Hero

Freedom

I hear a loud bang from beyond one of the doors and, assuming Chaos just got home, knock on it.

"Hey Cay? You alright? I heard about the standoff."

The door swings open, the room is filled with swirling mist in greys, dark blues and black.

"Not a good day then. You lose?"

They release a deep and what would probably be described as a creepy groan, if I hadn't heard it like hundred times before. 

"Noooo... I didn't lose, I just-"

"Just sucked anyway?"

" ...yeah."

I lean on the doorway, it's never a great idea to touch that mist while they're mad or sad. "What happened?"

"I just don't get it!" The mist almost immediately rescinds back into their open mouth, they decide to control it as they continue. "I mean, I just-"

"Ok what. Happened, though?"

"People suck! I save them all day 6 days a week, I do small shit like the cats in trees and the missing grandma's, I do the big 'save the world' shit too! The full school bus of children, the shitty corporate bosses that probably don't even deserve saving, the burning buildings, the unstable construction sites, the volcano lairs, the supervillains, I mean; everything!" He sighs out some thick black smoke and disperses it with his hand. 

I set myself down on his spinny chair by the desk. 

"Yeah, I get that."

He deflates into his bed, sighing.

"But you don't though. You get that part, but that's not what I'm angry at. They hate me, Nora. They hate me! I'm all around helping them wherever, whenever, but my powers are: 'creepy' and 'off-putting'. It doesn't matter what I do or how much I help everyone; I'm a villain! They just see me as one! All because I have a villain-ish power or whatever."

"Oh."

"Kinda defeats like, at least a third of the point. The people are supposed to love you, and I know blah blah all I need is my knowledge of myself and to know I'm a good person, and I'm not thinking of actually being a villain or anything, before you start planning my death, I'm just thinking of maybe..."

Rolling myself over to where he's lying, I rest a hand on his shoulder. 

"Thinking of what? Giving up?"

"It's not giving up, don't try to guilt trip me like that." He sits up and swipes my hand off of him. "There are plenty of people with powers who are janitors, office workers, chefs, and stuff. I'm thinking of quitting, I guess."

"The world needs you, Cay."

"No, not really, and if it does it'll find a way to push me back in to the business, but right now, I kinda already applied to a bunch of science foundations at some uni's. I just sent them out."

"Fuck, okay. I just- you know you have to move out now? It's hero-only boarding. That's why it's so cheap."

"Government fucking hero programs." He spits out under his breath; a little smoke expels as he says it. "Yeah, I'm gonna ask if Mike's free for crashing at his place."

"Mike? really? Isn't he like, literally the worst?"

"No, he's... fine. He's a little annoying but that's just because he tries really hard to be funny."

"Hard not to with a dumb power like his."

"Hey! Yeah, flight's not all that helpful in the hero circuit, and he can only really float a foot off the ground, that's not what makes him, him." Standing up, he pushes me and the rolling chair out of his room. "You kinda suck, Nora."

"Dude, what the hell?! And why do I suck?"

"You judge everyone by how helpful they are to you. People are people too. They're not just; your tools for enlightenment or whatever it is you're looking for."

Chaos slams the door, managing to cut off the stream of smoke that was heading my way as they told me what they think is wrong with me. I roll over to the main table where the other heroes are eating dinner.

"Chaos is kicked." I state as I roll up.

"What?! Why!?" Vis appears across from me, holding a bowl.

"Did you not hear what they said?"

"I dunno, insults aren't a reason to kick people, I don't think."

"Just let her speak guys! Nora, why is Chaos being kicked?"

"He's giving up, or quitting, he said."

"Seriously?!" Bomb guy slurps some pasta sauce through his teeth.

"With all due respect, his name is actually Chaos, what else is he going to do?" Finishing his food, LJ joins in.

"His parent's had high hopes."

" -or low hopes, more like."

At that point I have to interrupt, I hate it when people talk about villain parents like it means anything, if it did, I'd be half villain on my mum's side, and that's ridiculous. "Hey. Let's not talk about that, that's too much."

"So, what're they going to do?"

"Yeah, except be a villain, 'cause they know we'd like, actually kill him." 

"Science foundation, apparently. Probably chem, knowing him." I answer the group.

"Ah, well that's noble, can't say that is a great change of heart. I wish him well."

"You wish him well?!" 

"Eli! He's leaving, that's always a downgrade." Dragon adds, coming back from whatever their most recent mission was.

Eli scoffs a little at that. "I don't think we should be making judgements on how people live their lives, if anything, we're the deadbeats."

"But we're saving lives." I counter.

"I guess so, I just, we don't really do anything though do we? Not anything like pouring our hearts into learning or our work or, chemistry. I won't speak for you all, but I don't really feel very... hero-like. I think, we kinda steal the glory from people who try."

The rest of the heroes blow up in an argument of good and bad, at a point, I look up from it and see Eli smiling at us, with fondness and amusement.