#anyway pyro should be the president

[honey-marrow]

tea ef 2

[gobbogoo]

If I may throw my own tower of hats into this ring, here's my own take on the mercenaries' political views based off information pulled from the cannon/my brain:

Scout: Political discourse makes him nervous, because he knows next to nothing about the subject (finds it boring) and therefore can't show off or be the centre of attention. Will instead talk about his own "personal" politics "if he was in charge." A large portion of these somehow involve Tom Jones.

Soldier: While extremely jingoistic, Soldier only pays attention to the military-industrial complex and knows next to nothing about actual politics. Basically worships "The President," who he considers on-par with Jesus. He doesn't actually know who the current president is, how the government works, or even how democracy or capitalism works. His understanding of the world comes entirely from cold-war propaganda distributed by the military, all of which he wildly misinterprets. Is somehow the elected governor of Nebraska. (Not cannon, but sounds very in-character.)

Pyro: Has a nuanced and highly comprehensive understanding of local politics. Specifically Pyroland's Politics, which are complicated and messy. To quote Valve themselves:

"Oh my goodness! Is it Balloonicorn? The Mayor of Pyroland? Don't be ridiculous, we're talking about an inflatable unicorn. He's the Municipal Ombudsman. Between you and me, Balloonicorn's a joke down at City Hall. Gary Brottman, the inflatable Sewer Superintendent, is sleeping with Balloonicorn's wife. Anyway, when he's riding around on your shoulder don't mention ANY of this to him, because Balloonicorn is on a hair trigger and he's usually pretty drunk."

Pyro likes to engage in long and complex political discussions with fellow Pyroland locals (a collection of plushies) over tea every weekend. S/he once brought Engineer to one of these meetings, and while Pyro found his remarks insightful, the others felt he had no place at the table as a non-Pyroland citizen. Pyro's been trying to convince them of the importance of an outsider's views, but sadly they haven't budged on the matter.

Demoman: While always a huge supporter of Scottish independence, Demoman's political views are somewhat divided. Catch him mostly sober, and he'll parrot the deeply traditional opinions of his mother (a woman who abandoned him as a baby because DeGroot tradition demanded he "learn independence" by never getting attached to a parental figure.) Once he's had a few drinks, though, he'll start to loosen up and share is personal, much more progressive values. He's a big supporter of worker's rights, higher education, and upward mobility. Believes nobody should have to work multiple jobs just to get by.

Heavy Weapons Guy: Heavy avoids basically all discussions of politics. He canonically watched his father get killed thanks to political activism, and subconsciously blames this for his family's enslavement and exile. Even without this, he considers most politics an enormous waste of time. He hates communism for what its supporters did to his family, but also hates capitalism for how it oppresses its people and often resembles the same structures of oppression that he fled Russia to escape. Heavy believes the world would be a much better place if everyone just minded their own business and stopped flocking around big movements and causes.

Engineer: Big supporter of industry, who canonically worked for 10 years in the Texas oilfields. He's what would be considered today a "moderate conservative," in that he vouches for personal liberties over state power, believes heavily in gun ownership, and considers fiscal responsibility important. If someone wants to saw their own arm off and replace it with a mechanical replica capable of organ-rupturing torsion, that's their right. Would be deeply disgusted by modern conservatism and its disregard of hard science.

Medic: a Nietzschian technocrat, Medic believes those with the most scientific understanding should lead the uneducated masses. Fully believes in Nietzsche's concept of the "Übermensch," which basically says that if someone is dedicated enough to their Sigma Grindset, they should be exempt from petty restrictions like "ethics," "decency," and "laws." Despite his heritage and in-game use of Nietzschian terminology (Nietzsche was against fascism but his philosophy got repurposed by them during WWII), Medic is NOT a Nazi. Primarily because Valve wouldn't allow for that in their game, but also because Medic would've been both too smart to fall for their propaganda and too egomaniacal to follow anyone but himself. While he was likely drafted as a field medic in the later half of the war (hence the signs of military training), it's quite clear he never subscribed to their ideologies.

Sniper: Doesn't pay any attention to politics, considers it a waste of time and actively distrusts anyone who wears a suit or claims to speak on behalf of people they've never met. Actively paranoid of every form of government to a point where he doesn't even bother having a preference, yet paradoxically has a huge soft spot for Queen Elizabeth (rip), instilled in him by his parents. God Save The Queen and all that.

Spy: As someone who previously made a living as a secret operative during the cold war before moving to the private sector, Spy would have an in-depth understanding of international politics, and glimpsed the ugly realities concealed within every major nation. While he values personal freedom and liberty (viva la France), Spy's past has left him too jaded to believe any side is worth supporting, preferring to remain in the centre. Still makes an effort to vote in France's elections out of a sense of civic duty.

BONUS:

Saxton Hale: Absolutely an anarcho-capitalist. Believes entirely in survival of the fittest and hates laws that stop him from punching hippies or selling potentially lethal products.

Marasmus: Democratic socialist. A civic-minded and diligent voter who does his best to engage in the local community. Despite the whole concept of building permits, state laws, and labour unions being very new concepts in his six-thousand years of existence, he's noticeably very submissive to these systems. Clearly prefers to work within the bounds of the law, even when he disagrees with it.

As Promised, an Analysis of the TF2 Men's Politics

My brother and I came up with most of these while waiting for a local production of the Nutcracker to start so like don't expect this post to be good

Scout: Scout is one of those guys with "no politics". He doesn't rlly think about it and finds discussions of politics to "kill the vibe". This is because he's a white guy and thinks he just doesn't need to worry about that kind of thing

Soldier: Soldier has some of the most obviously defined politics in the tf2niverse, but contrary to popular belief, I do NOT think he's ultraconservative. Obviously, he is anti-communist, but I think he just kinda goes along with whoever's in power at the moment. Does not vote

Pyro: Has like a really specific leftist belief and gets into arguments online with other leftists of slightly different specific beliefs. Queen of sidewalk discourse, I think

Demo: Anti-monarchist, obviously, pro-Scottish independence, obviously. Pisses on Margaret Thatcher's grave and she's not even PM let alone dead during the time the game takes place

Heavy: Unfortunately it is also confirmed that Heavy is NOT a communist I might as well go die. In my heart of hearts I know he is tho hashtag based

Engineer: voted for Hillary

Medic: My brother is CONVINCED Medic is a commie and I like Medic so I let him win that fight. New heavymedic ship name idea Marxist-Leninism

Sniper: Anarchist. Based

Spy: "Both sides bad" centrist

BONUS ROUND: Saxton Hale is an anarcho-capitalist

[violetwolfraven]

36 and RedFinch?

We’re leaders of different rebel factions or gangs and kind of hate each other but we also have a ton of sexual tension.

Ooh awesome. I haven’t written anything from Finch’s perspective yet so I guess I’ll do that now. Btw this is like an AU where they have powers (same ones as my other superpowers au just cause it’s easier to keep track of them that way) AND they’re rebels. Basically, in this one, powered people are illegal.

...

Finch heard a small groan from the other side of the cell and rolled his eyes. Great. He was awake.

“Ugh. Finch. Where the fuck am I and what the fuck are you doing here?”

“You don’t remember?” Finch asked, “Ya messed up my rescue op, asshole.”

The rescue had been for Crutchie. Or, at least, it was supposed to be. Finch had finally, finally, after six months of planning, gotten the location of one of the Manhattan gang’s leaders. He’d gone in alone, knowing stealth would be better for this, anyway, and not wanting to risk anyone else. They’d already lost so many.

Of course, they would have lost a hell of a lot less if Manhattan hadn’t split up.

Basically, Manhattan had, once upon a time, been a formidable gang. They’d been the bane of President Pulitzer’s existence nearly as much as Brooklyn.

Then, their fearless leader, Jack Kelly, damn near the most powerful powered person in the city, got captured, and everything started falling apart.

Jack’s power was that anything he drew would come to life to some extent. Whether that was just the smell of clean, clear air coming off a drawing of a mountain range or a live bull charging through the police barricade straight off the page of a sketchbook depended on how hard he was actively trying to use his power, but it was definitely useful, especially in keeping their hideouts hidden.

Without him, Crutchie and Race had tried to keep the order, but neither of them were as powerful as Jack, and were mostly calling the shots off the fact that everyone trusted them.

After Crutchie got captured, the gang tried to stick together, but Race was hanging on by threads to maintain everything by himself.

Then Race got captured, and without him, it was total anarchy. After a while of duking it out, the remaining Manhattan kids figured out that without their leaders, they couldn’t work together. They’d split into half a dozen smaller gangs.

Albert had taken one group and Finch had taken another, and now, after months of hearing about the others falling to pieces, they were the only two groups left.

The thing was, they both knew that separate, their groups meeting the same fate as the others was only a matter of time. So they both kept looking for whispers of where Jack, Crutchie, and Race were being kept.

And Albert had to come along and mess up Finch’s rescue op, which meant they were both captured and neither of them got Crutchie free.

Albert was clenching his fist, staring hard at his hand as a weak, barely red-hot flame flickered around it.

Finch rolled his eyes, “I already tried. There’s power dampeners in the walls.”

He demonstrated, trying to pull a knife out of the air and ending up with a pin.

Finch’s power was that he could pull pretty much any weapon less complicated than a gun of nowhere. His usual preference was a slingshot, but today, it wasn’t like that would do him much good.

“Well, that ain’t gonna be much use,” Albert noted, standing up.

He’d gotten taller in six months. Maybe it was dumb that Finch was noticing that.

He looked good. Healthy pyros who used their powers regularly always seemed to have a kind of glow to them, like their fire was just waiting to come out. Even in a power-dampening room, Albert’s hadn’t faded.

Nope. Finch couldn’t think like that. Him and Albert had been friends, probably would have been more with how much they’d flirted, but after that last fight, that door was closed. Locked. Forever. Finch had thrown away the key and didn’t want to find it.

“How long was I out?”

He shrugged, “Maybe a couple hours. It’s stupid. It’s a pretty simple cell, and if there wasn’t a dampener, we could get out no problem.”

Albert snorted, “Ain’t that convenient.”

He looked around, taking stock of what they had as if Finch hadn’t already tried everything.

“So, how goes it in your gang?” he asked, bored.

“Probably ‘bout as good as yours. Tryin’ to survive, losin’ more’n a few.”

Finch was a bit surprised he was admitting that he was losing people, “Who’ve ya lost?”

Albert shrugged, looking at the ground, “Jojo got captured last week. Other than that, we haven’t lost anybody in a while, but there was this real big raid a few months ago where I lost nearly half my guys. You?”

“I lost Mike a month ago,” Finch admitted, “Ike ain’t been doin’ so good since then. But we’s been careful. Other than him, we ain’t lost anybody since Race.”

“Except you,” Albert pointed out, “They lost you. Hope ya got a clear chain of command.”

“What, do I look stupid? Specs’ll take command till I get out.”

“Well, you do look pretty stupid.”

A pin popped out of nowhere and fell to the ground somewhere on Finch’s right. That happened sometimes when he was upset. Pins and needles took on a whole new meaning when you had a nightmare and woke up to a bed full of them.

“Anyway, that should be interestin’,” Albert said, “Considerin’ Romeo’s supposed to take charge if I don’t come back.”

Finch groaned, “Oh, God.”

Everyone knew that despite being in rival gangs, Romeo and Specs were still together.

Another pin popped out of nowhere and Albert’s eyes suddenly lit up in interest.

“What?” Finch asked, vaguely knowing that look meant he had an idea.

“Can you pull a bunch more of those?”

“I could, but why waste the effort?”

Albert walked over, picked up the two pins in one hand, and closed his fist around them.

His hand smoked vaguely, and glowed red, and when he opened his fist, the pins were fused together.

“They can stop me from meltin’ the bars, but weldin’ together a few pins ain’t gonna be a problem.”

“You can make some lock picks,” Finch realized.

“Exactly.”

Finch grinned and started pulling pins from nowhere.

It took them over half an hour, but Albert managed to weld together a couple of workable lockpicks.

“Give them to me,” Finch said, “I’m better at pickin’ locks than you.”

Albert snorted, already reaching through the bars, “In your dreams, maybe.”

He batted Finch’s hands away as he tried to steal the picks.

“Albert, we don’t know how much time we have.”

“I know that. Which is why someone who’s tired from pullin’ dozens of pins out of the air with a power-dampener messing with him shouldn’t waste whatever time we got.”

“And melting those pins with a power dampener is better?”

Albert shrugged, “Pyros don’t really run out of power. Not as fast as the rest of you’s, anyway.”

Finch groaned. This was why him and Albert had fallen out. Because as one of the most powerful Manhattan kids, he was never careful. He thought he was invincible and his plans always involved unnecessary risks.

“Does anyone challenge you?” Finch asked quietly, “Does anyone even try to make you be careful?”

The sounds of Albert messing around with the lock stopped for a second as he froze, but he recovered quickly.

“No,” he admitted, “Not since you.”

It was a miracle he hadn’t gotten himself killed, then.

And it was probably a good thing they didn’t get together. Finch had barely been able to take Albert’s recklessness when they were friends. Not knowing when someone you loved was going to make their last careless decision—because eventually, it was sure to happen—was hard enough without real romance involved.

“Ya know, maybe you’s lost less guys,” Albert muttered, “But I ain’t heard of no one hittin’ big targets except me. My guys and I damn near took out the Delanceys last week. Can you say the same?”

Finch shook his head, “No. But was it really worth it? Losin’ Jojo just to take a bite out of the government?”

Albert was silent for long enough that Finch could hear the lock pop open.

There were no guards in the hallway. They could probably both make it out before whoever was watching the cameras noticed they were gone, since they’d made it this far.

“Look...” Albert took a deep breath, “I know we ain’t friends anymore. But if you get any info on Race, Jack, or Crutchie... send it my way? I think we both know we don’t stand a chance stormin’ the kind of place they might actually keep one of them alone.”

Finch nodded, “Long as you do the same.”

Even as he tried to hate him, the redhead’s smile still gave Finch butterflies.

“See ya around, Albert.”

“See ya around, Finch.”

“Hopefully not in prison, next time.”

They both laughed a little at that.

There weren’t any power dampeners in the hallway. Finch felt better about the fact that he could now pull a slingshot for himself. Albert’s hand lit up with orange and yellow flames.

Without a word, they left in opposite directions, one headed to the emergency exit and the other for the front door.

The fact that Albert would be so reckless was why Finch still couldn’t trust him.

[milandas-law]

Milo/Ananda Fic Bits

Summary: Just me writing out mini fics for these two cuties.

Characters: Milo Murphy & Amanda Lopez (Of Course)

Hope you all enjoy these! If you have a favorite, tell me which one it is.

@arendalphaeagle @galaxina-the-pyro @welcome-to-rayman @nautiscarader

First Kiss (On The Lips)

Milo and Amanda were on their way to a diner for their date when it started to rain. Milo pulls an umbrella out of his backpack, only for it to get blown away. Amanda then puts her umbrella over the two of them and they run to the diner. After getting to the diner and taking their seats, they order the nachos.

After being brought out of the kitchen, their waitress trips and the nachos land on their faces. The two then start to laugh about. After that Milo decides to takes Amanda home. “Amanda, I’m sorry this date didn’t go as planned…” Milo apologized, feeling quite guilty. “Milo, similar things happened on our last date and I was perfectly okay with it.” Amanda pointed out.

“I know, I just wish I could give you the perfect date for once…” Milo says before noticed they were at the Lopez Home. “Milo Murphy…” he hears Amanda say before she kisses him on the lips. As they kiss, a few of the street lights explodes, causing a bit of a firework effect. When she pulls away, he shocked. “Every single date we have is perfect as long as I’m with you.” She tells him before going into her home.

“I’ll see you at tomorrow!” She quickly says before closing the door. Milo then walks home, smiling ear to ear. Diogee then walks up to Milo as he walked home. “She really kissed me, Diogee!” Milo tells his dog, clearly still shocked by the kiss.

Dinner With The Parents

Milo was getting ready to have dinner with Amanda’s parents. Sara could see he was clearly nervous. “Don’t worry Milo, I’m sure Amanda’s parents are gonna love you.” Sara assures her brother. “I’m not worried about that, I’m worried about Murphy’s Law ruining things tonight…” Milo tells his sisters.

Later on Milo was in front of the Lopez Home. He rings the doorbell and the door was quickly opened by Mrs. Lopez. “Oh Milo, you’re here! Come on in!” Mrs. Lopez says as she pulls Milo into the house. Amanda was sitting at the table with her father when she noticed him. “Milo!” Amanda squealed with joy before running up to hug him. Mr. Lopez just glares straight at Milo.

“Milo, our daughter has told us nothing but great this about you! You even helped her name her pet rats.” Mrs. Lopez told Milo as they sat down to eat. “Everything looks amazing, Mrs. Lopez!” Milo says while looking at all the food. “Thank you Milo, you’re such a sweet boy!” Mrs. Lopez tells Milo while giving him a plate of food.

Milo then notices Mr. Lopez glaring at him, Amanda notices this as well. “Dad, is everything okay?” Amanda asked, clearly worried. “Everything okay, sweetie! I just need to talk to Milo alone.” Mr. Lopez tells Amanda before he and milo walk out of the dining room and into the kitchen. “Look Mr. Lopez, I know you know about my family’s unlucky history, but I assure you I will always make sure Amanda’s safe around me!” Milo quickly says.

Mr. Lopez just puts a hand on Milo’s shoulder. “I don’t care about your “Murphy’s Law”,” He assures Milo which surprises the boy. “I haven’t seen my daughter the relaxed in a really long time.” He continues. “All thanks to you getting her on that show she likes. I never want her to lose such joy.” He went on and on, which caused Milo to smile.

“So if you EVER upset her in anyway, not even Murphy’s Law could save you. Do we have an understanding?” He whispers to Milo, which causes him to quickly nod his head. “I can assure you Mr. Lopez, I’d never do nothing to hurt Amanda.” Milo tells Mr. Lopez, the man then nods at him and the two of them then return to the dining room.

High School Sweethearts

Everyone who didn’t know them were so shocked to find out that someone like Amanda Lopez (Bossy Class President) would be openly dating someone like Milo Murphy (Adventurous Class Clown). A girl then walks up to Amanda was reading a book. “Hey Amanda, I was just wondering… how did someone like you end up with someone like Milo?” Amanda hears her say this and puts her book down.

“To make a long story short, we understand and love each other very much.” Amanda tells the girl before Milo runs into the cafeteria and up to Amanda. “Hey Mandy, I got your lunch, It didn’t get ruined this time!” Milo says before giving her the bag. “Thank you, Sweetie!” Amanda says in awe before kissing Milo on the cheek and giving him the lunch she made for him.

He then sat with her and gave her kisses on the cheek. She noticed he was hurt, pulls couple of band aids, places them on his wounds and gives him another kiss. As the two ate their lunches, they got noticeable stares from those who don’t know them. Sure they were the Odd Couple in their High School, but they didn’t care. They loved each other so very much.

Double Dates

Whenever Milo was out with Amanda and Zack was out with Melissa, the girls would sometimes try and compete over who has the better boyfriend. “Well, Milo is so precious and amazing to me!” Amanda tells Melissa. “Oh yeah? Zack is not only super good looking and awesome to me, he’s ever accepting of the craziest of things!”

Milo and Zack are just blushing messes during all of it. “Can we just go to dinner now?!” Zack shouts clearly embarrassed. Once the boyfriend competition is over, everyone has a great time. They go to lunch, parks and anything new that comes into town. “Another amazing day…” Amanda says as she and Milo lay on the beach while Melissa chases around Zack with water balloons.

“Wanna join in?” Milo asks Amanda before she picks up a water gun and squirts at him, causing him to run alongside Zack as they’re being chased by Melissa and Amanda.

Jealousy Wears Magenta

It wasn’t surprising that Just Getting Started would be a successful band especially with Amanda’s management (They’re all older and smarter after all). What was surprising was how many thirsty Fangirls would go after only Milo. He was quite the popular guy. Of course Amanda wouldn’t have any of their crap. If they tried to get to him, she’d personally deal with them.

During one of the band’s autograph signings, a perky blonde ran up to Milo and gave him a piece of paper to sign. “Who am I making this out to?” Milo asks the girl. “Your biggest and most loyal fan. Also here’s my number.” The girl says before she gives Milo another piece of paper with her number on it. “Sorry, but I’m seeing someone!” Milo quickly tells the girl before giving her back both pieces of paper.

“She doesn’t have to know!” The girl says defensively before feeling someone grab her shoulder. She turns around and sees a very angry Amanda, wearing her best magenta suit. “Yes, I do!” Amanda replies before dragging the girl away from the autograph signing area. When Amanda got back, Milo gave her a kiss on the lips.

“Have I ever told you how cute you are when you get jealous?” Milo teased Amanda which caused her to blush. “Don’t tease me Milo!!!” She squealed at him before he just gave her a kiss on the forehead. “You know you’re better than all those Fangirls.” Milo tells Amanda before they hear “you two better help us clean all this up!” from Melissa across the room.

Flirtatious Fey (LuckyBug and Fenix Fey AU)

Fenix Fey just finished helping his partner LuckyBug save the day. They were able to save the day, but Milo missed his date with Amanda. He went to their meet up spot as Fenix Fey and saw her still waiting for him with their planned picnic in the basket. “She’ll be so furious if I showed up as just myself…” He thought to himself before he walks up behind her and taps her shoulder.

She turns around and sees him. “Fenix Fey! Was Milo in the middle of the danger?! Is he alright?!” Amanda questions the hero frantically. “Don’t you worry your pretty little head, Madame Lopez, Milo Murphy is safe and sound” He informs her which causes her to sigh in relief. Then he notices her get really angry.

“Then take me to him right now! I’m going to give that cute disaster a piece of my mind!” Amanda went off while Fenix Fey tried his hardest not to blush. “Cute Disaster?!” He thought to himself while quickly looking away from her to hide his blush. It took him a few moments to get his composure back before Amanda could notice. He then picks her up in his arms and runs off.

“Madame Lopez, if you wanted to be in my arms, all you had to do was ask!” the hero in black smirked at the fact that his line made her blush. “The only guy whose arms I wanna be in right now are Milo’s.” Amanda whispered which causes Fenix Fey to go silent for a few seconds. “Okay, your boyfriend should be here soon,” He told Amanda as he put her down. “Thank you, Fenix…” Amanda says to the hero.

He then kisses her and then says “don’t miss me too much!” before winking at her and running off to turn back into Milo. He then takes a bouquet of dark pink roses out of his backpack and walks up behind her and taps her on the shoulder when she turns around and see him she immediately hugs him tight. “Don’t you dare worry me like that again okay?!” She says while pushing her head into his chest.

Milo drops the bouquet of roses and hugs her back. “I can’t tell her, not yet at least.” He thought to himself as he held her tight in his arms.

Their Big & Adventurous Family

Amanda had just given birth to her and Milo’s fourth child; Monica Julia Murphy, while their triplet sons; Lucas, Alejandro and Marshall were with their two sets of grandparents at home. When they got home the next day, their parents were sleeping and the boys were out of sight. Milo then quickly wakes up his parents and Amanda’s.

“Where are the boys?” Milo asked the parents. “They’re in bed…” Martin tells his son while wrapping his eyes, trying to stay awake. Milo then checks all three of their rooms and doesn’t see the three five year olds anywhere. “Mandy, Sweetheart… the boys aren’t in their rooms.” Milo says to Amanda, hoping she won’t freak out. Amanda then calmly gives her mother Monica and passes out in a chair.

“Don’t worry, I’ll drive around the block to look for them.” Amanda’s dad says before he goes to look for his car keys, only to realize they’re not in his pocket. “Where are my keys?!” Mr. Lopez shouts out loud. Meanwhile the triplets were slowly driving their maternal grandparents’ car. “Marshall, just turn us around!” Lucas whines as Marshall holds on the wheel.

“No! They’ll be too busy with the new baby to play with us!” Marshall protested while Alejandro was on the floor of the car. “I want mommy and daddy!” He cried out loud. “Don’t worry, Al! We’ll go back after our adventure!” Marshall assures his crying brother. Before they could get any further, Milo, Martin and Amanda’s father quickly stop them. There was no doubt the boys were in a lot of trouble that day.

Amanda had just triple checked the boys’ rooms to make sure they were all there when Milo walked up to her with a sleeping Monica in his arms. “You okay?” Milo asked Amanda before the two go sit down. “The boys could’ve gotten hurt today Milo! All because they thought their sister was going to replace them…” Amanda says, trying not to cry. Milo just holds her, carefully to not hurt the baby.

“Amanda, I assure you our family is going to be okay.” She hears him whisper before she takes Monica from him. She then says “I know it will be, I just hope this little cutie doesn’t act too much like her brothers.” While hugging Monica.

Seven years later, Monica learned to ride a two wheeled bike on her birthday and was now testing it out. On the roof! While Lucas and Alejandro shouted things like “Don’t worry Monica! We’re gonna get you down!” and “Monica! Please don’t fall!” Marshall shouted “You’re doing great sis! Pop a wheelie!” while recording her with his phone.

After they got Monica down, Amanda just hugged her for ten minutes straight. “Mommy, I’m okay really!” Monica assured her mother. “How did you even get up there in the first place?” Milo asked his daughter. “The ladder! I climbed it all by myself!” Monica says, clearly proud of herself for doing this. Amanda just signs with exhaustion and goes into the house to eat some leftover ice cream and cake.

“You okay?” Milo asked as Amanda ate her plate of ice cream and cake. “I’ll be fine… Our kids are a handful.” Amanda sighs which causes Milo to chuckle. Amanda then follows up with “But I wouldn’t have it any other way,” before Milo kisses her on the cheek.

[the--blackdahlia]

This Life Chapter 18

Title: This Life Chapter 18

Summary:  Dean Winchester is the Vice President of the motorcycle club The Hunters. After almost 7 years in prison, he's free. But things have changed and Dean has to figure out how to put things back together.

Warnings: Language, violence

AN: Thank you to my beta @sams-serialkiller-fetish. And to my “Support team”, @anathewierdo and @flamencodiva and @i-would-die-for-woodland-demars. The song for this chapter is Run Like Hell by Pink Floyd.

“Do you guys have anything?” Dean asked hours after Gordon left, walking into the office. There was a pizza on the table, separating Charlie and Ash as they worked. Charlie was biting her lip as she stared at the screen behind her glasses. And Ash was typing a mile a minute.

“Reports of Horsemen activity about…” Ash started.

“Two hours north near Waco.” Charlie finished up. Ash looked at her. “And that’s how we do it in Gielinor.”

“Wait, you play Runescape?” Ash asked.

“Damn right I play Runescape.” Charlie laughed. Dean rolled his eyes.

“Okay, okay. You can finish this out nerding later. You said Waco?” Dean asked. Charlie nodded. “Got an address?”

“No, but there’s been a string of house fires. And from what Jim told me, the Horsemen like to watch things burn.” Charlie told Dean. Dean nodded and left to go tell the others while Charlie and Ash chatted about Runescape.

****

“This is what Charlie told me.” Dean said, sitting at the table with Wayward Sons and Hunters gathered around. “There’s been a string of house fires in Waco that seem to point back to the Horsemen.”

“Stupid pyro fuckers.” Caleb growled.

“I’m assuming you have an idea.” Bobby said.

“I think a couple of us should head out there and check it out.” Dean said. Sam nodded.

“I’ll go.” Sam said, arms cross over his chest.

“Which means I’ll go to.” Gabriel said.

“Sammy…” Dean started, but the look that Sam gave him made him stop in his tracks.

“I think Caleb and I might join you.” Bobby told Sam. “I never got to hit my Horsemen piñata like I wanted to.” Bobby dismissed the meeting not too much later. Him and Caleb went out to get their guns and bikes ready. Gabriel went off with Lucifer to talk to him for a bit. Dean stopped Sam as he went to leave.

“What?” Sam asked. Dean sighed.

“You come back.” He said. Sam smirked some.

“I always come back.” He said before he left, leaving Dean standing there alone.

****

It had been hours since Dean had heard from anyone. He didn’t expect them to call or anything, but he expected them to be back by then. He was busying himself, but that could only go so far. Finally, he was too antsy to stay anymore.

“I’m going out.” He announced. Andy looked up from the car he was helping Cas with.

“Where are you going?” Cas asked, not looking up from the engine.

“Beer run.” Dean told him. “I’ll be back. I just can’t sit here and wait.”

“Sam’s not five anymore Dean. I’m sure he’ll be fine.” Jim told him. Dean turned to look at the older biker.

“What makes you think this is about Sam?” Dean asked. “I just want beer is all.” Jim nodded, not believing him, but he wasn’t in the mood to argue with Dean. “I’ll be back in like an hour or so.” With that, he got on his bike and drove into town. Did he want to go to the bar or did he want to go to the liquor store and park out at Crosshurst Canyon for a little while. Watch the ducks that swim down there and all that. He pulled in front of the liquor store, decided that the second option sounded better.

He made his way inside and browsed the beer aisle. So much of it sounded good today. But he decided on Dark Star Black from a local brewery based out of Austin. He headed up to the counter to pay for his beer. It was a little expensive, but it was a craft beer and they were popular. He paid for it all and was ready to head out.

That’s when he looked up and saw Alastair sitting on his bike just down the block.

“Son of a bitch.” Dean growled. He reached for his phone, hoping to call and rally the troops, but it wasn’t there. He didn’t use it that much anyway, and he rarely kept it on him. That’s what payphones were for after all. Alastair looked right at Dean then and smiled before speeding off. Dean didn’t have time to get to a payphone and hope that someone would answer quickly. So, against all logical reasoning that was going on in his mind, Dean took off after Alastair, leaving his beer on the counter and a very confused cashier.

He followed him for awhile. He wasn’t even making an effort to shake Dean. Just a few twists and turns here and there that were really easy to figure out. Dean was getting suspicious, but he was determined to find out what was going on. He needed so many answers. And he really wanted to beat the everloving shit out of Alastair for everything the Horsemen had put his family through for most of his life.

That’s when Alastair suddenly did a U-turn so he was facing Dean. Dean braked hard, coming to a sliding halt in front of him.

“What are you doing here Dean?” Alastair asked.

“I could ask you the same thing.” Dean said. Alastair laughed and took off again, Dean giving chase once more. Alastair pulled into some old farming land and jumped off his bike, heading into an abandoned grain silo. Normally, Dean wouldn’t have willingly walked into danger like this, but being blinded by revenge would do a lot of things to people. He got off his bike and grabbed his gun. He was ready to end this once and for all.

He quietly crept into the silo, looking around for Alastair. It smelt of mildew and stale air. He didn’t see Alastair and was starting to think that he had ran out before Dean got in there. But Dean felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand on end then.

“That was stupid of you following me in here alone.” Alastair said before hitting Dean from behind, making him lose his balance and fall forward some. Dean spun around and pointed his gun at Alastair. “Dean, Dean, Dean.”

“I’m here to end whatever this is.” Dean said. Alastair started to laugh.

“You think I was coming here without some sort of leverage?” Alastair asked. He tossed something to Dean’s feet. “Go ahead and look at that. I won’t try anything funny.” Dean kept his gun trained on Alastair while he crouched down to pick up what was thrown. It was blood covered, but it looked familiar.

That’s when it clicked in his head.

It was Sam’s bracelet. A good luck charm from Dean to Sam after Sam gave him his amulet he wore faithfully. Sam very rarely took it off.

“Where did you get this?” Dean hissed, holding the bracelet up.

“One of my men took it off of him after he killed him.” Alastair announced proudly. “He fought hard, but even a Winchester can’t handle eight bullets to the head and chest.”

“You’re lying.” Dean said. Alastair shrugged.

“Maybe I am. Maybe I’m not. But I’m taking it you don’t have your phone on you since you came alone. So you couldn’t even call him to see if he’s okay.” Alastair told him. He had a smirk on his face that Dean would’ve normally just shot off.

Instead, Dean lowered his gun in defeat. His nightmares had finally come true. Except now, he couldn’t wake up from it. Alastair gave him a curious look.

“What are you doing?” He asked. Dean looked up at him, his green eyes showing all the pain and sadness that he was feeling.

“I give up.” Dean said. “Take your best shot.” Alastair rolled his neck and cracked his knuckles. He couldn’t believe how easy it was to bring down the mighty Dean Winchester. The smile on Alastair’s face was almost like a child at Christmas.

“I’ve been waiting for this for a long, long time.” Alastair laughed before he hauled off and punched Dean square in the face.

Forever Tags: @anathewierdo @i-would-die-for-woodland-demars @dekahg @marvel-af @feelmyroarrrr @nanie5 @gemini0410 @imboredsueme @babypink224221 @aiaranradnay @mogaruke @xxwarhawk @strab0

Dean Winchester/Jensen Ackles Tags: @luciathewinchestergirl @sheris532 @bobasheebaby @bella-ca

This Life Tags: @soulslaststand @jamielea81 @caplansteverogers @becs-bunker @colie87

Supernatural Tags: @bandobsession98 @mrsdeanfuckingwinchester @fangirlsencyclopaediaofweirdness @ilovetardis @missihart23 @cloudyskylines @supernaturalwincestsblog @flamencodiva @sams-serialkiller-fetish

[surveysonfleek]

1374.

Are you the person to open a box of cerial just to get the toy inside? haha no.

Do you get scared easy? lol i wouldn’t say scared... i’m just super cautious all the time.

What was one of the stupidest things you cried over when you were little? the usual things. losing in a game, getting in trouble etc.

Have you ever drank milk from the carton? yes lol.

Juice or milk? juice i guess.

Do you ever turn off your computer properly? hardly ever. is that a bad thing?

Do you wish you were a fish? nope.

Who’s your favorite super hero? storm.

Who’s your favorite super villian? hmmm. the joker? just kidding, i don’t have a fave.

Spiderman or X-men? x-men for sure.

Movie theatre or stay at home movie night? stay at home!!

Do you have a Blue Ray? yeah, i use the xbox.

How about HD television? yes.

Do you think HD television is kind of a waste of money? eh, tbh it makes a difference but if it doesn’t matter to you there’s no need.

Do you get why people get so fricken freaked out during football season? nope?

Do you ever sneak scraps to the dog even though you’re not suppose to? haha sometimes.

Are you reading a book right now? If so what? nope.

What was the last book you were required to read for school? no idea. it was nearly ten years ago.

O donuts or jelly filled? o donuts duhhh.

Do you like your icecream in a bowl or cone? cup lol.

Marshmellows in your hot chocolate or no? yassss.

Do you like cherry coke? not really.

Do you really think diet Dr. Pepper is the equivilent of a cupcake? never heard that. not a fan of it anyway.

Do you snore in your sleep? Drool? Talk? i snore apparently.

Have you ever sleep walked? nope.

Are you a morning person? not at all.

How do you wake up in the mornings? i just do. usually i’ll wake up earlier than i’m supposed to coz i need to pee.

Do you think guyliner is hot? nah.

Is variety the spice of life? sure.

Do you think strawberry milk is disgusting? no, it was my fave as a kid.

Have you ever drank after anyone? huh?

Have you ever drank after anyone you don’t know very well? i don’t get it.

Do you have any limits on who you drink/eat after? like sharing food? i hardly ever do it. i’ll happily share with immediate family and my boyfriend.

Would you eat a sucker if someone already ate some of it? never haha.

Would you chew somebody elses gum? no.

Do you know anyone who’s going to die of mono because of that? no.

Do you enjoy school? i didn’t love it but i didn’t hate it either.

Are you a teacher’s pet? nope.

Do you have a job? yes.

How do you get to and from school? bus until i started driving.

Do you have a bedtime? And if so what is it? not really.

What time do you get up? before midday.

Have you ever pulled an all-nighter? yes. just last night lol.

What’s more important? Beauty or brains? brains.

Do you believe in yourself? not always.

Did you ever want to be an astronaut when you were little? no.

How about the president? no.

What did you want to be when you were little? famous lol.

Did you ever want to be a super model? no.

Do you belive your attractive enough to be a super model? no.

Have you ever had an X-ray? yes.

What’s your favorite guy’s name? What’s your favorite girl’s name? i don’t have one tbh. i’ve made a list but no stand outs yet.

Who’s your second cousin’s, grandparent’s, sister? my grandmother? right??

Do you laugh to yourself whenever the ketchup bottle farts? no.

Do you have any real guns in your house? no.

Do you know how to use numchucks? no.

Do you know anyone who can use numchucks? no.

What do you want to be next Holloween? probably nothing.

Did you ever consider getting a jog as a mall santa? haha no. 

Are you the one resposible for taking out the garbage? yes.

Do you recycle? yes.

Are you a pyro? no.

What was the last word/thing you wrote down? my signature i think.

Sleeping or eating? neither.

Are you overall a positive person? no, i’m more of a realist.

Do you hate hypocrites? yeahhh buuuut i’m probably one too.

Do you like to prank people? just harmless pranks.

What was the worst prank you’ve ever done on anyone? idk lol. 

Have you ever jumped on a trampoline in the ice? nope.

Have you ever ice skated? yes.

Ever water skiied? no.

Is vacuum spelled funny? if you look at it too long.

Democrat or republican? anything but republican.

Who’s the biggest asshole you know? haha idk. Pen or pencil? pen.

Should all paper have holes? no.

Speaking of holes. Swiss cheese, what’s the point of that? idk.

Have you ever been in a helicopter before? nope.

Own any airbrushed tshirts? i don’t think so. i thought they were cool when i was a kid though lol.

Have you ever been suspended? nope.

Have you ever been in a fist fight? no.

Ever said something to someone that you didn’t mean to say? yes.

Do you forgive too easilly? not at all.

What are you listening to right now? youtube.

Have you ever seen any of MCR’s music videos? yes.

Are you tan? naturally.

Have you ever been in a tanning bed? nope.

Have you ever played water volley? no.

Ever had a sunburn? haha yes. not in awhile though.

How about wind burn? It hurts….. yes, especially on my lips.

What was the first word you learned how to say? mama.

[middle--fingering]

Charming Town - Opie Winston (3)

| 1 | 2 |

Taglist: @soaimagines @straight-toheck @yourcroweater @gl-st @homicidalteenagedream @sam-samcro @samperv @teller-telford-old-lady @telford-ortiz-teller @telfords-glasgow-smile @calumonoxide @masterdreads @buckysjuicyplums @soafan99@soafan99

Jax Teller took his place at the right hand of the president’s chair where his stepfather Clay Morrow sat. Jax lit up a cigarette and began to smoke as the rest of the club members piled in. It was time for their weekly meeting in the chapel. Jax looked over to the other side of the table where his best friend Opie should be sitting. Jax was frustrated that Opie wasn’t here. It had been four weeks since he showed his face in the clubhouse. What if the club needed him? Why wouldn’t he answer Jax’s calls? It was a difficult time in the Sons of Anarchy circle. After news came out that Gemma was raped by the White Supremacists, also known as the Nord’s, to send a message, paired with Donna’s murder, the men of SAMCRO were feeling defeated. They needed to plan retaliation against the Nord’s, but how? Jax’s mind began to tick over with plans and actions to overthrow Clay’s incessant need for bloodshed and violence. Clay took the gavel in his sore hand and slammed it against the table to bring attention to him. 

“Alright, alright, let’s get this show on the road or Gemma will be on my ass for being home late.” Clay said and the men laughed. “First order of business is the Nord’s. Now it’s been nearly three weeks since we found out what happened to Gem and we still haven’t done anything. I’m open to retaliation suggestions but I think we should go and murder the bastards.”

“I don’t think that’s the way to go.” Jax interjected. “More reckless violence and bloodshed isn’t what we want. We need to be smart about this.”

“I’m done with being smart!” Clay raised his voice and his fist. He just wanted justice for what happened to his old lady. “They need to pay for what they did.”

“Trust me Clay.” Jax began, stubbing out his cigarette. “Nobody wants to rip those assholes to shreds more than me, but they want us to go after them, they want us to be irrational and try to kill all of them in one hit. You think they haven’t prepared for that? They’re probably just waiting for us.”

Clay swallowed hard, he knew his Vice President was right, but he didn’t want to admit it. He wanted to avenge Gemma’s trauma immediately, but he didn’t want his club to come undone in the process.

“So what do you suggest VP?” Clay asked with a condescending tone.

“The White Supremacists have always been pushing meth and we’ve always been pushing them out, even when I was a teenager. Now I know they’ve been quiet recently, but they’ve gotta be cooking somewhere in Charming. They always are. If we hit them in their cookhouse, they’re vulnerable and unprepared and we can hit them harder.” Jax shook his head, he knew he was grasping at straws, but it was all he had. “Their last cookhouse was on Water Road, right on the boarder. What happened with that?”

“We talked them into shutting it down.” Tig, Clay’s Sargent in Arms and Jax’s least favourite club member, spoke up.

“We didn’t destroy it?” Jax asked.

Tig shook his head. “Didn’t need to. Juice and I roughed them up and they left immediately.”

“You told me you destroyed everything!” Clay yelled, furious that Tig had lied to him.

“We did! Just not the house!” Tig defended. “C’mon Juice, back me up here.”

Juice, a recently patched in Prospect, nodded his head in agreement. “Tig’s telling the truth boss.”

Clay swallowed hard. “They could be working in there right now and we’d have no idea. Nobody seen any dealings going on?”

All members respectively shook their heads.“Okay here’s what we’re going to do. Jax and I are going to go do a little visit to the red house on Water Road. Juice, you look the most like a junkie out of all of us, you’re going to go down to the usual dealing spots and try to find meth. Chibs and Bobby, you go with him as backup.” Clay explained more details of his plan while members soaked up the information and strategized their parts. 

“Are we all in agreement on this?”

The members all called out “ay” and Clay slammed the gavel down on the table to dismiss everyone.

Jax stood up to leave. He needed to see his son.

“Jax, stay back.” Clay called as Jax was half out the door.

Jax sighed and turned on his heel to sit back at his designated chair.“How’s Opie?” Clay asked, lighting up a cigar.

Jax shrugged and lit up a cigarette. “I haven’t spoken to him. He won’t answer my calls, nothing. I don’t think he’s in a good way.”

Clay licked his lips. “If this plan ends up succeeding, we’re going to need him.”

Jax shook his head. “We need him anyway. Not just for pyro, but for manpower. He’s valuable.”

“Then we get him back.” Clay said as if it was simple. “Go around and convince him to come back. He needs us more than we need him.”

Jax swallowed hard. Clay was pretending that they didn’t need Opie but he knew deep down that they did. The whole club was feeling his absence.

“How do you suggest I do that? I’ve tried countless times.” Jax ran his hands through his hair in frustration.

“Just try again Jax.” Clay said softly.

Jax sighed and pushed himself away from the table, heading out of the clubhouse and over to his bike. He mounted it and roared it to life, steering himself away from the lot and into the cool night air.

Jax arrived outside Opie’s house within record time. He knew the route to Opie’s house better than his own. He saw Opie’s truck and bike in the drive but no lights were on. It wasn’t late enough for Opie to be asleep, but depression can make anyone do anything. Jax disengaged from his bike and headed towards the front door of Opie’s house. Jax twisted the doorknob and the door opened. Jax walked through the house but couldn’t see his friend anywhere.

“Opie!” Jax called out into the void.

He heard Opie’s gruff groan but got no response. Jax was quiet, hoping Opie would do something. Jax flicked the light switch and illuminated the living room. Jax could see Opie’s bedroom door was closed but he didn’t want to kick it open and intrude. Jax heard the heavy slam of Opie’s feet against the carpet and sighed with relief. He hadn’t seen his best friend in weeks and he just wanted to hug him. Opie opened the bedroom door and ducked down so his head didn’t hit the frame. Opie stood at six foot six so it was common for him to hit his head on low hanging things or his own doorframe. Opie’s hair was longer since the last time Jax saw him, as was his beard. Opie wore no shirt, exposing all his tattoos and wore low hanging black sweatpants. His eyes were bloodshot from a mixture of sadness and intoxication. He didn’t look like the man Jax knew.

“What are you doing here brother?” Opie’s deep and scruffy voice asked quietly. 

Opie just wanted to be left alone. He didn’t want to have to deal with the club or his own kids for that matter. Jax felt so many emotions course through him. Relief, sadness and grief poured through him, making his eyes prick with tears. Jax walked forward and wrapped Opie into a rough brotherly hug. Opie leaned in and squeezed his best friend, tears falling from his stinging eyes. Maybe he did need his friends after all.

“I miss you bro.” Jax said. “Why haven’t you talked to me?”

Opie pulled away from the hug first and shrugged. “I don’t even want to talk to my own kids. Everything reminds me of her.”

Jax nodded. “We’re all feeling the loss man, losing Donna and you at the same time is hurting all of us.”

Opie didn’t know how to receive Jax’s statement. How could they possibly be feeling Donna’s loss? She was his wife, they didn’t know her like he did. Why did losing him hurt the club? It’s not like they ever showed him appreciation except Jax. All Opie was ever good for was pyro, strength and a perfect shot with a pistol.

“What do you want from me Jax?” Opie asked, defeated.

“I want you to come back to SAMCRO. We need you brother and you need us.” Jax said. He knew this wouldn’t work but he needed to try.

“The club doesn’t need me and I don’t need the club. I just want to be alone.” Opie argued, turning his back on Jax and walking away. “You can let yourself out.”

“Ope please. Brother, we need you to help us take out the Nord’s after what they did to Gemma. We need you more than ever.” Jax pleaded in a last ditch attempt to reel Opie in.

Opie turned on his heel to face Jax. Gemma had only visited him two days ago, what could the Nord’s do to her? 

“What did they do to her?”

Hayley sat on her living room floor, a glass of red wine in her hand and her ninth grade yearbook in front of her. Opie Winston. She knew that name, she knew who he was and she knew what he did. Hayley knew beyond reasonable doubt that there couldn’t be two Opie Winston’s in the small town of Charming but she had to make sure. Hayley swallowed a huge gulp of red wine, as if it would make it easier to discover the inevitable. It took Hayley a full day to find this yearbook in the attic. She was surprised her parents had kept it for this long. Hayley smiled when she flipped open the front cover, seeing all the signatures from her friends and peers. They all read a similar farewell message, signed off with “don’t change”. Hayley laughed as she looked at the fashion that was outdated by almost eleven years. A somber sadness hung over her when she found her ninth grade school picture, fifteen and fresh faced. Her naturally blonde hair was styled over her shoulders and a carefree gaze in her brown eyes stared back at present day Hayley. Hayley kept flipping the page until she came across the eleventh grade school pictures. This is where she’d get the confirmation she needed. The first picture that struck her was the picture of her sister Wendy. Wendy always embodied a 70’s hippy with long curly blonde hair and deep-set brown eyes. She was beautiful and carefree and happy until she got wrapped up with the Nord’s. The Nord’s were crazy white supremacists that thought that anyone of colour should be exterminated. Wendy got caught up with them because they dealt drugs when they weren’t beating up coloured students. Hayley ran her finger over the image of her sister’s face, feeling tears prick the backs of her eyes. She wished Wendy was still here, still breathing, still with her.

Wendy was the reason Hayley had to move to Chicago when she was sixteen. Wendy couldn’t and wouldn’t escape the Nord’s as she was too deep in debt and knew too much of their dealings. They had come after Hayley’s family. The Nord’s threatened them, damaged their property and used Wendy as a pawn to get money and possessions from the family. Wendy refused to leave the Nord’s side and when Hayley’s family approached police, it made matters worse. Hayley shook her head, trying to forget the memories but she couldn’t, they kept eating at her. Hayley’s family had to change their name and move to a different state in order to keep themselves alive. Wendy was left in Charming and was never heard from again until six months ago when the Oatfield family received word that Wendy died of a drug overdose. Hayley had come to Charming to try and find her sister and reconnect but the journey had been fruitless until she found out the news of Wendy’s death. Hayley didn’t want to think about all the unknowns like what Wendy could’ve been doing in those ten years or what she could be doing now if she was alive. It was damaging for her to think about it. Hayley then stumbled upon Tara Knowles’s picture, smiling at how fresh faced and pure she looked. It was hard to believe that she was so wrapped up in Jackson Teller, the prodigal son of the Sons of Anarchy motorcycle club. It was funny to think that Tara hadn’t even recognized Hayley since Tara began her position at the hospital six months ago. Hayley found Jax’s picture straight after Tara’s and it was funny to see how he looked identical to how he does now. It was weird treating his mother and see how the infamous Gemma Teller Morrow’s brain ticked. Hayley flipped the pages until she found the picture she wanted. Harry Winston, cropped brown hair with no facial hair, no deep set lines cast into his face. He looked whimsical and just as beautiful as fifteen year old Hayley remembered. It was him, after all this time, it was him. Hayley closed the book and swallowed the rest of her goblet of wine. Was Tara wrapped back up in SAMCRO? Would Opie remember her? How could she possibly treat Opie when she still harbored a deep love for him?

[whimsically-ominously-auspice]

Mr President

So that schmuck we sent to Timbuktu that potato head looking mother fucker

He was telling me... it was the 21st

He was all "you would not give me your ovaries so I could have a baby so I destroyed your life all those times on purpose"

I told him well that's why you're not qualified to have a child. You can't purposely hurt someone and think you should have a child.

You want a child? Go fuck someone. Don't be jerk in off in a cup and think you can have my baby. No. My children whether I know they exist or not will it be hurt on purpose. That's not okay.

So no he didn't get no egg

I told him shit was over and move on cause rhe still wasn't ever getting a baby by me after he done did all he did to me. Caused miscarriages, heart attacks seizures.. sent me to stay with Denise whom is abusive. Horrible shit he did that I don't want to repeat

So then he was all threatening on me. Like it was his tone. His attitude. His I'm bigger and badder than you bull shit.

So I told him "I'm protected now mother fucker what you gonna do? Kill the president cause I know you can't, you're to dumb"

Well obviously I was right. And obviously this dumb ass mother fucker has clout so he can get some stupid bitch to do some stupid shit.

Im always telling them don't be doing stupid shit. Like walking in the middle of the street when it's dark. Duh. Don't do that

And they do. I'm all IDC who tell you to do what don't do it if it's dumb. But they do it.

So..

Now this dumb ass mother fucker is gonna be all "we was testing the safety of the president" the fuck ever. He was trying to scare me.

What's fun is I ain't got no gas now at my house so now he can't blow it up. Like it would be very difficult and he can't say it was an accident. I am just saying. It is a relief. Yall know I think about an awful lot of shit. Aweful. I don't let it scare me.i just think about it Jesse James he's an arsonist... pyro. What version you want to say so I had that in my head a long time. So haha mother fucker you can't do it. Add another point for this bitch right here

Anyways the little bitch ass was all screaming at me at about 11 pm on the 21st all random how I diner let him have none of my kids. Dude is fucking nuts.

I told him he had inappropriate behavior that leads me to believe he should not have kids and he got all "well I'll kill you bitch" in the short version.

And I was all nu uh the president like me. You can't idiot.

So that's what happen so now some dumb ass broad who shouldn't be having kids is now in jail. So kudos to me for getting another one off the street cause I got a big ass mouth.

And ya can't kill the president and ya can't kill me.

Yall done tried it bitch still kicking and screaming.

Fuck yall shmuchks.

Bastards.

I knew the president when I was a child. I think we first met when I saw some girls picking on his daughter at the skating rink.

They were saying how she was dumb lying bitch how her father was gonna make the rink into an ice rink cause they were rich

I didn't care maybe she was lying. But she looked too sad for that to matter. I saw a human. A child, that I couldn't see a difference between me and her. She was sad. She wanted to hide her sadness. Her tears from everyone even her father. I knew what that felt like

So i waited till she was done crying and she relaxed a little and smiled and complained to her brother

I didn't know it was her brother and I was all dam it. I just watched her get ready to try having fun again and now he messing with her

But when I got close in could hear her tell him about the girls and he was all blown it off there's more people to play with

And I all jumped in "like me"

She told me she didn't want to skate she enjoyed watching people work on the rink.

I said "oh me too!"

She narrowed her eyes at me "you sure? Youre not just going to make fun of me?"

"Well idk. I may get bored. But I won't make fun but I really do like to skate to go fast and feel the wind blowing in my hair."

I explained to her it was like running away without going anywhere. Just for a minute you feel like you can do anything.

That girl didn't trust no one. But I put up with her. She was kinda mean... in a way that she was tired of people being mean to her so she may as well be mean, too.

I thought it was kinda cool, actually. She reminded me of matt whom I missed dearly

Turns out she was kinda scared to skate. She didn't want to fall. So I held her hand and dragged her next to the wall so she could grab on any time. After I showed her I didn't fall by going around the rink 3 times without falling. And helping her bother up after he fell.

She said it was fun. And it made me feel happy. Like a human. A whole person.

Her family wasn't anti social. ... but they really weren't into making a lot of friends they had each other.

So. After I remembered that. .. I started to remember other things about Uncle Donald and his fairy daughter.

We ended up becoming friends. Although it was short term.

Mostly because we lived in different areas of the city and we had school and my mom. Once she found out who I was hanging out with. Her always there greed took over.

And we all had our own lives.

But that girl that people saying has no business sitting in for her father in his chair during a convention. She touched my heart deep enough to make a difference in my life

She was sad and scared. She was human. She was absolutely brave and happy as well. Because she was human. She was very well rounded emotionally and so freaking smart she could put that ice skating rink together by herself. Swear.

She was all that boy over here didn't his and that broke it. Well dam she impressed me

She wasn't some emotinal charity case. She was human. Good at some things and timid to try others.

Her brother he was good to her. I mean he treated her with love and respect i sure as hell didn't get from my brothers most the time

So we can all say some fucked up shit about each other.

But the president treated me better than alot of people in my life.

And that's the truth

So yeah. I feel although he say some fucked up shit. I feel he's still good old Uncle Donald

And more people should call him that

Even if they don't respect him cause Donald Duck he's pretty fucked up.

But some of us say it with compassion and kindness and understanding as if we were actually family

That all said. I did not vote for him and I threw a fit any time i saw that political shit. And I was not happy when he was elected.

But I have amnesia. And it took a year to remember who he really is. As a human.

[dauntlesstales]

=CHAPTER 9A: HAZY SUSPICION=

~AO v1.0~

((Courtesy of @limitbreakers))

<<—Previous——————Table of Contents——————Next—>>

{Earlier, the night before…}

[Will, Soi, and Mikhail continued working through the night. Mikhail had Jack come over to help him in secret, having sent Pyro off to get some sleep while he could.

After settling in for the night, Desmond used the private lines to make another call…]

Des: …And that’s where we stand right now.

[President Minerva sighed.]

Minerva: …You’re right. The Smithsonian is going to have a fit. Covering the cost of repairs is going to be a nightmare—several hallways need to have the entire security system reset and/or replaced, and some are so bad as to need electrical rewiring. No doubt some of Congress is going to want to use this as an excuse to update styles or otherwise be extravagant about it.

[She gave another exasperated sigh before shaking her head.]

Minerva: The VP is currently handling affairs at the White House itself. I’ve submitted some paperwork to my speechwriters regarding a public statement on the incident. There’s not much to say, even if I felt like saying it; I can truthfully say that the matter is under investigation, but everyone working there was safely evacuated thanks to the combined efforts of the Mighty Numbers.

[She paused.]

Minerva: DLN-000 has really brought a lot of attention to himself, but it seems the media didn’t catch on to his serial number. I’d like to keep it that way for now—the investigation is proving difficult enough as it is without adding in false reports to the mix.

[She frowned.]

Minerva: What do you make of Dr. Cossack so far, Desmond?

Des: -Crosses arms- Well.

Des: He’s cooperative, at least. Which worries me a little, because this isn’t the first time we’ve seen someone seemingly open to questioning and not be a spy of sorts.

Des: He personally doesn’t strike me as one, if I’m being very honest.

Des: I’m going with my gut on this one and saying he’s not, but the fact that he’s Russian and possibly working with Dr. Sanda…

Minerva: Mmmn. There’s something very strange about this. (How does a Russian doctor come to care for a military grade American Combat construct, anyway?!) -.-

Des: Dr. Sanda has Japanese ties with his brother overseas, there’s that to think about too…

Minerva: You bring up an interesting point–Russia and Japan aren’t exactly friends. (I can’t seem to recall they EVER made a peace treaty…)

Des: Exactly.

Des: Which just further backs up the point that Dr. Cossack isn’t a spy, but…

Des: I’m wondering how they met in the first place, because they clearly know each other, and I’m willing to bet that goes the same for Dr. White.

Des: Not much going on for him, though. Full blooded American, mother is Rebecca White, father ditched when he was 10.

Des: He’s very clean, heck–not even a parking ticket.

Minerva: That’s not really unusual for… withdrawn geniuses, shall we say?

Des: True.

Minerva: Genius is often accompanied by social issues. From what you’ve told me, he almost never makes public appearances. He probably doesn’t feel comfortable in a public setting. I’ve worked with plenty of students like that.

Des: Yeah, there’s not even a lot of pictures of the guy, aside from social media from the Mighties themselves.

Des: (And even then, he’s sorta in the background…)

Des: Should we cover all the bases and ask to question him too?

Des: Though, uh… a guy that withdrawn, might be hard to get anything from him…

Minerva: That would be something for Homeland Security to cover if it came to it. I’ll speak with the Secretary and see what they say.

Minerva: However, I don’t think that will be necessary–not unless something comes up in the questioning.

Minerva: For people who have a hard time being around others, they come to rely very deeply on a select few they trust and feel comfortable with. This can lead to being taken advantage of, though–if he is involved in anything, I would suspect it would be because someone took advantage of him in some way.

Minerva: Dr. White is very withdrawn—Dr. Sanda is his main point of contact with most of the world, from what we have seen. He doesn’t attend conventions with his contemporaries. So if Mikhail Cossack is a family friend, it had to have been through Sanda first.  (How would an unknown and very secretive Russian scientist become such good friends with a Japanese scientist of a very high profile? He must be very busy, and they don’t seem to be business partners so much as friends…)

Minerva: At the moment, the cyber units are working with him to combat the virus. Let them continue to monitor the situation– they will let us know if something is wrong.

Minerva: And beyond that–

Minerva: A man’s house is his castle.

Minerva: You are in that castle by yourself right now, and there are more than a few knights at his command.

Des: –… (Yeah… that…)

Minerva: Trying to place pressure on the king could end poorly, and I’d rather not risk you.

Des: Aw, you care. | )

Minerva: | } I could make a remark to pass it off, but yes, I do care. I try.

Des: -Stretches- Well…

Des: If anything, the cyber units and White’ll think of something. Doc is a genius, after all, made the Mighty Numbers and everything.

Des: Hopefully this virus mess gets cleaned up soon, then we can fully focus on damage control and repair…

Minerva: That would be nice, especially if Dr. Cossack proves to be a potential asset. Though I get the feeling he won’t be easy to work with. (He’s stubborn and doesn’t give way to pressure or fear–even great fear.)

Minerva: I don’t think intimidation will work on him. It may prove counterproductive to try for that right away.

Minerva: It might help to see if you can learn more from the Mighty Numbers–if he knows Sanda and White, he has to be a part of their inner circle. Try talking to Six.

Minerva: You need to talk to him anyway. It’s clear he’s linked to DLN-008—the footage he broadcast while sick shows that much. And the Brits are asking about him again. >.> (Someone must have leaked that the child was involved with the incident at the White House.)

Des: Yeah, we might get answers there.

Des: And then there’s Nine himself, but poor kid’s been though a whole week and a half practically saving the nation.

Minerva: Oh, heavens, try to let the poor child be if you can at all help it.

Des: Yeah, I’m with you there.

Minerva: Your coworkers were hellbent on destroying that compound, barely even were going to give him enough time to get out… >_> -Pursed lips, WE ARE STILL VERY DISPLEASED ABOUT ALL OF THAT- -Simmering-

Des: -Grimace- I’m still going to get to the bottom of how an entire base full of military grade constructs was still functioning without me knowing about it. I swear I’m gonna discharge whomever’s involved…

Minerva: This begs the question. Does Dr. Cossack know about that? I wonder if he knows who was behind the security breach there. It didn’t have the style of DLN-008′s breakthroughs…

Des: If he did, he’s not going to tell us outright. Not sure how long he’s been involved in this…

Minerva: The earliest dates the files connected to him have is April 5th, so it has to have been before that.

[She leans back and sighs.]

Minerva: 000 probably knows most of the answers. And he certainly seemed talkative.

[She looks up.]

Minerva: How did the retrieval go?

Minerva: I take it you were successful?

Des: ….

Des: >>

Des: …Yeah.

Des: ….

Des: He was in…

Des: Very bad shape.

Des: Got a name, though.

Des: Cardinal.

Minerva: …

——————

“Keep gettin’ in mah way, Birdy, and Ah�� WILL make ya regret it!”

——————

Minerva: -Thoughtful frown-

Des: That does explain all the bird metaphors Eight was using in his illness…

Des: -SIGH- One mentioned that name out loud when he saw how much damage 000 did trying to get into the Oval Office.

Des: …Used an exasperated tone, like he’s said that more than once.

Minerva: -Raises an eyebrow- That’s interesting. Authoritative tones are normally used with equals or subordinates.

Minerva: 000 didn’t seem like one to dance to someone else’s tune, though. His methods were rather… unconventional.

Des: -Shrugs- If 000 knows Eight, he probably knows the rest of the Mighty Number line, too. Isn’t that far of a stretch. He did speak like he knew Six too.

Minerva: …

Minerva: Yes, he did. -Thoughtful- …He was trying to be gentle with him about going back.

Des: Yeah…

Minerva: All the more reason to talk to Six…. I wonder how much he knows?

[There was a thoughtful silence between them for a while.]

Minerva: …When you say very bad shape…

Minerva: (Cossack said he would need to have a core replaced. Was he understating, or being technically correct?)

Minerva: Do they have the resources to fix it?

Des: Good Lord, I hope so.

Des: He was practically almost in pieces.

((pic))

Des: Core exposed, even…

Minerva: …

Minerva: What?

Minerva: How is he still alive?

Minerva: That was hours after—!

Minerva: The xel loss, wouldn’t that have been too much?

Des: ….Min?

Minerva: —…?

Des: I…

Des: I couldn’t see very well, but…

Des: I saw oil, and I saw him.

Des: -Very puzzled expression- But not an ounce of Xel around him.

Minerva: —…

Minerva: -Now VERY confused- That’s… how is that possible?

Minerva: Wasn’t he fighting with Eight?

Minerva: He seemed to know quite well how to handle him. I’m sure he got off some hits on Eight, too.

Minerva: There should be something, there were TWO of them there.

Minerva: Do you suppose Nine could have picked it up?

Des: I’m not sure if Nine would take Xel from someone that’s already bleeding out–

Des: –Actually…

Des: Nine went in a little while before we got pulled out–

Des: Why didn’t he try to help him with Xel loss, if any?

Minerva: …

Minerva: You heard him, Des, as much as I did.

Minerva: Nothing would deter him from his mission.

Minerva: If it was coming down to rescuing Countershade or rescuing him— he probably told Nine to leave him behind.

Des: ….

Des: (Poor kid…)

Des: You’re probably right…

Des: -Grumbles- Doesn’t make sense, though.

Des: No Xel, yet 000 seems…I don’t know.

Des: Call it a hunch, Min, but he just seems… different.

Minerva: Well. No one in the Pentagon has stepped forward to claim responsibility for him just yet.

Minerva: …

Minerva: Though I probably scared off anyone from doing that with how obviously displeased I am with what has been going there. >________>

Des: -Snorts- Yeah, you do tend to have that effect on people. | )

Minerva: I can’t believe tax money was being used to maintain such facilities and no one noticed.

Des: -I know, geez—-

Minerva: The IRS has a lot of explaining to do. |K

Des: -Groans- And then we got to deal with investigation into who caused the whole mess…

Des: I’m tellin’ ya, Min, we’re getting nothing but dead ends on that front. We’re not getting though to CherryDyn’s lawyer dogs and Blackwell’s an uncrackable nut.

Minerva: …  -.-;  -Rubs temples- -Grumbles- Fighting fire with fire is dangerous…

Minerva: I wish we knew what happened to Dencerjack.

Minerva: There are no records of him leaving the country, but he hasn’t been found yet. There are only so many places you can hide on an island that small. >__>

Minerva: I dearly hope he didn’t get eliminated.

Des: Beats me… England might be small, but plenty of quiet countryside. He might have gone off the grid, even.

Minerva: I suppose, but given the circumstances—

Minerva: The other possibility is that he was eliminated. Someone has had it out for that team.

Minerva: Oh well. The UK has been very cooperative about that, at least. Even though the only thing they had to report were explosive metal snakes. (Not exactly helpful, but points for effort.)

Des: -Weird…-

Minerva: Here’s what the FBI’s found so far…

Minerva: There are only two reported members of the Doctor Light Numbers lines: 000 and 008. Both have Doctor Cossack as their listed Doctor.

Minerva: There were other files that are around the same timeframe that also list Cossack as the Doctor: seven members of the Doctor Wily Numbers series. One of those is DWN-024, who was seen on the highways fighting Mighty Number Seven. …The footage on that has to be seen to be believed…

Minerva: There are also nine registered Doctor Cossack Numbers, and one biological daughter.

Minerva: Dr. Cossack himself is a widower. Apparently, he’s cared for these series due to abuse and neglect issues from Doctors Light and Wily… though nothing has been found on them so far.

Minerva: However, I’m sure they probably exist, or did exist, as these bots all have their serial numbers branded onto them. ¬__¬ Things are made complicated by all the records that have gone missing.

Minerva: There was only one public record of 000. According to the reports, he went to visit the Colosseum back in late May. With Eight and Nine.

Minerva: And you’ll never guess what happened while he was there.

Des: -This we gotta hear–

Minerva: They were attacked.

Des: -Sputters–  Right there–in the sands–?!

Minerva: By Bladeblaster.

Des: What.

Des: (I don’t get it, did–was he DRUNK?)

Minerva: According to the witnesses, 000 did not react in a way that would have suggested he were as much of a Combat master as he has proven to be. He made an effort not to reveal what he was capable of, even when taken by surprise. It would seem his instinct was to protect his friend, though.

Minerva: I may be wrong, but I think someone with the secondary jobs that he and Eight had would have had access to more information about people than the general public. Which means either there was no information suggesting 000 was what he was, or else he didn’t care.

Minerva: The three of them were seen talking after that. He must have said something offensive just before leaving, because both Eight and 000 were described to have reacted adversely.

Minerva: (Even if he didn’t know or care, he was surely sorely pressing his luck.)

Des: -_-;;;;

Des: It kind of sounds like outright stupidity to me, but…. Late May, huh, not too long after the date the files came in…

Minerva: They’re trying to find the receptionist who checked him in, but it’s very chaotic down there.

[She gives a slight smile.]

Minerva: At least there’s a humorous side to the story.

Minerva: According to witnesses, 000 was playing around on the gymnastics equipment before that confrontation. I’m sure it wouldn’t surprise you to hear he displayed aptitude for parkour and gymnastics in general.

Des: Heh…

Minerva: It was apparently enough to catch the attention of at least one recruiter. But by the time they went in there, he and Shade had already left. The recruiters were rather disappointed.

Minerva: We’ll have to try and talk with him as soon as he’s awake. -Smile fades, slight sigh- If nothing else, just to work out how to handle the press coverage.

Minerva: As far as I know, it hasn’t gotten out yet that he was injured so badly, or where he went… but the former has been almost universally accepted to be true, given the alternative was vanishing as suddenly as he came, as if some comic book superhero.

Minerva: I don’t want anyone knowing he’s at Sanda Labs just yet.

Des: No kidding, they don’t need that kind of publicity right now…

Minerva: … True….

Minerva: Be careful, Mister Secretary. Keep us posted, and stay safe.

[SANDA TECHNOLOGIES, REPAIR BAY: DAWN...]

"I don't know, Will, it seems..."

Sanda: It seems like we need to somehow broadcast the XelFilter on a mass scale in order to cure the nation but...that's WAY too dangerous...

[Will--on his third or fourth cup of coffee, no doubt--sighed in apparent defeat.]

Will: I...I know that, Soi. Perhaps...Perhaps I can work from the ground up without using his XelFilter at all?

Sanda: Well--that would take even more time...Mm...

Will: .....

Will: (...I...It's...really catching up to me...)

Will: (The past...) [PING!]

[MN.8 IS NOW ONLINE.]

Will: --!!

Sanda: Uh oh...I mean--uh. -Mixed feelings here-

[Mikhail looks up from his work.

There was a curtain separating them, but still…]

Mikhail: Jack, hold this for a moment, please—

[He passes off some towels to the short-notice lab assistant and looks out from behind the barrier.]

Jack: --! -Oh--oh okay--

Shade: --Mngh...Ngg....

[DR.WHITE] //: -Both of you are still outside, right-

[MN.4 and 5] //: -PING-

Will: Okay then...

Will: Shade?

Shade: Wh...What...

Will: Countershade--?

Mikhail: (I’m glad Mr. Desmond is asleep right now… I get the feeling this is going to be hard enough as it is.)

Shade: ...D...Dad...?

Will: (Oh thank God--)

Will: Shhh, it's alright, don't exert yours--

Shade: C--Cards--

Shade: Ah'--Dad, where--

[Shade suddenly clutched at his own chest, a sudden pang of what felt like a needle going through his own core--]

Shade: Ngh--!

Will: --!!

Soi: Uh oh--

[Sanda immediately ran a diagnostic scan, then quietly motioned for Mikhail and Jack to stay out of sight.]

Soi: Shade--listen, it's me, Uncle Sanda...

Shade: --...Sanda...--

Soi: Your SH program is running faster than you can keep up with, so please don't move so much. We don't want you to have a complete system shutdown so--

Shade: --Can't--

Shade: Can't stay--

[WHUMP--]

[Unfortunately for Shade, his condition didn't allow him to get further from the foot of his bed as he simply rolled out of it.]

Will: Shade--!

[MN.5] //: -For Pete's sake I TOLD you we had to restrain him--

[MN.1] //: Mighty No. 8, you get BACK in bed this instant--

Shade: N--No, can't--I'll--

Shade: I'm just gonna hurt y'all again--!

Will: --!

Mikhail: -Pinches the bridge of his nose- ({This is going a bit worse than I thought it would, that’s a new record.})

Will: Shade--

Shade: Don't--

Will: Countershade White!

Will: You are SAFE!

Will: The fact that you can think that is proof enough--!

Shade: --....

Will: Shade...

Will: It's okay.

Will: The virus has been purged from your systems. Beck made sure of that.

Shade: --!

Shade: --...Beck...

Will: And...

Will: And I know you would never hurt me, Shade.

Will: ... Alright?

[PING!]

[MN.7] //: -Breathe, brother.-

Shade: --! Brand--

[MN.7] //: -Breathe.-

[MN.7] //: Do nothing but breathe. Let everything go.

[MN.7] //: {Breathe.}

Shade: .......

[Shade tenses for a few seconds... as if lost in his own thoughts, still clutching at his own chest--]

[PING!]

[SH RATE: 150% OF NORMAL BASELINE.]

Soi: --!

Soi: (That's not good--)

[PING!]

[MN.2] //: -Do you need water, bro, we can get you some--

Shade: -Hurts--

_______________________________________

"Songbird, eh?"

"Well, that explains the bird part."

[CLICK.]

"Adios, Songbird."

______________________________________

[A flinch--]

[SH RATE: 180% OF NORMAL BASELINE.]

Shade: M'sorry--!

Shade: I tried to fight it, Ah' swear--!

Shade: Cards--!!

[PING!]

[RMDC SERVER] //: >STATUS INQUIRY (SUBJECT: DLN-000) HAS BEEN DENIED.

>RobotMaster Database® COSSACK SERVER IS CURRENTLY LOCKED.

>AUTHORIZIED BY: ADMIN MC005

Shade: NO--!

Soi: Will--

Will: (Gah, if I don't do something--)

[PING!]

[MN.9 IS NOW ONLINE.]

Will: --! Beck--

[--There's no words from the small Mighty Number, not at first.

Instead--

Instead there was a file.]

[For some reason, it opened up for Shade anyway, without any prompt on his part.

...It was only audio, but...

...It was from a very memorable night.]

"But I'll never give up on you, Shade."

"Not for any reason."

Shade: --!!

"Not for any reason."

"I'll never give up on you."

Shade: . . . .

Shade: (Cards....)

[MN.9] //: -Soft ping-

[Another file. Something from Beck's OWN memories...]

"I have to save you."

"So the two of you can /live/— together."

Shade: .....?

[MN.9] //: M...Mikhail found...

[MN.9] //: A new power source...

Shade: --!!!

[MN.9] //: He...he’s gonna...

[MN.9] //: Be okay...Shade...

[MN.9] //: I saved... everyone... like I promised...

[MN.9] //: S...so...

[MN.9] //: Don't run away...

Shade: --...

[MN.9] //: ...And make me a liar...

[MN.9] //: Okay? ^^

[MN.9 IS NOW IN SLEEP MODE.]

Shade: . . .

[PING!]

[SH RATE STABILIZING.]

Shade: Beck...Cards...

Shade: What in the world did Ah' do to ya, brother...?

Soi: -Siiiigh...-

Soi: (At least his SH Program's calmed down...)

Mikhail: -Also a sigh of relief-

Will: (Oh, Shade...)

Shade: Dad...

Shade: ...

Shade: Why's no one else answerin'...?

Will: The others...They are also Offline, for their own safety.

Will: .....

Will: Everything will be alright, Shade...

Will: (I pray it will be...)

Will: But please--I know your heart aches and you want to isolate yourself--

[PING!]

[MN.2] //: DON'T EVEN THINK ABOUT IT, SNIPE BRO.

Shade: --!

[MN.2] //: -Like heck I'm gonna let ya go on your own after all that, FITE ME--

Mikhail: -From behind the curtain- Ahem. Shade?

Shade: --.... Mikhail...?

Mikhail: It’s also about… 5:46 in the morning.

Mikhail: Everyone else is asleep. That’s why they aren’t answering.

Shade: --.......

[MN.3] //: You picked a heck of a time to wake up and diszzturb our BEAUTY ZZSLEEP. -Annoyed buzzing-

Shade: Dyna...

Soi: -____-;; (Jeez, you're just as tactless as Will, aren't you, Mikhail...)

[MN.1] //: Alright, that is enough.

[MN.1] //: ....

[MN.1] //: -Very gently- Shade.

[MN.1] //: You've been gone for nearly a week and a half.

[MN.1] //: Have you eaten anything?

Shade: . . . .

Shade: .....

Shade: -Very, VERY hungry data-

Shade: Food...

[MN.1] //: As I thought.

[Ping—]

<FMN-008>: > -Mrrmnngghhmmmfffpph… did we hear someone mention  f o o d—-

Shade: !

Shade: Kate...

<FMN-008 is now Online.>

Mikhail: …

Mikhail: (She was sleeptalking? That’s a new one.)

<FMN-008>: > -Hazy data- ???

<FMN-008>: > …Jack?

<MC005>: > He’s assisting me with something. Go back to sleep, Countershade.

<FMN-008>: > …? -Hazy data, but our Other—-

<MC005>: > He’ll be fine. Go back to sleep.

<FMN-008>: >Mmmm…

<FMN-008 is now in Sleep mode.>

Mikhail: -Another relief sigh- (I wouldn’t want to have to explain THAT to the Secretary.)

Shade: Kate...?

[MN.1] //: She's resting, Shade.

[MN.1] //: Seven, do you think you can get Eight to the kitchen without--

[Knock Knock.]

[MN.1] //: -....You're already outside the bay, at least let me finish my sentence--

Mikhail: -Starts shaking in silent laughter-

Will: Eheh... (Oh, Brand...)

[Sanda lets Seven in quietly, who chose to not wear his helmet, or his mask. His scarf is wound tightly around to compensate, though.]

Brand: --....

Shade: .....

Shade: Ah'...Guess we're on even ground nao, aren't we...

Brand: .....

Brand: I...suppose we are.

Mikhail: …?

Mikhail: -Puts his head in his hand- Mmmnn… (Tired. And hungry. But can’t eat in the lab. Jack should get something to eat, but I do not want to run the risk of him running into Desmond…)

Mikhail: (As a general rule, military men can be early risers if they stay in habit, and it’s nearly 6:00.)

Brand: .....

Brand: You're still quite insufferable, though.

[Shade quietly chuckles at that.]

Shade: An' yer still an' honored bastard, heh...

Mikhail: … -Smiles to hear the exchange- (At least he’s doing better. That’s what counts, right now.)

Mikhail: Number Seven?

Brand: --Yes, Doctor?

Mikhail: If Felix shows up, please have him let inside the building.

Brand: ...Felix is... ah. Of course.

Shade: --Felix is comin'...?

Shade: ....

Shade: -Too tired and hungry to think too hard-

Mikhail: You’ll see later, Shade. Go eat something.

Shade: ...Yeah...

Brand: Here. Just lean on me and stay invisible.

Shade: Alright...

[It looked strange, like Brand was supporting nothing but air, but one could almost hear a pair of footfalls walking out the door and down the hallway to the elevator.]

Will: .....

Will: -Sigh-

Will: (...It's going to take a long time to heal... from this...)

[Mikhail sighed, pulled a sheet over his patient, and pulled back the curtain.

He had been working through the whole night after Pyro brought Cardinal back. As with the injuries Tobias had received, the first step was to completely clean the exposed mechanics of the core mass of oil, grime, and debris. It was always a messy affair, and not one that could be made faster or more efficient through automation.

They were thankfully just about done. Call had been able to confirm that the old core was completely spent—it did not pose an explosion hazard. She had it locked away tight for later disposal, along with some other broken machinery that had been removed. Such things were a bit of an uncomfortable matter, and were best kept locked away out of sight to be dealt with in private.

Since there wasn’t really the time to do a proper replacement, he would have to rely on the energy source doing so. The systems would rebuild themselves once the new core was in place.

However…]

Mikhail: -Wiping his face- ({That was far too close a call. He has got to update.})

[…He wasn’t exactly planning on using the Sun Stone core just yet.]

Mikhail: ({I need to talk to him about updating and getting new hardware to go with it. He can’t keep it up like this with the form he’s been using, not at the rate he’s been getting into ghastly disasters.})

Mikhail: Please do make sure he doesn’t run off.

[Once the cleaning phase was over, he would have to wait until Felix arrived before he could continue the repairs on Cardinal. But his work was far from over.]

Mikhail: ({I isolated Tobias and his memories last night, but I still need to make certain Cardinal uploads to a quarantined part of the server so that the others don’t get cross-references from his memory files. Then I have to lock the files and set up proxy files to substitute for the memories so they at least know what happened. Otherwise, they’ll try to unlock the files to fill in those blanks.})

Mikhail: -Low grumble- {And then the questions… Mary help me, it’s going to be one in the afternoon before I get any rest…}

[He almost wasn’t sure whether he had the energy to feel grateful or not that he was too tired to be scared at the moment.]

Mikhail: Sanda? What’s his status?

Soi: Well...He's stable, for now. SH rate's normal, though a bit jumpy, but that's okay, given the situation...

Mikhail: …?

Mikhail: “S.H.”? Does that have something to do with the E.R. -like monitor sounds from just a moment ago?

Will: Ah. In a way...I suppose you can call it a more complex version of a Robot Master's Emotion.EXE program.

Will: The Synthetic Heart Program--it's the very coding that allows a Xelbot to feel. To evolve, and grow as they experience new sensations and emotion as they come.

Will: Like us.

Will: ...I designed this particular version myself, to all the Mighty Number Line.

Will: ...Usually...

Will: ...Usually, The SH Program is capable enough to keep up with the rest of the Xelbot's thoughts and functions, but...

Will: Shade.....

Will: ....

Will: He...He lost a core once.

Will: I had to rehaul his entire power output to compensate for 6 cores instead of the usual 7...

Mikhail: …

Will: --....

Will: -Hand in his face- But in doing so, the SH Program responded accordingly.

Will: With the increased power, it... sometimes, not often, but sometimes...

Will: It processes at a speed too high for Shade himself to keep up...

Mikhail: … (Just like an Emotions.EXE overload…)

Mikhail: …Heh. -Chuckles softly for a moment, shaking his head- Soul-brothers indeed…

Will: -Sigh- Ah... I suppose...

Will: In a way, yes, it is the equivalent of having an increased chance of cardiac arrest...

Will: It isn't life threatening, given that he's usually a loner...and rather hard-headed...Stubborn... -Cracks a smile-

Will: ...This isn't the first time he's come close to one, but it's certainly been the longest in between...

Will: The last time he had his SR Rate above 180% is when Beck almost drowned that one time during training...

Mikhail: …

[Mikhail sighs and sits down rather hard.]

Mikhail: I’d be more curious if I weren’t so exhausted. I’m so sorry, Will, I don’t mean to be rude.

Will: ....You... you should...

Will: ....Oh, bother, you're not going to stop even if I tell you...

Will: -Leans back in his own chair-

Will: Call, please go get us some food, I don't care if it's in the lab, I'll eat in the closet if I have to.

Soi: -Snorts-

Mikhail: Jack, you should eat something as well.

Jack: ...Yeah. Okay.

[Mikhail turns his attention back to Will. He has an almost defeated expression on his face, but that’s mostly from how tired he is.]

Mikhail: No, I’m not going to stop.

Mikhail: What I’m going to do next is crucial if we are to keep the Robot Masters from going berserk.

Will: .....

Mikhail: I sent everyone Offline just as the news came in on where Cardinal had been spotted. Everyone went into Lethal—except for David, who doesn’t have that setting—remember?

Mikhail: That was out of panic. Going someplace like that is a sure death sentence, and worse, where we come from.

Mikhail: Tobias I woke up on purpose, which again, is something I’ll have to answer for.

Mikhail: He has his own memories. He was angry, but that was tempered when he got feedback from Cardinal by way of his own Thunder Beam. He went Offline to rest before the worst of it, but it’s still enough to cause great anxiety and raise the threat level tag in the database entry for Shade by at least half a star.

Mikhail: I was able to isolate those easily while waiting for Cardinal’s return; everyone else was Offline, and the database was locked. As soon as his Awareness was re-seated back in his hardware, it became a non-issue… though it’s important he remains Offline.

Mikhail: -Rubs his face- He really does start to show his father’s worst traits when he is angry.

Mikhail: It’s Cardinal’s memories that are the danger now.

Mikhail: He encrypts all his memories, but it’s still something that would contribute to generating cross-references and modifying threat levels in informational files.

Mikhail: Those are things that would affect his brothers, and furthermore…

Mikhail: Whenever a Robot Master is forcefully sent Offline in a fight, the experience… that’s something very deep and complex, more than you realize, William. It starts to go beyond just the Emotions.EXE program and into the Awareness aspect itself.

Mikhail: The Awareness affected becomes… detached from the hardware, usually, and there is that sense of Self, that Self is not “alive”, and that…

Mikhail: …with Cardinal, it’s a bit more than that, for reasons I already went through.

Mikhail: I have to wake them up soon. He’ll probably still be either Offline or in Maintenance mode. That’s… going to cause incredible panic, unless I quarantine the files in a very specific manner.

Mikhail: The Hunter as a cultural concept, for someone to fall to the Hunter, and at such a high cost, too…

Mikhail: That sets off a frenzied panic mode, and for some, that could cause rage. And rage tends to cascade for robots running Wily’s OS.

Will: ....

Will: I... see...

Will: -Sigh- I suppose that's of higher importance.... But at least eat something for a bit...

Will: (And Mikhail still has to be questioned--Not to mention Soi...)

Mikhail: I’ll try.

[There’s a quiet pause. When he speaks up again, he does so softly.]

Mikhail: …I’ll admit I don’t feel very good about eating right now.

Soi: ...Cardinal would want you to take care of yourself.

Mikhail: -Closes his eyes and sighs softly- True.

Mikhail: It’s just… hard. (I hope you never have to understand how, though I think you may make a logic-based guess as to why.)

Mikhail: …Put some protein powder in chicken broth or something, that’ll be good enough for me. =___=

Will: Call, relay that to Pyrogen, please.

Call: Yes, Doctor.

Mikhail: -Rubs his hands with his face- (Ugh.) This would be so much easier if I could have Siam, but he’s… mmmngh, cross-references, experiences everything in a dual nature, complications.

Mikhail: Did you know—when he’s feeling particularly complex emotions, they tend to break down and manifest divided between his Awarenesses?

Mikhail: Yet another reason to do this properly—with one half panicked and the other enraged, I wouldn’t be getting any help— -buries face in arms at nearby workstation- {Saints preserve us—} Will, being the ONLY reliable Doctor for your world truly does get exhausting.

Will: ......

Mikhail: I wish we’d had the time to finish our tech lessons before this happened.

Mikhail: I could have helped with decoding…

Will: (Ngh...)

Will: ....No, it's fine...

Will: I never... quite...

Will: ....

Will: -Looks away in shame-

Will: I never quite managed to crack it... all the way...

Will: I...I did manage to understand enough how to combat it, but it would have required Beck's XelFilter program to be broadcasted much like the Virus was...

Will: And that's something I cannot just... release into the open airwaves.

Mikhail: …

Mikhail: -Muffled- I would have Tobias help, except undoubtedly that would be just as bad of an idea. He might have some ideas, but I believe it would be safest for everyone—Shade in particular—if he and Shadow remained not just asleep, but Offline for at least a few months.

Will: ....

Will: If that is what's best for them... (This is all... my fault...)

Soi: ....

Soi: (Will...)

Will: ....

Will: I'm going to try to work on something from the ground up. I'll use the XelFilter's properties as a sort of blueprint, and go from there.

Will: (It will take a while longer, but...I can't use his XelFilter Program, not with the government...)

Mikhail: Siam may be able to give a few ideas. After all, he is as close as it gets to a Doctor, and as a Robot Master, he did interact directly with her.

Will: --!

Will: (--H...Her...)

Will: (Dear God, he's already even figured out gender...)

Will: ...The Virus has a gender now? ?_?

Mikhail: According to Siam and Tobias, yes.

Mikhail: Something about how it targets aggression and the English phrase “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned,” from what I understand.

Will: (Oh, God, no, is... is...)

Will: (Is... is she coming for me--?)

Will: (Am... am I what she wants?)

[There is a quiet knock on the door, snapping Will away from his darker thoughts.]

Will: --!

[Brand pushed in a cart of food for all present--even Call, who normally doesn't eat around other people besides Beck.]

Jack: -Hungryyyyy--

[Jack IMMEDIATELY grabs as much meat as his plate can handle, even biting and holding down on a large wing of chicken in his mouth just to have more.]

Jack: -Awwww yessss- < 3

Soi: Heh! Save some for us, Jack--

Mikhail: Good luck, Soi, you’ll have to fight him for that. While he was undergoing repairs, he could eat up to several pounds of meat a day.

Mikhail: -Smiles, adjusting glasses- It’s good to see you have a healthy appetite, though. Shows resilience and reflects overall well-being.

Jack: -It's mine-

Jack: -Miiiiiine-

Jack: -NOM-

Jack: ^^

Mikhail: Thank you for coming over on such short notice. I know that it was fearful work, but you helped speed up the process tremendously.

Jack: Eheh...n-no problem, Doc Cossack. Anythin' t' get Bird Guy up and taggin' corporate sleezeball's HQ's again. | D ;;

[Mikhail laughs at this.]

Mikhail: Once he’s well enough to do so, I’d almost be tempted to buy the paint for him.

[He shakes his head, looking over at his covered patient as he accepts a thermos of chicken broth from Brand.]

Mikhail: Oh, he’ll be ready and willing, alright.

Mikhail: Like with Shade, Robot Masters are prone to overclocking under extreme duress. With Cardinal, that’s always been a weak point. But now with the new power source… that’ll change, if he agrees to hardware modifications as well.

Mikhail: To minimize the impact of the memories… as they are slowly released from quarantine, there will be other cross-references actively running. I happen to know as a fact that there are at least 40 entries with Shade laughing as of the day you left to go overseas.

Mikhail: Once he knows his mission was completed… he’ll be alright.

Will: Thank goodness...

Will: (At least there is some light at the end of all this, for them...)

Mikhail: Mmm. He knew something like this might happen when he set out. He said so himself. He came to terms with that and accepted it—that’s why he left such strong messages pointing it out.

Mikhail: He knew how hard that would end up being on everyone else if it came to pass…

Mikhail: It’s his way of saying not to be too sad, that he holds no ill will and will be back soon.

Mikhail: Hopefully Felix will come by with the core soon; I want his armor closed up before Desmond makes a very firm and unavoidable demand to see him.

Mikhail: -Rolls his chair over to his yellow legal notepad- I think I might be able to input a program that will automate the quarantine process… that’ll help, as I won’t have to oversee it personally. Give me a few hours.

Mikhail: After that… -Sip- I’ll see what I can do within what there is to say.

{Later, in the Kitchen…}

[For once, it's not Pyrogen making breakfast. It's Dyna along with her elder sister, although Cryo's only washing dishes. It was strangely quiet, save for Brand and Shade shuffling past...]

[Mostly everyone else was either resting or requested their breakfast be brought to them.]

[For a family this large, seeing and hearing everything so quiet was...]

Des: (...Not right.)

Des: (I can practically cut the tension and stress in the air with a knife if I could...)

Shade: -Mngh, too tired, can ya just take me t' Mic's room instead, brother-

Brand: -Fine, but I'm telling him to make sure you eat something.-

Shade: Yeah, yeah, Ah' know...

Des: (...Poor man looks like he's fresh out of a warzone...)

Des: (...This is going to be one tough crowd to deal with...)

“Ree-ow."

Des: --!

[Jazz padded her way into the kitchen, looking fresh and eager as any housecat should be—albeit more green and blue than most.]

Jazz: Ree-ow. :D

[She trotted right past Brand and looked up at Shade.]

Jazz: Ree-ow.

Jazz: -Tall servant-

Jazz: -You still owe me food-

Jazz:  -FEED ME- >:V

Shade: ....

Shade: Heh...

[His laughter is tired, but still lighthearted, in a way.]

Shade: I'll...ask Dyna t' make ya somethin'...

Brand: -You better not fall asleep on your feet, you're heavy enough as it is-

Shade: -Quiet snort-

Des: .....

Des: She's not going to start breathing fire again, is she? >>;;

Dyna: She'szzz a cat. Doeszzz what she wantszz. -Meaning we can't say for sure, bzz bzz-

Des: (Jee, THAT'S comforting to know...)

Jazz: -Purrs and goes over to Shade, rolling over at his feet and purring in the flop- </cat>

Shade: Jazz...Heh...

Brand: -_-;;;;; -You can come rest with him if you want, but the food is his, he needs to eat too-

Brand: -Sleep on top of his hat like you always do-

Shade: -More snickering-

Shade: Yer' more nonsensical than usual, Ninjabro.

Brand: -You are not the only one that craves a bed, alright- =~=

Jazz: -Purrs and hops up onto Shade’s shoulder- -Prrrrrrhhhrrrrhrrrrhrrrrr- -Starts kneading on his neck-

Shade: -Mmmm, lil more t' the left--

Brand: -Starts dragging his brother away before he really falls asleep on his feet-

Des: (...Well, at least there's some sign of healing in those two...)

Dyna: -I'm never taking Pyro for granted EVER again, making so much food is HARD--

Cryo: -WE GOT YA, SIS, we watch Pyro make breakfast so we can show ya-

Cryo: YO MISTER DEFENSE MAN, YA WANT COFFEE--

Des: --Uh...Yeah. Strong, two teaspoons of sugar, please.

Cryo: Got iiiit.

Cryo: Man, where's Avi when you need him, he's like our second backup breakfast person when Pyro's not making food... -NOT ALL OF US HAVE HANDS, YA KNOW-

Dyna: -Ping-

Dyna: Pretty sure everyone iszz crashing in Earth bro'szzz room.

Des: --???

Cryo: -This makes perfect sense to us- Ooooh, right.

Cryo: -No wonder it's so quiet, his room is sound proof-

Cryo: In THAT CASE--

[Cryo shoves Des a tray filled with pancakes and bacon, eggs and a whole lot of cooked ham, and also buttered biscuits.]

Cryo: That ain't for you.

Des: Uh--

Cryo: -Waves hose arms around, we don't have hands so YOU have to take breakfast to everyone else-

Des: (...Oh.)

Des: Uh...and where is...

Cryo: Dude, it's the biggest bedroom in the whole place, not THAT hard to miss. >>.>>

Cryo: -NOW GO, because we're hungry too and I want food-

[Deciding it was better to leave some of the two most temperamental members of the family be, Des obliged and made his way out of the kitchen and to the bedroom of Mighty Number Four. When he got there…]

"Aviiiiiii you're hogging all of the spaaaaaace...."

[The room wasn't exactly well lit when the door opened, but it was a comfortable darkness. The bedroom was indeed very large, and--]

Des: --?

[...The floor felt very soft, almost like... a bed, of sorts--?]

[It seems as though the whole team had taken refuge in Mic's room--Mic himself was napping right in the middle, with Shade--not invisible--was quietly snoozing, head down so that his hat would block most of the light from his face.]

[Pyro was in a corner along with Bat, in a game of chess--probably under orders by either his Father or Sanda to take it easy for now. Both seemed to be taking their time with their moves.]

[Brand had a corner all to himself, although he didn't mind--not far away were Beck and Avi, who had used both Mic's giant pillows and their own to build a fort.]

Avi: -Oops, sorry Becko-

Beck: .....

Beck: -Wait, I smell pancakes-

Beck: -Pancakes equal syrup, sugar--

[Beck pops his head up from the pillow fort, his hair all askew from sleeping so much--he's in a simple space-time sleep shirt that was WAY too big for him, and...]

[...Holding some kind of...pink plush toy...?]

Puffball: -u-

“Chirp-cheep!”

Avi: Baron, bro, I'll get ya some bird feed from my room if ya want some--

Beck: -Stumbles out of fort, rubs sleep out of his eyes-

Beck: Sugarrrr...

Beck: ....

Beck: -Looks up-

Beck: .....

Beck: ??????

Baron: -Wriggles to get to see where he can view what’s going on- 8>

Des: . . .

Des: (....THIS is...Nine?)

Beck: Who the heck are you...

Beck: -And why aren't you giving us that food-

Beck: -Grabbie hands-

Beck: -Give us the sugar, stranger-

[Foosh. Foosh. Foosh.]

Baron: {D.C.!} :V

Des: -Blinks-

Des: -That is a bird--

Beck: -Foooooood-

Des: Oh--um. -Here?-

Des: (So do ALL the animal-based bots breathe fire here?)

Baron: Chirp cheep! -Wriggles back in to hop around on Avi’s shoulder-

Baron: -Via hops- {D.C., D.C.!} : D

[It isn’t long before he pokes his head out again and twitters loudly.]

Jazz: -Looks up grumpily from Shade’s shoulder- Ree-ow. |K

Baron: >:V

Baron: -Flits over to Des and lands on his shoulder- ovo

Avi: --! (Wait, isn't that the Secretary person Cards saved--?)

Des: -Whoa--

Baron: ^v^

Des: -Never had a bird land on US before, jeez--

Avi: -Um- -Hides under blankets-

Des: Uh...hi?

Beck: -Guyyyys, there's breakfast-

Shade: -PING-

Shade: -Where-

Beck: -No, this is OUR tray--

Pyro: -Not looking up from chessboard- No fighting over food.

[This is when Dyna comes in with more breakfast trays, conveniently floating some of them around with her bits.]

Dyna: -We are GOING as fast as we can, we're not a master chef person like Big bro, ya know-

Pyro: -Snorts-

Pyro: Everyone thank your sister.

All: Thanks, Dyna.

Dyna: ~~

Cryo: -HEY DON'T FORGET ME TOO, I HELPED--

Pyro: Yes, you too, Cryo. | ]

Cryo: -HECK YEAH-

Baron: Chirp-cheep!

[Foosh. Foosh. Foosh.]

Baron: {000? D.C.?}

Des: ...

Des: (That--that cannot be Morse code, I must be seeing things--)

Des: You...You know 000?

Beck: --!

Beck: Pyro says that he brought back Cards with someone else...

Pyro: That would be him, yes.

Pyro: ....

Pyro: Thank you, by the way. I appreciate your help, Mr Secretary.

Bat: -Salutes-

Beck: . . .

Beck: Secretary?

Des: -Smiles-

Des: Desmond Donald, US Secretary of Defense, serving breakfast, heh.

Des: It's an honor to meet you, Mighty No. 9.

Beck: . . .

Beck: (I'm in my sleep wear--)

Beck: o//////o

Beck: I--Uh. I.

Beck: -SALUTES, TRIES TO SAVE SOME FACE- Th-Thank you, Um, Mr. D--I mean, Mr. Secretary, uh, sir--

Des: -Cannot help but be amused-

Des: Des is fine, Number 9.

Des: We're not in any kind of public or otherwise, so no need for formality. I'm in your house, after all.

Des: ....If I may...

Des: I want to thank you.

Des: For everything.

Des: This nation and its people owes you and your actions a lot more than we can ever say.

Des: (And I'm sure Min feels the same way.)

Des: If it weren't for you...I don't know where we would be at this point.

Des: Not to mention your family.

Pyro: -Pride, ALL of the pride data--

Des: I'm probably not going to get another chance to do this after all this is over...Not to mention, I don't have the actual thing with me, so...

Des: -Salutes-

Des: Beck Amadeus White, I hereby award you the Secretary of Defense Medal of Valor, awarded to those that perform acts of heroism and sacrifice in the face of overwhelming danger at the cost of personal safety for the good of all.

Beck: --!?!

Bat: -PING-

[At the sound of that, all of the Mighties give off much pride and joyful data for their brother, who was still trying to process the whole thing.]

Beck: I...

Beck: -Speechless-

Bat: -That is the highest honor the Department of Defense can bestow, WELL DONE, PRIVATE.-

Beck: I...

Beck: Really?

Des: Really.

Des: You deserve it, Mr. White. More than you know.

Bat: -Don't just STAND there, Private, SALUTE the man--

Beck: !

Beck: (–u–)7  Th-Thank you, sir! I--I mean, Des, sir--

Des: -Nods-

Des: Well...

Des: I should leave you to yourselves, now.

Des: (...They all seem like they really need to rest and relax. Questioning Six is going to have to wait.)

Des: Enjoy your breakfast.

<<—Previous——————Table of Contents——————Next—>>

[ecotone99]

[SP] The X-Men: The New Ages

Liberty Hospital, New York.

Doctor William "Healfist" Powers was just about to pack up and leave for his lunch break when suddenly, a co-worker burst out of a door and ran towards him.

BANG!!!!

"Doctor Healfist! Doctor Healfist! Another patient urgently needs your help!"

"Jones... I'm on my lunch break"

"Please! Your the only healer left that hasn't left the hospital, I'm lucky I got to you on time"

Healfist saw the desperate look in Jones' eyes and reluctantly agreed. He moved towards the room his coworker had just burst out from.

He had always been annoyed by the misconceptions people had towards healers like him. It was not as easy as people thought it was, or as it used to be...

There were many of us back then, he thought. There were many of us, mutants. Scarce, but still plenty. We were thought to be monsters.

But as generations and generations went on and the population of mutants started to outnumber the non-gifted, we were suddenly accepted into the society. Although the more times we fell in love with a human and birthed a child, mutant powers started to become more and more grounded rather than magical.

Doctor by day, carefully and precisely healing the wounds of patients, and illegal Chip Remover by night, carefully and precisely taking out the chips from a gifted's brains.

These chips became a requirement for all super powered individuals which "took away" their powers.

This was said to ensure safety for all individuals, powered and non-gifted alike. The non-gifted did not have to fear of being harmed, and the powered did not harm themselves. (A girl who could walk through walls had accidentally stuck herself inside a wall and died instantly)

Of course, these chips would be switched off when they were doing their jobs. Their powers gave them an added advantage to getting a specific job.

Mind readers became lawyers and cops. Healers became doctors. That's how William "Healfist" Powers became a doctor without knowing much about the profession.

The other doctors gathered around as Healfist reached his hand out towards the patient. The wound of the man lying on the operating table started to close...

GRRTSSHH!!!

"It is done"

The X-Headquarters, New York.

Katt "The Young Wonder" Grey had flown through one of the windows of the tall building playfully.

WOOOSH!!!

The other members of the team were standing in front of her with their arms crossed. This was not good, Katt thought.

"Come on, guess what kind of shit you got us into this time", Max Spirit said.

Confused as to why the atmosphere was suddenly so serious, Katt furrowed her brows and shrugged.

Lilly Pyro held out her phone. " 'Remember, we are all the X-Men. Strong-willed and kind in heart.' This is what you tweeted yesterday, and now people are talking about why there isn't a non-gifted in our team".

"Uhm... Oops?" Katt replied, dumbfounded.

The last time the team had to let another member join for reasons like this was when Katt had joined. People started questioning why there hasn't been a transexual member of the team for 5 years.

But, a non-gifted member would not make sense, she thought. The X-Men never had a non-gifted member before. How is someone with no powers supposed to defend against the supervillains who terrorise the city?

"Don't worry, we'll think of something", Katt had said after a long awkward silence. "We could find a suitable non-gifted and give it a desk job or something".

The Team nodded in agreement.

"Alright. Tesla, find this suitable member online. Meanwhile, we have a new supervillain to take down!" The Young Wonder had exclaimed excitedly.

Mom's Basement, 189A Liberty Avenue.

Matthew Tyler had just been ranting online when suddenly, he saw the X-Men's ad for a non-gifted recruit.

"This is my chance, my dream is finally going to come true!" Matthew exclaimed.

He had always been a superfan of the X-Men, how they had defended everyone from the individuals who think that they are better than everyone by taking out their chips, dubbed "Supervillains".

"These individuals abuse their powers and privileges to cause extreme terror and inequality to our society. They want to feel more powerful than everyone else", Matthew had seen this from one of the X-Men's twitter posts a few years back.

Finally... It would only make sense for a non-gifted to join the X-Men considering the non-gifted was who the X-Men were protecting. He could finally teach all the arrogant, selfish, privileged mutants a lesson.

After all, their ancestors had caused so much harm back then. It only made sense for payback, he thought.

Outside the Liberty Bank.

Essie "Lifeblast" Goldhart was leaning against the building, waiting for night time to approach.

He had been born with the ability to regenerate at an extremely quick speed. If not for the chip inside his head, he would've been almost invincible.

However, the doctors had deemed it better off that the chip should never be switched off as it would be too dangerous. Essie would be able to do whatever he wanted to do, the ultimate supervillain.

This gift which was completely a curse also caused him to never be able to find a job. He was practically a non-gifted, with no super skills to guarantee him one.

Nowadays, he roams around the city, without a home. He was constantly insulted by the gifted for being homeless, ehile being insulted by the non-gifted for being a 'privileged arrogant asshole, as all the gifted are'.

Now, his body functions were shutting down and he had no money to get a doctor. More than ever, hs desperately needed that god damn chip out of his head.

After I rob this bank, I'll be able to hire a Chip Remover, he thought. The X-Men did not care for such low-level crimes, they only cared about taking down the supervillains.

And after my chip is removed, they won't be able to stop me...

Rivervale High School for the Non-Gifted.

Jonathan Norcross was having the time of his life ranting to his new classmates.

"You know what really pisses me off? The X-Men talk all about equality and stuff, and then they ruin it by constantly talking shit about the Gifted! How they're overpriviliged and stuff. Meanwhile, they're living at the top of the world while everyone praises them just for stopping supervillains!"

"You saw the ad?", one of his classnates asked.

"What ad?"

"They are trying to recruit a non-gifted to the team"

"Hah, are you kidding me? This is what I've been telling you! Equality was never about providing priviliges to the minorities. Equality was about being colourblind and genderblind and giftblind!"

"I don't know what your ranting on about though, I'm enjoying what I'm getting. I heard that they are going to make it so that the next president is going to be a non-gifted"

Jonathan was aware of this. It had been the reason why he had been so mad about the matter in the first place. They can do whatever they want to even the privilege scales, but the distrust between the gifted and non-gifted will only get bigger this way.

Getting tense, one of his classmates changed the topic. "Did you hear that the lead of Ginger Road is going to be a non-gifted, I'm so glad they are paying more attention to us"

"Oh yeah, oh yeah. I'm so glad that they potrayed us as poor and bullied and homeless and pathetic fucks with depressing lives and all that shit because that is DEFINITELY how we live our lives, we swim in just a huge pile of shit!" Jonathan mocked as the plastic spoon he was holding snapped in half.

TUKKK!

Justice Square, New York.

Rufus "Steelfist" Jones was patrolling the area with his partner Terry. He had been 68 years old but he was still on the job.This was no surprise to him. His unbreakable skin had proved to be of great value to the police force.

In his 49 years of service, he had seen alot of action in the streets of New York. Back then, the gifted were not the only super-powered ones roaming the streets.

His younger self had been extremely worried not to let his peers discover he was gifted. It came close once, when his mother had seen him fall down the stairs and there was not a single scratch on him.

He looked up to heroes like Cyclops and Spiderman, who showed that being different was not such a bad thing after all.

Now however, it looks like not having powers was the being different. It was better for people not to know that you were non-gifted. They would think that your fathers or mothers and their fathers or mothers were discriminatory towards the gifted, that's why you had no hereditary gifted gene.

Rufus and his non-gifted partner had been discussing about news of a non-gifted member of the X-Men. They both thought that it was good, although it felt weird.

From what Rufus could remember, there had been no non-gifted member of the X-Men before. How could a non-gifted fight a gifted anyways?

Terry had gotten into the police force due to his excellent physique and precise shooting, but even he could not possibly defeat a supervillain.

It was also unnecessary. The X-Men could take down anyone with just three members, it felt like the others were just there for display.

Display of what? Power? Diversity? A symbol of unity?

While he was deep in his thoughts, the X-Men, led by Katt, was taking down a supervillain.

Millions of people were cheering as they threw the baddie through many objects such as windows and buildings.

There was a magnificent display of teamwork. They were tossing the villain around like pinball, even though one psionic beam from The Young Wonder would have already handled the situation.

As the villain exploded in the most not gory way possible, everyone cheered. No one ever knew what power the supervillain had, they only knew what they was planning to do: obstruct peace and equality.

It was all colourful back then, Rufus thought. The billboards and the newspapers had praised the heroes for saving the day. Now the news sites talked about politics and politics and politics.

That's whats different. The news sites would probably say how the takedown of the villain had brought great peace to the people. If a supercop were to even harm an armed non-gifted instead, it would show a great sign of discrimination and sadism.

"You are super powered, you didn't have to hurt him!" He had heard this a countless number of times.

Well... It was part of the job.

WILL MATTHEW BECOME PART OF THE X-MEN? WILL ESSIE GET THAT GOD DAMN CHIP OUT OF HEAD?

FIND OUT IN THE NEXT ISSUE: In the Claws of Death

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[ecotone99]

[SP] The Uncanny X-Men Issue #20440

Liberty Hospital, New York.

Doctor William "Healfist" Powers was just about to pack up and leave for his lunch break when suddenly, a co-worker burst out of a door and ran towards him.

BANG!!!!

"Doctor Healfist! Doctor Healfist! Another patient urgently needs your help!"

"Jones... I'm on my lunch break"

"Please! Your the only healer left that hasn't left the hospital, I'm lucky I got to you on time"

Healfist saw the desperate look in Jones' eyes and reluctantly agreed. He moved towards the room his coworker had just burst out from.

He had always been annoyed by the misconceptions people had towards healers like him. It was not as easy as people thought it was, or as it used to be...

There were many of us back then, he thought. There were many of us, mutants. Scarce, but still plenty. We were thought to be monsters.

But as generations and generations went on and the population of mutants started to outnumber the non-gifted, we were suddenly accepted into the society. Although the more times we fell in love with a human and birthed a child, mutant powers started to become more and more grounded rather than magical.

Doctor by day, carefully and precisely healing the wounds of patients, and illegal Chip Remover by night, carefully and precisely taking out the chips from a gifted's brains.

These chips became a requirement for all super powered individuals which "took away" their powers.

This was said to ensure safety for all individuals, powered and non-gifted alike. The non-gifted did not have to fear of being harmed, and the powered did not harm themselves. (A girl who could walk through walls had accidentally stuck herself inside a wall and died instantly)

Of course, these chips would be switched off when they were doing their jobs. Their powers gave them an added advantage to getting a specific job.

Mind readers became lawyers and cops. Healers became doctors. That's how William "Healfist" Powers became a doctor without knowing much about the profession.

The other doctors gathered around as Healfist reached his hand out towards the patient. The wound of the man lying on the operating table started to close...

GRRTSSHH!!!

"It is done"

The X-Headquarters, New York.

Katt "The Young Wonder" Grey had flown through one of the windows of the tall building playfully.

WOOOSH!!!

The other members of the team were standing in front of her with their arms crossed. This was not good, Katt thought.

"Come on, guess what kind of shit you got us into this time", Max Spirit said.

Confused as to why the atmosphere was suddenly so serious, Katt furrowed her brows and shrugged.

Lilly Pyro held out her phone. " 'Remember, we are all the X-Men. Strong-willed and kind in heart.' This is what you tweeted yesterday, and now people are talking about why there isn't a non-gifted in our team".

"Uhm... Oops?" Katt replied, dumbfounded.

The last time the team had to let another member join for reasons like this was when Katt had joined. People started questioning why there hasn't been a transexual member of the team for 5 years.

But, a non-gifted member would not make sense, she thought. The X-Men never had a non-gifted member before. How is someone with no powers supposed to defend against the supervillains who terrorise the city?

"Don't worry, we'll think of something", Katt had said after a long awkward silence. "We could find a suitable non-gifted and give it a desk job or something".

The Team nodded in agreement.

"Alright. Tesla, find this suitable member online. Meanwhile, we have a new supervillain to take down!" The Young Wonder had exclaimed excitedly.

Mom's Basement, 189A Liberty Avenue.

Matthew Tyler had just been ranting online when suddenly, he saw the X-Men's ad for a non-gifted recruit.

"This is my chance, my dream is finally going to come true!" Matthew exclaimed.

He had always been a superfan of the X-Men, how they had defended everyone from the individuals who think that they are better than everyone by taking out their chips, dubbed "Supervillains".

"These individuals abuse their powers and privileges to cause extreme terror and inequality to our society. They want to feel more powerful than everyone else", Matthew had seen this from one of the X-Men's twitter posts a few years back.

Finally... It would only make sense for a non-gifted to join the X-Men considering the non-gifted was who the X-Men were protecting. He could finally teach all the arrogant, selfish, privileged mutants a lesson.

After all, their ancestors had caused so much harm back then. It only made sense for payback, he thought.

Outside the Liberty Bank.

Essie "Lifeblast" Goldhart was leaning against the building, waiting for night time to approach.

He had been born with the ability to regenerate at an extremely quick speed. If not for the chip inside his head, he would've been almost invincible.

However, the doctors had deemed it better off that the chip should never be switched off as it would be too dangerous. Essie would be able to do whatever he wanted to do, the ultimate supervillain.

This gift which was completely a curse also caused him to never be able to find a job. He was practically a non-gifted, with no super skills to guarantee him one.

Nowadays, he roams around the city, without a home. He was constantly insulted by the gifted for being homeless, ehile being insulted by the non-gifted for being a 'privileged arrogant asshole, as all the gifted are'.

Now, his body functions were shutting down and he had no money to get a doctor. More than ever, hs desperately needed that god damn chip out of his head.

After I rob this bank, I'll be able to hire a Chip Remover, he thought. The X-Men did not care for such low-level crimes, they only cared about taking down the supervillains.

And after my chip is removed, they won't be able to stop me...

Rivervale High School for the Non-Gifted.

Jonathan Norcross was having the time of his life ranting to his new classmates.

"You know what really pisses me off? The X-Men talk all about equality and stuff, and then they ruin it by constantly talking shit about the Gifted! How they're overpriviliged and stuff. Meanwhile, they're living at the top of the world while everyone praises them just for stopping supervillains!"

"You saw the ad?", one of his classnates asked.

"What ad?"

"They are trying to recruit a non-gifted to the team"

"Hah, are you kidding me? This is what I've been telling you! Equality was never about providing priviliges to the minorities. Equality was about being colourblind and genderblind and giftblind!"

"I don't know what your ranting on about though, I'm enjoying what I'm getting. I heard that they are going to make it so that the next president is going to be a non-gifted"

Jonathan was aware of this. It had been the reason why he had been so mad about the matter in the first place. They can do whatever they want to even the privilege scales, but the distrust between the gifted and non-gifted will only get bigger this way.

Getting tense, one of his classmates changed the topic. "Did you hear that the lead of Ginger Road is going to be a non-gifted, I'm so glad they are paying more attention to us"

"Oh yeah, oh yeah. I'm so glad that they potrayed us as poor and bullied and homeless and pathetic fucks with depressing lives and all that shit because that is DEFINITELY how we live our lives, we swim in just a huge pile of shit!" Jonathan mocked as the plastic spoon he was holding snapped in half.

TUKKK!

Justice Square, New York.

Rufus "Steelfist" Jones was patrolling the area with his partner Terry. He had been 68 years old but he was still on the job.This was no surprise to him. His unbreakable skin had proved to be of great value to the police force.

In his 49 years of service, he had seen alot of action in the streets of New York. Back then, the gifted were not the only super-powered ones roaming the streets.

His younger self had been extremely worried not to let his peers discover he was gifted. It came close once, when his mother had seen him fall down the stairs and there was not a single scratch on him.

He looked up to heroes like Cyclops and Spiderman, who showed that being different was not such a bad thing after all.

Now however, it looks like not having powers was the being different. It was better for people not to know that you were non-gifted. They would think that your fathers or mothers and their fathers or mothers were discriminatory towards the gifted, that's why you had no hereditary gifted gene.

Rufus and his non-gifted partner had been discussing about news of a non-gifted member of the X-Men. They both thought that it was good, although it felt weird.

From what Rufus could remember, there had been no non-gifted member of the X-Men before. How could a non-gifted fight a gifted anyways?

Terry had gotten into the police force due to his excellent physique and precise shooting, but even he could not possibly defeat a supervillain.

It was also unnecessary. The X-Men could take down anyone with just three members, it felt like the others were just there for display.

Display of what? Power? Diversity? A symbol of unity?

While he was deep in his thoughts, the X-Men, led by Katt, was taking down a supervillain.

Millions of people were cheering as they threw the baddie through many objects such as windows and buildings.

There was a magnificent display of teamwork. They were tossing the villain around like pinball, even though one psionic beam from The Young Wonder would have already handled the situation.

As the villain exploded in the most not gory way possible, everyone cheered. No one ever knew what power the supervillain had, they only knew what they was planning to do: obstruct peace and equality.

It was all colourful back then, Rufus thought. The billboards and the newspapers had praised the heroes for saving the day. Now the news sites talked about politics and politics and politics.

That's whats different. The news sites would probably say how the takedown of the villain had brought great peace to the people. If a supercop were to even harm an armed non-gifted instead, it would show a great sign of discrimination and sadism.

"You are super powered, you didn't have to hurt him!" He had heard this a countless number of times.

Well... It was part of the job.

WILL MATTHEW BECOME PART OF THE X-MEN? WILL ESSIE GET THAT GOD DAMN CHIP OUT OF HEAD?

FIND OUT IN THE NEXT ISSUE: In the Claws of Death

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