A D Tier's Breaking Point

Chapter Part 11

When the fire vanished from the rooftop with neither of the villains inside, Janice and Bernard had already nearly finished their preparations. Bernard was in the kitchen, brewing up a variety of teas (chamomile, floral, everyone was going to need something slightly different, but coffee was off the table for this) and setting them with various slices of cakes and biscuits, while Janice was gathering up towels, blankets, changes of comfortable clothes (the local clothing store thankfully had some clothes in both of the villain's sizes) and some pyjamas. Just in case.

'Do you think I'll have time to make a pie?' Bernard asked as he put the variety of cherry products in the fridge and cupboards.

Janice opened her mouth just as there was a knock on the front door, 'Maybe later dear.' She bustled over, smiling at the two very jittery villains standing on her porch. She ushered them in, and with a tone that refused argument handed Morgan their care package. 'You need the time to decompress,' she said with a gentle smile. Morgan refused to meet their eyes as they took the towels and change of clothes and slunk upstairs.

Both Janice and Alex watched them leave, waiting for the bathroom door to close before the silence was broken. 'They think I'm not real,' Alex blurted out, looking to Janice with a desperate look she wasn't used to seeing on him. Not for a long time anyway. 'They kept calling me a fake and a clone and...I don't understand how I...you knew straight away.'

'Oh sweetheart,' Janice said as she stepped closer and cupped her son's face in her hands. 'I can't imagine how much that must hurt.' He closed his eyes and leaned into her touch, foreheads touching for a moment. She took a breath, looking over to the kitchen, listening to Bernard bustling away. 'I think, it's all about context dear. After all, none of the heroes know where S-tier's parents live anymore. A rather nasty virus got into their system and destroyed all their files on us.' Alex smirked and raised a bemused eyebrow, and Janice shrugged, 'Morgan takes us being retired very seriously apparently.'

'What, they just got in and wiped their files like that?'

She nodded, 'Cloned the rest of it too. Was very impressive. But that's not my point. My point is, while plenty of people know where we live, they don't know who we are to you. So anyone pretending to be you wouldn't be able to easily find out anything about us.'

Alex thought for a second, 'So if we'd met somewhere else, would you have...assumed I was some kind of trick as well?'

Janice winced, 'I don't know. The fact is we're villains. Our child is the most powerful villain ever recorded. Who's best friend is also a villain. We don't attract honest company. And...well...let's just say I wouldn't put anything past the Fairness Association at this point.'

'That name is officially banned in this house!' Bernard shouted from the kitchen and the two of them chuckled.

'Then what do we call them?' Alex called back.

'That depends,' Bernard popped his head around the door to look at them, 'Are we allowed to curse?'

Janice hummed, 'Depends on the situation.'

'Then I would propose The Rotters for polite conversations, and Rat Bastards when they piss us off.'

'Bernard!' Janice laughed, 'Language!'

'You asked!'

Alex laughed at the two of them, some of the surface tension easing, but both parents could tell it was still bubbling under the surface. Still, he went into the living room with a calm enough smile, accepted some of his dad's peppermint tea, and got a swipe from Janice when he stole one of the chocolate cookies from the plate. Which worked well to calm him down, right until the shower turned off upstairs.