At exactly 11:37 PM, [Villain] crashed through the unsuspecting civilian's ceiling.
[Civilian] screeched, yanking off her headphones as she gaped at the scene before her. Apparently the criminal had caught her in the middle of another writing session, judging by the computer wide open to another document. How perfect.
Next thing she knew, there was nothing left of her desktop except smashed remains.
"Did you know how much I had to save for that?" [Civilian] whined, picking up the broken pieces of the love of her life. "I just bought this a month ago!"
[Villain] shrugged, relief evident in their eyes as they watched the girl's shoulders sag in defeat. "Let this be a lesson for you. This is what happens when you post hero/villain romance snippets on tumblr dot com."
[Civilian] blinked in disbelief. "Are you serious right now?"
"Those posts were truly insulting, you know. I could never score a nemesis to my name. How stereotypical of you to assume that all villains have their own respective heroes." [Villain] scoffed.
At that confession, the heat in [Civilian]'s face faded. Plopping back into her chair, she looked at [Villain] awkwardly. "I thought you had Arachnid? You guys seemed like a good pair."
[Villain] side-eyed them. "It's true that I collide with them on a regular basis, but they're already Phantom's signature enemy. It would be madness to take that away from my co-worker."
Oh. She put a hand to her chin. "What about Eltrocus?"
"My sidekick likes that one."
"They don't even know I exist."
"So you really don't have anyone?"
[Villain] proceeded to make an empty gesture with their hands.
Well, that was certainly something. Scooting closer to the outlaw, the civilian put a hand on their shoulder. "You don't need a hero to be a great villain. In the long run, what you've accomplished really matters."
"Doesn't stop me from feeling left out though," [Villain] sighed. They squirmed out of her touch, stepping toward the window. "There are so many iconic dynamics that will be named in history. But I will forever be known as a background lackey, never to be mentioned by name."
"Anyway," [Villain] chirped. "Don't go posting anymore of that nonsense. It's not just pure assumptions; It's very, very horribly written."
And so, the villain swung out of the room and plunge into the darkness, leaving her with a crumbling household to contact insurance about. She stood limply for a while, staring into blank space. No rival, huh?
[Civilian] picked up a pen and tattered notebook, sketching out a suit design.
She'd just have to fix that then.