Chapter Seven - Opposites

That feeling of somebody watching me crawled up my spine and tried to throttle me as I pounded into a bank robber, sending his mind into happy unconsciousness. I took a quick glance around the area. Well, I was being watched, by about thirty customers and another dozen bank workers, but none of them were the source of that creepy feeling.

Muttering to myself, I pulled the would-be robber outside, tossed him to the waiting police, and began heading down the street. I didn't bother to change back, but just kept walking, thinking hard on many things. I debated pulling out Bloodshine, because of the simple fact that having a huge sword is comforting, but decided against it. I was getting enough funny looks as it was.

A hard blow to the back of the head sent me stumbling.

"I don't know what your plan is, Villain, but-" a cocky male voice began. I spun around and found a superhero in his late twenties (and red/yellow tights) standing there. "I must protect the citizens of this city from people like you!"

A fight circle had already formed. I let out a heavy sigh. Why were all the other Superheroes so... so... quick to leap to judgments?

"I'm not a Villain." I said flatly. "My name is Chaos, and I'm in the same line of work as you are. I've just got better fashion sense." That got more than a few laughs from the crowd. The Superhero, one I didn't reognize, just slammed his hands together. When he pulled them apart, they were wrapped in some sort of energy field. "No, seriously, I'm a Superhero too. I don't want to have to fight somebody that's on my side."

"Silence, Villain!" the man said. "You will not fool me with your lies!" He charged forward wildly. I sidestepped his attack and let him careen past. "Humph... you won't be so lucky again!" He lunged at me again, punching out over and over. I kept dodging. What did luck have to do with it? This was all skill, skill I had acquired while training with Eva. I'd gotten very good at dodging and running away there.

I didn't attack. Instead, I just kept dodging for nearly ten minutes until my opponent was panting for air.

"So..." he said. "Your plan is to wear me out, huh? I shall not lose!" He tried to grab me again, and I responded by grabbing his head and slamming him into the ground. "Hah! I was right!" He yelled, pointing upwards.

"Get over yourself." I replied. "I have done nothing wrong by walking down the street, and you attack me. You're the Villain here. So shut up and leave me alone." Leaving him there, I stood up and left through the crowd. A moment later, Myria came shooting out of the sky to land next to me. "You just missed it."

"Oh, poo." the girl said. "I heard about a black-skinned guy making a laughingstock of another hero, so I had to come check it out!" She began walking alongside me. "How's life?"

"Could be worse." I replied. "I'm heading out with my girlfriend later. She's a great girl; you'd like her."

"Oh?" Myria inquired. "What sort of girl is she, that she dates a guy as evil-looking as you?" I twitched, but managed to brush it off.

"This is just my transformed body, pest." I answered, flicking her forehead. "She is cheerful, energetic, almost obscenely cute, and fun to be with."

"Poor girl." Myria sympathized. "If she's that good, she could have someone a lot better than you." I charged at her. Laughing, Myria ran away, and the chase went on for nearly three blocks before the girl slammed into someone very large and fell to the ground. I came to a stop and observed.

Pointy horns, furry body, bloodlust in the eyes... yeah, definitely an enemy.

"My apologies." the being rumbled. "I should have been watching where I was going." he helped Myria to her feet, bowed slightly, and walked off.

Oooookay. Not an enemy. Well, that showed the virtues of not judging on sight. Myria and I looked at each other for a long moment.

"Is it just me, or is life around here getting weirder?" she inquired. I nodded. "Yeah, thought so." A small child tugged on her pants. Myria looked down.

"...Are you a Supahero?" the little boy asked, eyes wide. Myria smiled and picked him up.

"I sure am." she said, beaming. "What can I do for you?"

"My mudder's lost." the little boy said. Myria looked at me out of the side of her eyes.

"Yeah, yeah." I said, heading off. "I'm no good with this non-combat hero stuff." my superpowered friend began questioning the boy more to get information as I strode down the streets. Overall, it had been a pretty quiet day. Anything that had happened during school had been taken care of, and other than that, I hadn't really had many problems. When you looked more evil than the criminals you fought, it was incredibly easy to terrify them.

I was most of the way home when somebody else slammed into me. This time, though, it was absolutely deliberate.

"Hi, Eva." I said. The girl wrapped her arms around my neck ad plopped her head over my shoulder.

"We need to go." the girl said. She pulled back from me, grabbed my hand, and started moving. "I've been feeling something for awhile now." She did not offer me a choice. Well, that was expected. Choices weren't Eva's style; it was her way or her way. Five minutes later, the colors of the world around me inverted. I looked down, and found that I had inverted, too; I was all white.

"Creepy." I said, looking around. "What is this place?"

"Demon zone." Eva answered, sounding very satisfied. "Who's here, huh!?"

Somebody who looked rather like me strode forward. Not the way Kisa did, but my darker body. He was of the same race as I was, whatever it happened to actually be, and seemed confident about something.

"Iffie!" Eva said, delighted. She shot across the area and tackled him in a hug.

"Get off!" the demon snapped, gripping her and throwing her back towards me. I caught the girl. "You cause all sorts of trouble at home, then decide to run away? I'm taking you back. And my name's Ifrit, not Iffie!"

"Make yourself useful, Chaos." Evangeline told me. "Beat Iffie up for me." It was wrong of Superheroes to beat people up on request, and the look I gave her said as much. "Hey! He's trying to take a delicate little girl like me somewhere by force! You're supposed to be on my side!" Well, that was true. I reached behind my back, into another dimension, and pulled out Bloodshine.

"I don't know who you are..." Ifrit said, pulling out a much more normal-sized sword. "...but you will regret going against the leader's orders and helping her." Before I knew what was happening, he was in front of me, already slashing for an attack. Bloodshine snapped up and blocked it. I pressed hard. With enemies, since my sword was very large and very powerful, it tended to help. This one responded with the same type of force to hold me back, and his sword wasn't weak enough that it would break.

"Why do I have to do her dirty work?" I muttered as I pulled back, then leapt forward while cleaving Bloodshine around. It hit a lot harder if it had some momentum, so maybe this would help. Surpising me, it did. Maybe you coudn't just shrug off blows like that. The demon called Ifrit snarled, then shot backwards through the air while holding his hands apart. A massive red orb appeared, then fired at both of us. Eva's scythe arced through the air and split the orb in half. The halves fell to the ground and vanished.

"Cocky punk." Eva said, smiling. "You're just a Blood Lord. Even on my worst day, I could take you with no problems." A total lie, of course. She'd tied with me, and I was having trouble with him. "Just give it up and maybe I'll forgive you."

"No." Ifrit replied. "Why are you helping her?" This was directed at me. Eva, smiling, grabbed my head and held it against her torso.

"I have to keep an eye on her." I answered. "In all honesty, though, I find her as annoying as you do."

"Meanie." Eva pouted. "Fine, I'll show you how it's done." she let me go, then flew through the air and began unleashing attack after attack on Ifrit. I could barely keep track of the demon girl's movements as her arms rarely slowed down enough for my eyes to notice them. Ifrit was quickly forced backwards. "Still think you're so great?"

"Well... yeah." Ifrit replied as a field of light surrounded the girl. Eva poked it, the jerked her hand back. "Holy energy. You can't handle it." he said, smirking. "Shall I make you do embarassing things before we go?"

"Drop dead."

I chuckled as I shot forward, bringing my sword around hard. Ifrit caught it with his own weapon and kicked me in the face twice before snatching his blade up from where it was and attempting to bash in my skull with it. He never really got the chance. The demon was lifted into the air by magic and flung about, leaving no opportunity for head-bashing.

"Hah!" Myria said as she appeared above us. "Once again, I am awesome! Two minutes flat to find that kid's mom!" she swooped down, firing little bursts of energy from her hands. Ifrit just took the hits; they didn't seem to do any notable damage. "Trying to hurt my friends, huh?"

"...I'm surrounded by idiots." Ifrit said. As Myria got closer, he leaped forward, grabbing her by her face and slamming her hard into the ground. She didn't get up, she just groaned. I sighed. Myria was pretty strong offensively, but her endurance and durability left things to be desired.

I lunged at my opponent, swinging my blade as hard as my considerable strength would allow me for an overhead cleave, one of the attacks I liked most. As expected, Ifrit whirled up to block it, but as a crater nearly twenty feet wide and another ten deep formed under his feet, he did stagger. Anyone would.

"You really do have a death wish, don't you?" Ifrit asked. I used his face as a platform to jump off of, landing neatly on the edge of the crater. "Fine, fine. Have it your way. I'll kill you, I'll kill your girlfriend, and Evangeline can come home." Just like I did when I got particularly angry, Ifrit was surrounded by a sort of dark aura. He leaped into the air and fired a torrent of black energy at me.

It hit a suddenly appearing shield and was stopped.

"Where do you people come from!?" Ifrit roared as Melody peeked around a building.

"We infest this city." I replied. "Like rats. The longer a fight goes on, the greater the chance more heroes will join in. Mel, I think I can handle this." The shield vanished, and Ifrit shot forward, roaring in rage. And who said hate didn't make you any stronger?

I raked my hand down diagonally. Gashes appeared across Ifrit's chest as he was sent flying backwards.

"What the--" he began, coughing out some blood. "What kind of attack is that!?"

"A helpful one." I replied grimly, walking forward with Bloodshine resting on my shoulder. "Face it, you're beaten." Ifrit jerked his hands, and the field of light, with Eva inside, appeared in front of him. The field dropped, and he grabbed the girl.

"Still think you can hurt me?" he asked, smirking. I stared at the scene for a moment, then nodded.

"Yeah." I replied. I punched him in the face with about the same force I had made the crater with, simultaneously using my other hand to grab Eva. The result was that Ifrit shot through a building. Grinning, I began walking forward. I found the demon lying in some rubble, looking stunned. "Now run home. You're on my turf." Ifrit gave me a look of deepest hatred and vanished. The inverted-color world went with him. I blinked rapidly as brighter colors suddenly filled my vision. Sighing, I walked back outside. Myria was still on the ground, looking hurt. I bent down by her. "You know, you get hurt a lot around me." I remarked.

"Maybe you should change your name to Captain Obvious." the girl replied. She shut her eyes, and to my complete lack of surprise, a white glow surrounded her and healed her wounds. Near as I could tell, Myria only had one power. It was just an extremely broad power, and thus arguably a lot better than my transformation.

"Ah... um... C-chaos?" Melody asked. I looked up at the white-haired Superheroine. "My... um... debutante ceremony for my... um... entrance to the Hero Community is tonight. W-would you like to come?" I thought for a moment, then stood up.

"Well..." I said. "A polite host will usually issue an invitation well in advance, so that the numbers are ready well before a party begins." the girl started to look depressed. "However, my girlfriend is heading out tonight, so I don't think there will be any problems. I'll be there. When and where?"

"AH... S-seven tonight, at the IOOSH center." IOOSH, or the International Organization Of Super Heroes, was a world-wide Superhero support group that managed facilities, helped create and maintain connections, and served as a general information center. They ran superheroes dot com, as well as places like the Ceil Arcanum, where I had taken Kisa. A one-hundred percent legitimate group with world-wide government recognition and a long record of trustworthiness. The exact group of people who would hold parties for Superheroes. "And, ah... M-myria, and Evangeline... you're invited too, of course."

"I'll pass." Eva replied. "I have an image to maintain, after all, and staying in the same room as a hundred guys in tights wouldn't do anything for that." We all looked at Myria.

"It's a party." She replied, like the rest of us were idiots. "Of course I'm going!"

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At seven that evening, or slightly before, I walked into the center and into the biggest gathering of Superheroes I had ever seen.

Now, you have to understand something. A lot of Superheroes, other than for crime-fighting, don't actually use their powers very often. They might if they're a speaker at a school, or going to a rally, or something like that, but in such circumstances it's usually just for a little entertainment. Even if they are public Superheroes, like Sunflare, it's generally considered rude to use powers for small things. It's like telling everyone else 'Hey, I'm better'.

The reverse was true for Superhero conventions. The place was a wild mix of powers being used for fun. I had never encountered anything like it, and was nearly overwhelmed by the relaxed nature of the whole affair. True to form, there were nearly a dozen Superheroes on guard duty, all B or A ranked (they rotated, so everyone could attend the party), and this prevented any Villains from crashing the party... it was kind of funny that it was necessary.

I had chosen to wear what I normally did, as had most of the others. However, I had changed into a clean pair of clothes so as to look nice. Or as nice as somebody who looked like a demon and had glowing red runes on one arm could be. There were weirder people than me at the party, though, so I didn't particularly stand out. Myria had come in style, with a dress that would not have been out of place on a High School Prom Queen. She resisted no opportunity to show off. A chime filled the air, and we all turned to look at the stage. Sunflare was standing there.

"Ladies, Gentlemen, and others." he said, his mouth twitching in amusement. "I would like to thank you all for coming tonight to this little get-together. As many of the older Superheroes in this room will remember, there was a time when we had to be secretive. Days when we were forced to conceal our identities, for if the world knew we were different, that we could do things others couldn't, it would think that we were just as bad as those we all worked so hard to stop. However, Miracle Monday changed that."

I knew what Miracle Monday was. Myria knew what Miracle Monday was. EVERYBODY knew what Miracle Monday was. In the Superhero timeline, it was the single greatest achievement the group had ever made. The day when a team of Superheroes, including a teenage Sunflare (as opposed to his sixty-something current age), in order to save the lives of ten million or so people, had publicly revealed their identities on live television and proceeded to beat a team of Supervillains senseless. After that, once people realized it was not a high-budget joke, the world had changed.

"Now, a child that is different is welcomed, celebrated. We come from different backgrounds. Different nations, different languages, different customs and beliefs. Yet we all hold a few ideals close to our hearts. Protect those who cannot protect themselves. Work to stop those who would place the innocent in harms way. With little or no thought, to put ourselves at risk to save those who would rather see us dead. We have formed our own community, based on our ideals, and grown stronger. Today, it is my great honor and privilege to present my own daughter to you, a new member of our society." Spotlights shone on the stage behind him. "She has chosen to forego a name like most of us have donned. A new age has arrived, when we can all use our names freely, and not worry about identity. I give to you Melody McSelar." An orb of blackness appeared on the stage. When it vanished, Melody was standing on the stage in a long white dress; it was almost a wedding gown. My heart lurched. Perhaps that outfit was appropriate for her; she was becoming one with another entity. The girl curtsied, and a toast was raised for her.

The rest of the evening passed by too quickly. I remember a Sidekick-level Superhero exchanging one-liners with his mentor, to the amusement of all. I remember Myria gobbling food from the dessert table and getting sick, a contest of strength (I came in 8th; not too shabby!), and meeting Melody's little brother, a telepathic kid too young to know not to poke into people's heads unless he had permission or a good reason.

And I remember dancing with Melody, looking into her glittering violet eyes, more clearly than anything else that happened at the party. I was entranced by the girl, held fast by her gentle eyes. The dance was so short, but it lasted an eternity.

That night, I finally understood what it meant to be a Superhero. To be a Superhero, you did not need to have fancy powers, a funny nickname, or the habit of fighting evil wherever you found it. A Superhero was somebody who protected the innocent, who did what was right. Somebody who cared so much about others that they would not hesitate to sacrifice themselves for anybody, even someone who deserved to die. It was the true meaning of a Superhero, and I realized that compared to the men and women around me, the greatest, most noble people on the planet, I did not have the right to even lick their shoes.

I could never truly call myself a Superhero and mean it in the full definition of the word. I had a long ways to go. It was when the people in that room called me by that name that I would know I had become better.

And perhaps I would become worthy of those shining violet eyes.

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