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 sat down next to David on the lavish couch, setting the scotch decanter on the glass table in front of them. It was a fine vintage, worth an utterly obscene amount. It had been bought by her father, long ago, and she hadn’t really touched his liquor collection, leaving the wine cellar like a morbid memoriam to what her father had loved most.

Somehow preserving her family’s things just as they were was not nearly as important as the pain of her friend.

She poured both of them a glass. Then, for good measure, she added more to David’s and held it out to him. He wordlessly took it and gulped it down.

They didn’t really say anything for a while.

After Diane had regrown his hand, he’d woken up almost instantly, confused and dazed. The other heroes had immediately started asking questions which David haltingly stammered non-committal answers to. Shade, sensing his distress, had simply grabbed both him and Diane and teleported them to her mansion.

They would deal with the fallout later.

David hadn’t really said anything, though he couldn’t seem to stand Diane’s presence, so for now Kara had separated the two. Diane was upstairs in Kara’s bedroom, no doubt going stir-crazy, while the Captain lay curled up on the couch, staring blankly at nothing.

“So. A villain.”

Kara looked up and took a slow sip. “Not anymore.”

“How did that even happen, Shade?”

She didn’t answer for a long moment, swirling the liquid in her glass. “She caught me wearing panties.”

Thousands of dollars’ worth of scotch were utterly wasted as the Captain did a spit take. Kara smiled wryly and took another sip.

“Are you serious, dude?”

“Very.”

“Are you… are you telling me you’ve been wearing women’s underwear under that oh-so-intimidating black costume?”

“Pink, even.”

And then David started laughing. Kara smiled.

“Shit, I knew you were just being way too comfortable with being a chick.”

Kara leaned back. “You know that if you tell anyone I will have to kill you, right?”

“Goes without saying, bro.”

Their grins slowly faded.

“You attacked Amethyst.”

“Yes.”

“That was that thing at the hospital.”

Kara nodded slowly.

“It pushed her over the edge.”

Kara closed her eyes and nodded again, bracing for the blame and anger she so rightly deserved.

It didn’t come.

“She’s been on the edge for a while now.”

A long pause.

Kara tentatively opened her eyes. David was staring off into space.

“I tried… I really tried to reach her.”

“I know,” Kara whispered.

“I just couldn’t find the words. Nothing I said really made any difference.” His lips briefly twisted into a mocking smile. “All I’m really good for is hitting people really hard.”

“David…”

“If I wasn’t… If I wasn’t so fucking dumb I could have…” He buried his face in his hands.

Kara tentatively reached out and wrapped her arms around her friend.

“So go save her,” drawled a familiar voice.

David looked up with narrowed eyes and Kara cursed herself for not locking doors.

Diane was leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed.

“You’re a hero, aren’t you?” She arched an eyebrow as if the solution was obvious.

“Amethyst killed…” David trailed off, not seeming able to finish that sentence.

“Yeah. She did.”

Her gaze met Shade’s.

“But who says villains can’t be redeemed?”


***


Amethyst Star curled her legs closer to her body, trying to will the shaking away. Her arms wrapped themselves tightly around her knees and she winced at the pain in her right arm.

She’d let go off the power too soon. Her skin wasn’t fully healed. A burning gash still ran over her eye, making her vision blurry.

Or maybe it was blurry for other reasons.

She’d never meant…

She had been so angry.

And then her link had expanded, and she had let it, and then her body had been truly alive, and her head had been filled with such clarity.

Amethyst could still feel Shade choking under her fingertips.

She hadn’t meant to hurt other heroes. Just… why did they have to fight to protect villains?

Just thinking the word made the ever-present fury inside of her churn.

Villains corrupt.

She slowly unfurled her legs and stood up, raising her head toward the darkening sky.

Amethyst Star had made a terrible mistake. Now that her rage had cooled, she could see it clearly. She had taken too much power. She had not controlled it right. She had lashed out and hit people who did not deserve it. What had happened to Shade was not his fault.

Purge the corruption at its source.

She splayed her fingers, purple energy crackling between them.

The Event, that’s what they were calling what she’d done.

She would learn to control her new powers. She would use them with precision. She would make the price the city paid for her lapse in judgment worthwhile. She would make things right again.

She was Event Horizon and she would cleanse this city of villainy.


***


Despite the key witnesses’ disappearance, the world knew that Amethyst Star had snapped before the day was over. Once the location of the Event’s source was known, it was easy to pull up satellite images.

Pundits congratulated themselves for correctly foretelling her Fall.

And, as images of Dionaea healing Captain Patriot flashed across thousands of screens, they likewise celebrated their prediction of Redemption.

The news that Shade had a magical gender bending accident was buried beneath the weight of The Event and the return of Cinder Snow.

But some did take notice.

A lone woman was lying in a hospital bed, her broken bones temporarily set in casts until the healers got around to her; they were prioritizing those whose lives still hung in the balance.

Dazzling Dawn stared at the footage of her former lover and arched an eyebrow.

Elsewhere, Texplosion started laughing until he couldn’t breathe. He choked on his laughter when the camera panned to Cinder Snow next.

Fangirls everywhere either howled in outrage at having their slashfics ruined by het or jumped ship to the SS ShaDi.


***


“oh baby” shade maoned, lifting her ass up in the air and putting her moist anal caverns of wonder on display for her one true love “im so ready for you. take me! take me hard!”

Dionaiya stands beside her, her glistening womanhood hidden beneath a strap-on.

“take my anal virginity! i give it to you as a gift!”


***


David watched the villainess currently draped all over Shade, giggling in her ear over some private joke they shared. He had never seen Shade look so content, even though her mouth would still tighten if they so much as skirted the events of the day.

Three empty bottles were spread out between them.

David flexed the fingers of his restored hand, knowing he owed it to her. Not many healers could regrow limbs.

And Captain Patriot decided that as far as villains went, Diane was sort of okay. She had an absurd sense of humor and, being the only one comfortable with the sound of her own voice, was telling the most ridiculous stories.

David found himself fighting a smile once or twice.

Her words still echoed in his mind.

David had never really had a reason to be a hero. He did it because he’d wanted to be more like his father and every step of the way he was reminded that he was so much worse at it. Somewhere along the way he’d started playing up his idiosyncrasies just so people would stop having expectations of him. Then he couldn’t disappoint them, as he invariably did.

He’d never had anything he was truly fighting for.

Somewhere deep inside conviction was slowly taking shape.

He was going to find Amethyst Star.

And he was going to save her.