Hi Everyone!
I'm glad to be back, too.
This is my favourite chapter so far, I hope you like it. Please, let me know what you think.
Blaine decided to skip his training and stay at home for the whole day, watched TV and tried to get Kurt out of his head. He had called the boy so many times but he had never answered his calls. Maybe giving him some time was the best Blaine could do. He would calm down sooner or later and let him explain everything. If he could, of course. He couldn't tell Kurt who he really was but maybe he could come up with a good story. Yeah, it seemed like a perfect idea.
Later that afternoon, there was a soft knock on his door. He got up from the couch and went to open the door, smiling as Santana pushed him out of the way and walked inside.
"I called you about a million times" Santana said without greeting him.
"It's good to see you, too" Blaine said.
"Why didn't you pick up your damn phone?" Santana asked.
"Because I didn't want to talk to you?" Blaine offered.
"We need to talk" Santana said and sat down onto the couch.
"Make yourself comfortable" Blaine sighed. "What do you want to talk about?"
"When will I get my car back?" Santana asked.
"Uhm... it might take me a little longer than I expected" Blaine answered.
"What did you do this time?" Santana asked.
"What? Why do you think I did something wrong?" Blaine frowned.
"I know you, Blaine" Santana said. "I guess things didn't go the way you wanted."
"Something like that" Blaine admitted.
"You better get my car back or..."
"I will get you another one, I know" Blaine sighed. "Is that all?"
"No" Santana said. "Sebastian Smythe called us today. He wants to meet you."
"I don't want to meet him" Blaine said. Honestly, after learning so much about the man, he didn't want to see him ever again.
"He has a job for you" Santana said.
"I don't care" Blaine replied.
"He wants to pay a whole fortune for the job. You should take it" Santana said.
"How much?" Blaine asked.
"10000" Santana answered.
"Are you serious?" Blaine smirked. "What does he want me to do?"
"He didn't tell me" Santana answered and pushed a piece of paper into Blaine's hand. "He wants to meet you here. Tonight, at 10."
"I'm not sure I like this" Blaine said, biting his lip. It was certainly not about being the man's bodyguard at that ball or what, it had to be something else. Something bad.
"Meet him and find out what he wants from you" Santana shrugged. "At least you will know if he's up to something."
"You're right" Blaine sighed. He had to meet the man and find out what he wanted from him.
~ o ~
Blaine arrived at Smythe Labs a few minutes earlier and walked inside, looking around nervously. Something told him that he should run and never come near this place again but he fought it off, trying to seem calm and confident. Thanks to the regular trainings, he had lost some weight, so his costume wasn't that tight anymore but it still felt uncomfortable for some reason. Maybe he should get a new one that would allow him to move freely. He should talk with Santana later.
"Ah, Nightbird."
Blaine turned around quickly and took a step back as Sebastian Smythe approached him, showing off his perfect teeth as he smiled at Blaine.
"I' glad you came" he said.
I didn't really have a choice, Blaine thought.
"You wanted to talk to me" Blaine said.
"Straight to the point, I like it" Sebastian said. "Follow me, please."
Blaine nodded and followed the other man out of the hall and onto the first floor where Sebastian's office was. Sebastian sat down behind his desk and motioned Blaine to join him but the man stayed at the door just in case things didn't go the way he planned.
"Would you like a drink?" Sebastian offered.
"No" Blaine said. "My assistant told me that you had a job for me."
"That's right" Sebastian nodded and grabbed a photo from his desk. He stood up and walked to Blaine, showing him the photo. "I want you to catch this guy."
Blaine pressed his lips together to stop his gasp of surprise. He didn't need more than a second to recognize the person on the photo. He was dressed in his usual dark clothes and his face was hidden behind his mask but Blaine knew who he was. Kurt.
"Robin Hood?" Blaine asked with a raised eyebrow.
"So you heard about him. I'm not surprised" Sebastian said.
"What do you want from him?" Blaine asked.
"It's none of your business" Sebastian answered, looking slightly angry.
"It is" Blaine replied calmly. "I want to know what he did to you."
"He broke into my lab and stole something very valuable from me" Sebastian said.
"So you want me to catch him and hand him over to the police" Blaine stated.
"Oh, no" Sebastian smiled. "I want you to catch him and bring him to me. I want to deal with him personally."
"I can't do that" Blaine said.
"Okay, fine" Sebastian said. "I'm willing to pay 15000 if you leave the authorities out of this."
"What do you want to do with him?" Blaine asked in worry.
"Don't worry about that. Once you hand him over, you won't see him ever again" Sebastian said.
Blaine swallowed nervously. Whatever this guy planned to do with Kurt, it was something horrible. He could see in his eyes. He had to talk with Kurt as soon as possible.
~ o ~
After a pointless search on the streets, Blaine went back to the base and changed clothes. Kurt was surely at home, so he couldn't talk to him, unless he sneaked into his home. Kurt would probably freak out and there was no way that he would tell Blaine what he had gotten into. He should have known that sooner or later Kurt would get into trouble but he didn't expect something this bad. Sebastian was willing to pay anything to get the boy and Blaine had to do something to stop him and get Kurt into safety. He couldn't let Sebastian hurt him again. Kurt might have stolen from him but Sebastian was the most horrible person Blaine had ever met, he would never let him have Kurt.
But what should he do?
He walked to the punching bag and started hitting it, fast and hard. He had to come up with a plan that included talking to Kurt. He had to find out what the boy had found in the lab. He was 100 % sure that it was something dangerous and in that case, he had to know about it. But he was afraid that Kurt wouldn't tell him the truth.
"Dude, what are you doing?" Sam asked as he walked inside.
"Training" Blaine answered.
"It's almost midnight" Sam frowned.
"Yeah. The best time to blow off some steam" Blaine replied.
"Is there something wrong?" Sam asked, knowing his friend well.
Blaine stopped, breathing heavily. He had no idea what Sam was doing down there in the middle of the night but maybe he could give him advice.
"Something very wrong" Blaine said. "But you have to promise me not to tell anyone. Not even Santana."
"Okay" Sam said. "It seems scary."
"It is" Blaine said. "I met Sebastian Smythe today."
"Yeah, Santana told me about that job. So do you like it?" Sam asked.
"He wants me to catch Robin Hood" Blaine said.
Sam, who still believed that Blaine wanted to catch him, too, smiled at the news.
"That's amazing! That's exactly what you wanted and you get paid for it. Great job, dude!" he said.
"No, Sam, it's horrible!" Blaine said. "I know who that guy is... and I don't want to catch him anymore."
"What?" Sam gasped.
Blaine took a deep breath and told Sam everything. How he had found out that Robin Hood was Kurt Hummel, the boy who had changed his life and who Blaine had slowly fallen in love with. He told him about that day when he had caught him with Sebastian and how the man had scared Kurt. And of course, his bad feeling about the man.
"I can't let him have Kurt" Blaine said in the end. "That's not right. But I don't know what I should do. Kurt doesn't want to talk to me and I don't think he would believe me."
"You should try" Sam shrugged. "Just be honest with him. Show him that he could trust you and it will be fine."
"I hope so" Blaine sighed.
~ o ~
Kurt was sitting in his room, staring at the wall. His dad had wanted to watch TV with him but he so wasn't in the mood. So he had come up with a good explanation and fled into his room where he could be alone.
Since his last meeting with Blaine, he couldn't get the man out of his head. It had been days but he still wasn't sure if he was right about Blaine and avoiding him was the best decision. As he had gotten home from the coffee shop and calmed down, he had started thinking about their conversation. Maybe it had been a coincidence. Maybe Blaine was a good guy and he had said those things because he had wanted to make Kurt feel better. Maybe Kurt was paranoid and he chose the wrong option. But who could blame him?
Maybe it was for the best. Kurt had gotten into some serious trouble when he had visited Smythe Labs and it was just his luck that Sebastian and his men hadn't caught him. He was still scared as he thought about what he had seen there. He knew that Sebastian was a cruel man but what he had done to his friends... it was worse than anything Kurt could imagine. He wished he could get those memories out of his head but he knew that he wasn't that lucky.
"Is something troubling you?"
Kurt gasped and jumped up from his bed so fast that he tripped over the chair standing next to his bed, staring at the other man in fear. He hadn't heard him get into his room. He had probably climbed through the open window, something Kurt had completely forgotten to close. It was a mistake. And now he was trapped in his own room with Nightbird, the superhero who was chasing him.
Kurt closed his eyes and forced himself to calm down. Nightbird surely didn't know who he was and he couldn't tell him. He had to act like he didn't know him and hadn't seen him since their first encounter.
"What-what are you doing here?" Kurt asked, his voice higher than usual. Nice job, Kurt.
Nightbird smiled and took a step closer but stopped when Kurt pushed himself away from him and back to the wall.
"I won't hurt you" Nightbird said. "Are you hurt?"
Kurt finally remembered that he had fallen from the bed and he was still on the ground. He shook his head and stood up, wincing in pain. He must have hit his right knee while tripping over the chair.
"I'm fine" he said. "What are you doing in my room?"
"I'm sorry for disturbing you here" Nightbird said. "I didn't want to break into your room but we have to talk."
"Why?" Kurt frowned.
Nightbird seemed to hesitate for a moment before he opened his mouth again.
"I have to meet Robin Hood. He's in danger" Nightbird said.
Kurt's eyes widened once again and he pressed his back to the wall, thinking about a way to escape. He doesn't know who you are, he told himself. Calm down.
"I-I don't think I can help you" Kurt said.
"Oh, come on" Nightbird said. "I know you can get in touch with him. He's your hero after all. I could have asked somebody else but... I thought you would help me."
"Why do you want to meet him anyway? Do you want to hurt him?" Kurt asked.
"Not at all" Nightbird answered. "I want to help him. He's in trouble and I need to meet him somewhere safe."
"Where?" Kurt asked. He wanted Nightbird to leave his room. He didn't know if he would meet him later but something told him he should.
"Our roof. At midnight" Nightbird said.
"Your roof?" Kurt raised an eyebrow.
"He will know" Nightbird replied.
"I will see what I can do" Kurt said.
"Thanks" Nightbird smiled and luckily, he turned to leave. He was about to climb through the window when he stopped and looked back at Kurt.
"You're wrong about Blaine Anderson" he said. "He doesn't work for Sebastian Smythe."
"How do you know that?" Kurt asked, not really understanding how Nightbird knew about them.
"Because he works for me" Nightbird smiled and disappeared before Kurt could ask him more. For example what it meant for him.
He had no other choice, he had to meet Nightbird and get the answers he needed.
~ o ~
Blaine was impatient. He had a few more minutes until midnight but he couldn't wait to see Kurt again. He knew that he had been bold back in Kurt's room but he couldn't stop himself when he had told Kurt that he wasn't Sebastian's man. Kurt had to know the truth, even if there was a chance that he hadn't believed him. He had to make things better between them and maybe Kurt trusted Nightbird enough to believe him.
Kurt still didn't call him but maybe after this meeting with him...
"You wanted to talk to me."
Blaine took a deep breath as he turned around and faced the other masked man. Kurt looked absolutely breathtaking in his costume, it gave him confidence he usually didn't have but his eyes were still so bright and sad and he looked so innocent. Blaine couldn't believe he had wanted to hurt this boy once.
"That's right" Blaine nodded, smiling. "You still remember."
"It's hard to forget" Kurt muttered.
Blaine felt his heart speed up. Maybe Kurt felt the same way?
"What do you want to tell me?" Kurt asked, shifting on his feet nervously. Maybe he was afraid that Blaine would hurt him.
"Don't be afraid" Blaine said and took a tentative step forward, reaching out towards Kurt. "I don't want to hurt you, on the contrary actually. I want to help you."
"Help me with what?" Kurt asked.
Blaine smiled sadly.
"I know that you're in trouble" he said.
"I don't know what you're talking about" Kurt said, backing away.
"I know you stole something from Sebastian Smythe" Blaine said hastily.
"What are you talking about?" Kurt asked in confusion.
"Look, I don't know what it was but you have to stop and leave the city as soon as possible" Blaine said seriously. "He wants to hunt you down. You're not safe here."
"He-he wants me?" Kurt asked, his eyes widening with fear.
"Let me help you" Blaine said and took another step towards Kurt.
"No, stay away from me!" Kurt shouted desperately. This couldn't be happening. If Sebastian had figured out that he had been there... that he had seen those things... He was dead. God, his father would have another heart attack because of him.
"Kurt, I can get you to safety but you have to trust me" Blaine said, forgetting his role as he let Kurt's name slip out through his lips.
"How do you know my name?" Kurt gasped, staring at Blaine in horror.
"Look, I will explain everything later but now we..."
There was a brief flash of light that moved so fast that Blaine couldn't take a step forward before it hit Kurt, hard. The boy screamed in pain and fell to the ground, unmoving.
"Kurt!" Blaine shouted and ran to the boy. "Can you hear me?"
He quickly checked Kurt's pulse but then he was back on his feet. He could hear footsteps moving towards them and soon three men appeared on the roof, dressed in black clothes and they all had guns. Blaine gulped nervously but prepared himself for the fight. Whoever these men were, he had to protect Kurt from them.
"Great job, Nightbird" one of the men said as he walked closer. "It was fast."
"What?" Blaine asked in confusion.
"Don't worry, he won't get away this time" the man said. He wanted to walk to Kurt but Blaine stopped him. "You will get the money as soon as we bring him in. Mr Smythe always keeps his promises."
"What do you want to do with him?" Blaine asked.
Kurt groaned beside them and slowly opened his eyes. He seemed disoriented for a second but when he saw the men with weapons, he moaned and tried to sit up. Unfortunately, whatever they had given him prevented him from every movement.
"It's none of your business. Get out of the way" another man said.
"I can't do that" Blaine said. "What does Sebastian want to do with him?"
"Last chance, Nightbird" the first man said, raising his gun. "Get out of the way and let us take him or you will get one of these bullets, too."
Blaine felt the anger rise inside of him and at the same time, he felt something else awake deep in his chest. Something he had lost year earlier. He smiled as he crouched down beside Kurt and with a quick movement, he threw the boy over his left shoulder and put an arm around his legs to keep him steady. It took him only a second and before the others could do anything, he was back on his feet, ready to fight.
"Try to catch me" he whispered to the man and raised his free arm, punching him right in his face.
The man dropped his weapon and brought his hands up to his face but Blaine had to pay attention to the other two. He kicked the gun away and turned towards the remaining two men, considering his options. He could try to take down one at time but there would be a risk that the other attacked him from behind. He couldn't risk it, not when he had to keep Kurt safe, too.
He had another option, too, if he was lucky. And fast enough, of course. He had to try it because it was the only thing he could do.
He ran forward and stopped between the two men, smiling at them.
"Hello, guys" he said, his lost forgotten confidence and mischievousness back. "You think your toys can stop me?"
As he expected, both men raised their weapons at the same time and fired at him. Blaine quickly got out of the way and turned around just in time to see as the bullets hit the men, both of them falling to the ground a second later.
"Idiots" Blaine sighed, shaking his head.
There was no time to celebrate, though. Blaine could hear more people running up the stairs and he had to get Kurt out of there before they could outnumber him. He was strong but sadly he wasn't bulletproof.
He ran to the edge of the roof and jumped down, landing on the next building's roof. He quickly got back to his feet and started running again. He made sure they were safe when he finally stopped and put Kurt down to check on him. Kurt was awake or at least not completely unconscious, his eyes were half open but he didn't seem to be able to talk or move. Blaine bit his lip in worry as he tried to find out where they could go. He couldn't bring Kurt home, they would find him there, but what else could he do then?
"I will keep you safe" he promised Kurt, hoping that he could hear him. "I won't let them hurt you. I promise."
He just hoped that he could keep his promise.
