Ok I couldnât resist this
The explosion rocked through several city blocks, sending several structures plummeting.
Villain hadnât meant for this to happen, it was supposed to be a small explosion, in an abandoned warehouse as a distraction. But Henchman had had bigger plans, hadnât been satisfied with what they said was pocket change.
That pocket change could have bankrolled their operation for a year.
His knee buckled as he walked, blood squelching in his battered boots. Groaning, he caught himself on a cracked brick wall, blood dripping from a wound in his shoulder. A palm sized piece of shrapnel had lodged itself in the muscle under his collarbone when the bombs had detonated. Black bruises had already formed on his exposed skin and he shook as he pushed himself away from the wall.
Hero was going to be here soon, he needed to get to his safe house. Somewhere Henchmen wouldnât look either.
He stumbled into the shadow of a precariously standing building, hoping the rubble would disguise his escape.
Villain froze at the sound. The cries were barely whispers to his shattered ear drums, the ringing making it nearly impossible for him to make out where they originated from. But he was certain heâd heard something. He took a tentative step into the doorway ahead of him and froze.
Bile rose in his throat at what he saw. Soot and dust covered the surfaces in front of him but it was the far corner that held his attention.
A child lay in the rubble, clutching a plush penguin. Brick dust and blood covered her tiny face, her tears making wet tracks through it. His feet moved of their own volition, staggering over the loose wreckage of the families couch.
The child was sobbing weakly, blood covering their face from shrapnel injuries. Dark bruises covered the exposed skin through rends in their sunshine yellow top. There were cartoon puppies on it. She sobbed harder when she saw him, twisting under thick beams of wood.
âHeyheyehey, itâs ok, Iâm gonna get you out from under there,okay?â
The child didnât stop screaming as he shifted the pieces of her broken home from her pinned leg, her high pitched cries echoing against the unstable walls. âMAMAAAA!!â
Her leg was mangled, blood slowly seeping from her calf from where it had been pinned. His shirt ripped easily, already torn from the blast and he bound the wound messily, hoping it would slow the bleeding enough.
âI know, I know, Iâm sorry.â Villain groaned as he gathered the little girl in his arms, cradling her head against his undamaged shoulder. âIâm going to get you closer to help ok, be brave for me, huh?â
âMamaaaaa....â Her sob was heart wrenching as they made their way out onto the debris strewn street. She clung to his jacket with a pitifully small fist, burying her head into his neck as she sobbed. Villain wanted to cry with her.
Villain panted when they made it to the end of the street, lets shaking beneath him. He could see the flash of police lights in the distance, he knew Hero would be working with the police to try and track him down. It wouldnât take him long to find the girl if he left her here.
He swayed as he knelt, nearly collapsing on top of the little girl. She had stopped screaming as they walked, instead sobbing into his neck and clinging to him. âOkay sweetie, Iâve gotta leave you here. Thereâs going to be people here to help you really soon.â
Screaming again the child wrapped thin arms around his neck, shaking her head violently. âNooo! Nooooaaaaahhhhh!!!!â
Villain winced at the pitch, rubbing the tiny back softly. âShhhhhhhh, theyâre gonna take good care of you...â
The girl didnât let go, trembling violently in his arms. Exhaustion started to creep over the Villain as he knelt with the little girl and he slumped whoosily against the wall. He winced as his injuries were jostled, blood trickling down his skin. Reluctantly, the Villain drew the little girl closer, wrapping his tattered jacket around her thin shoulders.
âWell.... guess Iâll stay...â Villain whispered to the little girl, world starting to grey around the edges. He panted harshly as the world spun around him, the sounds of sirens getting steadily louder as the world blacked out.