I couldn't stop staring at the image. It showed a girl, not older than one or two wearing a blue hospital gown a few sizes too big, and a strange metal collar around her neck. She had inky black hair, arching eyebrows and a small button nose.

She was... me.

But how? Why?

I re-read the file again, feeling bile rise in my throat. They called me an 'anomaly', something unwanted and something that wasn't meant to be. I didn't even have a name. A stab of betrayal pierced my chest as a thought occurred to me.

Was my father not really my father? Who was I? Had my whole life been a lie?

No, no. I laughed cynically to myself. It couldn't be me, that child had to be someone else. Some... doppelganger. That's right, there was no way that was me. I was Leviathan Vanightshade and my father was Victor. I have no memory of my mother and grew up in Riuzona where I went to school with my friends - nothing to do with STARKON. Nothing at all to do with STARKON.

"Levi! Are you ok?"

A frantic voice cut me out of my thoughts. I hurriedly exited out of the file and I looked up to see Brandon, appearing out of breath with a stack of newspaper articles in his arms.

"W-what? Why are you- Did you find any...?" I couldn't seem to string together a full sentence.

"What's wrong, Levi?" He ignored my question and dropped the handful of newspapers unceremoniously on the table.

"What? Nothing's wrong." I insisted, staring at him strangely. "Why do you keep asking me if something's wrong?"

I was relieved that I could talk properly again, and almost hit myself for stuttering.

Brandon scratched the back of his neck. "I don't know how to describe it... I just felt like you were in danger... scared even..."

"What?" I spluttered, silently thankful that Brandon's sudden appearance had broken me out of my reverie and away from the strange atmosphere that had fallen over the shadowed corner of the library. "Are you hearing yourself right now? Why would I be scared?"

He didn't reply and I could have sworn that I saw a light pink colouring his cheeks.

"Anyway," I continued, "did you find anything on the Diamond Wolf?"

Brandon nodded, gesturing at the pile of newspaper on the table. "She was pretty famous right until the year we were born, apparently. The librarian said that she was the favourite to win the Hero of the Year award before she suddenly disappeared."

I frowned. Why would such a well-known and well-favoured hero suddenly disappear? I picked up the nearest sheet of newspaper and spread it over the table, pushing aside the others. I scanned through the article quickly, feeling bits of information swim around in my head.

Diamond Wolf saves us again!
Last Saturday, a terrorist attacked the Central Bank of Albastiar, causing 102 citizens of Albastiar to be trapped inside and at the mercy of the attacker. Luckily, Diamond Wolf was on the scene and managed to apprehend the terrorist, keeping the citizens safe once again...

The article continued to say how super Diamond Wolf had been, and how the world had never seen a better hero. The small print at the top of the yellowing paper dated it as the 3rd of March, XX23. I flipped through the pile of newspaper and found another one; dated the 12th of April.

Diamond Wolf apprehends Bloody Terror- a mass murderer Villain

I flipped through the pile again, finding another one was titled; Diamond Wolf saves the small town of Aseah, and another, The world saved once again by Diamond Wolf!

I shuffled through a couple more but stopped when a headline caught my eye; dated the 25th of July, later that year.

Diamond Wolf takes time off from the Hero world, leaving her fans in confusion

I stopped and drew the article closer, trying to make out the fading print.

Just yesterday, Diamond Wolf announced a two-month leave from STARKON, and was invited to spend some time in the official STARKON Resort; Amber Island. This shocked fans all over Albastiar because unlike most heroes, our Diamond Wolf has never taken a break from her job - not even when she was injured by Killian Karon!

I frowned. Did this have something to do with her disappearance? Maybe her disappearance was simply her retiring? But that didn't make sense because she had only been 23 at the time and most heroes went on till well into their forties. I grabbed the next article in the pile.

Diamond Wolf stays off the radar
It has already been three months, and our Diamond Wolf shows no signs of return. We all miss our hero, and hope she comes back soon!

Meanwhile, crime rates in Albastiar continue to rise and we are seeing more fresh heroes make their debut! Looking forward to more Albastiar!

An unsettling feeling churned in my stomach as I pulled the next article forward. Even though Diamond Wolf still had the rest of her prime in front of her, she had chosen to retire. Something just wasn't adding up.

The disappearance of Tornado Sky may be linked with that of our favourite hero?
Five months ago, our favourite hero; Diamond Wolf announced her two-month temporary leave from STARKON, but still has failed to return to our people. Now, #2 hero, Tornado Sky has followed Miss Wolf and not a word has been heard from the two heroes since.

Could the disappearance of our top heroes be linked? People of Albastiar, let us pray for their safe return.

That was dated the 20th of December. I flipped through the few remaining articles and noted that they all outlined the disappearances of the top 20 or so heroes in Albastiar, which had been linked back to the Diamond Wolf.

Why were all the heroes disappearing? Were they all linked like the article said? There had to still be something, something that I was still missing.

"Levi?" Brandon's voice broke me out of my thoughts. "We should start to head back if we don't want to worry the twins."

I glanced at my watch and saw that he was right. We had less than fifteen minutes to get back to the abandoned building to make it before our agreed time. I cursed, shuffling the papers together. I grabbed a few of the articles that stood out to me and turned to back to Brandon.

"I'm going to make some copies of these. Can you return the rest to the counter?"

"Ok," he replied, not looking at me as he gathered the clippings back into his hands. "Did you figure anything out?"

I frowned at the pages in my arms. Something was still missing... and then there was the auspicious file that STARKON had on me.

"No... yes... well, I think I'm still missing something," I mumbled before turning around to place my hard drives back into my satchel and logging out of the computer.

"Meet you at the front desk in five!" I called, before hefting the bag over my shoulder and half-jogging back to the archives.

Even though I didn't want Brandon - or anyone for that matter - to find out about the dubious file on STARKON's server, but I couldn't just leave it as is.

Reaching the archives, I slowly paced down the aisle, muttering the letters to myself.

"...T... U...V!"

Crouching down, I slid open the heavy drawer and scanned through the different files in it. Va... Vac... Val... Van... Vanightshade!

I pulled out the Manila folder, stifling a gasp as the newspapers slipped out of my arms and scattered over the carpeted floor. Cursing silently, I ignored the papers - making a mental note to pick them up later - and carefully opened the folder.

I flicked past a few files on unrelated people but thankfully there weren't many as Vanightshade was a rare surname. Finally, a faded newspaper clipping caught my eye. I lifted it out of the thin pile, holding it up to a skylight in the corner of the room.

Three year old found outside Central Albastiar Daycare
Three year old Leviathan Vanightshade was found outside Central Albastiar Daycare after being missing for two weeks. It is still unknown where this young child had spent the past two weeks, but she has returned safely to her family, with nothing but a shallow wound on her shoulder.

I stopped reading, feeling shock coursing through my body. What? My father never told me about this! I instinctively rubbed the scar on my left shoulder blade, feeling the uneven skin underneath my fingertips.

It was only two weeks ago when three year old Leviathan was reported missing by her father, Victor Vanightshade. Levi had disappeared not even a week after they moved into their new house down the road from the Daycare. The frantic parent immediately reported her disappearance- although the exact time is unknown due to the nightshift that Mr Vanightshade was working, leaving Levi home alone. While a lot can be said for leaving a young child alone in a large house, it is understandable for a single-parent family to struggle with getting a proper income.

I lifted my head when a soft beeping came from my watch. Crap. Five minutes to get back to the abandoned building. Brandon would be wondering why it took me so long to copy the papers.

I dashed over to the scanner and quickly photocopied the articles. Shoving the one about me into my satchel, I sprinted to the front desk where Brandon was pacing anxiously.

"Levi! Where have you been?"

"Sorry! The printer jammed," I lied before grabbing him by his shirt sleeve and dragging him out of the library.

"Uh... Levi...? What-"

"Got five minutes to get back to the twins," I cut him off, letting go of his wrist and sprinting down the sidewalk. The last thing I wanted was to put them through pain again; I could hardly thank them enough for joining me on this whimsical trip.

"Wait- Levi!"

Suddenly, an arm wrapped itself around my waist, pulling me back onto the sidewalk. A truck zoomed by where I had just been standing, clearly breaching the speed limit. My heart thudded in my chest as I tried to regain my breath.

"Uhm... t-thanks," I stuttered, still shaken from the close shave. I shuffled slightly in his hold causing Brandon to drop the arm around my waist, stepping back as if burned.

"Uh s-sorry- you're welcome..." Brandon turned and started walking down the footpath at a brisk pace and I hurried to catch up.

My heart was still thudding hard with adrenaline and I could feel heat rise to my cheeks. I touched a hand to my face and found them to be warm.

It was from the sun, I convinced myself. Not from anything else.

A thought occurred to me causing me to stop in my tracks. The article said I had lived down the street from Central Albastiar Daycare, but I knew for a fact that I currently lived in the nearby town of Riuzona. So I had moved in my childhood? Another thing my father had failed to mention to me.

I shook my head. That didn't matter right now; I had to focus on finding him first - before STARKON did the unthinkable to him.

Even so, I couldn't quench the strange feeling of betrayal and deception that stirred in my heart. What else could my father have been hiding from me? Did he ever have any intention of telling me about it?

"Levi? What's wrong?" Brandon's concerned voice broke me out of my thoughts.

"What? Nothing's wrong." I forced a smile. "See? Why do you keep asking me if something is wrong?"

"I don't know... I just felt like you were..." He turned away, expression shadowed. "Never mind."

I almost saw an unapproachable wall surround him as we continued down the sidewalk and an uncomfortable silence fell between us. But it was strange. Ever since I was young, I had been known as the master of poker faces. No one would be able to tell what I was really thinking, but now, Brandon suddenly seemed to know exactly when I was having doubts. Surely it could just be a coincidence, but with everything that was happening, would it be too naive to think of it as such?

I thought back to my father, and what STARKON could possibly be doing to him this past week. Maybe it was too naive to write it off as a coincidence, but it'd have to wait.

First, I had to save my father.

a.n.

DUN DUN DUN!! So, what do you guys think of Diamond Wolf? Are you curious to know more about her, or do you find Levi's mysterious past more interesting?? :?

Anyways, as usual, feedback appreciated! Drop a comment and vote if you liked this chapter and follow for more!

SpiderPrincess

Weeks-that-I-have-updated-on-schedule Tally:
I I I I

(^^ I feel so proud~)