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

Angst

Warning: Angst. Dude is just gonna be straight up evil in this chapter. Like all the evil. Like so much evil Darth Vader and Lord Voldemort are gonna need nightlights after reading this chapter. Also torture. You have been warned.

—

Terror gripped the city. Roman, Remy, Logan, and Olav has no idea what to do. They were no match for Angst. The only one of them that any hope against the villain that had once been the hero Night Shadow, was now powerless against him. Whatever Bedrag has done to the man had amplified his powers to the point he was now impossible to handle.

"What are we gonna do?" Roman and the other heroes hid behind a building while Angst looked for them. He hadn't started using his voice yet. Toying with them like a cat with a mouse.

"He can't be reasoned with," Logan sent a truck flying down the street and Angst dodges it effortlessly.

"You can't reason with him if you're throwing vehicles at him, Logic."

"D and I are useless in this situation. I can't get close enough to him to put him to sleep. And I don't see how shapeshifting with work in this situation."

"It won't. If we can't get close to him I can't even fight him hand to hand."

"That makes me useless as well. A melee weapon is useless in a ranged fight."

They all looked at Logan. He stared back at his companions and sighed heavily. "I can only throw so many things at him. But..."

"But...?" Roman looked at the other hero expectantly.

"We can create distractions. If we can keep his attention on us long enough Shadow can sneak up on him and put him to sleep."

"Splendid! How do we do it?"

"Deceit, you trained Night Shadow with his throwing daggers. Correct?"

"Yes."

"Good. You're gonna start throwing daggers at him. Prince, you're our tank. I'll do my best to send other, heavier objects at him. If we can keep him focused on dodging and making physical attacks against Prince we should be good."

"Here's hoping this works, babe."

The others nodded and the three younger heroes left their hiding spot and prepared to take on the man that had once been their friend. At least, that was the plan. When they came out of hiding the villain was no where to be seen.

"Do you think he—AAARGH!" Roman fell to his knees and gripped his head, tears flowing.

The others called his name, but he couldn't hear them as horrible visions swam before his eyes and a storm rang in his ears. He was at Angst's mercy.

"YOU FAILED HIM, ROMAN. HE TRUSTED YOU. YOU WERE SUPPOSED TO KEEP HIM SAFE. BECAUSE OF YOU HE WAS CAPTURED. YOU FAILED. HE SPENT HOURS IN THAT CHAIR. TORTURED. HE SCREAMED FOR YOU. BEGGED YOU TO COME SAVE HIM. HE DIED WITH YOUR NAME ON HIS LIPS."

Images of Virgil being tortured flashed in the princely hero's mind. The darkly colored hero screaming in agony, begging for help. Begging for death by the end of it. His lifeless form limp in the chair, eyes clouded over and lifeless. The room still echoing with his screams. Two dark figures stood in the corner watching the scene and snickering sinisterly. The scene began again. Virgil fighting his restraints. Bedrag starting the machine. Virgil screaming in pain and fear. The machine stopping long enough to allow the man to regain his mind enough to know what was happening. The machine started again. He screamed. It stopped. A moment of reprieve. It repeated. After several hours of torture the screaming stopped. The machine turned off. The body fell limp. The chest no longer rose and fell with signs of life. The eyes slowly clouded over. The figures laughed. The scene restarted.

Olav moved forward to grab Roman. To try and pull him out of his nightmare, but he stopped short. Eyes widened with fear and he too fell to his knees.

"HE WOULD'VE BEEN SAFE IF IT WEREN'T FOR YOU. YOU LED HIM TO HIS DEATH, OLAV. YOU KNOW YOU DID. YOU SAW IT."

The contents of the video replayed before Olav's eyes. He remained kneeling on the ground. Silent tears running down his cheeks as he watched the man he loved being tortured over and over again.

"Logic! Get out of there!" Shadow ran out from their hiding spot and towards the logical hero, but he was too late.

Angst smirked and made himself visible between the two heroes.

"PATTON." He whispered towards Logan, causing him to fall to the ground as images of the man who had been like a brother to him was tortured before his eyes. His own failings playing repeatedly in his mind. So many ways he could have saved the other man and his other friends, but he failed.

A sinister smirk crossed the villain's face and he looked towards the new hero. "Shadow. Shadow Shadow Shadow." He slowly approaches the other man. The hero backed away from him in fear. Angst suddenly stopped, eyes and smile widening. He looked from the hero to Olav and then back again and laughed. "GO TO SLEEP, D."

Shadow's eyes filled with tears and he dropped to his knees just as the others had. "N-no. Please."

"YOU TOLD HIM TO GO TO SLEEP. YOU KNOCKED HIM UNCONSCIOUS. YOU LEFT HIM. HE WAS AT THEIR MERCY. THE THINGS THEY DID TO HIM. YOU LET THEM HURT HIM. YOU LET THEM DEMAGE AND DIRTY HIM. AND HE DOESN'T EVEN KNOW. HE STILL TRUSTS YOU WITH HIS LIFE. IF ONLY HE KNEW THE TRUTH. THE REASON HE CAN'T ACCESS ALL OF HIS POWERS. THE REASON HE IS EVEN HERE. THE REASON FOR ANY OF THIS. IT'S YOU. YOU'RE TO BLAME FOR EVERYTHING."

—

A/N: Before you ask, I won't tell anyone what Angst meant when he was talking to Shadow. You'll find it out in A Deceitful Calling when I get around to it.