Hero & Villain

Calen | 1444w

   I pull my hood up before climbing the ladder, not wanting anyone to see my ears. I don't want anyone to take me away from Lance!

  When I get to the top of the ladder I have to squint my eyes, closing them all the way as Lance helps me off the ladder and out the small doorway. I immediately curl up with my hands covering my eyes protectively.

  My eyes had adjusted to the dark, where I could see pretty well, and the sudden appearance of bright sunlight practically blinded me. My eyes have barely adjusted enough to open again when Lance calls out, startling me.

  "Jodie! Didn't think I'd see you here," he calls, his tone forced.

  My ears pick up the faint sound of footsteps growing closer, though they're at least thirty feet away still. "Lance! I didn't expect to see you crawling out the side of a house, but here we are!" A teasing, feminine voice answers.

  I force my eyes open and squint at the approaching figure. Black pants, flowy baby blue long sleeve, black gloves and combat boots, black mask covering her whole face, dark brown hair tied into a messy bun. She looks pretty, I think.

  But... she's a Villain. Her name is Jodie? That just seems so odd, I'm used to hearing her Villain name, Masquerader.

  She's well known for dressing up as other people and wreaking havoc that way. Namely destroying their companies or such from the inside out, all while draining their resources. Her skills for disguise make her very hard to catch, even for my Falcon self.

  "Now Lance, we both know why I'm here," she says almost scoldingly, as her gaze slides to me. I wonder if this is her real voice or another of her made up identities. I feel like her real voice would be deeper and less pitchy.

  I'm snapped out of my thoughts by Lance stepping over to stand in front of me, his posture stiff and angry looking. "I can't believe you're a Villain!" He spits out. To my surprise, Jodie seems mildly shocked before a smirk spreads over her face.

  "Lance, dear, I made it painfully obvious for you. Don't you remember when I introduced you to my 'club'? Why, with the way you got along with everyone I could almost think... you were a Villain too." She's getting closer now, her green eyes more distinct against the midnight black mask.

  Lance also steps toward her, Bradley inching along the wall closer to me. Stupidly, that's when I realize what's happening. Somehow the Villains found out Lance was taking care of me, and they came for revenge. Masquerader is here, she's trying to kill me! What if she kills Lance just to get to me, he's obviously trying to protect me!

  I climb to my feet, noticing Bradley reach out as if to grab my arm. I jerk away from him, my sudden movement drawing Jodie's sharp gaze toward me.

  "Jodie." Lance's voice is soft, but so very angry. I shiver as the sound, my memory prickling in recognition, though I can't fathom why.

  Jodie's eyes flick to him again, widening slightly as they do. I don't know what she sees, but it makes her nervous. She stops her slow advance, tilting her head ever so slightly to the side.

  "Well Lance, obviously you haven't chosen my side, yet you know my true identity. That puts us in a bit of a pickle, now doesn't it? You could turn me in, and I simply can't take that risk. I suppose if I took something from you of equal value as my secret, we would be even," she purrs.

  I see Lance stiffen, and my decision is made. I stumble forwards, situating myself in front of Lance, close enough to feel his breath on the back of my neck. My breathing is rapid and frightened, my heart pounding painfully in my chest, but I can't back out now. It's time to repay Lance for all his kindness. And besides, I'm supposed to be the Hero protecting him, not the other way around.

  "Don't b-bring him i-into this. Just t-take me but leave him alone!" As I speak I feel myself gaining confidence, and when I stop I realize I can no longer feel my tail or ears. I sigh in relief. I don't know if I could handle this in my cat form.

  Lance grabs my arm, but I shake him off roughly. He lets go, seeming to realize I'm not the same as a few seconds ago. I'm proven right when he whispers furiously at me. "Calen, what the hell? You can't do this! She'll take you to the Guild!"

  I let out an annoyed huff. "I can handle myself. I'm grateful to you for helping me, really I am, but you're a civilian and you can't handle what I can."

  I can physically feel the anger radiating off him, but he doesn't say anything else to dissuade me. I have to shake off an irrational feeling of disappointment at the realization that he knows I'm right, that he knows he or anyone else can't help me right now. I'm on my own, and probably in for something worse than what happened a few days ago.

  "Well then, Falcon, come here," Jodie smirks, her voice bordering on seductive as she crooks a finger at me.

  I grimace, silently begging myself to turn into Falcon as I take a deep breath and start slowly walking forward. As hard as I concentrate, and plead, and wish, Falcon doesn't seem to be making an appearance. This has happened before, and I have come to realize why.

  Falcon is my most protective form, that's why I fly around protecting people. But why would I try to protect someone I don't care about? Why would I try to protect myself? The answer is simple; I wouldn't.

  There's nothing worth protecting, which is why Falcon continues to refuse an appearance as I stop right in front of Jodie. Or as most would call her, Masquerader. She's full on grinning now, obviously having expected at least some resistance.

  She has the audacity to wink at me as she starts walking around me in a circle, muttering to herself as she does. In return I show her my best look of disgust, which to my annoyance only causes her to chuckle. When she finally stops in front of me again she seems a bit amused, though her eyes are narrowed suspiciously.

  "Until recently I assumed your wings were a permanent fixture, but now it's obvious I was wrong," She purses her lips a bit. "I have many questions, ones I'm sure you will be more loose lipped about after a day with me."

  I suppress a shudder at the scornful note in her voice, as it reminds me of how my old foster mom used to speak to me. I try to ignore the thought as best I can, not wanting to trigger my cat form. Especially not while I'm being taken captive, it would make things ever so much worse.

  "We'll see about that," I reply snarkily. "The only reason I would tell you anything is to stop hearing your awful voice!" I snark, and her smirk drops.

  "You will not be speaking to me that way soon," she growls back lowly. I blink at the sudden change of her voice while the smirk returns to her face once again. "Now, I feel we have wasted enough time chatting, don't you?" she chirps cheerfully.

  The gun she had been holding is suddenly leveled at me, and she gestures down the street to my right. "My car is that way, let's get moving."

  I lower my head and look back at Lance. The sudden urge to whimper almost overpowers me, but I manage to swallow it. He looks so utterly, deadly furious, I'm genuinely surprised he didn't jump in at any point. Then again, why would he? All I've done is cause him trouble, and despite the foolish thinking of my weaker self that I could somehow repay him, I know I can't.

  I turn away, and don't look back as I'm led to Masquerader's car, my hands are tied behind my back, a blindfold is placed over my eyes, and the car starts moving.

  I know what awaits me at the Guild, and it isn't good. I have pissed off every single one of them on many different occasions, especially a certain one of them.

  All I can do now is cross my fingers and hope Macer doesn't show up at the Guild.