Villain?

The patter of rain drips around him as he crouches, hidden in a dark corner in a dark alley. He hears the splash of footsteps drawing near and stiffens, wondering if this is the one he’s been waiting for. An unmistakable cough echoes through the alley, and the man in shadow stands up. He glides silently after his nemesis as the other jogs heavily along the empty road, before slowing to a stop. He waited as the man from the shadows comes to a silent halt behind him before turning.

“Still following me, then?” He asks with a chuckle. The silent man gives a brief nod.

“I don’t trust you. I know you are up to something. I’m going to find out what.” He says in a deep, gruff voice. His counterpart nods.

“Of course, Shadow-man. I wouldn’t expect anything less from a superhero. But I’ve told you, I’m no longer a supervillain. I’m just Alan Pierce now, no more Shadow. For good.” Shadow says, his voice considerably higher than Cloud-man’s.

“I don’t believe that.” The hero says, and the ex-villain shakes his head with a sigh.

“Look, Tom—can I call you Tom?—I’m done with my evil ways. I just want to raise my kids in peace. Please, you owe me that.”

“I owe you NOTHING!” Cloud-man snaps. Again, Shadow sighs.

“Okay. But you will see. Eventually.” He turns on his heel and resumes his jog back to the nice two-story house the hero knows is waiting for him, with three kids at the table eating a warm meal cooked by their beautiful mother. But Cloud-man couldn’t accept that Shadow was leaving in peace. It was too easy. He just…left. So Cloud-man stalked off, pulling his dark jacket tighter around him to fend off the icy cold wind and biting rain.

Three weeks passed, with Shadow occupying all of Cloud-man’s thoughts. He’d been spying constantly on his arch-nemesis, always watching what they did and where they went, whether that be volunteering at a pet-shop, adopting stray cats and kittens, taking his kids to the park, or going into school after a long day of working at Bunnings, to talk to his son’s teacher about grades. One day, a drizzly Tuesday, Cloud-man followed his enemy through the backdoor of a new and neat building, thinking that this dodgy entering was proof of illegal activity. A small brunette girl in a nurse’s outfit welcomed Shadow in, Cloud-man used his powers and dissolved into mist, entering through the cracks in the door. Still in mist form, he followed Shadow and the young nurse through hallways upon hallways of what looked like a hospital. A…children’s hospital. Shadow begins talking to a woman at a desk of a doctor’s office. The doctor came in a second later, a small older man with a small grin that Cloud-man immediately distrusted.

“Ah! Alan, good to see you again so soon. You’ll have another delivery then?” He asks. Cloud-man could see his nametag read DR. GEOFFREY MILLIGAN. Shadow grins at Dr. Milligan and nods, holding out the briefcase he’d been carrying.

“All of it.” He says with a quirky grin. Milligan opens the case to reveal money, tens upon thousands of dollars in it. “I’ve been saving up for years. Every pay check, I would take out one to two hundred dollars and put it aside. Hopefully you can get some new gear and heal the kids.” The doctor and nurses all give him happy smiles and nods.

“Of course, Alan. The last two thousand dollars you donated above and beyond. The piece of machinery we bought with it has helped some of the kids tremendously. You remember Jackson?” He waits for Shadow to nod. “Healed! Going home next Friday. With this, we’ll be able to cure Cancer within a month.” He gives a little laugh, shaking his head at the money. Shadow cocks his head a little and laughs awkwardly, rubbing his neck.

“You know…always good to help…it’s nothing…” he mumbles, a light blush heating his cheeks.

“Ah come off it, Alan! You’re a good bloke. I’ve not seen any o’ those so called ‘superheroes’ come in here and donate money or cheer up sick kids, yet here you are!” Milligan gestures to Shadow. A thought of doubt crosses Cloud-man’s mind as he hears this. No, he hadn’t donated money to children’s hospitals, or volunteered to help dirty animals, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t a superhero. Right? And…Shadow…was evil. Right? He’d killed Tracey and Llowen, Cloud-man’s sister and brother-in-law, even if he did say…did say it was…an accident…He’d killed Tracey and Llowen, had burnt that shop…with asbestos walls…he washed puppies…and adopted kittens…he…he wasn’t evil at all, was he? But if he wasn’t evil, then why was Cloud-man fighting him? What was Cloud-man doing, fending off good, unless he was…Evil. But only villains were evil…puppies…kittens…sick kids……Was…Was Cloud-man a villain?