Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Butters eyes blinked open tiredly. His breath caught quickly at the sight of a ceiling he didn’t recognize. He had lost time again, he could tell. He drew in a deep breath and closed his eyes again. It felt like he had missed more than a few hours this time seeing as he ended up in a place he didn’t even recognize. It happened sometimes, but not very often. He was usually only missing a few hours.

“ You’re awake,” a gruff voice came from the corner. Butter’s eyes flew open and looked around the room before his eyes settled on the figure in the corner of the room. “You killed a lot of people, Chaos.”

“ M-mysterion?” Butters asked nervously as he shot up. “Who’s Chaos? I don’t know who that is. It’s me Butters Stotch. You’ve saved me before,” he offered. How could Mysterion confuse him with someone who killed people. He wouldn’t hurt a fly, he just wouldn’t.

“ Don’t play games with me! Why did you do it! All those children, Chaos! You’ve done a lot of things but I never thought you would go after children,” Mysterion said to him. Butters eyes grew wide with horror.

“ Kids? Little kids? I don’t… I don’t remember. What day is this?” Mysterion cocked his head to the side and hesitated. That reaction felt genuine. There was no twisted smirk, no manic glint in his eyes like Chaos always seemed to have. Had they really gotten it wrong. There was no way. Everyone knew that Butters Stotch was Chaos, and with the mask now off they could prove it.

“ It’s Saturday, February 24th. You attacked the elementary school to, what I can only guess, get my attention. You blew up a school full of children and tried to unmask me in the process.”

Butters eyes widened significantly. A whole week? He had never missed a whole week before. Had he gone to school, had he eaten? Had he tried to kill school children? He felt the tears fall from his face as he began to yank at his hair. He yanked unceremoniously, pulling small clumps out with his fingers.

“ A whole week? I missed a whole week? What’s happening?” Mysterion watched from the wall his heart sinking. This had all seemed cut and dry. Leopold “Butters” Stotch had decided that he was a villain. He had called out Mysterion again and again. Yet, every time Kenny had seen the small stuttering boy on the street he had been the same sweet boy he had saved those few years ago. The same sweet boy he had grown up with in fact, but Butters wouldn’t have known that.

He stared at the small blonde boy, then let out a big sigh. “I don’t know Butters. I’m sorry but we have proof that it was you. I personally took your mask off. Until this is figured out you have to stay here.” Butters sobbed, curled up in the corner of the bed, terrified. He heard the door close behind Mysterion as he left him alone. Butters sobbed himself to sleep.

Chapter Text

Mysterion paced nervously as he waited for the others to show. Butters had seemed legitimately confused at what was going on. It gave him a moment of pause. Was he being controlled by someone? Was there something they were missing? If so, this could get a whole lot worse.

Human Kite and Toolshed were the first to arrive. They looked collectively disheveled as they half stumbled to their seats. It looked like they had barely slept. If they had dreams like Kenny had they probably hadn’t. Watching your childhood school blow up with hundreds of kids inside wasn’t conducive to sleep.

Super Craig and Wonder Tweek followed soon after, hand in hand. He tried to convince them to pick less obvious names, but they were stubborn. Tweek was twitching uncontrollably, his eyes rimmed with red. Craig’s eyes were dry but you could see the tension in the way he moved. Every so often he would squeeze Tweek’s hand to let him know he was there. Codependent as usual it would seem.

“ I can’t believe Butters did this,” the Human Kite exclaimed as he pushed back his hood, revealing his bright, red hair. “ It’s so unlike him.”

“ It’s more than that, Kyle,” Toolshed responded. “ If I hadn’t seen his face for myself I wouldn’t have known it was him.”

Tweek nodded quickly in agreement. Craig huffed quietly. “ It definitely goes past being unlike him. That boy goes out of his way to be so sweet I want to throw up.” Tweek elbowed him in the ribs and gave him a glaring look. “ Well it’s true,” he grumbled.

The door swung open, slamming against the wall behind it. The loud noise made Tweek jump and scream loudly. Everyone else rolled their eyes at the dramatics because they all knew who it would be

“ So, did we turn that fucker into the police yet?” The Coon asked as he sauntered in. “ Why are we having this meeting when I could be sleeping?” Mysterion leveled him with a stare that would make anyone flinch. Everyone except The Coon who was socially unaware.

Mysterion growled in response and pointed to an empty chair. “ Sit down and shut up,” his gravelly voice ordered. Coon mumbled under his breath but sat in the chair regardless. “ Butters is still in one of my holding cells,” he started. Cries of outrage from his colleagues cut off his words.

“ Listen!” he yelled loudly, getting everyone’s attention back on him. “ Kyle, you're going to school for Psychology, correct?”

Kyle looked up at him with surprise. “ Dude, it’s scary how much you know about us and we know nothing about you.”

“ I’ll take that as a yes,” Mysterion responded. He paid no attention to their jests at not knowing his identity. They would be terrified if they knew. “ I need you to give a psych eval. Something’s not right.”

“ Well no shit! He blew up a school full of children,” Craig deadpanned. Mysterion watched Tweek’s eye twitch in response.

“ I'm not talking about general psychopathy. This is something else,” he said as he eyed the group. “ Kyle, what can cause loss of time and no knowledge of something you have done?”

“ Well there are a few different things. Why?” Kyle answered, his head tilted to the side. He was suddenly glad he was working so hard on this degree. He hadn’t chosen it thinking it would work well with his heroism but it was a pleasant side effect.

“ When I questioned him last night he had no recollection of the past week. Kept asking me why I was calling him Chaos. Like it wasn’t what he insisted we call him before. He seemed legitimately frightened,” Mysterion explained plainly.

Kyle listened intently and sat back in thought. He decided he would need to talk to the boy before he made a definite call. “ I can’t be sure until I actually talk to him, but it sounds like it could be some sort of dissociative disorder,” he said out loud for everyone to hear. When he caught everyone’s questioning looks he sighed. “ Multiple Personality Disorder.”

There was a pause with everyone in the room. They seemed to be all thinking the same thing. What happened to poor Butters? The silence was thick, but Mysterion ended it quickly. “Do you think you could confirm or deny?” he asked the red haired man.

“Off the record? Sure, but as someone who doesn’t have their degree yet and can’t give an official diagnosis. Also, we should keep in mind, even if he were to be officially diagnosed it isn’t a legitimate defense in a court of law. He would still be sentenced to prison,” Kyle stated.

Mysterion looked at him with concern, and then gave a quick nod. “I’ll worry about all the stuff that goes on in the background. I think it would go better with you at first because Butters knows you personally. He might feel more safe. We can worry about official things at a later date.”

Chapter Text

Kye approached the door with a bit of hesitation. He had told the group that he couldn’t officially diagnose the disorder because he didn’t have his degree, however they insisted he talk to him anyway. He took a deep breath and opened the door. Butters sat curled into himself in the corner, he was obviously frightened. Kyle approached him, out of costume, and placed a hand on the boy's shoulder. His head shot up his eyes wide.

“ Hey, Butters,” Kyle said softly. Butters flung himself into the arms of the larger boy. He clung desperately, as if Kyle was the only thing keeping reality in its place.

“ Kyle, help me,” Butters pleaded. “ Get me out of here, please. I can’t remember it so it wasn’t me, right?” Kyle cringed, running a gentle hand through the blonde’s hair. They had never been close, but it felt like they would be after this moment.

“ I can’t get you out yet, BUtters. I saw you there. I saw your face,” Kyle whispered sadly. Butters reared backwards, his back slammed into the concrete wall. “ They brought me to talk to you. Everyone wanted a professional to talk to you, but we wanted you to be comfortable.”

Butters shrank into himself and sent a pathetic look. “ I’m crazy aren’t I?” he whimpered. Kyle cringed at the term but sat back onto the concrete floor. Crazy was so degrading. No one was truly crazy, usually just very sick.

“ Well I don’t think so Butters but they sent me to determine why you don’t remember, why you are missing so much time,” Kyle explained. Butters nodded slowly and sent Kyle a weak smile.

“ I can tell you what I know but it’s not much,” Butters whispered. “ I know that I’ve noticed missing time for about two years now. I wake up in places that I don’t know. It started out harmless. I would come to walking through the grocery store or cleaning the house. It felt innocent enough so I thought nothing of it.”

Kyle nodded and pulled out a small notepad from his pocket and began to jot some notes down. Butters eyed it with concern but quickly threw his eyes back down to the floor. Kyle knew the thought of someone analyzing you was terrifying.

“ Then about a year ago, I started waking up covered in bruises. I would be hurt, cut and even burned once. That’s when I began to worry, but I couldn’t bring myself to say something.”
Kyle looked at the huddled boy with interest. He knew that DID was usually brought on by childhood trauma. Was that the case with Butters? Kyle didn’t know much about Butters’ parents.

“ Alright, Butters, can you explain to me the last thing you remember before you lost time?”” Kyle asked curiously. He hoped he could find a good excuse for the lost time. He didn’t want to jump to conclusions though.

“ Well I was watching the news. Mysterion was doing a press conference, talking about Professor Chaos. He said that he was nothing but a common criminal,” Butters said matter of factly. He seemed distant, almost as if he was remembering it vividly. He fell silent for a few seconds too long. Kyle watched him cautiously, he didn’t want to push him.

“Do you believe that? That he’s a common criminal?” Kyle asked slowly, hesitantly. Butters’ eyes slowly refocused but they gleamed with something new, a smirk gracing his lips. Kyle’s heart stopped. Did he set something in motion accidently? He told them to bring in a professional.

“ Is it me you wanted to talk to? Kyle, is it? Pushing pathetic Butters until he breaks and has to hide,” Kyle’s eyes widened with surprise. He actually hadn’t planned on pulling out another personality. Especially, at the risk of pulling out Chaos.

“ Chaos, is that you?” Kyle asked cautiously. Chaos’s eyes glimmered dangerously, and Kyle placed his notepad on the floor beside him. “ I don’t want any trouble.’

Chaos giggled with a kind of joyous glee. “ Of course it’s me. My quarrel isn’t with you so I won’t cause you any harm. For now,” Chaos said with a malicious grin. Kyle flinched nervously and shifted uncomfortably. Something about that grin was off somehow.

“ What about the children, Chaos? Did you have a quarrel with them?” Kyle asked, his head cocked to the side. It was probably too confrontational but he truly wanted to know.

“ I put them out of their misery. There is nothing in this world for them except disappointment. You should be thanking me for saving them,” Chaos snarled. Kyle watched him wring his fingers together anxiously. It seemed like a thing Butter’s would do, not Chaos.

“ Do you hold Butters’ memories of his childhood?” Kyle asked softly. He was trying to keep himself non threatening, while also finding out more about the man. He placed his hands softly in his lap to keep them in sight.

“Hm only the ones worthy of vengeance. The ones that make him angry,” he said matter-of-factly like it was a normal thing to say.

“ What about Mysterion makes you angry?” Kyle asked. “ Certainly he didn’t do anything to you.”

Chaos scoffed in disbelief at Kyle’s words. “ You want to know what he did to me. He didn’t save us!” he screamed. “ I know he’s the same age as Butters. He had to see! Yet he did nothing, and now we will never be whole again.”

Chaos leapt forward and shoved Kyle away. “ Now get out,” he snarled as he moved his way back to the bed.

“ Okay Chaos, I’ll leave. Just one more question, please?” Kyle asked politely. Chaos glared at him but then let loose a puff of air and a shrug.“ How many are there?”

Chaos turned his back to him and stared blankly at the wall. “ Four, if you include pathetic Butters,” he responded. Kyle exited the room and leaned back against the door. He let out a large breath that he felt like he had held in forever. That was one of the most intense things he had ever done, and he was a superhero.

“What do you think?” Mysterion asked as he leaned against the wall opposite him. Kyle eyed him with concern and pushed himself off the door.

“ I think that it was definitely what I thought and he needs professional help. More than I can give him,” Kyle told him. Mysterion sighed, and shoved his fingers in his belt. He looked thoughtful, even only being able to see half his face.

“ I can probably arrange that. I’d also like you to keep seeing him as well,” he said after a few moments of silence. “I can’t keep him in that small room forever, and if he goes through the court system. He won’t get the help he obviously needs. I think I may find a way to lock him in a safe house somewhere.”

Kyle eyed him out of the side of his eye while they walked. Something that Chaos had said bouncing around in his head like a bullet. “ M, how old are you?” he asked suddenly, bringing Mysterion to a halt. He stared at the redhead down with a look of fire.

“ Why would I tell you that,” he growled. “ My identity is mine. My age would just narrow down your options. You never dug around before, so why start now?”

“ I’m not trying to dig. Chaos said you were our age. That you saw it all and never saved him,” Kyle said.

Mysterion whipped around angrily, heading back towards the room that they had just left behind “ M, what are you doing?” Kyle shouted after him, chasing after him.

“If they know how old I am, they know who I am!” he snarled. “I’m gonna find out how.”

Chapter Text

The door slammed, bringing Butters out of the sleep he had just managed to grab. He shot up, a large gasp escaping his chest. He looked wide eyed at Mysterion who stood angrily just inside the door. He glanced around the room in fear. “ Where’s Kyle?” he asked timidly.

“Chaos interrupted your little conversation earlier. How do I speak to him?” Mysterion growled. Butters shook his head vigorously trying to clear all his screaming thoughts. He scrunched in on himself further trying to get away from the anger emanating from the other man.

“ I don’t know,” he cried. “ I don’t control it.” He was crying now, his anxiety growing further. He didn’t understand what was going on. Why did everyone think he was in control of Professor Chaos? Why did everybody think he was Chaos?

“ Do you know who I am? Behind this mask?” he asked hoping that would bring out a gleeful Chaos. Chaos didn’t appear, but Butters seemed to shift slightly. His breathing slowed, his frantic eye movements stopped.

“ We all know who you are, Kenny. We’ve known since Butters was thirteen. He has never told a soul; that’s your secret to tell.” Mysterion felt his heart begin to creep up into his throat. No one was supposed to know. He was supposed to be an unknown, a mystery, hence his name. If people knew they would be angry, sad, and in more danger than they already were.

“Who are you?” Mysterion growled out. He hadn’t expected to meet… someone else? How did any of it even work? He shouldn’t have rushed in here without Kyle. Now he was in uncharted territory. He didn’t know much about this disorder that Kyle had mentioned, but he did know that something bad had to happen for him to have it. Mysterion could be making this worse.

“ I’m Leopold. I’m the protector. I take over when Butters becomes frightened or overwhelmed,” he said simply. He ran a hand up through his hair and cringed. “ I hate when Chaos does our hair. He uses way too much gel.” Leopold looked at Kenny with a confident smirk. “ Got a shower in this dump?”

Kenny bounced from foot to foot. He needed to calm down, but couldn’t find it in himself to do so. “ I’ll see what I can arrange. I’m planning on setting you all up somewhere safe anyway.” Leopold grinned widely at him, his confidence overwhelming the room.

“ You know, your friends have met me before,” Leopold said with a grin, leaning back against the wall comfortably. “ The last four months of senior year Butters was so stressed out that I was in control for a lot of it. I think everyone noticed the change in personality, but thought he was just getting more mature. On graduation day I let him take back over. I’m not interested in being in control like Chaos is,” Leopold explained as he drifted off a little. “ We are hungry,” he added. His eyes drifted and zoned. Kenny eyed him with hesitation but kept silent. Then there were two blue, terrified eyes on him. “ Mysterion?” Butters questioned. Kenny nodded and pulled back his hood.

“ How did you figure out who I was when you were thirteen Butters?” Kenny asked softly as he pulled off his mask. Butters stared at him with wide eyes. Kenny reached a hand out and placed it on the scared boy's knee. “ I’m not angry, Butters. I’m really thankful that you kept it a secret for so long.”

He watched as Butters physically relaxed. The blonde reached out desperately and Kenny took his hand with a smile. “ I saw you at Stark’s Pond one night. I was out in the trees trying to hide from the punishments. You took your hood down. You looked so sad, so I left you alone, even though I was happy to see you alive.”

Kenny sat back shocked. He remembered that night clearly. That was the night he had found his brother, bloodied and broken. The night his brother had died at the hands of his father. The day his mother and sister had been freed of his evil presence, because he had been too busy playing superhero to stop him.

“ The night my brother died,” Kenny whispered. Butters nodded and placed a hand on Kenny’s shoulder. Kenny shook his head to clear his thoughts and drew his hood back up. “ We are having a place arranged for you to go. It’s not prison, so don’t worry.”

Butters shrank back into the bed and pulled his knees up to his chest. Kenny cast him one last glance before closing the door behind him. Kyle leaned up against the wall and kicked up startled as the door closed with a slam.

“ You should pay more attention to your surroundings, Kite. What if that had been Chaos escaping?’ Mysterion scolded as they walked towards the control room Kyle rolled his eyes in annoyance. He was good at what he did, he didn’t need a lecture.

“ Does he know who you are?” Kyle asked, deciding to ignore the off handed lecture. Mysterion’s steps faltered slightly but didn’t stop. Kyle itched excitedly at the thought of finally knowing who Mysterion was. He wanted to thank the face behind the mask.

“ Come help me set up the safe house.” Was Mysterion’s one and only answer

Chapter Text

The meeting room felt tense as Mysterion finished telling everyone the plan. The Coon looked at him with disbelief and anger. Super Craig had the same stoic look as always, except there seemed to be a hidden fire in his eyes. Kyle looked tired, like the excitement from yesterday kept his eyes from falling shut the night before.

“ So you’re actually falling for that fucking bullshit?” The Coon finally cried out. “ You’re going to stick him in a safe house instead of prison because he tricked you? He killed children! Even I wouldn’t sink that low!”

Kyle huffed irritably from across the table. “ He didn’t trick us, fatass. Butters is mentally ill. Prison won’t do anything for him except make him more ill,” he stated. Toolshed shifted beside him uneasily but kept quiet anyway. Mysterion could see his uneasiness in the way he shifted. Like distrusting Kyle’s words felt foreign to him.

“ Who cares if it would do anything good for him. He killed school children. They don’t come back like you supposedly do,” Craig said in his usual monotone. Tweek looked at him with large green eyes, shock written on his face. Craig looked over at his silence and cringed. It was an expression he was seeing more of lately.

“ If I did something horrible when I was dissociating would you want me to go to prison or get help?” Tweek demanded, devoid of his always present stutter. Tweek seemed frustrated with Craig’s lack of connection between the two things.

“ The difference between that is I know you are sick. I’ve never seen anything that has made me think Butters is sick, Tweek,” he said in his own defense. Tweek scoffed loudly and stood quickly from his chair. Craig looked at him with mild surprise, a rare emotion to cross his face.

“I’m pretty sure that’s the whole point.” Tweek said with disgust. “If you had done any research after hearing Kyle mention the disorder you would know that it’s supposed to be discreet. No one is supposed to be able to tell. It’s a defense mechanism. His dissociation comes from the same place as mine, trauma. I don’t even know who you are right now.” Tweek stood quickly from the table. He stormed out the door and slammed it shut behind him. Craig followed behind so fast that his chair tipped over with a loud bang.

“ It would have been so much easier if you would have let me kill him,” The Coon said with a roll of his eyes. Mysterion growled in his direction and slammed his fist down. Con looked at him with a smirk and a hint of defiance. He was just trying to get a reaction and Mysterion should have known better than to give it to him.

“ We don't kill people, Cartman,” he spit. “ The decision has been made and things set up with law enforcement. Any argument that anyone has is moot. Now get out!”

“ Gladly,” Coon said and waddled out the door as fast as his fat legs would let him. Mysterion still couldn’t figure out how he did his hero work at that size. Stan was quickly following behind him but he stopped short when he realized Kyle wasn't following. He turned and grabbed his attention with a pleading look.

“ Ky? Are you coming?” he half begged from the doorway. Kyle eyed him with a grim expression. His eyes flicked over to the purple clad man bent over a keyboard, his face locked in fake concentration. He looked back at Stan and shook his head widely.

“ I've got work to do here,” Kyle said softly. Stan gave him a wide eyed look and shook his head in disbelief.

“ I know you believe it, Kyle. I know you do. Whatever Butters has told you, it’s a lie. If you go along with him, with Mysterion, you're going to end up hurt.” Kyle stared at him in defiance but didn't respond. Stan threw his hands up in defeat and turned away. “ I'm not coming to any more meetings that involve Chaos. I'm not watching you two implode.”

Mysterion turned at the last second to watch Stan leave the room at last. His shoulders slumped in some kind of defeat and he turned back towards the computer. “ You should go with him. He might be right, this may go badly,” Mysterion said softly in a voice he didn't use very often. Kyle thought he knew that voice well but he couldn’t quite place it. He watched Mysterion closely as he slumped over the keyboard, a memory pushing out from the edges.

When the memory clicked into place at the front of his mind Kyle took in a deep breath. If he was right everything would change and if he was wrong he would be devastated all over again. He stepped forward and put a hand on the broken man's shoulder. “ Maybe he will be right but I'm behind you one hundred percent. Kenny.”

Chapter Text

Kenny whipped around and growled viciously in Kyle’s face. Kyle backed away slowly his hands held up in surrender. He may have powers but he knew Kenny could destroy him in a second. “ What did you just say to me?” he asked aggressively.

“ I called you by your name. I'm right aren't I? You've been here this whole time?” Kyle whispered in shock and excitement.

“ How did you figure it out? Who did you tell?” Kenny choked out. His hands shook, his heart broke. He was under the impression that they barely remembered him. After the accident that gave them all powers he had been assumed dead.

He had used his death to his advantage and disappeared to become Mysterion. He never heard his name mentioned again after the first month. Everytime he approached their windows to check on their lives his name never left their lips. It had broken him, but also strengthened his resolve. He had to become Mysterion to save as many people as possible. Even at the risk of everyone forgetting he ever existed.

Kyle looked at him with his emerald green eyes shining with tears. “ I didn’t tell anyone. Not a soul. I just figured it out. You used to come sit at my computer just like that before the accident. Usually after you had a stressful day,” he said as he held out a shaky hand. “ I've missed you man.”

Kenny flopped into the chair with a stuttered breath, the air felt so heavy. He could feel the pressure of it sitting in the center of his chest. “ You all forgot about me. You haven't said my name since you were ten years old. None of you.” He put a hand to his chest and tried to pull in more air. It was on fire as he struggled to process that someone else knew who he was. Someone else had missed him. His blue eyes met emerald ones as Kyle knelt down in front of him.

“ Deep breathes, Ken. We never forgot about you man. We made a pact, a month after the accident, to never mention you again. Stan, Cartman, and I. It hurt too much. Dude, I could never forget you. Nothing was ever the same again. It felt so empty, man.“

Kyle reached up with a comforting hand and pushed back Kenny's mask and hood. Kyle smiled largely as he looked at his friend's face for the first time in eleven years. His hair was scraggly but clean, and the same ashen blond it had been as a child. His face was strong and angular, his cheekbones were prominent. “ You should have been a model, Ken,” he finally said after a few quiet moments.

Kenny gave a wild laugh, and pulled Kyle into a tight hug. His laugh turned into a half sob, half laugh as his panic mixed with relief. Kenny gripped into Kyle so tight that he left out a gasping chuckle. “ Can’t breathe man.”

Kenny pulled back and stared at him. His heart stuttered as he thought of this new development. It was nice to have someone other than a mentally ill civilian know. He didn’t think anyone ever would. Two people in two days seemed like too much. No one else could know, he couldn't run that risk.

“ Kyle, I know this seems cruel but you can't tell anyone else. They can't know,” he whispered. Kyle looked at him with shock and pulled his hand back to himself quickly.

“ Ken, that's a big secret to keep. They are your friends too. Why have you let this go on so long?” he asked, almost begging for an explanation that made sense. Kenny pulled back as far as he could in his frustration. Wasn’t it obvious? Did he really have to explain it.

“ I did this for a reason, Kyle. It is a big secret and it needs to stay that way. No one can use it against me to get what they want,” Kyle explained. If everyone thought Kenny McCormick was dead no one would go looking for his family to hold against him.

“ Except Chaos,” Kyle said, cutting into Kenny's thoughts. Kenny nodded and turned quickly back towards the computers and tapped at the keys angrily. That thought alone was terrifying. If Chaos ever escaped, he was done for. He had already tried to unmask him, he knew and he wanted to ruin his anonymity.

“ Well that won't happen if we get this safehouse set up correctly,” Kenny said, finally acknowledging what Kyle had said. Kyle stood up quickly and brought a hand once again to Kenny's shoulder. Kenny paused in his typing, enjoying the human contact.

“ I'll be here tomorrow to finish setting up and we can transport him. I'll call Fast Pass. Hopefully he doesn’t have the same hang ups as everyone else seems to have. He might be able to expedite the process.Have a good night, M.” Then he was gone, leaving Kenny alone with his thoughts.

--- --- --- --- ---

Kyle sucked in a breath as he finally made it into the brisk fall air. He was overwhelmed with the outcome of the meeting. Plus the secret he just came upon and now he has to keep. That was a lot to process even for him. He pulled his phone out and dialed Fast Passes number.

“H-hello?” came Jimmy’s stuttered greeting.

“Hey Fast it’s Kite,” Kyle told him as he switched the phone between his head and shoulder to dig for his keys. He had been way too tired this morning to fly here. He almost managed to drop his phone but sent a gust of wind to swirl back up into place.

“Ah, so this is b-b-business. H-hold on while I lock th-the door,” Jimmy told him. He heard the tap of his crutches on hardwood flooring. “What c-c-c-can I do for you?”

So that’s why he had missed the meeting, he was at a show. Though to be quite honest Fast Pass didn’t involve himself with the group too much. He helped when needed but he was more focused on his comedy career. “Have you heard from everyone else how the meeting went?” Kyle asked tentatively. He had pretended to be confident in front of Mysterion but he wasn’t sure who Jimmy would side with. He was neutral for most things but not always.

“I’ve g-got a few texts, yeah,” Jimmy answered plainly.

“Listen whether you agree or not we could really use your help speeding up the process for the safe house. You're one of the few people we can trust with the location,” Kyle told him honestly. It was the truth, Fast Pass was trustworthy regardless of whether he agreed with you.

“I trust your opinion on the m-m-matter,” he said simply in reply. Kyle let out a big sigh. He opened up the car door and plopped into the seat. “Just s-s-send me the t-t-t-t-time.” Then the line fell silent. His free time must have been up, he was usually more polite on the hang up. One thing taken care of, a lot more to do.

Chapter Text

Kenny awoke with a gasp when he felt a hand land on his shoulder. He quickly realized he was still on the computer chair in the meeting room. His mask and hood still pushed back off his face. He struggled with them quickly in a panic. He had been so exhausted he had fallen asleep just sitting here trying to plan.

“ It's just me,” came Kyle's voice from behind him. Kenny brought a hand to his heart and willed it to slow down. “ That was pretty careless of you, dude. That's not like you,” he said as Kenny pulled his mask back over his face. Kenny looked up at him and sighed in embarrassment.

“ I had a rough few days,” he said simply, trying to shrug the whole thing off. Kyle gave an exaggerated sigh but let it go. “ Anybody helping us today?” Kenny asked as they began to make their way back through the maze of halls. The fact that he had managed to get the city to build them this expensive, mostly useless hall of mazes, still surprised him. He was able to convince the mayor that one day they may have to make mass arrests. Honestly, back then he just wanted to say he had a huge headquarters. The mayor wasn’t that bright to begin with though, so it wasn’t hard.

“ Fast Pass is at the house now putting on the final touches. Tweek is meeting us here to help with the transport in half an hour. No one else was interested.”

“ So, I take it you and Stan didn't make up last night,” Kenny said as he grabbed some shackles and a breakfast bar for Butters. Kyle shook his head softly and shoved his phone back in his pocket. Kenny could feel the discomfort from Kyle at the thought of it.

“ I don't know why he's so against taking my word on this,” he said with frustration. “ He’s never doubted me before, it feels wrong somehow. Maybe it's because he doesn't trust you,” he added.

Kenny shot him a sideways glance and a questioning look as they reached Butters’ door. “ He doesn't trust me?” Kenny asked, surprised.

“ He doesn't like the fact that you know so much about us but we have never seen your face. It makes him feel like you can’t be trusted.”

Kenny scoffed at that and shrugged his shoulders. The fact that Stan was insecure wasn't his problem. It wasn't a problem he could fix. “ Hood up, Kyle. We don't want Butters to connect you to the Human Kite. Chaos will know then too.” Kyle nodded and pulled up his nylon hoof, stuffing his fiery hair inside.

“ Good morning, Butters!” Kenny said cheerfully as he entered the room. It was something that seemed so out of character for him. Kyle held a straight face at the display and pretended like he knew nothing that was going on. It was hard not to immediately turn his face to kindness, to soften his face. He knew this boy, had grown up with him. Pretending not to know him felt off somehow.

“ W-well good morning, Mysterion,” Butters said from the corner of the room. His fingers were twisting together nervously, his eyes looking everywhere but the two of them. They could tell the small room had caused extra stress. Kyle could tell even thoughthe tried to match Kenny's oddly cheerful greeting.

“ I don't think you've met Human Kite before. He is here to help transfer you to your new placement,” Kenny said as he knelt down and gave Butters the breakfast bar in his hand. Butters opened it slowly, and took a small bite while eyeing Kyle curiously.

“ N-no I haven't. It would be awful great to meet you under better circumstances,” Butters said softly. Kyle gave the small boy a pitying look and turned away. He didn’t want the boy to see that pity sitting there.

“ Let's get this over with, M,” he grumbled. Mysterion picked up the cold metal shackles of the floor. Butters cowered away from them then, pulling in on himself.

“ Please don't make me wear those. I won't fight. I won’t hurt anyone. I promise,” he begged quietly. Kenny gave him a sad look and reached out a hand to comfort. Butters hand snapped out and grabbed a hold of his wrist. Kenny's eyes snapped up to the scared boy's face with surprise. Except the face he saw wasn't the soft scared face of Butters.

Instead, there was a wicked grin and mischievous eyes. Kenny snapped the restraints on quickly before Chaos could respond any further. “ I figured these were for me,” Chaos cackled almost joyfully. “ I thought I would save that pathetic boy from quaking in my boots.”

Kenny eyed him with concern and glanced up at Kyle. Kyle's eyes were wide with a sense of foreboding. He inched forward behind Kenny to add whatever back up the man may find appropriate.

“ Oh will you two calm down. I'm not going to fight with you. There would be no point, would there?” Kenny relaxed slowly as he stood and pulled Chaos up with him. “ Make no mistake, though. I will remember Mysterion.”

Kenny pushed him towards the door with irritation. Kyle followed closely behind, obviously worried about the appearance of Chaos. He wondered if it had been Chaos the whole time or he had taken over that quickly. They walked silently while Chaos looked around the maze of hallways, like he was memorizing.

“ We probably should have blindfolded him,” Kyle whispered in Kenny's ear. Kenny glanced over cautiously at the shackles bound and sighed. This would have been much simpler if it had just been Butters. Chaos glanced over with a smirk.

“ I know I'm attractive but you don't have to stare,” he said mocking Mysterion. Mysterion gave a growl and pushed him forward. Kyle placed a hand on Kenny’s back to calm him and keep him grounded. Kyle could tell that dealing with Chaos frustrated him. The blonde gave a wild laugh, but kept walking.

They came out into the entrance of the large building and Chaos stopped. His eyes widened and he whipped around. “ What is all this,” he growled. The walls were covered in newspaper clippings. Some from the accident, others about Chaos, and some even about the heroes themselves. It was cluttered to say the least.

“ This is the front entrance. It kind of got taken over by clippings,” Human Kite commented as he glanced out the doors to look for Tweek.

“ I see that. I want to know why none of these articles are singing my praises. I'm creating Chaos and saving people from their boring lives,” he yelled manically, spinning wildly to take in as much as he could “ Why can’t anyone see that?”

He struggled against his restraints, swinging wildly at the two men who hovered near him. “ And you!” he screamed as he stalked forwards towards Mysterion. “ None of this would have happened if you had stopped them. Since you stood there and watched, I'm going to make sure you watch the world fall.”

Suddenly Chaos laid on the floor, twitching in pain. Mysterion looked up to see Wonder Tweek, the last evidence of electricity crackling around his upraised hands, standing at the door. He looked slightly panicked as he finally lowered his hands. His eyes found Mysterion and his shoulders finally released their tension.

“ W-what was that -ngh- man! You could have taken him down in a heartbeat,” Tweek screeched. He ran forward and added an extra set of cuffs to Chaos. He picked him up easily and carried him towards the door.

“ I didn’t want to hurt Butters,” Mysterion replied as he followed out the door. Tweek placed him in the back of the transport van and climbed in after. He gave Mysterion a look and shook his head.

“ He may have-ngh- Butters face, but that wasn't Butters, man.” Mysterion froze in shock as Tweek closed the door. He turned to Kyle who stood staring, bewildered and shocked.

“Well that could have gone better,” Kyle said after a few moments of silence. Kenny sighed and gave him an exasperated look. “Ya think?”

Chapter Text

The drive to the safehouse was silent and tense. Kyle had thrown his hood back and stared out the passenger window. Kenny eyed him a few times out of the corner of his eye, trying to gauge his mood. He seemed stoic and sad.

“I really messed up back there,” Kenny finally said after an hour of silence. Kyle whipped his head around to look at him, confusion evident on his face. He opened his mouth to speak but Kenny shook his head. “I let my pity for Butters influence how I treated Chaos.”

Kyle nodded and looked back out the window. “I did, too,” he responded after a while, his gaze never leaving the passing scenery. “I was seeing Butters, not Chaos. I could have stunned him before Tweek showed up, but I couldn’t bring myself to do it.” Kenny sighed as he pulled into a driveway hidden among the trees. He truly wished that this wasn’t so horribly complicated. That Butters was simply Butters, and Chaos had never existed.

They came to a stop, and sat staring together at the house in front of them. It sat back into the woods, shaded beautifully. Streams of sun fell between the leaves, giving everything a stunning glow. He had found this place purely on accident and had immediately fallen in love with it. In all honesty it wasn’t a safehouse originally. It was his vacation home, a place away from the nonsense that was South Park. Kyle’s hand landed on his shoulder ripping him from his thoughts.

“We are going to make this work,” he said softly as he pulled up his hood again. “We will help him, M. Don’t doubt it, okay?” Kenny gave him a slight smile and a small nod. They exited the van simultaneously, approaching the back of the van with caution.

They heard no loud or disturbing noises. Kenny couldn’t decide if the lack of noise was a good or bad thing. He threw open the doors, and Tweek blinked at him with wide eyes. Butters, or who he hoped was Butters, was huddled as far into the corner as he could possibly go.

Tweek exited quickly, shooting Kyle a worried glance. Kyle caught the look, but decided now wasn’t the time to discuss it. Kenny had crawled up into the back of the van slowly, trying to keep his head about him. They watched nervously as Kenny approached the potentially volatile man.

“Hey Butters,” he whispered as he approached. Butters reached out for him instantly, a look of desperation on his face. Kenny reached onto his belt under his cape and grabbed the keys and an ankle bracelet. He moved forward slowly and snapped the device into place around the smaller man’s ankle.

“What’s that for?” Butters whimpered. Kenny looked up at him and sighed. Poor Butters was petrified. Under normal circumstances he would never dream of frightening someone this bad. He wasn’t in the habit of scaring innocent people. Unfortunately the other people in his head weren’t so innocent, so there was no way around this.

“It’s an ankle monitor. It will keep you on the property. If you go over the line it will knock you unconscious,” Kenny explained. Butters eyes widened with fear and then they went blank. Kenny backed up cautiously, glad he hadn’t undone the handcuffs yet.

“Relax, it’s just me,” came a slightly lower voice. Kenny visibly relaxed at the slightly different voice. He was glad only one of the others seemed to be unstable and not the others.

“Scared the shit out of me, Leo,” Kenny grumbled at the confident man. Tweek watched with fascinated eyes at the switch that occurred before his eyes. He looked at Kyle with fear in his eyes.

“Is that what it’s like when I dissociate?” Tweek asked low. Kyle looked over at him and shook his head slightly. Tweek let out a quiet sigh of relief. He would be terrified to find out there was more than one personality inside him.

“You do some uncharacteristic things sometimes but mostly it just kind of looks like you are spaced out for a minute,” Kyle told him softly. He glanced back into the truck to watch Kenny undoing the shackles that held Butters in place. “Honestly Craig and I have gotten pretty good at spotting it. We stop talking and wait for it to pass so half the time you don’t even notice.”

Tweek gave an extraordinary twitch and a loud yell. “Gah! What! What do you mean I don’t notice?” Kyle glanced at him with concern but also a hint of humor. Leopold had looked up with surprise at the unexpected noise.

“Sure twitchy doesn’t need to stay here with me?” he laughed, raising an eyebrow at Kenny. Tweek brought his hands up to his face in embarrassment, his cheeks red with blush. Kenny gave him a quick nudge and shook his head.

“Be nice, Leopold,” Kenny scolded. He stepped out of the van and gave Tweek a small pat on the shoulder. “Ignore him Tweek. Leopold is a bit full of himself,” he whispered loud enough for Leopold to hear.

Tweek giggled at Leopold’s sputtered denials, as Kenny rolled his eyes and began walking towards the house. Leopold followed behind as he got quiet and stared at the house in front of him. Kyle watched him from the corner of his eye with caution. He seemed fine at the moment, but if he learned anything, it was that it could change quickly.

“Honestly, we were expecting something a little bit run down and formidable,” Leopold said, a smile forming on his face. He seemed pleased with the arrangements so far, Kenny observed. “Marjie is absolutely thrilled.”

Kyle looked over and opened his mouth to speak but quickly closed it. He couldn’t start asking questions that Kyle would ask. That could potentially give him away as Chaos. He would have to store the information away and use it in later conversations. It was also risky but he could at least play it off like he was given the information.

“ Who is Marjie?” Tweek asked instead. Kyle was glad he wasn’t the only one who wanted to ask that question. Leopold glanced down at Tweek with a dashing smile and entered the house behind Kenny.

“Marjie is short for Marjorine. You guys haven’t met her yet, she’s our caretaker. She’s our little busy body. Handles all the things that Butters might find overwhelming like housework or grocery shopping. She enjoys it.” He walked around and touched everything he could get his hands on while he talked. It seemed to be his way of satiating his curiosity and getting a feel for the place.

“I’m going to bring Kyle by to stay for a few days,” Kenny said, grabbing Leopold’s attention. He nodded and continued his exploration of his surroundings. Human Kite was the only one to react.

“We didn’t discuss that,” he growled lightly. “You can’t just pull civilians into things without discussing it with the team first.” Kenny stared at him with something in his eyes that Kyle couldn’t recognize. Tweek looked nervous as he watched the other two.

“I realized that, Kite. That’s why I said in a few hours.” Kyle scoffed at the ridiculousness of the statement. That is what he said but he had been telling him what he would be doing for the next few days. He wouldn’t have been against it, he just would have liked to have been asked first.

“Fast Pass and I will go fetch him then, shall we?” he grouched at the purple clad man. The man in question gave a rare smile and an approving nod. Kyle snored at the absurdity of it all and shot a text to Jimmy to meet him out front.

“I’ll see you at base tonight,” Kenny hollered behind him. Kyle sent out a laser, clipping the edge of his cape. Kenny simply laughed at the outburst.

“Jerk,” Kyle mumbled. Then he was gone as Fast Pass whipped by.

Chapter Text

The trip back to his house was fast and hysterical. Jimmy must have noticed his stress and decided to crack a couple of jokes to ease the tension. When he had arrived on the joke about his running legs Kyle had cracked up. When Jimmy had told them that he had superspeed everyone had laughed thinking he was joking. It turned out Jimmy’s arms were more than fast enough to compensate for his legs.

Stan was standing on the porch when they arrived. He seemed angry, more angry than he should be about him helping Chaos. “ You want to explain to me how he escaped?” Stan demanded as they approached. Kyle looked at him with confusion and fumbled with his keys. He glanced at Jimmy for a possible explanation but he looked just as confused.

“ How who escaped?” Kyle asked. He couldn’t think of any of their previous villains and criminals that had escaped but definitely not recently.a

“ Professor Chaos! Don't stand here and act like you don't know what I'm talking about, Kyle!” Kyle's eyes widened with surprise at the outburst. Where was he getting that information? He knew where Chaos was, safe and sound. Were people in the group trying to stir up trouble because they didn’t like the decision?

“ He didn't escape, Stan. I just left the safehouse no more than five minutes ago. He isn't going anywhere,” Kyle insisted. Stan looked surprised at the truth. He searched Kyle's face for any sign of lies but there were none. Then Craig appeared at his side looking angry despite his stoic face.

“ Well if he is where you say he is, want to explain this to us?” Craig asked as he handed over his tablet. Kyle glanced over it quickly, his heart stuttering to a stop. There was a picture of the County hospital, spray painted bright orange, big enough to see from afar.

YOU'RE NEXT LOVE PROFESSOR CHAOS

“ That's not possible. Chaos is at the safehouse. I was literally just there.”

“Well, either you're lying or someone is working for Chaos,” Stan said simply. Kyle took in a huge breath. Someone working for Chaos? They had never seen someone with him, had they? What did Chaos do when no one was looking?

Kyle rushed quickly into the house to gather his things leaving the other two men standing on his front porch. He rushed to pack his things together. He needed to get back to Butters and Kenny. He needed to talk to Chaos, he needed answers. They all needed answers.

Once his things were placed neatly into his suitcase he sent a quick text telling Kenny to check the news. He glanced around his meticulous room, making sure he had grabbed everything he needed. He always managed to leave at least one important thing behind when he packed for anything.

Kyle’s heart jumped a bit when he opened his door and found more of the heroes gathered on his porch. He was Stan and Craig would get the hint when he had rushed inside. Instead they gathered more people there to bombard him as he came back out the door. So much for a quick pack.

“ What is he doing about this?” Craig demanded before Kyle could ask them all politely to move. He was getting irritated. He had just found out himself, how was he supposed to know what Kenny wanted to do about the situation?

“ I don't know what M is going to do Craig. I haven't spoken to him yet,” Kyle answered as he tried to scoot by. Craig's hand fell on his shoulder and Kyle glared at him for the unwanted contact.

“ Well Kite, I figure you were so far up his ass you could read his mind by now.”

Kyle growled, pushing the taller man away from him. Craig regained his footing quickly and stood to tower over him. Kyle really wished he hadn’t inherited his mother’s shortness. It made him less intimidating. Stan stepped forward to place himself in between the two. “Okay, we might need to all take a breather, but dude, you can’t expect us to be fine with this dude. Mysterion should have a better handle on this.”

Kyle stared at him dumbfounded for quite a few seconds longer than was probably necessary. “When did you all find out about this?” he asked, crossing his arms defensively. Stan glanced down at the tablet and back up at Kyle.

“Like an hour ago,” he stated simply like Kyle didn’t have a point.

“So you just found out an hour ago. I just found out because I’ve been busy transporting Butters to the safe house. Where, I reiterate, he still is. When do you think Mysterion found out about it?” Kyle asked incredulously. Stan stared at him with an infuriatingly dumb look on his face. It wasn’t often where he wanted to hit him, but this is one of them. “That’s right! Just now when I texted him. So please tell me when he or I were supposed to make some kind of plan?”

Stan at least had the smarts to look away and look sheepish but Craig still stood defiantly behind him. “Well since he’s the self appointed leader he should be on top of stuff like this, shouldn’t he?” he said smugly. Kyle’s patience had ended and he sent out a gust of wind sending everyone flying back off their feet. Stan looked at him with shock. Never in their friendship had Kyle used his powers against him. There was a first time for everything he supposed.

“ I'm sure M will get a hold of you as soon as Tweek and him are done taking care of the safehouse. I will be unavailable for the next few days. So you can all do me a favor and fuck off.”

“ You pulled Tweek into your bullshit?” Craig hollered at his back as he walked away towards Fast Pass. Kyle placed a hand on Jimmy's shoulder and rolled his eyes. He waved a dismissive hand in Craig’s direction.

“ Tweek is a big boy, Craig. He is perfectly fine.” Then without another word he was watching the landscape fly by faster than he could observe it.

Chapter Text

They came to a sudden stop in front of the house and Kyle let out a big breath. This entire day had been entirely too eventful, and he would very much like it to be over. Unfortunately for him that was not going to be the case. Kenny stood waiting, eyes on his phone, right outside the door to the house. His eyes flew up when he noticed Kyle’s presence. His shoulders seemed to lower with relief.

“ Did you ask him about it?” Kyle asked as he moved forward. He heard slamming from inside the house and looked at Kenny with worry.

“ Of course I did. Butters didn’t know anything about it. Then Chaos made an appearance and is currently throwing a fit about how we handled him earlier.” He opened the door to let Kyle in with a sigh and a vase flew through the air narrowly missing Kyle's head. He looked over his shoulder and waved Jimmy off. He seemed relieved that he wouldn't have to enter the brawl.

“ You almost hit me in the face, Chaos,” Kyle said in a lecturing tone. He glanced over at Tweek who had hidden himself in the corner, obviously trying to not repeat the incident. Chaos froze, a lamp in his hand, and cast Kyle a condescending look. “ Put the lamp down please?”

Chaos glanced around at Mysterion and Tweek, raising the lamp a little higher over his head. Kyle sighed at his attempt to push his limit. “ They are leaving, Chaos. It will just be me and you. We can talk about anything you like,” Kyle assured him.

Chaos lowered the lamp slowly back to the end table beside him. He sent Kyle a mischievous smile and nodded his head happily. Tweek scurried out of the corner and over to Mysterion's side. A comforting hand was placed on his lower back when he got there. “ I'll be back in a few days to pick you up Kyle. Thank you for your help.”

“ Of course,” Kyle said as he placed his suitcase on the floor. The door opened and closed quickly behind him. Chaos smiled largely and took a seat on the sofa. Kyle sat opposite him in a plush armchair. “ So can I ask you a question?”

Chaos quirked an eyebrow as Kyle watched him curiously. “ Well, I suppose, but I thought I was going to get to talk about whatever I want,” Chaos answered with a smirk. Kyle nodded and ran his hands across the soft material of the chair. He enjoyed furniture with this texture. It gave him something to do with his hands while he spoke to people. It was grounding in a way.

“ Of course we can. If you don't want to answer the question then don't.” Chaos nodded enthusiastically as he leaned forward. Kyle took this as an invitation to continue. “ Was your next target Hell's Pass?”

Chaos perked up at the question and leaned back confidently. “ So glad to see my contingency plan working out already,” he said with a smug smile. Kyle eyed him nervously and placed his hands in his lap.

“ Contingency plan?” Kyle asked cautiously. Chaos smiled even larger as his eyes twinkled with a childlike mischief.

“ Well of course I made plans for if I ever got caught,” he said with a wicked smile. I wouldn’t be a very good super villain if I hadn’t.” Kyle's eyes widened at the news. Was it also someone that they knew from their childhood? “ Don't bother trying to figure out who it is. You will never guess in a million years, “ he added simply.

“ Now I'm bored. Let's talk about something else.”

Chapter Text

Mysterion paced impatiently as he waited for the last few people to arrive. He felt a twinge of uncertainty at Human Kite’s absence. It had never bothered him before, but now he felt like he needed the level headed man by his side. He shouldn’t be so reliant on the man. Perhaps it was because he was one of the first people to know who he was.

Tweek and Craig finally walked in and took their seats. Everyone could feel the tension between the two. It was like a bomb was waiting to go off. Mysterion had a feeling that it would go off before the end of the night if everything happened like he thought it would. Another side effect of Chaos.

His phone chirped suddenly on his belt and he checked it quickly. Contingency plan? He felt a sinking in his stomach. This was his fault for not taking Chaos more seriously in the first place. He was smarter than everyone gave him credit for.

“Thanks for coming everyone,” he started suddenly. All the eyes in the room bore into him at once. They were all waiting impatiently for news. “I’ll tell you what I know and we can move forward from there.” They nodded sharply and he continued. “This is the work of Chaos, though indirectly. Chaos is securely locked away where only a few of us know. No, I won’t tell you where. It seems that Chaos has set up a contingency plan for if he was ever captured. Which means he has someone taking his place.”

A loudness overtook the silence as everyone began talking at once. There was outrage across the board. “How did no one know about some sort of side kick?” Stan hollered.

“Yeah,” came a few agreements from around the room.

“I’ve never seen Chaos with anyone else. Have any of you?” Mysterion asked in his own defense. The room became uncomfortably quiet as everyone realized he was right. No one could have known.

“I don’t really care about the little minion he seems to have. He is still pulling all the strings,” Craig bit out from the end of the table. “I say we stop falling for his bullshit and make sure solitary is the only thing he ever sees.”

Most people around the table nodded in agreement and turned to Mysterion expectantly. His lip curled up in a snarl as he watched Craig’s curl into a smug smirk. HIs hand slammed down on the table in frustration. “Butters’ situation has already been decided. This meeting is about who could possibly be behind the new Chaos activity,” he growled.

Everyone sat silently at the table after Mysterion’s outburst. Some shared knowing glances, while others kept their eyes on the table in front of them. Abruptly Call Girl stood from her seat grabbing the attention of those around her. She looked determined to say something Mysterion wasn’t going to like.

“We understand that the decision was made, M. What we don’t like is that you made it without us. You took advice from Kite, who isn’t a practicing psychologist, and left our opinions in the dirt,” she said as she gazed around the table for support that she was clearly getting. “Why bother bringing us all together if you don’t care what we have to say?”

Stan's hand wandered up to her lower back in support. Mysterion glared impatiently at the display. Apparently that was a thing again. More drama that they didn’t need among their ranks.

“If I had taken a vote on this a mentally ill man would be in prison getting sicker. Either that or he would be dead,” Mysterion answered as he looked Call Girl directly in the eye. “I don’t know if that sits well with any of you but it doesn’t with me.”

“That would make sense if he was actually sick,” Craig sneered. Mysterion watched as the hypothetical bomb exploded in Tweek’s eyes. His heart sank to the pit of his stomach. He couldn’t help but feel the ties around the room snapping into a million pieces. All the tension in the room was his fault, and it was a painful reminder of his humanity.

“I wouldn’t have suggested what I did if I wasn’t one hundred percent sure he was sick. I know you guys don’t like the decision I made. However, I did it, and now it’s done. So now I need ideas on how to find this new threat.”

He could almost feel the heroes shift in their seats. He felt a moment of insecurity when he realized it wasn’t just Stan who didn’t trust him. Another pang of Kyles’s steady absence hit him in the gut. He sent Tweek a look in hopes that he could get him to give him some sort of backup.

Lucky for him Tweek seemed to be on the intuitive side tonight. Tweek stood up and got everyone’s attention. “Look, Butters is sick. That discussion is over. GAH! Why don’t we start looking at people that Butters is known for hanging around. If they aren't his accomplice they might know who is,” Tweek twitched violently as he glanced over at Mysterion.

Mysterion nodded at him in appreciation and raised his hand to encourage him to continue. He saw the determination grow in the blonde boy's eyes. He knew moments like these were hard for Tweek. It gave him one piece of satisfaction to know he was a part of Tweek’s moment of confidence. “Call Girl, you track mentions of Chaos on social media. Coon, you get in contact with your criminal friends. Don’t look at me like that, we all know you have them. Toolshed, maybe ask around with the parents since they trust you alot. See what they’ve heard about Butters.”

The room stared open mouthed at the twitchy boy taking control. No one had ever seen this side of him before. Mysterion wasn’t sure if they wanted to argue or listen out of a slight twinge of fear. Tweek looked sort of scary when he was sure of himself. “Oh, and Craig, I would appreciate it if you started packing my things in boxes. I’m moving out.” Then Tweek was gone, the door slamming shut behind him before anything else could be said.

All eyes turned towards Craig as his mouth hung open in shock. He tried to hide the emotions running across his face but it was obvious that he just wasn’t going to hold it for long. Kenny decided to take pity on him. Kenny decided to take pity on the man and drew everyone’s attention back on him. “Well you heard the man. You’ve got your jobs. Meeting adjourned.”
Everyone scurried out of the room, leaving an obviously broken hearted Craig. Kenny watched him for a minute, curious on whether or not he should intervene.

A few more moments of silence followed before Craig’s icy blue eyes creeped up to meet Kenny’s. Instead of the sadness that Kenny was expecting there was a fiery anger. “This is all your fault,” he growled. Craig pushed the table away from him, sending it sliding across the room to slam against the far wall. “You should have never dragged him into this.”

Mysterion stared at him with a confused look on his face. “What does Tweek doing his job have to do with him wanting to move out Craig?” He asked with genuine confusion. Craig stood up, hands slammed onto the table, chair thrown back to land loudly on the floor.

“You took advantage of the fact that you knew he would have more pity for someone who is sick. You knew you could trick him into helping you with this mess, and that’s exactly what you did,” Craig accused, finger pointed aggressively in the hero's direction.

Mysterion stared at him in shock. This man would really accuse anyone else instead of taking responsibility for his own actions. “I never asked Tweek to help, he volunteered. He is a grown adult who can make his own grown adult decisions. Any problems that Tweek and you are having are on you,” he stated simply and calmly. Craig snarled and turned to barge out of the room, the door slamming back shut behind him.

That was a large metaphorical bomb.

Chapter Text

“Butters,” Kyle started, his mind racing for a way to make the man feel a sense of ease. “You have a mental illness Butters. I know you would never hurt anyone intentionally. Something obviously happened to you when you were young.” Butters twitched visibly at the mention of his childhood. “You don’t need to talk about it now but I’m hoping that someday you will be comfortable enough to tell me.”

Butters glanced up at him nervously and gave a small shake of his head. “I don’t remember everything that happened to me as a child. I know I repressed a lot of it. What I can remember was awful. I don’t think I can, in good conscience, tell you about it.”

Kyle looked at the blonde with wide eyes. The honest statement was jarring. Had his friends and him been so wrapped up in their small worlds that they hadn’t noticed Butters? Butters slipping away? Butters being harmed and broken? He didn’t need to think too long about it, he already knew the answer.

Kyle reached out and ran a finger along the scar that ran through Butters eye. Butters froze and lifted his head up with a snap at the sudden contact. “My friends and I didn’t make it any better,” Kyle whispered sadly.

Butters shook his head softly and looked Kyle in the eye. “You guys were my only escape,” he whispered fondly. “Don’t get me wrong, you guys weren’t the best of friends, but you let me tag along alot.” Kyle’s eyes shot down to the table, searching for something to say in the pattern of the marble.

“I don’t know why we were so mean to you,” he said simply after a few moments of silence. Butters brought his mug to his lips with a smile. He took a large sip and hummed happily at the warmth that flowed through him.

“I may be mentally ill but I’m not delusional,” he finally answered with a laugh. “I was an annoyingly clingy kid.” Kyle began laughing with him joyously. Their laughter seemed to lift Butters spirits.

Kyle’s phone buzzed loudly on the counter loudly, making him jump. Butters snorted as Kyle’s arms waved wildly in the air he tried to keep his balance on his stool. Kyle gave him a withered look even though it felt good to see Butters laugh.

He pulled the phone up to his ear without looking at the name across the screen. “Gah! Kyle!” Tweek's voice echoed loudly in his ear. Kyle flinched slightly at the volume but quickly put the phone back down to his ear.

“Okay, Tweek, lower the volume. What do you need?” Kyle heard a few things bang on the other end of the line and a few squeaks as well. He furrowed his brows and looked over at Butters, who was watching with interest and concern.

“I left Craig,” he squeaked out quickly. Kyle’s eyebrows shot up in shock, that wasn’t anything that he had expected. “I left him and I need somewhere to go for a few days. M suggested the safe house if you think it won’t disturb Butters.”

Kyle looked up at Butters with interest. The younger boy seemed to be doing well since he woke up. He also didn’t want to baby him and make him feel worse. The best thing to do was ask and hope for the best. “Butters, Tweek needs a place to stay for a few days. Are you up for a guest?”

“Sleepover!” Butters shouted excitedly in response. He shot up from his seat and began digging through the kitchen cupboards pulling out snacks. Kyle laughed at the childlike glee of it all.

“Well I’ll take that as a yes. Come on over Tweek. And maybe stay hungry. It looks like Butters is making snacks.” He quickly hung up and watched the Butters-like chaos unfold.

Chapter Text

Tweek arrived nearly an hour later, an overnight bag thrown over his shoulder, a deep sadness on his face. He was greeted by an over happy blonde jumping into his arms with excitement. Kyle chuckled at the display as Tweek wrapped his arms weakly around the other in surprise. He looked over at Kyle, shocked at the difference between now and the last time he saw him.

“I’ve got some snacks in the oven, and I found the DVDs and I’m so glad you’re here. Kyle and I were being all serious but now you can cheer us up,” Butters rambled as he pulled the other ruffled blonde into the house. Tweek couldn’t help but offer a crooked but sad smile at the man’s enthusiasm.

“Now Butters don’t crowd him. I don’t know if he’s up for all that. I told you why he’s here,” Kyle scolded lightly. Butters looked up at them sheepishly and then glanced back at Tweek nervously. Tweek offered him a weak smile and a shake of his head.

“I don’t mind Butters. I could really use the distraction,” Tweek offered up. With that Butters was off rambling again in an almost childlike manner.

Butters set up an array of snacks on the table for everyone to eat. He fussed over Tweek who sat still and obviously uncomfortable with the copious amounts of attention. Butters seemed clueless to this fact, however and pestered the poor boy continuously.

“Butters why don’t you pick a movie to put in,” Kyle suggested as he kept his eyes on the uncomfortable man on the opposite side of the couch. Butters nodded enthusiastically and scurried forward to search through the movies, scattering them haphazardly across the floor to find the one he wanted.

“Kyle watched Tweek deflate with relief when Butters attention was no longer on him. He watched Butters slide Bambi into the DVD player and rolled his eyes. He outgrew Disney movies when he was young but it was the perfect thing for the two sensitive men in the room. It was calm and wouldn’t need to be watched super intently. Butters settled himself down on the floor to watch.

They all watched silently for a while, slowly filling up on snacks. Kyle watched with amusement as Butters sang happily along before he slipped into a peaceful sleep curled up in front of the TV.

The credits began to play and Kyle peeked over at Tweek. He was still silent, his eyes looked like they were looking way past the television. “Do you want to talk about it?” Kyle asked quietly.

Tweek twisted his head over in his direction quickly. His eyes were wide with surprise at the sudden attempt at a conversation. He calmed quickly though and looked down at his hands that sat limply in his lap. He was quiet for a few seconds longer before he looked back up at the redhead.

“I don’t want to wake him -ngh- and I think if I talk about it I’ll just get hysterical,” Tweek whispered quietly. Kyle smiled softly at him, and stood quietly from the couch. He used a soft breeze to lift the sleeping man up into his arms.

The blonde snuggled contently into his chest and gave a soft sigh. Kyle smiled softly at how peaceful he looked. After all the stress and heartache he had seen the boy experience over the past few days it was nice to see him so calm. “I’ll be right back and we can talk,” he whispered to Tweek as he reached the stairs.

Tweek nodded his head sadly and stared down at his hands. His head twitched subtly as he sat in silence, letting his mind wander to other places. Kyle disappeared up the stairs and Tweek pulled out his phone. He had placed it on silent after leaving the apartment. There were twenty missed calls, fifteen of which were from Craig.

His stomach sank as he pulled up his voicemail. They were all from Craig, every last one. He felt a twinge of guilt as he deleted them without listening to them. He knew they would just be Craig begging him to come home, and probably a few angry ones too. He hated how he had left. It had felt wrong, but the way he had talked about Butters, it felt like a direct swing at him. If he could talk about others like that, did he secretly think that way of him too?

There was a text on his phone from a number he didn’t recognize. He opened it wondering if maybe it was Mysterion checking on him from a personal number. He dropped his phone in shock when a picture of Craig in an intimate position with Thomas came up instead. He reached forward in a panic to pull it back closer again but the picture didn’t change. He curled in on himself and began to sob quietly.

It wasn’t long before he heard light footsteps approaching. “Tweek? Are you okay?” Kyle asked softly. Tweek shook his head violently and shoved his phone into the other man’s hands. Kyle looked at it for a total of five seconds then placed it gently back onto the table. “He’s comforting himself with someone else? I’m so sorry Tweek,” he whispered, kneeling down beside him.

Tweek looked at him with wide green eyes. “That picture was taken before he got the tattoo on his neck. That was almost three years ago,” he sobbed. Kyle drew back in surprise and watched the pain sick further into Tweeks eyes. Kyle could honestly say he hadn’t seen that coming. Craig had always been one to dote on Tweek, but maybe he was making up for the guilt.

“Oh, Tweek, I’m so sorry,” Kyle said again as he placed a hand to the side of Tweek’s face. “I’m sure you will be able to get some kind of explanation from him. For now, you can stay with Butters and I as long as you need to.”

Tweek nodded, sitting up so he could talk more clearly. “I thought we were only having problems for the past few months. I thought it was a lack of communication, but apparently he’s been cheating on me for years. I feel like I know nothing about our relationship now. Everything is falling apart! Gah!”Tweek rambled, his panic becoming more evident the longer he talked.

“Tweek, breath,” Kyle said softly, pulling the distraught boy into his arms. “You aren’t going to find the answers right now. In fact, you may never find them. Even so, you are going to be okay. You will move on, it will take some time and it will hurt, but eventually it will get better.”

Tweek burrowed himself into Kyle’s chest and sobbed loudly. KYe rubbed his back softly, whispering comforts. He held the boy until the sobbing stopped and his breathing evened out. He had cried for so long he had fallen asleep. Kyle knew he should move Tweek to a bed and make sure he was comfortable, but he couldn’t bring himself to let him go. So instead he got comfortable on the couch beside him.

Kyle drifted to sleep soon after to the soft breaths of the little blonde tucked in his arms.

Chapter Text

Mysterion kept himself perched in the tree across from the hospital. He had convinced the mayor to evacuate it, sending most of its patients out to Denver, but there were still a few patients and staff left inside until tomorrow. He watched closely for anyone approaching the building, or anything really. He wasn’t sure what to look for.

His mind wandered to the events of the day. The drama seemed all too convenient for him to think nothing of it. Like someone was methodically breaking the team apart from the inside. It had the calling card of Chaos written all over it. Chaos, even though he was in custody, had a hand in this somehow. Whoever was continuing his work was responsible.

He had followed Craig home earlier. He couldn’t resist observing how the two fell apart. He watched perched from the house across the street as Tweek packed some bags as Craig followed him through the house, tears streaming down his face as he begged Tweek to stay.

When the begging and the tears hadn’t worked he had become irate. Yelling and screaming obscenities in Tweek’s direction. Mysterion shook his head and whipped out his phone. He told Tweek to go to the safehouse and get away for a little while. Kenny was sure they both just needed a breather. They would be back in each other's arms and smitten in no time. They occasionally had falling outs, though nothing this big, and the results were always the same. Made up and being sickeningly in love within a week.

A shadow amongst the trees across the way pulled Mysterion from his thoughts. He watched carefully as it snuck its way closer and closer to the hospital. Mysterion moved swiftly and quietly as he got himself behind the shadowed figure. There was a bag on his back and another duffle bag settled in his hand.

“I hope you’re not doing what I think you’re doing,” Mysterion said as he finally closed the gap. The figure yelped, whipping around, bag thumping onto the ground. It looked like he was young enough to still be a school student, no more than sixteen. His eyes were wide with fear, his blonde hair falling from underneath his black hat.

“I-I don't know. Some guy paid me a thousand to put these bags in the hospital and another five hundred not to look in the bags,” the boy whimpered. Mysterion shot forward, snatching the bag from the boy's shoulder.

“Don’t you watch the news kid? This place had a bomb threat.” The boy’s eyes shot open wider, a feat that Mysterion didn’t know was possible, as he tore open the bag. His heart sank when he only saw a few stones and a note scribbled sloppily and placed alongside them.

Mysterion pulled the note out with shaking hands and read two words, ‘Tricked Ya.’ As the words registered in his head he heard a large boom in the distance. Mysterion whipped his head around and saw a ploom of smoke rising into the sky. His heart sank and his stomach twisted around it.

“Get out of here kid,” he growled as he pulled out his phone from his pocket. The kid nodded wide eyed and terrified before bounding into the woods without argument.

The phone only rang once after Mysterion dialed the number. “Fast Pass, I need you to get me to that explosion. I’m at Hell’s Pass.” He snapped his phone shut, not waiting for an answer. He paced, cursing, as he waited impatiently for Fast Pass to arrive. Fortunately he only needed to wait a minute or so.

“It was the mo-mo-movie theater,” he said as he skidded to a stop in front of Mysterion. He grabbed onto the back of Fast Pass’s shirt silently, who quickly took off pulling him through the streets of town. They came to a sudden stop sending Mysterion into the back of Fast Pass. He steadied himself and glanced around. They were down the street from the explosion.

Mysterion could smell the burning flesh wrapped in the breeze that blew in his direction. It felt like poison hitting the back of his throat, making him gag. Fast Pass, stood next to him in shock, frozen with fright. “Go, FP,” Mysterion gasped as he pulled himself together. “Look for survivors. Help as many as you can.” Fast Pass shook himself into focus and disappeared in a flash.

Mysterion began searching the area around him. He was looking for clues but also for survivors, but all he found were pieces of mangled bodies, still smoldering from the explosion. His eyes darted from area to area, trying to work out the places that needed his immediate attention. “Work from the outside to the center,” he whispered to himself. “More likely to find survivors further away.” Then he began a circle around the area, while sirens wailed in the background.

Then he heard his name being called over what he assumed was some kind of loudspeaker.
“Mysterion? Oh, Mysterion,” the voice mocked, for the whole town to hear. Do you like my artwork, Mysterion?”

Mysterion whipped in circles, trying to find the source of the voice. His heart sank as he realized how in over his head he felt without his team by his side. The anxiety of the situation gripped him, making the panic start to set in. “It seems your team has abandoned you. That’s quite a pity. I rather would like witnesses to this conversation but I digress,” The voice taunted, lilting and mischievous. “You have something that I want back, Mysterion.”

Mysterion was still looking desperately for any hint, any clue he could find around him when he spotted Call Girl crouched in the alley next to him. She brought a finger to her lips when they made eye contact and held up her phone. He wasn’t alone and she was looking for the voice too.

“I don’t know what you mean,” Mysterion called out, hoping to keep him talking so Wendy could potentially track the signal. “How can I know what you want back if I don’t even know who you are?” he goaded.

The voice growled viciously through the speakers. “Don’t play games with me, Mysterion! You have Chaos and I want him back!” The voice screamed.

“Well, I’m afraid that’s not possible. You see, he’s a little tied up at a moment,” Mysterion quipped. Of course, that wasn’t technically true, but whatever kept the voice going was enough for him. Keep him talking, keep him angry, was the mantra he kept repeating in his head as he spared a glance in Wendy’s direction. She was squatting, in what looked like a horribly uncomfortable position, fingers flying across her phone's keyboard.

“Well then, Mysterion, I’ll tell you how this is going to work. For all your little friends, who I know are listening too. You are going to return Chaos to me and you're going to show your face to the world. I mean, it’s only fair that we get to see what Chaos already has.”

Mysterion felt like time froze. He glanced over at Call Girl, who’s fingers had stopped moving, eyes shocked staring through him. He could feel other eyes, probably the eyes of other team mates landing on his back as well, and his heart sank. “You’ve got one week Mysterion. One week, or something else goes Boom,” the voice rang out over the suddenly silent landscape, before disappearing completely.

Mysterion felt the panic begin to settle back in as the world around him came back into focus, and the screams of the living reentered his brain. What was he supposed to do now?