Of Heroes and Villains

Frozen Heart

Dean and Dimitri walked until they reached a cave. They decided to enter it, and hold their long-awaited conversation there. As they turned to look at one another, they realized neither knew how to start. There was so much to say, and yet so little.

Swallowing the lump in his throat, Dean began, "You're Dimitri."

The iceman nodded, not uttering a word.

"Do you know who I am?"

Dimitri nodded again.

Dean paused, not knowing where to go from there. Ultimately, he went with the most obvious topic. "We're brothers, aren't we?"

"Seems like it."

Hearing the other speak was weird for both of them. Their voices were similar, but Dimitri's had an edge to it, whereas Dean's was laced with his charisma.

"What do we do now?" asked Dean. They were on opposite sides of this conflict, but he didn't want to have to fight his brother.

"You can join us," Dimitri finally said, surprising him. "All of you. ZONE's ultimate goal is a world where espers reign supreme. We will be gods one day, and live without fear. All of you are welcome to join us."

Dean frowned. "Is that why you've been trying to kill us? Because we're welcome?"

Dimitri was unfazed. "Killing you was never our goal. If we wanted to do that, we would've visited you while you slept, and killed you then."

"What do you want with us, then?"

"We were seeking Unbound. That man has taken down many of our members. Despite being an esper himself, he's made it his goal in life to see us locked away forever."

"He wants a peaceful world," Dean countered. "He's like us."

"He's a traitor to his kind," argued Dimitri. "He would have us kneel to those worms all so he can take the glory that comes with putting us down."

"Not wanting to rule over others doesn't make him a traitor. He wants us to be equal. No fear for either side."

"No fear for them, after all they've done?" Dimitri raised his voice only slightly, but the effect it had on the air was noticeable. The cave got even colder. "They don't deserve equal rights after what they've put us through."

"Some of them are bad," Dean admitted. "However, some of them are good. Many people ZONE has killed were good. What about all the human kids you guys have murdered? Where's the justice in that?"

"Inconsequential numbers compared to the number of esper children killed by them. It's just one part of making them learn true despair."

The two kept glaring at each other. Dimitri's eyes were cold, and seemed to look through Dean instead of at him. That strategy wouldn't work.

"You're looking behind me instead of at me," Dean explained. "That's what I do when I'm lying. Drop the act. I know you can't think killing children is good."

The cold stopped spreading as Dimitri finally met his brother's gaze. "It had to be done."

"Bullshit and you know it."

"Collateral damage."

"That's not gonna pass! You can't tell me it doesn't bother you!"

Dimitri's mask didn't falter. "I'm an esper. A human's life means nothing to me."

"So you're really okay with butchering children?!"

"It had to be done."

"Again; That's bullshit!" Dean took an angry step forward, not caring that he could die at any moment. "How can you be so damn cold?"

"It's my job to be cold. It lets me make rational decisions."

"Bullshit," Dean spat, grabbing the front of his brother's jacket. "Answer me now; Are you really okay with killing innocent children?"

Dimitri's eyes became distant again. "I am a member of ZONE. I-"

"I'm not asking you as a member of ZONE! I'm asking you as a human being!"

"I'm an esper! I am nothing like a-"

"We're all human, and you know it! We live. We eat. We laugh and cry, and love. We're just like them. Are you really okay with killing them?"

"I can bury entire towns," Dimitri said coldly. "You can make anyone do anything. We are nothing like them."

"Are you really okay with killing children!?" Dean repeated yet again.

Dimitri's eyes zeroed in on his own, the cold facade ripping apart. "No, of course I'm not okay with it!"

They glared at each other for a few moments, both taking deep breaths to calm down. Dean roughly shoved Dimitri away. "Good. At least you've got a heart."

Dimitri fell down to the ground, hugging his knees to his chest. "I don't care," he muttered. "They're just humans. What do I care what happens to them?" He took in a deep breath, starting to shake. "Why's it so hot in here?"

Dean gave him a pitying look.

"Stop looking at me like that! I'm not lesser than you!" Dimitri yelled, then seemed to realize how much emotion he was letting through the cracks of the dam, then tried to repair them. "I don't care. I don't care. I don't care about them. What we're doing is right. They don't matter. They're beneath us. Filthy worms. Why's it so hot in here?"

Dean took a seat next to him. "You care."

"I don't!"

You do. It's why you're trying so hard to act like you don't."

"No, that's just my vapor. It-"

"It does nothing to you," Dean finished for him, putting his arm around his brother. "Doing those things hurts you, so you just try to keep it all out, right? I know someone who used to be like that. You'll just end up missing the good parts in life if you keep that up."

Dimitri said nothing.

"Just admit you care," Dean added. "It'll feel good. I promise."

Still, Dimitri said nothing. He unzipped his parka, then threw it away. "Why's it so hot?" Tears nearly started falling down his cheeks.

"You realize I could've just told you to surrender, right?" bluffed Dean. He didn't know if he'd used his vapor during the conversation. It was always hard to tell. Still, he knew he meant what he said. "I'm not trying to play you here. Omen's a bad guy. Why are you even following him?"

Dimitri appeared to shrink as he looked down. "He's the only family I have."

Dean smiled, making sure he looked as stupid as possible. "Not anymore, he's not."

"I've killed people."

"Yeah," Dean said, leaning back against the cave wall. "And there will be consequences for that." He knew Sean wouldn't let it go. Dimitri, unlike Don, killed intentionally. "But I'll be there."

For the first time in his life, Dimitri took a leap of faith, and nodded.