The Anthem Force Chronicles

"Did we win?"

I closed my eyes, waiting for death.

           

But instead a hard object made contact with me, I felt my path in the air change and we landed on solid ground.

I looked up to see my savior. “Luke?”

The figure retracted his grappling hook. “Nightshade. Sorry to disappoint sweetheart.”

Suddenly my vision went blurry again, I’m not quite sure because of the lack or oxygen I had been receiving or being seconds from smashing on the pavement.

“Hey,” Nightshade snapped his fingers in front of my face, “Hey Anthem Girl, stay with me here.”

He started to shake me but it was no use, I felt myself falling deeper. The last thing I remember was being thrown over his shoulder before everything went black.

When my eyes fluttered I was greeted by dim lighting and the smell of mildew in the air. Where was I? Suddenly everything came rushing back to me. My hands started to get clammy and my breathing heavy as I realized how close I had been for death, if it hadn’t been for…I froze. Nightshade had saved me.

“About time you got up,” I heard a familiar voice greet me.

I turned to see Nightshade and another figure sitting to my right.

“How long was I out,” I asked, rubbing my forehead.

“Only about ten minutes, not too bad,” he shrugged his shoulders.

Everything was silent for a moment except for the dripping of water. I assumed we were in some sort of sewer or storm drain. “Thank you,” I said finally.

“No problem, I wouldn’t have wanted you splattered on the sidewalk. Then who would I get to tease?”

I scowled, mentally taking back my thank you. Stupid, cocky, bad guy…

I stopped when I got a better look at the figure huddled next to Nightshade. “Snowstar?" I asked walking up to her, ignoring the light-headedness I got by standing up. She looked like a mess, her makeup was smudged down her face and her blond hair was stuck out in different directions. Her white dress was ripped into shreds.

She nodded, shaking and tears running down her face. It was weird seeing her so vulnerable.

I turned to Nightshade. “Can you explain to me everything that’s going on?”

Nightshade sighed. “This is all our fault. We did everything Vigor told us to. We destroyed the bridges and stole the stone. He told us it was all part of some master plan, you know the usual. I figured I’d make some cash off of it and Vigor would get the glory and get promoted to the big leagues.”

I thought back to how Nightshade had told me Vigor’s goal was to become an adult supervillain. “So this is all just some stunt to get noticed?”

“I wish,” Nightshade muttered, “Turns out Vigor could care less about the big leagues. He just wanted the power and he got it. Now he’s going to destroy the town.”

I nodded, taking it all in, then another thought crossed my mind. “But aren’t you supposed to be on his team? Why are you hiding?”

“When we found out what he had planned we all tried to stop him, we may be villains but we don't want Anthem City destroyed, but he got angry. He took away Alex’s and Mark’s powers and told for us to get lost. He said if we interfered he wouldn’t think twice about attacking us.”