Super Couple

Something was different this week. I could feel it. Everything seemed normal though. My boyfriend caming home bruised and beaten up, the threats that I got daily, mostly from small-time villains, and work. I even almost died last night. Everything was as normal as it had been ever since I started dating Jake, aka Light Boy. The power of the sun seemed to draw a lot of attention.

I was on my way to work this morning when I was hit on the back of the head and everything went dark. As I said, a normal week. When I woke back up, I was in a warehouse in some unknown location, tied to a chair, with a flashing device attached to my wrist. In walked The Night, a villain with shadow powers. Also, Jake’s arch nemesis. I rolled my neck a bit, feeling a bit stiff from being unconscious for so long.

“Hey, what’s up this time?” I asked The Night as he approached me. He formed a shadow chair and sat in front of me, his faceless mask not revealing his expression.

“N-nothing much. I’ve found a way to leach my shadows into someone, effectively letting me control them, but there’s no v-visibility, so I have to be in their presence, and frankly, it takes so much effort, I’d rather just th-threaten them with a shadow bow, y’know?” He said in his low, slightly raspy voice. I thought it was quite unusual for a villain, especially one with such a high crime rate, to have a stutter, but I thought it made him more human, and not so ‘untouchable’.

“That sounds… interesting. How did you figure that out?” I asked, rolling my shoulders back as I sat up straighter.

“I was g-getting annoyed at one of my henchmen, and I shot him with a nonlethal shadow a-arow and because it broke the skin, I realised that I could let my shadows i-into his bloodstream, and that allowed me to c-control him.” He shrugged his toned shoulders and sat back in his chair, his posture relaxed. “What about y-you? How are things with Jake?” I huffed a little, also relaxing a bit.

“Well, pretty much the same to be honest. He comes home bruised, I help fix him up and then he’s off again on the night shift. I hardly see him since he became the ‘city’s saviour’. But when I do see him, He’s always very sweet. Makes sure I’m ok after the latest kidnapping, kisses when he has time and his lip isn’t cut or swollen, and sometimes if he’s got a few hours, he does some of the housework. It’s not ideal, but I knew that when I started dating him.” I shrugged as much as I could with the ropes that kept me firmly in the metal chair. The Night shook his head.

“God. I wouldn’t p-put up with that. I would want a partner of mine to actually be around. Be availab-ble. I wouldn’t enjoy a one-sided relationship.”

The warm wind starkly contrasted with the sombre mood. The black-clad crowd sniffled as a wooden structure was carried up the hill. The usually jovial priest now trudged behind the procession in a morose manner, his head bowed over his protruding gut. The only sound was the chirping of the sparrows and the crunch of gravel under the coffin-bearers’ feet as they crested the little hill. A loud wail was heard when the coffin came into sight of the crowd, and there were some muttered condolences and a few fond and understanding touches given to the wailing woman.

I checked the time on the flashing device attached to my wrist. 53:17 and counting. I had already pressed the ‘emergency’ button on my watch once The Night and I had finished our chat. Light Boy should be here soon. All I had to do now was wait. In my opinion, the waiting was the worst part. You just got stiff as you sat there, waiting for a knight in shining armour, aka a superhero, to save you. Although sometimes the waiting was ok, especially if The Night dropped in to say hi. I didn’t hold anything against The Night. He was one of the most decent villains I had been kidnapped by. He was always polite and made sure I was as comfortable as possible. Sometimes, when he had kept me for more than a few hours, he even brought me a smack. That was sweet. And frankly, I don’t blame some of the villains for trying to kill Light Boy. He can be a bit of a self-righteous, grater-than-thou kind of guy sometimes.

As I waited, I thought about all the times I had almost died. I had almost been dropped in a vat of acid (courtesy of the Mechanic), my brain had almost been blown up (thanks to the supersonic voice of the NoteMaker), and I had been tied to bombs of various sizes and severity multiple times by multiple villains, including the one attached to my wrist now. At least I think it’s a bomb.

Suddenly I heard a noise, and The Night stumbled into sight.

“S-stupid st-stairs. I need t-to get Mave to fix those.” He muttered as he brushed himself off. I couldn’t hold back a giggle and he looked up at me, or I assume he did, as I couldn’t tell where he was looking because of the mask. “Don’t giggle, or I may j-just shorten the time on there, Missy.” The Night threatened playfully as he held up what looked like a remote, presumably for the flashing device on my wrist. I shrug, a grin on my face.

“It might encourage a certain someone to hurry up, you never know.” I tease back, enjoying the little banter going on. The Night shook his head and let out a low, slightly gravelly chuckle.

“It’s a shame you have to get caught up in a-all this. You’re a nice girl and y-you shouldn't have to deal with all the drama of a super life. Hasn’t th-that boyfriend of yours ever tried to protect you properly? More than just that p-pathetic button on your watch?” He said, walking closer to me and checking the time on his own watch. “Maybe y-you should also check the batteries. It’s been a while. Usually h-he’s here by now.” I sighed and gave him a wry smile.

“Maybe you’ve got a rival in evilness. He’s probably on the other side of the city saving people and protecting the wonderful place we live in.” I said, only a touch of sarcasm in my voice. I watched as The Night’s head tilted slightly, almost like he was deep in thought.

“We are gathered here today to celebrate the life and death of Silvia Morano. She was a bright light in the dark periods in this city, and she will be dearly missed. She was a promising entrepreneur with a full future ahead of her. But unfortunately, that light was snuffed out by an explosion caused by a despicable villain who has since disappeared, a cowardly choice for a wicked heart.” There was a sound of soft sobs as the priest spoke, and flashes of white handkerchiefs were seen as people dabbed at their glistening tears. “We will now invite some of her closest family and friends to speak in her honour.”

“Silvia, don’t you think that he should be h-here as soon as you pressed that button? You sh-should be his top priority. Being his girlfriend and all. W-why would he still be fighting other villains?” The Night asked, his head still tilted as he took another step closer to me. I glanced at the flashing display and saw how much time had passed. The timer now read 20:32 and counting. I frowned a bit, considering The Night’s words.

“I… I suppose you’re right. It’s been 40 minutes already… He’s usually wrapped stuff up by this time. And he has my location. That’s part of the reason he installed the extra technology into my watch. So he can always see where I am. But… why hasn’t he come yet?” I looked up at The Night, looking a bit hurt and confused. “What’s going to happen when this timer goes off?” I asked The Night in a choked voice, trying to hide my panic. He stood there for a moment and then turned away.

“W-well… A b-bomb is in th-that box, and i-it’s a p-p-powerful one.” He said quietly, and I could tell by the way his stutter got worse that he was worried as well. I looked at the black box in question, on the opposite side of the device attached to my wrist. My breathing started to get a bit faster as I thought of the implications. I tried to calm myself by telling myself that he would come, he always comes, even though sometimes he leaves things to the last second. Yes, that must be it. He would be here…. Wouldn’t he? 

I jumped as I felt pressure on my shoulder, and looked up into the black mask of The Night. Because he was so close, I could almost see through his mask, the outline of his eyes visible through the thin fabric. I could see him looking at me intently.

“S-Silvia. It’s going to be alright. He’ll c-come. He has to. A-and then we can fight, and he’ll f-free you, ok?” He knelt by my chair and hesitantly took off his mask. His dark hair tumbled out of the fabric, the curls bouncing back against his head. His deep brown eyes looked into mine with unwavering intensity. I couldn’t look away. His hand moved from my shoulder to the side of my neck, slowly moving up to rub my cheek comfortingly. The rough fabric of his glove felt like a cool relief from the hot panic I had been feeling moments ago.

“Someone as b-beautiful as you shouldn’t be treated with such disr-respect.” He whispered, his voice raspy with emotion as his eyes stared into mine, barely blinking. “Someone as powerful as L-Light Boy should use that power to protect what is most valuable to him. If he can’t treat a w-woman as precious as you how any man should treat you, then he’ll n-never treat any woman right. I say we try to help Light B-Boy learn a very valuable lesson.” His raspy whisper filled my ears and my heart, leaking into all the cracks left by the neglect of Jake. All those nights I had cried alone as he was off fighting villains and destroying buildings, instead of sitting next to me and whispering sweet nothings in my ear. All those times I had wiped away his blood and rubbed ointment on his burns with not so much as a thank you. All the times I had struggled alone to do normal, daily things because of injuries I had sustained due to someone else’s hatred of Jake, and what did I get in return? Nothing. Nothing but empty promises and a few, fleeting kisses. And I was tired of it.

“I think you’re right. Jake needs to learn how to treat a woman.” I whispered back, my voice thick with emotion.

“She was the best girlfriend a man could ask for.” There was a pause as the speaker swallowed thickly, quickly wiping away his tears. “I now realise that I should’ve done so much more for such an amazing woman. All I can ask is that she can look down at me now and forgive me for all the things I didn’t do. And I hope she can accept my promise to never make the same mistakes again.” Another pause before a curt nod at the priest as the young man stepped away from the little podium set up on the spring grass. The arm draped around my shoulder squeezed my arm, and I looked into those deep brown eyes and smiled.