Chapter 2: Shadow Bitch

Charlie woke up gradually, regaining consciousness on and off. Each time she opened her eyes, the pounding in her head told her to shut them back. By the time she was fully awake she realized she had no clue where she was at. She scrambled to sit up, throwing the blanket that she had been wrapped in off of her.

She scanned her surroundings.

She was in a dingy room, with peeling sickly green wallpaper, on a mattress on the floor. There was a door on the wall behind her. In the room, there was little furniture, only really a dresser and a television, which also sat on the floor. There was no closet, and there were no windows.

Thoughts started to rush through her mind at the speed of light.

How did I get here? What happened last night?

Did I at least get laid?

I have to find Veronica. Maybe I got too drunk to give her directions so she just took me to her house.

She pushed open the one door in the room, but was disappointed to find it only led to a very small bathroom. She stared blankly into the room, utterly dumbfounded.

....Surely there must be a door? How else would I have gotten in?

She walked back into the main room, and looked around again, but her eyes didn't deceive her. There was no door.

"Maybe I'm an attic room or something?" She said to herself.

Walking over to the mattress, she started to lug it away, looking for an exit, or a trap door of some kind. Just as she let it back go, a sudden snapping sound from behind her startled her.

She spun around.

A black cloud of smoke was slowly dissipating, and as it cleared, Charlie could make out the silhouette of a person. Once the smoke cleared completely, she could really see them.

A black catsuit that clung to a distinctly feminine body. A black helmet, with a white skull on the front of it. It seemed very familiar. Where had she seen this suit before?

"The furniture was not to your liking?" The voice that came out of the helmet was distorted and low, a robotic edge to it.

"Who are you?" Charlie asked, taking a step back.

"I am Shadow Witch." The woman said.

The pieces snapped together in Charlie's brain at the sound of the name. Shadow Witch. That's where she remembered the helmet from.

But Charlie knew this couldn't be the Shadow Witch. The Original Shadow Witch had died about five years ago. And he was a dude. This Shadow Witch was clearly a woman.

Despite her brain telling her not to, she decided to voice this.

"But you're a girl? I thought Shadow Witch was a guy. And dead."

"Don't be dense." The woman said. "I am the new Shadow Witch."

It wasn't unheard of for a new hero to take on the name of a well established hero after they died, but it wasn't really common these days. It was mostly done by family members, typically when a parent passed on the identity to their child, or another protege with similar enough powers.

As far as she knew, Shadow Witch never had a successor lined up.

"Oh." Charlie said. "Well what do you want with me? Money? I'm sure my dad will pay any amount you—"

"I don't want your family's money." Shadow Witch said.

"Well...If you're not kidnapping me, why do you have me in this room, then?" Charlie asked.

"I never said I wasn't kidnapping you."

Oh shit. I am being kidnapped. Well, I already have been, I guess.

Charlie reached into her pocket, looking for her phone, but it obviously wasn't there.

"What did you do with my phone?" She asked, crossing her arms.

"I threw it into Raccoon Lake." Shadow Witch said.

"What? Why?!" Charlie seethed. "That phone had all of my pictures, and text messages, and—"

"What? You don't have money for a new one?" Shadow Witch scoffed. "Besides, I feel like you're playing dumb on purpose. I couldn't just take it from you, I had to get rid of it completely. Even turned off it can still be tracked."

Charlie sighed dramatically. It was worth a shot.

"Full disclosure, I also checked you for tracking devices and removed the one that was in your hip."

Charlie coughed in surprise, her hands scrambling to pull up her shirt. She enough, next to her left hip bone there was a small bandage. She pressed on it, and it was a tad sore.

"I had a tracking device in me?! Since when?" She said.

Shadow Witch shrugged.

"How should I know? It was an older model, so your father probably had it installed when you were a teenager to keep track of you."

Charlie's head spun. There were too many things happening right now. She couldn't register any of it.

"So you took my clothes off?"

"....excuse me?" Shadow Witch made a noise of utter disgust.

"You said you checked me for tracking devices!"

"Yes. With a scanner, you imbecile."

"Well, you kidnapped me, and you said it wasn't for money, and there's really only one other reason girls get kidnapped, so you'll forgive me if I thought—"

"I am done with this conversation."

Shadow Witch snapped, and disappeared once again in a black puff of smoke. Charlie kicked the cloud of smoke over and over with her foot until it dissipated.

"Shadow Witch? More like Shadow Bitch!" Charlie shouted in frustration.

"I can hear you, just so you are aware." A voice bounced around the room on speakers, probably hidden somewhere.

Charlie fell back onto the mattress, and covered her face with the pillowed, screaming into it.

Okay, Charlie, just stay calm. Dad will get you out of this. He owns the company that makes the most advanced superhero tech around. They'll have you out in no time.

She figured they were probably already looking for her. The Copper Knight himself was probably already on his way here to save her! How cool would it be, she thought, to be saved by him. That was the dream...

In the meantime, she decided to try and recall everything she could about the original Shadow Witch.

He certainly wasn't known as a hero, but he wasn't really a villain either. Most people referred to him as a vigilante; someone who was operating without a Hero License, but wasn't necessarily a villain.

Some were merely nuisances, while others were closer to the criminal side of things. It was hard to say exactly where Shadow Witch was; he seemed to take any job he could.

After spending nearly seven years on the city's most wanted list, he had eventually been taken out by an off duty police officer who caught him in an alleyway. He was shot in the stomach, and bled out.

This person could be someone who was close to him. If it was a family member, it was likely her powers were genetic, but if it was more of a fan, or maybe a former flame out for revenge, they could be replicating his powers with technology.

She knew this Shadow Witch at least had the original's shadow teleportation power. It was possible she had some of his others; invisibility, the ability to put out lights, shadow manipulation... There were probably some more, but Charlie wasn't extremely well versed on Shadow Witch. She was more of a Copper Knight kind of girl.

Shadow Witch came back on the speakers.

"Turn the TV to channel four. I want you to see something."

"Sure, Whatever." Charlie grumbled before turning the TV on.

It was the news, of course. An anchor was talking rapidly, and Charlie frowned at her picture in the background. They could have picked a more flattering one.

"So far, police have found no sign of Charlotte Delacqua, daughter of the successful hero tech magnet Charles Delacqua. She was last seen leaving a bar called the Cloud 9 Lounge with this woman." A picture of Veronica appeared on the screen.

"The woman was going by the name Veronica Griffin at the time, but police believe this was an alias. They also believe the woman may have been using cloaking technology to change her appearance. Her true identity remains unknown."

Charlie cursed to herself. She didn't even think that Veronica might have changed her appearance to lure her in. That meant her kidnapper might not even be hot!

That's going to be less fun, if I want to try and seduce her to get out. Still, her body does look very nice. She can always leave the helmet on if she's not that cute in the face.

"If you have any information about the whereabouts of Charlotte Delacqua, or about the identity of the woman from the bar, please contact—"

The broadcast cut off, the screen turning blue as a high pitched squeal took over the speakers. It flickered back to life a moment later, the grainy image of Shadow Witch taking over the screen.

"Hello, citizens of New Atlanta, particularly Mr. Delacqua. I am the new Shadow Witch. I'll cut to the chase. I have your daughter. She is safe. She'll remain safe as long as she is in my care.

I only ask one thing in exchange for her safe return; the contents of vault number 007581. I hope you are willing to cooperate with me in this matter.

If you want to cooperate, please reach out to me on the secure line on the screen. I look forward to hearing from you. Thank you."

The broadcast cut off, and the screen was blue once more.

Vault number 007581? Charlie had no idea what could even be in there. Maybe it was some kind of super weapon, with the power to take out all of New Atlanta in a single go. Maybe it was just a really cool suit. Either way, Shadow Witch thought she needed her as leverage to get it.

Charlie sighed and cut the TV off. The noise was grating, and with her nerves already shot, she couldn't take it.

There was another snap, and Shadow Witch appeared right behind her, holding a plate.

Charlie shouted in surprise and stumbled backwards, but Shadow Witch hardly reacted.

"What did you think of the broadcast? Do you think your father will respond?"

"Uh, I'm sure he will." Charlie frowned, standing up. "He's actually super protective of me. He's probably freaking out right now."

"Good." Shadow Witch said, holding the plate out to her. "Then hopefully we'll be able to resolve this quickly and you can return home."

Charlie took the plate from her and wrinkled her nose.

"What's this?"

"What do you mean? It's your lunch. Have you never seen a grilled cheese before?" Shadow Witch said. Even though she couldn't see her face, Charlie imagined that she was rolling her eyes.

"I mean, of course. I was just wondering if this was all?" Charlie asked.

"No. The second course is actually caviar and lobster." Shadow Witch said. "For dessert, I had my chef make chocolate soufflé."

"Okay, there's no reason to be like that—"

"I'll see you again for dinner. Goodbye."

Charlie suddenly remembered she was missing something else important.

"Wait!"

Shadow Witch stopped in her tracks, fingers just about to snap.

"What?" She said with a heavy sigh.

"What did you do with my wallet? You didn't throw it away, did you?"

Shadow Witch stared silently at her for a moment before responding.

"No. I couldn't find anything in it that could be traced, so I simply put it away."

Charlie breathed a sigh of relief. Thank God.

"Could I have it back?"

"I didn't take any of your money."

"That's not what I asked. I just wanted my wallet back. It's important to me."

"I'll bring it to you in the morning, is that okay?" Shadow Witch asked.

"Sure." Charlie said. "As long as I get it back."

"Okay."

A snap, and she was gone.

Charlie picked up the grilled cheese and sat on the mattress and waited.

Waited for the end of the first day, of the weirdest kidnapping, probably ever.