Villain at Night *Third Book To Hero by Day

Chapter 12 - The new generation of clichés

"I see through the lies of the Jedi. I do not fear the dark side as you do. I have brought peace, freedom, justice, and security to my new Empire."

~ Anakin Skywalker (Darth Vader)

:Aden:

With Olly gone, lunch had been little bit more than awkward. Mary had also been missing, she ran off to the library for a project. Olly was like the glue that kept his friends together, and he was the one who kept the conversations going. Without him, it was not a fun lunch.

He still wasn't back by after school. I had no homework, so I told my dad I was going over to Tyler's house to play video games, while in reality I was going to the Man Cave. I didn't feel like patrolling the streets until night fell, so I was left parading around the underground lair in boredom. Eric was sick, so he stayed at home. This was the first time I truly had the Man Cave to myself, and it felt very weird.

The screens were dark and seemed empty without Eric's paused game of World of Warcraft on them. And the training area looked quite a bit scary with one of its lightbulbs out. The training dummies resembled shadow creatures about to attack us.

That was not a good thought. I only reminded me of Midnight. She hadn't been seen since the attack, which was normal for most super villains. They would usually have a cooling off period between attacks, because even villains had to take a break from trying to end the world.

I knew Midnight had affected Olly in a way she wasn't able to do for me. Her shadow creatures made him feel things he didn't want to feel and brought up old thoughts that scared him. When he was fully engulfed in her shadows, I could see Midnight's triumphant gaze. She was truly happy to be causing my friend that much pain. Whatever she thought he must've done to her, it was something monumental.

I hope she stayed away for a long time.

I took a seat in Eric's favorite office chair and spun around in a circle. I must've looked like an idiot, but if you ever did that as a kid, you can't blame me. It's fun as hell.

And then the phone rang.

I stopped swirling immediately and stared at the landline with sense of shock. That phone never rang. Olly told me that only a few people had that number, and I had no idea why one would contact me now.

I picked up the phone hesitantly and spoke, "Hello?"

The voice at the other end was grateful as well as worried. "Hi, is this White Lightning?"

"Umm . . . no. This is Kratos, his sidekick." I answered.

The man on the other line cursed. "Is there any way you can get to him for me? He said I could contact him any time with this number, and I need him immediately." A pause, and then he added an afterthought. "I'm Detective Pearson with the Super Task Force. We've met before."

"Right. Well, I don't currently know where my boss is, but anything he can do, I can do. What do you need him for?"

I could tell the Detective was not happy about using me instead of Olly, but if what he needed was as urgent as he sounded, then he would have to deal with the cards he'd been given.

"This is . . . it's kind of complicated, but I have a daughter, you know that, right?" Of course I did, Annalise Pearson was . . . well, I don't think crush would be the right word, but you know what I mean. "Well, she's missing. She never came home from school and she hasn't been answering my calls. I know a child coming home late isn't what a superhero would normally investigate, but I know my daughter, and I know this isn't like her. Something is wrong."