(A/N) Hey guys, sorry that this chapter is going up a tad late. Didn't get the opportunity to upload it last night, as I went to a play a friend of mine was starring in, then went to see The Fifth Estate, which really wasn't as bad as it had been made out to be. Just want to continue letting you know that we're still looking for writers for this fic, so, if you're interested, just send a PM my way and we'll talk. However, I now have the chapter ready for you, written by the incredible LanaLlama, and introducing a new villain to the tale. Allow me to welcome…Iron-Ryan!
Enjoy!
Chapter Fifteen – Rise of Iron-Ryan
Dr Gavin Free / Vav
Written by LanaLlama
"The bravest people are the ones who don't mind looking like cowards." - T.H White
"Why don't we go over what we already know?" Gavin's words were as crisp as his actions and his gaze was one of a determined man. He sipped at his soda before setting it back on the table.
"A sensible suggestion from you for once." Joking was the only thing they knew how to do when tension and worry was high. The thing is, Gavin didn't seem all that ready to laugh or take part; which was understandable considering that his best friend was missing and things were going to hell. The glare and the grim line of his face told Ray all he needed to know about his crime fighting buddies thoughts on the matter. He held his hands up in mock-surrender or apology, Ray wasn't so sure which it was, but for the moment it seemed to pacify the Brit.
"Okay," Ray's tone moved to business immediately, this actually was pretty damn serious, "The survivor told us that someone wants to rebuild the Endermen, when they refused they were attacked by that…that…thing."
"It looked like a creepy ass wolf to me." Gavin's eyes trailed around the café that they sat in, from the linoleum floor, innocently shining beneath the violent lights, across the tables and eventually drifted to the screen hanging above the counter that displayed some boy band prancing around in their music video. It was probably a good job that the news wasn't on, the duo would have to be reminded of their recent setbacks.
"Yeah, that's great, 'cept wolves aren't made of shadows and glowing red eyes." Ray sat back in his seat, his eyes following Gavin's up to the TV screen.
"Is it that hard to believe in magic wolves when you look at us, and what we can do?" Gavin muttered quietly, as though in slight awe of the thoughts he had conjured; his eyes slowly returning back to their table and casting down to the can of soda his fingers were wrapped around.
"S'pose not, but I still find it hard to believe," Ray replied, and returned to propping his elbows on the table, unable to stay still for too long in his agitation.
"Wasn't it hard for you to believe when you got your powers?" A small, thoughtful nod was all Gavin got in response. A small pause where all they could here was the dimmed conversations around them and the high pitched, possibly haunting song on the TV. "…How did you get your powers, Ray?"
The Hispanic seemed caught off guard by the direction the conversation took. He hummed and sat back again, eyes darting around the café to check for anyone listening in.
"Haven't I told you yet?" A small shake of the head. "Huh." Eyebrows were drawn.
"I just never thought to ask, figured it was a private thing."
Ray blinked at that. "I'll share if you do."
It earned a tiny laugh. About them was a collective groan as the TVs around them flickered, died and started up again. The two heroes' attention had been caught; both heads snapped up to look at the nearest screen, frowns printed as the image flared to life. Ray leaned forward, puzzled, before reeling back.
"Holy shit, is that…is that…that's Ryan! What the hell is he doing on TV?!" Wide eyes across the whole café had become glued to the screen and Ray had leaned forward quite expectantly.
"I thought the Community had him? How'd he get away? What happened to his face?!" Gavin muttered the shared questions softly, voicing it for the pair of them, as Ray focused on Ryan's unfamiliar features, the right side of his head having been covered in metal plating, his right eye having been replaced by a glowing orb.
Their attention remained locked on the screen as Ryan moved away from the camera, face impassive. More than once he glanced over his shoulder, as though distracted by what was happening around him, and Gavin's attention was caught by the background of the scene. The area that Ryan was filming from, from what little he could see, looked pretty familiar to Gavin, though he couldn't quite put his finger on where it was, or why he was suddenly thinking about investing in gold and taking out a mortgage. The Brit turned to look at his partner, ready to voice the question, but Ray seemed too fixated on the screen, hungry for information about what had happened to his friend; it didn't seem right to bother him.
"X-Ray and Vav," Ryan's voice echoed across the café as it emanated from every TV in the room; Gavin felt a shiver slip down his spine at being addressed in such a way. There was something wrong with Ryan's voice, which was immediately evident to Gavin, even though he had only met the guy a handful of times before. His previously deep and slightly monotonous voice was still there, but it had a slightly artificial quality to it, as though…as though it was coming through a radio, or something like that.
"This message is just for you." Murmurs rippled, a tiny scoff sounded. Both of the heroes were achingly aware of everyone else in the room, Gavin even half expected all eyes to turn and stare at them like a class in school did when a student was called on.
But they didn't, of course, and Ryan, if, indeed, this…person was Ryan, eventually moved on.
There was absolutely nothing right with this situation. Ryan's remaining eye looked absolutely empty and lifeless, none of the winkles from his laughter and worry over the years dared to show, and his face was drawn, empty and emotionless, and his voice reflected this.
"Each of you have served this city well, using your abilities for the greater good of all and your titles have become iconic, important even, to the people of Achievement City. Unless you wish to see them suffer, you are both to reveal your true identities within the next two hours."
The two heroes shared a brief look, with Gavin's heart sinking lower than he had known was possible as the camera zoomed out.
"If you fail to do so, each and every one of these people will die."
Around him were men and women and children alike, families and couples clinging to each other, determined to grasp the tiny bit of comfort they had left. A moment later the camera zoomed out further to reveal them surrounded by what looked like robots, vaguely resembling the shape of a human and pointing guns without a trace of evident hesitation. Their metal surfaces shone in the light of the room, and the nuts and bolts stood out sharply at the points where a joint ought to be.
Ryan spread his arms wide, and now that the camera was no longer focused on his face, the heroes could see that both of his arms and much of his torso had either been replaced by, or simply enhanced with, artificial addition, red lights blinking all over his shining metallic upper body. His lips twitched slightly as he turned to the robots, still pointing their guns at the wide eyed people.
"My golems will execute them all if I don't know of your true names when the time limit runs out. You have one-hundred and eighteen minutes."
The camera closed in on Ryan once more, his expressionless features freaking Gavin out more than they should have, the robotic eye appearing to see through the camera, directly at the pair of heroes.
"That is all."
With Ryan's last words the screens all turned to black at once, all in perfect harmony. In the air a horrified hush hung for a brief, glorious moment before the TVs flared back into life, news and comedy sketches fitting in for a lovely juxtaposition to what had just occurred. Panicked voices began to fill the café as society returned to its usual madness.
Ray was slow to return to the plane of consciousness; his movements were deliberately slow and without energy for a moment. He wasn't ready to talk about this. His friend wasn't here anymore. They were both aware that Ryan was no longer himself, there was just no way Ray's workmate and friend would ever do something like this, and the robotic enhancements suggested that he may not be entirely in control. The Community would pay for this.
"What do we-"
Ray's phone cut Gavin's question off and snapped the Hispanic from his disbelieving trance that had taken over him. He tugged his phone free of his pocket and showed Gavin the identity of the caller before answering himself.
"Hello?"
"Please tell me you both just saw that message?" J-Roll didn't waste a second, his federal business tone in full force, not giving Ray the opportunity to exchange pleasantries.
"Yeah, we saw it. Where are you guys?" Ray frowned down at his soda; in the background of that call was the familiar sound of sirens ringing clearly. J-Roll had clearly been busy.
"That was filmed at Achievement City's bank, we've got the place surrounded," Agent Heyman replied tersely, as shouting echoed out over the phone.
Gavin leaned across the table in an attempt to hear the other side of the call only to have Ray swat him away. He sat back, sulking, his face contorting into an angry frown.
"So what do you need us to do?" he asked, waving Gavin from his seat. They stepped out into the sticky heat of the city, cars in the street roaring past, police sirens wailing in the distance at they all converged on one area.
"Can you get here ASAP?"
"Have you got a plan?" They must have some sort of procedure for these situations. There were lives at stake here, and once again it was the fault of the two heroes.
"Not yet, we've got the place surrounded but there's just no way in…No way out for Ryan either." Ray let out a deep sigh, frustrated, his brain going into overdrive as he sought for a solution to their current dilemma.
"We'll try to think of something, we'll be there soon." He snapped his phone shut and shoved it back into its place in his pocket. He and Gavin both moved in their typical synchronised actions, throwing their legs over their bikes and turning to each other as Gavin looked for an explanation, evidently distressed, his brow creased and his features taut.
"They're gonna get shot because of us, this is bad, Ray."
"No, they won't," Ray reassured him, determined to fix this.
"What're we gonna do then? Tell them who we are?" He looked uneasy, but Ray could see that he was seriously considering this course of action. It was the easiest way out after all. "Would it really be that bad if people knew?"
Ray shook his head. "You know we can't, there would be more cases like Ryan and Michael. I don't know about you, but I don't think I could handle this happening again." His head dipped and Gavin was shocked to see his arms trembling as he braced himself against the handle bars.
"Ray?" Gavin shifted his legs back over the bike. A deep breath came from Ray before he looked up, clearly trying to not let this bother him. He sniffed once.
"Just get changed and meet me at the bank." He kicked off, bike roaring as he shot down the street, leaving Gavin standing on the sidewalk, staring after him. The Brit pursed his lips and followed Ray's suit. He rode home quickly with his mind reeling and scrambling for something they could do to fix this.
It was easy enough to guess what the problem was, given that Gavin could easily imagine how he would feel if it had been Michael who had turned up all mechanical and psychotic. Ray had told him to meet him at the bank, so he had better start moving. His thoughts raced as he ripped his clothes off and hurried to pull on his costume, his mind analysing what they had just seen, and trying to find a solution to their problem.
It was only minutes later when he arrived at the bank, his home left behind him in a huge mess. Ray turned up a few moments later as Gavin dismounted and kicked his bike stand down. No, now it was X-Ray that drove up, his expression firm and analytical. Police officers and the crowd alike parted for the two heroes to make their way down the street to the building, throwing worried cries about their family at their retreating backs.
"Sorry about that." X-Ray had murmured to him as they paired up and ducked past barriers, each with their eyes locked on J-Roll and his partner who also fast approached them.
"What? For being human?" Vav offered the smallest of smiles, a little secret one meant only for them; for his partner to know that he did understand.
"You two took your time!" Agent Burns sounded angry; of course he was, he was worried and hiding it with anger.
"Believe it or not, we're not always in these damn costumes." X-Ray had taken a step towards the FBI agent. Immediately Vav's hand went to his friends wrist, ready to stop him if need be. There wasn't any point in more violence; especially when it was unneeded and trivial…as much as Gavin wanted to hit the tosser too.
"We know, that's exactly why this whole thing is happening." Burns was the one to stride forward this time.
"And we're going to fix this okay? No one needs to die in there or out here." J-Roll interjected, inserting himself between his partner and the two heroes yet again, and pushing them out of reach of each other.
"Wouldn't it just be easier to rip off their masks and find their names in our database?" He tried to stare them both down, shoving his partner's hands away from his chest at the same time. "I'll do it for you, shall I?"
Burns reached forward, X-Ray swatted him away and returned fire.
"That doesn't need to happen, and if people find out who they are, we've never going to get any piece." J-Roll was determined to help them out, even if he didn't understand exactly why they had to be the way they were.
Vav's eyes began scanning the place, taking in the whole scene and yet again trying to think of a way to use the layout to their advantage. While the conversation around him flowed on, X-Ray picking up all of the critical information they could use and trying to understand just how much bitch-flakes Burns had ate this morning, his blue eyes danced about, and in desperation made it to the sky.
"Guys." His voice was so serious that they all halted, turning to him out of curiosity. "I have an idea."