no formalities with this book. im gonna start it right away. when i say i wanted to write something like this for such a long time, i mean rEally lONG.

thanks to all those incredibly sexy tumblr heroxvillain posts/prompts. and marvel. yes, i owe this book to them two big time <3

AND to theBrookeHatfield. I was not gonna give up on the story idea you gave me <3

let's goooooo,
Crystal Xx.

• • • • • •

"Oh my God, is that Cinderella?"

I flinched audibly. Not because of the icy blow--which felt more like a sickening punch to the gut--that just got thrown at my face, but because someone had just called me Cinderella.

I suppose it could've been worse.

My fighting partner, who also happened to be my long-time nemesis, thought I was letting down my guard, which honestly might've been true, and so he threw another blast of cold (extremely fucking I-can't-stand-this cold) gust of wind at me. Literally. With just a flick of his hand.

I staggered back, wheezing, and nearly forgot that I was standing on top of an eight-storey building. Accidentally inhaling another cold gust of air, I took one more step back and nearly fell to my death.

I suppose this isn't a magnificent start to my heroic adventures. All thanks to Ice Phantom and his bloody ice queen powers.

He gripped the collar of my suit from the front, saving me from falling down the rooftop we'd somehow found our way on. He didn't stop until his face was looming over my own, his breath smelling like ice. His greyish blue eyes, the only part of his face I could see that wasn't hidden by the leather mask, held the usual murderous glint as his hand fisted around my collar and nearly choked me to death.

You see, there was never a saving or even a nearly saving when it came to him. The one and only magnificent piece of asshole--Ice Phantom.

"Did I just hear someone calling you Cinderella, love?" He asked, his eyes narrowing to deathly slits. The guy could turn real scary if he wanted. Fortunately (for me), I was kind of used to it by now.

"I...what?" I wheezed and choked out at the same time. Then I was trying to pry his grip from my collar. It wasn't one of my smartest moves, not when his grip was the only thing keeping me from falling to my inevitable death.

"Look," I gasped out. He really was crushing my airway. "Lets not...have this conversation...at the edge--"

"That someone just pet-named you after a preppy little princess?" He inquired, cutting me off.

"I'm not...letting you...plant that cracker bomb." Still choking.

I think he smiled behind that mask of his. Not that I could tell. It was the way his eyes crinkled just a little at the corners and the grey in his eyes swirled, and I always assumed he was smiling then.

In a sickeningly disgusting way, I mean.

"Are we really going to have this argument right now?" I must've only imagined when he loosened his grip on my suit.

I planted my toes firmly on the edge of the rooftop, praying one last time for my dear life, before jabbing the base of my elbow somewhere near his abdomen. It was enough to send him staggering back and enough for me to pull away from the edge.

"I am no one's love, you fucker." I hissed before lunging myself at him, taking him by surprise and tackling him to the ground, enough to pin him down with a knife to his throat. I had no superpowers, true, but knives worked just as fine.

Ice Phantom blinked, looking a little surprised for some reason, as the black hood fell down his head. "Well, your enthusiasm in straddling me countless times suggests otherwise."

His hair was the same shade as the open sky above--midnight black. A small part of me started naming down a list of people I knew who had the same black hair and the same unnatural grey eyes like his. The list didn't consist of just one person. Besides, in all the three years we both had been fighting each other--Ice Phantom and I--we never tried finding out each other's real identity.

We never had to.

The Agency never told me to. Orias had never asked me to.

"You're staring, love." He was smiling again behind that mask of his, I was sure of it. That fucker.

"Where is it?" I glared at him, leaning down and pressing the knife a little more against the pale column of his throat. "Tell me where you've kept the bomb."

It was infuriating how calm he seemed despite a really sharp dagger being pointed at his throat. I could even hear rushing footsteps nearing the roof we were on. People of this town never left the matters alone, not even when dangers came along with it if the city's famous hero and supervillain were having one of their grand fights.

Except that this wasn't supposed to be a grand fight. I was supposed to be at the cemetery. I was supposed to be out of this suit and sitting down in front of my parents' graves and I was supposed to be there. For them.

I tried visiting them once every month. Twice, if it made me feel any better. Because that's all they'd really left me with. Their graves and their absence. And I owed them something.

"I don't know where the bomb is." Ice Phantom swallowed. I glanced down at the tip of my knife and pulled it back half an inch. I didn't want to accidentally kill him. Of course, he could be a real giant pain in my ass and sure his day-to-day activities could get rather evil sometimes, but he hadn't ever imposed a big threat on this city. I didn't even know what exactly was it that he wanted by being so villainous (besides making my life difficult).

And I didn't kill. I didn't want any blood today. Not, I thought, when I needed to be at the cemetery.

"Look, Ice Phantom--"

"I have an actual name, you know."

"Well, I don't know what it is, for fuck's sake!" I shouted with every bits of exasperation I felt right then. With one hand still pressing the knife to his throat, I started patting his sides. "I know you have it with you."

"This is getting rather interesting." He mused in that sultry tone that made me tighten my grip on the knife. I was a little satisfied when I felt him stiffen. "Should've done this sooner." He added anyway.

A pocket, I cheered in my head, only to find it empty. Dammit. "Was it your precious Agency that told you I'm on a bombing spree?"

"Shut your mouth."

"Don't you have college tomorrow?" He asked me. Still talking. I hated that I couldn't find the explosive device Orias had sent me to get from him. If I don't find it, he will plant it somewhere in the city, a voice spoke in my head. If I don't get it and if I'm too late, people will get injured. They might die. Innocent children might die.

I momentarily froze at that thought.

"Luckily for me, I don't go to college." I lied.

He chuckled as if my words had been funny but didn't say anything more. I had this nagging feeling sometimes that he knew more about my real identity than I knew about his. This wasn't the first time my doubts were rocketing up the sky.

"Where," I spoke through my gritted teeth, "is the bomb?" The temptation to stab him right then was real. And strong. I couldn't let him hurt any more innocent lives. I was supposed to protect the people of this town. That's how it has always been.

But I couldn't kill him either. Heroes don't hurt, Dahlia, Orias's words rang in my ears. No matter what.

"I told you, I don't know--" His voice got engulfed by the sudden gust of air when several people came rushing through the roof door, surrounding us with camera flashes and loud questions and whatnot. I think I could vaguely hear police cars in the streets below--which wasn't surprising either since police officers hated me when I messed things up (which was mostly Ice Phantom destroying the infrastructure of the city).

This was not how I had planned for tonight to go.

"Kill him, Cinder Girl!" Someone yelled from somewhere near me. "Banish the evil once and for all!"

I clenched my jaw. I didn't understand why people, defenceless people, treated such situations like it was worth the entertainment. It wasn't. One wrong move from Ice Phantom and people got hurt.

It felt like thousands of needles were pricking my skin from every direction. That wasn't new either. Getting stares from every direction, coupled with camera flashes, made me feel like I had these poisonous spiders crawling up my very skin.

Ice Phantom seemed to be enjoying it though. He loved the attention he got.

"I suppose this is my cue to throw you off." He broke his stare from the fans and settled it on me again. "No harsh feelings, love. It's just that people want a show. You know I can't ever deny my fans what they want."

"Don't even think about it," I growled, gripping the hilt of my dagger. "Don't even--"

"It's not worth recording. What if she burns up everything like the last time?" I heard someone from behind me. One of the people from the crowd.

And it made me anxious. The fear in that voice. So much so that I didn't notice Ice Phantom acting up before it was too late.

"Ow!" I exclaimed when he somehow managed to get his hand free from under my knee, pinched the inside of my arm, and made my knife clatter down on the ground. Then in mere seconds, he had me hanging on the edge of the roof again, this time holding onto me by the front of my cape.

My unruly dark hair flew into my mouth and my eyes, and since my hands were busy once again trying to pry off his grip, I tried spitting it out.

This was probably the most unfair thing in the whole universe--having no superpowers and fighting with someone who had real mean ones.

"You know I always get what I want, don't you?" I hadn't noticed him leaning closer, not until his ice-cold breath fanned against the shell of my ear. And it hurt. The cold hurt. Did it never hurt him to carry so much of that inside? I so dearly hoped that it did.

Don't push me off this roof. Don't push me off this roof.

"Don't stay up too late. You must have college tomorrow."

"What are you, my mother?" I exclaimed--a little hysterically, now that I think about it. Hanging over the edge of a rooftop will get you like that. Everyone behind him had silenced, even the one redhead reporter that vaguely reminded me of my best friend Penny. And all the stares were directed at me.

I suppose a part of me did want Ice Phantom to push me off the roof. At least no facing the people that way.

Ice Phantom didn't say anything more. All he did was tug me closer by the front of my cape, his gaze fixated on me all the while, and slid something in my back pocket with his free hand. I swallowed when he gave me a slow once-over, and it felt like my skin was scorching. I think he hesitated. I think I hesitated.

Then he let go of my cape.

And I fell.

That is exactly how I ended up on the dirty ground of some cold, empty alleyway, away from the people. Away from everyone.

"Fuck," I groaned, rolling over on my stomach when my shoulder throbbed. It tasted like dirt in my mouth and maybe even a little bloody.

Thankfully, it didn't seem like I had broken any bones. Bruises, yes. Ones that'll hurt for weeks. But I wasn't dead. I guess most of my fall had been levelled out by the sloping canopies of the apartment windows.

Grumbling and cursing Ice Phantom under my breath, I leaned back against the nearest wall, trying to catch my breath. Then I tapped at the dark band around my forearm. The screen lit up, showing me the current time (it was way after midnight), and no new messages from the Agency.

Orias wouldn't be happy, I thought. Not when I'd failed to find out about the bomb's whereabouts.

Groaning a little more as I shifted in my position, I slid my hand inside my back pocket and took out the piece of paper Ice Phantom had gifted me at the very last moment before pushing me off the roof.

I slowly opened it up, frowned, and stared down at the cursive handwriting of none other than my own icy nemesis.

Place a lily over your parents' graves for me, will you?