Villain at Night *Third Book To Hero by Day

Chapter 22 - Spilling hearts, not blood

"That shield doesn't belong to you. You don't deserve it! My father made that shield!"

~ Tony Stark (Iron Man)

:Elise:

"You're right, Mary." I decided, looking up at her.

She was a bit confused, but still triumphant.

"If I hadn't gotten my superpowers, I probably wouldn't have ever gained the confidence that it took for me to attempt to bait that idiot at your Halloween party all those months ago. If I hadn't gotten my superpowers, Olly wouldn't have had to come in and save me from him. If I hadn't gotten my superpowers, we might very well have not gotten together. I might still have been the shy best friend to Mary Thompson without my powers, and I may have still been vying for a guy way out of my league. But, if these powers have taught me anything, it's that people can change in the blink of an eye.

"Without my powers, I wouldn't have showed up in the bank that day Captain Impossible was defeated once and for all. Without my powers, Captain Impossible might not be dead and he might've defeated Andromeda permanently. Without my powers, Nicole would've never came to Eldredge to hurt Olly and you would never have fallen under her spell. Without my powers, you'd still be my strong and confident best friend, Olly would still be a sidekick, and nothing would've changed."

I was choking up a bit. Some of these facts I had never accepted until this moment, and for good reason.

If I hadn't tried to catch that guy at the Halloween party, Olly wouldn't have had to come up and save me. He wouldn't have had to comfort me and I wouldn't have prodded him with questions that resulted in his kissing me. He would never have asked me out if I hadn't gotten powers and thought I was invincible. I would still be vying for the undercover hero, invisible to the eyes of the world.

If I hadn't shown up and tried to help at the bank all that time ago, I wouldn't have distracted Olly, and maybe he could've helped Captain Impossible out. Maybe the clown masked guys would never have succeeded in killing Captain Impossible. Maybe he would still have been alive and better suited to imprison Andromeda when The Obstructer ordered her to attack.

It was my fault that he died. Without my powers, Captain Impossible would still be alive, and we wouldn't have been wrapped up in this mess.

Olly would still be a sidekick, but he would have been safer from The Obstructer's wrath. Mary would never have known Nicole Lee, and she would never have died. Mary would still be the girl obsessed with superheroes, oblivious to the fact that one was one of her best friends.

Everything would be just the way it was before.

"But, that isn't necessarily a good thing." I continued, on a roll. "We hate change, but it is necessary for people to improve and for the world to keep moving. If we never changed for the better, we'd still be stuck in the stone ages. In the long run, my having powers did a lot more good than not having my powers would've done. With my powers, I gained the confidence I needed to convince Olly to ask me out. With my powers, I decided I wanted to help this city, and I did. There are quite a few people who wouldn't be here today, or wouldn't be caught, if it wasn't for me.

"And, since I showed up at the bank that day trying to help, Captain Impossible died. But, with that bad thing, Olly was finally able to be the hero he was meant to be, save the people he was meant to save. If Captain Impossible was still alive, Olly would never have been able to take Aden on as a sidekick, and Aden would never have broken out of his shell. If Captain Impossible was still alive, we might not have ever got involved with The Obstructer to the extent that we are now. We might never have had this chance to beat The Obstructer at the level we do now. If he were still alive, I would never have had the chance to become a hero instead of a delinquent.