fanfic100

It’s better to burn out than fade away.

It’s the end all heroes want – a quick death from a hopeless fight to defend their lover, their family, their home. To die at the hand of your enemy, protecting those who can’t protect themselves, is an honourable way to go, and if you can take him with you, so much the better.

There’s no happy ending, not really. For every villain beaten, another will take his place. Heroes can’t retire – they’re a prime target for villains, as a hero’s death strikes fear and disillusion in to the masses. As a result, they either die in battle or are defeated and shamed – the society they swore to protect turning its back in disgust.

Captain Hammer had never thought he’d fall into the second category.

He knew he should be grateful to be alive – most superheroes would have been killed by a back-firing Death Ray, let alone ordinary humans – but he can’t help but feel death would have been preferable. He tried to talk to his shrink about these feelings, but all the man did was mutter about “self-esteem damage” and dole out a prescription for anti-depressants.

He tried them for a week, taking two of the little green-and-white capsules a day, but all they did was make him feel nauseas, and he couldn’t stand being dependant on anything, so before long he found himself watching them disappear down the toilet in their handfuls, a swirl of colour bright against the cold porcelain.

Nobody noticed him anymore, or if they did, it’s with a sneer of contempt, mocking his cowardice. He wanted to shake them and shout that at least he tried, that they never once tried to save themselves, nobody ever did. But he didn’t. He knew, deep down, that they were right. He ran away, and left Penny to die at the hands of his nemesis. He was a coward, letting Dr. Horrible run amok in the city and terrorise the population, and he didn’t even try to stop him. The press had long since given up on him; even the letters’ page no longer questioned his whereabouts.

It’s sad, but he’d never had much of a life outside his fame. Now it was gone, he felt like he was fading.

--

He was lying in bed, staring into the dark and trying to sleep, when the idea hit him. He had to face his fear, face Dr. Horrible. It was the right thing to do; the villain can’t be allowed to continue in this manner. He had to be dealt with. And, of course, once he had been dealt with, the press would once again respect Captain Hammer for the hero he was.

Captain Hammer rolled over, pulling the blanket tighter over his shoulders, sleep coming easily for the first time in months.

--

It’d all gone wrong so quickly.

He should’ve realised that, now he was in the Evil League of Evil, Dr. Horrible would be much harder to defeat. Whereas his heists had once been poorly planned, with his only back-up being one small sweaty man, he now commanded dozens of henchmen. Once he’d been working alone, now he had the entire ELE supporting him.

Captain Hammer, however, was still working alone. He’d wanted all the glory for himself, and rushed in without any thought to a plan. At any rate, he doubted the Heroes’ Guild would even help him anymore, even if he had asked.

He hadn’t even got near the villain before the henchmen, with their sheer weight of numbers, had him pinned down. Now his arms were twisted behind his back, held in metal handcuffs that, try as he might, Captain Hammer couldn’t break. He was forced into a kneeling position as the scarlet-coated figure of his nemesis approached.

“They’re made of Unobtanium. Don’t even bother trying to break them,” mocked Dr. Horrible.

Captain Hammer just glared in response.

“I’m surprised to see you here,” continued the villain. “I thought you were too afraid to face me. The great Captain Hammer reduced to a snivelling coward.”

The hero gritted his teeth and ignored the jeers of the henchmen surrounding him. “I’m not a coward.”

Dr. Horrible smiled. “Tell me, why are you here?”

“To defeat you.”

“I must say, it’s going fantastically. Did you really think you would win?”

Captain Hammer opened his mouth to snap a retort, before his nemesis’ words sunk in.

Had he really thought he’d win?

He remembered the months when he’d wished for death.

He remembered how it’s better to burn out than fade away.

He realised how, in the back of his mind, this had been the plan all along.

He shook his head.

“So, why are you here? I never had you down as the suicidal type.”

“It’s not suicide.”

“Oh, believe me Captain, you won’t survive this meeting.”

The hero shook his head again. “That’s not what I meant.”

Dr. Horrible raised an eyebrow. “Oh, I see. The press will see it as a heroic last stand. They’ll make you a martyr. But – what if I don’t kill you?”

“Why would you do that?”

“Because it’s the opposite of what you want me to do. Clearly you think dying is preferable to the press hating you, therefore it’s in my best interest to keep you alive. Is your reputation really worth dying for?”

“Was your reputation worth murdering Penny for?”

The words were barely out of his mouth before Dr. Horrible was pointing the Death Ray into his face, shaking with anger, all trace of his cool detachment gone. “Don’t you dare…” he growls between clenched teeth.

It’s better to burn…

“You killed her –”

 “No…”

“She was defenceless –”

“No!” screamed Dr. Horrible, as his finger tightened on the trigger.

The jet of red light hit Captain Hammer full in the face.

It’s better…

He felt fire blaze through his body.

…better…

He felt himself burning up.

…to burn…

Then he felt nothing.

But it was better than fading away.