I sigh and put down the scroll.

Time to get ready.

This is the most fulfilling, but also the heart-rendering part of my job.

The kid who turns up in a bit doesn’t look a day older than 7, although I know he is 10. His frail body can barely hold up his oversized bald head.

Also, he is dressed in the most ridiculously colourful attire ever.

“Come out, Demolisher!” he shouts, with a confidence only little kids have.

I step out, dressed in my best.

“Prepare to meet your doom, hero! Tell me your name, so that I can put it next to your skull in the hall of the vanquished!” I thunder.

“I am called Aggo-prefect, and I will subjugate you and rid the world of your evil!” responds the little boy.

I take to the sky, sending out bolts of energy at the boy while taking care not to actually hit him.

The boy dodges (or thinks he does), and fires back at me with his nerf gun.

I pull the darts towards me using tractor waves (at this range they would never even come close to me otherwise), and make a show of dodging them.

This goes on for a while.

Finally, when the boy is down to his last few darts, I let one of them hit me.

I make a show of flailing about while I fall to the ground.

“Curses on you, Aggo-prefect! Not even the Gods can defeat the Demolisher!”

The little boy walks upto me, with great effort. He says, softly: “But I have defeated you.”

He takes out a pink coloured plastic lightsaber, a cheap thing, and pokes me in my ribs.

I stop moving and close my eyes.

Six weeks later, I receive a letter.

“Mr. Demolisher,

Jason passed away peacefully in his sleep last night. For the last six weeks, he couldn’t shut up how he was a superhero who defeated The Demolisher!

We couldn’t thank you and the Make-a-wish foundation enough for bringing such joy to our little boy in his last days.

Gordon and Bella”

I sigh. I have been lying low since the encounter with Jason, with no public appearances. All so that Jason can really believe he has defeated a supervillain.

I get up to make myself some coffee and get ready to make a public appearance. Maybe today I’ll rob a bank.

Being a supervillain does not come cheap.