Villain at Night *Third Book To Hero by Day

Chapter 7 - Twisted thoughts of Midnight

"You are literally impervious to bullets, and I'm worried about your safety right now."

~ Winn Schott

:Aden:

"Tell me again why we're here."

Olly sighed. "Rule #16: Always show off a good public image."

I huffed and crossed my arms. "I thought you hated public events like this."

He nodded. "Of course I do, but they're a necessary evil."

I glared at him as the announcer bellowed, ". . . so, now for who you've all been waiting for, White Lightning and his sidekick, Kratos!"

The makeshift curtains opened up as we walked out in the park to a chorus of screams. Except, these screams weren't in fear, but rather in joy. We were in The Ellipse, a park just south of the White House. The White House was so close that it was currently a very ironic background behind us. We were holding a sort of meet and greet in the park. Fans could get autographs and take pictures with us. Technically they could also give us gifts and letters, which was why there was a huge empty table behind us.

I looked out into the sea of teenage girls (and some guys) and saw a horde of glitter pens and White Lightning memorabilia. Some even sported some Kratos T-shirts, something I didn't even know was being made.

(You know, all of these superhero items should really make us some money. I didn't understand why Olly and I couldn't start selling a brand of T-shirts or something. We'd really make some money then.)

I was a bit annoyed by the fact that we had to do this thing, but I couldn't be too mad. All of these people wanted to come and see us. By being here, we were making someone's day. Most people would kill to meet us. Not literally, I hope.

The first girl came up with a huge smile on her face and I knew that I had to do this, no matter how much I'd rather be at home playing video games.

*

*

*

Two hours later and we were still at the park.

The line hadn't seemed to shorten. It still stretched as far as my eyes could see. I was getting a bit tired of posing for countless pictures. So far, five girls had passed out due to Olly kissing them on the cheek or hugging them.

I had to hand it to him, Olly knew how to create a good public image.

The table full of gifts from the fans was ever-growing. So far we'd been gifted with paintings and beautiful hand drawings by talented fans, stuffed animals, action figures of ourselves, packs of candy and food, and one weirdly shaped package that I was sure wasn't safe to open in a crowded room.

I was greeting the next girl in line when I first saw it. The park around us had grown dark, like it was almost night, but the sky was still bright. Every time I looked out into the park, it seemed to grow darker. I was about to tell Olly about this, when someone screamed.

Now, we'd been hearing screams all day, but none like this. This girl wasn't extremely overjoyed, she was terrified.

Olly and I immediately went into superhero mode, running towards the middle of the line, where a hoard of girls were now screaming and backing away from something. When we got there, all I saw was a dark splotch. They were cowering away from what looked like a living shadow.

We stopped and faced it when the shadow subsided and a girl stood in its place. She wore all black, bearing a creepy resemblance to Elise when she was in her Delinquent costume. Though, this girl was wearing less leather. She also sported a skirt and combat boots, both not seen often on super costumes. Skirts could get caught on things, and combat boots were usually too heavy to run around in (The only super I could think of that wore a skirt with her spandex was Sonic). She still wore leggings though, a super wearing a skirt without leggings was at a liability to show the area she didn't want the public to see. Her outfit also seemed to shift constantly, but that was probably due to the shadows seeping out of her skin.