Here we go…


Cover Art: Mystery White Flame

Chapter 16


The door to his apartment slammed inward, driven back by a boot to the frame. Roman leapt to his feet, his stolen cane at the ready, only to gasp. The weapon fell to the floor and rattled on the wood.

Neo stood in the doorway.

Mismatched eyes caught his and crinkled. The pitter-patter of small feet rushed forward, and Roman came to meet her, arms open wide and tears in his eyes.

Only for Neo to duck under his elbow and continue her sprint toward the fridge-freezer, yank it open, take out a bucket of ice-cream and start eating. Roman embraced the empty air, squeezing it tight.

"Bitch!" he swore. "Give me a hug!"

Neo rolled her eyes and stood still, spoon in her mouth, as Roman stormed over and picked her up. Less chance she'd escape that way. He crushed her against his chest, spinning her around while her feet dangled off the floor.

"Ahhhh! I missed you so much! Did you miss me, too?"

Neo dug her spoon back into the ice-cream.

"That's a yes!"

She rolled her eyes again.

"What are you doing home, though? Did something happen? Did Cinder die? Tell me Cinder died." Neo shook her head. "Damn it! Well, you can't get everything in life. Does this mean she doesn't need you anymore?" A nod. "Excellent!"

The four on four fights being over, Cinder must have decided that it'd be a different duo moving on than initially planned and, of course, Roman wasn't on the airship anymore to take over the robots. In fact, Atlas had drawn its battleship away to deal with the Penny Polendina issue. Though he hadn't expected his reveal of her to end up with them drawing back their AI robot army, he was sure as hell going to claim it was all part of his master plan.

"Everything is going according to plan."

He ignored Neo's irritated poking at the underside of his chin, asking to be let down. He'd missed having her around and wasn't about to let go of her anytime soon. Instead, he carried her to the sofa and sat down, plopping her in his lap. Neo huffed but, on realising he was in an affectionate mood, gave up and continued eating her ice-cream.

"I assume you still have to be at the witch's beck and call." A nod. "I thought so. But you're free to come home?" Another nod. "Great! Have you been watching me on the TV?" Neo rolled her eyes but, reluctantly, nodded. "That's my girl! Now, I know it may look like Lisa is your new mommy-in-law—" Neo rolled her entire skull along with her eyes. "—but I'm too much of a man to be tied down to any one woman."

Neo scoffed and drove an elbow back into his gut, which felt about right for her rebellious years. Never mind the fact that her "rebellious phase" had been going on from the moment he met her and showed no signs of abating. There were times Roman wondered if he was the best father figure for her, but then he remembered he was literally the greatest man to ever be born on Remnant. She was fortunate to have someone as fabulous as him in her life, especially since, if she were alone, she'd never get out of bed and be at least four-hundred pounds from all the sugar she ate. To say nothing of Neo's fashion sense before he stepped in.

Brrr...

"Did you like me stealing Amity, then?" he teased. This time Neo tilted her head back, her hair tickling his chin, and shot him a smug grin. Roman smirked back. "Yes, it was rather inspired of me, wasn't it? Tell me, how extreme was Cinder's reaction?"

Neo placed her bowl down and held up both hands, all fingers extended.

"A ten out of ten? Mmmm. I wish I could have seen it." Neo did another pantomime and Roman gasped. "She fainted!?" A quick nod. Roman shook with laughter. "Ahahahaha! Well, I have that effect on women—" An elbow struck his gut. "Ow. Neo, I do have that effect on women though. It's not a boast."

She pinched his thigh hard enough to make him yelp and shot him a warning glower, then looked around the apartment as if to point out the general lack of a romantic partner. Rude. Obviously, he could have a harem of beautiful ladies if he wanted one, but they'd just be so hard to please and so clingy. Always wanting his time – not that he could blame them! – and generally making life harder. Not to mention the arguments they'd get into over who was his favourite.

Neo must have read his mind because she started slamming her elbow back over and over with a feral snarl on her face. Roman sighed and caught her arms inside his, pinning them to her side as he held her. It didn't make her any less annoyed but it stopped the assault.

"Yes, yes, I've missed you as much as you've missed me." Neo tried to bite his neck. "But we need to think of the future – and I don't mean my romantic options. Though yours, hm. Did you meet any nice boys in Beacon?"

Her heels slammed back into his shins.

"No? A shame. Maybe I should keep my eyes open for you and set you up." Neo looked horrified at him. "It'd be a blind date. Actually, it'd be a blind date and a mute date!" Her eyes grew flat and lidded. "Eh? Get it? Get it? It's because you're—"

Neo struck her skull back into his chin, which, with the benefit of aura, felt like taking a cosh to the jaw. Roman groaned and fell back, giving Neo a chance to escape and hop off his lap. The girl scooted away, scowling and cradling her ice-cream protectively. Aww, she was all embarrassed about him teasing her over having a boyfriend.

Did that mean she did have one? He wasn't sure she'd feel embarrassed otherwise.

"Okay, okay, I'll leave it for now. Tell me, does Cinder have anything planned today?"

Neo shook her head.

"Nothing at all? Why?"

She pointed at him.

"Because she's after me?" A shake. "Ah, then because of what I did the other day?" Neo nodded. "Ah, then has the esteemed Vytal Festival been forced to take another day off to sort out the latest scandal?"

Neo smirked and nodded once.

"Excellent. All according to my plans..."

She rolled her eyes, obviously not believing him.

In his defence, last night had been a bit hectic given a close escape from Ironwood and Atlas. He mocked and made light of them, but they weren't amateurs and he'd almost been caught three times over. Then had come dodging their pursuit, which wasn't easy when they had literal military aircraft and enough surveillance technology to track him through the streets. It'd taken ducking through several buildings, knocking out some military types, hiding among some civilians and then stealing some less-than-fashionable clothes to sneak out in.

Truly, he'd been almost unrecognisable in ripped jeans, a goth-metal t-shirt and a hoodie, with his hands shoved into his pants and various chains across his belt. He'd stomped out like the broody, angsty teen he'd never been and slipped away on a bus.

Roman Torchwick on public transport. Ugh.

He'd never survive the indignity if the media found out.

But he'd escaped and he'd made a fool of Ironwood and Atlas – even if they really ought to be complimented for keeping up for so long where Vale's forces had never been able to. If it hadn't been in a city where collateral damage would have torn their reputation to shreds, he was sure they'd have had him. Atlas had been forced to play careful, and he was a master escape artists. The rest, as they said, was history.

And no one needed to see him exhausted and groaning, his back aching like an old man, dragging himself into his apartment and passing out on the sofa. He'd been so tired he hadn't had the time to check up on the results of his own actions – which was very unlike him. Goodness, there had been news reports about him and he had neither watched nor recorded them. Hopefully, his erstwhile fans online had made some copies he could watch later.

"Give me the cliff notes."

Neo looked at him, offended, and pointed to her mouth.

"Neo, I know you can write perfectly well."

Her middle finger came up, expressing her thoughts on that, and she instead walked over to pick up his remote and turn on the TV, delegating the responsibility to the local news channel. Not Lisa, sadly. He'd have been curious to see her reaction to making out with the hottest man in Remnant. No doubt every woman in the city wanted to be in her shoes by now. Either way, the news anchor's voice soon filled the room.

"—Atlas not yet responded as to the new evidence released by CCTV which counteracts their claims that the loss of life was caused by the White Fang. In the footage, though grainy, it is abundantly clear that one of Atlas' own candidates competing in the Vytal Festival was the one to open fire and cut a Bullhead out the sky, killing all on board and starting an explosion which later took down the docks."

"In the same footage, numerous Beacon students can also be seen reacting – though there is no evidence to suggest they responded with lethal force. Headmaster Ozpin has commented, saying he is proud of his students for understanding the need for measured and reasonable force, and that Beacon is committed to taking any and all criminals alive where possible so that they can have their time in court. His comment is being seen online as a rare departure from what has traditionally been Vale defending any and all actions taken by Atlas, a clear sign of the government's feelings over the wanton destruction of the city's docks district."

"Today, organisers for the Vytal Festival announced the disqualification of the team responsible from Atlas, citing agreements made by all competitors to uphold the standards and values of the host nation and obey all laws, or face disqualification. Their previous opponents have been granted a second opportunity to compete and have been handed the victory retroactively. Penny Polendina was not available for comment, but one plucky report managed to catch the following words."

The screen turned to what looked to be several reporters trying to shout out to Penny as she was hurriedly escorted into the back of a Bullhead. Atlas soldiers were holding the crowd back, though the one with the camera managed to squeeze a microphone past someone's shoulder.

"Miss Polendina! What do you say to accusations you've responded with unreasonable, lethal force to kill fleeing people?"

"No comment!" said General Ironwood, getting in the way.

But it didn't stop the girl speaking. "I am combat ready!"

Roman winced. "Oof. Not the best choice of words there. Well, I guess that's to be expected from an unfeeling machine." He had, of course, been filled in on that front by Cinder. "Well, I'm not going to feel bad for upsetting a hunk of bolts run by zeroes and ones. It makes sense they'd give another break on the tournament as a result. Heh, the White Fang are haemorrhaging numbers too thanks to my giving that intel to Red."

Neo wriggled her eyebrows at him.

"Oh, don't you start. You know I prefer my women to be actual women. Still, the more delays this has, the more chances there are for Cinder to trip up – or her allies. Hm. Speaking of, I don't suppose you got to meet her White Fang ally, did you?" Neo shook her head. "More's the pity. Removing him would be a huge boon."

He knew it was Adam Taurus from the namedrops given here and there, but not where Adam was or what he was doing. Cinder had kept them far apart, with Roman only interacting with the civilian volunteer wing of the White Fang. The idiot radicals like Perry whipped into a frenzy and then sent to die in thankless missions. The more dangerous, combat veterans were waiting elsewhere. Roman wasn't sure if they were camped out in the woods or if they'd infiltrated the city already, but either result was bad.

"Well, today is going to be a quiet one," he declared. "No need to waste energy when the tournament is already postponed, and Atlas are still out looking for me." Not to mention he was feeling fatigued from all the work, but he wasn't going to admit to that. "How about you and I have a day of family bonding?"

Neo scowled and shook her head.

"Excellent!" he cheered, ignoring it. Neo was just embarrassed. "Family bonding, it is!"

/-/

One might think that going out into Vale when you were a wanted criminal was hard, but that was the beauty of being a fashionable and flamboyant criminal. Roman made so much about his appearance that, when he opted to dress down, it might as well have been a perfect disguise.

All that was needed was a hoodie to hide his hair and some cheap clothing off the bargain bin of any store, and no one would suspect him. Leaving his cane behind obviously helped, at which point he just became a vaguely anti-social looking smoker. Naturally, Neo had no problems thanks to her Semblance and was walking alongside him as a brunette.

"Ah, to just enjoy the city," he said, ignoring the way she rolled her eyes. He'd bought her an ice-cream cone so she was happy to play along for now. "You know, I miss being able to do this sometimes. The fame is great and all, but simple pleasures are where it's at." Roman stopped her at a crossing. "Ah, ah, ah." He held out his hand.

Neo glared at him.

"You know the rules."

Growling, Neo inserted her small hand into his and let him walk her across the road, as he had back when she was younger. Neo had been clingier back then, always holding onto him and wanting to hide from people looking her way. Though he'd never expected to take on the mantle of a guardian, he liked to think he'd done a good job. Neo was a productive member of society – a thief and was there a better job? – and she had style. Pizazz. Flair.

Those were the only things that mattered in life.

Roman hummed and tugged her along, keeping hold of her hand as they entered a park and walked past a police officer ostensibly looking for Roman Torchwick, but actually flirting with his partner. A fairground of sorts had set itself up in the park to take advantage of the day's intermission, but also to keep guests entertained and distracted from what was quickly becoming an absolute fiasco of a Vytal Festival.

Delays, delays, more delays, Amity goes missing, new delays, scandal, scandal, delays. The Council of Vale must have been ripping their hair out at this point and were probably thrilled to have the Penny issue because it pointed the attention at someone else for once.

Still, a fair was a good enough reason to have some fun with Neo. The diminutive girl did a good job acting like none of it interested her and she hated every moment, but he caught how her eyes flicked around with clear interest. Neo was like a prickly little housecat that would play with a ball of yarn then, upon realising she'd been seen doing so, bat it away and pretend she never cared in the first place.

"I bet you can't win on any of these games," he whispered.

Neo's head whipped to his, a furious scowl on her face. Without warning, she yanked him to the closest one and pointed angrily to the man at the stall. Chuckling, Roman opened his wallet and paid the fee for Neo to pick up the cork gun and take aim. Naturally, she'd have no problem with it given her training, which was why Roman waited until the moment she exhaled to calm her aim before he tipped his toes to the inside of her foot and pushed.

Her shot went high as she stumbled.

"Oh, too bad," said the stall owner.

Neo's jaw hung open and she turned, pointing at Roman.

"What?" he said. "I didn't do anything."

Stomping her foot down, Neo grabbed his wallet and slammed some more lien on the table, then shoved Roman away, aimed and fired before he could come back. The target fell over, making a ringing sound, and Neo posed victoriously.

"Very nice, little missy," said the man, bringing down a wooden plate for her to choose her toy off.

Neo snatched a grumpy-looking cat plushie from it and shot Roman an arch look, obviously pleased with her victory and failing to realise how much she'd gotten into it. For all that she liked to think she was immune to his charms, she sure was easy to manipulate like this. Just a little tug on her ego and she'd be worse than she thought he was.

"Very nice, but it's just one prize. Hardly an accomplishment..."

Neo grabbed his hand and dragged him around several more stalls, and soon they were competing to outdo one another – and cheating viciously every step of the way. He would blow on her ear in moments of concentration, she'd step on his feet, he'd bump his hip against her – which, with his height and weight, almost sent her sprawling – and she'd knock his aim off with quick hits to his arms at key moments.

Silly stuff, nonsensical stuff, but Neo was the kind of person who refused to lose, even if she was challenged to a game by a terminally ill patient, and so it quickly became an expensive and silly game of sabotage. Which Neo won in the end, but only because Roman wasn't afraid to throw to make her happy.

That was the only reason he lost, however.

He could have totally bested her at every single game if he really wanted to.

For her prize for besting him, he let her order a ridiculously overpriced monstrosity of candy floss, ice-cream, wafers and icing that he was confident would have given him a heart attack if he'd tried it. There was enough caramel in it to drown a man, and Neo sat surrounded by stuffed animals on a bench devouring it.

Which was when someone spoke behind him. "I refuse to believe no one has recognised who you are."

Smirking, Roman turned. "Ah, Lisa. How has your day been?"

His favourite news presenter was in her casual clothes, and looking quite fine for it, especially with her irritated pout and the way she crossed her arms under her breasts. The huffy, off-work look clashed with her normally immaculate tv persona, but it also looked less artificial.

"My day has been incredibly awkward," she hissed, "on account of everyone I know asking me what my relationship is with you – up to and including having to sit through an hour-long lecture from my mother on why I shouldn't fall for pretty-boys who will play with my heart but not settle down and give me a family."

Roman chuckled. "Tell your mother I said hi." He rather enjoyed her scowl. "As for recognition, I dare say every stall owner and a good portion of the guests here have realised who I am, but the truth is no one sees that – or me – as a problem. If you were to ask them who they'd feel more comfortable having here between me and that huntress from Atlas, they'd all choose me. I'm fashionable, charming, lovable—"

"Arrogant."

"Is it arrogance if I can't back it up, Lisa?"

"You forced yourself upon me."

"Ah, you're not wrong." Roman smiled theatrically and sketched a bow toward her. "For that, I must apologise. It's in my nature to steal but not to force myself upon a person. Alas, I needed your help clearing up a rather horrific misunderstanding."

It was her turn to smirk. "You and that little girl."

"Ugh. Yes, her. How anyone would suspect me of having relations with a child is beyond me, but I couldn't let it stand."

"And her?" asked Lisa, nodding to Neo.

"My protégé, of course."

"Isn't her hair—" Neo rolled her eyes and flickered her Semblance, letting Lisa see her with her more recognisable colours for a moment. "Oh, never mind then. You know, there's been a lot of interest in your relationship with her."

"Has there? Or is it that you're wondering if Neo and I are dating?"

Lisa scowled. "What makes you think I'm interested in you that way?"

"How about the fact you've approached me here?"

He stepped forward and slowly reached for her chin, giving her ample opportunity to step back if she wanted to. Lisa didn't, either because she wanted it or because she was too stubborn and prideful.

He could respect either reason.

"Aren't you worried about being alone with a criminal like me?" he teased, while Neo made gagging gestures behind him, a finger down her throat. "I have a reputation, you know. I've stolen many things people feel are untouchable. Should I take something from you?"

Lisa matched his gaze and snorted. "If you're referring to my innocence, I'll point out that's long gone. I'm thirty, Roman, not eighteen."

"Ah, but I could steal your heart."

Lisa's eyes narrowed. "I doubt that."

"Is it racing right now?"

"No."

Her eyes shifted to the left.

Roman chuckled. "I think you're lying."

"Well, I'm in the grasp of a wanted criminal. Is it any wonder I'd be nervous?"

"So, you admit to feeling nervous around me." Roman stepped into her space, and Lisa did not step back. "Don't worry, it's a very common reaction."

"Hell," she growled. "How do you say any of this without feeling embarrassed?"

"Should I be?"

"Yes! You're so... You're so..." Lisa defaulted. "Cringe!"

The accusation didn't bother him. "And yet I'm the trending topic right now, aren't I? And I imagine you're trending as well." Lisa's blush confirmed it. "You're welcome for that. Consider it a thank you for all the hard work you do boosting my own presence. You have a way with the camera."

Lisa's frown grew. "Is that all it was? You thanking me?"

"Why, Lisa." He leaned in. "The way you say that, I'd almost think you were hoping for it to be something more~"

Her jaw dropped.

Roman let her push him away with a hand on his chest, enjoying the way her face lit up worse than Red's cloak. Lisa spluttered, fumbled her words, and waved her hands furiously, but the damage had been done.

"I—I never said that!"

"But you implied it. If you want more, Lisa, you need but ask. I'm afraid I'm not the type to give you a family though I do come with one of my own." He ignored the acorn Neo threw at the back of his head. "But if you're looking for the time of your life, you know where to find me."

"No, I don't!" she hissed, embarrassed beyond belief. "No one knows where to find you! That's the point of you being a criminal!"

"Ah Lisa, Lisa, Lisa." Roman's smirk grew. "There's a very obvious place you can find me." He winked. "It's in your wildest fantasies."

"Cringe!" she howled. "So cringe! So awful! Do you have no sha—"

A huge explosion rocked the area, startling them and making Roman whip around. A plume of black smoke rose from the fairground, followed by screams.

"Was that you?" whispered Lisa.

"No. Why would I—" Roman trailed off at the sound of gunfire. "Oh no..."

/-/

"Cinder! Cinder!"

Mercury burst into the dorm in a panic.

"The White Fang! Adam!" he panted, skidding to a stop. "He's lost his patience! He's started an attack now in the city!"

Cinder Fall felt her control of the situation slip from her fingers.

And somehow, this was Roman's fault.


Next Chapter: 2nd July

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