A Call to Darkness (Book 1 of Calling All Heroes)

A Worried Prince

Once the police arrived, The Prince left and made his way back to headquarters, calling Patton while he was on his way. He'd never heard Night Storm's voice sound like that before, and he was somewhat concerned. "Hey, Heart. Did Night Shadow make it back safely?"

"Yeah, kiddo. He's in his room right now. Where are you?"

"I'm on my way back. I stayed behind to make sure the women that we saved were okay until the cops showed up."

"Okay," Patton looked towards Virgil's door and then back to the console in front of him. "Is everything okay, Princey?"

"Of course. Why do you ask?"

"Deceit's out, and I've switched to a secure channel. Now tell me the truth, Ro."

Roman sighed heavily, "Night Storm scared us. His voice sounded weird."
"Weird? What do you mean?"

"It sounded like a storm rolling in. It was menacing and scary."

"...Was he invisible when he was talking?"

"Yes. Does that make a difference?"

"Oh, fudge."

"Whoa, padre. What's wrong? You don't usually use such strong language. What's wrong?"

"Night Storm tries not to talk when he's invisible. That voice you heard is part of his power. It instills fear in the person who hears it."

"Well, it certainly did that."

"I'll talk to Logic about that. he might be able to program a dampener in his mask so that his voice can't affect anyone."

"It could come in handy if we're up against a villain. Perhaps, just a way to dampen it when he doesn't want to use it and some way of keeping us from hearing it?"

"That could work. I'll talk with Logic when he gets back from patrol. You hurry on back, kiddo. I don't want you out there without back up."

"I'm already outside. I'll be in in a moment."

"Okay. See you when you get in."

Roman walked into the control room a moment later and gave Patton a small smile. He looked towards Virgil's door and bit his lip.

"Why don't you go talk to him. See how he's doing?"

"Why?"

"Because you're worried. I can see it. Go check on him."Roman let out an annoyed groan and walked over to the door, knocking on it. "Open up, princess."

"Go take a long walk off a short pier, Prince Underarm-stink."

"That was rather rude. I'll have you know my underarms do not stink! Now, open up. I want to check on you."

"Wha...why on earth would you wanna do that?"

"Your voice did something weird, and you sounded like you were a bit upset when you left."

"I'm fine. Leave me alone. Now."

"I'm sorry. I really am concerned about you, though. You're usually not so...angsty after fighting."

"...I'm fine, princey. Really. I'm just gonna chill out for a bit, and then I'm gonna head home."

"Alright. If you need to talk, I'm willing to listen."

"Thanks."

Roman walked back towards Patton and sat in the chair beside him. "He said he's going to relax for a bit then head home."

"Okay. How are you doing, Ro?"

"I'll be alright. I may not like Night Storm, but I do not want him to be down or anything."

Patton remained silent and just nodded his head. He wanted to tell the princely hero that the other hero was the same person he was pining after. Still, he promised to keep all of their identities secret. It hurt him to know that they despised each other's hero personas despite enjoying each other's company. Part of him wondered how they would react when they found out. He knew it would only be a matter of time before the truth came out. Another part of him did not want to know how they would react. That part of him wanted to keep it a secret from the both of them for all of eternity.