Nightmare - Secret Identities Book 1

Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER: I suck at coming up with superhero/villain names. If they're shit, my bad.
Also WARNING: This book contains mature content such as adult language, sexual situations, and violence. I am not going to put this before every chapter, so this is your only warning.

Virgil's POV

I rolled out of bed earlier than I would have liked, silencing my alarm clock.

The sun was barely peeking over the horizon, though the tall skyscrapers outside my window blocked my view pretty well.

That's what you get for moving to the city, I told myself.

I showered and grabbed breakfast, debating coffee before brushing it off.  I looked back out the window, seeing the city glowing with the reflections of the sun.

A crash sounded from below.

I looked down the many stories to the sidewalk, seeing two supers—two Paragons—fighting in strange costumes, their identities concealed by masks.

I rolled my eyes and walked out of my apartment, planning on taking an alternate route to get to work. It was just another superhero thinking that they could take on the same villain that had been 'terrorizing' us—as the news liked to put it—for months.

The streets were filled with people making their commute, not giving the slightest shit about the fight around the corner. It was a normal Monday for all of us.

The villain, clad in black, was thrown into the street in front of me. He didn't move.

Bravo, I thought sarcastically.

The hero, with his obnoxious, flowing, red cape, hovered over the figure before touching down. He looked around at everyone, clearly expecting some sort of cheering.

No one hardly glanced his way, and I continued walking. Don't get too cocky. Someone someday will take you down, too.

Sirens filled my ears before any cars were in sight. I whirled, fighting against my instincts as the police surrounded this new hero.

"Stand down!" one shouted. "Vigilantism is a crime; surrender while you still can!" They raised guns.

Now people were stopping, staring at the altercation.

The hero didn't back down, though he did survey the attention he was now receiving. He looked back at the officer that had spoken. He held his head high, showing no fear and no sign of weakness.

I couldn't stop myself.

Roman's POV

I looked around at the police officers. I knew the guns wouldn't hurt me but if they missed... Standing in a circle was a bad idea. Even so, I wasn't going to give up now; hell, I'd only just begun.

I stood tall, glaring through my mask at the officer that had demanded my surrender.

Blackness surrounded me. When light finally broke through, I was multiple blocks away.

I looked around, dazed and confused.

"You're a complete and utter dumbass."

I looked towards the voice to see a man standing in the shadow of a building, leaning against the brick. "The bullets wouldn't have hurt me," I told him. My cape billowed in the wind.

Even with the shadows disguising his features, I could tell that he was scowling at me. "Anyone around you could have gotten hurt. Some hero you'd be then..."

I laughed. "And what would you have me do?"

He stepped forward until he stood at the edge of the shadow. "Give up." He snapped his fingers and he was gone, leaving a swell of misty blackness behind.

'Give up'? He thinks I should give up? Like fucking hell.

———

I walked into work and looked around, still unfamiliar with most of it. At least I knew the general places. I needed coffee to be able to function today—that much I was sure of—so I walked into the lounge.

Eyes turned to me, and I touched my face to make sure I'd taken off my mask. Yep, I'm good, so what are they all staring at? I did my best to ignore it, pouring myself a cup of coffee.

Slowly, everyone turned back toward their conversations. One person drew my attention, however; he hadn't so much as looked up from his paperwork.

I decided to sit down in the chair across from him. "Hi-"

"No."

That took me back, but I wasn't going to let it stop me. "I'm the new choir teacher."

He looked up at me with glaring, dark eyes. "Look. Just because we're in high school doesn't mean we have to act like teenagers."

"Wow," was all I could manage. Finally, I smiled. "I'm Roman Ross."

He stared at my face for a second. "Virgil Pearce."

"Alright." I leaned back in my chair. "So, give me the rundown. Which rules can I bend or break around here?"

He continued to look over his papers. "That's your first question. Seriously?"

I nodded, grinning. "What about powers?"

Virgil froze. For a second, he stared at me before finally breathing a sigh. "Officially, the rule is that you can't, but it's like swearing or other things: some teachers do it if they trust their students. It's a party trick to them, so don't you dare use whatever you've got as discipline."

"Yeah, okay." He's touchy... I straightened my expression and asked, "What happened to the last choir director?"

He cocked his head. "No one told you?"

"No...?"

He set his paperwork down, his expression softening. "Around April last school year, she... stopped showing up; she wouldn't answer emails, phone calls, or texts. The school board needed to know if they needed a more permanent replacement. A few of us were close to her, so we all went over to her apartment to check up on her."

"Were you close?"

Virgil didn't nod, but it was obvious the answer was yes. "Ya' know those houses in commercials that always look spotless?"

"Yeah."

"Her place looked like that. I won't say that Val was messy, but her apartment always looked lived-in. The whole thing felt—I don't know—unnatural."

I scanned the room, seeing people glancing my way every few seconds. "So, why's everyone looking at me, then?"

"You're young, relatively handsome, talking to the guy everyone thinks killed her-"

"Wait. Whoa; whoa. What?"

"I didn't," he chuckled, raising his eyebrows.

"I-I didn't say that you did, but why does everyone think that?"

Virgil stood up quickly. He grabbed his papers and walked out without another word.

Okay then... This is what I get for moving to the city.

Virgil's POV

I stormed off. I couldn't take any more of his questions—not about Val. I had tried using my powers to read his mind, but he was blocked off surprisingly well.

Despite that, I could tell what kind of person he was. Roman was arrogant, snobbish, and nosy.

And using his powers during class? Is he mad?