The Tale of Greenwing and Silverstrike
Part 3
Some days later, and the heroine was fighting another villain, dodging the fireballs he sent her way.
She needed to draw him away, there were too many people here. As smoke rose from their surroundings, she could hear the siren in the distance, blending with the sound of screams. She hoped the firefighters could help them, she had tried but she hadn’t been able to get them all out whilst fighting Firefist.
Tired, she was so tired. What little chance got for sleep between fighting villains had been occupied by the words spoken to her by Silverstrike as she had turned them over and over in her mind.
Ask yourself this: why didn’t anyone come and save you?
An inescapable echo.
The sound and sudden heat of the sizzling air warned her to dodge just as a fireball careened in her direction.
Focus! She inwardly berated herself as she felt the hairs on her arm singe.
Greenwing returned a blow of her own and the villain gave a grunt.
“Please Firefist, stop this. People are getting hurt!”
“Please?” He laughed, a cruel, harsh sound, “Ha! How pathetic.”
Her lungs were burning as she gasped for air. How could she hope to stop him? But she had to, the people needed her to save them!
Aren’t you tired? Why stay loyal to people who wouldn’t think twice about abandoning you the moment things get tough?
She gritted her teeth. Because I’m a hero, it’s what I do.
This time the superheroine dodged the next fireball with space to spare. But whether it was from the ash, heat, or exhaustion, her vision was beginning to blur and her limbs getting heavy.
If you join me, you won’t have to lose so much sleep chasing endlessly after villains. You’d be... valued, among people who actually recognise your worth.
“Stop it!” Greenwing shouted as she dropped to the ground, another fireball narrowly missing her. More screams from behind. The sting of tears mixed with her already made-foggy-by-fire eyes. She couldn’t do it, she wasn’t strong enough to fight Firefist. Couldn’t save all of them. So weak.
“How about... no.” The fiery villain said as he flung another fireball in her direction, which she barely managed to avoid.
“But people are getting hurt!”
Firefist smirked, “That’s rather the fun of it... wouldn’t you agree?”
Just to prove a point, he blasted a column of fire towards the nearest huddle of watching civilians who hadn’t heeded her pleas for them to run.
“No!” She cried out. The fire faded to reveal a singed, shaken, but otherwise unharmed group, and she directed her voice to them, “Get out of here, now!”
The close call seemed to have unclogged their ears, for this time they listened, rushing away coughing as Firefist watched their panic in the amused manner. Another spark of fire caught the heroine’s attention.
“Oh dear, it really is so very pathetic how much you care.” A blast of fire shot out towards her and she rolled on instinct.
The echo was overwhelming.
If they actually cared about you, someone would’ve come.
Shut up, shut up, shut up! She screamed as her side and heart heaved.
This time, she didn’t see the fireball coming quick enough.
Guess this is it.
There was a whoosh of wind, and she felt her body swept out of the way even as the air around her hissed with heat. And then suddenly he was there, crouching next to her behind the shelter of some rubble, as his eyes searched her face.
“Damn it! You okay?”
“You saved me.”
He gave a deep sigh and closed his eyes as he tilted his head towards the sky, shaking it ever so slightly as though in self-rebuke, before replying,
“Yeah, I did. Well, it’s done now. You hurt? Come on, let’s go get you sorted.”
Greenwing tried to push myself upright, even as her body sparked with pain, “No. Firefist. I need to-“
“It’s all right, I flung a device his way which’ll disable his powers long enough for the police to chain him. Don’t worry.”
Whether it was from relief or the strain of the fight and the past few days with almost no sleep suddenly catching up, she wasn’t sure, but her vision suddenly began slipping into shadows.
The last thing she was aware of before darkness claimed her was Silverstrike’s arms holding her tightly as he lifted her up and spoke softly,
“Come on, let’s get out of here.”
YOU ARE READING
04Lonewolf's Short Stories
Short Story[WARNING: Please do not copy any of these without permission! If you see someone else using these ideas, please let me know, because these are all my own work.] This book is basically just a compilation of all my short stories that I've written over...
