Heroes Versus Villains

Lost Duplication

It had been two months since Lex had the strange encounter with this man, but it made a large impact on him. His mind was filled with unanswered questions and speculation. He wanted to find this man but he knew he couldn't. What's more is this distraction caused Lex to struggle harder with suppressing what was inside him.

For the last couple of months everything felt off. Nothing felt the same. It felt like Lex's world was going to collapse. Every night he would state at the ceiling, lying awake, and just question that night. If course, this strange obsession with this man caused Lex to forget about his "nightly routine". It dealt him a lot of pain. After a week or two it was starting to feel easier to give up and let it go. Let it out. But the last time that happened, Lex thought, people got hurt. The wrong people. Good people.

Lex tried his best to get his mind off this man but the sight of the green grass outside made him think about the ominous grass patches on either end of the alley. Going into the city just made him think of the alley. He tried to do the things that made him Happy or that he enjoyed; cooking, painting, drawing, sculpting, but no creative juices were flowing. Everything just seemed to stop.

One day Lex slammed his fist into the table, screaming. He had to let something out. One of his neighbors came to check on him due to hearing "lots of screaming the last month" but Lex assured the neighbor things were okay, just a little rough at the moment. Lex's neighbor offered money or food but Lex kindly declined and assured once again that he will be alright.

At least that was his hope.

The biggest thing ticking Lex off was how he couldn't remember what happened. The whole night was a blur. It was Tony, Green eyes, and then waking up the next morning. The things he told the news station were just feelings he had. He, very faintly, remembers the man approaching him but that was all.

After two months of seemingly endless torture Lex stepped outside and drove off to a remote area to see if another of his fears was true. It would be risky but he had to try.

He set up in the center of a clearing. He chose what he would do, a simple thing, nothing too big. He had to prove to himself that what he had was still there.

Lex began to think of a time a few years back. A specific encounter with a wonderful person. It ended with tragedy, but that's not the point. This person was a fantastic artist. She could draw anything! Paint anything! Cook anything! Sculpt anything! When Lex met her, he knew what he could not refuse. This person had power, she had a gift. Whenever Lex is around someone with a gift, he has to take it.

What he suppresses each night is the evil within him (that's what he calls it). It becomes incredibly more difficult, or impossible, to suppress whenever he is around someone with a gift. The energy surfaces and takes over the body, stealing the other person's gift, and kill them in the process. Lex has not been able to figure out a way to share gifts instead of taking them, but he has found a way to use them without letting the evil out. When Lex couldn't cook, draw, paint or sculpt he knew something was wrong. So now he had to try to fix it. Two months is far too long.

Lex took a deep breath and focused. He did his best to coax this part of himself out. The familiar sensation began in his chest and slowly spread to his stomach and shoulders. Lex looked and saw the purple course through his veins to the top of his fingers, the sensation quite dull as he was only trying to get this power. Once all his veins shown purple, Lex's vision went purple. All around him purple light shone. Lex turned and looked to the Easel he set up, grabbed a pencil, and looked at a nearby tree to replicate. Placing the pencil to the paper, Lex froze. It was gone.

Lex broke focus and all the energy regressed. He fell to his knees and gritted his teeth.

"No!" He growled, "God dammit!" He pounded the ground and clenched his fist. "All those people... And it's all gone... What the hell happened that night?!" Lex screamed into the heavens. "What the hell happened?!"

"You have questions."

Lex spun quickly and saw the man again.

"I have answers."

"Then tell me!" Lex screamed at the man. The man was leaning against a tree casually, only making Lex more angry.

"What do you want to know?" He held up three fingers. "I will give you three questions, so choose wisely. Then I will ask you a question. Sound like a plan?"

Lex grunted and stood. "Fine, whatever. What the hell is your name?"

"Are you sure that's what you want to ask?" He smirked. "You only get three questions, I'll let you retry just this once."

Lex groaned, only getting more pissed. The man was enjoying Lex's sorrow. "Okay, fine. Why did you come to me two months ago in that alley?"

"A fine question. Well... I had awoken from my three century long slumber to be immediately drawn to a strong energy source. This energy was of natural cause, so it beckoned me further. Then I stumbled upon you. You were the source of this untapped power. I just had to get a closer look."

"There century long slumber?" Lex blurted out.

"There's number two - Yes it counted. And the answer... Yes. I was hibernating, I guess you could call it, for three hundred years. Last question, make it count."

Lex hated this man more and more by the second. He thought hard of what the final question would be. But he remembered he already asked if before he showed up. "Why can't I do the things I use to be able to do anymore?"

The man grinned. "Well... A good question. So good I'm not even sure how to answer it. Don't you remember that night?"

"No, I don't." Then Lex realized what just happened . "And that was your question for me."

The man's smile faded. Then returned shyly. "Good ear. Well since I like you I'll try to fill in your gaps in memory. I walked up to you as you struggled with your power. You looked me straight in the face with eyes glowing purple and smirked. You said 'Your gift. I want it.' Then you grabbed my shoulders making me come closer. It surprised me, honestly. You did something, because I felt it, but it wasn't working. At least I assumed due to the disappointment in your face. You got angry and struck me. I did nothing to defend myself because I did not want you to die. Yet. You screamed and erupted in the darkest purple I've ever seen. A grass patch appeared beneath both of our feet. You seemed to force me to use my power as you did, too. All the purple I saw within you shot into the air and disappeared. Your veins went dim starting from your legs all the way to your eyes, then you collapsed. I guess I took your gift instead of you taking mine, but neither of us kept it. I just have that effect on certain people." He smirked again. Lex was more confused than before but felt more clear headed at the same time.

"So..." Lex began. But was cut off my the man.

"Nah-ah-ah. You asked your questions. No more," He smirked once again. Lex scowled at him. "Three questions and you used them!" Lex's scowl worsened.

"Fine then. So I guess I lost my power due to you, I wasn't able to steal your power and you kept it, yet I used yours. This doesn't make sense." Lex said frustrated.

"Well... I does, if you knew who I am." Said the man teasingly.

"Then who are you?!" Lex shouted.

"A question for another day," the man said, then he lifted his hand. to save goodbye. Lex got up and started running to him to stop him but the second Lex looked down to get himself up, the man had vanished. Leaving Lex in the woods confused, frustrated, and mentally drained.

"I have to get some help," Lex said under his breath. Then a voice inside his head said 'What you need is to track that man down'.

"I have to track that man down," Lex. said up under his breath.