A Villain's Story

Chapter 2: Captured

~Chloe's P. O. V.~

How did it get like this? How did I become who I am now? My dog is gone, my home is gone, my boyfriends are nowhere to be seen and even the sun is turning away from me. When did my life get so wrong? As much as I would love to just lay down here and leave this world, I know I have to press on. If not for myself, then for Seth and Zephyr. This heartache of losing Timber, though. It's crushing my soul with every step. Those murderers, he was just a dog. They had no right or reason to poison him! As I was walking down this sidewalk, lost in my thoughts, I bumped into someone.

"Oof!" I fell as the brick wall ahead of me slightly turned. My eyes turned wide.

"Oh, I apologize, miss." It was him. He held out his hand for me. I instinctively flinched and quickly got up. "Hey, you don't have to be scared." He was wrong, I had every reason to fear this man. He's the Leader of all the heroes in Sanctum Way. I was a low-life villain. But as for him? He was the top hero. Undergod. His real name is Azazel Balanor. He owns the largest and most wealthy company here in this city. I saw his family behind him. His father was killed by a villain and his mother committed suicide. I had to get away from him. "You seem familiar." We have never crossed paths until now. He came a little closer. I had to run. I had to get out of here. I turned on my heel and ran. "H-Hey! Wait!" Of all people to run into, Undergod?! He used his flight and got in front of me. "Stop, I only want to talk to you." No, no. I had to run. I turned down into an ally and he followed me by air. I saw a small corner and quickly turned into it. I noticed a dumpster. I jumped into it before he turned around. "Damnit!" I heard him land. He got quiet for a moment. "Hey, Flame Knight? I think I ran into your girlfriend." Did he know about us? "Yeah, you said she had swirling string-like rainbow eyes, didn't you?" He began to pace here. "I tried to talk to her, but she seemed really terrified of me." He sighed heavily. "A master at running away and hiding, huh? So, she could be anywhere?" He stopped pacing. "Get to my location, we'll look for her together." I heard a beep followed by a click. I stayed in that large garbage dispenser for a while. Trembling in fear.

"Hey. Is this where you last saw her?" Seth. Go home! Damnit! I kept my cries to silent ones.

"Yeah. I know not everyone likes me, but never had I had a civilian turn and run away from me." He got quiet again, "What happened?"

"My sources told me that the gang that she lived around killed her dog. I didn't know she had a dog." Timber. I began crying again as I thought about the rat poison. "They forced a lot of rat poison into her dog."

"That gang must have terrified her. That's horrible. Attacking an animal like that. Did she live alone?" I peeked through a rusty hole. He had his arms crossed.

"Not only alone, but she also has no one. She was made an orphan by her parents abandoning her on the road. She's 24 and only had her dog." I saw him rubbing his neck. "I should have offered for her to move in with me, but I have been afraid that taking that step meant something more. Let me call her." s**t! I took out my phone and turned off the volume and notification sounds. Along with the brightness. I looked out and he dialed my number. He put it on speaker. I watched it go to voicemail.

"This is Chloe Starveil, leave a message at the beep. Boop *laughing* just kidding." It beeped for real.

"Chloe, this is Seth. Come on, babe. You have been missing all night. I tried to find you. Why didn't you tell me about your dog? Anyway, please call me back. I'm more than worried about you." He closed his eyes, "I love you, Chlo." He hung up. The screen immediately told me that I had a new voicemail.

"You know, she seemed oddly familiar to me. If you find her, I want to know her." What why? "And it's not because of the description you gave. Like, I met her before I knew you." How could that be possible? I never ran into you, Azazel.

"What do you mean, sir?" I saw them starting to leave.

"I mean, I feel a connection to her. It's hard to explain." I looked away. There is no way that I feel anything to him.

"Sir, you aren't falling for my girl, are you? That would be creepy on so many levels. You're like what? 50?" Ew! Gross!

"45, thank you. And no, nothing like that." I mentally sighed in relief and waited for them to leave. Once I felt that it was safe enough. I looked up in the sky and around the corners. I knew I smelled like s**t. I went to the nearest bath house for homeless people. The owner only smelled me and waved me through. I took off my clothes and threw them into the garbage. Happy that I packed like 4 more sets. I got into the bath and closed my eyes. The water was warm and filled with a floral scent. It was the women's side. What did Undergod mean? I don't know. I do know that I will not be seeing him again. I closed my eyes again and thought of Timber. Those damn Silver Dolphins will pay for killing him. I will be the one to destroy The Silver Dolphin Syndicate.

~Unknown's P. O. V.~

"Sir. We found her." I told my boss. Chloe Starveil. Age 24. Orphan. Long black hair, swirling rainbow eyes that look like strings. 5 foot and 9 inches. Skin color, ivory. Goes by Corvina the Raven. I smiled at her location. I was standing on the building across from the homeless bath house.

"Good. Bring her to the Headquarters. Tell her The Hellhound Syndicate would like to speak with her." Before I could respond, I had to hide. Undergod was flying around. s**t! I peeked from the roof and saw him stop at the bathhouse. I zoomed in on my goggles and turned my listening gear up.

"You said you saw her?" Undergod asked the owner.

"Yes. The girl with the swirling eyes. She came in about 15 minutes ago. Why is she so special, if I might ask?" The owner opened the door.

"I want to find that out. She looks like someone I met before." s**t! No, we cannot have him get her!

"Sir, we have a problem," I whispered on my radio.

"What is it?" My boss asked.

"Undergod saw her. He's wondering why she looks familiar to him." I saw the hero and owner enter the bathhouse. f*****g A!

"Get her out of there! That's an order!" I did not disobey my boss. I quickly jumped off the room and landed quietly on the ground. I had to get her out of his grasp before he gets a DNA sample. I ran to the back of the building and climbed in through the window. I looked around and immediately became embarrassed. I went through the wrong window. It was the men's half. I was lucky enough that there was no one in this half. I listened through the thin wall.

"I miss you, Timber." I heard her say. "I swear, I will kill The Silver Dolphins for this." Right, she lived alone with a Huskey named Timber. A black and white Huskey with pale blue eyes. And was renting in the outskirts of The Silver Dolphins' territory. And she was dating Seth Nottingham, also known as Flame Knight. Along with Zephyr Hutchinson, a villain that goes by Dark Forest. I thought that she was being scandalous dating a hero and a villain at once. Some were hoping Zephyr would be who she chose. Others were rooting for Seth. I heard her get out of the bath. "Don't worry, Timber. I will be okay. The initial shock of losing you hit hard. But I will kill this damn city if I have to, to avenge you." That last part she said in anger. I heard her unzip something as the cloth was being moved. "That's better. No longer smelling like a dumpster." She snickered.

"Chloe!" I yelled. "Don't go out there! Undergod is waiting for you!" I shouted to her. But I got no response. I climbed up the wall where there is a thin opening. She wasn't there anymore. f**k! I got out the same way I came in and went to the front. My blood began to boil.

"Hey! Get your hands off me!" She yelled.

"Not until I figure out who you are!" Undergod yelled back. I grabbed my gun and began to shoot at him. He let her go as he dodged my bullets.

"Chloe! Get out of here!" Undergod did not waste his time with me. He only looked at me with anger and flew to catch her. No! "Chloe!"

"Help!" She yelled. f**k. My boss is going to kill me. Chloe and I have passive powers. Hers is to see one passed family. Mine is superhuman hearing.

I radioed my boss. "He took her, sir." There was radio silence. Yep. I am a dead man.

"To Baltimore Sanctuary?" He calmly asked. Oh, I wasn't just dead. I was completely f****d.

"That is the direction he flew with her." I heard him breathe in a heavy sigh of anger.

"Follow them. I want reports." Phew. He gave me a way to redeem myself.

"Yes, sir." I put the radio away and ran towards Baltimore Sanctuary. It's where all the heroes are. No one is stupid enough to attack there since they have a failsafe in place. I got there just as he flew with her to the door. She looked like she passed out.

"Undergod, sir!" Some of his lower people saluted him.

"Who is the girl, sir?" They stopped walking.

"I don't know. But she looks like someone I met before. I want a DNA sample." The door closed as he walked in with her. Well, f**k me. If he finds out who she is to him, we're screwed. I put my ear to the metal wall. "Get a blood sample. I'll take her to an interrogation room. Tell Flame Knight that he is not to enter that room." He paused in his words. "I don't want his judgment clouded by his love for her."

"Yes, sir!" Chloe, I am sorry for the information you are about to receive. You aren't going to believe it; you may even reject it. But it's the truth. A truth that we at The Hellhound Syndicate wanted to break lightly to you.

"Oh! That's Flame Knight's girlfriend? Damn, she's hot." Another hero I recognized said.

"Ian. Back off. You know he will kill you if you try anything." The heroes kept gathering.

"Eh. Just making an observation. I mean, come on, Alex, you cannot deny that fact." Tch. Some heroes are only in this gig for fame. It makes me sick.

"I said enough, Ian." That was all I could hear before they went through a series of doors and elevators. It means they must have gone underground. My hearing may be superhuman, but I can't hear below a certain amount of feet. I stayed put until I hear them come up again. Hopefully, with Chloe. My boss is not going to be happy she found out this way, indeed.

~Azazel's P. O. V.~

as I held this child in my arms, I couldn't help but look at her features. Aside from her eyes, she looked like a woman I met many years ago. One of my medical professionals lead me to one of the underground hospital rooms where he could safely take the blood sample. I laid her down on the bed and looked at her with sadness. What Seth told me about her, she's lived a rough life. But why was she scared of me? I couldn't have her try to run again. I cuffed her to the hospital bed.

"Undergod." My medic bowed. "I will take the blood sample now." He went over to her other side and inserted the needle and vial. Once he got the blood sample, he left. She passed out while I flew with her. I took off my mask, wanting her to meet me as Azazel, not Undergod. Maybe then she'll be less scared of me. She started to stir, and my nerves began to show. Why was I becoming nervous? Her eyes fluttered open as she looked around. He moaned a little in pain.

"Ow... My head." She closed her eyes and laid her head back on the pillow. "Why did you bring me here? I'm just a poor woman with no one to fall back on. I shouldn't even be on your radar."

"I don't know. Something about you intrigues me. Why did you run from me?" She opened her eyes and looked away from me.

"Like you would understand. You were born into wealth. Been granted multiple powers. How could you understand?" She wasn't trying to break her restraints. "Azazel Balinor. Owner of the wealthiest company in this city. You were born with a silver spoon in your mouth." She huffed out.

I don't think she looked at me. "How did you know who I was without looking at me?"

"It's my ability. I knew who you were when I made eye contact with you. Mask or not." Her backpack fell on the floor and her items scattered everywhere. A picture of her and her dog caught my eye.

"Wait. You're Corvina the Raven. A villain." She reclosed her eyes and accepted that I found out her alias.

"So what? You know now. Put me before a judge. I only have done misdemeanors and one joy ride. I stole from people who could afford 5-star food. And it was only $50-$100. I doubt they noticed." She rolled her eyes.

"Why do you do it?" She finally looked at me and then back at her photo.

"For him. He was my baby. My constant shadow." I picked up the photo and looked at it. She was smiling as the dog looked like he was about to lick the camera.

"I should." I ground my teeth in. "Yet, you and I never met face to face until today. Why do you look familiar to me?"

"How the hell should I know?!" She yelled at me. "I wanted to live peacefully with just my dog. I stole to pay vet bills for him. The food was taken care of as were any other of his things. You kidnapped me, remember!" I rubbed my face in frustration. I had to take several breaths in and out. She heavily laid her head back.

I wasn't going to leave her alone. Not until those results came back. We sat in silence for a few hours before my medic knocked on the door. "Sir. You may want to come out of the room for a moment." I nodded and looked back at her I could tell she was frightened and holding her composure. I left the room, and the doctor began to whisper. "She's your daughter." I looked back at the closed door with shock. "I ran the blood 3 different times. Her DNA matches yours and a woman named Shawna." That's why she looked familiar. Shawna was a bartender I met when I was going to college. I placed my hand over my mouth. How could she not have told me that I was a father? Oh, God. I am a father. And my daughter is through that door. I missed out on her growing up. Everything. Why didn't Shawna tell me about my little girl?

"Where is Shawna now?" I looked back at him as he handed me a police report from 23 years ago. She was killed when Chloe was just an infant. Caught in the crossfire between Hellhound and Emerald Dragon.

"Does Chloe know?" I shook my head. She knows nothing.

"She thinks her parents abandoned her." I guess in a way, that is true. I had no idea of her existence. Shawna died.

"There is something else. Her DNA? Matches a villain." He told me the name and my eyes popped out of my skull. Shawna was the... Oh, God. I sat down in one of the waiting chairs and hung my head. I ran my hands through my hair several times. I don't know how to go in there and tell her I am her dad. She ran away from me because she was a villain. She's scared of what I'll do. I had to face her, though. I got up and cracked the door. She was lightly crying as she stared at the picture of her dog.

"I could really use you right now, Timber." I closed the door and looked at the doctor.

"I can't go in there. She hates me as is. Telling her who I am to her? That's going to break her." He grabbed my shoulder and made me face the door.

"As your Primary Care Physician, I order you to talk to her." He lightly pushed me to open the door. And handed me the paperwork. I stood straight and knocked on her door. Opening it, I released her cuffs. I made them out of water. She didn't look at me, she just rubbed her wrists. I sat back down next to her and hoped beyond hope that she will forgive me for missing most of her life.

"Chloe. Ther is something I need to tell you."