Something in common

Mysterion leaped from building to building. It was late, and he had decided it was time to go home after a long evening of fighting crime.

The night sky hung over the town, the moon and stars shining brightly. Mysterion would be lying if he said he didn't want to stop and stare at them for a while, but he needed to go home and rest. He was tired, and he wanted to get a few hours of sleep before he had to go to school the next day.

Suddenly, he noticed someone out of the corner standing on top of another building. When he stopped to get a better look, he realised it was a boy from school.

Everyone called him Pip, although he insisted on being called Phillip. He used to be a big target for bullying, but throughout the years, he seemed to blend in more with everyone else. He was still considered one of South Park Elementary's resident punching bags, but the way he reacted back then was definitely different to how he did now.

He used to always be overly nice, no matter what. It never really helped him, but Mysterion guessed that it was an attempt at being the bigger person. Nowadays, he didn't even try to show any kindness at all. He just took it with a bitter look on his face. He didn't seem sad or scared or anything. Just angry.

Pip was standing close to the edge of the building, and there wasn't any kind of railing around it. Mysterion couldn't think of many reasons why someone would be standing near the edge of a tall building and this time of night.

"Uh, hey."

Pip turned around to find the superhero standing before him.

"Oh, hello there! Mysterion, isn't it? It's nice to meet you."

"What are you doing up here?"

"I'm looking at the stars," He turned back to face the edge "it's quite wonderful tonight, don't you think?"

"..Don't you think you should step away from there?" Mysterion tugged down on his hood.

Pip chuckled in response "You don't think I'm going to jump, do you? I could never do something like that. Even the mention of death terrifies me."

"Ah. I.. I get that."

...

"You know, one time I had a dream I died. I remember every second of it to this day, and it felt so real, but after it happened, I woke up in bed as if nothing had happened."

Mysterion's eyes widened. Surely not.

"This happened during the second Mecha Streisand attack, might I add. I approached her in a pathetic attempt to stop her, and she squashed me to death."

Maybe it wasn't just him. Perhaps he was.. not alone in his experiences.

Mysterion cleared his throat "...That happens to me too."

"What?" Pip turned back once more, raising an eyebrow.

"Every now and again, I'll die and wake up the next day, like it was a dream. The first few times, I thought I was dreaming, but it's happened too many times for it to not be real."

"Oh! That's uh.. wow."

"Okay yeah that sounds dumb. I'm just saying that there's a chance you weren't dreaming. And if you weren't, then you aren't the only one."

"I don't know if that's comforting or petrifying."

...

"You should probably leave now. I'm sure you have more important things to worry about than death at the moment."

"Wait-"

"I should go now too, actually. I don't want to get caught sneaking out again."

Before Mysterion could say anything, Pip walked to the ladder on the side of the building.

"Goodbye, Mysterion. Again, it was nice to meet you." He gave the superhero a wave before climbing down the ladder.

Mysterion stood there, trying to process the conversation he just had with Pip. The boy had piqued his curiosity, to say the least.

After a few moments, he continued his way home, Pip's words still lingering in his mind. His cape bounced up and down behind him after every jump. His boots slammed against the top of every building he landed on.

When he finally made it to his house, he had to resist the urge to collapse onto his bed. He quickly checked on his sister and folded his costume and shoved into a rarely used draw before he could finally get some rest.

He was still thinking about what Pip had told him, but that didn't matter much to him right now. Before he knew it, he had drifted off to sleep, exhausted from his hard work.