A/N: Ah! Took longer to get this chapter finished too but it's longer than the others. I'm thinking I'm going to take longer to update from here on out. I am working a bit harder to make this story better. But I really hope you enjoy this chapter! Also, thanks to everyone who reviewed, and special thanks to RainSonata for awesome reviews/critiques e.e
Also gonna change the genre because while I originally intended for it to be a more comedic story... that's not the direction it's headed in. So just switching it to general.
Step one of the plan was to be rescued.
I tried to convince Ivan that it would be perfectly acceptable if I just walked out, as I didn't want to "be rescued". However, he told me that a) it would be evidence that this whole project was a sham, and b) I had the whole "damsel in distress" thing going on for me, and that apparently would help.
"I'm not a blood damsel," I told him, crossing my arms. "Besides, how are you going to let Alf- how are you going to let Patriot rescue me without seeming obvious?" I was trying not to tell Ivan about Alfred's name. It just didn't seem like the right thing to do. Not that any of this was particularly noble and honorable.
Ivan twirled the end of his scarf, and shrugged. "I know how to play that game. Even if I was trying my hardest, I will admit that Patriot would probably succeed in rescuing you anyway, eventually." He paused thoughtfully. "If I hadn't killed you already. But I tend to kill my victims slowly and painfully so you could have been lucky, da?"
The way he was so casual with such subjects sent shivers down my spine, and I thought "Lucky? Lucky to be tortured?" But Ivan interrupted my thoughts and continued speaking.
"He already tried once last night. I managed to stop him, but he was alone then. He might bring friends next time. But, regardless of how he tries to rescue you, we will make sure he thinks he is successful, da." Ivan chuckled.
Friends? I knew he occasionally did work with other superheroes... were those his "friends"?
It wasn't long after that conversation that Natalia led me into a new room, underneath the warehouse. This was different than the other rooms. It had an odor similar to decomposing vegetables, and everything was damp. Everything was dark save for a small, dim lamp sitting on a crate. The walls were made of stone bricks, stained in some places with a rusty brown something I could only guess, but I didn't want confirmed. Torturing devices and weapons lined one of the walls; there was a whole shelf full of them, even including Ivan's trademark rusty pipes.
I shuddered. Thank God I wasn't actually one of his victims.
Natalia put steel cuffs around my wrists and ankles, each with only about three feet of chain attaching them to the wall. She lifted my chin, and I could feel long manicured nails digging into my skin.
"Now you will be a good boy, okay? If you listen to my brother, things work out best for all of us." She glanced over her shoulder, and continued. "Don't scream when he comes to beat you. He likes the screaming and it will only make him hit you harder."
Beat me? My mind began to race. Natalia smiled a little too sweetly, and left the room. Ivan was going to beat me? But I was helping him! I had agreed to do what he-
"Psssssst," I heard, coming from the left of me. I turned but could see no one there.
"Psssssssssst!" The voice repeated, and I could feel a jab to my side.
I frowned. "I hear you but... oh! Are you the Vanishing Boy?" It dawned on me suddenly, why Natalia had said those things. She'd known someone else was in here (and I was apparently gullible). The Vanishing Boy, who must be one of Alfred's friends. A relatively unknown superhero, but he'd actually done a lot of work to improve the city. Just... he was usually invisible so he didn't get a lot of credit for it. To be honest, I wouldn't have known who he was if he hadn't prevented me from commiting crimes a few times.
"Ah! You know who I am!" exclaimed the voice, excitedly. "Patriot sent me here to help you! He tried to get in earlier but got caught, and was worried that if he tried too hard they'd kill you! So he apologizes!"
The voice was still hardly above a whisper, so I matched its hushed tone.
"He doesn't need to apologize. I'm just... relieved that he would help me," I told Vanishing Boy, who began to reappear. I breathed a sigh of relief when it was apparent that his clothing could turn invisible with him. He didn't have a suit of any sort, just a red hoodie and some trousers.
"I'm Matthew Williams," he told me, holding out his hand. I shook it, or tried to, but the chains made it difficult.
"Aha... sorry, I brought a chain breaker..." Matthew reached inside of his hoodie, and lifted out a large metal tool. He began to break the links. "So Patriot told me that you two were dating...?" he asked, and I turned pink.
I shook my head. "I wouldn't call it... dating; we've only gone out once," I pointed out, crossing my arms as soon as they were free.
Matthew chuckled, and I studied his face. He looked a lot like Alfred, save for slightly wavy and longer hair (one curly strand stuck out in an odd way), somewhat paler skin, and differently colored eyes. Out of curiosity, I asked him about their similar appearances.
"Oh, yes! We're brothers!" he told me, nodding. "He changed his last name when he became a hero though, said it was too obvious if we both had the same one. I don't think that makes complete sense... but, it works." Matthew smiled warmly, then gave me an odd look. "You know, you're awfully familiar yourself... oh my god!"
His expression fell and it became obvious that Matthew was much more clever and observant than his brother. He immediately dropped the tool and stood back.
"You're the... you're the Dark Sorcerer!" Matthew exclaimed, pointing. He quickly overcame his initial shock and returned closer again. "Don't you dare curse me, because if you do, you'll have no way out of this place. As it is I might leave you to your fate anyway. Does Alfred know?"
I shook my head. "As if I would curse you... and no, he doesn't know." At this, Matthew glared at me, obviously upset and concerned for Alfred.
"So you're lying to him?"
"No. Well yes, I am. But it's for his own good. Besides... he wouldn't... like me, if he knew who I was." I looked at the ground.
Matthew shook his head. "For his own good? That doesn't even make sense. And you're own of them. You can't just want Alfred to like you; you must have some ulterior motive. Plus, why didn't Ivan recognize you? I mean, Alfred's a brick sometimes, I get that. But from what I've seen Ivan knows all the other shady characters pretty well. And he works with them a lot. So why did-"
I interrupted him. "I get it, I get it. You have millions of thoughts running in your head. No need to blurt them all out."
"Explain yourself then. I won't let you go until I'm satisfied."
I sighed. "Fine. You're going to have to believe me, that I want nothing more to do with Alfred. It was never my intention to have a relationship with him. For reasons I don't understand, his view is completely opposite and it's hard to avoid him. As for Ivan, I never agreed to go with him; he really did kidnap me."
"But Ivan doesn't recognize you?" Matthew was not happy with my answer yet.
"He recognizes me," I replied. "He recognized me as the Dark Sorcerer before he figured out I knew Alfred."
Matthew raised an eyebrow. "So you're working with him?"
"No! No!" I insisted, and quickly tried to come up with a story. "I mean, he suggested it... but why do you think I'm here, locked up? I didn't agree to it. Ivan is a terrible person."
"And you're not? If I were you, I'd jump up at a chance like that. Getting to work with the best in the business, especially someone with your poor reputation." Matthew crossed his arms, and pushed his glasses further on his face (these ones actually had lenses in them, and I figured he must actually need them).
I shook my head and gritted my teeth, frustrated. "Well, truth be told, I do actually have morals, contrary to popular belief. You haven't seen me kill anyone lately, have you? I still have my powers. I just haven't used them."
I let him think about this, but Matthew wasn't easy to convince. I decided to add more to my story. If this didn't work, nothing would.
"And," I swallowed and looked away, "I may be developing feelings for Alfred. I.. don't like to admit it, but I don't think I could hurt him if I wanted to."
Success finally. Matthew looked up, a little shocked. "Really? You mean, you like him?"
"Yes, I do. It's nothing strong, I assure you, but... he's so cheerful, it's hard not to."
"Stupidly cheerful," Matthew chuckled. He nodded; his curl bounced as his head moved. "Okay. I believe you, I guess. Still suspicious, so I'm gonna keep an eye on you. But you don't seem like the kind of person who could do a lot of harm anyway." He began to finish clipping my chains.
I stretched my limbs, and furrowed my eyebrows. "You're not going to tell him... are you?" I asked. Matthew looked at me seriously, and took a step back.
"No. I won't tell him. That's your responsibility. But you are going to tell him, and you'll tell him soon." He paused for effect. "If you really do like him, you won't let him find out on his own. That wouldn't be good for you."
I glanced away, uncomfortably. I wanted to protest, but it wouldn't have been in my favor. "Very well," I finally sighed. "I will tell him who I am."
"Promise?"
"Promise." It was a lie, I wouldn't be telling Alfred who I was for quite some time. But Matthew didn't have to know that right now...
Matthew stood up, then helped me up as well. He glanced around the room.
"Okay, here's the deal. I'm going to go distract some of Ivan's gang. I've mastered the art of escape (I'm usually invisible, after all), so don't worry about me. Alfred's going to meet you right around the corner. He's hiding, I think, but he'll probably come out as soon as he sees you. Be quick, and good luck!"
I nodded and thanked him. He pulled out some keys (I reasoned that he must have stolen them from Natalia while she was still in the room), and unlocked the door. After poking his head out, he waved for me, and we both exited in silence. We both ran up the basement stairs, however, after that he headed off in a different direction. He activated his power, and began to fade out of view.
Someone touched my shoulder as soon as he'd disappeared. I turned around, startled. It was Alfred, however, so I had no reason for real concern. He was in his red, white , and blue spandex suit; his scarlet cape was hanging off of his shoulders. I never really liked his cape. It 's apart of the traditional "superhero look", I understand, but it made him look too cut off from the rest of the world. Almost like he's better than everyone else, but I digress.
The first thing Alfred did, was give me a big hug, and apologize again.
"I'm so sorry I let him get you, Arthur," he told me. "But I was too afraid he'd hurt you if I tried to stop him right then... this is all my fault. I skipped out on the date, which was why you went to the play alone in the first place, and probably why Ivan sat by you too... I didn't stop Ivan well enough, and, well, even the fact that you know who I am caused this." He continued to blubber and I listened to him.
Finally, I asked him, "Are we going to leave this place?"
Alfred nodded, and grinned. "I have a really awesome plan!" he announced, brightly. "We're going to go through the front door!"
"The front door...?" I questioned.
"Uh-huh! The front door! It's exactly what Ivan doesn't expect! He's probably got most of his gang watching all the sneaky exits. Like windows and stuff. Even so, I got some friends to help."
"Do you mean Matthew?"
Alfred took my hand and began to drag me through the building, while we were still talking. "Yeah, Matthew, but more people too. Like the whole Bad Touch Trio! They're distracting everyone by making a commotion in some of the other exits. Then, when you're safe, I'll give a signal and they'll all leave!"
"That makes sense," I decided, with a light shrug. I didn't have the heart to tell him that it didn't matter if he just waltzed in, Ivan would of let him 'save' me. Well, that, and, I was supposed to be keeping it a secret from him.
Alfred stayed ahead of me the whole escape, being overly paranoid and looking out for any traps. His caution slowed us down considerably, but it was also amusing. I suppose I was even a bit flattered that he apparently cared so much for my well-being.
I smiled faintly. "You really don't have to be so careful, you know, I'm alright."
"Yeah, but you don't even have any powers. You're just a civilian."
"Doesn't mean I'm weak," I quickly retorted.
"Well no, but..." Alfred twisted his mouth and changed the subject. "That's what I really don't like about Ivan though. He breaks all the rules. I mean, he bothers civilians more than he has to. And he enjoys being cruel."
I nodded in agreement, simply to dismiss him, and sighed deeply as we finally left Ivan's hideout. Alfred remarked he was surprised that it was so easy to escape, but I shrugged. I was becoming more and more irritated at having to be so silent and hide so much.
Alfred must have noticed how displeased I was, because he frowned deeply and asked, "Are you still upset because I called you weak? I'm sorry, I didn't mean it like that... I just meant-"
"No, I understand. It's alright," I told him, trying to smile. "Don't worry about it."
He was still uncomfortable, and apparently picked up on how fake my smile was. For someone so ignorant and usually dim, I really was surprised by how perceptive he could be.
"No, I really mean it, you're not weak. You just... don't have powers like most of my friends do, and I really want to protect you."
I felt something tighten in my stomach as he said those words. I wasn't sure if it was a good or bad feeling. He really wanted to protect me.
Neither of us spoke. Instead, we sat there, on a cement curb, in front of Ivan's hideout. It was was probably around noon, as the sun was high above us. We were facing a street in a shady part of town; all the buildings were patched up, abandoned, and painted with graffiti. We were under a tree, but it was twisted and obviously malnourished.
Not very romantic, but apparently good enough for Alfred, who put his arm around around my shoulders and scooted closer. He had intended for it to be a discreet move, but I'd caught it pretty easily.
"What are you doing?" I asked him.
He grinned at me warmly, and innocently replied, "Nothing."
We both were silent again, but not for quite as long. I hung my head and smiled. "Thank you," I said.
"For what?"
"For wanting to protect me, I suppose."
He chuckled lightly. "Think nothing of it! I'm a hero! It's what I do! But you're welcome."
Things were awkward for a moment, so I commented, "You should probably go make that signal? Let your friends know it's time for them to leave?"
"Probably," Alfred replied, standing up. I stood up as well, and he began to walk off. Suddenly he stopped, and turned on his heel to face me.
"Oh, and one more thing, Iggy."
I tried to tell him not to call me that, but I was interrupted with a brief kiss on the lips. Alfred grinned, and ran off without a word. I blushed darkly and got that tight feeling in my stomach again, which I concluded was a good feeling.
Maybe I didn't want to hurt Alfred.
A/N: Thank you for reading this chapter! I really hope you enjoyed it! Next chapter, Arthur meets the Bad Touch Trio! Which should be fun. I'm sure you can guess who they are. xD