Hero & Mentor: Love can make you grieve unhealthily
“You shouldn’t have done this.”
Mentor shook their head slowly. “No. I taught you how to reign Ataraxia, how to manipulate your natural rhythm and harness energy. I did not teach you to do this.” They gestured out the window. Below the snowy mountain bunker, a fortress lay flaming with smoke and destruction. “This… this is what a villain would do. Villain’s Name had too much influence on you over the last few months. You became too similar. Too close.”
Hero’s bottom lip trembled. “Fuck you.” The sound of their name was like a punch to the gut.
“I know it’s been hard for you. I’ve given you time. The League has given you time. But grief can only be so much of an excuse.“ Mentor paused. “Do you see, down there? The suffering you’ve caused those people?”
Hero clenched and unclenched their fists. Tears burned in their eyes as they watched thick, ebony smoke disappear with the Northern wind.
“Grief is no excuse for that.“
You don’t know the whole story. “Those people killed Villain.”
”No,” Mentor said strongly. “Villain killed themselves. They danced too close to the sun, and it cost them their life.“
”They didn’t know Supervillain was part of the Darker League. They couldn’t have known Supervillain would use them as bait. Use me.”
”Of course I do!” Hero yelled abruptly. It caused a shocking silence for a few seconds “Every day when I give myself the chance I think of what went wrong, of how I fucked up because it was me! I was the one who got too close to Villain and now they’re dead!” Their breath caught on the last word. Because of me, that was the truth. Their throat constricted, making it difficult to swallow.
“I’m not here to argue with you over who’s fault it was that Villain passed away.”
”Say it like it is,” whispered Hero. “They’re dead.”
”I’ll say it how I see it, and I see it as a broken-hearted kid who can’t tell the difference between justice and revenge.”
For a moment, the cold room became quiet. Hero stared at the metal floor as the burning in their eyes became tears rolling down their cheeks.
”So what if it’s revenge.”
”What?” Mentor took a step forward.
“So what if it’s revenge,” Hero repeated, bolder. “This satisfied feeling I feel right now? Knowing Supervillain’s corpse is burning in the bright red snow, becoming nothing more than ash? —“ Their mouth twisted into a sadistic grin. “Oh, it makes me feel so good. I wish I could watch as they burn. I wish the whole world could watch. “
“They are. Look around you, Hero. The world is watching, your point has been made. Your fixation on taking out all associates of Supervillain is unhealthy, it’s not justice.”
”So? Do you think I give a shit about yours or the Leagues superhero ‘morals’ or whatever bullshit you tell yourselves to feel better? This is sweet revenge, and justice is my workbench. I’ll keep swinging the hammer down until I’m satisfied.”
”This is what I’m talking about, Hero,” Mentor pressed. Their expression showed disappointment, but their eyes conveyed concern. “This revenge thing, it’s relentless. Please, stop causing all this misery and come home.”
”To where?” Hero scoffed with a dry smile. Their tears were gone. “To your sagging shack in the middle of nowhere, so you can what?— teach me more of your ‘sacred’ fighting skills? I’m not some stuck up little kid with too much to say, anymore. I’ve grown up, Mentor, and this is who I am.” On a moment of impulse, they jabbed their finger to Mentor’s chest, practically spitting the words in their face; “And you’re no thanks to that, because I raised myself, and I’ll keep living by myself. My home left this Earth four months ago, you’re no longer any matter to me.”
Anger flickered across Mentors features. Hero wondered briefly if they would strike them, maybe break the finger that was jabbing into their chest. It was for this reason they flinched when Mentor put a hand over theirs. Looking down at their hand, then back to Mentor — Hero saw the pain they’d just inflicted. It showed in the shimmer of Mentor’s eyes, the squeeze to their hand deep with candidness.
For a minute, all they did was stare at each other. Realization sunk into the hero that they may have just injured their mentor far beyond repair. Layers of anger peeled away, leaving emptiness. Regret.
They returned the squeeze to Mentor’s hands. “Love can make you grieve unhealthily.”
”I’ll give the League your formal resignation.”
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