It Started With a Ransom

Deja Vu

When you and Ryan appeared back at the base you hugged him tightly. "It's ok, Y/N." He murmured, stroking your hair. "I won't let him touch you." You only nodded. "Ryan?" You said after a while. "Hmm?" "Am I a villain?" You asked. Ryan pulled away and looked at you. "I don't know." He admitted. "You're dating one. You've attacked superheroes. You've attempted two heists..." "So yes?" You sighed. Ryan gave you a sad smile. "Maybe... But hey, you're the sweetest villain I've ever met." He kissed you lovingly, then laid his forehead on yours. "You're the best thing that has ever happened to me. I won't let that maniac hurt you." You smiled. "I know."

Although he was confident in your ability to defend yourself, Ryan wanted you to lay low for a little while. You couldn't argue; the CorPirate scared you.

Ryan thought the base was the safest place for you. He said it was hidden well, and even the Lads weren't able to find it.

But the CorPirate is persistent.

Two days later you were watching television in the living room when you heard a giant crash. You screamed in surprise and jumped off the couch. You heard footsteps approach. You looked for your gloves; but they were in your room. Before you could move you heard a chuckle. "Hello, lass." You paled and turned to the voice. Sure enough, it was the CorPirate. "I've been lookin' fer ye." He smirked at you as he approached. You backed away from him until you hit a wall. You had to think of something, although you knew there was no getting out of this. Your mind raced as you thought of anything you could do. Then you remembered something from way back then.

You took off your bracelet and threw it on the floor.

The CorPirate didn't seem to notice or find it suspicious, as he just kept walking towards you. As one final act of defiance you tried to run past the man. He only laughed and grabbed you by the waist, and you realized what his super power was; super strength. He was stronger than Mogar, and his grip left you very little wiggle room. "Where do ye think yer goin' lass?" He chuckled. "Let me go!" You demanded. You struggled against him, but it was no use. "Easy now, lass." CorPirate warned, tightening his hold on you. "Don't make this any harder than it needs to be." He placed one of his hands over your mouth and dragged you out of your base.

Ryan was just about to fight the Lads when the alarm went off.

He had been robbing a store for basic materials when the heroes arrived. "Mad King!" X-Ray exclaimed. Ryan turned to them with a smirk. "Hello, Lads. It's been a while." "Is Y/N alright?!" Vav demanded. Mad King nodded. "She's fine." The Lads breathed a sigh of relief. "I had the arrow and chemical removed in time. It just took her a while to recover." "Where is she now?" X-Ray questioned. "At our base, resting. Now are we going to talk or fight?" Just as Mogar was getting ready to attack him, however, the alarm in Ryan's crown went off, startling everyone. "What the fuck!?" X-Ray exclaimed. Ryan only blinked as he turned the alarm off, trying to remember what it was for. He gasped. "Y/N." He muttered. "What about her?" Mogar asked. "She might be in danger..." Ryan turned to the Lads. "I'm afraid we'll have to reschedule our fight." Then he teleported away.

Ryan was worried as to why you would take the bracelet off; it had saved you twice. But when he reappeared in the base, he understood. The front door had been knocked down, and he found your bracelet in the corner of the room. He knew who had taken you before he found the note.

To the Mad King,

I told ye she wasn't safe. Now I don't want to hurt this poor lass, but if ye don't surrender, I'll be forced to kill 'er. Come to the roof of the skyscraper tomorrow at noon.

CorPirate

This was irony at it's finest.

"I'm afraid we'll have to reschedule our fight." "Wait!" But X-Ray was too late; Mad King had teleported away. "Y/N's in danger?" Vav asked worriedly. "He said she might be." Mogar told him. "Well he'll protect her, right?" Vav questioned. "He does love her." "I don't know. I just hope she's safe." Mogar sighed. Before they could leave, however, Mad King returned. They looked at him curiously. "Why are you back?" X-Ray asked. Mad King walked to the green hero and gave him a note. When he read it, his eyes widened. "The CorPirate took Y/N?!" He exclaimed. The other two Lads gasped. Mad King nodded. "Yes." He confirmed. "He wants revenge for how I left him all that time ago." The villain sighed. "I can't take him on my own." He admitted. "I need your help." The Lads stared at him in surprise for a while. Suddenly X-Ray burst out laughing. Mad King crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes. "Let me get this straight..." The green hero snickered. "The great Mad King can't beat a man Vav and I took by ourselves, and he's asking for the help of his arch-nemesis?" Mad King sighed. "Yes." He mumbled. X-Ray fell on the floor laughing. "Oh my God, this is the funniest thing I've ever heard!" Mogar smirked and Vav snickered. Mad King groaned. "Are you going to help me or not?" He snapped. "This is Y/N we're talking about." X-Ray immediately stopped laughing and stood up. He looked at Mad King seriously. "Yeah. We'll help." He told him. Mad King's face lit up. "But by no means does this make us friends or allies." The green hero warned. Mad King rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah."

The CorPirate opened a door and shoved you in, and you stumbled and fell. He closed the door before grabbing you roughly by the arm and leading you to a room. He shoved you again, and you fell. He took something from the dresser and grabbed you again. He yanked your arms behind your back and tied your hands together. "Maybe after a while, if ye behave, I'll untie ye." The CorPirate chuckled. You glared at him. "Fuck you." You spat. The CorPirate laughed and slapped you, knocking you onto your knees. He grabbed you by your hair and yanked you to your feet. You yelped in pain. "Ye see, that ain't gonna fly 'ere, lass." He hissed, releasing your hair. "Ye 're gonna listen to me and do what I say. Got it?" Despite the sting on your cheek, you weren't going to give him the satisfaction of you giving in. "Go to hell." You retorted. CorPirate smirked and slapped you again, even harder this time. "I was hoping ye would be a fighter." He snickered. "It's much more fun when they resist." He crouched down to your level and smirked. "Let's see how long ye can keep that spirit, eh?" He pulled you to your feet again and pushed you onto the bed behind you. "Get some sleep, lass." CorPirate told you. "It's gonna be a long day tomorrow." He smirked at you again before leaving, closing the door and engulfing you in darkness. You curled into a ball and silently cried yourself to sleep.

"So he wants you to meet him on the skyscraper?" X-Ray asked as the temporary allies walked down the street. "Yes." Mad King confirmed. "I don't know why, though. He has to have a reason." Vav sighed. "I can't believe Y/N got kidnapped... Again!" Mad King grimaced. "Yeah. And for the same reason." Vav gave the man a sympathetic look. "You really love her, don't you?" "Yes." Mad King said firmly. "I love her more than anything... I'd do anything for her..." Vav played a hand on his shoulder, and the distressed man looked up at him. "We care for her to. We want her back as much as you do." The hero bit his lip. "And... Although I still don't approve of her dating you..." Vav smiled at the Mad King. "I think she'll be in better hands with you then if she was with us. And she'll be happier." Mad King smiled gratefully. "Thank you, Vav." He laughed. "I never thought I would say those words." Vav chuckled. "This is all unexpected." There was silence for a while. "We need to come up with a plan." Mad King said finally. The Lads nodded. "Stay here. I need to grab some things from my base." And he was gone.

"I meant that, you know." Vav said to his friends. "We might be the strongest heroes in the city, but we can't protect her and save the day." But she's gotten hurt more times with him then she did with us." X-Ray pointed out. "The arrow was my fault." Vav reminded him. "And he took care of her the moment she was shot. He killed the robber that hurt her, and he set aside his pride to ask us to help find her." X-Ray sighed. "Yeah. You're right." Vav gave him a small smile. "We don't have to like it. But she obviously does." X-Ray sighed again, but smiled softly. "And... That's all that matters. Even if we do have to fight her now."

When Mad King reappeared, he was holding a gold bracelet and the gloves he had made you. "I need to return these to her." He explained. The Lads nodded. "So what's the plan?"

It was almost noon the next day, and the party was on their way to the skyscraper.

"Let's go over the plan one more time." Vav said. "Mad King goes in, starts the meeting and distracts the CorPirate, and after three minutes have past, we burst in, take him by surprise, and save Y/N. Sound like a plan?" The others nodded. "Good luck, Mad King." Vav said. Ryan said nothing, just walked inside.

Three minutes later, Vav nodded and the Lads ran inside. But it was completely dark. "What the-" X-Ray was cut off by a blunt object hitting him over the head. "X-Ray!" Vav exclaimed. "Are you-" The same happened to Vav, leaving Mogar alone. His heightened senses meant he could see in the dark, so he grabbed his sword and spun around, searching for the attacker. "Show yourself!" He growled. He saw movement in the corner of his eye and spun around. "Face me, coward!" He challenged. "As tempting as that offer be..." A voice sneered. Someone grabbed Mogar's arm and pried his sword from his fingers. "I'll have to stick to the original plan." Mogar's eyes widened as he was hit with the bottom of his own sword. Te attacker chuckled as the vigilante fell to the ground. "Nice try, Mad King." He laughed. "But I always get me way."