#Okok so this isn’t like whumpy physically

[deckofaces]

Wrong Thoughts, Dead Values

Tw: whump, corrupt agency, assumed dead hero, arguing, cursing, cuffs, overall grim atmosphere

part one || continued from this post

“Let them put the cuffs on..” Leader whispered. Their fists were clenched in anger but their voice remained steady and calm. Their outburst could get their whole team in worse trouble. They had to push away their anger, they were the leader, their team’s safety came first. 

Guilt rose up in their chest. Their situation, this whole situation was already screwed up in more ways than one. They let their emotions take hold at the completely wrong time. Despite all the emotions swirling around inside their head, their face looked neutral and they relaxed their hands. They couldn’t afford another outburst. Not when the odds looked bad already.

Leader took a couple deep breaths. They did their best to shove their anger deep down far far away where they could no longer reach. It would be fine. It had to be fine. They would talk to Supervisor calmly, they couldn’t afford to screw up anymore. Their previous mistake already brought unwanted consequences, they felt horrible for it.

Speaking of consequences, the cuffs they were going to be forced to wear were not normal handcuffs. A chain did not connect on each side. Rather, they were a piece of tech that looked like a tight metal bracelet for each wrist. It slowly injected a serum that quickly blocked the powers of supers.

They looked over at Fighter and saw they stopped pulling away from the officer. They visibly tensed when their arm had been grabbed.  They heard an audible snap as a cuff closed onto each wrist. 

Teammate swayed a bit on their feet, chewing on their bottom lip. They did not want to but they also reluctantly let the officer do the same to them as they did to Fighter. They held back tears, they were all quite literally powerless in Supervisor’s office now. The cuffs were power suppressants. 

Leader had been the last to feel the cool metal touch their skin, they shivered as they no longer noticed their magic flowing through their body. They felt empty like that, as though they were missing a piece of them now. The rest of the team felt quite similar, the cuffs made the air in the room shift to encompass a sense of disheartenment.

“Precautionary my ass..” Fighter muttered under their breath, subconsciously picking at their wrists.

“Excuse me?” Supervisor snapped at them. “Do we have an issue? Or are you going to follow your captain’s footsteps and cause a disruption in my office?”

Fighter glanced at Leader who shook their head in response. They looked back at Supervisor with a scowl on their face while they reluctantly answered. “No. There will be no issues from me.”

“Good good,” Supervisor said calmly, which only seemed more infuriating to the group. “Now what was so urgent that you were willing to cause such a disturbance?” They folded their hands on their desk, eyes narrowing at Leader while they spoke.

Leader took another deep breath after Supervisor’s stare. They fidgeted with the soft fabric of their shirt, they knew bringing up Hero almost guaranteed another “disturbance” in their words. But they still found that the words came flowing out of their mouth anyways. They had no choice, they were given almost no information. “Why wasn’t Hero safely back at the van like the order on our watches said?”

“They were nowhere to be seen..” Teammate hesitantly added. They were looking at the ground, they couldn’t meet the higher-up’s eyes.

“Were they even ever at the van?” Fighter accused. Unlike Teammate, they were glaring full on at their boss.

“We lost their vitals on their watch. We assume Hero is dead. We have not found a body but their vitals showed nothing to suggest they are alive,” Supervisor answered simply. 

Leader choked on a sob. They looked up and saw Teammate blinking back tears and Fighter appeared as if they might strangle their supervisor. 

Leader had a whole new wave of questions, their answer only added to their growing pile of concerns. 

“Why would- why would you say they were safe? We could have gone back and helped them! We could have- they could have been standing here with us right now! And then we wouldn’t be having this conversation!” Leader sputtered, tears were starting to fill their eyes too. Their hold on their plan to stay calm started to quickly slip away.

“You and your team’s safety became more important at the time. Villain is a high ranking villain and can cause a lot of damage. Hero made a mistake and got too close too quickly. We had to evacuate everyone after we lost contact with them,” Supervisor explained. 

Teammate flinched when Fighter slammed their hands down on their wooden desk. “You are saying Hero’s safety became irrelevant as soon as you lost contact with them? That they are disposable as soon as they made a mistake?!”

“You twisted my words. Step away from my desk please,” Supervisor said.

Fighter didn’t step away, rather they leaned closer to their boss. Leader or Teammate didn’t try to stop them, they were voicing both of their concerns for them. “Have you bothered to search for our friend’s body? Have you talked to their family? Or have you already given up because you all are cowards who have lost all sight in the values of this institution? Hero might be dead so you have zero hope at all that they could be alive? That their-“

“Step away from my desk or the officer will escort all of you out of this room!” Supervisor shouted, interrupting Fighter. 

Leader put a hand on Fighter’s shoulder and gently guided them back so they could stand in front of the desk. “Supervisor, their watch could have just been destroyed. If no one is available to search for Hero, let us.” Leader wiped their eyes, they could only pray and have hope that their boss was wrong and Hero was alive.

Supervisor shook their head, standing up from their cushioned swivel chair. “Absolutely not. It is too dangerous and they are likely dead. You are under no circumstances allowed to search for Hero. There will be a service for them later this week.”

“No!” Leader sounded more desperate this time. “There could be a chance that they are alive, out there somewhere, maybe even in trouble! Please let us search! We are a hero team, we need them!” They could not give up so easily, Leader refused to let that happen. They were responsible for their whole team. They would do whatever it took to get their friend back.

“My word is final,” Supervisor stated. They walked over to the door and opened it. They whispered to the officer before addressing the team that scattered their office. “This officer will take you back to your room. Despite my request, you all still created a scene in my office. Your cuffs will stay on until tomorrow morning. Goodbye.”

They all started to protest but the officer ushered them out of the office. They begrudgingly let themselves be escorted back to their room. It could have gone worse but it also could have gone a million times better than it had. 

…

Leader sat down on their bed when they arrived at their shared room at last. Fighter and Teammate sat across from them. 

“That was such bullshit!” Fighter threw their hands in the air. “As if those fuckers even care.”

Teammate nodded in agreement. “Yeah.. I’m sorry I didn’t say much-“ They looked down at their hands. “That whole argument and situation was so screwed up.. all of it..”

Fighter rubbed their back. “It’s okay, don’t worry about it,” Leader said, sighing. “I don’t think it could have gone any better. They’ve been that stubborn as long as I’ve been here.” But it didn’t make it any less disappointing and frustrating.

Leader groaned as they thought more about the whole argument. “I still think Hero is alive somewhere. From what I could find on a handful of news articles, Villain is a stupidly proud person. They always leave the bodies of the poor victims they’ve killed before disappearing back to where their base is. I want to find Hero, I have to find them- I- if this is right, I think they are still alive- I need to find them..“

Teammate reached over and held Leader’s hand. Their captain stopped talking, they didn’t even realize they had gone into such a panicked tangent. They blinked a few times, their free hand felt their quilt on the bed, regaining stability. 

A tear ran down Leader’s face. “I’m sorry- I didn’t mean to ramble like that-“

Fighter interrupted them. “Hey, it’s alright. We are all upset. We will find them. If you think I want to listen to Supervisor, you are completely wrong.”

————

Tags: @justalittlecorrupted, @onlywhump, @laffy-taffy-creations, @rainy-knights-of-villany

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