The Vindico

by King, Wesley

  James spotted another hallway running parallel to theirs across the room, but as he started to walk that way, something else caught his attention. A massive, black stone fireplace stood between the two hallways, and above it, some sort of symbol had been painted onto the wall. It was a black, inverted triangle with six silhouettes in the middle.

  It reminded James of the League of Heroes’s crest, except with two added figures, and black instead of gold. Where are we? he thought.

  “Nice,” Hayden commented, staring at the fireplace. “This is the best kidnapping I’ve had in a while.”

  James spun around to face him, and Hayden grinned. “Just joking. First kidnapping.”

  James stared at him in disbelief and then continued on to the second hallway with Emily close behind. Once again, there were three doors. James opened the first one and found another identical bedroom. This time, it contained a small, skinny boy in a weird shirt.

  Hayden opened the next door. “This kidnapping keeps getting better!” he said.

  James glanced at Emily and then went to join Hayden. “Can you wake that kid up?” he called to her over his shoulder.

  James followed Hayden through the door, where they found a blond girl lying on the bed, fast asleep.

  “Cute, right?” Hayden said knowingly. He clapped his hands right next to her ear. “Wake up!”

  The girl jumped and instinctively kicked Hayden in the stomach. He toppled to the floor.

  “Ow,” Hayden wheezed as James took a big step away from the bed.

  “Where am I?” the girl asked, sounding close to hysteria. “Who are you?” She backed against the headboard. “Where am I?” she shouted.

  “It’s okay,” James said, holding up his hands. “We won’t hurt you.”

  “Answer the question!” she demanded.

  “We don’t know,” Hayden mumbled, getting up again. “Do you play soccer or something?”

  “Listen, we just woke up here too,” James said soothingly. “We’re trying to find a way out.”

  “A way out?” She looked past him at the door. “Are we being held captive?”

  “Well, we could go ask whoever’s behind that one-way mirror in the other room,” Hayden suggested.

  James hadn’t thought of that. “You think they’re spying on us?”

  “Probably,” Hayden said, heading back into the hallway. “There’s only one way to find out. But first…” He opened the last door. “It’s a bathroom,” he told them. “Black tiles, very nice.”

  Hayden hurried back just as Emily and the skinny boy emerged from the other bedroom. The blond girl tentatively stepped out behind James, and for a moment, they all just looked at each other.

  “So,” Hayden said to the two newest members of the group. “What are your names? I’m Hayden, that’s Emily, and this is James.”

  “I’m Sam,” the boy said, looking terrified.

  “Lana,” the blond girl replied. “So no one knows why we’re here?”

  “Nope,” Hayden said, “but let’s find out.” He walked up to the mirror and stood with his hands on his hips. “All right! What’s the deal? We’re a little confused in here!”

  Nothing happened.

  “Well, you talk it over,” Hayden said.

  “How do you know someone’s behind there?” Sam whispered.

  Hayden glanced at him. “Of course someone’s there. Don’t you watch movies?”

  “Yes,” Sam responded uncertainly.

  They waited in silence for a minute, and then Hayden turned back to them with a guilty expression. “Or I’m wrong…”

  As soon as he said it, they heard a click, and a door swung open out of the mirror. They all took a step backward, except for Hayden.

  “See?” he said, grinning smugly.

  James’s enormous abductor walked out, and five others followed him. There was a short man with a visor, a beautiful woman in a red bodysuit, the handsome guy who had hit James with the club, a pale man with shoulder-length hair wearing a long cape, and finally, an older man with piercing blue eyes and a goatee.

  They lined up in front of the younger group, examining them. James noticed that the giant was staring right at him, so he hastily averted his eyes.

  “Welcome,” the older man said. “You are awake at last. Now we can finally begin.”

  7

  LANA FOUGHT THE URGE MAKE A BREAK FOR THE EXIT. SHE had a sneaking suspicion she wouldn’t get very far. Worse still, the woman was staring at her with an absolutely terrifying intensity. Lana could almost feel the woman’s displeasure.

  “You obviously have questions,” the older man continued. “I will answer the most pressing first. You have been taken for a specific reason, and you are being offered a special gift. These,” he said, gesturing toward his companions, “are your mentors. Each has selected one of you, and you will function as their protégé. You will all live here together. At selected times, you will train one-on-one with your mentors or in larger sessions as a group. You will not be allowed to leave until your training is complete.”

  “What exactly are we training to be?” Hayden asked. “Somehow I don’t think this is an apprenticeship program. Unless it’s for a weird fashion school, in which case, I’m loving the cape,” he said to the long-haired man.

  The older man turned to him. “Don’t you recognize any of us?”

  Hayden shook his head. “Nope, and I have to say, I’d probably remember if I’d seen you before.”

  “I do,” Emily said quietly, and everyone looked at her in surprise. She nodded at the giant. “You abducted Nighthawk.”

  The older man raised his eyebrows. “I thought the League was hiding that information. In any case, you are correct, my dear. Allow me to introduce you.” He turned to the big man. “This is the Torturer. Beside him is our youngest member, Sliver. Then we have Rono,” he said, and the short man nodded. “Avaria, and finally, Leni.”

  The caped man just stared at them darkly.

  “And I am the Baron,” he finished, turning back. “We are the enemies of your famed League of Heroes. We are the shadows they are fighting against.”

  “You’re the Villains?” James asked quickly, and then bit his lip, as if terrified that he’d spoken.

  The Baron nodded, his gaze drifting to the symbol on the wall. “That is what they call us, yes. Rather uncreative, I think. We prefer to go by the Vindico.”

  “Sounds serious,” Hayden said. “What does it mean?”

  The Baron smiled. “Vengeance.”

  Lana’s hands began to tremble. She was standing a few feet away from the most dangerous people on the planet. “What do you need us for?” she asked.

  He met her eyes. “You’re to be the next generation, of course.”

  Lana looked at the other teens and saw the same bewilderment on their faces. Everyone, that is, but Emily’s. She just nodded and raised her hand.

  “Hi, I’m Emily,” she said in a formal tone. “Nice to meet you all.”

  The Baron frowned at her, but she continued unabashedly.

  “I have a few questions. First, I wouldn’t mind knowing who each of you has selected as their protégé. I’ve been trying to guess, and I want to see if I’m right.”

  “Yeah,” Hayden agreed. “No one here picked me. I was abducted by a blond woman.”

  “Kayla works for me,” Leni said, clasping his gloved hands behind his back. “You will be my protégé.”

  “Oh…sweet,” Hayden muttered.

  “I’ve selected James,” the Torturer said, and James’s eyes widened.

  “Sam will work with me,” Sliver remarked. He wore a look of contempt, and Lana felt a pang of sympathy for Sam, whose lip was quivering.

  “Emily,” Rono said gruffly.

  “Leaving Lana as my choice,” Avaria finished, threat evident in her voice. Lana stole a quick glance at her supposed mentor. She remembered the languid, deadly shadow in the forest and her lightning-fast attack on Kyle. Should I thank her
? she thought. Or run as fast as I can the other way?

  “Now you know,” the Baron said. “As for me, I will be providing oversight for all your training, and so I have not taken a protégé for myself.”

  Emily nodded. “I see. But I must ask: what if we don’t want to be your protégés? What if we don’t want to fight the League? They are superheroes, you know; good and just and all that.”

  For the first time, Lana saw anger in the Baron’s blue eyes. “I’m afraid you have no choice in the matter,” he replied coolly. “You have been selected, and you will follow through with your training. Those of you who do not”—he paused, and looked at each of them in turn—“will be disposed of.”

  “I suspected as much,” Emily said, “you being villains and all. Still, I’m sure some of our families are probably concerned. A police search might be under way.”

  Lana thought about her parents and wondered what they were doing. They would know by now that she hadn’t gone to the movies. They must be searching the forest for her. Did they find Kyle’s unconscious body? What had he told them? Lana remembered how terrified she was as he stood over her, wearing that arrogant grin. She never wanted to feel so helpless again.

  The Baron laughed. “I assure you, they won’t find you here. But don’t look so forlorn. You are being offered a gift. Powers beyond your comprehension. The ability to strike back at a world that has been cruel to you.”

  He gestured at the group around him.

  “My companions and I are prepared to grant you the power to do anything you want. We are willing to accept you as one of our own. From billions, you have been given this opportunity. Do not spurn it. You will see your family and friends again. But you will return to them as entirely new people. Someone strong, someone to be respected.”

  Lana saw that the other kids were now hanging on his every word. James almost looked hypnotized.

  “But how can you give us superpowers?” Hayden asked. “I thought you had to be born with them.”

  “That,” he said, “is the single most important lie the League of Heroes is built upon. It’s a lie they have killed to protect. And it is also the reason the Vindico exists.”

  “But Courage said that—” James started.

  The Baron cut him off. “You will come to learn that many things the League has told you are fabrications. When you learn the truth, you will see who the true villains are. But that’s enough for now. Today you will have a chance to acquaint yourselves with one another. Some of you might be taken out for a quick interview with your mentor, but the real lessons won’t begin until tomorrow.”

  He pointed at the wall to the right of the mirror.

  “There is a panel on that wall that will open three times a day with food and drink. I will send some along shortly. We will announce who is to come for an interview later. Until then, I leave you with this thought: are any of you truly happy with the way you are now?”

  He strode back through the door, and the rest of the Villains slowly followed, some taking one last look before they went. The door clicked shut, and the teens were left standing alone in front of the mirror, their reflections staring back at them.

  8

  “WELL, IT’S SETTLED,” HAYDEN SAID AFTER A MOMENT, turning his head in both directions as he looked at his reflection in the mirror. “I am breathtakingly gorgeous.”

  He turned to Lana, who was still studying her reflection. “I don’t want to alarm you,” he whispered, “but I think that cute blond girl is checking you out.”

  Lana scowled and looked away.

  “Can we talk about what’s going on?” James asked incredulously. “We’ve been kidnapped by the Villains!” He gestured at the now-closed mirror door. “These people are responsible for the murders of eleven League members; possibly twelve if Nighthawk is dead. Not to mention all the civilians!” He lowered his voice. “The League will figure out that we’ve been kidnapped soon and come for us. Emily, how did you know that big guy abducted Nighthawk?”

  “There’s footage,” she said. “I saw it. The League knows who it was.”

  “So they’ll track these people down,” James said. “I think we should—”

  “My mentor guesses were off,” Hayden interrupted, glancing at Emily. “What about yours?”

  “I was largely correct,” she replied. “Except for my own. I thought the elf woman had selected me.”

  “You’re talking about the selections?” Lana asked, looking between the two of them in disgust. “Doesn’t it bother either of you that we’re being imprisoned?”

  “To be fair, it’s a nice prison,” Hayden responded.

  “It’s still a prison,” Lana argued, “and they have no right to hold us here.”

  “Exactly,” James said. “Though I wouldn’t mind learning more about these powers. If we had powers, we could break out of here, no problem. The League might even let us join and…” Lana shot James a dirty look, and his cheeks flushed. “But still, not cool,” he added.

  “My mom is going to be worried sick,” Sam mumbled. “One time she almost called the police when I came home ten minutes late from school.”

  Hayden choked back a laugh. When everyone looked at him, he just smiled at Sam reassuringly. “Don’t worry, I’m sure they’ll let you send a message or something.”

  Sam shook his head. “I don’t know why they picked me. I don’t even like movies with bad guys.”

  “You are a strange selection,” Hayden agreed. “I’m kind of a jerk, so I can see why they picked me.”

  “Do you think they chose us because they think we’re bad people?” Sam breathed, as if that idea alarmed him more than anything else.

  “I suspect it has more to do with our potential to be bad people,” Emily replied. “He said that the world has been cruel to all of us in some way, remember?” She ran her fingers along the corner of the mirror, as if testing for structural weaknesses.

  “What do we do now?” Sam asked.

  “We’ll have to wait,” Hayden replied. “What else can we do?” He turned back to the mirror. “Can you send in some nachos?” he shouted, and then smiled at Lana. “I figure some communal food will help break the ice.”

  “What is wrong with you?” she snapped. “We’ve been kidnapped! They’re going to kill us if we leave! Aren’t you worried about your family?”

  Hayden shrugged. “Well, Steve and Dan are probably wondering where I am, but they’ll just assume I’m on a sleep bender. It happens. And my mom doesn’t come by the house anymore, so I’m good there.”

  Lana frowned. “You don’t live with your parents?”

  “Nope. Got my own pad.”

  “That explains a lot,” she muttered under her breath. “James, you seem normal enough. What do you think we should do?”

  “I really don’t know,” he said. “For now at least, I guess we have to wait and see what happens.”

  “What about your parents?” Lana persisted. “Your friends?”

  James shifted a little. “Truthfully, everyone probably expected me to skip school today. I doubt they’ve even called the police yet.”

  Lana turned to Sam, who was still staring at the closed door. “You at least have parents who are going to worry?”

  Sam nodded, and his eyes started to water. “Yes. My mom must be so upset. I need to talk to her. I don’t even know how long it’s been!” A tear ran down his cheek, and he quickly wiped it with the back of his hand.

  “Not too long,” Emily said from across the room, where she was inspecting the inside of the stone fireplace.

  “How do you know?” Lana asked.

  Emily peered up the chimney. “Well, we could only go so long without food or water.” She looked back. “But judging from the amount of hair on my legs, it’s possible that we were asleep for two or three days.”

  Lana knelt down and felt her leg. “She’s right. I shaved right before I went out, and it usually takes a couple days to grow back.”

  “A co
uple days?” Sam whispered.

  “Ah, the science of leg hair,” Hayden said. “Well, this is all pretty fascinating, but I have to use the bathroom.”

  When he came back to the common room, Emily was still wandering around, running her hands along the wall where the food panel was supposed to be. Lana was attempting to calm Sam down on one of the couches, while James sat opposite them staring thoughtfully at the black symbol over the fireplace.

  Hayden sat down next to him. “So, James, why was everyone expecting you to skip school?” Hayden asked him as he plopped his feet up on the coffee table.

  “I don’t want to get into it.”

  Hayden nodded. “That bad, huh? Girl problems?”

  “More or less,” James muttered, rubbing his swollen eye.

  “I see,” Hayden said. “Shotgun Lana, by the way.”

  James quickly glanced at Lana, but she seemed not to have heard him. “Lana is sitting like six feet away from us,” he whispered. “And you can’t shotgun people.”

  “Sure you can. Now there won’t be any future misunderstandings.”

  “Are you even a little concerned about this situation?”

  “They said they just want to train us,” Hayden said. “What’s so scary about that? I wasn’t learning much in English class anyway. Well, I assume I wouldn’t have been had I been there.”

  “But they’re going to teach us to be supervillains,” James pointed out. “Super.…villains,” he repeated slowly, as if speaking to a child.

  “And your point is…” Hayden replied.

  A whooshing noise made them both look up, followed by a thump. A section of the wall had slid open to reveal five plates of steaming pasta and a pitcher each of milk and water. In front of it, Emily was picking herself up off the floor.

  “No nachos,” Hayden said, disappointment evident in his voice.

  James jumped to his feet. “Who cares what it is. I’m starving.”

  Soon the five of them were digging in hungrily.

  “I’m going to eat way better here than I did at home,” Hayden remarked, patting his bare stomach. “I hope we get a treadmill.”