let's get interrogatin'

after the events of this chapter, Arch could tell you one thing: it is not easy to lie to a man who can read your mind

-ᴍɪɴᴛʏ

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Arch Romano could not remember how he'd gotten himself into this situation. He very clearly remembered a few of the steps, but he felt as though he was missing a very large part of the story. Probably the most important part.

He remembered letting Teresa, Anthony, Reilly, and Elijah into his house. He remembered them talking to him. He remembered them telling him their plan. He remembered agreeing to be kidnapped. He remembered them destroying his apartment.

And that was it. That was the extent of his memories.

If he recalled his superhero movies correctly, he was most likely in the middle of an abandoned warehouse on the edge of town. He couldn't be certain of this, because no matter how he shifted, his blindfold would not grant him a single glance of his surroundings. He could tell it was dark, so it probably didn't matter either way.

The rope around his wrists was just slightly too tight, and he could feel the tips of his fingers going numb.

He was alone. Or, that was what he thought. No one had responded when he'd spoken for the first time, and he hadn't heard any footsteps or anything like that.

Arch wasn't gagged. He guessed that he was probably out of range for anyone to hear him, no matter how he screamed. That was the only thing that made any sense. If he made too much noise, he feared they would anyway, just to shut him up. So he kept his mouth shut after that thought crossed his mind.

He couldn't say that he hadn't been expecting this, but... he hadn't been expecting this. He wasn't sure what he had been expected. A five star hotel?

Somewhere above him and to the left, a heavy door opened. Footsteps entered the room. The door slammed shut. The footsteps went down a staircase. They approached.

"Arch? How are you?"

A pair of hands suddenly took off the blindfold.

"Christ, Anthony, you nearly gave me a heart attack."

Arch had definitely been right about it being dark. The room was almost entirely black, but a small light in the corner of the room allowed him to see Anthony standing in front of him, in his sidekick outfit.

"Sorry," Anthony quickly said, readjusting his mask nervously. "I'm only here to check on you, and make sure you haven't died or anything. It's good to see you're finally awake."

"What happened...?"

"Oh, Teresa knocked you out so we could bring you here. We talked about it, and we--we agreed that we didn't have to, but--" Anthony cut himself off with a small shrug.

"And that explains why I can't remember anything... How long has it been?"

"Like twenty four hours. Teresa, she--she's... you know. She probably used a little more force than necessary."

"I still can't believe I agreed to this..."

"But you did."

"Only because I figured you were gonna kidnap me anyway!"

"Hey, that's--!" Anthony cut himself off. "...That's probably right. I don't think any of us could've stopped Teresa if she tried hard enough."

Arch went quiet for a moment.

"So does Teresa boss you guys around all the time, or...?" he finally asked.

"No! She-- We--We don't even see her all that often. She doesn't... I don't think she likes us. Me, Elijah, and Reilly. She's always been really distant."

Arch scoffed. "That sounds familiar. The Aurora Wings are... less than friendly. All of them. Except for Fionn, I guess. He's okay."

"Really? You guys are supposed to be the heroes. I figured you'd all be super close."

"You figured wrong then. I honestly don't even remember the last time I saw them in regular clothes."

"That's... I don't even know what to say."

Arch just shrugged. There really wasn't anything to say.

The two of them fell into a silence for a few moments, before Anthony glanced around and opened his mouth.

"Hey, Arch, can I--?"

A loud crash sounded from somewhere in the building, and Anthony's head snapped over to it.

"Never mind. I-I have to go," he said. "Good luck, Arch. You're probably gonna need it."

"No, no, no. Don't just leave--" Anthony was already tying the blindfold back on, before leaving the room.

He was left in lonely silence for hardly a few minutes before more footsteps entered the room. A lot more. Way too many to be just one person. The footsteps gradually got louder until Arch was certainly they were standing directly in front of him. Not that he could see it.

Arch's mind was racing with possibilities. What were they going to do? 

"Anxious, are we?" a voice that Arch recognized as Saberleaf said.

That was when it hit him. Saberleaf could read his mind. How could he have forgotten?

Don't think don't think don't think don't think don't think don't--

"Do we really have to tell you what we want?"

Arch tried to keep his mind empty. He couldn't get any information away.

"What is the Golden Falcon's true identity?" Saberleaf asked.

"No!" Arch shook his head. "I'll never tell!"

Don't don't don't don't don't. Don't think about her.

"Don't draw this out, Archer," Solar Flare said slowly. "Just answer the questions and we'll let you go."

"You're awful at lying."

"Hmph," Solar Flare said. "How about this... Do you value your eyesight? You like being able to see, don't you? Looking out over the ocean's waves, or viewing the sunset, or the brilliant city lights from your apartment? Or seeing the smiling faces of those you love? Do you know how quickly everything can change? Could you imagine what it would be like to have that blindfold on... all the time?"

"Solar Flare," Saberleaf said in a slightly warning tone.

"You're no fun."

"Speaking of, take that blindfold off, would you?" Saberleaf said.

Then, Arch could see. The Scarlet Sentinel had removed his blindfold, and was currently leaned just a few centimeters too close to his own face.

"Come on, Archie," the Scarlet Sentinel said in a low tone. "Don't make this harder than it has to be. You can do that for me? That's not too hard, is it?"

Arch narrowed his eyes, glancing at the vibrant red lipstick on the Scarlet Sentinel's lips. Arch wasn't going to listen to his honeyed words.

Arch spat in his face.

The Scarlet Sentinel took a step back, setting his jaw as he swiped a hand across his cheek. "Okay. I see. That's what we're going to do."

"Isn't there some way we can speed this up? Can't we just like beat him up or something so he'll tell us?" Solar Flare said, impatiently tapping her foot. "I have an appointment with my hairstylist in an hour and I don't want to be late."

Saberleaf was quiet for a moment, and that was a moment in which Arch was forced to keep his mind occupied with whatever he could.

Name all 50 capitals of the US States! Olympia, Salem, Sacramento, Boise, Carson City, Phoenix, Albuquerque, Salt Lake City, Denver, Cheyenne, Helena, Austin--

"Would you cut that out?" Saberleaf snapped, and Arch knew that it was meant for him. Saberleaf narrowed his eyes, turning to face the others. "Fine. Do what you must. Don't knock him unconscious."

Panic sunk in. Arch was going to die. After getting tortured for information, that is.

The door suddenly slammed open. 

Arch tried to see who it was, but the light pouring into the room through the doorway only let him see a figure's silhouette.

"Saberleaf, come quick!" Arch then recognized Reilly's voice. 

"The Aurora Wings are here!"

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*Fionn and Arch  f r i e n d s h i p
they're the closest bond the Aurora Wings has, and that's saying something

*it might seem like this whole "Arch is kidnapped" thing is a bit useless and unnecessary, but i assure you...
it's brought along some interesting revelations.

-ᴍɪɴᴛʏ