A Villain's Hero

Chapter 22 - Rowan

Rowan honestly didn't think Vague and Citadel would think of something. Their commitment to the cause was endearing, but Rowan knew they would need more than that to meet his conditions.

He was all the more surprised when the computer alerted him that someone had summoned him again through the cameras.

Well, at first he thought he'd become the topic of conversation for some superhero/supervillain-obsessed students, since it wouldn't be the first time. As it turned out, however, he was wrong.

"We both know you're watching, Revenger, so listen up. We have a plan. Meet us in the alley behind the post office building near the Legion in an hour," Vague informed him, looking fiercely into the camera while Citadel stood a few steps behind her.

An hour. Luckily, Rowan was used to working quickly.

As he'd mentioned before, hacking into the Legion's system was a risk he didn't want to take again just for the sake of it, so he decided to look elsewhere for building plans instead. He needed to have at least a general idea of the building to be sure he could get out without help.

Even if the fact that Vague and Citadel had summoned him meant that they had provided him with a safe way in and out, he wasn't stupid. Anything could change, and he had no reason to trust them.

Besides, by concentrating on the plan, he didn't have to think about coming face to face with the killers of his parents all those years later.

With his suit on and his portable device strapped to his sleeve, Rowan made his way out of his apartment. Of course, not before blowing the fuses throughout the building and using the brief moment of darkness to leave the building and disappear into the alley behind it.

He didn't like moving around the city in the light, especially when he was operating under his alter ego, but apparently Vague and the rest of her team couldn't wait any longer.

Revenger tried not to think that it could be a trap, but the closer he got to the agreed location, the more paranoid he became. Perhaps that was why he'd arrived so many minutes early.

Before stepping into the agreed-upon alleyway, he used his abilities to make his footsteps inaudible, then climbed to the nearest high point - in this case, someone's balcony.

Vague, Citadel, and Seismic weren't there yet, or at least hadn't made themselves known, so he had no choice but to wait.

His mind was anything but calm, and although he knew this moment would come sooner or later, he was beginning to fear that he wasn't ready for it. It wasn't that he was afraid of backing out at the last minute, no, on the contrary, he was afraid that he would kill them as soon as he was in the same room with them. After all, they deserved it.

"He will," was the first thing he heard that made him pay attention to his surroundings again.

"You're giving him too much credit." He'd recognise that voice anywhere. He had no doubt that Citadel was talking about him, and an amused smile appeared on his face.

"I'm not, I just have faith in my plan," the red-haired superheroine assured him, finally coming into Revenger's line of sight. Citadel appeared just behind her, and to Revenger's surprise, Seismic, or rather Max in this case, appeared around the corner shortly afterwards.

"He's already here." The oldest of them showed that age had not only given him grey hair, but also experience. A second after he said the words, his eyes met Revenger's.

"Revenger," he greeted him with a nod.

Since the superhero had detected him right away, Revenger decided to show him that he wasn't the only one who was a step ahead and knew more than he should. "Seismic." The moment he spoke, he revealed his location to the other two superheroes, who looked up at him.