The Undoing Of Villains | ✓

twenty five

(a/n: dedicated to wildestdreams05 for being the first vote on the previous chapter! tysm lovely <3 merry christmas! for those wondering how my math exam went, as far as I knew it went OK! im just happy i understood all of the integrals and derivates and functions :) merry chryselr! <3<3<3)

twenty five

WE STAYED BEHIND AT THE water purification plant to oversee the course of action for the emergency responders. It took surprisingly long for them to get there, but I chalked it up to no one expecting there to be a fire at a facility handling water. 

I let Vector do the talking, however, it was impossible to miss the side-eye glances or suspicious looks cast his way. Tetra had done a good job of dragging his name through the mud, and with media being the volatile field it is, the public relied on completely false information. I wanted to scoff, but instead I hung back, crossing my arms above my chest and raising a brow at whatever person of authority I saw casting dubious glances Vector's way. 

Since I would never let Vector do all the talking for the saving of the water plant - which was a joint effort - I did describe my version of the events to the police captain in charge. A tall, stout man with a broad face and chunky glasses introduced himself as the Commissioner, although his demeanor was far from trusting. I was new in town, after all. Casting that aside, I did my best to retell the events as factually as possible, mentioning the casualty resting at the bottom of one of the drained pools in the basement. 

With a grim face, the commissioner nodded. That expression slipped away when he set his sights on Vector, and his mouth twitched at a grin as the two men's eyes met.

"Vector. Back on the good side?" The commissioner asked, jerking his chin toward the still smoking plant. 

Vector suppressed a smile, but I spotted a glint in his eye when he responded, "Missed the get-out-of-property-damage free card, Commissioner." 

They shook hands, once, and that seemed to suffice in the way of communication. It was obvious they went some way back from their shared friendly demeanor, but it was most likely a terrible idea to broadcast that to the rest of the police and emergency responders as Vector had just been publicly accused of murder. 

Going another round of information-sharing, we both brought some structure to the bleary-eyed, caffeine-boosted workers arriving to put out the remaining smolders. The parking lot emptied out gradually, the actual superiors officers barking out orders, and it was in that moment me and Vector turned to each other, standing a few feet apart. 

I cracked a smile - he returned it. At this moment, I knew we had become proper partners. Yes, he still  thought I was named Carly but it didn't matter - perhaps the time would come when I would tell him my life story. Not the long, sad one, of course - no one has enough energy for that.

Thanks, family, for a traumatizing childhood. 

Well, my subconscious chirped, at least you can twist it into comic relief. 

"Done?" I asked, nodding toward the responders. Vector's eyes studied the many vehicles cluttering the lot, blue lights still flashing on most of them despite their passengers being inside of the building. 

"I'd say so." He said, eyes sliding back to me, "You?" 

I hummed a response, tiredness slowly creeping into my marrow now that the night was over. The first streaks of light had already crept into the sky, clouds now peppered with the colorful shades sunrise brought on. The Dynamo skyline's light was fading, skyscrapers turning off their lights as the sun went up.