#re: crosshairs

[blackseafoam]

Marked Part II

Part 1

A Bad Batch x Red Dead Redemption crossover AU (with illustrations :)

Word count: 1695

CW: Stuff you'd normally find in a western story. Swearing, smoking, gun touting, arrow wounds, horse jokes.

Two uneventful days went by for the Bad Batch Gang. They began to think the weird interaction in Valentine really was just that, nothing more.

“Why can’t I try a rifle?” Meggy kicked at a rock in her path.

“Because a rifle doesn’t work on small game.” Echo smirked, adjusting the shotgun in his elbow.. “There won’t be anything left of the critter. Plus, a bow is a great weapon. I’d have one too if I could.”

The youngest and oldest siblings picked their way quietly through the forest just north of camp. They’d managed to grab one squirrel all morning, but the forest was unusually quiet today. “Let’s head back, hopefully Crosshair had better luck.”

“No luck for you today, I’m afraid.” A strangers voice startled the pair as a towering figure stepped out from behind a tree. The blue-jacketed man from town. His revolver raised toward Echo.

Meggy froze, Echo raised his shotgun. “Stay away.”

“Don’t be a fool, we know that’s birdshot.” A scar-faced man appeared. Followed by three other armed men. “Just drop it.”

Echo let out a frustrated groan placed his shotgun on the dirt.

“Are you okay, kid?” one of the three goons asked, a young black man with a scarf.

“She’s exactly where she belongs.” Echo spat.

“Hey I wasn’t asking you!”

Meggy stood silently, still frozen.

“See? She’s terrified!” Another spoke up with a thick irish accent. “We outta blow your other arm off, kidnapper.”

“This is a misunderstanding, we saved-”

“Quiet!” The man in blue growled. “Walk back to camp, we’re gonna meet your friends. Sean, take the kid to the horses and wait for the signal.”

-

Arthur was somewhat relieved to see only two figures as he pushed his hostage into the kidnapper’s camp, but that only meant the remaining two were unaccounted for still. Theone with the red scarf was chopping firewood while the glasses-wearing one was grooming a horse on the farther end of camp.

“Hands up, drop the ax.” Arthur called from the edge of the clearing, gun still trained on the one-armed man’s back, using him as a shield. Lenny, John, and Javier fanned out on either side, weapons drawn.

“Weapons on the ground, or Lefty gets it. This is your only warning.” He put a hand on Echo’s shoulder and pulled him backward.

“Your knife too.” Lenny barked at Hunter.

With a nod from their leader the three gang members gathered the two new hostages.

-

Sean and Meggy watched the others disappear into the trees.

“Alright kid, let’s go. You’re safe now.” Sean beckoned the girl toward the horses where they were to wait for the signal. She did not follow. When the irishman turned around, her bow was trained on him.

“No, no. I’m here to save you kid. Meghan, right? We’re bringing you home!” He stammered.

“I am home.” She curled her lip, and let the arrow fly.

-

It had been ten whole minutes since Arthur had whistled for Sean to bring down the horses. “Where is that bastard?” Arthur said under his breath.

They had their hostages kneeling on the forest floor as Javier bound their hands. The trio eyed their captors with an intense vitriol but said nothing. It was abundantly obvious these were no run of the mill outlaws, these were battle-trained men. Arthur was not going to let his guard down.

Just then the sound of hoof steps came from behind. Sean led them from his steed, an arrow was embedded firmly in his thigh.

“Where’s the girl?!” Javier opened his arms in confusion.

“She got away!” Sean spat, grimacing and pressing on his thigh where the arrow shaft bounced with every stride of his mount.

“You gotta be kidding me, Sean. You had ONE job!” Arthur groaned.

“Goddamnit.” John cursed.

“She SHOT me!” Sean motioned to the arrow, as if no one had noticed it.

Arthur glanced at the hostages. Their intense, angry stares held a new smugness at the news that the girl had escaped. He drew a pained sigh. “Javier, Lenny, take these fellas to the sheriff in Valentine. Sean, John, ride with me we’re gonna find that girl.” He holstered his revolver and mounted up.

Sean nodded stiffly.

“Are you alright?” Arthur asked in a low voice as he neared the horses.

“Not to worry, English, takes a lot more than one arrow to take out a Maguire.” He choked out.

“Leave it in, nothing we can do about it till we get back to camp.”

Sean’s positive demeanor wilted then, realizing he’d have to ride with an impaled thigh for another couple hours at the very least.

Javier and John mounted, guns still drawn, and walked Hunter, Echo, and Tech down the trail toward Valentine. The rest rode in the opposite direction.

-

Meggy ran like she had never run in her life. Her boots catching on branches almost took her out several times, but she didn’t let it slow her. Crosshair and Wrecker were somewhere out here, she had to warn them about what was going on.

“Meggy!” A raspy voice hissed out of nowhere.

Meggy stopped in her tracks. Confusion written on her face.

“Up here.”

Meggy looked up, Crosshair was perched high up in a Douglas Fir.

“Crosshair!” The girl said as loudly as she dared. “They took Echo!”

“I know, I saw the whole thing. Climb up here, they’re coming back.”

Meggy had never climbed a tree before, but she had to be brave. She clambered one branch at a time until she was a few levels below her brother, then decided it was enough.

“Where’s Wrecker?” She breathed hard from the exertion.

“I don’t know.”

As if on cue their brother appeared through the tree trunks below, striding back toward camp with an armful of game traps he’d retrieved.

“Psssst Wrecker!” Meggy hissed.

“He can’t hear you.” Crosshair threw a pine cone down toward his half-deaf brother’s head with pinpoint accuracy.

“OW!” Wrecker turned and looked up. “Hey! What are you two doing in a tree?!”

Meggy and Cross motioned him to be quiet and beckoned him up.

The three siblings balanced on their branches, the one Wrecker was on creaking concerningly. Holding their breath, they watched the bounty hunters searching for them in the forest below. Crosshair held his rifle ready to retaliate at the slightest glance in their direction, Meggy and Wrecker could do nothing but wait.

After several, slow, agonizing minutes, the men moved on.

“Who’s that?” Wrecker whispered.

“I don’t know but they have Echo!” Meggy tried to hold in a sob.

“We’ll get him back.” Wrecker growled. “Come on.” He started back down the tree.

“Stop. There are too many of them. We need a plan.” Crosshair hissed.

“Let’s go back to camp.” Wrecker suggested. “We’ll get Hunter and Tech and then get Echo.”

-

An hour of searching yielded no results, the bounty had fled. Arthur knew when the trail had run cold, and this one was ice.

“Don’t know how much longer I’m gonna last, English.” Sean gasped in pain for the twelfth time. It was time to give up. Even if they did find the bounty, Sean would be no help bringing them in, and he wasn’t confident with the marksman and the bruiser being the ones unaccounted for.

“John, get Sean home. I’ll meet the others in town.”

-

The cell in the Sheriff’s office reeked of must and the unwashed fabric of the thin mattress on the floor. Hunter, Tech, and Echo sat on the ground as far away from it as possible.

On their way in, Hunter had noticed Meggy’s bounty poster… her reward was more money than they ever would’ve imagined. Why all this fuss over one kid? Why couldn’t they just be left alone?

“The Van der Linde Gang.” Tech thoughtfully mumbled to himself.

“The Van der Linde Gang?” Echo scoffed. “What’s that?”

“I read about them in the paper, I have a hunch that’s who we’re dealing with.” Tech said softly, eyeing the deputy at the desk across the room.

“How do you know that?” Hunter whispered.

“The one calling the shots, I believe his name is Arthur Morgan, has a vicious reputation. He is one of Dutch Van der Linde’s right hand men.”

“Yeah he’s the one we ran in to in town.” Hunter said in a worried hush.

“QUIET IN THERE!” The Deputy scolded.

They fell silent for a few minutes.

“How long have we been here?” Echo whispered

Tech, the only one who wore a watch, checked it. “Four hours.”

Echo sighed.

“I SAID QUIET! Final warning.” The Deputy hit the table with his fist.

-

Wrecker, Crosshair, and Meggy ducked through the underbrush as quickly and quietly as possible. Stopping every so often to listen for their pursuers. When they arrived at camp they waited and watched for at least an hour, making sure the bounty hunters were not around.

“Is it safe yet?” Meggy dared a whisper.

“We need a plan, first.” Wrecker scratched his chin.

Crosshair’s uncanny stillness finally broke. “I’ll tack up Havoc. Wrecker and Meggy get Murray* on the wagon. We’ll go to town and carefully scope it out to see if we can figure out where they took them.”

(*Murray is Marauder’s nickname)

Meggy and Wrecker nodded and the troop finally stood from their hiding place. Meggy looked up at Crosshair, his brow was knotted with deep concern. She gently tugged on his sleeve. “We’re gonna find them, Crosshair, don’t worry.” She smiled.

The marksman nodded back but barely looked at her.

Soon enough they were on the road. Wrecker drove the wagon while crosshair took up the rear on his mount, and Meggy was relinquished to riding in an empty crate to stay out of sight. She jostled inside, now that the adrenaline had worn off the reality of the situation was beginning to set in. A few stray tears slid down her face. The universe had just given her a family and now it was trying to take it away. Maybe it really would’ve been better for everyone if she just stayed at that stupid school.

Taglist: @dragonrider9905 @omegafett99 @griffedeloup

Author’s note:

Hello beautiful readers! So many of you have given me such good ideas for this AU. This is a kind of “I’m making it up as I go” story with several solid story beats I’m working toward. That being said I’d love to hear more detail ideas for this crossover if you have them! And I will try to incorporate them in.

For example: someone suggested that Gonky be their disabled dog and I love that so much, I want to figure out how to ret con it in. Stuff like that.

Anyway thank you for reading and for all the enthusiasm!’ I read every single tag, reblog, and reply (multiple times).

[niobiumao3]

Another way TBB S3 was disappointing to me: Crosshair's redemption arc goes into how loyalty is one of his big motivators, yet Tech's loyalty to him when he insisted they go after Crosshair and subsequently was lost on that same mission is NOT ONCE BROUGHT UP.

The number of ways the emotional impact of Tech's death is just flat out ignored is really grating to me and it's why I struggle to enjoy the season at all. Not even just his absence--though ofc that sucks too--but that his absence is only felt as a series of missing skills and in random asides. Where's Crosshair feeling especially raw over the fact that the moment Tech knew Cross was still loyal to them he was ready to come and fetch him, and died trying?

Never not going to be bitter about all the emotional beats which were thoroughly and completely ignored.

[same-crazy-art-girl34]

*on a mission*

Hunter: we need to get through those guards

Wrecker: let's do 'get help'!

Hunter: what? no.

Wrecker: come on, you love it!

Hunter: i hate it.

Wrecker: it's our best plan!

Hunter: it's humiliating!

Wrecker: we're doing it

Hunter: we are not doing 'get help'.

.......(later)..........

Wrecker: *running with Hunter over his shoulder*

Wrecker: get help! my brother is hurt!!

Wrecker: HELP HIM! *throws Hunter at the guards*

[sanshinexx]

Family portrait with the Dad Bad Batch

[letshareapapou]

I missed this man

[hurricanek8art]

Okay SO I've never Bad Batch posted beyond reblogs but there's two episodes left and I'm going insane so my big giant theory for why the finale is titled The Cavalry Has Arrived with a sprinkle of Tech is Alive Yes I Am Delusional:

Tonight's episode is going to end with the Batch, Omega's gang, and CX-2 all colliding in one of the hallways.

Big Western faceoff, tumbleweed, yadda yadda y'know.

Right before the shooting starts, CX-2 tells them their escape plan through whatever hallway they're planning is strategically ill-advised, because *insert tactical explanation here*

Hunter: "Oh yeah? What, you trying to help us or something? No thanks."

CX-2: "It was worth the attempt. It's not as if we've ever followed orders anyway."

BIG PAUSE, CLOSE UP MONTAGE OF EVERYONE AS THE WORDS SINK IN

Omega: "...Tech?!"

Tech: *removes helmet to reveal it's him* "Well, I thought it was obvious. Shall we liberate some clones together, then?"

SMASH CUT, ROLL CREDITS, THE CALVARY HAS ARRIVED BECAUSE THE *ENTIRE* BATCH IS TOGETHER AGAIN AND THEY'RE GONNA SAVE THE CLONES.

end conspiracy theory rant. 🥴

[alabyte]

«Promise me»

They knew what the chips were made for. And they knew something was wrong with Crosshair. AU, where Bad Batch were able to escape Kamino in full after Order 66, but the chip issue remained unresolved.

Word count: 1 683 Warnings: angst, implied character death, implied fratricide, severe emotional distress, Tix was trying to cope with S2 finale Together with @heksahela

The ruins of the old, abandoned base rattled with metal, creaked and howled with the damp whistle of the wind, bringing snow into the crevices of the corroded walls. The two sat in the darkness of the flimsy shelter.

— According to my preliminary calculations, we'll be in a more stable condition by the end of this rotation, which means we'll be able to get to the main facility. — Tech's voice sounded almost mundane, echoing off the metal walls and interrupting the crackling of the small fire. — We have to prepare, take the necessary resources and tools, but we'll have to go light. Until then, your helmet needs repairing.

The collapse in the sector they were exploring took them by surprise and forced them to change their mission plan on the fly. Hunter, Wrecker, Omega, and Echo, as those who had managed to get out without major injuries, went on a reconnaissance mission. In the snow, they were to find the entrance to the complex they had been unable to reach. And the two of them, injured and frozen, were left here to nurse their wounds. Dislocated joints, broken bones, bruises — at a time when the twins should have been more of a burden and a hindrance to the group, they had nothing to do but wait and replay thoughts that made them anxious, bitter, and almost nauseous. The cold and howling of the blizzard reminded them too much of Kaller.

To Tech's usual monotonous monologue about their plan for the future, the sniper just nodded a few times and stared blankly somewhere in front of him. He looked lost, not even thoughtful — as if he was lost in his own head, aimlessly twisting his helmet in his healthy, unstrapped hand and feeling its surface. There was an impact dent here, a few scratches and chipped paint there, and the visor dangled almost lifelessly somewhere in the mount. Crosshair doesn't immediately notice that his brother has offered (or insisted) on helping to fix it, but then, with some delay, he nods again and passes the helmet into the other man's hands. For a few seconds there is silence in their empty base. It was either embarrassing or oppressive.

— Tech.

One of them almost jerks when the silence is broken by Crosshair's voice. For all his taciturnity, it wasn't hard to notice when his silence became strained, almost tortured — especially considering there had been reasons for it in the last few rotations.

— I need you to promise me something.

Tech looked at his brother expectantly, studying and somewhat concerned, without lifting his head. So much so that he even stopped his repairs.

— I can't promise you anything, — the intelligent clone objected in his usual tone, though it was noticeable how the intonation had changed to a more ingratiating and cautious one, — Not until I know exactly what the request is.

Crosshair's choice of words was painful, difficult, unfamiliar to him. Normally he didn't have to search his own mind to find a clear and often witty answer, but now he needed every fiber of his being that wasn't occupied by the aching pain of the fracture and the swirling pack of thoughts that kept him busy. It was proving more difficult than he would have liked. It was noticeably alarming.

— If something goes wrong, — Sniper's voice was slightly hoarse, as if the words were sticking to the walls of his throat and getting stuck halfway down it. And so it happened — he stopped speaking halfway through, pressed his lips together and frowned, looking down at his feet. He had one last chance to turn this into a joke, to brush it off and pretend he was just worried about their new mission. But he wasn't even worried about going to the surface if they risked not coming back. From the first day he'd learned about the chips, he hadn't been able to escape the idea that he was a wild animal with a faulty shock collar — that he was a danger not so much to himself as to everyone around him.

In general, he didn't care about almost anyone around him. But the thought of any incident affecting his brothers — his family — was devastating. It made him want to bury himself in the snow and never come out.

— Do what needs to be done. — Sniper finally finished his sentence and lifted his gaze to his brother — hard, serious, almost pleading. There was not a shadow of the usual sneer, not a hint of sarcasm or joke to be seen. — Everything that must be done to protect the others.

He rubbed one temple with his fingers, pensive and tense, as if trying to feel the damn chip through his skin, skull and brain membranes. His head hurt more than ever after the crash. He wanted to believe it was a concussion.

— Please.

Tech didn't answer right away. He stared silently into Crosshair's eyes, trying to see a shadow of sarcasm there, or at least his usual sneer. Nothing, just the realization that there was a time bomb in his head and every second could be the last time he would make his own decisions. They had reason to believe that something was wrong. They both realized that.

— I… — He started to speak, but stumbled over his own words, leaving them unspoken. Clone closed his eyes and bowed his head, adjusting his glasses. — I understand why you ask, but I don't agree. We'll take care of the chips. I promise. But I… — It took him a moment to find the right words.

A long time ago, when they were still cadets, Tech had suggested that the squad develop internal protocols for various situations. At first these were situations they had encountered as cadets, then these protocols, which they eventually called plans, evolved into their missions, which they had successfully completed time and time again. They used many plans and solutions that only they understood, but there were also those, just a few, that they hoped never to have to use.

And now, without speaking directly, Crosshair was asking him, in case he lost control, to turn to something that none of the squad ever wanted to think about. And to be honest, they didn't have a plan for situations like this, because none of them had even considered the possibility of such events.

— I'll do my best, Crosshair.

The sniper could only wipe his face with his fingers, shaking his head slightly. As much as he wanted to deny it, there was no one else Crosshair could ask. He trusted them all. But he trusted Tech more than anyone, knowing that he wouldn't put fear of loss before saving his brothers.

— Tech, — The words about how they were sure to handle everything made him want to chuckle ironically. It was a necessary self-deception, but so irrational that he couldn't even believe it was Tech who had uttered that line of reasoning, — We're not going to be able to figure it out. We're stuck here.

The truth was bitter but factual. They were stuck on a snowy planet in the ruins of an abandoned base, on the run from the Empire, with almost no supplies and no place to go in this galaxy, and in the mind of at least one of them was a ticking time bomb counting down the rotations, hours, or even minutes until a switch flipped. The switch that would determine whether Crosshair or CT-9904 was with them. Tech fixes his gaze on the osprey mechanism of his brother's helmet, trying to hide in repair from the brutal truth.

— I know you can find a way out of almost any trap, — Sniper shakes his head slightly, nervously fingering the cloth that held his broken forearm around his neck with the fingers of his healthy hand, — but there may be no way out of this one. It's a dead end. We don't know if we have time.

He could trust Tech. He knew he would put the team ahead of emotions or sentimental attachments - even if it had to be done the hard way. Even if it cost someone's life.

— It won't be me anymore anyway, — Cross exhaled, lowering his gaze to the frozen metal floor, — There's no point in feeling sorry for him.

Every second of silence echoed in Tech's mind. They were both silent for as long as it took each of them to find the words to tell the other more in thought than they could say out loud.

Tech couldn't maintain eye contact for long and eventually turned back to Cross' helmet. He disassembled the visor, perhaps held in place only by the Force, repaired it, adjusted it, and put it back on, replacing the mount with a suitable part he had found earlier. He checked the settings once more with the datapad, and only when he was sure that everything was working properly did he hand the helmet back to the sniper with a brief nod. In that nod, a perfectly tiny and imperceptible gesture, was the gravity of acceptance. He had been trusted, and the price of that trust was that he would kill someone who had been at his side all his life, since his earliest days, if circumstances demanded it.

If it's best for everyone. If it suddenly turns out that death for his brother would be a more humane release than being locked in his own head while the blood of his own family is spilled by his own hands.

Crosshair picks up his helmet in silence. Until the others return, the whistling of the blizzard is the only sound that breaks the silence of the shelter, and the sniper utters only one thing:

— Thank you.

It echoes like a blaster shot in the snowy desert at the forgotten compound. It leaves bloody streaks in the snow, scarlet furrows and a scattering of droplets. It remains the last thing Tech ever hears from someone who was once his brother.

The barely audible «thank you» became the unbearable cost of a promise he had to keep.

______________________________________________________________

I thought it was going to be a couple line note BUT WHATEVER. @clownery-and-fuckery you thought I was bluffing? I wasn't. That's our ultimate Fuck-up AU.

[moosethren]

Screams into a pillow as I re-write Aftermath to my liking.

The Batch actually communicating. Trying to help Crosshair. Crosshair being protective when he realizes the programming works on him and that he's a danger to the others.

[voidartisan]

One thing I've noticed on this rewatch of tbb is the contrast between hunter and crosshair's lines of reasoning, and i find it intriguing. crosshair takes a very cold, purely rational stance on things. he joins the empire as a self-preservation move (or so he leads us to believe). "there's a new power in the galaxy and i'm going to join it because it seems like the best thing for me." hunter's reasoning is more moral/emotional. even when he's trying to appeal to crosshair, he argues that "you're nothing but a number to them." he opposes the empire primarily because it doesn't care about people.

what i find really interesting is crosshair's appeal to hunter at the end of S1: "you can have a purpose in the empire." which has a certain emotional undercurrent to it, and then in S2, crosshair kind of succumbs to hunter's more emotional line of reasoning as he watches it play out with mayday, and cody, and governor ames, and himself.

i know this isn't like. anything original for media in general; it's a pretty standard set-up for a redemption arc. i just noticed the consistency of it this time around and it's related to some other thoughts I have that are still forming

[butchhansolo]

ik hunter being a dad to omega is like the main thing in these parts but as a sibling who is 11 years younger than his older brother i think some Lilo And Nani-esque opportunities are being missed

[movietimegirl]

What's that? I'm going to re-watch today's episode later? Damn right I am.

[cabdane]

[eriexplosion]

I know I've posted about this before, but I have been going out of my tumblr bubble a little more to find discussion of this episode and honestly I am still surprised by the amount of argument over if Crosshair Deserves a redemption, in a show where not only is redemption a big thing but... most redeemed villains have done so much more than Crosshair has.

Like, the general implication is he got his chip out after Bracca - I've seen some theories that it's when we see him in the medbay after episode three, which is possible but his personality shift doesn't seem to happen until after Bracca, so I think it's a good assumption that everything before that is his chip. Leaving aside discussions of culpability in clones given that they are literally raised from infancy to follow orders and the effects of what an enhanced chip might do to the brain, this means that the things we see Crosshair do that is at least mostly of his own will are:

He shot Senator Taa with a nonfatal headshot which is apparently a thing he can do, though after his display in Solitary Clone I guess that's not surprising.

Lured in the batch to make his misguided attempt at selling the Empire with the worst sales pitch known to man. Killed his imperial squad in the process (this isn't really a bad thing but you know, including it as Some Murders He Did)

Decided to stay with the Empire, proceeded to sit on that platform for 32 days and then spend several months in his jammies waiting for medical clearance since the gap between seasons is much more than that single month judging from Omega's growth spurt.

Killed Governor Tawni and I stick to my argument that this was timed to when Cody was being threatened with consequences, but it's the most clearly Awful thing he's done.

When left to his own devices he's a shit talking bitch. While considered rude, this is not illegal and others are willing to engage in 'talk shit get hit' with him over it.

In a show where the majority of redemptions go to people that have participated in genocides, torture, and so forth with fewconflicted emotions until their ultimate redemption arc, I just do not know why people are so quick to put him in the Irredeemable Box. (I've literally seen articles that did it as early as episode three where he was still considered unambiguously chipped but suddenly MIND CONTROL IS NO EXCUSE)

He has been clearly struggling with himself the entire show. Most of his actions sit in kind of a murky area because we don't know what's going on in his head because I don't think HE knows what's going on in his head and if he does he's not being honest about it anyway. Let the poor little meow meow breathe damn it.

[drydak]

every week i have the same question which is where is cody is he safe is he alright......and every week i get no answers

[phantom-of-the-501st]

S2 Ep 3 Spoilers

I know he's an arsehole but like

I feel really bad for him 😭

[chiwit]