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badassturtles235147 · 17 days

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TMNT: Karai's Backstory

(So since Karai did not get fair treatment in the series, I decided to make a story focus on her and her story, called "The Story of Karai's Choice" telling how I think she became the person she is now and who she chose to be at the end. So, this post will be me kind of building up my ideas, I might change some things but let me know what you guys think)

1. Karai's Childhood

So, we all know the start of her story, Saki rebuilt the Foot Clan, tried to kill Yoshi, ended up killing Shen and then afterwards he stole baby Miwa renaming her Oroku Karai.

But...what happened to her after that?

Shredder did not care for Karai one bit. In fact, as soon as he was able, he hired a nanny to care for her and all of her needs. Why Shredder took Karai if he was not even going to care for her? Well...I believe he took her for a bunch of reasons but none of them were because of an act of mercy or care for her.

He took her out of spite for what Hamato Yuuta did to him, he took her as a trophy of his victory, he took her to further hurt Yoshi (Even though he thought he was dead at the time) and he took her because...she is the daughter of the woman he so-called 'loved'.

However, she is Hamato Yoshi's daughter too...

Up until the age of ten, Karai barely knew her 'Father' because he was never really around, and in the rare times that they were in the same room together, they hardly spoke a word. Karai did not know why but she could tell that her father hated her and he did.

Even though it was one of the reasons for taking her, Shredder hated looking at Karai because every time he did, he would see the faces of the woman he failed to 'save' and the brother he so dearly despised down to his core. It sickened him.

This would cause Karai to act out. Even as a child, Karai was known for being quite the troublemaker, especially towards her nanny, Bradford, and Xever. Being the 'daughter' of Shredder, Karai knew she was untouchable, (There is a reason why everyone called her a spoiled brat) She knew she could do whatever, whenever without any fear because she knew no one would dare lay a hand on Shredder's daughter, for if they did, they would likely lose their heads.

But little did they know, Karai did not act out simply because she could, but because she was desperate for her father's attention, even if it was negative attention. She thought if she was bad enough, he would start caring for her like he was supposed to, start loving her like any father would a daughter but...Shredder was not a father.

Karai's days were always the same. Like her brothers, she also grew up in isolation, she was not allowed to go anywhere, (because Shredder was paranoid that Splinter may be still alive and if there were any other survivors of the Hamato Clan who could recognize her, they would likely take her) The only thing Karai got of outside was the outside of her backyard, which she could only go to if she finished all of her studies.

So, you could say Karai had a very lonely and boring childhood. She did not even have any friends, mostly because she was home-schooled and the very few children who train under Tatsu would not give her the time of day because they hated how she got treated like royalty, while they were forced to train until their hands bled. They often refered to her as a 'spoiled little princess who got whatever she wanted.'

But...that was not true. Yes, Karai had all the clothes a girl could want, a good education, and is well fed but she did not care for any of those things. All she wanted was her father's love and attention but no matter what she did...her father could care less about what she does, just as long as she remained inside his walls...

2. What inspired Karai to become a kunoichi?

She had just been walking down the halls when she started to hear their whispers.

"Can you believe she is Shredder's daughter?"

"No! Have you looked at her? They do not even look alike!"

"Well, kind of hard to tell with Master's face-Er...never mind."

"Shut up. If that brat takes over the clan one day, we are all doomed."

"You really believe he would give the clan to her?"

"Probably not, considering she has no Ninjutsu training but he might marry her off to some other just so his bloodline remains wearing the Kabuto. Or he might just give the clan to Bradford."

"Ugh. I don't like the idea of that spoiled rich kid leading the clan either,"

It hurt to hear their words but it was not the first time she has heard such things. Everyone was having a hard time actually believing she was Shredder's daughter. Not only did they not look alike but they did not share one thing in common. Everyone could see, how different the two really were. Most importantly...Karai could see it.

Even though Shredder is her father, in the rare times they are together, the two seem so...out of touch. She thought it may have been his distance but she feels it is more than that. However, she thought if she could just find one thing she shares in common with her father, then maybe, just maybe, he would start loving her and maybe she will prove to everyone that she was indeed Shredder's daughter.

The answer came to her when she passed the dojo one afternoon and saw Shredder and Tatsu sparring fiercely against each other. It was right then and there that she decided that she was going to become a kunoichi. If she could become a strong, powerful ninja like her father then maybe it will be enough for her to prove herself.

However, when she asked Shredder if she could train like Bradford and Xever, he firmly told her 'no' and when asked why, he said, 'because your mother did not want you to be a ninja'

In the past, the mention of the mother she never knew, would have stopped her. It was another way for Shredder to control her whenever she was being stubborn but this time, not only was Karai stubborn...she was determined.

Like she told Leo, "Stop waiting for people to give you the life you want. Go out and take it." I believe she was speaking for experience...and boy, she did take it.

She stole the Ashi No Himitsu - a book detailing the secret history of the Foot Clan and she taught herself how to fight. By day, she would honor her mother's wishes, as her father said, and learn her other studies but by night, she would watch and observe Tatsu's classes, study the book, and by the time she was ten...she felt ready to prove herself...

It was during one of Bradford's trials, to see if he was ready to graduate to the next dan, but unfortunately for him, Karai sought out to take his glory...

Bradford fought off every member easily but then a small cloak figure showed itself, and attacked. In minutes, Bradford was defeated and the figure showed itself as Karai, who stood proudly in front of Shredder and Tatsu as they looked shocked.

Xever was laughing his socks off that Bradford, Shredder's top and favorite student lost to a child, but Karai paid them no mind as she threw the Ashi No Himitsu at Shredder's feet and demanded that he make her a kunoichi. She told him how she has been training and studying for two years, and that she wished to learn more from him.

Shredder, to everyone's surprise, granted her wish and ordered Tatsu to train her. That day, was the first time he has said, "Well done...my daughter."

Since then, Karai was always by Shredder's side, which was all she had ever wanted. He was still distant and strict but at least they can now be in the same room without so much silence.

Karai then made another goal, that she would become a better ninja than her father and become the next Shredder....

3. Karai's Family in the Foot Clan

Shredder/Oroku Saki

For most of her childhood, like I said before, Karai barely knew Shredder. He was very neglectful but when Karai finally proved she could be useful to him, he started giving her more attention but became also abusive.

Once he finally got to know Karai, he started seeing more of her mother in her and yes, in the past it made him want to push her away, but now, it made him want to be around her more. However, the more he is around her, the more he sees that not only did she take after her mother but her father as well, and every time she would do or say something that would remind him of Yoshi, he would snap.

So, not only was Shredder determined to form Karai into his perfect weapon but he was also determined to get rid of all traits that remind him of Yoshi. If he did that then he could truly pretend that Karai was indeed his and Shen's daughter. However, just like her father, Karai was stubborn and strong-willed, and though she wanted desperately for Shredder to be proud and love her, she never allowed him to have full control over her.

No matter how brutal the punishments, Karai remained true to herself and followed her own heart, which is a trait she inherited from both her mother and father.

Even so, she remained Shredder's favorite...until she learned the truth.

Hattori Tatsu

As we all know, Tatsu was Karai's sensei in the Foot Clan and Shredder's old second in command before Tigerclaw. We don't know much of their relationship but I am guessing like everyone else, Tatsu hated Karai.

I believe Tatsu is the only one, other than Shredder who knew the truth of Karai's true heritage. From the beginning, Tatsu believed taking her was a mistake and that Shredder should have just ended her life so that the bloodline would end but when he told his master this, he refused to listen, warning him to never question his decisions again. It disgusted Tatsu having the blood of their greatest enemy in their clan and because of that, unlike Shredder who has learned to be a tad more patient with Karai over the years, Tatsu had less patience for her.

He may be loyal to Shredder but he refused to accept the blood of the Hamato as one of them. He was very abusive during his training sessions with Karai, as he was with most of his students but with Karai he was harder. He was determined to prove to Shredder that she was not one of them but Karai was just as determined to prove that she was, she even told him that she had a goal to become the next Shredder.

When she told Tatsu that, he immediately talked to Shredder about it and he admitted that he has been considering having the clan as well as the Kabuto passed down to Karai. It was moments like that when Tatsu would wonder about his master's sanity. He will admit, that Karai is very talented, skilled and strong, and how she taught herself Ninjutsu was impressive but at the end of the day, she is Hamato blood.

However, Shredder seemed to have made himself believe that she wasn't. He made himself believe that she was his and every time he is given a reminder that she wasn't, he would not take very well. Because of that, Tatsu said nothing more and instead, set off a goal of his own, to prove that Karai is not worthy of the Kabuto.

Bradford and Xever

Karai's relationship with Bradford and Xever...was very...complicated. As a child, Karai did see Bradford and Xever as her older brother figures because they were the closest thing she had to them. However, she hated them. They would always bully her, especially Bradford.

When she started training under Shredder and Tatsu besides them, Bradford saw it as a threat to his future. He used to be Shredder's favorite student but since Karai joined, he became second.

Karai was not the only one who wished for the Kabuto, he did too and he knew he stood no chance if Karai proved she was better than him because (as he thought back then) she was his daughter and he would likely want to pass down the clan to someone who is related to him.

Xever, on the other hand, cared nothing about the clan or the Kabuto. He only served Shredder so he could repay his debt and he hoped that debt would be repaid soon because he had wanted to leave the moment he came.

Xever and Karai did not like each other either but unlike Bradford...Xever had a tiny soft spot for her which is why on Karai's first day of training, Xever warned her of Tatsu, warned her that no one in the Foot would be her friend, basically telling her it was kill or be killed. Only the best would survive. She mocked him of course but Xever knew she would learn the hard way soon enough.

He flat out told her she was an idiot for signing herself up for this, for if it was his choice, he never would have.

Also, all those times he had helped kidnap her and locked her up, a part of Xever felt guilty because, despite their past, he never wished harm on Karai but if he did not obey Shredder, then he would die. It was her or him and Xever, as always, chose himself.

When Shredder and Bradford were finally dead, Xever returned to his home country, and he lived there for years until he adopted a young little thief that reminded him of himself. Shortly after that, he got a letter from his old comrades, Zeck and Steranko, telling him that they adopted a little boy and joined Karai. They also mentioned that she had children of her own.

Now, Xever has heard many stories about Karai and all of her achievements but for some reason, hearing that she had children made him want to see her and to say, it had been an awkward, tense visit, was an understatement. Xever honestly couldn't believe the girl who used to give him such a headache, was now a young woman, and not just that but a wife and mother as well. He never thought he would see the day...

She was of course, reluctant to talk to him, as she had every right to be but for some reason, she let him in and...you can say when Xever left later that day, they were on somewhat good terms. Karai did not exactly give her forgiveness but she seemed to want to give him a chance to earn it.

Oroku Pimiko

(Oroku Pimiko is my OC and I added her because...I just wanted to add more drama honestly.)

Oroku Pimiko is Karai's secret adopted younger sister. A couple years after she started her training, Shredder one day came to her with a little girl in his arms who had the same onyx black eyes as him. Shredder then explained that the girl was her sister and to say Karai was furious was an understatement.

He had told her that he loved no one but her mother, that she was the only one for him and that there could be no other...but there was another. Seeing her anger, Shredder had pulled her to a private room and explained to her that he still dearly loved her mother but when he met Pimiko's mother, he had been drunk and was not thinking straight. He then told her that he had just found out about Pimiko after her mother 'tragedy' died and since he was her father, he had to take her in.

Karai found it hard to believe but chose to believe it anyway, seeing as she had no choice. Karai was rough with Pimiko in the beginning but slowly, she began to grow a soft spot for her, seeing how scared and weak she was. However, compassion was weakness in the Foot, so she could not show too much care as much as she wanted to...

Basically, their relationship was similar to Splinter's and Shredder's. What started as a small friendship, a sisterly bond soon became a rivalry full of hatred. The once scared, sweet little girl turned to be a cold-hearted young woman

Karai blamed herself for it...

When Pimiko got better in her training, it did not take long for Shredder to have them compete against each other and every time, Karai won...which led to Pimiko's hatred towards her.

Never once did Karai help her sister when Shredder punished her, and she was still so desperate for her father's love and praise that she refused to allow Pimiko to win. She chose herself over her sister, she had betrayed her for her own selfish goals, and because of that, their relationship turned into fire and ice...

No matter how hard Pimiko trained, or worked, Karai remained Shredder's favorite daughter and one night, right before Shredder moved to New York actually, Pimiko had decided she could not take much more and left. Shredder did not seem to care, especially after learning that his old enemy was still alive but Karai...she just hoped that she would find somewhere safe, far away where Shredder could not find her...

The two reunited after the death of Shredder and Pimiko came, full of fury, not because of her father's death but because her vengeance was unfulfilled. She had wanted to be the one who killed her father for everything he put her through but since he was now dead, she turned her vengeance on to Karai.

Pimiko, having discovered her true heritage, told Karai's rebuilt Foot Clan that she was actually the daughter of their greatest enemy, resulting in the Foot betraying her and making Pimiko the new leader. Karai thankfully escaped, with the help of Shinigami but now, Karai was terrified.

There was a time when she could not understand why her father did not go through with killing Shredder when he had mutable chances but now, she began to understand and now she and Pimiko would walk in the same shoes as their fathers before them...

4. Love interests

Shinigami

Shinigami was Karai’s first and ever friend. She met Shinigami when she was 12 years old. Ever since then, the two were as thick as thieves. However, things started to change when they entered their teens, or at least, it did for Shinigami.

Shinigami started to have a crush on Karai when she turned 13 and then, it grew when she turned 14. Shinigami did not love a lot of people, the only one she loved was her mother but Karai, was someone she would not only kill for but die for. Her word was always her command and she would follow it without complaint or a second thought.

She thought about telling her how she felt but Shinigami was afraid of ruining their friendship and…Karai was already with another at the time. But when he left and Karai came to Shinigami heartbroken, It was on that night when Karai started talking about the future, her goals and plans.

She said that when she becomes the next Shredder, that she would want Shinigami at her side, as her second in command and Shinigami was deeply honored as she was surprised. Karai clarified that she is the only person she has ever trusted and the only one who has ever cared about her, so of course, she would want her best friend at her side.

And Shinigami could not wait for it. However, she wanted to be more than just her friend’s second in command…and she decided to tell her as much. The next day, Shinigami snuck into Shredder’s lair, hope in her heart, as she was finally going to confess her feelings but…when she walked in the dojo, she found something unexpected…

She caught Shredder beating Karai brutally, and the sight shocked her. She knew that Shredder was hard on his daughters but this was just abuse and though Shinigami was not the kind to act in impulsive rage, when it came to Karai…she could not help herself and so…she planned on assassinating Shredder…

She knew she could not win against him in combat but…there was more than one ways to kill a man and she planned to use poison. The very next day, Shinigami snuck into their home and planned on poisoning Shredder's dish but then, Karai caught her in the act.

Karai was beyond hurt and betrayed. She attacked Shinigami, yelling, demanding how she could have betrayed her but every time Shinigami tried to explain herself, Karai would not listen and she kept making excuses for her father, which was expected after years of being brain-washed.

She almost killed Shinigami but the love for her dear friend stopped her and instead, she kicked her out of the clan and out of her life, warning her if she ever came back that she would kill her without hesitation and…Shinigami had obeyed her command, heartbroken and she did not see her friend again…not until two years later, when Karai came knocking on her door, asking for her help to kill Shredder and ever since then…she and Karai has lived happily ever after…

Hattori Hiroto

(Another OC character of mine)

Hattori Hiroto, is the son of Hattori Tatsu. Like I said, Tatsu was determined to prove that Karai was not worthy of Kabuto and since Pimiko was a constant disappointment to Shredder, he planned to use his own son to gain the honor. However, he never expected he and Karai to fall in love…

Karai and Hiroto met when she was 13. She heard about him, knew that Tatsu wanted him to be the next Shredder but she would not allow that to happen. She had threatened Hiroto to moment she saw him and said that he was not going to take the honor of the Kabuto from her.

To her surprise, Hiroto did not care. He said that he could care less about the clan or the Kabuto. He was only here because his father forced him to be and though Karai was wary, and distrusting at first, eventually she believed him, after witnessing he and his father arguing.

The two began talking and began to enjoy each other’s company, it wasn’t long until they became a couple. Unlike Karai, who was unaware of Shinigami’s feelings, Hiroto knew from the very start that the little witch had feelings for her too. He often caught her spying on them and the two would banter often over her and in the end, because of Shinigami’s fear of losing her friend, Hiroto won her, much to Shinigami’s annoyance.

However, he and Karai were an on and off thing. The two were always fighting over something and Hiroto just kept breaking her heart over and over…Karai was a smart girl, who usually does not let anyone take advantage of her but for some reason, when it came to him, she became fool and kept forgiving him.

Hiroto did love her, he did but…he didn’t know how to love her, and neither did she know how to love him. Karai was not exactly innocent in their relationship either, she was often cold towards Hiroto, resented him for not caring about the clan as much as she did.

However, the string that bound them together, finally broke after Shredder beat them both senseless after they were caught being…together.

Later that night, Hiroto ran away, stealing money from Karai as well as her motorcycle, and vanished, without even saying a word of goodbye. Karai was heartbroken but not at all surprised and she did not see Hiroto again, not until way after she married Shinigami and came to him…needing him to be the father for her children…

(So, yeah, that is what I have for the beginning of Karai's story before she met Leo and figured out the truth. Please let me know what you think. Tell me what you do and don't like. I always want to hear others opinions.)

#tmnt 2012 #tmnt fanfiction #tmnt karai #backstory

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fictosapphic · 6 months

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❤️🧡💜 pls give me juicy bradh.eron lore - sol

OH WATCH OUT IT GETS ANGSTY. (finale spoilers, major character death, sorry if the formatting is shit im on mobile)

❤️ how did they meet? was it love at first sight, immediate enemies, or something in between?

fuchsia is scrooge's director of public affairs, so she works with the board of directors on many occasions. she developed a soft spot for bradford almost immediately, and finally mustered up the urge to ask him to coffee-- as coworkers, of course! he swiftly declined, claiming he was "far too busy", so she got curious and followed him in secret after a business meeting, only to discover he was "busy" with fowl.

b: "ms. flocke?! what on EARTH are you doing here?"

f: "i... wanted to know what you were up to. you know, for the sake of, uhh, public relations?"

b: "you DO realize what this means, right? i'll have to--"

f: "you don't need to threaten me, sir. i have no stake in scrooge's success."

b: "...what about your pay?"

f: "that cheapskate's been underpaying me for all the years i've worked here. thinks he can lowball me because i'm young... but I'M the one doing damage control when his little ~adventures~ get out of hand! when his stupid magical artifacts cause property damage, it comes out of MY paycheck! if it weren't for me, he'd--"

b: "get to the point."

f: "...if you're plotting his downfall, count me in. and besides, i... i've always sort of... had feelings..."

(she can't look him in the eye.)

"...about income inequality. strong feelings, yeah! like, he's the richest duck in the world, and i can barely make rent every month? how's that fair?!"

b: (he quirks an eyebrow.)

f: "i'm on your side, br-- ahem. director buzzard."

b: (his gaze softens a bit.) "'bradford' will do just fine."

when he introduces fuchsia as the new recruit, she's a bit shy and starts to worry if she's in over her head. heron thinks she's ADORABLE, though, and immediately starts fawning over her and trying to get her in on villainous schemes.

🧡 how do they become friends? do they ask up front or is it a gradual realization?

heron and fuchsia hit it off as friends almost immediately, and heron helps fuchsia come out of her shell. bradford never really considers fuchsia a friend, or at least never vocalizes such, much to fuchsia's frustration. he's a tough nut to crack-- she can't quite coax the truth out of him when it comes to how he feels about her (or heron, for that matter)

💜 how do they confess? is it a grand gesture or in a more mundane moment?

heron gives fuchsia a literal peck on the cheek after calling her "just DARLING" and fuchsia gets the hint. the two of them do nonstop sappy pda shit from that moment on every time they're together.

bradford is so oblivious to fuchsia's feelings, and fuchsia keeps quiet herself until [FINALE SPOILERS IN CASE SOMEONE READING THIS HASNT SEEN IT IG?] bradford kills heron by pushing her into the black hole.

f: bradford?!?! what is WRONG with you?

b: (he wordlessly lurches towards her with the intention of killing her next.)

f: i LOVED heron! and i know YOU loved her too! and you know what else? i... i loved YOU!

(fuchsia knows she's got nowhere to run, so she throws herself into the black hole, depriving bradford of the satisfaction that would come from killing her himself.)

(maybe it's peaceful in there. maybe she reunites with heron and the two start a new life in some other faraway universe. bradford lives out the rest of his days as a pet bird, not smart enough to reverse the spell but aware enough to be haunted by the knowledge that he fumbled TWO bad bitches.)

#ask #whoa its a lore dump #bradford 🪶#heron 🐦‍⬛#solscroldie

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etherealvoidechoes · 2 years

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Ne Cede Malis - REDUX - A Twist of Fate

Something I've been sitting on and then reworked it some more as the writing monster tries to bite me. Bite harder dang it.

Took the old version, but applied Find Your Light to it, including Asaru and Bradford being bonded, but keeping Jynn in a Proto-Chosen state. So consider this the new canon of this AU.

Now 13.9k.

Warnings for language, violence, references to alcoholism, and references to self-harm.

Can't say when I'll have the new versions posted on Ao3 and FF.net. May just append/add as a chapter to the old ones with the appropriate author notes.

-------

“Ho—how much longer… until we reach the outpost, Bradford?” Manson asked in-between gasps of air and grunts.

“Not much longer. Should see it when we reach the top of this hill.” Bradford replied.

“And then how far from there?” He sounded so exhausted.

“Oh, ease up.” Laney rolled her eyes. “Fresh ain’t killing you.”

“The humidity is.”

“Should install a fan into your Gremlin then. Just try to not get thrown out of Shen’s workshop.” She playfully teased, only to get a few curses slung at her. Yuri let out a boisterous laugh.

“You’re just asking for him to get thrown out of Shen’s workshop. Again.” Jody snickered.

“I didn’t know that was her workshop.” Manson said through gritted teeth.

“Go easy on the new guy.” Joshua shook his head. He grabbed Manson’s pack off his back and slung it onto his. Manson gave a quick thank you.

Bradford was leading a squad of about five, him included, through the backwoods of North Georgia. Partially into the Appalachian Mountains. Though it was a cool, spring day, a recent rain had saturated the air as Manson was not dealing with the humidity well.

There were some sound rumors there was a reputable Black Market dealer that made their home deep within the moments. In fact, they had turned an abandoned ADVENT outpost into their base of operations. A bold and dangerous play on their hand, but seemed like ADVENT didn’t care about this region. Barely any patrols ran through the mountain. Maybe the occasional dropship flew by, but not much happened. Hopefully, the trip was worth it. Heard the dealer may have been in possession of some sensitive equipment procured from an ADVENT facility. And they were always interested in getting their hands on sensitive equipment. No telling where it could lead them.

As they crested the hill, there it was. The outpost was off in the distance, just a few miles away. A white, grim covered building with several vines growing over it. The sun's rays glistened off one of those gaudy, golden statues of the Elders. A surprising sight. Those things were usually defaced or torn down when abandoned.

“This is a beautiful sight.” Asaru partially emerged from Bradford and peered around at the vast wilderness. Just so much greenery, bright greenery and colorful flowers blossoming all around. At least some of the Earth was untouched by what the Elders had done.

“It is.” Bradford nodded. One of the positives of running field missions. Getting away from the constant swarming hub of the Avenger and those metal interiors was always refreshing. Thinking of metal interiors, they needed to do some redesigning and decorating to make the place more lively. Maybe some black market contacts knew some carpenters? Could use some more wood paneling that wasn’t just the bar and crew’s quarters.

“I need… to catch my… breath.” Manson sat down as soon as they reached the top of the hill. He wiped the sweat from his brow before taking a swing of water from his canteen.

“Make it short.” Bradford glanced back at him and then at his watch. They still had a good amount of time before evening would hit. He wanted them to at least get halfway back to the Avenger before nightfall to set up camp. He rolled his eyes when Asaru chided him; yes he was being harsh, but they had a schedule to keep.“You’ve gotta toughen up, man.” Laney was still playfully picking on him. She found a log to step on to do some stretches to loosen up her legs. “Can’t have you on missions if you’re getting this tuckered out.

Manson furrowed his brows at her. “Not used to the humidity.” He was more used to drier climates. “Still getting used to carrying so much gear. I’m more of an engineer than a soldier.”

Manson was a new recruit to XCOM. A former ADVENT engineer fed up with the life and lies. He lived through the invasion as a teenager, and things never sat well with him. Of course, all the things the Elders did were wondrous, but it was all a lie. And then education They brought made his engineering interests flourish, but once he was older and found a job, he felt used. Eventually, catching wind of this XCOM made him want a way out of this false “golden” life. And there were a few others like him. It took some work, but they orchestrated a rescue from XCOM and delivered some equipment and valuable information into their hands. A few left to help with some havens, but most, including him, stuck with XCOM.

He flinched several times as Yuri patted his back.

“You’ll adapt in no time, kiddo.” He gave a reassuring smile in his slightly thick Russian accent. A jagged scar ran up the left side of his face, from lip to ear. His left eye was glassy, but there was a hint of life to it. “If you don’t, you’ll suffer Corvo’s wrath.” He wiggled his fingers and made an ominous “ooOooOoo” sound.

“Don’t remind me of him.” Manson huffed. He wished he never volunteered to join the more military part of XCOM. It was interesting, but he should have just stuck with the engineering crew, but there were hurting to have more people on the field. Corvo was a slave master when it came to training. He wondered how a man like him was married to Shay, who also helped with the training. She was miss peppy to mister cold… who had his own quirks. Annoying Bradford was one of them.

“Our blue friend sensing anything off?” Laney asked, as she went over to Bradford after stretching. She noticed their resident alien had partially emerged.

“No, just admiring the sights.” Asaru answered with a chuckle. “Earth’s natural beauty untouched by the Elders.”

“Ah, gotcha.” She nodded and smiled. “The Appalachian Mountains have always been -ahem- purdy.” She playfully jabbed Bradford’s arm.

He flinched, eyes twitching for a moment, before rolling them. “Laney…” A slight tinge of red appeared in his cheeks. Asaru laughed.

“Sorry, just remembering what slipped out during the briefing with Corvo and Shay. Channeling some of Commander Reeves and her brother.” She tried her best to stifle a snicker, but a snort slipped out. “Got stuck in that accent for a few minutes and Asaru didn’t help.”

“Yeah… yeah… yeah.” There was a slight dejection in his voice. He had Asaru to blame for random accent slips due to influences from previous hosts. But there was just something about Jynn, his old friend, their old Commander that came out strong. He never really had a strong accent, whether it be “southern” or “midwestern”, but because of Asaru, one was slipping into them at random

Hearing the dejection, Laney put a hand on his shoulder, giving it a good squeeze. “Hey, we’ll find her. Found her blue friend.”

“We will find her.” Asaru agreed.

“Right, thanks. Trying to stay positive… just miss her a lot.”

“I know. And she was a pretty cool boss when not in work mode. Heck,” she snorted, “kinda miss how she would go off on the idiots. Dress them down. Especially the pranksters. Remember the Chryssalid puppet?”

“Oh, do NOT remind me of that day!” He never realized how mean of a hook the Commander had and then she nearly bit him when he had to restrain her from attacking the culprits.

A few minutes passed by as they all caught a break, discussed some things, and made quick checks on the local frequencies. No ADVENT activity for miles.

“Let’s get going.” Bradford was ready to go and Asaru had re-merged with him. He was already moving.

In about half an hour or so, they arrived at their destination. The outpost. It was quiet. Dead quiet. Just the sounds of birds chirping and leaves rustling.

“Hm.”

Bradford approached the door. He signaled for three of them to check the windows. The security lasers were down. Boards and tarps had replaced them, as there was no more power to keep them going. He gave another sign for Manson and Laney to have their Gremlins do some scanning. Better safe than sorry. Last thing they needed was them stumbling into a trap. Or a nest of Chryssalids. As they did that, he knocked on the door a few times in a pattern given to them by their sources.

“I have burned my tomorrows and my shadows.” And said the code phrase.

A few minutes passed… and no response.

“Hm.” He glanced over at Joshua and then Yuri.

“Lights out and the place looks empty on this side.” Joshua said.

“This side is dark too.” Yuri said.

“Backs empty.” Jody said, coming back from checking the rear.

“Hm…” He didn’t like that. He then looked back at their Specialists. Laney’s Gremlin had returned to her side.

“Reading no life signs but us.” Manson said. He was letting his Gremlin do more extensive scans. “Just cold on the inside. We’re the only hot spots.”

“Same here.”

“Hm.” Odd.

He looked at the door handle and gave it a tug. The door slide right open, with a bit of help. It stuck a few times and let out a grinding screech at one point. He winced. Somebody probably heard that.

Once fully opened… there was still no response. The place was empty. The lobby was set up like any other black market they had gone to. Several display cases containing various weapons, equipment, and resources. Dried meats handing off to one side. There were probably more items to be purchased in the side rooms.

“Hm.” He didn’t like this. His eyes glowed blue for a second. “Hm.” Still nothing. No other life signs. “Asaru?”

His eyes glowed again, this time lasting for over a minute.

“Nothing. No one else but us.” Asaru answered. “But something feels off.”

“Hm.” Always something. “Stay alert.” Cautiously, he entered. The others followed. He took in several whiffs and sneezed. Dusty. “Sea… salt?” But he was picking up a faint smell that was like the ocean in the room. Strange. Didn’t look like there were any candles burning.

His eyes glowed blue for a moment as he looked around. Still, they sensed nothing.

“Something is off…” Asaru repeated. “I can feel it.” Something was hanging loosely in the air, but he couldn’t put a tentacle on it.

“Picking that up too?” Yuri asked, nose wrinkling. Bradford nodded. “The air feels off.”

“Think it’s psionic activity?” He asked both Asaru and Yuri. Yuri was oddly sensitive to that. The doctors had done some tests. Said he had potential, and they were working on unlocking it with the help of their Templar Navla and then Asaru. Things were looking promising.

“Maybe.” He shrugged. “Could be coming from an artifact lying around. Still, we should be careful.”

“I think so. But it’s strange… and familiar.” Asaru said.

“Familiar?” Bradford thought back, just in case anyone was around that could be listening in.

“I can’t put my finger on it. I’ll study it some more.”

“Okay.” He then nodded at Yuri. “Agreed. Careful, everyone.”

They all slowly spread out, weapons at the ready for anything, as they searched the outpost for any signs of life. But Bradford stayed in the main room. He just couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. No black market dealer would leave their place unsecured like this. They usually had bodyguards besides booby traps.

“Don’t touch anything.” He noticed Joshua was about to touch one case by the left wall. The man quickly apologized and backed away. Bradford didn’t take another step further into the room. Something still didn’t feel right. “The dealer could have some nasty security set up.”

“Way ahead of you. Daedalus, do your thing.” Manson has his Gremlin carefully scanning the room to pick up any traps. That blue grid touched every inch of the room. “Clear. Next room, pal.”

As the team continued to investigate, Bradford finally moved. He went over to the counter to see what was on sale. Some elerium, elerium cores, alien alloys, and torn down magnetic weapons caught his eye. Especially that elerium. “Hm…” They rarely had such a thing on display, especially the cores. You usually had to ask for those.

“Hey! WHAT TH—AAH— MM! MM!”

“Who was that?” He asked loudly. The muffled yells of one of his squadmates caught his attention. His finger hovered over the trigger to his shotgun. Eyes glowed again as he looked around. He saw the life signs of everyone. Almost everyone. Someone was missing. “Sound off! Everyone!” He ordered. “Sense anything Asaru?” He sent to him.

“I heard that! Still here!” Yuri said.

“Nothing odd on the scanners!” Manson said.

“Investigating!” Jody said.

“Joining her!” Joshua added.

No response from Laney. Of course.

“Laney is gone… Her life sign just suddenly disappeared.” Asaru said. “Someone or something is here! There’s an odd disruption in the air.”

“Be careful.” Bradford was leery and what Asaru said didn’t help the feeling. Things were looking like a setup.

As Jody and Joshua entered the room, they last saw Laney head to, no one was there. Minus her Gremlin that was frantically flying around a hole in the ceiling. Dust and debris trickled from it and a broken light fixture swayed back and forth just a little too fast.

“Laney’s gone, but her Gremlin’s still here.” Joshua said, turning on his comms. “Light fixture is swinging. Think something pulled her through the ceiling.” He cautiously moved over to that hole, turning on his flashlight at the end of his shotgun to see what was up there.

Then something fell from that opening and made several metallic tinks on the ground.

“SHIT!” Jody’s eyes went wide.

“GRENADE!” Joshua yelled. “WE GOT TROUBLE!” He swiftly turned and headed back to the door. A second later, the grenade went off, letting off a loud bang and tossing up a lot of dust and debris. It was a flashbang.

A second later, there was a scuffle, several yells, and gunfire.

“Dammit…” Bradford cursed under his breath. He heard several wooden boards snapping from the left and right sides. Manson let out a blood-curdling yell and then Yuri spitting out several curses and gunfire before he was silenced. They were getting picked off quickly.

“There are psionics at use!” Asaru finally figured it out. “Whoever this is, they are actively hiding themselves with psionics and snuffing out our allies with it.”

“Great.” Bradford mumbled under his breath. He wondered who it was. ADVENT with some Sectoids or some raiders who had a psion? With the former, he wondered if the Sectoids had learned a new trick. “Get read—“

Before he could move to find his teammates, he noticed a black and white blur swinging down from the ceiling. Then something hard hit his chest.

“AGH!” The wind was knocked out of him as he hit the ground with a solid thud. His shotgun clattered from his hands.

The world spun as he quickly tried to get his bearings. There was something else in that kick. It hit like a truck and was fogging his mind. Felt like psionics. A jolt arced across his body and mind. Definitely psionics. Asaru was quick at work, clearing it away. As his vision cleared, he saw what kicked him, dropping from the ceiling and heading over to him.

Shit. ADVENT.

They had a helmet that reminded him of one of those Stun Lancers. He pulled himself over to his shotgun and quickly grabbed it. Before he could turn it on his attacker, they were on him, kicking the gun out of his hands and planting a knee on his chest. The next second, they had on his hand on his face and in an instant the world blurred again.

He felt that familiar electricity arc across his brain as his ears roared and drums went at work on his skull. He noticed a blue glow growing around them and streams of energy traveling from him and up their arm.

Fuck, they’re the psionic! He recognized the unpleasant feeling over taking his mind, but this was different. He felt like he was growing weak. As if his life was being drained from him with each passing second. Hell, he felt like his skin was wrinkling, drying out as the seconds passed. A feeling he was all too familiar with when he and Asaru accidentally over did it one day. Luckily, the squad got them back to Avenger in time for treatment. Recovery was rough.

“Asaru!” He yelled in his mind.

“Working on it.” Asaru replied with a pained voice. “They’re quite strong… Draining us like a vampire.”

Need to get them off! Need to cut this connection! Desperately, he tried pulling their hand from his face, but they had one hell of a death grip. He frantically reached for his knife, but they were blocking it. He could feel the both of them growing weaker by the second. This was not how he wanted to go out.

“Get… off… me…” He spat as his eyes began to glow. A quick burst of energy should do the trick and knock them off.

“Hm…” They muttered as they brought their face closer to his, cocking it to the side. That was interesting.

“>BOSS! STOP!<“ He heard the flanging voice of one Hybrid somewhere in the back. So the one pinning him down was the head of this group. “>These people are XCOM!<“

Bradford understood what they said and wondered if he was hearing things. Why the hell were they telling them to stop? But he noticed something… The draining… the draining suddenly stopped.

“>XCOM?<” The one on top of him asked, turning their head.

“>Yes! XCOM!<“

“XCOM.” This time they uttered in English. That surprised Bradford. And they sounded female.

She carefully shifted to the side, making sure she still had him pinned as she checked his shoulder. That familiar blue, polygonal patch was there. “Hm…” She brought her hand back to his face, undeterred by the death glare and snarl he had going on. He winced when he felt a connection again, but this time, it felt like probing. A quick search through his mind. A gasp left her mouth.

“Dammit.” She then cursed under her breath. “>EVERYONE! STAND DOWN! THEY’RE FRIENDLIES!<“ She switched back to the alien tongue.

“You seeing… hearing this, Asaru?” He sent a thought to him.

“Yes… this is a turn of events.” Asaru was just as surprised as him. “There’s something… interesting about them. Familiar too.”

Familiar. That again. He wondered what that was about.

Who the hell are these people? Bradford wondered just who this was. Were they Skirmishers? Had to be with their flanging voices and calling him and his people friendlies. He was curious what clan had gotten the jump on them.

He still struggled under his attacker, wishing to be free, but barely had the strength to lift his hand. Oh, great. He noticed her bringing her hand back to his face. He closed his eyes expecting the worse, but… but he felt his strength returning. A sharp gasp escaped from his lips. His life was coming back.

“This is… interesting.” Asaru noted, feeling the life returned to the both of them. “Also sensing the others again and more. Looks like this one was hiding everyone. They’re a strong psion.”

A minute or two passed before she took her hand off his face and got up. And he felt like himself again, minus the soreness to his chest and back.

“Sorry… sorry about that.” An out of breath apology came from her. And she was speaking in English again. But there was no more of the flanging in their voice like the others. Like she turned it off like a switch. Sounded completely human. And oddly familiar. He couldn’t put his finger on it. There was also a strain to her voice and a slight echo. She was slightly hunched over. Did that life transfer reserve take the life out of her? The skin on the lower part of her face… her brownish-red skin looked unnaturally pale and wrinkled. And then, from what he could tell, her neck was black. Like it was burned.

“You stumbled into our trap. We thought you were some of the local raiders that have been plaguing the locals.” She extended a hand to him.

“Geez…” He quietly muttered to himself.

He eyed her, especially that hand, finally having a chance to study her. She was about a head and a half taller than him, for starters. Never had seen a Hybrid so tall. She wore ADVENT armor; repurposed and repainted black and white. And that helmet was different. At a quick glance, it looked like a Stun Lancers helmet, but it was very different. It didn’t have that red ‘glass-like’ visor, instead an onyx curved piece took its place. Then he noticed this Hybrid had hair. White and brown hair. Hybrids didn’t have hair. This one had to be special as they also had psionics. Blue psionics. He thought he and Asaru were the only ones with that color. What were the Elders up to?

He finally noticed the symbol on the right side of her chest. Those wings and a star. Skirmishers. Ambushed by Skirmishers. His hunch was right. What were the chances? At least to was better than ADVENT.

“You guys set up one hell of an ambush.” He said gruffly. Just how troublesome were the local raiders for them to set this up? He finally took her hand and got up.

Just as he got up, the other Skirmishers were entering the main room, ushering in his people. They were all battered, highly confused, and ticked off. Manson was cursing out one Skirmisher in Persian. He had a dislocated right shoulder, and the Skirmisher was holding a very banged up Daedalus in their hands. Poor robot was letting out several pitiful beeps. No amount of “sorrys” was going to make the engineer calm down.

“>Sorry, boss,<” One Skirmisher in black armor came over to them, “>I missed their patches. I should have waited to give the signal.<”

“>It’s okay.<” She raised her hand to silence them. “>We already planned on taking any who entered alive for questioning. Thankfully, none were killed.<”

With that conversation over, she looked at each XCOM member. They were all pretty banged up. Cuts, bruises, and dislocated joints. At least none are dead. She then looked at Bradford.

“Come back to our camp. Our medics can patch up any damage.” She offered. “And we have some supplies and intel we can share. Information on vulnerabilities to several outposts and some facilities nearby.”

“I think we should accept.” Asaru eagerly sent to Bradford.

Bradford crossed his arms. An apology, of sorts. He wondered if he should accept it. They came out here for supplies and anything dealing with ADVENT. He would rather not leave empty-handed. And it would be best to keep the peace. Last thing Betos probably wanted to hear was some of her people attacking him. Hearing another curse from Manson as Yuri, with the help of one Skirmisher, popped his arm back into place had him leaning towards accepting it. A quick patch up would be a good idea. Probably would spend the night with them, depending on how long it took. And he and Asaru probably needed a rest after that draining to be on the safe side. They had their life back, but who knew what the lasting effects could be?

“Everyone needs to recover. We need to recover. And we have questions for this one. I feel like I know that.”

That familiarity Asaru was picking up, and Bradford felt like he was feeling it too. It would be best to investigate that. Hopefully, their Skirmisher host would be more than willing to chat.

“We accept.”

————————————

“What’s your clan?” Bradford asked.

As they were following the Skirmishers back to their camp, and were nearly there, he had been studying their armor, looking for identifying markers for one of the clans local from the area. So far, he was finding nothing.

“I know a few in this region that Betos has informed me of, but not seeing anything on you guys’ armor that says who you are.”

“We don’t exactly have a ‘clan’.” Bastion answered. He had come to know her as ‘boss’ or Bastion. She was still wearing her helmet even though her subordinates had removed theirs as a sign of friendship. Must have been secretive. He was half tempted to read her mind, but decided against it. Asaru also chided him, saying it would be a poor idea as this Hybrid was powerful. “We’re more nomadic.”

“She’s being truthful. I can sense that.” Asaru said in his mind.

“Huh.” That was interesting and odd. Even the more nomadic clans had a name. At least Asaru could pick up there were no lies.

“You can call us Twilight Drifters.“ Attis, the one in the black armor, butted in. Looked like she was Bastion’s right-hand woman. ”Boss is a bit hesitant about a clan name, but we all felt like having some sort of name was better than nothing!” She let out a hearty laugh as she smacked Bastion’s back several times. Bastion grunted with each hit. She turned her head. The corners of her lips were twitching as they slowly turned into a frown. That just got another laugh out of Attis and there others joined in.

“Here we are.” Bastion said as she moved some brush out of the way. The camp was active. It was a series of cabins deep in the woods they had taken over to be their base of operations for the time being. A mix of Hybrids, some humans, and aliens were moving about and working.

“Attis. Turel. Get them to the medics.” Bastion instructed. “And Hol’tul and Ermes get the intel from Varkner and his crew. And get some food scrounged up and sleeping quarters prepped for our guests, just in case. ”

“Yes, boss.” They nodded and went about their duties. Attis and Turel were already barking out orders to the others to alert the medics as they led Bradford’s crew away.

“You,” she pointed at Bradford, “follow me.” She started heading over to one cabin off to the right.

He raised a brow, but shrugged. Probably had something to tell him. His ears only.

“Keep tabs on the others and be prepared for anything.” He sent to Asaru.

“Being cautious?” Asaru replied with a slightly teasing tone. Bradford rolled his eyes.

“Have too. That familiarity comment from earlier has me both curious and worried. Kinda feeling it too, but concerned.”

“Yes… right. I still can’t shake the feeling I know them.”

He soon followed Bastion.

————————————

After they entered the cabin, Bastion locked the door. Didn’t need their conversation being disturbed.

“Hm.” Bradford looked around. Looked to be her quarters and the situation room all in one. A bed shoved into a corner and then several maps plastered on the walls, along with photographs and various weapon crates, spread about. Reminded him of rougher times before he found the surviving remnants of XCOM. He didn’t miss them.

“Again, I’m sorry for the injuries my people caused to your people.” She as said as she headed over to a table. She placed her rifle on the table and started taking off her armor. The gauntlets were the first things to come off.

“It’s fine.” Bradford said. Well, it was to a point. But he could ignore it. They were still alive. “Just one hell of an ambush. How the hell did you hide from our sensors?” He was curious about that.

“Psionics.” She raised her hand, forming that very energy into an orb. “I can deaden our life signatures. Makes us untraceable to most sensors. Usually takes a strong psionic to pick up something is wrong.” With that, she let the orb disappear. “Though, somehow, you and one of your men noticed.”

“Strong psion indeed.” Asaru noted.

“Huh.” He wondered if Sectoids could do that. That could be a potential headache. Something to note for the future. Especially if ADVENT started fielding Hybrids with psionics. “We just smelled salt. Sea salt. Like there was an ocean nearby.” He still found that strange. “And…” He paused for a moment to raise his hand. Should I?

“You sure about that?” Asaru was hesitant.

“Want to stay in her good graces and gauge her reaction.” He sent back. A second later, he formed a few orbs in his hand, shifting them between his fingers. Just as blue as hers. “I’m a bit of a psion myself, and my man, Yuri, is a budding one.”

Bastion gazed at him as he displayed his powers. Studying him with great intent. “Hm.”

How he wished he could see the face behind the mask. She was good at hiding her emotions.

Just as she pulled off her last bit of armor, she felt woozy. Body wobbling for a moment before her legs gave out. She barely caught herself with the table, hands slamming down to stabilize herself.

“Dammit.” She grumbled under her breath.

Bradford raised a brow. He dashed over to her and helped her back up. “You alright?”

“It’s… complicated.” She grunted. She was out of of breath. “Thanks.”

“You need a medic?” He noticed she still looked pale. She shook her head.

“They can’t really help me.” Another grunt slipped out as she leaned on the table. She looked around until her eyes fell on something. “Can you bring that capsule over to me, please?” She pointed at a cylindrical device.

He fetched the capsule and handed it to her. She thanked him again as fiddled with it. The thing lit up in hexagonal panels that suddenly spun out. A white mist poured out of it. And something glimmered inside of it. She pulled out what looked to be a black crystal about the size of his thumb and sealed the capsule. The crystal had a blue shimmer when the light passed through it.

She gripped the crystal tightly in her hand and channeled her psionics. There was the sound of cracking until a loud snap was heard. Black, blue, and red liquid seeped from her hand. She opened her hand. The crystal was shattered, revealing the liquid came from with in it and a few shards had pierced her skin. Before a single drop could fall, the liquid retreated into those cuts; discoloring her hand to a pitch black. She took in a sharp breath as her body shuddered as the discoloration traveled up her arm. Just as quick as it came, the discoloration disappeared back to a brownish-red. But she looked better. Her skin looked more lively, especially around her face. That paleness was fading.

“Okay…” Bradford wasn’t sure what he had just witnessed. More weird alien stuff. This Hybrid is special.

“Hm. Something’s wrong with her.” Asaru said.

“You think?” Bradford felt like that was obvious.

“Yes…” He responded in an annoyed tone. He knew it was obvious. “Reminds me of me and my damage. Just a familiarity I sense deep within her.” He continued. “And the energy from that crystal seems familiar… familiar from one of our dreams.”

That made Bradford curious and concerned. He didn’t want to think of the unpleasant ones the both of them had been having as of late. A bunch of irritating and cryptic bullshit.

“Just who are you? What type of Hybrid are you?” He asked, pointedly. The question had been nagging at him for some time, and he wanted to cut to the chase.

“Hm…” She grimaced, turning away from him. Looked to be a sensitive subject.

“Look, I don’t mean to—“

“No, it’s not that.” She interrupted him. “I don’t know how to put this…” She glanced over her shoulder. Looking at him for a few seconds before turning her head away. “I think I know you… and you know me.” As she said that, she began to remove her helmet.

“What?” That made no sense to him. He’d never met her or her group before. Nor did her name ring a bell from some operatives Betos had shared with them. And it was a long list. Just who were they?

“I wasn’t expecting this.” Asaru noted, growing more curious by the second. “Perhaps someone from our past, an operative turned Hybrid, but recovered their memories?”

“That is… possible.” That never even crossed his mind. He knew some Hybrids weren’t clone born, but most could never recall their past; just fragmented dreams. That was for the best.

They watched like a hawk, curious to see what she looked like underneath as that helmet came off. A Hybrid having hair was still a surprise to him. As she removed the helmet, he noticed a few oddities. She had ears. Hybrids didn’t have ears. Then there were no ports from what he could see or those surgical scar lines from them. And there should have been ports, as those helmets connected into them.

She set her helmet down on the table, took in a deep breath, and let out a sigh. Almost like she was hesitant to turn her face fully to him. But she finally turned.

“Long time no see, John.” There was a warmness to her voice as she said that. “Can’t believe you’re alive.”

John? He never told her his first name. Maybe from the probing earlier? “How the hell–“ But as she turned, he paused. Those features, she looked more human than the average Hybrid, but some genetic modification was evident. Eyes spaced further apart and a bit larger, a flared nose, and an odd gauntness to her face. Reminded him of one of the Chosen, but with a more human looking skin tone. But there was something about those features that looked too familiar to him. The freckles… Why was her voice familiar to him?

“Impossible…” Asaru gasped in his mind. “It’s her…”

“What the… no…” Looked like the gears were turning in Bradford’s mind at the same time. He gasped. He knew her. They knew her. “Commander Reeves? Jynn?”

“In the flesh.” She gestured to herself, then outward.

“No. You can’t be…” No. That was impossible. Had to be. No way she could be the Commander they were searching for. No way this person was his missing best friend. In those dreams…. No. Nightmares. In those nightmares, he saw what she looked like. She was in terrible shape, a walking corpse. And here she was, not in that terrible state, but still equally concerning.

“You can’t be her.” He shook his head. But he was moving closer to her.

“It is her… I believe… I can sense it.” Asaru said. He was just as shocked at he was. But he was hesitant in his analyses, carefully scanning her being. Hidden tentacles reaching out. “She’s so… changed and… damaged. She doesn’t seem to be a clone… but that can be hidden, and I’m hesitant to do a deeper scan.”

“I am Jynn Gresham Reeves, Central Officer John Bradford.” There was a slight annoyance in her voice as she looked at him with hooded eyes. Saying his title and full name just a certain way seemed to make him snap too. It was her. But a sigh slipped from her lips. She could understand his disbelief. “Though… changed.”

He reached out to her, raising a hand towards her face, but he stopped. He quickly retracted his hand and turned away, covering his mouth. He tried his best to stifle his disbelief, his weeping. This can’t be her. But all those nightmares of her damaged and partially transformed appearance were playing in his mind.

She let out another sigh and shook her head. “John.” She placed her hand on his shoulder, but he pulled away. He couldn’t acknowledge her. He was barely acknowledging Asaru, who was trying to ease his emotions.

It was a minute or two before he turned to face her again. His eyes were bloodshot. Tears stained his cheeks.

“What the hell did They do to you?”

Jynn sighed. Them. She crossed her arms and looked away.

“A lot of things.” She didn’t know where to start. “They nearly killed me several times with Their experiments as well as being the brains behind ADVENT. Tactical advisor running 24/7 nearly nonstop for several years. Really should be brain dead from all of that.”

“So that theory…” Asaru paused and sighed.

“So that theory is true…” Bradford voiced what Asaru said in his mind. He was thinking it too. He had been always a bit hesitant about that theory, but all the data they had been gathering, mind probing he and Asaru had been doing on captured Captains, and just how ADVENT worked leaned towards it being true. And he hated the idea of it being true, even if it meant she was still alive.

“Won’t be surprised if they have a clone of me running the system or some brain scan backup, but I see there has been some breakdown that’s been happening since I escaped.” She then tapped at her chin and looked off to the side. “Though Maker said that probably wouldn’t work due to several reasons.” Shaking her head, a dark chuckle slipped out. She could see the Elders frantically working to make the perfect replica of her, but falling terribly. But she soon sighed.

“A clone? Hm… that may explain those discrepancies we’ve been picking up in the network off and on over the years.” Asaru noted.

“Great. Something else to investigate and deal with.” Bradford mentally grumbled.

“Raal’Maker…” There was a warmness to her voice as she uttered that name. “I have him to thank that I’m even alive. A rather benevolent Elder.” She still couldn’t believe there was a benevolent one in that Collective, and supposedly his mentor had the same mindset as him. Perhaps there were more levelheaded ones under his mentor. “He tried fixing the damage several times before they ripped me away from him again. Really, my health is still terrible.”

“Benevolent?” Bradford wanted to scoff. He recognized the name, but strongly believed none of those things were benevolent with what they did to the Earth.

“Trust me, he’s a good one out of Their mad Collective. Pretty much the only one who was truly concerned about my damn health.”

Health… Does she know about her split from Asaru? He rubbed his chin, nails picking at the prickly hairs, as he eyed her changed form. That paleness to her face was nearly gone. But her features. Her face looked to gaunt. “What about your health?” He almost didn’t want to ask, but he had to.

“I can’t put this lightly….” She looked away from him. “I’m dying, John.”

“What?” He knew she was going to say that, but part of him was still in disbelief about the whole thing. She repeated herself, which made him look away. So that was happening, just like Asaru.

“Think she knows it’s because you two split?” He asked Asaru.

“She may… but you should ask. Pry a bit more.” He responded. He wanted to reach out to her, but was hesitant.Was she truly the Commander Reeves they were searching for?

“Right…” He mentally sighed. Needing more gauging. He looked back at her. “Do you know why?”

“What the Elders have done to me…” She touched her face, pushing at her sharp cheekbones and the strange plating-like growths that lined them. “They’re careless. Tried turning me into a Chosen when I was still broken, even after Maker’s warnings.”

“What.” Now that… He wasn’t expecting to hear that. A Chosen. To imagine her as one of those abominations was impossible. But that’s why she looked the way she did. She had some of those familiar features akin to those deathless pests.

“Those fools.” Asaru hissed. Angered welled inside of him.

“A funny thing, almost a twisted irony of sorts. I’m more like Them. Parasites feeding on ‘lesser’ creatures to survive.” She shook her head and laughed. “Maker was right. Something like this would have happened.” She looked back at him. A pang of guilt entered her heart as she bit her lip. She fed on him. Could have gone too far and nearly killed him. But something about his energy was so good. “Sorry about draining you earlier. I try to incapacitate the head of the group first and was just a bit hungry.”

Bradford was about to say something, but quickly snapped it shut. He didn’t know what to say. There was a lot to process.

“At least that draining wasn’t instantaneous.” He cracked a joke. Mainly trying to cheer himself up. She chuckled at that, but soon sighed. “And there’s something else.” What else? He didn’t want to hear it.

Jynn raised her hand and let her psionics flow freely from her hand. It took on the shape of a thin, four armed humanoid creature. Looked kind of like the Elders.

“I’m missing a part of me. Something happened that day they captured me at the base. I was connected to some being that was helping us. Guiding me.” She tried to explain. “When that Muton grabbed me… I disconnected to that being and haven’t been the same since.” She closed her hand and let the figure dissipate. “Even the Elders knew of whatever was connected to me. Called it the ‘Ascended One’ or something like that. Disappointed it was no longer connected with me when They started Their experiments and got me hooked up to their war machine. But They were still looking for it.”

“She knows.” Both he and Asaru thought at once. It was her.

He looked at the figure she made one last time before she let it disappear. Looked exactly like Asaru.

“I take it…” He paused, trying to find his words. Should Asaru reveal himself now? Both were conflicted about how they should do it. “I take it you’re looking for this thing?”

She nodded. “Been at it for a few years now. Why my group moves around a lot.”

He let out an exasperated sigh as he moved over to an open spot on the table and leaned onto it. He rocked back and forth. This can’t be happening. But it was. Somehow, all of this was happening.

“So, what have you been up to?” Jynn switched topics, hoping that would soothe his mood. She didn’t want to dwell on the subject for any longer. Hated thinking about her poor state of health. “I see XCOM’s still alive in some capacity.”

“We’ve been fighting back.” He nodded. “And we’ve been looking for you.”

“Just like every other fact on this pl—“ Her ears and eyes perked up. “You’re been… you’ve been looking for me?”

“I didn’t believe you were dead for a second.” He looked at her. He still couldn’t believe it. “They captured you for a reason that day. And the information we found reinforced that… and then some dreams… visions I had.”

“Huh. Really?” She was surprised to hear that. Even more surprised when he said yes. She was touched. He still believed she was alive in this mad world and probably a few others. But the dreams comment was… strange. “How many thought you were crazy? Wasting resources looking for a ghost from the past?” She knew there had to be a good amount of doubters irritated with him and whoever else was insistent that she was still alive.

“A good handful.” He chuckled, shaking his head.

She laughed at that. She could only imagine his irritation at all of those who probably called him and the others crazy.

“Also…” She slowly stifled her laugh, clearing her throat for a moment. She looked at him from head to toe, eyes flashing blue for a second. “How long have you been a psionic?”

“Huh?” A question he wasn’t quite expecting, even though he had showed that off earlier. He was just about to ask her a question. Looked like that had to wait.

“How long have your been a psionic?” She repeated. “You showed me a little earlier and then when I pounced on you, I picked up on it, too. You even resisted me. Don’t recall any tests back in the day from Vahlen showed anything, but then again, we were all busy and I wanted all tests to be allocated to the soldiers.” Couldn’t waste resources on testing just any personnel. Her eyes fell, narrowing into a glare as she thought of the doctor’s eagerness. “And she really wanted to test me… makes me wonder what things would have been like if she did.” She grumbled under her breath.

“This may be the way to tell her.” Asaru said. “Maybe she sensed me and is hesitant to ask?”

“We’ll see.” Bradford replied.

Bradford cleared his throat. Where to start? How to start?

“It’s something… I acquired a few years ago.” He said. “The whole affair was a surprise, really.” Surprise was an understatement. That day was a massive headache, but a great boon to the Resistance.

“A semi-stress or trauma based awakening?” She asked. She knew those could be a nasty way of learning one had psionics.

“Not exactly.” He shook his head. The day was stressful. “I’m actually bonded to… a being. That’s how I have psionic abilities.”

She raised a brow. Did she hear that right? “Repeat that?”

“It’s best if we showed you.” He took a step back. “Asaru.”

As he stepped back, Asaru emerged from him. That tall, slender Ethereal floated towards her. His bulbed tendrils drew close to her, but hovered just a few inches from her body. She gasped at the sight, backing away slightly.

“Hello, Commander Reeves.” He said to her.

“You.” Just the very being she had shown Bradford minutes earlier. She reached out to him, touching his chest. Soft, slightly gelatinous like a jellyfish and almost like he wasn’t there. Like it was just air there with a hint of mass. In turn, he gently touched her arm. He was there, really there. She wasn’t seeing things. She could feel him and that energy felt so familiar.

Trembling eyes jumped between Bradford and Asaru. “What? How?”

“It’s a long story, Jynn.” Bradford sighed. “Short story is my crew, I, and the Templars found him and the people that were protecting him a few years ago. I was the only viable host for him because of his damage. We’ve been bonded ever since.”

“Damage?” She had so many questions, but hearing that caught her attention.

“Our sudden separation damaged me.” Asaru said. “Damaged us both. Our bond ran deep.”

Jynn opened her mouth, ready to ask more questions, but closed it. She didn’t know what to ask first. Really, what could she ask first? She shook her head. The separation. She knew she was the reason behind for sudden separation that day. Those memories had become more clear overtime with her freedom. She recalled that she was growing more aware of Asaru as the War raged on. And the Ethereal didn’t stop that. No longer wanting to be a silent guide once the Elders were stepping up Their attacks. And then they captured one of Them.

Just so much happened those happened weeks, if not days, before the base fell. The Elder they had captured and what they said. Many cryptic warnings, threats, and expositions. Somehow They had also sensed Asaru inside of her and were adamant that she turn herself over to the rest of the Collective immediately. She thought nothing of it at first until the same Elder and the others started plaguing her mind with unsettling nightmares. If she only knew what would come next after that interrogation killed that Elder.

She shook her head again, sniffling. Tears already forming.

“Gosh…” Some of her old Cajun accent began to slip out. That made Bradford raise his brows. He hadn’t heard that in a long time. “Gosh darn, I’m… I’m so sorry.” She shook her head. “I did this to the both of us.”

“It’s okay.” Asaru reassured her. Touching her face with one of his tendrils, followed by a hand. “You did not know that would happen. I did not know.”

“I… I…”

“Your quick thinking gave this world more time.” He hushed her. “If They had the both of us… things would be so much worse for this world and so many others. They would have Their own Mosaic.”

“Mosaic.” She growled at the mention of that word. What a horrible machine. So many, if not all, Zudjari enslaved by one of their own. Feeling an anger well up inside of her, she took a step away from him. “They’re still actively working on trying to replicate and ‘improve’ upon it. Mildly thankful that the Fragmenta they’ve tasked with replicating and restoring the Zudjari technology they’ve found have been purposefully dragging their feet.”

“Really?” Asaru wasn’t surprised by what the Elders were doing, but to hear the aliens there were working with were purposefully stalling the development of that infernal machine was interesting.

“Fragmen- what?” Bradford asked. An alien name he was unfamiliar with.

“Hard to describe them. Sapient pieces of metal, interstellar gas, cosmic dust, and who knows what else.” She answered. “They have an extremely thin truce with the Elders, but make their displeasure towards the known with every meeting. Feels like they want to kill the Elders.” She wondered how that truce still existed. Perhaps they were waiting for the right moment to break it and strike against the Elders.

“That’s… interesting.” He rubbed his chin. Aliens that hated the Elders, and these sounded fairly powerful if they had a ‘truce’ going on with the Elders. He wondered how their war went with the Elders… if they even had one. “Can we consider them friendlies… to a point?”

“I’d consider them allies. The only Elder they seem to like working with is Raal’Maker.” She shook her head, but chuckled. It always came back to him. “Also his mentor and those under his mentor. Oh! And one more pleasant Elder, a part of the Earth occupation. Her name is A’Va’pur. Probably another reason why the Earth’s environment isn’t totally screwed over.”

“Another ‘benevolent’ Elder?” He questioned.

“‘Benevolent’ Elders?” Asaru added. Bradford still didn’t believe that was possible.

“Trust me. Despite everything the current sept occupying Earth has done, the ones I spoke of are quite nice.”

“That is interested.” Asaru tapped at his “chin”. “She speaks the truth. I sense it and so can you.” Asaru picked up no lie from her. Bradford sighed.

“If you say so.” He had to see it to truly believe it, though he could feel the same thing as Asaru.

“So what was that crystal?” Asaru asked. He hovered over to that canister that contained that strange crystal she used earlier. A tendril touched it.

She looked over at him. “Something Raal’Maker supplies me with.”

“You’re still in contact with that, Elder?” Bradford asked, surprised to hear that. She nodded.

“Raal’Maker and I have distant contact.” She said “He provides me that,” she pointed at the canister, “when he can. And some other gear. Lots of dead drops. His brethren as watching him like a hawk. They believe he may have a hand in my escape. He didn’t.”

“Exactly what is it?” Asaru was curious. It had a strange energy to it. Almost as it had a form of sentience to it. Benevolant… and malevolent.

“The crystalized blood of the Weavers is what he told me.” She said. “Something about it can sustain me for a while.”

“Another group of aliens?” Bradford asked. She nodded.

“A nickname given to them by other species they’ve interacted with. A benevolent bunch that helps others. Kind of like you and your species, Asaru.” She tapped her lip. “I think I remember Maker mentioning your kind and them have met before on good terms.”

“Really?” That was interesting. He longed to meet more of his kind. Now, he really wanted to meet this Maker. “But…” He looked back at the canister and then her. A few tendrils reached out to her. “I sense a… malevolence in this blood. That very malevolence courses through your veins.”

Her mouth pulled back into a grimace. She looked away. “That…”

Bradford raised a brow. He moved closer to the both of them.“What is it?”

“Let me show the both of you.”

She reached up to her collar of her under armor and pulled it down. From the chin down, her skin was black. An unnatural black. Like something had charred it black. And there was something else. Eyes. Sharp blue eyes that looked like tattoos were near the center of her neck. Four in total. But there were some others on her neck where more eyes could be, except they were closed.

“Goodness…” Asaru hesitantly reached out to her.

“What the hell…” Bradford moved closer to get a better look at it.

“A gift from my ‘benefactor’. A Weaver of questionable morality and methods.” She questioned if she could even call it that. “Something the Elders fear and it equally hates Them for some transgression They committed against it… him… I don’t know. And then several other species They’ve screwed with his ‘friends’ with.” She shook her head. “Feels pity for me for what They’ve and has helped stabilize my form to a point… against my permission.”

This Weaver hated the Elders? At first, Bradford thought they may have had another ally until she continued to describe this being. Sounded like she didn’t like it. Trusted them even less.

“How does this connect with the crystalized blood?” Asaru asked. A pair of his tendrils were touching the marks on her neck.

“Somehow, his blood is mixed in with the other Weavers. The Weavers as a whole are deeply connected to one another. Raal’Maker does his best to filter it out, but he can’t get rid of it all.”

“So this ‘benefactor’… this ‘benefactor’ helped you?” Bradford asked next.

She nodded. “He helped stabilize my health and reverse a good amount of damage that was done… with what he had to work it… And he’s made more offers to heal the damage, but I don’t trust him. I’ve refused them.” She really didn’t trust it, though its words were sweet and soothing. “The Elders fear it for a reason, though They’re not innocent from Their crimes.”

He picked at his lip as he listened. This being had the ability to heal her, but only so much. And was making offers to heal her, but with a catch with what she said. “I take it this being is still making offers?” She sadly nodded.

“He’s patient… Scarily patient… The offers haven’t stopped.” She shook her head again; arms tightly wrapping around herself. “Sometimes… Some days… I’m tempted to accept them just to be me again. Human once more.” It was such a dangerous temptation, and she had a feeling if she accepted, something terrible would befall her.

“Damn, Jynn…”

How long had she been suffering? Living such a tortured existence? A cosmic plaything from the sound of it. This is so much worse than his fears of finding her in some lab dissected like some animal and… hopefully dead.

He reached a hand out to her. Out to her neck to get a better look at himself, but retracted his hand. Instead, he stepped forward and hugged her. Hugged her tightly. He felt like it was the better idea. Felt like she needed a good hug. Jynn froze, arms open and drawn back. She was hesitant to touch him. She had been waiting for this, but not so suddenly. A sigh came out as she wrapped her arms around him. Nestling her chin against his head as tears streamed down her face.

Asaru drifted away from the two, wanting to give them some space. He could sense their shaky emotions. And a deep turmoil and conflicting within Bradford. That love he had for her. It would be interesting to see if he ever brought it up. He wondered how they would tackle that. For the time being, he looked around the room. Especially towards the map and intel she had pinned on the wall.

During the time, she looked at his features. How the years and stress had aged him. She wondered if the scar on his cheek came from the day the base was attacked. Probably wasn’t his only scar from that day and over the years. She ran his fingers through his hair a few times. Seemed like he didn’t mind. In fact, seemed like he welcomed it with the happy “hm” that slipped out. It surprised her to see him let his hair grow a bit, but he had an odd haircut going on. Partially shaved, starting just above his ears.

“About the hair…” She said, breaking the silence. Fingers toying with the little ‘tuft’ of hair. “Interesting cut.”

“Felt like letting it grow out.”

“But the partial shave?” She asked next, fingers feeling the border between the shaved and non-shaved side. He just shrugged. He didn’t really have an answer.

“Huh.” She just chuckled. “The little tuft is cute.” She flicked it.

“I have to ask…” Bradford said, pulling his face back to look at her. There was a question nagging at the back of his mind. Why hadn’t she reached out to XCOM? “Sounds like you’ve been free of the Elders for some time and been running with the Skirmishers for a while…” His voice trailed off, wondering how he should touch the subject. He shook his head. No scratch that. The answer is obvious. “Scratch that question…”

“What’s the question?”

“No, no, no…” He shook his head again. “The answer is obvious why you never contacted us. Never contacted XCOM. What’s happened to you. How you look.” He could barely imagine how that would have gone, especially if they didn’t have Asaru. Probably a hefty amount of disbelief. Part of him was still in that territory.

She sighed hearing that. He was perceptive. “That’s exactly why… and then I didn’t know if it was being run by survivors or just a bunch of bandits stealing the name. I’ve run into quite a few of the latter.”

“Ugh… tell me about it.” He hated those bandits the most. They already had to deal with the doubters who thought XCOM was a part of the Council and Earth’s leaders that sold out the Earth to the aliens when they were betrayed by them. That was a headache with the Reapers’ for the longest until Volk finally straightened things out. “Having to clear XCOM’s name in some regions is a pain in the ass.”

“I can only imagine the trouble.” She chuckled.

The two continued to stay in each other’s arms. Bradford eventually brought his hands went up to her face to examine her features. This new form twisted by the Elders. Like the Chosen, but a proto-form of sorts. But there were so many familiar features. Those freckles. It was her, but… she was so changed. And dying. He ran his fingers down her jawline, expecting to feel any remnants of pulled ports under the skin, something some Skirmishers did once they were freed. But there was nothing. It was smooth, besides that wrinkled skin that reminded him too much of Dhay-Vol’s, the Warlock, face. Why did she have to look like them?

She seemed unfazed by him doing that. Almost expecting him to do that. She welcomed it. The touch of an old friend. His hands felt nice. A bit rough from calluses, but nice.

“At least they let me keep my freckles.” A little joke to lighten the mood. He chuckled for a moment before the sadness returned.

“Hmph.” He let out a snort, shaking his head. At least she could make a joke out of such a terrible thing. “How kind of Them.”

A question nagged at the back of his mind. Something she said earlier. They’re careless. Tried turning me into a Chosen when I was still broken, even after Maker’s warnings. Just why did the Elders risk doing such a thing?

“Why did the Elders do this?” He asked. She let out an annoyed snort.

“They wanted an asset and weapon in more ways than one.” She explained. “XCOM was coming back. What better way than to have the leader of said group be the one to crush it?” The Elders enjoyed doing that. The Hunter was a fine example of that. A Reaper turned against his own kind. “Kon-Ris…” She shook her head. There was sadness in her voice. She pitied him. “They don’t care if they have to break you to remake you. Even when one of their brightest advises against it.”

“…Why.”

Hearing that just hurt him deeply. To imagine, if she was still in Their clutches, she would be one of those Chosen. Having to fight an old friend for Earth’s freedom. How would have that gone? What would they have done if they had learned of her identity? What would he have done?

As he continued studied her features, he felt another pang in his heart. The woman he loved had been tormented by those Elders. And despite seeing her like this, he still loved her. He dropped his hands down to her shoulders. Head lowering, gaze fixed on the ground, as he dug his fingers into her shoulders. She sigh and patted his back. She hadn’t let go.

“I never got to tell you…” He paused, hesitant to continue speaking.

Should he tell her? This could be my only chance. She is dying. How long will she live if this can’t be fixed?

Asaru turned his attention towards him, sensing what was about to do. “Careful now. Steady yourself.”

“Tell me what? John?” She noticed something glisten, falling to the floor. Tears again. They must have been flowing.

He tightened his grip again as he took in several shaky breaths. He raised his head. Those tears were flowing, just streaming down his face.

“That I love you.” He finally said it. Fighting off any hesitation that wanted to come through. Felt like an enormous weight was taken off his chest.

She blinked once. Then twice. Eyes darted around, landing on Asaru, who quickly turned away, before focusing back on him. He looked serious. Did she hear that correctly?

“W-w-what?”

“I love you, Jynn.” He repeated himself. More confidence in his voice. “I’ve had these feelings since we were teenagers.” Sometimes he wondered how she never noticed it back then, but she was rather oblivious to guys flirting at her kin high school. “Just kept it under wraps when we met again because of the Invasion. Couldn’t have them getting in the way. Kept it strictly business.”

“Uh…” Her mouth hung open. She wasn’t sure how to respond to that. This was a revelation to her. Her lack of response did not surprise him. Probably not the best time to tell her, but he needed to get it off his chest.

“I am such an idiot…” She let out an exasperated sigh.

“Huh?” Not the response he was expecting.

She shook her head and smacked her forehead with her palm. “My mother was always the one to point out guys that had a crush on me and I’d just ignore her. She did the same with you!”

“Really?” He asked, holding back a snort in-between sniffles. She nodded.

“Hell!” She smacked herself again. “Explains why my dad was fine with me hanging out with you so much and inviting you on trips.”

“Really?” Another surprising detail. He and Mr. Reeves had a friendly relationship, but he found her father to be a rather intimidating person when he was younger. “He did scare me.”

“Seriously?” She held back a snort.

“To a teenager, a military man like him was very intimidating.”

She thought for a moment. A snort slipped out. “You’ve got a point there.”

Eventually, after the declaration, Bradford pulled away from her. Almost having to pry himself from her grasp. He didn’t want to move away, but he needed to breathe. Just so many thoughts and emotions were going through his head. He paced around the cabin as he rubbed his face.

At least she didn’t negatively react to me sharing my feelings. He was happy that didn’t sour the mood.

As he paced, he looked around the room. Eyes falling onto the maps, photos, and blueprints that Asaru was looking at. One photo had a big red circle around it and a quick note scribbled next to it that said “SEND TO BETOS”.

Betos.

“So how long have you been with the Skirmishers.” He asked. He had stopped in front of the photo that had the note. He noticed another photo circled and an arrow pointing to a location. And another note saying, “SCOPE OUT MORE. HIGH SECURITY. HIGH PRIEST IS HEAD OF SECURITY. MAY BE THE PLACE. WILL NEED BACKUP. KEEP IT STEALTHY.”

“About five years or so.” She said. “Still not fully one of them, to be honest.”

“What do you mean by that?”

“Well, how I’m more nomadic for staters and I’ve never told Betos my identity.” She explained. “She never pressed me again once I told her it was for my safety and hers if she never knew it. Last thing I need is the Chosen knowing who I’m with. Especially Jax-Rai.”

She and her group had far too many close calls with the Assassin. She was thankful Jax-Rai never used her psionics like Dhay-Vol. Would have figured out who she was ages ago, but thankfully her identity was still hidden from them. But she piqued their collective interest. A psionically capable ‘hybrid’ was running around with the Skirmishers. That caused a new set of problems for her.

“Those things.” He grimaced. He had received some intel from the other factions that those three were hunting something for the Elders, but they didn’t know what. The information was always classified on another Network they had no clue of how to reach. Now he knew it was her.

“It’s amazing you’ve managed to avoid them for so long.” Asaru said.

“They’ve been annoying.” Which was an understatement. “I avoid Dhay-Vol the best I can. Trying to hide my psionic signature when he’s on his hunt is nerve-wracking.” She hated him the most. Had to fry his brain on a few occasions just to escape. Somehow, he was still oblivious to her identity. Should have picked up her psionic signature from her attacks. But maybe her benefactor, that Voice, was hiding it? That thought crossed her mind many times. He could have altered her signature ever so slightly to aid her.

“Jax-Rai is a pain and I think I’ve pissed her off with how much my people and I have escaped. And we’ve bested her a few times… .” She shook her head, but chuckled. “Though I think she enjoys the chase. Exhilarating is how she’s described it.” Such an odd comment to receive after besting her. “Kind of like her brother, Kon-Ris. Though not as mad…” She bit her lip. “Hunter… I feel like he’s figured out who I am… but is keeping it secret for some reason.”

Bradford couldn’t imagine the amount of stress she was under, having to hide from those three. But her comment about the Hunter interested him. The wildcard of the siblings.“He’s figured you out?”

“Think so. Said a few things he shouldn’t know about me. Enjoys calling me Gresham and brings up XCOM a lot.”

“That’s interesting…” Asaru noted.

“And he hasn’t told the others or the Elders?”

“Hates his siblings and hates the Elders even more… Probably some part of his brain blocks the info from the Elders.” She was curious how They hadn’t picked that detail up yet. “He’s always been a wildcard for the Elders after an incident with the Reapers happened that made him more flippant. Why he hunts ADVENT and aliens too.”

“We’ve noticed that a few times.” Asaru said. “He is an interesting one. Almost as if he has a split personality.”

“I believe he does, literally.” Jynn said. “I’ve heard several voices in his head. Mostly the Elders, but there’s this small voice. Crying for help. Trying to remember who he was. I believe that may be the old him.”

“Huh.” Both Asaru and Bradford responded. Something to look into later. Questions from Volk.

“So what’s this? Noticed Asaru staring at this intently.” Bradford pointed at the photo with the note of wanting to scope out some facility with high security. And the photo showed that. There were standard Troopers and MECS all over the place.

“The possible clone.” Asaru said as he shifted his attention back to the photo and intel.”

“Hm?” She went over to see what he was pointing at. “Oh that. Yes, I have a feeling that’s where they may have my clone or ‘backup brain’ running. Want to take it out. Disrupt their tactical information Network again.”

“Ah.” Bradford simply nodded. He would have to ask about that in greater detail another time. Still couldn’t believe that theory was true. Explained how ADVENT worked like a well-oiled machine since they were founded.

“So, when’s the raid happening?” He asked.

“Still in the works. Have to scope it out more and request backup from the local Skirmisher clans.” She shook her head. “Though I want to keep it stealthy as possible. Don’t want them teleporting the asset and any other backups out of the place before we get to it.”

“Hm.” Smart. He knew he had some facilities he had people scouting. Get as more information as you can before striking. But there was always a risk. He thought for a moment as he rubbed his chin. “Well, you could… join us. Join XCOM.” He suggested. “We’d be glad to back you up. Glad to have you back.”

Asaru looked at him when he said that. He was thinking of them making the offer, but was unsure, sensing a deep unease within Jynn about her current form.

She blinked a few times as her eyes went wide. Both brows raised high. He has to be kidding. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

“XCOM is your home.”

“John…” She wasn’t sure of that anymore.

“Our medical team may be able to help you.” He almost sounded desperate as he said that. “Hell, the Templars may be able to help you! You and Asaru need to re-bond!”

It was a tempting offer, and the latter was true. She could sense they both needed that, but she wasn’t so sure.

“What will your people think of me?” She asked. “Is there anyone there besides you that knows me?”

“Corvo Samaras.” He quickly responded. As if he was prepared for that question. “He was one of the training officers that moved between the bases fairly frequently. Got nicknamed the ‘slave master monk’ by most of the recruits.”

After naming him, he started naming more. Soldiers, doctors, engineers, and other staff that had survived the downfall of all the bases. She covered her mouth as she listened to him. But from her trembling eyes betrayed her. She recognized several of the names.

“So many of you… so many of you guys survived.”

“And we’re still finding more as the years pass by.” He smiled. “Most haven’t given up the fight. They’ve been eager to join up with us.” He chuckled. “And you’ll be surprised with who’s running the Templars.” Mentioning that made his smile grow into a grin. That was still a surprise that day. He still wanted to get Geist for being cryptic for all those years.

“Yes, that was quite the surprise. He hasn’t changed much.” Asaru agreed.

She looked away, bitting her lip. Join them? It was such a tempting offer. XCOM was her home. But so much had change. She had changed. “But what will they think of me?” That was something he didn’t want to think about, but knew it would be a problem.

“I know some back on the ship will be hesitant. Some won’t agree…” He knew several were still quite anti-alien; including Hybrids. And some still questioned his bond with Asaru. They were barely tolerant of the Skirmishers and any aliens that had defected. Given the opportunity, they would kill them. It was rough keeping that from happening with some meetings and joint missions.

Sensing his mind drift off to the darker parts, Asaru placed a hand on his shoulder. Bradford glanced at him and nodded. He needed that. Needed to stay positive.

“But you…” He gestured to her. “You’re alive.“ He felt like that was the only thing that mattered. “I don’t think I can let this chance meeting be a secret… Can’t just suddenly drop the search for you. Some will question that.”

He had a point there.

“I don’t know.” But she was unsure. She turned away, taking a few steps away from the both of them. “I have to think about it.”

He reached out to her, but stopped himself. “Just think about it.”

“But I must ask… which part of you is asking this?” She glanced over her shoulder. “That military side of you? Or the part that loves me?” That declaration was still on her mind.

He looked away, closing his eyes. He placed on his chest and clutched it. “Both.” He couldn’t lie. He didn’t want to lose her again.

“Hm.” She looked at Asaru, who only nodded, confirming what he said. That’s… concerning. But made sense. It just made her leery. And something else bothered her. More personal.

She paced around the room as she mulled over his offer. It was so tempting, but she had her worries. But she also knew she and Asaru needed to re-bond at some point. She could sense he was doing fine with Bradford, hovering in some sort of stable condition, but there was still that lingering damage to him. It made her heart hurt.

And then what would her people think? She couldn’t just leave them behind. She shook her head. Like they would let that happen. They would follow her to the ends of the Earth, no matter what. They told her that on several occasions. Swearing their loyalty to her despite her protests. They were beyond grateful that they were free of the Elders’ enslavement.

She looked back over at them. Both had busied themselves with looking at the intel and discussed some things.

“Maybe…” She muttered as she went back over to him. “Maybe I can join… rejoin XCOM. My people and I can join you all.”

“Hm?” Both glanced over their shoulders. Looked like they were deep in thought. It took both a moment to process what she said. “Would they be fine with that?”

She nodded. “My people are flexible. Practically have sworn their loyalty to me. They listen to me first before listening to Betos.” That was a headache, but somehow they worked around it.

“That is interesting, but XCOM can always use more people.” Asaru chuckled.

“Huh.” Bradford nodded. Looked like she never lost her commanding skills. That made him smile. “Have to figure out the logistics, but we can always use more people. Though integrating more Hybrids is going to be interesting.”

“And there’s always that…” Asaru shook his head. That was a constant headache, no matter what.

“Guess we’ll just have to see what happens when you introduce us to everyone.”

“Right.” He said, then sighed. “Think I need to send a warning first so a few of the levelheaded staff can help me. Got a radio I can borrow?”

“That sounds smart. And yes, we do.”

Bradford looked at his watch, then over to the window. Through the slits of the curtain, he could see the sun disappearing behind the trees as the sky darkened. He let out a yawn before rubbing his temples. Looks like the effects from the ambush were finally kicking in.

“Think we may be staying for the night.” Was probably for the best. Never fun trekking through a forest in the night. Anything could happen.

“It would be wise to do so. We need to recover.” Asaru said.

“Sleeping quarters should be prepared for you all by now.” Jynn said. “And we should have plenty of food to go around.”

“Thanks for the generosity.” And he meant it.

“It’s what we do.” She smiled.

“Back to joining… rejoining XCOM… I would like to snuff out the local raiders before leaving. A bunch of psychopaths.” She said. A hiss slipped out as she wrinkled her nose. The world was already hard to live in with ADVENT running things, and some people just had to make it worse. No ounce of empathy. No sense of remorse. Everyone was fair game as they pillaged any camp, haven, or ‘authorize’ settlement they came across. Especially the weak. “Also, I’m waiting for some of my people to return from supply runs. Should only be a few more days.”

“I think we can help with that and we won’t be leaving this region for a while, so we can wait on those supply runs.”

“Sounds likes a plan.”

She then gently patted his back a few times before heading to the door.

“And Asaru.” She turned to him. In a way, she couldn’t believe he was there. She was so happy she no longer had to search for him.

“Yes?”

“I know we need to re-bond, but I don’t think we can do that anytime soon.” She sighed. “I feel like we’ll only hurt each other further. A downward spiral of draining will occur.”

“I also sense that.” He nodded. “I believe we’ll need a medium to facilitate the bond… but also your body needs to be healed.” A few tendrils touched her body. “Your conversion, barely at the halfway mark… I question if this can be undone or should it be allowed to finish…” And he didn’t like the idea of it being finished. A new form forced onto her by the Elders.

“Maker believes he may be able to reverse this…” And she prayed he could. “If not,” she tried to hold back a sigh, but one slipped out, “he has selected a few species that would best suit me to complete this transformation and purge the Elder DNA from my system. Right now, he’s trying his best to get the heat off of him so we can properly meet.” She wondered how long that would take. “Though he has his worries about how the process may go.”

Bradford closed his eyes tightly, hearing what she said. The chance of her condition being unreversible tore at him and hoped it could be done. “Is he worried about lasting damage affecting the process?” Bradford asked.

“That’s one thing, and then one of the methods he’ll be using.”

“What would that be?” Asaru asked, curious.

“He’s been cagey about it, but I think it deals with the blood of the Weavers and their DNA. And I understand why… But I’m willing to take the risk.”

“Really?” Bradford questioned, with a hint of worry in his voice. “Are you sure?”

“I just want to be me again. Not some abomination of a weapon of the Elders.” She shook her head. “Hell… hell… I’ll take another Hybrid form that doesn’t have Their touch and broken DNA.”

“Hm…” He was worried, but it would be a discussion for another day.

“Now,” she clasped her hands tightly and forced a smile, really wanting to change the subject, “let’s get your current crew updated on who I am and what’s going on.” She then unlocked the door. “And then go from there.”

He nodded and followed. Asaru merged back with him. “It’s going to be interesting telling them. Laney may remember you. She’s another soldier that spent most of her time in the main HQ.”

“Laney?” The name didn’t ring a bell.

“Laney Stavros. She was a medic. Still is a medic.”

“Still doesn’t ring a bell.”

“Maybe seeing her face should jog some memories.”

“Maybe.” Hopefully it would do the trick. There was a glimmer in her eye. She was somewhat excited to meet a survivor from the old base.

“Also…” She paused as she opened the door. “We’re going to have to talk about this… love… thing.” He was waiting for that.

He nodded, a small sigh slipped out. “I know.”

“It could become quite troublesome when I rejoin and th—“

“I know.” He cut her off. He knew the risks. “I’ll try to push it to the side, but…” He paused, sighing as he looked away for a second. He turned back and looked her in the eyes. “I don’t want to lose you again. Okay?”

Her brows scrunched together, part of her lips turned into a grimace. “Hm.” Her eyes flashed blue for a second. She was picking up a lot of strong emotions from him. And a lot of conflicting ones. “Yes… And you still feel this way, especially after seeing how I am now?”

“Yes.” There was no hesitation in his voice.

She closed her eyes and huffed. What to say? She didn’t know what to say. Now she was feeling conflicted. She felt something deep inside of her. Almost as if she felt the same way towards him, but wasn’t so sure. That part of her was a mess already. And then her current state of health wasn’t helping. She couldn’t reciprocate those feelings… for several reasons.

She sighed deeply, closing her eyes tightly. “I want to drink, but can’t.” Damn Hybrid makeup.

“Jynn, no.” He put a hand on her back. “I know the feeling, and that leads nowhere good. Trust me.” That was a hard habit to break, and he still needed to be careful. “And then your Hybrid make up. Alcohol oxidizing into formic acid. Go blind and die. Give or take some steps.” He shook his head, remembering that being explained to them. Just how much of it was a side effect of how the Elders built the Hybrids or did They do it on purpose as a control method. He was leaning towards the latter. “Thooooough”, he extended that for as long as he could as he leaned closer, “some of our resident chemistry majors may have figured out something Hybrids can imbibe in. It has become a rather lucrative bargaining item.” What some would do in their spare time… and for love.A snort slipped out from her. “Well… we’ll discuss this later. All of it.” Her voice trailed off as she continued out the door.

“Understood.” He nodded and followed. “I’ll hold you to it.”

“Don’t make me regret it. All of this.” Though she didn’t feel like she was going to. This all felt like a new start, that light shining, burning through the depths of an ensuring darkness.

He chuckled. “I can’t promise anything. Just don't count your chickens before they hatch.” A yelp slipped out. Eyes flashing a quick blue, she gave him a slight shock of energy.

“Jerk.” She was grinning.

“Missed you.”

“Missed you too.”

#writings #Xcom #Xcom 2 #Xcom wotc #Fic: Ne Cede Malis #Proto-Chosen Commander #Ship: Breaking Protocol #Ship: Surface Tension #John Central Bradford #XCOM Bradford #XCOM Asaru #Asaru #*Jynn Gresham Reeves #OC: Jynn Gresham Reeves

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isca-tide · 2 months

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4x09 Lucy being so excited for Nolan. Literal sunbeam of goodness. Though personally I'm with Nolan, none of this over the top proposal planning stuff. Make sure you're on the same page (an engagement isn't a surprise, a proposal is), figure out what they like (public, private etc) and bingo. But I'm also terminally single so... Okay but how married. How married! She's helping her co-worker and his sister do manual labour in their childhood home on her day off. LITERAL SUNBEAM. Did Tim ask her? Did Genny? Did Lucy just offer and Tim couldn't say no? Did she offer Genny and just turned up and Tim's just stood there and doesn't know what's going on or why his wife is here and what are these feelings no stamp them back down, Bradford. Fic? Anyone? The look Genny gives Lucy. 'Well, this is your secret-not-so-secret-husband sorry but you chose this idiot to fall in love with'

Yes, Nyla. Exactly. Though honestly I don't see Lucy being one for a big public proposal. It doesn't seem in her character but maybe she's just caught up in the idea of it. God it seems soon though. I know that Bailan is endgame, I doubt they'll have them divorce or anything, but...it feels like they've barely been together. There's also just not a lot of chemistry between them. He's had chemistry with so many people, even the ones he wasn't dating. Just seems a bit forced. But it's not the worst. Just...eh. Tamara just being everyone's adopted daughter. Yes. Good. I approve. Grey don't put your granddaughter with Smitty, c'mon. It's for school!

The fact that Tim immediately gets Lucy to go with him to look into the gun. I really doubt he technically needs her help, but it's like he doesn't even process the idea of doing something like this without her. They're instantly in work mode, and they work well together.

Really, under a rug, Wesley? Oh this won't end well. Ah well, okay, I guess the rug wasn't an issue. Papa Grey going to get his son-in-law home safe.

Tim's little smile with Lucy. Ugh. It's going to actually kill me when I have to watch through S6 properly isn't it? And the first half of S5. I need a new fixation until January. I can't put all my obsessive eggs in this Chenford basket until the series starts again. But the looks Lucy gives Tim. It's not pity. She just so desperately wants to help him. Watching Tim with his father hurts so much. Did he ask Lucy to come with him the last time he visits? Did she offer and he couldn't bring himself to say no? There must be some fics out there of that conversation - or lack of conversation. Just little glances and comfort. I noticed he leaves the door open this time. Even when he manages to stand up to his dad the second time, you can still see that fear in him. Making sure he has an easy escape. His backup, Lucy, close to hand if he needs her. God the hug. The way he's so terrified about the Tim tests and how he's probably been fixating on what Lucy said in the shop however many days ago. And she realises that and sees him so vulnerable and ready to back away and put his walls up again, and then she just offers that hug and that lifeline of comfort and he melts right into it completely and utterly. uuuugh my heaaart. Okay I don't trust Elijah not to have set this all up with Abril. I don't know how this storyline actually turns out, but yeah, I'm not buying it. Man is up to something. Tim you sweet little angel. He's trying so hard. He's come such a long way.

Okay but I do like Abril a bit I'm sorry I can't help it. Okay okay but hilarious that Tamara is just there listening in while they're talking about all this important police stuff. I know she's trusted but this station really needs to lock things down a bit better.

Ah, the famous Jason. Again, I know most of the storylines but if it didn't involve Lucy or Chenford I didn't really pay attention.

#isca rambles #isca prompts

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sylvies-chen · 3 years

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You Make Me Feel So Young

Summary: Tim shows up at Lucy's apartment after struggling with some guilt, and finally gets that dance she'd saved for him.

Warnings: none

Words: 2.6K

A/N: For day 1 of the Chenford Fanfic Week 2021 organized by @therookiebook!! I'm so excited to participate, I hope you guys like this oneshot <3

AO3 link

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He feels guilty.

Lucy knows he does, even before he tells her. After everything at Angela’s wedding went down, after she and Jackson had been taken and nearly died, after the dust had settled from that entire stressful day, Lucy can feel the guilt oozing out of him.

Only Tim Bradford shows up at her door to talk about it, and it’s about the last thing she expects to happen.

Like, ever.

“Hey,” he blurts out as soon as she opens the door.

“Hi.” Lucy doesn’t know what to say but she knows the hand that’s holding onto the edge of her door feels numb all of a sudden and her breath gets caught in her throat.

“Can I come in?” Tim asks, trying to seem nonchalant. Lucy sees right through it, knows that him coming here alone, out of the blue, must mean something’s wrong. But she doesn’t say anything because she knows Tim takes a while sometimes to be able to open up. So instead, she nods.

“Yeah, of course.” Jackson’s out, so she lets Tim in without hesitation. Not that it’d matter if he were here, really, but she sees that broken, guilt-ridden look in Tim’s eyes and knows it’s best that they’re alone.

He plays it cool at first— out of self-preservation, she thinks— and looks around the apartment as she lets him in.

“This place looks a lot nicer than the last time I saw it,” he starts out.

“Yeah, well Cujo’s not around to tear up pillows anymore so I’d say it’s a big improvement,” she jokes meekly.

His hands are shoved in his pockets stiffly as he walks around her living room, glancing over to Jackson’s bedroom.

“Jackson’s not here?”

“No, he went to check up on Angela. I’m surprised you aren’t there too,” she adds.

“Why’s that?”

“Because it’s where you’ve been for the past week,” Lucy explains simply, glancing at him expectantly and waiting for him to talk. Not this kind of talk, not small talk or dancing around what he really needs to get off his chest, but for him to actually, really talk.

All does is stand by her couch, less than ten feet away from her, and avoid her gaze. She swears she can see his fists tensing up in the pockets of his jeans. “I didn’t realize you were keeping track.”

“I wasn’t.” She was . “I just know how worried you were about her when she was taken. I don’t blame you for not wanting to leave her side.”

“Just making up for what I didn’t do the first time, I guess,” he grumbles under his breath.

Lucy sighs, cutting their small talk short and getting to the point. “Why are you really here, Tim?”

Her bluntness surprises him, she thinks, because he blinks at her. “What?”

“Why are you here?” She repeats. “You’ve never shown up at my place randomly while off shift. Hell, I didn’t even think you’d remembered I live here. I know this past week has been intense but clearly you need something or else you wouldn’t have come here. So would you just tell me whatever it is you want to say so that I can help you?”

He exhales quietly, his chest shaking as it falls. “It’s my fault. Angela and Jackson nearly died, she nearly lost her baby, they were put in danger at her own damn wedding, and it’s… it’s my fault.”

“No, no,” she replies sympathetically, shaking her head. “It’s not. What happened to them happened because of La Fiera, not you.”

“I was her man of honour,” he explains with a dry and slightly sarcastic chuckle. “Where’s the honour in failing to protect the bride?”

“If you really felt that, you wouldn’t have come here. You knew,” she tells him, her voice determined and fierce. “You knew I wouldn’t let you sit here and feel sorry for yourself. If you wanted to sit around feeling sorry for yourself you would have gone to a bar, alone. But you came here, which means somewhere deep down you know you couldn’t have done anything to stop it.”

For one of the only times since Lucy’s known him, Tim Bradford is speechless. He looks for words but finds none, huffs, and sits down on her couch, fiddling nervously with his thumbs. Her heart sinks at the sight of it. This guilt of his isn’t going away with anything she says, she knows that now. Healing takes time, so all she can really do is just be there for him.

She sits down next to him on the couch, leaving only an inch of space. “You don’t have to carry the weight of everything, you know,” she continues gently. “You take on so much, you don’t always have to feel so responsible for every bad thing that happens. That’s no way to live.”

“I’m a cop,” he shrugs painfully. “I became a cop because I wanted to keep helping people, protecting them. So sure, it might make me a more serious person, but I do it because it’s supposed to be what I do best.”

“I get that. But no one’s perfect. I’m not perfect, even with all of your Tim tests,” she teases meekly. “That doesn’t mean you did anything wrong. You fought hard to get both of them back and you did. You did that. Angela’s home now, she and the baby are safe and alright. That’s what matters.”

He looks at her, stunned but greatly appreciative. “Thanks,” he offers, slightly begrudgingly, after a moment. “I just... thanks .”

“I think I have something of yours,” she tells him gently, changing the subject to lighten the mood. Because if she can’t assuage his guilt then at the very least, she can make him feel better; feel happy again.

Tim’s brows scrunch up, sending a confused look her way. Lucy wordlessly moves to pull out her phone, connecting it to the small wireless speaker on the coffee table. The buttons crisply click as she turns up the volume, pressing play on the first ballad she finds in her list of varied songs. (But her taste in music isn’t actually as diverse as she’d like and is really just filled with K-pop tracks).

The music streams through the speaker and throughout the apartment, audible but still quiet so as not to disturb the other tenants. Tim stays seated as Lucy stands up, still confused but shifting to the edge of his seat as if being drawn to her by an unnamed force.

Lucy finally extends her open palm, giving him a shy but cheeky grin. “Your dance, Officer Bradford?”

Realization hits and Tim’s shoulders relax a little. “I don’t know, I’m not in the mood for dancing right now.”

“Come on,” she pleads. “It’ll make you feel better, I promise. Or, at the very least, it’ll give you something to tease me about at work.”

Tim gives a hearty chuckle, smiling widely as he accepts her hand. It makes Lucy smile too. Why shouldn’t it? He’s always so surly and serious, making him laugh would make anyone proud and giddy. Right?

“Alright. After you, Officer Chen,” he replies as she pulls him off the couch and onto the rug in her living room. His hand is warm. They’re calloused, and bigger than hers to the point where her fingers get swallowed up in his as he gives her hand a squeeze. But god, they’re so warm and safe . Her mind can’t stop coming back to that observation, no matter how much she knows she shouldn’t.

Tim’s other hand finds her waist, his grip gentle. Her hand flies to his chest, pulling him in until her chin is inches away from resting on his shoulder.

Up until now, space hasn’t really been an issue for them. The only time there’d been this much physical contact between them was last year when Caleb had buried her alive. Even then, the situation had allowed for a special exception. She’d needed all the physical and emotional support she could get at that moment, and Tim had provided it for her.

Now though, there's no exception, no special circumstance, no excuse. They’re dancing while wrapped up in each other solely because they want to be, and that change is enough to terrify Lucy. She doesn’t move though, only keeps swaying to the music and letting out small, shaky breaths.

What can she say? She never was one to back down from something that scared her.

“You’re a good dancer,” Lucy points out quietly.

“You’re not half bad yourself,” he replies, his breath catching onto her neck and sending a delightful shiver down her spine.

“Is it safe to say you’re enjoying yourself? You feel more relaxed, I daresay you’re having fun,” she tries teasing.

“I’m just surprised,” he counters. “I was prepared for my toes to endure some serious stomping.”

“Oh please, like my tiny toes could ever harm you.” Her nose scrunches playfully as she feigns a threatening look, which makes Tim smile again. What is it with that smile of his killing her softly?

“I don’t know, you’re a lot tougher than you look.”

“Was that a compliment?” She asks teasingly.

“Don’t tell Nova, she’ll get jealous,” he jokes back, continuing to sway to the music.

“Yeah but I bet she’d love this,” Lucy remarks. In her head, she adds that the line between herself and Nova is getting blurred but it goes unspoken and, eventually, ignored.

“Nova’s not the only one,” he risks replying. “You’re right. This is… nice .”

Tim leans back a little to meet her eye, the swaying decelerating until they’re standing in her living room. Alone. With an intense and inviting gaze piercing into her eyes.

“It is,” Lucy agrees. Her voice is barely audible and before she can think twice, she blurts out probably the worst thing she could ever think of: the thing she means with every fiber of her being. “I wish we could stay like this forever.”

She really does mean it. She wants to stay there forever, where everything feels good and safe and right . Only she hadn’t meant to say that out loud, per se. To her surprise though, he doesn’t react poorly to it. Instead, he flashes the smallest smile and nods in agreement, swallowing hard. "Me too."

He looks so young like that, something juvenile and exciting radiating off of him like a breath of fresh air. For a second, she almost thinks he’s the same age as her.

And oh fuck , something just clicks after that.

His lips part only slightly, his eyes glimmering with something intense and hopeful. Her skin is on fire, her heart is racing, and every neuron in her brain is telling her to look away but she can’t. She can’t escape his eyes. Lucy doesn’t know what this thing between them is, only that one minute, they’re dancing and the next, they’re… doing something else. The swaying stops and everything comes to a glaring halt as the song starts to come to a gradual end. They’re left with nothing to do but stand there and look at each other. It’s almost like he’s listened to her and that somehow, he’s made them become completely frozen in time so that maybe, just maybe, they really could stay here forever.

Admittedly, terrifyingly, Lucy would have no complaints about that.

They’re holding each other too— god , she almost forgot about his hands on her wait, on her back. They’re strong and massive and yet so gentle. And before she knows it, they’re pulling her in closer and closer.

His face is inches apart from her, their lips so close. She shouldn’t be thinking about his lips, about any of the things she’s feeling right now, but she can feel his breath and it makes it impossible to think of anything else. Her chest is almost pressed against his and she wonders if Tim can feel the shaky rise and fall of her chest against his.

They get closer again, and closer, and closer…

Then, the door clicks and swings open, sending her and Tim jumping apart.

The moment ends before it ever has a chance to start.

“Hey, I’m back,” Jackson calls out as he walks in, checking his phone. “So fire up the next episode of Love Island and put in the popcorn because I am ready to g—”

Jackson stops mid-sentence once he looks up from his phone and finds Lucy, standing next to Tim as they both look away from each other with flushed cheeks and awkward coughs from their throats. The music on her phone has stopped now, thankfully, but the light from the speaker still flashes to indicate it’s on and Jackson soaks in the whole scene. He meets it with confusion though, his brows furrowing.

“Uhh… What’s going on here?”

“I was just about to leave,” Tim announces, looking down at the floor as he makes a beeline for his coat.

“Right, yeah,” Lucy nods. “I’ll see you tomorrow then, I guess?”

“Yeah, of course. Uh, bye,” he replies awkwardly, his eyes meeting Lucy’s one last time with something that she daresay looks like disappointment— like yearning. Jackson’s still there though, and so the moment is short-lived. Tim’s hands fly back into his pockets, just as stiff as they were when he first came over, and he leaves. The door shuts behind him abruptly.

Lucy stares at the door where Tim used to be, her shoulders sagging in a disappointment of her own, but she turns to see Jackson staring at her and knows she has no way to explain… well, to explain whatever the hell just happened.

“You want to tell me why Tim was here?”

“He felt guilty about what happened with you and Angela,” she explains, a little defensively. “I was just talking it out with him.”

“Sure, yeah,” Jackson nods with an unconvinced laugh, “that’s why you two jumped apart like frogs as soon as I came in.”

“We did not jump apart ,” she protests.

“Ok, if you say so,” he concedes, his hands up in surrender. “Besides, whatever you two were doing here, I just—… don’t want to know.” He lets out a small chuckle after that, shaking his head as he moves to grab a pack of unpopped popcorn out of the cupboard and put it in the microwave.

“It was nothing,” she mumbles quietly. “Nothing happened.”

It’s the first real lie she’s told that night. Jackson drops it after that though, and she sighs to herself as she sits back down on the couch.

She closes her eyes as the microwave buzzes and Jackson starts to ramble about his visit with Angela, slowly transporting herself back to that dance with Tim.

Maybe she’s wrong for this, maybe she’s completely insane and unprofessional. But as she plays it over in her head, her own words ring through her head and she realizes that maybe she really did want to stay like that with Tim forever.

Oh, screw it . She knows she did. It’s not a fact she can necessarily scream out to the world, but she did.

To Lucy, there are much worse things to want to be.

#Chenford Fanfic Week 2021 #chenford fic week 2021 #CFW 2021 #chenford #the rookie #lucy chen #tim bradford

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harryspet · 4 years

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obedience | bucky barnes

[Warnings] dark bucky barnes x named oc, murder, and violence, non/dubcon oral and vaginal, outdoor sex, kidnapping, p/e/t play elements, bad google translate, implied agegap, mater/pet, lots of buildup, Stockholm syndrome(?)

A/N: I’ve been writing a bunch of Peter and Harry and kind of wanted to take a little break! This pretty much post endgame bucky. Sorry for any story inaccuracies! TRIGGER CONTENT AHEAD SO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK

In which Bucky kills her family of former Hydra members before taking her home as his pet.

Like, reblog and let me know what you think!

word count: 4.4k

Sam wanted him to let things go. Move on and focus on something else, he said. Sam thought it would be impossible to find any of them since it had been years since they were active members. The snap had given them a big enough distraction to escape. Bucky didn’t think it was fair that they could just disappear, change their names, and get to live another day after the destruction they had caused.

Accept, they couldn’t stay hidden for long. It took months but Bucky finally tracked the small family to Manhattan. The German immigrants thought they could hide within the millions of citizens in the New York borough. They made several mistakes though only because they couldn’t get rid of the luxury they were used to. The daughter had a driver and bodyguard that took her to and from her private school.

Bucky had cyberstalked her through her Instagram. The eighteen-year-old Senior posted a lot under the alias, Mina, that her parents had most likely given her. The Vogt family had turned into the Bradford’s of Manhattan’s elite class. The daughter didn’t go anywhere without her bodyguard, at least, that’s what her parents thought. Bucky noticed how she snuck out on Friday’s at the same time every week.

How reckless could she be? Her parents are on the most wanted list in eight different countries. Teenage love was the only answer. Bucky saw the boy she met up with, a poor rockstar type, that gave her that rush of dopamine she desperately needed.

Poor little rich girl.

Bucky purposely bumped into her while the couple was waiting for the subway, “Watch where you’re going, dude,” The boy spoke in a thick Queens accent. Her purse dropped and, because Bucky was dressed like a respectable man of society, the girl let him pick it up and hand it back to her. Their eyes met for a long moment and Bucky thought for a moment she was lost in his blue eyes.

“Sorry about that, you two have a goodnight,” Bucky faked a smile as he walked away, tucking the girl’s apartment key into his coat.

“Old creep, he was definitely checking you out,” Bucky heard as he walked away, a stoic look of determination on his face.

Mina woke up frightened. She panted, looking around in the dark for the monster that was in her nightmare. Those striking blue eyes looked into the depths of her soul. Brandon had said the man was checking her out but he didn’t see what she saw. Hate. That man didn’t even know her and yet he hated her.

Looking out the window across the room, Mina could clearly see the lights of the Manhattan Bridge. When they first moved here, her mother promised she would have an even better view than the master bedroom. They were still trying to get her to not be so upset about the move. Mina pulled back the fabric of her heavy duvet and decided she’d go downstairs to get some water. Her bare feet padded across the white carpet and she opened the doors that led into the hallway.

As she walked down the hall, someone appeared around the corner, “What are you doing up so late, Miss Mina?” The maid asked, her hands full of towels that she was carrying to the linen closet.

The maid looked over her, sweaty with tangled hair, clad in her polka-dotted robe and nightgown, “Just getting some water. I had a bad dream.”

The maid held out her hand, urging her to stop, “I can bring you some warm milk and cookies, you should go back to your room,” Something changed in the older woman’s eyes. If Mina wasn’t so tired, she might’ve thought the maid was warning her.

“It’s okay,” Mina insisted, stepping forward, “You work too much-”

Before Mina could even step forward, the maid collapsed on her side. Blood splattered against the wall and Mina thought she saw pieces of her brain. A bullet had come from down the hall Mina was about to turn on to. Mina covered her mouth, backing away, as the man from the subway stepped around the corner.

No mask. He didn’t plan on letting her leave alive.

Mina hurried backward, towards her room, but the man took off after her. As her fingers curled around the door handle, she felt metal wrap around her upper arm. She screamed loud, a piercing scream even louder than the gunshot, as she struggled against him.

The man didn’t speak, just pressed the long tipped gun against the side of her head, “P-Please, please, don’t kill me,” She stuttered out, shutting her eyes shut tight, “Please!”

“Scream one more time and I’ll kill you,” The man jerked her away from the door. The man pulled her back towards the maid’s dead body and down the hall, he came from. Mina’s knees were so weak that she was struggling to walk beside him. She let out a whimper as she was forced to step over the maid’s body.

“W-Why are you doing this?”

It couldn’t be because of the rude thing Brandon said, right? This was too insane for that.

He had killed someone. Killed.

The man dragged her into the room she knew as her father’s office. And despite the man’s order, Mina screamed again. Her mother was bleeding from her abdomen, laying flat on the old rug in front of his desk. The man let go of her arm and Mina ran to her.

He killed her mother.

As Mina touched her mother, she realized there was no life left in her.

Her father was still alive, just bent over and handcuffed to his coffee table, “sie ist tot,” She heard her father say, his thick German accent coming through, “She’s dead. Thank the Winter Soldier for that.”

Mina looked up at the man standing over them, her face covered in tears, “Papa?” Her lips trembling, “W-What’s happening?”

Her father didn’t answer as he looked down, talking to himself, “Mashina. Belyy. Doroga. Svecha. Nebo …” He was spouting off random words in Russian and her anger and frustration only grew.

The man stepped forward, slamming her father’s head into the table, “I’m not your puppet anymore, Vogt,” Her father laughed, blood dripping down his face.

“I like your new haircut, Winter Soldier,” Her father teased which only resulted in a punch across the face, “It suits you.”

“Papa!” She shouted to him, wanting him to stop antagonizing. His wife was dead and his daughter was at gunpoint yet he was teasing the man? “Please stop hurting him!”

The man finally looked at her, “Your daughter is beautiful, Frank. Is that what you get when you make them in labs?”

Frank? That was not her father’s name.

“What is it that you want? Money? Being Captain America’s best friend not pay much?”

Bucky tried not to show any emotion but becoming Bucky instead of Winter Soldier had its problems. He was still getting used to showing emotion.

“I want you dead. For every single death that you cause. For the years of my life that you stole.”

Frank shook his head, “Don’t give me the bad guy/good guy spiel. Name your price, Barnes.”

Bucky scowled, tucking away his gun, “What if I said I wanted your daughter?” The girl's eyes widened, still holding onto her dead mother.

“Papa?” Her father didn’t answer.

“I know what you think, Barnes, but I am not monster,” Frank spoke calmly. Too calmly, “I can give you my contacts, other members who escaped.”

Bucky narrowed his eyes at the man, “Give me an example, a name, and I’ll decide if it’s worth it.”

“... Viktor Vanzin,” Bucky grinned, pulling out his pocket knife.

“You’re lying,” Bucky had killed that man himself. That meant Frank was truly out of the loop, “I want your daughter. A life for a life.”

“She’s innocent,” Frank continued.

“So was I,” Bucky countered, waiting for a response.

“Okay, Barnes. Life for a life,” As Frank finally nodded yes, Bucky thought the girl might faint. She went completely still, her heart completely broken. Bucky almost felt bad but he was really doing her a favor.

“You evil fucking bastard,” Bucky cursed, moving behind the man and wrapping his arm around the man’s neck. Frank struggled as Bucky drove the knife several times into his stomach. He wanted him to slowly bleed out, to suffer. The man slumped back over the table, coughing up blood.

He spoke his last words to her, “I-I’m s-sorry, schatz.”

Treasure.

She fainted.

Mina awoke on a thin mattress in a cold room. She reached to clutch her robe but only found her thin, blue nightgown. She wrapped her arms around herself, the sound of her heart pounding flooding her ears, before quickly sitting up. She regretted it instantly, gaining a headache quickly.

She looked around and found now windows. The walls were a boring beige and there were absolutely no decorations. Only one wooden chair in the corner. Bucky heard the commotion and walked into the room a few moments later. He found her standing, pacing around the locked room.

He expected her to be angry, to shout at him, but instead, he watched eyes well up with tears. He much rather she is angry then have to watch her cry, “Why didn’t you kill me?”

“You want to be in the afterlife with those evil people?”

“I-I’m evil too, remember?” She choked on her sobs. She remembered how her father was willing to give her over to this man in a trade for his life. She remembered how he died anyways and she was taken by this man too.

“I haven’t decided that.”

“I know they must’ve done something bad to you but they … t-they were my parents,” She struggled to speak, “They loved me. Doesn’t that show some kind of humanity?”

Bucky leaned back against the door, fingers brushing through his beard as he thought, “You truly don’t know who they really were?” She was silent, “They were top scientists for Hydra. They’re responsible for thousands of deaths and you … they lied to you.”

She shook her head, “No, they work in finances. They could never do that.”

“I think your father showed you his true colors in his final moments. If that doesn’t convince you then I don’t know what will.”

“Why didn’t you kill me?”

Bucky leaned forward, “So, even in death, they can look at you from the other side and feel no peace.”

“Please … please just kill me.”

“Where’s the fun in that, my little treasure?”

Mina hated her parents.

She loved them because they were her parents and hated them because they were the reason this happened to her. She would never see them again, never see Manhattan or Brandon ever again.

When Bucky walked into the small room later that day, he had a black box as well as a tray of food. Mina held her knees to her chest, staring at the wall, “Leave me alone.”

Bucky sighed, “I think you’re gonna need your strength,” Out of the corner of her eyes she could see his shirt was short-sleeved, his metal arm fully exposed. He set down the tray by her sad excuse of a bed.

He waited but she didn’t move. Bucky gently placed down the box before moving towards her. She flinched away from him but he grabbed her leg, pulling her flat on her back, “No, don’t! Please don’t!” His metal arm wrapped around her throat and with a swift movement, he ripped off her nightgown. She was weeping again as he did the same with her bra and panties. She grabbed at his arm which was completely useless.

When he was done, Bucky stood up, watching as she scrambled to cover up with her arms, “You’re sick!”

Bucky tossed the remnant to the side, “Good girls get to wear clothes. Eat and I’ll think about getting you some clothes. I’m in control here, I won’t put up with your tantrums,” Mina stared at him and Bucky was relieved that she was scowling at him instead of crying, “Eat.”

Mina flinched at the sound of his voice but moved forward. It was heated up canned soup and a plastic cup of water. She was glad that he splurged on her. Sitting on her knees, she covered her breast with one hand and moved the plastic spoon with her other hand.

It was lukewarm and not that appetizing but she ate most of it. Bucky had pulled the wooden chair closer and taken a seat, “C-Can I have clothes now?” Her face was completely red and, now, she found it hard to even look at him.

“I’ll think about it in a few days,” Bucky answered simply, and, as it were even possible, her face fell even more, “Considering your reaction, it seems like a good punishment.”

“Why do you want to punish me?” Mina asked, her voice timid. Was not taking her from her family enough?

“Oh, doll,” Bucky’s face softened as he leaned forward in the chair, “I don’t want to punish you but you won’t be obedient otherwise.”

To Bucky, she was a prize. A product of all that he had done and all that he had overcome to get to this point. He had survived her parents and now he owned their lives as well as their daughters. He’d spit on their graves by making her loyal and obedient to him.

“If I promise to behave, can I have some clothes?” Bucky grinned, thinking she was smarter than she looked.

Bucky’s eyes went to the black box and he swiftly picked it up, “I have something else for you to wear. A temporary one until you graduate.”

“Graduate?”

“I’m thinking of calling it Bucky’s Reformatory School for Troubled Little Girls,” She couldn’t tell if he was joking but he seemed very proud of the name he came up with. He opened the box, pulling out a plain black collar with a single silver loop, “Crawl over here, pet. Let me put it on you.”

“Mr. Barnes, please-”

“Call me Master.”

It took Mina two months to even earn a pair of panties. And the panties he chose for her were skimpy, to say the least.

Mina was used to being naked now and she was almost used to Bucky. He insisted on complete order in his house. They woke up at the same time every day, ate breakfast, Bucky went off probably to murder people and came back in the afternoon to torture her.

That morning, she sat at his feet, eating her breakfast from a plate on the floor. Apparently, she wasn’t allowed the luxury of eating at the table or even sleeping in an actual bed. It was her job to make the food, the way he taught her, and she wasn’t even allowed to enjoy it.

She wasn’t sure exactly where this rustic house was and Bucky didn’t care to answer questions like that. It wasn’t like anywhere she had lived when she was growing up. Though it wasn’t the biggest it was quite homey and somewhere she probably would’ve liked if she weren’t stuck here. The place had a big porch and there were trees surrounding most of the property except for a pond she noticed one time.

Bucky was going through his computer, looking at codes Mina couldn’t understand. It probably had something to do with whatever mission he had to go on today.

Mina itched at her collar, a reminder that she was not yet perfect to Bucky.

“Mina,” She looked up quickly. Every time she heard him say her name she hoped he’d say something along the lines of giving her freedom. It made her think about what would happen if she was free. Where would she even go? She didn’t have any more family and she’d be surprised if Brandon hadn’t forgotten all about her, “Dishes.”

She gave him a solemn look, standing up with her plate in her hand. She grabbed his too and she felt his eyes over her body. He seemed to resist his urges well. Mina knew he desired to touch her and it would be a matter of time before he violated her that way.

She walked the dirty dishes over to the sink, still feeling his eyes on her as he sat at the kitchen table, “Do you want to do something fun today, pet?”

“What do you mean, Master?”

She heard his chair creak as he rose from his seat, “We’ll go into town. We’re in dire need of groceries.”

Bucky watched her carefully, wanting to see her reaction. This was all another test, of course, to see if he could trust her out in public.

She turned her head and Mina almost smiled for the first time in a long time. He moved behind her and Mina focused back on the dishes, “Yes, yes, that would be very nice.” He smacked her hard on her bottom and Mina winced, “I mean yes, Master.”

She felt his body heat on her skin as she turned off the water, setting the dishes into a drying rack. As she turned around, Bucky grabbed her by her neck. Luckily for her, it wasn’t the metal one, “You’d be very grateful to me, right?”

Mina nodded as best as she could, forced to look into his eyes, “What would you do to thank me?”

Mina hesitated but not for long as she felt his hand tighten, “Whatever you want, Master.”

Bucky smirked, “Hmm, and if I wanted your lips around my cock? What would you say?”

He loved this, watching her squirm. She actually thought about it and she wasn’t strong enough to defy this. Throughout this whole process, she thought she’d be stronger than this. All she knew is she’d do anything to escape this house, “I … I-If that’s what you wanted, Master.”

The accomplished look on his face told her enough, “Let’s get dressed then.”

The drive from the house in Bucky’s truck was shorter than she expected. That told her that she wasn't as far away from civilization as she originally thought. She watched all the road signs but she still couldn’t quite tell where she was. It looked to be maybe that they were in the South by the type of trees.

It seemed to be a very small town with one main street and a few more buildings.

She was wearing a pair of regular jeans that were a little too big for her and a black hoodie that only partially hid the collar. It was another reminder that she was not a regular person anymore. Perhaps she never was.

Bucky grabbed her hand as they walked into the practically empty Piggly Wiggly. He grabbed a cart with his other hand, greeting one of the old ladies behind the cash register.

She was not to talk to anyone unless they addressed her and Bucky would kill anyone that she tried to ask for help. Violently, he made sure to add.

She tried her best to enjoy what little freedom she had but her mind kept wandering back to what she had “promised” Bucky she’d do in return for this outing.

“Can we get something to eat?” She blurted out, before whispering, “Master.”

Bucky thought for a moment, pointing out the brand of Milk he wanted, waiting for her to fetch it for him.

“Want to spend even more time in my company?” She scowled on the inside but nodded anyway.

Bucky chose a diner on the edge of town and they seemed to get stares from everyone inside as they walked in and chose their booth. Bucky looked around as if he wasn't used to being in places like this either.

Bucky asked her what she wanted so he could order her, avoiding as much human contact as possible, “ … and a chocolate milkshake.”

“That might cost you extra later, Mina,” Her lips pressed down into a thin line.

“Whatever you wish, Bucky,” It was brave, saying that when he couldn’t reprimand her. Bucky smirked, knowing what she was doing.

Bucky proceeded to order for them, including the milkshake she wanted, “Can I use the bathroom?”

Bucky raised an eyebrow, “Do you think I was born yesterday?” Quite the opposite, she thought.

Mina slouched back in her seat. It was only recently that she looked at him and actually thought he was attractive. Maybe they would’ve worked together if he weren’t so cruel.

“Maybe if I pee my pants, someone will notice and-”

“Mina,” He practically growled her name, “Don’t ruin this opportunity I’m giving you.”

As the waitress approached with their food, Mina slowly slid the knife on the table into her lap and then the pocket of her sweatshirt. Bucky actually smiled at the waitress and she seemed to swoon.

Mina enjoyed her milkshake and the two sat quietly for most of the meal. Bucky watched as she devoured her food and felt a little bit better about rewarding her. It had been a long two months but she was coming along a few more months, and she wouldn’t have a single thought that didn’t involve making Bucky happy.

He grabbed her hand as they both went up to pay the check, “You two are a lovely couple,” Mina didn’t even react and the woman only smiled awkwardly, “Have a good night.”

“What do you say?”

“Thank you, Master.”

Bucky could sense the tension between the two of them growing as they got into his car. As they traveled down the dirt road, a feeling swept over both of them. A feeling of knowing and worry. Bucky put the car in park, sighing, “You’re clever but not clever enough, Mina.”

Mina froze, “Give me the knife. I won’t ask again.” Bucky’s words were sharp, demanding.

Mina reached into her pocket and gripped the knife. As quickly as she could and with as much force as she could muster, she shoved into him. It only entered a few centimeters into the right of his chest but the motion stunned him. Mina opened her door and jumped out.

It was one last valiant effort at her freedom. Bucky’s chest rumbled with anger as he opened his own door, causing it to almost fall off its hinges. He chased her as she ran into the treeline. Bucky was unnaturally fast and she was only a few seconds ahead of him.

She didn’t even make it thirty feet before a metal arm wrapped around her waist and through her small body over his shoulder. She fought with the last of the strength she had as he brought her back over to the truck.

“You have no one,” he threw her body down, pinning her against the front side of the truck, “No one except for me. Do you understand that?”

She nodded, trying to ease his wrath. He was bleeding, she could see it seeping through the plaid of his shirt, “No one else who’s going to give a shit about whether you live or die.”

“I’m sorry,” She whimpered but it wasn’t enough.

By her shoulder, he forced her down to the ground. She didn’t move as he began to undo his jeans. She closed her eyes but Bucky roughly grabbed her chin, “Look at me!” She did as his erection sprang from his underwear. It pressed against her closed lips, “Open.”

Whatever gentleness he was previously going to give her was gone. He shoved his erection inside her mouth, instantly making her gag with how deep it went.

He groaned as he moved inside her with animalistic lust. Saliva dripped down her chin and her eyes filled with tears from the lack of oxygen. He even pinched her nose shut to torture her further.

She’d grab onto his thighs for some sort of balance and he’d simply push away her hands, using her mouth like a barbarian.

Bucky didn’t want to finish in her mouth, he hadn’t waited this long for that. He pulled her up from her position on her knees only to pull the jacket over her head. Luckily, there was no one around to see what was happening in his driveway.

He turned her around swiftly before easily yanking down her pants and panties as well, He pressed her front into the hood of the car, positioning himself at her entrance. Mina’s body had betrayed her and Bucky could feel her wetness.

“You’d enjoy this more if you weren’t so stubborn, pet.”

He entered her slowly and Mina cried out, the pressure incredibly intense.

Bucky held her waist, dragging her body back onto him and then pushing it forward as he moved in and out. He grunted, noting how tight she was around him. It felt like they were perfectly matched together.

Bucky sped up his pace, his hand reaching around to rub her sensitive bulb. She flinched from the touch but he could tell it was from the sudden pleasure. She was tightening around him and he could tell she was already coming. Bucky made a note about how sensitive she was.

The first orgasm ripped through her, completing shattering her world in the process. How could she be turned on by this? Maybe what she felt had been wrong all along. She tried to hold in her moans but that proved futile quickly.

Bucky wasn’t done with her yet, turning her back around to face him and lifting her leg so he could slide into her again. She looked tired from the first one, tears still staining her face. Bucky held her neck in his metal hand as he slammed into her a few more times. He finished inside her with his lips on hers. As he came, he removed his hand and he felt Mina return his kiss. They moved well together, his tongues brushing hers as it became sloppier.

Mina was crying still, not because of the gagging but because she realized what Bucky said was true.

“I’m the only one you have,” He spoke, starting to kiss her chin and then her neck. She nodded vigorously in agreement.

“I know, I-I know,” Her eyes didn’t leave his.

Bucky pulled away, looking her over, loving how perfect she was, “Let’s get you in the bath, doll.”

Hope you enjoy this! I have another Sebastian fic called plaything and a bunch of dark Peter stuff. I’m currently trying to write a Bucky/Steve/Peter related Walking Dead AU so hopefully my idea for that works out lol.

#dark!#dark bucky barnes #bucky barnes x reader #dark bucky x reader #mcu smut #dark fic #marvel #dark marvel #marvel smut #dark steve rogers #sebastian stan #sebastian x reader #dark sebastian stan x reader #dark!fic

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createdfromthestars · 3 years

Text

I’ve never posted my writing before

but my love for Tim Bradford has compelled me to post something! This has not been reviewed or edited by anyone but me! This is from Tim’s point of view and him dealing with Lucy being missing. Questions and comments are welcomed!

Tim Bradford prides himself on keeping a level-head even in the most dire of circumstances. It’s what saved him overseas, and it’s what’s saved him on constant close calls out on patrol. Officer Bradford keeps his head on straight, and the only time it’s ever swiveled was when Isobel was involved. That was, until he heard Detective Armstrong say that Caleb Wright did not exist.

“That’s impossible, I saw his social media page,” he said, with more force than he intended behind his words.

He could barely keep his train of thought together as Armstrong laid out the possibility that the name was nothing more than a cover, a red herring to lead them off his scent. Lucy had been missing for over thirteen hours and the last thing he had said to her was to grab a drink. He could feel the panic rippling under the surface, threatening to engulf him at any point. But he was a seasoned cop, he could keep his nerves at bay until she was found. He allowed West to think out loud with Armstrong as he calmed himself and tucked away any of the horrible thoughts that had started to form inside his mind. Lucy needed him at his best, and that wouldn’t happen if he kept allowing his darker thoughts to be at the forefront of his mind.

~~~~

“We know they left at 9:05…,” Tim shook his head as Sergeant Grey and Armstrong debriefed the precinct about Lucy’s situation.

“Las Torres, a bar, she just wanted to go for a drink,” Tim couldn’t believe that this was his reality. “No,” he threw back at himself, “she wanted to go home. You convinced her that she would be better off out with some guy she had just met!”

A flash from the day before jumped to his mind, of watching a random boy try and hand Lucy his number. His heart had beat loud and deep in his chest, his hand flying out to capture the paper before Lucy even had a chance to reach for it. It had been a long time since he felt jealous, but he quickly beat back the green-eyed monster by simply defending his actions while accosting the boy about his job. But now that jealousy had been replaced by another, disgust. In himself. Because he tried to cover up his moment of resentment by suggesting she go for drinks with someone. And who else but the guy who acted like he knew everything about police work from the two episodes of Law & Order he probably watched.

“We believe that Caleb is Rosalind’s protege, and he took Officer Chen,” Grey stated in a grave voice.

Tim could feel his breath catch in his chest. “Took, took, took,” it repeated over and over in his head. He felt sick to his stomach, his head felt like it weighed a thousand pounds, anchored down by the hundreds of possibilities of where Lucy could be in that very moment. She was in the hands of a groomed killer, and the trail of bodies behind both him and his teacher were staring Tim straight in the face. All the kills were textbook, identical to each other in the way each of the victims had been killed. Tim could see exactly how Lucy was in this very hour, most likely already tattooed with today’s date, fighting off whatever drug was still in her system. His head swung forward, unable to even look at the board or the video of this disgusting man with his arms around Lucy, like he had every right in the world to be near her. He couldn’t focus on anything, not the words that Grey was saying or even his own thoughts. It was like his mind was the frayed end of a string, sprouting off in so many different directions. He didn’t say anything as he pulled out his phone and walked out, not even bothering to see if anyone noticed his sudden exit.

“Angela,” he thought, the only thing keeping him grounded, the only lifeline he could see in this mess of his world. His friend, probably his best friend, and her detective skills could help him with this puzzle. He needed her to be able to see a solution, because he was starting to feel the walls close in. There was a darkness that was shadowing his ever move, a darkness he thought he had escaped from when Isabel left. He dialed her number, praying to whoever that she would pick up.

“What’s up,” she answered after the second ring.

“Hey. Lucy’s been taken. I need you,” he said through a clenched jaw.

Saying the words aloud felt like a jinx, like if he never said those words, there was still a chance she could run through the doors and blame unbelievable traffic for her lateness. His breathing was shallower than it had been minutes ago, and it seemed like hours before Angela responded with a simple “On my way.” He didn’t know how to thank her.

~~~~~

He walked back into the bullpen as Jackson West stated “So we have less than 10 hours to find Lucy.”

“Holy shit,” Tim couldn’t keep up. They were talking in such a clinical manner that Tim could scream.

“This isn’t any other case,” he wanted to yell, “this is one of our own! This is an officer, my rookie!”

“My responsibility, Lucy…” he was spiraling. How could he have suggested a date with someone from a bar! He should’ve asked more questions while he was here, should’ve sensed that there was something wrong with him. He drilled into every one of his boots that they always needed to trust their instincts and gut. Yet, he couldn’t even see the potential murderer standing less than 10 feet away from him.

“You suggested the date, you pushed her to go out with him,” his inner thoughts were relentlessly reminding him, “if she doesn’t come back, this is on you.” He couldn’t swallow, the fear and confusion sitting on his chest. And anger, a rage was building up like none he’d felt before. But what he couldn’t figure out was who he was more angry with: Caleb or himself.

~~~~~~

“Useless,” he thought, slamming down the phone on another raving citizen who claimed they saw Lucy being dragged into a car by none other than King Henry. He had never wanted to punch a citizen so bad before. He looked up just as Angela and Wesley walked in. He let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding.

“Hey, thanks for coming in,” he said to Angela as he pushed back from the desk.

“Of course,” she answered, looking around at the current situation of the precinct. “Grey’s got you on tip lines,” she questioned, the disbelief evident in her tone.

“Nothing says ‘We got squat,’ like listening to the public,” he threw back, letting his irritation seep through. He knew that Angela would pick up on just how fed up he was with the whole situation. As Wesley took up his position at the phones, Tim turned to Angela and angrily said “This is useless. We should be on the street kicking down doors.” He just needed to move, to feel like he was doing something, anything, to try and get one step closer to finding Lucy.

“Who’s doors,” Angela questioned lightly.

He looked at her and quickly looked away. He saw sympathy and hopelessness in her eyes, and it was more than he could handle. The reality that Lucy was abducted by a man with two murders under his belt was pushing its way into every corner of his mind.

“I don’t know but I-I just can’t sit here,” he whispered. Suddenly the room felt too small, the lights too bright, the noises too loud. He turned around and stomped off towards the bull pen. He could feel the string unraveling even farther. He knew he couldn’t be in the middle of the room, with all the useless noise of the public.

“Wait up,” Angela called from behind him.

“I’m fine, just blowing off steam,” he didn’t even bother looking at her, he knew she’d hear him. His legs seemed to be on autopilot, he didn’t even know where he was heading.

“I get it,” she threw at him, “but you’ve got to get your head in the game.

Tim rolled his eyes to the ceiling, thinking that maybe he made a mistake in calling her in. He turned to look at her, his eyes narrowed slightly “I don’t need a pep talk.”

“Then why’d you call me? Clearly you need to get something off your chest,” Angela’s voice was rough, but filled with concern.

Tim looked around, his thoughts moving a mile a minute. This is why he called her, because Angela would make him face facts he wasn't comfortable admitting to anyone. Not even himself. He looked away from her, trying to organise his thoughts for a moment, ignoring the ever constant “your fault, your fault,” that had been rattling around his brain all day.

“Look, she-she wanted to go home,” he said to her, his voice cracking ever so slightly. His throat tightened, making it harder to speak “Go to bed. I told her that she should focus on something else.”

As the words came spilling out of him, he could feel a stinging in his eyes, and his hands couldn’t seem to stop moving. He felt his lip tremble and tried to swallow the shame and guilt that he could taste in his mouth. But it was no use.

“She went out with Caleb because I told her to,” the blame evident in every word he spoke. He searched Angela’s face, dreading that after she heard the part he played in Lucy’s abduction that she would agree with his inner voices. And he wouldn’t even blame her because he even agreed with them. He was to blame. But instead, tears welled up in her eyes and she shook her head.

“You couldn’t have known,” she spoke with a tender conviction.

Her faith in him, as a cop and a person, pushed him even farther to the edge. He couldn’t understand it, because he no longer could see it, the darkness creeping closer, threatening to drown him in despair.

“But I should've, I'm a cop,” he emphasized, moving closer to her. He brought his hand up, “I was standing this close to the guy. Ok, right across from him and I never saw him coming.”

The words caught in Tim’s mouth for a second, he couldn’t figure out why he needed to prove to Angela that he was to blame. Maybe it was for the fact that the real person to blame was nowhere to be found, and he himself made for a close and convenient punching bag. His eyes didn’t leave hers, and he could feel them pleading with her to give him something, anything, reassuring. She merely stared at him and let him continue his thoughts.

“But she did though, she-” he looked away, remembering Lucy’s face when she questioned his advice. She seemed confused by his suggestion of a drink over a nap, and he should’ve recognized that she was more excited for her bed than the company of another.

“Some part of her didn’t feel right about this whole thing,” his eyes found Angela’s once more. As he talked and recalled Lucy from the night before, things began sliding into place in his mind.

He shook his head slightly and said, “She hesitated.”

He wouldn’t be persuaded, he had made camp in his thoughts, knowing he was to shoulder the blame forever. Because Lucy knew, her instincts had told her something was off, he was the one who couldn’t sense anything. Tim had allowed a quick flash of jealousy to blind him to the actual threat of Caleb Wright.

“And I-” his voice held little emotion as he came to the realization that he could never be forgiven, “-I pushed her right at him.”

#the rookie #tim bradford #lucy chen #chenford #tucy #Jackson West #angela lopez #personal #my fic

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sgtbradfords · 4 years

Note

Could you write chenford, and the rest of the team, attending the annual police dinner/event please? Thank you!

You’re welcome Anon and thank you for the prompt! I hope you’re ready for the fluff fest ;)

Lucy Chen had just finished putting on the final touches of her makeup in the bathroom, the floor length red dress she had bought last paycheck was laid on the bed, her black pumps on the floor as she quickly ran around the room.

She was going to be late, he would be here to pick her up and she would not be ready.

“Lucy!” Jackson West voice carried through the crack in her door as he yelled from his bedroom. “Have you seen my bowtie?”

“Have you checked the shoebox on the top shelf in your closet?” She yelled back, putting her earrings in, moving for her necklace.

A few minutes later Jackson yelled back his thanks, a knock on the front door making her curse as she quickly slipped on the dress, pulling up the side zipper.

She could hear Jackson open the door, greeting the person on the other side.

“Chen let’s go!” another voice yelled. “We’re going to be late!”

She huffed, grabbing her heels, walking out the bedroom door. “When they made you Sergeant they didn’t mean drill sergeant Bradford.”

“Damn girl.” Complimented Jackson. “The picture you sent me did no justice and you’re right, your ass does look amazing.”

Tim cleared his throat. “You two ready?”

“Yes.” Lucy said as they headed for the door. “Wait, no.” she exclaimed frantically running back to her room, returning with a black clutch in her free hand.

The trio made their way to the elevator, the car not moving since Tim had gotten off of it five minutes ago. Lucy shoved the clutch into Tim’s hands before placing a hand on his shoulder to balance herself as she threw her heels on, one foot at a time. Tim looked over at her, arching an eyebrow as she placed both feet back on the floor shrugging. “Don’t lecture me about what may be on the floor. I was rushed.”

The car made it to the floor, the three getting off as they made their way to Tim’s truck.

“Any word on Angela?” asked Lucy as they got in, buckling.

“Wesley texted me on the drive over that she was about to break his hand.”

“Well, as soon as we know something, we are heading over, award be damned.” Muttered Lucy.

Tim rolled his eyes, “I’ll let you tell that to the police commissioner Chen.”

“Fine, we go up there, accept the award and leave.”

Jackson laughed. “Lucy, there’s politics involved, you two have to wine and dine.”

“But I don’t want to.” She whined.

“I’ll tell you what boot, we stay for two hours, we schmooze for Mid-Wilshire, accept the award and then we can go check on Lopez.”

“Hour and a half?”

“You did put a lot of effort into getting dressed for tonight Lucy.” Offered Jackson.

“You two are making it sound like a date.”

“If a date only lasts two hours, then someone is doing something wrong.” Tim pointed out. “It’s not a date.”

“Fine. They can have me for two hours, two and a half at max and that’s it.” She countered as Tim pulled up to a parking garage.

An hour later they were seated at the table assigned for their department, joined by Sergeant Grey and his wife, John Nolan and his date.

“And now, we would like to honor one of our former Training Officers and his Rookie. On August 28th of this year, Sergeant Tim Bradford and Officer Lucy Chen of the Mid-Wilshire division were patrolling in the area of Westchester when they spotted large amounts of smoke coming from a residence. Our two brave officers were able to get on scene, finding the elderly couple still inside. They were able to pull both of them from the burning house, administering lifesaving medicine to Mr. Hilt. Sergeant Bradford and Officer Chen went above and beyond the call of duty which is why on the behalf of the LAPD they are receiving the Distinguished Service award. If we could at this time, Sergeant Bradford, Officer Chen please come forward to receive this award.”

The crowd began clapping as Tim and Lucy stood, moving towards the stage. They approached, smiling and posing for pictures as the Commissioner presented their individual awards before public relations pulled them backstage for more pictures.

“I feel like I’ve been smiling for hours. Is my face permanently frozen?” Lucy asked, turning around as they headed back towards the table. “Because it feels like it is.”

Tim smiled as he rolled his eyes. “No Chen, your face is not permanently frozen.”

The Commissioner continued handing out awards before announcing for everyone to have a safe and pleasant night, a band playing music as the higher ups began making their way to the dance floor.

“Lucy,” Jackson said to her, standing as he held out his hand. “would you care for a dance?”

Lucy smiled as they walked to the dance floor. “I will apologize in advance for any bruised toes.”

They danced for a few songs before Lucy felt a tap on her shoulder. “May I?”

Jackson let go as he looked at Lucy, an eyebrow raised in question. “I’d love to.”

Lucy placed her left hand on her new dance partner’s shoulder, her right hand into his left.

“Have I told you how beautiful you look tonight, Officer Chen?” he whispered as they swayed.

She blushed. “You have not, but you don’t look half bad either Sergeant Bradford.”

“Only half bad?” he asked, smirking as Lucy lightly slapped his shoulder.

“You’re incorrigible.” She told him as she placed her forehead on his shoulder. “I am remembering why I don’t wear shoes with more than a two-inch heel.”

“Because it’s not a good weapon?”

“No. Though that is a good point. My feet are killing me.”

Tim was about to respond when his phone began buzzing in the pocket of his suit jacket, a joyous smile overtaking his face. “There’s only one person that could be.”

“Angela?”

“It’s baby time.” They walked back over, her hand still in his as he told the table, the table collecting their belongings in a hurry.

They arrived at the hospital twenty minutes later, the group heading for the maternity ward waiting room, finding it empty.

Wesley entered through the double doors thirty minutes later, grinning from ear to ear.

“7 pounds, 2 ounces, 23 and a half inches long.”

Congratulations were made as they each took turns hugging the new dad. “How are they?”

“Good, they just finished up the newborn tests and Angela is feeding her right now. She is insisting you guys get to see her first. Not to brag but she is the cutest baby you’ll ever see.” Wesley said as he took a seat across from the group, taking a moment to let the evening sink in.

Wesley asked about the gala, as they asked about their new family member. Ten minutes later his phone began ringing as he told them about who she looked like more. “That was Ang, they only let a few people back at once, but she has asked for Tim, Lucy and Jackson to come back first.” He grinned, leading the three back.

Wesley knocked as he entered, quietly walking into the room as the other three joined.

“Hey.” Angela said, a tired smile on her face as she looked up from the baby asleep in her arms.

“Congratulations Mama.” Lucy said as she moved closer to the bed.

“Thanks, I’ve already decided I will not be doing that again anytime soon, no matter how cute babies are.” Angela confessed as she ran a finger over the sleeping infants face, the newborn suckling on her lower lip.

“Do you have a name yet?”

“After everything we have been through with De La Cruz, we decided she needed a strong name, fitting for her. We agreed to wait and meet her before settling on a name but once we seen her, the name became fitting. So, we would like you to meet Morgan Amari Evers.” Explained Angela as she adjusted the baby so everyone could see.

“I have to say Wesley, she does have your nose.” Lucy pointed out from the side of the bed as Morgan opened her eyes. “Awwwe, hi baby.”

Angela cleared her throat. “We asked you guys in here for a reason, we’ve done a lot of thinking and we would like you three to be her god parents.”

The room fell silent as Jackson, Lucy and Tim stared down the new parents. “You’re closer than the family we’ve got, and should something ever happen we feel like she would be have the best care of in your capable hands.”

Angela worriedly looked at Wesley as Tim spoke first. “I would be honored.”

“Me too.” Lucy agreed.

Jackson nodded his head, “I’m in.”

“She’s going to kick ass and break hearts when she’s older Wesley, I hope you’re ready.”

They stayed for a few more minutes before leaving, not wanting to overstay, allowing Wade, John and Nyla their own turns to visit the family.

“Sterling’s downstairs Lucy, I’ll see you tomorrow?” Jackson told her, pocketing his phone as he headed towards the elevator, a nurse stepping off the opening car as he stepped on.

Lucy and Tim slowly followed behind, talking about the traits they seemed to have noticed baby Evers had inherited as they waited on the car.

“Did you ever want kids with Isabel?” asked Lucy.

“It was difficult with Isabel, one minute she would say she did and the next she was going undercover on a months long op. I would love to have one or two someday.” He confessed, sticking his hands in his pockets as he rocked back on his heels. “What about you?”

“Someday, with the right guy of course. My mother says she’s getting older and that I’m not getting any younger.” She told him rolling her eyes as they stepped on the car. “I would want to be in a good place first.”

Tim couldn’t help but imagine a younger version of Lucy running around, with big brown eyes and her long brown hair in pigtails as a boy with the same brown hair and blue eyes, barely a toddler himself pulled on the long hair. “Someday.” He whispered, a faint smile on his face and a twinkle in his eye at the thought of what the future could hold.

#the rookie fic #tim bradford x lucy chen #chenford fic #chenford fanfic #chenford

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heyheydidjaknow · 4 years

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Three cheers to publishing on time. Can I get a what what? Anyways, here’s the next chapter. The previous chapter is at the bottom of this chapter. Go figure.

Chapter 3

“Okay, I think I got it.” It is possible you are going stir crazy. You would not be surprised if you were, but you have more pressing matters that, ridiculously, involve the timeline of fucking Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2012. You had not just stood the headassery of season four and five, but conquered it, tamed it, if you will. You do not remember the last time you ate. “So the only way I’m going to survive this series is if I somehow, through some sort of spiritual bullshit, get to become at least somewhat adept at ninjitsu.” You sigh. “But the only reason he trained her is because of her psychic bullshit.”

You stumble towards the kitchen to eat for the first time in days. “Actually, you know what? Fuck that.” You open the refrigerator, salivating at the food. “I’m just gonna buy a fucking gun. Dodge bullets, bitch.” You pull out a large slab of meat, tossing it on the counter. “If they aren’t going to actually incapacitate people, I will.”

A sudden thought stops you in your tracks. “Wait, so, what timeline am I on?” You feel your heart drop. “Because if we’re doing the whole thing…” You shake your head. “You know what? Prepare for the best and accept—that’s backwards.”

You put the meat back. Something about the existential dread kills your appetite. You crawl back into bed, close your eyes. ‘How long have I been in here?’ The time had admittedly swirled in on itself, your brain completely fried from all the contemplating death. ‘At least long enough to be in the no-man’s-land where I’m not hungry.’

You freeze up at the sound of knocking on your window.

Your eyes slowly pan over to the covered glass. You rise to your feet.

You shake your head, trying to remember to think rationally. ‘This place is very high off the ground for a stalker.’ Despite yourself, you quickly go to the kitchen, grabbing the largest frying pan you can find and slowly approaching the window.

‘There isn’t even a proper ledge out there. You’re being paranoid.’ Slowly, you reach for the curtain, yanking it open.

You scream at the sight of the hanging figure, only realizing you recognized said figure after a couple seconds. Thoroughly embarrassed— ‘Yeah, I could never be a ninja.’—you slide the window open, face red. “What do you want, Raphael?”

He wears a shit eating grin. “What, scared?”

“Of a shadowy figure in my window? Yes.” You sit back down on the bed, voice cold. “You gonna just hang out there or what?”

He climbs inside. “Alright, so here’s the situation.” He sits on the windowsill; you feel the secondhand vertigo. “Donnie—first of all, where have you been?”

“Binging the most traumatic part of your lives so far on my phone so you and your brothers don’t get killed by swole Shredder.”

His face went pale. “Shredder?”

You blink, a factor you had admittedly completely forgotten becoming apparent. “You don’t know he intends to come to the city,” you remember. “That’s—”

“He what?”

You sigh. “He is the least of your concerns at this particular moment. What about Donatello?”

“No, back up.” His smile was completely gone. “When is he getting here?”

You shrug. “I dunno.”

“You don’t know?”

You put your hands up at his obvious rage. “Dude, it is honestly not that big of a deal right now. He doesn’t even get close to killing your dad until the end of season two.”

You are decidedly not helping matters. “He gets close to—”

“Are you gonna repeat everything I say or are you going to tell me what’s going on?”

“I’m gonna—what?” Raph is quite clearly not taking this news well.

You try to calm him down. “Take a deep breath, alright? It might not get to that point, but you have to tell me what’s going on first.”

He growls in frustration but follows your instructions. “Mikey found out that he can apparently talk to people online, and he found this site where he can talk to—”

“I’m gonna stop you right there.” You pick up your phone, typing away. “You can’t, under any circumstance, let him go talk to Bradford.”

“Well, I know it would be bad--”

“You misunderstand.” You get up, starting to grab your things. “Bradford is working for the Shredder.”

This seems to be news. “He’s what?”

“Working for Shredder.”

“But he’s—how?”

“You have bigger concerns than the how, currently.” You read the page you had pulled up again. “How long ago did he find this guy?”

“Yesterday, I think.”

“Then… hold on.” You read the summary of the episode in question more thoroughly. “Okay, so we aren’t totally fucked, but we gotta make sure he doesn’t see him again.”

“Wait, hold on.” He walks after you as you try to find your jacket. “Why? How could Shredder—”

“If he goes, he’s gonna talk to him about general shit, right?” You slip it on. “At some point, in return for learning his secret bullshit, he’s gonna want info on you and your dad.”

“Then the Shredder will know where we are!” The horror in his eyes is apparent.

“Exactly.” You pull on your shoes. “That, and you’ll have to confront foot soldiers, which isn’t good for anyone.”

“Wait, is Mikey gonna be alright?”

“I mean, he gets kidnapped, but—”

“We’re going. Right now.”

“Awesome.” You were already one foot out the door. “Close the window on your way out.”

You rush down to the first floor of the building, nodding acknowledgement to the door man as you look up and down the street. ‘He has a dojo or something, right?’ You try googling his dojo, only to find that, not only is it a chain, but that they are all incredibly spread out. ‘It’s at times like these,’ you contemplate, running towards the closest one, ‘that I wish I could drive.’

It takes you about 10 minutes of running to get to the place, only for it to be closed. You feel tempted to throw your phone.

‘Wait, when does it—hold on.’ You already hate timelines. You sit down on the curb, pulling your phone out again to find some clips. ‘So, Chris and Mikey meet up some time after patrol, order pizza, and then it’s sunrise.’ You look up at the slowly lightening sky. ‘Okay, so that means they’re currently ordering, right? Because it was clearly dark in that last scene.’ You put your head in your hand. ‘I mean, it is, right? Because those are just wall separator things, not windows, since the sky was very clearly green in that next scene.’ You get to your feet. ‘So I just need to find that billboard with that specific graffiti and main message and we’re good to go, right?’ You groan. ‘But there have to be a thousand billboards in fucking NYC.’

You stop, smiling slightly at the graffiti. ‘Is that not a purple dragon?’ You grin, going back to running. ‘I just need to get to Chinatown, right? Is that their territory?’ You swallow, turning a street corner. ‘I guess we’ll find out.’

The buildings tower around you as you wander the streets, the quiet desolation ringing in your ears with the force of a gong. The pounding of your feet against the pavement does little to stifle the silence. The gang in question may not be a challenge or concern for vigilantes, but to you? You are barely a flower now, bright and beautiful and oh so easy to crush. But you cannot and will not stand still for long. The walls of the alleys you run crush your sides and the darkness strangles you, but despite the beating of your heart begging you to stop, you cannot. How can you?

You can stop what comes next. That is what fuels you. Never mind the fact you must stumble to a halt to vomit into the nearest dumpster who knows how many times, the taste of acid staining your tongue. You can rewrite history.

But you cannot.

You walk around for approximately too long before correctly citing that this is, in fact, futile. You start to panic.

You turn back around. ‘He goes back to talk to his brothers, right?’ You feel your body start to shake. You keep your phone to your ear, pretending to talk to someone as you run around like a headless chicken so as to not get bothered, hopefully. ‘Then I still have a chance to catch him before he leaves, right? At least he won’t get kidnapped.’ You look around quickly, slipping into an alleyway and prying off a manhole cover, climbing into the sewer. You pull the cover back into place and start running along them, the smell nauseating in the darkness suffocating. ‘Please tell me I remember where this stupid lair is.’

You laugh in relief when you see the abandoned subway, sprinting down the tunnel. ‘I can catch him,’ you promise yourself. ‘I can catch him before—’

You slam into someone. They grab your wrist before you fall. “Yo, are you alright?”

“Mikey!” You feel your whole body relax, but the relief is quickly squashed. ‘Thank fuck.’ You grab his shoulders. “You can’t see Bradford again.”

“Wait, what?” He groaned. “Did Raph set you up to this?”

“What? No!” As the adrenaline and panic start to wear off, you feel your body begin to falter at the excessive strenuous physical activity, panic, no food or water for two days and sleep deprivation. You dig your fingernails into your palms to try to keep yourself grounded. “He just said that you were friends with him or something and I went looking for you!”

“Look,” he sighed, letting go of you and not noticing the obvious slur in your voice, “I get it, alright? Not all of us can have a super awesome friend like Chris—”

“He’s working for Shredder, dipshit.” You feel the ground spinning as your skull rips itself apart. “Coolness be gone, that bitchass Dogpound fucker.” You have no idea what you are saying. ‘Huh,’ you muse, struggling to stay on your feet. ‘Usually, it takes longer than this to shut down.’

“Shredder?” You cannot feel things, so you have no idea what his actual reaction is. “He’s here?”

“Yep.” And with that, you collapse.

Suffice it to say, when you wake up, you feel like absolute shit, with a pounding headache, extreme fatigue, and an obvious desire to not move from the bed in which you lay.

Thinking hurts. You decide against it for the time being.

You hear typing, soft muttering, the scratching of pencil against paper. You do not want to open your eyes; whatever you are laying under is warm. You try flexing your fingers. You can, but it is barely worthy of being called a twitch. You feel sick and gross and sticky and like you are eating yourself from the inside out, but you are also very aware that moving will not help matters. Besides, what small part of you is not covered is absolutely freezing.

You let out a soft groan from a particularly egregious pound from your head. You hear the typing stop.

“Y/N?” Donatello’s voice is incredibly soft. “Are you alright?”

You do not answer. Your throat feels like it is filled with sand.

“Oh, right.” You feel the mattress shift under you. “You—right.” He clears his throat. “You, uh, probably want to know what happened, right?”

You find yourself in between sleep and consciousness. You do not exactly understand what he’s saying, but his voice is pleasant to listen to.

“Mikey carried you back,” he explains. “He said you started talking about Chris Bradford working for The Shredder and collapsed.” A pause. “Leo thought it would be a good idea to go take him down since he already spilled the beans.”

‘You aren’t helping.’ “Everyone got out alright.” He is writing something. “We don’t know how much Shredder knows or how he found us; Master Splinters said that the war has just begun or something to that effect.” He pauses again. His voice is almost hesitant now. “If you spoke, I’d ask how…how this ends, who wins the day.” He chuckles dryly. “Now that I say it out loud, I guess it’s pretty clear that you wouldn’t tell me, would you? Rightfully so, I guess; I don’t know exactly how that sort of information might change things. Still,” he sighs, “it is so… so frustrating, having information just out of reach, especially for someone like me. But you—… you probably know that too, don’t you?”

It is not as if you can refute what he says.

He clears his throat. “A-anyways,” he rambled, voice tight with awkwardness, “sorry for ranting. This would be totally embarrassing if you weren’t so clearly incapable of coherent thought.” You hear the shuffling of paper. “As far as your health is concerned,” he continues, “without being able to take a blood test for obvious reasons, I can only conclude based on a totally-not-creepy physical exam that you’re just incredibly malnourished and exhausted. I don’t really have anything to actually prescribe you, but ya know… eat. Drink, too; just perform basic bodily functions.”

He looks down at you from his seat at the foot of his bed, your eyes having fluttered shut again. “I…” he took a breath, starting again. “Remember what you said the other day? About me being able to kill you with my bare hands?” He looks back over at the line of code he is working on, ignoring the minute shaking in his hands. “I remember… do I kill someone?” He swallows, eyes focusing on the letters in front of him. “I can’t really imagine it, why I’d want to.” He covers his face with his hands. “I know I’m a ninja, but it’s just—” He feels his voice start to rise. His eyes focus on your sleeping face; he calms back down for your sake. His words are slow and deliberate. “I always thought that we were doing all this for a fight we’d never have, that we would never have to do something like that, because… well, I don’t remember why, but I just—…” His voice dies in his throat.

‘Staring at her like this is creepy.’ He stands up, gathering his things. ‘You can’t get yourself worked up over something like this. You just met her, and your hesitance is not anyone’s problem but yourself.’ “Just…” Despite himself, he mumbles out a soft plea. “Please, don’t let me do something stupid.” He does not know who he’s talking to

He slips out of the room.

You would not remember this happened.

He would.

Table Of Contents

Chapter 2

Chapter 4

#donnie x reader #donatello x reader #donatello #2012 donnie #teenage mutant ninja turtles 2012 #tmnt donnie #tmnt 2012 #tmnt 2k12 #tmnt fanfiction #tmnt donatello #x reader #nyc #apartment #sewer #Chinatown #meat #rapheal #Mikey

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chenfordfeels · 4 years

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The Rookie 2x11 Part 2

This episode restored my belief that chenford is meant to be!

Let's look at the facts:

-Tim was the only one who had information about Caleb, he knew his full name and got a glimpse of his social media profile, and he knew those things because he butted in/because he cared.

-The moment he had confirmation that Lucy was abducted he called Angela, the only person he can lean on in times of distress. He told her that he needed her and I think that Tim not only needed her as a cop but also as emotional support.

-When he admitted that he felt guilty for what happened to Lucy, he was close to tears. The way his voice broke and the devastation in his eyes are clear indicators that Lucy means something to him. Maybe, he felt responsible to protect her as her T.O. or as her friend or deep down inside him as something more.

-Our dear boy was freaking out throughout the whole episode. He threatened the smuggler in a very intimidating you'll-never-walk-again-if-you-don't-give-me-what-I-want way and then went from being devastated, having lost all hope of saving Lucy, when they didn't find Caleb, to jumping right back on it the second Jackson found the receipts.

-He was worried but as long as he had leads there was no way he was giving up.

-Also he kept calling her Lucy. He said her name to Angela and then demanded from Jerry to tell him where Lucy was.

Before we talk about the saving and hospital scenes I need to take a moment to talk about Lucy. I spent the majority of the episode paying attention to Tim and his reactions but I have to give credit to her.

-She tried to escape and landed two punches against Caleb, one after he had pepper sprayed her.

-Even in her last moments she tried to fight to stay alive.

-Throwing the ring was such a smart move.

-She was right after all Caleb did die before her and very painfully.

-Melissa's signing and her whole acting while in the barrel was phenomenal. From breaking off the zip ties, to trying to break free, to losing hope and trying to remain calm, to signing as a way to soothe her suffering and lull herself to sleep. I felt every emotion and it was powerful.

I literally screamed when he saw the ring. He literally dug her out with his bare hands, pulled her out and brought her to life. He clutched her so tight against him while she was crying (Melissa said in their live that his badge actually bruised her eye from how hard he was holding her), let her sob in his chest while he was stroking her hair and whispering that everything would be alright.

The hospital scene was pure chenford gold!

-Tim was the first person Lucy saw when she woke up.

-She asked him if he had stayed all night, he seemed unprepared for the question and quickly denied it (but not quickly enough). Of course, Lucy didn't believe him.

-Can I point out that it wasn't her parents waiting by her bedside neither was John, her ex boyfriend, nor Jackson her close friend, roommate and fellow rookie but it was Tim Bradford her hardass T.O. who apparently has a soft spot for her.

-Tim was all soft smiles and heart eyes and he looked so vulnerable while they were talking as if he didn't believe Lucy was actually safe, that he had found her.

-He was clutching his hands together the whole time and no one can tell me it wasn't because otherwise he would have intertwined them with hers.

-The Rachel being there and coming back kind of killed me but considering that she left for work I am choosing to believe that she didn't spend the whole night at the hospital. Maybe she visited in the morning before going to work. After all hospitals don't let a bunch of people just stay in the patients' rooms and there was no place for her to sleep or even sit.

-The boys all agreeing that Lucy should never date again was a nice mood lifter and it was cute to see all three men in her life agreeing on something and acting overprotective.

-He knew her craving. He knew what she would want when she woke up. He knew her order by heart! (Yes, having the burger stored in the room was a bit weird and it raises questions but I will choose to stay on the positivity of the gesture).

-That little smile and shake of his head when he said that he knows her too well had me grinning like an idiot. I think that was the moment Tim realized that Lucy wasn't just another rookie he was training.

I loved, loved, loved this episode. It takes everything I have not to neat pick every single scene and write a thesis about the relationship between Lucy and Tim. Everything about them was amazing, their scenes were so powerful and we got to see such range of emotion from both of them, props to Melissa and Eric for their performances.

After this episode are you sold on chenford or are there still doubts? Also tell me your thoughts about Rachel being at the hospital and how the infamous veggie burger with fries and extra pickles came to be!

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isisparker · 5 years

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Fireworks

[The Rookie - Tim Bradford/Lucy Chen - Chenford fanfic]

word count: 1.6k a/n: what was supposed to be a Tim POV companion piece to my other chenford fic (which by the way I am so overwhelmed and honored by the response! thank you so much!), this turned into a different story altogether.

Tim Bradford saw love like fireworks. For most of his life that’s all he knew and believed it could be. He was built to endure and survive that type of love.

It first started, as most loves we all learn early on, within the home he grew up in. His father was a difficult man that doled out fists instead of hugs, condescension instead of compliments, and rage instead of compassion. Tim’s father loved him like a Chrysanthemum: explosive, better experienced from a distance, and leaving a trail of visible sparks (or in this case, scars both physical and emotional). Ask Tim about his mother and, truthfully, it felt akin to loving those tiny Hummer fireworks. As a child those were glorious as they spun and whizzed ever so quickly by. But as an adult, you realize how fleeting they were. Just temporary bursts of brightness.

When Tim started his career (and born his love for) the military and, eventually, the L.A.P.D., he fell into each respective lifestyle as hard and fast as a maroon rocket sailing into the Fourth of July sky. He quickly thrived in both environments. And both experiences resonating loudly enough to help define who he is now (beyond his strength, his loyalty, and overall being).

Then there was Isabel. His first real love. A fellow cadet in the Academy. His friend. His lover. The woman he married, once upon a time. Beautiful and bright Isabel. His Dahlia firework; a few years together spent that were no less supremely felt, despite a marriage contained in a suffocating shell, to become a love affair that eventually burned out. However their love dissipated, Tim doesn’t regret loving his Dahlia. Though loving her was fiery and dazzling, and despite how much the embers of that devotion left a scorch mark on his heart, Isabel taught Tim that sometimes the best way to love a firework was to walk away and allow it to burst and flourish on its own.

“What about Rachel?” Lucy Chen asked quietly. Her gaze was out towards the horizon where the light show at the Santa Monica Pier was anticipated to begin, yet her body leaned towards his own as it awaited for him to continue. The night wind danced faintly around them. A strand of her hair beckoned to be touched, causing Tim to pause as he fastened his hands deeper into his jean pockets.

Rachel. Tim hummed, contemplating a proper analogy to his feelings about his ex-girlfriend. It had been a few weeks after their amicable break-up. She had a job opportunity in another state that she couldn’t pass up. He couldn’t fault her for taking it up, just as she couldn’t fault him for not loving her enough to consider a long distance relationship.

Kind, smart, compassionate Rachel. A woman that, despite falling into because of a damn bet, became a force of light he didn’t realize he needed after Isabel. Her impact was immensely felt, but a piece of him knew that it would be short-lived. Tim smiled wistfully, “A beautiful waterfall.” He looked down at Lucy, a little mirthful as he explained, “Technically it’s a horsetail firework, but the effects are similar to a waterfall; long-burn explosion but only lasting a short distance before it broke free from its shell to fall back to earth.” He glanced back up, not wanting to see the pitying look in his Boot’s eyes.

Though he supposed that soon she’d no longer be his Boot. Colleague? Definitely. Partners? If he had any say but knew it’d be a hard sell to Grey. Friend? If Chen had any input on how she wanted to define themselves (and she does but he wasn’t about to give in so easily else she thinks he was a pushover for her, which sadly he might be if there’s any indication as to how she roped him into spending his free Saturday night watching fireworks).

When he looked back down at her, he was mildly surprised to see her looking at him not with pity but thoughtfulness. It was a good look on her, but he’s bore witness to it a few times on the job that it usually made him weary. “What, Chen?”

She stared at him a little longer than he admittedly was comfortable with. Almost as if warring with the words in her thoughts and the consequences once she’s allowed them out. Tim wasn’t about to squirm under her gaze anytime soon, but he wasn’t looking forward to hearing whatever psychoanalysis she was brewing inside that pretty head of hers.

Falling into a standard defense pose, he rolled his eyes and smirked at her, “Don’t make me regret opening up to you, Chen.”

Following with her own smirk, Lucy quipped, “I just asked you why you liked fireworks. Not give me a crash course of the Bradford Love Language.” She hummed, gave a short nod, then added, “At least now I know what to look for in finding the next, great love of your life.”

Tim chuckled at that before he shook his head. “Nope. Not happening, Chen.”

“Aw,” she pouted, “Why not?” Lucy grinned, “Did I not do an amazing job with Rachel?”

He conceded that she did. He even vocalized it as such. However, “I don’t need help falling in love, Chen.” Tim crossed his arms in a near defensive stance despite the teasing lilt in his voice.

“Well I know that it’ll be awhile before you date again!” Lucy nudged him with her body. He returned the nudge, causing her to giggle and call him a dork. “I’m just saying that now I know what kind of love you’re looking for!”

He raised his brow at her, amused that she believes to know him so well. Tim reached over to tuck a bit of her hair, a strand that continued to dance along the breeze, while she busily counted on her fingers that “You’re looking for a bold, passionate, all-consuming, explosive type of love!” Tim regarded her during her diatribe, bemused by the fact that despite her insistence on going without a jacket, her short sleeve blouse did little to hide the goosebumps caused by the California night air. Grateful that he had the foresight to wear a long sleeve henley, Tim barely paid mind to her words while removing his own jacket and placing it over her shoulder. “Oh, thanks,” she said, slipping her arms in its sleeves before continuing, “A love that will blindside you with how beautiful it is and knocking you on your ass!” A satisfied laugh escaped her lips as she asked, “Am I right?”

“Blindside, huh?” he mused. “Like how I blindsided you on our first patrol together?”

Lucy rolled her eyes despite returning Tim’s own teasing smirk. “Ha. Ha. Cute, Bradford.”

Tim nodded, “That I am,” he joked, earning another eye roll and a groan from her.

“Ugh,” she groused, “forget it!” Lucy glanced at her watch, “The show’s about to start soon.”

He quietly laughed at her exasperation towards him. Especially knowing that it won’t last long as she soon began bouncing on the balls of her feet like an eager child. Tim edged himself closer to her, serving as both barrier and protector from the crowd gathering to partake in that night’s activities. He knew that she didn’t need him to shield her from others, but it eased his own mind to know that he had her back should anything happen.

They stood together in companionable silence, the anticipation of the audience around them humming a prologue before the show itself. Tim took another chance to observe Lucy, unable to hide the smile on his face as he watched her excitement for the fireworks build.

She was twisting her pale oval-shaped ring on her finger, a twitch she had even before the events of He Who Shall Rot In Hell, as he likes to think of the asshole that nearly killed Lucy months back. He watched her toy with her ring a bit more before he fostered a heavy enough sigh to gain her attention. Just as Lucy was to question him, Tim reached out to grab her hand within his own.

He saw her tilt her head but he didn’t say a word. Tim half expected her to speak her mind (it was, after all, one of her more frustratingly endearing traits), but was relatively surprised when Lucy remained quiet…

“Not all love is like fireworks,” Lucy said finally, low enough for just the two of them. He could feel her barely concealed nerves as she spoke, which caused him to gently squeeze her hand in a comforting gesture.

“I know,” he replied, finding himself exhaling a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. And he did know. Sometimes love wasn’t loud fights, but concerned confrontation of hard truths to be said. Sometimes love wasn’t passionate courtship that struggled to breathe, but quiet trust and friendship being built through heartache and trauma. Sometimes love wasn’t meant to blaze the night sky, but to be that warm escape to someone’s dark abyss. Sometimes love isn’t a flower made of sulfur and magnesium, but one that blooms quietly until they’re ready to be embraced by tender hands.

Tim had known the heat, the boom, the wondrous feel of love like fireworks. He was built to endure and survive that type of love. But one that comes as softly as the night breeze caressing the face of the woman, his colleague, his friend, right next to him? Oh he would be lying if he said that he wasn’t scared of being brought to his knees by it.

~fin~

Sometimes love isn’t fireworks. Sometimes love just comes softly.

#the rookie #chenford #tucy #lucy x tim #chen x bradford #otp: you know me so well #my fanfic #i continue to hope that i do these two justice #writing from tim's pov ish was so much harder than lucy's!#but i wanted to write a story from tim's pining i mean...

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etherealvoidechoes · 3 years

Text

Ne Cede Malis - A Twist of Fate

An idea that struck me during a dream. Just a quick AU and playing with some ideas. Also mild stress relief writing. It’s not going to become a series. Can’t really say much without spoiling what it’s about.

Think I only need to warn for is mild language. And about 9.5K. One of these days I’ll keep myself from writing an overly long one and done fic.

-----

“Ho—how much longer… until we reach the outpost, Bradford?” Manson asked in-between gasps of air and grunts.

“Not much longer. Should see it when we reach the top of this hill.” Bradford replied.

“And then how far from there?” He sounded so exhausted.

“Oh, ease up.” Laney rolled her eyes. “Fresh ain’t killing you.”

“The humidity is.”

“Should install a fan into your Gremlin then. Just try to not get thrown out of Shen’s workshop.” She playfully teased, only to get a few curses slung at her. Yuri let out a boisterous laugh.

“You’re just asking for him to get thrown out of Shen’s workshop. Again.” Jody snickered.

“I didn’t know that was her workshop.” Manson said through gritted teeth.

“Go easy on the new guy.” Joshua shook his head. He grabbed Manson’s pack off his back and slung it onto his. Manson gave a quick thank you.

As they crested the hill, there it was. The outpost off in the distance, just a few miles away. A white, grim covered building with several vines growing over it. The sun's rays glistened off one of those gaudy, golden statues of the Elders. A surprising sight. Those things were usually defaced or torn down when abandoned.

“I need… to catch my… breath.” Manson sat down as soon as they reached the top of the hill. He wiped the sweat from his brow before taking a swing of water from his canteen.

“Make it short.” Bradford glanced back at him and then to his watch. They still had a good amount of time before evening would hit. He wanted them to at least get halfway back to the Avenger before nightfall to set up camp.

“You’ve gotta toughen up, man.” Laney was still playfully picking on him. She found a log to step on to do some stretches to loosen up her legs. “Can’t have you on missions if you’re getting this tuckered out.

Manson furrowed his brows at her. “Not used to the humidity.” He was more used to drier climates. “Still getting used to carrying so much gear. I’m more of an engineer than a soldier.”

He flinched several times as Yuri patted his back.

A few minutes passed by as they all caught a break.

“Let’s get going.” Bradford was ready to go. He was already moving.

In about half an hour or so, they arrived at their destination. The outpost. It was quiet. Dead quiet. Just the sounds of birds chirping and leaves rustling.

“Hm.”

“I have burned my tomorrows and my shadows.” And said the code phrase.

A few minutes passed… and no response.

“Hm.” He glanced over at Joshua and then Yuri.

“Lights out and the place looks empty on this side.” Joshua said.

“This side is dark too.” Yuri said.

“Backs empty.” Jody said, coming back from checking the rear.

“Hm…” He didn’t like that. He then looked back at their Specialists. Laney’s Gremlin had returned to her side.

“Reading no life signs but us.” Manson said. He was letting his Gremlin do more extensive scans. “Just cold on the inside. We’re the only hot spots.”

“Same here.”

“Hm.” Odd.

Once fully opened… there was still no response. The place was empty, but it was set up like any other black market they had gone to. Several display cases containing various weapons, equipment, and resources. Dried meats handing off to one side. There were probably more items to be purchased in the side rooms.

“Hm.” He didn’t like this. “Stay alert.” Cautiously, he entered. The others followed. He took in several whiffs and sneezed. Dusty. “Sea… salt?” But he was picking up a faint smell that was like the ocean in the room. Strange. Didn’t look like there were any candles burning.

“Picking that up too?” Yuri asked, nose wrinkling. Bradford nodded. “The air feels off.”

“Think it’s psionic activity?” Yuri was oddly sensitive to that. The doctors had done some tests. Said he had potential, but currently they didn’t have the tech to trigger that fully for him.

“Maybe.” He shrugged. “Could be coming from an artifact lying around. Still, we should be careful.”

He nodded. “Agreed. Careful everyone.”

“Don’t touch anything.” He noticed Joshua about to touch one case by the left wall. The man quickly apologized and backed away. Bradford didn’t take another step further into the room. Something still didn’t feel right. “The dealer could have some nasty security set up.”

“Way ahead of you. Daedalus, do your thing.” Manson has his Gremlin carefully scanning the room to pick up any traps. That blue grid touched every inch of the room. “Clear. Next room, pal.”

“Hey! WHAT TH—AAH— MM! MM!”

“Who was that?” He asked loudly. The muffled yells of one of his squadmates caught his attention. His finger hovered over the trigger to his shotgun. “Sound off! Everyone!”

“I heard that! Still here!” Yuri said.

“Nothing odd on the scanners!” Manson said.

“Investigating!” Jody said.

“Joining her!” Joshua added.

No response from Laney. She was missing.

“Be careful.” Bradford was weary. Looked like it was a setup.

As Jody and Joshua entered the room they last saw Laney head, no one was there. Minus her Gremlin that was frantically flying around a hole in the ceiling. Dust and debris fell from it and a broken light fixture swayed back and forth.

“Laney’s gone, but her Gremlin’s still here.” Joshua said, turning on his comms. He cautiously moved over to that hole, turning on his flashlight at the end of his shotgun to see what was up there.

And then something fell from that opening and made several metallic tinks on the ground.

“SHIT!” Jody’s eyes went wide.

A second later, there was a scuffle, several yells, and gunfire.

Before he could move to join them, he noticed a black and white blur swinging down from the ceiling. And then something solid hitting his chest.

“AGH!” The wind was knocked out of him as he hit the ground with a solid thud. His shotgun clattered from his hands.

The world spun as he quickly tried to get his bearings. There was something else in that kick. It hit like a truck and was fogging his mind. Reminding him of a Sectoids psionics. As his vision cleared, he saw what kicked him dropping from the ceiling and heading over to him.

Shit. ADVENT.

He felt his head spin and a headache grow. He noticed a blue glow growing around them and streams of energy traveling from him and up their arm.

Fuck, they’re a psionic! He recognized the unpleasant feeling, but this was different. He felt like he was growing weak. As if his life was being drained from him with each passing second. Hell, he felt like his skin was wrinkling, drying out as the seconds passed.

Need to get them off! Need to cut this connection! Desperately, he tried pulling their hand from his face, but they had one hell of a death grip. He frantically reached for his knife, but they were blocking it. He could feel himself growing weaker by the second. This was not how he wanted to go out.

“Hm…” They muttered as they brought their face closer to his, cocking it to the side.

“>BOSS! STOP!<“ He heard the flanging voice of one Hybrid somewhere in the back. He wondered if they were gloating over taking them out. “>These people are XCOM!<“

He recognized at least one word in there. XCOM. Still needed to learn the language the Elders forced onto humanity, but it was looking like he wouldn’t get that chance. But the draining… the draining suddenly stopped.

“>XCOM?<” The one on top of him asked, turning their head.

“>Yes! XCOM!<“

“XCOM.” This time they uttered in English. That surprised Bradford. And they sounded female.

She carefully shifted to the side, making sure she still had him pinned as she checked his shoulder. That familiar blue, polygonal patch was there. “Hm…” She brought her hand back to his face. He winced when he felt a connection again, but this time, it felt like probing. A quick search through his mind. A gasp left her mouth.

“Dammit.” She cursed under her breath. “>EVERYONE! STAND DOWN! THEY’RE FRIENDLIES!<“ She switched back to the alien tongue.

What the hell is going on? Bradford wasn’t sure why this Hybrid had stopped draining him and stopped to check his shoulder. He still struggled, but barely had the strength to lift his hand. Here we go. He noticed her bringing her hand back to his face. He closed his eyes expecting the worse, but… but he felt his strength returning. A sharp gasp escaped from his lips. His life was coming back.

A minute or two passed before she took her hand off his face and got up. And he felt like himself again, minus the soreness to his chest and back.

“You stumbled into our trap. We thought you were some of the local raiders that have been plaguing the locals.” She extended a hand to him.

“What the hell?” He quietly muttered to himself.

He eyed her, especially that hand, finally having a chance to study her. She was about a head taller than him, for starters. Never had seen a Hybrid so tall. She wore ADVENT armor; repurposed and repainted black and white. And that helmet was different. At a quick glance, it looked like a Stun Lancers helmet, but it was very different. It didn’t have that red ‘glass-like’ visor, instead an onyx curved piece took its place. Then he noticed this Hybrid had hair. White and brown hair. Hybrids didn’t have hair. This one had to be special as they also had psionics. Blue psionics. What were the Elders up to?

He finally noticed the symbol on the right side of her chest. Those wings and a star. Skirmishers. Ambushed by Skirmishers. What were the chances? Better than ADVENT.

“You guys set up one hell of an ambush.” He said gruffly. Just how troublesome were the local raiders for them to set this up? He finally took her hand and got up.

“>Sorry, boss,<” One Skirmisher in black armor came over to them, “>I missed their patches. I should have waited to give the signal.<”

“>It’s okay.<” She raised her hand to silence them. “>We already planned on taking any who entered alive for questioning. Thankfully, none were killed.<”

With that conversation over, she looked at each XCOM member. They were all pretty banged up. Cuts, bruises, and dislocated joints. At least none are dead. She then looked at Bradford.

“We accept.”

————————————

“What’s your clan?” Bradford asked.

“I know a few in this region that Betos has informed me of, but not seeing anything on you guys’ armor that says who you are.”

“We don’t exactly have a ‘clan’.” Bastion answered. He had come to know her as ‘boss’ or Bastion. She still had her helmet on as the others had removed theirs as a sign of friendship. Must have been secretive. “We’re more nomadic.”

“Huh.” That was interesting and odd. Even the more nomadic clans had a name.

“Attis. Turel. Get them to the medics.” Bastion instructed. “And Hol’tul and Ermes get the intel from Varkner and his crew. And get some food and sleeping quarters prepped for our guests, just in case. ”

“Yes, boss.” They nodded and went about their duties. Attis and Turel were already barking out orders to the others to alert the medics as they lead Bradford’s crew away.

“You,” she pointed at Bradford, “follow me.” She started heading over to one cabin of to the right.

He raised a brow, but shrugged. Probably had something to tell him. His ears only. He followed.

————————————

After they entered the cabin, Bastion locked the door. Didn’t need their conversation being disturbed.

“Hm.”

Just as she pulled off her last bit of armor, she felt woozy. Body wobbling for a moment before her legs gave out. She barely caught herself with the table, hands slamming down to stabilize herself.

“Dammit.” She grumbled under her breath.

Bradford raised a brow. He dashed over to her and helped her back up. “You alright?”

“It’s… complicated.” She grunted. She was out of of breath. “Thanks.”

“You need a medic?” He noticed she still looked pale. She shook her head.

“Okay…” Bradford wasn’t sure what he had just witnessed. More weird alien stuff. This Hybrid is special. “Just who are you? What type of Hybrid are you?”

“Hm…” She grimaced, turning away from him. Looked to be a sensitive subject.

“Look, I don’t mean to—“

“What?” That made no sense to him. He’d never met her or her group before. Nor did her name ring a bell from some operatives Betos had shared with them. And it was a long list.

He watched her remove her helmet. Curious to see what she looked like underneath. A Hybrid having hair was still a surprise to him. As she removed the helmet, he noticed a few oddities. She had ears. Hybrids didn’t have ears. Then there were no ports from what he could see or those surgical scar lines from them. And there should have been ports, as those ADVENT helmets connected into them.

She set her helmet down on the table, took in a deep breath, and let out a sigh. Almost like she was hesitant to turn her face fully to him. But she finally turned.

“Long time no see, John.” There was a warmness to her voice as she said that. “Can’t believe you’re alive.”

John? He never told her his first name. “How the hell–“ But as she turned, he paused. Those features, she looked more human than the average Hybrid, but some genetic modification was evident. Eyes spaced further apart, a flared nose, and an odd gauntness to her face. Reminded him of one of the Chosen, but with a more human looking skin tone. But there was something about those features that looked to familiar too him. The freckles… Why was her voice familiar to him?

“What the… no…” The gears in his mind were turning. He gasped. He knew her. “Commander Reeves? Jynn?”

“In the flesh.”

“You can’t be…” No. That was impossible. Had to be. No way she could be the Commander they were searching for. No way this person was his missing best friend. In those dreams…. No. Nightmares. In those nightmares, he saw what she looked like. She was in terrible shape, a walking corpse. And here she was, not in that terrible state, but still equally concerning. “You can’t be her.” He shook his head. But he was moving closer to her.

“I am Jynn Gresham Reeves, Central Officer John Bradford.” There was a slight annoyance in her voice as she looked at him with hooded eyes. Saying his title and full name seemed to make him snap too. It was her. But a sigh slipped from her lips. She could understand his disbelief. “Though… changed.”

She let out another sigh and shook her head. “John.” She placed her hand on his shoulder, but he pulled away.

It was a minute or two before he turned to face her again. His eyes were bloodshot. Tears stained his cheeks.

“What the hell did They do to you?”

She sighed. Them. She crossed her arms and looked away.

“So that theory is true…” Bradford was always a bit hesitant about that theory, but all the data they had been gathering and just how ADVENT worked leaned towards it being true. And he hated the idea of it being true, even if it meant she was still alive.

“Won’t be surprised if they have a clone of me running the system or some brain scan backup, but I see there’s some breakdown that’s been happening since I escaped. Maker said that probably wouldn’t work due to several reasons.” She darkly chuckled. She could see the Elders frantically working to make the perfect replica of her, but falling terribly. But she soon sighed.

“Raal’Maker… I have him to thank that I’m even alive. A rather benevolent Elder.” She still couldn’t believe there was a benevolent one in that Collective and supposedly his mentor had the same mindset as him. Perhaps there were more levelheaded ones under his mentor. “He tried fixing the damage several times before they ripped me away from him again. Really, my health is still terrible.”

“Benevolent?” Bradford wanted to scoff. None of those things were benevolent with what they did to the Earth.

“Trust me, he’s a good one out of Their mad Collective. Pretty much the only one who was truly concerned about my damn health.”

Health… “What about your health?” He almost didn’t want to ask. But he noticed there was still a strain lingering in her voice, even after whatever she did with that crystal.

“I can’t put this lightly….” She looked away from him. “I’m dying, John.”

“What?” Did he hear that correctly? She repeated herself, which only left his mouth hanging. “What…? How? Why?”

“What the Elders have done to me…” She touched her face, pushing at her sharp cheekbones and the strange platting-like growths that lined them. “They’re careless. Tried turning me into a Chosen when I was still broken, even after Maker’s warnings.”

“What.” To imagine her as one of those abominations was impossible. But that’s why she looked the way she did. She had some of those familiar features akin to those deathless pests.

“A funny thing, almost a twisted irony of sorts. I’m more like Them. Parasites feeding on ‘lesser’ creatures to survive.” She shook her head and laughed. “Maker was right. Something like this would happen.” She looked back at him. A pang of guilt entered her heart. She fed on him. Could have gone too far and nearly killed him. “Sorry about draining you earlier. I try to incapacitate the head of the group first and was just a bit hungry.”

Bradford was about to say something, but quickly snapped it shut. He didn’t know what to say. He was still trying to process everything.

Jynn raised her hand and let her psionics flow freely from her hand. It took on the shape of a thin, four armed humanoid creature. Looked kind of like the Elders.

He looked at the figure she made one last time before she let it disappear. Looked exactly like the one that would be behind her in his dreams…. No. Nightmares. He rubbed his face before dropping the hand to his chin. So much more to process. Nothing made sense. He didn’t recall them having an alien on their side back in the day. But then, again some of his memories were shot. He had trauma and alcohol to thank for that. And then so much was going on back then.

“I take it…” He paused, trying to find his words. “I take it you’re looking for this thing?”

She nodded. “Been at it for a few years now. Why my group moves around a lot.”

He let out an exasperated sigh as he moved over to an open spot on the table and leaned onto it. This can’t be happening. But it was. Somehow, all of this was happening.

“So, what have you been up to?” Jynn switched topics, hoping that would help his mood. She didn’t want to dwell on the subject for any longer. Hated thinking about her poor state of health. “I see XCOM’s still alive in some capacity.”

“We’ve been fighting back.” He nodded. “And we’ve been looking for you.”

“Looking for me?” Her ears perked up.

“Huh. Really?” She was surprised to hear that. Even more surprised when he said yes. She was touched. He still believed she was alive in this mad world. But the dreams comment was… strange. “How many thought you were crazy? Wasting resources looking for a ghost from the past?” She knew there had to a good amount of doubters irritated with him, and whoever else, being insistent that she was alive.

“A good handful.” He chuckled, shaking his head.

But something still bothered him. ”Sounds like you’ve been free from the Elders’ grasp for a few years.” And if she was, and was with the Skirmishers, she had to know XCOM had come back for quite some time. “I have to ask,” he looked at her, “why did you never contact us?”

Her eyes flashed with anger. “Do you see what I look like?” She snarled, eyes glowing for a second. She gasped, catching her outburst and seeing him quickly move away. “Sorry… sorry…” She backed away for his safety. “There was no way… I’d have no idea who survived our downfall that would remember more and even be accepting of the new me.”

“Right…” That made sense. Hell, his reaction could have been so much worse when she revealed her identity. How would the others back on the ship react? There were several in the group that were extremely anti-alien. Made working with the Skirmishers tense at times. He was somewhere in the middle. But there were certain aliens he hated more than the others.

“Now, you said something about dreams?” She asked. She wanted to make sure she heard that right. “Or did you say visions?”

“Both. From what the Templars told me.” He said, looking away as he thought about them. He hated them. “Really, they were damn nightmares.”

“Explain.” She was curious.

He did his best to explain the nightmares. They were sporadic. Never really having a set pattern when they would occur and he hated that. But when they would occur, they were horrible. He would see her, just like she was before the base was invaded. But over a short period, her appearance would degrade with a flash. Several times. It was gut wrenching watching her degrade into what he could best describe as a walking corpse, barely hanging onto life. And the worst part for him was he could never reach her. There was always a distance between them. An invisible force keeping them from ever meeting.

Her mouth was agape as she listened. Sounded like he saw her through her stages of experimentation. She partially remembered some of them. Barely lucid and screaming her head off as she fought to escape her fate. Just the details he gave… did they have a psionic connection?

“Why… why were they like that?” She didn’t want to bring up the psionic connection as a suggestion just yet.

“I really don’t know…” He shook his head. Then he remembered something. “A Templar told me it may be a psionic connection of sorts. A ‘psionic bond’.” He still didn’t believe that. He didn’t want to. Just the very thought they were visions and what he saw was happening to her always bothered him. “I don’t remember you being a psionic back in the day.”

“Psionic connection…” She muttered under her breath. That just made her curious. Did she do that back then without thinking? “Well, my psionic potential was latent back then.” Something she learned when she was in the Elders’ clutches. Though she faintly remembered Vahlen wanting to run some tests after a routine health check showed something, but she was far too busy to entertain her. A part of her wanted to bring up the possibility of the bond, but decided against it.

“Huh.” He wondered what Vahlen would have done if she learned about that. Probably would have somehow convinced her to enter one of those sarcophagi for testing, despite everything going on. He chuckled to himself, cracking a smile. But it disappeared as he looked at her face. Just so much was wrong.

He looked away, retreating back to his thoughts. This was her. It really was her. His mind didn’t want to reconcile such a fact. This has to be a dream. A bad dream. Part of him wanted it to be that, but he knew the truth. Felt the truth. His body was still sore after the ambush and he could still feel the lingering tingle from those psionics. This is really her.

He turned back to her, this time moving towards her. He looked at her from head to toe. Studying her. This new form twisted by the Elders. Like the Chosen, but a proto-form of sorts. But there were so many familiar features. It was her but… she was so changed. And dying. Just why?

The next moment, he hugged her. Tightly wrapping his arms around her, and just cried.

Jynn froze, arms open and drawn back. She was hesitant to touch him. She had been waiting for this, but not so suddenly. A sigh came out as she wrapped her arms around him. Nestling her chin against his head as tears streamed down her face.

Bradford eventually pulled away, but his hands went up to her face, pausing mere inches away. Hesitant to touch her, but he eventually did. He ran his fingers down her jawline, expecting to feel any remnants of pulled ports under the skin, something some Skirmishers did once they were freed. But there was nothing. It was smooth, besides the wrinkled skin. Why did she have to look like them?

She seemed unfazed by him doing that. Almost expecting him to do that. She welcomed it. The touch of an old friend. His hands felt nice. A bit rough from calluses, but nice.

“At least they let me keep my freckles.” A little joke to lighten the mood. He chuckled for a moment before the sadness returned.

“All of this… why?” Part of him desperately wanted to know.

That. She let out a huff. She wouldn’t keep the truth from him.

“They wanted an asset and weapon in more ways than one.” She explained. “XCOM was coming back. What better way than to have the leader of said group be the one to crush it?” The Elders enjoyed doing that. The Hunter was a fine example of that. A Reaper turned against his own kind. “And They don’t care if they have to break you to remake you. Even when one of their brightest advises against it.”

“…Why.”

“And you’re dying?” Part of him just didn’t want to believe that. Just hoped that wasn’t true.

“Yep.” Sad eyes told all. “I feel it every day. Always feels like I’m teetering on the edge. I’ve had several extensive medical scans and a…. benefactor… not Maker….” Really… she questioned if she could call that Voice such a thing. “They’ve confirmed it too.”

“Benefactor?”

“That’s hard to explain… makes me feel insane most days.” She sighed.

“What the hell…”

“A gift from my ‘benefactor’.” She questioned if she could even call it that. “Something the Elders fear and it equally hates Them for some transgression They committed against it… him… I don’t know. And then several other species They’ve screwed with he’s ‘friends’ with.” She shook her head. “Feels pity for me for what They’ve and has helped stabilize my form to a point… against my permission.”

Some alien that hates the Elders? At first he thought they may have had an ally until she continued to describe this being. Sounded like she didn’t like it. Trusted them even less. “This benefactor helped you?”

She nodded. “He wants to help me more. More offers to heal the damage. But I don’t trust him. I’ve refused them.” She really didn’t trust it, though its words were sweet and soothing. “The Elders fear it for a reason, though They’re not innocent from Their crimes.”

“I take it this being is still making offers?” He asked. She nodded.

“He’s patient… Scarily patient… The offers haven’t stopped.” She shook her head again. This time she hugged herself. “Sometimes… Somedays… I’m tempted to accept them just to be me again. Human once more.” It was such a dangerous temptation and she had a feeling if she accepted, something terrible would befall her.

“Damn, Jynn…”

He dropped his hands to her shoulders. Head lowering, gaze fixed on the ground, as he dug his fingers into her shoulders. She sigh and patted his back. She hadn’t let go.

“I never got to tell you…”

Should he tell her? This could be my only chance. She is dying. How long will she live if this can’t be fixed?

“Tell me what? John?” She noticed something glisten, falling to the floor. Tears again. They must have been flowing.

He tightened his grip again as he took in several shaky breaths. He raised his head. Those tears were flowing, just streaming down his face.

“That I love you.” He finally said it. Fighting off any hesitation that wanted to come through. Felt like an enormous weight was taken off his chest.

She blinked once. Then twice. Eyes darted around before focusing back on him. He looked serious. Did she hear that correctly?

“W-w-what?”

“I am such an idiot…” She let out an exasperated sigh.

“Huh?” Not the response he was expecting.

She shook her head and smacked her forehead with her palm. “My mother was always the one to point out guys that had a crush on me and I’d just ignore her. She did the same with you!”

“Really?” He asked, holding back a snort in-between sniffles. She nodded.

“Hell!” She smacked her head again. “Explains why my dad was fine with me hanging out with you so much.”

“Really?” Another surprising detail. He and Mr. Reeves had a friendly relationship, but he found her father to be a rather intimidating person when he was younger. “He did scare me.”

“Seriously?” She held back a snort.

“To a teenager, a military man like him was very intimidating.”

She thought for a moment. A snort slipped out. “You’ve got a point there.”

The two hugged again. Just holding onto each other. Neither really wanted to let go. It had been so long and it felt right.

“About the hair…” She said, breaking the silence. Fingers toying with the little ‘tuft’ of hair. “Interesting cut.”

“Felt like letting it grow out.”

“But the partial shave?” She asked next, fingers feeling the border between the shaved and non-shaved side. He just shrugged. He didn’t really have an answer.

“Huh.” She just chuckled. “The little tuft is cute.” She flicked it.

Eventually, Bradford pulled away from her. Almost having to pry himself from her grasp. He didn’t want to move away, but he needed to breathe. Just so many thoughts and emotions were going through his head. He paced around the cabin as he rubbed his face.

At least she didn’t negatively react to me sharing my feelings. He was happy that didn’t sour the mood.

As he paced, he looked around the room. Eyes falling onto the maps, photos, and blueprints. One photo had a big red circle around it and a quick note scribbled next to it that said “SEND TO BETOS”.

Betos.

“So how long have you been with the Skirmishers?” He asked. He had stopped in front of the photo that had the note. He noticed another photo circled and an arrow pointing to a location. And another note saying, “SCOPE OUT MORE. HIGH SECURITY. HIGH PRIEST IS HEAD OF SECURITY. MAY BE THE PLACE. WILL NEED BACKUP. KEEP IT STEALTHY.”

“About five years or so.” She said. “Still not fully one of them, to be honest.”

“What do you mean by that?”

She and her group had far too many close calls with her. She was thankful Jax-Rai never used her psionics like Dhay-Vol, the Warlock. Would have figured out who she was ages ago, but thankfully her identity was still hidden from them. But she piqued their collective interest. A psionically capable ‘hybrid’ was running around with the Skirmishers. That caused a new set of problems for her.

“Those things.” He grimaced. He had received some intel from the other factions that those three were hunting something for the Elders, but they didn’t know what. Information was always classified, on another network they had no clue of how to reach. Now he knew it was her.

“Jax-Rai is a pain and I think I’ve pissed her off with how much my people and I have escaped. And we’ve bested her a few times.” She shook her head, but chuckled. “Though I think she enjoys the chase. Kind of like her brother, the Hunter. Though not as mad…” She bit her lip. “Kon-Ris… I feel like he’s figured out who I am… but is keeping it secret for some reason.”

He couldn’t imagine the amount of stress she was under having to hide from those three. But her comment about the Hunter interested him. The wildcard of the siblings. “He’s figured you out?”

“Think so. Said a few things he shouldn’t know about me. Enjoys calling me Gresham and brings up XCOM a lot.”

“And he hasn’t told the others or the Elders?”

“Huh.” That was interesting.

“So what’s this?” He pointed at the photo with the note of wanting to scope out some facility with high security. And the photo showed that. There were standard Troopers and MECS all over the place.

“Hm?” She went over to see what he was pointing at. “Oh that. I have a feeling that’s where they may have my ‘backup brain’ running. Want to take it out. Disrupt their tactical information network again.”

“Ah.” He simply nodded. He would have to ask about that in greater detail another time. Still couldn’t believe that theory was true. Explained how ADVENT worked like a well-oiled machine since they were founded.

“So, when’s the raid happening?” He asked.

She blinked a few times as her eyes went wide. Both brows raised high. He has to be kidding. She opened her mouth to speak, but nothing came out.

“XCOM is your home.”

“John…” She wasn’t sure of that anymore.

“Our medical team may be able to help you.” He almost sounded desperate as he said that. “Hell, the Templars may be able to help you!”

It was a tempting offer, but she wasn’t so sure.

“What will your people think of me?” She asked. “Is there anyone there besides you that knows me?”

“So many of you… so many of you guys survived.”

“And we’re still finding more as the years pass by.” He smiled. “Most haven’t given up the fight. They’ve been eager to join up with us.”

She looked away, bitting her lip. Join them. It was such a tempting offer. XCOM was her home. But so much had change. She had changed. “But what will they think of me?” That was something he didn’t want to think about, but knew it would be a problem.

“I know some back on the ship will be hesitant. Some won’t agree…” He knew several were very anti-alien; including Hybrids. They were barely tolerant of the Skirmishers and any aliens that had defected. Given the opportunity, they would kill them. It was rough keeping that from happening with some meetings and joint missions.

He had a point there.

“I don’t know.” But she was unsure. She turned away, taking a few steps away from him. “I have to think about it.”

He reached out to her, but stopped himself. “Just think about it.”

“But I must ask… which part of you is asking this?” She glanced over her shoulder. “That military side of you? Or the part that loves me?” That declaration was still on her mind.

He looked away, closing his eyes. “Both.” He couldn’t lie. He didn’t want to lose her again.

“Hm.” That’s… concerning. But made sense. It just made her leery.

She paced around the room as she mulled over his offer. It was so tempting, but she had her worries. And then what would her people think? She couldn’t just leave them behind. She shook her head. Like they would let that happen. They would follow her to the ends of the Earth, no matter what. They told her that on several occasions. Swearing their loyalty to her despite her protests. They were beyond grateful that they were free of the Elders’ enslavement.

She looked back over at him. He had busied himself with looking at the intel.

“Maybe…” She muttered as she went back over to him. “Maybe I can join… rejoin XCOM. My people and I can join you all.”

“Hm?” He glanced over his shoulder. Looked like he was deep in his thoughts. It took him a moment to process what she said. “Would they be fine with that?”

She nodded. “My people are flexible. Practically have sworn their loyalty to me. They listen to me first before listening to Betos.” That was a headache, but somehow they worked around it.

“Huh.” Looked like she never lost her commanding skills. That made him smile. “Have to figure out the logistics, but we can always use more people. Though integrating Hybrids is going to be interesting.”

“Guess we’ll just have to see what happens when you introduce us to everyone.”

“Right.” He said, then sighed. “Think I need to send a warning first so a few of the levelheaded staff can help me. Got a radio I can borrow?”

“That sounds smart. And yes, we do.”

Bradford looked at his watch, then over to the window. Through the slits of the curtain, he could see the sun disappearing behind the trees as the sky darkened.

“Think we may be staying for the night.” Was probably for the best. Never fun trekking through a forest in the night. Anything could happen.

“Sleeping quarters should be prepared for you all by now.” She said. “And we should have enough food to go around.”

“Thanks for the generosity.” And he meant it.

“It’s what we do.” She smiled.

“I think we can help with that. Won’t be leaving this region for a while.”

“Sounds likes a plan.”

She then gently patted his back a few times before heading to the door.

“Now, let’s get your current crew updated on who I am and what’s going on.” She said as she unlocked it. “And then go from there.”

He nodded and followed. “It’s going to be interesting telling them. Laney may remember you. She’s another soldier that spent most of her time in the main HQ.”

“Laney?” The name didn’t ring a bell.

“Laney Stavros. She was a medic. Still is a medic.”

“Still doesn’t ring a bell.”

“Maybe seeing her face should jog some memories.”

“Maybe.” Hopefully it would do the trick. There was a glimmer in her eye. She was somewhat excited to meet a survivor from the old base.

“Also…” She paused as she opened the door. “We’re going to have to talk about this… love… thing.” He was waiting for that.

He nodded, a small sigh slipped out. “I know.”

“It could become quite troublesome when I rejo—“

Her brows scrunched together, part of her lips turned into a grimace. “Hm.” Her eyes flashed blue for a second. She was picking up a lot of strong emotions from him. And a lot of conflicting ones. “And you still feel this way, especially after seeing how I am now?”

“Yes.” There was no hesitation in his voice.

She closed her eyes and huffed. What to say? She didn’t know what to say. Now she was feeling conflicted. She felt something deep inside of her. Almost as if she felt the same way towards him, but wasn’t so sure. And then her current state of health wasn’t helping. She couldn’t reciprocate those feelings. She needed to dwell on them. Dwell on them for a long while.

“We’ll… we’ll discuss this later.” She continued out the door.

“Understood.” He nodded and followed. “I’ll hold you to it.”

“Don’t make me regret it.”

Where would the future take them?

#Fic: Ne Cede Malis #Xcom #Xcom 2 #XCOM 2 Au #writings #xcom commander #central officer bradford #john central bradford #xcom john bradford #commander Reeves #XCOM 2 WOTC #OC: Jynn Gresham Reeves #*Jynn Gresham Reeves #Proto-Chosen Commander #Ship: Breaking Protocol #Ship: Surface Tension

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