A Totally Fantastic Guide To Vigilantism {Sanscest Story}

Rule #3

Rule #3: Just breathe, and everything will be okay.

Not everything in the world was completely black and white. There was always the hidden grey area that so many chose to ignore. Yet, that grey area could be the most important factor of the equation. If everyone wasn't so simple minded, that grey area wouldn't be so hidden.

It was evident in every situation of the world. In this city, it was the debate of what made a hero; and what made a villain.

To most, it was an easy argument. If you used your powers for the greater good, then you were a hero. If you didn't, you were a villain. But what was the greater good? And why did it have to be the deciding factor?

Say someone had spent all of their life doing nothing but good deeds; donating to charities, volunteering to better the community, but then they make one simple mistake that is deemed 'wrong'. Were they a villain then? Most would probably say yes.

Cross had been surrounded by this debate for as long as he could remember. He had been labeled it all, a hero, a villain, a stubborn teenage vigilante that was looking for some attention. He was what he considered the prime example of the fabled 'grey area'. He'd made many mistakes during his life, but he's done plenty of good things too.

So why, after everything, were people so keen on not giving him a chance?

He thought there was such a thing as second chances. It's not like he had done anything that was irredeemable. He just simply was caught in the middle of a situation he had nothing to do with. And for that? He was shunned from society.

He would soon learn the harsh realities of the world. The unforgiving nature of the universe. He learned what it truly meant to have nothing, all because of one simple mistake.

How is it that one thing could destroy someone's life? Cross had spent who knows how long trying to figure out the answer as he wallowed in his self pity and misery.

It was unfair, as childish as that statement may seem. No one should be forced to ruin because of the shortcomings of others.

Of all the sayings and teachings of the world, there was one that Cross had always hoped would be true; there is always a light at the end of the tunnel. He was never one to be fond of the dark clutches of his burdens. When that was the only thing that provided him company in his lonesome, he wished- no, prayed, that it would come true.

He wanted the light. He wanted to be free from the hell he had grown used to living. He wanted an escape.

For some reason, the universe had deemed him worthy. Whether it was out of pity, or out of the pure goodness of whoever was running this show's heart, he was granted his wish.

On another terrible night alone, Cross had found himself wandering. He figured it would be better than spending another minute anywhere else. The night air was comforting, the lonely streets provided him a sense of safety.

It would be then when Cross would meet the man he would in-debt his life to. It was a bit dramatic, but Cross had lost so much, and suddenly he was given that second chance.

The man would pose an offer, to join him and his group of ragtag supers in a mission to ensure that no more people would meet the same fate as they all had. Cross would be desperate to accept, not caring about whatever silver lining there was to this deal.

It would be worth it. In a time that Cross felt he had nothing, he was suddenly given everything at once. He had a home, he had food, he had a family. It was everything he could have ever wanted, and he owed it all to Nightmare.