general_radix

Remember those cape-related pics I linked to in that first art dump? The following set-up came into mind as I was trying to sleep and I want to record it here for posterity/discussion purposes.

It technically starts when Vince is in high school, where he meets and quickly becomes the subject of infatuation for a shy middle-schooler, Dante Strauss. Having no friends in his own age group, Vince cautiously welcomes Dante into his life, but advises him to wait 'til they're both out of school before he ponders a serious relationship. Dante, being a naive kid, doesn't really listen.

The two of them also happen to be meta-humans, although both boys' powers are incredibly weak at this point, with neither being able to do much but generate piddly sparks of light.

To Vince's alarm, he soon figures out that Dante's actions are influenced in part by his terrible home life. One night, Dante gets caught trying to sneak out, and that's the last time Vince sees him for many years.

Over time, Vince's powers intensify, until he's finally able to use them in combat. There's a catch, though: while he can generate energy without much issue, after a certain point his control over the output slips. It's not so bad at first, but as time goes on, it takes longer for his body to stop; the last time he pushes himself, Vince spends several hours in utter agony.

Things briefly look up, when Vince encounters someone with the same powers..."briefly", because Vince ends up witnessing the end result of said powers going out of control.

--

It's a few years after the incident; Vince hasn't done any vigilante work since then, but he'd like to get back on track. The easiest way he knows to do that is to join a team; however, every one he applies for either doesn't need any new members, or takes one look at the risk associated with his powers and rejects him cold.

Late one night, Vince attends a recruitment drive disguised as a mundane book club meeting, and gets hit with the usual "we can't help you if worst comes to worst" (or less politely, "you're a liability"). As he's about to leave in dejection, he spots a familiar face.

It's Dante, a little older but not really much worse for wear. Luckily for Vince, Dante is more than glad to see him again and the two go off to get caught up; basically, Dante's father responded to that failed tryst by moving him out to the country, but now he's long since disentangled himself from all that.

Dante's also been getting consistently rejected from every team he applies for, on the grounds that his powers are too situational. They're mostly defensive, he says, and the most notable thing he can do is absorb energy that he can't use afterward.

Vince, perhaps not thinking clearly, immediately begs Dante to partner up with him, explaining his own situation. This is where Vince finds out that Dante has developed a bit of an attitude in the interim; he categorically lists all the ways a partnership wouldn't work/be beneath him/etc. (ignoring Vince's questions about what he's doing at a recruitment drive)...buuuuuut he's currently looking for a new apartment and is willing to room with Vince if his can accommodate two people. Within a few days, he's properly moved in.

Dante continues with his "hot 'n cold" act until Vince finds himself going up against notorious reality warper Lachyrmosa. Vince pushes himself beyond his limit to stall her until she gets bored; it works, but he's left in a volatile heap. Dante rushes over to siphon off the excess energy, and is finally made to understand why Vince was so desperate to keep him around.

That night, Dante tearfully apologizes for his behaviour up to that point, and the two formally begin their partnership.

--

Cue lots of angst on Vince's part not only over his pragmatic reasoning for partnering up with a guy who had a huge crush on him in the past, but what Dante goes through every time he helps Vince with overload... (In between shenanigans with Opticon's team, preferably)