Chapter 14 part 2

Samuel

It was a slow and boring day, but Samuel couldn't help but be grateful for it. He'd take it over being the hero all the time any day.

"Dad" Ellie, who was sitting in the corner playing with some toys, suddenly spoke up.

"Yes?" Samuel replied, taking his eyes away from the random documentary he was watching.

"When am I going back to daycare?" She asked eagerly

Samuel wasn't prepared for her to ask that question. Hell, he still wasn't prepared for him to ask that question to himself. The honest answer would be 'I don't know' but that is definitely not an acceptable answer to give to Ellie.

Luckily the doorbell rang just seconds before he had to give his answer. Maybe Ellie would forget about it.

Samuel motioned for Ellie to wait and pulled himself up off the couch. He hadn't had any visitors in a while. Plus, Matias never rings the doorbell. Hell, he only ever even knocked once.

Samuel found it a bit amusing that Matias knocked that night instead of ringing the doorbell, but it was probably too early to joke about that.

He cracked the door open slightly, peeking out. He definitely didn't expect the person he saw smiling back at him.

However, he couldn't really say he wasn't happy to see her.

"Hello Amanda" he greeted, opening the door the rest of the way.

"Hi Mr. Reed" she happily replied

Samuel stepped out of the way to let her in. He had told her to take a while off from babysitting because he didn't have to work for a bit, and she hadn't told him she would be coming over.

"How many times must I tell you to call me Samuel?" He teased, leaving the door to hang open for even longer.

"Sorry" she laughed "also sorry to intrude, I just figured I'd come by and see Ellie for a bit, if y'all aren't doing anything of course"

Samuel glanced into the living room at the same second that Ellie noticed Amanda. Her eyes went wide and she was to her feet and running to her in seconds.

As they were having their little reunion, Samuel finally looked back to close the door.

Samuel had been glad Amanda stopped by, but every ounce of that joy was now gone.

On the sidewalk across the road was the last person Samuel had expected to see. The new villain.

She was just walking casually, as if she wasn't a threat for anyone around. Of course Samuel lived in a neighborhood full of old retired people, so nobody was around to see her.

"Mr. Reed?" Amanda questioned after noticing his shift in mood, the door still being held open as he stared out of it.

Samuel jumped as Amanda said his name. He looked away from the door and then immediately back out of it. But it was too late, the new villain was gone.

"I'm so sorry, but do you mind watching Ellie for just a few moments? I have something very important and very last minute that I have to attend"

Amanda nodded, but that didn't stop Samuels ranting.

"I promise I'll pay you for it. I'll pay plenty since it is really last minute"

He tried to continue, but Amanda finally jumped in.

"I'll watch her, it's really no problem"

Usually Samuel would spend longer than necessary thanking her, but he didn't have the time. He hurried back to his room and dug into the bottom drawer of a small dresser in his closet, pulling out his, or rather the hero's, suit.

It didn't take him long to put on the outfit and mask and to stuff his backup weapons into different pockets and holders, but he still remained in his room for an annoyingly long time.

He couldn't just walk out the front door dressed like this. Not only would Amanda find out that he's the hero, but Ellie doesn't know either.

Samuel never prided himself for having good luck, but now he was thinking maybe he should. Ellie practically dragged Amanda back to her room, leaving an open moment for Samuel to rush himself out the door.

Once he was outside he didn't waste a second ducking away into a shallow opening between buildings. He often changed there, not ever being stupid enough to walk out his front door dressed as the hero any time before now.

Once he knew nobody saw him he left the area and sprinted down the empty sidewalk towards Greenlake. He had to make a ballpark guess as to where the new villain had gone, but she had attacked here before. All he could do was pray she'd actually be there.

As he got nearer to Greenlake the sidewalks filled with more people. There were still only few of them, but there were enough to take photos and send them out everywhere online.

By the time Samuel, or the hero, had gotten to the closer end of Greenlake Road there was a crowd of police, photographers, interviewers, and just regular people who wanted to see the hero.

The hero glanced around the crowd, wincing at the familiar equipment and people. News reporters. One of their large, fancy cameras was pointed right at him and he was sure all of it was live.

Everyone tried talking to the hero while also talking over one another. All he could do was stare back at them dumbfounded. Usually he could handle the situation fairly effortlessly, but he was admittedly very distraught.

When he finally gathered his thoughts he forced words to spill out of his mouth.

"I cannot say here right now, you all must find some shelter. Please stay calm, but I cannot assure that it's safe here right now" he announced to the crowd.

At first only a few people made their way in different directions until the hero's words seemed to register in their head and they all scrambled. Some went into nearby shops while others ran down the street to who knows where. Honestly, Samuel didn't have the energy to care where they went at the moment.

He walked down the road searching for any sign of the new villain. Surely she wouldn't just walk around dressed like that if she wasn't planning something.

While he was determined to find her, he was also a bit relieved that he didn't. What was he supposed to do anyways? She humiliated him last time, why would now be any different?

He had eventually reached the very end of Greenlake. The news must be spreading like wildfire considering the very few people on the street. There was only a teenage looking boy a ways away and an elderly woman a bit closer on the other side of the road.

The hero stopped and considered his next move. He could turn back and do another lap around Greenlake, or he could keep going and check around the area?

Before he had time to decide what he'd do, an ear piercing sound erupted from down the road. Debris was thrown everywhere and Samuel was uncomfortably close to getting hit in the face by a broken brick.

The air filled with dust which clouded Samuels senses. He could hardly see his hands in front of him and every time he would inhale a thick layer of dust would climb into his throat.

The explosion didn't seem to be all that close, but it must've been big considering even from where he was he was engulfed in the aftermath of it.

He put his elbow up to his face to try and breathe clean air, but it barely worked. He was still breathing in heaps of dirt, but it was at least better than before.

As much as he wanted to take off his stupid mask and his ridiculous suit and just go home, he knew he couldn't. He had a responsibility as the hero, and he couldn't just leave all these people in danger.

He walked into the cloud of dust, the air growing dirtier the further he went. Not too far into his journey he found a small kid lying on the ground. Her eyes were closed and she had a large wound on her head, blood gushing into her long blonde hair.

He glanced up to assure there was nobody approaching, though he couldn't see anything in front of him anyways. He crouched in front of the girl, panicking more than he'd like to admit.

She must've been pretty close to Ellie's age, maybe after Ellie starts school they could be friends.

He put two fingers up to her neck. Her and Ellie were definitely not going to be friends. That is, of course, because there was no heart beat. There was no pulse and there was no breath. She was dead.

Samuels heart dropped to the floor. She was just a young girl who got caught up in whatever the hell is going on, none of this should cost her her life.

His breathing grew rugged and he had to tear himself away from the scene before him. The new villain hadn't severely hurt anyone before, but now they were causing explosions and killing children?

He wanted to grieve the girls death and mourn for the family, but there was too little time. His legs slumped as he forced himself to keep walking. His knees kept buckling and his vision blurred, but he kept on.

He had finally found a steady walking pace when he nearly tripped on something. His eyes opened wide but his sight might as well have been gone.

Right in front of his feet was an arm that he had tripped on. Attached to the arm was a completely unrecognizable body. There was blood covering it from head to toe and the other arm was nowhere to be seen.

He must've been getting close to where the explosion happened, but every thought of that had left his mind. All he could think about was the innocent people being killed by this ridiculous fight.

His gaze trailed from the body his eyes had been glued to up to the other bodies that laid out on the road. From where he was standing he could see at least six, all blown to the point of being unidentifiable.

He felt warm tears fall onto his cheeks and his knees got too close to giving out. The only thing keeping him on his feet was the bloody body in front of him. The air suddenly felt bitter and cold, the dust still lingering thick, but clearing more than it was before.

He was truly helpless. Who knows what the new villain could be out doing while he was in a daze, but he couldn't help it. He thought he could handle seeing death, but this was all too much.

His thoughts overtook his mind and his body for who knows how long. He could've stood there for days had it not been for the voice that interrupted his mind.

"It really is an awful sight to see, don't you think?" The voice was feminine, but also annoyingly joking. The sarcasm behind the words was thick and unhidden.

The smoke had cleared enough for Samuel to easily see at least six feet in front of him, a silhouette appearing in the middle of the far away dirt.

He was uncomfortably aware of who it was.

He wanted to spit insults at her and let her know how infuriated he was, but he couldn't. He just stared. He couldn't even bring himself to give a nasty look, he simply watched her with an almost confused expression.

"Nine of them right here" the woman continued, gesturing to the bodies

As must as he didn't want to, Samuel glanced at them. The sight made the pit in his stomach grow but he counted them anyways. And she was right. There were nine people dead between them.

"You're sick" Samuel finally managed to get out just barely a mumble

He was sure the new villain couldn't hear him, but she replied anyways.

"I'm actually feeling rather well, you do look a bit ill though" she chuckled

Samuels jaw tightened and he scrambled his still shocked brain for some kind of reply. However, after a few seconds, it didn't really matter anyways.

One of the odd red strings of power jolted out of the woman's back and grabbed the hero from his ankle, lifting him off the ground. He fell upside down, his blood already starting to rush to his head.

The string pulled him through the air and before he knew it he was no more than three feet away from the new villain. He hadn't planned on fighting her like this, but it became apparently clear that she wasn't willing to talk it out.

He balled up some of his own powers in his hand and released it, sending it straight for the new villains chest. A wall of red formed in front of her just a half second before she was hit. The hero's attack dissipated, doing no damage to the new villain.

"Now now, there's no need for all that"

Her dry and joking tone only made Samuel angrier. He looked her right in her face, the dead bodies still visible out of the corner of his eye.

"It really doesn't have to be a big scene" she jerked her head to the side, gesturing to the News drone that was getting closer than Samuel was comfortable with. Within a second the woman had engulfed it in her powers and crushed it completely.

Somehow Samuel hadn't noticed all the cameras floating around them. There were multiple more drones that remained farther away, cameras perched up on sidewalks, and two helicopters flying up above.

"Shocking how people will risk their lives just to get footage like this, don't you think?" She teased.

"You're the reason their lives are at risk in the first place" The hero spat in reply

He couldn't see her face, but Samuel just knew she was scowling.

"I suppose that is fair" she added gingerly despite the situation.

Samuel tried to find a reply, but nothing came to mind. She knew what she was doing. She was fully aware of the damage done.

She just didn't care.

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Ngl the story from here on out is like.. a whole different tone.

Anyways, lmk what u thought 😚😚