#you don't need any context its just a guy who came back from the dead ghosting his ex fwb
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THIS COULD BE THE FUNNIEST STEDDIE DYNAMIC TBH
#tillman and declan as eddie and steve. i might just pass away this is so fucking funny#all of shutout by the garages. go listen to it#you don't need any context its just a guy who came back from the dead ghosting his ex fwb#why doesnt anyone do this. maybe i'd read a steddie centric fic if this was the case#quincy.txt#blb st#ssflt
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alright. so, i know ive already made a post about this on my main, but im stupid and went to the original tweet and just made myself angry again.
TW// T-CEST UNDER THE CUT
alright, so a couple days ago i rbed a screenshot of a certain story board artist's tweet about being the one to put tcest in the show.
i dont know why or how, but i found my way onto twitter and to the original tweet that this guy made.
for context, sheldon here was a storyboard artist for Rise and the scene they are talking about here is this one from the Lair Games episode-
i partially explain again why this is horrible and disgusting and partially why i dont believe or accept sheldon's... i dont even know what to call it. his response (the top post in the first screenshot)
part one
since i literally just rbed something about this, im just going to copy/paste my rb and add onto it a little.
" no but when i found out that some of the artists who originally worked on Rise were t-cesters and proshippers i was actually so fucking pissed off.
there are part of this community that are actually god damn disgusting, and im not afriad to say that tcest is fucking rancid and if you support it i dont want you near the content that i create.
first of all, it is literally incest. it says so right in the name. which, i really hope i dont have to explain why incest is bas in the ripe year of 2022. I don't care that they arent "blood-related". They were fucking raised as brothers, treated like brothers, and think of each other as brothers. No matter how hard you try to spin it, no matter how hard you argue that they arent technically related, you have to understand that they see and think of each other as brothers, which should be enough to make this incest.
this show was amazing when it came to family dynamics and brotherly love/trust/bonds. i can say with confidence that the brothers in Rise are much more brotherly/closer than any other previous versions. it's obvious to see that they love and care and want to protect one another. to turn platonic and love for one's family into something so gross and vile is taking all of the healthy emotional bonds between these characters and throwing it out the window.
i cant fuckung believe i have to say this every time i come back into the tmnt fandom, but-
THEY ARE MINORS.
sure, with the recent Rise movie we saw an adult leo, but heres the thing- that version of leo is fucking dead. he literally got fucking beamed out of existence.
the fact that every one of these brothers are under the age of 18 and i still see so much nsfw art is absolutely horrid.
finally, it's a kid's show. sure, many of us in the community are teens, later teens, and grown adults, but that does not change that this show was originally created to bring the tmnt franchise into yet another generation of kids. again, i sincerely hope that i dont need to explain why implying incest in kids shows (or really any TVs shows, for that matter) is morally wrong and vile.
literally yesterday me and some of my mutuals had to go through a lot of our content to re-tag a whole bunch of our posts tagged with "tcest dni" because tumblr's tagging system is actual shit. there shouldnt even be a tcest community, outside of it impeding on the rest of us Rise fans.
sorry this is such a long post but im so tired of seeing / hearing about tcest. its gross, disgusting, icky, etc etc. it is 6:30 am and i woke up and saw this and decided to fucking say something, because tcest has actively made my experience coming back into the tmnt community and fandom worse. "
and i still stand by that. seeing so much tcest- and from the artists on the rise crew, no less- is making my journy back into the tmnt fandom so, so much worse. it is actively hurting a lot of people- which brings me to one specific tweet from this thread.
so, to start- i do not, i repeat- DO NOT condone or promote sending death threats to people or telling them to kill themselves.
second- it isnt. harmless. reminder, again, that this is a
CHILDREN'S. SHOW.
you are talking about MINORS IN INCESTUAL RELATIONSHIPS. "harmless fiction" my ass.
part two
ok. so as you can see in the original screenshot, you can see that sheldon is passing this off as a joke. but i honestly cannot believe him when he says this.
why, i hear you asking. well,
look at the time stamp. 2020, nearly three years ago now, when the Lair Games episode had just come out.
why didn't he say it was a joke three years ago, when he first posted the storyboard clip? because he isnt fucking joking. either that or he is just really so fucking dense that he doesn't realize that what he's doing is not funny in any way, shape or form.
which brings me to my next point.
even if it is all just a joke,
why the fuck are you joking about minors participating in fucking incest?
its fucking nasty even if it is a joke. i genuinely shouldnt need to say anymore on why this is fucking horrid.
well. ive taken up enough of your time- i appreciate you reading to the end and i apologize for making this so long. a quick, final word in case you got this far and are a tcester or support tcest-
kindly fuck off, do not interact with me, unfollow me, and block me :] i dont want your nasty ass incest anywhere fucking near me or this blog.
thanks ! :D
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ds9 time, s2e12
well alright odo whatever tickles your fancy sir
quarks genuinely taken aback that odo seems to be seriously about a purchase.
who the fuck is mora. should i know this man
yeah id be kind of annoyed if someone came up to me, unannounced, and started critiquing my shapeshifting
i dont like dr mora
i do like that odos like 'id like a runabout' and sisko immediately goes 'yeah sure. what for'. just completely confident. has basically no reason to deny that request of any of his major crew members unless context suggests a problem (i think kiras run against that a handful of times).
dr mora is acting like a dad trying to provoke a child to speak and odo is just like. for fucks sake man. fine. yeesh
my question to mora is when he says 'work with you', does he mean working with odo as a peer, or with in the sense that you work with computers, with a field of study?
thats a familiar looking set, i love the soundstage lads. oh a beautiful background, that one, Stunning.
i love that their standin for 'odo juice' is clearly just some iron filings with a magnet being spun around it. excellent shit.
okay im attempting to recalibrate if i should give a shit about mora based on how odo reacts and because odo is shit at expressing his emotions (mood, sir) and im still struggling to figure that one out.
'he hid my clothes so i wouldnt leave' bashir buddy cmon
oh that man might be dead
"if you run into my wife don't mention i did this" obrien i love you
ugh thats so goopy
"my replicator or yours" i find that such a cute phrase. and again, the evidence persists that dax is probably the only person who enjoys julians company other than garrick lmao, if she wanted to invite it out for drinks.
okay julian my guy what does THAT mean. i thought we'd stopped being cringe heterosexual. oh thank god for drama.
"its a nickname i barely tolerate" "its an expression of affection" dr mora sir those are not mutually exclusive. my friends have expressed their affection for me by pre-emptively censoring their horniness in such a way that makes me feel like a piece of shit buzzkill despite having done nothing - affection need not be accepted at the end point. eat shit. anyway uh
i hate dr mora
dax's vibe in this scene with mora where moras all 'ah, never thought hed grow up' and whatever its very :) please stop.
you know what it is? you know what it is. its that he keeps infantilising odo, and a lot of the traits hes picking out as things odo is/was "deficient" in are like. you know. Autistic traits. is that anything. i feel like thats where im rankling
ah okay so the twist is Odo's doing this shit subconsciously
mora pol is such a cunt. i hate this guy
"what humanoid have you been able to trust except me?" "WHAT MAKES YOU THINK I TRUST YOU?" "I resent that" good! fuck off cunt!
he sucks so much. feeling hes owed odo's trust because of his effort, fuck you. odos having a breakdown and hes just charging forward with his self-centering. absolute state. oh is the twist going to be that he's causing this to try and coerce odo back into his lab?
oop hes melting oop oop oop
"its separate and independent from the odo we know" are you sure about that. are you confident. are you positively convinced. because im not. im not convinced.
if this episode is going to try and convince me mora has had any change of heart, its not gonna work, i tell you what. i honestly hope its kira that manages to get him to back down since we've established she is probably the person he trusts most on the station. just to prove mora wrong about his lack of trust in others. i want them to prove it, yknow.
oh great it is trying to convince me. "ive done it again havent i? made you a prisoner" YES. YOU SHITSTAIN. YOU WANKROD.
bleugh.
its annoying because i think its a good episode. there's good drama, you learn a lot about odo and where he's been, its good. there's good dynamics with the cast. i just dislike mora pol to such an extent that it makes it hard to buy into that specific axis of the drama, and its the primary one. thats the one im meant to care about. and i cant. because he appears and everything says no, nonono, this man is no good father. and it wasnt like he was even doing bad shit at the start, i just caught a vibe and went euuuugh.
#ds9 blogging#the only ep for the night bc i just dont have the energy for a second i dont think#blame the heat i guess
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Why I Love Tales of the Dark Multiverse: Dark Nights Metal
After a discussion with @finalfrontierpioneer about old posts about skeleton!Barry and floating hand!Hal, it came to my attention that the original one buried how much I unironically love Tales of the Dark Multiverse: Dark Nights Metal. So I’m here now, over a year after the comic came out, to correct that oversight and share one of my points of pure joy in 2021.
So, whether you've only ever seen a couple of panels or are well aware of the weirdness of this comic, here’s 2.5k words and a bunch of pictures on the journey, WTFery, and heart that is Tales of the Dark Multiverse: Dark Nights Metal.
This is going to discuss a lot of what went on in Tales of the Dark Multiverse: Dark Nights Metal, so spoilers for pretty much everything in that comic. Other spoilers from Infinite Crisis, Flashpoint, their Dark Multiverse counterparts, and from Dark Knights Metal. Content warning for discussions of major character death. It wouldn't be a Dark Multiverse Tale without offing most of the characters.
We’re also about to get a little salty with the context, so hold on tight.
I’m going to start this off by admitting that I wasn't having much fun with the Dark Multiverse stuff. If you're not familiar, the basic concept is that in the Dark Multiverse the heroes don't dramatically show up to save the day and instead, things take a dark turn. In practice, it was a bunch of single issue stories showing how various big DC events went differently in the Dark Multiverse. I love seeing familiar stories reimagined, so I was totally on board.
Now, I didn’t read all of them (I’m not strong enough for that), but of those I did read, “dark” pretty much meant a version where the bad guy won. Full stop. Oh, hey, in this world Blue Beetle shot Maxwell Lord, turned evil, and then just won Infinite Crisis. Oh look, Barry fried himself trying to get his powers back in Flashpoint, and then the Reverse Flash just made his own evil Justice League. So I go into a story hoping to see Thawne struggle with his identity now that the guy he’s built his entire life around is dead, and instead he doesn’t care and gets what might be the happiest ending he could hope for.
I know. Most of that’s on me for expecting something like that. I had the exact same problem with the Marvel What Ifs years ago. It’s why I write fanfiction. Whatever.
And credit where it's due, the Blackest Night one was pretty fun.
But then, like the mythical Ouroboros, the event devoured its own tail in Tales of the Dark Multiverse: Dark Nights Metal.
What happened in Dark Nights Metal? IDFK. I know it started all the Dark Multiverse silliness, and has something to do with a Darkseid baby?
Luckily this comic gives you just enough so that you don’t need to FK either. Basically, the heroes make some snazzy armor to go fight some invading evil god, but instead of protecting them, it corrupts them. Batman turns into the bad guy’s horcrux or whatever so he can take over. They turn the world into hellscape.
Now, this story doesn’t bother showing us any of that, which personally I think is one of its greatest strengths. Instead of spending precious page time showing the audience how we got here, it starts here. The bad stuff already happened. We’re at the end. We get enough hints to fill in what went on in between, and the rest of the page time is devoted to the final stand of the Justice League of this world.
Our hero for this story is Duke Thomas, who’s been running through the worlds of the Dark Multiverse trying to save even one. But because the Dark Multiverse universally sucks, he wasn’t able to, and is back home on the final living world.
Now, I didn’t know anything about Duke Thomas going into this. He introduces himself as Batman’s final sidekick, and is a metahuman with the power to look into the past, which I personally think is just a fucking fantastic match for a post-apocalypse story.
The state of the world, now, and then
Anyway, after being introduced to the fate of the world, we see what’s become of half the Justice League.
BatDragon’s adorable little jester hat, Medusa!Diana’s sense of propriety, Demon!Clark and his Demon!cowlick, Hal’s, um, nontraditional idea of dragons, and AquaSnake. Teeny tiny Duke included for scale
Why are they dragons? Uh…
There might be an explanation in Dark Nights Metal, but I sure as hell don’t know what it is. But I’m also trash for fantasy elements, so I’ll take my dragons where I can get them.
Anyway, the dragons don't like that Duke's here, and attack! Things aren't going well, and he's about to be eaten by Clark's stomach mouth, but then... Duke’s saved by Manbun!Nightwing, wielding the Parall-axe.
Bwaaaaaaawooooooowww!
Where is the line between awesome and stupid? It’s highly subjective, but personally I thoroughly enjoy things that somehow manage to be both. Pacific Rim’s one of my favorite movies. Is it logical to build giant robots that run off of intense interpersonal connections to punch giant monsters in the face? No. Is it awesome anyway? Hell yes.
And tone is important too. Would I be able to accept the Parall-axe, or a guitar pick with the Nightwing logo, or AquaSnake in a story that was telling me to take it 100% seriously? Probably not. But I'm totally here for it in this.
Now, if you think all of this is the stupidest thing you’ve ever seen, that’s fair. You might want to just stop now, because things continue in this mix of awesome, bizarre, and poignant for the rest of the comic. But I encourage you to put aside your preconceived notions of what a Justice League comic should be, because if you’re willing to meet this comic where it lives, it’s a really fun ride.
Also, if you’re a Halbarry shipper, you should definitely stick around.
Anyway, Dick and Duke run away. Dick’s just here to survive, and doesn’t want to hear Duke’s talk about taking a stand. Duke’s not giving up, though, so he tracks Dick back to the shattered remains of the fallen Watchtower and the remnants of the Justice League.
Tales of the Dark Multiverse: The Apocalypse Collection (Clockwise from the top: Hawkman, Flash, Duke, Hawkgirl, and Detective Chimp/Red Tornado)
Now, these designs are pretty unusual, but I really dig them, especially Detective Chimp and Barry’s. Kendra’s and Dick’s are more traditional Mad Max style apocalypse wear, with the Dark Nights Metal twist of the spiky metal accessories and personal touches like the symbol on Nightwing’s pauldron or Kendra’s clawed boots, ankh, and MC Hammer pants. Hell, I usually hate Hawkman, but him fighting through the call of an evil god because of how much he loves Kendra is really sweet.
Bobo’s clearly jerry rigged what’s left of Red Tornado into a suit. I can so easily see a scenario where the last of the Justice League was trying to hold off the dragons, or one of the world’s other corrupted denizens, while some survivors escaped. Red Tornado’s smashed to bits. Bobo’s back is broken. The others are barely able to get them out of there alive.
And Barry the skeleton. I love the visual hints with the ring that looks like it’s mainlining Speed Force into him. I was actually reminded of Red Racer, a Multiverse Flash who ran 1,000 years in a couple minutes so that his team could save the universe, and all that was left after he finished was his skeleton (Superman (2016) #16). Now, that story didn’t really justify killing Red Racer, which is a whole other can of worms, but in a world were half the Justice League has been corrupted into unstoppable dragons and they’re down to 4 heroes for the whole world?
So he’s running and running, trying to hold things together, knowing that it’s not enough and seeing the toll it’s taking on his body. He comes up with a way to connect with the Speed Force to keep going, even as his body continues to deteriorate. Maybe he even has an idea what happened to the rest of the League, but can’t do anything to help them, because then he’d die and lose the chance to save anyone else. And even through the personal cost he’s paid, the continuous losses they’ve suffered, and a world that continually get bleaker and bleaker, he’s still the one in their group holding on to hope that things will get better.
Or maybe I’m totally wrong, and it’s whatever explanation you came up with (which I’d love to hear!)
To me, the designs make the world feel lived in, which is something that's really important when you’re dropped in at the end of the action. If they’d tried to tell the story of how things got to this point in a single issue, it would have felt rushed and unsatisfying, but instead they chose to leave that up to the audience, trusting that their imaginations can fill in the blanks.
Anyway, Duke gives them a speech about how they can take down the dragons. It doesn’t go over great.
But he keeps trying. They know the end is coming for this world, so why not go down swinging?
The Justice League, then and now. Dick now wears baggy jeans to hammer home to the audience what’s been lost in this nightmare world
They use Duke’s power sparingly, again, in my opinion, to the comic’s benefit. It's just been the stuff I've been including in the recap because they're the important beats.
Anyway, the Batman Who Laughs is hamming it up over at the Hall of Justice. They burninate his ass, then raid the Hall for weapons for the final battle, including a Joker dragon, because why not?
The final showdown. Convenient mood lighting is a feature of Earth-Metal
And now the panels that you’re probably familiar with. Not going to lie, when I was first reading this, I had to stop and reread this page because I didn’t quite believe what I just read. I started this comic thinking it would be the disappointing end to an event that, to me, had been a slog to get through. And while I got on board for a cool apocalypse story a couple pages in, I hadn’t dared to dream it would also include Halbarry content, even if it's between a skeleton Barry and a disembodied hand Hal. I could barely believe it when there it was, right in front of my eyes.
It’s like that scene at the end of a romance movie when the romantic leads lock eyes and just fucking launch themselves at each other
So, a year later, the context for this scene. The sides are facing off for the final battle. Barry is faced with what has become of his friends, the people he founded the Justice League with, and worked with for years to make a better world. All that is gone now, but there’s still hope that something in this world can be saved.
But despite the roar of the dragons, the lightning splitting the red skies, the deep sadness at seeing his friends corrupted into dark reflections of themselves, Barry’s immediately drawn to that familiar green light. He doesn’t have eyes, but can see it clear as day.
Maybe it’s knowing that a Green Lantern’s ring leaves to find a replacement on the Lantern’s death. Maybe it's the knowledge that Hal’s heart and will and indomitable spirit have always fueled his constructs, and that, in that way, this one is no different. Or maybe Barry just knows that, even scarred as they both are by this world, that Hal’s waiting for him and will answer when he calls.
So Barry runs, before the two sides can even reach each other. He knows what he has to do, for his own sake and for Hal's. He runs, as fast as he can go, fast enough that he leaves behind the portal connecting him to the speed force.
He calls, and Hal answers. Instead of attacking, Hal creates a path.
Barry runs through the construct, surrounded one last time by the strength of Hal’s will. He can feel what’s left of his body breaking down around him, bones pulling loose from their joints with no ligaments to hold them, the bones themselves disintegrating from friction and movement and heat.
But then he sees Hal’s hand. It’s his right hand, his ring hand. Of course that’s what it would be, the part of him that would house Hal’s spirit. He reaches out.
Bones snap, and the Speed Force he’s carried with him no longer sustaining him. But that doesn't matter. Barry’s hand closes around Hal’s. His consciousness starts to slip away as Hal’s construct crumbles around them. If he still had lips to smile, he’d smile now, because they’re together again.
Both of them, saved.
Okay, that turned into fanfiction there. But honestly, this might be some of the most blatantly Halbarry published content I've seen. I wasn’t kidding when I said I thought it was a beautiful moment, though I also stand by this all looking fucking weird even with the context. But I also find it hilarious that Barry doesn’t even wait for the final battle splash page to wrap up before charging straight at Hal.
Anyway, back to the fight.
Diana and Arthur get taken out with a little less fanfare. Would it have been nice to give them an emotional send off too? Yes. It would have been a bit tougher with their current JL line up, but I can totally empathize with the WW or Aquaman fans who wanted more. It’s how I feel in a lot of team books with GL and the Flash too.
Instead the WW and Aquaman fights focus on the pair of heroes fighting them. It was still really sweet for Bobo and Red Tornado, who have been bickering the entire comic, embracing each other in the end, and Hawkman and Hawkgirl going out together almost made me feel like Hawkgirl didn’t get horribly screwed by being stuck with Carter forever in this universe.
That’s part of what stood out to me so much about the Hal and Barry send off; they’re not usually the Justice League members who get that kind of moment outside of say, Blackest Night, where they were essentially the main characters. Usually that kind of attention is reserved for Bats and Supes, so the unexpected sentiment was really appreciated.
RIP MedusDiana and AquaSnake
Sorry, still can’t take AquaSnake seriously.
Clark and Dick’s showdown gets a full page, compared to everyone else, who got half a page each. That part’s par for the course.
The rest of the issue is Duke Thomas’s showdown with BarBATos. Subtle, I know.
I love that the dragon’s wearing pants. Whatever brand he and the Hulk shop with, it’s clearly working for them
Anyway, Duke has some great final lines in this last bit, turns the situation around into a really cool power up, and we get our first and only hero of the Dark Multiverse. I’ll let you guys read that part for yourselves. This post is already long enough.
Is it bizarre? Does it make sense in any larger continuity? Why are there dragons, anyway? I’d argue that none of that matters, and that it’s okay to tell a story that doesn’t worry about any of that. Because it succeeds in creating a world, in presenting interesting ideas and places to take its characters, and gives us characters to root for and who we want to succeed.
And yeah, it’s still a darker story of a world at its end, and almost everyone dies, but it’s also a story about hope, and fighting against the odds, and of pulling through. It's about taking a shit situation and turning it into something awesome. In other words, a superhero story. And I love everything about it.
Well, okay, some of the art’s a little strange. But overall, solid win in my books.
#halbarry#comic recommendations#with a pinch of salt#Okay 2.2k words of comic recommendation and 300 words of halbarry fic#not sorry AquaSnake#totally didn't forget about this in my drafts for a couple months#Tales of the Dark Multiverse#Dark Nights Metal#Tales of the Dark Multiverse: Dark Knights Metal
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Yesterday I was hanging out in the park in the fog, taking pictures eating taco bell etc just minding my own business. Had the place to myself due to the weather but it was about 50° so comfortable nonetheless
When suddenly I found... a chicken?
I was like... sir, are you lost?? But he didn't mind me one bit, he just continued his little stroll
Normally if I see a loose dog, I'll stop and try to find the owners. But this... is a chicken?? we really don't have anything that could function as a chicken enclosure, and I didnt want a rooster shitting in my moms car or whatever so i just... didn't know how to handle that, so I left him there, feeling rather morally torn about it.
I did take pictures and post about him on FB and apparently multiple people have had multiple sightings of multiple random roosters from that park up to a mile down the road in the school forest!! There's a discussion going about it in a town group rn, some people are speculating that they were dumped because "no one wants roosters" :( and it's snowing now, so i feel Extra bad about having just left him there :( handsome lad. Put him in some little green trousers and he'd be just like that guy from Robin Hood.
Anyway my mom sees this post and goes "....did you really find a chicken?!" And i was like, "the photo evidence wasn't enough for you?" And she started laughing and was just like "WELL-" and then I explained all of ^ that and said "what do I do with a goddamned chicken? Its not a dog" And, still laughing, she suggests, "take it!"
So I look my mother dead in the eyes and ask her very seriously, "what would you have done if I came home with a WHOLE LIVE CHICKEN?" At this point she's near hysterics and just plain doesn't have an answer to this very reasonable question, but EVIDENTLY, she'd encourage me to just. Grab a fucking random chicken and bring it to her personal home. (This is NOT something my mother would generally allow with any animal bigger than, like a frog, btw.)
context: mom and I have a long-running inside joke about Jenny Lawson's 6 foot metal chicken, because my mom almost bought one for me and similarly was vetoed by my dad. we don't currently have one but we'd very much like one someday.
so anyway. Referencing this, I made one last quip about "what if I had shown up on your doorstep with a live fucking chicken. would you have even let me in? Hi, this is Beyonce and he lives with us now, that's gonna be fine with you??"
At this point she's literally crying laughing and I realized, oh my god. I could have gotten away with it. I have a forgiving enough relationship w my parents, and it would be such a shocking and unexpected situation that even my mom, who has 1,000 anxieties and a prepared response for each one, had no response to this idea but laughter. What better mischief to get into than bringing home a stray chicken!!!! and I foolishly passed it up!!!! She wouldn't have even been mad! Fuck!!!!!
So anyway. That's funny, but in all seriousness I'm worried about the roosters as well and I feel bad for leaving him, and I hope they all found some shelter somehow. If we had anywhere at all to keep even one I'd go back and look for em but we really don't sooo idk. Anyone in Michigan need some loose roosters??
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Of Rocks and Robots Ch. 33 -Don't Mole On My Parade
"Beware evil doers, for I, the mighty Minimax, doth roam the streets with my trusted partner Fred, along with his newest protégé Varian, and together we plan to buy a DVD!"
Varian watched the small robot jump upon a mailbox to proclaim this lofty goal. The little automaton looked just like his namesake, a mini Baymax, but his behavior was far different from the robotic nurse. Hiro had built him to be a sidekick for Fred and so the robot acted just as if he came out of a silver age comic.
"Hey Fred?" Varian asked.
"Yeah?"
"What happened to 'keeping a superhero's identity secret is rule number one in the hallows of superherodom'?"
His friend looked back at him confused, "It is. Why?"
"Because your robot pal isn't exactly what I would call ' inconspicuous'. Aren't you worried someone might recognize him and, you know, put two and two together?"
Fred looked surprised, as if he had never considered this possibility. After a moment's thought he called after his robotic companion.
"You know, your right. Hey Minimax,
come here, you need a disguise."
The little android dutifully ran up to the teen and Fred pulled out a pair of sunglasses and placed them upon its head.
"There! How does that look?"
"Like a small white robot wearing sunglasses."
"Exactly! Usually he wears a cape when he's superheroing."
"You seriously don't expect people to be fooled by a pair of glasses do you?"
"Why not? It worked for Henry Reeve. He played Captain Fancy in the tv show."
"Yeah but I doubt the guy was a two foot tall robot."
"As far as we know…." Fred said stone faced as he looked Varian dead in the eye; the way he often did when spouting some crazy theory that no one else believed.
Varian decided to cut his losses. There was no getting through to Fred once he latched onto an idea; regardless of how ill advised and detached from reality it was.
"So where are we going again?" Varian asked instead.
"We're going to the comic book store to buy a copy of the Professor What DVD that just came out."
"I thought you already owned every episode though?"
"I do. Of every aired episode that is. This is the "lost serial". It was recorded but never broadcast due to a production strike during the 70s and the only way to see it was through bootlegs. But now the EBC has released it in full on dvd, plus extras, like special interviews with the cast and such."
"Ok, that's cool, I guess."
"Mega cool! I can't wait to see it in all it's high definition glory!" Fred joyously squealed only to sober up as they neared the comic shop. "There's only one problem."
"What's that?"
"Richardson Mole" Fred growled.
"Mole?" Varian echoed, confused.
"My arch nemesis, remember? His is the only comic store in town that currently has any copies. The rest won't get theirs till next week!"
"Then why not wait until next week to get it then?" Varian very sensibly asked.
Fred looked at him aghast, "And let Mole gloat over getting to see it a whole week early!? Un-uh! No way! Buuuuut he won't sell me a copy; so that's why you're here."
Fred wrapped an arm around Varian's shoulder and pointed at the other teen's chest as he recounted his plan.
"You see, Minimax and I will cause a distraction drawing Mole outside. While he's gone, you quickly grab a dvd from the display stand and mix it up with a bunch of other stuff you're going to purchase and dump it all on the counter. Hopefully he'll be so annoyed by what me and Minimax have planned, that he won't notice that he sold you a copy along with all the other things you grabbed. It's the perfect plan!" Fred rubbed his hands together devilishly.
"Uh...hun….Ooor I could just walk in there and buy a copy outright instead of paying for a bunch of stuff I don't want." Varian countered.
"You know... that's so crazy…it just might work. Minimax; new plan!" Fred yelled after his robot.
----------------------
The comic shop was not much different from the store inside the mall that Fred had taken Varian to on his first day in San Fansokyo. The main difference was it was a freestanding building and the cashier was a short child perhaps only a few years younger then Varian himself.
"Hello, welcome to my sho--oh it's you, Fred." The kid interrupted his enthusiastic greeting towards Varian the moment Fred walked in behind him.
"Why hello, Mole, unpleasant as ever I see." Fred retorted back with equal disdain.
Mole only sighed and rolled his eyes. "What do you want Fred?"
"Oh contraire, it's not what I want but what my friend here wants." Fred gently but firmly nudged Varian up to the counter as he said this. "Tell him Varian."
"Uhhh...I'd like the newest Professor What DVD...the lost episode one?... P-please." Varian wasn't sure what he had expected when Fred first asked him to come along on this quest for a DVD, but being glared at by a very irritated 12 year old from across the counter wasn't it. Moreover he hated being put on the spot like this. He really had no context for this apparent feud Fred had with this kid.
"Really?" Mole raised an eyebrow. "And there's no chance that my rival Fred here didn't put you up to the task of buying the dvd for him?"
"Uh...d-does it matter?" Varian shrugged, now completely bewildered. He had assumed Fred was only exaggerating about Mole, same as he exaggerated about just everything, but no, turns out that the pre-teen really was that petty.
"Uh, of course it matters." The kid replied as if Varian had missed something obvious. "I have the only copies in town and in limited quantities. I'll only sell them to true fans of the series, otherwise someone might just buy from me and then sell it at a mark up price online or something. Now why should I give someone else that advantage when I can corner the market?"
Varian raised an eyebrow at this explanation but Fred stepped in before he could say anything.
"Hey, Varian's a fan. We've been marathoning the series. Tell him, buddy." Fred gave Varian another nudge.
"Oh really? Well then, Varian, who is your favorite Professor?" Mole's voice dripped with incredulity.
"Y-you mean there's more than one?" Varian began to ask in confusion but Fred jumped him, covering Varian's ears with his hands. Though it did little good as Varian could still hear Fred shushing Mole.
"Shhh...Careful with the spoilers Mole!"
"I knew it! I knew It!" Mole yelled back. "You just dragged your friend over here to buy the special edition dvd for you!"
"I did not!" Fred snapped back.
Minimax jumped up onto the counter and pointed a finger at Mole. "No one accuses my Fred of trickery, foul villain. For even though that is indeed the plan and you must have only deduced that with your nefarious cunning."
"Minimaaaax!" Fred whined.
Varian was losing his patience. He shoved Fred off him. "Look, yes, I came here to buy the DVD so Fred and I could watch it in our marathon. But so far we've only watched the first season and more copies are arriving in a week, so what does it matter!?"
"Wait? You've only seen season one, as in the original series first season from 1963?" Mole asked.
"Uh..Yeah?"
"That's what I was trying to tell you, Mole." Fred interrupted again. "He's going into the series completely blind. He doesn't know about… r-e-n-e-w-a-l yet."
"Renewal?" Varian echoed now even more confused. Fred had tried to drop his voice to a whisper but Varian heard anyway.
Mole's entire demeanor magically changed. Gone was his standoffish and combative nature and in its place was a look of genuine excitement.
"Ooooh, how I envy you my friend! Imagine being able to experience the whole series fresh! Oh..oh, then what's your favorite story so far?"
"Ummm...I liked the one we just finished… it's the one where they're stuck in the middle of the French Revolution."
"Interesting choice." Mole said intrigued. "So who's your favorite assistant?"
"Well I don't if she counts as an 'assistant' but my favorite character so far is the Professor's granddaughter, Sue."
"Yeees!" Mole exclaimed suddenly, taking Varian a back. "Finally, someone who sees sense! Sue is so underappreciated. You know what?" Mole continued as he reached behind the counter to pull a dvd box off the shelf. "Just to show my support in your endeavor to embark on such a daunting quest as to view the entirety of Professor What, here is the dvd to complete the collection, free of charge."
"Really?" Varian asked bewildered as Mole handed him the coveted copy.
"Yup, just come back and let me know how you enjoyed the later seasons, or stop by and maybe check out some of the other Professor What merch I got for sell."
Mole cheerily waved goodbye as Varian, Fred, and Minimax walked out of the shop.
"What just happened?" Fred asked.
Varian opened the thin box to see the disc inside. "Well, apparently your mortal enemy just gave me a free dvd."
"I don't trust it." Fred said darkly. "Mole is up to something."
"Do you want me to return it?"
"No!" Fred quickly exclaimed and reached out to grab the case. But Varian snatched it back out of his reach.
"Now, now, he did give it to me, you know." Varian said as if reprimanding a small child and a sly grin slowly formed on his face.
"Oooh, but.. But I waited years to see it… pleeesee."
Fred was practically crawling over him to get to the dvd but Varian fended him off while trying unsuccessfully to stifle his laughter.
"I'll tell you what… I'll let you have it…but for a price."
"Name it."
Varian thought for a moment. "I wanna drive the limo."
"Oh… but Heathcliff…" Fred stopped mid sentence as Varian waved the dvd in his face, his crooked smile growing wider.
"Ok. Fine." Fred relented. "But on one condition. Heathcliff has to teach you how to drive it."
"Deal."
They shook hands and Varian handed over the movie.
"Huhzzah!" Minimax proclaimed. "And once again the heroes have concluded their quest and now return home victorious!"
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"Hey Mole," Fred shouted as he sauntered into the comic shop. "Do you got any replacement parts for a limited addition Space Hike laser gun? I kind of broke mine dur---"
Fred's voice trailed off when he noticed that the little store was empty. A week had passed since he and Varian had procured the Professor What DVD and Fred hadn't seen nor heard from his nemesis in that time. Fred didn't think that was too odd, it wasn't like he and Mole talked daily or anything, but it was suspicious for his rival to leave the store unattended without closing shop first.
Fred's senses went on alert and he instinctively went into stealth mode: dropping to the ground and crouching on tiptoe as he looked for booby traps on the shelves, behind the doors, and under the displays.
He didn't find any.
Though as he ransacked the counter during his search, he did hear the distant sound of laughter and music coming from the "staff only room." Which wasn't a room really. It was an elevator that went into the basement. Mole had a private arcade down there and must have been playing video games and had simply forgotten to lock up.
Satisfied that there was no danger of a prank literally blowing up in his face and covering him in some sort of slime or soap bubbles or something else that was similarly messy (Fred never forgot that time when Mole dumped dumped a bucket of chocolate fudge on his head five years ago) he decided to go down stairs to ask Mole about the previously mentioned parts.
What he found was far worse than a bucket of chocolate syrup.
In the basement Varian and Mole were both playing a video game. It was an old stand up arcade machine and on it was a retro beat 'em up. Both seemed to be enjoying themselves and called good natured taunts as they furiously pressed buttons trying to one up the other.
Neither had noticed Fred enter.
"Oh you're going down now!" Mole cheered.
"In your dreams!" Varian laughed.
He pressed the block button and his little pixelated character averted a punch from Mole's pixelated avatar and then grabbed said character into a hold and bodied slammed him to the ground.
"K.O.!" A distorted voice from the machine announced and Varian threw up his hands in victory.
"Ah…. Man!" Mole bemoaned. "You got lucky. I had you on the rocks."
"Yeah, I did." Varian admitted with a snicker.
"Best two out of three then?" Mole asked.
"Naw.. I got an essay I need to finish bef-" Varian paused mid-sentence as he turned around and finally saw Fred. Who just stood there with his mouth agape.
"Uh...hi, Fred."
Fred just pointed his finger at them and made an unintelligible sound like a cross between a gasp and a squeal.
"How the heck did you get in here Frederickson?" Mole said irritably.
This seemed to awaken Fred from his stupor.
"Betrayal!" He shouted, still pointing his finger accusingly at them both.
"Now Fred, don't overreact." Mole chided. "My friend Varian and I were just playing a friendly little game of Street Combat."
"Friend? Friend ?! My bestest buddy and protégé playing video games with my arch nemesis and mortal rival! This just like when Captain Fancy found the Fearless Ferret robbing banks with the Toymaker in Earth's Greatest #20!"
"Fred…" Varian started to reason with a weary sigh but Fred interrupted him.
"No. I don't want to hear it!" And with that he turned around on his heel and marched back into the elevator. "But mark my words Varian, Mole can't be trusted." And with this warning he pressed the first floor button and the elevator doors closed.
Varain rolled his eyes and followed after his friend. "Sorry Mole, I gotta go smooth things over with Fred. I'll see ya later."
"Okay, oh I almost forgot" the Professor What convention is next month. You want to go?" Mole replied as Varian hurried over to the elevator.
"Yeah sure, sounds like fun." Varian answered back distractedly. "I'll see ya then." He waved bye to Mole as the door to the elevator closed.
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When the elevator opened back up Varian saw Fred stomping away down the sidewalk outside and raced after him.
"Fred! Fred, wait up!"
"Why? So that you can stab me in the back again?" Fred called after.
"Fred...you're being ridiculous."
He stopped, incensed, and fumed at Varian, "Ridiculous?! Oh, I'm being ridiculous now am I?"
"Yeah, you are." Varain stated matter-of-factly.
"Oh, I see how it is. Crazy Fred is just being paranoid again. It can't possibly be that Mole has been trying to ruin my life since he was in dippers. Seriously, when I first met him he was a week old and I had to be the one to change him. It was all downhill from there."
Varian crossed his arms and gave Fred a reproachful look.
"Oh you don't believe hun?" Fred defended, "Well did he tell you about the time he cut the power to my house so he could win the online auction for Captain Fancy 133? Or the time he spilled hot fudge on me at his 7th birthday party? How about the time he stole my prized Captain Fancy pants? Oh, or how he bought out the mech wrestling league just so I couldn't own it? And he doesn't even like wrestling!!"
Varian didn't answer and kept up his disapproving glare.
"I tell you Mole is just using you to get to me. Don't you see? It'd be the ultimate revenge if he stole my protégé away--."
"Ok, first off, I'm not your "protégé" or "apprentice" or whatever, and second off, Mole never mentioned you the entire time we've hung out. Couldn't it just be possible that he wants to be friends with me and that you're making a big deal out of nothing?"
"Oh really? Then how would you feel if I started hanging out with that princess you hate so much? Rapunzel! Yeah, wouldn't you be hurt if I became pals with your mortal enemy."
A shadow fell across Varian's face and his mildly annoyed glare transformed into cold steely gaze.
"Fred."
"Y-yeah."
"Rapunzel left me, my father, and my entire village to die. Your 'mortal enemy' just buys the same stuff that you want."
Fred looked like a man who had just had a glass of ice water splashed in his face.
"Ooookay...I-I'm beginning to see the difference…"
Now it was Varian's turn to storm off in a huff leaving Fred to stand there bewildered.
"Wait! … She did that ?!" He turned and ran after Varian. "I thought fairy tale princesses were supposed to be nice?"
"Well, they're not, and my life is not a fairy tale Fred."
Fred pouted as he tagged long after Varian, unsure of what to say now.
Varian stopped at the bus stop to wait on his ride home and Fred sheepishly stared at his shoes. After a few awkward minutes he spoke up.
"H-hey, Varian.."
"What."
"I'm sorry….maybe I overreacted a little?"
"A little?" Varian raised an eyebrow.
"Alright, a lot. But I just don't understand why you want to even hang out with Mole."
Varian heaved a heavy sigh and relented. "Look...I just, don't have many friends ok? And before I came here I didn't have any friends. So if someone invites me to hang out with them then I wanna go. Cause that doesn't happen often, and I don't like being alone, and....and Mole doesn't know who I am or about my past. Same as Carol, or Karmi… It's just nice to feel normal for once."
"Annnd you can't feel normal around me cause I know you're magic, right?"
"For the last time Fred, I'm not magic." He growled through his teeth and then in a gentler voice said. "Also, and I mean this in the nicest way possible, you're not normal."
"Fair. Though, if we're talking 'normal' I don't think Mole counts either."
"Maybe not, but I don't think he has a lot of friends either. I guess in that way we have something in common."
Fred looked thoughtfully at that. It was true, Mole really didn't have any friends; a combination of homeschooling and being a huge nerd had left the kid pretty isolated. Fred understood that. He'd been there too, but then again he wasn't a huge jerk to people.
"I still don't get it…. Buuutt if you want to hang out with Mole I'm not going to try and stop you."
"And you're not going to pitch a fit, or sulk, or argue with me if I do?"
Fred heaved a sigh. "No. I'll be very mature about it….also very confused…but I'll be cool, promise."
"So we're still friends?" Varian asked with some slight trepidation.
"Well of course we're still friends! That was never in question. Friends have fights sometimes, ya know, but they always stick together in the end."
He gave Varian a playful nudge on the shoulder and Varian smiled back.
----------------------
Big Hero Six walked away from the college campus and headed towards the parking lot where Wasabi had parked his car. The gang of teenagers laughed and conversed until the squeal of tires on pavement sounded off in the distance and the sound of motor revving became louder and louder.
Soon a fire red sports car came barreling down the drive towards them. They jumped back as the car skidded to a halt next to them, making black marks on the pavement.
The little group stared in shock at the close call and a window rolled down to reveal the driver.
"Hey guys!" Varian cheerfully called out, oblivious to the fright he had caused them.
"Varian, what are you doing!?" Wasabi yelled.
"Oh, Heathcliff is giving me driving lessons."
The Frederickson's faithful butler tilted his head to give the other teens a better look at him. He was dressed in his usual work attire but save for the pair of sunglasses he wore. He said nothing but his stoic face broke into a sly grin and he gave a thumbs up. He was clearly enjoying being chauffeured around for a change.
"Yeah, Fred let me borrow his car to practice with." Varian continued and then turned to the man sitting beside him. "You were right Heathcliff, this is cooler than the limo."
At this Gogo punched Fred in the right arm.
"Oww, what was that for?" He rubbed his arm ruefully.
"You never let me borrow the race car!" She said deeply offended.
Hiro also gave Fred's left arm a much lighter smack just to get his attention. "Yeah, and I got a learners permit; same as Varian."
"Yeah but I'll get my actual license before you so I need the practice more." Varian smugly replied.
Heathcliff interrupted this friendly spat with his usual soft spoken British accent, "Master Varian, how about we learn how to pass other cars safely on the road next; and see how fast this bad boy can really go."
"Heck yeah!" Varian laughed. He moved the gear out of 'park', yelled "See ya!", and slammed on the gas. The car took off like a shot; burning rubber as it went.
"Oh what fresh horror have you unleashed?" Wasabi asked Fred as everyone stared dumbstruck after the boisterous teen and renegade butler.
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Hey I’ve recently lost my job and am currently hunting for work so story updates will be slow.
If you would like to help out you can all way support me on ko-fi
https://ko-fi.com/rachelbethhines
#varian#Fred Frederickson IV#minimax#mole#big hero 6#tangled#tangled the series#rapunzel's tangled adventure#tts#BH6 the series#bh6
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Only Traitors Consort With The Damned (Part Nine)
The Lost Boys x reader
Warnings: violence, blood imagery
Context: The first of the SRS has arrived, but thankfully not in large numbers.
A/N: hopefully I'll have a more Halloween-esque part to this out next weekend, so stay tuned for that!😁💛
Masterlist
A shiver runs through my body as I move silently through the back streets of Santa Carla, my hand resting on the gun holstered at my hip, gloved fingers tapping lightly on the deadly weapon as if in anticipation, my muscles taut and ready to spring into action. Unsurprisingly, a cool wind is blowing through town, the late October chill easily seeping into my new, stolen black denim jacket, the new outfit the boys found for me acting as a suitable disguise, seeing as the SRS uniform from before is a little too conspicuous, though the chains rattling quietly by my thigh are a little distracting, and the studs adorning the variety of clothes are a little superfluous, but it does it's part well enough. Thankfully, I got to keep my boots, so at least I'm not getting blisters from any new ones.
Biting my lip, I turn down yet another deserted alley, quickly scanning it for danger, noting the lack of people instantly, though there are a few cars and bins sitting by the surrounding walls here and there, each of them providing sufficient cover for a person, or multiple persons. Slowly, I edge forwards, watching the surroundings for any movement, aware that there could be danger at any moment, my heart pounding as I clock the lack of sound in the area, suddenly aware of the fact that there are no working streetlamps on this particular strip of alley, leaving it completely cloaked in darkness. Uneasy, I stop still, feeling the hairs on the back of my neck stand up. Very carefully, I take off my gloves, placing them in my pocket as I listen closely to the eerie silence, watching the dark space in front of me, hoping to catch anything, should it come closer.
My head snaps round in the direction of a muted footstep, my fingers wrapping around the stock of the gun, pulling it from its holster and smoothly cocking it, flicking off the safety as I turn towards the noise. Mechanically, I lift the weapon a little higher, calming my racing heart before I step over towards the car the noise came from, holding my breath as I try to make out any shapes in the suffocating blackness, finding it nigh-on impossible to do so.
As I approach the car, I lift the gun higher still, edging around the seemingly abandoned vehicle, keeping my eyes trained on the space in front of me, my training kicking in as a dull calm spreads through me, keeping me from moving erratically, everything around me filtering out as I round the bonnet of the car.
A sudden blow to my upper back throws me forwards into the wall ahead of me, the air leaving my lungs as I collide with it painfully, tears springing to my eyes as my nose makes contact, the gun falling from my hands. Recovering quickly, I duck down before the second punch can come, a stifled yelp of surprise escaping my attacker as their fist connects with the hard surface, their knuckles most likely cracking from the force, causing them to reel back a little, leaving me time to spin around and jump back upright again. Without pausing, I swing my fist round into their exposed ribs, feeling the bones give slightly under the impact, my other hand coming round to land a hard blow to their descending face, their body whipping to the side in response. I move closer, intending to grab them, only for them to suddenly lunge forwards and shove me up against the wall, fists pummeling my sides, low grunts of pain leaving my lips as I grab their shoulders, but to no avail.
After a particularly well-aimed punch to the centre of my collarbones, I have to suck in a sharp breath of air, wincing as pain explodes through my chest, rendering me momentarily incapable of retaliating, giving my attacker the perfect opportunity to grab my hair and throw me away from the wall, my body violently crashing into the car bonnet as they drop me there, pain quickly spreading through me as I make contact. Under my weight, the windscreen cracks and shatters, shards of glass digging into my back as I skid over them, my attacker advancing on me with a newfound confidence, my eyes swiftly spotting the knife in their hand. Ignoring the blood pouring from my nose and mouth, I quickly roll to the side to avoid a sudden downwards thrust of the blade, dropping off of the car and onto the floor, going to get up, only to be stopped by a hand grasping my hair again, yanking my head back and pressing the knife to my throat. Eyes going wide, I take hold of their arm and press against it, feeling the icy sting of the blade just cutting into my skin, panic starting to well up in my body as I fight against their strength, only to find them slowly overpowering me.
With one last push, I drive an elbow backwards, catching them in the knee with enough force to make them buckle a little, giving me the chance to duck out of their grip and throw them onto their back on the floor, swiftly pinning then down as I grab my own knife from my pocket, wincing as they manage to use their's to leave a long gash down one of my arms. Putting my knife to their throat, I press down until they stop struggling, the two of us breathing very heavily as we calm ourselves, both waiting for the next move.
When nothing happens, I go to lean back slightly, only for my captive to suddenly write underneath me, kicking me backwards a little so that I have to stretch out my arms to keep myself upright. In doing so, however, I manage to lodge my knife in their thigh, a scream of agony tearing itself from their lips at their self-inflicted wound, blood starting to ooze out from around the base of the weapon, colourful curses and swears aimed at me accompanying the whines and whimpers of pain that follow. Climbing off of them, I swiftly grab their wrists and use the rope at my belt to tie them together, ignoring their pleas and begging, the voice now distinctly male as they try to appeal to my better nature, seemingly forgetting that they just tried to kill me.
I don't look at their face, turning to their newly sustained wound, thinking things over, before making a split decision. Pulling another rope from my belt, I tie it around the top of his thigh, pulling it tight to stop the bleeding, choosing to leave the weapon in place as I work, eventually telling him to shut up as he continues to ramble on.
*
"Who the hell is that and why the fuck is he here?!" David growls at me as I eventually manage to drag the Scout into the cave, a trail of dirt mapping out the path I used as I manoeuvre my way around the messy interior.
"This," I start, dropping the man's legs as I find a better source of light, "Is a Scout, someone sent to find me before the rest of the Clean-up Team arrives. He's here because we're taking him hostage."
Kneeling down beside the now-unconscious man, I turn my attention to the knife protruding from his leg, quickly deciding how to go about this. Taking hold of the Scout's knife, I carefully cut away the fabric of his trousers around the wound, gently testing how tightly the knife is wedged into the muscle, before dropping the weapon in my hand and grabbing a piece of nearby cloth.
"A hostage? Why are you taking a hostage?" David continues to interrogate me, scowling at me as I yank the knife from the wound and use the fabric to staunch the flow of blood that rushes out.
"So that I have some leverage over them when they come for me, though I'm not too sure how well they'll react to this." I muse out loud, only now realising that the platinum blonde vampire across from me is having a hard time controlling himself, "Sorry, I forgot that this would be difficult for you guys."
A small part of me is glad that David is the one who volunteered to stay behind tonight to keep watch with me, given that he seems to have the most self control (apart from Dwayne) when it comes to blood; if it was Paul, the Scout would be dead by now.
David just huffs, sitting in his wheelchair sullenly as he waits for me to finish, blue eyes watching me as I examine the wound.
"Hey, do you think you could get the med-kit from my rucksack, please? I need to stitch this or he'll bleed out." I ask him quietly, hoping he'll agree.
The vampire rolls his eyes, but stands and gets the kit anyway, handing it to me with a grunt. Thanking him, I take out a needle and thread, sterilizing them both as I prepare them for use, removing the makeshift bandage from the wound and leaning in to start sewing the edges shut.
"Where did you learn to do that?" David asks suddenly, breaking the silence.
"This? I learnt on the job, a few years ago. Some werewolf caught me with its claws when I got too close. I had to stitch myself up, so I learned from the experience." I explain dismissively, remembering the incident well.
"A werewolf?" The vampire questions, seemingly confused, "Where was that?"
"Somehwere in Texas, I think. I don't really remember the specifics. Why?"
"Oh, I wasn't aware that there were still werewolves in this country."
"Really?! You can't possibly think you're the only supernatural beings left in the U.S?" I ask, incredulous.
"I've been stuck in Santa Carla for as long as I can remember, so I wouldn't know." He chuckles in response, "What're you gonna do with him when he wakes up?"
I shrug.
"Talk to him, interrogate him. I just need to know how close the SRS are to finding me."
"How close do you think they are?" David queries quietly.
I sigh to myself, sitting back on my heels as I finish the job.
"Honestly, I'd rather not think about it."
Part Ten
#the lost boys#joel schumacher#vampire#david(thelostboys)#kiefer sutherland#paul(the lost boys)#dwayne(the lost boys)#santa carla#marko(the lost boys)#star(the lost boys)
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Let’s Be Alone Together || Chap 1
Hey guys! I decided to that I was going to write the first chapter on this story to see how it goes! I just wanted to fill you guys in on some of the context of this Au.
So this Au is Set in 2019- so robin is openly in the LGBTQ community, and Steve is honestly noticing his feelings for boys (not calling him bi yet), and I have aged up Billy and Robin so they are all the same age.
Thank you guys, and please leave a comment if you want to be tagged in this fanfic or you think I should continue writing it !
Love chey xx
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“So much for a fresh new start, who the fuck knew he was coming here too?” Steve scoffed for the millionth time, stacks of marked cardboard boxes in hand as he continued to trek between his shiny car and the girls' dorms.
They had been at this for 20 minutes now, the girl's dorms the furthest away from the student car park and even if Robin had not brought many boxes it was still a process for the two teens. Robin’s room was on the second floor, tucked away in the west side of the building in a room that hadn't seen her roommate just yet.
Steve didn't want to think that he would have to continue the process with his stuff.
“Oh, shut up, will you? Can't you just like, put in for a new partner?” Robin grunted with a small amount of aggression. The stairs were getting to her, and all she wanted was to have a shower and get to bed.
Grunting was his only response returned as he all but threw her stuff, only blankets and clothes, onto the floor of the dorm room. A small noise signalled that Rodin did the same, sighing in relief as she leaned against the labelled door. One room down, Steve’s was left.
They soon found themselves trekking down the concrete stairs again, their footsteps reverberating softly against the cream walls of the stairway.
“I can't, put in for that thing I mean unless its dyer straights or somethin’ stupid like that. I guess ill just spend most of my time in the library anyway. I’ve heard they have some of the biggest collections of classic writings on Victorian literature.” Steve may be an airhead most of the time, but he honestly could just geek out around Robin. After all, despite all the odds, Steve was aiming to become an English Teacher.
She rolled her eyes, made a soft, half-hearted comment about him being some ‘egg-head’ and a doofus’ before they fell into the rhythm of small chit chat about their upcoming week of first classes. Robin herself was going into digital art and design, her passion for expressing herself shone through in all aspects, even in her sexuality.
Scooping up Steves boxes, they would only need two trips as he tried not to bring too much with him, they started off to find Steves room. On the opposite side of the dormitories, Steve’s room would be on the 4th floor towards the south side of the building.
Robin complained rather loudly the whole way up while Steve tried to block it out with small humming. Their synchronized steps soon came to his room 221B (yes haha, the references), the door slightly creaked open meaning that his rather annoying roommate would already be inside.
“Welp, am I good to leave your stuff here and go get the rest? I'm in too much of a good mood, sorry dingus” She gave him a sympathetic look as she put her boxes down in front of the door.
Steve simply nodded and handed her the keys, not pushing the conversation. Billy had been quite the arsehole in Hawkins, and in the narrowminded town Billy didn't hold back from the homophobic slurs against the people who owned their sexuality - like Robin and the small few other LGBTQ+ community that lived there. He hasn't let up on Robin at any time through their education.
She darted back off down the hallway, leaving Steve to face the beast.
Pushing the door open with his foot, Steve once again got that feeling of questioning his heterosexuality as Billy stood there in his half-naked glory with a cigarette hanging out of the corner of his mouth, standing hunched beside their shared window.
Hearing the door open the mullet-wearing teen turned, his signature cocky grin spreading across his lips as Steve felt like he was going to spontaneously combust on the spot. Billy's golden locks and rippling abs shone in the minimal amount of light coming through the window, jeans hanging low as he looked like he belonged in an art museum.
Yeah, okay, Robin may have been on the money about him being bi or whatever the hell they called it.
“Well well, Mr Steve fucking Harrington hey? I never thought I would be seeing that ugly mug again. But, you just had to stalk me to fucking California, didn't ya pretty boy?” That husky voice ridden with nicotine sent a shiver down his spine.
The shorter teen had to all but force his brain not to focus on Billy’s drop-dead looks, not like he hadn't noticed it when they were in Hawkins, as he didn't need the sexualised thoughts he experienced before when they shared showers. As much as he hated Billy, he couldn't deny there was some underlying sexual attraction, which had only added to more of a disliking for sharing a room for so long.
Steve grunted weakly, pushing the box of records in with his feet and dropping his box of clothes on the free side of the bedroom. He had to force his eyes away from Billy’s annoyingly perfect body and towards his boxes.
“I’m not here to fight Hargrove. I’ll be spending most of my time in the library and I’ll be here to probably sleep. I don’t want anything to do with fighting, or with you” Steve peeled open his box, keeping his back faced to Billy.
He heard Billy scoff behind him, and while he continued to unpack his stuff he heard what sounded like Billy all but diving onto his bed.
“Whatever Hargrove, you stay out of my way and I'll stay out of yours, right pretty boy?” Billy didn't seem as agitated, as ready to snap as he had been in Hawkins, but Steve wasn't going to take it all on face value and let down his guard.
Steve continued to unpack his stuff and the silence that laid over them heavily and was laced with awkwardness. Placing his vintage records on his small desk tucked in the corner of the bedroom, Steve found the time to steal a small glance over toward Billy’s side of the room.
Decorated in what Steve could only explain as a mix between Rock and Surfer scheike, a mix between what he had only seen of Billy in Hawkin’s sparingly and a side hidden, probably due to the lack of water to surf in. It was interesting, not as harsh, and when his eyes scanned over he was shocked and rather startled to make eye contact with the now cigarette-less blonde.
Another smirk arose on his face.
“Take a photo and it’ll last longer pretty boy” Steve had to stop himself from grinding his teeth too hard.
Rolling his eyes, he pulled away as Billy fished out a vibrating phone from his jean pocket. Silence fell again before Billy was springing up from his bed and rummaging through is designated closet and reemerging with a shirt.
“You don't touch my fucking shit and I won't touch yours, yes? I'm going out, don't fucking wait up or anything, Harrington.” Billy spat, pulling his tight white shirt over his head, before glancing in the mirror to fix his hair.
Steve couldn't help but roll his eyes “Whatever, seems fair.” He answered back with some sarcasm, but he honestly toned it back and down to make sure that Billy wasn't going to be slamming his slimmer body against walls by the collar anytime soon.
The other man scoffed but was soon enough placing another cigarette in his mouth and scampering out of the door “Good to see you too, Buckley” He had commented on his way out, bringing Steve’s attention to his freckled friend stacking boxes in the hallway who shrunk at the attention Billy offered her.
Entering with boxes Robin set out to help Steve unpack, waving off Steve and telling him she would unpack later and just wanted to hang out. Robin was a good friend after all and helped Steve to get his mind off of Billy through a lovely screening of The Breakfast Club as they unpacked and Robin scolded Steve on keeping his room clean.
The night came too fast, and with Robin ordering a large extra cheesy pizza - it was her turn to shout - they stayed cooped up in Steve’s dorm watching shitty 80’s movies until they were falling asleep atop of one another. Only just friends of course, but he was nothing but happy to share a friendly type of intimacy with her.
Though, in the firing of his last conscious neurons, he found the image of a shirtless and sexy Billy scolding him behind his eyelids. It caused his heart to ache, and with the buzzing of The Fly in the background he finally found a restless sleep revolving around his not-so-friendly roommate.
God, what was Steve in for?
#stranger things#stranger things fanfic#stranger things fic#stranger things fandom#billy hargrove x steve harrington#steve harrington#harringrove moodboard#steve harrington x billy hargrove#billy x steve#billy hargrove#steve x billy#hawkins#harringrove#harringrove fic#harringrove fanfic
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Linguistics: Chapter 1
ALPHA
Parring: Bucky x OC (Ema) Bucky x You
Warning: Mentions of verbal abuse, fluff, language
Rating: PG-13
Summary: linguists specialist who has been hired to work at the newest Avengers facility in upstate New York. Her life up to now has been a hurricane. Soon she meets a super soldier with a metal arm that she can't get enough of and the feeling is very mutual.
A/N: Thanks for reading my story. I use the name Ema in this story instead of Y/N it is just an author preference. Feel free to insert your name instead of Ema’s. Flashbacks and thoughts are italicized. Please enjoy.
Linguistics- the scientific study of language, and involves an analysis of language form, language meaning, and language in context.
(2 Years Ago)
My mom had always told me that I was a sassy, hard-headed southern girl that would one day turn into a wonderful woman. Looking back I don't think I disappointed her. I was still sassy and hard headed but with a good head on my shoulders. Early on I was determined to develop a skill set that would allow me to serve others, so I pursued a degree from LSU that allowed me to become a linguistics specialist for the government.
However, that was before I let my heart got in the way... His name was Chis Nelson, a blond hair Greek god that I met while I was pouring drinks at the Hurricane Bar in New Orleans just so I could pay for my car note. For some reason, I let my heart fool me and soon fell for his charms. Several months later I moved with him to Washington D.C. His assignment: Strike Force at the newest S.H.I.L.D. facility. Little did I know that my life was soon going to change in a way I could have never predicted.
Three months later S.H.I.L.D. fell, exposing H.Y.D.R.A. agents that have infatuated the program. I had suspicions that Chris was one of these agents, but I had no hard proof. I guess you could say, I had no proof; mental abuse doesn't leave marks on the outside.
"Your nothing just nothing little girl!" Chris' voice filled our small apartment again. How did I ever get myself into this mess? I was stronger than this. "You don't know anything. I wish I had never trained you!" He stood screaming at me while with one swoop of his hand the kitchen table that I had just been doing my work on had been wiped clean. Files and my laptop were now scatted onto the floor. I had pressed my back against the entrance door to the apartment hoping to get away from him. My eyes filled up with tears but I blinked them away. I had to get away from him. He looked at me with a stern face. His brown eyes blazing into me. If looks could kill, I knew that I would have been dead. Chris took a quick look at the text he just received and then back to me, "I have to go to work. Be out by the time I get back, I never loved you. I regret us. All of us," he said pushing aside me walking out the door.
I let out the breath I was holding and picked my flies that were now scattered on the floor. As I picked up the last one, I noticed a red file that had been taped under the couch. I lay on my stomach and pulled the file out of its hiding place. I sat crossed legged on the rug as I ran my hands over it. This wasn't a typical S.H.I.L.D issued file. This was something else. My hands began to shake, I opened the file only to find the H.Y.D.R.A symbol plastered on the first page. I skimmed through the file quickly finding Chris's name plastered on the pages. I slammed the file closed, placed it with my others and stuffed it into my satchel along with my loaded Glock. I took one more look around the apartment grabbed my cellphone and ran out the door. I ran away from Chris and away from the life that I had known. I dumped my government issued cell and bought a burner one off of the street. The first call I made was to my friend Ann, she was a counselor that I had been seeing to help me get over panic attacks and PTSD. She had convinced me to get away from Chirs and thank God I had listened to her.
I ran into her office out of breath with the files and gun still in my bag. Panic tried to set in with each step I took. Her office door was closed but I knew this was her lunch hour. She didn't have clients right now. I open the door to see her fighting with a man who was wearing a black mask. With several hard kicks, she had knocked him out cold taking a flash drive out of his hand.
"Ema! Steve! Sam! Get her out of here!" She pushed me out of her office door back into her waiting room. I looked to find a blond hair man who had clearly been in a fight looking at me intensely. I quickly figured out that was the one and only Steve Rogers and Sam Willson. I gaped at them for a moment and placed my hand over my mouth.
"You know the next time I let you pick me up from the hospital, remind me never to go by your pretend job," he snorted at her as Ann cuffed the man. Realization flooded my face. This was Natasha Romanoff.
"Dammit," I muttered looking at them both now as the pieces came together in my mind. Later that evening I found myself on a jet headed to upstate New York, however that was only after I had identified the chard remands of Chris Nelson.
(Chapter 1: One Year Later)
“Do you want to keep staring at the wall or do you want to go to work? I mean it’s a pretty interesting wall.” Steve asked Natasha as he entered the waiting area outside of the large training room.
“I thought you and Tony were still gazing into each other’s eyes. How do we look?” Nat asked him strolling out of the common area heading to the training room.
“Well we’re not the 27 Yankees,” he retorted.
“We have some hitters,” Natasha smirked back as they walked by me. I leaned back on the bench that ran the wall of the waiting area and pulled out my earbuds.
Well, that means that they didn’t need me for a while. My job had been slow for the last several weeks. Now with training starting, it appeared like it would be picking up soon enough. So why not take advantage of some quiet downtime. One of my favorite places, the common area close to the offices. It was actually peaceful, well decorated and natural light. I still had no idea why Sam had convinced me to move up here in the first place; oh that’s right my ex-boyfriend turned out to be a HYDRA agent and wanted me dead. Good enough reason. He had tried to sweeten the offer by “Come on girl, it will be fun. You will have me. You will meet New people to meet, and see the world.” I told him he sounded like an airforce recruiter. He just laughed. Nevertheless, I was here and had been for two years. The idea of wanting something more in my life wasn’t new, it was more of an attitude. Always grow. Always change. Keep moving up. Don’t let your life turn into a hurricane.
I turned up my headphones while internally rolled my eyes. I knew that Steve was going to be late for our meeting so getting lost a little in my music until then was a great distraction until I felt the bench shift as a tall burnt sat down next to me. Looking beside me I saw a Greek god; tall, muscles to die for, shoulder length hair and blue eyes looking at me intensely. Sam hadn’t told me about him. Wow! Ok, stop gawking at the stranger, Ema. Just because a hot guy is staring at you doesn’t mean for you to lose your….
“So what’s your story, I mean why aren’t you in there with them?” He questioned.
I removed my earbuds and gave him a slight smile. “I’m not the superhero type I guess.” He tilted his head as a small chuckle erupted from his mouth.
“Why aren’t you in there?” I sassed. Great insult him why don’t ya. Do you have any idea how to act around a cute guy? Yes, it’s been a while but come on. Besides look at his tattoo arm and muscles, he should be in there. You’re trying to justify your actions.
“That’s only for the new ones.” He retorted back in a cool tone.
Oh, so he isn’t new.
“Why are you here? Running from someone?” He continued his authoritative tone. Wonder if he is CIA or military. Sounds like one.
“No. I don’t run,” my tone as cool as his. My new friend shifted where now his hands rested on his lap with his feet slightly apart. He took a deep breath with his nose and locked his eyes upon mine. Dman his eyes are intoxicating.
“Sorry I didn’t mean for it to come across that way. Let’s try again ok?” I gave him a slight nodded. “I’m Bucky Barnes,” his New York accent came out thick and strong. Yep, he is defiantly the alpha male type.
“Nice to meet you Bucky. I’m Ema Jones.” My southern accent flooding out of my mouth. Well, that hasn’t happened in a while. Bucky just smiled at me before speaking again.
“So where you from?” He gave me an amused cocky grin.
“California,” I teased. I knew he didn’t believe me one bit.
“No, I don’t think so,” he teased, “try the south.” His smile is intoxicating too. It just made me smile wider. Relax. Say something cute…
“That easy to tell?”
“Well maybe.”
“Louisiana. I’m in linguistics. He raised a curious eyebrow at me. “Primarily German, French, Italian, code-breaking and I’m learning Romanian. So how about you?” Don’t ramble. He gave me an amused smirk.
“An assassin from Brooklyn. Sorry, excuse me Ma’am for a moment.” He pulled out his vibrating phone to answer a text while I shifted nervously in my seat tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. Figures all the cute ones have something up with them.
Steve: Well, what do you think of her?
Bucky: I like her. Seems sweet. She rambles when she is nervous.
Steve: And?
Bucky: Beautiful. Have you seen her eyes, Rogers? May have to consider asking her out
Steve: Told you. I’ll be there in 5
“Sorry, doll.” Bucky snapped me out of my thoughts as I looked back up at him.
“I ugh like your tattoo,” I motioned to his arm. It looks like golden strips on your forearm. Reminds me of a wolf. Bucky looked amused and then chuckled.
“Tattoo?”
“Ya, I augh…” I blushed with embarrassment. Haven’t known this guy but for like ten minutes and go and offend him Ema. Great.
“No, no it’s fine. I had forgotten with this new nanotech that it looked like.” I gave him a curious look. “I just got back from Wacanda. Here let me show you.” His arm began to change from flesh tone to vibranium reviving the Wolf markings. I looked on speechless for a moment. Realization hit me. This is Steve’s friend. The Winter Soldier aka the White Wolf. Wow, girl! Damn!
“Oh wow; that’s really cool,” I said typing to play it off. “Ugh you’re the Winter Soldier aren’t you?”
“Back there I was called the White Wolf but ya that’s me,” Buck said sheepishly rubbing his neck. I folded my hands in my lap. All this time I’ve been making moves and talking to the Bucky Barns. Howling Commandos. save the universe, snap Thanos in half, serve your country, ok the brainwashing but no one is perfect; veteran, and handsome Bucky Barnes!
“Thank you for your service Sergeant,” Buck gave me a huge grin.
“Your welcome.” His blue eyes sparkled with appreciation over my words.
“Buck, Ema you’re with me.” Our heads snapped up looking at Steve. I felt like I had got caught red-handed making out with his friend.
“Ok. Comin’ Steve,” Bucky answered as he stood up. “After you doll,” he motioned with his hand for me to go first. I stood up smoothed the bottom of my red dress. We walked down the hall to Steve’s office. I caught a glimpse of him in one of the mirrored office doors as we passed. His eyes running over my legs to my behind. Did he just check me out? Ok, just breath. Meeting that’s right.
Steve sat down at his desk as I took a seat in front of him. Bucky leaned against a table behind my chair. “So a linguist agent is needed on each team. As you know, Agent Malone was retired and I am looking for a replacement for Alpha team. Interested?”
“Of course! Thank you, Steve. However, whose team is that?”
"Mine. Sam and Steve are also on the team but with Steve’s other duties I’m led,” I heard Bucky grumble behind me. Of course the one with a hot assassin super soldier, Sam, Steve and now me.
“One more question why me? I mean for the team. Just seems like you all are the top dogs.” I said waving my hand for emphasis. Steve gave me a smile. His blue eyes shown brightly.
“Let’s just say that I believe the two of you have more in common than you know. You make a good fit. Both determined to make a difference, and hard-headed.” He said glancing behind me towards Bucky. Buck gave a little chuckle. Just like I thought all the good ones have some type of issues, but man this could lead to something big.
@jewelofwinter @teamcap4bucky @babyinatrenchcoatlover @verygraphicink @catsandbooksinafarawayplace @jewels2876 @averyrogers83 @songsaboutbuckyy @theonelittleone @mysticalfairytales @423paralegal @kombatfather1796@patriciaprevedelli @dilaila95@aaamandaaaz @igotkatiepowers@lovemesomeworlddomination @myeyesarenotblue@babyinatrenchcoatlover @mxgicmoonz@verygraphicink @tuhl @buckmesideways22 @jewelofwinter @catsandbooksinafarawayplace @ nerd-in-a-galaxy-far-away@teamcap4bucky@hoewkeye@marvelandotherfandomimagines @kombatfather1796
@dmn-dmn @littledarlinhavefaithinme @carryoncaptainrogers @shreddedparchment@catsandbooksinafarawayplace
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Things you said while I cried in your arms, Steven/Cib? (You don't have to if you don't want to! Love your writing!)
Hey, this is a LOT longer than I intended it to be, but I hope the 2,350-ish word build up for a 22 word sentence works for you. Also hope you’re ok with GTA au, cause that’s what you’re getting! My first time writing it, so hope there isn’t anything too awful. I feel kinda bad cause everyone else doing this is popping out 2-3 paragraphs worth for each prompt, but apparently I can’t do things in moderation/without some sort of context, but I should know that already because of who I am as a person. Anyways, thank you so much for the prompt!
Warning for blood and language I guess.
On Ao3
~~~
Steven had already had a horrible feeling about this recon mission before James and Cib had even headed out and now an hour after they should’ve been back he felt like he was on the verge of an anxiety attack, waiting for any word. He paced back and forth behind Autumn as she flipped through the different traffic cams she had access to. Unfortunately there were some dead spots in the map of the city that they hadn’t yet been able to hack into and they had lost Cib’s car somewhere in there. Their setup was new and Autumn claimed she couldn’t get into everything all at the same time or she would be easier to detect, and so they’d sent Cib and James to check out a couple of the so called ‘dead zones’, two of which they were currently uncertain of which gang was in control of. He had already put Jeremy and Parker on high alert when the guys were twenty minutes late getting back.
Stevens shoes squeaked on the linoleum floor as he spun on his heel and took three large steps across the room and repeated. Autumn glanced up at him in annoyance and put her half off headphones back into their proper position.
He checked his phone for the millionth time, waiting for any sort of notification. He hadn’t set it down in over an hour, the case well and truly warmed by his hand at that point. Same as before, nothing.
Autumn huffed as his shoes squeaked again. “Will you stop-”
Stevens text notification went off and both of them jumped at the sound. Autumn pulled off her headphones and craned her neck to see the phone as Steven unlocked it. It was a single word text message from James with his GPS marker attached.
Help.
~~~~~
Ten minutes later Steven was racing through the streets heading for the outskirts of the city, a pile of weapons on the back seat next to Jeremy and Parker navigating from the passenger seat. The GPS marker was out in the mountains, along the road running through Raton Canyon. How they had wound up that far out of town Steven had no idea. The atmosphere in the truck was tense, everyone silent asides from Parker directing him when to turn.
He’d tried calling James several times, but it rang through to the answering machine every time. Cib’s phone didn’t even ring, going straight to his voice recording.
“Slow down, it says he’s just around the corner.” Parker said.
Steven did as he was told and eased the truck around the corner, coming to a stop when Cib’s destroyed car came into view. It lay on its roof in the middle of the narrow road, it’s nose pointed uphill and the drivers side door hanging open towards them.
Steven and Parker both swore under their breath, all three men vacating the truck with their guns drawn. Steven went straight for the open car door as Parker and Jeremy fanned out, Jeremy going to the edge of the road where it dropped away into a steep slope towards the river and Parker going around the front of the car to the other side.
Stevens could feel his heart pounding as he scrambled into the car, broken glass pricking at his fingers. It was empty, no bodies, which could’ve been a relief asides from the fact he still had no clue where they were. There was blood though, and not just a little. The passenger seat was stained with it and the steering wheel smeared red. Just as he was about to crawl backwards out of the car he spotted Cib’s phone in the pile of blood splattered glass, the screen smashed to bits. Well that explains the lack of ringing.
Parker joined him by the door as he stood up. “Have you tried James phone again?”
“No, but the GPS says he’s right here,” he pointed to where Jeremy stood on the edge of the road, looking down at the few trees between them and the river. His stomach twisted as the thought of either of them winding up in the river crossed his mind. He fought the thought back and hit redial, listening for the first couple rings.
“I hear something!” Jeremy hollered at them, starting to slide down the hill, catching himself on one of the sparse pine trees ten feet below them. The next one over had branches low to the ground, completely hiding anything within four feet of its base, which Jeremy was now peering at.
“He’s here!” Jeremy called out, disappearing under the branches. Steven didn’t even hesitate, tucking his gun into his waistband and skidding down the slope on his heels before catching himself on the trunk and pushing the branches out of the way from where he saw Jeremy disappear. His heart stopped as he found Jeremy crouched over an unconscious James, already trying to apply pressure to his bleeding shoulder. Jeremy turned to Steven. “We need to get him out of here. Help me get him on my shoulder.”
Working together they managed to fight through the tree and get James onto Jeremy’s shoulder and Jeremy started climbing the hill again, Parker ready to grab onto him when he got into range and Steven supporting him from behind. Halfway up James came back to consciousness and immediately started fighting.
“Put me down, you fucker!” He yelled, reaching up with one arm to wrap his hand around Jeremy’s face and pummeling his lower back with the other. Jeremy grunted, nearly slipping but stubbornly keeping an iron grip on James’ flailing legs.
“James! James, stop!” Steven grabbed for his arms, but Jeremy slipped, sending them both toppling forward. James landed hard on his back, the impact and Jeremy’s shoulder landing on his torso knocking the breath out of him. Parker managed to grab him under his arms and drag him the rest of the way up and onto the road.
James finally drew in a breath and immediately started coughing, his face screwed up in pain. Steven clambered up the last bit of the hill and to James’ side, taking the rag Jeremy handed to him and pressed it into the apparent bullet wound through his shoulder. The pain was enough to make James take another hacking breath and his eyes flew open. “Steven!”
“Yeah, James, it’s me, you’re ok, we’re going to get you out of here.” James lifted his head and saw Parker helping Jeremy back to his feet and kept searching around the area.
He looked back at Steven and asked, “Where’s Cib? Is he ok?”
Steven’s heart sank. If James didn’t know where Cib was, they were screwed. “We haven’t found him yet, what the hell happened?”
James clenched his eyes shut and groaned. “It was the Fakes, man, we were in the FAHC’s area and they saw us. One of them got a hit on me before Cib could get us out of there and the Vagabond chased us all the way out here. We almost lost him, but one of their helicopters caught up. We flipped and I think Cib hit his head and wouldn’t wake up, but I could hear the helicopter coming back and the Vagabond was coming, so I crawled down the hill. They mustn’t have seen me move.”
“Shit.” Steven looked up at Jeremy, who already had his phone out, his thumbs flying across the keyboard as he alerted his network of contacts to keep their eyes open for any of the Fakes with a hostage. “We need to get out of here, get back to the Office.”
Parker nodded enthusiastically as he moved to help him lift James to his feet. James groaned and leaned heavily on Parker, putting his hand up to hold the rag on the wound himself as they walked past the destroyed car to Steven’s truck.
The drive back was just as quiet and tense as the trip out, except for Jeremy’s nearly continuous conversations on the phone. Steven kept looking in his rear view mirror, checking on James. He had passed out leaning against Parker’s chest, who had taken over applying pressure and had found a wad of gauze to hold to the wound on the back of James’ shoulder.
An hour later James was sleeping on the couch against the window with Mimi tending to his wounds while Steven returned to his pacing behind Autumn’s chair, much to her annoyance, and occasionally going to the back room to check in with Parker and Jeremy, who was equally annoyed by his hovering. Parker was more understanding and tried to at least be gentle while informing him they had nothing for him yet.
It continued like that for the next few hours, until James awoke late in the evening and finally managed to get Steven to stop moving for a moment and sit down on the couch. He somehow managed to keep him there long enough for Steven to fall into a fitful sleep, leaving the rest of the office to do their jobs without a living, breathing ball of anxiety sitting on their shoulders.
Autumn stretched in her seat, yawning loudly, as she looked over her shoulder at James, Steven asleep with his head on James’ lap. The shoulder of his t-shirt had been cut open and he looked exhausted, but he still broke out into a smile when he saw her looking at him.
“You look like shit, bro.”
“Thanks!”
She smiled at the goofy grin he was giving her. “I’m glad you’re okay.”“Me too.” His face turned serious as he looked down at Steven. “But I don’t think any of us are going to be okay if we don’t find Cib.”
~~~~~
It was nearly twenty four hours after they’d retrieved James that Parker and Jeremy were able to charge into the main office and present the group with some good news.
“We got him, one of our contacts just spotted a Fake Crew vehicle leaving the docks. Apparently they left a note with our name on it on a sea can.” Parker looked like he was nearly vibrating with excitement, grinning from ear to ear.
“And what’s the likelihood that’s a trap?” James asked the room in general.
“Definitely.” Steven muttered, rubbing his hands across his knees. He was shaking so bad, finally getting a lead was such a relief, but god, they couldn’t just walk down there and open the container up. What if it was booby trapped, set to blow when they opened the door? “You happen to have a bomb team in that network of contacts?”
“Sorta. He can meet us there though.” Jeremy said.
“He? Singular?”
“He’s good enough he doesn’t need a team.”
~~~~~
And so Steven, Parker, Jeremy, and James, despite Mimi’s protests about his arm, arrived at the docks, almost immediately finding the sea can meant for them thanks to the comically large green and black gift wrapping bow slapped on the front of it. A guy Steven and James didn’t recognize was slowly circling it, waving a small box in his hand along every seam he could find.
“Andrew! What’s the word, buddy?” Parker called as they all exited the truck.
The guy, Andrew, turned to them, squinting in the sunlight despite the ball cap turned backwards on his head. The brim is literally designed to protect your eyes, who the hell thinks they look so cool with their hat backwards that they squint at the sun, Steven thought to himself, his tiredness and missing his friend turning to irritation. He kept his mouth shut though, they needed this guy.
“I can’t find anything, seems to be clean. Pulled this off for you though,” he held out a folded piece of paper with a strip of tape on it out and Steven immediately snatched it out of his hand. His hands shook as he opened it.
We know you’ve been looking for him, and he’s useless to us, so you can have him back. Of course we didn’t kill him, we’re not barbarians. Who are we, Fake Chop?
“Can you open it?” Steve hated the way his voice broke over those four words.
“Yeah, of course.” Andrew pulled off the huge bow and unlatched the two handles on the first door, not noticing as the other four men took three steps back before he pulled it open. They all breathed a sigh of relief when nothing happened and then Steven was running for the door.
The afternoon sun lit the interior, one beam in particular highlighting the tall skinny form of Cib slumped on his side against the wall, hands bound by rope in front of him. Any risk of further trip wires and traps were immediately forgotten by Steven and he skidded to his knees next to Cib. He had blood dried to the side of his head, the dark circles around his eyes were even darker than usual and the exposed parts of his arms were mottled with bruises. And that was only what Steven could see, who knew how bad he was under his clothes? Steven felt sick just thinking about it.
He desperately clutched at Cib, pulling him partially upright and hugging him to his chest. The movement startled Cib awake, his eyes going wide and body tensing, bring his bound hands up near his bruised throat as though he were protecting himself.
“Hey hey hey, it’s me, it’s Steven, I got you.”
Relief blossomed across Cibs face and tears immediately flowed as he pressed his face into Stevens shirt. “I didn’t think you were coming for me.”
“What- why wouldn’t I?” Steven was baffled. They’d never really officially defined their relationship before and he did love the dumb bugger, but Cib was always so affectionate to him he had assumed it was a mutual attraction. Obviously now Steven remembered he had the emotional capacity of a teaspoon and was even worse at showing it, mentally kicking himself for not having said anything before.
He put his hand under Cibs chin and angled his head up so he could look into Cibs tear filled eyes. “Of course I’d come for you, Cib. As long as I have life in my body, I will always come for you.”
#Ship Pine 7#CibXSteven#Fake Pine 7#my fic#C: Steven Suptic#C: Cib/Clayton James#C: Autumn Farrell#C: James DeAngelis#C: Parker#C: Jeremy Sauder#C: Andrew Sigils#R: Cib/Steven
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