#and its like hm. i wonder why ‘’protect the kids’’ and ‘’the holiness of family’’ is popping up in these totally real stories

[vaugarde]

about the poly discourse rn: something something people are pearl clutching about other people not following “family values” (in this context insisting that only two people can be in a relationship because otherwise you dont respect… marriage, or something?)

[miss-choco-chips]

From Baby to Babe~

I once wrote this  https://miss-choco-chips.tumblr.com/post/190983954737/theres-a-point-in-all-the-rouges-gallerys-lives and @theturdis wanted a fic about it, so... Just remember, you asked for this hon. This ain’t my fault.

Tagging @animemangasoul who just told me to tag them the next time I wrote something. 

Fair warning everyone, I somehow did this in one sitting, and, I can’t stress this enough, there’s no edit whatsoever. Like, none. Enjoy, if you can ignore the eyesore of my multiple mistakes.

----.----

Bruce despairs in the knowledge of his sons growing up hot.

---.---

When Dick came back to Gotham as the new Nightwing for the first time ever… well. 

Bruce didn't like to think about the first suit, back then. All those feathers and glitter, the plunging V neck, the mullet… His son had insisted on it being the trend at the time. Bruce just couldn't grasp how was he supposed to blend into the night and take anyone by surprise. There was too much... everything, and not nearly enough stealth.

He was an innocent man, back then. He looked at a horse gift in the mouth and was completely blindsided when it raised on it’s hind legs and kicked him where it hurted.

When Selina approached him a few weeks after N had come to him with the blueprints of his new suit, he had been quiet relaxed. Or as relaxed as one can be when crouched like a gargoyle and looking over the city. He was just getting back on track after… Jason (it still hurted, and probably always would, to think about him), his new partner helping in ways he couldn’t foresee, violence tampered by Tim’s brilliant smile every time he came to Bruce with the answer to a particularly difficult riddle he had been having trouble with. He had to get his act together, because Tim was so bright, mind so beyond what Bruce could ever aspire to, and he was at such an impressionable age… If Batman allowed himself to fall deeper into despair, he would set a dangerously bad example to the kid, which could be really damaging… to the world at large. He was the kind of kid that B wanted on the side of Justice, because the opposite would be quite catastrophic.

So yes, he had been very distracted lately, merely glancing over Dick’s blueprints, noticing the lack of brilliantine and gold, and giving his wholehearted approval. 

Stupid, innocent man he was. He had needed Catwoman of all people to open his eyes.

(To this day, he still wondered about Alfred’s reason for not warning him sooner. Perhaps, and this was the theory he had running, the old butler had been just so delighted at seeing the Disco suit gone, he would approve almost everything in its place, and Dick’s virtue had never been his responsibility to preserve, so to hell with it.

Betrayal always hurted the worse when it came from those closest to you)

-Hey handsome.

-Cat.

She rolled her eyes, already beyond his brood, and just walked out of the light, joining him into the shadows with a sigh at his dramatics. 

-No theft today?

The woman grimaced a bit, letting herself fall at his side with as much grace as she did everything else. Diamond claws scratched at her scalp, carefully not tearing the frail skin, and Batman finally conceded and turned his head to look at her directly. She was never so hesitant.

-Look. I really, really don’t want to be the one telling you this. I would literally rather leave this to anyone else, but… it’s getting out of hand.

-What is it?

-Nightwing. Hadn’t you noticed anything about him?

That got whatever rest of his attention she hadn’t already caught. Speaking of his sons always had that effect on him.

-What happened to him?

-Nothing, just… He’s been out a lot, hasn’t he? I thought he didn’t operate in the city as much…

She was stalling, which was worryingly out of character for Selina. But since this was about Nightwing, he had to be patient and let her talk her way into whatever information she was going to lay on him.

-I’ve been… -training a new Robin, not that he could tell her that- busy, lately. He’s picking up the slack while I’m focusing on it -a.k.a helping him both patrol the streets and teach Tim. 

-I noticed the changes, yes, whatever therapy you’re doing is great for you -she encouraged, more honest than he thought her capable of. He could already see her deadpan when she figured out the reason for his change, his ‘therapy’ as she put it, was an eleven year old thrusting himself at this dangerous life of his.

-Hm.

-Well… Anything noteworthy about him lately? Crime Fighting related?

Since she was stressing the words so much, he gave them deep thought.

-He has been on a streak lately. A lot more arrests… What’s your point?

He could almost see the second she internally said ‘fuck it’ and just blurted everything out.

-That’s because his new suit is, and this is coming from me, B, indecent, and every criminal out there is focusing more on his ass than his punches and flips so he’s kicking ass easier.

Bruce kicked his way to the forefront of his mind, the father in him hip checking the vigilante out of the way so he could properly freak out.

What? He knew the suit was a lot more tight than the former one, but he’d been so relieved at it being mostly black he hadn’t given more than a cursory look… and he barely saw the man in it, often training together in workout clothes and coming and going to patrol at different times. He… wasn’t prepared for this.

-Excuse me?

-I’m sorry, someone had to tell you. Normally, I’d be completely on board with a suit change from boring to daring, and you know of my good relationship with leather, but I’ve literally seen that kid grow up. If I have to listen to Harley talking about Nightwing’s ass one more time, Ivy won’t need to worry any more about the Joker killing her, because I will do it myself.

He wanted to thank her for standing up for his son, but he was still busy internally screaming.

-You want to hear Riddle’s last work? While looking directly at N, he asked ‘is buttcheeks one word? Or should I spread them?’. And then he winked. Winked, B. At your eighteen year old kid. You need to get your ass on gear and make sure Nighting changes his. I mean, I’m getting used to it, but you’ve been doing great lately, violent wise, and I’d hate for you to relapse because you heard Zsaasz asking N to tie his ropes tighter and harder.

B… needed to go back to the cave and call N back early. They had to talk.

----.----

When Jason came back, the first thing to break past the ‘holy shit my son is alive’ wall surrounding his brain was just how tall he had grown. How strong, how broad, how big. The little boy he had picked up from the street, underfeed and hurting everywhere, had turned out almost bigger than B himself and twice as brave. The wave of pride he felt was massive, but the feeling was short lived. 

Jason was killing criminals, had even attempted to murder Tim. Even if the father in him could, in his desperation, try and overlook the first bit, the same side couldn’t get past the second. Tim was as much his as Jason, and he couldn't turn a blind eye to it.

The relief of him being back that overflowed from Bruce clashed horribly with Batman’s unbending morals, and the two sides warred for days for control. The attack on his youngest son had been the deciding factor in who finally won; Bruce couldn’t fight the darkness in him when he needed it to help protect Robin from his predecessor, as much as it pained him.

Theirs was a long road, a difficult path to come back together as a family after so many mistakes on both parts (more his than Jason’s, he knew, but admitting so was so hard…), but they had finally, finally came back together. All his children, sitting around the dinning table at the manor, throwing food at each other behind Alfred’s back, Dick failing to give Jason a noogie, Tim succeeding in elbowing his way past both of them to claim first picks over the brownies, Damian rolling his eyes while sneakily drawing in his notebook what B suspected was a portrait of the three of them, Cass and Steph laughing at their antics… His heart felt like it could give out.

Again, his mind was anywhere but in… that. Already used to the dirty looks aimed at Nighting, he focused his anger into strength behind every punch, taking care to kick specially hard when aiming at the criminal’s genitals as light punishment for the lust they aimed at his oldest, but not longer trying to essentially castrate them.

He had the hang of it, and it was just one child. He could do damage control with one, it wasn’t that hard. Stephanie wasn’t really his, just under his protection as a mentor, and even then, she was mostly Barbara’s; Cass could and would take care of anyone who dared look at her in a way she didn’t like, so she was also good. Seventeen year old Tim and thirteen year old Damian were babies, so they wouldn't be an issue for a long, long time.

And then. And then, Steph had opened her mouth.

-Why can’t Tim do this? -she had whined, raising the heels to eye level and studying them with profound distaste- I hate fighting on these. He’s much better than me at that anyway, and he makes a hotter chick than I when he goes full out on his undercover gig.

Red Robin, who was walking past her on his way to the training mats, high fived her.

Barbara’s voice came from the Batcomputer, Oracle’s voice filter not needed while they still were on the Cave.

-Because he and Jason can’t act like a couple for more than two hours before one of them breaks into hives or laughter, and this is an all night long gig. 

-Then why can’t Tim and Dick go? You just need a girl as pretty arm candy distaction, the guy is the one who’s gonna do the work, and Nightwing can take care of a few drug dealers himself.

-While Dick is certainly pretty enough to gain permission to enter this very private party -the man, stretching with Tim, stopped mid motion to give the computer finger guns. Barbara coughed to cover a laugh and kept going-, the goal is for him to be invited into the boss’s personal office, and we can only do that if he’s interested in what he sees. From what Tim gathered for me on his last recon, he favours… Jason’s body types more than Dick’s.

Bruce, who was just getting out of the locker room, suit fully in place except from the cowl, raised an eyebrow at that, stopping to analyze his second oldest. Tilting his head, and still as confused, he asked what would undoubtedly bring him an unhealthy amount of regret in the very near future.

-What does that mean? Jason’s...body type? You mean tall? Dick is also pretty tall.

There was total silence in the cave for a few moments. Dick and Tim got up from their positions, shared a look, and made a run for the showers, claiming they were ready for patrol (they weren’t, not warmed up enough, but he had other things to focus on now). Damian, already fully suited, tutted and dragged the hood of his cape over his face, almost completely covering it. Cass looked on impassively, and Stephanie seemed to be getting a worryingly amount of glee from whatever this was.

Jason himself was… blushing? What?

-Who’s gonna tell him? -finally asked Barbara, amusement breaking her professional facade.

-Oh, me, me! Let me do this!

Apparently still a naive man, he nodded at the blonde, ready for someone to clear this up for him.

He was regaled with a half an hour long rant about biceps, pecs, and thighs that could compete against tree trunks and win. It was supported by apparent citations from different criminals that ranged from appreciative to full on scandalous.

In the end, everyone left the cave, Batgirl with a notorious spring on her step, and Bruce had to stay home instead of going out, needing the night to fully process about his second son, almost twenty one but twelve in his mind’s eye, apparently featuring in multiple Arkham calendars. 

He came out of that realization a scarred man, to say the least.

-----.-----

It was barely a few months after his traumatic chat with Stephanie when it happened again. He’d like to say he was ready for this.

He wasn’t.

When Conner Kent found him, he was completely focused on his WE’s work. For once on the office, with the TV providing some white noise in the background, he was fully prepared for a day catching up. He couldn’t keep letting Tim take over most of the work, the kid deserved to have a normal (or as normal as any of them could achieve) teenage life.

He was of course notified the moment the meta breached the city’s limits, but figured he was here on Titan’s business or hanging out with Tim. The light knock on his office window was a big surprise.

-This is unexpected, Conner. What can I do for you? -he greeted after letting him in- Tim isn’t here today, he’s giving a press conference.

-Yeah, I know. I’m actually here for you. We, the team, heard from Tim you’re making the blueprints for his next suit.

This conversation was already going in a very confusing way. Why did they care about Tim’s gear?

-Yes?

-Well, you need to double check with us before you show anything to him -something akin to indignant surprise must have shown in his face, because the meta quickly raised both hands-. We don’t mean that as you needing our approval, of course you’d know better how to keep a non-meta well protected. We know jackshit about kevlar and armor. But it’s the… style, that has us worried.

He let the anger bleed out of him, replaced with puzzlement.

-What do you mean?

Conner looked down, as if gathering strength, then up and straight into Bruce’s eyes, a feat very few younger heroes could achieve. This was serious.

-Tim isn’t big like Jason, or as… stretchy as Dick, but he has… very, very attractive features. I won’t go into detail with you about how thin his waist is, how shapely his legs or cute his ass. That’s not something I need to say or you to hear.

Yes, it definitely wasn’t. Bruce was having an inkling as to where this was headed, and he didn’t like it. Tim was a baby! Barely eighteen and so damn small!

-But I do need to tell you, his ugly ass suits have been good at keeping that all on the downlow. We made fun of him for them, sure, but never encouraged him to change, because we know what will happen if he does. It would be awful. You think Nightwing and Red Hood have it rough? Tim has Ra’s Al Ghul’s undivided attention and appreciation. If we add attraction to it? Mayhem. Absolute mayhem. We can barely keep him from being kidnapped by older, nasty villains as it is. We don’t need the extra work, sir. I’m begging you on behalf of the team, don’t let him get anything that would look good on him. Like that Untranet suit he told me about, for example. That one would be so bad. Or the Red Robin one with tighter pants and a domino under the cowl so he can take it out and flash the world his luscious hair. 

Bruce fell back into his desk chair. Elbows resting on the table, he buried his face into his hands.

A long silence filled the room.

-You already approved and made one of those, right?

A small, shaky nod.

-...The Ultranet one?

A firm shake. 

-Fuck me. The Red Robin with tighter pants and domino?

Another nod. Conner sat abruptly on the empty chair in the other side of the desk, like a puppet with its strings cut.

-Well, fuck. 

Fuck indeed. 

Bruce despaired.

----.----

This time, he would be ready. He swore it on his honor, on his oath, on his parents.

So when Damian turned sixteen, growth spurt kicking in (he towed over Tim, and it wouldn’t be long until he left Dick in the dust as well), he made a thought but necessary call.

He phoned Talia.

-We need to talk. About Damian, and… sex appeal.

Her shock was evident even through the phone.

-Excuse me? My son is a child. He has no such thing.

He closed his eyes. Once, a long time ago, he’d been just as naive. Now he knew better. 

It was a hard lesson to learn, but she needed to. And quickly. Damian was growing faster than his other children. Time was of essence.

-Let me tell you what I wish I knew years ago, when Dick decided to change his Nightwing suit.

She was probably going to hate him for opening her eyes like this, but Bruce just couldn't do this alone. 

He could deal with Talia’s hate, but criminals lusting after his baby son? Hell no. He might actually go rouge.

[blaster-aichi]

Cardfight!! Vanguard Extra Story IF 23 things

now get why woke up to notifs of freaking the fuck out (shakes fist at timezones) tl;dr — just a whole lot of incomprehensible screaming

Seeing the smol Kai-kun, the shot feels a lot more like they’re waiting to congratulate him after a race and that’s adorable. Give us some glimpses of sport days and such with his parents before he loses them again.

Got caught out by the fake-out. This writing team loves their trickery.

Watching Aichi effortlessly Superior Realize Majesty Lord when Emi and Shuka struggled for half the season to manage the very same is both amusing but testament to just what a dangerous force he is in this state. Never let him dabble with the “don’t you ever want to stop being nice and go apeshit” meme. We all agree, yes? Good.

The perfect balance of apocalyptic danger and Ren being a shit, thank you for getting it right.

At first, Aichi simply stopping the Blasters’ swords without even retaliating was surprising enough, but when he’s in possession of their power combined, it’s apparent they never stood a chance, even in a 2-on-1 fight.

Whoever wrote the episode and laid out the fighting, you’re the greatest.

Have to wonder if IF Aichi is a glimpse at the anarchy VoidAichi would have unleashed, given the chance, when they both wield power that can extend beyond cardfighting.   — Atop of that, there’s an obvious emphasis on Locking enemy units, mirroring Link Joker’s gimmick. Lock → Link Joker → Brandt. Brandt theory’s clawing its way back from the brink.

Aichi letting loose his rage on Ren just sends me back to Epis 63-64 of the original anime. If he knew about it, would joke about this building for the past 9 years.

For a moment, the idea that Shuka would have Harmonics came across as strange, but then recalling the premise of Neon Messiah, it makes perfect sense.    — That realization plays in nicely with the one during the week that, had she existed at the time, Asia Circuit would have been a perfect scenario for her Flower-Picker duty in regards to the Royal Paladin, Shadow Paladin, Kagero and Aqua Force.

Imagine if Tsukkun would have been enjoying himself during recording; early in the season, the YouTube premiere chat remarked the same of Mamochan with all Ibuki’s antics.

We all really super-agree never to let Aichi stop being nice and go apeshit again? Yes? Good.    — Rena also having to not scream because it was still only just before 7am at this point, rip.

Ominous sphere of counteractive energy (not unlike Deletors) against the rainbow of colours representing Vanguard’s power? Brandt theory yelling.

The incredible irony that Aichi was able to destroy Vanguard better than anyone else previously. Except maybe Neon Messiah Ibuki, depending on how next episode plays out.

Sweetie, who taught you to pull the faces you have been through this season? We need a word. It might be a portion of his face being obscured, but it almost looks like he’s showing some desperation, the kind that he’s achieved his goal, only to realize the severity of it. Though with what we’ve been shown to this point, it’s apparent that isn’t the case.

Team Suiko & Ibuki rise.

Immensely grateful that Aichi and Emi have a personal standoff, had been starting to worry about the possibility of it not happening with the emphasis of the fight once the Blasters were removed being on Shuka. Is it bad that had a little aw moment when he warned her about it being dangerous, like a good big brother?

Someone please drill it into him that neither of them playing Vanguard has anything to do with the Kai parents abandoning him so he doesn’t need to do this. Drill it in that he’s making his own family miserable.

I was kidding about setting important books on fire, guys, don’t take it seriously.

Caught on just in time by way of Kai-kun’s line, but the sheer desperation of Aichi to hold onto his Ride is painful; when Emi’s there crying out to her brother, who clings onto his vision and looks devastated when it’s ripped away from him. The direction of the sequence was incredible.

Emi’s dearest people suffering all at once hour.

It’s actually astonishing that, for the sake of stopping him, Shuka granted Aichi’s wish and makes him the most successful of the antagonists.

“Hey play nice”. “ —O HM YGOD SHE ACTUALLY DI D IT”. “Thanks for putting him back into his turtleneck”.

Hey we don’t do death here unless you’re a parent, this wasn’t in the contract.

You can tell the animation budget was saved up for this episode, between the boys fighting and Shuka’s send-off. The episode as a whole is quite stunning.   — yoinked from chat log: 07:44 I love how Aichi is just in the back snoozing during all this but is it really a good idea to take our eyes off of him? Nome and/or Brandt brain cells yelling

This poor girl has been through so much in such a short period of time, she deserves all the hugs from her brother and remaining friends. Though Kamui has been through an enormous amount for a child of his age, he was never put in this position and with his personality, he appears to handle all the trouble much better.

07:47  NOME AND/OR BRANDT BRAIN CELLS SCREAMING INTENSIFIES

There's our little wind lobster!

07:49 GUYS IM TELLING YOU, SOMEONE KEEP AN EYE ON HIM

Kourin has the most nightmarish face but this tops the most horrifying instances in general, right? Because it definitely fucking feels like it HOLY FUCKING SHIT.

IF 24 preview: Kai-kun handing a card to a younger Sendou, and I am gone (again).   — With cards and magical girls and Realizing out the window, very eager to see how this fiasco is getting resolved. Neon Messiah Aichi still had the game to get himself back on his feet, but that’s simply not an option for the IF crew, plcaing them in a much more dire final hour. Also protect the babies.

[zach-the-fox]

Furiends Episode 9: Search for Justice

Darkness still covers across the entire land. The town of Heroto fights off the black night with their lights to brighten their homes and guide their way on the roads and sidewalks. However, only few wander the streets at late hours. Drab figures move passed the spectators patrolling the streets, hiding behind the houses. Each silhouette is in the shape of animals. They move quickly through the night. The dark figures reach a large, one-story, brick building standing atop of a hill. They collect at the back before proceeding further. Inside, they can see the four animals they had encountered previously, gathering by the desk area.

The wolf grunts as he holds an ice pack on the spot between his legs. “That damn flawed fox and his freaky friends… If only we had- Ugh!”

“We’ll catch them, Jay,” Cindy assures him, holding her side. “They’ve couldn’t have gone far. It’s not like they can leave Heroto, either.”

“Yeah,” agrees Kenji. “Those kids have homes and families, don’t they? Sooner or later, they’re going to have to go back for them, and then we’ll have them. We’ll go and-”

Miffy rushes into the room. “Guys! We’ve got trouble on the far side of town!”

Cindy looks to her. “Is it those flawed fox brats? If not, this better be something important.”

“So then, Capital Corp is not important?”

Jay gasps. “Capital Corp?! Again?! We better get going!” He grunts more. Cindy aides him. “I’m fine! I can handle it!” The four animals rush out and set their security features as they leave. The darkened animals watch around the corner as the hero group travels away. Two of the figures use their sharp nails to cut a hole through the glass before a tall shadow comes to take the popped-out piece away. They slowly go through, one-by-one. Then, they freeze, noticing the fields of red laser beams pointing around the room. Within a few seconds, the lights deactivate, allowing the friends to proceed and go room-by-room. They search around the entire place, from the barracks, to the kitchen, to the hangout area, and to the bathrooms, checking everything, before meeting in the hangout room area.

“Nothing,” reports Hatboy. “It looks to be like a regular home. Not even anything on their computers say anything.”

“Ooo!” Carly grabs the middle-left book on the shelf. “A book about drawing superhero characters!” As she pulls it out, the book stops halfway out of the shelf. Then, the entire furniture shifts to the side, opening up a passageway downstairs. “Oh, will you look at that?”

“Nice work, Carly,” comments Emmy. “Pretty smart.” The cat smiles. The friends enter through, descending stairs, and down the hallway, where they come into a humongous space with metal walls and floors built about. Several gadgets, widgets, and gizmos are placed by a table near an area where pictures of the fox in the blue bandana are plastered on the walls by the weapons arsenal, some with holes and marks while by the melee and sword station a straw dummy of him is displayed. “Holy…” She turns to Zach. “They really don’t like you very much…” Zach sighs. “Hey, don’t worry about it.”

“Are these Team Rescuers’ gadgets?” Hatboy asks. “I haven’t seen any of these before…”

“They must be new technologies they’re working on.”

“Ooh!” Brook runs over and puts on a black cloak and hood. “Behold! Super Brook!” She places her paws on her hips. “Sworn to protect all of Heroto!”

Emmy takes a sword from the table beside the dummy. “This is a nice sword!” She wields her weapon. “Look at me! I’m a superhero! Hiya!” She whacks the dummy with it. “Awesome!” Emmy then investigates a pair of goggles sitting on a pedestal. “Hm, I wonder what Team Rescuers uses these for.” She puts on the goggles from the pedestal on, looks around the room. “Whoa! These goggles are amazing! They can allow you to see different visions!” She touches the dial on the side and scrolls through everything. “Nice!” After a few seconds, she removes them. “I like these goggles!”

Carly is next to come over, examining a paintbrush with rainbow colors on its bristles. “What a lovely looking paintbrush. I wonder what Team Rescuers is using this for. I can see myself painting a lovely rainbow with this.” The cat traces her new tool in the air, imagining the drawing. As she drags the paintbrush in empty space, colored lines appear and the rainbow she imagined spawns. “Oh whoa! No way! A paintbrush that makes things appear when you draw them? This is what I need! It’ll be great with my speed powers, too!”

Zach approaches a big computer against the wall. “Huh…” He sits at the desk and turns on the machine. “I wonder what they keep on the computers. Probably stuff about me… Let’s see…” Upon activation, the fox navigates around the desktop and pulls up a video. “Hey guys! You all might want to look at this!” The gang gathers around him before he plays the video. Team Rescuers are shown in the video with a hooded figure.

“The flawed fox and his friends were at the laboratory,” says Jay. “I say we go find them all and take them in.”

“That won’t be necessary,” says the robed character. “I’ve got a better idea with how we can be rid of them all.”

“What do you mean?”

“There are still explosive chemicals in the ruined lab, right?” The group nods. “Well, we can make it look like they were there to take those chemicals to use them.” The four ask what the hooded figure means. “The flawed fox despises the orphanage, right? We’ll set him and those oafs up by blowing a section of the building up.”

“Blow up the orphanage?” repeats Miffy. “That’s very extreme! What about the kids?!”

“The kids are not going to be harmed. I will place them all in an area far away from the blast area, but I will need to make it look like it really was an attack. After the explosion sets off, I will put some of them back with makeup and fake injuries on. That should convince the public they’ve been targeted deliberately.”

“It’s a brilliant plan,” Kenji tells the figure. “I can add to that, too. I can give the illusion that those flawed friends were there.”

“That’s good,” the hooded figure goes. “I know how much you guys hate him. I do, too. He and his friends won’t be a bother to us anymore once this is done. People will want him and the others dead.”

“Thank you, Mom,” says the wolf.

Emmy clenches her hoofs into fists. “Those ungrateful pieces of… I can’t believe they would do this!”

“Well, now we know Team Rescuers are nothing but frauds,” Zach utters. “And Jay’s mother, the headmaster of the orphanage, is the mastermind. They were the ones who set us up. I can’t believe I looked up to them…”

“We’ll get them back for this, Zach,” Carly tells him. “They won’t get away with it!”

“Hey, look at this!” Brook exclaims. The gang pivot to the bird as she holds out documents she fished out from the cabinet beside. “I found these articles… They have our information on them. Our addresses, our relatives, and pictures of us. Stalker alert…”

“I don’t believe it!” Hatboy exclaims. “They’ve been watching us the whole time, trying to come up with a way to get not only Zach kicked out, but us as well.”

“That’s not all,” Zach adds, searching the computer more. “There are more plans to attack other parts of the city, including the square. That won’t happen while we know. We will make sure their acts of terror are brough to an end.”

“And how will we do that?” asks Carly. “Everyone thinks we’re the ones that blew up the orphanage.”

“Not if we expose the truth.” Emmy continues. “Zach, save this video on a flash drive.”

“I don’t see a flash drive anywhere,” Zach responds.

“Wait.” Carly paints the air with the brush and spawns a flash drive in her palm. She then hands it to the fox, who plugs it in and saves the video onto it, as well as other files.

Zach takes out the flash drive and shuts the computer off. He looks at the survallence system to see four animals inbound. “Team Rescuers are coming back! We should go now!”

“Not just yet,” Emmy claims. She looks at all of the equipment around the room. “Let’s take everything here from them!”

“I love this!” Brook follows the warthog’s lead, as does everyone, taking all of the gadgets and tools, stuffing them into their bags. The gang then head up from the secret area, then close it off with the bookcase. They then run out the open window and flee from the area. “Haha!” she laughs. “We’ve got all of their goodies! Payback!”

“Not quite,” claims Emmy. “It’s not payback until we really take them down. Which is why we’re going to expose them and get rid of them once and for all!” She turns to the glass window beside her and stares into it, looking at some superhero costumes on display. “And I’ve got an idea of how we’re going to play it all out.” The others look to see what she means. “Carly, still got that magic paintbrush?”

“Yep.” The cat holds up her painting tool.

“When we get back to our headquarters, I’m going to need you to make some costumes for us.” She smiles at her.

“Just tell me what you want and I’ll draw it for you.” Carly reflects the warthog’s expression.

@carlycmarathecat​ @emmy-the-absolute-goof​ @bendy-bear-15​

[main-to-card-games-and-pain]

IronDad Bingo Prompt 5 - Captivity

I finished the line guys I finished the line!!! Yes! Which one should I do next...? Oh my gosh I’m so proud of this, I had the worst writer’s block ever for this prompt. Or any prompt come to think of it. This may not be the best but I broke my dry spell and am ready to rumble once more! DO NOT TAG AS STARKER

Tony woke up to the worst pain he’d ever experienced. 

It was exploding from the inside of his chest and no matter what he did it was agony. There was a tube in his nose going down into his throat which burned like Hell whenever he jostled it. It hurt even more when he tried to remove it. 

The billionaire groaned as it slipped free, his eyes balled up in pain. He kind of missed the nose-tube pain; it was better than whatever the Hell was excruciatingly painful in his chest. 

His limbs refused to answer his commands, brokenly jerking at whatever they could try to clutch. Tony rolled over achingly, eyes focussing on movement to his left.

Was he in a cave? 

The movement he saw was a man, shaving. 

He was cold. 

And in pain. 

He tried to move again but something wrenched him back, it was attached to his chest, and it hurt. 

Everything hurt.  

“I wouldn’t do that if I were you.” Tony was scared and he was in pain and he didn’t know who this guy was and if that was a threat. 

Tony rolled back over and- Oh my God. Holy shit. Was that a car battery? The billionaire’s breathing picked up erratically, his eyes widened. Desperate fingers clawed at the bindings around his chest, ripping them open to reveal a piece of metal embedded in his chest, attached to the car battery. 

His breathing was non-existent now, he was well past the point of hysteria. The man looked back at him casually. Somewhere further concealed in the cave, a baby cried. 

“What the Hell did you do to me,” Tony whispered. The baby was still crying, his eyes flickered towards the noise. “Why is there a kid here?” 

“What I did?” The man had an accent. “What I did was to save your life. I removed all the shrapnel I could, but there’s a lot there, it’s headed into your atrial septum.” So, he was dying. The man paused, picked up a glass vial. “Here, want to see? I have a souvenir. Take a look.” 

Tony glanced up at the offering, clanging with his death. The man tossed it at him, Tony caught it out of reflex more than anything else. The baby was still wailing. 

“As for the little one, I assume he was here with some dearly departed parents before they were killed by our lovely hosts.” 

“You should get it to stop crying, it’s giving me more of a headache than I already have.” 

The man hummed, regarded Tony with a curious look for a moment, and went back to his speech. “I’ve seen many wounds like that in my village; we call them the walking dead, because it takes about a week for the barbs to reach the vital organs.” 

“What is this?” 

“That, is an electromagnet, hooked up to a car battery, and it is keeping the shrapnel from entering your heart. Hm?” His companion was far too chipper and calm about whatever situation they found themselves in, especially when delivering news like that. 

Tony sat up, his eyes flickered to the camera in the corner. 

“That’s right,” the man seemed amused, “smile.” 

There was a pause, the baby’s cries still echoing around the cave. Tony didn’t know what possessed him to do it, but he grabbed his… car battery… and made his way towards the sounds. “Where’s the kid?” 

“On some blankets on that table there. I believe he is just under a year old.” 

Tony didn’t have experience with babies, he didn’t do the kissing-baby thing. But when he saw him on that table, tears streaming down his cheeks and far too little arms flailing, something inside him snapped. No, melted was the better word. 

“What’s his name,” he whispered. 

“I call him Peter,” the man replied. 

“Peter,” Tony repeated softly, letting the baby latch onto his finger gently. “Hi, little one… What’s your story?” 

Once Peter had caught Tony’s finger he was intent on not letting go, quieting immediately and holding as tightly as he could. “And what’s yours?” 

“Yinsen.” 

Before Tony could muster the strength to pick the baby up footsteps and shouting sounded from behind the big metal door that probably separated their cell from the rest of this place. Yinsen rushed towards him, pulling him away from Peter and towards the door. 

“Do as I do,” he commanded, putting his hands onto his head. “Come on, put your hands up.” 

Tony barely had time to obey before they were bursting in, all wielding Stark Industries’ guns.

“Those are my guns,” he said, hints of panic seeping into his voice. “How did they get my guns?” 

“Do you understand me?” Yinsen spoke in a hiss. “Do as I do.” Tony quieted, listening to the leader speak his piece before looking at Yinsen questioningly. “He says, “Welcome Tony Stark, the most famous mass-murderer in the history of America.” He is honoured.” 

Tony had been afraid, and in pain, and confused before. Now, he was terrified. Yinsen continued, “He wants you to build the missile, the Jericho missile that you demonstrated.” The leader held out the photo, but Tony already knew what it looked like. “This one.” 

He would not let more weapons fall into the hands of these terrorists. 

“I refuse.” 

There was more pain after that. Pain, and the feeling of water filling his lungs, the sound of his own screams under the water, and the desperation of a dying man, that would haunt him for the rest of his life. 

When he was deposited back in his cell it was to the sound of the crying baby. 

“Give him to me,” Tony breathed. It surprised him as much as it did Yinsen. 

“I did not take you to be a family man, Stark.” 

“I’m not, I just want to hold him, take my mind off the brutal torture and all.” 

“Very well.” Yinsen transferred the child into his waiting arms. Once again, Peter quieted almost immediately, sucking gently on his thumb. Tony felt something swell in his chest at the sight, something that was mostly foreign. “He likes you.” 

“How naive of him.” 

But with Peter sleeping on his chest, and Yinsen turned the other way, Tony let himself realize that he was falling in love with his newfound little one. 

Tony Stark was, as usual, right. 

That little bundle of blankets quickly became his bundle of blankets. He couldn’t sleep unless Peter was right next to him, and vice versa. The arc reactor was created, and it didn’t hurt so much to put Pete against his chest. 

When it came time to take a break from the work, they took turns giving Peter the bottles of milk provided. The baby was still far too small for Tony’s liking though. 

He started planning his escape. It was considerably harder when he had Peter to think about. Yinsen thought the change was good for him, and they too became closer. 

He told Tony about his village, his family, his desire to be with them again. Tony glanced at Peter and understood. 

One day, while they were working, not on a missile but on a suit, their captors barged in unceremoniously. Tony and Yinsen dropped what they were doing and put their hands on their heads, watching warily as the predator stalked its prey. 

Tony hated the man’s presence but he’d rather have the attention than Peter or Yinsen. But then he’d turned and forced Yinsen on his knees and was holding a red hot piece of metal and men were reaching for Peter and Tony had never felt such terror. 

“Stop!” The word ripped out of his throat on its own accord, startling every occupant in the room. Tony took a few calming breaths as all the guns trained on him and collected his moment of peace. “I need him, he’s a good assistant. And you don’t want the kid, he’ll just annoy you.” 

The leader may not have believed him, but he let them both go, and that’s all Tony could ask for. 

His heart pounded against his throat, his blood slowly thawed. 

He watched as the man cast his eyes on all three occupants of the room and smirked. Tony knew then that they were going to have to get away soon, or else this man would try and take them again.

And if he lost them he didn’t know what he would do. 

Yinsen tucked the baby against his chest and ran like his life depended on it, because it did. Inside the tin can Tony desperately hoped would be their saviour, Tony Stark watched on with an overwhelming need to protect. 

So he lived up to his name, Tony Stark, murderer, and did his fucking best to get them out of there. 

He’s not quite prepared for what it costs. 

He gets to the end of the tunnel, he can see the light leading to freedom, but his friend is trapped under a weight and bleeding and shouting, “Watch out!” 

Tony narrowly dodged the projectile, retaliating with a small missile of his own and watching as the man went down with the flames. The sand bag was easily thrown away from Yinsen’s chest, but the man didn’t move. 

“Stark,” he breathes, and he sounds much too weak for Tony’s liking. 

“Come on,” the inventor urges, “we gotta go.” Yinsen stays down. “Move for me, c’mon, we got a plan, we’re gonna stick with it.” Tony feels panic raising up in his chest. 

“This was always the plan, Stark.” No. No, no, no no, no. “Take him.” Yinsen’s eyes found a place behind his death bed, covered and protected from harm. Peter was wailing, Tony wondered why he hadn’t heard it before. 

“Come on, you’re gonna go see your family,” Tony begged, “Get up.” 

“My family is dead.” Something in the mechanic’s heart snapped. “I’m going to see them now, Stark.” Yinsen took a few deep breaths, Tony didn’t think he could breathe if he wanted to. “It’s okay, it’s alright, I want this.” 

The tears found their way down Tony’s cheeks on their own accord. 

“Thank you for saving me.” He didn’t know what else to say. “And thank you for giving me him.” 

Yinsen’s mouth twitched up into the semblance of a grin. “You have something now, Stark, to live for… don’t waste your life.” 

And he was gone. 

Tony went numb. Suspended in something he supposed was grief he cradled the infant to his chest, tucked him into the specially protective pouch on the inside of his chest plate, and launched his way to freedom. 

Guns fired at him but had no effect; here he was immortal, here, he was the God of Death. The bullets paused, the world waited for his next move. 

“My turn.” 

He burned them all to the ground. 

And then he was flying, distantly, he remembered he needed to do something important. When he saw the sand approaching he remembered with desperate certainty. He flipped backwards, making sure his back took the impact and not the precious bundle against his chest. Peter still cried, and later Tony would discover sustained a cut along his forehead that would scar permanently. 

But they were both alive, and Tony was so grateful. 

He wrapped Peter in the canvas bag he had, fully aware that in doing so Tony was risking himself succumbing to heat stroke much faster. He rather it be him than Pete. 

And he walked, and walked, and walked, and when he didn’t think his legs could carry him anymore he walked some more. Because every step brought him closer to safety, to a world where Peter would live and not die of starvation or heat exposure in this barren dessert. 

His shoulders were agonized with burns, as was his face and arms. Peter hadn’t quieted for hours and Tony knew with guilt in his heart that he was in pain too. 

He walked and walked and walked and walked. 

And then a helicopter flew overtop him and Tony felt his first flutter of joy and hope in three months. He didn’t know if he had the strength to shout but he tried, waving his free arm frantically in hopes of getting their attention. 

When they turned back and started to land Tony collapsed to his knees, shielding Peter from the sand while sobbing with joy. 

There were no more words for Tony, not even when Rhodey reached him and pulled him into a hug. He looked up at his friend, saw his friend inquisitive look at his bundle, and slowly revealed his treasure. 

“Tony, is that a-”

“Baby,” he mumbled incoherently. “Is’ a baby Rhodey, nee’ to get t’ safe…” 

“Yeah, you’re both safe now, Tony. You’re both safe.” 

Tag list: @just-the-daydreamer @keep-a-bucket-full-of-stars @ladyreyreigns  @thetranslucentwallaby @friendly-neighborhood-ash @delphinium2 @the-persian-slipper @shoyzz-art

[lillaxtrigger]

Young hope: Chapter 16

A frighteningly large mob encroaches on the Spicer estate, aiming to break down the gates and take the blonde prize that awaits inside. Among her was several of her lovers friends and family, watching together in worry as Kingsley paces back and forth along side the entry hall. A pondering gaze is print across his face as he wonders what their next course of action they might have to take in the approaching danger. “Uh, Kingsley, sweetie…Are you feeling okay?” his mother worries. All the boy could muster as a response was a slight: “Hmm...” “Are you worried?” Renee guesses. “Hmmmm...” “You cooking up a plan?” Tore than wonders. “Hmmmmmmm….” “Uh! For fuck sake. Just spill it already!” Cayenne demands. A brief turn towards the group in waiting, he announces to them all: “O-Okay. Okay. I think I might have it all figured out. First things first is to get Renee out of Townsville.” “What? Why? I wanna stay and help.” the blonde pipes up. “I know you do. But the best you can be at right now is out of town. The chaos might die down once they realize you’re out of town.” Although Renee feels inclined to disagree, she can’t really find a reason to do so. Perhaps it is best for her to lie low for now. At least until all this madness dies down. With a reluctant sigh, she complies. “Fine, you win. But what about my mom? I’m worried about her with my dad being in a frothing rage.” “I’ll take care of things from there. Cayenne and I’ll stop by your place and pick her up.” “Are you sure that’s a good idea?” Renee questions the genius with. “Don’t sweat it. We’ll sweep her out before you’re dad even notices us.” Kingsley then turns his attention towards Cayenne and tries to convince her to help out. “Now, Cayenne. I know what you’re gonna say, that this has got nothing to do with you and rather be doing something else But, we could really use all the help we can get in this whole ordeal. So if you don’t mind-”. “Fuck it. When do we head out?” Cayenne wonders, raring to go. “Oh...Well great...Thanks.” Her answer takes Kingsley aback quite a fair bit, making him hesitate for a slight moment before turning towards his indigo agent. “Err...Anyway. Tore, can you take Renee and fly outta Townsville as fast as you can?” “Agent Bluebird is on the case.” The blue boy drops the English facade for a moment, remembering something very crucial. “Wait a minute. My mom and Mally are still out there. Who’s gonna get them?” “That job will be up to my parents. I’m sure they can hide long enough until mom and dad swoop in and get them out town.” “But what about Chloe? She’s still at the mall.” “Right. If everyone has caught on to us being apart of this whole scheme, then they’ll probably try and catch Chloe in hopes of using her as bargaining chip to get Renee. Need to find a way to pull her outta there, ASAP.” Just then, Tore hears mumbles coming from his phone. Oh! Seems Mally is still on the line. Wonder what she wants? “Hm...Oh, hang on. Let me put you on speaker.” Just as he said, Tore sets his sisters phone call to his speaker, allowing Mally’s voice to reach everyone’s ears. “I can help with that.” she insists. “Huh?” Kingsley utters, his glance gazing towards the mobile device. “You said she was at the mall, right? That’s not far from where we’re at. I can go meet up with her and take her someplace to meet her folks. You guys are stretched for help as is, anyway. Figure its better for me to do something then sit on my ass, waiting to be rescued like an old school Disney princess.” “Nnn...I-I don’t know. Seems a tad of reckless.” “Come on. Kingsley, give her a shot. I’m sure if anybody can get your sis out in time, she can.” “Hmm...alright. Get to the outskirts of town once you’re out of the mall and my parents will try and find you guys.” “Just get my mom first, n’kay?” “Right.” From outside, the sound of crashing metal echoes into the estate. Looking out, they find a car had crashed through the gate, floods of townspeople beginning to encroach upon the front ready to tear through the mansion. “Time to fuck off and move people.” Cayenne demands. Without further hesitance, they take towards the night sky, the mob below watching as the fly off. Mally puts on her gear, ready to follow up on her promise of getting Chloe out of the mall. She sets to head off, where upon her mom stood in her path. A rather displeased look is painted across her face, aiming right in Mally direction. “Uh...Hey mom, I-I was just gonna scout ahead for any kind of safe routes we could take. I’ll just-” “Mally. I over heard everything.” her mother mentions. The girl was nervous, trying to think of any excuse she could to set off. “M-Mo-Mom. You don’t understand. Th-they were short on help. I needed to do something to help and not sit on the sidelines.” A weary sigh escape from the woman lungs, her admitting aloud: “It’s not like I can stop you if I tried..” “You’re...Just letting me go? Why?” “Well. If I knew if my friends needed me, I wouldn’t hesitate a single second to help them out. I’d be setting a bad example if I didn’t. Besides, I know you can handle yourself out there. I just don’t want you bolting off without telling me, okay?” With a heartfelt smile, Mally hugs her mother, biding her farewell with: “You’re the best, mom.” Her goodbyes said, she bolts off into the streets towards the mall. Watching her daughter skate causes her to reminisce about her own adolescence. “What happened to us Todd?” In an orange blaze, Mally skates through the streets of Townsville, the buildings on the side being nothing but blurs as she makes her way through the city. A sizable mob starts to form within her sites, the rioters making little room to traverse through. Seeing the skater coming, the mob begins to approach, determined to prematurely end her mission and turn her in. To that end, Mally pulls out her grapplyo, thinking that its time to test how far the gadgets limits go. “Hank, don’t fail me now.” A car on the wayside ahead, she leap atop the automobile and ramps off the glass to ascend. The airborne skater uses her yo yo to hook onto a nearby street lamp and swing across. At the ark of her swing, she lets go of the light and uses her gadget to pull herself towards the top of a traffic light pole. Mally grinds across the steel above the streets, jumping over the stoplight themselves before closing in towards the end. It’s then that she jumps off and tosses her yo yo towards the glass covered piece of architecture on the side. The mob below watches as Mally glides across the glass and avoids their reach. Reaching the end of the mob and the turn ahead, she jumps off the face of the building and hooks herself onto the stop sign within the inner most corner. Mally makes the sharp turn towards the left and escapes from the rioters sights, all without compromising any of her speed. Hell yes! There’s not a single chance in hell they can catch up now! The coast seeming pretty clear ahead, the orange haired skater thought it the perfect time to call in some backup. Kingsley plan seemed to have all the ends cover, though it wouldn’t hurt to add a few more protective layers, just to be on the safe side. The first person that comes to mind to call is none other than Roy. Tapping his name in the contacts, she awaits his answer as the dial rings. Moments pass before she hears his bro’s voice on the other line. “Hello?” “Roy, thank god. Need you help fast, I-” “Hello? What?” “Roy, I don’t have to-”. “I can’t hear you. You’re breaking up. What are you saying?”. “I trying to say that-” “Ahh ha ha ha ha ha ha! You’ve been talking to my voice mail this whole time, you stupid asshole. Just leave a message and fuck off after the beep. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!” The beep sounds off after the message. God dammit! Seems he’s busy. She’ll have to remind him to change that dumb voice mail his after all this is over. Oh well. Next best then. Once more the dial rings, this time with an actual answer behind it. “Hey Vivi.” “Holy shit, girl! The fuck did you and your bro do!? You two are the goddamn news with a 10 bil bounty on your bro’s girlfriend. Towns going on a fucking frenzy looking for all of you!” Within the skeletons abode, they watch the news within their living room. The channel had been relaying the incident that happened at the Buxaplenty manor on repeat, alongside the handsome reward that the owner of said estate had posted. “I know. We all have this whole plan set up, but I need you’re help.” “You kidding, right?” “I know its lot to ask so suddenly, but I-” “Hell yeah! You bet your sweet ass I’ll help! With my parents outta town, I’m ready to fucking go! What’s the plan!?” “Cool. I need you to clear my way. I’m on route towards the Townsville mall on...” Mally look ahead, peaking towards the passing street signs. Noting the address, she repeats the oncoming street to her awaiting comrade. “East Arbator way.”. “The fuck? That’s like 20 miles from where you’re at. How the hell are you gonna drive there with the shit storm going around town?”. After a relieved sigh leaves her lips, she admits to them: “That’s a relief, I thought it’d be farther. Should only take me around 15 minutes to skate there then. 10 if I hurry.”. Laughter escaping from their mouth, Vivi reassuring her: “Don’t worry, Mal. I got ya back. Be there in a sec.” “You’re the best, Vivi. Thanks, a bunch.” Upon the call ending, the skeletons happy demeanor quickly morphs into a worrying stare as she turns her gaze towards one of the doors in her hall. They peek open the door just a crack, letting the light of the hall leak into the darkness of the room. From within, a black hooded figure snores the night away, a scythe resting at the foot of their bed. Vivi sneaks through the room, nearing the weapon on the side. Her boney palm reaches out towards the sharp scythe, but is hesitant to grip the handle. Although she used it just recently, she felt but an ebb of the scythes nightmarish force. A power that frightened the poor skeleton to their very core. Come on Vivi! This is no time to be such a little bitch. Your friend needs you! They’re more important than your shitty ass fears. Just take the damn scythe already! Thoughts that run through their head as they try to snap their hesitation. The half skeleton takes quietly calming breath, those mantra’s repeating in their head. Finally, she grips the weapons black handle and swiftly makes their escape. That’s one ally on the way. Time to call another. Mally skims through her list of contacts, wondering who to call next, her thumb stopping at Biz. The scene shifts over to the Townsville mall. The lights of the shopping complex glowing over a rioting mob, rummaging through whatever they come acrossin hopes of finding their elusive prey. Most of the stores inside were in the midst of being broken into in the midst of the ensuing pandemonium. Some even being set a blaze for whatever reason. Presumably for shits and giggles. Several more calm and organized parts of the party begin to hatch a plan amongst themselves. One of them holds up a phone, clusters of people gather around its owner to see what its screen presented. Displayed was a picture of Chloe on a social media site, posing as she sits with someone whose head was out of frame. The caption at the bottom of the picture reading: “Guess who I’m out having a good time with.” The time below that showed when the post was made looked recent. Very recent. Mere minutes before the town fell into such chaos. “You sure this is her?” one of the people crowding the phone owner wonders. “I’m positive that this is one of the Spicer kids.” the owner reinforces. “Hold on. What’s the plan again?” another one pipes up. “Come on. I’ve said this like five times already. Since the Spicers are in on this whole kidnapping thing, all we gotta do is find and kidnap their daughter. Once we do that, we can work out a deal for the Buxaplenty girl. Got it?” Most of the crowd around him awe in reassurance, finally the plan. One guy step in and mentions aloud: “Hang on. I just got here. What are we doing?”. “God dammit! I’m not explaining this shit again. Go block off the exits so they can’t escape. Watch the ceilings in case she tries to fly out.”. “Can she fly?” “I’m sure she can.” “I thought that was the mom.” “No, I think she can fly too.” “Just get moving already!” With that command screamed at them, the group dissipates in several direction. As they scramble, they fail to notice the redhead in question staring through the curtains of a photo booth. As she retreats back in, she growls, remarking with someone in the booth with her: “This isn’t how I pictured my first date going at all. I pictured something more fun and romantic, less chaotic and fiery. Why does everything have to turn into hell when I’m enjoying myself? Fuck it, I’d take a dinner date in hell over this.” Beside her was the special someone she had teased her followers about. He speaks up, mentioning to the redhead: “Looks more like a fight club out there if you ask me.” “Melvin, you can’t be serious. You wanna actually fight through all that?” “You got a better idea then being stuck here in this cheap ass photo booth all night? Who the fuck even uses these things anymore? We literally have camera’s in our phone nowadays. We could just pull ours out and take a buncha selfies in higher quality then this piece of shit can crap out. Ya know...If we didn’t leave our phones behind.” “As a matter, I do have a better idea. One that won’t get us mauled by a crowd of rioting jackasses. We’re going to take a more stealthful approach to this. Lucky for you, I happen to be quite the stealth expert.” “So were just gonna tip toe around like god damn bitches. Screw that shit. I aiming to punch someones jaw clean off after the fucking circus act that went down with people chasing us. Like, bruh, the fuck all you doing messing with me and my girl for? I’ll beat yo asses in.” “Well, I’m sorry, Melvin. I’m just trying not to approach all this like a charging bull. I’d rather take a far more safer option.” “If that’s attitude, then why just fly us out. Couple of glass ceilings in here we could break through.” “I’m just a little worried.” “About getting caught?” “About them packing heat. Not really sure how many of them brought guns in here. One guy with a pistol spots our shadows under the light and we could both be dead… I mean least, you’d be dead. They’ll probably try and keep me alive.” With an irritated groan, Melvin gives in, admitting to the Chloe. “Fine. We’ll try you’re way first. But if we get caught, I ain’t afraid to go Wesley Snipes on someones ass.” The red head peeks out of the wayside booth once more to check if the coast was clear. Though the red head find some people to the left, they don’t appear to be looking in her direction. Thinking that it be better go now while the irons are hot, she turns back to her date and answers: “Alright. Coast clear. Lets get moving.” With that, her and Melvin sneak out from hiding, away from the ongoing crowd. The two manage to find themselves on the end of the electronics department. Many a townsfolk look for the two in and outside the miniature stores, on the alert to catch the daughter of the Spicers at a moments notice. Like these fools were jumpy as shit. After Chloe silently signal the boy beside her to follow her lead, they move out. With quietly swift foot, they traverse through the front of one of the stores. The few people inside look about, not seeing the two behind promotional posters. They duck under the walled railing to evade the gaze of the people on the opposite end of the mall. It proves to be more of an effective form of cover than it initially looks. Witnessing a patrol inbound, the two hide behind the front desk of an empty cell phone store. Patiently, the couple wait for them to pass, attempting to not make a single peep. Incidentally, Melvin’s sneaker squeaks on the polished wood finish, catching the patrols attention. The patrol ventures back, wondering what might have caused such a sharp squeal. He approaches the front of the store, slowly nearing the front desk. Reaching his hand onto the solid plastic the lurker, gripping the edge as he prepares to peek down whatever maybe hiding. Could it be the prize everyone else in this mall so sought? Finally, he looks over the counter, take a view of all the empty work space. Strange. He could have sworn the squeaker echoed from in here. The patrol takes a quick gaze around the store from his vicinity. No one but him is in here, it seems. Oh well, must have been something else. The patrol retreats back to his search, failing to see Chloe and Melvin sticking themselves atop the corner of the store. With that close call avoided, the pair proceed onward with more careful diligence in mind. One more obstacle, stood in their path toward the rest of the mall ahead. A tunneling electronics depot with some people searching within stands before them. The mall planners had in mind to build a store within the passageway towards the other parts of the mall in an attempt to squeeze out more cash from passers by. It’s kind of diabolical now that its been brought up. In any case, they have ran into a bit of luck in this troubling predicament. Several island native plants have been displayed in pots through the store to try and authenticate its tropical motif. Seems kind of out place here, even if the mall wasn’t in flames. No matter how stupid they think the theme might be, the couple could use it as cover among the searching rioters. Chloe and Melvin travel down the tunnel, using the exotic foliage around them as cover from their hunters. The rioters were too occupied breaking the glass display cases and plundering what was within to notice the pair. One of them pulls out a game system from the case, inspecting its onyx finish. “You think that this would make a good Christmas gift for Marty?” “A game system? Does a bookworm like Marty even play games?” “I’m sure he would. The guy likes hanging out with us. Maybe he’d use this as a sort of party starter.” “Doubt he’d use it for anything else. It’d just be under his TV, collecting dust.” “Well, what the hell would you get him?” “I don’t know. Maybe a gift card.” “A fucking gift card, really?” “What wrong with gift cards?” “You mean besides the fact that they basically say: “Hey, didn’t think to get ya anything. So I got ya a plastic piece of shit that ya can only use at one fucking store?” “Would you rather us give him cash, then?” “I’d rather give him something from here since were looting the damn place.” “What the hell could he even want from in here? A tablet?” “Do they even sell tablets here?” “They did sell em over at the electro barrel over there, but that place was robbed dry.” During Chloe and Melvin’s hidden traversal through the store, Melvin nearly trips and falls upon the fake grass carpeting. Luckily for him, Chloe manages to catch him just before he slams down on the floor and pull him up before the pair of robbers notice. The rioters turn over to the tropical foliage the two were hiding behind, one of them wondering: “What was that?” “Don’t know. Let’s just look somewhere else.” The pair of robbers abscond, the other mentioning: “I hear the furniture place is still up for grabs. Maybe we can get him a comfy arm chair to sit in.” “How the hell we’d even carry one outta here?” With there only obstacles having left, the couple hurry out of the store and dive into a nearby Kiosk. Inside, Melvin whispers to Chloe: “So, you got some sort of plan other than sneak around, hoping to not get our asses caught?” “Of course I do. I’m not an idiot. Now that were out of the electronic wing, we can make our way towards the clothing department. If one of the stores haven’t been robbed, we can make ourselves some disguises and walk right out the back unnoticed. Easy as that.” “Is that really it? Were just gonna dress up and fuck off outta here?” “Oh what, your telling me you can do better?” Melvin can’t even give muster a response upon the objection. His silence basically all that Chloe needs to hear. He’s got nothing. Choosing to give is two cents upon the idea, he comments: “You better not put me in some stupid looking shit.” “Just relax. I’ll get us something simple to wear. It wouldn’t be very stealthy if you wore something that stood out.” Above the rioting streets of the city, the indigo agent and his platinum blonde passenger soar over the pandemonium. The two watch on as the townsfolk below partake in such chaotic escapades as breaking and entering, flipping cars over, arson, destruction of property, assault. Every single thing on the “fuck this town to shit” list had been checked and filled. The police were engaging in hopes of quelling the rioting masses, but are obviously overwhelmed and forced to retreat for their lives. Some of the townspeople that spot the pair gliding above begin to take chase, some on foot, some on automobile. With a whistle, Tore comments to Renee: “Wow! You’re dad sure whipped the town in a frenzy. How long as it been, like close to half an hour? And already, things are looking like hell broke loose and had a horrible fireworks disaster.” Staring down into the ensuing chaos, Renee begins fuming with: “I hate this so much.” “Hm?” “Everyone’s doing their part in trying to help, but here I am. Being forced to flee with my tail between my legs. It’s so...frustrating!”. “Yeah. I know what you mean. I hate missing out on all the action too. But, I...”. Renee is confused why the boy stopped his sentence short, but hears him continue with: “We...just gotta place our bets on Kingsley now. The guy knows what he’s doing. If it weren’t for him, we probably would have never saved all those kids from Circe. I might not even be here.” Hearing this brings calm to the blondes mind. She quickly turns her frustration into delight, giggling with: “Yeah. If it weren’t for him. I might have gone crazy dealing with my father by now. I just hope my dad doesn’t make things any worse with how volatile he is.”. “And I just hope the mob under us ain’t packing heat.” “Oh, calm down. With the bounty on my capture, I doubt anybody would be stupid enough to risk shooting me.” As if the universe awaited for the moment to prove her wrong, waves of bullets and rockets rise around the two. The people below shoot out whatever they have at the airborne pair, hoping to take them out of the night sky. The ascending storm of led and explosives forces them to take cover atop the roof and a nearby apartment. Tore peeks out from the edge of the building to see if the angry mob had stop firing. He narrowly avoids the shot of a rocket launcher as the explosive flies over his head. Both him and Renee watch as the rocket explodes into the night air. “You guys have a real rocket launcher problem over here.” “It’s a pressing issue.” Renee admits. Another pair flies through the skies of the city, heading tin the opposite direction. “So, since ya got everyone flying through the town, the hell’s the plan on our end? How we getting Renee mom out of her house?” Cayenne wonders. “Well...To be honest, I’m kinda of making stuff up as I go along. I didn’t think things would get this bad.” her boy genius passenger admits. “Eh, don’t sweat it. Pretty sure I can bust the door down, fuck up the guards and grab the bitch before Renee’s dad even knows.” “I don’t know if that would end too well.” “What, afraid you might shot? Just wait outside while I get her.” “Hmm…” Before Kingsley could ponder if Cayenne’s crude plan could actually work, his ringing phone catches his attention. The number on the screen is unknown, making him question weather he should answer. They’re usually just telemarketers and salesmen trying get him to subscribe to something. Its usually a wonder what they might be trying to get him to buy next. One time, one offered him a subscription for a bizarre anus lubricant creme. An obscene incident that never fails to make the boy shudder. Dear god…Just...No. His finger tilts towards dropping the call, when his thoughts waver once more. What if was just some poor shlock who called the wrong guy and doesn’t know it. What if they need help and their only hope was in the hands of a hero that they failed to contact. Their final thoughts being one of sorrow because their one and only hope neglected their very lives. Such a guilt would surely drive the boy utterly mad. Not knowing which to choose. He sweats upon what might lie behind the awaiting number. “Oh for fuck sake. Just answer already!” Cayenne barks. At her request, Kingsley answers the phone with a hint of caution. “Hello?” “Hey, Kingsley. Just callin to tell ya something.” a familiar girls voice on the other end pipes up. “Mally?...How did you get my number?” “Just listen. You guys don’t have to worry about breaking into Buxaplenty’s manor to get Renee’s mom. I already got someone working on getting her outta there. All you guys gotta do his meet her at the park and fly her outta town.” “Really? Who did you call?” Kingsley questions. Back in the front driveway of the Buxaplenty manor, a lone shadow peeks out from the bushes. They witness several parts of the manor security roaming through the outside of the manor. One open window could be seen on the opposite side of the manor, giving a clear view of Mrs. Buxaplenty at her bedroom mirror. The figure moves onward, skating through the driveway on roller blades as they use whatever cars were left parked for cover. Nearing the manor, they then use the opposite bushes to creep towards the side of the manor without the security’s notice. When at the side, they pull out a grappling hook and shoot it towards the roof. The hook latching on the side, the figure immediately begins their ascent. Climbing the luxurious stone wall, their ears catch Mr. Buxaplenty’s fuming rant from within the bedroom. “The nerve of that blueberry bastard! Striking me whilst I lecture my daughter. And then having the gall to take her away from me no less. I’ll have him and his family hanged for this. If Renee had only behaved herself, none of this would have happened.” The misses tries to calm her frothing husband down, hugging him by his backside as she lightly rubs the bandages across his face and softly insists: “Honey, baby. Relax. I’m sure that she’ll come to her senses and come back to us. You just gotta calm down.” Her attempts to soothe his nerves fail, her husband quite literally pushing the woman away. “This...This is all you’re fault. If you had been more strict with the girl, she would not have had this rebellious upbringing!” “My fault!? Renee has been working hard since she had joined public school to uphold her studies and the public image that you wanted her to keep! Maybe she wouldn’t have left if you weren’t so abrasively hostile!” At the drop of a hat, Mr. Buxaplenty strikes her wife across the face, causing her to slip upon the carpeting. “You know nothing, woman. A firm hand is required to prepare Renee to carry on the Buxaplenty name. To fashion her into the strong figure she is destined to be and leave me with comfort the day I depart from this mortal coil. You’re soft demeanor has been getting in the way of that.” With that said, the man of the house takes his leave, the only words he leaves for her are: “Now clean yourself up for when I get back.” The bedroom slams shut. The misses picks herself up and sits in front of the mirror once more to cover her fresh bruise. Covering herself with make up, the wife wonders how she managed to get herself into such a horridly entrapping marriage. Where did it all go wrong? Was it ever right in the first place? Upon the midst of her metaphorical reflection, she hears the door opens once more, her figure blocking whoever might be awaiting her. Assuming that its her husbands return, she states firmly: “If you’ve come to apologize, then its far too late.” “Jeez, I just fricken got here and people are already wanting to say sorry.” That’s not her husbands voice. Perhaps one of the maids then. No. The demeanor sounds far too crass. Looking beside her literal reflection reveals Biz standing within the door frame. “Who are you.” the misses questions, turning about towards her unexpected guest. “Me? I’m your ticket outta this poor excuse of a soap opera episode. You coming or what?” At the prospect of escape, Mrs. Buxaplenty turns back to gaze upon her mirror. She rest the tip of her hand upon the bruise her husband had inflicted, halfway covered with make up. Along the roads of the city, our orange haired skater streaks through. She finds something amiss though, the streets being devoid of any people. Although before, she managed to spot a few loaners that tried in vain to catch her, there was virtually nobody around. The only thing filling the streets were abandoned vehicles laid strewn about the empty roads that Mally swivels through. Just what is going on around here? Behind her, a teal glowing hand casts forth. Automobiles that Mally passes begins to radiate a glow of the same color and start careening themselves in her direction. Peeking back, she witnesses the vehicles incoming and ducks under the first one, twirling to the side to evade the second one, and finally flips over the third. Landing backwards, she finds a teal glowing man, flying towards her direction She hears the man comment aloud in his pursuit: “Once I capture and trade you in for the Buxaplenty’s daughter, I’ll finally have more than enough to pay of my collage debt.” Both of them race past an abandoned semi that crashed into one of the buildings. The blue psionic uses his psychic power to lift the truck out of the complex and lifts it over head. Guessing what he plans on doing with the heavy cargo container, Mally turns around and dashes forward. Just as the skater predicted, the psychic tosses the semi her way, right when she spots an upcoming intersection. She hooks her grapplyo onto the stop sign within the inner left corner to make the sharp turn, narrowly evading the trailer. The teal hunter in pursuit lets out a growl upon his catch slippery evasion. “So that’s the game you want to play is it? Fine. Let’s see you skate through this.” His warning dealt, the man’s teal glow intensifies as he raises his arms. The pavement below Mally begins to furiously crack. The road before ascends, shaping its self into a ramp that forces her air bound. Midair, the skater finds the road straight ahead to be breaking apart and rising, exposing the sewage pipelines below. Some of the straggling rioters retreat towards the safety of the buildings inside. She manages to land upon one of the floating chunks of concrete, skating across and leaping towards the next. The psionic waves his teal hands around, commanding the airborne chunks of the street to spin and turn whilst floating about the air, all the while tossing whatever he could in hopes of getting her to crash. One car he throws smashes itself on the pavement Mally had been skating across. In her escape from the collapsing concrete, she leaps off, hooking onto and swinging off a floating streetlamp towards a sideways piece of road. Mally wall grinds across the face of the pavement, jumping off towards the start of a twisting road. She manages to glide across the twisted highway without falling off. The psionic pulls his finger back, making a broken truck careen towards the girl. She finds the oncoming truck approaching her front just before coming toward the ramping end of the road. Looks like the windows have been broken into. Probably a break in of sorts amidst all the chaos. A harrowing displeasure for whoever owned the vehicle, but a stroke of luck for Mally. Without a hint of hesitance, she jumps off the ramp and towards the vehicle in a twirling corkscrew. The psychic hunter is astonished when he witnesses Mally pass straight through the careening vehicles windows, not even laying a single scratch on her as she passes through the inside. That obstacle having been cleared, she hooks onto an upcoming hydrant and swings upwards towards a detached traffic light pole. Mally grinds across the pole as it turns in the air and bounces off when it turns to the side. Her pursuer was beginning to run out of patients amidst the stunt show before him. “Slippery worm! Just crash into something already!”. The psionic hunter thought it best to end these shenanigans once and for all. Raising his arms upwards, then pulling them back in again, he begins to gather the pieces of the urban jungle towards his targets direction. Mally watches as the pavement around her begins to crush itself into a tunnel that threatens to entrap her. The skater blades through the closing tunnel as fast as she can. In the midst of the tunnel, she slides under a lowering pole, grinds through a winding set of rails, wall grinds off the side of the pavement and bouncing off the sides of entrapped automobiles. The gaps of the tunnel begin to close in as she approaches the ascending finish, finding the moonlight at the end to be fading as the hole starts to collapse in. Gotta speed things along here, or else her skate trip might come to a sudden stop. Using her grapplyo, she hooks onto an attached streetlamp and pulls herself up in the middle of her ascent. She then attaches the yoyo to the wall and makes it retract, sending her upward bounds. In her climb, the skater jumps from wall to wall to evade the broken part of the rising road. Not much of the moonlight is left shining through as the end of the tunnel closes in. Mally tosses her gadget upwards upon the end of the tunnel and ascends. It’s incredibly close, but she manages to rocket out of the psionic crafted tube of concrete and steel. Descending from the night sky, she latches her grapplyo onto a streetlamp at the bottom of the grounded road to keep herself from crashing into the pavement and speed along her way. “That is it! This skating stunt show horse shit has gone on for too long. You’ve forced mw to pull out all my stops.” The teal psychic’s aura flaring, he raises his arms high into the air. “How the hell do I get this teal asshole off my back? Doubt I can hit him from up there.” In Mally’s pondering moments, she notices chunks of concrete and steel drift beside her. None of them seemed to be aimed at the skater. It’s almost like their gathering behind the skater. She turns around and finds the roads, cars and other miscellaneous pieces of the city to cluster themselves in a giant mass of junk, all being perched atop the psionics mental grasp. “If you will not yield in one piece, then I shall simply take you’re broken body.” That having been said, the hunter hurls the boulder of concrete and steel towards his prey. The ball of junk crashes to the ground, rolling through and crushing whatever stood in its pursuit. With the ball of rock and metal encroaching, Mally looks ahead and finds no turns to make her escape. If she can’t turn, she’ll simply rise instead. She tosses her grapplyo towards the nearest building and beings to pull herself up. She skates up through the piece of architect in hopes of evading the approaching boulder. “Oh no you don’t!” the psychic hunter reprimands. He uses his power to break apart the building Mally was ascending, causing the skater to tumble back towards the ground. Although she manages to land safely, it hardly matters as the large chunk of rolling junk was gaining, threatening to trample the girl into an early gruesome demise. Just before the boulder could take the chance to crush Mally’s escape, a thin wave of green power slices the mass to pieces. The broken bits of the ball rain down upon the streets below. Mally evades the downpour of concrete and metal, dodging past fallen cars, street signs and lamps, a bits of broken off architect. One piece of scrape that crashes down before her was a semi trailer that lays itself across the road with no space to move around it. With the wrecked semi too close, there was little time to stop herself from coming to an abrupt halt. She’s gonna crash! The ground beneath her exudes a flow of green power, similar to the wave that sliced the junk boulder a moment ago. Bursting from the pavement rose a nightmarish limb made of bone, ramping her over the wreckage. Air borne, she witnesses Vivi pass right by with their scythe in their grasp. Mally watches as Vivi intercepts the psionic in a clash of teal and green, the psychic hunter holding Vivi’s scythe back by hand. “Yeah, Vivi! Kick his ass!” the skater cheers as she descend. Have said her words of encouragement, Mally lands back on solid ground and makes her exit. The clash settled, both the teal psychic hunter and the scythe wielding skeleton land on upon the concrete. Some of the citizens that are still straggling about, flee from the two, knowing full well the showdown about to take place. “Young lady. I demand that you move aside so that I may pursue the skater this instant.” “The only thing you’ll be pursuing is the E.R. They’ll need to patch up your insides when I shove the sharp end of this scythe up your fucking ass!” they aggressively threatens. “Such vulgarity. If you fail to let me pass, the least I can do is whip some etiquette into you. I simply capture my bargaining chip later.” Vivi dashes towards their psionic opponent, the man backs out from their reach. In his retreat, the psychic clasp his hands together, making the pavement below Vivi entrap them in a tulip of rock. He’s quickly astonished however upon seeing the skeleton slice through his trap with ease. After their escape, Vivi’s scythe glows an ominous green aura as they slash the air in front of the teal hunter. A wave of green energy is cast from the blade and shoots its way towards the psychic. He leaps away from the oncoming wave, watching as Vivi follows him above the streets. The man takes chunks of the architect around them and throws the pieces towards his skeletal opponent in hopes of slowing them down. But this proves to fail, as Vivi simply slashes whatever careens their way, set on a flight path towards the psychic with scythe at the ready. Once more, the man catches her scythe with his bare hands before it has the chance to reach him, taking in a clear view of Vivi’s determined glare and noticing a flowing green power leaking from their beady eyes. Vivi on the other hand finds the psionics face redraw itself from a worried gaze to a sinister smile. “Just what the hell are you so happy about, you teal colored shit stain?” “Oh nothing in particular, just the thought of freedom from my crippling debts. I will have my bounty yet!” From behind the psychic, Vivi finds the building around them breaking from their base and begin to approach the pair. The skeletons glare transforms into an angry scowl as the energy leaking from their eyes gushes out. From the base of their scythe, a green beam shoots downwards and strikes the roads. Out from the concrete bursts out massive skeletal arms that swipe and break the approaching buildings away. Finally, Vivi breaks the psychics guard, sending him crashing towards the ground. Getting up from his rough descent, he watches as Vivi lands upon the concrete and begins to approach. Surrounding the skeleton was a menacing green light, one that irradiated a harrowing aura that overcomes the psychic hunter. He felt as if death itself was reaching out for him, ready to crush the psionic in its unholy grasp. “Okay. Screw this. I’m out of here.” With that declaration, the psionic attempts to flee from the his skeletal foe. But a brush of bone erupts from the pavement and halts his escape. “Where the fuck you think you’re going?” he hears from behind. Turning back towards his green glowing adversary, pointing their scythe straight ahead. “Got the fucking balls the mess with one of my friends and now your wanting to fuck off? The only way you’re leaving now is when I drag you straight to hell.” Their threat sent, Vivi dashes towards the psychic once more, ready to slice the hunter into pieces. The dim lights of the mall join the descending moonlight shining through the glass as both reflect upon the waters of the plaza fountain. Just as instructed, the front doors had been barricaded with several miscellaneous mall object, including benches, booths, and kiosks of the sort. Around it stood many a people, searching for the elusive red head in hopes of trading her for their prize. Unbeknownst to them, the girl in question and her date were right behind the corner, sneaking past they’re gaze and into the nearest store for cover. Once behind the safe darkness of the stores cashier counter, Melvin finds it safe to softly speak to Chloe. “So, how we getting past here?” “Not really sure. Kinda making our route as we go here. Good news is were halfway close to the clothing department. Shouldn’t be much farther now.” “Fantastic.” the boy responds, a hint of sarcasm escaping his breath. Gazing into the store itself, something between its shade covered shelves grasp Melvin's attention. Peeking out from behind the desk, she witnesses some of the searching mob to be despersing. “Alright, time to get moving. You ready Mel?” Awaiting her dates word, she fails to hear a response. “Mel?...Melvin?” Curious why he wasn’t answering, she turns back and finds the boy no longer by her side. Rather, he was making his way down into the shady depths of the store. “God dammit.” Following after, Chloe looks down one of the forlorn isles she saw the boy go down. “Melvin.” she tries to loudly whisper. Dammit. As if he’s enough of a pain to keep under control as is. Why the hell did he even come back here? The redhead starts to head down the isle in hopes of finding him. The shelves surrounding her were halfway baron, the only pieces to occupy their space were torn up packaging and broken toys. The fragmented look of the mistreated playthings mixed with the encompassing darkness made the girls trip down the aisles a little tense. “Melvin. Come on. This isn’t funny.” Turning the corner, she finds a dark figure right in front of her. She falls over and frantically backs away in retreat, taking every ounce of her not to shriek out in terror. Her fright goes just as quickly as it came upon second glance, where she found the shadow to be nothing more then just a cardboard cut out of some cartoon character. “You okay?” she hears. To her side was the boy in question, looking down upon her as she laid on the marble tile. Swiftly picking herself up, she dusts herself off and asks him: “What the hell, Melvin? What happened to following my lead?”. “Damn, sorry. Just saw something back here that might help us.”. “Oh please. What, in this excuse for a makeshift horror attraction could you have possibly have found to help us?” “A vent?” Melvin tilts his head while pointing backwards, giving Chloe full view of the air vent atop one of the shelves. The girls frustration turns to amazement as she approach the vent in question. “Oh wow. I didn’t even see it back here. Nice work, Melvin.” The boy chuckles with a smile upon the compliment. Floating up, she tries to quietly pull the grate off, but to no avail. The grate was tightly screwed in. “Yo girl, what’s the hold up?” Melvin whispers. “The grate won’t come off.” “The grate won’t come- Girl, just blast the damn thing off.” “Oh, sure. Why won’t I just announce to the whole fucking mall that were in here while I’m at it.” With a frustrated sigh, she further inspects the screws keeping the grate in place. All she could gain was that the screws had straight lines upon their heads. What kind of screws were these again? Dammit, Kingsley would know this. Whatever. Looks like anything can screw them off anyway. “Mel, hand me your pocket knife.” “What? Why?” “Just do it.” With a disgruntled sigh, the boy complies. He takes his knife out of his pocket and hands it up to Chloe. As soon as she laps up the boys knife, Chloe begins to unscrew the gate off the wall. The screws themselves fall to the floor with a sharp ting. A little ways outside the toy shop, a couple of searchers dream what they plan to do with the reward money. “So, the biggest bounty this town have ever seen and you plan on wasting all of it on, seeing if I got this straight, chocolate?” “Yep. Just gonna buy as much as I can horde it all for myself.” “It’s gonna go bad.” “No-No it won’t. Chocolate’s like...Like canned shit. It can’t go bad.” “Bruh, it can expire. Like two years tops.” “Nah man. I mean...Like...um...uh...Really?” “Yeah. Especially if its made of milk.” “Ah...Fuck. I had this whole plan man. Like...I wanted to make a 50 foot chocolate statue of myself. That’s shit was supposed to last for fuckin years.” In the midst of they’re friends rant, the searcher hears the slight sharp ting nearby. “Bruh, shut up. The fucks that noise.” “Probably the sound of my candy land dreams crackin to pieces.” “No, seriously. Shut up. Like, I hear something.” Halting their bickering for a single moment, the tings reach into both their ears. “Ah shit. I hear that too.” “Come on.” Both searchers pursue the source of the sharp sound, others gathering alongside their pursuit. Their search leads them to the inside of the toy shop where upon one of them pierces through the shade with a flashlight to find the air vent grate off on the far end of the store. Immediately, the mob heads down the shop to inspect. “Why the hell this grate off?” “Was it off before?” “Last time I was in here. It wasn’t.” “It must be that red head, then.” “So, she thinks she can hide in the vents, eh?” One of them looks within the steel tunnels in hopes of spotting their hunt. “See anything?” “Nope. Nothing. She must have crawled in deep.” “Don’t stand there gawking, climb in there!” The desperate mob starts to shove themselves in the air vent in hopes of catching Chloe and Melvin, not realizing that the couple were aside the cash register behind them. The two begin to sneak out of the store in the midst of the distracted mob. One of the searchers looks back, managing to spot something diving into the plaza fountain. Her curiosity peaked, the rioter divides from the pact and wanders towards the shutdown geyser to investigate. Looking into its rippling waters, the reflection of the lights above proved to hinder her sight, only able to make out various coins. Thinking that it was just her imagination, the rioter shrugs off the incident and ventures back towards the toy store. As soon as the coast was clear, Chloe and Melvin quietly arise from the fountains waters and take in hush breath once more. With swift foot, they climb out of its rippling waters and head for cover, their clothes dripping wet. “Hnn...Why did I have to where one of my good dresses tonight?” Chloe grumbles. The dangers of flying over the streets of Townsville proving too risky, Tore opts to take Renee to the city limits via jump from roof to roof instead. “Ha ha! Like to see those guys in the street try and shoot at us now. Bet it won’t be long til we get out of the city, huh Renee?” the indigo chauffeur boasts. “We should be halfway through Townsville by now. Once we reach the city limits, it should be safe to take flight once more..” the blonde elaborates. “Cool. Say, where do you want me to take you after we get outta town? We can go wherever we want really, like um...the forest, the mountains, uh...the ocean, cavern. Oh! Can we go to the plains. I love looking up at the stars there.” “Anywhere is fine, really. Though, I much prefer to be with Kingsley at the moment.” “You worried about him, ain’t ya?” “Quite a lot, yes.” “Well, don’t worry. I’m sure with Cayenne by his side, he should be fine.” Landing upon the top of one more buildings, the roof below their feet suddenly erupts, careening them back. Getting up from the bursting scene, the two find a man dressed in crimson landing before them, staring them down with a blood red gaze. “Finally, caught up with you guys. Bet you thought you were safe jumping from roof to roof, huh?”. A gruff laughter escapes the mans lungs, followed by him demanding: “I’m only gonna say this once, blueberry sunrise. Hand over the girl, pronto. Else I’m gonna haveta put some hole in that suit of yours.” Seeing the boy get in front of Renee with a readying stance, the hunter gives a sinister grin. “Alright. You’re funeral, then.” Tore’s stance wavers when he finds the man before them kneeling over in pain, his grunts of agony catching him off guard. Both him and Renee are taken aback when they witness the mans back burst open in a shower of red. Arising from the hunter was a blood red monster, its slim upper torso exposed to the open night air. “Ew!” Renee retches. “Cool!” Tore admits. As the man gets back up and takes deep breathe, his parasitic demon extends reaches out towards the two, its finger protracting razor sharp claws. “Giving you ten seconds, kids. Give up the game now, else things might get dicey.” the blood red hunter warns. Tore looks back to Renee, suggesting too her: “Think you might wanna stand back, Renee. Hate to see ya get hurt in the crossfire.” “Hold on. You actually plan on fighting that thing?” “You bet I am. I don’t think he’s just gonna let us waltz outta here without a brawl. Besides, This night finally starting to turn into a party I can get behind. No way I’m skipping out on this.” Its at this moment that Renee begins to question the sanity of the blue suited brawler. “Oh my god...” the blonde utters in disbelief. “Time’s up kids!”. His countdown at an end, the blood red bounty hunter lunges forth, his demon ready to strike. Tore stops his approach on the spot, holding them out of Renee’s reach. She backs away, stopping short from the side of the roof and catching a glimpse of the empty alleyway down below. Before the demon could grab hold of their prize, Tore knees the man in the stomach, followed by sending him across the rooftop with a swift fist. Getting up from the blow, he sees Tore unfurl his wings, ready for a fight. “You wanna go, you blueberry brat?” The boy punches the palm of his hand, a gleeful is drawn on his face. “More than anything.” Tore declares. Tore takes the first charge, the blood hunter ready to dig his demons sharp claws in his flesh. The demon takes its swipes, the blue boy evading the demons blood red claws. The indigo agent counters with a kick that send his foe off the side of the building. A moment or two passes waiting for the hunter to rise back up. Approaching the side of the building, he looks down, wondering if he simply gave up. To his shock, Tore finds the man hanging on the wall, his demons claws embedded in the brickwork. Before he has the chance to back away, the beast claws at the boys face, making him flinch. The hunters opportunity comes, he jumps over the indigo agent and makes his way towards Renee. Ready to clam his bounty, he has his monster reach for the bracing blonde. The hunters beasts stop short of grasping for her face, Renee opens her eyes and sees Tore holding the hunter back by his leg, the boys faces still dripping with blood. The blue boy takes the man for a twirl, flinging the man over to the building across the street and away from her. The blood red hunter crashes onto the roof of the opposing building. Getting up from his rough landing, the hunter finds his blueberry adversary flying after, descending with a thrown ball of light. His blood red beast’s claws extend, slashing at the sphere and splitting the energy in half. The halves exploding behind him, the man looks up to see what else the boy might throw and finds him rocketing downwards in his direction, ready to deliver a powerful stomp. The hunter evades the crushing blow, the roof of the building cracking upon impact. He than lunges at Tore in hopes of getting another slash in. The indigo agent ducks under the demons horizontal slash, and sends a sweeping kick that trips his bloody foe over. Sending his opponent in a fall, Tore gives him a swift uppercut before he even it the roof, sending them high in the air. Got em now! Without hesitance, the boy follows the ascending hunter into the sky. Seeing the angel ascend after, the hunter has his monster spread itself out, the man himself getting behind his demon like a shield Front every inch of its front, blood red spines shot out towards their pursuing foe. Too close to evade, Tore blocks the oncoming daggers, the needles giving him and his suit countless scratches. Its then the blood hunter dives down upon the indigo agent, delivering a heavy stomp downward and breaking through the rooftop below. In the halls of a recently evacuated office complex, the ceiling above collapses. The pair crash down and destroy a set of cubicles upon their impact. The crimson hunter as Tore pinned down and stabs his beasts sharp claws at the boys head in hopes of quickly ending the fight. Tore shift his head around in dodging the monster lunging attack. He swiftly blasts the man off of his person and kicks him across the office. In his recoil, the hunter retreats behind still standing cubical for safety. The indigo agents wastes no time in destroying his opponents cover and fires his beam at the office structure. The office space destroyed, Tore fails to find the blood hunter anywhere in the destruction. Where did he go? Tore looks from behind, just as the moment that spines scrape by his face. He manages to spot the hunters monster ducking down from another cubicle. Quickly, he fires at the office structure, reducing it to nothing but rubble. Nothing behind it either. No sooner that happens, the hunters beast pops out from a knocked over desk on the side and throw its bloody spikes towards the blue angel. This time, he manages to evade the storm of needles and fire his beam out towards the hunters cover. Again, nothing behind it all. Once more time, the monster pops up from behind a cubicle, shooting out its quills towards him and after promptly dodging, shoots towards the line of cover. Just like all the other times, nothing is behind it. Oh, so that’s his game, is it? Hiding behind cover was never really Tore’s style. So, why start now? Immediately, he begins to haphazardly fire around the room, thinning out whatever his foe could possibly use as cover. The man in question has his demon fire its bloody quills at the boy, thinking that he’s just distracted. As he evades the needles, Tore continues to destroy the office around him. It’s not long before there are few spots left for the hunter to utilize. A wayward shot at one of the wayside cubicle walls draws the crimson hunter out of hiding. Gotcha! Having been caught in the open, Tore quickly begins to close the distance between him and his bloody foe. Its then the hunter reveals a hidden power, one normally reserved for sneak attacks. His demon extends its claws towards the encroaching blueberry fighter. Although coming as a surprise, he manages to narrowly avoid the claws razor sides, leaving mere cuts along sides on his approach. Tore delivers a powerful blow straight towards the hunters chest. In the hunters recoil, he grabs hold of the boys arm and flings him into the executive office. Landing with a skidding halt, the boy finds his bloody foe throwing more spines through the broken glass windows. Although he evades the storm of red needles, its not long til he hits a wall. The confining walls of this private office make it rather hard for Tore to dodge effectively. The hunter refuses to halt his spiky storm as he slowly approaches. If he wants to escape, he’ll need to shield himself from the spines. But with what? There’s barely anything in here that could withstand such a bloody barrage. The glass desk is a definite no. The pictures hanging on the wall wouldn’t serve much better either. Maybe the filing cabinet could’ve helped, but he blast that to bits during his laser light show fiesta. Only thing left for a shield was a computer monitor left on the side. Oh well, guess that might work. Dell widescreen LED display, don’t fail him now! Grabbing a hold of the monitor, he dashes out of the office in the midst of the demons storm of needles. Tore holds the screen in front in hopes of blocking the barrage. The monitor proves to be more of an effective shield then at first glance, blocking the oncoming needles. But it looks like it had its full of combat, looking on the cusp of breaking. The monitor fulfilling its duties, the blue angel chucks the screen towards his bloody adversary. The hunters demons slices the monitor into sparking pieces, his pursuit turning into a deadly lunge. The blue boy than uses the distraction to slide under both the hunter and its monster. One of its claws manage to catch the boys arm, making a sizable cut. Once passed his foe, Tore leaps back up and grasps at his cut arm, quickly patching up his injury. After that he dashes straight towards the hunters backside, the man himself turning around just in time for Tore to deliver a swift kick upwards. The blow sends the blood hunter through the roof, with Tore on hot pursuit. Kingsley’s and Cayenne’s flight leads them straight to the city park. Taking a full view of the few rioters below. “Alright, made it to the park. Where the hell we meeting Mally’s “mysterious contact”?” Cayenne wonders. “She said to meet her and Renee’s mom at the lake pier. Shouldn’t be too far now.” The park lake within their site, they begin to pick up the pace. Just then, something dashes out from below, shaking Kingsley off of Cayenne back. Quickly, the boy begins to plummet towards the earth, the ground on the rapid approach. He braces himself for the inevitable impact, hoping to make it out with just mild injuries. His sudden trip towards the earth stops short when Cayenne manages to snag him in the nick of time. “Oh...Oh my god! Holy Jeez! Thank you! Thank you so much, Cayenne! Thought I was dead for a moment there.” he thanks with haste breathe. “Always have my bitches back. Now then...” Putting Kingsley down, Cayenne looks out in the vast open fields of the park and shouts: “Alright! Who the hell’s the jackass with the massive balls, balls that will soon go straight into their mouth once I rip them off!” Upon the call out, a purple haired figures descends before them. “That would be me, thanks. I’m the jackass, your looking for.” “Roy!? B-but why?” Kingsley stresses. “Ain’t that obvious? I’m here to snatch your sweet ass up so I can trade it in for the Buxaplenty blonde.” “Wait, Roy. You don’t understand. She can’t go back. You have no idea what her dad has been doing to her.” “Yeah, hate to be that dick, but...I don’t give a shit. With 10 billion dollars on the line. I can give my mom the stable life she needs, plus much more.”. “Well what about Tore and Mally. What would they think of you doing this?”. “You mean how Tore basically caused all of this by not minding his fucking business.” “I...How did-” “I’ve lived with the guy for about eight years straight. Don’t think I don’t know when he’s fucked something over? Besides, he’s not once shown any interest in relationships, like period. So when I heard that he gotten a girlfriend out of the blue, I knew bullshit was afoot from the start.” “Well...That still-” “Not to mention that he fucked up further and got Buxaplenty to send the town in a frenzy.” Kingsley remained silent. Although he would not admit, Roy was right. If Tore hadn’t screwed with the plan they had, or better yet, not involve himself with Kingsley’s affairs, things might have gone way smoother. “Tell you what, Kingsley. If you promise to come quietly, I promise not to be too rough with ya.” the purple merc offers behind a wink. “Okay, no. Fuck no! Hell fucking no! Fuck that shit! I ain’t letting you touch him, you violet bastard! You want is ass, then you gotta beat mine first.” Cayenne swiftly objects. “Why, Cayenne. Have you finally started coming on to me?” Roy question. “Fuck you! Kingsley, make a break for the lake. I’ll take care of this purple piece of shit real quick.” “Um...Al-alright.” With that, the boy genius absconds, leaving his best friends to hold off the purple merc. Roy watches as Kingsley parts, saying his farewell with a wave and a smile. “See ya, Kingsley. I promise we’ll catch up real soon.” “You ain’t going anywhere. Know why, cause you be too busy coughing up dirt after I shove my boot down your throat. Cause I think we both know how this went down last time.”. “Oh, Cayenne. Last time was a warm up practice. Still getting the bearings from losing and arm and shit. But I’ve gotten a bit more practice in since then and am ready to round two.” Cayenne takes the first charge, lunging towards Roy at incredible speeds and ready to throw her fist in the boys face. The dark winged angel flips back to evade her swing, landing upon his single hand and pushing himself towards Cayenne to kick her from below. Once she regains her aerial balance, the spice queen fires her red hot rays towards her violet foe. Roy evades the lethal lasers and decides to return the favor by sending a jet black ray of his own. She smacks the beam aside and finds Roy on the rapid approach. She prepares to counter with a heavy hay maker, only to miss the slippery angel. Making his way behind Cayenne, Roy holds her her in a choke hold from behind with a single arm. The spice queen tries to get the purple merc off her back, but can’t quiet reach for him from her back. “I wasn’t joking when I said I got practice in. Things aren’t gonna go the same way they did last time, you massive cu-” At that moment, Cayenne begins to rapidly plummet towards the earth. Her back facing the approaching ground, she threatens to smash Roy upon the earth. Their impact shakes the entire park, the remaining fall leaves break off from their trees. The spice queen arises from the ground as the dust from the impact settles. Although Cayenne finds her slam has created a sizable crater, she fails to find the purple merc himself. She takes a quick view of her surroundings, wondering where the hell the purple asshole scurried off to. Its then that the earth bursts open, a cover of dirt clouds erupting from beneath. What burst from the ground was none than the asshole she’d been looking for, grabbing the spice queen leg in the midst of the dust. Before she had the chance to counter, Roy spins Cayenne about, clearing away the dirt clouds surrounding them. At the apex of their twirl, Roy lets go of the girl, throwing her a ways across the park. She’s sent flying into the parks gazebo, breaking through the roof in her crash. As bits of wood fall upon her head, Cayenne lets out an irritated growl. Descending back to the ground, a boastful laugh escapes Roy’s lungs. “How’s that for a boot down your throat? Ya taste the dirt yet?” In his bragging, he spots something glowing in the sky heading is way. “What the-...What the fuck?” As it the glowing object closes in, Roy finds it to be the gazebo that she just crashed into, set ablaze like a burning meteor. “Oh shit!” He narrowly evades the fiery park stand, feeling the heat coming off of the blazing mess. The gazebo however was merely just a distraction for Cayenne to close in from the side. The spice queen delivers a mighty punch to the purple mercs money maker, sending him flying through the park. Roy careens into several trees, his impact snapping each one in half like a cheap dining pick. Finally, he comes to a crashing stop amidst the pile of park grown property, seeing Cayenne quickly on the approach. “Shit. Gotta think of something fast.”. Roy looks around for anything he could strategically use against his foe. Anything would work, really. His frantic search leads him to spot one of the broken tree halves that he crashed into beside him. As Cayenne lunges forth, she spots Roy lifting the sizable tree with a single hand and swings the wood in her direction. The long reach of the tree manages to catch Cayenne off guard, smacking her aside. Quickly regaining her balance, she finds Roy on the swift approach, presumably to swing the once great oak at her once more. She’d like to see how well he’d swing his wood after setting it on fire. The spice queen spits out a fireball towards the coming merc. Roy blocks the oncoming ball of flames with the only thing he has in hand, holding up the trunk of the tree. His massive wooden weapon quickly burning to cinders, he opts to throw it for one more attack. The oaks ultimate sacrifice proves to be in vain as Cayenne breaks the tree apart with her bare fists. The girl then finds that Roy took a page from her book and saw him awaiting her on the other side of the burning bark. A strategy that fails as Cayenne evades Roy’s punch kick combo. “You know. With all this flaming wood, I’m beginning to suspect that you might have a burning passion for me.” Roy taunts. Cayenne retaliates with some swings of her own that Roy dodges around. “And I’m beginning to suspect that you might just be a huge bitch.” she retorts. Having evade her attacks, Roy comes in with a swift kick to the side of Cayenne’s chest. The spice queen counters with a kick to the side of Roy’s head. Both brawlers reel back from each others blows, Roy taking the moment to fire a ball of darkness in Cayenne direction. Cayenne manages to pull herself together just in time to dodge the dark energy and watches Roy go on the approach. She takes the moment to clap her hands together, igniting sparks of electricity that make their way towards the purple merc. Roy blocks the stream of electricity with his single hand, waving to prove itself harder to keep back then he thought as it start to push him back. He soon however finds his ground and starts to make way to its source. Seeing this Cayenne turns up the juice and strengthens the sparks. Although he staggers, Roy ultimately gives one big push towards the Spice queen, halting her storm by grabbing her arm and pulling her head into his knee. Cayenne quickly retaliates with a bellowing stream of flames. Finally, Chloe and Melvin make it to the opposite end of the mall, where before them stood countless clothing stores and trinket shops. The insides of the boutiques have not favored well in the ensuing chaos, their fronts having been broken into and defaced. The insides, ransacked and plundered. Nothing left within except few garments and dresses, torn apart by the rioting populous that have left the store in nothing but empty husks of their former glory. The redhead weeps for her favorite establishments, lamenting their destruction with: “No. All my favorite fashion boutiques, destroyed. All those cute shoes and beautiful dresses, stolen. All those special imports, gone. The worst of it is the huge sale that was going to happen today. All those cute designer outfits that I was gonna lap up are nothing but a faint dream.” During Chloe’s quietly emotional breakdown, Melvin looks over, whispering aloud: “Doubt there’s anything left for us to use as a disguise now. Plan B, then?” Chloe manages to pull herself together in the midst of her sniveling lament, denying with: “No…No. There’s still gotta be something for us left in this fashion disaster, and god dammit if we don’t find it. Come on.” With quiet haste, they split up, hoping to cover more ground to search for what little was left. The stores that Chloe search through seemed more desolate and baron then the last. Coming into one of them, she mourns for one of her favorite boutique, its insides pilfered and torn asunder. Look at what those animals have done to the poor shop. Its cute décor and beautiful dresses, ruined at the seems. It was now baring only lite accessories amidst its ruin, small trinkets such as sunglasses, scarves, necklaces, key chains, and other works fit to only complement. Although Chloe takes the moment to nab some cute looking treasures to take home with her, she knows it won’t be enough for a full blown disguises. Better her have them then any other rioting asshole looking around here anyway. She keeps up her search in the clothing department, hoping to find something that will work, or at the very least, a nice purse. Melvin search doesn’t bode so well either, the only stores he comes across having torn and tapered garbs, among its finite stock. Well, that’s not completely true. The boy does come across a strangely untouched shop, filled to the brim with garments amongst its lines. There was just one massively glaring issue. The store was a costume shop, the only kind of clothing along its racks being colorful and creative costumes. You gotta be kidding me. Melvin was obviously no undercover agent, but even he knew that nothing in here would prove to make the best disguise into fool the crowd. Not a single outfit he finds could ever hope to work, unless they were sneaking through a pirate ship, or a circus, or maybe even a hospital. Figures the only store that wasn’t robbed to the bone during this brief of chaos was a goddamn costume shop. Better chance of taking a clean punch in the eye in a street fight then passing with one of these stupid outfit. Might as well look somewhere else. Before he could abscond away from the array of holiday wares, something brushes past the side of his face. A sharp pain following briefly after, he touches the side of his head to find a cut that oozed blood. He looks back, wondering what kind of sharp weapon grazed his side. The only thing he could find was a playing card lodged within the shop wall. Melvin looks back towards the entrance of the shop, pondering what kind of weirdo tossed the paper thin projectile, but finds nobody within his sites. Weird. He goes to dislodge the card from the wall, finding something printed out on the front. Melvin reads the word on the card to himself: “You’re in for a real treat.” What? What the hell does that even mean? Before he could understand what the message foretold, the folds of the card open up, pouring out smoke and confetti that engulfs him in a blinding cloud. The rioters on the wayside take note of the smoke leaking out of the costume shop and hurry towards its entrance. Within, they find nobody inside, the only thing of note being the leftover confetti that littered the floor. “The fuck?”. In another clothing shop, Chloe was looking along its shelves for anything that could make her and Melvin a worthwhile disguise, but ultimately finds nothing worth even that. Dammit, all that she could scrap up were accessories and cheap fashion wear. Why do people always have to take the good stuff? Thoughts that crosses her mind before something passes by from behind The red head witnesses a card stick itself within the wall of the shop before her. Taking it out, she reads the word imprinted on one of the sides. “It’s time for the show to begin.” What show? As she was trying to figure that out, the card erupts smoke and confetti from its folds. Part of the ongoing mob find the smoke coming from the ransacked store and go forth to investigate. Once at the entrance, they find nothing out of the ordinary, say for the countless amounts of confetti littering the floor. “Was someone throwing a party in here?”. “In the middle of a riot? Who the hell does that?”. After a lengthy trip through the city, Mally finally arrives at the mall, finding the entrance being beat in by rioting townspeople who wanted inside. Some of them manage to spot her and quickly abandoned their pursuit for an equally beneficial prize. The skater flees down the side of the mall in hopes of escaping the encroaching mob. In her escape, she comes over to the loading bay, hoping one of their garage doors might be open. She doesn’t even come across a window to break into, much less an open door. Come on. There’s gotta be something this stupid mall. Its then that another part of the mob comes from around the other corner, some aiming their firearms in her direction. With both parties threatening to trap her in, she figures the only way to go was up and tosses her grapplyo overhead. She begins to ascend away from the gathering rioters, aiming to find a way in through the rooftop, all while evading gunfire from below. Its not until a wayward rocket goes off right in front of her does she she begin to fall. Plummeting down towards the awaiting populous, she braces herself for whatever they had in store for her. Before she could land in the mobs waiting arm, something sweeps Mally from their grasp. The skater opens her eyes to find Bianca carrying the skater in her arms. “What the-...Aren’t you one of the kids we save? Cayenne’s cousins, right?” “Si, senorita. Kingsley had called us and thought it might be fit for us to repay you for rescuing us from that witches clutches.” “We?” Red beams descend down to the pavement below, causing the mob scatter and giving room for Ty and Lequan to land. Immediately, they begin to fight the rioters back, punching and kicking them away in an effort to drive them off. Lequan dodges some of their melee weapon, countering with swift punches and kicks, all while munching on a chocolate bar. With a surrounding group lunging their way towards him, he tosses his candy bar in the air. The youngest of the trio then spins in the air with a twirling kick, knocking all of them back as the bar makes its descent. Lequan then opens his mouth to catch the falling chocolate, finishing of the delectable treat. Ty fights his way through the angry townsfolk, aggressively mowing waves of them down. “You bitches ain’t got nothing on us. Wanna know why?” He grabs hold of one of them and starts to spin about, using the rioter as a sort of weapon and smacking them aside with the poor mans legs. Eventually, he throws him into an approaching part of them mob, knocking them down like pins. “Cause we the BTL mothafucka’s!” Some of them aim their firearms above in Bianca and Mally’s direction, hoping to shoot them down. In the midst of the bullet storm, Mally urges Bianca to: “Throw me to the roof!” “Que!?” “Just do it.” Following her wishes, Bianca tosses her towards the rooftop. Mally tosses her grapplyo towards one of the vents to pull herself in for a safe landing. Once atop the roof, she looks back to find the trio fending off the mob below, with Bianca looking back with a thumbs up. After returning the gesture, Mally looks back to try and find a way in. She looks down one of the glass ceilings in hopes of spotting the red head and finds countless rioters roaming the mall grounds below. Seems too far of a risk to come in through here, especially with all the heat on her. The vent she hooked onto looked to have taken a bit of damage during her descent. It’d make a for a much more inconspicuous way in, even if it would be a bit dusty. She wrap her yoyo’s string around the vent and starts to pull. With great force, the cylinder snaps off, flinging itself off the ceiling and down the ensuing chaos below. Bianca punches one of the rioters away, knocking down the others behind him. She sweeps another of the floor before kicking him over. One rioter pounces from behind ready to deliver a blow to the back of her head with a crowbar. Before he could, the vent that Mally threw off clonks in on the noggin, knocking in down on the pavement. The girl looks back up towards the roof of the mall, giving a warm smile. All three of them gather as the mob surround the trio. “Yo, sis. How long you think we gotta hold these assholes off?” Ty wonders. “Yeah...I’m all out of snacks...” Lequan comments. “As long as it takes, mi hermano’s. As long as it takes.” Bianca answers. Combining their power, they create a powerful energy wave that sends the crowd flying in all direction. Atop one of the roofs of Townsville, Tore continues his brawl with the bloody bounty hunter. The blue boy weaves around the hunters beasts many slashes and jumps overhead. He throws a ball of light down upon the hunter, only for his monster to slash the sphere to pieces. Renee watches as the fight unfolds from a neighboring complex. The blonde was too distracted to notice the shadowy figure behind her, inching their way ever closer. The blonde finally feels the figures presence upon her back. Was it another bounty hunter seeking to snatch her away? One of the townspeople hellbent on turning her in? Renee quickly turns around, worried who might be here to try and take her next. She’s greeted not with the menace intent of another hunter, but rather the friendly smile of a fellow blonde. “Hello!” the newcomer cheerfully greets. Renee is speechless, not entirely sure if the girls bubbly demeanor was a form of distraction or not. At this point, anything is possible. “You must be Renee. It’s so nice to finally meet you. Kingsley told me all about you during his brief call.” “You-...You know Kingsley?”. “Of course, silly. Cousin Cayenne, said you needed a ride outta town in case something happened. And Persi here is happy to help.” Hearing this calms Renee’s nerves. At least she knows her actual boyfriend is safe for the time being. “Well, you coming or what?” the bubbly blonde offers. “Oh...Um. What about him?” Renee questions, pointing towards the ensuing battle across the street. The hunter manages to get a single clean slash across Tore’s chest, leaving the blue boy with a torn up suit and a scar. The indigo agent doesn’t even hesitate in pain before lunging after his bloody foe. Although the hunter tries to stop his approach with his beasts extending claws, the blue angel slips between the red razors. Tore delivers a blow to the hunters midsection, sending the hunter a way across the neighboring rooftop. The crimson hunter stops himself from falling over the edge with his familiars claws. Witnessing his blue adversary on the approach, he has his demon dig its claws through the roof below. As Tore encroaches upon the man, he stops short just when a blood red pike burst from the rooftop before him. Soon, more spikes pop out around him, threatening to skewer him in like a red and blue shish kabob. He ascends in hopes of evading a puncturing fate, but find the needles below to be growing after him. Tore looks over to find the hunter himself, completely wide open for a swift counter attack. He shoots out a beam of light towards the unguarded hunter, the ensuing blast covering him in smoke. That had to have rattled him. Time to end this. The blue boy to heads down to finish the fight once and for all. Right when he closes in, several red razors erupt from the dust and pierce themselves all throughout Tore’s body. The blondes look on in horror as the hunter tosses his limp body in the alley below and tumble down in a bleeding mess. “He he he...Now that that brats outta my hair, time for me to go reap the spoils.” Having that said, the crimson hunter looks over to the Renee and Persi and approaches the edge of the building facing the two. His demon extends its claws over towards the complex across the street and digs its claws into the roof. Leaping over the street as the claws retract towards the building, he lands with a loud thud. Seeing the bounty hunter begin to slowly approach, Persi sweeps Renee off her feet and takes off in their escape. The demons claws extend towards the two, determined to not let his prize escape after all the trouble he went through. Right when Persi’s leg was in reach, the blood hunter feels something tug his beast back. Behind him was the boy that he just skewered, holding his conjoined familiar in a choke hold and pulling it back. “What you think you’re doing, huh? I’m not even close to finished.” “What!? How-How are you alive!? I skewered you to a bloody mess!” Instead of answering his question, Tore lifts his bloody foe in the air and throws him down on the rooftop below, shaking the foundation of the building. Their worry of him having been put rest, Renee and Persi fly off towards the city. Getting back up from his slam down, the hunter watches in disappointment as his bounty flies into the distance. A growl escapes his mouth as he stand, he looks over to Tore with a vengeful glare. “Kid, you’re gonna pay for letting my bounty escape. I’m gonna tear you into so many pieces, they won’t tell which part of you is which.” A smile draws on the blue angels face as he cracks his knuckles. “About time you got serious. I was worried that the party might be dying down.” Within the barren walls of a part of the mall, puffs of smoke expel from thin air. Two coughing teenagers emerge from the dissipating clouds and notice one another in their sites. “Melvin?” “Chloe?” “How did you...How did we get here?” the red head wonders. “Not sure. Picked a weird card off the wall. Suddenly shot out smoke in my face. Still got some on my lungs.” “You too? Weird.” “The hell are we anyway?” Melvin wonders. Taking in their surroundings, the pair find themselves surrounded by shelves of boxes alongside some loading equipment. Rows of garage doors line the wall to their side, with a regular door at the far, far end of the hall. “Looks like were in the malls loading docks.” Chloe elaborates. “Aw, bitchin. That cuts out the disguise bullshit. We can just fly right on outta here. Come on.” the boy insists, rushing towards one of the garage doors. “Hang on a second!” The red head obviously knew that all this was far too suspicious to pass off and attempts to stop her bullheaded boyfriend. Right within the doors reach, something erupts from the pavement before Melvin, halting his escape. Backing away, he found his obstruction to be a massive line of dominoes that cover the garage doors. “The fuck?” he wonders. Trying to blast the wall away proved fruitless, as Chloe’s shot leaves not a single scratch. In their moment of confusion, the lights above them go out. With only the glow of the Chloe's charm to lead them, the couple gather upon each others backs. “The hell’s happening” Melvin questions. “We stumbled our asses in a trap is whats happened.” The two prepare themselves, ready for whatever horrors were waiting to pounce out from the pitch black darkness of the loading docks. In that very moment, a single spotlight shines down upon the couple, enveloping them within its glow. A feminine voice breaks through the shadows and reaches their ears, echoing with the announcement: “Welcome, one and all, to the experience of a lifetime. The lucky couple before us has been given the honor of witnessing on all exclusive show. Please give a warm round of applause to...” The spotlight venture to the other side of the docks, illuminating an elegantly carved wooden box that rises from the pavement. Out from the inside of the box walks out a tuxedo dressed woman, complete with fishnet stockings, cape, and a top hat. “The elegantly magical Palmove!” the woman finishes, matching the previous announcement in voice. The magician looks towards her guests and finds the couple staring at her not in utter amazement, but baffling confusion. She however takes their silence as the former and gives out a light chuckle alongside: “I’m glad to find to find my amazing entrance as made you two speechless already. If you’re impressed now, just wait until the show truly begins.” “Just what in the hell is going on here?” Chloe question. “Yeah, spill it bitch! The fuck is your deal!” Melvin threatens. “Well, don’t you suppose that answer is obvious by now?” A wand sliping from her sleeve, she points over towards the red head. A second spotlight shines down upon Chloe upon her wands command. “You, Chloe Spicer, have been invited to be whisked away towards your destiny. That destiny being to help me fulfill my dreams of riches. Once I claim the reward, I’ll take my act and go global. Maybe even partake in an audience beyond the stars. But!...Before we depart...Allow me to present you and your beloved the greatest show of your lives. Desired or otherwise.” Her announcement finished, light floods the docks once more. The elegantly magical Palmove begins her act with but simple card tricks, the contents of her deck traveling from within her sleeves, around her vixen figure. The pair stand back, awaiting for whatever the magician prepares to uses her deck for. Aware of the exit on the far side of the loading docks, Chloe looks about for whatever escape they could utilize in case they were to get walled off. To her right was another door leading out to the rest of the mall. Not the most ideal means of escape, alongside the countless rioters awaiting them on the other side. Best to leave that as a last resort. Above was an air vent installed in the roof, locked behind the security of a grate which could be easily blasted off. It be a better way out, but the ceiling is quite a ways up. Depending on the capabilities of their tricky adversary, the magician could interrupt their flight and prevent their escape. In the midst of her pondering, the red head proves to be far too distracted to find Palmove tossing a pinch of her deck in their direction. After tackling Chloe out from the cards lethal edges, Melvin lunges forth towards the performer, aiming to bring a premature end to her deadly show. “Melvin, wait!” With but a tip of her top hat, the magician lets out a flock of pigeons onto her guest. Overwhelmed by the feathery flock, Melvin attempts in vain to swat the storm away. Chloe rushes toward her boyfriend in hopes of assisting him, but is unsuspectingly snagged. From her leg, a rainbow of tied together ribbons envelop themselves all throughout her person. Wrapped in their binds, Chloe is whisked in the air, hung from the ceiling like a colorful mess of streamers. “Behold, the fiery teenager, entrapped within the folds of her colorful cocoon. Now for my next act, I require a someone from the audience. Any soul brave enough to volunteer?” Amidst the swarming flock, Melvin lunges towards the elegant Palmove in a blind fury. The magician remains patient among the rapidly encroaching teenager, awaiting until the very moment he approached to erect another box that traps the boy within. “Splendid.” With that warning said, she opens the folds of her tuxedo, letting free a flurry of blades erupt from the sides of her chest. The countless swords float through the airs of the dock, surrounding the box Melvin was trapped within. The red head hanging over head knew all to well what the show entailed, struggling to free herself among the tight grip of her ribbon prison. “Best watch carefully now. This trick could prove itself to be a little dicey.” With a wave of her wand, the magicians commands her countless blades to all lunge forth towards the box before them. Using the power of her stone, she creates a small pink knife and tears out from her rainbow imprisonment, Acting fast, she casts her whip towards the box her date was trapped in and pulls him out of the swords piercing stabs. The carved box breaks upon the concrete support beam, freeing Melvin from the wooden trap. “Aw. Is the show I’m putting on not grand enough for you two? Well, fret not. I have plenty of more tricks up my sleeve.” Upon another tip of the hat, something begins to erupt from the fancy head wears inside. Melvin, getting back up from his splintery trip, glances over to find a massive clown head gunning in his direction. He evades the hammering slam of the jesters head, the impact breaking through pavement pillar before the spring from behind pulls it back. The clown head continuing its destructive rampage through the docks, the couple dodge around the clowns hammering slams. Chloe attempt to shield herself from the heads impact, but her defenses are quickly broken, only managing to deflect the jesters slam. Getting behind a loading cart, Melvin kicks the piece of equipment towards the great Palmove and manages to trip the magician. The clown head retreats back into her hat upon her great flop upon the cart. Upon the magicians stumble, Chloe finds it to be the perfect moment to enact their daring retreat. She rushes over to her beloved, sweeping him off his feet as they try their luck with the outward exit. Before they could reach their means of escape, a domino wall rises from the pavement and stops them in their tracks. “Now why, pray tell, are you two in such a hurry to leave? I’d hate for you two to miss out, especially since the show is just beginning.” Once more, Palmove flips her cape, casting out a hawk from its folds that lunges its talons after the couple. Cayenne was in the midst of dragging Roy across the park by his head. Roy stops their rough travels with a blast to the spice queens side in the middle of a playground. In her short flight, she manages to come straight back upon grasping at a steel merry go round, turning about and fling herself back at the purple merc. He blocks Cayenne’s return. The impact skidding them towards a jungle gym. Roy manages to grab his opponent and drag both of them inside the metal grid. Landing inside, he makes the first move with a sweeping kick to her legs. Cayenne jumps over Roys low blow, but inadvertently hits her head on the steel bar ceiling. The merc takes this moment to grab her leg and slam her down upon the wood shaving covered ground. Down on the floor, Cayenne aims her red hot rays at Roy’s face, the black winged angel avoiding the blast by his skin. In the middle of his dodge, she then kicks him in the stomach, slamming him into the side of the gym. Seeing her on the approach with a punch at the ready, Roy evades Cayenne fist as it goes through one of the holes of the metal grid. The opportunity arising, he grabs the young woman arm from the outside holds it against the steel, pinning her within his reach. Stepping down on her closest foot, he taunts Cayenne with: “Like to see you punch your way through this.” He follows with a knee to her side, making the spice queen counter with a kick from her only free leg. Roy then delivers a swift head butt to her face in retaliation. “How bout I punch your fucking lights out instead.” the spice queen retorts. That said, Cayenne sends a heavy jab on his only arm, the blow making him release her from Roy’s entrapment. Free, the first thing she attempts is to land on more punch on the purple merc. Roy evades her swing and tackles her, bursting out from their steel grid prison. Dragged through wood chipped ground, Cayenne kicks Roy off her person and sends him careening towards the tether ball poles. He stops his flight when he grabs hold of one of the pieces of equipment and uproots the pole. Spinning the tether pole in his grip, he aims the end with the ball towards the spice queen. “Looks like you ran outta luck. I was a champ on the tether ball pole back in grade school.” Cayenne snickers at his poor attempt of a warning, mocking Roy with: “Are you fucking serious? You were the champ of a 6 year olds kids game?” “It’s more impressive than it sounds!” Roy then takes the charge, brandishing the pole in his tight grip. Seeing that he’s serious, Cayenne readies to counter. She dodges several of Roy’s swings, evading the blunt steel of the pole. The spice queen then tries to counter with another hay maker, only for Roy to twirl away her efforts. He swings the other end of the pole her way, and dodges once more. But is unexpectedly hit with the ball. Roy manages to get a couple hits in with the tether ball before wrapping the string around the young lady. The purple merc throws Cayenne over head and down on the ground before tossing both her and the pole high in the air. Cayenne quickly frees herself from her string binds and sees Roy ascending after her. Whilst grabbing the ball, she spikes the pole down towards her pursuing foe. The dark angel catches the base of the pole, stopping it mere inches from the ground. He tosses it in the air, giving him a moment to escape before Cayenne drives it into the ground with a crushing stomp. The spice queen throws the ball right into Roy’s face as he retreats, sending him flying towards the swing set. Before Roy could have the chance to crash into the swing set, Cayenne flies past and grabs a hold of one of the swings. She hopes over just as the purple merc is ready to pass and wraps the chains around him, binding the dark angel to the metal pole. Roy watches as Cayenne leap high in the air for a diving kick. Too late to break the chains. Guess he’ll have to break the swing set instead. He shifts himself over to the left just as the spice queen was about to land, instead having her break the pole he was tied to. Seeing her ready a stream of flames, Roy breaks out of his chain prison before Cayenne could roast him alive. Flying up to evade her fiery blaze, Roy lands atop the massive structure of playground equipment. Cayenne bears witness as the dark angels single hand arises. From it, a ball of dark energy begins to grow. She attempts to halt his charge with a shot from her eye lasers, however misses as Roy simply leaps over the beam. His figure overshadows the glow of the full moon. The perfect moment to strike. Roy casts his sphere of shadows towards his red hot adversary. The spice queen evades the overwhelming darkness as it consumes half of the playground into its void. Landing, she looks around the once joyous play center, now left as nothing but a demolished wreck in the wake of their duel. “Where the fuck did he go?” she wonders aloud. In her search for Roy, she fails to notice the purple merc himself lunging towards her and is promptly tackled. Their trip leads them up a wayward slide, their speed sending them rocketing into the night sky. Grabbing hold of the magicians legs, Chloe uses her whip to toss Palmove into the shelves full of boxes. The show stopper crashes into the shelf, toppling over countless boxes that pile on her. A moment of awkward calm passes, Melvin and Chloe gather and wonder if a crash like that really could have done her in. Maybe now would be the right moment to make their escape? Alas, the opportunity passes when the boxes burst out and from the seems; black streaks rapidly travel all throughout the docks, all the walls and through the ceiling. As the couple watch the streaks speed along their gaze, they hare the sound of Palmove’s voice announce from thin air: “I suppose now would be the perfect moment for us to play a little guessing game.” Finally, they come to a halt, revealing themselves to be massively oversized hats. “I’m offering the two of you the chance to go free. All you have to do is guess which of these hats I may be hiding in and I’ll let the lovely couple walk out with no strings attached. But pick carefully now, choose wrong and you’ll be in for quite the nasty surprise.” The red head glances to where the hats came to a stop. While one rested upon the floor in front of them, the other she could find on the ceiling, blocking their exit. She turns her gaze over to her last resort escape, finding it blocked off by the final hat. “She can’t be fucking serious, right?” Melvin wonders. With rash consideration, she tries her luck with the hat on the roof, hoping to blast it away and reach the air vents before the magician reveals whatever nasty surprise Palmove has in store. Upon the beams impact, the novelty over sized head wear explodes in a mess of smoke and confetti the engulfs the entire loading docks. Upon the smoke clearing, Chloe finds herself entrapped within the confines of a glass cage. The transparent wall of her prison gave her a clear view of her date, strapped to the metal bindings of a spinning wheel. Struggling to break free from the steel braces holding his limbs, he demands someone: “Get me the fuck out of this god damn thing!” “Now why on earth would I do that?” Palmove wonders, stepping within the boys sites. “Especially in the midst of the finale?” Both witness conjure her entire deck from the folds of her sleeves, the cards rapidly slithering through her figure like snakes coiling through their master. Realizing what the magician was about to do, Chloe attempts to free herself from the clear walls of her prison. Before she could shatter the glass, puffs of smoke began filling the tank. “Chloe!” Melvin shouts. “Never fret. Tis simply knockout gas. The red head shall remain unharmed. Not sure the same could be said about you though.” the magician explains, enveloping her eye site within the cloth wrappings of a blindfold. Some of her cards slither their way betwixt the gaps of her gloved fingers, Palmove priming to throw her deck towards the spinning teenager. Pushing the rising gas aside, the red head tries to free herself once more, aiming her ray towards the glass. Firing, the laser ricochets off the wall, bouncing throughout the confines of her cage. She ducks down in an effort to avoid having her head popped of by her own beam, holding her breath against the rising gas. Shortly, the ray hits the ground next to her, scorching the pavement. She rises from the gas, taking in whatever fresh air was left within the chamber as she helplessly watches the magician ready to toss out her deck towards her wheel bound boyfriend. With no further hesitance, Palmove rapidly tosses out most of her deck towards Melvin, the boy closing his eyes as he await for his end. Feeling next to no pain, he opens his eyes once more, finding not a single card had pierced his body, simply only surrounding the outline of his figure. Frightened looks upon both her guests faces, the magician unfurls her blindfold, letting a joyous laughter escape her lungs, after which commenting: “Oh boy. I always get a kick out of their faces when I finish that trick. But...” She draws an ace of spades from her sleeve, aiming her final card towards the boys chest. “Alas, the curtains call and my show must come to an end.” Seeing Palmove ready to throw her final card, Melvin attempts in vain to release himself once more. His girlfriend struggles to free herself from her glass prison, the gas filling the cage beginning to overwhelm her. “The two of you have made a wonderful audience and I wish you all a farewell.” Right on the cusp of casting the lethal edges of her ace, something bursts out from the air vent above. The grate falls, the pixie dress skater rapidly descending from the ventilation. The magician looks above, just in time for both to crash upon her. “Ah! Man, my ass hurts! What did I land on?” Getting up from her rough landing, Mally looks about, seeing the couple within their strange prisons. “Um...Did I-Did I miss something?” “Just get us one of here, already!” Melvin demands. “Whoa, okay! Jeez.” She casts her trusty grapplyo, latching onto one of Melvin’s braces and pulling it off the wheel. As Melvin frees himself from the rest of his metal bindings, Mally scanned through the domino walled docking bay, searching for whatever could smash through Chloe’s transparent prison. The only thing around remotely hard enough was a chunk of the concrete support beam that broke of during the clown heads rampage. Perfect! Without hesitance, she wraps her yoyo’s string around the concrete chunk and swings it about. Around the docking bay she twirls the rock, gradually picking up speed until the moment of truth. Finally, she flings the boulder into the cage, shattering its transparent walls to pieces and releasing the gas engulfing the red head. Mally quickly approaches her the moment Melvin frees himself, finding Chloe’s unconscious body among the shards of glass. “Chloe?” she worries as the skater reaches out. Melvin quickly sweeps her body off the concrete and glass, attempting to wake her with: “Chloe? Chloe!? Come on girl, wake up!” Opening her eyes, the red head was met with the site of her date, taking in the view of his relieved smile. “Mel-...Melvin!” She swiftly holds the boy within her embrace, lamenting with: “Oh my god! I’m so glad you’re alive. I don’t know what I do if you wound up dead.” “Girl, relax. Its gonna take more than some sharp ass card bullshit to keep me down.” After a brief moments of staring into each others gazes, their lips entangle together in a moment of passion. The site of their make out session breaks Mally’s heart to pieces, shattering whatever fantasies the skater desired to make into a reality. The thought of rescuing the her crush from impending danger, sweeping the red head off her feet and within her longing arms, destroyed. The possible romance she hoped would blossom from the aftermath of the disaster, spoiled. The dream of sharing countless moments of intertwining passion, embraced within each others grasp, vanished. All of those hopes and dreams, all for not. Their moment of passion ceasing, the couple look towards their rescuer, noticing her disbelieving stare. “Yo, you feelin okay?” Melvin asks her. Mally snaps out of her heartbroken trance, stuttering to answer his with the false answer: “Uh...Y-yeah...I’m fine.” “Why are you even here anyway? Weren’t you going to a ball or something?” Chloe wonders. “Uh, yeah. I was. But with the whole town going crazy like this, Kingsley was worried about you. Since I was close, he wanted me to help you out until your parents came.” In the midst of the trio’s mingling, they fail to notice Palmove rising from the pavement. Glancing upwards, she looks from where Mally had fallen upon her and covers the air vent with a domino. With that taken care of, she looks backs towards her audience, failing to even notice the magicians reawakening, paying special attention to her uninvited guest. How dare that orange haired brat spoil the climax of her finale, drawing her guests attention away from the show? This rowdy showstopper will pay for her grave interruption. Dunking her in a tank full of sharks should prove swimmingly. “Really love your dress by the way. Where’d you get it?” Chloe asks. Melvin ventures his gaze off from the conversation, noticing the magician casting out a stream of ribbons in their direction. “Oh, this? I had it for a little while. I actually got it from-”. “Get down!” the boy warns, tackling both ladies from the ribbons reach. The tied cloths within her reach, Mally catches the magicians tether aside and jerks her aside, sending her careening into one of the domino walls. Seeing the magicians momentarily down, Chloe pushes Melvin and Mally off her person and fires at the door. The results of the haste fueled blast fail to go unnoticed by the rioting mall goers, beginning to follow the smoke of the aftermath. From the smoke, their hunt bursts out, the red heads friends in her grasp as she escapes from the loading docks. Almost immediately, they begin to give chase, waiting not a single moment to unload whatever they had at the trio in hopes of shooting out of the sky. “We need to bail! Now!” Melvin insists. “What does it look like I’m doing!? But, I can’t find an exit anywhere in site!” “I found a glass ceiling not too far from where we’re at! In the plaza!” With that, the three rocket through the mall, hoping the ascending storm of bullets fail to halt their departure.

[gcldandblxe-blog]

🔫 - A moment of crime for the Engineeerrrrr ;3c

Ask the Mun for a Drabble/Fic of their Muse based on...

🔫 - A moment of crime

[Set in the Angels and Demons AU.

Warnings: Use of Oscar’s dead name, misgendering, transphobia, bigotry, blasphemy, blood, gore, death, some light body horror, general creepiness.

Featuring Sal ( @wxredwrong ) and frequent mentions of Oscar ( @introvertedscience ) ]

Father Martin hummed contently to himself as he went about preparing tea, listening to the pitter-patter of raindrops against the window, the water bullets hitting hard enough to be heard pounding his roof. Rare weather for this time of year, he wondered if that was a sign a storm was brewing. He would have to make preparations, if it was.

The priest continued his humming as he brought the teapot over to his kitchen table, setting it in the middle as he collected himself a porcelain cup. The young man reached up to pull open the cupboard and pick out a cup, smiling to himself peacefully.

The good feeling in his heart and tummy had been born through helping others. To be exact, he’d performed his first solo exorcism just a few days ago. A family of three - a married couple and their daughter - who had been having trouble with a demon that had been let into their home when their child had played with a Ouija board. Horrible things. Father Martin wished they wouldn’t so easily end up in a child’s hands like that; it caused the exact problem this hysterical mother had had when she’d contacted him.

Told him of the illusions and nightmares. The scratches on her husband’s arms and back and on the bedposts and walls. The reflection of a monster behind her when she stared at a mirror. The way the pots and pans in the kitchen had exploded from their cupboards one evening. The way the crosses would either be broken or missing after she put them up. The drawings her little girl would make of this thing, how she had called it her friend and told Mommy how she would feed it the apples in the house, how she’d once given it the leftover pizza in the fridge because it had told her it hadn’t had pizza in years.

No harm had ever come to the child, no physical harm at least. The demon had been manipulating her, Father Martin knew. He’d seen this sort of thing before, back when he’d been tailing behind Father Clark whenever they were called out for exorcisms.

Children these days and their Ouija boards.

But Father Martin couldn’t blame them for their curiosity. He supposed, if he was given a way to talk to an otherworldly being, he would take the chance too.

Bless little Emily; he hoped she’d gotten over her manipulation by now. The way she’d screamed for him to stop when the demon had been writhing around on the floor in pain, how she’d asked him why he was doing this, the demon was her friend. How she’d wailed when the demon had dissolved to dust before her and was whipped away by the wind. How she’d sobbed over the remains.

But it couldn’t hurt her now. He’d gotten rid of it and it would never come near her again.

Father Martin collected the neat little porcelain cup and turned around to go back to the table, only to freeze. The pots and pans from his kitchen cupboards were all laid out on the counters and the floor, none of them touching the other, laid out so carefully. 

Brown eyes glanced at them all before he took one hand off the little cup and used it to grab at the cross at his throat, murmuring a little prayer as he walked over to the table and set the cup down.

No, no. Not today.

Father Martin jumped slightly as thunder rumbled outside and he turned to look out the window. Picking up out there. He swallowed thickly, then faltered as he caught sight of his reflection. Him, standing there with his brow furrowed and fist clutching his cross…and the winged figure behind him, head so close to his.

Father Martin cried out in alarm and whipped around; no one there. He panted lightly, heartbeat picking up in his ears, and gulped again as he faltered, finally noticing the…empty feeling in his hand. He opened his fist to look down at his cross.

It was gone.

Father Martin’s eyes widened and he felt himself begin to sweat beneath his robes, a thick layer covering his forehead. He swallowed again, tried to remember a verse from the Bible to comfort himself with, and opened his mouth to recite God’s words before he was interrupted.

“Hello, Father.”

Father Martin whipped around and yelped in fright.

The demon. The very one that he’d exorcised. Standing there with its bright blue hair, dark grey-blue skin, gargoyle-like wings, needle-like claws, sharp horns - and a frown that told Father Martin exactly why it was there.

The priest went stumbling back, hands frantically searching for his cross but remembering it was gone, and The Engineer tilted his head slowly. “You looking for something, Father? Could it be…this?” He held up a fist: the beaded chain of Father Martin’s necklace hung from it, the little cross dangling there.

Father Martin’s mouth opened and closed like a goldfish’s before he wheezed and scrambled for a drawer nearby, sliding it open quickly and digging around until he found a wooden cross that he kept in there for when lost individuals came to him seeking advice on faith; it helped for them to hold it, he found. He held it in shaking fists, pointing it toward the demon. “L-Leave this house, demon! At once!”

The Engineer sneered at him. “Oooohh. I’m shaking in my boots.” He stalked forward, making the priest crawl backwards, and reached down to snatch the cross from the Father’s hands. He held it up. “What do you think this will do, exactly? Did you not learn your lesson when you attempted to use one of these on me when you paid a visit?”

Father Martin didn’t like the way he spat out the words, smug expression fading to sheer fury. The priest swallowed. “Jesus Christ himself -”

“CHRIST DOESN’T EXIST!” The Engineer shouted, holding the cross up like he was going to bring it down upon the priest’s head; the Father cowered. The pots and pans rattled around them. “He’s a myth that humans made to make themselves feel special! Like there could possibly be a holy figure amongst them! PLEASE! The angels don’t even PISS IN YOUR DIRECTION - what makes you think ANY OF YOU could POSSIBLY hold the abilities they do?!”

Father Martin didn’t answer, couldn’t answer, and instead just crawled backwards once more.

“But let’s not talk about that.” The Engineer went on calmly, straightening himself up. His wings gave a sickening crack as they stretched out behind him and the demon brought the cross up to whittle away at it with one claw. Wooden curls dropped one by one as he carefully sliced away at the end. “Let’s talk about what happened between us, Father. I’m sure you know why I’m here…”

Father Martin gulped, shaking before the demon, but he forced himself to keep his ground. He raised himself to his knees. “I…I banished you, demon. From whence you came.”

“Mm-hm.” The Engineer sounded disinterested.

“I…I saved that child from your grasp.”

“’Saved that child’?” The Engineer paused. “Saved that child from my grasp? What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You…You were manipulating her.”

The Engineer’s expression turned sour.

“A-And I saved her.”

“HIM!!” The Engineer roared suddenly, baring sharp yellow teeth. The pots and pans that had been out in the priest’s kitchen suddenly flew up to the ceiling with clangs and clatters, sticking there. He threw the hand holding the priest’s cross into the air and slammed the wooden artifact into the kitchen counter, smashing a hole into the marble surface.

Father Martin screamed in fright, eyes bugging out of his head when The Engineer took his hand away and he saw that the cross was embedded in the counter, standing up like it’d done when Jesus had been put upon the real one (or so they say).

“The child is a BOY!” The Engineer went on, jabbing a clawed finger in the priest’s direction. “And I wasn’t manipulating him at all! I was PROTECTING HIM! Protecting him from people like YOU! His own parents told him he’d go to Hell for being himself, I wasn’t going to stand by and let the kid believe that crap!” The demon straightened himself, forcing himself to calm. “I, of all people, would know what it takes to get to Hell - and your version ain’t it.”

Father Martin’s mouth opened and closed, arguments for this on his tongue, but nothing would arise. A demon protecting a child? This had to be some sick trick. The demon was clearly manipulating that poor girl - she had fallen for its illusions of friendship. Listened when it told her these obscenities about being male. Father Martin couldn’t put together why the demon would tell her as such, but who knew why demons did any of the things they did?

“Manipulating him…” The Engineer muttered mockingly with a shake of his head, then scoffed. “I’m not in the business of harming innocent children.” He pointed upwards. “That’s their jurisdiction.” Then he pointed to the priest. “I only deal with the stupid…”

Father Martin gulped.

“Speaking of which…as angry as I am of being accused of a crime I did not commit, that’s not why I’m here.” The Engineer went on, casually placing his hands behind his back. “Transphobia makes me angry like nothing else, sure…but do you know what else really sticks in my craw?” He cocked his head and didn’t wait for an answer. “Being. Exorcised.”

Father Martin’s blood ran cold. The realisation had fallen upon him. There was nothing to do now but be afraid.

The pots and pans unstuck themselves from the ceiling slowly, floating downwards and hovering in the air around them.

The priest shook madly as fright overcame him. “I…I was doing my duty…t-the Lord’s work…”

The Engineer gave a cruel chuckle. “I know, buttercup, I know. But, here’s a fun bit of news for you.” He slowly crouched before the Father, leaning in to speak in his ear as Father Martin trembled in the demon’s close presence. “Your Lord doesn’t exist.”

The pots and pans crashed to the floor.

Father Martin’s scream lasted but a second before it became a gurgle; forced to choke upon his own blood once claws had cut and fingers had torn, not at all clean, at the smooth skin of the priest’s throat. Table and chair and floor were spray-painted red by the gory sprinkler, robes were stained and wet from the overflow. Eyes rolled to the back of the priest’s skull and tongue lulled out of an open mouth, still frozen within the scream.

The demon played with his prey, using a finger and thumb to delicately tilt the kneeling priest’s head back, then he pushed the lump of flesh on his palm back from where it had been ripped, gingerly placing it back like a baby trying to fit a block through a hole. When the wet lump was pushed back into place, he sat back and watched as the priest’s head remained tilted and the lump fell out again and landed on the floor with a splat.

The body slumped to the floor, droplets of red still flicking and jumping out from the open arteries and veins; it was soon that Father Martin was laying in a puddle of his own liquid life.

Water was borrowed from the Father’s tap to clean away the evidence sprayed upon the murderer, no more words spoken to the victim as clawed hands scrubbed at face and arms, then a human man stepped out of the priest’s house and into the street.

Pale skin, dressed up in black leather. His zipped up vest had a diamond-shaped hole in the back, where two vertical marks lay in his skin like scars. Similar marks lay on either end of his forehead and, if one looked just hard enough, they would find that the very tips of his ears were pointed. But nobody looked twice at this man as he exited the priest’s home, not even at his bright blue hair or red-tinted goggles.

It wasn’t raining anymore. Not a cloud in the sky.

The Engineer grinned and called over his shoulder. “Thank you for the chat, Father! I’m sure our Lord’s words will remain with me for a long time to come, particularly since you’ve gifted me with one of His holy symbols.” He held up a fist; the priest’s cross on the beaded chain dangled from it. “Please, I’ll let myself out, don’t worry. You continue to rest.” His grin widened. “God bless you, Father.”

The leather-clad male shut the door behind him and sauntered off down the street, swinging the cross in circles. “God bless us all!” He cackled to himself, catching the cross in one fist.

He didn’t get very far before there was a flash of light, too quick for the human eye to catch, but not so for The Engineer. He didn’t react as it struck beside him, nor did he react when there was suddenly another man walking along at his side. Nobody looked twice at him either, not to gawk at his height or take in his fedora and vest and alarmingly green eyes.

The Engineer’s lips tipped up into a half-smile. “Hello, Sal.”

Sal frowned, keeping his gaze forwards. “The Engineer.”

“Fancy seeing you here.”

“You know why I’m here.”

“To bask amongst the humans? Yeah, me too. Love ‘em, don’t you?” He tipped his head. “Their stupidity is unmatched.”

Sal’s frown only deepened.

“Aw, c’monnnnnn, Sal! Humour me here.” When Sal didn’t, The Engineer frowned. “Alright, alright, I know. You’re here to tell me I’m gonna get punished for what I did! Even when I was entirely justified -”

“You just killed an innocent man.” Sal snapped, head turning sharply to the left so he could glare down at the demon in disguise. The two men came to a halt together. “I hardly think that could be justified in any sense of the word, The Engineer. I think you know that as well.”

The Engineer wasn‘t deterred. “Well! I guess we’re both guilty here.” He sneered at Sal. “After all…you didn’t stop me.”

Sal’s lips pressed together. He didn’t give a defence.

The Engineer enjoyed this, but he didn’t dare grin. “Now, what kind of angel allows a demon to kill a human like that?” He cocked his head so hard his neck cracked as his tone turned biting; it was a good thing nobody was watching. They would’ve seen a man break his own neck and nobody needed to see that. “I know! The kind that takes pleasure in punishing my species for so much as pissing at the wrong time of day! Even more so when punishing us for crimes that we didn’t even commit!”

The teeth on the right side of The Engineer’s mouth turned yellow and began to grow into sharp points as his head began quaking.

“You just killed an innocent man.” Sal repeated forcefully.

“You’re just afraid of justice.”

“This wasn’t justice. This was murder.”

“A murder well-deserved!”

The skin on the right side of his lips began fading into a deep, grey-blue and he twitched violently. Above their heads, the sky turned dark with clouds of black.

“No murder is well-deserved.” Sal affirmed. “Murder is a sin.”

“All murder is well-deserved if one looks back into a life far enough. If one looks thoroughly.”

The sclera and iris of his right eye turned yellow and the pupil became a mere slit, unseen because of his goggles.

Sal faltered, picking up something the humans did not, and looked over at a nearby house. Its windows were shaking in their panes, doors were quaking in their frames. He frowned tightly, then looked back to The Engineer. “That’s a vile way of thinking.”

“It’s my way of thinking.”

The nails on The Engineer’s right fingers became to lengthen into claws. Nearby, a dog began growling in his direction.

“Y’know who else I’m sure thinks that way? Especially when looking upon a lesser kind?”

His right ear became pointed, stretching out backwards. Thunder rumbled in the steadily growing black clouds above them.

“Your. Dear. Old. FATHER!!!”

Doors burst open around them, windows exploded into shards; houses were opened without consent. Car alarms came alive, lights flashed, and animals of all kinds cried out in their various voices. Lightning struck down a tree nearby, the wood imploding in on itself and splintering off in pieces, and people cried out and ducked for cover as burning branches rained down upon them -

“ENOUGH!” Sal shouted suddenly at the demon, swiping an arm out through the air. With his mere touch, he fixed everything: windows and doors were secure and closed, cars were silenced, lights and animals were calm, the dark clouds retreated and the tree was repaired and the debris was lost.

The Engineer glared at Sal, baring his changing teeth, and Sal calmly straightened his waistcoat. He looked to The Engineer out of the corner of his eye. “Your façade is slipping.”

The Engineer stared furiously beneath his goggles, then slowly raised a hand and wiped it across the morphing part of his face. As soon as his hand came away, everything was normal and human again. He wiped his left hand over his nails to change them back too. “…Cheers, mate.” With a sneer, he looked Sal up and down. “Speaking of facades, that one’s looking pretty good. One would think you do this often.”

Sal hastily cleared his throat, enough so that The Engineer’s ears twitched, and the angel in disguise went on “…Regardless…of what you or I think of our systems, The Engineer…you will be punished for this. Pappy will see to it.”

“I’m sure.”

“And I will warn you that it might be more severe than last time…It will be painful.”

“Boo-hoo. I’ll be sure to cry into my diary tonight before bed.” There was a pause. “…It’s always painful. You just block out our screams.”

Sal’s expression fell.

“Now,” The Engineer cocked his head, “don’t you gotta fly on home before Daddy notices you’re gone?”

Sal stared at him carefully, like he was trying to find The Engineer’s next move, then he nodded slowly. “…I should be leaving, yes. Just came to deliver the message.”

“Message received. Now leave before I have the urge to shoot the messenger.”

Sal faltered, then raised an eyebrow. “Now, that really would get you punished.”

“But it would be worth it.”

“I doubt that.” 

The Engineer scoffed, then took Sal’s hand and slapped the dead priest’s cross onto the palm. “There ya go. More of a use for it than I, I’m sure.”

Sal looked down at it, then placed it into his pocket wordlessly and pushed a strand of black hair back up into his hat. “You’ll be called before the council to receive your punishment. I suggest you prepare yourself.”

“Prepare myself to receive a punishment for a crime I did not commit?” The Engineer spat, then slowly tilted his head. “…I don’t believe there’s quite a preparation for that.”

The two stared at each other for a moment, then Sal sighed lowly. “…Right. Return to Hell soon, The Engineer. You know what will happen if you don‘t.” With another burst of light that only The Engineer saw, Sal was gone.

The Engineer clenched his teeth and threw his head back to scream to the sky, “YEAH, THAT’S RIGHT! RUN HOME TO MUMMY AND DADDY! TELL THEM THAT THE BIG, MEAN DEMON’S GOT IT COMING TO ‘IM!”

Nobody even blinked at his screaming.

The Engineer huffed and shook his head, then pressed his lips together and looked down the road. A house down there was where he was comfortable calling his base, with a child that looked upon him as a hero. Who had sobbed for him when he was banished from the house, who mourned his absence. Whom he would never see again, for banishment ran deep and he was not permitted to be anywhere within nor near the property.

The demon swallowed the lump in his throat, scoffed, then faltered as he witnessed a girl heading toward the door to Father Martin’s home. His eyebrows rose and he turned around to go, walking briskly down the street before a flame swallowed him whole, quicker than the blink of a human eye.

He briefly heard the girl’s traumatised screaming as he left and smirked.

Always liked a viewer for his art.

[dzamie]

Fuckton of OC questions: Dzamie

Questions from @liaraliara‘s post here. Doing these for Dzamie, will do more for other characters eventually, whether y’all want me to or not.

1. What’s their full name? Why was that chosen? Does it mean anything? Dzamie Deshulian. Dzamie is one of my common pseudonyms (linguistics joke I stole from a family member), and Deshulian... in-universe, he chose that name from a Chinese word for “skill” and the French "de.” It is almost certainly pronounced wrong, but it’s his name now.

2. Do they have any titles? How did they get them? Holy fuck does he have titles. Well, descriptors mostly, though he does carry the moniker of Blue Bandit from his attempts at being a phantom thief, Lord of the Yellow Hive from Equestria shenanigans, and some places call him the Reaper due to his high body count nearby (he decided to get a scythe when he heard that, though he didn’t practice using it much for a long time). Title-wise, he’s described himself as a spellsword, archmage, weaponsmaster, assassin, illusionist, and complete fucking nerd. He self-describably “moonlights as a Lesser Spirit of Chaos.”

3. Did they have a good childhood? What are fond memories they have of it? What’s a bad memory?  Oh man his childhood is tragic as fuck. Birthplace village burned down, his parents presumably killed or captured, and essentially left with his half-brother (HM) to fend for themselves. Managed to find their way to a really helpful... institution, for lack of a better word. Except it’s a place dedicated to teaching people how to kill dragons. HM happens to be a dragon. Dzamie went anyway, and HM sort of let dragon instincts help him survive, with help from Dzamie. Dzamie was at some point convinced to inflict an ambiguously-large amount of torture on a bunch of dragons, at first because... well, dragonslayer school at the time was fucked up, and later because science. And then people kept trying to kill him, but that’s just... that just keeps happening; it’s not a childhood thing.

4. What is their relationship with their parents? What’s a good and bad memory with them? Did they know both parents?  No strong memories. His father died in the fire or shortly after, and his mother is in hiding to keep herself alive definitely dead. No need to look for her.

5. Do they have any siblings? What’s their names? What is their relationship with them? Has their relationship changed since they were kids to adults? H.M. Deshulian is his half-brother (genetics are weird when dragons are involved). They’ve always had a pretty good relationship, though strangely tempered with a mutual feeling of “I don’t want it to happen for a really, really long time, but I’m pretty sure he’ll be the direct cause of my death.”  Dzamie is HM’s favorite food, and HM is the reason Dzamie decided to increase his acid resistance to a ridiculous level.

6. What were they like at school? Did they enjoy it? Did they finish? What level of higher education did they reach? What subjects did they enjoy? Which did they hate? Dzamie was wonderful at the technical stuff, but completely refused the “dragons are evil”-type rhetoric, so he just barely got by, eventually graduating bottom of his class (though the dragonslaying done as the graduation test was definitely the most efficient and least risky of the lot). He’s taken a few college courses here and there, but all after timelines start getting weird around him, so it’s hard to tell when or how many. He enjoys applied math

7. Did they have lots of friends as a child? Did they keep any of their childhood friends into adulthood?  He was completely study-driven, with HM being his only friend - though, it didn’t help that most kids he could’ve been friends with would’ve wanted to kill HM on sight. Interestingly, Kenny was in his year, though they never really liked each other much.

8. Did they have pets as a child? Do they have pets as an adult? Do they like animals?  Well, he has HM No pets to speak of. Closest there is is Smugleaf, a Serperior who occasionally lets him have her Pokeball and direct her in combat. He loves birdwatching, snakes, and a bunch of other animals.

9. Do animals like them? Do they get on well with animals?  Animals are generally somewhat neutral towards him, though he can regularly get pretty close to wild animals without them caring.

10. Do they like children? Do children like them? Do they have or want any children? What would they be like as a parent? Or as a godparent/babysitter/ect? No (but he does well with them anyway), yes, no, neglectful, not too bad (just because it’s not much interaction. Facades are tough to keep up over long times)

11. Do they have any special diet requirements? Are they a vegetarian? Vegan? Have any allergies? Will starve without meat. His species generally views bread as a mild poison, but Dzamie being Dzamie, he no longer has to care.

12. What is their favourite food?  Brownies, the chocolate-ier the better.

13. What is their least favourite food? Sourdough bread.

14. Do they have any specific memories of food/a restaurant/meal? Nothing in particular. He remembers being food a lot, especially for HM, but that’s not really the same.

15. Are they good at cooking? Do they enjoy it? What do others think of their cooking? He’s amazing at cooking, especially at arguably-taboo meals (though he won’t make anything he wouldn’t eat). He has a lot of fun with it, because he “gets to play with knives and fire, and out comes delicious food.” He’s quite the showman while cooking, which can be hit-or-miss, but most people like his cooking, assuming they like the dish he makes (i.e. he obviously can’t make a PB&J that someone who’s allergic to peanuts would like).

16. Do they collect anything? What do they do with it? Where do they keep it?  He hoards knowledge, gold, and some shiny jewels, which he blames on growing up with HM. Additionally, he keeps trophies - the left horn of each dragon he slays, and the sword of any dragonslayer he bests in combat (not usually kills, just leaves weaponless for a while. It’s a slayer thing).

17. Do they like to take photos? What do they like to take photos of? Selfies? What do they do with their photos? Nope! He likes to be on camera, but photos aren’t really his thing.

18. What’s their favourite genre of: books, music, tv shows, films, video games and anything else Books: Fiction with interesting worldbuilding stuff. He tends to visit those places. Music: Anything with a good rhythm and tempo, since he often fights in time to whatever’s playing in his head. Electro-stuff is good. TV shows: No preference, really. He doesn’t watch much. Films: Same as books, though he tends to riff on the films he watches. Video games: Platformers with tight controls.

19. What’s their least favourite genres? Most things to do with rural stuff, come to think of it. 

20. Do they like musicals? Music in general? What do they do when they’re favourite song comes? He likes the idea of musicals, rarely the implementation. Music is very important to him, especially as he can mimic male voices, and move precisely to rhythms.

21. Do they have a temper? Are they patient? What are they like when they do lose their temper? He kind of does. He’s pretty patient, and tends to do the silent-rage sort of thing when upset enough. Though, it’s a little bit of a tell that his magic spikes and its color turns from green (pride) to red (anger).

22. What are their favourite insults to use? What do they insult people for? Or do they prefer to bitch behind someone’s back? He’s definitely the kind of person who’ll insult someone to their face, either backhanded or up-front. Either directly pointing out flaws (”Let’s get this straight, you thought coming at both me and HM unarmed was a good idea? Did you maybe think the price on his head is that big for a reason?”) or just calling them names that probably don’t make sense if not for inflection (”You absolute salmon.”). Mostly for suicidal lack of common sense.

23. Do they have a good memory? Short term or long term? Are they good with names? Or faces? He has good auditory and muscle memory, but can’t remember faces, and names are tough. He knows a lot of trivia, and has memorized a bunch of really useful dragonslaying regulations, but it can be kind of random what he remembers.

24. What is their sleeping pattern like? Do they snore? What do they like to sleep on? A soft or hard mattress? He sleeps whenever. Nobody’s known when or where he’s ever slept for almost two years now, save for a few times people could make guesses from him somehow waking up in a pile of dragons.

25. What do they find funny? Do they have a good sense of humour? Are they funny themselves? It’s really hard to predict, except for puns. He loves puns. He makes a lot of them, too.

26. How do they act when they’re happy? Do they sing? Dance? Hum? Or do they hide their emotions?  If it’s necessary to keep up a Facade, he hides his emotions well. If not, he smiles, sings and hums, and sometimes fiddles with knives.

27. What makes them sad? Do they cry regularly? Do they cry openly or hide it? What are they like they are sad? Not much, actually. He hasn’t cried in years, and nobody’s really known if he’s sad - even him.

28. What is their biggest fear? What in general scares them? How do they act when they’re scared? HM deciding he’d rather not have him around. HM with a large tactical advantage over him. Manic grin, blatant rules abuse.

29. What do they do when they find out someone else’s fear? Do they tease them? Or get very over protective?  Depends on if he likes them or not. If he does, he usually doesn’t bring it up, and warns them if something he’s about to do is gonna be really scary (though he usually does it anyway after telling them how to avoid experiencing it). If he doesn’t like them, he’ll try to abuse that fear as much as he can without letting on that it’s him doing it.

30. Do they exercise? Regularly? Or only when forced? What do they act like pre-work out and post-work out? “Does playing with people trying to kill me count? Because if not, all I’ve got is sparring with Kenneth and HM, and occasionally going for really long walks.

31. Do they drink? What are they like drunk? What are they like hungover? How do they act when other people are drunk or hungover? Kind or teasing? Nope, but he can act it really well!

32. What do they dress like? What sorta shops do they buy clothes from? Do they wear the fashion that they like? What do they wear to sleep? Do they wear makeup? What’s their hair like? He has three modes of dress: comfortable and casual, ridiculously-accurate cosplay, and naked. To sleep, generally just a comfortable pair of PJ bottoms and a t-shirt. Dzamie doesn’t usually wear makeup, but does an excellent job of dying his fur to pass for a tiger or leopard when he needs to have a non-magical disguise.

33. What underwear do they wear? Boxers or briefs? Lacey? Comfy granny panties? Boxer-briefs, if he’s wearing anything.

34. What is their body type? How tall are they? Do they like their body? Lean, somewhat muscular (but it doesn’t show through his fur at all). He’s roughly 6 feet tall, and makes sure he’s very comfortable with whatever form he’s in - he’s very physically expressive, and also does a lot of things that require knowing exactly where every part of him is.

35. What’s their guilty pleasure? What is their totally unguilty pleasure?  His guilty pleasure is probably making up identities to pretend to be online. His totally unguilty pleasures are a good swordfight, casual pickpocketing (though he generally returns the stuff he swipes), and being eaten, usually by HM, Smugleaf, or Sylvia.

36. What are they good at? What hobbies do they like? Can they sing? Dzamie’s good at... a lot of stuff, actually. He’s kind of a Mary-Sue. Most of my OCs for the Combined Setting are poorly-written, really, so I don’t write stories with them. He likes playing videogames, making his hoard look nice, and bothering talking with HM. And yes, he’s an amazing singer, pitch-perfect and flawless rhythm. Has trouble with female-sung songs, since he can’t just mimic those.

37. Do they like to read? Are they a fast or slow reader? Do they like poetry? Fictional or non fiction? Fast-ish reader, prefers fiction (fanfiction especially). Dzamie enjoys poetry and abhors free verse.

38. What do they admire in others? What talents do they wish they had? Fuck if I know. He wishes he could learn a telekinesis spell (he’s fundamentally blocked from doing so, ever), but this fosters resentment, not admiration.

39. Do they like letters? Or prefer emails/messaging?  Definitely emails.

40. Do they like energy drinks? Coffee? Sugary food? Or can they naturally stay awake and alert? “Awake and alert” is his default state, but he’s not known to turn down sugary snacks.

41. What’s their sexuality? What do they find attractive? Physically and mentally? What do they like/need in a relationship? Self-described as “complicated, or alternatively ‘straight plus also into women’” (he has a variety of transformation spells, and form affects mind). Physically, he likes... scales, tails, and forked tongues. Mentally is a bit tougher, but usually stable and steady enough to not go off the deep-end when he, HM, Dream, and/or Kenny inevitably do something... sanity-testing.

42. What are their goals? What would they sacrifice anything for? What is their secret ambition? Dzamie doesn’t have any goals in particular. He’d sacrifice anything but his or HM’s life for, well, his or HM’s life. No secret ambitions, really.

43. Are they religious? What do they think of religion? What do they think of religious people? What do they think of non religious people? He’s not very religious, though if he had to choose he’d say he “observes” Eris (the chaos noodle, not the Greek deity), and he does tend to celebrate major Jewish holidays (Yom Kippur isn’t really “celebrated,” but you get the gist) and Christmas out of tradition. Nobody really knows where this tradition came from. He generally doesn’t really care about people’s religiosity or whatever, so long as they’re not bonkers enough to try to, say, ritually sacrifice him or someone he cares about, or to try to stop his kobolds’ “cult” at the source by killing Azurel (him as a dragon).

44. What is their favourite season? Type of weather? Are they good in the cold or the heat? What weather do they complain in the most?  Definitely autumn, and heavy cloud cover (but not quite overcast). He’s pretty good in the cold (fire spells just in case) but complains about high temperatures, blaming his fur coat for his crabbiness.

45. How do other people see them? Is it similar to how they see themselves?  They generally think Dzamie’s a bit to the side of normal and sane, but almost disturbingly effective. Those who aren’t used to him find him a bit unstable, but HM, Dream, and Kenneth figure he’s surprisingly predictable - just not in ways most people are. He, on the other hand... actually, he’d agree with all of that.

46. Do they make a good first impression? Does their first impression reflect them accurately? How do they introduce themselves? He doesn’t usually have the opportunity to make a good impression; most new people Dzamie meets are met amidst chaos. “Introductions” tend to range from “Hey, I don’t suppose you’ve seen, like, six kobolds run through here?” to “Hi. I’m Dzamie Deshulian, but you can call me your worst nightmare.” to “Don’t worry! This spell should last for at least ten seconds, so you should run that way before it stops working! Name’s Dzamie, by the way.” to “Good evening. I suppose I should mention a bit of a hole in your security system. It’s about Blue Bandit-sized, which is going to be a problem about two minutes ago.” to “Hi. Dzamie Deshulian. I noticed you guys used to have a dragon problem with a nifty reward. Note the past tense. Here’s her horn.”

47. How do they act in a formal occasion? What do they think of black tie wear? Do they enjoy fancy parties and love to chit chat or loathe the whole event? Generally hates them. Plays well, but generally expects a pretty big payoff (assassination target, scoping out a Blue Bandit target, some really good food, etc.) if he’s going to pretend he’s actually enjoying his time there.

48. Do they enjoy any parties? If so what kind? Do they organise the party or just turn up? How do they act? What if they didn’t want to go but were dragged along by a friend?  He vaguely enjoys get-togethers, but often stays away from group conversations, content to just watch people do people things. If it’s a party where a lot of the guests are dragons, he can usually expect to wake up in a pile of dragons. He has no idea how this keeps happening.

49. What is their most valued object? Are they sentimental? Is there something they have to take everywhere with them? Tough call between his twin katanas, his Dragonslayer blade, and the mana-crystal necklace he wears pretty much all the time. The katanas are actually everywhere he goes as well, but they usually don’t actually exist until they need to.

50. If they could only take one bag of stuff somewhere with them: what would they pack? What do they consider their essentials?  His spellbook and a bunch of knives. Everything else can be summoned, created, traded for, stolen, or... harvested, if they’re not the necklace (always on him) or his twin swords (also always on him).

[lilietsblog]

sailor moon liveblog episode 20 (I skipped 19 because im too tired for that shit right now)

omg omg i think the next episode is The One That Had Nothing To Do With The Main Plot

and that's the most beautiful thing that exists

particularly in context of my ongoing analysis effort of Everything Usagi

tsuki no hikari ni michibikare~

I will forever love Usagi's enthusiasm in the opening when she says 'I don't look like a superheroine, but I am!' (but no child you do look like one you're the defining superheroine of my childhood)

Ami's summer outfit is the best actually I love all of their summer outfits but Ami is just special oh right its the weird one week summer holidays or something? how it works in Japan?

Usagi is dreaming of being tan and I can't help but note that I like this particular beauty standard

Usagi omfg got very distracted no but seriously why is everyone so shitty to her they just. leave her behind as she's lost in her dreams im the slow autistic (tm) and i tend to space out and lose track of what's happening and i have been hiking since i was 5yo and listen. trailing behind everyone trying to catch up is my worst nightmare. when everyone stops to rest and let you catch up but when you, going at your top speed, exhausted, arrive, is exactly when everyone else, refreshed and rejuvenated, stands up and goes on

like i should probably not project my feet issues on Usagi (SURPRISE IT TURNS OUT MY WHINING ABOUT MY LEGS HURTING WAS NOT IN FACT ABOUT THE SAME SHIT EVERYONE ELSE WAS GOING THROUGH AND MY MOM HAD NO IDEA)

but goddammit STOP LEAVING MY GIRL BEHIND YOU FUCKS YOU DON'T DESERVE HER

honestly 99% of my feelings towards Usagi are bitter bitterness towards everyone around her except like. Naru

aww Usagi so tired she's lost any and all control whatsoever sniping at Rei, screaming at the sight of a little kid she does not atually normally complain this much this is no-filter tired!Usagi

also Ami is the sweetest creature known to men 'are the flowers okay?'

these creatures are genuinely spooky it's kind of interesting to analyze how Ami and Rei aren't reacting to their appearance at all while Usagi is freaking out this is the Weirdness Filter - when people just assume that the weird thing has a perfectly ordinary explanation and anyway if it doesn't affect them it might as well be ordinary either way

also I love how Ami immediately picks up on the fact the girl is being treated badly

Rei is too distracted by Usagi, Usagi is too distracted by EVERYTHING IS SCARY

and here's Luna chiding Usagi for making a commotion

you know when I was a kid I thought of myself as being a bad student and lazy. I got nearly all perfect marks and the only person who was better than me was my best friend but all I could think was 'i am worse than her' bc my mom was ~in a very bad place~ at the time and more or less did nothing but criticize and tear me down for everything that went the least bit wrong

I think back to my kid years and I just feel so weirded out by all the self esteem I was missing back then. like I'm sorry but I was kind of awesome??? and like. the only person who would tell me that was my grandma who lives in a different fucking country and visits twice a year. her praise did not exactly impact my daily life much

my point is FUCK OFF LUNA USAGI IS GREAT AND PERCEPTIVE

she is freaking out because she is paying attention okay

poor kid

omfg Rei 'it's incredibly cheap!' why do you think

'costumes of the employees' see this is what im talking about Usagi is perceptive enough to understand it's not costumes Rei is I guess perceptive enough to know they aren't a threat regardless? but she doesnt comfort Usagi either beacuse OF COURSE WHY WOULD ANYONE COMFORT USAGI EVER

aaaAAAAAAAAA I WANT SUMMER BEACH AND WAVES SO MUCH I LOVE BEACH SO MUCH also hee Usagi still has her bow-decorated swimsuit <3

also Usagi had failed to quite grasp what 'private beach' means XD

Usagi is really wise like normally I'm against snatching books from people but Usagi is very right

also oh my god Rei "Usagi is for once saying something reasonable" more like "for once I take a break from tearing down Usagi for long enough to notice that things she's always saying are actually Not Wrong"

man I hate this kind of "you doing not bad is an unexpected exception" verbal abuse shit so much

also girls why do you think knocking over Usagi is fun??? jfc she's the designated punching bag of the group wtf

this is the kind of fun where you end up feeling like 'wow that sure was a normal teenage thing that just happened to me! i totally fit in! they laughed and there were no freakouts so clearly that was Fun(tm)'

Usagi is really good at seeing the best in situations and loving her friends selflessly but holy shit she's being put through so much fuckery

I absolutely love that this anime just kinda casually includes a werewolf, a frankenstein's monster and a vague monster creature in one episode without them being either explained or ever brought up again

hm so here's Rei and Ami independently stumbling across some secrets how bout my Usa-chan

man Ami knows all about recognizing loneliness doesn't she ...makes me wonder how her parents treat her. i dont think her family is ever featured ever and i also dont think its for no reason

AND AMI'S SOLUTION FOR LONELINESS IS FOR EVERYONE TO BEFRIEND USAGI GOD BLESS HER CLUELESS BUT APPRECIATIVE HEART the one person who realizes how much emotional labor Usagi's ready&willing to do for anyone ever

this guy is such a good portrayal of an abusive parent. hes technically doing all the parent things, never going more than /slightly/ over the edge, so if the girl complained to anyone it would never sound like anything really bad was happening to her. he sounds so reasonable and caring and his selfish motivations are so obvious

so hey theres Usagi literally stumbling upon something scary omfg Rei are you seriously that oblivious 'normal human beings' omg well hey at least she feels the kid psychic

ahh!!! Ami busts in to protect the kid!!! oh hey the point where the girl has had enough <3

what I wanna note here is that Usagi and Rei's roles here are 'the person who actually gets what's going on and resonates emotionally with the locals' and 'the clueless sceptic outsider' also that when terrified out of her fucking mind Usagi still obediently pulls out her moon stick sailor soldier indeed there is nothing about this that is fair to her but she manages still

Usagi is the one of the girls whose life became only worse since Luna came and I'm not going to stop reiterating that

and her father is capable of /some/ actual caring he's not black and white but his actions are and it's very well done

I kind of wish the senshi could do more to help, I vaguely dislike the idea of their powers /only/ being useful to combat their Designated Foes

Rei and Ami picking on Usagi is genuinely actually really not fun even if Usagi's capable of making the best out of it

[zach-the-fox]

Furiends Episode 9: Search for Justice

Darkness still covers across the entire land. The town of Heroto fights off the black night with their lights to guide their way on the roads and sidewalks, however, only few wander the streets at late hours. Drab figures move passed the spectators patrolling the streets, hiding behind the houses. Each silhouette is in the shape of animals. They move quickly through the night. One of them glides in the air, but remains above the streets to avoid detection. The dark figures reach a large, one-story, brick building standing atop of a hill. They collect at the back before proceeding further. Inside, they can see the four animals they had encountered previously, gathering by the desk area.

The wolf grunts as he holds an ice pack on the spot between his legs. “That damn flawed fox and his freaky friends… If only we had- Ugh!”

“We’ll catch them, Jay,” Cindy assures him, holding her side. “They’ve couldn’t have gone far. It’s not like they can leave Heroto, either.”

“Yeah,” agrees Kenji. “Those kids have homes and families, don’t they? Sooner or later, they’re going to have to come back for them, and then we’ll have them. We’ll go and-”

Miffy rushes into the room. “Guys! We’ve got trouble on the far side of town!”

Cindy looks to her. “Is it those flawed fox brats? If not, this better be something important.”

“So then, Capital Corp is not important?”

Jay gasps. “Capital Corp?! Again?! We better get going!” He grunts more. Cindy aides him. “I’m fine! I can handle it!” The four animals rush out and set their security features as they leave. The darkened animals watch around the corner as the hero group travels away. Two of the figures use their sharp nails to cut a hole through the glass before a tall shadow comes to take the popped-out piece away. They slowly go through, one-by-one. Then, they freeze, noticing the fields of red laser beams pointing around the room. Within a few seconds, the lights deactivate, allowing the friends to proceed and go room-by-room. They search around the entire place, from the barracks, to the kitchen, to the hangout area, and to the bathrooms, checking everything, before meeting in the hangout room area.

“Nothing,” reports Eren. “It looks to be like a regular home. Not even anything on their computers says anything.”

“Ooo!” Carly grabs the middle-left book on the shelf. “A book about drawing superhero characters!” As she pulls it out, the book stops halfway out of the shelf. Then, the entire furniture shifts to the side, opening up a passageway downstairs. “Oh, will you look at that?”

 “Nice work, Carly,” comments Navy. “Pretty smart.” The cat smiles. The friends enter through, descending stairs, and down the hallway, where they come into a humongous space with metal walls and floors are built about. Several gadgets, widgets, and gizmos are placed by a table near an area where pictures of the fox in the blue bandana are plastered on the walls by the weapons arsenal, some with holes and marks while by the melee and sword station a straw dummy of him is displayed. “Holy…”

“Wow,” Emmy utters. She turns to Zach. “They really don’t like you very much…” Zach sighs. “Hey, don’t worry about it.”

“Are these Team Rescuers’ gadgets?” Niji asks. “I haven’t seen any of these before…”

“They must be new technologies they’re working on.

“Ooh!” Navy runs over and puts on a pink cape with a mask. “Behold! Super Navy!” She places her wings on her hips. “Sworn to protect all of Heroto!”

Emmy takes a sword from the table beside the dummy. “This is a nice sword!” She wields her weapon. “Look at me! I’m a superhero! Hiya!” She whacks the dummy with it. “Awesome!”

“Oooh!” Navy then walks over to a tool bench and picks up a ring with a pink gem in it. “Look at this!” She slips the ring onto the tip of her wing. “It even fits! I love it!”

Emmy follows her lead as she investigates a pair of goggles sitting on a pedestal. “Hm, I wonder what Team Rescuers uses these for.” She puts on the goggles from the pedestal on, looks around the room. “Whoa! These goggles are amazing! They can allow you to see different visions!” She touches the dial on the side and scrolls through everything. “Nice!” After a few seconds, she removes them. “I like these goggles!”

“Hey, I feel funny…” Navy holds her head. “I feel like a cold-blooded lizard with a hangover…” The ring on her wing glows bright. The light encases her body as her silhouette changes form into a new animal. As the brightness dims, a pink lizard appears in the bird’s place. “Ugh!” The reptile has the same voice as Navy. “Why am I feeling-” She looks at her arms, noticing a sudden change. “What the?!” Seeing her reflection in a glass beaker. “Holy! I’m a lizard?! How am I a lizard?! Cool! How do I become a blue jay again?” As she wished, the ring glows, engulfing her in light, and changes her back into her normal self. “A ring that turns you into whatever you want to be?! I like it!”

Carly is next to come over, examining a paintbrush with rainbow colors on its bristles. “What a lovely looking paintbrush. I wonder what Team Rescuers is using this for.”

“Ooo!” Niji zooms over and stares at the art tool. “Rainbow…”

“Oh, no you don’t.” Carly steps back from him. “The last time you saw something rainbow, you got us all wet.”

Navy chuckles. “That’s what she said!”

Carly shoots the bird a flat-mouth look of disgust. She then looks to the paintbrush. “I can see myself painting a lovely rainbow with this.” The cat traces her new tool in the air, imagining the drawing. As she drags the paintbrush in empty space, colored lines appear and the rainbow she imagined spawns. “Oh whoa! No way! A paintbrush that makes things appear when you draw them? This is what I need!”

Eren approaches a big computer against the wall. “Huh…” He sits at the desk and turns on the machine. “I wonder what kind of cool things are on this.” Upon activation, the deer navigates around the desktop and pulls up a video. “Hey guys! You all might want to look at this!” The gang gathers around him before he plays the video. Team Rescuers are shown in the video with a hooded figure.

“The flawed fox and his friends were at the laboratory,” says Jay. “I say we go find them all and take them in.”

“That won’t be necessary,” says the robed character. “I’ve got a better idea with how we can be rid of them all.”

“What do you mean?”

“There are still explosive chemicals in the ruined lab, right?” The group nods. “Well, we can make it look like they were there to take those chemicals to use them.” The four ask what the hooded figure means. “The flawed fox despises the orphanage, right? We’ll set him and those oafs up by blowing a section of the building up.”

“Blow up the orphanage?” repeats Miffy. “That’s very extreme! What about the kids?!”

“The kids are not going to be harmed. I will place them all in an area far away from the blast area, but I will need to make it look like it really was an attack. After the explosion sets off, I will put some of them back with makeup and fake injuries on. That should convince the public they’ve been targeted deliberately.”

“It’s a brilliant plan,” Kenji tells the figure. “I can add to that, too. I can give the illusion that those flawed friends were there.”

“That’s good,” the hooded figure goes. “I know how much you guys hate him. I do, too. He and his friends won’t be a bother to us anymore once this is done. People will want him and the others dead.”

“Thank you, Mom,” says the wolf.

 Emmy clenches her hoofs into fists. “Those ungrateful pieces of… I can’t believe they would do this!”

“Well, now we know Team Rescuers are nothing but frauds,” Zach utters. “And Jay’s mother, the headmaster of the orphanage, is the mastermind. They were the ones who set us up. I can’t believe I looked up to them…”

“We’ll get them back for this, Zach,” Carly tells him. “They won’t get away with it!”

“Hey, look at this!” Navy exclaims. The gang pivot to the bird as she holds out documents she fished out from the cabinet beside. “I found these articles…”

“What do they say?” Eren asks.

“They have our information on them. Our addresses, our relatives, and pictures of us.”

“Stalker alert,” Niji utters.

“I don’t believe it!” Silus exclaims. “They’ve been on us the whole time, trying to come up with a way to get not only Zach kicked out, but us as well.”

“That’s not all,” Eren adds, searching the computer more. “There are more plans to attack other parts of the city, including the square.”

“That won’t happen while we know,” Zach tells her. “We will make sure their acts of terror are brough to an end.”

“And how will we do that?” asks Niji. “Everyone thinks we’re the ones that blew up the orphanage.”

“Not if we expose the truth.” Emmy continues. “Eren, save this video on a flash drive.”

“Is there one around?” the deer queries.

“Wait.” Carly paints the air with the brush and spawns a flash drive in her palm. She then hands it to Eren, who plugs it in and saves the video onto it, as well as other files.

“Okay, good.” Eren takes out the flash drive and shuts the computer off.

“I sense people coming,” Zach utters. “Team Rescuers are on their way! We should go now!”

“Not just yet,” Emmy claims. She looks at all of the equipment around the room. “Let’s take everything here from them!”

“I love this!” Navy follows the warthog’s lead, as does everyone, taking all of the gadgets and tools, stuffing them into their bags. The gang then head up from the secret area, then close it off with the bookcase. They then run out the open window and flee from the area.

“Haha!” Niji laughs. “We’ve got all of their goodies! Payback!”

“Not quite,” claims Emmy. “It’s not payback until we really take them down. Which is why we’re going to expose them and get rid of them once and for all!” She turns to the glass window beside her and stares into it, looking at some superhero costumes on display. “And I’ve got an idea of how we’re going to play it all out.” The others look to see what she means. “Carly, still got that magic paintbrush?”

“Yep.” The cat holds up her painting tool.

“When we get back to our headquarters, I’m going to need you to make some costumes for us.” She smiles at her.

“Just tell me what you want and I’ll draw it for you.” Carly reflects the warthog’s expression. @carlycmarathecat​ @emmy-the-absolute-goof​ @rainbow-strike​ @ask-choro-mama​ @pink-unicorn-blood​