Sidekick

Markus

The world was dark around us, his wings at full spread in front of the over lit sign. The light casting us into the shadows, keeping me out of frame. His arms were wrapped around my torso while he stood composed in the camera's dim light.

"Athens City. You know me as Lucifer, Villain of hell. But see for the past two months, almost three I've held a man. This man has lived under my roof this whole time. And in that time, he has taught me things. Love, Pain, Acceptance. But see here's the thing the hero didn't want him to teach anyone." He paused before looking down at me, his head never moved, but I caught his eyes. I gave a simple nod for him to continue.

"You know what happens when a hero dies? You know what happens when a villain is made? One is mourned, one is remembered. The other? They are cast down and abused more. Villains are not born. We are made. And when one hero falls into our life, we learn how. He was abused to the point he accepted death like an old friend. He would cry at night from fear of them coming and hurting him." His wings grew stiff along my back. I could hear the anger radiating from his body while he spoke about the abuse.

"Love, rest now. I can continue." I tilted my head up, exiting his shadow and making my own. I reached for his face and kissed him in the blazing lights. The helicopter recording turned up its lights to finally illuminate our faces. Showing the world who the new villain of the block was.

"To Ethan, oh sorry Electro, I hope the hole in the wall made your Id grow. I hope your electrical burns on my back and neck show the world how far you go for power. I pray your mother, bless her heart, will see her son as a monster just as she did with her own husband." I spoke, my words nothing but true while I tried to reason the situation of my turn on the heroes.

"Heroes abuse everyone. Their friends, family, even teammates. The abuse stopped when the public got their cameras inside, but their marks, cracks, and words. Those were constant." I stepped forward, my workout tank loose across my chest, tucked into my pants with a belt.

"Heroes abused me. They ripped me from my childhood, my father, and the men I lived with. My hope was crushed and a black boot stomped out my flame. But when the villain came for me. When he opened his lighter and set my forest on fire. He wrapped up my wounds and made me alive." I explained with my hands gripping him tightly.

"My father abused me, he ripped my feathers, and crippled my spine. I wanted to rip his throat out. But I didn't. I was a good boy, a smart man who worshiped the lord for my father's needs. When my father had made me scream as loud as I could, for him to get off on it when I was a child. No cops were called, only the heroes. They patted my back and told me to stop pretending. I killed him two months later." Lucifer squeezed my hand while he admitted the reason, he became the way he is. The way I met him.

"See, you hear us recite these abuse stories, none are fake. Heroes made us evil; they made us monsters!" I screamed. My lungs burned from the release I finally got.

"The heroes will fall! And we will rise, the Villains will rise to protect the voiceless." Lucifer joined in his wings flaring up before tucking into me. The soft feathers were loose and plush against my back while he stood calm and still.

"Oh, and to Electro. Hope my engagement ring sold well. As well as the rest of my bedroom, and your cheap excuse for loving me." I finished our announcement, turning to meet Lucifer's eyes.

"I'm going to kill him." where the last words to mutter from his mouth before we went home. That night we slept in separate rooms, and the house was deafeningly silent.