avery. Stay safe,” she replied, motioning for Gavin to follow her out. Avery retreated into the bathroom with Cloudberry and was quick to undress and hop in the shower.

Despite turning the water on fairly hot, it soon turned cold. “The fuck…?” Even when they turned it hotter, it barely got above a mildly cold. “Could’ve sworn I didn’t use that much hot water…” They groaned and kept their distance from the water as they cleaned themself off. When they heard Cloudberry meowing from the other side of the shower curtain, they responded, “Yeah, I don’t get it either, baby.”

The water barely got warm before they finished, and Avery turned the water off and stepped out. As they dried off, Cloudberry kept brushing against their legs and leaving cat fur stuck to them. “Thanks, bud,” they mumbled.

“Maybe I should go to Mogar’s place…” they mused. “Would you like that? You wanna meet a bear man?” Cloudberry mewed in response. “Yeah, I figured. I think you’ll like him.”

Avery finished drying off and redressed themself, picking up Cloudberry. “Ready to go?”