“Why are you here?” Ethan asked coldly. While the Wukong would like to know how the werewolf girl found him, the reason behind her appearance was the more pressing issue. Ethan had initially forgotten all about the cryptid, but now here she was, in his base despite their less-than-friendly meeting. Ethan felt a sense of foreboding as he stared down the trembling dog.

  “I didn’t have a choice!” she cried out. The lycanthrope tried to crawl backwards but quickly hit a wall. Ethan was glad his hostility was coming through, even with his mask. This was the first time he talked to someone after the damage it took from the bank heist and Ethan idly wondered if the repairs were obvious or not.

  “There’s this guy that's been chasing me for the past few days!” she continued. “Every time I manage to get away, he somehow finds me again!”

  “And while running away, you just happen to find the factory I’m using as a base?” Ethan glared at the creature, not threatening her just yet, but he didn’t put down his staff. The wolf-girl’s mussel twisted into a facsimile of a grimace as she lowered herself to the ground in submission.

  “I know you didn’t want me to get in your way…” she said weakly. “So, I made sure to memorize your scent so I could avoid you. I didn’t want to risk running into you again and getting you angry. And you’ve been all over town for the past month, so I was worried…”

  “Uh-huh,” Ethan replied skeptically. Something about the werewolf’s story didn’t add up, though Ethan couldn’t put his finger on it. Then again, that might be his frayed nerves talking. “Let’s say I believe you. That still doesn't explain why you decided to run into my hideout. Did you think I’d protect you from whoever is after you? Even though I told you I’m not a Hero?”

  “I mean…” the girl responded lamely. “I had hoped…” Ethan said nothing and stared at the downtrodden dog for a few seconds. Eventually, the silence pushed the girl to plead her case.

  “I’m desperate!” she screamed. “This guy’s been hunting me for almost a week now! I’ve managed to shake him off for now, but every night he seems to be getting closer to catching me!”

  “How is he finding you?” Ethan asked. His irritation and being asked for help were pushed aside as more practical concerns flooded his mind. “Is he tracking you?!”

  “No! A-at least… I don’t think so. I sometimes catch him wandering around at night. He’s not, like, checking the ground for tracks or stuff like that, he… moves around with his arms out like he’s blind. Then, somehow, he finds me.”

  “So he’s Gifted,” Ethan summarized with vocal annoyance. “Of course he is.”

  “Hey, I didn’t ask to be hunted by him!” the girl said defensively.

  “And I didn’t ask for a werewolf to break into my hideout!” Ethan shot back. “You want me to start whining about how this isn’t my problem and throw you out?” She let out a very dog-like whimper but said nothing. “What are his powers?”

  “I think he can move things with his mind.”

  “You think?!” Ethan asked incredulously.

  “He only used his powers when he was chasing me!” the girl snapped. “I never stuck around long enough to check out his moves!”

  “Moving things with their mind is usually Telekinesis,” Ethan stated. While he wasn’t planning on helping the werewolf out, it’d be smart to learn about her stalker in case he gets more uninvited guests. “What makes you think he has that?”

  “One time, when I was running away from him, a dumpster suddenly came shooting out of an alley and nearly hit me in the side. I know he didn’t throw it, so telekinesis was my next guess.”

  “That doesn’t explain how he can track you…” Mentally moving objects shouldn’t come with any kind of hunting ability. Then again, all Ethan knew about Telekinesis was what was portrayed in comic books, and applying comic book logic to today’s world was hit or miss. Actually applying any type of logic to the Gifted was almost futile, as there would always be someone who would come around and break established rules.

  There was one possibility that explained this hunter’s abilities. The idea chilled Ethan to the bone, and if he was right, he might just kill the werewolf for possibly bringing them to his doorstep.

  “You said you were being chased by one guy, right?” Ethan spoke calmly with his voice low, not betraying the outrage that boiled within him.

  “Uh, yeah?” The dog looked up at Ethan then tensed up. Whether the villain’s body language gave him away or her werewolf senses were sending her danger signals, the girl could tell something was wrong.

  “Are you sure it was “one guy”?” Ethan asked. He forced the words out through clentched teeth and they turned into a vicious growl.

  “Y-Yes?! I-I don’t know, maybe?! W-Why are you asking?!” the dog-girl was now trembling in fear. She managed to scurry out of the nook she was stuck in, but Ethan was quick to follow her.

  “Because there’s only one person in town that I can think of that would be able to track you down and use telekinesis. And if that’s the case…” Ethan trailed off as a surge of anger overtook him. If he was right and this werewolf was targeted by the Crusaders of all people, then Ethan was in a lot of trouble.

  “Let me ask you something else,” Ethan breathed out. He extended his staff and used it to cut off the werewolf girl’s escape. Ethan stared into the terrified cryptid ‘s eyes and asked his question. “Are you being hunted by The Crusaders? Specifically, the Witching Heiress?”

  Ethan had made it a point to learn all about the local superheroes since it’d be only a matter of time before they met. While he was still low-profile enough to not be bothered by them, they kept making statements on how he should give up vigilantism and join them, which rubbed the villain the wrong way.

  The Witching Heiress, or simply Witchy as her fans call her, was the group's magic user. She was a jack-of-all-trades type of super with an odd collection of spells that make her highly versatile. While her spell list wasn’t public, Ethan could see the mage using magic to track someone down and throw dumpsters at them.

  “Wha-? No!” the wolf girl finally realized why Ethan was getting so upset and what that meant for her. “I-It wasn’t the Crusaders! It was just some guy!”

  “Some guy you aren’t even sure is a guy in the first place!” Ethan hissed.

  “Y-Yeah, but he wasn’t one of the Crusaders! I know what they look like!”

  “So your saying this guy didn’t look like any of them? What did he look like then? And so help, if you say “some guy” again…”

  “A-All I saw was that he wore a white full bodysuit! It covered him from head to toe!”

  “...Is that right?” was all Ethan said as his anger suddenly evaporated. He retracted his taff and turned away from the cowering creature.

  While researching the local heroes, Ethan learned that they were all corporate celebrities above all else. Something Ethan already guessed, but it was nice to get some confirmation. The Crusaders had to keep their faces camera-ready at all times, which meant keeping them clean and not obstructed with any kind of mask or headwear. Witchy was the exception as she wore a witch hat, but that’s only because it fit her brand.

  There was no way the werewolf would miss their pursuer wearing something like that, unless of course the Crusaders were being stealthy about hunting her. That was a possibility but why would they do that? The city loved their Heroes, and the only backlash Ethan could see them receiving from hunting his guest would be getting accused of wasting their time on an obvious small fry. And if that did happen, all it would take was one quick speech about how “no problem was too small”, and the Crusaders would be back to getting worshipped.

  So there was no logical reason for the Crusaders to quietly hunt a werewolf.

  ‘There’s also no logical reason for those corporations not to come after you,’ a voice reminded Ethan. Ethan shook his head to chase off the voice. It was bad enough that the lack of consequences from the company was giving Ethan a metaphorical and now literal headache, but the last thing he needed was to start drowning in paranoia.

  “I’m sorry I broke into your base,” the werewolf suddenly cried. Apparently, his silence had been getting to her. “I was desperate and didn’t have anywhere else to go! I know I can’t just ask this, but… p-please, can you help me?!”

  Whether the girl knew it or not, she chose the perfect time to ask that question. With Ethan’s mind distracted, he couldn’t properly register the request before his body let out an automatic, “Okay.”

  ‘Goddammit!’ Ethan internally shrieked a second later. Horror and rage swirled within him as he realized what he had just done. Agreeing to help someone out of the “kindness of his heart” was something that spineless Ebenezer did, not the villainous Ethan Sun!

  “Really?!” That question was like a sudden light in the darkness. That was Ethan’s way out! All he had to do was tell the werewolf girl that he was joking and then throw her out. No heroics, just getting rid of a pest that broke into his home. Ethan wasn’t supposed to save anyone; that’s not what villains did.

  Ethan turned around to laugh in the girl’s face, but stopped as the two stared at each other.

  Ethan found himself taken aback to the day they first met, specifically after he had scared her off back in Desmond Green’s. He remembered the way the customers looked at him afterwards. The wolf-girl was currently gazing at him the same way, except…

  No, actually, she wasn’t looking at him like those people did; there was a key difference. The way those bystanders stared at Ethan made his skin crawl. They were happy and relieved he was there, but there was also a sense of… expectation in their eyes. It was the same feeling Ebenezer got when his classmates forced him to do their homework. A look that said they fully expected you to bend to their whims no matter how absurd they were.

  Those people looked at Ethan the way you looked at a service worker doing their job. They were grateful to be sure, but as far as they were concerned, Ethan was supposed to save them. It was Ethan’s job, his purpose, to be their hero.

  The very idea infuriated the villain, and it would’ve been enough to snap at the werewolf if she had that same look. But the girl wasn’t looking at him that way.

  The werewolf girl gazed at him with hope, gratitude, and unbridled admiration. Ethan had never seen that look before and wasn’t sure what to do about it. She looked at him like he was… like he was a…

  Ethan turned away. He just had to turn away and not face that look.

  “Y-... C-Can you help me?” Her voice was pure vulnerability. It reminded Ethan of Dream when she asked for help. But while Dream’s voice was tinged with naivete, the werewolf girl’s voice held raw desperation that made it difficult for Ethan to snap at her.

  “Yes,” Ethan said instead, the word was forced out in a bitter bark. It may have been a bit rude, but compared to the atomic F-bomb that just went off in Ethan’s head, it was the height of civility.

  “Thank you so much!” The dog girl was so happy she didn’t register her host’s obvious irritation. Ethan was so furious, he didn’t respond right away; instead, he just walked away while ripping out a chunk of his hair.

  He had recalled all of his clones that were spread throughout the city, except for his two doubles back home. When Ethan started targeting corporations, he felt the network of spy pigeons he created was unnecessary. After tonight, he’ll probably need to reconsider that.

  Lifting his mask, Ethan blew on the strands and allowed them to slip free from his hand and fly away. The strands turned into various birds mid-air, and they continued their flight out the windows of the factory. They didn’t wait for Ethan’s input as they already knew what their creator wanted. They would search the city for this mysterious hunter and report back so Ethan can beat the hell out of him.

  Ethan watched them go, silently stewing in his anger. It was bad enough that he was helping someone again, but the fact that he seemed to be relapsing into his old habits was even worse. Ethan thought he suppressed his inner kindness with his violence training, but that doesn’t seem to be the case. Apparently, that Nice Guy within him wouldn’t die so easily. Ethan would have to think of a new way to deal with his weakness before he became Poppytown’s newest Hero for real.

  “I didn’t know you could make birds,” the werewolf girl said in awe. Ethan’s train of halt came to a screeching stop as he remembered someone else was in the room. And Ethan just showed off some of his powers in front of her.

  ‘Today just keeps getting better and better,’ Ethan mentally facepalmed. So far, Ethan has managed to keep all of his abilities hidden from the public, and he wants it to stay that way. When the people of Poppytown finally realize Ethan’s a villain, he wanted them to have as little knowledge about him as possible. It’d make terrorizing them a lot easier.

  The last thing Ethan needed was to have this werewolf spreading information about him to anyone who would listen. Hopefully she’d keep quiet with a little encouragement.

  “I can do a lot of things,” Ethan said coldly, still not looking at her. “And I’d appreciate it if you kept anything you saw here quiet.”

  “Of course!” the werewolf replied eagerly. “I promise I won’t tell a soul!”

  “Good,” Ethan added, his tone going from cold to freezing. “Because if you did, I’d have to kill you.”

  “W-What?!” the girl faltered as her good mood was replaced with panic and fear. Ethan still didn’t face her, but he could hear the padding of her paws as she slowly moved away from him. “I-Is that really necessary? It’s not like I have anyone to talk to…”

  “Who knows what the future holds?” Ethan responded with a shrug. “I certainly didn’t see myself becoming a supervillain a month ago.”

  “I guess…” the werewolf trailed off. After an awkward moment she suddenly asks; “How’s that going by the way? From what I hear, you're seen more as a Hero than-.” Ethan’s head snapped over to the girl and he pierced her with his gaze. Despite his mask, the werewolf could still feel his glare and cowered further. Now she was lying on the dusty floor, looking like she wanted it to swallow her up.

  With his guest cowed, Ethan turned away and tried to calm himself down. There was no point getting angry at the cryptid when he was the one making all the mistakes. Hopefully, his clones can find her stalker, and he can deal with this mess quickly. Until then, he’d control himself and not murder the wolf-girl.

  “So…” the intruder spoke up again. When she kept trying to talk to him, Ethan had no idea but he didn’t trust himself to speak unless needed. “What are we doing? A-About the guy hunting me, I mean.” Holding back the urge to sigh, Ethan thought up a quick explanation that hid the finer points of his power.

  “Those birds I made are going to go look for that guy you were talking about. When they find him, they’ll tell me, and then I’ll deal with him.”

  “Oh! O-Okay…” She didn’t ask what “deal with him” meant, which was good since Ethan wasn’t sure what it meant either.

  Since he was doing this all on the fly and didn’t know anything about this guy other than his clothes and weird powerset, Ethan didn’t have a plan in place. The best he could come up with at the moment was just beating the guy up, but that felt like a temporary solution. What was to stop the guy from coming back another night and adding Ethan to his hunting list?

  ‘Ugh, there I go again,’ Ethan groaned internally. ‘Putting way too much thought into solving a problem that isn’t my own.’

  “So, do you get the powers from the Monkey King?” the werewolf asked without warning. It sounded like an innocent question, but its sudden appearance and the shock that it sent through Ethan’s system made it akin to having a brick crash through his bedroom window.

  Slowly, Ethan turned back to the dog-girl. She was back to standing upright and was blissfully unaware that her words were making Ethan reconsider killing her.

  “What?” Ethan asked blankly.

  “Well, I know that “blowing on hair to make creatures” thing is something he can do,” the cryptid continued airily. “You also have that golden staff and then there's your whole trickster vibe…” She trailed as she finally realized that Ethan’s silence wasn’t an invitation to keep talking. The wolf girl stared at Ethan, and she began to withdraw herself once more.

  This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

  “Perhaps I wasn’t clear,” Ethan began, letting his annoyance leak out. “I don’t want people knowing what I can do. So whatever theories you come up with… I’d appreciate it if you kept them to yourself.” The wolf girl simply nodded her head, knowing any misspoken words wouldn’t end well for her.

  Ethan turned away again and stomped towards the living room. He plopped down on the couch and tried to ignore his guest and the nasty feeling in his gut.

  Seriously, what was wrong with him? The moment he has the chance to be abrasive, he starts to feel guilty about it? He wasn’t even being that harsh! He just used some unfriendly words and made a simple threat; he wasn’t yelling or trying to hit her at all! All that work to turn himself into a villain, yet the moment he faces some puppy dog eyes, he’s back to square one!

  ‘It’s because she doesn’t deserve it,’ Ethan told himself. ‘The werewolf’s only being an annoyance right now, but that’s only because she’s got nowhere else to go. She doesn’t deserve to be treated like dirt, so you held back.’

  After all the bullshit his classmates put him through, Ethan knew the difference between someone who needed help and someone who was trying to use him. It took him a while to acknowledge Ebenezer’s reality, but it was crystal clear now. The wolf-girl’s distress was real though, so Ebenezer’s kindness felt compelled to help her.

  But that still posed a problem; Ethan Sun shouldn’t be helping anyone. A real supervillain doesn’t help people, regardless if they actually need the help or not. What Ethan should have done was throw the werewolf out the moment she came begging for his help. His days of thankless charity should be over.

  But it wasn’t. Here, Ethan was caving into a stray dog with a sob story while Ebenezer was locked up and forced to continue his slave labor. Nothing had changed! The only difference was that now Ethan was twice the loser since he couldn’t stop being helpful, no matter what persona he was in.

  “Boss!” a voice echoed in Ethan’s head. “We found him!” A vision appeared in Ethan’s mind of a man wandering the streets at night. Like the werewolf girl said, he wore a completely white body suit that completely covered him from head to toe. She left out the boots and utility belt the guy wore, making him look like Deadpool if accidentally bleached his costume.

  Ethan watched as the man held out his arms like he was wandering around a pitch black room. He still had no idea what the guy was doing, but the way he just shambled about like a tourist with a bad map made Ethan realize he didn’t know where the werewolf was.

  ‘Well, that’s a relief,’ the villain thought sardonically. Whoever this guy was, he wasn’t finding his hideout anytime soon, which was good for Ethan. The news might’ve been enough to elevate his mood, but after the existential crisis Ethan found himself in, it didn’t help. Luckily, he just found something else to relieve his stress.

  “Where is this?” he asked his clones.

  “Just outside the industrial district,” one of them answered. That was closer to his base than Ethan liked, but it should be fine so long as he chased the hunter away right now.

  “Stay here,” Ethan told the werewolf as he got up from the coach.

  “W-Where are you going?” she asked hesitantly.

  “They found your stalker,” Ethan explained as he walked to the back door. “Time to go deal with him.” Ethan made sure the door was fully closed before he shapeshifted into a bird. It was bad enough that the wolf girl saw his clones and guessed his power source; she didn’t need to see more of his abilities.

  The villain soared through the night sky as he headed straight for the hunter. Ethan still didn’t have much of a plan, but right now he just wanted to hurt someone. He found the guy still ambling around the edge of the district, his trek was interrupted as he kept dawdling into alleyways searching for his elusive werewolf.

  Ethan flew right above the man’s head, shifted back into his human form, and fell onto the stalker with a staff ready to strike. The guy didn’t so much as flinch as the villain plummeted toward him. But the second Ethan was about to strike, the man suddenly lunged forward, narrowly avoiding the surprise attack. Ethan’s staff slammed into the concrete instead, making a significant crater.

  The failed strike sent a jolt of pain up Ethan’s legs as they hit the ground. Despite the unexpected injury, Ethan kept himself from crying out. Instead, he let the suffering feed his anger, because now this asshole wasn’t just bringing trouble to Ethan’s doorstep, but he was also making the wukong hurt himself.

  “What the Hell?!” the man in white exclaimed as he jumped to his feet. He whirled to face his attacker with his arms raised in a fighting stance that was similar to a boxer's. However, instead of closed fists, the hunter had his hands open with his palms facing his attacker.

  “Who are-?! Ethan Sun?!” The man jerked his head backwards, and Ethan could see the pure shock through his mask. He lowered his hands slightly as he stared at his opponent in bewilderment. Usually at this point, Ethan would start up a witty banter to mess with his opponent, but right now, Ethan wasn’t in the mood.

  The villain rushed forward, raising his staff and aiming for the other guy’s head again.

  “Whoa, whoa, whoa!” the hunter screamed in panic. He backed up and threw his arms over his head in a poor attempt at defence. Ethan didn’t change course, certain he could bash in the man’s skull if he put in enough force. But when the boy swung, a trash can lid suddenly flew out of nowhere and intercepted the attack. The unexpected clang that came from the staff striking the lid made Ethan flinch backwards as the metal disc flew off to the side.

  “What was that for?!” the hunter asked, holding out his hands like someone who just got shoved in the school hallway. Ethan still didn’t respond; instead, he moved forward with a careful yet determined gait. The man in white responded by waving his arms around, and a dumpster suddenly dragged itself to stand in between the two of them.

  “Whatever is going on, can’t we talk this out?!” Ethan still didn’t respond as he started walking around the dumpster to get to his target. Naturally, the hunter did the same thing, and moving the dumpster along with him to make sure its back always faced the Wukong. Ethan had half a mind to jump over the obstacle, but he still didn’t know the full extent of this Gifted’s powers so he had to be cautious.

  “Look, I get it,” the hunter suddenly said as he and Ethan continued to walk around the spinning dumpster. “You don’t want more competition when you already have to contend with The Crusaders. I get it. But this is a big town, and The Crusaders are more interested in brand deals than getting their hands dirty! I’m not even planning on staying in Poppytown that long! I just need time to build up my name, and then I’ll move on to bigger things and be out of your hair!”

  “What the fuck are you talking about?” Ethan finally asked and he stopped moving to glare at other guy. The villain already had an idea what this Hunter was getting on about. A Gifted roaming around town in costume can only be one of two things.

  “I’m talking about being a Hero!” the man exclaimed, laughing like Ethan had just cracked a joke. He was clearly trying to ease the remaining tension, but Ethan wasn’t willing to calm down. If anything, he got more annoyed as the Hunter’s laugh reminded him of one of his more hated enemies.

  “It’s not easy being a self-made Hero,” the stalker continued. “Especially in a place like this. I was planning on moving to a different city before starting my Hero career. But then you showed up and changed the game!”

  “What?” Ethan asked blankly. He stared at the hunter in wide-eyed horror. He wasn’t being serious, was he? Because that’d be the last thing Ethan needed. To start inspiring people to become Heroes.

  “Yeah!” the other guy exclaimed. He perked up over Ethan’s lack of hostility and talked more animatedly. “Last month, these people hated Gifted. Not without reason, of course, the number of bad guys that show up in town is insane! But then you show up and get welcomed with open arms! But of course, why wouldn’t they? You're not after fame or glory, you just show up, save the day, and leave when the job’s done. Your focus is on the good work you do, and people respect you for it! It’s bold, daring, and inspiring! It made me want to be just like you!”

  “Is that right?” Ethan asked, his voice rasping as he held back the urge to scream. It was only through his willpower that Ethan didn’t go berserk again and try to seriously kill this guy. Thankfully, his desire to be a precise Agent of Vengeance was stronger than his desire to maim this would-be Hero, and by restraining his body, Ethan was able to realize a few things.

  As Ebenezer, the wukong became all too familiar with the way people would try to butter him up before using him. He was still helpless to do anything about it, but at least he knew not to expect anything good from those people. The hunter was a smooth talker, but Ethan saw his speech for the ass-kissing that it was. It helped that his words kept contradicting each other. Call Ethan a purist, but he felt you couldn’t praise someone for their altruism while also treating Heroics like a job without being a two-faced snake.

  But like every good lie, there were bits of truth mixed in. The white-clad jerk claimed to be prancing about as a result of Ethan’s reception, and the wukong had no reason to doubt him. The real question was whether the people would link this newcomer’s appearance with Ethan. Maybe not at first, but Ethan could easily see this punk try to use the wukong’s reputation to propel him forward, especially if it made the public accept him sooner rather than later. And if that happened, then every heroic action performed by this joker would be attributed to the “Hero” that inspired him.

  “Hey!” the hunter exclaimed suddenly, breaking Ethan out of his downard spiral. “I’ve got a great idea!” At this point, their little dance around the dumpster had come to an end, and the white-suited “Hero” decided it was safe to approach the villain. Ethan still hadn’t moved, the unwanted news making anger and terror run rampant within the boy’s body and freezing him in place. “We should team up!”

  “Huh?” Ethan managed to shakily turn his head to stare at the masked man.

  “Yeah, I’m working on a case, and if we worked together on it, it’d help us both out!” He leaned in as if to whisper a dirty secret into the wukong’s ear. Ethan briefly noticed that the two of them were relatively the same height, but focused more on the other man’s words. “See, there have been a couple of grizzly murders happening outside of town, with each murder happening closer and closer to Poppytown, almost as if a monster was making its way here!”

  This was the first time Ethan had heard of this. Granted, Ethan only watched the news to check on his reputation and seeing if his crimes had finally been recognized for what they were. Any stories about monster attacks he ignored because they weren’t his problem. That seemed to be changing as Ethan could guess where this hunter was going with his story.

  “There’s this dog that looks like a golden retriever, but it’s not!” His voice took on a smug tone that made Ethan want to go back to trying to hurt him. The wukong held himself back as he felt he needed to hear this. “I saw it transform one night. Into a hulking yellow beast! It's a werewolf!”

  “And you're sure it’s the monster that’s responsible for those murders?” Ethan asked, though he didn’t know why. Maybe he wanted to make sure his guest wasn’t a murderer. Not that he thought she was, given how they first met when she tried to rob a farmer’s market.

  “It’s got to be!” the hunter replied with the confidence of a used car salesman. “And even if it isn’t, so what? The people will love us for driving out a monster, regardless of what it’s done or hasn’t done. You should know better than me.” He gave Ethan a conspiratorial nudge with his elbow.

  So he didn’t know whether the werewolf in Ethan’s base was a killer or not. This guy was just an opportunist after fame and glory. The more the hunter talked, the less Ethan liked him, and he had already wanted to hurt this guy before. With that reminder, Ethan decided to stop messing around and get back to business.

  “Not a bad idea,” the villain replied as he gripped his staff. “But there’s one problem.”

  “What’s that?” the wannabe Hero asked.

  “I’m not here for a team-up.” Ethan swung his staff and nailed the punk in his side. The guy cried out as he tumbled away from his attacker.

  The man was quick to recover. The second he got up to his knees, the hunter made a “come here” motion with his hands. Acting on instinct, Ethan leaped upwards, narrowly avoiding the dumpster as it barreled forward where the villain had stood seconds ago. Ethan managed to avoid the surprise attack, but his enemy had his makeshift wall up again.

  “You son of a bitch!” the hunter cried out indignantly. He carefully peeked out over the top of the trash bin to glare at the wukong. Ethan wasn’t going to let him hide again, so he shrank his staff down to the size of a pen and sent it skipping underneath the dumpster. The second his weapon was underneath the barrier, Ethan forced his staff to expand to the size of a tree.

  The sudden and unstoppable explosion of growth sent the dumpster shooting upwards as a golden pillar appeared beneath it.

  “What the fuck?!” the hunter exclaimed as he watched his cover disappear into the night sky. Ethan rushed forward, shrinking his staff back down to its normal size and ready to be wielded in battle again. The wannabe Hero’s head snapped towards Ethan, and he quickly lunged forward, meeting the villain halfway right as he reached his staff.

  The two men grabbed the golden rod and quickly entered a stalemate as they both tried to pry the weapon out of each other’s grasp. Ethan should’ve been able to wrench his staff out of the hunter’s hands or shrink it out of his grasp… but he couldn’t. Ethan tried to get his staff to change shape, but nothing happened. For the first time since gaining his weapon, Ethan’s staff refused to shift.

  The reason why was obvious, but Ethan wasn’t sure what to do about it. Through their connection, the wukong could feel a force spread throughout his staff. That must’ve been what was blocking Ethan’s commands, and the villain could guess the source. This was the Hunter’s power; and whatever it was, it sure as hell wasn’t Telekinesis. Ethan tried to force the influence out of his weapon, but he could only remove a little of it before once again losing control.

  “You’re making a mistake!” the wannabe Hero exclaimed. Ethan tried to jerk out his staff from the other guy’s hands, but the weapon wouldn’t even budge. Ethan doubted the Hunter was stronger than him; was his power holding it in place?

  “I can help you! Together we can drive the Crusaders out of town and own this city!”

  “Are you a Hero or a Villain?” Ethan asked as he continued to struggle. Ethan wondered if all he had to do to free his weapon was to put some more effort into ripping it away from the Hero. The villain quickly dismissed the idea because he doubted it’d be that simple. Plus, now that Ethan couldn’t mold the staff the way he usually did, there was the very real possibility he could damage it if he tried to use brute force. Then again, Uncle Sunny snapped off the end of his staff without hesitation, and it didn’t seem to be damaged.

  ‘Can I do the same thing?’ Ethan wondered. The villain focused on his staff and tried again to take control. Again, he could only reclaim a small bit of authority over his weapon, and the Hunter was quick to regain control. This time, Ethan gave a new command to his staff to break away from the rest of the weapon. The wukong wasn’t sure if this would work or not, but he didn’t have time to properly think it over.

  With one swift tug, Ethan found himself stumbling backward, a golden stick in his hand the size of a shampoo bottle. The hunter looked at Ethan in shock and then glanced at the two pieces of staff in his hands. Before he could say anything, Ethan went back on the attack. His staff elongated like usual, and it was back to its usual size, striking the Hunter’s knee.

  The Hero screamed in pain before falling to the ground. He dropped the golden sticks in his hands, and the moment he let go of them, Ethan could feel his connection with the pieces be reestablished. With a thought, the other parts of his staff tumbled towards him and reattached themselves to the piece in Ethan’s hand. A second later, the three pieces connected, and Ethan’s staff was whole, like nothing ever happened.

  ‘I have got to use this later,’ Ethan thought, slightly giddy over a new use for his weapon.

  “So that’s how it is!” the hunter grunted as he got to his feet. “You get a little bit of fame and suddenly you're a big shot who can do whatever the hell he wants!”

  ‘Now he’s trying to guilt-trip me.’ Ethan surmised. Every word this Gifted used was meant for manipulation. Now that Ethan had made it clear he wouldn’t work with the guy, he was switching tactics and trying to get him out of the way. And after Ethan smacks him down again, he’ll probably resort to throwing a smear campaign to ruin his reputation.

  ‘Hang on… I can use that!’ Ethan felt a smile spread across his face as the idea took hold. Having someone constantly try to taint his name was just what he needed right now! Even if people believed with all their hearts that Ethan Sun was a hero, having someone constantly saying otherwise was sure to corrode that belief over time.

  Whether this “Hero” knew it or not, he would be helping Ethan, just not in the way he thought. Now all Ethan had to do was goad him into doing it.

  “Oh, quit your whining,” Ethan sneered. “You said so yourself. It's a dog-eat-dog world, why would I welcome competition?”

  “Because we’re both small-time!” the guy shrieked in indignation. “We can’t stand against the Crusaders on our own!”

  “Really?” Ethan asked with a cocky tilt of his head. “Because I’ve been doing fine on my own so far.”

  “So far,” the hero wannabe sneered. “Eventually you’ll plateau and the people will only see you a second-rate chump to the real Heroes in town.”

  “And according to you, the only way to do that is by driving all the other guys out of town. Why not start with you since your right here.”

  “Are you fucking kidding me?!” the white-clad punk growled as he rose to his feet. “So instead of working together to take out the big fish who hog all the glory, you’d rather take out a small fry for more scraps?!” Once he was on his feet, the other “Hero” glared at Ethan.

  “You know the old saying,” Ethan shrugged. “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Ethan suddenly felt the urge to laugh at himself. He personally hated that saying for how small-minded it was, but it was perfect for the trick he was pulling. “I’ve already built myself up to a comfortable situation, and what your offering is too risky for my liking. Why should I get rid of a sure thing and team up with some nobody who’d just hold me back?”

  “Because you can’t do this shit alone!” the other guy hollered. “You honestly think you stand a chance against the Crusaders?! The only reason you haven’t been run out of town yet is because you amuse the plebs!”

  “The mouth breathers don’t matter, I do what I want when I want.” Ethan placed a hand on his hip and tried to project as much arrogant derision as he could. “As far as they’re concerned, I’m the neighborhood Hero. I don’t need to worry about them turning on me.”

  “For now,” the hunter added mockingly. “Don’t forget these people are just itching to go on a witch hunt for any Gifted in town. All it takes is for enough people to call for your head and you're dead!” Ethan’s smile widened as the goon reached the right conclusion.

  “Please,” Ethan said with a dismissive wave. “With how pigheaded these assholes are, it’ll take a miracle to get them to change their minds. Hell, I’ve put a security guard in the hospital the other day, and I haven’t even gotten a “strongly worded letter” over it. I’ve got these morons eating out of the palm of my hand.”

  “Yeah, let’s see how long that lasts,” the other “Hero” growled. He flicked his fingers, and the trash can lid he used as a shield floated next to him. Ethan tensed up, ready for another attack, but instead the man in white stepped onto the floating lid and stood on it like a surfboard. “You keep up with that attitude, it’ll only be a matter of time before you mess up and the rubes start howling for your blood.”

  “I’ll keep that in mind,” Ethan replied sardonically. “Until then, stay out of my way. Unless you wanna be the next villain I beat up.” Now that pissed him off, which was expected, Ethan didn’t like being called a Hero so the hunter naturally wouldn’t like being called a villain. The wukong could feel the pure hatred oozing out of the man’s glare as he began rising over the air.

  “You’ll regret this, Ethan Sun,” the hunter began dramatically. “One day, the populace will see you for what you are. And when that happens, you’ll be all alone as you run for your life. Then it’ll be me, The Poltergeist, who becomes the next big hero in the city when I bring you to justice!” Then he turned around and flew away. Ethan watched the Hero go and waited until he was out of sight before heading back.

  ““Poltergeist”,” Ethan repeated with a scoff. He’d heard worse hero names, the aforementioned Witching Heiress sounding particularly stupid, but naming yourself after a ghost didn’t seem like the best idea given where he operated.

  Dumb name aside, Ethan hoped that Poltergeist would start undermining his “heroism” the first chance he got. But Ethan had to be careful; if the hero wannabe was as spiteful and conniving as the villain hoped, then he doubted Poltergeist would stop at just ruining his reputation. He might even try to set Ethan up or frame him for some heinous crime. Both of which would help Ethan, but he didn’t like the idea of being a pawn in someone else’s game.

  ‘Only time will tell if I made a mistake or not,’ Ethan thought. All he could do was wait and see what happened. And while he waited, he might as well see what was up with the Werewolf.