Heroic Acts

Thirty Eight

"Look around," the Phantom replied, gesturing to the surrounding area. "I've barely destroyed anything. Just levitated some things to make people panic, and here you are. I don't want to destroy things today, Warrior. I just wanted to see you."

"Well, I'm here. Stop the telekinesis and we'll fight like men," Darien said.

"Have it your way," the Phantom said, and let everything fall to the ground. Cars smashed into the streets, wrecking some of the asphalt and sidewalk.

"So unfortunate that we have to fight all the time," Darien said, flying closer to the villain. "Why can't we just kiss and make up?" he joked.

"In your dreams," the Phantom said, throwing a punch. Darien dodged it, and then retaliated with a blow to the Phantom's jaw. Seth staggered back, and rubbed his face just a little before grinning evilly. He activated his invisibility, vanishing into thin air.

"Come on out, Phantom," Darien said nervously, looking around in all directions. He suddenly had the wind knocked out of him as he received a punch to the stomach. He fell to the ground below.

"I love cheap shots," the Phantom laughed and became visible again, standing over the hero. Darien groaned and rubbed the back of his head, propping himself up with one of his elbows.

"I thought we were going to have a man to man fight," Darien said.

"We are," Seth said. "You just aren't man enough to match me."

"That's what you think," Darien said, and in almost no time, he was up again, lunging at the villain. The Phantom was quick, but Darien was slightly quicker. Keeping to his word, he used no powers, just his own fists and determination. He barely missed, too, hitting Seth once, twice, three times, four. He was an exhausting opponent to mess with. In moments, he had Seth on the ground, just like he had been seconds ago.

"Where's your determination now, Phantom?" Darien asked, standing over him. Seth just laid there, not willing to believe that he wasn't a match for this hero. He couldn't lose again. He spotted a figure up on a high building, looking down at the two super humans.

Z made eye contact with his villain and shook his head in disappointment. Seth felt his heart sink into his stomach. He refused to disappoint Z again. He would never, ever be a failure in the eyes of that man. Now, he was being watched by him, and he was getting crushed.

"My determination?" Seth whispered quietly, finally looking away from Z and into the eyes of the hero.

"What's gotten into you? Why are you so quiet?" The hero asked, backing up slightly. Seth was being fueled by his bottled up emotions. All of his anger from his father, Andy, Z, and even himself caused a surge of energy to course through him.

"I won't let you take this life away from me," the villain growled, slowly standing up and staggering as he held his own weight. He yelled and lunged towards the Warrior, pulling the dagger from his waist and plunged it into the hero's side. He twisted it slightly before ripping it back out. His hands were shaking and his whole body trembled after, so violently that the dagger dropped from his grasp. It clanked loudly as it hit the asphalt.

Darien gasped loudly and covered his wound with his hands, his entire body also shaking. Z just stood there, watching, perfectly content.

"You... you stabbed me?!" The hero shouted, his voice barely able to escape past his lips.

"You're observant," the Phantom said, slowly regaining himself. "I'll do it again, too." He reached down and grabbed the weapon from the ground.

By the time he got back up, Darien had already begun his getaway. He was running as much as he could with a limp, trying his best to be able to fly. The Phantom watched his rival run, knowing he did exactly what he was told. He looked up at Z, who nodded his head in approval. He nodded back and smiled, then dropped his gaze to the blood soaked dagger.

***

Darien made it back to the parking garage and made sure no one was watching him before changing out of his costume. He gasped at his own blood as he pulled the fabric away from it. He was healing quicker than any average human, but the blade deeply entered his flesh. He needed to risk going home. He couldn't involve Seth; he'd panic and ask too many questions. By this time, Seth normally went out to study, so he felt it was safe. He tied part of his costume around his waist to cover his side and put his normal clothes back on, right on top.

He tried to keep his limp as unnoticeable as possible. He walked along the street, trying not to wince or groan or let the blood soak through his shirt. This is the second time he was severely hurt. He was being too damn reckless. He needed to start considering the methods of his rival. From the looks of things, the Phantom would do just about anything to strike him down.

Upon arriving back at campus, he tried to maintain his usual look. Happy, friendly, always smiling and always willing to talk to anyone. His limp became more and more noticeable as he approached the stairs of his building. The wound burned, and the skin around it felt like it was boiling hot. He wanted to press his hands against it, but he was worried about staining things with even more blood. He took a deep breath before starting up the stairs.

Three flights of stairs felt like Everest. The pain was excruciating, and tears pooled at the bottoms of Darien's brown eyes. He just had to keep pushing. He began to feel panicky, and shortness of breath followed. He was actually worried he was going to pass out due to blood loss. He couldn't go to the hospital again, no, that would just be too risky. People would make a connection. There's no way he simply ended up being in the wrong place at the wrong time twice.

He finally, finally made it to his dorm room and opened the door quietly, sneaking inside. Caroline was in her bed, seemingly taking a nap. Darien shut the door almost silently and locked it, then tip toed to the closet to find his first aid kit and new clothes. He carefully peeled his shirt and costume away from the stab wound and gently pressed a towel against it. It took no more than a minute or two before the towel was blood soaked. He pulled the towel away gently and heard a slight creaking noise.

"Darien..?" Caroline whispered.

Darien made eye contact with Caroline and stood there like a deer in headlights. He was shocked. He really thought she'd stay asleep considering how quiet he was.

"What... what happened to you?.." She asked, looking at all the blood.

Darien tried to come up with a lie. His brain shifted through so many different possibilities and outcomes. He never anticipated this. He wasn't sure what to do.

"Darien?" Caroline asked again. He finally sighed and looked at the floor.

"Caroline, I need to tell you something."