A Villain's Hero

Chapter 21 - Rowan

Rowan's computer alerted him with a beep, and then another, and another, and after a few seconds another. He frowned, knowing immediately what it meant, and although he was used to people talking about him a lot, it had been a long time since any camera had caught his name so many times in a row.

When he first appeared in public as Revenger, he created an app that connected to public cameras and alerted him whenever someone talked about him. At first, his computer would beep constantly as news of a new villain in the city spread, but after a few months, the beeping decreased drastically.

He sat down at his table and it took him a few seconds to find the exact camera footage that was associated with the beeping sound.

He watched in surprise as two figures in superhero suits suddenly appeared on the seemingly empty screen.

"Hopefully no one else is watching this," declared the superheroine, dressed in a white suit with a wide belt. Her long red hair was in a braid this time, and she wore red lipstick on her lips to match her hair.

Standing next to her was a superhero who immediately caught Rowan's full attention. While Vague looked happy and confident, the blonde's face showed scepticism despite the mask he was wearing.

"Hey, camera guy." Vague waved at the camera and Rowan had to chuckle at Citadel's reaction, as he was clearly embarrassed by his partner.

Just then, Rowan discovered what had caused the constant beeping. "Revenger, Revenger, Revenger," Vague said. "I feel like I'm summoning a Bloody Mary."

If Rowan had to be honest, he'd always liked the red-haired superhero, even though he'd probably only met her twice in his life. She didn't take life too seriously, despite all the responsibilities on her shoulders, and that appealed to him.

The same could not be said for Citadel, who shook his head at her words.

"Revenger, if you see us, meet us at the top of the Trade Tower." He couldn't say he wasn't surprised by Citadel's words, but even though he had no idea what was going on or if they were setting a trap for him, he decided to accept his invitation.

He quickly changed into his suit, locked the apartment behind him and made his way to the building where his supposed enemies were waiting for him.

However, unlike the Citadel and Vague, he didn't have the abilities to climb up undetected, so he had to do it his way. Keeping to the alleyways so that no one would see him, Revenger quickly found a side entrance that he decided to use to avoid unwanted attention.

As soon as he was close enough, he hacked into the camera on the building, quickly deflecting it so it wouldn't catch him, then slipped inside through the door. He had no doubt that someone would be guarding the area behind it, so the moment he opened it, he used his abilities to cut off the power to the entire building.

He immediately heard people panicking and decided to use their momentary inattention to find the stairs to the roof. He didn't plan to take it all the way up, he wasn't crazy, but he planned to use it until they got the power back on and then quickly took the first available elevator.

Thanks to the device he had attached to his sleeve and his abilities, he was able to make the elevator stop on no other floor and take him to the last one he needed without any delays.

His plan was working so far, as usual, but he knew that the moment he reached the roof, he would find himself in the unknown.

As soon as he got off the elevator, he shut off the power in the corridor and made his way to the door that concealed the stairs to the roof. He quietened his footsteps so that Vague and Citadel wouldn't know what was in store for them, but if they could have heard the momentary panic in the building, they might have had an inkling that he was near.