Of Heroes and Villains

Awakening

        The lack of pain was the first thing to filter into Kyle's foggy mind. Half formed questions drifted just beyond his consciousness as he struggled weakly. More coherent thoughts began to be conceived as he evaluated the state of his muted body. He felt, clean? Clean and warm. And something hard and heavy was on the upper portion of his right wing. A dull sense of pain throbbed there but again it was muted? Where was he? Kyle fought to remember.

        A flash of memory had him gasping in a ragged breath. The rattle of chains. The lack of light. Dampness and cold. Cruel laughter and agony. The crack of a whip. Stumbling in the darkness. Moonlight through a door hanging off one hinge. The distance honking of car horns. Fear gripping him in its icy clutches and forcing his feet towards the deeper darkness of the forest. One thought echoing through his disjointed mind. Find Emmet. Find. Emmet.

        With an effort that sapped his already drained energy Kyle managed to force his eyes open. The brightly lit stalactites of a cave greeted him. Strings of florescent lights threaded their way through the rocky teeth. Letting his head flop to the side he could see medical equipment rivaling a high end hospital all around a natural cavern, an IV bag attached to his arm beside him. Flopping his head to the other side he could see other chambers beyond the one he was in, filled with many more fancy equipment and machinery.

        Kyle could also see his right wing stretched out on a rolling table, with a cast on it just in his field of vision. The way the cast was wrapped around the appendage prevented him from folding the wing up. Confusion ebbed through him. Where was he? Who had helped him? Did he find Emmet? If he had what did Emmet have to do with a cave hospital? He had to find Emmet.

        After Kyle had turned eighteen and gotten his Hero License, SS Rank, he had opted to move back to his childhood city. The penthouse apartment he rented had a great view of the city and a privet balcony for him to launch from. A week after he had moved in he had seen Emmet from a distance in a busy street. With a bit of research, and a quick peek into the DMV's records, he had found where Emmet lived. But Kyle had been too much of a coward to go and simply knock on the door. Instead he had thrown himself into Hero work, finding himself drawn again and again into battle with the villain Inferno.

        There was something about Inferno that never added up to Kyle. For one thing the man never seemed to fight him seriously at all, and seemed content just to create a diversion and slip away. Very unlike all the other reports on him; he had even killed an A Rank Hero in a battle that dissolved into a cruel game of cat and mouse. Kyle shook his head to clear it of his rambling thoughts and slowly managed to sit up, tucking his uninjured wing along his spine.

        Through more force of will than anything else Kyle managed to swing his legs over the side of the hospital bed. As the soft sheets and blankets that covered him fell away he realized to his chagrin that he was naked. Clean white bandages wrapped around most of his body. Kyle grabbed a thin sheet to tie about his waist as he gingerly stood. Clutching to the IV bag stand he made his slow way to the next cave.

        The numbness in his body seemed to also seep into his mind as he wandered from cavern to cavern, barely taking in what was in each. That was until he came to a narrow hall-like cave with many glass cases lining the walls. Each held different variants of the same outfit. A familiar outfit. Dark crimson leather with black at the cuffs and belt. A table displayed a myriad selection of scarlet masks. Kyle's breathe began to escape him in soft pants as panic threaded through his muddled mind. The pain of all his injuries was starting to throb though him.

        The sharp click of booted feet grabbed his attention and Kyle jerked his head around to locate the sound. Emmet was quickly striding towards him from the direction he had come from, worry twisting his face. Kyle blinked in confusion at his presence. He had to blink again as Emmet was suddenly in front of him, with warm hands cupping his face. Emmet's mouth was moving but Kyle could hear no sound apart from a weird buzzing.