The Undoing Of Villains | ✓

two

a/n: dedicated to @yellowyoflowers for an encouraging reply back in january that kept me reformatting and reworking the book. more to come, promise ! x

two

I HOPED the poor guy was a supervillain. Otherwise I'd epically failed in my 'quest' to bring justice to all ill-doers. Blah. 

That sounded disgusting and naive. Nice one. 

Before he could pull the trigger (or do anything else) my palm shot up and blocked the barrel of the rifle. He leered confidently at me, surely hoping I'd cower in his presence. 

"On your knees and hands up, princess." His grin revealed a row of dirty teeth, which honestly scared me more than the rifle he clutched in his grip, " - a shame to splatter that pretty face all over the counter."

I didn't respond, and instead focused on drawing out my powers. They were never stowed away in a small well within me, but rather a constant flow of energy that never seemed to leave except for when I was drop-to-the-floor exhausted. I was feeling pretty tired at that moment, but the tiredness was overshadowed by the annoyance at him indirectly spilling my drink across the entire floor. 

Thinking about my first day in the city, I could safely say I'd had a shitty welcoming committee so far. 

"Don't think so." I replied, "Sorry." 

"Suit yourself." He shrugged, but before he could press the trigger another presence joined our joyous gathering. It was a superhero, no doubt about it. A flamboyant costume, with spiky hair. I didn't know his name, nor did I bother to find out. He did look awfully young, and by the uncertain stance I wasn't sure if he was a hero or a simple sidekick. 

"Stop right there, villain!" Called the hero, and I fought the urge to snort, "We've come with the shackles of justice to bind you!"

This time I couldn't suppress a snicker. The newcomer looked unsure, but attempted to hold a straight face while the criminal in front of me guffawed. 

"Where's your teacher, boy? He's the only one with any ability to actually defeat me here. We both know it." The smugness was so obvious I could almost touch it, "Between you and girly here, you're almost half a match for me."

Okay - no. Attempting to humiliate me and then actually insulting me?  Time to step in. 

"Sorry, that's not going to happen." I said, drawing my hood tighter around my face. God forbid anyone actually saw who I was. The whole point of coming here was to not be a superhero - just a hero. A human one. And here I was, using my powers and completely deconstructing my plan the moment I set foot in this town. I could already feel my carefully constructed future here turn into something else - a path open to me thanks to my powers. 

Facepalm, sigh, repeat. 

"Who are you to stop me?" He laughed, but an edge of seriousness had crept into his tone. I could tell he was wondering whether or not he'd underestimated me. 

"Absolutely no one, which is what you're going to cry about later all alone in your holding cell." I shot back, crumpling my open palm into a closed fist. My powers were within my reach now, mere tendrils carefully curling around my conscience. Each time I used them, I felt a stab of pain through my heart, and then a strange and otherworldly sensation spread from my heart to the rest of my body.