Super

Chapter 2

[Matt]

        I really didn't consider myself evil, exactly.

        Then again, no one is the villain of their own story, I supposed. But I didn't do what I did with bad intentions. I liked to consider myself to be like Robin Hood; stealing from the rich to give to the poor.

        Except... I didn't do that. Not anything remotely close, actually. Technically, the only group of people I funded on a regular basis is one filled with supervillains who dedicated their whole lives to ruining others. But I didn't do it without a reason. Not a good reason, no, but a reason.

        Sympathy. I pitied villains, which, thinking about it, is actually quite vain, seeing as I was one. We were given powers, whether by birth or some other means, but we had nothing to do with them. It wasn't uncommon for someone to try to become a superhero, only to be ridiculed or doubted by the public, or even existing heroes. For a group that is known to be noble and selfless, they can be huge jerks.

        I tried to fight crime at first myself, but I was never really good enough. Mind control just isn't meant to be used in that way. It didn't take long for me to discover that I was much more useful to the League of Villains than the League of Heroes.

        I laid in bed silently, glad for a break. I do genuinely enjoy wreaking havoc and gaining power as Imperium, but sometimes it was nice to just be a normal college student. I could hear the gentle sighs of my roommate across the room where he was asleep. I should have been, too; it was one o'clock in the morning, and I had my psychology class at eight.

        The battle that day had been more stressful than usual. Normally, I managed to get something out of every attempt to pillage, if only the satisfaction of hurting Talpa. But this time, there was no smug complacency. In fact, there was quite the opposite; I felt a bit sick with myself.

        Though I knew it wasn't directly my fault, Noah had gotten hurt because of the battle. The blame didn't even land on the fight itself, since he was pushed over in the streets by crowds, but if it weren't for me, there wouldn't have been any crowds in the first place.

        And when he explain what happened, he had spit out that name, my name, Imperium, with so much hate, that I almost had to leave the room.

        I only ever felt guilty when I was with Noah. He was...pure. That was really the only way to describe him. Basic in appearance, with his brown hair and eyes, but a literal angel on the inside.

        I had known him since the beginning of high school, and even with our conflicting personalities, we managed to hit it off. Or rather, I bothered him into submission after weeks of trying to be his friend. He interested me, what with the fact that he was always looking down in that grey notebook of his, scribbling away yet another story or poem. I wished I could do something like that, but I never really had enough focus.

        The day before I talked to him for the first time, I had tried to read his mind. That was when I was only first beginning to notice and understand my powers, but I was experienced enough to know I had to make eye contact with my so-called "victim" before I could do anything. But Noah never looked up long enough for me to catch his eye.

        Of course, that was before I found out that telepathy was not in my skill set, and being able to read minds would be horrible, anyways. Who in their right mind would want to know peoples' unfiltered thoughts? Mine, personally, were a mess, and I liked to consider myself a pretty put-together person. I could only imagine what other peoples' minds are like.