Of Heroes And Villains

In which a superhero meets his match, masks are uncovered and a mad scientist just tries to get some mad science-ing done without getting distracted by the antics of her magical minion.

Fanart by the talented Ian Samson, creator of City of Reality and artist of The Wotch


Kara didn’t recognize the woman who gazed at her in the mirror.

She reached out, her fingertips trailing along the smooth surface, touching the woman’s fingertips with her own.

Who are you?

She was Kara. She was Shade. She had been Ian.

Kara didn’t know if she ever wanted to be Ian again.

Ian had been a deeply unhappy man.

Then he’d met Diane.

And Diane had changed him. Ian had fought the changes every step of the way, even as she made him happier than he’d ever been in his life. And he was starting to wonder if that had been the right thing to do.

There was the chance that he would be changed into something he never wanted to be. A villain. A slave to her whims. She had such power over him that there was little doubt in his mind that, given time, she could.

But would she?

Diane was like sunshine piercing through the shadows. It hurt, blinding him. It illuminated things that were meant to stay hidden. Once seen, Ian could never again pretend they weren’t there.

Yet sunshine was so warm.


***


Kara had no way to contact Diane.

She stared at the little earbud in her hand, rolling it between her fingertips. Diane had always been the one to reach out. When she beckoned, Kara followed. Gladly.

Kara looked up, gazing around the opulent hotel room. It was their little haven where Kara had just forgotten about the outside world, fully giving herself to Diane. Neither Shade nor Dionaea had really existed in here… for a while. Until their house of cards had fallen apart. Their happiness had never been built to last. That had been unspoken – a quiet understanding that this would be temporary until they tired of each other. Kara could indulge her secret desires and Diane could… she’d never really understood what Diane had seen in her.

I love you.

There had been moments Kara had never wanted to end.

And somewhere along the way, she’d begun to wish that what they had would never have to end either.

You’re mine.

Diane was deeply, deeply flawed. She had done her wrong. But who was Kara to demand perfection? She was so supremely fucked up she couldn’t even fathom why someone would like her.

Diane liked her.

And she liked Diane.

And maybe that was fucked up, too, but Kara thought that maybe two broken people could reach out and heal each other.

I’m yours. With shaking fingers she reached up and inserted the earbud, hoping to hear a familiar voice on the other end.


***


Kara was lying on the bed she and Diane had shared, an arm draped over her eyes.

It had been hours.

All she heard on the frequency was the occasional police transmission, calling for heroes. The latest had been a villain spotted at a hospital which was being evacuated, thought to have a child hostage. That had almost motivated Shade to get up, but she decided against it. The city was filled with heroes. She could take one day off to try to salvage her personal happiness.

She rolled over, weighing her options. Just lying here and waiting for some sign of Diane struck Kara as… a little pathetic. She didn’t like inaction, she wanted to do something, fix this.

What if Diane was done with her, too?

Her face flashed before Kara’s eyes, replaying the moment when she’d spat her declaration of love back at her. Diane had looked devastated.

Diane might never hack into Shade’s frequency again.

So what?

It was time for Kara to stop letting this relationship just happen to her. Now she had to be the one taking action and pursuing Diane instead of the other way around.

Shade was a hero. She was very, very good at hunting down villains.

And she knew exactly where this villain’s lair was.


***


Shadows swirled as Shade materialized.

She immediately found herself facing several dozen turrets, a death ray and what looked like a rabid bunny on a leash.

“I really do wonder, sometimes, how exactly the rest of the world manages to function when it is made of imbeciles. How do you even walk when you are stupid enough to come here?”

Shade raised her head and glared at Cinder Snow.

“Where is she?”

“Is that squinting thing you do meant to be threatening?” The rabid bunny growled and snapped as if to accentuate her words. “Hush, Sir Fluffington. You’ll get your chance to maul her.”

“Why hasn’t it yet?”

And there it was. Cinder Snow paused, briefly. “Because the mess is just terrible to clean up. All that blood.”

“You know, I’m very good at telling when villains are lying to me.” Shade took a step forward, projecting far more self-confidence than she truly felt. The gun barrels followed her movements, but didn’t fire. “You had your chance to kill me. You didn’t take it, opting for a lie instead. A blatant lie.”

A muscle in Cinder Snow’s jaw ticked.

“A lie designed to keep me away from Diane.”

Another step and Shade was close enough to have to look down at her. Thank you, full height. She really hoped she’d get to keep it; it was so much harder to be intimidating when one was short.

“Diane would hate you if you killed me.”

And Cinder Snow, perfect 10, destroyer of Shiva bay, flinched.

“Prove me wrong.”

Shade casually stepped past the villainess, looking around for signs of Diane.

There was a long, tense moment of silence as Shade listened for the telltale sound of a laser beam being charged, poised to teleport away.

“She’s not here,” Cinder Snow said in a perfectly modulated voice. “Now leave my lair. Your presence pollutes it.”

“Where is she?”

“I don’t know.” Snow’s voice broke slightly. “She left.”