Witch

In a world where superheroes existed, everything was not as wonderful as it seemed. Battles between heroes and villains were merely dinner-table conversation. Most people overlooked the fact that heroes and villains were ordinary people too.

No hero protected the public every moment of every day. They had their own troubles. After donning their uniforms to uphold justice, heroes still had to face the daily necessities of real life. Every time they removed their masks, those humble, ordinary days reminded them that a simple life was the truest one.

This was even more apparent in villains. Like how the Joker, after spending a day matching wits and courage with Batman, still had to go grocery shopping with Harley Quinn afterward.

Villains did not spend every moment plotting how to rule the world either. It might sound unbelievable, but villains were people too. They had their own worries and moments when they had to bow to reality.

Linda Lightches was a fine example. She was a woman born into a Native American tribe in Arizona. Thanks to her exceptional abilities, she earned outstanding grades and got into her dream school.

How wonderful it would have been if everything had developed normally. But to her surprise, her roommate at school was a follower of Mephisto, who often gathered with other cultists to perform sacrifices, study Black Magic, and do practically anything else.

Under her good roommate’s persuasion, Linda gradually joined the church dedicated to Mephisto and became one of its cultists. In the end, during a sacrificial ritual, Linda was surrounded by the other cultists and tied to the altar—the sacrifice this time was Linda herself.

Though Linda struggled with all her might, what kind of storm could a weak woman like her possibly stir up against such a large group of cultists? Her soul was immediately sent before Mephisto, and under threat, she became Mephisto’s messenger.

However, that had happened a very, very long time ago for Linda. After being defeated by Ghost Rider, she was abandoned by Mephisto. Though she still possessed some magic from Hell, Linda had truly lost her connection to Mephisto.

To prevent Mephisto from deciding to seek revenge against her one day, Linda quickly found herself a new patron in the Chaos Dimension. Abandoned by Hell, she chose to throw herself into the embrace of the Great Old Ones and became a devout follower of the old gods.

But in truth, Linda had only done all that to protect herself. She had long since drawn a clear line between herself and superheroes or supervillains. She devoted herself wholeheartedly to living as an ordinary person, dealing with the trivialities of daily life.

What was more, Linda was now a mother of three.

After leaving behind that life where she never knew whether clarity or disaster would arrive first, Linda discovered just how wonderful it was to care for her husband and raise her children. She had found a husband who was a designer, while she herself worked at a factory. Neither of them earned much, but it was enough to cover their living expenses.

After work that day, Linda returned home early. She knew her husband was away on business for the past two days, and she had to get home quickly to cook for the children. But she was truly tired today, so Linda decided to buy some treats she normally would not spend money on, giving the children a surprise.

"Kids, Mommy’s home. Today—"

Linda unlocked the front door and entered with bags in both hands. But when she saw the state of the house, her expression froze instantly, and she swallowed the rest of her words.

Four people dressed in strange uniforms were sitting unceremoniously on the sofas in her living room. Her three children were eating at the dining table, and judging from the aroma drifting through the air, the food was probably beyond what she could afford.

"Ms. Linda Lightches? Please forgive our presumptuous intrusion. Mr. John asked me to seek your help. He said you might be able to provide me with some assistance."

Only after hearing the figure wearing a witch doctor Bird-Beak Mask speak did Linda notice John, who was greeting her with an innocent expression.

As supervillains from the magic side, Linda and John had interacted several times before. They were not especially close friends, but they occasionally kept in touch.

Linda knew John quite well. This man, once known as the Blood Baron, was extremely narcissistic. For someone so full of himself to behave so obediently, these people’s backgrounds had to be significant.

Sure enough, in the next moment, Linda recognized Quicksilver—but what shocked her beyond measure was that this Quicksilver was missing an arm!

Linda might no longer have been a supervillain, but unlike John, who hid in the gutter and ignored everything beyond it, she had not cut herself off from the outside world.

So Linda naturally knew that Quicksilver had never lost a hand. Both his arms had been perfectly intact. One could only imagine how terrified she was to see an armless Quicksilver and two strangers of unknown origin appear in her home.

"Uh, ahem, all right. What do you—what do you need me to do?" Linda stammered. She no longer knew what she was supposed to do at this moment.

"Relax, ma’am. I mean you no harm, nor will I bring any danger to you or your family. I simply need your help with something. But I think the children should not hear matters between adults. Is there somewhere quiet?"

Zhang Ye tilted his head toward the children stuffing themselves at the table, then spoke kindly to Linda.

"Yes, yes. This way, please." Linda gave Zhang Ye and the others an awkward smile and gestured for them to follow. Then she turned to John, whose face was still full of innocence. While Zhang Ye’s group was not paying attention, Linda silently mouthed, "What the fxxk?"

If anyone there had telepathy, they would definitely have heard the vicious words surging from Linda’s heart. She had already cursed John, that old bat, countless times in her mind.

John could only spread his hands helplessly, looking as though it had nothing to do with him, while giving her an expression that told her to pray for herself.

Linda was instantly furious. She glared viciously at John as if she wanted to devour him alive, but John acted as though he had seen nothing and quickly hurried after Zhang Ye and the others.