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kenzieam · 6 years

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The Call of the Void - Chapter Four

Rating: M (language, violence, mentions of torture and abuse, eventual smut, angst)

Genre: Drama/Angst

@captstefanbrandt @iammarylastar @kiiiimberlyriiiicker1995 @notimetoblog @captain-ariel-barnes @jaamesbbarnes @lancefvcker @bitsandbobsandstuff @softlybarnes @lovelybbarnes @buckitybarnes @bucky-plums-barnes @thottybarnes @moonbeambucky @badassbaker @citylights221 @empress-of-boujee @tbetz0341chook007 @shynara51 @diinofayce @casestudy-mw

If I missed any tag requests, I apologize!!

*IF YOU WANT TO BE ADDED OR DELETED FROM THIS LIST, DM ME*

Word Count 3.1 k +

Some fluff and sweetness, tempered by more darkness; enjoy my lovelies.....

**Potential Triggers, please read with caution**

Steve instantly zeroed in on the awkwardness between Buck and Nika when he returned in the quinjet a few days later. He shot a ‘what did you do?’ glare in Bucky’s direction before wrapping Nika in a tight hug, laughing at something she said to him and Bucky felt a sharp pang straight through his heart. He wanted that; hell, he could even say he was jealous of Steve for the relationship he seemed to have forged with Nika; he wanted that easy intimacy, the freedom to sling an arm over her shoulders and feel her lean against him, tell a joke and hear her musical laughter.

He would never willingly deny his oldest friend a chance at happiness, if Nika had chosen Steve over him, but it absolutely broke the shredded remains of Bucky’s heart to watch them. After his bumbling affection a few days ago, would Nika pull completely away? She had so far, avoiding Bucky at every turn, he’d not even been able to catch fleeting glances of her outside. He’d felt it, the same crazy rush race through Nika as it had through him, the lightning bolt of pure energy as their lips connected. He hadn’t meant to kiss her, hadn’t even realized he was going to, but to hear her defeated words, to see the sorrow and shame on her delicate face had broken something deep inside him, and his lips had crushed to hers before he could think clearly, could tell himself to stop, that he had no right and, even if he did, it was too soon.

Nika’s request for a truce was both a blessing and a curse; in one way, she’d felt the same pull as him, the crazed draw and absolute necessity to connect, but she also was willing to pull away, put necessary distance between them. Nika was still far to tangled in her horrible past to even consider such things right now and, even if by some miracle she was, Bucky was mired down too. He still woke almost every night screaming from nightmares, pulse-pounding memories of HYDRA drawing yet another anguished howl from him, the brutal agony as his mind was wiped again and again, the stubborn ache of his arm, the infuriating itch of his scars.

But lately, in the last few days, his night terrors had taken on a different flavour; whether true memories or just more tangled misery his brain had decided to torment him with, Nika had now entered his nightly horrors. Images, or perhaps memories, of her made to stand in front of him, fresh blood reddening her pale, delicate skin, while he towered silently; the Winter Soldier, awakened and ready to comply. Had they been made to fight each other, as his nightmares suggested? Had Pierce wanted to ensure she was his equal or better in battle, and they’d been ordered to fight each other to investigate this? Time and again struggling to near death, until either hers or his handlers called them off, pulled them away from each other to observe with clinical detachment the wounds they’d inflicted on each other? It was definitely a strong possibility, at least in the first few years of Nika’s training, before the accident; she was meant to be his destroyer, of course HYDRA would want to ensure she could not only hold her own against the Asset, but defeat him as well.

Equally as horrifying as these was the possibility that Bucky had completely wrecked any chance he’d ever had with Nika. By giving in, by losing control of himself so early, had he broken the fragile thread between them? He would have no one but himself to blame, Steve had warned him to stay away and beyond simply accepting his hand, Nika had not given him any further encouragement that warranted his actions. She needed a friend, a confidante, not a tie to her past panting after her like a dog.

Slinging an arm over Nika’s shoulders just as Bucky feared, Steve wandered towards Bucky, feigning nonchalance but watching the former Winter Soldier carefully. He halted a few feet away.

“Everything go alright?” He asked, eyes boring into Bucky’s.

Bucky swallowed, about to give it all away; he could never lie to Steve, when Nika replied instead, pressing a hand to Steve’s broad chest in a surprising display of trust.

“Fine, Steve. Pretty chill actually.”

Steve glanced down at Nika before looking back at Bucky, who schooled his features carefully and nodded. Suspicion flashed briefly through his eyes but Steve nodded back, returning his gaze to Nika. She dazzled him with a wide, genuine smile that sent a fresh spike of pain through Bucky.

“How was the mission?”

“Boring, wish I could’ve stayed here.” Steve replied. Reaching up he rubbed the back of his head, hand rasping through the short strands. “I’ve actually got to head back to DC soon, as much as I want to stay, what-”

“I’ll come back too.” Nika replied, dancing out from under Steve’s arm and falling into a playful boxer’s stance.

Glancing back at Bucky in surprise Steve turned to face Nika, blocking her gentle jabs with a chuckle.

“Bored?” He drawled.

“It’s beautiful here,” Nika conceded. “But it’s too quiet, I have way too much time to over-think and fixate on things I can’t change, I’d rather be doing something,” she paused then, dropping her fists. “I have to talk to Nat, we.... we need to talk.” The playful gleam in her eye stuttered out, replaced by a bleak sombreness that tore at Bucky’s heart. Nika was too young to carry this weight and Bucky ached to relieve her of the burden.

“You sure?” Steve asked. “You haven’t been here very long-”

Nika lifted her head and while her eyes were red-rimmed with unshed tears, they were calm and confident. “Yes.”

***************************************************************************************************************************************************** Bucky had considered staying in Wakanda after Steve and Nika left; she’d attached herself to the Captain like a barnacle, Bucky thought sourly; and all but ignored him. Whether this was punishment or self-preservation he didn’t know, but it hurt all the same. The night he returned, after Nika had dragged him out to ooh and aww over the sunset, Steve had tracked Bucky down and cornered him, demanding to know what had happened. Chronically unable to lie to his best friend, Buck had stuttered the truth and, while he hadn’t liked it, Steve hadn’t quite lost his shit like Bucky expected him too.

“She’s just got on the right track, Buck.” Steve sighed, running his hand through his spiky hair. “Shuri and Wakanda helped her with this amazing breakthrough, I mean look at her, she’s glowing; but she’s still fragile.”

“I know, I-”

“I know you love her.” Steve replied bluntly, crossing his arms over his chest and Bucky stumbled to a halt; had he been that transparent?

At Bucky’s expression Steve scoffed gently. “You didn’t really think you could hide that from me Buck, did you? We’re brothers, I know you, I’ve never seen such a heartsick look on your face before, but hold it back, okay? Give her time to decide what she wants. Even though Tony’s chomping at the bit to have her join the team, she’s free to do whatever she wants, and if that doesn’t include you, you have to accept that.”

Bucky heard the simple wisdom of Steve’s words, but they clawed at his heart nonetheless; he’d chosen to join the Avengers, to try to amend for his past sins by fighting for good, but what would Nika do? She’d been brought into the KGB as a child with her older sister, then stolen into HYDRA without her consent; she was well within her rights to wash her hands of the entire business, do what Bruce did a few years ago and go completely off the grid, start raising chickens or spinning wool or something.

Just because Bucky’s entire being now depended on her didn’t mean she belonged to him.

Steve tutted sympathetically, slapping Bucky once on the shoulder before turning away.

***************************************************************************************************************************************************** In the end, Bucky had decided to return to DC too, and spent the majority of the flight slumped in the rear of the quinjet, watching Nika and Steve in the cockpit. At one point Steve had even let Nika take the controls, and Bucky had been unable to resist a wide smile at her happy squeal, a pure, carefree laugh of joy and excitement. She’d even forgotten their imposed separation and looked back over her shoulder to yell eagerly at Bucky, tease him and laugh at his cheerful reply.

Nat was waiting nervously beside Clint in the common area, waiting to see her sister again. The air was thick with tension; although Nat had not been involved at all, Nika had always been told that her beloved sister had betrayed her, and all of their previous interactions had been traumatic and stressful. But Nika was different now, having shed a heavy weight in Wakanda, woken up from cryofreeze with a new hunger for life. She was by no means cured, but was definitely in a much better place than when she’d left, would her new benevolence extend to her sister as well?

Surprise flashed through Nat’s eyes when Nika arrived; Steve had just told her a joke and her laughter rang through the hall, sounding like the most honey-sweet melody to Bucky’s biased ears. The rest of the team stood off to the side, informed of Nika’s progress through Steve, but wary to see it or, in some accidental way, wreck it.

Nika came to a halt suddenly upon seeing Nat in front of her, losing her balance enough that she needed to lean against Steve for a heartbeat to regain it, then taken a single, slow step forward. Mirroring her, Nat took a single step as well, pulling out of Clint’s protective embrace. For a long beat, they just gazed at each other, eyes conveying untold number of words and thoughts, then Nika smiled.

“Sister.” She greeted, her Russian lilt musical.

Nat sagged with relief, instant tears streaking down her cheeks. Letting out a choked sob she bridged the space between them and wrapped her arms around Nika, both sisters starting to cry in earnest, pulling apart only enough to wipe tears from the other’s cheeks and giggle wetly before embracing tightly again. After a long moment they stepped apart and, after wiping at her eyes again, Nika turned to the rest of the team.

“Hi,” she started nervously, sounding nothing like a highly trained Russian assassin, “I apologize for my... behaviour before, I hope you will all give me another chance.” She startled slightly at the team’s instant clamouring, their immediate reassurances and welcomes, glancing over her shoulder at Steve, who stood looking like a proud father a few feet behind her, then moving closer to the mob, tentatively shaking the various extended hands before being pulled bodily into a bear hug by an over-eager Thor. After a moment, the Captain took over, sensing Nika’s slight faltering and waded into the pack, elbowing team members aside before pulling Nika to his side comfortingly, a pang shooting through Bucky’s chest as he saw Nika lean gratefully into him.

“C’mon guys, let her breathe.” He scolded gently before looking down, asking with a raised brow if Nika was alright.

Sensing they’d perhaps pushed too far, the team fell quiet, eyeing Nika and her blond protector uncertainly and it was Tony, the sarcastic but caring uncle who spoke next.

“Who’s up for pizza? “ He chirped, glancing around. “Y’all get your party clothes on, we’re going to eat ‘till we puke and watch ridiculous sci fi from the ‘60’s.”

“No way,” Sam cut in. “We watched that Plan 9 shit last time, it’s cheesy ‘80’s action movies tonight.”

“Uh uh,” Clint laughed. “It’s ‘90’s Rom-Com night.”

Sam blew a raspberry. “You just wanna make out with Nat-”

“Perhaps,” Thor boomed, not even needed to raise his voice, “our treasured guest should choose our amusement.”

Bucky’s fists clenched with suppressed rage when Thor winked Nika’s way and Steve elbowed him subtly, indicating that he had in fact growled out loud and not just in his head like he’d thought.

“Whatever,” Tony quipped, “we’ve got like four thousand to choose from, by the time the pizzas get here we should have something hammered out. FRIDAY!”

“Yes, Mr. Stark?”

“Pizza night, order the usual. Hey, wait!” He turned then to Nika, raising a brow. “What kind do you want, little Widow?”

Nika shrugged, glancing uncertainly at first Steve and then Nat. “I’ve haven’t had pizza for a long time.”

Tony turned with a flourish and continued to holler at the AI. “One of everything they got FRIDAY and tell them to not to frickin’ dawdle; there’s an extra Benjamin in it for the delivery boy if he gets here before I park my ass on the couch!”

“Yes sir.” The AI sounded almost dry.

Tony whirled again, absolutely in his element. “Thunder Thighs, you and Chickenhawk are on drink duty, and bring more than just Asgardian Mead and Mountain Dew this time.” Thor and Sam traded a glance before turning and disappearing, grumbling, into the kitchen. The rest of the team began to wander away, arguing about how many bags of chips to bring, leaving Nika, Nat, Bucky and Steve standing in a small circle.

“Make yourself at home, Devushka. Nat’ll show you your room then it’s time for a refresher course in Western indulgence.” Tony sauntered away, reminding Bucky of a bantam rooster.

Smirking wryly Steve turned back to Nika, offering a soft smile. “Doing okay? Tony can be a bit.... much.”

“He’s like a little rooster,” Nika mumbled, so quietly only Bucky caught it and he snorted a laugh, clasping a hand over his mouth and choking back a howl.

Frowning briefly at Bucky Steve grinned, “yeah, he’s a hoot, give you the shirt off his back however, once you’re in his circle.” Clearing his throat he looked over at Nat. “You want to get Nika settled? Despite whatever Tony says that pizza’s going to be at least half an hour.”

“C’mon sister,” Nat smiled, arm looped in Nika’s. Gently she tugged her in the direction of the team’s rooms, Bucky and Steve staying put, watching them. Steve smiled warmly as he saw the girls tip their heads together to touch, talking quietly as they walked away.

“She’s so strong.” Steve murmured, almost to himself. Inhaling sharply he turned to look at Bucky, frowned good-naturedly at the brunette’s scowl. “Down boy,” he quipped.

***************************************************************************************************************************************************** After a spirited debate and many threats of mayhem the stalemate was finally broken by Nat rolling her eyes dramatically and grabbing all the DVDs being waved around, dropping them into a bag, shaking it briefly and holding it towards Nika to reach in and choose. Howls of mock-outrage rose as Nika pulled one free.

“‘Wall-E’? Who the hell wants to see that?” Sam was absolutely scandalized, side-eyeing the whole group. Bucky looked down, cheeks reddening.

Nika glanced at him, then stared at the cover. “It looks cute.”

Sam rolled his eyes.

Wall-E was just staring in awe at his new spork and Rubik’s cube when the pizza arrived. Nika stared in awe at the array of food that was brought up, while Tony played a rather highly strung host, prying open boxes to sniff at them suspiciously before announcing the flavour, brushing off Steve’s attempt to point out the name of each pizza scrawled on the lid.

“I can read, Captain Underpants,” he replied dryly before flipping open another box with a flourish. “Hawaiian!” He declared.

Even with Tony being no help whatsoever, everyone was soon situated back on the couches, armchairs and floor, plates piled high with pizza slices, cups overflowing with the rainbow of drinks Thor and Sam supplied, and the movie was resumed.

Nika was absolutely entranced by the movie, absurdly touched by the lonely little robot and his gentle journeys, his clumsy attempts to gain E.V.E.’s attention. The rest of the team were paying similar attention, even Sam; and it amused Nika to see the fearless and heroic Avengers staring almost awestruck at the screen. Squished between Thor on one side and Steve on the other, Nika was occasionally distracted by Thor’s booming commentary, ducking a pillow thrown by Clint at their self-appointed Master of Ceremonies with a giggle, laughing outright when it cut Thor off mid-word, making him sputter in surprised indignation and consequently missing Bucky’s longing gaze at her.

As Wall-E ended Sam leapt to his feet, declaring they needed some real culture and grabbing the original Star Wars, shushing token protests with a flapping hand before informing Nika she was finally in for ‘real entertainment’.

Thor’s rolling commentary never wavered, although it hovered between certainty and confusion at certain parts, ‘Odin’s Beard! What is that appendage?’ but by the time the end credits were rolling and the team was drifting out of the room Thor had exhausted himself and lay sprawled beside a crowded Nika, head dropped back against the couch, mouth hanging open and snoring. Shrugging off the massive arm the God of Thunder had flung over the both of them earlier Steve stood, offering Nika a hand to stand as well and she couldn’t hold back a giggle as Thor grumbled in sleepy protest, mumbling something indecipherable before falling silent again. After a quick whispered conversation, Nat hugged Nika goodnight then left, holding Clint’s hand tightly.

“Hope we weren’t too overwhelming,” Steve grinned.

Nika shook her head as she yawned. “No, it was nice; back in the program we watched western movies only to learn and assimilate into the culture, never for fun, it was good to just sit back and enjoy for once.”

Bucky, who’d been hovering in the periphery, felt a surge of surprised sympathy. It was easy to forget that Nika had been a prisoner even before HYDRA, kept captive and trained to be a master assassin like Nat had and, if she’d been allowed to partake in anything fun like she had tonight, it had been under the shadow of education and research, moulding her into a killer chameleon rather than just letting her be a kid.

“Heading to bed?” Steve continued.

Nika shrugged. “Yeah. It’s been a long day.”

“Alright, goodnight Nika.”

“Goodnight Steve. Goodnight Bucky.”

Bucky startled slightly, feeling an almost childish shame at being discovered, then swallowed and replied. “Goodnight Nika, see you in the morning.”

Nika drifted away, the epitome of grace and, as Steve turned around to smirk in amusement at Bucky, he stuck his tongue out and flipped his blond friend the bird.

#bucky barnes #bucky barnes fanfiction #sebastian stan #captain america #avengers #natasha romanoff #bucky and nika

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oc-fics · 6 years

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~On the Edge~

Fanfic for @skipperwing, featuring The Crimson Fly (Below cut for length)

In retrospect, wearing a mask and leaping out into a stranger’s presence in the worst part of town could be misinterpreted as an attempted mugging. With a wry grumble, the Crimson Fly rubbed their aching shoulder. That old lady must have had bricks in her handbag! That’d be the last time CF would offer help with someone’s groceries. Well… last time for that particular night. Unless someone else was struggling with groceries. Then maybe. Probably. Okay, they’d definitely get help.

Blasted moral compass.

Steady dripping echoed in the depths of the city’s storm drains as the costumed kid trudged along the fractured sidewalks, choosing to save energy on flashy leaps and general acrobatics for the moment an audience was present. The cat following behind didn’t count. Yet. As desperately boring as the evening was becoming, though, no crime on the radar was a good thing, right? In theory it was. Of course it was. But… quiet nights were also uncomfortable; allowing whispering doubts to creep their miasma straight into any self confidence about the sort of difference a masked vigilante might be making in the world.

“Hey, kid! Halloween was last month. What the heck are you doing in a place like this?”

CF blinked and turned toward the voice. Just a patrolling officer.

“Uh,” CF paused to pick at the neck of their costume, stalling. “You know. Fighting the good fight? Keeping watch over a sleeping city? Trying to lose the cat who’s been following me for an hour because I smell like tuna because I fell in the dumpster behind the fish market because I misjudged a jump and it’s not like I need a reminder about-“

“Breathe, kid.” the officer interrupted with a wince.

“Right. Whew…”

“Officer Edge,” the badge on his chest was indicated by way of an introduction. “I’m just glad you’re not, ya know, a goblin or somethin’. This is a spooky shift, I’ll tell ya. It’s really been rustling my jimmies if you know what I mean. The jimmies. They aaaaare rustled. Probably best for you to scoot along home.”

Was that an attempt at humor? Something to calm a wandering child? How irritating. It was only sometimes that the mighty Crimson Fly was denied entry to a PG-13 movie, and maturity had nothing to do with a number anyway! Couldn’t the cop see the tricep definition? Did he need a ticket to the gun show??? Deflating a little from the internal argument, the Crimson Fly decided to forgo making too many assumptions just yet and simply responded with a forced chuckle of recognition. Pick your battles to win your wars. Time to make an exit.

“Thanks, officer Edge. I’ll do that.”

“Sounds like a plan,” the officer smiled. “OH! But stay away from 3rd Street, yeah? That’s where we’ve seen all those goblins, and holy moley you do not want to run into one of those! They bite. Dunno why I said that. The bus stop outta here isn’t anywhere near 3rd Street. Oh, well! Have a good night, pajama dude!”

As the officer turned on his heel, pajama dude squinted up at the street sign. 2nd Street was spelled out in peeling white font, paralleling 3rd Street just through a squat row of various businesses. Well, now it had to be investigated! To keep up appearances, CF marched in a completely different direction long enough to be certain that nobody would follow… besides that cat!!! GO HOME ALREADY!!!

Maybe up and over would be the best approach. With a bracing hop in place, they sucked in a harsh breath and leaped up to scale the wall of a tall apartment building, finger pads stuck fast to the aged brick. It was working. It wouldn’t fail tonight. One hand after the other… concentrate… don’t look down. It played on repeat as a personal mantra of success. Soon enough, a perfect height presented itself to launch in a flailing arc to force a fall or flight response spasming through their body to trigger the buzzing wings into action!

“Wooo! Aha, yes!”

Adrenaline pumped hard, assuring a safe flight (prompted mostly through sheer exhilaration).

“That’d better not be you, kid!” officer Edge called up, alerted by the sudden whoop of victory.

“Don’t worry! It’s not!” CF yelled back cheekily.

“Okay good!” was not the response expected, but it was the one given.

Perhaps this particular fellow was not the brightest taco in the apple stand. Shocked and delighted by the lack of obstacles regardless, the Crimson Fly darted in a quick zig-zag to the next street and came to light on a fire escape. Sputtering street lights offered little in the way of illumination. It was barely enough to drive the heavy shade of evening into submission even in its smallest doses.

“Allllright, ‘goblins’. What are you really?” CF mumbled quietly, struggling to ignore the funk the mask was giving off from earlier dumpster diving.

Thankfully, their patience wasn’t tested too heavily. A soft creak sounded below. Action! The warehouse next door rumbled and squeaked in protest as a metal grate was shoved aside to offer exit to a hoard of at least two dozen… goblins. Goblins?! They were real??? Actually real?! Whoa. This was a little above the Crimson Fly’s pay grade, but if it wasn’t looked into… moral… compass… argh.

Once the last creature had lumbered off into the night, CF nabbed the opportunity to drop and roll through the door before it screeched shut.

Giant tubes filled with viscous red fluids were sprawled across the interior, each with its own goblin creature suspended inside. Even in the state of supposed slumber, they were a creepy sight to behold. The vigilante slowly reached out as if to touch the container when a voice interrupted the bad decision.

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you!”

CF spun in place, fists balled and legs poised, only to realize that it was officer Edge. The posture relaxed fractionally. At least the fuzz was showing up to help. A little action beforehand would have been more fun, but at the end of the day the authorities were doing their job. Weren’t they? Where was the backup? You were supposed to have backup in a raid, right?

“I told you to go home. I didn’t account for your clearly crippling disability of selective hearing.” Edge droned, his voice losing all of the bumbling, friendly overtones. “Since you’re here, though, perhaps… an opinion?”

“Yeah! My opinion is that you’re a crooked cop! You’re involved in this!” the Crimson Fly asserted, pointing an accusatory finger.

“We’re well past that, try to keep up.” Edge sighed, signaling for the returning hoard to close off the exit. “This is my brainchild. Aren’t you tired of seeing the world as it is? Don’t you find it demoralizing to know that sometimes there’s just nothing you can do to upset the apple cart for the better?”

“Oh-kaaaaaay? What do goblin monsters have to do with any of that?” CF asked.

“If you release enough pigeons, people will never notice the dove in the flock.” Edge replied with a strained smile. “While my goblins raid the streets, it will cause a bump in police activity by necessity. The media will be in a frenzy, spreading fear and unrest like a disease. Panicked people make poor decisions, you know. Very poor decisions.”

“…And?”

“And I’m afraid that’s all you’re getting for now. I’m not about to monologue the entirety of my plans. That would be foolish.” Edge smirked, signaling for the ranks to close in.

From the way the beasts had lumbered about on their initial exit of the building, CF would have thought them slow and stupid. On the contrary, they gave him a run for his money in a big way with their synchronized attack formations! He dodged, leaped, kicked, and flew, only barely keeping a step ahead of them to pick off each assailant one by one.

“Whaddaya think of that?” the kid panted as the last goblin tumbled dramatically to the ground.

“I think they’ve done a splendid job of herding you like a sheep among many collies.” Edge answered brightly.

A crane above suddenly released a moderate stack of wooden pallets directly on top on the startled hero. It fell with a splintering crack, splatting CF flat to the floor. All of the air left their lungs in a great whoosh, leaving them gasping in a desperate attempt to breathe as they crawled from the debris. Unfortunately, they only made it a few feet before a heavy foot pressed down on their back, halting any progress.

CF gave a strangled cry as the cuticle attaching wing joints to skin and muscle strained and stretched under the false officer’s boot. Wheezing breaths stained the fabric of their mask with spittle and coppery blood. This was wrong. The good guy charges in and the bad guy is defeated in a blaze of fancy footwork and jabs. That’s how it works! That’s how it’s supposed to work! Panic seized their chest at the realization that nobody would be coming to break this up. A missing kid would be static noise in the news, lost in the rabble, and they would die here, crunched under someone’s shoe like a helpless bug.

Help me.

CF wriggled and bucked, only to be forced back into place by superior weight.

“You won’t get away with this…!”

“You’re probably going to die here, and that’s the best thing you can think of? Pretty tired line, don’t you think, sport?” Edge commiserated. “I’m not going to outright kill you, as an aside. But I would love to study you… this fffffun little anatomy addition you’ve got. The power of flight. What a time to be alive. Flying goblins would certainly help in the fear factor.”

For a moment, Edge seemed lost in thought, as though he’d completely forgotten the Crimson Fly was there. In his mind, he could see something beautiful in the near distance that wasn’t quite within the realm of reality. It wasn’t enough of a fantasy that he budged his boot even an inch, but is was enough that he was oblivious to the ball of flying claws and fluff that leaped down from the rafters above! With a tiny meow, er, war cry, the cat which had been following CF all night latched itself onto the villain’s back. Beads of blood peeked through the dark fabric of Edge’s uniform, prompting an angry curse and a fair bit of struggling. Just enough for an escape!

Goblins all around were staggering back to consciousness, cluttering the floor with unsteady bodies. All the afternoons trying to dart through a busy subway station were finally paying off! Closely followed by the cat, the Crimson Fly darted though the chaos and out into the street. They only had a moment at most, so they gathered up the cat and beat feet to the bus station, clambering aboard the roof of it just as it veered out of the side streets. It wasn’t until they’d moved from an off ramp onto the highway that the hammering in the little hero’s chest slowed, if only slightly.

“This guy’s gonna be harder to deal with than I thought…” they muttered, idly stroking the cat.

To be continued...?

#on the edge #crimsonfly #fanfic #skipperwing

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