[ WP ] You live in a world of heroes and villains , your job is to contact heroes for hospital visits to sick children , this last request is a challenge , the kid wants to meet their favourite villain ...

“ Hello. ” 
 
 Nina ’ s eyes twinkled as a tall man with average features closed the door. He looked around before he spotted a chair, which he dragged across the cold tile. 
 
 “ Lugos... you came! ” Nina said with great difficulty as he sat down next to her bed. 
 
 Lugos handed Nina a small, white teddy bear. She thanked him with ragged breaths and hugged the stuffed animal as Lugos leaned back into the chair. He looked rather lackluster for one would assume was a “ villain ”. He didn ’ t have a menacing grin or eyes marred with insanity, nor did he have a malicious presence. But there was something off about him, something too unassuming with a lingering aura of unknown power, something that made Nina shiver with goosebumps. She pulled the bear closer to her and coughed. 
 
 Lugos leaned over and pulled the covers up to her chin, taking great care to not jostle the multitude of wires and tubes attached to Nina ’ s tiny frame. 
 
 “ I hear you wanted to meet me, Nina? ” he said. “ The nice lady outside said so. She told me to be on my best behavior for you. ” Lugos pointed at the door. The pair could see a group of super soldiers standing guard with pressurized nuclear rifles held tightly in their gloves. The caseworker glared at Lugos through the window and narrowed her eyes as if she were warning him. 
 
 Lugos turned back to Nina and gave her a small smile. The blips of the machines next to her filled the silence as Lugos waited for her to speak. 
 
 “ You ’ re my favorite hero, ” she finally said. “ I saw you in the park last week when I was looking out the window. ” 
 
 “ Oh, did you now? ” Lugos said. He leaned his chin on his palm. “ And what was I doing? ” 
 
 Nina took a few shallow breaths. “ You... helped her. ” 
 
 “ Helped who? ” 
 
 “ The sick lady. ” 
 
 Lugos sat still, smiling and undeterred. “ How did you know she was sick? ” 
 Nina turned her head. “ I just... I know. ” 
 
 “ But, why do you say I helped her? I ’ m a murderer. I kill innocent people like you all the time. ” He patted a finger onto Nina ’ s nose. Nina squeezed her tired eyes closed and struggled to breathe. 
 
 “ They call me a demon. I steal their souls and kill anyone that tries to save them. ” 
 
 Nina wearily opened her eyes. “ But... they don ’ t want to be saved. ” 
 
 Lugos tilted his head. “ Oh? ” 
 
 Nina nodded. “ She wanted to die. ” 
 
 Lugos sat up and began to roll up his sleeve. “ Do you know the meaning of this flower, right here? ” He pointed to a lotus on his skin. It was carved deep on his forearm, as if someone or something hacked away with a small knife. 
 
 Nina squinted at the grotesque flower. “ What is it? ” 
 
 “ This, right here, Nina, is a lotus. It ’ s a symbol of many things like light, life, and purity. Some religions even use it to teach about life. It ’ s kind of like my power. ” 
 
 Nina reached out and touched the raised bumps on the scarred skin. 
 
 “ Did this hurt? ” 
 
 “ It was meant to make me good, or so they say. ” Lugos ’ s eyes went blank for a moment before he shook his head. “ But that ’ s another story for another time. ” 
 
 There was a quick knock on the door and a shaking nurse stumbled in. “ I-I need to check her line… ” 
 
 Lugos rolled his sleeve back down when the nurse glanced at it. She averted her gaze and rushed to the other side of Nina ’ s bed. 
 
 “ By all means, take your time. Nina and I were just talking about flowers. ” 
 
 The nurse quickly checked all of Nina ’ s vitals and immediately ducked her way out of the room. The caseworker, who held the door open for the nurse, gave Lugos another warning glare as she closed the door. 
 
 “ But... I think you ’ re good. Do you believe in Heaven? ” Nina asked. “ My papa said we all go to Heaven when we die. ” She looked past Lugos and out the window. “ That ’ s what you do, don ’ t you? You send them to Heaven, like an angel? ” 
 
 Lugos crossed his arms and leaned back. “ You said that woman I killed wanted to die, but do you think that woman deserved to die, Nina? ” 
 
 Nina blinked, searching for an answer. “ I don ’ t know. Does anyone deserve to die? ” 
 
 Lugos stared into Nina ’ s clear eyes, devoid of emotion. 
 
 “ Well, no one asks to be born, ” Nina said, “ so, even if they did some bad things in their life, doesn ’ t that mean they never asked to die ‘ cause they never asked to be born? That ’ s not fair. ” 
 
 Lugos nodded. “ Fair point. But everyone still fears death. ” 
 
 Nina hugged the bear against her side and looked back out the window. “ But, I want to die, Lugos. My cancer... it ’ s taking over my heart. ” 
 
 Lugos didn ’ t move and just listened. 
 
 “ I think... I think I deserve to die. ” Nina coughed and shivered. Lugos tucked her tighter into the blankets. “ I don ’ t want to hurt anymore. Please... just save me, Lugos. ” 
 
 Lugos sat for a moment before he stood up and placed a hand on Nina ’ s head. “ As you wish, little one. ” 
 
 Light emanated from his hand and covered Nina ’ s tiny frame. The machines frantically beeped around him as Nina ’ s vitals began to plummet. The caseworker outside banged her hands against the door and tried to jiggle the handle. She yelled at the soldiers who tried to open the door, but it wouldn ’ t budge. They shot at him through the walls, but Lugos held his other hand up and shielded the blasts with a wall of energy. 
 
 Nina ’ s body shuddered as she lit up. She rose in the air, bathed in a glow of warm light. Her eyes widened and she gasped, taking her last breath before her body floated gently down into the bed. 
 
 “ It is done, ” Lugos said as he faded into thin air, behind the echoes of flat-lining machines.
