Of Heroes and Villains

Short Circuit

Don started his plan by hitting the fire alarm button. Within moments, the whole building was rushing outside. Don hid back on the roof, waiting for the place to be empty. Many minutes of noise later, the firemen were starting to arrive, so he went in. He stopped by every door he came upon, then waited a few minutes to see if anyone was inside.

Once he got down to the third floor, he had to run into a room to avoid being seen by a fireman.

'Where is she?'

He felt his phone buzzing, and it took him a bit to get it out of one of the pockets of his suit.

"Someone's not playing nice," Erin said as soon as he answered. "What was the plan, anyway? Set off the fire alarm, letting me know the deal was off?"

"That wasn't me," Don replied. "There really is a fire somewhere."

Erin snorted. "Do you honestly expect me to fall for that?"

Quickly running out of ideas to sniff her out, Don took one of his knives, then cut his own hand. "Go ahead and change the location then. I'll be there."

"Or I can attack you and get your blood right now."

Don heard a man scream, both from a room close to him and over the phone. He immediately started running toward it, and when he entered, he saw Sean feeding on one of the firemen.

"Want this?" he teased, raising his bloody palm. "Come and get me."

Sean's eyes were wild and unfocused. He looked more like animal than man, and mindlessly started following Don. When the firemen saw this, they threw themselves as Sean, and quickly started losing their lives. Limbs were sent flying, and Don used them as a distraction, getting past Sean and heading toward the room again. The blood of the firemen masked his own scent, and their screams were too loud to make his footsteps heard.

When he got into the room, he was surprised to find a little girl standing there.

"What are you doing here, kid?" he asked. "Didn't you hear the alarm?"

Electricity shot out of her feet, lifting her slightly off the ground. "You don't really think I need Sean to deal with you, do you?"

Don realized his plan was coming apart quickly.

Erin flew toward him, trying to kick him in the face. Don rolled under her, then threw himself at the coach just as she turned around and brought her foot down on the ground.

'Am I really gonna have to kill that girl to do it?'

He reached for a knife, then remembered Tommy's fiery demise, and couldn't bring himself to unsheathe it. This earned him a punch to the face, which had little power behind it, courtesy of a little girl's body.

He tried to punch back, but Erin was on the other side of the room in an instant. "Those pesky firemen should've been dealt with by now."

Acknowledging he'd fucked up, Don flung himself through the window, then turned into a pigeon and flew away. A lightning bolt shot past him, failing to do any damage as he got to safety.

Landing behind a dumpster close to their office, he quickly ran toward the building. Not having a key, he had to break the lock, setting off the alarm, He didn't care. The police were far too busy, judging by the rays of light that flew through the sky every now and then, followed by car alarms or explosions.

Someone walked up to him from behind, then hit him across the back, making their way into the office. When Don looked up, he saw an unfamiliar man smirking at him.