I just gaped at what had just happened. Was this real, or could it just be a dream? Ted? No. I couldn't be.
Yet it was.
'How can... You be the Vigilante?' I asked in shock.
'Am I not what you expected?' Ted chuckled.
'No, I just... Couldn't imagine the Vigilante to be just a... Normal person,' I explained. 'I think the mystery of it all made me detach the Vigilante from being an actual human being.'
'I understand,' Ted nodded in agreement. 'I wouldn't have believed it if our roles were switched.'
'Why are you telling me this?' I asked in confusion. 'Surely you wouldn't want me, or anyone, to know your true identity?'
'I told you before,' Ted started. 'I want you join me. Fight with me. Two is always better than one.'
'I would love to... But, I can't,' I declined his offer. 'I already have a team that depend on me. We may not exactly be fighting crime yet, but, we're getting there.'
'Just, think about it,' Ted told me. 'Four is also better than one.'
---
'What happened here?' Lance asked in utter confusion as some of the SCPD hurried to where the member of the Culebra Gang had shot himself.
'When you called I got into an SCPD car he was driving,' I explained, pointing the the shook-up driver whom had called the team to the scene. 'This man had him hostage though, and then also me. He was telling him to drive somewhere, I don't know where. We got out, but instead of trying to fight us, he looked scared, as though he had failed his gang. And then, he shot himself.'
'Did you get any information out of him?' Lance asked me straightaway.
'Yes,' I replied quickly, thinking back to what the gang member had said. 'The gang he was in was the Culebra Gang, and the boss is a guy called Mr Bellini.'
'That name sounds... familiar,' Lance commented, casting his mind back. 'Well, we can look into that when we get back to the SCPD. Does your driver over there know where he was driving you to?'
'I'll go and talk to him,' I said. 'But I don't know, he seems pretty shook up.'
As I walked up to the officer, I tried to think of what to say. He knew the Vigilante had been there; he was bound to tell them all sooner or later. So did I ask him what he saw? Or did I tell him not to tell anyone anything about my affiliation with the Vigilante?
'Hi, Trevor,' I smiled, looking at his ID. 'Are you alright?'
'Yeah,' he said quietly.
It was weird how he seemed so scared, so on edge. He was an officer; things like this happened to people in the SCPD. Part of me just wanted to tell him to get over it.
'Do you remember anything he told you?' I asked Trevor, referring to the gang member. 'Or even why he was making you drive us to-'
I was interrupted by Trevor coughing rather loudly. Grabbing the bottle of water stood on the floor right next to him, I gave it to him.
'This should help,' I smiled as he took a sip.
'Thanks,' he said, but started spluttering even more, in turn drinking more to ease his throat.
'So, about where you were driving to, do you know where it was?' I asked again, needing answers.
'Yeah,' he said hoarsely, trying to stop coughing. 'It was-'
Suddenly, Trevor fell to the floor, his muscles giving up and body shutting down. I felt for his pulse, but his wrist was too hot to touch.
'We need an ambulance now!' I shouted at everyone, who immediately followed my instructions.
'What's the matter?' Lance asked, rushing towards me.
'I think he's stop breathing,' I answered concernedly. 'His skin is red hot too. He was coughing a lot, but he got worse after...'
I picked up the bottle of water and checked it. It had some residue at the bottom, and now I could see the water was too cloudy for consumption.
'I think he's been poisoned,' I said sadly.
This was my fault. I was the one who gave him the water. It wouldn't have even passed his lips if I hadn't had given him it.
'No kidding,' Lance commented after closer inspection. 'But who was the poison actually for?'
'Probably Trevor,' I concluded. 'He knew too much. And they probably wanted to shut him up, the gang.'
'It looks like they succeeded,' Lance shook his head in dismay.
---
'I'm so glad to see you!' Isaac exclaimed as I entered the apartment, hugging me like Elliot had at the hospital.
'It's only been a day since we last saw each other,' I laughed.
'I know, but the last thing I heard from Elliot was that loads of policemen and women were at the hospital and I was worried about... you,' Isaac explained.
Gosh, it felt like a long time since that morning.
'You two worry too much,' I shook my head in disbelief.
'We don't worry enough,' Isaac contradicted me, placing his hand on my shoulder empathetically. 'You work at the bloody SCPD for Christ's sake! We should realise that you put your neck on the line for others everyday, and your job isn't easy in every sense.'
'You're making me blush,' I remarked humorously. 'Honestly, though, you don't need to worry any more than you do. And, if we want to save this city, you and Elliot need to be able to cope when we're staring into the face of danger.'
'What are we doing about our 'crusade' or whatever it is, anyway?' Isaac asked fittingly. 'We don't even know how to fight, me and Elliot! I think we need you to train us.'
This was my opportunity to ask Isaac, and later on Elliot, if they wanted to join Ted in his crusade. Join his team. Surely they wouldn't mind being on the great Starling Vigilante's team?
'What if you could be taught by a professional?' I suggested vaguely. 'Someone who... knows his craft. Who knows this city inside out.'
'You don't mean...' Isaac's face lit up at his deduction.
'The Vigilante wants us on his team!' I exclaimed, trying to contain my excitement.
Yes, I was a little excited. Well, very excited. I had had time to think about it after all the drama had died down at the SCPD. And now I wanted to be part of something greater. Help people more than just what I could do as Aria Coleman. I needed to be something else.
And Isaac was clearly in for the arrangement. Now all we needed was to persuade Elliot to join us.
---
Elliot's reaction was completely opposite to Isaac's, to say the least.
'You want me to do what?' Elliot exclaimed, rather uneasily and high-pitched.
'Join us, Elliot,' I pleaded tamely. 'It won't be right without you with us.'
'I see what happens to people who oppose that gang, everyday now,' Elliot remembered darkly. 'I won't put myself in danger like that.'
'But we'll be there, by your side,' Isaac said warmly. 'We'll be stronger with you.'
'I can't do this, Ise,' Elliot shook his head stubbornly.
'You signed up to this, willingly,' I said firmly. 'I told you both to turn back before it was too late.'
'I know you did,' Elliot acknowledged. 'But this gang are not what I agreed to. This Vigilante is not who I promised to fight with, either. I wanted to go come because of Isaac. And you, Aria. I wanted to fight Merlyn. Get revenge for what he had done to both of you. But I'm too inexperienced. I don't even know how to throw a straight punch.'
'That's why we're going to the Vigilante,' I pressed. 'He can teach you both. And he can teach a thing or two to me.'
'But what if I don't want you two to get hurt?' Elliot cried, as though he was foreshadowing that something awful was going to happen to Isaac and I.
It seemed all the drama that day hadn't completely stopped. But what was Elliot so afraid of? I know he saw things, traumatic things, in the hospital, but it didn't mean those things were going to happen to us.
'We'll be fine,' Isaac tried to reassure Elliot. 'Remember that the Vigilante is going to teach us how to fight.'
'I guess,' Elliot said unhappily.
I could tell he was scared, mainly because he knew he didn't want to fight. Yet he was trying to pretend the real reason was because of us. He was worried about us, but I could just sense that he didn't want to be on the field.
'You don't necessarily need to fight,' I said suddenly. 'You could help... Behind the scenes. And if one of us does get hurt, we'll need someone to fix us.'
'Okay,' Elliot nodded after much deliberation. 'I'll... Join you in your crusade or whatever.'
'Thank you!' Isaac and I shouted enthusiastically in unison, hugging Elliot together.
Now it was time to show Ted what we were made of.