His enemy was finally vanquished.
The villain laid in a heap of rubble, barely conscious. The hero sailed through the air and landed next to him, his strong chin slightly raised as cheers from bystanders filled his ears. After a moment of happy applause, he walked over to the villain, already preparing a speech about justice being served and whatnot.
He shook his head, flinging his blond curls out of his eyes, and took a deep breath. Before he could begin his victory speech, however, the villain stirred and groaned.
A flicker of hazel heralded his enemy's awakening. The felon's long black hair and pale skin was streaked with dust. He made a piteous sight, lying there in his own wreckage, both ego and bones broken. Especially when he moaned again and tried to move, stifling gasps of pain all the while. The hero grunted, refusing to give in to sympathy. The rascal deserved it, he had robbed quite a few banks and wreaked havoc amongst the city by destroying all bridges off of the island. He deserved no sympathy.
The hero seized his nemisis by the collar and pulled him up to face him, ignoring the hisses of pain. "You have lost, you crook! You shall now pay for your deeds!" The hero boomed out.
"End it then."
The hero blinked, caught off guard. "What?"
The villain struggled to get his feet underneath him. The hero roughly let go, eliciting a cry of pain from the criminal before him. The villain swayed and stumbled. Lifting his delicate chin, the coward repeated, "End it." Blood trickled from under his grey-streaked hair.
The hero blinked again. His mind was blank with surprise. So he said all he could think of.
"Why?"
The villain panted, growing anger sparking in his eyes. "Just. Do. It."
"No! Why would I kill you? Why SHOULD I kill you?"
"JUST DO IT!" The criminal lunged forward to claw at the hero's throat. The weak attack did nothing to harm the hero, and the crook was simply shoved away with minimal strength. Undetered, the felon lurched into a fighting stance and attacked again. Pitiable assaults continues for the next few minutes, the villain refusing to stop, and the hero helplessly confused.
Eventually the crook ceased his bombardment and sank to his knees, shaking. The hero stayed in a fighting stance for a moment, expecting another weak attack. When none came, he dropped his hands.
The villain swayed again, head bowed. His shoulders were shaking harder than any other part of him. It took the hero a moment to realize his enemy was not shaking, but crying.
"Ugh. I never signed up for therapy with crooks, either," he muttered. He shook his head and sighed. Well, whatever, the reprobate still had to go to jail.
He strode over to the sobbing coward. The hero grabbed the back of the criminal's collar and heaved him to his feet.
The hero took a moment to look around at the citizens surrounding them. Children cried distantly. Some of the people looked unsure. At first this confused him, but then he realized some of them felt bad for the criminal. He laughed to himself, amazed at some people's blindness and stupidity. Obviously the villain was a villain!
The miscreant suddenly twisted in his grasp, tearing himself away from the hero. Gasping and stumbling, the knave turned to face the hero again. Tears traced paths through the dust on his cheeks. He screamed hoarsely, "Does anyone care?!"
The hero slowly raised his eyebrows. "Nobody cares about a criminal," he said quietly.
The villain stared at him, silently pleading with his eyes. Seeing no sympathy in the hero's expression, he desperately turned, trying to catch the eyes of the citizens around him. All of them looked away. The hero noticed the growing uncertainty in their eyes, and started to panic slightly. Uncertain citizens could mean a riot.
The hero grabbed the shivering felon by the elbow. "Look, you'll be going to jail anyways. That's all I care about." He yanked at the crook's arm, leading him away towards the police station. The villian's desperate, lonely yells echoed through the streets as the two disappeared over the horizon. The citizens stared after them, unsure and, for some reason, afraid.
A week after the hero's grand victory, the media shared a new story with slightly fearful frenzy. "Notorious Villian Found Dead In Jail Cell," headlines read. According to the writing underneath the frantic headlines, he had been poisoned. The police did not know if it was suicide or murder. Remembering the hero's blatant coldness and the villian's desperate misery, the public shivered in unison.
