Super Crush (BxB)

Let Bygones Beat Bygones

Tears stream from my eyes.

"Abe! Stay down!" I let go of the sound button and beg my friend.

I think I am going to throw up watching Clay carefully beat the shit out of him. Never dealing more damage than needed, he swings one crushing rock-punch at a time. One to the gut. One to the side. The most recent–right to the face. I know Clay enough now to understand this isn't easy for him either. He and Abe may be on different sides, but his care for others is bigger than I would have ever given him credit for. He is only supplying enough force to keep Abe incapacitated, and blow by blow, it is killing me slowly.

I look away.

Ten years of love and companionship play in my mind's eye as I restart the audio weapon. The sound waves are Abe's kryptonite. What little red blaze he fired up now flicks out like a candle in a storm.

Before my eyes, he and I are on the bus. We are kids chatting about the first days of school together. How boring our teacher is and how good the cafeteria chicken nuggets are. He is sharing some candy with me, and I give him a doodle I drew of him in a tall top hat like Lincoln. We laugh so hard that the bus driver gives us an aggressive glare in the rearview mirror.

Clay sends a hard jab to Abe's chest. He goes back down to his knees. He tries to fight back but without his blaze, but he is nothing in comparison to Clay's strength.

"Give it up, dude," Clay growls.

"Fuck. Off." Abe snaps between huffs.

My vision clouds.

I'm in Abe's arms. Floating above Belvedere Castle. Central Park expands beyond us. I can see our reflection in Turtle Pond. Looking into young Abe's face, I am gracious for him saving my life, excited to find he is a holder, and 100% aware that I am in love with him. A young heart knows what it wants. Don't let anyone tell you differently.

Clay gets him in a headlock, and I go to them. I kneel in front of my former best friend and cut the sound waves. He struggles with what little power he has left. His hand jets out and grabs me by the scruff of my shirt. Clay shakes him hard but he doesn't let go. My eyes go to the giant looming over us to let him know it's okay. It will take some time for him to get his energy back.

I reach for Abe's visor, and his grip finds my neck. As much as he probably wants to, Abe doesn't have the power to strangle me properly, but I can tell it is his warning: back off.

I picture him standing before me as I call him out about having my necklace bugged. For always knowing where I am. For killing my dream that we were cosmically connected. The mysterious powers of the universe tied us together with a clandestine string formed by the energy of our bond.

"I'm sorry," I say. For forcing us to face the truth in the underground corridor.

"I'm sorry," I repeat. For stopping my chase of his heart. My constant attempts to win him over. And maybe for never coming out and telling him he belongs with me.

"I'm sorry," I whisper one last time as I pull the mask from his head with what seems to be all of my mental, emotional, and physical strength.

"NO!" he lets out. It is primal rage. Being unmasked is the biggest insult to a hero. It's depowering. It's dehumanizing. You are left bare and on display–exposed and vulnerable.

Abe's nose is bloody and the red has covered his perfect white teeth. He spits at me.

I deserve it.

The tears blur my sight.

We are at the concert together. His body melted into mine. The undeniable vibe of two people who know each other better than they know themselves. Together we are free. Swaying in the music. Hands touching waists. Before lies and double-crossing, secret plans and tracing devices, in that moment, on the dancefloor surrounded by hundreds of concertgoers, Abe and I were more than just friends. It is perfectly clear now.

We were in love.

I shake the ghosts away. I let go of the only thing I ever wanted, and I look back to him.

His eyes stare holes into me.

"Abe," I attempt, but I stop when I see the red glow in his eyes.

I turn my head just in time for the single kinetic blast to miss my eye. But like a red-hot dagger, the laser-like burst burns me from my cheek to the top of my ear. Yet, it is nothing compared to the hurt inside of me.

His hand loosens and falls away. Abe collapses back into Clay's body in defeat.

Clay asks me something but the phantom ring of the sound gun or maybe the complete destruction of my best friend muffles it out.

"Hey." Clay is in my face.

His helmet is off and evaluating the damage to my cheek. He tilts my head to the side, and I see Abe lying on the ground. I grab Clay's hand.

"Go, meet the others," I tell Clay. " I will finish here."

He hesitates. Our eyes hold each other. He knows I am shattered, but willfully, he turns to leave us. He understands this has to be done by me. He knows that any last attempt has to come from me and me alone.

I get to my feet as Abe struggles to get to his hands and knees.

"I'm sorry. Hurting you is the last thing I wanted to do."

He scoffs. "You sound like a villain. Don't tell me you are going to monologue now."

"No monologue here. Heroes don't monologue." With this, I give his visor a swift kick and send it sailing across the empty lobby.

Okay. That seemed a bit villainous. I shake my head.

Without looking up at me, the man I once wanted to spend every waking hour with warns me, "You better get the hell outta here before I get my energy back."

Ignoring him, I say, "If you put that helmet back on, you will be the villain. No collateral damage. No doing the best you can. Just a straight-up murderer."

I lean in close to his ear. "Will you be able to live with that?"

With a few slow, backward shuffles steps, I put some space between us. Somehow, he pushes himself upright to his feet.

"You don't have much of a headstart left," Abe says.

I pull out the sound frequency remote and point it at him. "I don't need one."

The deafening sound erupts just long enough to bring the battered stud back to his knees. Then I stop cold.

"I might be an asshole, but I'm not the villain, remember."

And with a crack, I break the remote in half and toss the pieces to him as my final peace offering.

"I'll find you," I hear him warn me from over my shoulder as I push through the hotel's huge spinning entrance door.

Maybe he will, but by the time he can recoup, my team will already be saving the world.