Villains Rise

Chapter 5 -- Not as ignorant as I thought

Owen answers none of my further questioning. Surprise, surprise. We remain in silence for the next few minutes as we pass through a few alleys. What is with this guy and alleys?

"Where are you taking me?" I ask, getting tired of being tugged around with no idea of my whereabouts.

Owen stops in his tracks to turn around and face me. His hazel eyes shine in the setting of the sun. There's nothing beautiful about the emotion behind his eyes, however. They show me pure hatred as his nostrils flare.

"Shut up and keep following me." He grits through his teeth.

I sigh and continue to follow him, as commanded. What else am I supposed to do? Use my super speed and get electrocuted? Pass.

As he leads me through a few more creepy, tucked away alleys, the moon begins to replace the sun. It's official, I've been gone for two days now. What are my friends doing about it? Nothing. How do I know that? Mason would've known to check in The Undergrounds.

My heart drops to my stomach at the thought. He would've known. Did they really think I ran away, the day after defeating Red Raven?

"We're here." Owen's rough voice makes me lose my train of thought.

"What?" I ask to confirm. We're standing in front of a brick wall, covered in graffiti. I'm going to assume these are gang signs because I can't decipher any words.

Owen places his hand on a piece of brick that just barely juts out from the rest. With a slight push, the brick slides into place and my eyes widen as the wall in front of me slowly opens up. Owen walks up to the open area, but all I see is a dark abyss.

He claps his hands together and suddenly a blinding light shines through the open space. Owen walks through as if he's immune to this element of light. I, on the other hand, feel I need a welding helmet on in order to keep my eyesight.

The light dims and I can barely make out Owen's figure in the middle of the room. They continue to dim and eventually I'm able to understand where I'm at.

"Your hideout?" I take a guess, rubbing my hands over my eyes.

"You could call it that." I remove my hands in time to see him shrugging and tapping his fingers on a leather recliner.

"So what are we doing here?" I think he's going to have to get used to the fact that I ask too many questions.

"We're going to make a new suit for you. And cut your hair." He adds before he turns his back on me again.

"I don't want a new suit, new hair, or even a new name. Owen, I know you're not a villain, why won't you let me go?" I plead with him.

He turns around, "What makes you think I'm not a villain, huh? I work for the villains, don't I? I brought you in, didn't I?" My eyes are still adjusting but I know he's irritated by the tone of his voice.

"That doesn't mean you want any part of this. You could be just as much forced into this as I am. Are they threatening your family too?" I speak with a clarity that pierces through the air.

"More like they are my family." He mumbles, but I catch it.

"Excuse me?" I'm taken back at his confession. He can't deny me answers for much longer.

Owen sighs, slamming something against a table. "Okay, let's make a deal. I will tell you everything you need to know if you make this whole make over thing easy on me. Deal?"

Considering he just admitted to giving me a make over, I will applaud the guy for even attempting to do such a thing.

"Okay. Do you promise?" I hesitantly ask. I expect the typical, 'we'll see' reply, but he surprises me.