Heroic Much?

zero

z e r o

     The first time she put on the mask, Kiara Álvarez swore to herself she would never take it off.

     Figuratively, of course, she'd have to take it off to shower or perform normal, everyday activities without being labeled a serial killer. But, for larger scale purposes, she meant it when she promised herself she would die wearing it. Once again, figuratively, but this was her promise to never give up on herself, on her character, on who she could become.

     It was silk, white and cream, embellished with silver and gold rhinestones and swirly patterns of glitter glue. Three hours, it took her three hours to make it but when she was done, standing in front of the mirror, placing it over her eyes, she knew this was who she could be. Not who she was, no, people aren't born inheritably good or evil, but this was her plunge into the abyss. Sidestepping reality and society's social standards, she became a villain. One of those comic book ones, all sharp edges and steam shooting out of her ears.

     She used to sit too close to the television when she was younger, imagining what it would be like for people to love her and chant her name throughout the streets. But, heroes' fame is always short lived, their 'fans' turning on them the second they do something wrong or seemingly selfish. Why then, would anyone ever want to be the hero? Certainly not when the world demands more than one has to give.

     So, she became the villain. She sent two policemen to the hospital the first day she went out wearing her ensemble. And, it was almost comical the way she went about it seeing that her powers were nothing 'evil' or relatively close to being so. She spits out rainbows and happiness. She cloaks herself in sunshine and wears the color white, as seemingly pure and innocent as every storybook makes it out to be. But, she's adapted to it now. She roams the streets through bright screens and streetlamps, being seen when she cares to and plans to. Her fingers harness the power of illumination and use it against others, most importantly, the Darkness.

     "So, I've seen you've insisted on not only vandalizing the Brooklyn Bridge but also sending three cars off the side of it."

     Kia exhales, swaying back and forth with the slight breeze, her hands clutching onto the electrical wires beneath her. Her hammock of telephone wires keeps her a good many feet off the ground, although not much help when the city's goody-two-shoes can teleport.

     He appears clutching onto the side of the pole, careful not to touch anything with electricity surging through it lest she decide she's in a foul mood. His eyes scan her expression, too calm and relaxed for the situation at bay.

     "Look, asshat, relax. Everyone's fine." She gestures halfheartedly towards the bridge where police sirens continue to go off. "See? The ol' donuts, coffee, and drug busts gang is here. They've got it covered."

     He glares at her. "They're fine because I saved them. In fact, this entire city is fine because I've saved them. Without me, you'd have one too many murders under your belt, you know."

     "Glad to know you're keeping track of bandaids now," she says.

     "I'm doing my job," he growls, "it's the least I can do when someone like you is throwing cars off bridges every other day."

     Kia rolls her eyes, sitting upright to look down at him.

     The Darkness is an odd looking fellow. With a name like that, you'd expect something, well, darker. Certainly not the bright smiles and acts of kindness you receive. Well, for everyone in the whole city except her; the Darkness doesn't really care that much for her.

     "Look, hun." She leaps over to the pole, still grasping onto the wires as she brings her face closer to the boy. "You'd be nothing without me. Nothing. I'm the yin to your yang, without me, there is no you. You're nothing more than some guy in spandex who kisses up to my ass every day. Nobody would give a fuck about you if I wasn't here to wreck the world."

     She's practically breathing on him now.

     He frowns, anger pouring out his lips as he speaks. "You're wrong."

     His feet collide with her chest, sending her skyrocketing across the sky. She slams into the dirt, pieces of grass and dust flying up around her. Her fingers dig into the ground as she forces her body to move, rolling quickly as her nemesis lands where she was just laying.

     "You're just a..."

     "A what?" She wipes blood from her mouth, looking up at him. "A monster, god, please don't be that cliché."

     He presses the heel of his shoe against her throat, hard. "I was going to say a catastrophic bitch, but that works just as well."

     She laughs jaggedly, resting her head against the dirt for a moment before snapping his leg. He screams; she flings his body away from her. There's a piercing crack as his head collides with a tree, smashing and splintering as his body ends pinned under it. She hears him groan, attempting to push it off of himself, his efforts fruitless.

     "How's that for bitchy?" She grins, walking over to where he lays.

     He's bleeding everywhere. Head, chest, leg, there's just about as much as there is sweat. His body is left in unnatural angles, all of which would be fatal to any regular human.

     For his case, though, she laughs. "Ain't so easy being the good guy, huh?"

     If he could glare through his descent to unconsciousness, he would. Instead, he responds with a disgruntled moan and an attempt to flip her off.

     She steps hard on his hand, breaking a good two or three fingers.

     "See you the next time I try and rob a bank."

     With that, she turns and walks away. Slow, taking her time cause what's the hurry? She's mostly fine, bruised but it'll heal in an hour or two, and her friendly-neighborhood-punching-bag remains the one stuck under a tree. She couldn't be more enthusiastic.

     Well, actually, some part of her knows this euphoria is short lived. It always is. Ever since she's slipped on that mask, all she's gotten is backlash and an endless number of bruises. And, she's loved every minute of it, but now, she has college starting soon and that means more work and more things to balance along with her 'hobby'.

If only real life were as easy as comic books displayed it to be.