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Virgil regained consciousness slowly, groggily blinking the sleep from his eyes. He shuffled uncomfortably, feeling the metal chair beneath him rock slightly and the restraints around his legs, arms and torso rub against his too-tight superhero costume. Still too out of it to fully begin panicking, he began to take in his surroundings.
There wasn't much to take in. It was a small room, about 150 square feet. He was tied firmly to a chair in the very middle of the space. The entire room was made out of concrete. He assumed that the door was behind him, and the only other thing he could see was a small air vent in the corner. Definitely not big enough for him to escape through.
Virgil struggled against his bindings, trying to find a way to loosen them and at the very least be able to stand up, but whoever had taken him was clearly experienced. I wonder how many other people are trapped here.
Rather than waste his time trying to escape by sheer force, he decided to profile his captor. From what he could remember, he had been on patrol before he was taken. He wracked his brain for any suspicious interactions he may have had during the night, but nothing came to mind. Judging by his surroundings, his captor had been planning this attack, which meant that this was likely personal. If Virgil could figure out who would want to hurt him (an extensive list, really), he would be able to come up with some sort of escape plot.
Just then, he heard the door behind him open. As he attempted to turn around and see who it was, a firm but gentle hand grabbed his chin from behind, forcing him to continue facing forward.
"Tsk, tsk. Already trying to gain the upper hand, my dark and stormy knight?"
Motherfucker. Virgil knew that voice.
"You've always been one for the dramatics, Princey."
The Prince chuckled and absent-mindedly ran his fingers down Virgil's cheek. "My sincerest apologies, but I'm afraid that kidnapping you was the only way to get your attention."
Virgil scoffed. "We've been enemies for years; surely you have some other way of contacting me by now."
"Ah, but where's the fun in that?" Virgil heard a bit of shuffling behind him, followed by a piece of smooth, black cloth being draped over his eyes. A feeling of panic finally began to brew in the back of his mind as the fabric was tightened and his sense of sight was taken away. "Terribly sorry once again, but this is just a precautionary measure. We both know what those eyes of yours can do." Virgil swore he could hear the wink that was directed at him.
Virgil took a deep breath to calm himself. "Okay, I'll play your game. What do you want?" Virgil heard a chair being dragged across the room, and assumed that The Prince had moved to sit in from of him.
"Information. Information that only you have."
Virgil attempted to think of anything he might know that The Prince would want. When he came up with nothing once again, he sighed.
"And what would that be?"
"Your number." Virgil assumed there was another wink.
"Ha ha, yes, very hilarious, you flatter me." Virgil felt The Prince get closer to him, and he tensed. "What do you want?"
"I want your name."
Virgil tensed even further, but attempted to act his usual, casual self.
"My name? That's it? Come on, man, I thought I meant something to you, and you don't even know my name?" Virgil forced a chuckle. "If you must know my deepest, darkest secret, my name... is Tempest."
The Prince reached up and carded a hand through Virgil's hair. "Not your hero name, dearest. Your real name. Your civilian name."
Virgil blushed at the pet-name. He quickly collected himself and answered as coldly as he could manage. "You can't have my name, it's classified."
"Darling, if it wasn't classified I would just look it up on Wikipedia. Obviously it's classified. Which is why I had to go through all this trouble to get it from you."\
"Well you're fresh out of luck, because I'm not giving it to you."
The Prince chuckled, caressing Virgil's face as he stood up and walked behind him. "That's a shame... I had a rather nice reward in mind for you if you were to hand it over."
Virgil's racing thoughts paused. "A... reward? You're a villain, aren't you meant to start brutally torturing me until I give you what you want?"
The Prince abruptly gripped Virgil's hair, earning a whimper from him. "Well I wasn't going to go there right away, but if that's what you're into..."
Virgil rapidly shook his head, partially in an attempt to expel the warm feeling of... something.. from his chest. He decided to change the topic. "What's the reward?"
The Prince stepped away from Virgil, seemingly taking something from a compartment in the wall near the door. "In exchange for your name, I shall buy you dinner. Oh, and after our date I'll leave the city forever.
Immediately, Virgil felt conflicted; ashamed that The Prince's (obviously joking) offer of a date actually made him pause to consider, excited about the possibility of being known as the hero who saved Sanders City from it's most nefarious villain, and some... other feeling. If he hadn't known better, he would label it as sadness, but that obviously wasn't right. He was overjoyed at the idea of The Prince leaving his beloved city alone, once and for all.
They sat in silence for several moments, allowing Virgil to contemplate his options.
He shuffled in his seat. "Alright, you win, I'll tell you. On three conditions."
Virgil heard the Prince stand up from where he was sitting behind him. "So demanding, my beloved nemesis. So eager to be rid of me; I'm hurt. Name your conditions, beautiful," he said, his wide grin seeping into his voice.
Virgil shook off the complement, ignoring the burning feeling in his gut. "Number one: you will give me your name as well. Number two: you will take the blindfold off of me. Number three: you will untie me, and walk me out of here in a civil and humane manner. Without the use of sedatives."
The Prince pouted. "You drive a hard bargain, Hot Topic. But I accept, so long as you promise not to bewitch me with your striking eyes."
"It's a deal. I want the blindfold off first."
Virgil felt gentle hands work to undo the knot holding the piece of fabric to his face. As the blindfold was fully removed, he took a moment to let his eyes readjust.
"To make sure you honour our deal, you have to tell me your name first."
Virgil took a breath. "My.. name..." he took another deep breath, reminding himself that this was for the greater good. "My name is Virgil Storm!"
The room went silent.
"Oh... my... God. Your real name is just as edgy as your hero name!"
Virgil grumbled. "Shut up, Princey. It's your turn."
The Prince stepped into Virgil's line of sight, and Oh shit he was hot. Fuck. Now is not the time to be gay, Virgil, snap out of it.
"Hello? Earth to the emo nightmare?" Princey waved a hand in front of Virgil's face.
"Huh, what?" Very professional, Virgil.
"I said my name is Roman Prince."
Virgil couldn't contain his laughter. "Roman Prince? You used your last name as your villain name? I could've found you in a phone book!"
Roman sputtered. "Oh, like you're any better, Tempest. A tempest is just a type of storm!"
"It's still more subtle than yours!"
"I-" Roman swore under his breath. "Alright, Jack Smellington. As per my end of the bargain, stay still so I can release you from-" Virgil cut him off.
"Yeah, yeah, just hurry up."
Roman used his sword to cut the ties holding Virgil in place. The second Virgil was free, he pulled a dagger from the secret compartment hidden by his ankle. He held it to Roman's throat and backed him into the wall, all within seven seconds of being freed. He pressed the metal firmly against Roman's neck, not enough to draw blood, but enough to make Roman consider his next moves wisely. Virgil leaned in close to Roman's face.
"I am going to walk you out of here, and we are going to-"
Roman's sword clattered to the ground as his lips crashed into Virgil's. In mere seconds the kiss was over, but it had felt like an eternity. Roman then seemed to realize what he had done.
"I- my apologies, I just- if I'm going to prison, I figured I'd at least-"
This time it was Virgil who initiated the kiss. With his dagger still to Roman's throat, he passionately moved his slightly chapped lips against Roman's soft and full ones. Roman reciprocated the kiss as best he could, still being careful not to have his carotid artery slit. They merged together, moving in harmony like two rivers flowing into one another. Eventually, they had to pull apart, panting and gasping for air. Virgil scanned Roman's eyes, before holstering his blade.
Roman pulled a small card from his shirt pocket and pushed it into Virgil's hand. "I believe I still owe you dinner before I go. Text this number for the details." He placed a chaste kiss to Virgil's cheek, almost as if they hadn't been passionately making out mere seconds beforehand. "The exit is down the hallway to your right. Make three right turns, go up the stairs, and you're free. Hopefully I'll see you tomorrow night." With that, he hurriedly rushed Virgil out the door, shutting it before Virgil could get in another word.
Virgil blinked. He made his way to the exit that Roman had described, and found all of his other confiscated belongings laid out on a table by the door. He picked up his cell phone, and texted the number on the card he was given.
1-843-774-6230
We still on for date night, Princey?
Meet at the park, tomorrow at dusk. Dress fancy. ;]