Heroes.
"What you did makes you no less than a villain!" Arrow yelled.
They were proud of beings heroes.
This was something I came to realize.
Their ideals were strict and while morally correct, they ended up causing disaster and an unending cycle of villainy.
"A villain, huh?"
I felt amazed to be called that. And maybe by a hero's standpoint, I indeed was a villain.
I had lost every reasoning to give them the chance that I thought they deserved.
Making the air rotate in a cyclonic manner, I was able to push away all the heroes –all while I stood at the center of it all.
"Maybe it isn't too bad to be called one," I was tired of them ranting about justice, morals and rules. "But I am starting to despise how you heroes see yourself as superior to others."
Upholders of Justice and Morals.
They refused to look at the situation in an efficient way, in a way that would actually help to reduce crime and keep the innocents safe.
"But you lot will never understand why people keep suffering despite your existence," I removed the storm as I looked at the heroes, "Because you should not have been allowed to to rise to such power with such ideals."
As I saw hawkgirl and Arrow trying to make a move, I molded the concrete to form structures that wrapped around the two heroes –trapping them in their place.
For Batman, I knew he was filled with gadgets and hence decided to turn every metallic item in his body to dust –except his suit.
Doing so, I trapped the man in a ice enclosure.
Nightwing was tending to Batgirl and even if he wanted to come here, he wasn't going to as I turned the path leading to me into lava.
I did not want to do this, I was trying to listen to their reasonings amidst our fight –but they simply disappointed me.
Which left me with with no choice but to end it.
"This leaves only you, Superman."
"You will pay!" He was furious to see his friends in such a state and immediately rushed at me in anger.
"And you left me with no choice."
Kryptonite was not the only weakness Superman had.
There were a few more, magic included.
But the one that was able to immobilize him immediately also happened to be one of the most difficult.
I had read countless papers, contacted countless scientists and even researched on my own. And despite that I was still unsure about the method.
But there was no choice other than testing it now.
Raising my hand towards the hero, I smiled, "Let's see if you can handle this."
This was possibly one of the most difficult enchantment I did. Because this did not include changing the form or property of something, but totally creating something that I hadn't physically experienced in the past.
According to the restrictions, it shouldn't even be possible to create something that I wasn't formerly exposed to.
But I knew what it was like, I studied about it and was ready to try and create it.
While I did not physically experience it, but in a way I did experience it mentally. And with that belief, I tested it out.
I made the atoms super excited –enough for them to started jumping around and travel at a speed that exceeded light just to travel through space.
I formed radiation.
But not simple radiation as I replicated a specific sun's radiation.
"W-What–"
I saw Superman's speed slowing down as the radiation hit him. I could clearly feel that his strength had diminished and he wasn't as durable as before either.
"Enjoy the radiation of the Red Sun, Superman."
And as he reached my proximity, he was no stronger than an average human –average to the point that I was able to knock the man out with a single punch.
"Superman!" Nightwing yelled, which made me frown at him.
"Stay there if you do not want to shed unnecessary bloodshed, Nightwing." I warned, already exhausted from all the fighting.
"YOU!" Batman gritted his teeth, aware that they had lost and their life was in my palm.
And while I wasn't a hero, I wasn't the typical villain either.
I wasn't going to kill them.
Oh, no no.
I was going to teach them a lesson.
A lesson that will definitely change their views for good –once and for all.
"Heroes and villains are terms with no meaning," I said, "Not at least with the way you all currently classify someone as a villain."
"What… Do you mean…" Batman asked, and the answer was very simple.
"A villain is not someone who just kills, but someone who makes life miserable for the innocent. And a hero isn't someone who necessarily follows the rules but someone who gives hope to others and makes sure that innocents are never hurt… They make sure that villains are never able to repeat their crimes."
Batman kept scowling at me.
"Your way of doing things will never be enough to stop these villains from keep coming," I said for the hundredth time, "So, I will have to take a step here."
A serious step.
"You left me with no choice, Batman." I explained, "Since you all are so proud of being heroes, so proud of your ideals…"
I announced, "I will change the meaning of a hero from now on. I will turn you heroes into villains." I explained, "So that you all understand that it is your way of doing things that kept this place infested with villains."
"Only when you kill these psychopaths, rapists and sadists… will there be peace." I explained, "I know that there is no such thing as eternal peace or absolute good, but doing this will ensure that innocents are kept safe and crime is kept at a bare minimum. I will show you what a hero is supposed to be like."
I won't be the hero, but there were people worthy of having that title.
Just not them.
I stepped back, looking at the defeated 'heroes'.
It wasn't difficult to defeat them.
It was difficult to make them understand.
Difficult enough that I failed to do so. And thus, I will have to teach them the hard way.
"What do the two of you think?" I muttered, noticing the two figures hiding and witnessing the whole event.
Not Ivy and Zatana, not Nightwing and Batgirl –but the two that hid even from Superman's super hearing.
"I do not entirely agree with you," I heard the person say as they walked out of the depths of the shadows, "But I do agree that it is the rules and morals of the heroes that made Gotham this hell hole that has never been able to recover."
Red Hood…
The one person Batman failed worse than anyone else.
And besides him stood a beautiful semi-masked woman with white hair whose attire seemed awfully similar to someone I know.
"I am not here to fight," Red Hood explained, "Neither am I here to take your side. But they had to be taught a lesson… heroes and villains both, and you did just that."
"You do not have to go further," The woman said, her voice definitely had a bit of worry.
Worry that I might end up killing the heroes.
Which I obviously wasn't going to do.
My rage ended with the death of Joker, it was my hope and expectation that made me fight the heroes.
And it was my disappointment that stayed after facing them.
"Their lesson isn't over," I said, making the woman tense, "They will soon experience something much worse that will make them realize how useless their ideals are."
And the latter part of my statement calmed her down.
"Handle them," I said, "Some of them need treatment."
Red Hood wasn't in best terms with the heroes. But he necessarily wasn't an enemy to them either.
Hence he nodded.
And thus, I was left with a certain new goal.
The goal to teach the heroes a lesson that they will never forget.
To turn the heroes into villains.
To make them understand how their rules and ideals led to such disasters and how the definition of heroes and villains can change so easily.
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
[[ A/N: Read 25+ chapters ahead on:
https://www.patreon.com/Greedyfrog
Next chapter marks the end of Volume 1.
Currently the fall of the heroes have started on Patreon.]]