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darkly_ironicTitle: No Happy Endings (8/? - "The Dark is Everywhere")
Rating: PG-13
Paring: slight Billy/Penny
Word Count: 1130
Summary: The Hero is dead, and the Villain has taken over the city. Caught between worlds, all Penny wants is to get back to a normal life, only to find that she's already a pawn in epic struggles she didn't even know existed. AU from 'Slipping'.
A/N: This chapter's a little short, sorry. The next one's about double-length though, so they even each other out! Anyway, enjoy!
Penny was waiting for something to happen. They had been at the hotel for three days, three days of mindless boredom. Moist didn’t seem to mind the tedium-- he’d sealed the TV remote in a plastic bag the first night, and had spent almost every waking moment since then in a sitcom-induced stupor on the couch.
Penny had tried the same tact, but she couldn’t focus. In the end she’d started pacing, wearing a path in the carpet between door and kitchenette. She needed to leave, to get out of here. She’d tried convincing Moist she should take a turn getting groceries from the store down the road, but he was suspicious and stubborn, and probably rightly so.
If she could get out, Penny had no intentions of coming back. The only thing keeping her from slipping out the door and running for her life was that while Moist seemed amiable enough, he was an evil henchmen who probably had the tech and contacts to track her down in minutes.
So Penny waited. Moist had done something to the TV, and it now picked up the LA news stations and BBC 2, so she at least knew what was happening back in the city. No one had noticed Penny’s disappearance, which wasn’t a surprise. There was a tiny, quickly squashed mention of a skirmish between Dr. Horrible and the LAPD, which worried Penny until Moist assured her that if it had ended well for the police the story would been headline news instead of the equivalent of a blurb in the 911 log.
The ELE hadn’t made their move yet, which seemed fine to Penny, but made Moist jumpy. “If they’re waiting, that means it’s big,” he’d said when the second day passed without event. The sign they’d been waiting for came the next evening.
They had been watching the evening news, an act that was quickly becoming routine, when the picture on the TV jumped and pixelated, the sound cracking into static. Penny, halfway to the kitchen, froze. The image of the newscasters had resettled into a familiar form, all red coat and Machiavellian grin underneath dark goggles.
“People of Los Angeles, please attend carefully,” Dr. Horrible said. He paused for a second to let the words sink in.
“You’ve seen now what I’m capable of and just how much damage I can cause. That little display last week? Your puny provincial government was brought to its knees, your heroes humbled, the city thrown into chaos, and all it took was a day’s planning and a few hours execution. You should have learned by now to take everything I say very seriously, and I’m saying it’s going to get worse. Much worse. This is your warning—and there won’t be another—because from now on, this city is at war.
“You won’t know where I’m going to strike next. You won’t know when—it could be tomorrow or six months from now, but I assure you it is coming. Nothing will be the same again.” He paused and seemed to hesitate.
Penny glanced over at Moist, curious. He was white-faced and nervous sweat was beading on his forehead.
“He’s insane,” Moist croaked. Penny agreed, but kept quiet.
“This city will soon be under the rule of the Evil League of Evil. Under my rule. Perhaps now would be a good time to decide where your allegiance is going to lie.”
“His rule?” Something about that didn’t seem right to Penny.
“He’s an idiot. He’s saying he’s going to take over the ELE.”
“What?”
“It’s practically suicide. He can’t be doing this alone, some of the other League members must be backing him. There’s no way he’d do something this stupid on his own.” Moist gulped, looking slightly green. “I hope.”
“So, to my future dominion, good night.” Then screen went dark, and the news broadcast resumed a second later. Moist switched off the TV.
Penny sat down heavily on the couch. “That… wasn’t what I was expecting.”
“He’s really in trouble now. We all are.”
“We?”
“Look, if the League takes issue with him, and starts… asking questions, a lot of things are going to come out. I’m done for automatically, being his henchman, and you’re not much better off. I guess we should head further north. Canada, maybe.”
“And abandon Billy?”
“Billy’s gone, Penny. I don’t know what you saw, but I’ve known him a long time, and that wasn’t your Billy. That wasn’t even the Doc. Someone’s pulling the strings here, and he’s too far gone to even notice it.”
“What are you saying?” Penny didn’t like the way this conversation was going. “Like… mind control?”
Moist nodded. “It’s not unheard of. My money’s on Dead Bowie, there was always something weird about him.”
“Then there really is nothing we can do.” It was all for nothing. She might as well be back in her apartment.
“The ELE’s probably already dealt with him,” Moist agreed. He looked miserable.
Penny didn’t know what to say. She didn’t even know what to feel. Relieved her captor was dead? Heartbroken for the man she’d gotten so close to falling in love with? She should definitely be crying, either way, but at most she just felt—empty.
“Oh, fine!” Moist said suddenly.
Penny jumped. “What?”
“Just stop looking at me like that! I’ll do what I can.” He jumped up, stalked over to the bed, and started throwing shirts into his suitcase.
“What’s going on?” Penny wondered if she’d missed part of the conversation.
“We don’t have much time. We can fly down, it’ll only take an hour.”
“Sorry?”
“You didn’t have to guilt-trip me, but you’re right: he’s my best friend, and what kind of a friendship would it be if I ran away the first time he’s in real danger?”
Penny blinked. “You must have been feeling awful about it already if you thought I was guilt-tripping you.”
Moist chuckled weakly. “Huh, yeah. Was I projecting again?”
“Definitely.”
He stopped his frenzied packing, and looked at her. “You don’t have to come. I know he hasn’t exactly endeared himself to you over the last couple of days.”
Penny had thought about that, but in much the same way she couldn’t refuse the opportunity to reform Billy with the Heroes’ Guild’s help, she couldn’t turn down helping Moist rescue him. If she really were a Hero, something she’d thought about at great length over the last few days, surely saving someone’s life, and going up against the Evil League of Evil would be a good place to start?
She smiled, and tried to act less scared then she felt. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”
That was when Captain Hammer blew the front door off its hinges.
Rating: PG-13
Paring: slight Billy/Penny
Word Count: 1130
Summary: The Hero is dead, and the Villain has taken over the city. Caught between worlds, all Penny wants is to get back to a normal life, only to find that she's already a pawn in epic struggles she didn't even know existed. AU from 'Slipping'.
A/N: This chapter's a little short, sorry. The next one's about double-length though, so they even each other out! Anyway, enjoy!
Penny was waiting for something to happen. They had been at the hotel for three days, three days of mindless boredom. Moist didn’t seem to mind the tedium-- he’d sealed the TV remote in a plastic bag the first night, and had spent almost every waking moment since then in a sitcom-induced stupor on the couch.
Penny had tried the same tact, but she couldn’t focus. In the end she’d started pacing, wearing a path in the carpet between door and kitchenette. She needed to leave, to get out of here. She’d tried convincing Moist she should take a turn getting groceries from the store down the road, but he was suspicious and stubborn, and probably rightly so.
If she could get out, Penny had no intentions of coming back. The only thing keeping her from slipping out the door and running for her life was that while Moist seemed amiable enough, he was an evil henchmen who probably had the tech and contacts to track her down in minutes.
So Penny waited. Moist had done something to the TV, and it now picked up the LA news stations and BBC 2, so she at least knew what was happening back in the city. No one had noticed Penny’s disappearance, which wasn’t a surprise. There was a tiny, quickly squashed mention of a skirmish between Dr. Horrible and the LAPD, which worried Penny until Moist assured her that if it had ended well for the police the story would been headline news instead of the equivalent of a blurb in the 911 log.
The ELE hadn’t made their move yet, which seemed fine to Penny, but made Moist jumpy. “If they’re waiting, that means it’s big,” he’d said when the second day passed without event. The sign they’d been waiting for came the next evening.
They had been watching the evening news, an act that was quickly becoming routine, when the picture on the TV jumped and pixelated, the sound cracking into static. Penny, halfway to the kitchen, froze. The image of the newscasters had resettled into a familiar form, all red coat and Machiavellian grin underneath dark goggles.
“People of Los Angeles, please attend carefully,” Dr. Horrible said. He paused for a second to let the words sink in.
“You’ve seen now what I’m capable of and just how much damage I can cause. That little display last week? Your puny provincial government was brought to its knees, your heroes humbled, the city thrown into chaos, and all it took was a day’s planning and a few hours execution. You should have learned by now to take everything I say very seriously, and I’m saying it’s going to get worse. Much worse. This is your warning—and there won’t be another—because from now on, this city is at war.
“You won’t know where I’m going to strike next. You won’t know when—it could be tomorrow or six months from now, but I assure you it is coming. Nothing will be the same again.” He paused and seemed to hesitate.
Penny glanced over at Moist, curious. He was white-faced and nervous sweat was beading on his forehead.
“He’s insane,” Moist croaked. Penny agreed, but kept quiet.
“This city will soon be under the rule of the Evil League of Evil. Under my rule. Perhaps now would be a good time to decide where your allegiance is going to lie.”
“His rule?” Something about that didn’t seem right to Penny.
“He’s an idiot. He’s saying he’s going to take over the ELE.”
“What?”
“It’s practically suicide. He can’t be doing this alone, some of the other League members must be backing him. There’s no way he’d do something this stupid on his own.” Moist gulped, looking slightly green. “I hope.”
“So, to my future dominion, good night.” Then screen went dark, and the news broadcast resumed a second later. Moist switched off the TV.
Penny sat down heavily on the couch. “That… wasn’t what I was expecting.”
“He’s really in trouble now. We all are.”
“We?”
“Look, if the League takes issue with him, and starts… asking questions, a lot of things are going to come out. I’m done for automatically, being his henchman, and you’re not much better off. I guess we should head further north. Canada, maybe.”
“And abandon Billy?”
“Billy’s gone, Penny. I don’t know what you saw, but I’ve known him a long time, and that wasn’t your Billy. That wasn’t even the Doc. Someone’s pulling the strings here, and he’s too far gone to even notice it.”
“What are you saying?” Penny didn’t like the way this conversation was going. “Like… mind control?”
Moist nodded. “It’s not unheard of. My money’s on Dead Bowie, there was always something weird about him.”
“Then there really is nothing we can do.” It was all for nothing. She might as well be back in her apartment.
“The ELE’s probably already dealt with him,” Moist agreed. He looked miserable.
Penny didn’t know what to say. She didn’t even know what to feel. Relieved her captor was dead? Heartbroken for the man she’d gotten so close to falling in love with? She should definitely be crying, either way, but at most she just felt—empty.
“Oh, fine!” Moist said suddenly.
Penny jumped. “What?”
“Just stop looking at me like that! I’ll do what I can.” He jumped up, stalked over to the bed, and started throwing shirts into his suitcase.
“What’s going on?” Penny wondered if she’d missed part of the conversation.
“We don’t have much time. We can fly down, it’ll only take an hour.”
“Sorry?”
“You didn’t have to guilt-trip me, but you’re right: he’s my best friend, and what kind of a friendship would it be if I ran away the first time he’s in real danger?”
Penny blinked. “You must have been feeling awful about it already if you thought I was guilt-tripping you.”
Moist chuckled weakly. “Huh, yeah. Was I projecting again?”
“Definitely.”
He stopped his frenzied packing, and looked at her. “You don’t have to come. I know he hasn’t exactly endeared himself to you over the last couple of days.”
Penny had thought about that, but in much the same way she couldn’t refuse the opportunity to reform Billy with the Heroes’ Guild’s help, she couldn’t turn down helping Moist rescue him. If she really were a Hero, something she’d thought about at great length over the last few days, surely saving someone’s life, and going up against the Evil League of Evil would be a good place to start?
She smiled, and tried to act less scared then she felt. “You can’t get rid of me that easily.”
That was when Captain Hammer blew the front door off its hinges.
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no subject
Date: 2010-04-27 07:14 am (UTC)POST MORE!
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Date: 2010-04-28 02:14 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-27 07:01 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-04-28 02:18 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-06-20 08:05 am (UTC)Heh. Moist in a sitcom induced stupor <3 And being all guilty and needing to go back to Billy!!
Oh no!!!! Ah! Moooore!
no subject
Date: 2010-06-23 02:25 am (UTC)I'm so glad you liked it! Thanks for commenting! : )
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Date: 2010-09-02 11:37 pm (UTC)I just have to say, that this line had me in fits:
'Moist nodded. “It’s not unheard of. My money’s on Dead Bowie, there was always something weird about him.”'
I am LOVING this story so far. You're such an awesome writer <333
no subject
Date: 2010-09-03 03:30 pm (UTC)