xbadgerbearx - Tumblr blog

xbadgerbearx · 2 days

Text

chapter 4: signals

word count: 2k

Sonata in Darkness: [3] ... [5]

“God, you look like a mess. What the hell happened?”

“Gee, thanks hon, hello to you too,” you rolled your eyes as you entered the apartment. It was slightly cleaner than the last time you saw it; Selina had made a noble effort at restoring it to its former glory. The cats swarmed to your feet. “Have you checked the news?”

“No, why?” The tv was shut off but the music was playing over the radio quietly. Selina was doing the dishes.

“I had a very interesting morning. Let’s see: Boss man picked me up, we went to the funeral, I met a cute guy, I almost got hit by a car in the church, the guy who crashed into the church had a bomb on him, the cute guy paid for my taxi, and now I’m here.”

“What!? What do you mean there was a bomb?”

Filling Selina in on what happened exactly didn’t take long, although you did leave out some names, cough Bruce Wayne cough—not the D.A.s, however.

“So the D.A. was the hostage?”

“Yeah, he was wearing the same outfit from the other day, too. Remember when he asked if we needed a ride?”

“Yeah. I’m guessing he was taken not too long after that.”

“Had to have been,” you agreed. You opened the fridge to see what was inside. There wasn’t much, you knew that, but you hoped there was at least something. You closed the door, frustrated. After a moment of silence, you remembered something.

“What about that score you were talking about?”

“Oh, the narcotics one. Some guy at the club was talking about it. It’s apparently at Gotham Recycling.”

“Okay, cool. So do you have a way in?”

“…no,” she admitted. You rolled your eyes.

“How about this,” you said after a beat. “I’ll go check it out right now and see if I can find us some cover spots and places to hide. That way we aren’t taken by surprise.”

“Perfect,” she complimented with a growing smile. “Hey, while you’re at it,” she pointed to a pile of broken furniture. “Be a doll and take that with you, hmm?”

“You’re joking, right?”

She smiled and shrugged.

————————————————————————————————

“Can’t believe she made me take all that. I mean, how the fuck do you fit a broken dresser onto a bike?”

Selina was, in fact, not joking about taking some items to the recycling place. It ended up being a good cover, though, because it gave you an excuse to look around the area without being suspicious. It was rather hard to find where you were supposed to drop things off at. Currently, you were complaining as you made your way home after securing the location; there were already some shady guys lurking around, but they didn’t pay you any mind. You had just passed Gotham’s Police Department when you saw something in the sky.

“What…the…fuck?”

The large object soared in the air, which made you slow to a stop in a side alley and get off your motorcycle. When it approached the ground, a parachute popped from its back. It hilariously hit the bridge over top you and crashed onto a bus, crashed into a parked car, hit some garbage, and then finally skidded to a stop at your feet. The masked man groaned as his eyes traveled from your feet to your eyes.

“Well hi there, stranger,” you greeted cheerfully as you crouched down. “How was the fall?”

Batman caught his breath before muttering, “It was shit.” You helped him to his feet. “What’re you doing here?”

“What was that about?” You ignored his question.

“…Nothing.”

“Didn’t look like nothing to me. Looked like you fell from the police building.” He shrugged his shoulders. “Fine,” you shrugged back. “Didn’t want to know anyway—by the way, you look like shit.”

He let out a surprise chuckle before coughing out, “Thanks.”

“And he laughs! Didn’t know you could do that.”

“I can laugh,” he said defensively. You two started making your way down the alley. “And more.”

“Can you now? Like what?” He said nothing, but his eyes held a bit of mischief. “So what, you taking a midnight walk or something to clear your head? Where’re ya going?”

He gave it some thought before responding. It seemed like he trusted you more. “The bat signal.”

“You have a signal? Damn.” You let out a whistle. “So anytime I want to see you I just need to light that bad boy up?” Batman gave a small smile but made no comments or objections. “Anyways, need a ride? It’s the least I can offer after you ate concrete and groveled at my feet.”

Batman got your bike, behind you, and wrapped his arms around your midsection. “I did not grovel.”

“Uh-huh, sure, now tell me where to go.”

————————————————————————————————

“Alright,” you announced as you barged into your home. “I found some spots—it’ll be a piece of cake. What time did you want to leave?”

“Now.”

“Now—oh shit, uh, okay. Lemme get dressed.” Selina was already in her catsuit and sitting on the counter waiting for you. You quickly got dressed yourself, not wanting to keep her waiting any longer. She seemed a little tense. Walking out of your room, Selina hopped off the counter and left the apartment. You followed after her to where your motorcycles were. Putting on your helmet, you asked, “One bike or two?”

“What took you so long?”

“What?” She gave you a pointed look before putting on her own helmet. “I’m sorry, I guess I was a little distracted, why?”

“I thought—“ she paused before continuing. “I thought someone caught you. You were gone longer than you should have, I was worried.”

“Oh.” You felt a little guilty now. You could see how she thought that. “The building was a little bigger than I thought, so it took a bit longer. On my way back, I went a little slow and enjoyed the ride.” Something told you that if you mentioned Batman that she would not be happy. So you shut your mouth.

“Two.”

“‘Scuse me?”

“Two bikes…and I’m sorry for overreacting.” You both got on your bikes.

Grabbing her shoulder, you squeezed it affectionately. “You don’t have to apologize, Cat. I’m the one sorry for making you worry.” She squeezed the hand that was touching her.

“It’s okay, Rat,” she said before riding off. You followed.

As you approached the recycling plant, you moved in front of Selina and followed the path that you planned earlier. You stopped and signaled to her to shut off her bike between two large trucks. It was time to get to work. She grabbed a long chain from the back of her bike as you stretched—you didn’t want to pull anything. You even slipped on some brass knuckles, ya know, just in case.

Quietly making your way past where the trucks were parked, you surveyed the area. You held up a peace sign to Selina. ‘Two guards.’ Nodding, she slipped in front of you and whipped her chains around the first guy’s ankles. You quickly pounced on top of him and knocked him out as he hit the ground with a thud.

“Hey! What happened? You alright?” The man on the other side of the car that you were hiding behind started making his way over, but was stopped by Selina. He also hit the ground, knocked out. Quickly getting up, you followed Selina to the car’s trunk where two duffle bags were located. Unzipping them revealed the cash she had promised.

“Dangerous crowd you’re stealing from.”

Whipping around revealed Batman. You put a hand to your heart, startled.

“Jesus,” Selina sighed out. “Is this how you get your kicks, hon? Sneaking up on girls in the dark?” She was preparing the duffle bags. When she was done, she handed the first one to you. Batman made no move to stop you.

“That why you work in the club? It was all just a score?”

“You know, I would love to sit down and go over every gory detail with you, bat boy, but uh, those assholes are coming back—“ she let out a surprised gasp. You looked over her shoulder in horror and dropped the bag.

Annika was laying in the back of this car in a body bag. Batman looked intensely at the girl and furrowed his brow. He was about to say something, but gunfire ruined it. Batman, almost thoughtlessly, let the bullets bounce off his suit as he instantly moved to cover you. Everyone dropped to the ground as the men making the drops deal moved forward. A nearby car revved and sped closer, gaining the attention of the armed men. An undercover cop stepped out of the car and gave you guys some cover, which gave you time to look over at Batman. He was knocked breathlessly onto the pavement from the barrage of bullets.

“Shit, shit, shit!” You were terrified; your throat choked up on you as the men walked over to your location. You recognized one as Oz when he started yelling.

“Hey, Vengeance!” A wave of bullets pierced into the car that you and Selina used for cover. “You think you can come after my money, huh?”

“What’re we gonna do,” Selina whispered, scared, as tears threatened to spill. You looked over to Batman again, but he was gone. ‘What?’

You could feel Oz’s footsteps vibrate the ground from how close he was. A loud engine captured everyone’s attention instead, causing heads to turn. Daring to take a peek, you could see the silhouette of a car as the engine powered on. Gunshots fired and men started running for their own cars. You dragged Selina with you as you sprinted to where your bikes were parked, using the distraction as cover.

“Kenzie! Get the money!”

Hopping on your bike, you quickly revved your own engine and made your way back to the action. Fortunately, all the cars were driving away after the mysterious car—‘hopefully Batman,’ you thought—which left you with Kenzie holding the two duffle bags filled with money. Swerving your bike last second allowed you to knock the man onto the ground, making him drop the bags. You grabbed one and sped off without looking back as Selina grabbed the other one, following you shortly after.

————————————————————————————————

Bruce was pouring over some ‘Renewal’ files after he had spent the last hour trying to piece together everything that had happened. The orphanage he traveled to seemed to make more questions rather than answer them, and unfortunately lured him away from Wayne Tower when the explosion happened. He was a mess; Alfred was in emergency care, he learned that his father was more sinister than he appeared, and you disappeared after the fiasco down at the recycling plant. He found himself craving your presence after staring at you in the photograph that started it all for an uncomfortable amount of time; the one with Mayor Mitchell, Annika, and you and Selina with Oz in the background.

His monitors flashed to life as a cat appeared through the contact lenses he lent you and Selina. It was your camera. Hope sparked through him as he made out a note that read ‘Where are u?’ printed in neat handwriting.

“Rat?” He sounded a little pathetic when he whispered it. He wished he could’ve gotten your real name instead of your stupid little nickname. After a moment you appeared on the screen briefly, but only to move the cat away. You barely even looked at him–just one quick glance before you scurried away, scared-like. Selina’s face popped into view as you left.

“Can you see me?”

Bruce, slightly disappointed that it wasn’t you, reluctantly answered. “Yeah, I can see you.”

“I need to talk to you. Where can we go?”

Bruce was quiet as he thought of a place. By the way this was going, he assumed that it would just be him and Selina. That wouldn’t do, he had to see you. He came up with the perfect place. “The bat signal. She knows how to get there.” He shut down his monitors, hoping that you would take Selina to his signal. He gathered his things and slowly dawned the bat suit—his mood improved a little bit.

================================================

#sonata in darkness #the batman 2022 #reader #reader insert #batman x reader #batman

1 note · View note

xbadgerbearx · 2 days

Text

chapter 3: prince

word count: 3k

Sonata in Darkness: [2] ... [4]

“I mean god… he’s such a jerk.”

You had just finished telling Selina about what had happened down in the 44 Below as you sat in the cab. You didn’t even hear what place Selina told the man to drive to, you were so upset and instantly started ranting.

“An absolute asshole,” she said as she rolled her eyes. She started telling you about what had happened on her end of the line, before she gave a sudden gasp. “I just remembered!”

“Jesus, Cat, way to scare the shit outta me. What’s wrong?”

She gave a sly look and smirked. “While you were busy with bat freak getting info from that D.A. guy, I was getting info from some loud-mouth customers.”

You raised a brow, silently asking her to continue.

“Well, let’s just say we’ll be busy tomorrow night… hope you didn’t have any plans,” she said amusingly, before turning her gaze out the window.

You looked at her in silence, expecting her to continue, but she still looked on. You scoffed, “Um, hello? Are ya gonna clue me in on what’s going down?”

She looked at you seriously, before a smirk crept onto her face and her facade broke. Laughing, she filled you in. “Okay, okay. According to some guy working in some narcotic lab, there’s supposed to be a drop going on—a score, if you will. I wrote down the place he was talking about. Anyways, we sneak there and steal whatever money they’re trading right from their noses. Come on,” she winked, “can’t be too hard.”

She gave you an eager look as you thought it over. On one hand, you guys could really use that money—living isn’t cheap. And it isn’t like this would be the hardest thing you’ve done; you’ve done way worse…probably. But on the other hand…the consequences of getting caught are much higher. These guys probably wouldn’t slap cuffs on you and send you to jail, they’d more likely shoot first and ask questions later, unlike that cop paroling the Mayor’s office. But the money…

“Yeah, okay,” you gave in. “Just give me the details-“

Your phone interrupted with a bzzzz.

Looking at your phone, you and Selina could see that it was your boss, Oswald Cobblepot.

Bzzzz.

You stared at the screen, panic filling you. Did he find something out? Are you in trouble? Maybe-

Bzzzz.

“I think you should answer that,” Selina whispered. You hastily accepted the call and put the phone to your ear.

“Heya doll, how’s it going?”

“Oh, it’s going alright. It was a busy night tonight, you know how it gets,” you laughed nervously.

“So me ‘n Mr. Falcone have been talking; he says he’s missed seein’ ya ‘round his place. He’s invited you to accompany him to the Mayor’s funeral tomorrow morning. Ain’t that nice of him?”

You held your breath for a second. Carmine Falcone invited you to go with him? You must have stayed silent for a beat too long, because Oz spoke up.

“Hon?”

“Oh, um, yes! Yes, thank you for the invite. I’m just not sure that-“

“-I think you should go. Wouldn’t want to upset Mr. Falcone, would you?”

“…no. Tell him that I’ll be ready in the morning.”

“Great, great. I’m sure he’ll be pleased. We’ll pick you up, darlin’, don’t worry about it. Have a good night.” He hung up, leaving your eyes to linger on the dark phone screen. Selina’s eyes burned into you as she nearly died of curiosity.

“So,” she finally gave in. “What was that?”

“Oz was asking if I would accompany Falcone to the funeral tomorrow.”

“…you’re joking.”

“I’m not! I tried backing out, but… you know…”

“Nah, I get it.” Selina had a strange look on her face. “Just be back for the score, got it?”

“Of course,” you smiled.

“And hey,” Selina got serious. “Just be safe, yeah? You know Carmine Falcone…”

————————————————————————————————

“You know Carmine Falcone?”

“I work at the mob spot, of course I know him.”

“You didn’t tell me you had a relationship with him.”

“I don’t have a relationship with him. Never did. What’s your problem?”

“Well, that’s not what it looked like.”

“You don’t believe me? You really gonna be an asshole about this?”

“Are you going to tell me the truth? You seeing another one of these mobsters? Some loser nobody—“

“Pretty,” Alfred interrupted Bruce, causing him to hurriedly pause the recording of the night prior. He had been rewinding that last bit of conversation for quite some time now. Alfred continued, “New friend of yours? Although by the way you’re talking, it seems a little more serious.”

Bruce gave him a sharp look before sighing and looking back at the screen. “I’m not so sure.”

“Looks like you upset her.” The recording was paused and zoomed onto your face. Even with your angry expression and tears that threatened to swell, you still looked beautiful. Bruce casted him an annoyed look. “Shall I take this as a good sign?”

“What?”

“Your attire.” Alfred gestured to Bruce, who was dressed rather handsomely. He was wearing a nice black suit and tie. “Is Bruce Wayne making an actual appearance?”

“There’s a public memorial for Mayor Mitchell. Serial killers like to follow reactions to their crime,” Bruce said as if it was the most obvious thing. “Riddler might not be able to resist.”

“Oh, that reminds me,” Alfred jumped as he took a piece of paper out of his pocket. “I took the liberty of doing a little work on this latest cipher—the one from the rat maze.” Bruce turned fully to face him, his back now facing the digital you. He could feel your eyes burning into him. “I’m afraid his Spanish is less than perfect, but I’m fairly certain it translates to ‘You are El Rata Alada.’”

“Rata Alada…” Bruce pondered for a moment before continuing, “‘Rat with wings?’”

“It’s slang for pigeon,” Alfred informed. “Does that mean anything to you?”

“Yeah, a stool pigeon-“

“-Where are your cufflinks?” Alfred interrupted.

“I couldn’t find them.”

“Well, you can’t go out like that,” the older man declared as he started to undo his own links.

“Alfred, I don’t want your cufflinks.”

The man handed Bruce the small piece of jewelry. “You have to keep up appearances. You’re still a Wayne.”

Bruce scoffed, “And what about you? You a Wayne?” Your cyber eyes felt hotter against his back.

“Your father gave them to me…” the man said solemnly. Bruce looked downwards, a little ashamed, but glanced back up to see Alfred giving him a small smile. “And besides, I’m just loaning them to you. I want them back!”

————————————————————————————————

Getting ready in the dingy, broken, and mess of an apartment you called home sucked. There was no time to clean after the break-in and unfortunately, it was hard to look at the place without seeing Anika. You kept your eyes on the floor for the most part.

You picked what you thought was most appropriate for a funeral; it was challenging considering that most of your clothes were for your work. Simple was the key—simple black dress, simple makeup, simple boots. The fall weather was chilly, so you borrowed Selina’s black trench coat to layer over your outfit. A car horn made you jump away from the mirror.

The driver politely opened the door so you could make your way into the vehicle. Your boss was sitting in the passenger seat, smoking a cigarette, while Falcone was sitting beside you.

“Morning darling, you look absolutely gorgeous,” he kissed your hand, “let’s get this shit show over with.”

You smiled, albeit uncomfortable, and stayed silent the whole trip. The men were discussing how much they did not want to go to this event but hey, gotta do what you gotta do, I guess. It didn’t take long to reach the church and with a look from Falcone, Oz got out of the car to deal with the crowd.

“Hold it,” he ordered, voice muffled through the car. “You good, fellas?” The crowd took the hit and backed away. He opened the door with a “We’re good Mr. Falcone” and Falcone stepped out, but not before giving you a wink. He cautiously looked around before offering his hand to you. You took it.

Your black knee-high boots clacked against the wet pavement as you settled yourself into the crook of the man’s arm, making your way into the building. You were about to enter until-

“Hey—hey! Give us a wide berth here, will ya, Slick?” You turned around to see Oz yelling at a man, but he was already looking at you with a strange intensity in his eyes. Wait a minute… was that?

“Watchit, fellas. You got the Prince of the City there. Some event, huh? Brought out the one guy in the city more reclusive than me.”

“Thought you’d never leave the Shoreline,” Bruce Wayne fired immediately. “Aren’t you afraid someone’ll take a shot at you?”

“Why? ‘Cause your father ain’t around? Guys,” Falcone looked back at you and Oz, “you know Bruce Wayne?”

“Wow, is that right?” Oz was not impressed in the slightest, unlike you. Bruce Wayne never makes a public appearance; it’s a rarity. Honestly, if it weren’t for all of Gotham never shutting up about his parents, you would have thought him a myth. You had to admit though, he was a little handsome.

“His father saved my life. I got shot in the chest, right here,” Falcone pointed to the place on yourself, ghosting over your right lower rib. Bruce’s glare darkened. “I couldn’t go to no hospital, so we showed up on his doorstep. Operated right on the dining room table. Kid here, he saw the whole thing from up on the stairs lookin’ down.” Falcone lowered his voice and leaned towards Bruce. “I remember your face. You don’t think that meant something when he did that?

“It meant he took the Hippocratic Oath.”

Falcone looked taken aback before letting a small chuckle escape. “‘Hippocratic Oath.’ That’s good.”

“Excuse me,” Bruce went to pass by as Falcone laughed.

“Hey.” One of Falcone’s bodyguards took him by the shoulder. “I was thinking, ya know, since I have my lovely assistant here,” he clapped you on both of your shoulders and gave them a squeeze. “Baby, you know I hate to share, but be a doll and keep Mr. Recluse some company, will ya? Help him loosen out of his shell a bit, I think he needs it,” Falcone laughed again. You expected Bruce Wayne to reject his offer, but he surprisingly obliged. Politely smiling and offering his elbow to you after sending Falcone one more glare, you took it with a shy smile and followed after him. The camera’s of the paparazzi exploded with light.

Bruce kept you nice and close to him as you both made your way inside. There were mourners all around; some cried, some looked bored, and some had a look of disdain.

“Ladies and gentlemen,” the announcer started. “Thank you all for coming to today’s memorial for our beloved mayor, Don Mitchell Jr. Our program will begin shortly. As a reminder…”

“I’m sorry,” Bruce spoke softly after a while of silence. “I can’t figure out how such a gorgeous woman is hanging around a guy like Falcone. I’ve seemed to have forgotten my manners. My name’s Bruce Wayne, what’s yours?” He smiled slightly at you as he introduced himself. He looked slightly eager. You already knew who he was, of course because who didn’t, but it was nice to see him introduce himself. It was… kinda cool.

You bashfully smiled back. “Thank you, Mr. Wayne—“

“Bruce.”

“—Bruce.” Your smile grew as you played along. “My name is—“

“What good is a safety net if it doesn’t catch nobody?” A man interrupted. “Didn’t help my daughter when she needed it, I can tell you that. Guy was just another rich scum sucker. He got what he deserved.” The man looked Bruce in the eyes. “Know what I mean? Hey… don’t I know you?”

“Bruce Wayne,” another voice interrupted. Bruce looked a little annoyed. He pursed his lips and frowned before turning to Bella Reál. “Why haven’t you called me back?” She turned her gaze to you briefly and looked surprised. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t aware you had company. I’m Bella Reál, I’m running for mayor. I wouldn’t be bothering you here, but your people keep telling me you’re ‘unavailable.’ Will you walk with me?” Bruce followed the woman, tucking you into his side even more. Bella paused as she looked at you, but continued as she positioned herself onto the other side of Bruce. He gave you an apologetic look, as if he was trying to say ‘sorry for dragging you into this.’

“You know, you really could be doing more for this city. Your family has a history of philanthropy, but as far as I can tell, you’re not really doing anything.” You rolled your eyes, but she couldn’t see. “If I’m elected, I want to change that.” The three of you found yourselves at the front of the session where the ex-mayor's son could be seen. “I’m gonna go pay my respects. Will you wait for me? I want to continue this,” she said adamantly before approaching the casket.

The only thing not deeply depressing in the place was the music, which was lovely. You were going to make a comment to the man you were standing beside, but he was staring at the little boy. You could only assume what he was thinking, and you had a pretty good guess, so you squeezed his arm to try and bring him back. His eyes snapped to yours before squeezing you back with a small smile.

“‘Scuse me, Chief?” Being nosy, both you and Bruce shared a look before eavesdropping. “Gil Colson is missing.” Your grip on Bruce’s arm tightened.

“What?” The Chief asked. His badge name read ‘Gordon.’

“He hasn’t been heard from since last night—“

“—Christ, not again,”

“—Hey, Mr. Wayne,” a new, friendly cop chimed in with a smile and wave after noticing Bruce staring.

Bruce sighed before turning back to you. “Hopefully no more interruptions,” he whispered to you. “Let’s start over. My name’s Bruce, what’s—“

The world hated you because just as he uttered those words, screaming and the sound of revving engines echoed in the church. People, you included, fearfully looked around. Following Bruce’s gaze upwards, a sinister presence of a lone person looked down at you. You reacted quicker than Bruce—you could see a car driving up the church steps before he could, so you made a beeline to the little boy looking curiously. The boy, however, refused to move. He was transfixed at the vehicle heading towards him. Luckily, Bruce dove for you both and managed to roll and take the brunt of the impact as you all fell away from the car. The boy’s mother quickly gathered her son and hurriedly left as you stared at where the car crashed beside you. You looked down at the man who saved you but his gaze was still at the place the lone figure was—although he was gone now. Bruce’s grip tightened on you as you laid atop of him. Helping you to your feet, he saw the scared look on your face.

Cops rushed in with their weapons drawn and pointed at the vehicle.

“Get out of the car! Get out of the car and show your hands,” Gordon ordered.

The car door slowly opened as the driver raised their hands above their head. The person stumbled out and, oh my god, was that…?

“Christ, it’s Colson.”

It was the D.A.! He was still wearing the same outfit from when you last saw him, but there was a bomb around his neck and an envelope taped to him. One of the other officers yelled about the bomb, which caused the funeral attendees to panic. Bruce tucked your face into his chest and backed away as the phone taped to Colson’s hand went off. He was oddly protective, but you appreciated it for the moment.

“Let’s clear this place out now!”

Police began hurriedly ushering people out of the building for their safety, but Bruce stood still. The envelope was addressed to ‘The Batman’ in handwriting that could only belong to a childs. Dragging Bruce to the exit after not wanting to spend more time next to a bomb, you looked for Falcone and Oz. Bruce also kept an eye out, but after about 5 minutes of looking from out the front steps, you gave up. They must have left after the first sign of trouble.

“Those assholes,” you cursed under your breath. “Can’t believe they left me here. I didn’t even want to be here in the first place.”

“Well I couldn’t have met you if they didn’t make you come,” Bruce spoke up after a while.

You softly laughed, “Yeah, I guess you’re right, although I would hardly call it a meeting. It could’ve been done with less bombs.” You looked helplessly at the road; your boss was your only ride and you didn’t want to pay for a taxi.

“Yeah, less bombs would be nice during a proper meeting, but ideally it would be best over dinner, wouldn’t you agree?” You looked at him with surprise as a taxi stopped next to you. Bruce, a little nervously, continued. “Listen, I’m sorry about all the interruptions from earlier. As you can probably tell, I don’t get out much.” He laughed bitterly and opened the door for you. “I would like to get to know you better under better circumstances, truly.” He took a notepad and pen from his coat pocket and scribbled. “Here,” he passed it to you. “I hope to hear from you.” You looked at the numbers he wrote down as he gave a wad of cash to the driver. Looking back up at Bruce, he gave a small, genuine smile before shutting the cab door and hurriedly retreating.

You were mentally screaming but paused for a moment to reflect: You could tell that he was trying to charm you as he was laying it on rather thick, but you found it endearing. I mean, it’s not everyday that the Prince of Gotham lets you hang on his arm and accompany him. Besides, it really did seem like he wanted to get to know you. And most importantly…

He gave you his f-ing phone number!

============================================

#sonata in darkness #reader #reader insert #battinson #the batman 2022 #batman x reader

1 note · View note

xbadgerbearx · 2 days

Text

chapter 2: taxi

word count: 2.8k

Sonata in Darkness: [1] ... [3]

“Anni? Baby!?”

Selina marched through the apartment and quickly left you to search the rooms. The entire apartment was destroyed: furniture was flipped over, glass littered the floor, and the cats swarmed you as you entered. Unbelievable. Your friend’s muffled voice was calling out for her lover and growing ever more desperate. Staring ahead in mute shock, you pet the nearest cat numbly as Batman shuffled through some papers.

“Jesus, what’re they gonna do to her? She didn’t do nothin’.” Selina sighed as she took her place beside you. “Shit, they took my phone…”

“-the killer posted the following message on social media. We should warn you, the video is very disturbing.” Focusing your attention to the TV that was left on, it cut to a self recorded video with heavy breathing.

“Hello, people of Gotham,” the video started. “This is the Riddler speaking. On Halloween night, I killed your mayor because he was not who he pretended to be.” Batman was transfixed. “But I am not done… heeeree is another-” The camera flipped around to reveal a bound, naked man with a rat-cage contraption imprisoning his head. “-who will soon be losing face. I will kill again, and again, and again… until our Day of Judgment, when the truth of our city will FINALLY be unmasked.” The Riddler gleefully said goodbye as the news reporters started talking again. “Commissioner Savage served a distinguished 30 year career-“

“Holy shit, I seen that guy too,” Selina shakily said.

“Yeah,” you noted, “At the club.”

“The Iceberg Lounge?”

“44 Below,” you corrected Batman.

“What’s that?”

Selina rolled her eyes. “The club within the club—the real club… It’s a mob hangout.”

“Is that where you work?” Batman inquired.

She paused for a brief moment. “No, I just work the bar upstairs so I see ‘em come in, but she,” gesturing to you, “works below.”

The man glanced at you before prodding Selina. “Who?”

“Everybody. Lotta guys who shouldn’t be there, I can tell you that. Your basic, upstanding citizen types.”

“You’re going to help me on this,” he demanded, glancing back and forth between the two of you. “For your friend.” You and Selina shared a look.

“You got a lot of cats,” commented the man after your lack of replies.

“I have a thing about strays,” your feline roommate confessed.

Batman turned to leave, “You’re not safe here,” he concluded, giving you one last look before stepping out of the broken door.

Selina called after him, “We can take care of ourselves.”

“Can we?” you whispered.

“Of course. Wouldn’t be the first time.”

“-with two public figures now dead in just the last two nights, and only days before the election, police and city officials are left searching for a killer, and hoping to find him before he kills again…”

————————————————————————————————

“Ow—I don’t know about these things.”

“I need to see in there, this hunting ground,” Batman mumbled to Selina, too engrossed in setting up his equipment in an abandoned diner. Putting in the contacts he had given wasn’t much of a challenge, nor too painful. Squeezing your eyes tight, you made sure that they slid comfortably into position.

Selina looked bothered as she picked lint at her trench coat. You both were wearing your typical club uniforms, although you had on a full length faux mink coat over yours. “Why am I starting to feel like a fish on a hook? I’m just looking for Annika-“

“That’s why you’re staying upstairs,” Batman interrupted, only sparing a glance in her direction, “and she’s going down.” He pointed at you but didn’t take his eyes off his surveillance equipment.

“It’ll be just like a normal night, Cat,” you reassured. “Can’t be too different from what we already do. You remember the plan?”

“Yeah, yeah,” she waved off. “I stay upstairs and look out for trouble while you go downstairs and scurry around like a rat. Mr. Tall, Dark, and Handsome here will, uh, do whatever it is he’s gonna do.”

Done setting up his tech, Batman turned around with his attention directed to Selina. “Look at me,” he ordered. She faced him and he inspected the lenses very closely, checking for any imperfections. He nodded his head slightly. “Looks good.” He took a step in your direction, “Now you. Look at me.” Facing him, you looked into his eyes, trying to find anything. His hand cupped your jaw as he scanned them, although judging by the length of time it took compared to Selina’s, something had to have been wrong.

“Everything okay?” you wondered.

He tilted your head side to side before answering, “Perfect.” He took a few more seconds before finally looking away and reached into his pocket. Earpieces. You and Selina each took one and made your way to the building.

“He better find Annika,” Selina growled.

“I’m sure we’ll find her,” you replied. “We just have to get through this tonight.”

She sighed, “ Yeah, I guess you’re right.” Making your way into the club, you both strutted in silence until Selina broke it in the dressing room. “Rat?”

“Yeah?”

“Be safe, please,” she muttered, taking a hold of your hand and squeezing it. “I can’t lose both of you.”

“Oh, Selin—of course I’ll try. Stay safe too,” you soothed before taking a turn to the 44 Below entrance, leaving Selina.

The bouncer, Kenzie, smiled at you, “Long time no see, baby, how’sit goin’?”

“That’s one of the guys I got into it with the other night.”

Hearing Batman’s voice in your ear made you jump a little, you forgot he was there.

“Oh, I’m sorry honey, I didn’t mean to startle you.”

“Looks like I broke his nose.”

You played it off with a short laugh, “It’s alright, I was just spacing out. I’m here for my shift.”

“Kenzie, Williams. He’s an off duty cop.”

“Yeah, I figured,” he smiled politely. “Have a good night tonight. Drain those men of their tips, am I right?” Sharing a laugh, he let you into the elevator that takes you underground. The doors shut.

“Friend of yours?”

“No. He works here most nights so I see him often.”

“Hm.”

The doors opened up to reveal the party; it had a relaxing vibe with the techno music and dim lights. Unfortunately, you had to pass by a valley of men who sized you up like meat.

“Don’t look away,” Batman ordered when your gaze lowered. “I need time to make I.D.s—“

“Great,” you huffed. Lifting your head, you walked slowly and smoothly while trying to analyze all their faces.

“These guys have a little trouble with eye contact, don’t they?” You noted the irritation in his voice.

“What? You don’t like men lookin’ at you like candy?” He said nothing back. You strolled around the area a bit, not picking much up, before heading to a more secluded part. It was lined with booth tables and small lamps.

Pausing to lean on a wall for a break, a man nearby called out, “Excuse me?” Following the sound led you to a tall, average man with glasses that sat at a booth. You’ve only seen him a couple times before–a quiet type–but you strolled on over. “I was, uh, wondering where the bathrooms were?” He played with his hands nervously; he looked as if this was his first time talking to a girl before. It was a little cute.

“Parker, Patrick. A nobody. Leave him”

Ignoring the man in your ear, you smiled sweetly. It was literally your job, after all. “Of course, sugar, it’s down that hallway, second door on the left.”

He bashfully looked away, “Do you mind showing me? I went that way earlier but couldn’t find it.”

You gave it a quick thought. I mean, he didn’t look like a drop head—why not? “Sure thing,” you volunteered. He rose from his seat and waited to follow you patiently. Hooking arms with him, you led him away. His face went a deep red.

The man pulled out $10 and tried handing it to you, but you gave him a weird look. “Oh, am I not supposed to tip you?”

“For showing you the bathroom?”

“Er, yeah?”

You laughed, genuinely. Poor baby must not get out much. “No, hon, you don’t need to do that. Keep your money.”

The man’s smile faltered before his awkward demeanor came back. Playing with his hands, he asked, “Would you mind keeping me company for a while? I don’t really know anyone.”

You entertained the idea before Batman intervened, “He’s wasting your time. Leave him now.”

“I’m sorry, but I have to go. I’ll make sure to look for you throughout the night, though,” you apologized. He was already starting to grow on you.

His face went a bit pink before responding, “O-oh, that’s alright. I’ll keep an eye out as well. Have a goodnight.” He slipped behind the door and into the bathroom before you could say anything else. Sighing, you made your way back towards the booths and perused the aisle, continuing to I.D. people. A man, mid-drop, looked at you starstruck so you quickly avoided eye contact.

“Wait. Who was that—?”

“I got plenty a good look—“

“—Look back—“

“If I do that, It’s not gonna—

“I need to see his face—“

Sighing with an eye roll, you stop in your tracks and peered over your shoulder. The man took it as an invitation to stumble over.

“That��s the D.A.… Gil Colson.”

“God, happy? He’s comin’ over.”

“Talk to him.”

“Hey, how you doin’? I’m Gil,” Colson said with a dopey grin.

Throwing on a plastic smile, you fawned, “Oh my— aren’t you the D.A.?”

“Yeah—!”

“—wow! I’ve seen you on TV!”

“Is that right? I’ve seen you work here a couple times when I come in. It’s nice to see a familiar face ‘cause people are a little on edge.”

“Oh, don’t worry, I live on the edge.”

“That so? I like that,” he chuckled. “Do you want to come over?”

“Sure,” you purred. He led you to a group sitting at the table and offered a seat.

“This is Travis, Ritchie, Glen,” he started.

“That’s half the D.A.'s office.”

“And you know Carla here, right? That’s Cheri—don’t mind her, she’s taking a break.” She had drops in her hand. “We’re just here to drown our sorrow,” he concluded before offering you some drugs.

“Oh, no thank you—but don’t mind me, sweetie, you go ahead and enjoy.”

“Thanks. I got a lot on my shoulders with that psycho running around.”

“He’s wasted.”

“No shit,” you blurted out in response.

Gil Colson looked at you for a second before chuckling, “I like this girl.” He thought you were responding to him. You giggled. “I mean, this Riddler, he’s—he’s going after the most powerful people in the city. He knows so much—“

“He doesn’t know shit, man,” his buddy hissed.

“What’re you talking about? Yeah he does! What about that rat—“

“Hey, hey, Gil, come on. Think you maybe had a little too much. Slow down,” a different buddy chimed in.

“The rat. Ask him about the rat.”

Looking through your lashes, you placed a hand on his thigh and caressed it with your thumb. “Hey, you got a vermin problem? What’s goin’ on, honey,” you said, voice sultry.

He dragged a hand down his face before taking a deep breath, “I mean, there was a rat. We had an informant—we had big time information on Salvatore Maroni. That’s how we got him out of the drops business.”

“He’s talking about the Maroni case.”

“But if this guy knows, it’s gonna come out. And when it does, this whole city is gonna come apart.”

“Okay, I don’t want to hear this,” a girl said beside Gil. “This is the kind of pillow talk that got that Russian girl disappeared.”

“Hey, what do you know about that,” you demanded, your demeanor changing instantly.

“Keep him talking.”

“Does anybody want a drink,” the girl asked as she stood to leave. You stood too, about to follow her, when—

“Stay put. I’m informing Selina right now.”

You seated yourself and smiled politely back at Gil. He took another drop; you started to feel uncomfortable. Just as you thought it wouldn’t end, a nerd in shining glasses appeared.

“It’s you again,” he exclaimed. He seemed less jumpy and a little more relaxed—confident, even. ‘Maybe he had a drink to calm his nerves?’

“Hi! Did you need somethin’, hon?”

“Uh, yeah, can you help me with something over here for a second?” He led you away from the D.A. and back to his original table. You both took a seat.

“What’d you need?”

“Oh, nothing,” he confessed. He went a bit pink again before continuing, “I was keeping an eye out and saw how uncomfortable he was making you.”

You gushed; how sweet was that? “Aww, honey, I appreciate that,” you thanked. “Been a while since someone decent showed up around here.”

Batman returned in your ear, “What happened? Where’s the D.A.?” He sounded frustrated, but something told you it had more to do with Selina than you leaving Gil.

“Men these days don’t know how to treat a lady right anymore,” the man in glasses sighed. He extended his arm in greeting, “I’m Eddie.” You accepted his hand. “I can’t wait ‘til this city finally undergoes real change.”

“Oh, you talkin’ about Bella Reál?”

“Even bigger than that. I’m waiting for some real, powerful, and lasting change—something that’ll really open the water gate. All the powerful people in Gotham just lie and deceit people. Aren’t you tired of that?”

“You’re wasting time with this clown. Go ahead and leave.”

“No.”

“No? You like corruption?”

“What?” You realized that you had responded to Batman instead of Eddie. “No—I mean—Yes, the amount of criminals out here are crazy. There’s almost more in office than there is on the street,” you scoffed with a grin.

Eddie mirrored your grin, “Exactly! Man, is it refreshing to find someone so like-minded. Say, what did you say your name was?”

You didn’t give him your name earlier, and you were about to when—

“Times up. Leave or I’ll come get you myself.”

Huffing, you smiled back at Eddie. “I’m sorry, sugar, I’m gonna have to call it a night. My feet are killing me.”

“Oh, did you need help walking back to your-“

“No thank you! I got it. You enjoy the rest of your evening,” you excused yourself with a wink as you left the table. Halfway to the exit you see Oz and Falcone.

“Hiya, baby.”

“Hey, Oz.”

“Hey…” Falcone crooned. “Been a while since I’ve seen you, gorgeous. How’ve ya been?” He reached out and caressed your chin with his thumb.

“I’ve-I’ve been okay… I was just, um, I was just finishing my shift.”

Falcone smirked, “Well… don’t be a stranger.” You left for the bathrooms after he walked away.

“You know Carmine Falcone?”

“I work at the mob spot, of course I know him.”

“You didn’t tell me you had a relationship with him.” He sounded angry.

“I don’t have a relationship with him. Never did. What’s your problem?”

“Well, that’s not what it looked like.”

“You don’t believe me? You really gonna be an asshole about this?” Your reflection stared back at a very pissed off self.

“Are you going to tell me the truth? You seeing another one of these mobsters? Some loser nobody?”

“Okay, I’ve had enough,” you hissed. “I’m risking my neck down here—I’ve done everything you’ve said, and now you're turning on me?” You pulled out the contact case and reached for your eyes. “What’s it matter to you if I’m seeing some ‘loser’ anyway?”

“Wait—what are you—?

“I’ve had enough of your bullshi—“ Batman’s camera immediately cut out as you took out the contact lenses. Taking a long, deep breath, you calmed yourself and pocketed the contact case. He could hear you mumbling curses, up until you remember you had the bud in your ear and took it out. Surprisingly, by the time you left the club you found Selina waiting and leaning against a wall.

“He piss you off too?”

“You could say that,” you mumbled. Linking arms with her, you set off to find a taxi. Before you could, the door behind you slammed open. It was the D.A.

“Hey! Lost you in there.”

“Yeah, I gotta go.”

“Oh. You—you need a ride? I’m right there,” Colson pointed to his car just off to the side.

“No, thank you, we’re good,” Selina barged. “Taxi!”

“Will I see you ‘round?” You glanced at him before rushing into the taxi cab that pulled over. The driver set off, leaving him in the dust.

Inside his car, however, was a very angry man in glasses. “You just don’t know how to treat a lady right, do you?”

================================================

#reader #reader insert #the batman 2022 #batman x reader #dano riddler #battinson #sonata in darkness

2 notes · View notes

xbadgerbearx · 2 days

Text

Sonata in Darkness Masterlist

summary: When a new serial killer prowls the streets of Gotham and murders politicians in Gotham, Batman is forced into unraveling the city's dark secrets. Only, he didn't expect to team up with you. What an unlikely duo...

pairing: Batman x Reader

total word count: ???

note: no use of (y/n)

• [1] • [2] • [3] • [4] • 5 • 6 • 7 • 8 • 9 • bonus •

#masterlist #sonata in darkness #the batman 2022 #batman #the batman #reader #reader insert #batman x reader

5 notes · View notes

xbadgerbearx · 2 days

Text

chapter 1: perv

pairing: Batman x Reader

word count: 2k

warning: spoilers for The Batman (2022)

note: no use of (y/n) and enjoy!

Sonata in Darkness: ... [2]

“Thursday, October thirty-first…

The streets are crowded for the holiday, but hiding in the chaos… is the element. Waiting to strike at the decent… the vulnerable…

But I’m there too. Watching.

Two years of nights have turned me into a nocturnal animal. It’s a big city, I can’t be everywhere… but they don’t know that.

We have a signal now. When that light hits the sky, it’s not just a call… It’s a warning.

Fear is a tool.

They think I’m hiding in the shadows…

But I am the shadows.

I am vengeance.”

———————————————————————————————

“Watch where you’re going, pipsqueak.”

The man who backed into you spat, grumbling as he stumbled away. Sighing, you rolled your eyes but kept your composure and continued on your way with a covered tray in your hands. Luckily the bastard didn’t make you drop it.

The dim club obscured most features of a person, but the colorful lights revealed everything with a flash or blink. You were dolled up in your work attire: glamorous makeup, a slutty dress, heels, the whole works. Men and women alike found you irresistible—a real catch.

You approached the table with a friendly smile as you set the tray down and revealed its contents: drops. The partiers cheered and clamored to get their hands on the drugs presented before them. With a wink you left the group, all while ignoring the stares and occasional whistles. Slipping behind the bar you saw the bartender waving to get your attention.

“What’s up?”

“Drops. Mr. Cobblepot wants these—“ He pointed to another tray, this time with a thick envelope and a fresh drink, “—delivered to him upstairs.”

“Sure thing,” you said as you gathered the item and sauntered out of the underground club. The almost calming blue light of the 44 Below was immediately erased by the harsh, flashing red lights of the club upstairs. If you weren’t so used to it, it would have given you a headache. You were almost there when suddenly-

“Selina?”

“Oh hey, my little mouse, haven’t seen you all night,” Selina purred with a smile. “Where’re ya off to?”

“Oz. He requested some samples from below.”

She hummed in understanding. “Want me to come with? I’m not doing much.”

“Yes, please.”

Your night just got slightly better. Selina was a friend of yours—your best friend, actually. You guys were sharing an apartment at the moment to save on some cash, but you didn’t mind. The only thing that drove you a little crazy was that she’d seemingly turn up with a new stray cat almost every few days. As long as they didn’t start stinking up the apartment, you didn’t really care. At least they were cute.

You guys linked arms and laughed as you made your way past the crowd and to his office, heels clicking on the cold metal floor. Selina took the tray from you to hold it herself—how sweet. Getting closer to his office, you could hear men talking in low tones. Making your way inside, the men silenced themselves. Oz was sitting on his couch while a man clad in a black suit stood in front of him. He looked very… menacing as he stared you and Selina down.

“Hey, it’s okay, baby,” Oz thankfully interrupted. “Mr. Vengeance don’t bite.”

Recognizing the man as the one and only caped crusader did not calm your nerves in the slightest. ‘The Batman’ was only a slightly new figure in Gotham, known for taking justice into his own hands—his reasons unknown. ‘Maybe he flunked out of the Police academy,’ you had thought humorously at one point. Figuring it was only a matter of time before he tried to involve himself in Penguin’s business, it was still surprising to see him in your boss’ office.

He was still staring at you—no—into you. His harsh blue eyes never wavered from yours, even as your friend gave him a pointed look and delivered the tray to Oz. He finally looked away when he heard Oz ruffling through the money in the envelope and setting a stash of drops on the tray. As Selina set down the drink onto the table, you too had looked away from the dark man, and your eyes fell onto the photograph before her. It was Annika being escorted by Mayor Mitchel, no doubt, but you could also make out you, Selina, and Oz standing behind the couple talking. Selina gave you a look.

“Thank you, honey,” Oz said, breaking you out of your spell. You smiled hesitantly and turned to leave, daring to look back at the black crusader, but he was already looking your way. Linking arms with Selina again, you hastily made your way out of there and back into the main club area. Before you could though, she yanked you back and pressed herself against the nearby wall, urging you to do the same.

“That was Anni.”

“Yeah, I saw. Why’d he have a picture of her?”

“I’m not sure,” Selina said. “But it can’t be good. Shh, now listen.”

You couldn’t see what your friend saw, but suddenly she gave a sharp turn and started rushing away.

“Go, we have to leave. He saw us.”

An indescribable feeling swelled inside you, but you obediently slinked away after her. After grabbing your belongings and coats from the locker rooms, Selina grabbed your hand and led the way outside.

“Taxi!”

However, it wasn’t long after when you clambered in the backseat of the car that Selina got a phone call. “Hey, it’s me. What’samatter, baby? Slow down, I can’t—on the news? No, wait for us, we’re on our way home. We’re gonna get the hell out of here, I promise…if we have to go sooner, we’ll go tonight!” Selina gave you an uneasy look. “Look, sweetie, we’re just a block away, I‘ll be there soon. Love you.”

———————————————————————————————-

The rain pelted against the man’s back as he peered into some windows with his binoculars atop a nearby building. A woman with short, blonde hair was a wreck and sobbing at the TV. Not long after, two more women, the very same he saw earlier in the club, rushed in to comfort. The dark haired one stayed behind to reassure her as he watched you slip into the back rooms to pull out a bodysuit. You looked around, paranoid in your own home but saw nothing, so you hastily shimmied out of your club dress and into your new apparel–a catsuit. The man moved to get a better look; his eyes lingered a little too long before jumping back to the two other women. By the time you finished getting dressed, the other woman he saw you with was gearing up and you two were sliding out the window. The now-pixie haired woman flipped over the railing and onto the ground while you slid down a nearby pole. Reaching the bottom, you made your way to the garage and hopped on a motorcycle that the woman was operating. The man rushed after the pair, worried that he’d lose them. Climbing onto his own bike, he pursued the women and gave chase.

————————————————————————————————

The rope was thin and light, but just sturdy enough to carry a person. Once your partner in crime made it down through the skylight, you tossed down the lock picking kit to her and lowered yourself down. It took some investigating, but after a while Selina ran her hands along a rather large painting and managed to find a button. Pressing it made the painting retract and allowed the safe to eject.

Silently working as one, you assembled the tool until it was completed and Selina could look through the scope. As she was deep in concentration, deciding to look around the room wouldn’t hurt. It was a nice, big office, only fit for a mayor. As your eyes wandered, you couldn’t help but notice a shadow flicker overhead. “Cat?” you whispered.

The split second it took to look over at her gave the shadow enough time to materialize just as Selina cracked the safe.

“You’re pretty good at that.”

Instantly your body went into fight mode. A flurry of kicks and spins forced the stranger to make space between you and the safe. As you were fighting, Selina rummaged through the iron box until she found what she was looking for—the passport. Interested in what was in her hand, the man made a bold move and grabbed your leg that was coming for him, twisting the appendage and throwing you away as he stalked after her. Leaping to your feet, Selina called out, “Catch!”

Smoothly catching the book and zipping it away in your front breast compartment, you joined your friend in attacking the assailant. With his back facing you, you jumped on top and wrapped your legs around his face, choking him between your thighs. His breath turned ragged and he wheezed frantically; his hands went straight to trying to get you off. In return, he took multiple blows from Selina from the front. Finding it almost impossible to knock you off first without dealing with your partner, he delivered a calculated punch that rendered her breathless before he flung her across the room. Gasping, he finally got a hold and heaved you over his head and onto a table. One of his hands immediately went to your throat to hold you down; your hands met with it at once. His grip was strong and unrestricted; it felt like he could kill you if he pressed down a little harder. Seeing the fight leave your body as your eyes bulged and glistened in fear, he took a moment to examine you. Your hands were still furiously pawing at the glove around your throat as you struggled to gasp for breath. He wouldn’t budge.

Giving you a glare as he drank in air, his gaze fixed themselves onto the front of your suit. Sliding his free hand down, he unzipped the breast pocket and fished out the little passport. He struggled as you fought for breath. His hand on your throat disappeared, leaving you gasping as you collapsed to the ground, body hunched over itself as you started a coughing fit. He flipped open the book.

He stood in front of you, panting, “Kosolov, Annika… He hurt her? That’s why you killed him?”

He gave you a while to respond. Rising to your feet and rubbing your neck, you choked out, “What? We didn’t kill anybody.” Selina rose to her feet.

A door creaked open just as you went to swipe the book in his hand. Effortlessly, he pulled you into his chest and spun around the corner, his hand covering the lower portion of your face. Panic swelled inside of you; was he going to choke you again? But the pressure remained consistently light as he shushed you, so you took the chance to take deep breaths to calm your racing heart. You could almost feel yourself melting into his embrace. Echoing footsteps slowly paraded around the room you had previously occupied—Selina must have hid. Thoughts trampled around in your mind until the sound of the door squeaking shut awakened you. You broke free from his grasp.

“Rat?” Selina whispered out as she crawled out of her hiding space. Whispering back, she slinked into the room.

“I swear, you’ve got the wrong idea, okay? We didn’t kill anybody-“

“He thinks we murdered someone?” Selina asked, even more pissed off at the accusation

“-We’re taking back what was stolen. Mayor Mitchel took it from her when all she’s trying to do is leave this dump of a city.”

“What does she know?” The Batman asked, face highlighted by the skylight from above.

“Whatever it is,” interjected Selina, “it’s got her so spooked she won’t even tell me.”

“She did seem upset.” Your eyes widened, ‘What?’

“Back at your place,” he continued. “Let’s go talk to her.” Meeting hesitant looks, he offered the passport back to your friend who gladly snatched it out of his hand.

Sneaking out of the apartment undetected, he followed behind to where your bike was—his was parked right beside it. Climbing onto the passenger seat of Selina’s bike, you called out to him. “Hey…how much did you see at our place?” His eyes darted to your figure but failed to meet your eyes before busying himself with his own bike. Was that…bashfulness?

“Perv.”

#batman #the batman #bruce wayne #reader #reader insert #selina kyle #oswald cobblepot #the penguin #the riddler #edward nygma #dano riddler #battinson #batman x reader #the batman 2022 #sonata in darkness

8 notes · View notes

xbadgerbearx · 3 years

Text

Can’t Sleep Masterlist

summary: loneliness is no longer the only option

pairing: Abner Krill x Reader

total word count: ~11.9k

note: reader is gender neutral so everyone can enjoy :)

• [1] • [2] • [3] • [4] • [5] • [6] • [7] • [bonus] •

308 notes · View notes

xbadgerbearx · 3 years

Text

fuck

word count: 200+ Can’t Sleep: [7] …

note: this is a bonus chapter

"Said they found him in the rubble," a doctor said as she led two of the Task Force X managers through the hospital.

"They were shocked his heart was still beating. I wasn't sure how safe it was, shipping him back here. But, if anything, he's shown he's resilient." She stopped at an open window looking into a patient's room. You could hear the monitor beeping steadily.

"It'll take some surgery, but eventually we'll get him back up to speed."

"You realize this is revenge, right," Josh, one of the tech guys said as he realized it was Peacemaker lying unconscious in that hospital bed.

He sighed out, "(Y/n)," while he was knocked out.

"Waller knows we double-crossed her, and she's getting back at us by saddling us with this douchebag.

"Yep."

"I heard he was sort of a hero down in Corto Maltese," commented the Dr. Alandy.

"Oh, was that what you heard? Because not quite."

"What do you guys want him for?"

"Just to save the fucking world, that's all."

"Speaking of heroes and saving the world," the doctor added. "Follow me." She led the duo through several hallways and into another wing of the building. The sign read Operating Room. "I'm sure you'll be happy to see him."

Laying in bed in critical condition was Rick Flag. Looking through the open window, the trio saw surgeons working over time on him.

"Fuck."

125 notes · View notes

xbadgerbearx · 3 years

Text

word count: 1.9k

Can’t Sleep: [6] … [8]

As if seeing red, you flung yourself over Cleo and made yourself visible again. The gun was barely touching your forehead.

"(Y/n)?" Peacemaker was taken aback. How did you find them? How much did you hear and how much did you see?

"Don't you dare fucking touch her."

"Move."

"No!"

"Don't make me do this." Chris looked as if he was holding back tears. He's known you for forever and considers you a friend who he loves very deeply. Maybe too deeply.

Cocking back the gun, Chris whispers, "I'm sorry," with as much emotion he can fit into it as Cleo cries below you. Luckily your knight in black combat gear arrives on a stacked level of floors. Taking a moment to see what the fuck he was looking at—Peacemaker pointing his gun at you as you shield a crying Cleo—Bloodsport whipped at his gun and shot without hesitation. Peacemaker shot at him at the same time, however it was so fast that for a second you thought you had gotten shot for a second time. Once you registered what happened, Peacemaker dropped to his knees.

"How..." he wheezed.

"Smaller bullets."

You and Cleo scrambled to get up as Peacemaker dropped to the ground, dead. Robert made his way over to check on the both of you. You stared at Peacemaker with conflicting emotions.

"He killed Colonel Flag," she cried. "He wanted to share this," she revealed a hard drive to you, "with the press. It's proof the American government was behind Project Starfish the whole time."

Robert took the drive from Cleo as you covered your mouth in horror. Chris killed Rick? You didn't have much time to process this as Harley, Abner, and Nanaue made their way over. Abner made his way directly to you but was almost thrown off his feet by the violent pounding of... what? You didn't know.

"I think it's trying to get out!"

"What?"

"Starro the-" A giant limb of some sort broke its way through the wall. Some debris hit your bad side as you turned to run, so Nanaue lugged you over his shoulder as he made his way out of the building. Managing to look up, you saw Starro the Conqueror in all of his glory.

'They couldn't have named Project Starfish something less conspicuous?'

"Disparos! Disparos!"

Nanaue gently puts you down in time for thousands of little starfish aliens to fly towards you.

'Great.'

The soldiers around you started shooting but the bullets seemed to do no damage. Once the first starfish found its host, chaos followed. People were panicking to try to protect themselves, but no such luck.

"Cover your faces!"

You looked over at Cleo to see she was wearing her gasmask. Not taking the chance of trying to think of a better idea, you quickly morphed your face to dawn a matching one as well. It seemed to work since all the starfish that tried grabbing onto you were unable to do so. After about a minute of screaming, gun fire, and crying, everything fell silent. You dared to look up from your crouched position to find that only the people in your team were standing. Morphing your face back to normal, you found that wouldn't be the case for long.

"Woah."

"What the fuck is that?"

The infected soldiers were all starting to rise again. You sought out your favorite colorful teammate as he was currently spinning around in terror. If anyone asked, you would lie and say that you were holding his hand for his comfort, not yours.

"This city is mine," the infected general announced before every single one of the infected started screaming. Starro, as well as the infected, ignored your team and made their way into the city. Your team just stared at the sight before them.

"Task Force X. Are you there?"

"Uhhhh-huh."

"Whatever signal jammers were blocking our communications must have been in the building you just demolished."

"Yeah, well, we've got a mite issue over here, Waller."

"It's Project Starfish, Miss Waller," Cleo added after Robert. "It's headed towards the city and I think it wants to feed on as many people as it can."

"Not our problem. If you've destroyed Jotunheim and the records within, you've achieved the objective. Corto Maltese is no longer a U.S. ally. If anything, the White House will consider fomenting disruption in a hostile nation a positive development."

Seeing what Starro was doing to the people of Corto Maltese was... heartbreaking. Not to mention that your team helped set this beast free.

"You heard what she said," Robert declared as he walked away. He didn't make it far before he turned back around and started making his way to the city.

"She'll kill you, you know?"

"That's her business."

"I knew Sebastian sensed good in you for a reason," Cleo smiled as she jogged to catch up with him. Turning to Abner, you just sighed with a chuckle before joining them.

"Bloodsport, Ratcatcher, Mimic, turn around."

"Where go, friends?

"Nanaue! Krill, turn around now!"

You turned back in delight to find that Abner had joined you.

"Turn back now, God damn it! What are you doing, Task Force X? Fuck!"

Your team was making its way to the city with a quick pace.

"Turn around now, God damn it! You dumb pieced of shit! Motherfuckers!"

Turning to Abner, you just laughed as Waller yelled profanities at you. He smiled a sweet smile at you in return. You thought back to what you said at the table in the bar, 'If I were to die right now with you all around me, then I'd die happy.'

"God damn it, Task Force X, this is your last motherfucking warning!"

Silence followed. You found it strange that one of your heads hasn't been blown off yet. Maybe there was a malfunction? Suddenly, a new voice was speaking.

"Task Force X, the creature is headed to Calle Principal. Avoid Avenida Medrano. There is a swarm of infected."

"So, your clearest path is Calle Aguero," a man started speaking. This is real fucking weird. You followed their orders, however, and started jogging to where Starro was. Not going to lie, you were feeling pretty beat up at this point, but you decided to save it for later.

Robert started pulling all sorts of attachments out for his gun and started shooting. None of the shots pierced him, but it did get the beast's attention.

"Harley, (Y/n), take the high ground," ordered Robert. With a boost from you and a hand from Harley, you both made it up to the rooftops. You could hear Robert yelling commands.

"Nanaue, monster is nom nom!"

As you and Harley made your way to the highest point, all you heard Robert shout was, "It's your mom!"

Starro and all infected screamed out in pain as it clutched it's leg.

"I'm a superhero!" You heard Abner shout with joy. You turned around grinning to look down at him. His wrist vents were charging as he went for another attack.

"I'm a motherfucking super-"

"No!" you cried out as Starro smashed Abner. You almost fell over in shock. He- he can't be dead. He just couldn't. A sob tore itself from your mouth before you could stop it. Harley ushered you to continue.

"I know, I know, honey. It hurts, but we really gotta move!"

Before you could cry more, Nanaue was flung into the building in front of you, and it was coming down.

"Run!"

You and Harley booked it the other direction, however you weren't fast enough since you both fell through the roof you were on. You started coughing from all the dust and debris, but it just ended with you sobbing.

"It- it killed Abner!"

Coughing, Harley took a second longer to recover.

"Honey," she said while looking at you. You stilled your tears long enough for her to continue. "I know you liked him a lot but right now, we have to kill this thing. Come on," she held out her hand, much like she did the first time you met. "Do it for Abner."

You took a deep breath before wiping your tears. "Okay," you said defeated. You accepted her hand and heaved yourself up. As you did so, you mimicked Harley—javelin and all—and sniffled. "For Abner."

With each other's help, you scaled the collapsing building and slowly made your way to the top. Once successfully standing, you both saw the perfect jumping point directed at Starro. It was perfect eye level.

"On one?" you asked.

"One!" Harley shouted as you both ran down the path. It was just wide enough to fit the two of you. Grabbing your hand, Harley lunged off the wall and you both plunged into Starro's eye. It was strangely beautiful. You and Harley turned to each other with a smile as you morphed back to normal. Hundreds of rats began crawling through the entry you made. Blood flowed everywhere as the rats bit Starro to death.

You struggled to heave yourself out of Starro's eye, but with some effort it was doable. Making your way to Robert, you saw Cleo sitting in the rubble holding a piece of cloth.

"I'm- I'm so sorry, (Y/n)."

A faint grunting sound was heard along with heavy footsteps.

"Nanaue!" Cleo shouted and ran to him, but not before thrusting the spotted cloth to your chest. You held it there as you felt the tears start again. You felt... alone. It was a strange feeling; one that you were friends with for years, but ever since this mission started, it felt like a stranger.

You don't like the feeling.

Slowly, your team gathered themselves and made its way to a helicopter that was approaching. You couldn't stop staring at the bloody fabric in your hands.

"Pet pet," Nanaue said while looking at you. "Where Polky?"

"I'm right here!"

You've never turned around so fast. Standing there was a beaten and bloody Abner in a very damaged polka dot suit. Sprinting, you tackled him to the ground before delivering a very passionate kiss to his lips. You could hear some hollering in the background.

"How..." you asked once you finally pulled away. You crawled off him and helped him up as he caught his breath. Leaning against you, he answered as you made your way to your awaiting team.

"At the last second," he heaved out, "I used my power against his arm. It didn't go through him, but it made a big enough pocket for me to fit." He sucked in some breaths of air before finishing, "When he pulled away, I saw that he damaged not only me but my ventilators. I had to crawl to a nearby alley and hope that I wouldn't be found."

There were so many emotions you were feeling at the moment, you didn't know which to express. You decided on joy, and you laughed loudly. It almost disturbed your friends waiting for you, but once Abner joined, the rest slowly followed. You laughed until you were sobbing.

Thankfully, no one questioned it. You doubted they thought you were sane but oh well. Climbing onto the aircraft, you and Abner sat in the corner as the rest of the party joined. The aircraft took off as the sun rose in the sky, and gradually you and Abner slid into a comfortable position where you were both lying down—him holding you in his arms. The pilot quietly turned on the radio, and you both fell asleep with a smile.

🎶Life, I'm so busted.

And I just wanted to be loved by you, by you.

I just wanted to be loved by you, by you.

I just wanted to be loved by you🎶

"I love you, (Y/n)."

155 notes · View notes

xbadgerbearx · 3 years

Text

thorough

word count: 1.5k Can’t Sleep: [5] … [7]

"All right, who ate all the fucking empanades?"

The team was on their way to a designated location that was private so they could discuss the next move. Somehow, Harley managed to get Flag to stop at a local food truck to get food. What a softie.

Your introduction to Harley was, well, memorable to say the least. After making her way into the bus, she smacked Flag with her javelin, tripped over Cleo's leg while she slept, and fell into the seat in front of you. Once again, you were seated on Nanaue with your legs slung over Abner's.

"You guys had a shark and you didn't tell me? How cute!" She fixed her hair before holding her hand out. "Harley Quinn, nice to meetcha!"

You stuck your arm out in an awkward position due to Nanaue and shook her hand. "Mimic, good meeting you too."

"Mimic? What a neat name! What do you do?"

"What the name implies," you said in Harley's voice.

"Neat! Hey, you think you could copy Rick's voice and say somethin' funny?"

"Like what?"

"Hmm... not sure. I'll let you decide."

"Uhh, okay," you thought for a minute. What would you say? When you finally figured it out, you let out a little giggle before clearing your throat.

"Attention everyone, I have an announcement to make," you started. Everyone looked at Rick who wasn't paying attention. "This is long overdue, but Bloodsport, I'm in love with you."

"Hey, man, what the fuck."

Before the joke could continue, Harley, Abner, Nanaue, and eventually you filled the bus with laughter. The rest joined quickly after realizing it was you.

"This is what America's best do for entertainment?"

Cleo smacked Grieves over the back of the head again.

You later made it to the vantage point; it was a couple story building with the roof destroyed. This brings us up to speed.

"Mine were very good. I had chicken."

You and Abner were off to the side still eating. You may have taken an extra one when no one was looking.

Flag wiped his hands on his pants before addressing Grieves. "All right, here's the deal. We fail the mission, you die."

"We find out any information you gave us is false, you die," added Bloodsport.

"If we find out you have any personalized license plates, you die."

"What? Harley, no."

"If you mismatch blacks, you die."

"No."

"If you cough without covering your mouth-"

"Harley," Flag interrupted before turning his attention back to Grieves. "Those last three aren't things. Although, probably don't need to say this, but that isn't an open invitation for you to cough without covering your mouth."

You let out a chuckle as Bloodsport started talking to Grieves.

"All right, we're gonna need you to drive the minibus, with all of us inside, past the guards at the front gate."

"Once through the gate, we'll use you to get through the retinal scanner."

"There are security cameras everywhere," Grieves pointed out.

"They're being dealt with," Ratcatcher II said while petting Sebatian. Flag continued.

"We'll neutralize the soldiers there and enter."

"Once we're inside, we seperate into teams."

"I am walking back and forth," exclaimed Harley.

"Aw come on," Abner whispered from beside you. You look over your shoulder to see him holding an empty empanada bag.

"What, you finish yours?"

"No, Nanaue stole mine while I wasn't looking."

Nanaue was still smacking his mouth before giving you a shrug.

"Here, I grabbed this from the pile when no one was looking." You passed him an empanada that you took out from one of your tactical pockets.

"Oh, thank you," he said while taking it from you.

"No problem."

"Okay," Flag sighed. "You're gonna lead me and Ratcatcher II to Project Starfish."

"I'm going with you 'cause I don't trust this guy."

"No, no, no," Bloodsport told Peacemaker. "You're coming with me. Our munitions expertise are needed to place the explosives, starting at the first floor, going all the way to the top. Once we're clear, we blow the tits off that thing, and go home."

Gaius Grieves had an incredulous look on his face. "This is suicide."

"Well, that's kind of our thing."

"Yeah," Abner said, stepping forward with his empanada in hand. You had to cover your mouth to stop yourself from laughing.

Grieves was silent from that point until he was driving the van. "This is insane."

Everyone stayed quiet as he drove past the gate. Abner, who was laying beside you, let out a heavy sigh of relief in your ear as the van successfully made it past the guards. You smiled over at him as you squeezed his hand.

The rain that just started to pour offered excellent coverage for your team. Everyone quickly double checked themselves and started loading the guns.

"Yeah, no."

Milton had tried taking a rather large gun for himself before Flag confiscated it.

"Maybe stay back, Milton? You know, we could always use a getaway driver," you suggested. Milton gave you a thumbs up as he took a seat.

Opening the door to the van, Harley commented, "I love the rain. It's like angels are splooging all over us." Bloodsport made his way out before the rest of the team followed.

Unceremoniously, Bloodsport started the small battle by shooting a soldier in the eye with his crossbow arm. King Shark, Peacemaker, Bloodsport, and Colonel Flag made quick work of all the enemies as you and the rest of the team ushered Grieves to the front of the building.

"Open it!"

"Why would I do that?"

"Oh, for fuck's sake." Rolling your eyes, you mimicked Gaius Grieves and scanned your eye into the retinal scanner. The door made a satisfying hiss as it unlocked.

"Good job, Mimic," complimented Polka Dot Man as you returned to normal. You smiled in reply.

Not even two seconds later did the rest of the team join you as you shoved Grieves inside. Peacemaker, ever the strategist, destroyed the scanner before joining you.

"Input the emergency code, now!"

The doors shut with another satisfying hiss. Everyone inside made quick work of opening the bags that contained the bombs and distributing them.

"You get a bomb, and you get a bomb, and you-"

"Harley and I will meet you up on the second floor," Bloodsport ordered.

It wasn't until after you placed the bombs in the main room and started dispersing that the soldiers watching the security footage noticed.

"Atención! Atención!"

"Come on, Mimic, you follow me. King Shark and Peacemaker got the first level."

"On it," you yelled as you quickly followed him and the others to the upper levels. It wasn't until you made it to about the sixth floor that reinforcements were coming.

"All right, troops are coming. This floor and then nine floors left. Let's go!"

The room you entered looked like an ordinary office space with cubicles. As you made your way down the main aisle, Polka Dot Man's bag broke which caused the bombs to scatter.

"Aw, fizzle sticks. Hold on-"

Gun fire began raining on you as the soldiers found your location. Everyone dropped low to the ground behind a cubicle. Unfortunately, you were a little too late which allowed a bullet to pierce through your arm.

"FUCK," you yelled as you dropped beside Abner.

Shocked and angered that they hurt you, he quickly released his polka dots onto the soldiers without another thought. As they dropped to the ground, Abner scooped you up beside him to the best of his abilities so that you'd be behind cover. You made a pained sound in protest, but you didn't stop him.

"Does anyone got eyes or ears on any more?"

"They shot (Y/n)!" Abner yelled to Bloodsport.

"Who's (Y/n)?"

"What?!"

"I don't remember any (Y/n)," said Harley.

"Fuck! They've been with us the whole time!"

"Somebody named (Y/n) has been with us the whole time?"

"Yes!"

"I don't think so, I think I would've noticed if somebody named (Y/n) was with us."

Abner gently removed himself from you before standing abruptly. "Are you messing around right now? They've been with us the whole time, and now look at them. They're hurt."

"Abner," you strained while trying to sit up. "It's just a bullet wound, I'll be fine."

Upon hearing your voice, Harley peeked over to look at you. "Oh, Mimic! Well why didn't you say so?" She picked herself up—along with the javelin—before helping you up. Using her to stabilize yourself, you announced that you were going to check on the others that were with Grieves. Turning invisible in front of them, you left.

It took some time to finish bombing the room, but eventually they did it.

"So when did this great love affair happen with Mimic?" Robert asked Abner.

"I liked them from the beginning, okay? I just didn't want to say anything in case-"

It wasn't until you made your way to the lower level that you heard a giant explosion. Off in the distance, you thought you could pleading. Was that Cleo? Picking up the pace you quickly found yourself standing in the presence of Peacemaker aiming his gun down at Ratcatcher II.

"...destroy the hard drive! Why kill me?"

"Because I'm thorough."

161 notes · View notes

xbadgerbearx · 3 years

Text

bird

word count: 1.6k

Can’t Sleep: [4] … [6]

Not too long later, Gaius Grieves revealed himself. Your little trio watched as Robert discreetly put a gun to his back and started talking. You weren't close enough to decipher what he said. Once he started moving your team got the cue to follow. However, everyone stopped in their tracks once soldiers were spotted.

"I thought Milton was supposed to be our lookout," you muttered as the soldiers started speaking Spanish to the patrons in the club.

As the soldiers got more aggressive in their search for Americans, Robert turned to Cleo.

"All right," Robert motioned to Grieves. "Take him out through the back, all right? Find my coordinates in the pad and meet me in half an hour," he ordered while handing Abner a gun.

"What?"

"Hey, did you hear what I said?"

"Yes, but-"

"Go."

Cleo hesitated before grabbing Grieves.

"Let's go."

As you were leading your small group to the back entrance, you heard Robert yell out, "Hey, calm down! There's no need to disturb everyone's night."

You could faintly hear Flag speak up as you found a door marked Solo Empleados.

"This way."

Unfortunately the door you opened was the dressing room for the dancers. You heard Abner say, "Oh, God," before a stumbling sound and a gun being handled. You briefly looked back to see Abner holding Grieves at gun pointing and ordering him to "Move it!"

Damn. That was a little hot.

Pushing your way through the dancers and out the door, you let out a small gasp at the soldier standing in front of you. Cleo, ever the quick thinker, used her device to have a rat crawl down his throat.

"Remind me not to get on your bad side."

You eventually made your way outside in an alley. Milton jogged over once he caught sight of you four.

"Your equipment manipulates animal behavior, clever," Grieves spoke out. "I'm working on something similar with humans."

"Be quiet, please."

"You are perceivably panicked. I'm guessing that you are not the alphas of this battalion."

"Do you want a dozen angry rodents crawling up your ass?" Cleo snapped.

"My answer might not be what you expect."

"Disgusting," you commented as Abner ushered Grieves to move.

You quickly made your way into the van. Milton took the driver's seat, Abner sat in the middle across from Grieves who still had a gun pointed at him, and you and Cleo took a seat in the back by Nanaue.

"Hello, friends!"

"Hi, yes, hello to you too, Nanaue," you said before pointing at Grieves. "Nom nom this man if I give the word."

"Okay!"

Cleo rummaged through DuBois bag before handing you the coordinate pad he spoke of earlier. Was that a picture of his daughter you saw? You couldn't get a good look since Cleo zipped up the bag. Coordinates in hand, you made your way back up the front to give Milton directions.

"Oh ho ho, what's this?" Grieves smuggly declared. You were too busy paying attention to the road to hear him.

"What's what?"

"I saw that little look you gave to your teammate."

"There was no look," Abner denied.

"Ah, but there was. How are you going to pretend you weren't just looking at their ass as they passed? You seem to have a school boy crush."

"Abner has a crush?" Cleo entered the conversation.

"No!"

Grieves laughed before answering Cleo. "You seem to have forgotten that I study people for a living, and I am very good at my job."

"Pet pet and Polky?" Nanaue piped up from the back.

"No! No Pet pet and Polky," Abner said with exasperation. However, upon looking at you and seeing how captivating you looked under the flashing lights of the street lamps, he followed it up with defeated, "Okay, maybe Pet pet and Polky."

"Dios mío!" Cleo exclaimed before she was hurriedly shushed. They both looked over to see if you heard.

"Okay, now take a right onto this street."

You did not.

"I'm happy for you, Abner."

"You seem to have forgotten you are on a mission. This isn't some little girl's slumber party."

Cleo slapped Grieves over the back of the head as Abner seemed to remember that he had a gun in his hand.

"Be quiet."

"Is- is that them?"

The team all looked at you as they looked out the window. Following your gaze, it landed on an upside down armored vehicle in a ditch.

"Of course it is, who else would be dumb enough," you sighed.

Milton slowly approached the area and parked the van. As soon as it stopped you jumped out to see if they were still there. Turns out you didn't have to wait long; the back door unlocked to reveal your three teammates scuffed but otherwise unharmed.

You wouldn't admit it but you felt relieved.

"All right," Robert grunted. "Let's go to Jotunheim."

"Nope. There's somethin' we gotta take care of first."

"What?"

Rick sighed out, "As much as it pains me to say, we gotta get Harley Quinn."

"Harley who?"

"Quinn. She was on Team 1 with me. Now that I know where she is, we gotta go get her."

"Fuck no."

"Come on, man." They made their way back into the van after you. "She's a valuable asset."

"I said no."

"Don't make me get Waller into this."

Robert thought for a moment. "Fuck, fine, alright. We'll go get 'er."

Everyone eventually got seated. This time you actually sat in a seat since you weren't planning on taking an impromptu nap—although that did sound nice. Flag filled Milton out on the details and directed him on where to go as you all got cozy. Robert and Chris were going at it again, Cleo was asleep, Nanaue was trying to get you to sit in his lap, and Abner was watching in amusement.

"No."

"Yes."

"I said no."

"Pet pet?"

"No, Nanaue."

Nanaue put on his best pout, "Please?"

You should not have turned around to look at him. Sighing, you stood up and made your way over to him.

"Hahaha!" He sounded like a giddy kid in a candy store. He gently picked you up and placed you on his lap. Immediately he started petting you again and hummed. Your legs were cramped and you felt like you were about to fall off his lap. Without saying anything, you sprawled your legs across Abner's lap. He just looked at you with a smile before adjusting himself to accommodate you. Resting his arms over your legs, he continued looking out the window.

"How fascinating."

"Hmm?" You looked at Grieves.

"You don't happen to also control animal behavior, do you?"

"Why would I tell you that?"

"Fair."

You heard a loud sigh from Chris. "Is this going to become a regular occurance?"

"What, you jealous? I'm calling it now, if we have another night during this mission I'm using him as my cuddle buddy."

"Whatever."

Although you said you wouldn't, you were almost asleep before Robert made the call for everyone to gear up. While everyone was rushing to get their gear on, you just yawned and leaned over to handcuff Grieves to a seat before making yourself at home on Nanaue again. You weren't exactly trained to fight with weapons, although you did grab a nearby combat knife to carry.

"You gotta be kiddin' me. You're gonna risk the entire mission for a mental defective dressed as a court jester."

"This is coming from a guy that wears a toilet seat on his head."

"We don't leave our own behind," Rick reminded.

"You're okay with this?"

"No, but I've been around Flag when he's got a rag in his mouth. Best not to tug it."

"Motherfucker!"

Just as everyone seemed almost ready, you hopped off Nanaue and gently nudged Cleo.

"Come on, gotta wake up."

"All right, let's go."

Everyone—besides Grieves—exited the vehicle before Flag announced his plan.

"All right, we'll enter through the third floor, go to the inner staircase, and then down to the cellar where they usually keep their detainees. Hopefully, Harley's still alive."

Still butthurt about what Robert said, Chris stubbornly muttered, "It's not a toilet seat, it's a beacon of freedom!"

Everyone got into position; Peacemaker somehow scaled a building to get a vantage point, Abner was down the street looking for traffic, Rick and Robert were beside one of the walls ready to climb to the third floor, you turned into a bird (much to the amazement of your team) so you could quickly enter the window Robert would open, and Nanaue—who forgot you turned into a bird—stared at you.

"Ratatouille, what do you got?"

"Third floor hallway's clear. Abner?"

"There doesn't seem to be any incoming traffic."

"Bird."

"Nanaue, that's Mimic you meathead- and stay off the comm!"

"Colonel, I got a clean shot on the only one in the office. Just give the word."

"Fire on three, two..."

"What're you guys doing?"

Rick looked at Harley, then DuBois, then back to Harley. "I... you- we're here to save you."

"You were gonna... save me?" Harley visibly looked touched.

"It was a really good plan, too."

"Well I can go back inside and you can still do it."

"That's patronizing," Bloodsport commented.

You saw Harley drag a big stick thing over to Flag and hug him.

"Uh, what's with the javelin?"

"I'm waiting for God to tell me."

"Jesus Christ..."

"Yeah, or Him. Or any of them, really."

You and Nanaue watched as Harley and Bloodsport had an awkward introduction.

"Never mind everyone, Harley is secure."

"What?"

"Meet me in the van so we can leave as quickly as possible."

Sighing, you morphed back into your original form. Nanaue made an audible gasp as he saw you sitting on the railing.

"Pet pet?

"Yes, Nanaue, it's me, Pet pet."

King Shark laughed as he started petting you immediately. Resisting the urge to roll your eyes, you swatted his hand away and motioned for him to follow you.

171 notes · View notes

xbadgerbearx · 3 years

Text

what do you see?

word count: 1.6k

Can’t Sleep: [3] … [5]

Alright, you said you had to get back to the van, but really you got distracted by a box of accessories that you just could not pass up. Some of the things you picked out you were definitely going to try to smuggle back into Belle Reve if you made it out alive. Maybe you could convince Waller to let you keep something like a ring or two. By the time you made it to the bus, you were the last one on. Well, Milton was the last one, but he automatically got the driver's seat. He had to take a last minute leak.

There were a couple open spots, but you didn't want to sit next to any of them. Chris would talk your ear off with obscure references, Cleo would probably punch you in her sleep, and you didn't feel like accidently pissing DuBois off. The seats were relatively small, only about one person could fit in a seat, but that was okay since you weren't planning on sitting in one. You made your way to the back where Nanaue was zoning out and Abner was playing with his fingers.

When he saw you he made his way to stand, but you just waved your hand saying it was okay. Making yourself comfortable on the floor in the aisle was not hard, you've been in more uncomfy places. Besides, you had two pillows beside you: King Shark and Polka Dot Man. You made some small talk with them before you embarrassingly fell asleep. You didn't mean to, but whatever. Whoever you were using as a pillow didn't seem to mind since they never once moved you.

"Sleep?" Nanaue pointed out after you passed out for some time.

"It seems so."

Abner was absentmindedly stroking your head as you leaned against his leg.

DuBois pointed at Cleo, "And I thought she was the sleepy one."

"Hey," Cleo retorted. "Don't hate the player, hate the game."

Chris turned around to look at you sleeping in the aisle, eyes narrowed. Everyone resumed what they were doing, and it wasn't until after Cleo told DuBois the story of her dad that Nanaue spoke.

"Pet, pet," Nanaue said as he copied Abner's movement in the air with his hand.

Krill just nodded.

"Me try!"

With surprising gentleness, Nanaue started slowly caressing you with intense concentration. Abner removed his hand from you and opted for observing Nanaue to make sure he wasn't hurting you. It must've felt nice because you became even more relaxed.

Nanaue hummed as he seemed to become more calm.

"Hey! The fuck you think you're doing, Moby Dick?"

"Huh?" DuBois turned around to look at Nanaue after Chris' outburst. DuBois turned back to Chris, "What do ya mean? He ain't doing nothing."

"He's got his big fish hands all over (Y/n)."

"And?"

"What, you want another shark eating incident?"

"I thought we were over this," Cleo sighed. "Leave him alone, he's harmless."

Chris just rolled his eyes and faced forward in his seat before making himself comfortable.

"Friend sleep," Nanaue muttered to himself. He looked like a little get when they pet a dog for the first time.

The van eventually stopped with a screech into some side alley.

"Señores, this is the place."

Abner gently nudged you to wake up, and after a few tries you sleepily yawned and opened your eyes.

"Sorry," you apologized before noticing Nanaue was still petting you. "Nanaue?"

"Calming." Whether he meant that it was calming him or meant to calm you was unsure.

"Thanks, bud," you said with uncertainty.

Abner held his hand out for you to take which you gratefully accepted. You noted that his hands were a little sweaty. Nervous? How cute.

"Pet pet?" Nanaue said in a bit of a distressed tone.

"Pet pet later, I'll see you sometime soon. Watch the van, okay?"

Nanaue just nodded with a determined look on his face. Well, as determined a shark can look.

Making your way out of the van, the loud laughing, chatting, and music was certainly a stark contrast from the quiet chirping the jungle provided. With one look at your group the bouncer let you in; something tells you that the appearance of DuBois and Chris made them intimidated.

In a single file line you made your way inside. Your group turned some heads, but it looked as if some of the patrons were specifically attracted to some of the people in your group—you included. You felt a little awkward by the amount of winks thrown your way. Flag seemed not to be bothered; he was tipping his hat to some of the attention he got. He led you towards a booth past the stage where some very pretty women were dancing. It almost felt disrespectful looking at them. You kept your eyes forward.

"So, when's this Thinker guy supposed to be here?"

"Supposed to be in the next few hours," Cleo answered Flag once every sat down. You sat between Flag and DuBois.

Chris looked around before speaking, "Looks like we gotta find something to do to pass the time. Uh, miss?" He called over a waitress. "How about some, uh... what do you guys drink around here, Fernet? How about a round of Fernets for the table. Comprende?"

"Si," she answered.

"Hey, Pissmaker," Dubois gave him a look. "We're on a mission."

"Easy, Inspector Gadget. A little drink never hurt nobody," he said while shimmying with a convincing smile.

"Except for the thousands of people killed in drunk driving accidents every year," commented Abner as he rested his head in his hand.

Flag wrapped an arm around DuBois in a friendly manner, "Come on, DuBois, this could be our last drink."

"Gracias," Cleo thanked when the waitress came back with the drinks.

"Just one," DuBois relented.

"You gonna be that guy?"

"I'm gonna be that guy."

"Why don't we wait in the van for a little bit? I mean, we just left Nanaue," you said.

"See? Mimic is with me."

"Well we already ordered the drinks," Chris convinced. "Might as well stay."

"Fine."

As the team started to drink, Chris called out to the waitress. "Hey, chica! Forgot the rat."

Cleo affectionately punched Chris in the arm. That was... pretty cool of him. You've known Chris for a while but it always surprises you when he does something considerate for others.

"Here's to being alive for three hours," Rick toasted.

"I'll be alive," DuBois said in a gruff tone. "Speak for yourself."

Everyone drank from their cup; some of you made an unpleasant face.

"You know," you sighed out after a while. "If I were to die right now with you all around me, then I'd die happy."

Chris laughed out, "I think that is the nicest thing you've said the entire time I've known you."

"I can be nice!"

"Mayber to Krill over here," DuBois interjected.

Abner choked on his drink which made the entire table erupt into laughter. Your face warmed up considerably as Krill hid his face on the table. Flag ruffled his hair much like an older brother would do.

"There you go, there you go."

DuBois laughed. "Don't give any more to Polka!"

The party eventually made their way to the dance floor, leaving you and Abner alone.

"Can I tell you something?"

"Of course," you said while putting down your drink.

"I wasn't lying when I said I see my mother everywhere. Every single person I look at I see her-"

You placed your hand over his. "Oh, Abner-"

"-all except you."

"Me?"

He just slowly nodded his head. "I- I don't know why."

"So, let me get this straight. You see the rest of the team as your mom, except me?"

He nodded again.

You thought for a minute before getting an idea. "Can I try something?"

He just looked at you curiously.

"Pick one of our teammates. Any one of them."

"Uhhh, Ratcatcher II?"

With a smile, you removed your hand from his and morphed into Cleo. "So? What do you see?"

"Wow," he stared in awe. He was finally able to see what his teammate looked like.

"Let's try the rest, shall we?"

You spent the next few minutes mimicking your teammates while Abner kept the drinks coming.

"Okay, okay," you laughed out of breath. "I'll have to show you Nanaue later!"

You might've had one too many drinks.

After that you both stumbled your way to the dance floor to join the rest of your team. Cleo and Chris were doing some silly dances in the middle, Rick and Robert—"We've known each other long enough for you to call me Robert, not DuBois."—were laughing over by the bar, and you and Abner were having a good time dancing with each other in a crowd. This was truly the first time you've seen him let loose and have fun. You hoped to see more of that.

You had half a mind to go check on Nanaue, but that thought quickly left when Abner pulled you closer to him by the waist. He looked like he wanted to say something but the words were caught in his throat. You seem to have that effect on him.

He gently placed his hand on the side of your face, cupping your cheek, and slowly leaned his face to you. Closing your eyes, you leaned as well and-

"(Y/n)! Abner! It's time to get in positions," Cleo called out.

'Fuck,' you both thought. It was around the time Grieves would arrive.

You rested your head against his chest before letting out a disappointed sigh. Looking back at him, you matched his little smile.

"Let's go, yeah?"

"Yeah," you laughed.

The alcohol must've given you a confidence boost because you boldly grabbed his hand and made your way towards Cleo. It was apparently decided while you were asleep that Robert would be on his own, Rick and Chris would be off to the side, and you, Cleo, and Abner would be in your own group.

145 notes · View notes

xbadgerbearx · 3 years

Text

i guess they are pretty funky

word count: 1.5k

Can’t Sleep: [2] … [4]

Your team prepared themselves as you started your journey to your new destination. You and Abner were talking about random things as you walked.

"You really like the dots?" Abner timidly asked.

"Are you kidding? Of course! You're so colorful," you said quietly with a smile.

Abner smiled to himself before motioning to your outfit. "I like your uniform too, it suits you. It makes your eyes stand out."

"Thank you! Ya know, I always thought you had a really nice nose- whoa, Abner, are you doing alright?" You cut yourself as you faced Abner for the first time during this walking session. He had those glowing dots on his face again.

"Oh! Those?" He was nervously covering his face. "Don't worry about-" splat. Abner tripped over a rogue tree root and fell face first into the mud. As you went to help pick him up, Flag turned around.

"What the hell are you doing?"

Everyone turned around to look at you two, well, minus Cleo, but she was sitting on a fallen tree almost asleep.

"We're tired, Colonel. We need a rest," she whined.

"Goddamn hobbyists," muttered Chris.

Soria turned to Flag, "We cannot stop. We need to hurry if you're going to help my people."

"Hey," DuBois intervened. "We're not here to help your people. But she's right, we gotta keep moving."

"I carry friend?"

"It's okay, Nanaue," Cleo said before turning to Abner. "It's happening to his face again."

"It's nothing, I tripped," he brushed off.

"Hey," Peacemaker said as he shoved Abner back. "Norman Bates, if that shit's contagious, we need to know."

"It's not," Abner tried moving forward before he was pushed again.

"What is it?"

"What's your deal, Chris? Stop pushing people around before I turn into something you're really not gonna like. And what's up with the obscure references?" You were getting fed up with Chris' bullshit.

"Oh yeah? And what's that?"

"I don't know, how about your dead father? The one that killed himself in front of you when you were a kid?"

"How do you-"

"You'd be surprised how much your mom loved recording all your childhood achievements. Your fifth birthday—ring a bell?" Peacemaker had an unreadable expression on his face as you got in his face and lowered your voice. "You wouldn't believe how much information you can get on your hands if you're able to disguise yourself as a high ranking employee in Belle Reve."

Before any of you could make the situation worse, Abner cleared the tension with a sigh.

"It's a... it's an interdimensional virus."

"Fuck is that?" Peacemaker asked after seemingly forgetting what just happened. You think he was trying to not think about it.

"My mother was a scientist at S.T.A.R Labs, and she was obsessed with turning me and my brother and sisters into superheroes."

"Oh, Abner," you softly said as you placed a hand on his arm. Peacemaker looked between the two of you with a hard expression.

"She infected me. Now, if I don't expel the dots twice a day..."

DuBois asked, "Then what?"

Abner made a face that was hard to read as he said, "They'll eat me alive." He then chuckled dryly as if he himself couldn't believe it.

"What happened to your brother and sisters?" Flag questioned.

"Some lived. Some... died."

Cleo, now standing, asked, "And your mom, where is she now?"

Abner looked to you before turning to his team.

"Almost everywhere."

Everyone just looked at Krill for a few moments.

"Okay," Flag turned around. "Let's move out."

"Come on, we must hurry, or we'll be late to meet my contact," Soria ushered.

Sooner or later, well, later, you made your way to this blockade where a driver in a large van was being investigated. During your trip Abner had to expel the dots, and although he was embarrassed about the situation, you and Cleo tried keeping his mind off it. The soldiers surrounded the van after a minute and started banging on the door. That was your cue.

Peacemaker started taking people out with a silenced pistol, Bloodsport shot with his arm crossbow, and King Shark ate a guy. The rest of the team moved from their hiding spots once the soldiers were dealt with. Success.

Bloodsport banged on the van's window before asking, "Are you Milton?"

The driver choked out a tearful "Si."

After Soria directed him to a nearby pull off spot, you started looking at the contents in the boxes that were pulled out.

"Milton will drive you through town and to La Gatita Amable. There are clothes in the boxes for all of you so you can blend in." Cleo started putting on a random pair of sunglasses as you pulled out a fedora. Soria continued, "That said, the walking tiburon is gonna have to stay out of sight."

"I wear disguise," Nanaue said.

"Ohhh," Cleo drawled. "You're going to wear a disguise?"

"Si."

"Hey, he's learnin' Spanish," Peacemaker said offhandedly.

"And what kind of disguise?"

"Fake mustache," he said smugly.

"Yeah," DuBois interrupted as he moved more boxes. "Fake mustache isn't gonna cut it, mate."

"Aww come on," you cooed. "What if he wears a hat?" The fedora you picked up earlier was now sitting on the King of the Ocean's head.

"You still look exactly like yourself."

"That's the worst fake mustache I've ever seen," Chris added.

"And if you had fooled us, we'd have to kill you, shark-shaped bloke with a mustache creepin' up on us like that."

"FUCK!" Nanaue yelled as he stomped off. You snickered before turning to Abner with some clothes in your hand.

"What do you think?"

"Hmm? Oh, those look nice, although I saw something in another box that I thought you might like. Let me go get it."

As he walked away towards another box, you dropped the clothes you were holding as your face softened. Someone saw something and thought of you? That hasn't happened for a very long time. You started sifting thoughtfully through a nearby box when he came back.

"Here," he showed you the clothes. "I hope you like it." It was sweet how anxious he was getting over this. He must not socialize often.

Taking the clothes from him, you observed the material. It was... actually really good. It was something you would've loved to wear if you weren't forced to wear that stupid prison outfit, and it looked like it'd fit.

"Abner, this is great! It's a lot better than what I was originally going with," you laughed. "Oh! Here, I saw these pants and thought it would match the shirt you picked up."

"Thank you," he said shyly.

"I'm gonna change over there. Stand watch, please?"

How could he say no to you? "Of course," he said while respectfully turning around. As he waited, Peacemaker appeared.

"(L/n) around?"

"Huh?" Abner said, startled from Chris's sudden presence. "Uh, yeah, they went over there to change into their disguise. I'm looking out for them."

"Oh, you're looking out for them? Well look out for this, Patrick Bateman," Peacemaker wasn't looking so peaceful as he leaned in towards Abner. Dropping his voice, he continued. "I don't know what you think is going on between you two, but leave it, you understand me? Why would The Mimic want to go for someone as lame as you? You throw polka dots at people?" Peacemaker scoffed before finishing, "Quit getting in my way, or else."

Stay away from you? There was no way he could do that. You were seemingly the only person who liked him, and now he would have to end that? Fuck that.

Abner, admittedly with a little less confidence than what he hoped for, challenged him. "Or else what?"

Gosh, three words and his heart was already pumping.

"Excuse me?" Chris raised a brow.

Luckily before anything could be done, you emerged oblivious from the jungle while dawning your new attire. Your uniform was neatly folded and tucked under your arm. Both men looked at you and... wow. Abner was speechless. Literally. For the second time within you knowing him, you made his breath hitch.

"You look stunning," Peacemaker quickly said before Abner had a chance. That wouldn't really matter since your response was quite the cockblocker.

"Thanks! Abner picked it out for me," you smiled. You even gave a twirl to show off the outfit to your teammates. Abner just looked at you with such affection in his eyes.

"Anyways, your turn," you ordered as you took Krill's watching place so he could change. Peacemaker tried making some move on you, but you were clueless. Instead, you went into Mission Mode™ and discussed some tactics and strategies you could implement. Sighing, Chris humored you and joined your planning. Not too long later, Abner walked out with his disguise on.

"I'm not sure about this," he said while standing awkwardly.

"You look like an idio-"

"You look great!" you voiced over Peacemaker. "I love those pants on you."

"Really?"

"Yeah," you laughed. "They're funky."

"I-" Krill let out a laugh of his own. "Yeah, I guess they are pretty funky."

"Alright, well, we've gotta get back to the van," you announced while walking away. Abner blindly followed you with a dumb little smile on his face while leaving Chris just standing there in disbelief.

144 notes · View notes

xbadgerbearx · 3 years

Text

your people will have our help

word count: 2.1k

Can’t Sleep: [1] … [3]

Of course you had to jump out of the aircraft into the cold water. What a perfect way to start the mission. Your team swam for a bit before wading through the shore as you approached the beach.

"Congratulations, Bloodsport."

"How'd you do it, Waller? There's no soldiers out here on patrol at all."

The beach was completely empty. There were no disturbances and more importantly, no enemies anywhere to be found. It was... peaceful.

"Let's just say they were distracted."

You only walked on the sand a couple feet before a large explosion erupted.

"Control, we have a disturbance south of here," Bloodsport reported after you jumped in surprise.

"It's just a diversion, Bloodsport."

Bloodsport seemed to weigh his options before speaking, "All right, we cut through the jungle to get to Valle Del Mar."

"Don't they have blockades at the city limits?" Peacemaker interjected.

"That's the word."

"How we getting in? Especially with Charlie the Tuna here," Peacemaker said while looking back at King Shark.

"How the hell am I supposed to know?"

"You're the leader. You're supposed to be decisive."

"And I've decided you should eat a big bag of dicks, how's that?"

"You're being facetious, but if this whole beach was completely covered in dicks and somebody said I had to eat every dick until the beach was clean for liberty, I would say no problemo."

"Why would someone put penises all over the beach?" Ratcatcher II asked.

"Who knows why madmen do what they do."

"Chris, this is the second time you've made a comment like this today. Is there something you want to tell us?" You joked.

"Well, you know what I think?" Bloodsport started. "I think liberty is just your excuse to do whatever you want. Whether that's to eat a beach full of dicks or killin' folk."

"Oh, yeah? At least I don't kill men for money like you."

"Oh, here we go," Bloodsport sighed as he turned to face Peacemaker.

"There's something wrong with your skin," Ratcatcher II called out as she pointed to Polka Dot Man. You turned to see his face covered in bulging colorful... polka dots.

"It's just a rash."

"Oh, my- Abner, are you okay? You don't look so good," you said worriedly as you reached your hand out to touch him. You were interrupted by another loud explosion off in the distance.

"Never mind that, we need to continue forward."

You made it quite the distance before Bloodsport dropped his bag onto the ground. The entire time walking you watched Abner with both curiosity and worry.

"Alright, we'll camp here, and tomorrow we'll go straight through the city to get to La Gatita Amable by nightfall."

Everyone was laying out their sleeping equipment, in this case sleeping bags, as you figured out where you should lay yours.

"Why don't you lay over here, (L/n)? I could keep you warm," Chris offered with a laugh.

"Fuck no," you replied with the same humorous energy. "I'd rather you not roll over on me like you did last time."

"Last time?" Abner piped up timidly.

"It's nothing like that," you assured while rolling your eyes. "Me, Chris, and some of our other teammates at the time had to huddle up for warmth after Waller sent us on a mission somewhere in Siberia."

"Oh," Abner said, kind of relieved.

"I'll just put mine here," you placed your bag next to Abner's and DuBois. "It's near the fire."

You changed into your sleep clothes. Well, to be honest you just took off your shirt and slept in your tank top, but it was close enough. It wasn't long before you drifted off, however, you awoke some time later to some shuffling sounds and a quiet groan. Peeking under your lashes, you find yourself facing toward DuBois who was resting on his elbow, alert. You quietly sat up and turned to see what DuBois was looking at. A colorful light show was dancing on the leaves and tall grass. Almost as quickly as it happened, Abner appeared. He looked a little out of it, but quickly dawned a look of shock as he was caught doing... what exactly?

You got up to make sure your favorite awkward man was doing okay before you were cut off by a loud bang! Instinctively, you disappeared. Literally. DuBois kept shooting Nanaue until he was backed up against a tree.

"How deep of a sleeper are you?" DuBois asked Cleo, to which she responded sleepily, "I was having the most wonderful dream."

"If it was you about to be eaten by King Shark, then you're psychic," Chris said.

"I don't believe he would do that. He has very kind eyes."

Sebastian was saying what you could only guess was that Nanaue was, in fact, going to eat her.

"Hungry," Nanaue whined.

"You bastard!"

Rats from every direction emerged from the darkness as Cleo held up her glowing device. DuBois was looking rather uncomfortable.

"All right, calm down with the rats!" he yelled.

"What?"

"I have a thing with rats."

"You have a thing with rats?"

"Yes."

"And you're on a team with someone who controls them?" your disembodied voice asked.

He whipped around trying to find you before yelling, "What the fuck?"

As if suddenly remembering that you cannot be seen, you revealed yourself behind Abner whom you were using as a shield. As cute as he thought it was that you were using him as protection, it did startle him that you just appeared randomly behind him.

"Partnering up with someone with rats is not something I asked for!"

Peacemaker started laughing.

"What are you laughing at me for, man? Why the fuck are you in your underwear?"

You looked over and sure enough, Chris was in nothing but his underwear.

"Woah!" you yelled while burying your face into Abner's back. "Chris, put on some pants for fucks sake!"

"Tighty-whities? Really?"

"Now that's just racist."

"No, it's not racist! They're tighty-whities!"

"You didn't tell me you had a fear of rats, DuBois," Waller said over the comms.

"I'm an assassin! Why would I share my liabilities?" This was promptly followed by an uncharacteristicly girly scream.

"Aww, he's offering you a pretty leaf to show you he means no harm," Cleo cooed.

"Why the fuck would I want a leaf?"

DuBois was getting increasingly more freaked out while Chris started laughing again.

"Just get the rats out of here!"

Cleo turned off her device and all the rats scurried back into the jungle.

Peacemaker turned to DuBois and asked, "Hey, we gonna kill Megalodouche now, or what?"

"Nanaue's the strongest member of your team. You need him to get into Jotunheim."

"Yeah, well we can't function as a team if we gotta watch our back from one of our own eatin' our bollocks," Bloodsport replied.

"Nanaue," Cleo started as she kneeled down to his height. "Would you eat your friends?"

"I no friends."

"You have no friends? Well, if you did, would you eat them?"

Chris answered with a "yes" before he was shot a look from Ratcatcher II.

"No?"

"Then can we be your friends?"

Chris scoffed, "Come on, he's obviously lying."

"If I die 'cause I gambled on love, it will be a worthy death."

DuBois shook his head, "You are a little idiot."

So much for a full rest. It was nearly morning by the time the shark incident was resolved, so you decided to just pack up and dress yourself.

"Task Force X, you have an additional mission directive. We've located Colonel Rick Flag. He's been taken by the enemy."

"Rick Flag?" DuBois asked while your team made your way through the jungle.

"I know, you both served on special forces in Qurac that took down Avral Kaddam. Flag was the one who initially recommended you."

"You had other operatives in Corto Maltese and didn't tell us?"

"There was no tactical advantage, now there is. I've uploaded the location on your MTS. Terminate his captors with extreme prejudice. Kill anyone you see. These are dangerous people. Recover Flag before moving on to the city."

You eventually made it to a decent sized camp before DuBois MTS started beeping.

"That's where they're holding Flag."

"Nothing like a bloodbath to start the day."

"I thought they called you Peacemaker," Ratcatcher II questioned.

"I cherish peace with all my heart. I don't care how many men, women, and children I need to kill to get it."

Ratcatcher II turned to Polka Dot Man before whispering, "I thought you were the crazy one," which was swiftly answered by you lightly shoving her shoulder.

"I am."

"All right," Bloodsport said, getting everyone's attention. "Let's get it."

You and Nanaue crept behind a man who gave his cup to his buddy.

"Gracias," you heard the man say. Soon after, King Shark picked the man up and ate him as he started screaming. He dropped what looked to be a communication device. Nanaue smacked his mouth as the comms device went off.

"Cualquier cosa?"

As your nearby teammates looked in somewhat fear as to what to do, you picked up the dead soldier's comms and said "Nada, Señora" while perfectly mimicking his voice. Your team carried on.

You hastily turned yourself invisible as you scouted for Rick Flag. It took a couple of minutes but you managed to find the only white guy there. You assumed he was Rick since he was injured, but were they... laughing?

"Bloodsport," you whispered into your comms. "I found Rick Flag. He was laughing?" You sounded unsure.

"Most likely drugged," Peacemaker said. "Where's he located?"

"Northmost tent, past the watchtower." Right after you said that you saw a bunch of colorful polka dots disintegrate the watchtower.

"On our way."

You could hear some of your team's conversation as they approached your location. You made yourself visible again.

"I'm sorry it's so... flamboyant."

"It looks cool," you heard Cleo say.

"I don't like to kill people, but if I pretend it's my mom, it's easy."

"TMI, mate," said DuBois.

More laughter could be heard inside the tent as Bloodsport ripped open the tent curtain. An uncomfortable silence settled.

"DuBois?"

"Hey, Flag."

"What the hell are you doing here?"

Bloodsport looked around confused. "Waller told us that you were... uh... are you drinking tea?"

Flag gestured to his female companion sitting across the table from him, "This is Sol Soria, she's the leader of the freedom fighters, the resistance trying to take down the current government. They-they saved my life."

"Oh. Wow."

Everyone put down their weapons.

"Why did my people not alert me of your arrival?"

You awkwardly hide yourself behind Abner again.

"We didn't see any people," Bloodsport swiftly lied.

"Yeah, I didn't see anybody on the way..." Peacemaker continued.

"There's no one out there."

"They were gone when we got here."

"I turned them into my mother in my head and killed them."

Everyone turned to look at Polka Dot Man. You just sighed and smacked his shoulder. To make matters worse, King Shark hacked up... was that a finger with a wedding ring? Sebastian squeaked out an audible "Uh oh."

Soria promptly lunged off the table and made her way outside. You and your team awkwardly stood amongst the destruction you caused while Flag and Soria looked in pain.

"Typical Americans. Just run in, guns blazing."

"I know, this is messed up. These guys, they're..."

Rick looked behind him to see Peacemaker and Bloodsport getting into a stupid cat fight, while Ratcatcher II was rubbing her face ashamed, and you and Polka Dot Man were looking off into the jungle having your own conversation and not even paying attention.

"They're fucking idiots, but right now our objectives aligh with yours. If Jotunheim contains the technology our intelligence says it does, then it could be used on the people of Corto Maltese as well as Americans. That's why we need your help to get into the city so we can stop 'em."

Soria just stared past Flag and asked, "Is that rat waving at me?"

Sure enough, Rick turned back around to see Sebastian waving at them. Cleo was messing with her hands, Chris and DuBois were looking around while tapping their feet, and you were admiring Abner's polka dots on his costume as he was awkwardly trying to accept your compliments.

"It appears it is."

"Why?"

"I'm gonna guess because it's friendly."

Soria thought for a moment, weighing her options, before speaking again.

"Luna and Suarez murdered my entire family. I'd make a deal with the devil to stop them." As if it physically pained her to say, she continued. "Your people will have our help getting to Vall Del Mar to apprehend this Gaius Grieves."

160 notes · View notes

xbadgerbearx · 3 years

Text

i hope so

pairing: Abner Krill x Reader

word count: 1.1k

warning: contains spoilers!!

note: Reader is gender neutral so everyone can enjoy :)

Can’t Sleep: … [2]

Damn, this is getting old.

There is no rest with Waller. Wake up, go on a mission, rest, rinse, and repeat. It was relatively early in the morning; the clock on the wall was the only indication that any time was passing. Any sunlight that was available was blocked out by walls and replaced with harsh artificial light. Taking your time getting out of bed, you observed yourself in the mirror that was embedded in the wall. You still looked a little rough from the last mission, but something tells you that Waller wouldn't care. Your clothes, or rather prison uniform, was wrinkled. As you stood up you smoothed out your shirt.

"Yellow... what an irritating color."

You were washing your face in the sink in the corner when the door opened with a loud creak. You finished rinsing your face before turning the faucet off with a sigh. It was Waller, but she had people with her. New teammates?

"This is (Y/n) (L/n), also known as Mimic. As the name implies, they can mimic almost anything. Every good team needs someone who specializes in stealth."

"Why the fuck do they get to wear different colored clothes? We running a fashion show here? Not to mention all the security 'round this cell," a voice I've never heard say. It was deep and rather soothing.

"It's a safety precaution," Waller answered. "We can't have a shapeshifter steal someone's identity and escape, so when they leave their cell they are constantly monitored. Their clothes are made out of a special material. That way they will always be visible, even when invisible."

"They can turn invisible?"

Ignoring the question, Waller called out, "Let's go (L/n). You've got a new mission."

Shuffling out of the cell, you were greeted with the sight of Christopher—Peacemaker—and Cleo—Ratcatcher II—as well as an unknown man and giant humanoid shark.

"How's it going, (L/n)?" Peacemaker asked, "Long time no see."

"Yeah yeah, it's as good as being in prison can be," you answered with a wave of your hand. "Cleo! Nice to see you," you smiled.

Cleo let out a small laugh before yawning. Sebastian waved his paw towards you in greeting.

Waller led the almost finished team towards another wing of the building before abruptly stopping in front of a cell.

"And finally, we have Abner Krill."

"What's that 'round his neck?" Bloodsport, or rather Robert DuBois you learned, asked.

Abner was standing in his cell with a bulky collar while waiting patiently to get it removed.

'He's cute,' you noted.

As he looked at his new team, his eyes fell on you. You visibly saw his breath hitch as he stared in your direction. You knitted your eyebrows in a questioning manner before turning your attention to Waller when she started talking again.

"A power dampener. They call him the Polka Dot Man."

Peacemaker scoffs. "Polka Dot Man. What's he do, throw polka dots at people?"

"Chris, you don't even have any powers so you can't talk," you scoffed back.

Before he could retort, Calendar Man made a rude comment towards the aloof man getting his collar removed, who, in return, looked down dejectedly. You felt a little bad. Calendar Man, or rather Julian Day, was honestly a laughing stock among the villains he associated himself with, so it was rather egotistical of him to make that comment.

"We need to debrief," Waller announced as she turned and walked away.

Before you went to debrief, she ordered everyone to change into their combat outfits. You each got to change into a small room, so that helped not making things potentially awkward. Your outfit was relatively simple and not attention grabbing; the opposite of Polka Dot Man. When walking out of the dressing rooms, Abner seemed to shrink into himself. Seeing you look at him, he let out a little laugh of embarrassment before gesturing to his attire.

With a playful smile, you laughed out, "I like it, I think it's cute," to which Abner responded with a blush dusting his face along with a bashful look.

"Everyone follow me," Waller announced with a loud authoritative voice.

She led everyone to a conference room before standing on a stage. Everyone seated themselves, you next to Cleo in the front, before Waller turned on the presentation. Unbeknownst to you, Krill had his eyes on you in curiosity.

"Corto Maltese is a small island nation off the coast of South America," Waller began. "Over the past 100 years, the country has been ruled with an iron fist by-" with a click the screen changed, "-the Herrera family. But, a week ago, this guy," click, "-General Silvio Luna, along with his right hand man, Mayor General Mateo Suarez," click, "-took control of the Corto Maltese government in a violent military coup. The entire Herrera family were hanged in a public execution," with another click a video started playing. Your jaw dropped a little at the sight. Waller continued, "Although the United States did not condone the excesses of the Herrera regime, they were non-antagonistic toward the U.S. Luna, however, is virulently anti-American."

"So you want us to kill Luna?" Peacemaker spoke out.

"No," Waller answered simply before resuming with another click. "This is Jotunheim. A scientific experimentation facility containing something known only as Project Starfish. Our intelligence sources tell us that Starfish is extraterrestrial in origin. In the hands of the Luna regime, it is potentially cataclysmic for Americans and the world." You could hear Abner shuffling in his seat uncomfortably. "Your mission is to infiltrate Jotunheim and destroy every trace of Project Starfish."

"How're we supposed to get in?" DuBois asked. A click was swiftly followed.

"Gaius Grieves, the Thinker, is a geneticist in charge of Project Starfish. After hours, he hangs out at a gentlemen's club known as La Gatita Amable. Get Grieves to help you by whatever means necessary and he can get you into Jotunheim." With one last click, the presentation was turned off. "Any questions?"

"What is that?" Ratcatcher II asked while pointing at a piece of old machinery sitting off to the side.

"That is an overhead projector."

"Do you ever use it anymore?"

"No, not really."

"So, why don't you just throw it away?"

With a sigh, Waller called on Peacemaker.

"Starfish is a slang term for butthole. Think there's any connection?"

You let out a loud laugh at the unexpectedness of the question.

"No," Waller answered before calling on Nanaue, who you learned was the shark from Chris.

"Hand."

You turned around to see King Shark pointing at his hand, fin, paw thing. You weren't too sure.

"Yes, that is your hand, Nanaue, very good."

"We're all gonna die," Bloodsport commented.

Polka Dot Man responded with, "I hope so." It was the first time you heard him speak; he had a nice and gentle voice. You liked it.

246 notes · View notes