The bad man sucked in an excited breath. “Yes, that’s right. Go on, do it.”
Bethany realized he was staring at the knife in her hand and believed she would cut the poor thing. For some reason, that made her so mad she tightened her fist around the handle harder. She wound up her arm and threw the knife at the bad man, but he moved too quickly and sidestepped out of the way.
“I won’t! I won’t hurt anything. Not animals, and not even snails, and you can’t make me, so leave me alone! I’m going to be like Wonder Woman and wait for my mama to come!”
The bad man only stood there, waiting for her to finish. When she did, he pulled her by the hand across the floor, over to the ugly green couch.
“I’m afraid that this is an area in which you require further education regarding the true nature of superheroes. Of course, all children want to be heroes. They have a deep, innate desire to be special. The problem stems from the belief that all they have to do is throw on a cape or drive a fast car with lots of cool features, or gain a secret power, and, presto! They can save the world. But they always forget about the price of tapping into those superpowers. Pain.”
The bad man’s eyes gleamed when he breathed the last word, and Bethany shivered. She could tell he liked the idea of pain, instead of thinking it was awful, like a normal person. She wanted to cover her ears and block out every horrible thing he said, but he’d only rip her hands away or shove her back into the refrigerator.
She refused to agree, though. Wonder Woman didn’t need pain to save people. “I don’t believe you.”
Doctor Rotten smiled the tiny smile. “Don’t you? Tell me then, what happened to Batman before he decided to fight evil?”
Bethany shrugged. How would she know? The Batman movies were too old for her. Besides, she liked Wonder Woman better.
“His parents were murdered right on the street in front of him when he was a little boy, so he internalized all that pain and channeled it into helping other citizens of Gotham. Without that tragic backstory, Bruce Wayne would be just another billionaire, exploiting workers for his own gain. Now, what about Spiderman? Do you know if he had a happy life growing up with his parents?”
Bethany bit her lip. She’d watched that movie and was pretty sure the answer was no. Peter Parker grew up with his Aunt May, so that probably meant his parents were dead…or bad. Plus, he’d been picked on a lot in school.
Even though she didn’t say anything, Doctor Rotten nodded like he’d read her mind.
“There, you see? Poor Peter.” He clicked his tongue like he was sad, but Bethany knew he wasn’t sad at all. “What about those dismal X-Men? If you’ve read the comics or watched any of those movies, you’ll know that none of them led very happy lives to start. Persecuted and locked in cages, experimented on by their own government! All for powers outside of their control. Then there’s the one you mentioned before, the marvelous Wonder Woman.”
Bethany had been staring at the floor, but her head jerked up at that. Shut up. Shut up, shut up, shut up.
But Doctor Rotten wouldn’t shut up. He never did. “Tell me, did your caped superhero live out her days on her beautiful, hidden home island, all safe and cozy with her Amazonian family and friends?”
Bethany’s heart raced, and her fingers curled at her sides. She wouldn’t answer. She wouldn’t. The bad man must think she was really stupid to fall for his trick. She wished he’d just hurry up and finish already.
“Cat got your tongue? That’s okay, I’ll answer for you. Wonder Woman was forced to leave her homeland and never return. Never see her family again. And do you know why? Because the only way for a superhero to reach their true potential is by experiencing a traumatic trigger. Without pain and suffering, they’d simply go about their everyday lives and not spend a single minute worrying about ways to help others or save the world.”
Doctor Rotten moved closer and held out a hand. “Do you see now? If you let me, I’ll help bring out the superhero in you. Think of how much good you can do once you have rage and anger and pain to draw your powers from.”
Bethany stared at the hand like it was a snake, except even snakes were nicer than him. “I’m not a baby. I know superheroes aren’t real. Someone wrote them, like books. They’re make-believe.” She shoved out her chin. “My mama is going to come and save me, though. Just wait.”
The bad man clucked his tongue again. “I wish you were right, but the truth is, Katarina is no hero, super or otherwise. If anything, I’m afraid your dear mama is a villain. Would you like me to share some of the horrible crimes she’s committed over the years?”
This time, Bethany did cover her ears. “Stop! I won’t listen.”
But Doctor Rotten grabbed her wrists and wrenched her hands away. “Oh, but you will. Starting with when I first met your mother as a little girl. She was only two years older than you but already so incredibly bloodthirsty. Did she ever tell you how she cut up her poor adoptive parents, the Davidsons, and once she’d tired of her fun, lit them on fire?”
Bethany’s hair whipped in the air as she shook her head. “I don’t believe you. I don’t.” But her voice came out squeaky and small when she remembered all the Zombie Apocalypse stuff Mama had taught, and his smile widened.
“Oh, but I think you do. And if she killed someone at such a tender, young age,
