Despite what a lot of people may think, I did not choose the life of a super villain.

Don’t be silly, I’m not going to go into that whole pedantic bullshit about how I was born into it or the life of the villain chose me. None of that shit. Seriously.

I actually didn’t want anything to do with any of this crap to start with. Hell, a lot of the time I still don’t. Don’t get me wrong, the life can be sweet. And the ladies? Well, they’re kind of the reason I got stuck with being a villain in the first place. If I had to place where it all began, I’d have to say childhood if I’m being honest. Yes, I know that I didn’t become a villain until much, much later. Yes, I know that seems to contradict my earlier statement about my not wanting any of this. Honestly, it wasn’t until recently that I realized how much of my childhood was, in fact, spent training for my eventual life style.

You see she certainly won’t admit it, but Radiant and I grew up together.

Yes, the star power A-list superheroine was my childhood friend. We were practically inseparable. To this day, I can’t help but admire her positively radiant personality (pun certainly intended). She always knew that she wanted to be a superhero when she grew up. From the moment both of our powers sparked at the age of eight, we were training to be heroes.

I was never particularly enamored with the glory, the justice, or the heroism of it all. Honestly, as a kid I was just enamored with her. I mean, who wouldn’t be? She’s always been the gorgeous bundle of joy. She’s always had that amazing smile underneath her golden locks. She’s always had that can-do attitude with an amazing pep in her step. Granted, she’s a lot more serious after all that she’s seen in her career, but I digress. My point Is, that from the beginning she knew what she wanted to be. And for a long time, I thought that I would follow her anywhere just to stay within that radiant glow.

Our childhood was spent running off into the woods and ‘dueling’ with our abilities, working out, running, that kind of stuff. We even made a big deal about keeping each other’s secret identities. (No, I’m not going to spill the beans. That would fuck me over just as much as it would her.) It really wasn’t until we became angsty teens that I realized I didn’t want to be a hero. I loved the time I spent with Radiant, but I really didn’t want that kind of life for myself. I saw plenty of families on the new ripped apart by supers, the documentaries on what a dual-life can do to a person. Of course, everyone saw what happens when a hero’s secrets get revealed.

I shouldn’t have to really get into The Flag’s scandal, but for those of you young enough to not remember: it was a fucking shit hurricane. The man used to be the premiere cape of the grand old U.S.A. That was exactly until a shitbag of a paparazzi decided that he wasn’t as squeaky clean as he looked. Don’t get me wrong, he wasn’t. I still don’t think that forgives someone for seducing a closeted gay man with the intent to film it and ruin his reputation. Flag certainly didn’t deserve the years of his dirty laundry being dragged through every news station and tabloid. Either way, I knew in the wake of that shit hurricane that I simply didn’t want my time in the limelight. I knew all throughout our high school years that I didn’t want the publicity, the inability to live my life freely. Even knowing for years, I just couldn’t bring myself to tell Radiant. I knew it would break her heart.

I’m honestly not sure if she ever got over it or not. She stopped talking to me after the fact. You have to understand, for the entirety of growing up we were the dynamic duo. To her, we were going to be the new face of superheroes everywhere. We wouldn’t run into The Flag’s problem because we had each other and that was all we would ever need, aside from heroing that is. Once we were out of high school, she immediately applied to the Hero Certification Program. I offered to go to the same college, but I had to tell her that I just couldn’t do it. I mean, it wasn’t like I could let her find out when I didn’t show up for class. She’s only ever said a handful of words to me since, and the vast majority of them involve commanding me to surrender or telling me I won’t get away this time.

After that, it wasn’t long until I dropped out of college. A lot of you know what I mean when I say life can be rough. Not trying to guilt trip or anything, but I pretty much lost all motivation when I lost my best friend. I didn’t want people to realize that I was a super, so I made it a point to not stand out, to be ‘normal’. It took several years, but by the time I started to realize what had happened, I had run off anyone willing to spend time with me. All of it in an effort to not be ousted as a super, dumb I know. I moved to Central City to run away from it all, to find a fresh start for myself. I hadn’t lived there very long, in fact, I was still looking for a job when the bank heist that started it all happened.

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As many of you know, my career didn’t actually start with a bank job. I wasn’t a cape when everything began. I was, in fact, the first hostage an up and coming villain decided he could part with, you know, to ‘prove he meant it’.  To be honest, I can’t remember the name of that quivering little shit. I really wasn’t afraid, not of him at least.

It had really started with what should have been a pitifully normal day. I had somehow scrounged together a full schedule of interviews, at least one of which I had a decent chance of making rent if I got. That was the first interview of the day, working as a bank teller. I now find the image of the great and powerful Ebon Bolt, supervillain extraordinaire, sitting behind a teller’s desk and not robbing the joint kind of funny. Back then, it was my best chance of making ends meet. It helped that not a whole lot of people want to work as tellers in Central City, what with being the center of cape activity for the country and all.

I had scrounged together a decent looking suit somehow, and I even did up my hair. It wasn’t a perfect fit on my large frame, but it looked nicer than anything I had worn since high school. I certainly looked the part of a professional in the making with my long dark auburn hair tied back in a pony tail, my beard cleanly trimmed, and my mustache waxed to the devilish look I have held for many years. Eventually, the suit became a mainstay of my look as you all know. The classics work all right? And seriously, who wants to go around in spandex all the time? Plus, the suit was a bit nostalgic seeing as how it was the outfit I became a villain in.

So, here I was, sitting in the lobby of a bank waiting for a manager to call me back to an interview. There was a thin crowd in, with it being early morning for most. I’d love to describe the interior of the place for you, but at this point bank lobbies all just kind of run together. I remember looking over the crowd and the security wondering how this place wasn’t being robbed, especially in Central City. It wasn’t a large bank, and it wasn’t near any major precincts. The only visible security guard on duty was some old man well past his prime. Heck, it was the kind of place that Radiant always told me we should keep an eye on when we became heroes. Anyways, here I was minding my own business when this dipshit in bedazzled red spandex shows up. Seriously, this dude was wearing sequins and everything. That said, this is Central City and nobody really gives a shit about a dude in spandex, at least until they start throwing fire around.

Surprisingly, it took a bit until it got to that point. All said, I really don’t think the guy had any real plan going in about how he was going to get the cash. Anyways, he starts pacing around with nobody else paying attention to him. He really begins to look upset. Only after several minutes of pacing and getting angrier with every step does he get around to speaking.

“This is a fucking robbery! Why the hell is nobody bringing me money yet?!?” The guy screams. Like he seriously thought just walking into a bank in cape was enough for them to start shelling out the cash. At this point, the security guard whips out a gun and fires off a couple of rounds. The dude in the gaudy costume takes a hit to the shoulder before he sets the old man on fire. That’s probably the one thing I’m never going to get used to in this line of work: the smell of burning flesh. In just a few seconds, the poor old man was ash. The dipshit really didn’t have to lay it on like that, but I guess he was nervous and all. It did get the point across though, and all of us civilians took to the ground with our hands on our heads.

Keeping his hands on fire for effect, he began to threaten the tellers. He continued to pace up and down the lobby as the tellers stuffed the petty cash in a bag. It wasn’t long though until I heard what really had me quaking that day.

“Villain! Leave the money and come out with your hands up!” I recognized the voice that came across a megaphone instantly. How could I not? I’d heard that voice most of my life, and now Radiant was there. Someone must have gotten off a silent alarm. Probably when asshat was burning the old man alive.

“Justice and Radiant are here to put an end to this robbery!” she called out from outside. Fuck. Of course, the pretty boy was here as well. I mean, it was bad enough that I was going to see her again like this. Her showing up with that egotistical douche she was rumored to be dating as well? Icing on top of the god damned cake. At that moment, the dipshit decided to grab me of all people.

“Try anything and I’ll roast my hostage alive!” you could hear the nerves in his voice as he tried to mask his normal tone. Not like it would have mattered at this point.

“You don’t want to take it to that level! Once you’ve killed someone, there’s no mercy in the system for those with powers.” The sympathy in her voice was clear. A lot of people don’t believe it, but she really does have even the villains’ best interests at heart.

Asshat laughed. And laughed. “Too late for that, sunshine…” You could hear the strain in his voice. It was clear that he never intended to become a murderer today, but that’s the breaks. He grabbed the bag of cash and made me hold on to it. Then, he wrapped a hand in my hair and kept his other hand on fire to threaten me.

It was then that I had to come to a decision. I really couldn’t let her of all people see me being the victim in a situation like this. It wasn’t like I was at risk of being killed, I always could have killed him before he did anything too serious to me. It was just… I couldn’t let her see me like that. Little did I know at the time how everything would unfold…