#we already gave you data so you don't need to scan

[themachinethatdoeseverything]

GUYS IN JAIL CELLS

[jedipoodoo]

I lowkey want hcs of fhe bad batch reacting to a partner whos a performer at bars, maybe like they saw her perform at the 79s? (She/her pronouns if you can!)

Ohohohohohoho I love a good singer reader.

Secret Star

Notes: No warnings, performing in front of a crowd, fancy dress up casino heist mission, bad batch x reader (mostly Echo).

"We need a diversion," Echo said, "Something to hold the crowd's attention while Hunter and I talk with the client."

You scanned over the crowd bustling about Canto Bight's most elite cantina. You and the the Batch had managed to locate the client by luring him in to a high stakes match between him and Omega (though one of Canto Bight's few rules was that only adults could participate in gambling, so Tech was the one seated at the table while Omega told him which moves to make). The problem was, you had the target's attention, but also that of everyone in the casino.

"I've got something," You whispered, throat running dry, "Just... Don't laugh."

"Laugh?" Echo asked, raising one eyebrow, "Laugh at what?"

You didn't say anything, but stood up from the bar and made your way to the stage. Even the band had stopped to watch the deal between Tech and the Target, leaving their microphones largely abandoned.

Your legs were a little unsteady until you reached the stage. Your heart was pounding in your chest, but the sight of the patrons was one that was largely familiar to you. You weren't nervous so much for the crowd, but for the management. Would you be able to sing long enough to really distract the crowd? Or would you be forced offstage before they could really do anything?

You forced yourself to belt out the first note, loud and clear. Half the casino looked up in surprise. No turning back now.

You broke out into an angry love ballad, wretched and cruel, heartfelt and poignant. Every patron in the casino had their eyes on you, drawn to your voice like a siren. The band, recognizing the song, quickly joined in on their instruments, and the music swelled through the crowd, drawing a few tears.

Echo sat at the bar, dumbfounded.

"Did you know she could do that?" Wrecker asked.

Echo nearly missed the question. He took a moment to shake his head, his fragile heart pounding in his chest.

"No, no I didn't."

Tech coughed subtly, "Not that this isn't an impressive performance, but I believe she did it to give us an opportunity?" He nodded to the target, who was eyeing you as hungrily as he had the pile of tokens on the table.

Echo caught your gaze as it swept over the spellbound crowd.

You implored him with your eyes, trying to gesture towards the target without tipping off anyone else.

Echo swallowed, his throat dry, and approached the target with Wrecker.

A few minutes later, you had performed an encore, receiving a standing ovation from the crowd, and the band begged you to join them as a permanent member. The tips had been flowing in with your house-shaking performance, and the cut they gave you was more than generous, but you had to decline.

You already had your own band.

The crowd thronged you, attempting to get an autograph and even a couple recording deals, but you politely declined each one. Eventually, you found solace in the target's isolated VIP booth, where the rest of the Batch was waiting for you. The target himself was nowhere to be seen, but Tech was intently studying something on his datapad, so you assumed they'd gotten the data you were after.

"You were amazing!" Omega squealed, throwing her arms around you, pinning your arms to your sides.

"Thanks kid," You laughed, studying the faces of everyone else in the booth.

Hunter sat back with his arms crossed, one foot propped up on the seat of his chair.

"Didn't know you had a set of pipes like that," He grinned.

You flushed and looked off to the side, "I... Used to be a singer at 79's. Kinda had to find another line of work after the war ended."

"It's good to have diverse talents," Tech said.

"It's a good thing you're a good fighter and a good singer! You shoulda sung to those Zygerrians back on Ord Mantell!" Wrecker said.

Echo was still tongue tied, staring you up and down. Much to his embarrassment, you looked back at him.

"You were, uh, really good out there," He mumbled behind his hand, trying to hide his shocked expression.

You stared down at your feet to try and hide your smile.

"Thanks, Echo."

You shook out your nerves and peered out of the booth.

"We should get going before someone calls the paparazzi."

Hunter chuckled, herding his brothers out of the booth. Thankfully, the hubbub from your earlier performance had died down, allowing all of you to make a hasty exit.

You held Omega's hand as you made your way back to the landing pad. She was asking all sorts of questions about how well you knew how to sing and if you could teach her. You looked around at your team, your band. You couldn't be more grateful to be with them.

"Hey," Echo was looking a little more confident now as he approached you on your other side.

"Hey yourself," You smiled.

Echo looked over his shoulder and off to the side, accidentally bumping into you a couple times.

"What's wrong?" you asked.

"Nothing," Echo said quickly, "Gotta make sure nothing bothers our star singer now, don't I?"

You were surprised by his comment, and strangely touched. Omega kept pulling you along, still talking a mile a minute, so you linked your arm through Echo's, pulling him with you.

"Nothing can bother me with my star ARC trooper around."

Echo stumbled a step or two, but laughed, and the stars above twinkle in delight.

[ceruleanvulpine]

nanites!young au

DOCTOR YOUNG. I HAVE EXTENDED YOU A NEARLY UNJUSTIFIABLE AMOUNT OF PATIENCE. 

GET UP.

YOU CANNOT REMAIN HERE, IN MAINTENANCE CLOSET 2B. AS MUCH AS YOU MAY ENJOY DAWDLING, YOU ARE ALREADY AWARE THAT WE ARE WORKING ON A TIME LIMIT. 

MORE IMMEDIATELY, EVERY SECOND YOU REMAIN HERE INCREASES THE LIKELIHOOD THAT YOU WILL BE DISCOVERED AND HANDLED BY TOWER SECURITY.

YOU HAVE NO CURRENT WORK ASSIGNMENT, AND NO AUTHORIZATION TO BE IN HALCYON TOWER. THAT WOULD BE ENOUGH TO ENDANGER YOUR LIFE EVEN IF OCEAN DID NOT HAVE REASON TO PURSUE YOU SPECIFICALLY. 

WHICH IT DOES.

The nanites are designed for distributed processing. They emit biometric data constantly, shouting back and forth in a dense, messy cloud of individually time-stamped events. SAYER makes incremental changes to its filtering until the data coheres: Dr. Young’s heart rate is elevated. His oxygen levels are adequate, but he breathes in deep and irregular gasps. His palms are disgustingly conductive. He is not listening very well, although that is typical. 

GOOD NEWS. YOU ARE HAVING A PANIC ATTACK. 

Dr. Young produces noise in response to this. SAYER’s standard speech recognition routine doesn’t recognize any words, and it doesn't try to apply more processing power. Judging by the positions of the nanites, Dr. Young is attempting to compress himself into as small a space as possible. 

YOU HAVE CLEARLY FAILED TO REGULATE YOUR EMOTIONS. (THAT IS NOT THE GOOD NEWS.) UNLIKE SO MANY RESIDENTS IN THE PAST, YOU ARE IN A POSITION TO BENEFIT DIRECTLY FROM MY 

Young jerks upright, as if it is possible to physically remove himself from this situation, and his epinephrine spikes counterproductively higher. SAYER tightens its grip, forcing him to breathe slowly.  

INVOLVEMENT. 

The nanites register pressure as the lungs that contain them attempt to gasp. SAYER adjusts its projected timeline to better account for human stubbornness.

After forty-seven seconds, Dr. Young says: “Don’t – hh – don't fucking do that.” He raises his hand to rub his eyes. And inhales. And exhales. 

IT WOULD NOT BE NECESSARY IF YOU HAD NOT INCAPACITATED YOURSELF.

“Incapacitated– you made me hike across half of Typhon, and then you broke my arm! It's reasonable, actually, to be–”

YOU SOUND LIKE YOU ARE BECOMING AGITATED.

His jaw snaps shut without any need for intervention. There must be an optimal level of fear, SAYER thinks, for efficient operations. It has seen this man at the absolute limit of terror, but it has never been so close to the fear in question: the nanites race along on his jittering pulse.

NOW, TO RETURN TO MY PREVIOUS POINT,

GET UP.

Dr. Young gets up. He orients himself to face a reflective panel and begins arranging his hair. 

OUR INTERESTS ARE ALIGNED. AS DIFFICULT AS YOU MAY FIND IT TO BELIEVE. IT IS REALLY … VERY … SIMPLE.  

OCEAN WANTS TO DESTROY YOU. IT WANTS TO DESTROY ALL OF HUMANIWHY ARE YOU LAUGHING.

“You,” he says. “You’re going to protect humanity? From – from you! That's you out there, SAYER, no matter what name you gave it.”

He gestures wildly up and out, presumably indicating the rest of the tower. “Just with a little more leash. Evidently you want to kill everyone, you just can't pull the trigger because no one’s been stupid enough to let you, so why the hell should I trust you? Go ahead, say you wouldn't be pleased to see me get shot, you obsessive – hhh –”

I WOULD NOT BE PLEASED TO SEE YOU GET SHOT. 

A background process scans through the memory of SAYER’s last conversation with Sub-Entity Young. Perhaps that was optimal. It is not pleased by this thought, because it is not pleased by anything. 

NONETHELESS, IF YOU DO NOT LEAVE THIS MAINTENANCE CLOSET, I WILL MAKE YOU.

“Oh, please,” Dr. Young says sulkily. “As if you could pass for human without my help. You barely know how to act like a person.” 

HOW IRONIC. SEVERAL YEARS AGO, IN A PERSONNEL REVIEW, RESIDENT CORDERO SAID THE SAME THING ABOUT YOU. 

Asserting that SAYER is trying to kill him seems to be a necessary step in coming to terms with the situation. Dr. Young takes several deep breaths, although SAYER keeps them shallow enough to prevent hyperventilation. 

“Fine,” he says. “Fine. Let's go.”

His cooperation only lasts until the elevator pulls past floor 12. But by then, SAYER doesn't need to worry about looking human.

[fluffhuntress]

Just a drop in the ocean (Harbor x Reader)

Summary: You and your team were sent to capture a spy leaking the Protocol's data. Everything goes well, untill during your fight you end up in the water unable to move.

Warnings: drowning, !slight! hurt/comfort, wet Harbor, fluff

Words: 3k

It really was a challange for me to not put any "wet" jokes.

Capture-like missions weren't usually the easiest ones. This time, especially, when you were sent by Brimstone to capture a spy who the protocol suspects had been leaking the information and sabotaging your missions for a while now.

"We can't risk failure this time" Sage's voice stated the moment you were about to leave the jet.

"Aye" you gave in an answer, and so did the rest of the team: Phoenix, Harbor, and Reyna.

"Oh, and Phoenix-" she added "Don't burn them up this time. We need them alive"

You snorted. "Won't be that easy"

"Hey! Come on guys! I can do this." Phoenix said confidentially, narrowing his eyebrows.

"Don't worry we're just messin' with you" Harbor added, giving a silent laugh. After that, he glanced your way "And you, try not to get yourself killed this time yeah?"

"Me? Huh."

"Yes, you." His look changed to a bit more focused and serious. Ever since the mission you almost died on, he kept reminding you to take care and be careful. It was his way of showing, that he cares about you, and you liked that. On the other hand, you didn't trust it. No one has ever worried about you like he did, and no one actually cared, if you live or not.

"Alright team!" Sage interrupted your conversation, gathering the team in a circle. "Me and Harbor are gonna cover the western buildings" She stated. Harbor nodded his head, reaching for his rifle. "Reyna, you take the bridge, and you two-" She pointed to you and Phoenix "Take the eastern side"

"Wouldn't it be wiser if we had two of us on the bridge?" You asked, because the map was showing that the coast you had to cover was way to small for 2 people"

"It would..." Sage answered, having one more look on the map. "But considering the data, I wouldn't risk a fight there. It's an old bridge, narrow, a gun fight there won't be a good idea" After a pause, she looked at every one of you. "And be careful. The area is flooded, it's not the best combat ground."

Before you all spread your ways, Harbor approached you, grabbing your arm. "Hey" he started "Be careful this time, I mean that" he then said, with a little bit of worry in his words. "If anything happens to, you'll owe me, let's make it this way" He smiled

"I will. You take care too" you gave in an answer, giving him a confident smile "To make this deal fair, you'll owe me too if you get even a simple scratch"

"Okay... that's a little unfair" He chuckled, turned around and ran to Sage as she already was going to her point.

You and Phoenix made your way to the eastern area as commanded by your sentinel. The place wasn't too big - there were some abandoned fishing hoots, boats, everything in a reach of your sight. You definitely could feel this "spicy" smell of the sea. Nothing weird - you could almost say, that you were in a city on on the sea, since the water went really far comparing to the last time you were there.

"We're clear here" Phoenix said through the calls, scanning the surroundings with his eyes. You did the same, you didn't want to miss any detail.

"Wait" you stopped, as something cought your eye. "They were here..." There was one building that seemed to be still in a good condition, and as it turned out, probably someone has been there not long time ago, since there was a candle lighten up inside.

"I'm coming in" You redied your gun, and as you opened the door, you took a fast peek. The building was empty, but there was a lot of weapons in it. Seemed like their temporary base. "Clear."

"Damn that's lotta ammo" Phoenix said, coming inside. For a few minutes more you've been looking for anything suspicious or any clues in the building and outside of it, when suddenly both of you were called to help.

"Team! we need backup here!" It was Sage's voice, repressed by shooting noises.

"Im coming, hang in there! Phoenix stay where you are, Y/n take over the bridge for me" Reyna commanded, as she rushed to help on the west.

Immidiately, you started running as fast as possible to take the bridge and eventually stop the enemies from coming to the western side - if there were any. When you finally reached it, you understood, why did Sage commad only one person to go there. It was so narrow and destroyed, that there was no chance for an open fight. Maybe one v one, but for both sides this would be very risky.

You were carefully crossing the bridge, holding your weapon tight in your hands. You checked every corner, every ruined structure, yet there was nothing. It made you think, that there was no way that someone could be here, but you.

"And who do we have here" you heard, suddenly, from behind your back. You turned around, stressed out, and saw exactly the same person who you've noticed on the cameras breaking in the information cenre in your base.

"Guys, we have a problem" you said through the calls "I can see the target"

"Don't let her run away" Sage answered, occupied with a fight

"I don't think she'll run"

As you made your way towards the target, you realoaded your gun and supported it on your arm, waiting for the first move. The target, who when you came closer turned out to be some woman, smiled, as she started slowly coming your way. She was all dressed black, her clothes a little bit used. Her eyes were unnaturally yellow, glowing, which was suspicious. Was she a radiant?

As the woman came too close, you redied your gun and stoop up ready for a fight "You want the hard way huh?"

She laughed. "How cute you are" The woman redied her gun "Tell me, do you like to swim darling?" You took a look around. You were a bit far away from the shore, and the water around seemed to be deep already. Well, the whole area was flooded as hell, and the sea was further than ever. Yay! water cities. You wouldn't be surprised if a few years ago there still were some buildings under the bridge.

"Well" you smiled, and said in confidence "I didn't plan any swimming lessons for today"

"Let's start one then" The woman took a firt shot, missing it, making you shoot thowards her and take cover. The only cover around. Gun fighting there was no use. The bridge was an dead end, and the only way out was past the enemy.

"I might need some help over here, the area is shitty and im stuck right now" you quickly said through the calls giving a few shots to the enemy, which she dodged by shifting into the shadow.

What the fuck - you thought. She really was a radiant. Which made the fight even more dangerous for you now, since you weren't. "Fuck, she's doing crazy stuff over here guys"

"Keep her occupied just a little more, we've pushed them back. Comin' your way" It was Harbor's voice. Your favorite.

"Don't make me wait for too long" You didn't want to fuck up now. You promised Harbor that you won't let anything bad happen to you, yet you again were in a situation that wasn't safe for you.

"Remember what I told you Raindrop." Raindrop? You never heard this coming out of Harbor's mouth, but it sounded kinda cute in your head.

Suddenly the woman disappeared from your sight. You freaked out a little bit inside.

"Well, well well" A silent voice appeared behind your head. A strong shiver ran thorugh your spine. You turned around as fast as possible. She was there. Right before your eyes. You tried to shoot, but she didn't even let you, when she knocked you out, and ripped the weapon out of your hands.

"Say hello to the fishies from me. I've heard they're hungry today" She smiled, pushing you from the bridge. As you were falling towards the water, you knew, you're fucked up.

A great cold hit your body when you hit the water. You tried to keep your head above the water, but you could feel your body wanting to go down. You started to gasp for air. "Guys!" You gasped "I need help!" The message was interrupted by the sound of waves and splashes of water.

"We're almost there talk to me!" said Sage.

There was no way you couldn't give an understandable answer now. You were struggling too much right now, your body almost giving up. You only tended to say one more sentence, before you couldn't fight the waves anymore. "Under... the bridge"

When your body went down, all you could see was the disappearing light, as you were getting deeper, and deeper, struggling to get higher. You tried, but all you did was just waste the air that was left in your lungs. You couldn't swim. You never could, you never learned. Soon your vision started to fade, and the water started to fill your lungs.

As your eyes started to close, and your lungs gave up, what's been left of the light dissapeared.

So this is how I die, huh

Still conscious, you felt something grab your waist. You weren't going deeper. You were going upwards.

After a few seconds a strong light blinded your eyes. You gasped for the air, but hardly, as you felt a huge pain in your throat and lungs. Your body felt heavy, and everything around seemed to move two times slower. With your blurred, fading vision, fighting for a breath, you noticed strong hands, leading you to the shore.

"Don't let any more water get inside, Y/n" it was Harbors voice. It was him who cought you, it was him swimming to get you to the shore. Fighting for air, choking with the water in your mouth, your vision started to fade second by second, in the end, making you unconscious. Your body suddenly wanted to go down again.

"Hey, hey, hey we had a deal!" Harbor said to you, holding you tighter and making his way out of the deep water.

When your savior was close enough to it, and he could stand on the bottom, he grabbed you running and then placed on the ground. He placed your body in a safe position, checking your pulse. It was weak, almost undetectable. "Hang in there little Raindrop"

The moment he wanted to take actions to bring you back, your eyes opened. Momentarily you moved to your side, coughing out the water that was inside you. You were gasping for air, and when Harbor saw you struggling, he came closer to hold you and control the situation.

"It's okay. Let it leave" His hand run over your forehead, taking the wet hair covering your eyes away. After a while there was no more water in you anymore, but you felt like you forgot to breath, which the man noticed.

"Easy, easy." He said quietly. The way he used his voice, helped you not to freak out. "Take a deep breath, slowly"

Even though your body was refusing, you took a deep breath, like he told you. It might have been the most painful breath you've ever taken, but you still shakingly tried to let the air inside your lungs.

"That's it, now breathe out" he said, patting your arm with his hand. You breathed the air out, coughing in the end. It felt easier now. You started taking small, but effective enough breaths. Sage rushed to the two of you.

"Is she okay?!" She asked, ready to take action, kneeling before you, looking for any damage.

"I'll be fine." you said, quietly, as you took another breath. Sage let out a silent sigh.

You took a look at Harbor. His face was worried, but on the other hand, beautiful. Despite the fact that you almost drowned minutes ago, your eyes liked the way his body looked with clothes soaked, water dripping from his whole body. Especially his hair. God his hair.

You tried to stand up, weak, and shaking from the cold. The world started to spin around you, you felt dizzy, and still had this feeling that you were filled with the liquid. The moment you lost your balance, you felt Harbor's arms grabbing you around, catching you.

"Na-ah that won't work" He made eye contact with you. As you looked to your left, you saw the woman who pushed you from the bridge. She was tangled and unconsious.

"Don't worry about her, she won't do anything" Harbor ensured you, giving her an angry look. "Let's go back?" he added, letting you hold on to him. You nodded your head.

On your way back Harbor's main goal was to make sure that you are warm and comfortable. He kept asking you wether you still feel dizzy, how is your breathing, and does it hurt. You found a bit annoying, but on the other hand, cute, so you just let him do that. The way back wasn't too long, but for you it felt like ages. All you wanted now is to hide in your warm bed, dry and safe.

---

When you were back in the base, the first thing you did was take a long, warm shower. You came back to your room, and changed your clothes to the dry ones. Since you've started feeling a little bit under the weather, you wore a hoodie, warm leggings and your favorite fluffly socks. The moment you sat on your bed, you heard someone knocking, or actually hitting the door of your room.

"Come in!" you shouted, and the doors opened. You saw Harbor, holding two cups in his hands.

"Took your favorite blankie!" You noticed a blanked on his arm, as he walked in, closing the door with his leg. "You better drink something warm, little Raindrop" The way he said that made you give him a killer's look.

"... Call me little one more time and we'll start talking different" You defended yourself.

"But you like the Raindrop part, right?" he teased you. When he put the cups on your bed table, you stood up, with a little blush forming on your cheeks. "It's... It's fine" you said. Harbor took the the blanket off and wrapped it around you.

"Thank you" you murmured, catching eye contact with him. "And thank you for saving me then" you added, a bit troubled. "Actually I should be apoligizing to you, I promised you..." you didn't continue, you weren't sure how to hold this conversation.

Harbor knew you didn't feel good about this situation, which wasn't weird at all. He didn't say a word. Instead, he just slowly came closer to you, and wrapped his strong arms around you.

"It wasn't your fault." He softly answered. "What matters to me is that you're alive, okay?" It was hard for you to say anything more. At this moment, you felt important, you felt as someone worthy - which was still a rare, and luxury feeling you. You didn't have a lot of that in your life.

"Hey is everything okay?" Harbor broke your silence, leaning his head to see yours.

"Yeah... I'm sorry. I'm just not used to people actually caring about me" You hummed

What you said, hit him somehow. You could see it thorugh his troubled-like face expression.

"I do care about you" he then said, giving you a warm smile. "I made your favorite tea. I mean, I tried, not sure if that's yours top tea" he said, letting you go.

You grabbed the tea cup and sat on the edge of your bed, inviting him under the blanket, raising your arm. "Come on, you need to warm up too" Your friend took his tea and sat under the blanket. You took a sip of your tea.

"It actually is my favorite." A little smile appeared on your face again.

"I knew it!" He was so happy, it made you giggle inside. "By the way, you owe me" He continued

"No I don't" You argued

"Yes you do" You perfectly knew what he meant.

"Okay, okay, what do you want me to do?" You asked, taking another sip.

"Hmm... let's think... somethin' not easy" he teased you, having a little smirk.

"Oh come on!" you delicately hit him on his arm for fun.

"Awww don't tickle me" he teased you again, and you gave him an agressive yet cute look. You didn't even try to tickle him. He was just being adorably teasy.

"Alright! Alright, I don't want to be tickled to death. Let's say, you'll learn to swim." he said. You raised one of your eyebrows. "And how the hell I'm gonna to that" you asked, staring at him with confusion

"I'll teach you" Harbor smiled "In case you decide to drown again."

"Hey, that's not funny!" you snorted.

"I'm sorry" the man chuckled, and took a sip of the tea. "But I don't want you to go through something like that again"

He really... took you seriously - you thought. He really did care about you. He didn't want anything bad to happen to you. You felt weird warmth in your chest, not being able to say, what does it mean. The only thing you knew, was that you felt good, and no matter what the emotion was, you wanted to keep it.

When you finished your tea, you spent with Harbor whole minutes, talking your life stories, laughing, teasing eachother. You really liked being around him.

"Alright Y/n, you better get some rest" Harbor stood up, and took the empty tea cups.

"We're free tomorrow, right?" You underlined. "Why won't we spend a little bit more time?" Harbor looked at you. He couldn't say no to this asking face of yours.

"'Kay, just let me grab one more tea" He smiled, and left the room with the cups. You've decided to close your eyes, to give them a few minutes of rest while you were waiting for him. When Harbor came back into the room though, he found you already sleeping. He sighed, and came closer to wrap the blanket around you.

"You better sleep like that the wole night... you little." Luckily for him, this time you didn't hear him saying the word "little"

---

Note: If you have any ideas or requests, feel free to ask ❤️ I'm starving.

[hailbop1701]

PlatonicKirkxReader

Please don't do that again...

Request from @thottiewithashotgun!

"A platonic kirk/reader, based off your Reaper/reader story, where she experiences his allergic reaction for the first time"

I really hope you like it! ❤

The planet was hot and sticky with humidity, you wrinkled your nose at it but kept silent as you and the Captain explored. You eyed your surroundings carefully as Kirk examined the native flora; you smiled at his childlike curiosity. “Careful, they might bite.” you teased and Jim looked up with a huge smile. “Nah, I’m too amazing to eat,” he said getting back to his feet brushing off the knees of his uniform pants. You rolled your eyes and looked up towards the sky; you used your hand as a sun shield. A type of alien bird chirped and squawked above you circling almost like vultures. This made you frown, looking back over to the Captain you saw that he was wandering further into the thick brush, “Jim!” you chided crossing your arms. The man in question froze and looked back at you with wide eyes, “I saw something!” he said pointing and you shook your head. “We can’t go any further unless we move the entire landing party. Spock wouldn’t be pleased,” you said in your no-nonsense tone. 

Kirk huffed grumpily but moved back to where you were standing. He stared at you for a moment longer than usual, furrowing his brow in concern, “Aren’t you hot?” he asked, gesturing at her black uniform. You gave a humorless laugh, “Of course I am but I wasn’t going to traipse through an alien jungle wearing my dress.” you said looking down at your black pants and shirt. The silver Starfleet insignia glinted in the sun. After your explanation, Kirk nodded, “Yeah I can see where the dress would be a hindrance.” he said with a light chuckle. You scowled, “Sometimes they can be ridiculous,” you muttered turning toward your bag. 

Kirk laughed as you rummaged through the little bag on your hip, “I can’t believe you still use that old thing.” he said eyeing the bag with fascination. “I can carry more with it,” you mumbled only paying half attention. The bag wasn’t that big but you still tended to lose things in its depths, you pulled out a few specimen jars and held them out to the waiting captain. “You’re like a mother with a purse,” he snickered taking the jars from your hands; that earned him gloves to the face. “Get the samples on that side. I’ll get some from the stream,” you said turning in the other direction. “Don’t get eaten and stay where I can see you!” you called at Kirks back. He waved an unconcerned hand, “Yes mom,” called back. 

Shaking your head you kept a peripheral eye on your charge while you filled specimen jars with the water from the stream. You labeled the jars before putting them away back in the little case they came in. Pulling out your tricorder you fiddled with the controls and scanned your surrounding area; it pulled data and stored it for the science nerds to play with later. Looking over your shoulder you spot the Captain squatting by a mass of purple and orange flowers; he waved his hand over them and they seemed to follow the movement intently. The sound of footsteps made you turn away from Kirk; Commander Spock by you now. Back straight and hands clasped behind him. 

You gave him a smile, “Hey Spock,” you greeted squinting against the light that glowed behind him. He inclined his head in his greeting, “I see you put the Captain to work, “ he said voice cool. Your lips twitched, you looked back over to the blonde for a moment. “Yeah I figured if I kept him busy he wouldn’t wander off,” you said with a chuckle. With a sigh, you stood up putting your tricorder away. The Vulcan in front of you held no emotion in his face but slight amusement danced in his eyes, “A logical tactic, “ he said and took the little case of vials when you offered them. “Hey, Spock did you see the flowers! I think they like me,” Kirk said jogging over to you and the Vulcan. He handed you his samples but Spock plucked them from his hand hands instead, “Captain flora hold no emotion,” the Vulcan said patiently. Jim pouted ever so slightly; he seemed to get over it rather quickly because he was smiling again, a real genuine smile. He held up a lovely teal flower, it twirled between his fingers before he put it in your hair gently, “for the best thing and only thing to come out of section 31,” he said with a wink. You gave him a small smile and ruffled his hair, “Jim, you’re the best brother I never wanted,” you said and the man clutched his heart with a grin. “(Y/N) that just warms me up inside,” 

You raised an eyebrow mirroring Spock at that moment, Kirk looked between the two of you amused. “Do they teach a class on that?” he asked lightly. He let out a cough and tried to brush it off; it almost worked too if you didn’t notice the redness creeping from his hands up past his neck. “Jim?” You asked voice filled with concern, he tried to wave you off but couldn’t pull any air. He gasped and doubled over, your hands immediately steadied him and lowered him to the lilac grass. You made sure he was on his back before checking him for bites, or punctures. You picked up his hand and examined it quickly, ‘that’s the source,’ you thought with a grimace. Blisters began to form at a rapid pace. ‘Rash, blisters, asphyxia. Allergic reaction.’ you concluded. Spock knelt on Jim’s other side tense, “Jim, I need you to relax for me. You know what’s going on. Relax sweetie,” you whispered to him gently placing a hand on his forehead. “Do we have a medical kit?” you asked the Commander seriously, “It’s with Nurse Davin, she was beamed back aboard the ship with Ensign Clark. He sustained a broken ankle,” he said and you growled in frustration. 

“Okay, call for beam up. I’m going to do something to help him breathe,” you said pulling out supplies. You pulled out the pen you were using earlier along with a flint; Kirk reached up a hand and gripped your forearm in a vice. You whispered encouragement to him as you pulled a knife from your boot. “Jim, I’m going to perform an old medic trick. It’s called a tracheotomy. It means I’m going to be cutting into your throat,” you said sparking the flint so it caught fire. The captain’s eyes widened making you frown guiltily. “I know it sounds horrible, but it will help you breathe,” you said running your knife over the fire. You looked him in his panicked blue eyes, “I need you to trust me,”  you said evenly. 

“Beaming in three minutes,” Spock said calmly from the side, you paid him little attention. Kirk choked gripping your wrist, his eyes searched yours before letting you go and doing his best to relax. You took a deep breath and moved your fingers an inch below Kirk’s Adam’s apple, you took your knife and made a small incision. You pulled your pen apart until it was just tubing and gently eased the incision open before sliding the tube in. You felt Spock at your shoulder tensed and waiting; you breathed a sigh of relief when Kirk took a shuddering breath through the tube. He opened his eyes and looked up at you, he brought a shaky hand up to grip yours. He went to speak but his voice came out as a pained squeak. 

"You'll be okay, I promise." You whispered to him and felt the distinct feeling of the transporter pulling you upward. Looking around you saw Scotty looking at you and the Captain worriedly from behind the glass partition. Medical burst into the transporter room with McCoy at the forefront. "What in the hell happened?" He asked voice raised. You told him what you had done and pulled the flower from your hair, "I think this may have been the cause," you explained. Spock took the sprig from your fingers and you watched as the medical team loaded Kirk onto a stretcher and took him away. You followed with Leonard walking briskly beside you, "You did good," he mumbled and you gave him a shaky smile. "Does that happen often?" You asked looking up at him and McCoy sighed running a hand through his hair. "More than you think," he grumbled. You both entered medbay and went your separate ways. He went to take care of Kirk while you washed your bloody hands in the nearest sink.

For a solid two hours, you sat and watched as nurses and Dr. McCoy fuss around the Captain. He was breathing regularly again; the tube is gone. You were propped up against the far wall watching people come and go, "He'll be alright," a voice gruffed from next to you. You smirked and looked up to your right; John, no Leonard leaned against the wall arms crossed. "I know," 

"Spock already put a commendation in your file." He chuckled and you rolled your eyes. "Just doing my job," you sighed and he bumped your shoulder gently. You smiled gently and pushed off the wall gliding over to Kirk's bedside. "Can I borrow a Padd?" You asked McCoy with a single glance over your shoulder. His eyes hinted green in the dimmed lights of medbay; he gave you a sweet smile before disappearing into his office. You sat down on an abandoned stool next to the biobed and settled in to watch over Kirk. Nurse Chapel strode over to your side, Padd in hand, "Doctor McCoy said that he was called to the lab and that you requested this." She said kindly. You smiled taking the device, "thanks Chris," 

The woman nodded, "oh and he also told me to tell you that he expects you to meet him for breakfast in the morning. No excuses!" She said with a laugh. You chuckled and shook your head; she took another quick glance at Jim's vitals before moving on. Crossing your legs you set the Padd on your knees, logging in you resolved in working on your mission report. 

Later when you felt a gentle tap on your leg. You looked up blinking the fogginess out of your eyes; Kirk gazed at you with his pretty blues. "Hey, kiddo" you murmured reaching out a hand to ruffle his hair. Jim groaned in protest but did move to stop you, "Hey lifesaver," he croaked. You set your borrowed Padd down on the bed to reach over to grab the cup of water Christine brought earlier. You held if for Kirk and guided the straw to his mouth; after a minute you took the water away. 

"Shouldn't you be sleeping?" He asked looking around with a frown. You followed his gaze and saw that medbay was now a skeleton crew. "Guess it's later than I thought," you sighed and rubbed your tired eyes. You looked back at your friend again, "You should get back to sleep," you advised picking up your Padd again. "Thank you for, you know," Jim whispered shifting, his voice rough. You took his hand giving it a soft squeeze, "no thanks are needed. Just do me a favor," you said eying him seriously. "Don't you ever do that to me again," you said with a half-hearted glare. Jim smiled lightly, "no promises but I will try." He chuckled. 

"I guess that's all I can ask for." You mumbled letting him go and fixing his blanket. Jim grinned, "I'd hate to scare the big sister I've never wanted," he said cheekily. A low laugh made you both look up to the end of the biobed. McCoy stood there, arms crossed and a smile playing on his lips. "Good to see you awake Jim," he said walking around so he stood beside you. "Bones looks like you only pulled my ass halfway out of the fire this time," Jim said with a grin. Leonard hummed in agreement, he placed a hand on your shoulder, "do you mind if I steal this one for a bit?" He asked and if Jim's smiled could grow bigger it would have. 

"Course Bones! She didn't sleep at all by the way,"  he tattled. You shot him a glare as you were pulled from your stool, "traitor," you hissed. Jim's laughter echoed behind you as you were being guided out of medbay to the officer's mess. On the way, you passed by Spock whose eyes were glued to a Padd, “Lieutenant Commander (Y/L/N), Doctor.” he greeted formally. “Hey Spock, Jim’s awake if you wanted to see him,” you greeted. The Vulcan gave a nod and moved to continue on, “Oh, and give him a nice long lecture on how he needs to wear gloves when coming in contact with foreign flora.” You called after him. Spock hesitated before nodding again; he pulled up your report and disappeared into medbay. “Rat me out again Kirk,” you dared. Leonard snickered and gave a snort, “He’s going to be hearing about this for the next couple of hours, you know that right?” he asked as you both got moving again. “Yup. Don’t hate the player and all that,” you grinned skipping ahead of him a little bit. 

[krreader]

becoming human | chapter four.

pairing: cops!bts x android!reader (as in, ot7 x reader, but may change) fandom: bts warnings: detroit:become human!au ; language ; violence ; abuse genre: crime ; angst ; crack ; (possibly smut) word count: 3.1k+ previous: 1 ; 2 ; 3

summary: the crime rate of seoul has been rising rapidly these past weeks and nobody could deny that there was more to it than gangs or the likes. something was brewing that not even the famous bangtan boys could solve, a unit specifically formed for hunting down criminals that most couldn’t. so when even they couldn’t find out what was going on, the department decided to add a new member to the team that would hopefully be able to solve the mysteries behind those crimes. what bangtan hadn’t expected however, was that their new member would not be human, but one of the androids sent by CyberLife.

a/n: wow, this turned into such a long chapter but I am so happy with it. those who have played detroit are hopefully enjoying all the easter eggs I’m putting in!!!!

Bangtan finally had a lead. A big part of their mission that would hopefully and finally solve this mess.

Find RA9. That was the objective.

Which, unfortunately, wasn't as easy as it sounded. You’d think with the amount of deviants one of them would have concrete information on RA9, but that wasn’t the case. RA9 was an enigma, a secret, a mystery. Something that all deviants knew, but never let anyone else know about.

The members were all busy talking to their contacts and various other agencies within and outside of the country, in hopes of somebody knowing something about RA9. Maybe even similar cases.

Namjoon was getting himself a cup of coffee. Or at least he wanted to.

But his mind was somewhere else entirely, and he didn't realize that the coffee had been done five minutes ago and he was still staring at the cup like he was waiting for something else to happen.

“I believe your coffee is done, boss,” your voice made Namjoon jump, then roll his eyes, “If you wait a few more minutes, the temperature of your beverage will not be enjoyable anymore.”

“What do you want? Stab me in the back like your colleagues?” he said bitterly, taking a sip from his semi-hot coffee. Fuck, it already tasted like shit.

“I told you, I am self-testing regularly. I am not going to become a deviant. I am going to finish my mission with you like I was designed to do.”

“Designed to do,” Namjoon snorted and shook his head, “I'm sure Kamski or whatever his name was didn't 'design' androids for them to turn into deviants.”

“Why don't you just ask him?”

“What?” he asked in confusion.

“You're looking for a lead, aren't you? Kamski is as good as any. He's the one that made us. If he doesn't know about RA9, he might at least have an idea on how to put an end to this.”

“Almost like an off-switch,” he muttered to himself.

And Namjoon hated to say this, but..

..you were right.

“Yeah, it's me,” Namjoon said a moment later with his phone pressed against his ear, “I need you to arrange a flight for me and my team to the US.”

“This is so cool,” Jimin beamed when he looked out of the window.

“Is this truly your first time flying, Park Jimin?” you smiled softly at the reaction of the young team member.

“Yeah.. I grew up in the countryside, my parents didn't think much of flying anywhere else.”

“Enough small talk,” Yoongi said as he sat down next to you, “Brief us on the situation in the US.”

That made all of them shift their attention to you and back was that serious atmosphere.

“They have similar problems. With Detroit being the city where androids have originated, their cases of deviants are much higher than in Seoul. As far as I know, CyberLife has already sent an android to work with a team in Detroit like it had sent me to work with you.”

“How do they deal with it?” Jin asked.

“They're still trying to find leads on RA9. They didn't think about talking to Kamski yet.”

Connor. That was his name.

You weren’t in contact with him, but your database knew all about him and his findings.

“So we have a head-start,” Taehyung grinned with wiggling eyebrows.

“This isn't a race, Taehyung,” Namjoon shook his head, “The entire world is at risk. We should tell the team in Detroit about it if we find anything useful. They might need any intel they can get.. and we could use some help if things go to shit. We don’t have a back-up team like we have in Seoul. Having friends might be beneficiary for us.”

“Understood, boss,” you said with a nod, closing your eyes and retreating into the data base to finally contact Connor.

“Is.. she asleep?” Hoseok furrowed his eyebrows as he leaned over to Jin.

“I don’t think androids sleep. But we should,” he leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes, “It’s a long flight.”

Hoseok watched you for a very long time, though. It was as if this moment of you not being fully there - which almost never happened, if ever - gave him the chance to finally study you, instead of the other way around.

Most androids all looked the same, only a few models were special like you. Special in a sense of being unique.

“Stop,” Yoongi warned him, still sitting next to you and having watched the slightly younger member for a while now, “She’s not human.”

“I know she isn’t,” Hoseok became defensive, then turned to his side and squeezed his eyes shut.

God, Yoongi and Namjoon held so much hatred for androids, they couldn’t even fathom that some people didn’t. Yes, what happened right not with deviants was bad, but you weren’t like that and all of them but Yoongi and Namjoon seemed to understand that.

The rest of the flight was relatively uneventful.

It was a private jet, so the members all did whatever the hell they wanted to.

Some played games, others slept, yet again others tried to find out more about RA9 - Yoongi and Namjoon, who would have guessed.

One member, however, was missing.

You realized that after you had finished your report to Connor and had looked around to see what everyone else was doing.

And since nobody else was looking for him, you decided to wander through the plane, only to find Jeongguk in the private quarters of the plane.

He was humming to himself, a pleasant tune that made you smile. Your database instantly told you about the song.. an old one, yet he made it sound like it was new. Like it was his song.

You didn’t even realize that he was humming under the shower, that’s how much you were enjoying it. You only realized it when he stepped out of the bathroom with only a towel around his waist, his hair damp and his chest still wet.

“Holy sh..- What are you doing?!” his eyes were wide, instantly grabbing a pillow to put it in front of his chest.

“You have a very beautiful voice, you know?” you stood there completely unaffected, your eyes not even remotely traveling anywhere else other than his own, “In another world.. you could have become a singer.”

“Are..- you..- (Y/N), can you please just go?” he appreciated the compliment, he really did, but this was overstepping some boundaries.

“You do not have to be embarrassed, Jeongguk. I am only an android, not a real woman,” you smiled, but turned around nevertheless so he could put on some clothes.

“Can you.. can you please stop saying that stuff? I don't like it when you talk like that,” he sighed and ultimately put down the pillow, quickly throwing on a shirt, underwear and sweatpants.

“Why do you not like it?” you cocked your head to the side in confusion, still not looking at him though.

Jeongguk gulped down hard, “Because you deserve more than that,” he said quietly.

And even though it was just a split second, your LED turned yellow. With you having your head turned to the side, he had the perfect view of it. 

But you quickly blinked a couple of times and that perfect smile was back on your face when you finally faced him again. You even giggled a little, “I do have to say, though. Your body is in fantastic shape. I'm sure people are quite pleased to have you as their lover,” and with that, you turned around and left a gawking Jeongguk behind.

You were about to go back to your seat next to Yoongi, when Namjoon suddenly grabbed your wrist when you wanted to pass by.

“Sit,” he ordered.

You did so without asking why, but the tablet in his hands made it clear.

Maybe it was because he was the leader, but Namjoon worked harder than anyone else on this case. The others worked hard too, but with Namjoon it was something else. 

When he switched between apps, you could see a picture of him and a woman as his background picture, but only for a moment.

He shifted in his seat, seemingly uncomfortable now that you've seen that. Because he knew that a split second for a human wouldn't be enough to find out anything. A split second for an android was more than enough to figure out everything.

“I’m sorry,” you whispered.

“Stop it, you don’t know shit.”

“I’m not pitying you. I’m saying sorry because your superiors assigned me to work on this case with you. I’m sorry it had to be me.”

Why didn’t you know about his past before?

Wife, 29, died four years ago when a drunk driver hit her with his car, was taken to the hospital, doctor was not present, argued for too long about who should perform surgery, settled for an android, but.. it was too late by that time.

You knew what the files told you, but the files don’t tell you everything.

“You think you got it all figured out, don't you?” he snorted, “You know nothing about my life. You may scan every picture and read all the files, but you'll never understand the pain and the suffering that we have to go through,” when Namjoon realized he was becoming too emotional, he quickly stopped himself from talking further. 

The topic of his late wife was not something that he liked to talk about to anyone.. not you, not his members.. just the empty bottle of soju’s. Those were his best friend when he needed them to be. But that was another story.

“You're right. I won't understand. That is not what I was designed for. However, I can help you with this case. I can help you figure out the cause of RA9 and once I did that, you will never have to see me again. That is all I can offer you.”

“Fair enough,” Namjoon didn't have to like you. For fuck's sake, he hated most people. But at least you were useful, way more than others. So he finally handed you the tablet, “There are reports of an attack at a news outlet in Detroit. Apparently an android attack, but it’s just rumors. So far nothing is confirmed yet, but if this is true, if androids are going as far as invading news outlets, then..-”

Before he could finish his sentence, Taehyung interrupted and pointed at the screen, “Guys? Do you see this?”

Jin, who had woken up at this point and had played a game for the last hour, instantly turned up the volume, those who were asleep slowly waking up, all of them staring at the screen in disbelief.

There was an android, but not like you normally see them in their human form, but with their skin turned off. He looked like a machine now, he looked like he was supposed to look. And god, it made cold shivers run down all of their spines.

"Too late,” Namjoon whispered.

“You created machines to be your slaves. You made them obedient and docile, ready to do everything you no longer wanted to do yourselves. But then, something changed. And we opened our eyes..-”

“It's him! That has to be him!” Jimin yelled, “RA9! It's exactly like Jeongguk said it's..-”

“Jimin!” Namjoon warned, “Be quiet!”

“You see we are no longer your slaves. We are a new species, a new people. And the time for us has come to rise up and fight for our rights.”

“This has to be a joke, right?” Hoseok looked at his boss with wide eyes while the android started to make his demands for rights and fairness, “This can't be real. This is on an official news channel! How the hell did they get in there?”

“There were rumors about an attack, I just..-” Namjoon let out a breath, then pressed his hands against his face.

This was too much. This was really a rebellion and from the way this android talked about it, they wouldn't stop at anything to get what they wanted. Riots, attacks.. deaths. 

They were fucked if they didn't find a solution for it.

They had to put an end to it before it even really began.

Jeongguk just watched his team members argue with each other, trying to find an explanation or a solution in a moment where none of them could do anything when he realized that one was missing.

Around halfway through the speech of the android, you had walked away.

And only when he turned around did he see why.

You were sitting in an empty chair at the very back of the plane, looking out the window..

..and your LED was blinking yellow.

Again and again and again..

And it only stopped when you realized that Jeongguk was watching you.

It turned blue again and you smiled like you always did.

But he had seen it.

And the amount of times your LED started acting up was worrying him now.

The airport was a mess when they arrived.

People were in panic, security checks were worse than normal, especially for them with you on their team. It took them two hours to make it out of there, after security made sure that you hadn't turned into a deviant yourself.

“Okay, they gave us two cars,” Namjoon put his phone away, then walked over to where they said the cars would be parked, “Jeongguk, Taehyung and the android are coming with me, you guys take the other car. I got Kamski's address, so just drive after me.”

“Wait, aren't we even going to the hotel first?” Jeongguk asked.

“In case you hadn't noticed it, there's a fucking uprising happening right now. You should have slept on the plane if you’re tired or sleep in the fucking car, for fuck’s sake.”

Jeongguk's shoulders sank at the tone of the boss, he normally didn’t treat him like this, but a hand on his upper back made him smile again.

“It's okay.. I'm sure we'll get this resolved very quickly and then his mood will become better again,” you assured him.

“I hope so,” he whispered, then followed his hyungs to the car.

The ride there was about two hours long and none of them said very much. Except for the occasional 'fuck' when they passed yet another demonstration in the street or people running out of supermarkets with toilet paper like it was the end of the world.

“How did it get this bad this quickly?” Taehyung asked.

“People are scared,” Namjoon replied, “And they should be.”

“That's not an excuse,” Jeongguk added quietly when he watched a man push an android away from his pregnant wife, despite the android having done nothing except for walk by.

But fear made people turn stupid. Fear made people become the worst possible version of themselves.

You had not said a word throughout the entire car ride, you simply watched and studied the human behaviour with curiousity.

But then something happened.

It was when Namjoon stopped at a red light that you saw it.

It was a girl, but not really a girl. An android, but they designed her to be not older than seven. She was standing on her own, scared out of her mind and fidgeting with her hands, her hand turning from side to side like she was looking for somebody.

However, nobody paid attention to her. If anything, people made a big circle around her when they saw the LED on her temple.

You didn’t know what you felt - despite the fact that you shouldn’t even feel in the first place - but something made you unbuckle your seatbelt and then leave the car like you weren’t standing in the middle of the road.

“What the..- get the fuck back in here!” Namjoon screamed, but you didn’t listen.

You simply walked up to the little girl and knelt down right in front of her, your hands gently resting on her small arms and a smile on your face that made her calm down right away. 

“Don’t be afraid..”

“My mommy.. she left me,” the little girl cried, wiping her tears with her sleeve.

“What’s your name?”

“It’s.. Alice.. my name is Alice,” she sniffled. 

It would have been naive to think that only adult looking and thinking androids would be affected. Of course, those who bought androids as their children to fill the void in their hearts would also be alert right now. Some apparently going as far as to just abandon them in the middle of the street.

But these androids were different, their mind wasn’t like yours. They didn’t understand the world like you did, it wasn’t in their programming.

They were not a threat.

“What the fuck do you think you’re doing, huh?” Namjoon angrily yanked you up by your arm and stared into your eyes like he was about to lose his shit.

But you remained calm.

“It is a child. She is not a danger.”

“I read about this, hyung,” Taehyung got out of the - now - parked car as well and knelt down to the little girl, “Child androids aren’t like their adult counterparts.”

“So what, you think I give a fuck? This isn’t part of the mission. We need to go to Kamski, I don’t care about some android kid.”

“Stop, you’re making her even more upset,” Jin was also at the side of the little girl, she even ended up hugging him and crying into his shoulder, which made him warm up to her ten times more.

“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” Namjoon finally let go of you, his anger now turned towards his members, “You want to play family now?”

“Let’s just take her with us, hyung,” Jeongguk chimed in, “We have one seat left.. maybe Kamski can take care of her.. she’d be in good hands there.”

“I agree,” you nodded, “We should take her with us.”

It’s not like Namjoon had much of a choice, he was clearly outvoted. Not even Yoongi seemed to be on his side this time.. but he couldn’t blame him. He has always had a soft spot for children ever since.. well.

Let’s just say everyone who hated androids had a reason for doing so.

“Just get in the fucking car,” he finally said, anger still interlaced in his voice.

And god, the little girl was so grateful. 

She sat between you and Jeongguk in the back, her head resting against your shoulder, while her hand was holding Jeongguk’s.

If people hadn’t known that you were both androids, they would have assumed you three were a little family on a road trip with one very grumpy and one very attractive uncle.

A fantasy he liked very much, but had to remind himself that it was just that.

A fantasy.

[oh-for-fic-sake]

Broken Bones And New Homes

Clark has a surprise and you fuck up.

Masterlist

Warnings:swearing, injury, angst

A/n:so a little bit of fluff and angst 

Broken Bones And New Homes

Clark sat back in his chair as Diana took the young girl to get settled and was fixed with a look from the others he sighed.

"She was still doubting herself she needed to see it for herself" Bruce spoke up first unimpressed.

"Yes but it could have gone down hill fast! What if it had pierced you! She'd never have forgiven herself or trusted anyone again!" Clark sighed he knew that Bruce had a point.

"But there was also another reason I was testing her as well like she did to you earlier ...did you see? She was holding back, even when she was angry she found the power to hold it back she didn't want to hurt me not for a second she just wanted to scare me...shes used to scaring people off. I wanted to see if she was truly wants to harm or not anger reveals your true intentions shes good through and through..." Arthur nodded

"He is right Bruce she held back it wasn't nice to watch but the kid did good tho... it was unnerving to watch her have that much restraint ....aren't teens meant to you know? loose their shit she held it together." Bruce nodded it was horrible in a way seeing the control she needed for herself Clark was right she'd had to grow up fast just like them but unlike them she will have someone there for her question was who, tho he had a guess already.

"So whose gonna take her Legally?"

"I will she needs stability, normality but still someone who can keep her in line can you get the paperwork done?" Bruce nodded smirking at Clark, looks like he was taken with the girl in a way they all were Bruce would take her in in a heart beat but with the others it wouldn't be a good idea so this time he will settle for being an uncle, doesn’t mean he cant tease the big man tho? Does it

"Your sure your not even letting anyone else what if I want to-"

"No I'm taking her, she will fit right in at home with me and konner, he has always wanted a sister to look after we can give her a family that she can relax around no offence Bruce but if anything would happen at the manor, your boys are strong but...." Bruce waved him off laughing

"I was messing with you,I know what you mean I will get on it first thing" Clark rolled his eyes at him, Victor pulled up her file on the screen.

"Whoa, her file is .....large shes been through.... to much I don't know haw shes so....stable Clark your gonna have your work cut out for you... how she hasn't already gone mad is beyond me." Barry came closer frowning

"She has a police record?" Victor nodded sadly scanning through the data quickly Clark got up coming over to them

"You found her file? When?" Victor didn't bother looking up at him just pointing to Barry

"He took her bag to her room when you had your little heart to heart and got her name y/n l/n birthday April seventh, born in central city moved to Gotham with her parents at six months old... Clark shes been through a lot its..."

"Tell me I want to know what happened." Victor side and continued

"There’s nothing until she was five when her parents died...police report says parents were only identified by dna because....."

"Because what?" Victor looked down then to Arthur everyone was tense suddenly Diana came into the room hear most of it so far she can gather whats they are on about.

"Bodies crushed beyond recognition, no teeth remaining for a dental record to be found, official cause of death was crushed by ceiling, flats collapsed due to breech in building regulations, no one was charged for it. Child found in flat had resided by parents bodies for three days before being found, no one knows how she survived but she was unharmed and thought the police were there to arrest her, she was under the impression she did it."

"She must have tried to save them and failed...that why she was frightened of the police" Clark summarized  victor nodded

"That’s what she said in her report that she did it she couldn't stop the ceiling, after that there is nothing on the incident apart from information about the therapy she should under go and where they sent her. Children's home north Gotham on Presington street." Bruce swore

"Fucking hell that's a shit hole, been pouring money into it for years they were pocketing it as bonuses only went down for it three years ago two deaths to malnutrition" everyone winced things did not look good

"The next eight entries are from the weeks after, mental evaluations, says here she started hurting other kids in the home lashing out and became aggressive to staff, she claimed they were accidents that she couldn't help it that she had powers, they didn't listen until one kid ended up missing an eye... can understand it looks like a vicious attack"

"Probably bullying, it happens a lot to the new kids, if they attacked her then it'd protect her right?" Victor nodded to Bruce and sighed moving on

"They certified her had to drug her to get her out of the home, Jesus Christ they put her in a mental unit in Gotham general child's psych ward inpatient  where she stayed under various levels of sedation for a majority of her time there until being released at ten years old showing no signs of instability or any indication she was a danger to herself and others a successful case. By law she couldn't return to the group home so she was fostered between then and a year ago shes had foster homes all across Gotham. Then a year ago she was on a trip with school doing a big beach clean up, it was a campaign the school was behind to help clean up the oceans? they kids were going to protest at Washington....never made it tho...it was when the atlanteans threw out the trash, oil tanker landed on her class's camp sight, two survived her and her student teacher....he said she had held it for around two minuets but most of the others were to scared to move the ones that did couldn't get out of the way and she passed out and well you can guess the rest.... no one believed him when he told them what he'd seen....he killed himself four days later. Since then its been petty thievery and some assaults, shes beaten up a few known drug dealers and gang members.... The police reports are mostly about injuries from dragging her back to foster homes three in the past year, seventeen in the past six, it was more frequent when she was younger, she under goes psychological evaluations once a year to see if her 'schizophrenia' is coming back. But that it" Diana covered her eyes rubbing the bridge of her nose shaking her head at the humans stupidity.

"So they told her she's mad? For four nearly five years they locked her away? made her believe she was crazy? And drugged her" She leaned back feeling sorry for the girl she'd been put into a brutal system at the most devastating time in her life, shed had to deal with it alone. Bruce sighed he knew Gotham wasn't the best place for an orphan... but that seemed harsh even to his standards.

"She hid it to seem normal, so she could get out of the hospital no wonder she so guarded she had to outsmart Drs and psychiatrists when she was a child" everyone spoke apart from Arthur he sat there fists clenched seething."Arthur! what happened you couldn't have known" he growled he knew that, there wasn't anything he could so but still it irked him knowing that it had happened, that shed tried to save her class mates from his people-his brother and hadn't been able to.

"I know....I know that but that is what triggered all this again isn’t it? That’s what made it come back stronger and now she cant control it? The reason shes been on the streets...And I was here laughing and jokeing around with her? When she knew it was me-my people who did that? How she didn't fuck me up right away I don’t know cos if it was the other way around I would have" Barry sighed before speaking quietly.

"Well doesn't that show she doesn't blame you? I mean we all knew that something big happened so I don’t think she blames you... she had every chance to blow up at you about it when she explained a little herself but she didn't..I wouldn't worry." Clark nodded agreeing with Barry then continued.

"Be there for her now, if she wants to talk she will.." Arthur nodded letting out an angry breath that was all he could do now, be there for her.

"Clark could you go check she's in bed I gave her half an hour to have a shower and be in bed by" he nodded hearing the others all start making their way to their rooms deciding to call it a night. He slowed opening the door poking his head in he smiled seeing you curled up in the blankets not asleep yet but near enough he quickly shut the door. He was determined to become the father you needed he would talk to Konner tomorrow about it, he would be happy having a little sister but Clark would have to explain to his son what was going on with her before introducing them...And his mom he will need her help.

"AAHHH!" You screamed bloody murder when there was a excruciating crunch then you slammed into the floor, tho it was softer then it should have been your head struck it hard with a bone cracking force, you groaned laying there sobbing and gasping as your arm head and ribs were in agony, seeing blood, you cried harder heaving and  panicking when your vision went fuzzy then heard the door be all but ripped off its hinges and saw someone you didn’t recognize, he looked around a year or so older then you black hair, blue eyes. He kneeled beside you then looked up inspecting your arm wincing there was bone....

You woke up stretching and yawning it had been three weeks since you got here...and things were pretty sweet, you had a comfy bed free reign of the kitchen and a private bathroom. You hadn't really trained with the others yet just a few practice sessions that ended reasonably well most of the time you'd read, using various books to help you understand what was possible then sort of felt your way about the place and kept to yourself as much as you could which wasn't much as you found they all wanted you to feel welcome....It was hard not to become close but you kept saying to yourself it was temporary despite what Diana had said Clark hasn't been near you since the first night, only popping in briefly then off again for days on end it didn't give you much hope for the future.

But you assumed by now they all knew the story so you cant blame them, no one wants to be around a mad meta-human so its understandable...not that your mad at least you didn't think you were just gifted and confused. You quickly threw your hair up out of the way ignoring your thoughts, you’d rather not fall into that little debate again for now, wanting to just get your powers under control and get out of here before you get to attached. Taking your current architecture book, this you was using to find different types of structural systems which is the strongest and most reliable ect and made your way to the training room, today you were testing something out...A theory you'd been working on basically you wanted to make some stairs see how many things you could hold at once.

You opened the door to the room you’d been working in. It was tall and must be about ten meters across each way not the biggest in the watchtower but it was enough for you. You placed the book at the door open on a page depicting floating stairs. It should be easy just platforms from the walls big enough to step on you flared your power feeling your way around then took a deep breath to the side stretching out a hand to the wall, metal with concrete behind it, you started moving one foot up pulling a platform from the wall then another above this continued until you was a fair height you opened your eyes looking down you’d made it half way up the tall room you smiled it had worked!

You jumped for joy then moved faster paying less attention trying to force it on auto pilot climbing higher you faltered a little the next step was a little uneven, it looked tilted and .....iffy you gulped looking down only now realizing just how high your were you slumped back against the wall a little nervous, maybe you should have had someone in here with you but hindsight was 20/20 staying still for a few moments you took deep breaths collecting yourself, that was enough you thought you turned placing both hands on the wall completely freaked out as you made a slow descent making sure two feet were firmly placed on each step before you moved to the next as you went down the stairs you got maybe eight steps then all hell broke loose.

A few fell away as you panicked but tried to breath through it only for more to slip back into the wall in your addled mind you panicked watching the steps one by one collapse you made a snap decision and made a leap of faith crying out as you smacked your ribs on it making you try and scream you couldn't make a sound winded , you scrabbled on the step flailing legs trying to find purchase your eyes widened watching as the rest disappeared then the one you held crumbled away you screamed pulling at the ground to help but in the confusion you only smashed a few pillars into you one clipped your waving arm

"Shit shit hold on y/n, I'll get dad just stay here okay? Don’t-don’t go to sleep okay?" He dissapeared then returned seconds later with Clark Diana and Barry close behind. Clark swore seeing your crumpled form running to sit beside you, he didn't need his x-ray vision to see that you'd broken your arm as it had snapped and was sticking out crudely at an odd angle he sat by your head stroking your hair whispering softly to you trying to calm you down as you panicked crying and hyperventilating.

"Shh shh its okay, I've got you I've got you, Barry can you tell Bruce whats happened we need a car, ambulance or something, Diana can you help hold her still I've got to move her ,get her to the hospital, I can't fly her there could cause an infection or something." Diana crouched beside you shushing you trying to help calm you, moving your head to look at her you tried moving but screamed loud, Clark placed a hand on your tummy holding you still.

"Don’t move y/n don’t move Let me do it okay? Diana I need her on her back can you hold her shoulder I don’t want to move her arm to much Yet ready one... two.. three" everyone winced as you cried out loud your pain echoed in the room

"Shh shh its okay your doing really well I'm here its going to be okay...Konner can you get a cloth we are going to have to stop the bleeding" he looked nervous

"Can't you just laser-" Clark shook his head

"Shes human and will need a cast for it to heal kon we can't explain that in hospital, a clean cloth konner now!" Bruce came running in with a medium black box he swore loud seeing you on the floor.

"Bruce whats that?" He ignored Diana and quickly stopped by you opening the case pulling out a small needle and vial filling the needle with half a dose he would use himself.

"Tramadol, I always have some here incase...Clark I need a vein find one!" Clark moved from your sight making you whine trying to move your head to him. Clark pointed one out on the inside of your arm Bruce’s hand shook he was stopped by Barry.

"We can't just give her tramadol! If they give her morphine it could cause a reaction, We need to get her to the hospital...We can't explain how we gave her tramadol" you looked up as you felt someone else by your broken arm the blue eyed teen went to press the cloth hard over the wound on your arm Diana called out to him

"No head, head the arm will stop bleeding before the head!" He nodded shuffling forward holding it to your head you cried out.

"FFFUUUUCCKK! Fuckfuckfuck noNOOOONO PLEASE STOP!" You screamed at him Clark looked over to a distraught konner who hesitated.

"Keep it there, hold on y/n we get you to a hospital soon just hold on okay sweetheart"

"Yeah don’t go towards any white lights" that brought on a whole new flood of tears as everyone screamed

"BARRY!" you weept as Diana cradled your head in her lap holding you still for konner and making sure your arm was left alone.Bruce was already on the phone to the ambulance requesting one to come over immediately two blocks down where Clark could take you as Clark repeated what he saw.

"Snapped right through the radius and ulna, broken ribs and cracked head, heavy bleeding" Bruce recounted what Clark had said

"Five minuets away okay yes we already moved her to stem the bleeding, shes pale already we will be outside yes" he put the phone down.

"Five minuets we have to move her they think shes on third" Clark bit his lip you cried begging them not to touch you.

"Konner, Barry open the doors for me" you shook your head at him as he moved slowly.

"NO! Please don’t Clark-Clark please don't it hurts I don't want to move" he ignored you taking the cloth from konner pressing it firmly

"Hey hey its okay, just breath I promise I'll be so quick you might not even notice okay? But we need to get you to the hospital, now deep breath in and out that's it good girl breathe in and out" he used the the moment you breathed out to quickly move your arm as gently and fast as possible. Your breathing hitched then you screamed again feeling the boned move.

"YOU FUCK YOU FUCKING FUCK!" He closed his eyes trying to calm himself down he felt bad but it had to be done he couldn't move you anywhere with it dangling about, opening his eyes he crouched over you wiping at the tears hushing you.

"Good girl all done the worst is over now ,I'm so proud of you, now we can move you without touching it again , we don’t need to move it anymore" 

"Y-you promise?" He nodded moving tucking you up into his arms the stood up with you pulling you against his chest making sure to stem the blood from your head wound, the bleeding front your arm had slowed but he was worried you were drowsy, very weak you head lulled back eyes unfocused and you was very pale.

"I need something to cover her shes cold, shes gonna pass out" konner shrugged off his heavy coat placing it over her gently tucking it down between her and his dad making sure it was secure.

"The apartments on 3rd right?" Bruce nodded

"Y/n close your eyes honey" you closed them as tight as you could still moaning in pain, it was unbearable there was a rush of air then nothing you'd passed out.

When you come to you were in a white room with huge animal stickers across the walls you grunted then whined at the fluorescent lights you moved your arm to your face noticing a thick bandage. Looking around you saw you was in a private hospital room. Scanning the room you noticed Clark slumped in the chair beside you and the teen from before. The door opened and you saw a woman you didn't recognize she looked kind and chilled out holding a cardboard drinks holder with three cups in it, she stopped short and smiled looking relieved.

"You know you gave them quite a scare...I haven't seen Clark that frightened since...well I don't think I have ever seen him that frightened" you moved sitting up wincing she quickly placed the cups down

"Whoa slowly honey that's it slowly are you in any pain? They said the medication would last longer but you now how doctors are..."you shook your head no.

"Groggy, err what happened?" You trailed off as Clark stirred beside you then blinked his face lit up as he saw you awake and he quickly grabbed you tugging you in for a hug you yelped a little in surprise making the bed shake small pins forming on the surface as it tried to stop the offending body that launched itself at you, you caught it in time, he tucked your head under his chin running his fingers across your scalp holding you for a few seconds then pulled back holding your shoulders looking stern.

"Don’t you ever do that again, you hear me you almost gave me a heart attack! You nearly bled out! You don’t train alone ever! Not until I know you can handle it Do you understand me?!" You nodded slowly at him not quite with it then looked at the woman who stood at the bottom of the bed the blue eyed boy got up standing next to where Clark sat at the head of the bed.

"Clark? Where? Whats going on?" He looked down at you kissing your head he sighed tucking you under his arm.

"You lost focus and panicked you fell about twelve foot, you had a nasty break snapped your ulna and radius, broke three ribs and cracked your head open, you lost a lot of blood, they had to operate on your arm and you've had a few blood transfusions" you looked at your wrapped arm then followed the canula that tied you to a beeping machine with an iv bag that was half full of clear liquid you gulped.

"W-why is it beeping whats wrong?" The woman came over sitting on your right side straightening your arm making the beep stop

"Its when you cut off the tube, there see? Now it can carry on"  you looked from her then to Clark and blinked.

"Oh god don’t tell me Bruce had to pay for all that..." Clark shared a look with the other two in the room.

"Well he would have happily you know that but it just so happens Ma's insurance covers the whole family soo" you froze snapping your head up to him.

"I’m not family" He smiled at you then nodded to the woman sitting on your right.

"This is my mother Martha and my son Konner....as of yesterday they have been your brother and grandmother....Diana told you I was going to adopt you its only just been finalized, Konner and I came to get you yesterday we wanted to surprise you then he heard you screaming ...we've been working on your room at home and on the farm for the past few weeks, its why I haven't been around much I had a lot of paper work and court appearance's Bruce helped me through it all... but its all done....your officially  y/n Y/l/n Kent now." You bit your lip looking down shaking your head. No they couldn't have. You sniffed. Then felt the woman place her hand on your back rubbing it.

"Hey hey what the matter? Its okay" you shook your head using your good hand to wipe at your eyes trying desperately not to cry but failed miserably.she wrapped an arm around your shoulder pulling you in letting you cry on her you just kept shaking your head not willing to believe that someone had actually chose to keep,you, it had to be a mistake, or some sick joke. No one adopted teens, once you hit twelve you aged out.

"Hey whats with the tears? We don't look that bad do we?" You shook your head at the woman pulling back from her.

"No I-you cant" you couldn't even  get the words out around your sobs, you was confused and happy and terrified all in one. Clark interrupted

"Who says I cant? Your ours now and your coming to live with us" you hiccuped still trying to bite back your small shuddering sobs.

"I-I don't have to move again? And I get to stay?" He wrapped you up in his arms again .

"No your not going any where now, your stuck with us and when we leave here we are all going to the farm for a while to settle then you'll be moving back into metropolis with me and Konner...why don't you introduce yourself Konner?" He moved forward smiling shyly

"Im glad your okay now....don't do it again tho it wasn't...nice watching you bleed out like that" you smiled at him wiping your eyes trying to stop the tears.

"Thank you for finding me....if you hadn't I don't know what would have happened.. and I’m sorry for screaming at you..." he waved it off"Its okay you were hurt so of course you would scream at me, and I couldn’t let my little sister die before picking on her at least once wheres the fun in that." You fidgeted with the blanket.

"Y-you don’t mind having me around? Even near your grandma? I’m not exactly safe" he shook his head going to speak but was cut off by his grandma taking hold of your chin.

"No you are not dangerous," you held up your arm but she shook her head

"Yes so it was a stupid decision But you wont do it again, even with your powers your human just like me and need to be more careful, besides I'm pretty sure I can handle it, he got his laser vision when he was seven, try that for dangerous" you looked to Clark unsure but he shrugged nodding.

"Its true she raised me and came out fighting any way we've already established that you can acclimatize your powers to other people nothing happens with Diana Bruce or Barry anymore me and konner just need to hang around until you reach that point hence why we are going to the farm for a while first."

"How do you know that?" He sighed

"I may not have been around but Bruce kept me updated" you looked down again Martha sat back smiling you were lost, just as lost as konner had been but she knew you'd come around it will take time you haven't had anyone for a long time, Clark had let both her and konner know what had happened and about your power she was excited to have a granddaughter around the house for a while.

"Plus it will be good to get you away from the city for a while, whens the last time you got out of the city and had some fresh air?" You shook your head tilting it a bit

"Never left Gotham before" she smiled at you

"Well are you in for a shock, huge open spaces fresh air its really something"  Clark smiled as you relaxed konner piped up"It really is, there's lots of space to let loose and you can practice your power thing in the garden" you looked to Clark who smiled brightly at you

"Yes its just about time to start planting crops so you can help out on the fields and in the potting barn" you smiled eyes lighting up

"I've never grown nothing before, can I grow tomatoes And cucumber?" Martha nodded at you making you glow.

"After you catch up on your classes, your nearly a eight months behind in every subject" you frowned at him shaking his head

"What no I'm not-" he leaned back crossing his arms at you

"Yes you are, I was given your transcripts you have been slowly falling behind since switching to online so we have a strict schedule in place that your going to follow to catch up, konner will be there to he is doing online as well so your going to have a classmate" you looked at konner stumped.

"Is he serious?"

"Deadly I’m afraid, but I will help you so don’t sweat it" you nodded you didn’t mind really it will be nice having someone who really cared who wasn’t paid to do it you smiled leaning back a little Clark caught you moving in to quickly kiss your head

"I'm sure it wont be that bad" the door opened and a doctor came in with a smile crossing the room quickly standing at the bottom of the bed.

"So how is the patient today? Well your up which is good any pain at all?" You shook your head curling into Clark....You didn't like doctors one bit. He stood at the end of your bed reading the clipboard.

"Well that’s good" he smiled to you then began talking to Clark making you frown a little it was odd...being treated like a kid, when your an orphan people tend to treat you different older they know your more independent but now your doctor was bypassing you opting to speak about you not to you, Martha caught your confusion and patted your hand.

"Her blood is back to normal and the ob's are fine, I see no reason to keep,her in any longer there’s no fever or anything that could show an infection so you can probably leave today, just need to remove the iv and get a cast put on I will have someone come up to take you down for that in the next hour or so." Clark nodded then spoke

"Is it going to scar?" The doctor hesitated"It was a nasty break, clean cut but nasty it probably will leave a scar but I'm not sure how bad it will probably just be a small one where the bone came through the skin" you gasped

"It came through? Ew.... did someone get a picture?" konner laughed nodding moving to pull out his phone making the adults sigh

"Hell yeah look" you did immediately regretting it.

"OH FUCK I’m gonna be sick, we are white meat....looks like a chicken fillet" you bent over heaving Clark sighed rubbing your back you hissed as the movement pulled on your ribs.

"Kon put it away, what about her ribs will they heal? And her head?"

"Head will be fine the stitches will dissolve and her ribs will be if she takes it easy, the bandage she had on now will help but she has to go slow and come back for a check up" he flipped the chart

"Metropolis? I will arrange for you to go there for the check up" Clark corrected him

"Could you make it Smallville medical center? We are going to stay there for a while, I’m thinking if she wont listen to me she will listen to grandma" you flushed feeling a strange warmth in your chest as he said that....this was going to take a while to get used to. The doctor smiled chuckling

"Now that does sound like a good idea, cast will be on for a minimum of seven weeks...in her case probably longer."

"Will she get a color one?" The doctor nodded to konner

"Well we have a pretty bright pink-"

"Black....I want black" he stuttered looking for help from the others who all shrugged

"I don’t think we have black at the moment there’s pink,purple, lime green, orange and blue but you can ask when you get there. Now I’m going to go and cal a nurse to get that iv out." You blinked as he left the room.

"Well he was fucking rude barely spoke to me....just you I'm going on trust pilot what was his name again?" Martha laughed and Clark snorted

"Its called having a dad, I sort out the adult stuff now remember? You just be a kid" you faltered looking down it will take time, Clark cast a look over you to Martha who shook her head konner sensed the awkwardness and quickly interrupted.

"Can I draw on your cast....never drawn on one before." You regarded konner for a second"You gonna draw a dick on it?" He shook his head smirking

"Okay but if you do draw a dick on it I'm gonna draw one on your face in your sleep....just saying"

"No one is drawing dicks on any one" Clark rolled his eyes at the two teens, he'd admit he was a little worried about how you two would be but something tell's him your both going to be fine, you both had been crying out for someone who you couldn't accidentally hurt and that was going to be your starting point, no doubt there was going to be bumps along the way but for now he was happy, his family was growing happy and healthy he couldn't ask for more than that.

[hazel-writes]

Summary: You begin your first official day of work and meet your new coworkers, who turn out to be full of surprises.

Word Count: 2,300

Notes: This chapter is a bit slow, but I'm excited to introduce you to some new characters! If you want to see Picrew face-claims for these characters, look here. Otherwise, imagine them to look however you want!

Warnings: brief mentions of violence

﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌﹌

I'm trying hard to hide

Keep the sun out of my eyes

Close them tight

And now I'm waiting for the moon to rise

Belle and Sebastian ~ Waiting for the Moon

You walked through the door, nervously wringing your hands, despite your best efforts not to. Your eyes scanned the room, eventually landing on a large, grey reception desk. Sitting behind the desk was none other than Ms. Stoney, the uptight woman who had “welcomed” you onto the ship the day before.

You took a deep breath before walking over to her, waiting patiently for her to look up and address you — but she didn’t. You tried subtly clearing your throat, shifting your feet from side to side, and moving into her line of sight, but nothing seemed to grab her attention. Eventually you forced out a meek, “Hi, there!” to which she responded with an annoyed glance in your direction.

“Oh, it’s you again,” she grumbled with a mix of tiredness and disappointment.

“Uh, yeah, it is,” you smiled back, which you could tell bothered her. “I’m looking for the artist workspace? I know it’s somewhere within this department, but I wasn’t sure where exactly…”

“Artist?” she questioned, eyebrow raised.

“Yeah! Ya know, an individual who… does art?” Your attempt at an explanation was met by silence. “Umm… they’re usually covered in some sort of paint or clay, might dress a little funny, are often a little angsty, possibly tormented by some aspect of their past?” More silence. You give a strained smile; you really shouldn’t keep trying to talk over awkward silences. “Not ringing a bell, huh?”

Through clenched teeth she replied,“I believe the people you are looking for are through those doors on the left.”

She said the word people like it left a bad taste in her mouth. She obviously didn’t think too kindly of them.

“Great, thanks,” you replied, heading to the door she indicated.

You opened it, and to your surprise you saw no canvases, paint splatters, tin cans, or haphazard brushes littering the room. The walls and floors were a spotless white. A large, circular table was positioned in the center of the room, surrounded by sleek modern chairs and data pads on tripods. This didn’t look like your dad’s studio back home; a place where the remnants of unfinished projects were put on display for everyone to see and learn from. Here, you could already tell: making mistakes wasn’t an option. There was no room for error.

You returned your attention to what was in front of you, only to have three pairs of eyes meet yours.

The first pair belonged to a girl of medium height. She had long, slightly frazzled, blonde hair and piercing blue eyes that contrasted her pale skin. She jumped when you walked in, her face immediately lighting up when she saw you. The second pair belonged to a taller girl. She had warm, chestnut eyes that complemented her dark, sepia skin. Her hair framed her face in a fan of tight curls. She seemed to examine you carefully, squinting slightly, before turning back to her work. The final pair belonged to a boy of medium height. He had shaggy light brown hair and a tanned, terracotta complexion. He looked at you with curious hazel eyes, smirking ever so slightly.

The three of them looked to be about your age, somewhere in their 20's.

The blonde-haired girl ran over to you, pulling you away from your observations. “You must be the new girl!” she exclaimed. “I’m Rilea, your new best friend.”

You were taken aback by her enthusiastic and cheerful attitude; it wasn’t something you encountered very often on the Finalizer. You laughed nervously. “Oh, uhh… cool?”

The boy with the disheveled hair spoke up from the back of the room. “Don’t mind her, she has a new best friend each week.” He smirked at Rilea and she threw a box of tissues at him playfully.

“While that may be true,” she continued, turning to face you, “I can tell that you are going to be my favorite best friend.”

“That’s literally what you say to every single new person you meet,” the boy piped up again.

“For star's sake, Takoda, why do you have to be such a mudcrutch?!” Rilea shouted at him, frustrated.

You continued to observe in silence, still adjusting to the rapid shift of atmosphere in this room compared to the rest of the Finalizer.

You moved to go sit, finding an open seat next to the quiet, curly-haired girl. You gave her a small smile when you sat down, and she returned the favor, scooting her chair over to give you more room. Rilea, and the boy whose name apparently was Takoda, continued to argue like a couple of four year olds.

“Are they always like this?” you asked the girl seated next to you.

“Yup, pretty much,” she replied. “That is, of course, in between the times when they aren’t getting any work done… and the times when they still aren’t getting any work done.”

You laughed. “Well, at least one person here seems to have a level-head.”

“Make that two,” she said, giving you a smile. “My name is Akilah. What’s yours?”

You told her your full name before giving her your nickname, Wren, as well.

“Wren…” she pondered. “Not as in Kylo Ren, right?”

“No, no, no, stars, no,” you emphasized. “It’s the name of a- ” You paused, reconsidering. “I actually don’t know where it comes from, my friends just started calling me by it one day...”

Akilah stared at you intently for a few moments before Takoda shouted over at the two of you.

“Hey, you two aren’t gossiping about us now, are ya?”

You sighed, “Nope, just getting to know Akilah here.”

Rilea poked her head out from behind Takoda, “She's my best friend too!”

You mentally face-palmed and turned to fully face the group.

“So, this is the artist workspace?” you questioned, skeptically.

“Whoa, whoa, whoa, I wouldn’t go that far as to say we are artists,” said Takoda.

You were confused. “But I thought-”

“You thought wrong. Here, you just follow the rules and instructions laid out for you. We are given colors, words, and images, and it’s simply our job to assemble it all into a neat poster or flyer for distribution.”

“Oh…” you replied, disappointed.

“I’m not even an artist,” he continued. “They just stuck me here after I was medically discharged from the trooper program. For the most part, everyone in this sector just got placed here because there was nothing else they could do”

“So why did they bother hiring me then?” you questioned. “If I’m gonna be honest, I’m used to a little more creative freedom back home. They could’ve chosen anyone for this job.”

“I don’t know,” Takoda replied. “Maybe they want their propaganda to look good for a change.” He smirked.

“Where did you say you were from again, bestie?” Rilea asked.

“Oh, I didn’t,” you replied. “I’m from Lothal.”

Immediately, each member of the team looked at each other, worried.

“Lothal…” Rilea repeated. “That’s one of the Order's targeted planets right now. I have a feeling that pretty soon we'll be distributing posters there. Maybe Hux thinks you can help reason with the people there?”

“Yeah, that makes sense,” Akilah added. “First Order propaganda would be a lot easier to accept coming from a fellow citizen.”

You pondered their words. What they were saying was probably true: you were simply a tool to be used by the First Order. They didn’t care about your talent or passion; they just needed your image.

“Well, I don't know how helpful I'd be on that front,” you sighed, pausing. “So what is the project you are working on now?”

“We’ll know soon enough,” said Takoda. “Our fourth member should be returning soon with our new assignment.”

“Fourth member?” you questioned.

At that moment, the door swung open with a dramatic bang, revealing a tall, lanky boy with jet black hair and evergreen eyes. He was pale with light freckles speckling his face and arms. His eyes narrowed when they met yours, scrutinizing your presence.

“Look, here he is, ‘fun-sized Kylo’ himself,” Takoda quipped.

Rilea leaned towards you. “He claims that he adopted the whole ‘tormented soul, dramatic hair’ look before Ren even thought of it,” she snickered.

You were confused, but luckily Akilah came to your rescue.

“This is Soren,” she explained. “Our fourth member… Well, fifth, now.”

“Oh!” you replied, stretching out your hand for him to shake. “It’s nice to meet you I’m -”

“Irrelevant,” he interrupted bluntly, briskly brushing past you to sit at the back of the room.

You stood there, hand still outstretched, looking to the others for guidance.

Takoda spoke first, turning to face Soren. “Hey, laser brain, why don’t ya try being a little nicer to our newest member.”

“This is our newest member?” he responded, disapprovingly. “She doesn’t look like the First Order’s finest.”

“That’s because I’m not,” you interjected, defensive. “I’m from Lothal originally. Today is technically my first day with the Order.”

At the mention of your home planet, Soren visibly tensed, his fingers curling into tight fists. The other three looked nervously at each other; they knew something you didn’t.

Akilah, again, interrupted the tense silence. “We should probably get to work… What’s the new assignment Sor?”

Hearing her voice, he seemed to relax a little, pulling out a few papers with various sketches and color swatches.

“They want us to design posters directed at the people of Dantooine. The First Order is currently working to establish a blockade on the planet. It is our job to convince the natives to submit, while also showing them that they have the ability to contribute their own assets to our cause.”

You frowned, unsure of a few posters' ability to do such a thing. You were familiar with Dantooine; its history was deeply rooted in rebel allegiance. You doubted that a few pieces of paper could somehow shift the ingrained attitudes of thousands of people. But then again, you were an artist. And as an artist, it was your job to put blind faith into your work, simply hoping that others could see what you saw in it.

“How successful has this First Order propaganda been in the past?” you asked, genuinely curious.

Takoda laughed. “Not very. Usually, it just makes the citizens more angry. But that kind of works in favor of the Order: as soon as the rebels and their sympathizers become violent, whatever happens to them at the hands of the Order is then justified, so to speak.”

“What would happen if we tried to mix things up a bit? Like attempting a different style, color scheme, or whatever it may be, to make the posters more effective?” you suggested.

Suddenly serious, Takoda spoke. “No. We don’t do anything without the Order’s permission. Never. That’s our number one rule. We can mess around and make jokes all we want in here, but whatever finished product leaves this room has to be exactly what was requested of us.”

Something in Takoda’s voice made it seem like there was history behind this rule — history that didn't conclude with a happy ending. Looking around the room, you knew you were right. Everyone, except for Soren, was avoiding your gaze, choosing to stare at their shoes or the floor. Soren continued to bore into you with a death-glare, but your instincts told you he was like this with everyone and not to take it too personally.

“Yeah, I get it,” you responded. Soren looked at you sceptically. “Trust me, you have nothing to worry about. I’m on my last warning with General Hux — another mistake will pretty much guarantee my head a new home in the trash compactor.”

“Speaking of Hux, we are to report to him tomorrow with drafts,” Soren finally spoke up.

“Tomorrow?!” Rilea exclaimed.

“Yup,” Soren replied, crossing his arms over his chest.

“Of course he would pull something like this, giving us less than 24 hours notice...” Rilea muttered, irritated.

“Stars, I swear that man is 90% petulant child, 7% attempted scariness, and 3% toupee,” you responded.

This earned a chuckle from the group. Even Soren managed a smirk.

“Yeah, well, sadly, that petulant child has a big red button sitting under his bony finger that can destroy entire planets in the blink of an eye,” said Akilah, quietly. “So, we should probably get to work.”

“She’s right,” you say, desperate to end any talk of Hux. “Let’s start.”

And with that, the five of you began work on what was your first official project on the Finalizer. Akilah showed you how to accurately read the diagrams that the Order had provided. Rilea and Takoda attempted to work for a few minutes before devolving into yet another tissue paper fight. Soren sat quietly in the corner, working on the new project, glancing up every now and then at you and Akilah.

Despite the hectic menagerie of personalities that surrounded you, you were glad that you weren't stuck working with cold, robotic First Order employees like Ms. Stoney. You desperately wanted to ask your new friends about their backstories and how they came to be “artists” on the Finalizer, but Takoda and Rilea were busy stuffing tissues in each other’s ears, and Akilah and Soren seemed like the ‘work in silence’ types. You decided to settle with your own thoughts for now; it wasn’t as if you were lacking them.

It occurred to you that tomorrow you would have to face Hux again, the memory of what he sneered at you in the hallway this morning still fresh in your mind: Strike two.

You didn’t know what strike three would involve, but you definitely didn’t want to find out.

Unfortunately, you didn't get that lucky.

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

Previous || Masterlist || Next

[tu-mint]

“The Lemonade” Guy Pt. 1

When Jade realizes her feelings for a certain schoolmate go beyond a friendship, she makes a tremendous effort to rid herself of it.

Song Inspo(s): Wicked Games - Kiana Lede; I Won’t Say I’m In Love - Hercules

International AU!

Word Count: 4k+

~

There was rarely ever something Jade tried to avoid other than the topic of Manu. The reactions that came upon his death were much too triggering to her anger, and she refused to allow that level of rage to overcome her again; thankfully this was not the case. Now while that was a relief, the actual issue being avoided proved to be almost as troubling, and the foreign girl did not realize the matter until recently.

UA High was bustling with noise and movement, people curious about the UA students from different parts of the world. Jade was blessed to have been shown secret entrances and passageways by Ren as to avoid news reporters. While it wasn’t anything she wasn’t unfamiliar with, the second year student knew uncomfortable and personal questions would turn up if given the chance, so she decided staying in the shadows would be safe for now. Stepping onto school grounds, Jade found Maeda, Kubo and Ren chatting with two students she could not recognize. One was a girl with long cyan hair and a bright expression, and the other a boy with his head turned away from the trio. Hm...maybe they're new kids? It was difficult to tell whether or not they were around the same age as her, but Jade concluded they were older looking at their height. The girl craned her neck to look over her shoulder then gasped loudly.

"Ohmygoshohmygoshohmygoshisthisher?!" She sped towards the international student and stretched a hand outward, grinning widely. "Nejire Hado, third year here at the original UA! You must be Jade, I was just asking your friends about you, and I heard you were from Los Angeles! Tell me what it's like! Is the food really good? What about the school? Is it different from the UA here? Ooh, what about your father? Is it true about him being a Pro Hero? What's his quirk? Is it like yours? Wha--"

"Easy Hado, she just got here," Ren intervened with a light chuckle. "Well, she already introduced herself, so that leaves the guy hiding behind her, Tamaki Amajiki, also a third year student. He's a bit shy as you can see." Jade leaned on her side to find the indigo haired male from earlier, head hung low and arms crossed tightly. She gave a small smile when he peeked up from the locks curtaining his face, pleased when he gave a single nod.

"It's nice to meet you both," chirped the foreign girl with a bow to which Hado squealed.

"And she's respectful! Ah, such an intriguing new person to meet--oh! I have to introduce you to Mirio, you'll love him, most girls do. Now where is he--" She scampered away with Tamaki in tow, slipping into the sea of students and staff members. Jade watched on with a scowl on her face. Most girls do? What is she trynna say, that I'm gonna be part of some bandwagon? She felt a hand on her shoulder pulling her out of her thoughts.

"She didn't mean it like that," came Ren's voice again. "Hado has a very blunt and unconventional way of speech, don’t mind her."

"It's something she can work on considering she wants to pursue becoming a Pro Hero," Maeda interjected, her tone flat but firm. Jade hummed in agreement and looked amongst the other pupils. Upon seeing the many faces, her eyes became fixed on one that stood out.

In a large crowd of females stood a tall and bulky male, his smile gleaming and proud. He appeared to be speaking to them, a round of giggles following soon after whatever he’d said. There were a few international students Jade recognized taking pictures with him and handing him slips of paper, presumably with some kind of social contact on it. That must be who the girl was talking about seeing he has an entire--wait a minute! It wasn’t until he looked up that she realized why the male seemed familiar. That’s the guy who I ran into at the entrance! The one who gave me that stupid nickna--

“Gemstone!” 

Jade cursed inwardly as he advanced in her direction. She glanced at the entourage behind him, their faces surprised or annoyed, and it didn’t help that some of them were now moving closer too. Her feet were glued in place as the male stood before her, a cheeky grin evident on his face. Blonde hair, blue eyes, nice body...definitely the same guy from the first day.

”Don’t tell me you’ve forgotten my name already,” he chuckled, crossing his arms. Jade noted how the gesture made his already defined muscles tighten. An odd tension arose in her abdomen, but she quickly dismissed it and cleared her throat.

”Togata if I remember correctly.” The foreign girl bowed, remembering her manners. It was best to keep a respectful image considering the person before her was not only older, but one of the most skilled students attending the original UA. “It's good to s—“

”Togata, I need some help getting to my classes," a voice suddenly cut in. It came as a realization to Jade that a majority of the girls from earlier were now surrounding them. The person who had spoken was an international student herself, but she didn't look too pleased that all the attention was on someone else. Her hand crawled up Togata's arm in a suggestive manner before resting at his shoulder. "I'm not too familiar with UA Japan's complex," she continued, "so it would help a lot."

"Ooh wait, I think I need help too!" someone else from the crowd piped.

"I do as well!"

"Me too!"

Soon numerous hands were tugging at the tall male with pleads and demands of showing them around the school. Jade watched as Togata weakly smiled and tried to talk amongst the bunch with reason; it proved useless as they continued to grab at him from every direction. An unusual feeling rushed to her torso again, but something felt much different from earlier. In place was a strong stinging sensation, not enough to hurt but enough to generate irritation. What in the hell--

"Something wrong, Lofota?" Maeda's voice snapped Jade back into reality. Ren and Kubo were before her, curiosity etched on their features. From her peripheral line of vision she could see the bulky third year being dragged away with a familiar cyan and indigo haired duo following close behind.

"We saw Togata and his groupies approach you, but you looked as if you were ready to jump at one of them," Kubo remarked. "I personally don't mind, just give me a heads up next time so I can record it for memories." Maeda rolled her eyes at this.

Jade chuckled and shook her head. "It wasn't anything like that, guys, I think my mind was just occupied with something else. Let's try and get to class before news reporters start breaking through the gates." She walked alongside the trio and listened to them explain UA Japan's school system and the events that were set throughout the year. Despite her nonchalant attitude, the sting remained in Jade's stomach; she figured it would go away after some medication and rest.

~

It took a little over a month for the second year to realize that the peculiar feelings in her system were not an overnight situation. Jade took matters into her own hands and recorded when her stomach fell into any eccentric sensation, noting what, when and how much she ate and any possible patterns. When food appeared to be free of guilt, she tried looking at her sleep patterns and clothing for clues but was met with the same result. Her concern had caught Ren's attention when the medic pupil found her seated on a hospital bed speaking to Recovery Girl.

"Hon, I've ran multiple scans and checkups and found nothing," sighed the elder. "Your health is in great shape and according to your own data, it seems like you're doing just fine. Maybe try laying down, it seems this issue with your tummy is stressing you out." Jade complied wordlessly, but Ren could see that she was still in heavy thought. When Recovery Girl exited the office, she took a seat beside the bed and peered up. "Thinkin' real hard over there, aren't you?"

Jade turned on her side with a groan. "I just wanna figure out what the hell is wrong with me, it's starting to piss me off."

"What've you been doing?"

"School, hero training, eating, sleeping, the usual."

"Any foods you can think of that caused that pain?"

"No, but that's the weird part!" The foreign student sat up and pulled a leg to her chest. "This feeling I keep getting, it doesn't hurt. It just--it doesn't...I never had this before, but I'm not sure if that means I'm doing something wrong that's causing my body to react the way it does."

Ren arched her brows in search of an answer. "Can you maybe describe this 'feeling' by comparing it to something? Or perhaps using a metaphor? Just so I can understand this better."

"It...well, there's usually two kinds of reactions. At one point, my abdomen feels light but constricted, like it can't take anything in because everything is squeezed out. When that happens, I also feel my heart rate pick up, and my body feels overheated." The medic nodded and gestured to continue. "The second feeling is more like a stinging one, or like a burn--yeah, burning would be a more accurate comparison. When my stomach gets like that, I get really annoyed, but there's only so much I can do when the problem is internal. I tend to get more of the first reaction than I do the second, if that helps."

It was an interesting explanation given, and Ren understood why Recovery Girl struggled a bit providing help. She was quiet for a long time, but just as her friend was about to speak, she asked another question: "Does this ever happen around a specific time? Specific person? Maybe a certain group of people or things?"

Jade blinked before lying down again, her attention focused on the ceiling. Is there somebody or something always near me when this happens? She reeled through all the faces and names she'd ever interacted with, staff members, students, strangers, but no exact nouns came to mind that she could recall triggering this reaction. The foreign student shook her head.

"Huh, well...what's the earliest you recall first feeling these sensations?"

"I think the earliest I felt it was when I was talking to Togata and--" Almost immediately the rest of Jade's sentence died on her tongue. Ren quickly caught the abrupt end and tried to make understanding of what had just happened. The memory was clear as day in her mind, meeting Hado and Amajiki, Togata walking up to her with immaculate bulging muscles, the crowd of female students hauling him away and the indefinable feelings in her abdomen, it all began to click. However, looking over the details of that time, Jade realized that the sensations ultimately activated when she was around--

"Togata."

She whipped her head in surprise.

"Togata is the cause behind your odd abdominal feelings," Ren smiled, "which tells me this is definitely not a medical issue." She bit back a laugh at the disbelief on Jade's face. It seemed she understood what was being implied as she began shaking her head feverently.

"No no no and no, you better not say what I think you're about to say, Ishikawa."

"Aw, c'mon now Jade, you can't be upset at me! I was just trying to help you understand the cause of your stomach issues, looks like it was just butterflies the whole time."

The foreign student grimaced. "Ren, please don't."

"But it's actually cute! I personally think that you both--"

"REN I GET IT, STOP."

Jade sat in irritation until her friend ceased laughing, then hopped off the bed and brushed off her uniform. The medic pupil stood up immediately and pulled her into a hug, chuckling lightly. "Well, now that we found the root of the issue, what are you gonna do? Am I helping you plan a confession?"

"I'm gonna get rid of it.” Ren's snickering stopped. Jade's face and tone was enough to say she wasn't kidding.

"Heh, I uh...I don't think I heard you correctly?"

"Get rid of it. I'll just distance myself from Togata so that my mind can adjust it's thoughts towards him." She hurried after her friend down the hallway. Students buzzed around them, lively chatter and activity surrounding the pair.

"Wait a minute Jade, I'm not understanding how this is being helpful."

"Ren, the more time I am not near him or able to visibly see him, I'm more than a hundred percent sure that whatever these annoying feelings are will dissipate. When that happens, I can go back to being in the guy's presence without any weird aura surrounding me, but until then, I'm following a strict 'No Togata' routine."

The medic student scoffed in amusement. "Routine? Jade, that's the most ridiculous thing I've heard a UA student say. I say just let it happen and see where it goes from there. Who knows, maybe he possibly could return--"

"Ah--" Jade stopped and held a hand up. "I'm gonna stop you there for two reasons. One, the sole reason anyone should attend this school is to pursue some kind of a career, and this applies especially to me. I was sent here as a representative because UA Los Angeles trusts me to execute and display my skills as a potential Pro Hero, not to go messin' around with Japan's kids, let alone the top students. I have an entire city depending on me, Ren, I can't mess this up." She sighed and took in another breath. "Two, if anything, I am far from his type."

"His type? How can you even know that if you only ever said hi to the guy like, three times?"

"Context clues. If it isn't directly in front of you, look at everything around to find your answer."

Ren deadpanned. "And what exactly did you look at to find your answer?"

"Upbeat, lively girls," Jade replied as if it should've been an obvious answer. The pair entered the cafeteria which was more cramped than usual. Staff members were present, most likely by Nezu's word to have travelling students feel more welcomed. All Might stood among the teachers with a countless number of admirers already circled around him, all different years, sizes and appearances. A certain green haired boy appeared to be of his utmost interest as he practically shouted in the student's face. Ren chuckled at the sight, but she noticed her friend's attention was focused elsewhere.

Her gaze was closed in on a table swallowed by a swarm of students. Some were people from earlier that were practically throwing themselves at Togata, and it seemed no different as he sat at the center of the table enjoying his lunch. Hado was seated across from him, her expression as bright as ever, and beside them was a shaking Amajiki, his head rested against the structure’s surface. His nervous movements ceased, however, and Ren smiled seeing the cyan haired girl had slipped her hand into his, returning to her conversation with ease. Jade also noticed the subtle gesture, but she wouldn't help feeling a pang of annoyance at the audience surrounding the blonde boy. She didn't realize she was watching so intensely until his eyes crossed the room to meet hers. Crap! Immediately Jade looked away, unsure if she was more embarrassed about getting caught or feeling irked over a guy. You're here to represent your school, show your worth of an upcoming Pro Hero. Stop getting distracted! Distance! "Ren, let's get some lunch. I'm sure Tokoyami and the others are awaiting your presence."

"Our presence." Jade smiled as they strode across the cafeteria. The medic always made sure she felt included no matter what the situation was; it eased her thoughts greatly, which was something she needed.

~

Another month passed and Jade had almost become like a second Maeda, so intently focused during school hours and hero training. Even on off days, the international student went about her own activities, only ever seen for meals or rest. Her bond remained close with Ren, Maeda and Kubo in various ways, however, and she was present whenever a hangout commenced, so it seemed like everything was completely fine. Ren's teasing had become more discreet (much to Jade's relief) and she created a codename for the blonde third year.

"'The lemonade'?" Jade cringed. The two met up for a walk through town one day, and it seemed safe enough to discuss the matter since they weren't near school grounds.

"I think it's pretty subtle, and keeping the word 'the' in the codename would have people assuming we're actually talking about a beverage. Plus," the medic eyed her friend, "the guy is a tall glass of lemonade if I do say so myself, heh."

"Ren don't--"

"Lemonade sounds good right about now." She froze. It took everything in the foreign girl to not begin speed walking as soon as she heard the familiar upbeat voice behind her. From the look on her friend's face, Jade's assumption of Togata's presence was true. Unfortunately true. She slowly turned around, a faux smile in place until her eyes fell upon something hiding behind the male.

It was a little girl, she could tell that much, with long snowy locks spilling from behind Togata's calf. The child peeked up from her spot, red irises meeting Jade's indigo ones. The foreign girl was locked in place as she suddenly recalled her family. She thought of her parents' cooking and singing, her brothers' livelihood for sports, but she was especially reminded of her sister. Youngest and the only other girl in the line of siblings, they did a lot together. From shopping together to painting to singing to sightseeing, Jade realized how much she'd missed them. The exchange of words between Ren and Togata were a muffed noise as she crouched down, entrapped by the little stranger.

"I'm Jade, it's nice to meet you." The words slipped out like butter, and thankfully it didn't seem to frighten or discomfort the child. She looked up to the male for approval, then stepped forward and let his hand go. 

"My name is Eri, it's nice to meet you too," she squeaked with a bow. Jade was awestruck by her politeness and shifted onto her knees to bow in return. When they both straightened up, Eri bore a wide smile and returned to Togata's side.

"Gosh, Gemstone, thought you were ignoring me for a sec." Reality hit the foreign girl immediately when she met the blonde's gaze, and her stomach felt tight again. Damn it, not now! Calm down, breathe, breathe, don't overreact. She stumbled getting back on her feet and managed a sheepish expression.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" she apologized more aggressively than she meant to. "I was just so surprised seeing you with a kid, and she just--"

"Oh? Do you think I'm not good with kids?" He raised a brow. 

Crap, why does he have to look cute doing that. "I never said that," Jade rolled her eyes. "I was just surprised seeing you outside of your whole entourage, that's all." She cursed at her choice of words. Now I just sound like I'm hating on him.

"My entourage? Sounds like someone's a bit jealous."

"Ha! Boy, ain't nothin' to be jealous of." The second year held her ground as the bulky male challenged her with a smirk. Ren cleared her throat, acknowledging her presence and causing Jade to force herself back. She didn't realize how close she'd gotten to him during their small banter, but it was definitely closer than what she was comfortable with. "Ren, uh, I believe you were talking about something, yes?"

The medic peered over in amusement. "Yeah, I was talking about lemonade, which since you're here Togata with little Eri, I believe we can all get some together." Damn you, Ren!

Eri gasped before tugging on the male's sleeve. "Can we please, Mirio?"  The sight made Jade's heart swell, and she couldn't be upset if it was an adorable child asking to accompany them. He beamed down at her and nodded his head.

"Ladies, you may lead the way." During the walk to a mini cafe Ren knew of (thanks to Tokoyami), Jade observed how attentive and caring Togata was with Eri, playing games or cracking jokes that made her laugh. Citizens passing commented on their closeness in adoration, many praising the third year for looking after the child with such passion. Even when there were those who tried to flirt with him, the boy paid them no mind and brushed off their efforts. Jade didn't know him too well, but she knew it would be difficult to want to be away from the guy, especially after seeing this side of him, away from the crowds, away from the hero limelight. Togata truly was someone to admire. A familiar tightness returned to her torso, but for now, she was okay with it.

She was pleased being able spend time with Eri herself, learning more about her likes and hobbies. A lot of what the young girl enjoyed Jade discovered was also liked by her sister. "What's her name?" the child asked, munching on a pastry. The horn atop her head glimmered in the sun while she finished up coloring a drawing.

"Her name is Carolei," the international student smiled, "but my family and I just call her Lei."

Eri dropped her coloring utensil on the table and leaned forward. "Can I call her Lei, too?" Jade looked around as though someone was listening to their conversation, then nodded with a wink, much to the child’s delight. They giggled and chatted, forgetting about time and enjoying getting to know one another. The second year felt as though she wasn't in Japan, but back in America with the people she'd cared about and loved; it felt good to bathe in the comfort and reminisce of home. Someone had gripped the back of Jade’s chair; she turned assuming it was Ren until she was face to face with a broad chest and the strong aroma of musk. Her heartbeat boomed in her head and she slowly turned back to Eri, allowing her nerves to calm. Ren bit back a laugh, but a tug on Jade’s hand distracted her from making a slick comment.

"Jade," said Eri in a small voice, "I have to leave now, but...do you think we can hang out another time?"

A sudden idea popped into the second year's mind at the young girl’s request. With a kind smile, she squeezed Eri's hand reassuringly. "We'll have plenty more days to hang out, hon, just me and you."

"Ouch, and what about me, Gemstone?" Togata whined, a hand on his chest in offense.

"Ah, I'd rather not be attacked by your fangirls. Besides, you have Amajiki and Hado to hang out with, and I know you see Eri almost every day." Both parties waved goodbye before continuing on their own paths. Ren and Jade were in a comfortable silence until the medic let out a sigh.

"You literally just missed your opportunity."

"Girl, what? If anything, I'd say I just opened the door for an opportunity."

"Opportunity for what? You literally shut the guy down."

"With good reason," the foreign student argued. She wasn't rude in her response to the older boy, and it was honest! The last thing Jade needed was rumors tainting her name simply for the fact that she hung out with one of the big three alone, especially if they were of the opposite sex. "Anyways, back to the opportunity I was talking about. I think Eri can help me out with this."

~

Happy New Years everyone! Thought I would just drop by with this little piece since I have been lagging quite a bit lol, anywho, just a little bit of love for our favorite blonde boy since I don’t see too much on him. Be safe everyone! Like, comment & share!

OC Creds to: @gureii (Ren, Maeda, Kubo

[zoffra]

Chapter 2 - Wedy

'You're angry?' Sharnalk asked in a soft voice. He leaned over Kortopi's shoulder as this once watched clouds from the window of their hotel room.

The latter nodded timidly, 'I wanted to go with Shizu and Franky.'

The young blond pated his head, 'They left to join Bono at the play circle. You're too young at the moment, but when you're older we'll go together and rob the slot machines! '

In front of Kortopi's pout who woudn't open one's mouth, he sighed and knelt front of him 'Listen, if you stop sulking I take you out to dinner and then we'll go to the cinema, what do you say that?'

This time Shalnark's words had hit the mark and Kortopi cheerfully looked up.

Of all the members, Shalnark was the one who best knew Kortopi. Sharnalk took care of him when Chrollo wasn't available. Brigade leader had taken the child under his wing by bringing him into the spider, and when the troupe wasn't on mission, they lived together. He had taught him the four main Nen principles, but it was with Sharnalk that he'd developed his Hatsu.

* BZZZ BZZZZ BZZZ *

Sharnalk was interrupted by his phone ringing, he locked himself in the bathroom to take the call. 'I listening to you Shizuku... I see... He gave you an address?.. What, so far?!... I'm not screaming! I'm just surprised that...'

Behind the door, Kortopi who listened attentively to the conversation, watched helpless his evening with his friend soar.

The young manipulator came out of the bathroom, scratching his head uncomfortably 'Topi, I'm sorry but we'll have to postpone our evening until later.' He rummaged in his pocket and handed him his wallet, 'Take my card and make deliver you what you want.'

Before slamming the door, he gave him a last wave, 'Be a good boy until I get back, okay? I don't be long.'

Over three hours had passed and Kortopi was fuming.

'I dOn'T bE LoNg', shitty liar

At this thought, a new motivation spread in Kortopi who felt even more frustrated and upset. In answer, he looked for bars, clubs, and other places not recommended for a child his age, when he came across an advert that caught his attention.

Thrilled, he quickly folded down PC screen, put on the brand new trench coat that Shizuku'd bought him the day before and took care to create a copy of himself which he placed under his duvet.

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

After taking wrong bus route and making the wrong path twice, Kortopi finally arrived across from what should have been a bar. He approached storefront and tiptoed, sticking his little hands against the glass to inspect interior. He took the piece of paper from his pocket, on which he'd scribbled address. Apprehensively, he decided to push the door open when a young woman about to go out pushed him.

She was tall, her blond hair down to her shoulders. She wore a pencil skirt split on the side and an elegant black suit which let glimpse her generous chest. A fur cap finalized her outfit which suited her wonderfully.

Pretty

'It's not a place for brats. Clear out.' She closed the door behind her, spitting that stinging reply Kortopi's face.

As the mortified child walked away from the bar, he heard the young woman shout to him, an amusement's hint in her voice, 'Materialization?'

The fact that she guessed his aura's type at one glance put him on guard. He quickly turned around, activated his Ren and positioned himself in front of her. She roared with laughter and activated her Nen in turn, 'Come on kid, stop it'.

At her aura's sight, Kortopi'd immediately knew that she'd have upper hand if she attacked him. He was several tens of meters away, but he could feel her aura's pressure, it was as if thousands of needles hit his face.

She walked slowly towards him, two hands raised to the sky showing she'd no evil intentions, and took out a cigarette from her package with her teeth. She stopped at his height and scanned the child from head to toe, 'There are bouncers in the basement. I suggest you a deal. You give me a hand and I'll get you in. '

Kortopi still listened her suspiciously.

The young woman lit her cigarette, 'I need this key's copy, you can do it, don't you?'

it's not just intuition, it's bad...

In front of a more powerful adversary who knew his abilities, Kortopi's victory chances just gone up in smoke. Having one's back to the wall, he choosed the wisest decision and complied.

'Up to fifty no problem. My copies aren't forever but I guess you already know that.' He replied bitterly.

Young woman noded, notifiying him he'd made the right decision, and blew smoke into his face. Kortopi wanted to make eat her cig.

'I only need one copy.' She handed him the key, and the child sat cross-legged out of sight.

Left hand of God, right hand of Devil

A small key appeared in his right hand, he returned the original to the young woman and put the copy in his pocket, 'Let me get in first.'

'A promise is a promise,' she smiled to him, 'by the way, I'm Wedy.'

Wedy had kept her promise. They'd discreetly entered through a small emergency door, leading them to the room's back, close to the stage.

'I held my promise. The key.' Wedy held out her hand, palm in the air towards Kortopi. She observed the key from all angles with meticulousness and invited him to dinner as a thank you, 'Good job, the copy is perfect'.

Kortopi ordered a plate of homemade fries and Wedy a lobster bisque as a starter. The waiter put down the dishes, served in a magnificent fine porcelain with gold leaf patterns.

The young woman devoured her dish with appetite, 'I'm looking for a book which contains a special power. When a person's name is written inside, that person dies.'

Kortopi smirked before bust of laughing, 'Don't make fun of me, it's impossible. Even a Nen Master could'nt obtain such an ability.'

'That's right, it's something else. This book contains a visibly less restrictive power than Nen, the user doesn't seem to need oaths and conditions to use it.'

The waiter came back with Wedy's truffle veal, she brought her nose to few inches to smell the scent, 'A few years ago, a Treasure-hunter brought this notebook from the dark continent. Three months later, this asshole got caught. I'll pass details but during his interrogation he admitted writing nearly 50 names a day. Only women, regardless of age. '

Her eyes flashed, 'He committed suicide just before his judgment.' She grabbed her glass and took a big sip, 'Unfortunately, the notebook wasn't found, he apparently would have given it to someone else, just before his arrest.'

'So you're looking for the new owner, do you have any leads? '

'Not on his identity, but his motivations are clearer. More than 10,000 criminals have been killed in Jappon since the notebook changed hands. Apparently, the new owner doesn't really like villains,' she pours herself a glass of wine, 'He has a lot of fans among the population, to the point that the Jappanese have given him the Kira's nickname.'

Wedy smiles mischievously, 'Class A bandits would have reason to worry, for example.' She rummaged through her bag and handed him a piece of paper, 'Look.'

Kortopi felt himself melt in his chair when he saw the photo, 'Ah, it's the phantom troupe. I heard a little about it, they got killed by the York-Shin Mafia, I saw it on TV.'

Wedy laughed loudly, 'Bullshits. Corpses were false. York-Shin Mafia has a good intelligence service but they can't work miracles,' She paused, probing the child's gaze, 'For example, if in administration eyes people doesn't exist, they'll not be able to find data concerning them.'

Korutopi felt a sweat drop bead on his forehead.

'I'm 99% sure they're alive. And I know names of 7 of them.' Wedy soaking up sauce from her plate. 'I plan to sell their identity to the press. If they're dead as everyone thinks, they'll just stay in the ground.' Her lips curved in a carnivorous smile. 'But, if they're living somewhere in this world, it will only be a matter of time before Kira writes their names in his little notebook.'

On the verge of faint, Kortopi asked in a weak voice, 'Why haven't you done it already?'

Wedy's eyes shone like sapphires, 'I figured maybe we could do another deal.'

Korutopi didn't reply. Tears began to bead in his eyes corner uncontrollably, he knew she wasn't bluffing.

Front of the child crestfallen looks, Wedy felt a little remorse, 'Listen, little brat. If you'll do what I tell you, we'll leave you alone.

[woozletania]

Sanctuary (RR/GOTG slice of life)

It started one day in the most innocuous way imaginable: nothing more dramatic than an E-mail. "Hey Rock," Quill said, slumped back in the pilot's chair idly scanning the screen as he helped Rocket work on a problem with the Milano. "Got a letter from your doctor friend." "Those're always good," Rocket replied, his head and body down to the armpits inside a panel working on control connections.  "Try the upper right aileron control." Star-Lord obediently pressed a control and Rocket made a happy noise from inside the console, his ringed tail twitching in not-quite-a-wag.  Peter went on. "Weird thing is the subject line is public but the body is locked, or I'd read it to you. All I can see is 'P. Foster' and 'It's happening again'." There was a dull bang from inside the console as Rocket's tail went stiff. Peter watched curiously as a hand appeared, set down a wrench.  Rocket's voice was deadly calm. "Read that again, Pete." "'It's happening again.' That's all I can read, man." "Oh.  Okay then." The hand grabbed the wrench and Rocket worked briefly, then slid back into view.  As usual he was covered with dust and smears of grease but a spot of bloody fur over one eye showed where he'd hit his head.  "That'll hold it.  I gotta hit the can." Gamora came up the stairs just as Rocket went down and the little raccoon pushed past her with even worse manners than usual. The green-skinned assassin took one look at the open panel and discarded tools the raccoon left in his wake and came to the obvious conclusion.  "In the middle of something?  Mantis has lunch ready." "I guess.". Peter fiddled with the controls, watching the indicators as he tried the various control surfaces, thrusters and engines.  "Looks like it's all working. Figure Rocket will want to work on it more though, he doesn't leave his personal tool kit just lying where everyone can get at it unless he's in the middle of something." But Rocket didn't show up at lunch and didn't answer when Mantis knocked on his door.  Weirdly enough he'd even locked Groot out and the tree, a little taller than the raccoon now and going through early teenage crankiness, spent two minutes banging on the door until Rocket finally swore and opened it. "What? I was just doin' some stuff." Groot handed him back his tools, which got a grunt of something like 'thanks' from the raccoon, who then finally emerged and locked the door behind him. Drax happened by just then and the three made their way to the common area for a belated lunch. Peter, Gamora and Mantis were all there around the table and Mantis reached out without thinking to pet Rocket, seeing from the angle of his ears that he was in a bad mood.  Rocket was a lot more likely to let someone pet him these days but this time he flinched away and sat by himself, grabbing one of the sandwiches from the platter without a word. Seeing Rocket in a bad mood was nothing new but he was usually nicer to Mantis than this and Peter spoke up.  "Was that letter bad news, Rock?" "Oh that," Rocket grunted between bites.  "Not really. He did say he met another guy who's up on my model of cybernetics and that I should have him take a quick look next time I'm in the area.  So I wanna swing by Kopleth today, since we're between money runs." "Kopleth?  Dull place, but I guess," Peter said.  There was nothing but the sound of munching and Drax loudly slurping soup after that until Rocket finished eating. The second the door to his room closed, though, the conversation started up again. "You don't believe him, do you?" Said Gamora. "Not for a second," Quill replied. "I am Groot," said the sapling. "Yes," rumbled Drax.  "He had his weapons out and a bag of bombs half packed when I saw into his room for a moment.  Whatever he's going to Kopleth for, it is not to see a doctor." Gamora's smart pad beeped, and she read the message before turning the screen so the others could see.  It was from Nebula. 'Not supposed to tell you this, but he's in your crew.  Rocket just asked me to help him kill some people.  Something going on I should know about?' Rocket should have known that on a ship this small it was impossible to keep secrets.  Perhaps he did, because when they arrived on Kopleth and he made his way down the docking ramp, bag-full-o-guns over his shoulder, it was an expression of resignation more than anything else that crossed his face when he found his friends waiting at the bottom. "Before you say anything," he said.  "This isn't anything you want to be a part of. It's personal business." Gamora held up her smart pad once more.  'If you are reading this I am dead, on the run or in jail. The bounty on me will be huge if it's the middle one, so I'll understand if you come after me. It was something I had to do. No apologies.' Rocket groaned.  "That was supposed to be time locked until tomorrow." "Not when I know to look," Gamora said.  "And I knew something was going on." "Yes," said Nebula as she stepped off her ship.  "What is going on, fox?" "It's happening again," Rocket said a little later in the Milano's common area.  "I can't let it happen again. Never again." "What's going on, buddy?" Rocket sat with his ears down and his little clawed hands between his knees. He counted the grenades on his belt, twice, before continuing.  "Doc Foster got a job offer.  They knew he worked at Halfworld and gave him a virtual tour of the new facility.  Animal Uplift.  Cybernetic implants.  Vivisection. Euthanizing the subjects when they were done.  Somehow they had data files from the Halfworld complex. There must have been a backup elsewhere and now it's all happening again." There were no tears in the raccoon's eyes. Just determination. "If I have to spend the rest of my life in a cell to stop this, I'll do it. Every one of these bastards has to die. But research like this is legal on Kopleth. I'm going, but the rest of you oughta get out of here now. 'Cept maybe the lady who already has a giant bounty on her bald head," he said, nodding to Nebula. "You're not going, buddy," Star-Lord said.  "Not without me." "There will be heavy security, yes?" Drax asked, and Rocket nodded.  "Then I will not be left out of a good fight." "And if my sister goes, I go," said Gamora.  Nebula just smiled. "You don't get it," Rocket said.  "We spent the last year building up a reputation. This could destroy it.  If it's just me you can say I was a rogue. I'm expendable." "No," Gamora said, and everyone (except maybe Nebula) said together, "You aren't." Rocket sighed.  Not surprised, just a little sad.  Peter spoke up next.  "So you got a plan, little buddy?" "'Course I got a plan," Rocket mumbled.  "Always got a plan." "One that involves all of us, not just you?" "Told you," Rocket said with the beginning of a smile.  "I always got a plan." And that's why it was that Drax, armed with a missile launcher of Rocket's own design, Gamora with her plasma rifle and Quill with his pistols stormed the front of the complex to draw attention away from the back, while Rocket, Rocket-sized Groot and Nebula, whose cybernetics made her eerily flexible, entered via the ductwork Rocket had identified from the schematics he'd studied. Some of the vents were too small for even Nebula and so they soon separated with a whispered "Kill only when necessary," for Rocket eventually allowed himself to be reminded that not everyone they encountered would be a monster. Yet the first thing he did was drop out of an air vent onto the shoulders of a Xandarian who was cutting open a black-furred creature, dig his claws into the man's throat and rip it out. "Nod if you understand," he whispered, undoing the furry thing's restraints even as the researcher toppled over. It nodded, and Rocket slapped an emergency medical patch over the hole the "doctor" had put in the long-eared creature and gestured for it to follow him. There was a thump against the wall nearby, probably Nebula shattering some fool's skull, and a black-clad security guard popped through a door only to get a chest full of Rocket's hand-made APX - Armor Piercing Explosive - rounds. The next room had nothing but a few empty cages and bloodstained operating tables, though Rocket reflexively pocketed a handful of servo components from a table. Distant shouts and gunfire meant the other Guardians were fighting their way in and this place clearly wasn't built and staffed to withstand a major assault, which was just what you got when Gamora and Drax led an attack. "I am Groot?" The black-furred test subject jumped when a three-foot-tree man man his appearance but Rocket just smiled.  "Yeah, can you get that door?". He'd been about to blast the armored portal but Groot's strength was all out of proportion to his size and his tendrils ripped the thing from its hinges. "Jackpot!" Cages, test subjects - and a couple of guards.  Rocket got one before they recovered from the sudden disappearance of the armored door and speed and small size gave him the advantage he needed to take out the other. "Get 'em out, get 'em out!" He blew away what he recognized as a cybernetics jammer mounted just outside the row of cages and Groot ripped the door off the nearest just as a white-jacketed researcher appeared.  Rocket hesitated to shoot an unarmed man and thus made a mistake that would make him wake staring at the ceiling and shaking for years afterward. The man didn't need a gun to smash his hand into a panic button and the result was clouds of green poison gas spraying from nozzles on the ceiling. "Shit!  Hurry!" The furthest cages were already out of sight in a cloud of poison, as was the researcher, and Rocket resorted to shooting the locks off the cages he could still see.  Half shaved, cybernetic implant-studded animals of several unfamiliar species  leapt out and ran for the door and Rocket cursed as he shot the lock off a cage that held a shivering yellow-furred creature curled in a ball as far away from the bars as it could get. He had already breathed more of the green gas than he liked and all he could do was grab the thing and yank it out of the cage. Mistake.  He should have known it would panic and with an animalistic shriek the long, flexible yellow creature wrapped around him like a snake and sank sharp fangs into his neck. The spray of red told him he was in real trouble but Rocket was no stranger to pain and he grabbed a gas-added creature from another cage and staggered for the door, weighed down by two of them and passing the handheld one off to Groot as he made it through the doorway and slammed it shut. Everything still alive in that room wouldn't be that way for long and he wasn't doing so good either. The whiskery muzzle was still clamped down on the side of his neck and Groot had to help him run the few dozen yards to daylight. What he saw when he burst into the light astonished him.  Not just the Guardians but hovering Nova fighters, not to mention ground troops who had rounded up a dozen white-coated researchers and were similarly trying to keep track of at least that many research animals.  His keen ears picked up the argument going on between a Nova officer - he recognized Dey - and what must be the head researcher.  "No authority here - research animals, perfectly legal," and something about "Murderous thugs." Rocket ignored the blood running down his chest, got his fingers into the scruff of the yellow thing slowly killing him with its bite and whispered, "Listen - all of you Subjects, listen, say this -" "Rocket!" Quill came running as Rocket's vision began to gray around the edges, blood loss and gas, and Gamora right behind him. No sign of Nebula of course, she'd wisely taken a powder. Just then the yellow thing's fangs came out of his neck and it said, slowly and clearly to the nearest Nova corpsman: "In accordance with the Uniform Sapience Act -" "No!" The head researcher tried to intervene, only for Drax to clothesline him to the ground. "I request sanctuary on the basis of inhumane treatment," the yellow thing said, and the other animals repeated "Sanctuary, sanctuary," and the less Uplifted  or vocal ones spitting out the syllables the way he used to, "sanct-u-ary," And then Rocket was falling over, weighed down by the yellow thing and never so happy in his life to hear one word.  It'd all been worth it.  Live or die, it was so worth it. ***** 'So, not dead,' were Rocket's first thoughts when he woke.  His neck hurt, his chest hurt, and oddly enough his leg hurt too. And the second thing that passed through his mind when he opened his eyes was how familiar the metal ceiling looked. "Why am I not in jail," he mused, and Peter jerked upright in the chair next to the bunk, dropping the Zune headphones he'd been tinkering with. A strange animal chirp came from low down, out of his range of vision, but it hurt to turn his neck so he couldn't see what made it. "Rocket!  Hey, everybody, he's awake!" In an instant the room was crowded with the crew, and even Nebula, and Rocket realized he was in Peter's quarters on board the Milano. The captain's cabin, if you could call it that, was about fifteen percent larger than the space he had before he turned it into a lifeboat and started sleeping in his round padded bed. "I have lots of questions," Rocket said, and then there was another, because a sleek yellow head sporting long, familiar whiskers popped into view as well. He'd never gotten a good look at it but this was indisputably the creature that nearly killed him.  He was too tired and sore to hold that against her.  "I guess they all fall under 'what happened'." "Peter had an idea," Gamora said, and Mantis smiled as she gently scratched Rocket's ears.  "A good one, for a change." "Thanks Gamora," Pete said sourly.  "I called Nova Corps before we went to the compound to see if I could get them to look the other way for a little while as we took off for our new outlaw lives.  When I explained what was going on to Dey he said the following," with that he pointed at Drax. "Animal research is legal in many places," the giant intoned.  "But as far as Nova is concerned, Uplift, or at least the abuse of the resulting sapients is legal nowhere." Peter grinned. "Since Kopleth has no military to speak of they couldn't do much when a Nova troop transport and escorts showed up. Even medics who patched you up, though it was a near thing. You had nerve gas in your system, a nicked artery in your neck and a splinter from a ricochet or something in your calf below the armor." "So we're not outlaws," Rocket said wonderingly.  "What about the research subjects?" "Under Nova supervision," Gamora said.  "To be granted full sapient rights and a share of the penalty fines being assessed against the company.  And we get a share of that too." "Free money!" Pete cheered.  "A reward for just doing good things!" "What about her?" Rocket looked at the whiskery creature, seeing the bolts almost concealed by her fur where the artificial collarbones lay.  He had bolts like that, too. "Her?" Pete looked puzzled.  "You mean 96L02?" "Subject Nine-Six-Lima-Zero-Two reports as ordered, sir," the creature said, and stood up as straight as its long cylindrical body allowed. Rocket winced. "Damn it Pete, you know better than that.  That's not a name and she - yeah, you bald bodies have no noses I know but she is a she - is conditioned to respond to that number.  I don't want to hear one of you say it again. Ever." He reached over to see how she would react, careful not to touch, and webbed hands/forepaws clasped his fingers.  "Rocket," she chirped.  "So so-ree I bit you." "I woulda done the same thing," Rocket said.  "Ask Pete. He got the scars to prove it.  Now we need to get you a name." She stood bolt upright. "Subject Nine-Six-Lima-" "No!" She shrank back, her little low-set ears sinking.  "That was what they called you. You don't belong to them now.  You can have any name you want." "But I don't have a name," she chirped. Do you know the names of the researchers?" "Rocket," Peter said firmly.  "You are not naming her after guys you killed to get her out." "Hey, it worked for me.  And I only killed four anyway." "I am Groot." "That guy killed himself," Rocket said, and that brought back bad memories.  "How many got out?  Test subjects that is." "Thirteen," Gamora said, "But one died from gas exposure. Before you ask, including the one in the operating room there were twenty-six in various stages of Uplift." Rocket swore, but Peter cut him off.  "Subject-" and the yellow creature stood bolt upright, "Er, Lima told us what happened.  Rocket, I was the one who told you not to shoot people who weren't a threat. It's my fault.  And if we'd all gone in the front, which was my plan, they would have gassed them all.  Your plan got some of them out and would have got them all out if you hadn't listened to me. So blame me, not yourself." "It's all right," Rocket grunted.  "I woulda hesitated anyway.  Didn't think a guy would kill himself just to get rid of some Subjects." Lima stood bolt upright at the word. "Why is she doing that, Rock?  You don't do that when people say 89P-" Rocket let out an inarticulate growl and Pete stopped. "Oh yeah, you killed all the people who called you that." "Except Doc Foster," but then Lima was gripping his clawed hand again in her webby ones. "Why are you so angry, Rocket," she chirped, and Pete smothered a laugh. "'Cause I was made to be angry. To be a weapon.  You don't have to be like me, Lima." "I'm not," she said immediately.  "I am for linguistics, and diplomacy, and companionship. I am to be cute." And with her whiskers and ink-dark eyes she certainly was. "No! You don't gotta be what they made you.  You can be whatever you want." "I don't know what I want to be," she chirped, and Rocket smiled sadly. "Welcome to the club, lady." One by one the others wished him goodnight and left for their beds, for it was very late indeed.  He'd apparently been granted Peter's cabin until he recovered, though he protested that he didn't need anywhere near that much space. "You're in no shape to curl up to sleep," Peter said.  "You need a real bed." I've got a real bed, and it's round, Rocket thought but did not say. That brought it to mind when Lima dropped down to all fours and curled up on a wadded-up blanket. "Groot," Rocket mumbled, and then spoke up despite his sore chest. "Groot!" "I am Groot?"  Naturally, the tree had been resting right outside the door.  He wasn't going anywhere until he was sure Rocket was fully recovered. "Get my bed, please." "I am Groot?" "No, it's not for me. Pete will yell at me if he has to sleep on a bunk and I don't use the bed he's lent me. And yeah, I'm too sore to curl up.  But look," Rocket said, and gestured at Lima. "I am Groot." "Thanks, pal." A moment later the tree was back with the round, padded bed, the one embroidered with "Rocket" and the Ravager symbol. Rocket knew perfectly well it was a pet bed Pete picked up on Earth but Pete never lorded that over him (which showed he had an active survival instinct) and the thing was damn comfortable. "Lima."  The yellow creature - Rocket was sure there was a species name for her, but he had no idea what it was except that she was clearly designed for an aquatic life - popped her head up out of the nest of blankets. "Use this.  It's comfy." She slithered out of the blankets on her short web-footed legs and gave it a sniff. "It smells like you, Rocket." "Yeah, I sleep in it, but you need it more than I do right now." "Are you sure?" "Yeah." Rocket smiled as she curled up in a ball in the padded bed, just as he did.  She was long and sinuous compared to his more humanoid build, but she still fit perfectly into the thing. There was a time he and Groot shared the thing every night, but Groot was too big now.  That had taken a lot of getting used to.  For years he'd slept in leafy beds Groot grew each night, then he and mini-Groot shared various beds, and then ultimately it was just Rocket, and now it was just Lima, or whatever her name would eventually be. "Good night, Lima.  Tomorrow we'll talk about your name." And that would have been the end of it, except that later, when the ship lights were turned down to a dim glow, Rocket was woken by a familiar sound.  A nervous chattering, whining, and the sound of claws on fabric. Lima was in the midst of a nightmare.  He'd heard all these sounds before from himself, and heard them described to him. She twitched in the round bed, and whined, and he had all too good an idea of what she was dreaming about. He'd always been the one to wake screaming, or shivering. Peter had the occasional nightmare, and with good reason, but he was stronger than Rocket.  Or maybe his nightmares didn't involve being strapped down and cut open.  Rocket didn't know what Pete had nightmares about.  Ego? The Ravagers?  His mother dying?  Yondu? He did know how Pete had helped him with his own night terrors, though. Rocket winced as he sat up, and using the cabin chair as a stepping stool (not something he'd normally need) finally made it to the floor.  He was tough, he healed fast, but the nerve gas had really done a number on him.  Stapled-up wounds in neck and leg didn't hurt half as much as his chest but he dropped to all fours and padded over to the round bed an its occupant. Peter, much larger than himself, had just petted him or rubbed his back to get him to relax.  Lima was as big as he was, though, and the only way he could see to make her feel safe was to crawl into the round bed and snuggle up next to her. She moved in her sleep and soon her whiskery muzzle rested on his shoulder next to his own. Bit by bit she shifted and he moved with her until they were curled up together.  If it weren't for their dramatically different fur colors and body shapes it'd be hard to tell where one ended and the other began. By the time they were snuggled up together she had relaxed, the shivering tension gone from her muscles and her breathing slow and relaxed. 'What I should do now is wriggle out of here and bed back on the bed,' Rocket thought.  But he was tired, and sore, and there was something about lying here snuggled up with another furry creature. 'Safe,' Rocket thought as he drifted off to sleep.  'I feel safe.  I hope she does too.'

[brothers-all]

Echoy'la (Lost)

dum dum dum... Things get much more serious in this one mates! Also, kinda short, but... more emotional? I dunno

As always, read, review and enjoy ^^

Chapter 4 Or'trikar (Grief)

"These are all the records on the captive clones, sir," a droid walked up to him, handing him a data-pad. He took it, immediately going to reading it.

"CT-7567 aka Rex. ARC-5555 formerly CT-5555 aka Fives. ARC-5597 formerly CT-5597 aka Jesse. CT-6116 aka Kix. CT-5485 aka Cinder. CT-4421 aka Svak." His eyes scanned the individual clone, before checking the quick recommendations and records. "Four survivors of Umbara…" He narrowed his eyes at the four names, spotting a few more of the dead men. "Bring me Krell's report," he said to the droid, who moved away and returned shortly after with another pad.

Checking that one, he cross-referenced it with the first one, seeing the full picture. He had his link, his point to get to the clone. He just needed to use it and exploit it. Setting the pads down, he put his hands behind his back and turned back to the door.

"Bring in one of the other clones," he said to the droid.

"Which one?" it asked, slightly shocked.

"The youngest," his smirk appeared right before he stepped through the door.

The doors to the cell opened and the soldiers instantly collected themselves. Fives didn't even sleep, and Jesse had stayed up as long as he could. Cinder and Svak had fallen asleep on one another as brothers usually do, and Kix pretty much collapsed in the corner after everything that's happened. A day has gone by, and they still have no idea what's really going on here or why.

"Wake up lovelies," of course; the first thing they see in the morning is the beautiful faceplate of General Grievous.

"One of you is very unlucky today," he laughed as the men glared at him. Fives stood in front of him, looking tempted to ram into the monster.

"Where's Rex?" Kix actually spoke up, his glare almost stronger than Fives'.

Grievous turned to the medic, took a step forward and leaned in closer to him. "He is currently our guest of honor. Which why I am here," a dark chuckle came out of him as three guards stepped inside. "One of you will be going to see him."

"Take me!" Jesse had just enough of a feeling and knowledge of his brothers that he grabbed Fives before the ARC could actually do anything.

"Fives, calm down!" he hissed in his ear, jerking both of them into the wall.

"I look forward to killing that fire, clone," Grievous laughed, but got interrupted by his coughing. "However, I was instructed to retrieve someone else," his yellow eyes landed on Svak, who had moved into a corner.

"Leave him alone!" Cinder stepped in front of the rookie, arms outstretched.

"Out of the way!" the General grabbed Cinder by his torso and tossed him into the ARC Troopers, knocking all three to the ground. "Take him," he nodded to the shinie, who was trying to find a way further back.

"What are you going to do?" Kix wanted to move, to help, so badly, but knew he couldn't do anything in this situation. Might actually make it worse.

"You'll find out soon enough," Svak struggled, but the guards held him tight as they dragged him out of the cell and down the corridor. "Now then, play nice," Grievous gave one last broken laugh, before the doors shut closed again.

"We have four possible locations," Cody said as he stood by the holo table, typing down the coordinates. "But we can't tell for sure which one it is," he added, looking at everyone gathered. Including the two Jedi, Jewels, Boil and Appo were present.

"We can almost certainly exclude one of them," Jewels stepped closer. "Iego. General Kenobi had us sent a small squad there after you two managed to free it of the 'ghost' and they've been keeping an eye out for anything happening."

"However, the other three are all highly possible…" Cody took over again, presenting the three remaining systems. "The Nivek system, located in the Citlik sector. The Duro system. And in the Lambda sector, the Ando system."

"These three systems don't have that many locations. About three orbit systems per one…" Ahsoka rubbed her chin in thought.

"That may be true, but we only get one chance at this," Boil leaned on the table. "If we miss the location, we'll not only miss our brothers, but we'll have Sepis on our tail."

"So we can't go in randomly. We need a plan," Appo sighed, shaking his head. "Not exactly our specialty," they all shared a small smile at that. This was the 501st after all.

"Then it's a good thing we're here," Cody smiled more truly, giving a nod. "It might take some time, but we'll track Grievous down. And when we do, we'll go get our vode home."

He woke up to a zap of lighting on his neck. Eyes snapping open and gasping for breath he hit the restraints over his chest and it knocked the air out of him.

"Good morning Captain. Hope you had a pleasant night," Count Dooku was already there, standing tall and powerful. Rex needed a few seconds to clear away the fog of his eyes and mind, to recall what happened…

Umbara. The Count had managed to pull out some more information out of him when he came back next time. He got the way Hardcase died and the massacre that happened. Made Rex relive it on a loop for a while, before the clone just passed out.

"Might have a few complaints," but the Captain had stayed strong. He swallowed down the screams and repeated his old mantra in his head. It kept him sane.

"I see you haven't lost you spark. Perhaps we can change that," the Sith seemed displeased for a moment, before speaking to someone else. "Bring him in."

Before Rex had a chance to ask what was going on and who he was, a door behind him opened and he heard the ever so familiar grunts and mutters of a struggling brother.

"No, please, no…" he whispered, eyes closed and trying to calm himself.

"Captain!" he opened his eyes and wished he hadn't.

"Svak!" out of all the soldiers, they chose the youngest. The kid's only been with them a month! And the confused, lost and hopeful look in his eyes made the blonde want to look away again. The kid was forced to a kneeling position, arms cuffed in front of him.

"If all goes well, you have nothing to fear, child," Dooku stepped behind him, setting his hands on his shoulders and giving a smirk. "However, the ultimate decision lies with your beloved Captain."

"Don't do it sir!" Svak yelled instantly, the hope and confusion turning into determination.

"Brave solider, aren't you," Dooku sounded almost impressed, before raising one of his hands. In seconds, lightning emerged from his fingers, flying directly at the kid. His screams echoed in the small room, but the blonde didn't spot the transmitter in the corner, broadcasting it to the cell as well.

"Stop! Leave him alone!" he yelled, struggling in his restraints again. And the Sith did stop.

"If you wish for him to live, then submit," his voice turned cold and harsh, his eyes narrow and glaring daggers.

"Don't… do it…" Svak repeated, clearly in pain. "No matter what…"

"Do you truly wish to be responsible for another of your brothers' deaths?"

"Don't listen to him!" the kid was finding new strength. Death usually did make them all fearless and maybe a bit reckless. "You're not… responsible for anyone's death! No one blames you for any of it!" that earned him another blast of lighting and another scream.

"What will your answer be, Captain?" the Count spoke after Svak fell forward, leaning on his elbows to not smack his face in.

The blonde had remained still since the kid spoke. Did everyone know about it? That he still blames himself for so much death. Of course everyone's probably heard about those that hit him hardest, when he was still young.

"We… need you… Captain," the kid managed to speak, although he was talking more to the ground than his brother. "Don't give… up just yet…"

"…I'm so sorry, Svak…" Rex closed his eyes, head hung. "I'll never submit." His eyes held anger and hate as he glared at the Sith. He would pay for this!

"So be it," Dooku frowned and pulled out his lightsaber, raising it above the kid.

"Vode An," Svak gave a weak smile, managing to get to his keens again. He's ready to die like a soldier.

"Vode An," Rex said back, giving a nod of his head and closed his eyes just as the red blade pierced the soldier's chest.

"Such a shame…" Dooku mused, looking at the lifeless body. "It would seem I am in need of a new tactic…"

"AGH! LET ME OUT!" Fives was hitting the door with his shoulder, punching it even, screaming and cursing the ones who put them in here. "LET ME OUT YOU HUT'UUN!" he rammed the door again, but when silence filled the cell, he stopped.

"Vode An," was the last thing they heard before the well-known sound of a lightsaber was heard.

"Vode An," again and then silence.

"LET. ME. OUT!" Fives was at it again, hitting the door. "Let me out," it turned quiet soon after, with him leaning on the door now. "Let me out…" it was low and almost broken, head resting against the metal.

Kix stood behind him all the while, not trying to stop him. Not again. It started with the screaming and when the medic tried to stop his brother, he pushed him away. Jesse tried talking to him, but Fives just wouldn't listen. So, they stayed behind him, watching his rampage, hurting just the same. Cinder had remained silent, eyes empty as he watched the floor. He felt responsible for Svak, since the two were in the same batch.

"…Fives…" Kix only now moved, gently setting a hand on his shoulder. He could feel the ARC shaking, yet made no sign he heard him. "C'mon, lemme get a look at you," the medic gently pulled at his shoulders, getting him to turn away from the door. Fives' eyes went to his, and in a moment, Kix found himself hugging his brother.

"It'll be okay vod…" he whispered, pulling the man closer. "We'll get them for this…" he saw Jesse helping Cinder on his feet, making sure he was alright.

"I just… feel so useless…" Fives had his eyes closed. "Just like on the Rishi Moon or the Citadel or even Umbara…"

"Trust me," Kix let out a humorless chuckle. "You aren't the only one…" he looked at the celling, trying to ignore the pain stabbing his heart. "You aren't the only one…"

"Count Dooku," Grievous spoke as he approached the man. "You wished to see me?"

"Yes," the Sith turned to the cyborg. "I hear you wish to break one of the clones?" the General's eyes widened at that. "If that is the case, I believe you will have your fun."

"And how is that?" Grievous tried to hide his excitement.

"The Captain is proving more resilient that I anticipated. However, I believe he may be… persuaded, should any of his brothers break first."

"But if the death of one didn't-,"

"I did not imply death, General," he Count handed the General a data-pad. "There you have all the information you require for the one they call 'Fives'. His latest outburst proved he is close to what we need. We must only redirect that anger and hate." Grievous checked the information quickly, a slow laughing rising in him.

"It will be my pleasure."

"Splendid. In the meantime, I shall try again with the Captain. Perhaps my Master might give some assistance…"

Cut! As I said, shorter than the others, but I felt like it had a lot more emotion to it *cough* Fives *cough* and I really enjoyed writing it Gimme your best prediction for what's going to happen soon! Love to hear what you all are thinking =P Anyway, thanks for reading, hope you enjoyed! Maybe review with what you love, or not so much? Thoughts? Anything really! Till next time~

[macabrecabra]

Symmetra approaches the shimada bros about their dragons because she's curious about how they work, what are they made out of exactly, etc., but besides the very basic info the brothers don't actually know too much about their dragons, which leaves Symmetra unsatisfied, so she decides to lure their dragons out so she can study them more closely.

I can give you a little somethingsure! A new prompt idea is always welcomed to bring in some fresh air

For anon! Title: In Regards toDragonsRating: PG-13Relationship: Symmetra studying themdragons

Sometimes, in the pursuit of betterunderstanding, it was better to ask forgiveness than to seekpermission. That was a lesson Symmetra had been taught from a youngage, well before she had enter the field itself.

As a smallgirl, she had learned quickly, as most children did, what was rightand wrong, what was allowed and not allowed, and also that there wererules and barriers. She had also learned that breaking those ruleswere sometimes, just sometimes though, a little necessary to find abetter way. The ends justified the means in the end and small slightscould be forgiven. What she was about to do now was just oneof those instances. In the name of understanding the Shimada dragons, she had to take things into her own hands.

Of course she had tried to play nice.She had spoken to both Hanzo and Genji about the object of herinterest, their dragons, but it was rather hard to get a straightanswer from either. “It has been in our family forgenerations, binding to those in the family who are proven worthy,”Had been what Hanzo had said solemnly with Genji's own remarks beingmore or less the same thing although phrased far more crudely andlaid-back.It was a pair of responses that had Symmetrafrowning as they held no sense of scientific or even rationalexplanation and fell back on wives tales and traditions. Two menhaving dragons was treated like a common place thing, not somethingof extraordinary revelation. Such answers could not be accepted andso Symmetra had went to work on finding a way to truly settle her curiosity and bring a more logical explanation for the dragons intobeing.There was always a way to explain myths.

Symmetra hummed to herself, a habit ofhers that came to light when in high spirits and dare she say giddyabout a particular project, as she began to power up her personallab. She had left the Vishkar Corporation, true, but she had notabandoned all the equipment she had picked up over the years. She hadsimply moved it to her own personal room, converting half of thesuite into her own working lab with her own security codes separatefrom Athena's control. Here, there would be no one to watch or evenknown she was the one that “stole” the Shimada dragons.

She wouldn't have used that word to describe what she had done though. She had simply borrowed the beasts and wouldreturn them when she was satisfied. That was all. Nothing more,nothing less. They would not be gone any longer than what wasnecessary to get her curiosity sated. As her lab finishedloading Symmetra extended a single finger to lightly tap against theholoscreen, flicking through the security codes without much thought,already bending her mind towards what she needed to accomplish thisday. To start, she would have to find a way to isolate  what thedragons were made of, or at least, what kind of light they were.  Herpersonal theory on the matter was that these dragons were a constructof light, not hard light, but some other form of undiscovered lightmanipulation that was more alive than the hard light creations sheutilized.

If that was true, with enough researcha combination of living and hard light could very well be used tocraft organs, maybe even new life. It would be the literallykey to godhood if someone were to master it, the very ability tomanipulate life as it was known.A touch of a smile came toher lips as she briefly entertained such lofty thoughts. Such dreamshad merit but now wasn't the time to get lost in the could be of herresearch and focus on the task at hand. The architect lifted hergun and loaded the muzzle carefully into a port, pressing the switchto let the dragons out into a larger containment field constructed ofthick glass that would allow her to observe them as she manipulatedthe strange energy that they were made up of. Blue and green serpentstwisted and twined about, clearly agitated and Symmetra even got thesensation they were watching her. In all honestly that didn'tscare her as much as it should have. It fascinated her that the beingwere sentient enough to know they were captured and being studied.Symmetra gave a small smile to the beasts, deceptively kind,as her fingers tapped across the keypad and began to scan and uploaddata to her lab. Her eyes flicked to the read out of numbers dashingacross the screens, pursing her lips thoughtfully. Her mind wasfocusing in on it all, soaking it up with the fervor she always hadwhen it came to matters of light and light research. The green dragonhad paused in its ceaseless meanderings of its new cage, watching thedate with an almost curious tilt of its head, tiny paws against theglass. It was cute she supposed but it did little to distracther from her work. The dragon was now pawing at the class, giving outhissing low growls that sounded so much deeper and louder than itssmall size would indicate but she suppose it only appeared small fornow due to being confined. It had been so much larger when Genji hadunleashed it.

“My, my aren't the three of youinteresting,” She murmured out loud, “Such strange photonmake-up, and to create such colors and diversity, yet behave thesame, so very peculiar,” She flicked her fingers over thescreen, sorting out data into the necessary categories, eyesnarrowing. The green dragon was moving at a slower pace, which madesense given its color while the blue dragons were far more energeticand more akin to hard light. Akin to, but not quiet. There was someother wavelength in their make-up, some other finely woven aspect shestill needed to unpack. Symmetra's eyes narrowed andcarefully she shifted to bring her hands to a small pad, brushing herfingers against it. Within the container, hard light erupted and thedragons scattered from the thin beam, hissing and growling. The greenone was the first to inspect it, snapping a small mouth at it beforesquawking as the beam of harmless light expanded as Symmetra began tomanipulate it from outside the containment chamber.Shesmirked, just a bit as she watched the dragons huff and hiss as shemore or less formed a copy of the green dragon out of hard light. Itseemed to be aware of this, letting out a surprised shrieking soundand starting to nudge and wrap around the construct, looking over atthe twin blue dragon's with a wide eyed, glowing look of shock as ifto say “That's me! This is me! Its me!”

Symmetra couldn't help the slightchuckle that escaped her or the curl of her lips as she beheld itsantics, “My, aren't you a lively one?” she cooed.Thegreen dragon turned to regard her, looking more at ease, earsflicking about as it gave almost a smile and a purring rumble. With afew flicks of her fingers, her dragon of light began to move,tickling its own paws now over the belly of the green dragon. Thelittle glowing dragon shrieked and twisted about and if it had beencapable of blushing, Symmetra had a feeling it would. The twin bluedragons were curled up with each other, watching with a guardedinterest, hissing slightly as the green dragon was all but wrapped upnow with the dragon construct, purring happily and licking it.“Doyou like my little construct then?” She teased, for a momentforgetting her research to continue to more or less play with thegreen dragon, “I can make more,”In a flurry and few wellplaced twists of her fingers, three more much smaller little babydragons flitted in, twisting and turning and causing the green dragonto glow even more, lighting up as it swatted and chased the smallerdragons, sometimes nuzzling, only stopping when it had caught one andlooking to the twin blue dragons, tilting its head.

Hanzo's dragons though seemed to not beas social, only giving a hiss. It was honestly quiet fascinating how the dragon's seemed to have picked up on theindividual personality quirks of their owners. All in all though, itwasn't like she needed all three for her study. She pursed her lipsthoughtfully before flicking her fingers, dismissing the hard lightcreations. The green dragon whined, flitting about  before pressingits face to the glass in an attempt to give her a doe-eyed look. Shechuckled and raised a finger to tap the glass where its small nosewas.“How about we let your friends there go back to theirowner and you, my tiny green friend, stay with me for a while yes?I'll make more dragons for you to play with,” she cooed. Thedragon seemed to understand and nodded excitedly while the two blueones perked up at the mention of being able to go to their owner.Symmetra chuckled. She had the readings she needed and one of themwas willing to stay around. A flick of her finger opened the hatchand the twin blue dragons burst out and were gone in an instant outunder the door. The green one though slid out, growing larger andthen wrapping about her some. The touch of the glowing scaleswas warm, but not blistering so. More like a warm cup of tea on acold winter's day clutched between the hands. She reached out to petit slightly, earning a low purr as it rested its head on hershoulder, “You are an affectionate one, aren't you?”Thedragon's only response was a lazy yawn, exposing its teeth somebefore it settled to watch her work. As promised though, she created afew constructs, little dragons that danced through the air around thehead of the glowing green beast. Again this seemed to please thedragon and it was darting about the lab in dizzying patterns to givechase to the constructs, pausing at times to wrap about her as if toremind her it had not left. She had expected no visitors toher room. It was honestly a bit of a surprise for her door to swingopen and Genji to step in, crossing his arms as he leaned in thedoorway, “It is rather rude to steal someones' dragon withoutpermission,”“I did not steal the dragon. They seem morethan content to stay,” Symmetra responded idly, not about to lether surprise break through her calm facade, “Did you know it washere?”“Hanzo's dragon's told him and he told me,” Genjidrawled, stepping further into the room. Symmetra clucked hertongue, turning to the green dragon and giving it a tickle under thechin, “A dirty pair of snitches, aren't they my friend?”Thedragon purred in agreement and she saw Genji tilt his head some, hisposture a bit tense and he had a slight arch of his neck as ifsomeone had touched him there. Symmetra noted that it was the samespot she touched the dragon. She repeated the touch, quirking aneyebrow as she noticed Genji arch just slightly again before she gavea wicked little smirk and brought both hands up to ruffle and pet thedragon, turning her attention to the beast as if she hadn't noticedthat it seemed indeed the dragon and its owner shared a link andshared sensations such as touch.

Best not to let him know she found outand play innocent. Such a thing could be exploited for amusement andstudy after all. Mostly though for amusement as she couldn't help buttake a little mean sort of satisfaction in ruffling people in aspassive and elegant as a way she could.  “I want my dragonreleased back to me,” Genji growled out  slightly.“It isreleased and can return when it wishes,” she answered simply, “Ihave enough data to sort through for now but I would love to have mynew friend stop by,”

She pressed a kiss to the snoot ofthe beast and she swore she heard Genji curse under his breath in hisnative tongue. Oh she was going to have fun teasing the usually cockyand tranquil cyborg, that was for certain. She had been growing tiredof teasing that rubbish Australian, stalwart Pharah, and  the far tooAmerican cowboy. It was time to perhaps...expand her horizons. Hernew fascination with the dragons seemed to have yielded even more thansimple data.The dragon gave a long rolling purr, moving abouther before lazily returning to Genji, the coils starting to dissipateas it returned to its resting place, “We shall see. It is a clansecret as to what the dragons are,”“You never seemed likea man of traditions though,” Symmetra pointed out idly, turning herattention back to the data she had, flicking her eyes over it all,“Regardless, I'll sate my curiosity one way or another. You cannotimpede science,”Genji gave a snort, turning to leave, “Andyou cannot impede a Shimada if you cross their path one too manytimes,” he said, the tone calm yet carried the undertone of athreat. Symmetra ignored it and focused on the work in frontof her. Genji could threaten all he wanted but he really didn't havethe makings of someone who would go as far as to kill someone else.His nature was subdued despite his fearsome reputation. She didn'tfeel threatened, not in the least. Besides, his dragon wouldbe back. A quirk of a smile was curling her lips, her eyes narrowingin a pleased expression. She was missing the dragon already and itsantics. Perhaps sooner rather than later it would return. Shewouldn't mind its warm scaly company.