Of Heroes and Villains

The Chapter With a New Point of View

It took Inadu's comrades a few days to come to their senses after their encounter with Unbound.

'That man is every bit the monster the media have made him out to be. If master Omen hadn't shown up when he did, we would all be their prisoners right now.'

She was staring at the ceiling of her room. She didn't have many options, of course. Being underground was smart enough when it came to hiding, but it also proved incredibly boring. 'John must be losing his mind right now,' she figured. 'He never could stand being cooped up. He's also probably gonna want some revenge. I hope master Omen doesn't give it to him. He deserves every bit of punishment he gets for testing the drug on himself like that. Had the effects been anything other than what they were, he could be dead right now.'

A piece of her wall opened up, revealed a screen behind it. "Hello, everyone. I'm using the common intercom to talk to you all." It was Omen, the leader of ZONE. The man had perfectly set himself up in the world. On one side, he's using the humans' fear of espers to start the fight between the two sides. On the other, he is leading the terrorist organization responsible for most of that fear humans feel. No matter which side wins in the end, Omen will be on top. "I've got some good news I'd very much like to share with you all, so why don't we congregate in the meeting room? Make that right away; I'm just too excited to wait any longer!"

Inadu grunted as the screen turned black, retreating back into the wall. 'To the public, he presents himself as a mild-mannered man of God. To us, he pretends to be a man with the mission to liberate us from the very prejudice he's helped instill into people. From what I can tell, his real personality is that of a bored child. No wonder, really. He's good at everything. I'd be bored, too, if I were like him.'

Summoning a few bees, Inadu had them bring her a dress she could wear. She settled on green, as usual, then left her room. As she made her way toward the meeting room, she ran into Dimitri. 'Great. Now this character.'

"Hello," she said with a smile on her face.

The young man just nodded, looking disinterested.

'I wonder if they've told him about the Helter Skelter guy who looks just like him.'

"Say, Dimitri, have you got any family?"

He shrugged, but slowed down so they could walk next to each other.

"No parents? Siblings? Maybe a brother?"

He gave her a puzzled look. It was one of the rare moments when he actually showed emotion. Inadu figured the side effect of using his ice vapor was that his "heart" froze a little more every time. Before long, Dimitri would become a soulless machine. She wasn't sure if Omen was counting on that, however. That man was far too unpredictable.

"I grew up alone in the wild parts of Russia." Dimitri's words snapped Inadu out of her thoughts. When the man decided to speak, it was probably for the best to listen. You never knew when you might get such an esteemed honor again. "My vapor made the snow protect me. Didn't meet another human until I was four. I grew up with the woman who took me in, but she wasn't my mother. She died when I was ten from a nasty cold. If I do have any real family, I don't know where they are." The air in the hallway suddenly became very, very, cold. Inadu was regretting her decision to go barefoot. "If I ever find them, they're dead."

"Why's that? How can you hate someone you've never met before?"

"Isn't it obvious what happened?" When Inadu didn't reply, Dimitri sighed. "Forget it." He started walking faster again, but the girl ran to catch up to him.

"Wait! I was just surprised you were being talkative! Tell me, please." He kept on walking without even looking at her. "I'll tell you about my story if you tell me about yours."