A Villain's Hero

Chapter 23 - Matteo/Rowan

Before Citadel could register what had happened, the corridor was suddenly shrouded in darkness. He felt movement around him, so he automatically reached out in front of him, but caught nothing.

"Revenger?" he asked aloud, even though he knew it was useless. He'd been saying all along that it was foolish to trust him, and he was right. Why didn't anyone listen to him?

"Don't panic," Max echoed. His next words explained the situation, so Citadel automatically assumed that Max was calling someone to fill them in on what had happened.

"Just on this floor? Are you sure?" Max's question puzzled him. Was the power cut only on this floor? Citadel quickly recalled the situation at the bank, and how Revenger had escaped under the cover of darkness, just as he did now. That bastard. He'd had his own plan all along.

"Shit!" He couldn't keep his emotions in check. No one could make him as furious as Revenger. Citadel knew he was actually angry at himself and the fact that he had outsmarted him again, but he was too proud to admit it out loud.

However, before he could explode and unleash a wave of curses, the corridor suddenly returned to its original state, and Citadel wasn't the only one with a surprised look on his face.

"What?" He didn't have to finish the question as everyone was thinking the same thing. "Open the door!" He regained his composure quickly and turned to the guard who was still holding the card that unlocked the door.

The man in the suit placed the card in the same position as before, but the light on the door flashed red, alerting him to the failed attempt.

"Try again," ordered Citadel, who was beginning to lose his cool.

"Again!" The guard obeyed, but it resulted in the same outcome.

"Citadel." Max's hand landed on his shoulder and he turned to him, realising he'd overreacted. Revenger was bringing out the worst in him, and Citadel was glad there weren't more people around to witness his outburst.

"I'm sorry." Citadel turned to the same guard again, but this time his tone reflected shame rather than anger. The man in the suit nodded, accepting his apology.

"Maybe he just blocked this one card," Vogue suggested. Citadel's eyes automatically went to the other guard, who should have an identical card to this door. The man understood immediately and tried to open the door. But that was all. Just an attempt. The red light on the door flashed again, indicating that it was still locked.

"What now?" Citadel turned to Max.

"He blocked the door, but he couldn't block the mirror. We'll find out what's going on while the guards sort out the problem with the lock," the older superhero instructed, and without waiting for an answer made his way to the door that led to the room with the other side of the mirror.

Meanwhile on the other side of the door...

Revenger expected fear, but all he got was blank expressions. If he examined them more closely, he might even see amusement in the Tigress's eyes.

It was definitely playing on his nerves, but he was determined not to let it show how much being in the same room with them was affecting him.

"I heard you're bored. I've come to fix that," he said, moving closer to them, but still keeping a good distance.

Tigress snorted and Revenger narrowed his eyes, hating the sound. His eyes were the only thing that could be seen through his mask, so he quickly relaxed them so that she wouldn't see how much effect she had on him.

"So you're the bad cop? I was betting on Citadel," she declared, resting her elbows on the table.

This time it was Revenger who snorted. Citadel was far from bad. Revenger was sure that even if he had managed to catch him, the blond superhero wouldn't have been able to torture him and would have been content to leave justice in the hands of the authorities. He was righteous, he was principled, he was everything Revenger was not.