(A/N) Hey guys, it's time for the latest update in the adventures of our favourite dynamic duo, (and no, not Batman and Robin), X-Ray and Vav! I assume that if you're reading this fic, you're probably a superhero fan, so ComicCon last weekend should have had a few moments that left you excited. If you hadn't heard before, the Man Of Steel sequel is going to be a Batman vs Superman film, and Avengers 2 now has a title. Avengers: Age of Ultron.
If not's not enough to excite you, then I'm sure the latest RWBY episode, which has just gone up on the Roosterteeth website is! Head on over there and check it out!
As always, enjoy!
Chapter Four – The Next Stage
Ray Narvaez Jr / X-Ray & Dr Gavin Free / Vav
Written by LanaLlama
"I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end."– Gilda Radner
The first order of business was finding out what had happened. "Where are you?" With a hand over the receiver he mouthed to the other two what Agent Heyman had told him. Another hero was dead, and they didn't have long to find out who was going to be shot next.
"He didn't get far from his apartment. We're down by Glack Avenue, one of the side ro-"
"I know the place." The duo had been down there before and X-Ray didn't need to waste time with directions. "We'll be there as soon as we can." He nodded towards the door, indicating to Vav that they needed to leave. They made their way quickly through the corridors, and back into the open air. "Was it another sniping?" the young man threw his leg over the bike while Vav did the same beside him.
A sigh could be heard on the other end of the line and Vav's eyes felt on the side of his face. "Yeah, man. We think it's the same guy that got Kerbal Gunnerz." X-Ray could almost see the older agent rubbing his face in exhaustion.
"It is, he's known as Bullet Beard, likes to let us know who he's gonna shoot next." What the two heroes had just discovered was relayed to J-Roll quickly. "We're on our way now; I'll tell you what I can when we get there." The phone was snapped shut with a finality which prompted X-Ray and Vav to rev the engines of their bikes, and speed off into the heart of Achievement city. They were lucky with traffic; people knew to stay out of their way when they seemed to be in a hurry. Being a super-hero had its perks, that was for sure.
Vav seemed particularly quiet as they drove side by side. He normally loved being able to rush down the streets at frightening speeds and turn corners that were stupidly sharp and even pull a wheelie if the road was clear. That charm was missing today and X-Ray was pretty sure he knew what it was that had made such a fun loving guy so sombre. There are two people missing from the world because they wanted to do some good, because they wanted to be like X-Ray and Vav, and he was quite sure the Brit thought that there must have been some way to save them, to stop this Bullet Beard before they even knew what was happening.
X-Ray glanced at his friend, unfamiliar with the look on his face, the way his eyes narrowed in a new form of determination. Maybe he was realizing that they couldn't save everyone in the city, or maybe he just wanted to stop this Bullet Beard; whatever it was that was going on in his companions head, X-Ray knew that today had changed his friend. Whether it was for the better or not remained to be seen.
"Hey, man." X-Ray threw a glance over to Vav and spoke with a soft voice that could barely be heard over the wind whipping past them. The Brit had somehow heard him any way, and nodded his head in an acknowledgement. "Are you going to be okay?" To be honest, X-Ray wasn't all that sure he would be, but his friend and team-mate came first.
"Ask me later." Was the oddly grim response that he got with a sigh wrapping around the words.
"This isn't just going to go away Vav." The young man frowned, eyes flickering between the road before him, and his partner, barely able to hear himself over the roar of the motors and the wind that slapped at his face. Of course they would take off without their helmets; they were a pair of idiots prancing around in leotards. Though, they were idiots that did the right thing and saved Achievement City more than once.
"Thanks for telling me what I already know, you tosspot!"
"Easy man, no need to go throwing around words like that." For now, joking like they always did would have to be a distraction. "They could hurt someone, you know?"
"Let's just go see lamp." He responded, wrist twitching so that he could speed his bike up and stretch the speed limits. X-Ray mimicked him.
Around them there was just…noise. Things were loud and confusing and both of the heroes were more than lost when they arrived at the location of the murder. Crowds and reporters pressed in an attempt to see the body. Oh the love humans have for drama. They flocked to it like sheep being chased by a dog.
There was a hold up, apparently they weren't allowed on the scene, and Vav was arguing, red faced, with the cop that wouldn't let them past the tape. X-Ray on the other hand, he sighed, texted J-Roll and waited. Vav needed to blow off some steam, and it was best to do so while he could; who knows where Bullet Beard was going to appear next.
"Hey, no, they're with me." The flapping hands and loud voice announced the arrival of their favourite agent. His hair stood tall, just like always, as though it had been hit with electricity. A smug look from Vav was aimed at the cop and the two ducked under the tape as J-Roll waved them over.
Things were much quieter on the other side of the tape, less cops, less people, more space. It made things a lot easier for X-Ray and Vav to do their work.
"Heyman!" A voice snapped behind them, just as they reached the body, which had Vav turning his head and gagging slightly. X-Ray elected to comfort his friend and give him a small pat on the back before turning to see who was stopping them.
"Oh, Burns. Hey man, you need something?" was J-Roll's response, hand gliding through his hair. Striding towards them was their friend's partner, Agent Burns. His eyes were hidden by tinted black glasses, as though he was scared to reveal secrets to the two heroes, which made X-Ray want to snort with laughter. People always forgot what his power was, despite it being his superhero name. A quick glance from the younger man and he knew that the agent was tired and angry.
"I've told you so many times! You don't need to bring these two with you to every crime scene." Vav twitched beside X-Ray. "It's not their job, it's yours and I don't need you slacking off every chance you get."
"If you want to stop these murders," J-Roll's finger pointed at his partner, "just like I do, then you'll let these two tell us what they know at least. At least they have a name, which is more than you do." The black haired agent turned his back on Agent Burns as a way of announcing that the conversation was over.
"You mentioned something about a guy called Bullet Beard on the phone?" Moments later, spent staring at the dead body, J-Roll turned to X-Ray and asked the important question.
"We went to see Denecour." Vav supplied the brief explanation in a mumble.
"We don't know much," X-Ray admitted. "But there's an assassin, by the name of Bullet Beard, as you've heard. Damn great sniper, and he likes to let you guys know his next target by carving clues into his bull-"
"Shit.That's what 'Your light's gone out' meant." Vav nodded, seeming to now be leaving his reclusive state of mind in a moment of determination.
"You should do your thing X-Ray." The Brit nodded towards the body, doing his best not to catch sight of the blood painting the street.
The very air about them seemed wrong, in a way that meant it was both tense and excited and fearful all at once. There was a haste about it, yet everything seemed in slow motion. X-Ray moved forward, kneeling next to the form of Lamp, eyes still open and staring glassily at the sky, reflecting the very grey that they felt washing over them.
The trio was silent, with Agent Burns lurking behind them, torn between his irritation and his curiosity as X-Ray concentrated, searching for the bullet that he knew could just save someone's life, ironically. He blinked once, longer than normal, before opening his eyes in an attempt to read the clue they so desperately needed.
The one out of place thing in the body was obvious; the bullet stuck out, as did the fingerprint set on it so clearly that no professional could have done it; there was no mistake that they were meant to find this bullet, and the print left on it.
"Well…?" Vav interrupted the musings of X-Ray, who jumped slightly at the sound which removed him from his small trance like state. The world shifted about him, and after a moments blinking, everything was normal again.
"There's a finger print." Was all he could say, brows furrowed and doubting what he saw.
"It must be his next targets." Vav supplied from beside J-Roll who had nodded in agreement. The curly haired, crisply dressed Agent that they had all forgotten about spoke up from just behind Vav, making him jump, just as his partner had done a second ago.
"We're going to need someone to get this bullet out real carefully." A toothpick now sat in the corner of his mouth, waggling with every word. "I'll find someone." Agent Burns turned on his heel and left them alone once more.
They were all suddenly quite aware of just how important it was that it was done perfectly and the finger print wasn't smudged or tampered with. One wrong move could mess it up, and they would find out, far too late, just who was going to be shot next.
"I don't like this Vav." X-Ray shook his head as he addressed his partner, eyes sincere. He just couldn't quite get why someone was working like this to undo everything that they had worked for. It seemed that someone wasn't a fan of superheroes.
"Whoever this Bullet Beard is, we're going to get him" J-Roll lay a hand on each of their shoulders. They were young, he was aware of that; they would need more comfort than the more seasoned agent.
"And what if it doesn't stop at him?" Vav seemed to get how "villains" worked. They had a network; so many people did the dirty work for one guy who had all the money and a vendetta or dead parents. "We don't know who's doing what, all we have is a dumb name, and a tiny chance to save his next victim." The guy ended with a pout.
"The world won't always be fair, and you two can't always win. I think you've just learned that." The two nodded, X-Ray slumped and fell back against a wall, feeling the weight of loss on his shoulders.
It was ten minutes later when Agent Burns finally managed to return with a blonde haired woman behind him who carried a small case of tools in her hand. She introduced herself as Kara Eberle, swept her hair into a messy ponytail and set to work. Apparently Agent Burns had already lectured her on the importance of getting the bullet out with the utmost delicacy, and she did so.
They were lucky really, the way the bullet had entered made a clear path, straight in, straight out. She just had to be sure there was nothing that could rub against the print as she worked. X-Ray moved forward to assist, kneeling beside her and letting her know exactly where the print was. She seemed impressed by how helpful he was, and within minutes she held the bullet between two of her gloved fingers.
There were sighs of relief from everyone around the body, and a small smile of satisfaction on Kara's lips. "Told you I could do it." Her slightly whiny voiced was aimed smugly at Agent Burns who held out a bag for her to drop the bullet into.
She took the bag straight from Agent Burns hands the moment it was sealed. "Let's go find out who you two need to save next." She shot a smile at the two superheroes and strutted off, heels clicking on the floor with each step she took.
They had to return to the nearest lab, which was luckily a five minute drive away. That explained how Agent Burns had returned so quickly. X-Ray and Vav tailed the sleek black car on their bikes, the journey silent with anticipation of what they were going to find out, the chance to catch their killer; it was all building up so fast.
It all felt like a dream as they entered past security, made their way through the labyrinth of offices and laboratories into the one that belonged to Kara. She worked with a precise speed and concentrated while the men were left, stood to the side, scuffing their shoes and staring at the pristine floor like naughty schoolboys. She gave them that presence while she worked, but the moment she was done, everything felt so much easier.
"We're lucky the print was so clear." Kara looked up from her screen and waved them over. "It belongs to the Mayor."
"That can't be right." Agent Burns frowned.
"Are you doubting me again?" Swiftly Kara fixed him with an irritated glare that could kill.
"She's right." J-Roll was peering at the screen closely, the glow of it lighting his features and briefly throwing a light on just how tired he was too. "We've got to save the mayor."