I'm sick and tired of amateur villains. Seriously, do something other than pick pockets and loiter around the mall.
That's what I thought to myself months ago, and even when the top 10 villains escaped. Now they find themselves able to participate in kidnappings?
Jonas and I arrive right at the same time as Mason and Ash plop onto the top of the warehouse with us. Dad looks back at the four of us, his deep green suit revealing a side to my dad I had never imagined before. What would my mother look like in her purple and green suit now?
Suddenly I'm brought back to my surroundings. Surprisingly there aren't any buildings on fire, however there are sounds of people screaming. It's not a catastrophic scene. Villains aren't shooting lasers down from the sky at the civilians. One by one, if you pay close enough attention, you can see the citizens being picked off. In alleys, on sidewalks, outside of the grocery store.
"Where are they being taken to?" Ash asks. I try to observe a kidnapping closely to determine the answer. The villain I cannot specifically make out heads into the library across the street with a skinny framed figure.
Well played, Red Raven. The very library I used to house the congressmen.
"We agree to split up?" Mason suggests. He would be the Fred of our Mystery Gang.
"Yeah," Dad mumbles, disappearing the second the word comes off his lips.
Mason claps his hands together, "I'm glad we know where he's going. Very thorough plan."
I roll my eyes, "Just head towards an alley. I'm sure you'll find one of the villains." I grab Jonas' hand and bolt for the sidewalks beneath us.
We end up right outside of the library and I barge into the doors. Just as we observed before, villains swarm the place, their captives thrown on the floor and their hands bound together by ropes.
"We thought you'd never show up." A giant figure in royal blue steps in front of me. Civilians are scattered everywhere in the library. Children are crying, teenagers are upset because they can't use their hands to text, and parents are trying to calm everyone down. Then there are the people that aren't part of a family circle that are simply scowling in the direction of the villain in front of me.
"Who are you?" I demand, sneering in his presence.
He speaks in a masculine tone, but it's not as terrifying as he was initially. "Wouldn't you like to know."
I wave my hand, put out with the antics of dramatic villains. "Actually, I don't care who you are. All I want to know is why you have captured so many citizens." A baby wails in the background.
The super in front of me laughs, "Oh, them! Red Raven sent us to collect citizens. It's part of his plan."
"What plan?" I snarl, Jonas reaching for my arm.
"Ah, yeah, he told me to invite you to his warehouse on Friday."
I laugh in his face, "Invitation declined."
The villain in front of me tsks, shaking his head with a sly smirk. "It's not much of a choice. Unless you want all of these people to die. I mean, suit yourself-"
I interrupt, "He's going to kill them if I don't show. Classic." I say, biting my cheek in order to stay calm. Rule number one about being a hero: don't show weakness.
"Alright," I straighten myself upright, making myself taller. It worked when Mickey backed me into a wall, maybe it will work again. "If that's all, then release them and be on your way." I say with an assertive tone.
He stares me down, not realizing I would cave so quickly. Did Red Raven really not know that I already knew his plans? Who did he think ruined the machine?
"Alright boys-" A girl villain, I assume Night Haze because she's the only released female villain listed on the news, coughs loudly over the chaos. "Right. And girl, let's get these peasants out of here." The villains begin to aimlessly scramble to pick up civilians.
"You're sure you don't want to save your own life?" The man in front of me asks.
I purse my lips together, "What is your name?"
He falters from his structure, "Blacklight."
I smirk, so this is the old wise guy that trained Mason. In a snarky manner, I reply, "Yes, Blacklight, I'm sure of myself. What else is a superhero supposed to do?" I watch his jaw clench and he spins on his heel to assist the other villains.
Jonas looks at me in bewilderment, "That was too easy. I know the other villains aren't allowed to kill you, but Blacklight didn't even threaten you." He whispers.
I know Jonas has a point, but all I can do is shrug and get as many people out of here as possible. The villains have barely begun to clean up their mess; hundreds of civilians still lie around with their hands binded and their mouths full of cloth.
I spot Blacklight across the huge scape of the room. Even at a distance like this, I can see the conniving smirk across his lips.
"Della?" Jonas sees it too, but he knows more than me. Blacklight vanishes from sight, along with the other villains. This can't be good.
Blacklight pops his head back in to inform me of something, "Oh. By the way, we placed a bomb somewhere in the library. It should go off in about two minutes." Once again, he's gone.
I think I'm going to hurl. How do I save this many people in two minutes, even with my speed? I look to Jonas with a panic in my eyes I'm sure is unreal.
"Find the bomb!" I yell at him, startling him out of whatever state of shock he may have been in. He dashes off towards the back of the library. The scary part is there's three stories to this library.
Citizens run around aimlessly, but the doors are crowded with people. I begin to guide some to the steps and hope that we haven't wasted any time. The people crowd around the exit from the upstairs, which leads to a rusted metal staircase outside.
"What's happening?" I shout to whoever may hear my cry.
"The stairs were set on fire! They're jumping!" Someone replies to me. A mini heart attack strikes me. How did I walk into this trap? Then again, the bomb had to be in place before I showed up. Right?
"Della!" Jonas runs up to me before I can respond to the emergency at hand.
"I can't get to the bomb. I-I think it's somewhere in the books-"
"Find. It." I grit my teeth. I have my own predicament to handle. He runs off again.
"Okay everyone! Listen up! I will rush you all down one at a time but you have to let me through!" Everyone begins to part down the middle but there are some that still haven't heard me. Seriously, how many people can possibly fit in this library?
"Move!" I belt out, and suddenly the path is clear. I begin taking one hand at a time and run down the side of the wall. Thank goodness I've learned to do this.
There's a handful of people left when I hear Jonas call out, "I can't disable it! 30 seconds!"
"What?!?" I run the rest of the group down and turn to the sound of Jonas' voice.
"Where are you?!?" I scream out. The flames from the stairs have licked my arms, searing my suit and my skin. My super speed probably fanned the flames.
"Over-" Coughs spurt out before he continues, "Here!" It doesn't give me an exact location but I can follow the sound of his voice.
I quickly turn a corner, surely with seconds to spare, and see that Jonas is on the floor with the bomb in his hands between his lap. He's cutting the wires with a pocket knife, but to no avail.
"Jonas! Everyone's out, come on!" I pull on his hand and watch him toss the bomb with two seconds to spare. Crap! I have to beat my record time if I'm going to get us out of here.
With Jonas on my back, I run with all my might and bolt for the closest exit that isn't on fire. An explosion erupts behind me, tossing me forward. Luckily, we were already out of the library.
I'm sure I must have flown through the air at the time of the explosion. I hit my head, but when I open my eyes I'm not on the ground. Jonas is, and my head lies on top of his chest.
Crackling wood is the only sound for what feels like an eternity. Jonas' breathing hitches, and for a split second I think he's going to pass out.
"What just happened?" He breathes. He's answered with the sound of slow clapping. I slowly stand up to see a crowd of the civilians I rescued applauding, acknowledging their rescuers.
Jonas stands up too, and I hope I didn't crush his ribs. He winces slightly. I'm not sure what to do with the attention we're receiving, so I smile and wave for a few seconds before hearing sirens coming around the block. I grab Jonas' hand and bolt from the scene.
It's not that I don't want to be interrogated with questions right now, I just need to find where all of the villains went. Letting them get away was the stupidest thing I've ever done, right next to not wearing a mask when I first fought Red Raven.
I spot Mason and Ash still standing on top of the warehouse and I begin to fume. Did they not help in any way? I speed through the streets to get to the top of the warehouse with Jonas on my back.
When we arrive at the spot, I set Jonas down on his feet. He collapses almost immediately. While I'm concerned, I first turn towards Mason to ask why he just stood here the entire time.
"What the heck, Mason? You know you're supposed to be a hero now, right? Heroes jump in to save the innocent people." I'm nearly shouting but I don't want anyone that may be in the warehouse to hear me.
Mason remains with a blank expression, almost a solemn look. Ash tries her best not to get in the middle of our fight this time. He runs his hand through his hair, preparing for my lecture.
"Della, I couldn't go in there. I'm still Crossfire, notorious villain. If the other villains saw me, they would've asked me to light the fire. Believe me, I wanted to help, but I couldn't."
I'm in no mood to object. It's rather infuriating that he sort of has a valid point.
"I do have some news, though. I overheard some of the villains while I was sneaking through the town. They have a secret hideout other than the warehouse. It's called The Undergrounds, apparently very top secret because I haven't even heard of it. Maybe we can sneak in and see what we can dig up on Red Raven's history." A smirk slides onto his face.
"That sounds like a great job for the renegade of the group. You go in and distract them, I'll use my invisibility to snoop around." I nod my head, thinking the plan is genius, if I say so myself.
"Great!" Ash says in a high pitched voice, "Now maybe we should check Jonas' pulse."
***
The villains were slowly trickling in after the library bombing into this high-dollar hotel that sticks out like a sore thumb in this town. When we walk in the hotel, the lobby is empty of any villains. Perhaps the Duval Hotel was hosting a villain convention. I'm glad I decided to enter in normal clothing. We may have been rejected admittance if they saw I was Rapid Glare.
Mason walks up to the front desk to ask the manager where the convention is being held while I stay in the main lobby area, pretending to read a magazine. I peep over the pages to see the manager guide Mason towards a staircase. I slowly get out of my seat and casually make my way over to the same side of the hotel they were on. The marble walls reach all the way to the top of the ceiling.
The manager walks back to his desk once Mason is out of sight. Before I can follow after Mason, he pops out from the staircase area.
"Okay, I'm going in. Give me a good minute to get their attention before you come in." Mason informs me right as he takes the steps down to The Undergrounds. What mainly concerns me about this entire ordeal is the fact that the villains are allowed to use a 4-star hotel to plot their evil plans.
Quickly, I turn the corner into the lobby bathroom and use my invisibility to navigate the hotel. The manager was starting to look at me with suspicion, but now he has no idea where I am. I don't want to get his striped tie in a twist.
I begin to count to 60 seconds, giving Mason exactly a minute to grab the attention of whoever may be down there. What kind of atmosphere is it in there? Is it a hangout area for fellow evildoers or is it like a town hall meeting down there? I eventually lose track of counting and if that doesn't sum up my attention span I don't know what does.
Here I go, I think to myself. I take the first few steps, managing to tiptoe. Even though I'm invisible, it would be rather odd to hear footsteps coming from the staircase with no one in sight.
The sound of chattering floods through the spacious area as soon as I step foot into the room. The marble steps drop down into a basement filled with pool tables, televisions, ping-pong tables, and other recreational activities. In the back of the living space is dungeon looking area, with jail cells. It dampens the mood, needless to say.
Mason is chatting with some of his fellow villains and I catch sight of a few filing cabinets near the prison area. This must be the business side of the room. This must be where villain files are kept!
I walk past the villains, making sure to touch Mason's shoulder so he knows I'm here. He goes stiff momentarily and then leads them over to play a game of pool.
It's difficult to open the filing cabinets without the squeaking sound but I manage to open them gingerly and carry on with my mission. Flipping through the files is nearly impossible. How am I supposed to find anything in here when nothing is labeled? There isn't an alphabetical system whatsoever!
At last, after skimming through over 20 folders, I find one for Red Raven and grab it with a successful smirk. Gotcha! I breeze through the pages and see that it has plenty of information for me to view, but it can wait until I get home. I carefully shut the door to the filing cabinet and dash out, just barely touching Mason's arm again. He'll know that I'm gone if he's been watching the cabinet.
I wait for him in the staircase, which probably isn't the best place because villains roam through here, but then again I'm invisible. Mason comes jogging out of the room seconds later and I turn visible again so he can see me. We simply nod to each other and I turn invisible again so we can rush home to view these files.
Ash and Jonas wait in the living room for us in our home. When we open the door, we're met with tons of questions. Not only are Jonas and Ash badgering us, but our parents were waiting up to see the results of our escapade.
Without a word from Mason or myself, everyone sits around the couch as we cautiously open the files. My mouth drops as the papers reveal his weaknesses, his backstory, his close acquaintances, and more.
Mom picks up the paper with his family information. We all gather around her, peering over her shoulders. My heart drops to my stomach.
They're brothers.
A/N
Soooo... maybe that last part made no sense to you. It's alright, all will be explained shortly my friends. Well, not all. There is going to be a sequel for a reason.
Thanks for your continued support! Three more chapters to go! What will happen?!?!?
Also, PLEASE do not use any profanity in your comments. I will delete them. Other than that, please continue to read and enjoy the story!
Thanks for reading!
Always, Sunny