Ebenezer returned to his home feeling like he could fly. It was an odd feeling, not only because he could literally fly, but because he hadn’t felt anything like that in a long time. His body tingled with the excitement he’s been waiting for. The memory of Ms. Albert’s face as she screams in hysteria will be something that keeps Ebenezer happy for the rest of the day.

  Ebenezer was so happy he spent the morning flying around his house, doing victory laps as a pigeon, without any thought to how strange his movements may look to bystanders. Ebenezer flew into his room with a genuine smile on his face. His clones looked at him with shock but relief.

  “How’d it go?” One asked.

  “Better than I could’ve imagined!” Ebenezer almost shouted. “You should’ve seen the look on her face!” Ebenezer could feel his face strain as the smile he had on threatened to tear the unused muscles apart. It was painful, but this was a discomfort the boy didn’t mind enduring.

  “Nice work, boss!” the other one exclaimed. “So what next?” Ebenezer gave his clone a blank stare. Next? Right, wrecking a couple vehicle did not a villain make, but Ebenezer wasn’t sure what to do next.

  Destroying Ms. Albert’s car was the whole plan, and now that the kid thought about it, what exactly did he accomplish? Yeah, he ruined the teacher’s day, and probably forced her to pay out a pretty penny in car repairs, but what changed? As far as Ms. Albert knew, she lost her car to a random animal attack, not to an angry student.

  The clones seemed to detect their creator’s uncertainty and returned to their duties to give the boy space to think. One's going to tackle Menelaus’s new chore list, while the other would hide and wait for today’s homework folder.

  Ebenezer sat on his bed and began to think about what he should do next. He was technically a villain now, but everything he did could be attributed to wild animals causing trouble. That was by design but now he was wondering if that was a mistake. To get the reactions he wanted, to make sure his enemies knew they were being attacked and not just suffering bad luck, he’d have to go after them in person.

  “No more hiding,” Ebenezer whispered to himself. The boy took a steadying breath and realized how on edge he felt over his idea. Committing crimes as animals made things easier but appearing in person was far more nerve-wracking. He felt anxious, like he was about to make a presentation in front of the whole class, only this time a nasty confrontation was almost guaranteed.

  But how was Ebenezer going to attack them? He already swore off extreme violence so just beating up his enemies won’t work. Maybe he could destroy their houses? It’d be like what he did with Ms. Albert’s car but this time, he’ll do it as himself, the villain--.

  “Oh, I need a name,” Ebenezer realized. All this time, the boy was more concerned about becoming a villain than the finer details. Given how nervous he was over the first few steps of his choice, thinking about what to call himself seemed trivial. But names were required for everything, if people didn’t know what to call him they’d probably just give him a name, and one Ebenezer wouldn’t be happy with.

  “What should I call myself?” he asked himself. Ebenezer wanted a name that felt like it represented him and his goals as a villain. At the same time, the boy wanted to keep his identity a secret so he couldn’t call himself the “Revenger” or something obvious like that. It had to be powerful yet subtle while also being intimidating.

  Then again, did he really need an over the top supervillain name? Except for his mask and staff he didn’t really look like a villain, at best he seemed more like a mugger. Giving himself a villain name like “Payback-Man” while walking around dressed like a bundled up thug seemed more ridiculous than intimidating.

  Maybe his villain title should be more simple. Instead of a hammy Supervillain handle, he should go with a fake name to fit his villain casual look. Yeah! He could use an awesome name like Seth, Drake, or Chad. That’ll make people take him seriously! Or… would it make them laugh at him? Would it be too obvious he was trying to act cool with those pseudonyms? Maybe Ebenezer should instead use something more normal sounding.

  “What was that name I wanted…” Ebenezer asked himself as he started to wander down Memory Lane. To say Ebenezer didn’t like his first name was an understatement. It made it way too easy to make fun of him by calling him Scrooge and other such taunts. Once, he tried to convince his parents to change it to something more ordinary.

  Menelaus wouldn’t have it. In fact, he was enraged that Ebenezer wanted to change his name. The first time Ebenezer ever had to deal with his father yelling at him was over his name, and it came out of nowhere. The incident was burned in the boy’s memory. He, his brothers, and his parents, sitting down at the table, eating dinner like a normal healthy family. Then Ebenezer asks to change his name and his father just explodes.

  “Change your name?! What the hell is wrong with you?! Is your name suddenly not good enough for you?!”

  “So kids pick on you, big fucking deal! That’s what kids do, they pick on the weak and pathetic, and instead of standing up for yourself you're just going to fold over?!”

  “Why the hell are you letting others tell you what you can like and don’t like?! Are you that spineless?! No wonder they’re bullying you!”

  Each word was like a branding on Ebenezer’s soul. The sudden torrent of rage struck the boy dumb and all he could do was sit back and stare at his father in horror. Afterwards he locked himself in his room and didn’t come out until next morning. Not only did Ebenezer not get what he asked for, but his name unofficially became a punishment for being such a disappointment.

  Ebenezer took a steadying breath and wiped his moist eyes. It always hurts remembering that day, not only for what happened but what it represented. That was the point Menelaus changed from your typical Dad to a man Ebenezer was forced to live with. From then on, the boy had to walk on eggshells around his father, always in fear that the littlest misstep could get him in trouble.

  A sentiment that spread to the rest of the family as they all seemingly took Menelaus’ side in their feud. Thekla was loyal to Menelaus to a fault, Thor didn’t care unless he was the one in trouble, and Arnold just went along for the ride. That was the day Ebenezer became alone amongst his family.

  The boy shook his head to focus on the task at hand. His villain name... what was it going to be? What was the normal name he wanted back then? If he couldn’t have it in his civilian life, then he might as well use it in his villain life.

  “Ethan,” Ebenezer remembered. He spoke out the name slowly, tasting each syllable. Ethan was short, started with E, and was a nice normal name. It would’ve been an easy adjustment to make if he’d been allowed to make that his moniker. If he was called Ethan, then maybe things would be better. Or maybe not, if Pery’s actions the other day were any indication, his classmates would take any reason to be horrible, his first name was just the easiest option.

  Ebenezer liked the idea of naming his villain persona Ethan. It just felt right as both the name and his evil alter ego represented what the boy wanted to be, but something was missing. Ethan wasn’t enough, it needed another part, like a surname. Only one moniker came to mind that would fit, but would it be the right move? Not only would it hint at his powerset, but attaching any part of Sun Wukong’s name to his would feel like tarnishing it.

  Ebenezer looked at his golden staff in thought. The weapon that was given to him as a reminder of what he stood to lose if he cross the line. Uncle Sunny already gave him something that was like his divine weapon, would taking a part of his name be worse? An idea came to Ebenezer’s mind and he was about to try to sneak into the bathroom for the mirror when he remembered something.

  “Can’t I just use my clones?” It seemed like an obvious thing to do, and Ebenezer felt a little silly that he hadn’t thought of this when he was trying to see how he looked in his evildoer garb. One plucked hair later and a new clone was in the room with him. Unlike the other two clones, who were Ebenezer in his normal clothes, this new double was wearing his villain costume, complete with the hood up and his comedy mask on. Before Ebenezer could give out his orders, the copy turned to look at his creator and spoke.

  “My name,” the doppelganger began slowly. “Is Ethan Sun.” Ebenezer didn’t shiver or squeal at the sound of his possible criminal identity, but he couldn’t help but smile at how right it sounded to him. That was it. That would be his name as a villain.

  Ethan Sun.

  Ebenezer’s triumph over his evil alias was quickly diluted by the fact that he still didn’t know what his next step would be. With a thought, the third disappeared, and he went back to pondering but all of his ideas revolved around the basic direction he wanted his vengeance to take. He was still wracking his brain for new ideas when his father’s voice broke through his thoughts.

  “Ebenezer!” Menelaus bellowed. The boy in question jumped out of his skin and his mind defaulted to panicking over what his father was angry about this time. “Your classmates are here for you!” The sudden wave of confusion drowned out his fear for a moment. But then it swam back to the surface as Ebenezer realized the implications. They were here for the homework, in response to his ultimatum.

  Ebenezer’s blood ran cold and his heart went crazy. His anger had driven him to send that message but he was a lot braver when he didn’t have to face the angry teens’ response. The strange humming returned to his gut, and Ebenezer knew his Chore Clone was calling him, no doubt asking for his response. Clenching his fists, Ebenezer steeled his resolve. As nervous as he was, the boy refused to run.

  “Answer the door,” Ebenezer ordered. With a thought, Ebenezer was looking through the eyes of his Chore Clone as he walked to the front door. Menelaus wasn’t around, which was good for the boy’s composure. The last thing he needed was Menelaus breathing down his neck and wondering why Ebenezer was arguing with his classmates about homework. There were a lot of routes that inquiry could go down and none of them were good.

  Opening the door, Ebenezer saw Roth and Leanora standing there. He was a bit surprised that it was just them, he figured Pery or Gabriel would be the ones to show up, but he didn’t let his guard down. Leanora was temperamental enough to get violent and after his last conversation with Roth, Ebenezer didn’t expect anything pleasant from the smiling young man.

  The Clone stepped outside and closed the door behind him. Whatever was going to happen next, the other Girouxs didn’t to know about it. Ebenezer had the double stand up straight and look the two of them in the eye, to show he wasn’t going to cower in front of them. Roth had his usual smile which meant nothing to Ebenezer, but Leanora remained stone-faced, which was concerning.

  “What do you want?” the double asked. Ebenezer had it remain neutral and but have a slight edge to his voice to imply the two of them weren’t welcome here. The boy’s poker lasted for only a few seconds, as Leanora suddenly lunged forward and slapped him across the face. Ebenezer himself felt no pain, but the act along was enough to stun him. He look at the girl in shock as he instinctively held the struck cheek.

  “What the hell is wrong with you!” the girl screamed, her fake calm was gone as she released her borderline rapid personality. “Do you know how badly you almost screwed us!” The moment of shock passed and Ebenezer’s anger rose to the surface to overshadow his anxiety. He glared at Leanora, and his clone followed suit, which surprised the blonde for a second before she matched it with her own outraged glower.

  “What Leanora is saying is we don’t appreciate you reneging on our deal,” Roth began diplomatically. He kept on smiling but Ebenezer could see the pointed look Roth was giving, it was almost as hostile as Leanora’s.

  “Either of you touch me again and you can say goodbye to any more homework from me,” Ebenezer growled. Leanora only got angrier, she stepped forward looking ready to attack the boy again, but Roth placed a hand on her shoulder. Leanora’s face was bright and she looked ready to explode. Roth was still smiling but now it looked strained.

  “Now, Scrooge. None of us want this to turn ugly, especially not you. After all, you’re already on thin ice as it is, it’d be a shame if word got out that you’ve been sabotaging other students.” The Ebenezer from a few days ago might’ve panicked over being threatened. But the Ebenezer of today was too angry to care about that.

  “It’d also be a shame that you got a black mark on your permanent record because you stopped turning in homework,” the boy growled. “What’d the teachers say when none of you had work to hand in?”

  “There was a special exception in our case due to “unforeseen circumstances”,” Roth sneered. “Whatever you hoped to gain with your little stunt, it didn’t work.” Ebenezer had the sudden urge to lunge forward and strangle Roth, but held back. The news that the teachers gave his tormentors special treatment while treating him like dirt was nothing new, it just reaffirmed the boy’s hunger for revenge.

  “And what about my homework,” Ebenezer asked firmly. “Did anyone turn it in?”

  “Who cares?” Roth dismissed.

  “I do, and that’s why you’re in this mess! Someone thought it’d be funny to not to turn in my homework and I got letters from teachers yelling at me about it!”

  “Real arrogant to assume anyone would care enough to mess with you,” Leanora sneered. Ebenezer glared at her but didn’t stop to retort. While Ebenezer wanted the more visceral vengeance he could only get from Ethan, it didn’t mean he was going to tolerate any more abuse from his classmates. Even if it went nowhere or made things worse, Ebenezer would fight back.

  “I always make sure to do my homework first,” Ebenezer informed her. “Since that’s my priority, not the stuff you push onto me. If it wasn’t turned in that means one of you messed with it.”

  “Scrooge, we don’t care about your missing homework,” Roth interjected. “We’re here to make sure ours gets taken care of.”

  “Or we take it out of your hide!” Leanora stepped forward and pushed a new folder into Ebenezer’s chest. The boy stumbled back with the force of the blow but stayed on his feet. He clutched the folder to his chest while glaring hatefully at the raging blonde.

  “Consider this your last warning, Scrooge,” Roth added with a tone of finality. “If we have to come here again, we’ll-.”

  “You’ll what?” Ebenezer challenged. “What’s to stop me from throwing away everything that isn’t mine?”

  “I can make life at school a living Hell,” Roth countered with narrowed eyes.

  “It’s already a living Hell,” Ebenezer shot back. “Do you know how much sleep I lose because of all the extra homework I have to do?! And what does that get me in return? I get made fun of and suspended!”

  “Oh, boo fucking hoo!” Leanora yelled back, finally losing her cool. “You’re tired, you got suspended. We all have problems, Scrooge, but you don’t hear us whining about it! I have to help my parents run their store on the weekends instead of going out with my friends but I have to suck it up because I’m not some whiny punk who wants to complain about every little thing!”

  Ebenezer was about to yell back, say something truly nasty that would’ve put a bad taste in his mouth. But he held back as he took in Leanora’s rant. Leanora’s family ran a shop, and they needed to make Leanora help out with it. Ebenezer wasn’t sure what that said about the family’s financial situation, but the boy was certain that suddenly having the place smashed up would be detrimental to their wellbeing.

  With his plan in mind, Ebenezer had his clone walk back inside without another word. Leanora and Roth made some passing remarks, but the boy was back in his normal body and looking up at the blonde’s family establishment. Ethan Sun knew what to do next.

  “What do you want to do about the homework?” the chore clone asked as he entered the room. He placed the new folder on the desk, next to Ebenezer as he searched the web for any shops owned by a Desmond Family.

  “What?” Ebenezer asked absent mindely.

  “You just took the folder,” the double explained. “Does that mean you're just going to do the homework like usual?”

  “Oh. N-No…” Ebenezer stopped his search and thought about the assignments. While the boy had a different approach for vengeance. It wouldn’t due to let his classmates think he caved in to their demands. Then he smiled when an idea came to him. If they wanted their homework done so bad, then they’ll get them, but Ebenezer gets to decide how well it was done.

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  “Throw away anything for Leanora,” Ebenezer said. “She’s lost her homework privileges. As for the rest, anything that isn’t mine, only put in the bare minimum of effort. We’re only going to shell out D-Grade quality work from now on. We’ll see how long the teachers defend them when their grade point averages drop.”

  “Understood.” With his new orders, the chore returned to his duties and spread the word to the other clone. Ebenezer went back to his search and found something. There was a store that sold farm fresh produce called Desmond Greens, owned by a Mr. and Mrs. Desmond. It was a well-liked store with many five-star reviews. Their lowest rating being three-stars as someone complained about the less than stellar service from their teenage daughter. After a bit more digging, Ebenezer found a picture of Leanora sitting behind the cash register with a forced smile on her face.

  Ebenezer’s grin was more genuine as he found the next target for Ethan’s reign of terror. He felt a rush of giddiness at the thought of finally sticking it to those awful classmates of his. Things were finally going to change, and they were going to pay.

  Ebenezer waited until late afternoon before sneaking out. Unlike the other times, Ebenezer didn’t know where Desmond Greens was in contrast to his home or the shopping mall so he can’t just fly there in the middle of the night. Even with the sunlight, Ebenezer had trouble finding the store since he couldn’t use his GPS as a bird. It took an hour to fly to the store while using landmarks to navigate and periodically stopping on roofs to check the map on his phone.

  It was still bright out when he found the store. It was a nice small shop that looked like the produce section at the supermarket combined with a roadside convenience store. It was relatively busy with a steady stream of customers going about their day, examining the produce, and just being happy-go-lucky normal citizens. It would be a shame for this quant little store to get destroyed, but Leanora shouldn’t be such an awful person.

  Ebenezer ducked into an alleyway near the store and waited for the night. He went over his game plan for the crime in his head. He’d first stroll in like he owned the place as Ethan Sun, his presence causing confusion and making everyone scared and uncomfortable. Then he’d find the Desomnds and talk to them, or they’d find him and demand that he leave. No doubt they’ll be screaming at the boy, just like their daughter.

  Ebenezer would wait until they’d threaten him in some way, it shouldn’t be hard to get them worked up enough to do that, and then Ethan would respond by destroying their shop. With his staff in hand Ebenezer would smash the displays, crush the produce, and smash open the register for good measure. They’d freak out and beg him to stop, but he wouldn’t. He’d continue to destroy everything while making it clear they brought this on themselves. This would be the price to pay for letting their daughter be such a evil little girl.

  When the sun set Ebenezer took a deep breath before stepping out and stomping over to the store.

  ‘Ethan Sun,’ He chanted in his head. ‘Ethan Sun. Ethan Sun. My name is, Ethan Sun.’ It wouldn’t do for him to introduce himself and accidentally give out his real name.

  Ethan stepped into the store and the friendly atmosphere immediately changed. All eyes snapped his way and the response was immediate. There was fear, discomfort, and a touch of hostility. No one was outright attacking him yet but Ethan was certain it would come eventually. Putting his hands in his pockets the boy began browsing the merchanidze around the cash register and waited for someone to confront him.

  …

  But nothing happened. He stood by the magazine rack pretending to browse while waiting for someone to start yelling at him to leave but no one was doing anything. Ethan had his back to the customers but he could feel their eyes on him, he knew they were watching him. But they just kept staring at him like he was a sideshow freak. No one was approaching him. Was he that scary?

  Ethan was glad people feared him, but he needed someone to attack him for his plan to work. He needed somone to work him up so he could let loose and wreak havoc. Ethan Sun was an agent of vengeance, he needed a reason to smash up the store, he can’t just break stuff without any provocation.

  “Hello,” A cheery voice said.

  ‘Finally,’ Ethan sighed and turned to face his aggressor. He was fully prepared to face some sort of know-it-all adult who was going to “politely” tell him to leave. Instead, he faced a middle-aged woman smiling at him pleasantly. He knew from the pictures that this lady was Mrs. Desmond, Leanora’s mom.

  “Can I help you with anything?” Mrs. Desmond asked. She smiled sweetly at Ethan, not looking like she was facing a potential villain. Ethan stared back at her in disbelief. THIS was Leanora’s mother? That can’t be right, this lady was far too pleasant to be around to be related to that blonde beast. She had to be tricking him somehow, smiling at him to act friendly, and just waiting for a reason to attack him.

  “I’m just browsing,” Ethan said casually. He made sure to speak in a slightly lower tone than normal. The mask muffled his voice but he didn’t want anyone in the street recognizing him by sound. Ethan hoped that his words would irritate the woman, convenient stores didn’t like it when customers read magazines without buying them, so this answer should make Mrs. Desmond angry, right?

  “Okay then,” the shopowner replied, still with her smile and sweet voice. “Well let me know if you need anything.” Then she walked away like it was no big deal. Like a masked assailant wasn’t loitering in her store.

  Ethan returned to staring at the magazines unsure what to do. This wasn’t how things were supposed to go. The people here were supposed to get angry at him and he’d respond in kind. Instead everyone was just avoiding him, with Mrs. Desmond being outright hospitable. What was Ethan supposed to do now?

  The only option left was to just attack. It wasn’t how Ethan wanted to do things but he didn’t have much of a choice anymore. All he had to do was turn around, whip out his staff, and start smashing everything in sight. Sure, the bystanders would get caught up in his rampage, but so what? It would be easy, it should be easy, but Ethan couldn’t move.

  He felt his muscles lock up and hold him in place. His heart ached and his stomach felt nauseous. What was going on? Why wouldn’t he move? All he had to do was just attack, and hurt them like everyone hurt him. But these people hadn’t done anything to him. Ethan didn’t hate them the way he hated Leanora or Pery. He couldn’t even muster the anger needed to lash out at Mrs. Desmond.

  ‘Remember Leanora,’ he told himself. ‘That’s her mother. Even if she’s nice, she’s clearly doing SOMETHING wrong to raise such a bitch!’ Ethan forced himself to remember all the awful things that Leanora did to him, from the constant name-calling to the recent slap in the face. For a few seconds, the memories made Ethan angry enough to lash out, but the moment he looked at the uncomfortable faces of the shoppers, that anger faded away. Ethan just couldn’t bring himself to hate people that didn’t hurt him.

  Ethan was broken out of his brooding by a sudden onslaught of screams. Not sure what was going on, the villain spun around to see the customers shrieking while pointing at something outside. Ethan followed their gaze and found himself shocked into a stupor.

  Living in a world of superheroes and otherworldly powers did not mean that the everyday citizens were ready to deal with the craziness that the world could throw at them. Most people weren’t constantly dealing with monsters, aliens, or other paranormal beings in their life, at least not knowingly. That went doubly so for places like Poppytown who actively suppressed it’s Gifted population.

  So when an honest-to-God Werewolf burst through the front door, Ethan was not mentally prepared. The lumbering beast crashed through the sliding doors, shattering them like they were made of ice. The monster looked like a large golden retriever at first, but then you notice it walking on two legs, having clawed hands the size of trash can lids, and eyes that look uncomfortably human.

  The werewolf let out a roar that would sound more at home in a lion than a giant wolf, but the effect was the same. The people screamed in terror and immediately flee from the creature, but blindly running away causes them all to quickly hit the back wall of the store. The back room was behind the register, which was next to the door where the beast was, and no one was going near it.

  Only Ethan remained in place, staring at the creature in dumb confusion, and it quickly noticed. The werewolf whirled on Ethan with terrifying speed, and the would-be villain was startled into action. His stunned brain couldn’t think of an escape plan so that left one option for Ethan. Fight.

  Ethan hadn’t been training with Sun Wukong for very long, but he had enough lessons to know how to use a staff. Ethan grabbed his weapon and swung it into the werewolf’s snout. The creature let out a surprised yelp and backpedaled, covering its nose. Ethan elongated his rod and thrust it into the monster’s leg, getting another pained yip from it.

  Stepping forward, the boy raised his weapon and brought it down on the werewolf’s head, over and over again. He wasn’t using action movie levels of violence, but it was doing the trick. The creature curled into a ball on the floor and covered its head with its paws to shield itself.

  Ethan probably should have attacked somewhere else, but he was too frazzled to think straight. All he could do was strike what was in front of him. It wasn’t until his staff smacked the floor instead of fur did he snapped back to his senses. Jumping back, Ethan readied for some sort of counterattack, only to see the creature scurry out through the door and into the city streets.

  “W-What?” Ethan wheezed out. He stumbles toward the ruined door and looks outside to find no traces of the beast. He didn’t know why, but Ethan could tell something was off. That fight was too easy, even if the werewolf wasn’t expecting Ethan to defend himself, it should have at least tried to fight back. So why didn’t it?

  “Thank you!” Ethan turned around and saw the customers were crowding around him. The fearful and unwelcoming looks were gone, now they had happy and relieved smiles. “Thank you so much! You saved us!”

  “Huh?” was Ethan’s reply. Then everything clicked. ‘Oh no. No no no no NO!’ From the customer's perspective, Ethan had fought off a monster that was attacking them, making him their Hero. That was not what was supposed to happen! Ethan’s a villain, not a hero! He can’t be saving people! A man placed his hand on Ethan’s shoulder, he too was smiling like the rest of the bystanders and looked ready to hug the boy if he could.

  “You saved our lives!” he exclaimed. “Are you a new hero? Do you work for the Crusaders?” Ethan stared at the man for a second as he recognized his face. Ebenezer had walked past him on his way home after his suspension. The man was glaring at the boy like everyone else, judging him on the spot without a second thought. And Ethan had just saved his life.

  The wannabe villain felt like he should punch the man in the face. But there was no anger to make him lash out. Instead, Ethan felt mortified at how badly he screwed up. Mortified, and worse of all, a little happy. A part of him was glad to be praised, no matter the context. Ethan hated how good the praise of these bystanders felt, and that self-loathing was enough to force Ethan to move.

  “I have to go,” he said suddenly stepping away from the crowd and toward the door. “I have to… find the… thing.” He spat out the first excuse he could use to get away from the people. He meant to say he was going to hunt down the werewolf, but Ethan’s conflicting feelings jumbled up the words.

  “Oh, good!” said Mrs. Desmond. She was standing next to a destroyed stand next to a balding man Ethan knew as Mr. Desmond. “Can you get back the produce that monster took.” Ethan nodded and quickly ran out of the store. He had no intention of going back to that store no matter what he did, but hunting down the werewolf to vent his friustration seemed like a good idea.

  Slamming his staff into the ground, Ethan held onto it while it extended and took him into the air. He could’ve turned into a bird but he didn’t want people to witness too many of his tricks. It’s bad enough the customers think he’s a do-gooder, it wouldn’t do for them to tell other people about his transformation powers.

  He extended to a rooftop where any onlookers wouldn’t notice him. Ethan angrily ripped off his mask and a clump of his hair. The sting from the forcefully removed follicles calmed him down slightly, but the boy kept going. He blew into the hair so hard that half the strands flew away but all of them turned into a clone of Ethan, leaving the boy with a small gang of clones.

  “Spread out and find the werewolf,” Ethan ordered with a hiss. “I want that thing found before midnight.” The doubles all turned into birds and flew out into the city, leaving the original to sit on the rooftop and seethe. Everything went wrong. Not only did he not get revenge on Leanora, but the people who saw him now think he’s a hero! He should’ve just attacked them and been done with it! He should’ve had the guts to hurt-!

  “Boss,” a clone’s voice echoed in Ethan’s head. “We found it.” Ethan saw a vision of the werewolf, crouched behind an alley dumpster and shoving fruits and vegetables into its maw.

  “Where is this?” Ethan asked and instantly knew his clone was a few blocks away. Apparently his duplication power came with a built in tracking system for his copies. Ethan turned into a bird and flew toward the werewolf.

  The flight was short but it gave Ethan time to think of his next move. The werwolf’s hiding spot was a dead end so all Ethan’s clones had to do was block one side while he confronted the beast. But Ethan couldn’t shake the feeling that something wasn’t right.

  Usually, when you read about werewolf attacks, they’d end in multiple deaths, even if the monster had been dealt with. This werewolf didn’t attack anyone, it scared the customers but it never got close to them, except for Ethan who was already near it. Then it ran off when the kid put up a fight, but not before grabbing a bunch of produce. Putting the pieces together, Ethan didn’t get a picture of a rampaging monster, which unsettled the boy as he reached his stop.

  The clones were already in position. Waiting on the rooftop and by the alley entrance to block the werewolf from running away. Ethan flew to the ground and returned to his human form. The werewolf hadn’t noticed, too busy making sure every scrap of food was shoved down its gullet. This only proved Ethan’s theory and it made him hesitate on what to do next. He entertained the idea of just leaving, letting the creature roam free, but Ethan needed to make sure of something.

  “Hey,” he called out. The creature’s head snapped up and stared at Ethan in horror. It spun onto all flours and immediately started growling. Ethan couldn’t help but roll his eyes. “Yeah, nice try. After watching you run away, it’s obvious you’re faking it.” The werewolf stopped growling and crawled backward. Ethan stood in place, he didn’t have to follow the wolf since he was in front of the only exit. Even if it tried something like scaling the walls, his clones would be on the wolf in seconds.

  “Go away!” the creature exclaimed. Ethan was surprised to hear the cryptid speak. While he knew what a werewolf was, he didn’t think it could talk in this form. Its voice sounded like a cartoony witch with a sore throat. ‘Is this thing a girl?’ Ethan wondered, before shaking his head clear of the thought. The werewolf’s gender didn’t matter right now.

  “Leave me alone!” it cried out again.

  “So you can talk,” Ethan stated. “Then you can explain what the hell that whole scene at the store was.”

  “I was hungry!” the werewolf quickly answered. “I just wanted to eat something that wasn’t from the trash!”

  “I see…” That’s what Ethan was afraid of that. It was clear from the looks of it, the werewolf just wanted the produce. The explosive entrance combined with running away as soon as it got some of the food, it all pointed to someone in dire straights in need of a meal. The question now was, what was Ethan going to do about it? He should honestly just leave since the werewolf wasn’t a threat to him, but for some reason, Ethan didn’t want to leave it like this.

  ‘Must be the Nice Guy in me,’ Ethan thought bitterly. The part of the boy that still thought like the goodie-two-shoes loser he desperately wanted to shake off demanded he do something to help this poor creature. But Ethan couldn’t do anything. He didn’t have anything to give the werewolf, and he sure as hell couldn’t bring it back home. On top of Menelaus’ loathing of all things supernatural, Thekla hated animals, and the idea of opening up his house to a giant humanoid wolf was laughable.

  And yet, Ethan didn’t want to just turn his back on the pitiful creature. The way it was crouched and backing away from him in terror hit Ethan close to home. It reminded him of his situation. But what can he offer the beast that he isn’t searching for himself…

  “I’m not going to hurt you,” Ethan stated. “But you need to keep your head down. These people have a very low tolerance for Gifted, especially if they’re stealing from them.”

  “I don’t have a choice…” the werewolf whined.

  “Then at least be smart about it! If you draw too much attention to yourself, then the Crusaders will be after you and that’s it! You're done for!”

  “What else can I do?!” the beast asked in despair. “I’m a werewolf! I’m not built for subtly!” Ethan let out a huff before trying a different approach.

  “How long have you been in the city?”

  “What?”

  “Answer the question!”

  “A few days…?”

  “How come you haven’t been noticed until now?” Poppytown was always on the lookout for any unwanted visitors no matter what shape they came in. Even if it was just a lumpy shadow in the middle of the night, the residents wouldn’t hesitate to report seeing something. Even it was obviously nothing, there would be an investigation, official or otherwise. If this werewolf hasn’t been seen yet, it must have some way of hiding from view.

  Instead of answering him, the werewolf started to shrink in on itself. Slowly the elongated wolf body became more compact and had a traditional dog-like shape, and Ethan ended up looking at an actual Golden Retriever instead of a man-like monstrosity.

  “I can look like a regular dog,” the werewolf explained. Its voice was less growly now and sounded like an actual person talking than a monster. There was no doubt the werewolf was female, but it also sounded oddly young.

  ‘Is this werewolf girl my age?’ Ethan wondered. He quickly shook his head. ‘Still not important! Focus Ethan!’

  “If you can look like a regular dog, why not try begging? I’m sure there’s a lot of people that wouldn’t mind giving scraps to a stray.”

  “I tried that… But sometimes people try to adopt me…”

  “And that’s a problem?”

  “Yes! I can’t stay a dog! And I’m not going to be someone’s pet! I still have some pride in myself!” Ethan wondered what the point of pride was when the werewolf girl had already resorted to stealing food. He didn’t say anything aloud though, as he knew shouldn’t throw stones until the villain was certain he wasn’t living in a glass house anymore.

  “Next time you need to eat, try to steal in your dog form,” Ethan suggested. “It’ll draw less attention.”

  “Really?” the werewolf girl looked at Ethan in confusion but she seemed to have finally realized that he wasn’t going to attack her. “I can stay hidden if I do that?”

  “You’ll probably have to deal with animal control at some point, but I’m sure they’re easier to deal with than the heroes.”

  “Yeah… you have a point. Thank you…” Still in her dog form, the werewolf looked at Ethan with what seemed to be cautious admiration in her eyes. That happy feeling returned, but Ethan squashed it down with his irritation. He was supposed to be terrorizing people tonight, not helping them!

  “Don’t thank me,” Ethan spat bitterly. His guts twisted in knots as the toxic words formed in his mouth but he had to get them out. Ethan needed someone to know what his intentions were, and the werewolf was the only one he could talk to. “I’m only helping you so you don’t get in my way again.”

  “W-what?” the werewolf girl asked. The admiration was gone and the fear returned. A black spike of regret stabbed Ethan in the heart at the sight, but he pressed forward.

  “I was in that store to settle a score with the owners, only to get freaked out by you and lose track of what I was doing. Now everyone thinks I’m a hero!”

  “S-Sorry?” the girl sounded confused, but more importantly she went back to crawling backwards, away from Ethan. The sight of her cowering before him did not make the would-be criminal feel good about himself. The outrage he built up fell to pieces and Ethan suddenly felt very tired.

  “Just don’t do it again,” the boy groaned. “I’m gonna be the worst villain this city has ever seen, and I can’t let anyone get in my way.” With that final word, he slammed his staff into the ground and propelled himself into the air. Once over the rooftops, Ethan retracted his staff and turned into a bird. Flying home to his bed where he can sleep and forget all about this disaster of a night.