#the way the camera shakes every single time he bangs the desk is killing me

[heterosexualgayhusbands]

😭 he got so mad he had to rip the zit patch off

[bakuhoes-dumbass]

Aberration - Chapter 3

MHA!Various x Fem!Reader

Thriller/Horror/Drama

Criminal!AU

Words: 2.8k

A/N: Third chap, here we go! It’ll start picking up soon. I know there isn’t much ‘horror’ rn, but it will get there, I promise. Also, I’m sorry Tamaki’s part is a bit longer than Hawks. I just adore Tamaki so much and he deserves the world and lots of hugs and kithes.

Warnings: Yandere Themes, Mentions of murder, blood, felonies, bullying, swearing. More to come.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters of MHA, just this story. In no way does this reflect the characters, writers or VAs of the show/manga. MINORS DNI.

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Aberration Masterlist

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"Good afternoon Mr. Keigo, my name is Y/N and I'll-" You look up from your notes to see a half naked man with blonde hair and bright red bird wings lounging on his bed. Your jaw drops and you hold your clipboard up in front of your suddenly heated face.

Keigo looks over to you with his brows raised. "Well well, looks like we've got ourselves a new baby bird. How…" The handsome man's lips turn up into a cocky smirk.

"...interesting."

You peek over your clipboard to see his cocky smirk and hide your eyes again. "Keigo, would you please put on a shirt?"

He chuckles and wiggles his eyebrows. "What, too embarrassed to look at me, baby bird? I'll tell you what. You tell me who you are, and if you're single, and I'll cover myself."

"My name is Y/N. I'm the newest scientist in this facility, here to observe you, hoping it helps to find a cure. And there is no need for you to know my relationship status."

"Ah, ah, ah. If you don't tell me, you'll have to do this interview while gazing at my gorgeous body." You hear the cockiness in his voice.

"I swear to fu- fine, yes I'm currently happily single. Now, please put your shirt on." You mumble under your breath, "this is so inappropriate."

After a minute of rustling, Keigo leans back onto his bed. "Okay, my single baby bird. I'm all covered up for you."

You lower your clipboard just below your eyes to make sure, seeing the smirking bird man lounging on his bed with a shirt on. You finally lower your clipboard all the way before giving a curt nod. Making your way to the desk chair, you smile at the man.

"Thank you, Keigo. As I said before, my name is Y/N and I'm here to get to know you."

He snickers, "well, I'm here to answer any questions you have for me, baby bird. Fire away."

You sigh and open your notebook. "Must you call me such a name?"

"Awe, do you not like when I call you that?"

Sighing once more, you decide to just move on. You know you'll end up going in circles. "Please state your full name, age and date of birth for me."

"My name is Keigo Takami. I'm 28 years old. My birthday is December 28th." He paused to let you write that down before opening his mouth again. "Did you need my star sign and my relationship status? Well, I'm a Capricorn and I am definitely sin-"

"Nope, that's enough." You cut him off before he could ramble on even more. "Now, can you tell me what your quirk is exactly?"

Keigo blinks before turning around, the chains on his ankles clanking against the bed frame. Your eyes light up being able to actually see the giant, beautiful red bird wings coming from his back. You frowned slightly noticing they were pinned down, preventing him from being able to use them.

"Does that hurt? Having them pinned like that?" You tilt your head eyes following the edges of each feather.

Keigo lets out a quiet chuckle, eyeing you from over his shoulder. "A little. But nothing I can't handle. Why, is my baby bird worried about little ole me?"

Your frown turns into a glare and you clear your throat. "So, what exactly can you do with these wings of yours?"

Keigo's mouth twitches into a smirk as he turns back around to face you. "Well, I can fly. And I can also disconnect each feather from my wings and use them individually."

You nod, not wanting to show how impressed you were, knowing he'd make a crack at it. You finish writing down that information before asking your next question. "Now, can you tell me why you are here?"

"Getting down to the nitty-gritty, I see. Well, I was arrested and charged with Drug Trafficking, Forgery and Assault." You look at him, motioning him to continue. He shrugs. "There isn't much else to it. I'm a mafia leader. This shit happens on a daily basis, for years. Just so happened that I eventually got caught, on account of a leak in my group. Fortunately, for me, I use other people to do the killing for me. So that means they couldn't get me with murder." He cocks his head. "Unfortunately, though, trafficking and forgery are also felonies, so. That's why I'm here."

"So you spent your life moving copious amounts of drugs, forging money and assaulting clients who did you wrong?"

Keigo thinks about your words for a moment and nods. "Essentially, yes."

"Alright then." You stand up and bow your head to the mafia leader who was watching you carefully. "I will take my leave, as I have one more inmate to see before the end of my shift." You head towards the door, but pause for a moment. "Oh, and Keigo?" You turn your head to look at him over your shoulder. "Your wings are beautiful."

Keigo's eyes widen and his jaw drops slightly, watching you walk out that door. His face turns bright red after processing your words. He mutters under his breath, "oh, baby bird…"

After shutting the door behind you, you breathe out. Aizawa looks up from his phone. "How'd it go?"

You raise a brow, "what, you weren't watching me through the security cameras like before?"

"Oh, I was," he deadpanned. "But, visually, it didn't look as compromising as the last two visits. The cameras don't pick up audio."

"Well, besides the lack of clothing in the beginning and the incessant flirting, I was pleasantly surprised."

Aizawa looked at his watch. "Now, I think we have time for one more before we have to turn in paperwork and unchain the more dangerous inmates from their beds to give them some room to stretch out." Aizawa flips through the profiles before stopping on one. "How about Amajiki?"

You turn to his profile and scan the words in front of you. "A cannibal, huh. Well that's not something you see every day."

"I think he'd be good to end the day with. Despite him being, well, a cannibal, he's actually extremely reserved and quite timid. I don't think he'd try to hurt you or get close to you. He suffers from borderline personality disorder, as you see." Aizawa looks up from his notes and eyes you. "However, he is a level 10. He may come across as innocent and somewhat angelic, but remember, he is one of the most dangerous criminals in this facility. He has multiple murders under his belt. So just keep that in mind."

You nod your head, slightly bouncing with excitement. This one sounds quite interesting to you. You've never met a cannibal before and this one has a quirk that sounds intriguing. Aizawa sighs before turning away from Hawk's door and heading further down the long hallway. He stops in front of a heavy door and scans you in.

Once you step inside the white room, you furrow your brows, not really noticing anyone. That's when you hear a small whimper and a few muffled, stuttered words coming from the floor next to the bed.

"W-Who are you?"

You lean to the side to see an indigo-haired figure huddled against the wall between the desk and the bed. You notice his body is trembling, only his eyes visible through his bangs, his arms covering the rest of his face. Head tilted, you squat down from a distance and smile.

"Hi there, Amajiki. My name is Y/N. I'm the newest scientist at this facility. I'm here to talk to you and get to know you to help further our findings for a cure. I'd like to be friends, if that's possible." You reply gently. You can tell he's scared out of his mind.

He raises his head up, giving you a full view of his…

Muzzle?

"F-friends?"

Your eyes widen slightly. The bottom half of Amajiki's face, from his nose to under his chin, is completely covered by a silver muzzle. It's strapped around his head and locked in place by a padlock. Your eyes travel down to see his wrists chained together with quirk cancelling cuffs and, as you expected, both of his ankles are chained to the heavy duty bed frame.

"They have you muzzled like that?" You stare in disbelief, slightly angered at the treatment. You understand that he's a known cannibal, but to strap that heavy muzzle around his head on top of chains already weighing him down.

Amajiki nods shyly, "y-yeah. I guess it's because of the whole e-eating people… thing."

You sit yourself down on the floor across from him, your notes in your lap. "Is it uncomfortable?" He nods slowly, his eyes avoiding yours. You give him a small smile. "I'm sorry."

His eyes shoot to yours, confusion flashing through them. "Why are you sorry?"

"It...seems like a lot of you are possibly being mistreated here. I've noticed a few things here and there."

Amajiki's brows furrow. "And why should you care? W-We're criminals."

"True. However, this facility isn't supposed to be judge, jury and executioner. You're entitled to a fair trial, just like everyone else. That includes not being mistreated." Your smile never leaves your face as you look the man in the eyes. "I am not only here to research a cure, but make sure in doing so, it won't harm any of you. It'll be humane, I promise." Amajiki just stares at you with an unreadable expression. You sigh and click your pen. "Do you mind if I ask you some questions, Amajiki?" He shakes his head but stays quiet.

"Can you please state your full name, age and date of birth?"

"U-um. Tamaki Amajiki, 25, March 4th."

"Thank you. And what is your quirk?"

Amajiki hugs his knees tighter. "I-It's called Manifestation. Essentially, whatever I eat and digest, I can manifest as a body part."

Your leg bounces in excitement. "So, if you were to eat, let's say, Takoyaki, you can turn your hand into tentacles?" He nods his head. Your eyes light up. "That is incredible, Amajiki. That's such a powerful quirk!"

Amajiki's eyes widened, a blush spreading across his cheeks that were partially hidden under his muzzle. This is the first time he's ever been thankful to have this thing attached to his face. "U-um, t-thanks."

You let out a soft giggle and continue writing in your notes. "Here's a little bit more of a difficult question, Amajiki. Can you please tell me why you are incarcerated in this facility?"

Amajiki stays quiet, not looking at you. You notice his hesitation. You think for a moment before looking around the room. Amajiki sneaks a glance at you, watching you look around the room. His brows furrow. "W-What are you…"

You finally spot the locations of the camera and move your body so your back was facing it. Ignoring his question, you place your pen down directly in front of you so only Amajiki can see. You furrow your brows in concentration and stick your tongue out as you hover your hand over your pen. To Amajiki's utter shock, the pen starts floating in the air.

"Y-You have a quirk?!"

You nod your head and release the pen from your power. "Yeah, I do. It's nothing fancy like yours, but it is a mutation, nonetheless. Sometimes it's easier to talk to someone who understands more of your situation than you might think. So that's why I wanted to show you." You smile at the man, who is looking at you with pure adoration. "Please, keep this to yourself. I don't know what Aizawa would do if he found out about it." 

"I-I won't tell anyone, I promise."

You giggle and sit back down in your original spot. "Thank you. Now, can you please tell me why you're in this facility?"

He nods his head, still slightly dazed about this new-found information. "I was charged with multiple counts of 1st degree murder a-and…" his voice drops to a whisper, "s-serial cannibalism."

You couldn't help your interest in the subject and started rambling. "Would you be so kind as to explain how this came about? Did you grow up into a family of cannibals or-"

"NO!" He lashes out, causing you to flinch slightly. He winces as your reaction, not intending to scare you. "N-no. Nothing like that. It happened… against my will, so to say?" Amajiki sighs and rests his chin on his arms, not meeting your eyes. "I was one of the only kids in my small town to have been born with a mutation. My parents tried to hide it, tried to hide me. I don't know if it was from fear of people hurting me or fear of everyone judging them for having me."

He blinks a few times before continuing. "The town I lived in was small, a bad side to say the least. Lots of low-lifes and gangs running around. Well, long story short, someone found out about me and what my quirk was. They kidnapped me and…" He trails off. Suddenly, his eyes snapped to yours, an uncomfortable and intense feeling overwhelming you. "They forced me to eat another person, someone with a quirk. They wanted to see if I could turn their power into my own."

He cocks his head and lets out a cackle, still making eye contact with you. "Can you believe that?! It actually worked! So what did they do? They forced me to eat ANOTHER quirk user. They wanted to turn me into an ultimate weapon." Amajiki lets out a strange noise, sounding like a mixture between a guttural sob and a laugh. "Well, the joke was on them in the end. I ended up killing and eating them in the end and escaping. But after that point, something mutated further in my quirk. I couldn't stop craving human flesh." He shuts his eyes and takes a deep breath. "A-And that's why I'm here now."

Your eyes are wide and your breath is heavy. Something inside you feels a sense of panic, looking at the clearly broken man in front of you. It's so much information to take in, you stay quiet for awhile, your body on high alert. Amajiki notices how quiet you are and he opens his eyes. He notices a terrified look on your face and internally panics.

"W-Wait, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to scare you. I-I'm not going to hurt you." He finally moves out from his huddled form and kneels instead, the sound of chains clinking together snapping you out of it. "I-I would n-never hurt you." He whispers the last part, hoping you wouldn't hear it.

You clear your throat after taking a few deep breaths. "T-Thank you for telling me this, Amajiki. It was really brave of you to relive those experiences." You look at him and notice the fear and concern in his face. Giving him a small smile, you close your notebook. "I'm fine, I promise." You stand up on shaky legs and bow your head. "I need to get going."

Amajiki quickly stands up, making you slightly flinch again, which doesn't go unnoticed by him. "Y-You're leaving already? Will I get to see you again?"

"You will. I'm an employee here now, so I'll be the one to check up on all the inmates and work on everyone's individual sessions." You turn your back and walk to the door. "I'll see you later, Amajiki."

The indigo-haired man watches you walk through his door, longing written across his face. The only thing running through his mind are thoughts of the pretty telekinesis that made his heart race.

Once out the door, Aizawa meets you in the hallway. "How'd it go with the man-eater?"

You scowl at the doctor. "Why do you say things like that? He has a name."

"He's a criminal, Y/N. They're all criminals. Shouldn't matter what we call them." He rolls his eyes. "Just come with me. We have to finish our paperwork before the end of the day."

You grumble under your breath but follow the tired-looking doctor to his office. "You also need to prepare yourself for tomorrow. You will be meeting Kaminari, Midoriya, Shinso, Bakugo, Todoroki, Dabi and Kai. And 5 out of the 7 are level 8 and above."

~~~

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[staywritten]

All In│Bang Chan «Chapter Eight»

Synopsis: After a messy break up your sophomore year, you decided that the best thing for you was to finish off your college career single. You wanted to focus on yourself, grow as a person and finish off your degree strong. There’d be plenty of time for love after college. But after losing your camera you become friends with the seemingly perfect boy that threatens to ruin your plans.

Genre: SocialMedia!AU, College!AU, Fluff, Hurt/Comfort, Smut

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Chapter 8 Word Count: 1.5K

You couldn’t really explain the butterflies in your stomach. Meeting Chan was something you looked forward to and dreaded. Admittedly you claimed to be busier than you were and had many opportunities to pick up your camera from him, but you didn’t want this ambiguous, undefined routine you fell into to fizzle out because your excuse to contact him wouldn’t exist anymore. 

Chan wasn’t some long distance boyfriend, since he literally lived twenty minutes from your campus, nor was he truly a stranger. You’d seen him on occasion around school, around Hyunjin and even performing with Changbin. It’s just you didn’t care, he was just a guy. And it scared you that he was no longer just a guy. You weren’t gonna lie to yourself, you knew this became a little more than a crush and your feelings might even be reciprocated and that scared you even more. 

He became someone you shared everything with, your comforts, insecurities, happiness. You were vulnerable with him, which was a side of you that only Momo and Hyunjin hadn’t seen since your last relationship. 

You found yourself at a packed club in Hongdae in honor of Changbin’s EP drop. It was the perfect opportunity to meet and you knew that if you flaked this time there wouldn’t be another chance. You couldn’t just wait until you thought you were ready.

Momo gripped your hand softly. “You ok? You’re shaking” she frowned softly. 

“I’m alright just nervous” you frowned. “I know it’s all in my head but- what if he doesn’t like me in person?”

“You’re amazing” Hyunjin sighed, bringing you guys shots. “I know Channie-Hyung I talk to him literally every day. He's a nice guy, more than nice. He’ll love you” he held up the shots “Drink it’ll calm your nerves”

You all clanked your glasses together before downing the shot of apple soju the sweet burn welcomed down your throat. A few shots later you did loosen up, your nerves still there but at least you didn’t feel your heart pounding in your ribs. After your fifth shot your cheeks were a little warm, you swayed gently in Momo’s arms as you danced with her and Hyunjin.

It was like you could feel a gaze on you, you felt it earlier but you were too scared to follow it. This time you looked up, following the feeling toward the stage near the dj. You recognized the blonde curly mop of hair instantly. A shy smile on his lips as he gave you a little wave, before making his way down from the stage. For the first time all night you let go of Momo’s hand, your feet moving before your anxiety set back in. With each step you got a little more urgent, pushing past the people to get toward him. 

He smiled letting out the lightest laugh, his cheek dimpling as he pulled you into a warm hug. “Hi” he buried his face in your hair, your arms wrapping around his figure, clenching at the back of his shirt, almost too afraid to let go. Your face fitting so comfortably in the crook of his neck. 

“Hi…” you mumbled into his shirt. “You’re really here…” you held him closer, almost too shy to look up. The way his chest vibrates when he laughs warmed your heart. 

“Of course I am” he pulled back just slightly to get a really good look at you. “Wow you’re gorgeous…” you tried to look away but he caught your chin between his fingers, his thumb gently grazing your lower lip, making you gasp just slightly. “Don’t look away, lemme see you”

“I feel so exposed” you laughed nervously, making eye contact with him. “I’m nervous”

He chuckled taking your hand and placing it over his chest, you could feel his heart racing. “I saw you a little while ago...I was just trying to work up the nerve to talk to you” He watched as your lips curled in the most beautiful smile and he couldn’t help but to mirror it. “We still have some time before Changbin’s set...do you wanna go talk somewhere quieter?”

You nodded letting him lead you toward the terrace, you looked back to Hyunjin and Momo to let them know you were stepping out. They smiled back waving, giving you a small thumbs up. 

It was so easy to pick up right where you left off, the conversation flowed just as easily as it did through facetime. Except now there was this added element of his intense eye contact, you were in the middle of telling him about your day when you just faltered. He really was breathtaking. “Stop looking at me like that” you laughed nervously.

“Like what?” he gave you a smug look, leaning in closer. “How about this? is this better?” his lips curved into a smirk as his eyes gave off a teasing glint. Your back was against the wall as he caged you in. 

“You’re teasing me” you pouted, your fingers grazing his before lacing between his large fingers. 

“I am” he laughed, his forehead touching yours, brushing his nose along your bridge.

“Are you gonna kiss me?” your voice becomes smaller at his advances. Your teeth sinking into your lower lip. 

He licked his lips, his gaze trained on every breath released. “Do you want me to kiss you Babygirl?”

There was something about his little nickname for you, it just did things. You nodded “Please Chris…” His lips met yours the moment his name slipped from your mouth. The first kiss was so sweet, gentle. Like his lips were testing the waters, as he pulled away from the chaste kiss he peppered smaller kisses against the side of your mouth. You cupped his cheek bringing his attention back to your lips. “More…” you whined, before kissing him again. This one much deeper than the last. Your mouth opening for him, letting his tongue in. He could taste the sweetness of the flavored soju on your lips and he couldn’t get enough, especially with how you’d whine and moan for him. He got lost in your touch, loving how restless your hands were traveling from his cheeks, to his chest down to his hand. Like you couldn’t decide on where to hold on to. 

After what felt like an eternity you finally pulled away gasping for air, Turns out swimmers can hold their breaths very long. As you caught your breath he peppered kisses against your swollen lips, jaw and neck. Taking in this blissed out glazed look in your eyes as you tried to steady yourself. “My Babygirl…” he smiled.

“My Chris” you sighed happily as he pulled you in a hug. 

“I hope I’m not getting ahead of myself but I really wanna see you again.”

You grinned, biting your lip “Pretty presumptuous” you teased. “And why’s that?”

He laughed nervously, hiding his face in your hair. “I kinda got too excited about tonight and left your camera on my desk”

You giggled hugging him tighter “Then I guess we don’t have a choice~”

Unfortunately the sound of the crowd cheering and the sound of Changbin getting introduced on stage pulled you guys apart. “We should probably head inside, Binnie would kill me if I missed any of his performance” His hand never left yours as he brought you inside, joining Hyunjin and Momo who were talking to Jisung and Felix. 

The entire night felt like a dream, Chan’s arms wrapped securely around you, occasionally kissing you when your eyes met. “I can’t believe you’re here” he whispered against your ear, swaying you with the beat of Changbin’s rap.

“If this is a dream, I don’t wanna wake up…”

“I’m not going anywhere…” he kissed the crown of your head as you squeezed his fingers a little tighter. 

After Chanbin’s set, Hyunjin and Momo headed out, because they both had early mornings. But you couldn’t find yourself ready to leave Chan’s arms yet as you made yourselves comfortable on the terrace. “I still can’t believe you’re real” you whispered, absently playing with his fingers, your back pressed against his chest. 

“You’ve literally seen me before” he laughed placing a kiss beneath your ear, enticing the softest whimper. “I was very real at the swim meet”

You turned to face him, pouting a little. Realizing you had just a few too many shots and all your inhibitions were gone. “I was scared to meet you because when we started talking I knew I had a crush on you but I just thought it was really shallow… Like you were just Chan the hot swim captain… But now that I know you, you’re funny and warm, and so sweet...I can talk to you about everything and nothing and it still feels so natural.”

His smile was so bright, you swore he held the stars in his beautiful brown eyes. “I really like you Chan…” you whispered before kissing him, for the umpteenth time that night.

“I like you too…” he whispered before you took his lips between yours.

“Take me home?” you nipped at his lips, gazing up at him. He watched as your eyes darkened, your lips parting. There was such a heaviness to your question but he was more than under your spell. He kissed your cheek, before nodding and letting you get off his lap. 

You were falling hard and fast and for the first time in your life, you let yourself get lost in the overwhelming warmth of another person. 

He felt like home.

To Be Continued... 

( ´ ▽ ` )ﾉ  Hey Friends I hope you guys enjoyed that chapter! the next one will be a combo of sns and written and then we’re back to sns for a while :3 I hope you don’t mind

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[sableflynn]

By flash and thunder fire - 13

Prompts: No. 10 (trail of blood), No. 19 (mourning loved one)

CW: blood, mentioned death and torture, guns, yet more head trauma

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Also on Ao3

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Katia stepped out of the cabin, breathed in the crisp morning air, and took in her surroundings.

She wasn’t in the city, or anywhere she recognized. A single dirt path led from the cabin into the woods surrounding her on all sides, and a few cars were parked in the grass. Mist clung to the ground in tendrils, dew dampening her ankles as she took a hesitant step forward.

She immediately stumbled. Barely managing to catch herself, she gasped, her head swimming. I’ve lost too much blood, she decided, and as she lifted her cuffed wrists she saw that several of the neat lines Savio had carved into her had broken open and were bleeding again. She watched the blood ooze for a dazed moment, and then her eyes trailed down to a fresher cut slicing along the very edge of her waist. Peters, pulling a knife from his belt and lunging at her—Peters lying on the ground with a pool of blood seeping around his head—she squeezed her eyes shut as if to block out the memories, and the cut on her stomach throbbed in pain.

I’m not walking out of here. She had no clue where she was and she was on the verge of passing out. Blinking, she stumbled against the passenger door of the nearest car, jerking the handle. Locked. She crossed the path to the other car and tried it, but it was locked as well.

Staring down the dirt path that disappeared into the woods, then turning back to face the cabin, her body thrummed with mingled dread and cold determination. I’m just going to find some keys, she told herself. Peters is—he won’t bother me any more, and Leila…

Movement through the window caught her eye. A figure walking through the house, shit. That other guy. What was his name? Anderson. She ducked down, like that would hide her if he decided to look out the window, stupid.

It was fine. There had to be a back entrance somewhere, or an open window. She would just crawl around the house. And pray no one noticed the trail of blood she was surely leaving streaked in the grass.

Now that she’d stepped outside, felt the grass on her skin and the cool breeze in her hair, she couldn’t let go of the thought that she might make it out of here. Her mind was crystal clear, singularly focused on escape. It’s fine. I just have to find some keys.

The damp dirt irritated her cuts, left muddy streaks on her skin and clothes. She kept close to the side of the house as she crawled. It was a peaceful morning, but not completely quiet; a few birds were chirping, the wind whispered through the trees, and Katia’s own labored breathing was oddly harsh in her own ears as she struggled to pull herself forward with her bound hands. Then she saw curtains billowing out a window in the morning breeze and her breath caught in her throat.

Slowly, so slowly, she lifted herself up to look in the window, braced to be met with the barrel of a gun to her face. There was only silence and a dark, empty room. She hoisted herself over the sill, hissing in pain as the movement aggravated her injuries. Her hands left smears of blood on the wood.

As she rolled gracelessly into the room, her eyes adjusted to the dim indoor lighting, and she took in her surroundings. An office of some sort, with a gleaming wooden desk and shelves lined with leather-bound books. She gripped the edge of the desk with slippery fingers and hauled herself to standing, eyes already searching the room, because if this was an office then maybe there was a phone.

She kept one eye on the door as she searched, praying no one would walk in on her. The desk was cluttered but organized, covered in files and loose sheets of paper. Her mind was racing as she shuffled through the clutter. If there was a phone, she could call Nic—no, not him. They’d already called him. She’d call the police, then, and then she’d curl up under this desk and wait for them to show up—no. She had no clue where she was, she wouldn’t know what to say to them, she couldn’t count on them to come here. She’d have to call them and then go find the keys and get away. But her head was still spinning and she felt dizzy every time she moved, and what if she passed out before she got to safety—

Her scanning eyes stopped on a photo among the papers and her blood ran cold. Picking it up with shaking hands, she held it up to the weak sunlight streaming through the window, confirming what she saw.

A photo of her and Nic, arm in arm, walking downtown together. She was wearing her sleek cocktail dress and her hair was styled in loose waves; he had that effortless charm he always had in his button-up and charcoal slacks. Katia remembered this night—the ballet was in town, so they’d gone to opening night, and then they’d gotten drinks downtown after at the rooftop bar. She could pick out the landmarks in this photo, recognize exactly where in the city they had been. She’d had no idea anyone was taking her photo.

Her gaze was drawn back to the assortment of files and papers on the desk, background clutter that now concealed something more sinister. She shuffled past several bills and found another photo, this one of Nic giving a speech at the opening of a new branch of the public library. She’d felt so proud when he got the invitation to speak, and he looked so confident and collected, standing up there and giving his lecture to the crowd.

The next photo was Nic, a gun in his hand, his expression stony.

She stared at the photo, her mind slowly processing. He wasn’t looking at the camera; his gaze was directed at someone just out of sight, and his eyes blazed with cold fury. He held the gun easily by his side, like it was just an extension of his arm. She couldn’t help but remember the time they’d gone to the shooting range together, just to try something new, and Nic had been so nervous and clumsy around the guns, as if he’d never held one before. The man in this photo seemed perfectly at ease.

Who had even taken this photo? Was Savio pulling his phone out in the middle of a—a business negotiation, snapping photos to use against him later? The sound of the shutter echoed in her mind, and she could almost see Savio shoving the phone in her face to capture the frozen image of her fear and pain.

Beneath that photo, she found a note, scrawled in handwriting she would recognize anywhere.

We need to talk about just who controls the Northeastern corridor, and about this rat of yours that wandered into my business. 1125 Strickland Avenue. July 25th. 11 pm. I’ll take a finger for every minute you’re late after that. Come alone, or I’ll take his entire hand.

There was a smear of reddish-brown blood in the corner of the page. Katia’s eyes glazed over as she stared at it, the words blurring as she lost focus. Suddenly she was in the kitchen of her home, holding a love letter Nic had left her before he took off for a business trip. The lo in alone looked just like the way he’d written love. The blood in the corner could be a heart.

A business trip.

Katia shut her eyes a moment to stop the tears from falling, clutching the paper in tight hands. She could deny Savio’s words; she could even convince herself Leila had been mistaken. But there was no mistaking the note she held, and the pointed brutality of the words written in her husband’s own hand. She took in a shaking breath and tried to allow herself to grieve the love she thought she had once had.

“Found her.”

Katia’s eyes flew open at the voice and she automatically stumbled a step back before she even processed what she was seeing. Anderson. She’d gotten wrapped up in the moment, let her guard down, and now he was watching her with hard eyes from the doorway. One hand held a phone up to his ear, and the other had a gun pointed directly at her.

“She was digging around in your office,” Anderson said to whoever was on the line—Savio, it must be Savio. “What—I’m not gonna kill her, Jesus, but I’m not—she killed Peters, for fuck’s sake.”

Katia’s heart was hammering as her vision narrowed to the gun pointed at her. The paper slipped from between her fingers as she slowly raised her cuffed hands, as if she could protect herself if he decided to shoot.

Anderson took another step into the room, his expression darkening. “You don’t need to come back here,” he snarled. “I have her completely under contro—”

A crack, and the deafening bang of a gunshot, and Katia threw herself back against the wall with a scream. For a moment she was terrified to move, braced against the wall with her eyes squeezed shut, waiting for the inevitable explosion of pain in her stomach or shoulder or heart.

The pain didn’t come. Slowly, she opened her eyes.

Anderson was sprawled on the ground. The phone and gun had both fallen from his hands and were lying next to him, a tinny voice just barely audible from the phone. Leila stood above him with a baton clutched in her hands, panting heavily.

They stared at each other for several heartbeats. Not breaking eye contact, Leila slowly crouched down and picked up the phone. She pressed the end call button without a word and let the phone drop from her hand as she straightened back up.

Finally, she spoke. “You didn’t use the bobby pin.”

Katia couldn’t help but give an incredulous laugh. “You think I know how to pick a lock?”

Leila smiled at that, but it was tinged with regret. “I’m sorry I didn’t do anything better. Or sooner.”

Katia swallowed. She couldn’t allow herself to imagine, just yet, how things would be different if Leila had acted sooner. A bit of blood dripped from the cut on her side. “Do you have a car?”

Leila’s eyes flicked down to the unconscious man at her feet, then back up to Katia. Her gaze lingered on the fresh cut, and she nodded.

Steeling herself, Katia stepped away from the wall and moved towards the other woman. She kept wary eyes on Leila as she approached, just barely daring to trust. “Let’s get out of here,” she said, and she managed to keep her voice from trembling.

[ohgoddard]

Fist of Fire: Omega.1.8

I am above them all.

It is a strange feeling, being above someone. They look like ants, so far away. Yet I am not moving, just floating. I scan the crowds of the parade, full of people cheering and having candies thrown at them from the floats. Cramped streets, even tighter sidewalks filled to the brim with people in their summer gear. Some dressed as their favorite heroes that will be in the parade. The heat came in waves, but it didn't affect me. This high up, the air is always cool. Music was always present, among all the other cacophonous explosions of noise. The rumbling brass of the marching bands, the explosive drums of the floats, and the click-clacking of the boots of the veterans of the Power War barely eke out the cheering in the air. It has been so long since I have been among people in this way, in such big groups.

I wasn’t used to the noises again, the sounds of their voices and screaming. Of course, I heard their voices while I shut myself away. Yet, I ignored them. They were suffering at the hands of their chosen protectors, crying for help. Why would I help those who dare declare me a terrorist, a traitor?

But I do anyway. I am the only real hero.

Maybe a few of those poor souls in the crowd will see it after this. An example is always needed to show when something needs to be fixed. They were finally beginning to understand, but I went too far too quickly. The Capitol should have been much later. The establishment of a state was too ingrained in them. Removing it will take much more than just the butchering of the real traitors. It was supposed to be my real confrontation with Whirlwind. He was always on the President’s payroll, him and a few heroes at any given moment. He never showed, though. Instead, I fought nothing. The police never bothered to go in until I left. The so-called heroes in D.C did not even try to stop me. Not even a reserve guard. The networks always disregarded that fact though. It was always a focus on me, the killer and butcher. It was never that the police let me in, the heroes didn't fight me, the President flew away an hour before I showed up.

The parade isn't moving nearly as fast as I’d like it to. Whirlwind is at the end of it, along with this other speedster he’s taken under his wing the last few years. Doesn’t matter. I’ve waited this long. I can wait just a few more minutes. All I’ll need is one. Just like at D.C.

All it took was one minute.

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

Thunder preceded my arrival to Washington. Nature was on my side, as it should be. I was the oncoming storm. This was the peak of me, my movement, my actions. Across the nation, people were questioning those who supposedly protected them. This would be my magnum opus to removing the leeches of society, toppling the decaying order. From the top-down, it would be reformed in my image. A safer image. A better one. People won’t have to see their father shot on the streets. But that was all in the future. For now, I had one goal in mind.

The President left an hour ago with an Air Force escort of multiple jets, running away with his tail in between his legs. He wasn’t my target anyway. If I had wanted him dead, he’d be dead. No, the only thing in my mind as I flew through the heavy, cold rain towards the Capitol building was a list. The white marble of the building looked grey under the overcast sky, and as I landed down onto the steps of the building, thunder struck. The entire mall was empty, the Smithsonian closed, Whitehouse silently evacuated. They knew I was coming, knew that their time was limited. Yet, curiously, when I arrived there was no one there. I could feel eyes watching me though. As I scanned the city, I counted the bodies that hid behind the walls of buildings. Shaking men in women in blue, weapons hastily drawn and pointed my way. So-called heroes, standing and facing me defiantly yet refusing to take a step. Citizens clamored around the barricades, trying to catch a glimpse of the great eradicator. The police and heroes weren’t there to stop me, or to keep me from leaving. They were there to make sure no one was stupid or suicidal enough to attempt.

It's all infected. This is the only thought I have in my mind as I ascend those marble steps. They’re all infected. Not a single good soul among them. Not a single good soul within a hundred miles of me. Misguided, led astray by those who trusted them. They thought themselves above those who would put them in power. But they were wrong. And they know they’re wrong now. As I approached the doors, I could hear the desperate banging on the locked doors. Doors locked for me. Hundreds of people, left behind so that another may save their neck. A sacrifice to me in vain attempts to stop greater bloodshed. I heard cries of terror, screaming, silent acceptance in the minds of those who understood what was going to happen.

I was not there for all of them, but they didn’t know that.

I kick the doors down into the Capitol and enter alone. My sopping wet footsteps echo an empty hall as I walk towards the chambers. Carved marble and granite floors, extravagant works of architecture. A palace in any other world. Fit for those who think they’re kings. The first step in a long revolution. I put force into every step I take towards the chambers. I let the ground shake and echo, becoming louder and louder. I hear their voices grow quiet, anticipating my arrival into their room. The House would be first. And it would be public. The cameras were no doubt rolling inside, people-watching in abject horror as I tore the door off from the wall and threw it across the room. Huddled in groups under their desks, hugging each other as if the other day they weren’t at each other's throats. Pathetic. The heat builds in my eyes as I calmly walk down the aisle. It almost seems random who I select, but I choose only the most egregious offenders. Those who have passed beyond the spot of return. I pick no side, only my own. Concentrated shots of a four thousand degrees laser make short work of traitors and an inconvenience for the janitor’s vacuum. They all scream, but none dare move. None dare look away. For they think that if they defy what is happening in any way, they too will turn to dust.

I say none, but one did try. While I am mowing down his colleagues, he attempts to run for the door, thinking I'm preoccupied. To the cameras, I don’t even move. All they see is a sudden mist of red and a smear on the once pristine white walls of the House Chambers.

After my work is done, those I deemed worthy of living still cowering in fear at my feet, I face the camera.

“People of the world, listen closely. I am the first and the last of your new masters. I am the great reset. I am the great leap forward. Everything begins and ends with me. I am everywhere, I am everyone. The world shaped me into what you see now.”

Using my speed, I dart around the world. I make it seem as if I am levitating over every major city. Every capitol. My face, my helmet is seen everywhere.

“I am the Alpha. I am on top. A new order comes from me, and me alone. Do not count on your heroes. Do not count on your villains. There is only one master. One ruler.”

Fires burn across the world, ships and cars crash, planes fall from the sky. I cause them all.

“I am the Omega.”

Escaped from a mental institution, assaulted by a man I could kill if only I had not held myself back. I would have ruled the world had they just listened to me. Yet, I was caught off guard and made a plea bargain. A streak of light and I was defenseless. Another day and it was all back, but by then I had made a plan. Which all leads back to where I am right now. I stand above a parade, waiting to enact revenge on the person who made me who I am. I should thank him, honestly. Without him, I would never have cared about the world. I would have never been born. But he still needs to die. The path to him has been bloody and unnecessary. Sure, many needed to die and were dead now. But it all meant nothing if it meant he still breathed. My failure at Washington will not be repeated. The world is infected, and I am the cure. He is the disease that awoke me. I am power defined, power controlled. There stands no one beside me, no one above. There is only below.

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

And yet, here I am.

Wait. One person could have seen me. In that moment of realization, I chuckle. I was going to have to put down another upstart. A small bump in the road in my ambition. It would be a thrill, an easy warm-up for my strength. I inhale the sharp cold air. In the bright blue sky where I floated, I mentally chastised myself for not noticing sooner. That light shouldn’t have reflected and followed me the way it did on my way over. That heat was never that bad this high up. No, It had to come from another source. And as I turned to face it, I smiled.

The parade meanders, a large affair for a large city such as Boston. Yet, I feel something off. A speedster such as himself would never wait for the back. He basks in speed, he would never sit and stay on a float. He’d be here by now. There is no way he’d be late. Unless...

No... Unless he knows. But how? The hospital has not sent any news out, I have made sure of that. I had not sensed any signal leave that building, not even internal ones. No, there is no way he could have known. [i]Could I have been seen? Impossible, I flew in the stratosphere all the way here. No one could have seen me.

Bright white and red, streaks of gold, red hair. She was new. I have only barely heard of her if only through the stories Kiara’s father has told me. In her hands were two suns, harsh things to look at. Her feet were two fireballs, propelling her to stay level with me. Her look was fierce, streaks of flame dripping off her hands like molten iron. Her eyes glowed gold. Cute. A sharp scar across her face showed this wasn’t her first rodeo. It will be her last, however.

“Sunspot, is it? I will give you one chance to leave right now. You are clean. You have done nothing wrong. Your ambition is sacred, you have a life worth living. Live it somewhere else.”

She said nothing, though I could hear her heartbeat increase. I smirked under my mask.

“I only cleanse those who need cleansing. I am not here to butcher the masses. I am not here to terrorize. You are not part of my plan, they are not part of my plan. Do not become a part of it.”

Villains had their weaknesses. Heroes theirs. Everyone had their blind spots. I don’t. There is nothing better than me.

Still, she stood next to me, defiant. The sun started to glow a little brighter, which tickled something in my mind. “Omegaman, you are under arrest. Please surrender and come with me.”

Her voice, while confident in tone and steady, betrayed her uneasiness. Had it not been so cold up here, I would have no doubt seen her sweating. Her shakiness could be written off due to altitudes, but I knew better. She was scared. She had never faced someone like me.

“I don’t want to go to another funeral in Boston because of your mistakes.”

“Or what?” I finally faced her. She couldn’t have been older than 22, yet here she was trying to take me down.

“I have killed heroes ten times better than you. Thirty times more deserving. This is your last chance to leave, Sunspot.” I lower my head behind my arms as I put them up. She mirrored me, moving her arms into a boxing stance, her legs getting ready to propel her. This was inevitable, she wanted this to happen. Might as well make it fun for me, give her one more chance to leave.

She had managed to hurt me.

In a rage of fury, she roared and threw the sun at me. I opened my palm to catch it, laughing at her outrage. Yet when it reached my hand, I stopped laughing and started to scream.

What?! My hands and arms were red and black scorched marks, my brain a frenzy with synapses of pure pain.

Oh, this was going to be fun.

[mail-me-a-snail]

Sobriety

Chase Brody has been doing everything to combat his alcoholism; going to AA, therapy, being social, exercising...and yet it still isn’t enough. One afternoon, a year after his divorce, Jackie drives him home. tw: alcoholism, panic attacks, car accident ment, suicide ment.

"So, how was it?"

 Chase shrugs, both to slide his backpack off and to answer. He puts the bag in the backseat, then twists back around to buckle himself in. Jackie, mask off and in a plain red hoodie and worn jeans, as opposed to his jumpsuit, sits in the driver's seat, fingers drumming against the wheel in sync with whatever metal is playing on the stereo, Chase doesn't know—he's too tired to go through the challenge of deciphering the lyrics. The chaotic banging of drums and rippling guitar riffs about sum up the state his head's at.

 "It was fine," he says coolly, "I guess. Todd brought his guitar this time." Todd—Todd Danvers—being the head of the group. Great guy, might've made it as a part of the church ensemble, if he hadn't drunken so much wine like every meal was communion. Washed his face in the tub of holy water they have at the door, that's what Todd had told them all, that first day, when Chase was still having the shakes.

 "What'd he sing?" Jackie glances over at him as he twists the key in the ignition. The car hums to life, and they pull out of the center's parking lot with a low rumble.

 "Pretty cover of What Have They Done To You Know. Daniel Knox? Funny, you wouldn't think a guy like him would be into that kind of indie music."

 Jackie laughs, though it's not as bubbly as Chase thought it would be. It's more like an exhale Jackie leans into.

 There's no conversation that follows, so the clicking turn signal, honking cars passing by, and radio fill the silence. He's gotten better at his anxiety with cars. Chase picks at the neon bandages on his fingers—the story is that he tried rather unsuccessfully to build a shelf—nails, all that, you know—but that's not what happened.

 Promise a man, a very wasted, high off his rocker man, a few hundred bucks and he just might cut his whole hand off for you. He'll play the knife game like a roulette wheel, spinning and spinning, until he hits the jackpot, or until he has no fingers.

 Nicks for nickels, that's what his buddies down at the bar say. Nicks for nickels. Money isn't easy to come by lately and he doesn't want to have to depend on Jackie's or his brothers' help for the rest of his life. It isn't fair.

 So, he works, doing odds and ends and stupid dares, because the companies in the city aren't hot on having a recovering alcoholic under their brand. We'll call you back. Your resume looks great, Mr. Brody, you'll be at the top of our list. You'll be a fine employee.

 Ha. Right. Three weeks later? Not a single call, nor email. Nicks for nickels again those nights that followed.

 "Where's your mind at, Chase?" Jackie says amiably, once they're on the long stretch of road heading towards the house. "What're you thinking about?"

 "My shelf," Chase answers, trying his best to sound mournful, stretching his bandaged fingers out in front of him, "Hurt like a son of a bitch to put it together."

 Jackie's mouth presses down into a flat line. He says nothing for a few moments. He changes the station. Something light and electric plays.

 “You know, you could've called me," Jackie says eventually, when they've hit the chorus. "I'm a champ at furniture building. You should see Henrik's desk now; beautiful, if I do say so myself."

 He may sound proud, but he's still frowning.

 Chase picks at the hem of his ratty grey hoodie; he doesn't even remember where he got it.

 "I handled Patricia myself," he shrugs.

 "Patricia—the shelf has a name now?" That gets a laugh out of the hero, and Chase smiles a bit. Jackie's laugh had always been infectious. "Well, you did a fine job, in any case."

 "You're right, though: I'm not as good as you and JJ at that furniture stuff," Chase admits, and cuts Jackie off before he can protest. "No, no, it's true. I've always been the tech guy."

 "'suppose so," Jackie amends. He pauses, turns the radio down, then asks hesitantly, "Chase, how'd you hurt your hands?"

 The lie comes instantly. "I told you, Jackie—Patricia fought me tooth and nails!"

 "No, Chase, that's not what happened." Jackie's voice is firm, if not stern. It's a scolding tone of voice that only Henrik uses with Chase, so it makes him look away in guilt. "Please. Tell me what's really going on. If—If someone's hurting you, or something, I'll—"

 "—No, Jackie, it's not like that! I..." Chase rises on the defense.

 "Then, what is it, Chase?"

 "It's none of your damn business!" He can't stop his voice from raising. He's quick to anger these days—an after affect of the drinking.

 "I'm your brother!" He's still looking at the road. His grip is tight on the steering wheel. "Of course it's my damn fucking business! I'm worried about you Chase, and—"

 "I don't need you to look after me!"

 "Then, who will, Chase? Henrik? Marvin? Jamie? Fucking Robbie? If I don't look after you, you'll...you'll hurt yourself again and I can't let that happen!"

 "I can handle myself."

 "Clearly, you can't."

 "Oh, because I'm a screw-up, is that it? I'm a nobody who isn't good at anything, who almost killed himself—"

 "Stop it."

 "—is that it, Jackie? Is it because I'm a suicidal disaster?"

 "You know what?" Jackie punctuates, "Maybe that is it." Maybe you are a fucking screw-up."

 The anger and disappointment in his voice is so raw it silences. He knows that this is just a row, but it still terrifies him, the way Jackie sounds so much like...Anti.

 Blood rushes through his eardrums and it feels like he's about to burst. His heart runs a hundred miles a second and it hurts. He can feel his pulse behind his eyes, in his fingertips, in his mouth. Jackie disappears from his view as the edges of his version grow black.

 He can't breathe.

 Is this what a heart attack is?

 The world shifting in and out of focus, like a bad camera, and the road disappearing, like the headlights were never there, like he isn't in a car again, barrelling down a street he can barely see, with the kids in the back, and God, Stacy, I know, okay? I know! Please, don't yell—please don't yell at me! I'm trying not to drink anymore—N-No, I'm not drunk— in the front seat, and his hands are gripping the steering wheel tight, and he is, in fact, drunk, so the world is swimming around him and, CHASE—!

 The windshield shatters into a million pieces.

 It happens so slowly Chase can touch the glass as it flies past him. He's in the driver's seat now. He looks to his right, and Stacy is there, beautiful Stacy, her face smacking into the dashboard. He looks down at himself. He's uninjured. He's wearing a ratty grey hoodie, red Converse, blue jeans. In his reflection in the rear view mirror, his brown hair has green strokes; he had done a poor dyeing job.

 Chase closes his eyes.

 "What is real?" His therapist's voice comes back to him, clinical and calm. In this moment, in this panic—ask yourself, "What is real and what isn't?"

 He opens his eyes.

 Real: He is uninjured.

 Not real: Stacy and the kids are here at this moment.

 “R-Real," he whispers, "I am in a car. Not real: it's S-Stacy's car." He looks around to the backseat, but can't bear to look at the kids. He keeps his gaze on the floor. "Real: m-my backpack is on the seat. Not r-real: the kids are here."

 He dares to look up. His backpack is there, black and canvas, with multiple patches. It's half open. Inside are comic books and his laptop. He twists back around, staring head-on at the blank, empty road, like someone forgot to continue building the rest of the world. Either that or there is no world outside of this one car crash.

 A car crash that happened all of two years ago. He's surprised that his other regular nightmare isn't here.

 One night in March (it was now September), he had gotten a visit from their eldest brother. Chase had been drunk at the time, swearing and bawling, so when Anti showed up...Chase did the stupid thing: he took a swing at the demon, thinking he was going to take something else away from him. Of course, he didn't like that.

 A scar, eight or nine inches deep, on his abdomen twitches. He puts a hand to it. That had been the night he swore off drinking, for good.

 "Lots of good it did you."

 Chase jumps, and screams when he catches two empty black pits staring at him intently from the rear view mirror. That voice. Speak of the damn devil and he shall appear.

 "Y-You're not real," he says, voice cracking out of pure terror, "You a-aren't real!"

 :Oh, I'm very real, Chase," Anti appears beside him in the passenger seat, clipping through Stacy, who's blood drips in slow motion. He is just as demonic as Chase remembers him; black, empty eyes that dripped like ink down his pale cheeks, all black attire, his Converse up on the dashboard, and the grossly shiny red gash across his neck. He almost looks like Jack, in a way.

 "N-Not real, not real—"

 "Say it all you want, Brody, but I am real. I've come to finish the job."

 "W-What?"

 "Hold still."

 A hand closed around his neck, pushing him back, his head smacking into the car door. He cries out, arms lashing wildly and legs thrashing, but Anti isn't deterred. The knife glints above his head. The shards of glass reflect upon it, making it shimmer in all sorts of colors. The radio goes wild; static, static static, filling the world, making Chase's ears ring with its volume.

 "D-Don't do this, please, God, fuck, don't—What do you want from me?!"

 Anti smiles. His eyes turn grey-blue, white scleroses. His gash disappears.

 He's a perfect reflection of Jack.

 "Sobriety," he says, in Jack's achingly calm, innocent voice, "Is that too much to ask, Chase?"

 "Fuck, no, no, please—!"

 The knife comes down into his heart.

 "Chase?"

 Anti's...Jack's voice echoes in his ears. It sounds so far away.

 Not real: Jack talking to him.

 "Chase?"

 Real: he's about to die.

 "—CHASE!"

 He jolts awake, panting for air like he had been drowning. His face, neck, and shirt are certainly wet; he's sweating bullets. His hands are shaking something awful. Chase swings his gaze around, trying to take in everything at once.

 "No, Chase, please—l-look, look at me!" Hands touch his cheeks gently and he flinches. They return, directing his eyes forward. Jack...no, not Jack—the hair is a neon green...Jackie. Jackie looks at him in worry, blue-grey eyes looking over him. His touch is warm. His hands are shaking. He's got tears in his eyes, but his breaths are controlled. That's the Jackie he knows—never truly removing the mask.

 "J...Jackie?" His heartbeat is still thumping wildly, but it's slowing down, as he can feel it in his jaw. His brain feels like molasses. "I don't...what..."

 "I pulled over," Jackie drops his hands, but holds Chase's in both. "I didn't mean to call you that, I'm sorry!"

 Chase blinks slowly. He looks out the windshield, unbroken, rain dropping in fat splats, the window wipers working overtime—when the hell had it started raining?—and they are pulled over. They're in front of a house he recognizes as being part of the neighborhood. They're not too far from home. The sun is setting, but the sky is too grey to tell where. The clouds are dark and stormy. People rush by the car and into their homes, some with umbrellas, others caught without.

 "N-No, Jackie, it's...it's my fault. I shouldn't have yelled at you." His words come back to him and they fill him with shame.

 "I shouldn't have gone off on you like that, either. I didn't...you're not a screw-up."

 "I am." He shakes his head, tears blotting his eyes, drops falling onto his pants. He hiccups. "I'm s-such a fucking m-mess, Jackie."

 The seatbelt unclips beside him and warm arms envelope him. He lets Jackie hug him, unclipping his own seatbelt. They stay there for a moment. Two.

 Chase comes clean.

 Nicks for nickels. The bar. His "friends."

 Most importantly of all, the drinks. You don't go to a bar and not have a drink. He doesn't drink until he's blackout drunk anymore, but he drinks enough to be numb. He's relapsed. He was only able to slip in AA the following day after a strong shot of vodka and some breath mints. The whole session, he had been hammered by a hangover.

 Jackie listens silently, but the weight of his disappointment bears down on Chase's shoulders like an anvil.

 "Chase..." He starts, but the other shakes his head frantically.

 “I know."

 "You're not supposed to drink anymore."

 "I know."

 "I'll... I'll talk to Todd tomorrow, your therapist, too. They have to know about this."

 "N-No, Jackie, I have to tell them myself." Having their disappointment on his mind would destroy him, but he needs just a little bit of control of what's happening. "But promise me one thing?"

 "Anything."

 Chase bites his lip.

 "Don't t-tell the others." Jackie opens his mouth to protest. "No, Jackie, y-you have to promise me this. Not Henrik, Marvin, or any of the others...I don't want them to know about this. I don't w-want them to think I'm weaker than they already think I am. And I know they do. I know all of you do. And y-you're all right."

 "You are not weak."

 "I relapsed." Chase rubs his face with his palms. "It hasn't even been six months."

 "Chase," Jackie says firmly, "Look at me."

 When he does, hesitantly, the hero takes a breath.

 "Chase Brody Mcloughlin, you are the strongest person I know," he starts, "because despite all you've been through, you are still here. You are still living and breathing and I know it hurts, but you are so incredibly brave for surviving. I am proud of you, even if you've relapsed. This road you're driving down, it's not an easy path. I don't have to tell you that for you to know. There'll be bumps and detours but...I'll always be here for you. We'll always be here. Anytime you need us. I'll help you get back on the road. I promise."

 That is why Jackie is Chase's hero. Despite everything, anger and pain and injustice...he still manages to be kind.

 Chase nearly starts bawling. He bites down on his knuckles and just nods. He can't say much, so Jackie turns the engine on.

 "Let's go home."

  --

 They park near the sidewalk. The rain has lightened to a drizzle. The clouds are clearing. The stars are coming out. The lawn is wet with dew. The lights in the living room are on.

 Chase feels sick looking at the house. His eyes and nose are stuffy and red and he has a headache coming on. He can't hide the fact that he's been crying. Years of dealing with Anti has trained his brothers to notice the smallest of details.

 "Chase," Jackie murmurs, "if...if you are serious about being able to handle yourself, I...well, it was supposed to be a surprise, but there's this apartment in the city that I've saved. I haven't spent anything on it, but...if you want, I can help you get it. Contribute a little. The rest can be up to you. I'll help you get a job, even."

 Chase looks at him, unsure. "Really?"

 “Yeah. I know you've spent most of your life away from us and it's a bit of a shock to be caged in with us again, so..."

 He loves them, but the house is stuffy. He misses his old apartment, but he had missed his brothers, too.

 "Thanks, Jackie," he says, "I'll...I'll have to think about it."

 "Okay. Take your time."

  --

 At dinner, no one suspects a thing.

 Jamie fills him in on Robbie's garden—it's going smoothly, with beautiful, flowering succulents. For a zombie, it's no surprise he has a green thumb, he jokes, and Chase laughs.

 Marvin teaches him a card trick, much to Henrik's disdain; no magic at the dinner table, he scolds them like a mother hen.

 Jackie watches him from across the table. He can feel his gaze boring into his skull.

 The dining room is warm and full of life. Chase isn't completely involved mentally, but he's enjoying the sounds of dinnerware and conversation. He's not sure what they're having for dinner, either, but it's good. He just feels so out of it because of the emotional roller-coaster that was today.

 The prospect of having a new apartment and a stable job...it terrified him, because what would happen if he relapsed again?

 He tries to still his hands when he drinks water.

  --

  "Goodnight, Chase," Jackie kisses the top of his head, then goes to the doorway of his room.

 “Goodnight. Thanks, Jackie. For today."

 Jackie smiles and says nothing. He shuts his door.

 Chase goes into his room and closes the door behind him. The bed is messy, but he doesn't care. He slides right into it, tossing his phone onto the desk, and closing his eyes.

 He feels the small grooves of scars along his fingers—he had finally taken off the bandages. More scars, more tallies. One on his abdomen, a few on his wrists...a bullet scar on his scalp. He doesn’t even have the gun anymore. Jackie had surrendered it to the police. He still feels the ghost sensation of cool metal on his palm.

 He sits up and crosses the hall, knocking softly on Jackie's door.

 "Come in," the hero's voice floats from behind it. He opens the door.

 Jackie is lying on his bed in his somehow neat room, with a shelf full of comic books arranged by series and brand. His hoodie is slung over the back of his desk chair. He looks up from his phone when Chase stands in the doorway.

 "What's up, Chase?" He asks, eyebrows raised.

 Chase shuffles his feet.

 "Can I...can I bunk with you tonight? It's just that I, I can't stop thinking about it all, and I'm...I'm scared."

 "It's no problem, buddy," Jackie's expression softens, and he moves over, patting the space beside him. "Come 'ere."

 Chase settles in, hesitantly, putting his head on Jackie's chest. He can hear the hero's heartbeat and breath. It's a comforting sound.

"Thank you," Chase whispers.

 "Anything for my little brother," Jackie smiles. "Goodnight."

 "Goodnight."

 He's terrified of building a new life for himself because if he relapses it will all come crashing down again. He doesn't know if he can handle that.

 But he has to try.

 As much as it hurts, he has to. If not for himself, for Henrik, Marvin, Jamie, Robbie...and Jackie.

 For Jack.

 It's what he would've wanted.

And that’s what makes his relapse so crushing.

[bleepblopbloop56]

The Murder In The Dressing Room

Chapter 5: Smile

Chapter 1, chapter 2, chapter 3, chapter 4, ao3

Warnings: myrder, blood, gore, graphic descriptions of getting killed, needles, some unwanted kisses, really this just is my favorite chapter but its the most graphic

And like i say ever chapter @pathos-logical did all the heavy lifting and i love her more than i love myself

---

"Where do we go from here?" Remy muttered- here being a total dead end. For what felt like the hundredth time, he scanned over everything pinned up on Logan's walls. The whole thing looked a lot more like something you'd see on TV than how they usually did things, but Logan was always one for more old-school methods. Remy was fairly sure that when he’d started on the job, he'd been hoping to be much more of a black and white film noir detective than he'd turned out to be. 

No matter how many times they'd looked over Logan's notes, the end result was nothing. Neither location had security cameras, and there was no DNA, no fingerprints, no footprints, and no witnesses. All they had was a mask, and Roman.

And what little they did have didn't make any sense. The murders seemed frantic and uncalculated, resembling crimes of passion rather than stone cold murders. And yet the killer never left a trace, implying they had planned every detail.

"Alright, alright," Logan groaned, throwing himself into his chair and rubbing his temples. "Let's do this again. So our timeline is…?" he trailed off. Remy scowled at Logan's expectant look, but he heaved an aggravated sigh and laid out the case for the umpteenth time. 

"So, for the hundred and first time! At 5 o’ clock Monday afternoon, Thomas Sanders arrived at the Star Theater." Remy pointed to the very start of the board. "His performance ended at 8:25, and cast members can recall seeing him in the theater until around 9:30." He stopped to grab a sip of his drink before pushing forward. "He never returned home that night, and at 6:42, Tuesday morning, his roommate Roman Cardona Rodriguez-" Logan glared as Remy exaggeratedly rolled the "R's"- "had called in a dead body wearing a theater masks he'd found in dressing room number three, time of death unknown." Remy sighed, pushing his sunglasses on top of his head. No matter how many times he went over it, nothing cleared up.

"Three days later at around 7 o’clock, Roman left Remus Rodriguez’ home, claiming he was still alive when he left. You two had a makeout session in the parking lot, and at 12:56 am you and Roman discovered a dead body, also wearing a mask. Obvious signs of struggle, and as you said, Roman was found with a fresh bruise he claims was also from Remus. Is that enough for you, Specs, or will I need to do it a hundred and second time?" 

Logan ignored him, mind racing a million miles per hour. "And the only connection is… Roman…" he mumbled to himself, throwing his head forward onto the desk and groaning. "Well, since we know it's not Roman-" Remy cut him an exasperated glare but didn't say anything- "the murderer has to be someone who knows him. Did he state why he moved back?" 

Remy picked up a file and skimmed through it. "The official statement is he broke up with his fiance." Logan jumped so hard Remy could hear his knees bang against the desk. "Off-record, he stated that his man was getting into some sketchy bullshit that he didn't want to be a part of." In all honesty, most of Remy's investigations were off the record. He found that connecting to a suspect like a human got him way more information than Logan's methods, even if they weren't exactly as professional. Or legal. 

"His fiance…" For a second Logan didn't say anything else, trying to avoid showing how much his heart stung at the words. But as if struck by lightning, he suddenly sat up in his seat. "That's a motive… Remy, that's our first lead!" Logan exclaimed. "An angry ex-fiance who wants to make Roman's life a living hell by killing off everyone he loves!"

He leapt into action, scribbling in his notebook before moving to type frantically on his computer, but Remy's reaction to the possible lead was unusually subdued.

"That's not good," Remy said quietly. Sometimes pushing puzzle pieces together meant revealing a much darker picture than you'd expected. 

"What do you mean? Of course it's good! We have a suspect- now all we have to do is find out who this guy is and pull him in for questioning," Logan smiled, but the expression dropped off his face when Remy continued.

"No, you idiot. I mean if this dude's killing everyone Roman loves, doesn't that make you a target?" Logan froze. "Roman left this guy for you, doesn't that put you on his hit list?" 

Shit.

-

Virgil got home at exactly 5:30 pm every single day. Routines eased his anxiety, so he had settled into one. He got off work at 5, reached home by 5:30, and changed into his pajamas by 5:33. 

The door was unlocked when he came home, and that was the first sign his routine would be broken today. 

"Logan?" he called, setting his bag down where he always did and continuing through the house. Logan's bedroom door was standing wide open, but the lights were off. Logan never left without closing his door. "Logan? Dude?" No response. 

Virgil was no stranger to anxiety, but something about this felt different. Something in the air was making it feel like all of the blood was being drained out of his body, making his hands shake at his sides and a pit form in his stomach.

He stepped into the bedroom, trying to tell himself he'd just been watching too many Buzzfeed Unsolved videos. That he was just being paranoid and making up ridiculous theories. That an unlocked door didn't mean he was in trouble. 

Virgil switched on the lights, jerking his head around to look for a demon or intruder, anything. 

There was nothing. See? Paranoi-

A gloved hand suddenly clawed its way over his mouth, a knife to his throat. He needed to scream, he needed to scream, and nothing was coming out. 

Fight-

or flight-

or freeze.

But… the man wasn’t doing anything. There was a second where the loudest sound was Virgil’s heartbeat in his ears, and then the man spoke.

“You’re not Logan.” The words were clipped, cool, but there was an edge to them as sharp as the knife at Virgil’s throat. The man stayed still behind him, steady against Virgil’s increasingly fast breaths. Was this a mugging? Was this how muggings were supposed to go? Did robbers usually know the names of the people they were stealing from? Did they hold knives to people’s necks and then just stand there?

“Who are you?”

Virgil couldn't say anything. All of the words in his head were swamped together, getting caught in his throat and leaving him unable to make anything but a choked noise in reply.

"Answer. Me,” he growled low into his ear, tightening his grip on Virgil so hard he almost wondered if he was going to crack a bone before Virgil could say anything...

"V- Virgil." The name sounded wrong on his own tongue, like everything in his body was telling him not to say a word.

The man pulled him against his chest, walking slowly with him over to the bed.

"Hello, Virgil." He drawled out the name, testing how it sounded. Virgil still couldn't see his face, but he could hear the smirk in his voice. "Come on, Virgil, be nice, say hello back to me!" He pressed the knife a little harder before he moving his hand down to let Virgil speak. 

"H- hi…" he forced out, breathing hard. The guy smelled like he'd been drinking and like he used too much cologne. Tears started to run down his face, and Virgil thanked all the gods he didn't believe in that Logan and Patton were out of the house. 

"Is this where good old Detective Logan lives?" the man asked, far too casually for the fact that he was holding Virgil at knifepoint. Mindful of the knife at his throat, Virgil shook his head no. If he couldn't save himself, he could at least give Logan a chance.

The man pulled his hair back, pressing the knife against his neck harder until it began to draw blood. "WRONG ANSWER!" he shrieked. "Would you like to try lying to me again?" 

Virgil desperately tried to shake his head without slitting his own throat, barely containing a plea for the man to just stop.

"Good boy!" he smiled, voice suddenly back to smooth and casual. The pressure against Virgil's neck eased, but the man's hand kept him in place. "Now… Does. Detective. Logan. Live. Here," he growled into his ear. Virgil nodded, all thoughts of bravery from before escaping his mind as he began to cry harder. He felt like he was going to puke, and he was barely getting in enough air. But despite all that, he did his best to stay quiet for the man with the knife.

"Even though you're a lying little bitch," he snarled, running a hand through Virgil's hair and making him tremble even harder, "I think I like you. So let's make this as painless as possible, hmm?" He reached into his bag, pulling out something Virgil couldn't see. For a split second, Virgil wondered what it could be, but he got his answer soon enough.

The man leaned in slowly, and it took everything in Virgil not to pull away from the sensation of his breath against his neck. He kissed the spot slowly, holding Virgil’s trembling body against his like he wanted to draw this out as long as possible. 

The man paused as he pulled back. He looked with satisfaction at the spot he had kissed, now slightly red but not bad enough to bruise- and used it as a target, plunging a syringe deep into Virgil's neck. 

Virgil cried out in pain, sobs shuddering through his body. It only took a moment before he realized he couldn't blink, couldn't even move his eyes. And then the numbness spread- first to his fingers, then his arms and legs, until it was clear the only thing keeping him in a sitting position was the hand at his back. And- god, was his throat closing up?

The man behind him shushed him softly. "There you go, Virgil, it's okay- all done, see?" he soothed, pulling out the needle and putting it back in his bag. The way he was speaking was horribly reminiscent of how Logan would hush Patton when giving him medicine or changing a diaper. 

The man laid him down on the bed, gently running a hand through his hair, and through the black spots beginning to crowd the edges of his vision, Virgil finally got a good look at his face. Green eyes, crooked nose- the kind you'd get if you've had it broken a few times- and a bright red scar across one side of his face. There was no crazy thrill or adrenaline behind his eyes like Virgil might have expected. In fact, he looked perfectly calm.

That was somehow worse.

The man smiled down at him, clearly reveling in his panic. "Y'know, at first I came here for my good friend Detective Grey," he said, getting up and monologuing like an honest-to-god Disney villain. God, Virgil couldn't breathe, he couldn't breathe- "But then you came in. I didn't expect lil ol Logan to have a roommate!" He strolled up to the dresser, where a framed picture of Logan holding Patton was proudly displayed.

"Or two, based on the decor…" He looked around, taking in the baby toys strewn across the floor, how half of Logan's room had been transformed into a nursery. He popped the picture out of the frame, folding it up and shoving it in his pocket. "I think I'd like to play with him a bit more… You gave me an idea, Virgil! I'm so proud!" Virgil's chest was burning, and he'd long since lost control of his body. But he was still awake, he was still aware, why couldn't this nightmare end-

The man began rummaging in his bag, and for a moment Virgil hopped it was a gun to finish him off. But instead he pulled out a bright gold mask with an eerie smile carved in.

"Why do you look so sad?!" he cooed, placing the mask on top of Virgil's face right as the black overtook his vision. 

"Smile."

---

The murder in the dressing room taglist:

@cataclysm-al @theteenagetrickster @intrurality-fusion @katie-the-noble-fangirl @whizzie72 @grayson-22 @i-have-n0-idea-what-im-d0ing @winterwonderland7669 @missieluvsmurder @sign-from-god-complex @dragonindigo245 @angryfanboyscreaming @ninja-wizard101 @sombraookami @crystalistrappedintheinternet @imtooaromanticforthis @why-should-i-tell-youu2 @dragon-hair @satanblessi @spookilyfingergunsoutofexistence @skruffy901 @selectivereality @nonbeenary-enbee @imbasicallyshakespear @cats-vetal-miking-vomit @incoherentfangirl @oofmood @nonbianary-pineapple @royalnerd829 @unicornlogansanders

[symphonic--chaos]

Empires of Brick and Blood Chapter 1 - The Prologue Rating: G

"Magnus Bane."

The words echoed through every unoccupied space in the city, through each junkie filled alley, through windows that were open in hopes for cool air to combat the sweltering heat, into the sewer where rats that were once cat size were now dinner plates. So booming that it could have been a victorious combatant against the thunder that threatened to rumble in the sky. It had been just twenty minutes before it had filled with brownish green cumulonimbus clouds, ready to spill their clean drops into their filth filled city.

The sudden clink of metal against faux porcelain came to follow as the owner of that name paused his antics of shoveling the stew into his mouth, already late to several 'appointments'. A single dark eye darted up to the chef in front of him, paused behind the large metal counter, before he spun in the chair to look at the open space behind him. Druggies waiting for him, a limousine headed into the town center just a few minutes away, a few merchants lurking for easy prey to fall to their inner-coat 'rare' deals.

"...Did you--" The confused man started to call back to the chef, only silenced as the deep voice began its echoing speech.

"You're a dealer. An urchin among the others on the street, but the most poisonous one of them all. You've slipped through lazy fingers for too long and, now that my family is here, this reign on the Downworlders is going to end."

Interesting. 

Credits clinked on the counter as Bane's pierced tongue swept over the slit between his canine and premolar, a tsk following as he felt a bit of the fake meat trapped there. Gloved hands reached behind the counter and felt around until his fingers curled around the toothpicks there, one tugged out and used before the piece was spit aside and the toothpick rested between his lips. The loud voice was going on and on, something about him being a killer (wrong), reckless (closer to the truth), and how he lived up to his name, being a Bane to their city. That part had him chuckling as he stepped out from under the protective metal roof, trying to find which speaker this man's voice was coming out of. 

A familiar blue haired junkie that was ever devoted to him pointed upwards towards the large, hovering, blimp-like contraption flying through the air, the large screen on the side revealing the most striking natural blue eyes Bane had ever seen. They rivaled Zydrate in every way, serious and deadly, but a hint of something that promised so much more. A rarity these days, most people after all their surgeries and genetics had either crazy impossible colors, or dark eyes like his own eye. That one eye narrowed as he focused again on the male, who had shifted from leaning back against the high-backed chair to instead fold his arms on the desk, his head leaning towards them as he came closer to the camera that had been placed unflattering angle. Until now.

Goosebumps littered the tan skin hidden by layers of shirts and jackets as a grin spread across the man's lips, perfect white teeth that screamed of money and power. Like a mouse cornered by a large cat, Bane didn't move from the spot. Though his dark hair, buzzed at the sides and a long mane down its center, was neatly pulled up into a mixture of a mohawk that trailed into a braid, his sidebangs betrayed the cat eye hidden beneath them with the slightest gust of the breeze going by. 

"My name is Alec Lightwood, Bane, and I will find you, personally. I will hunt you down. I will have eyes everywhere, and I will be one step behind you until I'm one step ahead. You can't get away from me."

Bane swallowed thickly at this threat, he knew that every single inch of him should be terrified by the threat of a new person who seemed to be putting his all into catching him, unlike the last guards he paid off. Being the last living Largo had its perks when it came to the old surviving repo men and guards that once loyally served his family, but the two faces this 'Alec' had behind him drew a blank.

The terror that should have been there was... excitement. Slight arousal, perhaps, but mostly it sent adrenaline rushing through him. A laugh began rumbling in Bane's chest before filling the air as he let himself go, let that rush go straight through him with a shake of his hair to return the bangs to their place, hidden from the guards lurking the streets. 

"Alec Lightwood. Pretty boy. Magnus Bane, an immense pleasure to meet you. I look forward to this chase and I wish you the best of luck." Bane called out to the blimp as the screen went dark, his body bending as he bowed in a mocking adieu. 

The blue haired junkie sidled up to him, slipping under one of his arms as her quiet, nervous voice rang like sweet honey in his ears.

"Do you think he'll get ya, Bane?" 

"Maybe," Bane hummed, his arm slipping around her shoulders as he pulled her into a side hug, his lips pressing against her forehead. "But not without some good chases and fights, hm?" 

The worry was clear on her face, but it seemed a good enough answer for her as a smile crossed her face, her small hand curling around his larger as she tugged him towards the nearby alley.

"Come on, come on, we're all waiting for you. Some of 'em are getting really bad and need your fix. They're here from Striker."

Striker. Now if there was anyone that Alec should have wasted his time on, it was that lousy sack of shit, the one who didn't care if he was poisoning or killing his clients with his tainted Zydrate. Not as long as the credits were tucked firmly into his greedy pocket, first.

"Alright, chickpea. Lead the way."

[bvidzsoo]

Play or Die

 Thank you for the moodboard @everythinkpop it’s amazing like always!

 Author: bvidzsoo

 Warning: violence and swearing

 Pairing: Byun Baekhyun x female reader

 Word count: 11, 291

 Summary: You are a police officer, one of the best. However, your days are hard when you have a certain crazy man running around in the city, the Joker, known by a few as Byun Baekhyun. The police has been working on his case for five years now, and they finally get the chance to catch him…but for that, they need your help. Unfortunately, the Joker seems to like you.

 A/N: Okay, this–is something, I guess. Also, I know, it’s very long…I got this idea and decided to write it. I hope you will like it and please don’t forget to leave feedback!

    I sighed as I tied up my long hair in a high ponytail. I ruffled my bangs, trying to make them messy. My white eye shadow was highlighting my brown orbs, the pink lipstick sitting perfectly on my lips. Yesterday, I had no plans on spending my evening like this…but when job calls you gotta do whatever you need to. A ‘co-worker’ of mine walked in and she gasped.

“I haven’t seen a woman pull off that look like you!” She exclaimed, running her fingers down my exposed shoulder.

“Uh, thanks” I said awkwardly, taking on the dark pink fur jacket.

“Wow, no wonder you were employed” She said with a chuckle, re-doing her blue make up.

“Oh please” I scoffed “You are way more gorgeous than I am”

“Look at yourself and speak after that!” She scoffed with a smile and changed her black pants to a very short blue skirt.

“Well, thank you” I thanked her shyly. I stared at myself in the mirror. I was forced into some fishnet stocking, a light blue short denim skirt and a baby pink crop top that could pass as a bra with a rope on the stomach. I must admit, I look hot as hell but this isn’t really what I usually wear. At least the fur jacket is covering something. I pulled on my high heels when Wendy, my ‘co-worker’, told me our shift starts in five minutes.

“So, you are pretty new here—”

“Very new, actually. It’s my first day” And last as well.

“Of course, it’s okay to be scared or nervous. I was too, but you’ll see it’s actually pretty fun. No man will be able to touch you, so you don’t have to worry. All you have to do is dance” She pulled on her black bomber jacket and smiled at me “Our boss might be a little—crazy—but he respects us and would never make us do something that is uncomfortable for us.”

“This boss—” I trailed off, waiting for her reaction but seeing none I continued “is the Joker, right?”

“Oh” Wendy exclaimed and laughed a little “He has many names, but, yes. He is the Joker. Don’t tell me you are afraid?”

“Oh, of course I’m not” I scoffed, rolling my eyes. I wasn’t, why would I be? I just need to do my job and that’s it.

“Good thing” Wendy said with a grin “Because the girl whose place you took, used to dance in front of his special…I like calling it room, but it’s not really a room.”

“Why did I not know about this?” My eyes widened. I agreed to this job, of course…but no one told me I’ll have to be anywhere close to that crazy man! I’m killing Minseok tomorrow, he pretty much knew but said nothing.

“Jongin probably forgot to tell you” Wendy shrugged, heading for the door “Are you coming?” I nodded and secretly made a cross, I need all the forces not to fuck up tonight. How the hell am I going to sneak away? Perfect, another reason to kill Minseok.

    One day ago

The office was busy and loud as always. Sehun, who was in a rush almost collided with me, spilling my coffee on me. I glared at his back as he stopped and threw an apologetic smile before continuing his rush.

“What the hell happened? Why is the office so hectic?” I asked my partner, Minseok, as I entered our small office.

“Don’t even ask, I already have a headache” He rubbed his forehead.

“Coffee?”

“No, thanks. It’s the Joker again” I stopped sipping on my coffee and looked at him curiously “I’m so fed up with his crazy ass already! Why can’t someone just already catch him?”

“Because—Despite him being crazy as hell, he is actually very smart and has outsmarted every single police officer?” I raised my eyebrows at Minseok, with a small teasing grin.

“God, don’t—” He sighed irritated “I almost got him then”

“Yeah, right” I rolled my eyes “If it wasn’t for me, you would be dead right now. I will never let you take another case that involves the Joker, got it?”

“I know, I know. But it’s not like—” I glared at Minseok as I cut him off.

“Anyways, what did he do this time?” I asked with a sigh, sitting down in my chair.

“Robbed a market, blew the whole place up and killed several passer by’s”

“Oh, I thought he did something more creative this time”

“How can you say that?” Minseok scoffed “He killed people, Y/N.”

“I’m sorry” I rolled my eyes “I’ve been working in this field for almost ten years by now, excuse me if the death of a few people leaves me cold”

“Don’t—Why you gotta be like that? Those were innocent lives! No one deserves to die like that, because a freaking sick man wants to kill ‘cause he thinks it’s funny!”

“Okay, you are right. I’m sorry”

“What’s with all this tension?” Jongdae furrowed his eyebrows, as he walked inside the office followed by Junmyeon and Kyungsoo.

“Anyways, don’t tell me, I’m not curious” Jongdae waved his hand in the air and I scoffed at him. Sometimes he could be such an arrogant brat “Junmyeon, the laptop” Junmyeon handed Jongdae the laptop, who gave it to me.

“What am I supposed to do with it?” I asked, placing it down on my desk.

“Open it, dumb ass” Jongdae rolled his eyes “And watch” I glared at him as I opened the laptop. A paused video was displayed on the screen. I glanced at Minseok who nodded for me to play it. With a sigh I pressed the play button. It was a recording, from around midnight. It was from a smaller market, a long black haired guy was at the cashier, playing something on his phone. The door opened and a red fluffy haired guy walked into the market. He had a lollipop in his mouth and he walked around casually. I glanced at Jongdae who nodded towards the laptop. It was indeed the Joker. I sighed as I watched him walking around aimlessly, playing with the lollipop until he reached for something from his belt. I watched as he pulled out a dark green gun and smirked at it mischievously. He raised it in the air and shot in the ceiling. The cashier jumped, his phone falling to the ground. He glanced at the guy and his famous laughter was heard in the market. I shivered at the sound, something that sometimes haunted my dreams. The Joker walked towards some cans on the shelf as the cashier ran to the door, but the Joker’s voice stopped him.

“I wouldn’t do that” His voice was like honey, he turned around with a smirk “What a lovely night we have”

“What—What do you want?” The guy stuttered, fear clear on his face.

“Oh, just a can of coke” The Joker chuckled, raising the can in the air “You don’t mind if I don’t pay, right?”

“N-no, I-I can co-cover it for y-you.” The guy nodded.

“Oh, man. That’s so sweet!” The Joker exclaimed, taking a sip “I think I found a new buddy”

“Y-yes, if you want me I-I can be-be your buddy” The cashier chuckled, clearly still afraid as the Joker neared him.

“But—I already have many buddies” The Joker shrugged as he raised the gun to the guy’s head “Give me a reason I should let you be my buddy”

“I-I can do what-whatever you want m-me to. Please, just don’t kill me” The guy choked out, his whole body shaking.

“Oh man” The Joker closed his eyes “I really wanted to keep you, but—People who are afraid of death are cowards”

“Please—” There was a gunshot and the guy fell back. Blood was splattered on the Joker’s face. I gulped as I watched him sigh.

“Look at this” He exclaimed “He ruined my jacket!” He looked around for wet tissues mumbling things to himself. He placed the gun on the counter and whipped his face clean.

“Ah, for real!” He exclaimed, pushing the cash register to the ground angrily “I loved that jacket!” The door opened and a woman stopped in the doorway when she saw the dead man on the ground. Her eyes trailed to the Joker and she screamed.

“Hello, lovely lady” He chuckled, taking his gun “No need to be afraid” And she was dead just like the guy. The Joker turned around and started searching for something in the room. I felt my eyebrows furrowing. What was he doing? And just like that, it felt like his eyes locked with mine and I forgot how to breathe. He smirked and waved at the camera. His hand holding the gun slowly raised and he pointed it at the camera. The last thing I heard was his malicious and sick laughter, before the image went black. I slammed the laptop shut and looked up at the three guys standing before me.

“Well, you took it pretty well” Jongdae sighed “One guy started crying when he saw what happened”

“I’m—” I closed my eyes, re-opening them with a sigh “If you showed me this, it means you want something. What is it?”

“A spot at the Joker’s club was cleared” Kyungsoo spoke up, handing some files to me “And you are one of the best in this field, going undercover” I looked at the files, my eyes widening.

“Wait, you want me to work at the Joker’s club for one night, get information and catch him?” My voice raised a little bit. Jongdae glanced at Minseok, but Junmyeon beat him.

“You would be protected” He said “I already made sure that if you’ll work there tomorrow no one would lay a hand on you. You would be watched and if something happens you would be taken out from there in that moment. But we need you for this, Y/N”

“I—” I took a deep breath, ready to answer but Minseok was quick on his feet.

“I won’t allow this” He said annoyed “That man is crazy and he almost killed me once. I won’t let Y/N get close to him”

“I understand” Junmyeon said nodding “But if we catch him now, we won’t have any problems with him in the future”

“I’ll do it” I said, all four guys looked at me “I am the best in this field, you said it yourself. I am not afraid of him and he doesn’t know me. So, I’m in, just tell me when.”

“Tomorrow night” Jongdae said, taking the laptop and files “Kyungsoo will send you the information you need. Take care and call us anytime”

“Okay” The three boys left, leaving me alone with Minseok.

“I can’t believe you” Minseok said with a glare, looking through some files.

“I have to do this, it’s my job after all”

“You know what that man is capable of!” He exclaimed, glaring at me “I can’t lose you!”

“Nothing will happen, Minseok trust me! When did I ever make mistakes? I even saved your annoying ass!” I rolled my eyes “Everything will be just fine!”

“It better be true” He muttered, turning back to his files. I sighed, sipping from my now cold coffee.

    Current time

The music was loud in the club as Wendy showed me around. It was a big club, and pretty packed but I kinda liked it? Of course I did, this was the Joker’s club, he made it so people would like it and come back. The lights were surprisingly pleasing to the eye, actually…everything was nice.

“Here we are!” Wendy shouted over the loud music, leaning against something like a cage. “Like I said, no one will touch you…They can only look” He chuckled as she opened the glass door and pushed me inside gently. It felt weird, it was like I was at some exhibition displayed for other people. At least they couldn’t touch me like this. This thing I was placed into was very small, really…some chains were inside and I stared at them. I jumped when someone knocked on the glass. Wendy laughed at me as she motioned to start dancing. I smiled at her unsure and started slowly swaying my hips. Wendy winked at me and walked away, she was the bartender. I started dancing, following the rhythm of the music. It was actually nice, it’s been a while since I’ve been to a club. I raised my hands in the air, circling my hips in a sensual way. I chuckled at myself as I enjoyed every moment. A guy stopped in front of the glass instead of walking away and I smiled at him. Sehun winked at me then continued walking. Junmyeon kept his word, I saw Kyungsoo and now Sehun passed by too. I was safe, besides it’s not like I can’t take care of myself. I smirked as I made eye contact with a guy sitting at a table. He was drinking something, a smirk on his lips when he lowered the glass. I licked my lips, my hands on the glass behind me as I descended slowly all while swaying my hips. The guy seemed like he chuckled and nodded at me before turning around. I pouted, was I really that bad? I mean, after all…I’m a cop and not some kind of dancer. I shrugged and started making random moves, laughing at myself. People who were looking probably thought I was crazy. Suddenly, there was a commotion at the entrance of the door and a loud laughter was heard. I stopped moving, knowing too well that laughter. I glanced at Wendy who wasn’t phased, she was making some weird purple drink. I saw Kyungsoo staring at the Joker intently, while Sehun kept dancing with the girl he picked up but he was watching me. I nodded at him, and glanced back at Wendy. She smiled and winked at me, a sign that I should keep dancing. I took a deep breath and started dancing again, watching the Joker secretly. He moved to the bar, two girl clinging to him while other two followed him. He laughed when on kissed his neck, but pushed her away. The girl pouted, but soon looked to the ground when the Joker glared at him. He made a hand movement and all the girls left, leaving him alone at the bar. He leaned over and kissed Wendy’s cheek, taking the purple drink. So the drink was for him. Wendy smiled as she spoke with him, but he suddenly turned around. The Joker’s eyes landed on me and I felt the air leaving my lungs. His stare was menacing, deep as he checked out my whole body. I gulped as suddenly I felt nervous and turned around, deciding it was best if I avoid eye contact. I took a deep breath and ignored the feeling of someone watching me intently, starting to make body rolls. I caught Sehun’s gaze, who looked worried but nonetheless smirked at me as he kissed the girl’s neck. I rolled my eyes at him, he was always a tease. I slowly pealed off my jacket as I stared at him with a smirk, circling my hips as I raised my hands in the air. Kyungsoo passed in front of the glass, glaring at me, a look that said I should focus on my job not play around with Sehun. I chuckled as I turned around, circling my head as my hands travelled down my body. However, I jumped when I was met with brown orbs and a smirk. The Joker was staring at me with a smirk, standing close to the glass the purple drink still in his hand. His red hair was gelled, parted at the middle, falling perfectly in every place, a few messy strands on his forehead. There was a light brown eye shadow on his eyes, making them look sharper. His lips were plumper than I thought they’d be. A black choker on his neck, a simple gentle golden chain sitting on his chest, which was on full display since the red jacket he wore did little to cover it and he wasn’t wearing anything underneath. The wide black belt at his waist was strapped together by a white and red binding. His brown pants fit perfectly on his legs, sitting perfectly on his full thighs. I wanted to kick myself when I realized I was checking him out. I shouldn’t be checking him out, I’m here to catch him and arrest him. His smirk widened, well aware that I just checked him out. He raised his glass in the air before he walked to his special ‘room’, as Wendy called it. I huffed, closing my eyes for a moment as I started dancing again, making sure my back was to him. I don’t need to know he is watching me, even though I’m well aware that’s what he’s doing. I just focused on anything else as I danced.

It felt like ages passed when Wendy finally came to tell me my shift was over. Dancing all the night in those heels in that freaking glass thing, let me tell you something…If Jongdae ain’t giving me more money for this I’m flipping his office, it’s hard as hell! I can’t feel my feet!

“Are you okay?” Wendy asked laughing as she prepared some flavoured juice since I told her I don’t drink.

“My feet are dead” I groaned, as I took the drink from her.

“You did better than the girl before you. She started complaining after an hour, didn’t stay in that glass box for almost four hours, Y/N” Wendy chuckled.

“What was I supposed to do?” I exclaimed “Besides, he was watching me”

“Ah, he usually watches the girl dancing in that box” Wendy shrugged “But, I can tell he already likes you.”

“Likes me? How would you know that?” I furrowed my eyebrows.

“I’ve been working for him quite a while. Jongin and I are his oldest employees” Wendy smiled “And thanks to that, I can tell he likes you”

“Well, I don’t want to be liked by him” I said rolling my eyes, finishing my drink “This is just a job, everything stops there”

“Of course” Wendy nodded sternly “I understand that”

“So, am I free to go now?” I asked standing up.

“Sure, you can stay more though…you know, have fun” She shrugged, a playful smile on her lips.

“Thanks, but I’d rather sleep right now” I chuckled as I waved at her. Wendy nodded with a smile and I made my way to the changing room. However, once inside I fished out my phone and dialed Kyungsoo’s number.

“Yes?” His deep voice was loud in the phone, due to the loud music from outside “I’ll go to a quieter place, hang on”

“Okay” I muttered as I placed a gun in my skirt, taking back on the fur jacket, hiding the gun.

“Shoot” Kyungsoo muttered, as the music was muffled “I’m in the washroom, so hurry”

“My shift is over” I informed him “So I’m heading to his room”

“Be careful and don’t take what’s not necessary, okay?” He muttered lowly.

“Just the stick that contains all his bank transfers and illegal actions?”

“Yeah, it’s in the second drawer in his desk” Kyungsoo sighed “Be careful and fast, please”

“Don’t worry, I’ve got this” I smiled as I made my way out the dressing room, making sure no one was in the hallway when I made my way upstairs where the Joker’s mini mansion was.

“Sehun will be close, call if anything happens”

“Can I kill?” I asked innocently.

“Y/N—”

“Okay, sorry, I know.” I rolled my eyes “I’m going now, bye” Kyungsoo hang up and I smirked as I saw this floor wasn’t protected. But then why would it be? The stairs led directly to the mini mansion. Stupid move to do. I looked around, the place was nice. Wide windows giving a nice view to the city. The place was dark so I fished out my phone and used it as light source. I passed the kitchen and looked around in the living room, but I found nothing in his desk’s drawer. I sighed as I walked inside his bedroom. The room was bigger than any room in the mini mansion. It had red and green combined, starting from his sheets to his furniture. It was actually pretty pleasing, I smiled at I walked up to his black desk. It should be in here. The room smelled nice though, something like lavender combined with some cologne…if it was his cologne, it smelled nice…very nice actually. I shook my head at the thoughts and opened the drawer, being met with a small black stick.

“Bingo” I muttered as I took it and headed for the door. However, my steps faltered when I saw light coming from the living room. Shit, who is here? I took a deep breath and put on a confused face.

“Hello?” I called out innocently.

“Who are you?” The guy asked alarmed, turning around with a gun pointed at me.

“Please don’t shoot me!” I raised my hands in the air “I’m new here and got lost!”

“You are new?” His eyebrows furrowed before his face lit up “You are Y/N?”

“Uh, who’s asking?” I chuckled quietly. The guy with plump lips laughed as he put away his gun.

“Sorry for scaring you, my name is Jongin. I assume you are Y/N” He said walking closer.

“Oh, well Jongin…that’s right, I’m Y/N” I smiled at him sweetly.

“Nice to meet you”

“You too” I chuckled “I think I should leave, I wasn’t even supposed to be here, right?”

“Oh no, you weren’t” He chuckled with a smirk “But since it’s your first day here, I’ll let it slip”

“Thank you, Jongin” I smiled at him flirty, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Don’t worry, see you around” He winked as he stepped aside, letting me leave. Before exiting, I turned around and waved at him with a grin.

“Kyungsoo, I’m done” I muttered in the phone as I descended quickly the stairs.

“Okay, Sehun will meet you at the bar. I will be at the back waiting for you” He muttered and I heard shuffling. I hang up, practically barging in the changing room. I quickly changed into my ripped jeans, black sweater and let my hair fall freely on my shoulder. I placed the gun in my bag, stuffing the stick in my back pocket. I quickly made my way to the bar where Sehun was leaning against it, smiling at Wendy who was saying something to him.

“Oh, Y/N!” Sehun exclaimed when he saw me.

“Sehun” I smiled at him as I stopped in front of him.

“For the show” He muttered as he lowered his head “Besides, it was really annoying watching the Joker stare at you lustfully all night” I chuckled, however it was muffled by Sehun’s lips. I kissed back, him biting my lower lip. I pulled away with a smile and patted his chest.

“Wendy, we’ll be leaving” I winked at her, as she stared at us wide eyed.

“Oh, sure!” She laughed awkwardly “Bye!”

“Bye!” I pulled Sehun after me as he waved at Wendy. I accidently made eye contact with the Joker on our way outside, he was smirking at me with a very amused expression.

We stopped beside Kyungsoo’s black car as he climbed outside.

“Can we go?” He asked, extending his hand. I handed him the stick and nodded.

“Yeah, can you drop me off?” I asked with a sigh.

“Sure” He nodded, putting the stick away.

“And Sehun—” I glared at him “don’t kiss me like that again, okay?”

“So, I’ll have more occasions to kiss you?” He smirked as he raised an eyebrow.

“Sehun!”I glared at him “If it would be after me, no. But unfortunately it’s not”

“Thanks god Jongdae likes me” He chuckled as he climbed inside the car.

“Yeah, you are lucky, asshole” I muttered, climbing in as well. Kyungsoo chuckled as he climbed in and started the car.

“Next time, you can kiss me” He said with a shrug.

“Sure, can’t wait” I smirked at Sehun as I answered Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo laughed when Sehun glared at the both of us.

I sighed contently as I massaged my scalp. It was warm in the bathroom due to my long hot shower. I quickly rinsed off the shampoo, climbing out of the shower and drying my body. Since I plan on watching some drama before going to bed, I planned a simple outfit. I pulled on the black shorts and took on my light blue shirt that reached my mid thighs. I dried my hair as well as I could with the towel, being too lazy to actually dry it and walked to my kitchen making some popcorn. I was humming a random song as I leaned against my counter, checking my Instagram. Just because I’m a cop does not mean I don’t have a social life or Instagram. I sent a message to my best friend, Joy, telling her the mission went well and that I’m home planning on watching TV before going to bed.  She didn’t answer right away like she would usually do, but that’s okay, it was already late at night. Just as the popcorn was done, someone knocked on my front door. My eyebrows furrowed as I straightened up and slowly made my way to it, taking my gun with me.

“Coming” I called as I neared the door. Maybe it was Sehun, there were times when he was bored so he came over and we watched TV together and fell asleep on my couch cuddling, it was something we were already used to. Still, I kept the gun just to be sure. But as I cracked the door open it was forcefully pushed and a man stepped inside. Before I could raise my gun at him, a needle pierced my neck, some cold liquid being injected into me. My gun dropped from my hands as I stared at the guy, suddenly dizzy. He was that guy—the one—that smirked and turned away.

“Why—Who—are you?” I mumbled as I lost my balance. The guy was quick and caught me in his arms.

“Goodnight, sweetie” He muttered close to my ear before everything went black.

    I felt someone pushing my leg continuously. I groaned as I felt a sting in my neck. I wanted to move my hands but I couldn’t. What was happening? I rose my head as I groaned again, only to be met with darkness when I opened my eyes.

“What’s this?” I muttered, moving my hands more forcefully, only to realize that I was tied down to a chair. Amazing, I groaned as I rolled my eyes. Some stupid weirdo decided to kidnap me! Wait, wasn’t the guy—the guy from the club! That means—are you kidding me? I was kidnapped by the Joker’s men…

The lights were turned on, but as I closed my eyes due to the strong light I felt a strong blow on my jaw, making me turn my head in the other direction. I spit out the blood and slowly turned my head back. I came face to face with the smirking guy from the club, who was smirking now too and Jongin, who was glaring hard at me, his arms crossed in front of his chest. I smirked at him as I made eye contact with him, but soon was slapped again by the other guy.

“Is that all you’ve got?” I asked with a chuckle, as I turned back to him, shaking my head in order to shake off the hair from my face. The guy hissed, his arm in the air again but we heard a laughter, way too familiar, and humming followed it. The guy straightened, stepping aside, Jongin doing the same. I was met with the Joker, still in the same clothes, his hair messier than earlier.

“That’s enough, my buddy, Yixing” He said, his voice deep. The smirking guy, Yixing, nodded.

“We shouldn’t hurt a lady”

“Define lady” I muttered at him, with a glare. He started laughing loudly, holding himself up against Jongin.

“You are funny! I like you!” He exclaimed, his eyes wide. I scoffed, pulling on the ropes keeping my hands tied.

“I have a question” His eyebrows furrowed as he seemed to think “This boy, Jongin, you know him, right?”

“Briefly” I answered with a shrug.

“Right, but you know him!” He exclaimed, patting Jongin’s shoulder.

“Yes, I know him” I glared at the Joker, before glancing at Jongin who was still glaring at me…however, his eyes held fear as well.

“How do you know him?” The Joker asked, walking closer, leaning now against Yixing.

“I met him at the club” I answered slowly, as I stared at Jongin.

“Are you sure? Where more exactly?” The Joker smiled sweetly at me, shooting a glare at Jongin.

“I just finished my shift and was going back to the changing room, we crossed paths. Why?” I raised an eyebrow at the Joker, as I finally looked at him. A wide grin spread on his lips as he made a weird noise at the back of his throat. I looked back at Jongin confused, who chuckled quietly.

“Why? Because we don’t have cameras there—” The Joker muttered, scratching the back of his head “and I’m a curious guy! So, I wanted to know how you met!”

“That’s sweet and all, but—Why am I here?” I asked innocently, huffing.

“Oh!” The Joker exclaimed, turning around and starting to laugh. I shivered at his laughter, something I never really enjoyed “You know why you are here”

“No, I don’t” I muttered, furrowing my eyebrows. I could play innocent all night.

“She’s funny!” He exclaimed again, laughing loudly. Yixing and Jongin glanced at each other smirking.

“I don’t like people who are funnier than me” The Joker muttered lowly, he’s definitely bipolar. I gasped when he pulled on my hair harshly “Darling, stop playing innocent. We already know”

“Know what?” I asked gulping, keeping up my innocent image. I felt a hand on my exposed knee creeping up and I gasped, glaring at the Joker who looked very amused.

“Uh, your skin is so smooth. I like it!” He muttered, his lips ghosting over my ear “I wonder if it’s like that everywhere”

“Let me go, and you might find out” I whispered back with a smirk. He groaned, pulling away abruptly, slapping me hard. I hissed as I turned to look back at him.

“You are playing with me, and I don’t like that. I’m the boss here!” He shouted, glaring at me.

“I’m  not doing anything. You kidnapped me and are accusing me of something that I have no idea of.” I said rolling my eyes.

“Untie her” The Joker said with a sigh, walking towards Jongin.

“You sure?” Yixing asked.

“Yeah, yeah. Just do it” the Joker waved his hand in the air, his back turned to Yixing and I. Yixing glared at me as he walked closer, leaning in to untie the ropes. I smiled at him as he undid the ropes.

“Thanks” I winked at him, as he leaned away. I crossed my legs in a fast motion, alerting all the three men in the room.

“What?” I asked raising my eyebrows as I massaged my sore wrists. I smirked when I saw how tense they became, but sighed trying to mask it. I guess the Joker saw it, since he chuckled.

“Now you are free, are you happy?” He asked, sighing.

“Very happy” I smiled at him “But, Mr. J, could you explain why I’m here?”

“It’s Baekhyun, actually” His eyebrows furrowed. Baekhyun? So, he had a normal name? “And being serious now…A stick, a very important stick to me, disappeared. Mr. Kim, my buddy over here” He patted Jongin’s shoulder “Told me that you, Y/N, were in my mansion. Care to explain?”

“Oh, well—” He knows I lied him “I’m new at the club, I got lost. Accidentally ended up in your mansion.”

“Of course, I understand” Baekhyun said with a chuckle “What I don’t understand, what were you doing in my room?”

“Your—room? That was your room?” I asked, acting surprised “It’s pretty nice, I didn’t know it was yours though”

“Ah, but now it’s funny” He chuckled, glaring at me “Because after you left, my stick was gone too”

“Maybe Jongin took it?” I shrugged “Could have been Yixing too”

“It wasn’t them!” Baekhyun shouted “You took it, and you will give it back”

“Or what?” I asked, standing up. Baekhyun cracked his knuckles, gritting his jaw forcefully.

“I’m not afraid to fight a woman”

“How reassuring” I chuckled, eyeing the gun in Yixing’s belt “Most man are afraid”

“It was you, wasn’t it?” Baekhyun chuckled, gripping Jongin’s shoulder tightly.

“Will you feel better if I say yes?” I scoffed, taking a small step towards Yixing.

“I knew it” Baekhyun growled “I need it back”

“We all want something, Baekhyun” I took another step towards Yixing, who’s back was facing me “Doesn’t mean we always get what we want”

“But I always get what I want!” Baekhyun exclaimed, running his hands through his hair annoyed.

“Sorry, but not this time” I shrugged, with a small smile. I glanced at the gun again, and quickly pulled it out from Yixing’s belt. He turned around with a glare, ready to punch me and take his gun back but I slammed the gun hard on the back of his head, making him fall to the ground. Baekhyun growled loudly and I found myself on my back, on the ground, Jongin pinning me down. I quickly leaned up, colliding my forehead with his, making him lose his balance. I pushed him off, raising to my feet and taking the gun. I punched his jaw hard and pulled him up, my left arm going around his neck and strangling him just enough not to leave him without much air. Baekhyun’s eyes were wide and full with rage as he stared at me and Jongin, his gun raised high and pointed at us.

“Dare to pull the trigger and I’ll shoot your buddy’s brains out” I threatened with a low growl, glaring at him. Jongin’s hands were on my arm, trying to pull it down, but I tightened my grip making him cough.

“I wouldn’t try that again, Jongin” I muttered in his ear, loosening my grip. He sucked in air harshly, coughing again.

“I was right” Baekhyun muttered, his hand shaking “You are a cop, a fucking cop”

“Yeah, you were right” I nodded at Baekhyun, slowly making my way to the wide window.

“Why—Why did you fool me?” Baekhyun asked, lowering his gun.

“How does it feel, huh?” I chuckled, looking out. A pool was underneath us and this floor wasn’t too high “You always fool and play others, Baekhyun…How does it feel when you are the fooled one?”

“I don’t like it” He growled, his gun pointed again at me “I feel stupid and worthless”

“You should have thought sooner about it, don’t you think?” I asked, guiding Jongin towards Baekhyun.

“Shut up! You are a stupid cop, who had luck!” He shouted distressed “I will kill you, you just wait. You aren’t getting away alive!”

“Are you sure?” I chuckled, glancing behind me, seeing the distance was enough now.

“You are a talented one, I must say” Baekhyun said laughing and bit his lip harshly.

“Thank you, I know” I smiled at him.

“Is the stick at you?”

“I think that’s my business” I winked at Baekhyun.

“Y/N—” I pushed Jongin with every force I had towards Baekyun, knocking them over. I gripped the gun tightly, shot Baekhyun and ran towards the window. I heard Baekhyun shouting loudly when my body made contact with the window and small pieces of glass flew everywhere, cutting my skin in various places as I fell towards the pool. My body collided with the water and it hurt in various places, but I ignored it and swam under the water, trying to get to the edge. I need to leave alive and get help. I know the Joker, I know how dangerous he is and how crazy he can get. This isn’t my first time seeing him in action, we’ve been monitoring him for the last five years, I know what cards I’m playing at.

I dived out of the pool with a loud gasp, placing the gun on the ground and quickly climbing out. I heard Baekhyun shouting or growling, god knows what kind of sounds he was making, as I started running towards the front gate. Gun shooting was heard and I ran faster when I realized he was shooting at me. I gripped tightly the gate, thinking it was locked, and flung myself at it, just to find it opened. This man was very stupid, or he did it on purpose. Maybe all this was with a reason. I shivered at the cold breeze, since my whole body was wet. I ran for at least ten minutes, before taking a rest. I leaned against a wall of a house and brushed away the hair from my face. I was somewhere in the most riches neighbourhood of the city. I don’t have a phone nor money. It means I’ll have to go by feet, and I can’t go home, because what if they will be waiting for me by the time I get back? I need to go somewhere else, and he will be very pissed when he finds out about all of this.

    “Hey, I’m so sorry for waking you up at this hour” I whispered, holding my left arm. My shoulder quite hurt.

“Y/N?” Minseok asked, rubbing his eyes “What are you—What happened to you?” His eyes turned wide as he took in my whole appearance.

“I was kidnapped” I muttered, looking down. Minseok pulled me inside his apartment quickly, closing the door and locking it.

“Follow me” He muttered, pulling my arm. I followed him around the apartment quietly, not wanting to wake up his wife and twins. He opened the door to his study room and I followed him inside, closing the door after us. He led us to another door, that was his secret room where he kept his equipment and guns, things he took from the police station and stored at home. He helped me up on the desk and sighed while unbuttoning my shirt. I helped him pull it off and he examined my shoulder, collarbone and stomach. Thankfully, I only had wounds on my left shoulder and a few cuts on my right arm.

“Y/N—”He sighed, as he placed some disinfectant on the wound “I told you this was dangerous.”

“I didn’t even tell you who kidnapped me” I said with a chuckle, hissing when he pressed it against my wound.

“This one is a bit deeper, I need to clean it well” He looked up at my face, and I smiled weakly at him “And I know it was the Joker, you don’t need to tell me”

“It’s Baekhyun”

“What?” Minseok asked confused.

“Baekhyun” I chuckled “He said his name was Baekhyun”

“I don’t care” Minseok scoffed, placing some ointment on the wound and patching it up “That crazy man kidnapped you and hurt you, now I want to kill him more”

“Minseok” I placed my hand on his shoulder “Please—The stick is at the police now, we have official proof and we can catch him.”

“All thanks to you” Minseok whispered, dropping his head on my right shoulder “I’m sorry you had to go through that”

“It’s fine” I shrugged, Minseok continued cleaning the small cuts “It was fun, actually”

“Fun?” He raised his eyebrows at me, with a small glare “Sometimes I think you are as gone as him”

“Hey!” I exclaimed, pushing his shoulder “You should have seen him, it’s actually pretty easy to play with him”

“You know that you are the first saying that” Minseok glanced at me, as he inspected my face “Who punched you this hard?”

“One of his—” I hissed as he brushed a finger against my jaw “One of his man, Yixing and then him too”

“Fucking assholes” Minseok muttered through gritted teeth “Just wait until we catch them—I will show them what happens when they punch a woman”

“Minseok—” I sighed and closed my eyes. After that no one spoke, he took care of the other small bruises, like the one on my lower lip. He put some ointment on my jaw and cheek. After that he offered me to sleep in the bed in his place, but I said no and convinced him to let me sleep on the sofa in the living room. He gave me some of his wife’s clothes and after a quick shower I went to bed.

    “What happened to her cheek?”

“I don’t know, we should ask daddy”

“No, daddy will be mad because he told us to leave her alone”

“Is noona okay?”

“I don’t know, we should ask her”

“But she’s still sleeping”

“Yeah, and dad will be mad if we wake her up”

I opened my eyes, making the twins gasp. They looked at each other and ran away.

“Mark, Yugyeom!” Minseok whisper-yelled into the living room, and walked inside when he saw me sitting up “They woke you up, right?”

“I was already awake” I chuckled, lying. Of course they woke me up.

“How are you feeling?”

“Pretty good, if I don’t mind my left shoulder” I said with a shrug, stretching my hands over my head.

“Glad to hear” Minseok said with a smile “You should be staying with us though, for a while. Until he’s locked up”

“Don’t worry, I don’t want to bother. There’s already many of you in the house. I’ll stay with Sehun or Kyungsoo, maybe Junmyeon.”

“No, I want you to stay with us” Minseok glared at me “I need to know you are fine”

“Minseok” I sighed, massaging my forehead “Those three can keep me safe too”

“I don’t care. What if—”

“Minseok, you worry too much” A new voice said from the doorway “As I can see, Y/N took pretty well care of herself. She’s barely bruised. If she doesn’t want to stay here, let her stay somewhere else.”

“Seulgi is right” I smiled at Minseok’s wife, who smiled back.

“But honey—” Minseok whined “You should take my part not Y/N’s.”

“Of course, sweetie” Seulgi chuckled “Breakfast’s ready”

“You heard her” I grinned at Minseok and jumped up following Seulgi to the kitchen. Minseok followed after us grumpy, and glared at the both of us. Seulgi and I laughed when we saw his face, but decided to ignore him. He will get over it soon.

Mark and Yugyeom ran to their places and glanced at each other before smiling at me.

“Noona, good morning!” Mark exclaimed.

“Morning, Markie” I winked at him.

“So, noona” Yugyeom cleared his throat “What happened to you?”

“My face looks pretty bad, right?” I huffed, looking at the twins.

“Yeah, but—”

“You are still beautiful”

“Thanks cuties” I chuckled and started eating my breakfast.

After dropping Mark and Yugyeom off at school, Minseok and I went to the office together. When we entered, like in the last days, the office was hectic. People were shouting, running around or speaking on the phone with other police officers. I glanced at Minseok, who threw me a knowing look as we made our way to our office. Minseok was the first to enter and I wasn’t even inside when Sehun pulled me in a tight hug.

“Y/N, are you okay?” He muttered pulling away, his eyes widening when he saw my face “That fucking bastard, I’ll kill him once I get my hands on him.”

“Sehun, calm down” Most of the time he was a brat, but he truly cared about me “I am fine”

“You don’t look very fine” He huffed as we entered my office and closed the door. I saw most of the boys inside. Minseok was at his desk, while Jongdae was sitting in my chair, hair messy like he pulled on it endlessly. Junmyeon was focused on something on his laptop, while Kyungsoo was watching Jongdae’s with furrowed eyebrows.

“What happened?” I asked, making them look at me.

“Minseok called us when you went to him” Jongdae spoke up, his voice tired “And of course we sent out our special team to catch him, but by the time we got there they were gone—no one was there”

“Everyone was gone” Junmyeon continued “We checked every warehouse we are aware of, but found him nowhere. We arrested everyone from the club who knew him”

“Everyone?”

“Yeah”

“Is there a girl named Wendy as well?” I asked quickly.

“Yeah, she was hiding but we found her. I remembered her from the club” Kyungsoo answered.

“I need to speak with her” I said heading for the door.

“You can’t—Y/N!” Jongdae exclaimed “You are out of the case, we aren’t risking it further”

“Are you saying…that after I went undercover and was even kidnapped, you plan on taking me out of this?” I asked with a scoff “It’s too late Jongdae, you can’t”

“I’m your boss, and you will do what I tell you” He got out of the chair with a glare “You were hurt and I won’t let this get further”

“Alright, just—Take me off the case after I speak with Wendy, please” I said with a sigh.

“Fine, go speak with her” Jongdae said with a sigh, taking out his phone and dialed a number. I bowed at him and thanked him, quickly making my way to the questioning room. The guard in front of her door let me enter and I quickly thanked him. Wendy’s head was on the table.

“I told you already” She sighed tiredly “I don’t know anything—Y/N?”

“Hey, Wendy” I smiled at her, sitting in the chair opposite her.

“What—Are you a cop?” Her eyebrows furrowed, and I could see hurt behind her eyes.

“Yeah, I’m a cop” I answered quietly.

“So—It was all fake, you—taking that job and stuff?” She asked with a glare.

“Yeah, it was all fake. I was undercover”

“Well, that’s a pity. You would’ve had success” She said with a shrug, pushing her long hair over her shoulder.

“Aren’t you cold? It’s freezing here” I furrowed my eyebrows, when I saw her only in a tank top. It was really cold in the room.

“I’m fine” She shrugged, but I could clearly see now that she was actually cold. Her hands were covered in goosebumps and her cheeks were paler.

“Here” I took of my coat and handed it to her.

“I don’t need it, but thanks” She pushed it back.

“Wendy, stop being stubborn and take it on” I said sternly, pushing my coat in her lap. She stared at me for a few moments, before she slowly slid on my coat.

“Seungwan” She muttered, nuzzling herself in my warm coat.

“What?” I asked confused.

“My real name, it’s Seungwan” She said with a small smile “Don’t call me Wendy, I don’t really like it. It’s just a cover name”

“I understand” I nodded “I’m sorry for lying to you, Seungwan. But I really couldn’t tell you the truth”

“It’s fine, I mean—I understand, you were undercover…you could ruin everything” She said with a chuckle and I nodded with a smile “But—What happened to your face?”

“Baekhyun” I sighed, but realized Wendy might not know who I’m talking about, and wanted to correct myself, however it seemed Wendy knew who I was talking about.

“Baekhyun?” She gasped, placing a hand over her mouth “He did that?”

“Well, not really him” I shrugged, touching my jaw “Yixing is responsible for my jaw, Baekhyun for the cut on my cheek”

“I—I’m so sorry” Wendy said wide eyed “You must have made him very angry, though. Baekhyun wouldn’t just hit a woman like that”

“Don’t apologize, it wasn’t your fault and don’t protect Baekhyun either—It’s already done.” I shrugged.

“I know, it’s just—I feel bad” Wendy sighed “How can I help?”

“Help?” I raised my eyebrows, mentally high fiving myself.

“Yes, tell me and I’ll help. I can’t stand this. For years I was afraid of him, he promised a few things to me and—he broke one. I had enough of it” Wendy muttered, massaging her temples.

“I’m sorry about that”

“Don’t be, now…how can I help?” She raised her eyebrows.

“As you might already know, he ran away” Wendy nodded, biting her lip “We searched each mansion he has and warehouse. Is there another one we don’t know about?”

Wendy looked away with a frown on her face. She was biting her lip hard, her palms turned into fists. There was silence, I eyed her cautiously. Maybe she was planning something, I can’t let my guard down.

“Seungwan?” I asked cautiously. She snapped her head at me, her eyes wide.

“Downtown” She exclaimed “Have you searched the downtown one? It’s a smaller warehouse and he rarely uses it. He goes there when he’s very angry about something, or needs to be alone. There aren’t many who know about this, so he might be there”

“A warehouse, downtown?” I asked, already on my feet.

“Yes, but he could have left the country already as well. I know he usually goes to Europe, but I don’t where or which country” She nodded, however her face turned into one of fear “Please, don’t let him know it was me who told you. He won’t hesitate to kill me, he values loyalty a lot and I just—”

“Don’t worry, Seungwan” I smiled at her, stopping in front of the door “You will be looked upon after I leave this room and won’t be staying alone for as long it’s necessary”

“Really?” She asked with a small smile.

“Yes” I nodded at her and quickly ran to my office. The boys looked up alarmed when I barged in.

“What happened?” They all asked at the same time.

“A warehouse, downtown. Look for warehouses out of use, Seungwan said he rarely goes there so not many know about it” I rushed the boys. Junmyeon was quickly on his laptop, already searching.

“Seungwan?” Kyungsoo asked confused.

“Wendy, her real name is Seungwan” I explained, then an idea hit me “Kyungsoo, I need a favour.”

“Yeah?”

“I want you to stay with Seungwan, okay? She helped us and she’s afraid the Joker will come after her, please…protect her as long as it’s necessary”

“Me? Why me?” Kyungsoo asked annoyed.

“Because I trust you and she needs someone, just go!” I glared at Kyungsoo.

“Jongdae—”

“Y/N’s right, she helped us. This is the least we can do to her. Go, Kyungsoo” Jongdae nodded towards the door, and Kyungsoo left with a killer glare.

“He will just scare the girl” Sehun said with a smirk, earning a smack from Minseok.

“Okay, I found it!” Junmyeon exclaimed, as he zoomed in to a warehouse “Jongdae, call the team. We are leaving.”

“Okay, I just need to—”

“Y/N” Jongdae glared at me, phone already in his hand “You are officially off the case. I let you speak with Wendy, and now you are free to go”

“But—”

“Not buts” Jongdae rolled his eyes and told the team to be ready in five minutes “Minseok, you are coming as well”

“Yes, boss” Minseok was quickly on his feet, taking his guns and dressing up.

“But—Minseok—I’m not leaving him alone—”

“He is not alone” Junmyeon said, putting away his laptop “We will be there, and he’ll be fine”

“Like last time?” I asked with a scoff.

“Y/N—That was last time” Minseok said with a sigh, stopping in front of me “Go home, take your clothes and go with Sehun. You are staying with him this week”

“Fine” I sighed, and let Minseok kiss my forehead. He left, followed by Jongdae who nodded at me.

“Don’t worry, everything will be alright” Junmyeon hugged me reassuringly, and smiled before he left. I sighed and stared at the team, through the glass window.

“Don’t worry, Y/N. You know our team is the best out there” Sehun came up from behind, back hugging me.

“Yeah” I sighed and turned around, hugging him back “Let’s go to my apartment, I need to take some clothes”

“Actually, it’s not that obligatory” Sehun said with a chuckle. I pushed him away from me and glared at him.

“You are sleeping on the couch, understood?” I turned around and started walking away.

“Hey! It’s my apartment, and you are staying over” Sehun glared at my back “We can just share the bed”

“Forget about it” I scoffed “You are a perverted brat, I’m not risking it”

“Come on, Y/N” Sehun rolled his eyes as we entered the elevator “What could we do other than sleeping?”

“Really?” I looked at him with a scoff “We both know well what else could happen”

“No, I really don’t know” Sehun shrugged, with a devilish smile.

“You are an idiot” I sighed, looking forward.

I managed to convince Sehun to let me come up alone to my apartment. So right now, he’s downstairs, waiting in the car. I mean, I don’t need help to pack a few clothes and carry them down a few stairs. I quietly opened the door to my apartment, and looked around. Something felt off, could have been the fact that I was kidnapped here and now it feels weird. Without wasting time, I quickly made my way to my bedroom and took out my suitcase, packing most of my clothes inside it. I packed a few things from the bathroom as well, that I know I will need and closed my suitcase. I was calling for Sehun when I had a weird feeling. As I was about to brush it off, I heard movement coming from outside the room. I quickly sent Sehun the code message which means I’m in danger and need help and placed the phone in my back pocket, slowly walking towards my door. If it was him in the apartment, he will ignore it…but for a fact I know it’s not him this time. I quietly opened the door, but saw no one so I headed towards the kitchen. I stopped walking when I saw a red headed person, glaring at me.

“Oh, hello Y/N” He growled “You finally decided to come home?”

“What are you doing here?” I asked with a glare, heading towards my counter where I keep one of my guns.

“Oh, you know, visiting.” He shrugged, looking around.

“I don’t remember asking you to visit” I narrowed my eyes at him, as I searched underneath the counter, but found nothing. I looked up at Baekhyun who was smirking, playing with the gun in his hands.

“Looking for this?” He asked, raising his eyebrows.

“Give it back” I muttered, feeling afraid. He could kill me and that would it be. I would die, and I don’t want to die.

“I don’t want to” He shrugged and pointed the gun at me.

“So what? You are going to kill me?” I asked with a scoff. Baekhyun laughed, and looked at me intently.

“You are afraid, aren’t you? You don’t want to die?”

“You would be afraid as well” I glared at him “People die eventually”

“Hmm” He rubbed his head “You are different” He pulled the trigger and I jumped, but didn’t feel the bullet. I looked at him wide eyed, feeling my hands shake.

“Why—What—”

“I didn’t shoot you” He said with a chuckle, throwing the gun away “I shot the wall, unlike you”

“M-me?” It was hard to function right now. I turned around and saw a hole in the wall. He was so close to shoot me, it looks like he accidentally missed.

“You” I jumped when I found him close, in front of me “Yesterday, you shoot me, here” He pointed at his shoulder and hissed “You were a bad girl”

“You slapped me” I glared at him “See my jaw and cheek?”

“Yixing punched you, not me” Baekhyun shrugged, leaning a little back.

“Are we even now?” I asked with a sigh.

“I don’t know” He smirked “You tell me”

“I don’t understand you and I don’t—” My words were cut off when he jumped at me, his hands around my neck, squeezing it strongly. I held onto his wrists tightly, trying to pull them off, but Baekhyun was stronger than he looked.

“You thought, just because I didn’t shoot you, I can’t kill you in other ways?” Baekhyun laughed loudly “I love to see the life slowly slipping away from people” My air was soon gone and I could feel myself suffocating. Baekhyun’s eyebrows were furrowed as he applied more pressure to my neck, my force was slowly slipping away from me. I no longer held onto his wrists, slowly started seeing black dots around me. Suddenly, his hands were gone and a strong gush of air hit me, I sucked in deep breaths, coughing loudly.

“You tell me who’s the stronger one here” Baekhyun growled “I let you run away yesterday, but you have no chances today”

“What are you planning?” I coughed, holding my throat “Play with me until you get bored and then kill me?”

“Oh” Baekhyun smirked, running a finger down my cheek “You seem to know me so well”

“You have no idea” I whispered, and pushed his shoulders back, trying to run away but he pulled my hair and pushed me forcefully against the counter. I gasped as pain shot through my waist and turned around, only to be pulled against him and pushed into the wall. The air left my lungs once again, as pain shot through my spine.

“You look so beautiful like this” Baekhyun chuckled, his head buried in my neck, as he kept my body up against the wall.

“And you are sick and need help” I chocked out, my voice raspy. Baekhyun looked at me with a killer glare, and his hands went around my neck again.

“Stop it” I muttered as I tried pushing him away, by his arms and shoulders. He just laughed and squeezed stronger than before, leaning his face close to mine. I closed my eyes, avoiding any eye contact with him as my lungs started burning.

“You don’t want to beg?” I could hear the whine in Baekhyun’s voice “I want to play a little bit more” With a last force I tried kneeling him between his legs, but failed. Baekhyun started laughing loudly and abruptly let go of neck, his hands suddenly in my hair. I gasped for air, tears filling my eyes at the stinging sensation I was feeling. Baekhyun growled and suddenly kissed me. I whined at his lips on mine, something I definitely didn’t want to feel after all this. I barely got some air in my lungs and now he wasn’t letting me breathe again. I tried fighting against him again, and turning my head but he was keeping it in place firmly. Even though his lips felt soft, his kiss was rough and he was hurting my already bruised lower lip. I whimpered when he bit my lower lip, pain shooting through. Baekhyun smirked and nibbled on it, making me whine loudly. He finally pulled away and smirked, laughing quietly.

“Get away from me” I muttered lowly, panting. I punched away the hand that wanted to touch my cheek and tried getting his other hand out from my hair.

“Baekhyun—I swear to god if you don’t let me go now, I will beat you until you are laying dead on the floor” I growled at him, glaring at him daggers. Baekhyun gasped and pecked my lips again, making me pull my head back.

“You sounded like me” He exclaimed, eyes wide and mouth in a grin “I loved that”

“You won’t love it when you are dead, asshole” I struggled once again against his hands, and his happy demeanor was gone.

“You know, I think you got enough air for now” He muttered with a glare, and pulled me away from the wall harshly. I was half expecting him to throw me against the wall again, but this time my waist collided with the table and I found myself on my back, my head knocking hard against the table. I gasped at the contact, closing my eyes and coughing a little.

“Look at you” Baekhyun chuckled “You are so weak, and I have you just for myself. It’s quite the difference from yesterday, right?”

“Fuck you” I muttered, trying to push away his hand holding me down against the table. Baekhyun slapped my thigh hard and I growled at him. He smirked and harshly opened my legs, walking between them. I growled again at him, trying to turn away or just escape somehow. Where the fuck was Sehun and that fucking team? Baekhyun chuckled again and hummed something, lowering himself. I tried pulling away from him but didn’t succeed very much. He sniffed my neck and I stared at the ceiling confused.

“What the fuck are you doing?”

“I’m smelling you, aren’t I?” Baekhyun asked with an obvious tone “Memorizing your amazing scent”

“Just fucking get off me” I exclaimed, punching his back a few times. Baekhyun laughed and I felt him kissing my neck, making me jerk away from him.

“Now, now—be a good girl, or I’m going to hurt you real bad” He muttered against my skin and I scoffed.

“You already hurt me, asshole” I muttered, glaring at the ceiling.

“I prefer you calling me sweets or something”

“Forget about it” I scoffed and jerked once again as he licked my neck. Can I throw up? Someone seriously help me for fuck’s sake!

“You don’t just smell good, you even taste good”

“Oh my god, Baekhyun if you don’t—” I gasped when he started sucking my skin, my eyes growing wide.

“No, stop that” I wiggled underneath him, trying to push him off.

“You are angering me, Y/N” Baekhyun growled, punching the table beside my head.

“Stop biting my neck then, get off!” I exclaimed, pushing his chest, but I could push him off well. Baekhyun hummed against my skin, trailing my neck with his nose. He slowly started descending to my right shoulder.

“What are you doing?” I asked, not knowing if I should be afraid or disgusted or weirded out.

“Shut up” Baekhyun muttered against my skin as he ripped my shirt open.

“What the fuck, Baekhyun” I growled, trying to push him now away with my legs “Seriously, if you don’t get off—” I gasped when I felt Baekhyun lightly bite my skin. However, it turned more forceful and I screamed loudly when his teeth pierced my skin.

“Stop” I muttered, as a tear rolled down my cheek “Stop, it hurts” There were loud knocks at the front door and I felt like crying more, help was coming finally.

“Baekhyun, please—” Another tear rolled down, as he was now sucking the skin and I’m sure he drew blood. The front door was broken down and shouts were heard as the officers ran inside the house. Baekhyun finally pulled away, and looked at my face. I could see blood on his lips, my shoulder sore and I chocked a sob, not letting it out.

“Don’t cry, my dear” He caressed my cheek. The officers were almost in the kitchen “I didn’t mean to hurt you, but we are even now”

“Get off” I muttered weakly, and pushed his hands away from my face.

“Don’t cry” Baekhyun whispered, kissing my forehead as the door to my kitchen was broken down as well and officers with their guns pointed at Baekhyun pooled in.

“Get away from her!” I recognized the voice as Junmyeon “Get away from her or we’ll kill you this instant” Baekhyun looked at me, searching my face. I chocked back another sob and with all my energy pushed him off me, knocking him into the counter. Junmyeon jumped forward, turning Baekhyun and pushing him into the counter, making him grunt. I rose off the table, and pulled the shirt back, trying to cover myself. Sehun barged in the kitchen, and pushed away the officers around me. I jumped in his arms, finally letting myself cry as he wrapped his arms around me and squeezed me tightly.

“It’s over, you freak” I heard Minseok mutter with venom, as he helped Junmyeon to restrain Baekhyun.

“Don’t cry” I heard Baekhyun saying loudly as Junmyeon and Minseok turned him around, ready to take him away “Don’t cry!”

“Shut it!” Minseok exclaimed, punching his stomach.

“Minseok, you can’t do that” Junmyeon glared hard at Minseok, who refused to look at him.

“Don’t touch her” Baekhyun growled at Sehun as they passed by us “Sweetie, don’t cry”

“Just take him away!” I exclaimed, turning more into Sehun, no longer crying.

“Don’t cry!” Baekhyun started exclaiming as the officers took him away “You are fine, you aren’t crying! We are even now! I will find you! Sweetie will be fine—” His shouts were muffled as he was finally out of the apartment. His loud laughter, however, was heard and I felt myself shivering.

“He’s gone” Sehun whispered “Look, the cars left” I nodded, sniffling.

“Thanks god”

“Y/N—”

“No, I’m not okay” I muttered pulling away.

“I’m so sorry we couldn’t come faster” Sehun’s face looked pained as he caressed my cheeks. “We found the others in the warehouse and had to catch them as well. They were a pain in the ass”

“It’s okay, thank you for coming” I leaned up and kissed his cheek, thankful that I was finally safe.

“Your shoulder is bleeding” Sehun muttered, pulling off the shirt gingerly from my right shoulder.

“I know” I sighed “He bit me” Sehun’s eyes widened as his head whipped up to look at me.

“I shot him yesterday in the shoulder, he said we are even now”

“I hope that man roots in prison or else I, myself, will kill him without hesitation” Sehun muttered lowly, putting the shirt back on my shoulder and hugging me again.

“Yeah, hopefully he will” I said muffled by his shirt “Can I stay at you?”

“Of course you can” Sehun chuckled, ruffling my hair “You kinda need to uh—replace lot’s of things in the apartment”

“No, thanks” I chuckled, looking at the created mess “I’d rather buy another apartment”

“Or—you could stay with me” He raised an eyebrow and I punched his shoulder.

“Still a perv, I see” I glared at him playfully “I will stay with you until I find a new apartment. Deal?”

“Deal” Sehun nodded happily, throwing an arm around my shoulder and lead the way to the front door.

Great, now I need a new apartment.  

 Part 2

[krissewrites]

À Triomphe - BTS AU

AU:  Art Thief!Bangtan

Description: You are a curator at one of the many museums in Paris, and have finally earned the bosses trust.  But after a strange meeting with a new coworker and his friends, you begin receiving messages from an unknown party.

Part: Nine / Eight / Seven / Six / Five / Four / Three / Two / One

Warnings: Swearing, Violence.

They had him under lock and key, strict supervision.  Six accounts of manslaughter, two accounts of domestic abuse.  He played back the punishment fit for the crime in his head; Death Row. He would be sent back to Korea the following morning. If only he was actually to be blamed.

Jimin sat in the corner of his cell, his back pressed against the wall as he gazed at the window across from the cell bars, the only light showing being the glow of the full moon. It was curfew, with only a few other prisoners within his cell block still awake.  The sound of heels clicking against the metal catwalk echoed.

“Jimin Park,” a husky voice berated.  Jimin groaned, refusing to turn his head.  “What do you want? I told you, I—“

The cell doors slowly glided apart, creating a riff in Jimin’s attitude.  He turned his attention to the guard behind him.  “Now you know how I feel, right?”

Jimin quickly bounced to his feet, tugging his arm as the shackles constraining him to the wall pulled him back.  “What are you doing here? They’re going to fucking kill—“

Jimin was hushed as the black haired boy pressed a finger to his own lips.  His eyes wandered.  “Do you hear that?”

Pure silence, as if there were no souls inhabiting the facility.  Jimin furrowed his brows, turning to his old friend.  “Why are you doing this for me, Yoongi?”

The black haired boy smirked, leaning down to unlock Jimin’s cuffs.  “I won’t let him do this again,”  Yoongi straightened his back, watching as Jimin rubbed his wrists.  He pulled two small masks from his jacket pocket, handing one off to Jimin as he instructed him to wear it. “You want to help, don’t you?” He held the mask against his face.

Jimin slowly nodded, swallowing any resistance he had as Yoongi turned on his heel, walking down a small set of stairs opposite of the way he had come. Jimin followed close behind, careful to not make a sound.  “Yoongi, I’m in the most secure block, what do you think you’re doing?”

Yoongi ignored the yapping boy behind him, striding through the halls with his hands in his pockets.  Jimin quickly realized what turmoil had occurred.

Bodies strolled the halls, the guards face down to the concrete unconscious.  A foul smell grew the deeper you went, batons strolling the area as shattered security cameras littered the floors.  Yoongi had single-handedly taken down an entire facility.  

“How did you do this?”  Jimin quizzed, stopping behind Yoongi as they reached a small door leading to an employee parking lot.  “I put chloroform in the main floor vents.  Then I decided to let out some steam.”

Jimin sneered, smirking as he watched Yoongi hold the door open, motioning for Jimin to continue on.  “We have work to do, Jimin,” he grinned.

Your eyes grazed over the article dated December 17th, 2015.

A woman aged at twenty-one years old found slaughtered in Gangnam apartment last week.

Detectives found imagines on the victim's phone of her and what is assumed, her boyfriend. No traces of him have been found at the crime scene.

Relatives of the victim do not wish to give statements.

Your lips trembled as you read through the article, scrolling past pictures of the scene; a woman, barely together, hidden under a white cloth.  Her blood stained the covering. You grew angry, disgusted, impatient.

What the fuck does this mean? Who are you?

What are you trying to tell me?”

Anxiety quaked through your body as you watched three small, gradationed dots appear.  Whoever it was was typing.

Text Message from Unknown Number

“I’m here to help you. I’m doing my part, you do yours.”

You cursed under your breath, the sense of hatred you had before began to boil in your blood; you had been reminded how much you wanted to leave. Yet, you heard Jeongguk continued to whimper after Hoseok and Jin had moved from the door, concluding that he had become less violent.  A lightbulb went off.

As you stomped to the door, kneeling down before the wooden panel, listening to the grown man sob as he banged his head against the door, calling for someone; he was calling a name other than yours. You had never been the type to manipulate people, and especially in a time of distraught, but you knew no one else would give you the information you wanted.

“Jeongguk?” You cooed, being sure not to frighten him.  You heard him pause his pleading. “Darling?”  He murmured, almost denying who it was.

You heard Jeongguk move his position, turning to face the door.  You saw him kneeling through the crack at the bottom.  “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it,” he wept.  “I didn’t want to do it,” he protested.  He continued in his beg for forgiveness, “Please let me in, baby, I won’t hurt you this time,”

Your breath hitched as you heard the different tones in his voice; a cent of grief, a cent of anger, and a cent of insanity.  He continued to call you by the wrong name, leaving you to wonder about his past.  

“I forgive you, Jeongguk,” you mewled, feeling guilty as you continued the charade.  “I’ll let you out if you answer my questions.”

Jeongguk’s voice pitched, his hand hitting the door as he quickly agreed to your offer.  You began to twiddle your thumbs.  

“Why is (Y/N) here?” The words felt foreign as you heard yourself speak in the third person.  Jeongguk quickly replied, his voice trailing.  “Namjoon is using her.” You clenched your first, your lip twisting as you recalled how Namjoon looked.  You wanted to kill him.

“Where’d Jimin go?”  You beckoned, hearing Jeongguk’s breathing fall to a hush as he grew calmer.  He felt serene with the thought of the mystery woman being on the opposite side. “Namjoon sent him away.”

“Why’d he do that, baby?”  

“Jimin wanted to help her.”

You felt your heart stop as your imagined the scenario.

“What’s the wager?” Jimin spoke softly, submitting under Namjoon’s ego. Namjoon slinked back behind his desk, leaning back in his chair with his feet propped, glaring at Jimin.  “They’ve been tailing us.  I need bait.”

Jimin rubbed the back of his neck, cursing under his breath. “I thought we dropped them months ago? Why do they keep finding us?”

Namjoon shrugged, popping a piece of gum into his mouth.  “I’ve asked Yoongi, he swears the grid hasn’t been breached.” Namjoon’s attention drifted to an old pastry dish from two months ago.  He’d been using it as a paperweight, unwashed.  “I trust him, too.”

Jimin leaned his palm against the edge of Namjoon’s desk, his head dropping down as he stared at the floor.  He groaned to himself.  “What do I have to do?”

Namjoon grinned.

You felt Jeongguk pet the door, breaking your train of thought.  “I’m sorry, lamb,” he muttered. You pursed your lips, growing insecure in your act.  “I forgive you…” your voice trailed.

“What the fuck are you doing?” You snapped your attention to glare at Hoseok who stood beside you, his face contorting in a mix of disgust and anger.  “What the fuck are you doing?”  He yelled, lifting you up by your neck.  He slammed your body against Jeongguk’s door.  “Baby?” You heard Jeongguk coo.

“I—I was—“ you choked, glaring at Hoseok.  His glare could burn holes into your skin.  He quickly tangled his hand into your hair, pulling you from the door with a jerking motion.  You yelped.

“I save you from Jin, I ignore you when you try to escape, but I won’t tolerate this.”  You writhed under his grip, tears coming from your eyes.  “Why the fuck were you doing that to him?”  He growled.  You winced, your breath speeding up as Taehyung and Jin both exited their rooms, watching the scene unfold before them.  Hoseok glanced at each of them.

Taehyung stood, silent, as he watched Hoseok manhandle you.  It was as if you were cellophane—you no longer mattered to him.  He rubbed the bruises on his throat as he turned back to his room, shutting the door behind him.

Hoseok turned his attention back to you.  He jolted you forward to the end of the narrow hall, stopping in front of Namjoon’s door to open it.  

Namjoon watched as Hoseok entered the room with you in clutch, his eyes widening.  “Hoseok…” he whispered.  “What are you do—“

Hoseok threw you to the floor, watching you shake as he closed the door behind him.  “Jeongguk cracked,” he whispered.  You heard Namjoon quickly rise to his feet, his lethargic streak suddenly vanishing.  “What do you mean?”

Hoseok cackled, throwing his head back as he replayed the scene.  “She fucking manipulated him,” he hissed.  “I know I told you she’d be useful, but Jesus fucking Christ,” he cursed, “I’d rather her die right now.”

Namjoon held his hand to his head, brushing back his already short hair as he assessed the situation.  “How much did she hear?”

Hoseok stepped over you, walking closer to Namjoon as he continued his lecture.  “I only caught the tail end of it,” he said, “but I would assume too much, Joon.”

You crawled back against the door, trying to hide in plain sight.  There was no escape from this hell house.  Namjoon glared at you, corrugating his eyebrows as he gave his order; “Follow me.”

Hoseok quickly followed Namjoon out of the room, walking past you as they began their discussion behind a closed door.

“I don’t trust her, Namjoon.  How much longer until she tells them it wasn’t Jimin?”

“I can’t kill her, Hoseok.  You and I both know that.”

“Who says you have to? Lock her in a room with Jin for long enough, he’ll tear her to pieces.”

“That’s not how this works, Hoseok.”

“Who the fuck says this is working in the first place?”

Hours had passed before anyone bothered to open the door to Namjoon’s room, your new cage.  Jeongguk would occasionally scream, followed by the comforting words of Hoseok.  The evening had turned to dusk, and you grew weary with every passing minute. Darkness consumed the room, casting you into the shadows as you cowered behind Namjoon’s desk.

You had fallen asleep at some point in your captivity, tears staining your cheeks. A creek echoed through the room, leading you to snap your eyes open.  You vision adjusted as a light switch flipped.  

“(Y/N)?” A voice cooed.  Taehyung.

The door shut, footsteps slowly easing their way across the room.  You purposefully remained quiet, as you had developed a fear for male voices. A shadow cast over you as Taehyung towered over you, looking pitiful.  A worried look took over his usual puppy-like features.

“What do you want?” You mumbled.  Taehyung squatted, moving a tender hand towards you.  You immediately flinched. Guilt washed over him.  “I know you aren’t happy,” he murmured.  Taehyung began to sit beside you, his voice falling to a whisper.  “I’m not happy, either.”

His hands trembled, gaining your attention as you turned to him.  His eyes watered.  “I don’t want to do this anymore,” he stifled a cracking voice. Taehyung turned to face you, noticing your matching gaze.  “You deserve something better than being here, with me.”  He reached out his hand, brushing his fingers through your hair as he tucked strands behind your ear.  “I’m not a selfish man,” he whimpered.

Taehyung quickly stood to his feet, pulling you up with him as he turned the corner around Namjoon’s desk.  He stopped in front of a small window hidden behind black curtains.  Taehyung gripped the bottom of the panel, pushing it up as he stepped back, making room.  “Leave,” he muttered.

You glared at him, eyebrows knitted together as you tried to pick apart his actions. “What are you doing, Tae—“

“What the fuck?”  You heard a voice growl behind the door.  The door shook as the voice’s owner tried to force it open.  Minutes passed with silence before the pounding came back in twos. Taehyung turned to you, growling, “I have someone waiting for you two blocks away.  I can only hold them off for so—“

The door was rammed down, shredded wood scattering as Jin and hoseok stood, huffing.  A small pistol gripped in Jin’s hand. Taehyung hastily grabbed your waist, pushing you outside of the window before slamming it behind you.

You fell against the grassy side of the house leading to the back yard.  You looked over your shoulder, watching as Taehyung began to scream at the two men.  

“Fucking do it, Jin! You don’t have the balls.  You never did—“

Bang.  You winced as you heard the gunfire, quickly turning your head to avoid the scene.  You saw blood splatter the window in your peripheral vision.

Jin watched as Taehyung’s limp body slid against the window, falling to the floor.  You appeared on the opposite side, staggering as you tried to stand up.  “Go after her!”

You heard two gunshots ricochet against the window, a third one breaching the glass as you began to take off. Your legs strode against the cool November air, turning corners as you heard Hoseok’s distinct voice curse in the distance. You’d gotten far enough from his sight to lose him.

You found an alley two blocks, as Taehyung had said, away from the house, where you hid.  You bent over in pain, panting in an attempt to catch your breath.  

“Brat,” a husky voice called.  You turned your head, your eyes screwed shut from exhaustion opening only a bit; a short, waify man stood at the end of the corner.  “You don’t follow directions well,” he taunted.

You stood straight, watching as he took a drag from a small cigarette in his hand.  Your breath hitched as you muffled a question. “Do I know you?”

He grinned, flicking the cigarette to the ground and smashing it with his sneakers.  “No, not as much as I’d like you to,” he bewitched.  “I know you, though.”

You slowly walked towards him, his features coming into focus with every inch—he had doll-like lips.  “(Y/N) (Y/L/N), 24 years old.”

Another foot, closing the gap between the two of you as he mocked you.  “An art theory major at University of Rochester, you’re father told you that you’d never make any money the day you graduated.”

Another foot, his eyes beckoning you—cat eyes.  “You moved to Paris at the age of 21, moving job to job as you tried to grasp your footing,”

He was the boy from the video.  “And you finally found a decent job—the Maillol, was it?”

He tossed his head to the side, watching as you approached him like a curious child.  “Until some asshole asked you on a date.  Your family has been worried,” he muttered under his breath the following, “but they’ve been keeping you from the media, haven’t they?”

You were now only a foot from him, watching as his gaze pierced through you.  “Follow me,” he ordered.

You, with no other choice as the fall weather left goosebumps on your skin, followed his demand and trailed him around the corner of the alley into the open.  

There sat a small black car, one fit only for a couple of people. He opened the driver's side door, quickly getting in.  You stood, feeling odd in your judgment.  

Who the hell was he?  

How’d he know me so well?

The driver's window rolled down, an impatient stare coming from cat-boy.  “Are you just going to stand there?”

You walked around the car, stepping into the small car before buckling your seatbelt.  Cat-boy began to talk once more.

“I told Taehyung to meet us at the warehouse if he really wanted to get out of that shithole—“  He turned his gaze to you as the car drifted through the streets under the nightlight of Paris.  “Did he mention—“

You stopped him, “He won’t be coming.”

Cat-boy sat in his seat, pressing against the steering wheel as he eyes trailed from you back to the streets.  “They caught him, didn’t they?”

You could hear guilt in his voice as if Taehyung was a brother to him.  He sighed, sharply turning the car around a corner as he pressed on the gas.  “That poor bastard,” he muttered.

You sink back in your seats, crossing your arms over your chest as you began to feel uneasy.  “Who are you?” You muttered.

He turned to you, smiling gummily.  “You’re a little obtuse, aren’t you? What, did Tae fuck you, or something?” He joked.  The air in the car grew tense as you didn’t respond.  Cat-boy paused, realizing that his joke was true.  “Oh… shit,” he whispered.  He waved his hand, sighing as he got back on track.  

“My name is Yoongi, although you probably know me by Creepy-Stalky-Texter,” he laughed at his own joke.  It was nice that he found amusement in his own company.  “I’ve been watching you for a while now,” he spoke softly, pulling into a parking complex.  

“Why?” You hissed, growing impatient.

“I work with Namjoon,” he sighed, “he’d been planning to hit the Maillol.  Jin was in charge of getting access to a clean entry to the building—“ he turned to you.  “Sorry about that, by the way.  I heard you really liked him,” Yoongi laughed.  “It must suck having your date steal your work keys,” he muttered.

He pulled to halt, putting the car in park as he unbuckled his seat belt.  “I knew you’d be targeted, and honestly, I’ve grown annoyed with the whole lot.”  He referenced the boys—Hoseok, Namjoon, Jin, Jeongguk—leaving you to wonder just what caused his irritation.

The two of you exited the car as he walked you across the parking lot to the exit.  You both began your trek across the wide road to a small lot of garage units.  “I didn’t want to be a part of their clique anymore, so I started texting you,” he glared at you, continuing, “but you see how good that worked out.”

The two of you came to a stop in front of a small garage unit where Yoongi began to fidget with a padlock on the bottom of the slide up door.  He quickly slid the door up, revealing a small, bunker-like, room.  He held the door up on his tiptoes, waiting for you to enter.  His stomach peeked from under his shirt.  

You entered the small room, accompanied by multiple cots and miscellaneous objects for entertainment, and resting.  A table sat in the middle of the room with an odd amount of chairs surrounding it.  A small alignment of cabinets lined the back of the unit, customized with a small sink and miniature fridge.  

“It’s not the best thing in the world, but it is safe.  I’d feel safer here than in my own apartment—“ he trailed off.

In the corner of the compact room as a door, leading to a small section of the unit that was converted into a bathroom.  The door slowly opened.  

[nothingnoteworthy]

Chapter 8: Liminal Sandwich Shops

Overload loved a good rave. The louder the music and the bigger the crowd equaled the better the time.  Plus, no one really noticed if you were physically sparking on the dance floor. You could lose control, generate too much energy, teleport to an entirely different rave in an entirely different country and no one in either rave really cared. Well. No one cared if you ended up at the right type of rave. Not every party with bad lighting and glowsticks counted.

It wasn’t surprising that it was the buzz she was sensing. A large party in the middle of an otherwise empty, quiet commercial area would be putting off noticeable electricity. Apparently it wasn’t her sole opinion. Some sort of insect with too many legs and too much body slammed itself onto the roof. The crowd panicked and they were in the right. She would too if she hadn’t given herself the responsibility of protecting people from superpowered threats. Ash was a lot more prepared to take it on. Probably a mixture of bravery and excessive experience in killing bugs. Overload wasn’t going to do it, Caroline thought her fear was hilarious, and Lyric tried to pied piper them out of the fucking apartment. Like the nonviolent effort was appreciated but please set it on fire.

Overload snagged Ash before she could start the fight. There was something at the edge of her awareness, one powerful and familiar enough to make Overload retreat into the shadows. Sure enough Scream Queen showed up in a burst of that signature PDU light. The creature was done for in the most humane way possible. Which, given that its legs were being chopped off, probably wasn’t much better than being lit on fire.

She kept backing up, deeper into the alley. This was not a good time to have a run in with Scream Queen. Overload had the presence of mind to not wear spandex but if your ex catches you lurking in an alleyway wearing head to do black and metal plating with a cheap mask and a girl that breathes fire she’s gonna know what you’re up to. She didn’t want to get caught working as a vigilante, especially not by this ex. It was weird.

Her anxiety spiked. Scream Queen lingered after the battle. Just. looking around. Casual. Calm. Collected. Fucking creepy with her god damned spiny teeth just sorta stapled onto the burlap. She seemed to lose interest and leave but. She might come back. Overload wouldn’t put it past her to mess with someone like that. Jumpscares and all.  Even if she didn’t, a UN clean up crew would and that meant it was high time to move on. This was getting them nowhere anyway. It was time to seek outside help. On the lucky hand, she had another ex in the area who was much more comfortable with masks and usually had good information. On the unlucky hand, she had another ex in the area. Tonight sucked.

Overload tried to keep thinking of him as her contact. But that just made it seem like they were friends on superhero facebook or something. Which she actually would be, although she would probably hide him from her feed. The thought would be mutual. Probably. He hung out in a sketchy looking sandwich franchise that she was pretty sure he actively worked to make sketchy. Single story, had to have been at least a 20 year old building, hidden at the end of the road with two four story office buildings on either side of it.Weirdly large parking lot for a tiny shop that literally no one was at, ever. There wasn’t a single car in that parking lot and the open sign was so heavily aged you probably couldn’t tell when it was on. The inside was extremely sterile in contrast with the outside dinge. You could smell the antiseptic. The floor was so shiny you could do your make up with it. It was weird. She didn’t like it. One day she’d bring Caroline here to get confirmation that he somehow set up his life in a pocket dimension.

Overload pushed open the employees only door, weaving through the shimmeringly clean racks straight for a box freezer. She shoved it to the side, revealing a narrow staircase that revitalized the rust chic the outside had. It was less rickety than it looked. Ash went first, a small fireball in her hand lighting just a few feet in front of them. Enough to see where they were going but not enough to be able to tell exactly how much of the stairs were iron and how much were thin flaky rust.

They ended in a bare cement room, empty except for a flickering lightbulb. Her ex/contact was nothing if not cautious. Understandable, given his particular situation. Overload walked up to one of the walls and began to bang on it with her fist.

“Heeey buddy, open up, I need some info and there’s a 75% chance you have it. Come on, don’t be annoying it’s alright like 12 at night I know you’re up and I know neither of us want to be up. Or, well, okay, you probably want to be up because you don’t sleep because you seem to think you have infinite health and will never get sleep deprivation ever but you’ve gotten it before like right before my damn eyes so I know it happens and then you get the sleep headaches and you get all grumpy and frankly that’s uncalled for. I mean you might be sleeping right now but I don’t think -”

The wall slowly slid to the left, revealing a large grey bipedal wolf. With hands. Now how he would describe himself (he liked getting out a large red plastic binder with printed wikipedia entries of various werewolfs, wolfmen, and humanoid dog creatures and showing you the highlighted portions) but it was how Overload did it. Wolf on two legs with hands. There we go. At least he was wearing a pair of loose black workout pants. So that was a bit of description embellishment. Something fancy to get going on. Pants. His ears slid back slightly and he tapped one of his feet against the ground. “What’s the other 25%?”

“Fleas. 75% information. 25% fleas.”

“You’re hilarious. Come in, tell me what you’re looking for.” He paused, glancing at Ash. “I don’t have fleas don’t listen to her. That was one time and it was her that had the fleas first.”

“It’s true, I did. It was finals week, I spent a few hours at the dogpark with a giant bucket of dried chicken livers buying the love of the city’s dog population.” Overload explained. Ash sighed heavily and walked into the spacious room. Half of it was laid out like an apartment, a little kitchen, a tiny table, a beat up couch and a coffee table. There was a large bed, piled with pillows and blankets, that looked like it had never been made. There rest of it was covered in computers. Desks and tables were arranged in a large U shape, with a cluster of servers and other components in the center of the room. Several large screens hung from the wall, each displaying several windows full of numbers, pictures and documents. It was a lot. Gave Overload one hell of a headache.

“I’m Kevin by the way. A lot of people call me K9, my project code back at Biotech was really unfortunate. Or really well planned.” He held out a large furry, clawed hand to Ash. She hesitated for just a moment, cautiously giving his hand a small shake.

"Ash."

"Nice to meet you Ash. What were you looking for Overload? I've got my own project right now but I might have gotten something on the side." He quickly moved to the other side of the room taking a seat into a large plush rolling chair.

“You’ve probably heard of the digital attacks on some companies in the area? We tried to see what was going on but their server room was fried. You could go in any room in the building and see every scream freaking out. It was pretty bad. Plus there was this weird person in red? Teleporting?” Overload dropped onto his couch. Kevin wrinkled his brow and stared at her before shaking his head.

“The teleporting person, I’m not sure. There’s a lot of possibilities but it quickly becomes too many possibilities. If they’re good, cameras will never catch them. If the cameras never catch them, neither do I. All I get is some word of mouth and that takes forever to form into a profile. The attacks, yeah. Everyone’s heard about that. It’s another Old Series Biotech soldier, I don’t remember her project code but her project name was Antivirus.”

“Ironic.”

“Yeah. Let me see what I have on her, I’m glad you’re on her trail. She’s low key but dangerous. If she stays on the streets she’s going to start fights with other ex-Biotechs, both old and new series.” Kevin turned his focus back to his computers, sorting through files. He went quiet for a bit, massive body hunched over his keyboard, staring into the rows of screens. At least Kevin and Overload got along still. It would be kind of unfortunate if an information hound like him was  out to get her. It would also be unfortunate if he ever heard her make that pun. Someone needed to get a new sense of humor, or at least learn to respect the beautiful time honored art of wordplay. It was the one sore spot in their otherwise decent relationship. If only.

“What are you working on?” She asked, watching Ash unsuccessfully try to wipe a few stray hairs off her pants. They would be there forever.

“Something a lot more interesting than some computer problems. The city’s grown itself another cult. A lot of them are just smoke, mirrors, and sedatives but some of them have Astral influence. This one’s got something big.” Kevin got excited, his ears perking up. “I think they’re trying to resurrect or even create some kind of deity. So Cool. I mean. It’s not, not really cool people will die and I gotta put a stop to it but they had to pick up a lot of ancient forgotten stuff, thousands of years old.”

“Is it a bad god?” Ash didn’t seem comfortable with the couch or the conversation. Overload smiled sympathetically.

“I wouldn’t say that it’s a good one. I’ve already found a ritual spot covered in blood. Whatever they’re creating it’s not friendly. I’m not done decoding all of the information I’ve found, but I’ve found enough references to a ‘sea of blood’ and ‘cities full of emptiness’ to come to the conclusion that maybe this shouldn’t happen. And there we go. Here, the flash drive is secure but try not to put it on an internet connected device.” Kevin swung around, pulling one of the dangling drives off his tower, tower. “I’m gonna call you if I need a hand. I work well with lightning powers.”

Hm. Oh yes. The, other thing that stained their relationship. One of his exes. Fun. Fun reminder. Still. Sounded bad. Probably a lot worse what they were working on. But also a bit weird that the PDU wasn’t involved. Kevin would’ve never gotten into it if they were. “I’ll bring the whole crew. Who knows what powers their evil-cult-god will have.”

“I’m hoping I can put a stop to it before they actually manage to wake it up. I should be able to pull a few strings and get them cut off. Fingers crossed.” He grinned, managing to not look like he was trying to eat them. Overload laughed and took the drive, motioning for Ash to get up.

“Fingers crossed. Thanks for the help.”

“Anytime Duracell.”

“See ya later Rover.”

“Bite me.”

[cwnerd12]

I’ll Be Okay

“I’ll Be Okay” David walks into a cavernous file storage room. Asher, Abby, Joel, Shay, and Monique sit on the ground, papers strewn around them reading files. David, “What is this?” Asher, “Fuckin’ files, man. We found our files. You don’t have a file, you have a box.” David sits down, Asher slides a box over to him. David opens it and thumbs through the folders in there. David, “Who else has a file here?” Joel, “Everyone. Seriously look at this room. There’s a file for everyone the MSS has ever dealt with.” Abby reads from the file in her hands, “Franklin Hatch, Jr. Known pseudonyms: Frankie, Frank, Jr. They forgot to include ‘Dumbass.’” David, “I like Frankie.” Abby, “Okay, but seriously, if you yell, ‘Hey, dumbass!’ Frankie will turn around and say, ‘What?’” Shay, “I can’t believe this. Shay Mendoza: confirmed homosexual. I’m trying to overthrow the king, and that’s what’s important about me.” Joel, “Seriously? For you, that’s like saying, ‘Asher Levinson, confirmed Jew.’” David flips through his file, “Oh, I got a confirmed homosexual, too.” Monique, “Me, too. Apparently trans and bi people don’t exist.” David, “We’re unicorns. No wonder they can’t catch us.” Abby, “Aw, I didn’t get one, I’m sad. Especially considering the number of times I’ve banged the princess.” Joel, “Jack didn’t get one, either. You’re only a confirmed homosexual if it’s convenient for you to be one.” David, “Where’s Jack’s file?” Asher, “It doesn’t say anything about his condition. Sorry.” David stands up and begins to go down the aisle, looking intensely at the shelves. Asher, “What’re you looking for, David?” David, “I don’t know if they’re going to have his file, but I’m looking for a guy named Ivan Waters.” Asher, “Who?” Shay, “That’s Wednesday’s dad.” Asher, “The filing system here is kind of complicated, but I can find him. Why are you looking for him in particular?” David, “Wednesday doesn’t know what happened to him, just that he didn’t come home from work one day. Jesus- if we can start giving answers to families who are missing someone…” his voice trails off for a moment, “We need to start making these files public. We have to figure out a way to give them to the people who want them.” Asher, “There’s a lot of missing people in here.” David, “We can set up some tables. Get a bunch of our soldiers working them. People come up, request a file, and we send someone back to find it, and then we give it to them.” Shay, “We can do it, but it’s gonna be a fuckin’ mess.” David, “Then let it be a fuckin’ mess! Silas built his kingdom on secrets, and now we’re gonna tear it down!”

Beth talks to two AFG soldiers who were there when Yuri died. One, named Regina, “We were pinned down in this stairwell, Reinhardt was firing at us, but we couldn’t get him. Joel said something to Shay.” Another soldier, Ezra, “He asked for cover.” Regina, “Yeah. Then Joel ordered Yuri to go after Reinhardt.” Beth, “Joel told me that Yuri just ran out.” Regina, “No.” Ezra, “He definitely gave the order.” Beth thinks quietly for a moment, “Do you think it was like…. something with the twelve Queens, like… He knew he wasn’t going to make it out of that?” Regina and Ezra look at each other uncomfortably. Ezra, “I dunno. He did have Shay’s unit covering for him.” Regina, “It all happened really fast. I don’t know if Joel would have had time to think it all through.” Beth, but if it just happened, why would Joel lie about it?” Regina, “Do you really think Joel would have just sent him out to be killed? Why would he do that?” Beth looks uncomfortably at Regina, and then says, “I don’t know. I- I’ve been with Yuri for a long time. We’ve been through some shit together. I’m still trying to make sense of losing him.” Regina, “Yeah, Yuri was a good guy.” Ezra, “Everyone’s lost someone, Beth. I’m not trying to minimize your loss, but, you aren’t alone here.” Beth, “I kinda am.” Regina, “What do you mean?” Beth shakes her head, “Nothing.”

In his darkened hospital room, Jack lays with a bandage around his head while Helen softly reads to him from The Wizard of Oz. Dr. Hussein enters, “How is Jack?” Helen, quietly, “He has a headache.” Jack grimaces. Dr. Hussein looks at Jack in concern, “Persistent headaches after a cranioplasty can be signs of a complication, but all of Jack’s scans and x-rays look good.” Helen, “Should we be worried?” Dr. Hussein sighs, “I’m keeping an eye on him, but, sometimes surgery just hurts. It’s a good thing you’re still here for him.” Helen, “I was just reading to him.” Dr. Hussein, “Can you see to read?” Helen smiles sadly, “I’ve read The Wizard of Oz to Seth enough times that I can almost recite it from heart.” Dr. Hussein, “All right. Well, just like always, call for me if there’s any sudden changes. You hang in there, Jack!” She leaves. Helen looks at Jack, “Do you want me to keep going, or do you need a break?” Jack moans softly.

Early morning, Monique steps out of the MSS building, and sees a line of people already wrapping around the block.

Inside the lobby of the MSS building, a line of folding tables is set up, AFG soldiers sitting at them, helpers standing behind them. Abby gives instructions, David behind her, “Okay, just remember, some of these people have been wondering what happened to their loved one for over twenty years. They’re going to be emotional, and you need to be sensitive to that.” David steps up, “Today’s gonna be a long day, and it’s probably gonna be emotionally hard, but it’s really important that we do this. Okay, so, open the doors, let’s get going.” Someone opens the doors, and people start to file in.

Monique returns to the MSS building, which has an even longer line wrapping around it, carrying two plastic bags stuffed with cans of spray paint. She leaves them by the front door, and goes inside. She sees David overseeing the delivery of a file and goes up to him, “David, come with me for a second, I have an idea.” David, “We’re pretty busy here, can it wait?” Monique, “Nope. Get Abby, Shay, and Asher here, as well.” Cut to: Monique, hands David, Shay, Abby, and Asher cans of spray paint. Monique, “Every single person in that line lost someone they love. We’re going to deface this building with their names. David, “What?” Monique takes off the lid of a can, shakes it, goes over to the wall, and sprays ISAIAH CLEMENS on it, “We’re making a memorial to everyone we’ve lost. David, you can put your dad and brother.” Asher, “Monique this is brilliant.” He goes over to the wall and paints out LEO AND NORA LEVINSON, with a star of David next to it. Shay goes over and paints RODRIGO MENDOZA. Abby looks down at her can, “I don’t know if I want to add my dad to this.” Monique, “Then start passing out cans.” David, “Are you sure this is a good idea? What if people start painting on the names of people we’ve killed?” Monique, “Then it’ll be a memorial to them, too. You want to convince people you should be king, right? Then why not show them a thousand reasons why Abner shouldn’t be king? Besides, we don’t kill civilians, right?” David nods uneasily, “Okay.” He goes over and paints JOHN SHEPHERD, ELI SHEPHERD in modest letters.

Inside, Monique hands a can of paint to a group of soldiers that includes Beth and Regina, “We’re putting the names of people we’ve lost up on the front of the building, making a memorial. If you’ve lost anyone, you can add their name.” Regina, “You should put Yuri up, Beth.” Beth takes the can, “Yeah, I will.”

Outside, AFG soldiers and civilians spray paint the wall, which is starting to fill. Beth looks at the wall, sees John and Eli written on there. She looks around and sees David patiently listening to a crying woman tell her story, with a TV news camera recording. Beth sighs and turns to the wall. She finds an empty spot. She shakes the spray paint can, and sprays YURI HITT onto the wall. As she makes the final T, she’s overcome and has to cry. She drops the can angrily and looks back at David. She sees Joel standing off to the side and goes up to him, “Why did you tell me that Yuri just ran out?” Joel looks around, “What?” Beth, “Regina and Ezra told me that you ordered Yuri to run.” Joel thinks, “Oh, yeah, you know what? I did. I must have gotten the memory confused with another time Yuri just ran out. Rashomon and all.” Beth eyes him skeptically, “So did you order him?” Joel, “Shay was covering him.” Beth, “You sent him out to die.” Joel, “You’ve been with the AFG long enough, you have to know that this is what war is like.” Beth, “Did you do it on purpose?” Joel, “What? Why would I do that?” Beth hesitates, not knowing what to say, “I- I heard there was confrontation between you and Yuri.” Joel, “Where he accused you of fucking David. There’s no truth to that, is there?” Beth, sheepishly, defeated, “No.” Joel, “So I have no reason to want to harm Yuri. His death is a tragedy. But he was a soldier. I gave him an order and he followed.” Beth, “I want to talk to David.” Joel, “Yeah, well, you can’t right now.”

David sleeps in his cot, but is woken up by a flash of lightning and sudden BOOM of thunder. His eyes shoot open, and he realizes it’s just thunder, “Oh, fuck.” Flash, boom. He sits up and rubs his face. flash, boom. David goes over to the desk and begins digging around. He pulls out a bottle of meds. He opens it. Flash, boom. David jumps and accidentally drops the bottle, “Fuck!” He turns a light on and begins scooping up pills. Flash, boom. David cries out in frustration. From his sofa, Reinhardt, “Thunderstorms are a bitch, aren’t they?” David, “Shut the fuck up and go back to sleep.” He takes a pill and drinks from a bottle of water. Flash, boom. Reinhardt, “Sounds just like being under mortar fire. Took me a long time to not hate thunderstorms.” David, “What the fuck do you have to be traumatized about?” Reinhardt, “Watched half my unit die when their transport got hit by an RPG.” Flash, boom. David shudders. Reinhardt sits up and lifts his shirt, revealing two bullet wounds and a laparotomy scar, “Got shot.” David lifts his shirt, “Got stabbed, by Alek Amal, no less.” Reinhardt rakes his shirt off as best he can, and turns his back, revealing a long scar, “Some asshole high on angel dust who did not want to get arrested.” David takes his shirt off and shows the burn scars on his shoulder, “I got bombed and then spent three days and three nights in the woods with no food and no water.” Reinhardt, “You just have to keep one-upping me, don’t you?” David, “I’m an asshole.” Reinhardt, “You never did let me sign your cast.” David, “Where are your pens?” Reinhardt, “Top left drawer.” David opens the drawer and takes out a pen. He goes over and hands it to Reinhardt. He sticks his cast out, and Reinhardt signs it. He glances down at a scar on David’s ankle, “Where did you get that one?” David, “My brothers tried to run me over with a golf cart.” Reinhardt laughs, “I forget, sometimes, that you’re just a kid from Bethlehem. Honestly, I never would have guessed you were capable of getting scars from something as mundane as your dumbass older brothers.”

In the morning, Monique adjusts cuff lengths on Asher’s formal uniform jacket. Shay and Joel also get measured and fitted. David comes in, looking tired, “Hey, Monique, what do you want?” Monique, “Finishing uniforms today. Do you and Abby still have yours?” David, “Yeah, I think so. Can you make three in a day?” Monique, “Four, I’m making one for me, too. I’ve been working all week, and I’ve got some friends helping me. We’ll have everything ready for Council, don’t worry.” Shay, “We’re gonna look fuckin’ snazzy.” Asher, “Get any sleep last night, David?” David, “No.” Asher, “You gonna be okay tomorrow?” David, “Define okay. I haven’t been okay in a while.” Asher, “Are you gonna have a meltdown the moment you see Gerald and Abner, or are you gonna hold it together?” David, “I’ll be okay.” Asher, “Are you sure?” David, “I’m sure.”

David talks to Dr. Othman, “I fucking have to look Gerald in the face tomorrow. I never fucking should have agreed to Council. It’s not fair that he gets to decide whether or not I get to be king.” Othman, “Well, in all fairness, he’s probably not looking forward to it, either. You did kind of thwart his invasion plan.” David, “He still got what he wanted that day.” Othman, “What if he sides with you?” David, “I dunno… he might. He told me I was king after he shot Silas.” He takes in a deep breath and slowly lets it out, “I have no idea what’s going to happen tomorrow. I’ve got a million things that I’m scared of, and every single one is staring me in the face right now.” Othman, “You’re allowed to be scared.” David, “I can’t show any fear at Council. Kings don’t show fear.” Othman, “Being brave doesn’t mean not being afraid.” David, “I’d rather be facing down a tank right now.”

Abner watches a video of Silas at Council, Rose sitting next to him. On the video, Gerald says, “I will give Gilboa an extra fifteen miles of borderland, but Gath retains control of the Port of Sorrows.” Silas, “Why don’t you go ahead and fuck my wife while you’re at it? There’s no way in hell I’m agreeing to that skid mark of a deal.” Rose mutes the video, “Silas could get away with vulgarity, but you can’t.” Abner, “I know that!” On screen, Silas makes jack-off hands. Abner, “I’m not Silas, I accept that. I’m not going to win by pulling off a stunt like Silas. I’m going to win by simply being right. I am the legal king of Gilboa. Shepherd has no right to the crown.” Rose, “Shepherd’s not going down without a fight, and he has charisma and popular support. If I were you, I’d be preparing a compromise.” Abner, “Silas would never compromise.” Rose, “But you aren’t Silas.” Abner sighs deeply, and shakes his head, “Silas would be ashamed of me. I’ve disgraced him by reaching this point.” Rose, “Silas would only be ashamed of you for wallowing in self-pity. He couldn’t stand that kind of weakness.” Abner, “I have to face Gerald. I don’t know if I can look him in the eye without trying to kill him.” Rose, “You know, you’re not unlike Gerald. He, too, never had Silas’s charisma or panache, but he’s led his country through real hardship, and re-built from total destruction.” Abner, “You’re saying that about the man who killed your husband and shot Jack.” Rose, “I know. And I’m praying that when I see him, I don’t rip his throat out.”

In Reinhardt’s office, David dresses up in his wrinkled uniform while Monique inspects. Reinhardt watches from his spot on the sofa. Monique, “Well, it needs to be pressed, but the fit looks good.” David tugs on the jacket, “Good.” Monique, “Where are your medals? There’s no way in hell I’m letting you sit down without those.” David, “They’re in my bag. Don’t worry.” His phone rings, he accepts a call from Laura, “Hello?” Laura, “Hello, David, I’m on my way to Council. I have some people with me that I think you’ll be glad to see.” She hands the phone over to Jessie, “Hey, baby! I can’t wait to see you.” David, “Mom?! What- what are you doing, it’s not safe for you to come to Gilboa!” Jessie, “I have protection from Laura, and she says that with the MSS being taken over, there’s no one to arrest me. I’m perfectly safe, don’t worry.” David, “Mom, I still don’t know if this is a good idea.” Jessie, “David, it’s worth the risk if it means I get to see you again. I’ve missed you so much! Ever night, I’m scared of what I’ll see on the news. I need to see in person that you’re still in one piece. How have you been?” David struggles to think of what to say, “I- I’m holding it together. It’s been rough, but, I’m okay.” Jessie, “You come to my hotel room and we’ll order room service. How does that sound?” David, “Sounds good.” Jessie, “Tell Abby her brother is coming with us. Would you like to say hi to him?” In the background, Frankie yells, “David, bro, what’s up?!” David, “I’m okay, Mom, really.” Jessie, “I’ll see you in a few hours, then, okay?” David, “Yeah, okay. I’ll see you then.” He ends the conversation, “Fuck.” Monique, “What’s wrong?” David, “My mom’s gonna be in Shiloh in a few hours, she wants me to have dinner with her. Do you have anything nice I can wear?” Monique, “Don’t you dare wear your uniform shirt, I am not spending all night washing soup stains out of it.” David, “I don’t want to show up to dinner wearing an old t-shirt and cargo pants.” Reinhardt, “I’ve got an extra suit in my closet. For nights when I want to go from the office to dinner with the wife. You’re free to wear it.” Monique looks from Reinhardt to David, “Ought to fit you good, too. Get it out, I’ll press it, along with your uniform.”

David, dressed in Reinhardt’s suit, walks out into a hallway. Beth approaches him, “Can I talk to you?” David, “Make it quick, I have to go dinner.” Beth, “I asked Joel twice about how Yuri died. He gave me two different versions of what happened. At first, he said that Yuri just ran. Then, two people told me that Joel gave him orders to run. When I asked Joel again, he said he gave Yuri the order.” David, “And?” Beth, “Does Joel know about us?” David, “What? What does that have to do with anything?” Beth, “I’m trying to make sense about why Joel would lie to me about how Yuri died.” David, “Are you trying to ask me something?” Beth, “Did Joel send Yuri to die?” David, “No! That’s absurd!” Beth, “Did you tell him to do it?” David, “No!” Beth, “Why should I believe you?” David, “Because I don’t care about you that much!” Long, awful, dramatic pause. Beth, “Don’t worry. I’m not gonna tell anyone about us.” David, “I don’t know what you want me to apologize for, but, I’m sorry.” Beth, “I really hope you become king, David. I hope you get reunited with Jack. I hope you two have a long and happy life together. It’s what Yuri and I fought for. It’s what Yuri died for.” She turns around and leaves.

Outside the MSS building, David crosses the street and unlocks an SUV. Before getting in, he turns and looks at the building, now covered in names of those who have died. He stares for a moment, the enormity of it all weighing down on him.

David knocks on the door of a fancy hotel room, and Jessie opens it. Behind her, the other five Shepherd boys yell, “David!” David’s eyes widen with surprise, but then he says, “Oh my god, seriously?” Ethan, “You didn’t think we’d actually miss this, did you?” Jessie hugs him as tightly as she can, “Oh, David, baby. I’ve missed you so much.” David hugs her back, “I’ve missed you, too, Mom.” He goes to each brother and hugs and greets them in turn. James, “Where’d you get the nice suit?” David, “Um, I’m borrowing it from Caesar Reinhardt.” James, “Are you serious?” David, “Yeah.” Jessie looks on with pride, “It’s been too long since I’ve had all my boys together.” Cut to: David eats dinner at a table, Jessie across from him, the brothers spread around him. Jessie goes on, “You wouldn’t believe what those alligators can get into. One got into the pool in my condo building. They had to call a trapper to come get it.” Sean, “Shoulda called David. He’d have taken care of it.” David, annoyed slightly, “I am not going to just go after an alligator.” Sean, “What? After tanks and terrorists, an alligator oughta be easy.” David, “I had to learn the hard way to not just run after every scary thing that moves. Doing that, you get a bullet in the leg.” Sean, “Oh, lighten up. I’m just kidding.” Robert, “You know how much you used to complain about all your teachers calling you Robert?” David, “Yeah.” Robert, “Not long after I landed in Gilboa, some asshole tried to have me arrested, saying I was you.” David, “You’re lucky they didn’t keep you under arrest. Abby’s brother was arrested and tortured. Probably would have died if we hadn’t have gotten him out.” Robert, “Jesus, do you laugh at anything any more?” David, “Sorry. I’m just tired. I’ve kind of got a lot on my mind,” he deflects the subject, “Are you making friends in Moab, Mom?” Jessie, “Oh, I’m part of a book club. It’s a wonderful group of ladies, we meet once a month. Everyone always asks me how my son is doing, I always tell them, I don’t know, he doesn’t tell me anything! And of course, Tala arrived a few months ago, and she’s lovely. I get invited to lunch with Queen Laura every once and a while. She just thinks the world of you, David.” Ethan, “Everyone thinks the world of David.” Arthur, “Don’t be so bitter.” Ethan, “I’m not! I just remember when we used to be the Shepherd boys. Now we’re all just David’s brothers.” Arthur, “That sounds like being bitter to me.” Jessie, “Boys! Don’t fight during dinner! This is our first night together in two years, I want it to be nice!” Ethan and Arthur, “Sorry, Mom!” James clears his throat, “So, uh, David. What do you think is gonna happen tomorrow?” David, “I’m gonna sit down to a debate with all the monarchs of North America to decide who should be the King of Gilboa. I have no idea what’s gonna happen after that.” Ethan, “Since we’re your brothers, do we get to be princes?” David, “Depends on whether or not I’m willing to forgive you for all the times you tried to drown me.” Ethan, “I was not trying to drown you!” David, “I was swimming and you threw rocks at me.” Ethan, “That’s just what brothers do! Besides, Eli always came to your rescue. He was always looking out for you.” Arthur, quietly, “Eli’d be proud of you, David.” Jessie, “He would. So would your father.” David smiles sadly. Later, David and Jessie say goodbye to the bros. Ethan, “We’re staying at this cheap, shitty hotel, but if you need anything at all from us, call us, okay?” Sean, “You’re gonna kick ass tomorrow, David!” James, “Yeah, kick Linus’s ass for all of us, okay?” David, “I will. Don’t worry.” Jessie, “You boys don’t so anything stupid until then.” All the bros, “Yes, mom!” Jessie, “All right, good night!” David, “Night.” Jessie closes the door. David, quietly, “So, what did you want to talk about, Mom?” Jessie, “Come sit with me.” She goes over to the sofa and sits. David follows her. She looks down at his hand, and takes the injured one in hers. The cast is now decorated with the signatures of all the bros. Jessie, “How did you get this?” David, “I punched Alek Amal too hard.” Jessie sighs, “Oh, David. It drives me crazy when I don’t know what you’re doing, but when I find out, I wish I hadn’t.” David, “I’m sorry, Mom.” Jessie, “You don’t have to apologize. You’re doing the right thing.” David, “Not always.” Jessie, “What do you mean?” David shakes his head, “Nothing. I just can’t remember the last time I knew what the right thing was. I’ve had to make a lot of really hard decisions, and I don’t know if I’ve always made the right choice.” Jessie smiles proudly, “That’s good. It means you still care.” David, “I’ve done some really terrible things, Mom.” Jessie, “Oh, David, baby.” He starts to cry. Jessie hugs him. Jessie, “You said you wouldn’t disappoint me by becoming a bad person. And I’m not disappointed. I am so, so proud of you. You are good. You’ll be okay.” David sobs into her shoulder.