luluthespectator

[luluthespectator]

Trust

Warning: intense pain to comfort

Supervillain’s powers were out of control for years. It felt like there was a vase inside him filled to the brim with corrosive water. Yet the water was still pouring and filled the room where the vase stood.

It was eating away at him. It painfully revealed itself at the worst times. At night, he would purposely sleep in a way that allows him to hear his own heart. Just to make sure he was still alive.

He never trusted anyone to help him. He hated the idea of having someone mingling with his powers, having access to a vulnerable part of his very being. What could someone with that much power do?

That was until Henchman.

Today, Supervillain would hand himself over to them, letting them open him and prod at whatever they needed to put his powers back in their place.

Supervillain stands in front of Henchman. His heart was beating in his chest. His powers scratch his insides. He is in pain and he is terrified. Henchman, as always, seems to sense his distress.

-Try to focus on nice things around you.

Just like that, Supervillain did as he was told. Usually it was people who followed his orders, not the other way around. It wasn’t exactly unpleasant when it was Henchman.

He focused on his bedroom. The room itself seemed to try to soothe him. The dim light was kind to Supervillain’s eyes. His bed was filled with comfy blankets and pillows of all sizes and colours. This was his sanctuary, his safe haven, nothing could hurt him there.

Henchman insisted on lighting candles. Their sugary smell lingered in the air. Their small flames provided a little more light and invited more shadows in the corners of his bedroom.

Henchman’s hands are wrapped around his. It is warm and soft. It anchors him in reality.

The door is locked. It is only the two of them.

Henchman asks quietly:

-Are you ready?

-Yes.

He closes his eyes as Henchman puts their hand on his forehead. A presence enters Supervillain’s being. It swirls and grazes him. Its touch is light as a feather but each one feels like a stab.

-Your powers damaged you. Nothing I can’t fix of course. It may hurt. Maybe a lot.

-Do what you must. It can’t possibly be worse than what I’ve already gone through.

-Alright.

The small presence suddenly fills all the space. It feels like a hand ripping through him. 

A long pained and raw scream cuts through his throat. He collapses on Henchman’s arm. Sweat forms on his whole being. Where the hand tore him, a wildfire spreads. It burns, it burns everything. He flails and whimpers uncontrollably.

Henchman keeps him steady in his arm despite all of this, his other hand still on Supervillain’s forehead. Supervillain can sense they are trying to be gentle, he can sense he is the one making it harder and worse. But his body is struggling on its own accord.

Henchman is saying things he couldn’t hear over his own incoherent cries and his growing pain. Hot tears pour from his eyes, he must look like a horrible mess. 

He had never felt pain like this, he had never screamed helplessly like this, he had never wished it would all be over like this. He wants everything to stop!

His pleas are answered. A warm peaceful feeling invades him where the pain was moments ago, soothing and kind, kissing him from the inside.

His legs stop kicking the air and his hands stop weakly pushing Henchman away. He is soaked and clammy but relieved.

He didn’t know how exhausted he was until that moment.

Henchman nervously laughs:

-I didn’t know you could react like that.

He whispers tiredly, his eyes already half closed. 

-Me neither.

The lack of pain makes his body quietly empty and light. Supervillain savours it. He had never realised how omnipresent the pain truly was until now. Now that it’s gone, his thoughts are clear, unclouded.

-You must trust me a lot to allow me to do that.

Supervillain doesn’t answer. He couldn’t bring himself to admit it with words. He looks Henchman in the eyes but can’t focus on anything. His whole world is blurry. The only things he can truly feel is the steady arm under his back that keeps him from falling and the warm hand still on his forehead. Henchman whispers close to his ear:

-Do you want me to stop if you fall asleep?

-No. I…

Trust you. But the words don’t come, he can’t say it out loud even if his life depended on it. Henchman’s laugh is a hum in his ear. They cradle him.

-I understand. Then sleep. I won’t be able to repair everything in one go though.

Supervillain closes his eyes. He understands what it feels like to be vulnerable around Henchman, to open himself to them. He could take the pain again if it means living in guaranteed peace afterwards. 

-Do what you must.

-Understood.

Supervillain lets himself fall asleep. He is sure he will wake up again to a better day.

Back to Villain/Hero masterlist

[luluthespectator]

Announcement

I won’t be posting as much for two weeks. I’ll be back after this.

This post will be deleted at some point, obviously.

[luluthespectator]

Broadening my horizons: characters (hero/villain stories)

I would like to broaden my horizons especially in terms of characters in Hero/Villain stories.

I don't know how well this will go but here goes nothing. I'll go first to provide some kind of template for people who would like to answer.

What characters do you like to write about ?

Personally I like to write stories where:

both the hero and the villain are reasonable people

the hero has healing powers and is sweet

the villain is saved by the hero or is a classy powerful being

the villain adopts people

What characters do you like reading about?

I tend to gravitate towards:

soft villains + confident heroes

classy villains and broke heroes

villains/heroes adopting henchmen/sidekicks/each other (well, that tracks)

If you write a series or have reoccurring characters how would you describe them? (yes, this is also a post for people to rant on)

Malice (supervillain): mastermind who's in control on the surface and regrets his life choices later.

Weaponmaster (henchman): looks stoic and cold on the outside but is actually the definition of crippling anxiety because of impossible standards (i.e. always be perfect, or else...).

Ravager (villain/henchman?): looks unbreakable because there is nothing to break in someone who already is broken. He is slowly putting the pieces back together though.

Some precisions:

You don't have to answer all the questions.

You don't have to use the template

You can ask questions too (I can try to answer them on this post)

I can add more stuff as time goes on

[luluthespectator]

Shadows and lights (part10)

Once again I’m back. I don’t know how many times I rewrote this but I finally got Malice’s character. I might come back and edit certain parts (in the far far future). Enjoy.

Warnings: guns, grief

Escaping Tormentor had been easy. It was clear he wasn’t truly interested in catching his lord.

Malice was leaning against the wall, bathed in the soft light coming from the small high windows. He chose a very familiar place to wait for Follower. It was away from the main corridors, lost to the silence of the building. His future opponent might recognise it which didn’t mean Malice wouldn’t be able to make them dance to his own tune.

Still, Follower were the only person who could consistently find Malice no matter where, no matter the disguise. They usually didn’t take that long either. Malice looked around for the umpteenth time, hoping to find Follower. He listened for footsteps, the wooden planks usually creaked and sang below people’s feet.

There was no sign of life around him.

He sighed. He was bored out of his mind. 

Follower being there was an essential part of Malice’s plan and it would be a pain if they chose not to come. It could even be fatal down the line. The plan was simple, Malice needed to get a hold of Follower’s gun.

It wasn’t time to worry yet. Knowing Renegade, he still had plenty of time. He just had to kill some of it. 

Nervously playing with his hair could only do so much. While waiting, Malice did a couple of cartwheels. It had been a while and the motion was still very much relaxing and satisfying.

He stopped as soon as he heard Follower’s footsteps. He stumbled slightly to get back to his feet and leaned on the wall once more. Follower finally arrived in the corridor, gun in hand. Malice yawned.

-You took your time.

-You were waiting for me?

-Of course.

Follower mumbled something that sounded like “Should have known” and another thing about a cursed intersection. Malice smiled and put one of his hands in his pockets. He clenched the familiar form of a lighter. It was much more than that. He walked towards Follower.

-Tell me, how many bullets do you have?

Follower hesitated. It seemed they had learnt something from their previous encounter with Malice. Their gaze obscured itself and their soft-spoken voice turned somber:

-More than enough.

Malice’s grin was bright. Follower were clever, but their fatal flaw was their emotions. They wore them on their sleeve despite everything. Rage and grief were powerful fogs of the mind. The villain was easy to taunt and it was good for the plan.

If Follower shot all their bullets, the gun would be way easier to take. Malice needed to touch on a raw nerve, multiple ones in fact. He would test the waters by using All-encompassing’s highest praise.

-Aw. That’s perfect.

Rage ignited their eyes. With the first bullet, Follower marked the beginning of the game. 

At the same time, Malice clicked on the lighter. It allowed him to take an ethereal leap in the next corridor. There, the shadows swallowed him whole. Follower was quick to stop before the endless darkness. They screamed:

-I know what you’re trying to do. You’re a coward!

-It’s sad you’ve resorted to taunting already.

Another bullet shot right past Malice. His heart may have missed one or two beats. His own cockiness would be his undoing. Malice went farther in the corridor, he waltzed from one side to the other avoiding the noisy planks.

He arrived at the “cursed intersection”, which was a blessing for him. It was a marvellous crossing of four different corridors. It formed a cross in a rectangle. Perfect for escapes.

He only needed Follower to go after him to be able to get a hold of their gun. What could he use? Hatred or grief? Both options sounded painful, but Malice didn’t exactly have a choice either. The more time he lost here, the more things could go wrong.

He hid behind a wall. Safe from any bullets heading his way, he said nonchalantly:

-My dear Follower, I thought All-encompassing taught you not to be scared of the dark. What happened to his teachings? Are they forgotten already?

A choked pained sound escaped Follower. Malice sighed. Poor Follower, their loyalty was misplaced but it was no less true. He was pushing the right buttons, footsteps echoed in the dark.

-I’ll kill you for what you did. 

-What did I do?

Malice went farther in the corridor. Then, he would take a right turn and join the hallway parallel to the one Follower was taking. Quickly, he leant on another wall to shield himself from an imminent attack. 

An attack that didn’t come yet. Follower was close to his tactical spot in the center of the crossing. They wouldn’t have been able to shoot him yet. Better safe than sorry. Their voice reflected their mental state: distressed, erratic, filled with rageful grief.

-You betrayed him! You stabbed him in the back. Don’t you remember?

Malice would unfortunately have to stab Follower in their already broken heart.

-I can’t remember everything…

Malice didn’t like what he was going to say next.

-Especially not the minor details.

Follower arrived at the centre of the intersection. Two bullets were shot. Their target was already protected. Four bullets. Two more to go, perhaps three if Weaponmaster had tinkered with this gun. Two more taunts.

Tiny sobs and ragged breath were lost to the silence. It felt like a bullet in Malice’s heart. He needed to take some distance. 

He went farther in the hallway. He rounded the corner to get to the hallway leading to the crossing. He made sure not to make a single sound too loud. He knew these planks by heart. For a moment, it felt like he was alone yet Follower’s grief haunted him. 

He stopped before being in Follower’s shooting range again. Two more taunts, Follower was already way over the edge, they would be quick to jump on the trigger.

-I’m glad I took All-encompassing’s place. Things will be a lot better with me.

Angry footsteps approached him. He fled by rounding the same corner he had passed by. Another shot, another miss. The bullet flew ever so closer. But the footsteps didn’t stop there. Malice got in the center of the intersection.

He wondered, what if he went to the corridor in the light? Follower would be able to see him. The only thing that’s saving Malice is the fact that Follower couldn’t do so. They had to guess where they had to shoot. Therefore, it was a stupid idea.

This single moment of reflection allowed a bullet to scratch his arm. He could barely feel the pain but his heart plummeted in his chest.

Malice clicked on his lighter once more. Ethereal particles surrounded his whole body and took him in their momentum. A bullet went right through him. Had he not used his lighter, he would have been dead.

It was the last bullet. Malice went against his instincts and hugged the wall near the intersection. He put his hands above his mouth to hide the sound of his breathing. Follower was back in the middle of the crossing, panting as heavily as the supervillain. Malice crouched and approached slowly. 

Malice didn’t see the gun but he could guess where it was. From Follower’s sound, their gun had to be just a few steps away.

Malice just had to leap at the right time to steal it…

Metallic clicks suddenly echoed in the whole corridor. Follower was charging their gun. What a nightmare. Now Malice was way too close to comfort. Things were starting to go south. Malice couldn’t panic yet.

Still crouching, he turned around and speed-walked away as fast as he possibly could in his position. He was aware he must have looked like a silly duck but he didn’t exactly have a choice.

Follower’s aggressive tone made him jump:

-Where are you? I’m tired of this game.

Perhaps if Malice stayed in place long enough, Follower would think he went somewhere else. Then, he could take Follower by surprise. Did that sound like a great plan? No…maybe. No, no, no. He couldn’t panic now. It was expected of them to have back-up too.

-I’ll make you pay for All-encompassing’s death. I will have your blood on my hands.

Perhaps Malice could throw something to get Follower to look the other way. A small distraction can do a lot. What did he have in his pockets that he didn’t particularly care about? He didn’t dare actually touch his pockets yet. He was scared the ruffling of the fabric would alert Follower.

-What are you planning to do Malice? What are you waiting for?

Perhaps he had a rock under his shoe. It happened sometimes. He slowly sat down and touched his sole with his hand. He did have a small rock stuck there. Would that be enough?

Another shot roared near him. His ears were starting to hurt. He threw the rock and hoped it would go above Follower. Follower’s outraged exclamation told him everything he had to know about the success of his plan.

-What are you throwing at me?

An exasperated scream filled the air. Follower’s voice was broken.

-Enough! This is enough!

A bright fire illuminated the crossing for a few seconds. A  lantern was brought as high as Follower’s hand could go. Making a halo of light all around them. It stopped right before Malice.

-The game is over. You will stop messing with me.

Under the lantern, their tears painted trails of gold on their cheeks. They looked more mournful than furious. Pain moulded their face. Follower was barely holding everything together. Bitterness flooded Malice. He was truly a villain in his own right and he regretted it already.

This wasn’t good for Malice’s plan. All that happened wasn’t good. It seemed like he would need to use another method to get to Follower’s gun.

Malice needed a way to get closer without being seen. How was he going to do that?

An idea came to him. Perhaps, he could be seen. What if he told what Follower wanted to hear instead? He knew that in their state, they would take anything that could comfort them and he hated that he was going to take advantage of this knowledge.

-You were perfect for All-encompassing.

Malice let a small pause to give Follower the time to understand what he said. He stepped into Follower’s light. Malice could tell Follower wanted to shoot but their very thoughts stopped them.

There was a single question burning on Follower’s lips:

-Was I?

-Yes. No wonder he liked you so much.

Follower was looking at Malice almost the same way he would look at All-encompassing. They would drink every word Malice said, because it soothed them, because they were reassured that they did good.

-Is that really so?

-He certainly had plenty of things going on, he couldn’t always focus on you. But he always talked favourably of you. He always told me how much you did for him, he saw how much loyalty you had for him. He…

Malice didn’t know if he would be bold enough to say the rest. What he was going to say was a lie. All-encompassing loved the power he had over Follower, he didn’t…

-He loved you.

-He did?

Malice couldn’t say yes, could he? Follower was already swooned by his words, that was surely enough. Malice opened his hand to Follower while keeping the other tightly around his lighter.

-Let’s make peace, shall we? I’m sorry for all the ugly things I’ve just told you. Besides, we certainly both dislike Renegade, she always disrespected him after all.

Follower lowered their gun. There was a moment of hesitation. Their gaze wandered away, perhaps to the prospect of a better life. They looked unsure, lost, nervous. They placed the lantern on the ground, slowly. Malice let them.

They carefully clasped their weapon in one hand, the other hovered above Malice’s. It made Malice smile, perhaps, they could move on. It was peaceful under the yellow light.

This was short-lived. Malice saw the moment Follower changed their mind. The moment they thought “Yes, and you were the one who killed him.”. Hatred burned anew in their eyes. 

Instinctively, Malice clicked on the lighter, his body took an ethereal leap as a shot roared in his ears. He appeared behind Follower. He turned around and grabbed their neck.

The pressure on their nerve point made them drop the gun and brought them on their knees. Malice then put his weight on their back, clasped his hands around the front of their throat and pressed. Follower managed to choke a few panicked pleas. Malice whispered in their ear:

-It’s okay. I’m not going to kill you. You know with me it’s just in and out of a place, nothing more.

Follower closed their eyes and their body went limp. Relief washed over Malice. He stayed over Follower as all his muscles relaxed, one after the other. Exhaustion was taking its toll on the supervillain. His hands were trembling. His arm started to burn from the graze wound. He sighed:

-Good grief.

Without his lighter, he would have been dead. It was a close call Malice wasn’t ready to take again but he was exactly in the situation he wanted.

Back to Malice’s series

Back to The Great Escape (part9)

Back to Reward (part1)

Tagging: @dakshii

[luluthespectator]

No mercy

@defectivehero inspired me to write this. At the end of his story “mirrored” he talked about how stories under hero/villain tags look the same. It made me think about the stories I read and write and I decided to subvert expectations (hopefully). I know it doesn’t necessarily mean writing stories with no happy ending but Defectivehero definitely made me want to step completely out of my comfort zone.

Warnings: death, major injuries, no happy ending

Villain’s whole body ached. His vision was hazy. A high-pitched hum blared in his ears. Ashes of collapsed buildings stung his eyes. His clothes were soaked in blood and ripped apart. He could tell one of his hands was missing.

He debated over whether he was lucky or not. Perhaps if he closed his eyes and pretended to be already dead, he’ll survive somehow.

A shadow moved in his peripheral vision. He painfully turned his stiff neck and looked up. Supervillain was there, tall silhouette perched on a pile of rubble. They watched silently, seemingly unbothered by the chaos that had just unfolded. 

Villain couldn’t look away from the intense stare. His heart rate picked up. There was but one constant with Supervillain: they were always deadly.

Footsteps echoed in the distance. Villain looked in front of him, to try and decipher who was coming. When his eyes went back to Supervillain’s spot, they were gone. Villain blinked again. 

Hero was there, approaching him with the resolve of someone who knows is in the right. This angel of justice looked down at them. Burning hatred and cold disgust danced in their eyes.

It didn’t matter how much blood they would spill, how many lives they would take, nothing was too much to free the world from monsters like Villain. Their righteous light would shine during the darkest nights.

Villain didn’t have the strength to even close his eyes. He just looked at death right in the eyes. A shadow appeared near the Hero and in one calculated beam of light, the Hero was no more.

Supervillain stood there, spear in hand. The tip of their blade still buzzed with power. They were immobile as a statue, yet aware of everything around them like a wild beast.

Supervillain’s gaze went back to Villain. For the first time in a long time, he felt himself breathe. He wasn’t going to die today. He wanted to thank them but his throat was too sore.

So they just looked at each other. The saviour’s eyes were an endless pit of darkness, one could get lost in them. Their voice had never been heard. At this very moment, Villain was the same as them in this regard, speechless and mute.

The ash settled. 

Villain was suddenly met with a wild glint in Supervillain’s eyes. 

They ran to him, spear first. Villain wished he could move, run, flee, get away from the monster coming for him.

The blade entered his chest, cut through his ribs. He could truly feel his heart for both the first time and the last time. The next breath didn’t come. He looked death right in the eyes before his world turned to black, as black as the void in death’s eyes. 

There was no mercy for the weak and the vermin.

Back to masterlist

[luluthespectator]

The concert

I tried something a little different. It goes a bit all over the place but I like it.

Hero’s smile was bright. He was jumping in place and ranted at Superhero about the concert of his favorite band that would take place in the evening.

His explanations were long and all over the place. What Superhero gathered was that the band had a whimsical feeling, “a sort of cottage core vibe” -whatever that meant- and the three people in the band had beautiful voices.

Superhero was glad Hero could finally find something that didn’t have any link to training or his duties as a hero. However, something was off.

Not the concert per say. But he knew Supervillain had been quiet for some time, and Villain too. Perhaps they would strike that evening.

———

The moon shone in the dark sky. Superhero was walking behind Supervillain. His own powers draped around him and hid him from the world.

His suspicions were correct, they would do something tonight. Despite Supervillain always looking over their shoulders, they couldn’t see through Superhero’s power.

Supervillain disappeared behind a door in an alleyway. The location was way too close to where the concert would be. Superhero followed swiftly, caring only for the noise he’d make and worrying about Supervillain noticing a door seemingly opening on its own.

Things were going smoothly however and his concerns were swiftly discarded after successfully entering.

He found himself going through a dark corridor before stumbling upon a room with Supervillain, Villain and another person with a blindfold covered by forefront jewellery. From the soft-spoken voice alone, Superhero could only guess it was Henchman. 

-I’m so stressed, Villain are you sure my eyes are correctly covered?

-Again? Yes! You put two blindfolds. Two for crying out loud! They even cover the top of your cheeks, no one will know.

What did they plan to do? Supervillain moved between the two, ruffling both their hair. They took a calm tone Superhero had never heard from them. Supervillain was collected by nature, but it never felt warm like this.

-Don’t worry boys, if we were to be found, we would have been caught a long time ago.

Villain scoffed. He crossed his arms in classic Villain fashion, his usual cocky demeanour untouched by whatever was happening in front of Superhero.

-Right.

Supervillain tapped their fingers on Villain’s head. It didn’t exactly feel like a warning, more like the fake annoyance sometimes used with someone almost considered family.

-Yes, of course I’m right. Let’s finish dressing up. It should begin in three hours.

The room was filled with peaceful silence. They all did as Supervillain said. Superhero had to sometimes look away. By the end, they didn’t look like their villainous counterparts anymore. If Superhero didn’t know better, he would have thought they were different people entirely.

Henchman was covered in soft-looking fabrics with pastel colours, ruffles covered the end of their sleeves. Villain had a beast-looking wooden mask with feathers, green fabrics and branches covering him.

Supervillain was a complete opposite of what they once looked like. 

They wore warm tones with a beautifully carved guitar in their hands. The colour of the instrument was one of the most soothing blues Superhero had ever seen: it was the blue tropical lagoon during summer, a sunny sky with no clouds in sight where kites would fly high, the pure and fresh water of a fountain lost in the woods.

Supervillain’s upper face was covered by the golden straws of their giant hat. Some flowers were put there too. They looked so friendly.

Then it clicked. Hero had shown Superhero photos of the singers. They looked exactly like the people he had in front of him. What bugged Superhero was that they were all hiding their face.

———

Superhero followed them to the scene where the concert would be. What was going to happen? Supervillain got on the scene first.

-Alright, let’s do this one last time.

Villain cut them:

-But we already did this this morning. And this afternoon. And all week long.

Henchman gave his answer too:

-It’s always good to check if everything will be alright, one last time.

Superhero watched as a childish argument started between Villain and Henchman. Had they known Superhero was watching them, they would act more professionally, especially Henchman.

It was fun to see them for who they really were. Supervillain didn’t seem to mind and spoke in the microphone. Their voice filled the room, retaining the attention through its presence and stopping the argument dead in its tracks.

-What is a story? Before everything else, a story is a journey. It can be as simple as a journey to get bread from the bakery, as difficult as the hero’s journey, as philosophical and emotional as a journey through the mind. Each one of them is accomplished by characters in one form or another. They don’t have to be human. They simply need to exist, to change, for the better or the worst. They are actors-

On cue, Henchman went on stage, bowing to the future audience that would stand before it.

-Of their own journey.

Another thing clicked. Hero had told Superhero about The Actor’s soothing voice. Their voice was the highest pitched of their group yet it was still soft and sweet. Supervillain continued.

-A story is lived by the characters. But if a story happens without anyone watching, anyone hearing: it would be forgotten. There is always something to watch, someone to listen to, something to learn from stories, something to relate to. A story wouldn’t live without its spectators-

Villain walked on the stage and bowed too. Hero had talked about his voice that could harmonise with everyone and anything.

- to learn from it, to feel, to live with it. Finally, a story is meant to be shared and told. Whether it is beautiful or not, raw or polished, thought about in seconds or lingering in someone’s head for years: it is meant to be told. We can all be the narrators-

At that Supervillain didn’t merely bow, they made a gracious reverence. The flowers of their straw hat followed their movement in a perfect motion.

-Of our own stories.

Superhero recognised the glint of satisfaction in Supervillain’s voice. This little hasty strain as their voice slightly rose. They did the same thing at the end of their villainous speeches. However, in their costume, their smile beamed with light instead of seeming sinister.

Villain, or in this case The Spectator, clapped slowly and tauntingly. The other two turned to him, perhaps in confusion. 

-You finally did it without stuttering. It was about time.

The Actor seemed genuinely bothered by this show of impertinence, however his voice remained soft and didn’t exactly sound menacing:

-That’s not very nice.

-It is nice. I’m being encouraging without licking their boots. You know, something you can’t do.

-Well that’s not very nice.

Superhero chuckled as silently as he could. They did sound like two children arguing. It seemed to be a common occurrence for Supervillain to keep their smile and only say a few words to de-escalate this not so stormy argument.

-Well thank you for your words of encouragement, Spectator. And thank you for taking my side, Actor.

Actor acted flustered with his hands rubbing against each other and answered: 

-Thank you sir.

Spectator repeated with a mocking tone, imitating Henchman’s voice:

-Sir.

Actor blurted back.

-One day, you will face the consequences of your actions.

The situation seemed to amuse Supervillain too. Their laugh, although not very loud, conveyed all the amusement and fondness they had for their two…friends? It felt genuine. Superhero uncovered another thing about his nemesis. When he told jokes, Supervillain was laughing for real.

Superhero decided to stay and listen to everything. All the bickering and the harmonious songs. He found himself hung up on every one of Supervillain’s words. He learnt more about his nemesis during this one evening than in months of battle. 

For the first time in forever, there was no pressure on his shoulders, he was light as a feather. No Supervillain will crash anyone’s concert. He let himself be mesmerised and cradled by the harmonious melodies and soothing voices.

———

A few days later, Superhero put a few of his favourite songs in his playlist and listened to them on repeat to the happiness of Hero.

Back to Villains and Heroes masterlist

[luluthespectator]

The Great Escape (part9)

I’m much happier with this version of the story. It’s not perfect still (and not as proof read) but I like Malice way better in this form and the rest of the story will be much more enjoyable for me to write.

Malice was sitting at his desk in the lord’s office. He was waiting for Tormentor to come. The prospect of a rebellion was less stressful than he had anticipated. He was prepared for the day it would come, something told him it would be pretty soon.

He twirled non-lethal bullets in his fingers absentmindedly. He kept them in case he came across a gun. His only rule for his escapes was to not kill anyone.

In the corridors, footsteps echoed. There was Tormentor and two other villains: Renegade and Follower. It was an interesting combination. 

Follower was one of All-encompassing’s only real support. They had nothing but blind loyalty for their previous lord, it was almost to the point of obsession. Renegade on the other hand had stayed with All-encompassing in hopes of gaining more power. If Malice hadn’t taken the ancient lord’s place first, she would have made a move at some point too.

They had one thing in common, they both hated Malice and wished to see him gone. An alliance between them was something dangerous and unpredictable. Malice didn’t even think possible for both villains to see eye to eye.

He thought there would be two rebellions actively trying to take him down, not a united front. Well, it was still manageable.

Malice hid the bullets in his pockets. There was a knock on the door.

-You may enter.

The three villains entered the room and bowed. Malice smiled, satisfied with his good guess. He stood up from his chair and walked around the desk nonchalantly. He let the wood brush his fingers.

-You can all stand up. 

Malice sat on the desk and crossed his legs. The three villains stood in front of him with solemn apprehension. The lord continued:

-I see you brought friends with you, Tormentor. 

Tormentor flinched at that. His brows furrowed but he didn’t dare to look at anything else but the wooden floor. Was it how he used to react in front of All-encompassing? Malice added playfully:

-You don't need to worry so much, I don’t bite. I’m not All-encompassing after all.

Tormentor’s eyes went up all the way to meet Malice. His pained gaze murmured “I’m sorry for this.”. That could be a good indication for what would happen next. The villain said with a voice that lost all its bite:

-About that.

His gaze dropped to the floor once again. His clenched fists were trembling. It felt like he was battling with himself. Malice took a soothing tone, a quiet voice, and almost whispered:

-About what?

-The fact you’re not All-encompassing, I-

Renegade cut him and boldly took a step forward:

-You will never be our lord.

Follower’s brows furrowed at that. Tormentor shifted uncomfortably, he was clearly conflicted. Malice let himself smile. He slid down from his desk and walked, tranquil, towards Renegade.

-Is that so?

He took slow steps while circling her. His gaze fell on each of the villains in front of him. Despite all his planning, he still had to tread carefully. However, the villains in front of him didn’t display any signs of attack, even Renegade wasn’t in a fighting stance.

Her sharp eyes still followed him, her disdain for him was almost palpable. She always hated him after all. In her eyes, he was a rival to get rid of. He would make sure she wouldn’t succeed in the more extreme sense of the word. She spat almost triumphantly:

-Yes.

Once behind her, Malice took his time to move. Her eyes were still set on him. She wasn’t scared of saying what she had in mind. She was so sure of her victory yet the fight didn’t even begin. He still asked lightly:

-And why would that be?

Her eyes lit up. He gave her the opportunity to show her real colours and she was going to rub them in his face. Follower lifted their hand towards her in a vain attempt to stop her.

-You are just a fraud. You don’t have what it takes to be a supervillain.

Malice stopped on her left and looked at her proud face. She almost looked crazy. What did All-encompassing say about her? “She thinks she can handle power. But she can’t. You see, if I give her what she wants, it will go to waste before she can even use it.” 

She was going to mess up at some point. Perhaps, Malice could use the differences in views between Renegade and Follower to better understand the weaknesses of their alliance.

He asked innocently:

-And you would be a better match?

-For example.

Follower looked almost scandalised by Renegade’s words. However they didn’t make a sound. This made Malice’s smile widen. It seemed like their alliance wasn’t so stable after all. Even a common enemy couldn’t triumph over their mutual hate.

Could he push Follower a little more over the edge? It would be fun to try.

-What would All-encompassing think of this?

-All-encompassing is a dead man. What he thinks isn’t relevant anymore. 

Malice let her speak. He had only eyes for Follower’s visceral reaction to her words. The barely contained fury was delightful. Malice would crush this little alliance before this rebellion even begins. Perhaps he already did.

-You know what my lord?

His gaze went back to Renegade. He let her words hang in the air while looking her in the eyes. His expression was unchanged. It was funny how the lack of sound or reaction made people scared. For a moment, Renegade herself seemed unsure of what to do.

The silence would be broken only by his voice it seemed like. He put his thumb in his pockets.

-Entertain me. What do I know?

Renegade steeled herself once again. Her expression became dark. Her demeanour reminded Malice that she was actually a dangerous opponent. Although she acted before thinking, she wasn’t to take lightly.

-Soon, your opinion will matter as much as his.

Malice could barely contain his low laugh. Did she think she was subtle? She was a devastating force in a fight but the art of conversation wasn’t exactly her strength. She should have let Follower do the talking.

Malice took two steps back towards the door. They were long enough to move significantly but not too long to look like he was fleeing. He needed to be both careful and radiate confidence.

He cheekily asked:

-When would that be?

-How about now?

That was a bold move. Both her allies seemed shocked -no- flabbergasted by her sudden declaration.

Malice only shrugged and lazily leaned on the door of his office. He sing-sang:

-I wouldn’t mind.

After all, he had plenty of things prepared but they didn’t need to know that. Follower furrowed their brows in wariness. Tormentor’s eyes widened in something that looked very much like apprehension. 

From that point on they had two choices. They could either get on their knees and beg for forgiveness or they could double down. And knowing Renegade’s pride, the second option was the only one on the table.

It seemed like the villains accompanying her understood that too.

Follower looked both defeated and furious, clearly they hadn’t taken Renegade’s impulses into consideration. They took their gun from their waist while rolling their eyes. Tormentor’s fingers twitched nervously.

Renegade pointed her finger at Malice and commanded:

-Get him Tormentor!

Red flowers grew in Tormentor’s hair. Plants spread beneath his feet, invading the cracks of the wood. It was fast enough to be menacing but not as fast as it could be.

Malice’s smile stayed on his face. The anticipation was gone, lifted like a veil. He would enter the heart of the matter.

In a swift motion, he grabbed the handle, opened the door and closed it behind him. A shot roared in the room. Malice ran in the corridor, Tormentor was surprisingly the first one behind him. 

Malice could make out the urgent pleas from Follower.

-Renegade, tell the others that the chase has begun.

-You think you can tell me what to do?

That sentence was a classic from Renegade. She was a wild card and couldn’t be easily controlled. It was a wonder All-encompassing got her to behave under his command.

Follower seemed to have forgotten that. Their voice reflected it:

-What? We don’t have time for-

-Aren’t you under my orders?

Follower’s exasperated scream got to Malice’s ears. It was funny to hear them bicker like children. However, they would be much more dangerous on their own.

On that humorous note, his great escape began.

Continuation Shadows and Lights (part10)

Back to Malice’s series

Back to Ally or foe (part8)

Back to Reward (part1)

Tagging: @dakshii

[luluthespectator]

Announcement for people who read Malice’s series

I don’t like the way the story is written since The Chase (part 9) so I think I’m going to rewrite the story or maybe just add some parts, I’ll see. I wrote Malice more like an extremely lucky guy than a trickster and it’s an issue to me. Yes he is lucky but he also has skills.

On a more positive note I’m glad to see there are still people interested in the series and I really like it (and have plenty of ideas for the rest of the series).

So thank you guys, I’ll see you soon :)

@dakshii

[luluthespectator]

Reunited (part12) retconned

For some reasons, this chapter was incredibly hard to write. I feel like it went a bit all over the place. I may rewrite it at some point. Warnings : mention of death

Malice was reduced to a trembling ball under the wooden stairs. He didn’t know Weaponmaster could kill so coldly, although he should have guessed it. He scoffed nervously, so much for being a supervillain. 

The planks over him cracked twice. The second time was much more noticeable. Two people were coming for him. What would happen then? Adrenaline pulsed in his veins. He clung to his lighter just in case, ready to jump and run.

Before he could see anyone, Weaponmaster was already spilling sentences after sentences, tripping over his own words.

-My lord, I heard the rebellion began. I was looking for you- to help you. I thought Ravager would be of help too, I managed to find him in time. There is a back door you can take, not a lot of people know about it, I can take you there. My lord where are you?

Malice was still curled in the corner. He was rendered speechless. Weaponmaster appeared in his vision, pristine gun in hand. The henchman looked almost panicked. It didn’t resemble the usual and impassible Weaponmaster either.

Ravager soon followed Weaponmaster. He was as tall and unmoving as before. Nothing in his blank expression seemed altered by the recent events.

It reassured Malice, somehow. Ravager acted as an anchor while his lord was absolutely out of his depth. The situation went completely off the rails the moment the supervillain got stuck in this room.

Malice at least knew Ravager would do anything he says without questions. For once, this idea was so very comforting. It still felt wrong to use this power but Malice was trapped and a little desperate. He managed to command:

-Ravager, could you grab Weaponmaster for me?

Ravager sprung into action. Weaponmaster’s expression was one of utter fear and confusion. His eyes went from Ravager to Malice. He didn’t try to fight back as Ravager took his hands behind his back. To defend himself, he only stuttered with a tiny fearful voice:

-What? But my lord, I-I’m on your side, I-

Seeing Ravager obey gave his lord a bit of confidence. The latter got out of below the stairs in one graceful jump. He needed to keep up appearances, not to look too fazed by the events. He held out a hand to Ravager and ordered softly:

-Gently. Don’t hurt him. 

Malice wanted nothing more but to curl up into a ball again. He was scared of what Weaponmaster could do. Despite this, the supervillain moved closer to the two of them. He took long, slow steps on the tip of his toes. He knew on the outside, it would come off as gracious, almost hypnotising.

On the inside Malice was terrified to make a mistake that might take his life. Weaponmaster could lie very well depending on the situation and he didn’t trust his own judgment. However, Ravager had no reason to lie.

-Ravager, is that true that he’s on my side?

-It is what he told me, my lord.

-Do you think it is true?

-I think what you think my lord.

Of course Ravager would say something like that, he couldn’t “think” per say. This couldn’t be good. The supervillain would have to figure out the truth another way. His stomach twisted into knots. There were too many surprises and he didn’t want another bad one.

Malice stepped toward Weaponmaster. He smiled as he usually did. It threw people off and provided some kind of control over the situation. He scrutinised his henchman for any sign of hidden betrayal.

For once, Weaponmaster’s emotions were clear. He looked at his lord with his mouth half-opened, eyes pleading, breath trembling. The henchman’s voice was seemingly stuck in his throat.

If Weaponmaster was truly on his lord’s side, he’ll have to prove it himself. Malice needed to hear how Weaponmaster was saying it, the tone in his voice.

-Could you say it again?

A small lost “What?” escaped Weaponmaster. It was barely audible but Malice understood it perfectly. He clarified:

-That you’re on my side.

Weaponmaster answered shyly:

-I’m on your side, my lord. And I can help.

Despite his confusion, the henchman sounded truthful enough. But something still didn’t seem right. Malice crossed his arms. He didn’t allow himself to be lost in thoughts completely. The room was left silent. 

Weaponmaster was taking deep breaths. He was probably trying to calm down. Malice noticed every tense movement, as small as they were. Weaponmaster didn’t look like he wanted Malice’s death. But then…

-You wanted to help me. That’s what you said.

This single affirmation seemed to be giving courage and hope to Weaponmaster.

-Yes. Yes, my lord.

Then why would he follow someone who wanted his lord’s death? Those contradictions were dizzying.

-Is this why you made a temporary alliance with Follower?

-I needed to find you my lord.

That seemed reasonable. The adrenaline finished its course in Malice’s body. His thoughts were clearer although the weight of exhaustion settled.

What was fear making Malice do? Mara had told him the henchman was an ally. Ravager, despite everything, had a keen eye for reading people and he still chose to follow Weaponmaster.

The henchman didn’t sound like he was lying. He had even shown he favoured Malice over All-encompassing knowing he would be casted out. To top it off, he had no reason to join Renegade nor Follower.

Malice nodded to himself. He said calmly:

 -You are telling the truth. I didn’t mean to scare you. I’m a bit on the edge myself.

Malice turned to Ravager who was still dutifully keeping Weaponmaster from moving.

-Ravager, you don’t need to hold him anymore.

Ravager’s hands got back to his sides. He was still looking intently at Weaponmaster as the latter was putting the gun to his waist. Weaponmaster’s gaze went to Ravager too. 

There seemed to be an understanding between the two, unspoken gratefulness, something shy that looked like blooming friendship. It felt like they were truly seeing each other for the first time. That was a pleasant sight, it helped Malice come down from his previous fear.

Malice looked back at Follower, still half laying in the stairs. This was a less pleasant sight. Weaponmaster did save Malice. There was no more doubt the former was on his lord’s side. Still, what a waste of life.

-You could have achieved this in a pacifist way.

At that Weaponmaster lowered his head. His shoulders tensed once again. He whispered in one breath:

-My apologies.

How could Malice blame Weaponmaster for doing the necessary to save someone else’s life, to save his lord’s life? Malice didn’t like it, but this was far from selfish.

Malice sighed, tired of himself.

-What am I saying? Thank you for your help. 

Those words seemed to be a novelty for Weaponmaster. His eyes were locked on his lord. They seemed wider, perhaps from a quiet awe. 

Malice asked softly:

-You said you knew where the backdoor was.

Weaponmaster seemed to wake up from his trance and took back his unreadable expression and pose.

-I do.

-I’ll follow you then. In exchange, I’ll get you out of there.

-Thank you, my lord.

Weaponmaster turned to Ravager. There it was again, this timid connection between the two. Weaponmaster seemed to be looking for approbation and comfort in Ravager. How come? Ravager didn’t have any kind of authority over the henchman and yet…there was something Malice didn’t have the words for.

Weaponmaster quickly snapped out of it and climbed the stairs towards the door. From up there, his unsure gaze was much more noticeable. It seemed like Weaponmaster was as unsure as Malice on how to proceed, but still tried something because he had to.

Malice smiled to himself. They were all the same here. They were all lost. As an encouragement, he followed Weaponmaster with Ravager backing him.

Back to Malice’s series

Back to Watch your back (part11) retconned

Back to Lies after Lies (part 11.5)

Back to Reward (part1)

Tagging: @dakshii

[luluthespectator]

Lies after lies (part 11.5)

Warning: gun, mention of death This is what Weaponmaster did before Watch your back(part11) and after Ally or foe(part8).

Weaponmaster found Ravager in one of the corridors. He called:

-Ravager. Please listen to me, it's very important.

Ravager stopped all movements and locked eyes with Weaponmaster. The henchman didn’t have time to be scared by this. He had Ravager’s attention, it was all he needed. Weaponmaster let loose a stream of words:

-Ravager. The rebellion began today. We need to find Malice. I think I know how, but I’ll have to lie a lot.

Ravager kept looking at him unhelpfully. Panic was clawing at Weaponmaster’s heart and mind. Ravager had to understand what the plan was. He had to understand what it took to accomplish it. 

Weaponmaster hated how his own voice was laced with angst, how he sounded like he was pleading.

-I’ll have to lie. I’ll have to say horrible things but I won’t mean any of it. I’ll have to say I despise Malice and want his death but it won’t be true. Nothing would be further from the truth.

Ravager nodded. However, his gaze was still blank. Weaponmaster continued desperately:

-Please, come with me. It would be better if you don’t talk. I’ll get you to Malice, you’ll be able to protect him.

Something in Ravager’s eyes lit up. Weaponmaster knew he understood. A weight was lifted from his chest.

-You can follow me, if you want.

Weaponmaster didn’t look back and walked through the corridors. He felt a bit stupid for adding “if you want”, of course Ravager would follow. 

But now that he was sure to have Ravager by his side, he could focus on the plan. He was looking for Follower. They were the only one who could find Malice efficiently. Weaponmaster wished he would have Follower by his side to find Follower. That was a horrible loop.

Nevertheless, he needed to persevere.

———

After what felt like an eternity, he found Follower unmoving on the ground. Weaponmaster’s heart tightened. Were they dead? No, they couldn’t be. The whole plan would go up in flames. He would be useless again without a plan. What would happen then?

No, calm down. There was always another solution if they were truly dead. Weaponmaster ran up to them and took their pulse. He sighed in relief. They were alive, just unconscious.

He sat down and shook Follower, gently at first. When it didn’t work, he tried again with more force. Follower opened their eyes. When they got on Weaponmaster, they were burning with rage. Weaponmaster didn’t give the villain time to talk:

-We need to find Malice. You’re the only one who can help.

Follower moved to sit down. Weaponmaster held them as they repositioned themselves. They said on a reproachful tone:

-So you would betray him too.

Weaponmaster lowered his head. He hugged himself as well. With Follower, he had to look and sound as vulnerable as possible. 

-Making him think I’m on his side makes it easier to do a lot of things. 

-You betrayed All-encompassing in the process.

Weaponmaster had to take his pleading tone again. He purposefully made his voice tremble slightly, like he was trying to keep himself together.

-I didn’t…I didn’t mean it. I saw him die in front of me. I was scared of what Malice could do. I was trying to protect myself. 

Weaponmaster hid his face in Follower’s chest. He held onto the folds of their clothes. His pathetic voice came out muffled by the fabric.

-I’m sorry. I’ll do better. I’ll be better.

As expected, Follower couldn’t possibly stay mad at Weaponmaster. He felt them relax as they sighed. They put their arms around Weaponmaster, cradling him. They whispered in his hair:

-You loved All-encompassing.

What Weaponmaster had to say next already made him want to clean his mouth with soap.

-Of course. He taught me the majority of what I know. How could I not?

Weaponmaster dared to look up at Follower. Their smile looked like one of a mother. There was something dangerously close to adoration in their eyes. They brushed Weaponmaster’s hair lovingly.

-Then I’ll help you find Malice. You’ll be the one to kill him.

It was so easy to make them believe he was on their side. However, Weaponmaster didn’t like the next thing he was about to say.

-Yes. If you want I’ll kill him.

Follower seemed proud. Their smile morphed into something unpleasant. It was one someone had when they thought they would get their revenge.

They handed a beautiful gun to Weaponmaster. It felt balanced and light. It was cleaned with care, almost lovingly. Follower explained fondly:

-This is mine. All-encompassing gave it to me. I want you to kill Malice with it. If I die before you do this, that would be my last wish.

-I see. I will.

Weaponmaster knew well that he wouldn’t do that. But he needed this gun to defend himself so he took it. Follower’s gaze then went upwards, way above Weaponmaster’s head. Their smile turned into a disgusted frown.

-What about Ravager?

Weaponmaster turned to him. He was immobile, looking at them with a blank expression. Weaponmaster waved a hand dismissively:

-He won’t be an issue. I corrupted him.

-How?

Weaponmaster’s heart sank in his chest. He thought Follower would ask less questions. He didn’t think of a story to cover up the conversation he had with Ravager.

Perhaps he could get away with no explanation at all. He smiled like All-encompassing would. He had practiced in front of a mirror. It was a smile that looked wrong and smug, it made the eyes narrow. You could somehow look down on someone way taller than you with that smile.

-The way All-encompassing told me, of course.

In a burst of adoration, Follower took Weaponmaster in their arms and cradled him, stroking his hair at the same time. All those movements were too erratic. But Weaponmaster knew Follower’s support was secured.

Continuation Reunited (part12) retconned

Back to Malice’s series

Back to Watch your back (part 11) retconned

Back to Reward (part 1)

Tagging @dakshii

[luluthespectator]

Watch your back (part11) retconned

Warnings: guns, character death

Malice wandered in the corridors of the ground floor in search of the exit. Where the walls would be made out of planks on the first floor, here they were stone grey. Dust was settling near the edges of the path.

This part of the building clearly looked abandoned. Why was it? Did All-encompassing want to dissuade heroes and people from entering? The ancient supervillain used to think about things like this.

In the silence and semidarkness, Malice felt way safer. He finally realised that he had been playing with his hair for who knows how long. At the tip of his hair was now a tangled ball of strands.

He sighed, letting out all the air in his lungs and the tension at once. While he was looking for the backdoor, he reflected on the situation. Once again, he had been incredibly lucky during his escapade.

It wasn’t finished but Malice was confident he would be able to get out of there in one piece.

A kick in his back stole him a pained scream. He fell to the ground, on all fours. His heart dropped in his chest, crushing his newly-found confidence in the process. A soft-spoken but powerful voice shouted:

-Shoot, Weaponmaster!

Shoot? No. A wild fear took a hold of him once again. Malice jumped back on his feet. He took his lighter in hand and leapt from one side of the corridors to the other. Each jump summoning more ethereal particles around him.

He heard a disconcerted and frustrated hum. Malice got out of view and ran once again. His hair hit his back as he moved. Was he just found? Did Follower just ask Weaponmaster to shoot him? What happened to “Weaponmaster is your ally”?

Footsteps followed him. Three different footsteps. What was happening? How did he manage to be taken by surprise like this? Most of all, Malice didn’t know how Follower managed to find him so quickly, so accurately. 

This was why All-encompassing had kept Follower so close. They were efficient at what they were doing. Behind him, they scolded:

-Why didn’t you shoot? He was right there.

They had planned to get rid of Malice. There was something painful in this idea. He wasn’t as lucky as he thought. He had one more enemy. Weaponmaster replied panting:

-He was so fast.

-It’s like you don’t want to shoot.

Follower’s annoyed remark brought some hope to Malice. Perhaps Weaponmaster was truly an ally in disguise. Malice could work with that if that was the case. But how could he know? Weaponmaster argued back:

-I want to be sure I don’t miss.

Whatever made Malice feel lighter vanished immediately. Maybe Weaponmaster was just a perfectionist as always. On the bright side, whatever kept him from using his gun on Malice was a blessing.

Another type of footsteps echoed far from Malice. It seemed like there were more people on the ground floor than what he initially thought. He needed to steer clear from more trouble.

The ground floor was quickly becoming a labyrinth. It wasn’t mirroring any paths on the other floors. This was going to be tricky.

His pursuers were relentless too. This time, they all stuck together like their lives depended on it. The real problem was essentially Follower, they hated Malice with their whole being. Weaponmaster could be reasoned with, probably.

Malice still took sharp turns in case Weaponmaster wanted to try to shoot again. He opened a door. As soon as he saw stairs right after this, he jumped forward and landed with a roll. He quickly went out of door’s way and…

He was trapped in a room. 

He was trapped.

What a nightmare.

He cowered in a corner below the door, under the stairs. Silence filled the air. The footsteps stopped right outside of the room, all three of them. Follower surely noticed that Malice brought himself to a dead end. 

-Well, it looks like we won.

Malice could recognise the joy in Follower’s voice. The planks of the stairs cracked slightly. They stood right above Malice’s head. The latter took his legs in his arms in an effort to reassure himself. He won’t stay hidden for long. Follower continued:

-Don’t worry. This time, I won’t let you get me.

The second flight of stairs cracked slowly as well. Almost instinctively, Malice put his hands in front of his mouth to mask the noise of his unsteady breath. It was useless, he was already found. His whole body was filled with an unbearable warmth.

-You’ll pay for what you’ve done to All-encompassing. For the grief. For the pain.

Three more steps and Follower would arrive at his level. They would see a trembling, helpless creature curled on itself. An invisible hand kept Malice’s chest from properly rising. 

Still, Follower continued their taunts. Their voice was low and confident, dangerous in its twisted adoration, heart-wrenching in its nostalgia.

-All-encompassing, our true lord, was a benediction that you forcefully took away from us. He made us strong. He made us good. Weaponmaster thinks just like me. He knows All-encompassing better than I do, he knows it was time for revenge too.

It disturbed Malice. All-encompassing was nothing like what Follower just made him out to be. The ancient supervillain was ruthless and egotistical. Malice was lucky to be on his good side from the very start. 

Weaponmaster cut Malice’s thoughts short.

-I’m sorry, Follower. It was indeed time for revenge.

Confusion laced Follower’s voice.

-What are you… doing? 

What was happening? Malice was petrified. Something felt heavy in the air. Something imminent was coming and he hated it, he was terrified of it. He flinched at Follower’s furious words.

-You would kill me with what I gave you? You would betray me?

A silence. 

Then, there was something soft in the steady voice Weaponmaster used. It was quiet, cold and unwavering. It was a simple statement.

-I was never on your side to begin with.

Follower didn’t hesitate to spill their rage in the word they uttered between clenched teeth.

-Traito-

Malice jumped and yelped as a shot roared in the room. His blood pulsated in his whole being. A body collapsed on the ground. 

Continuation Reunited (part12) retconned

Continuation Lies after lies (part 11.5)

Back to Malice’s series

Back to The main door (part10) retconned

Back to Reward (part1)

Tagging @dakshii

[luluthespectator]

I love all theses stories.

Master Post

/OK, so you guys asked, and I delivered, this is the master page with all of my stories in chronological order starting at the bottom and going up. Some of them include flashbacks, and so are not “technically” in order, but it was the best I could do. I will not write in order because the ideas do not come in order, but I will put them in their general place on this page when they are done,  so I hope this helps :)

Another development is that I have a Patreon now, if you would like to support what I do. It isn’t mandatory or anything, just a virtual tip jar of sorts :)

https://www.patreon.com/empyreaniris?fan_landing=true

Also recent development is that I have adapted the series into a book that I will be writing on the side. The link to that is right below if you are interested in reading. The title is Empyrean Iris.

Update: It is Finished! So I hope you read and enjoy

https://www.wattpad.com/user/starrfallknightrise

This will be updated as new stories are written

https://starr-fall-knight-rise.tumblr.com/post/186631255850/could-you-do-a-post-on-what-each-alien-species

https://starr-fall-knight-rise.tumblr.com/post/623401468069822464/alien-species-reference

Here is a document containing a few reference pictures for the diferent species of alien

https://starr-fall-knight-rise.tumblr.com/post/189708814740/drev-conlang-current

Here is the current conlang for the Drev language. 

https://starr-fall-knight-rise.tumblr.com/post/621283927531929600/adams-playlist

The sort of music that Adam listens to when he flies. 

https://discord.gg/pS97NBaVVR

here is the discord server link 

And here is the rest of the Master Post since this one is too long

https://starr-fall-knight-rise.tumblr.com/post/659588552862105600/master-post-continued

Afficher davantage

[luluthespectator]

The main door (part10) retconned

Warning: implication of death

Malice walked in the corridors, each crack of the wood made him jump and he sometimes startled upon hearing voices above or below him. He managed to dodge the different groups of villains and he wished he could do so until he would escape.

He observed the walls with the small windows way above him. All-encompassing wanted this place to be hard to escape in case heroes came.

It wasn’t a good thing for Malice. He knew only one exit, the main door on the first floor. It gave access to a gateway to another building on the other side of the street. If he couldn’t take it, he would have to go back to the only real window located in the office and climb down from there.

Everything was strangely quiet. It put him more on edge than any chase. He walked even slower in case someone was trying to listen for his footsteps.

Shouts from afar made him shiver. It was Renegade’s voice. She was one the most dangerous for him, seeing as she always hated him. She was probably the one to start this rebellion in the first place, although it didn’t look like a lot of people were actively looking to defeat him.

The yelling came from the general direction of the main door. Of course she would wait for him there. She wasn’t stupid, just stubborn and impulsive. Still, why would she shout? Wouldn’t she want to take him by surprise?

-He left, you absolute fools! We could have finished everything once and for all.

He vaguely understood an answer that sounded like “Maybe he didn’t leave.”. Were they talking about him? He stepped closer. He hid behind the wall at the last corner to the main door and listened. Renegade continued, furious:

-Then why would the door be locked?

The door was locked? How was he supposed to get out of this place? Could he really get back to his office without trouble?

-Because this idea of revolution is stupid, I don’t know.

Malice would have never said something like that directly to Renegade. However, this boldness was heartwarming. There were still people on his side after all. Hopefully Renegade wouldn’t do something too drastic about it. She continued, her tone more pleading:

-This is our opportunity to gain the power to govern the organisation on our own accord. Do you want to pass it up?

Malice furrowed his brow, is this what she said to the other villains to get them to do what she wanted? They must know she only wanted the power to herself.

-Since he left, we can do that now. Although Malice seemed chill-

A metallic sound along with a gurgling noise followed those words. Malice knew what it meant and his stomach painfully reminded him that he didn’t like it.

He turned around and speed-walked. Renegade had a weapon and he didn’t want to be caught in her anger.

Light as a feather, he quickly disappeared in one of the shadows of the corridor. What he just heard left a bitter taste in his mouth. One death could have been avoided. Memories were lost, forever.

He swallowed back his sorrow. He had to leave this place. He would mourn later. Almost mechanically, he put his chin between his fingers. Apparently, the main door was locked and he didn’t have the keys. 

That was problematic. He didn’t even know who could have them nor did he know they existed before. The gears in his head turned. Was it worth it to try to make it back to his office?

There was one positive thing about this locked main door. The villains thought he had left. He could use it to his advantage to look for a solution unnoticed.

Still something bugged him. Why was it called the main door or more rarely the front door? An idea lighted in his head, the beginning of a solution. If there was a main door, it must mean that there must be at least one other door: a backdoor.

Where would he find a backdoor? It should be somewhere obvious. 

Malice stopped. Something felt off. He was startled when he found Tormentor staring at him, hidden in the semi-darkness. 

A wave of panic flooded him. How did he not notice this? The weight of this encounter settled on his mind. Thousands of scenarios flooded his thoughts. He didn’t want to be captured, being captured meant Renegade would have the pleasure to do whatever she liked to him.

Before Tormentor could talk, Malice fled as fast as he could.

———

Malice opened a door that led straight to wooden stairs. He felt himself suspended in the air. He embraced the fall and caught himself on his hands. He then did a cartwheel and landed on his feet on the last flight of stairs. He tried to keep himself standing but was caught up in the momentum and ended up collapsing to the ground.

He was on his knees, panting. His long hair fell around his head, obscuring his vision with black strands. Behind this veil, he recognised a silhouette. He wasn’t alone. Between two gasps for air, he croaked:

-Mara.

The old woman came to him. She sat down by his side and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

Still, Malice tensed. 

On the ground, he finally realised how scared and defenceless he was. Exhaustion made his eyes heavy. For as far as he knew, he was locked in a lair full of villains who hated him.

He looked down at his trembling hands. What he did felt futile. He only fled in the name of survival, nothing else. Wasn’t it easier to let someone catch him? To avoid people dying from saying something nice about him. Mara could catch him right now if she wanted.

-My lord. I’m on your side.

Malice looked at her but could barely focus on her features. Was she going to die too, at some point? How many needless deaths could Renegade allow in the name of power? Plenty? No. More than enough was the answer.

Mara was rubbing his shoulder. The warmth kept him from spiralling. She said grinning, like this was nothing but a strategy game to her:

-I closed the front door.

She had the keys. She was the solution to his problem. Not all hope was lost, she was on his side. He would get out of there, he always managed to escape no matter what. He was Malice after all. He smiled.

-Yes I heard that.

-Did you use it to your advantage?

Malice laughed in relief. Of course this locked main door could be a blessing. He was safe as long as no one told Renegade. Tormentor wouldn’t say anything anytime soon.

-They think I’m gone. I have all the lair to myself.

Mara nodded along. She looked at him with proud sharp eyes. She added like she was sharing a secret:

-Along with the ground floor. 

Malice took a moment to process what she told him. He knew there was a ground floor but he never went there. Was it an attempt to catch him in an ambush?

He looked at Mara, there was no hint of uneasiness or malicious intent. She wanted to help him. He just needed to understand how that would help.

-The ground floor? Why would I go there?

-There’s another exit there.

There it was. Obviously there was an exit there. He hummed, content. There was no need for despair, there was always a solution. He got on his feet, it felt like he was full of energy again. He lent a hand to Mara to help her get up. She dusted her clothes.

-I don’t exactly know where, my lord. But I’m sure you’ll find it.

-The advantage of this ground floor is that not a lot of people must be there. Even I wasn’t thinking about this place.

-Exactly. 

She pointed to a wooden door on the other side of the room.

-This door can lead you there. I’ll open it and lock it behind you so no one will access it from here.

-Thank you Mara.

He followed her as she took a small silver key and unlocked the door with it. She lifted her index in the air. She joked:

-You just have to be careful with the evil stairs.

Malice took a big gasp and put a hand on his chest. He repeated with the intonation of someone in awe with an old scary story:

-The evil stairs.

-They’re worse than those we’ve both encountered.

Malice couldn’t keep himself from laughing, albeit quieter. For a moment, it didn’t feel like he was in a situation of life or death.

-Better be careful then.

He approached the door as Mara stepped back. A flight of stairs was indeed directly installed just after the entrance. They were very steep too. Who decided to do such a thing? Malice knew. It was probably the work of All-encompass. 

For a moment, he wondered if Mara was about to push him down those stairs. He looked back at her, she was far enough to react in case anything like this happened. He climbed down a few stairs carefully.

Mara added hastily:

-You have another ally.

It seemed like Malice had another good news. He turned back to Mara. What a lovely encounter he had with her.

-Whom?

-Weaponmaster.

Out of all the villains in the organisation, Malice didn’t think Weaponmaster would be one to defend him. He wasn’t above saying nice things in case he was in trouble later but jumping into the trouble for his lord was something rather unlikely.

-He would be loyal to me?

Mara shrugged.

-Looks like.

Malice still smiled. All wasn’t lost after all, if Weaponmaster didn’t fool Mara, that is.

-Well, I’ll see if I have the occasion. Thank you again, Mara. For everything.

She smiled and bowed before closing the door. A click was heard as Malice walked down the stairs.

Continuation Watch you back (part11) retconned

Back to masterlist: Malice’s series

Back to The chase (part9) retconned

Back to Reward (part1)

Tagging @dakshii

[luluthespectator]

The chase (part9) retconned

Warning: gun, mention of death

Malice was sitting at his desk in the lord’s office. He was waiting for Tormentor to come. In the corridors, footsteps echoed. There was Tormentor and two other villains: Renegade and Follower. It was an interesting combination. 

Follower was one of All-encompassing’s only real support. They had nothing but blind loyalty for their previous lord, it was almost to the point of obsession. Renegade on the other hand stayed with All-encompassing in hopes of gaining more power. If Malice hadn’t taken the previous lord’s place first, she would have made a move at some point too.

They had one thing in common, they both hated Malice and wished to see him gone. An alliance between them was something dangerous and unpredictable. Malice didn’t even think possible for both villains to see eye to eye.

There was a knock on the door.

-You may enter.

The three villains entered the room and bowed. Malice smiled, satisfied with his good guess. He stood up from his chair and walked around the desk nonchalantly. He let the wood brush his fingers. Blood thumped in his body.

-You can all stand up. 

Malice sat on the desk and crossed his legs. The three villains stood in front of him with solemn apprehension. The lord continued:

-I see you brought friends with you, Tormentor. 

Tormentor flinched at that. His brows furrowed but he didn’t dare to look at anything else but the wooden floor. Was it how he used to react in front of All-encompassing? Malice added playfully:

-You didn’t need to worry so much, I don’t bite. I’m not All-encompassing after all.

Tormentor’s eyes went up all the way to meet Malice. His pained gaze murmured “I’m sorry for this.”. That couldn’t be a good sign. The villain said with a voice that lost all its bite:

-About that.

His gaze dropped to the floor once again. His clenched fists were trembling. It felt like he was battling with himself. Malice took a soothing tone, a quiet voice, and almost whispered:

-About what?

-The fact you’re not All-encompassing, I-

Renegade cut him and boldly took a step forward:

-You will never be our lord.

Follower nodded at that. Tormentor shifted uncomfortably, he was clearly conflicted. Malice let himself smile. He got down from his desk and walked, tranquil in appearance, towards Renegade.

-Is that so?

He took slow steps while circling her. Her sharp eyes followed him, her disdain for him was almost palpable. She always hated him after all. In her eyes, he was a rival to get rid of. Perhaps she would succeed in this goal. She spat almost triumphantly:

-Yes.

Once behind her, Malice took his time to move. Her eyes were still set on him. She wasn’t even scared of saying what she had in mind. Knots formed in Malice’s stomach. He still asked lightly:

-And why would that be?

Her eyes lit up. He gave her the opportunity to show her real colours and she was going to rub them in his face.

-You are just a fraud. You don’t have what it takes to be a supervillain.

Malice stopped on her left and looked at her proud face. She almost looked crazy. What did All-encompassing say about her? “She thinks she can handle power. But she can’t. You see, if I give her what she wants, it will go to waste before she can even use it.” 

She was going to mess up at some point. Perhaps, Malice could use the differences in views between Renegade and Follower to better understand the weaknesses of the alliance.

He asked innocently:

-And you would be a better match?

-For example.

Follower turned to Renegade, they looked almost scandalised. Their usual soft spoken voice took a dangerous tone:

-This is not what we said.

She argued back:

-I said, for example. Not yes.

Were they about to bicker like some children? Did they inadvertently admit they were plotting against Malice?

It seemed like their little alliance was only temporary. The cracks and the gaps between the two villains always were noticeable. Perhaps, the rebellion would shatter before they get anything from Malice.

Malice used this opportunity to get closer to the door, just in case. He walked in its direction, as slowly and lightly as when he went to Renegade. Follower continued:

-You just admitted you wanted to take his place.

-That’s what we want right?

They all turned to Malice. Perhaps, he was wrong, they wouldn’t forget him so soon. She repeated, grinning maniacally:

-His place. 

Renegade continued already victorious:

-Get him Tormentor.

Red flowers grew in Tormentor’s hair. Plants spread beneath his feet, invading the cracks of the wood. It was fast enough to be menacing. 

Malice’s eyes widened. So, betrayal would happen today. The anticipation was gone, lifted like a veil. It was swiftly replaced by dread, the real terror. His stomach was suddenly filled with a painful void. Malice turned around and left the office.

It began: the run for his life, the race against time, the chase.

The corridors passed in a blur. Shouts and footsteps echoed behind him. All he had to do was remember the layout of the lair to get to the main door. All-encompassing wanted it to feel like a labyrinth. In a rush, it did.

Malice took a sharp turn. A gunshot fired behind him. He heard his startled yelp more than he felt himself scream. They were truly ready to do anything. His heartbeat raced.

He took a few hidden passages in a row, hoping to lose the villains. Beneath the thumping of the blood in his temples, he heard only one type of footsteps. He opened another secret door. Follower appeared in the corner of his eyes. They were taking the same path as Malice, gun in hand.

Another shot was fired. Malice already disappeared in the shadows, out of view and out of touch. For now.

He walked slower, while making sure to not make any sounds. He put a hand in front of his mouth to hide his panting breaths. Out of all the villains, Follower was going to be an issue.

They were good at tracking people on the move. Malice wouldn’t be able to escape them forever. In fact, he didn’t escape them. He had to take them out. Fortunately, he had a small gadget that might help. He took what looked like a lighter and held it firmly in his hand. 

Follower passed the door. They took cautious steps, gun clasped in their hands. Their head and gun turned to the dark corridor. However, they stopped at the sharp edge between light and darkness.

-Malice. I know you’re hiding there. It is too obvious and we both know you love obvious hiding spots.

In the shadows, Malice quietly pressed against the wall, where the barrel didn’t point. He walked towards Follower, lighter in hand. He listened for other footsteps nearby. There were none. This meant he had a chance.

He ran towards Follower. He clicked on the lighter and felt his body take an ethereal leap as a shot roared in his ears. He appeared behind Follower. He quickly turned around and grabbed their neck.

The pressure on their nerve point made them drop the gun and brought them on their knees. Malice then put his weight on their back, clasped his hands around the front of their throat and pressed. Follower managed to choke a few panicked pleas. Malice whispered in their ear:

-It’s okay. I’m not going to kill you. You know with me it’s just in and out of a place, nothing more.

Follower closed their eyes and their body went limp. Malice got back on his feet and sighed. Relief washed over him. Without his lighter, he would have been dead.

Continuation The main door (part 10) retconned

Back to masterlist: Malice’s series

Back to Ally or foe (part8)

Back to Reward (part1)

Tagging: @dakshii

[luluthespectator]

Masterlist: Malice’s series

Back to Small master table: Villains and heroes

Arc 1: Origins

Key-words: lore-oriented, somber themes with some comfort mixed-in

Reward (part1): Malice, a “trustworthy” supervillain, is called in the office of the lord of his organisation to be given a reward. He knows to use his reward for something better, probably. Implication of torture, character death

Invisible (part1.5): Mara, an old cleaning lady, loses herself in her thoughts. Until she falls down the stairs at the feet of the supervillain Malice. also found in the One-shots category in Small master table: Villains and Heroes

Conversation in the yellow light (part2): Weaponmaster, the best henchman, talks to his new lord Malice. Despite his usual fear, he discovers something more soothing, he doesn’t exactly know what that is. Minor angst to comfort

Truth beneath the anger (part3): A lot of villains aren’t exactly happy about Malice becoming the new lord of the organisation. A heated conversation with Tormentor, a villain, highlights this reluctance.

Freedom to think (part4): Malice desperately tries to get Ravager to think of something else other than his duties. Perhaps the supervillain could achieve this one step at time. Fluff

Thorny argument (part5): Weaponmaster finds Tormentor in a grey abandoned bathroom. Their discussion escalades into a heated argument about their new lord Malice. Cursing, shouting/yelling

Friends? (part6): Weaponmaster was peacefully relaxing himself when Ravager came, asking to be his friend. Minor angst to comfort

Calm before the storm (part7): Malice prepares for what’s to come. Everything is peaceful but something heavy hangs in the air.

Ally or foe (part8): Weaponmaster goes to the training room in hopes to take a break. What he finds instead is someone with bad news.

The Great Escape (part9): Malice waits in his office for Tormentor’s arrival. The latter is accompanied by two other villains: Renegade and Follower. Although there are tensions between the two, their goal is clear: chase Malice down. And so, the great escape begins.

Shadows and lights (part10): To make his plan work, Malice has to get a hold of Follower’s gun. He uses every means possible to achieve this, although some of them hurt. Gun, grief

Retconned

The chase (part9): Three villains enter Malice’s office. They quickly announce that their goal is to overthrow their lord. And so, the chase begins. Guns, mention of death

The main door (part10): Malice hopes to flee from his organisation by using the main door. However, things might get a bit more complicated than this. Implication of death

Watch your back (part11): Malice got taken off guard. However, he isn’t the only one experiencing surprises. Guns, character death

Lies after lies (part 11.5): Weaponmaster lies to find his lord. Gun, mention of death

Reunited (part12): Malice, Weaponmaster and Ravager found each other. Mention of death

[luluthespectator]

Ally or foe (part8)

As expected, Weaponmaster wasn’t perceived as a quiet ally anymore but a quiet foe. The rare peaceful times he had with the others vanished. They all looked at him with suspicion in their eyes. Their whispers still lingered:

“Well, well. Look who we’ve got here. Another dog. Except it’s not a hound, it’s Malice’s puppy”

“He’s got no spine.”

“It’s tragic isn’t it? Having the opportunity to be free only to fall in the grasp of another”

“He’d do anything to save himself. It’s understandable. It’s a shame really.”

“Hopefully he’ll follow his lord when he dies this time.”

He faced those words with an indifferent expression. He kept acting as usual, he dove in his tasks head first. The truth was, he didn’t want to think about his loneliness, his isolation. So, in this place he didn’t even call home, there was nothing but work to make him forget.

He was exhausted. He did so much and had yet to finish everything. Administration, resource management, plans, painful words and movement of internal rebellions swirled in his head. One task morphed in another while two more appeared. The looming threat of…something put him on the edge.

He retreated to the training room. He needed to relax and knew this place was always messy. He needed to organise things, to take his mind off of things, to forget how lost he was, to feel in control for once.

When he opened the door, the large room was already cleaned. Weaponmaster furrowed his brows. It didn’t normally happen. Panic slowly seeped through his mind as he realised his little haven had been tampered with. Why did they need to be so cruel?

Metallic clicks echoed from where the racks with all the weapons were. This wasn’t normal. He made his way further into the room while staying near the walls. He reached for the dagger in his pocket. He flinched when he realised he didn’t have a gun with him.

He walked even slower, he was nearly silent and even more panicked. There was a small separation between the training room and the storage room. He stayed behind it as he threw a glance at the person in the latter.

Incomprehension and a sense of dread grew as he recognised who it was. It was Mara, an old cleaning lady. She was much more active since Malice helped her that one time. It was at this occasion that he talked to her a little. 

Still, it was suspicious to see her there. From where he stood, she didn’t seem to be in a position to react fast enough to fight.

Weaponmaster approached her and asked:

-What are you doing here?

Mara jumped as she turned around. A flicker of fear flashed on her face, like a thief caught in the act of stealing. When she met his eyes, it vanished. It was replaced with a serene expression and a smile.

She had nothing but a cloth in her hands. 

-I was just cleaning. I thought it would take some pressure off of you.

But that’s not how you clean a weapon. This was too strange. Weaponmaster didn’t even want to think about it. He just wanted to organise things, to take a break and not feel useless.

He sighed defeated. 

Perhaps she was only trying to be helpful. He couldn’t afford to be afraid of someone who potentially still cared enough about him to try and help. He took his usual posture, hands behind a straight back.

-Mara…how can I explain this?

He didn’t want Mara to know he was absolutely stressed out. How was he supposed to explain the situation without being too suspicious himself?

At some point he gave up and opened his hand in front of him. He hated this move inherited from All-encompassing, but he was too exhausted to be angry at himself. He confessed reluctantly:

-Mara, I need to relax.

Her shoulders dropped. When did she tense? She answered:

-I can see that.

This made him shiver ever so slightly. He was supposed to be a blank slate, not an open book. His voice rose a little louder.

-No. You’re not supposed to know.

-You hide it well, but I can tell.

There were no threats behind those words, just like his lord’s words. She looked at him with a fond look and compassion in her eyes. She was just a sweet old lady. Weaponmaster sighed:

-I need to be able to organise things. It’s my way of dealing...with everything that’s happening.

At that, Mara seemed more alert. Her gaze went to the weapons and then dropped to the ground as she put her hands on her hips. Was it worry he saw on her face? He didn’t want to ask any questions, not at the moment. It was probably nothing. She still dared looking at him when she offered:

-I can put all the weapons to the ground so that you would be able to rearrange them.

The pressure on his shoulders and suspicions dropped at the mention of being able to do that. He was thankful for having someone to care enough about him to try to help. His hands went back to his sides.

-That would be lovely Mara. Thank you.

———

As he picked the weapons one by one, putting them back on the racks, Mara was looking intently at all his movements. Weaponmaster was supposed to enjoy doing this, it worked every time to make him forget his worries.

But this time, with each weapon, he could tell something was wrong. It was already obvious but he couldn’t dismiss it anymore. Dread mounted in his chest. It made him lightheaded.

There were internal rebellions. He couldn’t tell who was on which side. Mara was here. The weapons had been tampered with one way or another. It didn’t take a genius to see they were rendered unusable. He stopped in his movements. He understood what he tried to deny.

In an instant, he had Mara against a wall with a knife under her chin. He snapped, betrayal already stung in his chest:

-Did you really think I wouldn’t notice? I may be stressed out but it doesn’t mean I’m going to panic around someone like you.

He bit his tongue, he said too much. He said he wasn’t going to panic, which means he thought of that. Mara’s eyes went to the weapon before boring into Weaponmaster’s soul.

He was supposed to be the one in control yet he averted his eyes under her unwavering gaze. With an even voice he asked:

-Who are you working for?

With an uncharacteristic coldness and condescending tone she replied like it was obvious:

-I’m working for my lord. What about you?

He argued back with a strained voice:

-I’m also working for my lord.

A moment passed. He needed to keep his emotions in check. Mara had a face he never knew she could have. She looked him up and down like she was the one in control. She looked almost bored when she asked:

-Who is your lord?

-Malice. Who else?

In an instant, her rigid face was replaced with a serene one. She melted back into her original position. He noticed despite her brave face, she had tensed again. She smiled at him, with a mischievous light he had never seen in her eyes.

-Then we are not enemies. Get this knife away from me, I’ll tell you everything.

Weaponmaster didn’t think when he released her. He just did what he was told. She had more confidence than him. She seemingly knew what was happening on a bigger scale and he needed something to anchor him.

She paced in front of the racks while explaining:

-With each new leader, there is instability. The first few months are the delicate part. Malice isn’t all that popular for many reasons, the advantage All-encompassing had was that he had a lot of support from everywhere. Malice is a lone wolf.

It looked like she was going to throw herself in a monologue. All-encompassing used to start his with generalities and then he would continue from there. It tightened something in Weaponmaster’s heart. Why did he keep seeing All-encompassing everywhere?

Besides, the situation seemed urgent. He needed to cut the monologue short. Yes, it was urgent, nothing else.

-Are you saying they will attack Malice today?

Mara stopped pacing in the middle of a step. Her gaze got lost in front of her. Information seemed to be retrieved from every part of her memory. She looked back at Weaponmaster.

-They’ll attack when he’ll be alone. He was lucky Ravager was by his side. 

There was a difference between having plenty of people in a room and having support. Ravager was more of the former. Was he?

-Ravager acts more like a guard dog.

-He still counts as support.

Weaponmaster remembered the dread that would tighten his chest each time he saw Ravager. It took one single conversation to dispel this angst however. The others didn’t talk to Ravager, so they still feared him. Mara might be right. If she was, the situation didn’t look so good for their lord.

-Ravager leaves his side more and more often. I saw him in the corridors earlier, far from the office. Malice currently has a meeting with one of the villains too. 

-Tormentor?

Weaponmaster’s mind went blank for a few seconds. He observed Mara from top to bottom. She didn’t look like a spy, which would be good news for her if she was. Even then, Weaponmaster doubted Tormentor even talked to her. Lost words escaped him:

-How do you know?

A devious smile spread on her lips.

-A cleaning lady has her ways of knowing things.

Weaponmaster was about to ask more details about that. How much did she know? How much was relevant? Was she aware of every little embarrassing thing Weaponmaster did? Did she have enough information to blackmail someone? 

He decided to settle for the question with the more pressing answer.

-Do you think they’ll attack today?

Mara shrugged.

-Looks like. You can feel it too, can you?

How the air seemed thicker today, like something big and imminent was coming?

-Yes.

Mara nodded, more for herself than for Weaponmaster. Once again, she seemed to ponder before admitting:

-I can’t do a lot about it. Except keeping some doors opened and closed.

-And the weapons?

-Are they unusable?

-Yes.

A wolfish grin appeared on her calm face. 

-I’ll take that as a win. Don’t lose time.

Time? Time for what? No, he knew. Time to find his lord, to help him somehow. Weaponmaster started moving for the door. He looked at Mara, to see if it was what he was meant to do. She nodded.

Weaponmaster ran. He couldn’t fight on his own. He knew what he needed. He’ll find support for him and his lord. Perhaps, he already knew where to look to find an ally.

Continuation The Great Escape (part9) main storyline

Continuation The chase (part9) retconned

Back to masterlist: Malice’s series

Back to Calm before the storm (part7)

Invisible (part 1.5: side story featuring Mara)

Back to the beginning Reward (part1)

Tagging @dakshii

[luluthespectator]

Calm before the storm (part7)

The yellow light filled the room. It always did when the sun was shining in the sky. This time, the atmosphere hung heavy in the air, just like before a storm. Malice was sitting at his desk, Ravager was standing beside him.

Malice tried to memorise what was written on his flashcards. He retraced mentally the map of the area, repeated the names of all the villains of his organisation, followed by their weaknesses and their strengths.

He sighed. He always was a slow learner. He dropped the cards on the table. His gaze turned to the large brightly-lit window on his left. 

He stood up lazily and walked towards it. He made sure to not turn his back on Ravager, not in the office. It was stupid because he had no problem doing so anywhere else.

He probably learnt the lesson from All-encompassing, his predecessor. He leaned on the wall and observed what was happening in the small portion of street he could see.

It was never too busy, but there were still people passing through. It was a pleasant motion. He wished he could lose himself in his thoughts but it created knots in his stomach. 

Something heavy pressed on his chest. Was it anticipation? Doubt? Fear? It wasn’t fear yet, but he knew the villains would make their move, soon. It was imminent.

Ravager was looking at him, still beside the desk. Malice could talk to him, there was no wrong in that. So he talked, half for himself half for Ravager:

-Each day, betrayal comes closer. The desire for vengeance is seeping through the cracks All-encompassing left. You can only do so much when you govern with fear as your only tool. When you cease to be, it all comes crashing down.

It felt liberating to talk to someone. Malice knew Ravager understood. The lord tended to forget that Ravager was quite the observant person. Even if his capacity to think had been tampered with, he was still intelligent enough to draw conclusions although silently most of the time.

-I don’t know if I can really trust anyone beside you. I don’t know if I have any other support. 

It was Malice’s own fault. He never cared to cultivate his image. He only ever thought about the present and near future. There was fear motivating this rebellion. After all,  in many aspects Malice could be worse than All-encompassing. He suspected some people also wanted to settle the score.

His only steady support was indeed Ravager. But this retaliation had nothing to do with him. As far as the villains were concerned, Ravager was only a mindless tool, a guard dog. He wasn’t who they were rebelling against.

-Maybe I shouldn’t rely on you too much either. You shouldn’t get caught in the crossfire of all of this.

Something in Ravager screamed worry. Worry to lose his place? Not to be of use? Not to be able to do his duty? What exactly changed in him to give off this impression? Nothing too noticeable, otherwise Malice would have pinpointed the clue.

Perhaps it was worry for his lord. It was a valid theory, Ravager had shown how much he cared about protecting his lord. Malice could reassure him on that.

-Don’t worry, I’m a master of escapades. I’ll get out of there at worse in two pieces.

It was an optimistic statement. He could flee from a couple of heroes without so much as a scratch. Fleeing from dozens of villains kept on their toes for years was a whole other game.

However, his words seemed to partially do the trick to calm Ravager. Perhaps he had time to understand that luck was often on his lord’s side. They just had to hope Malice would get lucky when it mattered.

Malice’s focus went back to the people walking in the street below. When he would manage to escape this building, he had his car ready with plenty of food, water, money amongst many other things.

-I think I’ve prepared everything. It should come in a couple of days.

He clarified:

-Betrayal should come in a couple of days.

Those words didn’t feel right at all. It tensed something in Malice’s stomach. He repeated:

-A couple of days before they chase me out of here. 

After a silence, he continued to try to soothe himself:

-Again, they can chase me but not catch me.

That seemed to settle his discomfort for the time being, although the hole in his stomach was still there. All he had to do was wait. He went back to his chair and picked up the flashcards.

Continuation Ally or foe (part8)

Back to masterlist: Malice’s series

Back to Friends? (part6)

Back to the beginning Reward (part1)

Tagging: @dakshii