#why must you point out that there were more vials of the serum

[peteypiessuperfamily]

"You were never meant to be alone, Steve."

[keire-ke]

Why is Way of Water

Avatar Way of Water was terrible, but in very interesting ways. It's better than the first one in that it's less paint by numbers, less white-saviory, and less boring (also less voice-over, thank god), but also worse in that it's a hot mess of everything under the fucking sun. It should either be one hour shorter or five hours longer, and it's not a good thing.

IDK maybe someone should go and check in on James Cameron, because this movie felt like he wasn't sure if he'd be able to make all seven sequels, so he tried to cram all of them here. As a result I'm not even sure what the movie wanted to be about, because we had, in no particular order, protecting family, rich are evil, difficulty of dealing with change, family: nature or nurture, humans are bad, but also humanity is in a crisis, also some humans can be good, is it better to run from conflict or to face it, the curse of being the middle child, Jesus was a lil' weirdo when you think about it, killing can be good, actually, societal consequences can be unfair, marines just gotta punch something.

None of it was done with any depth or well.

There were things I found absolutely enraging:

You have two parents: the father, who is thy commanding officer, and also the sapient planet that encompasses all

Neytiri was underutilised to the point of pain. I don't recall if she was even allowed to have a relationship with her own children beyond screaming for them occasionally. The movie starts with a voice over by Jake Sully, which eh, if you must. However, most of the events of the movie affect Neytiri much more profoundly than they affect him, so centering on weakens the overall impact. Most of the attempted themes are about family, but throughout Jake treats his family like a precious resource he needs to protect for himself, so it's pretty shallow, giving me serious John Winchester vibes. Every time one of the kids said "sir" to their father I was expecting something to come out of it, like "I'm the chief, so it's appropriate in battle, but now I am no longer that, we need to re-examine our relations". Spoiler: nothing did.

Meanwhile, Neytiri, a member of a species whose community ties are reinforced by their very real deity, is there upending her whole life and severing ties to her community, she's dealing with the inclusion of aliens in her family, as the (prospective) shaman it should have been her role to be the spiritual leader, alas.

Colonel Evil Marine

Are you fucking kidding me, what the fuck. That was some bullshit, start to finish.

The technology to upload memories into avatars kinda... invalidates the whole program from the first movie? If that's possible (and there was no indication this was something only just invented), shouldn't this be done for all potential avatar operators? In case they die from, IDK, extreme mental strain and/or random bar fight.

Why would he want to be cloned as an alien in the first place?

It's not entirely unbelievable he went from a commander guy who was willing to do everything to get his job done, to a single-minded revenge machine (although... yikes), but the fact that somehow he was able to commandeer all the resources for his personal revenge?

The subplot with the son... I mean. What a weird, heavy and meaty plotline to shove onto a background character and a two-bit villain.

Unobtainium 2.0

Yeah... what. What was the point. That ties into nothing, does nothing. I swear it's like James Cameron heard about whaling for the first time during brainstorming phase, and just needed to add it.

The unobtainium from the first movie is mocked as a MacGuffin, but for however clumsily it's explained there, it's a synecdoche for the source of conflict: humanity needs resources, Pandora has resources. Even without the background information that it's apparently for space travel and magnetic properties we can understand the idea.

Here it's a magic anti-aging serum worth millions for a small vial, ergo it's for rich individuals, but that's not the conflict we get introduced to earlier, which is, to wit, "Earth is dying, humanity needs to move".

The space Jesus and the rape jokes

So run this by me again: Sigourney Weaver was not uploaded into her avatar because she died during the transfer, avatars are not transferable, so instead of burying both bodies they... put the avatar... in storage...? Also she got mysteriously impregnated? And the kids joke about their (presumably) friends and mentors... raping the corpse?

The resulting child is able to straight up control the planets biosphere with her mind. Cool.

The kids

I rather liked them, which is impressive! Child characters are hard to pull off. Aside from the smallest one, that one was entirely pointless. Certain aspects were unclear, like at some point we're expected to believe that the middle child feels like he's a disappointment to his family because... why exactly? He gets the others in trouble, sure, but it's not like he actively fails at something, other than following (somewhat arbitrary) rules. He's already a warrior by the tribe's standard (I presume, by the fact he is involved in the attack early on), but he gets grounded like a child? His subplot with the whale suggests he's uncomfortable with societal rules, doesn't understand them and wants to do his own thing, except he very clearly isn't and doesn't, he gets in trouble for disobeying the letter not the spirit of the rules. He doesn't even get a proper "well done son guy", and his "reconciliation" with Jake is teaching him the water tribe skills, which would matter more if a) Jake was at any point having trouble with adjusting to living in the water, b) the skills were what was the problem.

Spider was fascinating. First, who did his manscaping? I demand to know! But jokes aside, if not about Neytiri the movie should have been about him.

The whale

Go whale! I'm team whale.

The way of water

Sure would be nice if we got to see more of the practices of the water tribes, instead of montage skipping to action scenes.

Aesthetics

Very beautiful. My only complaint was the Sigourney Weaver character, her face was too uncanny valley for me.

Music

Present.

Overall

I was really mad when I walked out of the cinema, and I had a hard time enjoying the visuals because there were just too many concepts to be absorbed and then disappointed by. There's so much in here that could have been a great movie! Or three! But like so many current blockbusters it feels like this movie was written by an AI, words slapped on a page, superficially connected and making sense, but the number of fingers does not add up to a hand.

[mionie]

Punishing Gray Raven (PGR)

-- Fanfiction

Twilight: Watanabe x f!reader

(WARNING: unedited, slight angst)

Fluff! Enjoy! 🥰

"Commandant of Gray Raven, get out of there as soon as you can. The level of the Punishing Virus is rapidly increasing.” Celica said through the communication device, the usual friendly tone was replaced with a hard one. (Name) bit her lip, glancing at the horde of dead corrupted bodies at the foot of the building she was hiding.

“My team members are not yet here. I lost connection with them a moment ago, and the streets are filling in with Heteromers.”

“The more of the reason of your escape, Commandant of Gray Raven. Retreat now. Lucia, Lee, and Liv will be fine.”

“I know.” She whispered. The three of them were strong and she knew, she witnessed their strength even before she became their commandant but with the situation getting worse, how could she even abandon her team? Knowing if they were with her, they would be scolding her on where she stood. Liv would deprecate and blame herself, Lee would shoot sharp truths to her face as he drag her away, and Lucia would sacrifice herself to ensure their commandant’s sake.

Clenching her fists, she sighed, “okay. Roger that.”

“Good. Be careful, (Name).” Celica’s hologram disappeared, leaving her alone in the rubbles of the destroyed infrastructure. They will be fine, I know. I trust them, and they trust me.

She crawled out of the side of the marching Heteromers, making her way at the base of the building. After checking whether she was spotted, she dashed away from the Heteromers as quietly as she could. She was a mere human, commanding three members of constructs. If she were to fight alone with the corrupted bodies, her rate of survival would not even reach five percent. Until she was united with the rest, she had to be careful. For their sake and hers.

Navigating through the increasing number of the Corrupted were not as easy as the training back in Babylonia. It was thrice as dangerous and risky. She paused, hiding herself behind a pile of defeated Heteromers, readying her guns as three of them approached her hiding spot.

She tried to reconnect with her missing members, only to hear the beep that indicated a failure in the reconnection.

Clicking her tongue, she steadied her arms pointing at the leading Corrupted, shooting the shining red eyes of the robotic body. This alarmed the Corrupted with it, rotating their heads to the source of the attack, but (Name) was faster, avoiding the searching eyes and ran past them.

Trying to reconnect again, she cursed at the beep. Her senses were dulling and the familiar feeling of nausea was appearing, along with the itchiness and boiling of her blood.

With the streets in front of her swarming with Corrupted, she went inside an abandoned store and hid herself from the patrolling Corrupted. They must have been alerted by the Corrupted she encountered before.

She fished out a bag filled with vials and a syringe, shooting herself with the serum and her vitals slowly stabilized. She may not be as good as Liv in medical care, but she could take care of herself with the basics. One time when they were on a mission and (Name) lost her bag of vials in the fight with the Corrupted, the white-haired girl kept on apologizing and blaming herself for her ‘shortcomings’. It was her fault why she lost her bag that time, not Liv’s, but knowing the female construct, she would put all the blame on her. She sighed at the memory and measured her vital rate, making sure she was stable enough before she left and going past the flying Heteromers’ radars and finally out of the city.

She released a sigh she was unaware she was holding in. Although she was out the city, she should still be on guard. Keeping on reconnecting with the others, she carefully crossed the desolate bridge.

Before their mission, Lee had mentioned of the Corrupted evolving into new variants. It was eerie to think about. Fighting against normal Heteromers were difficult enough, but with the addition the evolving Corrupted, doubt crept up her thoughts.

She slapped her cheeks, gaining back her waning courage. She should not be easily swayed by the negative influence of the war. She had to be strong for the people of the past, present, and future. Claiming back Earth from the deadly Punishing Virus and rampant Corrupted were not impossible. It may not be in her generation, or the next, what mattered was it would be possible, and everyone was working hard into making it into reality.

A crash brought her back from her reverie. She quickly hid herself on a beam and readied her gun. She took a peek and her eyes widened at the familiar people. With their bodies covered with white coats and robotic limbs slaying Heteromers while still maintaining human intellect.

The Forsaken were fighting against what she assumed as a new variant. With the Forsaken busy with the Heteromers, she was temporarily safe… from both.

As quietly and as quickly as possible, she rounded a corner away from the busy parties, only to feel an icy blade on her throat.

“Babylonia rat. Drop your weapons if you want to be killed by me only.”

The low and serious voice was relieving and daunting at the same time. She dropped her weapon and raised her arms, turning slowly to meet her favorite heterochromatic eyes. The corner of her lips quivered up, wishing internally that they had not, “hi, Watanabe…”

“(Name)? Sh*t!” He quickly recoiled his knife and dragged her away into an old car from the Golden Age.

He shut the door from inside and turned to (Name), glaring at her (e/c) eyes. “What are you doing here, Commandant of Gray Raven? You should know that this is part of the Forsaken’s patrol routes.”

“I didn’t mean to. I was… lost?”

His mismatched eyes softened and looked away from her. They were silent inside the car as (Name) stole glances at the construct brooding beside her. It was not as if she was oblivious to his worries. She was a mere human AND a Babylonia agent. If she was only a human person, she would at least be spared by the Forsaken, but being affiliated with Babylonia, they would kill her on the spot.

He finally turned back to her and looked her in the eyes, tilting his head up. Confused, she whispered, “what?”

Watanabe sighed and tilted his head up again. Understanding his cues, she tilted her head as he brought out a mini-medical kit. He pressed a clean gauge on the thin line on her throat, sighing as he did his work. “You were being reckless again, Commandant. Where are your members?”

“I lost them.”

“… I’m sorry.”

Her eyes widened and waved a hand, “oh no! I didn’t mean that they were dead! I meant we got separated.”

“… Tch.” She chuckled awkwardly at his obvious disappointment.

It was silent once more, as he was busy tending the wound he caused himself. Their close proximity bothered her. His warm breath fanning her exposed neck and his fingers sending shivers down her spine. She averted her eyes, focusing on something aside from the pleasant sensation she was feeling.

It was approaching nighttime and still there were no news of her three members. With the foreboding news from Celica, she had to evacuate immediately and her constructs could be remaining in the city to search for her.

But I trust them. With the amount of the Corrupted invading the city, plus the increasing level of the virus, they would know that she had to leave. The remaining problem was their meeting point. The Gray Raven Squad had already prepared for these circumstances, but they would not know (Name) was currently with the Forsaken leader.

Watanabe’s fingers stopped, resting on her collarbone. Her eyes shifted as to him, confused as to why he stopped, but she herself froze at the intensity of his eyes. It was… foreign. Foreign, but welcoming. She knew at the back of mind what it was.

The warm light of the sunset framed his face perfectly, casting shadows on his eyes that pulled her towards him. Watanabe’s fingers ghosted up the side of her neck and into her hair. Her eyes fluttered shut. It was involuntary. But how could she not if he had this effect on her? It was fine for humans and constructs to form intimate relationships, even in Babylonia, but it was rare. It was only twice when she saw human-construct couples out in the streets of the spacecraft. However, the reason why it was rare because their concern with the future.

When their squad had their missions on Earth, there would be times when they would run into the Forsaken. Sometimes, they would work together to defeat the Corrupted, and sometimes there would be scuffles between the Gray Raven Squad and the Forsaken. And in those moments, (Name) was not immune to the growing affection to him. She would always keep it professional. Knowing that it would get in the way of their missions, she reminded herself that it would soon pass. Nobody should know how she feels, not even him.

That’s right. In the end, I’m a human and he’s a construct. Humans have limited lifespan compared to constructs that can live on for centuries. It was fear. She could die very easily and leave the next torch to those who lived. With the war against the virus and Ascendants, maybe in the next day she will die. But that was the reason why she was hesitant.

She could be sprawled out in the open, drenched in her own blood as life slipped away from her. Lucia, Liv, and Lee would be in front of her begging her to stay and breathe. She heard that before somebody dies, life would flash before their eyes. All happy and sad memories would surface to be remembered before she left. If that was true, then she would reminisce the moments she spent with Watanabe.

She would regret it if she were to avoid it, and she knew he was feeling it, too.

His other hand gently brushed the bandaged wound. He was always gentle with her, no wonder she fell for the Forsaken leader. He would offer her good wisdom when she needed one, and he would reciprocate it with accepting her own advice. It was something little that bloomed into something more.

He drew closer, tilting her head and resting it on the tattered headrest. He stopped before anything could happen. (Name) opened her eyes, looking straight into his loving gaze. Watanabe was asking for permission. It was endearing, it brought a smile to her lips.

Though she said nothing, her gaze spoke volumes. Then he dove in and captured her slightly parted lips in a lock. Her heart thumped loudly and she felt as if her energy left her, leaving her to Watanabe’s care. Though she could not trust her body now because of excitement, she trusted the male construct. He drew back a little, watching her reactions through half-lidded eyes. Soft pink dusted her cheeks as she tried to make sense of the brief kiss they shared. He chuckled, going in for another but this time, much deeper and more passionate.

(Name)’s eyes widened, finding herself pushed further into the car seat. She was making noises she would not expect she would make. His lips moved against hers in fluid ease and need, stealing more of her sense of rationality. With shaky hands, she tried to push him away.

This is too much! As if sensing her plea, he released her and pulled her in his arms, letting her catch her breath. It was hot. The car was hot. His body was hot. Her face was hot, but she did not care. She buried herself deeper in his chest, inhaling the scent of tea and desert on him.

Although he no longer has a human body, his heart resided inside him. She could not hear it, but she imagined it to be beating as fast as hers. She looked up at him and he kissed her brows.

Just for a little longer, she wanted to spend more time with him. For a long time since she hid her feelings, her chest swelled with happiness as they finally acknowledged their love for one another.

“Ooohh! Steamy!”

“Nanami!” She gasped, pushing Watanabe away and scrambled out the car with him following behind.

Outside was the energetic construct, bouncing on her heels with her hands cupping cheeks, “kyaa! Commandant, that was sooooo intense! You could pass for an actress!”

“N-No, Nanami! Keep your voice down please…!”

(Name) successfully calmed the gray-haired girl, sighing as she calmed her erratic breathing, “anyways. Nanami, what are you doing here?”

“The pretty girl and friends were looking for Commandant! They asked Nanami if I happen to see you, and BAM! I did! Nanami leads them here, but they were sooooo sloooww. It was a shame they missed the show…” she pouted.

“T-There was no show, Nanami,” (Name) whispered in her ears, “Nanami, I’m begging you, please don’t tell anyone about this.”

“Aww, but Commandant, they wouldn’t know your amazing skill!”

Her face turned hot again, hers and Watanabe’s kiss resurfaced, “they don’t need to know, Nanami. Uh, i-it’s an exclusive… show, so only it will known by one person.”

Nanami squealed and pirouetted, “eeee! So Nanami is that exclusive person? Okay! Nanami can keep secrets! Commandant’s the best!” Nanami glomped (Name), almost taking them to the ground.

“Haa, it’s you again, Chainsaw-hacker. Don’t tell me you were giving my men nightmares again?” Watanabe came from behind, pulling (Name) away from the shorter girl. (Name) blushed at the worried glance he was giving her. She nodded softly and Nanami grumbled, “old man, give Commandant back!” She lunged to take (Name) back but he carried her easily and dodged.

He sighed, “I told you, I’m not old.” He set his lover down and led them away to the entrance. They could see in the distance three silhouettes approaching them in fast speed.

“Commandant!”

“I better go or else they would get the wrong idea,” (Name) smiled ruefully, tugging discreetly at his fingers before jogging to meet her missing squad.

Watanabe could still feel the softness of her fingers as he watched (Name) being bombarded by three constructs. It felt like a dream, too good to be true, but it was all real. The kiss they shared was still fresh in his M.I.N.D. and it would remain like that always.

“Hurt Commandant and Nanami will hack you to pieces,” Nanami poked his side with her chainsaw, and he pushed it away.

“Even without you saying so, I wouldn’t.”

“Hmph! You better be, or I’ll come and play with you and your friends every single day!” She stuck a tongue at him and sauntered off, joining the reunited Gray Raven Squad.

Under the peeking stars and last light of day, the group bid their goodbye to Watanabe, although one of them was sour about it. They turned and started walking away, but (Name) stood still, offering him a smile and a wave then joined the leaving group.

The lips that smiled at him hid their little secret. It was dangerous, what they did, but they chose to. So until the day when they win the war, he will work twice as hard to achieve his dream of Eden, and have her part of it and spend the rest of their lives together.

I promise you a world without the war, my Eden.

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

This is my 1st fanfic of PGR and English is not my first language so there bound to be grammatical mistakes. But I hope you enjoyed this! Thank you for reading 🥰

[subwaysurf45]

Winter Makes Ice (Ep.7)

Summary:  you’re captured after a brawl at the Avengers building, Bucky and others must save you before Hydra makes a new Winter Soldier out of you, Bucky has given up that title

Words: 3412

Episode: seven

Warning: PTSD, vomiting

Masterlist! Winter Makes Ice Episode: Six

Time: 8:01am 

Date: October 7th 2024

Were you running late?

 Yes.

Your final appointment with Bruce was today and it was scheduled for 8:00 in the morning, you had set your alarm with enough time to get there but Bucky had other plans. While you were getting up Bucky snaked his metal arm around you, he knew you couldn’t break out of it, he pulled you back in his chest so you could stay for a little longer but you managed to bribe him after giving a few kisses down his neck. As you sucked his hand relaxed and when he didn’t see it coming and you snuck out to your bathroom to get ready for the day, you knew he was too tired to get up and pull you back. 

The surgery for both your nose and removing the serum went without a hitch, though you did have a panic attack a day later because it seemed too good to be true for you, everything else went fine. Bruce managed to take samples of your skin and make them into cartilage for your nose, it took a couple days for it to marry and accept your face, it would turn really red and then lose all colour in a matter of minutes. The serum removal took longer than expected, and it turns out what Bruce’s lab was creating wasn’t what he was expecting. The antibiotic would actually get into your bloodstream and split the serum from the red blood cells, but it wouldn’t remove them, the serum would still circulate in your body but just next to the red blood cells. 

A heart-lung by-pass machine was used while you were sedated, you could have been awake but seeing your blood fill a tube and then go back into you while a bag filled with blue liquid was just extra trauma you didn’t want to see. There were always complications with being sedated, but Bucky supported you no matter what. You weren’t left feeling sick after but like you hadn’t slept in days, you found there was a difference between waking up from passing out like you did in the cell and just lack of sleep, Bucky had looked at you quizzically when you said it randomly, but you couldn’t seem to explain. 

You still get headaches from time to time, it normally comes from that same spot in the back of your head and high on your neck, you’d feel around for a scab or scar but would find nothing. There was a bump when you’d checked recently but it seemed as though it was a goose egg form getting hit, but that was so long ago. You didn’t talk about your bump much because you thought people would look at you crazy, some people already did; while others looked at you like you were a ghost. 

As you walked to Banner's lab an agent stopped talking to her friend to look you up and down, and hand came to cover her mouth but you saw the smirk in her eyes. You just shrugged and turned into the lab. 

“You’re late,” Bruce said, he was sat on his stool with everything in hand, clipboard and pen at the ready. 

“Sorry,” you smiled and sat down. 

Bruce began to do the checks, he got good at hiding that he was taking blood, he’d point across the room to show a floating hologram of all your vitals and while you were reading over them he’d quickly stick the needle in to draw a bit of blood. 

He did the same except he pinched your thigh as he stuck in the needle point to make your attention go to your leg instead of the inside of your elbow. 

“Ow!” you slapped his hand away, “I’m used to it by now, and I also trust you and know you’re not trying to stick a foreign serum into me.'' You shook your head and read the file that was left open, “I can’t believe it’s my last test,” you sighed and leaned back in the chair. 

The whirl of the centrifuge wasn’t too loud, Bruce stood beside it with one arm holding his weight on the desk. He watched as you looked over the file again and again, your finger would trace the words and slowly find their way to the corner of the page to flip. The further you got into the file the further back you went, Bruce noticed you tend to stay on your injury report page a bit longer than the others, you’d study the little picture of a person and all the ‘X’s that were drawn where you got hurt; you could barely see the human drawing underneath. He’d watch as you read over every description of the injuries you’ve gotten, one time he asked why and you looked at him and said. 

“Because I go over how to fix each injury, so when I go back into the field I can stay on my toes.” 

But he knew you were just tired of feeling like you weren’t helping when in reality you prompted a medical breakthrough, not everyone gets infected by a mind controlling serum, but the new use of a heart-lung by-pass was being looked at by hospitals. 

Bruce took the blood out of the centrifuge and looked into the vial, there was no trace of blue like there was the first time he did it, just plasma and blood. You were still reading and he knew you’d pass his test so instead of telling you he was starting the evaluation, he just did it. 

“Close that book.” He lowered his voice which sent a boom through the lab. 

You didn’t close it but it did scare you for a second, a little jump but you went right back to reading. You weren’t trying to be mean by not listening but you had to show that you wouldn’t follow orders but rather respond like a normal human, the first day you flinched for the stool when Bruce asked you to walk it over to him but after that you tended to act like he wasn’t in the room. 

“Stand up.” he barked. 

You looked over to him, “no thanks,” you smiled, Bruce smiled back. 

“Can you stand for a second, please?” Bruce squinted and leaned back on the desk, he was challenging how you’d react to an indirect command, it was an offer rather than a command. 

“I don't know, can I?” You tilted your head to the side, a wide smile was being suppressed by a terrible poker face. 

“May you please stand?” Bruce walked over with a proud smile on his face, he was no longer challenging you. 

You just laughed and stood, “only because you asked so nicely,” you let your teeth flash while you both laughed. “Why did you choose standing? That’s like, day one stuff,” you sighed from laughing and closed the file. 

“Because I want to hug you,” he opened his arms wide, “to congratulate you. Now give me a hug, that’s an order!” he giggled but laughed even more when you pretended to scope him out, “just kidding, come ‘ere, kid.” 

You fell into a hug and wrapped your arms tightly around him, Bruce did the same. It was quick but it meant the world. “Thanks for everything, Bruce.” You smiled as you walked out of the room, “I mean it, you really helped me out.” 

“Don't mention it, you’re free!” he opened his arms wide to shew you out of his lab. 

You walked out and closed the door behind you, you only took a few steps before staring off into the distance. “I guess I am…” you muttered to yourself before continuing to walk back to your room. 

As you walked you didn’t even see Bucky in the kitchen “doll!” he called and you turned instantly, “breakfast?” he tilted the frying pan over so you could see french toast. 

Your eating and sleeping were the only things that didn’t seem to get better, nightmares plagued you every night and you could barely stomach a workout smoothie. Bucky would try his best to get you to eat but he typically ate your leftovers instead of making a meal for himself, it was hard to watch because you weren’t gaining weight and he still felt guilty when he’d touch your back and feel every ridge. 

“I’ll have a bit,” you smiled and walked over, “I’m a free bird now.” you commented as he slipped the bread on your plate. 

“Way to go, babe, I knew you could do it.” He scrunched his nose and took the stool beside you, “eat slow and as much as you want, no worries.” He kissed your temple before pulling out his phone. 

You slowly started to eat, you put the corner of the bread in your mouth and chewed slowly. The sweetness and the flavour was still overpowering, you weren’t used to this much intensity and it only made you feel nauseous. As much as Bucky acted like he wasn’t paying attention you could see his eyes look over as far as he can to gauge your reaction, when you’d catch him looking he’d just cough and look forward. You only got four bites in before turning your nose up and pushing the plate to Bucky. He didn’t want to seem disappointed but he was, not in you but rather himself, nothing was working. 

“What do you think you can eat?” He asked softly. 

“Plain yogurt?” you questioned. 

“I’ll give anything a shot,” he breathed and stood. The yogurt was far back in the fridge but he found it eventually, he poured a little bowl, “you want granola?” he asked. 

“Just yogurt,” she sheepishly replied, a thin line formed on your lips. 

He served it up and went back to eating the french toast, you scooped it up and took a spoonful. It was so plain and boring, nothing tingled on your taste buds. There was no category for it, it wasn't sweet or sour, it wasn’t savoury; it was just plain. The metallic taste from the spoon had more power than the yogurt itself. Nothing to chew, no berries or granola. 

It was perfect. 

In no time you scarfed it down, the spoon clicked on the bowl as you scraped for the ends of it. Bucky had been cooking your favourite foods to make you feel at home, you liked spice and sweetness normally. You’d turn down yogurt a month ago if it didn’t have your favourite granola in it, but what both you and Bucky didn’t realize was that you started with crazy flavours instead of the basics. Butter and bread, plain crackers, and maybe some almonds sounded great right now.  

Bucky looked over in shock to see you done with your food, he watched as you went to the pantry and pulled out some unsalted crackers. You plopped a few into your mouth and just waited to see if your body would reject it, but it didn’t.

“Guess I went too fast, too soon, huh?” he let out an unhappy laugh, “you could’ve been eating for a while…” he muttered and stood. He was exhausted, the darker circles under his eyes and the flatness of his skin didn’t go unnoticed. You woke up every night screaming and thrashing around in the bed, the sheets would be piled on the floor from your arms swinging around. As much as Bucky wanted some sleep, he knew for a fact that you’d been in disposition before, you’d been the one to gently ease him out of a nightmare for three weeks straight.   

“You did your best and I love you for it,” You smiled and leaned across the counter to kiss his lips, he sat back down again, “I would have done the same thing, if it makes you feel better.”

Bucky just rubbed his face and looked up to you, “how?” was all he asked. 

“How...what?” you giggled, but Bucky didn’t crack a smile. 

“Why are you so upbeat right now, I get it you finished your tests with Banner but, god, I don’t know how you’re so happy?” He didn’t sound angry but more in disbelief, if it were him, Bucky knew he’d be curled into a ball in the middle of the bed for days, there wouldn’t be anything to make him happy. 

You just sighed and sat down next to him again, “I’m not upbeat right now, if I’m being honest,” you looked forward and the sleek grey cupboards, “I can’t train because my stitches will fall out, I can’t run for the same reason. Half of the team treats me like fine china while the other half still punches me in the arm when they tell a funny joke, if I’m hanging out with Steve he will ask if I’m okay after every little thing while Tony doesn’t seem to understand that I don’t like sneak attacks anymore.” You wiped down your face with both hands, “my head still hurts like crazy, especially in that one spot in the back, everyone is too loud and I’ve been called ‘too quiet’ too many times for me to count.” You finally looked over to Bucky who had the saddest eyes, his lips curled down as he scanned over you, “you’re the only one who I can be, somewhat, happy around because you get it. Yes, you can be very cautious but you’ve backed off when I’ve said no and you’ve learned not to push when I can’t remember much. Bucky,” you cupped his face with one hand, you could feel him push into it, “you see me happy around you because you’re the only one who knows how to put a smile on my face right now, and I’m so happy it’s you.” Before he could say anything you pulled him in for a kiss, he hummed into it and reached up to place his hand over yours; it was still resting on his stubbled cheek. 

“I didn’t know I was doing all that right, I thought I was failing.” Bucky muttered against your lips, you could feel the sadness in his voice. 

“I still can’t lift my arm up all the way without it hurting, you wash my hair and put it in the clip when I ask, you might not have figured that food out or my nightmares but you do the little things, and that’s what makes it better.” Bucky’s arms moved down to hold you at your waist, you were still close. All he could do was smile, the kind of smile you use when you get a prize for a thing you really didn’t think mattered or when you’re embarrassed of how you fell in front of everyone; his lips turned down but his eyes smiled. 

The rest of your morning flowed into your afternoon easily, you’d spent some time just lounging in the bed and keeping each other warm. Little make-out session might brew but nothing went too far, it wouldn’t for a while and you both agreed on that. At one point you fell asleep curled up against Bucky’s chest, he stayed still and when it came time, he helped you out of your nightmare. The little kisses littered your face until you were calm again, he didn’t dare to fall asleep at this point because he knew you would too and being woken up by twitches and little pleads for help weren’t something he enjoyed for his own mental health. 

Time: 9:30pm

Date: October 7th 2024

Everyone filed into the cinema room for movie night, this was your first one since you came back. Bucky had tried to talk you out of it due to it being October and a horror movie was on the list, apparently it was a early 2000’s slasher, basically the worst movie to come back to. You were done with hiding away from the team, you wanted to see them again, scary movies didn’t bother you before because you knew they were just movies and alien killers weren’t real, you really didn’t know how much could change now. 

There was a bowl of popcorn for you and Bucky, you sat in the corner so you were nestled into the armrest and the back pillow, Bucky was on your left, cautiously watching you as Nat queued up the movie. 

“I now present,” she held her arms in front of the screen, “Camp Blood!” The movie faded in from black and a hush fell over the team. People snuggled deeping into their blankets and got ready for the movie, you just leaned your head on Bucky’s shoulder and threw a few pieces of popcorn- without butter -in your mouth.

Not even a half an hour later you were really shaken up, the gore and the blood had slowly broken down your walls and gotten to your head. You had hid it so well Bucky genuinely had no idea even though he was checking in on you after every kill, a little kiss to your temple before a double check. 

“I have to pee,” you whispered to Bucky and left the room. 

You sprinted down and to the back where there was a door to the outside, the air was suffocating and you couldn’t breathe. It seemed everything you could remember was flashing in your mind all at once while new memories were coming into play, it was all so overwhelming and you couldn’t handle it. You pushed the door open and stumbled to your knees and the cold fall weather opened your lungs so wide you thought they were going to pop, the gasps came out unevenly and some were quick shots of air. Your hand was pulling and scratching at the finally held bruise on your neck, it was like you could feel the chains slowly wrapping around you like a snake's tail, coming up around your neck and squeezing tightly. 

With one push, the chains in your mind snapped and all the popcorn you had eaten came back out, right onto the deck that was power washed three days ago. A few pieces of kernels got stuck when you took your first breath in but after spitting them out you could finally breathe again. 

You sat back up on your feet and just looked into the night sky, it was too cold for you to be out here but it was peaceful. With the serum you would have been fine with this weather but that had left you, you were free now, if you wanted you could run down the grass into the forest and never see anyone ever again. It was horrifying that that idea was pleasant to you, you’d never see Bucky ever again but you could be free. 

One foot hit the grass, but then the sound of a lock pulled you from your fantasy, you looked over your shoulder to see the lights off and the red emergency lights spinning around. You ran up to bang on the door but no one could see or hear you, “let me on!” you screamed for anyone but you knew these glass doors were sound proof. “Fuck!” 

“Soldat,” you froze, the voice you remembered vividly rang through your head, you shook it off and kept pounding on the door, “they’re never going to help you,” it chanted in your mind. 

“No, let me in!” you screamed again, your head hit the glass door in defeat, the voice mocked you in your brain. You pulled away from the glass and looked into the building, but then your focal point focused on the reflection. 

“Soldat, break in and kill them all.” the voice said, the slick hair and the notch in his brow, the leader that got away. To your horror, your break straightened and your chin went up, you turned towards the man who never gave you his name. He dressed in all black and wore a Hydra pin over his heart, “you really think we’d let you get away?” he asked, “you really think we only gave you the serum?”

“What is happening?” you asked, your mind was being taken over. 

“I’ll say it again. Soldat, break in and kill them all.” his smile grew. 

You didn’t want to, but somehow the other part of you did. 

“copy.” 

And the glass shattered with one punch. 

Winter Makes Ice tag list: @small-death-and-codeine​ @commonintrest​ @buckyys-doll​  @lil-baby-nor @wafflesncream​​

let me know if you want a tag!!!

[empyreanwritings]

sdlkfjsd sorry in advance for the 5 more after this but yanno just to help give you options LOL

Steve x Reader where reader accidentally drank a love potion and Steve was the first person they saw 😳

Warnings: feelings confessed due to potions,,is that dubcon if it's not sexual? idk i'm still warning in case

When you first joined the team, you knew about Steve's puppy crush on you. You wrote it off as being nothing more than something superficial. Captain America wasn't someone who could just fall in love at the drop of a dime - at least that is what you convinced yourself. But he persisted.

He joined your for lunches; he checked in when he was away on missions, even when you insisted he didn't have to; and he liked to bring you small gifts to make you smile. Flowers. Baked goods. Punny cards. They always succeeded, but you still never understood why he tried so hard. You didn't see yourself as anything special against the other avengers.

Sure, you were a witch, but you weren't a superhero.

It all came to head when Steve finally asked you out on a date, and you rejected him. You didn't believe he had more than a crush on you.

"What will it take to make you believe me?" He asked with his hands on his hips in that sassy-Cap-way he always did.

"Nothing," you replied.

"Fine." You started to hear the clanking of glass behind you, and you turned just as Steve started to raise one of your potions to his lips. "This looks like the truth one, so now you'll have to believe me."

"Steve, no!"

You groaned as he drained the vial. It wasn't the truth serum. In fact, you didn't even have a truth serum, you just said that once to scare Tony into being honest with you about something he would usually lie about to cover his ass. You must have pointed out a random one, and Steve - with his stupid didactic memory - remembered.

When Steve laid eyes on you, you could see the mushiness in his eyes. You sighed. Him drinking a love potion and seeing you first didn't convince you he had feelings for you. It actually made it worse.

"I love you," he cooed and tried to cup his your cheeks, but you slapped his hands away. "Why did you do that? I-"

"Love me, got it." You pressed your hand against his chest to keep him at arms length. The first thing you could think of was call Wanda, so you pulled out your phone and quickly dialed her number. "Look what that tiny brain of yours got us into now, Rogers."

[jinmukangwrites]

@damianwayneweek Day 1 (6-13): Truth serum | Damian Wayne Protection Squad™ | Best friends to lovers

Note: Rushed. I'm sure it's still the 13th somewhere.

Warnings: kidnapping, nonconsensual drugging, needles.

-o-o-o-o-

Dick wakes to the taste of blood on his tongue.

Thankfully, after slowly moving his tongue around, it's just because he bit the inside of his cheek sometime between when he was knocked out and when he woke up. His head pounds like a war-drum with his heart as he tries to get ahold of his situation. Without opening his eyes, he assess his arms are restrained behind his back and he's sitting on an uncomfortable metal chair. His legs are also tied to the chair, keeping him from running.

The suit he wears feels suffocating, proof that—once again—him wearing Batman's cowl isn't some sort of sick joke. However, his shoulders are a bit lighter suggesting his cape has been taken. Not that he'll mourn it.

His cowl is on. He silently curses himself for not checking that first. It would be the first thing Bruce checked.

He always prioritized the identity. The mission. Secrecy before safety, Gotham before everything else. Not injuries, not friends, not family, partners-

Dick's eyes fly open, reminding him of the real thing he should have checked for first.

"Robin," he gasps out loud, looking wildly around the room and tugging on the ropes holding his back to the chair.

The room is dark and small, the walls made of cinder bricks that have water mold where it connects to the cement floor. In front of him is a metal table with a black, palm sized box placed on top. Dick ignores that for now and looks to his side, only relaxing when he finds Damian to his right, tied similarly to another chair with his chin to his chest. Only unconscious, Dick notes as he watches his stomach rise and fall.

However, anxiety flutters in his gut when he sees there's a dried trail of blood running down the side of his head.

"Robin," he tries again, knowing at the back of his head that Bruce would be telling him to be quiet. Check for cameras. Look for an escape route. Don't let them know you're awake until you have a plan-

Dick shakes his head. Damian could have a concussion, and that takes priority. Dick could have one as well, considering how badly his head hurts, but Damian is only ten years old and Dick knows better than anyone the lingering effects injuries could have when you're a child.

He presses his feet to the ground and pushes, attempting to slide closer to his protege. He does nothing more than jolt in place. There's not enough leverage.

However, it seems the sound of the metal scraping against the ground is enough to wake up the boy. He comes to with a small groan and a pain laced crease between his brow.

"Robin," Dick repeats a third time. He can do nothing but sit as Damian blinks slowly behind his mask; his shoulders tensing as he too notices the restraints.

Damian opens his mouth, but before any words could leave there's a loud clang. The door in front of Dick and Damian, on the other side of the table, swings open.

In walks three men; two are unfamiliar, but the third Dick recognizes from the case files he and Damian got from Gordon about a week ago. Jonas Gibbs. Known arms dealer and smuggler. He's made his moves in Gotham these past few weeks, getting the police and public nervous about shootings with illegal guns. Batman and Robin had finally pinned down the date, time, and location of his next shipment and intended to take him down then, but he was smart and had hired help from various mercenaries that Dick could confidently bet used to be in the military before they were dishonorably discharged.

The way they moved, worked, and attacked was too strategic and planned. It was only a matter of time before one got a lucky hit on Damian; a blow with the butt of their rifle across the kid's forehead. The barrel of the rifle pointed down at Damian's unconscious body was all it took for Dick to raise his hands in surrender.

And now they're here, in some damp old room. Tied to chairs. A table placed in front of them with a mysterious box set on top of it.

"Perfect timing," Gibbs says, grinning. The two other men, clearly mercs, stand on either side of him as he drags up a chair and sits on the other side of the table. "I was almost afraid we'd have to dump water to get you up."

"What do you want?" Dick growls. He must want something. He hasn't taken off the cowl… or at least he hasn't tried to get through the various traps to pull it off. It means he must need something that an identity reveal wouldn't give him.

"I'm glad you asked, Batman," Gibbs says, a grin spreading on his face. He looks to one of his goons and they immediately pull a small camera out from a bag they had around their shoulder. He points it at Dick.

Dick gets a bad feeling about all of this.

"I want you to tell your real name for the camera."

Dick glares. "Are you serious?"

"Very. One of my men has second degree burns thanks to that cowl of yours electrifying him. So, I decided I'll let you go without any more harm. You tell me your names, and I'll let you go. Won't even show the video to anyone. Well," he smirkes, "unless you get in my way."

Dick clenches his jaw. Besides him, Damian mumbles something.

"I'm going to give you to the count of three," Gibbs says, unphased. "Otherwise it will get unpleasant."

His eyes drift to the black box, signifying it's mysterious importance. Dick doesn't let it scare him. He's not going to let this low life criminal blackmail him... put him and his family in danger. He'll take whatever will be thrown at him until he can work out a way to escape.

Gibbs counts down, and he reaches zero uninterrupted.

"Well," Gibbs says, unsurprised. "The hard way then. Gag him."

The grunts move like clockwork, and before Dick knows it his face is being grabbed and held in place while the other shoves a rag into his mouth and wraps a layer of tape around his face to hold it there.

"Batman..." he hears Damian mumble as the grunts back up. He sounds out of it. In pain. Dick can only hope that the hit he took to his head isn't too serious.

Gibbs retakes his attention, however, when he reaches forward and presses a hatch on the side of the black box, flicking it open on spring-loaded hinges. What's inside makes Dick's stomach drop. A needle and a glass vial filled with a yellow tinted liquid lays neatly inside. One of the grunts lifts the needle and the vial to begin filling it up.

"Do you know what this is?" Gibbs asks as the liquid fills the syringe. "I've yet to test it on anyone, but word is from the man I bought it from... It forces the truth out of you." The grunts finishes filling the syringe and flicks the bubbles. "Truth serum."

Dick has no doubt that the serum will work. He only wonders why he's threatening with it while he's gagged.

When the grunt walks around the table to Damian, he doesn't wonder anymore.

He can only tug on his restraints as the grunt grabs Damian's arm to aim the needle. Damian, for his effort, attempts to pull away, but the weakness of his head injury and his restraints do nothing to stop the needle from entering the inside of his elbow.

"You could have done this the easy way, Batman," Gibbs says. Dick watches as the syringe is pressed down, pushing the liquid into Damian's body. "I never like getting children involved."

Damian squeezes his jaw shut and turns his head away from the needle in his arm. It only takes a moment before the grunt pulls the empty syringe out before returning to standing besides his leader. A bead of blood appears where the needle left Damian's skin, but the boy doesn't move.

The air feels solid. Dick can hardly breathe as he tries to conceal his panic. He wants nothing more than to get out of these restraints and punch Gibbs and his men into next year, but he can't reach anything useful to do so. All he can do is watch Damian sit stock still as drugs spread through his veins.

A minute passes as Gibbs sits there in smug silence. Then, when a few more moments pass, he speaks.

"Robin," he says. Damian flinches, but doesn't look his way. His jaw still clenched. The goon with the camera points it right at Damian. "Why don't we start with something easy? What's your favorite animal?"

Damian curls his fingers behind his back and keeps his jaw grinding shut.

"Tight lipped huh?" Gibbs chuckles. He doesn't look surprised. Or worried. "Don't worry, I was assured that once it's fully in your system, it will hurt more to say nothing. What's your favorite animal, Robin?"

Damian says nothing, but he looks ridged. Tense.

"You look uncomfortable, Robin. Do you feel it in your head? I promise it will get better when you stop resisting. Let's try something different while we wait. Are you from Gotham?"

Damian's knuckles must be white under his gloves.

"How about your favorite color? Is it blue?"

Damian breathes a shaky breath through his nose, and Dick's heart breaks. He works harder to find a weakness in his restraints.

"My, your resilience is admirable. Were you trained on this?" Gibbs asks. Damian remains stubborn, but Gibbs still doesn't look worried. "Who were you trained by?"

"The best," Damian whimpers, cutting himself off with a growl and shutting his jaw. Gibbs smiles.

"What's your favorite animal?"

Damian shakes his head, a frustrated cry caught in his throat.

This continues, Gibbs finding victory in the one slip and pressing with everything he's got. Dick doesn't know how long Damian can last like this, and he doesn't want to find out. With every passing second, Dick knows it's only a matter of time before Damian's lips loosen. No amount of training can beat a good concussion and drugs designed to make your lips loose.

"What grade are you? Do you have any friends?"

After each question, Dick can see more and more discomfort in Damian's position. He's beginning to fidget and whimper and Dick's... Dick's had enough.

"What's your favorite color, Robin?"

"Green," Damian says with strangled gasp, sounding horrified with himself.

Gibbs smirks like a predator, knowing he's finally won.

"What's your real name?"

Yeah. Dick's had enough. With a hard tug, the ropes around his wrists finally snap against where he's been rubbing at them with his gauntlets. Gibbs and his men can barely react before Dick's upon them, cutting away the rest of the ropes with a batarang from his belt. He makes quick work of them in their shock, knocking them out and leaving them on the floor in unconscious piles.

He almost bends to put cable ties on their arms and legs, but he hears a tight whimper behind him. The moment after, he's rushing over to Damian to undo the ropes.

"Are you okay?" Dick asks, cutting through the bonds.

Damian shakes his head. Dick almost kicks himself.

"It's okay," he quickly says. "No one can hear. Let it out."

He's almost afraid Damian will force himself to remain silent, but to his relief and heartache, Damian opens his mouth and lets out a heaving sob. "It hurts- it hurts-"

Dick finally undoes the ropes, then he pulls his kid in close to his chest. "Get it out," he soothes, rubbing Damian's back.

"Dogs-" Damian starts, dissolving into quick rambling breaths. Every question he had been asked begins to be answered. Dick holds him close and lets him get it out with his tears. Silently, he sends a message to Gordon to pick up Gibbs and his men, then he messages Alfred to get the med-bay and lab ready. Soon enough, Damian is silent except for pain laced gasps, he holds tight to Dick's chest as Dick lifts him up and stuffs the vial with extra serum into his belt.

"I got you," he says as Damian continues to cry all the way to the batmobile. "I got you."

[stanknotstark]

Truth Serum

Hello everyone! My name is Amber and I’m not new to writing however I am new to actually posting my writing but recently I really got back into Loki with all the trailers dropping and stuff and I’ve had so many ideas crossing my mind so I figured I’d write some of my ideas out and post them here! Honestly this is my first time writing for Loki so he might be a bit OOC until I really get him under my buckle! This piece doesn’t have a lot of Loki in it because I’m also testing out writing with more than two people getting focus so I apologize in advance but I’ll probably write the 2nd piece tomorrow where Loki confronts ‘you’. Enjoy! Gif not mine!

You had just finished sweeping and mopping in Tony’s lab because there was glass on the ground. The only abnormal thing was that there was opalescent liquid in-between all the broken glass, your guess was that it must have been in some vial for safe keeping meaning you should have been careful. 

Should. Key word right there.

Realizing you had gotten some of the mystical liquid on yourself you quickly finished up cleaning then found Tony who was visiting with Steve in the living room. 

“Tony, Tony, Tony,” You incessantly said in a sing song voice as you approached, “Heya, Stevo.”

“Look there was a broken vial in your lab and you know I was down there for my blueprints and while cleaning said broken glass the liquid might have touched my skin....”

Tony frowned and Steve’s eyes widened and looked at Tony.

“Listen just tell me if I’m dying or not?”

Tony stood there staring at your face for another few seconds before you literally saw the realization hit him like a bus. Tony smiled.

“You know I’ve always had this question in the back of my brain since you said your blueprints were apparently....’Only meant for clearance level 10s’ I think I remember you saying...”

You frowned at Tony and shrugged, “I mean...no one is level 10 so don’t be offended...What does that have to do with this?”

“What exactly are those precious blueprints?”

You were going to give a witty remark but suddenly it was like word vomit and you couldn’t stop the next words from flowing out of your mouth, “They’re a new helmet I’m making for Loki that include audio, kinda like headphones, so he can listen to his favorite Mid-guardian books while on missions with us.”

Tony smirked which then turned into a full on smile before letting out a laugh. Steve looked at you with a confused puppy look on his face. You, unfortunately, realized what that liquid was.

“Tony I swear to God if that liquid I touched was a truth serum I’m literally going to castrate you!”

Tony, still laughing, put his hands up in a surrendering way and shook his head.

“I’m not the one that decided to clean up a mysterious liquid in my lab, of all places, without proper cleaning gear!”

At this point everyone in the room was looking at you three. Natasha and Clint were on one couch in the living room, Loki sat with his legs criss cross, back to the window overlooking NYC, and Wanda and Vision sat on the opposite couch from Natasha and Clint. The only two missing were Thor and Bruce. Much to your luck as you looked around at everyone, you realized they all overheard Tony because they all had mischievous smirks crossing their faces.

“STOP! I’ll answer questions BUT nothing too personal please...” You said putting on your best puppy eyes and giving an exasperated sigh. Surprisingly enough you looked at your crush, Loki, and saw he was the only one without a mischievous smirk, for once. He did however put down the book he had been reading and instead had a focused look on his face as he played with the green magic floating between his hands. No one else paid him any mind though.

“Who’s your favorite Avenger?” Natasha shot out leaning back into the couch with a smirk.

“Tony.”

“YES!” Tony shouted pumping a fist into the air.

“Why?” Natasha asked.

“Because he’s like a dad to me, not to mention he makes us really cool gear meaning I don’t have to slave away in the lab by myself anymore.” You rolled your eyes as you finished the sentence. Tony beside you pulled you into a gut crushing hug and said, “Awe, FRIDAY can you put up adoption papers on my computer in the lab and set a reminder to fill them out later today?” 

“Tony, stop, God, you’re embarrassing.” You pushed from his hug, blushing. 

“For some reason I’m not really surprised.” Nat said shrugging. 

You giggled and made your way to the middle of the room, taking a seat in an available love seat, Tony and Steve coming to stand behind it. 

Next Wanda sat up with an excited look on her face and asked, “Who do you think is the strongest Avenger?” 

Thor walked in and gave a hearty chuckle, “Me, of course!”

“No, actually, I think it’s a tie between you, Wanda, and Loki.”

“What, no no, surely you’re mistaken, dear?” Thor said now chuckling nervously.

Steve smiled over to him and shrugged, “No, Thor, she accidentally touched a truth serum, this is as honest as she’ll ever be buddy.”

“Why am I one of the strongest Avengers?” Loki asked, his hands still playing with the magic but his complete attention on you.

“Your magic may not be on Wanda’s par, at least what I know about it, but you’ve endured quite the amount of emotion grief and came out on top so I guess I see you as the strongest, emotionally...” You finished with a wince since it kind of aired out Loki’s dirty laundry and was a bit mushy if you were being honest. Loki hummed but went back to focusing on his magic. 

Thor frowned then a happy look over took his face, “Are you in love with anyone in the room?”

“Whoa!”

“Thor!”

“Wait, Thor!”

You laughed out loud and let the answer go freely, unconsciously glancing back to Loki who wasn’t looking at you but had a raised brow and seemed to only be half focusing on the green magic cloud in his hands, “Yes.”

“Thor buddy that’s a bit personal.” Tony said, an eyebrow raised in a disappointed dad sort of way. 

“My apologies!” Thor said making his way to the kitchen, “I hear a Poptart calling my name, perhaps a smores today.”

“Is it fair to say we may ask questions about this love interest considering it’s one of us?” Vision asked with a vexed look on his face. 

Loki cleared his throat and everyone gave him attention, “Perhaps we should keep that as a restricted topic considering she did say nothing too personal?”

You weighed the pros and cons in your head, while you were nervous for Loki to find out it was him maybe this was the way to get it out in the open. Lord knows you would take advantage of it considering every time you spoke with Loki nowadays you turned into a blabbering mess and tended to leave every conversation read in the cheeks from fluster and embarrassment. 

“I don’t mind you asking questions but don’t out right ask me his name.” You said deciding to get this over with. 

“Well we can cut out Natasha and Wanda then.” Tony said catching onto you saying him. “Reindeer games what on Earth are you doing anyways?”

Loki glanced at Tony and smirked, “Nervous?”

Tony frowned and backed up a bit, “You know, I wasn’t but I am now...”

Loki chuckled and went back to focusing on his magic flowing freely between his fingers and pulsing between his hands now, “Nothing that will harm anyone, Stark, don’t get your britches in a bunch.” 

You smiled at Loki then looked around at everyone, “Ok, hit me!”

“I know you said don’t ask a name but you did just say Tony was a father figure I was hoping you didn’t...” Clint started and ended softly with fear in his eyes.

Seeing as it wasn’t a full question you didn’t feel word vomit coming up but decided to play around with Clint since he never ceased to prank you all the time.

“I might have a daddy kink...” You said looking up at Tony, trying your best to give him a lustful look but couldn’t hold in your laughter when Clint started gagging, “No, Clint, it’s not Tony.”

You laughed a bit when you heard Tony let out a heavy sigh of relief. You then brought a hand up and covered your giggle when Clint said a tiny, “Oh thank god.”

“I swear, it better not be Vision, he’s mine!” Wanda said suddenly with wide eyes.

“Not vision.” You responded. 

You could feel Tony’s fingers behind you rhythmically tapping on the leather love seat, showing his growing impatience. 

“It’s not Steve, Tony.” You said trying to placate the man since he had told you in confidence that he was trying to find a good way to ask the man out. 

“You realize that only leaves Clint...and me, right?” Loki said with an unsure smirk. You gave the man a smile and stood up. Loki had finally finished playing with his magic, halfway through you realized what he had been doing seeing as you felt the truth serum slowly letting up in you. He had finally worked out the chemicals from your system and you were back to normal. 

“Unfortunately I’m not outright telling you all who it is, if you haven’t been paying attention to me recently that’s on you.” You said before heading towards the kitchen, Loki still smirking as he watched you walk away.

“I feel a smores Poptart calling my name too.” 

After you had disappeared Clint cleared his throat and looked at Loki, “It’s totally me, sorry i mean have you seen these guns, Loki? You have nothing on me.”

Loki chuckled and picked his book back up, “I think I have more to offer than you think Clint, but keep telling yourself it’s you if it helps that mortal brain of yours sleep at night.” 

[airi-p4]

From above the stars - Chapter 1

Chapter 1 | Chapter 2 | Chapter 3 | Chapter 4 | Chapter 5 | Chapter 6 | Chapter 7 | …

I’m finally posting this! It’s my ‘Adrien is dead’ fic, and I call this ‘tragedy fic’ for a reason. TW: Major character death, blood Summary:

Marinette was at the hospital, injured, when she was delivered the news:

'Adrien is dead'

It couldn't be true, right? He was her boyfriend and soulmate, he couldn't be dead! She had to see it to believe it.

At the cemetery, her fears were confirmed... And all her hope lost... But whose is that music that matches so perfectly with her feelings? Who is that young blue-haired man playing the guitar at the cemetery and giving her hope?

AO3

________________________________________________

CHAPTER 1

Pi. Pi. Pi.

It’s 3:11 AM when the girl resting on a bed opens her eyes at the sound of a continuous alarm. Her first sight is a white ceiling covered in dark, such as the room she’s in, filled with heavy and depressing air.

The young woman’s eyes move to look at her surroundings, barely able to tell them apart. The light coming from the same source as the sound, that has just accelerated, allows her to get a grasp of the room she is in. The high-pitched sounds start beeping even faster.

A hospital room.

‘Why am I here?’ she jolts in panic, listening to how her heart-rate accelerates. She notices her arm is connected to serum and oxygen is directly connected to her respiratory vials.

'Who am I?'

The paper band on her wrist gives her the answer.

Name: Marinette Dupain-Cheng. Age: 21.

‘What happened to me?’

She tries to remember, focusing on her last memory, what happened to her to become immobilized, pain coming from every single part of her body - with some special attention to her left arm and leg, ribs, head, and neck. She was still unaware of the damage in her heart.

Eventually, some flashes start appearing in her mind:

She remembers a night party, fancy dresses, dancing, eating, drinking...

The dizziness caused by the alcohol... Kisses with someone with blond hair. Who…?

"Marinette!" Someone had called her.

"Adrien!" She had called him back. 'Adrien’. Her boyfriend- she realizes.

Her memories turn blurrier from that point.

She remembers riding a car. Someone beside her driving. Sensations of speed. A dark road. And fear.

At some point, she had screamed: ‘Stop!’

Her eyes still close automatically at the memory of the sudden bright light that blinded her, and her ears can still hear the sound of the car tyres squealing on the asphalt. *screech*

And a scream. Was it hers? She isn’t sure.

Then a CRASH. A big impact that resonated through all her body.

She remembers loud glass breaking sounds, too. But nothing is as impregnated in her memories and soul as the green eyes full of apology beside her: the last thing she remembers.

‘What happened? Where's Adrien?’

"Adrien, Adrien, Adrien!!" She screams in despair. The nurse notices and quickly calls the doctor. She obeys him and gives her an intravenous dose of something to calm her down. Marinette can hear a voice before passing out. ‘Poor lady’.

As the daylight filters through the curtains, a flash of memories comes back with the brightness of sunlight: Those green eyes belonged to Adrien: he was the driver that night.

"Adrien! I need to see Adrien!" She refuses to believe something bad could have happened to him. She needs to see him. She needs to confirm he is fine. She needs him by her side- forever together, as they promised years ago.

______________

"Adrien is dead." Someone said.

She must have heard it wrong because he couldn't be dead. He was her soulmate and they were meant to be forever together. Become a family, with 3 children and a hamster, a lovely house… a fairy tale happily ever after.

The same words came out of a policeman's voice instants later: "Adrien Agreste couldn't be saved, it was too late when the medics arrived. I'm sorry for your loss"

The interrogation that followed had no answer. Marinette was too shocked to speak, even to think or blink - white as a sheet of paper. Dead in life.

He’s dead. Adrien is dead.

_________________________

Three days later, Marinette’s memories finally seemed to have cleared up.

Marinette’s POV

We were leaving the party. Adrien was going to take me home in his fancy, expensive sports car. We had drunk some alcohol so I asked him to call his bodyguard to take us instead. But he refused: “I can control this, I haven’t drunk much. Trust me” he had said. And I trusted him.

He drove perfectly fine, his control on the wheels was perfect, as always. So I relaxed. I think the effect of the alcohol might have been delayed, because later, he became euphoric, excited, desiring to have fun. He had put on some loud strident music on the radio.

“This is the perfect song for this road full of curves. I’ll show you how I drift!” he grinned, turning his car mode into a manual one, stepping harder at the gas pedal.

“Adrien! It’s dangerous! Stop!” I said, scared of the increasing speed.

“Hey, it’s ok! I’m not called Chat Noir for no reason! I’m the king of the night!” His wink made me feel hot inside. He looked so handsome with all that self-confidence… And wow, his driftings were cool. I can’t deny how adrenaline flowed through my veins, encouraged by the alcohol I had drank some minutes ago. “Woohoo!!” Adrien shouted, as his drifting continued.

I knew it was dangerous, but it was fun. And I love seeing his grinning face as he drives.

How could I even think that? What’s wrong with me? I should have been more persistent. It must have been the alcohol…

And later, when we reached the final curve, Adrien was prepared to perform a final special drift. “Last one, bugaboo. Hold still” he grinned, looking at my face. He looked extremely cool and handsome. He stepped on the gas and the car followed his instructions. His beautiful green eyes were full of passion.

And then, CRASH.

Another car appeared out of nowhere, from the opposite direction and speeding towards us. The sudden light of the automobile’s brights blinded Adrien’s green cat-like eyes to the point he lost control of his vehicle. It was only at the last second he managed to make the car turn to the right in the way he thought I could take the least possible damage. And he had been right. My life has been spared thanks to that move. But not his- who took the entire impact of the crash. I could see the front and left side window glasses breaking, their shattered pieces flying all over the car insides after the sudden bump, cutting some of my skin and leaving a quite deep cut on my neck. But the vision only lasted for one second before everything turned pitch black, after closing my eyes bracing for fatal impact. I was ready to die with my soulmate- together in life and death.

But I survived.

The permanent scar left on my neck and my injuries are proof enough the accident was real, despite the wish that it was just a nightmare.

I regret deeply not having stopped my boyfriend. Adrien protected my life, yes, but at what cost? My mind has suffered the most. I still have some lacunes in my memory and I know I’ll probably never be able to heal. Whenever I gaze at the stars, I keep wondering if Adrien is up there now. And whenever he is in my thoughts, I can’t stop my tears from falling, blurring my eyes.

“Adrien… Why did you leave me alone? I need you…”

[tinyboxxtink]

"Doppelganger" *Part 8*

Okay ladies and gents, this is where I'd say you really need to have read Black Magic to understand this chapter. You can read it here.

Or, y'know I guess just accept that magic is real in this universe. Whatever. STILL READ IT. YOU WON'T REGRET IT I PROMISE.

If you read this last night, I did rewrite it and reuploaded it. Don't freak out, it's better now I swear.

I did make this signifantly longer though, but I won't lie to you kids-- it's not good. Angst wise, not plot wise. 😉

ENJOYYYYYYY!!!!

Part 7

Part 9

Tag List

@madamsnape921

@lolliepopsicle

@chasingeverybreakingwave

@milkshqke

@wanniiieeee

@word-scribbless

@gibbs274

@sassyada

@aprildecker-blog

@bookishfanfic

@stars-in-the-skies-world

@stars-trash-18

@omgsuperstarg

@objection-argumentative

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

The next day Rafael decided he needed help, and if he couldn’t go to the squad, he only had one choice.

"....WHAT?!" Chloe screeched after Rafael told her the whole story after meeting up for coffee.

"I know, it's insane I just--" Rafael shook his head.

"I have so many questions. So many--" she started.

"Look I just wanted advice, and maybe …" he trailed off looking in the distance.

"Maybe what….?" She looked at him suspiciously.

"Supernatural help?" He sipped his coffee.

"Oh good God like what? Do you think that's what he used on YN?" Chloe sipped her tea.

"No doesn't need to, he can imitate me perfectly. I'm pretty sure it was just your standard date rape drug." The words made Rafael's fist clench and his lip curl at the thought of Nevada using date rape drugs on you.

"We have to get her out of there, Chloe. We have to," His voice trembled in fear for you.

"Well no shit Sherlock" Chloe pointed out. "You sure it's not the mind control stuff Liv used on you?"

"Liv didn't use mind control potions. She just used an ultra unhealthy amount of love potion. Although I wouldn't put it past her to get some more potions,” Rafael rolled his eyes.

Nearby Alex was listening in on the conversation, since Rafael knew what Javi looked like now. He listened to the rest of your conversation, then bolted before the two of you noticed him.

-----

“Magic potion?" Nevada laughed. are you fucking kidding me?! Dime qué tienen been smoking?!”

"I don't know Vada, he seemed pretty sure about it. And I mean look at the two of you, you're identical and there's no explanation for that. So I don't know, anything might be possible." Alex shrugged. "He said it's how they got together. Some chick named Olivia tried to tear them apart but their "true love" prevailed"."

"Oh , these two are even more fucking pathetic than I thought.” Nevada scoffed. “What do they live in, a fucking Disney movie?" He shook his head, but then had an idea.

"…. Seems like we might have to check with this Olivia," He smiled evilly.

--------

"Rafael" showed up to the squad room to talk to Olivia the very next day.

“Hey Liv” He nodded at her with a sly smile.

"Rafa!" Liv exclaimed. She was excited but nervous to see him. Mostly because she hadn't seen him since the whole 'wedding; debacle.

"Liv, I need you to tell me where you got your mind serum,” “Rafael” told her straight out. Olivia was shocked he was so flippant about it, and being so loud.

".... It wasn't mind serum Rafa it was love serum and-- wait why do you need it?" She looked around nervously, then quickly realized something must have gone wrong with the two of you.

"I think I'll be asking the questions here Liv, you're the one that fucked with me first." “Rafael” crossed his arms.

"You know if you need to control YN with potions, it may not be worth it Rafa.” Olivia told him softly, touching his hand. “I love you just the way you are...." She put a hand to his chest and gave him a sweet smile.

"Why do you think I'm asking? She's getting too wishy washy for me, I just want her to forget about us." Rafael put a hand to her face. "Just tell me where you got it, and we can be together."

"Ok!!" Not questioning it, Olivia started to text the address to Rafael's phone.

"No, I need you to write it down for me." “Rafael” grabbed a notepad and pen from off her desk.

"Why…?" Olivia raised an eyebrow at him.

"....So if my boss decides to do a random sweep of my phone he doesn't think I'm insane, Liv." He replied in a “duh” tone.

"...He can do that?" Oliva’s mouth dropped open.

"...The government can do a lot of things, Liv. Don’t trust them,” “Rafael” sneered. Sure Olivia should have taken that as a red flag, but she was so happy she might get her happy ending with Rafael she didn’t care.

"Right…." She wrote the address down and slipped it to "Rafael".

"Thanks babe," he grabbed Olivia in a giant kiss. Then he strutted out of the office leaving her with a huge smile.

----------

Not even a few hours later, Nevada took the address to an old antique shop. He walked in to see an old woman cleaning an ancient looking broach.

“An old antique shop, bruja? Were you going for totally predictable, or are you just lazy with fronts?”

The woman stopped cleaning and glared at him. “And who the hell are you?”

“Let’s just say I’m a friend of Olivia’s.” He smirked. “And as such, I’m going to need a favor…”

“Oh great are you a cop too?” She sighed.

“....You could say that.” He chuckled.

“So what do you need?” She looked at him skeptically.

“I need a...mind control potion,” Nevada felt like an idiot saying it out loud, but the old woman’s face verifying that such a thing existed made him feel better.

“You people and your God complexes…” She rolled her eyes before disappearing into the back. After a few minutes she came back with an orange liquid in a vial.

“Think of the name of the person you want this to control, and then once they drink this, whatever you think, they’ll do.”

“....Really?” Nevada gave her a sarcastic laugh.

“Oh you doubt my majeria, pendejo?” She snarled. “Then why are you here?”

“Lo siento, señora,” He quickly apologized. “Gracias,” He nodded to the potion and sauntered out of the shop.

--------

The next day Nevada texted Rafael to meet him in a warehouse on his side or town. Rafael immediately went to Chloe’s apartment for advice on what to do, since he didn’t have anyone else.

"This could be a trap." Chloe warned him.

"Of course it could be a trap but what choice do I have?!" Rafael argued.

"Ok but I'm coming," She insisted.

"Oh no you're not" Rafael shook his head.

"I'll stay out of sight, okay dad?” Chloe rolled her eyes.

"No, I don’t like it.” He protested while ignoring the 'dad' comment. “If something goes sideways in there I can’t protect the both of you,”

"I don't care if you like it, she's my best friend so you can suck it up," She crossed her arms. “And I’m a big girl, I can take care of myself,”

“....What’s the chances of me talking you out of this?” He sighed.

“....Ehhhh slim to none,” She smiled.

“Fine, but you’re staying outside,” He warned her as they headed to the address.

------

Rafael and Chloe went to the address, it was a giant warehouse. Rafael went inside, ready for anything. The place was pitch black so he couldn't really see anything.

"Nevada?" He called into the darkness. Suddenly one light in the middle of the warehouse lit up. He walked closer to find you lying there unconscious.

"YN!!!" He screamed, running over and waking you up.

“...What? What happened?” You stirred awake, totally disoriented. Nevada must have knocked you out again.

"Baby! it's me," He picked you up in his arms, holding you so tightly you thought you'd stop breathing. "He let you go, I can't believe it," He was crying now, he was so happy.

"...What? That makes ZERO sense," you pushed him away, looking at him angrily. "....Wait no no, it does make perfect sense-- you're Nevada!"

"What?" Rafael looked at you in shock. "... I'm not Nevada, I'm Rafael, YN! It's me!"

"Okay look I get it,” You crossed your arms. “You can’t just keep me drugged up all the time, and you need new and innovative ways to "be" Rafael-- but this is just cruel,”

“Baby it's me I-- it's me! it's Rafael,” He put his hands on either side of your face, staring intently into them. You wanted to believe him so badly, but all you could think about was the first time this happened. How perfectly Nevada had played Rafael, even down to the look in his eyes. That’s all you saw now, an act. A façade.

“....You've done a hell of a job researching him and perfecting his moves Nevada, but I'm not going to fall for it and I'm not going to keep hurting Rafa,” You pushed him away further, crossing your arms tighter so that he couldn’t get a free show of your exposed breasts in the barely there clothes he dressed you in.

Rafael stared at you in shock and disbelief, how much did he fuck with your mind? How could this be happening?

“....It's me. How else am I--- what can I do to prove to you that it's me? Y/N how can you not see it in my eyes? Look at me!” He grabbed your hands and searched your eyes for some kind of recognition, some kind of feeling.

“Yeah okay it's ‘you’. You are going to save me, and then we're going to go to some ‘safe location’ right? And then we’ll celebrate being ‘back together’ by having some amazing sex. And it’ll be wonderful and amazing, and I’ll cry and tell you how much I love you and missed you, and then you're going to be like ‘hahaha I got you again!’ I’m Not falling for it” Tears came to your eyes as you thought about all the times he had tricked you, and how much it had hurt Rafael every time. You couldn’t get the heartbreak in his eyes out of your brain.

“....God, this is exactly what he wanted…” Rafael muttered. “Carino, it's me I swear to God you have to believe me-- Look I brought Chloe!” He gestured to Chloe who came running over to the two of you.

“...Oh my God, Chloe?” Your eyes widened in seeing your best friend for the first time in days. Usually you two were attached at the hip. He brought Chloe-- Nevada didn’t know about Chloe, did he?

“....Remember the penguins? I proposed to you with the penguins, and-- and I told you that it was my favorite place in New York, and I did that nutty musical number? I worked on that for WEEKS!!! Would Nevada know that?” You heard Rafael talking while you looked from Chloe to him. You took his head in your hands, searching his eyes. They were full of tears, searching your own eyes for the same thing. Love.

“....Rafa?” You whispered, wiping the tears from his cheeks. He took your hand and kissed the side of it.

“It’s me,” He pressed his lips to your forehead. “It’s me, mi amor,”

You grabbed him and pulled him into a kiss. You could feel the difference now, between his mouth and Nevada’s. Rafael kissed you in such a loving, beautiful way. Nevada groped your mouth like a hungry shark. You threw your arms around his neck and kissed him several times on the neck, not getting enough of him. He ran his fingers through your hair as his lips did the same to your face and neck.

Suddenly, a lone clap came from behind you.

“Awwww. No es tan dulce?” Nevada came stepping out of the shadows. “The two lovers, finally reunited. Es tan hermoso,” He wiped away a non-existent tear.

“....What the hell …?” Rafael asked while he helped you both stand up, Rafael stood in front of you protectively.

“Well I had to get some ‘inside’ information didn’t I, cabron? I can’t have you feeding her information only ‘you’ would know to try and break a spell, ¿Correcto??” Nevada crossed his arms as several men came out of the shadows all around you.

“....Spell?” You blinked, trying to play dumb. How did he know about magic?

“Oh shit…” You heard Chloe whisper as she and Rafael exchanged a guilty look. They really should have thought about having that conversation in private.

“I visited your friend, Olivia. She told me where I could find some very interesting...concoctions,” Nevada smirked as he held up an orange vial.

“What? No...no no no!!!!” Rafael’s head darted back and forth as Nevada’s goons inched towards you. Two of them pulled out pistols and aimed them right at him while two more walked up and grabbed you, dragging you away from Rafael.

“No...No! RAFAEL!!!” You screamed, trying to get away from them. He tried to run to you, but two more grabbed him by the arms and put him on his knees.

“...I don't know what the hell it is but don't you dare give her anything else!!!” Rafael yelled as the two men that had you dragged you over to Nevada.

“Oh okay, well just because you said that SO nicely, abogado,” Nevada nodded sarcastically as he grabbed your face.

“Now, open up baby. I know you can swallow,” He smirked while looking between the two of you. You shook your head violently, but Nevada gripped your nose between his fingers preventing you from breathing. You held out as long as you could, but you finally had to gasp for air. As soon as you did so, Nevada poured the orange liquid down your throat. After a few moments, your irises flashed a deep orange.

“....Vada,” You looked at Nevada with dreamy eyes as Rafael stared in horror.

“Finalmente I can stop wearing those God awful trajes,” Nevada grinned, stroking your cheek softly before looking at Rafael.

“And y’know, your girlfriend Olivia really should have just opted for this mind control potion, it works so much more efficiently. Pero, if I had just made your little puta in love with me, I couldn’t get her to do this,” He turned to you. “Baby, go take care of that hijo de puta, para mi,”

“Anything for you, papi,” You nodded with a smile, then turned to Rafael with a deep raging fire in your eyes.

“Let’s dance abogado,” You growled.

“No! No, Y/N you can't do this! I'm not going to hurt you,” He pleaded with you.

“Well that sucks for you,” You lunged for him, but he grabbed you by your arms. “

“Hey no no no, look at me!” He forced you to look at him. “Remember the penguins? I took you to see the penguins and I--"

Nevada closed his eyes and changed your memory with his.

”Nevada took me to penguins and that's how we got engaged, you lying piece of shit!!!” You yelled at him.

“….Fuck that’s what he meant. Now he’s used that against me,” Rafael grunted in frustration as you wriggled in his arms. “Y/N you have to believe me you love me, not Nevada. You love me!!”

“No, I DON’T!!!!” You broke free and started to punch him, but he threw you to the ground.

“...You're going to regret that,” You sneered, getting back up.

“I already do!” Rafael began to cry. He didn't want to hurt you, but he had no other choice.

“Alright, break it up,” Chloe stepped in trying to reason with you.

“And who are you? His bitch?” You snarked at her.

“Oh God now what? I'm your best friend, Chloe! We’ve been friends since you moved to the city! forever I helped you get Rafael, remember? All the hijinks we had to go through? Y/N you're my best friend come on, remember!”

“....I don't know what the hell you're talking about bitch, but if you’re against Nevada, you’re against me!” You lunged for Chloe. Unfortunately for you, Chloe had no qualms about kicking your ass. She punched you, making you go down.

“Chloe what the fuck are you doing?!” Rafael yelled angrily at her.

“Wha-- she was trying to kick my ass!” Chloe defended herself.

Well as much as I enjoy this, I'm going to need a status on that transfer, Barba,” Nevada stepped in and helped you to your feet. You started to lunge for Chloe again but Nevada held you back.

“Down girl, you’ll get her next time,” He pulled on the collar of your dress like heeling a dog. You straightened up and walked into his arms. He draped one of them around you as he smiled triumphantly at Chloe and Rafael.

“Well if you would let me work instead of fucking with my emotions and fucking with my fiancé's head I might have some time to do it, tarado!” Rafael barked while glaring at the two of you. “Why are you even doing this, don't you want me to fight for her?”

“Yeah I thought about that,” He nodded, moving his arms around your waist and pulling you back into his chest as you smirked at Rafael.

“And having her on my side actually works out better for me, because you can't hurt me if I have her as my guard dog,” He chuckled, pulling you to face him as he gave you a hungry kiss.

“I swear to God, Nevada… I'll….” Rafael started to charge Nevada, seeing you all over him in person was ten times worse than having to witness it over a face call.

“You'll what?” Nevada challenged him with a laugh. "You gonna call your cop friends on your 'true love?!'” He air quoted true love with a mocking sneer.

“That's right she is my true love; and our love has beat stronger things than your manipulation or mind potions,” He spat as Nevada’s goons began to surround him again in case he tried anything.

"Oh I very much doubt that." He smiled wickedly as he looked into your eyes. "Go on baby, tell him why you chose me" He nodded at Rafael. You nodded back and stepped towards Rafael with hatred in your orange eyes. Nevada thought of the perfect speech to really destroy him.

"Nevada is a real man Barba, he's pleasured me in ways you can't even think of. Our love was fake, you just kept me under your own spell. Nothing we had was actually real, and you're just gonna have to get over this obsession you have with me." You crossed your arms and spoke with absolute disdain.

"No….." Rafael's eyes filled with tears more and more after every word you spoke. "No!" He grabbed you and pulled you towards him. Nevada’s goons started to go after him but Vada put a hand up.

"Ah ah ah, señores. This will be more fun," He grinned.

"Baby come on, look he's...he’s just going to let you go!” Rafael tried to get you to go with him.

"Please, carino…." He put both hands on your face but all he could see was orange in your irises. Now he knew how you must have felt at the church when he didn't remember you. But then he remembered how the real him was deep down inside, screaming to get out. You had to be there too.

“....Rafa…?” Your head began to pound, the orange in your eyes began to flicker as the real you tried to break through.

“Yes, yes Y/N Baby it’s me!” A small hopeful smile crawled across his lips. He started speaking as fast as he could to draw you out more.

"....Carino, remember you told me about your parents, and I told you about my dad, and-- We beat Liv, we've prevailed over anything that tries to tear us apart. And I know you are in there, because I know I was in my body too. Please baby please, oh god please, YN you have to remember!” He pressed his forehead to yours as he begged you with whimpers and tears.

“Baby…”? You bit your lip as you tried like hell to fight the potion. Rafael rubbed your cheeks with his thumbs.

“....If you go back to him now--I'll lose you forever. He’ll just keep using you against me, and I won’t hurt you!” He hugged you tightly, your arms slowly raised to hug him back. Nevada saw what was unfolding and quickly thought to himself “NO. YOU’RE MINE. HURT HIM.”

Suddenly the orange flared in your eyes once again, and you pushed him away from you.

“Well that's really unfortunate for you, douchebag. Because I can,” You took one swift kick to his stomach and he fell over to the ground

“Ohhhhh shit!!!!!” Nevada clapped his hands together happily.

"That was even more delicious than I could have imagined, this magic thing is the best. Thanks for the tip, bruja,” Nevada nodded at Chloe who just glared at him as she helped Rafael up on his feet.

"This isn't over," he growled.

"You're right, you still need to get me those transfers" Nevada reminded him. “....And I think that red head will help you out, I may have 'made up' with her for you," He added with a wink.

“Oh for fucks sake…” Rafael groaned. Now he had lost you and he'd have to break Liv’s heart all over again.

“Now I'd leave before I set my queen loose on you," Nevada cackled.

“Let's go Rafa, we'll figure something out,” Chloe pulled him away from you and out of the warehouse.

Rafael knew you were in there, he just knew it. He was going to get you back somehow.

[inmyownlaine]

John Murphy Tooth Rotting Fluff *Requested*

GIF// MOOD MUSIC 1// MOOD MUSIC 2

Warnings: A little cussing, slow burn fluff (so take that as you will)

Word Count: 1911

──────────────────────────────────────────────────

“You’re not allowed to be here,” you told Murphy in a sing-song voice.

“Okay, come on. You’re not even facing me. How could you possibly know I walked in?”

You shrugged your shoulders, placing a vial of medicine on the shelf. You picked up the clipboard and made a tally mark by the name of the serum. Inventory was the least exciting part of your job. Therefore, having frequent breaks to talk to Murphy was a must. He was the only thing keeping you sane.

“Probably because you breathe like a wild boar.”

“I’m not that loud,” he protested. You chuckled as he intentionally made his voice much quieter than it usually was. “What are you doing here, anyway? Isn’t it past your bedtime?”

“It’s like- eight o’clock, Murphy. I’m not seventy years old,” you replied sarcastically. “And besides, Abby asked me to do this.”

“You want to know what I think about that?” You couldn’t help but roll your eyes as you placed another tally mark by the same serum. You turned around to meet Murphy; one hand placed on your hip, the other still holding the clipboard.

“Please, oh wise one. Grace me with your wisdom.”

Murphy smirked at this, raising one eyebrow before speaking. He stepped closer to you, his lips inches from your ear. Murphy wasn’t usually one to be quiet, so you figured this had to be good.

“Abby can go fuck herself.”

“John!” you exclaimed, pushing his chest in order to get him away. He had said a lot of controversial things, but this by far was one of the worst. Abby dedicated her life to saving people and taking care of them. How could he be so hostile to someone who genuinely wanted to make a difference on the Ground?

“What? If she wants this done so badly she can do it herself. I don’t see her in here working overtime.”

“That’s because she’s been answering emergency calls! You know? The actual life-saving part. She doesn’t have time to mess around with the inventory.”

“Every job is important, Y/N. Doesn’t matter how small you think it is,” he pointed out. You nodded your head slowly, having to agree with him. Without the inventory count, Abby wouldn’t know how many people she could save, what she needed to use sparingly, and what she needed to request. Every second that goes by in a threatening situation matters. Not having the medication when needed could be the difference between another day or the end of one.

Murphy strutted towards Abby’s desk, being particularly light on the balls of his feet. He swung his arms around haphazardly, exuding confidence about an action so menial. You let him behave this way. You knew the man inside of that body was not nearly as self assured as he led others to believe.

He grabbed a sheet of paper and a pen and made his way back to you. You gave him a questioning look, squinting your eyes as you noticed he had picked up an inventory sheet. “If I’m going to be here I might as well be useful.”

You mentally agreed with him and went back to work. With the two of you combined, you finished the job in double the time. You were extremely grateful for this and for Murphy’s selflessness. It was one of his best traits that was often overlooked. He took care of the people he loved, almost to a fault. You knew you could depend on him for anything.

When you counted the last bit of inventory for Abby, you took the sheets and placed them back on her desk. Murphy waited for you by the door, curling his lips inward and making popping noises. 

“Are you trying to tell me something?” you teased, heading his way.

“Yeah. Put the papers down and let’s go.”

“Alright, alright! No more work for tonight, I promise. No papers, no talk, no nothing. Just you and me.”

“Just what I wanted to hear,” he said as the two of you headed towards the bonfire.

“By the way,” you started, “I appreciate you walking me back to my room, but maybe we should...Not do that.”

“Why?” he asked, tilting his head to the side.

“Well, it’s just- when you come over- my mom asks about you. Every time.” You couldn’t bear to get the words out. Having to have this conversation with your mother was embarrassing enough. Now you had to relay it back to your ex-boyfriend.

“Of course she did. I’m a ray of sunshine.”

“You’re a real pain in the ass,” you corrected, not letting his sarcastic comment go by unnoticed. Murphy snickered at this and ran his fingers through his hair, fluffing it up and letting it fall into an unmanageable mop. He was still a straight ten with every piece of hair sticking out a different way.

“What did you tell her?”

“I don’t know,” you responded shyly. “I guess I just said that we’re trying to work things out. Make sure that we’re going the right way. Trying not to fall back into old habits.”

“And what did she say?” he said, pressing for more information.

“A lot of things. Mainly that she misses you. And she misses who I was with you. Something about me being sad and stuff. I don’t know,” you repeated, your vocabulary shrinking by the second. This is why you hated being nervous.

“Why did we break up?” Murphy eventually asked after a beat of silence. The question almost stopped you dead in your tracks. Ever since you and Murphy decided to patch things up, you hadn’t come to terms with the falling out. You focused more on the future and growing as a couple. You both tried to act like it didn’t happen, that it didn’t affect you. Now was as good of a time as any to address the problem.

You opened your mouth to talk, but Murphy unknowingly interrupted you. “I mean, I know you said that you just needed space and we were going too fast but- what exactly did that mean? I- I kind of made some guesses and have tried to fix us from there but- but I would still like to know.”

Murphy began to trail off, kicking at the dirt as you kept walking. This part of Murphy was completely new to you. He was fumbling over his words, behaving as if he was bashful about the subject as well. You found it oddly comforting and incredibly adorable.

“It just wasn’t the right time for our relationship,” you told him truthfully. “We started becoming different people and needed time to individually grow. We were going into things without thinking about it and then we were fighting all the time and putting bandages over gaping wounds. We needed time to mature.”

Murphy nodded as if he understood. “Well the fighting bit, that was all you.”

Your mouth fell open as you scoffed, pushing him yet again. That was something you had always done to Murphy, regardless of your relationship status. He just seemed to deserve it. “Yeah, right! You can never let anything go, Mr. I’m-done-with-this-conversation-but-I’m-going-to-mumble-about-it-for-twenty-

more-minutes.”

“Details,” he commented, waving his hand in the air as if to swat the subject away. “I’m better at that, though. Right?”

You didn’t respond. Instead, you took his hand in yours, interlacing your fingers together. He didn’t hesitate. In fact, he acted like you two had never stopped holding hands in the first place. 

The rest of the walk was silent as you both took time to indulge in each other’s presence. You had missed Murphy. It was only when you were sent to the Ground that you started to reconnect. Prior to that, you avoided each other at all costs. Seeing him was painful and humiliating. Talking to him was even worse.

Murphy stopped a few feet away from your door. He gave your hand one last squeeze before releasing it and forcing a tiny smile. He nodded towards you and went to turn around. You stuck out your arm to stop him.

“Where do you think you’re going?”

“To my room,” he responded as if it were obvious.

“Without saying goodnight?”

“I just thought- with your mom and everything-” he tried to explain.

“Well, yeah. But that doesn’t mean leave without saying anything.”

Murphy chuckled and raised his eyebrows. “Can I say a little more than goodnight?” You squinted your eyes out of curiosity but said nothing. Murphy took that as a cue to continue.

“I love you,” he said aloud, “and I know there was a time when I said that and it didn’t mean a whole lot. Maybe it still doesn’t. I don’t know.”

He paused for a moment, eyes searching for the words he couldn’t say. Even as his breathing became labored and his eyes turned blood red, he managed to choke out, “I don’t think anyone has ever loved me. I don’t even love myself. But when I look at you, I- I see everything I want to be. You touch me- and I forget everything that I was. And when you say my name- you say it with purpose. Like- I can one day clear it. Like my name- is finally important to someone. Like it doesn’t have to hurt to be Murphy. If that isn’t love, then I don’t know what is.”

“John,” you whispered, placing your hand over his heart. It was beating rapidly against your palm, much like the constant lurching in your stomach. But as soon as it happened, he took your hands gently in his own. On the tips of your fingers he placed a soft kiss. Your knees buckled and you found yourself leaning on Murphy for strength.

“You don’t have to say anything. Don’t feel like you have to.”

“I love you, too,” you told him quickly.

Murphy let out a breath of relief before leaning down to kiss you. It was something that you had missed but didn’t even notice until now. The way his lips melded perfectly into yours. How delicately he pressed them together, contrasting the abrasive man he wanted everyone to think he was. And the warmth you felt that never ceased to ignite your entire body. You had deprived yourself of this for years. 

What were you thinking?

Murphy pulled away from you with a large smile on his face. You couldn’t hide your embarrassment as you put your head down, grinning yourself. Murphy cleared his throat in an attempt to act normal. 

“Well- uh- I guess I’ll see you-”

“Tomorrow morning!” a voice interrupted. Your face turned pale as you saw a silhouette standing in front of the main door. You covered your face as Murphy waved to your mother, seeming to be very pleased with himself.

“I’ll be here.”

“Oh, I know,” she replied with a smirk. 

“Mom!” you exclaimed. 

“Fine, fine. I’ll leave you alone. Ten minutes, then back inside.”

“Yeah, got it. Thanks,” you replied sheepishly.

“Goodnight, John.”

“Goodnight, Ms. Y/L/N.”

With that, your mother went back inside, closing the door behind her. You could have curled up and died on the spot. That soon faded as you heard a soft squeal escape Murphy’s lips. He was never good at holding back his laughter. 

“Just like old times, huh?” he asked, amused.

“Just like them,” you said with a smile, “except this time, a lot better.”

**Wow, it has been a while! This was per request, I mixed it with an idea I was already toying around with: your mom keeps asking about Murphy. I thought it would be fun to mash these two together! I hope that everyone is staying safe during these unfortunate times. I’m always here if anyone needs anything!

The mood music is really there just to put you in my mindset and what I was listening to when I wrote this. Of course, completely optional. Just think it’s a fun little tidbit to add!

All my love

Lainey

[lambourngb]

Not sure if you are taking prompt buts if you are Post S2 prompt: I just want to see Alex quietly singing/humming The Song to Michael. Maybe Michael's hurt and in pain or they've both had a really emotional event happen and are totally drained from crying. I want that song to be a source of comfort. My partner isn't an amazing singer but I still find it really comforting when he sings to me and I like to think Michael and Alex eventually get to that point too.

This was a very romantic prompt nonnie! I’m afraid I was in a hurt/comfort state when I started this. Warnings: Confinement, experimentation, angst, mention of Forlex, mention of the Miluca breakup, but all is not lost.

“like a halo from a gun”

Time stopped having meaning to Michael sometime after the third week of confinement.

Guards entered his cell at random intervals, always wearing black masks and dull, badge-less armor that kept them anonymous. The first injection of the serum Helena had once used on him let him know he was probably in the hands of the real Deep Sky operation. Fighting with his fists, pulling every dirty trick he learned from his brief stint in juvie at 15, rewarded him with a broken wrist and a battered torso.

He was gifted with a soft white bandage to hold the splits of his bone together, he supposed they were too nervous to allow him with the hard plaster of a cast. The pain left him weak, tired, and finally docile as vial after vial of blood was taken from him.

At least it was just blood, and not anything more taxing, like tissue or an organ. If he survives this cell, he would have to thank Max for blowing up Liz’s lab. There was no way he could be sanguine over seeing Noah’s liver in a jar after this experience.

Worry about that later, he reminded himself. If there was a later.

No one was coming for him because no one knew he was missing. His plan had been simple, shared with Isobel, Max and Sanders. A month long road trip to get some space from Roswell, and Max’s moping over Liz’s departure seemed like a good idea at the time, and if he by chance he ended up in California to plead his brother’s case, well, seeing the Pacific Ocean felt like a thing to do.

The open road with his window down had beckoned. He had let the wounded feelings from Maria blow away with his mixed emotions about Forrest, stitching up the raw places inside in ways he knew alcohol couldn’t and acetone shouldn’t. As he drove, he had found himself humming Alex’s song, reminding himself of the promise of the future.

It was not their time now, but it would be one day had been his mantra.

Three hours later, feeling lighter and more hopeful, he had pulled over to assist a stranded motorist. A mother, holding a baby at her hip, had seemed harmless enough until she hit him with a needle pulled from an innocuous diaper bag.

His powers gone, he had made it back to his truck just in time for three black Jeeps with weapons mounted to appear from the surrounding brush to pin him down. Surrender or death, he picked surrender. He picked hope.

Now, his wrist screaming with a swollen hot feeling, he considered the idea that he might have picked the wrong option. Michael shut his eyes, letting the siren song of fatigue, despair and pain drag him down to sleep. He found a brighter, happier place to be, deep inside his mind. Perhaps it was his body shutting down, or perhaps he had found the place his mother described to Tripp. The ultimate sanctuary from pain and fear.

There was a kinship believing that his mother found the same haven, where maybe her Manes man had waited for her the way Alex waited for him in the dream. The only dark he could find there, were Alex’s warm eyes, and the only touch he could feel was Alex’s broad hands. After three bags of blood drawn, he could sometimes hear Alex’s voice, whispering soft promises to him.

Together we could quiet all the noises

Drown out the voices

Play our own song

He could still hear Alex’s voice, as he slowly surfaced from his mind. It didn’t make any sense to his sluggish thoughts. The song kept up, and the next thing he was aware of was the slow, carding of his hair and the warmth under his face of his pillow. Except he didn’t have a pillow.

Blinking he met the bruised, worried face of Alex. He would never hallucinate Alex with a mark on his face, let alone darkening blemish on his cheekbone and worrying cut that bled sluggishly from his forehead creeping upward to his hairline. “You’re actually here?”

“Yes,” Alex confirmed.

“Why? How-”

“The ‘how’ is Maria had a vision not long after you left, and once she figured out that you were in trouble, she had me try to track your phone.”  Alex frowned faintly, his touch never wavering as he smoothed back the matted and sweat-crusted locks of hair. “We found your truck at used car dealer a few miles from the last cell tower you pinged. It was all hands on deck to find you after that.”

Very little of his words registered on Michael. He was too caught up in the  cringing horror at their close proximity, as his mind moved on from the fantasy of seeing Alex to the reality of his current condition. He wanted to pull away because god only knew how badly he smelled at the moment. Bathing consisted of a blast of a hose, bracingly cold and relying on the force of the water to wash away the dirt and fear-sweats he routinely suffered. All of that said, he never wanted to leave the place on Alex’s lap. Being treated like a person after 3 weeks of nothing but sterile touch undid all his work at detachment.

Unaware of the train of Michael’s thoughts, Alex continued in a soft voice, “I  should have looked sooner, but- anyway, I didn’t even know you guys had broken up. Actually, I didn’t even know you left town until Maria came to my house looking for you.”

The blood loss was making him stupid as he tried to figure out what made Maria think he was at Alex’s. It was still too painful to even think about how he had failed with her, did she really think he would seek out the other person who knew how inadequate he was when it came to a relationship? As free and relaxed as Alex was at the Wild Pony, with Jesse in the ground, why would he want to ruin that?

Michael was well aware of how stuck he was emotionally, in all the ways that seemed to matter to people, and Alex had evolved past him. Tired, he squeezed his dry eyes shut tightly. “Why your house?”

“Her visions of you all involved me. In various positions she said?”

It took a second to comprehend Alex’s admission before Michael briefly wished that his captors would return. Getting drained to light-headed weakness was preferable to this. The mental retreat he had built where he inserted Alex into his delusion of a happily ever after had more windows instead of privacy doors. He had been broadcasting to his ex-girlfriend. Fuck his life. 

“Oh god- I’m so sorry, I just, I was trying to-.”

“Hey, hey,” Alex cut him off, his eyes kind as always even as Michael struggled to keep from crying. It was definitely time to wish for more needles, for more medical experimentation. That felt kinder than this discussion for Michael.

Sensing that hovering stab of humiliation, Alex made his own confession in return in the quiet, “After my leg, when rehab sucked. I pictured things being different too, or I thought about that summer with you. You don’t have to apologize, not to me.”

“Still, if she had put on the damn bracelet-” Mortified and weak, Micheal turned his face toward Alex’s hip, hiding it from view.

“Well the fact she wasn’t wearing the bracelet worked out in your favor. It’s how we realized you were in trouble in the first place, since she came over to my house to yell at you to stop projecting at her. She didn’t think it was deliberate either. She thought we had gotten back together, and because of your past with her, that you had left some link open by accident.”

“Bet Forrest loved that, my ex-girlfriend yelling at you about your- about me.”

Alex’s hand paused, either at the barb or the course correction Michael made in describing himself. For all the use of past tense feelings, the closest he’d heard Alex come to naming him was ‘first love’.

“Sorry,” Michael whispered, as a wave of shame swelled. “Sorry for that, and sorry that you’re here with me now. You shouldn’t have come but I know why you did. Guess that means we’re even now.”

“Of course I came, and it had nothing to do with being even.”

“Right, you don’t want to keep score anymore.”

Alex pinked a little at the reference to his song, before nodding seriously, “Yes, remember how the rest of the song goes?” He let his eyes track to the corner of the cell where the video surveillance was mounted plainly without subterfuge. “Would you meet me in the middle,” he sang sweetly, nodding toward the left wall of the cell, “Could we both stop keeping score? There’s a battle I must fight along, it’s you I’m fighting for. If I call on my battalion, break down the walls stone by stone, tear down the defenses, I could build our heart a home?”

Goddamnit. That crazy, brave, genius bastard really did have a plan. Michael was ready to both kiss and strangle Alex after that. 

The building shook briefly, rocked by a far off explosion. Michael summoned the reserves of his energy, and moved with Alex’s body as they rolled toward the wall. Then all hell started to break loose. The battalion mentioned was not just metaphorically tearing down walls. In the midst of deafening blasts and new alarms wailing in response, he found Alex’s ear. “I want to come home to you, that’s all I want, just when I’m ready.”

“That’s all I want too.”

[vs-redemption]

Crime is Common. Logic is Rare. (Ch.21)

Chapter Twenty-One: The New Serum (HawksxGN!Reader)

A/N: Hello readers! First of all, I wanted to say thank you to everyone who is still reading/following this story! We’re nearing the end now, and I only anticipate a few more chapters. (Famous last words) Also, I’m sorry for the lack of Hawks in this one, but hopefully you are enjoying everything happening with the mad doctor!

Plot summary: You thought your hands were full as a regular quirk geneticist, but then you meet Hawks and things get even more exciting!

Warnings:  

⚠️This story contains spoilers from the manga.

⚠️Some events and plot points have been altered from the original manga

Tag List: @gayforkeigo @marshmallow-witch @redflannel @toyo-shiro @elsasshole @astronomyturtle @iambashfulperson

Next Chapter : Chapter Guide

“Don’t you feel guilty helping me when your boyfriend is a hero?” Shigaraki’s piercing red glare follows you as you move around the lab underneath Jaku Hospital, constantly keeping you on edge and fearful for your life. You hadn’t anticipated having him as a regular visitor after the first encounter, but thankfully you were getting better at keeping your composure in high stress situations. Over the past few days you’d run dozens of tests and simulations using Shigaraki’s blood, and you knew you were getting closer to the day when you’d actually have to do the real procedure on the villain. You weren’t sure which possible outcome of the experiment you feared worse.

If things went well and you managed to transfer All For One’s quirk, Shigaraki would be even more powerful than before. Would there even be anybody strong enough to take him down at that point? How many people would be hurt or killed thanks to your assistance? The other scenario was if the experiment failed and Shigaraki died or his DNA became too mutated for him to function normally. That would most likely get you a target on your back with the League of Villains. But, for all you knew, they might be planning to kill you just as soon as this was all over anyway.

“I’ve hardly seen my boyfriend in weeks, except in passing,” you respond to the villain as flatly as you can while gesturing for his arm so you could take another vial of his blood. You wished Dr. Garaki would get the samples for himself, but he was currently in the second lab doing status checks on all his terrifying high end nomus. “The hero commission has kept Hawks very busy lately.”

“The hero commission, huh?” Shigaraki narrows his eyes at you before thrusting out his arm. He hated all the poking and prodding you’d been doing to his body, but knew it was the only way for him to eventually get the ultimate power he so desperately craved. That didn’t stop him from whining and complaining like a child sometimes though. “A perfect example of why I hate heroes.”

“What do you mean?” You ask as you fill up a syringe with his blood. It thankfully only took a few seconds. The less direct contact you had with the villain the better.

“They spend all their time risking their lives for other people,” Shigaraki explains as you put a bandage over the spot on his arm where you’d poked him with the needle. He started scratching at the dry, flaking skin on his neck with the chipped nails of his free hand. You’d noticed him doing this whenever he got himself agitated over something. It was a disturbing habit that you wish he’d try to control. “None of the heroes give a second thought to how they’re neglecting their families and loved ones.”

“Hmm,” you ponder over his words as you prepare a sample of the doctor’s newest concoction that he hoped would seamlessly bind Shigaraki’s DNA with All For One’s. Using the deductions of your quirk, you’d decided to start playing around with polarity of the villain’s DNA molecules. The goal was to trick the nucleotides from the two samples into bonding together more cohesively even though they were naturally non-polar.

“Perhaps there’s some truth to that,” you admit calmly, wondering if he really cared about the families of heroes when he didn’t seem to have any issue with disintegrating entire cities full of people. “And let me tell you, as a scientist, I understand your desire to want everyone to fit into perfect categories that follow the same sets of rules. There are always going to be outliers though. Some people can fit comfortably into multiple categories while others, frustratingly, seem to be in a category of their own.” You pause in your ramblings to look back at the villain who was glaring at you with enough intensity to give you chills. You force yourself to let out a small laugh before turning back to the slides you were working on. “Even though I don’t see Hawks that often right now,” you shrug, “I think he’d be there for me if I really needed him.”

“Maybe you don’t know him as well as you think you do,” Shigaraki had an eerie smirk on his face and it was a relief to see that it seemed he had no clue about how much you actually did know.

“There are definitely secrets about myself I’m keeping from him,” you gesture between yourself and the villain to show your meaning, even though it was a lie. “So you’re probably right about that.”

Thankfully you weren’t forced to have any more small talk with Shigaraki because the doctor finally came back through the creepy hidden tunnel, looking more or less satisfied with the progress of his nomus. You knew he wished they’d move toward completion at a faster pace, but the way he was manipulating DNA was already unstable enough without trying to rush the process.

“Did you test the new serum?” he asks once he finishes locking up the secret entrance.

“Not yet,” you tell him. “I was just about to.” He comes over and watches you push the slide with Shigaraki’s blood underneath the nearest microscope before adding a small drop of the new serum to the sample. You activate your quirk and press your face against the eyepiece to observe the results in as much detail as possible. Slowly, you watched as the two DNA samples fused together. You were used to this part by now, even though it still blew your mind sometimes. The difference this time was that the merged chromosomes looked completely normal, unlike the bulky mutated ones that made up the nomus.

“I can’t believe it,” you mumble to yourself, both out of awe and fear.

“Did it work?” Shigaraki asks impatiently.

“Wait,” you shush him more aggressively than you probably should have, but the chromosomes on the slide had suddenly begun to dissolve and break apart. Before you could deliver that bad news, the broken DNA inexplicably began to reform. “Something is happening.” You continue watching for a moment as the chromosomes break and repair themselves in a constant loop. You back away from the microscope to look at the doctor, your mind already working to figure out the secret behind the phenomenon. “It worked… sort of.”

“What do you mean sort of?!” Shigaraki sounded annoyed but the doctor remained calm.

“What happened?” he asks.

“The samples blended perfectly this time,” you explain, “but it’s still unstable. The DNA is simultaneously destroying and repairing itself. Take a look.” The doctor pulls over a stool so that he can reach the microscope to peer into the lens. What he sees makes him smile and bounce on his feet with excitement. He backs away from the microscope and hops off the stool.

“I know exactly why this is happening,” Dr. Garaki was beaming. “Good news Shigaraki! I don’t think you’ll have to wait much longer now.”

As usual, you had a lot of objections, but it was pointless to try and talk him into slowing down. Shigaraki wanted his power as soon as possible, and the doctor wasn’t going to make him wait any longer than absolutely necessary. Even if it was dangerous to use the leader of the villains as the first test subject, you knew they would do it anyway.

“It’s because the DNA was able to fuse perfectly,” the doctor turns his attention to you, “All For One’s regeneration quirk must have been activated. I anticipate that this sample will continue to try and fix itself until it finds a way to stabilize.”

The mere possibility of that being true astonished you. If the doctor wasn’t a madman who planned to turn an already dangerous villain into an unstoppable force of evil, he could do so much good with the discovery you both had just made. There were so many people who suffered with self-destructive quirks that would benefit from a serum like this. You wondered if Shigaraki’s skin problems would be alleviated after the procedure.

With a regenerating serum, so many exciting possibilities had just opened up. It was just too bad that you were stuck in such a messed up situation. You’d told the doctor that you weren’t going to judge him for helping the League of Vilains with the information you gathered, but you hadn’t expected him to have you work with Shigaraki directly. It worried you that you would be forced to go through with this insane idea soon. The silver lining was that, like the nomus, Shigaraki’s procedure would probably take quite a while to complete. You had no idea exactly how long it would take for All For One’s DNA to integrate with Shigaraki’s completely, but you had to imagine rewiring someone’s genes took time. It most likely was going to be excruciating for the villain as well. You wondered if he’d even survive if his DNA was going to be destroying and repairing itself over and over again.

“What are you thinking?” Dr. Garaki’s question pulls you out of your thoughts.

“I’m thinking we can check on the progress of this sample tomorrow,” you tell him almost robotically. You couldn’t let the implications of what you were doing affect you now. You had to continue to play the morally neutral scientist. “We can try to calculate the rate of repair to see if the regeneration is even working the way you think it is. Once we know that much, we’ll probably be able to predict just how long the procedure will take to complete.”

“Good idea!” the doctor claps his hands once. “Let’s start recording as much data as we can now with your quirk so we can come up with an accurate timeline later.”

The two of you set to work while Shigaraki watches and complains about there being nothing to do. You envied him of having the luxury of his biggest concern at the moment being his boredom. There were so many worries occupying your mind at present that being bored was far from being possible. You were already dreading having to inform Hawks of everything that had happened that day. If the Hero Commission didn’t find a way to put a stop to the villains before Shigaraki’s procedure was completed, there would be no limit to the amount of destruction he’d be able to cause.

[eternallyyoungjustice]

Wherever the Winds Take You: Chapter 13

A/N: Okay, not gonna lie, didn’t really edit this one much. It’s super duper short, sticks pretty close to the episode, and it’s just been a week. So I apologize for any spelling errors or awkward phrasing. But otherwise, I hope you all like it! Thank you so much for your continued support of my shameless guilty pleasure.

Santa Prisca July 22 21:10

The tunnel remained dark and cold for a few minutes, the only sounds being the ragged breaths of six young heroes and the shuffle of feet against stone. All members collectively could hear their own heartbeat in their ears, and felt the adrenaline pumping through their veins.

Finally, a loud crack broke the silence and an eerie red glow emitted from the glowstick that Aqualad held and promptly tossed to the ground. Every member of the team stood there; Kid Flash and Zephyr showing the most wear, as the non-humans held good composure and Robin stood silently, staring at the barricade of rock and debris that separated the team from the way they came.

After a moment, however, Robin finally broke the silence.

“How could my first mission as leader go so wrong?”

“You do have the most experience, but perhaps that is exactly what has left you unprepared.” Aqualad spoke. “Fighting alongside Batman, your roles are defined. You two do not need to talk. But this team is new, and a leader must be clear, explicit. He cannot vanish and expect others to play parts in an unknown plan.”

Robin whirled around, snarled and poison-tongued. “Oh, so I’m supposed to hold everyone’s hands?!” The boy let out a growl of frustration and glared down at the ground. But then, after a moment, the tension in his shoulders released and his form slumped slightly. “Oh, who am I kidding? You should lead us, Kaldur. You’re the only one who can.”

“Please! I can run circles-” Kid Flash’s outburst was cut off by Robin’s now much calmer tone. “Wally, come on. You know he’s the one.” The young boy’s eyes lifted to meet his elder’s. “We all do.”

“Hello, Megan! It’s so obvious!” M’gann chirped.

“Could’a told you.” Superboy shrugged.

Kaldur’s eyes met Lina’s knowing gaze. “You know you have my vote.”

Everyone turned to Wally, who stood awkwardly for a moment before sighing in resignation. “Okay!”

“Then I accept the burden,” Kaldur nodded, stepping towards Robin and placing a hand on the younger boy’s shoulder, “until you are ready to lift it from my shoulders. You were born to lead this team, maybe not now, but soon.” Robin nodded, his normal smile returning to his face.

Kaldur turned back to speak to the team as a whole. “Alright, our first priority is preventing that shipment from leaving this island.”

“Funny,” Robin smirked, “I had the same thought.”

As the group began to dash down the tunnel’s length, they began to compare notes.

“Robin and I discovered data about the new shipments on a computer in the warehouse.” Kid Flash spoke up. “It looks like Kobra has combined Venom and the Blockbuster formula from Cadmus, making Venom three times as strong and permanent.”  

“So obviously Kobra attacked Bane’s Satna Prisca to have an unlimited supply of the Venom formula, making it able to create the new superformula.” Robin explained. “Which explains how normal supply chains have been cut off if--it’s for a whole new product. But it doesn’t explain how Kobra got his hands on Dr. Desmond’s formula.”

“We discovered that the supplier arriving today was the villain, Sportsmaster.” Aqualad nodded.

Robin pulled up his holo-computer. “Okay, so that must mean Sportsmaster is the supplier and buyer...but it still doesn’t track. He’s a gun for hire, he doesn’t have the power to acquire the blockbuster formula or to get Kobra to do his dirty work.”

“And neither of them have the chops to bond blockbuster with venom. That took some major nerdage.” Kid Flash chimed in.

“I believe the expression is…” As the team arrived at the mouth of the entrance, they were met with the sight of Bane standing there, finishing pumping himself with his normal venom serum which connected from a tube from his arm to the base of his skull, and seemed to enhance his muscle to an inhuman amount. With a sigh of relief, the masked villain dropped the vial formerly containing venom and gazed down at the team of young heroes with a crazed look in his eyes. “‘tip of the iceberg’.”

“Halt, ninos.” Bane growled and revealed a handheld trigger in his grasp. “I’m feeling...explosive.” Simultaneous beeping alerted the team to gaze up, revealing a large number of charged explosives around the mouth of the tunnel.

“You betrayed us, why?” Aqualad spoke, in a tone that-to anyone that knew him-sounded very fake. Bane, however, didn’t seem to notice the falseness. While Bane was distracted, the Atlantean reached out via the telepathic link. “Kid, you’ll need a running start.”

“I want my factory back!” Bane began to monologue. “So I forced you into a situation where you would either take down my enemies for me, or die trying. If the latter, the Justice League would certainly have come to avenge their sidekicks. And when the smoke cleared, Santa Prisca would be mine once more...blowing the tunnel with you inside, should have the same effects.”

Caught in his own monologue, Bane didn’t see the dark blue that flew by him.

“With what?” Kid Flash suddenly asked, now suddenly behind the hulking man and holding the hand-held trigger that had just been in Bane’s grasp. “This trigger thingy?”

Bane let out a loud growl and pulled back to land a strong punch to the speedster, but promptly found himself being lifted off his feet by an invisible force. Being slowly turned around, Bane saw a smiling Miss Martain standing under him, lifting him telekinetically with a raised hand.

“Finally,” Superboy smirked as he stepped forward, and cracked his knuckles. “Drop him.”

Santa Prisca July 22 21:31

Back outside the warehouse, at its helipad, we watched patiently until Sportsmaster and Kobra bid goodbye to one another. Sportsmaster was a tall, hulking man that was essentially all muscle, who wore a signature goalie mask over his face, but otherwise had no notable physical traits. Kobra, on the other hand, has an almost just as tall figure with an equally as strong build, although his muscles were not nearly as hulking as his compatriots’ and hid his figure under a dark crimson cloak. His pale skin was almost anemic and seemed to glow under the light of the moon, but somehow didn’t make him look sickly. Overall, the aura around him made Zephyr’s spine tingle uncomfortably.

“This Kobra man…” Zephyr whispered from her spot in the shadows next to Robin, Kid Flash, and Aqualad. “I do not like his vibe.”

Robin snickered quietly. “Have you liked any villains’ ‘vibe’ before?”

The young girl thought for a moment. “Poison Ivy.” She whispered, thinking deeply. “She is, uh, qu'est-ce que...fine as hell, tres tres bonne. Robin, why are most of your famous villains so good-looking, hm? Seems very unfair.”

This made both Robin and Kid Flash snort with laughter to the point where they had to muffle themselves.

“Do you want to trade cities Zeph’?” Robin asked, eyebrows cocked in amusement.

The young women paled, recalling the patrol she and Aqualad had done the other night. “Fair enough! No thank you!”

This made Robin chuckle a little more.

Sportsmaster began to make his way towards the helicopter, causing Aqualad to give Kid Flash his signal, and the young ginger ran off at lightning speed, knocking down cultists and pulling gunfire in his wake.

“Protect the shipment!” A cult member exclaimed. Just in time for Superboy to jump and land in front of Mammoth, who stood next to Kobra.

“Go again?” The clone yelled at the hulking beast, causing it to roar and attack. However, it was promptly forced off-course by a sudden continuous force of water, controlled by Aqualad, sending him right into nearby trees. “Sorry, not the plan.”

As Mammoth roared fiercely and began to fight back against being sprayed, Zephyr flew over him, moving her arms and collecting as many of the coldest Winds she could find. The girl reached high up into the atmosphere to find the ones to complete her task and sent them crashing down onto the blast of water and onto Mammoth, freezing the water around him until slowly but eventually, he was encased in thick, frigid, ice.

At being controlled so forcefully, the Winds carrying Zephyr faltered and the girl landed on the ground in a crouching stance. “I am going to be honest with you,” She called to her new team leader as she dodged a cultist’s fire. “I did not know if that would work!” She managed to grab hold of the cultist’s gun and bashed him in the head with it, before chucking it at another cultist’s head, successfully rendering both unconscious.

“Be thankful it did then!” Aqualad yelled back as he fought his own share of cultists.

Not a moment later, the helicopter filled with products began to take off with Sportsmaster inside. Zephyr turned and prepared her Winds to go after it, just in case, but was relieved when it exploded into flames mid-air, causing it to plummet down towards the factory. Off in the distance, the figure of Sportsmaster leaping out and deploying a parachute could be seen.

As the burning helicopter dropped into the factory, it only took a moment before a deep, rumbling ‘boom’ seemed to shake the island as a whole, and flames erected from the giant metal structures. As the fire began to swallow up the entirety of the warehouses, the cultists-those who remained conscious enough to stand-began to flee from the helipad and into the forest, causing the team to turn its attention to Kobra, who stood (no longer wearing his cloak) over Robin, with a single foot pinning the boy to the ground. The cult leader seemed to scan the six teenagers carefully as if weighing his chances of success, but ultimately began to move away, removing his foot from Robin’s chest and slinking away into the shadows of the trees with a low, grumbling “another time then…”

Robin stood, and immediately darted into where Kobra had disappeared, but alas, he was gone without a trace. Slowly walking back to his team, Robin gazed up at the sizzling remains of the factory and watched the flames like at the metal for a moment, before looking back down at his comrades.

“We picked the right guy to lead.” Robin nodded with a smile at Aqualad. “...automatically making you the right guy to explain this mess to Batman!” Robin walked away, laughing, and Kaldur’s face seemed to immediately drain of any blood as fear entered his eyes.

“Don’t worry Aqualad.” M’gann piped up, floating close to her leader. “We won’t let Batman chew you out too much! Besides, I was technically the one who made the helicopter explode.”

“Yeah, don’t sweat it too much.” Wally smiled. “We’re a team now, which means we’re all gonna be killed by Bats equally!” This earned him looks from all the remaining members.

“Your bedside manner definitely could use some improvements, my friend.” Lina shook her head, but she quickly offered a supportive smile to her best friend-now leader.

Mount Justice July 23 10:01

“A simple recon mission! Observe and report!” Batman growled loudly, his tone so uniquely terrifying that it could possibly strike fear into every living creature on the planet. Or at least that’s what it felt like. “You will each receive a written evaluation detailing your many mistakes. But until then…”

The main open room of the cave seemed to ring with anticipated breath as the co-leader of the Justice League paused.

“Good job.”

This shocked every member of the team with surprise, causing them to all whirl their heads to look at Batman with bewildered looks.

“No battle plan survives first contact with the enemy. How you adjust to the unforeseen is what determines success. And how you choose who leads determines character.” Batman turned and began walking away. “You’re all dismissed.”

“Did…” Wally spoke, a small smile itching at his lips. “Did we just get verbally patted on the back by the Batman? For blowing up a factory?”

“I...I think we did!” Robin chuckled, running a stunned hand through his spiky black hair.

“We just finished our first actual mission together, right?” M’gann perked up. “I believe that’s cause for celebration! What do you guys think?” All the members of the team looked to one another, and then looked to Kaldur.

“Well...leader gives the orders.” Robin smirked.

Kaldur smiled and nodded. “Celebration is well-deserved, I think.”

The team all cheered, or in Superboy’s case silently smiled, and began making their way towards the exit to the cave.

“I’m thinking...pizza, Chinese food, snacks and a movie marathon...with possibly dessert provided by the lovely M’gann?” Wally asked, shooting finger guns at the martian herself.

“You...want me to make dessert? After my batch of cookies went so wrong?” M’gann asked, seemingly delighted and flattered.

“I will give you some help in the kitchen M’gann, don’t worry,” Lina said, locking her arm with the younger girl’s. “We’re going to need two sets of hands in the kitchen if we need to feed Kid Mouth and everyone else anyway.”

“Oh, this is going to be sweet!!” Wally exclaimed.

As the gang began to loudly plan their big party, Lina leaned away from the conversation slightly, pulling her phone out of the pocket of her jean jacket. Unlocking the device, she quickly found her and Roy’s texting conversation. Smiling to herself, she quickly types out her message.

Call me when you get home from patrol tonight! You’re going to want to hear about our first mission! Guess who our new leader is…. :D -L

[red-writing-on-asylum-walls]

FebuWhump Day 9: Truth Serum

In which I finally angst Daniel Fuller.

Warnings: vomiting, blood, forced confessions (not of the love variety), spoilers for Micoverse if you squint reaaaallllyyyyy hard

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Milo tips the vial of pale liquid into Dan’s coffee, wraps the empty container in a paper towel, and throws it in the trash before hurrying back to his seat at the table. He shovels a forkful of pancakes into his mouth, heart racing as he listens to Dan’s footsteps coming back down the hall.

Dan sits down opposite Milo and takes a drink of a his coffee without a second thought, picking up the newspaper again. Milo watches him for several quiet minutes, waiting. He’s not sure what he’s waiting for, the one-eyed lady at the shop hadn’t told him how to know the serum had taken affect. After a while, Dan must feel his stare because he looks up from his paper with a smile,

“What’s up, little shark? Somethin’ on your mind?”

“Well, um,” Milo squirms in his seat, gaze darting around the room before he glances at Dan again, “Where—I was wondering where Jake is. Do you know where he is?”

“He’s at a doctor’s appointment, getting his heart checked up on,” Dan says easily. Then he blinks, frowning in confusion, “Wait…I…that’s not what I…”

Milo brightens instantly. The serum works! He can finally get the truth about everything! He sets his fork down and shoves the half eaten plate of food away, eyes bright and excited as he pulls out his phone and sets it to record. Dan is still frowning, trying to process what he’s said, taking idle sips of his coffee as he mutters to himself.

“Hey Dad!”

“Mm?” Dan glances up, still clearly distracted.

“Are you and Jake lying about what happened to my real dad?”

“Yes.” Dan says and pales dramatically. He drops his coffee mug, lets it bounce off the table and clatter to the floor, spilling his remaining drink that spreads a brown stain across the tile, “I—n-no, I didn’t—Milo!”

The elation Milo had felt at the serum’s success deflates, the smile slipping off his face, “You…you were lying…? This whole time? Why? Why were you lying to me!? Why didn’t you tell me the truth!?”

“Because we didn’t think you could handle the truth! We didn’t want to hurt you! We didn’t mean for things to go on like this, we thought we could change things before it got too far. But we didn’t know how and now we’re here and it—nhgk—d-doesn’t—hn—no! I’m not—M-Milo, what’ve you—“ Dan slaps his hands over his mouth, pressing his jaw shut, struggling to swallow down the words that want to spill out. His breathing is rapid, panic in his eyes as he stares at Milo from across the table.

But Milo is angry now. Bitter and emboldened and determined to finally, finally, get the truth.

“What did you do to my dad?” He growls. Dan shakes his head, tears springing into his eyes as he fights the serum pumping through his system. Milo slams his hands on the table, rocking to his feet and knocking his chair over with a bang, “What did you and Jake do to my dad!? WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM!? TELL ME WHAT YOU DID TO MILO SUMENY!”

Dan gags and blood sprays out from between his fingers. Some part of Milo buried under all his hurt and rage is horrified, wants to stop, wants to take it all back and pretend it never happened so they can be happy again.

“TELL ME!” Milo screams, pounding his fists into the tabletop, his own angry tears streaking his face, “TELL ME THE TRUTH! TELL ME WHAT YOU DID TO HIM! WHERE’S MY DAD!? WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM!?”

Dan opens his mouth behind his hands to gasp for air, blood dripping off his tongue and smearing down his chin. But the serum betrays him, forcing the words out of his strangled throat,

“It was an a-accident, we didn’t know—Milo s-stop this!—what it—Milo please!—would do to him. It—no! No! I won’t!” Dan clenches his teeth, again, squeezing his eyes shut, tears running through the blood on his face. His chest is heaving, his body shivering with pain as he struggles to keep his mouth shut against the tidal wave of truths pounding in his lungs.

“TELL ME!” Milo’s voice cracks, voice ringing in a scream that is hurt and bitter and angry and scared and so many other things all tangled together, “TELL ME TELL ME TELL ME TELL ME TELL ME!”

He wants this to stop. He’d never wanted to hurt Dan. But he’s too far along now, too close to finally learning the truth he’s been so desperately searching for.

Dan convulses and vomits up a mixture of blood and coffee across the tabletop, “M-Milo, please…dh-don’t do th-this…We didn’t mean for this to happen. We should have t-tried h-h-harder…” He coughs, slumping in his seat, his breaths wheezing in his throat, his body shuddering, “What happened to you wasn’t fair and I’m sorry, Milo, I’m s-so sorry. But when—“ Dan grits his teeth again, biting off the words, arching his back against the agony radiating from inside him. Milo can see the tendons standing out in his neck, the rapid throbbing of the veins beneath his skin, the sheen of sweat soaking into the front of Dan’s shirt.

And suddenly Milo is afraid.

It strikes him that he has never, not once, seen Daniel Fuller cry.

But here he is, crying, suffering and crying, right in front of him.

And it’s all Milo’s fault.

Milo made Dan cry.

“Daddy…?” He says in a hoarse voice, words choked on emotions and tears. Dan looks down at him, unfocused, wheezing, blood still oozing from between his gritted teeth,

“Do…do you and Jake…love me?”

Dan lets out a noise that might have been a gasping sob if it wasn’t so shaky and weak, “Baby shark…Milo, sweetie…Milo, my sunshine, of course we do.”

“How…” Milo stares at the tabletop, at the red smears across of it, pointing accusingly in his direction, his clenched fists trembling at his sides, lower lip trembling as he tries not to cry, “How much…how m-much do you love me…?”

“Oh Milo,” Dan sighs and when Milo looks up, Dan is smiling at him, through tears and blood and pain, Dan is smiling at him and it’s warm and honest and no truth serum in the world is needed for Milo to know that Dan means it with all his heart,

“We love you more than anything. We would do anything for you. Jake and I both. We love you.”

Milo breaks.

He lets out a choked sob and throws himself around the table and into Dan’s arms, heedless of the blood and sweat and tears staining his hoodie. He is only desperate to hold his dad, to hold onto him until his fingers ache because he loves him, he loves Dan and he loves Jake and he wouldn’t trade them for all the secrets in all the worlds. He sobs into Dan’s shift, apologies and pleas for forgiveness and promises to be good all spilling out and tangling into a stream of breathless surrender.

And Dan just holds him.

Dan picks Milo up in his big, strong, warm arms and gently holds him, hushes him, tells him it’s okay, it’s okay, he understands and he’s sorry. He’s so, so sorry. His fingers card gently through Milo’s red hair, he presses tender kisses to Milo’s forehead, and promises that no matter what happens, he will always love and protect Milo.

“You’re our little shark,” He murmurs against Milo’s temple as the teen hiccups tears into the crook of Dan’s neck,

“You’re our sunshine, Milo. And we can’t live without the sun.”

[tomeandflickcorner]

Falcon and Winter Soldier Episode 3- My Thoughts

Can’t believe we’re already halfway through this show!

As was set up in the last episode, Bucky decides to head to a prison in Germany, where Zemo is being held for the crimes he committed during Civil War. Again, while I did understand why he was doing this, considering Zemo was the only real lead they had in determining how the Flag Smashers got their hands on the Super Serum, I still didn’t really like the idea.  Because this was the guy who framed Bucky for the murder of King T’Chaka and then forced Bucky to undergo even more trauma by activating his Winter Solder programing.  And my dislike for Zemo increased even more when the first thing he did upon seeing Bucky outside his cell was recite the Winter Soldier Activation Words.  Ugh, this guy is such a scumbag!  I am so confused why some people seem to be talking about how funny Zemo was in this episode.  I just don’t get it!

Anyway, I guess Zemo said he’d only assist Bucky and Sam in solving the mystery if Bucky helped him escape from prison.  And Bucky, out of desperation, agrees to this?  Yeah, I was with Sam on this one, as he only finds out about this plan after the fact and understandably freaks out when he sees Zemo waltzing up disguised as a security guard.  Because while the jail break sequence was interesting, I still don’t trust Zemo in the slightest.  But I guess it’s too late now.  So the three of them travel to this island called Madripoor, which I guess is like a haven for criminal masterminds, so they can infiltrate some nightclub in order to talk to a woman named Selby.  Because Selby can apparently give them the information they need.  And Zemo can arrange all of this because he turns out to be super rich. Yeah, okay.

From here on in, the episode is pretty much a spy film.  Because Sam has to go into the Madripoor nightclub mascaraing as some other guy called Smiling Tiger.  (Side note, I hope that snake that got sliced open to make that drink was already dead.)  The trio eventually get an audience with this Selby person, but my skin is crawling over the way they did it.  Because Zemo has Bucky pretend to be the brainwashed Winter Soldier again as an intimidation technique. And then offers to gift him to Selby, as if Bucky was simply a piece of property.  And while Bucky does a passible job of pretending he’s still the Winter Soldier, it must have been torture for him to pretend to be Hydra’s brainwashed assassin again.  Especially since we all know how guilty he feels for all of that.  They even bring up his book filled with the names of people he’d wronged.  Which turns out to be the exact same book Steve was using to keep track of everything he needed to adjust to being in a different time after being thawed from the ice.  Which just hits you with even more feels.  Still, I’m glad that at least Sam seems to be recognizing that, as he frequently takes the time to check on how Bucky’s holding up.  It’s nice that the writers haven’t completly forgotten that Sam used to be a therapist himself.  (Hey, maybe Sam can become Bucky’s new therapist instead of that crummy government-issued one.  Or is it a violation of the code of ethics to offer therapy to someone you know personally?)

Unfortunately, just as Selby gives them the information they came for- that the mysterious Power Broker hired former Hydra scientist Dr. Nagel to recreated the Super Serum- their cover is blown because Sam got an ill-timed call from his sister, Sarah.  (Seriously, Sam!  You didn’t think to put your phone on mute?  That’s the first rule of going undercover!)  Out of nowhere, Selby is shot dead by an unseen assassin, and Bucky, Sam and Zemo have to make a run for it, particularly after a bounty is placed on their heads for Selby’s death.  Still, they’re rescued by a surprise appearance of Sharon Carter.  Who has been living there since the events of Civil War.  Strangely enough, nobody remembered to help get her a government issued pardon.  Which doesn’t make a lot of sense.  But that revelation does lead to Sam feeling even more disillusioned.  First it was him learning how Isaiah got the short end of the stick, and now this.  Sam now is thinking maybe the Shield should simply be destroyed because of how much trouble its caused.  Though I don’t think it’s possible to destroy the Shield.  Wasn’t the Shield made of Vibranium or something equally as indestructible?  Still, this might be a good thing.  Because Sam is seeing how many people ended up getting tossed aside and overlooked.  Which could be what inspires him to take back the mantle of Captain America, in order to help give a voice to those people.

Anyway, with Sharon’s help, Bucky, Sam and Zemo find Dr. Nagal’s lab, which is hidden in a shipyard somewhere.  Upon interrogating Dr. Nagal, we learn that, after Hydra was eliminated, Dr. Nagal was hired by the CIA to continue his work in recreating the Super Serum.  But then, Dr. Nagal got dusted in the Snap.  When he came back, he picked up where he left off and managed to create 20 vials of Super Serum.  Admittedly, I might be getting some of the details here wrong, but this episode had a lot of exposition to go through. But the important thing is that those vials got stolen by Karli.  Which means there might be a whole mess of Super Soldiers out there right now.  But before Dr. Nagal could reveal anything further, Zemo shoots him dead out of the blue.  Why, I’m not entirely sure, but this is Zemo.  Like I mentioned before, I don’t trust him in the slightest.  And I wouldn’t be shocked if he ends up backstabbing Sam and Bucky in some way before the show is over.  In any event, after Dr. Nagal gets killed off, there’s a sudden action sequence, with Sharon, Sam and Bucky trying to fend off a bunch of armed goons.  Wasn’t very clear if they were with the people who had currently hired Dr. Nagal after the Reverse Snap or if they were bounty hunters looking for Selby’s killer.  Eventually, Zemo manages to obtain a getaway car, and he drives off with Sam and Bucky.  Sharon, on the other hand, chooses to stay behind, with Sam promising her that he’ll make sure she gets a full pardon for her actions in Civil War once they get back to the US.  But after they drive off, Sharon meets up with some other unnamed woman.  So I have no idea what Sharon is up to right now.  Did she have anything to do with Selby’s death?  Is she in league with this mysterious Power Broker? It’s not clear at the moment. Either way, I’m sure we haven’t seen the last of her.

The episode ends with Bucky, Sam and Zemo trying to figure out the next step.  But Bucky steps away when he spots a few black beads affixed to the side of a building.  He clearly recognizes these black beads as Kimoyo beads, because he calls out to someone once he’s alone.  And seems unsurprised when a member of the Dora Milaje appears in front of him, stating that she’s there for Zemo.  Apparently, that’s Ayo, Okoye’s second-in-command.  So we’re getting the Wakandans involved now!  That’ll be fun.  Particularly since it’s doubtful they forgot that Zemo was responsible for the death of King T’Chaka.  I’m wondering if we’ll get a cameo of Shuri.  Or, on a more sobering note, get a hint about what the MCU will do in regards to T’Challa.  In any event, I’m excited to see the Wakandans.

Meanwhile, we got John Walker going around, further cementing how unlikable he is.  Because he ends up storming into some office building somewhere because the Flag Smashers were seen operating out of there.  Or something to that effect.  The main issue is they weren’t even in America at this point.  Are the Accords still in effect?  I don’t even know! But even if they aren’t, the fact that John Walker is pretty much throwing his weight around like this only further proves he’s not worthy to call himself Captain America.  (Just saying, Steve would never shove some guy against a wall and demand respect just because of who he is.)  Oh, and it gets better.  When he gets word that Bucky and Sam might have been responsible for Zemo escaping from jail, his attitude seems to have sinister undertones of ‘if I can prove those two are criminals, the methods I used to get that proof doesn’t matter.’  Oh, where do I begin?  That kind of attitude is extremely problematic, as it’s teetering dangerously close to ‘I can ignore people’s rights whenever it suits my needs’ territory.  And it’s particularly uncomfortable when you remember people were clearly recording Bucky’s earlier actions on Madripoor on their phones, when he had to beat up this guy to sell his Winter Soldier act.  Needless to say, I’m really scared for Bucky and Sam right now.

Then there’s the stuff with the Flag Smashers.  I guess there was this organization called the Global Repatriation Council (GRC for short) that was set up after the people who got dusted returned with the Reverse Snap, which was designed to help those un-dusted people adjust to the new world and get back on their feet.  But this is where things get a little sketchy.  I think the implication is that they’re not distributing the supplies fairly, or that this organization is favoring the un-dusted people while ignoring the needs of the people who remained after the Snap?  Because after who I think was supposed to be Karli’s mother dies from an illness(?), Karli leads the Flag Smashers in breaking into a GRC storage facility in Lithuania and making off with the supplies they were storing there.  And then she blows up the building.  With people still inside.  Because her attitude seems to be this will be the only way to get the government’s attention or something along those lines.  Yeah, this is where Karli started to lose my support.  Because while I think I can understand what their motivation is, considering it seems to be implied that world governments are not being fair and equal in regards of helping everyone adjust to the Reverse Snap, once you start killing people, that’s where you make it easy for your enemies to villainize you in the eyes of the general public. At this point, I don’t know how I feel about Karli.

[whitecatindisguise]

Let Me Make You Proud 2

Okay, it‘s one day earlier than I planned, but who cares?

Sorry in advance for the lack of Varian in this chapter, but it’s necessary for the plot. Anyway, enjoy second chapter of LMMYP!

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Chapter 2: Maybe You’re Right To Have Doubts In Me

Rapunzel was walking down the corridor, books in her arms and a familiar tune on her lips. Pascal sat on her shoulder, swaying gently to the melody. 

“I tell you, Pascal!” The princess stopped humming and looked at her loyal friend. “Today will be a great day. I can feel it!”

The chameleon squeaked in agreement as they continued down the hall. Suddenly, they heard rushed steps and a small group of guards ran in the opposite direction. She quickly moved aside to let them pass, her eyes following their route with a puzzled expression. Giving herself only a moment to decide, she turned around and ran in the direction she saw the guards moving to. With a heavy heart she realized they were going to the dungeons, where many more guards, along with the Captain, Eugene and Lance already were, all looking very troubled. 

“Captain? What’s going on?” She called out, approaching the group. All the faces turned to her but she ignored it. 

“Your Highness” Captain said, surprised. “Why are you here?”

“I saw guards running off somewhere, so I figured something must have happened” She truthfully replied, Pascal nodding in agreement. 

“Well, it seems we have a rather delicate situation…” The man scratched his neck as he eyed one of the cells. Rapunzel followed his gaze and inhaled sharply, as she noticed his concern. The lock was completely melted and the door stood open, showing an empty cell. 

“Whose-?” She started but Eugene cut her in. 

“The Saporians” He said in a dark voice. She felt her face whitening in fear. 

“But how? The lock is melted!” She asked, trying to understand what’s really going on. “The locks in dungeons are made of iron, and it doesn’t melt unless it’s exposed to really high temperature or-”

“We’ve also found this in the cell” One of the guards produced a small glass vial. On the bottom were a few drops of awfully familiar green-luminescent mixture. 

“Varian’s melting acid…” She whispered, covering her mouth with her hand. “But how-?”

“It looks like the alchemist helped them escape, Your Highness” Captain said matter-of-factly with stern gaze. 

“No, that’s impossible” Rapunzel shook her head in denial. “Varian wouldn’t do that”

“Would he?” Stan asked, his brows furrowed. “It wasn’t that long since he tried to overthrow the Royal Family with the help of the Saporians” 

“He HELPED us defeat them!” She argued. “He’s not going down that path anymore!”

“Blondie-” Eugene tried to intervene but the girl didn’t let him. 

“No, Eugene! You know as much as I do, Varian is not like that! He’s changed!” She cried, her eyes watering with tears of anger. “If it wasn’t for him figuring out the Final Incantation back in that tower, you wouldn’t-!”

“I’m not trying to deny it, Sunshine” Eugene rose his hands in front of his chest.

“This tower wouldn’t even exist, if he didn’t give Cassandra the Third Incantation” Pete pointed out quietly, to which Rapunzel looked at him in shock.

“She made him! She gave him his Truth Serum! He didn’t have any choice!” She shouted. 

“At least that’s what he’s saying” Another guard said, others nodding. 

“Look, Your Highness” Captain sighed heavily. “The point is, no one was there. For all we know, he could have made this all up. It wouldn’t be the first time he lied”

“But-” Rapunzel tried to argue but was shushed with a raised hand of the Captain. 

“And we can’t argue about the fact it’s HIS mixture that helped the Saporians escape” He added. “The best thing we can do now is send some guards to get him, so he can explain himself”

“You’re treating him as if he was a criminal” The princess accused with a stern expression.

“Well, technically, he is one” Lance said but Eugene elbowed him right in the stomach. He yelped in pain and folded on himself. 

“Captain!” A shout was heard from the other side of the corridor. Every head turned to the direction. Another guard quickly ran up to the man and saluted. “Saporians were spotted in the town! Few of the guards are chasing them!”

“Thank you, Dave” Captain nodded. “Anything worth knowing?”

“Yes, sir! The alchemist seems to be among them!” The guard answered. Rapunzel gasped loudly. 

“Very well, let’s get them, boys!” Captain called to his guards. “Lead the way” He looked at the guard, who nodded and they ran off.

Rapunzel didn’t even think about it. She rushed after the guards, followed by Eugene and Lance. They ran through the streets, her heart pounding. She just couldn’t believe Varian would team up with those people again. This had to be some kind of misunderstanding. 

When they arrived at the small square, she couldn’t believe her eyes. At least ten Royal Guards were stuck to the ground, the frighteningly familiar pink goo spread all over them. She looked up and saw a hot air balloon, slowly making its way up and away from the city. 

“What happened here?” Captain shouted, looking at his guard. 

“We were surprised, sir” One of them answered, while trying to free his companion. “They managed to escape before we reacted”

“And this?” The man pointed at the sorry mess in front of him. 

“One of the alchemist’s bombs, sir” Came the answer. 

“But he wasn’t the one to throw it, wasn’t he?” Rapunzel cut in. 

“No, Your Highness” The guard confirmed. “But he was with them. I would recognize him and his raccoon anywhere.”

“Thank you, that will be all for now.” Captain stopped any more questioning from the princess with a stern gaze. “Get rid of this and report to me afterwards. I need to let the King know about the whole situation.”

He quickly turned around and left, leaving heartbroken princess among all the chaos. 

“I… I don’t understand...” She said, looking around. “Varian wouldn’t do it. I’m sure of it!”

“I get it, Sunshine, but look around.” Eugene sighed in defeat. “Whether you believe it or not, kid’s landed neck-deep in a full-blown shit.” Some of the guards gasped at the language bu Rapunzel ignored it completely, too angry about all the accusations.

“No, I won’t believe it! I know him, Eugene. He’s not like that. Not anymore!” She cried and looked at her boyfriend with resolve in her eyes. “And I’m going to prove it!”

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So... yeah... Thing’s aren’t looking so good for our alchemist boy. Anyway, thank you and see you next update.