The Ground Trembles
The air was cool and sharp on the parts of skin it bounced off, making a low noise that Remus could hear all around him, and he could feel the part of his face where the mask became skin stinging slightly. His knees were beginning to hurt from his low crouch on the building top but he pushed the thought out of his mind and stayed focused, eyes locked on the bustling street down below. Remus was locked in position, perfectly still and silent, a weapon waiting to be wielded. His assignment had been ongoing several hours now and yet he waited. Until finally-
“Seismic, make your move.”
His crouch was already deepening to prepare for his jump before the final staticy fizzle from his earpiece in his mask had faded away, and Remus scanned the area for where he was aiming. The once calmly moving air was now angry and rushing around all sides as he leapt through it, the small titanium bar gripped in his hand flipped through his fingers with practised ease before rapidly extending, giving him momentum to push off the wall before he landed on the floor with a tuck and roll, perfectly trained position.
The momentary shock from the civilians surrounding him as they tried to process his sudden appearance made his task that much easier, as his target immediately turned on their heel and began to sprint through the still frozen crowd. Cursing the speed at which they ran, Remus rose and began the chase, expanding his favourite weapon for small boosts required to avoid obstacles. He’d never outrun the escapee on foot, Remus knew this, but so he simply brought time in the hunt as he gathered strength. The feeling of power rushing into his body, running up his legs like a sizzling current or a hot wire with each contact his feet made with the soil was electrifying, and he mentally directed it to his fingertips. A small twitch of movement from his hands rapidly expanded and retracted the titanium in his grip, sending him soaring through the air, the ground coming up to meet him and make his descent easier and he landed, crouched in front of the fleeing person.
Remus smirked, meeting their wide eyes for a second before slamming his hand onto the packed dirt ground, sending a ripple effect outwards that knocked any remaining civilians nearby out of immediate danger, before switching to bring the same rippling parts of the ground sharply upwards, creating walls that cut him and his opponent off from the rest of the world.
The wild blonde hair of the person fleeing flicked in time to the frantic movements of their head as they carefully assessed their new surroundings before finally coming to rest back at Remus. He stared back, careful to have what little of his face that could be seen with the mask blank. The two daggers, one held in each hand, were twirled expertly as the Blonde took a couple steps to the right. Remus mimicked the movements, and they began to carefully circle each other in the closed off space Remus had created, sizing each other up like a pair of wolves.
“So, Seismic, still running around being Dumbledore’s little bitch I see. Answering to his every beck and call?”
Years of training prevented the violent flinch that raced through his body from being expressed, but he was sure she could tell the effect her words had on him regardless, by the way the smell of power that hung thick in the air twisted like a stomach lurching.
“Still being forced to do Moody’s dirty work then, Halo?”
Halo’s eyes rolled and she sent one of her daggers flying towards him, that he quickly locked eyes on and with a flare of power crumpled the metal into a deformed shape, the sudden lack of it’s aerodynamic shape sending it dropping to the floor.
“Asshole, stop fucking doing that to my daggers! It’s such a pain to get new ones!” Halo sneered, hands moving so quickly to retrieve a new dagger from god-knows where, that Remus could’ve blinked and missed it happen. He had just opened his mouth when to respond when suddenly his earpiece filled with static again before Dumbledore spoke;
“Seismic, stop fooling around. This is a mission, end it. I expect this to be dealt with swiftly and efficiently. “
Remus’s mouth snapped shut with a sinking sensation in his stomach, and it was all he could muster to mutter out a quick, “Yes, Sir.”, before turning his attention back to the vigilante at hand.
“Oh, what, Daddy didn’t like you interacting with another living person beside his wrinkly old ass? Boo h-” Halo’s mocking words were cut off as he roughly raised the earth to an angle below her, catching her off guard and throwing her to the ground. Halo recovered quickly, turning the jolt into a roll and then momentum to launch herself at him. Remus blocked, the loud clang of daggers on titanium bouncing off the dirt walls.
Halo’s extreme speed and agility without a doubt overpowered his own, Remus had no shame in admitting it, it was her power after all. And her skill with dual wielding and throwing those bloody daggers was just a well-practised skill that was quite a deadly combination with what she was naturally given. However, they were in the south side of the city today, and the floor was paved with dirt, and the small flecks of metal he could detect throughout it filled him with strength, and the power he was gaining began to well and overflow inside him.
He was Seismic, ruler over the earth and its metals. He could make the earth shake and tremble, and bend metal to his will. The materials of the earth would follow his command and his command only. And Seismic was given a mission assignment, and he would fucking finish it. He had to. Or else-
He threw himself to the side to dodge a running attack from Halo, grinding to a sudden halt at the change of direction. A twitch of his hand caused the earth underneath them to rearrange itself, a cloud of dust arising. The sound of faint swearing being whispered under their breath could be heard from Halo’s direction, the only sign they were there aside from the glint of her dark red suit in the sun. Remus drew all the small flecks of metal from the ground, surrounding buildings, everywhere his power could reach and arranged it all in position. He was so focused on his preparation he almost didn’t catch Halo’s panicked whisper of, “Padfoot- Now!”, before he released the metal in her direction at top speeds.
Whoever Padfoot was, - a stupid name, Remus thought - they did not get there in time, as all the small pieces of metal impaled Halo. The suit did nothing to protect against the attack. Although small, the sheer number and force of them hitting Halo from all sides caused a stifled scream as she fell to the ground, unable to hide her flinch of pain and the fall caused certain parts to dig in deeper. Remus held out his hands and began to raise the earth behind him, ready for a final strike to Halo to put her out of commission and take her back to base, when shadows dancing across the edge of his vision caught his eyes and he paused in his movements.
The familiarity of the shadows made his chest ache, and his throat felt tight as he saw them grow larger, sneaking into the area and spilling like smoke around where Halo was lying and tense with pain. He took a shaky step back. It couldn’t be. The breeze must be back again, blowing against his eyes as he stared in shock and making them feel prickly and sore. He couldn’t bring himself to finish his action, the pillar of earth floating and spinning impatiently behind him as his feet felt stuck to the very floor he controlled.
The shadows around Halo became more concentrated, forming the wispy outline of a human form, and then all Remus could see was a flick of hair, pale arms adorned with tattoos reaching out to grab Halo’s body, before it was enveloped by smoky shadow once again and both forms disappeared.
Remus was stuck blinking at the now empty space for two painfully long seconds before adrenaline kicked back in and he was sprung into action, mind working overtime.
“Shit shit shit shit shit, shit shit fuck fuck fuck. Fuck.” He whirled around in a desperate circle. Halo and any signs of the shadow were well and truly gone. Fuck. He was so unbelievably fucked. Ignoring the emotional turmoil threatening to well up inside him Remus pushed it down, he had enough to deal with as repercussions from the current situation without having to deal with anything arising from whatever that means as well. Hands shaking slightly in a way he couldn’t stop, he raised him and brought down the towering walls of earth and returned them to their normal spot in the ground.
The activation of the earpiece felt like a rock sinking in his stomach, worsening as no words were said, waiting for him to speak. Remus cleared his throat, not wanting his voice to shake and add to the embarrassment. “Mission failed, Sir. Target was almost defeated before being saved by a supposed teammate and leaving with no trace, Sir.” His words were met with 13 painful seconds of silence.
“Vigilantes don’t have teammates, Seismic. I am well aware you failed. Report back to the Order immediately.” Dumbledore’s voice was as cold as always, and precise.
“Yes, Sir.” Remus’ carefully blank voice answered. His body seemed to move without permission, making his way back on auto-pilot.
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“So,” Dumbledore was pacing the length of his office up and down while Remus stood straight up and to attention in the middle of it, “Mission Failed. Is that right?”
It took a lot of effort for him to nod, but he managed it, however jerky.
“Any suspicions as to why, Seismic?” The question was pointed, and the use of his hero name seemed to be thrown in his face. Remus’ nails dug into the palms of his hands as he answered.
“Sir, I had Halo at my mercy, but she was saved by what seems like an ally equipped with,” Remus swallowed nervously but continued, “shadows.”
The air grew uncomfortably hot and Remus felt a bead of sweat slide down his face. His mask was removed in the presence of Dumbledore, of course. Dumbledore stopped his slow pacing and came to stand directly in front of Remus, eyes flashing dangerously.
“Think carefully about what you’re trying to say here, Remus.” A spark flew out and landed on the soft underside of his arm, burrowing in with a sharp burn of pain that mimicked that unsettling feeling Remus had at Dumbledore’s taunting use of his name.
“I’m not-” He was cut off by Dumbledore’s flying hand swinging at him, the noise from the back of it colliding with his cheek making a smart slap, and Remus head turned quickly to the side.
“You address me as Sir.” Came Dumbledore’s stern words. “And I don’t want to hear any of this nonsense about ‘shadows’, do you hear me boy? None of it. I won’t accept these pitiful excuses for your lack of abilities. And I certainly won’t stand for you trying to imply that this could be my fault.”
“Of course not, Sir. I would never even suggest it. My apologies, Sir, I shouldn’t have tried to explain my failings like that. It will not happen again.” Remus spoke clearly, mindful of Dumbledore’s distaste for mumbles, but with his head turned to the ground. The left side of his face stung smartly, and he could feel a bruise forming in the shape of the ring that adorned Dumbledore’s hand. At least it would be hidden by the shape of his mask.
Dumbledore took a couple steps forward, reaching out both hands and cradling Remus’ face, titling it up to face him.
“Oh my dear boy, my dear dear boy. You have to remember these things. You are the danger to this cause Seismic, remember? I’m doing you a favour.” His eyes turned from angry to a pondering sadness with a speed that left Remus’ head spinning. “Sometimes I feel as though you don’t appreciate all the work I’ve put into you, all the time and energy I’ve sacrificed to train you, to make you worth something.”
Remus felt his heart skip a beat. “No Sir, please, I do, Sir.” Dumbledore simply stared at him with sad eyes. He moved his thumb to wipe over the stinging side of his face, caressing it gently. Remus suppressed the whine that wanted to escape as Dumbledore’s thumb came to rest upon the tender bruise that was blooming from his ring.
“Good. And you’ll do well to,” as he spoke the next words he gripped Remus’ face with one hand and roughly dug his thumb into the bruise with the other, “remember it.” He released Remus roughly, sending him stumbling back a few steps.
He turned away from Remus, waving the same hand in the air dismissively as he spoke. “You’re assigned to extra training, as well as more patrols. I’m taking you off mission until I can trust you again. Your dinner tokens have been banned for 2 weeks.”
Remus ducked his head in a quick bow and turned to leave, stomach already protesting at the thought. “Yes, Sir.”
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Lying in what could really only loosely be defined as a room, more of a cell if you were to ask Remus, he stared blankly up at the ceiling. The darkness in the room seemed as though it began to twist into those oh-so-familiar shadows, and for a moment Remus thought he could hear the giggling laughter and memories that came along with it. Finally, in the solitude of his room, Remus allowed the memory to come to the front of his mind. The giant gaping hole in his life that was jagged, raw, and painful. The singular name that held so much.
Sirius Black.