Chapter Text
The next week flew by them. And if someone asked them, they might have done quite a bit of flying past each other, too. In a truly unfortunate sense, that second piece was completely literal; Richie felt himself wince as he recalled Static being literally rubberbanded by Rubberband Man during their fight last night, after both of them taking it on the nose in the last fight before that. A veritable mess of small tidal waves courtesy of Aquamaria and being tossed around by Rubberband, and it was a foregone conclusion that they both ended the encounter sporting bruises and sprains.
Virgil winced at the thought instinctively, fighting back another, harder flinch as he felt his sore neck muscles spasm. And just as quickly warm hands laid gentle on the expanse of his shoulders, Richie sidling up behind him.
"Talk to me, V."
The young man in question sighed his answer. "I'm sore but not really any head pain to speak of, baby."
Those hands stopped the beautifully gentle motion smoothing down and around the base of his neck.
"You're still not coming off protocol, Virg, don't sweet talk me. I just watched you flinch at your own flinch. You need rest."
Virgil couldn't help but to sigh again, more deeply this time. But he held his tongue; Richie was right, of course. Rubberband---Adam---was not one of the Babies to take lightly. Rubberband Man's physical power was formidable, but what made him dangerous and not simply a nuisance was his mind. Adam could be creative, which spelled trouble when it was him up against the duo. Oddly enough, though he often did his brother's bidding, Adam was usually rocking the villain bit solo. They rarely saw him with any other Bang Babies let alone any of Ebon's crew. Recently though....
"Rich? I've been trying to puzzle out...why was Aquamaria working with Rubber this last time? She isn't really about that, hasn't been for a year or so."
He saw the blond's pink lips thin out, effectively frowning down at the glove he was reworking some of the circuitry of.
"I can't figure it, to be honest. And that kinda concerns me, man."
Virgil gently reclined back on the couch of the hideout with his deepest sigh yet.
"I hate not having an answer, babe."
Richie's lips were so tightly pressed Virgil had the passing, harebrained thought of pressing petals between them. "And neither do I. But I'll tell you what, I almost hate finding out just as much."
The two of them exchanged an eye-rolling glance and settled back into themselves. Rich was right of course, like in most things, which was not where Virg needed his head at the moment. Where his focus should be was the puzzle; why would Aquamaria say yes to Adam when V and Richie knew that she was trying to get out of the game?
Like them, Maria had been a casualty of sorts of the Bang, hit during some time working closely with Ebon and his gang. But unlike Ebon and even Adam, Maria had first done some jaunting around and posturing with the rest of the gang like Hotstreak and then quickly declined to continue. The standoff between Ebon himself and Maria was spectacular, the superhero duo heard after the fact. And heard from Maria herself, at that.
So why, Virgil frowned at the ceiling, was Maria hanging with Adam in the last few weeks? She was doing okay, on the right track, whatever. Him and Richie saw her in the halls, during lunch. Talked idle talk with her and snickered over stupid things. Virgil would've even said they were...friendly. Maybe that's why this puzzle was sticking in his craw.
She was their friend.
Trying to turn it over and over in his mind, Virgil felt the headache coming back on with a vengeance as the back of his head and his neck began to ache. He did wonder, if he and Richie were so unsettled for the same reasons. Maria was a kind and firmly exuberant force in their day to day by now, usually a fixture at least once a day. It was a little like sliding backwards, which made Virgil doubt interactions and smiles and whatever. But mostly, V was given to thinking; after all, what could get Maria back in the game? He wasn't sure but he knew it was high stakes if she hadn't even...talked to them, first.
With a huff, V rearranged himself on the couch gingerly. It would be revealed in time. He just hated waiting.
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Waiting only took as long as the next day.
A shipment within city limits, carried by semi. Something to do with a cryo-environment and test tubes, and Virgil really really did not want to know but knew they'd have to do something about it anyways.
Richie only gave him The Look once, on the way there, which was the only warning Virgil had that this could go spectacularly sideways incredibly quickly. That look was one V had become intimately acquainted with, and usually meant that whatever Richie had found or had reported to him through his link in with the newsfeeds was something that could knock them cleanly out of their comfort zones. Not really, if you asked V, his idea of a good time.
They headed in anyways, zipping through windy streets, as the faint hum of electricity and the power pack carried them to the highway where Rubberband Man and Aquamaria were attempting a good, old-fashioned stick-up.