[WP] A sidekick discovers that the villains he and his master face every day are just other supers that are contracted by various clients to advertise and spread propaganda for them.

Glint stood right at the edge of the precipice, the wind ruffling his carefully styled hair as he watched the city below. He cut a dramatic figure, scarlet cape billowing behind him as he scanned the streets. The hero smiled benevolently over his people, displaying his perfect white teeth.

That was when his apprentice, The Harold, tripped on a rock and crashed into him, sending them both spilling over the ledge. Glint sighed heavily as they went through the motions of free-falling. The Harold was still screaming his lungs out despite the numerous times he'd experienced it while fighting some villain or other. Only when Glint tapped him on the shoulder and pointed out that they had reached the ground did the kid stop screaming.

Now The Harold was trying to apologize while bawling at the same time, curled up at the ground. Glint fought down the urge to leave him there. Inwardly, he cursed himself for retaining the sidekick. The Harold was another charity case from the city's overflowing orphanage. He'd shown some promise at the early stages of apprenticeship and was useful enough in a fight - he could carry most of Glint's flashy equipment. Still, the kid was a sap. Chrissake, he'd called himself The Harold. Glint nudged his sidekick with a foot.

"Hey, kid, it's over now, okay? Quit that noise. Now, did you say you had something to show me?"

The lad's red-rimmed eyes looked up at Glint as he slowly sat up on the grass. Still sniffling a little, he reached into his backpack and drew out a notebook.

"Y-you asked me to look at the v-villains for you. Do some r-research. L-look."

The Harold stabbed a finger at the page. On it was a crudely drawn image of Glint's rival - Decay. He was a small man with a mustache and a penchant for rusting random parts of the city. More annoying than dangerous. So what? The crowd always cheered Glint on.

A red circle was drawn about Decay's left bicep. Next to it was scrawled a symbol made from three interlocking circles with the word tattoo written under it. With multiple exclamation points. It was a mark symbolizing time spent in the University of Heros. Glint had his own tattoo, but preferred to keep it hidden under his sleeve.

"So, what? You figured out that Decay's a hero gone rogue? Is that it?"

The Harold wiped at his nose with a finger before nodding.

"Look at me, kid." Glint stood up and tapped his chest. "What do you see here?"

Glint's apprentice stared at him blankly. The hero pretended The Harold had answered correctly anyway.

"Right! We're not vigilantes. And what does that mean? Yes, we have corporate sponsors. And all they want is a little song-and-dance to keep the public happy."

His apprentice's mouth was agape. Glint knelt down and looked him in the eye.

"Kid, did you seriously think I would choose a toothbrush for my personal motif?"

/r/WritingPrompts Thread