I remember when she came out to the scene, making her debut against my older half-brother, the Mad Hare. He wasn't the most powerful, but he was highly skilled with a special mix that of gifts. Even some of the more senior heroes had some difficulty battling against his illusions and heightened speed. But not her. Not Ambiance. One of her powers perfectly countered his, as she could blanket the area around her with a soothing aura, making those within it feel at peace. She was the ideal hero, a Special with a unique gift and soon she was world renowned. After a couple years on the scene, the Mad Hare finally had a proper rival, and she was captivating.
Then there was me, the younger brother nobody could even remember, as I was gifted with the incredible power to alter the memories of anybody I touched. Even my own brother didn't know of my gift. He thought he was the powerhouse of the family, and I let him – and the world – believe that. I worked better in the shadows. Within a year of my powers manifesting, I had every world leader in my back pocket, and all in secret. I was invincible, unstoppable, and even my own brother barely remembered my existence from time to time. The world was mine, and nobody knew.
Ambiance, though, she was something else. She had the "standard" Specials set of powers: increased strength, speed, endurance, and some flight, but nothing spectacular. She could pick up a car, and match could barely reach the speed of sound in flight, but she had extensive training under some of the best heroes in the world. I know, because I asked her, and that was when I fell in love with her.
Before you hate me for manipulating the world's favorite heroine, I didn't. I couldn't bring myself to. Not at first. Not directly. We met at college, of all places. Speech. Because, really, when it came down to it, that's what both of our powers revolved around. Talking to others. And of course we talked to each other. We even started dating after a while! Oh, my brother would've been livid if he was ever able to find out! The son of one of the greatest villains to have ever lived, dating the world's most beloved heroine! And, here was the real kicker: I led a double life. When my brother was captured, Ambiance didn't have any real villains to fight. Crime in our city was dwindling, save for a small handful of exceptionally deranged villains (including my brother), and so Ambiance would travel further and further away.
Seeing my girlfriend travel far distances to face a mess of villains caused me too much stress, so I fabricated a new villain to face her. "Terror" I dubbed him. Born to be Ambiance's anti in every conceivable way, but never able to defeat her. He could whip people into a frenzy, cresting riots, promoting paranoia and uncertainty amongst the common citizens of our home. It took great effort on my part, as I had to carefully plan everything hours, days, sometimes even weeks ahead. As powerful as I was, I still had to touch people for my ability to work. And that was the only time I manipulated my girlfriend, to disguise myself and make sure she would never be able to connect me to "Terror", so long as I was in costume as him. Any other time, I was just me to her. For over a year things went this way. I kept her mostly within the city, as I would always make sure at least one of her rogues gallery were free at a time. Sometimes I felt bad about the deception, but careful planning on my part meant that nobody in the city was ever in any real danger. I took great effort in making sure of that. But I was blinded by my love, and I failed to realize I had turned our city, our home, our safe haven into a gigantic stage play, with I as the director and Ambiance as the star.
Until he returned. That vile, evil man, who tortured my brother and I, who murdered my mother for trying to take us away from his evil teachings. The worst plague the world has ever known, the real terror: Ruin, King of Villains.
It was impossible for him to even be here. The first thing I did when my powers manifested was make him forget who he was. I made him forget everything. And yet, here he was, standing in the middle of my university, calling out my name. Luckily, Ambiance wasn't around. She was off helping people recover from a natural disaster as both a college student and her more heroic persona. Good. She wouldn't be a match for Ruin. Only three heroes ever were, and even then, only temporarily. Ruin always came back. He was a blight upon the world. And this time I wasn't going to let him survive.
As the school was being evacuated, I slipped away and changed into my Terror costume. If Ambiance came back before I was done with my father, I didn't want her to know the truth of my identity. She might come to hate me, hate my blood, and everything would fall apart. But before I could make it put into the campus center to face my father, she was already there. My heart sank. I sensed an end to the world I had carefully crafted for the last seven years.
Ambiance was hovering a few feet in the air above Ruin, pushing her powers to the max. But it was no use. Ruin's power was demonic,, it was beyond comprehension, beyond anything. He breathed pain and hysteria. His aura spoke despair and hatred. Ruin had a number of psychic abilities at his command, among them his ability to twist the powers of other Specials. And I could sense the change occurring in Ambiance. Her face started contort, her eyes going wild. Her power wasn't just being turned against her, it was being used to amplify Ruin's own power. He quickly realized this and laughed as he pushed his entire will upon my love.
"Enough!" I shouted, charging out into the open, my Terror costume only half on. Ambiance turned, slowly, and saw my face, and the rest of her will dissipated as the whole truth came crashing down on her in connection with my father's terrifying powers. But it would be fine. I would leave, to go live in the shadows again, alone, Ambiance would be heartbroken, but she would heal in time. I had to give her that much. I loved her, after all.
"Father! I'm here. You're after me, not these people, not another hero, only me. Your revenge is with me, and me alone." I challenged. Ruin's attention snapped to me, locking eyes, and fury burned its way into my mind. And then he laughed, for the briefest of moments, he chuckled, and then the glare was back. "Another hero? Is that what you are, now? Did I not teach you my ways? Did I not raise you to be a villain? I, who gave you your gifts, who taught you how to manipulate even before they manifested, who managed to manipulate even I, the great Ruin? You've turned traitor to your blood, to your entire kind. Another hero. Ha!"
That's when the truth hit me as well. In dating Ambiance, I had used my gift to not just turn our home into a stage for her, but slowly and subtly changed the rest of the world to be kinder, more gentle, more benevolent, more helpful to others. I had become a hero, of a sort, despite my escapades as "Terror". But was it truly heroic, to have manipulated the world as I did? To have quieted the unrest in the minds of villains, and to have opened to compassion and empathy of world leaders?
"That's right. I rebuffed your ways the moment I realized my own power. I am the hope in the shadows of this world. I am the opposite of you in every way. I am light, I am hope, I am the ruler of this world. Not you. Not ever again," and then I rushed, unleashing my full powers for the first time in my entire life. In truth, the first thing I had done with my powers was put a mental block on myself. I knew, if I wasn't careful, that I would end up worse than my father. So I put in failsafes to prevent that. They all broke away in this instance, though. Even my own father wasn't expecting it.
The battle was over the moment it began. As soon as I could, my hand pressed to my father's cheek, I tore away everything he knew. I tore away his identity, his past, his powers. I erased his entire existence from his mind completely, entirely, so that he fell blank, eyes and mind dead, crumpled in a heap at my feet. There d nothing left in there. Not even life.
The deed done, I turned to Ambiance. Even with the influence of Ruin time, she still recoiled in horror from me. As expected. Another failsafe of mine, that if she ever learned the truth, she would know in that instance the entire truth, so that she would know that I would never be able to manipulate her ever again. "I'm sorry. I fell in love, and, well, you know. It's all in your mind, now. You know what happens next" and with that, I left.
Fast forward five years later, I was enjoying another sunny day on the beach of some Pacific island. Where was I these days? I didn't know. It didn't matter. I had made the world a better place. Heroes weren't needed to fight crime, anymore. Law enforcement itself was almost gone. The world just cared about each other. The truth came out, people didn't change back. Guess it really was the right choice to manipulate everybody to be more excellent to each other. I wouldn't say the world was a utopia, but we tried, collectively, to make it a little better every day. I had ran away, moving from one place to the next every couple of months, until I found myself… Where, again?
The world was at peace, and while I would never truly be, I had at least found a peaceful place to live. I learned to surf, learned to fish, lived off the tropical island I had adopted some two years ago as my home. As I stated at a distant plane, I reminisced about my favorite moments with her, my beautiful Amber. I felt the tears flow again, blurring my vision as my mind began to play tricks on me once more, making it appear as if she were floating down from the sky right in front of me. I timidly reached out to her, "Amber, I'm sorry. I miss you. I love you"
"Eric, I know. And I love you, too…"
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