#as u can tell. Maxima handles all the talking cuz he's charming and intelligent and generally very friendly

[maliwarm]

In case none of u knew, my guilty pleasure is weird, potentially implausible, crossovers and getting stupidly invested in them to the point that I Must Write It. :,,,3 Also, this is kinda to help me flesh out a BB-verse role for my angry son.

Readmore cuz I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea, and also I get embarrassed over how excited I get about this kinda stuff when nobody else does…

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Reyna slouched backwards into the booth seat, one arm resting comfortably on its top, with fingers slowly tapping against the bright, stained leather. Ice clicked against her glass with every languid swirl of her straw, barely loud enough to be heard over the raucous din of the bar’s other patrons. Seated across from her, her company of two sat and waited patiently enough for her to hear them out about whatever problem it was they may have.

The older guy, who she pegged to be around his mid to late-thirties, filled the wait with sips of his own drink, looking every bit as casual as Reyna herself. Had introduced himself as “Maxima”, which was obviously a code name of some sort. Every time he tipped back the glass, the sleeve of his trenchcoat slipped back a little, and Reyna was offered a peek of armoured plating and glowing blue. He’d unbuttoned the top few buttons of the coat when he first sat down in order to cool down, which had exposed more metal and glowing blue that stopped at his throat. Zooming in on his neck with the tech in her eyepatch and enhancing the image had revealed a pale, so thin it was barely there, scar a little above the metal. It was neat, surgical. And probably ran all the way around his neck. Whoever had turned this man into a cyborg had impressive workmanship; a real master of the trade.

In comparison, the kid - who hadn’t uttered more than a grunt of acknowledgement here and there, let alone introduced himself - appeared to be utterly disinterested; slouched, with arms crossed over his leather-jacketed chest. The sunglasses made it difficult to distinguish exactly where he was looking, though his head was tilted ever so slightly away, towards the aisle, leading Reyna to believe he was keeping a watchful eye out for trouble. Unlike his big friend with the sideburns, he looked to be a normal, wholly human, teenager. The red gauntlet on his right hand kept drawing her attention, though. There were what looked little vents over each knuckle joint, which had initially made her wonder if it was a cybernetic prosthesis that could shoot out… something - compressed air, maybe? - from those bits. Very interesting…

Reyna took a sip of her drink - fruitiness chased by a spicy tang - and set it down before shifting positions. Back straight, elbows on the greasy tabletop with hands clasped together under her chin, now ready to conduct business. “So. What is it that you need?”

Sunglasses didn’t really acknowledge her, continuing to act disinterested/keep watch. Though Maxima set his own drink down, pushing it away a little so he could rest his own arms on the table. The jovial expression he’d been wearing up until now slipped away, replaced by one that was as completely and utterly serious as her own. “Asylum. Or at the very least, a decent ship.”

That much at least had seemed obvious enough. Reyna hummed. “Right. You running from anyone in particular?” Her eyes flicked deliberately towards Maxima’s metal-tipped fingers, then back to his face. “The LLC, maybe?”

The corner of his mouth twitched upwards into the smallest of grins. “Not at the moment. Though I’m sure it’s only a matter of time before they come looking for the funds I wired.” The grin slipped away again, back into that serious expression. “It’s the UPR we want to avoid, for one. One squad in particular; Ikari. Perhaps you’ve heard of them?”

Reyna blinked. Tried not to let her surprise show any further than that. “I have.”

Not much, granted, but she knew of Commander Heidern and his adopted daughter, at least. As well as some of the frankly over-exaggerated-sounding exploits of two of his subordinates. (Seriously, who the fuck would believe someone could take down a tank just by punching it? What an utter crock of shit.) She’d run into him briefly maybe once or twice during her time in the UPR; not enough to get a proper handle of him, though there’d been some kind of aura surrounding him that’d always raised her hackles… Which was the main reason she even remembered the man in the first place. She also remembered his team being one of the elite of the elite. Meaning it was highly likely that they were going to be tricky to hide from. Reyna pushed the thought aside to address later. She wanted the full picture first.

“You said “for one”… Who else are you running from?“

Sunglasses’ head tilted slightly towards his friend, and Maxima’s eyes flicked towards him in turn. His brows were raised in questioning. The kid’s mouth was set into a thin, contemplative line. Reyna watched the silent exchange play out, waiting patiently, even if it did pique her curiosity all the more.

In the end, Sunglasses went back to keeping watch/feigning disinterest and his cyborg friend let out a long, weary sigh, running a hand through his hair. He leaned forward, keeping his voice pitched low. ”… They’re called the NESTS Cartel. You probably haven’t heard of them, and that’s honestly for the best; you’ll be safer that way. They deal primarily in drugs and biological weaponry. I also know for a fact that they dabble in human trafficking; K’ here’s just one of their many victims.“

“Kay… Dash?” Reyna repeated, a knit developing between her brows, and a frown tugging her lips downwards as she rolled the pronounciation around on her tongue. That wasn’t a name… that was a serial number. Her mind strayed towards the UPR and their clones and her blood began to boil.

Sunglasses’ - K’s - fingers squeezed his jacket hard enough for the leather to noticeably creak. His voice was flinty when he spoke to his friend. “I thought we agreed not to give out more information than necessary.”

“Seems necessary to me,” Maxima shrugged. Though he had the grace to look slightly sheepish. “Besides, from the data gathered - both second and firsthand - I’m inclined to believe Miss Valeria’s an incredibly trustworthy person. Even if having a famous assassin by her side as her bodyguard is overkill in the caution department.” His head very slowly and very deliberately turned towards the empty spot at Reyna’s right, eyes now glowing brilliant blue, and offered the air a pleasant smile. “Still, she couldn’t have picked a better bodyguard if even half of what I’ve heard about you is true, Mr Lakonna. And it’s all very impressive stuff.”

The hair on Reyna’s arms stood on end. The sensors of most ships - among those, even the highest-end LLC class vessels - couldn’t detect her sneakiest Rogue. Yet this unassuming-looking cyborg, donning the type of smile she’d associate with a kind uncle, had known he was there; potentially from the very beginning. She could only imagine how much more rattled by this Pendles must be. Even if he hid it well behind a good-natured chuckle and his EE-patented grin as he wisped into visibility.

“Well that’s very flattering of you to say, mate. Thanks.” Pendles’ golden eye narrowed slightly, tongue slipping out between his teeth to taste the air; assess whatever threats this cyborg and his grumpy younger companion may present. “I’m very curious though. Just how did you know I was here?”

Maxima tapped his brow with a metal-tipped finger. “My body’s full of fancy hardware and all kinds of scanners: ultraviolet, heat sensors… you name it, I’ve probably got it.”

What he didn’t say was that he hadn’t even been sure what his scanners had been picking up was correct; he’d figured he was glitching out. His little show earlier had been, admittedly, a large gamble to see whether or not his body was acting up. Thankfully, it, and some data he’d pulled up, had paid off in the end. But at the unfortunate expense of making things tense, if the assassin’s and Valkyrie’s faces were anything to go by.

“Good going, moron,” K’ muttered. “And you say I’ve got no tact.”

Maxima rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. “Sorry, sorry. I didn’t mean to make things strained.”

Reyna’s eye narrowed at him in assessment. If he could pick up Pendles on his internal hardware and he turned out to be a threat, it’d be difficult to get the drop on, and dispose of him, quietly. On the other hand though, that very same internal hardware would be an indispensable tool to have at her disposal… He’d also mentioned hacking some LLC funds, so that was another valuable skill he could bring to the table. And while she hadn’t seen too much of his body, she was willing to bet he was a pretty heavy-hitter, purely based on his size and the density and impressiveness of his tech… The kid - K’ - was still a complete enigma, but she decided that there was definitely more to him than a surly, leather-clad teen with a funky looking gauntlet on one hand.

Reyna blinked, emerging from the swirling tangle of her own thoughts, to paste on a smooth smile. “It’s fine. You just caught us a little off-guard with that little trick of yours.” A metal claw came up to tap her own lips thoughtfully. “Back to wrapping up our business though…. Getting a ship’s easy, but helping you two dodge the one of the UPR’s most elite squads and this other organisation, NESTS, is gonna be tough, but doable. In short, I can help you, but it won’t be cheap.”

“I figured as much,” Maxima replied. “What are your conditions?”

Reyna leaned back comfortably into the booth seat again, one arm resting on its top like before, and the other grabbing her drink for a few leisurely sips. The ice had mostly melted by now, and the condensation that had gathered dampened her gloves. She gave the contents a little swish, sending what was left of the ice cubes into a mild clattering frenzy, before draining the last of the glass and setting it back down. “Alright. First of all, I want the both of you to run the occasional job for me - hacking, salvage, shard collection, maybe assistance in closing the odd portal bloom or disrupting Rendain’s forces - as well as keeping your eyes and ears open for any interesting information to pass on to me, to earn your keep.”

Maxima was already nodding slowly. Though there was a weariness in his eyes. Obviously he was waiting for the hidden “but”, or less-than-agreeable request. Reyna decided not to keep him stewing for too long, as fun as that would be.

“Secondly,” she leaned forward again, resting an elbow on the table. She pointed a finger at his face, wearing a determined expression on her own. “I want you to tell me everything you know about this NESTS Cartel.”

The pair’s reactions were immediate. K’ stiffened, and Maxima sucked in a sharp breath, as though he’d been punched in the gut. “Miss Valeria, I don’t think that’s a good idea-”

She cut him off with a raised palm. And a scowl for good measure. “No offence, big guy, but I honestly couldn’t give two shits about what you think in this instance. If there’s a group of people out there abducting kids and doing who knows what to them in my home turf? I wanna know who the hell they are so I can take them down for good.”

A slew of conflicting emotions danced openly in Maxima’s eyes: concern, weariness, satisfaction, a tiny spark - there and gone - of what she was sure was hatred. His lips pressed together into a thin, unhappy, line. “… Are you absolutely sure about this? If they become aware that you know of their existence, they’ll hunt you down and kill you - and your crew - or worse.”

Just like they’d killed his friend, his old partner, Rocky. That wound was a few years old by now, but it wasn’t one he was inclined to spill his guts about to his potential future employer; trustworthy as he’d deemed her to be or not, she was still a stranger.

Instead of balking at the statement, Reyna barked out a laugh. “Buddy, the universe is ending. If these creeps don’t kill me, Varelsi or heat death probably will anyway. And as for my crew… I’d like to see the bastards try to get a hand on ‘em; if my Rogues don’t kill them, then I most certainly will. Now, unless you have any other dissuasions you wanna try, I’d like to wrap this up and know if we’ve got a deal.”

A brief look was exchanged between the pair, ending when K’ gave his assent with a small and hesitant, yet affirmative, nod. He didn’t look very happy about it though. Maxima puffed out a sigh. Turned back to Reyna, offering a crooked grin and an extended palm. “You drive a hard bargain, Miss Valeria. But we accept your terms.”

Smirking, she clasped her own hand with his to seal the deal. His grip was firm, but not crushing, like she��d expected it to be. “That was a pretty easy one and we both know it.” They both retracted their hands. “By the way, I’ll have you running some of those jobs I mentioned earlier alongside my Rogues. Including Pendles here.” She jerked her head in the roa’s direction. “So I expect you to treat them well - play nice, and have their backs on the field - or I’ll end this partnership with a bullet between both your eyes. Are we clear?”

“Crystal,” Maxima affirmed. He extended his palm in the roa’s direction, offering him that friendly, kind-uncle-type, smile he’d worn at the beginning of their meeting. “I look forward to working with you sometime, Mister Lakonna.”

Pendles’ tongue flicked out uneasily, but he couldn’t taste any sort of threat emanating from this man. At least for the moment. He cautiously accepted the proffered hand with his own prosthetic one, giving it a firm shake. “Likewise. And just Pendles is fine, mate.”

Reyna pushed herself to her feet, Pendles following her lead, and tossed a generous handful of credits on the table to pay for all their drinks. “Come back here in two days time and I’ll have your ship. Then you can start telling me all about this NESTS Cartel.”