Ophelia

pre prologue: part one

0:0:1
Sunset

I sit in the top floor of the city's highest skyscraper, watching the sunset. A slight breeze drifts from the North and whispers through the window. I smile serenely to myself. The soft hues of the sunset wash over each other in a soft explosion.

I feel his presence before I see him.

"The sky is gorgeous tonight, don't you think?" I murmured, "it's like it's erupted into flames."

Riley snorts.

"Yeah whatever Lenna, dad's finished his meeting and we're getting pizza."

I laugh and turn from looking out the window to face my idiot brother.

"Again? Man this day is turning out pretty sweet."

Instead of replying, Riley chucks the tinfoil ball he's been playing with for the past hour at me then leaves.

I pick up my large DSLR camera and move to take a picture of the stunning sunset, but it's gone. I scowl at myself for not paying attention but when I look back in regret, it seems to of automatically change back into the sunset I saw before. Before it disappears, I snap a picture of it and grab my belongings, confusion still evident in my head as I stare, what the hell just happened?

My dad bursts into the room, breaking me out of my reverie.

"Come on Len, we're going to Antonio's Pizzeria. A little birdie told me that you've been dying to try their new veggie supreme," my dad winks a twinkling blue eye at me and runs a hand through his light brown greying hair, "I heard it's the bomb."

I wince at his phrasing and grab my huge art portfolio folder.

"Dad, there might be something wrong with you if you're talking to 'little birdies' and please, the bomb? Really?" I shrug on my jacket and walk out of the room as he holds the door open for me.

"What?" He whines, "I'm still hip, aren't I?"

I can't help but chuckle at my precious dad.

"Sure dad, you can be whatever you want."

He pouts teasingly at me.

"But I can't be a Super."

I roll my eyes.

"God forbid if our family had another Super. One's en- Ow!"

Someone slaps the back of my head, hard, I turn and glare at my blue eyed fraternal twin.

"That's really mean, Lenna, it hurt, right there." He clutches his heart his face scrunched up in fake agony as if he were fatally wounded. I scoff at him and shove his shoulders despite the lack of effect it has on him.

Damn Supers.

"Why would you even want to be a Super, dad? Why would you put yourself through the pain of obsessing over defeating evil for good? You do know that's how things balance? Right? You know, ying and yang and all that."

My father laughs and gets into the car. I shove at Riley with as much force as I can and beat him to the front seat.

"I want to be a Super to protect the city from the perils of your aggressiveness, honestly Len, people would think that you're the Superhero in the family what with your tendencies to bully your younger brother."

My brother grumbles in the back seat, resembling a two year old more than my twin who's only two minutes younger than me.

"Well dad, for them to suspect me being a Super, they'd have to suspect my secret identity."

"My little Lenny, the unpredictable one." He teases. I stick my tongue out at him.

Wow, Lenna, who's the two-year-old now?

But before I can reply, my dad swerves the convertible and my head smacks against the window.

Ugh, so this is why they told you to always wear your seatbelt in primary school.

"What's going on out there?" I ask Riley but instead of replying, he curses under his breath, opening his backpack and then taking out his SuperHero Suit. "Riley?"

"Len, stay in the car. It's not good and I don't want you in any danger."

Of course, a Supervillain.

You know, because of the crisis right now. The door of the car opens and I don't need to look back to know that The Blue Eclipse is off to save the city once more.

Cursing, my dad loads his gun and gets out too before shooting me a stern look.

"Stay in the car, Lenna."

I nod. It's so unfair, my father head of security in Trallinger City, my mother a renowned SuperHero Scientist and my brother a SuperHero himself.

And what am I?

The powerless older twin that has to stay in the car.

I grumble to myself and slip into the driver's seat, manoeuvring through the traffic with expertise. It's one of the only things I'm better than Riley, the other being video games.

The sight in front of me sends panic through every inch of my body. My brother - BlueEclipse - and The Inferno are in hand to hand combat, buildings around them doused in fire. Somehow, Inferno gains the upper hand and throws my brother into a building on the right, anger begins to boil in my veins.

Stay calm, Lenna, sure words are weapons but I doubt calling The Inferno a bunch of rude words will help this situation.

I growl under my breath as the Supervillain in tight red spandex nods in satisfaction at the huge hole in the building. A gunshot rings out.

Oh dad.

The bullet launches itself into The Inferno's right shoulder, he turns in rage and begins to stride to my father, his hair of flames growing as he seethes.

"You stupid human, you really believed that you could stop me? A SuperVillain?" He laughs and tiny little flames dance around on his fingertips.

Before I know it, I'm out of the car and right at the fire hydrant placed conveniently right in direct line of The Inferno. A hose already attached to it thanks to the fire brigade lying unconscious on the concrete floor.

"Hey! Mister Red Condom! This stupid human has something to say to you!" I yell out, his head whips over to the sound of my voice, eyes narrowing at me, not registering the huge hose in my hands or the faint noise of the helicopters that hover in the sky. "SUCK MY HOSE!"

And then I'm gifted with the beautiful sight of the city's most feared villain's face turn from pissed to terrified in a split second as the water's force slams him into a building and conveniently knocks him out, cold.

I snort at myself at my little joke.

How ironic.

I guess words really are weapons after all.