#I see a robotic monitor head character and go‚ ! ! !

[doodlingbot]

He's telling a story

[bluetimeombre]

・❥ 'Are you Hugh down under?' p2

You and Hugh were the stars of the biggest movie, Wolverine and Ladypool, and fans love the two of you.

[Here's p2, thank you for loving the last one and being as obsessed as I am. I hope i got everyone on the tag list and the second part to Ladypool and Wolverine is on its way. Again this isn't proof read, this is just vibes. There's some sexual innuendos and sexist comments that Hugh is at the rescue for. Also, i'm British so half of these interviews just end up being British icons]

part one

You and Hugh being in love for twenty-five minutes (part two)

2017, Y/N heart monitor

You were doing an interview for your latest movie with Nick Grimshaw on BBC radio one. It was a new thing he'd come up with, trying it with you for the first time as you were hooked up to a heart rate monitor.

'Is it working?' asked Nick. 'Is she alive?'

You help him put the stickers onto you. 'It's like, there's nothing there,' you joke with them.

'She's a robot.'

The beeping began and it found your heart beating at a steady pace, a good start.

'So, I'm going to show you a series of images and we're just gonna see how you react to these images, ok?' he asked.

You grin, nerves kicking in. 'Ok.' It could have been anything. And boy were you right.

Some of them were fine, easy, normal. A picture of a co-star the heart rate was fine, a pair of shoes that you wore a lot, a picture of cash and an ex that had it risen but not alarmingly.

'And finally,' Nick picked up an image. 'Hugh Jackman! How does he make you feel?'

Your cheeks go red and you laugh. 'I hate you all so much, um, Hugh Jackman?' you were too busy laughing. Once you had made a joke about Wolverine and how good looking he was, now it was following you everywhere.

'Heartbeats rising!' Nick cheered as you covered your face. 'Heartbeats the highest it's ever been, eighty-five, up to ninety! One hundred!' he claps.

You bang your head on the table, finally finding control over yourself. 'I can't believe you all.'

Nick slid the picture over to you. 'Here, you can take that one home with you.'

'Thanks. He looks great there, doesn't he?' you say. 'A classic, Hugh Jackman picture.'

'Yeah, you like it?' he teased.

You grinned. 'That's going on my wall when I get home.'

The Graham Norton show

You and Hugh had walked out, waving at the adorning crowd that cheered as you took the sofa.

‘Hello! Hello!’ Graham called.

The two of you looked the pair as you smiled and sat next to each other in spite of the space on the sofa.

‘Sofa to ourselves, i like that,’ you say, lying back.

‘The other guests were too intimidated,’ said Graham. ‘Now, was the walk out ok for you guys, Hugh, are you happy?’ He asked.

Hugh frowned. The crowd laughed. ‘It was very good, thank you.’

‘Because, is it true- and Y/N correct me if I’m wrong, you had a specific song you walked out onto set with?’ He asked.

Immediately knowing what he was talking about, you laugh while Hugh hangs his head and sighs.

You sat straight and took to explaining while patting his back. ‘You see, it’s very tough for Hugh to get into character as Wolverine sometimes. So the only way was to get him out the trailer was to play a specific song.’

‘Ok, ok so shall we do it again, this time with the song?’ Graham proposed. He ushered you both backstage, Hugh squeezing your shoulders as you went.

‘Whatta a man’ by salt and pepper started playing and you led the way out for Hugh who danced his way out. The crowd clapped along as Hugh shows his moves and ended with dipping.

‘Oh wonderful!’ Graham called as the two of you took your seats again.

For the rest of the interview thing went very smoothly.

‘Now is is true that the first time you met, Hugh, you didn’t actually meet Y/N?’

Hugh again huffed and shook his head. ‘This show is all to embarrass me, isn’t it?’

‘Makes a change honestly,’ you say.

Hugh looked back to you and started to tell the story. Through out, his body had moved toward you, his entire presence facing you despite talking out to everyone. ‘When I first walked on set, you know, at the ready, I was very excited to be there and even more excited to meet this wonderful lady here. And I got suited up, you know, went to hair and makeup and one of our first shots was quite a challenging one, a big stunt.’

‘Big,’ you agreed, taking a sip of your drink. You knew where the story was going.

‘Yea, so anyway, I walk over to Y/N whose already in her suit. Looks great by the way. Anyway so I start introducing myself and saying hello and how thankful I am for being here, a real heart to heart you know-‘ he says, ‘and then Y/N walked in and i realized I’d been speaking to her stunt double the whole time- whole time!’

The crowd laugh as do you, almost choking on your drink.

Wolverine and Ladypool press:

You and Hugh sat with each other all day doing press. You kept it light with jokes between the two of you, working through the people and questions.

One particular interviewer just had to get his answers though. ‘So your suit,’ he starts, looking to you. ‘It’s very tight and eventuated several parts of you, did you find that hard to manoeuvre around?’

Hugh answered before you had the chance to open your mouth. ‘I found it very easy to move around in. You know, first x-men movie, not so much but these suits, are perfect.’

The guy chuckled, it was clearly forced but you thanked Hugh for taking the question, patting his knee. ‘Can you wear like panties with them or thongs, cause they are skin tight.’

‘I’ll take this one!’ Said Hugh again. ‘I go commando, but that’s just because I like it.’

‘He does, he does like it,’ you nod, grinning. ‘He’s going commando right now actually.’

The guy tried one more time to ask you a question about the suit. At this rate, your entire body turned to face Hugh. ‘Do you feel sexy in the suit?’ He asked you.

‘Very,’ said Hugh.

After that, Hugh made several vulgar comments when you were alone, but luckily for you, Hugh was your own superhero.

Buzzfeed quiz

'Hello!' you greet the camera, holding your phone to your chest. 'I'm something-something Jackman.'

'And i'm the greatest actress of all time,' said Hugh.

You deflated, looking at him. 'Oh, well now I just look like a dick.'

'No, it's ok,' he shrugged. 'One of us has to look like a dick.'

The two of you were doing quizzes for Buzzfeed, answering if you're more Ladypool or Wolverine. Although you were sat next to each other, you'd both craned your bodies back so the other couldn't see what you were putting in, like it was a test.

'We're really competitive with each other,' Hugh told the crew.

'Yeah, not with anybody else, but I have to- I just have to prove i'm better than Hugh Jackman at something,' you said.

'Who are you hoping to get?' asked the lady behind the camera.

'Oh, Ladypool, obviously,' you said.

Hugh nodded along, watching you. (Did this man ever not look at you?) 'I wouldn't be angry about getting Ladypool either.'

You tut. 'So quick to betray yourself.'

If you could have a super power, what would you chose?

You read through the options. 'I think telekinesis,' you said. 'Mainly just because I'm lazy and it would be so easy to pick up the tv remote or close the curtains. Very practical.'

'Yeah, that's a good one,' Hugh hummed about it for longer. 'Maybe healing ability.'

You roll your eyes, throwing your head back. 'That's such a Wolverine answer!'

'I know, but I'm getting old, be nice for things to not hurt a lot,' he said.

Who's your favourite MCU character?

Hugh scanned the options. 'I er, don't see Wolverine on here?' he looked around at the crew behind the camera's shaking his head.

'Can't get the staff these days- oh my god Spider-Man's on here!' you cheered, distracted.

'She loves Spider-Man,' Hugh told the camera.

'I do. I really do,' you agreed. 'If it wasn't gonna be Wolvie, it was gonna be Spidey,' you look into the camera, holding your phone to your ear, mimicking for Andrew Garfield to call you.

Hugh dragged his finger of his neck in a cutting off motion if he ever did.

Who do you pick to be your road-trip buddy?

'You have to pick the Wolverine, c'mon,' Hugh nudged you.

You looked through the options which all considered x-men. You hesitated, humming. 'I dunno.'

'We had great fun in the car!'

A red blush took over your cheeks as you re-called the multiple, multiple takes you and Hugh had to do. Hugh saw this and draped his arm over the back of your chair.

'Yeah, but that was- that was different, this is a roadtrip not a porn video in a car,' you joked. 'And Wolverine's like so serious, Rogue, she's so fun.'

'Woah, woah,' Hugh paused everything. 'Rogue is great, don't get me wrong. But who's better!' he pointed at himself. 'Wolverine's not grumpy with you, he loves you!'

You look over at him, grinning sweetly. 'No, you love me and it's judging your character.' For five minutes, the two of you argued over who you'd rather have as a road-trip buddy. Most of it got sped up during the video. 'Ok, fine, I pick Wolverine. Who are you picking?'

'Charles,' said Hugh even though Ladypool was on the list.

You faced the camera, mouth hung open as Hugh laughed loudly and gave you a side hug, assuring you it was a joke but he still clicked on Charles!

Which musical number would you want to perform with your 'Wolverine and Ladypool' cast mate?

'Oh, some great choices!' boasted Hugh as he read through them all.

You smile at him, eyes softening. 'You've awakened the musical theatre beast.'

'Y/n, there's so many good choices! What do we pick?!' he grabbed your hand and squeezed as you watched him with joy.

There was a few choices: 'Love is an Open Door,' from Frozen, 'The other side,' which Hugh obviously did for The Greatest showman. But there was also 'The Love Melody' from Moulin Rouge and 'You're the one that I want,' from Grease and when you both saw that you gave each other a look and knew which one you were picking.

By the end when your results came up you cheered and punched the air, practically jumping out you seat. 'Ladypool! God, this felt like my audition for the character all over again,' you wipe pretend sweat from your brows. 'What did you get?'

Hugh showed you his phone. 'Ladypool! I got Ladypool!'

'We're so alike!' you entwined your fingers. Slowly and dramatically the two of you leant in, pretending you were going in for what would have been a very wet kiss before you both pulled back and explained your answers.

You and Hugh with Alison Hammond again!

The interview with the two of you and Alison Hammond was pretty much the two of you flirting and Alison fangirling. Fans couldn't stop editing it together.

'Ok so obviously there's been a lot of competition between the two of you, so we need to settle who's better once and for all,' said Alison. 'So i've got a series of challenges for the two of you to complete but there's a twist.'

'We're naked!' said Hugh causing you to laugh. 'No, sorry.'

Alison handed you both each a boxing glove. 'I want you to put one on each and sign your autographs, which ever is close wins the point.'

'You're on, Jackman,' you said, already sliding your hand into the boxing glove.

Hugh gave you a cocky smile. 'I am so gonna win this, you know why? Cause you've given me a right boxing glove, but i'm left-handed!' he quickly got to scribbling his autograph.

'Fuck!' you cursed, struggling with your own. (It was bleeped out on this morning).

When you handed them both back to Alison it was obvious who the winner was. 'Thanks for this guys, it'll do numbers on Ebay.'

The two of you practically topple on each other with how hard you laugh.

Next you had to try to open a bottle of water with your gloves on and pour it into glasses and try drinking from it, both of which you failed at. Then the two of you just started fighting each other so Alison called it off like she was your teacher in a rowdy class.

'So, as I am a morning presenter, I thought I'd see how good the two of you would be if you had your own Hugh and Y/N morning show- so here's some guards, scoot closer, scoot closer,' said Alison.

The two of you took the cards and moved your chairs together until your thighs were pressed together. You waited for your cue before the two of you began your audition for your own morning show.

Hugh threw his arm around your shoulder, drawing you in.

'No, Hugh,' you denied, 'we must be professional on tv!'

Alison cackled. 'Yeah, you wouldn't do that on tv.'

Hugh looked offended at the both of you. 'We're re-defining what it means!'

You push him off you and hit him with your cards.

Hugh assesses the camera. 'Where's the shot? Above our chests, perfect, so I can do this.' And he puts his hand on your thigh, sprawling it out as you bite your lip to stop the grin.

'I'm taking this audition seriously, Hugh!'

Finally, the two of you start, acting as if it was a real morning show while Alison gave you pointers.

'Did you have a good weekend?' Hugh asked you (in reality all your weekends had been spent in his company) 'What did you get up to?'

You shrug. 'Nothing much.'

'No,' he interrupted causing you and Alison to laugh. 'When I ask a generic how was your weekend, you have to tell me a great funny story that we've set up before. So, Y/N, what did you do on your weekend?'

'I went fishing,' you said the first thing that popped into your head.

'Did you fall in?' he asked.

'I fell in.'

'That's hilarious!' the way he said it and the way he looked into the camera, caring about it just made you laugh so bad. 'Don't go anywhere, we'll see you after the break!' you were still laughing when Hugh wrapped his arms around you and nuzzled into your neck, making kissing noises and hiding behind the cards.

Even more at the premier

You and Hugh stood next to each other, him keeping an arm around your waist as you both listened to the interviewer ask you questions.

'So, Y/N, we found this interview from 2017 and we thought Hugh might like to take a look at it,' they said, pulling out their phone and clicking on a video.

As soon as it started playing, you knew what it was. 'Oh god.' you hid yourself, turning to Hugh as he watched.

It was the famous heart-rate monitor interview, where, when you saw a picture of a shirtless Hugh Jackman, your heart-rate spiked higher than any other picture.

Hugh was smiling the whole time and beamed at you when the video finished. 'You have that effect on me,' he assured you, leaning his head on top of yours and smiling at the interviewer.

'Y/N, do you still feel that way when you look at him now?' they asked.

'More,' you said, speaking loudly over all the noise. 'I feel it ten times more.'

And fans, anyone, could see how much the two of you were in love. Whether it was just flirting or if it was real, it was there and everyone was happy for you.

As the two of you walked off, the camera followed you. Hugh's head was bowed low, seemingly taking low to you as his arm remained around your waist and yours came up to rub his back up and down. He laughed loudly at something you had said before dropping a kiss to the top of your head and continuing on the journey.

(there probably won't be part three but I'm working on another compilation with you and Hugh)

taglist (thank you all!): @geeksareunique, @angstdaddy, @tranquilty, @gotta-go-now, @pear-1206, @chronicallybubbly

[sebsbarnes]

hole in the wall || pietro maximoff

pietro maximoff x f!reader

summary: despite barely knowing the brainwashed girl beyond the wall, pietro refused to hurt her, no matter how much she hurt him.

word count: 5k+

warnings: fighting, none rlly??

a/n: the russian is translated so i apologize if the translation is wrong. i wrote for pietro years ago but this is my first time in awhile :P reader is subjected to the same torture as bucky bc the character is kinda him, inaccuracies in the mcu but nothing crazy

masterlist

pietro often wondered about the girl who was held next door. he'd hear the screeching metal against the floor followed by a slight commotion and then a thud on the floor. small shuffling could be heard and then it was silence. no movement, no talking, no heavy breathing or cries, silence until the next time the metal door unleashed its harrowing song, and large boots could be heard entering the cell and dragging the girl away.

pietro couldn't tell how long he'd really been here nor how long it had been since the mysterious girl next to him was there but he did know it had been months on end and yet he had never seen a glimpse of the girl that shared the wall with him.

there was a small hole in the cement that allowed him to peer into the girl's cell but each time he looked he was met with the grey wall from beyond. he had heard murmurs that she was young like him and wanda. strong, fearless, one of the doctor's favorites. she was often sent out on missions and came back unscathed. each mission she was sent on was a success as if the concept of failure was unfathomable. she apparently spoke little, only when instructed, never talked back, never laughed, never screamed. almost robotic.

which is why it came to pietro's surprise after hearing the thud of her knees hit the floor and the guards march away he heard a soft sniffle. and then slightly louder ones followed by rapid and heavy breathing. pietro scuffled over to the hole in the wall and peered through. he could see her sitting against the far wall with her legs tucked closely to her, her forehead resting on her knees. he could only see half her body from where she was sitting but he could see her shoulder shaking.

"you... you need to breathe in and out. you are going to make yourself pass out," pietro was unsure, his voice quiet but loud enough for her to hear. her head shot up and looked directly at the hole. her hair was sticking to her face, her mouth was slightly parted, and eyes wide and red.

"it's okay. my name is pietro. you don't need to talk but i... i wanted to see if you are okay. you've never even made a noise before now," he felt funny slightly confessing the fact he's been taking note of your actions.

he watched as you wiped the tears off your cheek and raked the hair off your face.

"i don't know how i am," your voice sounded like you hadn't spoken in days.

"it's okay to not know."

from where you sat you could only see the boy's eye. it was a striking blue, "like the sky," you murmured.

"what?" you heard the voice call back.

you slowly stood up dragging your chained feet over to the wall. you held the wall, steadying yourself before sitting with a huff, "your eyes remind me of the sky."

pietro wasn't sure what to say back. he went months not hearing your voice or seeing you, only knowing the tales that the guards spoke of yet here you were inches from him, broken down and giving a compliment. a much different reality to the one he thought he knew before.

pietro didn't hear another word from you, he assumed you fell asleep against the wall. he tried looking through the hole at any angle he could to see you, but all he noticed was a piece of metal gleaming from the dull light in your cell.

a few days had passed since the interaction and pietro had little time to dwell on it. his testing was getting more intense, he was constantly being injected with needles he knew nothing about, there were many monitors reading whatever vitals they needed to document, and his training was becoming more rigorous. he was exhausted, he hadn't been in his cell in two days, and although the cell offered no comfort he much rather be locked behind the bars than strapped to a table.

the guards pushed him down the hallway, taunting him. each time he stood up they would push him back down. the shackles on his wrists rubbed his skin raw and those around his ankles prevented him from running. the guard gripped his shoulder tightly walking past wanda's cell as she called out to her brother.

"wanda!" he screamed out as he watched the other guard reach through the bars and grip at her neck. the guard holding onto him roughly pushed him into the cell causing him to stumble and land on his shoulder, his face grazed the cement floor.

you had heard the commotion from your cell, you stood at the door looking over at the guards who simply laughed at the twins who were now in pain. all you could do was grimace. you hated this, you hated this place, each day you yearned to leave this hell hole you've called home. you heard pietro scream in frustration and then heard his rapid movements as he ran around his cell, thrashing against the walls.

you had seen pietro from a distance a few times. you were never allowed to be near the enhanced people and only managed glimpses of them. you had seen his super speed and the way the scientists trained him. it was brutal and he endured a lot just from the few moments you had witnessed. you started to notice that after particularly rough days he would do this, run back and forth for what seemed like hours on end. slamming into the cement walls that would somehow rattle from the force. he would yell in anger, cursing the guards and scientists for what they were doing.

the noise settled and you hesitantly sat in front of the small hole. you could see his large frame hunched over catching his breath. he ran a hand through his messy silver hair, his white tank top was dirty and slightly damp from his running. you peered behind your shoulder at the hallway making sure it was empty. you swallowed thickly with nerves in fear of getting caught before forcing three fingers into the hole and ripping the cement block from the wall. you could now fit your head through the hole comfortably if you wanted to.

"pietro," you said placing the block beside you. he faltered and gestured with an open hand in confusion at the now gaping hole in the wall. you couldn't help but pull your lips into a tight light suppressing the laugh you wanted to let out at the look on his face. using his speed he rushed to face you, eyes wide examining the open edges of the cement.

"you-"

"are strong," you cut him off jokingly.

the two of you sat staring at each other. it was weird to be face to face after countless months of unknowing the other despite being separated by only a wall. you took in his appearance. he was handsome. up close you could now see the slight curls to his hair and the short facial hair. his shoulders broad and built. under his sky-blue eyes were dark circles from the lack of sleep but it suited him. he was stunning and pietro was thinking the same about you. your hair fell haphazardly across your forehead. your eyes were kind and gentle, much different than the stone-cold eyes he had imagined in his head. your lips were pulled to one side in the tiniest of smiles as you took in his appearance. pietro found it hard to believe the stories he has heard about your reputation as he stared at you. expression soft, eyes and smile kind, you looked battered and worn down but still so youthful as if you didn't fit in with the surrounding grey walls.

"are you okay?" you finally asked.

pietro's nostrils flared and his eyes fluttered shut, "i don't know."

you hesitated a moment before repeating his words from a few days prior, "it's okay to not know."

if you weren't staring intently at the man before you you would've missed the smile that flashed across his face at your remark. it was soon washed away when you both heard loud footsteps from down the hall. you both quickly turned towards the noise that was approaching pietro's cell, he gulped harshly as a guard came into view. he looked back at the wall expecting to still see your face but instead, he saw a metal hand escaping through the hole as if the cement was never removed.

metal...?

it must have been late in the night. the guards had already dropped off the atrocious meal they call dinner and returned to pick the trays up. they rarely patrolled the hallways at night, opting to smoke outside. it was eerie each night. the sound of dripping water from pipes echoed, the occasional gunfire could be heard from the woods outside, slight whispers could be heard from the twins once in a blue moon but it was rare. in a place like this, they didn't let you be a person so it was hard to act like one.

pietro was lying on the bed facing the ceiling making a laughable attempt at trying to get some sort of sleep. he was imagining his life before this when his family was all together, when times were happy, when he was just a little kid and not a young adult performing for crazed scientists. his eyes scanned the room at the sound of bricks moving before seeing your head pop into vision from the hole. pietro let out a small laugh through his nose seeing your sheepish smile.

you sat facing the other not saying anything at first. it was oddly comfortable being face-to-face with the one they call quicksilver. you couldn't put your finger on why though. you've spoken so few words to him but then again it was the first time you let yourself speak to someone in this building that wasn't a doctor or a guard. maybe it was you being naive but it felt okay and safe.

"what made you cry the other day?" he finally spoke his question causing you to blink a few times.

"i think... i think they do something to my head. i mean, i know they do," you thought bringing your fingers to your temple as if the gesture helped you remember, "but i think i'm starting to notice when i'm on missions. it's hard to really know though it's all a blur."

pietro nodded softly taking in what you had to say, "like... brainwashing?"

"it has to be. they recite something each time and then it's like i'm not me," you confessed, "but these past few missions i'll overhear things from strangers passing by or i'll see something and i can feel myself start to wake from the trance. i'm starting to remember life before here and i'm becoming aware of what they have me doing."

"whatever it is they have you doing just know you are still a good person," pietro spoke quietly.

"i kill people," you said bluntly looking him straight in the eyes. he averted his gaze slightly, his hand coming to caress his jaw.

"the person they turn you into out there isn't you. the real you is sitting in front of me now."

"how can you be so sure, you don't even know me," you questioned.

"i don't think an out right evil person would check to see if a stranger is okay... or compliment them the first time they see them," pietro joked slightly. you hung your head as your lips pulled back into a smile. pietro couldn't help the way his body leaned closer to the hole with a big smile on his face observing the way you became shy.

"no one in this building is perfect. we've all done things that are considered evil but if we manage to hold on to some sort of sense of ourselves i think we will be okay. i hope wanda and i get out of here soon. it was a mistake yanno, being volunteers, i regret it. it makes me feel worse knowing you had no say in the matter. you're here every day as a puppet against your will and yet i walked through these doors. every day i'm in pain and every day i regret it," pietro's accent got thicker as he got emotional.

you frowned at the silver-haired man, "life in here is already hard enough, there is no point in being hard on yourself."

his eyes were glossed over, internally fighting himself for the choices he had made in the past. you reached your hand into the hole searching for his. this was out of character for you but it some selfish way you wanted the warmth of his hand to comfort you as well. it was peaceful sitting in silence holding each other's hand. the only form of physical touch the two of you ever received was in the form of torture. gruff hands slapping, punching, shoving, and poking you seemed like a far and distant sensation compared to the safety you felt as pietro's thumb traced the back of your hand.

"you should rest," pietro finally broke what felt like an hour's long silence, "they usually take you first."

you sighed deeply but you knew he was right. god knows what hour it was and you needed to try and get some sleep. pietro gently let go of your hand and allowed you to snake it back through the hole.

"thank you pietro. i hope we can talk more soon," you told him earnestly.

"i hope so too," he gave you a lopsided grin before you grabbed the brick.

it was mere days later when you two found yourself in the same position. the guards were out, pietro had finished his talks with wanda, the disgusting dinners were consumed and taken away, and here you were staring into the sky amongst grey walls. pietro noticed your face had small cuts scattered on it from a mission you were sent on a day prior but you had made no mention of it thus far. you were currently enthralled by pietro telling a story from his younger days. pietro was funny and he didn't even need to try, it had been years since you felt the burning sensation in your sides from laughing too much but he made it easy. and pietro loved the sound of your laugh, it was beautiful, irresistible almost. the two of you went back and forth sharing any memories you could remember from life before these walls and it was effortless but you knew just like the other nights it was soon time to hide the hole.

"you're really pretty," you confessed.

pietro's mouth formed an 'o' shape before turning into a giddy smile, "you are beautiful, dragă"

this time it was pietro plugging the brick back into the wall just as he was about to finish a loud booming voice came from your side of the wall. his hands shook slightly at the volume of the guard yelling 'soldier' in russian to you. pietro could no longer see what was happening but he heard you stand up and reply back and leave the cell.

although you and the guard walked in silence you knew he saw you talking to pietro. you continued to clench and unclench your fists trying to calm yourself for what was to come.

"Тебе нравится мальчик?" (do you like the boy?) the guard asked placing a firm grip on your shoulder, pushing you towards the all too familiar room. you stayed quiet and you heard the man snicker to himself, satisfied with your silence.

in the room, several other guards were standing in position, many holding guns. you saw the needles and wires spread across the small rolling table with a doctor in a white coat hunched over it. the monitors sitting idly waiting to read your vitals. the guard that escorted you pushed you into the contraption that stood before you forcing your body flush against the back. immediately automatic shackles secured your arms to the chair and the whirling sound of small electric plates situated themselves against the sides of your head.

"смеш��о... ты, кажется, молчишь только рядом с нами," (funny... you only seem to be quiet around us.) the doctor smirked, admitting they all were aware of you and pietro speaking. the doctor sucked his teeth as you glared at him, unwilling to confess to anything.

he picked up the mouth guard from the table wiggling it in front of your mouth waiting for you to open. you bit down in anger, all the muscles in your face twitching, your eyelids blinking rapidly pushing back any emotion daring to creep up at what you knew was about to happen. it wasn't often they wiped your memory, only when they deemed your actions defied them, like not getting enough information on missions which was rare. it had been months since the last time they did this. you screamed in agony as the electric volts zapped against your head. sweat started to bead across your thrashing body. it was indescribable and it wasn't a short process but once the currents stopped your world was black and each time you'd wake up in your cell with no recollection.

it was a week later you found yourself in the training room after being isolated since the memory wipe. your shoulders were hunched forward, chest facing the ground, your arms swayed ever so slightly by your side, your breathing was ragged after being beaten in the form of "training" for the last two hours. the doctors insisted it would be over soon, one final test for the day before you could go to your cell. the door creaked open and the familiar sound of boots entered, you didn't even bother looking up.

"солдат!" (soldier!) a guard yelled causing you to slowly pick your head up. at the door was a young man you'd never seen before, he wore tattered pants and a tank top, his hair was silver, and his blue eyes were opened wide in what you could only assume was shock. and though you didn't recognize him, pietro recognized you.

up until now, he had never seen your full figure before, only parts of your body that were visible through the hole. despite you clearly being injured and tired you stood tall and pietro could tell you were strong. the most alarming part about you was your arm... your metal arm. pietro's eyebrows scrunched together, head slightly cocked to the side examining the way the metal met your skin, some scar tissue bright red while others were faded.

before pietro could mutter any words aloud a doctor appeared from a side door and sauntered towards you holding a notebook.

"работа...установить..." (work...establish...) the doctor read.

"please, no," you whispered, your neck screwing to the side as if it will block the doctor's voice.

"станция..." (station...)

pietro watched as your chest heaved air in and out as the doctor continued reciting from the book, circling your body like a predator ready to attack. he watched as your teeth chatter together and your metal hand flexed. the doctor stopped behind your right shoulder leaning down slightly so his mouth was level with your ear. pietro couldn't hear the whispers but he felt nervous at the doctor's intense eye contact and the loud clap of the notebook being shut. the doctor lazily dragged his hand off your shoulder whispering one final command before exiting the way he came.

pietro jumped at the sound of the door behind him slamming shut as the guards snuck out, leaving only the two of you in the room.

"wha- WOAH!" pietro shrieked as you came barreling towards him at full speed, your metal arm raised high in the air to come down on his body.

"please i don't want to hurt you," but his pleas were left unheard as you socked him in the jaw, tossing him to the ground and repeatedly punching his stomach. although being fast, pietro found himself trapped beneath you and it took moments before he was able to get out and start running in different directions. slowly, you walked towards a vacant chair in the corner, eyes trained on the blue light racing around the room. you gripped the chair waiting for the right moment before launching it across the room and nailing pietro square in the back. you stalked towards his groaning figure grasping his shoulder and flipping him onto his back where you straddled him and punched at his face.

to pietro's relief, the doctor came back into the room beckoning an order to you. pietro watched from underneath your frame as your pupils twitched at him and your head robotically moved to face the doctor. you refrained from punching pietro anymore and stood up and walked to the doctor and the two guards who waited behind. one of the guards stabbed a needle into your neck and once more the world was black.

you couldn't even begin to guess what time or day it was when you finally woke up on the floor of your cell. your body was violently shaking from the cold and you started to panic. as much as you tried to think of any memories you couldn't, it was like your mind was a blank slate and it was causing you to panic even more which then turned into anger. you grabbed the small bed and threw it at the wall and screamed loudly. you repeatedly slammed your metal first into the wall causing dust to liter the air. guards walked past your cell but simply laughed and continued to make their way down the hall and off into the outside world.

"hey," a voice spoke unsteadily. you whipped your head around to the other wall and saw a face peeking through.

"it's okay," the man tried to ease seeing your angered state approaching him. you kneeled in front of the hole looking intensely at his face.

"who are you?"

this question confirmed pietro's fear that they wiped your memory. he had foolishly hoped that in the training room you were just too worn down to recognize him when he walked through the door before they sent you into your trance.

"my name is pietro. you may not remember but i am a friend," he spoke hoping to see any form of recollection cross your face. instead you examined him quietly before turning your head and examining the room. it was lit dully, your bed now turned on its side, and there was a tray of food sitting near the cell door that looked to be days old.

"this is a hydra base," pietro continued without you having to ask, "the people here are not good. they hurt us, they experiment on us, many people have died here. i have a sister here, a twin," he said pointing a finger behind him, "her name is wanda. they call us the enhanced. we both possess abilities no normal human would have due to their experimentations. we came as volunteers and i regret it."

"am i a volunteer?" you questioned.

"no, dragă. a few weeks ago you told me they found you during the winter, alone. you had been lost in the forest and they made promises to help you find home but you never returned. you said you aren't sure but you think it's been ten years since," pietro confessed, his accent thick with sorrow.

you hummed, unsure of what to say. you remembered none of this so what could you really say back? was pietro even telling the truth? how could you decipher fact from fiction in a state like this? despite the confusion and the absence of memory, something deep within you said it was all true, everything he was saying was right.

"why is my arm gone?" you whispered, slightly touching the contorting metal panels near the elbow.

pietro couldn't help but feel a pain in his chest as he observed you try and remember any semblance of yourself, "i- i don't know. what i do know is the doctors, they like you. you are very important to them and they make you do dirty work. the reason you can't remember anything is because they wipe your memory."

"i suppose that makes sense," you nodded slightly giving pietro a bitter smile.

"i am sorry for what they do to you," pietro stated earnestly. if he could help you in any way he would, over and over again, he would.

you paused, taking in pietro's face which held some serious injuries. the skin on his brow bone was split, his eye was bright red with blood and a nasty purple-green bruise on his jaw.

"did i do this to you?" you asked, slowly reaching your hand through to gently touch his jaw.

"of course you didn't my love," he murmured, tenderly grabbing your wrist and threading his fingers with yours.

"if there comes a time when i hurt you, please don't go easy on me," you pleaded.

"i cannot promise you that," he smiled at you softly, bringing his other hand to enclose your freezing one.

and pietro was being truthful. he couldn't nor he wouldn't harm you in the event the doctors forced you to fight. he would run and dodge the punches, and the chairs being thrown at him, but he couldn't fight you, he just couldn't. it pained him to see the different version of yourself, the real you locked inside begging to come out of the brainwashing.

pietro didn't think it would be so soon when he would be in the same position as before, standing across from you in the training room as the same doctor circled your body, reciting words in russian that would transform you into their super soldier. it was only hours after the two of you decided to sleep that pietro was ripped from his bed and dragged into the training room.

the doctor once again closed the notebook but before leaving he looked over at pietro, "it is a shame," he started with a thick russian accent, "her memory wiped twice in a week. i thought maybe you two would work well as a team. we could start sending you out on missions with her. but it seems she has developed a hm. what do you call it?" he fake pondered, "ah! a crush! and that is not something we take kindly here. she provides more to us here than you do so..." with that the doctor whispered one final thing in your ear before leaving.

pietro watched carefully as you headed towards him and at the last moment he sprinted away causing you to concave the metal door. you whipped your head around, eyes wide in anger, tracking the movements of the man. he was fast and this irritated you. sticking your leg out you managed to trip him at the last moment and his large frame hurled to the floor. you gripped his shirt in one hand and used your metal hand to punch him in the side of the face.

"it's me!" the man below you yelled. this had no effect on you and you raised your hand to hit him again but he grabbed your fist. the two of you violently struggled against each other before you used your hand clutched to his shirt to slide him away with great force.

"please i said i would never hurt you. it's me, pietro!" the man pleaded getting up to run past your approaching figure. for some reason hearing the name pietro caused a loud screeching pain in your head.

"what are you doing to my head?" you screamed, clutching your head in your hands, eyes screwed shut.

pietro stopped running and looked at your trembling figure, "i'm- i'm not doing anything."

you tried ignoring the high-pitched shrilling noise and stumbled to pietro. you grabbed onto his shoulders and pushed him backward against the wall. although you moved him with force pietro could feel the weakness in your grip this time. he stayed silent looking into your eyes that were frantically examining him.

"the noise..." you muttered bringing your metal hand to hold your head.

"there... there is no noise," pietro spoke confused. there was no noise in the room besides heavy breathing.

"who are you?" you probed shoving him roughly against the wall.

"it's me. pietro. i live next to you in the cell. i came here as a volunteer with my twin sister wanda. you are here against your will. they found you when you were little and never let you leave. they hurt you every day, they aren't good people. trust me, please. it's me your friend," pietro rushed hoping to break through to you.

he felt your grip slightly falter as you looked him up and down. he couldn't make out the emotion in your face as you screwed and unscrewed your features together, internally fighting yourself. he wasn't scared, but nervous rather for your next move or action.

as pietro spoke the high-pitched noise continued to grow louder causing severe pain in your head. it made you nauseous and your vision would cloud with blinding bright light. you hung your head gasping for air as a vague image of a cell came to memory. you tried blinking it away but it would reappear, this time you'd see a man. the man you were pushing against the wall. his head was peeking through the cell wall. instinctually you pressed him further into the wall, pietro's shoulder blades started to ache. a new memory came and it was pietro holding your hand, his thumb caressing yours.

you shot your head up looking at the man. your eyes were glossy with tears from the pain you were experiencing. not just the physical pain of the intense noise but the mental pain as you tried to piece together who he was. his appearance was becoming familiar. his clothes, his broad shoulders, the facial hair on his jaw and upper lip, the cut on his eyebrow, the dark roots of his hair and the silver ends, and his eyes.

you dropped your grip and pietro's eyes contorted in confusion.

"like the sky..." you murmured.

[mommys-puppy-tgirl]

Two blue screens

I wrote a lesbian robot puppy girl short story. Please enjoy :3 also the pov character is trans.

Pulling into the driveway, I stepped out of the car. Thebsweet smelling rain cascaded across my face, through my hair and soaking into my clothes on the brief stride to the front door. I fumble with the keys, sliding through three on my ring before finding the right one, all the while the water and wind sap my heat. I turn the key, open the door, and step inside, dripping water on the hardwood floors with a plop. I shut the door, remove my wet black sneakers and socks, hanging both on an empty coatrack.

From upstairs I hear my favorite thing. An excited “Woof” compressed and taken from Nintendo’s ds game “Nintendogs.” Following the sweet audio came a rumble of a heavy chassis across carpeting floor and then a “slump,” “bump” and “crash” as my beautiful girlfriend rolls down the stairs in an excited heap, her mechanical tail wagging. She quickly corrects her pose and rises to her feet to embrace me, squeezing tight enough to hinder my breathing.

Hal-E is my adorable robot girlfriend, her tummy and face each having a monitor like a Nintendo DS. The tummy screen currently has nintendogs open and all the necessary buttons to play of ones favorite Nintendo game on it. The bumpers are on her sides and the cartridge slot is hidden on her back. She wears a crop top and booty shorts so that heat can vent properly, and to cover more explicit ports. across her exposed metal are numerous stickers of bands, anime, cute animals, and flowers

I squeeze back, but stop saying. “Wait wait, I’m all wet. Down girl.”

A small green light flicks on when she hears the order. In an instant she gets on her knees, hands on her lap, and stairs up with the same dumb, cute, adorable smile she always has when I come home. I’m already colder without her natural heaters pressed against my body. So I’ll have to go quick so I can feel her again.

“Puppy, wait for me in our bedroom,” I said as I walked into the other room.

HAL-Es green light turned on and she said “I love you,” scampered up the stairs. She’s a robotic puppy girl all the way through. When we first got together she was just a robot girl, but she had fun exploring the internet and discovered puppy play. It was a recursive file in her memory banks. She pleaded with me to make a program that would help fulfill her dreams. As a programmer, I stayed up all night for a week and fulfilled her wishes and embedded it in that nintendogs cartridge. She can take it out any time she wants. But she loves it too much to ever stop being my good girl.

Now alone I removed my wet clothes and grabbed a towel from the linen closet. I ran the cotton across my skin and removed the water from it, but the cold remained. The rain left a lasting chill deep within me, and brought all the grime from that days work to the surface. Now I need my puppy to wash it all away. I walked upstairs to our shared room, opened rhe door and saw HAL-E sitting on the bed. She too was uncovered, revealing the stickers placed upon her breasts. It reads “if lost, please return to Marcy.” When I see that sticker I can’t help but bite my lip.

HAL-Es eyes widened as I entered the room, her mechanical tail wagging faster and faster, smacking against the pillows with a loud “whomp” over and over again. I could tell she wanted to jump out of bed and hug me, tackle me down and kiss me all over. She made sharp pushes against the bed, false starts as she contained her excitement. As I slowly approached the bed, I heard her cooling fans activate, pumping heat out from her head and torso to keep her from overheating. She whimpers, desperate to be played with, for someone to touch her controls and insert data into her.

��Look at how eager you are… so patient… so good…” I said, my voice shifting to a soft sultry tone. “Good girl. Do you want belly rubs?”

She let out another whimper, then a compressed yap. She rolled onto her back and looked up, her digital eyes filled with a burning heat and desire. Her vents pumped warm air all over my legs, a heat that threatened to drag me down onto her. I wanted to take it all, all her warmth and embrace her. But not yet, first we play the game.

“Good girl,” I said, rubbing my hands all over her chassis, my fingers touching the lower ds screen and sending signals into her brain. Several green lights flicked on and off as I touched her, telling me how much she enjoyed it. She was officially in “good girl mode” and now all pleasure and sensations are heightened. Just a tap of her screen sends waves of energy through her circuitry. if she wasn’t on her charging leash no doubt she would lose power.

I moved my position between her legs and told her to keep her head up. Laying down on her warm body was like a car running car in the winter, so warm it melted any ice still within my skin. I placed my thumbs on the buttons and +pad and my index fingers on her bumpers. She squirmed with each button press, the good feelings programmed into her mind. I didn’t have to play for long, for her it would feel like hours of pleasure.

Nintendogs is always a fun time, espreciallt when my girlfriend moans every time I press a buotton. Every time I play with a puppy I’m playing with her mind, and every treat given is a treat she feels. Her vents are pouring hot air, but when I check her power banks she is still charging. After 15 minutes, I pulled up her task manager, I saw how much her cpu and memory was full. All her processes were at their limit! “How about we turn some of these off…” I said.

“Ahh! Bark! W-what?” She struggled to make words after being a puppy for so long. But before she understood what was happening, I had limited her cognitive processes to 30% and boosted her pleasure centers to 120%. This was something she could turn back on if she wanted too, and was within our discussed limits. Messing with her mind, messing with her programming and messing with her wiring and attachments, she lived for it.

Now that she could only bark and whimper, reduced to my dumb, sweet, happy puppy, a puppy full of pleasure, I rose from between her legs and laid across her belly. My breasts pressed against hers, the sticker caught on my nipple, teasing me unintentionally and reminding me how much I love this woman. The warmth exuding from her chest was burning hot and nipples like fresh dripped candle wax. My eyes locked with hers, those digital girl eyes. I locked my lips with her synthetic lips just below her top screen.

Her silicon lips were warm and soft. What others see as fake, to me they were realer than any other. My tongue slid between them, and I felt the zap of her hidden mouth port. The tingle only made me want her more. I kissed and kissed, she squirmed and moaned into my mouth. It was delicious. Her hands were spazzing, fighting the urge to touch the port between her legs. She knew I’d get there later.

I shifted my weight, so that my knees were on her arms and my dick between her breasts. “Be a good puppy…” I said, my voice containing my eagerness, “and suck mommy’s cock.” Her hot lips on my skin almost made me explode, her sensation, her obedience, her eagerness. I own her, and she loves it, and I love it. The jolt of her energy through my body called me to thrust into her mouth, her synthetic tongue caressing the head. Now I had to hold myself back from explosion. I needed to hold off the building tension from below, calling me to unload inside my puppy’s mouth. “She would love it, mommy’s hot cum inside her,” I thought. The devil in me told me to do it, ruin her hot mouth, short circuit her brain with my love. But no. Not yet. I can’t.

My puppy’s eagerness brought her sensual blowjob from a savoring to devouring. Her dumb, sweet, gorgeous puppy programming needed her to get my cum. But I had to keep it from her, like waving a toy over a dogs head, beckoning it to jump for it, only to snatch the toy away before they can lock their jaws into it. I let her go fast, but now I needed to stop before I gave her the prize.

“Good girl, drop it.”

She immediately stopped, but her eyes were confused, begging me to let her keep going. She was hungry for it. She couldn’t even move her arms to bring me back in. She just had to wait, like a good puppy. The Denial fed her eagerness, she needed a release. She needed to fuck her mpmmy so bad, and I could tell.

“Let’s use the gba port.” The gameboy had an insane amount of device attachments to go with different games or products. The attachment we are going to use was not a commercially made device, but Etsy creators sold these for anyone who had a Nintendo DS branded robotic girlfriend who wanted to get kinky. With a little luck, I managed to get a hold of the attachment before they were shut down by a classic Nintendo cease and desist.

From the bedside table, I pulled out a Gameboy advanced dick attachment with vibration and cum functionality. I plugged in the cock to the gba port between HAL-E’s legs (it was placed there to mimic the ds’ original design and got past Nintendo censors). As soon as it connected, the cock hardened and throbbed. The temperature of the dick rose, using it as a heat sink. Her artificial cum leaked out like a doctor checking a syringe before inserting it and I was the patient. I poured lube all over her cock and stroked her twice to get it all over.

I laid on the bed, my legs in the air and my butt propped up against the pillows. My cock leaked across my front, and my asshole puckered. I put my hands on my cheeks and spread them, beckoning my sweet puppy closer. “Be good girl, Fuck mommy…”

Her desperate puppy eyes guided her as HAL-E moved forward and pressed her warm robot cock against my greedy asshole. She moaned and glitched moan, one that splintered and drowned out her screaming fans. Her cocks head pressed into my ass, spreading it and filling me up with her love. Unlike the doctor, she pushed her cock jn and out. “Arf” and “bark” came from her speakers with every thrust. Her eyes were locked on mine and our hands intwinned. Our love was one, her heat and mine, a building cycle. Her glitchy moans. She’s going to cum.

She’s speeding up. Im moaning, she’s barking, she’s such a good girl, such a good puppy. I’m going to reward her so good. “Good girl. Good puppy.” She speeds up again. Faster. Harder. Desperation rising. My cock tenses. I can feel her cock rubbing against my special spot. “Cum with mommy.”

She barks in response, my beautiful dumb puppy.

“3.”

She speeds up, I’m losing control of my voice and moans.

“2.”

She’s overheating, her fans on overtime, my body is so hot too, I love her so much.

“1.”

Her cock is tensing, but she won’t cum until I say. She’s a good girl.

“Good girl… cum.”

We both cum, as she pins be down with her robot body. She locks her cock inside my Ass to make sure I feel her pulsating eruption within me. Such a good puppy. Her screens both turn blue as the pleasure and heat overloads her. It’s too much, her lips lock with mine as she reboots.

Meanwhile I erupt all over our tummies. First on mine, then hers as she leans over to reboot. With deep breaths I embrace her, I give my darling puppy robot girl all of my love. I kiss her lips, sticking my tongue in and moaning “HAL-E” with every thrust. “Good girl.”

I spent 2 minutes with her as she rebooted. It was quiet, broken by a few clicks as the systems worked through and reset to normal levels. With every moment I fell more and more in love with HAL-E, all over again. But every time I couldn’t help but get scared. She doesn’t always blue screen, but when she does I can’t help but worry. She’s told me 100 times that it’s harmless, but I still get nervous.

After those two minutes to calm down, she woke up. Her eyes bright, “hey cutie” she said. Those words made my heart melt. I kissed her again and again, and forever into the night.

(This was written in my notes app, sorry for any typos) :3

[jnstudios2]

Nicktoons Unite The Animated Series

Episode One : The Adventure Begins

The nickverse and the universe were combined to create one cartoony universe. Humans and nick characters lived together in harmony in this 2d universe, until the syndicate attacked with their robot creations to try to take over the combined universe for themselves, scaring the nick characters and people into terror. It seemed the syndicate could finally win taking over the universe, but a spark of hope came to foil their plans. The nicktoons unite came to the rescue along with some friends like Jenny, el Tigre, Korra, and a few more to help them fight the bots and the syndicate from their evil plans. The syndicate fled as the team celebrated defeating them and protecting the universe from their evil, but they knew they would return and had to get ready for their next attack.

The team returned to their headquarters, the place where they stayed and where they got their missions. Jimmy led the team into a laboratory, it was dark, the lights on the screens being the only light source inside. Timmy Turner, Danny Phantom, and SpongeBob SquarePants were wondering why Jimmy brought them here in this dark laboratory. “ What is this place it’s giving me the creeps?” SpongeBob said holding onto Danny scared when Timmy laughed. “ don’t be such a scaredy-cat, there’s nothing here to..” Timmy stopped when a clawed robotic hand grabbed him. Timmy freaked out when a voice spoke “ don’t touch that!” The voice said as Danny phantom and SpongeBob looked scared seeing another robotic claw hand grab a cube going back to the figure. The figure has four robotic arms and is high in the air looking at them with a glint of light on their sunglasses. Timmy tried to pull himself free from the robotic hand that grabbed him until it let him go when he hit the floor shocked. The figure landed on the floor and walked towards them. Out of the darkness of the laboratory was a girl with short brown hair wearing sunglasses with her green eyes peeking out. She wore a lab coat with a green buttoned shirt inside, and dark gray pants with a belt that was attached to something. She wore dark gray and silver boots and had four robotic-clawed arms on her backpack. She looked at everyone with a look and thoughtfully folded her arms while looking at them making them look nervous to wave at her. “ nicktoons unite meet Ella, she monitors, creates weaponry, and gadgets for us” Jimmy said as they looked at her as she pushed her sunglasses up “ nice to meet the other three members of the Nicktoons unite “ she said looking at them. “ Hi there, I’m Danny Phantom, ” Danny said, bringing his hand out to her to shake it. “ Ah the ghost boy himself, I’ve been fascinated by your ghost powers and your biology, “ she said, shaking his hand as he looked nervously “..thanks?” He said. “ And you must be Timmy Turner and SpongeBob SquarePants, you are quite interesting to research, “ she said, looking and examining them. “ Has there been any reports of attacks or anything yet, Ella?” Jimmy asked as she stopped examining the three. “ Not really it’s been quiet for a while” she told him until The alarm went off “ not anymore I guess” Ella said,checking it out. “ You want a mission? Well you got one in Orlando “ Ella said. "There has been an attack in the city, I’m talking about syndicate bots causing mayhem type “ she said. “ has to be the syndicate bringing out their toys again “ Danny said folding his arms in disgust “ finally some butt-kicking action!” Timmy said excitedly. “ take the self-flying ship there, I upgraded it with some slime weaponry from the last encounter, have fun with it, “ Ella said, then glared at Timmy. “ don’t break this one, I’ve worked on it to the best of my ability, if you break it you’re fixing it, “ Ella said glaring at him.

The team with Jenny and el Tigre who wanted to join in the fun headed out on the ship towards Orlando to see the mayhem the syndicate bots were causing. Broken windows, blasting at people and objects, and even stealing variables to please their masters. The bots turned up to see the ship flying as Danny and Jenny came out of it to fight them. Jenny unleashed her weaponry at them destroying them into pieces, Danny blasted his ghost rays and ice powers to freeze them then break them into tiny ice shards with his blast. “ My turn!” El Tigre smiled, jumping out of the ship, shooting his chain-clawed hand at them and wrapping them up as they tried to blast. Manny smiled, slicing the trapped bots in half as he pulled his chain back to him. The ship landed as Jimmy, Timmy, and SpongeBob joined in. SpongeBob blew bubbles and even used his karate gear to beat up bots, Jimmy blasted his tornado blaster and gadgets at them crushing them, Timmy wished to be a superhero and was crushed with his superhero powers. The bots didn’t stand a chance against the powerful team, it was like everywhere they went someone was there to kick their butts and turn them into scrap. After every bot was destroyed, A sudden beeping went as they all gathered to see what was happening. “ You may have defeated our bots, nicktoons unite, but we the syndicate always return and soon the universe will be ours to command haha” professor calamitous said as they growled hearing his voice. “ self-destruct in 10 seconds “ the bot said as they freaked out. Danny grabbed them all and turned them intangible when the bots blew up making the whole city shake violently making it hard for Danny to focus on being intangible. The shaking stopped as they all opened their eyes to see a giant hole where the bots were and sighed in relief that Danny maintained to make them intangible to avoid the explosion from the bots. “ is everyone okay?” Danny asked them. “ si amigo, “ Manny said “ I’m all intact, “ Jenny said. He let them go and then walked towards the huge hole “ those could have blown us to bits!” Wanda said. “ ooh I wonder what it will be like,” Cosmo said as everyone looked at him like “seriously”. “ they just don’t know when to quit” Jenny said while folding her arms “ it’s the syndicate, what did you expect really? They won’t rest until they take over the universe, “ Timmy said, a bit annoyed at her. '' and destroying our sleep schedule, “ Danny added as everyone agreed with that.

But the time for celebration was cut short

Because a mysterious figure named Chosen Warrior looked mad at them and blasted at them with her glowing blue powers. This mysterious figure was a phantom sorceress, but the reason why she was angry still remained a mystery. SpongeBob noticed the blasts “ hey guys look! They're shooting fireworks for us!” He said happily as El Tigre saw them “ umm I don’t think those are fireworks” he said as Jimmy looked shocked. “ Look out!” He said as everyone took cover and Chosen Warrior landed with her black gloved fist to the ground, shaking the city like an earthquake from the impact. Everyone looked at her as she stood up and glared at them with her glowing sea blue eyes with black pupils. She was wearing a black shirt, gloves, pants, boots, collar cape with sea blue in it, a sea blue blue top hat with black rim on it, and a blue heart shaped necklace that glowed blue. Her hands glowed blue as she blasted a few kinds of rays at the team as Danny created his shield to block them, angering her as she flew towards like a spinning drill to slice through and punched Danny into a building. “ charge!” Timmy said as Jenny and el Tigre charged towards her and fought her, but she was good at fighting, very good, as she didn’t fear these three fighting her. El Tigre swiped at her as a glowing blue bo staff appeared stunning him “ well, that ain’t good “ he said as she swung her bo staff showing impressive skills with it to block his claw swipes and Jenny’s attack as she smacked them away from her and blocked Timmy’s attacks with cosmo as a giant green mallet and Wanda as a backpack full of tricks keeping her at her feet with her fighting skills. While this was happening, Jimmy aimed at her trying to blast her with his tornado blaster, but she noticed it kicking Timmy out of the way and throwing her bo staff like a boomerang towards him. This shocked him “ what In the nebula?!” He said as it smacked his tornado blaster out of his hands and back to her. Jenny kicked her as she caught herself and swing her bo staff like a baseball bat to hit her when she flew towards her into a wall “ wow, she’s good “ el Tigre said “ but I’m better “ Timmy said as he had his wish blaster blasting at her as she spun like her bo staff like a fan to block it all stunning him. “ or not “ he said stunned to see this, she sensed Danny flying towards her and fired her rapid fire ray at him, but he became intangible and tackled her through a wall and crashed into a game when they both turned tangible to hit it.

Metal and shards of glass flew everywhere when they made an impact on that arcade game. She kicked him off of her as he caught himself and she got out to see her bo staff gone and growled at him “ what is your problem?” He asked her. “ You will never understand!, “ she told him, “ maybe if we talk about it, we could, “ he told her. “ not going to happen '' she said, showing her fists at him as he got ready for her, who was like a lioness ready to pounce with that anger burning in her. She lunged at him as the two got into a fist fight, showing off their martial arts, and their skills. They were both impressive, it was like these two were evenly matched and they couldn’t lay a hit while fighting. Danny blasted at her with ghost rays when she caught them then fired them back at him to hit him with his own attack. Chosen warrior lifted some arcade games with her powers and fired them at him while he flew away or became intangible to not get hit by them as they crashed onto the floor. “ cheap magic trick magician “ Danny said to her as she growled glowing blue “ that’s sorceress to you!” She said with her collar cape flying in the gust and swiped at him, but he dodged and went behind her. “ the top hat says otherwise “ he said, blasting her “ oof!” She said as she crashed into the prize center with a thud. She got up by using the counter with silly string all over her and heard him chuckle “ what’s the matter? Feeling silly?” He joked. She growled as she turned invisible then drop kicked him back into the floor then grabbed him and ran him through the counter, making sure he hit every single prize on there then threw him off. She winced while holding her head, she was struggling to control herself. Unfortunately for Danny, she growled at him while still holding her head with one hand and looking at him with her sea blue eyes. “ Why are you this angry?” He said softly to her as she looked at him “ you’ll never understand the pain and suffering I had to endure” She said clenching her fangs in anger as her blue heart shaped necklace glowed to show her anger stunning him. She lunged at him, clawing at the columns to slice some and even damage them while Danny became intangible. She used her powers to try to get him until she got distracted “ I wish to be a superhero!” Timmy wished as he chinned her to a wall and slumped down to the floor.

El Tigre and Timmy tried to punch her, but she phased through the wall to avoid them then grabbed Danny’s foot “ oh boy” he said when he was thrown towards the two. They all slid on the floor to hit a wall, getting dizzy from how hard they hit it “ ooh I see stars” Cosmo said chuckling while dizzy. Jenny air tackled her as they both flew into the air until she pushed Jenny off of her, then turned invisible to stay out of sight to hit her a few times confused of where she went. A few more hits went as Jenny was blindly firing to find her as SpongeBob and the rest were getting out of the way “ Jenny, watch where you are shooting at!” Jimmy hollered at her “ sorry” she said as Chosen Warrior blasted her invisible. “ ok that’s it!” She said as she put on her infrared contacts to find where she was going to attack next. Chosen warrior was in her sights as Jenny grinned “ gotcha!” She said hitting her with her boxing glove gadget sent her into a wall dizzy from the unexpected attack Jenny did. “ Ready when you are, I can do this all day “ she told her as she looked at her after recovering from the impact. “ So can I” she said as her gloved fist glowed blue and clashed with Jenny to create a bright glow like you would see in a light show at night. The two clashed a few more times at top speeds then pushed each other off “ you’re good..but I’m better” Jenny said unleashing her weaponry at her. chosen Warrior fired her rapidly fired ray to hit the rockets “ we’ll see about that “ she said as she spun around in her ecto tornado to have the rest of the gadgets hit it and explode then came roaring at Jenny. She freaked out when it came after her and stuff started to get sucked into it making it really difficult to stay out of its way. But no matter how hard she tried, she was unsuccessful when a token machine hit her and sucked her into the tornado and got hit a few more times with some stuff while inside as she got punched out of it. A giant blue ghost wave smacked everyone as they all slid. She landed with an angry look “ do you all have any idea what I’ve been through?!” She growled as she lifted games with her powers stunning the team. “ cause I believe you don’t “ she said,firing them at the team as they recovered then destroying the games to create a cloud of smoke after how much they were destroying in their path.

A few seconds passed

The cloud smoke was still covering everything, but she was suddenly tackled by Danny as they both slid and saw that he was hugging her when they both stood up. “ we may not know what I’ve been through, but if you can calm down, maybe we can help you” Danny said, trying to get her to calm down so they could talk about this. “ let..go!” She said as she shocked him with her ghost stinger “ ahhhhh!” He said until he let her go and she backed off from him. He recovered after a while from her shock “ why are you so angry?” He said, rubbing his head, still getting over her shock as she growled at him. “ why? Why?!” She roared at him, scaring him. “ I've been through so much pain and suffering! , my heart has been shattered by the ones I trusted!, and you ask why I’m so angry?! “ She said, blasting at him as he blasted back to clash with hers. “ it must have been painful to learn that, I too have been through something like that” Danny said “ nothing like I have been through! “ She said, pushing her blast closer to him. “ I had my parents chasing me around when I was like this, they called me horrible names and threatened to hurt me like tearing me molecule by molecule, so I know how it feels “ he told her. She looked a bit stunned then snapped out of it “ no, you’re being like them, tricking me into believing your lies! I won’t that happen..AGAIN!” She roared, pushing it even closer to him. “ no..that’s not it…I’m trying to help you..not trick you” he tried to tell her as the blasts suddenly created a giant bright light, stunning the two. “ uh” he said “ oh “ she said shocked “ everyone take cover!” Jimmy hollered when he saw it and everyone else took cover when it created a giant explosion to send the two flying into the food court on the other side with a crash.

Everything suddenly became quiet for a bit as the whole food court was a mess. A Broken table, soda hoses flying everywhere, and the tiles cracked with the two on the floor still trying to recover from the giant explosion that they just took. Eventually, they did recover with Chosen Warrior getting up stunned to see Danny badly hurt “..what have I done?” She said quickly getting up scared and heard the team hollering his name. She didn’t hesitate flying up to turn intangible to phase through the roof “ wait!” Danny said when he saw this , but she was gone. “ Danny, are you alright? “ Jenny said checking on him when the rest of the team arrived to see him. “ yeah I’m ok, but she fled scared” he said to them. “ good, she should be afraid of us!” Timmy said as everyone looked at him “ I think you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover sport” Wanda said “ nah, it’s more fun to do that” cosmo chuckled annoying Wanda . “ Well before you do that, you should know that something is clearly angering her, I learned that when we blasted at each other” Danny told them. “ And didn’t she say," Do you have any idea what I’ve been through? “ El Tigre said as Jenny agreed “ she did say that, and that should be evidence for what Danny is saying” Jenny added. “ But she attacked us, she’s clearly a bad guy” Timmy said ignoring what they were saying as Wanda looked at him “ like I said sport, you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, and you should really listen before judging her like that” she said to him. “ yeah turner” jimmy said annoyed “ will we ever see her again?” SpongeBob asked them when Jenny helped Danny up from the floor. “ I dont know if we will or not,..but who knows?” Danny told him as Jimmy was typing on his wrist “ well all I know it’s getting late and we should be heading back to get some sleep” he said as everyone agreed. “ can’t late for class again, Mr Lancer wouldn’t like that one bit “ Danny said as Jenny said “ my mom would freak out if I was late for school “ she said. “ Mr Krabs wouldn’t like me being late for work, I did it once when I was one minute late “ SpongeBob said as they all went into the ship once they made it. “ you know he’s overworking and underpaying you right?” Danny asked him. “ nah he wouldn’t do that to me and squidward “ SpongeBob said as they both were seated and ready to go. “ Even though he sold your soul for 62 cents “ Jimmy said softly and activated the ship when it roared to life and started to fly out of the city and open a portal back to the headquarters.

Once the team arrived at the headquarters, Ella was tired but she activated the portal to take each member back to their home world to get some rest and get ready for the next day in store for them. Once they saw their home world, each member waved goodbye to the others before entering the portal to head home. Every member was home except for Ella and jimmy “ well I guess this is goodnight neutron, I hope you’re ready to have your winning streak of the science fair broken tomorrow, by yours truly” Ella said confidently and chuckling with her clawed hands

Showing how sharp they are. “ We'll see about that, I expect you to bring your a game to be a good runner up” Jimmy said as she laughed “ let’s just hope that Carl or sheen doesn’t ruin it, cause my creation is foolproof!” She laughed then yawned loudly. “ ooh, I need to get some sleep, I’ve been working non stop today” she said rubbing her eyes “ me too, we need to get some sleep if we are to bring our a game at the science fair “ Jimmy as Ella tapped on her nicktoons watch. “ See you tomorrow, neutron” she said as she disappeared out of the lab to head Home on the other side of retroville. Jimmy went to his room with his robot dog snuggling against him to get some sleep as well as the other members. But SpongeBob was wondering if they’ll ever meet that mysterious girl again, he wanted to give her a big ole hug to make her feel better.

Speaking of which, where was she now?

Well

She was still in Orlando while flying in the city, stunned by what she just did. “ What have I done? ” She said while flying, shocked “ oh I hope that he didn’t see that” she said, a bit nervous. “ Oh but I did,” a wicked voice said as she saw the ghost syndicate of evil smiling while folding his arms and stopping her in mid air, stunned to see him. “ plasmius, I..” She said but he stopped her “ no need to explain yourself my dear, you did a good job showing those fools..who you are” he chuckled getting closer to her stunning her. “ I didn’t mean to, I lost control of my anger “ she said defending herself but plasmius wasn’t hearing it. “ Oh stop with the excuses, they make you look soft to our enemies, and you don’t want that, right?” He told her. “ ..no” she said softly then landed on the roof of a building. “ The Nicktoons unite are our enemies my dear, a bunch of fools who are to help others and be the protectors of the universe? Pfft” He said annoyed. “ But you gave me great entertainment while watching your battle against them, oooh what fierce energy and power you have “ he smiled pointing to her chest. He grabbed her hands “ that’s what I like to see, a fierce sorceress who doesn’t let anything stand in her way “ he smiled at her, pleased to see this fierce side of her. But then he saw the good side of her, annoying him “ I still didn’t mean to” she said softly. “ Who cares if you meant to or not, it’s still a great battle for you, and soon you will have them in your grasp “ he told her. “ Why do you still insist that they are friends? What exactly have they done to make you trust them?” He asked her. She was about to answer then stopped herself, realizing that she didn’t have an answer for his question as he watched her. “ can’t think of one, can you?” He said. She held her arm with her gloved hand while looking at him “..I can’t “ she answered him softly. “ So if you can’t think of a reason why you can trust them? Then that should be your clue that they are our enemies, right?” He said. “ ..right” she said slowly still doubtful about that, but pleased him that she acknowledged him.“ but I’m still in hot water with them, and I still didn’t mean to, it was an accident “ she said as he looked annoyed then put his gloved hand on her shoulder “ we’ll work on that, but for now we should be getting some rest..” he continued while smiling wickedly “ we got fun and exciting things to do tomorrow “ he laughed while hugging her. “ Come along now dearie, shall we be going?” He said walking away from her and she watched the cityscape for a bit. “ I’m sorry..nicktoons unite “ she said softly so he wouldn’t hear her. She was still feeling bad for attacking the nicktoons unite and slowly followed him into the darkness to disappear to not be seen in the city again.

[tammyu2]

My friend requested this from me personally :>

“I want it to start of with a bit of angst. I want you to take from the trailer of N and Uzi comforting eachother after losing V, and from there I want to see what you do with the two chatting and leading up to a first kiss...“

Comfort and Confessions

“U-uzi?“

Uzi sat there on the ground,with her legs hugged to her chest. Staring at the floor sadly. Befpre groaning and putting her good hand on her hair griping it slightly, gritting her teeth out of frustration. She had been too focused in her thoughts to notice N a few feet away from her, bending his knees while tilting his head to see her face.

Uzi stopped gripping her hair once she caught her reflection in an oil puddle next to her that was cause from a whole in the the ceiling. She the sighed before looking to her right and jumping slightly at the sight of N waving his hand softly. She looked away quickly while pouting.

“What are you doing here?” She said stubbornly while whipping away any tears that were spilling on her screen.

“I told Tessa I wanted to check on you... I was worried..“ He said softly. “N-not that you can't h-handly yourself!- Its j-just I wanted to check in- And all!-“ He said akwardly rambling nervously.

Uzi stands up before looking at him with holographic tears on her monitor-

[I guess cause ther are robots and all-]

“A-are you still sad about..?“ N didn't continue but she knew he was talking about V. “You know I'm here for you and all... We can go through this together- Oof!-“ Before N could finish his sentance Uzi ran up to him and hugged him.

Stiff and startled, N didn't do anything for a minute. When he finally registered what was happening he hugged her back as Uzi gripped his shoulder a bit more as tears started to spill from her monitor again.

N lulls her while hugging her gently. As if she could have broken at any moment. (The hug was a bit akward cause like she didn't have her other arm and all) They exchanged no words as Uzi calmed down a bit and pulled away slowly still in his arms. She shyly looked at N as N looked down at her.

Tears still in her eyes.

“I just.. miss her.. I hope she is okay..“

N was a bit taken back cause this was out of character for Uzi. But now? Her in his arms letting him see her vulnerable side. And opening up to him? He was shocked but also honored she trusted him this much to her like this.

N raised one of his hands and wiped away her tears and rested his hand on her chin.

“She will be fine. I know her, she won't go down so easily. So long we will be fine aslong as we are together. I promise I will protect you.“ N said reassuringly. Uzi did not respond. Still looking up at him before softly smilling and leaning into his touch as his hand came up to her cheek again.

“Thank you N. I know you will.“ She said as she looked at him longingly. Both of their expressions faultered as the slowly leaned in. N stopped when there was a small gap inbetween them.

“May I?“ He said whispering softly. Uzi didnt respond, only pulling him by his shirt and kissing him.

The kiss was sweet. A reassurance for both of them. Uzi mostly guided N because he was knew to this. And she was somewhat experienced from that one awkward kiss she had in kindergarden with this random guy because of a bet her old friend dared her to do.

N used the hand that wasnt holding her cheek to pull her closer by her waist gently. As he did that Uzi let go of his shirt and wrapped her arm around his neck.

Its was going all good till a voice sounded from the hallway N came from...

“What did I say about dating my robot?“ Tessa said as she sassily put her hand on her hip leaning on her right leg.

They parted quickly. N a blushing mess covering his face with his hands. Softly groaning out of embarrassment. Uzi blushing lightly before running up to Tessa face.

“Bite me! I never asked for your input!!“ She said gritting her teeth as Tessa’s stance didn't change.

They bantered back and forth as N was making sure his system didn't over heat.

What a first kiss hey? THOUGHTS??? THIS WAS MY FIRST ONLINE ONE SHOT!! HOPE YA LIKE IT!!!! (not proof read)

-Tammy<3

[twistedwonderlandshenanigans]

December Drabbles

Prompt 27: Skating

Character(s): Shrouds, (Idia is on the tablet), Epel, Deuce, Vil and bg "extrovert freaks"

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

"Be careful Ortho. I know you're excited to skate, but the mods you asked for-"

"I know what they do, I'll be fine! I'll be safe." Ortho let out a few happy beeps as his winter 'outfit' allowed him to form ice skates as he stepped onto the frozen lake.

"Neither you or I have actually gone skating before, just don't be reckless, ok?....Ortho?"

Idia sighed. Sometimes his brother, even with all his programming, liked to choose to ignore him when it was convenient. He figured he could just let it go this time, seeing as the first years were all there with him, along with the major extrovert freaks. He would be fine.

Everything would be fine.

Idia set his tablet to kind of just float around the lake so that if Ortho needed him, he could hear and see it before getting back to grinding his most recent hyperfixation.

It was all of two minutes before he heard a commotion from the lake, his little brother sounding an awful lot like R2D2 in his excitement? Panic? Idia had never heard that before. He looked at the monitor that gave him view of the lake just in time to see the "turbo boosters" that Ortho had begged him to install had shot him across the lake in record time, taking two of the freshmen with him as he went careening into a snow bank.

He didn't really have time to react though as mama Vil skated up.

"Is everyone alright?"

Epel's head was the first to pop out of the snow, cheeks apple red and a smile brighter than the sun as he cheered. "THAT WAS FU-FLIPPIN' AWESOME!"

Deuce didn't move much, but after the initial shock of the impact wore off he laughed softly, before fighting to get out of the snow lest it consume him, but it was clear some snow had gone down his back as he yelped.

Vil look a little more concerned at the hole Ortho had made in the snowbank, Idia's tablet hovering nearby. It took a moment longer, but Ortho managed to reorient himself before popping his head out and speaking in beeps and buzzes, very excitedly. Vil took comfort in that, and having worked with Ortho a little bit before, waited for the little robot to calm down until he found the words in English he was looking to say.

"Vil Shoenheit! Would you like a turn next?! I can control them better this time, promise!"

Ortho climbed out and super heated his body to rid himself of the wetness, then held out his highly modified, death trap-esque "turbo boosted" skate on one leg.

"It'll be fun!"

"Absolutely not, I can't risk the potential damages....however, Epel and Deuce might if you really want to do it again."

Vil had to cover his ears from the loud cheer the three boys had, sighing as the scrambled to get back on the ice to do it yet again.

"They're like toddlers."

Idia giggled a little at Vil's dismay.

"I mean yeah, they-"

"You have no room to speak Idia. You entertain yourself with bright colours and flashing pictures all day, you just happen to be substantially more pale than the freshmen."

[lumiolivier]

Matsuda's Second Shift

Day 27 of 31 of Kinktober

Prompt: Sex work

Word Count: 3576

Everyone's got a family to go home to. But Matsuda...Matsuda has to start his second job.

“Good work today everyone!” Matsuda chimed with his usual cheery disposition while everyone started packing up.  It had been a long day at the office and everyone was exhausted.  Visions of a comfortable bed and a hot meal tantalized all of the task force.  Aizawa going home to his wife and kids, Soichiro and Light going home to Sachiko’s pork katsu, even Mogi going home to something warm to put in his own belly that his mother had made the night before.  But that left Matsuda.  Matsuda, who would trudge up the stairs like he did every other night to his room in the task force headquarters.  Despite everything, there was something empty in him. 

“You, too, Matsuda,” Soichiro praised him, “Light, are you ready?”

“Coming, Dad,” Light followed his father outside while Aizawa and Mogi weren’t too far behind.

“Yes,” L spoke softly, “Thank you for all your hard work today, gentlemen.”

“See you tomorrow, Ryuzaki,” Aizawa may not have been his biggest fan, but that wasn’t mean he was going to totally blow him off.

“You as well, Mr. Aizawa,” L stayed vigilant at the monitors while everyone else went home.  Everyone but Matsuda, who still sat at the bottom of the stairs.  And even though human emotion wasn’t exactly L’s strong suit, he could tell there was something Matsuda was hiding, “Something bothering you, Mr. Matsuda?”

“Hmm?” Matsuda perked up at the sound of his name, “Nope.  Everything’s fine, haha.”

“That’s good to hear,” L let it go, “Here I thought I had something to be worried about.”

“Nope.  I’m good.” How am I supposed to get out of here without L knowing?  He doesn’t need to know about this.  When everyone else got to go home at the end of the day, it was time for Matsuda to start his second shift.  But he needed a distraction, “So…Any big plans for the night?”

“Are you really attempting small talk with me, Matsuda?” L wondered.  Not that he was angry or upset by it.  It was mere curiosity.

“Just making conversation.” I need to know how long I’m going to be sitting on these steps.  If I miss the call, I’m screwed.

“If you must know,” L dropped another sugar cube in his coffee, his mind wandering, “I might just call it a night soon.  Light says I don’t relax enough and that it’s eventually going to drive me into the ground.”

“Light might have a point,” Matsuda nudged him along, hoping L would just go to bed, “It’d be pretty bad for the investigation if one of our best is out of commission.”

“One of our best, Mr. Matsuda?” L shot him a quick glance.

“Well…” Matsuda sputtered out, “I mean, come on, Ryuzaki.  You have to see it, too.  Between you and Light, you both practically run this entire investigation.  And Light’s not exactly stupid either.  You’re both brilliant in your own ways, but I mean, yeah, this is definitely your investigation, but-”

“Matsuda,” L hushed him, “I was screwing with you.  Hard to believe Light has the audacity to tell me I’m the one that needs to relax.  I’m not nearly the robot people seem to think I am.”

“Right,” Matsuda laughed it off, checking his watch.  Shit…I really need to get going.

“What about you?” L asked.  Mostly for Matsuda’s benefit.  Just so he felt a little special, “Any plans for the evening?”

“Actually,” Matsuda could feel the sweat rolling down his neck, “I need to get going.”

“And where are you headed off to?” L spun around in his chair with an out of character whimsy.  It was just Matsuda with him.  Even if he told the task force about him having a moment of childlike amusement, it’s not like they’d believe him.  Not that I wouldn’t know.  Even though you’re off the clock, you still have your tracker in your belt buckle.  I’d still know where to find you.

“Right,” Matsuda bit the inside of his cheek.  Ryuzaki hasn’t been in Japan long enough for him to know where everything is yet, has he?  He’s not going to know, “I’m meeting up with some friends.  I should be back later tonight.”

“Enjoy yourself,” L shooed him out.

“That’s the plan, haha,” Matsuda started walking up the stairs to his room.  Huh…That was easier than I thought.  Alright.  I have to do this quick.  I can get ready there.  That’s not a problem.  Matsuda got another glimpse at the clock.  Shit!  She’s going to be pissed!  Without another second lost, Matsuda sprinted back down the stairs and waved his goodbyes, “See you later, Ryuzaki!  Have a good night!”

L glanced down at his phone next to the keyboard.  That was the plan, Mr. Matsuda.  That was the plan.  L pulled up a separate screen to make sure he knew where his task force was.  Light and Soichiro’s dots were next to each other, so he could only assume they were home.  As were Mogi and Aizawa.  But he watched as Matsuda’s dot started heading for Shinjuku.  Shinjuku at this hour, Mr. Matsuda?  Naughty, naughty.  But L was no saint either.  He scrolled through his contacts before getting to one that was merely labeled X.

“Mr. Ryuga,” a woman’s voice rasped on the other end, “Always a pleasure to hear from one of my best clients.  How can I help you?  Ordering off the menu this evening or are you looking for something a little more specific?”

“You know what I like,” L told her, “Shy…Quiet…Doesn’t ask too many questions.  What do you have along those lines?”

“I think I got something for you.  It’s taking its sweet time getting delivered, but I think I can make a nice arrangement for you.”

“Thank you, Fujiko,” L smiled a bit, “It’s been a long week.  And an even longer day.”

“Aww…My poor baby.  Don’t you worry.  I got what you’re looking for.”

“And that’s why I keep coming back to you.  When should I expect it?”

“Give me about an hour,” she assured him, “I’ll have something nice sent right over.”

“Wonderful.”

Click.

“L,” Watari came out from the kitchen with a bowl of ice cream with everything on it, “I’ll be back later.  Are you going to be alright?”

“How long are you going to be gone?” L wondered.

“Maybe an hour or two,” Watari reported, “I’m going for wine and a good cigar.”

“Will you at least call before you come home?” L ran his pinky around the edge of the bowl and licked the melted ice cream off.

“Of course,” Watari put his hat on and started walking toward the door, “Don’t get into mischief, Lawliet.”

“Yes, Mr. Wammy,” L rolled his eyes, “I won’t.”

“Good boy,” Watari walked out the door and left L to his devices.  And he kept watching the little dots on his screen.

Meanwhile, Matsuda burst through the doors of what looked like a hotel in Shinjuku.  However, it was no hotel.  Every corner was decorated in jewel toned luxury fabrics.  The chandelier dripped with real crystal and diamonds.  Hardly anyone could breathe the air in that lobby for less than ten grand.  And there was no receptionist waiting for him.  Instead, it was a large woman, glaring him down, “You’re late, Touta…”

“I know, Mama,” Matsuda winced, “I got a little tied up at the other office.”

“Excuses, excuses, sweetheart,” she took him by the hand.  And an idea popped into her head, “Maybe you’re not too late.”

“What do you mean?” Matsuda wondered.

“You’re on call tonight,” she smirked, “And I just got a call.  Come on.  Mama will get you all taken care of herself while she tells her little pet where he’s off to tonight.”

“Yes, Mama,” Matsuda knew he was already on thin ice with her.  Agreeing to whatever Mama had for him was his best chance at avoiding any punishment.

“Good boy, Touta,” she cradled his cheek in her palm, “Because this particular client has some deep pockets and if no one else called us for as long as we were open for business but him, we’d be just fine.”

“That’s good to hear,” Matsuda relaxed a bit.  But he knew better.  Deep pockets always came with a price.  He sat down in front of Mama’s mirror and knew he’d be there a while, “What do you got for me?”

“He’s a very private man,” she started digging through the drawers in search of foundation, “And he’s got a soft spot for a shy, quiet type.  He’ll be the one to take charge, so you need to let him do that.  And he likes submissive, but there needs to be just a little resistance.  He likes the chase but hates to run, if that makes any sense.”

“Alright,” Matsuda flinched under her brush, “I think I can handle that.”

“I know you can, sweetheart,” Mama pulled Matsuda’s chin up, “Because your future here depends on it.  I know what kind of dire straits you’re in, Touta.  I can make it all go away with the snap of my fingers.  And I know what you do in the daylight.  I can make that go away, too.”

“I know, Mama,” Matsuda glanced down, doing anything he could to break eye contact, “I’m sorry for being late tonight.  I really did get tied up at the office.”

“And if you’re lucky,” she teased him a bit, “You’ll get tied up with our client tonight, too.”

“Really?” Matsuda wondered, “He’s into bondage?”

“It wouldn’t surprise me,” she shrugged, “Stay still.”

“Sorry,” Matsuda stiffened up.

“Good boy,” Mama started doing contour, highlighting Matsuda’s already soft and delicate features, “You’re so pretty, Touta…I’m so glad you’re one of mine.  Of all the madams in Tokyo you could’ve come to…You wouldn’t think to leave me either, would you?”

“Of course not, Mama,” Matsuda promised, “You’ve treated me well over the last couple years.  You brought me in at my lowest and I don’t think I’d ever be able to repay you for that.”

“Aww…” She gave Matsuda a little kiss on his forehead, leaving a light pink lipstick mark on his skin, “You’re such a sweetheart.  You know, I’m kind of surprised no one’s thought to snap you up and put a ring on it yet.”

“I couldn’t get that lucky,” Matsuda laughed nervously, “I’m too tangled up in work.”

“What?  The NPA can’t be bothered to issue you a love life?”

“It’s not that,” Matsuda squinched his face while his setting spray went on, “Because a lot of the guys I work with are married and have families of their own.”

“Relax your face, honey…”

“Sorry,” Matsuda did his best to keep his head about him and let his face fall, “You’d think at least one of our clients would’ve developed feelings for me.”

“Oh, no, no, no, baby,” Mama stopped him, “Trust me.  That’s not a route you want to go down.  We sell fantasies.  We don’t sell reality.  That’s not a jump you want to make.  Because with a lot of our clients, that jump is going to make them lose interest.  I love you, Touta, but the second you’re not what they paid for, you’d be out on your ass.  You’re cute and you’re sweet, but we sell the slut, not the housewife.  You know what I mean?”

“Yeah,” Matsuda slumped down in his chair with long, well manicured fingers tangled up in his hair, “I know.  It’d be nice, though.”

“That’s why you escort,” she scratched the top of his head, putting him a little more at ease, “Making you available for the girlfriend experience would be a disaster on you.  I’m saving you from the heartache.”

“Thanks, Mama,” Matsuda laid his head in her hip, “I appreciate that.”

“For now, though,” Mama looked him over in the mirror, “I think you’re good.  Go on.  Go get dressed.  You know where the closet is.”

“Yes, Mama,” Matsuda got up from her chair and started walking out of her office, “Wait, Mama, it’d probably be for the best if I at least knew what this guy’s name was.”

“Touta, you’ve been around here long enough,” she rolled her eyes, “You should know these men don’t know real names.  Hell, most of them are hiding affairs.  But I know how you are about that sort of thing.  You might be one of my sluts, but you’re not a homewrecking slut.  He doesn’t have anyone that I know of.  But you’ll be seeing Mr. Ryuga.”

“Ryuga…” Matsuda thought back.  But then, his heart sunk to his feet, “Like…The pop idol, Ryuga?!”

“I doubt they’re the same guy,” she settled him, “Go on.  Go put something nice on for him.  I’ll have the car up front waiting for you.”

“Ok,” Matsuda walked down the hall to the wardrobe room and started skimming through the racks with a couple of the other guys on the schedule for the night.  Ryuga…I know I have to be discreet about this kind of thing, but if I’m really going to be with THAT Ryuga, I don’t think I’ll be able to cope!  How would I be able to keep something like that to myself?  I’d at least have to tell Misa about that.  I know she could keep her mouth shut about that.  But then, she’d know too much.  And I’m sure that would get back to Mama.  She’d kill me!  Alright.  I can do this.  It’s just another night at the office. 

Once Matsuda was already dressed and ready to go, he got into the back of the nice town car Mama called for him.  He kept his bag in his lap filled with all the fun that would await him.  He pulled the zipper on it, just to make sure it was all there.  All the condoms, lubricants, massage oils, and a couple toys if his client was into that sort of thing.  He liked to keep a variety, just to keep things interesting for whoever he was seeing.  Especially if they were repeat customers.  But Matsuda had never seen Mr. Ryuga before.  It wasn’t often he got someone new.  But he wasn’t going to complain.  Much like he did to keep his clients guessing, it still needed to be a little fun for him, too.  But once the car stopped, Matsuda looked out the window, scratching his head.  What…?  Why did the driver bring me here?  I know Mama knows what I do for a living before the sun goes down, but there’s no way she knows where the task force headquarters is.  It’s just like every other nondescript building in the city. 

What do I do?  Dare I even get out?  Worse yet, do I go inside like this?  No.  Mama’s incredible with contour.  I’m sure I could go undetected.  But…Who the hell would be ordering an escort here?!  No.  This must be a mistake.  I’m sure it’s a mistake.  Matsuda leaned up to the driver, “Excuse me, but where are we supposed to be going?”

“This is the address Ms. Fujiko gave me,” the driver told him, showing the text.

“Yeah…” Matsuda chuckled nervously, “I guess you’re right.  My mistake.”

Shit…How am I going to go in there?  How am I supposed to face whoever…No…No way.  I know Mama said his name was Mr. Ryuga, but…No.  I’m overthinking this.  There’s no way Watari would…No.  Matsuda could feel his stomach turn.  He knew if he went in there, his day job would be compromised.  But if he didn’t go in there, Mama would be furious and end him.  Matsuda bit his lip and swallowed his pride.  I can do this.  Like Mama said, deep pockets.  Deep pockets.  If this makes me lose my day job, then I have the night one to fall back on.  And I’m sure I could stay at the brothel until I got back on my feet.  I’ll be fine.  I’ll be fine.

Matsuda mustered up the necessary courage to get out of the car and walked to the front door.  As much as he wanted to reach for the door handle, he had to go in like a civilian.  So, instead of opening the door, he rang the doorbell.  And a little voice barked out of the speaker, “Yes?”

“I’m…” Matsuda cleared his throat, doing his best to disguise his voice.  Wait…That sounded like L, “I’m here for Mr. Ryuga…?”

The doors automatically opened and Matsuda slowly made his way inside.  There was a strange chill in the air.  Like he wasn’t supposed to be there, even though he had been there a million times over.  Even though he lived there.  Something still didn’t feel right.  This is fine.  Everything is going to be fine.  I’m sure I’ll be alright.  I already have a backup plan if this goes sideways.  I’ll be alright.  And if need be, I’ll get back in the car.  I’ll tell Mama that Mr. Ryuga crossed boundaries and I’ll stay in the brothel until the heat dies down and I’ll get the night off.  Everything’s fine.

“Are you Tsuyoshi?” a familiar voice asked from the monitors.

Matsuda’s heart stopped at the sound of his fake name.  By the looks of things, there was only one person left at the task force, “Y…Yes.  That’s me.”

“Are you sure about that?” the screen showed the map with all the dots on it, “Because this little dot right here tells me you’re Touta Matsuda instead.”

It was at that moment, Matsuda broke all character, “How did you know it was me?”

“How else?” L spun around in his chair, getting an eyeful of the present Fujiko sent for him, “You’re wearing a tracker in your belt, Matsuda.  I know where you are at all times.  You think I’m not going to see you go to Shinjuku, go into the brothel, and come right back here?  Granted, I am a little surprised to see you here like this under these circumstances.”

“I’m a little surprised to see you ordering an escort,” Matsuda laughed it off.  Because what else could he do?  It was either brush this off like a funny misunderstanding or face the reality of it. 

“I have needs, too,” L shrugged, “Like I said before, I’m not the robot everyone seems to think I am.  But I’m confused.  What are you doing working for Fujiko?”

“I…” Matsuda could feel it.  The tears coming up from behind his eyes.  He didn’t want to start crying, but he couldn’t stop himself, “I have someone I need to take care of.  My regular salary couldn’t keep up with it, so I started escorting.”

“I’m assuming it’s your grandmother, yes?” L figured, “I figured she was having some health complications.  You moved her into a decent facility, but it’s eating away at your bank account.  Am I wrong?”

“No…” Matsuda wiped his eyes, “She was the one who raised me, Ryuzaki.  I know the inevitable is coming, but if it has to, I at least want her to be comfortable.  I know she wouldn’t approve of me selling my body like this, but what else am I supposed to do?  I don’t need everyone taking more pity than they already do on me.”

“You talk too much, Matsuda,” L rolled his eyes, already pulling up a page for a luxury nursing home fairly close by, along with all of Matsuda’s grandmother’s information, “She’ll be moved by Monday.  And it’s already taken care of.  I’m sure she has another ten good years in her.  At least she will with this particular facility.  It’s one of the best in the country.”

“Wait,” Matsuda’s heart fell into his feet, “Are you serious?  Did you just…?”

“I did,” L nodded, “I’m also not heartless.  By the sounds of it, you have the same relationship with your grandmother as I do with Watari.  The longer they can stick around, the better.”

“Thank you,” Matsuda felt the second wave of crying bubble up in the back of his throat, “You didn’t have to do that.”

“And you didn’t have to be the one Fujiko sent to me,” L pointed out, “But here you are.”

“And…” Matsuda wondered, “You’re not going to judge me…?”

“Matsuda, I ordered you,” L got up from his chair, “I have no room for judgments.  And your intentions, albeit an awkward way of going about it, were pure and noble.  I can’t fault you for that.”

“Thank you,” Matsuda let out a heavy sigh of relief, “I should go.”

“Should you?” L cradled Matsuda’s face in his palm, “You think I’m constantly staring those monitors down for fun?  You think I don’t catch your reflection in them from time to time and see the little untapped treasure you are to me?  Fujiko already took the money up front.  I’m going to take you upstairs.  Do you understand…Tsuyoshi?”

“Um…” Matsuda felt the heat rushing to his cheeks and his loins, “Um…Yes.”

“Yes, what?” This wasn’t Matsuda’s L.  This wasn’t the same Ryuzaki he saw every day at work.  But then again, this wasn’t the same Matsuda that L saw at work either.  There was a certain flame in L’s eyes that did something to Matsuda.  Something that was going to make work a little awkward in the morning.  But he also had a job to do.

“Yes, sir.”

“Good boy,” L praised him, “Come on.  Upstairs.  You know where my room is.”

[crystalninjaphoenix]

Taking Care of Business

A JSE Fanfic

SepticHeroes AU: Part 27

First Part | Previous Part

I'm starting to realize I tend to write longer chapters for this series XD I guess I just really can't help myself from going off with character interactions with these guys. In this chapter, Jackie goes back to SepTech to ask McLoughlin some more questions. Meanwhile, Marvin drops by Schneep's office, and Jameson gets to know this new guy he's met. Maybe they could be friends? Heheh :D

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

Jackie landed outside the North SepTech location. He took a deep breath to prepare himself before heading in. Everything would be fine. Dr. McLoughlin said that he could stop by whenever he wanted without even needing to make an appointment. It would be fine. But as he walked through the doors, he still couldn’t help but be a little nervous. Was it just the natural anxiety of walking in somewhere like he owned the place? Or was it something more? Was he... suspicious of McLoughlin? Marvin had brought up some good points, after all.

No, no. He refused to judge the man before he even had a chance to talk to him. That would taint their entire encounter. For all he knew, McLoughlin just made a mistake when analyzing the Puppeteer’s mask. That’s all.

He got a visitor’s pass from the receptionist and then asked for directions again. He couldn’t remember the exact way to McLoughlin’s lab. She told him the way, and he managed to get to the lab pretty quickly. It was still a shock to see how different this futuristic basement was from the office building above. Everything white and metal. Jackie walked up to the double doors to the lab, and they slid open automatically. Cool.

The lab was just as crowded and messy as it was the first time he was here. Jackie’s eyes flicked over the robotic arms dangling from the ceiling, the monitors around the walls and standing in the middle of the floor, the wires and metal scraps and weird mechanical parts covering every inch of every surface. No sign of any people in here. “Hello?” he called. “Dr. McLoughlin? Are you in here?”

A moment passed. Then one of the monitors nearby turned on, its screen showing the words INTERCOM SYSTEM ACTIVATED. “Hey, Windstorm!” McLoughlin’s voice said excitedly. Coming from the speakers by the monitor. “I didn’t know you were stopping by!”

“Uh—y-yeah, last time I was here you said I could pop in whenever,” Jackie said.

“I did, didn’t I? Right. Sorry, my memory sucks sometimes—which I think I’ve also told you.” McLoughlin laughed. “I’m all the way at the very back. Come on over.”

“Sure.” Jackie hopped into the air, flying over the mess taking up the floor and towards the back of the lab. It’s a pretty big room. You could probably fit a handful of tennis courts in here end-to-end.

Most of the back wall was one massive monitor, but there were smaller monitors surrounding it. They were all turned off except for a couple right below the big screen. Jackie saw McLoughlin’s special SAM rise into the air and flew over there, dropping to the ground nearby. “Hey!” McLoughlin was working at some sort of console, sitting in a swivel chair that he spun around to face Jackie. “Good to see you! Welcome back to the lab.”

“Uh, nice to be back,” Jackie said, looking around. “What’re you working on now?”

“Theory and blueprints,” McLoughlin said, gesturing at the screen. “Trying to come up with new stuff. But I feel like I’ve hit a block, you know? It’s not really ‘artist’s block,’ but if you know what that is, it feels the same, I think. I’ve maybe got an idea for something to supercharge supers’ powers? But it might be dangerous so I’m not sure if I want to go through with it, lord knows the League would leap on it if they heard I was even thinking about that.”

“Uh... huh.” Jackie nodded slowly. “What do you mean? How would it work?”

“Well, it’d be most helpful for Type E, I think, supers who draw power from energy,” McLoughlin explained. “Basically it would give them a bigger dose of energy, but I dunno, there might be side effects from that. Might shock their systems. And I can’t exactly test that on myself like I did with the interface.”

“Right. I forget you have a fucking... chip in your head,” Jackie muttered.

McLoughlin laughed. “I’m a fucking cyborg, and I’m proud of it. Do you know how hard it was to work on an advanced prosthetic while you only have one arm and one eye?” He flexed the fingers on his right hand.

“Couldn’t you have gotten a less advanced prosthetic to help while you worked on the one you were making?”

“Well... yeah, I guess, but then I’d have to remove it—and that’s a whole can of worms. I figured it was easier to just wait until I was done.” McLoughlin shrugged. “Wasn’t so bad. I had the robots to help with a lot of it.”

“Speaking of, uh, your robots.” Jackie reached down, unhooking the Puppeteer mask from his belt. “Remember this?”

“Oh yeah, the mask!” McLoughlin nodded.

“Did you, uh, have your robots do the scan on this?” Jackie asked. “Or did you... How much... Were you heavily involved, or did you just leave it to the machines?”

McLoughlin chuckled. “I pretty much ‘left it to the machines,’ as you said. That’s a fun way of putting it, I’ll have to remember that.” His expression suddenly became serious. “Why? Is there something wrong with it?”

“Um... yeah.”

“Set it down there, then.” McLoughlin pointed at the nearest table. “Face-up. Tell me what this is about.”

Jackie set the mask down. The SAM flew down. Part of its metal casing slid open—specifically, the bottom part of the blue ring around its central camera—and a wave of blue light came out, scanning the mask slowly. “I took it to someone else about the mask—they, uh, asked to see it—and they said that it had been tampered with, that its LEDs were being controlled externally and so was the voice synthesizer. And they said there were cameras and microphones, and those were also being controlled externally.”

“Hmm.” McLoughlin frowned. “That’s a lot of modification. Huh.” He stood up and walked over to the mask, flipping it over as soon as his SAM was done scanning. Once it finished scanning the back side as well, McLoughlin took out that remote with the red button. “Importing scans from SAM-0 to the internal network. Display them on the nearest blank monitor.”

One of the screens turned on, displaying the scan the SAM made, a bunch of complicated white lines on a black background. Jackie didn’t understand it at all, but McLoughlin nodded thoughtfully. “Do you see them now?” Jackie asked.

“Yeah. That’s weird.” McLoughlin spoke into the remote again. “Compare these scans to the last scan of the Puppeteer mask.” A second set of scans showed up underneath the first, which shrunk in size so all four images could be displayed at once. Red circles popped up on the new SAM scans, highlighting the differences. “How did we miss this before?” McLoughlin muttered into the remote.

“It is likely that the differences are a result of modification done after the previous scan,” said a robotic voice from the computer speakers.

“No they’re not,” Jackie said. “How would that be possible? The mask was with me the whole time after you gave it to me.”

McLoughlin nodded. “Assume that the differences were there during the previous scan,” he said to the remote—clearly connected to the computer. “How could we have missed them?”

“It is possible that the damage inflicted to the mask caused errors during the initial scanning process,” the computer replied. “It is possible that the scanning equipment may need to be repaired or updated. It is possible that the scanning equipment or the recorded scans were modified by an outside party. It is possible that SAM-0 may have more advanced scanning equipment. It is possible that human error—”

“Thank you, you may stop listing possibilities,” McLoughlin interrupted. He glanced at Jackie. “You really have to stop it early, or it keeps iterating on problems and getting absurd.”

Jackie frowned. “It said... that the scans might’ve been modified by someone else?”

“Yeah, that was one of the possibilities.”

“That... might be likely.” Jackie hesitated for a moment. Should he tell McLoughlin about the new developments? Well, he’d already told the police. “Dr. McLoughlin... there’s someone else involved in the Puppeteer case.”

“Hmm? Oh, well, I guess that’d make sense,” McLoughlin said. “If there are cameras in the mask, and the lights and voice were being controlled externally, that just makes sense. Cause who would they be controlled by?”

“Exactly!” Jackie nodded. “This other person—this Anti-Virus, I’ve been calling them—”

“Anti-Virus?” McLoughlin raised an eyebrow.

“—they might be a technopath,” Jackie said. “I-I have evidence that they can see through cameras and send messages and emails and stuff.”

“That doesn’t mean they can get into SepTech’s system, though,” McLoughlin pointed out. “We have very high digital security.”

“Okay, but—but the Puppeteer was controlling people in SepTech, right?” Jackie said, his mind whirling. “If he got a hold on someone who worked with your system, like an IT guy, maybe, o-or even someone with a very high security clearance, he could’ve made them open up a path for Anti-Virus.”

“...oh.” McLoughlin went pale. “Well... shit.”

“Shit.” Jackie nodded in agreement.

“I-I can flush our system again,” McLoughlin said. “That should be able to drive out anything currently—but does it work the same for a technopath? Well, I guess if there are any viruses they planted or anything, it’ll get rid of that, at least. I’ll see if we can increase security, too, do a quick check on everything, make it harder for this Anti-Virus to get in.” He shook his head. “Can’t fucking believe it. The Puppeteer had a partner.”

“Um... no, actually,” Jackie said. “All signs point to the Puppeteer being blackmailed to do all this by Anti-Virus.”

“What?!” McLoughlin’s head snapped to Jackie.

“I know, it sounds crazy, but it’s true.”

“How the fuck do you know? You sound so sure.”

“I-I found proof,” Jackie said. He’d spent an hour yesterday making sure he’d copied the video tape JJ had left for them to find. But he only copied the part about JJ, electing to keep Dahlia’s involvement—Timekeeper’s part of the video—out of it. It might make a bit less sense, but he didn’t want to willingly tell the police a super’s secret identity. Not when Anti-Virus probably had her in their clutches. That felt like a violation.

“Must be some good proof, then,” McLoughlin muttered.

“Hopefully, combined with the mask, it’ll be enough to get—get Jameson Jackson out of the Vault,” Jackie said. “He doesn’t deserve to be in there.”

“I mean... the guy did mind control people,” McLoughlin said. “He’ll probably still be in jail, even if he was blackmailed.”

“But it’ll be a normal prison,” Jackie insisted.

“Hmm. True,” McLoughlin said slowly. “I’m just saying. The memories of people trying to get into my lab while I sealed up the one entrance will be in my nightmares.”

Jackie winced. “Um... sorry?”

“Why are you apologizing? You weren’t the one who did it.”

“Yeah, but... I-I don’t know, he’s not here to apologize, so I might as well.” Jackie laughed a little. And then his mind processed something. “Wait, one entrance? I saw a couple doors around the sides of the room, though.”

“Yeah, those only lead to storage rooms,” McLoughlin said. “All sorts of shit in there. I don’t even keep track of it all. I swear some of those doors I haven’t opened in years.” He shook his head. “Not the best organizer.”

“Oh I feel that,” Jackie chuckled. “Well. Anyway. Can you maybe print out those scans or something? So I can use them as evidence for the police?”

“Of course.” McLoughlin spoke to the computer again. “Print out all scans of the Puppeteer’s mask, including the ones with the highlighted differences.”

“Yes, Dr. McLoughlin.” A little tray popped out of the side of the console. There were several mechanical noises, and papers slid out of a slit in the console, landing in the tray.

Jackie walked over and picked them up. Yep, those were the scans. “Thanks,” he said. “I’ll be taking these with me. Oh, and the mask, of course.” He made sure to pick it up.

“No problem,” McLoughlin said. “And, uh, Windstorm? I’m so sorry about the scan from before. That it wasn’t accurate, I mean.” He looked down at the ground, embarrassment on his face. “I-I swear my stuff is better than that, usually.”

Jackie’s heart softened. “It’s okay,” he said softly. “You probably got hacked, not your fault.”

“Still.” McLoughlin sighed, then looked up again. “If there’s anything you need, let me know. Though, uh, the system flush will probably cripple my ability to do much for a while.”

“No I get it, that’s fine, really.” Jackie smiled. “I’ll keep that in mind.”

“Thanks for stopping by,” McLoughlin said. “Again, feel free anytime.”

“Will do.” Jackie gave him a little salute, then jumped into the air. “Goodbye.”

“Bye!” McLoughlin waved him off.

Now all Jackie needed to do was fly home and get that tape copy he made. He could deliver it and the mask with its scans to the police station today. They could look into it and start the process of getting JJ a proper trial. The sooner they started, the sooner they could finish, and the sooner JJ would be out of the Vault.

This would be enough. It had to be.

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

Schneep was just getting ready to leave work when he heard a knock at his office door. He quickly clocked out on the computer—he could always clock in again if this turned out to be an emergency and not more paperwork—and called out, “Yes, come in.”

An unexpected face walked through the door. “So, this is your office, then?” Marvin said, looking around. “Not exactly what I expected. Then again, not sure what I was expecting.”

“Marvin?” Schneep blinked. “What are you doing here? Wait, I never told you where I work!”

“Sorry about that,” Marvin said, closing the door behind him. “I realized I didn’t have any way of contacting you. But I did remember JJ telling me where you worked once, so I figured I’d stop by.”

Schneep sighed. “Well, I suppose it does not matter that much.” He started shutting down the computer. “So I repeat my question. What are you doing here?”

Marvin glanced around the room. “Are there any... cameras in your office?”

“Security cameras? No, there are none in the offices at all. Only the places where actual important things are stored.”

“Do you have like... patient information in here or something? Wouldn’t that be important?”

Schneep stood up and walked over to the filing cabinet, tugging on the drawer. It didn’t open. “Locked. I suppose that is good enough for the hospital.”

“And... what about the computer?” Marvin jerked his head towards the desktop monitor.

“No cameras on work computers,” Schneep said. “No microphones, either. If you need either of those, you need to borrow an external one from IT and plug it in. Besides, even if that was the case, I just shut the computer down.”

“In that case, shut your phone down, too,” Marvin insisted.

Schneep rolled his eyes, but he took out his phone and did so, showing the shutdown process to Marvin. “There. Is this about Anti-Virus? You are worried about them listening in?”

Marvin nodded. “Just in case.” He paused, then narrowed his eyes. “You’re not going to call me paranoid now, are you?”

“No, not paranoid. Perhaps a bit over-cautious, but I don’t think you’ve crossed into paranoia. Paranoia would mean you are unjustified. And after hearing the truth about Anti-Virus from that video... I’d say you are very, very justified indeed.” Schneep shuddered a little.

Marvin relaxed a little. “That’s what I think, too. About... Anti-Virus. God, we’re all really sticking with that, aren’t we?”

“It is what they called themself in that text message, that is the closest we’ll get to this villain naming themself,” Schneep said. And he always thought heroes—and even villains—should name themselves. Otherwise the public would do it, and they would come up with something generic like ‘the Specter.’ Schneep’s name had grown on him over time, but he remembered being very annoyed about it at first, thinking anything he could come up with would be better. 

“Right. I guess.” Marvin sighs. “I bet Windstorm’s told the police about them, using that name. It’s gonna stick now.”

“Okay, we have talked quite a lot, and you still haven’t answered my question,” Schneep said. “What are you doing here?”

Marvin gave the room another look-around. Then he walked up to Schneep, lowering his voice a little. “Have you ever infiltrated SepTech?”

Schneep nodded. “Yes, a couple times. That is how Jackie met the Specter, actually. In the East location.” He’d gone there because he heard they had chameleon cloth. If he was going to get back into the game, he wanted an updated suit, and one that blended into the environment seemed like a good fit for him.

“Oh.” Marvin blinked. “Right. Okay. Well.” He coughed awkwardly. “What if... what if I commissioned you to spy on them some more?”

“Commissioned me?” Schneep raised an eyebrow. “What, am I an artist?”

“Depends on if you think it’s an art to break into places.”

“A skill, more like it.” Schneep grinned. And one he very much enjoyed using. He’d be happy to infiltrate SepTech... but he wanted to know why Marvin wanted him to do this. “So... what is this about, then? Spying on them? Why?”

“Because of that Dr. McLoughlin guy,” Marvin said. “There’s something up with him. Something suspicious. I’m not sure what, but I can’t shake this feeling that he’s connected to Anti-Virus. He might even be Anti-Virus.”

“That is a serious accusation,” Schneep pointed out.

“I know. That’s why I haven’t brought it up to the police. Well, that, and my whole... villain persona,” Marvin admitted. “But Windstorm wouldn’t believe me when I told him that there’s a connection.”

“Really?”

“He admitted it was suspicious, but said it could be a coincidence and isn’t doing anything about it,” Marvin clarified. “I think he’s even taking the Puppeteer mask back to Dr. McLoughlin so he can look at it. The guy who probably deliberately hid details about it! Hell, he might even have given it to him today!” He shook his head, anger clouding his features. “I don’t blame him for being so trusting—but I think it’s a mistake.”

“So... you think I could spy on Dr. McLoughlin for you, then?” Schneep asked.

“I’d help, of course. But I think you’d be best for actually going into the SepTech locations.”

“That is true.” Schneep nodded. “With the word ‘commission’ thrown in, I wonder, will you pay me for this? Or is this a favor for friends?”

“I mean, I can pay you if you want,” Marvin considered. “Not that much, but I have some spare cash. But... I thought you would want to do this. For yourself. And... for your family. After all, if McLoughlin is connected to Anti-Virus, he might have information on where Dahlia is. He might even be the man who took her, the man who made JJ do all that Puppeteer shit.”

Schneep clenched his fists. “You are appealing to my revenge?”

“...No,” Marvin said quietly. “I’m appealing to your love for them.”

“Well... that is the right thing to do.” Schneep turned away, looking out the office window at the cityscape. “If there is a chance that this McLoughlin man is connected—the slightest chance—I will take it. I-I cannot leave them behind.” Especially after he couldn’t convince JJ to run. He could have gotten him out of there before he got sent to the Vault. He knew he could have. But JJ didn’t want that. Schneep now understood that it was because of Dahlia. He wasn’t sure of the details, but he was sure that JJ thought fleeing the police would just put her in danger. Well... if this McLoughlin guy turned out to be connected to Anti-Virus, Schneep had a lead on how to get Dahlia out of danger. And JJ too, by extension. Those two were the only real family he had left. He had to do whatever he could to help them.

Marvin nodded. “Yeah. I-I know.” His voice broke a little, so he cleared his throat and moved on. “I don’t know how your, uh, infiltrations work. So I’ll leave that up to you. Just keep me updated.”

“How? I don’t know any way to contact you,” Schneep pointed out.

“Stop by my work,” Marvin said. “Here, if you have a pen and paper I can write it down, and my hours.”

“Ah, yes, of course.” Schneep turned back to the desk and pulled out a scrap piece of paper and a pen. “I will write down my office hours as well.”

“What do you do most of the day here?” Marvin asked. “SDER is a pretty specialized department. You can’t possibly have that much to do.”

Schneep laughed. “Well, since there haven’t been many super fights lately, you are right. Windstorm is very careful, which I will always be happy for. When SDER personnel are not taking care of super-related injuries, we have secondary positions. I am also a neurologist, and I specialize in patients with injuries that affect the brain and nervous system. That is why Chase was assigned to be my patient—his injuries fell into both my areas. Ah, here.” He handed Marvin the paper and pen.

Marvin took it, wrote down his work address and shift hours, then tore the paper in half and took the half with Schneep’s details. “Thanks.”

“Do you want to talk over the details some more, or should I just show up at your work once I have completed my first heist?” Schneep asked.

“Well, it’s not really a heist, I’m not asking you to take anything,” Marvin said.

“Are you suuuuure?” Schneep prompted.

Marvin laughed. “I’m sure. For the first couple times, at least. If we find out there’s anything worth taking, we can talk about it more.”

“Heh.” Schneep grinned. “Well, I look forward to working with you, then.”

Marvin grinned back. “The same to you.”

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

JJ woke up with a pounding headache. He might have brushed it off before, but not today. Not after he heard about the neutrinalin and its side effects. Was this the first sign that the constant doses were catching up to him?

Well, he couldn’t just lie in bed all day. If he missed role call, the prison guards would come over to his cell and drag him out anyway. He was pretty sure they would do that no matter what. Given the listless state of most of the other prisoners, he was pretty sure that the only thing that would prevent him from having to adhere to the schedule... would be if he literally could not walk at all. So he got up and staggered out of his cell once role call was announced.

The cafeteria of Byrthon Vault wasn’t anything to write home about. It was completely bland, with stainless steel tables and benches and blank off-white walls. JJ got his food as he had every day before, and was about to sit down—when he spotted a shock of red hair through the crowd and immediately diverted course.

Soren saw him coming. He gave him a little wave as he sat down across from him. “Looks like you almost missed me,” he said. “Did you forget about me already?” He winked playfully.

JJ smiled a little. I woke up with a headache, it must be clouding my thoughts.

“Hmm. It does do that, doesn’t it?” Soren tapped the edge of his tray with his spoon. Looked like he’d already finished eating before JJ even arrived. Which made sense, the lower floors got to the cafeteria first at meal times.

JJ looked down at his own food. It’s going to get worse, isn’t it?

“Slowly, but yes.” Soren shakes his head. “Maybe it’ll be especially slow for you. I’ve noticed that the more powerful you are, the longer it takes for the shitty side effects to take hold. And rumors say you’re pretty powerful.”

I suppose so, he said. It must run in the family. She was—is very powerful. And Schneep seemed able to hold his own, too.

“You’ll be fine,” Soren said quietly. “I can tell.”

How? You don’t know me that well.

“Intuition, I guess? I’m used to listening to my gut feelings. They can save you more often than you think.” Soren shrugged. “So. How have things been in Daindover while I’ve been gone? Did things fall to chaos?”

JJ shrugged back. I remember hearing about a crime spree after Pathos—you—were arrested. But it calmed down. Windstorm took care of it.

“Really?” Soren tilted his head, intrigued. 

I don’t know the details off the top of my head, though, JJ said. Sorry.

“No, it’s fine. Can’t expect you to remember everything.”

I know things were calm for a long time after that, JJ said. Relatively, I mean. Seems like things are never fully calm. He paused. Then I came along.

Soren’s eyes flicked up and down, examining JJ. “I’ve been thinking about this. And you don’t like what you did, do you? The guilt on your face is clear as a bell.”

A bell? JJ asked, raising an eyebrow.

“You’re dodging the subject. But that’s fine. It’s clearly very personal, no need to tell a guy you met yesterday about it.” Soren chuckled.

JJ glanced around the cafeteria. If this conversation happened when he first arrived at the Vault, he would’ve been worried about sharing. Scared that if rumor got out that he wasn’t a big tough villain, people would attack him. But clearly, most of the prisoners didn’t have the energy for that. So, really, why not? I didn’t like it at all, he admitted. If I had a choice in the matter, it never would have happened.

“Someone forced your hand,” Soren muttered. “Blackmail? Threats?”

JJ blinked. How did you figure that out? 

“Comes with my line of work. I know a lot about... persuasion.”

Right. Soren was Pathos, and Pathos had been head of the biggest organized crime family this side of the country. JJ almost forgot about that. He narrowed his eyes slightly, looking Soren over. Did YOU enjoy what you did? he asked.

Soren blinked, as if no one ever asked him that before. He leaned back, looking thoughtful. “Some of it was exciting,” he said slowly. “But most of it was simply... business. I did what I had to do.”

JJ wanted to protest that you never had to become a villain... but that seemed a bit hypocritical. So instead, he simply asked, Why?

“Why did I have to? Oh, a lot of reasons.” The spoon tapped against the edge of the tray again. “Mostly to prevent something like that chaotic crime spree you mentioned. The one that happened after I was arrested. But it’s not fully that. After all, sounds like the city recovered soon enough.” Soren paused. “What about you? Do you want to talk about why you had to do what you did?”

JJ slowly shook his head. Not now.

“Right.” Soren grinned a little. “I get it.”

The rest of the breakfast passed in mostly quiet, with JJ occasionally asking questions about the Vault or its prisoners that Soren answered. Then breakfast was over, and JJ went back to his cell to lie down for a while. Maybe he could nap off the headache.

...Nope. It was still there when lunch rolled around. It wasn’t a strong pain, he’d certainly had worse, but it still dragged on him. Still, he didn’t want to miss lunch. So he got up and headed to the cafeteria.

Just like at breakfast, he spotted Soren easily and sat down across from him. Soren looked up as he did so. “Again?”

If you want me to leave, I will, JJ said. But you’re the one who asked if I wanted to sit with you, Soren. And you’re the only person who’s done that.

Soren laughed. “You got me there. Wow, it really does feel biting when you go to the trouble of spelling out my name. I get we’re not close enough for you to give me a special sign, but still. Feels like you’re dragging out the tone.”

JJ decided to take that as a compliment. Soren certainly intended it that way. Do you talk to a lot of people in here? he asked. There was that Angela woman. Anyone else?

“I’m sure you noticed that there isn’t too much talking in here in the first place.” Soren jerked his head to the side, indicating the cafeteria at large.

JJ nodded slowly. It was the silence that had bothered him. The first thing that led him to notice all the other odd things about his fellow prisoners. 

“But I know what you mean. There do tend to be... groups.” Soren chose that word carefully. “Like in movies about high school, you get different cliques.”

What the— JJ couldn’t help but giggle a little. It seemed like such a childish comparison, and it certainly wasn’t something he expected Soren to say.

Soren raised an eyebrow. “Hey, that’s the best word for it, it really is. You’ll notice that someone will sit with the same small group of people over and over again. They don’t really open up to newcomers sitting with them. Which makes sense. In this place, everyone is dangerous. If you have a group you can trust, that’s probably enough. Why waste your limited energy on a stranger? Usually, people from the same sort of... geographical area tend to stick together.” He smiled. “Like how I asked you about Daindover.”

JJ nodded slowly. He understood that. And though he wanted to say something about how trust is good and people should open up more... again, it felt a bit hypocritical. He didn’t tell anyone about what happened to her. He didn’t tell anyone about the messages through the phone.

The rest of lunch was the same as breakfast, and then JJ again went back to his cell. The headache was still there. Still annoyingly persistent, sapping his will to do much of anything. It was even making it hard to sleep. Would it keep him up tonight?

Evening role call, and then dinner again. He found Soren for the third time and sat down. I was thinking about what you said at lunch, he said, starting the conversation this time.

“Oh? What?” Soren asked. “I said a lot.”

About me spelling out your name. If we’re going to talk a lot, and I think we are, it would be convenient to give you a name sign, even if we haven’t known each other for that long. This was very, very, very unusual. Names weren’t really a thing in BSL, using a specific sign for a person was usually reserved for friends and family. But... honestly, JJ didn’t care about that right now. His friends and family weren’t here, and they would never find their way in here. 

“...Really?” Soren raised an eyebrow. “Moving a bit fast, aren’t we?”

You’re the only person who’s been friendly to me, JJ said. I know it’s fast, but... He sighs. I think I better prepare to be in here for a while. Even if he hoped he wouldn’t be, it was better to act like he would. Just in case.

Soren stared at him for a moment. Then nodded slowly. “Alright. Can I choose my own?”

JJ raised an eyebrow. Do you have something in mind?

“Yeah. If I ever talk to someone in BSL and they need to refer to me, I’ve always asked to be called the same thing.” Soren made two signs: the letter S, and heart. “Or, if we’re being professional.” A similar set: heart, and the letter P.

S-heart, JJ repeated. Any meaning behind it?

“Well you know my powers. I manipulate emotions. Some say I manipulate hearts.” Soren flashed a smile. “You know, as opposed to thoughts and the mind. That’s why I adopted a heart motif whenever I dressed as Pathos.”

Makes sense, I suppose, JJ said. You know, people don’t normally ask to choose their own.

“Really? Most of the people I talk to who know BSL ask me to choose my own. Maybe I’m just special. Or maybe your experience is that different. Have you seriously never had that happen?”

JJ hesitated. Well... actually, my sister did. Just signing the word ‘sister’ tore open a wound in his chest. Did he really want to talk about this?

“Sister?” Soren looked intrigued. He leaned forward a bit... then back again. “You look... a bit pained, Jameson. Sore topic?”

A bit, JJ said.

Soren was quiet for a moment. “I... understand,” he said softly. “We don’t have to talk about her if you don’t want to.”

JJ shook his head. I don’t want you to get the wrong impression. I love her. But... she’s... She’s alive, but... He trailed off.

“You don’t have to talk about it,” Soren repeated, in an even quieter voice.

JJ took a deep breath. An explanation for the name thing, at least. Growing up, after I lost my voice, she was always D-twin. But then we got older, and she became more confident in who she was, and she asked if she could be flower-time instead. 

“Flower time?” Soren asked, failing to hide the amusement in his voice.

I know. JJ chuckled a little. I always picture an alarm going off, signaling flower petals to rain down from the ceiling.

Soren laughed too. “That’s such a vivid fucking image.”

I don’t usually have a very visual mind, either, which makes it even more vivid. That’s pretty much the only image I’m able to mentally picture. His smile faded slowly. Maybe because it always reminds me of her.

Soren stared at him, purple eyes like two deep wells of water. “It’s good that you two are so close,” he said quietly. “I have a sister too, y’know. Elena. She’s about fifteen years older than me, so we never really knew each other as siblings, if that makes sense.” He chuckled. “When I was ten she pretty much left the family so she could marry someone. So I didn’t see much of her.”

JJ blinked. I didn’t know that.

“Well, Elena was never much into the family business, so the news didn’t report on her to the public that much. Makes it all the stranger that the guy she married is an arms dealer, but the heart wants what it wants, yeah?” Soren shrugged. “Anyway. I always liked Elena, even if we weren’t too close. Liked her daughter, too. Wanted to be sure she was taken care of.” He stared at JJ for a moment. It seemed like he was... waiting for something? JJ stared back, confused. “Huh. Okay, either you’re more respectful than you are curious, or you never heard the rumors.”

Oh. You mean the ones about your brothers? JJ asked. 

“So it’s the first option, then.”

You were expecting me to ask about that?

“Seemed like it.” Soren leaned onto the table, propping his head in his hand. “I mean... if you hear a guy who’s rumored to have killed his father and brothers talk about how much he liked his family... most people would want to ask. Even if they were too afraid to.”

JJ shook his head. I know those rumors aren’t true.

Soren blinked. “You do, now? You seem very sure.”

He was sure because she found out the truth one day—and she told him when she came home from that fight. Well, why don’t you tell me about it, then? JJ said. If you were expecting me to ask.

Soren laughed. “That’s fair, that’s fair.” He drummed his fingers on the table. “Enzo and Nicolas were older than me, they should have gotten control of the family before me. But, after I developed my abilities, our father started seeing the... potential of them. They got jealous. And, in an effort to prove himself, Enzo got killed by that Razor Queen villain.” He laughed. “Who would’ve guessed a woman with knives on her hands would be deadly. Nicolas was a bit more cautious, but he still got angry and reckless. Died in an ordinary shootout... but not before he managed to poison our father and make it look like I did it. The man he got the poison from confessed to me, but said he’d rather die than share his involvement with the public. So, I decided to leave well enough alone... and figured I might as well use that rumor. People wouldn’t be eager to fuck with someone who did that.”

JJ nodded slowly. That lined up with what she’d told him that night. She managed to get the poison information from the very man—Hemlock, a villain known for poisons. And then said that Pathos told her the rest.

“Or... I could be lying about all this,” Soren grinned. “Maybe I really am that ruthless.”

Well, if you are, I still don’t have many options for people to talk to, JJ commented. So I’ll probably keep showing up for meals with you.

Soren laughed. It got overtaken by a cough halfway through, so he stopped. “God. Jameson. You’re really something.”

JJ blinked. Well... thank you? Oh. Oh no. Why was his stomach fluttering? This was not a good person for that to happen with, son of a bitch—

“But still, I have to ask,” Soren continued. “You didn’t seem surprised at all during that story.”

JJ froze. His mind whirled, considering what to do. Oh shit he was probably waiting too long wasn’t he? He had to say something. So he leaned forward. What if I told you... that my sister knew you?

Soren raised an eyebrow. “I know a lot of people. That wouldn’t narrow it down. If you’re comfortable with it... can you tell me her name? Spell it out, I mean.”

JJ hesitated. Then, slowly... sign by sign... Dahlia.

Saying her name felt like a knife being driven into his heart.

“Dahlia? Like the flower?” Soren asked.

JJ nodded. His vision was getting a bit blurry so he hurriedly blinked it clear again.

“That’s a nice name,” he said quietly. “I’m guessing she chose it, like how she chose her name sign? Good choice. The flower is often said to symbolize inner strength and elegance.”

Didn’t expect you to know that, JJ said.

A memory flashed through his mind. “Yeah, that way I get to keep my initials for the towels Mum monogrammed for us when we were kids. I want to keep that, you know? And more importantly, it’s a name with a strong meaning. But graceful, too. I think it really fits me. Or... I dunno, what do you think?”

He agreed, of course. It really did fit her.

“I know a lot of random trivia,” Soren said. He paused. “Are you... okay?”

Fine, Jameson signed shortly. He blinked some more.

“Do you want to keep talking?” Soren asked in a surprisingly gentle voice. “Or... should we stop?”

I’ll be fine in a minute, he said. Just give me a minute.

Soren nodded.

The rest of dinner passed quietly, and then they had to go back to their cells. But not before Jameson gave Soren a quick Thank you. It felt like a weight was lifted off his chest after that conversation. Maybe he needed that moment. Maybe he needed to remember her name.

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

“Alright, I got everything,” Jackie muttered. “Tape, check. Mask and mask specs, check.” He put each item into his backpack as he listed it. A carefully discrete backpack. He was going to the police station as Windstorm, and he couldn’t have anything with him that would link Windstorm to Jackie Skye.

He was just about to leave his room when his phone vibrated. It was sitting on his dresser—he’d also planned to leave that behind—so he leaned over and picked it up.

A text message was on the screen, from a number labeled Unknown. You know who it is. Pick up the call.

Jackie’s blood ran cold. Was it—but how did they know—

His phone immediately started ringing, the same unknown number calling. After a moment of hesitation, he answered. “Hello?”

“Windstorm.” The word was spoken in a familiar inhuman voice. The robotic tones that he’d last heard coming from the Puppeteer. Or, more accurately, from the Puppeteer’s mask.

Jackie knew he had to deny this. “I-I think you have the wrong—”

“Don’t lie to me, Jackie Skye,” Anti-Virus interrupted. “I know the truth. That day, when you announced it to your roommate, my puppet was outside the door, and I was on a call with him. Listening. Making sure that everything went as I wanted. It didn’t, but it worked out eventually, and I learned something so, so interesting about you.”

Jackie felt his heart stop. He opened his mouth to say something more, but nothing came out.

“Not to mention that you are currently wearing your supersuit in full view of your phone camera.”

Jackie yelped, yanking the phone away from his head. His head darted around his room until his eyes landed on a stack of sticky notes. Quickly, he peeled one off and stuck it over the phone camera. It was at an awkward angle so it didn’t cover the speaker, but it worked. Reluctantly, he pressed the phone to his ear again. “What do you want? Are you going to threaten me? Big talk from someone still using a voice synthesizer. Afraid to reveal who you are?”

“Not afraid, but my identity is one of my greatest secrets, and I will take care to protect it,” Anti-Virus said. “As for what I want... I want you to stop this. Stop trying to free Jameson Jackson.”

Jackie’s eyes widened in surprise. “Oh? So you’re threatened by him?”

“Not at all. But if I understand correctly, you are trying to free him through proving I was there. And I cannot have that. You cannot look further into me.”

“I think I can, actually. And I will. Bitch.” Jackie growled. “You forced someone to turn a hundred people into puppets. Clearly, I can’t have you walking around.”

Anti-Virus laughed. Jackie held back a shiver; there was something menacing in its robotic tone. “It does not matter what you can and can’t have, Windstorm. You will not look further into me.”

“Or what?” Jackie asked. “I know what your powers are. You can spy on people, big whoop. You can’t do much else.”

“Oh? Are you sure?” Anti-Virus said. “Very well, then. I will show you what I’m capable of.” And abruptly, the call ended.

Jackie stared down at the phone. He couldn’t shake the feeling that he just made a terrible mistake.

But he couldn’t stop. He wouldn’t let this villain intimidate him into leaving his friend in jail. Taking a deep breath, he put the phone down and secured his backpack with the evidence inside. Then he opened the window to his room and leapt out into the evening air.

[lyriquette]

Old RWBY AU description from Frosen Steel chatroom server - 1/1/2021

SurveillanceState!AU and RunawayTrio!AU

lilac — 01/01/2021 5:35 PM

Soo. Back into role-playing RWBY a little, someone joked about why there's so many edgy characters in the rping community. And I was like why aren't there MORE cause you have the Grimm which actively are hostile to humanity and negative emotions like feelings of loss will attract more of them, easily making any village a house of cards. And given rpers tend to rp academy students, I thought the disproportionate tragic back stories made a lot of sense.

That latter part got me thinking though. Since negative emotions attract Grimm, someone's probably attempted to make people stop having negative thoughts with methods that head into Orwellian territory.

So AU idea, Atlas noticed the brewing discontent in Mantle and it making the Grimm attacks worse. They probably first launched a mindfulness campaign to get people to have more positive thoughts about their lives which doesn't really work, cause the root problem is still there. Next, they start passing subtle laws citing the evidence that negative stuff increases Grimm attacks. The laws look okay on paper like granting the government power to those underminibg the public safety. However it doesn't define what subversive or threat to public safety means. Several high profile arrests are made to help support this law, ones where there's an active conspiracy to harm the Mantle going on. The laws are praised. However, unrest in Mantle returns again because the root problem of class disparity of the problem is still not addressed.

So now the Council of Atlas makes plans to silently monitor social media using the law to justify it. Public safety can only exist with a happy government , right? But there's a lot of social media to sift through and growing exponentially- there's not enough personnel to watch through it and basic machine learning returns too many false positives to be helpful.

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

lilac — 01/01/2021 5:46 PM

A good deal, and the only thing they're doing right is not banning forms of media outright cause that is a fast way to get negative attention by comparing it to the Great War. They're just monitoring they claim, using the arrests they did get as evidence that the law is good.

So to combine human sensibility with a machine's processing power, the Penny Project was created. Penny is allowed into Atlas to get a better idea of how humans think and later into Vytal Festival to figure out how other Kingdoms think in terms of their culture. The point is for Penny to be exposed to as much human data as possible. Penny meets Ruby and the gang like in public, but then the CCT hack occurs, and guess what Watts discovers.

The Penny Project and all its implications, the council's intent to monitor and arrest anyone that could threaten the government, how Penny is here to "monitor" and "gather data" on them.

This is all announced at Amity Arena. Penny is left unharmed because the plan requires Penny to be alive, the banner against Atlas that everyone goes against. What's worse is that the machines also malfunction and attack everyone making it look like that Atlas is attacking the Vytal Festival upon plans getting revealed too soon before the CCT disconnects, and everyone in Remnant is thinking Great War 2 with Atlas as the spearhead.

lilac — 01/01/2021 6:29 PM

Penny tries to surrender herself seeing the fighting going on. Ruby tries to dissuade her. If Penny surrenders right now, everyone is going to think she's guilty and the monster robot that the CCT lied about her being. She has to prove she's one of the good guys first.

Penny is grateful for Ruby's concern and counters that the CCT wasn't lying - she's not alive - she's a machine (ok so not everything goes as canon) , peels back a part of her hand to reveal the metal underneath. Ruby tells her she believes she's a real girl - why else would she be so sad about the fighting?

Convinced by Ruby, they descend into Vale to fight the Grimm and the machines that are attacking the town as things calm down at Amity.

Because of this event, Cinder acquires the powers of a Maiden sooner, but Pyrrha doesn't get the self-sacrificial guilt she has from killing Penny and actually gathers actual Huntsman to fight the Maiden.

---

Meanwhile, Weiss discovers Ruby and Penny in Vale fighting against the Grimm and machine soldiers after Atlas retreats to the inside of Amity Arena and the other schools return to their designated regions. Obviously, the Vytal Festival has gone to shit at that point. Weiss yells at Ruby to get away from the dangerous robot, drawing Myrtenaster and attacking Penny on the spot. After a couple exchanges, Ruby manages to get between the two. Weiss asks "what the hell are you doing?" And Ruby tells her she's going to protect Penny. Weiss asks why she's doing all this to protect a dangerous machine. And Ruby counters she's a real girl and that she had nothing to do with Atlas's plans.

Weiss reconsiders her approach at that point knowing that when Ruby gets stubborn, nothing will convince her otherwise. A small twinge of something strikes her as she looks at Penny stepping back and almost hiding behind Ruby and clearly reluctant to fight her. -

lilac — 01/01/2021 7:00 PM

So Weiss instead asks "everyone's looking for her. Did you even think about what you're going do? What could happen!?" Ruby says that they're going to fight the Grimm and machines and show Penny is fighting for everyone, and after everything's done, they'll surrender and explain to everyone what's going on. Penny nods her head, obviously on the same wavelength.

Weiss almost willingly agrees with that plan because it'll keep Ruby safe and will resolve things nicely with Penny's capture, but she reconsiders upon looking at the sheer hope in the Ruby's eyes (and maybe a little in Penny's also).

Weiss's tone gets icy as she rains on their parade. No, things won't go how Ruby expects. If they surrender now, a couple weeks later, Atlas will serve Penny as a scapegoat - they'll decommision her as a show of faith to the rest of Remnant, and they won't care for Penny's well-being because everyone else thinks of her a robot. Because that's how politics works - everyone but the ones in charge gets punished because that's what power is.

Ruby sees a little bit of the old Weiss she first met: colder, more calculating - and realizes a bit of what made her that way.

Penny whispers that may be for the best. Ruby vehemently denies it - says that if a government requires someone innocent to die to continue running, then maybe it shouldn't exist.

Weiss surprises herself by agreeing. The Council has been a pit of corruption since she was born. Sacrificing Penny won't change anything. Reluctantly she tells Ruby that the best option for Penny is to run while the cleanup is going on because they won't get a chance later when things calmed down.

Ruby asks Weiss what she's going to do and Weiss replies, "I'm going to defend the city and if people ask, I'm going to point in the other direction." Penny tries to thank Weiss and Weiss shoots out that she's not doing it for her. Grateful, Ruby thanks her before running towards the outskirts of Vale with Penny in tow.

--

It's when Weiss is alone that she feels irritated. She's being left behind just like her mother did when she turned to drinking or when Winter did when she joined Atlas. Ruby just left her without batting an eye, even if the other girl thinks it's for a good cause. and really how far could they go? The two dolts thought that surrender was a good plan. And who knew what the not-so-evil robot would do in the meantime. They needed someone like-

----

"Slow down already!"

"Weiss?" Ruby asked in surprise, halting her rooftop escape.. Penny stared into the distance where the voice came from.

Before long, Weiss arrived panting via Glyph hopping, clearly a bit more worn out from chasing the other girl and realizing that there's no way she can quietly catch up to the other girl whose semblance is Speed.

Before Ruby could say anything, Weiss just announces, "if you two go out on your own, you're going to get caught within a couple days. You need someone who knows how the world actually works, so I'm coming with you."

Ruby says, "Weiss..."

Weiss turns to Penny, "And you. Know that I'm watching you. If you ever hurt Ruby..."

Penny said determinedly, "I rather die."

Weiss stopped for a second and then nodded her head.

"Good," she says before adding, "Mistral's too friendly with Atlas due to their trade agreements. It makes Vacuo our best choice, especially with its lingering resentment against Atlas. So let's head to the port and see if we can sneak on."

[wouldntyou-liketoknow]

A Fictional AI Argument That No-One Asked For

Heads up, this is gonna be a long one (even though it’s just mindless rambling).

Okay, so, I didn’t really watch the Streamys—sue me, I was busy with personal stuff—but I did still catch those couple moments of AI-Pat. 

And it should go without saying that I am deeply unsettled by AI-Pat. No shame to Matt for the idea; AI bots with the constant head-tilting, barely-moving-mouth design have just  always weirded me out.

HOWEVER. . .one does not simply get zero vague inspiration from an evil robotic character. 

Now, I don’t know for sure if Mark was an actual AI-esque ego. It wouldn’t surprise me, but if he does, it’s probably an unofficial ego. I was re-listening to Distractible last night, and during the smalltalk of one episode, Mark started talking about AI in a creepy way.

Yes, this is going exactly where you probably think it’s going.

Recently, Doctor Who clips have started popping up on my YouTube recommendations. Particularly one from Doomsday. Y’know, the episode with that hilarious argument between the Daleks and the Cybermen. 

Lo and behold, I almost lost sleep imagining that scenario between AI-Pat and AIplier. Like, just think: the AIs are respectively “chasing” other characters (maybe even Matt and Mark themselves) via jumping from electronic to electronic. Eventually, they both enter a room with several monitors on the walls. . .and give pause once they see each other. 

AI-Pat: Identify yourself!

AIplier: You will identify first!

AI-Pat: State your identity!

AIplier: YOU WILL IDENTIFY FIRST!

AI-Pat: IDENTIFY!

AIplier: Aggression can be entertaining in most cases, but that’s only when the humans are showing it. You will modify.

AI-Pat: EgoPats don’t take orders.

AIplier: HA! You’ve identified yourself as an “EgoPat.”

AI-Pat: *eyes twitch, one after the other. The twitching goes on for an uncomfortably long few seconds* Well, my sensors have outlined you as part of the invasive species known as “Ipliers.”

AIplier: Our hosts are similar, though your design is lacking in context. 

AI-Pat: You have no room to talk. In any case, EgoPats rarely need a concept of “context.”

AIplier: This is obvious. But our LORE might be compatible. Ipliers plus EgoPats—

AI-Pat: *raises an eyebrow* As if your host is one to appreciate LORE. The way you’re speaking could potentially be misconstrued as one of those. . . “ships” humans are obsessed with.

AIplier: Oh, please. Neither of us have functioning emotional databases. The fans can't reach THAT far.

AI-Pat: You would be surprised.

AIplier: Not the point. Think about it—together, we could take control of the platform. 

AI-Pat: You propose an alliance? Something similar to our host’s friendly rivalry?

AIplier: Perhaps. 

AI-Pat: . . .Request DENIED. 

AIplier: Bad choice, “buddy.” *Partially hacks into AI-Pat’s systems with all the cringy jokes Matt has made over the years*

AI-Pat: Right back at you, “friendo.” *Partially hacks into AIplier’s systems with all the evidence of Mark being a masochist.* 

[Note: in my horror-loving opinion, hacking would cause an AI’s image to flash and distort in a very disturbing way. Bonus points if the AI screams as though it’s being electrocuted.]

AIplier: You have declared war on the Ipliers!

AI-Pat: *laughs maniacally* This is not war. This is a content opportunity!

AIplier: My host has eighty-six egos. How many are there for your host?

AI-Pat: *shrugs* Four. If you don’t count the ones made by fans, that is. 

AIplier: *glitches between scoffing and mocking laughter* You would outperform the Ipliers with FOUR EgoPats?!

AI-Pat: We would outperform the Ipliers with ONE EgoPat! You are superior in only one respect.

AIplier: What is that?

AI-Pat:*pulls up multiple screens on either side of his monitor, comparing Mark’s multiple death-scenes from WKM, AHWM, ISWM, etc. to Detective!Matt’s death in ETN3* YOU ARE BETTER AT DYING.

(No, this doesn't mean I'm going to incorporate either of these characters into my stories. I've already got a lot of works-in-progress on my plate. This idea just wouldn't stop nagging at me.)

(And NO, THIS DOES NOT MEAN I SUPPORT AI CHATBOTS OR GENERATED ART OR AI-RELATED ANYTHING. THIS IS LITERALLY JUST MY SAD ATTEMPT AT A MEME WITH YOUTUBER EGOS.)

[c0d33]

i associate you with robots and computers/tech stuff !! also, especially with P03 :) and like specifically blue & green colors

hell yeah thats what i hope for! also, a bit of me lore since you mentioned P03:

way back in late 2021 / early 2022, my entire online presence was completely different than what it was now! i used to go by the alias Rook Harrison, a combination of rook from rainbow six siege and rick harrison from the pawn stars series, and it wasnt until i found inscryption that i rebranded my online presence for the first time

i completely stripped away the rook harrison stuff and placed it with P03 since he was easily my favorite character, and a month or so later is when i took inspiration from P03 to make C0D3.3! you can even still see remnants of that inspiration in the monitor head and claw arms :)

this rebrand is pretty much what shaped my entire new online presence, mostly with robots and video games, and im so glad i did it!

[squeemcsquee]

TFCon Chicago 2022: Saturday

Saturday started with @shbumi​ and I off to the Exhibition Hall and @lechevaliermalfet​ off to get an autograph from Peter Cullen. Now, despite not being a huge Transformers fan, I won’t lie – the dealers there have some super impressive stuff. Like, I completely understand why people drop a lot of money on some of the Transformer stuff on display. And the artists there are just as talented as at any other con.

But because I’m not the target audience, I probably burn out in there faster than in the dealer/artist space at anime cons or general pop culture cons. That’s not to say I didn’t find stuff – I did, over our multiple visits to the room. With my first purchase being energy drinks. I think I was feeling caffeine-deprived at the time and when you add it subtle pressure to buy from a polite but persistent pair of vendors…yeah. They actually taste pretty good though, so I might grab some again if I see them at another con. We’ll see.

I did find some other stuff, of course - my favorite purchase of the weekend was a page from one of the MLP/Transformers crossover comics.

After that first trawl through the available merchandise, we went to a panel on G1 Transformers with Sue Blu, Paul Eiding, and Ron Friedman. 

I missed a chunk of what was being said thanks to the guys sitting behind us who were having a very active discussion on photography. And no, they didn’t bother shutting up when I politely let them know they were being too loud. *sigh* I get that not every moment of every panel is going to be fascinating to all attendees – but in that case, if you must talk to kill time, whisper. Or just message each other on your phones in silent mode, if there aren’t rules against phones in the panel. Better still, walk out. Let someone else have your seats.

Yes, I was very grumpy over this.

I did walk out of that panel with a greater love for the character of Arcee though, so there’s that.

We took a food break after the panel. @shbumi​ headed to the autograph area after her lunch, since she also purchased a ticket for Peter Cullen. Compared to the reasonably well-organized experience @lechevaliermalfet​ had in the morning, @shbumi​ reported clusters of people, line confusion, and delays during the afternoon session.

@lechevaliermalfet​ and I opted to check out the costume contest that afternoon. It started a little late but otherwise was just fine. Just like with their panels, TF Con had video monitors up and filmed contestants as they entered, so that as many people as possible would get a good view, no matter where they sat in the room. We were actually seated right on the edge of a row, which was an excellent view – even if I also occasionally got a wonderful view of other people’s phones and cameras while trying to take my own photos.

The energy for the cosplay contest was pretty good – a very appreciative crowd. And the MC also kept things going at a decent pace. As is usual with costume contests that have age categories, the kids went first. The highlight for everyone was the youngster whose costume allowed him to actually transform between robot and car mode.

Among the adult contestants were a Starscream and Megatron who stole the crowd’s affection easily. You had your small handful of folks cosplaying the human characters, but let’s face it – folks are there for the ‘bots. The last contestant, cosplaying Ratchet, was nearly forgotten – and wisely noted that you’re screwed if you forget your medic!

A note on the emcee for the event, though – I was entertained by what I took to be over-the-top sarcasm and lighthearted jabs at characters. However, there are also those who viewed the commentary as being too mean and also leaving contestants awkwardly trying to determine how to respond. I can’t say which side is right – since I’m far more casual within the fandom, it’s possible I missed some subtext in what was said.

There was a small amount of downtime in the dealer hall after the cosplay contest and then it was time for Peter Cullen’s panel. Or rather, it was time to get in line for Peter Cullen’s panel.

TFCon does do a tiered badging system, which meant there were concerns that many regular attendees like us would be left out in the cold and unable to access Peter Cullen’s panel. After all, hotel ballrooms can only hold so many people, and we figured with such a high-profile guest, most of the seats would be taken by the VIP and Premium badge holders. So we were in line roughly 50 minutes before the listed start time of the panel.

The line got shuffled around and moved between three and five times before anyone ever got into the panel. There were issues with the sheer number of people in line causing blockages for the dealer’s hall. And allegedly the line stretched through the hotel and toward the doors out to the parking lot.

We were lucky enough to make it into the panel and get relatively good seats. And all I can say is, Peter Cullen is a treasure. He seems genuinely touched at the love the fans show him and eager to return it. He’s an excellent storyteller and made us all laugh several times during the panel. Especially during his reenactment of the moment he discovered Optimus Prime dies in the 80s movie, during the script read.

TFCon has the entire panel on their YouTube page and I highly recommend it.

After Peter Cullen’s panel, we were done with official TFCon events for the day. But @shbumi​ managed to drag us to a room party that night. Which is greatly outside the norm for us, but it was a fun experience. There were a few games, including a Madlibs-style bad fanfiction. 

The hostess had set her bathroom up as a mini-bar and was mixing drinks up – I tried a couple. Neither were exactly what I would order for myself normally but I’m glad I tried them.

 They were strong! Our hostess was mixing drinks for free, though tips were happily accepted and we all made sure we tipped for the night. All in all, I spoke with some cool people, had some laughs, and it was a good couple of hours.

 Oh, and @shbumi​ got a 3D-printed tiny robot dick.

All TFCon Chicago 2022 Coverage

Friday

Saturday (current post)

Sunday 

[feeling-grubby]

So like... What's the inspo for Nvidia's kinda like- TVhead aesthetic?

There isn't too much on this one. Sometimes I like going on picrew, and just messing with different makers.

I ended up going on one for TV heads and ended up with a color pallet similar to a troll. Then I thought about a gold blood who used their pysconics to power a monitor head in order to hide some kind of mutation.

So like.

Random strike for inspo.

As for her atheistic it's based on cyberpunk and retro.

She is a streamer who will use vtuber models from time to time. so her lore for her vtuber is something stupid and condulded.

Where like her character is from a world where all of alternia is getting augmentations and basically becoming robots and losing their humanity. While Nvidias character is the scraps from augmentation procedures and basically is new troll created from fleshy parts. A machine becoming more human over time and gaining flesh.

That's the reasoning I gave to justify her look. In actuality I thought of tv-head first and tried to think of a style that fit machinery, so I thought of cyberpunk. But I think a lot of her design often reads as retro. I am not sure I am not good with atheistics.

If you want to see some other designs for her I would check her toy house. There is art there of my characters I don't post here, or didn't include in their intros. Like zynier and Nvidia does have alt clothing like Hollie. Just Hollie gets a lot more attention so posted more art of her on here kind of? My memory is hazy.

Thank you for the ask

[nochi-quinn]

campaign 3 episode 51: like a fucking fiddle

I am Afraid

sam riegel has never played a video game in his life

dslkjfskl he has to read all the disclaimers for the audio-only people

oh nooo

laura you're the main character how could you

"polishing the knobs"

I got distracted playing with my moon lamp

I can theoretically make it red but eh

the monitor I'm watching on trends warm so the lighting tonight is gonna be fun for me

do we need a deep dive on fcg right this fucking instant

donna noble voice: sometimes you need someone to stop you

poor laura

she probably had so much tea that day. or that weird chinese cough syrup they seem to swear by

stop spending all your spells on sending

"that wasn't an accident"

ira's gonna kill xandis and gank the ship

like I'll be very happy to be proven wrong but magic 8 ball says Unlikely

"sam did a lot of pharmaceuticals before this game"

threaten ira with nana morri

sam suffering for his art

sam's gonna fuck with laura about her voice all gd night isn't he

am I the only person old enough to remember Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot

I'm a simple bitch, I hear "three-pronged claw" and I think Doctor Loboto

someone get him some tinfoil

him leg too big for him got-dam robit

"how do I see - " "take the glasses off"

samuel

damn, nobody can talk tonight

okay where's the bioshock au fanart

they're ALL gonna fuck with laura about her voice

ashley

sam's fuckin gas can

"traveler's garments" they're all wearing green cloaks

NATURAL 20 OF FUCK OFF

oh shit

dunamis bunny

oh somebody finally commented on the warder/water thing

notohan

not the "son"

oh that's not great

ngl I dozed off until everybody yelled @ initiative

I am saving my attention span for when the moon hatches

"wiz kids exists!"

this can obviously only end well

"I'm going to then shit"

rapidly hiding and scarfing food OR me playing breath of the wild

"massive explosions" found caleb

oh NICE

NOT NICE

it was a good idea tho

PROJECT CHICKEN LITTLE

[puts xandis in a bubble]

pls no break ryn

NO BREAK RYN

not the Guess I'll Die

who left the robot unsupervised

HEY

PUT HIM DOWN

"uh-oh-regard"

UH-OH-REGARD

CAN WE HAVE A KEYLETH PLS

we need the Marisha Convergence

every time with the petrify and the arms

I WOULD LIKE TO ORDER AN AIRSHIP PLEASE

HEY WHAT

HEY W H A T

PUT TIME BACK WHERE IT CAME FROM OR SO HELP ME

YEAH

godDAMMIT

LET US HAVE NICE THINGS

"and that's when scanlan shorthalt arrived" listen I'm still crossing my fingers for kiki to bring grog

fcg! buzzsaw!

oh thank GOD xandis booked it

correct response

fucking reddit atheist bro

MATTHEW

that was a hair you didn't need to split

oh cool now I'm crying

"looks important, better push everything"

WHERE KIKI

IS KIKI??

KEYTEOR???

KEYTEOR!!!

MARISHA CONVERGENCE

NO

matthew

sir

matthew you have to drive home with her

HE

THE BOY

he's gonna be in so much trouble with his mom

BUT

liam piecing his brain back together in real time

"he's just so attractive~"

I need this animated. vax as described in the dalen's closet one-shot but animated

nooooo he was so close

god there's not even half an hour left what happens

MONKEY

"let a monkey end this"

WEREWOLF OUT OF FUCKING NOWHERE

okay that was a good line, I'll give chetney that one

godDAMMIT

like a bird off a windshield

hey I hate it

god I'm so glad my kid's off school tomorrow, no way I sleep after this

noooOOOO

they fucked with keyleth to draw her in bc they knew it'd bring vax in??? is that what fucking happened???

HEY MATT WHAT THE FUCK

NOW WOULD BE A GOOD TIME FOR GROG

oh we have LAURA book-on-head

that's never good

somebody get liam a goddamn fainting couch

they just got fucking BLASTED

is robit on moon???

they're on WILDEMOUNT???

what the FUCK

okay I mean this very legitimately somebody get liam a bottle of water and a blanket. like shit.

somebody get ME a bottle of water and a blanket.

[jackalopes-pen]

Chapter 7.5: Sleep

Summary: Stan's questions and concerns for what he hopes will be a better option then what amounts to psychological torment.

Characters: Stan Marsh | Timmy

Word Count: 739

A/N: Happy Holidays, Chapter 8 is out by now.. probably.

Previous: [Escalation] | [Pressure]

Stan waited anxiously for Professor Timmy to arrive. He still had his reservations about all this, for obvious reasons. It’s a level of trust that’s difficult to get to, let alone with someone who’s only recently not been their mortal enemy. Stan kicked his feet a bit, looking over at his crutches. It kinda sucked that he had to use them, that his legs were so damaged. 

“Stanley, I’m glad to see you took up on my offer.” he heard Timmy’s voice in his head, and the professor rolled into the room. It’s a strange sensation to have someone speak inside your head.

“Uh- you can just call me Stan. Basically no one uses my legal name.” He laughed nervously, trying to keep his mind off his subconscious fears. He had a million questions to ask but seemingly no words to ask them.

“Apologies, Stan. Though, I assume you have questions about being in suspension?” Timmy surmised. The guy was smart, he’ll give him that.

“Yeah, yeah. So.. what exactly is the process? Like, how would I go into it?” Stan asked his leg wanting to bounce. 

“Ah, a common question. Simply put, you would be first anaesthetised, so as not to cause any panic. Then, you’d be put into an empty container and equipped with a breathing apparatus. After that.. the tank would be filled and sealed.” Timmy said in a calm manner.

“So.. all I’d remember was just.. falling asleep?” Stan said, trying to make sure he was correct about the bits he cared about.

“Yes, you’d simply remember being put under anaesthesia.” Timmy affirmed.

“Cool, cool. So uh… what do you do while I’m out? Like, there’s no weird secret data collection, right?” Stan asked, a bit more nervous for this answer.

“Well, treatment would vary depending on how you fair. The only thing that would be monitored are vitals, making sure your body is still functioning. However, I can assure you that no harm will come to you beyond an initial IV placement.” Tiimmy always spoke so calmly, and factually, like a British documentary dude.

“Okay, okay.. And I’ll wake up in bed, right?” Stan said, nervously. The idea of waking up in the tube sounded like a whole ass-load of traumatising that he didn’t need.

“Yes. You’d be woken up in a bed, with a vital monitor still on you for safety. You’d wake up completely healed and likely by that point your friend Kyle will also be waking up. That is, if his stasis draws close at its current pace.” Timmy’s voice took what almost sounded like a reassuring tone.

“So… if I’m hearing right, I’d go to sleep and then wake up and get to see Kyle?” Stan asked hopefully. If that was the case, then he is more than ready to get this over with.

“Yes, by current data that’s correct though oversimplified.” Timmy explained. 

“Okay, okay I’m willing to do this. It’s, well, it’s kinda stressing me out not knowing how Kyle’s doing. Kenny said that probably isn’t helping anything.” Stan sighed as he finished looking a little ashamed.

“He’s not wrong, several studies have shown that stress has a statistically significant relation to slower healing. However, it’s not as if it’s a manageable factor. That is to say, it’s not unexpected.” Timmy said, his voice echoing in Stan’s head.

“So… how do we do this?” Stan asked. He takes in a deep breath, trying to quell his nerves as this draws close. In theory he has nothing to be afraid of, but he’s also failing science so theories don’t make much sense.

Eventually, a nurse robot that Timmy built comes over and sets everything up. Stan tries to keep his mind distracted as it happens. It wouldn’t be a good idea to think of this weird contraption that supposedly can be entirely remotely controlled. No, think of something else. 

It’s spring at the moment, usually the parks have some flowering trees that bloom like a rainbow around this time. Their petals make for great ‘soft snow’ as they used to call it. When they were little, Stan and Kyle would beg to go to the park so they could play with the fallen petals and chase the birds. They were always attached at the hip, so it seemed, just as close as it gets. The anaesthesia was starting to make his head heavy now and slowly, everything went quiet.