Chapter 34 - Friendship 2.0

Art by letterbyowl 

On our way out of the castle, Harper and I encountered none other than the Chessmaster. I knew very little about the supervillain, other than the fact that he was friends with Ellen and that he had sent gigantic robotic chess pieces rampaging all over San Urbano a few years earlier. Nevertheless, his reputation preceded him, so I was surprised when he walked up to Harper and I and said, "I'm impressed with what you two did at the Academy."

"Really?" I said.

"You and your friends accomplished what many experienced supervillains have tried and failed to do," the Chessmaster said. "You finally destroyed the Academy's San Urbano location."

"Percy, Terry, Vanessa, and Declan did most of the real work," I said. "I didn't do all that much to destroy the Academy."

"Don't downplay your accomplishments," the Chessmaster said. "I spent my whole career as a supervillain trying to do what you managed in a single night. It's truly amazing that six teenagers took down the Academy itself."

"Thank you," I said.

"It's very nice of you to say that," Harper added.

"You're welcome," the Chessmaster said. "I expect great things from both of you." All of a sudden, he disappeared, leaving the two of us alone together again. Harper grabbed a cup of coffee on her way out of the building, and I followed her until we reached the castle gates. She pushed the door open, and for a while, we both looked out over the souls of the damned that had started this whole mess.

"Why did you decide to do this?" Harper asked me.

"Do what?" I asked.

"Why did you help Ellen decorate her castle?" Harper asked.

I shrugged and then said, "I wanted to use my powers for something good."

"I wouldn't exactly call this good," Harper said.

"It's better than stealing souls," I said. I let one of my ghosts run free, glad that I had finally managed to truly benefit humanity with my powers. I had proven that I could overcome the evil inherent within my superpowers. I still didn't love having the powers that I did, but I didn't hate myself for being superpowered anymore. At last, I could be proud to be a superhuman.

"You have a point there," Harper said. "You know, I never thought that you would have a power like that. It just doesn't suit you."

"I had a hard time with it at first, but I'm feeling a lot better about my powers now," I said.

"You've changed so much since we were at the Academy, Jay," Harper said. "Sometimes, it's like you're an entirely different person."

"Trust me, I'm still the same," I said.

"Do you still like me?" Harper asked.

I thought about it for a few minutes and said, "Only as a friend."

"I was worried that you were still interested in me romantically," Harper said. "I really do think that we would be better off as friends. You are a great friend, Jay."

"So are you," I said, smiling.

"Are we still going to keep in touch after this?" Harper asked.

"Of course," I said, and we traded phone numbers. Once I was done adding Harper as a contact, I told her, "Feel free to text me anytime."

"Don't say that," Harper said. "I'm going to be texting you all the time now."

"I wouldn't mind that," I said.

All of a sudden, my phone buzzed, and I saw that I had a text from Harper that said, "Are you sure?" I laughed and put my phone back into my pocket.

"Anyways, I finally found my parents again yesterday," Harper said.

"How did that go?" I asked.

"It was a little bit awkward, but they were happy to have me back," Harper said. "It was nice to finally see them again. I didn't realize how much I missed them."

I immediately thought back to what my dad had said the morning after the attack on the Academy. Dad and I had become much closer after the Academy was destroyed, and it seemed like the same thing was happening for Harper and her family. "I'm glad that it went well," I said.

"Me too," Harper said. "I'm sure that my brothers and sisters aren't too happy that I'm back, but at this point, I don't care all that much. It's so weird that Katie's in college now."

As an only child, I couldn't exactly relate, so I just nodded along as Harper talked about her siblings. My friends were the closest thing that I had ever had to siblings, but it wasn't quite the same thing. However, it was still painful knowing that I would never see most of them again. Already, I was wishing that I said done a better job of saying goodbye to them.

"Speaking of my family, they're probably waiting for me to get home right now," Harper said.

"My dad's waiting for me too," I said.

"We should both head home then," Harper said. "It was nice seeing you, Jay."

"It was nice seeing you too," I said. "Goodbye Harper."

"Jay, don't be so dramatic," Harper said. "I'll see you again soon."

"I guess that's true," I said. "See you soon then." I gave Harper a quick hug and hopped into my dad's car. All of a sudden, I watched Harper transform into an owl and shoot into the sky from the driver's seat of the car. It was an impressive display of her superpowers, and my eyes were glued on her until she disappeared into the clouds.

Once Harper was gone, I turned up the radio and drove away from Ellen's castle one last time. I looked back at the castle, realizing that this would probably the last time that I would be able to see the hulking structure and hear the souls wailing. Eventually, the castle disappeared from the rear view mirror, and I drove back into San Urbano.

When I returned home, Dad was at the door waiting for me. "Jay, what were you doing out there?" he asked. "It's past midnight."

"I know," I said.

"You have school tomorrow morning," Dad told me.

I had nearly forgotten about that. "I'll go pack up my backpack now," I said. I ran into my room, and I filled my backpack with pencils, paper, and all kinds of other school supplies. Within a few minutes, my backpack was ready to go, but I still felt like something was missing.

I lay on top of my bed and wondered what it was that I was missing. I already had my binder, my calculator, and every other item that I could think of that I needed for school. As far as I could tell, I was ready for the first day of my senior year of high school.

It was strange that I was already a senior. The summer had flown by, and there was so much that I still needed to do, from finding a new job to finishing my college applications. I didn't quite feel ready for my final year of high school, and things would definitely be different now that there was no way to hide that I was a supervillain. Every news station had broadcasted my face in the immediate aftermath of the attack on the Academy, so it was certain that everyone at school now knew that I was the Dastardly Demon. For some reason, that didn't scare me as much as it should have.

All of a sudden, I realized what I was missing. I decided to make a batch of muffins for my new classmates. I always enjoyed baking, and it would help me make a great first impression. I walked into the kitchen and turned on some music, keeping the volume low enough that Dad could sleep. It was well past midnight, after all. Even if I had no intention of going to bed, Dad might want his rest.

As I made the dough and sang along to Arctic Monkeys, I thought about my friends. They might like a few muffins, I thought, so I made some extra dough so that I could make a second batch of muffins. I could send a couple of muffins to each of them.

A little while later, I put the muffins in the oven and read a book while I waited for them to bake. When the muffins were done, I waited for them to cool and then placed most of them in a tray for me to take to school. I packaged the rest of the muffins in small boxes and addressed each package to one of my teammates. I probably wouldn't see any of them again, but at least they would be able to enjoy my muffins.

Finally, I was done. Barely awake, I carried the tray of muffins back to my bedroom. After I placed the tray next to my backpack, I crashed onto my bed. However, I had a hard time falling asleep. Already, I missed fighting crime with Harper, Vanessa, Percy, Terry, and Declan. I missed knowing that I was making a difference in the world. I told myself that the feeling would pass and tried to fall asleep.

I wasn't sure whether this was a return to normalcy or the beginning of a completely different life, but it was better than hiding from the Academy. The future still scared me a little bit - I still hadn't solidified my college plans, and I was still afraid that we hadn't totally vanquished the Academy. However, I tried to have some hope, and even if the future turned out badly, at least I would have my friends and plenty of delicious food. 

A/N: Hey everyone! Here's a little bit of self promotion to go along with this chapter. 

I'm planning to write at least two short stories after I finish Villains For Hire. The next chapter is the last chapter of the novel, so if you'd like something new to read, check out these stories once they're up. 

Substitute Breakup will probably be the first story that I write. It's a Frerard fanfiction, and the summary is posted below. 

What happens when you send someone on a date to break up for you?

Frank Iero is waiting for his girlfriend Jamia at a fancy restaurant when his heart attack in black hair dye, Gerard Way, arrives on Jamia's behalf. As Gerard becomes increasingly lost in character, Frank realizes that he doesn't love Jamia like he did yesterday. 

I'm planning to write a superhero story based around the heroine that I invented for Project-HERO 's first contest. The title of this story is The Queen of Spades, and the summary is posted below. 

Casino worker-turned-superheroine Adrienne Gagnon, also known as the Queen of Spades, has been tasked with protecting the city of Montreal by Superheroes, Inc. With the help of a few of her fellow supers, she works hard to keep the city safe. While on a routine mission, Adrienne and her friends encounter a strange new villain with the power to turn into a wolf, forcing Adrienne to cooperate with her teammates and test the limits of her paper-manipulating powers. Adrienne, Olivier, and Shannon will risk their lives against the Loup-Garou, knowing that failure could mean the destruction of their beloved hometown. 

I will also write a French language version of this story. I might also write a third short story before I start my next novel - if I do, it will be titled Break The Internet and it will be a Ryden fanfiction. 

My next novel will be called Smooth Sailing, and it will be a teen fiction story revolving around a lake in a small town in northern Wisconsin. The summary (or the current version of it, at least) is posted below. 

Sylvie Morrison is many things - a student at West Clearwater High, a Girl Scout, a closeted lesbian, and a Green Bay Packers fan - but most of all, she is a sailor. As the great granddaughter of the founders of the Clearwater Lake Yacht Club, Sylvie wants nothing more than to win the 35th Annual Clearwater Lake Junior Regatta. However, she needs a crew in order to enter. When Véro Arkoun arrives from Paris and moves into the house next to Sylvie's, she agrees to crew for Sylvie despite her complete lack of sailing experience, and the two girls strike up an unlikely friendship and eventually a romance. Sylvie's story is intertwined with tales from her family history, reminding her of her heritage and the legacy that Sylvie must live up to.

Thanks for reading Villains For Hire, and I hope you enjoy my future works! :)