Chapter Text
“Bloody bollocking tater tots!” The scream ripped from Vav’s throat before he could stop himself. He huffed in pain then gritted his teeth. He looked up through watering eyes to see an eyebrow raised in amusement.
“And here I thought I’d already scraped the bottom of your barrel of Briticisms.” The Mad King stepped out from behind the control panel and strode towards Vav, his hands held behind his back. He looked all the while as if he were taking a quiet stroll in the park. The harsh light highlighted the man’s strong jaw and stubble.
Vav breathed deeply, trying to ignore the pain, and more importantly, trying not to let it show on his face. The sick son of a bitch had managed to surprise him was all. The Mad King drew closer. There was a small smirk on his face. Vav met the King’s eyes and clenched his fists. Can’t let him see how much this hurts... The other man laughed, his icy blue eyes glittering.
“Oh, don’t bother Vav. It’s obvious that you’re in pain. You can’t hide it from me.”
Vav looked away. The Mad King just laughed again. He turned and strode back to the control panel. He put a finger to his chin overdramatically and scanned the dials. With a gleeful look, he twisted one, sending a jolt of energy spasming across Vav’s torso where he was pinned like some great blue butterfly. The surge passed and Vav felt his muscles unclench. He wanted to flop forward and hang limply, sucking in great lungfuls of air and wailing like a child. But he didn’t. Instead, he straightened himself. The only giveaway in his composure was the flaring of his nostrils as he drew ragged breaths.
The Mad King was perusing his control panel again.
“You know the funniest part though? The most amusing part of this whole thing is that I don't even want anything from you. This-” the King twisted a different dial, eliciting a gasp and a flinch from Vav, “-simply amuses me. Watching you squirm -” the Mad King continued turning the knob. Vav squeezed his eyes shut and held his breath as the pain racked his body. “It amuses me to no end.”
There was a sudden shuddering through the floor beneath them, followed by a muffled explosion. A look of annoyance flashed across the Mad King’s face, followed by a slight pout. A klaxon sounded.
“Ah. Dear Vav, I believe you have just been ‘saved by the bell’.” The Mad King wandered back over to the pinned superhero and looked up at him again. The cracked crown on the madman’s head glinted in the spotlights that were focused on his prey. “I surmised that they would turn up eventually, but I was glad we could have this little soiree. It cheers me to no end having you around.”
Vav tried not to shudder as he met the man’s eyes again.
“Sod off you great prick,” he managed. There was a great explosion of dust and noise as the nearest wall caved in. The Mad King simply chuckled and retreated, his glittering cheshire smile the last thing that Vav saw as he vanished into the shadows.
“Vav! Buddy! You in here?”
“Yeah, over here-” Gavin coughed. The dust was thick and tickled his throat. “I’m over here Geoff,” he called. Stumbling through the haze came an older man, with dark hair and lidded eyes that gave him a permanently tired expression.
“Vav!” he exclaimed, taking in the horrible contraption the young superhero had been strapped into. He rushed forwards and began tugging at one of the straps that held Vav down. There was more coughing as another man pulled himself through the rough hole.
“Jack! He’s over here!”
The man named Jack hurried over. He was taller and more broadly built, with red hair and an impressive beard.
“Is he okay?”
“‘M fine,” Vav mumbled.
“Gavin… are you sure?” asked Jack in a low voice.
Geoff had released both the straps that had restrained his wrists. Vav rubbed them gingerly.
“Yeah… I’m alright…”
Jack and Geoff exchanged glances.
“Speaking of him , which way did he go?”
Vav jerked his head viciously in the direction in which he had seen the Mad King disappear. Jack strode off in that direction.
“I doubt you’ll find anything,” Vav called after him. “We never do…” he added in an undertone. Geoff offered him a hand when he’d released Vav’s legs. The Brit took it and allowed himself to be helped down. He leant heavily on Geoff’s shoulder when his legs nearly gave way.
“Don’t say that buddy. We’ll get him soon. You bet you fucking ass we will,” Geoff growled.
Vav ignored him as he limped slowly towards the makeshift exit, still using Geoff as a crutch.
“Where’s Mogar?” he asked instead.
“Up on the street. We wanted to have someone up there if he tried to scarper in that direction. We actually called in another hero to give him a hand. We do not want that monster getting away again...”
Vav hissed as his shaking legs wobbled beneath him, his ankle rolling.
“Fuck… Here, put your arm around me,” Geoff stopped and looped the younger man’s lanky arm around his shoulders. “I should just carry you.”
“Geoffrey, you’re lovely Geoffrey. But if you bloody carry me, I’m never gonna live it down. I’m a superhero - how’s it gonna look when I get carried out like the damsel in distress?” Vav muttered. Geoff chuckled.
“Alright, alright. Well hurry up then, I fucking hate it down here. We had to go through the sewers to get here...” Geoff shuddered.
“Nothing wrong with a good sewer. They play an important part in the city.”
“Yeah but… you never know what could be down here…”
“Like what?”
“Like snakes man!”
“Snakes, Geoff? Snakes don’t live in the sewers,” said Vav. He paused. “But now you say that, a lot of rats live in sewers. Snakes like eating rats…”
Geoff whimpered. “Fucking fuck - let’s go already!”
Vav laughed now and allowed Geoff to hurry him through the dark hallway beyond and out into the light.
They took Geoff’s car back to the base. When Geoff and Jack had first teamed up, the pair had needed a place to operate from. Instead of going for some elaborate and over the top Bat-cave, or other super obvious super-base, the Hunters’ house looked exactly like that - a house. White, two stories, with a nice picket fence. The inside though was a completely different story.
Geoff and Vav entered through the garage, descending into the expansive basement area. Hey, they needed the space. They just didn’t call it the bat- cave. Vav hobbled, with help, over to the medical bay and leant heavily on the examination table.
“C’mon, up. I need to have a look at you,” said Geoff.
“Geoff. I don’t need it. I’ll be fine. I need to get to my room. I need to start tracing his where-” Vav went to stand up from the table only to be shoved back down. Geoff glared at him.
“You are not going looking for the Mad King right now. You need rest. You were just fucking tortured for christ sakes!”
“I’m not a child Geoff!”
“Well you’re certainly fucking acting like one! Here, look, you’ve got a graze on your face.”
Geoff pulled out a few cotton swabs and a bottle of surgical spirits. He unscrewed the cap and with a wave of one hand a thin stream trickled out of the bottle into the air. Vav grimaced.
“Geoff, I told you I’m fine,” he grumbled, pushing past.
“Sit your ass down and let me clean that.” Geoff grabbed for Vav’s arm, but the young Brit managed to squirm out of his grasp and lunged for a pair of red gloves on a nearby table.
“Oh no you don’t, you little fucker!” Suddenly the whole bottle of spirits emptied into the air, becoming a long, shimmering liquid rope. Geoff flicked his hands and the alcohol flew through the air towards Vav who was hurriedly pulling the gloves on. He managed one and held up a hand. The liquid slowed, looking almost solid in the air. Geoff looked furious, but was frozen too, red faced and in the middle of shouting. Vav watched as a speck of spittle flew slowly from his mouth. He huffed, pulled the other glove on and then left the basement. He headed for his room. Geoff could yell at him later. Right now, he needed to try to get a location on that wily, kilted son-of-a-bitch they called the Mad King. If he could access the street cameras in the area around where he’d been taken, perhaps he’d be able to pinpoint a direction the madman had gone in. He kicked off his boots and cape and settled cross legged in his desk chair. The array of monitors lit up the dark room as he pulled himself closer to the desk. He began pulling up traffic camera views, and let himself get lost in the work.
The slow-motion wore off just as Jack and the others got in. Geoff cursed as he heard the roar of the car pull into the garage above.
“Little prick…” he muttered. He clicked his fingers and the rope of shimmering alcohol coalesced back into one large glob and returned it to its bottle. He sighed, looking at the bottle.
I need a drink he thought.
Jack walked in. He cocked an eye at Geoff who was now a third of the way through a bottle of bourbon.
“Is he all right?” he asked gently, coming over to place a hand on Geoff’s shoulder. The tattooed man shrugged and took another swig.
“He hit me again. It only just wore off. He could have gone out after the bastard again for all I know,” Geoff grumbled. Jack sighed and shook his head.
“I just wish he’d let us help him goddamn it!” Geoff shouted at the ceiling where he knew Vav’s bedroom was. Jack clapped his shoulder.
“We just… We’re here for him. That’s all we can really do,” the ginger man said. “I’ll go try to talk to him.”
Geoff just nodded tiredly and took another drink. Jack headed up the stairs towards Vav’s room. The garage door clattered again and heavy footsteps preceded two more people.
“Where is the blue one?” boomed the barbarian as he strode into the room.
“Vav is probably sulking in ‘is room,” said Geoff, indicating the stairs. Mogar made an unimpressed grunt and took off the bearskin he wore everywhere. He unstrapped his enormous sword and rested it carefully against a table then threw himself down into the beaten up leather couch in the middle of the basement. He reached over, snagged the bottle from Geoff’s hands and took a gulp.
“Hey!” Geoff’s tone was indignant. “Get your own, you animal.” With a flick of the wrist, the remainder of the bourbon flew out of the bottle and hovered in a ball in front of Geoff. Mogar laughed uproariously and threw the bottle towards the nearest trashcan. He missed and it shattered all over the floor.
“Come on man! You’re a barbarian, not a caveman,” Geoff whined. He turned to his floating blob of amber and took a tentative sip straight from the air. “Besides, are you even old enough to drink anyway?”
Mogar just shrugged. This made his muscles ripple quite unfairly in Geoff’s opinion.
“Mogar does not know. Many seasons have passed. Mogar did not think to count them,” he said.
Geoff turned away from the washboard abs as a voice called down the stairs.
“Uh, Mister Spirit, sir? May I come in?”
“Jesus kid, don’t call me that. Geoff is fine. And yeah, get your ass in here.”
A short but stocky young man came hesitantly down the stairs. Geoff grimaced.
“Dear god Jeremy. I always thought I’d met the most garish superhero when I’d met Vav. Seriously - he has the union jack emblazoned on his chest. But no. I was wrong. And somehow you look brighter every time I see you.”
“What can I say? My outfit’s iconic.”
“More like moronic…” Geoff mumbled, taking another gulp of airborne bourbon. Jeremy chuckled, running his hands over the purple and orange suit as he reached the bottom of the staircase.
“Make yourself at home,” Geoff said, gesturing at the room. Jeremy stared around.
“This is so fucking cool,” he said, taking in the huge bank of screens on one side of the room which served as the team’s surveillance station, the medical wing, the full sized and stocked bar, the giant TV with its assorted gaming systems hooked up, and the pool table and dartboard. It did not look like a superhero’s base - it was more like a cross between a bar and a man-cave. Where one expected metal and concrete, everything was decorative stone and polished wood with handtooled finishings. The place felt incredibly homey.
“You’ll catch flies,” Geoff muttered taking another drink. Jeremy quickly shut his mouth. He walked over to sit on the end of the couch, but the man already lounging there bared his larger-than average canines and growled. Jeremy suddenly became very interested in examining the surveillance station.
“What’s this?” he asked.
“Camera system. Mainly for house security. We can occasionally patch into the city’s cameras though if we need to track someone or something,” Geoff said. He’d finished his floating blob and had wandered over to the bar. He grabbed another bottle from a shelf and pulled out the cork with a squeak and a pop. Jeremy followed him.
“That is a lot of liquor,” he said.
“Eh. We get it in bulk. And it’s tax deductable.”
“What? Seriously?”
“No you dipshit. It’s alcohol. Who would reimburse you for that?” Geoff said taking a swig of rum. “But it bloody well should be. It’s basically a work expense for us.”
They heard footsteps on stairs again.
“He’s locked himself in his room again. Changed the pin code too,” Jack said with a sigh, walking over and leaning on the bar. Geoff proffered his bottle to Jack. The ginger man chuckled and held up a hand.
“I’m good thanks. We’ve got enough of the team wallowing in something,” he said.
Geoff snorted. “I don’t wallow. I marinate ,” he said.
“Speaking of said team,” Jack turned to Jeremy. The younger man swallowed nervously.
“You did great today Rimmy Tim -”
Jeremy reddened. “It’s okay. You can call me Jeremy.”
Jack smiled. “Jeremy. Yeah, you did great today. Thanks for helping us track down Vav and the Mad King.”
Jeremy fiddled with a coaster on the bar top. “I wasn’t that great. He got away.”
“And he’s been getting away for the past year. Ever since we started chasing that slippery, crowned psycho he’s managed to get away from us. But you played an important part today, and that was assisting in getting Vav back,” said Jack.
“Well, in that regard, I’m glad I could help,” Jeremy said with a grin.
“Team meeting time!” bellowed Geoff. Jack and Jeremy winced.
“Not sure why you’re yelling so loud. We’re all here already,” said Jack.
Geoff rolled his eyes at the ceiling. “That’s just in case British and bone-headed hears and decides to join us.”
Jack sighed again. “You just have to give him a bit of space Geoff.”
“All right fine…” Geoff whined. “We’re still having a meeting though.”
Jeremy nodded, but then paused. “Wait. Am I a part of this meeting?”
“Why wouldn’t you be?” asked Jack, pulling up a bar stool.
Jeremy flipped the coaster anxiously. It fell onto the floor. He retrieved it, his face reddening again. “Well, I’m not exactly part of the team. From what I understand, you guys just needed my help for the day,” he said.
“That’s partially what this meeting is about,” said Geoff.
Mogar slid off the couch and came over. With a little hop, he jumped up on the bar and sat there with his legs crossed. Geoff raised his bottle and cleared his throat. The three looked at him expectantly.
“We need trackers,” he said. “It’s the only way I can think to work around this issue. This is the second time that Vav has gone missing and it was only thanks to a lucky scent trail that we were able to find him again.” Geoff pointed his bottle at Mogar who nodded.
“Trackers?” the barbarian asked, tilting his head to one side. “I track. You need more?”
“Different kind of tracker. Electronic ones for each Hunter. GPS locatable,” Geoff said.
Jeremy rubbed his chin. “The Mad King is a smart bastard. If we were carrying around something like that he’d just find it and throw it in the drain,” he said.
“That’s why we need subdermal ones,” said Geoff. Jeremy paused, processing the word, then shivered.
“Like pet microchips?” he asked. His hand went tentatively to the back of his neck.
Geoff laughed. “Yeah. Like that. But fancier. And not in the neck. Probably in the arm.”
Jack rubbed his upper arm. “That’s still a fuck-off big needle…” he said.
Jeremy looked pale.
“It’s definitely a good idea though Geoff,” said Jack. “I’ll have to get Hilda on it when she’s around next. I know she’s pretty busy nowadays, but hopefully she can spare a project like that for her favourite band of misfit superheroes.”
Mogar squinted at Jack, Geoff and Jeremy.
“What is needle?” he asked.
Jack and Geoff looked at each other.
“I guess you’ve never had a needle, have you buddy?” Jack asked with a smile.
Geoff frowned. “Will needles even work on him though? His body is practically bulletproof.”
“I guess we’ll find out…” said Jack. The pair looked thoughtfully at Mogar.
“Next order of business!” said Geoff after a few seconds. He turned to Jeremy. “As Jack was saying, great work today little J. We’ve actually been looking for a new Hunter for a while now. We’ve had our eye on a couple of potential candidates. Today we needed the extra help and you pulled through, so you can consider this the start of your trial period as a Hunter,” Geoff said, glancing at Jack. The ginger man nodded and beamed at Jeremy. The short man looked between the two, his mouth open again.
“What? Seriously?”
“Yep!” said Geoff, popping the ‘p’. “And if we decide you’re the right kinda stuff to go with our kinda stuff, then you can get a big fuck-off needle too!”
Jeremy stared at him. Half of his face looked like it was trying to grin, the other half drooped in terror. Geoff threw his head back in laughter and clapped Jeremy on the back.
“Nothing to worry about Lil’ J. Needles aren’t that bad. See these tattoos? It’s like getting needles, but a million of them over several hours,” he said, gesturing to the artwork inked onto his skin.
“Yes, but you were inebriated through most of those Geoff. It provides a certain anesthetic quality…” said Jack.
“The fuck it does. My tolerance is so high by this point I could drink this entire bar dry and still walk straighter than Mr. Gavin ‘The Klutz’ Free any day,” Geoff shot back.
The smiles faded from their faces. Geoff took another drink and Jack looked up at the ceiling to where he could feel Gavin in the house. His powers were rather unusual in the way that they worked. Geoff’s powers worked directly on the element of his association, which in Geoff’s case was any form of alcohol. Jack’s powers were more nuanced. His senses were in tune with the energies people left in objects. The more hands-on an object had in its creation, the more Jack could influence it. He’d always found that the objects with the most energy from the most people in their creation were houses. This led to him often being able to basically use buildings as weapons, reshaping or simply destroying them as the need arose, thus earning him the name Jack-Hammer. This was also the reason the Hunter house was so homely - Jack himself had hand crafted every square inch of it.
He was able to reach out to that energy that he had poured into its formation and tweak it if need be. Currently, he was extending his senses upwards to the polished wooden floors of the second bedroom. He could feel the weight of the five castors on the bottom of Vav’s chair as the young man rolled across the floor.
Vav rolled closer to his desk, pulling one of the many monitors there around to see it better. He had a similar, but not as large set up in here as was in the basement. This one was leftover from when… Vav shook his head. He didn’t want to think about that right now. Right now, he had to track down the Mad King. He’d traced the psychopath’s exit from the building that Vav had been trapped in. The Mad King hadn’t even run. He’d basically sauntered down the street in his stupid crown and his stupid kilt. The man stopped, appearing to consider which way to go down a t-intersection, then raised his cold blue eyes to the camera. Vav’s fingers trembled over the keyboard. The recording on the screen smiled. The Mad King took another step and vanished out of frame. Vav switched to the next nearest camera, scrubbing to the correct time to see - nothing. The Mad King was there - right there in the frame of the other camera - and then he wasn’t. Vav cursed and slammed his fists on the desk.
“You smegging prick!”
Vav pushed himself himself away from the desk again. He’d had suspected that this whole ploy had been a trap in the first place. Jack and Geoff had warned him against going to the scene. He’d just needed to know. And… well, he wouldn’t say that he got captured on purpose - he just knew that if he was able to get the Mad King out in the open, then perhaps they’d be able to track him. But the sly bastard had obviously thought of that. Vav fiddled with the controls again, scrubbing backwards and forwards through the footage. He eventually resorted to clicking through the film frame by frame, straining to find something - anything - that he could use. Vav jumped a foot in the air when there came a sudden pounding at the door. He rearranged his legs in his chair and glared at the door.
“What?”
“Food time,” came Mogar’s reply.
Vav let his head fall back with an annoyed sound.
“I’m busy!” he called and turned back to the monitors.
“Come out!” Mogar yelled. He pounded on the door again.
“I’m busy, you twat!” Gavin yelled.
The pounding stopped. Gavin watched the door out of the corner of his eye. There was a painful creaking noise. The metal door bulged ever-so-slightly in the middle.
“Mogar - no - stop it!” Vav squawked. He heard the bear man chuckle, then the door creaked again, its hinges protesting.
“Bloody - quit it already!” Gavin stormed over to the door and unlocked it. Immediately the bear-man on the other side stopped leaning on it with his considerable strength and stepped back as Vav opened it.
“You will not break this door down again! Jack was mad after the third time. Do it again and he’ll get pissy at me as well,” Vav said, examining the lintel. Mogar rolled his eyes and grabbed the front of Vav’s blue costume and dragged him down the hall. Gavin spluttered and fought the grip the whole way.
“Got him,” Mogar growled. He dragged Vav down the stairs and into the basement, tossing him onto the couch. The young Brit landed in a heap of gangly limbs.
“Thank you Mogar,” said Jack. He handed the barbarian a grease stained bag. Drool formed basically instantly in Mogars mouth as he tore into the bag. Jack turned and dropped another onto the disgruntled Vav’s lap.
“I’m not hungry,” said Gavin.
“I doubt the Mad King had the courtesy to feed you and you’ve been gone since morning. Eat. Now,” said Jack. Gavin glared at him. He pushed the bag away and got up from the couch. He headed towards the stairs, but a hand on his arm stopped him. Vav looked around. Jack’s brow was creased in worry.
“Gavin,” he said softly. “It’s Five Guys. I got your usual order. Can you just try to eat a little bit of it?”
Vav said nothing and just stared frostily at the older man. Jack sighed.
“Please Gav. I… I know you want to catch the Mad King. I know… It’s just - and I can’t believe I’m saying this - but you were tortured today. Actual physical torture. That must have been hard. If you just eat something, it’ll be a weight off my chest,” he said.
Gavin continued to stare at him. He looked down at the bag in Jack’s hands. After a moment, the tension in his stance faded a little. He took the bag. Jack gave a small smile and let Gavin go. The young man looked down at the floor for a moment then back up at Jack. There was a chorus of laughter from over at the bar. Gav’s gaze flicked over and he watched as Geoff had drawn a series of wobbly, interlocking loops in the air with the contents of a bottle of Jager. Jeremy was enjoying the spectacle thoroughly.
“It was awful,” Vav said in a small voice. Jack reached out and rubbed Gavin’s arm again.
“I know. I can imagine,” Jack said.
Gavin’s hands tightened around the burger bag.
“It hurt… like a lot…” he said.
“It’s… it’s never happened to me personally. But one time Geoff… well, I won’t go into details. But he got through it. And you will too.”
Gav heaved a great sigh. He turned and went to sit on the couch again, his back to the others. Jack watched him go, a frown still etched on his face.
It was only later that night when it finally sunk in for Vav. He’d gone up to his room again and taken off the blue suit. He’d laid his gloves on the bedside table for easy access - he’d been caught out before - and slipped into some pyjamas. He got into bed and lay back. There in the darkness, with the house settling around him and the dim blue glow of his computer, there was finally silence. Silence and the deafening sounds of his thoughts. A cold fist seemed to clench around his stomach as he remembered getting up that morning to the news alerts that yet another bank had been robbed.
It was the latest in a long string of robberies. Geoff turned up the volume on the TV as Jack went over to the surveillance set up. He began pulling up details about the robbery as they came in over the various channels, and compared them to the past robberies.
“It’s the same MO alright,” said Jack. On one screen there was a picture from the heist three weeks ago, and one from today’s on another. Both images showed heavy bank vault doors open. Both were now completely devoid of any valuables. Both also had enormous, twin holes in the floors.
Vav flopped his upper half over the top of the couch.
“I’m telling you, it’s him ,” he said.
“Vav! For the last time! We have absolutely no proof that this is the Mad King’s doing. There has not been one shred, or scrap or fucking tartan-thread to indicate that this was him.”
“There was that camera feed in the robbery - the third one - wait - no, it was the fourth -”
“That feed didn’t show shit. That was just some dude’s shadow. It could have been anyone.”
“Geoffreeeeey… It was a crown. That shadow was wearing a crown. Wait. No - the person the shadow was of had a shadow which had a crown on - what?”
“Dude. That made no fucking sense. And therefore your argument is invalid,” Geoff said.
Gavin moaned in frustration and stomped out of the room. Geoff took a swig of coffee - coffee that was so liberally laced with Bailey’s it was basically more alcohol than coffee.
“Look at what that boy has made me do. It’s nine in the morning and I’m already drinking to soothe my nerves.”
Jack huffed a laugh. “Geoff, alcohol is literally water to you. You don’t need Gav for an excuse to drink.”
“You raise a fair point, sir,” said Geoff, waving a finger in Jack’s general direction.
Geoff watched the news for a few more minutes until the article about the robbery was over then he switched the channel.
“So, what’s on the agenda for today?” he said, his words almost lost in a huge yawn and stretch.
“There has been a slew of muggings uptown - in broad daylight. I was thinking we should head out there and just patrol around a bit.”
“Ugh. Patrolling. They never said I’d have to patrol when I became a superhero,” said Geoff and he slouched further down into the couch.
“Yes, well, there was no one to tell you anything when we all came into our powers Geoff. Most of us made it up as we went along.”
“Also true,” Geoff said with another finger waggle.
“So… do you wanna wake the bear, or shall I?” Jack asked. Geoff shuddered.
“It was a late night for all of us. I so do not wanna go in there,” he said.
Jack laughed. “I’ll go get him up then.”
“You’re a braver man than me,” Geoff said.
Jack headed upstairs towards Mogar’s room. It had taken a while to convince the wild man to move into the house. When the four had officially decided to become a team, he and Vav had both still lived elsewhere. Mogar specifically lived in the woods on the edge of the city. It took several hours to track him down every time they needed to go on a mission. So after a lot of persuasion and discussion, the bear-man had finally agreed to move into the house. As long as he could bring his mother. Said mother was currently established in the plushest, most luxurious barn that could be built for her in the backyard. Jack shook his head. How Mogar had even learned his very basic grasp on english and human etiquette after being raised by a cow - albeit a rather special cow - was beyond him. Mogar was a man of few words, but Jack was positive that he’d pry the whole story from him one day.
Jack knocked on the door. He heard a sleepy grunt from within and took this to be permission to enter. He pushed the door open. He would have been surprised by the interior if he had not crafted it himself. The whole room was covered in rock. There was a set of doors on the opposite side of the room leading onto a balcony. They were wide open, letting in a nice breeze. Mogar was sprawled in a pile of furs on the floor - the spot he called his nest. Those pelts were ones Mogar had collected over the years - killing predators who’d come to harm himself or his mother when they lived in the wild. The only thing that seemed out of place in the room was the desk. Although it was chiseled to look like it had grown straight from the stone wall, there was still a high quality computer and desk chair at it.
“Hey, furry fury, wake up. Time for missions,” Jack said.
There was more half-asleep grumbles from atop the fur pile. Jack chuckled as the young man lifted the corner of his mouth, baring a single fang in a sleepy growl.
“Surely you must have been an early riser - making most of the daylight and whatnot,” Jack said.
“Hibernatin’,” mumbled Mogar.
Jack laughed again. “Dude. You may say you’re a bear, but you’re human and you were raised by a cow. Both of which sleep less than you do.”
These words were met with yet another irritated grumble, so Jack left the man to wake up in his own time and went to fetch Vav.
He rapped his knuckles on the Brit’s door and then pushed it open. He paused for a moment. He was sure that Gavin had come back up here when he’d left the basement.
“Vav? Where are you? We’re heading out soon,” he called, thinking that perhaps Vav had gone to the bathroom. Jack wandered back downstairs, checking the kitchen and peering into the dining and living rooms.
“Did Gav come back in here?” Jack asked, heading down to the basement again and scanning the room. When Geoff shook his head, Jack reached out through the structure, looking for the familiar slight weight. He could not find it.
“He’s not in the house,” Jack said.
“Hm?” said Geoff. He was fixated on a new ad for some kind of gum. It had apples in bras for some reason.
“Gavin. Vav. He’s not in the house.”
Geoff turned now, frowning. “What?”
“Did you see him leave?” asked Jack. He went over to the garage stairs.
“I mean, the cars are all there, but Gav doesn’t drive.”
“Are you sure he’s not in the house?” asked Geoff as he got up from the couch. Jack looked pointedly at him.
“Fair point, fair point,” said Geoff, raising his hands. “Where would he have gone then? He must have known we’d have missions to do today.”
“Do you think he went to the bar?”
“Nah. It’s shut at this hour.”
Both Geoff and Jack looked at the ground thinking. Neither of them stopped to ask why they were being so protective of the young superhero - it was just an automatic response now after months of working together. Neither of them could really help it. Both gents constantly voiced the opinion that they were certain Vav should have been dead after some of the stunts he’d pulled. After teaming up, he’d had them yanking their hair out as they ran around after him like he was an new puppy liable to wander into traffic.
Jack’s eyes flickered towards the computer screens where the two images of the gutted bank vaults were still displayed.
“You don't think…?” said Jack, pointing at them. Geoff looked over.
“Ah, fuck…” he muttered.
Vav was vividly reminded of the time before he joined up with Jack, Geoff and Mogar. It was a lot like his current predicament. The constant internal debate on whether to continue walking to wherever he was going, or to catch public transit in his superhero outfit. Generally continuing to walk won out. Vav cut across the suburbs and headed uptown. People smiled and pointed as he passed, but he was used to this. The Austin sun was hot on his shoulders. He oftentimes wished he had a hat as part of his costume, but how ridiculous would that look? He stuck to the big shades instead.
The area was cordoned off with police tape. The news vans had all left already, having had their fill of the story. Only a few cops and curious passersby remained. When vav approached the tape he waved to one of the police officers. The cop grinned and walked over.
“Hey bud!” The officer had the same british accent as the young man in bright blue.
“Dan the man! How’re you?” said Vav.
“Yeah, not bad B. Yourself?”
“Yeah, top mate.” Vav found himself peering over Dan’s shoulder. He sidestepped the man and ducked under the tape. Dan rolled his eyes.
“Would you like to come in B? Sure B. Here let me get the tape for you B. Thanks B!” said Dan as he trailed after Vav. Gavin laughed.
“Sorry… just a bit focused,” he said. He led the way into the bank.
“It’s alright,” Dan said, laughing too. “Hey, just watch it. It’s a shit-show in there and you know the rules.”
Gavin nodded and was suddenly a lot more aware of where he was stepping. Many years ago, this would have been completely illegal. Superheroes - vigilantes would not have been tolerated interfering with an active crime scene. That was the case up until about three percent of the world’s population began developing unusual abilities. There were some major upheavals and turmoil within society at that time. Wars were fought even. Eventually though, the world took a massive chill pill and settled the hell down about the whole issue. Occasionally there were still flare ups, and powered-people were told off very severely for messing about with time, but nowadays, powers were mostly cool. Those powers who felt a calling to a higher purpose were allowed, and even encouraged to do so. As long as they could stick to some rules. Such rules included not fucking with crime scenes. You can look, but don’t touch .
Vav stepped carefully around all of the various bits of rubble and markers. The entire place was pockmarked with bullet holes. He also edged uneasily around the four or five still forms now draped with white sheets. Deep crimson pooled from them. Vav swallowed thickly and headed towards the vault.
“That is an awfully big hole,” said Gavin, coming to a stop at the entrance to the depository.
“Not as big as your mum’s,” said Dan, giving the slighter man a shove. Gavin squawked and flailed his arms at Dan.
“B, why are you so mean, B?”
Dan laughed.
“Besides, you know my mum. We grew up together,” Gavin said, flitting round the hole trying to peer into it.
“Yet you still act like you’re six years old,” Dan said.
Vav held up a finger. “Oi. Don’t make me slow-mo your butt again.”
Dan groaned. “Dude. That took like four hours to wear off. The most flippin’ annoying shit ever. Your legs can walk fast under it, but your whole ass feels like it’s glued to what? The air. Or something. Why did you get powers and I didn’t huh?”
“So I can do this,” Vav said with a grin and leapt into the hole.
“Oi - you’re gonna kill -” Dan broke off, his alarmed expression turning to one of annoyance. Vav had turned his hands towards his boots, effectively making them fall, and in turn, his body, fall in slow motion.
“Yeah, nice trick asshole,” Dan said. “You’d better not mess anything up down there. I think they’re coming back with a winch in a few hours to explore where it goes.”
Gavin nodded. “I know the drill,” he said. “Speaking of which, guess who’s been doing that to your mum?”
Dan rolled his eyes again and disappeared from the edge of the hole. Gavin cackled as he descended into the darkness.
As Gavin suspected, this was like the other robberies in the fact that the giant hole led directly into an old tunnel that run underneath the city. He used his phone as a flashlight when the light from above began to grow faint. He ignored the several missed calls and texts that were on there. He also noted that there was now no signal.
The hole did not run directly vertical. It sloped away slightly, so the tunnel that it connected to probably wasn’t even under the bank itself. When Vav was three feet off the ground, he released the slow-motion and let himself drop. He landed with a puff of dust and looked around. The walls of the hole had been almost entirely smooth. The perfect edges were really quite unnatural. This tunnel however was much older and smaller and appeared to have been hand hewn. Remnants of structural supports ran off into the darkness as well as a set of cart rails. It was most likely another old prohibition era smuggling tunnel. Geoff had been immediately able to distinguish the centuries old spilled alcohol in the previous tunnels they’d investigated. Those tunnels had always ended in cave-ins and trails gone cold.
Vav looked left and right, trying to figure out which way to go. He had to do this quickly. Geoff and Jack would figure out where he was sooner than later.
“ Think, moron ,” he whispered. Even that slightest sound in the darkness echoed. Gain shivered. He looked around again and the rail tracks caught his eye. He crouched down and examined them. They were extremely dusty after years of disuse and neglect, but it did seem that the ones leading off to the right were cleaner. Vav looked closer. Yes, those were definitely new scratches and wearing in the metal. He could see them glinting in the light from his phone. He went right.
The tunnel was low and he often had to duck his head to avoid cobwebs and beams. The tunnel began to slope upwards. Vav turned off his light when he realised with a surprise that there another natural source coming from up ahead. This tunnel did not end in a collapse like the others. He paused in the darkness, letting his eyes adjust. It was strange. They’d surmised that the cave-ins had been on purpose to cover any tracks the Mad King might have left. Vav bit his lip. That the manic had left this one open did not bode well.
Continuing up the tunnel he reached a point where he could see that new work had been done to widen it. New tracks had been added to make up a complicated switching system. Eventually, the tunnel opened up into a small cave. He wasn't sure if it was natural or not. Off to his left he could see piles and piles of dirt and large, strange disks of rock. He guessed that’s where they’d dumped the debris from the hole. The light came from a large hole in the ceiling. There was a brand new freight elevator type thing installed directly below it. Beside it was a ladder. Vav opted for a ladder as it would probably be quieter than trying to raise the elevator platform. He clambered cautiously up the rungs and peeked out into the room above. Bright sunlight streamed in from the high windows in a large warehouse. It was mostly empty save for a few oil stains and broken palettes. Vav cursed and clambered out of the hole.
“Another freaking dead end,” he muttered taking out his phone again. He tried to search for any new articles on the robbery, but after a second of waiting for the page to load, he noticed that he still had no bars.
“Goddamnit,” he said, shoving the phone back into his pocket. He huffed and headed for the doors to the warehouse. The doors however were locked. Vav swore again as he rattled them, trying to force them open. He was going to have to find another way out. As it turned out, the warehouse only had the one exit. Gavin was beginning to panic a little now. He had no way to call the guys. What if they hadn’t figured out where he’d gone? He shook his head. He had to find a way out by himself. He went and peered into the hole for the elevator platform again. From up here, he could actually see that there were several other tunnels leading off from the cavern. He climbed back down the ladder and went to the entrance to the first one. It speared off for a few yards, but then ended in a pile of rubble. The second was similar. The third however seemed promising. Gavin took a few steps down it, swinging his light left and right and heard something crunch under his boot. He jumped and stepped backwards quickly shining his light downwards. Squashed into the dirt was a little green plant with a purple puff of a flower. Gavin stared at it. It didn’t look like it had grown there - he had squished it a little too much to tell though. Vav’s heart beat faster in excitement. The flower was familiar.
“A thistle!” he said in triumph. He’d seen them before - on the Mad King’s lapel. Of course - him in his kilt and Scottish get-up had to have a thistle flower for a finishing touch. It was no accident that it had been left there, but Vav was not about to let such a solid lead get away. He squared his shoulders and strode into the darkness.
This tunnel was much longer than the one underneath the bank. He almost ran out of battery on his phone from the amount of time he’d spent using his flashlight. The clock told him he’d been underground now for about two hours. He’d been hearing running water for the past hour. The walls had become cobbled instead of rough stone and the smell was enough to make him gag multiple times. This was definitely a sewer now. Vav stopped to rub his watering eyes. How much further could this be? As if on cue, he heard new sounds. He looked around, trying to pinpoint their source. In the dim light of his phone he could see a door up ahead. A maintenance room of some sort. He hurried towards it quietly. Vav pressed his ear up against the door. There came a muffled whimpering. Vav’s gut clenched. He recognised that voice. The door was unlocked. Vav knew it was a bad idea, but he couldn’t help himself. He turned off his light and inched the door open. It was a big room, again, mostly empty. In a circle of light was a solitary figure, bound in an upright position. Vav mas motionless. He scanned the room quickly, seeing no one. He darted to the bound figure.
“X-ray! X-ray, buddy, it’s me. It’s okay, I’m here. I’m gonna get you out of here…” he whispered. X-ray was not dressed in the green suit that Vav remembered. His new outfit was chocolate coloured with a large pale brown crown emblazoned on the man’s chest. His head was hanging down now, chin nearly touching the emblem. Gav fumbled with the restraints at X-ray’s wrists. He couldn’t get them loose. His fingers were too clumsy inside his gloves. He cursed and stripped them off. He went for the restraints again and yelped in surprise. As soon as he touched them, the metal bindings released and snapped around in reverse, ensnaring Gavin’s wrists instead.
“Ah! No! Bloody - fecal matter -” he broke off and looked down. X-ray had disappeared. There was a low, smooth chuckle behind Vav. He turned, wrenching his wrists in the restraints.
“I knew you were here you bastard! Where did Ray go?”
The Mad King stepped out of the shadows. The grin that came over his face was dazzling. It reached eyes that glittered in the harsh light, crinkling them at the corners. There had never been something right about the Mad King’s eyes. As clear and as blue as they were, they always felt as if one were looking into a vast, inescapable hole. Vav felt a huge block of ice slip into stomach at the sight.
“My dear, simple Vav. He was never here of course,” said the Mad King. He raised a hand and revealed a small white remote. A click and suddenly X-ray was there again. Vav squinted around, realising with dread where the projection was coming from now. The spotlights around him weren’t just that.
“Of course I needed some redundant projectors for when you approached and blocked some,” the Mad King said. The superhero avoided the instinct to shrink backwards as the madman stalked towards him.
“And of course it vexed me, wondering whether or not you would notice the fact that my lure had no shadow, but it seems not to have mattered,” he said, coming face to face with Vav. Cold dread swept over Gavin. He’d come alone. The guys were several hours behind him at the least.
The Mad King’s grin widened somehow and he tilted his head slightly. Vav knew he was thinking along the very same lines. The blue eyes travelled down Vav to the floor. The Mad King laughed and scooped up the gloves from where Vav had dropped them.
“Give those back, you prick!” Vav yelled. His voice echoed horribly in the small chamber.
“Oh Vav, such a thoughtful gift. You really shouldn’t have,” said the kilted man.
“Don’t touch them,” Vav growled through gritted teeth.
“This is much too generous. I shall have to think of something equal to gift you in reciprocation,” the Mad King said, considering him again and tapping the gloves on one hand.
Gavin yelled and yanked again on the restraints.
“Let me go you bastard! Mogar and Jackhammer and the Brewer will be here any second. They will push your shit in if you don’t let me go right now!”
The Mad King put his hand on his chest in mock affront.
“Such untruths! You and I both know perfectly well that your rag-tag hero friends have no idea where you are Gavin .”
Vav froze. The Mad King chuckled.
“Yes I know, Gavin.”
“How?” spat Vav.
“Oh, I know everything, my little cerulean friend,” the Mad King said, turning and striding over to a desk that Vav had not noticed before. He laughed again.
“Actually, I tell a lie. I don’t know everything. For instance, I know not what this button does,” he said, his hand hovering over a keypad on the table. “It’s been a long time since I set this all up. So I guess we’ll discover it anew together?”
Vav fixed him with a stare.
“You are the biggest prick to ever prick,” he hissed.
The Mad King laughed and pressed the button and Vav screamed.