Vices and Maces

Chapter 5: When Your Son has to be the Responsible One

CW: blood

"Remus? Hey, Remus. Wake up!" Roman pulled the pillow out from under his brother's head.

"Ah! Wha- oh, hey," Remus yawned.

"Remus, what are you doing on the couch? Did you not go to your own bed last night? And what happened to your cheek?" Roman touched his own.

"What do you-" Remus almost scratched where there was an itch on his face, finding the dried blood. "Oh yeah, guess I forgot to treat that. I was a bit lightheaded yesterday, flew too high in the sky."

"Remus, you know not to do that! What, did you fall in a tree and scratch your face? You're lucky that's the only injury you have." Roman tossed the pillow on his brother's back.

"I am lucky, you got that right!" Remus sat up, letting the pillow fall to the floor. He didn't hear any footsteps coming from the hall behind the couch. "I got this from a fight last night! One of Wolfsbane's lackeys tried to kill me for that bounty."

"What?!" a voice behind him shouted. He turned around and saw Kayden, with a look that was a cross between worried and angry.

"Good luck with that," Roman grumbled, walking away. "Your son, your problem."

"There's a bounty for you?" Kayden flew over, black feathery wings barely being able to find space in the room.

Kayden had black frizzy hair, and dark skin. And while his dark wings were gorgeous, the thing that often caught most people's eyes was the cane he had in hand, and when his pants were rolled up, his prosthetic leg. The avion was born missing his leg from just below the knee.

"Okay, to be fair, the bounty isn't just for me! There's a bounty on Roman too!" Remus defended. "And it was bound to happen, I'm surprised there wasn't one on us already. I mean, they want us dead, I knew that, but now I guess they're paying some good money for us."

"And you already got hurt!"

Remus shrugged. "It's what I signed up for when I first joined a gang. Besides, it's just a small cut."

"It's just a scratch now, but what if next time it's a limb? Or your head!"

"Oh please! That guy couldn't hurt me worse than this, I'll be fine. I'm an amazing fighter, if I do say so myself."

Kayden crossed his arms. "You could at least have a bodyguard with you. What if you get overwhelmed? I don't want to lose another father!"

Remus pouted. "You're trying to guilt me. You never met your biological father, and your first adoptive father was a dick."

"I'd say my second adoptive father is also a dick."

"And you would be correct!" Remus stood up, taking his son's arm. "However, I'm stronger than most people. I'm even stronger than your uncle!"

"No you're not!" Roman called from the kitchen.

"Okay, I was. Ever since crabby pants over there turned into a vampire, he's been stronger than me. But Kay-kay, I beat a total of four people in a fight yesterday!"

"You were in a fight with four people?!" Kayden only panicked more.

"Nope! Two fights, one with three people, and the other with one. I kinda hope I can see that one guy again, he was a great fighter. That's why I let him live." Remus shrugged and headed off into the kitchen, bringing Kayden with him.

"Just be careful, please? I don't want to lose you. I know I can rely on Uncle Ro if I need to, but I would rather not."

"I agree with him," Roman said. "Hopefully this bounty will blow over, and we'll be fine. But for now, we shouldn't go anywhere alone. At least not in public."

"I don't need any babysitters!" Remus complained. "I'll be fine!"

~~~

"VIRGIL!" Janus shouted as he kicked open the door to his office. Virgil jumped from where he was at his desk, giving the shifter a glare. His hair was pulled back into a short ponytail, his bangs falling into his face. He was still in his pajamas and there were dark circles under his eyes. He clearly didn't sleep long, despite his bed being right behind him.

"Good morning to you too," he greeted. "What happened?"

"I need a weapon that will help me catch an overgrown moth. Preferably dead."

"Get in line." Virgil scribbled something out in a notebook. "Black has been waiting on a new weapon for weeks now, and he's getting impatient. If I don't figure out a totally new weapon soon, I'll get new guards to make sure I'm doing my work. Something I don't want."

"As long as I'm not replaced, I've become quite fond of this little job." Janus leaned against the desk, looking to see what Virgil was working on.

"You know, I wouldn't mind a new gopher." Virgil kicked the desk to push his chair away. "And stop looking over my shoulder, it makes it hard to focus."

"Let's brainstorm together, what about a net that shreds whatever it touches to pieces?"

"A wire netting with fire dust melted into the metal. Won't be instant, but it'll work eventually. It could be kept in some sort of gun or canon with ice crystals on the inside. But no, I'm not interested in creating that. Plus at that point, it's not really a net, since nets are designed to catch, not slash."

"That could be a little jingle for it! Slash, not catch!"

"I'm not making a weapon for you to fight one of the dudes that created one of the most powerful gangs in the city, because I know that's who you're after! I'd rather you not get killed."

"Aw, you care! Disgusting."

Virgil rolled his eyes. "Maybe I can recreate your dagger, but instead of a chain, it's a magnetic whip? That way it can't break and become useless."

"Sounds cool, and I have first dibs, but uh... How would that work? Wouldn't the magnets just cling onto any nearby metal?"

"Ugh, you're right. And if it goes too far, you could lose a blade..."

"Hmm, fire sword?"

"I've done that before."

"Electric bomb!"

"Useless, waste of energy."

"Fuck, I don't know, a laser gun?"

"What- wait no that could work." Virgil looked up in thought, the spark in his eye shining brighter.

"Wait seriously?" Janus pushed himself off of the desk.

"Laser guns have already been made, but most have a weak laser, or they just take too much energy to shoot one shot. So what if I took magic, and concentrated it into a bullet? I could use an electric charge to make it blast off, I just need a barrel with strong enough metal to withstand an explosion like that. I could use ice magic, fire magic, and maybe even electricity? No, that one is too unpredictable and dangerous. I'll have to brainstorm more magic ideas, but it's a start!"

"Wow, I always forget how big of a nerd you are. Anyway, I want first dibs on a fire gun."

"You get second, Black always gets first dibs. I have to brainstorm, so leave please."

"Fine! I see I'm not needed. Time to go catch some butterflies." Janus left the room as Virgil rolled his eyes.

The inventor mumbled under his breath, "I thought they were moths."