It was some minutes after fighting off villains successfully with the bulk of my help, we flew back to the secret cave where we dwelled and trained. It was an underground tunnel which led to a building with up-to-date facilities and equipment for saving humanity. After we had gotten rid of the demon king, a few of us who were really passionate about saving people decided to come together to form a squad.

At first, it came with all the usual excitement and thrills of punching, permanently killing demons and playing with toys a baby dared not handle. Thereafter, while the pleasure steadily dwindled, the hero job became more of a routinely exercise than something of passion. I sought my own way of spicing up the adventure every time we went out together on a mission.

"What the hell, Risa? I said to hold it, not release it again." Ryda, the team's leader fixed on me a hard glare with his arms crossed.

I dropped on a leather armchair with one of my foot was planted on the tiled ground while the other sat on one of the chair's arm. A corner of my mouth lifted in humour. "I don't know why you're so worked up over this. I got bored sitting with the sparkly eyed demon, I had to go do something and before I got back, he was gone."

Catching them all over again after letting them go thrilled the blood within my veins to no end but the others hated it.

Boring people.

One time while they fought, I stood by with a cup of hot fudge I found in the deserted cafeteria and watched. It seemed like child's play which I didn't want to be caught dead getting involved in. Being the one with the greatest powers was fun and at the same time, hectic but sometimes, I can't help but watch them struggle with killing those resurrecting creatures of villainy all over and over again.

Something I could end once and for all with a swipe of my hands.

A loud chime filled the silence in the tense atmosphere and the elevator doors swished open. Vanik, Zelda and her twin sister, Velda, stepped out and into the room. Filled with quiet uncertainty, Velda stood behind as her twin pinned me with a hateful glare. I had always known the bitch never liked me from the beginning, however, I gave no fucks as to what she thought about me.

I settled in my chair with a satisfactory sigh, failing to miss the low growl that emitted from Zelda. "You stupid bitch! When will you ever start being considerate of your teammates?"

"I wish I could answer your question but the thing is, I don't know. I've played this 'hero' thing with y'all for so long and forgotten what it feels like to be tipping with mischief." It wasn't really a lie. I missed how it felt, running through my veins like the adrenaline rush I get after almost getting caught doing something prohibited. The thrill of trouble aroused bubbles of excitement within me.

There was a buzz of activities around us from the low ranking heroes and those still undergoing training. Next thing I heard was a loud thump against the side of my head and deafening silence came upon the room. It was as though everyone became alarmed. With bated breaths, they waited. The pain went through my head like prickling nails provoking an angry cuss as my hands reached up to caress the spot.

"Oh no! She did not just do that." Came a small whisper from someone.

"What the hell, Zelda?" I yelled, directing my glare straight at her.

But it was Velda who was glowering at me instead. That came as a surprise, for it was Zelda who often lost her head and voice around me. Sparks of anger reflected in my line of vision as my gaze zeroed in on her. At that point, no pressure of fire extinguisher would have been able to quell my rage toward her. All I wanted to do, was slam her head against the wall and forget about her forever.

"What do you want to do? Fight me? Beat me up like you did Tane and his brother? Tug my heart out like you did that young boy? Throw me in the furnace? Answer me bitch!" Velda yelled with her veins popping out of her face and neck as she strained forward without success. Zelda had her arms securely wrapped around her, restricting her movements.

It was the first time I had seen Velda lose her cool and if you asked for my opinion, I would say she damn looked fantastic. Although there was something she said that I needed to correct before the entire crew spelt it otherwise but Vanik beat me to it.

"What little boy was that, Velda?"

She calmed a little to reply. "The one she told us went back to his parents. Well, news flash, he didn't. She killed him that morning."

The news struck wind out of me like a heavy punch and a sick feeling of nausea overcame me. That was either a misunderstanding or a blatant lie and I needed to defend myself. "That's a big fucking lie, guys. He was gonna stab Ryda while he slept. I saw it with my own two eyes. His eyes glowed green when he looked at me as he made moves toward where Ryda was sleeping."

Ryda, who was in a relaxed position on a high table countertop, jumped down with smooth agility. "What did you say?"

"That was--"

He raised a hand to hush me. "I was talking to you, Velda."

After she was done giving her own narrative of how I killed the supposed little boy and buried him someplace, everyone stared at me with myriads of facial expressions. It was overwhelming to behold. Even Vanik, whom I was in love with, now gave me with a distant look that tore at my heart. One of hate and undisguised repulsion.

I stood up in haste. "Look, I can explain this. He was gonna--"

"--kill me? I'm sure he was. How can we be sure you weren't the one who sent him? The way you act so careless and unhindered these days is out of hand, Risa. On more than one occasion, Zelda has seen you acting friendly with villains when you should be putting an end to them."

My arms dropped at my sides for lack of words to say in defense. "But doesn't that make us villains as well? We are meant to make the world a better place, right? We are only meant to kill those who have gone far beyond redemption not those we can still change."

Zelda let go of her fuming twin to face me. "What a dumb illusion about changing demons. That changes nothing, Risa. It doesn't change the fact that you killed that innocent little boy."

"Are you kidding me?"

"Stop, just stop it, Risa." Vanik spoke again. "We're not saying now that you killed the little boy or not. We're saying your little interactions with villains have made you like them. I can't even recognize the woman I fell in love with in the first place. You've changed so much, Risa."

I stared at him like I couldn't recognize the person speaking. I remembered vividly the long chat we had about rescuing villains and other real stuffs the night before. 'Was I only imagining that?'

"We beat our chests and say we're heroes yet we do not know their backstory, we know nothing about them. A hero isn't meant to be a murderer, a hero saves." I said in defense.

Ryda's voice boomed out. "I take it you've had enough of saving people. You're hereby suspended of your duties. Raya, you can escort her out." He ordered to the low ranking hero who had been quiet all these while, listening to the heated argument between her superiors.

"Really? Well, I'm sorry about that and for your information, that little boy was a grown ass demon and if you don't believe me, you can fucking kiss my dimpled butt." I had had just about enough of them trying to make me feel terrible for interacting with bad guys whom I could rescue from the clutch of villainy.

Picking up the bits and pieces of my battered dignity, I moved with graceful steps and a lifted chin toward the open doors of the elevator. Right before I stepped in, I turned to them. "I hope you recognize your wrongs soon enough and the truth that I killed no little boy."

As the doors drew close, I caught the spiteful sneer on Zelda's face, the look of regret on Velda's and the dejected slump of Vanik's shoulders as he pressed his face into the palm of his hands. Before long, all that stared back was the shiny gold metal of the elevator's doors as they shut in my face.

∆\∆/∆\∆/∆

Weeks after the incident that birthed my suspension from the team, I was lounging around my room when a sudden explosion caused the drink I placed on the table to fall off and spill on the rug below. I sprung to my feet in alert at the terrifying sound. The loud thumps of scurrying feet from below as they moved, filtered up to my hearing.

I moved toward the iron barred window that faced the training grounds. It was veiled by a thick black floor to ceiling curtain. I tugged it aside to get a clear view of the people moving in haste. It seemed as though Creantis was in trouble; a big one they wouldn't be able to get out of easily.

As long as I was still placed on suspension, there was nothing I could do about it until Ryda stated otherwise. So I remained calm and seated, anticipating a knock or an instruction to be let out.

Silence dominated the atmosphere as I waited but the instructions never came. I stood up to look behind the curtains again. Only a few people were left to watch over the cave while the rest went along with Ryda and the others. There was no small hush about the explosion as I failed to miss the words the newbies spoke and how their faces furrowed deeply in worry.

A feeling of rejection settled over me as it dawned on me that they really didn't think I could be trusted enough to be let free to go on any mission with them. Swinging my legs over and on the bed, I burrowed into the thick blanket that offered the warmth my teammates couldn't. Tears escaped my closed eyelids as flashes after flashes of images during our missions flew around in my head. Sighing deeply, I turned over to ignore the anxious noise coming from below my room. As my eyelids became heavy with sleep and I struggled to keep them open, I was jolted to consciousness by a loud bang. It was as though someone threw open the iron doors.

While I listened, I heard someone shuffle inside. "The demons are here and they're not just a hundred, they're a legion. Not just that, they're with a giant demon who opened the portal to the demon realm. Creantis is doomed." The sounded breathless and their voice shook as they spoke.

"Commander Ryda and the other superiors are doing their best to fight off those demons but they can only hold them down for a little while. It's hazardous out there." Another terrified voice piped up.

'Your teammates are out there on a dangerous mission that could cost them their lives and here you are, sprawled out in comfort.' A voice in my head jeered.

I threw the covers off my body with great speed. "I'm sorry, Ryda, but you can punish me when I'm done."

Pulling out the bolts of the iron windrow with a spoon, I slithered out of the room noiselessly. On my hands and knees I went, avoiding the guards who were now high at alert for any intruder.

Once I was in the open and out of view, I propelled my body forward, huffing and puffing as I ran all the way to the battle field. From a distance, I spotted Velda's hair as she had her sword locked in defence against a demon's twisted horn planted on its forehead. To my side were another pair of fighters. To my dismay, more demons poured out from a portal far away which would be hard to close because of the lack of proximity.

I soon spotted Ryda struggling with a giant demon with an eye in the middle of it's face. It raised a fist and brought it down upon Ryda who didn't see the blow coming as his attention was pinned on his bow and arrows which seemed to have fallen some feet away from him.

I moved quickly to Ryda who now laid curled up on his side and was about to be stumped upon by the giant. At the right moment I slid in, taking a hold of his collar and pulling him out. Our eyes met but before he formed words, I shot off into the sky with his bow and arrows in my hand. Making a straight aim for the giant's eye, I let the arrow fly. The arrow made a loud whirring sound as the woodwork dissipated and in its place was crystals.

The giant let out a great roar, stumbling back several steps with its fingers gripping its face as black liquid oozed out of its injured eye. The ongoing battle ceased as all stood in awe and horror to watch what had just happened.

"Hey, big boy. Over here!" I yelled, ignoring the outrageous looks Zelda gave to me.

In rage, the monster broke off the crystal took off toward me in blind fury. 'Just a few feet closer,' I thought as it got close. As soon as it was close enough, I materialized a large crystalline sledge hammer from the middle of my palm. The fact that the demon's eye was already injured gave me an edge over it as I landed a heavy blow on one of it's scaly legs. Another pained roar escaped the demon as it tripped to the dusty ground below. The vibration that came from the fall, shook the earth and the grave silence afterwards was as though everyone was waiting for the final results with bated breaths. The other demons had an evil glint in their eyes like they were sure I was going to be crushed by their leader.

The sledge hammer in my arm took on the form of an enormous spear before the demon could get a chance to raise it's head. I rose as high in the sky as I could, until the size of the weak giant was the size of a mere man in my eyes then I dove back to earth with the pointed end of the crystalline spear aimed for the moaning mass on the ground.

With fingers of both hands gripped tightly around the shaft of the spear, I drove it straight home into the left side of the giant's back making sure it connected to the heart. It's feet began to kick in jerking motions as it writhed. My teeth clenched together in pain with the efforts it took to pin the beast to the ground. My arms were hurting from trying to sniff out life from the horrible monster.

Finally, after a long painful period of time, it slowed it's convulsions and stilled. A dark midst rose from it's body, giving a bloodcurdling scream before sinking back down into the earth.

It was all over.

A great cheer rang out from amidst the superheroes as I dropped to the ground right beside the dead demon. I stared into the cloudless skies, panting out in short gasps. The rest of the demons immediately took off back into the portal before it finally closed. The ones who were unfortunate to make it back were killed.

A shadow loomed over me. When I zeroed my gaze on the person's face, it was Ryda. He was stretching an arm toward me. I took the palm as a leverage to pull myself up.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have--" I was crushed in a big hug.

"Thank you for saving my life twice." He murmured in my ear.

I pulled away as I gave him a confused look. "I don't understand. I thought--."

"You killed the demon's heir apparently and he needed a revenge. It wasn't a little boy afterall. Only a thousand year old demon who wanted Ryda dead. We're sorry we doubted you and tagged you a liar." It was Velda and she gave me a small smile as she said it.

I shrugged as a hand wrapped around my shoulders. I found myself leaning into muscled chest and taking in a whiff of the familiar scent of earth, manly cologne and a tinge of sweat. I raised my head to look into Vanik's sad face.

"I'm a jerk."

I rolled my eyes before leaning in to press a soft kiss on his lips. "I'm sorry I made you doubt me and I'm glad it's all over."

Velda gave a small whoop of victory just then, startling us all. "Let's go home people."

Together, we clambered up the large jeep while the others rode in the vehicles they had brought along and as the vehicle sped along, I realized I needed to bring to an end my days of seeking pleasure at the team's expense. Leaning back, I relaxed into the warmth of Vanik who in turn pressed a kiss to my crown.

It was official. I was never going to cause incessant worries between the squad with the tricky games I played for mere entertainment.