#keepin up the villain act

[bearratic]

Rembering how Shigaraki had ordered him to stay out of sight at first, mentioning how shifty Midoriya can be. He did as was asked, propped up on the metal bar of the foundation of the warehouse he stays still and observes. Stealth was no specialty of the hero but right now the shadows are his to settle in. Cloaked in darkness he lurks over the two villains- no.. now to be named coworkers, teammates. Sharing a simple goal. Keigo had worked alongside snakes for years, he knows when to hold his tongue and obey. Though it’s been getting harder to do so, one day they’d cut it out. He’s sure of himself, thinking back to the order of the HPSC to infiltrate. An offer he could not refuse, that’s what they had called it. But that was no offer. It was a command. Besides Endeavor he hadn’t the slightest of partners, but what he lacks in strength. The other had filled. If he had been here they could’ve crushed Shigaraki, maybe even with ease. His feathers rustle him out of thought. Focus, Keigo.

The golden eyes fall on a shorter boy next to Shigaraki, the short buzz still in his wings tell him that the other is not only hostile but seems.. worried, no nervous? There were a whole lot of signs coming from the green haired boy which were for once, not easy to place. He clenches his jaw but immediately tells himself to cool it.

“Exactly, you’re perfect to show the new guy the ropes.” Sounds. Well.. time to make an entrance. As he swoops down he stops just before landing, his broad wingspan taking up space in an instant as the gush of wind roars through the empty warehouse. It creaks and howls as if it’s alive.

For a moment, a second, the hero is met with a sea of darkness. A black and green cloud, no storm was heading towards him “Deku, heel.” Was all that was said by the Decay user before all sound died down once again. The storm disappearing just as fast as it had mended into nothingness.

The undercover hero tilts his head, he’d heard of Izuku Midoriya before. Defected UA student turned criminal, but that doesn’t just happen does it? What reason’s could a teen like him have to ditch a dream for a life of pain. It had been on the HPSC’s radar and they were fools not to go after it earlier. Infiltrate, gather and save. Isn’t that what Hawks is used for? If only they could see this kid now, they’d cry differently. His sharp golden eyes look over the pair of villains, both younger than himself in a shocking turn of events. Both filled with rage. He can do nothing but match their intensity. He knows how it is to be locked up in a cage. For neither a Hound nor a Hawk a good outcome to life but often the start.

“I know it’s probably not what you’ve been waiting for, Midoriya, but right now you’ve got the strings in hand.” He says, “I won’t slow you down.” He adds, Keigo might be speaking in riddles but he can see it in the glint of the boy’s eyes, he knows who he is. Though, it seems like he has forgotten who he himself, is.

@bearratic

📗 When called upon with little information, Deku's nerves heighten every sense as he expected the worse: The League finding out. He kept himself isolated and silent as a grave to prevent any chance of his plan discovered.

Approaching the massive warehouse, edges peeling and structure rusted from neglect, he wondered what did Shigaraki mean by come here prepared for a meeting? He did not like the knot settling in his stomach as he carefully pushed open one of the doors, waiting for Danger Sense to warn him of a trap. Even as none came, he still didn't breathe any easier.

"Right on time as always."

Jade gaze trailed over to the voice of his leader, lounging upon a few stacked boxes, severed hand gracing his face as usual. Deku remained in place as the door slowly closed behind him. A quick scanned of his surroundings resulted in nothing in the clearly abandoned hanger, save for Shigaraki.

"Come."

Like the loyal hound he presented himself to be, Deku obeyed though his mask hid his gritted teeth, calmly approaching his master. Danger Sense acted up with every footstep, walking through a minefield, waiting for one to go off by one wrong move. He stopped once close enough but something kept tugging at him to look above. Focus fixated on Shigaraki though.

"You spend a lot of time by yourself. That's not good for you." A sigh. "So we've decided to get you a partner."

"A what?" It sounded more like a spy to keep watch on him. Damnit! "I have not had trouble with success on my own."

"Exactly. You're perfect to show the new guy the ropes."

A growl nearly slipped if not for another pang, like a hand urging him to look up with a hold of his chin, striking his head. Once it came again, he could not ignore and faced upwards, catching a winged figure in the rafters. Blackwhip immediately unraveled, tendrils snarling around his body, ready to tear down whom ever-- Wait. Red feathers? Was that... Hawks? The number two hero?

"Deku, heel."

[normal-nightmare]

Yknow what I really want?? UTRH era jaydick, specifically forbidden relationship (cause Dick is a vigilante/superhero and Jason is a literal crimelord anti-villain).

I feel like it'd be a ton of fun to play around with, especially as a slow burn and with an identity reveal

Like... Dick and the Red Hood somewhat consistently fighting, and more often than not, Jason tends to flirt with him. Initially it's just to throw Dick off, but he notices how Dick gets flustered every time and how adorable it is, so he keeps doing it.

And, to Dicks horror, he realizes he's catching feelings for a god damn crimelord. He's PISSED about it too, and it drives him up a wall how effective Jason's flirting is.

Maybe the first time Dick flirts back shocks Jason enough to cause him to stumble, and from there, they just keep flirting with each other. Their chases and fights are absolutely their version of play.

Maybe Jason calls Dick Dickie-bird, and this shocks Dick, revealing to Jason that he has no idea who the Red Hood is; Bruce never told him. Jason doesn't tell Dick himself. The interaction goes something like this:

"Huh, B never told you who I am?"

"What-? No. Should I know who you are??"

"Hm, that's a shame. How about you go look up what Daddy Bats was doing the night Blüdhaven got bombed? That should tell you everything you need to know."

"Why not just tell me yourself?"

"Well, I'm not just gonna tell you, that'd take the fun out of it. Besides, he's keepin' something real important from ya; i suspect you'll be pretty pissed when you find out what."

"What-??"

"Anyways, i gotta go. Crime lord business, an' all that. Toodles!"

And, well, when Dick finds out, he's devastated and angry and confused and hurt. The resulting argument between him and Bruce drives a wedge between them. Dick is also confused about his relationship with Jason; what it qualifies as, what's different between them now that Dick knows the Red Hood is his once-dead successor.

Maybe the next time they meet, it's the usual chase and fight, with Dick confused and unsure of how to tackle his feelings. It ends with Jason's helmet off, and Dick gently cradling his face with a hand, and suddenly they're kissing, the feelings and tension too much to not act upon. And before the night is over, Dick is in Jason's bed.

The ensuing conversation is heavy, but the relationship is official, if kept very, very secret, if only for Dicks sake.

[ppg-villains-defense-lawyer]

PPG Fanfic: Sins Of My Youth

Chapter 27: Strictly Business

Rating: T

Genre: Drama/Angst/Friendship

Characters: Ace, Snake, Lil Arturo, Big Billy, Bubbles, Blossom, Buttercup, Him, Sedusa

Pairings: Past Ace/Sedusa, Ace/Snake

Story Summary: The gang, now in their early 20's, have moved up in the world. Now with their own apartment, jobs, and (mostly) law-abiding lifestyle, you might even say they're redeemed. But, not all is as it seems.

As Ace grows to resent his boring, minimum-wage life and his grudge against those who put him there increases, he makes a decision that could change his and his friends' lives forever.

Link to FFN

Link to AO3

Link to Fic Playlist (one new song added)

Short Snippet down below:

"This plan of yours better work," Ace grumbled as he sat with his arms crossed on the couch in front of the former mayor's flat screen TV. "Apologizin' to the Powerpuffs? What kinda villain do you think I am?"

"You're not a villain, you're the mayor. At least as far as Townsville is concerned," Sedusa quipped. She reached over to grab the remote and turned off the TV. "And you better start acting like it if you actually want to rule Townsville."

"I took over Townsville without your help, thank you very much. I don't need your help keepin' it."

"Oh?" she raised an eyebrow. "Is that why I had to bail you and your friends out of jail?"

Ace glared at the infuriating broad, and snatched the remote out of her hands.

"Hey!"

"Let's get one thing straight. I'm in charge here. Me. Not you. This ain't gonna be like last time; I ain't some dumb kid who's gonna be wooed by cheap words and a few cleavage shots."

She glared back at him, but after a few moments her face softened as she looked him up and down. "Well, you've certainly changed, I'll give you that. The old Ace would've never snapped at me like that."

"If ya wanted the old Ace, ya shoulda thought about that before you threw me out like last week's trash."

"Who said I wanted the old Ace?"

[green-ville]

Crawled Up the Water Spout

 TW: descriptions of vi0lence, bl00d.

                                             Recluse Chapter 3

           Synopsis: They opened up a world of possibilities for her. Some would even say a multiverse. Miguel O’Hara thought she was an anomaly, and perhaps she was. She didn’t really care.

           They showed to her that there was a world where she had died, and her Peter Parker had lived. She was going to do whatever it took to get to the world, even if it meant teaming up with a villain that went by the name Scarlet Witch. 

           __________

             Her reflexes were quicker than how she acted. It was the shock that did her in. The possible hope. Green Goblin was back from the dead, did that mean her Peter could be as well?

           She had to learn, and that’s why when her bedroom wall blew up, she only covered herself instead of attacking. With her head covered she didn’t get hit there, but there had to have been a rib broken. At least one.

           He glided into her room as she propped herself up, now covered in dust and smoke. He jumped from his glider and there was shock again.

           This. . .This wasn’t the Green Goblin. The man with the green skin and long ears. With the horrible purple gnome hat. With the purple pirate boots and skin tight, unarmored body suit that was cut into shorts.

           Whatever this was? This was the Green Goblin being forced to modernize, almost.

           An armored suit of all green. With a 360 coverage mask and large eyes of glowing yellow. The mask had fangs, it had unnecessarily big ears designed into the side. It had abs imbedded into the abdominal armor.

           This was not the Green Goblin.

           “Who are you?” She asked, groggy, disoriented. Confused. Wondering if this was even real.

           The masked man jumped into a crouch right in front of her. “What, little Spider Man hasn’t told you all about me? I’m heartbroken.” He rested a hand over his heart. “I’ll get over it. Upsy daisy,” he grabbed her by the hair and pulled her up. She stumbled, crying out, bricks falling off her. “We’ll have plenty of time to learn about each other on the flight.”

           And she went along, not putting up any resistance as he forced her onto the glider, and shot them out of her blown up bedroom.

           “Spider Man won’t come,” she warned, maintaining her crouched balance with ease. He didn’t seem to process how easy she was doing it. At every sharp turn, her feet and right hand remained planted to the sharp metal of the glider. She never wavered.

           His head whipped down, glowing eyes burning. “You think you can protect him from me? You think this is my first rodeo? No. I studied him. I learned his secrets, and now,” he cackled, slow, drawn out, growing in volume. “Now, I’ve found his most prized secret! His wife! He will come, you can’t hide it, and I will kill him for killing my father.”

           She had been right. This wasn’t the Green Goblin. This was his son, Harry Osborne.

           Peter had been friends with him in high school. They grew apart when Harry went abroad to a boarding school, a punishment from his father.

           “You knew Peter,” she said as they flew towards the water line, weaving above the racing cars down below. Shouts sounded as they were spotted. They were more panicked than she was. “Do you really think he could kill your father?”

           They began to ascend, slipping away from the traffic and scaling 8 stories high without trouble. The wind blew her hair back, and at 15 stories she chilled.

           “He did,” Harry spat behind the mask. “I thought he was my friend, he pretended to be my friend! All this time he’s been pretending to be my friend!  I learned about my father’s death on the NEWSPAPERS!” He shouted. “Just like I learned about his secret identity from the newspapers. I never liked Mysterio much until he exposed him, and now, now I am eternally grateful for him showing me what the Spider Man really is. He’s a filthy liar, and you’re no better.”

           . . .

           That wasn’t adding up.

           Peter died first. She killed Green Goblin after him. And who the hell was Mysterio?

           Discretely, she grabbed a pumpkin bomb from him. It was his own stupid fault for keeping his stash right at head height.

           They swept high above a clock tower, sitting stationary in the air. The setting sun highlighted him in gold and cast her in his shadow.

           “Harry,” she began, but was cut off when his gloved hand grabbed at her throat. She held his wrist as he yanked her up, with more strength than he should’ve had. Her feet dangled freely, lungs receiving a restricted airflow. Behind her, she hid the bomb.

           His head tilted. “No. No more lies. No more waiting around. Peter will know what I felt when I learned of his death. He will be too late, just like I was.” His left hand thrusted forward, and she realized too late what was in it. It was her own fault for thinking she could be the only one hiding something behind her back. “For good measure,” he promised with that breathy laugh in his voice.

           Sharp metal pierced through her stomach, and her senses cleared, going haywire. Her pupils blew, her mouth dried, and her entire body riddled with tingles.

           The Green Goblin dropped her.

           He watched. Carefully, as if trying to memorize every detail of her fall. She hoped this image would stay with him for the remainder of his life. When she activated the bomb. When she threw it up, her aim perfect. Precise. Practiced.

           When she shot her spider webs at the bomb, ensuring that it stuck to the underside of his glider. She heard the metal thunk. She heard the splack! of her webs sealing it into place.

           And while she couldn’t see the look on his face, she did imagine it. At least she got to watch the bomb detonate, blowing him out of the sky. She almost thought she got a glimpse of its warmth before she crashed into the clocktowers glass dome –

           No. She didn’t crash into it yet. Something else – someone else crashed into her. They crashed into the glass dome together, the body encompassing her and protecting her from the glass. A vented metal walkway stopped them from traveling all the way down, and that’s where they landed, her on him.

           He breathed hard. “Are you okay?”

           No. She was anything but okay. She was the furthest from okay. She hadn’t heard that voice in five months. She didn’t think she’d ever hear that voice again.

           She leaned her head back, tears in her eyes, and stared into the masked face of her husband. “Peter?” She whispered, voice shaking, disbelief wracking her with shakes.

           A crawl ran up her spine.

           “Yeah,” he responded with a weight of confusion. “How did you – “

           She turned away and spotted the blinking pumpkin bomb – something that once again did not look how her original Goblin designed it, or the one she had just killed designed. This one had the fragility of fall décor, a glass shell with the green stem blinking.

           “NO!” She shouted, straightening her wrist, flexing it, shooting her web –

           The web slapped into it right as it exploded, and the warmth of the flame was a lot closer as they rolled off the vented walkway, and fell to a hunk of metal clockware below. This time, it was her back that took the hit and the metal imbedded into her stomach shifted, pulling a gasp from her.

           Peter pushed off of her, seeing the wound, spotting someone below. “Stay here! I’ll handle this.”

           “PETER!” She cried, reaching for him as he jumped down below. She started to turn towards him, but didn’t even get the chance to fully turn. Pain, and commotion, stopped her.

           Peter and another Green Goblin shot towards the skies.

           A white spider girl with ballet like slippers launched up, as if following pursuit, but she landed right beside Recluse, kneeling down right over her. If that wasn’t concerning enough, a hooded woman with the same spider powers she had, then the second figure that shot after Peter certainly was. And this one wore a mechanical suit, with metal spider legs protruding from the back.

           The woman beside her saw the metal and her hands didn’t seem to know where to go. “Okay, wow, big piece. Uh – “

           “Peter,” she whispered, tears slipping from the corner of her eyes. “Help him, please.”

           “Peter’s going to help him – uh, not that Peter. A different Peter, that dude that just went past us. You need medical attention.” She wore a futuristic watch on her wrist, and raised it to speak. “Call Jess.”

           A hologram appeared. There was an explosion in the distance, and she once again saw fire high above the clock tower.

           The hologram had a large afro, and wore yellow sunglasses in the same shape as white spider woman’s eye pieces. Only the latter was white interior with a pink outline. Entirely different aesthetics, and yet, the chill she got with her Peter, she got around both women.

           “How’s it going Gwen?”

           “Uh, okay, you know that thing that happened to Miguel? Yeah, definitely happening here.”

           “WHAT?” It was half a snap and half a shocked exclamation. “You said everything was fine!”

           “I know and I thought it was, but then I found the black hole in the laboratory where my Doc Ock died, and then a different Green Goblin turned up, nearly killed Recluse, she’s bleeding out right now, a different Spider Man showed up, now my Peter and different Peter are fighting a third Green Goblin –“

           “GWEN!” The woman snapped, now a full snap instead of with an element of shock.

           “I know I’m sorry but I could totally use some help right now!”

           “I’ll send in the team to try and salvage it.”

           “And send a medic too!”

           “Gwen.” The tone turned serious. “You know what we talked about.”

           Recluse, without having a clue as to what was going on, knew it was about her. It told her everything she needed to know about these two people. They weren’t like her Peter, who had never stopped trying to save people. Good guys, strangers, even the villains that tried to kill him. He never stopped trying to save them, and these people were contemplating whether to help her.

           If they were in a disagreement about it, then let her be the deciding factor. She didn’t want their help.

           She stabilized the piece of metal with two webs, one on either side. She planted her hands into the large metal gear, and she forced herself to stand.

           “Hey now, woah okay! What’re you doing – “

           Recluse hit her hands away. “Get off me!” She snapped. “I don’t want your help, I don’t need your help. I don’t know what the hell you are, but get out of my city!”

           “Hey we’re just trying to help! There’s something going on that you don’t understand – “

           Recluse shoved her away again, stumbling. “I don’t care what you say. If you’re trying to be like Spiderman, then let me tell you right now that you are nothing like him. You will never be anything like him, because my Peter never second guessed helping someone. He never sat around, talked about whether someone should be saved, he went out and he did it. Now my Peter’s back, and I’m not losing him again. So get out of my way, or end up like everyone else that ever laid a hand on him.”

           She shot her webs into the skies, latched onto metal beams that previously lined the dome, and she leaned back. The webs pulled tighter, tighter. . .and a tingle ran up her spine.

           She began to shoot forward, webs carrying her, but a man slammed into her. A man of metal, with metal wings, with his face concealed behind a military grade mask, and his armor nothing more than a simple leather jacket.

           Recluse cried out, talons digging into her shoulders as Vulture plucked her from her path to help Peter. She was thrown to the side, and this time, there was no one there to help her. Her body crashed through the glass face of the clock, and she slammed right into the metal minute hand. Too much of her body curved around it, so it didn’t even stop her. Her thighs took the hit, she fell back, and then she really was falling.

           Only this time, she was unconscious.

 ~

             After spending most of her working adult life in a hospital as a bedside nurse, she recognized the sound of an IV pole. Most people thought the heart monitor was the annoying one, but the IV pole was worse. If there was air in the line, it beeped. If the bag was getting low, it beeped. If it was feeling bad, it beeped.

           Her beeping IV pole woke her up.

           She was in a hospital room, not one that she recognized. There was a large window to her right, and it exposed a world she didn’t recognize. Green grass down below, and blue skies above, but this world. . .was in the future compared to hers. Tall white skyscrapers that should have been dirty from everyday life, yet it still glistened like it was newly made. It looked like a city, yet she had never seen a city so clean before. Cars drove off the ground.

           Inside her room, she could recognize what the machines did, but compared to her hospital, it was medieval against modern day.

           There was a TV across from her playing music she didn’t recognize.

           Recluse sat upright, and winced. Her torso was bandaged. Her shoulders were bandaged. Her thighs ached, her back muscles were hot and tight. Her head pounded. She wore a hospital gown.

           First she made sure the bed alarm was shut off. It didn’t alarm when she got up. She unplugged the IV machine, and disconnected the tubing from her catheter. She found a green cap and put that on the end of the loop to keep it clean.

           Walking hurt, but she did it anyway. Outside her door was someone right about to walk into her room.

           Recluse froze, heart rate picking up in her chest. Her head stopped pounding, instead swimming with possibility like the first time she truly felt in love with him. 

           It was still the fluffy hair she remembered. He had more stubble, but it was ruggish and she thought it fit him. He was out of his suit, wearing a hospital gown just like her.

           But it was without a doubt him.

           “Peter,” she breathed, and threw her arms around his neck, pulling him down to kiss him.

           They had been married for six years. Before they had been married, they dated from high school. She had kissed him a lot in that time. After losing him, she imagined it too. Tried to retain the memory and feeling, but it had faded. 

           She remembered enough to know that this wasn’t it.

           Peter wasn’t kissing her back. His arms weren’t around her, holding her close and tight, squeezing her just how she liked. He was warm, that much stayed the same.

           She stepped back, eyebrows knit, hurt squeezing her heart.

           He held up his hands, just as confused. “I – I’m sorry, do I know you?”

           She would’ve preferred to be stabbed again. “Peter?”

           “You know my name, but I don’t know you, and after everything I was really hoping for some answers. I thought that Strange guy was going to send me home, but I never got back. Then I saw Goblin with you, and you looked like you needed help, but then you had powers, so you’ve gotta be another Spider Man, right? Or Spider Woman? I know there are others out there. Is that how you know my name?”

           This was worse than she had ever thought possible, and she truly was stupid for having believed her Peter could come back.

           If there were new Green Goblins popping out, and a new Vulture if she recalled correctly, then having a new, different, Peter Parker wasn’t out of the question.

           This wasn’t hers. Hers was still dead.

           It was too much to handle.

           Her hands were shaking as she pushed the fake Peter away. Bare feet walked across the ground, hospital gown bringing a draft up.

           “Hey! Where’re you going?!”

           Fake Peter caught up to her, his gait unaltered whereas hers was rushed.

           “Finding out answers,” Recluse snapped. “I want to know where I am, how I got here, where the hell those imposters came from, and I want to know now!”

           “It’s some kind of spider society if that helps! There’s tons of us.”

           They got far enough down the hallway to find the nursing station. There was a Spider Man in a red and blue scrubs, still wearing his mask to hide his identity. “You’re not supposed to be out of bed!” He exclaimed, spotting her.

           “Consider this leaving against medical advice,” she snapped, not stopping.

           He called after her, “you have to fill out the paperwork then!”

           She shoved the doors open and stopped right there. She had been expecting a second hallway that led to an elevator for them to go down. She had not been expecting whatever the hell this was.

           The fake Peter beside her smiled and that hurt even more. “Welcome to the lobby.”

           It was huge. Another skyscraper, and this was packed with people just like the fake Peter. All of them were wearing their suits, crawling along ceilings, swinging to where they needed to go. She saw a dinosaur in the famous red and blue. No one screamed at the sight of it, the animal apparently belonging.

           Her fingers were tingling, and not in that sense she got before danger hit. This tingling was pins and needles, and it crawled up her hands.

           She didn’t even realize she was walking forward until she hit the railing. As far as she could see, web shooters littered the area.

           It was like he said: a spider society.

           “I know,” he said, “It’s a lot to take in.”

           Her fingers were stuck in place. Her arms were locking up.

           “It’s not a lot,” Recluse whispered, “It’s too much.”

           The world went black and her body went slack.

[godkilller]

RED, RED, TOO MUCH RED -- and Gin looked back at the other captain whilst those audacious words left his mouth. This was never going to remain even remotely civil, not even just passive aggressive, not with both of them quite literally seeing red.

... FUCK IT.

❝ Insisted? Y'presume too much, cap'n Hirako. I never insisted on anythin', you all were jus' too inept to ever be able to put a fuckin' scratch on him. And nobody's innocent, you taught me that... not even your precious Hiyori was. I don't wantcha feelin' sorry for me, y'oughtta feel sorry for yourself that you ended up bein' just as helpless 'n useless on that day as y'were on that night long ago. ❞

Shinji stepped forward and Gin held his ground, his chin raising a touch in defiance, daring. It was all downhill from here. He hardly flinched at the words thrown in his direction, brokenness an accepted thing of his childhood past; maybe I've been a monster all along... those fears had swelled into his little throat during the colder nights, washing blood from beneath his fingernails. Waiting for his hands to stop shaking.

His hand didn't tremor now, his remaining left merely coiled into a fist behind the veil of his oversized black sleeve. Losing an arm never registered to him as some ongoing type of punishment somehow adequate enough to repent entirely for his various crimes, no -- not healing it was, however, a method of neglect.

As if Gin would divulge the concepts of his self-punishment when animosity now prevailed. He was the villain, not a victim. He'd act as such.

❝ But you didn't pay the price, another failed subordinate of yours did instead. So don't wallow at me, tryin' to shame me for breathin' ---- the people I care about're still alive, an' I didn't mind killin' if it meant keepin' it that way. I made better judgment calls than you ever could. All while bein' supposedly more broken than you all along. Sounds to me like ya fucked it aaaaallllll up. Maybe if ya held his hand while you two fucked you never would have gotten into this whole mess, Hirako Shinji. ❞

          Shinji says that he paid for his treatment of Aizen in full, but it would seem that, given his reaction to Gin's subtle jab, it is still a very sore subject for him. A guilt he still carries. To this day, the other Visoreds are not privy to all the sordid details of Shinji's catastrophic shortcomings────the hands he laid on Aizen, molded him into a monster. Only Gin can tell the tale in full, as gleaned from the broken heart of the beast itself.

          Gin could kill his family all over again, if he wanted to.

He can't let that happen.

          ❝ ...You helped him every step of the way. You insisted on bein' th' one to kill him, alone. ❞ Shinji takes a step closer. ❝ You decided that it didn't matter who ya had to hurt or kill to get wha'cha want────not even the innocent were safe. ❞

          Another step.

          ❝ D'ya expect me to feel sorry fer ya jus' cuz ya lost an arm? ❞ Shinji cannot see beneath the pain on the surface; right now, he can't see anything but red────and Gin, drenched in it. Besides, he seems to be doin' pretty fuckin' well fer himself now!

          ❝ You were broken before he even laid a hand on ya. ❞

[cali-holland]

Golden Bullets, Ch. 6: The Spy Who Loves Me

Harrison Osterfield X Reader, James Bond!AU

Harrison Osterfield, Agent 007, was once the best MI6 agent around with the astounding reputation as a womanizer. Between illegal gold smuggling and black market trading of weapons, he finds himself deeper in his latest mission than intended, weaving himself into a web of the criminal organization, S.P.E.C.T.R.E.. At the center of it all is the one woman who’s never fallen for his charms- you, Agent 006, the best MI6 agent, the new assistant director of the program, and his new partner.

Word Count: 4100

Gif is not mine

Golden Bullets Masterlist

Masterlist   Harrison Osterfield Masterlist

Let me know if you want to be added to the series tag list

Warnings: violence (character death, punching, kicking, brass knuckles, guns, explosions, choking- just everything), swearing, sexual themes

Featured Song: Nobody Does It Better Carly Simon from The Spy Who Loved Me (1977)

 ~ “But like heaven above me, the spy who loved me is keepin’ all my secrets safe tonight, and nobody does it better, though sometimes I wish someone could, nobody does it quite the way you do, why’d you have to be so good?”

This was also for @spideygirl2003​ ‘s 800 follower writing challenge with the prompt “It’s okay. It’s gonna be okay.” (I forgot to add this in the original haha)

~~~

“Kentucky.” You heard Q call out as you stepped out of the hotel bathroom.

“What about Kentucky?” You asked, running a towel over your hair in an attempt to dry it faster. Just an hour ago, Q picked you up from near the river; you two grabbed the flash drive and got a small hotel room for the time being- at a different hotel, of course. After a warm and much needed shower, your body was beginning to feel normal again, and it definitely helped that your arm and wrist were both patched up now.

“That’s where they took 007.” Tom replied as his fingers continued to type away on the laptop before he showed it to you. A GPS satellite image showed a map of the U.S. with a blinking red dot right in Kentucky; zooming in, the satellite shifted to display a farm outside of Louisville. “Turns out Goldfinger’s family owned a stud farm. It’s retired now, but it must be a good location to smuggle gold bullions and super spies.”

“And the flash drive?” You opened your suitcase, taking inventory on your guns, itching to leave and shoot something in Kentucky.

“Almost done. Contrary to what you field agents believe, hacking is a lot of work.” He said, and you looked over at him. Glaring, you cocked one of your guns as if to say “test me”. He held up his hands defensively and you refocused on packing. The room was silent for a moment, before Tom spoke up again, “He’ll be alright. 007’s a tough one to break.”

“I’m not worried about him. I want to kill the bitch that keeps attacking me.” You muttered.

“For a spy, you’re shit at lying.” His words made you freeze, and he continued with a laugh, “I know that look in your eye; you’re worried about him, even if you try to hide it as revenge on Galore. You and Harrison- you’re both independent and badass, but you’re both into each other and are just too much of wimps to say anything about it.”

“I killed a dozen men tonight already. I hardly think I classify as a ‘wimp’.” You used air quotes around his descriptive word choice.

“That’s not what I meant and you know it.” Before you could reply, his laptop beeped, signaling he was into the flash drive. “Holy shit.”

“What is it?” You asked, coming to sit beside him to look at the screen. Tom’s eyes trailed over the laptop, taking in the information as he continued to scroll through the files.

“Goldfinger’s planning on blowing up Fort Knox. He’s got the schematics for it and everything right here.”

“How does this connect to S.P.E.C.T.R.E.? And Sciarra? And Le Chiffre?” You questioned, and he began researching more of the files. 

“These are-” Tom started.

“Bank records. This is Le Chiffre’s system.” You explained, recognizing it from your time spent tailing him. “Le Chiffre wasn’t his competition, he was an investor in Goldfinger’s plot- that’s why Goldfinger killed him off.” You got up, hurrying to grab your laptop and opening one of the electronic files M had sent. You sat your laptop down next to his on the table.

“Look.” You pointed to the screen. “M sent me a comprehensive list of all the sniper’s targets this morning.” You and Tom looked between the two lists, spotting how every single one of the targets had their bank account on this flash drive. 

“Goldfinger was scamming them to become the leader of S.P.E.C.T.R.E. and bombing Fort Knox would make him the sole supplier of gold, too. It’s like a sick, get-rich-quick scheme.” He shook his head in disbelief.

“We need to stop him from getting to Fort Knox.” You paused, “But Silva isn’t on this list. How was he involved?”

“Tiago Rodriuez is, though.” Tom stated, and you looked at him confused. “Tiago Rodriguez is Raoul Silva’s given name. I bet he found out what they were doing and created this flash drive as protection.”

“There needs to be something else on it. Something that Goldfinger and Galore were terrified of losing.”

“I’ll keep looking, but we need to get going. M got us a private jet, and we have a flight to Kentucky to catch.” He had barely finished his sentence and you were already on your feet, gathering your bags. He looked at you for a moment, a humorous smile on his face.

“Are you just going to sit there or are you coming with me?” You asked.

“You’re so into Harrison.” Tom chuckled in amusement, and you scoffed, rolling your eyes at him.

“I will leave you behind if you say one more word.” You threatened, picking up your bags, and he shut off his laptop.

“If it wasn’t for me, you’d have no idea where 007 is.” He reminded you as he put away his things.

“You act like I wouldn’t hunt down Galore with or without you here.” You stated, opening the hotel room door.

“Trust me, I know you would.”

~~~

Everything was a blur. Harrison blinked repeatedly in an attempt to clear his vision. He heard a voice announce that he was awake, and he was quickly reminded of his last memory: getting drugged by Galore in the Montenegro hotel room. He was sitting rather uncomfortably in a wooden chair, his ankles bound to the chair’s feet and his wrists bound together behind his back. And his mouth was covered by what felt like duct tape, leaving his lips feeling dry. His vision finally cleared up, and he took in his surroundings: three metal doors on three of the dark gray walls and a window behind him on the fourth. There were four armed guards in the room as well as Oddjob and a man in a crisp white suit with gold detailing- Goldfinger, no doubt.

“Oh, how lovely of you to join us, 007.” He said, ripping the duct tape from Harrison’s mouth, but leaving it to tauntingly dangle from his cheek.

“How lovely to meet you, Goldfinger.” Harrison replied, sarcastically. Goldfinger stepped closer as Oddjob came up beside the chair, adjusting the cap on his before tugging a brass knuckle onto his hand.

“You and Agent 006 have certainly been a nuisance.” Goldfinger started, and Harrison cut him off.

“Why, you’re welcome.” The air was swiftly knocked out of him as Oddjob threw a painful punch straight into Harrison’s gut. He held onto the back of the chair with one hand to keep it steady. “You couldn’t have started without the brass knuckle.”

“You stole a very valuable flash drive from Sciarra, who stole it from me. Where is it?” He questioned.

“If it’s so valuable, how did Sciarra end up with it?” Harrison let out another groan, hit with another hard punch.

“Where’s the flash drive?”

“I don’t have it.” He shut his eyes, ready for the next blow, but it never came. Instead, Goldfinger just glared at him, narrowing his eyes in anger and frustration. Harrison noted how stressed he looked, raising his eyebrows at Goldfinger, “What’s on that flash drive? You and I both know you’ll kill me in here, so there’s no need for the secrets. Give me the long-winded villain backstory, I’m itching to hear it.”

That time, he earned a punch from Oddjob. Harrison could already feel the bruises forming as his stomach repeatedly got abused, and he could definitely tell Oddjob had been pulling his first few punches.

“I believe you’re familiar with Raoul Silva? Before you killed him, he hacked his way through my system, froze my accounts, stole information. Now, that drive has the final piece to my masterplan, a neurotoxin so powerful that it can wipe out Fort Knox in its entirety.”

“Fort Knox?” Harrison asked, biting back the smirk on his face. “Steal from the U.S. gold supply, brilliant plan.”

“Not steal. Destroy.” Goldfinger stated, a devilish smile on his face. “Now, where the hell is my flash drive?”

“It’s obvious, isn’t it?” A voice said, stepping into the room. Harrison didn’t even look to know it was Galore. “He doesn’t know where it is.”

As she stepped into the room with a small limp in her step, Harrison got a good look at her face. He could see the bruising on her neck, no doubt from his own chokehold on her during their last encounter, but, judging by the fingernail marks, you’d gotten your hands on her, literally. Her perfectly arched eyebrow was interrupted by a large gash over it, some medical bandages doing their best to cover the fresh wound. He also spotted some dried blood in her hair from a gash to the back of her head, and he felt a small wave of pride wash over him. There was only one person that he knew would have given Galore hell- you. He wasn’t surprised at the fact that you put up an impressive fight against her. That pride though was fleeting and was quickly replaced by worry because, if Galore was here, that meant either you were captured or dead, or you somehow managed to escape her clutches better than he had.

“Get into a cat fight, Pussy?” Harrison asked, a smirk finding its way onto his face. She crossed her arms, pursing her lips in annoyance.

“For Agent Y/L/N being MI6’s assistant director, I thought she would have put up a better fight.” She let out a small sigh, watching how Harrison’s jaw tightened involuntarily. “A pity really.”

“What did you do to her?” He questioned through gritted teeth. She laughed wickedly at his emotional response. Goldfinger and Oddjob stepped backward to let Galore come closer to Harrison. She trailed a 

“Harrison Osterfield, Agent 007- the famed womanizer falling for the maneater. Who would have thought indeed?” She clicked her tongue in sadistic amusement as her nails began to dig into his skin, making him squirm under her. “Oh, I’m sorry, do you not like me calling her that? Funny, she didn’t take a liking to me calling you womanizer either.”

She let go of him, before pulling the duct tape back over his lips. She took a step back, her cold glare never faltering. Goldfinger shook his head, “I would’ve loved to meet Agent 006 and have my way with her.” Harrison couldn;t refrain from letting out an angry breath, his eyes narrowing at the thought of Goldfinger ‘having his way’ with you. He watched as the man in the suit turned back to Galore, “Where did you leave her again?”

“I left the bitch at the bottom of the river.” At her words, Harrison dropped his head down, and Galore let out another cynical laugh. She, along with Goldfinger and Oddjob, froze as they noticed Harrison’s shoulders start to shake. He threw his head back in laughter, the sounds muffled by the duct tape.

“What is he laughing at?” Goldfinger spat, growing suspicious of the agent in front of him.

Before any of them could react, a bullet went racing through the window and straight into one of the guard’s heads. Everyone ducked as another bullet flew into a second guard’s heart- well, Harrison did his best to duck in his chair.

“How did they find us?” Goldfinger questioned, and Galore and Oddjob drew their guns. Galore looked over at the amused Harrison. A third bullet came through, right into another guard, and immediately afterwards, the last guard was taken by another bullet.

“We need to go.” Galore pulled open the door to the left and escaped with Goldfinger. Just as Oddjob pointed his gun at Harrison, the door right in front of them blew off its hinges, sending Oddjob towards the door to the right, which he quickly got up to escape through. Harrison groaned from the sudden explosion, but as the smoke cleared, he saw your figure come through the doorway.

“Wait on the balcony, my ass.” You said immediately, pocketing your gun as you stepped into the room. You ripped off the duct tape from his mouth, giving him no time to prepare for the pain.

“Ow.” He muttered. “Watch the lips, I need those.”

“Oh, do you now?” You replied. You grabbed out a knife from your belt to cut his ankles free.

“Don’t act like you didn’t enjoy these lips.” Harrison teased with a smirk as you reached around him to free his wrists, your face just inches from his. The second his wrists were loose, he untangled himself from the ropes and grabbed your cheeks to kiss you. You couldn’t help the smile that formed on your face as your lips moved against his.

“Moneypenny owes me 50 pounds.” You pulled away from Harrison, hearing Tom’s voice in your ear comms. You sighed, reaching into your pocket to grab one out for Harrison before handing it to him. He quickly put it in his ear, and you handed him a couple guns.

“Do you have to be such a prick?” You asked Tom, moving away from Harrison as you looked out the window, knowing he was in the distance with his sniper.

“‘No, I’m most certainly not into Harrison.’” Tom replied in a ridiculously high pitched voice to mock you. “Are you going to keep standing there or are you going to go after Goldfinger?”

You looked at Harrison, and he cocked his gun, nodding to the door to the left. You slowly opened the door all the way, checking for anyone down the hall, and Harrison quietly spoke up, “When you said those lipsticks were tranq lipsticks, you were serious.”

“Really? That’s how she got you?” You asked with a small laugh as the two of you continued your way down the hall, guns at the ready.

“I was going to use it on her.” He replied. You couldn’t reply before you two turned a corner and saw three more of Goldfinger’s men down the hall, backs to you.

“I’ll get the two on the left.” You whispered.

“Why do you get two of them?” Harrison asked.

“Because I’m a better shot than you.” You said as if it was obvious.

“We both get one on the outside and then it’s whoever gets the middle one first after that.” He offered a compromise and you nodded. The men turned before you two could fire and instantly engaged in a fist fight. As much as you two had discussed who got the third, it wasn’t important anymore as the third guard ran off, most likely to inform Goldfinger of your whereabouts.

Harrison blocked the opposing man’s first punch, but the second hit him in just the right spot in his gut, sending him stumbling back for a moment. Regaining his footing, he gripped his gun and shot at the other man, hitting him in the shoulder. While he staggered in shock and pain, Harrison kicked up right into his face, knocking him backwards onto the ground.

Meanwhile, you dodged the second man’s punches, letting him strike right into the concrete wall. You grabbed his outstretched arm, kicking under his elbow hard enough to break the bone. Then, as he shouted in pain, you jumped down to sweep your feet under his to send him falling backwards. Before you could grab your gun and shoot him, Harrison shot him for you.

“That counts as mine.” You argued as you two continued your journey down the halls.

“But I killed him.”

“Are you two done competing yet? I’ve got a visual on Goldfinger.” Tom said from his perch outside, yards away from the scene.

“Where is he? Which way?” Harrison asked as you both came to a halt with a fork in the road.

“Goldfinger’s to the left.”

“And Galore?” You questioned.

“To the right, up the stairs.”

“I’m going after Galore.” You stated, starting to make your way to the right, but stopped when Harrison’s hand grabbed yours.

“Goldfinger’s the one we need to stop. Leave Galore.” He urged you.

“They’re both heading this entire thing. You get Goldfinger. I’ll get her.” You replied. Seeing the concerned look flash across his features, you smiled, “Look at her and look at me- I can take her.”

“Just kiss and run separate ways already.” Tom’s voice came through the comms and you rolled your eyes.

“I’ve got Galore.” You said, before running off to the right. Harrison looked at your disappearing figure for a moment before taking off to the left.

Once you were up to the second story of the building, you were met with a single long hallway and over a dozen doors. Gripping your gun tightly, you spoke quietly into your comms, “Q, where is she?”

“I can’t tell. My heat map is malfunctioning.” You could hear him messing about on his laptop, trying to get his sniper heat map to work. Slowly, you continued your way down the hallway.

“Here, kitty kitty.” You tauntingly called out. You kicked down the first few doors, checking them for any signs of her.

When you kicked open the fifth door, you heard something shuffle behind you. Before you could turn to take her, Galore used a belt to wrap around your neck. In shock, you dropped your gun, attempting to keep her from fully cutting off your airway. You threw yourself backwards, with her still tightly holding onto the belt behind you, hitting her into the wall. You gasped out, trying to regain your breath as you blindly rammed her into the wall again. On your third attempt, she loosened her grip, giving you the opportunity to grab the belt away from your neck. You kicked yourself up, using the wall in front of you for leverage to twist around and kick her in the head to knock her down.

“You know, I’ve always been more of a dog person.” You breathed out, still trying to regain your breath.

“Bitch.” She spat out, blood coming from her newly broken nose. She grabbed your gun from beside her, aiming it at you. Before she could shoot, you grabbed your second gun and shot her in the shoulder. She dropped your gun as her shoulder began to bleed.

“That’s for 009.” You said, using your foot to press your weight on her wound. You leaned down to grab your other gun, not easing up on the pressure. With her good hand, she tried to hit your foot off her, and you shot her in her other shoulder, stepping harder to the spot you were already on.

“That’s for 007.” You added.

“Let me guess, you’ll shoot me in the heart and that’s for you?” She muttered. You moved your foot to her throat, letting the small heel of your boot dig into her skin.

“Heart? No, head.” You raised an eyebrow at her, before shooting her right between the eyes. You watched as her body fell limp, and you quickly searched her for more guns- surprisingly, she had none, but maybe that’s why she’d been so keen on taking from you.

“Harrison, I’m coming your way.” You announced into your comms, leaving back the way you came.

In the meantime, Harrison had been stalled by more of Goldfinger’s men. At first, it was a game of duck and shoot, but then, as he ran out of bullets, it became a fist fight. He had his eye on the machine gun one of them carried, but he accidentally kicked it down the hall when getting it away from the man’s grip. Eventually, he picked up a gun from one of the men, but with six men coming at him, he didn’t really have to pause and aim properly. He didn’t even hear your call through the comms, too focused on not dying. He did his best- ducking in between two of them so they shot each other, ramming one into the wall, blindly shooting at one as he had the other in a chokehold.

He turned to fight the last man, kicking the gun out of the enemy’s hand but losing his own gun in the process. Harrison blocked the punches and sent some of his own into the man’s jaw and chest. Just as Harrison was about to kick him, the other man beat him to it, kicking him right where it hurt most.

“Fuck, that’s cruel.” Harrison groaned, falling involuntarily to his knees. He braced for a kick or a punch or something, but instead he heard a series of gunshots ring out and the man before him fell to the ground, dead.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing on the ground?” You questioned as you ran down the hallway to his side, abandoned machine gun in hand.

“Praying.” He sarcastically replied. You helped him up and he winced a little.

“Your dick really is your biggest weakness.” You teased.

“Trust me, darling, it’s not.” He stated, picking up a few guns. He noticed the red mark across your neck, clearly from a chokehold, “Where’s Galore?”

“Dead.” You smiled, proudly. “Now, come on, we’ve got to get Goldfinger.”

You and Harrison made your way through the facility in search of Goldfinger, under the watchful eye of Tom that directed you two where to go. When you both finally caught up to him, he was on the helipad, moments from taking off in his helicopter.

“Stop right there, Goldfinger.” Harrison warned, holding his gun up at the ready. Keeping your new machine gun up and your eyes trained on Goldfinger, you slowly stepped sideways, preparing to encircle him. Goldfinger drew his own golden gun, making both of you tense your trigger fingers.

“I think you’re going to let me leave.” He smirked, his eyes trained on Harrison, gun pointed at you.

“No way in hell.” You stated. You stepped forward, almost taunting him to pull the trigger. Before you could take another step, you heard Tom call through the comms.

“It’s a trap. Oddjob’s behind you.” He called out. You turned quickly, ducking behind a few boxes, as Oddjob fired his machine gun. Harrison dove towards you, finding cover beside you.

“Damn it, he’s getting away.” Harrison muttered, watching Goldfinger jump into the helicopter. Meanwhile, Oddjob hadn’t stopped firing at you two.

“Cover me.” You said, and he nodded. You popped up enough to aim your gun at the helicopter pilot, shooting in his direction repeatedly, while Harrison shot at Oddjob. Your shots hit the helicopter just right and you eyed it as it went crashing down on the other side of the building. At the sound and sight of the explosion, Oddjob ran, clutching onto his hat and gun as he disappeared from the helipad.

“We have to go after him.” You stood up from your spot, getting your gun ready for another round.

“You go, I’ll wait here.” Harrison replied, and you looked down at him, confused by his sudden tiredness. It was then that you noticed his hand pressed down on his hip. You crouched back down and slowly removed his hand to see it covered in blood. “Guess we got matching scars after all.”

“Why didn’t you say anything sooner?” You asked, a sudden worry overcoming your voice. You lifted his shirt to inspect the wound, a single golden bullet barely visible in the bloody hole. You removed your jacket, bunching it up to apply pressure to it.

“I didn’t want to worry you.” His voice trembled as his eyelids got heavier. With your free hand, you cupped his face.

“Hey, hey, stay with me. It’s okay. It’s gonna be okay.” You reassured him.

“What’s going on with you two?” Tom asked through the comms.

“Harrison’s been shot.” You said, looking down at the growing pool of blood on your jacket and the ground, “He’s losing a lot of blood.”

“I’ve got the ambulance on their way.” He replied.

Harrison reached a hand up to hold onto the wrist of your hand on his face, his thumb gently caressing your skin. “You need to go after Oddjob.”

“I’ll kill him later. I’m not leaving you.” You told him, not budging from your spot.

“You’re my weakness, Y/N.” Harrison said softly.

“Harrison,” You breathed out, a small smile on your face as you looked at your partner. You pressed a kiss to his forehead, “You’re mine too.”

~~~

General Tag List: @viagracex​​​ @theamazingtomholland​ @Hellomoveonby @heyitsshrez @harrisonosterfieldhazmyheart​ @joyleenl​ @t-o-m-holland​ @lonikje​ @sleepybesson​ @sunkisseddreamer​ @holandsamor @in-a-lot-of-fandoms-tbh​

Harrison Tag List: @Calhtlland @tomkindholland​ @where-art-thau-romeo​

Series Tag List: @quinjetboi @baby-haz @kickingn-ames @rougese7en @hollandsosterfield @nj01​ @it-is-rebel-owl-ma-dudes @spencerreidxoxo @duskholland

[dick-g-ayson]

I couldn't resist, so here we go. If you're still taking prompts, "Join Me" for JayKon - I keep thinking bed-sharing (maybe nightmares?) and the cute kind of awkwardness. ❤️

Okay, @red-bri we discussed these at length and I am going to do both, so have some fluffy bed-sharing before the angst.

This went a bit longer than I expected, and not quite the way I envisioned, but I like it none the less. 😊

Warm light filtered in through wide open windows. Soft late evening late casting everything in a purple haze, street noise a quiet hum in the background. A quiet peaceful afternoon.

Too bad Conner couldn't enjoy a second of it.

Another round of sneezes, followed by the loud honk of a nose being blown, broke the peacefulness of the day, as Conner blew his nose for what felt like the hundredth time. His nose was bright red, and dry, his chest hurt when he breathed. Every time he tried to take a deep breath he ended up in a coughing fit.

If Tim and the others didn't get this mess figured out soon, he was going to throw himself out of the Tower and end his own misery.

"Ah-ah-ACHOO!"

"Bless you!"

Conner let his head drop back against the back of the couch, looking to see who had spoken.

He felt his heart stop for a moment, before beating again hard. For once, since this whole "no-powers, you're human now bitch + Haha you're sick too!", mess had started, Conner was glad the fever had given him a flush all over. Otherwise Jason would have seen the blush that spread across his face, and down his neck.

"Jeez, I'm s'prised y'didn't blow th'roof offa this place."

Conner just blinked at him through the haze of his fever, watched as he walked further into the communal floor. There was a slight hitch in his step. 'His knee must be acting up.'

"Although if what Timmers tells me is true, you couldn't even take the Baby-Bat right now."

Conner groaned and let himself slide down the couch, burying his face in a pillow.

"Ugh! I can't believe he told you of all people." He raised his head enough to glare at Jason, who was now standing at the foot of the couch, hands on his hips and a smirk on his face. "That why you're hear? To mock me in my hour of pain and misery?"

Jason laughed and Conner buried his face back into the couch, ignoring the pleasant twist in his abdomen, as the rich sound of it washed over him.

"Nah, I try not t'kick a man when he's down."

That got a disbelieving snort out of Conner, muffled as it was.

"Okay, I try not to kick friends when they're down. How's that?" Conner could imagine the eye roll that accompanied that statement.

"More believable at least."

Jason laughed again as he nudged at Conner's foot, "Golly gee, thanks mister. Now, budge up SuperClone. Y'don't need th'whole couch t'yerself."

Conner scowled and kicked out sluggishly when Jason continued to prod at his legs. Not stopping until Conner reluctantly pulled his feet up and twisted his body. He was now leaning on the couch instead of laying on it face first. "God,you are such a dick!"

"Nah, that's m'brother" Jason smirked as he flopped onto the couch. "Betcha y'can breathe easier now though. Cantcha."

Conner scowled, looking away, crossing his arms huffing over his chest.

Jason cackled in response as he kicked his feet up onto the table, crossing his arms behind his head. Letting his eyes drift shut with a satisfied smile.

It was only then that Conner noticed that the other was in casual clothes. A plain dark t-shirt, blue jeans, and boots. It was probably the most casual Conner had ever seen the other man dress. It wasn't a bad look.

"So why are you here?" Conner found himself asking after a few moments of silence.

"Hmm? Oh, Tim asked me t'swing by an' make sure y'weren't workin' y'self to death."

Conner scoffed, "Please, was he looking in a mirror when he said that?"

"Right! I told the little workaholic tha' he was bein' a hypocrite, but the little shit insisted." Jason shrugged his broad shoulders, tilting his head a bit to smirk over at the flustered Clone. "So here I am."

"Joy. I'm touched really, but as you-you can see I'm f-fine." Conner's words dissolved into a coughing fit that had the teasing melting off of Jason's face. He vaulted over the arm of the couch and dissapeared from sight, as Conner fought to get his breathing under control.

The coughing stopped after a minute and Conner was panting like he'd run a marathon, tears in his eyes, and starting to trail down his cheeks.

He opened his eyes to see Jason crouched in front of him glass of water in his hand.

"Here, drink this. Slow."

Conner nodded as he reached for the cool glass with a shaking hand, and Jason didn't release it until Conner had a good grip.

Once he was sure he wasn't going to chug it down, Jason stood and disappeared again.

Conner didn't hear him again for several minutes, when the sound of heavy boots approaching roused him from the light stupor, he had fallen into, while trying to remember how to breathe.

He looked up when Jason stopped in front of him, sitting on the table before the couch. He handed him a tiny cup filled with a dark purple liquid.

"Drink that, too. It'll help wit' th'congestion."

"This shit doesn't work, I'm -"

"Half Kryptonian, blah blah." Jason waved a hand, interrupting him. "Tha's th'half that's bein' suppressed, so right now you," he reached over and poked Conner in the forehead. "Are all human. And good humans take their meds. Now drink up, or do I gotta make ya?"

Conner scowled as Jason continued to smirk at him, shaking the little cup obnoxiously.

He relented with a roll of eyes, taking the cup and downing it in one shot. The bitter black cherry flavour hits the back of his throat and makes him cough again.

"Dude! I thought you said this was supposed to help?"

"It does when y'drink it like a normal person." Jason laughed as he took the cup back, setting it on the table. "Come on, up y'get. You're goin' t'bed t'sleep."

Conner tucks his feet up onto the couch with him, pulling the blanket he had been using tight around himself. His voice is almost child like, when he asks, "Why can't I just sleep out here."

"Because ev'ry Titan knows it's impossible t'sleep on the communal floor. Y'get tired out here, but y'can't actually fall asleep." Jason pushed himself off the table and stood hands on his hips, as he stared down at the sick and grumpy man before him. "Now you gonna get up on yer own?"

"What are you gonna do if I don't? Carry me?"

The smirk that Jason gives him is almost predatory in it's eagerness. "If I have to."

'He wouldn't dare, there's no way.'

Conner opens his mouth before he can stop himself. If he's asked later what made him say it, he's gonna blame the fever.

"Prove it."

Jason grin widens and he moves without hesitation. And for the first time, Conner can see why people fear the Red Hood. He moves easily, not as fluid as Dick and Tim, but still with effortless grace and power, and he can't help but choke silently at it, losing his breath for a moment.

Although that may also be from the shoulder digging into his gut, as Jason leans down, grabs one arm, and lifts. Conner rises off the couch easily, as if he weighed nothing.

"If y'thought I wasn't gonna take th'chance to flip a Super over m'shoulder, ta spare your dignity. Y'were dead wrong."

"Jason! Put me down!" Conner tried to push off Jason's back, but he found his arms almost like noodles. "Did you put a sedative in the cough syrup!?"

"Course not." Jason just patted the back of his thigh. "It's just extra strength, and since yer not used ta takin' meds, it's hittin' ya a bit harder. That's all."

"You-you villain!"

"Guilty!"

Conner continued to spout insults and snark into the small of Jason's back, as he was carried down the hall to the teams individual rooms. Only really paying attention when he realized Jason had walked into his room.

He looked up at the taller vigilante, as he was dropped unceremoniously onto his bed. "How'd you know where my room was?"

Jason shrugged not meeting his gaze for a second, "Learned th'layout of yer teams Tower awhile ago." There was a guilty look on his face as he refused to look at Conner.

Conner blinked as he tried to get his thoughts in order, everything was starting to feel like cotton balls in his head. "Why would...oh! Oh right....umm, sorry?"

Jason looked at him then, it was an oddly fond look. "What're you apologizin' for? I'm the one that came back messed up and hurt people what didn't deserve it."

Conner opened his mouth to argue the point, that it wasn't completely his fault, but a wave ofc Jason's hand cut him off.

"Anyway, tha's'in th'past now. Present issue, is tha'you," he leaned forward and shoved gently at Conner's shoulders pushing him back onto the bed. "Need some Z's, if y'wanna kick this cold y'have goin' on."

"I'm fine, Jay honest." He tries to get his arms underneath him, to at least lean on his elbows, but Jason just grabs his ankles, and still with that same smirk, pulls him further down the bed, so he's laid out flat. "What the-"

"Now, now, language."

"Were you born this much of an asshole, or is it something every Robin learns?"

Jason laughs loud and full, and Conner can't help chuckling in response, even if it makes his chest tight.

"Would y'believe me if I'said it was both?"

"With you? Yes. Totally believable. Now are you gonna let me up?"

"Nope."

"Jaaaayy..."

"Quit your whining, Kon." Conner hears the thunk of boots hitting the floor and raises his head just in time to watch Jason drop onto the bed next to him.

He throws one leg over Conner's closest leg, effectively pinning him to the bed.

"Wh-what're-"

"Doin'? Keepin' ya company." He grabs a book that Conner now realizes he must have placed there earlier. Probably when he went to get the cold meds. "Ya mind?"

"Uh, oh no, no! I don't mind at all." Conner blushes, and he's positive that it's visible over the flush of the fever, but Jason doesn't comment on it. Just adjusts his leg, and settles further against the headboard, smirk smoothing out into something gentler.

"Alrigh' then."

They settle into a companionable silence and it's not long until Jason feels a weight settle against his hip. A quick glance down shows him exactly what he expects, Conner passed out, using his hip asxa pillow.

He reaches down with one hand, smoothing some of Conner's hair away from his face, feeling the heat rising of his skin.

He removes his hand and pulls his phone carefully out of a thigh pocket and sends an update to Tim. He drops it on the bed on his other side and settles back in to watch and wait. And make sure whatever this is doesn't kill the Clone.

Once Tim and the others find a cure for this, he and the Outlaws may have to go pay Luthor a visit, and show him just why it's a bad idea to go after someone he cares about.

[monkey-network]

Good Stuff: Into the Spiderverse

WARNING: Excelsior, my playas and players. Thank you, take care out there, and enjoy. [Spoiler-Free]

Spider-Man: Soarin’ Miles High into Web-slinging Greatness

It’s a good movie. Stylish, footloose, well-animated, a little tear jerking, fun as heck. You’ve seen the scores. Any one who utterly hates this is either Armond White (whom is a cool contrarian with a solid review of this flic, don’t hate on him) or a snooty ass bitch. It’s a see to believe movie, and I won’t say my review will be any different.

And this has been Spidey’s year, hasn’t it?

I’ll get the negatives out the way. For one is with the Kingpin’s motive. While the hulk ass looking mob boss was certainly an entertaining villain, his conviction for fucking up space time didn’t make much sense and for someone who has seen why the Kingpin does what he does for some time, this was a bizarrely out of place change to his character. Another thing was that, and few may agree, the movie can be hard on the eyes sometimes, especially the climax with the colors and somewhat blurry animation. Honestly, this movie felt blurry by design in some scenes, and I wasn’t watching the 3D take. I won’t take points away for giving me a great finale, cuz it did, but I was admittedly zoned out when it was over. And in hindsight, while we have so many Spider-men, while the quipping was on point and I love them all, half the team only got small doses of excellence and it’s mostly in the 3rd act; guessing the sequel will make up for it but can’t help but say the film was a little overstuffed. Now, if I may fangasm for a bit.... *inhale*

Animation’s so fucking tight! Love the colors, it was a goddamn rainbow! While no J. Jonah Jameson, we got Stan Lee keepin’ it real as always! Ms. Frizzle as Aunt May! Doc Ock was great and Prowler was everything I DREAMED of! The cinematography makes this the most dynamic animation I’ll ever see since Redline. The text boxes and onomatopoeia words honestly made this movie work so well. Got the most diverse looking New York City, it’s too smooth. Spiderman 2099′s cameo was the maraschino cherry on top. This was like fucking Kung Fu Panda and The Lego Movie combined! We finally got an Afro-Latino Spider-Man, a Spider-Woman, a Batman Nick Cage Spider-Man, an Anime Spider-Girl with a Spider-Mech, and Peter Porker.

Spider Pig, my NINJAS! HALLELUJAH, HOLY SHIT!

*breathes* But. If. There’s one thing that excels this as not only a great Spidey film, but a great hero film is how it handles the concept of Spider-Man, the hero. Better than Homecoming. BOOM, send tweet! While I say it’s overstuffed, this does take its time to give Miles the steps to become not only a Spider-Man, but a hero on his own accords. Spider-Man was never about a chosen hero or an already successful suit using their powers for good, it was about an average teen that suddenly receives amazing power and acts to use them responsibly because he felt it was the right thing to do. Miles didn’t have to become Spider-Man, even with his newfound powers, but he wanted to be and this desire is prominent throughout the film. His school life at the beginning presented this theme subtly well too. With Gwen and 🅱️eter by his side, Miles got to rise from being a regular teen to a hero both New York, and the audience in a meta sense, have come to root for and admire, especially after a long wait.

Miles Morales got and earned the respect he deserves

So yeah, the movie was quite the spectacular. Such a great stand alone film that made way for possibly plenty more to come. Honestly became one of my favorite animated films not only of this year, but of all time (tho it can never beat Lego Movie or Redline) and I mean this earnestly. Surprised that this came from the same people behind the Amazing Spider-Man films and the Emoji Movie, I say Sony redeemed themselves with this and potentially more in the future. As for this.....

4.9 out of 5. A Spidah Strong Masterpiece

[shirtlesssammy]

4x14: Sex and Violence

Then:

Sam’s being seduced by the dark side.

Now:

We open with a happy couple going through the joys of settled marital bliss. Or at least a couple where the husband comes home late from work, the wife makes plans without his input, and the husband becomes dangerously angry --and by dangerously angry, I mean he takes a meat tenderizer and smashes his wife’s brains with it. Joy.

Because I’m not passing this up without a screenshot, here’s a rare shot of Bby Dean all tucked in and sleeping in what appears to be sleepwear. A rare sight in the wild.

He wakes to see Sam on the phone with someone, but quickly acts like he’s asleep when he realizes Sam’s not on the up and up. Sam “wakes” him with a case!

They head to interview the husband, who’s now in jail.

The husband explains that he killed his wife because she made plans without telling him. He knew what he was doing, but he doesn’t know why he did it. He loved her. They were happy. The boys bring up some dodgy credit card charges. The man admits to going to a strip club and meeting Jasmine. She was everything. He killed his wife for Jasmine. He takes full blame for what he did to his wife. Sidenote: The camera work is really interesting...so many extreme close-ups and cuts.

At Dr. Cara Robert’s office, Agent Stiles (I’m assuming it’s not Harry…) shows up for some questions about the three men who killed their wives. She reveals that all three men had high levels of oxytocin --the love hormone. Sam’s hitting it off with Dr Cara when Interrupting Squirrel arrives. (Side-side-side-note: I just looked up who Stiles and Murdock were. They were the characters from Route 66. Murdock is portrayed by an actor named George Maharis. And here I always thought George Michael Bluth’s fake name was an original goofball name. Oof. Arrested Development is the show that just keeps giving.) Dean turns on his “charm” but she only has eyes for Sam.

They boys head out, but not before Sam can get in one more bit of flirting. Dr Cara is smitten.

(For a one-off liaison for Sam, I LOVE THEM.)

Dean’s research revealed that each man’s story played out the same way, but they all fell for a different woman from the strip club.

Sam and Dean head to the Honey Wagon strip club for research that night. Dean gets nowhere with the club’s owner. No paperwork, all independent workers. Sam talked with Bobby, who suggests they’re dealing with a Siren. They’re beautiful creatures that prey on men, and entice them with their siren song. Dean’s song: Welcome to the Jungle. “So they shake their thing, and the guys zombie out?” (Side-note: SPOILER...Dean’s siren IS A MAN. I don’t want to jump ahead but I CAN’T WRAP MY HEAD AROUND THIS WHOLE EXPLANATION, AND THEN CONTINUE ON WITH THE “DEAN’S TOTES STRAIGHT” BULLSHIT THIS SHOW IS FEEDING US.) “Whatever floats the guy’s boat?” “So it can be the same chic, morphing into different dream girls?” Just as the brothers are lamenting the fact that it’ll be nearly impossible to locate the siren, one worker takes a client outside.

He takes her home for sexy-time, but not before checking in on his infirm mother. Later, she passively aggressively asks him to kills his mom so he can be with her forever. Then she just aggressively suggests he bash her brains in so they can be together. (Side-note: If this example of the siren working its wiles on a dude and his mom is supposed to show the “familial” side of the situation to parallel Sam and Dean, uh, the SIREN IS STILL SEXY-TIME for the dude even if the person they’re making them kill isn’t a significant other.)

While at their motel, doing a little research, Dean has a chance to check out Sam’s phone. He calls the one unknown number, only to hear Ruby on the other end. He hangs up, pissed. Sam arrives and Bobby calls in information.

Bobby mentions that the siren injects the men with some kind of toxin. But if the siren gets any of the toxin, they’ll die.

The boys head back to the hospital to meet with Dr. Roberts. Sam is hoping to get a sample of the Oxytocin. THE FLIRTING IS OUT OF CONTROL, FOLKS.

They’re interrupted by another FBI agent, Nick Monroe. There’s some FBI badge measuring. Dean and Nick look each other up and down and introduce themselves. There’s some staring (LISTEN, I’m just going off what the camera work is telling me, ok?) And Interrupting Moose, off-screen, tries to get in on the intro-fest. There’s some more FBI measuring, and Nick stares at Dean the whole time while Sam answers the questions. I mean, this is a master scene in heteronormativity. Nick calls the brother’s boss to check their credentials. Bobby, busy frying up lunch, puts everything in order.

Nick lays a theory on them all: all the attackers were hooking up with strippers from the same club. Sam and Dean bask in feelings of superiority because...DUH. Dean’s ready to be a “lone wolf” but Sam tasks him with occupying Nick instead.

It’s okay, though, because Nick is 100 billion percent into Dean(‘s car).

At the strip club, Dean’s not even watching the women (for pleasure OR for the case). He’s drinking and comparing music nerd levels with Nick.

There are “not a lot of Feds as cool as us,” Dean says, totally suavely. Totally, Dean! Finally, they get around to talking about the case. Nick pulls out further evidence that he collected...it’s a baggie with flowers matching the ones in Dr. Cara’s office. According to Nick, similar flowers have been found at every crime scene. He suggests that it’s the signature move of a serial killer. (Sorry, Nick, but Sam’s the one heavily into serial killer talk.)

Back with Sam and Dr. Cara-of-the-insidious-flowers, they’re reviewing security footage to find out who stole the blood samples from the attackers. It’s a no-go, though. Someone has already doctored the tapes. Sam tells her that he suspects a cover-up of the killings and that the men were drugged. Otherwise, why would they kill their victims in the first place? “Haven’t you ever been in a relationship where you really love somebody and still kind wanted to bash their head in?” Dr. Cara...keepin’ it real.

She pulls out alcohol to share from a cabinet in her office. (She’s clearly working through some issues of her own, poor bean.) When Dean calls she encourages Sam to ignore his phone call. It’s adult time now, baby. She can’t stop thinking about Sam’s lips, for example.

I’m sure I speak for Boris when I say:

Later, Sam heads back to the hotel room, accompanied by foreboding music. Dean’s not there, though. He’s driving in the Impala, and feeling disappointed in Sam. When they talk on the phone, Dean drops all his latest facts:

Sam’s ignoring Dean’s phone calls

Dr. Cara has hyacinths on her desk - which ties into the Grecian island where the siren myth originated

Her ex-husband is an ex because he’s DEAD, JIM

Also, why is Sam a jerk

Dean thinks Cara is the siren and he angrily asks Sam why he keeps hooking up with monsters. You’ll learn the allure of the supernatural someday, Dean. Maybe in just a few minutes in fact.

Dean enlists Nick’s help in canvassing for Dr. Cara. Nick finds her at a bar (poor, grieving Dr. Cara) and he and Dean stake out the late night dive.

In the car, they share swigs of a flask. Nick suggests that the poison might be entering the men through the saliva. Dean and Nick stare at the flask. “You really shoulda wiped the lid on that before you drank from it, Dean.”

Nick, who is totally the siren, tells Dean that Sam’s just a barrier to their relationship who needs to be removed. Nick can be like the brother that Sam’s failing to be. (Stares into the distance and thinks about labels.)

At the hotel room, Sam walks into an ambush. Dean holds a knife to his throat, while Nick delivers his villain speech. Yes, it is HE who has been driving men to kill others. “Maybe I got exactly what I wanted. I got Dean.” The siren reveals that he loves the hunt. He loves falling in love over and over again.

Nick squirts poison into Sam’s mouth. “Whoever survives can be with me forever.”

Sam and Dean, both under Nick’s control, turn to each other to...talk about their issues? The knife fighting comes later, clearly. Dean tells Sam that he’s changed, and lets him know that he knows about the calls to Ruby. Sam launches off of the Ruby subject and tells Dean that he’s too weak to fight Ruby. “You're too busy sitting around feeling sorry for yourself. Whining about all the souls you tortured in hell. Boo hoo.” DAMN, SAM. They fight - physically this time - and end up in the hallway.

As Dean is about to bring down an ax that he’s taken from the wall, Bobby appears! He jabs a bronze knife into Dean’s shoulder, throws the knife, and kills the siren. Damn, Bobby <3

Bobby lovingly chastises them later as they drink around their cars. According to Bobby, “Agent” Nick was clearly a big faking fake who fakes.

Dean asks if Sam will say goodbye to Cara but...nope. Sam’s just gonna blow outta town. (I think Dr. Cara mostly just wanted an uncomplicated hookup anyway, so likely for the best.) We leave the episode with awkward feelings all around. They’re “good” with each other but there’s a narrator voice intoning, “They were not, in fact, good.”

Whisper Quotes about Love:

Dude, you totally c-blocked me.

Strippers, Sammy, Strippers. We are on an actual case involving strippers.

Hey, I read.

For a fed, you’re not a total dick.

Want to read more? Check out our Recap Archive! 

[mrwyx]

Let's play a game! I call it make a random song out of random song lyrics. You can use more than one if you want.

SomeBODY once told me Sally's a great detective They're bad to the bone, even badder in the bladder,  Make a scene in the spleen, put the hustle in the muscle,  Put the hip in the hips, the word on the lips,  Ideas in the brain, keepin' him sane!  (Keepin' him sane!) I guess we're already here I guess we already know We've all got something to fear We've all got nowhere to go I think you're all insane! But I guess I am too Anybody would be If they were stuck on Earth with you! He'll vanquish any villain to set his girlfriend free! He doesn't have a clue about how to proceed. I wake up everyday it's a daydream Everythin' in my life ain't what it seems I wake up just to go back to sleep I act real shallow but I'm in too deep His brain's overloaded Jungle Love! Oh we oh we oh Move it over dad 'cause I'm a double-dipper! Upside down on the zip-zip-zipper 1, 2, 1, 2, 3, I've got a ticket so ride with me Mary go down on the merry-go-round All is fair on the fair ground Love go slow, love go fast Licorice twist gonna whip your ass. I think... oh, well, what am I to do? (Ooh-Ooh-Ooh) I didn't know that I would fall in love with you! And what to do right now? I haven't got a clue I just bite my tongue And when I want to say I love you I'll say (Boop Boop Boop Boop) And all I care about is sex and violence A heavy bass line is my kind of silence Everybody says that I gotta get a grip But I let sanity give me the slip Party time! Party time! Everybody feeling fine 'cause it's party time! And it seems we weren't prepared For a game that wasn't fair Conceal, don't feel, don't let them know Some people think I'm bonkers But I just think I'm free Man, I'm just livin' my life There's nothin' crazy about me See the line where the sky meets the sea? It calls me And no one knows, how far it goes If the wind in my sail on the sea stays behind me One day I'll know How far I'll go Now it's your turn to add more randomness.

[brooktrout96]

All of Your Life, Guided by Truth, Right From The Start Then One Twist of Fate

Zero didn’t know what the repercussion of calling Bakugou out on his shitty behavior would do to Izuku.

Chapter 3 of The Deeper The Darkness The More Dazzling The Light Shines!

AO3 is Here

“Zero, why did you take control during that argument with Kacchan?”

Zero let out a sigh. “Izuku, he’s a bully, maybe not by choice, but your damn Middle School let him act that way and so far, none of the teacher here at Yūei have done anything about how he acts toward you and he was about to use his Quirk on you and I couldn’t let him.”

“Zero.” Izuku let out a sigh as he knew that today would be a long day of school. “You do remember that I share a homeroom class with him and sit right behind him.”

“I know that, and I don’t think he’ll try anything in class.”

Izuku let out another sigh as he shook his head. “I hope that this won’t come back and bite us in the ass, Zero.”

“It shouldn’t.”

“Zero.”

Izuku set down at his desk as he waited for class to start as Bakugou stormed in and set down in front of him and let out a huff. He been like that almost all day after Zero called him out on how he bullied him since he learned that he was Quirkless.

“It’s mee!” All Might’s voice echoed into the classroom. “I’m coming through the door, like a normal person.” Izuku and Zero let out a sigh as the class became excited for the class as All Might began the introduction of the class. “Foundational hero studies, for this class, we’ll be building up your hero foundation through various trials. Let’s jump right into it with this.” He pulled a sign out of somewhere that said battle. “The trial of battle and to go with your first battle, we’ve prepared the gear that you requested, that matches your Quirks and don’t forget from here on out, you’re all officially on your way to becoming heroes.

Izuku changed into his hero outfit and joined his classmates and teacher in the training ground as All Might explain the lesson as Iida asked him a question. “Sensei, regarding the performance ground we’ll be using, is it the mock-city from the entrance exam?” Iida asked

“You’ll see, in fact take two steps and you’ll be there.” All Might paused. “This will be an indoor battle trail.” He began to explain the lesson. “villains cleanup is usually seen out in the open, but statistically, the  better part of it is an indoor job. Most acts of villainy are committed indoors.” He began to list things off. “Imprisonment, house arrest, the black market in this hero saturated society, why any villain with intelligence is lurking in the shadow! For this test, you’ll separate into ‘villain’ and ‘hero’ groups for a two-on-two team battle!”

The student were asking so many questions that All Might was having a hard time keepin up with the as they finally calmed down as All Might continued to speak. “For this training, we’ll have some ‘’villains’ guarding a nuclear weapon they intend on deploying, the heroes must stop them and their nefarious scheme before it’s too late! If the heroes capture the villains or reach the nuclear core before the time runs out, they win but if the villains manage to keep the core the whole time or capture the heroes, they win.”

The class got all paired up, and Izuku was paired up with Uraraka as she smiled at him. “Wow! We must be linked or something! Pleased to have you!”

Izuku began to freak-out over talking to a girl as Zero knocked some sense into him. “Izuku pull yourself together, she your classmate, you’ll not be able to do this every time your paired with your female classmates!”

Izuku was able to pull himself together as All Might pulled the first pair to do combat. “The first two pairs to do combat will be the following! Pair D will be the heroes and pair A will be the villains. The scenario is this, the villains are inside the building first, then after five minutes, the heroes will be let in as well. Everyone else will be able to watch what unfolds through the surveillance cameras.”

“This will allow young Midoriya and Uraraka to get inside the heads of villain-kind! This is a practical training exercise! So, go all out without the fear of injuries, although naturally we’ll cut it short if things get out of hand.

Izuku and Uraraka entered the building and they were studying the area around the weapon as Uraraka turned to Izuku with a confused look on her face as she studied him. “You don’t looked relieved?”

Izuku gave her a smile. “Oh no, sorry, it’s just my opponent is Kacchan and Iida too.” He let out a sigh. “I guess I’m really tense.”

“Oh, I remember now, it was Bakugou who kept on bulling you?”

Yeah and the thing is before class today, I called him out on the bulling thing and he’s been stewing almost all mourning. So, I’m pretty sure this won’t be a pretty match.”

Uraraka turned to Izuku. “So, what is the plan?”

Izuku turned to look at her. “I know for a face that Bakugou is going to go after me, so I’ll focus on him and you go after Iida.” He had a grin on face. “Now here is the plan.” He began to whisper to her.

Sit while we talk awhile

You've done no misdeed

Still they'll put your life on trial

Izuku was waiting for Bakugou to make the first move like he predicted he would. He looked around as he dodged Bakugou’s explosions as he scanned to see if Iida was anywhere nearby

“You fucking nerd!! Don’t dodge me!” He got ready to throw another explosive powered punch as Izuku grabbed his arm . “I’ll blow you away!” Izuku flipped him to the ground as his grin was seen threw his half-torn mask.

“Kacchan, you’ve always lead with a big right swing! I can’t count how many time I’ve seen you do it! Did you forget, I’ve analyzed and took notes on you and your Quirk since you got it and many countless heroes who had amazing Quirks just like

you! Even if you hated me, I kept pages of notes about, so when you became a great hero, I could say ‘see this, this is what the hero Bakugou was before he became the number one hero and look how much better he’s became’.” He let the power of One For All flow threw his body as he used it to boost his speed and dodging ability. “The same notes that you blew up and tossed away! I’m no longer the Deku that you equated as a worthless guppy.”

“Now I’m the ‘Deku’ who’s ‘never giving up’!”

Izuku let out a sigh. “I don’t blame you, I’d never blame you, I should but I don’t because it wasn’t your fault that your Quirk gave you a temper that was never tempered by being told no. I blame the damn school that never stopped the bulling and let you and other do what ever they wanted to the ‘Quirkless’ kid.”

“Damn you Bakugou.” Iida cursed as he looked for the weapon and Uraraka in the building. “He just up and flew out of sight.” He let out a sigh, “What’s up with that guy, seriously! Hey Bakugou!! Tell me what’s going on? What’s happening?!”

“Shut up and keep searching. I’m really fucking pissed right now!”

Iida let out another sigh. “When did I ask you how you were feeling!? He hung up on me, why that little…!!”

Uraraka smiled as she silently stayed hidden, adjusting herself whenever Iida got to close to her hiding spot.

“Where is she?” Iida mumbled as he looked around. “And where is the weapon?” Uraraka snuck up behind him and used her Quirk on him and made him weightless. He turned around as best as he could as she released him from her Quirk and he fell to the ground right onto his face as she grabbed the capture tape and tapped it around him.

“Gotcha Iida!” Uraraka had a smile on her as continued to loop the tape around him until it was good and secure. She had a smile on her face as Iida let out a sigh as he had let his guard down. She frowned. “Now it’s all up to you Izuku.”

Born like your family

Far from any state of grace

You're as perfect as the wind and sky

But they'll treat you like you're out of place

Izuku had the capture tape in hands as dodged another one of Bakugou’s attack. “Notebook #10, pg 18! I can visualize it!” He thought, “What’ll he do next?!” He had a smile on his face. “If I know Kacchan and I do know him, he’ll start getting hasty!” He rolled out of the way of another explosive punch. “And here comes the right swing!” Bakugou was right where Izuku wanted him as Izuku continued to rile him up

“Get back here Deku! Where are you…. You’ve tricked me, didn’t you?! Were you having a laugh all this time? Well?! You know what, your Quirk is actually pretty flashy ain’t it?!” Bakugou goes for another attack. “Why don’t you use it since mine is even stronger.”

Izuku had a smile on his face as Uraraka radioed that she had captured Iida and the only hero left was Bakugou. “Good.” He thought, “I’m glad that I know Kacchan as well as I do.” He went further into the building to hide as he dodged a kick instead of a punch. “To avoid getting read by me again he led with a kick, he must’ve caught on, so I won’t be able to get under his guard again. I need to think of another plan

“I already know about all of your stalking you know.” He had a grin on his face. “My explosions are sparked by the sweat on my palms which is like secreting nitroglycerin that then detonates

This world is cold

The power's with those who would judge and control

But we have a chance to make it right for you

This is what you'll do

“Zero…”

“Yeah, Izuku?”

“So, what was that about the argument this morning not coming back to bite us in the ass?”

“Okay, so I was wrong but there is nothing worse that could happen.”

“Zero!”

Now, if the specs are as I asked then I can store that Nitro-sweat into this bracer and…”

Bakugou, my boy, stop this!” All Might’s voice echoed over the intercom. “You’ll kill him.”

If it doesn’t hit him, he won’t die!” He let the explosion go as it rocked the whole building

Izuku did his best to get out the way of the explosion but he was still grazed by it and boy did it hurt. “Explosion?” Izuku thought, “That was more like an eruption! He must’ve requested a suit to increase his range.”

You’ve got quite some nerves ignoring me!”

All Might and the other students were watching the battle and many wanted him to end the match before someone got extremely hurt. He would ended soon if it went to far but right now, he wanted to see if Zero’s information about how Bakugou was Midoriya’s bully growing up rang true and so far, it seems to be right

~***~

“All Might, we need to talk.” Shin appeared in front of him, he wasn’t wearing his usually hoodie but a forest green hoodie and black pants and combat boots. “Let me cut to the chase. Bakugou and Izuku shouldn’t nor ever be paired either together or against one another.”

“Why?”

“He was Izuku’s childhood bully. He has scars from Bakugou’s Quirk that are pretty bad.” Shin let out a sigh. “Izuku doesn’t blame him, he blame the middle school that they went to for encouraging the bulling of the Quirkless child.” He paused and let out a sigh. “I know you probably don’t believe me but pair them up against one another and see what happens.”

~***~

All Might’s voice echoed once again over the intercom. “Bakugou, my boy, if you shoot another blast like that, I’ll end this exercise forcibly and you will loose. Launching an attack with such an extensive damage radius while indoors defeats the purpose of the lesson. It doesn’t matter if you’re a hero or a villain, that was foolish! Once more and you’ll earn yourself a massive demerits.”

“Aaah!? Fuck it.” He roared as Izuku grinned as he just finish relaying a message to Uraraka. “Let’s  just throw some punches.”

Izuku was being beat up by Bakugou and was laying on the ground as All Might glance at his timer, it had a minute left but Izuku wasn’t moving, he was about to call the match as over as Bakugou walked over to Izuku’s down body as a blur of green happened and he was wrapped up in the capture tape. “Gotcha, Kacchan.” He had a Cheshire Cat grin on his face as All Might ended the test as Bakugou continued to sputter as Uraraka returned to his side with a grin on her face as they high-five each other.

“Uraraka, take Midoriya to see Recovery Girl and once he’s patched up both of you please return to the classroom.” All Might’s voice echoed over the intercom as the duo left Iida to deal with unwrapping the tape from a seething Bakugo

You're not alone, there's no doubt

Your gift, isn't futile to be

If we'll be united

We're stronger together

We always have the high hope

Not all for one but one for all

Izuku and Uraraka returned to classroom after class as Izuku let out a sigh. He opened the door and they were greeted by some of their classmates.

“Oh, hey Midoriya, Uraraka, nice job back there.” Two other students greeted them with smiles as the boy from before continued speaking to Izuku. “Well, I couldn’t hear what you were saying to Bakugou back there but that was some heated stand-off, man.”

“You dodged like a champ. That first match was so intense it fired us all up!”

“Huh?!”

“Izuku, it seems like your performance garnered some fans.” Zero let out a laugh as Izuku’s classmates introduced themselves to him

“Yo, I’m Kirishima Eijirou! We were just finishing up our review meeting about the exercise!”

“Hi, I’m Ashido Mina! You dodged him really well!”

“I’m Asui Tsuyu but you can call me Tsuyu, okay?”

“Heya! Satou here!”

“Zero, am I making friends?”

“You are, Izuku.”  Zero set on Izuku’s shoulder with a smile on his face as Izuku’s classmate gathered around him

You're not alone, there's no doubt

Your gift, isn't futile to be

If we'll be united

We're stronger together

We always have the high hope

Not all for one but one for all

Izuku looked around the classroom as each of his classmates introduce themselves to him and Uraraka. The student with the crow or raven mutation was sitting on his desk as he spoke to the three.

“Can you guys pipe down? My name is Fumikage Tokoyami by the way.”

Iida began to scold him. “ Tokoyami you need to stop sitting on the desk! Stop it this instant!”

“Nothing shakes your convictions, huh Iida?” Tokoyami said with a smile.

“Hey, Uraraka.” said the blond that wasn’t Bakugou. “You wanna go out to eat? What sort of food do you like?”

“Rice cake.” The girl said absentmindedly. Everyone was now staring at Izuku as he still had signs of the match against Bakugou.

“Deku is alright, Recovery Girl healed him right up but she couldn’t heal all of it at once without exhausting him. So, he has to take it easy until he recovers

“Which shouldn’t take more then a week unlike Recovery Girl said. You should be able to get back to training ASAP.”  Zero said to his host with a smile on his

“All I can hope is that the teachers learn not to pair me with or against Bakugou until he get’s his act together.”  Izuku thought hopefully to Zero

“We can only wait and see Izuku,”

Don't worry 'bout a thing

We'll  reach out to you

Even if it'd a harder way

It's plain to see the reason why

Oh, that's all because of the mighty heart

“Kacchan!” Izuku yelled as he caught up to Bakugou as he was leaving Yūei for the day.

“You can do it Izuku!”  Zero cheered

Izuku let out a breath that he was holding. “Kaachan, I need to tell you this. We’ve know each other since we’re baby.” Izuku was thinking of things Bakugou had said today, ‘did you trick me?! Have you been tricking me this whole time,’ ‘ah!? You’ve had a pretty flashy Quirk all this time, huh?”

“Bakugou, my secret is that I obtained this Quirk from somebody else. No matter what, I can’t tell you who! But I swear it’s true, even if it sounds like a story out of a comic book. In addition, I right now can’t use it’s full power. One day, I’ll make this power properly my own and then I’ll surpass you by my own power and I’ll show you what I can do.”

“What the hell is that ‘borrowed’ power? I don’t get what the hell you’re trying to say.” Bakugou growled at him. “Did you just come to make a bigger fool of me!? Huh!?”

Bakugou’s anger continued to grow as he continued to speak to Izuku. “Even if your not, today you beat me, ass-clown. That’s all there is to it! That’s all!” Bakugou’s anger finally boiled over as he went on a rant as explosion began to form at his finger tips. “And did you get a good look at that ice guy!? I thought he was nothing before!!”

“Fuck!”

“What that ponytail bitch said really sunk in. Shit, god damnit” Bakugou looked up at Izuku. “Hey! You too… Deku. From here on out!! I...”

“From here on out… you listening!? I’m gonna be number one!” Bakugou turned to leave as he finished his sentace. “And don’t you dare get the idea that you’ll ever beat me again! Fuck!”

“Bakugou!” A familiar voice startled Izuku as All Might appeared and put his hands on Bakugou’s shoulder. “My boy! I’ll tell you this once, self-confidence is a very vital thing and you’re not mistaken that you have talent befitting a pro but anger needs to be tempered before you can achieve being a good hero but after that, you can climb even higher.”

“Let go of me, All Might. I can’t walk.” Bakugou growled as he turned to look at All Might. “I didn’t tell you before, so allow me to correct that. I’m gonna surpass you, too! I’m gonna vault over you as the top hero!”

You know we have to sacrifice ourselves

Whatever they may say

It's plain to see the reason why

Oh, that's all because of the mighty heart

Remember it's just natural that

We'll be there if you need help

Far across the distance

Rest assured that our faith just won't die