I May be Cold, but You are Hot

Chapter Twenty Eight: Heroes Will Always be Heroes

           

Grant's POV

            Only a few minutes have passed, but about a hundred people have managed to escape the building. I'm almost tempted to go ahead and lay ruin to this miserable place, but I am not a savage. Villains still have a touch of pride and honesty left in them. Watching these people scramble to safety brings a smile to my face, though. They're so. . . human. Have I lost all my humanity? Certainly not. I still love Colt. But what would he think of this? I shake the thought from my head. I am Killer Kool, not Grant Thomb. Colt means nothing to me. Why would he even love me? I'm just a pathetic man trying to be the ultimate villain. You know what? Screw this, and screw these people. Time's up.

            I shoot an enormous amount of ice at the building, but it's blocked by a shield of fire. Of course, it's none other than Fighting Flame. I think it's time to end this. "I'm tired of this, Flame. Leave the city and no one gets hurt. If you don't, I'll kill you, your sidekick, and all these people. Don't underestimate me."

            "Why are you doing this? Please, just let them go," he asks with so much fear and sadness that I almost puke.

            "I'll let them go if you leave and never return," I say confidently. I have the upper hand here.

            "I can't do that. You'll destroy the city." He gives a sad glance to his sidekick, who shakes his head. "I'll battle you. To the death if I must, just let these people go," he says, his voice cracking.

            I laugh maniacally. "Do you have some kind of death wish?"

            "If I win, you retire. No more Killer Kool. I know you have a normal life somehow. You'll never put on that suit again, and you'll never use your powers for evil. If you win, then you'll probably kill me, and there's nothing I can do to stop you from ruling over this city with an iron fist." With every word, he got angrier. His voice had a fire in it that couldn't be put out with anything of this earth. He put the fear in me.

            My face is unemotional, but I'm internally cowering. He's never had that much vigor with his words. Not only did he scare me with how he said it, but I think about what he said. I realize that I don't want this to end. I wanted him dead or gone before this, but now, I just want to keep going on with this never-ending fight. I don't want to die, but more than that I don't want to give up being a villain. Eventually, this will end. One of us will die or retire, leaving the other to a feeling of emptiness.

            I sigh. "I don't want to do that. It would be a lose-lose fight because there would be no winner. I'm just gonna collapse this building and be on my way." With a swift movement of my hand, the building falls. Of course, he catches it. People that were screaming are now sighing with relief. "I'll, uh, see you next time something evil comes up." He just looks at me perplexed.

            "What the hell?" Flame asks, still giving me that look.

            "Is there something on my face? I'm leaving. Catch you later," I say nonchalantly. I feel like I'm about to break down and cry, but I can't do that in front of him. I take off towards my apartment, hoping there's still some ice cream in the freezer.

A/N: Sorry I haven't been updating regularly. Life has been crazy lately! I moved to a completely different place back in October, and I've just been so busy. December was crazy stressful, but I at least got an update in. I'm hoping to get back on a schedule for updating, so it will be more regular. Thank you for reading! I'm so happy to see that people still enjoy this story. I try to respond to all comments as quickly as possible. Thanks again for reading! I know it's kind of late, but happy new year!

P.S. I'm thinking of changing the cover for this story. What do you guys think?