Fanfic Bootcamp

Round 4: The Evilest Of Them All

It's a funny scene, don't you think? Maleficent, the most evil of them all, facing off Spiderman, a reckless, geeky high-schooler in a costume.

Can't say it's anything to laugh about, though, when you're Spiderman and Maleficent's just chillin' in front of you with her scepter in hand.

"You know, you're funny," Maleficent comments, cocking her head. "You look like a little kid dressing up for Halloween-oh wait, you're not a kid? Sorry, it's hard not to be mistaken," she says, laughing at her own supposed joke.

"Haha," I manage awkwardly, staring at her through my mask. Y'know, no one's ever told me what to do when the evil villain I'm supposed to be defeating is laughing at my suit. Like, what kind of villain does that?

"Well, do something! I'm getting bored, and I'm surprised you even made it far enough to see me in person," Maleficent continues, her upper lip curling into a sneer.

"Okay," I reply, flicking my wrist over and shooting a web at her scepter. The next thing I know, I'm blasted backward by a huge force, almost like an explosion.

Maleficent cackles. "That's your super power? Well then, I ain't worried 'bout nothing!"

I grit my teeth, pushing myself up as the witch aims her scepter at me, sending another ball of emerald green fire in my direction just as I duck and roll away, springing to my feet and enclosing the scepter in webs.

Maleficent only stares at the sticky substance for a second, laughing before she blasts the strings away as if they were feathers stuck to a shirt.

Great. Awesome. The evil villain has a web-destroying stick. How fun is that?

"You really should reconsider this whole 'good guy' thing, boy-in-the-costume-"

"It's Spiderman," I growl, shooting another bout of webs at her face only to have them blown off by her stupid stick. It's the scepter. I have to get rid of the scepter.

"Spider-kid, Halloween guy, boy-in-the-costume, whatever. My point is, you should really give up, because I'll be leaving in a minute if you remain as boring as you are now."

I narrow my eyes at her. "Well, you see, I was only experimenting, I think I still have a hundred other options on how to defeat you, right here in my Halloween costume," I say, thumping my chest.

Maleficent only rolls her eyes to the ceiling, sending yet again another fireball after me. This time, the green flames slam into my chest, sending me flying backward and crashing into a wall.

For a moment, everything goes black; the air leaves my lungs and I feel like I've been flattened to a mere pancake. I claw at my throat, ripping off my mask to draw in more oxygen, pathetically waving the stars dancing in front of my vision away.

"Oh wow, I'll admit this-you're a pretty boy," Maleficent trills, humming to herself at the same time.

I scowl at the comment, my chest heaving as nausea washes over me.

You're Spiderman. You're strong, you're courageous, you're unstoppable. You're an Avenger, and you can, and will, defeat Maleficent, I think to myself, stumbling to the side before another fireball hits the wall, causing the bricks to crumble to the ground, leaving an elephant-sized hole in it.

Quickly, I swipe through the options on my web-shooter, picking a web that looks evil-villain-defeater enough.

Choking on the green smoke rising from the hole in the wall, I stagger to my feet, running from another attack of green fireballs.

I activate the new web just as Maleficent sends another fireball at me, ducking just in case it smashes into my chest again.

Luckily, it misses me-but...it doesn't seem to have hit the wall behind me, either. There's no sound. No explosions, no nothing.

I slowly peer up from my crouched position to see shock taking over Maleficent's pale features, and lift my head even higher just for my jaw to drop.

The web has encircled the ball of glowing flames, containing its heat within the silk.

"Woah, what the heck is that?" I exclaim under my breath.

"Take back this sorcery!" Maleficent screeches, thrusting her scepter in my direction and in turn throwing another ball of fire at my face. I'm grinning now, catching the rolling flame with another web and swinging the two green orbs in circles, crouching lower and narrowing my eyes.

Maleficent snarls. "You think you're so great with all your new technology in your costume, huh? Then you haven't seen real-"

I let go of the webs with the fireballs in them and watch as they zip toward the witch, one catching her on her face and another on her stomach. Maleficent screams as the flames scorch her skin and clothes, making her flail in a very un-villain way. And, as stupid and childish as it is, I can't help but let out a small "Yes!", pumping my fist in the air.

I swing toward the witch before she can recover, switching back to my usual web and tying her up very, very tightly, making sure to bound her scepter separately in case she uses it to foil my most heroic moment in history.

When Maleficent finally stops sputtering, she glares at me with her piercing green eyes as if they're capable of killing. I give her the cheekiest smile I can manage, refusing to avert my gaze from hers.

"I'm boring, huh, I wonder how I fit into that category, since you are kinda all mummified and ready to be buried," I say.

Maleficent growls. "You'll regret this, boy, people like you in costumes never get happy endings, and you know what? In the end, the most powerful wins, and the most powerful right now, is me."

I tilt my head to one side, unfazed. "Well, funny you mention that, because I'm pretty sure the most evil of us all-which, of course, is you-is here, all wrapped up nicely because of me, so doesn't that make me even more powerful?"

Maleficent laughs, a hollow, bitter laugh that chills me to the very core of my body.

"Spiderman, you have no idea what power can do. It doesn't require a physical form to defeat you, and without your tech thingy costume, you're going to die. All of you!"

It all happens before I myself can comprehend it.

I circle a web around her neck, tightening it and pulling, mercilessly, so hard, Maleficent's white skin turns a bluish purple. Adrenaline rushes through my veins, controlling my muscles like they're puppets, and I pull, and pull, and pull.

And then her eyes roll to the back of her head, her body slumping to the floor, lifeless.

I killed someone.

I'm a murderer.

My knees go weak, and I crash to the ground.

I don't kill.

I never kill.

But I did.

She was a villain, right? She deserved to die.

She won't haunt us any more. Her power is gone.

But power does not require a physical form.