Dark Side (Completed)

Crooks and Thieves

Cold metal leeched the warmth from my skin like a parasite, but somehow, I found comfort in its weight. Its shape seemed to morph into my grasp as if it had always belonged there. I let out a menacing chuckle as I cocked my weapon.

The pistol in my hands was pointing directly at the forehead of a middle aged man. His receding hairline revealed beads of nervous sweat that only made me snicker more. He was a businessman, dressed in a casual brown suit. I'd been lucky enough to catch him on his way home from work. I guessed that he'd been working late tonight, judging by the fact that he was walking home after dark and by the dark circles under his eyes.

"Got anything worth my time?" I asked, my voice dripping with annoyance. I never liked to stay in one place for too long. Partially because it was terribly inefficient in my line of work and partly because it made it far too convenient for the guys trying to stop me.

"I-uh," the man stuttered, "What do you want?"

I rolled my eyes dramatically, "You're being mugged," I pointed out, waving around my gun to prove my point, "What do you think I want?"

"Oh," he said reaching down to pat at his pockets, "Right... money."

After a few agonizingly slow moments, he pulled out a brown leather wallet. Pulling it open, he retrieved the cash inside and held it out to me. I snatched it, and without moving the gun counted the bills.

"Thirty six bucks?" I asked, disappointment leaking into the air.

"I don't have much on me," he cowered away slightly, eyeing the gun nervously.

My eyes raked his body in search of anything else that may be of value, "What about the watch?" I asked, pointing my gun lazily in its direction. He followed my gaze and his eyes widened.

"No," his face went pale, "It was my grandfather's."

"Oh, an antique," I smirked, "Even better!"

"You're not really going to take it, are you?"

I opened my mouth to send him a snarky reply, but a deep voice answered for me, "Not if I can help it."

I whipped around only to come face to face with the last person I wanted to see. A hero.

"Oh, how nice of you to join the party," I sneered as I pocketed the cash.

"Well, I couldn't let the little masked girl have too much fun, now could I?" I rolled my eyes. He stepped forward and continued to speak, "Now Sparky, why don't you give the nice man his money back and we'll drop this."

I glared at the use of a pet name. Folding my arms over my chest and shifting the weight on my hip, I sniped my response, "No."

He sighed, "Why do you have to make this so difficult?"

"It's in my nature," I sneered sarcastically.

"I'll say this one more time," he said stepping closer. He towered over me, but I refused to take a step back. His atrociously orange and yellow spandex very nearly gave me a migraine at this proximity, "Drop the gun, give the man back his money, and go home."

I glared up at him and internally debated whether thirty six bucks was worth a superhero smack down. Letting out a huff of air, I lifted my shirt and slid the gun down into the waistband of my black skinny jeans. Letting the shirt fall back in place, I turned to the man, "A pleasure doing business with you, sir."

I turned to leave but was stopped by the super's voice, "Lightning," he sighed. I turned to look back at him innocently.

"Yes?" my eyelashes batted in his direction.

"The money," he said, his voice layered with boredom.

"What about it?" I continued my innocent act.

"Give it back," he said, crossing his arms over his well defined chest.

Now the man finally gained the courage to speak up. He cleared his throat, "Ah, just let her take it," the exhaustion showed in his voice as he rubbed at his eyes, "It's not that much anyway."

"Yeah, that's an idea," I quipped, already starting to back away from the two, "I guess I'll see you next time, Torch," I saluted to the super and slipped into the shadows.

The man quickly thanked the super and continued on his way. Torch watched him go, shaking his head and hovered into the air once he was out of sight. With a last glance around, the hero shot into the sky and disappeared.

I continued on my path down the abandoned sidewalks, watching my shadow dance as I walked under the occasional streetlamp. The air was a little chillier at this time of night, so I thrust my hands into the recesses of my sweatshirt pockets.

It wasn't long before I heard the familiar dull thud of boots landing on concrete. I didn't have to turn around to know who it was. Torch effortlessly caught up and walked beside me.

"Well played, Lightning Pulse, well played," he smiled down at me. We fist bumped as my other hand dug into my pocket. Fishing out the money, I divided it as evenly as the bills could allow. I handed the lower amount of cash to Torch and he frowned, "Why do I get the lower half?"

"Because I had to do the dirty work," I shot him a glare, "You just made things more difficult for me and lessened my profits."

That's why I detest superheroes. In the public eye, they're little angels and saviors, but the truth of the matter is that being a superhero doesn't pay the bills. There are often unspoken deals between the heroes and villains. Sometimes they let us get away only to come snooping for some profit later. Or sometimes, for the richer people who will pay for their salvation, heroes will hire villains to attack, and then split the money afterward. It's quite exhausting and annoying if you ask me.

"Fair enough," he sighed, "See you at school?"

He was already hovering as I nodded and gave him a small salute. With that, he rocketed into the sky and disappeared behind the clouds.

"Why can't I fly?" I groaned as I continued walking down the street, "It would be so nice to not have to walk."

I fiddled with the twenty dollar bill in my pocket and removed my mask as I neared my home.

I was definitely ready to pass out for the rest of the night.

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Hey everybody. I hope you find this story enjoyable. Feel free to comment on any Supers/powers you want to show up in future chapters. Constructive criticism is always welcome. This chapter is dedicated to 11th-adventurer for knowing what it's like to be on a superhero craze.