#she’s like ‘wait and see’ and meanwhile I’m clawing at my computer screen

[tenofmuses]

Good tarot vibes after submitting my grad school application—although I must say that the wheel of fortune is slightly cruel lol.

[theficplug]

|Next Lifetime|Erik Killmonger|

previous chapters : Part 1 Part 2  Part 3 

erik killmonger x black reader

|part 4|

warnings: um definitely smut this chapter at the end. so 18+ for this chapter! and a possible trigger warning for grief but i promise it gets better and its a romcom.

synopsis:  reader grieves Erik until she doesn’t (i’m trying not give too much away). This one is a long ass chapter. So, grab you a snack and something to drink! I hope y’all like it.

“You promised on our birthday that you would give me something far more special than the charms you would gift to me. In 2018, you wanted to avenge your birth parents and you went off and did something foolish and when you- when they returned you to me you were-.” you struggle for a bit to find the words to explain it all to him as he takes a step back to gather himself. 

He rubs his eyes before grabbing your arms gently and massaging them . He leans down to look you in your eyes before asking “Ma, did you take something before I came to pick you up? You alright? Cause what you saying don’t make no sense at all... Your pupils don't look dilated though.” 

“I know how this must sound. Batshit crazy. I know it sounds crazy to me too. I’m still trying to figure out if I’m losing my own damn mind. I don’t know how or why. I just know that you came back to me.” you say to him and he shakes his head. 

“Erik. You’re talking about your ex boyfriend...The one that passed... . Alright, I’m going to take you home now... I still don’t understand what’s going on here and I’ve had about all I can take of trying to understand what’s going on here.” N’Jadaka says quietly to you before going around and opening your car door. 

The drive was silent as you picked at your nails and let the soft r&b roll over the tension between the two of you. 

Your own thoughts were going in about a billion different directions again. It didn’t feel right to just sit on all of that and not say anything at all. As ripped from a science fiction film as it sounded at least he knows. 

He was never one to think quietly because you could practically read his thoughts with the changing of expressions across his face.

The relief of seeing your building washed over you as he offered to walk you to your door. 

It was bittersweet because there was still so much of him in this different version of him. Even when he was upset with you or livid with whatever ghost that was haunting him back then,  he still showed nothing but tenderness to you.

You nod and give him a small smile before following him up the stairs , to your elevator, and finally your door. 

“I know that this is a lot. I mean who in their right mind would be able to process all of that.I wish there was any other way to say it... But thank you, I had a really nice time.” your soft words snap him out of staring at your face as if he was trying to piece it all together.

He knew deep down that there was something about you and what happened that weekend while dreaming in colours and other worlds but he couldn’t wrap his head around all of this happening in real life.  

You lean up to kiss his cheek and he grabs your shoulders softly. “With all due respect. You seem like a lovely person and a good woman, but I just - this all a lil too weird for me and I don’t think it’s a good idea that we continue seeing each other.” 

He kisses your hand and leaves with one look over your shoulder as you call out “Meet me at our spot. If you are still anywhere in there. You’ll know what I mean.”

“What the hell happened ? I didn’t expect you back until tomorrow morning?” Iri says as she settles on the other side of the sofa and patted the spot next to her as you kick off the sandals and lay your head on her lap with tears already prickling your eyes. 

“Oh you didn’t? Please don’t tell me you told him about the soulmate reincarnation thing? Sweets, you probably scared the hell out of that man. We needed you to keep that waaay down in the vault.” Tiki adds as she pops the cork off the bottle of wine in her hand and pauses the movie playing on the screen in the background. 

“Here’s what we’re gonna do . You’re gonna text him and tell him that you had just gotten your wisdom teeth removed earlier today and the meds had you unexpectedly zooted as fuck. “ Iri suggests and you chuckle softly.

---

Meanwhile at N’Jadaka’s house he was already being pestered by Lina and Penn for some type of details about what happened during the date. Orleans was already in the kitchen cooking and ear hustling but went back to his conversation on the phone with Big Mike when he realized there wasn’t any tea. 

“I don’t feel good. I’m finna go lay down. I’ll talk to y’all in the morning”. He says simply to them before trudging his way to his part of the house.

They had been friends since college and just got used to the idea of living together as they did in the dorms so they made it work after graduation. 

It helped them save money for when they finally separated and all of their schedules kept them busy so they didn't have time to get sick of each other. They also knew him well enough to know when something was bothering him and to leave him alone when he gets this moody.

"What the fuck?" He whispered under his breath 

"What the fuck was all that?" He continues talking to himself as he strips and walks past the bathroom mirror to the shower. 

He stops when something catches his eye. He sees a birthmark on his chest that almost resembles the shape of claw marks. He lets his fingers linger over the mark for a second. Thoughts of a panther mask clouded his memories for a moment before he shook his head and entered the shower. 

---

A few hours later of talking through it with your girls about possibly seeing a therapist about all that's going on and you were ready for bed. 

It didn't take long to drift off, you were ready to put the whole thing behind you. 

The familiar setting of purples , pinks, and hues of blue came into focus and you looked around letting the butterflies land on you again.

 You walk through the flowers and find Erik sitting by a stream of water weaving some of the flowers together. 

"What the hell, E?" You ask as you run over to him and wrap your arms around his neck

He turns to you and smiles big , his dimples on full display before shrugging. 

"It ain't perfect but it's the best I could do. They said it's like a do-over or something like that. I get a second chance but as a result of the way I did things the first time it's a lil different. Like when you restore a computer and it lose all it's files and shit. I get a new life but I'm still kinda stuck. I kinda like it though. I don't remember all the other shit when I'm awake. It really is like starting over. Shits crazy to explain when you think about it. But for you , you already know. I'd find you in this life and the next and the one after that. I don’t think I’mma ever fully remember what happened with all of that when i’m awake. I’m cool with it. It ain’t something I’m tryna remember." He says tipping your chin up to look at you and kissing you softly 

"I know. At least I get to hold you in the real world. It's just different. But guess what I saw today? I seen that bench that you and me signed all them years back. It's still there." You say to him and he places the lil flower bracelet around your wrist as y'all sit and talk for the rest of the night.

By the time you wake up with the aroma of breakfast wavering throughout the loft you feel a little better about the whole situation with Erik, not Erik. 

You opened your phone and sent him an I'm sorry gif with a few extra words inspired by Tina's wisdom tooth lie. 

 After easing into the kitchen and standing in the doorway you see the two lovebirds dancing around the kitchen singing to each other and laying food on the plates. 

"Morning lil sleepy head. Don't forget that I'll still be coming down to the center with you today for the seminar. You hungry?" Iris asks as she places the plate in your hands with a kiss to the top of the head. 

"Of course. There's a young girl, Sophie there that I really think would love to talk to you. She's just starting her transition. And her parents are wonderful but they don't really have much money. She hasn't really had the chance to get more “feminine” presenting clothes and she likes makeup.  " You say and she nods catching your drift.

"Well it'd brighten anybody's day seeing a beautiful successful trans woman like myself honey. But let's lift her spirits even more. I'm gonna bring some of the makeup I got from pr packages and some of the clothes from this collection. I really hope it helps." She answers and Tika just saunters over to her proclaiming her love for her. 

"Alright alright alright. I get it. I'm single as hell." You say laughing softly

---

Two weeks ticked by with radio silence on N'Jadaka's end. After the 4th day when he gave you the cold shoulder at a coffee shop, you decided to stop trying.

Maybe it wasn't fate and maybe you were just believing what you wanted to believe. 

You reason with yourself as you walked around the loft making notes about the new housing project you were working on. 

Finally having the house to yourself with the lovebirds gone for the day on a little adventure. You got to work budgeting and calling different areas to rent out apartments to you for women and lgbtq+ with housing insecurities. 

Your ramblings and thoughts were interrupted by a knock at the door , thinking that Iri or Tika left something behind. 

"I told you to take your sunscre- Daka?" You question as he stands in front of you

You cross your arms and furrow your brows while waiting for an answer from him.

He stands for a moment like he’s trying to gather all of his thoughts together in a way that makes sense to both of you. 

"What're you doing here?" You ask putting your hand on your hip. 

He drops his shoulders and lets out a soft sigh before looking at you.

"I didn't wanna believe it. What you said that night cause like how the fuck does something like that happen? I’mma be honest.  I wanted to just believe that you were a lil off and leave it at that but something keeps telling me that you right. I can't remember shit before college and all I wanted to do was be with you. From the moment I met you in the store. I was like, this is it. This is what's missing. A piece to a puzzle that's all jumbled up." He admits and you nod slowly before letting him in. 

You walk around the kitchen getting a cup of tea for yourself and sitting a cup of coffee down on the counter for him.

“Don’t worry it’s black, I know you dont like it sweet.”

"You know I didn't exactly expect my fiancee that I buried months before to show up at a damn supermarket of all places. This isn't some movie or fanfiction. These kind of things don't happen in real life. Daka you, you had claw marks all over you. The last time I laid eyes on you. And now you're here in front of me. I thought that I was losing my mind." You say and he starts to unbutton his shirt.

"These." He says peeling his shirt off and showing you the birthmarks on his chest and shoulder.

You trace your fingers over it before leaning your head on his shoulder. 

"I asked my parents about my childhood and when I passed by my old neighborhood a few days ago andI remembered some things. I remember what happened to my other parents, in pieces. Shit’s brutal." He says dropping his gaze

"It's okay." You whisper to him and wrap your arms around him. You rocked him for a moment letting him let all of those feelings wash over him. 

He embraced you for a moment before kissing you tenderly. You tug at his bottom lip before deepening the kiss when he press you against the counter. 

"We'll figure it out... Something telling me I'd be a fuckin fool to lose you again." He says quietly against yours lips. 

"Are you gonna make love to me or are you going to keep looking at me like that?" You ask as he studies your whole face like he's looking at art. 

"A memory. It's you. We stood right here and I kissed you the same way. You were saying something like "you bring yourself home to me"." He says and you nod frantically, holding him closer to you.

"I did. It was right before you left." You admit and he nods before lifting you up onto the counter and kissing you heatedly this time. He kisses down to your breasts before looking up at permission from you to unhook your bra. 

Always a man that knows what he's doing. He takes kisses around your breasts and nipples. He takes his time to lick and caress you until he works his way down.

You shake your head yes before moving to slide off your panties but his kisses and his mouth is already beating you to it as he kisses down to your thigh.

He slides your panties off with his teeth and tosses them over his shoulder. 

You tilt your head back as you feel him wasting no time massaging over your clit and working you over with his fingers, curling them and stroking you gently. 

Your soft moans fill the room when he hooks your leg over his shoulder and begins to suckle your clit softly , swirling his tongue over it. 

"Tika will kil- Ooh god. How does your tongue feel like it's vibrating?" You ask and he only chuckles and grips onto your cheeks to bring you closer to him.

He was feasting on and devouring you like he was going to lose again and you could grind your hips down against his tongue and moan his name sweetly.

He didn't stop his tongue or fingers working in you until your legs are shaking and you're gripping at his head. 

"You have- fuck. I'm a squir-" you moan his name brokenly while trying to get out your words and lean back for a moment licking his lips before realizing what you're trying to say.

"Hold that for me. I wanna come with you." He says to you and you pout and protest as he removes his fingers. He picks you up off the counter and carries you bridal style asking you which room is yours.

"Left , left." You giggle into his shoulder as he helps you slide your dress off and you unbutton his jeans for him. 

You capture him in a kiss for a moment feeling his soft plump lips against yours again for the first time in what feels like forever. 

"It's been a long time since I've done all of this. . . Gentle." You say and he runs a calloused finger over your cheek moving a curl away from your face as he looks at you. 

He gets a quick flash of a memory of you and him in bed. You wore a smile on your face before telling him "happy anniversary".

He trailed his fingers down your body remembering almost every scar , every moment. 

When Erik got to a scar at your side. He chuckled, unlocking a memory of you two running from the neighborhood rottweiler , Smokey. 

That old ass dog hated you and he hoisted you over the fence first after being out late one night in high school. The gate had caught your side when you jumped. 

Erik felt so bad he brought you food from anywhere you wanted everyday from to school for a month. 

He leans down to place open mouthed kisses to it. 

He traced over your thighs to the cellulite and stretch marks remembering when you first got them. 

He was moving homes at the time and he wasn't ready to be further away from you yet.  You two just sat for hours at the park in the grass, talking. 

" You know white men behind all of that anyways. They want y'all to feel like you gotta look the same way. That's how they make them billions. My mama had 'em . Yo mama , and generations back. And it ain't ever stop them from being the women they are. Besides if any dirtneck nigga ever try you , just tell me. Imma handle it." He would say as you sat with your head on his lap, staring at the sun setting, knowing good and well your grandparents were gonna ground you for being late when you get home. 

They never did though cause you were with Erik they knew you were gonna be alright. 

"Nothing to worry about. I… I've never done any of that stuff before…Have you?" you question hesitantly as you stare off. 

"Tisha. From Ms. Wilkes class. We was coming from the kick back-" 

"Uh uh . That's your business , you ain't gotta tell me all of that." You say slightly upset at the fact that Tisha of all people was his first. 

----

"I got you." He says kissing your forehead then your nose before hooking your leg over his hip and easing into you slowly while his lips are still on yours. His eyes never left yours as he cupped your face sweetly like he didn't want to lose you again. 

In this moment he gets a glimpse of prom night and how things changed between the both of you forever. 

He wraps his hands around your waist. One of his hands splayed across your belly. 

He remembers the pregnancy scare you both had afterwards with him holding your hand and telling you no matter what happens he wanna be there for both of you.

Luckily, nothing came of it but you were definitely closer because of it.

You let out an open mouthed gasp at the feeling of being so full of him after so long. 

You rest your hands on his neck and shoulder and he bottoms out fully settling into you as he moves his arms next to  balance himself. 

You close your eyes as he begins to stroke into you trying to set a rhythm for you as his praises for you fall from his lips. 

He kisses his way down your neck licking the marks that are already starting to form there. 

"My lil baby." He mutters out after licking a freshly formed hickey forming on top of your breasts. 

You open your eyes slowly , looking at him and the way he's looking at you . 

"It's been way too long since I've heard that from you. You're remembering?" You ask quietly as you let out a soft moan.

N'Jadaka's muscles flex and tighten as he picks up his pace. His abs clenched as he  pulls out almost completely and filled you at a different angle.

 The sounds of your moans filling the room with every stride and stroke of his hips,  it seems like you're closer to floating in space. The man was fucking you like his life depended on it and at this point all you could do is wrap your arms around him again to comfort you as he shutters and rolls his hips deeper into you. Your walls tighten around him as you relish in the feeling of him. 

"Fuck. I remember all of it." He says half chuckling at the way it's coming to him and half nearly in tears cause he really missed being with you. 

"I also remember that this is your favourite position cause you like to see my face." He teases before leaning down to kiss you again with them plump ass lips.

"E?" You ask , grabbing his face with trembling hands.

"Baby?" You ask again 

He moves his hands from your waist and places your hands in his. Then moving them above your head as he flashes in between making love to you for the last time and now.

You roll over with him and place your hands on your chest riding him slowly getting the rhythm as he strokes into you from below. 

He laughs softly when he realizes what you're doing. 

"Are you spelling my fucking name , baby?" He asks and you tell him that you can spell both.

You let out a whimper when he brushes your spot and let him take over as he runs his hands over your thighs to your butt and over your back as he strokes into you. 

He plants his feet on the bed and work your hips in rhythm with him. 

It didn't take long for you to orgasm with a loud shriek of his name . You had forgotten how he gets when he's close as his hands on gripping all over your thighs and your back. You were already feeling sensitive with your second orgasm coming through and this man felt like he was trying to put it in your belly. 

He rolls you onto your side giving it to you deeply. 

With a loud hiss and panting from him he cums , holding you in his arms.

"I don't think it has felt like that since our birthday last year." He says into your ear as he pulls you closer into his arms. 

He engulfs you fully in his embrace and presses a kiss to the side of your head. 

You laugh softly and roll over to face him , resting your forehead against his.

"I remember. You took me to Paris. I had never been and at the time I was obsessed with everything Parisian. We fucked on the balcony and somehow I ended up popping the straps to my favorite dress. You still owe me by the way." You tease and he shakes his head laughing. 

"I think we ended up saving they marriage from across the way though. They was arguing the whole time. Then they gon watch us like we ain't see them." Erik says laughing as he squeezes your thigh playfully.

"I know they was trying some things." You joke 

"I missed you so much. You don't even understand." You admit with a somehow saddened and relieved expression. 

"I know.  I want to start over this time. All of that Erik Killmonger shit is over with. I wanna keep the name N'Jadaka and just start over. All of that was too heavy on me to carry. I wanna let it all go. I wanna do it right with you." He explains 

"Good because if you put me through that again. Wakanda will be the least of your damn worries." You say to him and he nods giving you his word, sealed with a kiss.

"It'll be alright. Everything happens for a reason. And I think that right now a bath needs to happen and I'm gonna need you to do that thing again that you did in the kitchen cause I'm tryna figure out when you learned that-" 

At some point after the bubble bath/ shower combo you were both out like a light until Iri and Tika decide to come busting in like they usually do with little gifts and food for you. 

"Guess who's your fave- SHE GOT A WHOLEASS MAN IN HER BED" Iri announces to Tika before your pillow hits the door as she closes it. 

"Sorry about that. This is kinda our cuddle hour so they're used to just coming on in." You say sleepily and he just laughs it off while holding you closer. 

"It's all good. I remember that I ain't know them much before but when we did spend time with them, they were good people." He says, still trying to piece it together.  

----

You fell asleep more peacefully than you had in a long time. Now granted, good sex didn't fix the many layers of issues and mysticism surrounding everything.

But for now, you knew that you had him, you had your girls, family and your business. Everything felt alright again. 

Right up until the point of sleeping through the first alarm to meet the property owners.

"Bae. Bae your phone going off." N'Jadaka whispers in the dark room , voice still riddled with sleep and grogginess. 

"Shit. Shit. I'm gonna be so late." You call out , quickly jumping out of bed and stumbling around the room. 

It takes you about 25 minutes to speed through getting dressed in your best skirt suit. 

N'Jadaka sits on the end of the bed putting on his shoes and watching you shuffle around. 

He had offered to drive you there and stay with you and check out the property with you. 

He slows you down by grabbing you by your arms gently and placing a kiss to your lips. 

"Good morning, handsome. Let's go" 

You walk through the living room with Iri and Tika already posted up in the kitchen placing two breakfast burritos in a container to grab and go. 

You grab your things from the counter all while thanking them and jetting towards the door.

"Good luck pooh!" Tika calls after you. 

"Byyyyeeee Dakaaaa" they call out after him

---

"Here it is . These are the apartments. I know they don't look like much now from the outside. But from the pictures it looks great. And they'll be safe and comfortable here-" you babble on to N'Jadaka while you both stand outside of the building where Erik grew up , until you notice two women walking to  a car that clearly wasn't from this area. 

You notice Shuri and your breath hitches in your throat. 

Frozen in your anxiety, the seconds ticked by and it was too late to leave. She looked you dead in the eye and then at N'Jadaka like she had seen a ghost.

She gasped and Nakia followed the eyes before back into the car. 

"SHURI WAIT - PLEASE" you yell out to them but the car was already speeding  away. 

tag list : @doublesidedscoobysnacks @chaneajoyyy @mirandkimy @doitforthevine67​ @amyhennessyhouse @dasia21​ @depressionandfandomsinc @sinfully-dope @ambitionwood @heybriheyyy @wholelotta-melanin @theesotericqueen​ @mbakuwife​ @spookys-girl @teardropzih @bigchoose @ceo-of-baby @sweetpeachjones @lost-ssoull  @shyblackgurl @justpeachee @nijajoha @imayhavemisunderstood @beautifullmelodyxx​ @alookintohersoul @rbhp @champagnesugamama​ @just-peachee @almeda-344  @mahogany2021 

[bang-and-a-blintz]

Through the Darkness

CHAPTER SEVEN - RED AND BLUES

Fandom: Dracula (2020)  

Relationship: Dracula/Roxana(OFC)  

Rating: Mature  

Warnings: None  

Word Count: 3,708

In hindsight, Roxana probably shouldn't have had three strongly poured bloody marys. She should have switched to something less filling after a big meal; like a vodka soda, if she felt like keeping to the same liquor, or a gin and tonic to stir things up. Unfortunately, all the tomato juice and grits and bread and sausage and eggs did not mix well with the sight of someone's throat being literally torn open.

It was nasty, but at least now she could jot down 'successfully grossed out a five-hundred-something-year-old vampire' in her list of lifetime achievements.

"Well, that was…unexpected." Dracula said after a moment, his hands hung in the air like they were held up by marionette strings, "Revolting, yes, but I have to admit, this is a first."

"I…um, I would apologize, but -"

"Yes, you should be sorry! This is an Ermenegildo Zegna." He growled lowly and the Italian name slid off his tongue in such a way that it sent shivers down her spine. Not entirely unpleasant ones, she'd be loath to admit.

"Who cares about a suit? You just ended that man's life!" She wiped her mouth with the back of her hand and took a few steps back to distance herself from the vampire. "Besides, you clearly can afford another one."

Dracula rolled his eyes and sighed, his hands now working on their own accord as he began to carefully peel the ruined jacket away from his body. "It's not about the money, Roxana, it's about the craftsmanship and quality of the items; think of the countless hours spent meticulously sewing and sizing each individual article of clothing. All of that dedication and hard work tossed away just because you can't stomach a little bit of blood."

"Unbelievable." She began to pace in a small circle, dragging her nails quite viciously and repeatedly through her unruly locks. "You care more about some bits of fabric than a human being's life."

After shaking off the chunks from the coat, he placed it sloppily over the corpse and started working on his vest. There was that ferocity that he recognized in her, it reminded him of Agatha, and it was that Van Helsing fire that was not so easily snubbed. "You will come to learn, my dear, that death is part of the journey. It is the finished masterpiece. Think of it as your magnum opus! It is the very thing that defines the meaning of every life and is nothing that you should be afraid of."

"You're missing my point completely and, for the record, I'm not scared of death."

Dracula was relieved to find the button-up shirt underneath his vest to be unscathed, but also a little more than slightly intrigued by her statement. He would, how they say, put a pin in it and return back to that later. "Then why are you so upset? It's not like you knew him."

She groaned and threw up her hands in exasperation. Roxana was not about to try and teach an old vampire new moral tricks, that was well above her pay grade.

Rolling up his sleeves, the Count set out to retrieve his belongings from the pockets of his jacket and then fitted the dirtied clothes onto the dead body. For the final touch, he slid his Ray Bans over the man's glassy eyes. "Ah, good enough, I suppose."

Dracula took a step back to view his handiwork while absentmindedly wiped the remaining blood from his face. Roxana stopped her pacing to stare dumbly at the sight before her. The mugger was propped up against the wall with his head drooped down to the side, covering the neck wound so it looked like someone who had little too much fun and passed out on the sidewalk. Not an entirely uncommon sight in this city.

"Please tell me you're not just going to leave him here."

He looked at her with raised brows, "And what would you have me do?"

"Clean up after yourself!" Roxana cried out. The adrenaline rush she got from witnessing a murder had not completely dissipated so now she was left grasping a bout of minor hysteria. "I would think that would be obvious!"

Dracula laughed, "That's rich coming from someone who just upchucked her dinner all over one of my finest suits!"

"Because you decided to floss your teeth with some dude's carotid artery."

"Why are you surprised? You know what I am!"

"Well, excuse me if I was a little caught off guard because it's a hell of a lot different seeing a vampire up close and in action as opposed to a tiny, shitty computer screen!" She was nearly shouting, oblivious to the desperation in her own voice as he drew closer. Her neck craned upwards to try and boldly keep eye contact while his grin grew to make him look like the cat who caught the canary. "Stop smiling like that!"

"Make me." His tone was teasingly low, those eyes wicked and sharp. She noticed how lively Dracula looked after he fed. It was unsettling.

WHOOP! WHOOP!

They jumped apart as sirens suddenly yipped at them and a bright flashlight waved back and forth between their faces. The dark street was instantly flooded by the red and blues spinning on top of the police car.

"Oh, fuck me." She murmured with wide eyes. Her hands instinctively started to raise a little before she forced them back down, reminding herself to act casual.

Dracula leaned over slightly, "Is that an invitation?"

"Please shut up." She hissed back, shooting him a glare. "And no, it's not."

He made a facial shrug and then smirked, tossing her a casual little wink just to rile her up. The short, frustrated huff he got in return was satisfying enough.

"Everything all right here?" The cop rolled down his window and peered out at them. "And how about your friend over there? He's not looking so great."

The light shined over the dead guy leaning against the wall and the pair froze, glancing at one another.

This was her moment, she could tell the officer about the murder and maybe he could protect her against…the vampire. Oh, who was she kidding? Dracula would quicker snap her neck and drain the officer before risking the chance of exposure like that.

Meanwhile, her inner moral soldiers battled fiercely inside her brain over whether or not she should even say something about the murder. On the one hand, the count was a vicious blood-sucker who killed a man in a blink of the eye without any remorse, but on the other hand, it was technically self-defense…on her behalf anyway.

Logic eventually won when she realized that even if she did rat him out, it was highly unlikely the cop would even believe the truth. She would sound like a crazy person. The mental image of Dracula laughing and waving while she, hands uncomfortably cuffed behind her back, watched on with teary eyes as he grew smaller and smaller in the distance because the cruiser she was detained in drove off to the nearest prison…or an insane asylum. Whichever was closest.

Be killed or incarcerated? Neither were ideal. So Roxana went for door number three instead.

Dracula saw the look on her face. The look of a scared little rabbit getting ready to bolt. He had already tensed in preparation for her to make a sudden move but, to his surprise, that peculiar look vanished and Roxana smiled.

"All good here, officer! And yes, unfortunately this drunk pleb is with us. We were just about to get a ride back to the airbnb, sir." She shrugged her shoulders with a laugh. "It was his first time on Bourbon Street."

"Yes, I do believe he had one too many bloodys," Dracula was pleasantly surprised by her change in demeanor and happily played along. "Poor man vomited all over himself before we could find him a bin. Such a lightweight."

The officer squinted a little and they waited with bated breaths as he took a moment, which really felt like ages, to decide whether or not he believed their story.

"Alright then," He said at length and pointed to Dracula, "You make sure they get home safe now, ya hear?"

Roxana's eyebrows rose in disbelief while the Count grinned toothily, stepping over to her. She felt his hand slide up her spine and rest in a light grip around the back of her neck. "Of course, officer. I'll take care of them."

With a nod, the cop turned off his lights and drove back down the street, making a left at the next corner. Roxana let out a breath she didn't know she was holding and dropped her shoulders.

That was a close call.

"My, my, your heart is racing, Roxana." Dracula murmured into the darkness that had enveloped them once more. His thumb brushed over her pulse point and he was thrilled when it spiked at the touch. She went to move away but halted her step when she felt his grip tighten, those claws threatening to make a cut. He turned her to face him and firmly, but gently tilted her head back to force her to meet his stare.

"That was your chance. Why didn't you say anything?"

"Please," She scoffed and jutted her chin out defiantly, "We both know it would've been pointless."

"Still," He spoke softly, his head angling back as he observed her, "You could have told the police officer the truth."

"And have you kill us both? I think not. Remember, the foundation showed me those videos and I know you're immune to bullets. So what good would that have done me?"

Dracula stared at her for a moment and then wetted his lips slowly before speaking, inching closer and closer towards her face. "For the last time, I'm not killing you yet because I wish to get to know you, but if you keep bringing it up, I might feel inclined to change that timeframe."

"Well are you going to be this intolerable all the time? Because if so, then just get on with it, I'm in no mood to play a long con here, big guy."

"No, I do believe the fun has just begun."

"Great. Just great." Roxana was truly done. She could still taste the bile on her tongue like acid, it made her feel disgusting, and she wanted nothing more than the day to end. "Now, if you'll let me go, I'm in desperate need of a shower, a toothbrush, and a bed. Maybe a nightcap too because the last twenty-four hours of my life have been absolutely fucked."

Acquiescing her request, Dracula released his grip and allowed her to distance herself from him once more. He watched as she dragged a hand down her face and heaved a sigh; her blue eyes almost shined in the darkness up at him as she gave him a tired half-assed glare. She then turned and started walking towards Canal Street.

"Where are you going?"

"Home." She called over her shoulder, her manners be damned. "Goodnight, Dracula."

The Count gawked when she didn't even give him a second glance and he did nothing but watch as she made her way to the end of the street and disappeared around the corner. He truly did not understand that woman. Perhaps it was ingrained in the Van Helsing blood to be habitually nonplussed by his vampiric prowess.

He pulled out his cell phone with a sigh as his thoughts drifted to the dead man wearing his now-ruined five-thousand-dollar suit and about a quart of said Van Helsing's DNA. Dracula needed to get rid of that evidence before it came back and bit him in the ass. No pun intended.

"Hello, my lord, how was your day today?" Renfield sounded chipper as ever.

"I need you to dispose of a body."

Dracula grinned from ear to ear as he listened delightfully to the unfiltered frustration in Frank Renfield's long-suffering sigh.

—

What a day, Roxana thought as she shuffled onto the streetcar and plopped down in one of the wooden seats. With a lurch, the machine squealed and rattled as it moved forward along the track. She winced; the benches on these particular modes of transportation were incredibly unforgiving on one's posterior.

Blankly, she stared into nothing, not paying attention as the buildings passed by. The events of the night played on repeat in her mind. A real vampire killed a real person right before her eyes. Was this really real life now? She was too exhausted to try and figure it out.

She felt like an outsider looking in on her body as it ran on autopilot. Her hand pulled the string to stop the car and somehow her feet managed to take her all the way to her front step without incident.

Fifolet meowed at her incessantly by the door but it sounded muted and far away as she unlocked it. Robotically, she made a beeline to the bathroom and shed her clothes along the way. Not even waiting for the water to warm up, Roxana stood unflinchingly under the cold spray and began to clean herself as the temperature increased to the cusp of scalding. She scrubbed and scrubbed until her skin was red and raw. When she was finished, she pressed her forehead against the tiled wall and closed her eyes, simply listening to the water roar around her.

Without thinking, she lifted her hand up to gently wrap her fingers around her neck and couldn't stop her mind from wandering…from remembering the distinct sensation of another hand. His hand. She could almost still feel the vast expanse of his palm grasping her jugular and those impossibly long fingers curling nearly all the way around. Or how he leaned so close until he was just a breath away and anytime she would inhale, those fingers would tighten ever-so-slightly against her flesh.

Roxana's eyes shot open and she dropped her hand like it was on fire. Goosebumps lit up her arms and legs, despite the scorching water. Slamming the nozzle off, she threw back the curtains and began to dry off with furious gusto.

He was a vile creature. A feral beast. Not even human. The mere memory of his hands on her should be enough to appall her entirely. It must be delirium, she thought stubbornly, shaking the abhorrently traitorous images from her mind. She wrapped the towel around her head and strode towards the bedroom.

"I just need to go the fuck to sleep." Roxana muttered to herself and swiped the half-empty bottle of bourbon from the counter on her way. She collapsed onto the bed once she reached it, but sleep did not find her. Instead, she laid awake through the early hours of the morning, watching the ceiling fan spin on and on and on. She steadily knocked back the remainder of the liquor until the corners of her visions blurred and her eyelids became too heavy to keep open.

By the time the sun had risen in the sky, the bottle had rolled underneath her bed, long since emptied, and her light snores could be heard along with the chirping birdsongs. Fifolet patted over and curled up next to the woman, resting her paw gently on her outstretched arm and knowing that her human would be needing comfort now more than ever before.

—

The rest of the week flew by without any sort of batty drama and Roxana was grateful for it. She had a light workload with only two dinners scheduled and each went off without a hitch. All felt to be back to normal within her world. The weather wasn't comfortable yet, unfortunately, so she spent most of her free time relaxing at home. Not that she was using the cold as an excuse to stay inside and away from a certain someone. Nope, not a chance.

After that night, she had woken up with a righteous hangover and truly believed she had made up everything that had occurred in those twenty-four hours, but the textual evidence on her phone proved otherwise. Dracula had messaged her just once, to make sure she had made it home after their encounter, which she had to begrudgingly admit was rather sweet. Other than that, she was surprised to hear nothing more from the Count.

Roxana was cherishing the peace and quiet while she could. She knew that this whole interaction with Dracula was almost one-hundred-percent going to end up with her premature death. It wasn't hard to understand that hanging out with vampires and certain mortal peril basically went hand in hand. Not to mention the pesky fact about her being directly tied to a bloodline of women who had quite a lot to do with this ancient warlord and, spoiler alert, both of those women were killed...by him. So she intended to enjoy the calm before the storm.

Her phone went off next to her as she was boiling a pot of water for her own dinner and she saw an unknown number flash up at her.

"Hello?"

"Ah Miss von Hels, this is Keres Grimaldi. How I appreciate you taking the time as I am sure you must be terribly busy." The cold, feminine voice on the other line was not who Roxana had expected.

She blinked and then glanced around. The only plans she had this evening were drinking a bottle or two of wine, eating pasta, and watching some mind-numbing sitcoms. Yes, she was terribly busy. "Oh, no, not a problem at all. What can I do for you, Miss Grimaldi?"

"I would like to go over some of the details for this upcoming dinner." Keres' tone was icy and authoritative, leaving no room for nonsense or frivolous chatter. Roxana had a hard time imagining this woman throwing any sort of convivial party. "First, I believe you are aware of the delicate situation I am in, as head of the council, and the reason I chose your restaurant as the location once more is that I know that you will handle these delicacies with the same discretion you do with all of your soirees. Your clientele is famous and you appear to have the subtlety to maintain secrecy."

Roxana could not tell if this woman was being deliberately facetious or if she just always had the demeanor of a robotic bitch. Realizing very quickly that she wasn't about to get many words in, the chef put the phone on speaker and began to record the conversation so she could go back over it later to write the details down in her schedule. Work smarter, not harder. With a smile, she continued stirring the sauce as Keres plowed onward with her demands.

"The dinner will take place on the last Friday of the month, just two weeks before Mardi Gras. We shall be seating ten and you will provide meals for only five. It will be just you there and no other employees during the dinner, absolutely no exceptions."

"Okay, I'll have them leave before the clients arrive. You understand that includes my valet, right?"

"Yes, the transportation will be taken care of, therefore parking will not be an issue."

Strange, Roxana thought to herself while pouring the pasta into the strainer. "That works. Anything else? Dietary restrictions?"

As the words left her mouth, she winced and silence filled the room. It was a perfectly normal question under any other circumstance, but perhaps not this one.

"I noticed the other night that you seemed to be familiar with Mr. Balaur."

"I…um," She wasn't sure how she should answer the woman, "It was the first time I had met him, but I guess you could say we have mutual acquaintances."

"Miss von Hels, you are aware of his vampiric nature, are you not?" Well, Keres was certainly not tiptoeing around the subject.

"…Yes."

"Good, that's one less tedious explanation. I will provide the necessary dietary requirements, so you need not worry yourself over that. As for the mayor and his partners, you will want to contact them and decide on a menu that will suit their needs."

"Easy." She poured another glass of wine and took a long drink. "Anything else?"

The line was quiet for a moment and she had to check to make sure the call hadn't ended before Keres spoke up, "No, that will be all for now, Miss von Hels. Thank you for your time."

"Thank you for calling, Miss Grimaldi, I hope you have a great rest of your evening." Roxana really appreciated clients who were straight to the point, for it was often a headache to deal with indecisive people.

"One more thing," Keres' voice made her hand stop midway from pressing the end button, "Watch yourself around him. I've spent some time with Mr. Balaur in the last few years and I have never seen him look the way he did at you and this concerns me, not for your wellbeing of course, but for the future of our council. I will not have him go feral again, not under my watch, so if you know what is best for yourself, I would advise you to attempt to maintain a distance and use the utmost caution."

This caught Roxana off guard and her brows furrowed, "Then why are you having the dinner at Sanguine, if you are so concerned about this?"

Keres let out a laugh and it was anything but joyful. It lasted a beat too long for something that couldn't even be considered humorous and continued to send chills fluttering down Roxana's neck with a foreboding sense of danger.

"Oh, I know better by now than to try and take his toys away."

Taglist:

@festering-queen​ @vissidarte213​ @moony691​ @allis143​ @torntaltos​ @apocalypsenowish​

[whatcouldgowrong-ohthat]

Hard to be a Stark

I’ve learned that some of these are going to be mini series things within the overall world. I’m thinking Steve’s will have one more part. I have songs for Loki, and Bucky around the corner so keep a look out for those! And the sequels to Sam’s and Steve’s. :)

Also shout out to my beta, @songforherma. They are awesome and handle my crazy very well. XD

Summary: Various Avenger x Reader one-shots with songs from musicals. In this one — Tony Stark has been doing the Ironman for a while now. Kissing babies, shaking hands, still flirting all the live long day, but it’s getting harder and harder to put up the facade. So what happens when his new assistant, you, see him having a drunken heart to heart? Song is “Hard to be the Bard” from Something Rotten! 

Honestly - this one is a bit more platonic. If I write a sequel, the romance stuff will show up there.

Warnings: Angst, Drunk Tony, bit of fluff, confessions, cussing, reference to violence

Word Count: 3477 words

Please don’t post my writing anywhere else without my permission. :)

Stark. The name in itself held…

Power.

Money.

Authority.

Respect.

But with all those things came…

Assumptions.

Expectations.

Anxiety.

Mockery.

Hostility.

Ignorance.

And understandable sorts of coping mechanisms.

Then came the day he declared himself the Ironman - a superhero meant to protect civilians when no one else could. Gone were the weapons of probable mass destruction his company had become so well known for. Now they were replaced by one. A suit of armor in the hands of one man who could only do his best to protect his country. He wanted to believe he was doing the right thing, taking the suit, doing something with it that helped create peace.

Then New York happened. The Avengers.

Everything shifted. Assumptions and expectations skyrocketed. Anxiety twisted its gnarly claws around his heart, opening the door and introducing a new friend — Post-traumatic stress disorder. He could act like it wasn’t there and that it didn’t exist, but then came the outside opinions. It was easier to ignore them when he was just a Stark. He could put up a facade, act like it didn’t bother him because no one knew what was going on underneath.

You’re not the guy to make the sacrifice play, to lay down on a wire and let the other guy crawl over you.

Steve had cut him deep with that one. Mister Cap-sicle over here acting as he knew him. So what did he do?

I think I would just cut the wire. 

Of course, after Tony risked his life with that stupid nuke, Steve realized he wasn’t as correct in his assumptions as he first thought. Tony snorted, taking a swig of Scotch before setting it on the counter. “You know what they say,” he spoke to himself. “Just makes an ass of you and me.”

But he couldn’t hold it against the old man after all Steve was dealing with a  level of ignorance that came from being under the ice. His defense mechanism was mockery and hostility. Sitting in a chair, Tony stared stoically at the ironsuits across the room. They all looked like tin cans really, something made as a means for survival and turned into something greater. Leaning back in his chair, he crossed his arms. There was always some new hostile just around the corner. That didn’t go away with the suits. If anything, he and the Avengers were greeted by more of them every day which included all of the superhuman threats that the world suddenly kept on facing.

And that was where the coping mechanisms took a turn from understandable to downright unhealthy. Pepper had told him that, commented on it and voiced her concerns like Pepper always does. She needed to work on her timing. That night he’d been black-out drunk and didn’t remember anything. JARVIS had to show him the footage the next day. Guilt wracked his body because he didn’t remember. He didn’t remember screaming at her or throwing the bottle. He didn’t remember telling her to get the fuck out or the fact that he fired her. No, he didn’t remember. And when he watched the video, watched his drunken self shoot a repulser blast to shatter the glass next to her? It was like he felt his heart shatter with it because he knew he didn’t remember that. He knew if he had been any soberer he wouldn’t have done it. He would’ve called Rhodey or Happy to get her out of there before he did something stupid.

However, that was a couple of months ago and now he had a new assistant. Some girl named Y/F/N Y/L/N. She was good at her job and Pepper made sure to find someone that could handle his narcissism and ridiculous schedule, somehow someone of that nature managed to fit the bill. Still - she wasn’t Pepper. He appreciated that she acknowledged that. She never tried to be anything other than herself and it quickly earned his respect.

Ding!

Tony shifted his gaze to the computer when the email popped up. Y/N had sent him his schedule for tomorrow. Brushing it with his pinky, he watched as it popped out of the tiny screen and presented itself as a hologram before him. He couldn’t hide the annoyed huff that escaped his lungs even if he wanted to. “My days are too busy for this,” he muttered, knowing everything was back to back with barely a moment to breathe. It wasn’t Y/N’s fault. She was trying to catch him up on the reality outside. “It’s making me dizzy, there’s so much I gotta do.” Standing up, he walked closer to the schedule and his face scrunched in distaste. “JARVIS, there’s lunches and meetings and poetry readings and great, more interviews.”

“Sir, it’s about learning to combine your roles as a Stark and Avenger in a more efficient manner.”

Tony grimaced. “Traitor,” he told the AI before seeing the photoshoot he had to get up far too early for. If he even went to bed for that matter. “Gotta pose for some photos and how I deplore sitting there for eternity. Then it’s off to the bar where my bartender friend wants to name another drink after me?”

“Would you like for me to call Y/N, sir?”

At this point, Tony had stopped listening to the AI. No, his mind was far too focused on this schedule. “Then it’s back to my room, where I resume my attempt to fix this shit.” At least she knew to give him time in the shop so he could work on the suits.

“Just you and your beer?”

Of course, JARVIS would have a witty retort for that. He always did. Sitting on the edge of his desk, he felt a cold wash over him as he admitted, “And the terrible fear that I might be losing it.” Staring at the bright hologram, the grim reminders, he shook his head and swiped it away. He could think about that later. I mean, it’s not that important.

—

Hiss…

The sound was what woke him from his uncomfortable slumber. He stretched, his spine and shoulders cracking from the effort before he realized he’d fallen asleep with an iron arm in his lap. No wonder his legs were tingly. A lack of blood flow did that. Shaking his head in a futile attempt to rouse himself further, his bleary eyes and yawn signaled that he wasn’t quite there yet. His gaze ran along the lab floor, making sure he hadn’t left a random weapon lying around and it was there his gaze found your little black heels on the floor, tapping patiently. Or was it impatiently? Eh, he couldn’t bring himself to care. Instead, he stood and set the arm on the counter, sending one of his infamous “Stark smiles” your way.

It was met with the most patient look he had ever seen.

You weren’t irritated?

Tony wholeheartedly meant that today’s events weren’t important. However, that was when we initially thought it. Seeing your face? Seeing the way your brow furrowed not in annoyance, but concern? Yeah, maybe he should’ve put a little more effort into going to sleep.

“Coffee?”

His gaze shifted to the steaming cup that was outstretched in your hand. He took it, mumbling a barely coherent ‘thanks’ before taking in your appearance. Pepper always wore skirts. You wore pants. She always wore blouses. You were what looked to be a simple tank top or t-shirt underneath a blazer. It reminded him of his look. Maybe Pep warned you that the skirts and fancy clothes wouldn’t survive around an Avenger?

“Did Jarvis let you down here?”

“Nope.”

Now he was confused. “Then how —“

“Ms. Potts thought it’d be beneficial to your habits if you had someone capable of hacking.”

“Wait,” Tony gaped, eyeing you with more interest than a curiosity now. “You-You're a —“ You smile and it knocks the wind out of him. Grumbling to himself, he takes a sip of coffee. Tony didn’t really like being bested. “I want to say I’m impressed, but also that means you hacked into advanced tech when you could have knocked.”

“Would you have opened the door?”

“She has a point, sir.”

Tony looked up at the ceiling, raising an eyebrow. “You don’t get an opinion.” He knew they were both right, but did that mean he had to admit it? Really? Pinching the bridge of his nose, Tony walked back to the bottle that had been carelessly left behind on the table. He poured some of it into his coffee before drinking most of the hot, bitter, and now strong liquid. “Seriously, you’re a hacker?”

“Just for fun.” You shrugged and he snickered. You reminded him of when he first got into tech and making new things. It was just for fun then. His gaze shifted to the lab and he knew that wasn’t the case anymore. Meanwhile, you had turned to the iPad tucked into your arm, scrolling through it. “So first on the agenda —“

“Nothing.” You looked up, the puzzled expression enough to make him feel satisfied. He missed being able to stoop an assistant, confuse them and leave them floundering. If that was how it was going to be, he was sure you wouldn’t last long.

Recovering from your confusion, you tucked your hair behind your ear and shook your head. “No, Mr. Stark, there won’t be any cancellations today. You need to get back into the world. Everyone wants to hear from —“

“I don’t care what everyone wants. I’m Tony fuckin’ Stark. When have I ever cared about what other people want?”

“When your mother asked you to say goodbye to her and your father for a holiday, but you didn’t.” There was a brief moment of silence as the matter-of-fact tone shifted to a much softer one and you added, “They passed away that weekend in a car accident.”

Tony froze, his back to you. He would’ve expected some assumption that he cared when he cut off weapons production for Stark Industries. He would’ve expected some ignorant comment that he cared when he took that nuke into space. Apparently, between the two of you, he had been the one to slip up. He’d been the one to assume. Trying to recover, a wry smile curved his lips as he asked, “Figure that out in your time hacking my software?”

“No, sir. Happy told me. After…After the incident with Ms. Potts, he felt that I needed a little preparation as to the job I was being hired for.”

Happy. Yeah, Tony would remember to talk with the man at a later time. Turning to face you, he downed the rest of his coffee before dropping it in the bin next to his desk. “You know, it’s hard. It’s really hard.”

Confusion. Again. “I don’t understand.”

He grinned and gestured to everything, a perfected swagger in his step as he told you, “I make it look easy, but honey, believe me. It’s hard.”

“Yes, I gathered that from the hangover and the crutch you’ve developed for alcohol in the morning.”

Ah, you had bit more bite than he expected. Looping an arm around your shoulder, he was surprised that you refused to tense under his touch. They did prepare you for the mess that was Tony Stark. Waving his hand, holograms of videos on youtube, news articles, and various photographs appeared to surround you two. You took it all in, more curious than confused now that you started piecing together what he was getting at. “It’s so incredibly hard, so inconceivably, unbelievably hard.”

He was whining, throwing a tantrum because he wanted his way. You both knew it, but he didn’t know the assistant he had. “It’s hard to be a Stark?” you asked, a hint of sympathy in your voice as you stepped out from under his touch. Your eyes studied everything. These weren’t just something randomly picked. He had these saved. He studied everything that was said about him and, judging by the negative articles, he believed more of the bad than the good.

“Honestly? I don’t know how I do it.” You looked at him, but he no longer studied you. Instead, he was staring at the images just above. His voice was soft as he admitted, “There’s only so much of me to go around.” Seeing him like this, open and vulnerable, you weren’t sure what to expect. Perhaps it was the booze that made him act like this? No, you’d seen the footage. Pepper was completely open about Tony’s faults and wanted you to be prepared. On booze, he was angry. He wasn’t vulnerable, but far from it. But as soon as you blinked, just once, just a brief moment, that vulnerability was gone. It was replaced by that Stark smile that graced all the tabloids and interviews. “I’ve got so many fans with so many demands.” He looked at you, smirking. “I can hardly go take a piss.”

“Can’t even pee? I can schedule a bathroom break if you’d like.”

Tony snorted. Alright, he knew he was going to like you. “Be it a hero-freak or another autograph seeker, they all want a piece of this.”

“It happens when one is in the spotlight as much as you are,” you told him honestly. Walking to the desk, you took a seat and looked over the schedule, deleting a couple of things here and there. He spun around, distracted and looking at everything. Tony was doing everything he could to look like he was okay, but just watching him showed you that he was fragile. Instead of a whole man, he’d had pieces of himself chipped away over the years and it seemed his kidnapping had taken out a huge piece. Now he was struggling to glue together what was left.

“It’s a cross that I bear,” he agreed. “I’m like Jesus, I swear!” You rolled your eyes and he pointed at you, reminding you that, “It’s a burden, but I suffer through it.”

“He is suffering,” came JARVIS’s voice, a somehow mocking tone preprogrammed into the AI.

It made you laugh, but the sound died on your lips when Tony sat on the edge of the desk, his leg bumping your knee. “It’s all part of the game, the trappings of fame, but somebody’s gotta do it.” You looked up from your schedule, tucking it into your chest as you eyed him cautiously. He seemed to be tipping on an edge of sorts. Wasn’t this the sort of thing someone discussed with a therapist? Not their newest assistant? “And I know,” he mumbled, shifting his gaze from the floor to you. He leaned forward, nodding to himself as if he were trying to convince his brain. “I know I gotta go and get back to the fans and fame.”

“Yeah, you do.”

He rubbed his temples, huffing as he pleaded, “Don’t make me do it. Don’t make me go through it.”

“Mr. Stark —“

“Oh, I need to get me a drink.” He rose, moving faster than you could have anticipated. Colliding with the chair, he sent you rolling a few feet as he grabbed the bottle he’d been nursing. Taking a few good swigs of the burning liquid, he exhaled slowly. “It’s hard.”

“You’ve said that a few times, Mr. Stark.”

“Well, it’s true!” His shout made you jump though he didn’t seem to notice. No, he was long gone in his drunken stupor. Part of you was starting to wonder if he was even sober when he first woke. Sitting on the floor, he stretched his legs out and rest his head against the desk. He looked spent. “I know being a Stark made me famous,” he whispered. “But being famous is just so not fun.” Waving his hand again, the images of Ironman vanished. Instead, it was replaced by trashy tabloids and photos of himself and news articles with various women, at random parties, creating an image that he’d forced himself to maintain. The hologram divided you two, creating a wall it felt you had to break through if you had any hope of surviving this job. Picking up the bottle, he pointed to one of the older photos before taking another swig. “What people just don’t understand is that fame is demanding. It’s mentally challenging and it’s a bore, jeez, it’s such a chore.”

“To sit in a room full of people?”

To prove yourself to a room full of people

He shifted his gaze, meeting your eyes. There was a fog over the welcoming brown of his irises. Tony was drunk. Truthfully, he admitted, “I hate it.” He exhaled, his shoulders slumping. Would he continue? You weren’t sure.

“You know, you’re trying to find some short line or an innovative idea and you’re pacing the floor and hoping for…Hell, maybe just a bit of divine intervention?”

“Is that what happened with the suit?” You were curious, your tech-savvy brain aching to understand how he created something so brilliant. You were a hacker, sure, but that was nothing like being an inventor.

Upon mentioning the suit, he offered the faintest of smiles. It seemed it might be one of the better topics for him to discuss. “That was the one little nugget. That one little spark. I was ready to die and then eureka, I found it and I was ready to start.”

Silence fell between you two and you allowed yourself to smile, to feel at ease. If he remembered this, it might help him adjust to working with you. There’d be a level of trust. If not, then you could work with the information you’ve learned and slowly gain some level of traction with him. Everything took time and patience and the man sitting across from you was no different.

Not even close.

“It’s hard,” you finally agreed, earning his concentration once more.

“Wouldn’t it be hard to do something as good as the last thing you did?”

“It was already great.”

Tony shook his head and you felt like you took two steps back. He didn’t see it that way. He didn’t see himself or any of his accomplishments that way. “It’s totally hard. I’ve got fortune and fame. Everyone knows my name.”

“Can’t help it.”

“But it’s still freakin’ hard.”

You watched him carefully. He was so fragile at the moment, unlike you’d ever seen. You never would have thought of an Avenger as frail. That was your mistake. That was everyone’s mistake. The world had come to put these guys on pedestals with no concern for the fact that they were still human and broken. They all had scars and emotions to process so that they could form some semblance of a less than shattered individual. It hurt having to see it first hand, but you knew that if you hadn’t, you’d never believe it.

“You’ve taught me a lot, Mr. Stark,” you whispered, looking down at the tablet and clearing the schedule. There was always tomorrow, but today… You looked back at him. Today wasn’t the day. “I’ve cleared your schedule and will leave you to the rest of your day.” The surprise on his face made you smile. You had been a couple of steps ahead of the genius. “On two conditions.”

“Name them.”

“One, no more alcohol. Spend the day tinkering on something.” You shrugged as you stood up, waving one hand through the air to clear away the mess of history between you two. “Maybe create something new or go for a drive — something you want to do. And two, get some sleep tonight. I’ll be back tomorrow morning and we’ll try again.”

His eyes studied you as if trying to find the sneaky detail you were hiding from him. All his friends did that. Instead of being upfront, they hid a detail that would later be used to help him in some sort of way. That wasn’t the case with you. No, you were nothing but honest. No secrets. No ploys. “No alcohol and get some sleep.” Tony chuckled, holding up the bottle to you before dropping it in the bin to his right. “You got a deal.”

Progress. That was what you felt when you saw him willingly take you up on your offer. There was hope for a structured, professional relationship. “Thank you. I’ll see you tomorrow, Mr. Stark.”

Turning on your heel, you made your way to the door to give the man some peace and quiet.

“Tony.”

You paused, looking at him over your shoulder. “Sir?”

“Call me Tony.”

All you could do was nod before you left, closing the door behind you. Looking down at the schedule, you clicked on the title and slowly backspaced on the name “Mr. Stark”, replacing it with “Tony”. Well, surely it’d be a mostly professional relationship.

[violetsmoak]

Appetence [7/?]

AO3 Link:https://archiveofourown.org/works/20251420/chapters/47997634

Blanket Disclaimer

Summary: Red Robin is investigating the disappearance of a friend and stumbles into a spot of supernatural trouble. He doesn’t expect to be saved by Jason Todd, miraculously alive five years after his death and now with the inexplicable ability to commune with the dead. Meanwhile, when Jason returned to Gotham he meant to maintain a low profile and not get involved with Bat business. That was before he found out how hot his Replacement is.

Rating: PG-13 (rating may change later)

JayTimBingo Prompts This Chapter: N/A

First Chapter

Author’s Note(s): Apologies for the wait. As you may know I had an adventure with my dropbox wherein I backed up all my files because I had to restore my laptop, and all of the files ended up mixed up in the wrong folders and I've been tracking down files one by one for the past week. I hate technology. I mean, I guess I should be happy the files didn't get deleted, but it's still a pain in the ass to re-organize manually.

Beta Reader: I’ll get back to you on that.

________________________________________________________________

Tim stares at the business card in his hand long after Jason disappears, thumbing over the false name and phone number with a reverence once reserved for clandestinely captured photographs.

Victor Shelley, Paranormal Investigator.

He wonders if Jason was trying to be funny choosing that name. Given what Tim’s heard about him in the few instances where Dick or Alfred talk about him, and what he saw for himself in the past, he thinks it’s entirely likely.

God, Dick and Alfred.

He knows they’re going to be just as blindsided about this as Bruce when they find out.

If they find out.

Guilt flickers through him now at the promise he made to Jason.

Why the hell would he promise a man he doesn’t really know—a man he’s spent a grand total of an hour and twenty-three minutes in conversation with—that he won’t let his adopted father knows he’s not dead.

That he hasn’t been dead for years.

That he’s in Gotham right now.

Tim wishes he could say it was one hundred percent his shock at Jason being alive, but that would be lying to himself. His mind flashes back to Jason’s face, his slow smirk and the smooth, deep voice, and he swears, letting his head fall against the counter.

Apparently, I promised him because he’s pretty.

It’s a new feeling for Tim. He’s never been easily swayed by looks, but something about Jason is attractive enough to put him off-guard, or at least loosen his lips more than normal.

I thought I was over this…

“I know that face.”

Tim startles and glances up at the bartender—Trista—who he had forgotten was there. He’d forgotten he was sitting in a bar, to be honest.

“Judging by the ass on that man, I can guess what it’s about,” she continues in a wry tone. Then she’s sliding a shot of amber liquid toward him. “Here. To steady your nerves.”

Tim stares at the alcohol in numb confusion.

“That’s on the house, but only because he talked more with you tonight than I’ve seen him do with anyone since he got here,” she goes on. “We’ll both pretend I don’t know you’re underage.”

Tim is too flustered by everything she’s just said to do anything other than accept the shot under her knowing gaze. Then, he beats a hasty retreat from the bar as fast as humanly possible without it looking like he’s running away.

Distracted, he returns to his apartment in the Theater District, trying to parse the events of the night from an objective viewpoint. He’s not entirely sure he didn’t dream it all up, considering whatever that incubus did to him, and so he runs tox-screens on his blood and gives himself a full physical just to make sure.

Other than spikes in several hormone levels—adrenaline, dopamine, and serotonin—his results are normal. Nothing that would really alter his perceptions of reality, the way Scarecrow or Poison Ivy’s concoctions tend to do.

That confirmed, he should be able to leave the matter alone for now. There are more pressing matters to deal with—Dante’s continued disappearance being one of them.

But thoughts of Jason continue to assault Tim’s thoughts.

Something has been bothering him since his conversation with Jason, something he wondered before but couldn’t ask because Jason got skittish and made a run for it

How the hell did Constantine cross paths with Jason anyway?

Aside from his inexplicable presence in Gotham at some point in the past five years without attracting the attention of Batman, what would interest him in a teenaged John Doe with no identity or memory?

Sliding into the chair in front of the computer in the Nest, Tim calls up the autopsy report, even though he doesn’t really need to see it. He memorized it years ago. Still, if he’s going to investigate this, he needs concrete facts, not just his memory.

It’s not difficult to create a timeline of events, between Jason’s official death and now. Or to search a list of John Does at various hospitals in Gotham within the last five to ten years, whose condition upon admittance matches the description of Jason’s injuries at death.

He finds the information he’s looking for within twenty minutes.

As it turns out, things didn’t happen quite as neatly or quickly as Jason’s story suggested. His stay at Gotham General was a lot longer than he let on, and Tim’s stomach twists as he reads the medical reports.

Various physicians left their comments on the patient, a young man of about fifteen or sixteen, severely beaten and malnourished, picked up several miles from the hospital.

The file includes a mugshot of a heavily bandaged youth, head shaved from what records indicate were several procedures to repair brain bleeds, skull, and facial fractures. Bruises and swelling make his features almost unrecognizable, except to someone who has memorized pictures of that face since he was ten years old. Someone who knows the cut of that jaw and the color of those eyes, however bleary and vacant they are as they stare into the camera.

“God, Jason…”

Tim reads over the doctors’ notes that span the course of a year, cataloging how well the boy is healing considering the heavy damage he sustained, and how he would be considered a miracle patient but for the fact whatever happened to him caused significant brain damage.

Clear psychological damage, hearing voices, incapable of speech, easily upset.

On several occasions, the boy became unaccountably terrified, screaming and yelling and trying to claw out his own eyes. Sometimes it even became violent, and in his struggles, he put three doctors, a nurse and two orderlies in the emergency room.

I’m surprised it was only that many people. Considering his training, he could have done a lot more damage.

Eventually, he always had to be drugged and restrained.

Demonic possession, maybe?

It’s not the first thing Tim would think of, but if Constantine’s involved in all this, it would make sense. And coming back from the dead like Jason says he did, it had to have side effects.

Except, there’s no mention of anything superhuman or beyond the realm of possibility regarding Jason’s strength. Surely the doctors would have made note of anything beyond the abilities of a normal, scared teenager—especially in Gotham, where strange behavior was a sad norm.

No mention of anything resembling supernatural or metahuman abilities anywhere here.

Jason was eventually placed permanently in the psych ward and likely would have stayed there for the rest of his days, except the hospital’s budget was cut in his eighth month there. Space issues required moving patients to other hospitals, and—

“Oh, no. No-no-no, tell me they didn’t,” Tim murmurs, heart sinking as he scrolls down the page of the report, knowing exactly what he’s going to find.

They sent him to Arkham.

If Tim was horrified before by the notion of Jason’s resurrection and his condition afterward, it’s nothing to how sick he feels to learn that his predecessor was sent to the cesspool that is Arkham Asylum.

He needs to turn away from his computer for a few seconds and breathe, close his eyes and concentrate on not hearing the lilting, singsong voice and tinny voice in his head.

Hush, little baby, don’t say a word, Mama’s gonna buy you a mockingbird.

Ever since his kidnapping, it’s the one place in Gotham Tim won’t venture—he’s not sure what would happen if he did. Whether he’d suffer a crippling attack of flashbacks, or march into the high security ward and slit the Joker’s throat with one of his birdarangs.

If Bruce realized Tim honestly can’t decide which would be the worse outcome, he knows he’d be benched for the rest of his life. He might not be Robin anymore, but the Family would find a way.

It’s fear of that more than anything else that helps him get a handle on his panic, tethers him back to reality better than anything else. Tim takes another series of deep, grounding breaths, before he feels confident enough to be able to get back to his research into Jason.

At least they didn’t put him anywhere near the Joker, it seems, he notices as he goes through the room assignments and Arkham floorplans. That’s about the only good thing about it, though.

Jason’s ward was for the non-communitive patients, the ones the experts considered untreatable. The ones that get forgotten about in the mayhem of the monthly outbreaks and pandemonium.

Tim’s stomach clenches tight again as he remembers incidents and dates over the years where Batman visited inmates at Arkham to interrogate them on the latest escapes or crimes happening in the city, or just to test the security there. Based on the location of Jason’s cell and Batman’s usual route, there are times when the two were only a floor apart

Tim’s heart aches for them both.

They were so close to each other! If only they’d known—!

And just as suddenly as Jason was transferred to Arkham, all records of him vanish. There’s no information about patient transfers or deaths or releases; instead, like many a nameless patient to be lost to the asylum over the years, he just vanishes.

People don’t just vanish. And in this case, I know he didn’t.

Tim goes on to cross-reference the potential dates of Jason’s disappearance with any visitors to the asylum. It doesn’t take much to identify the only visitor to the asylum for a span of weeks as a certain Chandler Ravenscar—names which another quick search link to aliases used by John Constantine in the past.

That brings Tim to a whole other avenue of research, refocusing him investigation on Constantine himself and his movements over the past years. He tends to keep to the UK, but every now and again travels to various mystical hotspots around the world.

There’s a backlog of security footage to weed through, occultist forums discussing the man and his exploits. Half of what’s written about him online is clearly conspiracy theories, a quarter of it related to some punk rock band called Mucous Membrane and something to do with the Reagan assassination. Those who have actually worked with him either seem too terrified or pissed off to say much about him.

Even harder is finding a video of the man; cameras and other surveillance devices appear to stop working around him. It’s even more of a challenge to catch a glimpse of the teenaged assistant that starts being mentioned several months after Jason’s disappearance from Arkham.

A chance freeze-frame from an airport in Beijing, however, is all Tim needs to confirm it’s Jason.

It’s hours later when Tim sits back, exhausted but now having at least a general timeline of what happened.

One thing is for damn sure—I can’t take this to Bruce.

The story is too painful, too unbelievable. If it doesn’t break him all over, it will have him lashing out at Tim for making up stories about a touchy subject. There’s enough tension between them both right now that he’s likely to question anything suspect Tim brings to him.

Or he would insist it was a trick, that someone had faked all of this. He wouldn’t take Tim’s word for it, would investigate himself, prepare himself for an interrogation when what Jason needs is to have a face to face with his adopted father and mentor.

And Jason’s story still has too many holes in it for Tim to tell it, begging more questions than answers.

Like why Constantine took you from Arkham in the first place. And also…there’s one other thing that doesn’t make sense.

Well, a lot of things don’t make sense, but this stands out.

Tim goes back to the hospital records, scanning for the section where he remembers reading the information.

John Doe’s injuries in the medical files are all consistent with those in Jason’s autopsy, with every scar and broken bone accounted for and described.

Except for an autopsy scar.

That would have been the first thing medical professionals remarked upon when Jason was admitted, but it’s not mentioned anywhere. Which must mean that somehow, Jason no longer has it.

So why did that heal and nothing else did? Could it have something to do with what brought him back?

There’s a sudden dull, clunk in the background and the slide of elevator doors, and Tim glances up to watch Stephanie Brown stride into his base of operations.

“I was on the way out and Babs sent me to check on you,” she tells him. “Apparently someone missed work today without calling in and isn’t answering their phone.”

Tim startles at that, glances at the clock in the corner of his screen and swears when he realizes she’s right. He was supposed to be at Wayne Enterprises an hour ago. When he glances at his cellphone, he sees twelve text messages and three missed calls from Lucius, Dick and Bruce.

“I didn’t even notice,” he groans. He was so caught up in finding out more about Jason that he lost track of time. He quickly taps out a group message reassuring them he’s fine and will be in soon.

“At least being flaky is characteristic of billionaire teenagers,” Steph says as she wanders over.

Tim quickly minimizes his search and swivels around in his seat to face her. “Why are you even awake this early?”

Given the way she spends her nights, Steph made a point of having all of her classes in the afternoon. She’s possibly less of a morning person than Tim is, to the point where even coffee doesn’t make her a little more human.

“Blame my new roommate,” she grumbles, and that earns a surprised look because it’s the first time he’s heard of this. “Right, I didn’t tell you, did I? So, a couple of weeks ago this cat shows up on the fire-escape outside my window. And I didn’t mean to feed it, but it looked so sad and pathetic and I had to, so now it won’t leave me alone. What am I supposed to do? I don’t have time to be a pet owner.”

“Cat’s don’t actually take that much care.”

“That’s what they want you to think. And then one cat becomes two, and two becomes three and the next thing I know, I’m going to be the crazy cat lady on the block,” Steph complains. “And not to cool, sexy, Selina kind of cat lady but the sad, single shut-in.”

“You could never be a shut-in. No four walls can keep your raw joie de vivre inside,” Tim says in a flat tone.

“You’re just saying that because you’re my boyfriend. Ex-boyfriend.” She frowns in confusion. “Are we in an on-again or an off-again right now? I forget.”

Tim remembers Jason’s cocky grin and muscular thighs and his mouth goes dry. “Off. Definitely off.”

Steph’s eyebrows disappear into her hairline. “That was weirdly assertive. Am I sensing a pretty girl behind that sentiment? Do I need to give a shovel talk?” Something occurs to her and she scowls. “It’s not that Lynx chick, is it? Trust me when I say that would be a bad idea.”

“There’s no girl,” Tim mumbles. “Trust me.”

“Okay,” she allows, slow and still somewhat dubious. “But you’d tell me, right? If you were seeing someone? Only so I don’t go crossing lines or causing jealous rage or something.”

“There’s nothing going on, yes I would tell you, can we please move on?” Tim huffs. “Tell me about your cat.”

“He’s not my cat.”

“You fed him, he’s your cat.”

“Stop changing the subject. You’re being evasive—there so is a girl.”

“There’s no girl!” Tim groans, half tempted to tug at his hair. “Who could look at another woman after being with you?”

“I don’t know whether to take that as a compliment or as an insinuation I was so horrible that I turned you off women for good,” Steph says, eyes narrowed in suspicion. A beat later, she tilts her head to one side as if something has occurred to her. “Wait. That’s it, isn’t it? It’s a guy. This someone’s a guy. You know you can tell me, right? That would totally be okay—would actually explain a lot, actually—you know, you liking guys—”

“One guy does not equate guys.”

“Oh my god! There is! There’s a guy!” Steph squeals. “Who is it? It’s that friend of yours, that went missing, isn’t it? Dante something? That’s why you’ve been so obsessed with finding him!”

“I’m determined to find him because he’s my friend,” Tim counters, a bit irritated. “The same way I’d be determined to find Ives or Bernard or anyone I cared about. And I’d be doing that right now if someone wasn’t distracting me.”

Two someones, but she doesn’t need to know about Jason’s role in it.

“And I’d believe that if you weren’t looking at me like you wanted to jump out of your skin. There’s something going on here, Ex-Boy Wonder.”

“There’s nothing going on.”

“Lies!”

“For something to be going on, you have to actually spend more than an hour with someone. You have to have known them for more than an hour.”

“Not if you have chemistry,” Steph points out. “Sometimes, it’s just like. Bang.” She grins. “And then you have to bang.”

Tim rolls his eyes.

“Do I need to give you the safe sex talk?” Steph asks with concern that’s only half teasing. “The gay-sex safe sex talk? Because to be honest, I don’t think I’d be able to do it with a straight face.”

“Steph, that was awful. As a former Robin, you should be ashamed.”

“And as a former Robin, you should be better at lying. So, spill. What’s going on?”

Tim studies her, chewing on his tongue; he knows she won’t let it go unless he gives her something. “Okay. Fine.”

“Hah! I knew it!”

“Not that. This is…something else,” he says. “Sort of.”

“Okay?”

“What would you do if…say you found out something really important to a person you care about. But you promised someone else you wouldn’t tell anyone about that something because of…reasons. Personal reasons.”

Steph crosses her arms. “Is this about me?”

“Not everything is about you.”

“Then it’s about Mystery Boy.”

“It’s not about—” Tim gives up, and then sighs, because it’s just easier to give her that one. “Fine. It’s Mystery Boy. He asked me not to say something that’s really important. I figure it’s because he wants to say himself in his own time. Except. Except it’s a huge thing.”

“Starbucks discontinuing pumpkin spice lattes’ huge, or ‘Hush trying to destroy B’ huge?”

“Closer to the second. Not dangerous like that,” he adds quickly when he sees her face. “It’s just…serious stuff that could hurt if it’s not handled the right way. Or if certain parties found out later and thought they were having stuff kept from them.”

“Well, now I’m curious…”

“I’m not telling you.”

“I know that. I’m just saying.” Steph sticks out her tongue at him, but then becomes contemplative. “I guess I’d keep my mouth shut. Or try to, at least. Stuff like that always tends to come out eventually. But if you’re worried it could hurt someone, maybe you can convince Mystery Boy it’s in his best interest to tell someone.”

“Yeah, that didn’t go over too well.”   

“Well, whatever you do, don’t get into your micromanaging, control-freak headspace,” she tells him. “That’s one of the things that torpedoed you and me, and if you want things to work out with this guy, you should respect his wishes.”

“I never said anything about wanting anything to work out with anyone,” Tim protests. “I just met the guy.”

“And somehow he got you to promise not to tell something that’s apparently really important. Which means you already value him somehow, and that only happens to you when you really like someone. Also, you might be able to straight-up bluff Batman or Ra’s al Ghul, but I know how you look when you like someone and don’t want anyone to know it.” There’s a beeping noise and Steph digs out her cellphone. “And with those pearls of wisdom, I have to get going. My mom found the cat and she’s having a conniption.”

She turns to leave, pauses once she enters the elevator and turns back around, jabbing a finger at him.

“Shower, eat, go to work, stop obsessing about stuff you can’t control—and don’t try to control stuff that’s not your business.”

Tim bristles. “Yes, Mother.”

“Oh, you did not just go there,” she growls as the elevator doors close and Tim grins until she’s gone.

He knows that Steph’s right, to a certain extent. This whole Jason thing isn’t his business—he was only ever an outside observer, a legacy after the fact. And even if it was his business, it’s not his predecessor’s sensibilities he should be protecting.

Ill-advised crush aside, he doesn’t have any connection loyalty to Jason Todd. He does owe Bruce—he should be going straight to him about this.

Except…

Except, Tim really doesn’t want to be added to the list of people who betrayed Jason’s trust. Especially given how fragile it is given their short acquaintance.

Tim groans and leans back against his chair, wishing for an easy solution. He’s usually able to figure out what to do, even when it comes down to the hard choices.

“Stop obsessing about stuff you can’t control—and don’t try to control stuff that’s not your business.”

Steph’s right.

He’ll do as Jason asked.

Or, at least he’ll give it a week.

If he hasn't figured out any other way to deal with the situation, he'll go to Bruce.

In the meantime—he has an investigation to get back to.

⁂⁂⁂

Next Chapter

[bd-steelyfam]

We've all heard of standswap. But what about standswap-dadswap?

//So the dads and the SS!dads switch places, huh? This is such an interesting scenario! Will they get along with each other? Will everything go haywire? Will sadness happen?

//I was only able to fit the stoplight trio here because I don't have time to properly make up characters for Emperor, Osiris, and Bastet. I also used their stand names for the unnamed standswap characters for a placeholder.

Steely Dan <=> Deacon Blues

Deacon and Terunosuke will get along very well because they relate to each other (both of them had pretty fucked up backstories and have to hide their real, more mature personality behind a childish attitude).

And the same could be said for Illuso. Both of them spent most of their childhood being lonely because of their stand powers.

When Illuso talks about his teammates (he calls them best friends to avoid suspicion), Deacon remembers his old friends back in his SDC days. He probably sees himself in Illuso and feels a little melancholic.

Deacon and Gwess can get along too, as they have to fake a smile and carefree personality to make everyone else not worry about them.

Unlike Dan who is pretty sarcastic and sassy, Deacon speaks more honestly, as he despises people who aren't direct and honest about their words.

Alright. Enough of the sad shit. Deacon and Terunosuke occasionally read books together and tell each other about their specific interest in comics (the former is into American hero comic books, and the latter is into mangas and light novels).

Deacon would probably at some point tell them about his adventure from 1989. Then Illuso sighs and comments, "Darn. Just like Padre."

He likes to show them his proud machinery and inventions to the three, which of course amuse them because of how absurd they work.

"What does this thing do?"

"Oh! This bad baby right here lets you read while you sleep, write while you sleep, and eat while you sleep!"

"Huh"

Deacon and Terunosuke are the ultimate short depressing smartass solidarity.

Meanwhile Dan and Deacon's kids? Eh... could maybe count.

His personality made him hard to get along with them, especially Velare. At first, he can hardly relate to them (his backstory is plain and nothing really gutwrenching happened to him, unlike theirs and their father's).

But then, after some time, they start to warm up to him. Behind his catty attitude, he is actually a pretty nice and caring person (even though it isn't really that obvious because of the way he generally acts).

Velare is going to get along with Dan first, because he is a pretty patient person and can handle his new dad's (?) unfamiliar attitude.

Tojiko is probably be slightly annoyed by how sassy and snarky Dan is. Dan would just comment on his chuuni behavior just to annoy him even further.

Since Dan is pretty good with cooking, Prada would sometimes watch him do the kitchen work (even though she's just more mesmerized by the way the stove fire dances around the pan). He would try teaching her how to make simple dishes, even though it's reduced to a pile of ash by the end of the day.

Of course, Dan cooks godlike food. Which somehow reminds them of their father's....

Rubber Soul <=> Yellow Temperance

Unlike the loud and obnoxious Rubber Soul, Yellow Temperance is generally a well-mannered and elegant man. This makes the three kids a little taken aback because they're not used to the quieter and nicer version of their dad.

Since Yellow is skilled in singing (and acting) and Akira is good at playing his electric guitar, they both spend a lot of time together! Akira would sometimes show Yellow how to use his guitar, and in return he teaches him how to sing properly.

Like Dan, everytime Hazamada becomes annoyed and acts like an ass to him, Yellow would do things like making sassy remarks to annoy him even further.

One time Anne asks Yellow about himself, and then he tells her about his bizarre adventure from Singapore. She replies, with a monotone voice, "Wow. I've been there with my father, ya know."

"Wait, really kid?"

"Yeah. Was kinda wild."

Yellow can cook pretty well, unlike Rubber who is absolutely not allowed to touch anything in the kitchen.

Because Yellow "disappeared" for twelve years, his kids are more than happy to see him back again. There were tears and laughter too. Even Surface is crying.

.....except the "him" is Rubber Soul, a greasier and more irritating version of their father. He has no choice but to tag along and act like him.

The stoic and serious Surface doesn't like Rubber Soul at first. His annoying way of talking hurts his ears, but because he's "their father" he just ignored it.

Like father, like son is the best sentence to convey Red and Rubber soul. They both are loud and act all cocky, which makes Surface's life a living hell.

SS!Anne is no different either. She is used to Yellow's calmer and more composed personality, which makes her a little suspicious. Whenever Rubber did or say something stupid, she would just shake her head and say, "Wow. Dad's job must've been weighing on him pretty hard, huh?"

Either way, the kids are very relieved to see their "father" back home safely without a scratch. If only it would last forever...

Devo the Cursed <=> Ebony Devil

From the surface, Devo and Ebony share similar traits. From their ungodly amount of scars to long hair, both of them look the same. Their personality isn't that different either.

...which surprised Vittorio at first.

Because Ebony was separated from his son years ago, he saw this as his chance to be a better father. He'll spend as much time as he can with him, as Vittorio and his long-lost kid looks the same to him.

Related, Ebony has poor eyesight and probably thought that Vittorio is his kid because of their resemblance.

Ebony, half-crying and started to take off his tough guy shield: "My son.... I am sorry for causing trouble for both your mother and you..... I promise to become a better father from now on."

Vittorio, eating an entire can of spray cheese: "What"

You know that clip of a wrestler that broke a claw machine's glass and gives all of it's toys to a crying kid? That's him.

Being dead in 1988 makes Ebony not familiar with things like video games, so Vittorio is more than delighted to show him things in his game and take him for a small walk around his hometown.

"What is this small screen that you can open and close like a book?"

"Dad that's a computer. Do you hit your head on the kitchen counter again?"

"Computer? But the last time I saw them, they look bigger and wider than this."

"Hold on a second"

The boy sometimes tell Ebony about his team (which he refers to as friends), and Ebony is somehow reminded of his old friends.

"There's this really cute girl that I like, but she's sickly and I'm afraid if I somehow hurt her unintentionally"

"Can relate."

They watch soccer games, eat outside, and Vittorio introduces Ebony to more things. Just classic father and son bonding time.

Unfortunately for Dolly, he never had the chance to properly memorize his father's looks and true nature. His mother just said that Ebony is a horrible and cruel murderer, which makes his first meeting with Devo not so wonderful.

Not seeing his father since he was two, Dolly just thought that Devo is actually his father and acts grouchy and all angry at him.

"I despise you. Mom told me that you were a very evil and violent man. You must've done something very bad for mom to have left you-"

"Vittorio I swear to FUCKING GOD IF THIS IS ABOUT THAT TIME I REFUSED TO BUY YOU A HAPPY KIDS MEAL I'M GOING TO CUT OFF THOSE UGLY BANGS OF YOURS."

Then Devo realizes he wasn't talking to Vittorio. Which pisses Dolly even more because he thinks his own father forgot his name.

"Vittorio? VITTORIO??!! OH, DID YOU GOT HOOKED UP WITH ANOTHER WOMAN AND THOUGHT THAT YOUR BASTARD KID'S NAME IS FATHER FUCKING VITTORIO??!! I'M DOLLY DAGGER!!"

"DID YOU CHANGE YOUR NAME INTO YOUR SHITTY MMO'S USERNAME LIKE YOU SAID LAST TIME??!!"

Then of course, they get along really slowly. Everytime Devo wanted to ask Dolly about what just happened, Dolly curtly replies, "I don't know!"

He then gives up just takes Dolly outside and spend some time together with him to make the kid satisfied.

Devo just rolls with whatever this kid wants.

And then Dolly becomes more softer acting around "his father", because he himself wanted to spend some time together with him after a long time.

"Sorry for yelling at you, dad."

".....whatever you say."

By the end of the day, Dolly feels content about "his father" being back in his life. Even though he doesn't show it directly, he just wishes that he won't be gone like last time...

//So now. Who do you think deserves the best father of the year award?

[paulisweeabootrash]

First Impression: Neon Genesis Evangelion

Get in your robots, audience, it's time for Paul is Weeaboo Trash!  And today, I'm finally watching a show it seems like everyone just... assumes I must've seen:

Neon Genesis Evangelion (1995)

Episodes watched: 8

Platform: Netflix

The idea of something being a "classic" may be in decline in the anime fandom, or at least be getting very specialized, since "anime" no longer implies a narrow interest in specific sci-fi and fantasy subgenres like it used to, but certain shows still manage to pervade the pop culture indirectly.  Neon Genesis Evangelion is one such show, enduring in the modern fandom and general internet culture because of its status as one of those old sci-fi anime classics.  It has contributed memes — not just as in image macros or running jokes, but as in units of culture in the form of iconic quotes or character designs or elements of the plot — to the point that you have certainly been in some way exposed to them without any knowledge of the source material.  But despite its reputation as a must-see cultural touchstone, it has been out of print in America for years.  Used copies of the DVDs sell for absurd prices, and I don't think I knew anyone who owned it when I was a young weeb in the mid-2000s.  I'm fairly sure my family did not have cable during the one specific season it was on Adult Swim, and there's no chance I would have been up at 12:30AM on Thursdays to watch it anyway.  I am not much of a fan of media piracy and wasn't even aware of that option when it was apparently everyone else's favorite pastime to ruin their computers with sketchy torrents.  So there was never a reasonable way for me to watch it, only for me to be dimly aware that this was An Important Show I Need To See.  Until now.  Because it's on Netflix.  As if I hadn't already been awaiting it, I was aggressively reminded of it, because social media and geeky news outlets were soon blowing up with retrospectives and Very Serious Analyses — and fans of the old ADV translation were offering hot takes on how Netflix's release compares.  So let me finally check this out for myself.

We start out in the distant future of... 2015, where UN forces are defending Tokyo-3 ("Old Tokyo" is mentioned and depicted later; no mention yet of Tokyo-2 unless I somehow already forgot it) against an attacking "angel", an immensely powerful alien with barely-comprehensible powers.  Meanwhile, an officer of a UN agency called NERV, Misato Katsuragi, brings our main character, 14-year-old Shinji Ikari, to an underground NERV base under Tokyo-3 on the instructions of Shinji's father Gendo, who runs a secret research project.  Shinji has been brought there to pilot an Evangelion, or Eva for short, a giant robot operated by some sort of neural interface.  In combat.  With no training.  He is, understandably, not happy about this.  After seeing how badly injured the other available pilot, Rei Ayanami, is, however, he agrees to do it — and it works far better than he or anyone else expected.  He apparently has an innately great ability to "sync" with however exactly the Eva's interface works.  But this only gets him as far as starting the thing up.  When he actually engages the angel, he has trouble just getting the Eva to walk, and he feels the pain of the Eva taking damage once attacked, a frankly horrifying feature of the interface.  We cut to him waking up in a hospital, but having surprisingly won because his Eva "went berserk", operating on its own.  A flashback later shows what happened when he lost control of the Eva: it fought the angel by itself, but also took heavy damage, and we see its visor? faceplate? sōmen? of the Eva's armor come off to reveal a fleshy-looking face and a very biological-looking eye.  At this point Shinji blacked out, which is really the only reasonable response to this situation.

Over the next several weeks (the time scale is vague, but since Rei apparently fully recovers from the injuries she had when we first saw her before the time she and Shinji are both deployed, it must be at least 3 weeks between eps. 1 and 5), more angels appear, to the surprise of civilians and UN forces alike.  The Evas continue to be excellent weapons against them (though Shinji himself is still, uh, not great at using them), but despite having now killed several angels, the Evas are considered a ridiculous boondoggle by personnel of other UN branches, and Gendo's sinister superiors seem to be losing patience with his project.  In the words of... uh... that UN navy guy in ep. 8, "Shit!  A bunch of kids are supposed to save the world?"  The alternatives are wildly ineffective conventional weapons and a remote-controlled nuclear-powered giant robot that almost had a literal Chernobyl-style meltdown, which was averted by Misato and Shinji.  Although repairs are expensive, injuries common, and pilots in short supply, Evas indeed seem to be the only effective weapon against the invading cosmic horror, the barely-comprehensible aliens that are impervious to ordinary human technology and also don't fit our concepts of life or... uh... possibly physics.  So, instead, in the words of Misato later in the same episode, "This plan may be insane, but I don't think it's impossible."

While this is going on, Shinji has been adjusting to this new life poorly and slowly.  Despite being a pilot, he is still after all a 14-year-old, so he is enrolled into the same class as Rei at a local school whose student body has dwindled as more people evacuate over the initial angel attack.  He also needs somewhere to live, so Misato arranges for him to move into her apartment.  Some of Shinji's classmates think he's incredibly lucky to live with her, and spend a good deal of their screen time drooling over her, but Shinji is highly uncomfortable around her not just because Captain Katsuragi is his commanding officer, but also because she has a tendency to not wear much clothing around the house and is, er, a bit of a drunk and a slob.  Oh, and she has an inexplicable, clawed, beer-drinking penguin.  You know, all stuff that would make a nervous, lonely, scared 14-year-old completely at home.

Neither NERV training nor school guarantee a community, though, and Shinji, isolated and confused, could sure use one right about now.  He seems quite likely traumatized from the first battle.  He keeps ending up in situations that make him wildly uncomfortable while other characters take them in stride.  He repeatedly attempts to quit NERV or at least defy orders before backing out (or... backing back in?) at the last moment.  It would frankly be bizarre that they accept him doing this, except that (1) nobody really seems to take Shinji that seriously anyway, (2) he's the boss's kid, and (3) most importantly, it seems that only a small number of pilots, all the same age as Shinji and Rei, are even capable of using Evas.  (Wife and I are starting to suspect reasons why this might be, especially given the whole cyborgs with neural interfaces thing, but... uh... let's not embarrass ourselves with public speculations about the plot of a ridiculously famous show almost as old as we are.)  He only slowly gains any support or comfort from his new classmates and colleagues.  They don't reach out to him, and he certainly doesn't reach out to them, because who is he supposed to talk to?  His roommate/commanding officer who is twice his age?  His classmates who treat him as a celebrity, not a person, once they find out he's an Eva pilot?  Even if his default state since the very first episode hadn't been basically imploding into despair with no idea how to communicate that anything's wrong, there's nobody that really makes sense for him to try to communicate it to.  Except one person: Rei.  He notices that she's also isolated at school, and especially after seeing her dark, miserable, unmaintained apartment, he attempts to be friendly towards her.  I thought this might be a hint of growth indicating that he understands she is possibly the only person more isolated than him and the only one who might be able to relate to him, but then the next time he threatens to quit NERV after that conversation, he explicitly claims she doesn't know what he's going though, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ maybe he just has bad social skills.

Sigh.

Shinji does start to make friends with Aida and Suzuhara, two of his classmates, though.  And it's interesting because they contrast against him in their reactions to the conflict outside.  Aida roleplays being in the military and finds Shinji's role as an Eva pilot glorious and enviable.  Suzuhara is initially furious at Shinji because his sister was collateral damage — she was injured when Shinji fought the angel — and his mind is changed only after Shinji rescues him (and Aida) from an angel.  Shinji, though, having been thrust into a role he doesn't even understand and about which he is ambivalent and unstable, lacks Aida's optimistic admiration of his role and a full appreciation of either Suzuhara's resentment or gratitude.  He not only rejects their praise, he calls himself a coward during (sigh) one of his attempts to quit NERV.  It occurs to me that this could be seen as indicating different perspectives about the military (ask any American vet who's sick of being "thanked for their service"), or even different perspectives about adulthood itself — I'll bet any millennial who did not achieve their dreams can recognize Aida's "wow this is amazing I can't wait to be a grownup too" roleplaying vs. Shinji's "I am doomed and isolated by the responsibility that has been thrown at me" actual experience in NERV.

Also thanks to the school scenes, we start to learn some backstory, including the famous "Second Impact".  A catastrophic asteroid impact in 2000 melted Antarctica's glaciers, which led to unprecedentedly rapid sea level rise, leading to mass extinction, including that of half of humanity through not only direct climate change impacts like displaced populations and crop failures but also conflict stemming from it.  Or so the official story goes.  It is later revealed that the Second Impact actually involved somehow the previous arrival of angels on Earth, although this has yet to be explained in detail.  (Actually, I accidentally saw spoilers about more detail about this while revising this review, because I went to sanity-check myself about some other detail on one of the fan wikis, so I know part of where this is going, but only part.)

Over the first eight episodes, which must be several weeks at least after the start of the show given that Rei has recovered from her initial injuries (although the time scale is very vague), Shinji fights four angels total and gradually improves, but the biggest improvement comes not from him being an individual hero but from finally working well with others.  For example, the octahedral angel that drills into NERV's base has incredible abilities to detect and counter incoming attacks.  It kicks Shinji's ass on the first attempt, because duh.  But Misato devises a plan to test its abilities and concentrate the power of... uh... Japan's entire electrical grid(?!) at it from a safe distance, and the plan succeeds only because of Rei giving Shinji cover.  An angel attacks a UN ship convoy transporting the third pilot, Asuka Langley Soryu, and her Eva, and she and Shinji fight the angel together in a ludicrous fight that involves both cramming in to pilot the same Eva together (which, interestingly, requires them to give it the same, or maybe just compatible, instructions together in the same language for it to work... yay neural interfaces).  So maybe/hopefully the direction this is going is "the chosen one is a stupid idea and even talented people need both training and cooperation to not suck at things"?

Episode 8 leaves off with Asuka joining Shinji and Rei's school class, and with the dramatic and creepy reveal of an embryo encased in bakelite which is described by Gendo as "Adam, the first human"...  Well.  That comes off as the kind of thing that would drive the future plot, and hopefully all the Biblical imagery will finally start to converge into something coherent instead of just sort of serving to draw extra attention to the fact that the humans refer to the aliens as "angels".  I've been wondering about that since the beginning.  There's the title, of course, but also the sefirot in the opening and on Gendo's office ceiling, the first angel's attacks using what appears to be a directed energy weapon which invariably forms glowing crosses, and the fact that most of the angels themselves are wildly non-humanoid (a choice which echoes the rather... eldritch... classical depictions of angels — see also the seraph in the opening).  NERV's motto is even explicitly, well, monotheistic at least, if not sectarian: "God's in his heaven.  All's right with the world!", which is counterintuitive at best with the idea of calling the alien invaders "angels".

Well.  I'll find out, and I plan to write a followup like I did with Re:ZERO, going into the broad swaths of the rest of the plot and my overall impressions of how they handled things.  Especially given that this show has a famously-controversial ending.  I jumped into this determined to watch the whole series, so I'm not backing out.

I'll just threaten to quit repeatedly then almost immediately come back.

-----

W/A/S: 4 / 3 / I feel kinda bad about this but 4?

Weeb: I mean, anything with giant robots fighting giant monsters deserves a few points just for that, right?  I don't think this requires much by way of Japanese cultural references or assumptions to watch, though.

Ass: Nudity so far has been brief, partial, censored by convenient angles and object placement, and not remotely sexy.  Thanks to another contextless spoiler I happen to have picked up, I expect an infamous later scene that is clearly supposed to be sad and disturbing in context, which is, again, not the kind of thing this scale was originally designed to describe.

Shit (writing): Even though I tend to overall like their plots, I always sort of sigh and eyeroll at the "let's put children/teens in combat and/or experiment on and/or just plain torture them to force them to become powerful" storyline formula that’s been semi-popular for the last few decades, and Evangelion is definitely in that category.  Friends have said the story is confusing or poorly-paced, and I kind of agree but also think some of the confusion is warranted by the choice to enter the story in media res in order to reveal what's going on to the audience at about the same time it's revealed to Shinji.  As for the tendency to have some long shots where literally nothing happens, that does get annoying, and I suspect its primary motivation was to save money, but I think it also usually emphasizes how lonely the whole situation is, at least before Shinji starts to warm up to Misato and Rei to Shinji in the last couple of episodes I've watched so far (which have, appropriately, had much more action and interaction).  Mainly, my writing complaints are actually about translation, because there are some noticeable and consequential differences between translations for the sub and dub.  Yeah, yeah, I've heard of the love vs. like thing everyone on the internet is already upset about, but I haven't gotten to that episode yet.  I'm talking about things like Misato saying "it will work!" in the sub vs. just "okay!" in the dub when Shinji is first able to control his Eva, a choice which suggests very different things about both her level of knowledge of the project and why Shinji has been called on for it at all.  The new dub also feels... uh... too at home as a dub of a '90s anime, as it prioritizes matching lip flaps over flowing like believable speech.  Having not seen the old dub, of course, I can't make any kind of judgement about whether this is a step up, down, or sideways from how ADV did it.  And the sub has many on-screen captions in Japanese are left untranslated — not things like signs in the background, but actual captions the audience is meant to get information from.

Shit (other): Maybe we're spoiled in this age of computer-aided art, but i's surprising to see a show with such limited animation — speech conveyed only with lip flaps, obviously reused shots within the same episode, foreground objects gracelessly sliding against a background to indicate movement — and so I'm willing to give the show a pass on most of that, especially since the characters are distinctive and the setting and aliens and robots so interesting.  Much of the limited animation actually serves to show the vast scale of NERV's facilities and the Evas vs. the humans and/or to emphasize loneliness like the pacing.  But there really are some painful mistakes from time to time in the art: objects and faces that look utterly wrong, like the artists just did not successfully figure out how to draw that particular character or vehicle from that particular angle.  The legendary opening theme is certainly catchy — it’s been stuck in my head almost continuously for the past week — but I just don’t think I enjoy it as much as other people do.  Some of the immediate complaints that were apparently worthy of news media attention were about the replacement of Fly Me to the Moon with a piece from the show's soundtrack as the ending theme.  I understand why people would be upset by that kind of change, but I am willing to take the controversial stand that it's not a bad change.  The piece they chose as a replacement is haunting and tense, which fits in with the mood of most of the episodes so far, while Fly Me to the Moon feels to me like an inappropriate mood change from that.

Content: Actually among the least graphic of the various shows I've covered involving violent or horrifying elements.

-----

Stray observations:

- God it was weird to write this by constantly abbreviating “Evangelion” as “Eva”, considering that Wife's name is Eva.

- A lot of people seem to hate Shinji as a character, but I find him understandable in a way that probably implies uncomfortable things about my own sanity.  I just... I understand that sheer degree of doom and misery and indecision and inability to articulate any of those.  Man.  Ugh.

- I don't know if you've ever seen an undisguised angel, but trust me: they're horrifying.  (link NSFW)

[mister-lucky-bunny]

Scooby Doo: Monster Menagerie Chpt. 3

Description:  After getting a bit of information, the gang asks around the town for information, when they come across an old companion of Shaggy's. Meanwhile, the first student arrives at Grimwood's.

Scooby-Doo: Monster Menagerie

Chapter 3: Ghouls, Grimwood, and Googie

The way in which the office was adorned was a lot like the person it belonged to: strange, scattered, and somewhat terrifying. The wall that stood behind the detective had two maps: one of the entire united states, and one that was a close up of Louisiana specifically. On both maps, there were numerous crosses, arrows, and other similar types of symbols, pointing to specific regions on both maps. There was also writing on them, but due to the fact that so much of it was written in an almost illegible script, it was next to impossible to make it out. Every other wall was covered in pictures, which also had writing all over them. The pictures were an even mix of various people, as well as different types of monsters and mythological beings. A few times, the faces would be scratched out in black marker, hiding the identity of the person. At least, that's what the gang hoped it was for.

Resting along the gang's left were the two whiteboards. In red marker, lots of information was written about the crime scene. The description of the victim, as well as their injuries, were listed on one side. The rest of the boards had names of different monsters on them, most of them crossed out. The rest had a question mark next to the name. Lines connected each monster to the list of injuries, as if trying to figure out a connection.

To the right wall was an even smaller desk, one that held a simple computer. Since it wasn't in use, the computer remained in rest mode, the screen not giving off any sort of light. A small rolling chair hid away a pile of books, which remained underneath the desk for safe keeping. For some reason, there was also a guitar, resting on the floor, leaning against the computer desk.

As for the table in front of everyone, the detective had placed sheets of paper all over it, trying to do a recreation of the crime scene. The book resting on the table remained open, showing an entry for someone called "The Axeman". Velma recognized the book as the one she had been reading earlier, Monsters By State. The lone light that hung above the office was quite bright, so it at least covered the entire office in it's fluorescence. Despite this, the detective's wide, creepy eyes were shadowed by his hair, barely peering out of his bangs. He looked between every member expectantly, eager for any questions that they had for him.

Instead of any actual questions, however, Fred cleared his throat somewhat nervously. This made the detective's head whip to him, his wide eyes scanning him over thoroughly. The blond then began. "I'm sorry, but uh... I don't think we introduced ourselves yet. I'm-"

"Fred Jones," The detective finished, his grin not wavering in the slightest. "I'm quite aware of all of you guys'... mysteries." He chuckled darkly and stood up, pointing around the room. He stayed hunched over as he did. "Despite the fact that you all have an uncanny attraction to people merely pretending to be creatures, I'm also under the impression that you've all had contact with the real thing." He quickly turned his head, staring at- no, into Fred. He flinched and gulped, inadvertently looking away.

"Uh..."

"How do you know that we've met real monsters before?" Asked the voice of Daphne, looking at the detective with a skeptical, if cautious, look. Immediately after she began talking, his head whipped over at her, scanning her over a little too. He merely chuckled and leaned back over the table, not looking away from her.

"You just told me," He answered simply, joking a little. From the look that Daphne gave him, she was clearly not satisfied with his attempt at humor. "Daphne Blake, correct? It seems to me that since y'all have been doing your snooping around for quite a long time, y'all are bound to find something that isn't another human in a latex mask."

In a sudden movement, he lifted his head up, somewhat dramatically. His eyes stayed wide and unhinged, but his grin immediately turned into a concerned frown. This did not make him look any more welcoming. "I've spent most of my whole life researching monsters. Even when I just began to scratch the surface of everything, it already felt as if my soul had been through more than anything." He grinned wickedly again, his eyes looking between all of them. "...and all of y'all have that same look that I once had. That feeling of curiosity, wanting to learn more and become familiar... and that feeling of terror that comes with it."

Everyone shared a shudder, feeling unnerved by his statements. The scariest part was that he wasn't incorrect. They had come across ghosts, vampires, ghouls, aliens, zombies, and even the occasional demon, as well as anything in between. They were all aware of the fact that if they kept exploring mysteries, there is a really good chance that it won't end in a man being unmasked and taken to jail. It could very well end in injury, world ending revelations, and even death. Disregarding these risks, they kept on, for the sake of closure to anything that comes their way.

The detective stood silently, looking between everybody, waiting for the next question. To break the tense silence, Velma spoke up, being the first to come back to their senses. "...what have you seen?" She asked. "It seems like your an expert, but have you actually come in contact with anything?" She couldn't help but put in her skeptical tone of voice. While she had no doubt that the detective knew what he was talking about, it didn't hurt to question everything. After all, who knows just how much experience he's actually had? They had no idea if he was lying to them or not, and hopefully a question like this would give them some sort of closure. Or expose the detective for a fraud, whichever came first.

Instead of speaking, this time, the detective stood up once more. He didn't move from his spot, but he quickly moved a hand to the bottom of his hoodie. In a quick movement, he lifted it up, only high enough to show off his stomach. The gang gasped as they took in what he was showing them.

"Z-zoinks!" Shaggy stammered, unable to peer away.

The detective kept grinning as he showed off a massive scar in the shape of a bite mark. It took up almost the entire right side of his body. Seeing everyone's reactions made him give a malicious giggle. "Got that exploring Honey Island. Mean old swamp monster didn't like being disturbed," He explained, talking about it as if it were a new watch.

Velma, despite being taken aback by the massive injury, she still furrowed her brow. The detective noticed this, raising an eyebrow at her, not yet lowering his hoodie. This time, instead of waiting for her to ask, he merely turned around, showing off part of his exposed back. Three large claw marks on either side of his back scratched from the middle all the way to his hips. "Ain't no sharks living in the swamps, Miss Dinkley. Still remains to be my best find yet," He laughed, lowering his hoodie finally.

"L-like, what were you doing out in the middle of the swamp, man? If you, like, knew about it, why didn't you run? It could've killed you!" Shaggy yelped, shaking a little.

"But it didn't." The creepy man turned to Shaggy, his laugh hollow. "I'm lucky it just decided to give me a warning."

"Like, if that's what a warning is, I sure don't wanna know what it's like when it's really mad!" Shaggy added.

"Ryeah!" Scooby concurred, still hiding behind Shaggy.

The detective leaned over his table a little, shadowing his own face wickedly as he seemed to stare into the cowardly man across from him. "...Shaggy Rogers, I presume?" He asked simply. Shaggy's response was a nod and a bit of a whimper, not saying much else. With another dark laugh, the detective merely shook his head and turned his attention back to the table in front of him. "I say the sooner you go to that school, the sooner you'll discover your answers."

Shaggy gulped as Scooby looked up at him nervously. Daphne and Freddie had taken to glance over at Shaggy while Velma was studying the table as well. She took into account the types of injuries the victim sustained, as well as any other evidence. She noticed that nothing that wasn't supernatural was written on any of the papers laid out.

"Detective," She began, drawing his attention upwards once more, his grin and eyes still wide with anticipation. "If it is something inhuman, do you suppose it's still around?"

His grin once again quickly flashed to a chilling frown, making him look even more menacing. "Let's hope not," He replied simply, staring into her eyes. She flinched visibly, unable to keep herself from looking away.

To help break the tension, Freddie cleared his throat. "Uh... well gang, let's let the detective finish his work."

"Yeah, we can go ask locals about their experiences," Daphne continued, turning to open the door and let them out. Shaggy and Scooby nodded wordlessly and went to hurry out. The detective's grin returned, staring at all of them once more.

"Be careful out there," He told them, putting on a mysterious, yet unreadable, tone of voice.

Once they all left his office, closing the door behind them, they heard him mumbling to himself. With a quick stare, they all hurried their way out of the police station. None of them were sure if they could trust his credibility.

Despite this, they all turned to Shaggy as they walked to their van. "So what do you think, Shaggy? Fancy a visit back to whatever school you went to?" Freddie asked, raising an eyebrow.

He didn't answer right away, rubbing the back of his head as he looked down. On one hand, he knew that the inhabitants of the building would probably freak everyone out. On the other, he still had that note from Miss Grimwood, which implied that she was waiting for him. After some thought, he looked back up and gave a small, timid smile.

"Sure. Like, there's no harm in it, I suppose," He answered. This prompted a smile from everyone else, along with a semi-confused look from Scooby.

"Well that's good to know, then. You can show us the way," Freddie said, moving into the driver's side of the van.

"Yeah, and I'm sure whoever was in charge will be happy to see you again," Daphne said, turning her attention to him as they all got in their seats.

"Like, no doubt! Be prepared though, because like, the school is kinda... well, unorthodox," Shaggy warned.

"Unorthodox? How so?" Velma asked, turning her head back at him as they got in the back of the Mystery Machine.

"Like, let's just say they're a bit... old fashioned."

Velma smiled to herself. "Ooh, that means there's quite a bit of history with it. A perfect place to explore!"

Shaggy nodded, looking away silently. The only noise that came from him was a loud grumbling noise, signaling lunch time. "Like, until then, how about some grub?"

"Ryeah, runch rime!" Scooby barked. Freddie started the Mystery Machine up.

"Sure! There's bound to be someone who can give us some info about recent events. Two birds, one stone, and all that," He said, beginning to drive out of the station. "I believe there was a cafe around here somewhere..."

_____________________________________

A low rumble filled the air as dark clouds circled above the land. Despite the threat of a thunderstorm, a lone carriage trotted along an old pathway deeper into the forest. The man leading the horses was covered from head to toe in black garments, face hidden by a wide brimmed hat. As for the horses, it was almost hard to describe them as such. They had an emaciated appearance, their eyes dark and hollow, their whinnies sounding more like ghostly groans. They were not horses, but thestrals. Their long, demon like tails followed behind them with their bat-like wings folded up.

The carriage they pulled was very antique looking, but looked to be kept in very nice shape. The wheels moved evenly without any sort of bumping to be seen, lanterns hanging from above to give a small amount of illumination inside. Overall, it had a very Gothic aesthetic to it.

Inside, two figures sat opposite of each other, numerous suitcases and bags filling in the empty spots of the purple, vinyl seats. One passenger sat closest to the coachman, hands folded in his lap as he stared across from him. His hair was slicked back, yet showing the age of the man by having graceful streaks of gray among the black. His outfit was smart and neat, an elegant black suit with a white frilly shirt. His face was smiling gently, even if his skin gaunt and sickly white.

Across from him sat a young looking woman, most likely in her late teens. Her outfit fit her slim form, being an elegant aubergine colored dress with a slip on the side to show off her legs some, the hem frayed a little. The sleeves were long, yet stopped at around her forearms. The only part of her outfit that didn't match her dress were her heels and a sash around her waist, both of which were a dark red.

Her skin, as opposed to the other, looked youthful, even if it was tinged with lavender. Her hair was also purple, which almost touched her feet. She was staring out of the side of the carriage, her green eyes looking lost in thought, her hand resting daintily on her chin, fingers curled in.

"Such wonderful weather for your first day back, isn't it, Sibella dear?" Asked the man, his thick Romanian accent extremely obvious in his voice.

The girl merely nodded, not looking away from the window. "Hm," She replied in a noncommittal tone.

A flash of lightning quickly illuminated the inside of the carriage, low rumbling soon following it. The man raised an eyebrow at her as he continued. "Sibella, darling, are you okay? You have been brooding for the past couple of days." In response, she gave an answer identical to her last one. This did not appear to satisfy the man, as he went on. "...this is not about your step-mother again, is it?"

Sibella's hand seemed to clench, looking more like a fist at this point. Discussions about her step-mother were not a new occurrence, and it wasn't until recently did the two of them end up on any form of good terms with each other. Despite this, she had been quite adamant with her father that she remained absent from this current trip. She did not look away from the window, although she would finally speak up. "It's nothing, daddy." Her voice was almost like the purr of a cat, with almost no accent to be heard.

"Then what is troubling you, dear?"

Sibella remained quiet for a few seconds, as if formulating her response. After some time, she finally looked at her father, her eyes not changing from her thoughtful (or bored) expression. "It's nothing too important. I've just... been thinking about a dream I had a few nights ago," She explained.

The man's eyes widened some, his eyebrows cocking upwards in a quizzical manner. "Hm. Do you perhaps remember what it is you dreamt?" He inquired.

Sibella merely shrugged at this, waving off it's importance. "Nothing too weird. Some of it was just flashes of images. Mostly fire," She told. "The strangest part for me, though, was the fact that during most of it, I saw nothing but blackness. The only thing I could sense was a voice, hissing inside my ear. It spoke of fear, power, and helplessness." She visibly shivered some, clearly being chilled by remembering it.

The man who was her father gave a serious look, arms now folding in front of him. "...hm. It may not seem like anything now, but if you still can recall it, than that must mean it has unnerved you," He spoke thoughtfully. "Dreams are not to be taken too lightly, you know."

"I'm aware, daddy."

"If this dream is to show up again, that means that something serious is going to happen." The man looked to the side, thinking to himself a little. "And from what you have told me, it is going to be nothing pleasant."

Sibella's hand seemed to clutch against her own, which were now folded in her lap as she listened to her father's words.

When she said nothing, he looked back at her, lowering his voice some. "Sibella. If you have a bad feeling about this sort of thing, we do not have to return-"

"No," She butted in suddenly. Her father raised his eyebrow again at her. "It was but one night that I had it. It was chilling, certainly, but it has not since repeated itself. It was most likely nothing." In her mind, however, she knew that the dream was nothing to brush off. Her father was right in that regard. Still, she did not want to stay home, away from her school. It was almost like a second home to her, and she could not bear to be away from her friends for much longer.

Naturally, he did not look to believe her at all. Of course, after a bit of a staring between each other, it was evident that she was not looking to back away. The man sighed and broke eye contact, looking down. "Very well. We continue."

Soon, the sky erupted in another loud boom of thunder, which followed after a strike of lightning. The carriage passed an enormous building, one which the two recognized as a rival school. In the years, it appears to have gotten much bigger as more and more students began to apply. That was not the place they were headed for, the coachman keeping a consistent speed throughout the haunted looking woods.

Throughout the remainder of the ride, neither of the two passengers spoke, enjoying the sounds of the incoming storm, as well as the stomps of the thestrals' hooves. Soon, the coachman clicked his tongue and the carriage slowed to a halt. "We have arrived, Count," He grumbled lowly.

"Ah, excellent," The man spoke, grinning a bit. He revealed his sharp fangs some as he turned his attention back to his daughter. "I hope you have a good year, darling. And please be careful."

Sibella finally flashed a smile, showing off her own set of fangs. "Do not worry, daddy. I'll be fine."

Soon, the side door of the coach opened up, the coachman remaining quiet as he did so. Sibella stepped out of the carriage, the Count remaining seated. As soon as she stepped foot onto the soil, she was greeted by a familiar walking octopus with a toupee and tie. His face was formed in a regal manner, tentacles quickly moving in to grab a hold of most the bags inside before leading the girl towards the mansion in front of them. Sibella had decided to hold onto one of them, keeping both hands around the handle. The drawbridge was down, and at the entrance stood the headmistress of the school: Miss Grimwood. Matches was laying by her left side, eyeing over the vampire some. To her right shoulder was a floating, white hand.

"Don't forget to write, dear!" The Count called to her before the door was shut. The coachman climbed up on the carriage, tipping his hat a little.

"Enjoy your year, miss," He replied simply before tugging the ropes and leading the carriage away.

Miss Grimwood greeted the young vampire with a wide smile. "Ah, Sibella. It's so nice to see you again!"

Sibella nodded and smiled at her, setting her bag down before curtsying a little as she spoke. "A pleasure to see you again too, Miss Grimwood. May I ask if anyone else has shown up yet?"

"No, you're the first one tonight," The teacher replied. "Not to worry, they'll be here soon! In the meantime, why not unpack and make yourself comfortable? Once everyone shows up, I'll get started with our evening feast."

"Sounds fang-tastic," Sibella said, gasping a little before covering her mouth. "...I mean, wonderful." She fixed, flushing a bit as she removed her hand.

Miss Grimwood merely chuckled and waved her hand. "Oh, come now, Sibella, no need to be so formal. You may be older, but you'll always be my student."

Sibella grinned at her before nodding. "I've missed this place," She sighed some, heading up the stairs with the octopus butler. As she reached for her bag, the white hand floating around Miss Grimwood's shoulder went to grab a hold of it for her. She put a hand up, shaking her head. "If you please, I wish to carry this one for myself." The hand let go and gave the 'OK' symbol with it's fingers before floating back to the headmistress.

Once the vampire had made it to her old room, the octopus had just finished putting her bags down, arranging them neatly on the floor. "Thank you very much," She said to the butler, who bowed it's large head before heading back down the stairs. Sibella shut the door behind her, setting her personal bag on the bed. Despite feeling a small sense of dread, due to her dream, she still felt an overwhelming sense of comfort, being back at her school, the promise of seeing her friends once more making her excited. With a contented sigh, she began to open up her bags, starting to put everything away.

____________________________________

Velma and Daphne watched with amusement as Freddie got cursed out. They had sat themselves inside of the local cafe, both to get lunch and ask questions. However, it seems like the first person who Freddie went up to wasn't all too keen about speaking about the attack. Even though none of them could understand Creole, the angry expression on the woman made it apparent that she wouldn't talk.

"Okay okay, jeez!" Freddie said, turning away and lifting his hand up in exasperation. "You ask one question..."

"Yeah, how'd that work out for you?" Velma asked smugly, resting her head in her hand. Daphne had her hand over her mouth, trying to hide her own laughter as Freddie sat himself down, crossing his arms.

"Guess the locals aren't very fond of answering questions about this sort of thing," He huffed, trying to avoid the gaze of the woman as she stared daggers at him.

"They probably think it's bad juju, or something," Daphne said, removing her hand and taking a sip from her mug.

At the same table, Shaggy and Scooby sat obliviously, eating from a shared plate of numerous burgers, fries piled all around the plate. After polishing off his fifth hamburger, he laughed a bit. "Like, I don't blame 'em! If I had experienced an attack, like I'd keep quiet too." Scooby nodded, his reply being muffled due to the amount of fries he was trying to shove in.

In that moment, someone sitting at a table by themselves had turned their attention towards the group of five. She stood up and began to make her way over to them. Daphne was the first to notice her, waving her hand. "Oh hello! Can we help you with something?" She asked, which pulled the attention of everyone else over to her. Velma and Freddie turned to the stranger, the latter of the two ready to ask questions. Before he could, however, Shaggy gulped down his food and spoke up for him.

"...Googie?"

The girl lifted her hand, waving sheepishly. "Hiya, Shaggy," She responded. Everyone else looked surprised. In a quick moment, Freddie smiled and look to him.

"Ooh, is this who you were talking about earlier?" He asked. Googie, much like the rest of the gang, hadn't changed much. Her hair was still a bright strawberry blond cut into a bob, her outfit still consisting of sneakers, socks, a skirt, and a tank top. The only difference was that she was also wearing a varsity jacket of a local college. She had taken to petting Scooby on the head, who had quickly ran over to give her a hug.

Shaggy laughed sheepishly and nodded. "Yeah..! Like, what's new with you, Googie?" He asked, turning to look at her.

Googie shrugged simply, her gentle voice speaking through. "Nothing much, just going through life normally, I suppose." She looked between them all, grinning a bit. "...but from what I hear, you and your friends have been doing more interesting things."

She decided to sit between Freddie and Shaggy. Despite Shaggy continuing to eat, Freddie couldn't help but look over her. She was really cute. Daphne cleared her throat after he stared for a second too long, causing him to look away, blushing bashfully. "Heh... erm, w-well nice to meet you! I'm Freddie, this is Daphne, and that's Velma," He introduced, pointing to everyone else at the table.

The girl nodded and smiled more. "Oh, Shaggy's told me about you guys. It's really impressive, I think!" Googie looked around and leaned in. "To be honest, though, it's a bit dangerous to speak about ... what happened around here."

"Yeah, Freddie found that out the hard way," Velma stated, making everyone else laugh, much to the chagrin of Fred, who had crossed his arms again.

"So I heard," Googie continued, looking a bit serious again. "I don't have as much experience with this kind of thing as you guys, though, but it's still very dangerous. I've only gotten into these kind of exploits before, when Shag-"

In that moment, Shaggy began to choke, clearing his throat very loudly. This stopped her as they all looked at him. He merely responded with a laugh. "L-like, they don't have to know about that, Googie!"

In response, she gave a surprised look, her hands moving her hips. "You mean you haven't told them?" Shaggy flinched as Scooby gulped, who also began to laugh nervously.

"What do you mean?" Daphne persisted, everyone looking confused by this.

Googie rolled her eyes as she sighed, Shaggy slumping in his seat as he remained quiet. "If Shaggy hasn't told you guys, I guess I'll have to."

"Tell us about what?" Velma asked, everyone starting to lean in.

Googie looked between them all and replied, "About Shaggy's racing career."

[yourewelcomeforbeingmyfriend]

Dear Friend - Part 6

Dean x Reader

Summary: Dean meets a girl on a new hunter website and begins an online romance. The only problem is, they don’t know who the other person is. Could their love for one another last only in the confines of the computer screen or will their desire for something more lead them to finally meet?

Warnings: Some swear words. A little less of a slow burn this time. That’s progress, right?

A/N: This is the second to last part of this little series. I’m loving your kind words about it so much. Thank you to everyone who’s taken the time to leave me feedback on it. Once again, a huge thank you to @hannahindie​ for betaing this series for me. I really appreciate all your notes and suggestions. As I’ve said before, I hope you ll have as much fun reading this story as I’ve had writing it. 

Series Masterlist

Dear friend,

I can’t tell you what happened to me last night, but I beg you from the bottom of my heart to forgive me for what happened. I feel terrible that you found yourself in a situation that caused you additional pain. But I’m absolutely sure that whatever you said last night was provoked, even deserved. And everyone says things they regret when they’re worried or stressed. You were expecting to see someone you trusted but met the enemy instead. It’s my fault.

Someday I’ll explain everything. Meanwhile, I’m still here. Talk to me.

“So?” Christina barely waited for Y/N to open the front door before she spoke. She had been dying to find out how her friend’s meet up went.

Y/N simply sighed as she stepped back to let Christina inside her house. She shut the door behind her and turned back around. “He didn’t show,” she huffed as she ran a hand across her face.

“No!” Christina followed Y/N as she walked into the kitchen. She sat at the table as Y/N poured them cups of coffee. “He stood you up?”

Y/N joined Christina at the table, setting down both mugs, “Something must have kept him from showing.” She mindlessly stirred her cream and sugar into her coffee and clinked her spoon dry on the rim of her mug. “Maybe he got there, took one look at me and left,” she frowned.

“Not possible,” Christina assured.

“Maybe there was a hunt that ran long.”

“Absolutely.”

“A wendigo in the mountains…”

“And no service…”

“Or what if there was a car crash?” Y/N’s eyes went wide.

“The roads are slippery this time of year…”

“And he’s in the hospital… his arms in a cast, unable to move…”

“He couldn’t type. Had to find someone to type for him,” Christina continued her friend’s theory.

The little television on the counter interrupted their thoughts with a breaking news jingle. “This just in,” the anchor began, “Oklahoma’s Solstice Strangler has finally been caught. State authorities say they apprehended the suspect last night after a lengthy investigation.”

Christina turned to Y/N with eyes as big as saucers.

“What?” Y/N asked. “Are you suggesting that –?”

“It could be.”

Y/N sat there in silence.

“He was arrested last night. And Oklahoma is in the area you said he was from.”

They both looked back to the television in time to see a man in handcuffs with his head covered by a jacket being led inside what was likely to be a police building.

“That explains it!” Christina exclaimed as she slapped her hand down on the table.

“He was in jail…” Y/N said breathlessly.

“And there was a phone…”

“But he could only use it to call his lawyer…”

“You’re so lucky,” Christina shook her head solemnly. “You could be dead.”

Y/N thought on the idea for a moment before pulling herself back to reality, “Are you crazy? He couldn’t possibly be the Solstice Strangler.”

Christina held up her hands in surrender. She set them back on the table and leaned over them, “How long did you wait there all alone?” Her face had a little too much pity on it for Y/N’s liking.

“Not long,” Y/N leaned back in her chair. “Dean Winchester came in…” she tried to sound nonchalant about it.

“Dean Winchester?!” Christina said a little too loudly for the quiet kitchen.

“I don’t want to talk about it. Now what’s this case you need me to work on?”

Christina begrudgingly allowed her friend to change the subject and told her about the strange deaths that had been happening in a small town in Kansas. It sounded like werewolf trouble, but she was on her way to meet up with some other hunters to take out a vampire nest so she couldn’t go help. She knew Y/N would be a great substitute.  

“There needs to be three FBI agents on this case?” the local sheriff asked as Y/N flashed her credentials.

She looked at the officer with a mix of shock and confusion, “There are other FBI agents here already?”

“They’re inside having a look at the body right now,” he nodded in the direction of the crime scene.

Nervously, Y/N dipped under the police tape and made her way inside. Coming across real agents always stressed her out. What if her cover was blown? It always took too much time and effort to backtrack over her story. As she turned the corner into the living room, however, she was met with two tall and familiar looking men.

“Are you fucking kidding me?” she sighed.

Sam and Dean turned from their crouched positions over the body and looked up at her.

“Y/N?” Dean tried not to sound too bright and excited. “What are you doing here?”

“I’m here helping a friend. What are you doing here?”

“Well, now you’re the one invading our territory, sweetheart,” he gave a playful wink.

Y/N just stood there tongue-tied, unable to come up with a witty remark or even another question. He was right – technically she was in their territory. She should’ve known better.

Sam stood there looking between the two of them. Everything in him wanted to yell “It’s him, Y/N! Dean is the one you’ve been writing!” but he bit his tongue. “I’m gonna go have a look around,” he vaguely gestured to another part of the house and took his leave.

Dean watched his brother depart while silently begging him to stay. He didn’t know what to say to this woman. This woman who clearly hated him but he secretly loved. He felt small as she looked at him with contempt.

“So what do we have?” Y/N decided it was best just to get on with the case. The sooner it was solved, the sooner she could be rid of Dean Winchester.

Dean studied her face for a moment, noticing the lines that formed on her forehead as she gave him a  quizzical look and the way the right side of her mouth tipped ever so slightly up into a half smile. It was a delicate corner, one that begged to be kissed. He mentally slapped himself back into focus. “Beverly Williams,” he said, turning back to the body that lay on the floor near them. “Housewife. Her heart’s missing. Just like the other two.”

“Sounds like a werewolf,” Y/N crouched down to have a closer look. “Shouldn’t be too difficult.”

After a look around and talking with the neighbors, the three headed to the local diner for lunch and to go over the details of the case.

“So get this, according to the victims’ Facebook pages, they’re all members of the same graduating class in high school,” Sam informed Y/N and Dean. “It looks like their reunion is coming up.”

“What do you want to bet there’s some former Goth kid that never quite grew out of their phase?” Dean turned to look at Y/N with his usual lopsided smile only to be met with an unimpressed stare.

The three victims were part of the same AV club according to the school’s records. There were only two surviving members, Abigail Maples and Jefferson Levi. The hunters decided to split up and go talk to them. Dean and Y/N went to talk to Abigail at the bookstore she worked at, “Shop Around the Corner”.

“So do you know why anyone would want to hurt you guys?” Y/N asked over an open notepad.

“No, I have no idea why anyone would do such a thing,” Abigail continued to shelf books as she talked to them.

“Well, if you can think of anything else, please give us a call.” Dean handed her a business card.

“Thank you for your time,” Y/N held out her hand.

Abigail took it in hers and hissed quietly in pain. She caught Y/N’s eyes and regained her composure, “Goodbye, Detectives.”

“It’s her,” Y/N said under her breath as they exited the store.

Dean stopped in his tracks. “How do you know?”

She held up her right hand and wiggled her fingers, “Silver ring. She winced in pain and tried to play it off. We have a bigger problem, though. I think she might have made us.”

“Great. Just great.” He fished his phone out of his pocket and dialed Sam to tell him the news.

They spent the rest of the day keeping an eye on Abigail. For someone so vengeful, she sure was boring. Apparently keeping her job was still important to her. They watched her close up the shop and head back home. Halfway there she took an unexpected turn in the wrong direction.

“That’s the direction of Jefferson Levi’s house,” Sam said.

“Looks like revenge is on the agenda for the evening,” Dean quietly quipped. He turned the Impala down the street she had turned onto and continued to follow her. They pulled up to Jefferson’s house a little bit after she arrived. Quietly they got out of the car and made their way up, guns drawn.

The door was ajar when they got to it. Sam gave the other two a silent confirmation before heading in gun first. The house was still as they scanned the entrance. They heard clamoring and a yell coming from the back of the house and moved towards the noise. The turned into the den to find Abigail attacking Jefferson. He was struggling but effectively holding her off. He grunted and strained under her as he held her wrists to keep the claws at bay.

“Hey!” Dean yelled.

Abigail turned around at his voice and he shot her right in the heart. She stumbled backwards into a bookshelf and collapsed on the floor.

Y/N went to assist Jefferson as the boys made sure Abigail was, in fact, dead. “Are you okay?” she asked gently and she hoisted him easily to his feet.

He wiped his hands on his pants and looked down at his slashed up arms with a wince, “What just happened?”

She gave a weak chuckle, “I was hoping you’d kind of tell us that. Why would she come after your group?”

Jefferson looked sheepish, “We bullied her back in high school. She was weird and different. You know how high school can be.” He added the last bit quickly in his defense.

“Yeah, well look where it got you now.” Dean walked over to him, “You should get to the hospital.” He looked Jefferson straight in the eyes, “An animal attacked you. You didn’t see what kind, though. We’ll take care of the rest.”

Jefferson nodded slowly in understanding and made his way towards the door, leaving the three hunters with Abigail’s body.

With another successful hunt behind them, they agreed a drink was in order. The three of them walked up to the local dive bar side by side.

“You know what?” Sam stopped a little way off from the door. “I think I’m actually gonna skip out on drinks and head back to the motel.” He looked directly at Dean and attempted to silently communicate his true motives to him, then gave a quick look to Y/N, “I’m just feeling really tired.” He gave her an apologetic look.

Y/N was a little surprised and disappointed at the loss of a buffer between her and Dean. “Oh… okay.” She tried to save face for the sake of politeness, “Have a good night then.”

Sam gave a wave to the two of them and headed back in the direction of the motel. Dean watched him walk away once again and silently begged for him to come back. What was he going to do now?

He gave an awkward laugh as he opened the door for Y/N and followed her into the bar.

“I wouldn’t want to cramp your style,” she said as she took a seat a little while later with their beers. Dean took the seat opposite her. “I’m sure there’s a helpless woman here tonight and you’re going to go in for the kill. I bet her name is Monica and has aspirations of being a flight attendant. You’d just love her and leave her before the sun rises.” Her words registered in her brain after they were spoken and she clapped her hand over her mouth, “Oh…”

Dean only gave a slow nod.

She winced, “I don’t mean to say things like that. No matter what you’ve done to me, you don’t deserve me saying things like that. But it’s just that every time I see you –” She gestured grandly with her hands.

“Things like that just fly out of your mouth.”

“Yes! And I regret it. My friend said I’d regret saying things like that, and he’s right.”

“Your friend?” Dean asked.

“Yeah. He was actually who I was waiting for that night we met in the café. The night I was so…”

“Charming,” he finished her sentence for her.

She shook her head, “I was not charming.”

“Well, you looked charming.”

“I was upset and horrible.”

“I was the horrible one.” He took a sip of his beer.

“Well, that’s true, but I have no excuse.” She took a sip of her own.

Dean swallowed and nodded, setting his bottle back on the table, “Oh, I see what you’re saying. That’s interesting. I am a horrible person, so I have no choice but to be horrible. That’s what you’re saying.”

Y/N’s cheeks flushed and she covered her mouth again in embarrassment.

“But that’s all right,” he continued, “I was rude to you and can be a bit of a pill. You hate me.”

She sighed, “I don’t hate you.”

“But you’ll never forgive me,” he took another sip of his beer. “Just like Elizabeth,” he said as he swallowed.

“Who?”

“Elizabeth Bennett – in Pride and Prejudice. She was too proud.”

“I thought you hated Pride and Prejudice.”

“Or was she too prejudiced and Mr. Darcy was too proud?” Dean kept on. “I can’t remember.”  

Dean looked at Y/N as she took a sip of her beer. There was a slight smile on her lips. The same corner that begged to be kissed turned up once again. He couldn’t help but smile.

Y/N couldn’t help but notice. She set down her drink and nervously ran a hand through her hair, “Why is it that we’re here again?”

He picked at the label on his bottle as he leaned back in his seat and continued to study her. “‘Cause I wanted to be your friend,” he shrugged.

“Oh,” she said quietly.

He splayed his fingers out in front of him, “I know that’s impossible.” He leaned forward again, “But sometimes you gotta try to do the impossible.”

A faint smile flashed across her lips.

They sat in comfortable silence for a moment. Finally, Dean broke it. “Can I ask you a question?”

“Mmhmm,” she hummed.

“What happened with that guy in the café?”

Y/N sighed again as she moved her beer bottle ever so slightly to the left, “Nothing.”

“But you’re crazy about him?”

“Yes, I am.”

“Well, what are you waiting for? Why don’t you run off with him?”

She placed her elbows on the table as she leaned in. Her face scrunched up in embarrassment. “I don’t actually know him,” she groaned as she dropped her head into her hands.

“Really?” Dean said curiously. “What, did you meet him online?”

Y/N shifted her head to look up at him through her fingers. “Yes.” She was surprised he guessed correctly.

“May I offer you some advice?” He reached up to gently set her hands down, “I think you should meet this person.” He paused for a moment, “No, wait, wait… I take that back. Why would anyone want to meet someone they met on the internet?”

“Hey,” she frowned. “I don’t think I need to be taking advice from someone who –”

Dean gently put his fingers to her mouth to quiet her. “Now, now,” he said softly. “I can see that I bring out the worst in you, but let me just help you make sure you don’t say something you’ll just torture yourself over for years to come.”

In that moment, Dean was closer to her than he had ever been, and for the first time, she noticed how green his eyes were. A mossy green with flecks of brown speckled over them. They were very beautiful. And his hands, though rough and calloused from years of working with them, ghosted her lips ever so gently. It was the softest gesture from such a strong man.

Dean was caught up in the moment, too, lingering a bit too long over the lips that took up most of his free thoughts. He realized a second too late what he was doing and pulled his hand away. He took a final long pull of his beer and retrieved his wallet from his back pocket, “I think I’m going to head back to the motel.” He fished out enough bills to cover the tab and set them on the table.

Y/N’s mouth remained open from her previous attempt at speaking as she watched his actions. The whole situation left her flustered and confused much like any other interaction with Dean Winchester, but this time it was different.

“Good night,” he said as he got up and left.

All Y/N could do was watch him leave as she traced her lips with her own fingertips. Her mouth still remembering the pressure of his fingers on it.

Like what you read? Want to read more of my stuff? Check out my Masterlist!

Tags: @pinknerdpanda @hannahindie @wheresthekillswitch @emilywritesaboutdean @trexrambling @narisjournal-blog @jensen-jarpad @notnaturalanahi @simplydaisys @keepcalmandcarryondean @mrswhozeewhatsis @katymacsupernatural @boxywrites @ellen-reincarnated1967 @ravengirl94 @amanda-teaches @thing-you-do-with-that-thing @masksandtruths @just-another-busy-fangirl @sis-tafics @eyes-of-a-disney-princess @not-so-natural-spn @feelmyroarrrr @sherlock44 @jobean12-blog @diariesofthebeautyobsessed @akshi8278 @wonderstruckbyfandoms @wildfirewinchester @mogaruke @whimsicalrobots @winchesternco @clockworkmorningglory @sammiesamness @dancingalone21 @shutupiminlooove @cfh21 @aubreystilinski @bands-and-shietz @shayrey @faithfullpanicmoon @caitthejourno @wingedcatninja @lastactiontricia @jadepc @rach5ive

[otakuneko-lotus]

The Gargoyles will Rise Chapter 3

Friendship Lost It was night time in New York, the sky was clear and the stars were shining bright. On the tallest building in the city was owned by a man named David Xanatos, he is the reason why the gargoyles are here. Xanatos was not the nicest man around. He is willing to do anything to get the gargoyles under his control, so far his plans have not worked. Yet he has something else planned for Goliath and his clan it just needs more time. Xanatos was in his office checking something on his computer as his servant Owen walked in he seemed to be in a pit of a panic state yet still maintaining his clam a personality. "Sir, someone has broken in" Said Owen as he walked over to Xanatos desk. "What! How is that possible?! Xanatos shouted. "Someone used one of the secret passageways sir" replied Owen. Xanatos turn to his computer and started to check on the security system. he brought up the video file from the cameras. In the videos her saw a female figure going through one of the passages to the library, he saw the figure takes a book in a special case. The book was on ancient artifacts with great power. Xanatos also saw the figure in a different area of the castle, the figure took a old claw from a gargoyle robot that Xanatos made, the claw looked like it had blood on it. Xanatos stops the picture as he enhance it he recognized the figure all to well. Owen looked at the screen on Xanatos is computer. "What is she planning now?" Ask Xanatos as he starred at his computer screen looking at the female. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ It has been a few weeks since Amber has been staying with the gargoyles, since she has been living with them there as not been an more people trying to kidnap her. What Goliath said was right. She staying with the gargoyles would keep her safer from these strange men, Plus Amber has been getting along quite well with them, she even has been training herself to stay up longer so she can see them before morning but its hard for her not to fall asleep. She crashes on the couch around 1 or 2 in the morning. The cops finally left her home so Elise was able to get Amber's clothes and a few other things for her. Amber made her own little piece of home while trying not to take over anyone's own space in the old clock tower. It was a slow night, not very many criminals to deal with. Amber was playing a game with Lexington and she was losing big time. Bronx was laying in Hudson chair taking a nap, as Broadway was in the kitchen making a sandwich...again. "Awww come on!" said Amber as she watches her character gets killed again. "You were close that time" said Lexington. "I don't think I would ever beat you Lexington, your just to good." Amber said as she falls back on the floor. "Hey you might get lucky next game." said Lexington said has he laughs a little. Broadway game into the living room with a 5 foot long hoagie. Amber was surprised that Broadway can eat so much. Heck, Amber could not even finish a simple Burger. "Isn't that your forth sandwich Broadway?' Said Lexington "What I'm hungry" replied Broadway. "I would say you would get a stomachache with all that eating, but I'm pretty sure that those not apply to you huh Broadway." said Amber The group hears someone landing on the balcony. As they looked they saw Goliath, Hudson, and Brooklyn walk in from the balcony door. They got back a little earlier to night. "Hey welcome back you three" Said Amber with a smile. "Hello lass" said Hudson as he walked over to his chair as Bronx gets off, so he could let Hudson sit. "Slow night huh?" "Aye lass its like the crime stopped all of a sudden in the city" said Hudson. "On the bright side we get to relax" Said Brooklyn as he jumps up and lands on the couch. "Maybe so but still if crime clam down it is either. A big coincidence or something bad is going to happen." said Amber has she goes over to were her books where plied next to the couch. "Lets hope nothing bad happens then" Said a female voice. It was Elisa coming up from the back door of the clock tower, she was holding some grocery for the gargoyles and human. Since Amber can't go to the store and pick up anything on the count that she may get taken again, and the gargoyles can't go because well people would just run away. And of course Broadway go over to Elisa and takes the grocery's from her hands with his hoagie in his mouth. Everyone greeted Elisa as she comes in. "Hey Amber, how are you holding up?' asked Elisa as she walks to the teenager. "I'm doing alright, I feel like I'm living in a club house or something." replied Amber "I'm glad your holding up,....Amber, the boys and I haven't been able to find out about those man and where your father is....." Elisa said was a sad tone Amber lower her head. It has been a few weeks since her father disappearing, she has been worried about him so much. Every time the gargoyles had off to deal with a crime, it gives her a chance to let it all out. Just let out all of her bottled up feelings. That was something Amber did ever since, she holds on the feelings till she is alone to handle them. She may look strong on the outside, but on the inside she feels like a weakling. Elisa can see this in Amber. A kid who is trying to be strong, until everything is fine. yet before Elisa can say anything Amber always speaks up. "I know your trying your best Elisa same with the other police man and woman." Amber looked up at detective Maza. "My father may not look it but he is a tough guy, my dad is fighting just so we can be together again" Elisa just looked at Amber. "She is trying to put on the bravest face possible' thought Elisa. "She has been acting so strong, I guess she learned at a young age she has to be brave in this world" Elisa just smiled at Amber. "Don't worry we will find your father and bring him back all in one piece, I swear" Said Elisa as she watched the smile form on Amber's face. Elisa walks over to Goliath and Hudson. "You saw it too Elisa" said Goliath. "You saw she was holding in her feelings." Elisa nods "Yes she is trying to put on a brave face. She wants to be tough, yet it is not healthy for her to hold it all in." "It's not, I catch her a few time holding her picture of her family. I tried talking to her about it. Yet the young lass just keep showing that brave face of hers." said Hudson. 'She will let it all out sooner or later, Elisa did you find out anything about that gargoyle statue? Asked Goliath "No, I check all the info I can find. Nothing is turning up. No book, or site can give me an info on it." replied Elisa as she looks at Goliath "But I am sure we will find something about it. We got James gene journal so the statue must be mentioned in it" "So we got something at least' added Goliath. Elisa looks over to Amber who was sitting on the couch and she was looking at her family picture. "Amber as been cooped up in this clock tower for a few weeks. I think I'm going to take her out to see one of her friends" said Elisa "Why Elisa? She is safer here" said Goliath "That is true Goliath, yet i think it is good for her to see her friend. She has not seen anyone she knows for a while now." added Hudson. "I will be watching her same with a few other people on the force" said Elisa as she looks back at Goliath "She is human, she needs to see other people that care about her" "Hm your right Elisa, I'm sure she would like to see her friend" said Goliath "Great, hey Amber how would you like to-" As Elisa turn around she saw Amber already fast alseep on the couch with her family picture in her arms. She was breathing softy in her sleep. "Wow, she went out like a light" Said Brookyln who was sitting next to the sleeping Amber. Amber then started to move in her sleep, Brooklyn got up and gently lay Amber on the couch with a pillow under her head. He took the picture and put it on the small table lamb next to the couch. As he looked everyone was looking at him. "What she is sleeping' said Brooklyn quietly Everyone just smiled at the red gargoyle. The next morning at a cafe, Elisa and Amber were waiting for Amber's friend Soros. Amber had on a hoodie to hide her face just in case, when the door to the cafe opened it ringed, Amber looked to see Soros walking through, she waves at him and he see her. Soros takes the empty seat between Amber and Elisa. "I was wondering why we haven't got together. But now I know." said Soros 'I'm sorry dude" replied Amber "I understand"  said Soros "Are you ever going to tell me why you got those books yet?" he questioned Elisa just laugh to herself when he asked Amber that question. Amber and Soros caught up with each other. Well Amber did leave out the part about living in the clock tower with the gargoyles. They talked about what was happening with then and since Amber has been missing school Soros tells her about what has been happening and a few other things. It was starting to get a little late and it was about time for Amber to leave. "Well, I will text you later alright?" asked Soros 'You can, we got a good anti phone hacker" said Elisa. "great I will text you later dude" added Amber Soros said goodbye to Amber and watch her leave with Elisa , a little time later he left too. Soros was taking the long way home the sun was setting, he takes out his phone and began dial a number. The Phone Rings. "hey mom.......yeah I'm on my way home now......Yeah my friend is doing just fine........yeah I know.......I will be therein- *Something grabbed Soros and he was now flying the air* Ahhhhhhhhh *he dropped his phone, it landed on the ground and it broke into pieces* Soros struggled and he tried to break free, but then something covered his face, he was knocked out. Meanwhile while at the clock tower. Amber has been back for about an hour now and she and the gargoyles were hanging out was hanging out. "So how is your friend doing lass?' asked Hudson "Oh he is doing just fine, he misses having someone to talk at school" replied Amber as she was petting Bronx "Why don't you 2 have other friends" asked Lexington who was at his work station. "No, everyone else at school we are just a couple of weirdos, and all because we like weird things" said Amber "Well that's just mean" said Broadway. "You have no idea" Elisa comes out of the trap door, she look like something was wrong. "Guys we got a missing person alert, a boy has gone missing" Said Elisa and all the Gargoyles looked up and ran to Elisa. "He was last seen walking on third going to 5th street" Amber eyes widen, she ran over to Elisa with a scared look on her face. "Elisa please....please tell who the boy is...please!!!!!! Shouted Amber she clutched her hands into fists. ".......The boys name is Noah Jones" said Elisa in a quiet voice. "Soros!! No!!" Said Amber as she turn to Goliath. "Goliath can I please go with you to find him plz!!!" "I'm not sure you should Amber, it could be dangerous" Said Goliath as he looked down at Amber "Please Goliath, he is my best friend. I can't lose him too!" shouted Amber. Everyone turn to Goliath, who just starred at Amber. It seems she was taking no for an answer. So Goliath agreed and the clan takes off to search for Soros. Amber is being charred by Brooklyn as they fly. the Clan decided to split up and search. Goliath, Hudson, and Lexington takes the sky while Brooklyn, Broadway, Bronx and Amber search in the area that Soros was last seen. Of course they had on there communicators. Brooklyn, Broadway, Amber and Bronx get to the area where he was last seen. "OK we should stay close just in case-" said Brooklyn before he got cut off by Amber began looking in ale ways trying to find some clue to where Soros is. "Hey I said we should stick together!!" shouted Brooklyn. "I need to find my friend Brooklyn!" said Amber "Well, if you keep being so reckless you will get yourself killed!" shouted Brooklyn, Amber then turned around to face Brooklyn. "Well Brooklyn, maybe if you weren't such a blockhead. You can be could actually help the clan for once!!!!" yelled Amber to Brooklyn Brooklyn became in raged from the insult Amber said to his face, his eyes began to glow as he starred at the teenager. "Well at least I'm not constantly a damsel in distress!" yelled Brooklyn. Amber rage grew at what Brooklyn comment. On the side lines Broadway and Bronx were watching the gargoyle and teenager fight. You can really see the anger in there eyes and the battle filed forming, Broadway began to speak up. "Hey guys, clam do-" He got cut off "SHUT UP BROADWAY!!!!!!!!!!!" Yelled Amber and Brooklyn, both there eyes were full of rage as they stared are Broadway. Broadway steps back away from the two as he backs up Brooklyn and Amber go back to fighting, Broadway and Bronx watch as the fighting keeps getting more more in ragged. "Fine! If you think that. I WILL JUST LEAVE AND LOOK FOR SOROS ON MY OWN!!!!" Amber stomps off "FINE GO!!!!! WE WILL JUST GO LOOK FOR THE KID WITHOUT YOU!!!!! Brooklyn stomps off in the other direction "Come on guys lets leave the damsel in distress, I'm sure she would "love" to get captured again!" yelled Brooklyn so Amber can hear. "At least I'm not a big stupid blockhead!!! yelled amber back at the gargoyle. As the two walk away from each other Broadway and Bronx looked at each other, Broadway nodded to Bronx to go with Amber so he could talk to Brooklyn. Bronx got the hint and run after Amber has Broadway walks to Brooklyn. Amber and Bronx walks down a ale way. "I just GRRR what is wrong with that jerk!" shouted Amber Bronx looked up her as they walked. "Why those he have to such a-" Amber was cut off when she saw Bronx looking up at her. Amber's anger slowly goes down. "Oh Bronx, I'm sorry for the yelling......I just.....*signs*" Bronx mugged Amber's leg, she then bends down and pets his head. "I will go an apologized to Brooklyn, but I'm going to let him cool down before I do. If I try to now, he would just blow me off" Bronx just rubbed his head in Amber's hand. As Amber stands back up she heard some movement in the ale, she and Bronx looked down the ale careful and quietly. As they go deeper in the ale Amber some movement. She got closer to the moving figure, as Bronx stood in front of her guarding her. "Careful Bronx" Meanwhile with Brooklyn and Broadway, who were a few blocks away from were Amber and Bronx were, Broadway was trying to clam down Brooklyn, so far Brooklyn is still being a hot head. "Come on Brooklyn you need to clam down" "I will not! She called me a blockhead" Brooklyn shouted "But I bet her feeling are going crazy. I mean she lost her father, she can't stay at her house, and now her best friend is missing.....I think she is just getting very emotional about this" said Broadway. Brooklyn stopped for a moment to think on what Broadway have just told him. Brooklyn had notice that Amber sometimes spaced out at times, and when she those she is starring at her family picture. "OK, lets go find her" Brooklyn and Broadway began to headed back to where they separate from Amber and Bronx. "Amber! Bronx! Come Back" shouted Broadway. "We should really stick together!" As they got to the ale Amber and Bronx went to, they started to get a bad feeling. As they walked deeper in the ale they both saw something laying on the ground....It was Bronx who was knock out cold, "Bronx!!!" Brooklyn and Broadway run over to him to see if was ok. As they checked on him they say some claw marks on the ground and walls of the ale. Who or what could make these claw marks and knock out Bronx......one person could have done this......No, not one person.....one gargoyle. Demona Brooklyn and Broadway carry Bronx back to the clock tower, they explain the situation to the others....of course Goliath was not happy with Brooklyn. "So you and the lass had a fight and you left her on her own, and now your saying Demona has her?!" said Hudson Brooklyn nods yes to the question, as Goliath just gave him a very disappointed look. Meanwhile Lexington was trying to activate the tracker he putted into Amber's cell phone, but it seems something was tampering the signal. "Nothing Lex?" asked Elisa as she stood beside him "No, where ever Demona has taken Amber its a place where i can't get the signal" said Lexington. "But why would Demona take her?" added Elisa "How those she even know who she is? "Right now that those not matter, what matters is to find her." said Goliath. "But how are we going to find her?" Question Broadway. "Oh I can help with that" said a female voice which came from Lexington communicator. Everyone heard the voice. It was Demona. "If you want to "save' the girl. Come to the abandon lab on 31 street, that is where the girl is....If you don't come the girl dies" The Communication stops.....Everyone is shocked.... At 31 street there was a abandon lab that was sued for genetics research, the building was slowly falling apart. Inside the building Amber was chained to the wall, She was slowly waking up. she was remembering what happened before she was knocked out. She saw a female gargoyle of blue skin, black and red hair, she had a gold "crown" on her head. She knocked out Bronx like it was nothing. Before Amber could do anything, the gargoyle covered her mouth and nose with a rag...then nothing. As Amber slowly opened her eyes she saw she was in some lab there were test tubes that was holding weird creatures in them. Some weird tools, some lab tables, some weird metal claw with what looks like blood on it and computer monitors. Amber saw her chains and try to pull them off the wall. "It's no use human" said a female voice. Amber turn and saw the same female gargoyle who attacked Bronx and knocked her out. "Who are you, what do you want with me!?" Amber said "Oh, so Goliath and his so called clan never told you about me?" questioned the female gargoyle. Amber thinks for a moment until it hit her. "Your.....Demona?" questioned Amber, as the female began to laugh. "So they have told you.....yes I am Demona!!!!!" Demona smiled a evil grin. Amber has heard the story of Demona. She was once Goliath's love and second in command, she protected the castle along with her clan all those years ago. But she betrayed them, and most of her clan was killed. After 1000 years she still had the hatred for humans, and she is willing to do anything to destroy the humans, she blames them for all the things that happened in her life. "W-what do you want with me, I did nothing to you?!" said Amber to Demona "Hahaha it's not you I need, it's the statue.." Demona said "Now where is it human. "Why would I tell you where it is?" said Amber "You want to harm the people and hurt Goliath and the others." "Your going to tell me where is the statue human or else" "Oh yeah like I'm going to tell you anything, you she devil!!" Shouted Amber Demona shows her teeth in anger until a smile formed on her face. Demona laughed a laugh that made Amber's stomach dope, she watched as Demona goes to a test tube. She pushed a few buttons on the huge test tube and it began to open. "I would like you to meet an old friend or yours" Said Demona Amber saw as a dark grey gargoyle come out of the test tube, it was tall and had a little bit of a buff body. it hair was Dark purple and long, there were 2 sharp spikes at the end of his tail, the inside his wings were the color of blood, and his eyes were that same color. He had on a torn up camo shirt and ripped dark blue jeans. Amber became to shed tears, it couldn't be. "S-soros......" Amber's tears going down her face. 'Haha yes, your little friend is now a pure gargoyle! said Demona "Thanks to some of Goliath's blood and this lab. I am able to turn other creatures into gargoyles!!! It was very easy to kidnap him, all I need was to put him to sleep." Before Amber could say anything, there was a flash on a few computer screens. Demona looked and a smile appeared on her face. "perfect timing' Turns to Amber. "Soros go greet our guests" Soros walked out of the room not even looking at Amber, Demona then walks to Amber and moves her head to face her. "sit back and watch as your own friend kills Goliath and those pathetic fools" Demona then walks out of the room laughing as Amber is screaming at her to come back. Outside the lab. Goliath and the others besides Hudson who stayed at the clock tower with a injured Bronx. They landed outside the lab, Brooklyn wanted to run straight in but Goliath stops him. "No Brooklyn......there is a trap inside" he said. "But we have to save her" Brooklyn said Before Goliath could say anything the door to the lab was broken down and out stepped Soros with a angered look on his face. He then charged at gargoyles at full speed and smashes into Lexington who went straight into a wall. Goliath, Brooklyn, and Broadway were shocked. Who was this gargoyle, how was he so strong. They then hear a female voice they all recognized. They turn and saw Demona with a blaster. "Good boy Soros" said Demona "Soros? Amber's friend" Ask Goliath. "Yes, I have turn that pathetic human's friend into a killer, his first target...you Goliath.....Soros kill" Demon smiles as Soros roars in rages as he goes after the gargoyles, the whole time Amber is watching on the computer monitors. She pulls and pulls to try to break free abut it is not working, she watches as her best friend attacks and hurts the gargoyles. Broadway and Lexington try to do a double attack on Soros, it back fires when Soros doges the attack and it made the 2 gargoyles to collided into each other which knocking them out. Goliath goes head to head with Soros, has that was happening Demona was aiming her blaster right at Goliath's back. She did not see Brooklyn heading her way, he attacks her so she could not shoot Goliath. "You are not going to hurt anyone else Demona!" shouted Brooklyn at Demona as they fight. "You all will die here!! Thanks to Soros all the humans will bow down before me!!" said Demona She punches Brooklyn right in the gut giving him great pain. "The first humans I will be killing is that Detective Maza and that pathetic human inside the lab" "Amber" Brooklyn whispers. "So that's her name, well I can't wait to see scream in pain" said Demona has Brooklyn falls to the ground in pain. "but first i need to get rid of another pest" Demona picks up her blaster and aims it at Goliath's back, Demona grins a evil smile. "No No NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Amber screamed at the top of her lungs. The jewel around her neck began to glow bright, something happened. Right before Demona can take the shot there was a flash of light behind her, when Demona turned she saw a very pissed off Amber. the chains that held her against the wall where around her writs, her eyes were glowing bright, and she is grinding her teeth. Amber goes straight to Demona and punches her straight into the face which made her to go flying all the way across the ground. Brooklyn, Lexington, and Broadway *who were waking up* saw what just happened. Demona slowly got up and she was filled with rage. "Soros forget Goliath and kill Amber!!!!!!!!" Shouted Demona. Soros punches Goliath to get him away and went straight to Amber. She stood there as Soros came straight at her. "I don't want to hurt you Soros, but looks like I got no choice" said Amber Before Soros can even lay a finger on Amber, the jewel glows brighter. There was a huge flash that covered the area, the gargoyles heard something falling over. When it died down Demona and Soros were no where to be seen, the lab was almost knocked over. the gargoyles looked and saw Amber barley standing. She look at the gargoyles. "I'm...no damsel in distress." Amber turns to Brooklyn "Sorry....for calling you a....blockhead." Amber falls to the ground, and she blacks out. When Amber woke up she in on the couch in the clock tower, she had bandages on her arms on her torso. She looked to see the gargoyles sitting quietly waiting for her to wake. "uh...what happened' said Amber The gargoyles and Elisa run to her side and they all were so glad she was wake. Bronx was so happy he began to lick Amber's cheek, he was feeling better. "Lass, thank the stars your alright" said Hudson. "What happened?' asked Amber has she slowly sits up with the help of Broadway and Lexington. "You don't remember?"Asked Elisa "All I remember is Goliath was about to be shot be Demona, there was a flash, and.....Soros" In that moment it hit her. "Soros where is, is he ok?!" Everyone was silent, they did not know what to say to the teenager. "I'm sorry Amber, your friend is longer the Soros you know. He is working with Demona now." Said Goliath. Amber was silent, after all that has happened she now looses her best friend, and the worst part is. He tried to kill her. Her hands clutch into fists, she tried to hold back the tears. She lost her father and her best friend in just a short amount of time. She couldn't save her father or Soros, she flailed to save Soros. "You can let it out you know" Brooklyn said to Amber. She looks up and Brooklyn needled next to the couch and he looked right into her eyes. 'you can let it all out Amber, we are your friends. You can tell us how you feel." Amber looked back into Brooklyn's eyes. Her eyes began to build up with tears, until the tears broke free and started to go down her cheeks. Amber began to cry, tears going down her face and land on the blanket that covered her. Amber then grab Brooklyn and hugged him letting all her tear flow out of her. Brooklyn rubs and pets her back as Amber lets all her sadness out. The others watched as Brooklyn help Amber let all her feeling out.

[crazyrandomfucker]

Hero Appretnices 2

Chapter 2: Threadful threat

Summary:

Marin and Alen are happily buying fabrics when an akuma suddenly appears. Threads, fabrics and havoc, a perfect combination for your usual Monday afternoon.

------------------------------------------

As Marin is paying for the materials he needs, a loud explosion roars a few roads nearby. Alen automatically pulls out his phone and turns the camera on, with a sort of maniac smile. Before they could even move, a big spider-like monster bursts through the walls and immobilizes everyone by tugging them into a sushi roll with the store's fabrics. Alen struggles a lot and manages to get out his hands and his phone, so he proceeds to film the incident. Meanwhile, Marin tried to struggle to get his phone out, but his wide shoulders prevent him from moving at all.

-At Adrienne's room-

Adrienne is lazily looking at her computer screen when a notification from the Lordblog pops ups, alerting her that Alen is filming in real live. Fast as the lightning, she opens the blog to check if there's an akuma attack going on and to see where is the akuma, in case there's actually one rampaging through the city. As she enters the livestream, the first thing she sees is Alen, smiling with most of his body tugged into... a human sushi roll? What in heaven is she seeing right now? Without letting her have time to process what's going on, Alen turns his phone around and the akuma appears on the screen, revealing a spider-like monstrosity.

"Are you seeing that, my little kittens and beetles? She's an akuma named Threadmistress and she can control everything related to sewing. Fabric, threads, whatever. Kitty Noire and Lordbug would want to get rid of this before they get in a sticky situation!" says Alen.

"Man, do you have to do horrible puns even in your blog's videos?" groans Marin in the background and the camera turns to him.

"Say hello to my best friend Marin, he complains a lot, but I know he secretly loves puns. We're both trapped at Bouton Store, so if you see any of our heroes, make sure to tell them where are we" says Alen.

Adrienne shuts the phone, stands up and shouts:

"Plaggue, claws out!"

-Marin's side-

Using all of his strength, Marin manages to stretch the fabric that was holding him enough to pull his phone outside. The fabric tightens again, not letting his hand out and he has to use his nose to text Marinette a single word: Akuma. With a lot of patience, Marin manages to also send their location to her, hoping that she won't have her phone in silence mode. The akuma, called Threadmistress, holds up a roll of fabric, that had Sebastián and Cleón tugged inside, and then uses threads and chains to attach them into the ceiling. Of course this akuma had been caused by those two blockheads, Marin bet that the Bourgeoise and their minions would probably end up being the mayor cause of akumatization in Paris.

When everything seems lost, Marin notices that most of the human sushi rolls had mysteriously disappeared and are nowhere to be seen. The akuma doesn't notices since she's busy making her nest, but slowly, the hostages began to disappear. Then, a flash of black, silver and acid green dashes through the corner of Marin's eye and he connect the dots. Kitty Noire was there and she was slowly evacuating the customers and the shop clerks before engaging a fight to ensure their safety. Marin melts in his sushi roll as he thought how cool and clever is his Dame, not noticing how she has just swiped Alen away (putting her hand in his mouth to prevent him from complaining) and that he's now the last hostage.

When he finally realizes he's alone and that Threadmistress is almost done with her threads and fabrics nest. He mentally curses his infamous bad luck and looks around to search for a possible way to get out of the trouble, but before he' able to come up with a solution, Kitty Noire returns and gently picks him up. He hopes that she can't hear his heart beating so loudly for her and gets a bit flustered, missing the detail that she has a weird smile on her face with a beet red blush on her cheeks. She carries him to the door and when they're about to exit, a bunch of threads blocks the door.

"Will you walk into my parlour? Said the spider to the fly" says the akuma.

"I was hoping to walk out of your parlour actually" replies Kitty Noire.

"It's a pity that you won't make it out alive" says Threadmistress.

"We'll sew about that!" exclaims Kitty as she dodges a bunch of flying fabric rolls. "Now hold on pretty face, because there are going to be turbulences".

"Did she just call me 'pretty face'?" thinks Marin.

"You can't dodge forever hell cat!" says the akuma getting angrier by minute.

"Hey! This feline is nothing but a heavenly blessing!" replies Kitty Noire.

"Kitty Noire! There's a back door that leads to the stairs!" says Marin. "You could go to the roof and leave me there! I'll be fine!"

"Okey Ma- random citizen!" says Kitty, almost slipping his name.

She evades more threads and fabrics and jumps over the akuma, kicking the akuma into a shelf, effectively distracting Threadmistress from her and Mari's escape. She hastily opens the back door and jumps to the space between the stairs, grabbing her baton and extending it to lift them into the air. They get to the top floor in the blink of an eye and Kitty returns her baton to its normal size before opening the door and going outside. Carefully, she holds Marin tight and then jumps impressibly high, waiting until the last minute to extend her baton and pole-vault themselves into the nearest rooftop.

"How are you doing prince charming?~" says Kitty jumping to the next rooftop.

"Amazing! The sensation of liberty you have from pole-vaulting is amazing! And it's an honour to be rescued by Paris finest cat" says Marin, blushing and not filtering what he's saying.

"The pleasure is mine prince charming. You were really chill back there, thank you for the info by the way" says Kitty, not looking at him because she's blushing a lot.

"N-No, thank y-you for rescutin- I mean, rescuing me from the akuma!" says Marin, also blushing a lot.

"It's a knightess duty to save the prince charming, isn't it?" says Kitty, no longer controlling what comes out of her mouth. "Well, I hate to leave, but I have an akuma to defeat!"

"Wait! Can y-you untie me first? It's a bit h-ha-hard to breath" says Marin.

"Oh. Of course!" says Kitty Noire. "Now don't move too much or I'll end up hurting you" says as she uses one of her claws to tear the fabric and frees Marin.

"Thank you very much! Y-You could pass by my rooftop when you could and I'd give you some baked treats as a thank you for today" says Marin.

"Now, now. You know what they say about feeding strays" says Kitty as she jumps and leaves.

"I love that girl" says Marin as he dreamily looks her going back to battle.

-At Marinette's room-

Marinette is focused on her always so problematic science homework and fails to notice how her phone's screen lights up two time. On the contrary, Tikki sees it and, in a wimp of curiosity, she floats to the phone and turns it on. She sees that Marinette has two messages from her brother, being the last one a location. The spotted red Kwami knows that Marin was buying some fabrics, so maybe he has found a new shop and wanted to share it with Marinette. Excited, Tikki unlocks the phone (because by now she already has memorized Marinette's passwords) and turns pale when she sees the message.

"Marinette! Marinette! Marin is in trouble! There's an akuma!" says Tikki.

"What?! Come on, I almost had this problem solved! Ugh, where's the akuma?" complains Marinette.

"Bouton's store, it probably has trapped Marin" says Tikki.

"Well then ,Tikki, let's save my brother! Tikki, spots on!" says Mari, calling upon her transformation.

As Ladybug finishes her transformation, a call reaches her yoyo and she picks it up as she begins to swing by Paris's streets.

"Hey Kitty, are you already there?" says Ladybug.

"Ladybug? I thought it was Lordbug's turn" says Kitty. "Anyway, come here! I've already saved almost all of the hostages, but I have to leave a civilian named Marin on a near rooftop".

"Okay, I'll get him down later" says Ladybug. "I'm on my way now, has the akuma moved from Bouton Store?"

"No, she has made a nest there and she has trapped there two civilians. I believe their names were Sebastián and Cleón. Marin said that they must be the cause of akumatization" explains the cat heroine.

"Ugh, those two? I'm almost there, where are you?" says Ladybug.

"Behind you, m'Lady" says Kitty.

"Okay so, any hints of where the akuma must be? What are her powers?" asks the red heroine.

"She's like a spider that controls fabrics, threads and anything related to sewing. She calls herself Threadmistress and I haven't got time to search for the akumatized object" explains Kitty.

"I hope those two i- hostages know where the akuma is. Come on Kitty, let's go!" says Ladybug as she enters to the store.

The store is pitch dark and Ladybug can't see anything, so she focuses on the sounds and waits for Kitty, who enters a minute later and scans the room using her night vision. Kitty Noire pays attention to each corner and looks several times up just to be sure that the akuma won't jump on them from above. She doesn't see the akuma, but she sees her nest done and with Sebastián and Cleón trapped and silenced. She goes on the nest and tears the fabric on the boys' mouths.

"Kitty Noire it's a trap! She can camouflage!" says Sebastián and Kitty turns around to see how the akuma appears behind her.

"You're mine!" exclaims the akuma, jumping to Kitty.

"No YOU are mine!" says Ladybug and knocks the akuma with her yoyo.

"Thanks LB" says Kitty Noire.

"You two, where's the akuma?" says Ladybug as she turns on her yoyo's flashlight.

"Ugh, I don't know. I don't care about useless designers" groans Cleón.

"It's on her needles!" says Sebastián.

"Okey. I think it's time then... Lucky Charm!" chants Ladybug and a bottle of oil falls on her hand. "Oil?"

"I think this is not the time to cook me something m'Lady!" says Kitty as she dodges the akuma's attack.

Ladybug looks around and spots the bottle, two shelves, Kitty Noire and her baton. "Perhaps we should cook the itsy bitsy spider Kitty".

"I'll distract her!" says Kitty and faces Threadmistress alone.

Ladybug runs to the shelves and pours the oil on the floor. "The pan is ready! Use your flashlight to blind her!"

"Got it LB!" says Kitty, turning on her baton's flashlight, blinding Threadmistress.

Kitty extends her baton and pushes the akuma to where Ladybug is, using the flashlight again to make sure that Threadmistress can see them. The akuma tries to stand up but slips and falls to the floor, trying to stand up again and again, but failing over and over. Ladybug and Kitty Noire position each one behind of one of the shelves and then push the shelves to fall on Threadmistress, trapping her. Ladybug picks the knitting needles, which where dark and had skulls at the top of each needle and snaps them in two halves. The akuma gets out of the needles and tries to escape, but Ladybug quickly catches it with her yoyo.

"Time to deevilize!" says Ladybugs and purifies the akuma. "Bye bye little butterfly".

"Pound it!" say the girls and pound their fists.

"You should get going LB, your transformation is almost over" points Kitty Noire. "Don't worry, I'll take care of the akuma and the hostages".

"Okey. I'll see you tonight! Miraculous Ladybug!" chants Ladybug and leaps away while the miraculous cure restores everything to its original state.

Kitty is almost ready to leap to go for Marin when Alen arrives. "Wait, Kitty Noir!" says Alen.

"What happens... Alen?" says Kitty feigning ignorance.

"Yeah, that's me! Do you follow my Lordblog?" asks Alen excited.

"Yes, that's how I knew about the akuma attack. But I would rather prefer if you wouldn't risk yourself just to film our battles" says Kitty.

"It's my duty as an aspiring journalist! Anyway, where's my friend Marin? I didn't see you come out with him" says Alen worried.

"He's fine, I left him on a near roof. I was going to pick him up now" explains Kitty.

"Okey, then tell him that I'll leave the fabrics later. I have to update the Lordblog!" says Alen and leaves.

"Pffft, Alen never changes I guess, he didn't stutter when talking to a hero like Marin did" says Kitty. "Well, I should be going to pick up my prince~".

Kitty notices that Alen has left behind his bags and giggles, how can he be so silly? She picks up the bags and ties them on her tail, to make sure they won't fall when she jumps and leaps. She gets ready to jump and leaps to the nearest rooftop, using her claws to make sure she won't slip and fall. She runs and jumps from roof top to rooftop and graciously lands on the roof where she had left Marin. She lands without making a sound and Marin, who was focused on his phone, doesn't notices how the leather clad heroine slithers behind him. She boops his cheek with a smirk and Marin jumps surprised, almost throwing away his phone. Kitty Noire giggles and Marin blushes as he tries to recover his composure.

"Hey there prince charming, did I surprise you?" says Kitty teasingly.

"Yes, I was focused talking with Ladybug" says Marin.

"Oh, right. I forgot you knew her and Lordbug. How does it feel to know the secret identities of the most important heroes?" says Kitty.

"You and Chat Noir are as important and the bugs" says Marin blushing and looking away.

Kitty blushes. "Thank you, that was very sweet of you. But you didn't answer my question~".

"It's a bit nerve-wrecking, I have to try to always be positive to avoid akumatization. But I know that they'll save me no matter what, even if they are a little bit clumsy outside the mask" says Marin.

"No way! They are so gracile swinging and fighting. They can't be clumsy" says Kitty.

"Well, Ladybug it's clumsy. Lordbug is so unlucky that I'm amazed he can be considered Lord Luck" says Marin, getting a good laugh from Kitty Noire.

"I'd never guessed that. You're really funny, I like that" says Kitty Noire.

"Th-Thank you" says Marin blushing a bit.

"Oh, by the way, here are your bags. Your friend Alen was going to bring them to you later, but he ran to update the Lordblog and totally forgot about them" says Kitty as she moves her tail to hand him the bag.

"Thank you! I really need these for a contest. Merdé! The contest! I need to get home and start working on it!" says Marin worried.

"Well, luckily for you prince charming, I'm here to get you down of this roof, but I guess I could give you a ride" says Kitty smirking and flexing. "I'm a tough cat, you know".

"Pffft, of course you are" says Marin more relaxed. "But I'd appreciate that lift".

"Well then, make sure not to fall" says Kitty as she picks him bridal style and jumps to the nearest rooftop.

Marin grabs his bags tight and (blushing furiously) puts his hand on Kitty Noire to make sure he won't fall. He directs Kitty to the bakery and, before they get there, asks her to leave him on his rooftop instead of the front door, because he wants to avoid gathering attention or worrying his parents, but also because he wants to begin to sew as soon as he can. Kitty agrees with him and decides to pole-vault to get faster to their destination, because she doesn't want to delay him anymore. She's also a bit curious to see his design and to see him working, but she knows that she'll probably have to leave when they arrive to the bakery. They finally get to the building and Kitty lands on Marin's little roof with utmost grace. She lets him down and prepares to leave, but Marin grabs her arm.

"Wait, don't leave yet! I have to thank you for rescuing me" says Marin.

"I guess that staying a bit won't harm anyone" says Kitty shrugging and follows him inside.

"Y-You can sit anywhere, I'll go do-down for a bit to bring you some snacks. Do you have a-a-any preference?" asks Marin nervously.

"Anything will do. I'm not really a fuzzy eater" says Kitty, sitting on Marin's bed.

Marin disappears and Kitty looks around curious. She quickly lies on his bed and, without intending to, her super sensitive senses catch Marin's smell and Kitty quickly stands up bushing furiously. To distract herself, she wanders around his room. The room itself it's quite big and has two different levels. The highest level it's not really big and there's only Marin's bed and some shelves. However, the lower level has a closet, a small desk with a computer and a big one with lots of sewing stuff, a bathroom and a coach. She knew that that room wasn't as big as hers or as Adrien's, but she was still amazed by it. The room makes her feel warm and welcomed, unlike her cold and disheartening room. She sits on the coach and sees a ball of scarlet yarn. She tries to resist, but she ends up picking the ball and begins to play with it, ending up tangled on it. She tries to free herself before Marin returns, but the designer coincidentally arrives with a plate of cookies, macarons and croissants. He stands  there, surprised and not sure how to react.

"D-Do you need a hand?" asks Marin.

"Y-Yes please" says Kitty looking away and feeling embarrassed.

Marin lets down the plate and untangles Kitty. "He-Here you go. Better?"

"Yes, th-thank you" says Kitty looking away. "Please, d-don't tell anybody".

" I-I won't, I promise" says Marin awkwardly. "W-Would you like a treat?"

"Yes, p-please" says Kitty as she grabs a macaron and takes a bite. "Mmh~! This is delish!"

"Well, we're the best bakery in Paris after all, we only have the best" says Marin proudly as he relaxes a bit.

"I can see why" says Kitty devouring the macaron and picking a cookie. "This is bliss".

"I'm glad you like it, have as many as you want" says Marin with a gentle smile that warms her heart. "Do you mind if I'm working while you eat?"

"Oh, please, don't mind me, I don't want to bother after I intruded like that" says Kitty eating the cookie.

"You didn't intrude, I kind of forced you to come" says Marin as he organizes his desk.

"I wouldn't have entered if I didn't want to" says Adrienne.

"I guess that's true. You probably can kick my ass without sweating" says Marin as he draws some templates.

"I'd never do that to a civilian. Unless they wanted of course" says Kitty, clearly not filtering her thoughts before speaking. "Uhm... Anyways! What are you working on prince charming?" 

"I have a design contest for next week that I really want to win, so I'm making a teenage outfit for it. My friend Alen is going to model it" says Marin.

"Ah, yes, the blogger boy. Can I see your design? I really liked that pillow that was commissioned by the bugs!" says Kitty as she approaches him with curiosity.

"That wasn't so great, just a simple pillow" says Marin blushing a bit as he shows her the design.

"Wow, this is so cool! I love it! You really are talented prince charming" says Kitty amazed. "Oh my gosh! Is that a reversible jacket?! And it has an attachable hoodie?"

"It is. One side is meant to be casual and the other is meant to be informal. That way, when you combine the jacket with the rest of the outfit, it will look casual or informal depending on the side of the jacket. It will be for casual and informal wear, but not for formal events" explains the designer. "And the hoodie is easily removed because it doesn't fit in a casual look. But it's also reversible".

"Wow, it's impressive" says Kitty awe-struck. "How did you get the inspiration for something like this?"

"Well, I was struggling with some designs, but after my friend Adrienne encouraged me, I saw her bodyguard and her brother's bodyguard and the duality they had inspired me" explains Mari.

"Ah, the Agreste models, yes. I befriended them last week. Apparently, we have lots of things in common, including our birthday" says Kitty sheepishly. "They seemed nice".

"Well, I can't talk about Adrien, but Adrienne is really kind and friendly. She's a great friend and it's always funny to hang out with her" says Marin without noticing how Kitty cried from happiness as the boy began to cut the fabrics using the templates.

"She must be something else then. By how you talk about her, one would say that you like her a lot" says Kitty.

"Well, she really is a lovely person. But no matter how lovely she is, I can't risk liking anyone, so I'll just try to be the best friend for her. She really needs it" says Marin with a sad expression as he sews together the fabrics.

"Why can't you like her?" asks Kitty a bit hurt.

"You see, I've been four years... Being bullied. Cleón and Sebastián have made sure to mees with everything I've ever liked and, even if I'm starting to stand up for myself, I can't risk it. It's okay if they hurt me, but I couldn't stand to see someone hurt because of me" explains Marin as he stops sewing. "Now you know why I won't let myself love someone. I could only ever love a hero like you, someone who wouldn't be hurt because of me".

"I- I'm sorry Marin" says Kitty as she hugs him. "I didn't know it was that bad".

"It's okay, I'm used to it" says Marin picking a cookie and eating it. "At least I have this treats" says smiling, trying to lift the mood.

"Yeah, at least you have the treats" says Kitty smiling. "But I thought this were for me".

"It's baker rights, I can swipe a bit" says Marin smiling.

"But I won't let you swipe anymore!" says Kitty as she picks the plate and jumps to his bed.

"Hey! No eating in the bed you gross!" says Marin laughing.

"Okay, but I'll protect my precious" says Kitty giggling as she descends.

"Fair enough. I still have to work on this, I've barely begun with the hood" says the designer.

Marin focuses on sewing and tailoring and Kitty sits on a rolling chair near him, eating her treats as she watches Marin working. She sends a message to her brother to tell him where is she and that she'll be late and then goes back to observing the designer. She notices how he furrows his brows and sticks a bit of his tongue out, smiling at how cute he looks. From time to time, Marin says something and Kitty answers him, chatting for a bit before he focuses again. Then someone knocks on his trapdoor and both look at it confused. Who could be in the roof?

"Sis, are you still there? It's almost time to dinner and father will get mad if you're not there, even if he isn't there as well" says Chat.

Marin opens the trapdoor and lets him in. "Hello Chat Noir, Kitty is inside eating some treats. Do you want to enter?".

"Don't mind me then" says Chat warily as he enters.

"Brother?" asks Kitty when she sees him.

"Sis, we should go... Are you eating croissants?" asks Chat when he sees the pastries.

"I'm eating heaven brother. There are croissants, macarons and cookies. Cookies brother! With chocolate!" says Kitty Noir happily.

"Feel free to eat some Chat. If you don't mind, I have things to sew and fabrics to cut" says Marin as he returns to work. He already has the hood done and he's working in the jacket.

"You know bro, you could use the anonymity of the mask to see that Marin isn't that bad" whispers Kitty in Chat's ear as she force-feeds him on a croissant.

"Okay" whispers Chat and bites the croissant. "Oh Kwamis, this is delicious".

"I'm glad you like it; it must be tough to be a hero so eat as many as you want" says Marin without lifting his head.

"... Thanks. That's really considerate of you..." says Adrien surprised.

"It's nothing. You two do a hard job to protect us and nobody seems to recognise it. You deserve better" says Marin as he sews a sleeve.

"We can't blame them, the bugs are the real heroes, we're just the distraction" says Chat.

Marin stops working, looks at Chat and puts his hands on Chat's shoulders looking serious. "Chat Noir, you are a team and I know that the bugs agree with me. You two are just important as them and the bugs agree with me for sure".

"Aw, that's so sweet of you Marin. But please, don't let our self-depreciation distract you. You have a lot to do" says Kitty breaking the mood.

"I do have a lot to do Kitty, but I won't let anyone underappreciate you, even yourselves" says Marin. "Shoot! I do have to keep working!"

"What exactly are you working on?" asks Chat curious.

"The designs is there, long story, it's for a contest, Kitty can fill you in" says Marin as he increases his work speed.

Chat picks the design and takes a look impressed. "This are really good... How did you come up with them?"

"He got inspire by the Gorilla and the Orangutan, something about their duality" explains Kitty.

"He got inspired by them to do this?! I have to say that you're talented" says Chat. "Even if I hate to recognise it" thinks the hero.

"Thank you" says Marin as he finishes the sleeve and starts making the other.

"What are you here for? By the way" asks Kitty.

"Me? I'm here to take you back home, it's almost time for dinner" says Chat eating another croissant. "What were you doing here all this time?"

"He wanted to thank me for rescuing him and giving him a lift and he treated me to these baked snacks. We've spoken a bit, but I've been mainly watching him work. It's surprisingly calming, excepts for when he pricks himself with a-" says Kitty.

"Ouch! Again!" says Marin as he puts a bandage on his finger.

"That" says Kitty.

"Seriously?" says Chat deadpanned. "Come on, we have to go home".

"Fiiiine" says Kitty as she lazily wakes up. "It's okay if I come back sometimes?"

"Well, I don't mind. Thought it would be better if it were at night, so you won't be seen coming. You're welcome anytime too Chat, I'll prepare you some treats whenever you come by" says Marin and Kitty smiles smugly at Chat.

"Maybe I'll take up that offer when I have to patrol" says Chat forced.

"Well then, cats out!" says Kitty as she drags Chat Noir outside with her.

"Ouch, did you had to drag me like that?" complains Chat.

"Why are you being a jerk now? He's being nice with you and you only hiss at him!" hisses Kitty.

"I can't trust him! He's a designer, a good one! He could be using you as his way to enter the fashion world!" says Chat frustrated.

"We're transformed idiot! He doesn't know we're models!" says Kitty angry.

"More reason then! What's better to become famous than dating a superhero?!" asks Adrien sarcastically.

"You know nothing about him! You're judging him without even knowing what he's been through!" replies Kitty exasperated.

"And you do? Because you met him three weeks ago!" hisses Chat.

"I know better than you because I made the effort to know him. He's been bullied you know? That jerk of Cleón has made sure to making him afraid of loving something and losing it because of them! He can't afford to love anyone and here you are calling him gold digger!" screams Kitty.

"You two are lucky that Marin has his headphones on" says a voice and the cats turn around to see Marinette climbing to the roof.

"Marinette?" asks Chat Noir.

"I don't think I have the pleasure to know you Chat Noir, aside from Alya's multiple coverages of your fights. Same with you Kitty Noire" says Marinette coldly.

"Uh... Mari... I'm sorry we were-" begins Kitty embarrassed.

"You don't have to Kitty. You are fond of my brother and I know that you two know us outside the mask, so I understand that you were defending him" says Marinette calmly. "You really seem to be a sweet person. But you two shouldn't be screaming at each other in a random rooftop. Especially if you are arguing about the person below that roof".

"I- I'm so-" starts Chats but Marinette raises her hand stopping him.

"No, I don't need an apology or an explanation. I can see that you just want to protect Kitty and I understand it, Marin is also overprotective with me. It must be a brothers thing" says Marinette drily.

"But-" tries to say Chat but it's interrupted again.

"No buts. No nothing. I don't want to hear anything. I really look up at you two and I don't want it to be ruined because you decided to have an argument over my house" says the girl.

"Okey" says Kitty lowering her head.

Marinette pulls Kitty into a hug. "Thank you for rescuing him, defending him and caring for him. He really needs it" says Marinette with a tear already falling from her left eye. "And Chat, it's okay to want to protect your sister, but you were denying her feelings and oppressing her. I don't care if you're a hero, but if I ever hear you again saying stuff like that, I'll personally hunt you down and even Ladybug won't be able to stop me".

"I- I understand..." says Chat lowering his head, sad to see that side of Mari once again, to have disappointed her again after the gum incident.

She pets his head. "I'm sorry if I was harsh with you, but you should try to understand how your sister feels. And just to make it clear, this is not because you were bad mouthing Marin, because you don't know him. This was because of how you were behaving to your sister".

"... We should be going now" says Kitty and both cat heroes jump away with a sad expression on their face.

"Was I too hard with them Tikki?" asks Marinette once she can't see the black cats.

"I'm not sure... I don't think you did wrong, but they seemed really affected" answers Tikki.

"I hope they don't get akumatized because of me" says Marinette looking down.

"I'm sure they'll be fine; you know how strong they are" says Tikki.

"You're right Tikki. As always" says Marinette before she goes back to her room.

-At the Agreste manor-

"I'm sorry Adrienne" mutters Adrien looking down. "I wasn't- I didn't mean to deny your feelings. I just-" says as tears begin to flood his eyes.

"I know Adrien. It's okay, I forgive you. Sorry for screaming you like that" says Adrienne as she curls into a ball.

"M-Me too. I should have listened to you instead of arguing" says Adrien tearing down.

"Adrien? Are you okay? Is this only because of that? I'm forgiving you brother" says Adrienne as she begins to let some tears fall down her face.

"N-No. It was Mari. She was furious at me. Again. I've disappointed her again despite trying to be her friend" says Adrien. "She's kind to everyone, she helps as much as she cans, everybody likes her... Why do I keep disappointing her? Am I a jerk like Cleón?"

"Oh brother... You're not a jerk like him... I know Mari is really special, that's why she's my friend... But she wasn't mad at you, you heard her apologizing" says Adrienne rubbing his hair.

"She apologised for lecturing me! She was right" says Adrien. "I'm really horrible".

"And you're going to stand there pathetically crying? Or are you going to stand up and try to change?" says Plagg defiantly.

"I didn't know Plagg's holder was such a cry baby. Man up! For kwamis' sake what are you? A baby? Get your butt on that chair, listen to what your sister has to say about that crush of hers and pull your act together!" roars Plaggue.

Adrien cleans his face from tears and stands up. "Adrienne, I won't promise to stop behaving like I do around Marin but explain me everything. Why do you like him, what has Cleón done to him, everything".

"Okey, this will take long" says Adrienne.

The model twins spent the night talking about Marin and Adrien felt a bit guilty of his behaviour. Meanwhile, Marinette kept asking herself if she hadn't been too harsh with her partners (since Kitty never showed up for patrol) and Marin focused on working on his project, completely unaware of the drama that had surrounded him. Next morning, Adrien, Adrienne and Marinette looked horribly depressed but Marin was confused why. In the afternoon, Kitty visited Marinette with a flowerpot as an apology for having to babysit her and Chat the previous afternoon. Marin focused on the project again and finished the most complicated part of the outfit, having Alen coming over to check if it fitted him right.

-A week later at school-

"Are you ready for the big day Mar?" says Alen putting his arm over Marin's shoulder.

"Honestly, I'm a wreck of nerves right now" confesses Marin. "But I don't think I could be better prepared".

"That's the spirit man!" encourages him Alen. "You're going to impress Gabriel Agreste, I'm going to rock your outfit and you will win that apprenticeship".

"And don't forget about the secret bonus" says Nina with a mischievous smirk, making Adrienne get a bit flustered.

"Right. I can do this. I've worked hard for this and I'm going to at least enjoy the experience" says Marin determined, not noticing the compassionate smile from Adrienne.

The gang enters to the building and Adrienne has to leave them to go to the jury's table. Marin nervously walks to the designers cabin with his design on his hand and Alen follows him trying to calm him down a bit. Nina follows them close with Nino, Alya and Marinette (Adrien has to stand beside his father even if he's not part of the jury) to make sure that no one tries to ruin Marin's day. As they expected, they stop Sebastián from getting anywhere near Marin, Alen or the outfit several times until Cleón calls him back to model "his" design. The gang smiles because of this small victory and goes to their seats, knowing that the bullies are the first to appear and thus, they won't be able to try anything.

"Hello Cleón" says Gabriel drily. "What do you have to offer us?"

"Hello Mr. Agreste. I want to present you my design" says Cleón as Sebastián gets out and poses.

"I know about your sewing abilities Cleón, and this is the work of a professional. You're disqualified for not following the rules properly. Next candidate!" says Gabriel as the bodyguards pick Cleón and Sebastián and escort them out forcefully.

"Hello sir, my name is Rue and I'd like to present you my design. My friend Julia is modelling it" says the little girl.

"I see, it's an interesting design" says Gabriel. "Next one please"

"H-Hello sir. I-I'm Mylo and here i-i-is my design" says timidly the boy.

"The design is unorthodox, but the concept it has it's certainly curious" says Gabriel. "Next one please"

"Hello sir, my name is Mathilde and I would like to present you my design... Uh... I think my model must has some problems I'll be back as soon as possible" says the girl, only to return minutes after with her model.

"Ah, a futuristic look. It has been long since I saw this kind of design. Next one please" says Gabriel and turned to Adrienne. "Most of these designs are impressive, but they are clearly amateurs. The only design that was acceptable was Cleón’s, but he broke the rules. Was him the one you're sure that it will win?"

"No father. Cleón actually stole the original idea of that outfit from the boy I'm sure that will impress you" says Adrien proudly.

"I must say sir, that he did a good job on Adrienne's scarf. He and his sister actually impressed me when I came last week" says Nathalie diligently.

"I'm impressed that someone your age can get those compliments from Nathalie. I'll be looking forward to see his design then" says Gabriel to Adrienne as the next participant enters.

"Hello sir, madam, Adrienne. My name is Marin and I'd be honoured to present you my design" says Marin as Alen gets on the catwalk, with a Cheshire grin from side to side, and leaves everybody amazed.

Alen has the full outfit on and smugly walks, posing and smiling, not bothered by the amounts of pictures of him being taken. The outfit consists of: orange sneakers with silver and black details, light grey jeans with a black leather belt on it, a cotton white shirt with a big black M in a funky font on the centre of the shirt, and the reversible jacket. The casual side of the jacket was made of a plastic-like fabric that was black and gradually faded to white from the top to the bottom. It had golden buttons and a silver zip. The informal side was made of cotton fabric and it had a couple sewing layers. The arms were garnet, but the initial layer was orange. The outer layer was white and it was the hood layer, which was easily removed, leaving the jacket with the orange layer only.

"Why do you have so many bandages on your hands?" questions Gabriel.

"I'm a bit clumsy when I'm nervous and I pricked myself with the needles a few times" says Marin.

"Talk me about the design" says Gabriel with a spark of curiosity in his eyes.

"As you wish sir. I made this design to be wore as an informal attire" says Marin and Alen pulls the jacket out, gets the hood off and reverses the jacket" and as a casual attire, depending on the situation" finishes as everybody stands up and claps.

"Keep going" says Gabriel clearly interested.

"The outfit is light and comfortable, but also warm, making it ideal for mid-autumn and early winter" explains Marin. "Everything, from the shoes to the jacket has been crafted at home, including the black belt".

"Where did you get your inspiration for this?" says Gabriel.

"Actually, inspiration struck me when I saw your bodyguards from behind. Their similarities and differences formed the duality that resulted on my original idea" explains Marin.

"I must say, this is a spectacular design. One last question before we move onto the next contestant. Why does your model look so... Proud?" asks Gabriel.

"Oh, he's my friend Alen. He's just happy because we agreed that he'd get the outfit after the competition if he modelled for me" said Marin.

"That will be all" says Gabriel nodding. "Next one please".

"Uh, sir, the bodyguards inform me that the other participants have retired from the competition" says Nathalie with the phone on her hand.

"I see. Then, the jury will vote" says Gabriel and the jury leaves for a while.

When they return, Adrienne has a bright smile on her face. "I will now announce the results: Mylo and Mathilde are tied on third place. Both designs where curious and interesting, so they will get a letter of recommendation. Rue, with her beautiful floral design, is on second place and she'll win, aside from the letter of recommendation, a set of Gabriel's fabrics and a tour on Gabriel's French branch. And finally, the winner of the first prize, an apprenticeship at Gabriel's, is.... Me! Just kidding! It's Marin and his amazing design that I'm sure everyone loved".

"I told you man; I knew all along who would win" says Alen to Marin.

"You were just flattering me to get the outfit in case we lost" replies Marin. "But I can't believe it. I've won my first designing contest and Gabriel Agreste praised my design. I must be dreaming".

"You aren't. Congratulations for winning dude" says Nino as he approaches with Mari, Alya and Nina.

"Good job Mar-man, we all knew you could do it" says Nina.

"Thanks" says Marin.

"Sorry for interrupting" says Gabriel as he and Nathalie step in. "May I talk with you in private later? There are some details regarding your prize we need to discuss".

"Of course sir. When would you like to?" says Marin politely.

"Do I have anything after lunch Nathalie?" asks Gabriel, scanning the group of teens.

"Yes sir, there is a videoconference with Audrey Bourgeoise scheduled after lunch, but you have a free hour at five sir" says Nathalie, checking the tablet.

"Could you be at five o'clock in my mansion?" ask Gabriel to the teenager.

"I have all afternoon free sir; I'll make sure to arrive on time" says Marin.

"Good. Before I leave, I must ask. Are you all Adrien's and Adrienne's friends?" asks Gabriel with an undecipherable look in his face.

"They are father" says Adrienne as she and Adrien arrive. "And they are the best".

"I hope you can keep getting along with them then. Now, goodbye" says Gabriel and he leaves, followed by Nathalie and the bodyguards.

"Phew, I thought he was going to say something about us" says Alen relieved.

"I think he had a good impression of everyone" says Adrien.

"Ugh, I hope so. I wouldn't want you two to be pulled from school because of us" says Alen.

"Yeah, you were pretty cocky on the runaway" teases Alya.

"Excuse me, I looked fabulous" says Alen feigning offense.

"You did look good in those. What a pity it was only on those clothes" jokes Nina.

"Hey!" protests Alen.

"Don't worry supermodel, you were great on the stage" says Marinette giggling.

"I hate you all" says Alen deadpanned.

"Nah man, you love us" says Marin smirking.

"No, I love this outfit" replies Alen.

"That you do" says Adrienne laughing.

The bell rings announcing the end of the extended break and the teenagers split and go to their respective classrooms. Marin and Adrienne don't pay attention to their following lessons and they have a delighted expression for the rest of the school day, even when Cleón tried to pick up on Marin (but Mme. Bustier stops and scolds him). Sighing, Alen and Nina take notes for their distracted friends, resigning on bursting their happy bubble (thought Alen wonders why Adrienne is on a happy bubble, but doesn't ask).

-At the Agreste manor-

Marin arrives ten minutes early feeling really nervous and not wanting to be late. He rings the doorbell and a mechanical eye comes out from the wall, looks at him for a while and goes back into the wall as the front gate slowly opens. Marin nervously enters and hears the gate closing behind him. The front door of the manor opens when Marin is almost there and Adrienne comes out to meet him wearing a big bright smile from ear to ear.

"Hi Marin. Coming early I see" teases him Adrienne.

"Hi Adrienne, I didn't want to be late and I didn't have to wake up this time" says Marin, relaxing a bit.

"I see" says Adrienne. "Anyways, welcome to my home".

"It looks nice without akumas throwing birthday parties" teases Marin.

"Jar Jar, so funny" says Adrienne.

"Adrienne, your father request your presence and Marin's in his office" says diligently Nathalie.

"Okey. This way Marin" says Adrienne taking the lead. "Is there anything you want to ask before my father speaks with you?"

"Well... I'm not sure..." says Marin thinking. "Oh, what was that secret bonus you said?"

"Um... It's..." mumbles Adrienne blushing. "Let's call it a job offer. My father will surely explain now"

"A job offer? I wonder what kind of offer it could be?" thinks Marin curious.

"We're here" says Adrienne, stopping in front of a big black door and knocking the door. "It's us father".

"You may enter" says Gabriel and they enter to his office. "Take a seat please"

Marin and Adrienne sit down, and Gabriel stands up. "What do you know about your prize Mr. Dupain-Cheng".

"We were told that the winner would get an apprenticeship at Gabriel's. Thought, Adrienne mentioned something about a secret bonus" explains Marin.

"I see... Did you make your clothes?" asks Gabriel.

"Yes sir. Me and my sister make most of our clothes. We're both aspiring to become designers some day and we use it as practice" explains Marin.

"Ah, your sister, yes. She was that petite girl with dark blue hair, wasn't she?" says Gabriel.

"Yes sir" answers Marin.

"Why do you want an apprenticeship at Gabriel's?" asks the old designer.

"I want to take as many opportunities to improve and become a good designer. Besides, I admire your work sir" explains the boy, getting more nervous with each question.

"What do you think about these designs?" asks the man, showing three different designs.

"These are good designs sir, but I think there are little details that could be improved" says Marin. "In this one, I think that the secondary colour doesn't fit with the whole idea the design tries to express. In this one, I think that instead of the fabrics mentioned for the details, a more flexible cloth would be better. And in this one the shoulders are a bit too wide".

"Your design left a very good impression young man, not only on me, but in all of the public" says Gabriel. "My assistant Nathalie saw potential in you and Adrienne was confident in your skills. I must say that you have impressed me, not only with today's design and your analysis of these designs, but with Adrienne's scarf and Adrien's bracelet. Because if I'm not wrong, those were made by you right?"

"Yes sir" says Marin feeling nervous and a bit anxious.

"Then I won't give you the apprenticeship" declares Gabriel and the teenagers get shocked by his words.

"But father, you-" tries Adrienne, but her father raises his hand to make her stop.

"Let me explain myself first" asks Gabriel. "You won't have an apprenticeship because I want you to become my protégé. Marin, you show signs on being a hard worker and talented at equal shares and with a bit of polishing, I'm sure you'll get far in the fashion world. An apprenticeship on such a raw talent like you would be a waste, since most apprentice's end up not learning much and facing the worst part of this industry. That's why I want you to be my protégé, to polish your talent and make of you a great designer".

"I- I-" tries Marin but it's speechless. He gulps down and calms himself. "Thank you, sir. I'm honoured".

"Obviously, since you're only thirteen, I won't teach you much until you're sixteen and have the legal age required to work. But to keep you sharp during these years, Adrienne has an offer to make you" says Gabriel and her daughter blushes.

"I- You-" says Adrienne flustered, but tries her best to calm down. "Would you like to be my personal designer?"

"I- Yes? Does this have something to do with what we talked at the party?" asks Marin.

"Y-Yeah. I really like your style and your designs, and I thought that it would be nice" explains Adrienne nervously.

"We will provide you with the materials you need to design of course" comments Gabriel.

"Okey. It will be different to design for someone else. This is a good opportunity to challenge myself" says Marin confused but determined.

"Excellent. For now, you should probably familiarize with the manor and with Adrienne's closet, since you're going to spend a lot of time here" says Gabriel.

"Right now?" asks Adrienne nervous.

"Of course. You have your schedule free right now and it would be the best if you two engaged a business relationship as soon as possible for when he'll be doing your requests" says Gabriel. "Now, I need to focus on my work, so take a leave please".

"Yes sir" says Marin.

"Yes father" says Adrienne nervously and they exit the office.

"How did 'The meeting' went?" asks Adrien.

"I- I've just become Gabriel Agreste's protégé" says Marin still a bit shocked.

"Pardon?!" asks Adrien alarmed.

"The thing is, father says he has potential, he will be taking him under his wing personally when he's sixteen and for the moment, he's my personal designer" explains Adrienne nervous. "Can you please do me a favour? Father asked me to show him the manor and my closet and I... You know... Could you please show him around the manor without killing each other?"

Adrien thinks for a minute but gives in sighing because Adrienne is making puppy eyes. "Okay, just for today thought. Come with me bre- Marin. I'll show you around".

"Thanks brother! You're the best!" says Adrienne and goes running to her bedroom as the boys leave in the opposite direction.

"So, your little boyfriend is coming to your room" says Plaggue with a certain smugness on her tone. "Why are you so worried? It's not like your room is a mess".

"But it's not perfect! Your Brie is stinking my room! And I have to hide the bugs present!" says Adrienne almost panicking.

"I'm pretty sure he won't mind. He can't love anyone, so why is he going to pay attention to how perfect is your room?" says Plaggue tired.

"Still. If I can prove him that I'm capable of defending myself, maybe he'd fall for me" says Adrienne determined as she moves things around her bedroom and uses cologne to camouflage the smell of Brie. "But it won't happen if I don't put my best efforts in everything! First, we'll become super best friends and I'll show him how badass I can be, then, he'll eventually fall for me and he'll ask me out and we'll marry, buy a house, have kids and live happily ever after!"

"Woah there girl, if you keep it like that he's going to freak out before any of that happens" says Plaggue surprised by her holder's hopes. "Anyway, I can hear them coming, so hurry up".

"What?!" says Adrienne, throwing her plushies on her bed in a moment of panic.

"And that's all you need to know. This is Adrienne's room and mine is downstairs. I hear everything that happens in her room, just so you know" says Adrien from outside the room.

"Thank you for showing me the manor, I guess" says Marin with a tiny bit of hostility on his tone.

"Adrien! Marin! Just in time!" says Adrienne  opening her door and trying to soothe the tension between the boys. "I'm ready to show you my boring and perfectly tailored closet!"

"I'll be in my room if you need anything" says Adrien.

"Sure thing bro. Come inside Marin, let's see what can you arrange from my closet" says Adrienne.

------------------------

First - Next

[heartcandiesthestory]

The Original Concept

So below I have some old RP/Story Junk from Forever ago, This was done with a close friend for my HeartCandies Concept Story about Teens with SuperPowers relocated to a military base in the artic to be trained as soilders. Below the cut is the god awful writing of mine from +3-5 years ago.

BE WARNED THIS IS SOME OLD ISH

A TIME OF INJUSTICE Part 1 A RolePlay/Story by PuppyTheKat and Jordan Schnur Bee sat with her back on the seat of the couch and her legs in the air. Her arms were tightly crossed in a stubborn fashion. Her crooked teeth were clenched and her thick eyebrows lowered in to a angry scowl as she stared at the ceiling.

Firefly ran in screaming, "The mayor is getting eaten by a giant octopus! We need to go now."Firefly got suited up and was ready to go.

Bee threw her legs over her head flipping over the couches seat. Then launched herself into the air and levitated over to firefly. YAY! She yelled I love these training ecersices. She jetted through the air to the training hall. Puppy and Justine were already there.

Firefly followed bee, and pulled a chair up to the holographic computer. Punched in some stuff and the program began. A giant octopus jumped at puppy

Puppy jumped over the arm and morphed into a cheetah and ran up the octopus's arm and struck the octopus's large head with extended claws. Bee flew up and started kicking the octopus but was quickly seized by a large suction cup.

Firefly jumped up and struct the octopus in the arm, another arm grabbed him. After a few moments with all his might he broke free and tried to help bee again and managed to let her loose.

Justine jumped up and shot several arrows and yelled clear before the arrows exploded one knocked off an arm and the other hit the head and blew puppy right into the wall stunning her momentarily.

Firefly saw the moment where we could win this. He yelled to Bee and Justine to all go for a uniform attack on his head on his mark. Next he rushed to puppy to make sure she was alright.

SilverSparks made a few strange hand symbols and suddenly acorn and Ryuu apeared and started a separate uniform attack silver sparks gave firefly a sharp glare this is my team alt get back into position. Puppy ran past him sorry dude I'd watch your back round him he's always hard on new reqruits.

Firefly grudgingly did what Silverspark said. He thought to himself, I'm not a fan of this guy. He flew to he top of a building and tried to get a good angle for his secret weapon he had been working on.

Puppy jumped forward toward the ocrapus's beak and pryed it open while partially moyphing her hands into large clawed hand paws. Shredder jumped next to her and helped her hold it open and Justine shouted CLEAR!

Firefly finally gets his secret weapon working. He pulls out a gun the size of an iPhone and aims it the octopus and, making fun of Justine says "CLEAR!!"! With a huge pop a small ray fires and turns the octopus into a frog. Firefly grins happily.

The arrow hist the frog and explodes right next to puppy and Shreddder giving them mild burn injuries and some ripped skin. Then the simulation ends. Puppy and Shredder hunch over a bit...."well I see your alternate better be thankfull that was a simulation or we would have been down for the count." Shredder said glaring at firefly..... Silversparks charged at him and crushed his weapon after throwing it to the ground..."YOU COULD HAVE KILLED ALL OF US IF THIS WASN"T A SIMULATION!" He then turned to puppy "KEEP YOUR SIDEKICK UNDERCONTROL FREAK!" Puppy lunged at him then shredder held her back..."It's not that bad." he said. Just then the overcom sounded .. LEVEL FIVE FAILED

"Well I guess I screwed up bad huh" Firefly says to puppy. "I really thought it was a good idea at the time. Silverspark could have been a little nicer, I'm not sure I like that guy very much. Anyway, what's next on the schedule puppy? "

Puppy looked to SilverSparks and gave him a nasty gaze and pulled back her lips revealing her canines...."Can it Freak....Meeting in the module room in five minutes...I'd be there if I was you.. Ya dont want to end up in you know were again..." Puppy snorted... and he walked away. Dont let him give you any trouble kay?...Sorry bout the side kick line he knows were partners...we should really work on that." She said popping her knuckles.

It's cool. I'm going to go finish my Rocket. Screw the meeting. Once I get some respect maybe then I'll go.

Puppy gave a toothy grin and chuckled"Well after that simulation I probably shouldn't listen to you for a while but ticking off Silver sounds pretty fun right about now...Besides its not like they can send you to solitary confinment for blowing off a meeting..right?!?" FireFly turned his head and twerked his head to the side..."You were sent to solitary!!!!" Puppy jumped recalling what she said..."Ummmmmmmm Nooooo......ish".

Firefly decided he could fix his Rocket later and that it would be more fun to go fly in the Jets he finished last week. He called to Justine and asked her to come too. Once they got to the Hanger he set the Jets to Dogfight Training mode and jumped in. Said good luck and shooted out of the hanger bay doors.

Puppy jumped up and shifted into an HummingBird and flew alongside FireFly. Some Time had passed before Suddenly she said in a tiny highpitched voice."Wow look over there!" She gestured to the horizion where blood red smoke stretched across the sky she looked back..They could no longer see the B-4 Center...."We've never gone this far north we already passed the Concaves and the border mark....were in enemy lines...." She thought about it for a second then stopped...we'd better leave a marker...or we may not find our way back..."

Firefly didn't notice we were behind enemy lines, as he was having so much fun. He took a nose dive and at the last second came up behind Puppy, locked on and fired. A popup on puppys screen showed that she had been hit. Since this was training mode, her engine went out and she started to lose speed. Meanwhile at B-4 Acorn wondered where Puppy, Firefly and Justine were.

Puppys body shifted to her normal form before fallling out of the sky. She hit the ground and groaned before pulling herself under the cover of a fox burrow. While back at B-4 The Instructors had gathered. Spitfire hagged at The Ice Marshall..."THEY'VE BEEN GONE FOR ALMOST AN HOUR WE NEED TO SEND A PATROL!" He glanced back at her and gave her a sarcastic look..."Justine is with them they should be fine." GammaWave exchanged another glance with Canaviral ArmStrong. She looked to the others..."We've detected a signal...it appears to be an sos...from enemy lines. They may have been captured...we cannot breif the classified information until they have returned." SilverSparks laughed "She really did it this time I can't wait to see the punishme..." He was cut off by the Canaviral "As you know justine is with them...She is your TEAMMATE...."SilverSparks cringed at the word.....and The Canaviral continued."And since you are the leader of the team That makes it a double offense against your post and puts you at fault for any damages...You did know that Right?" SilverSparks gave a look of disbelief.."I HAVE TO GO AFTER THEM!!!" Spitfire chuckled "Think of it as a redo of your training excersize..she laughed again. SilverSparks felt his heart race...he could never do this alone.....could he? "If only puppy were hee... he cut the thought...If she were here there would be no problem...Ughhh he grunted before walking towards the doors then brutally slamming them behind him.

A TIME OF INJUSTICEPart 2 A RolePlay/Story by PuppyTheKat and Jordan Schnur

Firefly coudn't belive his eyes. Had something gone wrong? Why did puppy just fall out of the sky like that? He turned his jet around and started to search for puppy. It had been 10 minutes and he still coudn't find her. Had she been captured? He sent out an SOS, he knew he was going to be in trouble, but was very worried about Puppy. Justine also looking for her, with no better luck than Firefly.

Puppy looked up from the den...she was to weak to Shapeshift from her humming bird form and slowly drooped into sleep. SilverSparks plowed through the snow following their tracks while staring at the ground.."they stopped"...he felt the snow...it was covered in burn marks.. they must have used a flying device..He ran back to the base and geared up in the small helicopter often used for training missions. Acorn tagged along in the two seater. They had quickly covered the teritory when acorn said "What if they passed the border?!?"

Firefly saw something on the radar, he knew who it was. He put his pride aside, and set the course for the ship. He called Justine to do the same.

SilverSparks hovered the heli-copter next to them and rolled down the window where is Puppy? he scolwled

"I don't know. I've been looking for her for over an hour" Firefly said in reply.

SilverSparks said with comtempt in his voice." We have to go back...one team mate lost is better than the whole team we need to ask the councils advice on the matter....

"No!" Firefly said with anger. "She's lost out here, and I'm going to find her with or without you. Justine you in?" Justine replyed, "Let's do it!"

SilverSparks gave a sharp glare at Justine before giving her a raised eyebrow" You know the rules on this in section 2-b." Justine lowered her head...."You also know the punishment..." He continued she slowly joined SilverSparks "I can't abandon my post leader or the rule book....Sorry puppy..I just cant." Acorn looked away and sighed. SilverSparks gave firefly a glare..."Its been ordered by the instructors for us to come back now." He looked down at his wrist watch..."You have no choice."

"I will not do it!" Firefly ran full speed to his jet, and put SilverSparks ship into a ForceField. He got into the Jet and programed an automatic search grid, and began.

SilverSparks Gave a nasty glare "So thats how its gonna be!...Hold on tight!" he said and phased through the force feild. He quickly jumped out of the craft and onto Fireflys back he reached inside of FireFlys Throat and put the perfect amount of pressure on his wind pipe to knock him out. He loaded him into the ship and headed for the base. When they Got Back He quickly placed FireFly in solitary confinment to avoid him hurting the team or himself.."He sounded over the intercom..."Dont worry I can't even get out of there it is only activated by a secret phrase that the instructors know....And You cant control your robots in there either."

Firefly stood screaming for days, or what seemed liked days. Just wanting to go out and find puppy. He kepts replaying the last moments in his head, over and over and over.

Puppy woke up in a a small dark area hazilly....She looked up and there was an armoured gaurd standing next to her...All of a sudden Puppy started having uncontrollable spasms in her legs it threw her around inside the truck the gaurd held her down on the floor and a voice came from the cab.."Whats going on back there?" The female gaurd called back "Reaction to the sedatives one sec..." BANG!!! The driver called back " you okay?" A long pause filled the air... "Dont worry shes out for the count...I'll tie her up." They soon arrived at some snow base... And approached a man on a long cloak .."This was a dead or alive right?" The driver said. "Yes, Illusion bring the body.... he said before handing the driver his money than leaving with illusion and Puppys body draped over her back. Back at the base The ice marshall opened the door and light covered Fireflys face..."I have some bad news...you know... he sat down next to him.. that upon arival each of you were installed with a tracking device that monitors your body and health...well Puppys went out cold this morning...I thought you should be the first to know...as you were the closest to her some might say even closer than she was to shredder who originally saved her life when she arrived.... Because of this unfortunate accident your rank has been moved up to B-4 Beta until further notice I'll let you inform your team mates he said walking out.

A TIME OF INJUSTICE Part 3 A RolePlay/Story by PuppyTheKat and Jordan Schnur

After The Ice Marshall left, Firefly started to cook up a plan. He secretly called Shreder in to help him. After the thing with Justine, he wasn't sure he could trust her anymore.

Acorn followed secretly behind Shredder and they just happened to hear her spying in on them ecspessially when she heard the news..."PUPPY CAN'T BE DEAD!" she yelled tearing up.....Shredder gasped..."Acorn!!!!!!" she stumbeled upon surprise and landed in a faceplant.

Firefly ran to Acorn and put his hand over her mouth. Shhh No one is supossed to know about this. We don't belive puppy is dead. We have been tracing signals for the past few days and we think we might know where she is.

On the far side of enemy lines Illusion stood by the entrance to the cell. "So your awake." she cakled. Puppy jumped up..."Oh no...Im not the one you want!!!! I'm not who I appear! Let me out!" she yelled. An overcom sounded "Don't worry sweet heart...There's no use trying to escape....I have you!...And I dont plan on letting you go anytime soon snowshoe....." The gaurd momentarilly froze in shock at the words used......She watched the girl carefully before noticing the girl was staring at some thing ....something that wasn't there...."A psycic trick...hes playing one on her....she must think he's standing right there..she thought..." The intercoms sounded again.. "Illusion come to my chambers at once we must discuss certain arangements in the girls training....stay right there I'll be right back..." The sinister words rolled off his tounge. She jumped up this time she ran full force at the entrance before being yanked backwards again by the short chain tethered to the shock collar she wore around her neck...."I'm not the one you want!" she yelled again "Let me out I can prove it!" the gaurd slowed to a stop and looked back before sayning in a hauty voice..."Thats what they all say." She walked down the ling tunnels of the hide out they had been carved in the rock of the mountain...She carefully examined each door till she found the right one...It was verry tall carved out of deep red cherry wood she slowly opened the doors before kneeling at the entrance..."Master may I come in?" The large chair slowly turned around and a man whos face was covered by a metal mask was revealed he had a long deep purple coat and his voice was that of an old man...a strong one at that."It took you long enough! One might think you'd forgotten the way....And learned your manners...Are you feeling sick!?!" The gaurd tensed "I was feeling proud!...At my catch ...She's well rather strong hard willed and stuborn as a mule." He scowled "You mean like me....." She froze then matched his scowl with a greater one...but this one had a certain hatred in it..."Nothing like you....THAT WOULD BE AN INSULT!" He looked back at her...."So your back to normal I see." She looked at him again "They WILL come for her you know......I can tell." He turned "ehh?". "They won't abandon her.. you can tell." He turned.."DONT GO SOFT!!! Besides they will if they think she's dead...". She tilted her head "What would make them think that?"...."Well each one of them have a chip implanted on the back of their neck sends their vitals and locations back to the base...You smash it it renders going out cold...They made it to easy by flying out in the open lets just say that a tranqulizer takes out a humming bird really fast...even the extremely small ones.".....The gaurd took a step out of sight and reached for something on her back she then picked up the dart gun "So...whos keeping an eye on the prisioner?"...........Back at B-4 Shredder explained to Acorn..."We recieved an encoded message 5 minutes after she fell out of the sky.....We can't crack it!" Acorn looked at the message and gave them the most sarcastic look she could muster..."Really guys! Your not serious are you......It says; Hit with Tranq taken to Sector 7 Point 5....." The two boys looked at her in awe....."Just tell us how!?!" "Well if you werent so busy trying to find a secret code you would have realized the "code" 8-9-20_23-9-20-8_20-18-1-14-17_20-1-11-5-14_20-15_19-5-3-20-15-18-G_16-15-9-14-20E Was that code that every kid used in kindergarden along with the backwards alphabet." Shredder stopped and looked to FireFly....."So we could have had the answer days ago?" She looked at Shredder "Yes...This is why i'm your team-mate to help you."

Firefly looked away, a little upset but relived. He went to ask permission take the jet to sector 7 to go get her. He also though how weird it was she didn't contact them, but aside from the point.

The Ice Marshall looked at FireFly and repeated himself. "I refuse to let you and the others go out....This is irrisponsible even for you Shredder...I'm highly dissapointed in you FireFly... You didn't even tell the team....I'm putting the facility on lockdown until you can come to your senses!" A short alarm blared and the rest of the team converged in the control deck. "I have bad news team we have to confirm the death of your beloved team mate Puppy The Kat... What some of you may not known is that we have been taking shifts beetween search parties searching for her. We have taken measures against such a thing by giving each of you a tracking system that also monitors your vitals as you've known but what you did not know is you each had an extra tracking system that is virtually untrackable without using a one of a kind hand held system. This morning the second system registered her vitals peaking then abruptly stopping....in translation she suffered a heart attack. We will be contacting the bearu for a replacement for her rank." SilverSparks eyes narrowed as he muttered something under his breath to Justine who refused to keep eye contact with anyone. Bee could no longer take it...."SO WE JUST GIVE UP!!!! PUPPY POURED EVERYTHING INTO US!!! ANYTIME WE NEEDED HELP SHE WAS THERE! WHEN SILVERSPARKS FAILED SIMULATION 12 SHE PASSED 34!!!! THERE IS NO TEAM WITHOUT HER!!!!" Her face flustered with deep red of not only Loyalty but tenderness. The Marshall looked at her with the emotionless stare that always glazed his face. "Yes, Then that is what we shall do......Your just children, that is an honorable position that they don't respect they would kill each and every one of you if given the chance they show no hesitation or evidence of a concious....we can only train you for the trials to come and thoose who are left behind are those who were not destined to survive." Bee stopped stone cold....Her eyes gave way to emoitionlessness and her shoulders dropped her kness buckled and she fell to the floor. Her head seemed to dangle from a hinge."You could watch us get killed and do nothing?" The team was just watching them in horror. The Ice Marshall hesitated too long......They all knew the awnswer....Bee Coughed and a drop of blood spewed from her mouth. "Just because my master killed you dosen't mean you can treat me like this...."Bee looked up at him her eyes were red at the flames in the depths of hell.... Justine was mortified and without thinking jumped inbetween the two....Knives that was the feeling knives everywhere......She grabbed her face from the pain.....Bee had gone limp.... She forced out the words and revealed her one good eye...PeeKaBoooo...... Just then the Ice Marshall fell to the ground unconcious as did Justine. SilverSparks watched as Spitfire picked up the Marshall and Shredder rushed to the girls side.....Silver couldn't find anything to say nothing rude nothing judgemental nothing sarcastic......It was the second time he had been truly afraid.....He didn't even check if they were okay...he just ran....he ran and hid under the simulation desk.....

A TIME OF INJUSTICE Part 4 A RolePlay/Story by PuppyTheKat and Jordan Schnur

Firefly was mortified, he had no idea what to do... He grabbed Bee and took her to her room, laid her down and put the blanket over her. After he went and got Justine. He looked at her, and hoped she would be alright. He took her also to her room. Hopefully she will feel better. Now Firefly wasn't satisfied with Puppy died. To many questions left unanswered. Something else was going on here. He went to his room, locked the door hacked the secure files, which he had done many times before and started studying them.

The man turned at her "Why I am!....". She looked confused at him and took a step back almost bumping into the mirror. The man looked past her squinting then his eyes widened before narrowing into a devlish smile...."So your the captive!.....How, Are you a psycic?!?". She smiled slyly..."Why 'master' dont you know your assistant when you see her! After all is my name not illusion?" His grin faded..."So thats why you were acting strange....I knew there was something different...about you...So you're a shapeshifter than?" She smiled before she shifted into a wolf then back breaking the illusion and revealing herself. "Not that kind...I didn't do anything!"...He looked at her "What are you..." "Insinusating ?" She filled "I just used your trick against you. You knew that they had captured a female and she would be tied up in the back, BUT; you didn't know what she looked like...Your mind filled in the blanks you tricked everyone including yourself....I just played the part...but, how did you figure me out." He seemed to be highly confused glancing to the sides a few times before smiling..." You reached behind your neck and felt the stitches...were it was removed...You still have blood on your fingers!...And I saw tthe stitches in the mirror behind you...." She smiled "So does this make us even?" She gave a sly look and raised an eyebrow...."No not really...you see now I have to keep you as you've seen my true face....Not even Illusion has...and to think she was telling the truth!" He looed back up and Puppy was gone.... He stood up and narrowed his eyes..."Sly little brat..wont be long till she finds she can't escape...." Back at B-4 SpitFire stood behind FireFly tapping her foot .... "So this is your idea of fun huh?!?"

Ummm, yeah as Firefly quickly changed what he was doing not wanting anyone to know what he was doing. Sooo what's up SpitFire?

She gave a little snort chuckle combo...."Now i know i might seem a little 'HOT HEADED' .....and not the 'Brightest'!" She joked ".....but if you really wanna find puppy then your probably gonna need this!" She showed him a plastic ID with a thumb drive on the end... "Level one clearance....Best way to access without or with hacking....I'm not just your weapons and fighting coach but i'm the best programmer and hacker in the biz" She smiled at him. "It will just register as me on the database...so don't log on during my classes or you might get caught......" She looked at him again "Ask me anything..bout your team mates the instructors you got it....everything here has an explanation....Thats why puppy is on a higher level than Silver.....Were good buds and I think we both know that Silver can't handle the team without her..... So wuddya say truce, she extended the ID wich collapsed to a simple thumbdrive......."2 Petabytes too!"

Okay that sounds like a good idea he though to himself... Okay truce. Now look at these readings do they seem weird to you? He showed her psycic energy readings that were off the chart.

"Oh no..... Den Onde..... I know where she is!" Suddenly The feed buzzed and whirred. Pixels seemed to jump across the screen...."Were getting hacked!" FireFly jumped "WAIT!" SpitFire locked on to the feed..."This is no hacker!" A visual slowly peiced together ...... "PUPPY!" SpitFire yelled. She was running through the long looming hall of what appeared to be a midevil castle. Puppy looked horified then the sound synchronized from jibberish...."Help is anyone there! This is Puppy The Kat I'm in Sector -7 Point 15! I need help some one is pursuing me! I can't find an exit! If you find this PLEASE COME FOR ME!" SpitFire gasped.. "Oh no Illusion!"......."PUPPY WATCH OUUU..." SpitFire was cut off by a loud familiar noise..... Puppy stoped cold she suddenly started giving short uneven heavy breaths. She trembled heavily. Her eyes widened then rolled back as the front of her shirt started turning damp...She went limp and hit her hear on a stone wall and right above her eyebrow became tinged with red. Illusion walked to her limp body then kicked her in the stomach...Puppy did'nt even flinch. She remained motionless. Illusion used her heel to crush the feed from the watch and the video dissapeared.... SpitFire fell to her knees and tears streamed from her eyes ....."no....WHY?!?"......"She got shot....."

[esonetwork]

Timestamp #175: School Reunion

New Post has been published on https://esonetwork.com/timestamp-175-school-reunion/

Timestamp #175: School Reunion

Doctor Who: School Reunion (1 episode, s02e03, 2006)

  The curse of the Time Lord is always having to say goodbye.

While walking the halls of Deffry Vale High School, Headmaster Finch notices a student waiting outside his office. She has a headache, but she can’t go home since she lives in an orphanage. Finch notes that no one will miss her and invites her into his office. The door closes, wings flap, and the girl screams.

The Doctor is posing as a teacher named John Smith. He asks a series of questions, each escalating in difficulty, and each answered by a student named Milo. Rose, on the other hand, is working in the cafeteria serving chips. She’s unhappy about the previous two days where they’ve been under cover based on a tip from Mickey. They note that the chips taste funny, but that the menu has been specially selected by the headmaster. Another teacher, Mr. Wagner, selects a student named Melissa for a top class. Another student, Kenny, is not allowed to eat the chips, and Finch is watching like a vulture from above.

In the kitchen, Rose watches the other kitchen staff bring in a barrel while wearing gloves and face masks. Mickey calls her with news of UFO activity in the area, but notes that he is being blocked by something called Torchwood. The barrel spills and one of the staff members is burned by the contents. The head cook stops Rose from calling an ambulance, even as Rose hears screams and smoke billows out of the side room.

In the mathematics classroom, Mr. Wagner subjects his top students to a Matrix-style computer program with alien symbols. Meanwhile, the Doctor is reunited with Sarah Jane Smith, now working as a reporter who is writing a profile on the headmaster.

I nearly cried at the reunion. I know it gets better.

Strange events are afoot: The students have taken a quantum leap in knowledge since Finch arrived; the day the headmaster arrived, several teachers disappeared under mysterious circumstances; and Kenny notices an alien creature snacking on a student. The Doctor, Rose, and Mickey investigate the school after hours, Sarah Jane finds the TARDIS, and the Doctor finally reconnects with his former companion.

She chastises him for not coming back after leaving her in Aberdeen (not South Croydon), and he reveals that all of the Time Lords are dead. The team comes together when Sarah Jane meets Rose and Mickey, and the two women clash while Mickey ruffles the Doctor’s feathers. They also discover that the teachers are actually bats that roost in the headmaster’s office. When the Doctor tries to take the oil sample back to the TARDIS, Sarah Jane shows him a faster way to analyze the sample.

K9! Mark III, to be exact! In Sarah Jane’s car!

She explains that the tin dog stopped working one day and she couldn’t repair the advanced technology. They don’t notice that they are being trailed by Headmaster Finch as they retire to a nearby café. The Doctor repairs K9, Mickey teases Rose about her jealousy, and Sarah Jane asks the Doctor if she did something wrong since he never came back for her after his visit home. The Doctor tries to brush it off, saying that she was getting on with her life, but Sarah Jane replies that the Doctor was her life. The hardest thing was adjusting back to mundane life after seeing the wonders of the universe.

K9 returns to life and recognizes the Doctor. He analyzes the sample and reports that it is Krillitane oil. The Krillitanes are a composite species who take the best physical parts of other species they conquer, and they’re doing something to the children.

As they leave the café, Rose is struggling with the realization that she’s not the first companion while Sarah Jane relates Mickey to K9, effectively the tin dog of the modern companion set. Rose is troubled that the Doctor has gone through so many companions, but the Doctor retorts that he doesn’t age. The curse of the Time Lords is regenerating and saying goodbye while everyone else ages around them.

The revelation of the Doctor’s identity frightens Mr. Finch, and everyone knows who everyone else is. The team returns to the school the next day. Rose and Sarah Jane investigate the computers, Mickey and K9 act as lookouts in the car, and the Doctor has a word with the headmaster, really a Krillitane named Brother Lassar. The human form is a morphic illusion, and Finch refers to the Doctor as a pompous, dusty senator, afraid of change and chaos and now all but extinct. The Doctor quietly replies that he had much more mercy when he was younger, and he offers a single warning.

Sarah Jane and Rose argue about who has had more experience with the Doctor – references include Pyramids of Mars, The Time Warrior, Robot, The Sontaran Experiment, Revenge of the Cybermen, The Android Invasion, The Five Doctors, Death to the Daleks, Genesis of the Daleks, Planet of Evil, Invasion of the Dinosaurs, Terror of the Zygons, The Unquiet Dead, Aliens of London/World War Three, The Empty Child/The Doctor Dances, and Tooth and Claw – and Sarah Jane gets the upper hand with the Loch Ness Monster. They bond over their compared notes about the Doctor – he still strokes parts of the TARDIS! – and the Time Lord is confused by their laughter when he enters the room.

The Krillitanes are rallied to their final phase as Finch seals the school, recalls the students to their hyper-processing class, and offers the rest of the staff as a lunchtime snack. The Doctor finds that the mainframe is fixed with a deadlock seal which the sonic screwdriver cannot breach. Meanwhile, Kenny, the only student not enthralled by the computers, attracts Mickey and K9 for help. While Mickey looks for a way to break down the door, K9 reminds him they are in a car.

Oh, K9. I have missed you.

Rose, Sarah Jane, and the Doctor watch the symbols flash on a large screen. The Doctor works out that the Krillitanes are trying to solve the Skasis Paradigm, the Universal Theory. Whoever solves it can control the building blocks of the universe and all of time and space. The oil is boosting the children’s intelligence, focusing them as a giant processor. Finch arrives with an offer for the Doctor to join them, to change the universe, to save everyone, even restore the Time Lords. In true Sarah Jane fashion, she acts as his the Doctor’s conscience: Pain and loss define them as much as happiness or love; Everything has its time and everything ends, whether a world or a relationship. The Doctor smashes the screen and they all run as Finch rallies the Krillitanes.

Mickey crashes through the front doors with Sarah Jane’s car. K9 springs to the rescue and shoots down one of the bats with his blaster. The Doctor tells K9 to hold them off while they retreat, even though his battery is failing. The Krillitane ignore the “shooty dog thing” – hello, Joss Whedon – and pursue the Doctor. The Time Lord realizes that the oil is the solution, and the Krillitanes have changed their physiology so often that even their own oil is toxic to them now. Mickey goes for the kids while the Doctor stuns the bats with the fire alarm.

The barrels have been deadlock sealed, and K9 notes that he can destroy them with one shot from his blaster. Unfortunately, K9 must remain behind to strike the blow. The Doctor protests, but then bids his old friend farewell – “You good dog.” – and leaves. He takes Sarah Jane’s hand to stop her from going back for the robot dog and drags her to safety.

Finch and the bat brethren enter the kitchen in search of the Doctor. K9 shoots the barrel, and Finch snarls: “You bad dog.” K9 replies with, “Affirmative,” as the school explodes. The students cheer, hailing Kenny as the hero who saved the day as Sarah Jane weeps over K9’s sacrifice.

Later on, Sarah Jane finds the TARDIS in a park. The Doctor suggests that she join them, but Sarah Jane declines. It’s time, she says, that she found a life of her own. Mickey asks if he may join the TARDIS, ready to see the universe. Sarah Jane gives him her blessing, one Smith to another, and the Doctor agrees. Rose isn’t as pleased.

Sarah Jane wants to stay, but some things are worth getting your heart broken for. She tells Rose that if she ever needs to, Sarah Jane is there to talk. She thanks the Doctor for her time with him, and he asks if she ever found someone special. She tells him that there was one man with whom she traveled with for a while, but he was a tough act to follow. She asks him to say goodbye this time and he does – “Goodbye, my Sarah Jane!” – with a tight hug. She walks away as the TARDIS dematerializes, but when she looks back she finds a present: A brand new K9 with the Mark III consciousness installed.

Happily, Sarah orders her new companion home. They have work to do.

  This was a magnificent episode. We get to reunite with two classic companions, we get connections between the revival series and the classic series that officially link the mythology together, and we get David Tennant getting comfortable in his skin as the Doctor. The first time I saw this episode, I also was very pleased with guest star Anthony Stewart Head, who I had only seen as Giles on Buffy the Vampire Slayer.

I love him as a bad guy.

I especially loved seeing Elisabeth Sladen once again. Her performance brought tears to my eyes, and I really do miss her as the incomparable and irreplaceable Sarah Jane Smith. I’m looking forward to The Sarah Jane Adventures when they roll up in this project.

    Rating: 5/5 – “Fantastic!”

  UP NEXT – Doctor Who: The Girl in the Fireplace

  The Timestamps Project is an adventure through the televised universe of Doctor Who, story by story, from the beginning of the franchise. For more reviews like this one, please visit the project’s page at Creative Criticality.

[nekorockstarninja]

The gargoyles Will Rise Chapter 3

Chapter 3 A Friendship Lost

It was night time in New York, the sky was clear and the stars were shining brightly. On the tallest building in the city was owned by a man named David Xanatos, he is the reason why the gargoyles are here. Xanatos was not the nicest man around. He is willing to do anything to get the gargoyles under his control, so far his plans have not worked. Yet he has something else planned for Goliath and his clan it just needs more time. Xanatos was in his office checking something on his computer as his servant Owen walked in he seemed to be in a bit of a panic state yet still maintaining his clam a personality.

"Sir, someone has broken in" Said Owen as he walked over to Xanatos desk.

"What! How is that possible?! Xanatos shouted.

"Someone used one of the secret passageways sir" replied Owen.

Xanatos turned to his computer and started to check on the security system. he brought up the video file from the cameras. In the videos her saw a female figure going through one of the passages to the library, he saw the figure takes a book in a special case. The book was on ancient artifacts with great power. Xanatos also saw the figure in a different area of the castle, the figure took an old claw from a gargoyle robot that Xanatos made, the claw looked like it had blood on it. Xanatos stops the picture as he enhances it he recognized the figure all too well. Owen looked at the screen on Xanatos's computer.

"What is she planning now?" Ask Xanatos as he stared at his computer screen looking at the female. __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

It has been a few weeks since Amber has been staying with the gargoyles, since she has been living with them there as not been an more people trying to kidnap her. What Goliath said was right. She staying with the gargoyles would keep her safer from these strange men, Plus Amber has been getting along quite well with them, she even has been training herself to stay up longer so she can see them before morning but its hard for her not to fall asleep. She crashes on the couch around 1 or 2 in the morning. The cops finally left her home so Elise was able to get Amber's clothes and a few other things for her. Amber made her own little piece of home while trying not to take over anyone's own space in the old clock tower. It was a slow night, not very many criminals to deal with. Amber was playing a game with Lexington and she was losing big time. Bronx was laying in Hudson chair taking a nap, as Broadway was in the kitchen making a sandwich...again.

"Awww come on!" said Amber as she watches her character gets killed again.

"You were close that time," said Lexington.

"I don't think I would ever beat you Lexington, you are just to good." Amber said as she falls back on the floor.

"Hey you might get lucky next game," said Lexington said as he laughs a little.

Broadway game into the living room with a 5-foot long hoagie. Amber was surprised that Broadway can eat so much. Heck, Amber could not even finish a simple Burger.

"Isn't that your forth sandwich Broadway?' Said Lexington

"What I'm hungry" replied Broadway.

"I would say you would get a stomachache with all that eating, but I'm pretty sure that those not apply to you huh Broadway," said Amber

The group hears someone landing on the balcony. As they looked they saw Goliath, Hudson, and Brooklyn walk in from the balcony door. They got back a little earlier tonight.

"Hey welcome back you three," Said Amber with a smile.

"Hello lass," said Hudson as he walked over to his chair as Bronx gets off, so he could let Hudson sit.

"Slow night huh?"

"Aye lass it is like the crime stopped all of a sudden in the city," said Hudson.

"On the bright side, we get to relax" Said Brooklyn as he jumps up and lands on the couch.

"Maybe so but still if crime clam down it is either. A big coincidence or something bad is going to happen," said Amber as she goes over to were her books where plied next to the couch.

"Let us hope nothing bad happens then." Said a female voice.

It was Elisa coming up from the back door of the clock tower, she was holding some grocery for the gargoyles and human. Since Amber can't go to the store and pick up anything on the count that she may get taken again, and the gargoyles can't go because well people would just run away. And of course, Broadway go over to Elisa and takes the grocery's from her hands with his hoagie in his mouth. Everyone greeted Elisa as she comes in.

"Hey Amber, how are you holding up?' asked Elisa as she walks to the teenager.

"I'm doing alright, I feel like I'm living in a clubhouse or something," replied Amber

"I'm glad you're holding up,...Amber, the boys and I haven't been able to find out about those men and where your father is....." Elisa said was a sad tone

Amber lower her head. It has been a few weeks since her father disappearing, she has been worried about him so much. Every time the gargoyles had off to deal with a crime, it gives her a chance to let it all out. Just let out all of her bottled up feelings. That was something Amber did ever since she holds on the feelings till she is alone to handle them. She may look strong on the outside, but on the inside, she feels like a weakling. Elisa can see this in Amber. A kid who is trying to be strong, until everything is fine. yet before Elisa can say anything Amber always speaks up.

"I know you are trying your best Elisa same with the other policeman and woman." Amber looked up at detective Maza. "My father may not look it but he is a tough guy, my dad is fighting just so we can be together again"

Elisa just looked at Amber. "She is trying to put on the bravest face possible' thought Elisa. "She has been acting so strong, I guess she learned at a young age she has to be brave in this world" Elisa just smiled at Amber.

"Don't worry we will find your father and bring him back all in one piece, I swear" Said Elisa as she watched the smile form on Amber's face.

Elisa walks over to Goliath and Hudson.

"You saw it too Elisa," said Goliath. "You saw she was holding in her feelings."

Elisa nods "Yes she is trying to put on a brave face. She wants to be tough, yet it is not healthy for her to hold it all in."

"It's not, I catch her a few time to hold her picture of her family. I tried talking to her about it. Yet the young lass just keeps showing that brave face of hers." said Hudson.

'She will let it all out sooner or later, Elisa did you find out anything about that gargoyle statue? Asked Goliath

"No, I check all the info I can find. Nothing is turning up. No book or site can give me any info on it." replied Elisa as she looks at Goliath "But I am sure we will find something about it. We got James gene journal so the statue must be mentioned in it"

"So we got something at least' added Goliath.

Elisa looks over to Amber who was sitting on the couch and she was looking at her family picture.

"Amber has been cooped up in this clock tower for a few weeks. I think I'm going to take her out to see one of her friends" said Elisa

"Why Elisa? She is safer here" said Goliath

"That is true Goliath, yet I think it is good for her to see her friend. She has not seen anyone she knows for a while now," added Hudson.

"I will be watching her same with a few other people on the force," said Elisa as she looks back at Goliath "She is human, she needs to see other people that care about her"

"Hm your right Elisa, I'm sure she would like to see her friend," said Goliath

"Great, hey Amber how would you like to-" As Elisa turn around she saw Amber already fast asleep on the couch with her family picture in her arms. She was breathing softly in her sleep.

"Wow, she went out like a light" Said Brooklyn who was sitting next to the sleeping Amber.

Amber then started to move in her sleep, Brooklyn got up and gently lay Amber on the couch with a pillow under her head. He took the picture and put it on the small table lamp next to the couch. As he looked, everyone was looking at him.

"What she is sleeping' said Brooklyn quietly

Everyone just smiled at the red gargoyle.

The next morning at a cafe, Elisa and Amber were waiting for Amber's friend Soros. Amber had on a hoodie to hide her face just in case when the door to the cafe opened it ringed, Amber looked to see Soros walking through, she waves at him and he sees her. Soros takes the empty seat between Amber and Elisa.

"I was wondering why we haven't got together. But now I know," said Soros

'I am really sorry dude" replied Amber

"I understand." said Soros "Are you ever going to tell me why you got those books yet?" he questioned.

Elisa just laughs to herself when he asked Amber that question. Amber and Soros caught up with each other. Well, Amber did leave out the part about living in the clock tower with the gargoyles. They talked about what was happening with then and since Amber has been missing school Soros tells her about what has been happening and a few other things. It was starting to get a little late and it was about time for Amber to leave.

"Well, I will text you later alright?" asked Soros

'You can, we got a good anti phone hacker" said Elisa.

"great I will text you later dude" added Amber

Soros said goodbye to Amber and watch her leave with Elisa, a little time later he left too. Soros was taking a long way home as the sun was setting, he takes out his phone and began dial a number. The Phone Rings.

"Hey, mom.......yeah I'm on my way home now......Yeah, my friend is doing just fine........yeah I know.......I will be therein-" shouted Soros as something grabbed him and he was now flying the air. " Ahhhhhhhhh" He dropped his phone, it landed on the ground and it broke into pieces.

Soros struggled and he tried to break free, but then something covered his face, he was knocked out. Meanwhile while at the clock tower. Amber has been back for about an hour now and she and the gargoyles were hanging out was hanging out.

"So how is your friend doing lass?' asked Hudson

"Oh he is doing just fine, he misses having someone to talk at school" replied Amber as she was petting Bronx

"Why don't you two have other friends," asked Lexington who was at his workstation.

"No, everyone else at school thought we are just a couple of weirdos, and all because we like weird things," said Amber

"Well, that's just mean," said Broadway.

"You have no idea," Said Amber "I mean yeah I like the strange and weird but it those not mean I am a witch that is going to hex people"

Elisa comes out of the trap door, she looks like something was wrong.

"Guys we got a missing person alert, a boy has gone missing" Said Elisa and all the Gargoyles looked up and ran to Elisa. "He was last seen walking on third going on 5th street"

Amber eyes widen, she ran over to Elisa with a scared look on her face.

"Elisa please....please tell who the boy is...please!!!!!! Shouted Amber she clutched her hands into fists.

".......The boys' name is Noah Jones" said Elisa in a quiet voice.

"Soros!! No!!" Said, Amber, as she turns to Goliath. "Goliath can I please go with you to find him plz!!!"

"I'm not sure you should Amber, it could be dangerous," Said Goliath as he looked down at Amber

"Please Goliath, he is my best friend. I can't lose him too!" shouted Amber.

Everyone turns to Goliath, who just starred at Amber. It seems she was taking no for an answer. So Goliath agreed and the clan takes off to search for Soros. Amber is being charred by Brooklyn as they fly. the Clan decided to split up and search. Goliath, Hudson, and Lexington take the sky while Brooklyn, Broadway, Bronx and Amber search in the area that Soros was last seen. Of course, they had on their communicators. Brooklyn, Broadway, Amber, and Bronx get to the area where he was last seen.

"OK we should stay close just in case-" said Brooklyn before he got cut off by Amber began looking for the ale ways trying to find some clue to where Soros is. "Hey I said we should stick together!!" shouted Brooklyn.

"I need to find my friend Brooklyn!" said Amber

"Well, if you keep being so reckless you will get yourself killed!" shouted Brooklyn, Amber then turned around to face Brooklyn.

"Well Brooklyn, maybe if you weren't such a blockhead. You can be could actually help the clan for once!!!!" yelled Amber to Brooklyn

Brooklyn became inraged from the insult Amber said to his face, his eyes began to glow as he stared at the teenager.

"Well at least I'm not constantly a damsel in distress!" yelled Brooklyn.

Amber rage grew at what Brooklyn comment. On the sidelines, Broadway and Bronx were watching the gargoyle and teenager fight. You can really see the anger in there eyes and the battle filed forming, Broadway began to speak up.

"Hey guys, calm do-" He got cut off

"SHUT UP BROADWAY!!!!!!!!!!!" Yelled Amber and Brooklyn, both their eyes were full of rage as they stared are Broadway.

Broadway steps back away from the two as he backs up Brooklyn and Amber go back to fighting, Broadway and Bronx watch as the fighting keeps getting more in ragged.

"Fine! If you think that. I WILL JUST LEAVE AND LOOK FOR SOROS ON MY OWN!!!!" Amber stomps off

"FINE GO!!!!! WE WILL JUST GO LOOK FOR THE KID WITHOUT YOU!!!!! Brooklyn stomps off in the other direction "Come on guys lets leave the damsel in distress, I'm sure she would "love" to get captured again!" yelled Brooklyn so Amber can hear.

"At least I'm not a big stupid blockhead!!! yelled amber back at the gargoyle.

As the two walk away from each other Broadway and Bronx looked at each other, Broadway nodded to Bronx to go with Amber so he could talk to Brooklyn. Bronx got the hint and run after Amber has Broadway walks to Brooklyn. Amber and Bronx walk down the ale way.

"I just GRRR what is wrong with that jerk!" shouted Amber

Bronx looked up her as they walked.

"Why those he have to be such a-" Amber was cut off when she saw Bronx looking up at her. Amber's anger slowly goes down. "Oh Bronx, I'm sorry for the yelling......I just.....*signs*" Bronx mugged Amber's leg, she then bends down and pets his head.

"I will go an apologized to Brooklyn, but I'm going to let him cool down before I do. If I try to now, he would just blow me off" Bronx just rubbed his head in Amber's hand.

As Amber stands back up she heard some movement in the alleyway, she and Bronx looked down the ale careful and quiet. As they go deeper in the ale Amber some movement. She got closer to the moving figure, as Bronx stood in front of her guarding her.

"Careful Bronx," said, Amber, as she and gargoyle beast keeps walking down the alleyway

Meanwhile, with Brooklyn and Broadway, who were a few blocks away from were Amber and Bronx were, Broadway was trying to clam down Brooklyn, so far Brooklyn is still being a hot head.

"Come on Brooklyn you need to calm down," said Broadway

"I will not! She called me a blockhead" Brooklyn shouted

"But I bet her feeling are going crazy. I mean she lost her father, she can't stay at her house, and now her best friend is missing.....I think she is just getting very emotional about this" said Broadway.

Brooklyn stopped for a moment to think about what Broadway has just told him. Brooklyn had noticed that Amber sometimes spaced out at times, and when she those she is starring at her family picture.

"OK, let's go find her" Brooklyn and Broadway began to head back to where they separate from Amber and Bronx.

"Amber! Bronx! Come Back" shouted Broadway. "We should really stick together!"

As they got to the ale Amber and Bronx went to, they started to get a bad feeling. As they walked deeper into the ale they both saw something laying on the ground...It was Bronx who was knock out cold,

"Bronx!!!" Brooklyn and Broadway run over to him to see it was ok. As they checked on him they say some claw marks on the ground and walls of the ale. Who or what could make these claw marks and knock out Bronx......one person could have done this......No, not one person.....one gargoyle. Demona

Brooklyn and Broadway carry Bronx back to the clock tower, they explain the situation to the others....of course, Goliath was not happy with Brooklyn.

"So you and the lass had a fight and you left her on her own, and now your saying Demona has her?!" said Hudson

Brooklyn nods yes to the question, as Goliath just gave him a very disappointed look. Meanwhile, Lexington was trying to activate the tracker he put into Amber's cell phone, but it seems something was tampering with the signal.

"Nothing Lex?" asked Elisa as she stood beside him

"No, where ever Demona has taken Amber its a place where I can't get the signal," said Lexington.

"But why would Demona take her?" added Elisa "How those she even know who she is?" "Right now that those not matter, what matters is to find her," said Goliath.

"But how are we going to find her?" Question Broadway.

"Oh I can help with that," said a female voice which came from Lexington communicator. Everyone heard the voice. It was Demona. "If you want to "save' the girl. Come to the abandoned lab on 31 street, that is where the girl is...If you don't come to the girl dies" The Communication stops.....Everyone is shocked...

At 31 street there was an abandoned lab that was sued for genetics research, the building was slowly falling apart. Inside the building Amber was chained to the wall, She was slowly waking up. she was remembering what happened before she was knocked out. She saw a female gargoyle of blue skin, black and red hair, she had a gold "crown" on her head. She knocked out Bronx like it was nothing. Before Amber could do anything, the gargoyle covered her mouth and nose with a rag...then nothing. As Amber slowly opened her eyes she saw she was in some lab there were test tubes that was holding weird creatures in them. Some weird tools, some lab tables, some weird metal claw with what looks like blood on it and computer monitors. Amber saw her chains and try to pull them off the wall.

"It's no use human" said a female voice.

Amber turn and saw the same female gargoyle who attacked Bronx and knocked her out.

"Who are you, what do you want with me!?" Amber said

"Oh, so Goliath and his so-called clan never told you about me?" questioned the female gargoyle. Amber thinks for a moment until it hit her.

"Your.....Demona?" questioned Amber, as the female began to laugh.

"So they have told you.....yes I am Demona!!!!!" Demona smiled an evil grin.

Amber has heard the story of Demona. She was once Goliath's love and second in command, she protected the castle along with her clan all those years ago. But she betrayed them, and most of her clan was killed. After 1000 years she still had the hatred for humans, and she is willing to do anything to destroy the humans, she blames them for all the things that happened in her life.

"W-what do you want with me, I did nothing to you?!" said Amber to Demona

"Hahaha it's not you I need, it's the statue.." Demona said "Now where is it human.

"Why would I tell you where it is?" said Amber "You want to harm the people and hurt Goliath and the others."

"You're going to tell me where is the statue human or else"

"Oh yeah like I'm going to tell you anything, you she-devil!!" Shouted Amber

Demona shows her teeth in anger until a smile formed on her face. Demona laughed a laugh that made Amber's stomach dope, she watched as Demona goes to a test tube. She pushed a few buttons on the huge test tube and it began to open.

"I would like you to meet an old friend or yours" Said Demona

Amber saw as a dark grey gargoyle come out of the test tube, it was tall and had a little bit of a buff body. it hair was Dark purple and long, there were 2 sharp spikes at the end of his tail, the inside his wings were the color of blood, and his eyes were that same color. He had on a torn up camo shirt and ripped dark blue jeans. Amber became to shed tears, it couldn't be.

"S-Soros......" Amber's tears going down her face.

'Haha yes, your little friend is now a pure gargoyle! said Demona "Thanks to some of Goliath's blood and this lab. I am able to turn other creatures into gargoyles!!! It was very easy to kidnap him, all I need was to put him to sleep."

Before Amber could say anything, there was a flash on a few computer screens. Demona looked and a smile appeared on her face.

"perfect timing' Turns to Amber. "Soros go greet our guests"

Soros walked out of the room not even looking at Amber, Demona then walks to Amber and moves her head to face her.

"sit back and watch as your own friend kills Goliath and those pathetic fools" Demona then walks out of the room laughing as Amber is screaming at her to come back.

Outside the lab. Goliath and the others besides Hudson who stayed at the clock tower with an injured Bronx. They landed outside the lab, Brooklyn wanted to run straight in but Goliath stops him.

"No Brooklyn......there is a trap inside" he said.

"But we have to save her" Brooklyn said

Before Goliath could say anything the door to the lab was broken down and out stepped Soros with an angered look on his face. He then charged at gargoyles at full speed and smashes into Lexington who went straight into a wall. Goliath, Brooklyn, and Broadway were shocked. Who was this gargoyle, how was he so strong? They then hear a female voice they all recognized. They turn and saw Demona with a blaster.

"Good boy Soros." said Demona

"Soros? Amber's friend" Ask Goliath.

"Yes, I have turned that pathetic human's friend into a killer, his first target...you Goliath.....Soros kill" Demon smiles.

Soros roars in rages as he goes after the gargoyles, the whole time Amber is watching on the computer monitors. She pulls and pulls to try to break free but it is not working, she watches as her best friend attacks and hurts the gargoyles. Broadway and Lexington try to do a double attack on Soros, it backfires when Soros doges the attack and it made the 2 gargoyles to collide with each other which knocking them out. Goliath goes head to head with Soros, has that was happening Demona was aiming her blaster right at Goliath's back. She did not see Brooklyn heading her way, he attacks her so she could not shoot Goliath.

"You are not going to hurt anyone else Demona!" shouted Brooklyn at Demona as they fight.

"You all will die here!! Thanks to Soros all the humans will bow down before me!!" said Demona She punches Brooklyn right in the gut giving him great pain. "The first humans I will be killing is that Detective Maza and that pathetic human inside the lab"

"Amber" Brooklyn whispers.

"So that's her name, well I can't wait to see scream in pain." said Demona has Brooklyn falls to the ground in pain. "but first I need to get rid of another pest" Demona picks up her blaster and aims it at Goliath's back, Demona grins an evil smile.

"No No NO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!" Amber screamed at the top of her lungs.

The jewel around her neck began to glow bright, something happened. Right before Demona can take the shot there was a flash of light behind her, when Demona turned she saw a very pissed off Amber. the chains that held her against the wall where around her writs, her eyes were glowing bright, and she is grinding her teeth. Amber goes straight to Demona and punches her square in the face which made her go flying all the way across the ground. Brooklyn, Lexington, and Broadway *who were waking up* saw what just happened. Demona slowly got up and she was filled with rage.

"Soros forget Goliath and kill Amber!!!!!!!!" Shouted Demona.

Soros punches Goliath to get him away and went straight to Amber. She stood there as Soros came straight at her.

"I don't want to hurt you Soros, but looks like I got no choice," said Amber

Before Soros can even lay a finger on Amber, the jewel glows brighter. There was a huge flash that covered the area, the gargoyles heard something falling over. When it died down Demona and Soros were nowhere to be seen, the lab was almost knocked over. the gargoyles looked and saw Amber barely standing. She looks at the gargoyles.

"I'm...no damsel in distress." Amber turns to Brooklyn "Sorry....for calling you a....blockhead." Amber falls to the ground, and she blacks out.

When Amber woke up she in on the couch in the clock tower, she had bandages on her arms on her torso. She looked to see the gargoyles sitting quietly waiting for her to wake.

"uh...what happened' said Amber

The gargoyles and Elisa run to her side and they all were so glad she was awake. Bronx was so happy he began to lick Amber's cheek, he was feeling better.

"Lass, thank the stars your alright," said Hudson.

"What happened?' asked Amber as she slowly sits up with the help of Broadway and Lexington.

"You don't remember?"Asked Elisa

"All I remember is Goliath was about to be shot be Demona, there was a flash, and.....Soros"At that moment it hit her. "Soros where is he ok?!"

Everyone was silent, they did not know what to say to the teenager.

"I'm sorry Amber, your friend is longer the Soros you know. He is working with Demona now." Said, Goliath.

Amber was silent, after all, that has happened she now loses her best friend, and the worst part is. He tried to kill her. Her hands clutch into fists, she tried to hold back the tears. She lost her father and her best friend in just a short amount of time. She couldn't save her father or Soros, she flailed to save Soros.

"You can let it out you know," Brooklyn said to Amber. She looks up and Brooklyn needled next to the couch and he looked right into her eyes. 'you can let it all out Amber, we are your friends. You can tell us how you feel."

Amber looked back into Brooklyn's eyes. Her eyes began to build up with tears until the tears broke free and started to go down her cheeks. Amber began to cry, tears going down her face and land on the blanket that covered her. Amber then grab Brooklyn and hugged him letting all her tear flow out of her. Brooklyn rubs and pets her back as Amber lets all her sadness out. The others watched as Brooklyn help Amber let all her feeling out.  

[thatcrazyfanfictionwriter]

Secret of the Sewers: Mutant Mayhem

The members of Hisako’s rescue party all watched in a mixture of fear, horror, and anger as Dr. Baxter Stockman came walking towards them, slow clapping like some evil villain from a cartoon. The turtles all drew their weapons, but stayed where they were, wary of a possible trap.

"I must congratulate you on your successful defeat of Project Fishface." Stockman told them, his voice coated with sarcasm and malicious intent. "You're the first of many to survive."

"Oh yeah?" Raph taunted, "Well our pal Leatherhead made filets out of your little pet."

"No matter," Stockman replied with a dismissive wave of his hand. "I have an entire tank of anglerfish just waiting to be mutated. What I don't have though, are mutant turtles, or a mutant rat."

Stockman then chuckled, lightly conking himself on the head.

"Oh silly me, of course I do." he said with a smile. "I have you."

"We ain't gonna be your science experiments Stockman!" Raph shouted, stepping closer with his Sai twirling in his fingers. "We're here to get our sister back!"

"Sister?" Stockman asked, feigning confusion. "I only have records of four mutant turtles."

"She's a human." Donny corrected, spinning his Bo staff before pointing it at the evil doctor. "A very special human, and we want her back!"

Stockman snapped his fingers as if remembering.

"Oh!" he replied. "You mean Project Oracle! I'm so sorry, but I'm afraid I can't let her leave."

Mikey laughed, spinning his nunchuks slightly before tucking them under his arms.

"You sound like we're giving you a choice." He retorted.

"Give us our sister, before things get ugly." Leo threatened, pointing one of his swords at Stockman.

Stockman fished into his lab coat, pulling out a small remote.

"Too late for that, turtles."

He pressed down on a large red button and the group heard a loud chorus of doors unlatching and opening. Down the hallway behind Stockman, they could see a line of what they could only guess were holding cells opening, allowing a tidal wave of large, mutant monsters to come barreling out. These new monsters stopped directly behind Dr. Stockman, all of them crouched on all fours and snarling.

"Turtles, meet Project Dogpound, my personal guard dog army."

Everyone took a step back, Splinter putting himself between Casey and April and the mutant dogs. Leo looked at Donny, nervousness etched in his face.

"Donny, what are we looking at?" he asked.

"Pitbulls, Rottweilers, Akitas, German Shepard… basically we're looking at a culmination of the deadliest dog breeds known to man." Donny explained with a gulp. "And that was before Stockman mutated them!"

"Well it's a good thing we ain't men." Raph quipped.

Stockman smirked.

"So be it."

He let out a whistle, then pointed at the turtles. The mutant dogs all rushed forward, fangs bared and claws out. The turtles charged forward as well. Finally the two sides clash. Stockman then took the opportunity to slip away from the action unnoticed.

Raph bashed one dog on the head with the blunt head of his Sai before stabbing into the chest of another one. A third tried tackling him, but Raph just picked it up and threw it into the sea of mutant dogs.

Leo wasn't doing much better. After dispatching one dog, he quickly turned around and kicked one coming up from behind him. As he brought his swords up to block the attack of another killer canine, he turned to see Donny swatting away dogs like flies with his staff.

"Donny," Leo called out pushing the dog off his swords. "We can handle the dogs! Get to a security console! Find Hisako!"

"On it!" Donny called back.

He then pole vaulted over the seemingly endless onslaught of dogs, taking off towards another part of the lab the second his feet hit the ground. As he disappeared around the corner, his brothers were left to deal with the mutant dogs.

Mikey kept bashing every dog that came close to him with his Nunchucks. Suddenly, a dog tackled Mikey to the ground, snapping at the orange turtle over and over. Fortunately, he was able to hold back the dog's teeth with the chains of his Nunchucks.

"Nice Doggy." Mikey said nervously. "I can find a bone for you if you don't eat me."

The dog kept trying to attack, ignoring Mikey's words. Just then, a Sai went straight into the dog's head, killing it. Its dead form collapsed on Mikey, who quickly pushed it off as Raph came up.

"Careful," Raph said extending his hand to his brother. "Or you'll give him all the bones he could ever want."

Mikey took his hand and Raph pulled him to his feet.

"Thanks bro." Mikey said.

"Don't mention it." Raph responded spinning his weapons. "Now let's end this."

Mikey nodded before the two rushed forward weapons drawn.

Leatherhead meanwhile had no difficulty tossing aside one attack dog after another. One dog was able to attack him from behind and bite into his shoulder. This enraged Leatherhead as he cried out in pain. He then grabbed the dog and threw him to the ground, then lunged at him taking a bite out of it. Mikey looked over in disgust.

"I don't think we have to worry about feeding Leatherhead for a while." Mikey quipped.

"Less joking! More fighting!" Raph called out as he bashed another dog.

Splinter was quick to bash away every dog that should dare try and attack him. He also tried to keep April and Casey behind him, unwilling to let them get hurt.

"You two find a place to hide and bar yourselves in." Splinter instructed, knocking a dog away with his tail. "I do not know how much longer I can hold them off."

"Hey. If you think I'm gonna sit this fight out, you got another thing coming." Casey retorted, pulling his hockey mask down over his face.

He then charged forward towards the mutant dog army, pulling a hockey stick out of his bag.

"Goongala!" he shouted as he came down on the dogs

As he bashed dog after dog, April ran down an adjacent hallway, away from the battle. She kept running, unwilling to look back and unable to process what she had seen. She just prayed that she would be able to find something, anything that would help her make sense of all this madness.

….

Donatello continued though the lab, looking for anything that resembled a security booth or a server room. He managed to find a door marked Personnel only, and quickly kicked it down.

"Come on Donatello." He muttered, scanning the different doors of the new hallway he'd found. "Everyone's counting on you."

He pulled open the first door to find what looked like a lounge for an entire swarm of guards. They all paused what they were doing, looking over at the purple turtle.

"Whoops." he winced. "Hehe… sorry guys… Carry on."

The guards attempted to swarm the door, but Donny quickly slammed it shut. For added measure, he smashed the door knob. He could hear the guards attempting to free themselves, but it seemed even the break room doors were reinforced.

"Okay, wrong room." he told himself. "Next one?"

He went to the next door, opening it to see a bathroom. Luckily, it was unoccupied.

"Nope." he said as he closed the door again. "Come on… where is it?"

He opened the third door, and grinned when he saw the rows of security cameras and computer terminals.

"Bingo."

He walked in, sneaking up on the sole guard, whose attention was currently held by the fight going on with his brothers and the mutant mutts. He tapped the guy on the shoulder.

"Excuse me." he said. "That's my seat."

The guy turned, only to get a face-full of Bo staff as Donny knocked him out of his chair. After bringing his staff down a second time for good measure, Donny took a seat and produced that same drive April had used before.

"Turtle Hacker, don't fail me."

He jammed it in the computer and the screen became a flood of green text as he broke through the system. After about a minute, there was a small ding and Donny smiled.

"Hang on Hisako." Don whispered as he cracked his knuckles. "We're coming."

…

Leo pulled his sword out of the last attack dog as his brothers came over to him.

"That's the last one right?" Mikey asked. "Please tell me that was the last one?"

"Yeah," Leo answered. "That was the last one."

"Congratulations." they heard Stockman say over an intercom. "You've managed to survive against Project Dogpound. It's going to take me months to collect that many dogs again. Even more to train them."

"Does this mean you're giving up now?" Raph asked.

"Hardly." Stockman responded. "I have plenty of other projects to deal with you. Project Tusks! Project Horns!"

With that, the hallway was filled with the sound of two more cells opening. From one emerged a large, fat reddish creature with bristling hair that almost seemed to look like a Mohawk. When it faced the group, they saw that it had a strange snout, almost like that of a pig, and had two sets of strange tusks. Two seemed to be coming out from under the thing's nose, while the other two seemed to be jutting out from the thing's jaw.

"What is that thing?!" Mikey asked with a terrified gulp.

"I think it's a mutant warthog!" Leo replied, equally frightened.

"Then what does that make his friend?" Raph added.

That's when the second figure emerged. This one was grey, with thick limbs that rivaled even Leatherheads, though the muscled almost seemed to resemble armor plates. Its upper lip seemed to droop down slightly over its mouth, its nose dominated by a large horn.

"It's a rhino!" Casey exclaimed.

"Where the shell did Stockman get a Rhino and a warthog?!" Mikey cringed. "EBay?!"

Raph took a moment to glare at the orange turtle.

"You know, if we weren't about to get pummeled by two mutant monsters, I'd clobber you."

"These two may not be my brightest creations, but they get the job done." Stockman told them. "Finish them!"

The Rhino, obviously Horns, scuffed his feet against the ground.

"No hard feelings, eh?" he asked. "We ain't got nothing against ya."

"Yeah!" The warthog, Tusks, added, also scuffing his feet. "We hate Stockman just as much as you."

"Then why fight us?" Leo asked, stowing his swords. "We can help you guys get out of here."

Horns snorted.

"I doubt it." he said. "Ya don't think we've tried."

"Hell, yer friend Leatherhead there escaped twice, and yet here he is again." Tusks added, tapping a strange metal collar that adorned his, and Horns' neck. "Besides, we try anything and these necklaces here will go-"

Before he could finish, blue electricity danced across the warthog's body. He let out a pig-like squeal of pain as he fell to his knees. Horns helped him to his feet as Stockman's voice came on the intercom again.

"Enough chattering, lest you wish to become the next 'volunteer' for the genetic splicer."

Both Horns and Tusks shivered, and from the way Leatherhead started quaking, it was obvious that this was not an idle threat.

"Like I said." Horns muttered. "Ain't got nothing against you, but you gotta go."

With that Horns and Tusks charged towards the turtles. Tusks picked up Mikey, spun him around for a bit, and then threw him into a wall. Mikey slowly picked himself up, nursing his aching head. He regained composer just in time to see Tusks charging towards him. Mikey then dove out of the way as Tusks collided with the wall.

Horns tried to smash Raph into the ground, but the red turtle was quick enough to leap out of the way. Once he landed, he unloaded a series of punches at Horns stomach, the Rhino just looking at him with pity as he did.

"Will! You! Just! Fall! Down!" Raph cried out.

This didn't faze Horns at all, and just slapped him away causing him to crash into a wall. While Horns turned to face Raph, Leo leaped up from behind him and tried to slice the collar around his neck. However, his swords didn't even scratch the metal, these collars obviously more sturdy than the one Leatherhead had been wearing. Horns turned around to see Leo standing there and attempted to smash him. Luckily, Leo quickly rolled out of the way, looking at the rhino.

"Will you stop trying to kill us?!" Leo shouted. "We're trying to help you!"

"Sorry." Horns apologized, getting into a crude fighting stance. "But it's just something we gotta do."

Before Horns could continue, Leatherhead tackled him to the ground. Horns and Leatherhead wrestled with each other, trying to pin the other down.

"Get away from my friends!" Leatherhead shouted before shoving Horns off.

As Leatherhead got up, Horns got to his feet as well and the two charged at each other once more. The two locked arms and tried to bring the other down to the ground.

"Come on Donny." Leo muttered as he prepared to leap back into the fray. "Hurry up!"

….

Donny scoured through file after file on the security network, trying to find even the slightest trace of his sister. He'd found an archive of old experiments dating back to the early 90's, and as he went through them, the purple turtle found himself getting sick to his stomach.

"Project Dirtbag… Project Overdrive… Project Quarry… Just how many innocent animals and people did Baxter Stockman mutate?"

Looking at the list, Donny was horrified to see that Stockman had over 123 different mutant experiments on file, not including all of the individual mutants under Project Dogpound. Still, even amongst these files, Donny couldn't find a trace of his sister.

"Come on Stockman, where did you hide my sister's files?"

As he went down the list, he spotted a subfolder for Other Projects. On a whim, Donny clicked it, and found two separate files. The first was simply labeled 'Specimen 051984', and the second was labeled Project Oracle.

"Found it."

Donny opened the file, finding an entire slew of what looked like video logs, dating back to 2002. Donny didn't know if it was morbid curiosity, or if he just needed to know exactly what his sister had gone through, but the purple turtle selected the Play All button.

On the screen, Doctor Stockman appeared. He seemed much younger than he was now, approximately 14 years younger if Donny had to wager a guess.

"Stockman private archives, date December 2nd, 2002." Stockman narrated off screen. "The Master has brought me a unique specimen to analyze."

The camera focused in on an unconscious girl with sandy blonde hair pulled into pigtails, wearing a dirty pair of overalls and a stained t-shirt underneath, obviously Hisako as a child. Donny gasped, surprised at how small and fragile she looked. He placed his hand against the screen, wanting so much to reach through the video and take her from this place before any of the horrible things Stockman had planned for her ever occurred.

"Approximately three years of age, the subject is a human female that seems to be in the 95th percentile for physical growth. However, this is not why she was brought to me."

The camera panned to what looked like an early MRI scan of Hisako's brain.

"According to The Master, this child possesses an innate ability to read mind, project mental images, and even manipulate another person's brainwave frequencies. He has tasked me with unlocking all of the secrets of this girl's power, and finding a way to harness her abilities for the ultimate plan. I think I shall call this study Project Oracle."

The screen went static before switching to the next video. The security guard attempted to get up as it did, only to be knocked back down again by Donnie's Bo staff.

"Year 1 into Project Oracle." Stockman's voice narrated. "The subject is now approximately four years of age, and yet, despite her youth, she continues to try and resist. She continues to insist that her 'Momma and Daddy' will find her and that they will 'blow this place to Pluto'."

Donny's fists clenched at Stockman's mocking and condescending attitude.

"I have continually told her of her parents' demise at the hands of my master, but she refuses to believe me. Perhaps after I show her the footage of their slaughter at his hands, she'll finally realize that nobody knows she exists anymore."

The static returned and Donny felt like Raph had used him for a punching bag. Stockman hadn't just tortured Hisako physically, he'd tortured her mentally too, making her believe she was alone.

"There's a special place in hell for scum bags like you, Stockman."

"Year 4 into Project Oracle. The subject is now approximately seven years of age and her mental capabilities continue to grow. Unfortunately, with her increase of power, she has developed a nasty habit of projecting a menagerie of red images on the staff. Many of the guards in charge of the S-Wing have had to be terminated due to a sudden onset of madness, and I've lost 17 different doctors to a persistent vegetative state. Luckily, I have recently developed a new way of disciplining Oracle into curbing her mental abilities for more constructive uses."

The screen shifted as the camera seemed to be put on a tripod, focusing on 7-year old Hisako. Donny gasped at the sight, the wood of his staff creaking in his grasp he was gripping it so hard. She was pale, sweaty, and had electrodes stuck all over her head. Some of them were attached to machines while others just seemed to be sticking there. Donny had a sinking suspicion why.

"Test one of the new disciple system."

There was a small click, like someone pressing a button on a remote. All of a sudden, Hisako just began screaming. As she did, Stockman just seemed to chuckle.

"This machine affects the pain censors of her brain, turning them on and making her feel like she's in excruciating pain when, technically, there is none. While actual physical punishments might still be in order, I do believe this test has proven successful."

Donny felt sick. As the screen devolved into static, the purple turtle scrambled for a trash can, throwing up violently as the images of Hisako screaming continued to haunt his vision. He'd thought he'd seen all of the horrors Hisako had experienced through her nightmares and through her Red Images.

He was so wrong it wasn't even remotely funny.

Stockman's voice came back on the screen, returning Donny's focus back to the footage.

"Year 7 of Project Oracle. Attempts to recreate a subject displaying even remotely similar powers to Oracle has proven… impossible. After 7 years of intense study of her, the origin of her powers continues to elude me. Even a complete DNA deconstruction has proven fruitless in unlocking the secret of her power. I've contemplated dissecting her brain, but the parable of the goose who laid the golden egg prevents me from doing so. Still, even if I cannot create more of her doesn't mean I can't make use of her. After all, a weapon that is one of a kind is unlikely to have a proper defense."

Static once more, then the next video played.

"Year 8 of Project Oracle. The Master has provided me with a mission perfect for Oracle's power. His ongoing search has become impossible by conventional means, even with that simpleton Hun's connections to the criminal underworld. Thus, I have developed a machine that can amplify Project Oracle's telepathic abilities on a city-wide scale. More than that, with some minor calibrations, I should be able to focus her energies onto the specific signatures The Master is looking for. While the machine does seem to cause Oracle some physical and mental anguish, it is but a minor annoyance."

There were only two videos left to watch, but Donny didn't know if he could take much more. He knew he would need to watch them to get any clues as to where Hisako was. So far, all he had was S-Wing, but he instinctively knew he'd need more before he could go back to his brothers.

So, with a hesitant gulp, he settled in for the next one.

"Year 10 of Project Oracle. There has been an incident involving one of my Mutation experiments, specifically Project Leatherhead. The behemoth escaped, destroying most of the S-Wing and eradicating a total of 42 different mutation projects. It even went as far as to destroy the only container of Specimen 051985 that I kept at this facility. However, it also made off with Project Oracle. Teams were sent to retrieve them, and though Leatherhead was successfully recaptured, it would seem that he destroyed Project Oracle as a final act of defiance. The Master is… quite displeased with this development and has ordered to reattempt to build an Oracle 2.0. I fear that this may be the end of the project."

Donny couldn't help but smile, finding no small amount of pleasure from Stockman's belief that he had failed. The final video began to play, and it was obvious that it was recent.

"This is a momentous day for TCRI. Previously believed to have been destroyed, Project Oracle is alive and well. More than that, her mental prowess has increased exponentially in her four year absence. Now, she is back where she belongs, safely locked away in her old S-Wing suite."

The camera panned the right, showing a view on Hisako from outside of the 'suite'. Donny practically jumped out of the chair when he saw men in black suits and hospital gloves looming over her. The tools they had in their hands could only be described as torture devices. The camera panned again, showing Stockman's face for the first time in the video logs.

"I take no small amount of pleasure when I say this: Project Oracle is back on schedule!"

Donny was two seconds away from busting the screen when he noticed something in the background. There was a cell directly behind Stockman, but it was completely dark. This allowed for a reflection to appear in the dark glass. Right next to Stockman's ear, Donny could make out a small, blurring rectangle, most likely a room number like in a hospital.

"Please work, please work." he muttered as he began typing away.

The purple turtle zoomed in on the small rectangle, enhancing the footage and flipping it. When the process was finished, Donny was staring at a plaque that read S-23.

"Found you."

…

Leo collided with a wall after being tossed into it by Tusks. He regained his composure as Mikey came flying towards him. He rolled out of the way just second before Mikey made contact. Climbing to his feet, the blue turtle offered his brother a hand.

"This is ridiculous!" Mikey shouted, getting back up. "How are we gonna beat these guys?!"

They both ducked in order to avoid the body one of the mutant dogs being hurtled at them.

"I'm open to suggestions." Leo answered back, running to face Tusks.

Mikey thought for a moment, thinking back to all of the comic books he'd read and the superhero shows he watched. Whenever the good guys dealt with an enemy that was too strong to beat, they always tried to trap them somehow. Looking at the cells that Horns and Tusks had come from, Mikey had an idea.

"Hey Leo! Remember that Batman tv show we use to watch on Saturday mornings?"

"Now is not the time for nostalgia Mikey!" Raph shouted, just barely holding Tusks back with Leo’s help.

"Remember when he dealt with Bane and Croc after they broke out of Arkham?" Mikey continued unfazed. "He lured them into the maximum security wing-"

"And tricked them into going back into their cages!" Leo finished.

"Mikey, I can't believe I'm saying this, but that's not a bad idea." Raph complimented. "Come on!"

The three ran towards Tusks. Tusks managed to get ahold of Raph, where he tried to crush the red turtle. Mikey leaped on top of the warthog's head and hit him with his Nunchuks over and over again. This caused Tusks to drop Raph, grabbing his head in pain. Mikey jumped off seconds before Tusk's hands crushed him, flipping in the air to land near Raph.

"Thanks Bro." Raph said.

"We need to get these guy back in their cells." Mikey instructed. "Stockman probably rigged them to hold anything those guys can throw at them."

Raph looked at the cage near Tusks and got an idea.

"Hey Pumbaa!" Raph called out, getting Tusks attention. "Come and get some you walking rump roast!"

Enraged, Tusks ran over to him, but Raph was quick enough to leap out of the way. Tusks turned to see Raph standing in front of the cage. Raph gave a "come on" gesture with one hand, the other brandishing his weapon. Tusks then charges at him full speed as Raph waited. As the two came close to impacting, Raph slid under Tusks, sticking his tongue out as he disappeared from sight. Tusks looks back as Raph got up, only to run face first into the wall of his cell. The large warthog slid to the ground as Mikey slammed the door shut and Leo reduced the cages control server to scrap with his sword.

"One down, one to go." Leo declared.

Horns was still wrestling with Leatherhead, along with Splinter and Casey. While the croc dealt with most of the fighting, Splinter and Casey did their best to provide distractions for the rhino, jabbing at his sides with judo chops and hockey sticks alike.

"Leatherhead!" Leo shouted. "Bring him this way!"

Leatherhead complied and started pushing Horns towards the cage. Each step harder than the last as Horns kept trying to resist.

"Give up croc breath!" Horns taunted. "You'll never beat me."

This enraged Leatherhead as he continued to push forward. Leo took note of this.

"Mikey, I need you to do what you do best."

"Leo, I don't think this is the time for a pizza eating contest."

"Not that, shell-for-brains!" Raph snapped. "Go make Leatherhead mad!"

Mikey nodded, then jumped in the air, propping himself by the door of Horns' cell.

"Hey Leatherhead!" He shouted. "I thought you wanted to save Hisako! If that's true, then why can't you beat one rhino?!"

Leatherhead's eyes began to glow brightly as Horns began to slide across the ground towards his cell.

"I mean, come on! You tossed us around like ragdolls a few days ago, and yet you can barely hold your own against one opponent! Some savior! No wonder you had to leave Hisako behind the first time!"

That was the final straw. Leatherhead ceased pushing, which caused Horns to stumble forward with all the forward momentum he had. Leatherhead used this to pick the rhino up over his head, tossing him into the ground where he slashed at his face several times. Horns tried to cover himself, but Leatherhead just picked up Horns again, this time by the throat, and threw him right into the cell. Leo was quick to close it and Mikey made short work of the control server.

"Way to go LH." Mikey called out.

Leatherhead turned towards Mikey, eyes still glowing as he stalked toward him. Mikey gulped and began slowly backing away.

"Um, you do know I didn't mean a single thing I said, right?" he asked nervously. "I was just trying to help you… umm… hulk out?"

Leatherhead raised a hand and Mikey flinched, awaiting a painful blow. However, the croc just patted Mikey on the head, the glow from his eyes gone.

"I know..." he said with a small smile.

Mikey looked up at Leatherhead's hand as it ruffled his hair, then let out a large sigh of relief. It was then that Donny reappeared, practically barreling around the corner.

"Guys, I think I found-"

When he saw all of the dead dogs, the two trapped mutants, and Leatherhead's hand still on Mikey's head, he paused.

"Wow… what did I miss?"

"It is a long story, my son." Splinter interrupted. "Did you find your sister?"

Donny's face lost any emotion.

"Yeah, I found her." he replied in a hard tone. "And I learned a lot about what she's had to deal with in this place. She's in the S-Wing, room 23."

"Then what are we waiting for?!" Raph demanded. "Let's go!"

The turtles all ran down the hall, Leatherhead right behind them. Splinter and Casey went to follow, but the latter paused.

"Wait, I should probably go find April." he suggested. "You guys obviously have this down, but April's never been in a fight. She won't stand a chance if someone finds her."

"Go, Mr. Jones." Splinter told him. "Regroup with us once you have Miss O'Neil once more."

Casey gave a nod and took off as Splinter went to catch up to his sons.

…

April had managed to find a custodial closet and was currently hiding behind a mop bucket. Every sound outside made her flinch, every shadow that passed by the door made her want to shrink even farther into the shadows than she already had. Never had she been more terrified, or more overwhelmed.

Everything she knew, everything she had come to believe had been completely and utterly shattered. Her once normal life had been uprooted by mutant turtles, psychic best friends, and her megalomaniacal mad scientist of a boss.

As she huddled in the dark in utter fear, she heard a series of shouts and cries, like someone was getting beaten up. April squeaked in fear as she heard someone hitting the ground, then someone fiddling with the door to her closet. She just prayed her makeshift barrier, made out of various supplies she'd shoved under the knob, would hold.

"April?" Casey's voice called through the door. "You in there?"

"Casey?!"

April scrambled to her feet, shoving her barrier aside and opening the door. Once she saw Casey standing there, pushing his hockey mask up to give her that cocky grin she loved so much, she practically tackled him with a relieved hug.

"Whoa there." Casey told her, gently holding her. "It's alright."

"No it's not!" April cried, tears of fear rolling down her face. "Nothing is alright! This entire thing is messed up!"

"Calm down April." Casey whispered, petting her hair. "Believe me, I know how crazy this whole thing is."

"I don't think you do, Casey!" April exclaimed, pulling herself from Casey's grasp. "Yesterday, the only thing I was worried about was if I was gonna get a good grade on my Science Term paper. Now, I'm hiding in a broom closet, in an underground, illegal genetics lab while a group of mutants try to rescue their psychic ally, who just so happens to be one of my best friends!"

Casey gave her an understanding nod.

"You've got a point." he admitted. "I mean, it's not every day you learn your boss is a complete and utter psychopath."

Despite the seriousness of the situation, April couldn't help but snort at Casey's joking tone. He put his arm around her, gently ushering her down the hall.

"Come on." he said. "The others found Hisako. We need to get to the S-Wing now."

"I'm so sorry." Stockman interrupted, walking in between them and the hallway leading out. "But I'm afraid you won't be making your rendezvous."

Casey pushed April behind him, drawing his hockey stick again.

"Stockman." He hissed.

"In the flesh." the doctor replied, walking towards the two. "And you must be Casey Jones. I must say, you're exactly as Miss O'Neil described you."

"Funny," Casey retorted. "Because you're nothing like what she's told me about you. She said you were some great scientist trying to do some good, not this sadistic freak who gets his kicks making monsters and torturing kids."

"Greatness is often mistaken for madness." Stockman told him. "Just look at Van Gogh, DaVinci-"

"Hitler, Stalin, Frankenstein." Casey interrupted.

Stockman paused for a moment, his eye twitching. He coughed, regaining his composure before continuing.

"I digress." he stated. "As I said, you two will not be making it to your rendezvous with your mutant friend."

"Oh yeah?" Casey questioned. "And who's gonna stop us, you? I don't see any of your little pets with you."

Stockman chuckled, removing his glasses and tucking them into the pocket of his lab coat.

"I do not need my creations to deal with you two." He replied as he loosened his tie. "I can handle a musclebound jock such as you quite easily."

"Then bring it, Poindexter!" Casey shouted, yanking his hockey mask down over his face before running towards Stockman. "Goongala!"

…

The group managed to find the S-Wing after what felt like hours of searching, even if it had probably only been about 20 minutes. It was a completely sealed off hallway, most likely an added security measure after Hisako's first escape with Leatherhead.

"This is it guys." Leo whispered. "Hisako's somewhere on the other side of this door."

"Step aside boys." Donny said heading towards the door. "This is all mine."

Donny got right to work trying to hack the door. Mikey leaned on the door waiting for his brother to finish. As he looked over his shoulder he saw several SWAT troops heading towards them.

"Guys," he called out. "We got company!"

"I need time to get this door open." Donny informed them. "Keep them busy."

"Do what you must Donatello." Splinter told him. "We will handle the guards."

The group charged towards the guards. Leo quickly delivered a roundhouse kick to one troop while slicing through another one's taser stick. Using his forward momentum, he swung his swords, cutting through about three more tazers before delivering another round of kicks to the newly disarmed goons.

Mikey went wild, swinging his chuks at each and every troop he came across. He knocked around a few, punching some more for good measure, and just for fun, split kick his final pair. As he landed on his feet, he looked around him to see the slew of unconscious guards.

"Whoa." he whistled, tucking his weapons under his arms. "I'm good."

Raph kept bashing and kicking every guard that dared come close to him. One troop actually got close enough to Raph to stab him in the gut with his taser stick. Raph screamed out in pain due to the volts of electricity surging through him, but mustered up the strength to grab the guy by the shoulders. Current still going through him, the red turtle head-butted the guy, knocking him out and causing him to drop his stick. The current stopped and Raph let out a thready breath as he tried to regain his senses.

"Ow." Raph said before returned to fighting.

Splinter seemed to be having the least difficulty fighting these goons. While they were highly trained, he was a ninja master. He struck several down with precise jabs to the arms and chests. Others were unfortunate enough to meet the blunt end of his walking stick. His rat hearing allowed him to hear his foes approaching from behind and he used his tail to trip them up. One guard got picked up by the leg, where Splinter quickly turned around and knocked him out before discarding him.

Leatherhead also felt no challenge in the fight. These troops were no match for his massive strength. He just tossed or smacked away all the troops that dare get in his way.

"Donny," Leo called blocking a taser stick with his swords. "These guys just keep coming! Tell me you got that door open!"

"Almost..." Donny answered slowly before the doors finally opened. "There! Got it!"

"Great!" Leo exclaimed. "Guys, doors open! Let's-"

Before Leo could finish, protective barriers slammed in front of the entry way.

"Aw come on!" Mikey cried out. "What gives Donny?!"

"I didn't do anything!" Donny shouted, trying frantically to get the door open again.

"I did." Stockman called out.

Everyone froze as the guards stopped attacking. In fact, they parted ranks so Stockman could come forward. The doctor had a bloody nose, as well a small cut on his forehead. In fact, his clothes seemed a bit rumpled and his tie was loose.

"This is the end of the line. Surrender now, while you still have the option."

"Or what?" Raph demanded. "You'll bore us to death with your science mumbo?"

Stockman just laughed.

"Not exactly."

He snapped his fingers as a group of four guards came forward. Two of them were dragging an unconscious Casey between them. The guy had a serious black eye, a swollen lip, and his broken mask hung loosely from his face.

The second pair had April in between them. She seemed to have her hands tied behind her and a piece of cloth between her teeth. She looked terrified, struggling as hard as she could in the grip of her captors.

"No..." Splinter gasped.

"April, Casey!" Leo exclaimed.

"Let them go, Stockman!" Raph shouted.

"Or what?" Stockman jeered.

"Or you'll need to mutate yourself a new pair of eyeballs!" He threatened.

Stockman just laughed.

"Is that so?" he taunted. "Well, then I have a quick question for you all."

He took one of the men's stun batons, flipping open a small hatch to reveal the voltage meter.

"How many volts of electricity can the human body withstand before going into full cardiac arrest?"

"You wouldn't dare!" Donny screamed.

"Come now Donatello, you're supposed to be the smart one."

He turned the voltage up, the electricity on the baton buzzing loudly as he closed the hatch. April tried to squirm away, but the guards just held her still as Stockman brought the stick closer and closer to her face.

"Stop!" Leo shouted.

Stockman looked up expectantly as Leo threw his swords on the ground, putting his hands in the air. His weapons were soon joined by Donny's staff, Mikey's Nunchucks, Splinter's walking stick, and finally, Raph's Sai. Stockman just smirked, looking at the mutants as they all put their hands up in surrender. Turning the stun baton off, he gestured to the turtles.

"Take them." he ordered.

The guards all jammed their batons into the mutants, causing them all to fall to their knees in pain before they all fell unconscious.

"Put the turtles and their rat master in the J-Wing." He ordered. "Make sure they have cells nearby. Don't want to break up the family. Put Leatherhead back in his holding cell as well."

"What about these two?" one of the guards holding Casey asked.

"Send them to the B-Wing. I've been hoping to get my hands on human test subjects for a while now."

As Hisako's would-be rescuers were carted off, Stockman pulled his cellphone out of his pocket, hitting his speed dial.

"Master." he greeted as the master picked up. "I have excellent news. The plan succeeded. The turtles and Project Leatherhead are now in my grasp, as well as two human test subjects and a new mutant for me to study."

"Excellent work Stockman." The master told him. "I look forward to reading your results."

Stockman closed his phone, straightening his coat and adjusting his tie.

"So do I."

…

In her cell, Hisako's eyes opened as a single word graced her lips.

"Guys?"