"You." She spoke, a strange coldness to her voice.

She stared at me, her eyes dead and completely focused upon me. Her face was completely neutral, a far cry from her usual expressions.

The Hero of Hope no longer looked very heroic.

And probably why was because of the dark crimson blood splattered on her face and costume. It dripped down her tightly clenched fist, joining the puddle of blood at her feet.

"You're supposed to be my arch-nemesis." She whispered. "Why? Why aren't you mine?"

Woah! Hold on there for just a moment, this is going way too fast! Let's slow down for a moment for the dear readers.

Hello there. As you can tell, I'm in an...odd, situation at the least. One that I'm not fully sure how I got into.

But you can't just start off a story with this! No no no, we need to go to the beginning. The day that would eventually lead to having a psycho, murderous hero obsess over me, along with other things...

So, let me set the scene for you.

Imagine a classic bank robbery. Three ski-masked men, all with guns and a bag for cash. One is at the register, pointing his pistol at the person behind the counter in order to get them to fill the bag with money.

The other two are patrolling, holding rifles as they walked back and forth between the innocents on the ground. All of them are sitting, huddling together in fear as they watch the robbers with shaking eyes.

"Quicker! I don't have all day here." Growled the first robber, the one pointing the gun at the nervous man behind the counter.

The man gulped, continuing to shakily throw cash into the bag as he hurried to not get his brains blown out.

So, who exactly am I?

Am I the nervous man behind the counter? Am I the scared but brave girl in the corner, trying to secretly send an alert with her phone? Could I be the young boy clutching onto his mother with teary eyes? Or maybe I'm the young man who is lightly comforting the ones around him by placing hands on their shoulders?

No, I'm none of those.

Maybe now is the time to mention I'm not exactly the best person.

"Quicker!" I yelled again at the man behind the counter, continuing to point the gun at him. He frantically nodded, looking into my eyes with fear as he followed through with my demands.

Yeah, I'm the one wearing the ski mask with the gun pointed at the man behind the counter.

Jason James, nice to meet'cha. Just your resident twenty-one year old powerless grunt to the supervillain known as Deathhand. Aren't I just a wonderful person?

Seriously, if this guy doesn't hurry up we're gonna get caught. The plan we were told to follow was to have multiple banks hit at once so at least one can succeed, and I don't want ours to be one of the ones unfortunately stopped by a hero.

I would rather not go to prison just yet, thank you very much.

The man behind the counter finally finished putting the money into the bag. Keeping the gun and my eyes trained on him, I zipped up the duffel bag before slinging it onto my back.

Damn, this is heavier than you would think!

"Alright, we're moving! Now!" I yelled at the other two.

"Why so quick?" One of the other robbers questioned. "We should get a second bag while we can."

"No, we are leaving now!" I ordered. "Do you want to be caught by a superhero?"

"We're hitting six banks." The third one added. "What are the chances we're the one that gets a superhero-"

"Don't you jinx it!" I pointed at him. "We are out of-"

As I was speaking those words, something suddenly crashed through the ceiling. I cursed to myself, diving over the counter and surprising the frightened man. He quickly backed up as I crashed onto the floor, muttering to myself as I took off the duffel bag.

Well, plan went to shit.

Time for my escape.

I unzipped the bag, grabbing some of the wads of cash and sticking them into my pockets. Looks like Deathhand isn't going to be getting this bank's share, and I won't be the one to tell him.

I glanced over the counter, seeing who arrived. And of course, it has to be her. The freaking Hero of Hope. God damn it, why did you have to jinx it random grunt number three?!

A superhero elegantly stood in the bank, her arms crossed as she looked at the situation. She wore a mainly gold with a secondary color of red high-tech metal suit that covered most of her body, leaving only her head exposed. A red cape with a golden outline flowed behind the suit.

Her long, blonde hair flowed down to a little past her shoulders, and her piercing blue eyes quickly darted around and analyzed the situation. But the main thing that drew attention was the image of a red star on her chest.

Stellar. The Hero of Hope.

You see, when you're doing illegal acts you kinda learn about the heroes and their powers in order to "be prepared", or more accurately, know how fucked you are.

And we are pretty fucked.

Stellar right there is one of the few heroes known as a double-powered, as in she has two unique abilities instead of one thanks to her nifty little S-Genome.

Now, both of her abilities aren't as strong as someone who would solely have them. At least, that's what the scientists say according to people I've eavesdropped on.

"Hey!" The second grunt screamed, bringing up his rifle. I stated to crawl across the ground behind the counter, passing employees who were curled up in terror and trying to get to an exit as quick as I could while those two get thrashed.

Stellar's feet lifted off the ground as she suddenly sped towards him at extreme speeds. Power one, flight. He pulled the trigger, only for her to use her armor to knock the bullet into the ceiling and away from the innocents.

Before he could shoot again she gripped the end of his gun, tightening her hold and crushing the barrel in her fist. Power two, super strength.

Pretty basic, I know right? I wonder who that reminds you of.

Well, she isn't called the Hero of Hope for nothing, and that's why I'm busting my ass to get out of here. She is easily one of the stronger superheroes, having been trained by the previous Hero of Hope, Luminosity.

"Gah!" The second grunt cried as he crashed into the wall. Oof, that's gonna be sore when he's behind bars.

Clearly I wasn't paired with any smart grunts as the second tried to shoot at her again. This one at least aimed more towards her head.

There's an exit right ahead! Just crawl a little bit more while she deals with that final grunt!

She knocked the bullets into the ceiling once more, flying fast towards the man. He brought his rifle up in an attempt to honk her on the head with it, but it was easily caught and crushed, leaving him defenseless.

I quickly reached up for the door, yanking it open and slamming it behind me. Don't really care if I make noise I gotta get the hell out of here.

I quickly ran through the hallway, making twists and turns until I saw an exit sign. I crashed through the door to a back alley, quickly looking around and finding a trash can.

For the love of-

Reluctantly I lowered myself into the trash can, waiting with bated breaths. The door was suddenly slammed open, no doubt Stellar in pursuit for the final of the three grunts which had dared to try to rob this bank.

It wasn't nice knowing you, grunt two and three. You will not be missed.

I don't hear a thing. She's definitely levitating, but it is very scary not hearing any footsteps when I know she's right there.

And then she opened the trash can lid.

She peered down into it, only seeing trash. That's right, I was so committed not only did I squish myself in here I also completely covered myself in trash.

At least give me praise for that, because this is disgusting and it is horrifying being in pitch darkness while being pursued.

"Damn it." I heard a low mutter, sounding as if Stellar was done with her search.

Holy moly that was much too close. That could've been the end of everything. Before I get out though, I might wanna wait to make sure she's really gone.

I waited a little bit longer, before finally I heard police sirens as they arrived to the bank. Well, now I seriously need to get out of here. I peeked out of the trash can, luckily not seeing a floating blonde superhero ready to grab me.

I quickly got myself out of that disgusting trash, gagging as I smelled myself. I shook the smell from my nose and quickly skedaddled out of there before anybody discovered me.

I took off the mask, stuffing it in a non-money pocket as I walked out of the back alleys and to the main streets of Champion City.

After getting a lot of strange looks for my disgusting attire, I finally arrived to my small little apartment. I quickly got in, put the contaminated clothes into a plastic bag, the money under the floorboards, and then my body into the shower.

Welp, guess I'm out of a job again. Returning to Deathhand with nothing but the loss of two stupid grunts could easily end badly for me.

I stared at myself in the mirror, looking at my short blond hair and then my sharp red eyes. I felt myself sigh at the situation as I started to get dressed into casual formal clothes.

This means I need to find another job. A regular one is off the table for reasons, so I need to return to my favorite information broker. Hopefully without paying too much.

Just in case I grabbed one of the few wads of cash I was able to smuggle from the failed bank heist after my quick shower. Freshly cleaned and outfitted, I weaved my way through the city as I made my way to my destination.

Considering the day and time, he should be here. And I really hope he is, don't have a day to waste. Always gotta be on the grind, ya know?

Which led me to outside of Waverson Hotel, one of the most expensive here in Champion City. Obviously I can't afford it, but this hotel is home to much more than just luxurious lodging.

I walked past the guards and into the lobby, walking up the desk receptionist and leaning on the counter.

"How can I help you?" The receptionist asked.

"Floor 13, reservation with Mr. Waverson." I stated.

The receptionist nodded, reaching under the counter and grabbing a key, dropping it off in my hand.

"Don't forget to return it." The receptionist stated.

"Thank you." I winked as I walked to the elevator.

No, I don't have a reservation with Mr. Waverson. That is what we call a code.

The elevator doors opened, allowing me to enter and plug the key into the slot for floor 13, the only way to access this floor.

You see, I'm about to enter what's called Club Champion, headed by Mr. Waverson. A lot of rich people come round here, but so do a lot of supervillains and other types as well.

How did I learn the special little passcode?

A very lucky eavesdrop, obviously. No other way for a low level grunt like me to get access to a higher cache place like this.

The elevator finally stopped as the doors opened, revealing Club Champion and all of its glory. Lots of colored lights, tables, dancing, and bars. Now, just to go to the corner that my favorite information broker is in.

As I approached the corner, I was unsurprised to see the man I was looking for sitting in his usual seat as he talked to a few others. With slicked back black hair with blonde tips, a golden tooth, and wearing sunglasses even though he's inside you knew this guy was rich at first glance.

Davon. My information broker.

He glanced to the side, locking eyes with me and suddenly standing straight up. What the-

"Holy shit!" He grinned. "I thought they caught you, Edward!"

Fake name, don't get it confused.

"Great, you know about the failed bank heist?" I sighed.

"Failed bank heist? It's much more than that." He said, wrapping his arm around my shoulder. "Deathhand was completely done in. He and all his lackeys were arrested by Stellar, Frostbolt, and Fortify."

"Wait, seriously?" I questioned.

"Yep." He replied. "I had assumed you were got too, but it seems you weaseled out! I already know why you're here. This is the fourth time now you've needed to switch."

He pulled out a pen, grabbing my hand and suddenly scribbling something on the back of my palm. I looked down at it to see an address.

"New growing supervillain looking for henchmen. Think you're up to the job?" He chuckled.

"Who is this?" I questioned.

"Calls herself Mother Wasp." Davon answered.

Ah, cause Queen Bee was too simple and basic.

"Haven't heard of her." I replied. "Guess she is new. When?"

"Tomorrow." He stated. "Be at that address at 1:00 PM."

"Alright. How much?" I asked.

"It's on me this time." Davon smirked. "I'm in a good mood today."

"Seriously?" I questioned.

Ok, now I'm suspicious.

"Don't make me change my mind." He chuckled once more. "Suppose you don't want to stay around and grab a drink? I'll pay."

"I'll pass today. Got one more thing I need to do." I replied. "Thank you, Davon."

Davon proceeded to wink, turning around and sitting back at his usual seat and talking once more with the people around him.

Well shit, that turned out well. Possibly.

Gonna have to be very careful tomorrow. I don't think he's trying to set me up, cause I don't know who I could've possible made enemies with.

I am just a simple grunt, for better or worse.

After exiting Waverson Hotel, I made my way towards the final destination of the day, the hospital.

I checked in as usual, heading towards the room I had so often walked to. Like every time it was a brief but uncomfortable walk past the blank white walls and fluorescent lights above. I found myself standing outside the door, simply staring for a moment.

I took a deep breath, before softly opening the door and closing it behind me. I walked into the room, looking at the young boy, only about ten, laying down in the bed.

I sat down in the chair next to the bed, simply watching the young boy with his eyes closed and equipment around him.

He's still in the coma. It's unlikely he'll ever make it back. But I can't just stop trying. I can't give up.

"Keep fighting, Gabriel James..." I whispered.

One day, all this work will come to fruition.

"...I will too." I promised.