First of all your writing is amazing, the ideas you came up with and the form you develop them are splendid.
Also, would it be alright if I ask for villain that is followed by a hero's ghost?
It's okay if you decline my petition.
Have a nice day or night.
Hi the-black-fox! Thank you so much for the kind words, and of course you can request this! I’m sorry it took so long to write, and I hope I did it justice!
Villain jumped, spilling the coffee they were holding all over their workstation. They whipped around and glared at the ghostly form in front of them.
“Do you have to do that every day?” Villain demanded.
“Until you put me back in my body, yes,” the ghost of Hero replied.
Villain hadn’t meant to separate Hero’s spirit and body, honestly, they hadn’t. They just wanted to put them to sleep for a while so they could carry out their latest scheme without interruptions. But evidently, they had spoken the incantation wrong, because instead of Hero simply falling into a deep sleep, their spirit had literally fallen out of their body.
“Listen, I’m going to put you back,” Villain said, “but if you keep jumping out and scaring me I’m never going to get anything done.”
“Well maybe if you focused more on fixing me sooner and not robbing millionaires-” Hero gestured to the coffee-stained blueprints of a wealthy business-man’s house, “-I wouldn’t spend so much time scaring you.”
Villain sighed and rubbed their temples. Villain still had to make a living; they couldn’t just put their life on hold for Hero.
“Did you know your lair is built over dead bodies?” Hero asked.
“Oh yes,” hero continued, “I phased through the floorboards the other day and found at least three skeletons. You better hope your place isn’t haunted. Well, actually-” Hero looked down at their semi-transparent body, “-I guess your lair is haunted. By me anyway.”
“I really did not need to know all that.” Villain said.
Hero ignored them and faded from sight. Suddenly a window flew open, letting a harsh wind howl through the lair, scattering papers everywhere.
“That’s it!” Villain said, “I’m not dealing with you right now. I said I’ll fix you eventually, but not right this second!”
With that, Villain suited up and headed for the millionaire’s house.
The break-in was going smoothly. The millionaire hadn’t bothered to get the latest alarm system, so it was easy for Villain to disable. Villain had just climbed in the walk-in safe when the door slammed shut. Villain stared with wide eyes as the gears turned, locking them in. Villain ran to the door and pulled on the latch, but it was no use. They were sealed in the vault.
Villain had the distinct feeling that they were being watched. Sure enough, a familiar face phased through the door and Hero hovered in front of them.
“Lovely evening, isn’t it?” Hero echoed.
“You!” Villain snarled, “you did this! Let me out!”
“Not until you promise to put me back in my body.”
“I told you!” Villain yelled, “I will put you back, but on my own time!”
“I don’t have time to wait for you to finish all your evil schemes!” Hero shrieked, a terrifying sound. Their shrill cry echoed throughout the vault. Villain shuddered at the noise.
Hero sighed, then continued in a softer voice.
“There are people that need my help every day in this city, and you’re not doing them any favors by keeping me as a ghost.”
Villain had hoped that something positive would come out of turning Hero into a ghost. Maybe with them out of the way, they could get more work accomplished. But Hero had become more of a hassle as a spirit then they had ever been while they were alive. Villain resigned themselves to the inevitable.
“Fine,” Villain conceded, “get me out of here, and I will put you back in your body.”
Villain opened the ancient tome they had used to inadvertently separate Hero’s spirit and body. They turned to the page they had last used. Hero’s body sat before them, still in the chair Villain had tied them to before reciting the first incantation. Villain took a deep breath and recited the incantation backwards. They prayed they were pronouncing everything right.
Villain looked up just in time to see Hero’s ghost get sucked back into their body. Hero slowly blinked their eyes open. Hero was whole once again.
“There,” Villain snapped, “are you satisfied now?”
“Very.” Hero said, “now if you’ll just untie me…”
“That wasn’t part of the deal, little Hero.”
Hero stiffened in their chair and looked at Villain with wide eyes.
“Promised to put you back in your body, yes,” Villain drawled, "I didn’t say anything about letting you go.”
Villain closed the ancient book with a snap. They turned on their heel and headed out, back to the millionaire’s estate, leaving a shouting Hero behind.
