#i imagine they had a whole lab coat scientist outfits too

[jonathanbyersphd]

Miwi being obsessed with shrinky dinks is real to me

[sanchoyo]

danny phantom episode 4-7 Thoughts: (under a readmore because, these got kinda long!)

-the outfit danny had to buy for dash's party. CLASSIC 2000S i cannot stop laughing. And also showing up to the party and everyone is dressed like the trio is hilarious. and further proof that everyone looks good dressed goth.

-dash has a closet full of cute lil bear plushies?? LOVE that. adorable. also his response to danny trashing his room fighting a ghost was SO valid if somone BROKE MY BED IN HALF ID BE PISSED TOO.

-technus being like 'oh smart, u should be a tutor!' then later being like 'forget tutor, be a teacher!' :) supportive king <3 I also really like his upgraded suit/design. AND SPOCK CAMEO??? HELLO??

-the music in this show is super. its so funky. I looked it up and the guy who does it, guy moon (awesome name) also did music for other cartoons like fairly odd parents, barnyard, chalkzone, billy & mandy, AND some actual movies like FIGHT CLUB??? the whiplash I got from reading that)

-sam being rich explains a lot about her, actually.

-I know the moral of the episode was supposed to be 'dont ditch your friends for popular people/spend a lot of money on clothes that arent You to Fit In'. but tbh. it wouldve been easy for danny to have been like 'well, okay, ill come but only if my friends can!' but I get. that hes 14. so. not a lot to say there.

-BOX GHOST IS BACK!!!!! also, danny sitting up and wearing the dress/wig/makeup. umm thats how I dress everyday LMFAO. unironically me. (hate the jokes that boil down to 'haha funney man in dress' tho. but this is a look)

-jazz being protective of her brother once again being like NOOO YOU GUYS BETTER NOT STAKE OUT HIS (actually haunted) LOCKER!! shes aware of how people perceive him and she wants to help :( which is also probably why she told dash to invite him to that party even tho she had no interest in going!! she wants to help him out :(

-gotta say im with tucker on the whole 'should danny use his powers to get back at bullies' debate. 100% yes. let him teach kids to fight back. making dash throw his food at paulina out of the blue? no. but when hes actually about to pick on someone? yeah! for self defense? YEAH! if dash and his friends just threw food at him, I think rather than. idk doing sneaky shit with frogs he couldve just threw it back and not pulled punches if they tried to fight. I kNOOWWW its a kids show so they are like 'if u fight back ur just as bad!! violence bad!!' but. theyre HIS POWERS. WHO CARES.

-like my only gripe is that dash really isnt LEARNING ANYTHING WHEN DANNY GETS BACK AT HIM IN THE MOST PETTY INDIRECT WAYS. whatever they had to add a bully psa episode I guess. I hate it and I hate the way cartoons usually handle it because these methods simply Do Not Work. 'aND YouRE USinG YOur poWErs FOR EVill???!' this is Not Evil. even when poindexter takes dannys body, theyre only being 'nice' bc hes stealing soda for them!! bitches deserve what they get (nothing too brutal bc theyre high schoolers but damn, if they pick on danny he doesnt need to be the 'bigger person' he needs to start biting people)

-SAM TRYING TO SMUGGLE FROGS OUT OF THE BIO LAB?? girl in middle school when we had to dissect frogs we could opt out, also, they came to us already dead and preserved...

-sidney's lingo and the fact hes in black and white is sending me. also, danny is a ghost celebrity apparently for being a halfa?? ok. thats interesting to know

-the DENTIST BEING EXCITED ABOUT THE COTTON CANDY FLOOD IS THE FUNNIEST THING SO FAR.

-I LOOOVE the trope of 'wishes gone wrong'. not crazy about the stereotypical genie, or the use of the dreamcatcher looking design. (also, I KNOW theyre scientists but the way theyre handling a cold...are the fentons ANTIVAX)

-the genie. she. whitewished paulina. JKASDFHKJ. (the ghost literally just being hello kitty???? im dying) 'why do i feel that im special and wonderful? because I AM! <3' paulina ilu self worth queen. felt bad for her also getting possessed by (2) boys later who were arguing INSIDE HER. WTF.

-imagine being the guy trapped in his now flying car. he thought danny and tucker were HALUCINATIONS. imagine being trapped in a flying car with two, what you think are imaginary arguing 14 year olds convinced ur gonna die. i WOULD say this dude is gonna need so much therapy, but he seemed totally fine and excited when they landed (I would be happy too if a chicken was on my head. chickens rule) stoner rights

-sam's bat slippers??? iconic. SO cute.

-I think desiree's backstory is so :( do all ghosts have messed up sad backstories?? poindexter's was sad too...cannot imagine box ghost has any kind of fucked up backstory. but what if. his mom got pushed off cliffs by boxes...........a la cruella... anyway her 'no man may lay a hand on me' iconic. ilu

-I know danny has no concept of how much bras cost but my god dont attack tucker with some girls bra. those are so expensive.

-its really. well its not a GOOD THING he went into the portal and got fucked up, but its good danny was the one to do it rather than sam or tucker. because even tho he was being influenced by desiree and kept getting more malicious and it prob wasnt 100% him...he sucked as a ghost like most the people he 'pranked' were innocent ppl just Chillin and he didnt want to help anyone at all. I think danny is the most responsible out of them but also, hes 14 and shouldnt HAVE to feel obligated to fight every ghost. hes a good kid and wants to, but I also feel like he feels like...responsible for the portal turning on?? because his parents did give it up,, but it was an accident and not his fault (if anything, why was the on switch on the inside. why was it that easy. why was there no safety measures. that seems like smth OSHA needs to hear about). like thats my son. hes a good boy. and hes never done anything wrong in his life, ever. if anyone hurts him im killing everyone in this room and then myself. etc.

-danny's curfew is 10PM????? DUDE. when I was 14...shit I couldn't be out that late, I had to be back at like, 8 at the latest, and my parents had to know exactly where and who I was going with, AND i had to call/text them regularly...is this a case of my parents being overbearing, or the fentons sucking??? the only time i could EVER be out that late was if I was at an overnight sleepover or smth...

-the vultures have lil fezes. why do they have fezes...theyre so fuckin funny 'ask him for directions' 'I KNOW WHERE IM GOING' these ghost vultures are my new grandpas. pick them up, put them in the adopt box.

-'I wonder why those guys were trying to waste dad!' THEYRE GHOSTS. YOUR DAD HUNTS GHOSTS. why is that not a conclusion you'd immediately jump to??

-*jazz voice, clearly disgusted* WISCONSIN???

-mrs fenton with the lab coat and leg warmers and PERM. YESSS STYLISH.

-was going to say 'ew billionaire' @vlad but. super valid he used his powers to assumedly steal and cheat to get that money, thats how all billionaires do it! but ew hes a SIMP. and spending your billions on FOOTBALL STUFF?? you are Not Valid overall. I DO respect the fact you have a castle instead of a mansion. in wisconsin. if youre going to be stupidly rich might as well go all out, torches on the wall and all. I DO like his ghost form's little kitty ears. catman. and his cape! every design can benefit from a cape. and how different his forms look, like danny looks the EXACT SAME IN BOTH FORMS ASIDE FROM COLOR CHANGES. vlad's is like,, I could believe they were different people!! also I love the drama. but dude you are fighting a 14 year old. lame. also he was like, telling danny he wanted his mom and him and like, wanted him to renounce his dad?? WHAT ABOUT JAZZ?? bitch. those r MY kids and they are both important and special. I do agree they need better parents but thats not u sir <3

-I thought vlad's 'little badger' nickname for danny came from the football mascot of the packers, but google says they have NO MASCOT?? so now I'm like?? is it because his hair is sometimes black and sometimes white?? I hate to give him props but thats a PERFECT NICKNAME. theyre also tiny and vicious!

-why did I get so excited that Skulker is back!! its been like. 2-3 eps LMAO. AND THE DAIRY KING. ICONIC I LOVE HIM. hes the nicest guy ever :) more nice ghosts please. danny cannot be fighting alone everytime with no ghost buds like every ghost being hostile sucks :(

-mr. fenton knew vlad was controlling him, but a few episodes ago he had no clue danny was doing the same thing...is it something about how malicious the ghost is?? he just seemed to think his memory had gaps the first time, this time he was INSTANTLY LIKE 'GHOST'. then again in this ep when danny did it again he was just slightly confused but not immediately freaking out like he did with vlad possessing him!!

-'my parents will accept ME NO MATTER WHAT' so. so why haven't you come out to them yet, danny?? if you really think that?? if theres no harm, and you're sure??? if vlad is a real problem, wouldnt that make dealing with him easier, to expose him???? SO WHY HAVENT YOU COME OUT YET?? COULD IT BE,, MAYBE YOU HAVE DOUBTS ABOUT WHETHER YOUR PARENTS ACTUALLY WILL ACCEPT YOU??? 🤔 ... 🏳‍🌈 I get why people say He Is Trans. I totally totally get u danny.

-sorta unrelated, but it just occurred to me in one of these eps they go to casper HIGH not casper middle school??? theyre 14?? dont highschools usually do ages 15-18? (I didnt go to hs so I might be wrong, if I am ignore this...) freshmen are usually 14-15, could just be a case of them not turning 15 yet but they will sometime in the school year (I say they because tucker said he was 14 too)? I know the show has 3 seasons, so by the end of it will they be older? thatd be neat but usually cartoon characters stay the same age...I love shows where you can see the characters age and grow up, though...three seasons seems like a long time to spend on like, 1 year...

[leapyearkisses]

Consequences - (m, m/m preslash) Oneshot

Reupload. My brief attempt at writing an action thriller. Imagine if it were possible to buy a pill to make you sick. Then imagine you tried to use that pill to avoid the monumental consequences of your greed-motivated actions.

Probably a bit nsfw, mess, crimes against the environment, bastard men, capitalism, tw alcoholism

---

Murashiki Aritomo lifted the small white pill and examined it with a critical eye.  It looked no different than an aspirin or a breath mint, so innocuous as to be almost unbelievable.  But he was running out of options.  There wasn’t a lot of time to arrange anything different, and he wasn’t sure now whether there was any other course of action that wouldn’t land him in prison.  “This pill will make me sick?”

“It will, I can promise you that.”  The drug’s purveyor, Paul Gascoigne, had been Murashiki’s classmate in undergrad, although while Murashiki had gone into developmental chemistry, Gascoigne had pursued medicine.  Or at least pharmacology.  He looked the part now, dressed in a bespoke black suit and a white lab coat for effect, although his bright ginger hair brought a touch of life to the somber outfit.  “Flu symptoms for a week, starting about six hours after taking it.”  He shook the unlabeled bottle in his hand.  “If you double up, the symptoms get worse and last longer.  I’ll even give you a discount.”

Murashiki eyed the bottle, then shook his head.  “No, I only need to be unavailable for the length of the Summit.”

Gascoigne smiled in a manner befitting a fox.  “Yes, I’d heard on the DL there was some nasty business with the LiveBetter plastics.  Are you seeking new employment opportunities?”

Murashiki produced his wallet.  “I’ll give you an extra €50 to stop asking me questions.”

“Deal.” Gascoigne slipped the bottle back into an inner pocket and got up from where he’d been leaning against the wall.  He held out a hand for the money and didn’t make a secret of counting it before secreting that away as well.  “Pleasure doing business with you,” he said.  “While I have your attention, may I just say that my doors are always open if you’d like to seek out other opportunities as well.”

“I’m married,” snapped Murashiki, automatically running his thumb over the place where his wedding band used to be.

“Ah, young love,” Gascoigne said, mocking.  “You know, she’s a decade gone to Monaco, or Dubai, or wherever it is these days where they pay for high-class whor-”

“Get out.”

Gascoigne spread his hands, conciliatory.  “On my way.”  He turned on his heel and left the office, letting the glass-fronted door swing shut behind him.  Murashiki glared at his retreating back until it was gone, then glared at the door itself.  White frosted writing identified his sins.

Aritomo Murashiki, Ph.D.  Senior Project Lead, LiveBetter Development Group

He’d shredded all of his files already, but he checked the desk once more to be sure.  Everything he wanted to keep he’d put into a slim silver suitcase.  He wouldn’t be coming back here, God willing. The pill sat on top of his desk.  He swallowed it with a mouthful of whiskey from the decanter underneath.  With luck, he could make his excuses the next morning to the relevant people and be on his way out of the country by evening.

---

Murashiki reached his room at the Holiday Inn just past midnight.  He put his suitcase by the door and stripped to his shirtsleeves and boxer-briefs before going into the bathroom to splash some water on his face.  He’d always been one to keep up appearances for the investors, but after all the late night as alcohol he was starting to look wan.  He rubbed his eyes, pushing up his glasses.  He hadn’t expected that, at 37, his life would be self-destructing in such a public manner.  As soon as the environmental compliance reports were brought up in front of the EU, the company would throw him under the bus and that would be that.

Not that he didn’t deserve it.  He drew away from the mirror and back into the darkened bedroom.  He’d been present for almost every step of the process.  His initial warnings had fallen on deaf ears, and then... well, the money had been too good.

“Lead me not into temptation,” he mumbled, laying down on the bed closest to the exit.  Maybe he should have stuck with the whole religion thing after Satine had left, but he hadn’t been too fond of faith in the months after.  He touched his ring finger again.  He knew he was a fool.  Gascoigne was right, if insufferable.  He closed his eyes.  Unbidden, the man’s face came to him.  Always looking sly and fit, he’d cut a dashing figure in college, too.  They’d made out once, twice... Murashiki had already been married then, but a little bit of beer and bisexual guilt had motivated a slip here and there.  He’d never felt like he was “settling” for Satine - in fact, he’d loved her quite dearly - but he’d always been afraid of missing out.

He set an alarm for 5 AM.  That would give him enough time to contact the VP.  Hopefully by then the pill would have kicked in so it didn’t seem like he was shirking.  Of course, everyone would know why he wasn’t there soon enough, but he’d have a head start.  He felt fine at the moment, if stressed.  It had been four hours.

For the price he’d paid, Gascoigne had better not have ripped him off.

------

Five o’clock came too quickly.  Murasaki groped for his phone on the bedside table, slapping at it uncoordinatedly to turn off the alarm.  The room was still pitch black.  He groaned.

The doctor hadn’t been playing him; he felt awful.  His head was heavy and his limbs ached dully - perhaps he was already running a fever?  His mouth was dry, and when he tried to moisten it he realized why: he couldn’t breathe through his nose at all.  Rubbing it produced no relief, just an irritating shift of congestion in his sinus that led to sharp gasp and a rushed sneeze.

“Hahkyusht!”  He caught it against his wrist, and the next two in his palms.  “Hhkyuschtt!  Hgkktschkt!”  Head throbbing, he wiped saliva and snot on the sheets and got out of bed.  He’d seen a tissue box on the toilet tank last night and was in great need of it.

The fluorescent overhead light set him cursing when he flicked it on.  It felt like high beams stabbing him in the face after a particularly intemperate night of drinking.  He shielded his eyes with one arm and grabbed a handful of tissues to crush against his nose.  He was going to sneeze again.  He could feel an itch clawing deep inside his left nostril.  He squinted against it, trying to take shallow breaths, but it didn’t help.  “Hahgktsciutsz!”

The tissues were a mess already, but he tried to blow his nose.  That lead to coughing, too, and he found himself leaning over the sink, trying to get his bearings.  “The fuck did you put in that pill?” he growled to himself.  Surely not a live virus?  The consequences would be staggering.  And not just because he felt himself a little dizzy and unsteady on his feet.  It would be easy to transport pills across borders, easy to disguise them as something harmless - they already looked it.  Influenza was already one of the most deadly of epidemics.  What if Gascoigne could take TB, rabies, ebola and weaponize it marketed as aspirin or loperamide??

In the mirror, his gray eyes were wide and Murasaki could see even without his glasses that he was sweating.  He shivered.  Right.  Things were getting out of hand.  He was just feverish and letting his tension take over.

He took the tissues back into the room with him and returned to the bed.  He just had to make a few calls and then get out.  Everything would be fine.  He could make flight arrangements in the taxi and then be on his way back to Japan faster than you could say “non-extradition country.”  

It was 5:12.  The VP picked up on the third ring.  “Dr. Murasaki?” she asked, sounding like she hadn’t had her coffee yet.  “What is it?”

“Good morning, ma’am.”  He didn’t have to force the coughing that followed.  “I realize it’s terrible timing...”

“You sound awful.”  

He coughed again in agreement.  “I feel awful.  I’m nih- not sure I’ll make it to the convention center.”  He pinched his nose, at least until he could feel the sneeze cresting.  Then he let it out, not too far from his phone’s microphone.   “Hahkgtschgt!”  Mess painted his lips and he struggled to breathe past it for a moment.

“Santé!” She was too polite to sound appalled, but she was quick to dismiss him.  “We’ll miss you at the luncheon and awards ceremony.” 

“Oh, I don’t mind,” he said, through more tissues.  “The team is just as deserving of recognition for this as I am.”

“Yes, of course.  I will pass on news of your absence to the event coordinators.”  In the end, it didn’t really matter to her whether the scientists behind the company’s products were there or not, just that the presentation was made on time and the right people (her) made the right headlines.  Someone would make sure the info made it to the European stage.  And that someone would not be Murasaki.  He didn’t envy whoever was left with the data.  He didn’t even know if anyone else who was going knew exactly what they meant.  But the audience would.

He was free, though, for now.  He thanked her and hung up, then let the phone fall from his hand to the pillows.  “Hah... haah-”  If he could leave off sneezing for twenty minutes, he would be golden.  His nostrils flared, and he fumbled for more tissues as the right started running, worsening the irritation to an unbearable degree.  “Hakgschtgnx!  Nktscgshx!”  His ears rang and he dropped to lay back on the bed.  He hadn’t felt this bad since back in college, junior finals week, when he’d stayed up for four days and then been bedridden for just as long.  His nose felt raw already.  Even his eye sockets hurt.  He lay his arm back over his face, enjoying how cool it felt on his forehead.

He would just close his eyes for a minute.  For one minute, he would try to will away the pain and heat.

------

“HEY!”

Murasaki startled awake to the sound of fists raining down against the door.  He tried to kick out at an assailant, caught the sheet, and struggled until he found himself on the floor.  Threadbare carpeting pressed into his cheek and he tried desperately to remember where he was.  Not the office.  Not his apartment in Montmartre.  He forced himself to sit up and had to lean against the bed to stay upright.

He was in a hotel, he finally remembered. He was staying here before he left the city.  Just a few phone calls to make- no, he’d called the VP.  The room was awash in the orange light of fading afternoon.  His stomach twisted.  That wasn’t right.

The pounding hadn’t stopped, but by the time Murasaki thought he might be able to address it, whoever was outside had forced their way in.  He expected a horde of angry journalists, armed with cameras and microphones like on TV, but it was only one man.  Gascoigne, he thought.  It took him a moment to place the man without his glasses, but that hair...

“What are you doing?!” Gascoigne practically shouted.  He shoved the door closed again and used Murasaki’s suitcase to keep it from swinging.  “You’re still in Paris?  There’s an uproar!  They were showing parts of the Summit live, you know.”  He grabbed Murasaki’s elbow and yanked him to his feet.  “I wasn’t sure whether Le Monde or Greenpeace would get you first, but it’s much worse than that.”  No lab coat today, Murasaki noted distractedly.  Jeans and a bomber jacket.  Did black-market doctors get weekends?

He tried to free his arm and failed.

“I can’t believe you’re still here,” Gascoigne was saying still.  He shook the smaller man.  “Idiot.  Did you hear what I said?  The Russian mafia put out a hit on you!  Hey!”  He grabbed Murasaki by the nape.  “They found out LiveBetter is behind the collapse of their fishing interests in the Black Sea.  This is all over the deep web.  Hey.”  He shook Murasaki again.  “What’s wrong with you??”

Murasaki pressed his hand against Gascoigne’s chest, tried to push away from him.  “You,” he said.  “You poisoned me, or s- somethih- Hahktsch! Haktschngx!”

“Christ.”  Gascoigne let him go.  

Murasaki lifted his hands.  “Hgkttschzx!  You... what is this?  I’m burning up.” He was shivering, too.  He felt sick and dizzy.  “I must have passed out.”

“Yeah, you look like shit,” said Gascoigne.  He shrugged at Murasaki’s glare.  “What?  Sometimes it hits harder for people if they haven’t taken it before.  S’not exactly FDA approved.”

Murasaki collected more tissues and blew his nose.  “How did you find me?”  This was not good.  He’d be stopped at the airport, probably.  The mafia had connections all over Europe.

“Your phone.”  Gascoigne had picked it up off the pillow.  “You have... sixty missed calls and messages.  Wow.”  He dropped the device unceremoniously behind the bed.  “We’re leaving that here.  Get dressed.”

“‘We’?” Murasaki tossed the tissues to the carpet and started trying to button his shirt.  His pants were where he’d left them, and he picked them up, leaning against the wall dizzily as he tried to get them on one leg and then the other.

Gascoigne moved the blinds aside and took stock of the street outside.  “Yes, ‘we.’  I didn’t come after you for my own health.  Get going.  Where are your shoes?”

The two of them, led by Gascoigne, left out the back stairwell.  Gascoigne had parked an unassuming tan Renault at the sidewalk and he pushed Murasaki into the passenger seat before taking the wheel and driving out of the courtyard.  After only minutes, the car blended seamlessly in with the local traffic.  “We’ll head to Germany for now.  I’m sure the mafia has people at Charles de Gaulle.   When we get a chance, maybe Brazil?”  He was driving admirably despite the pressure he’d put himself under.  Not drawing the attention of anyone.

It didn’t occur to Murasaki, with how terrible he was feeling, to ask why Gascoigne had actually come for him until they were close to the border.  “I mean, you didn’t have to get involved,” he said.  “No one would have connected our names.”  He was looking up at Gascoigne’s face from under his bangs.  The car window was nicely cold against his temple.

Gascoigne glanced over to him and rolled his eyes.  “You’re an idiot.”

There was a silence.  Murasaki coughed.  “Is that it??”

Gascoigne didn’t meet his gaze, focusing on the highway ahead.  “You didn’t think I was just hitting on you to piss you off, did you?”

Murasaki frowned, then looked away.  “Oh.”

“You don’t have to answer me,” Gascoigne said, voice carefully neutral.  “I’m doing this because I want to.”  He reached down and turned on the radio.  The point was clear: no discussion was to be had at this time.

Murasaki stared out at the passing countryside and tried to get a handle on the mix of emotions churning inside him.  Fear, gratitude, helplessness, lust... he couldn’t think through the fever and eventually gave in to a numbing haze.  With luck, he would live long enough to figure out what he wanted a day, a week, a month from now.

Gascoigne kept driving.

[catmetchu]

The Autobots meeting Ryuko matoi on her first day in honnouji academy

I made a mix between imagines and scenarios. Sorry for the long wait! It was my fault for not saving frequently, so I had to rewrite everything after Tumblr crashed on me. But I think the second version turned out better.

So here we go! Enjoy

A new Iacon Relic was found in Tokyo Bay and the bots were ready to retrieve it, hopefully not attracting any attention from the residents in Honnō City.

Ryuko Matoi arrives at the island too in hopes of finding answers about her father's murderer.

Arcee and Smokescreen were bridged the the remains of a burned down villa. The sensors revealed the relic to be underneath the building.

While wondering around the house to find a underground bunker Smokescreen found an unharmed photograph of a grumpy old man in a lab coat holding a three year old little girl, with a remarkable bright red strand of hair in her bangs.

"Arcee! The owner of this house was probably a scientist, maybe they found it and have the relic hidden?" "How do you know?" "Humans in these types of white clothing usually have a scientific background, that's what Raf told me."

After two hours they finally found themselves in close proximity to the relic, how ever is appears to be stuck behind a wall of the huge chamber they were in, which was full of piles of clothing.

"The terrain probably changed as this island was formed. We'd have to put a hole in here first." "Yeah sure! Ah, Arcee? I hear something." "I hear it too, sounds like someone is trying to break in from above. Take cover!"

They duck behind a large pile of old rugs and kneel down and watch as a humanoid figure fell from a hole in the cieling. In her right hand was a large crimson scissor blade, stained with the blood from the same arm. The teenage girl clutched the deep bleeding cut with her other hand. "Shit! The wound ripped open again." Blood gushed out and soaked the old cloth she sat on.

"That looks nasty! Should we-" "Shh!" Arcee held Smokescreen back before he did something stupid, but it was too late.

"Who is there?!" Ryuko turned around and wielded her weapon with the other hand. When she got no response she slowly approached the pile of clothes and thrusts her scissor blade through it hitting smokescreen right in the shoulder, he didn't make a sound but the clang between metal was proof Ryuko wasn't alone. "Show yourself and I won't hurt you too badly!"

"Alright you caught me!" Smokescreen quickly stepped forward but Arcee didn't. "Who are you and what is your business in my father's house!" Ryuko thrusts the blade at his chest. "Woah, easy I don't want a fight, I'm just ah, looking for something... Important." "I'm not gonna leave before you tell me!"

There was a rustling underneath the rug pile Ryuko had been sitting on. "More! GIVE ME MORE! GIVE ME MORE BLOOD!" A black shadow busted out of the clothes and threw itself at Ryuko. "PLEASE! Put me on! Put me on! PUT ME ON!" "What the fuck! A sailor uniform!? Sailor uniforms don't talk?!" "Don't be scared! JUST PUT ME ON!" "No! Stop it!"

Smokescreen was dumbfounded by the strange scene unfolding in front of him. According to Miko, school uniforms aren't supposed to be alive. Arcee wasn't sure how to react either, but one thing for sure, they have to get that thing off the human. They approached the wrestling two with blasters pointed at them.

"If you don't put me on right now, I'LL FORCE YOU TO PUT ME ON!" "Get your servos off the human girl!"

The suit stopped its struggling and turned it's head-ish part towards the Autobots. "I'M NOT ACTUALLY GOING TO HURT HER I JUST NEED SOME BLOOD!" It turned back to Ryuko and started forcing itself to become worn by her. "I haven't been had it in 6 months! I'll give you my powers in exchange! How does that sound huh?"

Arcee furrowed her brows and sprinted forward to pull at the uniform that has almost got itself around the girl. "You asked for this!" But nothing was budging, it was glued onto her like they were of the same body. "Get my blade and CUT IT OFF!" Smokescreen picket up the weapon she had lost but it was too late.

"SEE?! PERFECT FIT!" Before everyone knew, bright light emitted from the girl's body and the suit transformes into a strange outfit.

"Can humans do that?" "No, definitely not. And this... looks wrong in every possible way!"

After that, Senketsu had to explain himself before Arcee made another attempt to rip him off. Smokescreen just laughed hysterically at Ryuko trying to get Senketsu off her, stopping only when Arcee glared at him.

Originally, both bots wanted to inform the base of their endeavor with a human, but since Ryuko wasn't a US citizen there was little Fowler could have done anyway.

"So, your post transformation form has nothing to do with your perversion?" "NO! If I covered her whole body she would have died from blood loss!" *Wheeeeeze* "Imagine perverted paintjobs! I'm going to malfunction!" "Smokescreen! Is this what Optimus would have wanted you to behave like?"

Lastly, they all went on their merry ways after Ryuko helped the bots get the relic.

[catboythanatos]

hello i am HERE for cecilos week... ive had a helluva day so everyone say thank you last week me for writing most of this bc i could not have written anything today omg. im SO excited to do this prompt week and to see all of the great content everyone’s gonna make!!!!

Day 1: Fashion/Science!

Cecil Palmer was … an interesting character. Carlos had only been in Night Vale for about a week now, and he was avoiding the radio host like the plague. The embarrassment and surprise of hearing his name on the radio so much had scared him away, and while he was a little intrigued, he would just rather avoid that problem entirely until Cecil inevitably forgot about him and moved on.

He had only formally met Cecil once, and he had been in the middle of some ... very important science at the time. Carlos would probably describe Cecil as a man who was not tall nor short, not thin nor fat, but that's about as far as he could go, since he did not make eye contact once during their entire encounter, out of the nervousness of never knowing which eye to look at, which was heightened by the fact that Cecil seemed to have three.

The day of that encounter, he was teased by all of his coworkers when they heard about it on the radio, and he had not gone back to the radio station since.

But of course, you can only successfully avoid someone for so long…

Out at the Ralph's buying groceries, something caught Carlos’ eye. It wasn't polite or proper to stare, so Carlos refrained, but he glanced down the aisle a few times to catch glimpses.

The person was facing away from Carlos and into the aisle. The outfit they were wearing was eye-catching in almost every way imaginable. Their shirt, a red crop-top, had long, semi-transparent bell sleeves that stretched down almost to the floor, and their pants were a shiny metallic silver. From these two things alone, Carlos was given the impression of some sort of avant garde fashionista, but then there was more. To top the whole outfit off, they were wearing lime green crocs. Now, Carlos didn't know enough about fashion to really make any assumptions, but it certainly caught his eye, to say the least.

The person turned, and he quickly turned back at the macaroni and cheese on the shelf in front of him so he wouldn't be caught looking. He didn't realize that the person was walking towards him until he heard:

“Carlos! Hey!”

Carlos looked up, and was surprised as he met Cecil's eyes.

“O-oh,” he said. “Hi.”

“You shop here? Wow, that's so crazy, right?”

Carlos ignored the fact that this was the only grocery store in Night Vale, and the fact that Cecil was being awkward. He found himself staring at Cecil's exposed midriff.

“Carlos?”

“Uhm. Yeah.”

“How are you settling in?” Cecil shifted his weight from one foot to the other, and his wispy sleeves swayed across the floor.

“Fine,” said Carlos. “Um… It’s good. Everything is… good. You know, science… and whatnot.”

“I'm glad to hear it. Anyway, I, um, should finish on with my grocery shop here, and leave you to yours.”

Carlos nodded, turning to the mac n’ cheese again, wishing he was wearing a lighter jacket. It was hot in the Ralph's today.

“I do need some macaroni, though.”

Cecil reached for a box at the same time as Carlos did, and their fingers brushed up against each other. They each pulled away, laughing awkwardly.

“I’m sorry--”

“I--”

“No, you go ahead.”

Carlos didn't move. He looked from Cecil's hand, up to his face. His breath caught in his throat.

“Sure,” he choked finally, grabbing the box off the shelf without looking and dropping it into his cart. “Thanks.”

---

After that second encounter, Carlos was only more determined to avoid Cecil. Well, truthfully, he wanted to spend more time with him, but he was getting feelings he didn't know how to react to and thought it would be easier to pretend that he didn't exist. Of course, listening to Cecil detail their interaction over the radio certainly didn't help.

He was lucky to have been in the car, by himself at the time of hearing the broadcast, because his fellow scientists would definitely have teased him, both for the way he acted and the way Cecil talked about him.

The next time Carlos saw Cecil, he was wearing a polka-dotted button-up tucked into a high-waisted skirt, and the fuzziest looking jacket Carlos had ever seen. He wore round, purple sunglasses, which had a third lense that covered his forehead. Previously, Carlos had been sure that the eye on Cecil's head was just a tattoo or something, but this was mildly disturbing evidence to the contrary. Or he was just very committed to the aesthetic, which did not seem unlikely, given the rest of his outfit choices.

“Hi, Carlos!”

“Cecil, hi!”

Despite not wanting eye contact before, Carlos felt mildly intimidated suddenly that he wasn't able to see Cecil's eyes. It made him feel vulnerable, for some reason. It was Cecil's outfit in general that probably intimidated him, though.

Carlos looked down to the sand-strewn pavement beneath their feet. Cecil wore knee-high black boots with a heel too high for Carlos to even imagine walking in. It definitely made him appear tall, which normally, he was not.

“How's … science? Have you found anything particularly scientific recently?”

Carlos took a small breath and allowed himself to detach from the situation. Science was something he could always talk about, no matter the circumstance or situation.

“Lots of things,” said Carlos. “...Almost everything, actually. Your town is… incredible.”

Cecil laughed, and Carlos looked up to see him blushing, and also sweating. A lot.

Carlos was sweating too. He wasn't sure if it was for the same reason.

“Everything here is… strange,” Carlos continued. “And beautiful.”

Cecil’s breath audibly caught in his throat. Carlos realized what he had done a little bit too late to stop it.

“What kinds of things?”

Carlos was glad that he couldn't see Cecil's eyes at that moment, because he would definitely not have been able to handle the eye contact.

“E-everything.” He faltered. “Science things, I mean. Like, um, the materials. And the sunsets being out of time. And loud? The sunsets are also loud.”

“They can be quite loud,” Cecil agreed. “The materials, though. You mean the materials you found in my studio?”

Carlos blanched. There hadn't really been any materials. He had been there to meet Cecil that day, and he had gotten flustered and grasped at straws for an excuse. “Um… Yes…?”

“Did you learn anything new about them?”

Carlos shook his head. “N...no.”

Cecil scratched an itch on his leg, and his hand left an imprint on his velvet skirt. Carlos stared at it. “No…” he repeated absentmindedly. “I'll, um, I'll tell you if I find anything new,” he said, promptly fleeing.

Carlos wasn't sure if it was him, or Cecil, or what, but something about Cecil was overwhelming in an unprecedented way. He would never judge someone on what they wore, or their appearance, but something about Cecil and his outfits were just… distracting. He considered himself too busy with work to unpack the reasons and feelings behind that for a long time. An entire year, actually. Apart from chance encounters here and there, he would not see Cecil without strictly and explicitly stating scientific reasons. Not that he didn't appreciate Cecil's affections… he just didn't know how to deal with them. Luckily, that only lasted a year, and it only took one near death experience to open up his eyes.

On their first date, Carlos selected one of his most stylish lab coats, in an attempt to impress Cecil with his fashion sense. Cecil had looked so dashing in his tunic and furry pants.

Carlos later learned that avant garde high fashion was not exactly Cecil's grand inspiration. He was a lot lazier with how he dressed than Carlos had imagined. Sometimes he would even sleep in one of his over-the-top outfits and wear it again the next day. He did consider himself ‘spared from the sphere’ (a notion which terrified Carlos greatly) but he wore mostly whatever he found comfortable and suiting for the day. He didn't even own a mirror, which initially struck Carlos as peculiar. This wasn't to say that he put no effort in, of course not -- he definitely went over the top for aesthetic purposes frequently. But he didn't own a mirror. He just sort of looked down at his outfit and decided, ‘sure, this works.’ Or maybe he didn't even look at all. It fascinated Carlos -- who typically spent a lot of time fussing with his hair and clothing in the mirror every morning. Many things about Cecil fascinated Carlos. But his fashion sense… Carlos had different feelings towards it than just fascination.

Night Vale was incredibly scientifically fascinating, but Carlos’ interest in their fashion wasn't really scientific. It was one part awe and two parts envy. Carlos envied Cecil. He tended to dress in ‘scientific casual’, as he called it, but he had more of an affinity for fashion than he let on…. But he had never been able to express himself that way in the outside world. He already got made fun of enough for having pierced ears… he wouldn’t dare venture into clothing items considered ‘feminine’ by the world. In Night Vale, though… no one judged. Everyone was accepting. It still took him quite a while to build up the courage, to stop hiding behind the comfort of his jeans and flannel shirts and lab coats, but he eventually brought it up to Cecil, a few weeks into their relationship. Cecil was understanding, and more than happy to help.

The first time he went clothes shopping with Cecil, Carlos almost started crying right in the middle of the store. Crop tops, skirts, sequins, glitter, tights, stilettos -- anything you could dream of -- and it was all unisex. There were dresses made for men and dresses made for women. He could wear whatever the hell he wanted and nobody would question him. No one would shout expletives at him in the streets, no one would misgender him, he had no family here to judge him... Cecil, despite his total sense of normalcy with all of this, seemed to understand perfectly. He threaded his fingers through Carlos' at his side, and softly asked: “Anything you wanna try on?”

Carlos’ eyes gleamed. “So many things.”

---

When he walked into the lab for the first time in a dress, he was greeted with the first catcall he had heard in quite a while.

Carlos felt a little embarrassed, but he didnt feel threatened by wolf whistles coming from his coworkers.

“Damn, boss!”

He laughed. “Got it, Nils, I’m hot. But I'm here to do my job -- be professional. I'm also,” he said pointedly, snatching his lab coat and goggles off the desk, “taken.”

Nilanjana whooped. Another scientist rolled his eyes. “Trust me, we all listen to the radio. We know.”

Carlos didn't know what to say, so he just winked at them, giving a little twirl of his dress. Nilanjana shot him a smile. “On a serious note, though,” she whispered, “I'm glad to see you embracing Night Vale fashion. It suits you.”

Carlos looked down at the dress, grinning. He thought so too.

[haxorus-imp]

Alien Affections - Villainous/Reader - Chapter 6

You groaned and mentally counted the spybots again. 34. 34 spybots were created in total. 'Well, it's easier than college. I got a job at least.' You flattened your brow in slight agitation. 'Though, I'm not getting paid for doing any of this crap.' You thought, snidely. 'Well, I am living off of Black Hat's resources. So, I guess this brings meaning to that "As in Rome, do as the Romans did. If you can't pay with money, pay with your body." saying.' You surmised. Ah, your boss. He was already proving to be a handful for you. It was quite obvious that Black Hat didn't like you. Not much, anyway. He probably just hates new people? You shrugged at the thought. So far, you've been polite, relaxed, and easy-going with little-to-no resistance. The man must be easily triggered by simple things if he's thatuptight all of the time. You think Flug needs to prescribe him some chill pills. Because he's the type of guy that really needs some. You let out an inner laugh at your lame internal joke. Stretching out your arms and back, popping them in the process, which relieved some pent up tension from within your bones. Allowing you to release a relieved sigh as the stress ebbed away from your joints. "Halfway finished!" You announced, catching the attention of Flug, as he was completing the internal work for the gamma ray gun on his opposite work station. "Ah. That's great (Name)! You're doing well!" Flug said, optimistically. "I didn't expect you to make so many within a short amount of time!" "It's hard work. But, at least I'm close to finishing up." You sighed. Leaning back in the work chair. Suddenly, you smelt something very putrid fuming up from below you. It confused you for a moment, until you looked down at your shirt. "Aw, man!" You wailed. Catching Flug's attention once more. "What's wrong, (Name)?" Flug asked, turning his body around to look in your direction in worry. "I got machine grease on my favorite pajamas!" You, still in your alien and UFO pajamas, complained. While, looking down at the ugly stain on the front of the glow-in-the-dark alien icon. "Worst yet, these are the only brand of clothes I brought with me! I still haven't changed out of them from last night...eck. I feel dirty now." You mumbled and got up to walk to the basin in the corner of the lab, next to a large machine with a lot of blinking lights and levers. Flug seemed to notice your conundrum and paused, appearing to be lost in thought for a few minutes, as you silently tried to clean the harsh grease off with some feverish rubbing of a damp rag from the lab sink. Mumbling profanities under your breath as you did so. "Oh! How about this!" Flug exclaimed suddenly, startling you slightly. "Tomorrow is when I go out to fetch supplies to prepare for next weeks' projects and restock up on food after we shoot the videos." Flug explained. "Basically, tomorrow is errand day. You can come along and see if we can find a few outfits for you to use while you're here!" Flug offered. You looked at Flug and smiled. "Really? Oh, thank you so much Flug! Heh. It's kinda funny. I feel like I've known you since my whole 4 years at college, yet I've only known you for about a day!" You gave Flug a warm smile. "O-Oh! You're welcome!" Flug replied, bashfully. "I must say, learning about your world has been a trip for me as well. So many things to hear about, stories to tell, and learning everything that goes on in the other side of the cosmos."

"It's actually fun to hang around with you, I'll admit it. You're so laid back, I don't see how you're NOT a nervous wreck from being so far from home! If it was me in your shoes, I would be shivering at every shadow...and would probably be deathly afraid of Black Hat all over again." Flug sighed. You blinked, looking sympathetically towards Flug for a moment. But, you shrugged it off. "Hey, while we're on this topic, you've never told me about your own world! It's mostly been about mine." You stated. "I also want to know what your planet is like! What's it like living on a world full of factions and people with superpowers or advanced technology? What's different about your world? How does it feel to know that super powers exist?! Oooohh~! So many things I want to ask you as well!" You grinned at some questions that passed though your mind. "Well, maybe if we go out to eat or have some time while shopping, I'll gladly tell you about my own home too. It's only fair." Flug responded, his eyes beaming happiness through his goggles. You bounced on your heels in excitement. "And just think! We're both the very first people to talk to other intelligent, and friendly, alien life! My world may have some action or drama every now and then, but your planet is beaming with so many new things! Different physics, geography, and even culture! We might even be the first ever people to contact life outside of our own planets!" Your eyes grew so wide, Flug could swear that they sparkled. "We can keep notes of each other! To take back home! Then I can show my cryptid-believing friend that I was right! Aliens WERE the right way to go!" You flailed a little in your excitement. "Maybe I can take back some evidence? Like a miniature ray gun? That'll show e'm I'm not a liar! I would have evidence that couldn't be denied! Utterly irrefutable!" You squealed. Flug couldn't help but chuckle at your nerding out episode. He could feel his own heart racing as he observed your escapade.

But, he knew why. Your excitement was becoming infectious. He couldn't blame you personally. The excitement of meeting someone from another planet was coursing through his veins as well. He was still curious of many things. Some that he hoped you held the answer to.

What technology did your planet hold? How do your people do things without any heroes? Without any superpowers? How does your race survive as a species?

Was the evolutionary route different? Or was something else at play here?

Even now, he can't wait until later to get back to studying the blood sample he took from you. He feels like there's something special about your blood. Maybe it could hold the secret to your evolutionary branch? He didn't know what yet, but he'll get there. That's why he's studying it, of course! He is a scientist and an inventor.

And he is excellent at what he does. "Well, I'm gonna hit the bathroom and clean up." You said, calming down from your high. Flug snapped out of his thoughts. "Oh! Really?" "Yeah." You nodded. "I'm gonna find 5.0.5 and see if he can wash my clothes while I clean up." You said, walking away from the sink and heading to the lab entrance. "See ya later, Flug! Take care!" You waved, exiting the lab. Flug just waved slightly as you left an continued to work on the gamma ray gun. His project, while still incomplete and untested, was close to it's final stages. Soon, he'll get his spare time to study the unique blood sample. -- The only sound that stated life was present in the pristine and elegant bathroom was the sound of the faucet turning on within the bath-shower hybrid tub. Warm water rushed out of the spout, coating your skin in warmth and gave you a soothing feeling of relaxation. You sighed as you rubbed your scalp clear of excess oils and loose hairs. It felt like paradise. Just letting the water run down your skin and into the drain. You weren't really a single-type of washing preference person. You would take showers some days and baths on others. Usually, it mostly depends if you need to shave or relax. Sometimes, you didn't even have a choice. It was either one or the other most of the time. Not that you complained. You are mostly glad to get cleaned in the end. You lathered up a rag with some soap, which had a nice fragrance, to cleanse your body with. While you did this, you let your mind wonder. Tomorrow was presentation day. The day of the catalog photo shoot. Which will be preformed and used to show off your creations. You honestly don't think you'll be present for the shoot. It'll probably be handled by Black Hat and Flug mostly anyway. You're more concerned with the world that you will get to explore tomorrow when you go run errands with Flug. You sighed, letting the foamy lather wash off of your skin as you put some shampoo in your hand. I mean, there are some concerns you have about going out into the city. What if people notice your differences like Dementia and Flug did? I mean, even Black Hat probably picked up on your strange appearances! What if you turn too many heads and make Flug uncomfortable? What if you and him get separated? Just...what if? You rubbed your arms, suddenly feeling something attached to one of them. You looked over and saw the bandage from last night. Still clinging to your arm and covering a wound that had stopped bleeding a long time ago. Steadily, you peeled it off of your skin and opened the door to the hybrid. Depositing the bandage into the bin that wasn't too far from the door and closed the hybrid door back. You rinsed your head clear of foam as you walked back under the flowing water. Pressing your forehead to the wall, you sighed. '(Name)...we talked about this. Everything is going to be fine! No need to stress yourself. Besides! Who cares about that worrisome stuff? Just throw those thoughts away like that used bandage. It's a whole new world!' You then paused and blinked to yourself. Then, you allowed a smug look to cross your face as an idea popped into your head. "I can show you the world~, shining, shimmering, splendid~" "Now, tell me princess, when did you last let your heart decide~?" You sang, albeit softly. Laughing lightly. You kept singing in a low volume, letting the motion of your hands and body fit your own personal imaginings. It was silly to sing in the shower, but with the stress that you have faced in the last 24 hours, you might as well sing heavy metal songs at the top of your voice. Just to release the tension. But, Black Hat would have your head if you did that. Dementia did say that she played guitar when she came rushing into the kitchen at lunch, apparently overhearing your talent-associated conversation with Flug. You would like to see her preform sometime. You bet she would play like a punk-rockstar. Seeing as she shared similarities to said-genre when one looks at her outfit. So, it would probably be safe. Probably. You hummed the chorus of the song playing in your head, letting your imagination drift as you rinsed the conditioning out of your hair. "A whole new world~" "A hundred thousand things to see~!" You sung, finishing up your cleaning session and preparing yourself to get out of the stream of water. By the time you finished the song, you had stepped out of the bath-shower hybrid and are currently drying off with a large and fluffy rose red towel. You hummed as you finished brushing out your hair to the beat of the final tunes in your head. Rising your mouth out with gargle, you still did not have a toothbrush, and spat it into the sink. You sighed peacefully. Cleaned, freshened up, and with the towel wrapped securely around yourself, you prepared to leave the refuge of the bathroom. Singing did help a little. It was mostly just a personal relief valve for you. You're not the best singer, but practicing during the times when you were alone sure did give you a decent pair of pipes. You unlocked the door and headed out into the hallway. Only to be surprised by a startled shout. When you looked over, you saw your boss, Black Hat. He was just standing there across from you, stiff like a statue. "Oh. Hey, boss." You greeted. -- Black was NOT expecting this. He was just on his way to 'check up' on Flug and you to see how progress was coming along, only to hear a door open and had himself become visually assaulted by nudity! Black Hat was standing in horror-filled surprise as you stood there in the hall with nothing but a large fluffy red towel to cover yourself and wet hair sticking to your skin. Without warning him, no less! "Why are you out wondering the halls dressed like that?!" Black Hat screeched. "...Because I just got out of the shower?" You replied, nonchalantly. "That doesn't excuse this large amount of indecency! This is a business! Not your personal home!" Black Hat scowled. Okay, now you're just getting mad at this bastards' accusatory tone. Whoa! Whoa! Slow down, (Name)! Two negatives don't make a positive! You took a steady breath to calm yourself and kept your face and body relaxed. You know he hates that. "I got some engine grease on my pajamas while working. Those, being the only clothes that I brought with me and that fit me, are in the wash." You explained. "That reminds me!" You exclaimed. "Have you seen 5.0.5 around? He probably has my clothes ready." You muttered, placing a finger on your chin. "No! I haven't! Just...for evils' sake! Follow me!" He growled. You looked at him in confusion, but followed anyway. It took a few minutes, until he opened a door to a bedroom. It had a goth-like theme to it, like the rest of the house. Yet, the bed looked like something fit for a mansion! It was a deep red color, with a few mixtures of dull grays and blacks. The blankets also had top hat prints on them. Which was a trend around this manor, as you seemed to notice a lot of things that had to do with top hats or had designs of top hats on them. Like the wallpaper for instance. You suspect that Black Hat literally has an obsession with the object. It also had a canopy with curtains that could be pulled or adjusted to your liking. Plenty of pillows and comfortable-looking blankets. You let out a whistle. "Nice room. Who does it belong to?" You asked. Black Hat just looked over and rolled his one visible eye. "This is YOUR room, you imbecile. This will serve as your room until you eventually leave." Black Hat stated. "Oh! Sweet!" You gaped. "Thanks, boss!" You smiled at him. "Stop smiling at me." Black Hat warned. You would'ave frowned at him in a huff if you didn't feel a nudge on your arm. You turned to see 5.0.5 behind you, big adorable eyes and all, as he was holding a neatly folded pair of alien and UFO pajamas out to you. You smiled brightly at the return of your favorite clothes. Using one hand, you fetched the clothes from his paws and opened the top to see, to your relief, that the grease stain was gone completely. You passed the clothes over to your hand that was holding the towel up. "Ah! Thanks 5.0.5! You managed to get that nasty stain out and saved my favorite shirt! You're such a good bear!" You rubbed 5.0.5's head affectionately with your free hand, as the bear rubbed its' own head into your palm. Loving the friendly attention you were giving him. The clearing of a throat broke the good mood like glass. Oh, right. Your boss was still here. You looked over to Black Hat with your eyebrow raised. "What? Do you want to be petted too?" You smirked. "Got two hands for the job!" You couldn't help but laugh at Black Hat's deadpan expression. "Oh, come now, boss! I'm just being silly." "More like stupidly childish." He grunted. "I'm taking my leave, get dressed, we have a big day tomorrow. Come 5.0.5!" Black Hat snarled, causing the bear to whimper. Black Hat reached the door and waited for 5.0.5 to scurry on by him. But, before he could close the door, you called out to him. "What?! Can't you see I'm busy?!" He snapped. You didn't let that get you down nor stop what you were going to say, you just grinned at him lazily. "Thanks again, boss! I'm grateful for your hospitality!" You thanked. Black Hat just snorted. "You should be." Before closing the door, albeit a little too loudly for your liking. You laughed. Yep, he hates the lazy smile. "Goodnight, boss!" You called out to the fading footsteps out in the hall. You then prepared the bed and changed into your alien-themed clothes once more. Pulling back the covers and worming your way underneath the blankets. It was as soft and as pleasant as you imagined it. Like sleeping on a cloud. That could possibly be the back pain from working hunched over a workbench all day talking, but you didn't care. You adjusted the covers slightly, turned out the light on the nightstand by the bed, and rolled over as a welcoming gloomy darkness fell over the room. Yet, it was not completely dark. The lights from the suburban streets outside lit a fairly decent amount of the room. A calm mixture of pale and dark lights. It felt like you were in a hotel room. Just like the ones you used to stop and sleep in on the way to your final destination on a road trip. You yawned and rolled over. You wouldn't be lying if you said you weren't homesick. But, everyone feels like this when they travel. You're probably the first person to travel farther than any other human being from your planet. Farther than any astronaut has, anyway. Neil Armstrong can eat his heart out. You chuckled to yourself. That's just what this is. A long vacation. Then, you'll go back with an alien souvenir and make your mark on the great wall of human history. Ha! That will show your cryptid-believing friend! Bigfoot is fake and aliens are real! You then closed your eyes to that thought and slowly drifted off to sleep. Silently preparing for another day of adventure. -- A sudden beam of light incinerated a wooden target that was set up in the lab for testing purposes. Flug held the gun with accurate skill, as he was currently taking notes on what needed to be tweaked tomorrow morning before the presentation. He muttered a couple of math fractions underneath his breath. Testing was a delicate process. As one malfunction could injure a client and give them a bad rep, or show a faulty product that Black Hat will have his head over. So far, everything worked out. The machine fired and didn't shoot off into random directions, which was great. It even hit the desired target. Which was also great. Flug sat the weapon down as he decided to call it quits for tonight. Turning the machine off and he began to clean his station, until the lab door opened. He turned around expecting you to return from your shower, but was instantly put on edge when it was Black Hat instead. "A-AH! Black Hat, s-sir! I didn't expect you t-to come down here so late! I was expecting it to be (Name)!" Flug scrambled to make himself stand to attention. Black Hat merely raise a brow at the spectacle. "(Name) went to bed in their assigned room." Black Hat said, bluntly. "O-oh." Flug muttered, nervously shifting on his feet. "How's the gamma rays' progress coming along?" Black Hat questioned. "It's m-mostly done. Just a few tweaks in the morning a-and it'll be ready!" Flug replied. Black Hat nodded, apparently pleased. "And (Name)'s progress?" He asked. "Well, they m-made about 34 spybots today. They said that t-they'll finish the rest in the morning." Flug stated, nervously rubbing and grabbing his arm out of habit. Black Hat frowned a little at that. "They need to pick up the pace if they are going to reach the deadlines in time." Black Hat hummed. Flug nodded and swallowed his anxious fears to ask Black Hat about (Name)'s apparent clothes situation. "Black Hat, if you don't mind me...uh, asking this." This caught Black Hat's attention. "But, (Name) is in need of a few outfits if they are going to be staying here for a while." Flug explained. "So. I need to ask you, if they can come with me into the city while I run my weekly errands and purchase some clothes for them." Flug said. It was silent for a few moments, putting Flug on edge for a bit. "....Fine." Black Hat caved. Flug sighed in relief. "BUT." Black Hat paused. "They can only have three outfits. Other necessities, like undergarments, don't count." Black Hat stated. "If they are going to get some, they can only choose three." Flug was flabbergasted. "B-But, why only three, sir?" Flug stuttered. "They got under my skin tonight, they're taking this as a lesser form of punishment. Only three outfits! No more, no less." Black Hat shrugged. Flug couldn't really deny Black Hat. "Understood, sir." Flug submitted. Black Hat then began to walk back to the exit of the lab, right before turning around and looking at Flug. "Don't stay up too late, Flug. It's presentation day tomorrow. Get out of the lab, get cleaned up, and go sleep in your actual room. Do not fall asleep in the lab cot this time." He warned, then departed. Flug gave out a heavy sigh. He was afraid that Black Hat would say something along that line. He looked over toward the fridge where the vile of your blood was being kept. He guessed that the testing will have to wait for some other time then. Just when he's not so busy. Flug fixed up his station and headed toward the lab door. Turning off the lights and exiting the lab. Leaving the dark rooms' machines to hum and beep all through the night. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Next> <Previous ~First~

[cartoonfangirl1218]

Just like Fire ch. 5

“We gon' drink drink and take shots until we fall out like the roof on fire. Now baby give a booty naked, take off all your clothes, and light the roof on fire. Tell her baby baby baby baby. I'm in fire, I tell her baby baby baby I'm a fireball." - Pitbull (Fireball)

"Happy birthday to me...” Claire muttered to herself in the car as she headed back to headquarters from the airport. 

She had just spent her sixteenth birthday in a island near Polynesia using a tank to crush "the enemies of the state." Then burned their military base to the ground.

She didn't know what exactly they did to become enemies, but it didn't matter. Kurt and the other agents always repeated the same stupid phrase.

"You're a weapon. You don't need to know. Just take your orders and do them!"

"What was that?" Dr. Novak asked from the front seat next to the driver. He was the new head scientist. Kurt replaced Dr. Greene after his experiment didn't bring any new test results. He had only been there for a few weeks, but he was a lot less strict.

"Nothing, just can't believe I'm sixteen." And haven't seen the world in 6 years.

Dr. Novak smiled. She liked it. He reminded her of the Director. Bald, a little less fat and wide smile.

"My daughter is almost sixteen like you, Amber eyes. I wish you could talk, I'm sure you would find some things in common."

"Umm, not exactly allowed." Claire pointed to her shock collar "But I would like that too. I haven't seen anyone my age in forever!"

Dr. Novak gave a small frown, then he started to shift.

"I know I shouldn't let my feelings get in the way but it's such a shame you're living like this...." He looked around as if the limo had security cameras watching them. Then leaned closer "Okay, maybe we can let you go for one day. But you must come back to the Center before 1 okay. I don't want to get into too much trouble."

"But the, the collar?" Claire stammered, feeling giddy. Was she actually going to be let out and free alone? 

Dr. Novak pulled out a Swiss Army knife from his lab coat pocket and cut it off.

"Now go, pretend I couldn’t have stopped you" he instructed. Claire pushed herself out the door and rolled out to the busy sidewalk of Metropolis City.

It was huge! Skyscrapers seemed to be everywhere and shops crowded every corner. It was already 7 in the afternoon but Claire felt like it was 9 in the morning.

She was free!!! Free!

But what do regular people do on their birthdays. They had cake, but she had no money. They had friends and gifts but that was not happening.

So she looked around and followed a crowd of teenagers that looked to be her age to a club, Pulse it said in pink neon.

Her body felt electrified and she couldn't keep from bouncing on her feet. She was normal person, going to a club. She felt if she smiled anymore her face would break.

As she got to the bouncer, he glanced at her. "You don't look 20,” he wrinkled his nose. 

Claire lower her eyes and smiled. Pressing her body against him oh so suggestively.  "But couldn't you let me in. I have a sister waiting inside," she purred, nudging her chest against his. A move that was practically engrained into her body. She had done this many times before on poor foreign enemies of the state before she knocked their head into the roof. The man melted like putty and she glide past. Swinging her hips to the music. The club was hot, flashing strobe lights bounced around the wall and shiny silver dance floor. There were a few couches packed in back of the room and two tropical bars with palm trees near the bathrooms. And cages of hanging from the ceiling with shirtless men and girls in their underwear dancing in time to the drums. Claire stared at the whole place in wonder. And slowly she started to copy the others. Waving her arms in the air, grinding and jumping around. 

But as she started to get tired, she felt bored. She wanted to use her powers. When was the last time she used them for fun? But she couldn't think of any trick that would seem normal without attracting attention that she was a meta human.

As she looked at the people dancing around the tikki torches by the bar, she had an idea....Fire breathing. Take a stick with plastic palm leaves, she ripped them off and blew. A woosh of fire covered the stick and Claire brandished it proudly. 

A few screamed but others started crowing and yelling. She did a few more tricks, twirling sticks in the air, making shapes out of fire discreetly using her powers to help.

Then two gawky guys, both with brown hair came up to her. One black tips said to her, "I.. I'm I know you might not know what I'm talking about. But trust me, it's a compliment from the highest degree of nerdom." He cleared his throat,"You, me world domination?" "Sorry if you don’t get the reference but it’s a paraphrase of this firebender named Azula. It’s from Avatar: Last Airbender," The other guy with glasses explained.  "I loved that show!" Claire cried. She had been banned watching it after she found out about her powers. Her dad thought she would be too influenced. But Claire still remembered fondly. And now apparently these two cute guys her age knew it too. 

"No way someone as hot as you knows that." The black tips cried..

"Well yes. I'm a fire bender all the way. As you can see.." Claire smirked, waving her flaming stick.

“Nah, not me. I'm more air bender," Black tips said, ““All peace, no war.”  "That's cuz he's too scared of fire," Glasses mocked whispered.

"Shut up!" "You are too!" 

"Hey, how did you even do that without draining alchohol?" Black tip asked, changing the conversation to Claire, motioning to her flaming torches.  Normal people need to alchohol to do it? "Uh what makes you think I haven't been drinking?" Claire winked.

The guys smiled.  “I'm Damian" glasses said "And this is my younger bro and room mate, Francis," he motioned to black tips.  "Claire." They spent the rest of the time joking and talking about avatar episodes. Then Francis invited her over for dinner at the apartment and she eagerly accepted. It was almost eleven but she wasn't planning on going back. Sure, Dr. Novak might get in trouble but she her freedom meant more than any scientist. And with such nice guys too. She could stand to hang around them for a little while until she found her own place. 

Plus Francis looked quite cute. Chiseled checks, floppy brown hair, studied something called botany which only seemed to remind her how much school she missed. 

She hadn’t even finish middle and she couldn’t recall what photosynthesis was. She thought it had to do with cameras but they didn't mention anything about it yet.

"Well I'm gonna hit the sack. Good night." He slapped Francis' shoulder, "Make me proud," he whispered.

They spent a little time siting on the couch when Francis turned to her and leaned closer, heading in for a kiss. Claire tried to suppress a cringe as she felt her face flush. Her body started tingling again like all those years ago. Oh god, she was aroused. He was probably aroused too, and he'll want the sex. But then his mouth pressed against hers and all her thoughts flew out. His lips were so soft and warm, she wanted to melt against him. She gripped him closer and held his hair as his tongue pushed further into her mouth.

"This is amazing! How could I think kissing was bad? Wait....did that other guy even kiss me? No, no. This is my first kiss. OMIGOD I'M HAVING MY FIRST KISS!”

Slowly he took off her clothes and she grabbed his pants. His touch was so soft and gentle and warm. She welcomed it. All the muscles she was clenching released and she just let him take the lead. This sex thing was great, and Claire held onto him like howler monkey. 

After the first release, she felt hotter, and heard Francis mutter, "You're boiling." Claire briefly opened her eyes, and saw her her hands, flames sparking up her fingers. She held them out in the air and tried not to touch Francis or act like anything was wrong. 

But her hands wouldn't stop burning, no matter how much she tried to imagine it away. Francis' body blending into hers was so distracting, especially as another wave of pleasure rippled through hers.

She flipped Francis in a way she would be positioned ontop of him and smashed her boobs against his face, suppressing a moan of ecstasy. It was honestly very frustrating. Here she was having the best sex ever and she had to stop it or else he would freak over her burning hands. 

So she pretended to accidentally knock over the lamp, touched the lightbulb and it exploded from the heat.

Francis jumped and Claire sat on her hands, trying to cool herself. "Dude!! I'm happy for you, but seriously!" Damian yelled from another room. 

"Sorry, sorry." Francis flushed, his neck turning white "We should probably stop" he bent over to pick up the pieces.  "Yes, you probably should." a chilling voice added. 

In the doorway stood Kurt and four agents. "Claire," He intoned. Two agents grabbed her, and forced her outside as she heard Kurt talking to Francis.

"Take this pill, you don't need to remember what's gone on here tonight-" amid Francis' questions. Claire's face burned with shame and humiliation. 

How the hell, did they find out?

"How?" Claire whispered when Kurt entered the car with a blanket to cover herself. "Security cameras. Though you were acting like a stripper at the club, not many people have knee length orange hair." He spat at the word club. 

"It was simple to spot you from the rest. We asked questions, found out who you left with. Now you are coming back. First discipline, then you'll have to work through the night to catch up with what you missed." Kurt informed her.

Claire self-consciously gripped her hair. She never thought about how recognizable she looked with it, uncut from years gone by. Once they got to the headquarters, she was disciplined with the routine of water boarding and foam spray until she had passed out. When she came too, she had been redressed in her usual black outfit, a new shock collar and brought to the training room. 

Where Dr. Novak stood, handcuffed and crying.

"First we thought you should get rid of your accomplice." Kurt said. Claire held her breath and hesitantly complied, forming a circle of fire around Dr. Novak, close but not touching him. Claire wanted to apologize to the man. The man with a daughter her age, who had thought she should be out on her birthday and let her have that one day of freedom. 

But Kurt was waiting, nudging her back with the fire extinguisher nozzle. A water board would await her if she didn’t comply.   Claire closed her eyes and let the circle of fire creep closer and closer until the smell of burnt skin and smoke filled the room.

[wlwhc]

Just like the movies

I like you and you like me II: Just like the movies

part 1

anon ask: Can you do a part II for the LMD x Daisy, Fitz helps the reader with the date and explains how to properly act. Of course the LMD still manages to mess up social cues and emotions but Daisy helps them.

warning: LMD imagine

author’s note: talking about robots , you guys should listen to iRobot by Jon Bellion , I had that song stuck in my head all day!

Masterlist / Prompt List / Fandom List / Ask me anything!

“ I bought you a dress!!” Fitz exclaims happily, he was more excited than you. He was also going to help you with the whole ‘interaction’ problem, He said that you had to say certain things on a date, you were planning to study them.

“so now that you're dressed, we need to teach you how to act and talk properly on a date”

“I read that I need something called make-up to finish an outfit”

“no no! makeup is overrated, you’re beautiful the way you are, believe me-”

“I do believe you Fitz” you said, smiling at the young scientist, his smile was contagious.

“I made some cards so you can read them, and study them, but don’t worry I’ll be there right beside you the whole time, I also search for a few pick - up lines on the internet an-” He said giving you the cards and you started reading them, He keep talking about a few things that you could say but Jemma interrupt him mid-sentence.

“Fitz! here you are, I need your help in the lab-oh hello Y/N wow! that’s such a nice dress” Jemma said while looking at you. She wasn’t very happy with the idea of letting her best friend date a robot, but she couldn’t do anything, besides, Daisy likes you a lot so, she wasn’t going to destroy her happiness.

“I choose the dress! , I have a good taste” Fitz looking you with a proud smile

“that’s why you were looking desperately all those fashion magazines?” Jemma said trying to hide the smile that was forming on her lips

“you didn’t want to help me! I had to find her a good dress for her date with Daisy” Fitz said smiling at the thought of you and Daisy happily together

“does it look good? I know that a male opinion it’s not really valid on this kind of things” you said while looking at Jemma “No offense Fitz”

“not at all” Fitz said

“well, it’s a pretty dress that’s for sure, you did pick a good one Fitz, I’m impressed” Jemma said while giving a little smile to her boyfriend “but what about the whole interaction problem, I mean, she doesn’t even know how to act like a normal human”

“That’s why I did this cards, all she have to do is study them” Fitz said proudly handing the card to Jemma so she could look at them

“Omg! you also put lame pick-up lines ?” Jemma said while laughing

“they’re not lame!” Fitz said while taking the cards out of Jemma’s hand

“what do lame means?” you asked, confused by the new word

“she’s screwed” Jemma said “you’re screwed” she said now looking at you sympathetic look

“yeah.. you just have to read them” Fitz said “ read them and I will try to play as Daisy” Jemma laugh at this “Fitz, daisy is a woman, you’re a boy, it’s better if I help her, I also know how to flirt better than you~”

“that’s not true!” He said “whatever just help her”

“okay now Y/N, sit down on that chair, we’re going to simulate a date okay?” Jemma asked

“okay Jemma” you said feeling a weird feeling in your stomach, your leg couldn't stop moving up and down, and your hands were sweating. “I think I’m malfunctioning again”

“you’re probably just nervous Y/N, you need to prepare for it, cause when you be there at the date those feeling are going to increase a lot” Jemma said while looking at you smiling a little

“It feels like when you guys get sick” You said trying to ease the weird feeling on your stomach

“it’s kinda like that, you really liked her don’t you?” Jemma ask. She really wanted to know if this wasn’t some joke. After all the Aida problem, she couldn’t bare the thought of another LMD destroying their lives or even worst, Daisy’s life

“I do... Fitz told me that it’s very similar to what he feels or you.” You said looking at your friend

“she really likes her Jemma, It’s hard for her to put it on words, that’s it” Fitz said while looking at her girlfriend

“okay, I trust you, so now, about the dialogue problem when she sa-”

“OH MY GOD! IT’S 7 ALREADY!” Fitz exclaim while taking your hand and dragging you outside the room

“But she doesn’t know how to talk, the whole thing it’s going to be weird!” Jemma said while following you two through the halls of the base, a few agents were looking at you with weird expressions and all you can do was following your friend through the halls.

“STOP LOOKING AT HER LIKE THAT SHE ALREADY HAS SOMEONE!” Fitz screams at them, you got to the main room “there’s no other choice, I have to go with you undercover!” Fitz said while putting you a coat

“Fitz you can’t go! , it’s her date, not yours! plus Daisy would take her there”

“I’ve been planning this since Y/N came out of that door and almost faint when she looked at Daisy, so if you excuse me love, but I have to make this OTP canon” Fitz said while dragging to the common room

“OTP?” you ask

“I’ll go with you then, we just had to hide a few tables away, and-” she grab a few headphones “-with this!, we could tell her what to say!” Jemma said while searching for Daisy, she was supposed to take you. A minute later Daisy came out of an office with a few papers on her hand

“oh hello guys-holy shit!” Daisy said while looking at you “ I-I was going to look for you b-but Phil told me to do some papers a-and I-You’re gorgeous” she said, blushing a little

“I picked the dress” Fitz said, earning a smack from Jemma

“You’re ready to go? I just need to grab my jacket and give this paper to Phil” Daisy asks you while grabbing your hand, your cheeks felt warmer than usual, and all those weird feeling that you felt before increase a 100 more, just like Jemma said.

“ye-yeah I’m ready” You said

“okay, wait here I’ll grab my jacket”While Daisy disappear in another room, Jemma put the headphone on you

“we’re going to tell you what to say okay? just follow our instructions” Jemma said, you nod and look at Fitz

“so I don’t have to use lame pick-up lines?” You asked

“They’re not lame!”

“what’s lame?” Daisy ask now with a leather jacket on her hands

“I ask the same!” You told Daisy

“ well, I can tell you what it means on our way to the restaurant” Daisy said laughing “follow me ” She said while grabbing your hand and leading you away from Fitz-Simmons. the two scientists giving you a little smile.

Daisy and you were now at the restaurant, Daisy was explaining something that you saw on TV, and so far, the ‘date’ was going just fine. You also use a few pick-up lines and other things that Fitz said you should use.

“so... did Fitz make you study or something?” Daisy ask with that little smirk that made you feel your legs weak

“indeed he did, he was trying to help me, I know that I’m not very good at talking with people, I still have a lot to learn, I should update my language systems”

“but I like you like that, it’s cute, you’re cute” Daisy said, that for some reason made your cheeks feel like they were on fire. “I bet sure that you don’t even know why you’re blushing right now” She smile grinning at you

“I’ll have to decline that offer, Fitz said the bets are bad things” Daisy started to laugh at this and somehow, you find yourself laughing too.

“see? you’re cute” you saw a couple sit behind Daisy, that looked like Fitz and Simmon

“what are you looking at?” Daisy asks while looking at the couple too “is that Jemma?”

“oh no no, that’s not Jemma, that’s Jessica and Ronald” You said, hearing Jemma speaking to you through the headphone, and since she told you to say everything she said, you follow her orders

“what? haha Y/N that’s Fitz and Simmons” Daisy said looking at you squinting her eyes a little

“no no, that’s Jessica right there, she’s a normal teenager with her very normal boyfriend that is obviously not Fitz, smile Y/N” You said smiling at the end hearing Jemma face palm.

“ohh~ I see, so you know this Jessica person and her very normal boyfriend that is not Fitz?” Daisy said trying to look serious but failing at the last sentence. The whole thing was hilarious, she knew that Fitz was going to help you, but this? this was unbelievable

“no they’re not real-Yes! yes I know them I do” You said, now very confused about the whole situation

“okay, come here-” Daisy get up from her chair and took the seat that was next to you, she grab your face with hands and got close to you. you could already hear Fitz squealing at this and Jemma whispering a few ‘calm down!’. Daisy moved your head softly to a side, grabbing the headphone

“that’s better” she said looking at you, she was so close to you, somehow it makes you feel a little dizzy. She got up again and walk to the couple that was obviously not Fitz-Simmons. The couple tried poorly to hide but it was too late, Daisy already knew that it was them “you two can leave my date alone she was doing just fine before you two came in” Daisy said scolding them.

“I don’t know what are you talking about young lady” Fitz said

“weren’t you a teenager? why the sudden grandpa voice?” Daisy said laughing “just leave us alone guys” she said walking looking at you “Y/N we’re going out, did yo ever had ice-cream?”

“is it a food?” You said tilting your head to a side

“yep, it’s a dessert-” she grab your hand once again, leading you outside the restaurant “We’re going to get one, it’s really tasty, I know this place where it got thousand of flavours and colors, you're going to love ice-cream”

“as much as the pizza?” You ask, grinning at this, Daisy holding your hand talking so happily with you made you feel such a bliss. “as much as pizza Y/N”

The rest of the night went perfect, you made her laugh a lot, and she made you laugh a lot. You two were having such a great time, but it was getting late, so Daisy took you back to the base. Your room was next to hers so all she got to do now was say goodbye. But Daisy didn’t want to say goodbye.

“I had fun tonight Y/N, we should definitely do this again, without Fitz-Simmons following us” She said laughing at the last sentence. She lean to you, pressing her lips to your cheek, your skin melts at her touch “I-I just kiss you” She said. Daisy wanted to actually kiss your lips but she wasn’t sure if you even know the meaning behind it.

“like in the movies?” you asked, Fitz also make you see a movie before coming to the date, he said that was educating.

“yeah like in the movies, it’s...romantic” Daisy said looking at your lips.

“but they didn’t kiss like that, they do this” and with those words, you kiss her, your lips were pressing her lips, such an innocent contact, such a simple move that made your whole body feel like Jelly. Daisy was shocked at this, butt she kissed you back, putting her hand on your hips while you put your hand on her neck. She didn’t expect this from you. You break the kiss looking at her.

“wow” Daisy said “that was..wow” she was looking at you with a weird gaze

“just like the movies?” you said holding her hands

“better than the movies” Daisy said smiling at you, leaning to kissing you again. You learned a lot about kisses that night.

Hope you like it anon <3

[badly-drawn-piplup]

Happiness Overload Chapter Nine

There stood a lady in a lab coat watching someone being disintegrated. Metal claws retracted back into the floor and ceiling. Electricity ran wild, and I wasn't too sure what I was being exposed to. Before I could turn away, she looked up, her gaze locked into my own.

″Um, don't mind me. Just passing through,″ I put my arm behind my head and shuffled my feet. I already knew I wasn't in the best of situations. You didn't have to tell me that. In fact, I would have at least fared a little better if I kept that stupid armor on.

″No, you're right where you should be,″ she uttered.

Footsteps. Their sounds cluttered on both ends of the hall. I was surrounded. Those goons with guns were going to shoot me down. I knew I shouldn't be here, but I could never find the exit. This lady had me trapped and she knew it. I ran into the room. It was the only thing I could think to do.

She smiled a smile that seemed to grow wider a mile a minute.

″You're still going to die, you know,″ she told me, relishing in such a fact.

″Well, fuck!″ I complained, tears welling up. ″What was I supposed to do? You had me in a corner!″

I could no longer see the body of whoever that was.

″Say, who was that?″ I pointed down, figuring if I was going to die, I may as well ask a quick question.

″Don't you know? That was you.″

″Oh, right. That makes sense.″

″What the hell was that?!″ I stood hunched over in disbelief. Conrad just stood beside me shaking his head, not giving much of a reaction otherwise.

″Damn, the feed cut out,″ he muttered.

″Really? That's what you're going to complain about? Of course it cut out! Your friend is dead!″

″It was to be expected,″ he responded with nonchalance. ″At least Blanc was useful while they were around. I finally got to see the inside of their base of operations. Or at least one of them.″

″I can't believe you right now.″

We were both in my ship at this point and Conrad had pulled out a PDA that displayed the whereabouts of Blanc through the underground maze.

″I placed a camera on Blanc when we were hanging out. It was so small that they had no way of ever noticing,″ he explained as we stepped into the ship. It was quite the ordeal getting there, but we were heading out now and venturing off to find a new place to hide out and lay low.

He tuned in just in time to see Blanc dying in front of the scientist known as Dr. Etna (or Professor, she seemed to go back and forth between titles). He gritted his teeth and hit rewind until we were at the beginning. We watched the fight with Chester, a.k.a Albacore (why the psycho chose that name I'll never know, but he's dead now and I feel no sympathy for him) as well as what ensued with the guards in the hallway. Neither of us could explain how Blanc was fighting any of them, but we had to accept that they were and there was nothing else to it. It wasn't until the thing about Ecstasy that Blanc and Etna talked about that it all clicked. It didn't really click, but Conrad explained it nonetheless.

″Damn it! They had no need to melt the body! They must have known what I did!″ He complained.

″I thought you guys were best friends, but here you are talking like they were an asset, a tool!″ I had no attachment to Blanc, myself; my first impression of them wasn't all that great and I never saw what the big deal was about how supposedly great they were. All I know is that if I had a best friend just die, I would react a little more in grief and shock. Here I am instead shocked that after Conrad had acted like Blanc was someone he'd do anything for, he went and did nothing and used Blanc for such a small gain.

″You have to understand. There was nothing I could have done. Blanc would have gone in there regardless and I wouldn't have been able to do anything to stop them. I at least had to take advantage of the situation so it wouldn't be completely in vain.″

″There was nothing you could have done? You didn't even try!″

″We had more pressing matters, anyway,″ he passed off, pulling on the strings of his hoodie. ″We were trying to escape, remember?″

″Ugh! Missing the point 101!″ I raised my fists and paced around the ship.

True, we were trying to escape, and that was my bad (as well as Kelly Roger's. Don't forget, not all of the blame can be placed on me), but Conrad knew beforehand what was going to happen. Or at least it seemed that way. There should have been something, anything other than this whole ″oh well″.

Conrad sighed and glanced my way.

″Look, you think I'm not troubled by this?″

I nodded. That was exactly what I thought.

″That's not it. I've seen this happen before. It's not the first time Blanc died. There were different circumstances. We worked together and actually came close to defeating the entire Flashbulb organization, at least in this timeline. There was no 'Ecstasy' or anything like that. I simply saved Blanc from ever riding that elevator and figured out a plan to take them apart. Their base wasn't originally underground and things were a little different. Ugh! I can't remember all the details anymore!″

″What the hell are you rambling on about?″ I raised my eyebrows.

″Time has become so muddied. I shouldn't be able to remember any of this, since it never happened, at least, not this time. We were close but they still found us out and went back in time before we had even worked together. I was powerless to stop Blanc from riding the elevator. It was like a different Blanc entirely, even before going to the station. It's like the moth effect. Even the smallest thing changes how things play out.

″You mean 'butterfly effect'?″

″It used to be moth...″ he muttered.

I shook my head.

″Whatever. So you just give up? You watch them, but you don't do anything? What's the point in gathering all this information if you're not going to do anything with it?″

″We have to be careful. It's not that I don't want to do anything, but we have to make sure we can do something before we do it.″

I laughed, but it was one of defeat. ″They're already aware of our existence. What can we do?″

″I don't know. It's a wonder they haven't already changed how things again. If they haven't already. It's so hard to tell.″

I continued pacing. The ship was on autopilot, passing through solids and camouflaging itself to avoid detection. I recalled the cameras, how we were monitoring Blanc, up until their death. That was when I remembered: there were multiple Blancs.

″You want to do something?″ I asked, feeling like I was taking charge.

″Like what?″

″We can still save Blanc.″

″Are you kidding? We're already in the next city! By the time we get there --″

″I'm the pilot, aren't I? I say we turn this around and save your best friend.″

″They're not even the same person!″ Conrad protested.

″That doesn't matter! We're doing this!″ I yelled, shoving Conrad aside and sitting in the pilot's chair.

Euphoria was singing a wordless tune that to anyone else would sound grating, but to me, it was soothing. It was a comfort to know that she was by my side. Even still, there was a miniscule part of me that was just a little uneasy.

″I guess I should have figured beforehand, but it's not exactly 'normal' to float along and make objects 'happy'. Whatever that even means,″ I mentioned.

She grinned. ″EVERYTHING WANTS TO BE HAPPY!″

″Yeah, I guess so. I guess I was also just too caught up in the moment to think about such things like what's 'normal' and what's 'not.' I also guess you're not really human, are you?″

″I'M YOUR GUARDIAN ANGEL!″ She confirmed.

″Uh-huh. And what does a 'guardian angel' look like? Go ahead, show your true form. I can take it.″

I turned around and a mass of tentacles with teeth hanging around in odd corners and a giant brain hanging on top, pulsating and pieces falling off, only for a tongue on the side to continuously lick off the brain matter.

″That's not what you look like,″ I shook my head. ″That's only what I imagined you looking like.″

Euphoria changed back into the image of the girl in the angel outfit.

″EUPHORIA'S ONLY FORM IS THE FORM OF HAPPINESS!″ She cheered.

″So appearance means nothing, huh?″ That was disappointing. Such a pointless reveal.

We strode through the hall. I stopped to take off the armor I was wearing.

″I'm tired of this thing, to be honest. We haven't seen any guards in quite some time and I'm sure we're close to the exit now.″ After stripping off of the armor, I was back to feeling free in my usual clothes.

″Ah, that's so much better.″ I put my hands on my hips. ″So, anything else you can tell me?″ I asked.

″I CAN TELL YOU ANYTHING IF IT MAKES YOU HAPPY!″

″Can you tell me the truth?″ I asked that, but I didn't really know what 'truth' I wanted to know.

″WILL THE TRUTH MAKE YOU HAPPY?″

I had to ponder that. ″Maybe not, but...″

″WOULD IT MAKE YOU HAPPY TO KNOW?″

″I s'ppose so.″

″Do you know what 'truth' I want to know?″

She nodded with a great fury.

She entered the chamber, this unexpected guest. My database had no information on her but that didn't last long. It only took a second before I had a basic knowledge on just what she was capable of. The flow of information was a constant, ever changing asset.

″Greetings, creature,″ I beckoned. She flitted about before bellowing.

″THE ROOM WOULD BE HAPPIER WITH LESS LIGHTS ON!″

Any light source no longer mattered; the area was already dim as it was, but the air within changed to that of pitch blackness.

″Is that so?″

″I CAN ALREADY FEEL THE HAPPINESS LEVELS RISING!″

″I see. It seems we may have similar goals.″

″GOALS? WHAT ARE THOSE?″

″Wants. Desires.″

No response.

″What we desire is to make this world happier.″

″OH MY GOD! THAT'S SO WONDERFUL!″

″Do you desire it too?″

″I CAN MAKE IT HAPPEN!″

I already knew that. Which is why it was so important to have her in our disposal.

″Good. Tell us, do you have a name?″

″NAME? WHAT'S THAT?″

She must have known what names were. There were names for objects. Names for places. Names for people. Everyone and everything had a name, even if names differed between those giving and telling it.

″Very well. From henceforth, you shall be named Euphemism. If anyone asks what to call you, however, you are to address yourself as Euphoria. Understood?″

″My...name...is...Euphoria?″ She repeated, not giving her usual shout. From what could be gathered, she did not understand, but I had little patience for drilling it into her head. It was enough to know that I could call upon her.

If we were to gather even a small sample of whatever matter made up what she was, we could create many wonders. That much was clear.

Soldiers surrounded the door, guns loaded. I didn't have any special powers or anything. I wasn't a superhero, supervillain, otherworldly being, bitten by radioactive whatever, magician, etc. I never ate a magic fruit. I was just some lazy college student with nothing to lose. I wouldn't stand a chance against a dozen assault rifles, firing at once.

I knew all this, but I also have seen quite a few movies involving villains and it was clear that I was in the lair of one. I didn't have an exact clue what I was up against, but I knew what I could do.

″Hey, I'm going to die anyway. Why don't we talk for a bit?″ I asked.

″Very well,″ the lady in the lab coat agreed. ″Prinnies, hold your fire.″

I held in a chuckle. Out of all things to call a group of fearsome supersoldiers and they get called ″Prinnies″.

″So...uh...″ This wasn't good. I was granted a chance to stall and I couldn't even figure out what to start stalling with. ″What is this place?″

″Nothing you were meant to see.″

″Oh, I get that. 'Top Secret', right? Like Area 51 or some shit? That's why I can't be allowed to live, right? I've seen too much?″

″A valid answer. For anyone else, that would be true. For you, it is because you are a mistaken. An accident. You were never meant to be.″

″Hey! That's not very nice!″ I retorted. ″I'm sure my mom weighed the pros and cons about having a baby!″

″For all intents and purposes, I am your mother,″ she answered. I pictured her wearing a Darth Vader helmet. Otherwise, her revelation didn't really have a lasting effect on me. She was probably saying that to be dramatic. Which I totally get. Gotta play up that angle. ″You are a clone.″

″Yeah, I know,″ I replied, and gave a fake yawn for added measure. ″I'm a copy of a copy of a copy. Whatever.″

″You are aware? How?″

″Well, I kinda figured. Seeing another me will do that to ya, y'know?″

″Then you know why you must die. You are a loose end. There should never exist more than one of someone.″

″I guess I see where you're coming from, but just so ya know, you're wrong. I don't see a problem with there being more than one of someone, from a moral standpoint or otherwise.″

″You are inferior. You cannot match to the original.″

″So what? Maybe that's true, maybe I can be an exact replica and still different. Doesn't mean I'm not good in my own right. Think of it like an MP3 or pirating a copy of something. Sure, the quality may go down with each copy, but it can still be enjoyed throughout by many and most of the time the lower quality is so small that it doesn't even make a difference.″

″Why would you attribute yourself to a piece of software?″

″Why not? They say the mind is like a computer.″ I may not have been much, but I was nothing if not a bullshitter. Had to be in order to stay in college.

″Enough! I've grown tired of your stalling! A filibuster may work in a senate hearing, but such tactics are of no use here! Prinnies, open fire!″

Well, shit, I thought.

The sound of gunfire pierced through my eardrums. I covered both ears and got to my knees, but when the gunfire stopped I looked behind me and noticed something: I was still alive.

″What gives? Where's the earth shattering ka-boom? There's supposed to be an earth shattering ka-boom!″ I joked, knowing full well what went on.

Euphoria charged past the mercenaries, shoving them aside and causing them to fire their guns at the walls making up the doorway. The bullets ricocheted off the wall and fired back at each of their heads, the impact somehow strong enough to decapitate each and every one of them in perfect succession. While it seemed awfully improbable, I wasn't about to question it.

″HAPPINESS TO THE RESCUE!″ She cheered, waving her hands about and jumping at me.

″Euphy, right on cue,″ I smiled and stood proud.

″Ah, so you've met our creation, Euphemism, also known as the ETNA project.″

My face went blank. ″The what now?″

″E.T.N.A., stands for Euphoric Transdimensional Nature Alterer. Or you can think of her as Euphemism, a term for when a not so savory thing is giving a more appealing name.″

I sighed. I should have figured.

″That's not true and you know it,″ I told the lady, shaking my head in disappointment. ″Euphy has no true name, and she's not a project! Euphy is Euphy!″

Blanc had escaped within a hair of their life. There were now two Blancs roaming about. We couldn't allow such a thing, but there were already provisions in place to ensure things would continue as they should. Ecstasy, an experiment created from a trace amount of the creature that came to visit us and linked to my essence was already inhabiting the Blanc who had escaped. All that was left was to wait and the rest would fall into place.

Bad news: we just saw the second Blanc, Ecstasy and I saw with the same eyes, and yet she felt the same need to tell me, as if she was telling Blanc. Sometimes it was a burden knowing my system was still plagued with imperfections.

″Fear not,″ I informed her. ″Nothing is hindered.″

Only a short time later, we were wrong. As much as Ecstasy would lead Blanc to the same fate sooner or later, we still couldn't completely control their thoughts and actions. Blanc had the ″brilliant″ idea of telling their replica to try throwing a paper ball into the elevator. We already knew why; they thought it would save the replica as well as reveal the truth of what makes up the inside of the elevator. The unfortunate truth was that Blanc did not foresee a third Blanc being created, whereas we did. We could not allow such a thing to happen.

The creature, if she could even be called such a thing, was already in our chambers.

″Euphemism, go forth and act as the guardian angel of the one who goes by Blanc Slait.″

″AYE-AYE!″ She complied and vanished. We knew it would not be immediate, but all that was left to do at that point was wait and put our faith in this being which had already proved to be a valuable asset for us.

″So that's how it is, then?″ I whispered. I would say my heart sank at the reveal, but that wouldn't have been the right way to phrase things. It felt like the feeling in your body when someone tells you they're breaking up with you or that you failed a test. A bit of a cold feeling followed by tremors and a tightening of the senses. Your heart beats felt neither slower or faster, but rather more pronounced. Your face in a position as if you had a moderate dose of Botox. Your eyes in a state where you were at the beginning of your high after eating a couple of pot brownies.

″I feel like I've lived a whole life, but my life's just begun. All of these memories, they were made by someone else who I look like, whose name I share,″ I spoke up just a bit, but each word spilled were gasps for air. I was in a state where I both felt like I could burst into tears and break down yet also felt too numb to be able to conjure any up. I know it sounds dramatic, but it was a dramatic feeling. At least before I concluded.

″It really did make me happy to find out,″ I told Euphy.

″I'M GLAD!″ She replied, and even though it was her usual grin that she wore, there was something on her face that hinted at concern.

″I guess I should have figured. There were signs all over the place, but I was always open to other possibilities. That's how I've always been...when something comes out about government corruption I would always tell myself that they still have our best interests at heart and there was a good reason for what they did.″

I stopped. Euphoria hugged me, though she probably would have evn if I wasn't talking to the void over what she had revealed to me. I gave a little laugh. It was fake, but I probably would have still laughed even if I didn't feel like I had to force it.

″I say 'always'. I guess that's not really the case. I've only had these thoughts since I was born. Though, really, what's the difference?″

There was an increased confidence; something stirred in me that may have been brought on by the truth which I pressed her so hard for.

″Come on, Euphy!″ I took a step forward, after standing still for the past few minutes. ″We have to find the exit!″ My body was still shaking and each step was met with a heavy heartbeat. It didn't help matters that her embrace made it harder to walk and I wasn't used to someone hugging me, let alone someone with an indescribable nature.

Most of my so-called 'life' I hadn't really experienced, but that didn't mean I couldn't form any memories of my own. Besides, many people share the same name and are totally different people. Maybe I could be the same way.

″What gives?″ I asked. ″Why'd you stop?″

We had been crawling along with slow movements, still trying to get to the hanger where my ship was kept.

″We reached the vent,″ Conrad muttered. ″But I can see guards lurking about.″

Just my luck. Emphasis on my, of course. My life's been a string of ″just my luck's″ with a healthy dose of ″you've got to be kidding me″ sprinkled on top.

″Any bright ideas?″ I snickered, knowing full well that Conrad had none. I didn't know why I felt the need to rub it in when I was out of ideas, myself.

″I've got a laser pointer,″ he mentioned.

″C'mon, I wanna get on my ship, already!″ I fumed.

From what I could see, the guards had no idea there even was a ship, since the ship was cloaked at the moment and appeared invisible to the naked eye. Actually, even if they were to bump into it, they probably wouldn't notice since the ship can just pass through matter when cloaked.

Conrad fumbled through his pocket. I noticed the red light of the laser pointer and I could tell that he was about to shine it. I didn't know if I could classify whatever he was about to do as a ″brilliant plan″, but if we were thinking literally, it was a ″bright″ idea.

″What are you doing? You trying to get us both killed?″

He shushed me and I was about to push him (and probably be the cause of his death) when I heard gunfire and screams of pain.

″I can't believe it...″ he whispered.

″What?″

″I just made that guy shoot the other guy. I didn't think it would work,″ he remarked.

I gotta say: Conrad's 'pointing a laser pointer at the guard's head' idea was stupid, but the guard was stupider for falling for it. Now we just had to see if it would work for the rest of them.

Her expression changed to that of disgust.

″Who's side are you on?″ She demanded.

″THE SIDE OF HAPPINESS!″ Euphoria cheered.

″That's our side!″

I took the opportunity to try running up to her and punching her smack dab in her jaw. My fist was all ready to go and I took the leap, only to find myself going right through her and crashing to the floor.

″What the...″

I stared up. She turned around and flashed a smile that grew wider and wider. Static flickered through her body and part of her faded in and out.

″You're a hologram!″ I exclaimed.

″I am but an AI, the manifestation of the computer system known as ETNA,″ she explained.

″So what you're saying is that you're full of yourself?″

She frowned. So much for that smug look on her face. I couldn't help myself but laugh.

″Euphy, it would make me really happy if I could punch her right now!″ I called out.

″HAPPINESSS AWAITS YOU!″ Euphoria sang while skipping across the room.

I leaped to my feet and hit Etna, the not-so-hologram across the cheek.

″Wow, I can't believe that worked,″ I remarked.

She turned her head, her face a deep grimace. She pressed her palm against my stomach and I felt a surge of electricity push their way through me, working my blood and sending me flying. I could only imagine what my hair looked like at the moment. I guess I was fortunate enough to be alive, even if a bit crispy.

″You have quite the guile ,″ she complimented.

″No,″ I said with a smile, still on my back, and having difficulties getting up. ″I'm just dumb.″

″Alas, it is time for your existence to end,″ she announced as metal claws flew out from the floor and ceiling and shot toward me.

No! That would not make me happy! I thought. What would have made me happy is if I was able to call Life Alert, but I wasn't about to think that with Euphoria in the room.

I could still hear the claws whizzing toward me. Maybe Euphoria wasn't going to save me this time. Maybe she was on the side of this evil computer scientist. I held my hand over my face and looked away. I didn't want to face whatever was going to crush, strangle, or smash me. I wanted to see nothing at the time of my death. So close now. I could feel the wind from the claws brushing my short, black hair. The same hair that was probably standing up from the electric shock.

And then...nothing.

I pulled my arm away and looked up.

The metal claws were moving about every which way. Euphoria was floathing in midair, as she did, her arms outstretched as she seemed to command the claws with her very presence.

″Good job, Euphy!″ I called out to her.

″YAY! BLANC IS HAPPY!″

More claws shot out and started moving in conjunction with the previous claws. If they weren't away from me, I would have been in a deep fear. Instead, I just kept smiling and shaking my head.

″Those weren't there before!″ Etna cried.

″THE CLAWS WERE LONELY WITHOUT A DANCING PARTNER, BUT THEY'RE HAPPY NOW!″

″I've had enough of this nonsense! Prinnies, come to the control room at once!″

Shit. Of course there would be more of them.

Within just a moment, more guards entered the room, but instead of opening fire, they dropped their weapons and started dancing around.

″YAY! EVERYBODY DANCE!″

Etna watched in disbelief, helpless at her mercenaries not following her orders. She turned around and stared back at me.

″There are still ways,″ she growled, and pressed her foot against my stomach.

″Ech! Ech!″ I squirmed and struggled to breathe.

Before she could squish the life out of me, one of the claws grabbed her and carried her off toward the ceiling.

″IT WANTS YOU TO DANCE WITH THE REST OF US!″

I gasped for air. It took quite a bit of strength, but I leaned up and saw Etna being the one to squirm around.

″This is madness!″ Etna shouted, furious as ever.

I had an opportunity. I was going to seize it.

″No. This! Is! Euphoria!″

I then leaned my head back down and went hysterical. All of this unfolding before my eyes. It was like I was a kid at a party and the bouncy castle was just a few feet away.

I looked up and Euphoria was staring right at me, her bug-eyes reflecting my messy face. She wore a cuter smile then any I could have imagined.

″CAN I GET A PAT ON MY HEAD?″ She asked.

She leaned down and I reached my hand up, somehow our respective actions meeting somewhere in the middle and I was able to give her a little pat.

″YAY!″ She jumped off.

The tiles on the floor started bouncing up and down as if it really were one big, metallic, bouncy castle all along. The monitors all turned on and spelled out the word ″happy″ over and over. The ceiling made waves. The doors opened and closed on their own.

I shook my head, unable to break away from the smile I had on my face.

Etna, on the other hand, seemed to not be enjoying her new life.

″I want to be a hologram again,″ she whimpered.

Euphoria must have figured that would make Etna happy as without any hint of transition, Etna phased through the claw and brought herself down to the floor. From what I gathered, Euphoria did not have a sense of pity or sympathy, only a sense of what would make someone happy or unhappy.

She straightened her glasses and fixed her face until it was back to wearing a stone cold expression.

″The previous one was so much easier...″ she muttered.

I pulled myself to my feet. ″I guess I won't be able to punch you again,″ I sighed.

″Indeed,″ she agreed. ″This is goodbye for now.″ She, or rather, her image, disappeared. The monitors that previously displayed the word ″happy″ across every screen now showed nothing. In fact, there was no hum to be heard. No lights on on the monitors or the computers that accompanied them.

The floor was still. There were no claws. The prinny squad (as I figured I would call them) were writhing on the floor, giggling ceaselessly. Their laughs harmonized and through the helmets I thought I could hear the voices of demons reaching out from the pits of hell.

Arms found their way around me and squeezed me from behind.

″DID I DO A GOOD JOB?″ Euphy asked.

I nodded. ″Yes, very good.″

″YAY!″ She cheered, rubbing her head against my back.

Before I had a chance to step forward and examine the computers, a flight of stairs appeared.

It was only a few steps of stairs, and they didn't seem to lead anywhere.

″I dunno...what if it kills me?″ I reflected, recalling the imagery of the elevator. Sure, I remember riding it once before, but that was a lie. Someone else entered. Someone else who was me, but who isn't me now. ″What do you think, Euphy? Should I risk it?″

I turned around and she was nowhere to be found. I should have noticed that there wasn't anything pressed against me, but I was lost in thought and it seemed just like her to come and go without any hint of leaving.

I gulped. It could have been a trap, but nevertheless, I took the first step. Actually, that was a stupid thought. Since when has anything horrific ever happened involving stairs leading nowhere? I was almost there, and no spinning blades nor any other phenomenon. It was actually kinda disappointing.

On the very last step, I was about to walk back down, but just as I turned around, a hand reached out and grabbed me.

I fell onto the floor. But not the same floor that I had already fallen on twice. This looked to be a different room entirely.

Did I die? Is this a new body? Have I been teleported somewhere?

″Ugh, I can't believe I had to pull you in,″ a voice complained.

I turned around behind me. Nope. The voice wasn't coming from behind me. I did notice the stairs folding up, though.

I looked in front of me and was met by a pair of legs. I looked up further and was relieved to find that the pair of legs were attached to someone: a red head wearing some spy outfit or at least what I imagine a spy would wear.

″Stop staring at my legs and get up. It's making me a little uncomfortable,″ she commanded.

I picked myself up off my feet. ″Sorry. It's just one of those things where you're not sure if you're dreaming or just having quite the day,″ I tried to explain.

″You could have just said 'sorry' or 'sorry, I've just had a batshit day',″ she corrected.

″Uh, right. So, uh, where am I?″

″You're aboard my ship. We're rescuing you.″

My eyes widened. ″That's so cool!″

″Yeah, I guess it is. Though the charm'll wear off after a while.″

″Don't mind Velvet, she just loves to complain!″ Came another voice calling out.

″I do not!″ She complained.

I looked behind Velvet and saw a figure in a hoodie slouched in a chair.

″Who's the skeleton?″ I asked Velvet.

″That's Conrad.″

I looked back at the figure, then back at Velvet.

″So that's what he looks like underneath the hood and glasses?″

She snickered. ″You hear that, Conrad? You've got a fan!″

I ran over to where Conrad was sitting just as he was pulling his hood back up. My heart was beating at an unusual rate, though given the thrills I've experienced all in one day, it shouldn't have been all that unusual.

″I feel like I've known you most my life, and yet this is only my second time meeting you,″ I began. ″Even then, I feel like that other time doesn't count. I didn't know who I was then.″

″But you know now?″ He asked.

″Well, I know what I am, I've still gotta learn the rest.″ I wiped my face. There were tears that I didn't even feel forming, yet they trickled down my face. ″I feel like my life's just beginning.″

Velvet interrupted my little introduction and shoved me aside before taking a seat.

″If you two are done, we've gotta get a move on.″

I looked at the pilot's controls and then looked out the window, displaying the room we were in. Not much about the ship made sense to me. I shook my head and looked at her.

″Where are we going?″

″Egypt.″

I mouthed ″whoa″ before bracing myself, holding tight to the seats Conrad and Velvet occupied.

Even with a new adventure awaiting me, I felt Euphoria's absence. I wondered if she would ever reappear and if so, in what form. I took a deep breath and sighed.

I knew I wasn't yet happy.

[newyorktheater]

Lincoln Center’s sumptuous fourth Broadway revival of “My Fair Lady,” the supremely tuneful and witty 1956 Lerner and Lowe musical adapted from George Bernard Shaw’s pointed 1913 play “Pygmalion,” features a revelation and a looming question for those who know the musical. The revelation is Lauren Ambrose as Eliza Doolittle, and the question is: Does the story still work if we see no romantic feelings develop between Eliza and Henry Higgins, her bullying speech teacher?

Lauren Ambrose

Lauren Ambrose and Harry Hadden Paton

Harry Hadden-Paton as Henry Higgins

Norbert Leo Butz as Alfred Doolittle

Jordan Donica as Freddy Eynsford-Hill

Harry Hadden-Paton, Lauren Ambrose, and Allan Corduner in “The Rain in Spain”

Lauren Ambrose as Eliza and Diana Rigg as Mrs. Higgins

Norbert Leo Butz as Alfred Doolittle in “Get Me To the Church on Time”

Ambrose, still best known as the oddball art student daughter in the HBO series Six Feet Under, turns out to have a beautiful soprano voice. She also starts off as an impressively off-putting Eliza, a lowborn feral street vendor with a grimy basket of flowers whose dense Cockney bleating and sniveling manner grate on highborn Higgins (Harry Hadden-Paton,) who happens to encounter her outside the Royal Opera House in Covent Garden. Under Higgins’ tutelage, Eliza slowly and magnificently blossoms into a graceful, intelligent and independent woman. There is no question that at first Higgins has no interest in her, as a woman or even as a human being; he actively disdains her. He simply wants to win a bet he made with fellow linguist Pickering (Allan Corduner) that, merely by teaching her proper English pronunciation, he can pass off “this draggle-tailed guttersnipe” as a duchess at the Embassy Ball in six months’ time. It’s a nice touch that during their tutoring sessions, Higgins wears a white lab coat, as if he’s the scientist and she’s his experiment. What happens in many productions of “My Fair Lady” is that Eliza grows fond of Higgins:

I’ll never know what made it so exciting; why all at once my heart took flight. I only know when he began to dance with me, I could have danced, danced, danced all night

And, although it takes longer and it’s against his nature, Higgins grows fond of Eliza:

I was serenely independent and content before we met; surely I could always be that way again— and yet I’ve grown accustomed to her looks; accustomed to her voice: accustomed to her face.

And then this usually leads to an ambiguous ending, which offers the audience hope that perhaps they will get together.

However, in this production directed by Bartlett Sher, a wordless action makes the ending unambiguous – they will not get together – and, despite the lyrics to “I Could Have Danced All Night” and “I’ve Grown Accustomed to Her Face,” the actors make clear all along that there’s no amorous spark between them.

This might baffle or irk some devotees of this Golden Age musical, but it’s important to note that Alan Jay Lerner’s book and lyrics changed Shaw’s original intent. The playwright explicitly abhorred the notion that Henry Higgins and Eliza Doolittle would become romantically inclined. “Eliza has no use for the foolish romantic tradition that all women love to be mastered…,” wrote Shaw, a socialist and a pioneering advocate for women’s equality, in an epilogue to the published play, explaining at great length what happens to Eliza in the years after the play ends. And Henry Higgins, the “confirmed bachelor” of Shaw’s imagination, seems too immature to be able to love anybody.

So Sher’s adjustment is not an act of revisionism but of restoration, which happens to fit the values of a 2018 New York audience more comfortably than the original adaptation from the 1950s. Shaw’s pointed comments on class and gender are now brought more to the fore. It registers when Eliza says things like: “The difference between a lady and a flower girl is not how she behaves, but how she is treated.”

However one judges the director’s unfamiliar shift in the inner life of the characters, his treatment of the outer life of the musical is familiar from his previous acclaimed Lincoln Center revivals of “South Pacific” and “The King and I.” Sher’s “My Fair Lady” is an elaborate affair, featuring several stellar performances, all 15 memorable songs lavishly backed by a 28-piece orchestra, and a lush design by his usual collaborators, especially scenic designer Michael Yeargan and costume designer Catherine Zuber. Zuber is likely up for her 16th Tony nomination for outfits that are not only lovely and period-perfect; they also often clarify the moment and enhance the tone. I’ve already mentioned the white coat. When Higgins brings Eliza to Ascot to test-run her newfound upper class manner, she is saddled with a fashionable ridiculously unwieldy hat that looks in danger of toppling to the ground, and bringing her with it.

Yeargan’s sets, which effortlessly roll off and on the immense stage of the Vivian Beaumont, can take your breath away. Sometimes, though, they take up all the oxygen. Higgins’ mansion is solid, wood-lined, book-lined, two-tiered, awesome. It’s also on a turntable that rotates to reveal other rooms besides the study in Higgins mansion, which Eliza walks through as she’s singing; admittedly impressive, this didn’t especially add anything – yes, we figured the mansion had more than one room.

Similarly, Christopher Gatelli’s choreography is lively throughout, as it was in Sher’s “King and I” and in “Newsies,” which won Gatelli a Tony. But then there’s the number, “Get me to The Church on Time,” in which Eliza’s father Alfred P. Doolittle (the always reliable Norbert Leo Butz) has turned against his will from low class loafer to respectable member of the middle class, celebrates before his girlfriend is forcing him to marry her the next day. Among the high-kicking ensemble of drunken rowdy celebrants are a music hall full of can-can girls, most of them bearded men in drag. I mean…..what?

I suspect these occasional excesses are intended to bypass our cultural cerebrum to massage our theatrical limbic system, or even burrow into our Broadway brain stem.

This may help explain why, despite the director’s intellectual commitment to keep the relationship unromantic, Sher cast as Higgins an actor who on the surface seems to be more of a match for Ambrose’s Eliza than 48-year-old Rex Harrison was to 20-year-old Julie Andrews when the original production of My Fair Lady opened on Broadway. Harry Hadden-Paton is not only close in age to Lauren Ambrose; he is actually three years younger than she is.

Luckily, audience members at “My Fair Lady” have more straightforward outlets for any romantic yearnings. This includes stand-out Jordan Donica as Freddy, who we’re meant to see as a more apt match for Eliza; he is certainly swoon-worthy when he sings the outright romantic ballad “On the Street Where You Live.”

And then there’s Dame Diana Rigg as Mrs. Higgins, Henry’s mother, who is on a whole other level of swoon-worthy. She not only lands every one of her witty lines with seeming ease. Her very presence romantically evokes different memories for different generations — the impossibly mod spy Emma Peel from “The Avengers,” the scheming Lady Olenna Tyrell from “Game of Thrones,” or even, on stage in London, a certain Cockney flower girl who becomes a lady.

My Fair Lady Lincoln Center’s Vivian Beaumont Theater Book by Alan Jay Lerner; Music by Frederick Loewe; Lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner; Adapted from “Pygmalion” by: George Bernard Shaw; Original musical arrangements by Robert Russell Bennett and Phil Lang; Dance arrangements by Trude Rittmann; Musical Director: Ted Sperling Directed by Bartlett Sher; Choreographed by Christopher Gattelli Scenic Design by Michael Yeargan; Costume Design by Catherine Zuber; Lighting Design by Donald Holder; Sound Design by Marc Salzberg; Hair and Wig Design by Tom Watson Cast Lauren Ambrose, Harry Hadden-Paton, Norbert Leo Butz, Diana Rigg, Allan Corduner, Jordan Donica, Linda Mugleston, Manu Narayan, Cameron Adams, Shereen Ahmed, Kerstin Anderson, Heather Botts, John Treacy Egan, Rebecca Eichenberger, SuEllen Estey, Christopher Faison, Steven Trumon Gray, Adam Grupper, Michael Halling, Joe Hart, Sasha Hutchings, Kate Marilley, Liz McCartney, Justin Lee Miller, Rommel Pierre O’Choa, Keven Quillon, JoAnna Rhinehart, Tony Roach, Lance Roberts, Blair Ross, Christine Cornish Smith, Paul Slade Smith, Samantha Sturm, Matt Wall, Michael Williams, Minami Yusui and Lee Zarret Runtime 2 hrs. and 55 min including one intermission

My Fair Lady Review: Unromantic Eliza in Lavish Revival Lincoln Center’s sumptuous fourth Broadway revival of “My Fair Lady,” the supremely tuneful and witty 1956 Lerner and Lowe musical adapted from George Bernard Shaw’s pointed 1913 play “Pygmalion,” features a revelation and a looming question for those who know the musical.

[junker-town]

Tom Brady made a website for his TB Times cartoons, and they’re *maybe* starting to make sense?

The plot thickens.

The dots might not be actually connecting, but they are starting to appear in a pattern that might someday yield a picture.

Yes, folks, that’s right: Tom Brady released another edition of the TB Times yesterday. We missed a week when New England lost to the Dolphins, but on Sunday, the Patriots beat the Steelers thanks to an overruled touchdown and the fact that no one in the National Football League has any idea what a catch is.

A post shared by Tom Brady (@tombrady) on Dec 17, 2017 at 4:24pm PST

I’m still pretty confused, but we are starting to see some common themes and characters within these comics that might eventually make some narrative sense. In the meantime, Brady, his Social Media Guy (S.M.G.), and the artist who draws these cartoons (D.K.), unveiled the website tbtimes.org, because these people seem determined to ruin my life. I’ll have more on that at the end of this post, but let’s analyze this week’s images (yes, there are two!) first.

We have to start with the missed one from the Dolphin’s loss last week:

For the first time ever, Brady, S.M.G. and D.K. released the comic that would’ve run last week had Jay Cutler and the Dolphins not smoked the Patriots in Miami. It once again features fidget spinners, and was slightly different from the one I drew last week at 1 a.m. as an embarrassed Patriots fan.

What do we know from this picture? A few things.

Brady and Croc have tracked down the Dolphins’ fidget spinner ring.

It turns out that Croc’s dreadlocks from the original Dolphins comic were a disguise. I am not sure what the disguise is supposed to be. But he can be seen here removing it after he and Brady wrestle the South Beach Spinners briefcase away from the Dolphin.

They then run to a secret lair, which still seems to be underwater, and open the briefcase.

I laughed at the time, but NESN Patriots reporter Doug Kyed was right when he sent me this text last week, the ramps of the Dolphins stadium really do look like fidget spinners.

Now let’s look at this week’s comic:

This is a riff on the movie Zoolander. Ben Stiller, AKA Ben Steeler, is doing his signature modeling move “blue steel,” which sort of makes sense in a word association-type way, given that Ben Roethlisberger is the quarterback of the Steelers. Brady says, “Steeler...so hot right now...” which is from this scene:

The turtle is back from the first Dolphins comic, but the grouper with pink hair isn’t. So is the Narwhal, who first rescued Brady in the comic that ran after the game against the Bucs, when he killed pirate skeletons with lasers.

Speaking of lasers, the plans inside the Dolphins’ briefcase appear to be for some sort of giant, inter-galactic laser.

Oh my god, do you think that because I’ve been imagining that the social media room underneath a TB12 workout facility looks like a lair, they drew a lair?

Sorry, I know this isn’t about me.

Is that guy wearing a lab coat by the picture of Ben Steeler Gronk?

Yes, because in the comic after the Houston win, Gronk showed up wearing that same lab coat. He’s also wearing glasses and says, “the computer data is telling me...”

Get it? It’s funny because Gronk is not generally seen as a rocket scientist. They were in space then. Now they’re underwater. Or possibly underground.

Bill Hader is back from the Bills comic. So is Billy Crystal, who appears on the front page of the TB Times that Hader is reading.

Hader is still wearing the outfit that I couldn’t place based on researching his IMDB catalogue.

The finger game (where you’re allowed to punch your friends if you get them to look at your hand as you do the A-OK symbol) appears again. It first showed up in the comic that ran after the Bills game. This time, you can see Billy Crystal’s hand doing that sign on the back of the TB Times.

QUESTIONS, THOUGHTS, A DESCENT INTO MADNESS

I’m still having trouble figuring out how the Jets, Broncos, Chargers, Saints, and Atlanta comics play into all this.

Who is Croc?

What is Croc?

Why is Croc?

Why is the TB Times team taking all these dude actors from bro movies when I was in high school and putting them into comics? We’ve got Chuck Norris in here, too. These read like Millennial fan fic from 2007.

When I lived in Boston in 2014, I noticed all the guys in their early 20s had lines from Wedding Crashers, Zoolander, Old School, etc. in their Tinder profiles. I wrote an article about it. Maybe that’s relevant here. Maybe it isn’t.

Why are we sometimes in space and sometimes underwater?

And why, in the underwater lair, is there a football with planetary rings around it?

Interesting theory from Twitter, c/o Robbie Vogel: “The alligator steals the top secret docs from the Dolphins and we find out they’re in possession of Steelers-themed military schematics - are we to assume this means the Dolphins know how to beat the steelers? Cuz it kinda makes sense, the last two times the Steelers and fins played (last year and 2013) the fish won.”

Will the show from the Bills comic, Bill’s Got Talent, come back?

Is the key that Croc was holding the key to winning the Super Bowl?

Are answers to this whole thing contingent on the Pats winning the Super Bowl?

If it is, and the Patriots don’t, and we never get answers, will I die?

TBTIMES.ORG

The plot thickens. Usually these comics just get posted to Instagram and Facebook, but on Sunday, Tom Brady, S.M.G., and D.K. unveiled an entire website devoted to it. It’s TBTimes.org, so I guess it’s a non-profit? There’s not much here yet, but let’s dive in anyway.

When you go to the site, ominous music plays. Then all the characters from previous comics appear. We’ve got Brady as a centaur from the Broncos comic. We also have the Jets’ hot tub salesman, the Falcons’ falcon, the Panthers’ cat, the Rams’ ram, the turtle, Gronk with his lab coat on after the Buffalo game...

WAIT. OH MY GOD. I’M FREAKING OUT BECAUSE GRONK WAS IN A LAB COAT LAST YEAR. Not only does he appear in the Houston comic, and now the Steelers comic, wearing his coat, he was wearing it in the comic that ran after the Patriots beat the Bills in 2016!!!!

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Posted by Tom Brady on Sunday, October 30, 2016

The TB Times might be more calculated than I realized. When I started analyzing these a few weeks ago, I hypothesized that S.M.G., D.K., and Tom Brady had no idea what they were doing. I thought there was a good chance this started as a way to mess with indoctrinated Patriots fans who never question anything Tom Brady, prince and savior, does. I wondered if they’ve found themselves in slightly too deep, now that so many people (myself included) are so invested.

But maybe this has actually been planned out for two years.

Anyway, the rest of the gang is on tbtimes.org, too, but there’s a new guy — Peter Pan (or a leprechaun? I can’t tell) ripping his shirt open. Correct me if I’m wrong, but I don’t think we’ve seen him yet. He hasn’t been in any comics last year or this year. The closest thing we’ve got to Peter Pan is Brady walking the plank when the narwhal saves him.

When you click on the button in the upper left-hand corner that looks like the logo on a Lacoste polo, the Croc changes (if it turns out that this is all just a way of announcing a that Lacoste is Brady’s new sponsor, I will riot in the streets of Foxboro).

First, Croc changes into his fidget spinner disguise:

Then he becomes a slow cooker, briefly, (hah, get it? Croc Pot? *walks slowly into the ocean*):

Then he lets out a mighty roar:

If you click on the Panther (which someone on Twitter called “a fat cat” in a message to me, and which I can’t stop laughing about), this pops up:

It’s the version of the TB Times that would’ve come out on October 1, had the Patriots not lost to the Panthers. It’s actually fairly disgusting, and also might be my favorite edition yet.

In this comic, the Panther eats Tom Brady. Brady not only has a huge cell phone with him as he sits in the cat’s stomach, but also gets reception in there, so he’s able to call previous Patriots player Vince Wilfork. Vince is wearing the RIBS hat he wears in the commercial he did for Kingston Charcoal commercial (fun fact: I love Vince and that hat so much that I bought one from the Kingston website, I’m wearing it as I write this).

Vince then feeds the panther so many ribs that the Panther forms a hairball in his stomach and throws up Tom Brady so hard that he shoots him into space.

FINALLY! AN ANSWER FOR WHY WE WERE IN SPACE WHEN THEY PLAYED HOUSTON! IT’S ALL STARTING TO COME TOGETHER!!!!!

Wait, except that it isn’t. The Patriots beat the Texans a week before they played the Panthers. The week after this would’ve come out, the Patriots played the Bucs, but that cartoon doesn’t take place in space.

I’m about three paragraphs away from lighting my computer on fire and drop-kicking it out of my window.

But first, check out this cryptic message in the HTML code of the website (yeah, I went there, and yeah, I’m fine, thanks for asking, the walls of my apartment are not covered with string and pictures of various species of crocodiles, why do you ask?):

They spell Croc “Krock” in that line of code I’ve highlighted. Maybe Croc is Robert Kraft. Krock. Hmmm...

When you click the console button under the Inspect Element tab, you see this:

It reads:

Hey! Tom Brady here.

Boy, I sure do love playing football. But there’s nothing quite like writing a healthy block of JavaScript.

Anyway, nice to see someone found this site and decided to inspect element.

You won’t find any more secrets here, though...yet.

Go Pats!

Well, damn. This feels like the closest thing to a personalized message I’m going to get. I wonder if they knew I’d inspect element. I doubt Brady wrote this, but it really does read like the gosh-darn-y way he talks.

You better believe that I’ll be checking this religiously as we head into the playoffs.

The fact that S.M.G., D.K., and Tom Brady are releasing previously unseen versions of the comics (from last week’s Dolphins game, and now this) makes me think several things:

Maybe these guys DO know what they’re doing and they need all of the panels in order for the story to come together at the end of the year. So far, characters and narratives just keep reappearing haphazardly, but I have learned to never doubt Tom Brady when he’s trying to execute a plan. It usually works out.

Maybe they were so cocky going into this season that they didn’t think they’d lose a single game and would therefore be able to release these only when they won. Maybe they need this website to ensure all the comics get published.

Alternatively, this could be a very charming version of a midlife crisis. Or perhaps a sign that Tom Brady is starting his own media company once his career playing football is over. If that is true (SB Nation, don’t read this), I would like to know if they’re looking for an editor in chief. Or, hell, even a blogger. I emailed asktombrady@gmail.com to ask about it. I’ve emailed this address before, but I’ve never heard back, so I’m not holding my breath.

On a more serious note, I have to say that I think this is all kind of wonderful. Brady doesn’t have to do any of this, but it’s a fun element to an otherwise pretty garbage NFL season. And not only for Patriots fans — I’ve received a number of emails and tweets saying that people hate New England but love this strange and bizarre story that’s playing out online.

it’s smart, actually, for a QB of a team everyone hates to get a little funky. People might actually want the Patriots to win, if only for this silly reason.

In case you’re worried that the process of figuring out these trippy and frustratingly puzzling pictures is having psychotropic effects on me, don’t be. Here, for proof, is a video I took of myself while I researched the JavaScript of a football player’s fake newspaper’s website and Googled “inter-galactic lasers football”:

Except at the end, instead of turning around and saying, “I need a map,” I just do this:

[domain-of-friendship-blog]

10: Potpourri

"Hey... wake up. We're here."

A soft voice and a gentle nudge caused Sunset to stir.

Instinctively she began to stretch, only to be quickly reminded of the confines of the car as her hands reached the ceiling. In the few years she'd spent in the world on the other side of the mirror portal, she hadn't had occasion to take any long road trips like this, and so wasn't used to sleeping in the car. As a result, she found herself dimly surprised she had nodded off at all, let alone stayed that way for nearly the entire trip.

Groggy and stiff, the pillow that had been mushed between her face and the window got tossed over her shoulder into the back seat as she fumbled with the door handle for a second before pulling on it and stumbling out.

The daylight reflecting off a series of large buildings made Sunset squint. They looked surprisingly modern and industrial, composed primarily of corrugated metal and painted brick, the gaps between them bridged in places by wires higher up and pipes running along the ground. The small parking lot into which they had pulled was otherwise empty, tucked away in a nook between two of the buildings.

Freed from her prison, Sunset reached as high as her arms would go, her efforts rewarded when her back emitted a satisfying pop.

"You need a minute?" Tank pointed his thumb at a set of double doors on the nearby wall of the building. A sign next to it read Singularity Labs - Operations Center B. "Your friend should probably be in here somewhere with Penny and the doc."

Sunset shook her head. "Let's go."

The doors opened up into a hallway lined with what looked like offices and conference rooms, judging by the messy desks and long tables respectively. Tank poked his head into one of the former. "Hey, where's Doc Mobius?"

The woman inside looked up from some papers on her desk. "Oh, hello, Mr. Abrams! He should be in conference room A at the end of the hall. He's expecting you."

"Thanks!" He flashed her a smile before turning away.

Sunset tilted her head at him as they continued down the hallway. "So how do you know all these scientists, anyway?" she asked.

Tank patted the pommel of his sword over his shoulder. "After I found Lightbringer here, I wanted someone to analyze it for me and ended up bringing it to these guys. When they realized how unique it was, they decided they wanted to see the thing in action to collect more data, so they asked me to be their go-to freelancer whenever they need stuff done. Doesn't hurt that they were impressed with me for finding it in the first place," he added with a smirk.

While that sounded like a story she needed to hear at some point, an entirely different idea pushed the thought aside, an impish grin creeping its way onto her face. "So what you're saying is they were really pleased with your big sword, is that it?"

"I mean, I guess that's one way to - " Tank stopped mid-sentence as the realization struck him, narrowing his eyes at Sunset. "...really?"

Sunset stifled a snicker.

"...and the thaumic flow has ceased completely? You're sure?"

Voices carried into the hallway from the open door of conference room A. It was largely undecorated, featuring the same brick walls painted white, linoleum tile floors, and drop ceiling as the hallway. Sunset and Tank quietly stepped inside, noting three figures staring at a marker board as they did so. The better part of it was covered in complex-looking equations that Sunset doubted she could decipher on her own in a hundred years.

"Our instruments all confirmed it," said one of the three, idly twirling a marker in his hand. "And we're getting similar reports from the other sites."

"But what does it mean?" asked another, her purple wings twitching nervously.

"It means somebody ought to be looking behind her," said Tank.

In an instant, all three whirled around.

"Sunset!"

"Twilight!"

The two girls immediately dashed toward one another, colliding with a quiet 'oof' as they embraced.

Instead of her usual outfit, Twilight wore a slightly oversized white lab coat, a pair of holes cut hastily into the back for her wings. Her long purple hair was damp, suggesting she had showered recently, for which Sunset was slightly envious.

Twilight backed up only just far enough to look her friend in the eye. "Are you okay? You're not hurt, are you?"

"I'm fine," Sunset insisted, offering a reassuring smile. "Just a little stiff from the long car ride is all."

"Splendid work, my boy!" Mobius clapped his hands together. "No troubles on the way, then?"

Tank shook his head. "There was a minor kerfuffle with a bandit when I first found her, but nothing beyond that."

Twilight's pupils shrank. "You got attacked?"

"Uh... kind of?" Sunset grimaced apologetically. "But we took care of him pretty quickly, so..."

"I can imagine you girls have a bit of catching up to do, so why don't we come back to this later?" Penny set her marker down on the table. "Have you two eaten? I can send for some food if you'd like."

Tank's eyes lit up. "Actually, food sounds like a great idea."

"Yes please!" Sunset agreed.

*******

Sunset and Twilight sat across from one another, happily munching away at their first proper meal since their arrival. A platter of deli sandwiches, half empty, sat in the center of the conference room table. It was flanked by a bowl of fruit, pitchers of various drinks, and a large bag of potato chips, each one more depleted than the last.

"Oh, before I forget... Have a look at this, Sunset."

Twilight wiped her hands with a napkin and reached into her pocket, producing a familiar device.

"The magic sensor?" Sunset asked through a mouthful of sandwich, which she finished before continuing. "I'm surprised that thing made it through the portal in one piece."

"I am too, but I'm really glad it did." Twilight held it out to Sunset. "Do you see anything strange?"

Sunset peered at the interface for several seconds before replying. "No, it looks normal to me. The only thing it seems like it's picking up right now is Tank's sword."

Twilight blinked, glancing down the table at him for a moment. "I was wondering what that was. Do you know why it's reacting?"

Sunset looked up at Twilight. "Because it's a magic sword that glows and fires bolts of light on command," she deadpanned.

"Uh... okay." Twilight hesitated, fiddling with her glasses for a moment as she attempted to get her train of thought back on the rails. "Anyway, I had to recalibrate the sensitivity based on the density of this world's ambient magic. See what happens when I turn it back to the settings I was using when we were at school before." She fiddled with a couple of dials before showing the sensor to Sunset once again.

Sunset nearly choked on a mouthful of fruit punch. "What? It's reacting to everything! The whole display is lit up!"

"That's because this world is completely full of magic," Twilight explained. "It's literally everywhere - in the ground, in the people, in the air... and now it's in us, too. Energy always flows from high to low concentration, and it seems magic is no different."

Sunset leaned back in her seat, idly tapping the rim of her cup. "Is that why we're stuck ponied up like this? It doesn't usually happen on its own, or last nearly this long."

Twilight nodded. "That's my best guess. The people here are accustomed to it, but we're not, so our bodies are reacting to the sudden influx of magic by using our pony forms to burn some of it off." She glanced over her shoulder at her wings, flapping them gently to illustrate the point. "I don't know what would happen without them, but we seem to be fine so far."

"Well... we do, at least."

Sunset hadn't meant for that to sound quite so dark. She winced as she watched Twilight's gaze fall to the table and stay there. With a sigh, she stood up and moved to the seat beside Twilight, wrapping an arm around her waist and pulling her close. "Hey... we'll figure something out, I promise. We always do."

"I've... been trying not to think about it too much," said Twilight in a low voice, "but it's a stroke of luck that we're both here now, isn't it? The others could be anywhere - lost, hurt, scared and alone..." She shivered at the thought, leaning closer to Sunset.

The two suddenly grew quiet as something a little different began to fill the air, interrupting another conversation going on nearby.

"Fair enough, Doc, but I don't... think that... uh." Tank trailed off as he began looking all around the room. "Wait a sec. Where is that music coming from?"

*******

RARITY: I once thought that I knew what my fate had in store Now the future is shrouded in haze Though my life has been spared, am I now to be trapped In this world for the rest of my days?

FLUTTERSHY: Though the people are nice and the animals warm Still I can't help but feel a little cold Somewhere out there my friends might be lost and alone Who knows what their tomorrows may hold?

RAINBOW DASH: I don't care how much danger may come I will fight for as long as it takes This weird world better bring on its best I won't lose when my friends are at stake!

APPLEJACK: I'm sure scared, I'll admit, but I gotta be strong Home has never been so far away But my friends trust that I'll always be by their side That I'll do all I can, come what may

PINKIE PIE: Yeah, at first I thought maybe this place might be fun But I sure got myself in trouble fast There is sunshine in me keeping my head held high But I don't know how long it'll last...

SUNSET SHIMMER and TWILIGHT SPARKLE: This world seems ever vast and unknown But no matter the fight, we won't fail Friendship binds us in all that we do When united as one, we'll prevail!

*******

Sunset and Twilight went quiet once again, hands still clasped together.

Tank blinked. "...What the hell did I just witness?"

Penny tilted her head, the sandwich in her hands long forgotten. "I... haven't the foggiest idea."

Mobius adjusted his glasses. "Fascinating...!"

Sunset took a deep breath as she let go of Twilight and turned to their hosts.

"I'm going after them," she declared.

"...Uh." Tank quirked an eyebrow. "You're what now?"

"Five of our friends are still out there somewhere," she explained, crossing her arms. "They don't know any more about this world than we do, and if that bandit was any indication, there's every chance they're in danger. We're going to rescue them."

Penny set her sandwich down on her plate. "Sunset Shimmer, are you really sure you know what you're proposing? There are hundreds of portals all across Nexus; if what we understand so far is accurate, they could have emerged effectively anywhere."

"Such as the far reaches of the Frontier, hundreds of miles from civilization!" offered Mobius with just a little too much excitement. "Or the blistering Kasarosian desert, the frozen wastes of northern Itantea, or even the dense jungles of - ow!"

He stopped as Penny kicked him under the table and pointed at Twilight, whose face was gradually draining itself of color.

Sunset shook her head. "I don't care. Those girls were there for me at the lowest point in my life, and I don't know if I'd have made it out otherwise. They never gave up on me, and I'd be throwing away everything I've learned about friendship if I turned around and gave up on them."

Tank stood up. "You've got spirit, sure, but that's not going to be enough. You have no money, no clue where to go, and basically no combat experience as far as I can tell. If you try to go on some grand adventure to rescue these friends of yours, all you'll do is get yourself killed."

Sunset smirked. "Then it's a good thing I have an ally who can help me with all that, isn't it?"

Tank sighed, raising a hand to his forehead for a moment. "Look, hon. I sympathize, don't think I don't... but traveling the whole world looking for five people is going to take a very long time and a very large amount of money, and I don't have either of those things right now." With another sigh, he crossed his arms. "I'm sorry, but I can't help you."

Sunset's ears folded back as her confidence faltered. If Tank wouldn't help her, it wasn't terribly likely anyone else would, either. If she had to do this on her own, it could be years before she was ready to even set out looking for them...

"Oh, pish posh! Of course you can!"

Tank blinked. "Uh. Doc, what?"

Mobius stood up and pressed a button on a nearby radio. "Bring it in, please."

"Right, uh, right away sir," came the radio's slightly muffled reply.

"My boy," Mobius began as he turned back to Tank, "if the tale these girls tell us is true, we are at the forefront of a phenomenon bigger than any in recorded history, and I believe their presence will be required for us to get to the bottom of things! As such, Singularity Labs is prepared to offer you a most handsome commission for retrieving them safely."

Twilight raised a hand to her cheek. "Wait, but... weren't you just going on about how dangerous it'll be?"

"Oh, I make no illusions about that," said Mobius. "Scientific breakthrough is rarely without risk! A fellow scientist like yourself should be familiar with that, I would imagine."

Twilight bit her lip as the incident at the Friendship Games resurfaced in her mind. "More than you know..."

If Mobius noticed the melancholy in Twilight's voice, he gave no indication of it.

"So, uh." Tank put a hand on his hip. "Exactly how 'handsome' are we talking here?"

Mobius smiled as an attendant entered the room and placed a fabric bag on the table before backing up. "Have a look for yourself!"

Sunset leaned over the table for a better look as Tank opened the bag and peered inside.

He gulped. "Yeah, that... is a very large amount of money."

Sunset's eyes widened at the contents, a multitude of brilliant, finely cut gems in a variety of colors. Each one appeared to display a number when viewed at a certain angle. This was their currency, then? The largest denomination by far were the colorless ones she assumed to be diamonds, more numerous by far than any of the colored ones.

"Our offer is this," said Mobius. "There hundred thousand up front, plus another hundred thousand upon the safe return of each of the first four girls. The last will be another three hundred thousand."

"...Dude." Tank stared into the bag. "You're... literally offering me a million gems."

Penny crossed her arms. "Uncle, you had better be absolutely certain about this. I'm sure I don't need to remind you how tight our budget is this year."

"That won't be a concern for long once I start sending reports on all this to our members on the Council," said Mobius. "And, I might clarify, that offer is for both of you together," he added with a look at Sunset.

Sunset shook her head. "I don't care about the money. We can spend my half on whatever we need for the job."

Mobius grinned. "So what do you say, my boy? Think about it - your decision here today just might make history!"

Tank stared a moment longer at the bag of gems in front of him before turning to Sunset, her face hardened with determination.

He shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

Sunset's shoulders slumped as she let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.

"Splendid!" Mobius beamed, his pure white eyes practically sparkling with excitement.

"So what happens now?" asked Twilight.

"We need to look for clues before we can begin the search in earnest," explained Penny. "It won't do to go wandering willy-nilly. Singularity is part of a network of laboratories I can call on for information; I plan to gather and catalogue as much local news from them as I can."

"The sudden appearance of brightly-colored teenage girls with wings and pony ears must have made a splash somewhere or other," said Tank.

Twilight perked up. "Oh, I'd be happy to help with that!"

Penny nodded. "I was hoping you would."

Tank turned to Sunset. "Meanwhile, I'm going to head into town and get you some gear with our down payment. You're going to learn how to fight."

Sunset nodded. She didn't relish the prospect by any stretch of the imagination, but she would stand by her decision - if her friends needed her, she would do everything in her power to save them.

"But we should start on all this tomorrow," said Penny. "You two have had a rather trying time of things, I'd imagine. Let me show you all to your rooms so you can get some rest."

Sunset rubbed her neck idly. "As much as I'd like to get started right away, that car trip wasn't exactly relaxing..."

Penny turned to Mobius. "You, meanwhile, have work of your own to do. Once she hears news of anomalous behavior from the portals, the prime minister is going to want an official statement from the lab, and it would be in our best interest to have something prepared ahead of time."

"Too right, you are," agreed the doctor. "No time to waste!"

With that, he scurried out the door and down the hall.

"That should keep him busy for a while," said Penny. "Now then, let me get you two set up over in the guest quarters. There should be plenty of rooms next to the one we gave Twilight..."

*******

Sunset stared down at the plain white pajamas she had been issued, finding herself impressed that they were genuinely comfortable.

The term "research campus" she had heard bandied about earlier that day suddenly seemed rather apt; outfitted as its facilities were for daily living, Singularity felt very much like a well-stocked university, albeit with significantly fewer lecture halls. It made enough sense in hindsight; the place was a few miles out from the nearest actual town, having been built around a naturally occurring portal, so such amenities were far too useful not to have on-site.

Her gaze shifted to the night sky out the window. She hadn't noticed the sun setting; as far as she could tell, it had just gradually grown darker over time until the stars came out. She made a mental note to ask someone about that later, as pondering it on her own was making her shudder a bit. This wasn't just a different planet or anything like that (although that would have been plenty enough to give her pause); it was a completely different... dimension? universe? plane of reality? Whatever she wanted to call it, it operated under very different rules than she was used to.

Granted, she was less of a stranger to the concept than most. She had done it once already when she found a way to escape Equestria, but if anything, her foreknowledge only made things more frightening. The context could hardly have been more different; she had been working alone before, for one... and having done at the very least a modicum of research beforehand, not only did she have a fair idea of what to expect from the other world, but she had also maintained a degree of control over her movement to and from it. None of those things were true here.

If that scenario had been like stepping into a wind tunnel, this was more like getting swept up in a hurricane.

She shuddered again.

Contrary to her earlier complaint, she had ended up spending most of the afternoon looking around the facilities of Singularity Labs and answering curious questions from the scientists. While she and Twilight had been reassured that they were by no means being held against their will, they were strongly advised not to leave the facility proper. It was a recommendation Sunset had little trouble taking - where would she even go, and to what end? - but it meant that for the time being there was little else for her to do with her free time.

Unfortunately, though answering questions all day had left her plenty tired, she found herself unsure if she was actually ready to sleep. Instead, she quietly opened her door and poked her head out into the hallway.

The building was predictably quiet this late at night. Twilight was in the room adjacent to hers, and Tank had been given the one opposite, across the hall.

Would either of them even be awake?

Sunset crept quietly over to Tank's door and knocked. A few seconds later, it opened.

"Oh - Sunset?" Tank blinked. "I figured you'd be asleep by now. Everything alright?"

"Yeah, no, uh. Everything's fine," said Sunset, running a hand through her ludicrously long hair. "Just... not quite ready for bed yet, I guess."

Tank took a step back, opening the door further as he did. "Did you want to come in?"

It felt odd to be entering a guy's room late at night, but Sunset stepped inside nonetheless. As Tank closed the door behind her, she realized this was the first time she'd seen him outside of his armor, which was propped up against the wall next to the desk. Instead, he was wearing just a green t-shirt and shorts, which had a side effect of making the scarring on his cheek much more prominent. Sunset had made a point of not bringing it up in case it turned out to be a sensitive subject, but now she could see that it stretched much further than she expected - not only down his neck but over the collarbone, leading out of sight beneath his shirt. What could have left a scar that big?

She shook her head. It really wasn't important right now.

Tank took a seat on the bed and motioned for Sunset to take the chair at the desk. "Nervous?"

Sunset held up her hair with one arm for a moment as she took her seat. "At the risk of implying I haven't been ever since I woke up in a crater on an alien world? Yeah, I am."

Tank chuckled. "Fair enough. I guess I'd probably be more worried if you weren't."

Sunset tilted her head. "Have you ever done anything like this before?"

"You mean, taking on a rescue mission? Sure, a few times." Tank leaned back, propping himself up with his arms. "But nothing on a scale anywhere close to this. Doc wasn't kidding when he said your friends could have ended up in some really scary places."

Sunset busied herself with plucking a couple of bright red hairs off her pajama pants instead of replying.

"...Let me level with you for a minute, Sunset." Tank sat up. "Nexus is a large and dangerous world, and it's likely going to take us a long time to find all your friends. There is every chance that we won't be able to bring them all back alive, and you need to be prepared for it if we find out we were too late."

A chill ran through Sunset's body, causing her to shiver. Like Twilight, she had been doing her best to keep her thoughts away from the heavier implications of their situation, but she knew she was going to have to address it eventually. She had faith in them, of course she did... but anytime they had been in danger in the past, they had gotten through it by working together and relying on one another.

Separated as they were... she was a lot less confident.

"I know," she said finally, her fists pressed firmly into her thighs as she spoke. "But I'm not giving up on them, no matter what. I owe them that much."

"There's that spirit again." Tank smirked. "Still not good enough all by itself... but it just might pull you out of a dark spot someday. Never let go of it."

Sunset nodded, but said nothing else. A moment of quiet passed between them.

"Well, thanks for that, I guess. Sorry if I disturbed you or anything," Sunset said finally as she stood up. "I'm gonna go see how Twilight is doing."

Tank rose to his feet as well. "No, no, you're fine. Just remember to get some sleep, alright?"

"Of course." Sunset made for the door, but stopped. "Oh, I almost forgot. Tank?"

"What's up?"

Sunset turned to him and smiled. "Thanks for your help."

Tank shrugged slightly, smirking again. "Hey, don't give me too much credit. You saw how much we're getting paid for this, right?"

Sunset rolled her eyes. "I meant in general, but sure, that too."

Tank seemed to hesitate for a moment. Taking a step forward, he held out his hand, his smile more genuine than usual. Sunset looked down at it for a moment and smirked as she too stepped forward, gently wrapping her arms around him. Caught off guard, he tensed for a moment, but his smile soon resurfaced as he returned the hug.

The two waved to each other as Sunset closed the door behind her on her way out.

She soon found herself staring at Twilight's door. A part of her felt a little guilty for hoping her friend was still awake when she should really be getting some sleep, but she knocked nonetheless. A few seconds later, a pair of purple eyes peeked out at her from behind the door.

"Sunset? What are you doing up?" asked Twilight.

Sunset crossed her arms. "I could ask you the same thing."

Twilight pulled the door the rest of the way open. As Sunset stepped inside, she glanced over the desk in the corner, which featured a pair of open textbooks and some scrap paper covered in notes.

Sunset blinked, raising a suspicious eyebrow. "Wait, you... didn't somehow bring your homework with you, did you?"

"No, of course not!" Twilight shook her head. "I'm working on translating my formulas for the scientists here so they can adapt the principles behind my magic sensor to their technology. They think it might help us figure out what happened with the portal."

"And did they tell you they needed this by tomorrow morning?"

Twilight's ears drooped. "Well... not exactly..."

Sunset climbed onto Twilight's bed and sat with her back against the wall. "Then I doubt they meant for you to lose sleep over it."

"But this is really important," insisted Twilight, her wings fluttering as she spoke. "They came to me for help even though I barely understand what's going on, and I don't want them to think I'm not taking it seriously."

"My statement still stands, though," said Sunset. "You won't be much help to them if you're dead on your feet tomorrow, now will you?"

Twilight bit her lip and looked over at the books on her desk, a thought suddenly surfacing in her mind. "Hey, I could say the same to you. Aren't you supposed to start training tomorrow?"

Sunset rubbed the back of her head. "Well, yeah, but..."

Twilight smiled softly. "You're nervous."

Sunset huffed. "Of course I am. Who wouldn't be?"

"That's my point." Twilight climbed onto the bed and took a seat next to Sunset, a yawn escaping before she could continue. "Well, that and... you're not alone."

Sunset sighed, her gaze drifting to the ceiling. Sure, she was nervous about the prospect of having to fight without all her friends by her side (and using a real weapon to boot), but the more she thought about it, a part of her relished the thought of finally being able to do something about the situation. The prospect of going from being largely helpless to having at least some control over her situation was reassuring.

She gasped as something heavy fell onto her shoulder. Warmth filled Sunset's cheeks as she realized it was Twilight; without a problem in front of her to solve, the day had finally caught up with the poor girl, already out like a light.

Immediately, Sunset began pondering how to sneak away without disturbing her friend, but she was interrupted by a yawn of her own. To be fair, she decided... if Twilight wasn't bothered, how much did it really matter?

In moments, her head rested atop Twilight's, the both of them sound asleep.

Previous Chapter

To be continued on Fimfiction!

[venus-strikes-again]

Adan Chapter One

Adan watches from his cage as scientists walk past him.  

He sighs, resting his white feathery cheek against the cool steel bars. He didn’t know why he hatched here; he just knew he’s been here since he broke out of his egg heaven. Based on what the other half mages would talk about; this place must have been birthed by the Dark Forest itself. Scientists inject you with medications, you either live enduring the pain, or you die.

Adan’s emotions about this were jumbled up. He wants to die, yet he wants to leave and see this ‘Mystic Island’ everyone talks about. They speak of its beauty.

Though he could hardly ask anyone. Most of them try to avoid him. It’s not like he acts like a loner or looks scary. He actually looks quite cute with his small height and innocent looking forest green eyes.  It’s mostly because he’s the only male who didn’t have a single male part. He didn’t even have the general chest of a male. Scientists, of course, have taken interest in this, much to his discomfort.

~    ~     ~

Adan watches as a mother tries to prevent a scientist from taking her pup. The child shrieks and moves more under their mother to avoid the human’s gloved hands. The female snaps her jaws at the monstrous arms.

The scientist seems to have had enough since he grabs a syringe from his lab coat pocket and stabs the point into the female’s shoulder. She wobbles a bit before swaying onto her side.

The pup yips in fear as it’s roughly picked up.

Adan sighs. The day as usual. In the corner of his eye, he saw a different scientist coming over to his cage. He pushes a cart over, it looks like a medical cart that someone might push patients on. However, there are tools on this cart.

The half mage sighs, he knows what this meant. He wishes they’d do normal experiments on him, not these disgusting tests.  The human opens the cage and grabs him with a gloved hand. Adan didn’t protest, just looks anywhere but at the stupid person.

~    ~    ~

The boy presses his body against the metal bars, trying to cool the heat blasting through his body. Almost going to the point of driving him mad.  

His eyelids shut silently as a piercing scream broke through the barrier of quiet. Creatures around him made startled sounds.

“Mama, what was that…?”

“I don’t know honestly...”

His face gently thumps against the bars as he fades out like a thunderstorm causing a blackout.

~    ~    ~

“You stupid thing! Wake up!” a gruff voice yells at him.

Adan’s green eyes flutter open. He suddenly scrunches them. His head felt very hot.

“This one looks like it has a fever! What should we do?” the man in a military outfit shouts, turning his head to the side.

“What we always do!”

The man in front of the cage went to open it but got the shock of his life. Adan shoots fire from his flipper, making the male jump back in shock. The short half-mage slams against the damaged part of the cage. The front of the metal fell to the floor with a crashing sound. Adan lost his balance and went down too.

He got up and starts to run, his heart racing rapidly. It took a while for the human to realize Adan’s escape attempt.

“Damn creature.”

Adan could feel shocked eyes on him.

Then came the chanting of small pups and hatchlings, “Go! Go!”

What does it look like I’m doing? he thinks rolling his green eyes.

“Slide in ventrem tuum!” a penguin’s voice shouts at him.

He knows what she said, the boy just didn’t understand how it would help him. But, he throws himself on his stomach and slides across the floor, leaving the officer far behind. The caged up creatures flew by as he sped down the hall.

He almost yells out as a dark gray fin grabbed his shoulder and pulled him into a cold and small space.

“Shush!” the flipper pulls again.

Adan personally didn’t want to deal with the humans so he obliges with the stranger, who pulls him more into the limited space. Adan could move around easily, but the other grunts and mutters in irritation as his body rubs against the iron walls around them.

“Where are we?” the half-breed inquiries.

“An air-vent.”

Adan warily glances at the other boy. The flipper’s owner has dark gray back feathers, white front feathers, and possibly a light leaden colored beak, but Adan couldn’t see his feet. The steel half mage’s deep blue eyes weren’t looking at him.

“I think I could’ve made it.”

“No, soldiers are everywhere. Someone would’ve caught you.” the other utters, releasing the boy’s shoulder.

“How long have you been in here…uh…” Adan pauses, realizing he didn’t know the other’s name.

“Benson. Thirty minutes, I think.” a smile graces his gray beak. “So, how long have you been in this hell…”

“Adan.”

“Right, Adan.”

“My whole life basically, I was born here.”

“Pity.” the other replies with a friendly grin.

“What were you doing here anyway?” Adan asks, pushing his left flipper against one of the iron walls.

“There’s an exit in here that leads outside,” Benson said, pointing his flipper behind him.

The half-breed blinks. The way out had always been in an air vent.

“No one’s noticed it before?”

“Nope.” Benson knocks lightly on the walls then turns around and starts squeezing through the tight space.

Adan stares after him, it must’ve been twenty minutes before he heard the older’s voice. “You coming or what?”

The rare half mage breathes deeply then climbs where Benson had gone.

~    ~    ~

He felt his body hesitate as he crawls to the edge where the vent ends. Maybe it’s because of the tall unfamiliar yellow grass.

“It’s not going to bite you,” Benson remarks.

Adan takes a deep breath and jumps, getting swallowed by the grassland below.  “Where are we?” the boy asks, clenching his beak softly as he shivers.

“Africa.” the steel half-mage answers with a frown. He rubs his forehead with a deep sigh, “This is a problem.”

“Why?” Adan inquiries.

“There’s usually mystical stones at the bottom of water places. Africa does a have a drinking hole, but no stones.”

“Was it too noticeable?”

“No, because the animals will turn mystical if they drink the water.”

“Oh.” the boy half-mage said, having a blank look on his face.

Benson sighs folding his flippers across his chest.

“What do the stones have to do with anything?”

“Touching them takes mages to Mystic Island.”

“Oh.”

Benson looks at him. “Can you teleport?”

“I don’t know.”

“Great.” the other grumps.

“...Can you?”

“I don’t like to.”

Adan frowns. “How will we get to the island then?”

“I don’t know.”

“Swim?”

“Do you have any idea how far away it is?” the steel half-mage pauses. “But we could try getting on a boat that takes us slightly closer to Mystic Island.” Benson halts. “We’d have to be careful to not be caught by humans. The last thing I’d want is to end up back there.” He brushes some feathers out of his eyes. “Well, we better go find a boat.”

Adan didn’t know how Benson expects to find a boat in such a grassy place.

~    ~    ~

“Well I found a boat,” he announces, poking his head out of the yellow grass.

“Really?”

“It’s a family in a motor boat.”

Adan raises his brow. “So?”

“So? They have a little girl, who is holding a stuffed animal dog.”

“So what?”

The steel half-breed rolls his eyes even though Adan couldn’t see him. “You don’t know much about transformation, do you?”

“No.”

“It’s easy, just look at something you want to transform into or imagine it and you transform.” Benson grabs the younger’s flipper and pulls him next to him.

A tan skin colored girl with red hair hugs a white stuffed dog while watching her parents put their stuff in the boat. She wears a white T-shirt and yellow skirt.

“What if I turn into a stuffed animal?” Adan frowns.

The other chuckles. “You won’t.”

The boy sighs but closes his eyes and tried his hardest to transform. He yells out as he suddenly feels himself fall on his front. Adan whines in pain.

“Look at that, you did it.”

The small half mage looks up to see a gray puppy looking down at him.

“You’re really small, even for a pup,” Benson comments, raising an eyebrow.

“I’ve always been small,” Adan said, folding his ears back. This reaction made him scrunch his nose. “This feels weird.”

“It’ll just be until we reach Australia.”  

The boy sighs before pushing himself on his new paws.

“Just bark and everything will be fine.”

“Bark?”

Benson’s lips curl up in a smile. “Yeah, like this.”

Right before the small half-breed’s eyes, the boy ran up onto the white planks and barks. Adan timidly crawls after him and whimpers. The girl squeals and kneels to get level with them. “Puppies!”

“Oh no.” her mother whispers under her breath.

“Can we take them with?”

“What are dogs even doing in a place like this?” she whispers as her husband steps out of the boat.

“They might’ve been left behind by someone.” he notes as he looks downward at the small animals.

“Please, can we take them?”

“You understand we’ll be dropping them off at the Australian dog pound, right?”

The small child smiles. “As long as they’re not alone here.” she shoves her toy to her father and then carefully picked up Adan.

He almost yelps out but keeps his mouth shut. She set him in the boat then went back to get Benson, she put him in the boat too. The girl dances around a bit, almost falling on her face when her sandal gets caught in a space of the white planks. But, her father grabs her arm and lifts her into the boat along with her toy. Adan perks up his ears as he hears the motor running.

The boat rides the waves for hours until the sky fills with dark colors. The man driving has to park the boat in a hidden area. A plastic covering pins to each corner to hide them all. Once all the humans are asleep, Benson crawls next to Adan.

“It might take a really long time before we get to where we need to go.” he whispers.

Adan yawns and lowers himself on his side and shut his dark blue eyelids.

The rest of the trip includes eating, drinking, the girl cuddling Adan, and sleeping.

“I think we’re almost there. So when you get on dry land, run like hell.” Benson whispers to him one night.

The sunlight dances upon the ocean waves as the boat flies across the water. Adan looks at the hard floor of the boat and pushed his paws at the girl’s arms. But, she didn’t put him down. He grows more anxious as they near the dock. As soon they got closer to the wooden planks, Benson shoots up onto the dock and runs like the wind. Adan had been so shocked he almost yells after him.

The girl’s face falls. “Aw, he ran away.”

The father steps out of the boat. “I guess he couldn’t wait anymore.” he loads off their stuff while his wife and daughter went to drop off Adan at the pound.

“Are you sure?” his lover asks.

“Yeah, I still got to rent a car for us and the pound should be nearby.”

The closer he gets to the building, the more panicked his struggling became. The girl’s mother has to carry him since he almost slips out of the child’s small arms. Despite his determination to escape, one of the women working there grab him from the girl’s parent.

The child waves him goodbye sadly. “Bye, bye puppy.”

Before he knows it, he gets held in a small metal cage.

Again. he mentally sighs.

Adan covers his eyes as a dark gray flash lit up the room. When he looks again, Benson stands on the floor. His white face held a bit of green tint.

“I hate teleporting.” he mutters.

Then he glares right at the younger’s cage. “You dumb fuck, why didn’t you follow me?”

“How do I run when a little girl is holding me?” Adan frowns.

“By jumping or biting.”

“That’s kinda mean, plus, she was holding me pretty tightly.”

Benson sighs. “Fine, you get off easy.” he jumps up and punches the lock.

His flipper went right through. Adan yelps, it makes him shift back to his normal form. Benson pulls and smashes the cage until there’s a big enough hole. He lets go and lands on the floor.

The boy looks down. “This is really high.”

Benson sighs. “Will you jump if I catch you?”

“You literally ran off without me and you expect me to believe that you’ll catch me?”

“That was an accident.”

A dog barks making Adan leap. Benson didn’t even stumble when he catches him. The older boy set him down on his feet.

“We’ll have to teleport out since we don’t need to be here.”

He grabs Adan’s shoulder and mutters something under his breath. A flash of gray light blinds the younger. When he could finally see, Benson’s talking to a mage with screamin’ green fur and a single red dot on each of its ears, forehead, right cheek, chin, left front paw, left back leg and tail.

It moves its wings in numerous directions, its tan eyes are narrowed dangerously. They clearly weren’t happy with what Benson said.

“Dude seriously? This is an emergency!”

The mage stamped its paw angrily.

Benson sighs then looks at Adan. “There goes plan B.”

“What did they say?”

“Stuff about how I’m a cocky jerk and that I have no respect for females.”

Adan frowns. “What was plan B anyway?”

The older boy huffs. “To get his wife to teleport us, but she’s pregnant so apparently I can’t ask her.” Benson paces a bit. “So we need another way to get to Mystic Island.”

“We could transform into a flying form?”

Benson quirks his brow. “You need to see it to transform.” he looks around. “And by the looks of it, birds aren’t around right now.” he gazes at the glaring silent mage. “But it couldn’t hurt to look.”

Adan follows as the other begins to walk forward.

~    ~     ~

“My feet want to die,” Adan complains as he drags his feet.

White light shone on his dark blue feathers, gleaming in the glow.

“There’s nowhere to sleep.” Benson grumps.

“And I think my stomach is growling.”

The half-steel mage listens, but it didn’t sound like a stomach. He turns his head to look behind him. The growling had stopped. His dark blue eyes are staring into yellow dingo eyes. It’s dark to see its fur color, but he clearly saw it lift its head and howl. Adan almost turns around with a confused look painted on his features, but Benson grabs his flipper and ran.

“Really? My feet hurt!” the boy whines.

“Your feet will be the least of your worries if you don’t run!” Benson couldn’t even feel his feet; he could only think to run. We’re dead if they catch us!

He stops suddenly and lets go of Adan.

“O...okay. I got an idea, you dig a hole and hide in it. I’ll try to get them off our tails.”

The boy has a feeling there’s no room for argument in this. He did what the other said. He uneasily leans back against the dirt as he listens to Benson run off.

A few minutes he yelps as he feels something crawl on his shoulder. He looks over quickly, only to see it’s just sand brushing past his feathers, touching the skin underneath. He breathes out in relief. But his calmness evaporates when he couldn’t hear Benson coming back. His heart pounds loudly and he hears it in his ear holes. The more he waits, the much more he trembles. Tears threaten to spill out of his green eyes.

He freezes up as he hears footsteps nearing the hole. His heart hammers against his ribs, his soul screams. He wraps his flippers around himself, lowers his head and shut his eyes tightly. He thinks he might pass out as he hears the steps stop.

“Adan? You can come out now.”

The boy lifts his eyelids and shakily stands up. He tries to climb out but he keeps slipping. Benson sighs then reaches down and pulls Adan out by the flipper.

“I found a bush we can sleep in and stuff.” the older tiredly utters.

Adan follows him, shaking violently.

~     ~     ~

Benson shook his shoulder lazily. “Adan, wake up. I found a bird.”

The boy tiredly wakes up and rubs his eyes. He brought his gaze up. A bird flies around, it has a gray back and a rosy pink head along with its underparts.

“What is it?”

“A galah.”

Adan yawns, but closes his eyes and focuses. After a few seconds, he blinks his grass colored orbs open. He flaps his wings in shock.

“Why does everything look better?”

The bird above looks down at him.

Benson clenches his beak in an uneasy way. “It’s just how they see.” he closes his eyes and within seconds, he’s a dark gray galah. He shoots to the sky. “We might want to practice flying before setting off.”

Adan jumps and moves his wings up and down. He goes awkwardly to the right.

“No.”

Then to the left.

“No, up.”

The boy huffs and puffs as they redo it over and over.

Benson smiles when the younger finally flies up next to him.

“Get ready, it’s going to be a long journey.”

Adan’s sure the trip would wear his wings out, but the air feels nice on his feathers.

When one of them got tired of flying, they’d rest on the others back. Then they’d get off and they would switch.

~    ~    ~

Adan sighs as dark trees enter his vision. “Where is this?”

Benson didn’t answer until their feet brush against some dark dirt.  “Oh no,” the other groans as he reverts to his half-breed form.

“What’s wrong?” Adan asks, copying Benson. He shivers as he gazes at the black plants towering over them.

“We’re on the wrong side of the island.”

“That explains why it’s so creepy.”

“The scenery isn’t the problem.” the older boy gulps, clenching his flippers.

Adan shudders then starts walking forward. Benson shortly follows. He has his flippers crossed over his chest. Adan looks at him with a raised brow. The half-steel mage suddenly freezes, Adan looks forward. A black creature with pitch night wings and soulless oil eyes were looking at them. Its white teeth were pulled back in a snarl.

“W-what is that?”

“A demon.” Benson breathes before the monster jumps at them hissing fiercely.

It stops as a red light caught it. The demon slashes its claws trying to get at them. The crimson aura flings it away. It shakily gets onto its paws and runs off. Adan looks relieved while terror fills Benson’s eyes. A female penguin with a green cloth wrapped around her steps out of the shadows, red lights dances from her left flipper.

She smiles motherly like at Adan, “Those demons can be a real bother can’t they dearie?”

Adan couldn’t help but notice her smile didn’t reach her eyes. Benson forces a smile, placing a flipper on the boy’s shoulder. “Thank you miss, but we must be on our way.”

“Why leaving so soon?”

“Well, we got to get to the other side of Mystic Island.”

Adan freezes as his legs wouldn’t move when he tries to walk.

“You can’t be in that much of a hurry.”

“B...Benson. I can’t move.” Adan starts breathing fast as he feels something tugging at his soul.

The other shoots daggers at the female bird. “Let him go.”

“S...she’s not even touching me.” the boy whimpers.

“Yes, she is.” Benson snarls watching sadistic glee enter the illusion penguin’s eyes.

The half-breed jumps and tackles the female to the ground. Adan gasps, feeling control return to his legs. Benson’s next to him in a second grabs his flipper and starts to run.

“You’ll never survive in this hell forest!” the penguin shouts from behind them.

As they pass bushes, Adan swears he could hear growling and saw red gleaming eyes peering at them from behind dark green leaves. Benson slows down as his energy starts to run out.

“Oh my, oh my, it’s been so long since I’ve seen guys around here.”

Benson’s horrified gaze said to not look at the speaker. But, curiosity overwhelms him and he looks behind him. His face burns so much, redness could be visible from under his white feathers. He’s seen lots of nude animals, but not this kind of female. She leans against a tree in a suggestive way. Benson looks away, blushing also.

“See something you like boys?”

“I-I’m so sorry, we’re just passing through.”

“You look like you’ve traveled such a long way.” a voice speaks from behind them and Benson practically jumps as a penguin’s flippers wraps around him. “We could help you rub the tension off.”

“Then you could pay us with a little breeding.” the first female winks.

Adan’s beak drops and the words left before he could even process them. “I have no male part!” and his face went to an even darker shade of red as the girl looks surprised at him.

Then she smiles exotically. “Oh, that’s not much of a problem. Pleasure can still happen.”

Images of the experiments burn in his mind. He clenches his beak and fire lit up on his flippers.

Her sultry smile melts into a cruel grin. “Oh, don’t be like that. It won’t hurt.”

Adan positions, ready to defend himself but something hard smacks upside his head and he blacks out before he can fall.

                                                                                              ~    ~     ~

Adan holds his head as he opens his eyes. He looks around, he’s laying on light brown dirt and different color lights are around him like bars. They look like…

“Illusions.”

Adan looks toward the voice. Benson looks out between the spaces.

“Illusions?”

“Yeah, they have illusion penguin children here. Though the rainbow penguins are committing latin somnium abuse.”

Adan blinks, rubbing the sore area on his head. “What?”

Benson sighs. “It’s when you kidnap and abuse an illusion penguin for selfish reasons. It’s illegal.”

Adan winces as he watches a rainbow penguin slap an illusion penguin chick who has to be five years old. Benson grabs his flipper and turns him away. “Don’t watch that. It’s painful enough.”

Adan slumps. “So why are we here?”

The older scoffs. “I’ve lost count how many of them walked up to me and asked if I wanted to breed,” he grumbles. “I didn’t even come for sex. And I didn’t want to do it in front of kids, and you won’t believe what she said to me.”

The boy blinks.

“They don’t count as penguin, or any living creature.” the other boy mocks as quietly as he can.

Adan frowns at how cold these girls are. He turns his gaze to the illusion bars. Adan spots a small space and fires a blast of flames from the tips of his flippers. Some illusion penguins squeak and jump a bit. The illusions around them drop.

Adan and Benson run for it, not wasting a moment.

The boy finds himself coming to a halt as someone grabs his flipper. He thrusts his fin up and a sparking fireball flies into his pursuer’s face. The rainbow penguin screams and backs away, holding her face. She lets go of someone else, not just him.

A five-year-old chick looks up at him. He came about up to his hip.

~    ~    ~

Benson frowns as he looks behind him. He clenches his beak gently as he waits for the half-breed. The fifteen teenager glares at the blackish dirt hole. Benson nearly jumps back as Adan pops out. Then his beak fell into a frown. The boy carried something on his back.

“Adan, did you-“

“Later.” the other speaks quickly and hurries past him in a careful manner.

Benson sighs then follows him.

~    ~    ~

Adan blinks as a gray flipper tugs at his shoulder.

“Why did you steal an illusion penguin?”

“I couldn’t just leave him there.”

The older sighs. “I guess we could try taking him to the adoption center. But, I don’t think they’ll take him in.”

The steel half-mage inches toward the edge of the forest. A penguin with back yellow feathers which has a bunch of old gold dots decorating it, white front feathers, clothed in pink clothes, beak a sandy color, and so are their feet. The bird pulls along a cart full with different color shirts and shorts.

Adan looks with him. “What is that penguin doing?”

“Selling clothes,” Benson answers.

“Do we need any?” Adan questions, eyeing the pink clothes.

“It’s literally a crime to walk on the other side of the island naked. Unless if you have a sex-based job.”

When the half-mage starts walking away with the cart, Benson’s eyes glow gray and his magic float over two sets of clothes. Adan has to set down the kid he clutched to squeeze into the clothes. Benson has to help him a bit.

“Okay, I just have to stop by my house to get a paper and a pencil then you can take the kid to the center.”

Adan raises his brow. “Why?”

“So you know my address.”

“Oh.”

The rare half-mage waits outside the other’s house. Benson bursts out and hands him a slip of paper. Then Adan awkwardly walks off.

~     ~     ~

He really did try to give the little hatchling a home. He did find the adoption center, but they refuse to take him.

“No! We won’t take in such a monstrous creature!”

Adan grimaces as he went out the red wooden door. He’s pretty much a baby. He couldn’t hurt anyone.

The boy sighs as he finds himself in front of Benson’s house. He raises his flipper and knocks on the white oval door. The door swings open, the steel half-breed leans in the doorway.

“They didn’t want him, huh?”

“No,” Adan grumbles.

The other sighs and holds the door wider. “I guess you two will have to live here in the meantime.”

“You sure?” the boy inquiries, his curious green eyes looking up at him.

“I said I insist!” a peppy voice shouts from inside the house.

“My aunt insisted.” Benson chuckles.

Adan quietly walks in. The child in his flippers twists his body around to gaze around at the pearl colored room. There’s a sofa in the center with a TV attached to the wall. A cream coffee table placed in front of the sofa.

A white feathered penguin emerges from a different location. She wore a dark blue shirt with same tinted sports shorts.

“Hello dearies, so glad to see survivors from that dreadful military base.” she grins, skipping over to Adan to pat his head and pinch the illusion penguin’s cheeks.

Then she waltzes back where she came from.

“She’s friendly.” Adan utters, turning to Benson.

“Friendly crazy.”

“I heard that.” the female sings from where she’s located.

The steel half-mage rolls his eyes.

A few days later the aunt sits on a stool next to the bed the illusion bird child lays in. She’s reading him a story. “Then everyone-“ the psychic half-breed frowns as Adan reaches over and covers the kid’s ear holes. “Oh come now.” she huffs.

“He’s five.” the boy mutters.

“Yeah aunt, don’t ruin any innocence he might have left,” Benson comments from the doorway.

“You’re all naïve children!” the aunt puffs, putting the book back on its shelf. “Saniya was a bit naïve and I never heard from her again!”

Adan raises his brow at his friend.

“She was a friend of my aunt.”

“I hope she didn’t get captured, she was pregnant last time I saw her.” the psychic half-mage still went on.