I was running through the alley, gasping for breath. Something whizzed past me, missing me by an inch and hitting the lamppost in front, creating dents. The ice shards dropped at my feet.

I whipped around and found myself face to face with a figure clad in dark cape and donning a half face mask in black. The eyes behind the mask were unfathomable pools of hate.

His lips twisted in a cruel smile, “So you’ve found my secret hideout?”

I shrieked, trying to get away from him.

The man closed the distance between us in two long strides, till he had me sandwiched between the walls of the narrow alley. It was dark and the lamppost cast eerie shadows.

That made my impending death all the more evident. He would freeze me and blast me up.

Nobody would know and Frost would have taken another victim.

“Spying on me were you? Nobody taught you not to mess with the cruelest villain in town?”

There was a hint of dark amusement in his voice and each word seemed like an icy touch on my skin.

“N…No. I didn’t mean to spy, really,” I stuttered. “That man who entered your house seemed like he had bad intentions and so I followed him, only to find you…Please... ”

“Shhh,” he said, “Do you really think that I want my secrets to be out? I’m not a fool.”

“I won’t tell anybody. Please leave me,” I pleaded, close to tears.

“Poor girl…” he made a clicking sound with his tongue, extending his hands towards me.

I closed my eyes in fright.

“Neveroyatno!” he exclaimed.
I peered through my lashes to see him staring at me, open mouthed.

“Umm…sorry?”

“I meant unbelievable,” he was quick to gather his composure. “Are you a magic user? I can detect hints of magic. It’s like an aura around you.”

“No,” I crossed my arms as a semblance of self-defense, looking for a way to give him the slip. “What are you talking about?”

“You specialize in elemental fire just as mine is water. You should know your capabilities. We will make a strong team.”

There wasn’t a hint of request in his voice. It was pure assertion and command.

“So that’s my offer? Die or agree to work with you?” I tried to understand my situation.

“Wrong. Die a gruesome death or be my apprentice.”

“Is that even a choice? I shrugged. What do I have to do?”

“Fiera! Come on,” his voice was fierce and yet there was an indulgent tone to it. “You need to conjure up a bigger fireball if you want burn something up. It’s been only two weeks but you’re progressing well. Boost up your power.”

“Magic depletes my energy,” I whined. “I am already drenched in sweat. You’re heartless. ”

“Nobody said it was easy and I have more of a heart than that puny hero of yours…what’s his name again,” smile played on the edge of his lips.

For some unknown reason, that smile made my heart flutter. I knew he was evil and yet there was a certain charm, a masculinity in him, which was hard to ignore. He kept his mask always though, so it was hard to see what his eyes conveyed.
“Firebird,” I said, ignoring the mockery in his tone. “And one of these days he’ll come to rescue me from your lair.”

“You don’t like it here?”

“I…umm…”

I clamped my mouth shut because he had kept me safer than I ever had been. He fed me better than that crappy orphanage and never ever abused me or even touched me physically. I had been roughed up, groped and raped in that shack I used to stay, for all the authorities cared. Here it was heaven.

Though he never allowed me to slack off and he was a strict instructor, but his ways and the balance of sternness made me wonder at who the man was hidden behind the mask of cruelty.

“I was wondering,” I said, making the fireball blaze further. “What is your real name?”

He stopped short at the unexpected question.

“Why do you want to know?”

“Just curious.”

“Crispin,” he shrugged.

“That’s aweso…”

The fireball suddenly spun out of control at the momentary distraction. It slipped from my hand and hit the wall, rebounding back to where I stood.

I tried to conjure up a fire wall, but I was too late. At the nick of the moment saw him jump in front of me, freezing the ball, as it shattered at his feet.

I dropped to the ground panting.

“Are you okay?”

“Why did you jump in there? It could have hurt you,” I blurted.

“It was another way to test my skills and to prove to you how harmful a distraction can be, besides…” he averted his eyes.

“Besides?”

“Listen,” he sat down beside me. “I came from a small farmer tribe of Siberia. My parents were magic users like me too. These gifts are rare, but they do exist and it’s tied to your soul. The villagers accused them of heresy and witch craft and burnt them alive at stake...”

An uncomfortable silence fell.

“I escaped and wandered the world. Gradually I realised that under the glamour of money and power, evil had taken shelter. I wanted to end that evil. I assure you,” he continued. “The people I had killed here are no saints. They all have had shady pasts. I have an innate ability to detect the goodness in people, unlike Firebird, whose sole purpose is to protect the rich and influential from harm and I believe that,” he put an arm in my shoulder, “one of these days, you’ll defeat fire with fire.”

“But if you kill these people, aren’t you worse than those that killed your parents?”

“Fiera, there’s an evil in this world of magic. We call it ‘shade’. It shelters itself inside humans and multiplies. The only way to destroy the shade is to destroy the body. This shade controls a human and lures him to commit crimes. No soul is born corrupt. I can sense the shade, because it’s the same evil that killed my parents.”

“Whoa! That was too much in one go. Sorry to hear about your past.”

“I doesn’t matter anymore. You have magic in you. You can detect an evil too. Never ever misuse your power to kill innocents. That’s the biggest thing I can teach you,” something shifted in his features.

“I’m ready to follow you…”

“By the way, look at this,” he held up a photo, flippant and casual “This is your Firebird, behind the mask. I found this old photo somewhere.”

I peered into it with interest but the seconds my eyes fell on the face, I froze. The anger, the despair, the hate, all I kept pent up in myself poured itself out.
“Are you sure?” I gritted my teeth.

“Of course,” he chuckled, oblivious to my feelings.

“He is the man that raped and killed my sister and tried to strangle me to death. H…he can’t be.”

The shock was evident on the face of Crispin. He snatched the photo from my hand as his jaws hardened, “No wonder I felt the presence of a shade whenever I fought with him.”

I hid my face in my hands, as he past events flashed before my eyes. He had mercilessly stabbed her in front of my eyes after he had raped and gotten her pregnant. How can that man be the hero the whole city had worshipped?

And for once I looked at my mentor and at that moment the barrier between good and evil crumbled and all that I believed turned upside down? What is a hero or a villain? There is more to each than meets the eye.

“I need to go,” he got up abruptly.

“Where?”

“You’re not to ask me where I go. I’m not bound to answer.”

“Don’t tell me you’re going to fight with him,” I grabbed his hands on an impulse.

“You’re my apprentice. I have a duty towards you.”

“I’m no one to you.”

“You’re more to me than you can ever imagine,” he gave a dry smile.

“Why?”

He got up, avoiding that issue.

No sooner had he gone two steps when we heard a loud crashing followed by agitated voices. We were being raided.

My knees started to totter.

“Keep calm. I’m there,” he hissed.

I tried to calm my pounding heart.

Soon the door to our training area went up in flames as a fireball hurled towards us. He shoved me away with the full force of his body and we landed on the ground, him over me, our bodies pressed so tightly that I could smell his cologne. He too seemed affected by the closeness. The smell of burning cloth however made me realise that his cape had caught fire.

He ripped his cloak and sprung up, facing the person who entered.

A muscular chest, dressed in an outrageous blue, shiny spandex which seemed like it would burst any moment and a shiny mask, with an unmistakable smirk on his face. My hands itched to grab his neck and strangle the man in front of me.

“Frost!” his voice boomed. “You’re caught. There is no place to escape.”

“Please turn off the microphone. We’re civilized people,” Crispin commented, calm as ever. Sure enough a black object crumbled to dust before my eyes.

I wondered whether to laugh or be afraid.

“Don’t test my patience,” he literally squeaked. “I don’t want you to hurt anyone anymore.”

“Do you really think you can defeat me? Come on man. Let’s make a deal.”

Firebird was in a warrior mode. He pressed a button on his wrist and a sword of fire appeared. I realised that his magic was mechanical, rather than innate.

Crispin took a hunter stance as he summoned an icy sword. It was like a dance of death as they assessed each other’s strengths.

Two others of his team jumped into the fray and I was amazed to see the graceful yet deadly moves as Crispin slashed out, putting those two out of commission.

But I didn’t have time to look out for my mentor as two more of the supposed ‘Fighters of Light’ made a dash for me, taking me as the smaller threat.

I knew I was exhausted and useless in offence so I summoned a firewall which encircled me, deflecting the fireballs. It took every ounce of my strength but I kept up the wall as more and more blasts hit me. I could feel the impact and it was getting tougher to maintain the wall and soon I collapsed, completely drained.

They got the lead and sent laser chains to capture me.

The chains hit a wall of ice and shattered. Towers of ice suddenly surrounded me.

Crispin caught my eyes for the briefest of the moments.. But that made the two jump on Crispin.

For the first time I was afraid that he would be defeated.

The gears in my head worked fast and suddenly I knew how to stop them.

I focused on the fire inside me and brought out a small ball, just a wisp, guiding it stealthily.

In the terrible fight, my ball went unnoticed as it split up into four parts and hit the wrist of all four of them and whatever device they were using, went up in flames. They screamed, trying to remove it.

Firebird was confused in the melee and that provided an opening for Crispin who promptly thrust the icy sword into his chest. Blood splattered on the floor as Firebird collapsed.

I cast a spell as my fire engulfed the body.

And as I stood there, watching the smoke curl up, a smile crept up my face knowing that my revenge was achieved.

Was I next the super-villain?

I simply didn’t care.

2000 words completed...

Written for the contest by superhero.

Dedicated to GlennKoerner, the best superhero writer and friend I found till now.

Thanks Pipigrin KashishBelikov teamhathaway @XerinaFang lindajonesAuthor MaryFahey. Love you all...

❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️❤️