A/N: In the past, I only wrote fanfics for Supernatural, until I pulled them down. But, I'm dipping my toe into this. My first Dr. Horrible fanfic. Be gentle.

Disclaimer: Joss Whedon is a genius. I'm not. He owns this. I wish I owned Neil Patrick Harris. I also should say spoilers for Act 3, if you haven't seen this awesome show.

Hellfire

"Don't…" Billy pleaded with Captain Hammer, who was holding the malfunctioning death ray. He hadn't planned on his own death was the murder to get Dr. Horrible (and himself) into the ELE. After all, if he died, that wouldn't profit Dr. Horrible very much.

"I don't have time for your warnings," Captain Hammer sneered. "Give my regards to Saint Peter, or whoever has his job but in Hell."

Captain Hammer pulled the trigger, and a horrible explosion assaulted Billy's ears. Everything went red in front of his eyes.

For a moment he didn't feel anything. As he blinked away the red, he breathed in the smoke from the exploded gun. As he coughed and tried to wave it away, he heard Captain Hammer crying and screaming in pain. He felt his body, checking for injuries.

Shockingly, he seemed to be fine.

At least something good came out of this. He may have not accomplished his goal to kill Hammer, but humiliation was just as good.

After all, Hammer was slipping. And now everyone knew that Hammer was slipping.

As he surveyed the crowd, he let a smirk of satisfaction come out. He survived the explosion, and it looked like everybody else did too. He humiliated Hammer, who he could see running for the door.

And then, his eyes fell on Penny.

Penny… the one person who deserved better than this. He had wanted her to see, but definitely not like this.

She would be all right. She had to be all right. Except… he knew that she wasn't going to be. Even in spite of the handle from his death ray sticking out of her chest, she was still concerned about him. About Billy.

"Don't worry. Captain Hammer will save us," Penny weakly stammered out just before the light faded from her eyes.

Billy realized that he was wrong as he became slowly aware of reporters asking Dr. Horrible questions. He had died in that explosion. He had to have died.

Only Dr. Horrible survived. He got what he wanted, but as Billy faded away, he realized he lost everything.

Red.

It was the color of blood, which was now on Dr. Horrible's hands and conscience. He had killed. Sacrificed an innocent person in order to get in the ELE.

Red.

It was also the color of fire. Hellfire. Where Billy was in now.

This had to be Hell.

Occasionally Dr. Horrible could hear Billy's voice sounding in his ears, weakly protesting what he was doing. But, Dr. Horrible kept shoving him down.

His first step was his new lab coat and gloves. Black gloves to match his soul. Red coat, to reflect the blood on his conscience—Penny's blood—and the Hellfire that his old self was in.

He never wore his goggles before that day. Now he never took them off. It wasn't anything to do with safety issues, because he didn't really care for his own safety anymore. They were there to now hid his eyes.

Billy's eyes. They always gave everything away. His eyes tended to give everything away, and Dr. Horrible hated that.

People would never again see Billy's eyes again.

"And I won't feel a thing."

Dr. Horrible said goodbye to both Penny and Billy, hoping he would never think of them ever again.

End

A/N: Rambling, I know. I'm not expecting hardly any reviews, but I would appreciate any review I can get.