Hardly A Hero [REWRITTEN ON NEW ACCOUNT]

Chapter 40: Treat 'em Mean to Keep 'em Weak

My hands move away from my face, granting the ability to properly look at the creature in front of me. With veins covering all of its skin, pulsing with gold, and the iris' of some kind of mechanical demon, I could only say that the thing in front of me was not Sebastian, but something that had taken his form. In the split second of shock, I let my guard down and at that moment, a fist pummeled into my jaw.

I rolled over, my face burning with heat from both the fire and the pain of the hit. The thing, the monster that I couldn't make myself believe was Sebastian, landed back on top of me with it's scaly fingers curled and tightened around my left wrist. My other hand forced it's face away from mine, as it's teeth snapped monstrously just above my eyes. I brought my knee up from under it and forced it into it's ribs once, twice, three times before it's grip on my wrists let loose. Then, the weight was lifted, as TerraStorm ploughed into it's side. With no hesitation, my hands found their way to the knife in my back belt and I got onto my knees. 

It was on top of him now, repeating the same action as before; snapping and scratching with every available limb on its body and, yet, I found myself resisting the instinct to bury the blade into it's back. 

"What are you doing?" Cried TerraStorm, only just keeping the fangs a few inches away from his cheek. "KILL IT!"

At the sickening pool of worry that flooded my stomach, my mind swapped from the upset of killing the only thing left of a loved one to protecting someone who I would willingly die for and, evidently, would do the same for me.

With no second thought, the blade found it's way into the skin of the thing, inducing a terrifyingly human-like screech and, eventually, a limp body.

TerraStorm shrugged it off him quickly, before scrambling to his feet and, from where I knelt mourning the form of Sebastian, clasped my hand until I, too, was standing up. He guided me to the door and together, the group of us, beat the doors until they, too, were weak on their hinges. 

The sigh that greeted us was far from a pleasant one, but the view of falling bodies and some already unmoving on the ground induced no hesitation, as all of us used whatever energy we had left to pull the masked Supers away from the fire and the smoke. Not all were unconscious though and, at the sight of open doors and incoming help, began to assist us. Someone started breaking the tall windows, allowing some of the neon fog to find a way out that wasn't our lungs. With both hands, I hauled a few bodies out onto the wide, curved driveway, intermittently using the sleeve of my jacket to cover my mouth and nose. 

Each stride away and towards the windows dropped more weight on my legs and with every second I held a body in my grip made my muscles ache worse and worse. But the bittersweet breath of fresh air each time I pulled another lifeless body from the cage of smoke charged me with more and more motivation and, perhaps, even a little more physical endurance. 

But then it was back in again and the deadly fog clogged my lungs more than ever, prompting a wave of throaty coughing fits and the sensation of collapsing ribs. My fingers no longer felt structured by bone, but flimsy extensions off my burning palms. Nevertheless, I curled them around the collar of a disguised lady in silver, before dropping unexpectedly to my knees. Glancing around as my eyelids grew heavier and heavier, I realised there were only a couple others who needed to be helped out, but my trembling muscles and dizzy head only served to tell me that I would not be the one to save them. The fire had built at the further end of the hall, penetrating the smoke and charging towards my direction. 

Then, with one final tug, my body gave way and the rest of me collapsed onto the floor, with the view of defeat being the last thing I saw before everything went dark.

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"Please, wake up, please." 

A deep voice stirred me awake, finding its way through a shield of exhaustion and frailty before reaching my consciousness. I recognised the soft skin on my hands, the fingers that intertwined with mine and suddenly I could no longer stand to keep myself in the dark any longer. I fought against sore eyelids and feeble muscles to gain control and, soon, I was looking at the bowed head of the only person I wanted to see. 

Then the dimmed lights, background chatter of nurses and blindingly polished patients bed told me the one thing I didn't want to know; I was in a hospital, a public hospital.

My body jumps in its skin and TerraStorm's head shoots up from where it was lowered into his chest. Except, he wasn't wearing a mask. It was him, I know it was him, but his cheekbones and his nose were no longer shadowed and his face looked more emotionally developed than I'd ever seen it before. His other hand joined mine and he slid from where he was sitting on an armchair to my side. My eyes flicked between him and the door. Who knew I was here?

"Hey, hey, it's okay. It's just me. You're going to be okay." 

"Terra-" It almost seemed weird to say that name now that it wasn't accompanied by a hidden face and a cunning smirk.

"It's Finn." He stated and I took a moment to connect the name to the face. "Finn Hansford." 

My mouth opened, then closed. I didn't know what to say? Where did I begin? What did I ask first?

"I-I..."

"Rose, it's okay." His voice was a calming break from the mental chaos that ravaged my brain. "Everything, everyone, is alright. You passed out when you tried to rescue someone from the fire, but we got you out in time. Xedos, Charlotte, they're all okay."

"Are you okay?" I questioned, my free hand made its way to his face as if it could help diagnose him somehow. He let out a soft laugh.

"A couple bruises and cuts, but I'll be fine." His eyes pierced into mine, in a way that had become so familiar and secure that I never wanted to break away from it. He leaned down and placed a kiss on my forehead, his hand still clasping mine. "I've got something else to tell you."

"Hm?" The heat from his skin left mine and he leaned back.

"I'm still trying to figure out if this is good or bad or... whatever it is." He breathed in and let out a long breath. "Everyone knows about Supers."

"What?" 

I pushed myself up, which was returned with dizziness and pain. TerraStorm - Finn Hansford - placed a hand on my shoulder and waited until I relaxed again. 

"How?" I cried. "People just know? Do they know who we are?"

"Well, I tried to tell them it was a comic convention gone awry but that was a little hard to justify when NASEB attacked a horde of policeman." I gasped at the news. "You were in the ambulance at that point and the ultraviolet had weakened most of them, so arresting them went pretty smoothly, with the help of others of course. It will take a while but I'm sure the right information will reach the right people and we won't have anymore trouble after this. Meanwhile, you'll stay at mine until you're fully recovered... even after that. If you want, that is."

A smile grew on my face, breaking the mould that had become my skin. 

"Thank you." I whispered and his unsure expression morphed into that of a genuine look of happiness. 

While I knew things wouldn't be perfect and that the consequences of our recent actions would be unquestionably detrimental, I was certain the boy who stood next to me as I resided in a hospital bed would be all I needed to get through the forthcoming hardship.He leaned down and soon we were immersed in a kiss, one that we both found ourselves unwilling to break.

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A/N:

Hey guys!! 

Apologies for the ridiculously long break away from Wattpad, though I can assure you that I'm incredibly excited to finally give you guys the ending to this book that you may be yearning to read. Please let me know what you thought of this chapter and even fill in the empty star in the corner if you're feeling generous. 

Thank you guys for everything! 

~SkyHunterXoX