I was attending a concert, not realising it was a trap by my enemy. Everything happened so fast. Everyone was bound, gagged and blindfolded. I tried to step in and stop the madness, but before I could do ANYTHING, I was being subdued by his henchmen.

The bonds are too strong to break, and without being able to see, my powers of particle manipulation are useless; I can't focus and concentrate. I can't speak either, thanks to the gag placed on me. I hear my nemesis pacing, muttering. "Now I have the hostages, the next step is to lure the hero here. Get him to show who he really is."

NO! THAT'S WHAT HE WANTS? But... HE'S TALKING ABOUT ME! I start to stand up, when I hear a gun being cocked. "Sit the fuck down or you die!"

I oblige. I'm no use to the innocents if I'm dead. I need to somehow... just... somehow tell him...

"What do we do with the hostages if the hero doesn't show?" a different henchman asks.

My nemesis speaks once more. "Kill them and expose to the world he'd rather keep his identity a secret than fulfil his duty. I'm not happy to do it, especially since it'll be messy, but..."

I attempt to protest, terrified that he'll actually kill them. A faint mumbling comes out. I feel a knife to my throat. "Behave yourself! Or I'll cut you right now!"

I shake my head. I have to convince him... somehow... "Oh, you don't want to listen? Fine then!"

"ENOUGH! What did I just say? We're not killing ANYONE for the SAKE of it!"

"But, boss..."

"Listen, if the threat of death isn't enough to get him to shut up, then maybe whatever he has to say is IMPORTANT. Remove the gag, see what he has to say."

YES! I succeeded! Well, at least in the communication department... now to convince him of who I am... I feel the cloth being taken off and I waste no time. "You already HAVE the hero's identity! I'm right here!"

Everything, even the WIND, goes silent. My blindfold is also removed. My nemesis, Stormwind, is standing right in front of me. "Really now? You're not just trying to protect the hero?"

"If you stand back, I can prove it!" I silently plead for him to give me a chance.

He sighs. "Very well. MEN! Make some room." A big area is cleared out. I focus and concentrate my powers, until I've created a small pocket of air. I condense the inside to water, before releasing it, leaving a puddle on the floor.

"So... you are Energiser... and even better, I have you as a captive!" Stormwind laughs, as do his henchmen. He gathers himself. "Fan of my band?"

"YOUR band? YOU manage The Whirlwinds? Actually, that makes a lot of sense all of a sudden..." I quietly beat myself up for not realising sooner.

Stormwind walks back over, kneels down, and lifts my chin up with a finger to look me right in the eyes. "Almost no-one makes the connection. Don't think you're an idiot for not knowing. Now, here's the deal: thousands of people LOVE my band. It's beneficial to me in several ways - it's my source of money from the ridiculous prices I charge, it allows me to monitor people... and I can always capture people. I take it you won't do anything stupid or reckless?"

I narrow my eyes. "And what do you plan to do, with me out of your way?" I never COULD figure out his plan, I just knew he'd commit murders and some shady practices.

"I pretty much dominate the black market. It was all going swimmingly... then YOU came along. All I want is my little capital empire back. Tell you what, I kind of like you. Be a good boy for me and I'll give you exclusive VIP access to all the band's performances and showings."

I wouldn't risk unnecessary harm to the civilians by going against him, but I must admit, I'm fanboying so hard inside. I need to know one more thing... "Does the band work FOR you, or WITH you?"

"With. It's a group of guys I found having a hard time making it big. I know what you're thinking, but I assure you, supporting the band isn't supporting me. They just help me make some legitimate cash. So?" Stormwind grins at me.

I curse myself for what I'm about to do. Not that I have much choice, but he knows he has me backed into a corner, I just feel like I'm playing into his hand. "Alright, deal. But not because of the band."

"I know. You've always been the type to put others first. I just wanted to ensure you'd want to be my prisoner." He ruffles my hair before putting the blindfold back on me. "Release the hostages! We've got our man!"

___________________________________________________________________________________________________

This is the first entry in my new series, Black Market Trading. Please check it out!

"Trapped with My Enemy"

​

Trapped with my enemy, in a game of cat and mouse

The hostages held tight, in this tense and deadly house

My powers I must hide, my secret kept secure

But how to save them all, when I am one of the lure

​

I bide my time and wait, for the moment to be right

To strike and take him down, with all my strength and might

But with every passing minute, my heart races fast

Will I be able to save them, or will this be my last

​

But I am more than just a hero, I am a symbol of hope

I will not let these innocent lives, be sacrificed on a rope

I will find a way, to turn the tables around

And bring my enemy to justice, without making a sound

​

With courage in my heart, and my powers at the ready

I make my move, and take down my enemy steady

The hostages are freed, and my secret stays safe

But most importantly, justice has been served, in this deadly race.

“Hear me now, Gemini! I call to you your heroics, if you are truly a hero!”

Ugh, he spoke like a self-righteous priest. Which to be fair, he was. Choir, a cute name for such a pain. Edward Grace was his real name, once a infamous local singer before it was revealed that he was laundering money for the charities he helped support. To save his skin, he decided the best course of action was dig deeper into infamy by taking up Enhancement gear that moved his voice to booming levels. And here I was, behind him with seven other rope-tied cheerleaders that shivered in fear. We were all practicing on the football field when Choir and a goon ambushed us. Now, the goon followed his movements with a shoulder camera as Choir spoke into the mic, relaying the situation to the Mosmol news stations.

“Hark, Gemini. Would you sacrifice your greatest secret I. order to save these poor victims, these children, the-“

“Yeah man, we get it. We’re some good old damsels in distress. Could you please stop with the bad poetry to save my ears?

Choir and I swerved at the voice, him with a air of annoyance and mine with a hidden grimace. The voice came from the captain of the cheerleader squad, good old Rachael Way. She blew a strand of blond hair from her face and struggled to move her hand to presumably scratch her nose. “Like, there is more normal ways to get a Super to come for you. No need to make us suffer anymore than we need to.”

Choir stepped toward her and squatted, his voice soft yet sinister. “Is there anything else you want to say, kid?”

“Yeah, hope you get your face bashed”. Rachael heft a small amount of spittle at the man’s face, leaving a small mark on the mask that Choir wore. With a growl, Choir grabbed Rachael and tore her away from the rest of the group, sending up a shrill of panic from my friends. Choir took her to the camera, placing a hand to Racheal and holding her yellow top tight by the tag.

“Are you willing to let me hurt this young woman in exchange for your secret? Reveal your identity, or she’ll get her wish of never hearing my poetry again!”, Choir said menacingly. I bit my lip in anger, but there was nothing I could do. No costume, no space to pull heat from, no hands to control it. I needed another hero, but no way any of them could get here so quick-.

“Stop this madness, Choir!” a terribly fake deep voice spoke from behind us all. I turned my head as best I could and my heart stopped with it. There in my peripheral vision stood a dark-skinned teen boy with a silver helmet, black visor, and the dorkiest green vest I had ever seen.

“Oh, March. Weird to see you as the hostage this time,” a voice rang in my head. I rolled my eyes as I activated the small earpiece in my inner ear.

“You will never hold me up to this, Marcus, especially with the costume that you’re wearing”, I silently spoke back.

“Hey, I had a Saiyaman cosplay from last Comic-Com. It works for Chime, ok?”

“Sure thing, man. Now get me out of these damn ropes.”

Marcus nodded with a smile, exclaiming “Do you hear me, Choir?!”

Choir turned toward his cameraman with a look of annoyance once more and threw Rachael to the ground. With a yell, he let out a roaring YES from his mask, the sound waves enough to shake the ground below my feet. Marcus charged as he raised his hands high and released an equal blast of noise, countering the blast as he neared me and the rest of the hostages. With a slam against the ground, he sent shock waves rocketing toward Choir that sent a flood of turf flying forward. Choir crouched and jumped back, his Enhancement braces leaping him out of range. Marcus knelt next to me as he cut the ropes with a blade. With a little sleight of hand, he handed me the Transformation Brace containing my costume.

“You ready to get this guy?”, Marcus asked in my mind. A sly smile grew on my face as I replied to him, “Without question, Chime”. As the rest of my peers stood up, Choir growled loudly, enough for me to hear the nasal from 15 meters away. With another roar, he sent out a blast that made the waves of sound shimmer like mirages.

“Get out of here!” Marcus yelled as he countered once more, the distortion echoing across the field. As the rest of the cheerleader squad ran, I grabbed Racheal and dragged her up as we began following the rest of the group.

“You are insane, girl. Do you really think that Gemini would come that quickly?”, I asked as we sprinted away from the battle”.

“I just hated that guy’s deal. He spoke like an ancient poet with that weird “invocation” of his”.

I laughed silently as we crossed the fence to the football field. With a yell, I saw Marcus fly over me and slam into the hilltop next to us. Racheal ran faster as I faintly trailed behind and finally turned away. Running away to hide behind the bleachers, I whipped the Transformation bracelet around my hand and clenched it tightly. As the mesh of my outfit unfolded around me, I took a deep breath as ice crystals covered my hands. With the taste of metal apparent around me, I sent heat erupting around my body, leaping me over the bleachers with ease as the sudden change in temperature moved the air around me . I saw Marcus attempting to fight off Choir with one Enhancement fist shattered to the side. As Choir readied a roar, I let out a storm of sleet at his body. Colliding with the crack of broken ice, Choir stumbled and leapt back off-kilter. As he landed on the football field with a growl, I boosted myself toward Marcus and heaved him up. With a hand on his shoulder, he glanced down at his broken Enhancement fist.

“I’m guessing you smashed it when he smashed you into the grass?” I remarked as I watched Choir carefully, his heaves a sign of tension as he attempted to stand up.

“Yeah, and that one took 5 hours to make.”

“Oof, you made that one when I was with you studying, weren’t I? That was my favorite one too.”

“Unfortunate. Oh well, maybe next time I’ll make it quicker”.

“You still want to make him pay for it though?”, I asked as I readied a growing ball of flame in one hand and the other expanding shards of ice.

“Without question, Gemini”, Marcus said with a smirk as Choir finally stood up. I cooled the air around me as I sent the fireball at my feet. The pressure pushed toward Choir as Marcus ran with a single fist aimed with distortion at the villain’s chest. As I sent the now-dense shards at Choir’s head, I yelled to him, “Hey, Grace, you regret calling me now?!”

Title: If I Could Turn Back Time

It wasn’t as if Larkspur had never taken hostages before. It wasn’t even the first time he’d taken hostages to force heroes to listen to his demands. But Megan wasn’t quite sure how she felt about it this time. Larkspur’s henchmen, the Deadly Nightshades were going around making sure the civilians were tied up properly. “Not too tight, is it ma’am?”

Megan blinked and shook her head. “Uh, no. It’s fine, thank you.”

The elderly man next to her scoffed.“Back in *my* day it wouldn’t have mattered if us normies were comfortable.” The henchman shrugged.

“I prefer things under the Union. Means I’m not going to get killed for some stupid reason.”

Megan nodded in agreement as he finished making sure the zip ties weren’t cutting off her circulation. “Thanks to the Union and the Council, civilian casualties have dropped to almost nothing, and even the Supers aren’t injured nearly as often.”

“Bah, it just means anyone can get into the fighting now. When I was young the Supers had *drive*, ambition! They weren’t just messing around in some glorified what’sit, chess game.”

Megan resisted the urge to roll her eyes. There were always some people who missed the so called ‘glory days’ of Super Fights; the destruction of billions of dollars worth of property, countless bystanders reduced to numbers on a casualty list, blood feuds between heroes and villains that rivaled the death toll of the Hatfields and McCoys.

She cleared her throat and turned to the Henchman. “Sorry to bother you but, what exactly is his goal this time?”

“Oh, he’s demanding Terra Firma reveal her secret identity.”

Her heart dropped to her ankles and she felt like she’d been punched in the stomach.“What, why?!” She swallowed and cleared her throat. “I mean, that’s against Council regulations, even the Union frowns on that kind of thing, he has so much to lose here…”

The Nightshade shrugged again.“He doesn’t tell us those kinds of things ma’am. I need to get back to work, if you need water or the restroom you can call one of us over.” The large black clad man walked back over to where the other Nightshades were making sure their communications were synched as Larkspur paced along the carpeted aisle.

The old man next to her snorted. “Idiot. You don’t ask, you act like you already know, lure them out and then bam! De-mask ‘em in one on one combat.” Megan looked at him, frowning slightly.

“De-masking an opponent is considered almost tantamount to a crippling injury, considering that means they need to go into hiding.” From the Super who’d revealed their identity, other Supers who might take advantage, the civilian media, vigilantes with ideas of revenge. For some older Supers it was practically forced retirement.

“Well you don’t do it in front of other people.” The man glared at her, dark blue eyes sharp in the wizened face. “It’s not a public victory, it’s a private one. You know your opponent now, can know them inside and out. It’s more intimate than sex.” He grunted and stretched out his leg, bound hands rubbing at where a prosthetic was attached. “You know ‘em in a way no one else does. Not even their sidekick, or closest normie friend.”

That…was not a way she’d thought about it before. Terra Firma and Larkspur had clashed hundreds of times over the few years they’d been in the same city. Earth powers and Plant control. There had been a few…interesting encounters. Dangling from vines with her costume torn from the battle, Larkspur bound in stone manacles, armor broken to reveal the column of his throat and the top of his chest. Tense moments where they were bare inches apart…Megan shook her head rapidly to dispel the thoughts hoping no one nearby was a telepath.

The old man ignored her and continued. “That’s why he’s an idiot. He’s practically admitting he’s too scared to do it himself. Giving them both an out by using hostages.” He turned to the side, looking like he might spit, then stopped himself and settled for clicking his tongue. “Supers these days.”

She realized it was true. If Terra Firma refused, then Larkspur could cite Union regulations and release the hostages, with only a bit of humiliation. Terra Firma could cite Council mandates and point to the use of hostages as foul play to avoid censure for failing to comply to save them. Megan’s frown deepened. What would she have done, if she wasn’t one of the hostages?

Larkspur’s silken voice, demanding her identity, the camera panning over the hostages, and the henchmen waiting for orders. She would have…come to beat the shit out of him.

“Oh my god, he *is* an idiot…”

The elderly man barked a laugh. “Just now figuring that out, are you?”

“I didn’t think Super Villains *could* be.” She raised her bound hands, and her voice. “Excuse me? I need to use the toilet.” One of the henchmen broke away from the group to come escort her.

“Of course they can. No one’s a genius when it comes to love.” The old man’s sudden shift in tone brought her attention back to him, but he was staring out the window, and the Nightshade was next to her, undoing the ties on her feet so she could walk.

<lb>

Henry used the reflection to watch the love of his life follow the Shade out to the hall. He’d never seen her in the delivery uniform before, it was cute. Absolutely hideous as all food service uniforms were, but she looked good in anything. He looked at his younger self, and since his darling wasn’t here to scold him, spat on the floor. He’d been such a damn moron. No wonder it had taken her so long to realize he was ass over teakettle for her.

<lb>

Megan braced herself on the kitchen counter as new memories bloomed behind her eyelids. Fighting Larkspur at the hotel, instead of calling him out to the park nearby. Memories of more fights, kisses, and dates flashed by. There were rattles and thumps, clinks and chiming as things in the house changed. She glared at the wedding ring on her wrinkled hand and turned off the stove. “That stupid old goat!”

She shuffled to the entryway and pulled on her housecoat, sliding into her outdoor slippers. The door to the garage was ajar and she couldn’t help sighing.

“Letting the cold air in again.” hopefully the cat hadn’t got out, or Henry was going to complain about having fur all over his tools. Never mind that he’d retired twenty years back, same as she had. The low hum of electricity confirmed her suspicions and there was a flash of violet and green light as she padded into the garage, careful not to knock against her husband’s work bench.

He was sitting in a half capsule shaped machine, covered in… “Is that cement dust?” She watched him jerk slightly, looking at her like a guilty boy caught coming home after curfew.

“Nothing serious dearheart-”

“Don’t you dearheart me! You said you were working on an anniversary gift.” She wanted to be angry, but the emotions roiling in her chest were too warm, and fond. “Going back in time to order a pizza delivered-” She huffed and went to help him up, noticing him rubbing at his prosthetic.

His arms wrapped around her and pulled her down onto his lap for a kiss, dark blue eyes twinkling at her.“I think it’s a perfect gift. I got ten extra years of you in my arms, my bed, my life.” He stroked her silver streaked hair. “And I got to watch you kick the shit out of me.”

Megan pouted and poked his chest. “And am I supposed to be pleased you’ve been meddling with the time stream?” She slid her arms around him, holding him tight. “You could’ve unmade yourself, or been killed.”

He scoffed and kissed her cheek.“You think a sprig like Larkspur could’ve killed me? With the brave and beautiful Terra Firma sitting right next to me?”

Megan blushed and tweaked his ear. “It was still dangerous.” She couldn’t help the flutter in her chest as her husband’s expression turned serious, his hold on her tightening in turn.

“It was, but to give you more…more of my time, my love…anything. That was worth all the risk.”

“You’re an idiot.”

“You realized that, about forty odd years ago now.”

“And yet I married you anyway.”

Welcome to the Prompt! All top-level comments must be a story or poem. Reply here for other comments.

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