No! No, this was too much. This man, this monster, had already taken my family. My aunt, dead. My cousin, dead. My uncle, doomed to a hospital bed for the rest of his life. My mother, dead. My father, dead. They were all taken away from my life, like a wisp of smoke from a cigarette. And Zucco just got to keep on living. Where was the justice in that?
As if that wasn't enough, he had my team now. My new family. M'gann looked terrified, eyes wide as a deer's caught in headlights. Conner just looked lost. But not a stupid, not sure what to do, lost. It was a helpless lost, filled with sorrow and rage. Sadly it was a look he wore way too often nowadays. Kaldur, our leader, was panicking. So was Artemis. They seemed to be realizing that they couldn't do anything. Not this time. Giving themselves up wasn't an option, nor was backing down or fighting. They were stuck. Zatanna looked ready to break down. She couldn't lose someone else. Not again. Her dad was enough. Roy was ready to shoot, bow pulled back tight and fingers just itching to release. Too bad that wouldn't help any. And Wally: my best friend, my brother. He was the only one aware who Zucco was. The only one who knew why such pain and fear showed, clear as day, on my face. And he could do nothing to help.
But the worst part of this was that Zucco hadn't trapped them with metal bars, or fire, or whatever else the villains were using these days. Instead he had a gun to my chest. That's all he needed. That's all it took to stop my team in their tracks. After all our training, after all the planning, after thinking through every possible situation, this was all it took. A gun and a human. That's when I finally cracked.
I tried to get away, pulling to the left, hard. His arm jolted, panic coming out in the form of a muffled cry. He pulled the trigger without thinking. I felt the bullet pierce my shoulder, ripping through my clothing and flesh. But it didn't stop there. At this range, the bullet easily went right through me, and into his awaiting chest. He let out a scream and dropped to his knees. I thought my team screamed too, but I wasn't sure. I was too preoccupied with the man at my feet.
Leaning down slowly, I pulled him up by his collar. He let out a whimper at the pain. Pathetic. "You remember me?" I growled at him, barely noticing my throbbing shoulder. He shook his head, small tears trickling down his oily skin. Again, pathetic. I let him drop to the ground, before pulling off my mask slowly. Bright blue eyes lit up, like the sun rising. A look of confusion rippled through the pain on Zucco's face, before recognition showed.
"Y-you. The c-circus brat?" he gasped. I smiled. But it wasn't my usual snicker. This smile was full of pain and bitter hatred.
"After ruining my life I would've expected you to have the decency of at least remembering my name," I commented, crouching down before him. I opened my mouth to inform him of my name, only to decide that I wouldn't give him that satisfaction. If he couldn't be bothered to at least remember the names of those whose lives he shattered then fine. He would rot in hell for it. Zucco gasped a little as I reached out, only to let my hand drift past him. My fingers grabbed at the gun he had dropped, and pulled it back to face him again. "You killed my family. You shattered my life. Goodbye." And with that I pulled the trigger.
Funny, he seemed so harmless, lying on the floor in a pool of his own blood. Pale skin contrasted with his cat eyes, which were frozen wide open. I smiled at the sight. Finally. There was only one thing I needed to do now, before I could have my peace.
Slowly, painfully slowly, I turned the gun around. It pointed point blank, right at my temple. Behind me Wally called my name, rushing forward as if to stop me. But even he wasn't fast enough. I pulled the trigger for the last time.
