Your Neighbor, The Villain

Chapter 7 - Rampage

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I slowly lowered myself onto the ground, my heart thudding in my chest. Fear gripped me like a vice as the man walked forward, stopping about four feet in front of me. The barrel of the gun stared down at me, cool and calculating, matching the face of the guy in front of me. He sighed.

"Do you know who I am?" He asked. My mind went blank as I desperately tried to recall if I'd seen him before. The rest of the club was silent as they watched me with worried eyes, shifting uncomfortably to avoid the broken glass. I cleared my throat anxiously.

"I don't know who you are." I admitted, and he stiffened. Instantly I regretted my descision, and I crawled backwards, shards of an icy cold mirror cutting me.

"What?" He snapped.

"I... I said I don't know who you are."

The room was silent for a couple of minutes before he burst into laughter, the sound of it harsh and ugly.

"You don't know who I am?!" He yelled, swinging the gun back around towards me. I instinctively scrambled back, blocking my face with my hands. No, no, I'm not going to die like this... not like this...

"My name is Rampage, the Villain this city REALLY needs! The master of firearms from all over the world. Everything was taken from me when I was the happiest, so now LA is going down too! I will be the one who destroys this city... And don't you forget it."

His trigger finger twitched and I let myself fall into a deep peace, before a single cry rang out through the building.

"On behalf of myself and this city, put the gun down."

I smiled widely as relief flooded my body. Kevin. His red cape fluttered behind him, his blue eyes shining with rage and his fists clenched. I caught his eye for a moment, and I sent him a grateful nod of the head.

"Captain Kind!" Rampage snickered, the gun still pointed at me. "You're just in time to watch this poor sap die!"

My eyes widened and I looked worriedly at Kevin, who returned my stare.

"He won't die if I have anything to say about it," He snarled, flying over the crowd of panicked people in the club. Rampage laughed and took a step closer to me.

"Give me what I want, Kind, and I won't shoot him."

"And what is it that you want?" Kevin hissed.

"I want you dead." His thumb twitched on the trigger, before he yanked it down. A flash of light, the red and yellow of Kevin's cape, and the defeaning sound of the bullet zooming through the air collided into one giant blur as a scream echoed through the crowd. I squinted my eyes shut, bracing for impact as I thought about what I never got to do...

Everything was silent for a moment, before my eyelids fluttered open to the bright light. Everyone's faces wore masks of shock, and Rampage was standing still, victory clouding his smile. And Kevin was on his side on the cold club floor, crimson blood staining the tile.

I gasped. No. No no no. Not Kevin. Please, anyone but Kevin... Let this be a dream, please, please...

Hot tears leaked out of my eyes and I crouched down next to him, my hands shaking. He was unconscious, bleeding from somewhere on his stomach. I looked up at Rampage and rage clouded my eyes, making me see in a deep red color.

"YOU!" I screamed, lauching myself at him. Knocking the gun from his hand, I threw it towards the glass of the window, shattering it and sending the stupid machine flying down onto the pavement below. Suddenly, I felt what seemed to be a bulldozer slam into the side of my face, knocking me down. I hissed in pain and jumped back up towards him, pinning him to the ground.

"You think you've won, Calamity?!" He whispered harshly, and suprise crossed my features. How the hell did he know who I was?

"I'm going to kill your little superhero friend first, and then I'll make you WATCH as the rest of this town gets ruined and burned from the inside out! And when you're the last person left, I'll let you sit and think about how you FAILED!"

"SHUT UP!" I roared, driving his head back into the cement. Raising my fist high above my head, I brought it down as hard as I could, hearing a sickening crack. He screamed and rolled out from under me, swiftly putting me in a headlock. My lungs burned as I clawed at his arms, and he pressed down tighter with both hands. My vision was fading quickly...

Suddenly, he released me, and I fell, coughing onto the ground. Sirens sounded from below, red and blue light shining through the windows. Rampage gave me one last smirk before taking off, leaving me crouched there with a group of relieved civilians and one dying superhero.

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