You Were Never Meant to be a Hero (Quackbur Superhero AU)

Chapter 23: A Call To Arms

Every war begins with a single event.

Some kind of catalyst that set things in motion. Look it up, there is always some kind of defining event that kicks off a war. An event that lights the fuse and causes the drums to bang their song.

But wars don't happen over night. They begin with a build up, event after event, the trail of gunpowder leading up to the match. And the catalyst being the match.

There are ten total events in Wilbur's timeline that led up to the catalyst.

Wilbur meeting Quackity was the first event.

Had he never met his partner, he would've gone insane. Some timelines see him continuing as a hero until he drops dead from exhaustion and overworking himself. Some timelines see him seeking the feeling of control through taking the lives of villains who were unfortunate enough to cross him in a dark alley at night. Maybe, eventually, he would've met Quackity in some of these timelines, but he would never be mentally sound enough to become known as The Revolution Villain.

Wilbur is by no means stable in this timeline, but he's still there mentally. He still has the capability of forming plans, of making important decisions. He's wild, untamable, and a bit unhinged, but he's mentally sound enough to make the calls needed to lead a war.

The second event could be described as simply them getting to know each other.

If Wilbur never gave Quackity the opportunities and time to speak, then the villain's words would have never reached him. There were times where he simply just...talked with his nemesis. They had conversations, they had jokes. Wilbur was able to see that Quackity was, on multiple occasions, a person. Just like him. He looked past the labels and, despite being firm in his stance as the shrike avian's enemy, realized that the villain had his reasons for doing what he did. On good days, he might even accidentally call his nemesis a friend.

Those late night conversations, card games, and time chasing each other around the city could all be described as the second event. Because it helped Wilbur view villains in a more...human light. It broke the illusion he had been raised on that all villains were murderous psychopaths. Because here was a villain, one in the top ten mind you, who was pestering him to seek medical attention. Who brought him snacks, and reminded him to rest. Here was a mass murderer, a terrorist, who sent him home every night with notes that reminded him to take care of himself. Notes with doodled hearts and sweet nicknames for his eyes only.

The third event was when Quackity kept Wilbur in his base to heal.

It reinforced in the fallen hero's mind that villains weren't completely evil. This event brought his suppressed instincts to the surface, this event contained the promise that Wilbur would later call on when he was hurting. He stayed in Quackity's nest, and his nemesis was affectionate with him. Careful. Comforted him when he had nightmares and didn't push too hard upon realizing that the magpie avian had trauma.

Had this event never happened, had Quackity's promise never been made, Wilbur never would've come to him the night of the argument. Hell, the argument would possibly never have happened because Wilbur had been spurred on by his instincts. By the possessiveness that had managed to creep into his system. His instincts wouldn't have been awake had that recovery period not been spent in Quackity's base.

The fourth event was what everyone calls 'the kidnapping incident'.

If you ask Quackity now, he'll say that he didn't like resorting to it. That what he did was, admittedly, very risky in the long run if he wanted Wilbur to join him willingly. He didn't like doing it, but he does not regret what he did. Because he felt like he needed to open Wilbur's eyes to how badly the hero system had fucked him and his twin over. Because Wilbur needed to accept the parts of himself that liked destruction, because Wilbur needed to see that they had been brainwashed by their training.