#platnonic intruality

[theforsakenprince]

One Cannot be Brave (Who has no Fear)

Chapter 2

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Summary: Virgil has hated the Renegades all his life, ever since they had failed to save his family. He’s made it his mission to take down the Renegades, and he’ll do anything to achieve his goal-even become one of them and tear them apart from the inside.

Based on Renegades by Marissa Meyer.

Pairings: Eventual Prinxiety, platonic Intruality

Words: 2145

Warnings: knives, blood, (let me know if I need to tag anything!

Virgil slung his bag over his shoulder and started his climb up the building. He climbed past the first six stories before pulling himself onto the roof of the building. He dropped into a crouch, rummaging through his bag, pulling out the suit Janus had helped make. He slung his tool belt around his waist, where it hung comfortably. It was outfitted with specially crafted pockets and hooks where he could store his favorite inventions. Next, he pulled on his jacket- both waterproof and flame proof. He zipped it up to his neck and pulled up his hood, overshadowing his eyes. The mask came last. It was a hard, metallic shell that covered the lower half of his face. 

Then, he stooped low and pulled out the rifle and single poisoned dart from his bag.

“Where are you, Nightmare?” Phobia rasped.

“I’m almost in position,” Virgil replied, walking over to the edge of the roof. The noises of the celebration below weren’t as loud up here, and for that he was grateful. The street was a mess of parade floats, confetti, and people.

Virgil loaded the dart into the gun’s chamber.

Ingrid was the one to come up with the simple plan. When she’d told the group, Winston had complained about not being included, but Phobia pointed out that Winston, who most people knew as the Puppeteer, wasn’t capable of keeping anything simple.

So it was only the three of them on the field. Virgil had one dart crafted by Leroy Flinn, their poisons specialist. Leroy had offered to make him more, but he declined. He only needed one to finish the job. If he missed, he wouldn’t get a second chance.

But he wouldn’t miss. He was going to kill the Captain.

Once he was hit, Ingrid the Detonator would emerge and hit the Council’s float with her signature explosives. Phobia would focus on Thunderbird. As the only member of the Council that could fly, she would have an unfair advantage. There were rumors that she was deathly afraid of snakes, and Phobia specialized in fears. Best case scenario, he’d give her a heart attack midair.

And that was it- the Council, the five original Renegades- all eradicated at once.

And it all started with Virgil getting past Captain Chromium’s invincibility.

“Nightmare, you in position?”

“I’m here, Detonator. Relax.” 

“You have 45 seconds to make the shot,” Phobia informed him.

“Cutting it a bit close, don’t you think?” Ingrid said.

Virgil took out his rifle and looked through the scope. Though he couldn’t see the Council’s float yet, he could tell by the excited cheers that it was close.

“Well done, Nightmare,” the Detonator said. 

“He hasn’t done anything yet,” Phobia replied.

“Yeah, but isn’t it nice to have a shooter on the team again?”

“Would you two zip it?” Virgil grumbled, looking through the scope again. Below, the Council’s float moved into view. It was an enormous tiered structure that made him think The Council thought they were gods. 

Scratch that. They definitely thought they were gods.

Tamaya Rae- or as the rest of the world knew her, Thunderbird- stood on the first pedestal, her black wings almost spanning the width of the float. She occasionally sent bolts of lightning to further ignite the storm clouds at her feet.

Blacklight was on the second tier, shooting fireworks from his fingertips. With his red beard and curly mustache, Virgil had always thought Evander Wade looked more like a mustache twirling villain than a superhero. 

Next was Kasumi Hasegawa. She stood, barely moving with her arms extended, manipulating the fish filled water that surrounded her.

The fourth pedestal appeared to be empty at first glance, which meant that Simon Westwood was standing there. Sure enough, The Dread Warden flickered into view. A second later, he went invisible again, and the crowd roared in wonder as he reappeared not on his own pedestal, but on the fifth and tallest platform, Captain Chromium’s.

Captain Chromium rolled his eyes and looked over his shoulder at the Dread Warden. They shared a look that was disgustingly endearing. Virgil resisted the urge to gag.

Virgil eased himself into position, calculating the angle and distance. 

The Dread Warden disappeared and reappeared again on his own platform, leaving Captain Chromium alone on the top pedestal.

As the crowd’s cheering grew louder, he reached for a display stand at his side. His hands wrapped around a long metal pike, lifting it overhead. His smile never wavered the entire time.

Virgil’s heart stopped.

“Is that…?”

“Don’t dwell on it,” Phobia hissed.

“Don’t dwell on what?” Ingrid asked.

Virgil was unable to respond.

Captain Chromium, the beloved superhero, had Ace Anarchy’s helmet skewered at the top of the pike. 

Ingrid’s voice came through the headset again, understanding as the float passed into her view. “Oh…” Virgil barely heard her. He was too busy grinding his teeth until his jaw hurt.

He was six years old again, afraid. Devastated. Staring up into those eyes behind the helmet.

The Renegades had not come. But he had. Maybe not soon enough to save his family, but still, he had come.

That was more than the Renegades could say, anyway.

“You’re dwelling,” Phobia said, not an ounce of sympathy in his voice.

Virgil growled. “Am not.”

“It’s alright, Nightmare,” Ingrid said. “We’re doing this for Ace, aren’t we? Use that anger. Avenge him.”

Virgil took a deep breath. He looked through the scope, lining up the sights.

It had to be the eye. Anywhere else, and it would just bounce off his impenetrable skin.

His aim had to be perfect. 

And it would be.

The Street below began to fall silent, drowned out by the roaring in his ears. The

Captain’s blue eye came into focus. 

“Pull the trigger,” He whispered. He curled his finger over the trigger.

The Council may have been getting older, but they still held all the power. 

“Pull the trigger, Virgil.”

This was the best opportunity to take down the entire Renegade Council.

All he had to do was pull the trigger.

A bug flew into his vision. He waved it away, irritated.

He found his target again. The Captain turned slightly toward him.

Virgil started to squeeze the trigger when something landed on the end of his rifle. He lifted his eyes to see a crow staring back at him.

He lifted his gaze to the sky, where a murder of crows hovered. Dozens of wings flapped as the crows stared at him with their black, beady eyes.

He sighed. “We’ve got company.”

“What is it? The Renegades?”

He didn’t answer. The float was turning. Five seconds left, at most.

Virgil looked through the sights and found the Captain’s eye again. 

Captain Chromium lifted his eyes, almost looking directly at him.

He pulled the trigger.

To his dismay, the Captain turned slightly, and the dart struck his temple. The needle tip snapped off.

Captain Chromium jerked to attention, scanning the rooftops. He alerted the others, and they began looking too.

“Shit,” he muttered as he ducked behind the ledge.

Suddenly, one of the crows snatched the rifle out of his hands, squawking. He leapt to his feet and whirled around.

The crows converged into the form of a pale teenage boy with glasses. He gripped the rifle as he glared at Virgil. He wore the Renegade uniform- a form-fitting outfit that went from his neck down to his boots. A red R was emblazoned on his chest.

A small black cat clambered onto the roof before shifting into another teenage boy. He was also wearing the Renegade uniform. His hair looked like it hadn’t been brushed in days.

Virgil growled. Crow and Copycat.

Virgil had met them once before, when he had tried to steal from a pharmacy for supplies, but there had been more of them.

He raised an eyebrow. “Where are the rest of you? Watching the parade?”

As soon as he had said it, the utility elevator dinged, and a third Renegade walked out- a boy with light brown skin and dark hair. He walked with a limp and a cane. Faint tendrils of smoke followed him in his wake. 

Smokescreen.

Virgil smirked. “That’s more like it.”

Ingrid’s voice crackled in his voice. “Nightmare, what’s going on over there?”

Virgil ignored her. 

“Nightmare,” Smokescreen said, adjusting his glasses. “Long time no see.”

Without replying, he reached for his belt and drew out two throwing stars, throwing them at Copycat and Crow. Copycat dodged. Crow dissolved into a flock of birds.

A bolt of black smoke struck Virgil in the face. He stumbled back, snarling.

“Nightmare, what is going on?” Ingrid asked again. Virgil snarled and turned the transmitter off.

He shook his head to clear the smoke, but only succeeded in making his eyes burn. He forced them open anyway, only catching a glimpse of a streak of black before Crow was right in front of him. He grunted as Crow elbowed him in the stomach and he fell to the ground. He rolled out of the way of another attack from Copycat and jumped to his feet, ignoring the pain in his gut and the tears that blurred his vision.

Something hooked beneath his chin, pulling against his throat- Smokescreen’s cane. He yanked him backward, grabbing his arm as soon as Virgil was close enough.

“Your days of villainy are over, Nightmare,” Smokescreen said.

Virgil fought a snicker. “You sound like you’ve read too many comic books.”

“Is that really a bad thing?”

Virgil felt around for his hands on either side of the cane, but found no exposed skin. 

Smokescreen’s grip tightened. “Are you working alone?”

In front of him, Copycat picked up the two throwing stars he had flung and, after inspecting each very carefully, crushed them under his boots.

Virgil scowled.

Crow formed again, glaring down at him. “I believe you were asked a question.”

Ignoring Crow, Virgil grabbed Smokescreen’s cane and kicked back, Wrenching the cane away. Smokescreen landed on his back with a grunt. 

Virgil struck the back of Crow’s knees with the cane before discarding it in favor of another throwing star. Before he could throw it, however, Copycat shifted into a large dog and tackled him to the ground. He rested a paw on Virgil’s throat with just enough pressure for it to hurt. 

“Who,” Copycat said, lips pulled back in a snarl, “are you working for?”

Virgil smiled slowly. He couldn’t resist a good play on words. “Your worst Nightmare.” he put a hand on Copycat’s furry leg and let his power flow through him. Copycat slowly shifted back into human form and fell to the ground beside him, unconscious. 

A wave of mist suddenly rolled across the rooftop. Virgil huffed in frustration as he scanned the rooftop for Smokescreen, but the mist was too thick to see. He unhooked a dagger from his belt, gripping it tightly.

He spotted a dark shape- his duffel bag. He dove toward it and picked it up.

Crow suddenly appeared out of the mist, a fist aimed for his head. Virgil ducked and stabbed upward, but he dissolved into a flock of crows just as the knife met flesh.

The smoke began to clear, and Virgil spotted his escape route- The rooftop next to him with a ladder that went back down to street level.

“Crow!” Smokescreen shouted.

Virgil paused long enough to see Crow back in human form, pressing a hand to his side. His gray suit was dark with blood.

Turning back to the other building, Virgil took a slight step back before leaping the gap. He landed on his stomach and he laid there for a second, catching his breath.

He quickly got to his feet and started to run to the far side of the roof when a large figure jumped up from the street below. They landed in front of him with a clang.

Rather than the gray bodysuit the Renegades wore, the stranger was dressed in something better described as armor. Metal plates covered his body, and his face was masked by a helmet and black visor. The Renegade R was emblazoned on their chest, but it didn’t look like any Renegade suit Virgil had seen. Perhaps a new model?

Though he couldn’t see their eyes, he could feel them staring at him as he took a step back.

“Can’t say I’ve seen you before,” Virgil said.

They tilted their head. “I’ve been around long enough to know who you are, Nightmare.” their voice was definitely male.

Virgil’s fingers skimmed his belt, but he wasn’t sure any of his weapons would be effective. “Is that supposed to flatter me?”

Before the stranger could reply, a bout of high pitched laughter echoed throughout the streets. The sound was all too familiar.

Virgil winced. “What is that idiot doing here?”

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