Big City Villain | BOOK ONE

Chapter Two: Home Sweet Home. Or Not.

I threw the front door open and looked at the clock hanging on the wall.

8:59:59 PM.

I breathed a sigh of relief and closed the door behind me. And that my friends, is what I call using up every last second. I'm so glad my parents are total nerds and love the clocks that display the time right down to the second.

"Made it just in time," I mumbled, taking my blue beanie out of my back pocket. I had taken it off since I was running as fast as I unsuperly could and it would have flown off. I already lost this beanie once before and I doubt I'd be able to find it if I lost it again.

"Well, if it isn't the little troublemaker," my dad said, walking up to me casually. I tensed myself, waiting for his customary and unintentionally painful welcome.

Unable to find an escape route, I stood there with a grimace as he wrapped his strong arm around my neck and started giving me his signature knuckle sandwich. His evil villain laugh filled my ears as his knuckles rubbed hard on my light brown technically blonde hair. "I am so glad you are banned from using your powers! There's nothing like giving out a good knuckle sandwich," dad said while laughing at my pain.

I groaned and tried to twist myself out of his grasp. "Okay, okay let me go already! I can still use them for self-preservation!"

Father laughed and finally let me go. "Glad to see you got home before your curfew. With just a second to spare."

"Barely," I scoffed. Running my fingers through my hair as I stumbled into the kitchen looking for food, fuel, or something edible.

I rummaged through all the cabinets, pushing boxes of stale crackers and eying a package of oatmeal and raisin cookies that have been there for a suspicious amount of time, but eventually ended up in the freezer, staring at Benny's pint of cookie dough ice cream he warned me to stay away from.

Should I risk it? My hand began the treacherous journey to snagging the unopened ice cream when a voice was suddenly behind me.

"I want to see you grow up and live a good long life, Coal Evan Samuel Maximus Black, so I think you'd be wise if you left that ice cream there," my mother said, her voice touched with concern.

I turned around and found mom already in her pajamas with her trademark bunny slippers on her feet. I grinned sheepishly. "But it's been sitting there for a whole week. It's so lonely."

"Well, you shouldn't have eaten yours in one sitting!" mom said, cocking an eyebrow and putting her hands on her hips. "And I would send you to the store to get some more, but it's already nine."

"Stop torturing me," I grumbled, closing the freezer door and shuffling back to the pantry. "There's nothing to eat!"

"You already had dinner!"

"It wasn't nearly enough."

Mom and dad shared a laugh, but then the front door was thrown open again and in came a kid about my height, dressed head to toe in black. I knew better though, his bright superhero suit was underneath the baggy jeans and oversized jersey.

I was hit with a sudden memory, seeing Ben walking in after a day of saving people, it took more self-control than I had to snuff it out. Not going there, not even going to think about going there, I'm a supervillain and let's admit it, we have more fun than lame superheroes.