Chapter Text

Spiraling into another Illusion

A Binary Star Hero Fan Fiction

Glass Breaker

For centuries, this city was the hub and home of all heroes…and all villains. Everything had a balance to it. When one villain acts up, the hero comes to save the day.

This would go on and on, until they were on every addition of news headlines and comics and even the stores would be sponsored by those self-absorbed heroes of grandeur. I was not the only one who’s not a fan, plenty of my kind despise heroes. My kind used to be with the shadows, the villains of this world. I was not as popular as them, but I’m proud to say that I was a criminal worth mentioning in the subtext far back of the news clippings. Not anymore, of course, but I was there at some point.

The reason I’m no longer a villain now, and maybe that isn’t much of a shock for you as it was for most of my colleagues, was because there was no need to be one at all. Villains are there to make life easier for themselves, maybe reaching good fortune at last as they bathe themselves in endless pools of glory and gold. Only happy when they’re at the top of the food chain with as much privilege and pleasure as they want.

So put it in a symbolic trail mix of metaphors, picture a golden model for villains to aspire to be. Bright and heavy with obligations of creating the worst environment for heroes and the best for criminals. But this overly exasperated relic turned to glass as I grasped hold of it when I first became a villain. Smooth, transparent, cold to the touch, so much detail still valid as it was before, now even more clear for the naked eyes to see. Eventually, and while knowing that I would, I dropped it…because in the clear view of that glass, I saw the truth. I didn’t have to realize that I didn’t want the life of a wealthy villain, and the truth was that it wasn’t my intention in the first place. I just wanted to run away from my current problems, but now that was no longer an option. I had to run back to the bills that must be paid and the sickly parents I have no choice but to take care of. All I could do was make as many ends meet without any more consequences to follow suit. I used to love consequences…but the more I send to others, the more it comes back to me. Karma, but I don’t really talk about it anymore, much less do I care.

Back in the day, however, Karma was just a tiny action figure hidden in a cupboard somewhere. I used to steal things, information, codes, items, you name it-I stole ‘em. I was the best in my trade…ish. I have to thank my siblings for that. The Twins, Kore and Ione, who are both gone and are never coming back. Probably for the best, they’re both wanted for many war crimes, as well as attempted murder…and other troublesome ideas that were briefly-but accurately-mentioned in the news a couple of years ago. As much as I wished that I was probably popular, I really wasn’t. Sure, I stole a lot, but as it turns out, the things I stole were expendable, and the people I stole from didn’t care at all. The heroes didn’t even know who I was-because they’re too busy with the villains doing the really harmful damage in the world.

That didn’t bother me though, I didn’t need to care. In the Underworld-a special hidden place for criminals and villains, I was rising through the ranks. Almost all the criminals knew who I was, and gave me as much support as I needed. On digital paper, I was known as Glass Breaker. With my life on the line-I always find an alternative route to take in a split second. The one time I was finally noticed was when I was on an operation to steal the world’s finest glass art collection-but my eyes were set on something more. Within the collection, was what I thought to be a priceless glass case filled to the brim with what I assumed to be diamonds. The case was in the shape of a violin, and was set in the center of the room. Located in the highest point of the penthouse-my team and I broke through the barriers. One of us unlocked the door, while the Twins disarmed the alert system and cameras. My job was to take the glass violin without touching anything else. But I got cocky…the strings on the violin were real, and as I plucked on a few of them to produce amusing noises, that’s when the unthinkable happened. All the glass objects, as well as the windows shattered. The very minute after the shattering glass hit the floor, the alarms that weren’t turned off set off ear-wrecking sirens. I was so embarrassed after that event-not even able to congratulate myself from not getting caught still. The news had a joyous day, as well as the criminals who pat me on the back for setting a funny example on how not to do a heist. And that’s how I got my name!

Other than the attempts of avoiding glass from that day forward, I was skilled, fast, and I had a few friends that were definitely there to help. Painter, for instance, was a skillful craftsman of the arts, but he’s best known as the master of plagiarism. He was also a very close friend of mine, as we grew up together. Another favorite teammate was Traffic Jamz. Formally a B-rank DJ by day, low and behold, a car thief by night. She was very enthused to hear that the Twins wanted her to join us in our schemes, as well as perplexed by their amusement of her least favorite mixtapes. There was never a day that went by where we didn’t enjoy listening to music while plotting heists.

And of course, in the center of all things, there was the Twins, known simply as that. They were the top thieves in the country, probably more so if they weren’t in hiding now. My siblings were something that I looked up to when all else was pushed out of reach from me. I know what most will be thinking though, where were my parents in this? The Twins were too reckless to realize that mom and dad were not feeling their best anymore-now that both have called in sick from work multiple times until they were finally laid off. I was their only caretaker at that point, the one that really looked them in the eye and saw the pains they felt. Both became bedridden for days on end, and by that point, I was old enough to scold the Twins and tell them to help out with the many bills that must be paid. Without much thought, they agreed, because it got them out of the house. It wasn’t until I was thirteen that I had to leave the house and join them on their “little errands”. What else could I have done? Gotten a job and then wasted away? Younger me couldn’t stand the thought…but when I got older, I’ve also gotten wiser. And so I quit while I could, and tried my best not to look back.

This could have been a story about me, continuing to rise up in power as a great villain that was led by a troubled childhood…but it’s over now, my parents are finally feeling better, and I don’t want to go back.

“Newbie! Stop spacing out! Napkins! Remember?” yells one of the coworkers. I sigh, turning away from the clock on the wall. Groaning as I rub my left eye with the edge of my palm, I pass the napkins to the annoying coworker with the wide grin and bright eyes. Shouldn’t he be just as tired as I was, why was he so hyped up all of a sudden? “Uhh…yeah, I’m going to need more napkins than this.” he says, and I turn to grab more. As he goes on about the mess on the floor and how the amount of napkins I gave him weren’t enough, I was tempted to take the entire napkin case and throw it at his head. Instead, I glare at him, not wanting to satisfy him with an excuse to leave for another smoke break…but he then starts in, “Hey, uh…by the way-what’s your name again? If I ask Hals they’ll explode at me…again.” I wasn’t shocked by this, he wasn’t very good with names to begin with, hence why I had to be there when he wrote down the names for the orders. One time he wrote down on the cup “Margret” when the customer’s real name was “Benny”. Neither of us knew where he got the name “Margret” from, but thankfully Benny thought it was funny and gave him a tip anyways.

I pay attention to my reflection on the silver napkin case as I say, “It’s Thamyris. I’ve been stuck here with you for about a month, and frankly, it would only take days to learn my name and use it, Miles.” “Ohh, right…Thamyris. Name is kinda funky-like one of those old philosophers from books.” he says, “I promise to remember it next time though, don’t worry! Whenever I say you’re name, it’ll remind me of an old man with a beard and a skull.” “That’s Shakespeare, he’s not a philosopher.”, I corrected. “I disagree.” he says, “From what I can remember in Lit. class, he would always go on about the morals of people-mainly dead people-but I think he said something along the lines of, ‘Eternity is in love with the productions of time’.” I turn to him as I correct in a concerned tone of voice-that didn’t display enough concern as I felt, “That’s not Shakespeare, that’s Marriage of Heaven and Hell, William Blake-how high are you right now?” He shrugs and laughs, “I just remember that-along with the book about the killer whale-the rest is history.” I roll my eyes as Miles walks over to the spilled coffee and cleans it up with arms full of napkins. “We’ll restock after break…” I mutter, then turn to the struggling Miles and say, “Hey, you’ll be sticky with caffeine if you wipe it up like that.” “Sheesh newbie, I don’t tell you how to live your life.” he teases. I scoff and say, “Whatever, figure it out your own way…and stop calling me Newbie, I just gave you my name.” He laughs it off as he gets grimier from the mess. He then perks his head up, and with his best pained expression, he asks, “Do you mind cleaning this up-and I’ll man the register? I’m just, kinda sorta, super sore from stocking the shelves in the back.” I turn to him sharply as I say, “Dude, there’s only one shelf in that room-and do you really want me to clean up your shit right now?” Before I could let him finish, I added, “Last time, you charged a customer $20 extra-as well as when they gave you $30 for a 20 dollar sandwich, you gave them $15 back…” “That was only one…two times!” he whined. “No Miles-that was four times this month…give or take.” I argued. “Just chill-okay! Hal only takes your side because-” he starts in, but is interrupted by the devil themselves. “Because what Miles?” they asked. Haley walks a bit closer to the two of us, their dark green ponytail fluttering behind them. They cross their arms and stare with a cold dark gaze at Miles. “Ah-oh-Hi Haley! Um…how are you so quiet? I didn’t hear you walk in-I was just-we were…” says Miles with a start. “Miles…” they growl. “Yeah?” he asks with fear bubbling up. “Go clean up the mess over there. Now.” they order. Hal pulls from behind them, a mop and bucket, and shoves it into Miles’s hands. Miles, already in a mopey mood for being caught slacking off, walks with his head low to the floor in shame. Haley sighs, leaning their back on the counter as they turn their head to me. “I swear to have never seen Miles do things the right way-no matter how many times I tell him or write it down.” “Sometimes I think he’s illiterate.” I mumble, “I see him reading those stupid comic books and think…is he actually reading the words…or is he only looking at the pictures?” “It’s a gamble, " says Haley with a smirk as they look towards Miles while he knelt down picking up napkins. “Damn if those Layon’s aren’t cool though.” they say, looking at the sneakers that Miles wears. I didn’t really get what they meant by that, but I nod anyway. “I can’t resist a good sneaker, even if it’s being sported on the least deserving person possible.” They continue. I just tune out of that, considering how I don’t find those sneakers cool.

It’s not that they were bad looking, they were just ridiculously priced, probably more than handbags from the Anderi Artz studio collection in the central city area. “Heh…a couple of hundreds for those is my best guess.” I mutter. “Yep.” agrees Hal, and they turn to me with a smile as they say, “Maybe I should just steal them when he takes his afternoon nap in the storage room.” “How do you know that you both have the same size?” I ask, “Might just fall off your feet while you walk in ‘em.” “Maybe, but it would be worth it to see his face go all-” They display a look of fake and exasperated panic and horror that makes me laugh under my breath. “So, how about it? Wanna help me? Be my partner in crime?” They ask. “No can do-I’m not really into that villainy type of thing.” “Well, for what it’s worth, I think you’re better off being a kickass barista. So don’t sweat it, Thamy-kay?” We sat in the ambience of the cafe, as I continued to work.

I looked up at the clock after bussing the last table, only to sigh when it hadn’t moved but an inch. “Don’t be so impatient. You still have a full 5 left to go.” says Haley. I walk back to the counter and place the rags and cleaning supplies away in the back near the storage room. “I’m not impatient-not really anyways…just really tired.” I say with a sigh almost escaping at the end of the sentence. “You work so hard all the time…it bums me out how much you don’t take some time for yourself.” says Haley. “I’m alright-it’s nothing to worry about.” I say quickly as I clean off my hands with some sanitizer. “Well, in that case, maybe you’d be better off with a more exciting job then.” sighs Hal. “I highly doubt that would be for the best.” I say, “Besides, a boring life of working at a cafe-getting paid minimum wage, then going home to relax to some movies and shows-while eating buckets of ice cream isn’t so bad after almost a year of it…I’ve got hobbies too-and that’s not boring-but it’s not super thrilling either…which means that there’s not going to be much trouble tagging along.” “Oh, I’m sure it’s all peaches and cream.” says Haley, “But it’s not so bad to have a bit of an exciting fun time, ya know?” “You say that with the sense of having experience…” I comment with a raised brow. “What can I say? I’m out here living my best life.”, Haley laughs before raising their arms above their head to stretch.

After hearing the popping sound of bones, they lower their arms and lean back onto the counter, a little bit closer to me. “I do wonder sometimes…what it’s like to be you.” they say, eyes glinting with intrigue. For a while, I just looked at them with a pleasant smile, until a shuddering cold realization took effect in my mind. I lower my eyes and the smile falters as I say, “I’m…it’s…you’ll probably be disappointed, heh.” They notice my unease and back off on the subject with a little more wisdom in their voice, “I probably wouldn’t, considering how lucky you’ve been to have gotten this far in life.” “You think being a barista in the big city-living in a crummy apartment is considered far in life?” I tease. “Perhaps-if you look at it through an optimist's eyes.” explains Haley, “Have you ever considered how lucky any of us are to have jobs?” I look back at them this time, their face as serious as the grave that many jobless ex-criminals have dug up and buried themselves into. And it’s not just the ex-criminals, it’s anyone else who isn’t ahead of the times. Because of the damages being done by both sides, many people would rather die being caught in the battlefields than lose their jobs to the ones taking advantage of the situations. That being said, we were very lucky, indeed. “Anyways-if you aren’t going to tell me about your past-at least tell a little of your future, hmm?” Hal interrupts. “What are you now-a fortune teller?” I laugh, leaning onto the counter as they toss their ponytail back behind them. “What would your dream job be-if you were given better circumstances?” they ask. “Dream job?” I inquired, “And to think that you were going to ask me where I’d want to vacation at.” “I already know where!” They say, “Somewhere far far away from the crowds and city lights, so you could get a better look at the stars.” “You’re forgetting that it’d be in the woods, in a nice regency period house-with a cozy sofa for you to crash on when you visit me.” I say. “It’s sweet that you’d think I’d come by and visit.” says Hal. “Just as long as you leave Miles tied to the post with the other horses.” I say. “Horses too? How very countryside-like.” they say. “I’ll have at least three, and there’d be cliffs overlooking the valleys and mountains, where’d we stand near the edge as if we could jump up and fly across them.” I fantasize. “As amazing as that sounds, you still haven’t answered the question of how you’d be able to afford that life,” says Hal. “Simple, my dream job will be the one with the highest pay.” I say. “And that is?” questions Hal. “What do you think?” I ask. “Simple.” they say, tilting their heads and looking me up and down, “You’d be…a superhero.” I laugh looking up at them with confusion as I say, “I’m flattered that you believe I’m capable of playing the part of a movie-star madman, and I do agree that they are the most paid for their crime-fighting action-it’s just…so ridiculous!” “Oh come on-I know it’s silly-but it does feel rather fitting that you’d be a hero.” says Hal, “Besides, out of all the star-crazed madmen out there-you’re the one who might help the world the most…and it starts by your kind heart that’s helping us little guys out here.” I smile, and I feel genuinely happy to think that someone can say something so nice and meaningful to me, and wants to encourage me to keep going in life. Haley-albeit I’ve only known them for a little while-was like the sibling I needed to help guide me on the right path, and I’m glad to have met them. Just as I’m about to say something, we both jump with a start as the sound of an impatient voice. “Uhh…can I order?” I don’t even have time to take the courage to speak up, before Haley rushes off to the opposite side of the cafe. Thanks for the backup.

I quickly fix my colorful blue, pink and yellow hair from out of my face. “Woah-sorry about that.” I mutter, just as I look up at the man before the counter. He was tall, blonde, and his eyes looked terribly tired. One way to put it would be that this man hadn’t slept in eight years, as he was the model man of crumbling luck-regardless of his pretty face. “Yeah-I…didn’t see you walk in.” “That’s fine, I’d prefer it.” he says suddenly, his voice distant but sharply keen to the point. “Sorry?” I say, a bit confused. “Nothing-just…let’s just…stop talking.” he says, looking up and around the cafe, as if he was trying to figure out what else to do or say. Finally, he settles his gaze to the counter as he says, “Can I have a black coffee to-go?” My hand was already grasping the cup for the coffee before I said, “Yeah-okay! Uh-will that be all?” He pauses, looking back at the counter quickly, as if there was something worth staring at to avoid my gaze. “Umm…yeah, ok.” he says in a low tone. “Sure thing-that’ll be $3.00.” I say quickly, while punching in the order on the machine. He hands me a five dollar bill, and I quickly open up the cash register to hand him back his change. He watches me do all of this, studying me just as I have studied other employees before considering applying for the job. Just as I was about to hand him his change, he backs off and mutters, “Keep it.” I hesitate before pulling my hand back, eyeing this stranger. He clearly isn’t a douchebag, which is what I thought he’d be, considering his get up. I’m not one to be prejudiced about pretty boys, but the majority of those coming to this cafe always end up bordering the lines of crass and stupidity-which is a really thin line as it were. Putting the change back, I tore the receipt and placed it on the counter, then prepared the black coffee. After it was in the to-go cup, I placed the coffee down on the counter for a moment, but the customer started to reach out for it. “Wait!” I say, and he quickly looks surprised. “I just need to put this on real-quick…it’s kinda a safety thing.” I explain, putting the cover over and on the cup before handing it to him. When our fingers brushed against each other, I quickly moved my hand away looking down at it, and began scratching away the old nail polish with my index finger. “I’ve burned my hands plenty of times without it.” I admitted before giving them a small smile. He gives me a small smile back as he says, “Thanks…” He looks down at the nametag on my uniform before muttering, “Thamyris…pretty name.” “Thanks!” I say a little too perky, and quickly I lower my eyes when I add, “Uh-Have a good day.” “You too.” he says, as he walks off towards the door. I watch him go, as I clean up the counter again. He looks through the windows at me, and our eyes lock instantly.

Time, I wish, would stop for one moment, with our eyes lingering on and intertwining with our souls. However, his gaze quickly shifts away and he disappears from sight within mere seconds. I sigh, leaning back and picturing the moment in my head. He was definitely a new one, I’ve never seen him before in my life! I could cringe at the thought of how awkward our meeting was, but all I could think about was those eyes. “You alright, Thamy? Your face is super red right now!” asks Hal from behind me. I jump up quickly with a jambalaya of words that come out from my lips, “I-I-Don’t you-Um-I…I’m not-I’m fine!” Their laughter comes out loud as they walk away from the counter towards the storage. “You sure know your way with words, don’tcha?” they tease, and I give them the finger in return. “So sensitive too~.” they continue, “I’m gonna check the storage real quick-be back in a bit.” “And I’ll be here, then.” I say, as I grasp the hold of the remote to switch the channels. The lady baking a rum cake is giving me a headache with her droning voice. Just as I switched it to the next channel, the news breaks away to a Hero’s special. “Ugh, this outta be good!” I say out loud, as I turn on the subtitles and mute the television. The Binary Star Hero, child of the stars, always so popular man was shining brightly on screen with his wide smile and bright red eyes. I’ll admit, it was those very eyes that inspired me to dye my hair red for a while when I first saw him in the news…I still couldn’t stand him. He was so perfect, so efficient of all the heroes out there. As well as a casanova in his little dramas in online headlines, featuring snippets of his “love life” with famous models and heroes. Fleeting, were they all-but not as fleeting as my interest in his character.

While the reporter with him begins to speak with her very sexy reporter voice-I begin to clean up the rest of the cafe with a broom in my hand and my earphones plugged in.

The day passed by quickly, and in no time at all-my shift was over and done with. I clock out, and then head straight home, hoping that the chocolate and banana ice pops I had left would be enough for me to snack on later. I wanted to really immerse myself in the comfort of a some-what lovely home. It’s all temporary, but after losing count of the days, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to leave. When I flick on the tv to start watching some random shows, I lose myself to my thoughts. Is this really where I belong? What if I decide to leave it all behind? What if I could achieve the unthinkable and move away from the city in the blink of an eye? Would that really be something that I’d want? I flick off the tv and walk to the window looking towards the glowing city. Something about the city looked too ominous, even with the dazzling lights of the towering buildings and skyscrapers. When I first came here, I went to visit the tourist spots, mainly just the Hall of Heroes and the Leaning Tower of Vendetta-which wasn’t leaning-it’s just built to look like it’s leaning toward its side. I went to visit college campuses as well, hoping that maybe I could work towards getting a degree in something…but it’s already too late for that. I bailed multiple times, thinking that it wouldn’t matter, and they’d figure me out within the second I started applying. It was better if I just didn’t dream at all, because dreaming hasn’t gotten me much to begin with. My dreams of keeping my family safe have come true already, so there’s nothing much to dream for…nothing much at all. Presently, I had more important things to worry about.