The rain fell hard and jagged against the black of the asphalt road. My eyes drifted to the desolate city around us, unusually quiet . Broken. Once a glorious empire, now a mire of shattered glass and scrap metal . My eyes then travel back to the prone figure, bloodied before me . I frowned . The golden emblem on the hero’s costume shines under the barely functioning street lights. The hero— no. Boy groans as I push him onto his side. The others scattered about the terrain. Alive … injured maybe but . Alive.
Anger flickers inside me once more. Children , They sent CHILDREN!!! . I could have killed them !!
My erratic footsteps stop abruptly as a figure staggered into light . A kid barely 20 . Her hands shake as she struggles to activate her powers, bright electric light flickers off and on . Her movements becoming more sloppy and desperate each time I get close to her,
“ Where’s your hero? He sent you all alone to fight me ? “, my is voice louder then i intend , laced with venom. She flinched . Her lips part for a second as if to say something but she clams it down just as quick.
I feel the asphalt shudder into life as my fingers twitch into action. I’ve done this about a million times before, she trips and the asphalt surrounding immobilise her.
so it’s true … that Bastard!!!
———-( flash back(?))
I wasn’t always like this. Was I ? When I first got my powers. It was a struggle getting them under control. I got to work immediately, I’d fix the broken city after the fights the heroes had. A falling bridge .. cracked buildings. At first it was only clay and sand .. soon I could move metal and concrete. As long as I knew what material , the possibilities were endless.
I didn’t ask to be named “hero” I just helped.
wealth started to dwindle. All those damaged infrastructure isn’t easy to fix you know .. nor was it cheap. As my powers grew stronger my responsibility increased. Yet hundreds of casualties piled up each winter. 16Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡGPyVmWB8kN
I could fix this. I could save these people. And so I did .
little shelters across town, houses, shared spaces… anything. Soon I stopped being a “ hero” and instead became an entity who destroyed property value.
the city council had enough of my “outbursts” as complaints about my antics flooded their office regularly.
they made me tear down my creations . And when I refused they found ways to do it worse. The once safe haven for all became hostile. Divided … broken
They called me a “villain” .a monster. The one to be “taken down” as the heroes imprisoned me .
the cracks of the city, the empire’s crumbling prestige, This heaven is broken.
Its alright, I can fix it . I can fix anything.
this one however needs to be burned to the ground first.
—————( back to present)
the council crumbled. The tall gold symbol of power. Head quarters. Now just a bunch or rubble.
The rain had grown in intensity now. Deafening thunder and lightning cut through obsidian night sky. This time I’m greeted by the “real heroes”
cowards.
They try to rush me, attacking all at once, this time my creations are considerably slower, more brittle. I’ve never been fond of the rain anyway. My attacks lack strength but I salvage in reflexes and preparation.
I dodge as a wall of ice barely skins past me, but something else does slam into me. The ground beneath warps and bends as I will it to move once more. Metal and concrete asphalt blend and morph around me, as pillars and spikes raise to the skies and slam down hard against the saviours. A landslide victory.
I don’t get to enjoy my victory for long. There’s another thundering boom as a figure shoots out of the rubble. Then I see him.
The peoples beloved. A scowl marring his aged face as thunder roared behind him. He has changed over the years but so have I. He lunges at me cape bellowing in the wind.
Our fight lasts hours. Gotta give it to the old man, he’s good. I grit my teeth as his gloved hands scrape my face.. seriously??? My face ?
I grin wildly as our fight drags on, we crash into one another and the city falls . It’s funny to think that at some point I used to idolise him, they do say “you should never meet your heroes” for a reason eh? I grip his cape as he drags me through the skyline, glass and metal pressing against me, but before I could move anything I’m whisked up into the heavens .
thunder and lightning crackle around us.
” Your reign or terror ends here. Give up! There’s nothing for you to manipulate. “
he declares. Oh ! He thinks he’s won ?!
how cute .
his grip slacks. And before I know it I’m falling..
It takes all my strength as I bend the only metal I could reach . It twists and shudders and — crack
——-
the rain has some what tamed now . I stagger to my feet as a dark red pool of blood envelopes the ground before me . A print figure lie in front. The Hero .
a chuckle escapes my lips, that chuckle turns into giggles and soon I’m laughing like a mad man . The grey eyes of the hero stare right at me . Unseeing, glazed over. A short metal glints protruding out of his neck .
the rain has stopped now . As the first rays of sun emerge I see it. The golden emblem warped and jagged edges dripping with blood .
it’s over . I did it . Now all thats left to do is build this dammed city up again… This time better .
this isn’t the end though . Far from it, they will return. Those kids , forgotten sidekicks. They’ll come for vengeance. But alas what am I to do , I’m not gonna kill children.
I’m a villain for gods sake not a monster .
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