Virgil slowly wakes up. He doesn't feel any pain in his leg so he thinks everything that happened was just a nightmare. He opens his eyes and finds himself in an unfamiliar place. He quickly sits up in a panic. He looks around but doesn't recognize anything. Just then the door opens.
"Patton," he breathes out with relief.
"Virgil! You're awake," Patton says as he rushes over despite the hot tea in his hands. Patton sets it aside and then starts fussing over Virgil.
"Oh kiddo. You scared us half to death. What happened? Tara said you and Roman were just going on a walk," Patton says.
"Wait? That happened? But my leg?" Virgil says confused.
"Oh. Dr. Strohm healed you," Patton explains.
"That means Roman really left. He came back didn't he? He escaped the guards? Where is he?" Virgil asks in a panic.
"Virgil," Patton starts off softly, "Roman was caught by the guards. They've taken him."
"No..." Virgil says as tears well up in his eyes. "He told me he'd just lead them away. He was supposed to come back. He was supposed to get away. Why didn't he get away...?" he asks. The tears start to fall as he breaks down.
"I'm so sorry kiddo," Patton says as he moves to sit next to him and wraps him in a hug. Virgil sobs against his friend. He stays like that for a while but eventually starts to calm down.
"The others will be here soon. Then you can tell us what happened," Patton says softly. Virgil nods.
"Here. Drink this," Patton adds while handing Virgil the tea. Again Virgil simply nods. Patton watches him drink the tea slowly before getting up and leaving the room. He comes back a minute later with Dr. Strohm.
"Hi Virgil. I'm just going to check you over to make sure everything's good. Is that okay?" she asks in a kind tone. Virgil nods so she gets to work checking his vitals.
"Everything looks good. Lastly I just want to make sure I fully healed up your leg. Can you walk over to Patton?" she asks him. Without saying a word he stands up and walks over to Patton. "And back please?" she asks. He follows her instructions. "Alright. You're good to go," she tells him. He doesn't nod or say anything. He just sits down.
"Thank you," Patton says for him. She nods.
"Do you know when your friends will be here? My contact is just waiting for me to let them know that you're all here," she says to Patton.
"They should be here soon," Patton tells her. She nods and leaves the room. Patton sits next to Virgil again and rubs his back in a comforting way.
About 10 minutes pass by before Logan, Janus, Remus and Tara arrive. "They're here," Dr. Strohm says from the doorway.
"Come on kiddo," Patton says to Virgil who's been staring off into space. He heard Patton though because he stands up and follows him.
"Virgil!" they all exclaim.
"How are you doing man?" Janus asks. Virgil doesn't answer.
"Virgil?" Logan asks. Still no response.
"Virgil, are you okay?" Remus asks. That seems to get his attention because he looks up at Remus.
"How could you ask me that? This is all my fault. It never would've happened if I had used Vocal on the guards like he asked me to. Roman would be here if it wasn't for me!" Virgil says loudly.
"Virgil. None of us blame you," Tara says. "Well you should! It's my fault!" he responds.
"Virgil. Listen to me. We don't blame you for not using Vocal on those guards. Neither would my brother. Especially knowing what happened to your parents. This is not your fault and we're going to get him back," Remus tells him.
"How? How will we get him back?" Virgil asks brokenly.
"First things first, what happened exactly?" Logan asks. He explains everything that happened from when they left the house.
"So they were already looking for two supers? When you two ran they must've assumed you were who they were looking for," Logan says.
"What else could we have done?" Virgil asks. "I'm not criticizing what you did. I would've done the same. Just interacting with guards is something best to avoid. I'm simply saying the reason they went after you," Logan explains.
"Now on to how we get Roman back. We'll be talking to the rebellion," Janus says.
"The rebellion? I thought that was just a rumor?" Virgil says.
"As did we. Seems that is not the case," Logan tells him.
"Why the rebellion?" Virgil asks.
"Apparently they'll be able to help us find out where Roman was taken," Remus says.
"Then what? How will we go about getting him back?" Virgil asks.
"You can discuss that with my contact. I've called them. They'll be here shortly," Dr. Strohm says.
She sits on a recliner chair while the group continues standing up. Virgil looks down and plays with his fingers. He thinks back to how Roman kissed him. How Roman said he loved him. For how long? That's all Virgil can think to ask. He will too. He'll ask him when they get him back. Then he'll tell him that he loves him too because he does. He has for almost as long as they've known each other.
He remembers when he first realized how he felt about Roman. It was about a year after they met. Virgil was having a bad day. Reliving the moment of his parents death. He had accidently used Vocal on them. They were outside at a park. He had gotten upset and ran across the street to get away from them. They of course ran after him. Being upset, Virgil yelled back at them to stop following him. Unbeknownst to him his ability had manifested. They stopped. Right in the middle of the road. They were hit by a speeding car. He was twelve years old. His mother died instantly but his father survived.
Later at the hospital his father gave him his watch and told Virgil it wasn't his fault. Then he told Virgil that if anything happened to him that Virgil had to run. His parents had told him before about supers. His mother was one. She could move things with her mind. His father died that same night from his injuries. Doing as his father said Virgil ran away.
Just a few months later he had found his way from Sorron to Camar. That's when he met Roman and the others. A year after they met, Roman had found him in the room crying. He asked what was wrong. Virgil broke down further and told him all about it. Roman simply listened and then he did his best to comfort him. It was such a simple thing but it meant everything to Virgil.
Eventually he did tell the others about what happened. They too were understanding and there for him but it wasn't the same. Something about the way Roman held and spoke to him that day. It made Virgil see him in a whole new light. He wasn't just this boy that he was living with anymore. He wasn't just a friend. He became so much more than that to him.
"Virgil," Patton says as he touches Virgil's arm. Virgil quickly looks up.
"Yes?" he asks.
"We've called your name twice. Are you feeling alright?" Patton asks. He looks at his friends to see them watching him with worried expressions.
"I'm fine. Just worried about Roman," Virgil responds. They all nod in understanding. A knock at the door catches all of their attention. Kayla stands up and leaves the living room. She walks down the hall to the front door.
"Isaiah," she says as she opens it. Isaiah is a tall man with tawny beige skin, golden brown eyes and short black hair.
"Kayla," Isaiah says with a smile. Kayla stands back to let him into the house.
"Been a while," Isaiah says as he opens his arms. Kayla smiles and leans in to hug him after closing the door.
They pull away from each other.
"This way," she says, gesturing further inside.
"So. You called because you said you found some promising new additions to fight for our cause," Isaiah says as they walk down the hallway towards the living room.
"Well it's more that I've found some kids that need our help. They were hoping we could help them. In return they've offered their help for our cause as well," Kayla explains as they enter the living room. Isaiah stops near the doorway and Kayla stands next to him. He looks over the room at the boys and Tara.
"These are them. That's Patton, Logan, Virgil, Remus, Janus and Tara," Kayla says gesturing to each of them.
"Nice to meet you all. I'm Isaiah Macky. I'm the first point of contact," Isaiah introduces himself.
"First point of contact?" Logan questions.
"Yes. It's my job to scout out potential recruits. I make sure my organization can trust the supers who want to join. Tell me, why should I trust you?" Isaiah responds.
"We just want to rescue our friend. He's been captured by Arcantian guards," Patton tells him.
"Alright then. Kayla seems to trust you so I guess I can too," Isaiah says.
"We were told you could help us find out where our friend was taken and also help improve our abilities," Janus says.
"That we can. First things first, your abilities, what are they?" Isaiah asks.
"My ability is called Shift. I can shapeshift into anyone almost immediately," Janus says first.
"Mine is EPS. Enhanced physical strength," Remus says next.
"I can communicate with others using my mind. Telepathy," Patton says.
"Tech is my ability. I can control anything technological when touching it as well as physically manipulate machinery and cybernetic phenomena," Logan says.
"How about you two?" Isaiah asks Virgil and Tara.
"Oh I'm not a super," Tara tells him. He then looks at Virgil.
"His ability is Vocal. He can make things happen or make people do things just by speaking," Patton says when it seems like he isn't going to say anything.
"Alright. Well those of you that have abilities we can definitely help you improve them. As well as teach all of you to defend yourselves. As for finding your friend, I'll see what we can find out. What can you tell me about him?" Isaiah tells them and asks.
"His name is Roman Evans. He's 19 and Remus' twin brother minus the facial hair. He was just taken yesterday from the market nearby," Logan explains.
"I'll pass on this information," Isaiah says as he pulls out a small notebook. He writes down everything he was told. When he's done he turns the page and writes down something else. He then tears out the page and holds it out to Logan.
"Be here tomorrow. 9am. Tell them I sent you. They will help you start your training. They'll also provide you with a burner phone. When I have the information you need I'll let you know," Isaiah says. Logan takes the paper and looks at it.
"We'll be there," he says.
"There is something you should know," Isaiah says as he turns to leave.
"What?" Janus asks.
"Rescuing your friend will take time. Even if we manage to find out where he's been taken within the next few days, it could take years to mount a rescue mission. I just want you to be prepared for that," Isaiah responds matter of fact. Janus, his friends and boyfriend look at each other.
"We understand," Remus says.
"Good. I'll take my leave. It was good to see you Kayla," Isaiah says and then leaves.
"Years?" Virgil asks his friends.
"What did you expect? We don't know how to fight and we won't magically learn in any short amount of time. We just need to work hard and focus on our goal. We will get my brother back but we need to understand that it will take time," Remus says as he walks up to Virgil. He puts a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Do you understand?" Remus asks him. Virgil sighs and looks down.
"I understand," Virgil responds.
"Good. Let's head back to the house," Remus says, turning to the others.
"Thank you for everything," Patton says to Kayla.
"Anytime. Good luck with everything," she says with a smile and a pat on his shoulder. They all leave Kayla's house and walk back to theirs. When they get there they all climb in through the window.
"I'll be in the room," Virgil says and heads back to the room he shared with Roman. His friends all share a look with each other.
"I'm worried about him," Patton says softly when Virgil's gone.
"Me too. Roman's my brother so of course I'm worried and upset that we may not see him for quite some time but... Those two were really close and we know how they feel about each other. I doubt this will be easy on him," Remus says just as soft.
"What do you think Roman is going through?" Tara asks quietly.
"Who knows. It's best we don't think about it though," Janus says. They all nod in agreement. They spend the rest of the day sulking around the dining room.
When it gets dark they eat before they start to go into their rooms and Tara settles on the couch. Before heading into his shared room Patton checks on Virgil. He peeks in and sees Virgil who is laying on the bed facing away from the door.
"Virgil? Are you alright?" Patton asks him. Virgil doesn't answer. When he came into the room earlier he immediately laid down and started crying. He ended up crying himself to sleep early. Patton walks closer to see that his eyes are closed and his face has tear tracks. He looks at him sadly but ultimately leaves.
"Goodnight Virgil," Patton says from the doorway. He heads to his room and climbs into bed with Logan.
"How is he?" Logan asks quietly so as not to disturb the others.
"He seems to have cried himself to sleep," Patton responds. Logan nods and opens his arms for Patton to settle into.
The next day Virgil wakes up at the crack of dawn. He shivers and hugs himself tightly. He still feels tired. It feels so weird to have slept alone. He remembers everything that's happened. He feels even worse when he realizes it could be years before he feels Roman's arms around him again. Before he can start crying he sits up. He goes about his morning routine. He brushes his teeth and splashes some water on his face. He also changes his clothes since he's still wearing the clothes from that day. When he's fully ready he glances at his watch. It's 5:30.
They aren't supposed to be at that address until 9. He goes to sit on the bed when his stomach growls. No surprise he also hasn't really eaten anything since that day either. He doesn't really want to eat right now but he knows he has to. With a heavy sigh he leaves the room and heads to the kitchen to get something to eat.