Auras and Alibis

Chapter 3

Ren pulled his hood over his head as the downpour started in earnest, the droplets gently falling over top the leather of his trenchcoat as he walked. None of the people he passed on the street gave him any attention; the most they did was swerve to avoid him as he moved across the sidewalk at a brisk pace. As he moved, the microphone in his ear suddenly buzzed to life.

"Police scanners are going nuts a few blocks away. Sounds like a bank robbery in-progress; teller tripped the silent alarm."

Ren frowned, bringing a hand up to key the mic. "Name of the bank?"

"Vale First National. It's the big one with the sliding glass doors – you can't miss it. Keep me posted, tough guy."

"I will. Thanks, Nora."

With that, the microphone went silent, and Ren increased his pace. Tonight was his night on patrol – generally, the two of them alternated; one night on patrol, one night working the scanner. It helped keep things relatively stress-free for the two of them, plus it let them get plenty of experience each.

He ducked into a nearby alley, pausing only to pull his mask over his head, then with a breath, climbed up to a nearby building using a fire escape. He crouched down on the roof, looking ahead for Vale First National Bank. Like Nora had told him, it was impossible to miss – not only was the building itself distinctive, but the flashing blue-and-red lights outside it gave away what was happening within. Ren scowled, but wasted no time as he began to sprint across the rooftops, steadily making his way towards the bank.

He arrived in record time, leaping from a nearby rooftop and onto the bank. None of the police officers below saw him; if they did, they didn't seem to care. Ren hit the roof, then rolled, coming to a stop a few yards away before rising to his feet and dusting himself off. Once he was upright again, he keyed his mic.

"Talk to me. What am I looking at?"

"Scanners say at least three robbers. Whoever these guys are, they're professionals – body armor, automatic weapons, the works. Apparently, at least one of them has their Aura unlocked."

Ren scowled. "Anything on that one?"

"Nothing. If they're truly a supervillain, then they're pretty small-time. That or they're really good at covering their tracks. Either way, you should be able to take 'em."

"Hostages?"

"Two tellers, one customer, a security guard, and the bank manager. Security guard's not looking too good, from what I hear – apparently, the robbers lit him up as soon as they entered the bank, and he took a few in the abdomen. He's still alive, but he doesn't have much time."

"What about the interior of the bank? What's it look like?"

"Pulling schematics now… ha, child's play. You're looking at a one-story building – vault's in the back, behind the counter; I'd wager that's where they're keeping everybody. Aside from that, you've got three offices – one on the left and two on the right – a main room, and a pair of bathrooms."

Ren nodded along to the information. "Sounds like a simple enough job."

"For you, it should be. Go get 'em, tiger – I'll keep my eye on the news."

Again, the line went dead. Ren took a breath, then looked around for a way inside. He found it in the form of a nearby skylight. Beneath his mask, a thin smirk crossed his face.

Time for a dynamic entrance.

To say the robbers were surprised when the skylight above them suddenly shattered into a million pieces would have been an understatement. Two of them were in the main room, directly underneath it; panicked shouts escaped them as Ren came falling upon them.

He made impact with the first one as he fell, pulling him to the floor, his own Aura softening the blow of falling several feet through a pane of glass. The other robber shouldered his assault rifle, but Ren was faster – he brought one-half of Stormflower and fired a brief burst of three rounds into the man's unprotected right leg. His kneecap gave out, and the robber fell to the ground with an agonized shout, his weapon discharging a burst harmlessly into the air.

The other robber writhed on the ground underneath Ren, and Ren quickly quieted him with a brief strike to the side of his head, knocking him out cold. Of course, there was little time to rest, as a salvo of shotgun shells erupted from behind the counter. Ren dove for cover behind a nearby desk as the third man stepped out, an automatic shotgun held in his hands.

"Fucking heroes!" he spat. "Can't leave well enough alone, can you?!"

His statement was punctuated by several more salvos of buckshot aimed directly at Ren's position of cover. Ren listened carefully as the robber advanced on his position, waiting for his time to strike.

Click!

At the sound of the gun's hammer falling on an empty chamber, Ren moved. He leaped out from behind cover, dual machine pistols roaring as they spat round after round downrange. The armed robber jolted as the small-caliber bullets bit into his Aura. Ren hit the floor just as his weapons ran dry; without missing a beat, he leaped up, then charged the robber just as the man finished slotting another drum magazine into his weapon.

Ren got there just in time to hook the barrel of the shotgun with Stormflower, directing the shots upward. Plaster and dust rained down upon the two of them as shell after shell of buckshot discharged into the ceiling. After a moment of this, Ren flicked his wrist, and the shotgun was twisted out of the robber's grasp. Before the man had a chance to recover, Ren set upon him, carving at his Aura with the blades mounted underneath his machine pistols. The robber didn't stand a chance, even with his Aura – in a matter of moments, it was completely depleted, and with one final stab to the man's kneecaps, he fell to the ground, screaming bloody murder.

That was all three opponents neutralized, then. Ren paused only to move their fallen weapons out of reach, then rushed over to the vault. It was open just a crack; he pulled it the rest of the way, and was immediately hit by the stench of fresh blood. The security guard was there, and was thankfully still conscious, though very obviously in a lot of pain, his teeth gritted and his eyes screwed shut. The other hostages were fussing over him, all trying to keep pressure on his myriad gunshot wounds. When they looked up and saw Ren standing there, relief flashed across their faces.

"Come on," Ren urged. "We need to leave, now."

They didn't need to be told twice. Ren and the bank manager helped the guard up, each of them supporting him evenly, and together, they all marched out of the bank, the others leading the way. As soon as they left, the police rushed in to secure the scene. Ren and the manager helped the injured guard into a waiting ambulance, which took off into the night. As it disappeared down a nearby highway, Ren turned towards the manager and gave him an appreciative nod.

"Thanks for the help with him."

The manager let out a derisive snort. "Oh, please – we all owe you, not the other way around. Those guys were going to kill us, I know they were. You saved a lot of lives tonight. What's your name?"

"Dart."

"Dart…" the man repeated. "Well, Dart, I can't do much to repay you, but if you're ever in the market for a house, let me know – I'll pull out all the stops and call in every favor I can to get you the best loan possible, no questions asked. Least I could do."

The manager offered him a hand, and Ren didn't hesitate to accept the handshake.

"I might just take you up on that," he replied, grinning under his mask.

By the time Ren made it back to his small studio apartment, it was already after ten. Surprisingly, Nora was still awake, though she seemed bored out of her skull as she absentmindedly flipped through channels on the TV. Ren cleared his throat as put his rain-soaked coat up on the nearby rack.

"I'm home," he announced. "Don't get up or anything."

"Pizza's in the fridge," Nora said.

"You ordered pizza? Can we afford that?"

"Don't get too excited, tough guy – I had a coupon that was near expiration, and some spare lien in my bank account. Didn't quite have enough to tip the delivery guy tonight, but I'll give him double next time as an apology."

Ren nodded in understanding as he opened the fridge and pulled the cardboard box out. Despite Nora's voracious appetite, there was still half a pizza left – his half, if the olives and anchovies were any indication. He blinked, then looked over to her.

"I'm surprised you remembered."

"What, your order?" She waved him off. "How could I forget? The people are always weirded out when I ask for one that's half pineapple and half olives-and-anchovies, but different strokes, I suppose."

Ren shrugged, then picked the box up and carried it over to the couch. He took a seat next to Nora as he ate, turning his attention to the TV.

"Anything good on?"

"Just the highlight reel," she said. "Don't get too excited – it was on, and then it was off. You know how it goes – five minutes of coverage for a tragedy averted, five weeks of coverage for one that isn't."

"If it bleeds, it leads," Ren said. "Can't fault them too much, I guess – newscasters need to eat, too."

Nora suddenly thought of something, then turned towards him. "Oh, I just remembered – Jaune wants us over for dinner tomorrow."

Ren nearly choked on the bite of pizza in his mouth. He managed to force it down, then turned towards her, surprised. "He does?"

"Yup. Sent me a text and everything. I know, I know, it's weird."

Ren's brow furrowed. "Not really, if you think about it. He's been pretty quiet ever since the engagement, but that was months ago; he's gotta be getting pretty bored by now. Besides, those two could probably use a bit of something new for once." He took another bite of pizza. "Think the city will survive without us for a night?"

"Let's hope it does," Nora said.

"They're here!"

Jaune rushed past Cinder, wiping his hands on his shirt as he did so. He took a breath, a smile crossing his face as he reached for the door handle.

"Ren, Nora!" he greeted. "Great to see you guys again! How long has it been?"

"Too long, Jauney," Nora answered. She pulled him into a bone-crushing hug, Jaune's eyes bugging out of his skull at her strength. It only lasted for a moment before she pulled away, however.

Ren came in after her, a bottle held in his hands. "Where do you want this?"

Jaune stared at it, then sighed. "Guys, I told you not to bring anything…"

"What kind of guests would we be if we showed up empty-handed?" Ren asked, raising an eyebrow. "You're making dinner, so we brought the drinks. It's nothing special, just a cheap red, but I figured it'd go well with chicken."

"You figured right," Jaune said, accepting the bottle. "In fact, if you don't mind, I think I'm gonna crack this open right now and add a little splash to the sauce."

Cinder watched the entire scene as it unfolded in front of her, a forced, anxious smile crossing her face. She didn't dislike Jaune's friends, but at the same time, she didn't quite trust them, either. Jaune loved them, though, and he'd known Ren for years, so she wasn't about to come between them, but whenever they were around, it did put her a bit on-edge.

At this point, the only people she was truly comfortable being around were Jaune and his family. Anyone else left her with varying degrees of discomfort. It was less pronounced with these two than with some of Jaune's other friends, of course, but it was definitely still there.

"Cinder," Nora greeted, shaking her out of her stupor. "Good to see you."

"Nora," Cinder replied, her forced smile growing wider. "Glad you were able to come."

"You kidding? Wouldn't miss it for the world." Nora shifted a bit; Cinder had long suspected that the discomfort between them might have been a two-way street, and she couldn't blame her for it. "So, how's work going?"

"It's going well," Cinder said. "My client base is continuing to grow. That's important for private security – one person will recommend you to their friends, and the like."

"It pay well?"

"Decent, I suppose. Truthfully, Jaune is the breadwinner between the two of us, if only by virtue of having something stable. My chosen profession is a bit more touch-and-go at times. How about you and Ren? The jobs going well?"

"As well as they can," Nora replied. "Still stuck in retail hell, myself – had to look myself back from decking a customer today."

"I thought that was every day."

"Oh, it is. You'd think selling shoes would be easy, but it's not." Nora shuddered. "So many fat people trying to fit into shoes way too small for them…"

Cinder nodded. "And Ren? How's his job going?"

"Eh, pretty much the same. Restaurant business isn't easy, especially when you're just a server, but we're making it work."

"Still living in the same apartment?"

"Hopefully not for much longer," Nora emphasized. "We've been pinching our pennies for the past few months, putting everything we've got into a savings account. We're hoping to find something small pretty soon."

Cinder was surprised. "You two still want to live together after this?"

"Well, of course – we're best friends, you know. I can't imagine living with anyone else."

Cinder's brow furrowed. Truthfully, the nature of Nora and Ren's relationship had always eluded her. The two lived like an old married couple, and yet both insisted that there was absolutely nothing romantic between them, and that they were just really good friends. In Cinder's mind, that just raised more questions than it answered, but she didn't want to pry too much for fear of alienating them or hurting Jaune in some way.

Frankly, if these two wanted to be weird about their relationship, then more power to them, especially since it didn't concern her at all.

"So," Nora said, interrupting her thoughts once again. "You two have a date yet?"

It took a moment for Cinder to realize what she was asking, but when she did, she nodded in confirmation. "A few months from now. It won't be anything big or fancy – mostly Jaune's family and friends." Cinder thought for a moment, then added, "I will need a bridesmaid, I suppose."

"Oh, do you?" Nora asked, giving her a wide grin. "I'll clear my schedule… assuming none of Jaune's sisters beat me to the punch."

"That's a tall order and you know it," Cinder replied. "Those seven are already poised to kill each other over that position. Try to grab it for yourself and they're liable to bite your arm off."

"Yeah, yeah," Nora said, a small chuckle escaping her. "So, who are you planning to invite?"

Cinder hesitated for a moment. She'd kept her past purposely vague from everyone but Jaune, and even the most he knew was that she'd had an abusive childhood from which she'd eventually escaped. She'd never elaborated on it beyond that, for obvious reasons.

He didn't need to know that was where it all started. If he ever learned it, the questions that were sure to follow would unmask her for sure, and that was something she knew their relationship wouldn't survive.

"I'm still thinking about it," she offered. "Truthfully, I want to keep things very small, and Jaune's family and friends being there already complicates that in terms of numbers."

"Well, you should invite some people," Nora said. "Still, I won't pry – it'll be your big day, after all. Though, I have to ask – how excited are you?"

Cinder's gaze traveled back to Jaune – her boyfriend, her fiancee… her soon-to-be husband. In that moment, all she could think of was the two of them standing at the altar, gazing into each others eyes as he slipped a ring onto her finger. Warmth welled up in her chest, greater than any fire she'd ever set herself. A small, wistful sigh escaped her, despite her best efforts to contain it.

"It's everything I've ever wanted," she answered without a second thought.

A few hours into the night and several glasses of wine later, and Ren and Jaune found themselves outside on the balcony overlooking the street. They were both red in the face, already more than a little drunk; the bottle Ren had brought was already almost gone, with only a small splash of wine left. They'd definitely gotten carried away, but neither of them cared.

"You know, I'm happy," Jaune announced.

"Any particular reason?" Ren asked.

Jaune shrugged. "I don't know, man. It's just… things have been going right so far. I can't really explain it. Life is good."

"Great to hear."

"How are you doing?"

Ren stared out into the street. "Living the dream, Jaune." It wasn't a lie.

Jaune let out a low chuckle, then brought a hand up to rest on his shoulder. "Great to hear. So, I have to ask – you and Nora-"

"You know we're not-"

"Yeah, yeah – not together-together, I know. One day one of you will wake up, though. And when that happens, I'm gonna laugh. Seriously, though, you two are good for each other. I hope one day soon, you both realize that."

Ren said nothing, instead continuing to stare out into downtown Vale. It was late, and yet most of the buildings still had their lights on. The city never slept, but he already knew that; after all, he'd seen its dark side.

Jaune, of course, didn't know. It was better that way; the fewer people brought into that world, the better. Him and Nora hadn't had much of a choice, but they'd made it work as best they could.

Jaune's brow suddenly furrowed, catching Ren by surprise. "What's up?"

"Nothing much, just something that happened the other day at work," Jaune said. "Supervillain stuff; innocent person got killed during one of Queen Malevolent's raids."

"Right, I heard about that," Ren said. "Poor guy."

"Yeah. It wasn't an easy death, either." Jaune let out a sigh. "I don't understand what would push someone into a life like that. Heroes, I get, despite how tragic some of them could be… but villains? Why would someone do that?"

Ren knew. He knew because him and Nora had been faced with the same fork in the road before in their lives, the same choice anyone was faced with when their Aura was unlocked. Ultimately, though, they'd chosen to do the right thing. But the truth was that for every single person who'd had their Aura unlocked, they were all just one bad day away from turning into the next Queen Malevolent. And deep down, they all knew it.

Ren had never met her, and he hoped he never would. He couldn't imagine what would drive someone to become the kind of person she was – the kind who reveled in mindless destruction the way she did. Him and Nora had been through tragedy and had come out stronger for it, both mentally and morally. Her, though… whatever had happened to break her had to have been bad, so bad that he didn't even want to consider it. That didn't justify or excuse her actions, but at the very least, he could understand.

After all, it was so easy to be evil, and so hard to be good.

Jaune let out a sigh. "Sorry to bring the mood down, man. Just stuff that's been on my mind recently."

"It's fine, Jaune," Ren said. He looked up at the sky, frowning when he saw the position of the shattered moon. "It's getting late. I think we'd better call it a night before Nora strips down and puts a lampshade on her head again."

Jaune looked back into the apartment, a wide grin crossing his face. "Too late."

Ren blinked, then followed his gaze. Sure enough, Nora was standing in the middle of the room, clad in just her underwear, a lampshade over her head a she swayed unevenly from side to side. Cinder, meanwhile, had passed out on the couch and was gently snoring, her half-empty glass of wine still balanced precariously in her hand.

"Guess that's our cue to leave," Ren offered as he stepped inside. "Alright, you little nudist, time to head home. Give the good people their lamp back, the last thing we need is to get pulled for drunk and disorderly on the walk back to the apartment."

Jaune watched the entire scene unfold before him, a grin crossing his face as he did so. Eventually, Ren managed to wrangle Nora back into her clothes, and the two of them waved goodbye before leaving. Once they were gone, Jaune moved over to Cinder and carefully plucked the wine out of her hand, then picked her up.

"Time for bed, Sleeping Beauty," he said. "Hopefully your hangover isn't too bad tomorrow."

Gonna go ahead and leave it there for now, because I legit can't think of anything more to add at the moment lol. Sorry for the short ANs, I just don't really have much going on these days.

Hope you all enjoyed, and I'll see you next time!

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