Hey!

This is the first story in a new series of mine Edgar and Alan: Supernatural Invesitgators. You can guess where it's going, I'm sure. =D
Signs of Change will, of course, updated simultaneously and I'll probably alternate putting up chapters. Or not, depending on the muse. Enjoy!
Disclaimed: Not mine, as you know. All characters not from the LB universe are mine. Grubby paws off, you in the hoodie. ;)

"Alan!"

Edgar Frog huffed as he looked in the backroom for his little brother. Alan should have been back an hour ago. Whenever it was his turn to get food, he'd always bring it to the backroom to eat. While they did, both would sharpen stakes. In addition, Alan would reread his notes. Edgar preferred dunking crosses and sharp stakes into a nice bath of garlic infused holy water to let the soak for a while. Let the bloodsuckers take a bite on that.

He was getting worried about Alan, though he'd never admit it. His little brother was much more trusting than Edgar and therefore more likely to end up drinking what looked like spiked juice or ending up a vampire's meal. Edgar, meanwhile, was more of the 'stake first, ask questions later' sort. After all, they couldn't chomp down on him if they were dead, right?

Edgar stood behind the counter and tapped a finger on the top as he watched a clock beside the register. Behind him, Mr. Frog woke for a moment, looked left and right, then his head drooped back on top of his wife's. Edgar ground his teeth as he looked back at his father's head dropping. The pair could at least try to act more like parents.

If Alan had been late in the day it wouldn't have been as bad. Vampires were, of course, strictly nocturnal. Werewolves could only transform under a full moon, which was two weeks away. There were more things that went bump in the night than they did in the day and Alan knew it.

So where was he?

He had told him many times that soldiers should always be on time. Had drilled it into Alan's head since day one, but right now he couldn't have been further from punctual if the word had bitten him on the ass. Edgar would once again have to remind Alan the meaning of punctual. Then he'd make him fill up their six holy water canisters and several squirt guns to make sure he remembered.

Edgar knew he was tough on Alan. But he only did so because he didn't want to have to stake Alan or shoot him with a silver bullet. Human, without a thirst for blood and a tail, that was how Edgar wanted his brother to stay.

Outside the comic book shop, a group of Surf Nazis ran past; laughing so hard they were almost falling over as a pair of beefy security guards attempted to chase them. That was one of the things Edgar loathed about the boardwalk-the security was pathetic. Just a year before it had been even worse. That was when the gang of vampires frequented the boardwalk. The murder rate was even higher, and despite the fact that Santa Carla still had too many disappearances and murders to be coincidence, the boardwalk had become somewhat safer to roam after dark. For the most part the prowlers there were now human and mortal.

Edgar pulled a worn comic out from under the counter and was beginning to read it when he heard the familiar clomp of army boots. Alan was finally back, his hands free of food. Edgar stomach growled loudly. Where was the grub? Instead of bringing back food, Alan had brought back some teenager with brown hair.

Edgar's eyebrows furrowed, almost looking like a unibrow. His brother was approaching the counter and he reached under for several small objects. "Where were you, Alan? Put your hands out."

Alan obligingly laid his hands flat on the counter while the other boy looked on with a mix of curiosity and confusion. "I was about to get the food when I met this guy." He jerked his head to the brunette as Edgar poured a vial of clear water over his hands and waited a moment. When they didn't turn red or burn from the holy water, Edgar nodded in satisfaction and passed a vial each to Alan and the other boy.

"Drink up."

The boy looked at Alan, who uncorked the vial and downed the holy water in one gulp before looking at their guest. "If you want our help, drink it," Alan ordered. The boy-looking like he felt more than a little foolish-uncorked his and shot it back.

Edgar studied the boy. He wasn't burning, choking, or showing any other signs of being a vampire. One last test, though. The last object he pulled from under the counter was a small silver bracelet, borrowed from their mother's jewellery. It wasn't like she would be wearing it sometime soon. "Touch it."

Both Alan and the boy touched a finger to the bracelet without burning. No werewolf bites, since there was no obvious pain or damage caused by touching the silver. Edgar nodded in satisfaction. The major culprits were clear and if any other sort of creature had infected Alan or the boy, the symptoms would show up soon enough. "Where you from? What do we call you?" he asked the boy with a tone of wariness. "How long have you been here and why do you want our help?"

The teenager studied Edgar momentarily as if trying to decide if he was crazy or not for coming to the shop. He turned his gaze to Alan, who seemed slightly saner than his brother. Finally he heaved a huge sigh and ran a hand through his dark hair. "Name's Ty and I've lived in Santa Carla my whole life. And what do I call you, Mr. Grumpy Pants and Doggy Tags?"

Ty smirked at the astonished and insulted looks he received from the front and right of him. These two-especially Mr. Grumpy Pants-were easily annoyed. It seems that Linny had taught him one useful thing before disappearing. Doggy Tags was smirking in spite of himself. Apparently he found Mr. Grumpy Pants's name amusing. Ty pegged him as the younger sibling. Or maybe the other was just more dominant.

"Either turn around and get out right now or start talking," Edgar grunted by way of rebuttal.

Alan jumped over the counter and jerked his thumb at his older brother. "That's Edgar. I'm Alan." In his mind, there really wasn't any need to start arguing with Ty. After all, he had done in less than a minute what Alan had been trying to do for fifteen years: He had annoyed Edgar. The beautiful event was stored in his memory to be laughed at during another time. Oh, how easily he would be able to annoy Edgar with that little memory.

Ty held up is hands in mock surrender, but hid his smirk by ducking his head towards the ground. "Alright, alright, I'm here about my sister. She went missing-"

"-And you want us to find her." Edgar interrupted. "Sorry, but if someone goes missing in Santa Carla, it's vampires and the people don't turn up. Ever."

"Fourteen years ago," Ty said, glaring at Edgar. "But I saw someone last night who looked just like her." He dug into his pocket, reaching for and pulling out a worn black and white photograph. "The girl looked like my sister does here. Thing is, this picture was taken a few days before Linny went missing. In nineteen seventy-four."

The brothers examined the photo. The girl had large, mischievous eyes and a happy smirk. Unaware of the Frogs's distraction, Ty kept talking. "The girl didn't see me and kept talking to her friends, but she even sounded like Linny and-"

"You say this chick was your sister's twin, despite going missing more than a decade ago?" asked Alan. Ty nodded and Alan exchanged a look with Edgar. The wheels in their heads were churning and they both carried a similar thought. But before they told Ty of their suspicions, they would at least do a little investigating. After all, if she was a bloodsucker, all the better to stake her, then tell Ty. And if she wasn't undead, well, that was none of their business.

"We do charge a fee, you know." Edgar said. Ty's eyebrows shot up high enough to be almost hidden by his hair.

"You what? I'm not paying you anything!"

"You will if you want us to look for your sister." Alan replied, slipping a hastily scribbled piece of paper over with their prices. He had only written a minute before while Edgar spoke. No vampires survived in Santa Carla under their watch. And monetary donations were important for supplies and comics. Information was half the job in Alan's mind. Even if Edgar disagreed.

Ty picked up the sheet in disbelief and snorted. "You want a hundred bucks for labour and then one fifty for, and I quote, each slain creature? Are you shitting me or is this just a really good prank? Didn't know you had it in you, Mr. Grumpy Pants."

"My-name-is-Edgar", hissed Edgar. "And if you want us to find information on her, you will."

It was then that Ty burst out laughing as what the pair was saying clicked, sending the only other customer in the store to peer over with a frightened look and run away. "You think Linny is a-a-vampire?!"

Neither Frog said a word as Ty grasped hold of the counter to keep from falling over. They didn't know why he thought the possibility of his sister being a vampire was so funny-vampires were a serious threat to the people of not only Santa Carla, not only the state or even the country, but they were a serious threat to the people of the entire planet. Not enough people knew how much of a threat they were, so it was up to them to stake as many as possible. Even if people laughed his ass off at the theory. Like Ty was doing before them.

Ty's laughter died off at last. Alan gave him a pointed look. "Done?"

"Almost." With one final whoop Ty calmed down enough to turn back to the pair. "So you honesty think my older sister is a vampire?" Edgar and Alan nodded and he continued. "Because I said that this girl looked like Linny did when she disappeared?" Another nod. "Okay, at least now I know where we stand. You're both nutjobs."

"We're not crazy," said Edgar through gritted teeth, "Just last year we took care of a whole pack of vampires."

Ty's response was just a look that said he still though they were crazy.

Edgar fumed and ran a hand through his hair. This was getting nowhere-Ty hadn't a clue as to what might happen if they found his sister and she was a bloodsucker. The fact that he thought they were crazy didn't help much either. Alan looked at his brother and realized just how close Edgar was to blowing his top. Before he had the chance he elbowed the elder Frog and nodded at Ty. "We'll look for your sister."

Despite thinking that the Frog brothers were absolutely out of their minds, Ty couldn't help but beam when they agreed to do research on Linny. If the two nutjobs could not only find out what happened to her, but bring her back, then he might actually give them five bucks. But not if they continued to insist that she might be a vampire. He nodded. "Great. Thanks, guys, I really appreciate it, even if you're nut-"

"Call us nutjobs again and the deal's off," interrupted Edgar. Ty said nothing, but smirked. He and Edgar were going to get along wonderfully.

Alan stepped on his brother's foot and spoke. "Come back tomorrow. We'll need you to tell us about your sister so we can have an informed investigation."

"Wait, why can't I just tell you now?" Ty asked, confused. "And when you say informed investigation, do you mean not going in looking like total idiots?"

Inwardly Alan squirmed, even if on the exterior both Frogs showed no sign of being insulted beside a twitch in Edgar's jaw. "We need information to get better results faster."

"And noon so we know you're not a bloodsucker." Edgar grunted.

Ty shook his head and questioned himself as to why he came here again. "Okay, fine."

As he turned to leave, Alan asked him one last question: "Why did you come to us to find your sister?"

Ty looked over his shoulder and paused. "Well, for one, you two are the only ones crazy enough to believe me when I say this girl was Linny's dead-ringer," he said, "And I heard you two talking about following some gang on the boardwalk first time I came in here. That equals cheap-if crazy-P.I.s to not get caught snooping. You've got a reputation to do that. I don't."

Edgar stared open-mouthed at Ty's retreating back. How…he…he still thought they were bonkers. Which was just fantastic, especially he probably wouldn't even pay the price. Why he had agreed to find the guy's sister was beyond him. But if he got the chance to kill some vampires, then maybe it would be worth it.

Alan looked at his brother. He liked Ty so far-anyone who got under Edgar's skin was alright. If it was in the proverbial sense and not the literal sense, since that could include a sharp pair of fangs. He was jerked from his thoughts when Edgar punched him in the arm. "Why didn't you back me up?" he growled.

"Huh?" Alan asked. "When did I not back you up?"

"When that guy insulted us and called us crazy. You could have supported your own brother a little more."

It didn't take much for Edgar to get angry, but it did take a lot to make him use the sibling card. Usually he reserved it for the absolute worst situations. So when he did use it, Alan was often blown away which let Edgar win by default. Like now, for example. Alan's jaw dropped to the floor when his brother said it and there his jaw stayed. Eventually when he was able to pick it up, Alan figured he would try to give in and compromise.

Alan stared at his brother while he tried to figure out how to phrase his words. "You're right. I should have backed up you. When Ty comes in tomorrow we'll give him a warning." Edgar looked appeased.

"And you'll back me up next time?"

Alan didn't say anything, but his head moved a tiny fraction up and down.

Edgar lightened up and clapped his brother on the back. "We've gotta stick together, Alan. Remember, we're the only ones who can do anything about the vampires."

He was going on about being a hero again, Alan could see it coming. And when it did, he would need to find a pair of earplugs, because Edgar could happily go on for days about how it was their duty to stop vampires in the name of 'truth, justice, and the American way'. Despite the fact that Alan agreed with that, there was really only so much a person could hear it repeated over and over until they wished their head exploded. And he had reached that point more than two years ago. If Alan heard it again, he would strongly feel the urge to stake himself.

Blocking Edgar's lecture out, Alan turned to the cash register and began counting the money in the till. The shop had enjoyed a good day and there was a decent amount of money in there. He took it out and, after placing it in a bag, carried it to the backroom to put in the safe. Tomorrow, when their aunt came by to check up on, she could take it to the bank. The Frog parents were unreliable with money and often spent half of it on their weed, not even realizing where the money came from. Alan's lip curled into a sneer. He wished that their parents were more like parents.

"Alan?" Edgar called out, having been closing and locking the front doors, "Do you think we're gonna find Ty's sister?"

Alan shrugged. "Maybe. As long as she's not a vampire."