He cackled in delight as he threw Mary into her cell. “Now we wait for PolyChromatic Man to come save you, and, once he arrives…”

“Yes, we’ve done this before, Steven,” Mary cut in as she plopped down in her usual spot in the cell. “You have some big, bad and ‘unbeatable’ way to finally kill PCM, he’ll show up, and, after you give your villain soliloquy about how this is it for PCM, he’ll find a quick way to stop you, and we’ll all end up where we always do: you’re arrested but escape before the police can get you in the squad car, PCM is the top headline, and I’m at work trying to explain why I missed my shift again. Honestly, can we just not this time because my employer is super close to firing me over your abductions.”

“First of all, my name is Dr. Vile, and you will address me as such,” he yelled from across his twisted laboratory filled with dangerous weapons of destruction and mayhem.

She rolled her eyes and slouched down more in her chair. “It’s Steven. I know it’s Steven, and you know I know it’s Steven. I’ve known for years now, because we grew up together. For God’s sake, Steve, you and Doug were at my house last week to play boardgames.”

“That… we both agreed we wouldn’t talk about that when I’m at my day job,” Vile said as he glanced around to make sure none of his minions had heard her. “Besides, I have well earned my moniker, and you will respect it,” he demanded as he began the finishing touches on his machine to finally end PCM’s life.

“Earned it?” Mary actually guffawed. “How?!”

“How?” He stared down at her from his position in the room, incensed that she could even ask such a thing. “What do you mean ‘how’?! I’m the foremost villain in the world! The amount of death and destruction I’ve wrought is unparalleled. Whole countries have bowed to my whims over the years! I’m a…”

“An idiot,” Mary finished with a sigh. “Tell me this, Dr. Whatever. Why do you keep using me as bait for PCM?”

“You can’t be serious,” he replied, coming down from his platform to stand in front of her cell.

“You’re the perfect bait. What superhero would ever pass on saving their beloved girlfriend?”

“Look,” Mary sat up in her chair, shaking her head at him in disappointment, “I’m not his girlfriend, okay? So, if you’re looking for bait, could you not use me anymore because my job…”

“Don’t try to trick me, woman! It is clear you are, in fact, his love interest. The amount of time he spends with you is…”

“Not half as much as he spends with his ACTUAL love interest,” she cut back in, rolling her eyes and standing to walk around her cell. “You watch him so much; who does he actually spend most of his free time with? Hmm? It’s not ME; I can tell you that right now.”

Vile quietly thought it over for a moment, his mind running through the vast catalog of knowledge he had regarding the hero. “Well, outside of you, it’s me.”

She stopped pacing and turned to stare him down. “Do you know what polychromatic means?”

He balked. “Of course, I do; don’t be absurd. It means multicolored.”

“Right, multicolored, like a rainbow. You know,” she made giant hand gestures, “a rainbow? A rainbow, Steven, and,” she tapped the glass of her cell for emphasis, “has it ever occurred to you that my best friend, aka YOUR boyfriend, Doug, is the guy who spends the most time with me?”

“Well, of course he is. You’re not dating anyone right now, and you’re Doug’s best friend. Why wouldn’t you two spend a lot of time together when he’s not at work or with me?” Vile rolled his eyes at the obviousness of her observation.

“Yeah, right, EXACTLY.” Again, she shook her head at him. “And have you ever noticed anything about PCM that you find even remotely familiar?”

Again, Vile stood and really thought about. “Well, his mask hides his face pretty well, but I have noticed his eyes are the same color as Doug’s, and, now that I’m thinking about it, he’s Doug’s height as well. In fact, he walks a lot like Doug, and he sounds a lot like Doug. Actually,” Vile frowned in thought, “there’s a lot of similarities between Dough and PC… OH MY GOD, DOUG IS POLYCHROMATIC MAN.”

“He’s a 10, but he doesn’t know he’s married to his own arch nemesis,” Mary snarked. “So, can you two, you know, go to couples counseling or something? I’m serious. If you abduct me one more time, I’m going to lose my job, and then I’m coming for your head. I mean it, Steven.”

Absently, Vile nodded okay as he blindly reached for the door release to Mary’s cell just as PCM busted through an exterior wall. “You won’t get away with this, Dr. Vile,” he shouted as he looked for Mary.

Stepping calmly out of her cell, Mary held up a hand, “I’m good, Doug. In fact, I’m leaving. You two can do whatever.”

“Doug!” PCM blanched at his secret identity being revealed to his mortal enemy. “I don’t know who…”

“Shut up, Doug,” Vile called out as he turned to face the flying hero. Reaching up, he unclipped his mask and pulled it from his face, revealing his own secret identity. “Just… just sit down, and I’ll grab some coffee so we can talk,” he said with defeat lacing his voice.

The last thing Mary heard as she walked out of the room was Doug’s shocked voice bellowing though the laboratory, “STEVEN?!”

“Seriously, stop kidnapping me! My friend, the hero, he’s gay!” Screamed Tallic. She stared at the male villain as he looked dumbfounded at the the metal controlling girl. He blinked once, twice, a third time, and hit his back against the same wall Tallic was chained to. He slid down until he was sitting and clutched his heart as hope filled his eyes. That hope immediately died and the villain slumped further down clutching his heart in pain.

“He was gay this whole time?” The villain asked as he looked at Tallic. She hesitated for a second and then looked at the villain.

“You love him, don’t you?” Tallic asked. Her eyes widened as the villain slowly nodded his head. He looked at Tallic again and then looked at the cuffs strapping her to the wall. He focused on them and flexed his hand.

As the chains slowly broken apart into billions upon billions of tiny stars, the hero came barging in. His body was glistening with sweat and in an instant the villain was blushing madly. The hero slowly looked from the blushing villain to Tallic and then back at the villain. He pointed to the villain and looked at Tallic with a face that said, ‘What’s up with him’.

“He likes you. And he just found out you’re gay.” Said Tallic pointedly. The villain glared at her and stars started collecting around her wrists again. The villain looked down and let out a small yelp of surprise. That’s when both Tallic and the hero realized something. The villain didn’t know how to fully use his abilities.

“Hey, if you want we could all get out of here quick enough that by the time the police show up we’d be gone.” Suggested the villain gently rubbing the back of his neck. The villain looked at the hero and slowly stood up. He held out a hand and Tallic took it. Within seconds all three of them were on the roof of the building and looking down at the city that they all lived in. A mutter came from the villain and Tallic looked at him questionably. The villain looked at her and then repeated what he said.

“I’m Bill by the way.” He muttered. Both Tallic and the hero looked at him in surprise. A smile graced the hero’s face and he hoisted the villain up bridal-style. The villain clung to the hero’s neck as if it was the last lifeline on Earth and the hero chuckled at the villain’s response. After a while the villain relaxed into the hero’s arms and looked up at him gently.

“I’m Atlas.” Said the hero smirking. Bill blushed more and buried his face into Atlas’s chest as Atlas laughed and Tallic rolled her eyes.

“Let’s go lovebirds!” She yelled already in the roof of another building.

"Finally! Now, you can't break out. I've prepared for everything possible, from unexpected powers, to distractions, to plain incompetence! Now, he'll have to come save you!" The tall man exclaimed as the girl in front of him sat on the dusty floor beneath her with a yawn. She didn't seem too scared. If anything, she seemed bored.

"Yeah, that's really cool. Since this is my designated cell now, can we think about furnishing it? The ground kinda hurts my ass after a while," Eva suggested, frowning and looking up at him.

"H-huh? What? No!" The man roared again, stomping his foot like a child might. "This isn't your designated cell, especially since this is the last time you and Vindickate will ever roam the earth!" He finished with a specially evil laugh, one that the Eva couldn't help but assume he had been practicing for months- no, years.

"Yeah, that's great and all, but, why is it always me?" Eva began, exasperated. "You've got his mom, his sister, his brother, his stepdad, his grandmother, his boyfriend, his-"

"Woah, what? This is a trick. You're tricking me. Vindickate isn't... gay... You're his girlfriend, or fiancé, or something!" Voodoo stopped his pacing and almost tripped as the girl rattled off people who were probably much more worth kidnapping than herself. His boyfriend? The superhero was not gay. It was public knowledge that Evangeline Owens was Vindickate's loyal and beautiful girlfriend! Voodoo approached the cell and glared at the girl as she placed a hand on her cheek, holding her head up.

"Mm, it's a front. He's gay. What, you couldn't tell from the moniker? VinDickAte." Eva said slowly, standing up and placing a hand against the solid cell wall. "It's a play on word. His name is Vincent, and he... well, you get the rest." Voodoo couldn't believe it. All this time, he believed the man's name was Dick, or Richard, or something, but truly, it was because of his sexuality? "He named himself it in middle school as a joke, not thinking he'd actually become a superhero, but it stuck." Eva explained as the solid wall began to vibrate. Not enough for Voodoo to notice, but enough for Eva to and to put a smile on her face.

"That's... simply not true! So does he even care for you, Evangeline Owens?" Voodoo taunted, smirking. He leaned back and crossed his arms, as if that proved his point.

"Uhhh, yeah. I'd say so. I mean- we have known each other since we were in diapers, so..." Eva muttered, glancing up as the solid cell began to crack. Voodoo followed the girl's gaze and stepped back with unease.

"And I must say, Quintin. I am entirely too tired of this." With that, the cell crumbled to the floor, leaving nothing between the two. Eva took the shock as her chance to punch him and run for the escape. Hey, who knew! He hadn't prepared for secret powers after all!

With Quintin left to groan and mutter about his newly broken nose, Eva jumped out the nearest window, knowing she'd be just fine. Voodo's ego, however, might be a bit damaged.

Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.

Reminders:

>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include "[Poem]" >* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail >* See Reality Fiction and Simple Prompts for stricter titles >* Be civil in any feedback and follow the rules

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