(A/N) Hey guys, here with an update now, as our heroes celebrate their triumphant defeat of the Corpirate and the Community! Hope you all enjoyed that second X-Ray and Vav chapter, and I've really enjoyed how it's gone a different direction from our fic in some ways, but very similar ones in others! This chapter was written as a collaborative work between myself and Residential DeadMan, who's written a fair few chapters for us at this point, though only a few have been published at this moment. I really hope you all love this one, because we've only got one more chapter to go after this! We may hint towards a couple of villains in this fic, so feel free to voice your guesses in a review, because we still have a lot of plans for X-Ray and Vav. We're not done with them yet.

Once more, reminder you all about our Hunger Games/Avengers collaboration, In the End, You Always Kneel, and that we're looking for writers for it. Applications for that fic have been extended to December 12th so if you're interested I would advise you to either head on to our forum straight away and begin filling out an app, or message me if you have any questions. I know you must be fed up of me pushing that at this point, but I'm really excited for that fic, and I think everyone that's enjoyed this fic will enjoy it too.

Anyways, speaking on enjoying fics, I hope you'll enjoy this chapter of X-Ray and Vav!

Chapter Forty-Two – Pyrrhic Victory

Ray Narvaez Jr / X-Ray

Written by Residential DeadMan

"We're all ghosts. We all carry, inside us, people who came before us."

― Liam Callanan, The Cloud Atlas

Ray walked briskly to the bar, fully aware that he was late. He'd had to take a detour to his apartment to get a better-looking suit than his costume. Showing up as X-Ray was likely to cause a stir, especially if he was seen hanging around with civilians. The bar wasn't fancy, so he could get away with wearing slacks and a polo.

Once he stepped inside, he was immediately greeted by the group. Gavin, Agent Burns, Agent Heyman and a trench coat-clad Ryan, were already a couple of drinks in, making sure not to get too far ahead of themselves. They may have been here to celebrate their victory over the Community, but since their victory was a secret, they had to be quiet about it. Ryan, of course, struggled to make himself inconspicuous, given his huge bulk, but with his trench coat and a fedora pulled down over his robotic eye, he managed to look somewhat human, at least.

Michael and Lindsay were noticeably absent, but Gavin had requested that they weren't asked along, as they would obviously question his and Ray's presence, and their identities would quickly become exposed. Ray knew Gavin felt guilty about it, but he still wasn't prepared to let his friend know his secret – no doubt of fear that their friendship would never be the same after. Ray wished that he could convince him otherwise, but even though both he and Ryan were out here tonight, their relationship was nothing like it had once been.

Sometimes things change, and you can't stop that, he thought sadly.

Ray sat down next to Gavin, who immediately passed him a beer. Opening the bottle, Ray took a swig and grimaced at the taste, shaking his head. This was why he didn't drink. Setting the bottle down, he got up and ordered a soda from the bar. Ignoring Gavin's annoyed look, Ray grabbed his soda and raised it. "To the end of a nightmare," he said.

The others raised their glasses as well. "To a job well done," Heyman added, smiling happily as the alcohol began to work its effects on him.

"Cheers," Gavin said, clinking his glass of Ray's soda, having forgiven him for his intolerance of alcohol. Following suit, the rest of the group clinked their glasses together and drank happily, feeling at ease for the first time in months, since the beginning of the Community's attacks on Achievement City. Ray sat for a moment, quietly pondering their situation. "Can't believe it's finally over," he said quietly, shaking his head again, though this time it was out of disbelief rather than disgust.

Gavin nodded in agreement. "The Community is scattered, leaderless, and their number one henchman turned his back on 'em. I'd say that we don't have much to worry about anymore."

Heyman and Burns exchanged glances, causing Ray to raise his eyebrows. "The Community may be scattered, but they're not out of the game yet. The scientists back at headquarters found that the Corpirate was controlled remotely. So the real leader, whoever it is, is still out there, as is the Enderdragon."

Gavin looked slightly downtrodden for a moment, before breaking out into a grin. "Well, at least we've got today," he said enthusiastically, raising his bottle for a moment before quickly bringing it back down to take a few gulps.

Ray shared the agents' concerns. The fights they'd had against the Community so far were tougher than anything they'd gone up against before, and the Corpirate was the toughest thing that the Community had thrown at them so far. What else did they have in store for the duo? How many other great big problems would X-Ray and Vav have to solve?

Not letting the news ruin their celebration, the group continued getting drinks. Gavin somehow convinced Ray to take a couple shots, but his drinking binge didn't go any further than that. Agent Burns ended up so drunk, he was acting as the bar's bouncer, sending people out to the street after telling them they were too drunk.

Again, this is why I don't drink, Ray thought, as Burnie produced a bag of popcorn out of nowhere and passed it to a baffled punter, pushing him out onto the street with the determination of one who had, quite happily, lost his mind.

You should go home, man.

Ray set the shot glass down, feeling queasy, the alcohol settling at the body of his stomach with an uncomfortable chill, leaving his throat on fire. He was beginning to develop a headache, no doubt due to the music being pumped into the bar, echoing painfully through his eardrums.

Strange, he thought, given that the noise hadn't really been bothering him earlier, and certainly didn't seem to be bothering anyone else. But it was certainly proving intolerably loud to him now, and the stench of sweat and stale beer suddenly overpowered his sense of smell, and he felt bile rise to the back of his throat for a moment.

He leant against the bar, using it to support his weight as his feet began to threaten to give way beneath him. The barman – a dark-haired man with a short beard, his short-sleeved t-shirt displaying a whole host of tattoos along his arms – smiled at him, and suggested that maybe he had had enough to drink. Ray nodded slowly, and turned around, as the barman's attention turned to another man.

The new customer ordered a beer in an English accent much like Gav's own, and like the barman, he too had short dark hair and a short beard. However, he was far more built than the barman, if X-Ray was any judge, though the man wore a heavy greatcoat over his clothes. The barman passed him his drink, and the man's right arm appeared from beneath his greatcoat, nodded to Ray, and began to drink.

Time to leave, am I right?

Swallowing, Ray glanced away from the man and back to their original seats, looking for Gavin who had disappeared a few minutes before, and hadn't returned. He quickly spotted his friend talking to an attractive blonde woman. From the sound of her voice, she was from Canada, as far as Ray could tell. Something about her seemed very... familiar. She and Gavin were chatting back-and-forth, laughing, and having a good time. Ray checked his watch and saw it was closing in on last call, and he sighed with relief, taking it as his opportunity to leave. He walked up to Gavin and clapped him on the shoulder. "I gotta head on home, man. I'll see you at work on Monday."

Gavin looked at him in surprise, momentarily forgetting the blonde woman next to him. "Off already? Bloody lightweight."

"Just don't get yourself killed, alright?" Ray replied, waving him off as he walked to the door, and firing off a sharp salute to Iron-Ryan, who was doing his best to hold two horrifically drunk FBI agents apart, who were set on fighting each other.

"Night, Ray," the cyborg murmured, sighing as Burnie attempted to bite his arm, which would have been ineffective even if Ryan had been entirely flesh and blood, as Ryan's trench coat was certainly not going to be torn apart by mere teeth. Ray felt as though his old friend had wanted to add something more, his human side filled with hidden meaning, but the cyborg was forced to turn away to deal with the drunken agents, and nothing more was said between them.

A young man held the door open for him, having just walked in. Skinny, and dark-haired again, with sallow skin and a thin layer of dark stubble on his chin, he smiled at Ray as he left.

"Get home safe, man!" he murmured, clearly noticing Ray's queasiness, and Ray couldn't help but feel as though he had met the guy somewhere before – his voice sounded familiar, for some reason. "It's just a simple walk over to that taxi-rink over there, if you can't make the walk home."

Ray nodded to him and waved him off, exiting the bar. He walked home slowly, not needing a taxi, thinking about that last battle against the Corpirate. Bullet-Beard's arrival was unexpected, to say the least. For the longest time, Bullet-Beard had fought against X-Ray and Vav. Hell, he had killed Lamp and Kerbal Gunnerz, and had tried to kill himself and Vav multiple times. Now, all of a sudden, he had chosen to help them. It didn't make any sense. Gavin would probably tell him just to take it as it was and enjoy the victory. It may have been the shots talking, but Ray found himself agreeing with Vav on this one.

He froze as he heard a thin scream in the night, which sounded out in the sky above him. However, there was nothing sinister here; he could make out an owl swooping by above him, on the hunt for small rodents. A man walked by him, short and a little overweight, his face hidden beneath the hood of his black and purple hoodie. He bumped into Ray, his shoulder colliding with the hero's, who bounced off him, and stared at his retreating back, annoyed.

"Hey!" he yelled, but the man ignored him and continued walking, and Ray merely shrugged and rubbed his shoulder where the man's had made contact, frowning to himself as he continued making his way back to his shitty little home.

He made it to his apartment just fine, which was a surprise, given how ill he was feeling. The alcohol clearly hadn't agreed with him – his headache was now at full blast, and he felt as though he could throw up at any moment. Not feeling like eating anything, he merely took an aspirin for the headache, and then had a quick shower before changing into his bedclothes. Still not feeling well, he slowly made his way into his room, ready to sleep the night away.

He walked into the room, moving over to close the open window on the far side of his room, when a noise behind him caught his attention, and he turned around, fist raised, ready to strike if necessary. However, there was nothing there. Ray chuckled to himself as he lowered his fist, shaking his head at his own paranoia, which he put down to his current sickness. The Community was still regrouping. He had nothing to worry about at the moment.

Everything was fine, for the first time in months.

Suddenly, he felt something tighten around his neck. He struggled against it, but his assailant was strong, and this was clearly not his first time doing something like this. Ray began to feel his strength leaving him, his air supply cut off, his body screaming out for oxygen. As his vision began to blur, a figure stepped in front of him and stooped down to look him in the eyes. Behind a balaclava, Ray could see the dead eyes of the masked man, utterly void of remorse.

That was the last thing he saw, and then everything went black.

The last thing he heard was a whispered name.