Epilogue

The aftermath from the other perspective.

I steeled myself and took a defensive stance, fists clenched, one foot pawing the ground. This was it. It had all been leading up to this moment, and it was now or never. There was no going back, no reasoning, no easy way out. It was time to fight.

“I’ve got you just where I want you, my nemesis!” Barry waved his little hatchet above his head. “It all ends here!”

“I’ve been waiting for this for a long time, Barry,” I said. “There’s nowhere to run and nowhere to hide. I’m going to put a stop to your reign of terror. Once you’re soundly behind bars, the people of Nova city will finally be safe again.”

Barry did his best evil cackle, and it was actually pretty good. Not professional, or course, but a definite six out of ten. Maybe even a seven.

Brandishing his rusty weapon, Barry ran at me. I followed suit. We met in the middle of the grass, soft and green and well taken care of, and our epic battle began. Barry swung slowly, without any real power to speak of. I dodged a few times but was careful to make sure some hits connected, and I made a big show of it whenever a blow landed. There was no way his hatchet could even make it through my body armor, it being about as sharp as a butter knife, so I was in no danger anyway.

I counterattacked, my purposeful misses peppering the air around Barry.

“You’re getting slow in your old age!” Barry said. “You haven’t a chance against me! Once I’ve vanquished you, Nova city will be mine for the taking!”

“You fiend!” I cried, positioning myself to take a body blow. “I’ll never let you crush this city in your villainous talons!”

The sun shone down, warming me pleasantly as we fought. I paid careful attention to the sheen of sweat on Barry’s forehead. I didn’t want him to overexert himself.

Barry’s axe whumped across my shoulder and with a cry I reeled back, faking a serious wound.

“That...that was nothing,” I mock panted, gripping my shoulder. “You haven’t won yet.”

“Face it, you’re through!” Barry said. He struck me in the other shoulder and I staggered backward.

“You’ll never defeat me!” I said. “I’ll defend this city to my last breath!”

“Then so be it!” Barry cried. His axe hurtled through the air. I did my best to dodge but it was too late, too late! The axe hit my neck and I cried out in mortal agony. With a dramatic lurch, I fell into the grass and clutched Barry’s ankle.

“You’ve defeated me, you vile executioner!” I said. “After all these years, you’ve finally won...you...win…” and with a final exhalation, I died.

I shut my eyes tightly. There wasn’t a sound except for the chirping of the birds and the leaves rustling in the wind, and then the audience exploded into applause.

“Yippee!” Barry shouted. “I did it! I finally beat Quickdraw! Muriel, did you see that?”

I snuck one eye open. Muriel was sitting in the crowd that had gathered for the free show. She had an iced tea and a beach umbrella protecting her lawn chair from the sun.

“I’m so proud of you, Barry!” She placed her tea in the chair’s cupholder and stood up, her arms held wide open. “Come give me a hug!”

As Barry ran to hug his wife, I took the opportunity to get up and find Valerie in the slowly dispersing crowd.

She wore jeans and a white tank top. Her hair was put up in a messy bun.

“Come here, tiger,” she said. “You fought valiantly.” She pulled me into a hug and kissed my cheek as I approached. “That was a really sweet thing to do, babe.”

“Aw,” I said, a blush rising in my face. “I was just keeping a promise.”

My cellphone rang, a muffled but triumphant classical movement, and I answered it.

“Hello?” I said.

“Quickdraw, we’ve got trouble!” Even if I didn’t know it was Meteor from the ringtone, his voice was unmistakeable. “There’s a villain down at the pier who’s threatening to detonate a bomb in the middle of the annual carnival!”

I shared a look with Valerie. “We’ll be right there.” I hung up and stuck the phone back in my pocket. “Bomb threat at the pier,” I explained. “We’ve gotta move.”

“We’ll have to swing by the apartment,” Valerie said. “I left my suit there.”

“Not a problem!” I mimicked Meteor, one fist thrust into the air with my index finger raised skyward. In a quick movement, I swept Valerie into my arms and cradled her as I booked it out of the park.

“Jake, no!” she protested, holding me tightly. “Jake, I swear to god, if you drop me…”

I paid no mind to her threats. The sun was shining, there wasn’t a cloud in the sky, and I was a goddamn superhero.

Life was good.

Author's Note

Don't you just love a happy ending?