Armando didn't exactly detest his job.
But, he didn't exactly like it, either. It was just a family thing, his father and grandfather and the person before that had done it, too. He gazed down at the city from the spacious glass window, flickers of all sorts of shades of yellow and red and blue spread out all over the city. Moonlight poured through the window, his shadow casting along the grey walls of the complex. The city was beautiful from above, but from the ground, Jump City had its dangerous cesspools of crimes. He could've sworn he had just heard police sirens in the distance, his hand twitching.
"Detective Vivas," a long, inky silhouette cast itself along the wall besides his, slowly swallowing his shadow whole. The voice was soft, gentle even, but managed to reverberate through the whole room, one that he knew anywhere, "I see the offices took my request."
"It interested me," Armando admitted honestly, "You aren't the only case, that's for sure...but you were the biggest of the many," Pristine shoes began their tapping against the floor again, the detective finally turning around from his view. The man behind him was one of great elegance, his posture towering and spindly. He was easily one of the tallest men Armando has laid his eyes on, a cane in one of his hands, tapping against the floor. The handle was one in the shape of a feral pig, the gold twinkling in the dim light. Where Armando had bulk, the man had a lean build, the two men polar opposites. He gave a light chuckle.
"Nothing like over one hundred thousand being stolen from my estate to catch your attention, hm?" He gave a smile that Armando could only describe as, well, wicked. Thaddeus Barley was a man of ominous intentions, after all. "Why, not even my guards could get past the...little guest I had, but you caught the accomplice, yes?"
"The man in question is in custody," Armando grunted, as the man's grin grew even wider, "Tell me, do you have any idea why they are doing this, Teddy?"
"Ah, probably the fact I am the richest man in this city?" he gave a louder chortle this time, "Great to see you again, Arny. I just wish that our next meeting wasn't one of bad intentions."
Armando remembered this man; in fact, he knew this man. He thought back to his childhood, to that skinny boy that lived down the road in the orphanage, his eyes dark and his expression always solemn. But, when trouble came around, his face would always twist into one of disobedience. A bad apple, his father had always said, every time Armando would go play basketball with Thaddeus (he was unnaturally good) or checkers (it was like he was a genius).
Thaddeus was a strange boy growing up, to say the least. Armando had always been the hot-headed one, that was certain, but there was always something off about Thaddeus. Demon Boy, was that what they used to call him? Boys up and down the road used to come and fight Thaddeus, with the excuse of he was being disrespectful or he needs to be put in his place, and every one would come out beaten and bruised. Diamond. Yes, Thaddeus was said to have knuckles as hard as raw diamond, Armando had always said he should've been a boxer.
"Boxing is for pack mules," Teddy would remind Armando, his fingers coated in soil, "And I ain't no mule, Arny." He'd chant, and he'd go straight back to gardening. He said that it made the place more lively.
And every time his parents would go down to the police station, they'd always make that slow roll, rolling down the windows and watching Thaddeus plant flowers upon flowers in his front yard. Even in the slums, Thaddeus had managed to make that hellhole into a five-star garden.
Boy, were his parents wrong.
"I could say the same, yea," Armando's tone became more lax, as he reached in his back pocket and pulled out a slip of paper, Thaddeus glancing down at the paper before taking it out of his hand slowly, opening it in an instant. Thaddeus Barley was an unnaturally tall man, with lanky limbs. His eyes were unnaturally pale as well, a color he could only describe as unpolished copper. His eyes scanned it, before looking back up at Armando.
"Hm," Thaddeus crumbled the paper, "The boy, huh?" his smile was one Thaddeus could only describe as mischief, one of wickedness, "I can give you that on one condition. And only one condition." He pulled a lighter out of his coat pocket, sparks flying a few times before the paper combust into flames, the paper turning to ashes in the air, one with the atmosphere now.
"And what would that be?"
There was a pause, and Armando could've sworn he'd felt the room drop a few degrees.
"Bring back Adamas."
PART ONE : MESMERIZE.
Kingsley wasn't one to believe rumors, normally.
She considered herself a level-headed person. Sure, she had her moments, she was a bit arrogant, yeah, but she never thought of anything that was impossible. Rationality was the key, people were liars, in fact, she was one herself, she hated to admit it. But everyone had their secrets, and sometimes lying had to be done to keep them. That was the way the world went round. But this rumor, it had to be one that blew it out the park.
"Titans?" Mrs. Chancellor raised a silver eyebrow, "The closest we'll get to them is the television screen, who told you dat' kerfuffle, Dora?" Kingsley slapped another label on the pot of daisies, the smell of sharpies and pollen strong in her nostrils. Mrs. Chancellor was a round woman, her face was surprisingly youthful despite her white hair. She was a woman wisdom, but unfortunately one with a hard head as well.
"The entire block," Kingsley looked out the panel windows, watching people walk by, the clouds outside were a slate gray; the weatherman did say it would rain later on that day, "They're saying that Titans have been goin' up and down this entire side of town, Mrs. Chance." The elderly woman blew out a hot breath, rolling her eyes.
Jump City was a diverse, ever growing city. And with every city, comes its downfalls. This side of town happened to be one of them. The faint sounds of police sirens always filled Kingsley's ears, it was almost music to her ears. The concrete here was as cracked as the people here, crime was almost at every corner on this side of town, a concrete jungle, the mayor of Jump City had called them. The rest of the city didn't even claim them, they were just the filler noise to the rest of the supervillians and other evils that plagued the rest of the city.
This side of town had a war of its own going on. One the Titans couldn't beat, between blood and lust and broken dignity, Kingsley had seen countless people killed over petty things and arguments. The war here, no, this one was personal. In fact, she was sure for a fact that most of these Titans hadn't even set foot on this side of town. They were more associated with stopping bigger crimes, most of them didn't take it personally. To be honest, most of them didn't blame them.
"Pft," Mrs. Chance stood from her rocking chair, making her way to the back of the store, "Y'all already know people make up anythin' round here," she pushed up Kingsley's shades for her as she passed, "I'll be back here if you need me, I need to call Earl." she closed the door behind her, leaving Kingsley in the shop all by herself.
There were three things wrong with this rumor, Kingsley concluded:
1) This rumor wasn't funny, not at all.
2) The Titans wouldn't just show up; they were looking for somebody. Or something.
and 3) Something was going to go terribly, terribly wrong.
She bent down under her cashier, reaching for her purse. Maybe if she texted Alphonse, or maybe even Candice, hell, they could explain something about what exactly was going on. She heard the bell on the door jingle, her hand finally latching onto her purse. "Welcome," she called almost automatically, something she had picked up from working here daily, "Is there anything I can help you with?"
"Yea, there is," the voice responded, one belonging to a male. Typical, she concluded, he was probably looking for something for his wife or girlfriend (to get her back, that was usually the story), "I'm looking for somebody, actually." Kingsley felt an itch, coming up from under the counter, not looking up.
"If you're looking for Chance, she-" When she looked up, Kingsley froze, her body tensing.
"I dig the new color, what is that, blond?" The person heckled, a goofy grin Kingsley knew all too well growing on their face, "And I gotta admit, short hair actually does look good on you."
"It's champagne, actually," Kingsley unzipped her purse, setting her phone on the table, "And it fits me, right?" She felt pride grow in her from the compliment, twirling a finger in her tight curl, her eyes scanning up and down his body. It was one that was so foreign to her, one of cybernetic parts blending with a heart she knew was too big to not be beating, "What are you doin' out here, Victor? I guess the rumors were right." She could've sworn she'd seen him strain at the mention of his real name.
"Nice to see you again too, Kingsley," In Cyborg's eyes, Kingsley had changed immensely, but some of that was to be taken into consideration, he hadn't seen her since she was around twelve or thirteen, right before he had moved way into the larger city. Her face was still round, her skin was the color of dark chocolate, but she had an air of maturity around her. She still wore those shades, tinted a dark orange, her dark hair cut and dyed into tight curls. She had pierced her septum, just as she always said she would. In fact, she was everything she said she'd be when they were younger. He could hear her voice echoing in his head, "When I grow up, best believe I'm gonna take care of myself...
"Givin' me the cold shoulder, huh?" Kingsley rolled her eyes, her phone vibrating rapidly on the counter, "How are ya' doin? How's Al and Candy?"
"Candy is off somewhere with her boyfriend, and Al is working at the cabaret," she scoffed, "You act like stuff changes 'round here, but the only changes I'm lookin' at is the Terminator in front of me." Her smile was unnerving, but he kept staring down at her, the girl crossing her arms.
Harsh, as usual.
She learned over, resting her chest on the table, "Now, forreal, Vic, I know you, and I know y'all and the circus want something. So, what is it?" To Cyborg, the only other change he saw was in the tiny girl right in front of him. She still had that spark, but God, was she haughty.
"Alright, ya' got me," he raised his hands in defeat, "Me and the gang are looking for someone, and we think you may have the lead."
"...And what exactly is that thing you need?" her eyebrows furrowed behind her glasses, "You're lucky you're with the Feds, you know that? I'm giving you this favor, just once." Cyborg grinned back, happy that she had finally begun to break down her barrier. That was the Kingsley he knew.
"None of the other Titans wanted to come here, actually," he admitted, "I was the one that volunteered to go, but Beast Boy did come along." Kingsley glanced past him outside to see the green boy running around in the busted hydrant with the kids in neighborhood, Cyborg moving back in her way. Prick. "Now...Marcell." Kingsley felt her blood run cold, before Cyborg grabbed her shoulder, his hand warm, "Before you leave, I just wanna say I'm sorry about what happened. But, we may have found a lead." Kingsley tapped her long nails against the counter, click click.
"What sort of lead?" Click, click.
"We may know where he had gone, or exactly, who took him." Click. "But, we need your cooperation with the department, because we think it may be associated with a group of supervillians." Click.
"There's a catch, I'm not stupid."
Click.
"The department wants you to go and talk to their chief, that's the only catch. Then, you can go back to your gardening, and then you can go back on your way." If he could see her eyes, he knew that they would be slits right now, suspicious as ever.
"...Can you bring him back, if y'all catch this group, yea?"
Click.
"Yeah."
She sighed, picking up her phone, "There's always a catch," he could've sworn he'd heard a trace of sorrow in her voice, "Always," she sent a text back to whoever was blowing up her line, then made a shoo-ing motion, "Good, now get out, seeing you makes me anxious." Cyborg's eyebrows raised.
"Can I at least get a hug, for time's sake?"
"Get out, Victor."
this is my first story in a little over a year.
i havent written, ive had so many ideas but i had to take care of my health first. before i continue, thank you to the people that have stayed with me this entire journey, and to everyone that i love. yall are really the best. to say the least, i have not been well. but i have recovered and i feel amazing, and i feel like kingsley is by far the trickiest character i have made so far. i feel like this story will expand into more, and i have high hopes for my writing to improve writing this.
college letters have started pouring in, and my life gets more and more hectic with every turn. i will take breaks with this story, that is to be expected, but i will not abandon it. ive done that too many times to give up on this story ive worked on developing for almost a year. chapter 2 will be out soon, sometime this week. in due time, thank you. reviews are liked, i could use some criticism, or support (:
- mike, a tired writer.