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Morgan walked away from the counter. He had gotten this job two months ago and it was the most miserable shit ever. He worked for minimum wage in some shitty 7/11, while shitty people yelled at him for the chips being a dollar more than they used to be, all so that he might have enough to buy a shitty new phone by the end of summer.
“Hey boss man,” a cheerful voice rang out from the back, “I’m here to save you from the evil customers!” Maggie jumped out from around the corner, striking a pose and beaming up at Morgan. He couldn’t help but laugh. While he hated the hell scape that was this 7/11, Maggie was always bright and happy. She was always bouncing around.
“Better get clocked in now, have a good day M!” Her curly hair bounced as she skipped past him.
“You too Mags,” Morgan couldn’t help smiling when he was around her. She was so bright and full of life; it was hard not to like her. They weren’t close, but their friendship was enough to make most of their shifts at least a little fun. Well, only the shifts he had with her. Most of the time he was scheduled alone.
“Oh, by the way, the card reader broke again, cash only for now,” Morgan called from the back as he finished gathering his stuff.
“Again? Jesus Christ! Why don’t they just buy a new one!” Maggie complained as she bounced around the corner.
“Cause they’re cheap asses with no fucks to give about their employees.” Morgan rolled his eyes as he walked out the door, smirking when he heard Maggie’s loud, dramatic sigh.
A burst of cool air shot through him as he stepped outside. It was mid summer and pretty warm most of the time, but with a soft breeze blowing around it felt slightly chilly. He made his way along the sidewalk, slowly moving away from the shit hole he ran. He made a turn, walking for several more minutes before arriving at his stop. He pulled out his bus pass and waited.
After a few minutes Morgan looked up to see he bright headlights and sign that said ‘Bus 1’ at the top. He stood there as it pulled over and opened the doors to let him in. Inside it was packed full, there was nowhere he could sit. Morgan, already tired from a long shift and karens, resigned to standing.
Morgan, growing bored of the waiting, pulled out his phone. He decided doom scrolling on clock app was the best way to go on a long boring bus ride.
After several minutes Morgan scrolled to a video posted only minutes earlier. A video in the capital city. A video that showed mass destruction. A giant white and gold mech had hundreds, no, thousands of tiny robots pouring out of palms. The video was shaking so he couldn't make out much, but he could tell that some buildings were beginning to set fire. Morgan checked the comments, he couldn't tell if it was real or fake. The comments were people @ing different heroes, they were sending prayers, they were talking about different ways to help. It seemed real. It couldn't be though. Right?
Morgan looked it up, searching to check if it could be true. The first thing he found was an article that read ‘Latest Villain Attack On Capital City’. He clicked on it, hoping for it to be fake, hoping for it to be from some unreliable news source. CCN. It was from CCN. It was real. The city he was about to enter was on fire. It was being attacked. Morgan pulled the yellow wires on the walls, signaling his request to get off at the next stop. He waited, anxious for what might happen.
I can still get out, take the next bus-if there is another bus! I can run back- away- get out of here- Morgan's thoughts were interrupted by the loud scream from the driver. “Everyone out!” The driver slammed on her breaks, stopping in the middle of the road. Morgan stood on the tips of his toes, trying to look out of the front window. Finally he got a look. One of the robots had slammed into the front of the bus. The windshield was cracked and the driver was pale, scared out of her mind. A man ahead of Morgan ran forward and pulled the driver out of her seat, slammed his hand on a button, which thankfully opened the doors, and pulled her out with him. Once the doors had been opened everyone began running with them. They ran away from the horrific bot that was still smashing the bus to pieces.
“All of you filthy people will be wiped from my world! You sit on your thrones doing whatever you please while people like me are stuck dealing with injustice! You claim to be saving your country but all you’re doing is tearing apart families! My father was legal and yet you took him away?! You bitches think that you can just fix this hellhole by getting rid of people like me?! Well I’ll fucking fix you!” The girl in the mech screamed it out through the speakers in her suit. It hurt Morgan's ears. It was so loud he could feel the ground vibrate.
On the bus Morgan had felt pain from standing for so long but now he couldn't feel a thing. The adrenaline pumping through his body gave him the strength to keep going. It gave him the ability to still run. So Morgan ran. He ran for as long and as fast as he could. He kept going to save himself, to make it home.
CRASH
A bot had been thrown right ahead of him. A bot that was still working. It was damaged, but it still worked well enough to have Morgan dead in seconds. Morgan backed away. He had spent so long running just to end up face to face with one of these monsters.
Shit shit shit! What should I do? How can I get out? Morgan's mind raced as he thought of a way to escape, a way to live. My pockets? I have nothing to use in them. Fuck! Morgan swore as the bot locked onto him. It had recovered. It was still damaged but in those few seconds Morgan hadn’t run it was able to get back on track. And now Morgan was truly fucked. I’m gonna die…
BLAST
Out of nowhere a bright blue laser blasted from overhead right into the robot, making a hole through its chest. Morgan just stood there, he couldn't move, couldn't think. His eyes were still wide, his breathing still uneven. And he couldn't think of anything.
“Kid you need to get out of here!” Titanium Guy landed in front of Morgan. He was new to being a hero, but he quickly became one of the best. He was known by just about everyone and was one of the most well paid FA heroes. And here he was, standing in front of Morgan. Saving him from certain death. Morgan was now silent for another reason. Because he was in awe of the hero. Because he was shocked a person like him could ever meet someone like him. Titanium Guy had been one of his favorite heroes even though he had only been a hero for about a year.
“Go that way, there's a long road that will lead you out of the city.” Titanium Guy pointed and Morgan nodded. After that he left. Just flew off. Morgan was alone in the street again. He didn’t take him to safety, didn’t tell him he could do this, just pointed and told him to run. Morgan was thankful but also disappointed. But he didn’t have time to dwell on that now, he had to get out of the city, had to get home, had to live. So Morgan took his instructions and ran towards the road.
Morgan had weaved his way between buildings to avoid being seen. He ran as fast as he could and took as little breaks as he could. If he heard a noise he hid behind debris and broken walls till he thought he was safe. And now he had to run a long distance in open land. It was to get to the road, and the road itself had no debris to hide behind either. He would be vulnerable for a long time. He had to just hope that he would be safe. It was the only way he knew to get out of here, but was it worth the risk? His options were to either stay in the main battle zone and deal with constant robots, fires, and intense battles, or he could run in the open across the road and hopefully make it out or maybe get caught by one of the robots and die with no heroes near to save him.
I have to. It’s the only way home. It’s the only way out, and if I stay there's so much more that could happen to me. I have to…
So Morgan ran. He shook himself off and ran to the road. He kept running across the street. He made it. He got to the beginning of the turn off into the road Titanium Guy told him about. He made it! All he had to do was keep going, and hopefully not get caught. Not that hard.
Morgan kept running, but he was quickly stopped by the sounds of crying. A little girl sobbing. Morgan slowed down looking around, trying to find the child. He couldn’t go on knowing he left behind a kid. Knowing it was his fault a child might have died. So he checked around, hoping she would be close.
He noticed a few cars lined up. A few he hadn't noticed before. He made his way over to them, and thankfully when he did the crying got louder. He searched around the cars, not finding anything until he checked under one. A small girl was curled on her side hugging a small pink bunny plush. She stopped crying as much when she saw Morgan. Morgan sat for a moment, unsure of what to do, finally deciding to hold out his hand to her.
“I know you're scared. I can help you though. Come with me, I'll get you back home, okay?” Morgan tried to calm the girl, and it seemed to work. She crawled out from under the car and grabbed his hands. She was oddly cold for the warm summer air. But Morgan paid no mind to it. He held her hand back and walked with her. When they got to the end of the cars Morgan stopped.
“Okay, we need to go fast for this part okay? We can’t risk getting caught, so I'm gonna carry you, okay?” Morgan made sure his voice was as soft as he could make it. He didn’t want to scare the girl. He crouched to the ground and opened his arms to her, trying to get her to let him carry her.
“B-but,” the little girl stuttered as she swiped more tears from her face, “I can’t leave.”
“What do you mean you can’t leave? Did your parents tell you that?”
“No… She did.”
“Who?”
“ She did.” Morgan noticed that the girl had stopped shaking. She wasn’t showing much emotion either, she looked like a blank canvas. Morgan felt something was wrong. She’s acting strange, she's cold, like really cold, she’s referring to someone without a name or title. Is she okay?
“Who’s She?” Morgan made sure he came off as soft, he didn’t want her to run, he wanted to understand what she meant, he wanted to make sure she was safe. And despite his efforts to not scare her she backed away from him.
“Hey wait-” Morgan stopped himself from moving closer to her as she transformed. She went from a small girl to a grown woman. She was the villain that had been captured several years ago for multiple accounts of murder and cannibalism. Her method was to lure men away with the promise of sex then kill and eat them, which earned her the name Mantis. She only got caught because the Hero she tried to kill had his weapon nearby. And now she was standing in front of Morgan. Fuck.
“Now I hate to hurt you since you seem like a good kid; however, I was given the job to make sure no one makes it out. Alive that is.” She narrowed her eyes at Morgan, smirking as she folded her arms.
Morgans took a step back. Of course she was going to kill him. He was trying to get out. He was her target. And he was alone. Alone, afraid, and helpless. And very much trapped. Morgan knew he couldn't make it out of this. Finding small crevices to disappear in? Sure, he had done that all his life. But actually fighting? He couldn’t win, especially not against a full grown villain. So Morgan did the one thing he could. He ran.
Mantis jumped after him. He was slow, easy to kill. She took the hunting knife from her side and lunged for him. And just when she thought he was a goner, he flung himself to the side. Just enough out of the way to not die. He had a cut in his side. He was bleeding. And in a hell of a lot of pain. But he was alive. So Morgan picked himself up again, a little slower than she was able to, and ran. He slid between the cars, jumping over hoods and rolling under others. And despite his best efforts, she was gaining on him, and fast.
“You really think you can win this?” She called to him, slashing the air, barely missing as he dropped to the ground, rolling under another car. No, I don’t… I’m stalling for a hero to show up. With that rather optimistic thought, he jumped into a car and sloppily crawled to the other side. Morgan didn’t know why he did this, because it was stupid and slow. And it got him cornered. She was outside on one side, and it would take too long to get back to the other side, open the door, and get out. Morgan was thoroughly trapped. There was no way out of this. And still no hero there to save him.
“Give up darling. You know you won’t make it out. Not alive at least.” Her voice was filled with a vile sweetness. Her tone was soft, her words vicious. Morgan hated her. Mostly for trying to kill him.
“You’re wrong.” Morgan gasped out. His lungs still hurt. He still hadn't caught his breath. And he still lied. If he couldn’t run away, or fight his way out. So he would make up stories and hope they worked. No matter how unlikely.
“I pressed a call thing. It uh- It alerts Titanium Guy. He’s coming. As soon as he can. And uh- you can't take him.” Morgan tried not to sound unsure. He tried not to stutter while talking or pause too long. He needed to get her to believe him. Unfortunately for him, it didn’t sound like she did.
“Stop Stalling. You’re dead. You can’t avoid it. Just give up.” Her voice went from the sickly sweet to an icy cold. Her eyes stayed narrow, locked on him. He couldn’t run. Couldn’t fight. Couldn’t get out. He was stuck. So he waited. Stayed still and silent while thinking of a plan. Eventually she got bored.
“You know,” She said, starting to circle the car, “I don’t normally harm kids. I don’t normally hurt people who don’t deserve it. But that girl wanted me to. She gave me a job. She’s pretty powerful, so much so that she was able to get me out. Along with so many other villains. And she gave a few, a special few, the job of guarding exits. The rest get to run wild in the city. Her plan is to end the city. Destroy it so utterly and completely that no man makes it out alive. She said she’d save the others, but she’ll let them die. They’re all low loves. Pathetic things that wont ever make it anywhere in life.” She was on her second lap of the car. She moved around slowly while she talked. And Morgan slowly made his way closer to one of the doors. When she was at the back of the car he took his chance. He slammed the door open and flew out, running away.
She spun around at the noise, just in time to see him fall down and start running.
“You brat!” She screamed it out and ran. She jumped over the car. She was faster than before. Quicker, more focused.
Morgan ran as fast as he could. He turned his head while running, which was a mistake. He ran into a car, tripping and falling, letting her catch up to him. He scrambled around, trying to get up in time but it was too late. She lifted her arm and brought it down with as much force as she could. Morgan stopped thinking. Time seemed to slow. His vision blurred as he did the one thing he could. He rolled to the side. He rolled, and fell. He was at the very edge of the damaged road. The road that was high above water. The road that had the railings crumbling and in some parts gone.
Her knife slammed in the ground. Her eyes widened. She whipped her head around, leaning over the edge to see if he was gone. She saw only the splash. With that he was gone.
Except he wasn't. In fact he was very much still there. He wasn’t very good at swimming, just good enough that he wouldn’t drown. So, still under the water, he swam. He couldn’t risk her seeing him. If she knew he was still alive then he would die for sure. He wanted to live. As unbearable as life seemed at times, he wanted to live.
He ran out of breath fast. He didn’t want to, but he swam to the surface. He risked her seeing him, and gasped as air filled his lungs again. He tried his best not to splash too much. He still wanted to be quiet. So he ducked back down again and swam. He moved slowly. Honestly it was more like thrashing around in the water than swimming.
He took several more breaks for air. He was tired. He didn’t know if he would be able to swim the whole way, he didn’t know if she would catch him. He was going to do some breathing exercises, but he was underwater. Very much unable to breathe. He went for air again. He really wished the pillars they used to keep the road up had a base at the bottom. Then he would be able to sit. Just sit there for a few minutes. But instead he was stuck. Far from the other side. I might actually drown… Morgan took several more deep breaths before diving again.
He was lucky he did that dive. As soon as he started swimming again a blast destroyed more of the bridge. Large pieces of rubble came crashing into the water. Morgan had moved out of the way just in time. A piece of concrete came splashing in right where he was just a minute ago. He made his way to the surface, trying to hear what had happened.
“You bitch! They were children!” A man's voice rang out from above, followed by another blast.
“Not my fault you sent them to their deaths!” A woman screamed out. Mantis. Mantis screamed it. She’s fighting Titanium Guy-
Morgan's awe didn’t last long. There was more rubble. They continued screaming and fighting. Morgan was about to keep swimming when he felt something attach itself onto his back. He started turning as fast as he could until he was quickly yanked from the water by something. Someone. A hero. Arachnid Boy.
“Hey! I hope you didn’t get hurt!” His voice cracked as he spoke. Morgan could recognize that he was rather small. Clearly a teen hero. And probably not older than him.
“How old are you?” Morgan squeaked out as the boy swung across the river with him.
“Ha! I’m an age that is good!” He sounded like he was beaming. Morgan then noticed the several cuts on him.
As soon as they reached across the river the hero left. Probably back to the bridge. Back to the fight. Morgan didn’t go back there. Instead he ran. He climbed up the hill, up to level ground again and ran. He made his way through the empty streets. Made his way through the only slightly less destroyed city. Cars were left in the streets. Their doors were open, a lot of them still had their keys in them. Morgan would've taken a car, but most of them were blocked in by cars ahead of them. Morgan knew that with a fight like this, even with so many heroes, it could last a while. He had seen in the news, when this happened in Brazil, it lasted almost a week. Morgan, while unable to fight, would do whatever it takes to survive. But it probably wouldn’t be that hard now that he was out of that portion of the city.
Morgan continued walking through the city, still having to walk between cars. He was looking for a mall, or a shop. He wanted some food, maybe a safe looking place to try and sleep at.
Morgan glanced up from the road to see fog ahead. What the… It was like a fortress of fog, filling Morgan with unease. It seemed unnatural. It seemed like a wall, and behind it would be lying a trap, just waiting for another person to walk into and never be found. Go through the scary fog, or try to find a different way, I wonder what to do. Morgan thought, with sarcasm that would've gotten him sent to his room if he was home. And yet again, with much sarcasm, he rolled his eyes and walked in a different direction.
Morgan ended up at dead end after dead end. As it turns out, this mysterious fog was smarter than just one small set up. It had found itself blocking every corner Morgan could find. And Morgan was getting hungry. He wanted food, but all the stores close by had either been destroyed, or weren't food shops. I thought no one was supposed to get past the bridges. Why destroy and trap this part too? That wasn't part of the plan Mantis talked about. Morgan walked up to one of the buildings near him. It wasn't anything special, not in a normal situation at least. Most of the buildings around had either been destroyed, or didn’t have escape ladders and stairs; this place however, very much did. And what was even better for Morgan, was that they were still intact. So Morgan continued with his possibly life ending plan. Honestly this is like, what- life ending plan 2? Pfft-
Morgan couldn’t help but laugh at his situation. Life seemed so normal. He was coming home from work on a normal day, then suddenly he was in the middle of a war zone. How the hell does something like this happen? How did I even get here?
Morgan stopped climbing. He heard something from below. He heard something close. Was it someone else? Or was it another villain? Should he go and risk helping them, or should he leave and go alone? I can’t risk it. I need to find my family and get out of the city. Morgan grabbed the next rung and pulled himself up the ladder, choosing to ignore whatever was below.
He pulled himself to the top of the building, cement cold on his hands. The sun was set, it was dark and hard to see. He made his way to the edge of the building, looking out over the fog. Far from him, deep in the fog, flashes of light colored the white mass. Flares of blue clashed with streaks of yellow. Despite the power the flashes clearly held, no sound accompanied them, which made Morgan feel even worse. What was in the fog, and even more important, is there even a way around it? The fog stretched for miles in every direction. Morgan couldn't see an end to it except from the barrier he was at. His only options were to stay and hope no one entered here, or to enter the fog.
Morgan stood, watching the colors move throughout the fog's cover. The logical conclusion to come to about the flashes was it being a clash between a hero and a villain. So if they were busy fighting each other, if Morgan just moved around them he should be fine. Right?
Morgan walked backwards away from the ledge. He stood there for several more moments, working up the courage to go looking for a meal. After a few more seconds, Morgan breathed out, clenching his hands into fists. Now or never right? Morgan took one last step backwards, leaned just a little more forward, and took off. He ran to the edge, not letting himself slow down. He reached the edge, taking one jump onto the ledge, then another across a large gap between buildings.
With a harsh slam, all the air was wrenched from his lungs. He gasped, trying to keep his hold on the edge of the building while still trying to breath. He readjusted his grip on the concrete, trying to pull himself up. Adrenaline rushed through him as he pulled himself up with everything he had in him. It was exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. Morgan pulled his upper half up onto the ledge. He gasped as he rolled over it onto the roof, finally getting a break. He sat there, catching his breath.
After a few more moments Morgan stood up again. He looked back to where he had jumped from, the curtain of fog still making it hard to see anything from where he had jumped. He looked at that curtain until it finally clicked. He had made it. He had jumped across the roof of a building and survived. He made the jump and he caught the ledge and he had pulled himself up. He had done that.
“Holy shit,” Morgan whispered to himself, wiping off sweat from his face.
“Holy shit,” Morgan said louder this time, stumbling backwards, processing that he had the ability to do it.
“HOLY SHIT!!!” Morgan jumped up, raising his hands high. His eyes were wide, a smile stretched across his face.
“I could be a hero. I could do it. Some more training, I can make dad proud!” Morgan shrieked, excitement flooding his mind. He had been discarded by his parents for how “weak” his power was, he was told he wasn't capable of being more than a sidekick. But this meant he could do more, he could be his own hero. Morgan spun around, jumping as he did.
“I can be a hero!” Morgan spun around. It was like a dream come true. He could train to be more than a sidekick. He could be more than Chad's follower. He could be better than some discarded middle child. He could be a hero . He could mean something.
All the color and excitement drained from him as he heard a thunderous crack. Morgan spun around to see what the sound was just in time to see the fading color of yellow in the sky. I thought since it was far-
Morgan was interrupted with another large flare of color, this time blue, followed by the sound of a building collapsing. It was then that Morgan noticed more. Instead of the thick fog, it was more of a mist. It had cleared significantly, but only past the ‘curtain’, as Morgan would call it.
A spell . It had to be. It was dividing the outside from the inside. He could see more within the fog, but not the outside. He was right. It was a villain and a hero fighting. And the hero was probably losing. They had both walked right into the villain's trap. They had both gotten caught in the spider's web. She wasn't keeping people from escaping… She was keeping people from a bigger fight. From helping whatever poor hero is now in here with me.
Clearly whoever had made the fog, which seemed to be more of a mist once within, was strong. It would take multiple A tier heroes to defeat them kind of strong.
Morgan stood there, watching more and more flashes of color, more and more booms and crashes, more dust and rubble fly around. And the more he watched, just standing there and looking, the more the coil in his stomach tightened and thrashed about. The more the barbed wire in his mind wrapped itself around his thoughts. Is this really the end?
With clenched fists he took a step forward. I came this far. Why would I stop now? I want to be a hero right? Then make it through this. Evade, Stall, Run, Eat, Sleep. He cracked his neck, and backed up again. If I lived before I can live again, right? He ran with full force, bracing for impact as he jumped off the roof. He slammed into the wall, this time pulling himself up faster than he did before.
He continued his path along roofs until he found another building he could climb down. As soon as he reached the ground he searched for the nearest food place, luckily he spotted a Subway nearby. Not ideal, but it’s food, plus it’s better than McDonalds.
Morgan shoved open the door. It was relatively untouched. Food was left on tables, some sandwiches and drinks had even ended up on the floor. That must've been a slipping hazard, Morgan thought, stepping over a crushed paper cup, which seemed to have held pink lemonade. He walked behind the counter and made himself his subway order, trying not to flinch too hard while the fight between the villain and the hero raged on.
“Mmm~” Morgan hummed to himself, delighted at the meal. He hadn't realized how hungry he really was until he had started eating his perfectly made sandwich.
Thump.
“Hm?” Morgan turned his head, trying to see where the small noise came from.
“Hell-” His hands gripped his sandwich, the rest of him going still. He was frozen, eyes wide staring at the sight with horror.
It was a hero. At least Morgan assumed it was. They walked like a zombie, and they looked like one too. They were drenched head to toe with blood. They had their costume torn, bleeding from almost everything. They had a missing eye, and they stared ahead. Right at Morgan. They walked forward, every step leaving a ringing thud, every movement looking like they were a puppet on a string.
A bead of sweat dripped down Morgan's face. He slowly stood from his seat, dropping his sandwich, never looking away from the person, if you could even call it that anymore. He backed up, up against the counter, still keeping his eyes on it. He was pressed against the counter, the only way out was through the back. So Morgan looked back at them and took his chance. He ran around the counter, running to the back. He looked back at it one last time, watching it start to run for him. Morgan's heart leaped. The thing had begun a sprint to him. Is this the fucking zombie apocalypse?!
Morgan rushed through the door, pulling it closed behind him. He ran through the kitchen, panting and out of breath. He slammed into the back door with his whole body. Pain shot through Morgan as he stumbled through the now open doorway. He stood there, swaying for several moments before picking up his feet and running again, sprinting through the roads. Jesus fucking christ! Why did I come here? Why didn’t I just go back? Why the fuck did I do this!
Morgan, panting and out of breath, slumped into a back alley. He was tired. He needed sleep. He needed a break. I just want to wake up from this nightmare. Morgan thought as tears slowly filled his eyes.
CRASH
Morgan shot upright again. He slowly peeked outside the alley to see what had happened.
RUMBLE
A building nearby collapsed as a shriek of yellow swirled into it. Morgan ducked back in the alley as another ball of yellow energy flew by. Is there a way out of this? Morgan frantically searched the area. His hands trembled as he ran through the alley. At every corner he turned he was met with a dead end. His mind raced. Where can I go? Can I even get out? Morgan found himself back in the same alley as before. He couldn’t get out. Every turn was met with a dead end. The only way out of the alley was into the fight. Maybe I won’t get spotted? Fuck! Morgan could feel his heart throughout his whole body. He felt a bead of sweat falling down his face. The fight was still close, that much was obvious from the very loud and very close crashes and bangs. And the very big flashes of yellow and blue. Morgan looked across the street. Another alley. A way out. All he had to do was run across the street. Easy right? Morgan got ready and-
Everything went silent. No more crashes could be heard. Just the sound of someone gurgling on their own blood. What happened…
“You stupid heroes. You think you can stop me? Stop playing around and just give up.” A woman's voice sounded down the street as she walked closer.
“You… you killed him…” Morgan's blood went cold. She… She killed a hero?
“Oh, did I?” Her voice was mocking and cold. She walked closer, her steps getting louder. “How unfortunate. Another poor hero with the FA got crushed. ” She sneered at the man.
“Why,” His voice was heavy. I’m not making it out of here… If not even the heroes can handle her then-
“ Because none of you care to save who really matters. You just help the other billionaires.” She shifted closer.
“So your whole thing is that we didn’t get to you in time?”
“No. Not me, my mother. In a world with powers, gangs can become quite dangerous, and you heroes never once thought to stop the ones in my city.” She growled as she started walking again. Goodbye mom, dad, Dahlia, Chad… I’ll miss you. Tears stung Morgan's eyes. He slid down to the ground. He was over. This was it. He was dead. No doubt about it.
“You hated the FA for not saving your mother… So you kill every mother, daughter, father, son, hero, and citizen? Because we couldn't save one person that was important to you, you want to take everything from everyone? Because the FA couldn't save your Mother… You take my only friend?” Anger poured into the hero's voice.
“See? Now you understand. This is for everyone who suffered from the FA.”
“No.” The hero stepped into Morgan's view. “No, this is because of your own selfishness.” Morgan saw a blond man. He had a white outfit on, with messy blond hair. His clothes were torn and ripped all over. His mask was falling off. He was bleeding from many places. “No… This is just your excuse to hurt people…” The hero stumbled forward a few steps. “If you want to kill a whole bunch of people, stop being a coward and say it. Don’t hide behind the mask of ‘revenge’. Nah… This is just murder. ”
“Tch.” The woman scoffed and stepped forward. “If you can’t understand that’s fine. You’ll be dead soon anyway.”
Morgan’s phone rang. He fumbled around, trying to get it out of his pocket. He stood back up, pressing decline. He looked up, clutching his phone till his knuckles turned white. The hero in white stared at him, eyes wide. The woman started moving again. Her boots clacked against the rubble on the road.
“A little kid far from home. How unfortunate,” Morgan’s breath caught as she stepped onto view, a terrifying smile spread across her face.
“He’s just a kid!” The hero yelled to the villain.
“Well I guess you're right then.” The woman snarled, turning her face to the side. “All I want to do is Devour their lives.” Her eyes moved back to Morgan, her head slowly turning. She reached out to him, arm smothered in and oozing slime.
“No… Please,” Morgan had tears streaming down his face, he was shaking uncontrollably. “I don't want to die…” His voice was barely a whisper. He was frozen in place. He couldn’t leave, he couldn’t move. All he could do was sit there shaking as she reached closer. “Please” Morgan pleaded with the villain.
He spared a glance over to the hero. He wasn’t moving. He wasn’t coming over to him. He was just standing there, watching. Helpless.
“I- I have a mom too.” Morgan choked out, “I want to see her again…” Morgan finally looked back at the villain. She was holding a dagger up to him, but she wasn’t moving anymore. Her face was unreadable, but he wasn’t dead yet, so Morgan continued.
“She works as a hero. She said it was to keep us safe, me and m-my sibl-siblings…” Morgan was still sobbing. He couldn’t help it. He wanted to live, and now he was about to die.
“Please…” Morgan looked into her eyes. She looked sad. Scared. Her eyes were filled with tears, none spilling just yet. But she was breaking.
“I just want to see her again-”
“ Shut. Up. ” Her voice was as sharp as the dagger. She pressed it against his throat. “ Your… Mother, ” She spit the word out like it was poison, “ Is nothing but a dirty, lying, lazy, bitch. She was too much of a bitch to save my mother, so why should I save her son. ” Anger burned in her eyes. The tears had all dried up, along with any sympathy Morgan could have won from her.
She moved the dagger from his throat, raising it high above her head, grabbing Morgan by his hair as she did.
“ PLEASE! ” Morgan cried out, unable to move as she brought the dagger down.
Morgan felt the dagger press into his throat as it came slamming down. Morgan braced himself for more, but it never came. He slowly opened his eyes, shaking and crying, but fine. He was hurt, and tired, but she had stopped. A blue lightning-like thing was shifting all along her body, holding her in place.
Morgan looked over at the hero. He had his arm outstretched, the lightning-like power clearly coming from him.
“Release the fog.” The hero demanded it. His voice was deep and rough. He was bleeding, clearly tired and injured from the fight.
“You’ll have to kill me first,” Her voice was strained, she was shaking.
“Tch. Fine,” The Hero slowly closed his hand into a fist, the villain forced to move as he did. He moved her off of Morgan, forcing her against a wall.
“I said let us go.” Morgan scrambled to his feet. His sobs had quieted down, but he was still sniveling. His whole body throbbed, it hurt to just exist. All Morgan wanted was to go home. But he couldn’t. Not while the fog-like wall was still up. He was stuck, captured by this villain. Stuck in her fortress.
“Go… To… Hell….” She wheezed out every word, still breathing hard, still just laying there, not moving an inch.