Life isn't fair. I'm sure most people have heard that phrase before. It's said just about enough times in our modern world to drive people mad. But Virgil wasn't asking for fairness. Or equality. Or any other run-of-the-mill liberating feat. He just didn't want to do this.

Standing on the highest building he could find, feet over the edge, some would tell him not to jump. Those who know better would encourage him to. But he wasn't here for skydiving lessons, he was here for something much more terrifying. Evil.

Or well, ethically frowned upon acts. Robbing a bank isn't very evil nowadays, but the cops shoot nonetheless. However, the cops weren't what was plaguing his mind right now. That seat's taken for the three figures he's waiting for to creep into view.

The superheroes. That term is funny. Superhero. It makes it sound like there's a supervillain, and Virgil is a lot of things but super is not one…
Personality-wise.

Personality-wise he's a bit of an asshole with anxiety issues. He hisses- which he knows isn't normal but he gets it from his dad- and talks back (in his mind) and does all the other things assholes do. Like rob banks.

But powers-wise, he's a badass. One of the most known villains of his time, second to no one other than the Joker, Darth Vader, Thanos, Freddy Krueger, etc…
Okay, so he's the most known existing villain…

Besides Deceit and The Duke.

But if you ignore the thousands of others before him, he's at the top of the list. Which is still pretty impressive, if he does say so himself. And he does.

Jokes aside, he really is a good villain, oxymoronic as that sounds. He always wreaks havoc, never sleeps, and never takes breaks. Which would probably be fun if you were a masochist, but he wouldn't know.

He only does this because of his dad. It's the family business. But one upside to this constant stimulation is that he's usually too focused to be overwhelmed. Seriously, on the job, he almost forgets about his-

"ANXIETY!!!"

Virgil looks to the left, at his approaching dad. Wearing an all-black suit with a yellow waistcoat, Deceit looks like a very sinister butler. The lower buttons are buckled together and his hair is swept to the side, his yellow gloves reach out and find Virgil's shoulders.

"Anxiety, dear, you practiced that new move right?" He asks, locking his eyes onto Virgil's. Virgil shrugs away.

"Yes, I did. Like… seventy times. You were there."

"I know, but I just wanted to check. Can never hurt to be prepared." He says, checking himself in a compact mirror. Apparently, the snake side of his face didn't meet his standards, because it came apart at his touch and rearranged before Virgil could tell what was changing.

"Speaking of prepared," Deceit says, stretching out the pre and putting the mirror back in his breast pocket, "it looks like that's how our heroes came. Look at the little one's face, he looks very scary."

Virgil couldn't see the little one, but he believed it anyway. The heroes had been getting more adamant about locking the villains up. Virgil wasn't sure when the change took place— the fighting used to be professional. Recently it's become harsher like there's a grudge to be settled— but it's unnerving. The heroes have been hitting back harder, fighting longer, and hampering more of their plans.

Quite frankly, it was annoying. The more the heroes improve, the more pressure Deceit puts on the others to improve. Ray never seemed to mind it, but for Virgil it was a struggle. He was already trying his hardest, and now he had to do more? It was exhausting.

And that leads us to today. The big day. It didn't seem very big, they were just robbing a bank. Hell, Remus could do that with his eyes closed— literally! It's how he uses his powers! No, today wasn't important because of the money, it was important because this is the day the heroes die. Deceit had decided it. And when Deceit decides something, it happens.

So here Virgil sits, waiting for his victims. Waiting to use his new move on them. As he sees them closing the distance, he wonders what taking a life feels like. Sure, he's heard stories from his fathers— "there's something special about watching the light from someone's eyes fade. There's no other feeling like it. No drugs, no hormones, just death."— still, he's nervous.

What if he fucks up? What if they get away? So many what-ifs— but time is short and suddenly the heroes are in front of him. The one in the middle takes the lead.

"Pathos, you take Deceit. Logos, you take The Duke. I've got Anxiety." But before he can give the signal to go, Virgil advances upon them like a crow attacking a gosling. In one fell swoop, a cloud comes from under them and knocks them to the ground.

Before he could get near them though, they're up again. Virgil tries once more, this time he creates a cloud over them. Hail begins pouring down but to no avail. Romulus simply fires up his arms—literally, fire shoots from his arms— and melts them. He charges.

It's fine, Virgil had planned for this. He solidifies the cloud once more, freezing each atom in its place. He throws it down and it hits one in the foot. The little one, Pathos. Good. Pathos tries to walk it off, but getting hit with stiffened atoms isn't so easy to ignore. Virgil zeroes in on the hero, go after one and the rest will come to his aid, and Romulus grabs his arm with a fiery grip. Perfect.

Within an instant, Virgil freezes all of Romulus' atoms. Romulus is an idiot for grabbing a man who can freeze the molecular structure of anything he touches, but to be fair it's the first time he's used this little trick.

Virgil proceeds to stalk towards Pathos, but by now Logos is at his side. He overhears Logos telling the little one not to get touched and they split up. Fuck. Virgil hates having to round them all up, but it's to be expected.

He looks around for an object to throw when one is launched at his head. He doesn't have to wonder where it came from for too long before another flies at him. He ducks and turns toward the hurler. Logos, wearing a shouldered bodysuit, throws a garbage can at him. Virgil shields himself with a cloud and is pushed forward as a heavy object hits it. It grows quiet.

He peeks out and looks for the hero. As he does a metal canister slams against his gut and knocks the wind out of him. While white dots dance across his vision, he makes out Logos' blue necktie. Damn that tie. I'm going to wrap it around you and pull until you're both nothing but waste.

But as his thoughts turn homicidal, another item is catapulted at him. That alone is enough to make him lunge at the hero in rage. Before Logos can react, Virgil had his tie in his hands. He freezes it. Logos is trapped by the unmoving force around his neck. Sucks to your tie, Virgil thinks before gliding his hand up to Logos' cheek and petrifying it.

He turns his back on his fallen foe and heads to the one remaining hero. As he draws closer to Pathos, he sees a tall figure looming over him. Virgil hurries to it.

"Ray." He says as the figure turns to greet him. A mustached man smiles deviously and shushes him.

"Don't tell the hero my name," He giggles maniacally, hand over his lips as he pats Virgil's hood. "You wouldn't want D to find out."

"But it's not even your name?"

"Doesn't matter!"

Virgil looks at the whimpering hero on the floor. He begins to walk toward him when Remus holds his shoulder.

"No." He says.

"No what?"

"Don't freeze him. I told you, watching the light die in someone's eyes is euphoric. I want you to see that."

Virgil hesitates. He looks once more at the man before him. "So just… kill him?" He asks, double-checking that this is what he is supposed to do. It wasn't part of the plan.

Remus nods, and so Virgil trudges up to the hero again. He looks at the man and then at Remus, who merely nods, before pulling out a concealed dagger.

He holds up the hero's chin. Pathos' throat strains against the blade and Virgil looks into his tear-ridden eyes. Time to watch the light die.

He clenches his hand as he listens to the man's labored breathing. He tries to move the knife, to slit the hero's throat, but finds it anchored; as if someone had used his own power against him.

He holds the little one's gaze and suddenly realizes something. There's too much light.

Instinctually, Virgil drops the knife and steps back. The man's eyes are too full of light— of life. At a moment's notice Pathos disappears, and without looking back Virgil can tell the other heroes are gone as well.

He failed.

A sigh cuts through the silence, Virgil glances up and his insides draw cold. How is it possible for a heart to both freeze and break in the same breath?

Deceit towers over him, disappointment settled on all his transposable features. He places a freezing warm hand on Virgil.

"Let's go home."