Nemesis

Summary: Caleb lashes out at an old enemy.

Author’s note: This was written for Round 57 of #ChoicesCreates: Choices Villains

Caleb drove the van away from the burning Division of Motor Vehicles building, speeding off as quickly as he could. No way was he letting that damn cop lock him up. Once he was a safe distance away, he slowed down. He made a right turn, and as he headed down the street, he spotted a parked car. He immediately pulled over onto the side of the road.

The car was all too familiar to him. He had spotted his longtime enemy, Adam Webb, getting into it when he had pulled into the liquor store parking lot last week. It was hard to forget a red Mustang with the license plate IWIN 4EVA.

Adam had tormented him throughout middle school. He had made fun of Caleb’s clothes and hair, and called him names: loser, freak, and asshole, among others. He laughed at Caleb constantly and encouraged his friends to do the same. He had stolen Caleb’s gym clothes, which led to Caleb being marked unprepared and being berated by his gym teacher. He would push and shove Caleb, but when Caleb tried to fight back, Adam’s friends would join in, and he couldn’t take them all on by himself.

Caleb didn’t have many friends in school. He was pretty much a social outcast. But one of his classmates, Melissa, had always been kind to him. He had a huge crush on her, but he never really expected her to reciprocate his feelings. He thought she was way out of his league. Still, she was the bright spot in those awful days at school. Unfortunately, Adam figured out how Caleb felt about her, and went out of his way to be friendly to Melissa. Eventually they started dating. Adam always made a point of being particularly affectionate with Melissa whenever Caleb was around.

One day, as Caleb took a seat next to Melissa in their English class, he noticed that her face was red and puffy, and there were tears in her eyes. He tried to find out what had upset her, but she didn’t want to talk about it. When class was over, they saw Adam in the hallway, and Melissa rushed past him quickly. Adam turned to his friends and laughed. Caleb’s blood boiled as he heard Adam call Melissa a slut. He stepped closer and, catching him off guard, punched Adam in the face. Of course Adam and his friends retaliated. Soon afterward, Caleb found himself in the principal’s office. He was suspended for fighting.

Naturally, he got in trouble at home as a result. He seethed with rage. The principal was going to pay for punishing him. The hell with that school. He hated that place. That night, he took an empty beer bottle and filled it with lighter fluid, then stuck a paper towel in the opening. He carried it with him as he walked to the school building. He pulled out a lighter, set the paper towel on fire, and threw the Molotov cocktail at one of the windows. As the school caught fire, he ran away as fast as he could.

That incident landed him in juvie for the first time.

Now, looking at Adam’s car, he was flooded with memories. He felt the anger burning inside him. He stepped out of the van and approached the red Mustang. As he transformed, flames shot out of his hands. He grinned wickedly as the car was consumed by fire. Then he hurried back to the van, changed back to his usual form, and drove away quickly.

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