Oneshots! (Mostly Hermitcraft)

Heroes Suck. [Cub]

Febuwhump Day 12: Semi-conscious ft. Vex!Cub

Summary:
Cub hates heroes. Well, he was impartial to them at first. It was Scar who loved them, rambling about them nonstop. Cub could've cared less - but not by much. However, Scar's stupidity leads to tragedy, and Cub is left to pick up his shattered pieces.

TWs: death, fighting, possession

Cub hated heroes. It wasn't that bad at the beginning. He'd been impartial at first, accepting the fact that their city was overrun with masked, superpowered heroes and technologically advanced villains. Scar, his brother, was obsessed with them – a wall of his room of their apartment was covered in figurines and posters – so he'd simply put up with them, politely listening to Scar's rambles and rants over the latest story.

Unlike Scar, Cub was practical. He saw the damage the heroes caused, their epic battles and chases leaving residue and debris in their wake. Insurance policies were ridiculous, but there was nothing they could do. The heroes were sanctioned by the government to do their jobs, and so unaffected by the damages. In fact, a heavy percentage of the city-kingdom's taxes went into the upkeep of the hero program. On the other side, the villains were rich millionaires, able to bribe themselves out of situations and continue their endless stalemate.

In his opinion, the perpetual conflict could end if the government simply let up on their harsh restrictions on scientific progress. Sure the methods the villains employed were questionable at best, but he couldn't help but feel the country would benefit from the various powers coming together. However – from what he could tell – all heroes were self-righteous stuck-up jerks who firmly believed in and stood by their values. Value. They had one value: villains are bad and must be stopped.

Not the greatest or deepest reason but, then again, each hero had been hurt in one way or another by a villain. At least, that's how they justified themselves. Maybe it started out like that, but that wasn't the case anymore. Once a hero – or occasional vigilante – became attached to the government program, they became just like the rest. Prideful, arrogant, and overpowered.

Scar didn't think so, though. His younger brother was infatuated by heroes, carrying several figurines with him at all times. He worked in retail while Cub worked in a more industrial workspace of the same company. In reality, his job had nothing to do with creation and everything to do with imported goods. Thank you, China; your cheap plastic does wonders for business.

Thankfully, it had been quiet in terms of hero and villain activity. Over the past week, nothing more than an occasional skirmish and robbery had disturbed the peace. Naturally, Scar was disappointed, turning on the news the moment the brothers returned to their apartment each night to catch each minuscule moment in the reel at the end of the day. Cub watched tensely from afar as he prepared dinner, trying to focus on the food instead of Scar's play-by-play reports on the hero activity.

"I want to be a hero one day," Scar told him one night at dinner, twirling his spaghetti on his fork and stuffing it in his mouth. Cub chuckled lightly, waiting for him to finish chewing and continue. "I just think it'd be so cool to, y'know, fight crime and all that. And the costumes, Cub! The colours and the capes and the masks!" He looked dreamily at the now-dark TV. "I want a mask."

"We can do that," Cub agreed. "The mask, I mean. I don't think the hero thing'd work out."

"Why not?" Scar pouted, wiping the tomato sauce off his face. "I thought anyone could be a hero. I mean, look at Hotguy! He's just a guy who learned archery!"

"He's a guy who learned archery and refuses to touch a gun because of some big tragic secret in his past," Cub reminded him frustratedly.

"What, so I need a tragic backstory?"