made a VERY quick VR portal art that I’m gonna show at an AR House party tonight for LA Tech Week!!

Adventures In A Secret Garden

Another day another exploration expedition! Today I hopped into portal bound for the world Secret Stellar Garden, made by someone with a name I cannot type out on my keyboard. The world is available to pc and headset users. It can hold up to sixteen people which in the grand scheme of things doesn’t seem like a lot of players. However this beautifully crafted island out in space had a secret I nor my boyfriend were ready for, that make you consider keeping your visits here a small affair. Entering the Stellar Garden a fountain sits to greet you and of course my first priority was to jump in and take photos. Shooting stars fall from the sky as you take in the large purple flowers grown over an archway. The true garden portion of the world. Switching from my usual avatar-if you can call it that-to the angel was a must. It’s worlds like these that make me yearn for more ethereal avatars in my closet. Once you pass through the beautiful archway you get to a gazebo with benches sat around the edges.

 It never clicked in my brain as I walked up the steps of the gazebo to the cups of tea and snack cakes that this world had a hidden secret. Well a not so hidden secret if I had turned ever so slightly to a second table set up. If you’re looking for a beautiful place to hold a mock or rp wedding event look no further! This small simple venue with a breathtaking landscape would be the picture-perfect place to stage a proposal. It has a pair of small rings, one shaped like a crown cast in a dark metal, the other a silver ring sporting a large stone. Playing with the rings  flustered me for sure and the spike of panic that went through me was all to real when my boyfriend pointed those out.

This world is the perfect place if you’re looking for some interesting new angles be it for filming or photography. The world isn’t very large, but it uses space well giving for interesting environmental backgrounds. The music is a soft inviting score that matched the stars falling into your palm. If anything my biggest criticism and surprise is that the rings don’t attach to your avatar. They don’t have the bones. You just place them for photos as they do float without any gravity effects. I recommend you this world a look if you’re looking for a new place to hang out! If you do let me know what you think!

CTRL+ALT+DECEIT

Warnings: non-consent sex and rape; oral, fucking, stalking, hacking, threats, implied violence.

This is dark!Jake Jensen x reader and explicit. 18+ only.  Your media consumption is your own responsibility. Warnings have been given. DO NOT PROCEED if these matters upset you.

Synopsis: You find your pictures on someone else’s Insta but that’s not the only thing he’s stolen.

Note: Yay, another Jensen fic at last. I’m probably gonna try to work in more one shots between my series. I’m looking at Andy Barber, Ransom Drysdale, or Lee Bodecker right now for next week but we’ll see.

Thanks to everyone for sticking around and putting up with me and thanks in advance for all your feedback. :)

I really hope you enjoy. 💋

<3 Let me know what you think with a like or reblog or reply or an ask! Love ya!

The chirp of the chat pierced your eardrum once more as you ignored it for the spreadsheet of dates on your other monitor. Working from home could be both peaceful and distracting but the third bing had you muting and pushing your headset to your neck with a grumble. You switched windows as the chat box blinked.

‘So why didn’t u tell me u had a bf?’ Zia’s bubble blipped up followed by impatient emojis.

“Wat r u talking bout?’ you typed back and clicked back to the spreadsheet to update the status of each course. That noise came again and you flipped back.

‘I’m not stupid! Come on. He’s far away but he’s cute.’

You frowned and tapped the space bar lightly. You were utterly confused. The only activity in your daily life were the general notifications from Tindr. You repeated the question and she sent an emoji rolling its eyes.

‘I’m serious.’ you replied.

She sent a link and then a laughing GIF attached to another bubbled response, ‘I’m not buyin it.’

You clicked on the hyperlink and a new tab opened. You scrolled down on the Insta as the air was knocked out of you at the sight of your own face. Not only were their pics taken from your public profile but several you’d never even posted. Your skin crawled and the bing sounded again.

‘So… an online thing huh.’ Zia pressed on.

‘I gotta work.’ you closed out of the window entirely but stayed on the Insta.

You scrolled through about a dozen or so selfies of you, each labeled as ‘missing my lady’ or ‘she’s so sweet, sending me pics to keep me company’. Your stomached roiled with mortification and the unsettling sensation of intrusion. It was easy enough to guess you’d been hacked but to think this was what the creep did with it was even more startling.

You changed the password on your Insta and went through the process of doing so with all of your accounts and ran a scan on your PC. You would likely have to file a ticket for a proper inspection with a specialist. You couldn’t help but shake as you went back to the profile after checking your bank account and PayPal to make sure it wasn’t worse than just pics.

You went back to the profile and found photos of the culprit. His spiky blond hair and glasses were unsurprising and his comic book tee shirt was even less. Your disgust was quickly replaced with anger as you hit the chat icon above his info.

‘Hey, jackass, care to tell me how you have my photos on your profile?!’

The read icon appeared almost and you saw him typing. It stopped and then started again.

‘You’re so beautiful, I wanted to share it with everyone.’

You scoffed at the message and cringed at the screen. ‘Are you nuts? Like actually. You stole my photos! You hacked me. Creep.’

You blocked him immediately after hitting send and logged out. You opened Excel again and tried to focus on the coloured cells. You could hardly process what you were doing as your phone began to vibe on the corner of your desk. It didn’t let up and you couldn’t focus past the incessant buzzing.

You snatched it up and several messages covered the screen as you unlocked it. ‘You really think that’s gonna work’; ‘You can’t block me’... several in a similar vein that you deleted before blocking the number. You silenced your phone and turned back to your monitor.

Suddenly the screen went black and you blinked. You hit the keyboard and clicked, assuming it fell asleep. It lit up again but all you saw was yourself staring back. Your mouth fell open and you ripped the clip-on cam from atop your monitor. You disconnected it as the notepad opened and typing flicked up across the white space.

‘I didn’t want it to be like this.’

You could move the mouse or backspace. All control was lost and you sat there helplessly watching the scrawl.

‘I think we’d be really good together if you only gave me a chance. Can’t you see I worship you?’

Your phone began to shake constantly and a private number flashed. You picked it up and hollered into the speaker, “leave me alone”. You hung up but it kept on and your screen turned to black once more. Your PC was still on but there was no reaction from the machine.

Fuck, you sat back and looked at your phone. You couldn’t even call work to tell them because the damn thing wouldn’t stop ringing. You put your head in your hands and grunted in frustration. How the fuck did all this happen?

🖱️

After your initial panic died down, you disconnected your tower and shut off your phone. You left your cell behind as it was just as useless. You hauled the PC down to IT at your work and filled out the ticket without giving intricate details on everything the weirdo had taken.

You left with a borrowed laptop. You wouldn’t sign into your personal accounts and stick to the company portal. You were embarrassed but happy to have a temporary solution. You got home and set up the new computer and reconfigured your wi-fi. You finished the last of the day’s work and ended the day with a glass of wine.

When you dared to turn your phone on again the next morning, it was filled with notifications from all platforms but each one you clicked on errored and prompted you to sign-in. All your new passwords were wrong and you knew it was him. 

You checked the Insta and found a screenshot on his profile from the day before, your mouth agape in horror that could easily mistaken for surprise.

‘Her face when you pop the question on the call’. The caption made your stomach curdle and you nearly flung the phone away. You couldn’t comment without logging in or message. So you created a shell account with a throwaway email you used on Reddit.

‘Why won’t you stop?’ you sent the message through as you waited for your coffee to brew.

‘Stop what?’ he added a winky face with his reply and you growled.

‘You know who this is! Why are you doing this?’

‘Hmmm…’ he let the message hang there and you sat down with your mug and listened to the birds outside. ‘Imagine what someone else would do with everything I have.’

‘Look at what you’re doing. You’re ruining my life.’

‘Ruining? Sweetie, I’m watching over you. Protecting you.’

Your nostrils flared and you burnt your tongue on the coffee and planted it on the table so it sloshed over the sides.

‘Love you, sweetie. See ya soon.’

The chat box turned grey as you realised he blocked you. That pissed you off more than anything and you lobbed your phone away with a shout of anguish. This guy was fucked!  

You were shaking so much you couldn’t even drink your coffee. You got up and paced until you could think straight. You dialed into work and told them you were taking the day off for a personal emergency and shut down your phone. You were too afraid he would find a way onto your work laptop and you didn’t want to have to explain that to IT too.

🖱️

Zia showed up on Saturday and she wasn’t happy. She buzzed up and banged on your door impatiently. You let her in and she crossed her arms over the strap of her purse as she crooked her hip.

“I know I shouldn’t have snooped but if you’re mad at me, you should’ve just said so. I would’ve backed off,” she scowled.

“I’m not mad,” you said as you backed into the front room and dragged your feet over the rug.

“Sure, you’re just ignoring all my messages by accident,” she stayed at the other side of the room.

“Not exactly, no,” you shrugged, “it’s a long story.”

“And you couldn’t shoot me a message to say that at least?”

“Look, I’m stressed the fuck out. I’m sorry but the only reason I didn’t answer you is because I can’t.” 

“You can’t?”

“I can’t even turn my phone on anymore.”

“What--”

“Just--” you touched your temples, “I don’t even know how to explain--”

“Jesus, are you okay?” her anger slaked away as her voice softened.

“No, I’m not,” you sniffed, “I’ve been trapped in this apartment and I can’t think straight and I can’t even talk to anyone because my phone and my life is totally fucked.”

“How about we get a coffee and you can tell me once you’ve calmed down,” she said, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you so worked up.”

“You don’t know how bad it is. I really fucked up,” you whined, “I don’t even know how it happened.”

“Is this about the boyfriend?”

You huffed and shook your head, “I told you, he’s not my boyfriend-- Let me get dressed.”

After you felt presentable enough to leave the apartment, the thought of getting away ushered you down the winding stairwell and onto the sidewalk. You and Zia walked down to the cafe on the corner where you always overspent on their specialty drink and caught up.

You ordered but when you tried to use your card, the machine beeped in rejection. You tried again but still no luck. Zia offered to pay and you promised you’d pay her back. Anxiety pitted deep in your stomach as you sat. You’d have to call the bank and figure out why eight dollars would bounce.

“So,” Zia said as she shaded her eyes against the sunlight streaming onto the open patio, “he’s not your boyfriend?”

“I don’t even know the dude,” you hissed as you almost overturned your cup, “Zee, those pictures, they were all on my phone. I never sent them to anyone. I don’t even know his real name and when I confronted him, he crashed my whole system and blew up my phone. I haven’t been able to log into anything because of him.”

“You’re shitting me,” she chuckled.

“Zee, I’m not fucking kidding,” you blinked, “don’t you think if I was dating some dude out in who knows where, you’d be the first to know? You think I’m wasting my time with the idiots on Tindr for fun?”

“No way,” she scoffed.

“Zia, look me in the eye,” you said as you gave her a stern look, “I’m freaking the fuck out.”

“Did you call the police?” she asked.

You sat back and closed your eyes. You were so swept up in the panic, you hadn’t even thought. You could report it to the police, just get a record of it even if they didn’t do anything else. You heard horror stories of hackers and how little could be done but you had to at least try.

“I guess I should go down to the station today,” you ran your fingertips along your chin, “I don’t know, I felt so alone, I thought--”

“And call your bank right now,” she slid her phone over, “figure out what’s going on with your accounts.”

You took her cell and dialed the number on the back of the card. You dragged your finger down the side of your cup as you listened to the automated message and hit the buttons to direct you to customer service. The hold song bubbled in your head and finally picked up as you finished the last of your mocha.

You explained the issue after giving your information as Zia sat patiently across from you. She watched the other patrons and looked out across the street as you waited on the representative on the other end.

“Looks like your account has been locked. Your savings and checking have been placed on hold citing possible fraud,” the woman explained.

“Well, can’t you unlock them? Why would they be flagged?”

“Hmm, well I see no suspicious spending so possibly… it could be due to an external lock, not us.”

“What does that mean?”

“I can’t speak to that. Have you received any communications from the Revenue service?”

“Revenue service? I don’t--no,” you gulped.

“I’m sorry, there’s nothing else I can tell you,” she said, “you should consider contacting federal services.”

You hung up and handed Zia her phone back. “Apparently, I’m under investigation for fraud? I don’t know.”

“Shit,” she took her cell, “are you sure?”

“It sounded like it but-- I gotta check my credit card,” you stood and grabbed your empty cup and your purse.

You stormed down the street to the ATM at the corner and inserted your card. LOCKED the machine made a hideous noise and you pulled out your card in irritation. You put your wallet and touched the sides of your neck as the heat swelled through you.

“I don’t understand--”

“Um, you should see this,” Zia said.

Zia turned her screen towards you and your heart dropped to your toes. There was a picture softened by a blush Insta filter and the caption read, ‘just got into town, surprising bae with flowers’. Over the cluster of petals at the bottom of the image were you and Zia sitting at the cafe patio.

You spun and searched around for any sign of the man and the bouquet. You could hardly breath as it felt like you were being squished between invisible walls. You clapped your hand against the wall and steadied yourself as Zia gently rubbed your arm.

“Let’s go to the station,” you croaked as tears welled in your eyes, “please.”

🖱️

The police told you everything you expected. Even as you showed them the photos and explained how you never met that man in your life, they only offered you words on a piece of paper. They’d file the report and follow-up in case of any further escalation. It was a non-answer, a cold shrug.

Zia went home with you as she offered to stay the night. You gladly accepted and the two of you cozied up on your bed and spent the night watching early 00s rom coms. You found it hard to relax even with her there. You couldn’t stop thinking about how close he’d been without you even knowing.

You at last began to doze off as Reese Witherspoon triumphed and exhausted by the endless maelstrom of dread, you slipped into a deep but perilous sleep. You were locked in limbo between waking and slumber, almost as if you could hear everything around you but remained blind and unknowing all the same.

You woke with a start as you felt like you were falling. You sat up and reached to the other side of the bed. Zia was gone. She must have got up to get water or use the bathroom. You took a breath and turned your legs over the edge. You got up groggily and lumbered across the room, your mouth dry and head aching. Some tylenol and water would do you well.

You hesitated as you noticed the bloom of light just around the corner from your doorway. Zia must be having trouble sleeping, you guessed as you kept on. As you came in sight of the front room, you heard a whimper and you backed up against the wall as tall figure stood before the coffee table. The flowers laid across the wood, slightly crumpled from a struggle.

As Zia whined, he jabbed her with his foot and she grunted around the rag tied around her mouth. Her arms and legs were bound behind her as the man loomed over her. You recognized his blond hair and glasses, the menacing blue eyes as he raised his chin and crossed his arms.

“Been waiting on you,” he stepped over her, “I was disappointed when I realised it was her. Good friend though, hanging around…”

“Don’t hurt her, please. What do you want?”

“You can’t figure that out?” he taunted, “huh, I’m sure you can guess what it will take for me to leave her in one piece.”

Zia wiggled and received another boot. You pushed yourself forward and he stepped closer, predatory as he dropped his arms and clenched then unclenched his fists. He chuckled as you stopped short and gaped up at him.

“She’s cute,” he said, “she can join us if that makes it easier for you.”

“You’re disgusting,” you snarled and winced as he reached out to touch your cheek. You fought not to shove him away, your eyes on Zia’s bound figure.

“Play nice and I will,” he warned, “every time I hurt her, that’s on you. I wish I didn’t have to do this to show you how much I love you.”

You shook your head as your lip trembled. He pressed his palms to your cheek and ran his thumb along your lips. He leaned in and you cowered as you realised how big he was. You didn’t expect that looking at him from the other side of a screen.

“Do we put on a show for her or did you want a little privacy?”

“You won’t get away with this,” you hissed.

“Oh yeah? I locked you out of your social media, your pc, your bank… do you really want to see how far I can take this?”

He smothered your murmured answer with his mouth and kissed you gruffly. He pulled away and looked you in the eye. He bit his lip and hummed.

“So, do we do this here?”

“You’re sick,” you grabbed his hand and wrenched it away from your face. You yanked him and directed him to the bedroom, “you monster.”

“Now come on,” he twisted his wrist around and grabbed your elbow, “I could’ve killed her. Don’t think I won’t.”

You quivered as he forced you back into your bedroom, the street lights casting shadows between your curtains. He flung you ahead of him, as strong as his thick arms would suggest. You stumbled and caught yourself on the side of the bed. You turned as the door slammed and he prowled towards you like a wild cat.

“Well,” he threw his hands up and you caught a glint of light against the lens of his glasses, “you want me to undress you or you think you can handle that, sweetie?”

You puffed in repulsion and looked away from him. Even in the dark, you could feel his eyes on you. You jittered as you reached to the neck of your loose tee and slowly raised it over your head. You dropped it to crumple on the floor and you touched the top of your shorts. You heard him moving around and shied away as he flipped the switch and light shone across the room.

You pushed down your shorts as you heard a thump from the next room. His jaw twitched as his eyes lingered on you and he reluctantly glanced away. He swung the door open and stormed out into the front room. You went to the door and heard his snarl.

“Stop fucking moving,” he rasped, “every time I have to tell you, I’ll pop another out.”

Zia gave a muffled sob as you heard a sickly crack and you hurried to look around the wall into the room. He blocked your sight with his broad chest and pointed you back to the room.

“I didn’t say you could leave the room,” he spun you and slapped your bare ass, “fast, fast, fast… before I lose my patience.”

Your skin stung from the strike and you tripped through the doorway as he followed quickly. Another slam and he poked you further into the room with his knuckle. You stepped away from him and tried to cover yourself as you faced him in horror.

He quickly swooped his shirt over his head and revealed a buff chest thick with blond hair. He kicked off his shoes and fumbled to undo his fly. He tilted his head as he looked you over and groped himself through his jeans.

“You know what to do,” he said, “I’ve seen the way you touch yourself… cyber security 101, cover your webcam.”

You shuddered as he beckoned you closer. He stopped you and put your hands on the waist of his jeans. He leaned in and nuzzled your temple as his hot breath seeped into your goosebumped skin.

“My turn,” he pushed on your hands until you pulled down the denim on your own strength.

He stepped out of his jeans and snapped the elastic of his boxers. You stood and latched onto those shakily. He ran his fingers along your arms as you pulled them past his erection and they fell to the floor with a whisper. You didn’t look down, instead staring past him as his hand swept up to cup your tits.

His fingers crawled up your chest and his hands wrapped around your neck. He squeezed and turned you so that your back was to the bed. He marched you backwards as you felt his dick bobbing between your bodies. You gasped as he pushed you down onto your mattress, your legs dangling over the edge as he came up to straddle you.

“Such a good girl,” he taunted, “look at you… I bet you’re wet already.”

He pulled a hand away and stroked his length as he raised himself on his knees. He clung to your neck as he leaned over you and planted his hand on the bed above you. He hovered his dick over your head and you closed your eyes.

“Put it in your mouth,” he ordered, “now, or I’m putting it in your ass.”

You reached up blindly and angled his tip against your lips. He dipped his hips down and you choked as he prodded at your throat. Your legs twitched as he forced his cock past your gag reflex and your whole body tensed at the intrusion.

He balanced on the hand above your head and the one on your neck. He thrust harder and harder as sloppy sucking reverberated around the room between his dark groans.

“That’s it,” he purred, “look at you taking my cock. I can only imagine how tight that cunt of yours is.”

Your eyes welled and you flicked your lashes as you tried to bat them away. You kept your hand at the base of his dick as you tried to ease his motion. He ignored your reluctance and only delved deeper as he brought himself to his limit, your lips touching the fuzz along his pelvis.

When you couldn’t breath, you slapped his hard stomach and he reared out of you abruptly. You coughed up spit as he sat back on his heels and released you. He huffed as he looked down at his glistening dick and climbed off of you.

“Stand up, turn around,” he snarled as his eyes flashed. 

His glasses were low on his nose and he slipped them off entirely and folded them up on your night table. He squinted as he watched you stand and turn stiffly. He smacked his hand in the middle of your back and pushed you over impatiently. He stepped closer and tapped his tip against your cunt as you were exposed to him.

He bent his legs and poked along your slick folds. You were wet enough for him to glide in and fill you up completely. He was so big it was painful and you arched your back as you tried to take it. He pulled back and slammed into you harshly. You let out a garble and he repeated the motion, taking you off your feet.

He leaned over you and grabbed your knees, lifting them on the bed as he urged you forward. His hand brushed up over your ass and he pressed between your shoulder blades until your face was flush to the mattress, your arms bent around you like a broken doll.

He thrust again and the loud slap made you wince. He jerked his hips roughly until he found his motion, rutting into you with hissy breaths as his other hand groped your ass. He hummed as your body shook before him, ruled by his touch as your walls clenched him.

He pushed his thumb down between your cheeks and circled your asshole. You strained and lifted your head in alarm. His other hand quickly stretched over your crown and pinned your face to the bed. He felt along your cunt and slickened his thumb before trailing back to your puckered ring.

He pushed lightly at first and as he broke through you gasped and whined. You gripped the blankets as he moved his thumb in and out of you, his hips still rocking steadily into you. He slid his thumb out entirely and prodded with two fingers instead. Before you could react, he forced them inside and you cried out in surprise and pain.

“I know you want it, sweetheart,” he groaned, “I can feel…” he kept fucking you, “I can fucking hear it.”

Your holes tightened around you as he carried the pace. A new pressure began to bloom inside of you, unlike anything you’d felt before. The burning in your ass and the stretching of your cunt mingled to an agonized bliss. You sobbed into the blankets as you came uncontrollably around him, shamed by the unwanted release.

“Fuck,” he drew out the word as both his hand and his hips sped up, “look at you cumming for me. Cumming for this creep.”

You moaned and curled your fingers around the duvet tighter. You felt the same knotting deep inside and you came again as he reached a tantamount. This time, you gushed around his cock and felt the deluge down your thighs as the noise grew wetter and louder.

“Look at you, sweetheart, you can’t handle it, can you?” He snorted as he sucked in a breath suddenly and his hips staggered.

He pushed his fingers deeper and kept them there as he fucked you as hard as he could. He slammed into your cunt over and over. Your hips throbbed with each tilt of his pelvis and you smothered your cries as you felt him coat your walls in his release. 

He stopped just as suddenly and dragged his fingers out of your ass. He leaned against you until your legs collapsed and fell onto you with a sigh. He covered your body with his as his shallow breaths hazed around you. 

Your own heart raced as you stretched your arms out stiffly and quivered. You tried to pull yourself from beneath him. He kept you pinned under his weight and jolted you with a cruel thrust.

“Oh, we’re not done, sweetheart,” he muttered along the shell of your ear, “not even close.”

My Life is One Complication After Another 3

Cursing Ahead 🤬

Ao3 *** First *** Previous *** Next

~~~~~~~~~~

Ever since Mari's classmates stopped talking with her, they also stopped asking her for favors. Along with a blocked and rotating schedule for patrols meant that she actually had a sleep schedule. Sure she didn't get nearly enough but that was what coffee is for.

That was how she found herself down in the bakery with her papa. Roy had called her and the four of them talked and it was comfortable. Mari was the one who opened and was watching the front. She was still talking with Roy, but now it was on a headset, as he was out patrolling In Starling City.

"So as I was saying before we were oh so rudely interrupted." came Roy's voice in her ear. "So Ice cream and movies?"

A soft laughter escaped her and a smile on her lips.

"Sounds gre..." the bell at the door chimed. "Hey guys come in," she greeted the Waynes.

"Let me guess the bats?" Roy supplied as Dick bounced towards the counter.

"Good morning Marinette!" Dick practically sang loud enough for even Roy to hear.

"God how the hell is he so chipper so early." she heard Roy grumble.

"God damn morning people," she grumbled. That elicited laughter from both Roy and Jason.

"Amen to that!" Tim seconded in a monotone lifting a coffee cup. "Maman I'm going to take the Waynes up." she called poking her head into the kitchen. Her Maman nodded so she picked up her phone and walked towards them.

"I'll Let you go," Roy was about to hang up.

"Wait how about we give the Bats a heart attack." she smirked changing to the ancient language of miracles.

"I like the way you think, I'll catch you later." he responded in the same tongue.

"See ya then." she smiled, switching back the language. Ending the call and removing the ear piece. “Are you guys coming or do I have to drag you guys?" she turned back already at the door. Granted most of them showed confused faces and side eyes, but she smiled. They followed her without saying a word.

Once they were in the apartment she excused herself to change into more appropriate gear. She activated Kaalki’s miraculous, who then silently portaled out.

That being said she changed into a pair of black skinny cargo pants with red combat boots. A black long sleeve shirt under a cropped red sleeveless hoodie. Her hair was half down with red and pink streaks and a mini white gold backpack with three patches in the same white gold finished her outfit. She grabbed four parcels and went down.

"So we can either do the boring ground tour or," she held up the bundles. "we can turn up the speed."

"I like the way you think Pixie Pop." Jason stood and she handed him his.

"Roy sent me you guy's sizes, so I altered and customized a few things." she smiled. "bathroom is over there and the guest room is next to it." Dick looked torn between excited and horrified when handed his stack.

Tim seemed awake, but she knew better, "go change and I'll have a fresh pot of coffee ready." He nodded robotically as he got up.

She set the last bunch next to Damian, who was looking like an angry kitten. She sat down next to him and leaned in.

"What are you.." he started but Mari whispered in his ear.

"The jacket has a hidden sling for a katana, which will be practically invisible when on." His eyes widened slightly and there was a bit of slack in his jaw now. Before turning into an amused smirk. "Use my room up the stairs and through the hatch." she finished as he headed up the stairs.

"I'm impressed he let you close without struggling," Bruce broke his silence, as she finished prepping the coffee maker.

"Well he would have if," she began as Damian practically crashed down the stairs and all but tackled Bruce before rushing out the door. The closest she had ever seen her baby brother smile, which effectively made her smile.

"Holy crap! What are you?!" Dick made himself known.

"More importantly what the fuck did you do with Demon spawn!" Jason shouted from next to Tim, who was being propped up by both Jason and Dick.

"Tt. I am right here Todd." The scowl reappearing on his features. "It is adequate Dupain-Cheng."

"I'll take it as a compliment on one condition."

"And that is?" he rose a brow.

"You call me Marinette not Dupain-Cheng. I'm your sister aren't I?"

He seemed to war with himself for a moment before stating. "That is acceptable, Marinette."

At this point all the bats in the room were playing a game of ping-pong between Marinette and Damian. They were trying to figure out what magic spell Marinette must have used, when in reality she just seemed to fall into Damian’s good graces automatically. OK so maybe Marinette being the holder of the ladybug miraculous as well as being the great guardian of the order has that affect on most people, a sense of respect and trust that seems to permeate her aura.

She was handing Tim a huge mug as the front door swung open to reveal her Maman.

"Hello Bruce," Sabine greeted.

"It is good to see you Sabine," was his response.

“Maman," Mari pulled her mother's attention from her biological father. "These are Bruce's boys and my brothers. Tim, Jason, Dick, and Damian." she motioned to each one respectively.

"It's nice to meet all of you." Sabine smiled, "why don't all of you get something from the bakery before you go."

After finishing their small breakfast in the park Mari pulled out a map and a marker.

"So what do you guys want to see?" They listed off places that she marked down. She added a few to the list to fill it out, marked the route and took a picture and sent it to Roy. "Okay so this will work." she glanced at her phone. A quick look on social media showed no one has found Andre yet. She pulled out a case of comms and added, "Also keep your eyes out for Andre."

"Who is that?" Dick asked taking the earpiece.

"Andre's Ice cream cart, the best ice cream in Paris." Marinette answered.

"Then why must we look for him?" Damian added.

"Well he changes locations daily and turns it into a game of tag of sorts."

"Alright, lead the way Pixie." with a smirk she dashed off her brothers close on her heels.

Yes this is the best way to get to see the city, but this was also a test to see how the bats did without their toys.

Getting to Notre Dame was uneventful. Dick kept up a steady conversation with her, just a step behind with Damian, Jason brought up the rear but would constantly toss in quips and questions. Damian and Tim were mostly quiet, unless they were trying to get one of their brothers to stop a particularly embarrassing story.

Getting to the Louve was even more entertaining. Now that Dick had a feel for the Parisian roofs he would do flips and vaults to make her laugh. In the Louve is another story.

They had accidentally ran into some of her classmates, quite literally. She and her brothers were taking goofy 'walk like an Egyptian' group photos on the second floor of the Egyptian exhibit, the mini Ladybug camera was reattaching to her phone charm when Tim began asking her questions about it.

"Well my best friend loves anime, and we kinda sorta binged the entire Dragon Ball series and when we saw the ladybug camera. He said it would be impossible to create and maintain the quality of the image. So I kinda sorta made it out of spite." she mumbled the end.

"Hell if you weren't my sister I would beg Bruce to adopt you," Tim stated. "Do you have the files I would love to look through them. Maybe send them to Babs or Cy!"

"Sure I think I have it on a flash drive." That was when a tall body, walking backwards slammed into her, pushing her into Jason. "oof."

"You okay." Dick was in full mama hen mode fretting over her.

"I wasn't watching where I was going." the figure spoke as he turned around. "I'm sor." the words died on his tongue, Kim.

Max, Alix, Nino, Alya, and oh kwami no Lila, who were now all snickering.

"I'm fine Dick," she smiled to reassure him. However her classmates were shocked.

Lila of course was the one who broke the silence, by beginning to cry. "I'm so sorry about her. I know she hates me but to be so rude to a complete stranger!" her sobs breaking the sentence while her lackeys went to console her, glaring daggers at Marinette.

"Seriously girl," Alya began to scold her. "Your little out burst not only made Lila cry. Your insulting someone who is just trying to be nice."

She and her brothers were now standing awkwardly being scolded by a teenager. After three minutes of trying to figure out what they were being scolded for and why the guys hadn't apparently left.

"What the fuck did she do that your yelling at her for?" Jason finally broke Alya's rant. Now it was the five Parisians and the Italian to stand there confused.

"She called him a dick," Alya sighed exasperated.

"Yes." Dick answered confusing them further.

"Dick."Tim now called.

"What?!"

"Dick!!" Damian, Marinette, Tim, and Jason all called, and immediately began laughing.

"What? Oh, oh," a sheepish smile now on his face. “Names Richard but I go by Dick,” he explained to those who weren’t laughing, smiling at them.

"Tt. this is why I call you Grayson." Damian rolled his eyes. "Besides this one still has not apologized." he jabbed a finger to Kim.

"It's not worth it Damian,” Marinette shook her head. "We should head back to the bakery anyways. Maman has probably finished scolding Bruce." she smirked.

"Damn I wish I was a fly on the wall for that conversation" Jason lamented.

"Well..." she held up the ladybug charm and flipped it over showing an empty space.

"Two!" Tim shouted.

"Anyone who beats me back gets a copy," she smiled.

"Your on." Jason nodded as he vaulted over the safety wall from the second floor. Damian and Dick sprinted in opposite directions.

"Sorry Mars your gonna loose." Tim shouted as the last to leave.

"We'll see," she shot back. "Bye," She turned to her classmates as she grabbed the railing above and flipped up and over to the third floor, running to one of the secret zip lines the miraculous team set up.

"What the fuck" was faintly heard behind her, all but Lila and Max shouted by the sounds of it, as she jumped from the window.

She made up quite a bit of distance and seemed to be on Damian's heel. She had passed Tim and Dick was a few steps behind. Jason was just out of arm reach. So with a burst of speed both she and Damian were shoulder to shoulder with Jason.

The three of them simultaneously practically crashed into the side door of the bakery.

"I won."

"In your dreams Todd."

"I beat both you and Pixie"

"Check your eyes, or do you need the camera installed in your helmet." Jason's gaze hardened at Damian's words.

"How about we call it a three way tie and you both get a copy." Mari interrupted. "We should head up." Laughing Marinette opened the door and went up.

Lunch was rambunctious, but she was coming to expect that with her brothers.

“Too bad we couldn’t find that ice cream guy Mari,” Tim spoke up once everyone had finished eating.

“Oh let’s see if anyone has posted where he’s at today!” She went to check her phone but a message ended up distracting her.

Andres in your favorite spot I’ll meet you there at 7 your time.

"Cool he’ s in my favorite spot in all of Paris which just happens to be the last spot on our list today," she announced, sending off a text, setting her phone down, screen up.

Can't wait Katniss

"Why don’t you all go and Mari can get to know Bruce," Sabine offered.

OK granted it’s a good idea, maybe I should get to know my biological father but am I ready to? Do I want to? Am I yes, yes I want to get to know my biological father, yes I want my family to grow, my brothers are such protective goofballs and I love them already.

"Sounds good," she smiled.

That was when her phone lit up from a message. She went to pick it up, but she was to slow.

Jason was the one who snacked her phone. "Message from Katniss says see ya then Peeta. So who's Katniss Pixie."

"Well..." she started but she began to blush furiously.

"That would be her boyfriend," her Maman decided to add before heading back down to the bakery with Papa.

Dick pounced asking a million and one questions, Bruce physically froze but she could tell his mind was racing because that look was much the same as hers. Jason was pensive, while Tim and Damian just seemed bored or tired.

So that was how she found herself talking about Roy, blushing furiously. While simultaneously avoiding his name and details that would tip any of them off. After about a half hour of her answering questions did Dick start telling her about his fiancée. How they were planning on setting a date for the wedding.

After that the next few hows was spent sharing stories and tidbits of themselves.

However, thanks to Dick a design was swimming in her mind. so she did the only logical thing and ran up to her room. Grabbed three drives, her tablet and pen and ran back down. She tossed the red drive to Tim, and Jason and Damian each a black drive. Plopped down and began stretching out an Italian suit with a nock lapel. A rough coloration of a midnight blue offset by a sapphire. Accents of golden thread, emerald buttons and an Osiria rose in the lapel. She signed the design 'Mira Luck' and handed Dick the tablet.

"So I couldn't help myself," she begun to fidget. "But in my defense you told a designer about a wedding and my brain wouldn't stop screaming at me until this was on something. So what do you think? I know its rough but."

"Holy Shit your Mira Luck as in M, Jagged Stones personal designer. You are M as in the designer for the Lucky Spot!!" Tim screamed lunging to take the tablet from Dick.

"That's me," a blindingly bright smile lit up her features.

"So what do you think?" she asked again.

"It's amazing we were actually hoping to talk to you about Kori’s dress." Dick smiled. "I could call her it's not too late there."

"Perhaps it would be best to discuss it in person when Marinette next goes, that way she can get to know Gotham." Bruce interjected.

"That actually might be sooner than you think," she responded.

"I was actually accepted to be an exchange student for the next semester at Gotham Academy."

"Wait you’re willing we going to Gotham to study! You ’re going to Gotham willingly. Bruce I think your daughter might be a little crazy." Jason surprisingly brought up.

"I might be but but it’s no crazier than Paris and it’s a Akumas. Besides I would love to design your fiancée’s dress and we should head over to Andre’s ice cream before the sunsets that way we can watch the lighting of the Eiffel tower." She got up and called out. "Hey Jason mind passing me my backpack."

"Yeah sure," he went around he couch to grab it and toss it to her but before he did he finally seemed to notice the patches. "Wait are these The Outlaws."

"Yeah Red Hood, Arsenal, Star Fire, and Bizarro." she was smiling.

"Why choose The Outlaws?" Tim brought up.

"Honestly it was because Roy mentioned something about Arsenal and Red Hood and I ended up liking of the logos, so I made them into the backpack," she shrugged. "Besides unless you’re looking at it close enough you can’t tell which is always fun to see if people pay attention to it, let’s go."

At that the six of them walked out of the apartment, away from the bakery towards the Palais de Chaillot.

"So what's so special about Andre's Ice cream?" B asked.

"Personally I think he is a meta. But what he does is he can either see your true reflection or that of the person best suited to you."

"So he sees souls?" Tim added.

"Not quite, more like he sees the main qualities of you or your go." she tapped her chin.

"But he is meta,” Tim tried to figure.

"That's the only explanation I can come up with but I have no idea." Marinette shrugged.

"So how does he do it." Tim was now fully invested in this.

"Well you either ask for love or self and he usually does three to four ice cream flavors and gives a short reason."

They were now at the top of the stairs at the Palais de Chaillot looking out at the Eiffel Tower. They stood there as the last of the light faded from the sky. The city was dark for a moment as the Eiffel Tower lit up and slowly the lamps lit up.

"So that's why this is your favorite spot Minnie." A voice behind her chuckled. She turned around and nearly tackled him.

"Hey speedy." she pecked his cheek.

Not a second later did Jason scream, "Roy!"

"Ready for that movie?” Roy asked her an arm around her shoulders.

"Of course," she smiled. "See you guys around."

"What the fuck are you doing in Paris Roy!?" Jason screamed.

"Um... Date night," he answered. The Waynes were now practically surrounding the couple.

"What?" Apparently it was Dick's turn to yell.

"Seriously. I thought you said the bats and birds were detectives." she spoke just loud enough for them to hear. "It's kinda hard to believe with the big bat having a heart attack over there." Sure enough Bruce was seriously hyperventilating.

"Oh mind giving this to LB?" He handed her a small nondescript red box.

"Sure," Marinette took the box, "Au Revoir."

From there they left and oh kwamii did she wish she could replay that again, oh wait I can.

Next

~~~~~~~~~~

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BORN TO RISE Chapter 2

Also found HERE.

-------

The hub this morning, while still bustling with activity, is far more quiet than normal. The team can hear people wandering up and down the hallways, joking with each other while complaining about how tired they are. It’s a usual day for most of them, but the Dream Team had been camped out in their own office overnight to watch the cameras and keep an eye on Tommy. Sapnap is seated in his usual position in front of the cameras, headset already in place as he tries to reach out to the person in question. Bad’s clutching the back of the chair, nervously peering at the screens. He’s been watching Tommy for the past twenty minutes, torn between walking away or screaming at the camera feed. It’s hard for him to watch Tommy make iron pickaxe after iron pickaxe.

“Does he even know how to speedrun?” Bad asks. He straightens himself up and taps idly at Sapnap’s head, much to the latter’s irritation. “He’s like, preparing too much; I don’t think he even needs all that iron. He doesn’t even have food!"

“He knows how to speedrun,” Sapnap says. “I know he does, Tommy isn’t stupid.” Sapnap ducks forward to pull away from Bad’s fingers, but starts tapping at the desk when Bad doesn’t get the hint. It’s easy enough to ignore Bad when he’s in this kind of move, and Sapnap would rather focus on the scene playing out in front of them

“Yeah, but it doesn’t seem like it right now.” Bad finally pulls away from the chair, pressing the palms of his hands together instead, as he paces back and forth. “It’s driving me up a wall to watch this. I want to be able to help somehow.”

“He’s got to do this on his own,” George pipes up. He enters the room, holding a plate of food. “This was the condition we all agreed on while taking him.”

“Yeah, but Tommy didn’t agree,” Bad points out. “This hardly seems fair, it’s like we’re all ganging up on him when he probably is still disoriented and confused.”

“It’s not like we did anything to him.” Sapnap lets out a snort as he swivels around in his chair to face Bad. “We just took him and dropped him off. See? He’s completely fine.” He jerks a thumb toward the feed to reveal an angry looking Tommy. Tommy is swearing loudly while chucking an iron bar at his furnace.

“That doesn’t look fine to me,” Bad says hesitantly. “I dunno, it’s making me feel bad just watching him. Are we sure he’s the right choice? Does Dream actually know what he’s doing?”

“I trust Dream,” George says. “We don’t have to understand Dream to support him. He’s been a great team lead for a long time.”

“I mean, I guess.” Bad shrugs, letting his arms dangle limply. “I just have a weird feeling about Tommy. He’s so young and I’m worried about inexperience. He hasn’t been in very many competitions.” He moves back toward the desk, but stops when he gets a whiff of George’s food. “Is there any of that left?”

“Yeah, over in the break room,” George says. “There’s a lot of food there, help yourself.” George ducks his head to take a forkful of food. “You could definitely use something to distract yourself, you seem more worked up than normal.”

“I shouldn’t eat.” Bad lets out a sigh as he moves back to stand behind the chair. He’s tapping on the head rest, staring at the cameras. “I think…”

“That’s annoying, stop tapping my chair.” Sapnap inches forward to get away from Bad. “What are you thinking?”

“What if I went there to show Tommy the ropes? I know you’re all saying Tommy’s good and has the potential to win, but he looks like he’s really struggling with backpack space and focus. I don’t think he actually knows how to speed run.”

“Is that why you don’t want food?” George asks. Bad ignores him.

There’s a crackle of static that pops up at that moment, causing the three men to jump. They turn toward the mic sitting next to the monitors, with Sapnap raising an eyebrow. "I think I can offer perspective." Dream’s voice is just as staticky as the feedback, as if he doesn’t have much signal on him. “I couldn’t help but overhear your conversation, and I do want to remind you all that inexperience aside, he did get one up on me. I’m no god tier player, but I know I am good, and I’d hardly call Tommy a novice.”

“Plus, I’m pretty sure with Phil and Techno as his family members, he’s bound to have some training,” George adds. “I doubt they’d raise anyone who didn’t have some semblance of skill.”

“Okay but hear me out,” Bad says, holding up his hands. “Maybe what you’re all saying is correct, and Tommy’s a lot better than I’m giving him credit for. But in his defense, we didn’t give him any heads up, we just dropped him -while asleep- in the middle of a forest and expected him to immediately know what to do. Dream, what if I went down there and helped him?”

“Wait, Dream. Where even are you?” Sapnap interrupts. “I thought you were in town. Why do you sound like you’re in the middle of nowhere?”

"Where I am isn’t important." Dream sounds cryptically giddy. "This isn’t about me, this is about Tommy. And I’m okay with any help you want to offer, but George is in charge of the teleportation in and out of the training grounds. You’ll have to talk to him about going out into the field.”

The line goes quiet after that. Bad wants to ask the other two what their theories are, but he also doesn’t want to be a nuisance. He’s already too focused on Tommy right now to worry about Dream, and he’s already turning to George, pressing his index fingers to his lips as he grins.

“Don’t look at me like that,” George mutters, trying not to snicker. “If you think you can offer advice in person, be my guest. I just don’t think Tommy’s going to be in the mood to listen. He already gave Sapnap a hard time.”

“He hasn’t talked to me in almost two hours,” Sapnap adds helpfully. “Every time I try to ask how he’s doing, he acts like he’s spitting on the ground, or he calls me a bitch. I can’t get anything else out of him.”

“Oy, dickhead! I can still hear you!” Tommy’s voice is shrill and faint on the cameras, but Bad can hear him through Sapnap’s headset as well. He can’t hold back the giggle that slips out as Sapnap flinches, grabbing at the headset and tugging it off.

“Tommy, chill out! It’s fine, it’s fine. Be calm.”

 “You are a bitch, Sapnap. You and your entire team.”

“You won’t feel that way forever,” Sapnap says softly. “I promise.”

“You’re all a bunch of bullies who kidnapped a child! I haven’t forgotten this, and I never will. You’re lucky my dad backed you up, otherwise I’d take this sword and ram it through your guts!”

“Language, Tommy,” Bad chides gently. “Hey guess what? I’m going to join you soon!”

“Bitch. You’re a bitch too. You muffin bitch.”

Tommy falls quiet after that, and they can see him turning back toward his furnace to shove more coal in it. Bad’s gaze lingers on Tommy, taking note of the teen’s posture. The way Tommy’s shoulders are hunched and tensed tells him that even though Tommy sounds like he’s having fun banter, he really does seem pissed and stressed.

“Bad? You still want to go?” George brings him back to reality, his gaze snapping toward the man. Bad nods wordlessly, before setting his belongings down on the desk by Sapnap. “You don’t have to leave your phone and wallet here.”

“All I need is a headset, right?” Bad grins. “I can’t teach Tommy properly if I’m not going in empty handed myself. Neither of us will learn otherwise.”

George grins as he jerks his head toward the door. “Come on then. Let’s get you down there.” He exits the office, leaving Sapnap alone to watch the camera feeds.

Bad sighs heavily as he follows George down the hall, taking a glance around the walls and general scenery. The people they pass by give him polite smiles before hurrying on their way. The building is starting to pick up in activity and general life, and announcements over the intercoms are starting up. Bad can’t say he’s excited to leave it for the middle of nowhere, but on the flip note, it’ll be good to get away from the noise; the quiet will help him focus more.

He pushes  all his thoughts of his head when they reach the central terminal. Most of the portals are offline, leaving only the sporadic training grounds open. Among those portals is the Manhunters team training grounds. With a sideways glance at George, Bad grabs a headset off the wall and places it on his head, underneath his hood.

“You’ll tell Skeppy where I went, right?”

“Skeppy is probably off being best friends with Technoblade somewhere,” George points out bluntly. “But yeah, if he calls for you, I’ll tell him you’re training Tommy personally.”

Bad rolls his eyes. “Whatever you say George. See you on the cameras.” He doesn’t wait for a response before stepping through the portal, letting himself disappear from the hub entirely, landing in the training spawn.

Now to find Tommy.

------------------------------------------

Along the way, Bad had stopped to gather some food. He’d done it with his bare hands, which had taken a little longer than he’d wanted to, but at least he has a few uncooked steaks on him when he finally does meet up with Tommy.

Tommy is still trying to build a dirt home, mixing bits of cobblestone into it. Bad watches him for a moment before moving closer, not wanting to startle him. “Hey Tommy…” He wears the most welcoming smile on his face that he can muster up, and he holds the beef out as a peace offering. “I wanted to offer some help.”

Tommy turns to face him, wearing a glare on his face. He looks Bad up and down before his gaze lands on the beef in Bad’s hands. With a lifted eyebrow, Tommy reaches out to take the meat from Bad. He pulls back, then shoots another glare before putting the meat in the furnace.

Bad stands there awkwardly, rocking back and forth on his heels. Tommy isn’t saying anything to him, but Bad isn’t saying anything either. He can hear distant chatter over his headset, and he knows he’s hearing the same things Tommy is, and for once, Bad doesn’t know how to break the silence. He supposes he can offer help, again.

“Tommy?”

“Bad, do not talk to me. I do not speak with bitches.” Tommy turns his back on him, swinging his pickaxe against the furnace in use. Bad winces at the loud clang before taking a small step forward, reaching out in an attempt to pry the pickaxe from Tommy.

“Language, please, and don’t beat on the poor furnace. It didn’t do anything to you.”

“Would you rather I strike you instead?” Tommy asks heatedly. “Because I’ll be honest here, I want to murder you, and then camp your respawn point and do it all over again. But that would be against the rules, so I’ll just destroy this furnace instead.”

“We don’t really have rules against PvP,” Bad says, backing up. “This is training, so anything you want to do would work. I just want to make sure you’re eating.” He nods toward the furnace. “When’s the last time you ate?”

“Don’t patronize me,” Tommy snaps. “Don’t humor me because you’re trying to play nice. You’re just mad because I’m better than you. I’m practically a god here, and none of you pussies can handle that. That’s why I’ve been stuck here against my will, trying to figure out what the hell I’m even supposed to be doing. I’m so tired of hearing speedrun. I don’t know what that means in this context. What am I even doing this for?”

“You weren’t told?” Bad freezes in place as the implications sink in. Surely Tommy was told why he was brought here instead of being left in the dark. Sapnap had been the one in contact with Tommy the most over the past twenty-four hours. Bad swivels around, staring at a tree as he adjusts his headset. “Hey, Sapnap?”

“I told him!” Sapnap protests. “I told him why he was here! I know I did.”

“Tell me what? You haven’t told me a damned thing!” Bad feels himself being whirled around to face Tommy. “You’re doing a speedrun, Tommy. You’re being hunted, Tommy. What am I training for, what the hell is going on, and why are you keeping it a big fucking secret?”

“Oh.” Bad feels his heart sink. All this time, he’d been under the impression Tommy had known why he’d been singled out among everyone else. No wonder Tommy’s mad at them. “Tommy I’m so sorry. I thought Sapnap told you-”

 “Don’t throw me under the bus. Oh my god, Dream is going to murder me!”

Bad ignores Sapnap as he drags a hand down his face. “Tommy, Dream wants to recruit you. He sees potential in you, and we all agreed that with proper training, you’d get even better at your skills and help us win in the next tournament. I’m so sorry we didn’t tell you sooner.”

“Wait, let me get this straight,” Tommy says, pulling the now cooked food out of the furnace. “So you drugged me-”

“Whoaaaaa,” Sapnap cuts in, speaking rapidly. It’s hard to see facial expressions through voice alone, but Bad wagers that Sapnap is panicking. “We never drugged you. You’re just a heavy sleeper. Don’t accuse us of being creeps.”

“So why’d you ask how I was feeling when I woke up? Hmm?” Tommy, however, is squinting, lips curled downward. His narrowed gaze is once again aimed at Bad. Unconsciously, he steps further back, out of striking range. Tommy is holding that pickaxe rather firmly...

“I don’t know! Because you seemed really out of it? I was worried about you? Believe it or not Tommy, we actually like you. We didn’t mean to scare you.” There’s a thunk that comes from his end, followed by a ‘shit, my drink-’

Bad nods enthusiastically, holding his hands up as he tries to offer a placating smile. Already, he’s feeling better about the situation, happy that this is all finally coming to light. He hopes Tommy is feeling better too, but it’s hard to tell when Tommy’s facial expression constantly seems angry anymore.

“So you didn’t drug me,” Tommy continues. “You just told me I was supposed to speedrun and that I’m being hunted, and then somewhere in between you let slip that my dad helped you in all this. I’ve been panicked and scared, all because...you wanted to recruit me?”

Bad slouches forward, letting his arms dangle at his sides. While he feels relieved, there’s clearly more to come; Tommy sounds too calm right now. Considering how angry he’d been previously, there’s no way Tommy is going to accept this. Apprehension fills his gut, and he idly fishes around his pockets for his phone. If only he could call Skeppy, Skeppy would help him through this.

Bad’s fears are proven correct a second later. “You’re all assholes!” Tommy snarls. There it is. “You can’t talk to me normally, so you resorted to kidnapping me for some stupid initiation thing. Did you all do this when you recruited each other or did you all mutually agree to this? Bad, you’re here, so come here. Come a little closer, I’m going to kill you now.”

“Tommy, please.” Bad immediately backs up again, pressing his back to a tree. “Tommy, I’m here to help you. I promise, I just want to help. We can get you through this and back home. Okay? Will you let me show you the ropes?”

“Only if you swear for me.”

“I’m not going to swear for you. Let’s uh...let’s get some food in you first, and I’ll finish helping you build your...house?”

“Yes Bad-Boy-Halo, this is my house. I need shelter from the creepers and skeletons, do I not? Say bitch.”

Bad lets out a high-pitched nervous giggle before gathering the excess iron, just for something to do, and to keep some distance from Tommy. “You don’t need all this, it’ll only slow you down. Please eat.”

Tommy grumbles under his breath as he takes a bite out of the steak. “I want to hear you say bitch just once. Or call yourself a pussy. If you do that, then I’ll consider letting you help me. Even fuck. I’ll take anything you’re willing to throw out. Consider it a favor, for me. You know, since you kidnapped me and all.”

“I’m not swearing. I’ll help you build your house, and after you eat, I’ll help you speedrun properly. We can have Sapnap time us later, too.” There’s a faint ‘yeah!’ from Sapnap at that, which goes ignored. Bad makes a mental note to ask Sapnap later how he’s feeling with all this.

“No no, I’m not accepting that.” Tommy at least sounds happier. Bad wonders if it’s because Tommy feels better about the situation, or if he’s just happy to have company he can bully.

No. There’s no way this is bullying; he has to remember that Tommy is lashing out, he’s not actually trying to be a menace. With a deep breath, Bad attempts to relax his stance and appear more friendly.

Tommy continues. “See, you all owe me. Since I can’t do anything about Sapnap right now, I can do something with you. Don’t think I haven’t noticed you dancing around me, by the way. You’re scared of me, as you should be.” Tommy looks a little too smug for Bad’s comfort. “I want you to call Sapnap a pussy. Because he is. He spent a full day crying over the headset about how we’re friends and I’m supposed to be forgiving, but no. Bad, call him a pussy.”

“I’m not calling him names.” Bad frowns as he kicks one of the spare pickaxes away. “Can I have a steak please? I’m a little hungry myself.”

“I heard you over the headset. George offered you food, and you turned him down, like an asshole. You don’t get to eat my steak. You brought this for me, so it’s mine. If you want to help, then you build the rest of my shelter. Use cobblestone, and call Sapnap a bitch.”

Bad falls silent as he gets to work. He’ll just scrounge up his own food later. It’s not like he’s super hungry right now anyway. His own good mood is fading though, and the realization of being in over his head is starting to sink in.

They’d questioned Dream at the beginning if he was sure about Tommy, and Dream had made a convincing case before. But now, Bad isn’t so sure. Tommy might be good in tournaments, but he’s definitely lacking in people skills.

Maybe this wasn’t such a good idea after all, not if his patience is going to be tested at every turn.

At least there’s cobblestone ready for building.

X. Mothership

It was true. There was no way that she could get in there without him. Amelia needed Simon on her side to even be able to break through the barriers that were put up around the Magical kingdom. That was the reason that she kept him around for so long even after she realized exactly who he was. And it was the reason that she was going to be able to get in now even though she no longer held his heart. 

What was tethering her to Simon now? Why it was the rage. It was the betrayal. It was the entire life of lies and being a tool. Amelia knew that Simon would feel the way that he felt if he ever found out. So while she needed a connection to him with that necklace, his rage was just going to have to do right now. 

The stewards flew through the enchanted forests like wraiths, seeking out the magic of the witches one the one. Amelia sat on her horse, donned in her ear gear, a sphere containing all the magic that she had ever collected through Simon's dedication, and she pointed her Conductors' dagger forward. All of the children from the institution charged, and as Amelia lifted the sphere in her hand green lightning struck from the sky and a wall form to become a portal to lead her right to Simon and right to that kingdom.

The pendant shattered and poured green light all throughout the room. The staff and others who were around crumbled as the portal opened inside of the castle. And through the green light and the ashes it created of those unfortunate enough to be near the necklace came Amelia and her Army…

.

Simon had not coped at all. Instead he spent most of his time training for war. He knew it was coming - he could feel Amelia. He could sense her bloodlust. His nearly matched hers at the moment, after finding out all that she had taken from him and all that she wanted to take away. Grace. He looked over at her, next to her father as he instructed soldiers to reinforce any weak spots into the fortress. 

The Queen watched from the tower. She and Simon made eye contact and she turned away. Every time she looked at him, she saw her deceased friend, but she also saw an enemy. Someone who did harm to her kingdom, most times irrevocable harm. Someone who intended to bed her precious daughter, a daughter only fit for a true king, which he might have been destined to be at some point, but she simply couldn't see that realistically in her mind today. But also… guilt. She felt like he may never have lost his way if only she had done a better job of looking after him when Abelard died. Guilt over the curse that was supposed to bring him home, but instead led him into the Conductor's clutches. 

She had just vanished from the few of the window when everyone heard a tremendous chorus of noise and the tower collapsed! 

Grace screamed, "MOM!" And she, her father and Simon rushed towards the falling tower. There was a bright ball of light that crashed to the ground and left a crater. Grace reached it first, sliding down on her knees to get to the bottom. Her mother was sprawled out, the staff in hand. 

"Fortress.. infiltrated…" she said, weakly. 

Grace removed her gloves to heal her mother, screaming in pain as she did.

The King looked at Simon, "You're with me." Simon nodded once, brandished his blade and rushed towards the castle with the king. Grace groaned through her own pain to pull the queen from the crater, and noticed Simon and her father going inside, where most of the noise was. She let out a loud war cry and every available warrior came rushing. 

“There’s children! There are children everywhere!” she heard in her headset… which technically was just magical earrings.

“Are they real?” She wondered.

Simon replied, “They are. They’re students from the Institution.”

“Well, we can’t hurt them…” Grace said, as though it were obvious.

“They won’t hesitate to kill your people, Grace,” Simon told her.

“Lucy!” Grace called.

“On it!” Lucy said. 

Grace saw a multitude of birds swarm into the castle and heard in her earpiece, “Great, now there are birds everywhere. I can’t see anything.”

“Give it a moment… Lucy?”

There was the noise of the birds, screaming children and confused soldiers, but then Grace saw the swarms carrying children out of the castle (out of harm’s way) and Lucy said, “Done.” 

“Who uses children as pawns?” Grace wondered. 

The Queen sat up and cracked her neck. She hadn’t been involved in a battle in a long time. “Take my daughter to her safe haven,” she told the guards.

“What? Mom! I can fight! I can help!”

“You’re the future of this kingdom. The best help that you can give us is to stay safe and to stay put.”

“But I-” Grace watched her mother point the staff at them within moments, she had been relocated. “-’m the only one who can heal others!” She touched her ear, “Lucy?” Nothing. “Simon!” Nothing. She looked at her sphinx guards. There was no way that she could get over on them. That was why they were commissioned for the duty of guarding her. 

.

Simon and the King actually fought quite well beside each other. They hadn’t practiced any drills, so a lot of it was simply paying attention and anticipating the moves of the other, some of it was gestures, signals or facial expressions from the other, and a little of it was probably magic. Simon couldn’t see Amelia anywhere, but he could sense her. She was moving away from them. Where was she trying to go? He wanted to give chase, but he definitely couldn’t leave the King in the heat of battle. What if something happened to him? Grace would never forgive him. 

They cleared the castle and workers rushed in to begin using their magic to rebuild. Simon felt that was the time to seek out Amelia. “I’m going after the Conductor,” he said.

“I’ll come with.”

“Your Highness, I know her. I know how she fights and what she’s capable of. I can’t let you face off with her…”

The King and several of the warriors laughed. “I was trained as a warrior and a wizard before that woman even came in contact with a spellbook. Besides, if I let something happen to you, my little Fuzzy Bunny would never forgive me. Now, let’s get to it.” 

“Fu.. Fuzzy Bunny?” If Grace didn’t know, Simon was NEVER going to let her live that down. “Grace?” He called, trying to contact her through the link that she seemed to have to everyone earlier.

“Her mother hid her away,” the King said. “That’s her prime directive as Queen. Protect the throne and the kingdom.” Simon nodded, once. “That’s also Grace’s prime directive, as Queen. The King protects the Queen. The Queen protects everything that matters to him.”

“Where is the Queen, right now?”

“Fortifying the Mothership.”

“Is that where the One lives?”

“It is where we are able to commune with the One.”

“That will be where Amelia is heading!” The King grabbed Simon and transported them to a cavern that appeared to be covered in sparkling crystals. There was a glittering green dome around it that was nearly blinding to Simon. It didn’t seem to bother the King at all, but maybe he couldn’t see magic the way that Simon could… But, wait… Simon looked at the appropriate runes and they weren’t glowing. None of his were… Had he been using natural magic today, without realizing it? Was he using it now, to look at this cavern, “the Mothership,” or was the magic barrier simply so powerful that he couldn’t help BUT to see it. 

The King walked through it and for him, it became an intangible gel that encased the man and allotted him within. Simon walked right into it and it was solid and impenetrable. His runes began to burn his flesh as they glowed and attempted to break through the barrier. This was unconscious. He backed away, hoping that would stop whatever he was doing. But, even ask he backed away, he felt power stirring in him, much like whenever he would go on a raid and rob a place of it's power… He would have himself a sphere. A conduit which would harness the power, absorb it as he drew it out… He gasped and looked behind him. 

There she was, perched on her horse, her body covered in glowing runes, as well as her eyes, green and blazing as she siphoned the power of the barrier through Simon’s body, tracing more runes on him with her wand to do so. “Oh, Simon. You could have had the world at your feet. You were going to be at my side…” He was screaming in pain and had both hands on the barrier now as his body was being covered in runes to facilitate the power that she needed to draw away. 

“Had you do what you were supposed to do, you would still have your meddlesome pet, AND, you would be the future of the magical world. Alas… You weren’t strong enough. Fret not. Your years of work will not be in vain. You are going to be a perfect tool for me getting into this cavern and dethroning the One. Goodbye, Simon.” She pointed her wand forward and green lighting shot from the ends and he watched glowing vines cover his entire body, formulating so many runes that he couldn’t find one portion of blank space on his skin. He screamed, laughed, cried, and then he collapsed, and with him, the barrier. The King and Queen were at the ready, with their weapons. 

Amelia stepped off of her horse and walked over, stepping over Simon’s body, as she did. “You mustn’t blame the boy. He thought that he was powerful. He never knew that most of his power came from me.” She smirked. “And most of my power, I’ve won from defeating you.”

“I’ve never seen you before in my life,” The Queen said and began to twirl her staff and charge at Amelia. Amelia teleported from one place to another, just missing being struck with the staff. She snuck up from the side, punched the Queen in the side of the head and took the staff from her hands. The Queen groaned as Amelia hovered above her, but that was short lived as she had to block the King’s sword with the staff and her Conductor’s dagger. He was a much more skilled fighter, but not as powerful as a wizard, considering that some magic was “taboo,” Amelia would always feel like she had the upper hand in that regard. With the exception of the Queen (who wasn’t as pure as everyone would think. Ha! Cursing a child to trick his mother out of hiding)… And they consider ME evil.

The Queen crawled along the ground over to Simon and cradled his head in her lap. His eyes were glazed over and she could tell that the Conductor had him trapped in some kind of trance. She began to recite a chant and placed her bare hands on his burning hot skin. He blinked, and she frowned down at the young man, whose entire body was covered in those runes… runes that had trapped the magic of the barrier in his body. “Son of Abelard, this will hurt. It can’t be helped…” She said. Her fingernails became long and sharp and she stuck them into his skin. He. Screamed. 

A lot of physical pain had visited the young man today... Amelia turned to the sound of the screaming, looked at the cavern and rushed inside. The King was right on her heels. Simon’s eyes ran and he honestly felt as though all of his flesh were melting, but it was the magic seeping from his runes. The ones that Amelia used to lower the barrier were leaving his flesh like green slimy, burning worms, or green blood, spilling from his orifices.He was kicking his legs and screaming. He had never been in so much pain in his life. Whenever he had been cleansed of those, all that remained were the ones from before and a few new ones that had formed as part of the effort to keep him alive through pain that would have sent most people into shock.

He cried in the Queen’s lap as she cried, silently from the agony of healing without her staff. She withdrew her fingernails and looked at the cavern. Neither herself nor Simon was physically able to help at this moment, in the pain and recovery that their bodies were facing. But, the barrier began to form again as the elixir of those runes seeped into the ground and Simon and the Queen watched it position itself where it belonged. 

“If she gets on that throne…” Simon managed to say, then began trying to pick himself up. 

“I need you to get something to my daughter…” The Queen said. Simon was hardly paying attention to her as she cut open her arm, with her long fingernails and began to draft something onto a scroll. He was trying to see if he could pass the barrier now. He could! “Simon,” the Queen said. Now, THAT got his attention. He turned and she handed him the scroll. “Give this to Grace. It is everything that she will need, as Queen…” 

“Okay,” he said and tucked it away, close to his heart. “But, you’re okay, right?” He saw a light from inside of her, flickering. 

“I’m… feeling years of pain that having my staff made me unaware of. I’m sick, and taking on that healing exacerbated my illness…”

“Your Highness… If you fucking die because you decided to save me, I’m going to suspend your soul in purgatory, just to punish you for doing something so stupid!”

She laughed, then choked up some blood and wiped her mouth with the back of her hand. “Believe it or not, that is exactly the type of vile thank you that I would have gotten from your father.” She began to imitate a male’s voice with a French accent, but it sounded real, like she was tapping into a voice, “For fuck’s sake, Apollonia! Who would save a knight before a future queen? The Princess of Fucking Fools. If you were wondering, that’s YOU right now!” She laughed, her normal voice back. “Find her. I know that she gave you a way to.”

“Yeah. I’m gonna find her and take you to her so that she can fix this.”

“Simon…”

“We can’t lose anybody else! We couldn’t take it!” Simon fussed and gathered her up into his arms, carrying her bridal style as she coughed again and rested her head on his shoulder. 

“Abelard, what kind of life would I have without my best friend? I’d say it was worth being Princess of Fools. You’re still here, aren’t you?” she said, faintly, having a conversation that he knew that she had long before he was thought of. As he summoned the bird that Grace had given him, he saw the King, stammering towards the exit of the cavern. The Queen’s staff was impaled through his torso and blood was spilling from his mouth. Amelia removed the staff and she and Simon looked right at each other as he and the Queen began to dissipate… Simon’s eyes went to the King’s struggling body and tears fell from green eyes, because he knew that he had to make a choice… and he had already made it. 

The cavern was gone. The king was gone. Amelia was gone. But… the Queen was still holding on. Just barely, though. “Grace?” Simon called and two sphinxes were upon him within minutes. Grace rushed to her mother and began her healing process. The painful process that Simon hated to see her go through, but held her through. Whenever they were all settled in the haven, Grace looked around, “Where’s Daddy?” She asked. Simon opened his mouth, trying to form words, but only tears came. 

She looked at her mother and the Queen admitted, “I no longer feel his soul kissing mine… I’m afraid, he’s dead.”

Grace covered her face with both hands and ran from the room, crying. Simon stood but the Queen flicked a hand and the force sat him back down. “She and her father were close. There’s nothing that you can do to comfort her right now, but give her some space. Meanwhile… you and I have to strategize how to take back the Mothership. You are the next king in line, after all..”

My Glorious Purpose | Loki x OC Chapter 4

A/N: Hi all! I hope you’re enjoying the story so far. Just wanted to let you guys know I will try to post the next chapter as soon as I can, since I had to break this chapter into two. It would’ve been waaay too long. So I’ll try to post it in the very near future.💜

Pairing: Loki x OC  (Tera Digitalis)

Word Count: 2.7k+

Warnings: Battle, mentions of blood

Chapter 4: The Battle of New York: Part 1

(Tera's POV)

I feel myself laying down on something soft. I don't remember going to sleep last night. Suddenly, the memories hit me. Thor being real, Natasha taking me to her interrogation, and Loki. I bolt up, but it's too fast, I become dizzy.

"Whoa there, кроли." Someone nearby says.

I feel a hand on my arm.

"You okay there kid?"

I recognize the first voice as Natasha's but the second...

"Clint?"

"In the flesh," he responds.

I'm no longer seeing stars. I look up to see Natasha, Clint, and a very battered Thor standing by my bed.

"Clint! You're okay!" I fling myself on him.

"Whoa, there kid! I'm glad to see you too, but jeez, calm down. I'm still recovering here."

"Sorry," I apologize sheepishly.

He shrugs and gives me a hug. "It's okay. You're worth it."

I pull away from his embrace. "So what happened? How's Clint back? Why does Thor look like he's been rolling it dirt?"

Thor gives a hearty laugh at my last statement.

"Loki believed he could rid of me by dropping me from his cage. But, he could not. Because I am mighty!" He proclaims, raising Mjolnir to the sky.

Nat sits on the bed next to me.

"I'm sorry Bunny."

"For what," I ask her, confused.

"I told you everything would be okay when I left you in Loki's room. I was stupid to think I could trust that trickster with you. I promised you I would come back for you, but I didn't. When Fury said he found you I-I was scared I had lost you."

I take her hand in mine. "It's not your fault Nat. We're dealing with the biggest threat we've ever had to face. We make mistakes. These things happen. And besides, I'm fine."

"She is right, Lady Romanoff. Loki only cast a sleeping spell on her. He did not harm her in any way."

At that moment, Steve enters the room. "Good, you're alright. How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine, it was just a sleeping spell."

"In that case, it's time to go."

"Go where?" Natasha asks.

"I'll tell you on the way. Can you fly one of those jets?"

Clint speaks up, "I can."

Steve looks at Nat, who nods at him reassuringly.

"Got a suit?" Steve asks him.

"Yeah."

"Then suit up."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Steve, Clint, Nat, and I walk towards a quinjet. Nat and I had to convince Clint and Steve to let me join them.

"Come on, please? I've been training with Nat for the past few months!"

"She has. And besides, she knows a lot of Loki's powers and what he's capable of."

Steve sighs, "Alright, fine. But you're responsible for her Romanoff."

"I already am Rogers."

We cross the tarmac. Clint with his arrows, Steve with his shield, and Nat and I with our knives and guns. When we enter one of the jets, a S.H.I.E.L.D. engineer runs up to us.

"Hey, you guys aren't authorized to be in here."

"Son, just don't," Steve tells him with a look.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We fly towards Stark Tower in New York City. As we near, Nat radios Tony.

"Stark, we're on your three heading north east!"

"What, did you stop for a drive-thru? Swing that park, I'm gonna lay 'em out for you."

Clint and Natasha are piloting the plane. They release the canon gun. Tony flies past us at high-speed with the Chitauri following close behind him. Clint and Natasha begin to release continuous fire at the troop in front of us. They fly us through the smoke and up to Stark Tower. We circle around the building, blasting the army who are firing at them. One of the wings is grazed by Chitauri gunfire. We slow down as we come to the balcony of the tower. There, we find Thor busy, smashing Loki's head into glass on the catwalk of Stark Tower.

"Nat!" Clint says.

"I see 'em."

Loki turns to face the jet. He throws Thor to the ground, then blasts one of the jet's rotor blades with his scepter and it catches fire immediately. Thor gets up, and furiously charges at Loki and tackles him. That's the last I see of them as the quinjet falls to the ground.

Natasha and Barton hold on for their dear lives. Cap grabs a hold of the ceiling as I wrap my arms around his waist. The plane grazes against buildings. Steve's feet are lifted off the ground, I tighten my hold on him, scared to let go. Clint tries to maneuver the jet away from buildings and he's able to bring us, crashing, to the street. We slide several yards, before coming to an abrupt halt. Natasha and Barton remove their headsets, open the ramp, and we all run out the jet and towards the base of Tony's tower.

"We gotta get back up there," the captain tells us.

No one replies, we freeze in our tracks because high above the tower is the portal. And coming out of the portal...

"Oh my God," I say in horror.

A giant armored Leviathan, the warship of the Chitauri, and more fleets of warriors bleed into the sky.

We watch it fly past us as warriors jump onto the side of buildings and crash through the windows, gunfire following immediately after.

"Stark, are you seeing this?" Steve asks in disbelief.

"Seeing. Still working on believing," Tony answers through our earpiece. "Where's Banner? Has he shown up yet?"

"Banner?" Steve repeats.

"Just keep me posted," Tony says.

Clint, Natasha, and I crouch behind a taxi cab, our weapons drawn, preparing to fight. Steve runs over.

"We've got civilians trapped," Clint tells him.

The army flies past us and we see Loki with them on one of the flying crafts.

Steve growls. "Loki."

Loki and his following troops blow up the streets, laying waste to everything in their path. The police and civilians run for their lives as chaos rains down upon them.

"They're fish in a barrel down there!"

Nat turns towards me. "Are you ready? You can leave if you want. I won't judge."

"I will!" Clint calls as he runs toward the fight. I would have smacked him but he's already engaging in combat.

"No, no. I'm ready. I can do this," I tell her firmly.

She smiles, "Alright then intern, let's see what you can do in a real battle."

Natasha and I stand and we begin to fire our guns at an incoming group of Chitauri. We crouch down again as Clint bends behind an overturned taxi.

Nat turns to Steve. "We got this. It's good. Go!"

Steve looks at both of us. "Don't worry Steve, we can handle them," I say reassuringly.

"You think you can hold them off?"

"Captain," Clint says from his position, "it would be my genuine pleasure."

Clint reaches for an arrow, quickly nocks it, and shoots, hitting one alien in the head, while the arrow quickly separates into more arrows, killing three more Chitauri. Natasha and I stand and we quickly resume our fire. Steve jumps off an overpass, rolling onto a bus and into the street.

Clint helps people off a nearby bus as Natasha and I shoot our pistols at Chitauri. He runs over to us and rapidly sets off a barrage of arrows, raining down on the enemy as we continue reloading and shooting.

"Just like Budapest all over again!"

"You and I remember Budapest very differently," Clint replies.

"What happened in Budapest?" I ask. I thought I heard all of their stories, but I guess not.

"I'll tell you later!" Nat yells.

"Maybe I should tell her! We have different views on the story."

"I don't care WHO tells me, I just want the story," I bellow over the gunfire.

We soon engage in hand to hand combat with the invaders. Clint trips one with his bow. He pulls an arrow from his sheath and stabs it. I see Natasha use her Widow's Bite on a warrior as she sits on his neck. I use my knives to stab their heart and slice their arms and legs off. Clint is tackled by an alien, I run to help him, decapitating the beast. Natasha picks up a Chitauri weapon and uses it to fight off the warriors. One warrior tries to slice her head off and she slides, dodging it. She spins down onto one knee before shooting at one of the aliens charging towards me. He flies backwards. She continues to hack them away from us, defending my back while I watch hers. Clint runs towards us, slides, then fires more arrows at the growing number of enemies. Our circle becomes smaller and smaller, the three of us being forced closer together. I begin to accept my fate. This is how I'm going to die. By the hands of a monster, no thanks to a certain god of Mischief. We nearly have our backs pressed together, when Steve jumps into our fight to help. He slams the Chitauri away with his shield and suddenly we are able to expand our circle a little more.

"So lovely of you to join us," I tell him.

"Hey, someone's gotta rescue the civilians, right?"

"Hey! I saved some too, you know!" Clint wines.

I suddenly see a beast taking aim at me with one of his weapons, preparing to fire, but before I am able to fire at him, he and the surrounding aliens are struck by lightning. They are brought to their knees, dead. Thor drops down from the sky, landing beside us.

"What's the story upstairs?" Steve asks him

"The power surrounding the cube is impenetrable."

We hear Tony in our earpiece, "Thor is right, we gotta deal with these guys."

"How do we do this?" asks Nat.

Steve looks up to see more Chitauri fly by. "As a team."

"I have unfinished business with Loki," Thor tells us.

Clint is readying some arrows when he says, "Oh yeah? Get in line."

"Save it," Steve tells him. "Loki's gonna keep this fight focused on us and that's what we need. Without him, these things can run wild. We got Stark up top, he's gonna need us to..."

He trails off at the sound of an engine sputtering towards us. We look to see Dr. Banner riding an old fashioned motorcycle. He dismounts, and walks toward us as we gather around him.

"So, this all seems... horrible," he says, surveying the damage.

"I've seen worse," Nat tells him.

"Sorry."

"No, we can use a little worse."

Steve reports to Tony, "Stark, we got him."

We hear Tony ask, "Banner?"

"Just like you said."

"Then tell him to suit up. I'm bringing the party to you."

Tony flies around a corner and towards us, followed closely by one of the huge Leviathans.

My eyes widen in horror, while Clint and Steve look on calmly. Thor growls and tightens his grip on Mjolnir.

Nat stutters, "I-I don't see how that's a party."

"Maybe it will blow up into confetti?" I ask softly.

Tony draws the monster low to the ground and it skims the road. Dr. Banner turns towards it and begins to walk straight for the Leviathan.

Steve follows him. "Dr. Banner, now might be a really good time for you to get angry."

"That's my secret, Cap." The doctor responds, looking back at Steve. "I'm always angry."

As he turns back around to face the oncoming alien, green suddenly sprouts through his skin and he grows in size, ripping his clothes to shreds. He immediately punches the Leviathan, smashing its face into the ground, but its body begins to roll over its head, coming to crash down on us.

"Hold on!" Tony yells.

He blasts a small missile at the creature when it's armor falls off. The missile explodes as it finds its target. An inferno blasts from the monster, flames and debris engulf us. Clint grabs my hand and we sprint away like mad, ducking in an alley. Thor just stands there taking the blast, while Steve grabs Nat and protects them with his shield. The heat scorches us, the surrounding cars melting from the intense heat. I can hear the cries of the Chitauri as the monster crashes and burns. Clint pokes his head out from the alley, checking to see if we can emerge safely. He takes my hand and we regroup in a circle. The Hulk roars, Clint nocks an arrow, Thor readies Mjolnir, Nat and I reload our guns, Steve stands ready with his shield and Tony hovers above us, next to the Hulk.

We look up, only to be greeted by more Leviathans and hundreds of warriors flying through the portal.

"Guys?" Nat and I say together.

"Call it, Captain." Tony tells him.

"Alright, listen up. Until we can close that portal up there, we're gonna use containment. Barton, I want you on that roof, eyes on everything. Call out patterns and strays. Stark, you got the perimeter. Anything gets more than three blocks out, you turn it back or you turn it to ash."

Clint turns to Tony. "Wanna give me a lift?"

"Right. Better clench up, Legolas."

Tony grabs Clint and flies him up to the top of a building, then flies off.

Legolas, huh? Gotta make fun of Clint for that later. I smirk.

Steve turns to Thor, "Thor! You gotta try and bottleneck that portal, slow 'em down. You got the lightning, light the bastards up."

Thor spins Mjolnir around, and takes off into the sky.

Steve turns to face Nat and I. "The three of us, we stay here on the ground, keep the fighting here." He then turns to face the green machine behind us. "And Hulk!

The Hulk growls, turning around to face Cap, who points towards the incoming Leviathans.

"Smash!"

Hulk grins, then leaps off, taking out dozens of warriors that are on the sides of the buildings—grabbing, smashing, and throwing them.

Natasha and I stand side by side, fighting the monsters together.

"How am I doing boss?"

"Not bad intern," she answers with a quick smile.

She is suddenly thrown upon the hood of a car. I run towards her to help as I notice the warrior about to attack her, but before I can, a Chitauri comes out of nowhere and tries to slice at my neck. I bend, sliding past him, but his blade makes contact with my forehead. I quickly come up behind him and sink my knives into his back.

I turn to see Nat wrestling the Chitauri gun from its grasp and shooting him back. Steve lands behind her, and she twists around with the gun ready, about to shoot, until she realizes who it is. She lowers the gun and leans against a car, blood dripping from her head and lip. Blood oozes from my head wound and I lift a hand to wipe away the blood because it starts to obscure my vision. I poke at the gash, just above my right eyebrow. It's not deep, but it's long, at least three inches.

"Captain, none of this is gonna mean a damn thing if we don't close that portal." Nat tells Steve.

I giggle. They turn to look at me, shocked at how I found this funny.

"Yeah Cap." I repeat. "Not a dam thing."

Nat just rolls her eyes at me. She's heard me use that joke so many times now.

Steve looks confused, but decides to ignore my statement. "Our biggest guns can't touch it."

"Well, maybe it's not about guns," Nat states, looking at the portal.

"You wanna get up there, you're gonna need a ride."

Natasha glances up, watching the Chitauri crafts fly past. She makes her way over to the other side of the overpass.

"I got a ride. I can use a boost though."

A look of understanding crosses his face, "You sure about this?" He asks readying his shield in front of him.

I quickly move out of the way.

"Yeah, it's gonna be fun!" She says without excitement.

Nat runs at Steve, who uses his shield to boost her up. She grabs on to a passing Chitauri vehicle. We look up as she flies off in the distance.

We get hit by a blast from our right, but Steve raises his shield to protect us. We turn to see more warriors coming, inching towards us, carrying their blasters.

"C'mon kid. Let's kick some butt."

Part 5

Project AI0.043 (Part 5)

lA/N: With Today’s new Part, I wanted to move things ahead just a little, so we can have a better understanding of what’s going to happen on the future parts, it will all make sense, I promise. 

Pairing: Five Hargreeves x Reader

Story Summary: On the 12th Hour of the first day of October 1989, 43 women around the world gave birth. This was unusual only in the fact that none of these women had been pregnant when the day first began. Sir Reginald Hargreeves, eccentric billionaire and adventurer, resolved to locate and adopt as many of the children as possible. He got seven of them but never found the last one.

Chapter Summary: We jump WAY ahead into the present, when Five comes back to the Past, and learn a little about the situation Five and the Reader got into.

Warnings: Spoilers, violence, blood, Language.

Word Count: 3,030

Tag List: @featuringcone9​ @lesbianismybitchname​ @fiveisadorable​ @here-in-never-land sweetingcas @whatawildone

PROLOGUE | PART 1 | PART 2 | PART 3 | PART 4 | PART 5 | PART 5.5 | PART 6 | PART 6.5 | PART 7

November 22, 1963 -  John F. Kennedy Assassination Day

“Alright, I’m in position Foxtrot ... What's your status?” You spoke through your headset, waiting for Five to answer. Nothing. “Foxtrot ...”

“I’m here Alfa, I’m just enjoying the view, my partner looks marvelous with that infantry rifle.” He praised, making you grin at his comment. “It’s a 6.5×52mm Carcano Model 91/38, if I may say ...” You teased over the headset. 

“Hey, um-I’ve been thinking lately ...” His tone quickly changing. “Yeah, about what?” You asked, repositioning on the spot. “I think I know the equation ...” The both of you stayed silent, you knew what those words meant, he founded a way to go back. “Five, we can’t do that now ...” You warned him. “Yeah well, I think I don’t got much of a choice now, do I Anya” 

You knew he wasn’t going to let this go, he was hardheaded when it came to going back in his time, at the beginning you had promised him that you were going to help him, and you did but through the years, the both of you became closer than ever, you had been married for a decade and you knew if he left, all of those years would be gone too, but you knew it was also important to him, since his siblings died in the Apocalypse. “Anya, I need you t-” 

“No, please, not right now.” You quickly cut him off, your voice breaking on the process. “If not now, then when, huh?”

(Announcer on Radio) 

... Dallas Love Field, the Dallas-Fort Worth area broadcasters bring you a special description of the arrival of President John F. Kennedy. 

“Please Anya ...” Five begged. Time was running out, if he was going to do this, it was now or never. 

And the crowd yells, and the president of the United States ...

“Okay ... Give me a second.” You finally gave in, taking a deep breath you teleported part of yourself towards Five location, leaving another double on your previous spot. “I’m here ...” Placing a hand over Five’s shoulder he smiled back at you. 

(Announcer 2 on Radio)

... To get another view of the president as he and his First Lady depart Love Field.

“Are you sure you got the right equation this time, I don’t want to repeat Vietnam.” You insisted, only making him chuckle. “I’m sure of bit, it’s going to work I promise.” He held your chin up, wiping a tear away from your cheek. “And if it doesn’t ... I don’t want to hurt you.”

“You won’t ...” He held your hands up, kissing them softly. “How do you know that ...”

“Because I trust you Printsessa ...” You never knew how, but he would always take your breath away, even with the simplest thing, it always had an effect on you. “Okay ... get ready then.”

(Announcer 3 on Radio) 

The presidential car moving out.

The president and First Lady ... head out for downtown Dallas, where thousands should already be on the street right now ...

Five quickly pulled out an old book, scanning through it, trying to find again the equation. 

“Come on Five ... we don’t got much time.” You insisted. 

(Announcer)

Dallas police out here in force today, doing a beautiful job of handling the crowd along with a contingent of Texas Rangers. 

“Found it ...” Five whispered, placing the book on his right side, closing his fists as tight as he could, concentrating deeply. You watched as the air slowly whooshed through you, and began to head electricity crackling through his fists. 

“Anya ... Do it ... Now!” Five begged, and you did as you told. Raising your right hand towards him, your body began to light up, your veins and eyes glowed a bright orange, your breathing began to deepen. Fives body was trembling but right ahead of him, a blue like portal began to appear. The wind howled, but everything around them seemed to be stopping in time, and then through the portal, he noticed 5 figures.

“We did it, Anya ... We d-” He turned to see his wife who was tearing up again. “I promise everything is going to be okay, we’ll be together in no time.” He looked back at you, not so sure of his words, which you already knew. “Jus-just G-go ...” Your voice was cracking up from the pain. “I love you, Anya.” 

He turned to the portal again, and then saw an object flying through it, a fire extinguisher? But quickly pushed himself through the portal, yelping on the progress. It burned, every second of bit burned, but he didn’t care, it was now or never. He pushed and pushed until he went through it and fell into the floor.

Five slowly got up and watched the figures he saw approach him, it was his sibling, all grown.

“Does anyone else see little Number Five, or is that just me?” He heard Klaus asked everybody, and that’s when it hit him. Little? Five looked down and sure enough, he was back as a 13th-year-old boy. “Shit ...”

“What’s the date? The exact date.” Five sighed as he reached over for some bread. “The 24th” Vanya answered, everybody’s eyes were on the small boy. “Of what?” He insisted again. “March.” Taking a moment to think he nodded. “Good.”

“So, are we gonna talk about what just happened?” Luther watched Five closely as he placed two slices of the bread on the wooden board, not saying a word. “It’s been 17 years.” Luther insisted, standing in front of Five, making him scoffed at his statement. “It’s been a lot longer than that.” He teased as he walked through the taller sibling. “I haven’t missed that.” Luther muttered.

“Where’d you go?” Diego continued. “The future. It’s shit, by the way.” Five answered, reaching for marshmallows this time, and returning once more to his previous spot. “Called it!” Klaus pointed. “I should’ve listened to the old man. You know, jumping through space is one thing, jumping through time is a toss of the dice.” Five explained, placing some peanut butter on the table, quickly making a pause, looking over at his perplexed siblings.“Nice dress.” 

“Oh, well, Danke!” Klaus said excitedly.

“Wait, how did you get back?” Vanya asked still confused. “In the end, I had to project my consciousness forward into a suspended quantum state version of myself that exists across every possible instance of time.” Five explained again, only making them more confused. “That makes no sense.” Diego whispered, loud enough for everyone to hear. “Well, it would if you were smarter.” Five teased, making Diego mad, but Luther quickly stopped him. “How long were you there?” Luther continued.

“Forty-five years. Give or take.” Making everyone sink even more on their seats. “So what are you saying? That you’re 58?” 

“No, my consciousness is 58. Apparently, my body is now 13 again.” Five scoffed at the question, walking away with his sandwich. “Wait, how does that even work?” Vanya insisted. “Anya kept saying the equations were off. Eh.” Five looked away while taking a bite. “Bet she’s laughing now ... but then again, she was right, I needed her help.” 

“Anya?” Vanya asked, making everyone look at Five even more curious. Hmm. Five walked over the table again, picking up some newspaper. “Guess I missed the funeral.” He said while reading over the news of his deceased adoptive father. “How’d you know about that?” Luther asked blankly. “What part of the future do you not understand?” Five’s tone was now annoyed. “Heart failure, huh?” He asked for confirmation. “Yeah.” Diego nodded, but Luther quickly answered with a “No.” Making everyone in the table roll their eyes. Hmm. Five clicked his tongue. “Nice to see nothing’s changed.” He finished, walking away. “Uh, that’s it? That’s all you have to say?” Allison turned to Five, who continued to walk away. “What else is there to say? The circle of life.” Everyone either shook their head or sighed at his response, clearly, he wasn’t worried one bit about the sudden death of their adoptive father. “Well ... That was interesting.” Luther turned to everyone.

Five made his way to his old room, noticing that nothing hadn’t changed around the house either, everything was still in the same place; Scratches, holes, cracks, everything was where it used to be. As he made his way through the door, he quickly opened his closet door, eager to get rid of his old suit only to be welcomed by his old uniform suits. “Ah, shit.”

After changing, he made his way to the old fireplace, standing just ahead of his portrait. He began to hear Vanya’s steps behind him. “Nice to know Dad didn’t forget me.” He turned to see her smiling. “Read your book, by the way. Found it in a library that was still standing.” He began to circle her, noticing her smile quickly dropping. “I thought it was pretty good, all things considered.” He praised. “Yeah, definitely ballsy, giving up the family secrets.” Finally turning to her. “Sure that went over well.”

“They hate me.” Her voice softly breaking. “Oh, there are worse things that can happen.” He reassured her. “You mean like what happened to Ben?” 

“Was it bad?” Five asked, but Vanya only nodded painfully. A long and thick silence began to take over them, while outside the thunder only rumbled.

After the long and awkward funeral, and Luther’s and Diego’s typical fights, Five had enough.

“We don’t have time for this.” He whispered as he walked away from his siblings. Hearing Ben’s statute being thrown into the floor, Five sighed deeply. “The world is going to end sooner.” Making his way into his room, he laid on the small bed, thinking in his father’s words.

“Nietzsche once said; 

Man is as a rope stretched between the animal and the superhuman. A rope over an abyss. It is a dangerous crossing, a dangerous looking-back, a dangerous trembling, and halting. As much as you must strive for individual greatness, and strive you must, for it won’t come to you of its own accord ... you must also remember that there is no individual stronger than the collective. 

The ties that bind you together make you stronger than you are alone. They will make you impervious to the pain and hardship the world will thrust upon you. And believe me when I tell you, life will be hard. It will be painful. 

We can accomplish anything when we accept responsibility together. This is what creates trust. 

Together, you will stand against the reign of evil ...”

Hours passed before he noticed he had knocked out. Quickly making his way down to the kitchen, he began to look around for his energy boost, Caffeine. Hearing someone approaching, it was Allison. “Where's Vanya?” She asked, dropping her coat on one of the chairs, turning to Klaus and Five. “Oh, she’s gone.” Klaus answered, playing with a bass guitar. “That’s unfortunate.” Five point out as he lifted an empty jar. 

“Yeah.” Allison responded, not knowing he meant the empty coffee jar. “An entire square block. Forty-two bedrooms, 19 bathrooms, but no, not a single drop of coffee.” He snapped, making Allison frown. “Dad hated caffeine.” 

“Well, he hated children, too, and he had plenty of us.” Klaus joked, but they just stood there in awkward silence. “I’m taking the car.”

“Where are you going?” Klaus asked while putting his guitar away. “To get a decent cup of coffee.” Five scoffed. “Do you even know how to drive?” Allison teased. “I know how to do everything.” Making the 13th-year-old snap at her, while jumping through space and ending on the old family cars seat. Turning the engine on and quickly driving off into the nearest coffee shop. 

Griddy’s Doughnuts sign shined through the cold and dark night. 

The old family car breaks screeched as Five hit them. Quickly parking it on the side and sprinting inside the coffee shop, he took a seat on one of the bar stools, hitting the bell eagerly. Hearing behind him the doors opening too. Sighing, he turned to see an old man, exhaling deeply as he was sitting next of him. 

“Sorry, sink was clogged.” A small old blonde waitress appeared, chuckling at the pair. “So, what’ll it be?” She began pulling out her pen and notebook. The man next of Five began his order. “Uh, give me a chocolate éclair.” He smiled warmly at her.

“Mm-hmm. Sure. Can I get the kid a glass of milk or something?” She asked innocently, as she turned to the now annoyed 13th-year-old boy, scoffing at her request he simply said. “The kid wants coffee. Black.” Making the blonde look over at the man next of Five, chuckling nervously. “Cute kid.” Turning to find Five forcing a smile, taking it as her cue that she needed to get going. 

Five sighed deeply and turned to the man.  “Don’t remember this place being such a shithole. I used to come here as a kid. Used to sneak out with my brothers and sisters and eat doughnuts till we puked. I even brought my wife in here once, and we ended up making it a tradition, to come every year in our anniversary, we used to order milkshakes. Simpler times, huh?” He smiled at the joyful memories he had in this place, not noticing the frown on the man’s face. 

“Eh, I suppose.” He answered, still confused as to why is a small boy like him was talking like a grown-up, like if he actually meant it. The small waitress came back and handed them their orders, the man ended up paying for Five, and he couldn’t help to notice that he worked for Ishmael’s Towing. “You must know your way around the city.”

“I hope so. I’ve been driving it for 20 years.” He said smiling. “Good. I need an address.”

After a couple of minutes, the man left, leaving Five alone with his warm coffee, not long before someone else came into the shop. Five noticed a group of 4 armed men, dressed in black, stand behind him. “Hmm. That was fast.” He said bluntly. “I thought I’d have more time before they found me.”

“Okay. So let’s all be professional about this, yeah?”One of the men spoke, he was just inches away from Five, his gun aimed directly at the boy’s head, while everybody else stood by, watching them. “On your feet and come with us. They want to talk.” He ordered.

“I’ve got nothing to say.” Five’s tone was so calmed, the men started to worry. “It doesn’t have to go this way. You think I want to shoot a kid? Go home with that on my conscience?” The man insisted. “Well, I wouldn’t worry about that.” Five turned to face the man. “You won’t be going home.” And with that Five slowly grabbed a knife that the waitress had given him, and quickly turned to the man, teleporting behind the armed man and stabbing him behind the neck. 

One by one, they all dropped dead. 

Five sighed and walked over to one of the dead bodies, taking his tie off his neck, and quickly fixing it on him. He began to hear gruntings from the other side and slowly walked over, kneeling over the struggling man, snapping his neck instantly. He was about to leave when he noticed a blue butterfly fly over the shop, landing on his right forearm. “Hello, Printsessa .” He smiled and turned his gaze towards the butterflies direction, a green glowing box, it was a tracker. “I guess I got no choice, huh.” And the butterfly stood still, making his way to one of the tables, Five took one of the man's knife and rolled up his sleeve. The butterfly watched on top of the coffee cup, as Five slowly cut through his right forearm, groaning from the pain he took a small green chip, that wouldn’t stop beeping, watching it closely, he turned to the butterfly. “I guess they’re smart after all, I hope you’re okay wherever you are Anya.” And with that, the butterfly faded away. “Until then Printsessa.” 

Five walked away from the bloodied cafe, dropping the chip to a puddle, and fixing his tie once more, before getting in the car and driving off. 

After driving around downtown, he founded Vanya’s apartment and decided to make a quick visit. He looked around, she kept it simple, not so much to stare but it sure needed some locks. He heard the jingle of her keys and turned the light on as soon as she stepped in.

“Jesus!” Vanya yelped. “You should have locks on your windows.” He persuaded. “I live on the second floor.” She said while dropping her keys on the side. “Rapist can climb.” He insisted. “You are so weird.” She rolled her eyes while closing the door, behind her.

Taking a seat by him, she noticed blood on his forearm. “Is that blood?”

“It’s nothing.” He brushed her off. “Why are you here?” Five sighed and looked up, not meeting her eyes. “I’ve decided you’re the only one I can trust.”

“Why me?” She insisted. “Because you’re ordinary.” He said only making her look down. “Because you’ll listen.” And with that Vanya quickly ran to the bathroom to retrieve some alcohol, gauze, and tape to clean him up. Five slowly rolled up his sleeve, letting her clean him up. Vanya inhaled deeply as she saw the wound, it looked deep, but Five didn’t even flinch, not even when the alcohol made contact with his skin. “When I jumped forward and got stuck in the future, do you know what I found?”

“No.” She softly said. “Nothing. Absolutely nothing.”

“As far as I could tell, I was the last person left alive. I never figured out what killed the human race, but ... I did find something else. The date it happens. The world ends in eight days, and I have no idea how to stop it.” He confessed, watching Vanya's terrified reaction. “I’ll put on a pot of coffee.”

Tin Man - The Lost Chapter

This is the first part of my multichapter Marvel fic. If you prefer to read on Ao3 here is the link.

Summary: Alexandra is a 22 year old college sophomore studying Biochemistry. Since she moved to the city from a small Midwest town 2 years before she has had a colorful dating history, but all of her exes have taught her skills to survive in the city. However, walking home one night, one of the exes, Markus, decides that Alex’s smart mouth needs to learn a lesson. She is saved by a mysterious stranger who doesn’t have a lot to say and has a metal arm. This act of kindness sets off a series of events that turn her life into something straight out of a movie.

Trigger Warnings: Attempted sexual assault, threatening language, blood, violence Author Note: Sometimes, you are reading through a previous work because you're attempting to get back into the story but have forgotten everything you have written. And sometimes, while you are reading through a work, the page numbers are off, which is VERY aggravating. So, you go where you published the story to see if something accidentally got deleted. You find that it wasn't, but that when you published the story literally years ago, you missed posting a whole ass chapter.So, here is the lost chapter, which takes place between Chapter 5-6. If I have completely lost my mind and this chapter IS somewhere in the story, sorry about the second posting. Things are a little crazy over here these days.

Alex pulled out her phone, mainly to have something to do because she was still shaken up. She had a missed call and a text message from Mr. Malone. She sighed and opened the text. They were putting in a new door when I came in. Left bags inside. Looks like it has been mauled by a bear. What happened? Alex thought about answering, but decided she didn’t have the energy to think up a convincing lie. She texted back a simple thank you and threw the phone back into her purse. “Why are there so many damaged buildings?” James asked as they headed for the subway station. “Left over damage from the Battle of New York. Most areas have been so worried about rebuilding the destroyed buildings that they haven’t taken care of the cosmetic stuff. Brooklyn really didn’t even get the worst of it, not compared to places like Hell’s Kitchen, but Brooklyn’s been slow to deal with the damage.” Alex explained. The Battle had happened the summer before Alex was supposed to move to the city. She had been trying to figure out what to tell her parents about deciding to go to New York University, which had offered her a full ride scholarship. They had all watched in horror as the city was blasted to pieces and a hole opened in the sky. Alex remembered looking for Stark Tower on the news, because if it still stood, then everything else would somehow be okay. If Tony Stark had kept his tower safe than the rest of New York couldn’t be the hell that it looked like. Her heart sank when she saw that the portal was coming from the Tower itself. That’s when she knew New York, the world, would never be the same. After that, she decided she wasn’t going to tell her parents that she was going to New York until a week before she was leaving for freshman orientation. They had been horrified, her mother breaking down into tears and her father spending all night out in the barn. They had called Jake to fly home and talk some sense into her. She had moved up her flight time and left before he ever touched down in the city. “The Battle of New York,” James said the words slowly. “You didn’t know it happened did you?” Alex said as they headed down the steps to the subway. “Are you are missing that part of your memory as well? Or is that when you were overseas?” “I don’t think I was awake for it.” Alex turned, thinking he was being funny, but James’s face was still and serious. Had he been in a coma? What the hell was this guy’s story? The subway train was a lot less crowded and they both got a seat, James hesitated before sitting down next to Alex. Alex made a point to look out the window during the whole trip, her arms burning and her legs shaking. She wrapped her arms around herself and tried to tell herself it was just the cold. She tried not to think about the number of times she had been attacked in the last forty-eight hours. She tried to retreat behind her walls of calm and collectedness. She failed. She felt James’s eyes fall on her multiple times, but he made no move to comfort her or speak. When they got off the subway, Alex stopped to buy herself a coffee from a street cart. She didn’t offer to buy James one, it didn’t even cross her mind. He didn’t say anything. Alex unlocked the door to the apartment building and trudged up the flight of stairs, only to be greeted by a new door and a sticky note saying that Jason, the maintenance man, had the new set of keys. Alex knew that she could pick the lock if she needed to, but she didn’t have the energy. “Stay here, I’ll be right back.” Alex sighed as she walked down to the basement, where Jason’s apartment was. She knocked loudly on the door, knowing that he probably had his Xbox headset on, and waited for him to get untangled to open the door. “Hey A.J.,” Jason said with a yawn as he opened the door. He was the normal maintenance man in a rundown apartment building, late twenties, single, not exactly known for his hygiene, but extremely pleasant. He was the landlord’s younger brother and while he was pretty good was a hammer and a wrench, Alex got the feeling that he was shoved down here almost to hide him from the rest of the world. “Hey Jason, what are we playing today?” It was forced cheerfulness, but Alex didn’t want another person to ask her what was wrong. She might start crying. “Oh, Destiny. I just got it and it is wicked,” Jason said with a smile. “You want to come in a watch?” “Sorry, I have a test to study for. They said you had my new keys?” “Right, right. That door was annihilated, girl. You need to be more careful with those guys.” Jason said as he reached into the bowl by the door and pulled out a set of keys. “If you ever need help, you can always come down and get me. Or call, you have my number.” “Thanks Jason,” Alex said with a sigh as she took the keys from him. She loved that everyone wanted to keep her safe, but if one more person showed concern she might scream. She was a twenty-two year old woman who could, under most circumstances, take care of herself. The references to her dating history was also starting to get old. They were assholes, that is why she broke up with them. Alex got back up to the fifth floor and everything hurt. She didn’t think she had ever been more tired. James was leaning against the door frame. He’s eyes questioned her, but Alex just unlocked the door and pushed it open. “Son of a bitch,” Alex said as she tripped over the shopping bags from earlier, completely forgetting that Mr. Malone said he had left them right inside the door. Alex felt tears start to well up in her eyes and became even more furious with herself. “Are you alright?” James asked, but Alex just kicked the bag out of the way, slammed her coffee cup down on the counter, and stomped into her bedroom. She slammed the door shut and dropped onto her bed. A few tears leaked out of her eyes, she brushed them away furiously. “Alex?” James voice called through the door. “Just give me a minute, Jesus.” Alex called back, angry that her voice shook. She buried her face in the pillow, and screamed. After she was out of breath, she let herself cry silently for a solid ten minutes. It wasn’t just the fight with James, it was just everything that had happened in the past two days. A lot of it was James’s fault, but if hadn’t been around, she knew she would be dead. Alex finally rolled onto her back and took a few deep breaths. Alex hated crying, she found it completely unhelpful because that time could be used to work toward a solution. However, sometimes you just needed a good cry. It was also supposed to help clear your skin or something else too. But you can’t cry forever. Alex sat up and used a tissue to blow her nose. She then stripped out of her clothes and pulled on a pair of oversized sweatpants and a hoodie. Alex braided her hair and used makeup remover to scrub her wrecked makeup off her face. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath before emerging from her room. James jumped off the couch when she entered the living room, worry and guilt written all over his face. Alex took a good deal satisfaction in that look. James didn’t try to say anything, but his blue eyes searched for some sort of answer. She didn’t have one. “I…I cleaned up the coffee. It splattered everywhere,” James explained. “Well at least you’re good for something,” Alex mumbled as she walked into the kitchen. She knew she was being unreasonable, but she didn’t care. She had to channel her emotions somewhere and James was standing right there. “I’m going to make some hot cider, do you want any?” Alex asked as she poured water into the kettle and put it over the flames. “Do you have tea?” James asked. Alex snorted. “Orange or Chamomile?” She asked as she grabbed two mugs from the cabinet. “You don’t just have regular tea?” James asked. Alex just stopped and glared at him for a few seconds. “Orange will be fine,” James said as he took a seat at the table. Alex got out the milk and sugar for James as she waited for the water to heat up. She also pulled a bottle of aspirin out of a drawer and took two, dry. All of her aches and pains were starting to get to her. Finally the kettle started to whistle and she made the drinks. Both were silent as she put the mugs on the table and James fixed his tea the way he wanted it. As Alex waited for him to start she started to become more and more unsure if this was a story she wanted to hear. If she could emotionally handle it right now. However, the longer they sat there sipping their drinks the more restless she became. She really did have a test that she had to study for. Alex knew that her priorities were out of order, but it was the only way to keep herself sane. Plus, she needed to keep that scholarship. “I am not going to tell you specifics,” James finally said setting his tea mug down. “Not because I don’t want to, but because I don’t want to put you in more danger.” James folded his hands, the metal flashing in the afternoon light. Alex wanted to protest, but a bit of the truth would be better than no truth at all. She folded her feet underneath herself and wrapped her fingers around her coffee mug. The picture of friendly interest. James picked at a scar on his hand, collecting his thoughts. “I was a solider of the U.S. military, part of a specialized group of fighters.” “Like Black ops?” Alex asked. She knew she shouldn’t interrupt, but just listening had never been her strong suit. “Yeah, I guess. Anyway, we worked on a number of high risk and dangerous missions. On one of these missions I got injured and separated from my team. They thought I was dead, I should be dead, but I survived.” James stopped here. “Is that how you got the metal arm? This accident?” Alex asked. “The bones were basically turned to powder. Considering the fall, my entire body should have looked like that, but I survived.” James flexed the fingers on his metal hand. “Maybe it would have been better if it had turned out the other way.” They both sat for a few seconds thinking about this statement. Alex’s knee-jerk reaction was to comfort James, but she was worried that if she interrupted the story she would never hear all of it. She had also out of emotional energy for the day. “Anyway, I was found, treated, and brought back to good health. My memories, everything, were erased gone. The only thing I knew was what the people who saved me told me. So I worked for them and were until recently when my memories started coming back.” “That’s why you came to New York,” Alex said connecting the dots. James nodded. “I got here and nothing looked familiar. My memory would come and go and I got disorientated. That’s why I was walking around that night I saw you forced into the alley.” James said finishing the story. “I have a question,” Alex said as she finished her cider. “I’m pretty sure you have more than one,” James said with a small smile. “True, but that will take hours,” Alex said with an answering smile. “How did you get back to the states? You said you got injured in the war, that’s a long way from home.” “I was on a mission in the states when my memories started to come back,” James explained. Alex nodded as she digested this information. This wasn’t really anything that Alex hadn’t figured out on her own, but the news about him working for someone other than the military was interesting. Not only that, but it sounded like it was also some sort of mercenary organization. Then a thought popped into her head that chilled her. “The people, who saved you…” Alex picked her next words carefully. “They are not exactly friendly are they?” Not as laid back as she wanted it to sound, but the general meaning was there. “That’s one way of putting it,” James said with a ghost of as laugh before turning serious. “They have a view of the world and how it should be. They don’t like opinions that aren’t in line with theirs and will destroy anyone in their way.” “Terrorists?” Alex’s voice was a lot shakier that she planned it to be. Terrorists and terrorism were buzz words that had almost always been a part of Alex’s life. The life of any kid that grew up in American since 2001. However, talking to someone who might have worked for a terrorist organization terrified her. And here she thought she did have any more terror to expend. “I don’t know if they would classify themselves that way. Hey,” James reached across the table to take her hand, but she flinched despite herself. James pulled his hand back and cleared his throat. “There’s nothing for you to worry about. I’m not going to let anything happen to you.” James said seriously. “Even if it’s you?” Alex asked without looking up at him. “Especially if it’s me,” James said without hesitation. Alex looked up and he met her gaze without flinching. Alex was suddenly filled with such a surge of emotion that she felt the self-control she had been holding onto crumble. She wasn’t sure if it was James’s determination to protect her or the stress of the last couple days, but Alex started to cry. It was just a few tears at first, traitors that escaped from her eyes without thinking. Then they turned into sobs that made her whole body shake. She knocked her mug over as she put her hand to her mouth to try and stifle the sound. Alex closed her eyes and tried to hold onto her runaway emotions. Arms came around her and she leaned against James’s chest. Alex turned her head and sobbed into his shoulder as he held her close. At one point Alex was crying so hard that she felt as if James’s arms were the only thing that was keeping her in one piece. James put his head against hers as she cried, speaking to her softly, though the words were lost in her sobs. Slowly the sobs subsided and Alex got herself under control. She was still almost hyperventilating and nauseous, but the tears finally stopped. She was drained. The warmth and comfort in James’s arm made it so that she didn’t try to move. She just leaned there until hiccups set in. “Well, that was embarrassing,” Alex said shakily as she leaned back. Another hiccup made her jump as she wiped her eyes with her sleeve. “Do you need anything?” James asked as he continued to rub her arm. “Probably a tissue,” Alex said with a sniff. “And I wouldn’t be against a glass of water.” James got up from his kneeling position on the floor and got her the water and a napkin. Alex blew her nose not caring that it sounded like an elephant trumpeting. “Deep breaths,” James said as he resumed his position kneeling next to her chair. He reached up and pushed damp hair out of her face while she concentrated on slowing down her breathing. She took small sips of the water and finally got the hiccups taken care of. “I’m better now,” Alex said both to herself and James. Her head throbbed from how hard she cried and her throat is raw. She went to reach for her mug and realized what was left of her cider was now all over the table and the floor. “I’ll make you some tea,” James said as he got up. He got out a clean mug and filled it was water. It wasn’t lost on Alex that he grabbed the bag of Chamomile and dropped it into the mug. Alex blew her nose again as he brought the mug over. “Drink it slowly,” James advised as he placed the mug in her hand. He then grabbed some paper towels and cleaned up the remnants of her cider. “You don’t need to do that,” Alex said as she sipped the tea. It felt fantastic on her throat and she closed her eyes to enjoy the sensation. James didn’t say anything as he finished cleaning up the spilled cider as well as the two dirty mugs. “What time is it?” Alex asked as James finished playing maid. “Just after three,” he said, wiping his hands on a towel. “Shit, I still have to study.” Alex leaned her head back and sighed at the ceiling. “Chemistry isn’t going to learn itself.” It didn’t matter that it felt as if someone had smacked her in the face with said Chemistry book. She was exhausted and felt as if her body was jelly. “Maybe some rest would be best,” James said as he took the mug from Alex’s hand, worried she was going to drop it. “I have to study,” Alex protested weakly. “The test is tomorrow.” “Are you really going to remember anything that you read in this condition? An hour nap isn’t going to kill you.” James said evenly. The pounding headache was more convincing that James was, but his argument was compelling. “Will you wake me?” She asked. She picked up the mug of tea and took another sip. “I can do that,” James said with a small smile. Alex got to her feet and, while her headache got worse, she could stand. She grabbed a water bottle from the fridge before trudging to her bedroom. James walked with her and stood in the doorway as she crawled into bed. “One hours,” Alex said around a yawn. “See you in two hours,” James said. “That’s not-” but he closed the door before she could finish. Alex smiled a little and shook her head. It wasn’t long until she fell into dreamless sleep. Something was brushing against Alex’s cheek and forehead. She turned and rubbed her face against the pillow and snuggled deeper under the blankets. However, whatever was rubbing against his forehead didn’t go away. Alex flicked her hand up to flick the annoying piece of hair out of her face. “God damn it,” Alex grumbled as her hand smacked against metal. “It’s your own fault for not waking up when I called you from the door,” James said with a laugh. He was sitting on the edge of the bed, looking like he belonged there. Alex rolled onto her back and rubbed her knuckles. “I didn’t hear you,” Alex groaned as she sat up. She felt as if she had been asleep for years, but also that she just closed her eyes. Either way, she did not feel rested. “You were pretty much dead,” James agreed. He reached out and took her hand. After examining her knuckles in an exaggerated fashion, he brought the hand up to his lips. He kissed each one softly in turn. Alex stopped breathing. He might have scared her earlier, she hadn’t forgotten that, but she also hadn’t forgotten all the times he had protected her either. James stopped, his eyes looking up to stare into hers. That’s when her heart stopped. The slight smirk, the feel of his lips just barely on her skin, it woke her up pretty quickly. “You were brushing the hair out of my face,” Alex said softly as the pieces started to fall into place. “I guess I should have used my soft hand. You really can’t help hurting yourself,” James reached out with his other hand and pushed her hair away again. His fingers lingered against her skin, tucking it behind her ear. He was careful of her piercings. Without realizing it Alex had leaned toward him so they were mere inches apart. James slowly lowered her hand and inched forward a little. His lower lip trembled. “You…you have studying to do,” James said as he got up and cleared his throat. His departure was so abrupt that all Alex could do was blink after him as he left the room. Suddenly the room seemed very cold. “What are you doing to yourself, Alexandra?” She said, flopping back on the bed. Restless energy made it impossible for her to go back to sleep. With a growl, she threw off the covers and prowled around her room. She grabbed a brush and yanked it through her hair in such force that it brought tears to her eyes. The act soothed her though, and helped her compose herself. “So what have you been doing for the past two,” Alex looked at the clock, “and a half hours. What, don’t you know how to tell time, Tin Man?” “Someone didn’t wake up when I first called her,” James said from the kitchen. “And I’ve been reading.” “Anything good,” Alex asked, as she moved into the kitchen. “Anthem,” James waved to the book on the kitchen table. He hadn’t turned to look at her since she came out of the bedroom. “Ayn Rand is pretty heavy stuff. Not exactly light reading. I got it for a class,” Alex went back into the living room and grabbed her Chemistry book. She didn’t know what to do now. The chances of her focusing on Chemistry after what just happened in the bedroom was next to none. “If you’re hungry, I made something,” James called from the kitchen. “Like food?” Alex asked as she brought her book with her back into the other room. “No, a bomb.” James said as he put a bowl of steaming soup on the table. There was also a glass of Coke and crackers at her place. “You made soup,” Alex almost started crying again. “The directions are on the can, wasn’t that hard.” James said with a smile. “Now if you had a whole chicken and vegetables, I would have shown you what soup was.” “You cook?” Alex asked as she folded herself into the chair. “You’re just full of surprises.” “This, this isn’t cooking,” James flung the ladle about as he spoke. “Roasted chicken, fried potatoes, carrots, fresh bread and butter. That is cooking and that’s a meal.” Alex felt her mouth water at him describing it. “You could cook all that?” Alex asked and James gave her a look. “Don’t look at me like that. Not many men can cook all that. Though with your strong mothering instinct I guess I shouldn’t be surprised.” “When you grow up in a rough spot in Brooklyn with a best friend that decides that he wants to get into back alley fights you develop some mothering instincts.” James countered as he sat across from Alex with his own bowl of soup. “Not a lot of back alley fights back home. Not a lot of alleys period,” Alex said with a small smile. “Though I did get in my fair share of recess brawls. People stopped bothering me after about fifth grade.” “You got a reputation by then?” James asked with a laugh. “Nope, started developing boobs. Suddenly boys didn’t want to fight me and girls had evolved to talking behind my back.” Alex said as she took a sip of her soup. It wasn’t just canned soup, he had spiced it. “I hit a growth spurt about the same time. Girls started noticing me and guys decided they would find other prey. Unfortunately, it was usually Steve.” “Your best friend?” Alex guessed. James nodded. “Me and Jake were inseparable, even as kids. I hung around with mostly his friends, who were mostly male and mostly older. They kept me safe from everyone else. I had two friends I kept most of the way through school. Haven’t talked to them since I left home, though…” Alex hadn’t thought about Georgia and Diana in months. “I get the feeling that you burned a lot of bridges when you came to the city.” “Not burned…more like put up detour signs. Most of the people in my town never left, they lived there all their life. I didn’t want that to be me and suddenly that made me uppity. My father didn’t think his baby girl could handle herself in the big city and my mom just didn’t want an empty nest. I still talk to my parents, but we aren’t as close as we use to be.” Alex shrugged. She tried to act as if it didn’t bother her, and on most days it didn’t, but with everything that had been happening she was a bit homesick. She wanted to talk to her mom. Grace Harper always knew what to do. Then again, she would probably start crying again. “You shouldn’t stay away from home too long. You never know when you might not be able to go back.” James grabbed a cracker and dunked it into his soup. “I’ll head home over break, but until then I have chemistry to study.” Alex was done with the subject of her family. “I always was interested in science, but didn’t really get a chance to explore it. I was into technology, though. I was always reading about the latest Stark invention as a kid.” James said as Alex flipped open her book. “Which Stark?” Alex asked. Howard Stark had died when she was a toddler and Tony took over the company. She had the feeling that James was a few years older than her, so he might remember Howard. “What?” James looked confused by the question. “Howard or Tony?” James still looked confused so Alex dropped it. “I was never really into explosions or fire that was the staple of Stark Industries for so long. The new Arc Reactor was pretty amazing, but I’m more interested in biology based science.” “Is that why you were so interested in my arm?” James asked. “I was interested in your arm because that is some seriously wicked metal work not to mention the mechanics that went into it. I’m more into what goes on in the brain.” Alex explained. She had decided that she was going to major in Biochemistry in high school, but part of her was starting to wonder if Neurobiology was the way to go. Alex decided to get through the chemistry test first before she rethought her whole life plan. “You can finish your food before hitting the books.” James said as he got up and refilled her soup bowl. “It’s called multitasking,” Alex countered as she bit into a cracker. “Well, then I’ll take a page out of your book,” James said as he grabbed the novel and resumed his seat across from her. They sat there eating and pretending to read, but their eyes would stray to the other when they weren’t looking. Instead of seeing the words on the page or the definitions, she kept thinking about his blue eyes. The feeling of his hands against her skin, both of his hands. There was still the lingering pull to reach across the table and grab him. His brow was furrowed and his lips moved ever so slightly as he read. Lips she wanted to sink her teeth into. “I…I need a change of scenery.” Alex said when she couldn’t take it anymore. “Was I bothering you?” James asked as he pushed a piece of hair out of his face. “I’m just not feeling the vibe in here.” Alex lied as she gathered up her materials. “I’ll be in my room if you need me.” After Alex closed the door she leaned against it and sighed. Alex had been in her fair share of relationships and causal hook-ups, but this was the first time she couldn’t control her emotions. It was frightening and exhilarating, but not when you had a test at nine the next morning. Not with a man that might have been part of a terrorist cell or something else equally shady until a few days ago. Alex grabbed her IPod and put in her earbuds. She turned on her study playlist, which consisted of mostly dubstep and house music. As the bass slowly replaced the thoughts of James, Alex started to make notecards to help her study. Four hours and almost a hundred notecards later Alex was feeling a lot more confident about the test. She was also pretty sure her eyes were going to start bleeding. Hitting the pause button on her IPod she got up and stretched. It was definitely time for a snack. “How’s the book coming?” Alex asked as she passed James on the couch. “I’ve read it before, but it is a lot more interesting now.” James said as he marked his placed before closing the cover. Alex pulled a bag of popcorn of the cupboard and stuck it in the microwave. Alex had brought her notecards out with her and flipped through them as she waited for the popcorn to pop. “Not much of a study break if you don’t stop studying,” James said as he padded into the kitchen. He had pulled his hair out of the ponytail it had been in all day, which gave it a slight wave. Alex was pretty sure there were male models that didn’t look as good as he did. Alex jumped when the microwave dinged and dropped the cards that she had in her hands. Swearing under her breath, she turned and popped the microwave door open. She turned to start picking up the cards to see James already kneeling down to collect them. “You don’t need to do that,” Alex said quickly getting down to get the few remaining that James hadn’t picked up. “You need to start letting people do things for you,” James said with a small laugh. Once again the two of them were nose to nose and once again Alex felt a charge between them. Part of her wanted to just reach over and kiss him, the other part knew that he was lost and confused. It wouldn’t be fair for her to complicate things further. If he decided to kiss her, however, all bets were off. “Your popcorn is going to get cold,” James said. It was the same type of dismissal that he had used before, but this time he didn’t move to put distance between them. “I’m not worried,” Alex’s voice was soft. James’s eyes darted to her lips and then back to her eyes. They were questioning, but they were also confused. As much as it killed her, Alex knew that she didn’t want to push him into anything that he would regret. She got to her feet and grabbed the popcorn bag. “Do you want any of this before I go back into my study hole?” She ripped the bag open a bit more furiously than needed. With all this pent up frustration she might need to pull out her little friend with the batteries before she went insane. Then she remembered she hadn’t gotten batteries when they were out. “I’ll take a handful.” James got to his feet and reached into the bag. Alex looked anywhere but him. She didn’t just trust herself not to jump him if they shared another one of those looks. She was only human after all. “You’re good to go,” James said. “Feel free to grab something if you get hungry,” Alex said as she almost ran back to her bedroom. She closed the door and was starting to wonder when she became a hormone monster that in which she had to cage herself. You’d think with her current run in with men she would want nothing to do with them. She put her headphones back in, propped the popcorn against her leg, and turned her thoughts back to studying. It wasn’t that long before she heard a knock on the door. She pulled out her headphones and looked up at James. “I’ve been thinking,” he said from the doorway. “Though I smelled something burning,” Alex said as she flipped over a notecard and looked up. “What’s on your mind?” “I’m going to be leaving tomorrow.” It took a few moments before the words made their way into her brain around all the Chemistry facts. “What, why?’ She asked, putting all her study materials down. “I can’t just stay here until I figure out what to do with myself. That isn’t fair to you,” James explained, but he wouldn’t look her in the eyes. “This isn’t about this afternoon is it?” “No,” James raked his hand through his hair. “Okay, yes it is. But it isn’t just that. It’s not safe for me to be here. I can’t stay any place too long or the people looking for me would find me.” James paced into the room to remove nervous energy. “The people you use to work for?” Alex’s brain was furiously trying to think of a way to make him stay. “Them, and other people…” James continued to pace. “Either way it’s time for me to move on.” “I just don’t understand why now? Did I do something?” Alex was trying to understand. “What? No! That’s not it.” James blew out and stopped moving. “Alexandra…I just…you make me feel things that I haven’t in a while. That scares me because I can’t control it and that makes me unstable. This afternoon was proof of that. I don’t want to do that to you and I can’t do that to myself.” James stopped and looked out her bedroom window. Alex felt as if her heart was about to pound out of her chest, every one of his words both made her happy and terribly scared. “So you are doing this to protect yourself.” Alex couldn’t blame him, but that didn’t mean that she had to like it. It almost scared her how comfortable she had become with him around in just a few days. “It isn’t that I don’t want to stay with you. Actually, it is the exact opposite,” James said slowly, “but the people I worked for are going to come for me. When they do, I don’t want you in the crossfire. I am trying to keep you safe, to keep us both safe.” “But I feel safer when you are here,” Alex didn’t want to whine, but that is exactly what she was doing. James’s blue eyes were sad, but he shook his head. “Sometimes, and sometimes you have to wonder if I’m going to turn on you. Alex,” he said when she opened his mouth to protest, “I can see it. I don’t blame you. If anything, you aren’t nearly as scared of me as you should be. This is not how you should live.” “There’s nothing I can say that will change your mind, is there?” Alex knew by the tone of his voice that he made up his mind. “The fact that you want to makes me worry about your mental state,” James said, giving her a small smirk. She sat there for a few moments, letting it all sink in. Alex felt panic rising in her, but she squelched it. She had no right to keep him here. “Just…just do me a favor. Wait until I get out of class before you leave?” Alex asked clearing her throat. “I have my exam in the morning and then we can get lunch before you head out.” “I can do that. We’ll have lunch together and then I’ll disappear as easily as I appeared.” James said and his voice held a conviction that Alex knew she couldn’t shake. Alex felt her heart constrict, but nodded her head. He was right, it was better that they parted ways before anyone got hurt or got attached. But Alex knew it was already too late for that.

Chapter 3: Sticks and Stones May Break My Bones but You Might as Well Just Shoot Me

As the van pulls out of the hangar, Hailey begins to strike up a conversation.    

“You know, we really should think about replacing the lift with an elevator. Oooh or maybe even an escalator!” comments Hailey,

“Oh yeah, sure. And who’s gonna pay for it?” asks Hannah. “Nevermind, don’t answer that. Knowing you, you would probably just steal the money from your ex-drug lord.” 

“That’s not a bad--”

“NO,” Hannah interrupts. “Say one more word about an escalator or elevator and I will throw you out the window.” Hailey nods quickly and remains silent for the next few minutes of the ride.

They arrive outside the scene, and Port walks over to talk with the responding police officers. The rest of the team begins to move to their positions. As Cody gets closer to his, Maddie pops into his comms. 

“Okay Cody, there are four people in front of the door. You need to take them down and make sure the door is blocked to restrict hostile escape.”

“Wait, I only see three.”

“Look around stupid,” Maddie says, and she waits for him to reply. 

“Oh, I see the fourth now. He was on the roof,” Cody mumbles. 

“Any more concerns?” 

“No ma’am,” Cody answers bitterly.

He crouches down around a nearby corner and presses his hands to the ground. Slowly, a few vines of thick ivy begin to creep upward near each of the guards. By the time one of them realizes what’s happening, it’s too late. The guard tries to shout out to his companions but the vines shoot out of the earth and restrain each of them. All except one: the one on the roof. 

The rooftop is too far for ivy to grow fast enough to stop the guard from escaping. Cody’s solution is to sprout a parcel of leaves to encase a handful of water hemlock that had been ground into a powder. He promptly throws the small pouch at the remaining guard, creating a toxic cloud upon impact. The last guard begins coughing, inhaling more of the poisonous gas. In a few moments, he collapses and begins convulsing.

Before he walks away, Cody grows a firm wall of plants over the door. He turns to leave and finally notices the pain in his leg. Looks like one of the guards managed to get a shot at him. 

“I’m going to need to be taken back to the base right about now,” Cody says into the comms.

“What for?” Maddie asks.

“A bullet wound.”

“Oh my god, Cody. Port, if you would,”

“I’ve got it,” Port answers.

Seconds later she appears through a portal, grabs Cody by the shoulders, and pulls him through another portal. She drops him on the floor of the base next to Maddie and quickly returns back to her post. 

“That’s one way to do it,” Maddie mutters as she moves to patch the hole in Cody’s calf.

Back at the subway, Port opens a path for Hannah and herself to enter the room with the hostages. 

“If you can get all of the guards up in the air for a second, I can open portals underneath them that lead straight to the police station holding cells,” Port whispers to Hannah. She nods in response and cracks her knuckles.

“Going up!” Hannah yells into the room, flipping her hands upward.

“So much for stealth,” Port mumbles as she opens portals under each of the criminals. Hannah flips her hands back down and all six of the men drop down into the awaiting portals. She descends to the floor to assist the hostages, unaware of the seventh masked man behind her.

“Orbit! Behind you!”

Hannah turns to look around, still somewhat unfamiliar with her superhero alias. The seventh guard begins firing at random making it near impossible for Port to stop every bullet. Hannah holds her hands in front of her and uses her gravitational field to create a gravity assist, flinging the bullets back around at the shooter. 

The bullets rip through the shooter much faster than they left his gun while Orbit looks on in terror at what she’s done accidentally. 

“Orbit, what the fuck did you do that for?!” Port asks fearfully and steps closer to the hostages.

“I-” Hannah’s eyes widen “I didn’t mean to-”

“Well you fucking DID,” Port hisses “Go get Maternity and Moon Mistress before you kill someone else.”

A lump begins forming in Hannah’s throat, but she swallows it quickly and walks away. 

She soon comes across Hailey and Sarah. Hannah sees Hailey rubbing Sarah’s back while she breathes frantically into a paper bag.

“I can’t do this. I can’t do this. I don’t want to do this. I don’t want to do this. Please don’t make me do this, aaaahhhhh!” Sarah yells in between breaths. 

“What the hell happened here?” asks Hannah, the concern clear in her question.

“She gave herself a panic attack,” answers Hailey calmly.

“How?”

“She tried to give someone a ton of confusion but their confusion caused them to have a panic attack, which rebounded back to her.” 

Sarah stands up, the emotional effect now gone and her own emotions returning. She strolls down the aisle of armed shooters, her face showing her annoyance, and without breaking a sweat, all of the guards begin to fall to their knees. 

“What are you doing?” yells one of the guards, struggling to walk as his knees shake beneath him.

“I’m doing what you deserve,” she answers calmly while maintaining steady eye contact.

“And what might that be, babe?” asks Hailey, grinning.

“Oh, don’t worry. You’ll see.”

The guards begin to drop like flies, but one gets back to their knees to fire off one shot before falling back to the floor. Hailey falls to the floor, screaming in pain, after being shot in the back. Sarah spins around and kneels next to the love of her life. She searches for the last shooter and stares him down, forcing an emotion on him so strong, he turns his gun around shoots himself in the head.

“Maddie we need medical attention, NOW,” Sarah screams over the comms.

“Port, if you would,” Maddie says as prepares her station to give medical care, but she gets no response. “Port?”

“Since it looks like Port’s gone AWOL, I’ll fly her to the base as fast as possible,” says Hannah, as she picks Hailey up off the ground.

“Alright, as for everyone else, get back to the mission van and head back to the base. The police should be able to take care of the rest.” Maddie says as she removes her headset and prepares for everyone’s arrival. 

Hannah and Hailey are the first to arrive and Maddie assesses the situation immediately and begins dealing with Hailey’s bullet wound. Cody stands nearby, assisting through the guidance of Maddie.

When the rest of the team returns, there’s still no sign of Port. They all shrug their shoulders and assume she’ll show back up when she wants to.

In about an hour, Hailey’s conscious but forced to stay on bedrest, and Sarah refuses to leave her side.

The Swamp Map Ch.1

Foxxay: The two witches find themselves lost in the swamp they were supposed to know well.

---

“I think it’s this way.” Misty looked up from a map and pointed to her right. Her feet didn’t move, however. She instead turned around to seek approval from her companion.

Cordelia came to stand next to her, a little out of breath. “Are you sure? You said the same thing twenty minutes ago, and I feel like we’re only going deeper.”

She looked back. The tall grass and sloshy ground of the swamp concealed their footsteps, keeping them from going back. There was no way of calling for help. Her smartphone had turned into a non-smart, non-phone machine when they stepped into the swamp. The pedometer indicated that she had already achieved her daily activity goals, giving her celebratory and inspirational words. Push the limits! Go farther! She’d really rather not.

The phone beeped, and she turned the sound off without looking.

“I thought the phone didn’t work?” Misty said with a hint of hope.

Cordelia shook her head. “It’s just the alarm for the lunch meeting. Well, at this rate, I’m standing the Mayor up.”

It had started when Misty insisted on stopping by the shack on their drive home from grocery shopping. It was going to be a short stop. They would’ve had plenty of time before the Supreme had to leave the academy for the meeting.

The fault was on Cordelia’s part. She didn’t want to make a detour to their usual path to the shack, which was far from where they were driving. There didn’t seem to be enough time for that. So, they had entered the swamp from an unfamiliar spot.

What a terrible lack of foresight that had been. Haste makes waste. Or, as Myrtle liked to put, premature orgasming pleases none.

“I’m sorry.” Misty ducked her head. “It’s all because I dragged you out here, Miss Cordelia.”

Cordelia put her comforting hand on her shoulder. “Let’s focus on finding our way for now, okay?”

But there seemed no path --not even an animal trail-- to be found around them. The thick clouds hid the sun, and it was impossible for them to even get a sense of direction.

“Oh, I know!” Misty said. “We could use teleportation. Go to the shack, and you could even make it to the meeting in time.”

“It wouldn’t work. To use teleportation, it’s crucial to know one’s location in relation to where you wish to go. Witchcraft 101, Misty.”

“I may or may not have skipped that class.”

“It’s also in the textbook.”

“Never opened it before.”

“Misty--”

“Hey, so, can we teleport back to the car, then?” Misty sounded extra cheerful, dodging further lecturing. “We know where we parked the car.”

“But we don’t know where we are. So, no.”

Misty sighed and buried her nose back in the map. “What if we have walked through a portal to another dimension without knowing? Maybe that’s why everything looks strange.”

“Well, that would be a nice excuse to tell the Mayor, at least,” Cordelia said. She knew that when Misty began talking nonsense like this, she was either hungry or sleepy. Considering the time, it was most likely the hunger.

Misty nodded and hummed, lost in thought. Then, she made up her mind and started walking. Cordelia tried her hardest to walk on the less muddy part of the ground as she followed.

“What do you think lives in other dimensions, Miss Cordelia?”

Cordelia shrugged, only taking a side-glance at her. “I don’t know. It has never occurred to me.”

“Do you believe in aliens?”

“The universe is immeasurable. The size and the age. It’d be ignorant to assume we are the only living organism.”

“I think they are already here on Earth,” Misty said. “But they are so common that we don’t realize they’ve come from other planets.”

“Is that right?”

Misty noddeed with a proud grin. “The octopus. They’re so intelligent, Miss Cordelia. And, they may not use spoken words like us, but they can communicate through their skin color. Humans can’t do that. And the dragonfly-- Did you know these suckers have zero blind spot?”

Despite their situation, Cordelia couldn’t help her smile. “Someone has been binge watching nature documentaries.”

“I swear, I never thought I’d like that tiny computer. I always get the heebie-jeebies around all those machines.” She shrugged. “But it’s nice, getting to learn about the animals I’ve never known before.”

“I’m glad,” Cordelia said. “Perhaps I should give you a VR set for your next birthday so you could go to the safari or the Papua New Guinea jungles.”

“What’s VR mean?”

“Virtual reality. You wear a headset like giant goggles and immerse yourself in the digital world-”

The moment Misty heard the word digital, her curious eyes clouded with doubt mixed with slight disgust. “That means they are fake, though. Nature can’t be controlled. It’s fun because it can only be observed. That's where happy accidents come from.”

“Oh, like getting lost?”

Misty gave her a guilty glance, which made her laugh.

“I agree with you, Misty. But this better be over soon.” Cordelia looked up at the grey sky through the naked branches. “The forecast said it would rain around noon.”

Although this uncalled-for exercise was keeping them warm for now, the air was crisp. It would be freezing in the rain.

Misty wrapped her shawl tighter around her shoulders. “The girls must be chilling in front of the fireplace now, with hot cocoa . . . and s’mores . . . Hollywood is maybe taking a warm, candlelit bath.”

This made both of them shiver even more.

As they kept walking, they stumbled upon what looked to be a huhman trail. Misty opened the map again. Cordelia, on the other hand, looked at the trail in suspicion.

“Misty, I think we are going in circles.”

“What are you talking about? We’ve been walking in a straight line.”

“But, look--” Cordelia neared the biggest tree  in their vicinity and pointed at the small pile of stones at the root. “I put them up in place of footprints.”

Misty’s hesitant gaze travelled back and forth between the stones and the map. “How’d you know it’s your doing, though? Maybe some people got lost before us and did that.”

“With my magical signature in it?” Cordelia picked up the stone at the top, pushing it into Misty’s palm.

The doubt on Misty’s face vanished in an instant. The trace of the Supreme power was too evident to ignore.

“Right?” Cordelia said.

With tight lips, Misty sighed through the nose. “Alright, Miss Gretel. You’re right. We’ve been going in circles.”

“Hansel. It's the brother who leaves a trail of breadcrumbs. Not the sister.”

Misty’s sigh turned into a groan. She sat on the protruding root, folding up the map in surrender. “I wish I had a bagel right now.”

They had bought blueberry bagels at the supermarket along with her favorite sesame ones. But everything was left in the car.

“Why isn’t there a spell for conjuring food up?” Misty said.

“Witchcraft doesn’t work miracles, as regular people think. It has to abide by the law of the universe like everything else. You can’t create something out of nothing.”

“We make fire out of nothing.”

Cordelia smiled. “Not exactly. There are certain molecules in the air that produce heat. Magic just helps you collect those molecules, pack them so dense that they start to combust.”

“I understood none of that.” Her stomach grumbled as if in agreement. “Are there molecules that could produce food?”

“No.” Cordelia sat next to her on the root. Her hand reached for the folded map in Misty’s hands. “May I?”

Misty obliged to the request without a word, too tired and hopeless. It pained Cordelia to see her like that. It was way better when Misty was rambling on all gibberish.

Cordelia ran her hand up and down her shawl-clad back. “It’ll be alright, Mist. I promise. Now, can you tell me where we might be?”

It goes without saying that the swamp map didn’t compare to the sophistication of the city map. It only had a few markings here and there. But it still showed the circumventing highways and the bodies of water spread across the place. Until now, it was more than enough.

Near the center of the map was a cross mark.

Misty’s index finger hovered over the area between the cross and the south-east edge of the swamp. “Around here, I think. The car is parked somewhere here, because this is the road we were driving on, and--”

“Wait, no.” Cordelia’s index finger joined over the map. Her eyes scrutinized it as if it was a Latin spell book. “No, Misty. This is our highway”--She pointed at the one almost on the opposite side of the map--“We were supposed to go east. But we’ve been . . . going west.”

Misty held the map closer to her face, turned it upside-down, and looked at Cordelia with deer-in-the-headlights eyes.

“Misty.”

“Hmm?”

“Have you been reading the map upside-down this whole time?”

In grave silence, Misty gave a slow, thoughtful nod. “It appears that it is the case.”

It was Cordelia's turn to let out a groan.

“I’m sorry, Miss Cordelia.” Misty took her hands and blinked her puppy eyes. “Please, don’t be mad at me.”

Cordelia swore Misty knew that look could get her away with anything, at least, as long as the Supreme was concerned.

“I’m not mad, Misty. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes.” She gave gentle pats on the back of Misty’s hand before returning her attention to the map. “Okay, so, the river we walked by earlier is not this one, but more likely this one. If we follow the water, we may be able to get out.”

But the look on Misty’s face betrayed her apprehension. “What if-- Not that I doubt you, but what if the water led us deeper instead of out? How’d we know if we should go upstream or downstream?”

“Shit, you have a point.” That was a possibility that Cordelia didn't like to dwell on. “But you know what? Either way, the swamp would end if we kept walking.”

Misty’s stomach grumbled again as her expression turned into that of despair. “I should’ve had an extra begel this morning,” she said, standing on her weakening feet.

Cordelia wrapped her arm around her waist in support. “You can have as many bagels as you want when we get home. I won’t stop you.”

Prometheus X

“What the hell was that?” Fox asked, freezing on the flight of stairs leading downwards. The others froze as well and each listened intently.

“I hear hissing,” Thalia frowned, picking up on the noises long before the others did.

“Water:” Bianca breathed. “Go. Go!”

No one needed to be told twice. The group of three turned quickly and bolted up the stairs towards the upper deck. Whatever had exploded, had ruptured the boat’s exterior.

Feet pounding, they woven through the hallways until they finally saw sunlight over head. “Go! Everyone off! It’s sinking!”

Enzo was the first to hear Bianca’s warning. At first he didn’t believe it, but slowly he could feel the deck begin to shift as the boat took in water and weight. “Oh no. Oh no no.”

“Janet, run a scan on the boat’s exterior,” Piper ordered. She watched the blueprint slowly form and a series of red lacerations highlighted the 3D model. “Four punctures! We have approximately three minutes until this goes down!”

“James, get ready to take on passengers,” Arthur called, already forming a portal.

“Copy that.”

Enzo was the first to go through followed by Chloe who carried Penny. They arrived safely in the rear of the jet. James watched from above as the boat tilted to the left. Arthur staggered nearly toppling sideways, but Siyanda managed to steady him. If he fell the portal would close.

“Orion I’m sending others your way.” Arthur managed to get Fox, Bianca, Siyanda, and Thalia through onto Orion’s ship. “Piper let’s go!”

“Wait!” Piper glanced about anxiously. “That’s not everyone.”

“It has to be.”

“It isn’t.” Piper argued counting off everyone she’d seen. “Where’s Alex?”

— — —

Water lapped at her face as it soaked through her suit and drenched her wounds. Her eyes opened in a panic as she nearly sucked water into her lungs. Groaning, Alex rose to her knees looking dazed.

“Fair try,” Crowed a familiar voice, “but you’ve only accelerated the process.”

Alex glanced over her shoulder to spot Prometheus merely a foot away. Dark shadows coiled around him flickering like a cloak. “No, it should have worked!”

“You miscalculated,” He sneered. Alex felt like giving up then and there, but she caught sight of the artifacts bobbing in the water. Sage said they couldn’t be destroyed, but what if they could be? Matter only recycled. If Prometheus had absorbed whatever power was in the ancient items-then their essence was no different than any normal object.

They were breakable. No ancient magic protected them anymore. If she managed to ruin the source of the power it would lose its anchor point. It was the best bet she had. Lunging Alex landed in the water with a splash.

Barely managing to grasp the statuette she clutched it like a life line. Springing from the water she chucked it hard at the wall. The object crumbled into dust.

“What are you-“ Prometheus clutched agitatedly at his head. His face contorted briefly in pain but vanished as quickly as it had set on. “Stop it!”

Alex had already fished out a second object and with a grunt crushed it in her palm. The shadows around Oroemtheus hissed in anger and once more he was overcome with pain.

With each second that passed water continued to rise. It was at Alex’s knees now. Navigating was beginning to be impossible. A third artifact met its end.

Prometheus collapsed into the water gasping, thrashing, and wailing. His face disappeared below its surface. When Alex snapped the last ancient treasure he no longer moved. Across the way his mask floated solemnly across the top of the water.

Panting, Alex steadied herself for only a moment. She needed to leave. Fighting the force of the water, Alex grasped the railing of the stairs tugging herself onto the steps. Underwater currents threatened to pull her back into the room but she pushed on.

Pounding up the stairs she reached the next floor when the ship gave a mighty groan and a severe lurch. It tipped sideways. Alex went weightless falling into the railing with a thud. Before she went further she managed to snag a pipe.

Pulse pounding, she was now dangling awkwardly in the air. Locating her destination despite the disorienting shift Alex swung to the next pipe. Clasping it firmly in her hands she made an attempt to drop down when it burst open. Water slammed into her face and her grip slipped.

Landing flat on her back she spluttered crawling away from the mess. Over head two more pipes burst open to spill out their contents. The water was cold. Shivering she pushed on but the levels were rising much quicker than before.

Soon the line was at her chest. Currents tugged angrily at her clothes and ankles making it impossible to move. She clung to a pole like a cat stuck in a tree. Debris spun about in the turmoil of water slamming into her hip.

Alex’s head dipped under and she was spinning head over heel. Fighting her way to the surface it seemed that the water was even higher than before. There was little room to breath. Breaking the surface her lungs sought air hungrily but water invaded her mouth traveling down her airway.

— — —

“What’s going on?” James demanded. “Piper, Arthur, we have to go.”

“Alex isn’t with us!” Piper yelled over the coms.

“What?” James’ heart seemed to stop. His face went pale and his stomach twisted into knots.

“She’s below,” Orion explained, “Siyanda said they were going down to get her when the ship started filling with water.”

“I’m going to get her.” Piper decided.

“You can’t. Your suit isn’t designed to be submerged for that long,” Scout recalled.

— — —

“Where is everyone?” Sage frowned, walking into the crowded room in search of Enzo. She’d promised to take him to lunch. It was the least she could do to cheer him up on the day of his dog’s birthday-the dog he used to have anyways.

“What’s taking then so long?” Maria chewed anxiously at her thumbnail.

“You didn’t.” Sage already knew the answer before Fury even acknowledged her presence. “You didn’t send them-“

“They asked to go.” Fury explained watching a screen intently. Sage shoved her way through the watching agents to examine the chaos for herself.

I’m seconds she vanished and reappeared by Enzo. The boy jumped in surprise before smiling, “I knew you’d come!”

“What the hell? Are you hurt?”

“No.”

“I told the bastard not to let you go!” Sage growled, examining her baby brother for injury.

“What are you doing here?” James glanced back at the sorceress wide eyed. “I don’t have time for you!”

“James!” Nathaniel warned.

“Piper you can’t get to Alex in your suit and you can’t hold your breath that long. The water pressure could kill you!” Scout worried.

“What’s going on?” Sage frowned glancing at Enzo who chewed at his bottom lip.

“Alex is stuck in the water.”

— — —

Inches of space remained. Her cheek was pressed against the ceiling-or he wall or whatever it was-a she sucked in small bursts of air. She’d been trained to stay calm in situation like this, but that training had failed.

One final ragged breath was all she had before the room was full of water. If she opened her eyes they’d be burned or damaged from debris floating about. There was no way to navigate to a higher floor.

Part of Alex wanted to cry, but the logical side of her knew that she’d only die quicker. She was aware of the burning in her lungs as it slowly gnawed into her stomach and then her head. She’d never felt so much pain before and she’d certainly never had to ignore the urge to breath.

It was overwhelming until her resolve shattered and a desperate breath was met only with suffocating water. Things became foggy, her movements slowed, and her body became heavy. Alex was only spared when things went dark.

— — —

From above Scout watched the water turn like boiling soup. Inky black oozed out into the ocean like lifeless blood. Slowly though it began to change.

“Guys, we have a situation,” Orion called nervously over the intercom. “Whatever that is it’s moving!”

“It must have gotten through from the shadow realm before it closed,” Nathaniel concluded.

“I don’t care what it is. I’m tired of this shit!” Fox growled.

“Everyone strap in. Someone take the gun. We’re about to test my pilot skills,” Nathaniel frowned, eyeing the growing form.

“Alex.” James insisted.

“Oh, my sister’s already on it.” Enzo explained buckling into a seat.

“She tells us nothing.” Bianca sighed. “I swear I’m going to kill her.”

“Me too.” James mumbled.

“Can I shoot that thing?” Valkyrie piped up over the headset.

“You can shoot it as much as you want.” Orion snorted. “Something tells me we may be in need of assistance.”

“Oh I’m going to have fun.” Valkyrie smiled. “Let’s light the bastard up.”

Finding You Always

Also on Fanfiction.net and A03

Chapter 141: Heartless, Pt 1

The celebration at the Charming household began to wind down and soon, Snow and David were putting the little ones to bed, before retiring themselves. Emma had texted them to tell them that she and Killian were taking a walk so they did not worry.

Once they reached their bedroom, Snow enjoyed the ministrations of her husband, as he made love to her. As always, they brought each other unspeakable pleasure and then lay together in the afterglow, exchanging soft kisses and caresses.

"Are you ready to sleep?" he asked. She hummed, clearly drowsy from their exertion and reached over to get the device. She put it on and he pressed the circle in the center to activate it.

"I probably look pretty funny with this thing on," she mentioned.

"Oh, I don't know, I think it's pretty sexy actually," he teased. She giggled, as he caressed her face.

"You're always beautiful to me, my darling. You constantly take my breath away," he confessed and she looked at him with eyes glowing with love.

"I love you, Charming," she confessed.

"And I love you, Snow...sleep now and I know this is going to work. He shall no longer torment you in your dreams," he promised. She settled down, spooned against him, as sleep finally took them both.

~*~

Jekyll rummaged around the lab that evening, as he got ready to use his device. He had been spying on her all evening, witnessing her enjoy time with her family. That was fitting, since she would soon be leaving them behind. He planned to tell her in the dream realm of his threat that evening. That unless she agreed to leave Storybrooke and this realm with him completely, he would use the water from the river Styx on her family and her people. She wouldn't refuse him, for he knew she would sacrifice herself for them. He had Hyde's key and would return to the Land of Untold Stories with her in his possession. Time would stand still again and he would finally have the happy ending he deserved with her by his side...and in his bed. She would fight him, but with his superior might, she wouldn't be able to stop him.

Eventually, he was certain that she would accept her place by his side and if she didn't, he knew many concoctions that could wipe her memory, allowing him to give her new memories. He could already imagine it now. Snow White by his side, with no memory of Prince Charming and doting upon him. The need to see her...to finally have her burned inside him. He turned on the device and put the headset on. Tonight was the night. He would easily subdue her husband and then finally have what he craved.

"You will love me, Snow White...you will be mine now…" he growled, as he activated his device. It fired up and he prepared to immerse himself in the dream world, but frowned when the humming device powered down.

"What?" he hissed, as he examined the wiring. Everything seemed to be in order and he tried again. But the device failed again, despite optimal operation. He seethed and used the viewing device he had created to spy into the Charming house.

Despite the dark curtains, he peered inside their bedroom and found them asleep in each other's arms. But the peculiar looking headband that she was wearing made his blood instantly boil.

"No…" he growled. She was wearing a device that was emitting a frequency to block his device.

"NO!" he raged, as beakers and test tubes shattered, as he upset his lab table. He pounded his fists into the wall, creating virtual dents in the drywall. He glared at their sleeping forms.

"Oh...you think you have won, but you will find out that you are sorely mistaken," he seethed. He picked up the vial with the water from the river of lost souls inside it and put his jacket on.

"Time to teach you a lesson, my lovely Snow...one that will assure that you will never deny me again," he promised, as he pocketed the vial and left the farmhouse.

~*~

Emma and Killian arrived at the convent, meeting Neal there.

"Hey...thanks for coming. I'm really worried," he lamented.

"Of course and don't worry, we'll figure this out," she promised and Killian nodded to him, as she used her magic to test the shield. It rippled, indeed revealing that it was there.

"We broke through a shield like this once...but I won't be able to do it alone. We need to get everyone back here in the morning, including Mom and Dad," she said. Neal nodded.

"Bae…" Gold called, as he arrived too.

"Papa…" he said, as he hugged him.

"Do you have any idea why Blue would cut them off from the world?" Neal asked.

"A few," Rumple replied vaguely.

"Care to share?" Emma asked and he smirked.

"What's the fun in that, dearie? Let the Blue flea squirm in her hiding place for tonight and then in the morning, we'll get in and she'll be forced to face all she has reaped," he said with satisfaction.

"We already know now that she separated herself from the Black Fairy. What more more is there?" Killian asked. Gold chuckled.

"Oh...so much more. If you think I have skeletons in my closet...I've got nothing on Reul Ghorm," he hissed. Emma and Killian exchanged a glance. It was decided they would all return first thing in the morning. Emma knew the breather they had earlier this evening would be short lived, but that didn't make it any easier to take.

~*~

That night, after days of careful planning, Clayton was finally ready to put his plan into motion. As always, he was playing the long game again. The advantage the wretched heroes had here in Storybrooke was just too great. But fortunately, centuries of living and collecting made him very patient. He knew that the likelihood of winning against Snow and Charming in Storybrooke were slim to none. Even the Evil Queen failed and had been turned into a snake. Plus if the Black Fairy somehow did succeed in her plans, he wanted no part of being caught in her cross hairs. He suspected that eventually the Charmings would defeat all that faced them, but he didn't want to be a casualty in that war. He much preferred to abscond with a few key items from his collection and begin plotting a revenge that they would never see coming.

"I don't understand...what does this dusty old museum have that we could possibly need?" Cecily asked.

"This dusty old museum houses most of my collection, daughter. And while it will pain me to leave it behind, there are a few items that are key to our success," he replied.

"I can't believe we are leaving...you promised me revenge and that you would give me the means to expose magic to this world!" Facilier hissed.

"And you're welcome to stay behind, Doctor or you can keep playing the long game with me. Revenge will come...but it's not something we will get overnight. The Black Fairy is a complication I did not foresee and I'd rather not be caught up in whatever she has planned for Storybrooke," Clayton replied and then smirked at the doctor.

"Besides...I thought you would be interested in being reunited with your dear old Grandfather," he revealed.

My grandfather is dead," Facilier refused.

"No...he's not. He just left this land behind after they ruined him and found a place where his talents are appreciated," Clayton replied, stunning the doctor.

"He abandoned my father?" Ivan questioned, feeling a spark of anger.

"Well...knowing your grandfather, I doubt he knew he existed. You probably have siblings all over the realms. He got around, so to speak," Clayton commented, as he disabled the alarm on the door and sneaked in. The guards that were supposed to keep them out lay unconscious, thanks to the spiked coffee they drank earlier.

"What realm are we going to?" Cecily asked.

"The Enchanted Forest, but not one that most in this town hail from, though this one is just as magical. A whole new realm to collect, but more importantly, an opportunity to plan our revenge," he responded. They were in and out quickly with a few specific items Clayton wanted and then stood outside, ready to open a portal with a bean they had swiped from the fields.

"Well Doctor...will you be joining us?" Clayton asked. Facilier was torn. Leaving this world behind meant abandoning his practice and all he had built. But finding out that he had family still alive changed things. And the pull of revenge was too great.

"Yes…" he answered, as the portal opened. The doctor followed the Collector, his daughter, and her two henchmen through the portal. But the Collector would meet the Charmings again and by then would have a most fitting revenge for them.

~*~

The next morning, the wonderful aroma of breakfast cooking filled the Charming household. This wasn't unusual, but the mood lately had been quite subdued and that wasn't the case this morning. It was obvious to anyone that entered the kitchen that morning that Snow and Charming were in good spirits and much more well rested than they had been in a while.

"Well...is it safe to assume that the device worked?" Rose asked, as she and her family joined them in the kitchen that morning. Snow beamed.

"It did...we slept uninterrupted," she confirmed.

"I'm so glad…" Rose replied. The other raven haired beauty nodded.

"Me too...I'm trying to not worry about what kind of retaliation he might try though. He's probably livid," she mentioned.

"It doesn't matter...we're going to defeat him. Last night proved that we can gain the upper hand on him and we'll do it again," David promised, as he kissed her cheek.

"Jekyll may not be our only problem though," Emma interjected, as she and Killian came up from the basement.

"Has something happened?" Snow asked.

"Last night...we discovered that Blue has put up the shield around the convent and none of the fairies are answering their phones," Emma replied.

"Why would Blue cut herself and the fairies off from everyone?" David wondered.

"Because Blue has some very dark secrets that she doesn't want coming to light and with her other half in town, it's only a matter of time until they do," Aphrodite answered, as she and James arrived.

"She can't possibly think we'll let her keep the fairies hostage. If it's inevitable, then why delay it?" Eva asked.

"Your guess is as good as mine, but I assure you her secrets will destroy her image and that is very important to her. And what she knows might also be vital in winning, not only against Jekyll, but the Black Fairy as well," Aphrodite replied.

"We need to get over the convent then," David said. They all agreed and the little ones would be dropped off with Granny on the way.

~*~

Tink looked out one of the stained glass windows and smirked, as she saw the townspeople gathering around the convent. Word had likely spread very fast once Neal had involved Emma and thus her parents. Their arrival almost guaranteed their freedom soon and apparently all of Blue's dirty secrets would be aired. She might feel bad for the head fairy, if she hadn't locked them all away against their will.

"You've drawn quite a crowd. You really think that shield can keep out all that magic? They broke though one like this before...and that was without Snow and Charming's chalice," Tink warned.

"No...I don't expect it will be long at all," Blue responded.

"Then stop this! Just lower the shield and let us go. You know the Charmings...they'll see that as a sign of good will. They are the most forgiving people in this or any realm. Whatever you've done...eventually, they'll forgive you," Tink reasoned.

"Except they won't, Green...not this time. What I did…" Blue trailed off.

"What did you do?" Tink asked.

"It's not so much what I did, though it will make them very angry and destroy what little trust they have left in me. The reason they won't forgive me is because...I'm not sorry I did it," Blue revealed. Tink looked at her in disbelief.

"You really are as bad as she is…" the green fairy realized.

"Tink!" Nova called, as she joined the pink fairy at the window and they joined hands, as the entire building shuddered with the magic from outside meeting the magic of the shield around them.

~*~

Snow looked around at the crowd they were drawing. Secrets never kept in this town very long, especially with Leroy spreading the news. She and Charming nodded to each other, as they stepped forward.

"Blue...please just let the shield down and we can talk. Whatever you've done...we can discuss it. If you are sorry for whatever it is...then we will forgive you," Snow offered.

"Save your breath, dearie. Reul Ghorm doesn't have regrets about what she does, nor is she sorry for what she did," Rumple hissed.

"For once, the Dark One and I agree...she's not sorry for leading her other half to me. She's not sorry that she destroyed my family, nor is she sorry that she tried to do the same to yours," Aphrodite agreed. Snow looked at her with brows furrowed in confusion.

"What?" she asked.

"I will tell you the rest, but I'd rather her have to look you in the eye while I do," the blonde added, as she and Rumple were the first to unleash their magic on the shield. Regina and Emma joined them next, followed by Leo and Eva. It was so much magic that the shield was already cracking. Snow and Charming added the chalice's magic and effortlessly shattered it the rest of the way.

"Come out Blue...it's over! No more hiding!" Aphrodite called, as the fairies filed out.

"Neal!" Tinkerbell called, as he opened his arms and she hugged him tightly.

"I was worried about you," he confessed. She smiled.

"We're okay...she just locked us in, took our wands and destroyed our phones," Tink replied.

"But why? I can't figure out what she gains from that?" Leo asked. Tink shrugged.

"She'll do anything to keep her secrets," the green fairy offered.

"I don't know the specifics of everything she's hiding, but she had a confrontation of with the Black Fairy. Fiona ripped her heart out and took something out of it...a shard from some crystal," Tink added, confusing them more. Aphrodite waved her hand and forced Blue to materialize. The head fairy raised her wand to defend herself, but Rumple constricted her movements, while the Goddess took her wand.

"Give me my wand back!" Blue demanded hotly.

"That's not happening...you've done all the damage you're going to do!" the blonde Goddess hissed.

"Are you really that arrogant?" she berated.

"Hiding a shard of the crystal in your blackened heart? How did you not think that was the first place she would look for one?" Aphrodite admonished.

"I don't need a lecture from the Mount Olympus bimbo," Blue hissed in return. The blonde growled, but James grabbed her around the waist and held her back.

"We don't get answers if you rip her apart…" he reminded. She calmed slightly, but continued to glower at the fairy.

"What is this all about?" Snow questioned.

"Snow...you must understand that everything I've ever done is in your best interest," Blue started to say.

"But why don't I believe that?" the raven haired beauty questioned.

"Because her definition of what was best for you was vastly different than mine," Aphrodite answered.

"Will someone just tell us what this about?" David demanded to know.

"It happened the day you rescued Snow from the woodcutter. Neither of you knew each other yet nor did you even see each other's faces that day, but when your hands brushed through the bars of his dungeon...there was a spark. The first spark of true love," she explained.

"I was alerted to you immediately and found that my new charges would be different from any previous ones," she continued.

"Why?" David asked.

"Because the first spark of true love had never happened between two people that didn't even know each other yet," she replied.

"My previous charges...they didn't have their first spark until they were already in love. It was unprecedented and a true love sapling was created that day," Aphrodite replied.

"Like the tree in Neverland?" Snow recalled. The blonde nodded.

"But I wasn't the only one that was alerted to your spark," she added. Snow looked to Blue.

"You knew that I had met my true love that day?" Snow asked.

"Snow…" Blue deflected.

"You were adamant that I leave the Kingdom that day," she said accusingly.

"Snow...I feared for your life. It would have been best," Blue reasoned.

"How can say that? I might have never met Charming again if I had left that day," Snow replied and then her eyes widened in realization.

"You didn't want me to meet him again…" she uttered.

"You both must understand that your spark also alerted the darkness. I knew how much strife would come from your union. Look at all you've endured just to be together," Blue replied.

"And every single second of it has been worth it! Love is always worth any risk!" David snapped.

"To you both, maybe...but as head of the fairies, I had to make the hard decisions to keep the darkness from rising," Blue explained.

"Somehow conspiring to keep two people who belong together like Snow and David apart seems selfish," Regina interjected with a cold stare for the fairy.

"Believe me...I would know. My reasons weren't noble and I'm sure neither were yours," she added.

"And you would be absolutely right, Regina. When Snow refused to leave the Kingdom that day...Blue tried to fix what had happened. She tried to destroy the sapling created by the spark," Aphrodite stated.

"You tried to destroy a product of our love?" Snow squeaked, as her eyes flashed with betrayal.

"You don't understand! The darkness was stirring! It had to be destroyed!" she cried, alarming them further.

"Yes...the twisted darkness still inside her. And don't worry, she may have tried to destroy the sapling, but she failed miserably," Aphrodite goaded, as she and Blue glared at each other.

"The sapling had already taken root. She tried ripping it out, but couldn't. She tried turning it to dust, but the magic in it was far more powerful than even her. She even tried to burn it, but the sapling endured and healed itself," Aphrodite boasted.

"Because you can't destroy true love's magic...I know. As the Evil Queen...I tried and failed," Regina realized.

"Exactly," the Goddess confirmed.

"Snow…" Blue started to say.

"I trusted you...so many times. But you've done nothing but undermine us from the start, haven't you?" she questioned.

"You don't understand…" Blue protested.

"Stop telling me I don't understand!" Snow snapped.

"I understand perfectly...my eyes are wide open now. At least without your wand, you can't impose your will on us any longer," she continued, as she looked at the Goddess.

"Can you make sure she never gets her wand back?" Snow asked. Aphrodite nodded.

"Absolutely…" she said, as Blue tried to grab for it.

"You can't do this to me! I'm not the real enemy! The Black Fairy is!" Blue cried.

"She is the real enemy, but you can't be trusted any longer and now everyone knows it," Snow announced.

"I think you just should cut your losses. Be grateful we're letting you stay, because I think everyone can agree that we'd be well within reason to banish you from Storybrooke," David added sternly. Blue seethed and used what little residual magic she had and tried to blast them both. But it backfired in a spectacular display, as they raised the chalice to block her. The magic of the chalice rebounded her attack and hit her point blank. She fell unconscious to the ground and they all stared in stunned silence.

"Is she…" Snow asked, as David knelt down to check for a pulse.

"No...she's alive," he confirmed, as Aphrodite waved her hand over her.

"She's in a coma...that was the last bit of her magic. She did this to herself," she replied.

"We can move her into the convent," Tink said.

"Yeah...that ended badly for her," Neal commented.

"Trust me...this is for the best and once we defeat the Black Fairy, we can be rid of them both," Gold hissed.

"I guess your disdain for fairies makes sense now," David commented, as they heard the crowd start to buzz with conversation. They turned and found the reason why, walking toward them with a smug smirk.

"You...leave here now," David growled.

"Oh, I would love to see you try and make me," Jekyll retorted.

"Why are you here?" Snow demanded to know. He smirked at her, letting his eyes rake over her with a possessive glint.

"I'm so glad you asked that, lovely Snow," he purred.

"I'm here to request that you accompany me back to the Land of Untold Stories," he said.

"She's not going anywhere with you, you bastard," David snapped.

"What makes you think I would ever grant you such a request?" Snow hissed back. He smirked.

"Oh, I'm under no illusions that you would accept willingly, but I felt I should at least give you the chance. I am not ill prepared though, for I knew you would make me force your hand," he responded.

"What are you talking about?" she demanded to know, as dread curled in her stomach. His smile was sickening and made her want to retch. He then motioned to a hovering device that hummed high in the sky above town.

"What the hell is that?" David asked.

"That is a brilliant device I created that will give me what I want," Jekyll answered.

"You see, if you do not leave Storybrooke with me by this time tomorrow, that device will release water from the river of lost souls," he revealed.

"That water will rain down upon this entire town and kill everyone you love," he added.

"So...it is your choice, Snow White. Leave Storybrooke with me...or sentence this entire town to death," he finished.

"You Son of Bitch!" Charming shouted, as he pulled his sword and charged at the doctor. But he was ready and blasted the Prince back with the device he had used to subdue Hyde.

"Dad!" Emma, Leo, and Eva cried together.

"David!" Snow cried, as she ran to him, as he landed painfully on the ground, several feet away. He writhed in pain and clutched his side where the purple plasmic energy had struck him. Snow pulled his shirt up and gasped, as she saw the angry burn on his torso.

"Oh Gods…" she cried, as Eva was there immediately with her healing magic. She shuddered and Emma steadied her baby sister, as she took on the pain, which must have been excruciating. The burn disappeared and they both sighed in relief, as Snow held his head in her lap and gently stroked his face.

"Eva?" he asked, as he reached out for her hands.

"It's okay Daddy...I'm okay," she assured, knowing how much he hated when she had to take on pain to heal someone, especially him.

"Where the hell did you get water from the river of lost souls?" Regina questioned the doctor. Jekyll smirked.

"Would you like to answer her or shall I, Dark One?" the doctor asked. Belle gasped and looked at her husband.

"Please tell me you didn't," she pleaded.

"He had the contract, Belle...I had no choice," he responded.

"Yes you did!" she shouted hotly.

"And once again...you chose wrong!" she cried.

"Belle...you can't seriously expect me to choose others over you!" he retorted.

"Yes, I can! I can expect that of you! I expect you to trust in love and do the right thing! Not sell out people that I care about!" she yelled.

"I will always choose you...even if it means others are collateral damage," he refuted.

"Collateral damage?" Charming hissed, as he got to his feet.

"Collateral damage? Is that what my wife is to you?!" he shouted.

"You know what he means to do to her! How could you?" Charming hissed.

"You know I didn't want to do it...but I had to protect my child. Don't tell me you wouldn't do the same," Rumple hissed back.

"Not like this," Charming growled.

"I asked you...no I begged you to trust that we would protect Belle and the baby," he added.

"You can't even protect your own wife and yet you want me to trust the lot of you with mine?" he retorted.

"This is all very interesting, but I need your answer, Snow. What shall it be? Will you join me and leave Storybrooke? Or does everyone have to suffer instead?" he questioned. Despair threatened to swallow her, as she felt Charming slide his arms around her.

"I won't let you do this…" he hissed at the doctor and then cupped his wife's face.

"I will not let him do this to you, my darling," he promised with vehemence.

"Delay the inevitable if you must, Princess. You have one day to choose," Jekyll stated.

"Jekyll...don't do this!" Rose pleaded, but he regarded her with a death glare.

"You must see how depraved this is! Forcing Snow to be with you will never bring you happiness! She has a family and children that need her! How can you do this?" she questioned.

"I am tired of being denied what I want, Rose Red. You had your chance to be with me, but you tossed it away. However, this time, I will have what I want and using those brats will not sway me," he said, as his eyes turned back to the object of his obsession.

"Say your goodbyes, Snow White. Our new life together awaits us," he added, as he turned and walked away with smug satisfaction.

Snow collapsed against David's chest, her shoulders racking with sobs. His own tears threatened to spill, as he felt the helplessness and despair threaten to swallow him.

"There has to be something we can do to stop that thing!" he cried.

"It's too risky. If we hit it with our magic, it could activate inadvertently," Aphrodite said.

"However...there may be something that can protect the entire town if he does activate it," she added.

"What is it?" Snow sniffed.

"The sapling...it would have come over with the curse. It can likely counteract the water," she said.

"How do we find it?" David questioned.

"The Chalice will lead you there. But you shouldn't go without magical protection," Aphrodite replied.

"I'll go with you," Regina offered. They nodded, as their three grown children gathered around them with hugs.

"We're going to defeat him. There's no way in hell I'm letting him take your mother from us," David promised them. They nodded.

"True love always wins," Eva agreed.

"Be careful," Emma pleaded.

"We won't let him take you, Mom...we won't," Leo choked, as tears threatened spill from his eyes too. Snow sniffed and kissed each of them, no longer trying to keep the tears at bay. Then she joined hands with Charming and they focused their thoughts on the chalice. It began to glow and they received the first impression from the magic.

"This way…" they said together, as they started toward the woods and Regina followed.

"Do you really think this will work?" Tink asked the Goddess.

"It has to...because if it doesn't, then Snow has to choose," she replied gravely.

"You know what she'll choose if that happens. Mom will sacrifice herself," Emma said. They shared a sad look.

"I know…" the Goddess choked out, as James put his arms around her.

"You can still stop this, Papa. You have to!" Neal cried.

"It's out of my hands, Bae," Gold responded.

"Dammit...how could you do this?! I thought we were past all this crap! Did you learn anything from the last time you chose the wrong side?" Neal shouted.

"This time is different," Gold growled.

"You don't know the Black Fairy like I do. I had to take every measure to protect our child...I needed that contract destroyed!" he said, as his son and wife looked at him in disbelief.

"At Snow's expense…" Belle said.

"And knowing Snow and Charming like we do...we know they will deal with the doctor. They always manage to survive and find each other," he reminded.

"They shouldn't have to do it though, because you sold them out to a depraved wack job!" Neal roared.

"There was no other way," Gold repeated.

"You know, just because you keep saying that doesn't make it true!" Neal snapped, as he took Tink's hand.

"We're done," he stated and fear flashed on Gold's face.

"I'm done with you and I mean it this time…" he spat.

"Bae…" he pleaded.

"Save it...I've heard it all before," Neal said sadly, as he and Tink walked away.

"Belle…" he said, reaching out to her.

"Don't touch me!" she spat.

"I really thought this time would be different, but I was a fool, as usual when it comes to you," she cried.

"No Belle...I can fix this!" he pleaded. She sniffed.

"I hope so...I really do. Because if you don't and my friend is ripped away from her husband and her children, then we are over. For good this time, Rumple," she declared.

"Belle please…" he pleaded.

"No...it's too painful! I can't keep going through this, especially with a baby on the way. I have to think about our child now," she said.

"Don't you see that's exactly what I'm trying to do?!" he cried. But she shook her head.

"But you can't keep doing this at the expense of others. There are other ways...they are harder. But you must learn to trust in our love enough to walk that more difficult path," she said.

"If you can't...then we have no future," she said, as she followed Neal and Tink. The three grown Charming children glared at him.

"You may be the Dark One...but if our Mom is forced to leave Storybrooke with that bastard doctor...then it's war," Emma warned.

"If we lose her...if our father loses her...we'll destroy you," Leo promised.

"We'll destroy you and the darkness...we don't know how yet. But we will...that's a promise," Eva finished, leaving their ominous threat in the air...

It’s Too Loud

Part 2 

As Ichigo and the twins are settling in Lucifer also came to the castle to have a meeting with Diavolo but it turns into Lucifer ranting about him being stressed out at home. 

Diavolo: What?

Lucifer: [sigh] I already told them to get their own wifis but they won’t listen, plus.... Asmo....  Oh goodness, he’s very loud.... 

Diavolo: Oh my... didn’t he not close the doors?

Lucifer: Oh he did, it’s just that his voice went through the door and my headset isn’t working last night...

Diavolo: I see, I pity you my friend, do you want more tea?

Lucifer: Yes please.... 

Diavolo: Alright then, Barbatos please bring us more tea and the macaroons, bring him the cherry ones. 

Barbatos: Right away, my Lord. 

Barbatos returns to the kitchen and finds Ichigo there. 

Barbatos: You sure you want to help me with this? You can stay as a guest though.

Ichigo: It’s my job isn’t it?

Barbatos: You have a day off today?? 

Ichigo: You really don’t need my help?

Barbatos: [sigh] I...actually do... please get me the cherry macaroons...

Ichigo: Oh! Right away! 

Ichigo gives him the cherry macaroons and sets them up on the plate. With that Barbatos brings back the macaroon to Diavolo and Lucifer. As soon as he arrives, Lucifer is still ranting to Diavolo about his house situation until the said person came up for a party planning meeting.

Asmo: Oh? Am I interrupting something? 

Diavolo: Not that all, we’re just having a friendly conversation^^ Mind joining us? 

Asmo: I can? Well if you insist, Lord Diavolo~ 

Lucifer: [sigh] Asmodeus- 

Asmo: Yes? 

Lucifer: Mind explaining to us what you did last night? 

Asmo: Things I always do, skincare, warm bath than f*ck Solomon until he can’t walk^^ 

Diavolo: [awkwardly laughs] I see^^ 

Lucifer: See what I’m facing- 

Diavolo: ^^ I see... well I can help with that. 

Lucifer: Wait really? 

Diavolo: Of course^^ Come on sit with us, Asmo. Let’s discuss on what to do with your habits. 

Asmo: .... This was never an issue though? 

Diavolo: I have an idea^^ why don’t you stay here for a while? 

Lucifer: What?!

Asmo: Really?!

Diavolo: Yes, just stay here^^ Until Lucifer is calm and not uncomfortable with it anymore. 

Lucifer: [sigh] I think that would be best...

Asmo: Yaaay! Where will I stay? 

Diavolo: Oh, you can ask Barbatos, he’ll settle you in in no time.

Asmo: Alright then! I’ll go get my things and settle in, oh and when’s the time of the meeting again?

Diavolo: Oh it’s after lunch^^ don’t worry you still have a lot of time 

Asmo: Alright then~! 

As soon as Asmo leaves, Lucifer sighs in relief and thanks Diavolo for his help. 

Diavolo: Of course, that’s what friends are for. Now you may have a day off today and get some rest. 

Lucifer: Are you sure? 

Diavolo: Yes, you can have a day off^^ 

Since Ichigo is free from her part-time job she’s now back in her room with the twins, Belphie sleeping on her bed with Beel eating snacks from the food cabinet by the room. 

Beel: Oh! You’re back, did you have a day off? 

Ichigo: Yeah, Barbatos gave me a day off so I’m here as their guest. 

Beel: That’s great, we can rest today and eat snacks! Come here. 

Beel has his hands open causing the pink haired girl to laugh slightly and enters his arms. The two end up hugging and Beel pulls her to bed. 

Belphie: Are you two serious right now?! 

Beel: What?

Ichigo: It’s fine Belphie, you’ll get your cuddles too^^ [pats Belphie’s head] 

Belphie: Good, cause I want my second pillow back! 

Beel: You already have one, why would you need a second one? 

Belphie: Why? Jealous that she wants to cuddle with me more than you? 

Beel: ...Ichigo, do you like Belphie more than me? I get it that we’re twins but- 

Ichigo: Noo of course not! I like you both equally, you guys are always there for me when there’s problems. 

Belphie cringes at her attempts of lying. He knows well she prefers Beel over him , of course he supports his twin brother heartfully but still... 

Belphie: Oh my Diavolo,, just confess already!! 

Beel/ Ichigo: Confess about what?! 

Belphie: Oh I don’t know! Your love for each other!! 

Ichigo: Besides, we’re not that bad. Don’t get me started on Reika and Satan. 

Belphie: Oh don’t forget Solomon and Asmo! 

Ichigo: Still... are you that annoyed with us? 

Belphie: No, I’m just annoyed that you two aren’t dating but act like you’re dating... 

Beel: ...this is how I usually treat Ichigo though? 

Belphie: Well I was at the attic the whole time so I don’t know.... but if you say so. 

At the end, Belphie ends up sleeping again but before that he tells them this, 

Belphie: I’ll just sleep if you guys need some time alone. You two are insufferable. 

Beel: But Bel- 

Too late Beel, he’s asleep. Let our sloth boi sleep.. he’s probably tired of everyone’s b.s.

Beel: Uhm so...

Ichigo: You okay Beel? 

Beel: Y-yeah, I’m okay^^ 

Ichigo: Did I make you uncomfortable? I’ll move then- 

Beel: Don’t! It’s not that... I’m just really curious. Do you actually like the both of us equally? Me and Belphie I mean... 

Ichigo: ...Actually.... [glances to Belphie] [looks back to Beel] don’t tell him but I prefer you over him^^ 

Beel: You do?! I’m glad then! 

Ichigo: So do I! Besides, Belphie can be quite harsh... 

Beel: Well that’s Belphie for you 

Belphie: OMFD JUST CONFESS ALREADY!!!! 

Both Ichigo and Beel are shock by Belphie’s sudden shout but might as well but the two are so hesitant about him. They both don’t want to ruin what they have. Of course they have confessed to each other at some point but neither of them are ready for a relationship.

Beel: Are you ready to step in? 

Ichigo: I guess...^^ 

Beel: Well then, from this day on you’re my girlfriend^^ 

Belphie: FINALLLLLYYYY!!! 

Beel: [throws a pillow at Belphie] Just sleep! 

Ichigo: Don’t be so harsh on him! 

Beel: Just let him sleep oh and let’s get some rest too. 

Ichigo: Aren’t we? You’re literally laying in bed with me on top of you 

Beel: Yes, but please lay down too. I want to rest with you... 

Belphie: I’m gonna puke! 

Ichigo: Geez, just sleep! You told us you were sleepy yet here you are clowning us! 

Belphie: Clowning everyone is my thing.... Especially clowning Lucifer’s existence. 

Beel: [sigh] All this argument makes me hungry

Ichigo: Do you want to get some snacks? 

Beel: .... No thanks, I have one here^^ A strawberry 

Belphie: Oh my Diavolo- 

Suddenly a portal appears out of no where in their room, Solomon is yet again thrown by Simeon. 

Ichigo: Simeon?! 

Simeon: O-oh! Oh my! I’ll leave, I’m just dropping Solomon here^^ 

Ichigo: Alright then....? 

Ichigo instantly gets off Beel with Belphie snickering at the background. This time Solomon asks her via the telepathic group chat.

Solomon: So... you and Beel huh? 

Ichigo: Oh my God, shut up! 

Solomon: Since when? 

Ichigo: ...Since the second ago, before you guys pop out of no where 

Solomon: Yeah, turns out I’m too sinful for the purgatory hall now... he’ll return me as soon as I’m back to being “holy” which is probably never :D 

Ichigo: Then start repenting on your sins, stupid sorcerer! 

Solomon: Says the one dating a demon... 

Belphie gets up of his sleep and sees Solomon in their room. 

Belphie: What are you doing here? 

Solomon: I got thrown out because I’m too sinful... 

Belphie: Well.... welcome to hell I guess [shrugs] 

Solomon: By the way...can I stay here? 

Such a coincidence because a certain avatar of lust is also staying with them. He is currently going to level 4, but before that he asks Barbatos to lead him to Ichigo’s room. 

Asmo: I heard the twins and Ichigo are staying here right? Can I go visit them? 

Barbatos: Of course, right this way. 

Barbatos leads Asmo all the way to the twin’s and Ichigo’s room which is on room 303. As soon as he gets there, he sees not only the twins and Ichigo but also Solomon and Reika.

Asmo: Solomoooon!!! 

Solomon: Asmo~!! Oh! Hi Barbatos! 

Barbatos: Hello to you too^^ Is everyone settling in? 

Beel: Yes we are, thank you, Barbatos^^ 

Barbatos: I’m glad^^ Shall I excort you to your room now? 

Asmo: Yes please^^ 

Solomon: I’ll come too! 

Act 3, Chapter 3: As Told Through the Eyes of the Beastly Bros

“Where is he?”

EB looked at the gargantuar. “You expect me to know?”

Smash growled. “We need to find Rustbolt.” The ground trembled. A roar echoed through the streets as the gigantic beast barreled down Zombopolis’ Main Street.

“CHAAAAAAAAAARGE!” Screamed Electric Boogaloo, as his Beastly Bro plowed through the asphalt. As night sky became sunrise, Smash leaped high into the air and clutched the side of a building.

“We are not in Zombopolis anymore,” said the monstrous zombie in his gravely Russian accent.

“You mean we’re in The Shadow’s terr’itry?”

Smash nodded. “But Rustbolt is plant now, maybe we find him here.”

EB sighed. “I hope we do. We gotta give him the message, and then get back to Zomboss ASAP.”

The Smash turned his head to the side, all dramatic anime edgelord style, when they talk to the guy behind them but looks to the side instead of turning around. “If you had to choose, between Rustbolt or Zomboss, who would you choose?”

EB bit his lip and looked out in front of him. The sun was rising, and what a sight it was.

“Boogaloo. Who would you choose?”

~FLASHBACK~ (sorry I’m doing these so much, I just keep getting good ideas for them)

“Hey, Brainstorm!~” EB beamed, grinning ear to ear. “I got your text.”

“Good,” said the professor absentmindedly. He was texting on his phone. “Rustbolt will be here shortly.”

“Okay.” EB had seen Rustbolt around, and the two always said hi to each other, but had never really truly met. “So what’s this experiment?”

“Oh, you’ll see.” Brainstorm had an evil grin. EB chuckled and rolled his eyes. The prof always had EB come over, usually to be used as a power source. EB didn’t mind, though, because he’d always end up helping out in an unexpected way.

“Yo yo yo, I’m hizzity here.” Rustbolt descended through an open roof panel, his rocket boots slowly shutting off as he descended to the floor.

“That was AWESOME!” Boogaloo hopped up and down a few times, excited and amazed.

Rustbolt smirked and bowed. “Thanks, Electric Boogaloo.”

EB and Brainstorm looked at each other. Their cheeks puffed up as smiles grew, and they simultaneously burst out laughing.”Bruh, Just say EB.”

Rustbolt chuckled and rolled his eyes. “You’re a real comedian, arentcha.”

“I’m as funny as my hair is big,” EB popped and locked, pointing to his ginger afro.

“Your hair is big, but know what’s bigger?~” Rustbolt pointed to his crotch. “I named it the Hydraulic Humper.”

Two very different reactions came:

Brainstorm, caught COMPLETELY off guard, reeled in a mixture of disgust and horror.

EB, however, howled with laughter. “The hydraulic humper, HAHAHA!”

Rustbolt chuckled. “I just made that up on the spot to be honest. I wouldn’t actually name it. Only weirdos and lonely people name theirs.”

EB, still laughing, patted Rustbolt’s shoulder. “I like you.”

“I like you too, man.” Rustbolt slapped his hand over EB’s face.

The two burst out laughing.

“Okay you two.” Brainstorm coughed to get their attention. “Let’s start the experiment.”

Both nodded in unison, still quietly giggling.

“Rustbolt, your shrink ray, please.”

“Bingo bongo, bro.” Rustbolt produced his shrink ray.

“Ready to fire?”

“‘Course, bro. What at?”

Brainstorm gestured to the wall.

Rustbolt clicked his tongue and shot fingerguns at Brainstorm. “Undastood.”

Brainstorm ushered the two so that EB was behind Rustbolt, then he turned to the dead dancer. “Zap Rustbolt.”

“Wait WHAT!?” Rustbolt turned to look at the other two.

“I never agreed to this,” said EB reluctantly.

“FOR SCIENCE!” Brainstorm pointed to EB, then Rustbolt.

EB looked away, wincing, and made a finger gun. Out shot bolts of electricity. They arced in the air and zapped Rustbolt in the back. Motors whirred, joints screeched and the shrink ray fired up. Rustbolt shrieked in pain. After what semed like minutes on end to EB, the shrink ray fired.

When the smoke from Rustbolt’s suit cleared, Rustbolt stood hunched over. Before him was… Nothing. The walls were blown to smithereens.

Rustbolt collapsed onto the floor.

“You could’ve killed him! AGAIN!” EB screamed.

Brainstorm chuckled. Then that chuckle grew into a full-on maniacal cackle.

EB dragged off Rustbolt’s limp body, and brought him to his house. He layed the unconcious zom down in his bed, and grabbed a Gatorade Frost from his fridge. What, you thought that just because there are zombies that there would be no brands? Zombies don’t kill ALL the humans. Because zombies don’t know how to make Gatorade.

When Rustbolt woke up, EB handed him the electrolyte-replenishing beverage.

“That was a shocking turn of events,” remarked Rustbolt as he swished around the Glacier Freeze in his bottle. EB hooted with laughter.

Ever since then, EB hung out with Rustbolt more and more, and spent less and less time with Brainstorm.

~UNFLASHBACK~

“Rustbolt,” EB said, 100% confident in his decision.

Smash smiled. “I would have hard time choosing. Probably Zomboss, but I would swear to myself never to lay a hand on Rustbolt.”

“Well I mean, you’d crush him.”

Smash let out a laugh. “You are funny. We go see Green Shadow now.”

Smash hopped from building to building. “Did you see strange pink dot last night?”

“Yeah. Weird. Think it was a comet?”

Smash continued to building hop. “Perhaps. Just hope is not laser from space gods.” Before EB had a chance to chuckle, he sniffed the air. “I smell metal.”

A smile slapped itself on ElectroBoogie’s face. “ONWARD, MY NOBLE BEAST!”

Smash, playing along with the whole “beast” thing, roared loudly in response. He lunged at the street, embedding himself into the road and galloped down the street at top speed.

Rustbolt heard a roar. A very familiar roar. His eyes widened as he saw Smash and EB charging towards him. He cowered, almost flinching as the two beastly heroes stopped on a dime (okay a very very VERY BIG DIME BUT STILL A DIME) in front of him.

“Hey, Rustbolt. There’s something we need to tell you. Like now.” EB had a sense of urgency in his tone.

“Zomboss is giving speech today. About YOU.” Smash pointed a huge, beefy finger at the iron clad. “We figure we give you TV to watch on.”

The gargantuar pulled out one of those “Maniacal Laugh TVs,” as they’re called, and handed it to Rustbolt.

“You expect me to carry this?”

“It flies, dummy.”

“Alrighty then.” Rustbolt watched Smash let go of the television set, and the propeller started to spin, somehow lifting the entire appliance. After they said their goodbyes, EB and Smash turned around and rushed back off the way they came.

Rustbolt, after an hour, finally managed to lug this thing back to Flare’s. For something that could fly, DAMN was it heavy. He opened the door to see SF on an Xbox One. “Yo Gree, you ready?” She was talking into a headset, custom made to actually fit on a flower.

“Whatcha playing?” Asked Rustbolt.

“Portal 2,” said Solar Flare. “Nah, just talking to Rustbolt, he just walked in.”

“Portal 2? Oh my god that’s like ONE OF MY FAVORITE GAMES”

“Heheh. Green Shadow says ‘you and me both.’“

“Am I really that loud?” Rustbolt asked.

“Nah, It’s just that there’s not much noise to drown you out. It’s pretty quiet because it’s still early morning.”

“Yeah wait speaking of, how’d Green Shadow get home so fast?”

“She knows her way around town, and you don’t,” Solar Flare said.

“Point taken.” Rustbolt hauled the TV inside and closed the door.

“Alright GS, after this next test I’m going to get off. My eyes are starting to hurt.”

“I used to play this with Brainstorm,” Rustbolt said. “It was so much fun.”

“Maybe you can play one day with Citron, he loves this game.”

Rustbolt shrugged and watched Solar Flare and Green Shadow work on solving the test. After she turned off the Xbox, she tossed the controller to the side and stood up. When the controller hit the floor, Rustbolt stumbled to the side. SF turned to him, confused.

“You didn’t just do that because to the CONTROLLER, did you?”

“God dammit it works with Xbox controllers too.”

“NO WAY.” SF dived for the controller and started mashing buttons.

Rustbolt jumped, punched, shot toast, super-blocked, flew around, crawled, squatted, kicked, crouched, combo-moved, blew bubbles, and swatted his spatula. Not necessarily in that order, though.

SF smirked, turning off the controller. “I’ll keep that in mind,” she said, giggling. Maybe Spudow can set up a donkey kong level for me to play.

“How about NO.”

“I wonder what I could do with my VIVE controllers...”

“SF, for real. This suit has alot of stuff on it, I don’t want you toying with it.”

“Oh shut up, you big baby. I’ll be responsible. I’ll put a camera on a rotobega and play Grand Theft Zombo.”

“Let’s do literally the opposite of that thing that you just said.”

“This afternoon that’s what we’re doing.”

Rustbolt looked at the TV he had hauled into the house. “Please, SF. I need to be watching that��TV in the afternoon.” He pointed to it.

SF looked over at it. “Why?”

“Zomboss said he was gonna give a speech about me today. I need to see what he’s gonna say. PLEASE, Solar Flare.”

Solar Flare looked at the zombie before her.

This was a zombie that she had fought hundreds of times. The zombie that was now actually LIVING with her. “If it means that much to you, Rustbolt, I won’t get in your way.” She smiled weakly.

She definitely wasn’t expecting Rustbolt to pick her up and hug her. But he did.

And you know what? She hugged back.

How to Use Live Chat Widget Software to Boost Your Website

When you advantage of the live chat widget for wordpress, you will be given a couple of bits of code to be added to your pages. These codes hail the live talk server, which is encouraged by the organization when an individual points of view or visits your site. Starting there, the discussion advantage propels the banner to the live visit programming acquainted on your PC with reveal to you that you have a visitor. Once in a while, the alert is also sent through an online application. Nearby the codes which the discussion expert association gave you, a site gets is fused. This catch shows on your site whether you are open to talking or not.

For example, when your item is disabled, the live chat get on your page will demonstrate that there is no live help available for the event, in any case, messages can, regardless, be left for the site have. Using the system, you can observe ceaselessly how the watcher moves and scrutinize through your site. You have the choice to fly out a window at any moment to offer customer organization or support to that arranged client - something that is evident in various online stores and organization concentrates these days.

So what are the stars of presenting and using live chat widget for wordpress? It is customer settlement; you will have the ability to give better customer advantage. Customers, online clients are extraordinarily watchful with respect to purchasing materials or organizations on the web. With just a single unanswered request concerning the thing, they can without quite a bit of a stretch get hesitant in buying. By using the item, you can offer solutions to your customers at that right moment.

Another gain for you in having a live chat widget for wordpress presented is the manner in which you can give live help - basically what the program is about. Extraordinary customer help is something that purchasers scan for by the idea of the thing. In like manner, the live talk program comforts clients that you can be adequately gone after-bargains customer advantage support. Various customers lean toward this kind of customer advantage over the standard customer advantage email. As a proof, a huge amount of online business areas definite that their arrangements extended significantly resulting in presenting live visit reinforce programming.

Today, live brings are over the best, paying little identity to whether you use the relationship of insignificant exertion affiliations or such applications as Skype. Notwithstanding whether you have to pay low respect, paying little regard to all that you have to pay. In the meantime, there are affiliations and objectives giving relationship of free call applications. You don't trust in it, isn't that right? Why such affiliations are free? Honestly, site proprietors have their inspirations to give free affiliations.

Using a PC identified with the Internet, you truly can make free calls. What kind of apparatus you'll require depends on what sort of program you end up using. Normally, these activities engage you to make calls manage from your PC to a telephone. Everything thought of you as needn't dawdle with a telephone yourself! Obviously, you will require a headset (or speakers) and some sort of enhancer. Routinely, headsets for this game plan are sold with mouthpieces related. On the other hand, a segment of these undertakings engages you to make wordpress return to device beginning with one honest to goodness telephone then onto the going with.

We do have a few verbalizations of caution for you about making free brings over the Internet. One of these is that 911 affiliation wouldn't work for you. If you ought to have the capacity to make 911 calls, we propose using your remote, a landline, or a VoIP advantage that is supported for 911 calls. Moreover, free calls are normally obliged to the United States and Canada, regardless, there are a few open portals out there that will enable you to make a free all things considered the call. This is obviously something you ought to consider in case you figure you may ever need to do that. Unquestionably, in case your calling needs will be totally family, by, this is nothing to worry over. Preferably, you'll find unequivocally the response to fit your necessities impeccably.

A couple of shopping bushel providers have started late begun giving free live call programming. Not solely is the thing free at any rate they have been made open to any person who needs a free visit program, not just their specific dealers. We are particularly watchful that trade programs have been around for quite a while, at any rate, starting not uncommonly far previously, online business programming affiliations have kept up a vital separation from them with their answers as a segment.

When you consider vehicle dealership live chat widget for wordpress, the important inquiry that inspires an emotional response is "what can this application do to extend my business" Well if you couldn't care less to examine, the fitting reaction is "A WHOLE LOT." Car buyers or any ordinary customer so far as that is concerned is dynamically on edge to get some answers concerning imaginative types of progress, paying little heed to whether it's new flexible advancement or vehicle. This energy of offer makes intrigue, which must be content with request and replies.

If another variety was to be introduced in a Honda Civic for an unequivocal model year, and you have 15 interesting customers walking around your dealership or your toll free number is ringing of the catch with people restless to know whether this engine is suitable for them, "Would you have the capacity to give everybody an answer ASAP?" If your answer is to be sure, by then you ought to have a military size staff, and if it's a sure shot No, you're simply being reasonable! Long story short, it is these sorts of request that dealership live call widget for wordpress helps convert into premium potential clients.

Vehicle dealership visit writing computer programs is a proactive procedure and another strategy for addressing purchasers, new or old. You may have the different parts, for instance, an amazing webpage set up, add to that your unrivalled web searcher results, yet paying little mind to how well they are executed, these segments can simply take you up to this point. each moment of consistently live visit reinforce programming for vehicle dealerships ensures that you remain related despite when your showroom passages have closed for the day, which results in a surge of leads walking around the next morning.

Live call programming can be seen as the best SEO instrument in your reserve, since no site can realize it, and the joys of using it are particular to vehicle dealerships. Notwithstanding what business you're in, clients ask for insight, and the practically certain you can fulfill that endeavour, your chances of wrapping the arrangement up are logically higher. By accepting vehicle dealership live talk programming, you are not simply keeping the potential customer adhered to your site, anyway saving them the burden of going elsewhere to complete the obtaining strategy.

Keep in mind that in this genuinely wild web age, in case you don't have minute answers and courses of action, one of your adversaries certainly will! Chances are that so far, you've only relied upon your dealership site to create leads without live visit programming, and the results may satisfy your step by step target, nonetheless, it is for a long way from your potential. Dealership live visit programming can enhance your present components immediately by helping you slaughter the helplessness and perplexity that are addressed as a request.

In the present possessed world, a customer likes to buy things or organizations from an online store which offer minute help to their customers without letting them on long holds. Thusly, a mix of live talk application on the business website, it winds up achievable for online visit administrators to give on-the-spot courses of action in light of client's inquiries through jump up visit window. Tolerating minute help goes about as an updated contribution for clients which make them share a positive easygoing exchange with the offered online help.

Best live call programming is an online CRM application which interfaces customers to strength e-rear ends utilizing live talk advancement. In the wake of entering the site, customers related to a chivalrous customer advantage specialist (CSR). Not in any manner like forceful live visit instruments, best live talk programming proactively approaches customers for a one-on-one dialogue. CSRs don't sit inert holding up upon customers to the interface for help. They analyze catchphrase looks for, site page length, and the referral URL. At the point when web examination demonstrates a customer is caught, CSRs proactively send a visit welcome. At the point when a live visit session begins, claim to fame buyers can pass on their issues and discover answers for a game plan of the request as for authoritative techniques and thing incorporates.