A Sad Ending

Beaming down at the superhero chained to a column, the villain said, “By destroying your pub, I have disbarred you. By throwing away all your weapons, I have disarmed you. I didn’t chop off your arms because I’m not that evil. By burning your precious costume, I have disrobed you. I have disrespected you in every way I can think possible.”

“No!” the hero yelled, tilting his chin upward. “I still have my respect. You haven’t destroyed that!”

The villain cackled. “Oh, really? Because I should’ve mentioned the beat-down I gave you outside the bank I robbed. All those people with their phones taking videos of you getting beat. Social media’s gonna love that.”

“I got in some good punches!”

“A couple, I’ll grant you that,” the villain said. “But my potion to enhance my strength worked even better than I hoped. What a shock that must’ve been for you.”

“Let me loose! I’ll beat you in a new round!”

The villain cackled louder. “Never! I’ll never let you loose! And there’s no partner or sidekick who’s gonna come to your rescue. No automatic supercar’s gonna burst through the wall to save you. You’re not that super. Your protection of the city ends here!”

Again the hero flexed his mighty muscles, trying to break the chains. But his effort made no difference. For all he’d given the city, here was the end for him, in this abandoned warehouse full of junk. The location felt as an added insult to his defeat.

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copyright © 2021 Dave Williams