Roman's Angels IV
Knowledge is Power
"You know that Mistral wine that Malachite liked to have on special occasions?"
"The Mistrali Grape Wine?"
"Kept a bottle of it for myself, planning only to use it on a very special occasion. And the night you tried to stab me in the back and Malachite put out a kill on sight order for you, I got one from her for free and planned to celebrate drinking the whole bottle. I was finally free, and I thought I'd never see your stupid bandaged face ever again."
"How sweet. I remember how I celebrated also by setting that bomb off in your apartment."
"I KNEW IT! I knew that was YOU! YOU MOTHER-"
About four years had passed since Lil' Miss Malachite had accepted the idea of recruiting Roman Torchwick into her gang, regardless of the fact that he hardly had a choice in the matter. The recording of his confession during his fight with DiZ pretty much made sure in having all the members of the gang Roman had set up disbanded and recruited into the other gang. All the loot that he had was distributed by the other criminal members in joining their recruitments.
And his fate was in the hands of the very woman who had hired DiZ.
Lil' Miss Malachite, the leader of the Spiders, humiliating him along the say by saying that she would only accept him if he bowed down to her.
That was the most humiliating thing ever happened to him.
He was once now gang leader of the pumpkins. Now the pumpkin gang in his leadership went to mush. Now in the position he was left in he either had to take the offer that he could live or die. Hardly anyone would ever want to be recruited by him after what he said that had been recorded and so was force to accept her demands and live another day while forcefully serving under her boot.
However, it wasn't Malachite Roman had hated.
It was that red bandaged bastard, DiZ.
What kind of name was that anyways?
Roman didn't care much but he had been forced to serve as DiZ's apprentice in the criminal underworld and it was hardly a job he had wanted. When he wasn't running errands for Malachite, he was busy with his 'apprenticeship' under the red bastard who was obviously out to make his life a living hell. Roman for the lack of a better word, suffered under DiZ's mentorship, constantly criticized for his lack of variety in using his ability and rash impulses. Nonetheless, Roman rarely, if ever, actually changed the way he operated even when faced with DiZ's spartan training and punishments.
It was likely the reason for this was because Roman hated DiZ.
It was easy to dislike someone or not care enough to even remotely think about them in any form of emotional capacity. After all, DiZ had been responsible for extorting Roman into joining the Spiders by essentially forcing him to choose between life or death. Malachite hadn't made it any easier by attempting to partner Roman up with DiZ just to make him into an effective broker and to hopefully find out who DiZ really was. If that wasn't enough, he had ensured Roman's scheme of earning some extra money for his eventual…departure from the Spiders had been revealed and he was severely punished.
By which, he was recalling how the red bastard had the audacity to try shooting him in the face.
If not for his Semblance, Roman would surely have died and he hated the man even more for the fact that Roman's quick use of his Semblance saved his life, allowing DiZ to rub it in Roman's face about his believe regarding the fact that Semblances were overrated. Malachite had simply laughed and praised DiZ for his creative methods in both punishing and training Torchwick. Clearly, she was entertained by the constant quarrel between the two.
Roman would have applauded the woman for her sneakiness if it wasn't for the fact that he had been forced endure utter hell working under the red mummy. DiZ trained Roman rigidly to hone his ability, combat skills, and fortitude, usually resorting to harsh and forceful bouts to have Roman refine his Semblance: Clockwork Orange. As much Roman should be grateful by how much he was learning, the fact that he even considered being grateful only made him hate the robed freak even more.
Seriously, if he wanted to be trained this much, he would have joined a Huntsmen Academy and even if he had become very good at using his he wouldn't give DiZ the satisfaction of using it unless he really needed. Apparently, that was fine with DiZ as he simply believed it meant when Roman's wits failed him it would be another excuse to berate and beat him during their next training.
Though, he suspected the teachers at the academies would be nicer to him than DiZ has been.
"It really doesn't suit you, ya know?" A voice said behind him. "Sulking like this."
Ah, the least painful in his rear end this evening.
"What do you want, Cammie?" Roman asked, not even looking at his partner in the Spiders as she sat down next to him. "Malachite need me?"
"If she did, she would have called you."
Chameleon, his partner in the Spiders. Her name wasn't original, and he doubted it was her real one but as long as she pulled her weight he couldn't have cared less.
"You know, I watched your last few sessions with that red guy." Chameleon admitted, prompting Roman to raise an eyebrow. "Even by Spider's standards that guy is harsh, but I think I see why Malachite likes him."
"Glad I'm not the only one who thinks so." Roman muttered. "So, you eavesdropped? That's honestly impressive."
Chameleon's skin turned slightly red. "Well, I learned a little something that might cheer you up."
"Oh yeah?"
"I followed DiZ for a bit and I watched him talking into his Scroll. Seems he has a little business set up with someone called the Crown in Vacuo. Something about locating people with special Semblances and delivering them in a few days." Chameleon continued.
Oh, so DiZ had a little human trafficking business on the side?
"Oh?" Roman perked up.
"Yeah." Chameleon nodded with a smile.
"And does the boss lady know yet?"
This time, Chameleon shook her head. "Nope, you're the first one to know but I got to inform her soon. You know she doesn't like it when her associates hold out on her."
Right, associates.
"Maybe we can bring her something better than just information." Roman suggested.
"Oh…Ohhhhhh." Chameleon replied with wide eyes. "Wait, are you suggesting what I think you might be suggesting?"
"That depends." Roman remarked with a smile. "What do you think I'm suggesting?"
"You want to check this out and see DiZ's contact, find out who they are and if they might know DiZ's true identity." Chameleon slowly said, looking nervous now. "Roman, as much as I respect you for your…"
"Charm?" Roman offered.
"No."
"Wit."
"Not that."
"I can only offer so much." Roman shrugged.
"Persistence." Chameleon finally answered to which Roman accepted with a shrug. "Look, I know you hate DiZ and to be honest, I'm not fond of that weirdo either but he's got the eyes and ears of the boss and from what I've seen going up against him can be very dangerous. I mean, I saw what he did to you after your scheme regarding the boss' girls. Seriously, what were you thinking endangering kids like that?"
"To be fair, I stuck my neck out for them to make sure they didn't get so much as a scratch." Roman replied.
"And you nearly got shot in the face three times." Chameleon pointed out. "Let's face it, the biggest misfortune for being this guy's enemy is being this guy's enemy."
"No, being the guy's stooge is worse than being an enemy." Roman corrected, raising a finger. "Look, it'll be a simply recon mission, Cammie. You stick to the shadows while I check out where this exchange is happening. You have the address?"
Chameleon nodded, holding up her Scroll. "It's in the lower district section, right next to the stream."
Roman looked at the address and nodded. "All right. This works, Malachite will know not only is DiZ conducting an unsanctioned operation here in Mistral behind her back, but we can corner the bastard and find out who he is."
And a chance for some well-deserved pay back.
The Great Mistral River.
Formed by the waterfall came down from near the very peak of the city, right under Haven Academy brought with it a sense of serenity and beauty which was to be expected in a city best known for its arts. Roman himself could admit to having a fondness for such arts, especially when he could make a profit out of any that he could get his hands on. Right now however, he was more focused on finding the warehouse where the supposed deal was taking place. If he could prove DiZ was running some kind of human trafficking system in Mistral behind Malachite's back, it would surely cause him to suffer her wrath and maybe even break this whole 'apprenticeship' deal she had made with him and forcing Roman to be the bastard's 'student'.
With Chameleon shadowing him while he stuck to the shadows, he was sure no one would see him coming. The warehouse was close to the river, built to house supplies that would be taken through the stream to outer sections of the city or even outside the Great Wall of Mistral. It would make sense the deal would be close to a method of transportation and allow them to sneak past most of the security. Roman just had to find proof. He spied a warehouse with the lights on while the rest were dark.
Bingo.
He walked up to the fence, finding a door and opened it. "Cammie, you're here?"
"Yes." A whisper came from behind him.
"Good. Stick close now." He said as he walked around the warehouse to find a door which he soon did.
A locked door.
Roman grinned as that was no problem for him at all. With just a little pin he saved for just the occasion, the door was unlocked, and he stepped inside.
'Okay, this is creative.'
By creative, he meant the number of crates that kept him from actually seeing anything inside. Obviously, an attempt to discourage anyone from trying to sneak in. A maze of crates like a game but easier to climb compared to the ones in a game (pretty stupid, really). Anyways, Roman proceeded to the right until he reached a dead end.
Climbing one of the crates Roman went to the one next to it leaning on the wall and jumped to reach the one in front. Proceeding to the box slightly on the left, Roman jumped to reach the next one and stepped on the light-colored crate. He then jumped on the lower box to the left and dropped and reached for that last crate that would lead him out of this labyrinth.
"Torchwick?"
Roman blinked to see several gangs were already assembled. "Midas Goult?"
Midas Goult, the leader of the Gold Gang who was currently tied to a chair along with several other faces that Roman didn't recognize but several of them were actually members of the Spiders. "So, this is your doing! Malachite set this whole thing up, didn't she?!"
Malachite?
How would she…
'Oh crap.'
"And as predicted, Malachite's so-called right hand has delivered himself to you." A familiar and hated voice said from behind.
Roman spun around, seeing DiZ emerge from behind a tower of crates while a pair of newcomers that Roman did not recognize came out of hiding.
A man and a woman to be exact.
The man was a tall, broad and muscular man standing at six feet and six inches tall. He had a green mohawk and matching goatee. He wore a brown, hooded cloak and a green chest plate over a black tunic. Lastly, the man had a long scar along his right forearm. In the man's right hand was a large, chained mace. The mace was dark black in color, having grown rusty over time. It doubles as a pistol with explosive rounds, but it can only fire one bullet at a time before having to be reloaded.
The other was a young woman with long back length wavy auburn hair with a single silver streak. She also had golden eyes, freckles and a black stylish tattoo on the right side of torso running down to her upper leg. She wore a dark navy cropped long-sleeved shirt with a metal chain-like top attached, a silver shoulder cape with crimson trimmed and her emblem on it, crimson torn off booty shorts that match her tatter scarf and thigh-high black leather boots with folded over tops and small lace-up detailing.
In addition, she wore goggles on top of her head, a black belt with sheaths for her Sai weapons, a single belt on the right sleeve and her left leg. She also wore worn bandages wrapped around her wrists.
"And what's this poser's Semblance that's so good?" The man asked, looking unimpressed.
"He is capable of projecting a stasis field around any target in sight, freezing them. When it freezes a person, it also freezes their perception of time." DiZ answered.
"Oh, that does sound useful." The woman remarked with a grin.
"You should see the Semblance of his partner, who is currently standing right next to him." DiZ stated, earning a gasp from Chameleon as she appeared. "Of course, she can't control her emotional state well enough to maintain it."
Roman's visible eye narrowed. "So…This is your little side business, DiZ? Trafficking people? You're crueler than I thought."
"Hardly." DiZ rolled his own only visible eye in return. "This is anything of the sort, Roman. These two just happen be collectors of people with power Semblances and when I informed them of yours, they came all the way from Vacuo just to see."
Vacuo?
They are from Vacuo?
"Allow me to introduce Bertilak Celadon and Carmine Esclados." DiZ introduced the two. "They heard of my expertise and hired me seek out people with special Semblances. I told them I heard a few unique abilities. Such as the Semblance of Mr. Midas Goult who can turn anything or anyone he touches into gold."
"Wait till I get my hands on you!" Midas shouted, struggling to break free of his bonds. "I'm turning you all into gold!"
"And then I mentioned you and the Semblance I worked so hard for you to use and train." DiZ said dryly. "They were so impressed, they just begged me to set up a meeting with you."
Roman was glaring hatefully, having now realized he had been set up by the mummy bastard again. He must have leaked that information to Chameleon on purpose, knowing Roman would take the bate and come sniffing.
"Besides, I have grown tired of being your shepherd, Roman. Watching you sneak around behind Malachite's back, stealing extra money to one day run off and try being some sort of super criminal, only for you to come up with the most ridiculous, transparent schemes that a little girl would be able to stop." DiZ rolled his eye. "It's like watching a child trying to climb up a wall no matter how many times you warn him not to and then watch as he falls and his own legs."
"Is that so?" Roman grinned. "Well, that's fine with me. I hated having to be watched all the time, especially by someone who wraps themselves up in bandages just to look badass. Now I can finally kill without getting into trouble."
"Funny that comes from you of all people." DiZ remarked with a sly smile. "Considering how 'flashy' you prefer your wardrobe to be. Are you sure you're not simply compensating for something?"
"Tch. You could actually use a few bandages to cover that big mouth!" Roman raised his cane, pointing it right at DiZ.
BANG!
The end of Roman's cane lit up with fire as the round of Fire Dust blasted towards DiZ…
Only to free in mid-air.
"Huh?" Roman's eye widened.
"This is sweet and all." Carmine was holding up a hand, catching the Dust bullet in the air. "But we can't let you kill our supplier."
"Allow me." With a wave of his hand, DiZ summoned a small portal that the Dust round vanished into. "You really never learn, Roman."
Chameleon gulped, getting into a fighting stance. "Malachite won't stand for this."
"I was never aligned with Malachite or any of the criminal organizations in Mistral to begin with. They reached out to me from the beginning and then Malachite paid me a substantial amount to suffer having Torchwick in my presence to shape him up into a somewhat competent underling." DiZ retorted. "The group that these two work for offered me a great deal of capital and I accepted as quickly as I accepted working for the Spiders and the other gangs to bring their competition down."
"You're going to pay for that!" Midas Goult shouted from above. "Money or not, no one tricks me like this!"
Roman would have voice the same thoughts if not for the big man named Bertilak rushing at him, swinging his mace. Roman stepped back and spun out of the way of the larger man. He swung his cane at Bertilak's leg, aiming to bring him down quickly but aside from a shimmering of Aura, Bertilak showed no sign of being affected as he swung his arm out and backhanded Roman across the face, sending him flying across the room.
"Roman!" Chameleon was about to help when a Sai flew at her, stabbing her in the shoulder.
"Uh-uh-uh." Carmine waved a finger at Roman's partner as she grasped her now bleeding shoulder. "Let's let the boys have their fun."
Roman grunted as he stood up, gritting his teeth in frustration.
"It might interest you to know that Bertilak is a registered Huntsman, fully graduated from Shade Academy and better known for his title of Green Knight of Vacuo." That bastard DiZ couldn't help but comment.
A Huntsman?
Roman should have figured. The man did carry himself as a professional fighter after all. But that only made things more difficult. Bertilak let out a battle cry and rushed at Roman who calmly raised his hand and the orange light of his Semblance: Clockwork Orange surrounded Bertilak, freezing him in mid-run.
"Not very smart for a Huntsman." Roman grinned, aiming his cane and fired.
BANG!
BLAST!
Bertilak was hit in the chest and sent crashing into a pile of crates that fell over him. Roman chuckled, twirling his cane and blew on the still smoking end. Just as he turned around-
SLASH!
"Yipes!" Roman yelped as he ducked, barely dodging the same that nicked his hat. "Hey, watch the hat!"
Carmine was upon him, a Sai in each hand as she let loose a series of slashes that Roman hastily blocked with his cane. Still, she was fast, strong and feisty as she easily pushed him back. Just as Roman got her into a blade lock, he headbutted her in the face, forcing her to step back in disorientation. He aimed his cane at her but a piece of wood was suddenly thrown from the side and his cane, causing his shot to blast the wall.
Bertilak snarled as he shook off the remains of the crates that fell on him. He charged at Roman again, forcing him to jump and roll out of the way. Just was he was about to aim his cane and fire at the golly green giant, an unseen force suddenly caused him to aim up at the ceiling as he fired.
BANG!
BLAST!
The shot hit the ceiling and caused debris to start falling on Roman who hastily covered his head as he tried to get out of the way.
WHAM!
CRASH!
Unfortunately, Bertilak's mace was waiting for him and he was sent crashing into the maze of crates this time, only having to blink before the crates all fell on him and he blacked out.
…
…
…
Roman opened his eyes, the whole exchange happening only a second ago in his eyes but when he opened them, he found himself bound and locked up in a crate not much different from the ones that had fallen on him. His cane was gone, he could barely move, and he could hear voices outside.
"…the ground!"
"Freeze!"
"What is this?!"
"You're all under arrest!"
BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG!
BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG!
BANG-BANG-BANG-BANG!
If Roman wasn't awake before, he was now from the sound of gunfire followed by a few moments of silence. Then the crate opened and Roman found himself staring into the faces of Mistral police officers and Huntsmen.
A few days had passed before Roman found himself out on bail, thanks to Malachite calling in a dozen favors. As soon he was out, he was dragged right back to Malachite's 'home base' and he could plainly see she was not happy one bit.
"Hey, Miss." Roman said, taking a seat across from Malachite. "I guess I owe a big thanks for bailing me out."
"It cost me a lot of favors to get you out, Roman." Malachite said softly, sipping from a glass of wine. "Not to mention getting a lot of my other boys out as well. This has cost me big time."
"Look," Roman held up his hands, knowing just from the twitches on her face that Malachite was furious. "I know what it looks like. But it's not my fault-"
"DO YOU THINK I WOULD BAIL YOU OUT IF IT WAS YOUR FAULT?!" Malachite slammed her glass down on the desk. "THAT RED BASTARD WENT BEHIND MY BACK, KIDNAPPED NEARLY ALL OF MY MOST IMPORTANT MY MEN AND FORCED ME TO POST BAIL FOR ONLY HALF OF THEM!"
Roman blinked before he realized what she meant. "…DiZ. Wait, he was making a deal with a group of Vacuo? Wasn't he?"
"That's what they thought too. Only they didn't realize he had also made a deal with Headmaster Lionheart of Haven Academy when he brought over a dozen criminals, my men, Midas, you and Chameleon." Malachite grabbed another drink and poured it. "While you were napping in that crate, Huntsmen raided the warehouse and the docks, making multiple arrests. You, Chameleon, the pair from Vacuo and all the rest that were captured. Only they seemed to miss the man of the hour."
"DiZ wasn't caught?" Roman asked.
"No, but he will be. It was one thing to do business with everyone else because he was being paid to. I can tolerate that. What I don't tolerate," Malachite snarled as she took a sip from her glass. "Is him having the audacity to try and cripple my business. So, you got your wish, Roman. You're not only free of him but if you ever see him again, you have my full blessing to put. Him. Down!"
Roman's eyes widened but then he smiled. "With pleasure…Say, you wouldn't mind me taking a bottle of Mistrali wine home, would you? It's been a bit of a long day."
Malachite was in such a mood, she just let Roman have a full bottle of Mistrali grape wine to take home. Honestly, as rough as it had been the last few days, Roman couldn't stop himself from grinning at how he was finally rid of the red, mummy bastard that had been biggest pain in the rear end since he came into Roman's life. With him now gone, Roman was sure things would be much easier now. Now he could kick back, relax and enjoy a nice bottle of wi-
BOOM!
"GAH!" Roman jumped back, seeing an apartment building in the distance explode.
His apartment building.
He rushed into the direction of the explosion, coming upon a burning building and grabbed a nearby civilian. "Hey! What happened?!"
"Someone's apartment exploded! It was on the top floor." The civilian hastily said with a fearful look on his face. "They think it was a bomb."
Top floor?
His apartment was on the top floor.
Why would there be a bomb in his-
Roman froze, his eyes going wide as he looked up and he could see him, standing at the top blazing building just above where his apartment had been. He looked down, his lips curling into a smile and Roman knew.
He was looking right at him.
"DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!" Roman shouted as another blast of fire covered the top of the building and blurred figure of DiZ was gone.
Needless to say, Roman would never, ever stop hating the red bandaged bastard who made his life a living hell.
