I know I'm not the smartest cookie, hell, even I know I'm on the dumb side. People only ever come to me when they need muscle, and even then I'm not the top pick. Sure I can bench press a semi-truck, but what does that matter when there are smarter kids with Super strength. I would never live down that time a powerless Superman talked me into surrendering, I had thought the man was still a super. I tried on countless occasions to try and get smarter, but no matter how much time I spent reading, I could never understand most of what I read.
A lot of people think I'm evil, and that nothing they can do will save me. That's why I was so shocked when Jinx betrayed us, not because it was so hard to believe that she would turn good, but because she didn't even think to ask me to join with her. Because of how I look, people assume I'm a lost cause, even the other villains where quick to say I was the last person they ever expected to turn good.
I was just beginning to consider maybe just doing another disappearing act; no one would notice I'm gone, when I heard the explosion go off. There was a little girl running through the park nearby, she kind of reminded me of my sister when we were younger, and without even thinking I reacted. The explosion destroyed everything in the park, leveled even the oldest of trees, and would have definitely killed her if I hadn't used my body to shield her from the blast.
The flames from the leveled trees hadn't even died down by the time the heroes showed up. I was ready to bolt, because I knew when Heroes started showing up it wasn't safe to be around, but the little girl, that reminded me so much of my sister, grabbed my hand, and when I tried to pull away, she started crying. I was pretty sure the little girl was okay, but I had to be sure, "Are you alright?"
The girl wiped at her tears with the hand not wrapped around his finger, and said, "Please don't leave me all alone."
I gave what might have passed for a normal smile as I said, "Alright, I'll stay with you till someone ells gets here, so please don't cry. Are you okay?"
The girl smiled through her tears and said, "You saved me!"
Of course that was when the damn capes got within hearing range, and of course it was the new team, with that damn clone and his Super strength. Robin, not the one who I'm use to fighting, but the new one, asked, "Is she telling the truth?"
I sputtered, not knowing what to say, so the little girl smiled and said, "Of course I'm telling the truth! If he hadn't wrapped around me I'd be like that tree right there." She pointed to a tree that had fallen, and then she smiled at me and said, "You're a hero aren't you? Mommy says heroes are here to save people, and you saved me, so you have to be a hero! What's your Hero Name?"
After a minute of me just standing there with my jaw on the floor, the speed kid, the Kid-Flash, zipped over and said, "He's not a hero. He's an evil villain! Look at him, he's a giant hideous villain!"
The girl surprised them all by reaching out and smacking Kid-Flash in the face. They all just stared as the girl said, "Don't be mean to my hero."
It took quite a bit of effort not to laugh, because this girl acted just like my sister did when we were kids, so I told her what our uncle told my sister, "You shouldn't hit people bigger than you."
The little girl said, "Why not, he was being mean?"
I smiled because that was exactly what my sister had said to my uncle, "Because what if they hit you back?"
The girl smiled and said, "Mommy says it's not okay for people to hit me, cause I'm a girl and a kid, and they can go to jail if they do."
I laughed, because this girl had to be Selinda's copy, sure she had long blond hair, where my sister had short red, but they had the same unearthly blue eyes and the same personality. After having my hearty little chuckle, I blush to find the group of capes staring at me. I coughed to clear my throat and said, "Alright, that's my cue to leave."
The little girl started crying again at that and said, "Don't leave me with these mean-ies!"
I made a calming gesture with my hand and said, "Alright, Alright, I'll stay, please stop crying."
The girl smiled, victorious, and asked, "Will you stay till my Mommy comes to get me?"
I glanced around the park, never quite meeting the capes eyes, as I took in everything that had happened. I scratched the back of my head and asked, "Does your mom know you are out here? It's kind of dark out."
The girl bit her bottom lip as she looked up at the starry night sky, "Mommy normal picks me up before it gets dark out, you don't think she forgot about me, do you?"
I smiled, because I didn't want her to know I was worried, "She probably just got held up, I'm sure she'll be here any minute."
The Girl smiled and said, "I'm Amanda Friedman, I'm going to be a ballerina."
She stuck out her hand, and I hesitantly took it and introduced myself, "I'm Baran."
