#blast shard caper | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

codenamehazard · 4 months

Text

.:In The Dark of the Night: Part 2:.

[TRIGGER WARNING FOR ARACHNOPHOBIA, OMMETAPHOBIA, TRYPOPHOBIA AND OTHER CREEPY CRAWLIES!!! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!!!]

Chapter 25: In The Dark of the Night: Part 2

Hey guys, I hope you all had a Happy New Year and I hope I didn't make you all wait too long on a cliffhanger. Things got a little insane between the holidays and life things turning everything upside down for a little bit, but the wait is over and the helicopter has come to free you from the cliffhanger.

Without delay, let's jump in.

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

Panic… Pure panic and pandemonium breaks out as Pangolin falls: screaming, writhing and powerless. A cold sweat mixes with the sparking rain-water on my skin as I see what a single sting did to the Brick Spartan. He’s defenseless to the oncoming swarm.

In his fear, Dove calls forth a massive wind gust to blow the menaces back, protecting his eldest brother from being eaten. Mako rushes over to help the fallen leader as Kestrel fights off more bugs. I can see Dove trying to take the lead, but with how freaked out he is and the fear making his voice crack and squeak, his commands fall upon deaf ears.

Time seems to slow as I watch the once well-oil machine fall to shambles. With Pangolin on the ground howling in pure agony and mutant hellish bedbugs scattering around, the team had no rudder. They were all clueless and damn near helpless.

As I thin the swarm, thoughts rush through my head. A headless team is a dead team. I remember the promise I made to myself as I ran from the army I had once led. Never again would I let shackles hold me back, including the shackles of leadership. If they can’t hack it without my help, then so be it. I could bail and leave them to their fate. Steal a jeep and let them be the distraction. Easy as that.

Then the logical part of my brain kicks that impulse sharply in the head. The Amp is still in shambles and needs to be fixed and the one who’s willing to do that is part of this team. There’s also the fact that… As much as I hate to admit this… I’m starting to grow quite fond of this motley crew of outcasts and it wouldn’t kill me to help them just this–

“ALRIGHT FUCKERS, LISTEN UP!!!” I turn my head sharply as a cross between a metallic boom and a barking command cuts through my thoughts, drawing my eyes to the source of the sound: Kestrel. “The situation’s gone FUBAR, fall back! Mako, get Pangolin into the Medi-Trailer! Dove, get a grip and head to the lead HEMTT, we need to book it and fast!!” I can’t help but to gawk for a split second, both in shock and relief. Well I’ll be damned; for once in my life I don’t have to play babysitter when things went to shit.

I shake my head to get back in the game before I get stung. Kestrel takes charge, getting Mako to focus on Pangolin as she clears a path. I make my way towards the panicking chicken of a Dove who’s still acting like he’s trying to take command, even though Kes gave him his marching orders. With how out of it he is, I’m not surprised he didn’t hear a word she said.

“Dove!” I boom as I grab his shoulders and shake him. Not the best way to handle a kid freaking out, but there’s no time for sensitivities. “Pull yourself together!” The bird stammers nonsense and I bonk him on the forehead with the meat of my palm. He yelps before staring at me with a look that said “what was that for?!” I look him in the eyes. “Good, now that I got your attention. Kestrel gave an order, get to the HEMTT and get ready to floor it. We’re falling back!”

“What about Thom-” He starts to question before I give him a red-eyed glare.

“Don’t worry about him!” I growl, my impatience starting to bleed through. “Mako’s got him covered, now do as you’re told and MOVE YOUR ASS!!!” I watch him stammer out an affirmative before scrambling off to the Convoy. I’m half tempted to give him a zap for good measure, but with the rain and the fact he’s the get-away, I decide against it.

The sound of grunting catches my ears as I turn to see Mako and Kestrel trying to move Pangolin while fending off the scittering hellish things. I quickly run over so I can help Mako.

“You taking over?” Kes questions, I nod in confirmation before we trade places. Oh Jesus Christ, he’s heavy and it doesn’t help he’s still flailing about. Thinking fast, I arc-restrain the writhing spartan. Mako gives me a questioning look, but when I explain it’s to make it easier to carry the giant of a man, she doesn’t argue. Kes provides cover fire before throwing what looks like a blast-shard wired to an explosive away from the convoy.

The shard seems to draw the attention of the giant Hell-Spider, getting her off the trailers and allowing us to get in safely. The sound of an explosion and screaming ring out as we shut the door.

As Mako gets Pangolin stabilized in a transport cot and I release the restraints, Kes gets on the comms and barks a single phrase.

“FLOOR IT!!!”

I can feel the trailer suddenly jerk as the HEMTT takes off, nearly taking all of us to the floor. The screech of the spider returns as she takes notice and gives chase.

The trailer rings out with the sounds of Warped and hellbabies being chucked onto the runaway caravan. A stark reminder that we’re not out of the woods yet. A Blink Scorpion almost slips in, but Kes is quick on the draw.

It's clear that without someone on the outside, the Convoy’s defenseless. With nothing but a quick glance and a nod exchanged between Kestrel and I, we know what needs to be done.

Though the emergency hatch on the top of the trailer, we climb out into the darkness to face the monsters.

The rain hisses and spits into steam on Kestrel’s skin as it makes black and red sparks arc off of mine. Bathing the hellish sight in a blood red hue. The scorpions scitter and screech as they charge towards us. Quick to react, we pop the bugs with slag and bolts, slashing them with blades and claws when they get too close.

As the air fills with soot, sparks and gore, I can see out of the corner of my eye something I hadn’t noticed before when the most that Big Momma would move was when she swung her stony arms around to swat at people who came near. Something that’s now plain as day with her running at ridiculous speeds for a creature her size.

Gaps in the armor where the joints connect.

“Hey Kes!” I call out as I punt one of the stinging cockroaches into another. “Check it! The big bitch actually does have weak spots!” I fire a missile at one of the knee-joints to point it out. The impact on the sinewy flesh causes the monster to scream in pain and slow down some, but with seven more legs moving, the hit only staggered.

“Good eye!” The Gunsmith calls back as she starts to focus fire on the exposed targets. We work together, but with the sheer number of babies the spider-bitch is spitting out, it’s near impossible to do both. These babies have got to go.

“Damnit!” I hiss out as I narrowly avoid getting tagged in the ankle. “There’s too many of these things!”

“No shit, Sherlock!” Kes snips back as she nails one that was leaping towards my head. “This is getting us nowhere and we don’t have the right equipment to kill the mother monster.”

“Got any bright ideas, birdie?” I growl. I see Kestrel look at the Rock-Spider-Thing and I can see the gears turning in her head.

“I might.” She replies. “One of us pops a charge while the other coverfires. It won’t kill her, but it should slow her down and thin out the herd enough to break free.”

“It’s a start, but who’s doing what?” I question. “Because if you haven’t noticed, my powers are as useful as a damn ashtray on a motorcycle against that thing.” I hear Kestrel groan before I pop a bug near her foot.

“I don’t know if mine will be of any use either, but I’ll do it. Cover my ass!” She shouts as she starts to shake her head, eyes glowing iron-hot. Probably trying to fire herself up. I position myself behind her, but give her space so I’m not touching her back.

“Don’t have to tell me twice.” I grunt as I launch a few shockwaves to send the horde flying.

The sound of rain sizzling off of her body cuts through the chaos as her body throws off heat, causing the air around her to ripple and warp into the familiar heat mirage. Thank God I gave her the space, I would have gotten burnt from the rapidly rising temperature of her body. Steam hisses and spits off of her skin as smoke bellows from her mouth and jets from her nose.

I watch as I keep the bugs off of her. The shimmering particulates in the smoke start to move and gather, merging to become an entire swarm of shards the size of razor sharp, white-hot hornets. Kestrel’s arms move back into an open position before swinging them forward, commanding the shards to fly off towards the enemy.

The shards almost seem to buzz as they cut through the air, burying into anything that’s in their way. The metal is hot enough to make the blink scorpions pop like ichor-filled balloons and cook the shamblers and runners that tried to climb up.

The metal-bees couldn’t penetrate the rock armor of the Momma Bitch, but to our relief, some of them hit their marks and bore into the exposed joints. The living boulder screams in agony as its joints seizes from the onslaught, causing it to stagger and tumble from the momentum. Anything unlucky enough to be under-foot gets turned into a glowing purple paste on the red dirt as HEMTT leaves the bastards in the dust.

“Take that, bitch.” The Gunsmith pants out with a snarl and a smirk before her eyes cool and her body starts to wobble. I move to catch her so she doesn’t fall off the HEMTT. Damn, the combination of expending a large burst of RFE and the rain rapidly cooling her must be sapping her strength like mad.

“Hey…” She pants out. “Thanks for the catch.” I grunt in acknowledgement as I let her use my body as a support. We watch the monster-mash of a road wreck grow smaller and smaller as we escape. Out of the corner of my eyes I can spot light starting to grow.

Turning my head to see the source of the light, I gawk at the sight that is rapidly approaching.

Bright spotlights, all forming a barrier that burned and scorched any Warped that dare stray too close. Within the safety of the perimeter lies a city that looked like the fucking carnival took it over. Rides made of metal and scrap tower like skyscrapers and roller coasters snake through any buildings in maddening twists and turns. The crowning jewel of the sight? A large red and yellow striped tent with three prominent points, the center its tallest.

I turn to Kestrel and I see her face relax into a smile, the smile of someone coming home.

“Cole, welcome to Tri-Point.”

8 notes · View notes

mantrabay · 3 years

Text

Sunday Morning Programme. 12

Sunday cockcrow nascent

aural essays reveal

laissez-faire raptures.

Enigmatic silken piece compost ushered in by

trenchant trademark tremulous shoo in.

Doe-eyed instrumentalist’s strident brass ensemble, wakey wakey for the pier gazing loiterer whose blasé sashay amble’s out of kilter.

Maverick antennae on a radio safari, hawking hourglass heritage lodestone.

Closet Peter Pan’s astride transistor, literati goggle eyed and glued.

Silhouettes of wistful mint leaf tract navigating hoarse throat shellback allegory. Earnest weekend welcome mat to madcap jester, laureate, bohemian.

Religiously the listener’s transported from a humble tepee sanctum

to alluring levee inundation area, far flung folly edifice, nomad siren hymn sheet to mount Half Dome.

Long wave bounder in my dreams I limb skip oe’r fiction world simulcast entanglement,

snoop beneath rogallo-wing parachute in a Middle East plot,

“twin peaks” would be awestruck by this labyrinthine concourse.

One can flit invisibly round medieval black market cobblestone arcades,

ghost novelist ethereal penchant for a pinch and pilfer retro-fit infringement.

Melting pot cinnamon dispenser, whiff stick fix antidote to kettledrum ennui

the blight of urban jungle setting and rural folklore.

Otherworld contortion with a shard of drama for magic carpet flight of fancy broadcast

Lineage derived from ancient epochs now assumed but for an inkling, icons I become with card shark sly booths legerdemain.

Maybe I’m that fictile clueless hiker, destitute, indigent,

meanderer in nation state colossus whose fiendish tongue’s a wry sudoku baffle

or that moth-infested pillar wreck the thirty year rule.

With a little latitude I’d shadow plot my reverie landing on some poet’s scented flower or just as likely eavesdrop on the mocha sipping Monet, coffee cup aloft,

cast among the butterflies,

harvesting a feast on barren canvass.

Going back in time to famous childhoods

Reverting to an earlier Renaissance I’m some regal mother’s celebrated offspring,

a fragile baby cradled by maternal instincts..

Imagine for a moment me the swimmer,

wallower in oceans Maya blue,

driven by the prospect

of Olympic medal glory,

fuelled by live wire rushes,

or the influential virtuoso sculpting drafts so lyrical they lift the Sony user into orbit.

But alas this Xanadu diversion has a brusque untimely rendezvous with kingpin schedule,

as that trumpet blast alarm morphs and mutes into some vapour strewn amorphous mead.

Of late I harbour thoughts of being an olive branch across the ether that hypnotises

dull remit with lustrous anecdotal caper,

teleporting lives to fourth dimensions.

There’s always hope

Photograph n piece mantrabay copyright protected

Thanks for reading and viewing this story as always

27 notes · View notes

taiblogcomics · 5 years

Text

Casino Nightmares Zone

Hey there, lungfish. Since we're all caught up with the regular pony comics and finally finished that one miniseries, why not start on the next miniseries? I promise you this one is really cool. (Not that Ponyville Mysteries was bad or anything. This one's just really cool~)

I mean, just look at this cover:

Small confession, I got a later printing of this series, so I have cover B instead of this one. But I have to show you cover A, because it sets up the rest of the miniseries so well. First impressions are important, and if the first thing I showed you was Casino Nights Princess Luna, you wouldn't take my word for the coolness stated in the opening bit. And, I mean, look at this cover. It's very cinematic. Who could those silhouettes be, I wonder? It's very mysterious, isn't it~? But yeah: Luna is the focus character of this miniseries, and that's awesome. Anyways, good cover, great poster.

For spoilers sake, I'd say you need to have seen the movie, the season 7 finale, and the two-issue series on Tempest Shadow's backstory. If you haven't seen the latter, I reviewed it previously~

So we open in an unexpected location: Twilight's dreams. Luna is doing her usual rounds, and admits she sometimes comes to Twilight's dreams as a comfort. Twilight dreams about menial alphabetising her library, and the simplicity is relaxing. However, she can't stay here all night. She briefly helps Applebloom solve a nightmare about dividing her time between friends and family, then moves on to one she admits is much tougher: Stygian and his fears of being the Pony of Shadows. Even the memory of Luna's past self is passed out on the ground here. Is that how it happened? This is a good question because suddenly the Pony of Shadows starts addressing Luna directly. Not memory-Luna, the actual real Luna who is visiting the dream.

This shouldn't be possible, of course, because this is Stygian's dream. It seems this is not our Pony of Shadows, but one from another world. In their world, he was defeated, but he shows them what happened in his world. He takes Celestia and traps her in a slave collar, announcing he plans to corrupt her and create a world-breaker. He taunts them, saying they can stop him just by looking in a mirror, and disappears into the aether with a sobbing Celestia. Upon waking, Stygian takes Luna to see the place beneath the castle where Starswirl kept all his mirror portals. They stop in front of a particular one with a huge spider-web crack in it. Stygian reveals he's been saving the missing shard. They replace it, and decide to go looking for this alternate Pony of Shadows. He's now strong enough to reach into Stygian's dreams, so he's a threat.

They emerge, and we get a full-page splash of this alternate world. Picture a big tree with a towering castle-themed casino sitting atop it. There's spotlights and marquee "chasing" lights, and a long line with guards at the front. And you must be this evil to enter! No, really, there's both a bouncer and a scanner that measures your morality. Say, do you know Lucky Clover? He's a background pony of no real renown. He's immediately rejected as he tries to bluff his way through the gate. Next is a dragon, who is allowed in because he ate the three ponies ahead of him in line. And that's not a bluff, if you look between him and Lucky between panels, there's clearly three ponies that go missing between their approach. That might be the darkest joke in any pony comic I've read to date~

Stygian flatly tells them his backstory in a morose voice, and is immediately let through by the scanner. Luna, however, has to resort to her Royal Canterlot Voice to convince them of her identity as Nightmare Moon. And if you though the outside establishing shot was cool, here's the interior shot. Literally every damn villain is here. Tirek? Chrysalis? Babs Seed and her sister? Lightning Dust? Nightmare Rarity? Sunset Shimmer and season 5 premiere Starlight Glimmer? The Power Ponies' villains? Even Suri Polomare is villain enough to be here. It's a big casino, like I said, and the Diamond Dogs are working as staff. This is also clearly not the Pony of Shadows' style, so who's actually in charge here?

Well, they're about to find out, as the Diamond Dogs lead them to an elevator. They enter into the big penthouse, and Luna spots Celestia and immediately rushes to her. Unfortunately, she hasn't noticed the spell circle etched on the floor, and is quickly trapped. As she calls for Celestia to help her, the mysterious figure nearby tells her it's very rude to address the pet and not the owner of the house. She blasts Stygian out of the room and reveals both herself and her "pet". Celestia, of course, is now corrupted into Daybreaker. But the mystery figure? She's one of those anthro birds introduced in the movie. Her name is Princess Eris. Perhaps you know her cousin, Discord~?

Unlike Discord, she's not interested in chaos as an amusement. Eris instead wants to cause destruction. And that's where all this is going: Eris was actually disguising herself as the Pony of Shadows, specifically to lure Luna here. Since the Luna of this universe died in the conflict, she only has the one princess to control. Now, she doesn't have a thousand years to break Luna's will like poor Daybreaker here. Instead, she uses her staff to drain Luna's magic, which she plans to auction off to any of those villains out in her casino right now. And even if she escapes, she's powerless and the morality detector will prevent any of Luna's friends like the Mane 6 or original flavour Celestia from coming to the rescue.

It's a pretty good plan. Eris, however, has forgotten one thing: Stygian. He's small, but talented. He breaks the bindings on Luna and hurls them at Daybreaker, and then incorporates something he learned from Flash Magnus: "Do something brave and dumb, and hope it works out". That's actually a really good line. In this case, that amounts to "get back on the elevator and cut the cables", using a sphere of magic to protect themselves. Their retreat from the Chaos Casino is complete, but Luna's still powerless. They have to make a plan. Fortunately, that's another thing Stygian is good at. As he puts it, do you know what he's known for besides the whole Pony of Shadows thing? Luna guesses it's defeating the Sirens. Stygian corrects her: he didn't defeat them. He assembled the team that did. And that's where all this is going. It's a caper plot~

This is a fantastic start to what will probably be a great miniseries. Everything from a high-stakes encroaching villain to a mysterious alternate universe to goddamn heist. It’s all here, with the interesting focus being that all the characters are former villains. Oh yes, we’ll be getting to those in the next issue. Because what is a good caper without a good team~? Additionally, Stygian and Luna have a good dynamic because of their very similar personalities. I even daresay I would ship it, were I the kind of person who ships characters. I am not, but the seed is there for some fanfic potential~

So, speaking of the next issue, we’ll be assembling our team. Presumably out of those mysterious silhouettes on the cover. Boy, they’re mysterious, aren’t they? There’s no way you’ll guess who they are. But anyway, why wait? I’m liking this enough that I really feel like we can catch up and do two issues again this week. God, I’m just spoiling you guys lately, aren’t I~?

#comics #reviews #My Little Pony Nightmare Knights #Taiblog #Princess Luna

1 note · View note

businessweekme · 5 years

Text

The 16 Dishes You Should Have Eaten in 2018

The year 2018 has not been a great one for the food world. There was the loss of two of the brightest people in the business, Anthony Bourdain and the Pulitzer Prize-winning Los Angeles critic Jonathan Gold. Likewise, it was hard to find one new, unifying restaurant that captured everyone’s imagination.

That doesn’t mean there weren’t captivating dishes. In fact, these 16 were positively remarkable. They run the gamut from just-caught king salmon in Alaska to exquisitely aged Irish beef in London. There’s a lot of bread—it was, after all, the 2017 dish of the year and still looming large—but no noodles. New York introduced two places you’d assume would make the cut: Missy Robbins’s pasta-focused Misi followed her breakout, Lilia, and David Chang reimagined ramen at the new Momofuku. Yet different dishes stood out more on their menus instead.

To find out what those dishes are, and the 14 other most outstanding ones, read on. And grab a snack while you’re at it—you’re going to get hungry.

Sukchae | Atomix, New YorkUnlike most dishes that feature a dollop of caviar, what grabs your attention with this exquisite Korean omakase counter’s cooked vegetable course is not the pricey fish roe. Chef-owner Junghyun Park layers tender celery root on a bed of fresh, yogurtlike buttermilk cheese—and adds the caviar, sure. But then comes the unforgettable component: creamy, softly sweet hazelnut sauce that Park pours over it all to finish the dish. It balances the saline pop of caviar, the silkiness of the celery root, and the tang from the cheese.

Whole Roast Duck With Duck Confit Salad | Spoken English, Washington, D.C.This small, standing-room-only restaurant (literally) is hidden in the groovy Line hotel, a new D.C. hotspot that once was a church. The dining room consists of two short counters, which are an extension of the kitchen; it’s like snacking at a friend’s house. On the menu are twisted classics such as chicken skin dumplings from chefs Erik Bruner Yang and Matthew Crowley, as well as the best duck I ate this year—a time when there’s been a lot of good duck out there. Here it’s cured in tea for four to five days before being roasted over wood and carved up. The legs are confited and tossed into a salad, the breast is thickly sliced, and the supple tortillas to roll it all up in are made with duck fat instead of lard.

Roasted Tomatoes With Hot Honey | Misi, BrooklynA few years ago at Lilia, chef Missy Robbins made a long, curly stretch of malfadini noodle with buttery pink peppercorns New York’s most sought-after dish. At her new place, Misi, in the southern reaches of Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood, the best thing isn’t pasta but oven-blasted tomatoes. Roasting for a couple of hours intensifies their sweetness, which is then hit with a drizzle of Calabrian chile-infused honey, further punching up the shriveled halves. A licorice bite from the cracked coriander seeds and fennel, tucked into the oil, takes it over the top.

Maine Chutoro Hand Roll | Mr. Tuna, Portland, MaineInstagram: Mr. Tuna on Instagram: “End Labor Day…

Forget lobster and oysters. The local bluefin tuna belly that Jordan Rubin gets in late summer and the fall is the seafood standout in Portland, Maine. In mid-2017, Rubin bought a hot dog cart and started making hand rolls and sushi burritos on the downtown streets. His operation quickly grew into a mini food truck empire that now includes a space in the Portland Public Market. The hand roll’s nori wrapper is notably crisp because Rubin keeps it warmed in an electric toaster before wrapping it around tangy rice and fatty, melt-in-your-mouth chopped fish mixed with sea salt, scallions, and potent fresh wasabi sauce.

Poulet Roti | Frenchette, New YorkTwenty years ago the roast chicken at Balthazar, carved tableside, made the bird chic in Manhattan. Now the chefs who helped put it on the map there—Lee Hanson and Riad Nasr—have reintroduced it at their beyond-buzzy Frenchette. Not simply a vehicle for crispy skin, it’s a superbly juicy and supple bird served in a shallow casserole. Standing alongside is a separate pot of pommes purée that’s approximately half butter, and often garnished with roasted maitake mushrooms, giving you all the earthy flavors on one table.

Panna Cotta | Brawn, LondonFor those who think they never want to eat panna cotta again, it’s time you taste the triangular wedge at Columbia Street’s cult favorite wine bar, where it’s served as if it were a cake. The custard is infused with piquant cardamom and topped with charred orange slices that offset the sweetness. But the beauty of this dish is the rich double cream that chef-owner Ed Wilson sources to make it, lending a texture that’s not too gummy, not too loose—just perfect, like the best ice cream made ever-so-slightly more solid.

Aged Beef Sobrasada on Toast | Bright, LondonAt this spare new Scandi restaurant and wine bar, chefs Will Gleave and Peppe Belvedere rely on their neighbors—specifically the great local butcher shop, Hill & Szork. They take Irish sirloin that’s been aged at the shop for 45 days (there’s not enough room at Bright to age it themselves) and then grind it with funky aged beef fat and salt, pepper, and paprika. It’s served on sourdough toast brushed with more of the fat, then topped with capers and chives macerated with elderberry. It’s the platonic ideal of beef tartare.

Blum’s Coffee Crunch Cake | Valerie, Los AngelesValerie Gordon may have gained notoriety for her chocolate bars, now a common sight at coffee shops across the country, with their bold packaging and flavors such as salt and pepper with crispy rice. But the real standout of her eponymous confectionary are the classic desserts she re-creates out of fear they’re fading into oblivion. Blum’s cake is an architectural masterpiece, studded with shards of chewy, coffee-infused honeycomb that superbly contrast the coffee whipped cream oozing out between layers of tender yellow cake.

Cheese & Crackers | Elske, ChicagoThe deceptively simple dish at Michelin-starred restaurant Elske has just three components: cheese, jam, and crackers. The cheese is Wilde Weide, a two-year-old aged raw cow gouda with crystallized streaks. The jam is vanilla-infused tomato dolloped into a nest. And the crackers are made from a yeasted dough that’s doused in olive oil before baking, which gives them a superbly flaky, buttery texture, like a French pastry you didn’t know existed. Together, they’re unstoppable.

Slow-Roasted Lamb Neck Shawarma | Bavel, Los AngelesAmong the slew of promising new Middle Eastern restaurants across the U.S. is the greenery-filled Bavel in downtown L.A. Ori Menashe takes an underused cut—lamb neck—and coats it with a paste of tangy sumac and caramelized onions. The meat is roasted for hours until falling-apart tender, and the rub is baked in. It’s served with an array of sides including pickled vegetables and creamy house-made tahini, as well as the flatbreads for which the restaurant has rightly become famous.

Fried Blue Prawns | Momofuku Noodle Bar Columbus Circle, New YorkDavid Chang is on a mission to get you to eat the whole shrimp—shell, head, all of it. To accomplish this, he and his crack chef team of Tony Kim, Matthew Rudofker, and J.J. Basil have created a scintillatingly spicy coating at the new Noodle Bar in the Shops at Columbus Circle, aka the Time Warner Center. A blend of cumin, togarashi (the Japanese version of chili powder), sugar, salt, and Sichuan peppercorn is plastered onto the delicately fried shrimp, making it impossible not to eat the wafer-crisp shell along with the sweet meat inside. A spritz of lemon and an accompanying bowl of yuzu mayo cools it all down.

Dilliwala Butter Chicken | Adda, New YorkNormally, butter chicken is a forgettable staple of Indian takeaway. That all changes at the thrilling, no-frills Adda in Long Island City, Queens. The dish is recognizable only by name, and it makes you realize that all the versions you’ve had before are lame. The deep orange sauce is lit up with darkly sweet fenugreek, cardamom, cilantro root, and a generous hit of red chiles, making it much hotter than usual. The biggest difference: the local tomatoes and honey that replace the standard canned tomatoes and sugar, lending the dish a punchy freshness that cuts through that classic slick of butter on top.

Pork and Shrimp Bao Bao With Fried Egg | Kym’s, LondonWell-made dumplings are enough for most people, especially when the filling is a mix of juicy seasoned pork and chopped shrimp in a tender wonton wrapper. But at Kym’s in the Bloomberg Arcade, chef Andrew Wong, who heads the Michelin-starred A. Wong, ups the ante by frying them with eggs for extra unctuousness. The result is an Asian-style shakshuka with golden, crispy bits of white and creamy yolk enriching the already rich dumplings. The final touch is a sprinkling of scallions, sesame, and chili oil studded with alluring bits of fried onion.

Grilled Ivory King Salmon | In Bocca al Lupo, Juneau, AlaskaChef Beau Schooler of Juneau’s In Bocca al Lupo calls his dish simply “salmon offcuts,” which may be true, if perhaps a disservice to the quality of what you get on your plate: a combination of the collar, belly, tail, and head, depending on what was caught in the last 24 hours. There’s never a guarantee that he’ll have white king salmon, but if he does, order it. The incredibly fresh fish has a cleaner richness then common salmon. Salted and drizzled with olive oil, the fish gets popped into a wood-burning oven, right next to the coals, so the skin chars. The accompaniment is an equally elemental charred lemon wedge, a garlicky parsley pesto that’s intensified with a blast of fish sauce, and a finishing sprinkle of Alaskan sea salt from Sitka.

Ibérico Katsu Sando | Ferris, New YorkIt’s been a big year for sandos in New York, the most high-profile being the $185 version of the Japanese sandwich made with wagyu beef. But pay attention to the one crafted by chef Greg Proechel at Ferris that costs about one-tenth the price. Made with succulent acorn-fed Spanish pork, about ¾-inch thick, it’s egged, breaded, and fried to medium rare so it’s crunchy but still supremely juicy. The toast is judiciously brushed with a fruity, hoisin sauce and is just thick enough to keep the cutlet secure.

Ilaria Pie | Una Pizza Napoletana, New YorkPizza prince Anthony Mangieri figures he’s tried every buffalo mozzarella in the U.S. and half of the ones in Italy. He came across his favorite outside Naples—it’s grassy and slightly animal-y—and along with that classic “mozz,” he brings in a quantity that’s been wood-smoked to star on Una Pizza Napoletana’s simple, standout pie. The Ilaria, named for his wife, is a doughy delight, like a lightly charred pillow. It features pools of that smoky mozzarella paired with the refreshing snap of cherry tomatoes and arugula.

The post The 16 Dishes You Should Have Eaten in 2018 appeared first on Bloomberg Businessweek Middle East.

from WordPress https://ift.tt/2R81daZ via IFTTT

#The Critic #dining #food

0 notes

codenamehazard · 4 months

Text

.:Crash Cart:.

Chapter 26: Crash Cart

Hey guys! You're in for a really special treat for this chapter! Gonna meet some new faces, some of them might look a little familiar from a different path walked.

Big thanks to @rogueshadeaux! You'll understand why when you read the chapter. ;)

Without further delay, Let's jump in!

---------

*HOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONK*

The sound of the HEMTT’s horn blares through the Convoy as Dove lead-foots it through this circus of a city, I’m assuming to find a hospital. A sharp turn nearly sends me to the floor along with some plants. Goddamn it! Kid’s driving like an absolute moron! Another turn and another jostle almost sends me careening into Kestrel as she gets on the radio mounted to the wall.

“Caper to Base, Caper to Base!” Kestrel barks into the radio. “Get a trauma team ready outside of Mercy Medical! We’re coming in hot and we have a live one! Over!” There is some chatter over the line that I could barely hear, but Kestrel could. “Yes, get Bear and get the twins! It’s Code Red urgent. Over!”

I gawk at the Gunsmith as she ends the communication and relays something to the panicking bird up-front. My head is full of questions; of who this “Bear” is and who the “twins” are. Though I have to admit, I’m impressed with Kestrel’s leadership.

I can’t help but to wonder, with how Kestrel handled everything, I’m genuinely surprised that she’s not the leader. Why isn’t she? I know that with our past, I’ve seen how nasty and vicious she could be, but I’m someone she hates, so she has no loyalty to me. With her team, however, she’s as loyal as they come. Ready to go to bat when they’re threatened, even standing up to me, the Beast, when I started verbally going after Mako… Are there some other personality traits that hinder her that I haven’t seen or is this a personal choice?

Perhaps… Is there something that we both share in common?

A sudden turn nearly makes me tumble into Kestrel and Mako as the dodo bird driving skids to a halt. I wanna yell at the idiot, but with the frenetic energy buzzing in the air, I decide against it. Kid’s spooked enough, not gonna add to it. Though I will give him a good zap later for the dumbass driving.

Mako and Kestrel quickly open the door as Pangolin’s voice begins to rise from a pitiful whimper to a scream. Damnit! The pain meds are wearing off and it won’t be long until he’s thrashing again! Thankfully I can see we stopped in front of a hospital and there’s a response team outside with a stretcher at the ready when the doors are open. I help Mako get the Brick Spartan off of the cot to transfer him, Dove joining in later after he puts the HEMTT in park. With Pangolin secured, we rush inside.

“Where are they?” I hear the Gunsmith bark out as she rushes to the head nurse. “Where’s Sbiaw and Ḱaʔk̓aʔ?!” I had to steel myself as to not guffaw at the nonsense that just tumbled out of Kes’ mouth. Sbee-yaw?? Ca-ca???? The fuck kind of callsigns are those?! Especially the second one, what brain-dead dumbass uses the Spanish word for “shit” as a callsign?! I can feel my mind wanting to continue on that train of thought, but a bellow quickly derails it.

“OUT OF MY FUCKING WAY, I NEED TO GET TO MY SON!!!!”

I turn my head to see, but I’m quickly yanked away by Kestrel and Mako. I’m about to give them hell for touching me without permission, but when I see what’s barreling down the hallways, I understand quickly why.

An absolute Amazoness of a woman, 7’0” tall, blazing red hair and a bear mask on her face, is charging down the hall like a rampaging bull, knocking away anything blocking her straight-shot path to us, specifically to Pangolin. As much as I hate to admit it, if I hadn’t been pulled out of the way, that woman would have sent me flying.

Behind the woman, looking tiny compared to her, were two individuals rushing to keep up with the rampaging mother. A man with brown hair that almost has a metallic shine to it and seafoam eyes and a woman with black hair and brown eyes, both of them equally focused on getting to the Spartan as well.

Soon, all hell breaks loose as soon as Pangolin starts screaming in pain. The meds must have worn off. The man with the shiny hair turns his arms from flesh to steel with a thought and helps Bear with holding the howling man down, the metal conduit using rebar to make restraints to keep Pangolin from thrashing and hitting someone. The black-haired woman walks up to Kestrel and starts talking to her, questioning her about “What the fuck has gotten into Pangolin??” What they were saying, I couldn’t hear clearly over the chaos, but I know as soon as Kestrel mentions “blink scorpions” the woman’s face went pale.

“Everyone! Get Pangolin in the Poison Ward asap!!” The woman shouts in alarm. “Double time it! If we don’t get antivenom and anti-corrodium compounds in him soon, he’s going to be in deep shit!!” Anti-corrodi-wha?! What does that even mean?! First we get stupid names and now this?! What in the hell is happening??? I don’t get any time to think about it before everyone scrambles as fast as they can without knocking over the stretcher. I can feel the beginnings of a cold sweat form as a foggy memory slips in from the mental maelstrom, the memory of myself being on a stretcher with the same chaotic energy around me before everything went black.

What happens next blurs together, adrenaline and chaos making everything hazy. A flurry of panicking feet with Bear leading the charge and clearing the way while everyone else, me included, rush the stretcher down the hall.

We’re about to get to the door, but the black-haired woman stops us. Dove gives her a dismayed look

“What the hell, Crow?!” He blurts out as the medical staff take Pangolin into the room.

“Don’t start with me, Dove.” The woman, Crow, warns the Get-Away. “You know the rules, we can’t have too many people in the room right now. Brent’s allowed in there because he’s going to help keep Pangolin under control until we can get his pain managed and the detox procedure started. Bear’s allowed in because she’s his mother.”

“But I’m his brother and she’s my mother too!” Dove protests as he is about to step forward, but Kestrel puts her hand on his shoulder.

“Drop it, Dove.” The Gunsmith states firmly. “I know you’re worried about Pango, but Crow’s right. Right now, it’s best for there to be as few bodies as possible.”

“But mom-”

“- Can help Coyote with controlling Pangolin if he starts wigging out.” The Gunsmith interrupts. “Look, let’s not give Crow and the staff grief and wait out with everyone. When Pango’s stable, then we can visit.” I can see Dove giving Kestrel a heated glare, but he sighs with an “alright, fine.”

“I’ll keep you all updated.” Crow assures Dove before she turns to look at me with a curious, yet cautious look. I don’t pay her much mind, I’m too focused on Kestrel and Dove to really notice the funny look.

With Dove finally convinced, we head off out to one of the waiting rooms. I rub my temples as I hear my tinnitus start setting in and a headache rearing its ugly head. I could use a stiff drink.

Actually, scratch that. I need some warm water and a nap.

#infamous #infamous 2 #cole macgrath #demon of empire city #infamous: no man's land #xeno writes #caper #blast shard caper #pangolin #dove #Mako #Brent Rowland #Jean Rowland #Special thanks to RogueShaduex again for letting me borrow her babies #They'll have lots of fun with my idiots.#And I hope you will be sleeping better now knowing that your husband's in good hands now.

7 notes · View notes

codenamehazard · 7 months

Text

.:Port in the Storm:.

Chapter 18: Port in the Storm

Hey guys! Time to see what emotional stuff is in store for us in this chapter!

Big thanks to @rogueshadeaux for helping me out as this chapter was giving me some serious issues! If ya'll haven't checked her out, do so! Erosion is a top notch story and it's only gonna get better!

Without delay, let's jump in!

------

I lean against the HEMTT while Mako’s taking some stock on supplies and materials. I have been hanging around the convoy for some time, hoping to see Kestrel so I could ask her about the Amp, but out of all time I’ve been watching I hadn’t seen hide nor hair of her. I’m beginning to wonder if something happened while I was out clearing my head.

Mako had greeted me, relieved I was okay before we got into some small talk. Chit-chatting about this and that before I found my opening to ask.

“I thought about your suggestion while I was out in the fields and you’re right, it probably wouldn’t hurt to go ask Kestrel. I mean… We already have a deal and all.” I state, Mako smiles and nods.

“That’s good to hear, I know how much the Amp means to you, so I know Kes will fix it up.” Mako replies softly, looking relieved at my answer.

“So uhh… Where is Kestrel?” I ask, Mako gives me a worried look.

“Well… She should be in the workshop… She had gone there shortly after you left to wander and she hasn’t returned since.” I raise my eyebrow at this, but I soon shrug.

“Sounds like she might be having troubles with a rogue customer. I’ll head over there and sort it out.” I grunt as I stretch. “Thanks for the info.” She nods in response as I head over to the nearest wire and hop on. Blitzing off as soon as my foot hits the cable.

—-

Bolts arc as I leap off the wire, gliding towards the door with a smooth tuck and roll. I smile and brush myself off, pleased with my landing. I near the door and soon hear the sound of muffled shouting and screaming as well as the sound of something violently venting out gas. Oh great… As if I wasn’t already nervous enough about asking Kestrel about the Amp, knowing she’s going to be in a foul mood is just making me all the more hesitant. Still, I have made up my mind. I swallow my fear and step inside.

I see the door to the forge is shut and I could now recognize the second voice. It’s Pangolin’s voice. My eyebrows furrow as I listen to the tone, it’s the same tone my father took with me when I fucked up combined with that same military brass. I growl quietly as I approach the workshop door.

“Pangolin? Him of all people?” I question in my head as I get closer. Why is he here and why is he absolutely laying into Kestrel? What did she do?

I’m about to open the door, but decide against it. Instead, I hide myself to the side. Using a small amount of my power to sharpen my hearing and listen. At first, the sound was muffled, but once my ears sharpened, I could hear clearly and what I heard made my blood boil.

“I’ve been at this stupid thing for two days straight, Pangolin. TWO. FUCKING. DAYS!! No sleep, barely eating, only time I took a break was to drink and to take a piss!! What more do you want of me?!?” My eyes bug out of my head at the sound of Kestrel’s voice. Two days straight!? Am I hearing that correctly?? “I am literally running on fumes over this, the VERY LEAST you could do is to cut me some fucking slack!!”

“How can I “lay off” when you lied about the weapon being ready, Kestrel?” Pangolin’s voice growled, I can picture in my mind the bastard circling the girl with eyes full of disdain… Just like my father did to me. This whole thing is still about that stupid gun?? The gun she warned was a prototype??

“I didn’t lie!” Kestrel balks. “I said “HOPED SO!!” How many fucking times do I have to say it?! It means it hasn’t been tested. That there’s a chance that it might not work!! The plan didn’t work anyways because it wasn’t enough to take down the Summoner!!” The poor girl’s voice was starting to sound hoarse, almost desperate. I have to wonder how many times Pangolin has harassed the Gunsmith, by the sound of her voice, I’d imagine it was a frequent thing.

More flickers of my childhood pollute my mind, memories of my father barging in when I was trying to study and berating me for some slight or another and me shouting back, just wanting him to leave me the fuck alone.

“With your behavior as of late, I wouldn’t put it past you to sabotage out of spite, especially seeing that it was your poor conduct that cost us a mine.” I silently seeth as I hear Pangolin talk about the Mine Incident. The very incident that he made Kes and I promise to drop.

Fucking hypocrite.

“Oh! So we’re going there with this, huh?!” I hear Kestrel screech. “So you’ll have me and Cole bury the Mine Incident but you get to hold it over our heads?? Use it as fucking cudgel?? Who gave you that right, huh?!” I had to pull a small piece of leather out from my backpack and bite into it in order to keep myself quiet. Keep myself from charging in sparks blazing.

“You’re acting like a child!” I hear the Spartan snap. Really?? Kestrel is being the childish one?? She’s not the one making up crack-pot theories about how your own Gunsmith, who you supposedly trust, purposely sabotaging her own work when there was a goddamn monster barreling into town??

“Do you even hear yourself, you dense fuck?!” Kestrel screams, the sound becoming more and more frantic, as if she’s on the verge of tears. “What could I possibly gain from sabotaging my own work? Do you think so little of me that I would literally break my own weapons just to spite you for rightfully calling me out on my shit? Said shit that, might I remind you, that YOU made me and Cole promise to put behind us?? The very same shit you’re holding over my head like a fucking hypocrite??”

“Think so little of me…” That… That struck a cord inside me. I have been around many people before, people don’t say shit like that unless something’s been going on that has led them to that conclusion. I know this for a fact… As this was something I would scream to my own parents. New memories rush in like a surging wave as I start to remember another issue I’ve noticed…

Favoritism…

How Pangolin has been treating Kestrel from what I’ve been seeing… How he’s currently treating her now, is very much like how my father treated me when I was young, especially in my teen years… After my brother was born…

…And how he was treating me? It was how dad treated my little brother… It made me seeth. He was treating one of his own like utter trash and treating me with kid gloves. What’s the big idea here? Is it because he feared what I could do? Or is it because of what he could gain.

“Honestly, Kestrel? I’ve been questioning a lot about you since that incident.” Pangolin hisses as I hold back my tongue behind gritted teeth and scrap leather. “I never thought you could be capable of abandoning anyone to a death you claim you wouldn’t wish on your worst enemy, but you proved me wrong there… Makes me wonder what else you are capable of… And now with this blunder, I now wonder how much you have lied…”

“Perhaps… You lied about how long the weapon would take? That you could have gotten it out sooner but you chose to lie instead?”

He did not just fucking say that…

There was a heavy pause, full of tension that was about to break. I could hear the creaking of twisting metal and could feel the bioelectricity in the Gunsmith’s body rise, she would be a beacon of red in my Radar Pulse.

“So…” She damn near whispers. It’s the dangerous low kind of whisper that warns those that something bad is about to happen and there was no stopping it. “It’s my fault… Is it? It’s my fault that two Conclaves are no more?” Her voice is on the brink of tears and I’m getting angrier by the second. “That the blood of thousands are on my hands because I couldn’t complete your precious project quick enough??” The last part comes out as a venom filled snarl.

Memories of the hateful gazes fill my mind, memories of being called a terrorist… Of being blamed for the death of those lost in the Ray Sphere blast… Blamed for the death of Trish’s sister… And here I am… Listening to a mirror.

“Kestrel, you’re putting words into my mouth!” I hear the brick idiot sternly say and I just want to go in there and crack some sense into his head!!

“No, I heard you loud and clear.” The Gunsmith growls. “You’re blaming me for their deaths with this…”

“Kestr-”

“If you’re going to blame me, say it.” Her voice trembles more. “Say. It.”

“No.” The moron rebuts. “I’m not going to entertain this fit.”

“JUST FUCKING SAY IT, THOMAS!!!!” She shouts with all of her might. “SAY IT’S MY FAULT!!! IT’S MY FAULT THEY’RE ALL DEAD!!! STOP PUSSY-FOOTING AROUND AND JUST SAY IT TO MY FACE!!!”

I can’t see what’s going on, but I could feel it. Pangolin’s really stepped in it now. Metal around slowly twists and screeches. The H.R Giger decor almost looks like they are… Coming alive from the sheer rage.

The sound of panting sobs echo out before a sound that is some sort of unholy combination of a human scream and metal scraping metal rings out, forcing me to cover my ears as a cacophony of metal breaking and twisting joins the scream. Screaming like it was alive as Kestrel’s rage devolves into nonsense and the crashing of material and equipment.

She carries on in a blind fury, phrases like “You think I’m such a failure? That I’m a fuck up?”, “You think I’m just an untrustworthy curr?” and similar wail out of her as smoke starts to seep from the bottom of the door. I can’t take this any more, I need to get in there. However, before I could, I could hear the clattering of metal and the crumpling of paper.

“If I’m such a traitorous monster like you believe me to be, then you can figure this out!” I hear Kestrel snarl out before I see the door swing open violently, creating a hole in the wall. She charges out, eyes blazing like hot iron and her body so heated up, she’s causing the fake water heat illusion.

Pangolin tries to follow her out, shouting at her to wait, but she’s too fast for the lumbering idiot. Now he’s left standing there with scrap and blueprints in his arms… The scrap of the Brickzooka…

I stand up and let my power flow, Pangolin’s eyes widen.

“So… This is your idea of leadership, huh? Holding your team’s fuck ups over their heads, treating them like trash and blaming them for things they didn’t do because you’re pissed over petty bullshit?” I watch as the Brick Spartan turns around, his face pale as a sheet.

“Well? Is it?” I bark, my mind slipping back into the days where I lead an army of Conduits. My irritation grows by the minute the longer he just keeps staring at me like an idiot. He gapes like a fish, as if thinking of something to say, but falling short. I can’t help but to growl.

“W-what are you doing here?!” He stammers out in a panic.

“Doesn’t matter why I’m here, what matters is that apparently you think it’s okay to hold shit over your teammates’ heads after you made them promise to let it go” I growl deeply.

“I’m just holding her accountable, just as I asked Mako to do for you.” He tries to defend. I scoff, sparks pop off and my eyes glow crimson. I begin to circle him like a hungry predator, let’s see how he likes it.

“Oh, so it’s “rules for thee but not for me,” huh? Well I’m just holding you accountable for this little fuck up.” I continue to circle him, the sight would have been hysterical to see someone a fair bit shorter intimidate a 6’6” tree of a human if I wasn’t so infuriated. “How can I when you’re holding it over Kestrel’s and my heads, huh?” I sneer, my blood seething in my veins. “Ever thought that if you don’t let it go too, the issue can’t be dropped?”

The idiot says nothing, time to turn up the heat as the bolts grow hotter in intensity.

“And what’s with the favoritism, huh? You’re treating Kestrel like utter shit yet you’re handling me with kid gloves. What’s that all about, hm? You scared of me? You want something from me? Go on, tell me.”

He can’t give me an answer, I know I have to walk away before I completely lose it and strike him. So I decided to cut this conversation short, I have a more pressing matter on my mind anyways.

"I don't know what your end-game is here with that bullshit you pulled on Kestrel, but you look me dead in the eyes. You keep pushing her like that, you're going to lose her. She's going to get fed up and leave and don't think she won't. Everyone has their limits and from the looks of things, the bird's reaching that point and if you don't start listening, practicing what you're preaching and actually acting like a leader, she's gonna fly the coop and you'll never see her again." I hiss, a warning from my time leading the Conduit army. A warning I hope he heeds for the sake of the other Misfits. "You'll lose one of your key members and then what are you going to do?" Those last words hiss out of my mouth as I turn away and leave the shop.

With Pangolin verbally torn a new one, I rush outside, leaving him to sit in shame and among the worthless scrap and paper of the oh so precious weapon he felt was so important to push away the one who built it. Silently hoping that the Gunsmith hasn’t left Droptown.

Though I wouldn’t blame her in the slightest if she had, I would have done the same… I have done the same.

Seems like life’s wanting to toss me a bone for once as I pick up on her signature with my Radar Pulse… Huh… She likes high places too. I look up to see her sitting up on top of a building, balled up, hugging her knees and not at all looking happy. I take a deep breath to steel myself before heading up, climbing up the wall to meet her.

Once at the top, I can hear her voice again, it sounds tired and ragged. She’s sobbing…

“It’s not my fault…” She whimpers, rocking back and forth to self-sooth and muttering over and over again that it wasn’t her fault. I knew I needed to be careful, but seeing this? Extra caution is needed. I tap the ball of my foot onto the ground to alert her to my presence so I don’t startle her. She turns around rapidly, tears staining her scarred face and eyes wide in fear.

I approach her and she turns her head back to face forward, balling up more to hide her face.

“What do you want, MacGrath?” She snarls. “If it’s about the stupid gun, save it. I’ll get it made.” I shake my head at the mention of the firearm, not that she could see it. I know I need to handle this situation with care… Not one of my strong suits.

“That’s… What I wanted to talk about…” I murmur in as soft of a tone as I can.

“What, you don’t want the gun anymore? Did Pangolin get into your head too?” The Gunsmith accuses, I would have been upset by this, but I keep my composure. It’s a logical conclusion to come to. I see a glaring eye peek up from behind her arms and I shake my head.

“No, that dense blockheaded bastard has nothing to do with this.” I clarify, I can see the look of confusion form on the girl’s expression. “Something else just came up that’s… A little more important.” I soften my eyes with those words, hoping to get through the anger.

“Then what?” Kestrel questions, her confusion adding to her hostility. I take a deep breath and vent out a couple of sparks to calm my nerves before looking at her. I carefully pull out one of the tip coils of the Amp and show it to her. She looks at it questioningly.

“I want you to repair this instead of building me a gun.” I mutter before gulping. The look of disdain on Kestrel’s face both unnerved and irritated me. She scoffs.

“What?” She sneers. “Can’t fix your own damn weapon?” I clench my fists in a white knuckle grip. I resist the urge to make my displeasure known, reminding myself that to her, this weapon means nothing . It doesn’t hold the same weight as it does to me. I take a deep breath and through gritted teeth, I growl.

“I’m not the one who built it.”

I watch Kestrel’s infuriated expression soften as she lifts and cocks her head. I brace myself for whatever else might come out of the girl’s mouth, but nothing comes. Instead her eyes are focused on my face, like she’s attempting to read me but having troubles. She doesn’t say a word.

“Look, Kestrel.” I continue with a sigh. “I don’t care if having you repair my Amp means I won’t get a firearm from you. I couldn’t give less of a shit about it. I don’t need it and never did. What I do care about is this weapon, right here.” I tap my finger on the coil of the weapon.

I’m about to continue, but I hear the sound of shuffling and I see she’s scooting off to the side a bit. I look at her questioningly before she uses her head to gesture to the empty spot next to her. I blink in surprise before walking over and sitting next to her.

“You see…” I whisper, trying to keep my voice even. I don’t want to break, not in front of her. “This was made by my best friend… Hell, he was my only friend. It was the last gift he ever got to give me.” I pause to collect my words. “I don’t give a shit if this means this is the only thing you’ll do. This weapon means more to me than anything on this god-damned rock. I just want it fixed.”

The bird’s eyes widen as I watch her face fall, her eyes lowering as guilt washes over her and it isn’t that “guilty because she was caught” bullshit, it is genuine guilt. With one hand she covers her mouth and looks away. I’m surprised at how fast she dropped her rage. I would have thought she would have said something snarky or at least try to hide the guilt, but no. It’s on full display. Her eyes stay low, but they dart around some, the hand covering her mouth going to her arm to play with a small bracelet, a small black braided cord bracelet with two turtles and a blue eye looking stone in the center. Her thumb rubs the stone before she looks me in the eyes. After looking at me, she closes her eyes and takes a deep breath, smoke seeping out. She rubs her eyes as her face hardens and she looks up again, this time, eyes bright with determination.

“Done.”

“Done?” I blurt out in shock. Just… Just like that?

“Done.” She simply repeats. The thoughts in my head stutter and jam as I gawk at her. Surely she has some cruel words to say, something to lash out with to ease her own pain. Use me as a verbal punching bag, anything, but nothing came… Just a single word.

“Th-that’s it?” I balk, blinking my eyes in utter shock. “No sass? No pushback? No jeers? Nothing?” I can’t help but to question her, she looks up at me and tilts her head, I can see a small bit of hurt, but by the way she’s acting, I can tell she understands.

“Why would there be?” Those words come out of her mouth in a tone that is nothing but sincere. I just stare at her, looking like a fucking trout. Then she does something strange. She rolls up her sleeves and holds her hands out where I can see, showing me both the palm and the back of them before holding out her hand. “May I…?” She asks in a feather soft voice. I nod and, though with some hesitation, give her the coil.

“You’re welcome to swing by whenever you like to check on progress or to ask questions.” She murmurs softly as she examines the coil. I just gawk at her as my head is still spinning from the absolute emotional whiplash she gave me.

We sit in silence as the headache of the emotional rigamarole fades into a quiet peace. I watch her study the coil with her eyes and her fingertips. It’s almost amazing to see, I knew what those fingers could do, the claws they hid… I’ve also seen that little Doc Ock display she had going on when she was making that dumbass gun, but seeing it so close… Seeing how feather-like her fingers are as she examines the broken piece, holding it like it’s a precious piece of her grandmother’s china set.

I hate to admit it, but it is… Kinda nice. Nice to sit in silence with somebody else. Even though we have had some volatile history, it’s still… Nice… In the quiet, I remember something.

“Hey Kestrel?” I ask.

“Yeah?”

“Thanks for the save, by the way.”

#infamous #infamous 2 #cole macgrath #demon of empire city #infamous: no man's land #xeno writes #caper #blast shard caper #kestrel morrison #Pangolin #Mako #conduit ocs

10 notes · View notes

codenamehazard · 5 months

Text

.:Feast by the Fire:.

Chapter 23: Feast by the Fire

Hey guys!

Some cozy feels just in time for the holiday season! This one of the scenes I've been wanting to do ever since No Man's Land started to evolve from a silly little one shot to what it is today. I have to thank @rogueshadeaux for putting up with my ramblings as well as giving me the push to actually write the whole fic in general! Without further delay, let's jump in!

---------

Crimson light bathes the land as the sun begins to set, I start to make my rounds around the HEMTT. I had volunteered to take the first watch while the others set up camp, mainly to be alone with my thoughts and boy howdy do I have a lot to think about.

I look around at where we had stopped, some sort of abandoned ranch or farm. A place where we could scavenge for scrap should we need to, quiet enough to set up shop for the night. I can see signs that people before us have thought the same, remnants of human activity littered the area in the form of burnt firewood, disrupted stones and used cans. I take one of the metal tins and toss it up in the air before shooting it with a mild bolt and walking on.

As I milled about, I started to think back about the “Night Warped” the Misfits mentioned before we had set off for Tri-Point. Bigger, nastier monsters that could only be out at night due to the UV from the sun frying them. I have asked for clarification before, but couldn’t get a straight answer from them as, apparently, there were just so many different types that somebody could run into if they wandered off into the night.

I think back to the monsters I had dealt with in the past. The Swamp Creatures and the Icemen that terrorized New Marias, the giant cockroach that Bertrand turned into, the metal monstrosities that the Dust Men created… Then there was that four armed freak, David Warner.

Now there were the recent additions to the rogues gallery of things I had to deal with, the literal zombies that were trying to turn Droptown into an all-you-can-eat Conduit buffet… And the less said about the Summoner, the better. I shudder at the still fresh memory of that ugly fuck, another thing to haunt my nightmares.

I remember the fight with that tumor-turned-skinned gorilla thing, how tough it was and how it healed when I used my Beast abilities. How the only thing that stopped it was the Amp shoved in its back and 100 million volts of fuck you channeled right into the spinal cord.

How much worse can these things get??

The smell of fire catches my attention before I could get too deep down that rabbit hole of potential nightmare fuel. I turn my head to see Kestrel and Dove setting up a fire and Pangolin bringing over a big-ass witch’s cauldron looking pot. A voice draws my eyes as I see Mako with a checklist and her calling out to the other three. Something about checking stashes. As the three head back to their trailers, I head over to Mako to ask what all the shouting’s about.

As I head over, I watch the Shark pull out various ingredients from a communal food storage. Hm, must be getting ready for dinner. My stomach growls at the thought. Damn, forgot to eat lunch earlier today.

“Whatcha got going on here?” I ask as I look over the ingredients, looks like some beef, potatoes and some veg, looking promising so far. Mako grins and puts her clipboard down.

“You remember the stew I brought over for lunch back in Droptown?” She asks in kind. Of course I remember, it was amazing! Especially after spending so long eating mainly shitty protein bars and whatever else I can get my hands on. I smile and nod as the memory of the first taste of actual, proper food flits through my head. Mako’s smile widens as I reminisce. “That’s what's on the menu for tonight, it’s called Hodge-Podge stew.”

“Hodge-Podge stew?” I repeat, raising an eyebrow. She nods in confirmation.

“Yeah, it’s pretty much a staple for us and any other nomadic Wildlander. Simple, easy to make, filling, hearty, everything you’d need in a meal.” I feel excitement well up inside as I continue to remember that thermos lunch. If it was that good as leftovers, having it hot from the pot would be even better.

“Just… Don’t expect it to taste the same as the leftovers.” Mako points out as she starts prepping the veg. “It’s never the same way twice.” I chuckle and smile.

“Don’t need it to taste the same way, just needs to be good.” I state before stretching. I give a wave before leaving her to do her prep work after saying a quick good-bye. My stomach growls again as I start to smell the ingredients. I hope there'll be enough for seconds.

I watch as the Misfits go through their trailers to find their personal stashes and bring them up to a card table where the ingredients were laid out. Mainly some spices like garlic and cilantro and other things. Now I see where the Hodge-Podge comes from, everyone contributes something to the meal. Part of me wished that I had thought of something like that for when I led way back when, but then I remember how much of a pain in the ass Kuo would have been about it and how it wouldn’t have worked with the amount of people under my leadership.

The thoughts of the comradery makes me frown a bit, not because I had something against it or I disapproved of it, but because I really didn’t have anything to contribute myself. Food-wise anyways.

I think to myself, despite the spats I’ve had with Kes and Pangolin, these guys have been decent hosts. Never asked any favors of me despite knowing I’m the Beast, hell, the Beast topic doesn’t really get brought up at all outside of said spats. Maybe every now and again in a joking way, but never seriously. They treated me like I’m just another person, no different than them, for better and worse.

I know they wouldn’t expect me to do anything, as I am their guest, but the thought just didn’t sit right. I look over and see everyone falling into their roles and an idea pops in my head. While I can’t contribute with food, maybe I can contribute by lending a hand? I see Pangolin lugging logs out from a storage compartment before pulling out a clipboard and looking over it. I’m guessing I’m gonna have to play nice for a little bit and talk to him about if there’s anything that needs to be done.

I stretch before walking over to the Brick Spartan, Mako turns her head to watch, wondering what I am planning.

“Hey Pangolin!” I call out as I walk over to him, I see him stiffen a bit, but once he sees the neutral expression on my face, he relaxes some. Seems like my little chat with him made an impact. Good. “Is there anything that needs done?” I can see Mako’s eyes widen in surprise out of the corner of my eye, but I focus on the shit brickhouse as he looks over a list and at what’s around.

“I’ve pulled out some logs for the fire.” He starts as he gestures over to the neatly stacked pile of wood. I look over at it and hum. “If you’re looking for something to do while dinner’s cooking, I’ll give you an axe and you can get to chopping.” I smile and nod, I can feel a certain itch making itself known at the thought of starting fires, but when I look over to the cooking fire, I see that Kes had it handled. Oh well, prepping the fuel will sate the itch for the time being. I hold my hand out and Pangolin gives me a chopping axe. “What, not gonna give me the monster you have?” I joke a little, he and I may not be on the best of footing at the moment, especially with how he treated the Gunsmith, but right now is a peace time, no point in stirring up shit when it’s not needed. Besides, me and Zeke still had our fair share of laughs even when things were shaky and I wasn’t ready to forgive. Pangolin chuckled nervously before rubbing the back of his head.

“Sorry Cole, just as the Amp is your baby, Rifter is mine.” I give a chuckle and a grin, but I can feel a bite of anger in my chest. If you already had a weapon you loved dear then what in the name of God was with your behavior towards Kes, Pangolin?? I note it as something to question him about later, but for now I take the axe and I head over to the wood pile to get started.

Putting my backpack to the side for the time being, I unhook the straps of my vest and use them to tie the vest back to open it more before taking the bandana from around my neck and tying it on my forehead. Do I look like some hick? Maybe, but I don’t care. I need more airflow to keep me from overheating and the bandana will keep the sweat from getting into my eyes.

I give the axe a good feel and a couple of practice swings. They take good care of their gear, I have to admit, the blade actually gave me a slight nick on my finger when I felt it. Grabbing a log, I stand it up before centering and taking a swing. Chopping the hunk of wood in half and then into quarters before I pile them up nearby, ready to be used to feed the hungry fire. Out of the corner of my eye, I see Mako walking over with an amused smile.

“I have to ask, who are you and what have you done with Cole?” She questions with a grin. I chuckle and roll my eyes.

“He didn’t go anywhere, Mako. I’m still me.” I hum between the swings. Even though the tool is light compared to the Amp and the movements are familiar, my muscles still give a slight satisfying burn from the repetition. In a way, I’ve missed this.

“I don’t believe you.” She teases as she puts her hands on her hips. “The Cole MacGrath I know wanted nothing to do with any of this. Any time the word “chore” is brought up, he’d walk away, put up a fight or would have complained the entire time!” I can’t help but to chuckle, it is true that I did throw up a stink whenever chores and labor were involved, but granted, I had a reason.

“That’s because “the Cole MacGrath” you knew was either “volentold” to help, pestered until he said “yes” or was outright demanded to help, even when he was in the middle of something else... Like trying to keep a bunch of mad-dogs from tearing each-other to shreds.” I point out, still keeping the playful tone. “Back in the Conduit Army, I really wasn’t given any choice in the matter. Here? I chose to help out. Nobody asked me to help, it wasn’t expected or demanded of me, I got to make the call of my own free will.” Mako nods in understanding.

“Besides, the pyro-itch was getting to me and I figured this would hold me over.” I can hear Mako snicker at my comment before I see a mischievous grin split across her face, oh god, not again. “Penny for your thoughts, Mako?”

“You’re just wanting to spend more time with the resident hothead, aren’t you?” Fucking called it. I roll my eyes before looking at her.

“And what, pray-tell, gave you that idea?” I scoff as I cross my arms.

“Hmmm… Let’s see. You’re working on a task that is connected to fire-tending, which is Kes’ responsibility… You’ve opened up your vest more so that the goods are on display… You’re standing in a spot where she can see you easily and watch you show off how strong you are…” My god, if I could roll my eyes any harder, they would have fallen out of my head. She’s losing her mind over this!

“Mako, how many of those sappy, fluffy, cutesy-wootsy romance animes have you watched since you’ve been on your own? Because the’ve rotted your brain, you’re looking for something that isn’t there!” I guffaw loudly, looking at her like she’s nuts as she just grinning away like the cat that ate the canary.

“Uh huh…. Suuuuuuure.” She hums while still grinning that shark-tooth smirk. “Don’t think I didn’t catch those wandering eyes.”

“What the hell is that supposed t-” Mako runs off giggling like a gremlin before I can even finish my sentence. What has gotten into her?! I let out an irritated sigh and pinch the bridge of my nose before going back to chopping wood.

Time seemed to fly as I got lost in the rhythm of my task. It’s only when I hear Pangolin bellow out to everyone that dinner’s ready and it’s time to eat. I stop what I was doing and use my bandana to wipe the sweat off of my brow and hands before wringing it out. As I walk over, I watch how everyone falls into place like a well oiled machine. Pangolin handing out the bowls and silverware that looked like they were fashioned from scrap and rebar, Mako at the giant iron pot, ladle in hand.

The two remaining Misfits line up and I take a cue from them and line up behind them. Moving with them and doing as they do. Taking the bowl given, heading to the pot so Mako can fill the vessel with the delicious smelling stew and then sitting down around the fire to relax and tuck in.

As Pangolin and Mako get their portion, I take a deep breath of the steam coming from the food and a big smile grows across my face as I take in the scents of the meal. Mmmmm…. Savory, meaty, hearty… Maybe spicy? Who cares, it smells tasty and I want to eat.

I take the rebar made spoon and get some of the broth from the bowl and blow on it before taking a sip. My eyes widen as I feel the tell-tale immediate burn of peppers and spice. The capsaicin stringing my tongue and throat and flooding my nerves with a sweetly tortuous heat that added thrill to the hearty and meaty flavors. Reminding me of some of my favorite dishes from New Marias. The more it burns, the bigger my smile grows before feasting, eating the meal like a man starved.

As I chow down, I started to notice a cacophony of pained gasps and pants. I look up and see the two brothers with red faces and angry tongues. Dove’s damn-near squawking while fanning his tongue with his hands and Pangolin was trying to keep a straight face, but the reddening of his cheeks and the tears pricking the corner of her eyes gave him away. I look over and see Kestrel happily eating while the corner of her lips twitch in struggle and Mako was trying not to laugh at the two dying brothers.

“What’s up with them?” I ask as I point over at the two while looking at Mako and Kestrel. Dove snaps his head to look at me in shock, staring at me like I’ve grown three heads.

“HOW IN THE NAME OF GOD IS YOUR TONGUE NOT ON FIRE, MACGRATH?!?” The pigeon squawks out and I have to cover my mouth to keep myself from spitting my stew in laughter.

“Quit your belly-aching, Dove!” I hear Kes snark out, her lips still fighting not to smirk. “It’s not even that hot! Barely a nose-runner!”

“Easy for you to say!” Dove croaks before glugging down a canteen of water. “You’re probably the one who spiked the stew again with your homemade god-damn hot hot-sauce!!” I struggle not to laugh as Kes puts on an overdramatic show of looking hurt and offended.

“Oh Dove, your cruel cruel words wound my heart!” The birdie teases in a faux hurt voice while doing the dramatic wrist to forehead arm and hand to heart thing. “Accusing me of such a thing! I would never ever eeeeeeeeeever do that!” I snort and sputter, trying not to absolutely lose it as Dove has a conniption.

“This is like, what, the fourth time this month you pulled this shit with the hot sauce, Morrison!” Dove yelps out as he continues to try to cool his tongue in vain. I can’t help myself anymore and burst out laughing. Holy hell, she has done this multiple times and they practically let her get away with it?!

“Well whose fault is that?” I chime in between laughs. “You’re the ones leaving her with the stock-pot unsupervised, so y’all got no-one to blame but yourselves for that.”

“How are you not dying from this?!” I hear Pangolin bellow out as he stares at me in disbelief. I laugh more as I try not to choke on soup. Kes looks at the brothers with a smug grin on her face.

“He likes it, three to two, you guys are outnumbered!” Kes points out with her spoon before taking another bite. It isn’t long before Dove and Kes get into a bit of a heated debate about hot-sauce tampering and if it’s sabotage so she and Mako could have the whole pot or not. I continue to laugh at the bickering birds as Pangolin continues to stare at me like I’m some sort of anomaly and Mako falls into a gigglefit.

In my fit, I thought I could hear the sound of scraping stone. I stop to look around, but saw nothing of note. I shrug and go back to watching the squabble. Probably just needing some rest.

After all, since when can a boulder move?

#infamous #infamous 2 #cole macgrath #demon of empire city #infamous: no man's land #xeno writes #caper #blast shard caper #pangolin #Mako #Kestrel Morrison #Dove #Damn #Now I'm hungry #But yay! Everyone's getting along-ish #It would be a terrible shame if something were to happen. :)#:)

7 notes · View notes

codenamehazard · 4 months

Text

.:The Dam Breaks:.

Chapter 27: The Dam Breaks

[TRIGGER WARNING: SEVERE MENTAL BREAKDOWN, SMALL MENTION OF CORPERAL PUNISHMENT, ANXIETY, MENTAL HEALTH ISSUES, MENTION OF ABILISM, SHITTY PARENT BEING SHITTY, MENTIONS OF BUGS AND SPIDERS.]

Hey guys! Hoooooo man, this is a chapter I've been chomping at the bit to share with you guys ever since I finished it! I hope you guys like this as much I liked writing it! Big shoutout to @rogueshadeaux for helping me with research, brainstorming and being the creator of Jean and Brent Rowland!

Without further ado, let's jump in!

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

Warmth runs down my throat as I take a sip of warm water. How long has it been since the chaos that was Pangolin’s transfer into the Poison Ward of this hospital went down? Around 12 hours? With how on edge everybody was, it was hard to tell and it didn’t calm down either.

Sometime earlier, The metal man had walked out into the waiting room to get Mako with a worrying urgency. She got up with no questions asked, but this prompted Dove to jump up and try to blitz through the doors. It took both Kestrel and I to hold the thrashing pigeon back. I actually had to zap him hard enough to knock him out just so that Mako could get through unimpeded.

A squabble followed when Dove came to, the dodo and the bird of prey locked verbal talons as they screamed at each-other. It wasn’t until Kestrel gave a sharp-tongued snap at Dove that he backed down and conceded the argument. Now he was just sitting in the corner, sulking like a child.

I don’t blame the kid, really. If that was my brother, I would be ready to become a one-man demolition team. Though I understand that right now, the best way we can help Pangolin is to stay out of the docs’ way until we’re called upon.

I paid little mind to the plague doctor knock-off as something else has my attention. Kestrel…

Ever since Pangolin was admitted, she hasn’t been acting right. Granted, she’s always been an odd bird, eccentric, but this? This isn’t normal even for her. Pacing back and forth like a trapped zoo animal, fussing with that evil eye bracelet I remember seeing from when we talked in Droptown, sometimes she would flap her hands when she thinks nobody’s looking. She’s silent as a church mouse, something that she just isn’t.

The thing that really had my attention were her steel-blue eyes. Wide and wild, darting from the bay doors to a door painted a cool blue with a moon on it. Back and forth, back and forth, incessantly. Something’s not right in her head and it isn’t just from the fear for her fellow Misfit.

Watching Kestrel pace about with her wild eyes, it made me feel something I haven’t felt in a long ass time. An emotion I didn’t expect to feel. A weight in my stomach, an ache. The sight twists my guts into a knot that claws at me. Worry. I scoff at the sensation and brush it off.

Why should I worry about the girl? She’s a grown woman, she can take care of herself. Besides, it’s a waste of emotional energy. There’s no point in worrying about someone who hates me and who I hate in kind.

Despite my reasoning, the knot remains, so I just ignore it. There’s probably another reason why it’s there.

I turn my head as I hear the door open, seeing Mako and the tin-man… Coyote, was it? I don’t know, so many new names. They were quietly talking among themselves before turning to face us. Kes takes a deep breath and shakes her head, trying to calm herself and hide her… Whatever’s going on in her head, before asking the two about Pangolin’s status.

God, she’s not even sounding right. Her voice is too quiet, despite trying to speak with confidence, her tone’s also…. Restricted, I guess? There’s the kind of cracking that happens when you’re trying to hold something back. Mako and Coyote look at each-other before nodding, Mako stepping up towards us.

“Pangolin’s status has been stabilized, but he’s not out of the weeds yet. That sting from the blink scorpion went into his bones and was wreaking havoc on the marrow. I had to help Crow infuse the anti-corrodium serum directly into his bones without throwing up.” She says with a shudder as Coyote rubs his hand, must have had her hold it during everything. Mako was never a fan of patterned holes. “Thankfully the infusion is working and he’s stable enough to have another visi-”

Before Mako could finish her sentence, Dove leaps up from his seat and practically disappears as he turns into a gust of wind. The only thing that tells me where he is was the movement of objects as he rushes through to be with his brother.

Kes sighs in relief, or rather tries to. Whatever demon she’s fighting in her head is crossing some wires in that brain of hers. The sight is strange, the only thing I could really describe it as is like she’s forgetting how to be a normal person right before my eyes. The wild eyes now damn near flying around in their sockets and her smile becoming more forced by the second.

Coyote and Mako look at each-other worriedly before the shark gives the metal-man a nod. Coyote nods back before heading over and whispering something into Kes’ ear, I try to listen in, but it’s too faint. Whatever he said prompted the girl to make a beeline to that weird moon-door with Coyote hot on her heels.

The man gets in front of Kes and opens the door for her before she shoulder-checks it down and closes it quietly behind her. What happens next…. Makes me nauseous.

Screaming, warped and metallic. Just like back at her shop when Pangolin pushed her too far. Hearing it the first time made me sick and angry but this time it makes my blood run cold and the knot in my stomach grow tighter, the sound of twisting metal inside the room didn’t help either. Without thinking, I push myself off the wall and walk over to the door. Coyote looks at me worried and about ready to go into a defensive stance when I feel a hand on my shoulder. I turn my head to glare at the offending party. Mako.

“You better have a damn good reason for why I shouldn’t fry you for touching me.” I can hear Shiny getting ready to say something, but Mako holds her hand up.

“Cole, slow your roll for a second. I can explain what’s going on…. Somewhat.” She hums and I try to relax. Eyes glowing intensely as I watch her.

“Kestrel’s having a meltdown.” Mako says with a sigh and I scoff.

“Yeah, I can see that but that doesn’t explain anything.” I snip as I cross my arms, Mako facepalms.

“I was getting to that, Cole.” Mako growls in aggravation. “She’s on the Spectrum.”

“... The internet company?”

“NO!!” The shark bellows out before thumping her hand on her forehead. “The Autism Spectrum. She’s high functioning!”

Autism? That’s a word I haven’t heard in a long time. Last time I heard that word was back when I was in high-school. A classmate of mine fell to pieces in band class after the asshole behind him wouldn’t stop screeching on that damn violin he had. Surprised I didn’t have tinnitus from that asshat alone. The last horrendous squeak had me turning around to deck the fucker when the poor kid just lost it. Threw himself on the ground, covered his ears, started to rock himself to pieces and yelled at the top of his lungs to “shut up” repeatedly. The teacher’s assistant had to help the guy out while the teacher dragged Screechie McFuckface out of the class to give him a verbal lashing.

I remembered asking the assistant what was going on and she told me it had something to do with Autism and then shooed me away so she could focus on getting the kid calmed down… Then I asked my dad about it.

“That’s what damn brats like you become when parents are too soft on them. 16 years old and throwing fucking tantrums like toddlers. Damn kid should have gotten the belt, not a coddle.”

Needless to say that was the last time I talked to Dad about that kid.

With that word associated with Kestrel, things started to make sense.. Things I thought were normal girl things started to line up with things the rocking kid did and even the things that weren’t normal made some sense. How she would get irritated when things she had placed just so would get moved or just people moving her stuff in general. How she avoided certain textures. How she would sometimes stop and stare at the ceiling or at corners at odd times. Even how she couldn’t quite look me in the eyes, always looking at the large scar on the left side of my face. It all made sense.

And now, her screaming also made sense.

“Everything that happened?” Mako continues. “The monsters, the bugs, the big ass spider, Pangolin getting tagged badly, all of that on top of shouldering the physical and emotional burden that comes with taking the lead? It was like a landslide falling into a reservoir. Yeah, the dam can hold it all back for a little bit, but it starts to crack and leak until-”

“-It fails and breaks.” I finish as my brain processes everything, dots connecting in ways I didn’t know were there.

“Mhm.” Mako hums as she nods. “She did well to last as long as she did, but that constant burden of having to always put on a brave face and look like she’s in control is one of the reasons why she wants nothing to do with leadership at all. It would wreak havoc on her mental-state, that’s what she says anyways.”

Mako continues to explain, but at this point my mind begins to focus on something that’s only growing more and more insistent. The knot in the pit of my stomach that I’ve been trying to ignore. The gnawing of worry. It’s damn-near suffocating, but why?!? I don’t worry about people like this unless I care about them, but why am I caring about the bird?! Why do I care? Why am I giving a rat’s left testicle about the freak-out of someone who hates my guts, Autism or not?? Kestrel doesn’t like me, I don’t like her. We both hate each-other, so why should I give a shit?!

The clicking of the door draws my attention as I see Coyote peek into the room, it’s at that point I notice that the screaming has quieted. He walks inside and stays in there for a little before peeking his head out of the door. Signaling for Mako to come over. She nods and ushers me to follow. I walk over to the door to peek in and…

Oh… Fuck…

Kestrel Morrison, the Fiery Gunsmith… She’s just… Sitting in the middle of the floor, anything metal around her twisted and warped from her powers going haywire. A black, fuzzy-looking blanket wrapped around her form as listless eyes gaze out at a wall. Her appearance looked almost sickly with the blanket around her body. Flushed face, cheeks streaked with drying tears that stained the fluff and her expression blank, almost hollow.

The only other time I’ve seen her look that lifeless was after the Mine Incident and it pulled at my heart just as strong.

I turn my head to see Coyote walking over to a shelf and grabbing two large totes full of colorful items. The sound they make when the totes are gently placed near the silent bird told me what they are, the tell-tale rattle of Legos. The metal man quietly opens the totes to show that yep, they were Legos, one’s full of the tried and true bricks, the other was full of more mechanical looking pieces. Bionicles.

The sight of the toys caused the girl to stir, a small turn of her head, a twitch of her lips upwards and the light in her eyes brightening.

Coyote sits down next to Kestrel and begins to build, the bird following suit with her Bionicles, no words spoken, only small looks and the sound of clicking and clacking as they begin to build. With the bricks Coyote builds a small city, showing his skill in architecture. The Gunsmith takes the robotic parts and snaps them together, creating monsters to re-enact favorite kaiju movies in among the growing buildings.

Seeing Kestrel playing quietly with her mechanical creations soothed the knot that ate at my stomach, but a new feeling takes its place. A feeling that makes my blood start to boil, I resist the urge to frown. What the hell? Where did this come from?! The worry is gone, the screaming has stopped! This is the most wholesome sight I have seen in a long-ass time! Kestrel’s fine and she’s just playing Legos with Coyote! I’ve lost track of how many years have gone by since I’ve seen anything remotely this sweet!

Why in the name of GOD is this pissing me off?!?

5 notes · View notes

codenamehazard · 8 months

Text

.:The Boogieman Cometh:.

Chapter 14: The Boogieman Cometh

Hey guys! Holy hell this took me a lot of time and rereading and blasting music to get this to look right. I hope it looks for you guys too!

I hope you guys are ready to see what the hell those sirens are wailing on about! Here's chapter 14!

--------

The sirens wail and holler as we make it to the outskirts of Droptown, where I see Mako, Pangolin and Dove opening up the HEMTT, revealing that it is basically a moving forward operating base. With a plant filled triage in one trailer and a supply depot in another, all ready to go should the need arise.

Holy shit. No wonder they're nomadic, they have everything they need right there.

Pangolin slowly starts to gather the others. I turn to look towards the horizon to see what exactly we’re facing, looks like a supersized throng of those Warped I faced in the mines. A lot of them are those starving “Shamblers” I remember clearly, but some of them look… Healthy… Well, healthy for a zombie, I guess.

The thing that truly caught my eye was this… Creature, looks to be about the size of a semi-truck yet it moves faster than should be possible for a beast that size. I squint my eyes to see if I can make out any more details, but the bastard’s too far away to see more.

I spot Kestrel out of the corner of my eyes, drawing my attention from… Whatever the fuck that thing is running around with the horde. I turn to look at her and see she’s walking up to Pangolin with the missile launcher in hand. She tries to put on a confident front, but I can see in her eyes there was a certain level of nervousness to it.

“Here she is.” Kestrel states with a smile. I can see Pangolin's expression turn to relief as he takes the gun, but he seems to pick up on her hesitation.

“You sure it’s ready?” He asks as he looks at the Gunsmith, her expression looking less sure at the prompting. The exchange of words echoing in my head from a time long since past. I can’t help but to quietly mouth the words that came out of Kestrel’s mouth next.

“Uhh… I sure hope so…” She hands the gun over to Pangolin, but in my head two different people stood in their places. Zeke and myself when he gave me the Amp for the first time. That memory stung my heart like a cold knife. Of all the ways that exchange could have happened, why like that?

I touch my eyes and I feel a dampness before I shake my head with a sneer. Come on Cole! Get it together! There’s a whole swarm of things rushing towards you and the others; bound and determined to make you their breakfast. This isn’t the time, nor the place to feel sorry for yourself and bitch about your lot in life.

You made your choice, you live it… Not like anyone would give a shit anyways.

With the exchange complete and Pangolin checking how the gun handles, Kestrel dashes over to one of the trailers and starts getting into the boxes… Hm, must be their armory. The bird pulls out some new toys and…

Okay, those are some really kickass weapons.

For Mako, a rapier and twin pistols were given. For Dove, an SMG and a hatchet. For Pangolin, he was given something that looked like the bastard child of a buzz-saw and an ax. For the bird herself, she equips two six-shooters to her hips and a bigass hammer on her back. I make a mental note to ask about some of those later.

I look back at my Amp and sigh. It really needs some serious work if it’s going to last any longer, but put a pin in the thought. Not the time to worry now.

While everyone is getting ready, I look over to see what else is going on. I see other groups of Conduits rushing out with weapons of their own to take on some of the faster straggler groups. That’s good, shows that this town don’t give up without a fight. My eyes are quickly drawn back to the biggest horde as I spot them making the beeline for the Misfits and I, the creature leading the charge and…

Oh dear god, what the hell is that thing?!

That monstrosity… Words fail to truly capture how hideous the fucker was. It looks like some skinned gorilla-raccoon thing with a giant mouth, clawed hands and… Hooves?? God, it was like a fucked up teratoma was turned inside out and given the ability to move and eat, damn near genetic nonsense. The thing most repulsive about this monster? Where the second set of arms are on the thing’s back… I think I could see what remains of a person. Their screaming expression merging with their ribcage to make a second mouth and that those extra arms were once their arms.

I can feel my stomach curdle, it makes Bertrand's giant cockroach form look adorable.

“Alright, jackasses! Gather ‘round” I hear Pangolin bark out, prompting the others to gather around, I hang back some. He’s rallying up his team, I have no part of it. The Brick Spartan looks over at me and beckons me over. “You too, MacGrath. You’re gonna wanna hear this.” I roll my eyes in annoyance, but I walk over. Looking on the bright side, it’s refreshing to not be the one giving orders.

“Everyone, that bastard monster and its posse are coming, we need a plan to get that thing to open wide for the most explosive jawbreaker known to man, any ideas?” Pangolin’s voice booms over the team.

“First things first, we have to get those Shamblers and Runners thinned out.” Mako points out. “It doesn’t matter what we do to that thing, it’s not gonna stick if the bastard eats the little minions and that’s not including how much of a nuisance they would be if they ganged up on us or got in the way.” Sharp as always, Mako is.

“So from I understand, thin out the herd and then focus on ugly?” Dove pipes up, first time I heard him speak in a long time. Mako and Pangolin nod. ”Sounds like a plan.” Kestrel nod in agreement and I give a grunt.

“Let’s kick ass!” Kestrel shouts before everyone nods and gets into position, looks like I’m getting roped into this too.

Not that I mind, a good chance to get some payback on these shambling fucks.

With the swarm fast approaching, Pangolin and Mako armor up and the rest ready up before the Spartan gives the signal in the form of charging forward and turning himself into a human boulder. The spiked plating crushing and spearing the weaklings. Dove sets up what I can only amount to a launchpad under the brick-ball to send him flying into the air so he can play the role of a meteorite and crash down into another group. With Pango flying high, Dove flits about on air-bursts while letting the SMG rip through the crowd.

Kestrel darts around in the horde like the flighty bird she is, popping slag-bursts before firing off her six shooters into the heads of the Shamblers, turning their brains into a red and purple mist. Mako set plenty of shark-traps to immobilize and joined in with Kestrel in the gunslinging fun with her pistols. Slag-shards and bone-shards flying and spearing zombies left, right and center before switching to the melees when they got too close. Kes smacking them around like the biggest game of watch-a-mole while Mako channels her inner Zorro and makes mincemeat of the zombies, her shark skin rendering the bites and scratches useless.

Me? Well, I sure as hell ain’t gonna miss out on the fun. Black and crimson Skull bolts fly from my hands as I start to “run and gun” so to speak. When those sparks nailed a Warped in the head, I’m rewarded with a lightshow as the fuckers explode with a shower of sparks that took out their little friends. Tossed in a few Cluster ‘nades to keep things popping. Hell, I even found little ways I could help the others. Blasting airbornes with shockwaves and popping bastards when they try to sneak up on the others.

They weren’t making it easy, that’s for damn sure. They were relentless and were giving everyone problems and they were taking hits. They were especially persistent in trying to maul me to death. These things must have it out for me because they keep coming after me. Even that big-ass ugly son of a bitch keeps lunging at me! With the crowds constantly trying to box me in, I couldn’t be as aggressive as I wanted. Those healthier looking bastards even get a few good hits on me, leaving nasty gashes on my body. Thank god my Beast powers up my healing or I would have to be hightailing it to the HEMTT to charge back up!

The beast keeps lunging and I have to keep dodging while using blasts to give myself some breathing room. It was maddening! I wanted to blast this thing to kingdom-come but with all the little things swarming around like flies to shit, I couldn’t just stand still. Especially with how grab and bite happy they were.

With the ugly skinned gorilla-tumor focused on me, Kestrel spots an opening to take. With an air-boost from Dove, I can see her go flying skywards, Hammer raised high before dropping hard onto the head. I brace myself as the shockwave pushes me back. I could hear the hammer impact the head with a sickening crack. The bastard roars in pain from the head-trama and I quickly get out of the way knowing what’s about to happen next.

When the team hears the roar, Mako and Dove focus on getting the zombies away from Pangolin as he takes aim straight for the monster’s roaring maw. Kestrel dashes away seconds before the Spartan pulls the trigger.

The mother of all bricks whistles out of the barrel and flies straight to the thing’s screaming mouth, hitting it right in the uvula! The sound of the impact makes me hold my own throat in pain at the thought… Then the brick explodes. Masonry shrapnel rips the beast’s jaw apart. I thought for sure that would take it out, as did everyone else.

But it didn’t.

The thing gurgles with a shredded throat as it looks dead at Pangolin, he goes to fire off another shot when the weapon overloads and explodes in his hand. I look at him in utter shock before looking at Kestrel, as did everyone else.

“Kestrel, what the fuck?!” Pangolin bellows in fear and anger. “I thought you said it was ready!!” He looks like he’s about to blow a gasket as the bird is trying to avoid being hit.

“”Hoped so!”” Kestrel shouts back. “I said “hoped so!!”” Pangolin looks as if he’s about to rip into her when the teratoma-thing does that for him. With a mighty swipe to the girl, it sends Kestrel flying with the mother of all bitch-slaps. Thinking on his feet, Dove darts off and up to catch her in mid-air before she goes off too far.

The gorilla roars and more of those zombies show up to join the party, causing the fighting to begin anew. Pangolin pulls out his buzz-axe and starts hacking into bodies as the Shamblers break teeth on the brick armor, but the beast charges and backhands the Spartan in rage, breaking pieces of the armor off and sending him sliding off. Mako fires off round after round of bone-bullets to keep the creatures at bay as she goes to help Pangolin up.

Dove and Kestrel glide into the fray and dive down together to create a fire-filled shockwave before dashing back to the others. I pull out the Gigawatt blades and start tearing into those who get too close, but that seems to piss the gorilla off more as he calls for reinforcements again. It’s clear that somebody needs to find a way to shut that thing up so it stops calling its friends if we’re gonna get another opening.

Thankfully it seems like Pango’s on the ball. With all of us keeping the horde preoccupied, the Brickhouse uses his powers to create a thick brick wall above the creature’s head and when it goes to roar again, Pango drops the wall on top of the thing. Silencing it and stunning it.

Now it’s my turn to break some teeth.

My eyes glow red and black veins begin to appear on my skin as I charge up an Alpha Rocket with raw Beast power to triple its power and damage. A favorite tactic of mine for getting rid of the straggling Ice-Titans and Devourers before I left New Marias, made short work of those fucks. Should do the same for this bastard. With the charge done, I turn the Rocket loose, straight for the head. A blinding flash and cacophony of crashing thunder and electricity disorients everyone as the Super-Rocket crashes into the tumor’s face.

When the smoke clears and our senses return, we all look to see what should be the smoldering corpse of that thing…

Only to see it was not only still standing… It is… Healing!!

All the work everyone did, The bricks, both wall and missile, Kes’ hammer crash… All of it damn near undone. The Misfits stare to pure dismay and horror as they watch the jaw heal. Kestrel turns to look at me as my face drains of color.

“What did you do?!?” I could barely hear the Gunsmith utter in disbelief as the monster approaches me, a long and disgusting looking tongue licking its chomps as I back away. How? How?! How did that heal the bastard?!? Nothing like this has happened before!!!

Fear grips my heart and seems to freeze me in place as I’m racking my brain, trying to figure out what did what when I see the monster raise its massive, clawed hand, readying to swipe at my head.

Oh Shit…

[To Be Continued…]

#infamous #infamous 2 #cole macgrath #demon of empire city #infamous: no man's land #xeno writes #caper #blast shard caper #Mako #Pangolin #Dove #the warped #Zombies #Y'all have no idea how much time this took #Some much time and typing #Also #sorry for being a dick with the cliff-hanger!#conduit ocs

10 notes · View notes

codenamehazard · 6 months

Text

.:Smack-Talk Smackdown:.

Chapter 22: Smack-Talk Smackdown

Hey guys!

I've been having this floating around in my head since the beginning of No Man's Land thanks to @rogueshadeaux and I talking about the crazy nonsense. So shoutout to her for handling my late night ramblefests!

Go read her story, InFAMOUS: Erosion! She's worked so hard on it and it's starting to get crazy!

Without further ado, let's jump in!

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

“Where the hell are you going?!”

My ringing ears pick up the pigeon’s shouting as I storm out of his trailer, god I already knew Dove was a pain in the ass but now I learn that this birdbrain not only has shit taste in music, he can’t carry a fucking tune!! Jesus Christ, for once I’m thankful for my god-damn tinnitus as I would much rather listen to the high pitched whining than Dove’s bubble gum hyperactive ear-murder!

“Out!” I growl. “I ain’t going to subjugate myself to your shitty ass bubble-candy bullshit or your god-awful singing a second more!” I can see Dove’s about to say something, but I quickly shut the door as hard as I can before walking off. Thank God the HEMTT has stopped for a pit-stop, I was about ready to knock the beansprout out.

I can see Pangolin prairie dogging out of the building that the Convoy stopped at to see what the commotion is, but he shrugs before going back to whatever he’s doing. I’m guessing games of musical trailers ain’t uncommon. Whatever. I walk to the trailer of someone I know for a fact has a much more palatable taste in music than the tone-deaf pigeon. Kestrel.

I don’t care if she’s going to throw a fit about me barging in, I’d rather deal with that dumbass bird’s smart mouth than birdbrain number 2’s god-awful music, both in choice and singing prowess… At least her music taste could sooth my throbbing eardrums.

I grab hold of the door and slide it open, prompting a loud and sharp yelp from inside. I’m greeted by a face of shock that quickly changes to one of annoyance. Kestrel’s eyes glows hot as she glares at me

“What in the actual fuck, Cole?!” I hear the bird squawk out as she stands up from whatever she was doing to walk towards me, intending on barring my entry, but I jump in and shut the door before she could stop me. “I thought you were bunking with Dove!”

“Well that was before I knew how much of a walking tinnitus agitator he was” I growl and I rub my ears to try and soothe the throbbing. “At least you have good taste in music, so the choice is obvious.” I can hear her groan in irritation, but I can tell by her face, she can’t really argue.

“Grrrr… Fine! You can stay!” She shouts as she spins a crank wrench. “Next time you decide to be a prick, knock… And if you plan on keeping your hands, DON’T. Touch. My shit!” Her voice snarls as I feel her eyes bore into the back of my head.

“Oh yes, of course your royal bitchiness.” I scoff and Kes rolls her eyes before throwing her hands up in the air, akin to how I’ve seen Nix do those years before. She walks back over to… Whatever she was working on.

“I mean it, MacGrath. I don’t care that you’re the Beast or how strong you are, you touch my shit and I will cut your hands off!” She warns before crouching down by what looks like a mangled mess of metal and scrap, but on closer inspection, I see what it is.

It was her bike, or rather what was left of it.

Well… That explains her foul mood.

I lean back on a wall that faces her and the door and I look around the place. It’s… An interesting set up. On one side of the trailer, she has a mini-forge set up with the kit and kaboodle needed to make weapons on the go… Hell, I can see what looks like containers full of scrap and ingots. Then there’s the other side set up more like a bedroom, except instead of a bed, she has a hammock. Huh… Not a bad idea. I look at the shelves and see various things… Legos, rocks, a gameboy… A… Jar of feathers? Hm…

I turn my attention back to the bird as I feel the HEMTT shift, must be back on the move again. I watch her work and notice that… She doesn’t have her tendrils out. Odd, but okay. None of my business. She’s elbows deep in the scrap and working away. Curiosity starts getting the better of me as I never really got a chance to see the bike in its full glory before she wrecked it.

“So, what’s it based on?” I question.

“The base bike was a Kawasaki KX.” She grunts simply as I watch her switch out the wrench for her hands, using her power as both welder and cutter. I continue to ask questions about the bike, but she starts getting short with me.

“Would you just shut the fuck up?” She snaps. “I’m trying to focus on fixing this and you’re not helping.” Oooooh, she’s still sore about the bike. I grin to myself as I see an opportunity to stir up trouble.

“It’s a shame you had to go and wreck it.” I sneer, earning me a heated glare.

“Excuse me? You wrecked it, not me.”

“I wasn’t the one driving it, little birdie.” I snicker. “You were the one who crashed it.”

"Yeah because there was a murderous electric spider monkey trying to cook my brain meat while we were going 80, what the hell else was I supposed to do?" She pulls back, bumping her head and swearing before turning around to glare at me, hands on her hips.

“Not crash it.”

“And let you kill me? Hard pass! I’m still holding you responsible!” Sure… Whatever helps you sleep at night. “I oughta make you fix my bike since you’re the one who broke it!” The bird snarls as I smirk at her. She was the one who wiped out the bike, not me, but whatever. I look at the partially rebuilt menace of a machine before looking at Kestrel.

“Aight.” I chuckle. “Just don’t get pissy when I go and cut the break lines.” My grin grows as I watch the Gunsmith turned mechanic roll her eyes so hard, they would have rolled out of her head.

“Uh, did you forget who’s fixing the Amp, sparkplug?” She sneers as she twirls a crank wrench in her hand. Her body posture taking on a serious dose of attitude. “I kiiiiiinda can’t hold up my end of the bargain if I’m roadkill.”

“You survived that crash, I’m sure you’ll be fine with a brake failure.” I taunt with a smirk.

“Are you planning on juicing me up with some of that Beast power when that happens, hm? Because last time I checked, I’m re-enforced, not invincible!”

“Maybe if you beg.”

“Fat fucking chance!!” She scoffs. Her little snip kicks off a competition of wit and will. Insults and snarks fly back and forth and without anyone to interfere, the smacktalk can escalate freely and without interruption

I can feel something inside stir as we put each-other through our verbal paces, something I wouldn’t dare say to her or anyone. There’s… A feeling of… Excitement? I hate to admit it but that’s what it feels like. I’m… Starting to really enjoy this little game that our rage has turned into and I can see it in her eyes and how her mouth struggles not to twist into a grin that she’s sharing the same sentiments.

I have to give it to her, the girl can fight and her audacity is still as astounding as it was when we first clashed. Not backing down, not even to The Beast. Not even taking that title or the power it has into consideration of how I could fuck her up in several different ways.

It’s… Almost humanizing. Definitely refreshing.

The arguing and shouting continues to escalate, it becomes a blur with how second nature it feels to me, the only thing that snaps me out of it was a sudden grapple at my shirt and a pull. Soon we’re embroiled in a grapple match as we try to knock the other over. Me trying to use my strength while she uses her agility to throw her metal enforced body around and make me fall. The thing that stopped us is the sound of a crackling loudspeaker and a voice.

“WILL YOU TWO PINING IDIOTS KEEP IT DOWN?!?!” Mako’s voice roars over the speaker as we stop and stare at it, still grappling one another. “IF I CAN HEAR YOUR FOREPLAY OVER THE HEMTT AND INUYASHA TURNED UP AT FULL BLAST, YOU’RE TOO FUCKING LOUD!!”

What the hell?! What in the name of God makes her think that we were?? We were fighting!!

“If you two don’t either knock it off or keep it down, I will come over there and I will kick BOTH OF YOUR ASSES!!!” The speaker turns off with a click and the two of us stare at each-other before pushing each-other away. Kes dusts herself off before glaring at me. I can see it in her eyes she wants to keep going, but with Mako’s threats sucking the wind from the sails we just settle at glaring at each-other before exchanging one last insult.

“Bitch.”

“Dick.”

We walk back to our respective sides of the trailer, her to her bike and me to the wall. When I see that Kes has her eyes focused on her project, a small smile slips onto my face. I hate to admit it to myself, but that was… Fun.

I’ll have to mess with her again soon.

#infamous #infamous 2 #cole macgrath #demon of empire city #infamous: no man's land #xeno writes #caper #blast shard caper #Mako #conduit ocs #Dove #Pangolin #Look at these idiots #I love them so much #Idiots #The lot of them

7 notes · View notes

codenamehazard · 7 months

Text

.:Embers in the Forge:.

Chapter 19: Embers in the Forge

Hey guys!

This was also a chapter that gave me some grief trying to write out and sound right, but hopefully it does and everything looks and sounds good! Big thanks to @rogueshadeaux for helping me get my head on straight! I was really overthinking it. Everyone go check out InFAMOUS: Erosion! Especially the latest chapter! It's really good and you won't regret it!

Let's jump in!

--------

I lean my back against the wall of the workshop, music fills the room as Kestrel pulls out the tools and the cart that I had put the pieces of the Amp on. I’m thankful that she gave me permission to be here a few days ago when I asked her to fix it… Not that I needed it. Permission or not, I’m not letting the Amp out of my sight, not until she’s fixed and back slinged onto my backpack, but the permission makes it easier on the both of us. Besides, if she has any questions or I remember something that could be useful, I’m here to help

I watch as the silvery snakes grow from the spot in the middle of her back, the seat of all Conduits’ power, coiling and writhing like living vines 2… 3… 4 of them, maybe more. It’s still so fascinating to see power expression like that, and now that Kestrel wasn’t panicking over some cancer-tumor monster barreling into town ready to turn everyone into lunch, she’s much more relaxed, more in her element. It shows in how she moves, everything just flowing more naturally, she can take her time. I ain’t gonna rush her, I’m willing to give her all the time in the world to make sure the Amp is back in her prime.

However…

My mind flicks back to that day and the nuclear meltdown that was Pangolin verbally tearing into Kestrel like a rabid dog over the goddamned prototype. I don’t know how stubborn or idiotic the brain-dead buckethead is, but I wouldn’t put it past him to try and pull something stupid. Showing up to harass Kestrel while she’s working and like hell I’m going to let that walking liability fuck up her concentration, putting the Amp at risk of being damaged more because the bastard can’t leave well enough alone. Hopefully that idiot will be smart enough to read the sign she left for him out front and leave her alone.

My keen ears pick up the sound of thudding footsteps and the opening of a door, speak of the devil and he shall appear. Guess he’s as big of an idiot as I’m thinking of him now.

Pangolin steps in, his eyes looking around as he peeks in. I can feel my energy surge from the spot on my own back into my arms as I go on high alert. Pango’s eyes widen in fear as he sees me, good. He knows I’m here. I curl my scarred lips into a snarl as I notice him look at Kestrel, who has just turned around. He better not be thinking about doing what I think he’s going to do. If that bastard starts giving Kes shit, I will not hesitate to drag him outside for a good “talking to.” He approaches the Gunsmith, I’m about to step in and she’s about to say something, but he speaks before anything can happen.

“Kestrel… I’m sorry.”

We both stare at him with a look of shock (and my mind lets out a sigh of slight relief) at the sound of that, but Kestrel’s surprise is short lived as she narrows her eyes, the once relaxed and lifeful shine turning to something hardened and cold, like the very steel she could mold and shape.

“What…?” The Gunsmith questions with venom in her voice.

“Look…” Pangolin starts. “I’m sorry for… Riding your ass as hard as I’ve been when I should have been cutting you some slack.” Kestrel just shakes her head.

“That’s it?” She snaps, the Brick Spartan looks at her with a confused expression. “You think that you’re going to waltz into my shop like you own the place, apologize and then everything’s gonna go back to normal?” I watch her tendrils start to take on a biomechanical look as they darken into a wrought iron color.

“I get it Kestrel, I get it!” The brickheaded idiot blabbers out. “I got a little to in my emotions and I got carried away!” Carried away?! Is that what they’re calling it now?? The tendrils quickly move away from the Amp before twitching and writhing like enraged serpents.

“If you had “got it,” you would have read the sign!” She snarls out.

“He’s here and he’s barged in before!” Pangolin gestures towards me and I am about to deck him before Kestrel interrupts.

“I gave Cole permission, I revoked yours!” She hisses out. “Just cut the crap, Pangolin. Why are you here?”

“To apologize to you for how I’ve been treating you lately!” He balks out.

“No, that’s not why. Because if you were truly sorry, you would have taken the fucking hint and not have barged in here. So I have to question, are you really sorry for what you did or are you just saying it because you oh-so suddenly remembered who was the one making the weapons for everyone? Huh?! You just apologizing to get back in my good graces so you can get your toy privileges back, hm?”

The fucker had the audacity to look shocked at Kestrel doubting his authenticity; guess what jackass, people tend to do that when you treat them like shit and start questioning their authenticity over petty bullshit.

“Kes, I-” The idiot is quickly cut off with a loud screeching hiss from the Gunsmith.

“Don’t call me that.” She snaps. “And I don’t want to hear any of your excuses, not a single one. All the things you snarled at me, holding a mistake over my head, calling me a child when I was in the middle of a fucking breakdown, accusing me of things you know damn well I didn’t do, all of that? You can’t take that back. Those words won’t be easily forgotten. Those wounds will scar and my trust in you is fractured. A pitiful little “I’m sorry” isn’t going to fucking cut it.”

“How else am I supposed to show that I’m genuine?” He questions, I resist the urge to facepalm.

“You can start by getting out and leaving me alone!!” The Gunsmith damn near roars at Pangolin. He has the nerve to look hurt, but thankfully for him, he takes the hint and leaves, but not before giving me a questioning glance. Tch, whatever. Kestrel sighs, sounding exhausted, before turning around and back to her workstation.

I let out a breath before going back to leaning on the wall, uncrossing my arms and popping my knuckles before turning my head toward Kes. I frown when I notice there is a little bit of a… “Hitch in her giddyup” as my cousin would have put it. Her movements, they have become more timid, hesitant even, and her eyes glance back at the door from time to time.

“This is stupid…” She mutters to herself. “I should just forgive him and get it over with….” My eyebrows furrow at that, now I know what’s going on. Doubt is infecting her thoughts, harshing her focus. Just as I feared Pangolin’s presence would do. She continues to ramble and mutter, going on about forgiveness and its virtue, but also how she’s hurting inside and debating on if she should forgive him at all. Almost on instinct, I blurt out.

“Don’t question your choice, Kes.”

I hold back a small chuckle as I see the girl jump as she turns around to look at me, her tendrils gently placing the parts and tools back on the table.

“What?” She questions, looking confused. “What brought that up?”

“Your movements and mutterings.” I state simply as I gesture with my hand. “Sounds like you’re doubting yourself.” She lets out a defeated sigh and slumps a bit, the tendrils losing their shine and wilting like plants.

“It’s… A mix of doubt and guilt…” She admits, looking at the scrap of the damned weapon that started all this mess in the first place, sitting in a crucible to be melted down. “The logical part of me wants to forgive this mess. The quickest way to put it behind us and get things back on track and back to normal. After all, it’s pointless to hold grudges and they end up being a waste of energy in the long run… But… I’m still so hurt… That he said all that to me…” She glares at the crucible before a tendril grabs it and shoves it into the forge.

“So does that mean you want that brick idiot to keep treating you like shit?” I ask, she looks at me like I’m crazy and shakes her head. “I don’t know if all of this is normal or not, but from what I've been seeing, he appears to be a bit too comfortable with how he’s been treating you to be a one-off thing.” She shakes her head.

“No… Normally he’s even keeled… He’s never treated me this badly before… At least, not that I can remember… This is all recent and I have no idea what’s gotten into him.” The Gunsmith picks up a small piece of smooth metal and starts to rub her thumb over it, looking down at it. “I don’t… I just don’t understand… I do want him to stop and just… Let me breathe.” I sigh and walk over to the table, pulling up a box and propping my foot up onto it, allowing myself to rest my weight on my knee.

“Regardless if this is old or new behavior, the result is still the same.” I point out. “He treated you poorly, held something over your head even though we had all promised to let it go and blamed you for something you didn’t do all because of a malfunction you had no control over.”

The look in her eyes tells me she’s still fighting with herself, I sigh softly. Maybe a little life experience might help her, seeing as Pangolin is her friend and all.

“Look… Kestrel…” I start slowly, trying to find the right tone before taking a breath. “The one who made the Amp? Me and him had a… Falling out… If you will…. He hurt me real bad and I wanted nothing to do with him… Didn’t stop him from trying to make it right.”

The girl tilts her head at me, but she stays silent, just as she did the night I asked her to repair the weapon in question…. “She’s listening to me….” My thoughts whisper in my mind. Trying not to show my surprise, I take her silence as permission to continue.

“Point is… It took me a long time for me to forgive him after what he did. Granted, I treated him like shit and I still regret that to this day… But at the time, I wasn’t ready to forgive him. I still needed to heal.” I murmur softly, my eyes cast downwards as I remember those bitter memories. “Forgiveness is a privilege, not a right, It’s up to you to decide when the privilege is earned.”

I can see her eyes darting as she processes the information before looking towards me.

“Why are you telling me this?” She questions. I take a moment to think. It is a good question. Why am I doing this? All I can do is shrug.

“Guess I wanted to give you some food for thought… Or maybe to let you know I get where you’re coming from.”

She narrows her eyes a little, but she shrugs before taking a deep breath and sighing. I can see in her eyes there’s something still bothering her, but she seems to be putting a pin in it for now.

“ Thanks…” She whispers softly. “For having my back…”

“Mmm.” I hum in response before nodding my head. I watch her stretch her arms and tendrils out before going back to working on the Amp. The tension now more relaxed and loose. I watch her as she works her magic.

I can’t help but to think to myself what a sight this is to watch, granted I have seen it before with me barging in when she was working on the core of the brickzooka, but this… This is something else entirely.

The tendrils shine with a renewed splendor as they move gracefully around. Every piece of the Amp is picked up with gentlest of grasps, akin to handling the most delicate of jewelry. Every action deliberate and methodical, purposeful. Her hands ghost over the remains with a touch analytical, yet respectful. Both hand and tentacle working together to study the Amp down to the smallest of details, the tendrils would split into filaments to get into the nooks and crannies. It made me nervous, but it is clear what she was doing. She’s trying to get to know the weapon…

She’s trying to know it not only as I do, but as Zeke did. Down to the very components and materials used.

My mind starts to slip into the similar spell that it fell into the last time as I watch her fluid movements, now more flowy with her more relaxed mind, and I begin to notice something interesting. Her methodical actions flowed with the rhythm, like she’s part of the music. My ears can hear how the sounds of her tinkering and work synced with the melody, the whole thing almost like a performance. Everything just moving so smoothly and in time… It is… Quite the sight.

I close my eyes and just… Listen to the music. My head almost instinctively started to bob and sway to the beat. Everything is just… So soothing. When my mind figures out the rhythm of the song, I start to hum along. I don’t care if the Gunsmith could hear it. I guess one could say I’m getting into the zone right along with her.

I hate to admit it, I really do, but I’d be lying to myself if I said that I’m not enjoying the shared calm. Turns out that when Kestrel isn’t being an absolute pain in my ass and wanting to start trouble and provoke me, she’s… Not too bad to be around… Though it could be the isolation talking. Been alone for so long that the human need for comradery is latching onto any human who would be willing to give me the time of day.

Still… The fact that she’s even doing this despite all the shit we put each-other through? Speaks volumes of her character.

I can feel the ghost of a smile form on my face as I continue to hum, getting lost in the music and the company. I got so lost in it that I didn’t hear the door open and Mako walk inside. "Hey Kes!"

#infamous #infamous 2 #cole macgrath #demon of empire city #infamous: no man's land #xeno writes #caper #blast shard caper #kestrel morrison #Pangolin #the Amp #Mako #conduit ocs

9 notes · View notes

codenamehazard · 10 months

Text

Incoming Caper!

I figured since now the Misfits are out of hiding, I can start making artwork for them and I'll keep with the theme of mock Comic book covers since I like the way they look.

So here we have the Blast Shard Caper, Kestrel. Leaping out of the fire and ready to turn someone into a pancake!

#infamous #xeno's art #infamous: no man's land #Conduit OC #original caracter #Blast Shard Caper #Caper #Kestrel Morrison #Digital Art

12 notes · View notes

codenamehazard · 8 months

Text

.:The Boogieman Cometh (Part 2):.

Chapter 15: The Boogieman Cometh (Part 2)

Hey guys! I hope I didn't make you guys wait too long with that cliff-hanger! Believe it or not, I actually tried to avoid it, but when I wrote everything out, the chapter was too cluttered. So it was for ease of reading.

Also, just in time for the Death Battle too! I hope you guys are excited too! Let's jump into the Wildlands!

-------

I stood frozen as the massive claws swing down to strike me, but I feel something hit my stomach and push me out of the way of the meaty hand as it arcs down and hits the ground, causing a shockwave and the earth to crack under its force. When I come back to my senses, I see that the something that tackled me was Kestrel. Panting hard as we both lay on the ground, she quickly gets to her feet as the monster roars, purple veins appearing on its body. I follow suit.

“Thought you hated my guts, little birdie. Going soft on me?” I jeer as I dust myself off while the monster is throwing a rage-filled tantrum. The bird glares at me as she gets out her hammer.

“Shut the fuck up, MacGrath!” She hisses back. “Death by Warped isn’t a fate I’d wish on my worst enemy. Besides, I have a deal to uphold, don’t I?” I stare at her and gawk before I get a brick to the back of the head courtesy of Pangolin. I grunt and growl before glaring at the partially balding pinecone.

“Get your head back in the game, MacGrath.” He barks out. “I don’t know what the fuck you did, but you need to knock that shit off!! You healed the bastard and now it’s pissed!!” Before he can continue on, he has to dodge roll away from the tumor gorilla thing charging at him.

“No shit, Sherlock!!” I growl out as before turning my head to Kestrel. “This conversation ain’t over.” I hiss at her before she rolls her eyes.

“Awwww… Does the big bad Beast want to give me a good talkin’ to~?” She snarks and sticks out her tongue before I launch a bolt at her, she jumps and runs off. What is with her?!

The monster continues to rampage as we all play the world’s most dangerous game of tag with the thing. Everyone got scattered in the chaos and more zombies seem to flood in. I cut through the horde with the Gigawatt Blades while taking pot shots at the beast..

The tantruming gorilla lets out a deafening roar and more zombies come. Jesus Christ, does this thing ever shut up?! Out of frustration, I lob a basic Alpha Grenade into the thing’s mouth, shutting it up and watching sparks explode from its mouth. The monster squeaks in pain and thrashes around blindly in its rage. Oh, that actually hurt the fucker…

And then it hit me. It was the Beast Energy that healed the bastard.

“That would have been good to know before I shot that rocket.” I mutter to myself as I avoid the teeth of a Runner and lop the fucker’s head off. Part of me was cursing this predicament as not only did I accidentally help the thing, I couldn’t charge up my powers for extra punch and I couldn’t use some of my strongest abilities to get rid of the thing.

On the other hand… Being forced to rely on my Electric and Napalm abilities only? The thought of that excited me. It’d be just like Empire and New Marias, no using cheap powers to breeze my way through, I have to work for it. I have to earn the victory. A grin splits across my face.

I do love a good challenge.

I spot the Misfits gathering and I make a beeline over to them, while the teratoma has shut up for the time being, there are still zombies everywhere. I see Mako, Kestrel and Pangolin working together to create a make-shift bunker. Calcium, Slag and Brick working together and reinforcing each-other as we all take cover under it.

“Alright, so that plan flopped.” Kes says as fires off shots to help with keeping the Warped at bay.

“I thought you said it was ready, Kestrel. You knew what was at stake.” Pangolin growls but before he could continue on, the bird snaps back.

“I FUCKING KNOW!!!” She screeches. “First off, I said “I hoped so!!” That usually means I haven’t tested it! Second, I didn’t have time to test it when the SIRENS WENT OFF.”

“Guys, is this really the time to be arguing?!” Mako interjects. “Forget the stupid gun, we need to get rid of the ugly fucker before it decides to eat the town!!” Kestrel nods with a “Right” before everyone quiets down, a large thump is heard as the bunker groans under an immense weight. Shit, the bastard’s on top of us and it’s trying to get in!

“Anytime guys!” Kestrel shouts as she claws at a hand that’s trying to get through.

Dove looks at me and then his eyes go up to my… No.

He better not be thinking what I think he’s thinking.

“Hey, you have that cattle prod looking thing! Maybe you could use that?” The beanpole suggests with casualness of suggesting I should try a new type of sandwich or something! I start glaring daggers into him with a look that screams “I dare you to repeat that to my face.”

“What?!” He squawks indignantly. “That thing used to be a person like all Warped, right? Maybe the reason we aren’t killing it is because we’re not actually getting the right brain!” A loud thump against the barrer reminds all of us of the situation we’re currently in before bird number two continues. “That mouth on its back is a direct way to its spine, you shove that thing in and give it some hard shocks, you could fry the bastard from the inside out!”

“Okay beansprout, I don’t know if you’re blind or just stupid but if you couldn’t tell, MY AMP isn’t in the best of conditions! I am not sticking it where it’s gonna get broken!” I snarl at the wannabe plague doctor, my eyes glowing red.

“Oh come on!” Dove whines. “It’s probably not in that bad of shape.” My eyes are about to bug out of my head at the audacity of this boy! “Besides, if it gets trashed, Kestrel could fix it or make you a new one!”

“What?!?” Both Kestrel and I shout at the same time before she takes over. “Woah-woah-woah, time the FUCK out!” She balks as she does the “time out” signal with her hands. “Dove, love you like a little brother, but who in the name of GOD gave you the right to volunteer me?! Sparky and I already have a prior arrangement and that’s to build him a custom firearm, not fixing an oversized tuning fork!!”

Before the arguing could get too far, the monster rammed its head into the bunker, denting it. I don’t have time to think this over. As much as I want to say no, the string-bean has a point. All I would need to do is get onto that thing’s back, shove my Amp inside that back-mouth thing and hit it with pure electricity straight to the spine, should do the trick, but I thought my rocket would do the trick and look where that got me.

“Fine!” I bark, seeing as there isn’t much in the way of options. “I’ll get on this sum-bitch’s back and give it a dose of electro-shock therapy, at the very least it should fuck it up enough to take it down if it doesn’t kill it outright.” Mako looks at me in shock, but she can tell by the glow in my eyes, it’s a begrudging cooperation.

“It’s settled.” Pangolin chimes in. “We’ll keep the horde and that bastard busy, you do what you need to.” I nod before the Spartan looks back at the others. “You have your marching orders! At the count of three, we pop the bunker and charge.” Dove, Kestrel and Mako nod as I get ready to bolt.

1…. 2…. 3!!

The bunker bursts off into the monster’s head thanks to Mako, Pangolin and Kestrel causing their respective elements to pop off. We all pour out and go on the offensive. Bodies go flying, whole and pieces. Hits are taken as bites and scratches mark all of us. The battlefield was a cacophony of fire, brick, bone, slag and sparks. Blood spills and I even took a good knock to the chest as the ugly son of a bitch bowls into me, but I quickly use the tether to pull myself away before the thing could get me again.

As the horde thins, the Misfits focus in, now putting the heat on the monster. The heavy hitters keep the gorilla’s attention while the others keep the horde off of the tanks. Dove dashes around and sets up a launch pad for me.

“Going up?” He asks before using his SMG to mow down a few zombies that were gonna get in the way. I nod to him before rushing onto the ball of air, the ball bursts and sends me flying skywards. Using Static Thrusters, I glide into position before pulling out my Amp and diving down for a Thunder Drop.

The Misfits got out of the way before I collided onto the distracted creature. A scream of fury rings out as it tries to buck me off. Its back mouth opens and exposes a long tongue, lashing it out at me to try and grab me, but a quick zap stuns the meat tentacle long enough for me to shove the Amp into the maw.

Dear God, Dove wasn’t kidding. Right through a rib-cage of what once was a person and straight to the spine. I shake my head before charging my arms up and just channeling volt and volt right into the nervous system of this beast.

It screams in agony and starts to seize, the back-mouth clamping and biting at the metal uncontrollably, but I don’t stop. I keep pumping pure electricity into the bastard. The skin and muscle of this thing starts to smoke and char as it continues to twitch and thrash. The Misfits watch as black and red bolts cook this beast from the inside out.

The creature soon stills, collapsing onto the ground. I pant heavily and look at the ugly thing before kicking the corpse in the head. The Misfits cheer before going back to clean up what’s left of the horde. I’m about to join them in the fun when I look at my Amp…

And see it was completely broken.

I could feel pain rise and swell. I knew it had to be done, but this… This was the only thing I had left of Zeke. The last gift he ever gave me and now it’s in shambles. Completely unusable. I don’t even know if it could be salvaged.

The only material object I ever truly cared about and now it’s ruined.

Rage boils in my blood as I look upon what remains of the monster’s horde, seeing as the creature is dead, these guys will have to do. Mako spots me out of the corner of her eye before she wrangles her friends away. Smart move.

My skin lightens to a sickly pale, black veins appear on my body, my eyes glow a deep blood red as matching sparks leap off of my body. The sky above me darkens as storm clouds gather, thunder rumbles and colored lightning flashes. I can feel the raw power of the Beast energizing my body, giving me the Ionic charge I need..

The horde turns their attention to me, screaming in starved fury as they rush me. Big mistake, this time I knew how to take care of them.

I let the rage bubble and boil inside, letting the pain build. The memories of the day Zeke gave me the Amp and the sight of it in shambles lashing at my heart. My chest and throat tightens as my breath begins to heave. Lighting crackles and lashes in the sky as I look at the coming horde. An animalistic sound rumbles from my chest, but before I unleash hell, I pause. I look upon the swarm and sneer with pure and utter rage, hate and disgust, with that pause, I switch my energy from the power of the Beast to the sheer, raw power within my body. Mine.

“No… You shitstains don’t deserve to die by The Beast… Too much of an “honor.” You deserve to die by my hands and my hands alone.”

My mouth opens in a silent roar as I let the hounds of hell loose, brilliant strikes of black and red crash and bombard the battlegrounds as they strike at the horde. Bodies fry and char. My chest tightens more, my throat burns and hot tears prick my eyes as I unleash every once of pain inside.

My voice goes hoarse before the storm abates, a faint rolling rumble echoes. I stare at the carnage before me before turning my head to see the spectators. Dove is hiding behind Pangolin, scared out of his mind. Pango is awestruck at the sight. Mako seems the most unaffected as she has seen me rage out before and Kestrel just stands there in shock.

I shake my head to stop the tears before turning towards the broken Amp. I kneel down and start picking up the pieces with as gentle of a touch as I could. If there is any hope it could be fixed, I need to make sure I get all the pieces I can.

The Misfits can go do whatever, I just need to pick up these pieces and think. Kestrel’s words about our deal echo in my head as I do. I have a lot of figuring out to do… And grieving…

#infamous #infamous 2 #cole macgrath #demon of empire city #infamous: no man's land #xeno writes #caper #blast shard caper #Pangolin #Dove #Mako #conduit ocs #Kestrel Morrison

8 notes · View notes

codenamehazard · 6 months

Text

.:Prep and Plan:.

Chapter 21: Prep and Plan

Hey guys!

Not much to say here to be honest, but it's time to get rolling and start exploring more of the Wildlands has to offer! Hope you like this chapter!

Let's jump in!

----------

“ -Gonna be around 70 F, slight instability in the air so there might be some ra- Oh hey! Kestrel’s back!”

I hear Dove holler out as he stands on top of one of the trailers like a meerkat. Huh, seems like he acts as the weather bird for the rest. Not surprised that the air Conduit has weather duty, probably knows about what’s going on in the sky as I do on a given day, maybe more. Mako and Pangolin look up from a checklist to see the two of us and Mako gives us a wave before looking at Kestrel.

“Finally decided to come out of your hole and join everyone else, you gremlin?” Mako teases the Gunsmith, prompting an eye-roll from the older woman.

“Pot calling the kettle black, weeb-gremlin.” Kes snips back with a grin, earning a “Touche” from Mako as Kes walks over. “Besides, you saw I was busy with a project.” The banter between Zeke and I when I blew up a gas station in Empire City echoes in my mind, but I shake my head to clear it before it can take root, not the time or place.

“So that’s what you’re calling it now, hm?” I roll my eyes at Mako’s comment. Oh God, she’s still on about that? I shake my head before I see Kes grab at Mako and the two have a rousing tussle with each-other, both grappling, pushing and pulling to try and knock the other over. I can see Pangolin about to step up to break them up, but the playful laughter tells both of us that this is just some horseplay between friends. I can’t help but to chuckle at their antics.

As the play fight breaks up, I feel my hackles raise as I watch Pangolin walk over to Kestrel. I watch him try to initiate some small talk and pleasantries, but the Gunsmith completely ignores him, instead deciding to busy herself with packing up some of the stuff into the trailers, I can see Mako giving Kes a concerned look and Dove is shaking his head at Pangolin’s attempts at making nice.

Part of me is very happy that somebody actually listened to me without me having to crack heads. If I am to be honest, outside of Mako, Kestrel has been the only one to really listen to me without having to use more… Aggressive means. Though I’m not blind to potential issues, if this extends to more critical communication, it will end badly. I make a mental note to take the Gunsmith aside to give her a little pep talk.

“So… I saw you were working on Cole’s weapon…” The brick dumbass awkwardly tries to talk to Kestrel. This idiot can’t take a hint, can he? God, this is painful to watch… She straight up ignored him when he was trying to start small talk with her, what makes him think that continuing on is going to help? “How is that going?” The bird exhales loudly through her nose before forcing a smile, baring her hyena teeth as a subtle threat.

“Well.” She starts with a growl. “If you absolutely, positively must know… I’ve run into a little bit of a snag. Not like you’d give a shit, since it’s not your precious pile of scrap, but I need to make a trip to Tri-Point so I can have access to some key components to complete the repair.” Pangolin looks like he’s about to say something, looking annoyed at Kes’ abrasiveness, but thankfully his little brother comes in clutch to save his dumb ass.

“That actually sounds like a good idea!” Dove chimes as he perches on the top of the lead vehicle like a gargoyle. “We can head back to our old stomping grounds, say hi to everyone, restock on other supplies and give our folks the good news about that bastard monster being dead!” Mako smiles and nods in agreement. Pangolin sighs, finally seeing that he's not gonna be talking to Kes.

“Yeah, it would be nice to visit mom and dad.” Pangolin mutters. “I know mom was worried sick about us with the Summoner running amok, she was about ready to come with if we didn’t tell her about our plan.” Kes seems to be holding back a little bit of a snicker before making her face neutral again.

I watch as the lanky beansprout leap from his perch on the top of the trailer onto Pangolin’s back, part amused just by the sight of this overgrown spider monkey perching on top of the shit brickhouse, part impressed by the fact that Pangolin barely budged when his brother landed onto him. Dove pulls out a small device from his backpack and shows it to Pangolin.

“Okay, so if we’re set on going to Tri-Point, we have a couple of options. Of course we can take the highways, but I wouldn’t recommend it, Bandits and all.” He states as he fiddles with the small gadget, I’m assuming it’s some sort of GPS.

“Then we straight-shot it.” Pangolin replies. “The HEMTT can handle rocky terrain, it may not be the smoothest or most comfortable of trips, but it’ll be the fastest.” Dove nods in consideration, but then I see Mako raise her hand a bit.

“Um, we might wanna think about this a little bit more.” She states with a bit of worry in her voice. Uh-oh… “Word on the wind is that Warped populations have spiked heavily around the Storm’s Pass area. Things are getting a little bit ugly, so we need to be careful.” Great, more zombies. I can’t help but to groan in my mind. I have to wonder if this spike means more of those tumor-monsters…

“Guys, this isn’t our first rodeo with these fuckers.” Kes interjects. “The worst of the lot only come out at night, as long as we set up camp at night and don’t go wandering off when the sun goes down, we should be fine.”

“So says the one who wanders off every time she sees something shiny or glowy.” Mako teases. Kestrel rolls her eyes.

“Hey, even I’m not impulsive enough to go out during a Warped Spike at night. I still have the scars from the last time my crow-brain decided to make checks my ass couldn’t cash.” I can feel the side of my lips twitch upwards as I watch the two banter with each-other. “I didn’t hear the end of it for a week!”

“That’s because you came back with half-inch deep bite-marks in your leg! Any deeper and you would have bled out!” Mako shouts.

“But I didn’t.”

“Can we please get back on topic?” Pangolin grunts. “Warped or not, we still need to work out the route!” Kestrel gives a huff before the others start to chatter on about routes. I see Kes whisper something into Mako’s ear before she nods to the bird.

Out of the corner of my eye, I see Kes leave the group. I follow behind, seeing this as an opportunity to talk to the bird. When I walk around I see she’s putting away some more of her gear.

“Hey Kes, a word?” I ask as she throws a large duffle bag into the trailer, she turns her head and hums before cocking her head, eyebrows furrowed, but eyes curious. “S’nothing bad, just a little pep talk.”

“What’s up?” She responds as she walks over, popping her knuckles a little.

“Couldn’t help but to notice there’s a little bit of break-down in communication with Pangolin, wanted to see what was going on outside of the rift.” I point out, her eyes now become confused.

“I just don’t wanna talk to him, I haven’t forgiven him yet, so why should I?” Her confusion grows. “Thought you said it was okay not to forgive if I’m not ready?”

“I’m aware.” I state. “And I still stand by that. The issue is that you can’t really just completely shut down communications full stop in your situation. You are part of a team with him and teammates need to talk to each-other to keep everyone safe.” I can see her head tilt more, her eyes watching me. The mental image of a cat turning their ears towards a sound to listen pops into my head as I continue. “I’m not saying you have to be all buddy-buddy with the blockhead, just keep talks to business only type things until you’re ready.”

“Mmmm.” She hums in understanding while nodding her head before rubbing the back of her head. “Yeah… I was actually going to ask about that… Learning the hard way about the importance of clear communication, even if the person you’re communicating to is on your shit-list…” She murmurs sheepishly. I shake my head.

“Yeah… For the both of us.” I say with a light chuckle. “Hey, aren’t we supposed to drop that?” I remind, but this time in a more light hearted tone, knowing she didn’t bring it up as an attack, but as an acknowledgement of a lesson hard-learned.

“Yeah, I suppose we are… But that doesn’t mean we forget the lessons.” She chimes gently. I nod my head in agreement. I feel my habit of patting backs come up, but seeing as I’m not quite sure how Kes feels about being touched, I keep my hands to myself. Settling for a simple chuckle and a nod.

“Hey, hotheads!” I hear Mako call out as I stow away the container that held the Amp into the trailer I’m going to be bunking in for the trip. “I don’t know what kind of smooching or whatever you two are doing over there, but get your asses back over here! Huddle up!” My mind stutters as I try to think of a response.

“Oh my god, MAKO!!” I hear Kestrel shout. “Just because a couple of people go off on their own for five minutes doesn’t mean they’re in the middle of playing tonsil hockey! Good god, get your head out of the gutter, will you?!” I hold back a little bit of a snort and roll my eyes. So it’s one of those kinds of friendships, huh?

A small flicker of a memory flashes by, of Zeke with his binoculars and me asking him if he was spying on some chick in the shower. I smile sadly at the thought, but I shake it out of my head before following the Gunsmith out.

We join back up in the huddle and Dove pulls the modified GSP thing, showing a straight-shot going from Droptown to this new Tri-Point place… Wait, isn’t Tri-Point in Oklahoma City? Question marks fill my head until Dove speaks up.

“Alright, here’s the plan, we’re gonna straight-line it the best we can from here to Tri-Point, wanna avoid highways and other roadways as much as possible as bandits like to prowl those areas and while I’m sure we can handle them, they’ll just slow us down…” The Dove turned parrot chimes. “We’re gonna have to clip the top of Texas, but it’s the quickest route.” Everyone murmurs and nods before Pangolin speaks up. I hope he doesn’t say something stupid.

“Unfortunately, due to a spike in Warped activity and numbers, we’re going to have to restrict our movements. Once the sky goes dark, we stay put. No travel, no night missions, no wandering off.” Pangolin states with a firm voice. “Some of the meanest and the heaviest hitters of the Warped come out at night as they are sensitive to UV. Best not get into any unneeded scuffles with those bastards so we can get to Tri-Point as quickly as possible.”

I could hear the screeches and the roars of the Corrupted in my head as Pangolin talks about the Night Warped, memories of the swamp monsters barrelling through the Rebel camp as the “Dunbar Beam” as Zeke called it burned through the bastards like a magnifying glass roasting an ant. I want to say something, but I decide to keep it to myself.

With the briefing finished, Pangolin dismisses us. All of us disperse to their respective trailers and I follow Dove to his since that’s where I’m bunking for the trip. As I make my way to the trailer, my mind doesn’t stop thinking about what the brick armadillo said about those Warped becoming worse at night… They were already a pain in the ass as is… And the less spoken about the tumor monster or the “Summoner” as it’s being called, the better… How can they get any worse?

As I hop into the trailer and shut the door behind me, a more important question echoes in my head… Do I really want to know?

The HEMTT rolls out as I ponder. In truth, I don’t think I do.

#infamous #infamous 2 #cole macgrath #demon of empire city #infamous: no man's land #xeno writes #caper #blast shard caper #Pangolin #Dove #Mako #conduit ocs

5 notes · View notes

codenamehazard · 3 months

Text

.:New Poison Revealed:.

Chapter 28: New Poison Revealed

[TRIGGER WARNING: MENTIONS OF DEATH AND MONSTERS]

Hey guys! I just looked at the chapter number and holy hell I didn't expect that I would be at chapter 28 with the big 3-0 milestone peeking around the corner. It is still forever mind-boggling how all of this stared as a one-shot that I wasn't even planning on writing out.

And thanks to your support of my mad ramblings in fanfic form, that one-shot grew into something I couldn't imagine in my wildest dreams. So, thank you all for reading.

A special thank you goes out to @rogueshadeaux. She has given me so much, her friendship, her encouragement, her mentorship, I dare say if it wasn't for her encouraging me to throw my metaphorical hat in the ring, chapter 1 would have never been written. She is also a brilliant writer and her story will grab you by the throat and chokeslam you into the ground with feels. Please give InFAMOUS: Erosion a read when you're done here.

Another thanks to Rogue for letting me borrow her twins.

Enough of my rambling, let's jump in!

---------

How much time has passed since I peeked on the two builders playing with legos? I have no idea, and at this moment I don’t give an iota of a damn as an infuriating sight dares to walk out of the Quiet Room and into my line of sight.

That fucking tin-can carrying Kestrel like she was some princess in a god-damn fairy tale. It’s gag-worthy.

My eye twitches and my blood seethes in my veins as Coyote gently places the passed out bird onto a sleeping cot before tucking her in, for god’s sake… As if this couldn’t get anymore saccharine sweet.

“Poor girl’s out steel cold. Fell asleep on the floor.” The shiny fucker pipes up for probably the first time in I don’t give a shit. I’m not paying much attention as my mind is going in several different directions at once. I’m still confused as all hell as why seeing Kestrel and Coyote playing with god-damn legos like good friends was making me look at the younger man like he was a lightning rod, now this?! This was bringing back some urges from my Empire City days. His face is looking more and more punchable by the second, but why?!?

Why is this enraging me so much?! Why is every dark urge in my head screaming at me to kill this man?!? Why am I giving so much of a shit about who does what kind gestures to her?!?

We. Hate. Each-other.

I’m struggling not to bear my teeth and growl at Coyote when the bay doors open and out comes the black haired woman… Crow, was it? It’s the only other name that doesn’t have a face to it aside from the absolutely ridiculous ones. Her arrival snaps me out of my murderous fury and draws my eyes to her.

“Okay guys.” She starts. “I need to know exactly what went down with Pangolin, beginning and end. There are other Misfit groups out there and the Defense Teams need to know what’s going on. It’ll also help me dial in Pangolin’s treatment.”

Mako starts giving a play by play of what went down out there, I’m half-paying attention as rage is still boiling hot when I remembered something that had been bugging me for a while. I remember Jean saying something about an “anti-corrodium” or some nonsense like that, it’s something that needed answers.

“Hey, uhm… Crow, was it?” I jump in and ask when there’s a break in the convo, she turns her head with a “hm?” and a tilt of her head. “What in the hell is Corrodium?” The raven-haired woman blinks at me and raises an eyebrow before looking at Mako.

“D- Did you not tell him about Corrodium…?” Crow questions Mako with a pointed look, she throws her hands up defensively. “We really didn’t have a lot of time between the chaos that broke out when we first picked him up, Kes trying to complete her project, the Summoner and now this!” Great, another goddamn thing that nobody fucking told me about, though Mako does have a point about things being a roller coaster ride from the beginning to now, kinda hard to squeeze in a Wildlands 101, so I guess I can let it slide…. For now, anyway.

I can see the woman pinch the bridge of her nose and let out an irritated sigh before looking at the two of us.

“Okay, let’s all get something to eat before I go hangry bitch on both of you.” Crow grumbles while looking at Mako with a glare.

“Yeah, I’m not sure when we last ate.” Mako murmurs while rubbing the back of her head. ”Coyote can keep an eye on sleeping beauty over there.” Hold the god-damn phone!! Tin-man’s gonna be watching Kes?! “Though we should be sure to bring her back a couple of funnel cakes, she’s going to be ravenous when she wakes up.” My eye twitches as I glare at Mako. Did she really suggest that?! The fire in my chest flares hot again at that thought and the train-wreck in my head starts back up again.

“It should be me watching her, not him.” The devil on my shoulder hisses in my ear, it shocks the ever loving shit out of me. Why did I think that?? Why do I care who watches her?! Why do I give a damn?! WHY?!?

I open my mouth to protest, but my stomach tells a different story as it growls obnoxiously loud at the thought of carnival food, causing the girls to look at me with amusement. I feel a bit of heat tinge my cheeks as I grumble and rub the back of my head.

“Well, I think that decides that.” Mako hums with a smile and I roll my eyes, but I follow the two women outside, leaving Kes behind with Coyote… Much to my bewildering chagrin.

Some funnel cake does sound really good at the moment, maybe a churro or two.

I shield my eyes from the blinding sun as we step outside of the hospital into a literal carnival, so many colors every which way, with tents and rides and holy shit there’s just so much to look at, so much to explore and climb.

“So, Corrodium.” Crow hums as we head off to what I can guess is this city’s Junk Food Alley. “To put it as simply as possible, Corrodium is basically Conduit poison. The parasitic bastard child of lead and some kind of anti-rayacite. It’s so dangerous, it’s commonly called “Conduit’s Bane” around here.”

“Uh-huh, that’s nice and all but that don’t tell me much.” I huff in irritation, Crow gives me an aggravated look as the tips of her raven locks seem to melt and liquify into water.

Oh fuck, she’s a Water Conduit…

“I was getting to that.” She hisses in annoyance before taking a deep breath.

“The reason it’s so feared and you should have been warned about from the very beginning….” Crow gives Mako a heated glare. “Is because of its effects. If a Conduit is even so much as exposed to it, it weakens them greatly. However, it becomes so much more dangerous if it’s injected, like through a bite or a sting. It royally fucks them up, corrupting their bodies and powers.” I bring my hand to my chin and rub the stubble on it, my mind processing all of this. This brings questions into my head, why didn’t anyone tell me? I mean, I get that the chaos me joining the party caused did turn everything on its head, but nobody said anything at all. Were the Misfits just so used to this being common knowledge that it just slipped their mind?

“Corrodium Poisoning can be treated with various Ray Field Radiation treatments and Rayacite infusions, but there’s no real silver bullet cure-all for this.” She continues. “Every treatment plan has to be tailored to the patient's unique biology and power signature and they have to remain under constant surveillance until everything is flushed out completely.” Jesus, sounds like Pango’s gonna be stuck in the hospital for a good while.

“You guys were extremely lucky that you got Pangolin in when you did.” Crow points out with a worried look. “If you had been even a second later, then Pangolin’s prognosis would have been really grim.” The seriousness gives me pause, now I’m really starting to wonder why nobody said anything about this shit before.

She continues, going into medical jargon that I couldn’t really understand much, so my mind starts to wander and look at all the new sights around me.

Good God, saying that this is a city that the circus took over is just the tip of the iceberg. Tents stood tall, with the three-pointed one dwarfing the rest, so many colors, so many sounds and smells. There were stands with souvenirs and rigged games, rides that looked like Mad Max had a field day constructing them out of rusted scrap and old buildings and…

Holy shit, is that one of those Slingshot rides?? Without a cage?? I watch the ride release the ball in between the springs and literally launch whatever poor son of a bitch was in there, sending him sky high! Good thing Conduits don’t go splat from high places… Still hurts like a bitch if you botch the landing though.

The sound of screaming catches my attention as I… That’s a big-ass roller coaster…. And an Ice Conduit is skating on the track while being chased by the train??? It takes all of my willpower to not galavant off to go ride the rides… Besides, bad idea to go climbing on an empty stomach.

I make a mental note to hit these rides up before we leave.

“That reminds me…” I murmur when I hear a lull in Crow’s medical jargon. “You said Corrodium has a power weakening effect when a Conduit’s exposed to it, but when the Misfits and I fought those Blink Scorpion bastards, my powers were fine and it seemed like everyone else’s was fine too… What’s that all about?”

“Corrodium… It’s a very nasty and very adaptive metal.” Crow answers with a soft hum. “The properties of that stuff can vary depending on what form the Conduit is exposed to. The Corrodium in Blink Scorpion venom? The energy produced messes with a Conduit’s perception, making them appear that they’re teleporting around.” Well, that explains why I could still detect them with Radar Pulse.

“The power weakening effect is most prominent in metallic Corrodium, be it raw or refined.” Refined? That’s not good. Metals don’t just start being refined for shits and giggles, there’s always a reason. Something like this shit being refined? I smell trouble, but I put a pin in it for the time being, more questions to be asked.

“And Pangolin?” I mention. “What would have happened if we didn’t make it in time?” I notice Mako’s face go an off color and Crow’s head lower as she sighs.

“Best case…? His powers either weaken greatly or he loses them outright. Everything. Worst case….” She licks her lips to wet them and her eyes narrow. “He dies from the poisoning or he becomes… One of them….”

“One of them.”

That thought, it echoes in my head like a scream in an auditorium. An ice-cold chill shoots down my spine as everything starts to sink in. I had thought death by RFI was the worst way for a Conduit to go, memories of that fateful day flicker in my head as I remember the searing agony of my own body being torn asunder from the inside out by that damned machine before Zeke used the Amp to free me from its clutches… And that thing wasn’t even fully charged.

At least the RFI would have killed cleanly. This Corrodium shit? It makes the RFI look like a bullet to the head, quick, painless and gets the job done.

Not only can this metal poison strip a Conduit of their power as a best case scenario… It turns them into literal monsters in the worst case. God… And that’s what was happening to Pangolin. He was slowly dying right before everyone’s eyes.

The weight of this situation, not just in the here and now, but what this means for everyone… It sits in my stomach like a lead weight. I can feel the color drain from my face and my empty stomach curl in on itself, making me want to throw up what little contents it had. Before I know it, Mako and Crow are guiding me to the nearest bench, fearing I might faint. Flickers of Trish flash in my head as the raven-haired woman has me sit down. My mind reels from it all.

I put my hand to my mouth as I try to digest everything… God, now I truly understand why Dove was so beside himself and why Kestrel went completely nuclear when she was given permission to drop her mask. Every second they weren’t in the hospital was a second closer to Pangolin’s end. To the death of a big brother and their leader… And they were helpless to stop it.

“Has… Has anyone… Survived after the window shut…?” I ask breathlessly as Crow hands me a bottle of water, no doubt one she poured on the fly. I eagerly take the bottle and drink it down in hopes of calming myself some. The Water Conduit shakes her head before speaking.

“Honestly… Not really.” She murmurs with slight hesitation. “It’s only happened twice and if I’m to be frank, a lot of us in the medical group here in Tri-Point chalked them up to either miracles or dumb luck as even they didn’t come out completely unscathed.” Two? Hmm… Might be worth looking into who those two are.

“We have the brightest minds among us studying these two cases to see what made the difference for them, what allowed them to keep their humanity.” They won’t be the only ones looking into them now.

I stare off into the distance as I sit on the bench, my mind racing a mile a minute. This… This is just so much for me to process, especially after all the chaos that unfolded not that long before. A brand new metal… One that can spell the death or zombiefication of all of Conduit-kind. New fears begin to form as my brain starts creating what ifs. What would happen if I became exposed to that crap? Would it rob me of all of my powers? What if I had gotten stung? What manner of horrors would I be subjected to or worse… What would that shit turn me into? The fear that trumped them all, however, is this.

If a bunch of rag-tag survivor types know about it, then who else knows?

These guys, as tough and creative as they are, don't have access to state-of-the-art tech or vast information pools… And if these guys know about Corrodium… Then it’s an absolute guarantee that certain other parties have known about it far longer than the Wildlanders have. How long has this Pandora’s box been open? It has to have been a long time since there was a refined version of it made. Long enough for it to be made into things.

This could be something that could spell disaster. Something that would make even the Ray Field Plague look like a sniffle.

Something that could truly kill us all.

#infamous #infamous 2 #cole macgrath #demon of empire city #infamous: no man's land #xeno writes #caper #blast shard caper #xeno screeches #mako #brent rowland #Jean Rowland #Coyote #Crow #The crow's beak reveals a truth to the Demon #But is it something he's willing to listen?#Also

4 notes · View notes

codenamehazard · 8 months

Text

.:Blinding Light:.

Chapter 13: Blinding Light

Hey guys! I don't know if this came sooner than the last chapter or not, but who cares! I'm writing and I'm having fun! Hopefully it isn't too short and it's fun read for you guys as it was for me to write!

Bonus points if you listen to some Skyrim OST stuff while reading, hehehehe.

Without delay, here's Chapter 13!

-----

I leap off of the wire and glide gently down, landing smoothly with a roll. A grin plastered ear to ear. I arrived at Kestrel's workshop and to my surprise, found it empty. I frown at this sight, did she close up shop? I walk over to one of the windows and can't help but to scoff at the closed sign.

“Figures…” I mutter to myself. The bird must have closed up shop so she could focus on the project that has her so worked up, she’s been acting like an idiot. Though with seeing the Warped and what they can do, I’m starting to cut the girl a little more slack. If this project’s connected to dealing with those fuckers? Well, the idiototic behavior could be excused… Not by much though.

Not like a sign's gonna stop me from coming in. I wanted to see what’s so special about the girl and her guns, what does she do to make it so that Conduits can channel their powers through these firearms. I’m pretty sure she wouldn’t mind having a spectator around to watch her work, right? After all, I am going to be one of her clients. Gotta make sure her craftsmanship is up to scratch!

…And to make sure I know what her work quality is, I don’t want her screwing me over.

I jiggle the doorknob on the door to find that it’s locked. I give a small “Tch” before breaking the door itself. I’m nearly knocked back off of my feet at the massive wave of pure RFE that slammed into me. My mouth instantly waters and my stomach gnaws. What in the absolute hell is going on in there that’s producing so much energy?? God, it’s like I was back in the mines!

Whatever it was… I wanted it.

I charge into the back, following the energy’s call. My teeth are itching as I get closer, knocking over displays and signs as I barrel through the workshop proper to see what kind of goodies the bird is hiding from me. I charge through the forge doors, ready to take my prize.

What greets my ears isn’t the rock music that I remember Kestrel playing from my first time around, but something else, something sounding ancient and primal. Deep drums that reverberate through the chest. However, the thing that truly grabs my attention is the woman standing in front of the forge… And what is coming from her back. Long, shining appendages growing from the ghastly scar, glimmering like blued metal in the light of the forge.

My eyes trail from the metallic snakes to the object in front of her, a crucible of hot metal that glows with the signature color of Rayacite. Moving slowly and deliberately, Kestrel pulls out a single Blast Shard from her backpack before carefully lowering it into the glowing pool.

As the shard melts, I watch the tendrils sway. Sometimes one of them would move to remove the skin of waste and slag from the top of the pool and absorb it. Now Kestrel’s powers made sense. She’s a Slag Conduit, but that hardly matters as I continue to watch in awe at the scene playing out.

It’s like something from a fantasy novel.

The process repeats, slag forms on the top of the pool, the tentacles remove it. The more this process happens, the stronger the energy’s strength grows. She is refining the metal, purifying it. I didn’t even know such a thing was possible and it made me wonder how much power could be absorbed from purified Rayacite sources.

It isn’t long until no more slag could be harvested from the metal. With the impurities gone, Kestrel nods before taking the clamps and grabbing the vessel. She walks over to a spherical mold that is on stand-by before pouring the molten Blast Shards inside, taking care not to spill a single drop of liquid power.

With the mold filled, the bird takes it over to a cooling trough and quickly submerges it. The water hisses and spits as steam erupts from the contact, but Kestrel seems unfazed by it.

“Take it.” I feel my vices whisper. “She’s completely clueless and those metal tentacles are a one way ticket to her spinal cord. Hell, I bet if you grabbed onto one of them, you could drain her without hassle. Drain her, get rid of her and take the super-core for yourself. Imagine all that pure energy. It’d be like taking candy from a baby.” The impulses make my lips salivate, the hunger for power roiling like the water in the trough. Yet, in this moment my mind’s too fixated by the strange sight before me. I want to see what happens next and I won’t know that if I act on my impulses now.

Killing her for that core? It would be a waste. If this is what she can do with Blast Shards… I can only imagine what she could do with a Blast Core, that thought made my mouth water even more. A purified Blast Core? That would be a prize worth taking. She’s becoming more useful to me alive then dead, even with her being an absolute thorn in my side.

Besides… She still owes me a shotgun. A deal’s a deal after all.

The water’s rage settles and the metal cools solid. The Gunsmith pulls out the mold and frees the spherical core, still glowing with power. With the ball cradled in shining threads, the missile launcher shell is grabbed and pulled towards her. Hands open the chamber made to house the newly formed power-source and tendrils rush inside, the shimmering snakes seeming to be hellbound to fill any gap it could find while the core is being lowered down. The snakes break off and fuse themselves to the gun and the core, pulling it inside. The energy of the power source changes from radiating to focused, like the once writhing slag snakes became the wiring that would channel the core’s energy and by extension, a Conduit’s power. With the source set and merged into the shell, Kestrel closes the compartment and seals it shut.

With the weapon completed. She looks it over, tendrils swarming over it and feeling for any defects or any other kinks that could hinder its functioning. Looking at how thorough she is, I can see why she got her title.

I step closer and begin to speak, but the sound startles the girl. She screams out in panic as her tendrils thrash around before retracting back into her body. The sudden hit from the event causes her to yelp in pain. She turns her head and looks me dead in the eyes before growling at me. I put up my hands.

“Woah there-” Is all I could get out before the bird snarls.

“What in the actual FUCK, MacGrath?! Didn’t you read the fu-” Her rage is cut short by a loud revving buzz that rose into a deafening mechanical wail. No doubt about what it is, the tell-tale scream of a tornado siren. I’m about to ask what was going on, but one look at Kestrel’s face and I knew. I have never seen someone lose the color in their face so quickly before, it makes the way her face drained when she learned I was the Beast look slow.

“They’re coming…” I could barely hear Kestrel over the distorted wailing of the siren. Fear, pure fear. I would be lying if I said that the emotion isn’t spreading. I can feel the terror gripping my chest like a vice, remembering the horde of Warped that came after me in the mine. This must be the “they” she’s talking about.

There was no time for questions as the girl leaps out of the window with gun in tow. Her panicked voice howling “They’re coming” over and over again as she charges though the blaring streets. I’m not far behind as I chase after her. She’s most likely rushing to meet up with the others. Fear starts to mix with adrenaline as I think of what might come. This time it might actually be a fun fight with more allies around. Who knows.

All I know is that it’s about time to see if the Warped are as dangerous out in the open as everyone is saying they are.

#infamous #infamous 2 #cole macgrath #demon of empire city #infamous: no man's land #xeno writes #caper #Kestrel Morrison #Blast Shard Caper #Conduit OC #The Warped

8 notes · View notes