Content warning: This chapter contains mild violence from villains and heroes battling. 

I needed to get closer to Casey. Maybe I could convince him to come with me, or at least to stop this destruction. He was going to hurt himself if he wasn't careful. I dodged more crumbling debris from the girl with dynamite who helped Casey escape, and ran inside a building that I knew Casey might target next. He seemed to be destroying the buildings from the inside. 

Then, I heard a scream. It was from another hero with whom I worked on a lot of cases. I ran as fast as I could to get to her side. When I got there, her leg was trapped under debris, and there was blood. It was every hero's worst nightmare. I quickly sent out an alert for medics, then crouched down. "Mara, hang on. The medics are on the way," I whispered, brushing the loose strands of hair out of her eyes. I lifted the debris of her leg as gently as I could, then took off the jacket part of my hero suit to stop the bleeding. When I pressed the fabric to her leg, she let out a cry. I tried my best not to show any fear. 

"Am I going to be a hero after this? Will my leg heal up?" Mara asked. I looked down at the bloody sight, then back up to Mara. She was gripping my arm, and her nails were digging into my skin. She went to look down at her leg, but I caught her chin and moved her head back up. 

"Don't look down. Hey, our medics are the best. I'm sure they can fix your leg," I smiled, trying to give her some hope to hang onto. Her injury was bad, and I honestly wasn't sure if she would be able to go on being a hero, but we had to hang on to hope. As soon as the medics arrived, I took off down an alleyway to get back into the battle. I had to make sure that nobody else got hurt tonight. 

As I was running down the alleyway, something appeared in front of me, and I ran right into it. "What the- Casey?" I asked. Casey looked up at me, breathing heavily and looking like a frightened animal. He must have teleported here. "This has to stop."

"I'm sorry. I saw what happened to your friend. Nobody was supposed to get hurt. I didn't mean for her to get hurt. I need you to know that," Casey whispered, looking around as if to make sure nobody was around. I reached out for him, but he stepped further back. "Nobody was ever supposed to get hurt, and it's important that you know that. Please, tell me you know that."

"I know," I replied. Casey seemed to relax, but not much. "I know you would never intentionally hurt someone, but the other villains aren't so kind. Can you ask them to stop this destruction before more people get hurt?" I asked, listening to the explosions and the fighting. I was making sure I didn't hear screams. 

"They won't do it. They don't answer to me. I answer to them," Casey responded, violently pulling his mask off. "I just- I needed you to know that I would never try to hurt anyone. They told me that nobody would be harmed." My heart suddenly ached. I noticed I didn't just want him to stop being a villain; I wanted him to be safe. I wanted to protect him. 

I opened my arms up. Casey looked at me strangely. "I assume you don't like being touched, but if you would like a hug, I'm here," I explained. Casey looked even more confused. "Yeah, it's probably weird to ask a villain if he wants a hug. You know what, forget I said-" I started to say. Casey stepped forward and carefully wrapped his arms around me. I carefully hugged him back. He was shaking. I silenced the world around us so that neither of us had to listen to the battle. He seemed to calm down in the silence. 

"You know, my offer for you to stop being a villain still stands. I can help you. You don't have to be a villain," I said, breaking the silence between us. Casey stepped back, looking up at me. For a second, I thought he was going to accept my offer. He put his mask back on.

"I have to leave before they notice that I'm missing," Casey responded. Before I could say a word, he was gone. I stood in the alleyway for another minute, thinking about Casey, the danger he was in, and how much I wanted to hug him again.