“..AND THATS WHY, MY FELLOW HUMANS, WE SHOULD DESTROY THE CITY AND LIVE A LIFE OF FREEDOM FROM THE GOVERNMENTS TYRANNY! AND THERE IS NO WAY YOU CAN STOP ME FROM MAKING THIS OUR FUTURE” I yell over the sea of people, big and small in front of my nemesis. Lighterman flew before me and while his stupidly neon suit and his super hero name were the most cliché things I have every seen, he surprised me. I braced for impact of the first first blow… and, well nothing. I kept my hands to my face for a solid 10 seconds when I finally got a look at him, he seemed to be.. thinking?

“Hey! Lighterman!” A guy in the crowd yelled, standing out from the ocean of silence, “Aren’t you gonna punch her in the face.. or something?”

Lighterman mumble something quickly and glided safely down to the ground where the people parted to make a spot for him.

“To be fair.. you got some pretty solid points, maybe let’s hear them out.” A whisper flew over the crowd and faint gasps could be heard. Lighterman’s words echoing throughout the city.

“Uh.. what?” I yell, trying to decide if this was a ruse to give him self a chance to surprise me. “You can’t actually be serious..?”

“No no, I see it now” he makes a big gesture with him arms, “No more criminals, violence, homelessness… to be honest it sounds like a perfect world.”

Everyone is staring at him in shock and I can’t help but wonder if he’s telling the truth. I float down to the top of a short building but tall enough so that civilians can’t try to get to me.

“You alright there bud? Did you trip and hit your head? Your not even doing the stupid hero voice you do all the time!” I ask him, watching other citizens pull out phones and call, presumably, the police.

“NO!” Lighterman shouts, startling everyone including me. His arm reaches out and yanks a persons phone right out of their hands and sets it aflame. “No more government, no more phones!” He cackles, stomping on the burnt phone, glass and ash scatter across the pavement. He quickly rises from the ground as an angry mob begins to form. A manic look in his eyes I can’t help but fear for my safety. His gaze dashes from building to building his grin becoming wider. A flame appears in the palm of his hand, it dances with the light breeze of the midday. He reaches back and shoots a giant ball of flames into the tallest build in the city. Chaos erupts will people running every which way, a child is trampled, another left behind cars crashing into others, creating more flames in the streets. I gaze upon the burning earth in awe, time seemingly slows down as I rush up to lighterman and aid him in the destruction. The most beautiful yet chaotic scene I have every witnessed in my years as a Villain. The Hero finally cracked.

[this is my first ever writing prompt so tell me how I did ig :’) ]

Flabbergasted, the crowd just gawked at Soundwave's words. The Sinister Sisters also stood, mouths agape, as they processed what had just come out of the Hero's mouth. Did he really agree with them, or was this a delay tactic to buy time for other Heroes to join him? It couldn't be the latter, as he had been able to comfortably handle all three of them up to that point, but they couldn't fathom it being the former either. A Hero agreeing with Villains? Hell would freeze over, first!

In spite of the incomprehension of his foes, Soundwave once again spoke, "I am willing to hear you out, but I cannot condone your destructive methods. Disarm the device, and we shall discuss your points peacefully!"

The first to recover was the eldest of the Sinister Sisters, Karina. "You swear on your honour as a Hero, in front of all these witnesses, that you'll actually listen?"

"Karina, what're you doing?" hissed the youngest, Francesca. "He's gotta be lying. Heroes never listen!"

"What reason does he have to lie?" retorted Karina. "He's been kicking our arses thus far. We have nothing to lose."

"I don't trust him, either, but Karina's right," interjected Darla, the middle and final Sister. "He could have ended this already. I'll trust your judgement, Karina."

Taking the control out from her jacket pocket, Karina looked again at Soundwave, "Swear here and now that if I disarm the device you will not attack, and will listen to us!"

"I swear on my honour and name as a Hero. I will stand down once the device is no longer a danger to the people," he replied, raising his hands in the air. "You made a few good points, and I'm curious as to whether you actually have thought them out and are willing to take in other points of view, or if you're just trying to justify your destructive behaviour. I will give you the chance to convince me; fail to do so, and I will take you down."

With that guarantee that they'd get a chance, and the subsequent threat should they squander it, Karina nodded to her Sisters and keyed in the sequence on the device's controller to deactivate it. Maybe not all Heroes are self-righteous, stuck up pricks, she thought, confident that she and her Sisters could convince Soundwave as long as he wasn't lying.

The crowd had been silent for what felt like an eternity. The villain had just finished his speech. He had spouted the same rhetoric he had been repeating for weeks. I was the only one who seemed to be paying any attention to what he had to say. I knew that if I could just get him to listen, he'd understand that he didn't need to resort to violence. But I had to be careful. He was unpredictable and dangerous. I had to tread lightly.

So, when the crowd began to murmur, I responded. "Hang on, he's made a couple of good points. We should hear him out." The crowd collectively gasped. I could feel their eyes on me. But I stood my ground. I had to show this man that there was a better way.

The villain nodded in agreement and began to explain his plan. For the first time, I finally saw the truth. This man wasn't a villain, he was a victim. He had been betrayed and manipulated by those in power. He was simply fighting for justice. I was filled with a newfound respect for him. I wanted to help him, and I knew I could.

As I was about to reach out to him, I heard a voice from behind me. "You should have listened to me. I warned you this would happen."

I turned to see the villain's accomplice, a sinister figure cloaked in shadows. In one hand, he held a detonator, and in the other, a remote-controlled drone was hovering above us.

The drone fired a missile, destroying the building and killing everyone inside. I had failed. I had failed to save these people, to save the villain, and to save myself.

Hypnos was standing a good few feet away from his arch nemesis, Prometheus, looking absolutely stunned.

And Prometheus was shocked, his eyes widening under the pig skull he uses as a mask.

"Go on then." Hypnos urged him, a kind smile plastered on his lips, even tought no one could see it under the gas mask. "I'll listen." The people around them started mumbling, complaining.

"I- Aren't we supposed to fight now?" Prometheus asked, his blue long cape shifted as he stapped from one legg to another, he swiched his hold on the twin blades he used in fights.

"Are we?" Hypnos asked, and he adjusted his dark green gas mask, and laid on the axe he uses to fight, crafted from uranium, with the best technology avaible. "Now what was that about anarchy?" He asked before grabbing the handle of his weapon again. With a light step he was in Prometheus's personal space, face just inches away from the others, even tough the villain was three or four inches taller. Dark blue eyes stared into the empity voids of the skull.

"W-wha- Personal space dude!" Prometheus stepped back, guard up. He felt his blood rushing up to his face.

"But I am curious about what you think." Hypnos pouted.

Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.

Reminders:

>* Stories at least 100 words. Poems, 30 but include "[Poem]" >* Responses don't have to fulfill every detail >* See Reality Fiction and Simple Prompts for stricter titles >* Be civil in any feedback and follow the rules

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