Hero & Villain

Amelia | 1666w

  I shake my head in amusement after Macer leaves, wondering how he always gets himself into these situations. There's never a dull moment with him, but I love it. Being a Villain for twenty-five years makes everything else seem bland and boring. Of course, when I was a Villain things were easier than they are for him nowadays.

  My gaze slides to Falcon, who's still curled up on my couch. How Lance got himself into this one, I wish I knew. He said Falcon came to him, but as I cross my arms and narrow my eyes I wonder if that's true. Why would a Hero, already antagonizing death as Macer explained it, show up at the door of his biggest enemy?

  As I stare at Falcon,  and as I'm looking him over critically I notice a few things that surprise me. Starting with the obvious, he's small. I noticed that before of course, but the more I look the less he looks like the Hero I see on the news and hear Macer ranting about.

  I would swear his shoulders are wider when he's Falcon, or maybe that's because now he's curling them inward defensively.

  His fingers aren't short, but they're delicate and look like they'd break if he punched someone as hard as I've seen him do. Macer once came back with a swollen cheek and a whole new vocabulary of curse words because of those delicate hands.

  Really, his whole frame seems small. It could be natural, but the more I look the more it seems like he's... stunted. When he shifts and I'm able to see his wrists, I nod to myself. Lance would have turned out the same way if the monsters he was with hadn't been actively trying to keep his body healthy.

  I frown when I see his feet, which aren't really dirty, but they're bare and I think he must be cold because of it. I lean over and touch his shoulder to wake him up. I should introduce myself now anyway.

  He lets out a soft whine when I shake him, but when I chuckle in amusement he freezes. He cracks his eyes open, takes one look at me, and starts hyperventilating while scrambling to get away from me.

  "Where's La-Lance?" He asks frantically, looking around and periodically scrubbing at his watery eyes. "H-He left me-me?" He sounds so genuinely distressed, there's no way this is an act like I originally thought.

  I approach him slowly, only stopping a few feet away from him when he cringes away from me in fear. I put my hands on my hips and study him some more, wondering again how Lance got himself into this. I don't realize how threatening my position must look until he moves onto his knees and clasps his hands, his whole body trembling.

  I step forward and tug him to his feet, then grab his hand and pull him along beside me. "I'm Lance's... friend, Amelia. You're safe here, I promise."

  He's still trembling but he looks hopeful as he peeks at me. "Lance sai-said so?"

  "Yes," I say, even though it's not necessarily true. I know Falcon doesn't know that Lance is Macer but even so, what could have made him trust Lance so heavily?

  He pauses when I open the door to the bathroom, and I follow his gaze to the doorknob. After a moment of staring at it he finally steps into the bathroom. I watch him closely as he looks around, then flinches when he sees himself in the mirror.

  There are a lot of questions I want to ask, but I brush them all off for now. I lightly touch his shoulder to get his attention again, smiling comfortingly when he jumps in fright.

  "Why don't you take a shower? There are towels in that drawer there, and you can use whatever soaps or razors you need, okay?" I ask, waiting until he nods to step out of the bathroom. "Go ahead and lock the door behind me, Dear," I add, my lips twitching when he smiles shyly. He's oddly cute for such a pesky Hero.