Unmasked

Noir didn't waste any time and unfolded his piece of paper.

"Soldier Boy will come. We Kill." It said.

I looked directly at him, past his helmet onto the real person behind the mask.

His eyes were filled with hate and fear for Soldier Boy.

I held the silence for a moment longer until I heard a slight spike in his heartbeat.

"Soldier Boy has the power to weaken us, to kill us." I said and started to slowly circle Noir, my eyes never leaving him. "He's more dangerous than anything we ever faced before." I said reaching his back side.

Noir stood his ground but turned his body to face me. He nodded.

"In his misguided attempt for revenge, he has betrayed us, killed us, his own kind." I continued as I turned to the side completing the circle.

I paused for a breath.

"Just in the same way he has betrayed you." An extra 'thump', the interruption of his rhythm told me everything I needed to know.

"I know what he did…how he treated his team…what he did to you." I said as I slowly walked until I was less than arm's length away.

His rhythm gave all pretense of calm and was now 'thumping' with anxious energy.

I don't blame him. Those were hard memories for him.

My hands went to his helmet and he slightly flinched as his hands went up to stop me.

I gave him a hard stare and said "No. I want to see the real you."

Strap in things are about the get super fucking gay in here but I really need Noir on my side.

His hands dropped and let me remove his helmet.

There he was in all his glory, a man that should be in his seventies barely looked a day older than thirty, that's if you ignored the rippling waves of jagged scarred skin, a shade lighter than his chocolate color, droopy white eye and deformed healed over cranium.

He looked grotesque as fuck in that I can't stop staring kind of way.

"He mutilated you, he hurt you, it was more than this, wasn't it?" I said as my hand gently touched his scarred cheek. "It was here as well" My hand went to his chest "but most of all it was here." My hand went to his forehead.

I hope he got that I didn't mean the scar tissue or literally the brain damage but the mind itself.

Luckily regardless of what he perceived it as, he nodded.

My hands went and grasped his shoulders.

"I'll make him pay. That I promise you. He won't hurt you again. I won't let him. Not you and not anyone else ever again!" I said strongly.

His heart continued its energetic beat.

"I'll put my life on the line for you Noir" I looked him straight in the eyes. "Out of everyone here, out of all of them you are the only one that is my equal, no more than that you are my brother." I said with as much heartfelt conviction as I could muster.

"I fought him Noir, I really did and he's strong, really strong." I said slowing my tempo. "Only together we can beat him only together we can succeed and not only him, everything else as well. The world is changing before our eyes, the media, the governments even our own kind are out there trying to hurt us, to bring us down, to not let us achieve our dreams."

Make a vague appeal to the dreams and hope he once had and how Soldier Boy stopped him.

"They want to hold us back, to kill us." My right hand suddenly grabbed the top of the back of his head and in a jerky motion pulled it forward.

The movement was too sudden for him to put any resistance but it didn't matter as his momentum was stopped by my forehead lightly crashing into his.

We were touching foreheads and our noses were hair breaths away. Yes super gay, I know.

"You're my brother and I'm going to put my life on the line for you Noir but I can't do this without you." My right hand was holding us together while my left hand went palm open back to his chest and covered his heart.

"I need to know that you're my brother too, now and forever, I can't do this without you. I need to know Noir that you're with me. Not with Vought, not Stan not the government but with me all the way."

I could literally feel his heart racing now and I could smell his sweat pheromones all indicating a strong emotional response.

Good, for the strong and silent type the show showed me how much of a mess Noir really was.

People think they are all pure order and logic however the truth is we encode experiences and memories a lot better when there is an emotional response.

And there is nothing like 'imprinting' feelings of loyalty and brotherhood on one of the most deadliest people on the planet than when he is the most emotionally vulnerable.

Case in point Noir's right hand went up to the back of my head and pushed us harder while his left shot up to my chest mirroring me.

I could feel the nodding movement of his head on my own and I could smell the tears forming in his eyes.

I maneuvered our position into a bro hug, gave him a few more reassuring words and broke apart.

"We need to talk strategy." I said solemnly and he nodded.

For now Noir was mine.