#and then i knew scientists kept her in a tower

[thatfriendlyanon]

hi elle! would love to hear more about your oc icarus if you want to ramble! particularly about her backstory with the lab stuff, that all sound so intriguing.

MEREDITH HELLO

ohhhh icarus :D okay SO first of all, i've got a playlist for her backstory if you want to check that out here: project icarus (content warning for emotional abuse)

icarus was a test subject created by a band of scientists who have been trying to create a winged person (<- i'm working on figuring out more of their motives/goals, and i don't have much but i think it has something to do with how coveted elytra are from the End, so maybe the scientists are trying to create a way to have elytra without reaching the End? which results in them creating bird hybrids....)

icarus was the First test subject, which meant the scientists hadn't perfected the hybrid form yet. they kept icarus in a tower and raised her there, slowly injecting her with more of the hybrid...stuff (dunno what it'd be Called). to keep her in submission, they were incredibly emotionally abusive & manipulative, and icarus developed a lot of fawning techniques to keep them pleased with her. they took her out of her test-tube when she was, like, sevenish in human years, and then raised her outside the tube in a room at the top of the tower after that, so she was with them for the majority of her childhood + teenage years.

now i am notoriously Not Great at creating plots & backstories sdljsdg, so i will admit her backstory's got lots of gaps and some weak spots xD but essentially, she lives in this room in the tower for most of her life as the scientists take notes & do experiments on her. she grows older, her wings grow stronger, and the one window in her room looks really nice..... she doesn't mean to disobey, she just wants a taste of the fresh air and the clouds look so pretty, as she tries to fly out to the roof of the tower.

well. the scientists stop her, and Are Not Pleased At All. their demeanor changes, and are suddenly a lot more aggressive/violent. it makes her realize she may actually be in danger. so she decides to book it outta there, and breaks out of the window and flies as far away as she can.

but, being Her, and having never Been Outside The Tower Before (yes this has rapunzel vibes xD), she gets really thrilled about the sun and flies too close to it she's gotta live up to her namesake after all which results in her wings burning and her plummeting to her death in a lake.

when she respawns at the lake's bank, her wings are still severely burned & damaged to the point where she can no longer fly. so she decides to make this place she's wound up in her new home. she names it resurrection lake and builds a wooden hut at its edge for shelter. the endermen nearby help by giving her bits of food that they find, since she has no real idea how to Stay Alive (talk about being sheltered). eventually grond arrives and they begin the deep green. :D

[yaut-jaknowit]

I just had a thought that I personally find hilarious. A yautja hunting a human in the woods, actively chasing her. But the human is a botanist who was out there studying plants and keeps calling time out on the chase to prevent him from stepping on different plants. "Don't step there that plant is endangered." "Not there either, it's vital to the local beetle population." "STOP! That one is my favourite!" And it happens enough times that the hunter eventually stops and says the yautja equivalent of "Lady, sort your fucking priorities out."

And maybe he's impressed and slightly smitten by her sheer fucking audacity but that's neither here nor there

Watch Your Step

Pairings: Vic'tao (Male Yautja) x GN!Reader

Word Count: 1616

Summary: A botanist who is exploring an alien planet when you start to get hunted by an unknown figure. But every time he gets close, she screams at him. Pleading and demanding he doesn't step on this plant or that plant. Vic'tao is confused and wants you figure out your priorities.

Author Note: When I was writing this at work, I kept on smirking and giggling to myself. My coworkers were so confused on why. If only they knew what I wrote. This was adorable to write too! Thank you for the ask.

Masterlist

Ao3

One of your scientists urged you to take him along since it was dangerous out there. This was a lone expedition you were taking though. Nothing out there would harm you. This planet was one you’ve been studying for some time. Sending all of your research back home to earth for others to analyze as well. Here has given you plenty to research about.

After leaving the safety of the small pop up research building, you followed down a path you were well acquainted with. Being on this planet for so long has taught you the surrounding area. It was beautiful and offered plenty to learn. Not only about the plants but the wildlife as well. An opportunity that you wouldn’t give up. A once in a lifetime chance you get to take.

Along the pathway that led to a spot you were meaning to visit, you saw an unlikely plant that had decided to take root. Amazed by its resilience, you took a detour and knelt down in front of the plant. Small but mighty thing. You used the device in hand to take a few photos and marked it’s spot on the map. In the pictures though, you noticed something reflective.

Confused, you lowered down the tablet. Just like in the pictures was an object reflecting sunlight off of it. You go over to the spot carefully and furrowed yours brows together.

A knife?

It was beautifully and expertly crafted. Yet, here it lay. Discarded. A confused noise left you before the weapon was picked. The knife was light despite meant for someone with larger hands. You tossed it from hand to hand, testing out the weight of it. Though it was too big for you, the craftmanship made it worthy to keep. You carefully placed it into your pack before pressing on.

Sharp eyes watched you. The hairs along your neck prickled at the unease feeling growing inside of you with each step you took.

Along the way, you felt obligated to stop right in your tracks. Frozen to the spot, your eyes scanned around you thoroughly; going over every bush and tree. Nothing seemed of visually but clearly your sense were tingling. They knew something was wrong, was amiss. You go to take a step when you felt a towering figure stand before you. A form you couldn’t see beside the distorting air. You screamed only to cry out louder as the figure become reality.

An alien!

The thing was massive. Fear shot straight up your spine to settle in the base of your skull. Smart enough, your first reaction was to turn tail and sprint away from the yellow and blue humanoid like mad man. It barks out some sort of command in what was its native tongue and gave chase.

In your haste, you abandoned the path all together and carved your own randomly. Only to recognize the area were only a special, specific plant could grow. Nowhere else on this whole planted did this plant grow. You glanced over your shoulder and gasped in horror. Your heels dug into the dirt, skidding to a stop. Both of your hands held out as if you were trying to push him back through the air.

“Watch out!” you cried and prayed he could hear you while listening to your plea. “That plant is endangered.” It’s the only one in this are with that kind of mutation. The alien jerked its massive head back with a confused noise. It had stopped in its tracks and looked down towards it feet. Right below his foot was a small, but colorful plant. Slowly, he placed his foot back down next to the plant.

When he went to make chase again, he only got two steps in. “Don’t step. That one is vital to a beetle population!” What in the world was this thing thinking? To step on either of those would greatly hurt the ecosystem. At least it had the mind to listen to you enough not to step on the plants. It stood there with one foot raise, about to take a step yet your plea stopped him. The metal mask on its face blocked out its features but you could read the confusion plain as day.

Then, the creature stepped over the plant and lunged at you. A yelp surged past your lips. Swiftly in a burst of energy, you dove out of the way. Deadly claws swiped at the area you once stood at. It crashed into a pile of rare flowers. That broke your heart. Those were special to you.

Before you had time to mourn the killed flowers, the beast was already getting back to its feet. A squeak left your lips as you turned tail and bolted into the foliage. Heat washed down the nap of your neck.

Your foot caught on a root and sent you flying forwards. Your hands scrapped against the forests floor, cuts slicing through your skin. A hiss left your lips as you cradled them to your chest, rocking back and forth.

A heavy shadow fell over you. All of your muscles tensed, head rising slightly to find the yellow and blue figure advancing towards you. Your eyes snapped wide, bloody palms shoot out to stop it. “No! Stop. That’s my favorite plant,” you cried, begging that it spares that one as well. What is it and it wanting to crush everything that’s pretty and rare?

The humanoid beast snarls and clenched it fists tightly. But it doesn’t step on the plant. It stops in front of your sitting, bruised form and towers over you. Then, it bends at the waist and gets in your face. Fearfully, you flinched away from its metal face but long, lethal fingers gripped your chin and turned you back.

“You are either really brave or extremely stupid,” his voice growls deeply behind his mask. You swallowed down the lump in your throat. “Either way…” he trails off while his other hands snatched the cross body pack you had. You opened your mouth to argue when the knife from before was pulled out. The fear from before came in as the blade glinted dangerously in the forest’s light. “This isn’t yours to take.”

He lets the knife dance between his fingers, show casting his expertise with the weapon. It fits into his larger hands perfectly, making it known this was his.

Your shoulders scrunched up. “I-I didn’t t-take it! I found it on the ground. You must had dropped it.” Oh, why were you pleading your case with an alien hunter that could easily kill you with little remorse. There was something that hung around it that breathed an air of deadliness.

A snort comes from behind the metal mask. “So it is stupidity that drives you,” he laughs and releases his hold on you to stand back up. The pack is deposited back in your lap. You slowly stood back up and put a couple of feet between the two of you. You couldn’t help the wince at the usage of your hands. The palms had countless cuts and a few splinters. Though, the mask covered his features, you could feel his eyes on you.

There was a short, awkward pause until the creature growled then grabbed one of your wrists. You gasped and tried to jerk away from him but his hold was firm. “Quit it!” he grumbled and observed the newly acquired cut son your hands palms. He keeps holding your wrist as he reached over his shoulder and pulled a small metal pack out. You watched as he used the crook of his elbow to balance the pack. The alien opens it up to reveal medicals supplies. Was he going to help you? After he just chased you and scared you to death.

A pair of tweezers were pinched in his hand. It took him some time to carefully go over your palms thoroughly to ensure there wasn’t anything left. Then, with some sort of white paste, he had cleaned and coated the skin carefully. Once he deemed you well enough, he steps back and slips the pack back into its place. The alien grunted then turned to leave, but you reached out and softly gripped his bicep. He stopped and glances down at you, head tilted to the side.

“Wait… I just wanted to ask for your name. Please?” your voice was soft and small. His piercing gaze behind his mask could be felt looking into your soul before he sighed.

“Vic’tao.” He stand there for a few more seconds than takes his leave. You watch him leave and disappear through the foliage. His steps mindful of any plant life.

You returned back to the hub. The other’s find it strange you’ve come back early but you just brush it them off and go to your room. Then, you go online and did your best to figure out what you had just faced.

Only to realize that you should’ve been dead.

[kimberly-spirits13]

Growing Up in the Justice League HC

Purely self indulgence cause I've been on this and idk why so bear with me here

I can just easily romanticize growing up in the Justice League too easily and it would be a problem

you're brought in at as a baby to be trained by Diana

Apollo brings you to her and tells her that you are an ancient being that regenerates as a new person when you die and this is the form that you have taken. As you get older, you will remember the skills and memories of your past lives but you will have to be raised with someone who can handle you

Diana just loves babies so she had no problem with that

I'd say the league has been established for some time during this point and everyone knows each other's identities in the core group

You grew up in Paris and New York being raised as a mama's child

Bruce is the closest you get to a dad and he does his best

SPOILS YOU ROTTEN

all the Barbies and Legos and whatever toys you'd want as a child

They know that you've been trained as an assassin, wizard, queen, knight, sorceress, scientist, all of these other things that can be traumatic so they just want you to have a great, decent childhood

when you start remember things they begin training you to be a hero

It's like PE and recess all in one since they're really just trying to figure out what you can do

Clark treats you like a fragile piece of glass up until you're a teen cause teenagers confuse him and he just cannot not see you as an innocent beep boppin child sometimes

Barry keeps up with the culture and knows all the songs from your favorite childhood movies and tv shows that you grew up watching on the massive computer in the watch tower when you were up there

will dance to any Barbie song since he knows them all by heart

Hal makes fun of you two but secretly enjoys the movies and is very emotionally invested in Princess and the Pauper and Diamond Castle

Diana and Bruce make sure that you have a great education and training

They are the mature parents of the group and want to make sure you're a functioning member of society

you've got a bag full of grandparents in the Kents, Allans, Princes, Alfred and they all love you to death

Alfred teaches you to make the best tea and gardening, Ma Kent teaches you to quilt and make bread, Pa Kent teaches you how to drive a tractor and farm, Hippolyta teaches you about the Greek gods and ancient cultures and how to ride horses, the Allans would have loads of board games to play and love having you over

Once Young Justice or Teen Titans comes around you don't join since you're officially a Justice League member and get along better with the adults since you were raised by them

That doesn't mean that you don't like or hang out with the kids, it's just that you have better inside jokes with Hal and Barry

When Superboy comes around and the League disappears, you were the only one not taken by the portal since you were helping out some civilians

You knew that Clark wasn't dead and you knew the League was somewhere

What kept you afloat was humor and Kon attached to that since he just needed someone that wasn't insane in his life

you probably won't develop romantic feelings for each other but it's more of a camaraderie since you were both raised in a really unorthodox way

when the league finally comes back, you say it's the happiest day of your life and rant to them that you were the only one who knew they weren't gone but no one understood it

Hal and Barry are known for having a thing for chicken tenders and make sure to instill an addiction in you for chicken tenders

Arthur (Aquaman) really really really likes them too but he doesn't realize it until he comes to the League

Clark would be the one to take you out for ice cream randomly or if you're having a bad day

the mother hen therapist type

You're America's favorite Justice Leaguer and often go viral for in uniform interactions with the League

Dancing with Flash at a Presidential ceremony because the music is too beep boopin good and you can't help but bop around a little bit

Media also loves you as a civilian and it's been suspected that you are the love child between Diana and Bruce since I mean- that would make the most sense

it's a running joke in the league

[sugarybitterness]

hidden trick - natasha romanoff x daughter!reader

word count: 1,811

a/n: guess who’s back! tbh this is very reader centric, with hints of wanda x r .. idk if ill write more for this but you never know ! anyways i hope not too rusty and that you enjoy this little fic <3 i hope to finish a work from swll soon so lets hope that happens hehe anyways! feedback always welcome and appreciated mwah

your leg bounces up and down nervously as you sit in the quinjet with bruce. at age sixteen, you are currently the youngest (and only) avenger in training. if it were up to your mother, you would be safe in the tower with maria hill but you are a valuable asset. you are the hidden trick the avengers have up their sleeve.

you were found in an abandoned hydra base by clint barton, having been left to die after the scientists had no use for you. in the two years you were with hydra, they had tried countless of experiments on you, each one seemingly failed. what they didn’t know was that one of them had worked- you were now enhanced. but your powers always had a mind of their own, and it had kept itself hidden- up until you were taken in by clint and laura.

it was one of laura’s favourite stories to tell, much to clint’s displeasure. they had been moving into a new place, a bigger one to accommodate you and the coming baby. clint had been bringing in boxes after boxes and you stuck close to laura’s side, both of you watching him do the work. as clint carried a particularly heavy set of boxes, he tripped and suddenly you were on your feet, hands shooting out with a blue magic flowing from them. clint had braced himself for the hard impact of the the ground but when he opened his eyes, he saw the boxes floating up the walkway to the house and he was held up by your magic. you slowly righted him and the three of you just stood in stunned silence before clint broke it.

“you’re telling me you could’ve used your magic for all these boxes?!”

to their credit, the bartons took your newly found powers in stride. they helped you work on training it, allowing you to use them for mundane tasks to help you get used to them. in their care, you slowly flourished. that’s when they found about your mother.

you rarely spoke about your time in hydra, but once you started speaking about your mama, it’s like you never wanted to stop. before hydra, you remember a woman with hair as red as yours. she trained you, taught you everything she could before you were taken away. you spoke about her promise, and the bartons never knew what to say- not wanting to let you lose the little hope you had left.

-

two years after natasha romanoff’s graduation ceremony, a baby was placed in her arms. she was told that it was hers, born from her egg, her own daughter. she was told to train you, and so she did. the red room had counted on her training keeping her impartial, but a mother’s instinct is something they could never smother. you were six when they had realised their mistake- and they ripped you away from her, given to hydra for their experiments. taking you away was their second mistake, because natasha ran. she spent the next three years staying hidden all while tracking you down. when she finally does, she shows up on clint’s doorstep with a proposition. in exchange for her and your safety, she will defect to shield and take down the red room.

you were the ace of the team for two main reasons, your power and your training. not only were you on the way to becoming just as skilled as natasha, your powers added an extra advantage. telekinesis and your ability to form shields stronger than the hulk as well as cap’s shield meant that you could do beyond what anyone else in the team could.

the team had argued back and forth before you were allowed to come on this mission. but you knew they needed you, especially with wanda and pietro maximoff in the picture.

“guys? is this a code green?” bruce’s voice snaps you out of your nerves, but it only grows when you hear nothing but static.

you take a deep breath, pushing yourself up from where you were sitting on the ground. “stay here, i’ll go in.”

before bruce can stop you, your hands glow a brilliant blue as you speed off to the ship. you let your eyes close momentarily as you try and remember everything natasha taught you. your eyes flutter open when you feel the hum of someone’s magic- it had to be wanda. zoning in on it, you speed up and you can only hope you are able to take her on.

you stay hidden as you walk through the ship. you hear thor’s words through your intercom and your steps speed up. a flash of red has you tensing- but the shield you had around you repels the cloud of red that surrounds you. you hear a gasp as you push your magic out, and you pull yourself and wanda into a room to your left.

wanda’s strong, you can see it in the way her power swirls a brilliant red. but her training was incomparable to yours, as thor had been the one in charge of your training. your magic pushes her against the wall, another barrier coming up to block the entrance of the room should the other maximoff decide to appear.

the red smoke disappears and you have to stop the gasp that falls from your lips. you knew from the moment maria pulled up their photos that the twins were the ones you had met all those years ago. but seeing her in person sucks the wind out of you. it seems that wanda recognises you too as she stops struggling against your magic.

you both pause as you regard each other, the sounds of the fight around you growing fainter. you break the silence first.

“hi wanda.”your voice is shaky and you have to resist the urge to drop your magic just to hug her. the twins had been the only reason you survived in hydra. their presence had been the biggest comfort through all the pain the scientists put you through day after day.

“im sorry.” it comes out as almost a whisper, and you see the way wanda’s eyes glisten “we should’ve fought harder for you. to take you along. we thought..”

the unsaid words hang in the air. you swallow thickly.

“why are you working for them? did they-” wanda’s eyes harden as her next words spill out “did they take you too? did they use you? experiment on you?”

you shake your head, “no. they saved me- the archer, he found me and took me in. my magic was from one of the experiments they did, it just didn’t become active til after.”

wanda regards you quietly, and you feel a bead of sweat trickle down the back of your neck. it’s now or never.

“come with us. the both of you, please. ultron he.. he wants to destroy the world, not save it. please, don’t fall for it. you can still walk away.” your voice is almost pleading.

“if ultron can’t tell the difference between saving the world and destroying it- where do you think he gets that? why would i work with him.” she hisses, and you remember the way you comforted her after her nightmares. the way she would mumble in her sleep, begging tony stark to spare her and her brother from death.

“because you are better than him. if tony stark can’t tell the difference- you can. you can make the choice.”

wanda sees your eyes glow and you pull pietro into the room, your magic swirling around him. you look at the both of them, and wanda is captivated at the way your power flows around you, surrounding you in a soft glow.

“i know you were dealt shitty cards. but you choose the life you want to lead at the end of the day.” you know that you’re making progress, however small, because not once has wanda tried to use her powers on you. “so please, make the better choice here. help us stop ultron.”

the twins look at each other, and you watch carefully. pietro turns to you then, speaking to you for the first time.

“you’ve grown up well.” your lips stretch into a soft smile. “but i don’t want to work with tony stark.”

“then don’t. think of it as working with me, with the others.” you think of the rest of your team, and you can only hope that they made it out safe. or that natasha hadn’t gone full mama bear mode when she realised you’re not on the quinjet. “tony stark is doing his best to right his wrongs and i know he has a long way to go. but right now this is beyond him.”

the twins share another glance and you can see pietro sigh. you got them.

the walk to the quinjet was silent, the twins in front of you and your magic on the standby. you see a figure run towards you and you place a hand on wanda’s shoulder when you see her hands raise almost instinctively. you step in front of the twins and natasha engulfs you in a fierce hug.

she pulls away and inspects you, her warm hand on your cheek as she looks for any injuries before scanning the rest of your body. when she decides you’re safe, she breaths a sigh of relief. her gaze shifts to behind you where the twins are still standing. you see the rest of the team come out and steve speaks first.

“he got away with the vibranium. we don’t know where he went,” he looks to the twins “i don’t suppose you two have any idea what he plans to do with the vibranium?”

when the twins shake their head, tony lets out a scoff and the twins immediately tense up.

“cut it out stark.” the words tumble from your lips before you can stop them and he looks at you incredulously.

“you do realise they could still be in cahoots with him right? dont you find it a little strange?” tony raises a brow at you and you roll your eyes. the rest of the team watches you quietly, natasha reaching out to rub your arm.

“they’re on our side now, and i’m not gonna let your ego drive them away. i trust them and if you don’t then suck it up.” you pause before adding, “if they go, i go. if you choose to not have them come with us when we do find ultron you won’t have me either.”

you see the way tony flinches and you knew you hit a nerve. you feel a little guilty, tony had been good to you over the years. but he also created a robot that wants to destroy the world and now that the twins are back, you don’t want to lose them again.

[zepskies]

Break Me Down - Part 16

Pairing: Soldier Boy/Ben x Female Reader

Summary: You’re a private investigator by trade, but now you happily sit at a desk — leading a surveillance team at Supe Affairs. After managing to end Homelander in New York, Soldier Boy escapes custody. You are recruited for the manhunt, joining Butcher’s team.

Truly, you joined the S.A. for the right reasons. But after you become his accidental hostage, Soldier Boy will break down every single one of them…

💚 Break Me Down Masterlist

AN: *Deep inhale, deeper exhale* Okay. You ready? 

Word Count: 5,800 Tags/Warnings: Blood and peril, violence, angst, and yet another cliffhanger. (Last one, I promise!) 

Part 16: Soldier Boy

You fled with Jon, Frank, and Loco to escape the bowels of Vought Tower. 

You all were lucky that the Security & Surveillance room hadn’t been caught in the blast, but on the monitors you had seen it carve through the center of the building like a beam of light. 

You could freak out about that later though. Now you were in flight mode, just trying to survive and evade falling debris and unsteady ground. 

Frank kicked through a locked door on the way to the nearest stairwell. You and Jon made it through, but a huge chunk of debris fell, cutting Loco off from the rest of you. 

You gasped and went to the doorway, trying to see if you could help push it out of the way. But more of the ceiling was still falling and threatened to crush you. Frank pulled you back, even though you knew he was worried too.

“Just go!” Loco said. “I’ll find another way out.”

“Head east,” Jon said. “There’s another stairwell by Human Resources.”

“Vought HR. What a fucking joke,” you couldn’t help but quip. But after Loco took off, you grabbed Frank’s arm and headed down the hall. You could see the “EXIT” sign up ahead. It led to a gray door, where several people were fleeing down the stairs. 

Including Dr. Tonya Baker and three of her guards. 

You and Frank stopped her before the door with your guns raised. Frank killed each guard with precision, while you kept your gun aimed on the good doctor. She raised her hand in wide-eyed surrender, but her other hand held a briefcase. You gestured to it with your gun.

“What’s that? Open it up,” you said. When the doctor hesitated, you pointed the gun back in her face. “Now.”

Gritting her teeth, she obliged you by entering the code that would unlock the briefcase. Jon took it from her and showed you its contents.

There were several files and blue vials of what you assumed were Compound V. However, you noticed three small white containers that weren’t like the rest. They were labeled: Soldier Boy. 

“What are these?” you asked. Dr. Baker was tight-lipped, until you pressed the gun between her eyes. 

“DNA samples,” she answered reluctantly. Your face fell, then hardened into a glare. 

“Well, fuck that,” you said.

With your gun trained on the doctor, you grabbed a glass container and smashed it to the ground, making her flinch. Stale-smelling yellow liquid splattered on the floor, and you realized then what kind of “sample” it must’ve been. Jon grimaced; some of it had splashed onto his shoes.

“Thank you,” he groused. 

“Oh, I’m not done,” you said. And you did the same to the last two containers. You took the briefcase from your father and gave it to Frank. “Take this and Madam Fritz here to the S.A.”

“What are you about to do?” Frank asked, though he took the briefcase from you (and laid a firm hand on Dr. Baker’s shoulder). “I don’t like that damn look in your eye.”

You turned to the scientist. “Did you see anyone else still in the building?”

“A few,” she admitted. “Mostly in the lower floors. Admin, Customer Service, R&D.”

Your eyes flew wide in alarm. Yvette, your friend who worked in Customer Service. She could be trapped down there…

Jon turned to you with a frown. “The only way they’re getting out is when the Fire Department comes to collect the bodies.”

You glared back and raised your gun at him next. 

“Guess who’s going to help me get them out?” You glanced at Frank, who didn’t look pleased. “Don’t make that face. I’ll be fine.”

“The tower’s literally falling apart as we speak!” Jon exclaimed. He tried to push your gun away from his face, but you held it aloft. 

“Move your ass or catch a bullet,” you snapped. “We’re going to Customer Service first.”

Ben continued to fight Black Noir.

He still wanted to cave in Stan Edgar’s skull, and it had the added benefit of giving Butcher and his team the cover they needed to try and escape the tower. That wasn’t in his mind though. He was focused on his two targets. 

He’d grabbed a discarded gun from the floor when he’d gotten back up to his feet. He now used it to shoot Stan in the leg, to stop him from fleeing. The man cried out and went down hard on the newly installed tile. 

Ben raised the gun again to shoot him between the eyes, but Noir stopped him. He grabbed Ben’s arm and hurled him over his shoulder. He landed in the broken shambles of Stan’s desk, and the impact further destabilized the top floor of the building. 

Parts of the ceiling had already begun to break off, and Stan noticed. He tried to drag himself towards the door while Soldier Boy was distracted. Blood trailed after his bleeding leg, but he was determined, fighting for his life. 

In fact, he almost made it. 

But just when he was a mere three feet from the door, a massive panel of the ceiling (along with a silver light fixture), crashed down over him. If the concrete hadn’t crushed his bones, the ceiling light would’ve impaled him—right through his chest. 

Ben watched the scene from where he half-lay on the ground in the rubble. His eyes marginally widened, but then his mouth quirked in satisfaction. One down…

His hand closed over a metal rod, yanking it from a piece of rock and wood, and he got to his feet. When Noir flew at him again, Ben lodged the metal rod deep into his exposed ear. If it had worked for Maeve on Homelander, he’d figured it could work on Noir.

And it did. The supe remained mute, expressionless, but the projectile lodged into his ear canal still made him wince. He clawed at it with shaking hands, trying to get it out. Ben didn’t give him a chance—he drop-kicked the other supe into the large glass window.

They’d given this clone Homelander’s strength, but forgot to give him flight, it seemed. Because the supe fell and kept falling off the side of the tower. 

Ben stood there in the center of the destroyed room. 

He panted for breath, only then did he notice his own fatigue. His limbs felt heavy, and it nearly buckled his knees. He forced himself to stay upright. Ben would never admit it, but whatever that gun had blasted him with, it did a number on him. 

Ignoring how his hand shook, he raised it to his ear. 

“Stan Edgar’s dead,” he said. “So is Noir, probably. I’m headed down.”

Hughie helped Butcher to the van in the garage, but he stopped short. An ex-military-looking guy was walking toward him with a briefcase in hand, and leading a doctor in a lab coat with the other. 

“It’s you!” M.M. recognized him with a sharpening gaze. “From the airport. You’re one of Soldier Boy’s men.”

Frank gave the doctor over to M.M., informing them that you had asked him to put Dr. Baker into custody. At the mention of your name, Annie’s eyes widened.

“Oh my God, she’s still in there!” she said. She turned on her comm and called your name. “Where the hell are you?”

“Uh…little busy at the moment,” you replied. 

Predictably, Soldier Boy got on the line next. 

“What? Where the fuck are you?”

Annie grimaced at the man’s tone. But she marveled, because she could hear the depths of his worry for you.

“Still in the tower. Some people are trapped on the second floor,” you replied. Soldier Boy’s growl of frustration came through. 

“Where are you exactly?” he demanded.

“Admin department, second floor,” you told Ben. You were prying open the door to the former when the ground beneath your feet trembled. “Oh shit!”

You needed both hands to stabilize yourself against the wall, but it was Jon who helped you stay upright. And he finished what you started, wrenching open the door and letting out a crowd of desperate people clamoring to get out. 

Once most of them passed, you and Jon slipped inside the large Administration office. Inside were various cubicles, conference rooms, and internal offices, one of which was Customer Service. That was your goal as you jogged through the halls. Jon fell into step with you.

“Look,” Jon began. “Everything I did—”

“I don’t want to hear it,” you said sharply. “I don’t have time for a meaningless heart-to-heart with you.”

You called out for Yvette, or anyone still trapped inside one of the offices. You heard a distant voice respond, and you followed it. You were led all the way to the end of the hall, where a chunk of debris had fallen outside of a glass office door. Inside was a group of about ten people.

“Okay, hold on!” you told them. “Stand back from the door.”

You and your father worked to clear the debris. But he looked up at you with something you’d never seen before in his eyes, though you refused to acknowledge it now. 

“When I came back from Vietnam, I saw what this country had become. How these asshole supes had taken over the goddamn world,” Jon said, though it was labored between bouts of lifting. 

He briefly grasped at his chest in pain. And you remembered then that Ben had broken at least his arm and collarbone. He even wore a cast on his forearm, which you finally noticed beneath his jacket sleeve. 

“You were different from your sister. Even at a young age, I saw that spark of fire in you. Hardheaded, even at the best of times,” he said, with a flicker of a smile. “I just wanted to make sure you were strong enough to handle this snake pit of a fucking world.”

He paused to look up at you. “But you were strong in spite of me.”

You had to stop and catch your breath. As his words registered, tears began to burn in your eyes. But you refused to let them fall. Nor did you respond.

Once the doorway was clear, you were able to open the door and let the people out. The last of them was Yvette, and her son Devon.

“Oh my God,” she gasped when she saw you. Tears fell from the corners of her eyes as she pulled you into a hug, and you returned it. 

“Are you okay?” you asked in relief. She tried and failed at a smile. Still weeping, she took her eight-year-old son’s hand and guided him out along with her. 

“Well, now we are. What are you doing here?”

“I’ll explain later. Come on,” you said. You flashed Devon a smile and reached out your hand. “Hey, Devon. Let’s go, buddy.”

He was crying, but he nodded and grabbed your hand too. 

“He had a stomachache,” Yvette whispered to you. “I pulled him out of school early. I shouldn’t have—”

“It’s okay, we’re getting out,” you told her. Jon brought up the rear to make sure you all made it out of the office unit safely. 

You made it down to the gift shop on the first floor, but a small crowd had formed at the back exit to the garage—which by now, was the only safe route out of the tower. The lobby was completely destroyed. 

The problem was, the garage exit was now blocked by debris as well.

“All right,” Jon sighed. “There’s another way, through the custodian entrance—”

Three shots rang out. You ducked and took Yvette with you, but you choked on a gasp when you looked back…

Jon had a gloved fist punched through his chest cavity. 

You watched with wide eyes as Black Noir revoked his arm from your father’s body with a wet, horrific sound. You gasped when Jon fell to his knees.

But to your shock, the supe glanced right past you, Yvette, and Devon. His pale gray eyes focused on only the men in the room. He then strode forward and began picking them off one by one.

You shakily pointed out a large aisle of A-Train merchandise for your friend to hide behind. Yvette pulled her son in that direction, while you went to your father where he laid on the ground. 

With difficulty, you rolled him onto his back. You then laid a hand on his shoulder, while the other hovered over his chest. Blood pooled through the gaping chasm in his Vought-issued black jacket. 

Your lower lip trembled, and you realized then that you were crying as he struggled for breath. Even after everything he’d done to you—to your family—it still hurt you to see him like this…to know that he was dying. 

And there was no time. Not to save him, or for resolution…

“Dad,” you tried, but he stopped you. His brows were furrowed with pain, but he gripped your wrist tight. 

“Run,” he said. He held on for a moment or two longer, but when the light faded from his eyes, you closed yours. 

You struggled against a sob. His grip eased from your wrist, and you laid his hand to rest on the ground. 

Protect yourself, your sister’s voice reminded you. You couldn’t stay out in the open like this. Black Noir had finished with the men, and now was starting in on the rest of the survivors. It seemed that without a handler, the clone had no orders to fulfill except his own. 

With a ragged breath, you retrieved the gun from your belt and had to leave your father behind. 

You joined Yvette and Devon behind the A-Train aisle and warned them with a finger over your lips to stay quiet. You pressed a shaking finger to the comm in your ear. 

“Ben, where are you?” you asked. Maybe he heard the tremor in your voice, because you certainly read the concern in his.

“You’re not on the second floor. Where are you?”

You closed your eyes for a beat. “On the first floor. The garage is blocked and Noir has us bottlenecked.”

“I’m almost there. Just stay put,” Ben said. His tone was firm, and it reassured you. You nodded, despite the fact that he couldn’t see you. 

“Yeah, not going anywhere in a hurry,” you whispered.

You could hear the agonized screams of people dying in the room, but you knew you couldn’t do anything about it. Tears slipped down your cheeks as you looked back at your father’s body on the cold ground. But with a determined breath, you looked at Yvette and Devon, who were clearly terrified. 

You cocked your gun and nodded at them to move forward down the aisle, but to stay low to the ground. The custodian entrance was on the first floor, but it was in the east wing of the tower. You were in the west wing. The only feasible way out was through the blocked garage exit, just up ahead. 

But so was Black Noir. The only thing you could do was stay alive long enough for Ben to find you. Because there was no way you could exit the room the way you came without Noir spotting you. 

Fuck. This wasn’t going to be easy. And all the while, the tower could come crashing down at any moment. The tremors in the walls and in the ground were increasing with every minute as pieces of the floor above continued to fall. 

A nightmare, for which you’d surely need copious amounts of therapy, if you survived this. 

No sooner had that thought filtered through your mind, when a katana flashed above your head, decapitating a cardboard cutout of The Deep. Yvette and Devon yelped in fright, but you grabbed them and shoved them forward into a sprint down the aisle with your head bowed. 

Bullets ripped after you, into the ground and the rows of merch. You turned a corner and stopped behind a large metal shelf lined with Queen Maeve plushies. 

But the three of you screamed when the katana ripped through the shelf, and one of the unfortunate plushies. 

You all stumbled into the open, where Noir soon found you. He raised his katana level with your face, and your eyes grew wide. But before the blade could slice into you, Noir was yanked back and thrown across the room, into the far wall with a heavy impact. He recovered, of course, but he paused.

Because Soldier Boy now stood between him and his targets. 

You looked up at Ben with relieved tears in your eyes—both for him saving your life, and just at the sight of him. He mostly looked all right, if a bit worse for wear. You knew you were much the same, dusty, bruised, and tearful. 

He flashed you a quirk of a smile. 

“Go, get out of here,” he said. 

“We can’t,” you started to say, but an explosion behind you made you flinch. You turned to see that the debris covering the garage exit had been cleared. It its place was M.M., Annie, Kimiko, and Frenchie, the latter waving a spare stick of dynamite. You smirked, even though your eyes glittered with unshed tears. 

“Okay, let’s go!” You reached for Devon and helped Yvette pick him up.

However, the dynamite blast had ruined what small semblance of stability was left in the ground floor. The ceiling began to fall—first near the exit, then right behind you, cutting you off from Ben. You gasped, but you didn’t have time to call out to him. 

And you heard M.M. and Annie calling out to you. All you could do was push Yvette forward, then drag her back when a massive chunk of concrete nearly fell on her and her son. 

But that’s when you lost your footing, and your balance, tipping backwards with a halting shriek.

You were trapped. Ben knew it the moment the wall of debris cut you off from him. He heard your voice, your scream, but he knew he couldn’t help you until he finished off Noir, for the last time. 

“All right, Earving. Let’s make this quick,” Ben said. “I don’t know if there’s any part of you left in there, but this would be a good fucking time to come out with some last words.”

The gray-eyed supe just stared back at him. His katana was drawn, and he slowly slid back into a crouched stance. Ben’s body tensed as well. The effects of Noir’s gun were still making his hands shake, but Ben clenched them into fists. He couldn’t afford weakness right now. 

So when Noir ran forward, Ben waited for the supe to come to him. He dodged the swipe of the blade, and threw out smart punches and combinations that started to push Noir back.

The blade came down again, but Ben blocked it with his shield. It cut through the top of it. But Ben used the momentary pause to kick Noir straight in the chest. He tore the blade from his shield and threw it away. Then he tossed his shield like a fatal frisbee. 

The supe narrowly dodged it, but he couldn’t escape Ben grappling him to the ground. He put all his energy into lighting the nuclear fuse in his chest. 

It was hard to keep it steady after the destabilizing gun, but no matter how Noir thrashed, Ben squeezed around his neck with all his might to keep him pinned. With a ragged yell, a flash of power escaped him. It fried through Noir’s suit, though it only lightly burned his skin. 

When the power ran its course, Noir lost his strength. The clone was now powerless. 

Ben grabbed a knife from the other supe’s belt, and he was able to break skin, stabbing into the center of the man’s chest. He didn’t let go until the clone’s gray eyes were truly lifeless.

Ben drew in ragged breaths. Gathering his strength, he pushed off of Noir and managed, with difficulty, back onto his feet. He felt satisfied, but maybe there was a bitter tinge to it. This thing had been created with Homelander’s DNA, and ultimately, Homelander had been a product of Soldier Boy.

Of Ben himself. 

He knew it wasn’t his fault. That lay dead with Stan. But Ben knew that he’d wasted a lot of time. For all his bravado, he had let himself be manipulated and controlled. For fame and money and women, and everything else that came with that.  

“Soldier Boy! Are you there?” he heard your friend call out. It broke him out of the haze of his exhaustion. He shook his head sharply to focus. 

He called back for you, nearing the wall of debris, but you didn’t answer. He was able to break some of it away, enough that he was finally able to see Yvette’s worried face. 

“Where is she?” he asked. A coil of dread stirred in the pit of his stomach. 

“She’s hurt,” said Yvette. 

The coil tightened, as did Ben’s jaw. 

“All right, stand back,” he ordered. He grabbed his discarded shield and held it aloft. 

“Okay, go ahead!” she said. 

He used his shield like a battering ram to get through the pile of wood and concrete. It loosened even more of the trembling ceiling and plunged the entire clearing with dust. Ben waved a hand through it, coughing as he stepped inside. He found Yvette and her son, but his eyes were drawn to you.

You’d fallen on your back, and a slab of concrete was pinning your leg. He moved it with a grunt, and it fell to the ground with a heavy impact. He examined your leg next; he was no doctor, but he could assume it was probably broken under the weight of concrete. 

Okay. Doctors could fix a fucking leg, he reasoned. He was more concerned about your head. Had you hit it on the way down, or had you smacked it on the hard tile when you landed?

Your hair was loose, and he slid careful fingers through it. He felt a small knot forming behind your head. He touched your pale cheek…

And then he saw it. 

You weren’t lying entirely on the ground. You’d fallen on a small pile of rubble, and sticking out an inch below your shoulder was a thick piece of rebar.

Fuck, he thought. Your pulse at your neck was still beating under the pads of his fingers. 

But then, he paused. He was starting to hear something, a deeper tremor than the occasional rubble falling from the ceiling. 

“Are you guys okay?” M.M. called. With all the debris, he couldn’t quite get to you all. But maybe he could find a hole underneath the rubble to squeeze you out of. 

“The tower’s coming down!” Ben barked. 

“Yeah, that’s why we need to get the fuck out of here,” M.M. replied.

“No, the whole fucking thing. It’s coming down now!” Ben said. Yvette grabbed her son and huddled closer to you and Ben. He quickly stood and surveyed his surroundings in search of a larger shield. 

The only thing in reach was a large metal shelf. It would have to do. 

He grabbed it and ran back to you, just in time for the world to start falling. 

Ben blinked dust and plaster out of his eyes and coughed it out of his mouth. He was holding God knew how much of the tower on his back. The metal groves of the shelf were digging into his spine and between his shoulder blades. 

When his vision cleared, he saw that Yvette was knocked out, bleeding from a cut on her temple. Maybe a stray rock had hit her. 

Her son seemed all right though, if covered in dust. 

“You okay, kid?” Ben asked. He nodded shakily, his eyes wide like he couldn’t believe he was still alive. Ben could understand that.

However, you were the one he was worried about. He called your name, but you didn’t respond. Ben looked up at the kid. 

“Shake her a little, would ya? Not hard.”

The kid nodded, biting his lip. He gently shook your arm, calling your name. Eventually you coughed and opened your eyes on a moan of pain. Ben let out a short, relieved breath.

“Hey…how you doin’?”

“Hurts to breathe,” you admitted, coughing up more dust. But you cried out when trying to get up disturbed your shoulder. “What…?”

“Don’t move,” he warned you. “You’re uh…you’re pinned down.” 

With trembling lips, you turned your head and saw what held you—the rebar protruding just beneath your shoulder. You let out a ragged breath. 

An inch lower and it would’ve been your heart. 

The problem was, you were sure you would bleed out anyway the moment you were freed from the rebar. 

“Don’t look at it,” Ben said firmly. “Look at me.”

You blinked up at him with watery eyes. You finally realized that he was kneeling, holding up a massive shelf to cover all four of you. 

“Oh my God. Are you okay?” you asked. A tear streamed down the side of your face. 

Ben nodded. Really, it was taking all the strength he had left to hold up this piece of shit, but he wasn’t about to let you know that. 

“I can do this all fucking day,” he said with a smirk. “But maybe check in with your friends so we can get the hell out of here.”

Letting out another shaky breath, you raised the hand opposite to your pinned shoulder and pressed a finger to the comm in your ear. 

“Are you guys still there? Did anyone make it out?” you asked.

For a moment, it was silent. You looked over at Devon, who was quietly crying. You reached out your free hand to him, even if it made more blood weep from your shoulder. He grabbed your hand, and you gave his a comforting squeeze. 

“It’s okay, Dev. We’re getting out soon,” you tried to sooth him. Devon nodded and squeezed your hand back. 

Ben watched the exchange with interest. You seemed to have a good way with kids…

“Hello?” you repeated into the comm. Your voice was weak and raspy, even to your own ears. You released your shaking hand back to the ground. “No one’s answering…where’s Yvette?”

“Knocked out for a bit, but she looks fine,” said Ben, nodding to where your friend was lying on the ground. 

Though he realized he was starting to lose you when your eyes closed. 

“Hey,” he barked. “Stay with me.”

The near shout forced you to open your eyes, but they were already starting to droop. Ben finally noticed the blood slipping away from you, starting to pool beneath your arm. 

“I’m awake, just resting my eyes,” you said. Not very convincing. 

Ben experimentally lowered an arm from supporting the shelf. He moved slow, and he heard shifting rubble above him, but he managed to balance the shelf on just his back. He grit his teeth at the strain.

Even for him, the weight was immense. He didn’t know how long they could wait for someone to get to them. But he could see the kid was frozen with fear.

“You’re gonna be fine, all right?” Ben said.

The kid was tearful, but he nodded.

“What’s your name?” Ben asked.

“Devon.”

“All right, Devon. You know who I am?”

“…Soldier Boy,” the kid replied in a small voice. His large brown eyes were filled with tears as he sniffed. His short hair and dark tan skin were covered with dust, so Ben could see the path of his tears down his cheeks and neck. He gave Devon an attempt at a smile and nodded. 

“That’s right.”

Finally, some of the debris near Yvette cleared a small hole above the ground, revealing Kimiko. Her eyes widened with excitement, her mouth falling open in a quiet gasp. She smiled and ducked her head back out. Ben frowned in confusion as he heard the French guy and some of the others babbling. 

“Hello?” he snapped. “The fuck is going on out there?” 

M.M. peered in next and took in the four of you with relief. He met Ben’s gaze.

“They’ll need a stretcher,” Ben said, gesturing at you and Yvette. “And a medic.”

“Okay, we’re gonna see if we can open this hole a bit wider,” M.M. said. He frowned at the narrow space inside. “It’s gonna be hard to get a stretcher in here.”

“Just get it done,” Ben said, beginning to lose his patience. He was carrying the tower on his back, and you were fading before his eyes. 

M.M. nodded and was gone. But he returned soon after with Kimiko, and both worked together to open the hold wider without dislodging more debris. Once they had a big enough hole, M.M. peered in.

“Okay, who’s first?”

“She is,” Ben said, nodding down at you. “Bring the stretcher.”

Once again, M.M. disappeared.

Ben looked over at Devon. 

“She’s hurt bad. We’re going to get her out first,” Ben said, gesturing at you. “I’m going to need you to hold her down, by her shoulders. After I take out the rebar, you’re going to put pressure on the wound. Got it?”

Devon looked unsure. 

“Got it?” Ben repeated. More tears slid down the boy’s cheeks as he shook his head.

“Listen, you little sh—” Ben started to snap in irritation.

But at the last moment, he stopped himself. He remembered how you were with the kid earlier, tried to think of what you might say right about now. 

“Uh, you can do this,” he said, gruff and a bit awkward. 

“I don’t want to hurt her,” Devon said in a small voice. 

At that, annoyance slowly drained out of Ben. He reached out and grasped the kid’s shoulder, firm, but gentle.

“You won’t. You’re going to help her,” he said. “Just hold her down, and I’ll do the rest. All right?”

He hesitated, but Devon nodded and wiped his face dry. 

“Good man,” Ben nodded. “Now come on, over here.”

Devon moved so that he was behind you, holding your shoulders down.

You grimaced and made a sound of pain. But Ben was quick; he braced your shoulder with one hand and slid the rebar out with the other. He forced himself to remain stoic at your resulting screech of agony. 

But Devon couldn’t. His tears came down anew, and he immediately released your shoulders. Ben moved you more fully onto the ground and instructed Devon to put pressure on the wound, leaning his body weight into it. 

“Stay awake,” Ben warned you. He knew you were having a hard time, and tears streamed from the corners of your eyes, onto the ground below. You forced your eyes to open, so you could look up at him.

“Ben,” you tried, but if this was going to be an if I die speech, then he didn’t want to fucking hear it.

“Don’t talk,” he said sternly. “Just keep breathing.”

“Listen,” you insisted. With difficulty, you grabbed onto the metal embellishments on his suit, finding purchase on his chest. 

“You are strong. You can do anything you want, you know,” you said, smiling wryly. “Including, being a better man.” 

Ben looked down at you with knitted brows. Sweat slipped down his forehead, but he didn’t know what to say to you. 

Until you let go of his suit, and your eyes started to close. 

“Fuck. Stay awake, damn it!” he snapped. It was an effort, but you opened your eyes. 

Then Yvette started to rouse, raising a hand to her aching head. 

“Oh, thanks for joining us,” Ben remarked, unable to disguise most of his snark. Devon helped her sit properly. 

When she saw you, paler than ever, she gasped and took over putting pressure on your wound. 

M.M. then finally returned with the stretcher. He beckoned Devon out first.

“Come on, little man.”

Ben opened his mouth to snap a protest, but M.M. shook his head. 

“It’s too narrow. They need to come out first to make room.”

Devon eyed the jagged concrete around the hole they’d created. He seemed scared to attempt taking M.M.’s hand to leave. 

He looked back at Yvette, who encouraged him forward. But he also looked over at Ben. 

He was frankly surprised the kid was looking to him for reassurance. Again, he thought of what you’d said to Devon earlier. 

“It’s okay,” Ben said. “You’re going home today. Trust me, son.” 

Devon stared at his face for a moment, and nodded tearfully. 

When M.M. was eventually able to take the boy’s hand, he met Ben’s gaze, which was mostly covered by stoicism. 

Devon made it out of the cave, followed by Yvette. While she climbed out, Ben took over putting pressure on your wound, even though it made the shelf creak. He grunted against the pressure on his back. 

Then M.M. finally slipped in the stretcher. Ben roused you by tapping on your cheek. He accidentally left a smudge of your own blood there.

“Come on, baby doll. Work with me here,” he muttered. You whimpered in response.  

You were so pale, but you were fighting to keep your eyes open. You’re a fighter, Ben reminded himself, as he helped M.M. maneuver you onto the stretcher.

“See you later, sweetheart,” he said.

“Wait,” you croaked. “Wait…how’re you getting out?” 

Ben quirked a smile. 

“I’m right behind you.” But he then glared up at M.M. “Hurry the fuck up. She’s still bleeding out.”

M.M. shot him a dark look, but he ignored Ben in order to help you. After you were taken out on the stretcher, Annie called out to him. 

“The fire department’s about to come in with pressure bags, so you can drop the shelf,” she said.  

True to her word, Ben started to hear a sharp whirring—the sound of something inflating. 

But as soon as they started, the ground shook. 

And the walls once again began to collapse around him. 

AN: *cowers in the corner* Please don't hate me! I promise, you're going to like the ultimate outcome of the next chapter (despite the teaser lol).

But I would still love to hear your thoughts on this one! What did you think of Jon's ultimate fate? How did you like Ben literally holding up the Tower?

(And did you catch the small Captain America reference? 😏)

**Side note: I hope you all enjoyed "Love Actually"! It's a far cry from where we are right now in BMD world lol...

Next Time:

Part of him refused to believe it had gotten to this. 

And the reality, that this was his fault. He’d caused the blast that destroyed the tower. His fault he hadn’t gotten to you sooner.

“You are the reason I needed saving,” you’d told him once. 

You were right then, and it still held up now. 

So, no…he wouldn’t go in there, into your room. The truth was, he couldn’t. 

Keep Reading: PART 17

Soldier Boy Masterlist

Main Masterlist

Series Tag List:

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@xoxovienna @katherineann83 @lollag0w0 @globetrotter28 @nancymcl @ashbatz @secretdreamlandmentality @kristophalis @wonderland2022 @emily-winchester @shelh93 @sl33pylilbunny @spoonmynoodle @chernayawidow

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@spnfamily-j2 @im-a-slut-for-fluff @lacilou @venicesem @mimaria420 @beautiful-life-coded @tearsfortheyouth @agalliasi @chriszgirl92

[fanficshiddles]

Hidden Feelings, One Shot

Thank you for the prompt: glitterylokislut Loki working with avengers. y/n and thor are friends and loki is jealous. Loki and Y/n go on mission with thor/others. Everyone is injuried. Loki upset he couldnt save y/n. He recovers first, realizes shes mortal, she nearly dies, and he confesses to thor.

-

You were looking forward to the mission you were heading out on with the rest of the team. It wasn’t often you all went together, never mind getting to go on a mission in the first place.

The team all classed you as the baby of the team, they wanted to protect you and shield you as much as they could. Though there was no denying your skills were far too useful to just hide away in the tower all the time, doing nothing.

You were incredibly sneaky, very light on your feet and agile. You were able to get into places that many couldn’t, able to get away quick, too. You were also quick to come up with comebacks if you were ever caught, being able to talk yourself out of most situations. While you were just a mortal, the team all valued you just the same as every other member.

Or mostly, anyway. There was one team member you couldn’t quite get a grasp on. Loki. The God of Mischief.

You were always kind and polite to everyone, Loki included. While you conversed with him, he was often colder towards you, rarely made much conversation with you unless you were the one to initiate it. Even then, it would be brief and he’d only give short answers.

Though you didn’t think you’d ever given him a reason to hate you, you felt like he at least disliked you. He’d often be staring at you though, too. You’d feel like you were being watched and a quick glance around the room would confirm that Loki was staring at you intently, though he’d look away whenever you caught his eye.

Thor told you that he was like that with most people, though he knew himself that his brother was a bit odder around you. Though Thor didn’t want to admit that to you, not wanting you to feel bad over his brother just being weird.

You were pretty close with Thor, you always joked together and had a lot of playful banter.

‘So, what’s the plan of attack?’ Thor asked everyone as the jet began to descend on its destination.

‘There are civilian hostages at risk, we need to get them to safety. Apparently, there’s Hydra agents all around the perimeter. We need to get a better visual on what’s going on and where the hostages are. If we go in all guns blazing, the civilians we are trying to rescue might be hurt.’ Stark said firmly.

‘How did you even find out about the civilians in trouble? Why are they in a Hydra base in the first place?’ You asked with a frown.

‘We had a tip off from an unknown source, a video was sent of two hostages tied up. It was sent to their family, with a list of demands in return for their safety.’ Tony said.

‘What sort of demands?’ Natasha asked.

Tony shrugged. ‘I wasn’t told much details. Just that it’s a family of scientists. So, I assume something to help aid Hydra in their plans going forward.’

‘I have a bad feeling about this. We’re going in essentially blind, we don’t even know enough about these so-called hostages apart from what they look like.’ Loki hissed.

‘That’s why we have her.’ Tony pointed at you with a grin.

You rolled your eyes and nodded. ‘Yeah, yeah. I get it. I sneak in and work out the layout and what’s going on, then report back to you guys. Right?’ You said knowingly.

‘Exactly.’ Tony clapped his hands together as the jet landed outside the perimeter of the Hydra base.

Loki looked irritated as his jaw clenched, which you noticed. You figured it was because Tony had been bigging you up a lot lately. Saying you were like their secret weapon.

‘Right, once inside see if you can find where the hostages are being kept. Report back and we will work our way in.’ Tony said to you.

You nodded and was about to head into the trees, when someone grabbed your arm. You turned around, surprised to see it was Loki that had a grip on you.

‘What’s wrong?’ You frowned at him. This was the first time he’d ever actually touched you.

Loki stared at you hard for a moment, saying nothing. Then he looked to the side, looking a bit irritated again before looking back at you intently.

‘I have a bad feeling. Just… be careful.’ He said as if it pained him to do so.

You frowned in confusion. It wasn’t like him to warn you like that.

‘I will.’ You nodded, once you got over your initial surprise.

Loki nodded.

‘Uh… you need to let me go or I won’t be going anywhere?’ You said awkwardly as you glanced at his hand, still gripping onto your arm.

‘Right. Yes.’ He retracted his hand quickly like it had been burned.

As you made your way through the trees towards the base, you had a weird unsettled feeling in your stomach. What was that about? Loki never took an interest in your safety like that before. Then again, you’d never really been in much danger before. The missions had always gone smoothly. Would this one be different? He certainly seemed a little off, in comparison to usual.

When you got closer to the base, you hid behind a pile of boulders to take in the sight. There was a lot of guards by the door, and on the roof of the building. You noticed them suddenly talking over comms, but then you also noticed someone standing by a large window at the side of the building, it looked an awful lot like one of the hostages you were apparently saving. Though they didn’t look to be tied up, or in any kind of distress for that matter. It looked like they were ordering about a few of the agents…

‘Something’s not right.’ You frowned.

Suddenly there was a large group of Hydra agents that went running out of the base, and headed directly for where the jet was with your team members. You quickly realised this was a set up.

‘Shit.’ You turned and began running as fast as you could back to the jet, hoping you’d get there before the agents.

As you were running, you heard the almighty roar from the Hulk. Then gun shots being fired, plus shouting and screaming. You got closer, but the last thing you remembered was seeing Loki and Thor fighting back-to-back, Loki glanced over in your direction and you saw relief on his face, that quickly turned to horror as he looked over your shoulder.

You looked round to see an agent aiming one of their high-tech guns at you. You tried to dive to the side, but as you did, you saw a blast of green energy come flying over you towards the agent. The tech gun still went off, slightly off course as the agent fell to the ground.

You were still caught in the blast, not head on as it would have been, but it still hit you like a ton of bricks as everything went black.

-

‘Brother, you need to go and rest. Get something to eat.’ Thor said to Loki as he patted his back.

Loki shook his head. ‘No. I’m not leaving her.’ He said determinedly.

Thor sighed and looked over at you lying in the hospital bed, your vitals beeping calmly on the monitor beside you. All was fine for now, apart from you hadn’t woken up yet.

Loki was beside himself with worry, he refused to leave your bedside when he recovered first and found you. Everyone on the team had been injured, badly. Though you were the worst, being mortal. You almost died, it had been very touch and go. Even though the doctors worked their magic and saved you, it was still a matter of waiting to see when you woke up if you were ok or not.

‘This wasn’t your fault, everyone was injured. It was a trap.’ Thor said to Loki.

‘I shouldn’t have let her go on her own. I felt something wasn’t right. She was hit, right on front of me. I didn’t act fast enough.’ Loki snarled and stood up abruptly as he began to pace back and fore.

‘This guilt shouldn’t be on you, brother. We are all worried about her, but she is strong. She will pull through.’

‘I hope so. I don’t think I…’ Loki trailed off as his voice broke a little.

Thor frowned. ‘You don’t think… what?’ He asked.

Loki turned and hardened his face as he shook his head. ‘Nothing.’ He muttered.

‘Tell me, brother. Please.’ Thor put his hand on his shoulder.

Loki sighed as he glanced past Thor, to you lying there. ‘I… I like her, ok?’ He blurted out and pushed past Thor to sit down next to your bed again.

‘Ok… We all do.’ Thor frowned in confusion.

Loki ran a hand down his face. ‘No, I mean… I… I like like her.’

Thor suddenly realised what he meant, his eyes widened. ‘Oh… OH! Brother, why didn’t you tell me before? Or tell her? She thinks you hate her.’

‘What? I don’t hate her. I could never…’

‘Well, you have a funny way of showing it. You’re not exactly that warm towards her.’ Thor accused.

‘I… I… She wouldn’t feel the same anyway about me. Best to keep her at arm’s length.’ Loki shrugged.

Thor face-palmed. ‘Well, when she wakes, you should speak to her. Tell her how you really feel. You might be surprised.’ Thor suggested, then headed out of the room.

-

When you opened your eyes, they slowly adjusted and you were blinded by a bright light above you. Your whole body was aching, like you’d been hit by a bus. You could only just remember what happened. Though you had no idea where you was now or what had happened.

‘He… help.’ You croaked out, your throat was sore and your mouth so dry.

‘Hey, you’re awake! Thank God.’ You heard a familiar voice from your side.

You managed to turn and you saw the blonde-haired God smiling down at you widely.

‘Thor…’ You groaned, your voice was slowly coming back to you.

‘You had us real worried for a while there.’ He chuckled lightly and helped you have a drink of water, he was so relieved to see you awake.

‘Can’t get rid of me… that easily.’ You smiled. The water made your throat feel a bit better.

You glanced to the other side and raised your eyebrows when you saw Loki sitting on a chair next to your bed, his head was lolled to the side as he slept.

Thor saw your confusion as to why the God of mischief was there.

‘He hasn’t left your side since he healed up himself. It’s been four days, he’s not left the room at all unless to go take a piss.’ Thor chuckled.

You were really shocked to hear that.

‘Why…’ You looked back to Thor.

Thor shrugged. ‘Ask him yourself when he wakes up.’ He smirked and headed out of the room, he deliberately let the door slam behind him.

Loki jumped, his eyes shot open and he was a little disorientated at first, but he zoned in on you and the relief that flooded across his face was so clear.

‘You’re awake!’ He gasped, resisting the urge to lean forward and take your hands in his.

You nodded and smiled. ‘Have you… have you been here this whole time?’ You asked, your voice still a little croaky.

Loki sheepishly nodded as he ran a hand through his hair. ‘Yeah… It was the least I could do.’

‘What do you mean?’ You asked, confused.

‘I am so sorry. It’s my fault you almost died. I shouldn’t have let you leave the jet. I knew something wasn’t right! I could feel it, but I just let you go.’ Loki said in distress.

‘Loki… I… Thankfully my memory is still here. You did save me. It was your warning that made me take pause outside the base and wait. Then I realised what was going on and headed back. If I’d gone inside, I likely wouldn’t have made it out at all.’

Loki shook his head and put his face in his hands. ‘That agent. I should have taken him out sooner when I saw him. I didn’t manage to in time.’ He said just as Tony walked in with one of the doctors.

‘If you hadn’t hit the agent when you did, she would have been hit full blast. Then she would have died.’ Tony said matter of factly.

‘So you did save me.’ You said to Loki with a smile. Though he still looked annoyed with himself.

Tony and the doctor briefly kicked Loki out so they could do a few tests on you to make sure everything was ok, then Loki was straight back in once they left.

‘Thank you.’ You said when he sat down.

‘What for?’

‘For saving me. Which you clearly did… and for being by my side. Thor said that you didn’t leave at all. It’s nice knowing I wasn’t alone...’ You said shyly, feeling your face heat up a little bit at the thought of Loki being here for you the whole time.

Loki blushed too and ran his hand through his hair again. ‘I… I just… wanted to make sure you were going to be ok. I would never have forgiven myself if…’ He couldn’t finish his sentence.

‘Why did you stay here?’ You asked quietly, desperate to know.

Loki looked like a deer in the headlights and he began tripping over his words, which you’d never seen him do before.

‘I uh… I just… I couldn’t bring myself to leave… I like you. A lot…’ He rambled quickly. ‘Make of that what you will. Laugh. Tease. Whatever.’ He said harshly and put on a firm face as he crossed his arms over his chest.

You smiled and reached your hand over onto his arm. ‘I like you too, Loki. I thought you hated me all this time.’ You said honestly.

‘That… was never my intention. I’m sorry. I… I’ve never had this sort of… feelings before. I didn’t want to let on.’ He admitted, then he found his large hand on yours, squeezing.

‘Well… I really appreciate you saving me. Maybe when I’m back on my feet, we can grab lunch together? Where you don’t scowl at me and eat at the other side of the room, ignoring me?’ You suggested with a big smile.

Loki’s face softened and he actually smiled back at you widely as he nodded.

‘That would be… lovely.’

[rosiesdisneydrama]

Funny thought I had at work:

What if Donald's family (mostly his sister/cousins) did notice him grieving after Uno was shut down?

Donald is upset about something but very tight-lipped about what and why. Up until one of them manages to get him to talk a little bit about it. (maybe Feathery? He seems like the sort who'd try to comfort someone without judging them or by promising to listen no matter what) And then they all extrapolate/misinterpret the reason from the crumbs they worm out of him.

Donald, obviously, doesn't want to tell them that Ducklair shut down his AI friend, and kicked him out of the tower without giving him the chance to say goodbye. And he doesn't know if he'll ever see them again (if Ducklair ever reactivates Uno). It's something that he really doesn't know how to fix it or make it better.

What his family gets out of him are:

There was a secret floor to Ducklair Tower that Donald had a friend living in.

The friend couldn't leave the tower, or even that specific floor. They could only see the world outside through windows and cameras.

Donald's friend had a lot of respect/a previously very good relationship with Ducklair himself.

His friend is now "gone" and Donald doesn't think he'll ever see them again.

Ducklair's comments/behavior were really out of character compared to the previous times Donald had seen or spoken to them. Shockingly harsh/cold.

And, considering the wildness of their family, these facts get twisted in a really interesting way.

Eventually, after the rest of the family (I'm mostly picturing Della, Gladstone, and Fethry. Maybe Abner, for funsies) do some serious debating to piece it all together without upsetting Donald even more, they make a loose frame of what they think the core issue is.

The end result?

They think Uno is a secret son that Ducklair was hiding because he had serious health issues that meant he couldn't leave the tower. Potentially because whatever health equipment he needed was there and couldn't be moved. The specific tower he'd lived in had potentially been sold by accident and when Donald was registered as the caretaker of the tower the security system let him onto the floor that Uno had lived in.

Potentially, Uno was also the reason Donald kept bailing on them while he worked there. Because the super-sick heir lived in a super high-tech building made by a mad genius, so there was a non-zero chance that their cousin was beating back crooks and wannabe villains who thought they could steal stuff to attack the city there. They wish he had brought them in on it to help more if that was the case.

And, finally, that friend had likely passed away and Ducklair's mood change was potentially due to poorly handled grief. There is a small chance that Ducklair had pulled a plug due to not being able to find a cure but it's hard to imagine because the man never seemed the sort.

(Also, since they have no idea if Ducklair has ever been married, there is the possibility that his son was actually a clone because the man was a Mad Scientist and anything was possible with those types. Which could also explain why no one knew the son existed in the first place.)

But this is the Duck family, so this also played like it's a soap opera/telenovela. It gets wild, especially when Gladstone's luck brings Layla in and she fights to keep her laughter internal as she watches the trainwreck of errors from the cousins trying to piece together Donald's secret life.

Oh, and they also think Uno was Donald's boyfriend and one of the reasons he never told them was to hide him from Scrooge.

[miscfandomwrites]

A/N: Don’t know how this college will show up on tumblr, so let’s see. This is an old, old idea that I got one day after I drew all over my arm in eyeliner when I was in class. It was actually really pretty, and thus the idea for this was born. Due to my ADHD it’s hard to focus in class, and because of that I need some sort of stimulation to make my brain think. This was written with an attention disorder in mind for the reader.

Pairing: Natasha Romanoff x F! Reader

Location: Marvel > Natasha Romanoff > Oneshots

Warnings: None, just a small drabble with fluff

Words: 900ish

Tagging: @tyler-t0t

~~

“We need to move in from this direction instead and then we can carry them out.” Bucky voiced from his place against the wall. 

I didn’t bother to follow the conversation, as this was the fourth time that they’ve been over editing the plan even when the first plan was perfect. 

I inwardly groaned and leaned my head back, moving my arms and stretching. Enjoying the feel of my back popping. The debate about how we were to get in was still going, and I ended up digging through my jacket pockets. Damn, I had a fidget in here this morning…

Still tuning everyone out, I found an eyeliner pen. Wait, wasn’t I looking for that yesterday?

You have got to be kidding me. I was. My habit, or rather, unconscious habit of losing things wasn’t fun. I misplaced things often enough to where I kept trackers on several items I used daily. Everyone idolizes having an attention disorder until you realize just how fucking shitty it is.

Seriously, I can’t get through the day without misplacing something. Or caffeine. Both. 

I ran a hand through my hair, tucking it behind my ears as I pulled the cap off the pen. It was one of the oil-based ones, which meant it was easy to clean off of skin. Laying my hand on the table I started sketching some bones on my fingers, then moved to my hand. Keeping tabs on the conversation, I finished my hand and moved to my arm. Instead of bones I just drew swirls, some small stars, and honestly whatever came to mind. I did the same with my other hand, albeit a bit messier because it wasn’t my dominant hand that was doing the drawing.

“We’re done with this for now. Let’s go over this tomorrow.” Steve said as he clapped his hands together, and shut off the screen. I glanced up only to meet Natasha’s eyes. As soon as she caught my gaze she smiled. I smiled back at her.

Everyone in the tower knew I had an attention disorder, and if just given my fidgets I would be fine. It turns out both of the scientists and I share that in common, and more often than not we were inventing some sort of new fidget toy. Of course, after the lighter-knife-spinner combination, we were a bit limited on our creations. Still, we got along great.

Everyone slowly got up and headed out to wherever they would be going, and I pulled out my phone and earbuds. Donning my jacket and tugging my phone in a pocket, I started my music and headed out, headless of Natasha calling after me.

I got to my floor and immediately shoved my shoes and socks off, along with my jacket and pants. I was bored enough that the thought of doodling over my legs sounded entertaining enough that I discarded my pants as well, kicking them over the back of the couch and flopping down onto it. I grabbed the remote and started from where I left off of (Favorite show) and went back to work. Eventually my feet were covered, and I moved up to my calves, then my knees, and soon enough my entire legs were covered. I drew up my arms as best I could, and fixed my hands. 

“So, this was the result?” Natasha’s voice scared the shit out of me, causing a huge streak of eyeliner to mess up my doodles on my arms. I turned towards her, mouth open in shock. She huffed a laugh and went around the couch, sitting down next to me.

She held out her hand. “May I?” She asked. I handed her the pencil and she gently took my arm, and continued my drawing up my arm and onto my shoulder, before lightly drawing them on my neck, and eventually my cheek. 

“These are really pretty...have you considered getting these tattooed?” She asked me as she switched sides and started working on my other arm. 

“I have, but I also realized that I’d want them different as soon as I saw them.” I replied. 

“That makes sense. You typically don’t like things to be permanent, they always need to be changing.” 

“Yeah, some permanent things. Such as tattoos, furniture, clothes. I change those often. But people however...they’re always changing.” 

“Ah, so in relationships you wouldn’t be deterred if someone wanted something permanent with you?” She questioned, tracing the pencil up my neck and onto my cheek, leaning closer to me. 

“No, I wouldn’t. I prefer that type of stability in my life.” I whispered as she leaned closer to me. 

“Do you want something permanent?” 

“I do.” I leaned closer and closed the gap between us.

[dracarialove]

📄 F it, I'm posting my finished fics here, too 📄

Buried Desires

*Check the 'buried desires' tag if you haven't read chapter 1

[Chapter 2: Intoxicated]

From the bushes across the street from Doctor Golvin's private estate, G.U.N's most skillful agents watched and waited for the scientist to leave. It was still early in the morning, which would give them time to find what they were looking for once he went off to work.

Though the view of his house wasn't entirely clear thanks to the high fence that surrounded the property, it didn't seem to be guarded, at least on the outside.

"He probably assumes the gate is enough," Rouge commented, faint arrogance in her tone. "Sure, he's on the edge of town – but does he really think he's not in danger of being robbed here?"

Shadow merely shrugged when she glanced at him, using their time in hiding to get familiar with the handheld device Tower had given them to locate the stolen weapon.

His partner tugged at the long strips of cloth hanging from the back of her head, tightening the hood of her spy outfit, and kept her eyes on the area near Golvin's front door.

Shadow, of course, found a disguise to be unnecessary; and she knew it was pointless to advocate for one. He didn't really need one if they were going to make it a quick mission. She just liked to be prepared.

Then, Rouge spotted the man walking away from his house, already talking on the phone while he strolled to his car. She kept her gaze on him but held her hand out to the hedgehog, gaining his attention. "There he is, leaving now."

Shadow shifted his position to crouch beside her, the dastardly pair watching the scientist get in his vehicle and pull out of the long driveway. Just to be safe, they kept an eye on his car until it disappeared down the slope of the hilly road, then shared a glance.

"It's clear," stated Rouge, getting a nod from him before they sprang into action.

They approached the backside of the fenced area, Shadow teleporting past it to hug the home's wall while the bat flew over to dismantle any cameras – but she was surprised to not see any around.

'What kind of rich asshole doesn't have security cameras?' she thought, hovering level with the second floor. 'Even I have them...'

She looked down at the Ultimate Lifeform, who looked at the Commander's device and then up at her. He raised it towards her, then tossed it in the air for her to catch, being careful not to speak too loudly as he did so. "I don't think it's on the first floor. What color is the dot at that height?"

Rouge studied the black screen and the steadily blinking spot that sat on the right side. "It's yellow."

"It was orange down here," he replied, "so it must be up there. Try the windows."

The flying spy turned to the two windows on their side of the building, attempting to nudge each one open, but they were locked. When she looked at Shadow again, his expression silently acknowledged the hindrance, but she didn't hesitate in reassuring him as she dropped the device down into his grip.

"No worries, a little lock won't stop me." She pulled out a putty knife and a hammer, going to work on disarming one of the windows while her teammate waited.

He admired her skill, watching the thief pry the window open in less than a minute. And once she was able to lift it from the sill, she gave him a thumbs-up.

Shadow assumed she must also be smiling behind the veil of faded purple fabric; the same sly smile she always had when she succeeded at something sneaky.

He smiled, too, and reached his free hand out for her to take, then she hauled him up to the second story and they let themselves in. The agents ended up in a hallway, dark hardwood beneath their feet and light gray wallpaper sitting behind spatterings of paintings and decorous art pieces.

Rouge took a look around and said to Shadow, "Lead the way, master tracker."

They cautiously wandered the halls, him walking ahead and watching for the tracking dot to change color as it moved according to their location, while she scanned their surroundings for cameras or guards.

It put them a bit on edge how little security there seemed to be in the Doctor's home, but they eventually found the room they were looking for. Shadow stopped when the spot turned green, their wander ending outside a brown mahogany door.

"I believe it's in here," he said, pointing at the door, then tried the knob.

It was locked, as well, so the stolid hedgehog gave a slight bow to Rouge and stepped aside. She used the simpler tool of a metal paper clip to open the door, kneeling and pressing her ear against the wood as she fiddled inside the lock.

When she heard an affirming click, she hopped to her feet and eagerly nodded at Shadow, a mischievous twinkle in her cyan eyes. He could tell she was giddy to finish the mission so quickly and leave the Commander's office thousands richer by lunchtime, and it amused him to see the lady in such high spirits.

He opened the door, holding the device in front of him to follow it even closer to their target. The room was a decently sized lounge that seemed to double as a small library, judging by the bookcases that lined the walls.

Rouge closed the door behind them, looking around but unfortunately noticing too late that there was a keypad on the wall beside the entrance.

Shadow, a few steps ahead, unknowingly crossed one foot into the path of a near-invisible laser. A harsh hissing sound filled the air above them, which made him look up as water spurted from a handful of sprinklers on the ceiling.

"Ah!" exclaimed Rouge, throwing one arm above her head.

But as Shadow quickly saw, it couldn't be ordinary water bursting from the flower-shaped fixtures – purple liquid rained down on them, causing the hedgehog to cry out when a drop of it fell into his eye. It stung a little, making him clutch his face and grit his teeth.

Once she was past the initial surprise, the bat was quick to jump up and kick the nearest sprinkler off the ceiling, dispatching the rest while her companion stood briefly incapacitated. With the downpour halted, Rouge stepped across the soggy carpet towards him, worry in her voice.

"Are you okay? You're not blind, right?"

Grimacing, Shadow removed his fingers from pinched eyes and opened them, squinting and blinking the sting of the liquid away. "I'm alright... it doesn't burn that badly, just... smells flowery."

The scent was strong once it set in, a sickly-sweet aroma that strangled the air around them and buried itself in his quills. But despite his claim of being unharmed, Rouge began swiftly removing her spy suit, stripping to her usual outfit underneath.

"We don't know what was in that stuff," she said, pulling off the drenched material and dropping it on the equally wet floor. "It clearly wasn't normal water – we need to get it out of your fur. I'll be right back!"

Without hesitation, she ran out the door, leaving him in the perfumed room. Shadow took a moment to check his tracking tool, assuring that it still worked before continuing to follow the direction of the dot.

It pointed him to the right-side wall from where they'd entered, and when he walked up to the wide bookcase in between two thinner ones, the spot on the screen started blinking more rapidly.

It didn't change color until he held it closer to the books, turning blue to alert him that they were close to the object they were hunting. But when the soaked being reached out to grab one of the novels – intending to test if it was a secret entrance to another room – he suddenly felt woozy and had to steady himself.

One gloved hand clutched the government device tightly while the other splayed at his side, his arm straightened for balance and one foot planted farther behind his body to keep him from falling backwards.

'Shit, what is this?' his mind asked, while his physical form stood frozen in fear of his legs giving out. His view of the bookshelf became slightly warped, the once-straight edges of the hardcovers seeming to bend. '... Not good...'

He closed his eyes and took a deep breath, letting it out slowly before fixing his posture. However, he didn't trust himself to try testing the books again, standing still a moment and trying to work out what the hell had been in the sprinkler system, or what exactly it was doing to him.

Doctor Golvin clearly wanted to inhibit intruders' rational thought and coordination; as much as he lacked security elsewhere, Shadow decided he was a strange man for booby trapping this room using such an odd method. Though, it was working to cloud his mind from completing the next step of his task...

Thankfully, Rouge didn't take long in returning with a towel, rushing back into the room and immediately throwing it over the hedgehog's head. "Good to see you're still standing! I was afraid I'd come back and you'd be passed out on the floor or something."

Instantly, Shadow knew things were worse than he initially thought – her voice sounded stronger, almost angelic while retaining a charming mature timbre.

And when she started rubbing the towel against his quills to dry them, his heart rate spiked. He placed his free hand against the bookshelf, his vision partially blocked by the shuffle of the towel and his head swimming with flustered nerves.

His dear friend's annoyed tone sounded sweeter than it normally would as she spoke, "Ugh, the stink of lilac is so strong – even for me! Sorry, Shad, I don't think this scent is coming out any time soon..."

The man let out a shaky breath and raised his hand to weakly grab the towel, trying to pull it from Rouge's grip. "I can dry it... myself."

When he managed to look at her, his heart pounded harder than before. She was so close to him, Shadow almost felt like he couldn't breathe, and the glow he saw around her silhouette scared him. 'What the fuck is happening?'

He didn't notice how quickly he was breathing, but she did. Combined with the faraway look in his eyes and his limp grasp on the towel, the ivory-haired huntress recognized an alarming amount of incoherence in his demeanor. "Shadow? You're not gonna faint on me, are you? Hey..."

She placed one hand on the side of his face, trying to establish eye contact, but it only served to freak him out further; because instead of calming the hedgehog down, Rouge's touch made him feel flush and more anxious than before.

He inhaled sharply and fought through the urge to lean closer, pulling away and taking better control of the towel. The colors of everything around him were slowly becoming more vivid.

"I'm fine." His tone was solid and steady, as close to normal as he could muster, and he managed to act calm and collected while drying his fur. "Take this... I'm pretty sure that bookcase is fake."

Shadow handed over the tracker, trying not to look directly at her. Rouge took it, but kept her eyes on him for a second, wary of his behavior.

When she turned to inspect the shelves, he couldn't resist the gravitation of his gaze towards her body, blood-red eyes lingering over womanly curves that taunted him as she pulled on different books.

The pretty super spy made finding a secret entrance look graceful, her figure elegantly posed even as she didn't acknowledge how stunning she appeared.

His stare trailed down the arch of her back to the sight of shapely hips – and more – snugly hugged by a flattering bodysuit, before he realized what he was doing.

'Damnit...!' Shadow's thoughts rushed forth, and he forced himself to look away. 'This is a side effect of that... liquid, whatever it was. I shouldn't be looking at her... like that.'

He began dragging the towel across himself more fervently for quicker results and a distraction from the scene in front of him; meanwhile, Rouge found the cluster of faux books which opened the shelf. It cracked inwards like a door.

"Yes!" she blurted, balling her fist in triumph before pressing onward through the newfound entrance.

The room it led into was made of pearl-colored tile flooring and reflective silver walls. It was like a hallway, with glass tables on either side that held different technological projects and inventions. She looked down at the tracker while walking inside and noted the more frantic flashing of the blue dot.

"Shadow!" she called over her shoulder. "You were right, I think it's in here. Come on!"

The Ultimate Lifeform dreaded following, as even the click of her heels on the solid floor rang through his head like a melodic chime. But he didn't have much of a choice, so he took another deep breath and steadied himself, dry enough to discard the towel.

In the long room, Rouge reached an area that was sectioned off from the rest by a half-wall, where the device she held showed a white dot when she pointed it at one of the objects on a square of marble counterspace. The item was stark white in color, covered in buttons and shaped like a spiky trapezoid.

"Found it!" announced the bat, taking a moment to study it in amusement. "Man, this thing looks weird. What the hell could all these buttons possibly do?"

She didn't dare touch any of them, instead thinking of the Commander's offer. She turned around and beamed at her partner in an expression of victory. "Ooh, Shadow, we are gonna be so set after this!"

Unable to contain her excitement, Rouge impulsively threw herself towards him, hugging the hedgehog and chuckling gleefully. Her gushing admiration of the sizable payout to come was drowned out by the shock coursing through Shadow's body at her sudden affectionate outburst.

The harmony of her voice became a string of music as warmth overtook him, the intoxicated G.U.N agent fully engulfed by ardor brought on by the scientist's strange trap.

He felt dizzier as his heart thumped more forcefully at the feeling of her body against his. He didn't even realize he had hugged her back until the astonishment passed, suddenly recognizing the squeeze of his arms around Rouge's familiar form.

Shadow was holding her tightly, feeling as if time had stopped for them both, until she tried to break the hug. Only after she realized he wasn't pulling away did her voice manage to cut through the pheromone-fueled haze of their embrace.

"Shadow...?"

[jonathanvik]

Kamen Rider Fenrir - Chapter 1

“Evening, everyone!” The beauty on the screen waved her hand, her smile enthusiastic. Ever since Reine had become the spokesperson for Ymir Industries, Johan had been lovestruck. Her stunning smile brought joy to his day. With her frilly, tastefully revealing dress, Reine was quite a trendsetter! The idol was stunningly beautiful, with bright gray eyes and a button nose dusted with noticeable freckles. She wore her dusty-blond hair short, in contrast to current fashion. Reine was quite the trendsetter!

Johan gazed up at the screen attached to the skyscraper above him. Other screens displayed the same picture, almost everyone stopping their business to watch Bifrost City’s premier idol.

“We have remarkable news! Ymir Industries is announcing a brand-new, revolutionary project!” The idol gave a self-conscious smile, which tugged at Johan’s heartstrings. “I’m afraid its science is beyond a dummy like myself, but I can explain the general premise.”

After extending a hand, a shimmering image of two lab-coated men appeared within it. One scientist placed a metal cube on a platform while the other fiddled with some controls. Johan’s eyes widened in amazement as the cube glowed with light before re-materializing on the other platform three meters away. People muttered in astonishment, wondering if this stunning feat of science was only a clever illusion. The picture vanished when Reine’s hand closed.

“Ymir Industries is proud to announce that it has uncovered the secret of matter transference! An unbelievable breakthrough sure to change life forever! We’re already working hard to make it affordable for the average consumer.”

“I’m moving into a new apartment. I wonder if they’ll loan me one? Anyway, the possibilities are endless! President Wilson will hold a press conference later tonight to announce further developments. See you there!” Reine winked before her picture blinked out.

The excitement created by this announcement was infectious, everyone hypothesizing how it might affect life in Bifrost City. It was the first major city built on the ocean, constructed almost twenty years ago by pushing human technology to its limit. The marvel housed almost ten million people. It earned its name, Bifrost City, because it stood between Canada and Norway off the coast of Britain, connecting both land masses by an enormous, expansive bridge. It was known as one of the newest marvels of the world, a feat of unprecedented construction.

“Reine is so amazing!” Johan said. “She even made me interested in this boring science junk.”

His best friend, Randall, snorted in derision. “Who cares? It’ll only make Ymir richer. Like we’ll see a dime from it. Quit wasting time—we have a job to perform.”

Johan sighed at his friend’s painful ignorance, but Randall was right. The Boss loathed tardiness. They left the glistening streets, with their automated vendors demanding attention, and skyscrapers for Bifrost’s more unsavory parts.

During the city’s construction, the politicians had promised that Bifrost would be different—a crime-free paradise without slums or homeless people. What a joke that had been. The rapid technological advances had made getting lower, menial jobs difficult. As a consequence, the city suffered a high unemployment rate.

Towering architectural wonders were replaced with rundown, squat buildings as they traveled downtown, graffiti lining most of their walls. People huddled in corners, exchanging money and product with deft fingers. In this place, asking questions was dangerous. Johan heard distant gunfire. While some glanced around cautiously, nobody seemed particularly alarmed. In this section of Bifrost, life was cheap. Johan’s gang, the Jotnar, had involved themselves in their fair share of scraps to survive.

Johan kept alert for danger. You never knew when another gang might start trouble. Everything seemed normal until he spotted a woman in a black motorcycle suit staring at him. Her helmet’s visor was down, hiding her face. The odd, oval-shaped disc hanging around her neck caught his eye. Her ride was an expensive, sleek piece of machinery—dangerous to have in this unsavory neighborhood. Before he could warn her, she disappeared into a side street.

“Strange.” Johan only shrugged, following his friend into their hideout.

The place was rundown, the skeleton of a moving company office ruined by the invention of self-driving cars. While a mess of old pizza boxes, scattered computer parts, and soda cans, it was home. It had a fully stocked fridge and a basketball hoop, which served their needs nicely. While Johan wanted to grab a quick beer, he required a clear head for tonight.

“You’re late,” the Boss said without preamble. He was an enormous man with broad shoulders, standing tall enough to be a professional basketball player. His expression brokered no nonsense, his hard, piercing eyes unwavering. Rumors said he’d led an L.A. gang before coming to Bifrost. While a tough man, he protected his own. Johan respected that.

“Reine again. I tell you, he needs help,” Randall said, rolling his eyes.

“Hey, you can’t fight true love!” The Boss’s second-in-command, Samuel, said. His scarred lips snickered in amusement. The pale scars contrasted sharply with his almost chocolate-colored skin. “I’m sure he keeps his imaginary wife happy!”

“Shut up!” Johan rolled his eyes but smiled at the jest. Why couldn’t these guys understand true art when they saw it? They’d actually laughed when he tried to play one of Reine’s albums for them.

“Enough gallivanting about,” the Boss said, drawing everyone’s attention. “We’ve got a job to do.”

The Jotnar went serious, ready to conduct the dangerous job they’d planned for weeks.

---

“You certain it’s not just an old warehouse?” Johan asked.

The Boss nodded. “Rebecca confirmed the intel’s good. The place is drawing an unusual amount of power. Inside, Ymir is hiding something.”

“The security appears light,” Samuel said. “No doubt to avoid drawing attention. I’ve seen people go inside, but not many. But stay on guard—Ymir guards their secrets jealously.”

“Avoid using them unless pressed. I don’t want the cops breathing down our necks.” The Boss opened a duffel bag, revealing some handguns—Glock 19s, from their appearance. “But don’t hesitate to kill if necessary.”

Everyone nodded, grabbing a weapon and concealing it somewhere for easy reach. Johan swallowed. While he’d been on the practice range many times, he’d never actually fired on a living person before. He cast aside his doubts. If they completed the job, they’d be rich! Still, the firearm’s cold, hard steel pressed against his hand caused an involuntary shudder.

Seagulls cried overhead as they slunk into the shadows, keeping well hidden. Since every self-driving car had cameras, they wished to avoid any possible detection. The ocean crashed behind them, the sea’s strong scent filling Johan’s nostrils. After passing long-abandoned, empty warehouses, they approached Warehouse 9—their target—a craphole that had seen better days.

Johan furrowed his brow. “Why here and not one of their fancy facilities in Yggdrasil Tower?”

“Not legal, I bet!” Samuel bellowed a laugh. “Good for us. I doubt they’ll report the robbery to the police.”

The Boss’s phone buzzed, and he answered it. “Yes, we’re there. We’ll rendezvous with you soon.”

“Rebecca says the coast is clear. The place is empty,” the Boss said. “She’ll meet us inside.”

After checking for any sign of cameras or guards, they darted inside the building. Trash and garbage covered the barren, abandoned floor. Johan gave the hole-ridden ceiling a worried glance, fearing a possible collapse. Rebecca stood inside, impatiently waiting for them.

“Don’t worry about cameras. I’ve already disabled the three watching the place.” The hacker girl wore baggy clothes, the type of generic brands you’d expect to find in a low-rent department store. A fashionable gray beret covered her curly red hair. She clutched a backpack shaped like an oversized koala, containing her laptop.

“The entrance?” the Boss asked.

“Over here.” She directed them toward the manager’s office. Beyond a rusted metal desk and some rotting bookshelves, the room seemed barren at first glance. On closer inspection, however, Johan spotted footprints in the dust.

“Excellent work, Becca!” Samuel gave their hacker genius a thumbs-up.

“You sure you aren’t coming?” Randall asked.

“Heck no!” Becca stuck out her tongue. “It’s dangerous! Best leave you big, strapping men to handle the shooty part.”

“Big, strapping men?” Samuel rolled his eyes. “Sure.”

“Call if there’s an emergency. I have several contingency plans ready.” Rebecca waved her phone. Its wallpaper displayed a koala chomping eucalyptus leaves. “Now stop distracting me.”

The hacker girl revealed a hidden panel behind one of the bookshelves and connected her computer to a port with a cable. After a quick tap of some keys, the panel light flashed green. A bare spot opened up, revealing a hidden staircase.

“This’ll give you Level 1 access.” Rebecca passed the Boss a plastic card. “They got lazy when they designed this place. It uses typical Ymir security systems.”

“Stay alert, everyone. Keep your weapons at the ready.” The Boss crept down the stairs, ready for any trouble.

“Good luck!” Rebecca bit her lip in worry.

---

“A hidden lab. It’s hard to believe,” a figure said, watching behind her visor as the gang members entered the abandoned warehouse. “So, my hunch was correct. Ymir is up to something.”

Considering the many rumors, it wasn’t surprising. She’d learned about this heist thanks to her friend’s excellent investigation skills. While the gang’s employer remained unknown, she had her hunches. Many rival corporations were jealous of Ymir’s success.

She grabbed her pendant tight with a gloved hand. After counting to ten, she followed in a crouch. If she was correct, she’d finally uncover the truth she sought.

“What’s with this place?” The secret facility turned out to be more expansive than they’d expected. The underground tunnels wound around in confusing patterns, and Johan feared they’d get lost. Much to their surprise, they encountered no guards while sneaking through the tunnels. Several times, Johan thought he’d heard something, but his investigations turned up empty.

“Wait.” The Boss pushed them behind a wall as a suited man with slicked-back red hair and a goatee passed by.

“Isn’t that Bert Visscher, a CEO bigwig in Ymir?” He recalled seeing him standing next to Reine in Ymir press shoots.

“Stay quiet. He might lead us somewhere interesting,” the Boss whispered, and everyone nodded.

After a dozen corridors, the CEO halted at a metal door. He pulled out a plastic card from his coat pocket and swiped it. The door’s light flashed green, allowing him access. Beyond the door, Johan saw more endless, bland corridors.

Thankfully, their card worked, and they traveled deeper into the facility. It appeared to be one enormous lab. Behind glass doors, they saw various research rooms filled with expensive-looking equipment whose purpose was impossible to determine. Ymir must have spent millions to construct this place. Voices caught their attention, and they spread out, hiding behind some pieces of equipment as the CEO spoke to a lab-coated man. The Boss pointed toward a far door, instructing Johan to keep watch. The other Jotnar guarded the other entrances so they would remain undisturbed.

“Burning the midnight oil, Doctor Nomikos?” Visscher asked.

The scientist rubbed his greasy, shoulder-length hair with a hand. The man yawned, harried from lack of sleep. “No choice. The president wants the Ragnadriver in production as quickly as possible. The prototype is temperamental.”

He gestured to a strange belt connected to a nearby computer by multicolored wires. The device contained an enormous silver belt buckle for some unknown purpose. Strange runes were etched into the device’s surface, extending from the buckle to the strapping of the belt. They’d finally located their target.

“It’s too powerful,” Doctor Nomikos continued. “After inserting their Uhyre Key, the shock of the transformation either incapacitates or kills the subject. We are still uncertain why.”

“Wonderful,” Visscher sighed. “The president won’t be pleased. This delays our plan by several weeks at least.”

“This is delicate work. Ragnadriver can’t be rushed.”

“Don’t move.”

A voice whispered behind Johan, whose body stiffened in response to the cold barrel pressed against the nape of his neck.

“Seems like we’ve uncovered some intruders,” the guard spoke loud enough for everyone to hear. “Drop your weapons, or this one dies. You only get one warning.”

Nomikos and Visscher’s eyes widened in surprise as Johan and the others stepped out of the shadows. The other Jotnar dropped their weapons as instructed, sending their teammate angry glares for messing up. A pit formed in Johan’s stomach, realizing they might all die because he’d gotten distracted. Ymir wouldn’t tolerate some busybodies leaking their secrets. The Boss’s eyes darted around, seeking any escape routes. The guard whispered into a communicator, requesting more reinforcements. He kept his gun trained on the Jotnar, ensuring nobody tried anything stupid.

“And who are you?” Visscher asked. “Are you from a rival company? Ophion, perhaps? The Ragnadriver is a wonderful piece of military technology. Its applications are limitless. It isn’t an exaggeration to say that it will change everything.”

“Answer him.”

Johan winced when a gun barrel pressed harder against his neck, his body quaking in terror. The Boss remained quiet, refusing to betray his employer. The Jotnar leader would rather die than provide Ymir with any information. Johan’s legs trembled, feeling faint. He didn’t want to die.

“Pity. Seems you require some persuading.”

The guard’s finger tightened on the trigger. Johan closed his eyes, praying his death would be swift and painless.

The guard screamed as someone violently tore his hand away from his captive’s head. Johan gasped. It was the motorcycle girl. Oddly, her motorcycle helmet still masked her face.

An ear-splitting sound echoed through the lab as the gun discharged, shooting a bullet into a nearby piece of machinery. The girl twisted the guard’s hand tighter, forcing him to release his weapon. She kicked it aside and hurled the man onto the cold, hard floor. A follow-up kick knocked the guard unconscious.

She froze when the Boss scooped up the fallen weapon and pointed it at their rescuer in one swift motion.

“Who are you?” the Boss asked, narrowing his eyes.

“The one who saved your life,” the woman replied calmly. “Fighting amongst ourselves wastes time. I cleared out several guards, but reinforcements will arrive soon.”

A light bulb lit up in Johan’s head. So that’s why they hadn’t encountered any guards. Yet, the Boss remained unmoved. “That doesn’t answer my question.”

The girl gripped the pendant around her neck. “I only want the truth.”

The Boss studied her strange garb, which completely obscured her identity. “You’re not a cop. Reporter? PI? It doesn’t matter. You’re not getting the prize.”

His head gestured toward the belt. Randel got the message, scooping the device into a duffle bag. The scientist and CEO didn’t object, eyeing Samuel as he covered them with a gun. Dr. Nomikos held his hands up high. Visscher, in contrast, wore a cool, almost amused expression.

“I don’t care,” the girl replied. “I only want their computer’s data.”

After studying their tentative ally for several beats, the Boss lowered his weapon. “Fine. Do what you want. We’ve obtained our objective.”

“Hey, that’s mine!” the scientist protested as the girl accessed a workstation, inserting a USB stick. After typing a few quick commands, she pocketed the device into a side compartment. Somehow, she knew Ymir’s passwords.

“I’m ready,” the girl said, rejoining them.

“Fine, let’s get out of here,” the Boss said. “I’ll allow you to accompany us, but only if you give me a copy of that stick.”

The biker girl nodded, finding the arrangement agreeable.

Samuel brightened. “That’s sure to get us something extra. Good thinking.”

Visscher watched as they exited the lab, his amusement only growing. “You’re not escaping here alive, fools.”

Something about the CEO’s words set them on edge. Did he know something? Unease creeping in, they broke into a sprint.

As they fled, Johan couldn’t help but study their new ally, sensing something off about her. It was on the tip of his tongue, but the thought refused to surface. Finally, he couldn’t stay quiet any longer.

“What’s with the helmet?” Johan asked. “We turned off the security cameras. There’s no reason to hide your identity.”

The girl didn’t reply at first, tension practically radiating from her.

“I’m Johan. This is Samuel and Randel,” he said, gesturing to the other Jotnar members. “And up ahead is the Boss. He doesn’t need any other name.”

“Yareli,” the biker girl hesitated before continuing. “I’m not very attractive. Terrible scars. It scares people.”

“Really?” Johan’s eyes widened.

“It can’t be that bad!” Samuel rolled his eyes. “From your voice, I can tell you’re a real babe!”

“Or you have something to hide,” Randel said, narrowing his eyes. “Something’s not right about you.”

“We’re allies. Isn’t that enough?” Yareli said stiffly.

“You saved our lives,” the Boss said. “I appreciate that. Few people stick their noses out for a stranger. You could have stayed hidden and retrieved that data later.”

Yareli shook her head. “And allow Ymir to commit murder? Never.”

On the streets, such selflessness often got you killed. Yet Johan couldn’t help but be grateful for the timely intervention.

They turned another corner—then stopped cold.

A single man blocked their path.

“You’re not going anywhere,” the newcomer said, his voice carrying a hard-to-place accent. Italian, maybe? He wore his messy brown mop of hair in a ponytail and grinned at them with a predatory smile.

“Out of the way.” The Boss pointed his weapon at the man.

For some reason, the Ymir thug carried no weapons. Did he seriously expect to stop several armed men with his fists? Was he crazy?

Johan noticed a strange silver armband on the man’s wrist, a narrow slot at the top. The thug’s grin widened as he pulled a small metallic disc from his suit.

Yareli jerked in surprise. “That looks like my pendant!”

Johan realized she was right. The two objects were nearly identical, except for the different rune patterns etched onto them.

“You should provide useful combat data,” the man said.

He pressed the disc, which clicked open, shifting into a key-like shape. A glowing image of a bear appeared on its surface.

“Terrorize.”

Sparks cascaded from the armband as the Ymir thug jammed the device into the slot.

“What the—?”

Sensing danger, the Boss opened fire—but it was too late.

The man’s face elongated, stretching into a gruesome, fearsome muzzle lined with jagged teeth. Brown, shaggy fur erupted across his body, more like bristling needles than hair. His fingers stretched, claws extending into jagged, meter-long blades that tore deep rivulets into the pavement.

Johan took an involuntary step back, heart hammering in his chest.

“What the hell!” Johan stumbled back, his breath hitching in sheer terror. Despite firing mid-transformation, the Boss’s bullets ricocheted harmlessly off the creature’s armor-like fur.

“Impossible!” Yareli gasped, her voice laced with disbelief.

“Kill him!” The Boss’s voice wavered, but his eyes remained sharp with determination.

Johan’s hands trembled, too paralyzed to fire, but his comrades snapped out of their stupor and unloaded their magazines into the beast.

The bullets were useless. They bounced off like pebbles, failing even to slow the creature down. With inhuman speed, the monster swung a massive claw, slamming the Boss against the wall. Cement cracked on impact. Blood dribbled from the Jotnar leader’s mouth as he weakly lifted his gun, pressing it point-blank against the monster’s eye. He fired.

The creature snarled but didn’t flinch. The bullet dropped harmlessly to the floor with a soft clang. A cruel laugh rumbled from its chest before it grabbed the Boss’s head and smashed it against the wall. His body collapsed in a lifeless heap.

“Boss!” Johan’s stomach dropped as horror flooded his veins.

“Bastard!” Randel lunged at the creature’s arm, desperately clawing at the strange armband. If they could rip it off—maybe, just maybe—they could end this nightmare.

But the device wouldn’t budge. The monster grinned, tightening its grip around Randel’s skull.

Snap.

Randel’s lifeless body hit the floor with a dull thud, his duffle bag spilling open. The stolen belt tumbled out—the very device they’d risked everything to steal. The price had been far too high.

Johan turned to flee, but a wall of armed guards had already cut off their escape. Their smug expressions made it clear—they were enjoying the show.

“There’s no way out!” Samuel rasped, panic rising in his voice.

“I don’t know!” Johan’s breath came fast and shallow. This was it. They were going to die.

“I won’t let you hurt them!”

Yareli moved like a blur, leaping onto the beast in a desperate attempt to restrain it. “Run! I’ll keep it busy!”

“But—”

“Go!”

Johan hesitated for a fraction of a second too long. The creature flicked its arm, sending Yareli flying into a concrete wall. Her helmet cracked off on impact, skidding across the floor.

And then everything stopped.

Johan’s blood ran cold.

Yareli had no face.

No skin.

No flesh.

Where there should have been a human, there was only a bare, grinning skull.

Silence gripped the room. Even the monster faltered, its expression twisted in shock.

Johan’s mind reeled. How is this possible?!

Yareli’s skull turned, eye sockets scanning the room as if looking for an exit. But there was none. More guards had appeared, sealing off every path.

Her gaze dropped to her pendant—then to the stolen belt lying mere feet away.

“What the hell,” she muttered.

In one swift motion, she grabbed the belt and strapped it around her waist.

The bear monster’s stunned expression twisted into amusement. “Ha! Pointless! No one can use the Ragnadriver. And you don’t even have an Uhyre Key to activate it!”

“Wrong.” Yareli’s voice brightened with something new—something dangerous.

She tore the pendant from her neck, pressed it open, and revealed a gleaming wolf emblem within.

“Henshin.”

She slammed the pendant into the belt buckle.

The Ragnadriver roared to life. Ancient runes blazed red-hot as the buckle split open, revealing a blood-red gem pulsing with the image of a snarling wolf.

A brilliant white light engulfed Yareli.

Johan shielded his eyes as bluish-gray armor solidified over her skeletal frame. The plating formed a sharp, angular design resembling fur. Gauntlets snapped into place, their fingertips extending into razor-edged claws. A helmet locked over her skull, its lupine visage fierce and unrelenting. Twin purple eyes ignited like burning embers.

The bear monster took an uneasy step back. “I-Impossible!”

Yareli flexed her fingers, examining her transformed body with a mixture of awe and certainty.

“I suppose I need a name,” she mused. Then, she looked up, her glowing eyes locking onto her enemy.

“Call me Kamen Rider Fenrir.”

[missusvixxen]

★ - Deceived Angel | Albert Wesker x OC - ★ Part 2

A/N: Sorry for the late upload I was busy. Hahaha school.

TW: Abandonment, gaslighting, manipulation, violence, drugging, possessive actions.

Main Series: Part 1 Shorts: Family Affair

★★★★★★★★★ ------------ • ------------ ★★★★★★★★★

"Perfect..." The word circled around my mind long after our encounter, staining my ego in the quiet moments of isolation.

I smiled, seated in a spacious white room with a transparent pane before me. No longer bound by chains, the white-clad figures gave me a slightly bigger amount of freedom in my confined world.

It's been some time since our last meeting, yet the memory remains vivid. Though loneliness grips me, my shadow remains a faithful companion, a mere fragment of myself. The ringing in my ears came to a halt when the scientists outside started to mumble outside the glass.

"We think she's grown fond of you, sir, since your meeting months ago," they murmured, their voices tinged with uncertainty. "We did the same experiments that we did on Subject V, but her outputs were all similar to you."

A familiar figure entered the laboratory as I stood, my eyes widened in realization as I recognized the person. It was him. My prince charming, arriving to rescue me from this horrendous dungeon. Albert was it? Carefully, I walked up to the glass, admiring every detail of his features. As I rested a palm on the clear surface dividing us, a sense of tranquility washed over me. There was something about his presence, something about him, that made me feel safe and secure, even behind those enigmatic black sunglasses. At least, that's what my caretaker told me it was.

"I suppose you were waiting for my return," He stood still, looking down at me. Unaware, the shadow emerged behind me and pressed its face to take a closer look at you. We were both in awe at our guest.

Slowly, it seemed to grow impatient, pacing around the room. Soon after, it banged its fists on the glass with great force, a crack managing to creep its way into the middle. It clawed, punched, and screeched at him. The scientists began to worry, informing my prince to step away from the glass. Carefully, he stepped back before returning his gaze to the dark figure in my cell.

My heart sank as a deep, ominous sound filled the air, reverberating through my ears. I reached out to cover them, the shadow retreating back to me. It was their form of punishment to us whenever I would misbehave to them.

It was painful, I've always hated this punishment. I dropped and curled myself onto the floor, surrendering as my hands lacked the strength to block the painful echo.

After what seemed like an eternity, they silenced the cacophony and studied me intently. Covered in sweat, I felt a moment of weakness wash over me. As I kept my eyes closed, their voices wandered through the glass, arguing in hushed tones.

The scientists were talking to him, one sat in front of a computer, the rest standing beside him. They seemed to be showing him something. He glared at me for a moment before twisting his full body to look at me. This is bad. He knows me. My heart raced as he began to move.

I flinched upon hearing my cell door open, two figures in heavy equipment entered, followed closely by him. Approaching slowly, he tried to make sure not to trigger anything that could set off my temper. His figure towered over me, his shadow covering the ground near my feet, and I tasted it. That was when I knew what he was hiding from me and the others.

He gave me a stern glare before kneeling down in front of me. "You poor thing," He cooed, stroking my cheek. "I won't hurt you," he reassured me with a gentle voice, too distracted to hear a hint venom in his tone. As he spoke, the shadow emerged from the ground, swirling around him smoothly like a liquid matter, its movements fluid and graceful, in contrast to its violent gesture from earlier. He dragged his gaze to the shadow, knowing that he shouldn't let his guard down. As the shadow scanned every part of him, I sensed a formidable power within him, slightly surpassing my own. But then I would let my guard down.

His hand slowly moved down from my face and landed on my shoulder. "I know everything about you, Subject A." My eyes widened at the pressure, his hand gripping my throat with great force in a flash. His strength allowed him to hold me with one hand without breaking a sweat, pinning me against the glass wall, cracking it slightly in the process. "I know your true intentions, Borris. And if you pull that move again, you will be exterminated. Am I clear?" Tears started to prickle in my eyes, desperate for air, I nodded and let out a choked sound. He let go at once, my foot thudding against the padded floor when I dropped. The men with the heavy equipment approached me cautiously, lasers pointed on my forehead, their barrels standing a foot away from me. "For the next few days, you will be transferred to a different room. There you will interact with another test subject. If you treat him correctly, you will be moved to another room with normal humans. If you treat them correctly, again, you will be granted with freedom." It was too much. His aura, his shadow, everything about him was evil. He is stronger than me.

"I will take that as a 'yes'." He answered his own question before leaving, the soldiers following him.

My breathing started to calm, though my throat was still numb from his iron grip. I was scared, he caught me off guard, who knows what else he'll do to me next time.

'but...'

"Project Borris: Subject A commencing transfer."

I gripped my throat, mimicking his past gesture to me. The people in bodysuits began to enter my room and seized my doing, attaching a collar to my neck with a glowing red dot.

'He will set me free...'

[another-clive-blog]

You know what? Maybe we should just have Clive die and leave Dimitri to the aftermath of figuring out what to do <3

If you ask me the best kind of Clive angst is the kind where he’s just dead

On it boss !! That man is dying today or so help me (Dead Clive angst isn't like my favorite but I sure will write the heck out of it lol, your AUs are always very good and inspiring so I can't help it =) )

TW : heavy mention of death and everything it implies.

Also there's Claire. I love her too much

He hadn't made it.

The scientists said he would survive, the doctor said he would survive, he had sworn he would survive long enough to kill Dimitri, and yet Dimitri was there and he wasn't.

Too close to the explosion, the doctor had told Dimitri, what kind of idiot would get this close to such a dangerous machine ? He'd been treating explosion victims for as long as he'd worked in this lab, according to him. Apparently, it was just a matter of time before he couldn't save one.

Dimitri kept hearing the words again and again, the sorry looks, the tipping around the subject.

While waiting for news, he had sat himself at their favorite table in the towering pagoda. It wasn't the imposing office at the very top of the tower, no, it was a small table with a nice view of the Thames and the trees surrounding it- something simple, peaceful and normal. Normal was what they were looking forward to, after all. And it almost felt normal sometime, when the conversation was pleasant and the mood was good.

It had stopped being normal when the doctor had come with "unfortunate news". Just like that, the hat casually sitting on the table, the empty chair, the quiet, none of it was peaceful or normal anymore.

The doctor had left, but Dimitri hadn't, because where would he go to find some normal ? So there he was, sitting at an empty table, with only a white hat in front of him.

It was quiet.

"I've heard the news."

Ah. Of course.

Dimitri refused to look up, keeping his head bowed and his eyes on his hat, far from the doorway behind him where was standing Claire.

"He lost consciousness quite fast, and it went even faster after that. The doctor said he probably didn't realize what was happening." He simply said.

"The doctor is an idiot," He wasn't looking at Claire but he just knew she was crossing her arms, staring at him like she would sometimes do back in the days, when he'd be too self-deprecating, or too pessimistic, or too anxious. He missed back in the days. There was a lot more normal and a lot less tragedy back in the days.

Then again, he was talking to Claire.

She came up to him, stared him down for a moment : then, she sat in the empty chair in front of him while he kept his gaze solely on his hat. "You're not an idiot, Dimitri."

He shook his head. "He didn't suffer-"

"Of course he did !!" She cut him off in anger, leaning forward on the table : Dimitri saw his hat slightly tremble, otherwise unbothered by the movement : he couldn't explain what made this fact so interesting that he would focus all of his attention on it, and not spare Claire a single look.

She didn't let that stop her, though. "And even if he didn't, it wouldn't make any of this better !!"

"What do you want me to do ?" He stated blankly, voice barely above a whisper. "Build a time machine to save him ?"

The joke didn't land, although it wasn't one.

"Dimitri." Her voice was commanding and colder than he had ever heard her. "You are going to stop this madness. Now." He had barely registered her words when a white object appeared in his peripherical vision, and it took him a few seconds to recognize Claire's hat.

He had bought it to her on her first day in Future London, when they had gone from two accomplices to three. Dimitri had bought new clothes for Claire and a new chair for their favorite table : that way, the three of them could always enjoy a moment of peacefulness together, although it almost never happened with their trio. He wondered if it would get easier, now that they were back to just a duo.

He also wondered how normal and peaceful it would be, when he would eventually sat all alone at their- his table.

"I can't," he finally said.

"I think I didn't hear you right."

"I can't," he repeated, louder. "I can't stop now. I can't just- let go of the scientists before coming to some kind of result. And I can't give up on this project before more good than harm has come out of it. If I give up now, then all of your lives have been wasted in vain."

There was a beat of silence, then another. Dimitri didn't have time to reflect on the moment before it ended.

"Dimitri, I'm not some money you spent buying a lottery ticket that you're now trying to get back. I am a person. I gave my life to this project because I believed in it, in the good it could do, in the people behind it. But I don't anymore."

Dimitri had never noticed how similar their hats looked. Had he bought it for that reason ? No- she had chosen it herself, he remembered. He had only paid the price, a pretty fair price.

"You're never compensating for all the people who died for this project : you're just going to kill more while trying to." Claire must have noticed he was staring, or maybe she hadn't, maybe she was focused on something else entirely : point is that she pushed her hat aside, away from Dimitri's.

He talked slowly. "It just has to work one time... One time would be enough."

"Would it ?"

Her tone had changed suddenly, and suddenly she was no longer sitting, startling Dimitri who looked up. He was expecting to see Claire's face but didn't, instead coming face to face with a sea of familiar blue.

A familiar hat.

"I came to give you this," he heard her say behind the hat she was handing him, his hat. He didn't reach for it, only stared, and after a few seconds she dropped it on the table where it landed with a loud flop.

He immediately recoiled in- in something, pushing the blue hat away. He stared at it a moment longer, confused, shocked, disgusted maybe, before his mind registered the sound of Claire leaving.

Standing up, he turned to stop her, but she was already far, so far, too far for him to reach.

He didn't even get a glimpse of her face as she said. "If you decide to keep going, try to at least say his name next time."

And then she was gone, and the silence was back. It was quiet as he waited for her to come back, quiet as she never did, quiet as he finally turned away from the door only to be greeted by three hats on an empty table, all sitting in a quiet reunion. It all felt peaceful and so very normal.

And yet, he found himself wishing for an annoying remark from- from...

[contreparry]

happy friday! for some DA2 crew, "finding an old secret stash" (from the nostalgia list)

Absolutely! I felt like indulging in the Pacific Rim AU once more, so I wrote some more Fenris and the crew for @dadrunkwriting !

Fenris walked into the mess hall and utter chaos. A crowd was gathered around the far table. He recognized the faces seated and standing around it: the other jaeger pilots and essential staff that manned the Kirkwall Defense Outpost.

Several months in Kirkwall had not endeared himself to the city, but the people... the people stationed at the Outpost had grown familiar to him. This was not so in Minrathous, in Seheron, in all the years since Neromenian. The people Fenris knew were few: Danarius and his hand selected scientists. Even then Fenris did not know them, not beyond their efficiency. Danarius was a jealous man and did not share his power or glory willingly. Fenris only escaped his clutches because there was no other choice. After his jaeger, Azure Wolf, faltered in Seheron, Danarius and his scientists were put under investigation by the Imperium. Fenris, however, was relocated to Kirkwall. For his recovery, his file said, but Fenris knew that this was no sick leave but a reassignment. Kirkwall was desperate for pilots, even battered ones like Fenris who arrived without a jaeger or a partner. Kirkwall would take anyone these days. Some called the city cursed, for it had endured more Darkspawn attacks in the past decade than any other city in the Free Marches.

Fenris was in no position to complain about his reassignment. He hadn't realized he could protest- Danarius kept him from the world, carting him out of his Minrathous facility for endless rounds of testing, training, and battles before he was quickly ushered back inside. It was simply how life was, at least until Azure Wolf broke. Fenris still didn't know what went wrong that day. He looked over the scrambled remnants of data as often as he was able these past months. An engine overheated, a lyrium vein was cut, runes faltered, failed- and Azure Wolf faltered. The investigation was incomplete, inconclusive. Here was how the jaeger broke down, but the whys... now that was another matter entirely. Was it incompetence? Sabotage? An overeager magister pushing his pet project beyond its limits, and it was only a stroke of luck that the pilot did not die was well? Who could say?

But in his heart of hearts Fenris formed his own theory, not based on scientific theory or speculation, but one that only another pilot could understand. Jaegers possessed souls as much as any mortal, feeling being. You could not pilot a jaeger without acknowledging this simple fact: jaegers had a mind of their own. Azure Wolf did not break because of a mere mechanical failure or a magister's overeager whims, and it did not break because someone sabotaged a fuel line. Azure Wolf broke so Fenris could escape. Azure Wolf broke so Fenris could live.

Fenris did not know what living meant, but he was learning. Slowly but surely, he was learning. A few months in Kirkwall showed Fenris how different life could be for a pilot, for a person. There was a routine, a schedule, a similar atmosphere of grim determination that pervaded the air- and yet there was lightness as well. There was camaraderie, friendship, warmth- hence the scene before him. Fenris approached the lunch table slowly, circling like the wolf that was his call-sign, his namesake.

"Look! I'm dividing it up in even pieces! A bit for everyone!" Hawke- the oldest Hawke, not one of the twins- shouted. "Stop crowding, you'll all get your share!"

"Aye, and you're likely keeping the biggest piece for yourself," the male twin grumbled. He yelped when his sister, small as she was, elbowed him in the gut. He collapsed, bracing his hands on the table as his breath came out in a harsh wheeze. The Hawke sister (the small one, a Mage) smiled beatifically, her eyes wide and sweet and innocent as if she had not just felled her towering twin with one sharp jab in the stomach. Perhaps she utilized magic to enhance the strength of the blow?

"I don't need much, Hawke! I don't care for sweets," The Witch said, and her slim, pale hand hovered over the fallen Hawke twin before she gently patted the man's shoulder. Fenris wanted to call the Witch a liar- Dr. Merrill Sabrae drank her tea with a healthy dollop of honey whenever she could get it- but another made the observation for him.

"Don't suffer nobly for anyone else, sweet thing," Isabela, his fellow pilot, ordered with a smile. "And it isn't like Hawke can eat it all, you know. We've got three bars here alone!"

Three bars? Three bars of what? Food, clearly, and something sweet, but meal supplements and energy bars didn't cause a whole garrison to crowd a table. Fenris crept closer, keeping himself hidden behind a thick metal post as he watched the scene unfold before him.

"Three! That is a windfall. However did you find it?" Sebastian, another pilot, asked.

"Little bit of help from Varric, then Xenon," Hawke replied. “Maker’s Balls, Carver, Bethany’s not gonna make you spew your breakfast, is she?” Any trace of concern for their brother’s wellbeing was drowned out by the glee in their voice.

“Fuck. Off.” Was the responding groan.

"The... Antiquarian?" Another pilot, the tall and solemn Aveline asked. She did not sound like she approved of this Antiquarian Xenon, but when her husband Donnic placed his hand on her elbow and shook his head slightly she merely huffed out a heavy sigh and crossed her arms over her chest. Something in Fenris’ stomach twisted at the sight. His time in Kirkwall taught him many things, but he did not anticipate jealousy to be the chief emotion he would learn. But learn it he did, for every time he saw bonded pilots interact with a look and a gesture, when he saw how they were so easily understood, a wicked and dark mood would overtake him. He carried nothing into the Drift. He was empty, hollowed out and aimless, compatible with anyone and everyone because a ghost could touch nothing. Ghost, phantom, wraith- he had not felt his loneliness so deeply until he knew what he could have had, must have had before he lost his memories.

"Oh! I know of him! He has quite the collection of Darkspawn materials, you know, a treasure trove for research," The Witch exclaimed excitedly, bringing Fenris back to the present. “But to think he was sitting on a secret horde of chocolate this whole time!”

“Andraste’s Knickerweasels, I hope he wasn’t sitting on them,” the Mage Doctor, the Healer Anders, muttered. A crude joke, that, but even so he eyed the elder Hawke’s movements with a wondrous look in his eyes.

Chocolate, then. That was a rare prize these days. Fenris wondered what sort of price Hawke paid for this treasure, then marveled at their generosity once more. Chocolates could not have come cheap, and Xenon the Antiquarian would extract an even heavier price for them. Yet Hawke chose to share this treasure with the rest of them? Perhaps he ought to intervene and retrieve some money from this Xenon? Fenris had not made friends in this place- had not made friends generally, truth be told- but Hawke had been kind to him. Welcomed him with open arms. A favor was long overdue.

“Xenon owed us here and there and was being stingy with his repayment,” Varric Tethras said, satisfaction dripping from his voice as he flung one stocky leg over the bench seat and settled down with a groan. “So I sent Hawke along to his Emporium to, ah, jog his memory.”

“And after my social call he sent me off with a whole box of chocolate bars. Claimed I was giving him a headache with my chattering,” Hawke announced. “There! All split up, nice and even. One piece each, and I’ll see about cutting up another for dessert after supper.”

“I knew your big mouth had to come in handy someday,” Carver muttered, but he greedily snatched up his portion of chocolate and savored it, closing his sky-blue eyes as if he was experiencing rapturous delight. Fenris thought he spied a trace of a smile on that grim face, which was a wonder in itself. As the different pilots and staff gathered their chocolate Fenris made to leave, but he was spotted before he could retreat.

“Fenris! There you are!” Bethany exclaimed, her sweet voice as loud and clear as a Chantry bell. "Come, we've cut a piece for you as well!"

A piece of chocolate, all for him? Impossible. Surely this was a joke- or a trick? Fenris stomped down on the suspicion that rose in his heart with particular venom. This was not Minrathous, these people were not Danarius. An offer was simply an offer, and a piece of chocolate was a piece of chocolate. Even so, he hesitated. Even so, he was... Fenris shook his head and stepped back.

“No need. I am content to watch,” Fenris insisted as many eyes fell upon him. He was content to watch, it was true. This was... good for him. Educational. This is what it meant to be part of something bigger than oneself, wasn't it? He wasn't ready to participate. He didn't know how. But if he watched, if he listened, perhaps someday he would find the courage to join in this gathering. This is what Azure Wolf wanted for him, to live. And he would live, even if it took him time to learn what living meant.

“You haven’t allergies, have you? We can find something else if that’s a problem, but you ought to join us, too,” Bethany insisted, and she jabbed at Carver, then Hawke, with her finger. "We've got some candies in our hanger, don't we? It's not chocolate, but maybe you'll like them?" She smiled sweetly at Fenris, warm and generous, and Fenris hardly knew what to do about the attention, the welcome, the invitation to join in the gathering. Too soon, too much, he should retreat and reconsider-

"It isn't- I don't have allergies," Fenris said lamely. He could not lie to her, not when he was faced with such warmth, such earnest eagerness. His attention had been so fixed on Bethany that he hadn't noticed Isabela creeping upon him until it was too late to make his escape. She roped one strong arm around his shoulders and leaned against him, her weight and muscle a solid mooring that kept him from fading away from this scene and all the eyes watching him.

"Then you'll join! Good, good, you sit down right here, my darling," Isabela said joyously. "Varric, scoot over! Thank you, Sebastian." Sebastian had already made room for Fenris on the bench, and he offered a polite smile when Fenris was forced to take a seat.

"No trouble, Miss Isabela," Sebastian replied. "Tis good to see you, Fenris. How is your head?" Ah. His head. The bout they engaged in yesterday, hand to hand combat, had ended in a slim victory and a decent battering. Fenris was swift and well-trained, but Sebastian was as vicious on the mat as he was soft-spoken and genteel off it. Fenris counted himself lucky that he got out with his win, a few bruises, and a knock on the head.

"Well enough. Thank you," Fenris said awkwardly, all too aware of the eyes on him. The Witch was thoughtfully nibbling on her chocolate like a mouse, her forest green eyes wide and as innocent as a halla's as she watched him. But why? What was she looking for?

"Head? I- you sneaky little bastard, you did hit your head yesterday! I ought to have your hide for that, lying to your healer!" Anders burst out in a sudden, furious fit. He leaped off the bench and rounded the table, hand already reaching into his pocket for some wicked medical tool. Fenris flinched before he could school his expression or body into the neutral state he maintained whenever he was examined under Danarius' watchful eye. Kirkwall changed him. Kirkwall changed many things. Fenris hoped that no one else noticed this aberration, but no such luck. Isabela caught onto his discomfort, as she caught so many things. She was perceptive.

"Anders, give him a moment to catch his breath!" Isabela said with a laugh. "Let him have a little treat, he deserves as much! Come, try a chocolate, it's not the top shelf goods but we can't be picky. Varric, break out the cards, we ought to play a round of Wicked Grace!"

A collective groan of 'no Isabela' and 'please don't Isabela' filled the air, Aveline being the most vocal in her protests. Fenris thought he heard someone (Carver, perhaps?) complain that Isabela cheated. Someone else (Donnic, for certain) said they could probably only squeeze in half a game at best, considering all the players. But Anders only scowled all the fiercer and ducked down to stare Fenris in the eyes. He whipped his hand out of his pocket and shone a light into his eyes. Fenris grimaced and jolted away, nearly knocking himself into Varric in the process.

"If he's got a concussion he needs monitoring, not chocolates and chatter!" Anders exclaimed. "Maker's Balls, hold still! I- good, your pupils are dilating normally for an elf. Good sign. Headaches? Nausea? Confusion? Dizziness? Insomnia?" The healer peppered him with questions as he poked and prodded, grasping his arm and brushing his fingers along the inside of his wrist to read his pulse.

"No. No headaches. Or nausea. Or dizziness," the other things were standard parts of Fenris' life, had been since Neromenian. His lyrium markings buzzed as a bit of magic shot through his system. It was a diagnostic test, nothing more, but the ease with which Anders wielded magic was frightening. It was as easy to him as breathing, which spoke of skill and power that was rarely matched. Fenris knew that the Witch and Bethany were of similar skill, but they rarely drew upon magic around him. Anders did it unconsciously- at least, that was how it seemed to Fenris. Eventually the man sighed and released his wrist.

"No concussion, lucky fool. Next time you get battered about the head you come to me first. That goes for all of you, by the way. Keeping you lot healthy will drive me to an early grave," Anders complained, but he rounded the table to take his seat at Hawke's left. He snatched up his portion of chocolate and broke it in half, jamming one piece into his mouth and setting the other down before him. Hawke, ever generous, pushed a neatly cut triangle of chocolate in front of Fenris.

"There you go. Your share," Hawke said. "Go on, eat up before Barkspawn takes a bite."

"Hawke! Dogs can't eat chocolate! Not even mabari!" The Witch exclaimed in horror, and Hawke laughed, a low, rich rumble of a laugh that shook Fenris' very bones.

"Tell that to Barkspawn," Hawke replied, and the table descended into a spirited conversation about the mabari's varied diet. As they talked (or argued), Fenris eyed the chocolate in front of him, a small triangle cut from the bar that Hawke shared with them all. The chocolate was a dark brown and possessed a slick, polished shine to the surface. The elaborate maker's mark embossed into the individual squares was split in half, and little crumbs of chocolate were scattered across the smooth, shining candy piece like sand grains. Had he ever had chocolate before? Not since Neromenian, or else he would remember it. What did it taste like? Did scarcity increase its appeal, or was it truly so delicious it was worth all this fuss? Fenris had no idea, but he could find out if he had the courage to open his hand.

Live, he thought. Azure Wolf bid me live, and so I shall. Quickly, before he could talk himself out of it, Fenris darted out and took the piece in hand before popping it into his mouth.

The chocolate was sweet, but not too sweet. Rich but not overly so. It felt smooth on the tongue and melted slowly in his mouth. It was but a small triangle of chocolate, but it was a luxury that was his. It was not bribery, it was not trickery, it was offered to him out of camaraderie. Out of what could become friendship.

The potential made the chocolate taste all the sweeter.

[black-dhalias]

All Ten Toes -Avatar-

Tsu’tey X F!Reader (8K Words) Warning: death, descriptions of war, angsty, violence

While sitting in the hangar, your body pressed against the metal as you lean onto the truck. Even as you watch the soldiers, as you see the war brew around you—the sheer beauty of Pandora shines through. You can see the towering trees that just brush the sky.

Arms crossed over your chest, you spot him rolling up—Jake Sully, another Avatar pilot and veteran... Just like you. You uncross your arms and walk in his general direction, lips curling upwards under the mask.

"Sully?" He nods, and you nod in the direction of the base entrance to which he falls in line beside you. "Y/L/N. Just wanted to meet the fellow not scientist joining the Avatar program."

He smiles under the mask, which tells you everything you need to know. "Navy?" You roll your eyes, side-eyeing him.

"Semper fi." His eyes widen, but he sees it—just in the way you carry yourself now. You're not just a soldier, but a marine—like him. Reaching the door, you code you both in and gesture him inside.

"Appreciate the welcome. So what's the mission?" You raise a brow, pointing him int eh direction of the briefing.

"Don't die, hot wheels. Briefings down the hall, just through that door."

So when you and Sully approach the Colonel, side by side, you have a feeling it has more to do with your shared background. With the fact that you are both ex-military with a knack of taking risks, and paying for it in the end. Trudy points over at the helo, your heart pounds louder and then fades off.

"I'm putting you both on door guns." Trudy was your roommate, she kept your secret and you kept her sane—not a lot of women running around that aren't scientists. You nod, well at least your time in the service keeps you from being too bored around here; it keeps you useful.

"This low gravity'll make you soft." An uneasiness grows in the pit of your stomach, and you like to listen to that feeling—because its usually right, and he's always put you on edge. "You get soft. Pandora will shit you out dead with no warning." As he sits up, you shift, tucking your hands behind your back. Wrist in your palm.

"I pulled your records. Corporal." Eyes on Sully, then you. "First Lieutenant." Your lip twitches, you haven't heard that in a while—can't remember the last time someone called you by rank. He doesn't linger on you for long though, turning back to Sully. But all you hear is the dull ringing in your ear, feel your body detaching until you hear your name over the ringing.

"Several tours Lieutenant. A couple badass career moves, medically retired at the peak of your career because a lunatic blew your leg off." Its a quote from one of the articles written about you, about the four that were in that bathroom. You wish none of them knew, that he didn't know, but its in the file—clear as day.

"The Avatar Program is a bad joke. Bunch of limp dick science majors." He points at you and while your urge is to step back, you don't—stuck at attention. The weight of your leg becoming more apparent, but its in your head just like the burning sensation. "We're going to talk about the fact that seasoned marine wasn't in your resume."

You feel Sully watching you, but ignore it—keeping up with the colonel. "However, it does present an opportunity both timely and unique." He shouts, but your blood has run cold and chest tight. "A couple of marines in an Avatar body. That's a potent mix. Gives me goosebumps. Such marines could provide the intel I need, right on the ground. Right in the hostiles camp." You never thought twice then, driven only by orders—mind resorting to all it remembers and knows.

"Look Sully. Y/L/N." You swallow. "I want you to learn these savages from the inside. I want you to gain their trust." Easier said than done. "I need to know how to force their cooperation, or hammer them hard if they won't."

"Are we still with Augustine?" Orders, that's how you both run.

"On paper. Yeah, you walk like one of her science pukes, you quack like one, but you report to me." Your posture stiffens, the doubts still flood in even if you know that you're going to listen. You preferred when it was a secret.

"Can you do that for me?" Sully affirms first. Eyes on you, nod. May god forgive you... because you're not sure you will.

To see ten fingers and ten toes, all at once—it is something you never thought you would see again. Even on the overlook, the fact that you have both legs is more overwhelming than the view.

"I never thought I would have two legs again." You break the long silence, the weight of training has become easier given time and you appreciate the breaks he began to give you.

"What does that mean?" To him, he's only ever known you as this—something that is a force of nature like you were on Earth. But on Pandora, you don't feel like a force of nature anymore. You never even mentioned it to him before now because it never crossed your mind.

"Back on Earth, when I was still a warrior—" You recall Sully's first lie to the Na'vi, that you were warriors of the jarhead clan. "A man was so against women warriors in my clan, he set off an explosion in a room for women. Killed three others, injured me beyond repair." You pause, trusting the words and trusting him not to repeat them. So when you finally get the courage to look at him, he is not showing you pity. He almost looks admiring, but that's just a trick of your mind. "When I woke up, I didn't know what had happened to me... I was so scared and went to walk out of the room." You've never spoken about it, not even to Trudy. "When I hit the ground. My whole life was gone. My career. My friends. My leg. Took months of rehab and therapy, got a prosthetic. Signed up to come out here." On Pandora, at least you were somebody. Worth something.

"Then you have always been brave." You smile and he miles back, your heart rate quickens. You like when he smiles on those rare occasions.

"Come with me." He declares, standing and holding out his hand, and you trust him without a second thought. The ringing always dulls around, so much so that you know he won't lead you astray.

In the helo, you feel alive—Pandora is alive around you. A living, breathing thing. You think about what Sully said when you asked him not to say anything to the others about your military experience. "You can't run from who you are, Lieutenant." Echoes upon echoes of memories, even as Trudy grilled you nightly for information about the Colonel you shake your head. Because the memories were coming back to fast, the ringing getting too loud.

Yet you can't shake the feeling that it feels good Jake knows, and that its not just you going behind their backs. Grace looks back at you before looking forward to Trudy, her voice going over the head sets. "You sure you want a plant scientist to be on a gun?" Its taunting, but lighthearted—to which Sully responds by giving you a look. Trudy laughs, oh you'll hear about this later tonight when you get back to base.

"Oh I think she's got this." Grace raises a brow at Jake's comment before returning to what she was doing.

Now here's the truth, you would say it was marine comradery that got you stranded in the middle of the jungle. Soaking wet, surrounded by darkness. You want to defend yourself, but the truth is you're as much of an idiot as Sully and you weren't going to let him be an idiot on his own.

"So how do they think you lost your leg?" You laugh coldly, he gets you stranded in the middle of Pandora without any defenses and he's asking you personal questions. Your hands squeezing the water from your clothes.

"Car accident." But you placate him anyways with an answer hoping it'll shut him up for a while.

"Are you ashamed?" Nope, hasn't crossed the line yet, but the ringing grows louder in the back of your head.

"Maybe I was tired of being some trigger happy jarhead?"

"Its more than that."

"Why does it have to be more than that?"

"Because you lost your leg, and your instinct is to get on the first flight to Pandora."

Following, hand in hand with Tsu'tey, he guides you towards the top of home tree—the greenery thick as the branches flatten out enough to walk out onto. "You must learn one more thing." Just one more? Even as your feet find the grooves naturally, instincts guiding your every step—you no longer have to look for where they go.

"There has to be more." When he looks at you, something has changed—but it doesn't make sense. Did you mistake pity for admiration? Does he feel sorry for you?

"You are almost ready." One of the people, but now your stomach is doing backflips because you have betrayed him. Betrayed the people. So the ringing grows louder until he tightens his hand, and you center—the ringing dulls.

"Just watch." Tsu'tey taught you that sometimes it pays to watch and listen, and all the military training—all the 'go go go' mentality does is drive you into the ground. Sometimes the world needs to be still.

You stumble into the people, wrists bound together as some reach out to run their fingers along your limbs—this is the closest you've ever been to a native and its the closest you'll ever be. Because you'll be dead soon enough. Glaring at Sully, you never should have ran after him—should have let him die out there or get caught on his own.

But your oath means something, and so do your friends so here you are because those things mean something to you. Like you said, you won't let him be stupid on his own. Now you're both just a couple of stupids. Two people stuck in front of the leaders of the Na'vi. A chief. His wife. Their daughter. And the betrothed. They all hate humans, and they hate the Avatars—the dream walkers. Demons.

This is a fitting end for you though—the colonel wanted trust and that wasn't ever going to happen. For you or Sully.

Watching Tsu'tey from the branch, you leap for joy and cheer him on before he lands. In front of you is a Banshee and a grinning Tsu'tey, the funny thing is you don't remember him ever smiling at you like that before. Maybe he has and you never had a chance to notice. Never could see what it meant. Not that you think it meant anything at all.

Tsu'tey waves you forward, but you are not able to bring yourself to walk forward—which causes a crease to form in his brow. To smooth that crease, you step forward and watch it flatten out. Fear builds, but so does curiosity until its nose is in your palm. The banshee does not flinch or run for, it remains grounded even as Tsu'tey steps off.

"This is Ikran. With Tsaheylu, we are one." That is the word you would use to describe them. The look Tsu'tey shares with them, but what you don't see as you run your fingers along the back of its head. That is how he looks at you.

"I don't like Jake Sully... But you are different." He tolerates you is the difference, Sully is intolerable even to his friends. Even as he guides your hand, his fingers ghosted atop yours. "To be one with  Tsaheylu, requires more than what he has. It requires spirit." So even as the Banshee's wings beat and your heart speeds up, you did not expect to see the flashes of your life on Earth.

You see your family, the reason you joined the marines in the first place. Being sworn in.

There is a whooosh of harsh winds against your cheek, Tsu'tey closer than you remember as the ringing begins. You see your best friend, the world overcrowding and resources running thin. You see the first time you were shipped out. The ringing is louder as you see yourself entering the bathroom—it's all in slow motion. The drift is beginning to close in on you, and blur the memory with Tsu'tey. The explosion. The smell of burned skin.

Your body has gone limp, you can't hear Tsu'tey, but you can see him. It is so bright. You hear your name far off, caught in the drift. Deeper and deeper, as it all goes brighter. The light that slants in from the top of the tree, cutting into frame and overwhelming your sight. The last thing you see is Pandora. Oh Pandora... You don't feel him shaking you, or hear him yelling. None of it because you are being pulled out of the chamber — unconscious.

You lean against the tree, huffing a little as glance up at Tsu'tey, both irritated and amazed at how hard he seems to be pushing you. Day after day, and it doesn't get any easier with time. He pushes and pushes, and he keeps pushing until you physically cannot move another step. Yet when he drops down from the trees, eyeing you harshly— you straighten up and stare him down. You want to believe you can handle him, even if it means pretending like your mind is not stretched to its very limit as you look at him.

Becoming one with the people, as the tribe elder said, has become next to impossible with Tsu'tey as your guide. He has made no secret that he wants you to fail, to barely be able to get up the next day—let alone be here. "You did good." It's as if something breaks mechanically as you skip a step, body adjusting as your mind processes his words. Hardly a compliment after the day you had, but coming from him, you beam a little. He thinks you did a good job.

"I did my best." And he smiles. Odd, a returned gesture of kindness. You quirk your head, but don't mention it in fear of it never happening again. You had always shown such interest in him, curiosity of the things he knows about Pandora, but he barely glanced your way. Barely seemed to notice you hit the ground over and over again, the mud that was caked into your body as you wiped it away. But he did. In his own, a silent judgement—kind of way.

At first, his disinterest was defeating and it made you want to quit, but that defeat quickly turned into motivation. Instead of drifting off in thought every time he critiqued, you would power through and push yourself further than before—you suddenly had a lot to prove to Tsu'tey.

You feel yourself being ripped away from your Avatar, your mind splintering and you realize Grace is hovering over you with—hate. She seems hateful and angry. But so are you.

"Are you kidding me? Are you serious right now?!" You can hardly breathe as you fling the tech off your frame and swing your leg over the edge.

"When were you going to tell me?" You glare, grabbing the prosthetic that's leaned against the chamber.

"Grace you just pulled me out of there mid-link. What if-"

"You work for the Colonel now?" Shit. You adjust the prosthetic and swallow down the bile, she doesn't care about you. Just about her science.

"Grace listen-"

"No you listen! You report to me, my science and my program! I can take this shit from Sully-"

"Ma'am... with all due respect, I report to you and him. That's my job. My expectation because he's the one that signs my check, and makes sure I get my benefits."

"You're starting to sound more like a soldier than a scientist, Y/N." It is her sneer that does it for you, that pushes you over the edge and sends you into thought. You can hardly breath as you tuck your hands behind your back, wrist into palm.

"Maybe I am."

"Get out of my lab..."

"With all due respect Grace, make me." You may lack one less limb than her, but you take her and half this department before they got you down. "I have every right to be here, I worked just as hard and did just as much."

"Pack your shit, we're leaving. All of us." You don't break eye contact, watching as she lights a cigarette and turns her back to you. A part of you wishes you had hit her, just once. One good hit, but you watch her begin packing and then go to your room.

You have to prevent yourself from jumping across the helo when Grace comments about how it explains why they always gave you the gun. Its because you were trained, military—and you weren't someone she has control over and so she moved you all. Everyone to shacks in the middle of nowhere.

She kept you under wraps though and out of the chambers, careful to keep you from reaching out to anyone. It was like a cruel punishment, and all it did was tether you to the crutch. Not caring enough to put on the prosthetic in such a small space with every intention of sitting most of the day.

But every night you hear about his life, his journey to becoming one with the people—for days. You had half hoped Tsu'tey would ask about you, but he didn't—he was harsher on Sully, protective when Sully tried to bring you up.

You had tried to listen to Grace with interest, leaned back almost completely in your chair as she continues to lecture you about lying. Detailing every lie you ever told, forgetting that you really do have a degree in biology. You just never applied it in a science context until you were on Pandora. She even touches im how its dumb to lie about something so stupid when you are friends. So even as Norm sits next to you, having dealt with Grace for about half as long as you when it comes to her judgement.

"Honestly Y/N, you should have just said something. But instead you let yourself be micromanaged by a couple G.I. Joes." You lean forward, chin on your hand that rests on your thigh.

"So what?" You pause, "I was just supposed to admit to being a soldier and hope you didn't judge me so quick?"

"I wouldn't-"

"Like with Jake? Honestly Grace, its plenty important to you that your science project remains yours."

"Well I mean of course its important, we don't need another-"

"Another what? Trigger happy moron? When have I ever been that?"

The conversation ends there, and back to being grounded and ignored. Graces specialty around here. She had Sully, that was her in with the clan... You weren't important to that.

Grace throws something in front of you, papers—you half expect them to be resignation papers. She likes trying to force your hand into leaving, the betrayal still fresh in her mind.

"Don't make me regret this." Its approval to make her your boss, she signs your check...You nod, pulling yourself to your feet—using the crutch, you head the link chamber.

Your throat tight as you settle into the gel, leaning back and letting the tech settle over your body. Melding to you as you shut your eyes and head into the dark. Hopefully you aren't dead yet.

At first, there is a block that keeps you from fully coming too and then the darkness shifts. You feel your fingers and toes, all ten toes. You open your eyes and find yourself in a large room, the familiar hammocks beneath you. Then you see the healers, who see you awake and push you back into the hammock.

"Stay." They whisper, you nod, but as soon as they turn the corner—who climb out of the hammock and feel the wood beneath your feet. The stiffness in every muscle unmistakable to the point that you think about listening, but why would you?

First step. You've got this. Second step, you see a figure turn the corner and stumble back- "Tsu'tey."

"You're not welcome here, demon." It feels as though everything, every fiber of being has drained away from you—leaving only a shell. You half wonder if he realizes how cruel he looks, how much hate he conveys with those eyes—you're tired of people looking at you with hate.

"Are we back to this?" You ask lips pressed into a thin line, it may be a different body, but it is still you and the same mannerisms.

"You walk in a false body."

"You knew this." You sneer, walking towards him until you are just in front of him. While your tone is angry, your eyes are sad. "I never made that a secret."

Even as the hardness melts away from him, when he reaches out to touch your cheek and push hair away from your face. "You-" He pauses, not trusting himself to speak before he puffs out all the air in his lungs. "You worried me."

"I didn't want to."

You didn't know this, and you wouldn't unless someone had the guts to go around Tsu'tey, but he spent most of his days with your still form. The healers had spread the rumor quickly of his interest, but they had grown accustomed to seeing you with him. Assumed it was by the chiefs orders alone, but it was also because he found comfort in your presence. You never expected anything more of him and he appreciated the gentle kindness that your words often held.

Pinned to the ground, you struggle against the binds until the arrows and spears lock your muscles in place. Even with hands grabbing at you, pulling the braid taunt and tender, all you can think about is Tsu'teys' word to describe you: 'demons'. You shouldn't take it personally, you've never met him in your life and know that the Na'vi hate you.

Approaching Home Tree though, you fall under the spell of Pandora once more and the world shifts for a second. Beautiful. Unlike your science buddies, you never had the chance to see this in person—the friendship with the Na'vi long over.

"We have tried to teach sky people, but you cannot fill a cup that is already full."

"Trust me, our cups are plenty empty ma'am." Oh Sully, you poor idiot— you think, trying your best to not squirm under Tsu'teys glare. "Just ask Dr Augustine, we're not scientists."

"Then what are you?"

"We are Marines..." You speak up, going along with Sully and hoping your not dead in the next hour.

"Warriors... From the jarhead clan." Tsu'tey swears and you worry that you might be walking a thin line... He seems the most hostile, less willing to listen and bend.

"The chief says we're the first warrior dream walkers. That they must learn from us." You repeat as Sully nods to acknowledge as you wait.

("Tsu'tey you will teach the woman dream walker:") That does not receive a favorable response from him, one that makes you think Sully might be the only one to live between the two of you.

"Learn well Jake Sully. Y/N Y/L/N. Then we will see if your insanity can be cured." Yup, you're still going to die.

Once asleep, you begin to come to— hearing voices calling you and all you can manage is a laugh as you sit up straight. Holy shit... Now no one can say anything, because you're there. Inside the village.

Even when you wake again, you feel that jittery feeling until you hear him.

("Wake up demon.") What a way to wake up, to know he thinks so highly of you:

("You do not have to he so rude Tsu'tey. I'm very capable of understanding you.") He humphs.

("I do not care if you understand me. Go home demon.")

("You would hate that wouldn't you?") If his glaring eyes could push you out of the hammock now, you'd be falling to your death right about now.

.

.

.

Yet that wasn't the first time that you were torn from a link, but it certainly would be the last. You stand beside Tsu'tey knowing full well what is about to happen, Grace standing in the crowd. ("Tsu'tey will lead the war party!") There is a roar as he throws his bow into the air, you half imagine him to die if he proceeds. You know he will. As Jake enters, you feel it beginning to shift and it changes Tsu'teys expression.

"You mated with this woman!?" Fuck. You attempt to get closer, but are incapable of getting closer as people stop you. Starting with Neytiri's mother.

Tsu'tey paces, you see the shake in his chest and the tremor in his voice as he pulls his knife. You plead with him without saying a word to stop, but he doesn't. Yet once blood is drawn, you rush to Tsu'tey. He shakes you off, wiping away the blood.

Grace drops. Your eyes widen. Jake drops and Tsu'tey pulls his knife, and Neytiri protects his body. You look at Tsu'tey, feeling the shift again. Your breath catches, he meets your eye— to far to catch you, and too far to do anything yet watch your knees break. "Tsu'tey I-" Then you drop.

Waking from that moment, the panic still bursts through as your chamber is forced open. "Rise and shine, marine." Then you feel a fist hit your cheek, it'll bruise nicely— as you go unconscious. You're definitely getting tired of this.

They keep the cuffs on you, sitting you in the chair as you sneer at Colonel. You hadn't stopped with the ring of threats, your cheek still burning from the initial hit.

"We can talk them out." You assert, swearing up and down as your jaw tightens.

Parker turns towards you, pointing. "You're not going anywhere." You slump into your chair, but he nods in Sully's direction.

Tsu'tey watches Jake, the image of you dropping still stuck in his brain. He sees Grace, but he does not see you. Even as they tie Jake, the words slip out. "Where is Y/N?"

"You have to go! Y/Ns life depends on it!"

You sit in silence, in an isolated room until your chest begins to hurt. They took your prosthetic, took everything from you—chest completely solidified and throbbing. You feel the hard throb of your heart, you were supposed to be a protector of The People. Yet here you are, stuck in a place you don't want to be—in a room on your own. Waiting for the inevitable.

They let Norm sit in, but you weren't allowed— because you were one of them. You hear the shouts before you see them being forced into the same room, you don't ask because you know— you dont want to know anything.

Not a sound. You didnt speak because you couldn't, you were supposed to be there for Tsu'tey.

.

.

.

You half expected to never wake up again when the bullet hit you, the blood blended so well with the burnt red color of your t-shirt. You wanted it to just be a wine stain, to disappear and fade off to become just a stain. Yet it didn't. Instead, you felt a dizzy spell begin to fall over your frame and send you tumbling to the helo floor just after Grace.

Fuck, you think leaning onto the cold metal—the whirring sending you off to sleep.

You feel the burning sensation of your hands cupping the wound until you no longer have the strength; however, just as you are beginning to slip too deep. The world becoming too fuzzy to hold onto, Sully is shouting out for help—is he? You think so, its not him shouting—or anyone... Its what you wish they were doing, but instead you are laying in silence. Wondering what will take you first, blood loss or the shock of it all.

Tsu'tey listens to Sully, "I will fly with you." Sully nods, knowing full well what comes next as his eyes grow more serious. Which worries Tsu'tey.... "Where is Y/N?" He asks, it is almost as if he knows—as if he feels you fading in and out, even in your human form.

Sully's eyes shift to the ground, he can't lose two people in one day and he's afraid of what happens if you die. Of what Tsu'tey will do... Because the warrior may be hardheaded, but he cares about you in his own way. Whatever way that might be.

You lean into the pillow: is death supposed to feel this painless? Supposed to brush into your mind and numb the edges, to make it easier to stomach when you're able to watch it walk towards you. Inch by inch, step by step—the door opens and you force yourself to look up.

You're not ready to let go yet, "Hey Y/L/N... How ya feeling?" You try your best to smile, but to Norm, it is the saddest attempt he's seen out of you and Grace. "Look there—" You half expect it to be Pandora, or the Banshee Norm said Sully now rides... You expect Neytiri, not Tsu'tey.

He is watching you curiously, trying to see you in this form and he does... In your eyes and nose, the way your cheek is built and structure of your face. He sees a lot of you. He sees a lot of blood too. More than he has seen from a human.

"He insisted..." You half laugh, but choke on the lack of air—that bullet did a lot more damage than you expected it to have done.

"That's just a nice way of saying he made you." Even through the window he can hear he soft lulls of your breathing, and the dulcet of your voice. That too is very similar to the way you knows you. This is you.

"Glad you're still making jokes..." He whispers, taking out on of the masks that you are not so fond of, but know you need. "C'mon we got a party to go to."

Norm lifts your head and slips on the mask, watching your expression as it tightens—missing the pang of guilt that shows on Tsu'teys' face. Even as he lifts you, he tries not to jostle you too much. Trying his best to keep you grounded with him, hushing your small cries and soothing the sharp intakes of air. Norm's always been kind like that.

Yet once outside the hatch, Tsu'tey is standing next you—he's taller than you remember.... The Na'vi are taller, you curse yourself for forgetting such a simple fact. Something you should be aware of and remember, but everything seems out of touch now.

He tilts his head as he reaches out to brush his fingers against your cheek, feeling the soft flesh not jagged and bone like as he imagined aliens to look. Finally, you are able to bring yourself to look at him—really see him with your own eyes, you've always seen him. Tsu'tey had tried to rationalize everything he felt for you, wanting to find a reason to hate you. To hate your people. And he does hate them, just not you. He could never hate you.

"You're beautiful, even now." He whispers, reaching under Norm's arms and taking you into his with ease. You lean into him, maybe being close with him will make all the pain go away.

You half imagine Pandora to lose its beauty as the world becomes fuzzy, but it does not lose its beauty—the night life on Pandora is greater than any night on Earth. The wondrous colors and blends of glowing plants, the sounds of the forest humming to the song of the people.

Where you used to hear ringing, all you see is mouths moving—watching as the world fades out. "Be strong dewdrop." He whispers, such a name that would have made you laugh at any other point. Just not now as you struggle to grasp onto life. Why is it you can hear him?

Maybe that's just what you imagine he would say as you watch his lips move, as your body rests beneath the tendrils of the Mother Tree. You breath in and let your eyes close— this is it?

One last chance to relive it all, right on the border of life and death. Barely hanging onto the threads, pieces of who you are. Your mother and father stand before you smiling, even after the gunshots. Your sister smiling, even after she disappeared in the crowded Earth. Your best friend smiling as you walked into the women's restroom, just before it was blown to nothing. Your doctor smiling at you, just before he told you that your leg was beyond repair and somewhere in the disposal rooms. The bomber smiling as he admits on tape to killing your three closest friends, and how his one regret was not killing you too. Your therapist smiling when they say you've made progress even though you can't think about the past without your ear ringing. The scientist smiling, just as they take your resume to send you off to Pandora. Sully smiling when he hears your a Marine. Norm smiling when you speak to him in the Native tongue. Grace smiling when you stand up for the science, for the team, and for the Na'vi.

Tsu'tey just smiling at you.

You open your eyes... No burning, and no pain—just silence as you finally look around. You as the tendrils break away from you, as you look at your hand and then your toes. All ten toes.

You should be dead, but instead you are here. Ready to fight.

Tsu'tey let's his hand drag across your arm, down to the palm as he uses his other to touch your hair. It shouldn't feel different, you know this body— but it feels very different. Real. You don't feel like a ghost living in a shell, you feel every fiber of yourself.

"This suits you." Short sentences, but you half smile as you chuckle. Using your palm, you guide his hand to the place between your neck and jaw, leaning into the touch.

"I have not changed."

"You have... You're more you than you've ever been."

.

.

.

Nothing in all of your entire life could prepare you for this moment, to the five feet distance between you and your adversary. No amount of warning or preparation, or anything in between, could have given you enough courage to face this head on. Well, that's a lie-- he gave you the courage to see the world differently. To see all the world's in the universe differently because you're not afraid to admit you came to Pandora as a soldier-- a strategist, who knew Pandora inside and out, which gave you the opportunity to pilot an Avatar.

Your heart pounds viciously in your chest, threatening to burst through your ribs and rupture at any second. You have experienced war on Earth, been at the center of the devastation, but this feels different. You feel as though you have something to fight for right here, right now-- Pandora feels like your home.

Perhaps there is an important distinction to make, you are from Earth-- that is where your family is, but this planet feels more like home than Earth ever did. Maybe that has less to do with the planet itself, and more to do with the person you associate with Pandora. Never did you expect to be here, but it happened and now you worry that this beautiful world will be destroyed. Obliterated by the selfishness and greed of your kind, and it breaks your heart. On Earth, you were a strategist at the Pentagon having dedicated your life to service at the age of 17-- you knew nothing other than follow orders. Now you feel independent of orders, you feel as though both loyalty and duty has shifted to Pandora, and Tsu'tey. Even the thought of him gives you some form of comfort and strength.

That was the biggest shock, to find that you had a heart still and it had the capability of beating in time with another's. Mostly for the fact that you haven't been in love in over a decade because look how well it turned out the first time-- you became the good soldier, the one who followed orders and kept her head down as not to draw attention. You'd say it worked out pretty well for you because you were never hurt like that again. But now, you have opened back up and in turn, you feel whole again. You feel as though you have finally cut away those layers of scar tissue.

Following Tsu'teys' lead in the mountains and struggle less than the others because you're used to the challenges he gives. The truth is, he only looks back to look for you—and once you meet his eye, he faces forward once more and continues the journey. You trust your hands and body to know the way, and trust him to never lead you in the wrong direction. Just as you reach the top, he takes your hand and pulls you the last bit with a smile on his lips. It fades quick though, his expression hardening with a scorn.

("You will go last.")

Even as you watch Sully succeed, your nerves build and mount; you hesitate to move from your place at the edge of the falls. Hidden by the shadows of the cliffs edge. Even as you watch others succeed, you are still nervous.

("Tsu'tey.") He watches you before nodding in the direction of the Ikran, under his eye you do not feel as judge as you thought you would.

("Do not hesitate. The Ikran will know and so will you.") Through the falls, through the mist that touches your cheeks and sends a cold chill through you. You feel has hand wrap around your arm and pull you back towards him, the shadows of the cliffs casting a harsh shadow on his features. But on you, the light slants through the stone and cuts through you. You meet his eye, trying to read his expression as your heart pounds deep in your chest. You've never been able to read through the mask that he wears with everyone else, its always too much for you. ("Good luck Y/N.") He leans down to kiss your temple, his lips linger there and you go absolutely still. Completely silent. So when he lets you go, hands lingering on your shoulder you can just listen. ("You are the strongest one out here.") He is soft in private, most as impossible and hardheaded as others see him.

"Stronger than me." This is why he wanted you to go last.

Your first flight on your Ikran should have been the moment that stuck out when you think back. But its not. Instead it is the fact that Tsu'tey had finally let his guard down completely, finally seemed to trust you.

.

.

.

When the dust cleared that day, the silence of those lost was deafening—everyone wanted to celebrate in the beginning as the long war was over. Things could finally calm into peace, but there was work to be done.

Days went by, the rest of your race went home— days turned into weeks, and Jake joined you in the new body. You were what remained of the Avatar program, strong enough to live in both bodies and strong enough to choose the one that kept them with them. Soon enough, you no longer felt fear every time you walked with Tsu'tey. No longer felt the judgement that was mostly in your head.

You sit beside Tsu'tey, legs intertwined as you face each other in the trees. His entire demeanor has changed from when you first met him, he hates you less. His fingers are curious as they trace your limbs, he had imagined this a thousand times over—thought it was impossible to love you as much as he does.

"Now you must choose a man." Your eyes widen at the assertion, his body close, but far as his words put distance.

"Must? Sounds boring."

For a second, he hesitates, but he continues—still he traces your skin, feeling every finger and dimple in your hand. "A mate is important. Necessary. You have to choose."

"But what if they don't choose me?"

"Only an idiot would do that."

"Are you an idiot, Tsu'tey?" You ask, trying to will him to hear you as he often did to you. Trying to make him understand without ever saying a word.

It starts small, his lips on yours which surpasses all feelings and all logic. You are not left wondering about what's to come or what he feels, even as he separates. Caressing your cheeks and skin, willing you to hear him without a word and you do.

Tsu'tey kneels before you, shifting both your bodies so that you are chest to chest— you can feel both his breathing and his heart as you let your hands run down his chest and torso.

As he brings his braid to the front, he reaches around your shoulder to yours. You feel every caress of skin and brief, fleeting touch. You try to feel more whole, but there isn't a piece missing anymore.

Nothing to fill because you are already whole.

.

.

.

Flowers of luminescence crowd the clearing as you let Tsu'tey embrace your hand until you are close. His body in a short sway as he smiles, others say that they only ever see him smile when he is with you.

("I'll swim and sail through savage seas... with never a fear of drowning. And gladly ride through the waves of life.") You start with quiet dulcets, your voice soothes every part of Tsu'tey and it grounds him to Pandora.

("If you would marry me... No scorching sun or freezing rain. Will stop me on my journey. If you will promise me your heart. And love me for eternity.") He smiles, joining into your dance and following your lead as you guide him with your hands.

("What are you doing?") You hush him.

("My dearest one. My darling dear. Your mighty words astound me. But no need for mighty deeds. When I feel your arms around me.") You geek him become more willing to move with you, twirling as Pandora comes alive beneath your feet.

("But we are already mated?") Still you hush him.

("But I would bring you rings of gold. Id even sing you poetry. And I would keep you from all harm. If you would stay beside me. I have no use fir rings of gold. I care not for your poetry. I only want your hand to hold. I only want you near me.") By now, he is into the movements and leading the dance. Even as Pandora comes alive around you. All is well.

("To love and kiss, to sweetly hold. For the dancing and the dreaming. Through all of life's sorrows and delights. I'll keep your laugh inside me. I'll swim and sail on savage seas...") As your voice slows, so does the movements.

("With never a fear if drowning. I'd gladly ride the waves of life. So you will marry me...") He leans down to press your foreheads together with the softest smile, with the gentle hands. Warrior or not, you've never had him be less than gentle with you. Even as the world caves in, as all the world fell apart and things shifted into something new and different. You were always the thing he coveted... protected...

For a second, all of Pandora is still... Not a sound. Only the glow to remind you of the truth, that you are alive and in one of the most beautiful places.

("What does that even mean?") He whispers and all you could do is smile. How could he say something so perfect, to male you laugh and smile? Yet he could listen to it all day, listen to you just speak a sound. It is his greatest pleasure, that and seeing you move through the trees.

Knowing he taught you to climb and move, but you showed him how to move forward. How to let go. How to keep loving, and how to love more.

So this is probably the happiest ending I've ever written, cause who doesn't love a feel good story. This is also eight thousand words long… so a lot of time and thought went into this.

[takalzuoom]

self aware arcane au addicted!! Please give us more!!

IM SO SORRY THIS IS SO LATE! ngl i had trouble on how i wanted this to play out… but eventually i pulled through ✨💪😼

IM ALSO SO GLAD YOU LIKED MY PERVIOUS AU CKSLEOFOD

i hope you like this one as well 🙈🙇🏻

normally it’d wait until tomorrow to post, and once again i’m so so sorry this too so long to make 😔

cw : you scare sky, you call heimerdinger a furry

to put it simply, you were bored.

not having a phone and being ina lab with two workaholics was exhausting

every time time you would try to ask ‘what the fuck you were here’ they’d just say some bullshit about scientific discovery

GROSS

on the plus side- no school- no work- no nothing.

so while those were great, you also had to think about the downsides…

you missed your family and friends, days turning into weeks as you were cooped up in the lab. occasionally going out with one of the 3 when they knew no one was going to be there

yeah you could learn their language more, but what more was there to learn?

they never had time to really teach you about thing involving the new world you resided in. and mel was always too busy with more language lessons so she could ‘teach you about everything in her native tongue, so you could become more fluent.

it felt like you were rapunzal- locked away in a tower lab and kept out of the dark of things

so what’s the next best thing to do when your A. bored. and B. mad

rebel.

but you really couldn’t do that cause you don’t know if these people will kill you with their high tech gear or not

so you did the next best thing. fuck with ‘sky’

you’ve heard her around the lab a few times. all too aware of how her voice would unconsciously higher it’s pitch around viktor.

or how she was just so eager to learn

Y A W N

over all- you knew a bit about her

ironically, she doesn’t even know you’re here- or exist

but all she knows that there’s a fucking ghost in the lab

which, being honest- wasn first wasn’t your fault. jayce and viktor also hiding you under a desk or shoving you into a dark corner when someone not mel came in.

so you’d usually have to drop whatever you were doing and just hide

you felt like a side chick for crying out loud

and yes, you were mad, which would ensue your fidgeting which caused some kind of rackus the both tried to play off as an animal or the other.

so you decided, with an evil- grinch smirk- to see how far they’re going to go to keep your existence a secret.

how? well- she’d sometime hear moaning and rustling when she and viktor were working on hextech.

viktor ignoring her concerns with a wave of a hand as he worried her it was nothing

and totally not you rolling around on the provided bed, groaning at how you were gonna just die of boredom

or maybe it was her disappearing notes when she turn her back for just a second- swearing it was right there.

which of course put viktor in a bad spot as he stared at you, hopping away with her papers to go read them.

‘how the hell do they do that?’ is usually running through his head

and yes, the scoldings are getting longer and sterner-

but. but. this is the most fun since you snuck out of this snooze-fest.

and poor, poor sky thinks she’s going insane when she hears tapping, banging, clanking- whatever noises there are, when she’s alone in the lab.

she’d note the shadows dancing as the lights flicker and the wind rustling.

the power went out. glancing around nervously with the glow of the hexcore she walked over to the closet.

“viktor? jayce? are you guys there? the power’s gone out…”

she was reaching blindly for candles, hopping that once she has one she’ll be able to find the generator and start up the lab again- not knowing whether the whole academy was out.

she’d convince herself it was just a bad night with the obvious downpour. that she’s a scientist and shouldn’t believe in such trivial things

but the sudden grip of your hands, the fanning breath on her neck as her hair stood with attention.

“boo”

cackling to the floor as the poor girl ran for her life, screaming bloody murder out the lab and down the hall

you couldn’t help it, turning on the lights with a flick of the switch as you crumbled to the floor, your chest hurting with each other and every laugh that wheezed out of you.

you couldn’t wait for next time <3

until heimerdinger came in 🧍🏻

😟

naur cause he was standing there while you were laughing your ass off-

LIKE HE WAS ALREADY ON HIS WAY TO THE LAB AND WHEJ SKY CAME UP TO, PANICKING ABOUT HOW THERE WAS GHOST AND THAT SHES SORRY???

he had to investigate 😟

“excuse me- excuse me! but what are you doing here? how did you get in here?”

you froze from your upside down turtle position, quickly sitting up as you immediately stopped laughing.

“oh uh…well” you thought up a thought, and thought it up quick 😼

“i would like to know the same thing. so the men we should see is jayce and viktor!”

“oh dear not those two again”

‘again? just what else have they done for that response?’

so when the tiny ol’ thing offered for you to come with him to his office you just couldn’t resist!

“i’m sorry about thais two, they’re always causing trouble for us here at the academy-“

“yeah that’s great and all, are you a furry?”

“excuse me?”

- do you love me too, excuse me? -

so i would to imagine the looks ok viktor, jayce, and mel’s face when they came back from a meeting to see that there was no sign of you.

“there you are viktor! oh dear it was awful!”

“sky? slow down, and tell me what happened, are you okay?”

“no- no! there was a ghost and the light it-”

mel and jayce shared a look as mel interrupted her.

“it was just a power surge…” she didn’t know her name…

“and a draft could have just entered the room”

the poor assistant looked to her, “but my papers? and the grip on my shoulders-

and, and then i ran into heimerdinger and - i must’ve looked like such a fool oh no” she sighed, rubbing her temple as viktor froze.

shifting his weight carefully, he pressed on “heimerdinger? but he was supposed to be at the council meeting..”

“he wasn’t there? do you think…” sky asked.

“no. no. no. there’s no ghost sky, only a prankster” jayce reassured her, moving behind her to rub her shoulder as he motioned his head towards the door.

“but we should probably go to heimerdinger’s office while you get some rest okay? you don’t have to come in tomorrow”

“but viktor i”

“it’s fine sky. we have to go now”

if i had to describe the inner monologue of the three of them, i’d get banned. so i wont :)

but if you were expecting the 3 of them to run down the hall you would be sadly mistaken.

cause we all know that they’re all extremely important people, and as much as mel’s in a hurry- appearances are everything.

so they sped walk while saying hi to people. talking to eahcother in hushed voices

so you’d imagine their surprise when they stopped short at the door, jayce knocking rapidly at the sound of muffled voices.

“sir, i hope you won’t mind us coming in” viktor voices as the door started to open.

they couldn’t help but imagine the worst. every scenario running in their head making them shrink.

mel standing tall, with her eyes trained to the door

jayce fixing his collar

and viktor clearing his throat.

this want going to end well

so imagine their surprise when the image of you and heimerdinger, drinking tea while laughing was what they were greeted with.

“ah! jayce, viktor- oh and mel too! come in come in, we were just talking over tea!”

🧍🏻🧍🏻🧍🏻

why tf was heimerdinger’s… pet? pet. on your lap. IT FUCKING HATED JAYCE SO WHY IS IT COZYING UP TO YOU-

besides the point.

heimerdinger found you fascinating.

“jayce,viktor you never told me you two were taking an exchange student”

“…what?”

“that is what y/n is, correct?””…yes- yes! that’s what they are!”

the two gave you look a look, to which you just blissfully stroked his poro.

“yes! they were just telling me how they live in a small city in freljord called…” he looked to you

“ snezhnaya” you sipped your tea

“yes snezhnaya! i’ve never of such a place before! tell me jayce, did you know they had a holiday called christmas?”

“no sir, we did not”

“well then you should listen well to them as this could be a learning experience for you both.”

“yes sir”

with the request of the yodel pet thing, you left the room with mel, motioning to a zipper on your lips as you tossed something out.

yes you got a scolding from mel but c’mon. who wouldn’t enjoy it 🤭

and the two had a ‘talk’ with heimerdinger.

but for now, all they knew was that their secret was safe and that they couldn’t keep you, their ‘experiment’ to themselves anymore as you would now be given free reign over plitover and the academy - curtesy of heimerdinger

yippie! 😐

[viltrumitesuperboy]

Treat Them Right (Peter Parker x Male Reader)

Last second decision cause it’s Valentine’s Day. Also it’s short but that’s not my problem lmao

Requested by: @iliumheightnights​ Can you please write a peter parker x male reader where peter keeps getting distracted thinking of a date and the avengers think it's a girl so they give him all of these tips on how to "treat a lady right" but then his boyfriend shows up. 

Word count: 1195

CW: mentions of reader as female

Any day Peter went to the tower, he was prepared for everything that could possibly go wrong. His table would explode, a supervillain would crash through the window, everything he worked on was deleted from his computer.

The worst one was when anyone he knew came to embarrass him in front of other people.

It was rarely a problem because he had little contact with other people when he was working. If he was going into another lab, he didn't worry so much that anything would go wrong because talking to other people kept him distracted from that worry. But someone embarrassing him in front of an Avenger? He might as well just die on the spot.

A week ago, his boyfriend had mentioned that it was going to be their one year anniversary since their first date. He was zoning out for parts of the day, both stressing over how he ever found someone so amazing and what he'd have to do to avoid disaster.

"Peter! Come here. I want you to meet someone."

He turned away from the scientists currently working on a project to see his mentor.

"Mr. Stark! Uh, I'm just finishing up here," he said.

"No worries. Come in, Bruce. No one's bite is worse than yours, I promise."

There was a quiet muttered complaint, and Peter turned back to the table to work on the hologram.

"Radiation is still dangerous, even as a source of energy. It might give the Hulk his powers, and probably Spider-Man — not that I would know, I've never met him. I mean, I could! Anyway, it doesn't mean it's not still dangerous. So keep that in mind when you're working with this stuff."

He made a vague hand gesture waving at the hologram that he definitely did not learn from Tony. Just as he started to head for the door, he was stopped by a voice.

"Hey, these are my papers! That's great. There's a section over here you might want to take a look at."

Peter then saw Bruce Banner swiping through a pdf that was on one of the holograms. He smiled up at Peter.

"Peter! I can't believe we haven't met yet. You're doing great work here," Dr. Bruce Banner, world-renowned scientist and former refugee, said to Peter Parker, skinny nerd still in school.

"Uh. Thank... you..." Peter responded, a little starstruck.

Even after meeting Avengers personally, it was still a surprise to see them. The world made them seem untouchable, but Peter knew they weren't. Seeing any of them in person was like a fever dream.

"Kid, this is Bruce. Bruce, Pete. We have somewhere to go," Tony said suddenly.

"Oh, okay. Bye!" Peter managed to say before he was swept out of the room.

When they got in the elevator, Tony finally spoke.

"So, Peter! I heard something very important came up and you are gonna need to have a talking to."

"I'm gonna what?!" Peter squeaked.

Then he was in the sitting room. It was usually the most comfortable place on the tower's "Avengers" floors. Now it was the most terrifying situation he'd ever been in.

Every single Avenger (minus Tony) and friends were sitting in a semicircle around Peter. They all stared at him in silence. His eyes were wide open as he stared right back.

"Am I being inducted into a cult?" he whispered just loud enough for everyone to hear.

"You have an anniversary coming up," Natasha said from her standing position as she crossed her arms. "A year is very important, Peter."

"You need to plan this properly," Rhodes said.

"And if she's not happy with what you plan, expect us to be ten times as unhappy," Clint added.

Peter opened his mouth to correct him, but Steve cut him off.

"You know, I might have been born a while ago, but most important things you need to know are going to be from us. If you don't treat her right, she'd be the least of your worries," he said.

He glanced at Bucky, who was cracking his neck. His face said "murder." Peter shrunk in on himself.

"Where's Mr. Stark?" he asked.

"He's in a meeting," Natasha said.

"Okay," he meekly responded.

Thor shuffled in his comfortable seat on the sofa.

"My people treat their romantic partners as their equals. If one is too slow in courting a partner, their relatives will find it suspicious and will seek blood. But I'm sure that's not the case," the god said with a reassuring smile.

It was not reassuring.

"I don't want to inconvenience you or anything, but I don't know why I'm here. I thought I was just supposed to work on something with Tony," Bruce said.

"Banner," Natasha snapped. "Give him some advice and then you can leave."

"Uh, I don't know, flowers? Girls like that, right? Look, I'm busy. It was nice to meet you, Peter. I hope we get to work on something together."

He walked away. Dr. Bruce Banner, world-renowned scientist, just told Peter that he wanted to work with him. For science stuff.

This was the best and worst day of his life.

"Okay, if you're going to a restaurant or anywhere that requires sitting at a table, you pull the chair out for her. And you make sure you check in, make sure she's comfortable," Sam said from his spot.

"You gotta make her feel like she's the only girl for you. And there's nothing better than personally bringing her somewhere that would mean a lot to the both of you," Bucky said.

"If your partner slaps you in the face, you think hard about what you did wrong," Thor absentmindedly mumbled, playing with some gadget he found on the coffee table.

"From what I've seen with Pepper and Tony, just don't be stupid. Be on time and make sure you do nice things for her," Rhodes said.

"I'd like to inform you that someone is coming up," FRIDAY chirped from the ceiling.

"Who?" Natasha snapped.

They all turned to see the private elevator open to reveal a boy. They readied their weapons, though Thor didn't seem too bothered. He swung the hammer around lazily.

"Uh... am I interrupting something?" you asked.

"Who are you? How did you get up here?" Rhodes demanded.

"I'm... here for Peter. Hey, you aren't, like, inducting him into a cult or anything, right?" you said.

"That's what I said!" Peter exclaimed.

He rushed away from the group into your arms, nearly toppling the both of you over. You held out a single flower, which he huffed and blushed at.

"Avengers, this is my boyfriend," Peter announced.

"That's unexpected," Steve said.

"I was saying 'partner' the whole time," Thor said. "None of you caught on."

"Are you ready, Peter? We've got somewhere to be," you said.

"Aye, aye, Captain!" Peter automatically responded.

"Dude, if you do Spongebob in front of me one more time, I will take the flower."

"No!"

The elevator doors closed behind the both of you, leaving the Avengers to discuss the events themselves.

"I'm here," Tony said, entering the room with Pepper and Bruce. "Did I miss anything?"