This is really amazing, wow! Honestly, I'm not even try to write something now, you won the internet for today!

It actually wasn't really the intention, but it's up to interpretation, and I'm not going to agree nor deny :D

- "YOU" - I see her pupils getting smaller, and her hands trembling. Sigh - I have to tone down my voice... again - "You..." - she seems calmer now. Good - "... do not be afraid" - I almost laugh - where did I see this written? Ah, on their bible. Always after some incomprehensible entity talks with them - "I meant you no harm. And you won't be my bride - just take this credit card, and live as you wish" - she seems... almost... upset?

- "Please, Ominous One... why are you in this form? Why downgrade Your Majesty into this crude, stupid, rotten form of humans?" - I... don't understand. Of all possible scenarios I could predict, this one never crossed my mind.

- "You don't understand!" - I say, and her pupils get smaller again. But somehow she seems... happy?

- "More, please! Oh, sorry for my prepotency, Infinite One... but... can you show me... your True Form?" - Sigh... of all things, I got the crazy one.

- "Your mind can't hold twenty percent of my true form. You seem to be already at your limit, and I am only at one percent of what I am. See if you can handle... ten percent" - Immediately, she falls into the ground, on her knees. Maybe it was too much... but I can see. Her mind is not broken yet. In fact, she seems... almost satisfied? How?

Her face moves up, and she's looking at me - With this form, I made humans cut their own eyes in fear, when I still couldn't understand the effect I made on poor mortals. And this... girl...

- "I can't.... express in words, not in words that You, Worldmaker, deserve, how fortunate I am to see... a fragment of what You are..." - yep, she's crazy - "I always loved things that I could not understand. People hit me... they've thrown... things... on me... called me a witch..." - her eyes don't produce tears. But I can see. I don't see people, I feel them in such a way mortals can't dare to understand. I can see everything that people are - their feelings, thoughts, they past, future, present, and alternate realities, timelines. That's why people loose their minds when they see us - their bodies try to understand past, present, future, in infinite timelines and realities all at the same time and at the same reality.

What I see... is beyond words. In all possible realities without me, she is.... I can't say what happens with her, not in a way you people can understand. Your feeble minds will probably break even if I tell a fraction of a fraction on what happens with her in some of the most mild realities... my body boils with anger, with an anger that I never felt in a long, long time... not only they did send their daughter to any deity willing to accept, knowing full well that this would be a fate million times worse than death, but they also... wanted favors in return?

- "Let's do this, then" - I say - "Let's go on a date, with twenty-five percent of my true form. If you can handle that, we can go up from there!" - She is delighted. And I am about to have some fun on the human world...

- "Bruce could equip the police. Bruce could use all that he learnt to teach the police modern martial arts, and he would be a really good teacher. Bruce could buy corrupt politicians, could buy other politicians and offer them confidential information on the corrupts, or even broadcast them doing things. Bruce could do so much, but his life would be in danger. In way more danger than any of us. That's what you don't understand, and I don't blame you - being immortal, impenetrable, makes you think you can outlive everything, outsmart everyone. You can't" - the caped crusader looks deeply into the eyes of Superman, trying to find understanding. He finds none, but continues anyway.

- "Super-villains are one thing. They are honest in their own way. You know they will try to kill you, in every possible way. I know some that even find excitement on trying to guess how it will be the next time. But there is something far more dangerous than everything we fight" - with a swept motion, he takes the drink from Superman's hand.

- "How do you do that? I can move faster than you and yet..."

- "You're predictable." - he smashes the drink on the table - "..far too predictable for your own good..." - from his belt, he takes a small vial, pouring a single drop into the spilled drink, with caution. He knows what's coming next, so he's already on position to catch Superman before he falls face-first on the ground

- "What... is this?"

- "Kryptonite. But disguised under a drink, magically sealed in a way that it will react with your stomach's biology, so it'll go inside you undetected. You were always weak against magic, that's why you didn't find it"

- "How.... how... did you..."

- "We saved the daughter of a politician today. I was aware of where she was for about a week now, but I had to be sure. It was subtle, but there was a small hint of something on his desperate pleas. Not her, though - she was genuinely terrified all the time. After all this time, I found nothing, but I could not endanger her anymore - it was already too much. But I knew something was not right, and that's why I told you that I wanted us to have a feast together with whatever the politician would offer to us"

- "That's... why... you knew all the time that... he would send something..." - Superman gasps for air. Fortunately, the effects are now only a mild inconvenience - "I still don't understand. Bruce... why fight with that clown? With your knowledge, the world would be so much..."

- "Before you continue with this nonsense" - Batman appears in front of Superman - "If we killed, or incapacitated, the Joker... or anyone, for that matter - people will demand more. Worse people will appear, people that don't regard for the lives of anyone. You know why countries are not destroyed when we fight people that can literally destroy a whole galaxy? Because they know we have a limit. They know that if they behave, they can live. If we kill... what do they have to loose as soon as we capture them? Why should they not just detonate themselves, wiping up the planet in the process, if they will die anyway?"

- "Thats... just one half of the..."

- "As for Bruce. You don't understand. You will never understand. You can't understand. Good for you. But this conversation is over." - Batman simply disappears in the night.

But it stuck a nerve. He walks over that theater, now long gone, under that same road. Superman was right. Bruce would do much better for the world instead of Batman.

Too bad Bruce died when he was a child, together with both his parents...

>Those last few lines were phenomenal my friend.

These... took way longer than the rest of the story. Actually, my first try was to make into a comedy, but then it didn't work out; second time, in the end I went to describe how the villain could see the hero voicing against minorities when he was not "on duty", but that got boring, and the history was almost over anyway; third, I tried to describe the destruction the villain would do, but that also got boring :D.

The one that almost made was if this world is not going to treat my son right, this world have no right to exist, but I though it would be out-of-character of the villain, and also it got a weird taste of "did he asked his son if he wanted the world to be destroyed?", so I decided against it; finally, I tried making him into a dictator, but there was no power on the last lines, and that's when I decided on this final version... which I feel could be better, but I am quite happy with the result :)

I wanted my life to be simple. Well, as simple as someone wanting world domination could be, honestly.

Since I got my superpowers, I spent my life trying to make things right. And by right, I meant, fix the problems humans created from themselves. I knew I would be hated, but I tried to understand their fears. The hero itself, well, he was just a nemesis, someone that I would drag a fight, make him believe he won, while I made my schemes behind the scenes.

And how, he's saying I kidnapped his girfriend? And.... at my side... the look of distress, the panic...

Finally, he enters my chambers. Demanding to see his girlfriend. He doesn't know - of course he doesn't know.

Listen, everybody, I am not a bad guy. I really am not. I never hurt too much the hero, and I don't want to. I meant, I had to hurt him a little otherwise he would think the fight was too easy, and probably would know I let him win. But now... how do I not hurt him?

- "Give up, fiend, I know you're evil, but I never though you would be capable of... this... dragging innocents into this? What happened to you? I demand to see her! Otherwise, I'll f... kill you!" - Great, now he's cursing. Good for him the media is not here... and what now?

- "Your girfriend.... well, let me just say that you're wrong. For a great... many... things..."

- "I would tell you..." - great, now any hope of not destroying the hero's spirit is gone - "but I was afraid you would not understand.... please, forgive me..."

- "Amanda? Is that.... you? What did he do to you? Did he...."

- "It's not Amanda, dear. It's Andrew. That's how.... I actually want to live, that's who I am. But I was afraid that telling you the truth, you would..."

- "That's not true*!"* - his voice dances in the air, papers and chairs and furniture flying, a sonic boom destroying the ears of my comrades, and following all that, a huge blast of energy - that, if it was not for my power, he would.... my son...

- "Listen..." - I try to keep my calm - "you almost killed my son. Let's make a deal - you exit my house, think if you can love somebody regardless of gender, and if not, forget all this, ok? Now be a good boy, go back, because I want to believe you just lost control of your powers for a minute and..."

- "He did this with you, didn't he? He... turned you... into this... aberration?" - sigh, great. The hero is a transphobic. I look at my son... and it breaks me. I see the distress, I see all the trauma from his childhood, all.... I can't.... I can't loose my calm now.... I need to know I may be able to kill him.... - "I'll fix this, you'll see! The media is outside, waiting for me! You'll see that I'll fix you, and everybody will know that my power can even..."

- "STOP TALKING" - it was not an order for my powers, but they manifested anyway, in the most interesting possible way - without air, there is no sound, right? I can see the hero suffocating. For a microsecond, I think - maybe, maybe I can still avoid the worst... but I hear it.

I hear my son sob.

This night, the world will cry. They won't understand how the hero died. They won't understand why the villain is coldly executing the most vile and abhorrent criminals and politicians.

This world will not see the sunset. But hopefully, a new world will see the sun rise.

I don't think he'll be able to. I remember I used to time slip (it lasted a few seconds only for me) and I tried to keep something, anything, to prove to my parents I wasn't imagining. Got an old cup, just to slip on the wet floor and fall, breaking the thing; got a piece of paper, it flew from my hands into a river; the worst was when I got a whole book, and somebody robbed me...

I think time have a way to avoid these kinds of paradox on itself...

I tried. Oh, how I tried.

But there was no way out of it. I make people happy, I get sad. I make more people happy, I get even more sad and miserable. I fake it, telling myself "it's for the greater good, I will handle that", and I've been doing that for years.

I had to stop multiple times, of course. Sometimes, I would look at the world, seeing crime being almost non-existent, and feel happy. Well, not happy, but less sad - and destiny was cruel indeed, because I could feel the power I imposed on people... leaking...

Maybe I could just steal that thing that I want instead of working the full month.... it was all because of this curse - unhappiness. The curse that I was going to solve with my curse - make me take all the unhappiness in the world. And one of my hardest decisions was to make everybody unable to feel sad for me - otherwise it would all go to naught.

And yeah, I did it. For what? I can not not remember anymore. Maybe I felt happy knowing people were becoming less miserable? I can only guess. There's no trace of good feelings inside of me. I'm the void itself, zombie walking on the streets.

With dark spots under my eyes, after long nights without being able to sleep, I finally look at the world. People dancing on the streets, smiling, happy. They are all happy. Crime doesn't exist anymore. Newspapers now only show good things, report where it will be the next fair, the next music show, etc - nothing miserable happens - ever.

So that's what true happiness is.... and I see myself smiling. Not smiling - laughing. Well, laughing is an understatement - I am a maniac in the streets, laughing harder than I ever been!

That was the answer, finally! After all those years, it all makes sense! After all, my miserable life was simply too little to take all sadness from everyone - I notice that my life didn't felt like multiple generations, it indeed was multiple generations - an eternity of suffering for the sake of humanity! Sweet embrace of death will never exist, because it will be a point of happiness for me!

So.... they will see.

I will burn. I will kill. I will steal everything from them. For all eternity, I will torture, I will bathe myself in their blood, I will dance to their screams of agony!

And they will be happy with it!

Thanks! This piece gave me a lot more trouble than I originally though because I avoided any gendered word for the protagonist.... and basically everything spins around the protagonist's world, and I only figured this out while I was writing :D.

The message, directly injected into the mind. "Kill her".

Which "her"? The woman that shared whole nine years of wonderful marriage, joyful nights and days, and only on the tenth year things started to go astray?

Or maybe, the girl from fifteen years ago, that sparked joy and desire and a fire so far unknown, that made everything feel into place, made everything seem just right?

Or maybe, the ignored teenager that kept escaping the darkest places of a memory almost forgotten, but that was the first spark of everything that was going to make things the way they happened today?

Or maybe the fictional character from that old video game, long time ago, that by today's standards would be just "polygons on a screen". A video game that was so immersive, that maybe for some reason, triggered some chain reaction that could, or could not, made everything possible, all things considered?

Didn't matter. The message was clear. The one reading knew which "her" the message was referring. Fighting tears, after all those years, a choice was being presented. Either be unhappy for a reason, or be unhappy for another.

Love. Love is a hard thing. Nine years were a lot of time to distract the voices of the mind, the desires of the soul, and that love was real. It just... wasn't right. An infidelity, but not for her fault.

Everything was falling into place - even the tears, restrained for who knows how many decades, were now falling freely into the sand, each one telling a fragment of a story that no one dared to mention, no one dared to put all pieces together.

Phone in hand, the message crumbled into the hands, trembling fingers dialing her number, finally she answered. It was hard to not cry, but obviously the voice was muffled by all the feelings once bottled, now set free as if the feelings themselves were occupying the place of that message, that stupid thing that triggered the final domino of a whole life of self-illusion.

- "I cannot kill her, honey. I can't. I can't kill the woman inside of me...."

I think my main criticism are the upgrades. They change waay too little of the game. Sometimes, things that takes a lot of charm notches make your attack like, 20% more powerful... which is fine, but at the same time, it's too little to feel any difference

It's a good game, and I understand this balance is tricky, but it feels kinda frustrating...