(Fyi, made some small additions to Emery’s sheet)
Doing patrols by merely hacking into the security cameras with the mind was one of Emery’s specialties. Although it was difficult due to the limiting view, they had managed to catch that Maestro Fiammo trying to break into the building they were patrolling, and notified Cassander immediately. And then, all they had to do was watch.
But something seemed different this time. The two nemeses were always brutal with each other, but now it looked as though Maestro was losing his spark. Before they knew it, Cassander had left him on the ground and bleeding. Emery waited, but he didn’t get up.
Emery disconnected from the security camera, feeling Cassander pat their shoulder and mentioning something about another job well done. Emery nodded along, gave him a fist bump and watched him walk off, but they didn’t follow, not yet. They checked the camera again; Maestro was still there, unmoving outside of the building. They sighed to themself.
I can’t just leave him like this.
And so now they sat here, in the hospital room, having changed into an oversized sweater and trousers, waiting for this man to regain consciousness. They were messaging Mr. Nakayama about their most recent mission with Cassander, pointedly leaving out the aftermath. They weren’t using their powers with their own phone, both to avoid looking suspicious and also to keep themself sane. It was unbelievably easy to gain access to unholy amounts of information that they neither needed nor wanted to know on devices like phones, and so they often avoided doing it with their own personal devices.
Sensing movement in their vision, they raised their head, and immediately rushed forward. Before they could do anything about it though, the man who was once in the bed was now on the ground. Emery sighed and helped him up. “Hey, back in the bed,” they ushered him. “You have quite a few broken bones and damaged muscle tissue, I would not be standing if I were you. Don’t make me call the nurses.”
In a flash, he was fully awake. Better yet, awake enough to nearly panic about the unfamiliar voice in the room. His heart practically lept out of his throat as his chin turned to see whoever it was. The focus on his aching pain turned into whether or not he would doomed because of this person. Did they bring him here? Do they know his true identity? Why are they even here?
Still having his hand on his lower abdomen, he hunched over to make standing not as painful as it is. With squinted eyes, he observed the person to see if they had any SVPA or police identifications on them. Nothing. He doesn't want to make any assumptions about this stranger, but he can say that he hopefully won't be ruined any time soon.
Arguing with this random person won't do anything. It's not like he is strong enough to gather his thoughts in order. Though reluctantly, he limped over then gradually got in bed. Janus winced while trying to make himself comfortable. He uses the term "comfortable" in a light manner.
A permanent look of defeat and exhaustion rested upon his face. His hair is disheveled. There's a noticeable cut next to his left eye. Janus stared at the stranger. In a low voice, he managed to ask, "Who are you?" It was the only thing he could think of. It was the only thing he could think to say after going through the second most painful thing in his life. Then he followed his first question up with another one. "Why are you here with me?"
Their eyes were glued to the man, staring at him as though trying to make sure he didn’t try any funny business. He may be injured, but you never know with villains.
Emery put their hands on their hips. “Don’t worry about that,” they said. “I’m just here to make sure you don’t die, and maybe pay the hospital bill too.”
They went over, took the chair they had been sitting in, and moved it up to the man’s bed. When they sat down, they rested their chin on their hand. “So. What’s the last thing you remember? Before the hospital.”
It might be a bad idea to pay the hospital bill. It left a paper trail, and they didn’t want Mr. Nakayama to ask questions. Emery sighed softly to themself. This could only be the smallest of mercies.
This person probably is some sort of agent and now Janus is doomed. He didn't have it in him to roll his eyes. He just laid back into the hospital bed, slightly turning his head to look away from this agent. Not that he hates them or anything. It's just, he isn't sure whether he is depressed or embarrassed. Either way, he is in pain.
He waved them off. "No no no, it's fine," Janus assured. "I'll pay the hospital bill. They already know me here…Tell your boss or whoever to not worry about it."
The last thing he remembered before waking up here…He has no idea. With all this medication going through him and all the blows recieved from Cassander, he doesn't want to even bother the mess of his mind right now.
"I don't know…" He shivered. "I was lying on the ground completely weak and useless. Everything was cold. Everything was dark. Almost all the heat within me, he practically extinguished all of it."
Emery raised an eyebrow. This was interesting. “Boss?” A faint chuckle. “I’m acting on my own.” Of course, whoever he assumed they were didn’t really matter.
They knew him here? Perhaps they could take a slight peek at one of the computers here, just to find this guy’s medical file… or maybe not. The thought already made them squirm with guilt.
Their attention turned back to the man, and they leaned forward in their seat. After a moment, they nodded. “Great. At least you don’t have amnesia. Now, can you explain why you were breaking into that building?”
Janus looked over at this stranger. "What?" Acting on their own? No that doesn't sound right. This person is definitely an agent or some sort of SVPA guy. There is no other way.
"Fuck." He rolled his eyes. "I knew you'd turn out to be some sort of agent." Why can't this one just go ahead and kill him or leave him alone? His mind is all loopy. Perhaps he can just use the fact that his mind is on all these medicines so he can get out of this. But if he tells the truth, maybe he can get put of this sooner.
"I'll tell you, but promise me that no one else will find out. I can't afford anyone else to know." It would be terrible if people knew, especially his papa. Janus shook his head. "It was nothing terrible. Just getting some files, going through their archives, and learning their security systems…That's all."
It was great, not only because he didn’t have amnesia, but also because he didn’t seem to remember that it was the Silver Samurai who retrieved him after the battle. Of course, maybe that didn’t necessarily matter, but it was worth keeping in mind. Emery couldn’t help but be a little amused at the man’s reaction.
“Sure, whatever you tell yourself.” They shrugged. “But it’s true. No one sent me.” They leaned against their chair, folding their hands in front of them. As they listened, their eyes narrowed slightly. “That’s all?” They repeated. “If it’s nothing terrible, then why have me swear to secrecy?” Either there was more to what he was saying, or… someone else is onto him.
The moments before passing out were nothing but blurs. He does remember a presence, but looking back, he feels like he was just completely out of it. It would be nice to know who did. Maybe he could thank them if it doesn't turn out to be someone who will either hurt him or throw him in jail. He doesn't know.
Janus sighed, slowly shaking his head. Do these SVPA people need to know everything? "Because I have to protect people from turning into victims cause of bastards like myself and Cassander." He could care less if the whole world knew, it's just he has a handful of people that he would do anything to keep them from knowing. Not for ill-intention of course.
He bit his bottom lip then hummed. "I am not terrible like Cassander, just to be clear." Yeah, like this random person will understand.
Emery frowned. “What?” Either he was talking out of his *ss, or all those medications he was given were getting to his head. They suspected the latter. “I don’t understand.”
He wanted to… protect people? It wasn’t something a villain normally proclaimed as their mission. And what does he mean? What exactly is he protecting people from? Grouping him and Cassander together the way he did didn’t make sense at all, at least to Emery.
They opened their mouth, then sighed and settled on, “I do understand that you have a lot of drugs in your system, but you’re going to have to explain yourself, sir. I’m sure Cassander is a terrible person to you, but you are the villain in this situation.”
Whatever is going on, Janus promises that he is not going crazy right now, but knows that this agent wouldn't know. He knows that this agent, along with everyone else, wouldn't understand him because he is a bad guy. A villain. To be frank, sometimes he doesn't understand too. Why does he have to be the way he is? Why does anyone have to be the way they are?
Rubbing his eyes, he groaned. "It's not the drugs that are making me say these things. I am perfectly fine." Part of that is a lie. He is injured and will need to take time off from work and from being Maestro; that makes him feel like he's in hell. On the other hand, the drugs are good enough for keeping the physical pain numb. Is it making his brain all wonky? Maybe.
"Nooo I am not," He argued. "Sure the things I have done are dangerous and maybe a bit crazy, but hasn't he done the same? At least I try not to kill as many people as possible during destruction. Why do you think I was there earlier this evening? No was there till he showed up and almost killed me. Some hero he is…"
His whole claim of wanting to protect people threw them off a bit, but suspicion still made Emery tilt their head. They just took everything in, the man lying on the hospital bed, bandages and casts on him, his exhausted, pained gaze. “Yeah, sure. Perfectly fine.”
Emery sighed. They decided to let go some of their vigilance. “No one was there because you didn’t want witnesses, of course. It’s not the same. You claimed that all you were doing was looking for files, so of course causing destruction would be bad for you. It would attract unwanted attention. Even then, you attracted it anyway. And thank goodness for that.”
They did not speak on it, but part of them agreed with Maestro. As they watched the fight, they had thought that Cassander had gone somewhat overboard. And then, he had just left the fallen villain on the ground, as if expecting that he would die. Yes, Emery worked with a superhero, but there was a limit on how much violence they could stand.
Looking off to the side was more bearable than staring at the person next to him. His index finger pressed on the little button to administer more medicine. Janus was only partially listening to the agent while he continued to repeatedly press it. Nothing came of it. At least, he didn't feel anything to know if something happened or not; frankly, he couldn't tell either way. He dropped his right hand with a pout. This is terrible and he had done nothing to deserve being in this situation. Nothing.
Janus scoffed, "Yes, cause this is much better than not attracting anyone." He lightly shook his head before going back to pressing the button. "Whether it's me or a hundred people, it's all the same…Heroes do the same too. Causing destruction…killing people…severely injuring them, but they can get away with it though. They-" His hand grabbed his left shoulder. He winced then began rub it. "Bastard should've finished the job…Why did you even save me?" Finally, his eyes landed on the other person. What was their motivation in bringing him to hospital? What was the point of it?
Emery almost wanted to reach over and grab his hand so he would stop trying to pump his system full of medicine, but it was probably inappropriate, so instead they covered the button with their hand. They wanted to scoff too. Surely this man was talking nonsense, even for his good points earlier. Surely it wasn’t all heroes. They saw him wince from his shoulder and decided to remove their hand from the button.
It was now their turn to look away. “I… happened to be nearby. I’d never seen you unable to use your flames before, so I knew something was wrong. You just looked in bad shape, and I knew that I should do something, even if you’re a villain.”
(you're good! i appreciate you responding to this. we don't have to continue this if you want to, but im still down to continue this. respond whenever it's convenient for you. :D)
Letting go of the button, Janus crossed his arms and started to pout like a five year old being denied a cookie. Either it was the medicine or something else, but he really did want a cookie. He would rather think about cookies then have to talk to this person. He didn't like them and they're mean too. The villain rolled his eyes while mumbling, "How helpful of you, thank you." Looking down at his hands, he sighed. His flames were all that he's got. The moment he closed his eyes, he turned his palms down then grabbed the blanket. "Thank you for saving me…I probably would've been screwed…or worse if it weren't for you." Sure Janus was borderline cranky and slightly wonky from the medicine, but he meant every single word. If there's one thing that he learned, it's that you can't throw around a thank you even when you're cranky.
