Mazie jumped onto Xard’s stomach as he laid back on the grass at the schoolyard. She was sent flying with a squeal of joy from a blast of energy. As soon as she landed, the girl rushed right to the back of the line of kids to wait for her next turn. Even Bray, as reluctant as she was initially, may have taken a jump or two.
For Xard, he found it simple and relaxing. The man barely even felt the weight of the children, and it was a good way to keep them engaged and entertained for an extended period of time. There were a few close calls in the beginning while he was still fine-tuning the pressure. One kid got sent just a bit too high, and the redhead had to scramble to catch him. But now with it dialed in, he’d turned into the most fun bit of recreation at the playground.
“Alright, that’s enough everyone, time to head in and start on your homework before dinner” Senli called to the kids as she approached, and they scattered away after crying out their disappointment. “Thank you for covering for me, again.” She expressed her appreciation to the Fiend now just laying alone in the grass and held out a hand to help him up.
Not that he needed it, but he still grabbed hold and jumped to his feet. “No problem. You ending up here was my doing, so it should be on me when you need help. How’d your exams go?”
Senli sighed. “I’m just glad they’re over. My exam papers kept accusing me of cheating every time I got an answer right. It got annoying quickly, but at least I knew when I was wrong then and needed to go back and check my work.”
“Does that mean you’re off for the rest of the summer then at least?” Xard didn’t know quite how their curriculum worked, only comparing it to his own experience.
“No, unfortunately,” she sighed again. “I still have to make up for all that time I missed while in captivity with additional lessons. Most of the kids are like that too, missing gaps here and there. But Ipucco’s hope is to get everyone back on track and lay out a concrete schedule that the whole school can stick to by the fall. I’m sure the kids are eager for that too. It’ll mean more freetime and let them live more normal lives.”
“Good to hear,” Xard nodded in approval. “And I’d love to stay and chat a bit more, but I have this commitment with Feyj. I’m guessing if I don’t find him soon, he’ll—”
“Hello!” the boy, no, the now young adult in question popped up behind them which caused both Fiends to jump. He had grown up quite a bit from the scrawny lad who had burst into Xard’s room just a week ago. Now Feyj was even taller than Xard, hell, maybe even the tallest in the group barring Itsy. His shoulders were broad and his muscles were defined even through his clothing.
“I see you’ve been working hard,” Xard stated the obvious. “I’ll take it that means that you’re still interested in coming with me.”
“Even moreso!” Feyj was beaming with excitement. “While I was working out, I had buddy cop movies playing the whole time. I can’t wait for our crime-stopping partnership. And now I have this gun!” The young man whipped out a pistol and waved the barrel in the air to show it off.
“Da-umm, I don’t know if bringing that’s the best idea, Feyj,” the experienced vigilante protested. “While I don’t doubt your aim, I’m not sure that you’ve been in enough stand-off situations to know when to use it.”
“Oh, no, the gun’s not actually loaded,” the bubbly upstart informed him. “It’s just to complete the look and can serve as intimidation. And it’s fun to swing around and aim at things. Pew pew.”
Xard smiled through the pain, starting to regret what he’d signed up for. But hopefully a few more years days of maturity and experience out in the field would calm him down a bit.
“The gun doesn’t really like that idea,” Senli spoke up. “It very much actually wants to be used. It said, and I quote, ‘We’re not your toys, we are tools. Point me at scum, and let me blast some fools.’”
“Huh, guess this one actually wants some violence,” Feyj’s lips shrugged at the gun. “Maybe if it behaves, we can find it a real bad criminal, as a treat. But other than that, I’ve also relearned how to use my cane—been a few lifetimes since I’ve actually needed it.” He pulled out his fake walking stick that somewhat resembled a microphone and extended it to a fine point. “This will be my actual weapon.”
“Oh, and I had Nathym prepare me a suit,” the young man pulled a large medallion out from underneath his shirt and let it lay flat against his chest, he then slammed his fist against it. Thin fiber stretched out over his entire body and wrapped him up tightly in black cloth, including over the entirety of his head. Only around his eyes was there a slightly different texture for him to see through.
“This is mostly just to protect my body when we’re flying so you can go however fast you want,” Feyj explained, his voice slightly muffled by the mask. “I’d also say it makes me look like a proper vigilante.”
“More like a villain than a vigilante in my opinion,” Senli found herself spitting out without restraint.
“Hmm, well I can change the color if that helps,” the masked man spun the medallion a few times and it cycled through a spectrum. “Or I can make it iridescent like my hair and eyes, but that’s probably best left for if I need to serve as a distraction. And I can make it so that my hair flows out the back.” The back of his head covering opened up and his locks poofed out of it.
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“And I can also uncover my entire face.” His beaming smile returned to view. “So how ‘bout it, partner? Ready to head out?”
“Uhh, sure,” Xard agreed, accepting that he couldn’t delay Feyj’s eagerness any longer. “Just need to grab a few things from my room. Get anything you need, and I’ll meet you at the Valen Express.”
The Valen Express was a name given to a new outcropping of the not-so-secret lab down in the tunnels. They’d made a special kiosk for her with a door leading right out of the lab. It had been sold as a central hub for travel, so that the members could go to a designated location without having to call Valen out to serve their whims every time. But really it was so the girl wouldn’t use it as an excuse to run off from her duties.
“Oh, I heard about this little partnership,” Valen smirked at the two of them once she stepped out of the lab. “Not my OTP, but I could ship it. To think, not long ago, everyone was in a hubbub about the wedding and Feyjrusa getting married. Now you’re about to set off on that rough and rugged vigilante lifestyle. Talk about a tone shift.”
“Boo, romance sucks,” Feyj gave a disapproving double thumbs-down, dismissing Valen’s entire reason for living. “Mystery and crime drama all the way!”
“Eh, people like what they like, and there’s no changing that,” the girl shrugged, taking the hit on the chin, not wanting to argue. “But this little trip sounds fun. I could come along too, if you want. Most people just use my power for the warping, but it has so many other uses. Xard, did you know that I can use your blood to make a fully repulsive barrier? Anything that hits it is reflected back at the same velocity that the blood was struck. Doesn’t that sound super useful?”
“And Feyj… well your blood isn’t really suited for my personal use. I know it has something to do with information gathering, and you use it by looking through it like a lens. But damn, every time I try, it just gives me a splitting headache in seconds. We’ll figure out something to do with it, though.”
“Hey, don’t listen to her, she’s not allowed to go anywhere!” Ahvra’s voice shouted from the still open door. She then slowly walked out on her small feet and bashed Valen in the head a few times with her broom. “Or did you forget that we have important experiments to do with Tize’s blood?! It could make or break Project Fiendless! Does saving the world mean nothing to you?!” Even with her monotone voice, The Witch’s passion broke through.
“Yeah, yeah, I get it,” Valen accepted her fate. “So where to? The usual, Xard?”
“Yes, the Cotagerie safehouse, please,” he confirmed. That safehouse in particular had somewhat become his own personal base of operations. Since it was at the center of the continent, the center of everything, it worked well as a staging area. His assistant practically lived there, and could take trains, skycrafts, or Valen’s portals to anywhere she needed to go.
Valen’s visage disappeared behind a swirl of purple, the portal opening up in front of the two men. They stepped inside and were immediately transported. Their destination was dark at first, but then lights lit up once their presence had been registered. Each safehouse now had a dedicated portal room with nothing in it but a font at the center.
Phon’s purple blood splashed back down into the font where it swirled briefly and then settled. There was a grate on top made of some of the sturdiest material so that no one could mess with it or accidentally cause some of the blood to spill. In order to supply enough for every safehouse, Phon had practically been indisposed for a week. She had blood constantly being drained from her while eating a high-iron diet, weak and woozy the entire time.
“Greetings and welcome to the Cotagerie safehouse,” a man named Pwoyal entered the room and bowed. He was the caretaker and looked far healthier and happier than when he’d been recruited—practically on death’s door living out on the streets. “Madame Dette is anticipating your arrival in the survey room. Please let me know if I can provide any assistance or further improve your stay.”
Not every caretaker was as stiff and proper as Pwoyal, each with differing arrays of personality and presence, but they all performed their jobs professionally. Xard tended to prefer the ones who kept quiet and out of his way, but he still gave Pwoyal a nod of courtesy before they left the room.
“Ah, you must be Dette!” Feyj rushed over to the woman in the room who’d been staring at computer screens and grabbed her hand to shake it. “I’m Feyjrusa, and I don’t believe we’ve met. You can just call me Feyj. So you must be like Xard’s sidekick, the one who does all the actual work behind the scenes so he can do his job well. Every good detective and vigilante has one. You’re doing a great job.”
“Uh, hi,” Dette didn’t seem quite sure how to process the sudden ambush and praise, glancing over to Xard for help.
“So how’s it looking out there, Dette?” her boss interrupted and moved things along.
“Same as always,” she frowned. And then opened a screen on one of the monitors. It was a map of Rathe with dots lighting up everywhere there was an open criminal case that wasn’t actively being pursued by police at that very moment. “Take down a bunch of criminals and more pop up. Though, it is trending downward month after month. I’d like to think we play at least some role in that.”
“Well, we’ll just keep hacking away at it,” Xard wouldn’t let it beat him down. “Feyj, since you’re our guest, is there anywhere in particular you’d like to start. I tend to just look at the biggest cluster that I haven’t visited in a while and work from there, but just about anywhere is fine as long as there’s justice to be served.”
“Hmm,” Feyj studied the data for a moment. “Is there a way to sort it by the Criminal Score of suspects? Highest to lowest? Wouldn’t it make sense to start at the worst?”
“Heh, yeah we can do that,” Xard smirked. “But it’s not as effective as you might think. First of all, the top few dozen spots are all Fiends For Hire. And even if you filter us out the equation, most of the worst have completely cold trails. High profile criminals get a lot of police attention and dedication.”
“If someone hasn’t been caught, they’re either dead or so deep in hiding that we’d spend a lot of time trying to find them. I’d rather spend that effort stopping active criminals from hurting people further. But if we get a hit on a high profile target, they could certainly take priority.”
“Well, if you’ll allow me,” the vigilante-in-training pulled out their phone and pulled up a list. “I did some preemptive research already of cases that sound interesting to me. They may not be the most urgent, but they’re quite possibly ones only we can solve. How about we start here?”