The Heroes

Chapter 1

"You would never kill me, Xander," The Villain laughed as a knife pressed against the soft skin of their neck. The hand holding the knife seemed to tremble and the Villain laughed in delight, loving the effect they could have on someone with so few words. "You're just too nice-"

"Shut up!" Xander roared, cutting off the Villains taunts as his knife pressed deeper into their neck. Small bubbles of blood welled up against the sharp blade of the knife, but the cuts were only superficial. It wasn't like they would scar or anything, they were barely anything more than papercuts. The Villain laughed again and their smile only grew as their eyes seemed to fix on whatever was happening behind Xander's shoulder.

"Oh, Xander," the Villain sighed as Xander twisted his head to try and watch the scene playing out behind him. The knife however did not move an inch, and stayed firmly pressed against the Villain's neck. "It seems you're in a bit of a predicament."

Jasper, Xander's partner-in-stopping-crime, was cornered by two of the Villain's soldiers. He tried desperately to fight them off but it was a two against one battle and the two Villain's soldiers were winning. The Villain knew it too, a smug smirk played on the corners of their lips. Xander spun his head back around to face the Villain, and, casting a glare that could kill, he removed his knife from the Villain's neck and ran off to help Jasper.

"Oh Xander," The Villain drawled from somewhere in the shadows as the second soldier fell and crawled desperately away from Xander. Jasper reached out a foot and booted him in the stomach as he attempted to pull some sort of weapon out of his robe and he fell to the floor in a feeble heap beside his comrade. "You always have to play the hero, don't you? Always have to save the innocent over yourself, even if it means abandoning the people who love you to do so." 

The Villain's voice was bitter, almost angry and Jasper cocked an eyebrow at the speech. Xander, however, knew exactly what the Villain was talking about, though he didn't show it. "Shut. Up." Xander spoke emotionlessly, his blank face revealing none of the feelings clawing away at his already damaged heart. How did the Villain know this? It was personal, Xander hadn't told anyone what the Villain was talking about. Not even Jasper knew. The Villain laughed maliciously once more, their voice seeming to echo from everywhere at once, before everything fell silent.

The only noise was the sound of Xander's heavy breathing. Jasper stood awkwardly next to him, not quite sure what to say but at the same time not liking the uneasy silence that hung over them like a cloud. He wondered what the Villain had been talking about, and also why it had affected Xander the way it did. He seemed visibly shaken.

"Lets go," Xander said emotionlessly, jolting Jasper out of his thoughts. By the time Jasper had turned around to follow him, Xander was already quite a few steps ahead.

Jasper was worried about Xander, but also he was secretly envious. He wished Xander would share his feelings more instead of just bottling them up inside but, at the same time, Jasper wished he had the skill to conceal his own emotions too. He could be so transparent sometimes, and he hated it.