I think this will need an epilogue still and I have a few ideas for drabbles, but the main is finished?
Horrible Part 4
"I would've been amazed if you had recognized me," Quatre said coolly as he walked down the stairs. "It's not like I was running around in my costume." He stopped in front of Golden Dragon, his head tilted to one side. "Now that we've established who I am, do you mind telling me exactly what you're doing?"
Golden Dragon opened his mouth.
"Keeping in mind of course that I can see right into that head of yours and I know damn well what you were doing."
Golden Dragon closed his mouth and looked sheepish.
"We're supposed to stop the villains. Rehab them if we can. We are not supposed to encourage them to be villainous! We are not supposed to threaten them into doing evil! And we never ever attempt to shoot them with a Death Ray!"
"Death Ray?" Golden Dragon echoed in a muffled tone and cast a horrified glance at his feet.
"Ah. Didn't know that. I see. Well, that's somewhat better I suppose, but it doesn't account for the rest."
Quatre shook his head and dropped his hand, releasing Golden Dragon. "Well?"
Golden Dragon opened his mouth again.
"Never mind," Quatre sighed, obviously exasperated. "Don't even try. You'll just make me more upset if you try that drivel on me. Obviously you have too much free time on your hands."
Golden Dragon looked alarmed. Quatre pulled out a notebook from his pocket and flipped through it.
"We'll just have to assign you to a different nemesis and give the Doctor to someone else."
Trowa felt a rush of relief, quickly followed by a sense of foreboding. Who would they assign him to? Maybe he could get on Solid Steel's list? Heero didn't seem too pushy about being kept busy- but then again, Duo probably wouldn't like having to share.
"Ah," Quatre looked up and smiled. Trowa was rather glad that the smile wasn't directed at him. "Here we go. Frozen Fury and her partner, the Scarlet Schemer, need a nemesis. They broke their last one. Rose should be fine in a few months or so, but in the meantime, you'll deal with the ladies. He can advise you. Once he's back on his feet, the two of you can partner up."
"Rose?" Golden Dragon echoed faintly. "Not Rose Garden?"
"That's the one." Quatre's smile widened. "As I remember, he was very fond of you when he met you at that convention a few years ago."
The Golden Dragon looked pale and Trowa wondered why. He'd never heard of Rose Garden- he'd have to ask Duo. The ladies he had heard of- and well... they would definitely keep Golden Dragon on his toes...
He shouldn't be enjoying his ex-nemesis's discomfort so much, he knew that. Especially when the head of the League of Heroes was standing in his secret lab.
And was apparently his neighbor... that he'd been nurturing a crush on for months...
And who, he realized with a jolt of horror, could read minds...
"Well?" Quatre arched an eyebrow upwards. "What do you say?"
"Thank you. I hope I'm up for the challenge." Golden Dragon, no fool, knew better than to argue with Mindseye.
"I hope so too. The ladies always present a few dozen a week." Quatre tilted his head to the side. "So, I'd go check on them if I were you. Right now."
A moment later, Golden Dragon was gone.
Quatre closed his notebook and tucked it into his pocket again before turning to face Trowa.
Taking a deep breath, Trowa braced himself.
"I'm really sorry."
It was so not what Trowa had been expecting. He gaped in surprise at Quatre, who gave him a rather shy smile.
"I really am. I mean, I knew you were working- your mind goes sort of... well, swirly, but I knew it wasn't anything bad and so I wasn't really focused. So I wasn't paying attention when he first showed up." Quatre bent and picked up the Death Ray. "I meant to catch him before he tried anything again- and I didn't expect him to try to use this on you."
While Trowa tried to assimilate that statement, Quatre put the Death Ray back on the table with a faint frown. "You might want to take it apart though- between the ladies and Rose Garden, Golden Dragon might come back here to beg you for it."
"I... I meant to. I just... got a little... I mean..."
"You got distracted." Quatre moved closer, putting a cool hand on Trowa's cheek. "I know you did. It's okay. I understand." He tapped Trowa's temple with a gentle finger. "You were going to take it apart- I saw that this morning."
Trowa felt his face warm. "You saw..."
"I'm sorry. I usually don't peek, it's just ever since last week when you were building that-" Quatre cast a glance back at the Death Ray and shivered. "Well, it made me worry. I didn't have a good reason to break in on you- and I didn't know what you'd do."
"But you- can't you stop people from doing things?"
"Usually yes. Not your mind though. Not when you get swirly. I didn't know what to do. I was rather relieved when the Wraith and Solid Steel showed up." Quatre sighed. "I do have to apologize for Golden Dragon. I was sort of trying to head him off without revealing who I was- and that didn't work so well."
"Uh," it was rather mind blowing have the head of the Hero's League apologize to him. "It's okay. I mean, you stopped him in the nick of time and all."
"Barely," Quatre shuddered. "He came a little too close to switching sides. Still, the ladies should snap him back into form."
Trowa nodded in agreement as another thought occurred to him. "So... I'll get a new nemesis?"
"Oh yes. I already have one in mind for you."
Oh dear. That didn't sound good.
Quatre smiled warmly. "Will I do?"
"You?" Trowa's eyes widened in surprise. "But-"
How could he be Quatre's nemesis? He didn't want to fight him, he'd rather...
Before he could even finish the thought, Quatre leaned forward and kissed him.
"As your nemesis I'm supposed to stop you from doing evil," he said against Trowa's lips a few minutes later. "What better way than to keep you too distracted to do any?"
TBC...
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