#scoop slam a turret

[jareofficial]

There should be a Portal 2 mod where you can punch things. On some Zeno Clash shit. That'd be cool I think.

[divinegrey]

val ladies of your choice reacting to fem reader who gets an ace?

ooo fun prompt!! sure can do!!!

ACED / FADE, JETT, KILLJOY, NEON, REYNA, SAGE, SKYE, VIPER X F!READER

words: warnings: mentions of blood and death, general game-related violence

FADE

The last bullet fires from the chamber of your gun, slamming into the head of the poor mirror Omen who didn’t even have time to turn and realize he’d been flanked and outnumbered. 

There’s blood on your face and sand in uncomfortable places, but you did it— the mission was complete and the threat currently neutralized. 

Coming around the corner with her Vandal in hand is your girlfriend, Fade, a look of shock and awe on her face. 

“Oye, holy shit! You aced!” 

Fade collides into you, wrapping her arms tightly around your neck. Though her words are excited, you feel the fear radiating off of her when you wince, holding your hand to your side (the enemy Raze had gotten lucky, but not lucky enough during your skirmish with her). 

“Couldn’t have done it without you and your haunt,” you say, tucking your head into the crook of her neck. The smell of her clothes is comforting. “God, sand is so itchy.” 

“Tell me about it,” Fade says, pulling away but keeping her arm around you for support as you move to regroup with the others. Under her breath, just enough for you to hear, Fade whispers, “I’m relieved that you’re okay, sevgilim.” 

“I will be once Skye patches this hole in my torso,” you joke, prompting Fade to roll her eyes. Fade kisses you, and if it placates her worries, you’re all too happy to let her. 

JETT

“Aye, good fucking job! Couldn’t leave any for me, could you?” Jett dashes into your line of sight, with windswept hair and a beyond proud look in her eyes. You let out a sigh of relief, lowering your gun. 

You aced. You couldn’t believe it, but with the right amount of luck and placement, you had killed all five of the mirror agents attempting to steal your radianite, but not without some damage. 

“I can’t let you have all the fun around here,” you reply, watching Jett twirl one of her knives in the air before catching it in her hand. “Besides, I think I get to do whatever I want with you now, right?” 

At the reminder of the bet you had made with her, Jett’s face turns a rosy pink. Easy to spot with the color of her hair being as bright as it is, and you simply grin at the flustered appearance of your girlfriend. 

The duelist comes over and punches your shoulder with a grumpy expression that you know is one hundred percent fake. You sling your gun over your shoulder before scooping up your girlfriend in a fireman’s carry, prompting her to attempt to wiggle free. 

It’s fruitless— you carry Jett back to the Vulture, laughing as she shouts at you the entire time to put her down. When you do put her into a seat, she kicks you in the shin. You go down onto the ground, and the amount of laughing is worth the motherly side-eye that Sage gives you as she gets on the Vulture after you. 

KILLJOY

“How the fuck did I just do that?” The question to yourself hangs in the air as you step over the mass of bodies left in the wake. Maybe an Odin was a good idea after all. 

Skidding into view is Killjoy, sprinting to your side. She grabs onto your shoulders, then shakes you rapidly until your brain is feeling thoroughly jiggled. 

“An ace! You got an ace, mein gott!” Killjoy’s excitement is through the roof. “I got footage from my turret! The way you just went in guns blazing and it worked! You did it!” 

Her smile is infectious, and you find yourself grinning at your girlfriend as she, through the eyes of her turret, executes everything you did play-by-play, complete with mimed gestures and sound effects that has you smiling from ear to ear as you walk back to the Vulture. 

Killjoy has always been nothing but supportive of you, especially when it comes to fighting. You always stress about being a good fragger for the team, but moments like these remind you that you have a place in the Protocol for a reason. You’re a good agent, and a great one at that, with the way Killjoy is regaling your epic moment on the battlefield. 

You glance at her on the Vulture, perhaps for a few seconds too long, because Killjoy stops talking and gives you a curious look. 

You shrug. “Just lookin’ at my beautiful girlfriend.” 

Killjoy’s cheeks turn red, and she promptly elbows you in the stomach. 

Leave it to her to turn the focus back to you. You love her anyway. 

NEON

“Hoy!” Neon races into your field of view, just in time to catch you before you fall backward. Defending an entire site by yourself was not easy whatsoever, but the gunfire has stopped, so you won, right?

“Jesus, that hurts,” you say, leaning against your girlfriend’s shoulder. “Are they all dead?” 

“Are they all—” Neon laughs. “You killed all of them, mahal! You aced! I couldn’t even get here in time!” 

At Neon’s words, you glance over and register that there are five bodies on the ground in the tunnel where you had used your abilities to catch them off guard. You shot your entire clip’s worth of bullets into them, but you hadn’t realized it was all of them there. 

“Oh, shit,” you say, a woozy step to the side paired with a laugh. “I did that?” 

Neon grabs your face, pinching your cheeks. Static dances up her fingers and tingles erupt on your skin. “You did that! I was all prepared to defend B site all with Viper, scary lady, but you were over here and did it all by yourself!”

Neon lays a kiss onto your cheek, prompting you to laugh at the affection showered by your girlfriend. Always your number one supporter, especially in times like these. You’re not at all used to being a top fragger. That’s Neon’s job. 

But, it does feel rewarding to have Neon all over you on the way back to base, holding you tightly the entire time and repeating phrases of happiness and pride. 

REYNA

Upon scoring an ace on a mission, Reyna does nothing but congratulate you with a click of her tongue and a “Good work.” 

Fairly typical for her, really. 

But, back at base, you find yourself being cornered when the Empress slides into your quarters, her skin translucent and her eyes bright with what you’d call desire mixed with a little bit of danger. Reyna comes back into full form, the light of her tattoo shining on the walls of your space. 

“How rude of you, cariño, to take all of my food away from me,” Reyna says, and for a moment you think she’s referencing the dinner you just ate, but it clicks. The ace. 

“I can’t let you get all the glory all the time, Reyna,” you say with a nervous laugh, backing up until you hit your dresser. Reyna stalks, locking you in with her hands at your sides. 

“The least you could do is share a taste, mi corazón.” Reyna grips your jaw, grinning, the points of her fangs exposed to the light. You’re reminded of how terrifying your girlfriend can be, but the thrill that rushes up your spine causes a tingle low in your stomach. 

“Is this my reward?” You ask, feeling her lips ghost over yours. 

“No. It’s mine.” Reyna replies, before yanking your head to the side and sinking her teeth into your jugular. 

You grip onto her shoulders, gasping before melting into her grip. 

Maybe you deserved it a little bit, but honestly? You’re enjoying yourself!

SAGE

You pull your head up just in time to watch your compatriots rush to your side. Your gun sits in your lap and you smile. 

“I got them,” you say, your voice hardly above a whisper as you gesture to the dead agents at the other side of the field. “Ow.” 

“Look at me.” The reassuring voice of Sage, your girlfriend, prompts you to meet her gaze. Turning your head, you smile at her, resting your head on the hand she places upon your cheek. 

“I got them,” you repeat, and Sage nods, pride twinkling in her eyes. 

“You got an ace, my love. I’m so very proud of you,” Sage says, her other hand summoning a healing orb. She presses it into your skin— at the cold sensation, you wince, gritting your teeth together, until the iciness fades and gives way to the pleasant tingle of your body stitching itself back together. 

Sage focuses, eyes shut, until you feel the worst of your injuries have faded away into nothingness. With that, you’re able to stand up with her help. Sage holds you tightly with her hug, and you sink into her grasp. 

“You scared me,” Sage whispers. “I didn’t hear from you after the gunfire was done.” 

“Sorry,” you mutter in reply. “My ears were ringing.” 

Sage pulls away, cupping your face. “No need. I am simply glad you are okay.”

With a soft kiss, you feel rejuvenated. You’re grinning from ear to ear as Sage walks with you back to the Vulture. 

SKYE

You’re hounded by a dog and a bird when you finally shake off the battle adrenaline. 

“Hey! Ow! Your talons hurt!” You say, swatting the bird away while simultaneously dancing around a very excited dog. He wags his tail at you, barking while dropping into a playful pose. “Skye, your dog is attacking me!” 

“Oh, calm down, lass! He’s just happy!” Skye says as she walks over, brushing her hair out of her way. Then, she stretches her fingers. “Aced that one, did ya?” 

“I did?” You look at your kill counter— 5 kills. “Huh, I did. I did!” 

At your realization, the dog barks again, running around you in circles, then between your legs. You lean down, scratching behind the ears until the dog lets out a full body shake. Skye does a shake too, as if you were scratching an itch on her back. 

“Holy shit, I can’t believe it. Thanks for flashing them, babe,” you say, resting your elbow on her shoulder. 

“Please, you had that in the bag,” Skye says, ruffling your hair before pecking you on the cheek. “Now, are ya hurt? I’ve spent enough time hearing Chamber groan about a papercut today to shove some cotton in his mouth.” 

“I’m okay,” you reply, and Skye’s vibrant eyes shine with pride. She wraps you up in a tight hug, scattering kisses on your face until you’re giddy and laughing. Then, without complaint, she carries you back to the Vulture, claiming you’ve done all the work, time to rest!

The rest of the day is spent snuggling with Skye and her dog, feeling the joy of a well-earned victory. 

VIPER

The scientist holds her cool when you walk over, some blood smudged on your face with a lazy grin. 

“Did you hear?” You ask. “I aced.” 

Tilting her head to the side, Viper replies, “I did. Phoenix hasn’t shut up about it.” 

Shrugging, you walk around Viper, hands on your hips. “I believe I recall you saying something about my performance earlier. Care to remind me?” 

Viper exhales through your nostrils. “I said your performance was… adequate.” 

“You said it was dogshit, babe, come on,” you retort, dropping your voice to a low whisper so no one else overhears. 

Viper did say that— a method of encouragement, one that worked fairly well if your shining track record has anything to say about it. Round after round, you pushed through the pain and sweat to prove yourself and your worth to your girlfriend. Of course, Viper never means to make you feel less worthy, but she knows how you like to be incentivized. 

Viper steps closer, pulling her mask down and leaning to your ear. “And as I said earlier, you’ll be aptly rewarded for your work today.” 

You brighten instantly at her words, unable to hold back the ridiculous smile on your face. Nothing else goes said, as the others arrive, but Viper sends you another look, one full of promises. Your mind flashes to distinct sounds of pleasure, and a shiver rolls down your spine. 

You can’t wait to see what Viper has in store for you. After all, you did ace. You’re a little deserving of Viper’s attention and a reward, right? 

(You spend the rest of the night under her fingers once you get back to base. Worth it!)

~~~~~ A/N: thank you for reading!!

[apoorconductor]

I'm certain some of you have seen this short film and I had some thoughts on it

// THIS POST SPOILS THE ENDING - WATCH FIRST, READ LATER //

I've come back to this short film a bunch of times, grappling with this weird self-sacrificial ending to try to come up with a logical, lore-driven reason for it. Here's my best shot:

On the surface, it does seem rather contrived of the protagonist to take a head-on collision with the sky pirate galleon, instead of continuing to seed the cloud as normal. After all, we saw what her second seeding run did to the cloud - it generated a massive thunderstorm that filled the sky, all from that tiny whisp of cloud seen in the beginning. Why waste your own life as well as your one-of-a-kind rainmaking machine when the effect is the same? If you think a little deeper, you stumble across another plot hole; why didn't she just dump the entire supply of cloud steroids on her first pass, spawning the massive thunderstorm before the sky pirates had a chance to steal the cloud?

Here's my answer. As we can see by all the flapping paper charts on the pilot's dashboard, the Rainmaker is handbuilt technology. It's one-of-a-kind, probably very recent - and most importantly, experimental. For all we know, our protagonist had to make tens, dozens of trial runs before the events of this film to perfect her process, never knowing whether this expenditure of cloud growth formula would yield any return. She didn't know that the first seeding run shown on screen was going to work - we can see by her cheering upon seeing the cloud start to grow! And given her way, this would have been far from the last time she used the Rainmaker. After all, it's not like this cloud was the only one in existence. She would've continued to perfect her formulas, optimize her runs, make as efficient use of the limited resources given to her as possible, until the oceans may one day return. Dumping all of the mixture (which she probably doesn't have a renewable source for!) in one go would've been extraordinarily wasteful and shortsighted thinking.

As for why she rammed the A380-Convair Peacemaker-amalgamation at the end? The lesser of two bad choices. Had our protagonist tried to do another seeding run just like the first, the cloud would probably have been scooped away entirely before the chemicals reached it. Slamming into the big dude was her way of releasing all of the rainmaking mixture at once before giving them a chance to steal the rest of the cloud. But why? Because using it all now for one big storm was a better decision than using none at all. Remember: the giant thunderstorm at the end (probably) only happened because she jettisoned all of her formula, which she never initially intended to do. Her choice was between getting shot down while making an ultimately pointless seeding run, or taking the pirates down with her while also putting her remaining cloud fertilizer to good use.

Another important thing to note is the guns. We saw how the jumbo's gun turrets shredded through her airplane when she was dodging and weaving behind it. If she pulled up, wouldn't it have been easy for them to turn their scopes upward and strike her from the sky for good? On the other hand, when she's directly in front, the big guy's fuselage blocks all but the foremost gun turret, giving her a much better chance of getting in close. It's just geometry.

Is this a perfect explanation? Probably not. But it's what I like to think of as lore behind this lovely little short film that, despite its shortcomings, has stayed with me for years.

[rocksinmuffin]

Idk if you’ve done this one before but could you write about how the TFA Decepticons end up capturing Sari’s sitter to get information on Autobot secrets? During her stay, she and Blitzwing end up making friends and later on as lovers.

Answering the whole request sounds like it would be a slow burn enemies to lovers 100k words fic so I’m just gonna write a snippet because I’m lazy af

~*~

If you survive this ordeal, you think you might consider changing careers. Maybe a nice quiet office job. Something mundane and boring where you spend your hours sitting safe and sound in front of a computer. Definitely not a job that would have you watching over any children who happen to be in possession of powerful alien artifacts that might lure giant evil alien robots who would come blasting through the walls and mistakenly scoop you up and spirit you away to a cave somewhere in the middle of the Michigan wilderness.

If nothing else, you’re raising your hourly fee. And you are definitely including your time in captivity to Professor Sumdac’s bill.

The worst part—well, other than the fear for your life—is the boredom. Normally you’d be spending these hours watching bad television and helping yourself to whatever’s in the fridge. Instead you’re siting in a dark cave under the intense scruntity of the freaky robot guarding you. The hope that you’re getting paid for your time makes your situation a little more bearable, even if this dude’s weird jack-o-lantern smile creeps the hell out of you, but you still wish they hadn’t confiscated your phone so you could play games or something.

With nothing else to look at, your focus remains on the robot, gaze sweeping over jet wings and tank treads and turret until eventually your eyes land back on his unsettling face, eyes meeting with his.

He stares at you, jagged grin widening when he notices you staring back. He leans closer, kneeling a bit even though his eyes aren’t anywhere close to level with yours. His eyes narrow, expression suddenly so intense it sends a spark of fear straight up your spine. Is this it? Is he going to squish you? Shoot you? Grind your bones to make his bread? You don’t even notice you haven’t been blinking until your eyes begin to water.

When you finally blink, the robot throws his arms up and lets out a victorious cackle that sends you jolting backwards in surprise, nearly slamming the back of your skull against the cave wall.

“Hahahahahahaha! You blinked, I win!” He continues to cackle and you clutch your chest as your thundering heartbeat begins to steadily slow to a normal rate. “That was fun! Best two out of three?”

Oh god you’re still babysitting a child.

[merpiplier]

It’s a Strange way of Saying that I Know... | pt 2

Summary:  Spider-Man bumps into MJ again, quite literally, and Peter and MJ have a talk about nerdy things before MJ asks Peter out... platonically, of course. Or, maybe not?

Warnings: they’re both giant nerds so, uh, nerd talk? dnd? is that a warning?

Peter slammed into the wall with a groan, practically peeling off of it in his daze before he recovered and just barely stopped himself from splattering against the sidewalk below. He grit his teeth as he swung onto the building closest, stumbling for a moment as everything shook with a massive crash and the creaking of metal. You'd think Rhino would've learned his lesson from last time, but noooo. Of course he had to break out to try to steal materials from Oscorp, why wouldn't he?

Now... how to stop him so he didn't do too much damage...

After a couple seconds thought, Peter swung down, yelling to bring the Rhino's attention to him. “Yo, Aleks!” He waved as the suit turned toward him, he could almost hear Aleksei frothing at the mouth at the sight of him. “Aw, did you miss me that much you had to break out? You know I'd come visit you anytime you want, you just gotta ask!”

“Spider!” Rhino bellowed, his guns on his shoulder gearing up to fire, crouching down ready to ram into Peter again. “You should stay down!”

Peter eyed the guns cautiously as Aleksei went on, rambling on and on about crushing and maiming and beating him. Same old Aleksei. “You know, you'd think the time in prison would give you the chance to come up with more material, Aleks.” He braced as the guns started firing, throwing out a massive, thick layer of webbing to catch all the bullets before they could hit anyone or anything. Then he swung up, firing more of the thicker webbing into the turrets and launchers on the suit.

With a final swing, he grabbed a manhole cover before he went into freefall, swinging the heavy metal for the glass window of the mech to break it open, before he webbed Aleksei to the wall of the mech with the thicker, less pliable webbing, making him lose any semblance of control of the machine. He dragged the cover back into place and saluted to the police officers waiting before he started swinging off again.

He got 2 blocks away before he could hear the chamber in his webshooters click, signaling the end of the cartridge. Oh, goody.

Peter looked down, then up, and flailed for a moment before he started freefalling.

“Shit, shit, shit!” He tried to find something, anything he could grab onto before he hit the ground. He might not die, but he did not feel like healing up whatever broken bones he'd get from this.

He heard a gasp, a clatter, then felt something heavy slam into his side, stopping his downward momentum and sending him sprawling into the wall relatively unharmed.

“Dammit...” He heard a groan and felt himself tense. “And that's why you're not a superhero, Miles. Fuck.”

Peter slowly turned his head to find... the barista, from before, MJ... oh dammit.

“U-uh.” He jumped up to his feet, offering MJ, or Miles, apparently, a hand up. “A-are, are you okay?”

MJ nodded, grimacing. “I think my phone's more damaged than I am. And you?”

“F-fine.” Peter swallowed, glancing down the alleyway. “Uh, why, why'd you help me?”

MJ huffed out a laugh. “Yeah, like anyone would willingly let Spider-Man get hurt, sure.” He scooped up his broken phone with a sigh. “Why were you falling in the first place? Your whole thing is, you know, not falling.”

“I...” He shrugged. “Ran out.”

MJ stared for a couple seconds, trying to decipher what that could possibly mean, before he let out a soft gasp and nodded. “Oh, I guess that is a little silly to expect that you could like... just make those webs naturally, huh?”

Not... entirely. “Y-yeah.”

MJ then felt his phone vibrate, looking down at the cracked screen with a curse. “Ah, shit, listen, I gotta get home, it was so cool meeting you.”

“I can walk you home.” The words were out of Peter's mouth before he could think. Brown eyes glanced to him, before MJ smiled wide, and Peter's breath was knocked out of his lungs by just how pretty he was.

“That'd... be really nice. Yeah, if it's not too much trouble.”

“Yeah.” Peter nodded, smiling behind the mask. “Yeah, yeah no trouble. Schedule is... all clear.”

“Cool.” MJ nodded down the street. “I'm this way, then.”

They walked for a while in silence, before Peter couldn't help himself but to start rambling. “So, uh, what's waiting for you back home? Any, uh, girlfriend or anything? Or could be a boyfriend. I dunno, whatever.” Oh god, please.

MJ laughed. “I'm flattered but, no, nobody. I just have to finish something for tonight. I guess I don't have to but... I want to get it done.” MJ rubbed at the back of his neck. “I, haven't really told anyone else this but... I've been working on this project for the last year, a painting that I want to finish before the year ends and... see if I can sell it. You know, as proof that the last year of my life and all my free time wasn't for nothing.” MJ glanced over, looking embarrassed. “Does... that make sense?”

Peter nodded. “Yeah, I think I get it. You don't want all your efforts to go to waste. But, you know, just being able to sell your work doesn't measure your worth for it. It's nice, but at the end of the day a lot of artistic ventures are... marketing, you know.”

MJ nodded thoughtfully. “I know, I understand that.” He shrugged. “Like you said, it'd be nice. And acknowledgment is also a nice added bonus. Oh.” MJ paused, turning fully to face him, and Peter felt his heart thump in his chest. “I guess a lot of people don't tell you this but, thanks for keeping us all safe. I know it's probably pretty hard on you.”

“O-oh.” Peter rubbed the back of his neck, he almost forgot he was in the suit. “Yeah, but I mean... someone's gotta, right?”

“Right.” MJ grinned, continuing on. “You know something weird... you sound so familiar...”

Shit! “Oh, huh, that's super weird. I definitely have never met you before ever. Or maybe I have, maybe you heard me one of the, uh, fights.” He swallowed, he had no idea what he could even reference. After the trip back, he knew that the fight with Lizard and Electro didn't happen in this timeline and universe anymore so... who the hell has he even fought in the past?!

“Maybe...” MJ hummed. “I think I saw you fighting Vulture once.”

Who the hell was Vulture?

“Oh, yeah, that's totally it. Has to be.” Peter cleared his throat. “Kay, so, uh, how far ‘til your place. Oh, that... didn't come out right. I just... I mean.”

Miles laughed again, waving him off. “You're fine. This is actually me here.”

Peter looked up and had to resist his jaw actually dropping. You're telling him, that this man had been living in the same building as him, this entire time?!

Miles gave a shy little wave, making Peter's heart go crazy in his chest. “I'll see you around, Spidey.”

He automatically gave a gave back, then sagged as Miles entered the cramped, falling apart lobby.

“What the fuuuuck.” He muttered under his breath, going around the edge of the building to climb the fire escape to his apartment.

He whipped off his mask and went on to have a minor existential crisis, because what the hell was this? What was his life? What was anything anymore?

After his very short meltdown, that he handled very well, all things considered, Peter found himself in the laundromat downstairs, scrubbing a grime stain out of his suit with a sigh. Thankfully, everyone else seemed to be out or sleeping in the building, so he had it to himself. He still had a pillowcase for the suit to go in, so no one would see it in the wash in case he fell asleep or something. He still couldn't really believe MJ had been in the same building. How had he never seen him before?

He supposed it was possible that it's something that changed when the timeline got shifted but... something like that? Seemed an odd thing to change. Giving up on getting the dirt out, Peter shoved the suit into the thin pillowcase and dumped the rest of his laundry in the washer. He was relatively sure all the color had stopped bleeding out of the fabric by now, so everything else should be safe. About... 92% sure on that.

“And now to wait...” Peter huffed as he closed the washer and turned it on, then flopped onto one of the rickety benches in the waiting area. He hummed to himself as he plugged his headphones into his ears, playing a random song as he rested. The first time in a long, long time.

The door opened, and Peter jumped, cracking open and eye and gasping, immediately choking as he did.

“Oh, shit.” MJ held up an apologetic hand. “Sorry, didn't mean to scare you.” He dropped a stuffed duffel by one of the free machines. “Usually no one is here around now.”

“Y-yeah.” Peter wheezed. “I noticed, sorry for, uh, taking your usual time.”

MJ shrugged, loading his clothes up. “It's cool, no need to apologize.” He dropped the lid of the washer with a clang and turned, propping against it to face Peter, and he felt like choking again, because he somehow looked amazing in this dingy, badly lit basement of a laundromat. “Say, you seem familiar... have I seen you before?” He scoffed before Peter could answer. “Wait, that's a really dumb question, sorry. If we both live here of course I've seen you before.” He smiled easily. “'s been a stupid long day.”

“I-I get that.” Peter cleared his throat. “Uh, I think you work at the cafe I go to, for uh, for work.”

Miles stared for a couple moments before he snapped his fingers. “That's it! I knew you looked familiar.” He tilted his head. “Peter, right?”

“Yeah.” Peter grinned, internally scolding himself for being happy hearing his own damn name in that syrupy voice. “Yeah, and you're... MJ, right?”

“Yep. Miles James, for, uh, long.” A beat, and he nodded to Peter's chest. “You into Dnd?”

Peter blinked, looking down to his shirt. A very old worn design of a Dungeon's and Dragon's meme he forgot he even put on after he changed out of his suit. “Oh, uh, yeah kinda.” He shrugged. “I never played, but the shows are fun.”

MJ sighed. “Yeah, that's usually the problem, isn't it? I've always wanted to but, uh, I'm not exactly creative enough to actually run a game. I've made like 6 characters and have 7 sets of dice already though.”

“The clicky-clacky math rocks are so nice though.” Peter grinned. “I collected some maps and minis but, yeah, I understand the struggle.” Especially because it's hard enough to get together with anyone with a normal life, let alone with a double life as Spider-Man.

“Ooh.” MJ smirked. “Maybe we should set up a game. Probably would be easier if we live in the same place.”

Did... did he just... semi ask Peter out? On a nerdy semi date?

“Oh, that...” MJ flushed. “That... probably came out as... a bit forward. I mean, if you want to, as friends, I'd be good for that. I don't have too many friends here that like stuff like that, and... uh.” He scratched the back of his neck. “We could watch a movie? Maybe, LOTR or something?” A beat. “As, as friends, I mean.”

Peter gaped for a couple minutes, before he realized he needed to actually answer before MJ backpedaled on the invitation. “No, yeah, sure. That, that sounds awesome. Any of it.”

MJ grinned, pushing off of the machine to sit on the bench next to Peter. “Cool, so uh, maybe not tonight, since it's like... 2 am almost, but tomorrow night?”

Peter nodded enthusiastically, then reeled it in and cleared his throat before he answered. “Yeah, yeah tomorrow night. Do you wanna...” He awkwardly held up his phone, and MJ nodded, reaching across to take Peter's phone to plug his number in. Peter felt a shock along his skin as their fingers brushed, and he swallowed hard as he typed the number and contact info in, some dark hair falling out of the tie he had pulled it back with.

“There, I, uh, put my apartment number there, too.” He winked. “Come by anytime you want, Pete.”

Oh. Oh he was in trouble, wasn't he?

[f1uffy-turtle]

Soul Bound Chapter 2: Confrontations

Amity gripped at the hem of her tunic and felt her shoulders stiffen and grow colder in the presence of her mother. Odalia stared down at the green-haired witch whose eyes flitted away from her gaze.

Amity’s breath started to quicken as her chest grew tighter and her heart pounded harder and harder almost as if it were about to burst out of her body, wanting to leave the entire situation altogether. Her eyes landed on the piano and it’s deep violet veneer, focusing on the torn pieces of pink paper that laid on the small music stand, its writing as clear as day for anyone to read as long as they didn’t have to squint to see further to begin with. She cursed under her breath, but didn’t move her lips as so her mother wouldn’t see her saying anything and -.

“Could you speak up, darling? I didn’t quite catch that?” Odalia leaned in towards her daughter’s face so closely that you could see every follicle in her dark green hair. “You know how much I don’t like something to be kept from me. You know I’m always here to talk.”

If talk, do you mean pry the words out of my mouth with a sharpened stick?

“I was just looking over the old thing. I don’t think we have that much use for it anymore besides having another decorative piece that does nothing for the manor unless we have someone to play it.” She lied through her teeth as she slowly reached for the note, attempting to disguise her intent as a long stretch in her arms. Odalia grabbed hold of the arm and pinned it down to her side. Amity tensed up again, her heart pounding even faster than before as she felt the air around her growing thin. Her mother studied her face for any trace of deception. Amity locked eyes with her, daring herself not to take another glance at the note.

Don't look at it; your mother can ruin all of this for you. She will see the note, she will force Luz to be banned from Hexside; she will take her away from me.

Her thoughts spiraled further into the recesses of her mind until she found that she couldn’t control her impulses anymore. Her eyes flicked over to the note on the stand and Amity couldn’t do a thing to move any part of her body. Her mouth hung open. Her body grew as stiff as a fencepost. Only shallow breaths escaped her, the one part of her body that was keeping her alive at this moment.

Odalia’s eyes followed Amity’s over to the note. She looked over to the dissociative witch and asked her coyly as she held the torn pieces of paper in her hands. “Is this what you were trying to hide from me, darling?” She ran a hand over her daughter’s cheek, causing Amity’s body to shudder. In the deepest parts of her consciousness, she could feel the chilling touch brushing across her face. Odalia looked down at the note and read each piece of it under her breath.

Luz,

Will you go to Grom with me?

Amity

It was such a simple letter, although it didn’t tell her much. Her gaze flitted upward to meet her daughter’s distant eyes.

“So why were you hiding this?”

No answer. Amity’s mouth opened, but only air escaped her lips.

“Were you embarrassed that this person rejected you? Or did The Fear Bringer tear the note for you? And in that case, why must you even hide anything from your dear old mother?”

No answer.

“It’s disgusting to even think about. You answer me this moment Amity Blight!”

Amity shuddered in her attempt to break free. To explain herself. To show an indication to her mother that she was even listening. Her body felt distant from her mind as her consciousness swam in the dark abyss that is the recesses of her mind. She reached out, but nothing would connect. No answer.

“Fine, young lady.” Odalia let out a deep sigh filled to the brim with her impatience. It felt like a blazing inferno as it grazed across the young witch’s face. “You leave me no choice. I’ll have to take the answers by force”

She gave her finger a twirl, tracing a glowing purple spell circle in the air. She reached her hand through and it started radiating with the magic that she produced. Amity’s consciousness reached out to connect with her body, trying to tell her mother anything. Anything at all that could explain herself. She was afraid of what was to happen next.

Odalia’s hand gripped Amity’s forehead as her mind filled with a blinding light.

~~~

The abomination hybrid threw another swing at the human only to slam on the ground next to her, barely grazing her cheek as it cut through the surface of her skin. She scrambled to her feet as she trudged off into the deepening red of the forest. She had to get to Eda. Lilith. Anybody within that general direction she could get to. All the while, the only thing running through her head was:

Shit! Shit! Shit! Shit!

She turned back to find the massive mangled tree and the abominations professor riding not too far behind. Almade was standing atop the nape of the abomination’s neck as he gripped onto the many branches that stuck out of the creature’s head. Luz dug into her pocket for another glyph, hoping that whatever she found inside wasn’t crumpled or ruined. She managed to thankfully pull out one that was slightly crumpled, but the glyph itself was still intact. She let out a loud cheer and slammed it on the ground behind her.

As she turned back and ran, the ice shard shot out and pierced through the creature’s abdomen.

Please slow down.

Almade snapped at the abomination and stared at the creature wordlessly, his eyes jumping between the abomination and the human girl that was running through the woods. The creature groaned and crackled as he raised his hand raised to grab him. The professor leaped into his hand and the abomination’s fingers closed around him. He fixated on the direction of his target and took in a breath.

Almade whistled at the abomination as the creature threw his arm out like a trebuchet and let go of the professor at the peak of its arc. The man flew outwards towards the girl at an alarming speed. He took out of his cloak pocket a square piece of paper, its writing glinting a shade of gold in the setting sun. Before he could even make a move, Luz slammed another glyph on the ground without thinking. The ground burst from under her, sending a flurry of vines her way, scooping her up and carrying her closer towards her destination.

Almade placed the glyph on his shoulder as he landed on it atop the vines. The glyph illuminated and sent the entire ground convulsing as a shockwave burst out in all directions. The vines lost control and with them, they lost control of Luz.

The human flew into the air as she looked for a safe spot to land. Trees? Mud? Leaves! She aimed for the pile that a tree had shed quite a lot of and curled her legs up into her chest. She tried leaning into them, but to no avail. The human landed hard into the mud right beside it and tumbled. She flailed her arms about, the adrenaline coursing through her numbing the pain that was certainly spread across from her tailbone to her left hip. She righted herself and continued running with a limp, fumbling around in her satchel for another glyph that hopefully wasn’t ruined.

Crumpled. Torn. Smudged by a book spine. Dammit! She didn’t linger on her shortcomings as she looked ahead into the nearest clearing and found the familiar gray of the stone turret above the tree line as she saw the rest of her salvation in the distance. She tried to cry out, but a shot of pain in her ribs stopped her as she took in a breath. She winced in agony, but she still trudged on. She needed to get there before he did.

Luz coughed as she tried to clear her heaving chest from the pain that stabbed her lung. She bit her lip to numb the sharp sensation she felt. She took in another breath before she cried out the name of her mentor.

“EDA!!!”

The corners of Luz’s vision went dark as she focused only on what was in front of her. The turret, the indigo shingles that lined the roof, the massive, round stained glass window formed in the shape of a cat’s eye. Hooty stirred at the sound of Luz’s voice and let out an inquiring hoot. His eyes shot open to see the sight of the human girl with her brown skin torn, her black hair pierced with twigs and various leaves and mud saturating her left side, leaving was once already short and messy matted to the side of her face which the house demon, as oblivious to emotions as he was, read as absolute horror.

Hooty stretched out of the porthole that was his resting place and darted towards Luz, catching her in a coil as her consciousness faded away.

~~~

“What is this?”

“That is none of your concern.”

“Where are we?”

“NONE of your CONCERN!”

“What have you done to me?”

“Amity Blight, if I have to repeat myself one more time, I swear to the Titan, I will make this much harder than this needs to be.”

Amity opened her eyes to see nothing but an absolute white. A white light consumed her vision in every direction imaginable. Questions raced through her head as she looked around and still found nothing but the bright everlasting abyss that surrounded her. Her chest tightened again, her mind growing fuzzy. Then it clicked. She remembered seeing something like this before. She remembered a place like this that she visited with Luz. She even remembered being here once before. She took a deep breath as everything around her finally sank in.

The sound of wood creaking echoed in her pointed ears as a floor materialized around her. A lavender rug unraveled and spread itself out into the abyss as the room built its own walls. Picture frames materialized along the everlasting corridor in between marbled columns that sectioned off the walls before turning in on themselves, leading into yet another corridor. As the room finally built up the glass ceiling, showing a twilight sky, she finally knew for sure where she was. She was inside her own head. It was just like Willow’s, but different. It was suited to her. It was just like when she and Luz went in her mind to fix her memories. Her heart sank as she remembered. It was just like when they went in Willow’s mind to fix the memories that Amity burned.

How could she be so stupid and selfish? What kind of a monster would you have to be to risk burning the memories that you shared with someone you cared about? What kind of a monster would you have to be to burn the memories that you shared with your former best friend? Why is Willow ever even giving her a chance after she fixed a mistake that she made? Why is Willow giving her a chance after she hurt someone she cared about for what? The more the thoughts raced through her head, the more she teared up. The more she teared up, the more she beat herself up. The more she beat herself up, the more one thought raised in her head over and over again.

Am I a disappointment? Why do they even try to forgive me? I can’t even be perfect for my own parents. What makes it that I can be better for you?

Odalia fizzled into view of her daughter. She stared intently at her progeny with a deep grimace washed across her face. Amity opened her mouth to speak, but before she could, her mother twirled her finger and took the breath out of her voice. She coughed and gasped for air as she locked eyes with her. Her golden eyes peered straight into hers. She bowed as if she was presenting to royalty and Odalia spoke.

“You are keeping secrets from your mother and you know it, Amity. What is the meaning of the note? Why are you hiding this from me? WHY DID YOU DRAG ME HERE AND FORCE ME TO BREAK THE LAW JUST SO I CAN GET SOME CLOSURE FROM MY DAUGHTER! IS THAT HOW YOU WANT ME TO BE, A CRIMINAL? I COULD GET EXCOMMUNICATED FROM THE COVEN FOR THIS; DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHAT YOU ARE DOING?”

Tears raced down Amity’s cheeks and she crumpled on the floor in front of her mother. Odalia’s nose wrinkled in disgust.

“You are a Blight; you are much stronger than this! Now get up and answer your mother!”

Amity looked up at Odalia and opened her mouth. Breaths hiccupped in and out of her as she choked through her tears. Her mother’s expression softened as she caressed her bawling mess.

“Shh. Shh. It’s alright, dear. Mother has you, there’s nothing to fear.” She cooed into her daughter’s ear as she gave her an embrace that washed over Amity like ice over cold steel. She remained stiff for quite some time and hiccupped through her sobs before giving in to her mother’s grasp and letting out a shaky sigh.

Odalia pulled away from her and scowled. “Now, let’s try this again. What is that note about?”

“I can’t tell you.” Amity mumbled under her breath.

Odalia gritted her teeth and sighed through her frustration. “I’m going to need you to speak up, dear. You know mother can’t understand a word you say sometimes.”

“I said I can’t tell you, Mother.” The Blight let out the last word with such a bite that even the older witch was impressed with the audacity that came from those words. There was a fire in her eyes that threatened her. No. It dared her to try and yell at her again.

“I apologize for making you feel like you can’t talk to me. And here I thought we had such a connection.” The older witch said this with a mocking pout on her face. She placed a hand on her pouf of teal colored hair and took in a deep breath as she twirled her finger again. “But, you left me no choice but to do this.”

A dark purple light surged throughout the corridor as Amity screamed. A ripping pain tore through her skull as portraits that represented her various memories flew in front of her, spiraling around both her and her mother until it landed on her. Luz. She stared directly into the outfit that the human picked out for Grom. The snazzy tux and the pink tutu that puffed out always made the green haired witch smile with how silly it was, but how nice she looked in it when she looked at it, but she couldn’t look back fondly now.

Odalia made a flick of her wrist and the portrait grew in size before flying towards the direction of the two witches, enveloping them whole.

Amity was reliving that night all over again. She was racing through the woods, chasing after Grometheus, under the guise of Luz’s mother, but distorted. The top half was all the same, but everything underneath was horrifying. Blobs of black ichor formed into multiple limbs that carried the massive body of the lower half of the creature. It was her fault that she let it get this bad. It was her fight and she just let Luz take it like that. She just had to subjugate her crush to her biggest fear and that was to be scolded by her mom because she lied to her.

Whatever it was about, it didn’t really concern Amity. All she knew was that it was much worse than what the human was telling her about before. It really was just like Luz to lie to herself about all this just so she didn’t have to think about it. She always was the one with the better outlook on life anyway. It would just be easier for her to just lock it away as if it really solved anything.

Grometheus trailed after Luz through the moonlit forest and Amity followed. She darted through the trees and reached out to grab the monster that was in front of her only to be smacked in the gut by a tree branch the creature had bent out of its way. She flew across the clearing only to be caught by an abomination she summoned.

The witch cursed under her breath as she struggled to lift herself to her feet. She heard some commotion going on the other side of the dense foliage in front of her, but the wind in her breath had been taken right out. She saw a flash of light and a deafening roar that she assumed could have either been Luz or Eda who came out to rescue her. She got her bearings and lifted herself up to her feet, determined to face the monster. She thumbed over the note in her pocket as she took in a deep breath before rushing out of the thicket and out to the edge of the tree line, standing over a massive cliff that overlooked the boiling seas. She saw Luz and immediately raced towards her, sliding in between her crush and the snarling beast that glared directly at its prey.

“Stay away from her!”

The Fear Bringer’s many eyes stared directly at the witch who dared to stand between it and its awaiting target. It bellowed another bloodcurdling screech as it sent a pseudopod racing towards her, enveloping Amity in its slimy grasp. She felt herself being lifted into the air. Her chest tightened again and her heart raced, looking for anything comforting that her eyes could land on. Anything at all that could help her bear what might come next, until her eyes landed on Luz.

Luz, she was the one who tried to befriend her when she did absolutely nothing but bully her just to satisfy her place in the hierarchy and her name as a Blight. She was the one who was there for her through thick and thin and did absolutely everything she could to help her whenever she was down. She helped her mend her friendship with Willow. Every time she saw her face, all she could see or think of was Luz, her little light. And she let her fight a battle that was never meant for her.

“I’m sorry, Luz.” Amity cried out to her, “I should have fought my own battle. I-“

It was too late to say anything else. A scorching heat pulsed through Amity’s body as she felt her own subconscious drifting away. She was feeling the same way now that her mother is also tapping into her own fears about her. Amity’s body grew limp as the blinding white light overtook her and the purple room rebuilt itself again, only this time, with Grometheus at the forefront. Its grip on Amity was so tight that she felt like she couldn’t move an inch away from her body. She watched as The Fear Bringer slunk into all of the portraits that lined the room. All the memories she made before, until it stopped on one memory for her; the one where she made her various attempts to write the note in her hideout. Amity struggled, but it was no use.

Grometheus slinked over to another memory. One that was recent. It was the memory where Amity saw Luz in her Grom outfit for the first time. Her hair slicked back and everything. The monster touched on the portrait and a light began to unravel around its arm. A brown skinned hand; the sleeve of the jacket she wore. Grom looked exactly like Luz.

Amity’s vision came to as she was back on the ground, not surrounded by any walls or pictures of memories that she made in the past. A hand was firmly placed on her shoulder. She looked up at Grometheus, who barely resembled the human at all, instead just a basic silhouette, hair and all. She looked down as the creature reached inside her pocket and took out the note. Its unblinking eyes bore directly into her soul as it took the note in both hands and tore it in one swift movement before crumpling them up and dropping them on the ground. Amity looked down in shame and stared at one of the pieces that she could still read through the many folds of paper.

Luz

She picked up the piece of paper and hugged it close to her chest, trying her best to hold back tears. She heard the sound of footsteps approaching her and the crinkling of paper as the human unfolded the other half of the note.

“You were afraid of being rejected?”

Amity opened her eyes to see Luz reaching out her hand and giving her a soft smile. The witch’s heart couldn’t help but melt at the sight of it.

“Amity, it’s okay. What if I went to Grom with you instead?”

Amity cracked a smile as she stuffed her half of the note back inside her pocket before she took the hand that Luz offered. “Really?”

The human beamed. “That’s what friends do!”

Grometheus bubbled and roiled before letting out another characteristic bloodcurdling roar. The Fear Bringer has reformed into its true hulking nightmare of bile and ichor. Amity put on a smirk as her gaze bore into the beast.

“Well, then, if that’s settled,” she turned to Luz and extended her hand out to her, “May I have this dance?”

Amity could remember it all happening so quickly. The heat brushing her face as blood pumped into her cheeks and the rhythm pounding in her pointed ears. Amity drew a spell circle on the ground with her feet and they stood there as she summoned a massive abomination from under them. Luz smirked as she flashed the deck of glyph cards in her smug face. Amity brought her in for a dip as the human slapped the card on top of the abomination’s forehead which leaned in, preparing for a leap into The Fear Bringer’s gaping maw. They jumped off as it dove in and Grom swallowed it whole. Green light burst from it as it bubbled and contorted before a massive tree exploded from the very belly of the beast. Its beauty among chaos shone throughout the rest of the forest. Tiaras formed on the tops of both of their heads and they stared at each other smiling.

“Soooo.” Luz asked coyly. “Who did ya wanna ask out?”

“Oh! It’s- It’s not important.” The green haired witch blushed as she dug the note out of her pocket and threw it over her shoulder. Odalia watched as the paper unraveled right in front of her.

She loomed over her daughter and placed a thin, cold hand on her shoulder. The shock forced Amity to jerk in the direction of the only monster she ever really sees anymore. The pale and narrow face of Odalia Blight was the one that always put on the mask of a kind and gentle mother.

“Embarrassing isn’t it?” The older witch scoffed at the display before her. “You couldn’t even ask a lower creature out to dance with you out of fear of rejection? You, Amity?”

She scowled at her mother. “Her name is Luz and she just so happens to be one of the nicest people I have ever met! And… one of the best friends I’ve ever had.”

“You watch your tone of voice with me, young lady! I would have expected weakness from you, but to go off and not only make friends with this human, this INDECENT THUG of a CREATURE? Blights do not squabble!”

“THEN MAYBE I DON’T WANT TO BE A BLIGHT!”

Odalia’s eyes widened as she stared in awe at her daughter.

How could she say that?

How dare she say that to me?

“You and Dad have always pressured me into being your perfect little child.” Amity choked as teared welled up in her eyes. “You always said it was what’s best for me and that what I was doing was what was best for my future.”

Her gaze lay fixed on this woman who did nothing but hurt her this entire time. What she felt was something new towards her mother. No. It wasn’t new. It was always there, just bubbling under the surface in the subconscious depths of her mind. A purple fire enveloped her as it grew closer and closer to the surface. It was pain. It was embarrassment.

It was anger. A rage had encapsulated Amity Blight. And her sights were set on the one who abused her this entire time.

“You don’t KNOW what’s best for my future! All you have ever cared about was yourself! All you cared about was yours and Dad’s Titan-Damned reputation. Have you even considered the pain that you inflicted on me? Have you ever noticed the pain that you inflicted on Edric and Emira as you pit me against them just to win your affections? You’re our Mother! You are supposed to be supportive in whatever we want to do for ourselves, even if we make mistakes.”

The fire fizzled out around her. She stared into her mother’s wide, unblinking eyes.

“But you were never that to begin with.”

The white light flushed over the scene again, sending Odalia back into the music room where she was before with her hair ruffled and stands hanging out of her bun. She stared at her unconscious daughter and gritted her teeth at that disappointment of a child. She rose from the floor and fixed her broken demeanor. She clapped twice and a servant came to her call.

“Yes, Madam Blight? Is there anything that we can do for you?”

“Yes, Jackson, send Miss Amity up to her room, will you? She fell quite ill, you see, after being up from recovery. I think the pain came back from a rushed spell and knocked her unconscious. Could you and the other servants perhaps put her in her room?”

She glared at the servant intently. “And make sure that she doesn’t leave until she is completely recovered. I’ll be sure to give you a bonus if you get this task done exactly as I say.”

Edward Jackson looked at Odalia curiously. Why would she offer me a bonus for something so simple? Is there something going on?

“Of course, Madam, I’ll do as you have assigned. Though, if I may inquire, is there anything on your mind? You seem quite troubled, Ma’am.”

“I’ll be alright. I just need to see the Emperor again today is all. I need to tell him something important.”

The human has taken the heart of my child. How can I use that to benefit the Emperor? She is needed to help open the portal. Despite the whole thing being a wild theory of the Emperor’s, it’s still worth a shot.

She looked at the unconscious face of her daughter. Amity, she was the one who was so close to being the perfect Blight heir. The one who would carry on the legacy of her father. A thought occurred to her.

I need to call Robert Almade.

~~~

Eda was lying on her couch again, staring up at the intricate carvings that line the ceiling of house’s foyer. She groaned as she rolled over on her side towards the back of the couch, where King, the diminutive demon was sitting atop the crest. He moved in an attempt to get comfortable. The couch was never the softest thing to sleep on, but it was one of the best places to keep his outer skull warm. Eda jerked around, trying to settle in for her nap, nudging the backing of the couch and King was having absolutely none of it. Eda could have sworn that she heard her name being called out and started to stir. King went to pounce off the couch to find another suitable place in the living room to take his nap. As he started lunging outwards, the door suddenly swung open and a familiar horrific voice pierced through the room.

“Um, Hoot! You guys gotta see what I’ve got out here!”

The sudden appearance of Hooty threw King off balance and he landed paws first on Eda’s side. If she wasn’t woken up by the house demon barging in on her nap, she was surely awake from the sharp pain that accompanied King’s landing.

“Ow! For Titan’s sake, King! I swear I’m gonna-“

She couldn’t finish her sentence as she saw the horrific image in front of her. Hooty carried the torn up human into the Owl House, the mud that was caked around her seeping onto parts of Hooty’s feathery, snakelike body. The Owl Lady threw King off of her side and scrambled off the couch to see her kid. She cursed under her breath repeatedly before giving Hooty a look, concern spread across her face.

“Do you know what happened, Hooty?”

“Well, she only walked in like this aaaand she was having trouble breathing aaaaand she looked like she went through a lot of leaves. OOH A LEAF!”

Eda grabbed the house demon by the beak to stop him from pecking a leaf from Luz’s head.

“Okay okay. But, do you know what happened? Who did this to her?”

“Hmmmmm… I have no idea! Hoot hoot!”

“What’s going on?” Lilith asked as she darted down the stairs. Her dyed indigo hair ruffled almost as if she was also woken up from a nap. Her eyes fell on the scene before her and she gasped. “What happened?”

“That’s what I’m trying to get Hooty to tell me, but he doesn’t know exactly what happened, he just saw her come in and collapse. Do you have a healing glyph?”

After Lilith defected from the Emperor’s Coven for rescuing Eda from petrification, she used an old mantra spell that split Eda’s curse between the two of them, rendering them both unable to use magic the way they used to. They started to learn glyphs from Luz afterwards and all she knew about them, what exactly makes them work and the like. It was lucky that neither of them have transformed into a beast like Eda used to whenever she didn’t keep her curse at bay with the various elixirs that she used to have to buy from various apothecaries. Lilith shivered when thinking about what she put her sister through after she put the curse on her. And even still after she had tried to redeem herself, her sister is still tense around her, expecting her to do something wicked again. Lilith only wished that by helping out, Edalyn would finally forgive her. But she doesn’t owe her forgiveness and she knows that. All she could do was try.

“Neither the huma… er… Luz or any of us have learned how to make healing glyphs yet! What do you expect me to do?”

“Oh, I dunno, maybe share the pain, Lily?”

“You and I both know that neither of us can produce magic naturally anymore, Edalyn. Do you have any healing potions or first aid or anything of the like?”

The Owl Lady’s mind raced for a second before remembering her stashes of various potions that she made.

“In my room, I have a closet full of potions we made next to my nest that we ended up not selling. Try in there.”

Lilith gave her sister a nod before darting off into the direction of her room. Eda’s grip tightened around Luz’s arm as she looked at her worriedly.

“Perhaps I can help.”

Eda spun around to find herself facing a tall man with brown, shaggy hair, a wrinkled face, and a steely blue scarf barely covering a manacle that glinted off the candle light from the various lamps adorning the walls of The Owl House.

The Owl Lady reached her arm out, sending her staff screaming towards her hand before she wrapped her hand gracefully around the handle and pointing it at the stranger, her eyes flickering with a protective fury.

“And what makes me think I can trust you? If anything, you could have been the one who did this! So, you better start explaining yourself before I start kicking your butt straight into the Boiling Seas or into a trash slug or… or whatever I think of to get rid of you!”

The stranger chuckled at Eda’s threat and raised his hand. “It’s okay, Miss Owl Lady. I’m a teacher at Hexside. In fact, I was a substitute for Ms. Luz’s Abominations class. I just came across here on my way home when I saw your house demon here bringing your… daughter? Ward? In here and I was worried.” He reached his hand out to her, with an inviting smile grazing his eyes.

“My name is Professor Robert Almade, here at your service, Ma’am.”

Eda put Almade’s hand down. “Look, I appreciate the offer, but I don’t need your help. My sister and I have everything under control.”

“Edalyn!” Lilith cried out to her sister. “We are out of healing potions!”

The Owl Lady groaned at the sound of her voice. Now she has to let him help, or else Luz may die.

“Alright, fine, All Mad-.”

“Almade.”

“I know what I said. Look, you win.” She shoved Luz’s body over to him. “Fix my baby. But I don’t know what you can do if you’re just an Abomination teacher, I mean the only way I could think of you mixing magic is if you’re a part of the Em-.”

Before she could say anything else, the teacher drew a glyph from his cloak with golden ink drawn on the rather stiff paper and placed it on Luz’s left side. A bright golden light shone from the paper as it dissolved into the air. There was a crackling sound coming from the wound and Luz gasped for breath before coughing.

“Sounds like she had a broken rib and it punctured… something. I’m pretty sure it’s not a bile sac, but it’s something.”

“That would be her lung, professor. Look, you may be helping me out right now, but just to make it clear, I do not trust you one bit.”

“I figured that would be the case.” He said nonchalantly as he placed another glyph on Luz’s side, then another. A groan sounded from the human as the pain shot through her and water washed over her side, clearing the mud away from her face.

“You also use glyphs, huh?”

“I’m another victim of lost magic, you could say. That’s why you have your graying eye, is it? The bile stopped being produced from the bile sac?”

Eda covered her gray eye and looked away from him. “Yeah, something like that.”

Almade, finished with his magic, took Luz over to the couch and set her down gently. “I’m not particularly fond of telling my story, so please don’t ask.” He shuddered. “It’s… too much to go over.”

The Owl Lady shrugged. “I wasn’t going to anyway, just finish your work and get out my house.”

Almade nodded and walked out into the deep forest. A raven landed on his shoulder and he paused as he let it perch on his extended finger before continuing on his path.

“Hooty hooty hoot hoot! Well, that was a reli- OUCH!” Hooty was interrupted by Eda slamming the door shut, leaving the house demon’s owl-like face outside again.

“Shut it Hooty. I’m just glad she’s okay now.” She sighed as she ran her fingers through the surface of her silver mane. She leaned against the door and slid onto the floor, covering her face and rubbing her temples from the stress that her kid caused her. Lilith came down the steps to meet her sister again.

“I see that Almade came by and helped. Though, I’m curious what he’s doing out here. Did he escape the Conformitorium?”

Eda burst out laughing in relief. “Oh dear Titan, I thought he was just some other Emperor’s Coven goon!” She snorted. “Good try, Lily.”

Lilith said nothing to her sister. A look of inquiry and concern spread across her face.

“You’re serious?”

The former Emperor’s Coven leader nodded. Eda groaned as she rolled over face first into the floor.

“What worries me the most is that he might have been released by the Emperor.”

Eda’s muffled groans grew louder

“But it doesn’t make sense. Why would he release a criminal that did what he did? It has to be a last resort or something.”

“Ooh! Ooh! Ooh! What did he do?” King barked as the diminutive demon climbed up Lilith’s shoulder and rested his chin on her bed head. He grabbed at the witch’s cheeks. “Did he decimate his enemies, leaving Belos nothing to do but locking him up for petrification? Did he beat up Warden Wrath and lead an army against him as they escaped? Oh wait, we did that.”

Lilith picked up the catlike creature and threw him off of her head, leaving him to let out a tiny “Weh?” as she threw him on the floor only for him to land on his feet. Lilith brushed herself down before continuing on.

“No, he did much worse. He was the last prisoner I’ve sent into the Conformitorium before I was tasked to go after you on our last mission, Edalyn. He-.”

Lilith couldn’t finish her sentence.

“Lily, spit it out.”

“I can’t. But I can tell you that he was scheduled for a burning.”

Eda’s eyes widened. Petrification may have been one of the worst punishments imaginable, but it was nothing compared to a burning. Not even Emperor Belos had stooped to that level of punishment because it was downright torture. Something had to really set him off to give this man a punishment like that. But if he let him go, why did he do it? Luz started to stir as she coughed a bit. Eda immediately got up and rushed over to her side.

She checked her up and down. Thank the Titan, she was alive. She embraced her child with a shudder of relief.

“Oh, my gosh! Are you alright, kid? Speak to me, Luz.”

Luz’s eyes opened up halfway as she smiled groggily at her mentor. She took in a shaky breath before she was able to let out a single word.

“Almade….”

The human passed out again, taking in little breaths in the midst of her unconsciousness. Eda patted her on the cheek before standing up right and turning toward her sister.

“I don’t care if he healed her, Lily; because tonight, I’m murdering someone.”

[nessiefromspace]

If you are doing those rare pair things still I would love to see something cute with Rhys and Axton. Big strong commando protecting the string bean of a man from something. Something probably his own fault because Rhys is a trouble magnet. If you would like.

All four drinks, finally in front of him, were wonderfully fruity, with notes of spices and herbs. He clinked them together and leaned over, sucking all the straws into his mouth and gulping them down at once. The bartender stared cautiously as they handed the commando his food.

“You… Okay, buddy?”

“Just peachy, thanks,” he grumbled. He drank more of the mixture together. It was tart and sour while burning his throat in a soothing way. “You ever notice how alcohol burns better after you been rejected?” he asked the bartender.

“Ah, relationship problems?” they asked.

When Rhys tells Axton off, slamming the door in his face, Axton is confused. Rhys has never spoken to him like that, or to anyone he’s turned down. When Axton realizes the truth, however, he’s too late, Rhys has already been kidnapped.

You can also read this on my AO3!!!

Axton trudged into the bar, slumping onto a stool at the counter. “Get me a clover club, strawberry basil margarita, a cosmopolitan and a black widow.” The bartender got to work while he grumpily looked at a food menu and ordered something. He always knew what he craved and he’d wanted Rhys and had been absolutely positive Rhys had wanted him back. He could read people and had read all the signs that Rhys was interested.

But when he made a move, Rhys had rudely dismissed him, claiming he had no idea what he was talking about. He’d wanted to argue with Rhys, but the man had demanded they drop it and Axton leave. It was very unlike Rhys to speak like that, even more so to slam the door in his face. Now he was at this crappy bar nursing his ego and confusion. He sipped at each drink as it arrived.

Sure, he flirted with everyone he found attractive, which, was almost anyone, but it wasn’t the case with Rhys. Rhys flirted back and blushed and giggled so purely and sweetly it had captured the commando’s full attention. Rhys was a free spirit just like Axton, but he lead with his heart, even when it ended in disaster. Ever since he’d first been hired by the CEO, Rhys had followed with his passion and stubbornness, which usually lead to trouble that Axton needed to clean up. In fact, Axton had started hanging around a lot more and volunteering when he realized just how much killing he’d be able to do working for Rhys.

And that had lead to becoming Rhys’ bodyguard, which had lead to spending most of his days with Rhys and getting to really know him. He worked too much when he could see his goal in sight, neglecting all other things, especially his health. Then he’d victoriously binge on ice cream, sharing it with his friends, including Axton. He was so jovial, it was off putting. And when Rhys had began to laugh at Axton’s playful advances, answering them with his own, it had settled deep inside the commando, fluttering around in the back of his head.

All four drinks, finally in front of him, were wonderfully fruity, with notes of spices and herbs. He clinked them together and leaned over, sucking all the straws into his mouth and gulping them down at once. The bartender stared cautiously as they handed the commando his food.

“You… Okay, buddy?”

“Just peachy, thanks,” he grumbled. He drank more of the mixture together. It was tart and sour while burning his throat in a soothing way. “You ever notice how alcohol burns better after you been rejected?” he asked the bartender.

“Ah, relationship problems?” they asked.

Axton shrugged. “I just don’t get it, I’m excellent at reading people, I’m the best, so how did I miss this?” His head was buzzed nicely now and he couldn’t wait for the impact of drinking all of these at once would do. “He gave me all the signs, flirted back, turned the cutest shade of pink, the lingering touches, wanting to spend more time together, but when it’s time to act, he just gets angry and pushes me away.” He frowned. “I just don’t get it.” He reached for his chili cheese fries, scooping a large handful in his mouth. He chewed for a long time, finding himself replaying the conversation. “He hadn’t even opened the door all the way. Am I missin’ something?” he asked to no one in particular.

He felt a knot begin in the pit of his stomach and he washed it in more alcohol, Now that he thought of it, Rhys hadn’t even listened to what Axton had been trying to say. He ate his food, his head perfectly light and floating overhead of his misery. He shrugged and downed the last of his drinks. He leaned on the counter, staring at the game that played on the television. He stuffed more food into his mouth, tuning into the noise of the bar and how loud it actually was. Rhys’ place had been dead quiet, like he’d just gotten home, but Axton knew he’d been there for hours. Rhys always had music or the television on.

And he always smiled at him, but not this time. This time he’d been hurried, nervous and quick to dismiss him. He would have been told if Rhys was having company because Rhys would have asked Axton to escort them or wait with him for them to arrive. He sighed and chomped on his food, pushing the fries to scoop up chili. He’d seen Rhys turn down dates before and it had never been so harsh as it had just been. His eyes flashed to the television, staring idly for a long while as he finished his food.

It hit him when he swallowed the last of the chili. “Good God.” He threw cash down, uncaring at how much he’d overpaid and hurried out of the bar. He kicked himself, swearing as he made his way to Rhys’ apartment on top of Atlas. He didn’t bother knocking, using his personal key instead, drawing his pistol as he opened the door and peeked in. “Rhys?” he called out carefully. The place was quiet with only the slightest hints of a disruption. A broken mug of hot chocolate and a melted bowl of ice cream. His fist clenched and he slammed it on the counter. “Son of a- dammit!”

Rhys had been kidnapped and Axton had let it happen.

He went to the hidden security panel that recorded the house when Rhys wasn’t home. He smirked when he saw the most recent log showing Rhys and his captors. Rhys had turned it on the moment things had gone south. “That’s my boy.” He pulled it up and watched. They were holding him as one of them shut the front door.

“Hello, boss! Surprised? I bet you don’t even know who I am?” a man said, stepping close and punching Rhys in the gut. “Well, you’ll know it now! There’s a big price for bringing in the best hacker and that’s you.”

“You’re dumb if you think I’ll help you,” Rhys spat, earning him another punch to the gut. That’s when there was a knock on the door. They all pulled guns out, but Rhys called to them. “Wait! No! Let me answer the door, I’ll get them to go away. You… You don’t want to kill anybody, others will notice.”

The employee nodded. “No funny business or they die.”

“Yeah, I know,” Rhys snapped.

Axton watched the conversation between Rhys and him, his fists clenching tightly. They were all lined behind Rhys, ready to shoot him and pounced on him when the door was finally shut, knocking him out.

The employee smirked. “This is for not promoting me! I would have been the best head of middle management!”

Another guy shoved the employee. “You dumbass! He was supposed to walk out of here like nothing was wrong! Now how are we supposed to get him out?”

When the video ran its course, Axton sent it to Yvette with a short message that he was going to go get Rhys back. He was more than ready for a fight now. He had no problem finding who wanted Rhys, the employee had left a trail. They’d loaded Rhys into a car and left out to the mountains thick with forest. But preparing to leave was taking so long, he was already out of his horrible hangover.

He leaned over the meeting room table, glaring at Yvette. “We’re taking too long to decide on what to do. I left the military to get away from pointless waiting, dammit.” She quirked a brow at him. He rolled his eyes. “And because I got dishonorably discharged, but mostly the first thing. The point is I’m bored just sitting here while you all take forever to think of a plan. Just let me at them, I can kill them all and save Rhys.”

Vaughn, watching from the other side of a screen spoke up. “He’s got a point, Yvette, time is precious and he’s good at what he does…”

She sighed. “Fine, but you make sure to keep your priorities straight, Axton and that’s Rhys.”

Axton was walking out of the room when he turned his head to speak at her with a hungry grin. “They won’t even make it to him when I show up.”

It was two days past Rhys’ kidnap when Axton finally reached the large cabin riddled with bandits. He left his vehicle hidden a ways from it and reached it on foot silently. He got as close as he dared and set up his turret safely hiding her in a bush. He kissed her. “Kick some ass, sweetheart.” He set a timer on her, giving himself a minute to get out of her way. He was crouched behind a tree by the back entrance when she started shooting at everyone in her sights. He heard her take multiple bandits down. He smirked. “Shit, I love her.”

Axton peeked inside the backdoor, seeing others ready and waiting, their attention on the front door. He took aim and shot them down, laughing. “BAM!” He cackled, taking them down easily. “And you get a bullet! And you get a bullet! Everybody gets a bullet!” His commotion got the attention from the others outside. He slipped inside now that it was safe and knelt behind the old, disintegrating couch picking them off as they each came into the cabin. He smirked and searched the rest of the house for Rhys, but came up empty.

“Crap!” He growled stomping heavily down from the second floor. He was missing something. He scanned the main floor, pulling away all the furniture and rugs. He found the trap door and threw it open, rifle and flashlight ready and finger itching to pull the trigger.

He crouched in front of the angled ladder and took a step onto the first stair. He peered in, flashing the light all around. The basement stretched out the under the cabin with a door at the end. Alert as ever, adrenaline pumping, he took another step, straining for any sounds. It came from behind him, hitting his boots, a slashing of a knife that cut through the thick leather shallowly. He took several steps down at once, grinning wide. “Yeah, I don’t die so easy.” Letting his gun fall to hang around his shoulder, he gripped the ceiling of the opened trap door and swung himself off the ladder and into the basement next to the person who’d attacked him. They ran at him with a gun aimed. He dodged, knocking it out of their hand. He punched them, sending them tumbling backward. He followed, landing a swift kick of his boot to their chest. He pulled his gun up, along with the flashlight to see the man properly. He took aim of the bandit and shot them several times, ensuring they were dead.

He went to the door and kicked it in after a few tries. He entered the room, gun drawn just in case. Rhys was in the center, handcuffed, his arms stretched above him but a rope fastened to the ceiling. His toes barely touched the floor and his head rolled onto his chest.

Axton’s resolve shattered. He went to Rhys, pulling out a large military knife.

Rhys raised his head, eyes wide, fear overwhelming him for a moment before he recognized the commando. “Axton…” He whispered, the corners of his bloodied lips curling upward.

His heart beat faster than he’d ever felt it before and his throat clogged, but he smiled and he reached up to cut the rope tied to Rhys’ handcuffs. “Stronger, smarter, and more sexually attractive.” He worked the rope quickly, sawing through it in no time and Rhys collapsed into him instantly. Axton caught him, holding him close, putting his knife away. He hugged Rhys, easing down to one knee and giving him a moment to rest. Rhys was bloody and dirty and all of it was his. Rage welled inside Axton and he wanted to kill every single bandit again. He swallowed it down for the moment and spoke quietly. “Did ya miss me?”

Rhys was quiet, sitting on Axton’s leg and leaning against him, arms limp, catching his breath. “I’m… I’m sorry, Axton…”

He grunted. “For what?”

“For being rude to you earlier… I didn’t mean any of it…”

He gently brushed Rhys’ sweat and oil soaked hair to the side, tipping his chin up. He bent down to carefully place a kiss on those chapped lips. He smiled. “I know. You’re okay now, I got you.”

But the brunette shook his head. “No… They were just waiting for… Her to come back. She’s… She’s always a step ahead…”

“Okay, then we’ll get out of here, can you walk?”

Rhys nodded.

“Do you know who has the key?” he asked indicating his handcuffs.

“She does.”

Axton nodded and helped him up. “We’ll have to walk a ways, I parked the jeep a day’s walk from here.”

Again, Rhys nodded as they left the room.

“You remember what to do when we go up?”

Another nod.

Axton helped him, holding him around the waist and leading him up the ladder with ease. Rhys ducked his head and body into Axton while the commando looked over, gun at the ready. When it was clear, he pulled Rhys up and out, checking the outside before taking him out there. He packed up his turret, congratulating her and lead them away from the cabin.

The sun was hot through the forest as Rhys trudged through it, finally able to stand on his own. He was hungry and thirsty and incredibly tired, but he didn’t want to stop, not with Her still alive and returning soon. He wanted nothing more to do with Her, nothing more to do with any of it. He knew that wasn’t a possibility, but he could at least get away from the cabin. Axton marched just ahead of him, scouting the way with his GPS.

“I would be utterly lost if I didn’t have this piece of crap.” He grunted, laughing.

Rhys smiled, his heart elated to be back with the commando. He’d known Axton would save him, he always did. He loved saving Rhys and while he knew it was for the excuse to kill, it always felt like there was more to it. Something Rhys couldn’t put together at this moment, but with rest, he’d figure it out. For now, he was glad for what he had. Axton and trees that blocked out the sun, keeping the area cool and staving off his headache.

He watched the back of the blonde man, effortlessly walking through the trees while Rhys kept finding every branch and rock, tripping more and more the longer they went. Rhys blinked, trying to focus, but his body was heavy and his legs wouldn’t cooperate and things were getting blurry.

Axton glanced behind him after Rhys once more tripped, toppling into the strong man. “Sorry…” Rhys mumbled, straightening himself.

The commando turned to him, taking a hold of his arms. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

Rhys nodded. “We need to keep moving.”

His eyes assessed Rhys and their surroundings. “We can afford to take a rest.”

Rhys shook his head. “No, I can keep going.”

Axton grunted. “No chance, we’re staying put for a while.” He led Rhys off to the side to a small clearing where he helped Rhys sit against a tree. Rhys grunted, his body wincing visibly. He smiled quickly at Axton, hiding the true depth of his pain. Axton didn’t seem to notice and left him with some water to find wood for a fire. It was still light out, but a fire meant they’d be staying there through the night.

Rhys swore, he’d become a burden. Yes, the commando loved the thrill of the fight, but this wasn’t a fight, it was taking care of someone and Rhys hated that he’d put Axton in that position. He hadn’t told Axton what they’d done to get him to cave and help them. The commando wanted to kill people and things, not nurse his lame ass. His body stung as his sweat and sweat soaked clothes clung to his open wounds. He hadn’t wanted to stop, not just to avoid being a burden, but to keep his adrenaline from seeping away and leaving him an empty husk. But now he was sitting, useless and watching all his nerve melt away as his body calmed and the true extent of his pain surfaced.

Axton was fast, returning with an armful of large sticks and setting them aside for later. He brushed himself off and reached into a deep pocket to pull out a pouch with a first aid symbol on it. He knelt in front of Rhys. “Okay, spill, just how hurt are you?”

He swallowed “I’m fine-”

“Quit the bullshit, Rhys.” Sharp, crystalline eyes stared at him, intense and dangerous. He reached for Rhys’ shirt. “I know you’re hurt more than you’re letting on.” He grabbed the hem and pulled it up, peeling it off Rhys’ body to dangle around his cuffed wrists. Rhys gasped at the pain, shivering as his fresh wounds were exposed to the air, eyes watering. Axton’s eyes were steel as he assessed all the damage. Harsh burns were spread all over Rhys’ torso, favoring the light blue tattoos on his left sight. Shallow gashes ticked up and down his body like cracks in a dam.

Axton’s breath fizzled out of him raggedly. His iced eyes pierced into Rhys. “Did they do this anywhere else?”

Rhys bit his lip, eyes squeezing shut in shame. He felt so weak compared to this military man, so inconvenient. If Axton had fallen to the same fate as Rhys had, he wouldn’t be as bumbling stupid as Rhys was. He sighed, whispering. “My… My back…”

Axton moved around Rhys to look at the damage. “Fuck.”

“They’re, they’re all shallow,” Rhys said, trying to ease the tension and laughing nervously. Something about Axton’s reaction had him worried. He didn’t know how bad it looked, but he knew they’d only wanted to punish him, not kill him. They’d needed him.

Axton unzipped the medical pouch and Rhys heard a tearing of paper before Axton was wiping something over all the wounds. Rhys yelped, squeezing his eyes shut as his head spun, the alcohol stinging like nothing else. He reached out to grip something to keep him steady and found Axton’s knee. He clung to it, gripping hard and gasping with each wipe. He tried hard not to pull away from Axton’s work, but it was automatic. The commando said nothing, working with Rhys’ reactions easily.

Only when Axton was finished, did Rhys breath fully, taking in gulps of air, his body shaking. Wind brushed over it, cooling it and making his back sting even more and he whimpered, pouting. He knew the front of him would be worse. His face heated, mortified at how much of a baby he was being. Axton’s hands were so sure and strong over Rhys. He was so steady where Rhys was weak and all over the place, haphazardly hoping something good came out of it.

He felt Axton’s hand at the base of his neck and Rhys’ eyes fluttered open as Axton closed the distance, kissing Rhys. Rhys was caught by it, leaning in and kissing the commando back.

Axton smiled. “Been meanin’ to do that properly.”

“I wasn’t sure you wanted to… I wasn’t sure if you were just flirting…”

He shrugged, smirking, his thumb massaging Rhys’ neck. “I was.” His eyes lowered to Rhys’ lips. “I like kissing you, too… And more.” His eyes twinkled mischievously.

Rhys couldn’t help grinning ear to ear, the tips of them burning brightly. He wanted to kiss Axton again, feel those experienced lips against his again. He leaned forward and was relieved when Axton received him, pressing against his chapped lips. He leaned further into the commando, wanting more. He reached out, shackled hands gripping at the military man, squeezing tight. Axton held Rhys steady, kissing him over and over, both losing themselves to it.

When they broke away once more, Rhys was drunk with kisses. Axton’s hands gripped his long thighs, rubbing them thoughtfully. He smiled. “We should fix the rest of you up.”

Rhys whined, swallowing hard, his body stiff as he watched Axton rip open another alcohol swab. Rhys’ fists tightened, ready for the next round of searing pain. He hadn’t been ready. It stung worse than his back due to all the burned areas. His eyes squeezed shut and he dug his head into Axton’s shoulder, blocking the commando’s path to the wounds. He felt the salty betrayal slide down his cheeks and swore, sniffling.

“Just hang tight, Rhys, can’t have someone as pretty as you passing out or dying on me.” He grinned tipped Rhys’ chin up to plant more kisses on him, these ones gentle and tender. “There’s a lot more I want to do with you.”

Rhys laughed raggedly, his breath shaking. He wiped his tears away. “I’m crying,” he pouted.

“Hey, happens to the best of us. Gotta say I’m impressed though. You’d have to get me drunk before doing this.”

Rhys looked up at him. “Really?”

He was kissed again. “Yep. You’re pretty badass.”

That got Rhys to smile and allow Axton to finish dressing all the wounds.

Axton made sure Rhys was completely asleep before he walked away from the campsite, marking it on his GPS. He’d left food and water for Rhys if he woke up before Axton got back. He began a slow jog through the forest, easily dodging around bushes and rocks, back to the cabin. The woman Rhys was so afraid of was going to get there- if she wasn’t already- with the rest of her entourage. And Axton was going to kill them all. They’d hurt Rhys over and over again and he wasn’t going to let them walk the planet longer than it took to kill them.

[iatethepomegranate]

Blue is the New Red Chapter 47

Masterlist (including AO3 and FFNet links)

Rated: M for torture, flashbacks, trauma reactions, PTSD, sexual assault of minors, consensual sexual content and related freaking out about it, drug references, non-consensual drug use, possibly underage drinking, homophobia and biphobia, references to self-harm, suicidal ideation and attempt. Chapter warnings:  animal cruelty, hints of PTSD, agoraphobia-liked symptoms related to PTSD

Main Pairing: Birdflash

Status: Multiple chapters, in progress

Overall summary: Nightwing has finally made his return to the Team, but he finds the events of the past two years aren’t quite done with him yet.

Chapter notes: The Team have a few surprises to contend with, and Nightwing encounters something he never wanted to see again.

Additional notes: I borrowed Sitka from Batman: The Animated Series

Chapter 47: A Bonus Mission

“Everybody stay calm,” Nightwing said.

“We’ve got at least one animal down here,” Superboy relayed to the rest of the team. “Be quick.”

A panicked chatter swept through the dozen-or-so scientists.

“We will hurry,” said Aqualad. “Be prepared to hold the animal off to allow the scientists’ escape. Superboy can break into the elevator shaft afterwards if you need to escape. Zatanna spotted a hatch on the bottom of the elevator you can access from outside.”

“Everyone stay close to the elevator,” Nightwing instructed. “As soon as it opens, hurry inside. We’ll keep this thing off you.”

“These things are super predators!” said their female scientist friend from earlier. “We made them to hunt humans.”

“We’re humans,” said one of the others.

“My two friends here are metahumans,” Nightwing replied. “And I was trained by Batman, which is just as good. We’ll keep you safe. Do you have access to the control signal?”

“No,” another scientist replied. “The soldiers took our devices.”

Great.

“No matter,” said Kid Flash. “We got this. Any tips?”

“The current on their robotic parts can be sensitive,” said one of the scientists they freed from the room.

Nightwing grabbed one of his electrified escrima; they were still having trouble maintaining a power supply for a whole night of patrol, so he used them sparingly. “Thanks. I can work with that.”

The nearest door flew off its hinges and slammed to the floor. An enormous jaguar prowled over the metal. It drew back its lips and snarled, revealing sharp yellow teeth. Light glinted off his metal rear legs.

“Superboy, keep its front busy,” Nightwing said. “KF, get me to those legs when it’s distracted.”

Superboy rushed to engage the jaguar, jumping backwards as it lunged. Kid Flash scooped Nightwing up and, in a rush of air, deposited him behind the animal. Nightwing turned on his escrima. The jaguar spun so quickly that Kid Flash only had a moment to drag Nightwing out of the way of its jaws. Ooh, wow. Its eyes had been replaced by fake glowing ones. That wasn’t freaky at all.

“Hey!” Superboy yelled. He kicked one of the metal legs. The jaguar rounded on him and clamped its jaws on his arm. He grunted but only made a token attempt to break its grip.

“This might get you, too,” Nightwing warned him over the link, and jammed the stick into the mechanised hip joint. There was a loud zap and the jaguar convulsed and collapsed. Superboy gritted his teeth and shook his arms out.

“Ow,” he said, glaring at Nightwing.

“Sorry.”

Kid Flash crouched beside the fallen jaguar. “Maybe we can take it for testing.”

Superboy sighed. “That’s going to be my job, isn’t it?”

“Aqualad,” said Nightwing, “we took down a partially-mechanised jaguar. KF wants to take it for tests. Thoughts?”

“Bad thoughts,” said Superboy. “Damn thing bit me.”

“Are you okay?” asked Miss Martian.

“I’m fine. Can’t even see anything. Nightwing’s electricity hurt more.”

“I said I was sorry.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

“Leave it where it is,” said Aqualad. “The League can collect it themselves if they wish. I will inform Batman. We are coming back down. Be ready to board.”

Nightwing had to admit he was relieved they weren’t taking the thing with them.

“Okay, we’ll leave it,” Nightwing said aloud, mostly for the scientists’ benefit. “It’s the League’s problem now.”

The elevator doors slid open and everyone piled inside. Nightwing didn’t appreciate being jammed against other people’s bodies, but now was not the time to be precious about it… even if he was feeling a little sick. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. The scientists were too busy worrying about getting out to think about him, and Kid Flash and Superboy knew better than to bother him.

The doors slid open and Nightwing made a valiant attempt not to look like he was rushing to get out. The two groups of scientists merged into one again and the team escorted them to the front of the facility. The two Green Lanterns were already there, along with Wonder Woman and her invisible plane.

“There’s a specimen downstairs,” Nightwing told them. “You can get in, but not out on your own unless you break the elevator.”

“Batman’s on his way to secure it,” said Wonder Woman. “We’ll see about getting these people somewhere safe. Get back to the bioship. Unless you hear otherwise, return to base.”

The Lanterns and Wonder Woman divvied up the scientists. Wonder Woman could only take two, but that was two the Lanterns didn’t have to carry on their hard-light platforms.

They flew off and the team trudged through the snow towards the bioship.

Miss Martian probed Superboy’s arm. “You were right. No marks.”

Superboy rolled his eyes, but he was almost smirking under the attention. “I told you.”

Nightwing pulled Kid Flash’s arm over his shoulders. “Thank you for gallantly saving me, good sir.”

“Ah, you know saving damsels and kicking ass… all in a day’s work.”

“I am not a damsel.”

Kid Flash snickered, pressing a kiss to his temple. “Oh, I am very aware of that. Doing okay?”

“All good now. Not a fan of being a sardine, but there are worse things in the world.”

“You were kinda weird about the elephants in the system, too. And those tapes.”

“I’m over it now,” Nightwing replied. His nose was cooling in the icy air. “We had elephants in the circus. Guess I’m still nostalgic after yesterday.”

Sometimes he missed the circus terribly, especially the elephant he’d grown up with. Sitka. She’d almost been like a sister to him, in a way. He used to pester the elephant trainer to let him learn tricks with her. She was still with the circus last he heard, but she didn’t do as many tricks these days. Animals in circuses were no longer fashionable given the animal rights issues involved. Nightwing had never known Sitka to be mistreated, but he supposed her accommodations couldn’t have been as good as she needed given they were part of a travelling circus. It was his understanding most of the animals didn’t travel with the circus on tours at all anymore. They were only brought over when the circus was setting up shop in one place for a long period of time.

He ended up telling the team about the time he’d broken his leg as a kid near the elephant enclosure and Sitka had broken down the fences to get to him and carry him back to his parents. The adults had been both grateful and horrified. It was just as well Sitka was such a nanny, and not given to aggression. She wasn’t the only elephant in the circus, but she’d been the one he was closest to.

That story held them over until they reached the bioship and strapped themselves in.

“How’d you like your first mission?” Miss Martian asked Batgirl as she brought the ship into the air.

“I missed all the excitement downstairs,” Batgirl replied.

“Most of us did,” Zatanna replied. “Maybe you’ll get to check out the animal when Batman brings it back to base.”

“Where do you think he’ll take it?” asked Kid Flash. “Mount Justice? Watchtower? Batcave?”

“Or a safehouse in Gotham,” Nightwing added. “He might not want to risk taking it anywhere sensitive until we know what it’s capable of.”

“He won’t want it in Gotham, either,” said Robin.

“Maybe somewhere remote, then.”

As if he heard his name, Batman’s voice crackled through their earpieces. “Batman to team. Do you read?”

“We read you,” Aqualad replied.

“I have another mission for you,” said Batman. “I’m picking up some strange signals from a warehouse just south of your location. Check it out. Rescue any hostages if you can do so safely. You’ll have backup as soon as it’s available.”

“Understood,” said Aqualad. Batman closed the link.

Nightwing was starting to feel warm. “Hey, Miss M, have you turned the heat up in here?”

“No,” Miss Martian replied, sending the ship into a gentle dive. “Are you feeling okay?”

“I… think so. Just feeling kinda warm.”

“Maybe you should stay on the ship,” Kid Flash suggested.

“Like hell.”

“Keep us updated on your condition,” said Aqualad, because he was both responsible and reasonable. “If you begin to feel ill, we’ll send you back.”

“Yes, boss.”

The ship touched down and the team disembarked. Nightwing’s skin flashed even hotter than before. He wasn’t burning up, exactly, but it wasn’t the most comfortable sensation. He didn’t feel weak. No joint aches or other flu-like symptoms. Just random hot flushes. He didn’t know what to do with that. The jaguar hadn’t bitten him or anything.

Kid Flash stuck close to his side as they left the ship. There were laser turrets on top of the warehouse. What the fuck?

Artemis took one out with an arrow while everyone else scattered. Kid Flash zoomed up and punched out another. Superboy took out the next. Zatanna exploded two with a spell. Nightwing and Robin teamed up with their batarangs/wing-dings to take out the last one.

Rocket put a shield up around the group once they’d come back together. “Just in case.”

They headed for the warehouse, and heat flashed over Nightwing’s skin again, even more intense this time. He tried to keep his reaction off his face, but Kid Flash was giving him worried looks anyway.

Nightwing let Robin take out the biometric scanner that barred the way. Hastily-installed, it went down without a fuss and the large garage doors rolled out of the way.

The team entered, almost on tiptoe. The factory floor was deserted, but for a set of metal stairs leading underground.

“Miss Martian, scout ahead,” said Aqualad. She headed off. “Nightwing, are you well?”

“Yeah, all that’s happening is this weird temperature thing,” Nightwing replied. “I’m not about to keel over. I promise I’ll tell you if it changes.”

“This is probably another Ra’s al Ghul base,” said Zatanna. “Could you be reacting to a Lazarus Pit?”

“I have no idea.” The thought hadn’t occurred to him. He hadn’t encountered a Pit since the one that brought him back to life. Could there be a Lazarus Pit in such a cold area? They certainly generated their own heat, Nightwing remembered with an unpleasant lurch in his gut.

“Let’s hope not,” Kid Flash said. “We’ve got enough to deal with.”

“Batman to team.”

“We read you,” said Aqualad. “We have reached the warehouse and have found stairs leading underground. Miss Martian is scouting ahead.”

“Superman is heading to your location as soon as he can,” Batman said. “Let me know what you find. Batman out.”

Superboy had a weird look on his face. Nightwing was under the impression they’d been working on their relationship, but maybe things were still awkward.

“I found more scientists,” said Miss Martian. “They’re trapped in a lab. There may be gas valves inside.”

“We’re on our way,” said Aqualad. “Nightwing, Superboy, Kid Flash, Zatanna… get below. Batgirl, Robin, explore that office over there. Rocket, go with them. Artemis, find a vantage point in case we have company. I will wait for Superman.”

Nightwing rushed down the stairs with his squadmates. The stairs were metal mesh, which met a walkway made of the same stuff. Nightwing glanced below, and there was a green glow that made him want to vomit. God damn, why did Zatanna have to be right about this?

Kid Flash steadied him with a hand to the elbow and they forged ahead down another set of stairs and another. Miss Martian was floating in the leftward section of a fork in the walkway. She led them to a door set into rock. The door was secured with a traditional lock, so Nightwing grabbed his picks and got to work.

“Flash figured out how to unlock doors by vibrating at the right frequency,” said Kid Flash. “God, I need to learn how to do that.”

“I’m concentrating, KF.”

“Right, sorry.”

Nightwing got the tumblers right and the lock clicked open. The scientists spilled out, coughing, and Kid Flash led them up the stairs. In the absence of a task, Nightwing could feel the heat across his skin again, and a strange buzzing sensation in his head. Fuck, he didn’t need this.

“We released the scientists,” said Miss Martian. “Kid Flash is bringing them to you. The rest of us will keep exploring.”

“Zee, I think you might’ve been right about the Pit,” said Nightwing.

“What can we do about it?” asked Zatanna as the squad returned to the fork and then down another set of stairs.

“Not much. They’re unstable. Lots of potential energy. Ra’s has tried to use them as bombs before.”

There was another room on this level, packed full of scientists beating against the door. Nightwing picked that lock open, too. The scientists spilled out, more than one vomiting over the railing as they went. Miss Martian led them up to safety and Kid Flash replaced her.

They kept going down. There were more rooms of scientists, more locks to pick. Each group looked worse than the one before.

“Aqualad, we’ve got a problem,” said Nightwing. “There are more rooms of scientists, and it looks like they’re being gassed. I’m picking locks as fast as I can, but we need more options.”

“I can break down some doors,” said Superboy.

“Do it,” said Aqualad. “Anyone else?”

“I’ll magic some locks,” said Zatanna.

“I’m good with locks,” said Robin, “and we’re not finding much down here. Batgirl can handle the computer stuff.”

“Good. Everyone get moving. Bring survivors up as you find them.”

They hurried down more and more steps, people peeling off as they found rooms. The heat against Nightwing’s skin was almost painful now, the buzzing in his head damn near drowning out everything else. But he still had his balance and could pick a lock in his sleep. That was enough. These people were counting on him.

Kid Flash couldn’t get the locks open, so he escorted Nightwing’s scientists for him. The floor was visible from the platforms now, and the final steps led to a glowing green Pit Nightwing had hoped to never see again. There was some strange machinery around it, and wires. Lots of wires.

“I found a Lazarus Pit,” Nightwing said. “Something’s not right. There’s wiring. I need to check it out.”

“Be careful,” said Aqualad. “Superman is here now. I’ll send him down to help you. Everyone else, how many more rooms?”

“Maybe three,” said Kid Flash. “They’re not looking so good. We have to get them out now or we could have some bodies.”

“Do I need to—”

“We have enough people to get them out, Nightwing,” said Aqualad. “Check out that Pit. We need to know if it is a bomb.”

Nightwing slid down that last staircase, almost landing on his face. The buzzing was unbearable, and it took everything in him not to claw his ears open. The heat on his skin was awful, but it was nothing compared to the heat the Pit blasted in his direction.

“Block it out,” he muttered. “Focus.”

The wires were coiled together and fed into a large metal tube sitting in the Pit. The other end connected to a tablet computer resting on a nearby rock. Rushed, but possibly premeditated. Maybe Ra’s knew people were coming and had enough notice to set up a bomb, but not enough to make it as sophisticated as he would’ve liked.

“Nightwing.” Superman swooped down beside him. “What are we looking at?”

“Bomb.” Nightwing gestured unhelpfully to the whole setup. “Can you see into the tube?”

Superman focused on it and nodded. “There are spots of lead, but not enough to impede my view.”

Nightwing looked at the tablet screen. There was no countdown. However, there was a big red stop button. He didn’t trust it, and without a countdown he had no idea how much time they had. This explosion could take out at least a mile of land, possibly more.

“What’s going on down there?” said Kid Flash.

“Got a bomb,” Nightwing replied. “Superman can help me find the right wires to cut. Focus on getting everyone else to safety. He can get me out if he has to.”

“But—”

“Make that an order,” Aqualad said. “Keep moving. Good luck, Nightwing.”

“Superman,” said Nightwing, “I need you to find the wires I can cut. Can you find the blasting cap?”

He squinted. “Got it.”

“Which wires do I cut?”

“The black one, to start.”

Nightwing produced a set of wire clippers and cut the black wire from the tablet.

“There’s also another power source.” Superman nodded to the humming generator beside the Pit. The buzzing in Nightwing’s head had drowned it out. “Cut the blue.”

Nightwing cut the blue wire. His hands were shaking. Adrenaline? Fear? PTSD? Who knew?

“Is that all the wires?”

“The blasting cap and the power source, yes.”

“I need you to fly me over to the cap. I’ll take it out, so we don’t have any accidents.”

Superman scooped him up and carried him over to the metal tube. Nightwing pulled out a pocket knife and found the cap. He had to go carefully, or he’d blow both of them up, along with all the scientists and the Team.

He took a deep, shaky breath and carefully slipped the blade into the compartment. The lid opened, revealing the cap. He tugged it out and clasped it in his hands. His skin felt like fire, and the buzzing would’ve deafened him if it hadn’t been coming from inside his own head.

Superman set him back on solid ground. Nightwing took a gasp of air in, mostly relief that the buzzing had died down a touch. He pulled a vacuum tube from his belt and slid the cap in there, activating the tube. It couldn’t go off without oxygen.

“I’ll take the bomb into space,” Superman said. “Is it safe to move?”

Nightwing nodded. Even with his head stuffed full of bees, he knew his bombs.

“Okay. Can you make your own way out?”

“I’ll be fine. Deal with the bomb.”

Superman floated over to the bomb and tugged it from the Pit, green acidic water dripping from the bottom.

“Don’t let that stuff touch you,” Nightwing warned. “It heals the sick and hurts the healthy. I have no idea what it’ll do to you.”

“I’ll be careful.” Superman flew backwards along the stairs so the water wouldn’t drip on him.

“Superman’s taking the bomb out to space,” Nightwing told the team, painfully aware that even his brain-voice was shaking. “I’m on my way up.”

“Need help?” asked Kid Flash. “It’s a long walk.”

“I’ll manage.” Nightwing needed to compose himself. The buzzing and the heat were bad enough, but the adrenaline was flowing thick and fast through his veins. His heart was beating in his head. He shook out his hands, letting shaky breaths fly in and out of his body until he could think straight.

There was an invisible tether between him and the Pit. The green burned into his eyes, the acidic bubbles bursting in the water and his soul. The buzzing almost felt like words, like it was beckoning to him. Fuck that. He shook his head like a wet dog and started up the steps. Kid Flash met him a few levels up anyway and helped him the rest of the way. He didn’t ask questions. Yet.

[fermi-paradoxical-blog]

silence

g: It is quiet here in space, until there’s a crackle of indignant radio chatter from a wavering voice impacted by seizing lungs, a demand to focus on the reactor, there’s limited time, not to worry about her —

“Leave the booster shots, it’s not worth it—”

Morgan opted to ignore that voice she knew so well one more time, but she resolved it would be the last time it would happen. There would be a change, but for now there was something to attend to.

The doctor drifts among the wreckage of Mikhaila’s office, the Artax’s emitter nozzles puffing compressed gas to keep her level and in the direction she wants, the only sound in her ears breathing, the reverberation of her shotgun’s report through her body, and the faint thrum of the maneuver pack behind her. Purple bolts fly past, casting light upon her suit as they miss by a hair’s width. In the dark, it almost lends it a plum hue, but the bright yellow of her muzzle flash breaks that illusion. A cluster of buckshot is sent whickering through the wreckage at the Telepath that had come to bother her, the metal pellets burrowing deep into Typhon flesh. The beast lets out a psionic scream that splits her head, or at least it feels like it’s splitting, but she manages to hold onto the firearm. She’s grateful her weapon is tethered nonetheless, and she cycles the action one-handed, a jerk of her left arm while holding it by the pump. With her free hand she scoops up and pitches a floating O2 bottle directly at the beast, and brings her hand back. Another trigger pull, and the next swarm of buck penetrates both the canister and the big nasty next to it. The canister explodes in silence, shrapnel spinning off in various directions. The Typhon psychocratis finally disintegrates into black masses.

There’s the crackle a radio and a familiar voice, resigned from the voice she knows.

“You got them, didn’t you? Oh, you make me so mad sometimes...”Morgan couldn’t argue with that, but there was more.

“You never listened to me anyway.”She would let her actions speak for themselves. She knows the engineer’s right, but maybe not forever.

Morgan smiles in silence.

b: Morgan hadn’t been fast enough, but Mikhaila was. The engineer ducked under the swing of the Etheric phantom and rolled to the side, slamming a new magazine home into her pistol as she rose to plug the last one, five shots in a string from center mass to its head, a neat stitch of full-velocity hollowpoints blasting the creature basically in half. The time both in the field and in combat sims at the range had paid off.

Although the emergency lights are on and there’s the deep thrum of the general alarm, the shrill alert beacons have stopped. Things are eerily still for a moment.

“That wasn’t the last of them,” the Russian said, “Morgan, go. I’ll —”“I’m not leaving you. Not again —” the doctor croaks, her voice insistent, demanding. “Not again.”

Morgan turned slightly as she heard a pair of bootsteps behind her, a duo of harried-looking engineers. One was a dark-haired and short woman, the other a tall blond man. One with a wrench, a turret box in her arms, and another turret folded in a backpack configuration, the second with a PPN, both of them nervous and obviously wanting to get the hell out.The she felt the needle in her neck. “I know you won’t,” Mika said softly. The sedative was fast-acting, and she felt the pain fade as her consciousness did, wakefulness hard to maintain. The needle withdrew from her neck, gently extracted by a gloved hand. She fought the chemical’s influence without much success. “Mika — I’m not —” Morgan started, but she was cut off. “Kovacs, Johnson, get her to the evac point,” Chief Ilyushin said. “I’ll keep them off your back and make a fighting retreat to join you.” Kovacs (as her nametag said) was the one with the turrets, which she hastily put down and deployed in the hall, staggered so that it was difficult to take both out at once. “Shh. Rest now,” Mika whispered as she supported the scientist. “Rest. I will be with you soon as I can. Goodbye for now, Morgan. I love you.”

She almost said “why?” but there was a sense there that she knew what this meant. “I love you too,” was all she could manage even angry as she was that Mikhaila had thought ahead like this, but she felt like a ragdoll as Kovacs and Johnson hefted her arms across their shoulders and went about hurrying off to the evac point. She could hear a rushing sound in her ears, like a waterfall. The last thing she could see was Mika’s silhouette as the doors closed behind them. She was smiling sorrowfully, at peace as she looked over her shoulder at Morgan.

Morgan slept fitfully. There was silence.

[warsamongstthestar-keen]

Chapter Twelve

After developing a solid plan, the Ghost crew leave the house, Sabine and Keen leaving first. The two sneak up on a nearby Imperial, the Jedi throwing him into a nearby wall, effectively knocking him unconscious. Sabine punching out the other one. Ar'iabel turns to find the Mandalorian shaking her fist, "I miss Zeb."

The Padawan pokes his head out, when he finds no Imperials, he leads the Rodian out in front of him. "Come on, Tseebo. Move it," he hastily whispers.

Tseebo rocks his head side to side, babbling once again in Huttese, the Padawan shushing him, hoping not to draw attention to himself.

The team commandeer an Imperial Troop Transport, Kanan knocking the driver out, throwing him from the vehicle. Sabine jumps in, taking the controls. Keen assists Ezra at getting the Rodian situated on one of the benches. Kanan taking up the position beside Sabine.

The escape plan was working, until they stumble across an Imperial blockade. "I have no plans on stopping," Sabine calls to the team.

"That's good to know!" Ezra shouts back. Kanan glances back, eyes landing on Keen.

"Are you laughing?" he shouts.

"Sure am, Sandy!"

"Oh, no, no,no, you are not calling me that. You are not bringing that back."

"Yes, I am!"

The Commandant in front of the transport stands in the road, holding a hand out in front of him, "Punch it!" the Jedi shouts to Sabine. The transport barrels through the other two ships, passing through the blockade.

Kanan turns back to Master Quinara, "Why did I ever invite you along?"

"Beats me. But, you're stuck with me now."

"I could tell you to leave," he mutters, the Imperials shooting at the Ghost crew.

"No you can't!" she shouts, as the door is blown open. Outside the shuttle is a speeder, without a driver. Ezra steps toward the door, looking for the driver, and a Stormtrooper jumps in, attacking the boy.

"The Rodian!" the Trooper shouts. The Knight doesn't hesitate, leaping into the back, attacking the man. The Stormtrooper knocks him to the floor, right by the door, another Trooper on a speeder outside. Keen uses the Force to grab the Trooper that's inside the Transport, shoving him out into the other Trooper.

"Yeah," Kanan says, standing up and brushing himself off, "and why is that?"

"Hera likes me," she winks. The transport jerks forward as the other Transport rams them from behind.

A thump resounds from the roof, and then blaster fire.

"Spectre-5 to Ghost. We're coming in hot," Sabine informs.

"Can see that. You got company upstairs."

Keen rushes to the front, and through the window, she sees the Ghost get bombarded with laser fire. "Shields holding, but I need that transport taken out. Chopper, you got this?"

Master Quinara swiftly shuts her eyes, her hand forming a fist. She feels the Transport behind them begin to cave in on itself, the Troopers bailing from the ship. She doesn't let the barrage up, until she's confident the ship is completely destroyed.

The com is silent for an awkward amount of time, until Zeb finally says, "Okay, you're all clear. Pull over, and we'll–"

The Lasat is cut off by the Captain, "Belay that. Have to be a scoop job. Sensors reading multiple TIEs incoming."

"TIE fighters will begin mass production on Lothal within the next six weeks," the Rodian rambles.

Keen turns around to find Ezra crouched beside Tseebo, "You're just full of fun facts," the kid says.

Kanan pulls himself onto the roof of the transport with a grunt. Ezra follows his Master, leading Tseebo. The Jedi Master assists the Padawan in lifting the Rodian to Kanan.

"You ready?" Ezra asks the Mandalorian.

"Yeah. Autopilot's engaged. This thing'll run till it's out of fuel."

"Well, great, let's go then," Master Quinara insists, boosting Sabine and Ezra to the roof. The Jedi leaps up, seeing Agent Kallus climb onto the roof of the Transport. "Go! Go!" she shouts, as the Imperial fires his blaster at her. She ducks around the lasers, manipulating the Force to turn the blasts back toward the Agent, of which they all miss. Keen jumps, landing on the open ramp.

Kanan places a hand on her shoulder, "You good?"

She shoots him a glance out of the corner of her eye, "Never better. You?"

"I need my gunners. Shields won't hold long under this barrage," Hera says over the Ghost's speakers.

"Almost there," Kanan calls to the ceiling, running for a gun turret, Master Quinara rolling her eyes.

The Jedi heads for the lounge area, spying Sabine, Ezra, and Tseebo.

"I have to man the nose guns."

"I'm coming with," the Padawan shouts, starting to follow the warrior. The Ghost shakes, Keen stumbling, slamming hard into the wall, a groan escaping her throat.

"Ezra? Ezra Bridger," the Jedi hears, as she regains her balance. She places her hand on her sore arm, rubbing it, trying to relieve the pain.

The Rodian babbles in Huttese, and then says, "It is you!"

"Yeah, Tseebo. It's me." Keen walks closer to the trio, leaning slightly against the holo-table.

Tseebo babbles some more in Huttese. Master Quinara's eyes widen. "Holy Druk!" Keen hisses out.

[integrabrenagh]

Prompt: That one situation you just couldn't possibly deal with.

-fast forward 5 years-

“Aaaah, gotcha!” Integra said playfully as she scooped upher three year old daughter, spinning around in a circle and hugging hertightly while the child giggled gleefully. Loralei had been an unexpectedpregnancy, but when the realization hit that Inte and Jim were going to beparents, they were overwhelmed with joy. An inquisitive and intelligent child,Lori inherited her mother’s eyes and her father’s hair… as well as his mischievousnature.

“Listen, mommy and daddy have some things to do today so Iwant you to stay with Gereion, okay?”, Inte said as she put Lori down, whonodded and grabbed a small backpack filled with coloring and simple math books,heading out the door of their quarters and into the courtyard of the Vanguard’sfort. There hadn’t been many changes in the past five years, save for a largeamount of turrets placed around the perimeter and an expansion to compensatefor the massive increase in member numbers. The area that the fountain had alsobeen finally paved over, never again to be destroyed by a random act of fatethat plagued it so terribly in the past.Dropping Lori off, Inte headed to a meeting room where shewas to be met by a courier of King Anduin’s regarding something that waspreviously undisclosed.

The meeting lasted longer than it should have; apparentlyinstead of a courier some of the higher ranking military officials had come inregards to a ceremony to be held in Integra’s honor, involving a promotion.Lori cared not for these things, being a three-year-old, and soon had becomebored with her books, as well as Gere. Getting up she silently wandered off in typicalchild fashion, only to be met by someone she had never met before. “Hi there,sweetheart! You’re Lorelai Brenagh, aren’t you? I have to drop something off toyour mommy, can you tell me where she is?”. The man, dressed as a courier,spoke kindly to her. Lori frowned, “I’m not supposed to talk to strangers. She’sover there”, she said, pointing in a random direction. As the man looked awayfrom her, the child ran in the opposite direction, only to be quickly scoopedup and gagged by the false courier, who dropped a note in her place beforevanishing.

Shortly thereafter the meeting had concluded, and Inte metup with Jim who had returned from whatever he had been doing. For the most partshe didn’t really ask what he was up to when he left; she trusted him and knewthat whatever it was he was doing was important. Catching up with each other ontheir day, a somewhat panicked Gere ran up to them as an alarm went off. “I can’tfind her. She was there, but… the next minute she was gone. I found this”, hesaid, handing the note over.

Jim reached out and took it, a look of rage coming over himas he immediately shifted into his Worgen form; his bones popping andrealigning before pressing the paper to his nose, inhaling deeply. Moving hisarm out he gave Inte the paper before running off following the scent. Inte’seyes popped open as she gasped, reading it.

“We have your kid”

Screeching his name, she ran after Jim as fast as she could,but she obviously was no match for his speed. He had already gotten into Elwynnforest, on the pursuit of the kidnappers trail, when he ultimately slowed to ahalt. Loralei stood there with her hands tied behind her back, the man who hadposed as the courier standing next to her; a sword at her throat.“Daddy, you need to go. Run!”, Lori yelled at Jim amid hertrembling and crying. Snarling, the Worgen began closing the distance betweenthe three of them. “I don’t know who you are, but you have my daughter. Exactlywhat is it that you’re planning on gaining from this?”, Jim questioned as hisear flicked back, sensing that others had encroached on the location ad he wasnow surrounded.

The man smirked. “Bait”.

Before Jim could question the answer, those surrounding himcharged. Wielding his cutlasses, Jim blocked one of the assailants with one ofthem, running him through with the other before pulling out the blade, slittingthe throat of another. Bashing his head into his third kill, crushing the man’sskull, Jim pulled out his flintlock and aimed quickly, taking the clear shot atthe man detaining Lori. The bullet hit the man’s lung, mere inches from hisheart. As he stumbled forward, in his last act of spiteful evil, herepositioned his blade and ran Lori through.

Jim froze out of shock.

It was all the time that the remaining assailants need.Slamming blades through his lower spine, gut, and bothshoulders they quickly dispersed after seeing him fall to the ground backwards.

Integra arrived on the scene shortly after on horseback,having heard the flintlock. Jumping off and scrambling to Jim, she pulled hisface towards hers, immediately trying to heal him but knowing in the back ofher mind that it was futile and perhaps would only give him a few more moments.“Jim.. no no no no no…. Where’s…” He sputtered up blood, glancing in Lori’sdirection. Quivering, Inte looked before shock overtook her as it had Jim. Theassassins came out of hiding once more for their intended target, but they were met with the rage andpersecution of the Vanguard that had come with their leader.Inte could barely hear the skirmish happening around her asshe looked at her dying husband. Jim wordlessly licked her cheek, the lifefaded from his eyes shortly after.

It was Bennas who ultimately tried to pry her away from Jim’sbody as she clinged to him, sobbing. The paladin managed to get her standingand a few feet back before Inte turned on her heel, her fist connecting withhis jaw as she punched him as hard as she could. The paladin staggered back abit, realizing his mistake as Inte stared at Jim’s body for a moment beforeglancing to Lori, running to the body of her little girl; picking her up in herarms and continuing to sob.

Integra stared at the empty bottles of Gilnean Whiskey infront of her, the room spinning as her head hit the table. The funerals hadbeen a few days earlier. She had stood there completely numb to the world,hearing the words of the priest presiding over the service, but not truly listening.She hadn’t bothered leaving her room since she had gotten back to the fort.

@ithaerielbrenagh @gereionkingston @theodorebennas

[teamrnbw]

RNBW v CAPA: The 4v4 Tag-Team Battle. (Part 1/3)

“Well, that could have gone better in any number of ways,” said William Wulfric as he rested an ice pack on his forehead, throwing his head back against the chair he sat on. Around him in Atlas Academy’s Lecture Room 19-02 were the rest of his team members, all exhausted from earlier that day. Rusty Redwoods was slumped over on the floor, exhausted, Nappa Springs was sitting in the corner of the room, furiously tinkering with her equipment, and Brandeis Cygnette was sat quietly at her desk, sullen. 

The team had just returned from a particularly difficult mission which involved attempting to storm a notorious robber’s hideout. While Team RNBW had successfully infiltrated the base, taken down its defenses, and secured a large majority of the stolen goods within, the criminal who had stolen them, Daisy Marion, had escaped once again after putting up a particularly good fight. 

The team’s teacher, Ms Loca Star, had thus allowed them some much-needed rest, and let them recover from their recent battle in her classroom. Which would have gone much better if Team CAPA hadn’t decided to barge in and gloat right there and then.

“Hiiii~!! Guess you guys messed up your mission, huh~?” taunted Argenta, gleefully.

“ ‘Sup, losers.” said Ptolemy.

“You have not successfully completed your task. It will be our job to do so in your stead.” stated Cutter.

“ -But that’s no big surprise anyways. What else would you expect from a bunch of loser weirdos that were scooped up off the streets, right?” laughed Aurelia.

“Look, you you guys just lay off for once?” groaned Will.

“Yeah! You try being shot in the face with a Dust cannon!” shouted Nappa as she finished welding the armor plating on her shoes. “I could probably arrange it for you…” she muttered soon after.

“Well, since you guys only got accepted here because your teacher wanted more “diversity” in this school with her “Inclusion Program” , you obviously don’t have what it takes anyway”  mocked Aurelia.

“Hey, you can laugh at us all you want, but don’t make fun of Ms Star because of our mistakes, okay?”

“She has a point, Ms Allum. Just because these children didn’t grow up with the same advantages you did doesn’t mean they aren’t as capable as you in their own ways.”

Both teams turned towards the source of that comment to see that, standing in the doorway was Ms Star, who had just responded to Aurelia’s jibe. 

“In fact,” continued the silver-haired woman, “now that we accept students from all across Remnant and from all walks of life means that our school has no doubt become a much larger pool of cultures and skills!”

“Really? Because at this rate it’s starting to look a lot more like a farm to me.” snickered Aurelia as she pointed at Rusty.

“Hey!” shouted Rusty.

“You guys wanna go at it right now, huh?!” said William.

“WE’LL WRECK YOU SNOOTY %$!@?S!!” yelled Nappa.

“Pffft. As if you losers will even be a challenge~” responded Aurelia

“Oh, you wanna throw down, young lady-?! *ahem* So wonderful to hear this from you, children! But if you’re going to fight, take it inside so we can make this a training exercise for you all.” 

With that, Ms Star brought both teams of students to a reinforced arena several floors beneath the school. It consisted of a large circular section of city-scape, the battlefield being mostly just small buildings and roads. It was in a massive hemispherical arena made of reinforced metal to ensure collateral damage did not become too extensive.

“This arena was a section of abandoned city we extracted from a Grimm-infested area.” explained Ms Star. “It’s meant to be one of the battlefields for the upcoming Vytal festival, but the state it’s in once that comes around doesn’t matter, so it should be perfectly okay for you kids to let off some steam here!”

Teams RNBW and CAPA each assembled at opposite halves of the battlefield as Ms Star began to explain the rules of the fight.

A massive display screen mounted on the arena walls flared to life. It showed eight colored bars, each with a photo of the huntsmen and huntresses participating in the battle beside them.

“Your aura levels will be monitored on the screen there.” explained Ms Star. “When it drops below 10%, you will be eliminated. Because I’m the only referee, each team can only have one member on the battlefield at any time to make it easier to keep track of the battles. You may switch places with each other at any time during the fight by exiting the bounds of the battlefield. Obviously, the first team to have all its members eliminated loses. Now, may the best team -but hopefully mine- win!”

And with that, Rusty and Ptolemy charged onto the battlefield and the battle began.

Ptolemy started off with an aerial assault, using his AKS-V9 armored flight suit to fly high up above the battle field and fire off a barrage of rockets from the suit's small wrist-mounted cannon down onto Rusty. Rusty converted her axe into its turret mode to shield herself, shooting a flurry of incendiary grenades at Ptolemy, but he was easily able to either dodge them or use his armor’s wrist-mounted energy shield to block them.

In response, Rusty activated her semblance and a bright orange field of energy flared to life around her, as she used her Charge to propel herself into the air to try and get closer to Ptolemy. With a great deal of difficulty, Rusty tried her best to use her semblance to steer herself towards Ptolemy, but his aerial maneuverability was far more superior, and he quickly flew out of the way and simply fired one rocket at Rusty to send her spiraling off-course and crashing back down into the ground at the edge of the battlefield, losing a small portion of her Aura.

“Uggh… I can’t get to him.” groaned Rusty, rubbing her sore head. “Looks like I’m tapping out for now.” she continued as she dashed off the battlefield.

“We need someone who can effectively combat an aerial opponent!” commented Brandeis.

“Hmm I could probably land a good shot on him with a lightning bolt from my rifle.” said William. “Maybe-”

“Outta my way, I’ve got this!!” interrupted Nappa as she bounced onto the battlefield in a flash using her Spring shoes, hopping from building to building and using the momentum she gained to get much closer to Ptolemy.

Ptolemy tried to land a shot on the tiny, manic, dark-skinned girl rocketing from building to building all around him, but she proved to be too tricky a target, evading all of his rockets. 

“Ugh, quit running you cowardly little m*dg*t!!” grunted Ptolemy.

Suddenly, Nappa rebounded off a building right at Ptolemy and the two began duking it out 100 feet in the air, with Ptolemy just barely managing to use his energy shield to block her kicks and blasts of sonic semblance energy. 

In order to put some distance between them, Nappa kicked against Ptolemy’s shield and propelled herself high up above all the buildings in the battlefield.

“Who said I was running?” she retorted, raising Ptolemy’s suspicion. Only then did he notice several small yellow bombs stuck to the buildings all around him. Nappa’s frantic circular hopping earlier wasn’t just to evade or confuse Ptolemy- she was keeping him occupied while she stuck the bombs from her soles onto the battlefield!

“Bye!” Nappa shouted triumphantly as she detonated all the bombs simultaneously, sending several stories of several buildings all crashing down onto Ptolemy, shearing away chunks of his aura. 

Desperately, Ptolemy tried using his rockets and shield to nullify as much of the rubble descending on him as possible, but it was too much and he was slammed into the ground under several tons of debris.

Clinging to consciousness with just a sliver of aura left, after several long seconds Ptolemy managed to crawl his way out of the rubble. And received a rocket-powered dropkick straight to the head from Nappa as she touched down to the ground at 700mph, taking him down for the count.

Team RNBW all cheered jubilantly as Ptolemy, limp in his armor, was gently carted off the battlefield by Ms Star via her semblance, while the remaining members of Team CAPA were still stunned from what just happened.

“Aw, yeah!!” cheered Nappa. “Get destroyed, flyboy!! You-”

Before she could finish her gloating, within a millisecond, Cutter had dashed across the field and landed a precise, incredibly powerful slice on Nappa using his katana, immediately taking her down.

“Uh-oh.” said the remaining Team RNBW members all at once.

[thomasroach]

Rage 2 Trophy Guide & Roadmap

The post Rage 2 Trophy Guide & Roadmap appeared first on Fextralife.

In this Rage 2 Trophy Guide, we’ll be showing you all the Trophies and Achievements there are in the game.

Rage 2 is a first person shooter that follows Walker, the last ranger, as he attempts to survive in a world inhabited by dangerous mutants after it was hit by an asteroid.

Use this Rage 2 trophy guide and roadmap to achieve platinum or 100% the game and collect the 43 trophies.

Time to Platinum: x hours

Platinum Difficulty: x/10

Playthroughs required: x

Missable Trophies: N/A

Most Efficient way to Platinum

Coming Soon

Rage 2 Trophy Guide & Roadmap

Post-Post Apocalyptic Poster Child

Collect all other trophies.

Efficiency

Use the Assault Rifle to kill 5 enemies in a row without reloading

Unloaded

Shoot 70 bullets within 16 seconds using the Assault Rifle

Skeet Shooting

Hit an airborne enemy with the Shotgun’s Slug Shot

Hyper-Express

Kill 2 enemies with the same shot using the Hyper-Cannon

Postmodern Picasso

Rupture a total of 200 enemies using the Rocket Launcher

Overly driven

Reach an Overdrive multiplier of 10

THIS IS RAGE

Use Dash Strike kick to kill 10 enemies

Come on and Slam!

Crush 50 enemies using Slam

Pseudo Post-Mortem

Kill 3 enemies within 10 seconds after restoring all health with the Defibrillation

Off With Their Heads

Headshot a total of 100 enemies using the Wingstick

Explosive Ending

Kill an enemy with a Turret Drone explosion

Zipper

Kill 13 enemies while riding ziplines

The Bigger They Are…

Kill 7 Abadon Mutant Crushers

Hot Potato

Reflect an enemy’s grenade

Goon De-leet

Kill 1337 Goons

Peek-a-boo

Kill a cloaked Shrouded enemy

The Enemy Of My Enemy

Kill an enemy that is trying to kill an enemy

Bytesize Takedown

Destroy 128 Vehicles while driving the Phoenix

Gonevoy

Take down 1 Convoy Leader

Crushed

Kill an Abadon Mutant Crusher with the Phoenix

On The Limit

Maintain top speed for 10 seconds with the Raptor

Over 9000

Drive over 9000 meters

Hangtime

Jump over 100 meters with a ground vehicle

Acid House

Complete the Torn Plains Race under 3:03

Off Balance

Knock 19 bikers off their bikes with the Phoenix’s Dodge

Dozing

Scoop up an enemy with the Dumper Truck

Goon Fire

Blow up a Goon with the Goon tank Booma

The Ranger

Complete mission: The Ranger

Blackout

Complete mission: Blackout

Wasteland Celebrity

Complete mission: Wasteland Celebrity

Beneath the Surface

Complete mission: Beneath the Surface

Ground Control

Complete mission: Ground Control

Double Cross

Complete mission: Double Cross

Project Dagger

Complete mission: Project Dagger

A Noah Lot

Complete 5 Arks

Can’t Stop Pop

Pop 17 Balloons

Mata Hari Manners

Destroy 30 Spy Drones

The Bowels of a Rust Giant

Venture inside the Dune Sea EcoPod

Forlorn Watcher

Travel to the summit of the Broken Tract EcoPod

Sunken Hope

Visit the Wetlands EcoPod

Reaching out to the Past

Traverse the bridge to the EcoPod in the Wilds

Wasteland Vagabond

Visit every Trade Coalition settlement

If you’re eager to 100% some other titles you should stop by our Trophy Guide section as we have guides for Resident Evil 2, Soulcalibur VI, Darksiders 3 and more!

The post Rage 2 Trophy Guide & Roadmap appeared first on Fextralife.

Rage 2 Trophy Guide & Roadmap published first on https://juanaframi.tumblr.com/