" Don't even think about it." Jack snapped back to the present and saw his own somewhat pursed lips in the blued reflection. Well, as pursed as they would go anyways.

" You don't get paid to daydream there champ. Try to make me look good when we're out there, me and the big guy did train you." Canary said with a sigh. Jack followed his own eyes in the reflection as it bobbed up and down as the car rolled forward.

" Don't they have like an XL for DJ." Jack stuck his thumb towards DJ who was huddled with his neck craned forward, his knees unnaturally close to his chest.

DJ struggled to wriggle one arm free from its prison. " Just a side effect of the milk I drank as a kid. They really should have put something a warning or something on the bottle... I mean what's the game plan?" Jack could no longer see himself in the blued visor as it swung towards another victim. Jack shrunk in his seat with a sigh of relief.

" Mind filling us in there Jack?" Canary called out. Ugh. Some game of Whose Line is it anyways this turned out to be. Jack slid back up in his seat. " Some residents have reported being terrorized at night by some kind of supernatural creatures, howls at night, things moving, demands for money. Textbook stuff. Seems as if it's the work of some Grims if you ask me, which you kind of are."

DJ nodded his head. " I second that. Seems like small fry too. " DJ's hand slowly clenched into a fist. " After all we fought for together as one. All we lost. And people think it's ok to exploit that fear for a couple extra bucks." DJ patted an empty sword hilt at his waist. The hilt appeared to be both old and new, the sword was a dull black color, yet it still reflected its surroundings even in the absence of light. The guard was adorned with what looked like two upside-down scales? Not cool like a dragon, but more like the scales of justice. Fitting.

Jack continued." So after finding no traces of magic at the various sites, we were able to trace back one of the "spectral" notes with a little "convincing" to a nice seedy location. A great place for a hideout, the only thing missing is the thunder and lightning." Satisfied with his air quotes, Jack once again slumped in his seat. The car slowed to a stop. "Kept it under time too." He looked at Canary," No Defector conspiracy theories either." DJ and Canary looked at each other. They stayed like that for several seconds. DJ tilted his head to the side as he said. " That doesn't count right ?"

" Oh it counts," said Canary. " He said the word." DJ threw back his head. " You just lost me 20 bucks kids. You couldn't go one car ride without saying the D-word could ya?"

Oh so now it was all fun and games when it's you two, thought Jack. They had been doing this line of work for what two decades now? That was a long time. Too long.

" So what's this game plan?"

" Well, you almost got all of it right you two except one thing. Usually, we wouldn't be going after small fry like this as you said DJ but it seems like these guys have some connections. We've been tracking Grims for a while now but these particular geniuses seem a little more organized than your average con men. They're causing a lot of problems for these people that are already struggling so we're here to send a message before this gets any worse. We're just here to round em up all up and give them some time to think about what they've done DJ." She eyed his hilt. " Now let's get this done before last call."

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

Canary opened the door of the car and looked back in before she closed the door. " You two wait in the car until I give the signal. Time to put food on the table." She stood for a second in the cool night air. The sound of horns beeping and people coming and going did nothing to drown out her words. Jack expectantly looked down at her feet. She stood there for a second, and with a deep breath, she vanished. But Jack saw it this time. The feet were the last to go. If you were fast enough just like Jack, you could see that her feet were visible for just a half-second longer than the rest of her. Just like that, she was out of sight. SLAM. The cabin was quiet again. Jack looked at DJ, " You ever get used to that?"

"The attitude or the going invisible part?" countered DJ. Jack thought about it for a second. "Both?"

DJ paused for a second, his head tilting back. You could almost see the 5...4... 3... 2... counting down in his head as the private showing started in his head." Well, we've been fighting or fighting together for the better half of what 20 years now? " He rubbed the top of his helmet. " Safe to say I know her better than anyone and I have to say that woman is harder on herself than anyone I've ever met that made it through the war. There was a time when it didn't seem like there was a future for any of us. But look at us now. Look at all we have. Now it's time for us to be the best we can be so don't throw away what was gifted to us by so many people. " DJ shook his head. "Lotta innocent people got hurt or wound up dead. We never forgot that. I'll never forget it. But she always carried it a little too close to the chest. Tough to live in the present when you've got some old demons pulling you down."

Jack was silent. That was not what he was expecting. It must be a sensitive subject. Time to lighten to mood. " Well, that explains why you guys sound like an old married couple every once in a while." Jack let out a forced laugh. DJ laughed back. It wasn't his usual laugh, this laugh didn't have the same hearty energy that usually came with DJ's laugh. This laugh was short and empty. Hollow. " Once she finally fights off all those demons. One by one." DJ opened the car door and stepped outside. " Let's get some air, I'm dying in here." Jack followed suit with the massive suit of armor and stepped outside. The cold air rippled through the poorly constructed buildings. The scaffolding zigzagged from building to building as partially constructed buildings and leveled buildings filled the space. But people still hustled and bustled in this wounded section of the city. The broken cityscape was filled with light and life as people came and went.

People kept their distance from the car and especially DJ who towered over them. One small girl slowly waddled toward the armor-clad man and gave him an unsure wave. DJ returned her wave with a large silly wave that seemed to span across the entire horizon. The girl stood still for a second, a smile forming on her face until her mother reached down and snatched her back into her arms. With a quick smile, the girl disappeared back into the crowd.

" How's the air?" asked Jack who had silently watched the whole exchange.

"A Little better now," replied DJ.

" How much longer till Canary gets back to us?" Asked Jack as he stared down at his shoes.

DJ scanned the unfinished buildings, looking from rooftop to rooftop. " She'll be back once she's scouted the place out or they find her. But I doubt that'll happen-"

The skyline was engulfed in a large explosion that lit up every little imperfection as the scarred buildings were littered with debris. DJ turned towards the explosion when a familiar voice came on the radio.

" DJ, Jack, I'm gonna need a little support over here. Some asshole armed these guys with magic tech."