Villains Rise

Chapter 26 -- To The Undergrounds, clumpnugget

"What are you? A villain?" I spit the words at her.

"What? No!" Yeah, right.

"A hero?" I ask with a chuckle just to mock her.

"Not exactly?" She responds. My eyes narrow as I lean my weight on my right side.

"Let me guess... A renegade." I hold my breath.

She closes her eyes and leans her back against the door. I wait for her response.

"Anti-hero?" I sigh out the only other option I know of.

Her eyes open, but she rubs her fingers across her forehead. Yeah, I'm getting a headache too.

"I was in The Undergrounds when you were kidnapped. I worked beside Owen before you were around. I know all of his plans. You think he's a rogue villain, renegade, whatever, but he's really, truly a villain that wants to take you down just as much as the next villain. He was your kidnapper, after all."

I breathe out. Here I thought it was all an act on Owen's part. No, he was a real villain that made me think he was a renegade. How do I know she's not lying, though? She just admitted to working alongside him.

"You probably don't believe me. But if I were really a villain, would I tell you-" She holds onto her words and sits at the edge of her bed. Now she has my attention. She nervously twiddles her thumbs. "Okay, first, there are a few small things you need to know before I spill the big thing."

Why is she telling me all of this?

I sit down on the foot of her bed. "Go on."

"Jonas was kidnapped by Owen. He's locked away in The Undergrounds, like you were. Owen put me in charge of monitoring him, but he doesn't know I'm actually doing research and reporting back to Jonas."

"What kind of research?" I butt in. This sounds like the exact same story Owen tried to tell me, and I won't fall for it again.

She huffs at me for interrupting. "I was snooping in the villain files."

I retort sarcastically, "What a brilliant idea. I wish I had thought of that."

Sophia purses her lips, "Do you want me to get straight to the point or not?" I gesture for her to continue and she nods her head.

"Steel Hawk is not dead."

My heart drops to my stomach. A feeling of numbness travels throughout my body. My skin crawls at the mention of his name. He's alive? How?

I jump up from her bed and push past her to get to the door. She hops up and holds out a hand to stop me in my steps. "What are you doing?" Sophia asks, bewildered.

"I don't believe a word you've said." I reply mundanely. I'm freaking out on the inside, but I can't express that I let her words get to me. Please let it not be true.

"Where are you going?" I've already opened the door and stuck one foot in the hall.

"To The Undergrounds, clumpnugget." I slam the door behind me and try not to topple down the steps. It's worth a shot to try and use my super speed to get out of here. I'm a little shaky, but I manage to make it out of the house and down the block before Sophia can chase after me. Unless she can teleport or something. In which case, I'd be in huge trouble.

My hand wraps around the car door handle and I jump in. Where my sudden burst of power came from, I have no clue. I'm just glad it came back for a few seconds. My eyes meet mom's and I yell, "Drive!"

"What happened? How did you get back here so fast?" She turns the key in the ignition and we begin to race down the street. I catch my breath before I tell her anything.

"She told me Jonas is trapped in The Undergrounds, that Owen is a true villain, and... and..." Mom looks over at me when I don't complete my sentence.

"She said Steel Hawk is still alive."

The car jerks right, almost hitting a lamp post on the street. I stare at mom with wide, horror filled eyes. I suppose that was an appropriate reaction.

"WHAT?!" My mom clenches her dainty hands around the steering wheel, turning her knuckles a bright white as they lose circulation.

"I don't know what's true and what's a lie anymore. Take me to The Undergrounds." I beg.

Mom finally gets her wits about her and shakes her head. "You don't have powers to defend yourself." I tell her Steel Hawk might still be alive, and now we're back to over-protective mother mode.

I take a deep breath, "I know. But if someone creates a distraction, I can sneak in." I glance over at her, hoping she'll meet my hopeful eyes. When she does, she scoffs.

"You're my daughter, that's for sure..." She throws her head back in defeat, "Okay." She continues to drive down the road, in a safer manner this time.

I smirk to myself, because I know that questions are about to be answered. Mysteries are about to be solved.

Evil plots are about to be destroyed.

A/N
*Nervous laugh* It's been a while guys... How are y'all?
Comments? Theories? Questions?
I'm really sorry that it's been so long, but I'm starting to get really sad as this book comes to an end. It's honestly getting hard to come to a close.

BUT WAIT THERE'S MORE!

In a previous author's note, I revealed I would be writing another super book in the same universe, and I think y'all are going to like it. I'll be taking some time off this summer after VR is completed to read other books (I've got way too many books in my library that I need to read) and also to start writing this new book. So if I go MIA for a while, you already know.

Until next time!
Always, Sunny