Villain's Coffee Shop

A Cat Named Mocha

   Villain never expected to wake. He'd died. He was certain of it. And yet... he could feel something soft draped over him, a cushioned surface beneath him. And he was pretty sure dead people wouldn't be able to feel things anymore.
   He groaned as the pain hit, sucking his breath away, but eventually managed to crack his eyes open, staring up at a familiar ceiling as the world came into focus. His brow furrowed with confusion. There was a warm blanket on him, and he was laying on a couch. Then he remembered.
   Superhero. The alley. Hero.
   He tried to sit up, but excruciating pain stabbed him hard in the gut, and he let out a pained hiss, clutching at his ribs. Then a strong hand grabbed his shoulder and forcefully pushed him back down on the couch, pinning him there.
   "Take it easy, Villain. Stay down." Hero, Villain realized. She was here with him. Looming over him as she held him in place. Oh-so-real. Sitting in a chair right next to his head.
   "Where--"
   "You're still in the back room of your coffee shop," Hero assured far-too-sweetly. She let go of his shoulder to pick up a mug on the table next to the couch Villain was on, taking a sip of coffee. Villain knew the scent by heart, having worked for many years in his shop. Black, dark roast. A bit of cream and milk. A customer favorite, one of the most popular choices from the menu.
   "...I don't suppose you'll be paying for that?" Villain croaked.
   Hero smiled wolfishly, casually propping her feet up on the table with ankles crossed. "Nah, you owe me for the whole 'saving your life' thing. I deserve a free drink."
   Villain coughed out a wheezy laugh, then winced at the pain it cost him. "Would now be an appropriate time to question your motives for saving me?" He asked, remembering the conversation from the alley.
   Hero tilted her head to one side like an owl studying something intriguing. Something about it put Villain on edge. "Because I'm a hero. It's what we do, we save people."
   "Not good enough." Villain shook his head. "Superhero is a hero too, yet he would kill me without remorse. So why did you really help me?"
   Hero frowned thoughtfully, mulling it over for a few minutes, and when her answer came it was slow, but honest. "Maybe... maybe I felt that someone like you didn't deserve to die, maybe I thought all you needed is a second chance. Because... maybe you were just unlucky in life, to end up here. Maybe you were dealt a bad hand, maybe something happened that made you cold and bitter. Maybe that's why you became a villain, not because you enjoy hurting people, but because... it's all you've ever known. Stereotypical villain type, a man gone bad due to past trauma, you know?" She quirked an eyebrow quizzically. "Am I wrong to assume that?"
   Villain averted his eyes, blood running cold. She wasn't quite right... but she wasn't wrong, either. He raised a weak hand to his face, realizing his mask was gone. Not that it mattered anyway. But it exposed a giant spiderweb of vicious raised scars that covered nearly his whole face, most from serious burns, marring his features. He looked terrifying, like a classic monster.
   "...Will you tell me what turned you into a villain if I ask nicely?" Hero teased lightly, but Villain could see the intense curiosity in her eyes.
   He chewed his lip, cautious and distrusting. "I guess it's because the world wouldn't accept me as the good guy," he mumbled, half wishing Hero wouldn't hear it. But Hero nodded patiently for him to continue, and Villain swallowed hard.
   "I tried to fit in, to be good, and for a while it worked. I was happy, and kind, and charming; a normal guy with big dreams and a great future ahead of him... until my luck and life changed forever." Villain gestured meaningfully to the mass of burn scars stretching across his face. "I was involved in a tragic accident, and now no one sees beyond my face. They see these scars and it terrifies them, but what they don't know is that I got them running into a burning building to save a little girl." Villain's voice hitched, and he tried to squash down the wave of emotions rising in him as he vividly relived the moment that forever changed him. He forced himself to keep talking, though his voice was shaky.
   "I was brave like a hero, I ran straight into fire, and both literally and metaphorically got burned for it. I saved a life, but mine ended that day. I spent weeks in the hospital, but when I was discharged... everything was different. No one wanted to hire me. They were all too scared of how I looked, because I was intimidating to customers. Bad for business." Villain's lip curled angrily. "I really did try to be good, but I was rejected at every turn, no one would give me a chance to show my worth. All I wanted, all I needed, was one opportunity. But eventually I found it was more beneficial to me to become a criminal instead, to take what I wanted and hurt anyone who got in the way. And now here I am." He gestured dramatically to his whole broken body laying on the couch.
   Hero's face filled with newfound understanding and sympathy, before confusion replaced it. "But... you run the entire coffee shop, and you've never worn a mask when serving customers. How did none of us see your scars?"
   "Several hours of my morning every day dedicated to using facial molding makeup to hide all the damage. Like the stuff they use in movies to hide imperfections or change a face's shape." Villain smiled, but it didn't quite reach his eyes. "The stuff's expensive to buy, but I use a portion of the money I steal to cover the cost."
   Hero leaned back in her chair, taking it all in. "Wow... you've really got it rough, huh?"
   "Now you know why I spent my days fighting people like you," Villain snorted bitterly. "It's the only way I can make enough to stay off the streets and survive. By stealing and killing."
   Hero's gaze grew distant, thoughtful, before there was a sudden flash of furry motion off to Hero's left that sent her springing from the chair, daggers in hand ready to attack the threat.
   "Wait! Don't hurt him!" Villain barked frantically.
   "'Him'?!" Hero squawked, but his words made her hesitate long enough to realize that it was... literally just a cat. Embarrassment flushed Hero's face as she sheathed her blades and sat back down. She stared at the scruffy cat, which had black fur... and it was missing a whole front leg, along with a large chunk of one ear.
   Hero gawked at the feline as he bunched his hind legs and hopped up onto the table next to the couch, giving her a quizzical look. "You have... a three-legged cat. I am both surprised and somehow unsurprised at the same time."
   "Somebody has to adopt the unwanted critter," Villain shrugged. "Like me. Unwanted. Only I'm not adoptable," he added quickly when he saw Hero winding up to make a snarky joke about it. "His name is Mocha."
   "Seriously? You named it after a caffeine drink?"
   "It's a cat that lives in a coffee shop, Hero. Mocha is an appropriate name," Villain argued defensively. "Apparently Mocha got into a fight with a loose dog, and no one wanted to adopt a mangled cat, let alone one that also had black fur. They're often considered bad luck. But I took him before he could be euthanized."
   "That's... actually kind of sweet of you," Hero said, gently stroking the cat's head. Mocha purred loudly, an oddly raspy kind of purr like a broken motor, and climbed into her lap, kneading her leather suit with his remaining front paw and arching his back happily.
   "Mocha is the sweetest cat you will ever find, you just have to look past all the scarring." Hero was taken aback by the fondness in Villain's face as he reached a weak, trembling hand toward Mocha, who instantly abandoned Hero to hop onto the couch and settle down on Villain's chest instead, still purring madly.
   Villain sighed heavily, petting Mocha's curled-up form gently. Hero would have never guessed him to be capable of kindness, given his violent reputation.
   "...Would you be willing to consider switching sides?" Hero asked softly. "Be a hero instead of a villain like you are now?"
   Villain's eyes darted over to her, surprised. "I'm pretty sure it's too late for that," he rasped quietly. "I've killed too many people. I'm not worth your time."
   "Maybe so," Hero agreed solemnly, "but you can always give it a try. I have connections, I could get you on our Hero team where you can use your powers to save lives instead of take them. And you wouldn't have to show anyone your face, either. We can design you a new mask." She bit her lip nervously. "...It's up to you in the end, but I get the feeling you've got a lot more good inside you than you're willing to admit." She put a reassuring hand on Villain's shoulder, and he flinched hard, disturbing Mocha who meowed in protest before settling again.
   "Just... think about it for awhile, Villain. Can you promise me that?" Hero glanced around and snatched up a notepad and pen, scribbling something down and tearing off a page to hand to Villain. "This is my personal number if... you'd like to reach out." Villain stared numbly at the paper in his hand.
   A chance. He'd said he'd needed a chance. Just one. And now he held that chance on a thin piece of paper. "...Thank you," he murmured after a brief hesitation. "And not just for this, I mean for... listening, I guess, and saving my life." Villain cleared his throat awkwardly, fumbling over his words.
   But Hero smiled playfully, standing up and ruffling Villain's hair. "I look forward to hearing from you."
   Villain scowled and ran a hand through his hair to flatten it back down. "I'll let that slide because I'm in so much pain I can barely think straight, but try that again when I'm at full-strength, and I'll destroy you," he grouched.
   Hero laughed as she headed toward the back door. "Heal up, Villain, and then we have work to do."
   Villain smiled faintly at Hero's back as she left, darkness in his gaze. Oh, he had work to do indeed… Hero was in way over her head dealing with him. He grinned down at Mocha, who affectionately nuzzled into his hand. “What do you say, Mocha? Should I cause some trouble?”