#would react because sure they came up against monsters and the government

[sp0o0kylights]

Whole thing on A03

It didn't matter how much Steve explained. Not one member of the Party was going to get it. 

Tommy and Carol would, but then, they were no longer on speaking terms. A fact that hurt even if it was for the best--particularly in times like these, because they got it. 

They understood how he had been ensnared with the very same wealth people mocked him for. What it meant when his parents demanded Steve drop everything and go on vacation, his own plans be damned. 

They knew, because their families had done much the same, and so the lives they led also were tethered to leashes made of their parents' design. 

Dustin, whose mother bent over backwards to try and better her kid’s life, didn’t even have a frame of reference for this kind of thing, let alone sympathy. 

"Do they not understand you have a job?" Dustin asked incredulously, and Steve didn't have the emotional bandwidth to explain that his parents didn't consider working at Family Video to be a real job. 

As far as they were concerned, Steve could quit if he had to, and then go find another job when they were done using him to play the nice, All-American family. 

Likely for business purposes.

"They aren't the type to care." Steve said instead. 

It was easier than getting into it.

(Easier than explaining the BMW wasn't in his name, but his parents. 

How his money went into a bank account they had access to. 

That practically everything he owned was actually owned by Richard and Stella Harrington, and both were quick to remind him of that fact the second they felt Steve was acting out of line. 

And boy, had he been acting out of line. 

 Getting into fights. 

Turning their punishment of working a job they picked specifically for the humiliating outfit, into the far worse public embarrassment of being involved in a mall fire--an embarrassment because Steve had "lost" the keys to the BMW, had "put himself in danger" playing hero instead of letting the perfectly capable firefighters do it, then “paraded around” with bruises all over his face, racking up medical bills. 

Truly a sin for someone who hadn’t made it into college.) 

So no, this vacation they demanded Steve drop everything for  was not anything close to a reward, or even something they were doing to spend time together. There was a reason they needed Steve, and as far as they were concerned, Steve was at their beck and call until he shaped up and got his life back on track. 

His own plans be damned. 

"That's not fair though!" Dustin burst out and Steve sighed in relief, because here at least, he knew what to do to distract his younger friend.

 “We planned our trip months ago!” Dustin continued, looking two seconds away from giving in and stomping his foot. 

The kid might have been smarter than Steve--smarter than most people really--by a hell of a lot, but he was still fourteen. 

Smarts, Steve knew, didn't exactly equate to emotional intelligence, and it definitely didn't stop rampaging hormones.

Ice cream on the other hand, was a great aid in both areas. 

"You better be making this up to us." Dustin threatened thirty minutes later, spoon wedged deep into a sundae. “We can’t do, like, half the stuff we were going to do without you!” 

“I'm sure you guys didn’t need me to play ghost runners or whatever.” Steve said, but was quick to back down when Dustin nearly threw his spoon at him. 

Rather than antagonizing him more, Steve dutifully raised his hand to put over his heart. "I swear on your mom that I’ll make it up to you.”  

Dustin rolled his eyes, but otherwise, finally, let the whole thing go. 

Stupidly, Steve thought this meant the worst was over.

He was wrong. 

xXx 

Mike hadn’t cared. 

El and Will hadn’t really either, though both expressed some sadness that Steve wouldn’t be participating in the camping trip that the Party as a whole had been looking forward to for the past few months. 

Erica had simply snapped at him, making him promise much the same as Dustin had that he would be making it up to her sometime in the future. Likewise, she had been bought off by ice cream (even if she insisted it didn’t count because Steve owed her ice cream anyways.) 

Max was the surprising emotional standout. 

"You can't tell them no?" She demanded, arms crossed over her chest. 

Lucas was hovering awkwardly at her shoulder, shooting "what can you do?" vibes as hard as he could at Steve as his (currently on-again) girlfriend outright dressed the elder boy down; her shoulders creeping up higher and higher until she seemed to realize she was visually giving away her upset and forcibly relaxed them. 

Unlike Dustin and Erica, her tirade was very out of character and Steve was growing more concerned by the second that something was wrong the more she spat at him. 

“I mean for fucks sake, didn’t you tell them you had plans!?” She finished, eyes narrowed in rage. 

Which was rich coming from someone whose stepdad had Billy Hargrove running all over town before he’d run off after the guy’s death, but then, Steve knew better than to bring all that up.

(The image of Max, unresponsive in the hospital with casts on almost every limb, was still too fresh. 

Even now he didn’t like to push her, even if the Party as a whole did their best to take notice when one of them was isolating themselves again. 

Max, though she was down to one crutch, was still inclined to use it as a weapon and very much enjoyed practicing her swings on people’s ankles.) 

“I did indeed. They don’t care and they’re not giving me a choice, but for what it’s worth I am sorry.” Steve tried to keep his voice even and out of angry-shrieking range, and vaguely prayed it was working. “I swear, I will make it up to you guys, even if we have to go on a second camping trip.” 

This was clearly not the correct thing to say.

Though judging by the murderous rage being aimed his way, Steve was pretty sure nothing short of “You know what you’re right, let me go tell my parents to fuck off!” would make Max happy. 

“So you’re seriously just going to drop everything, all our plans, your job, us,” She took a very threatening step forward and despite her being a full foot shorter than him, Steve had to fight not to take a responding step back. “So you can go play rich boy in the Bahamas?” 

“We’re not going to the Bahamas--” Steve tried, but was interrupted with a loud “ugh!” of disapproval. 

“Whatever makes you happy, Steven.” Max spat, and then turned on her heel, storming off towards the rest of the Party (who had taken one look at Max’s face and fled into the arcade so she and Steve could “talk.”) “I’m sorry us peasants weren’t good enough to hang around!”  

“Sorry man.” Lucas apologized quietly, on his way to run after Max. 

Steve just scrubbed a hand through his hair and sighed. 

xXx 

“The kids are mad at you.” Nancy announced, appearing across the Family Video counter like a phantom. 

Steve swore, nearly dropping his stack of VHS’s, while Robin (who had clearly seen Nancy approach) cackled at his fumble. 

“Yeah, I did get that memo.” Steve said, after he stabilized his stack, safely moving them from his arms to the counter. 

Nancy peered around them, her face giving away nothing. “It is kind of shitty to cancel at the last minute like that. We were relying on you to drive.”

An old fury shook itself awake in Steve’s chest, taking an interest in the conversation the second Steve realized what Nancy was here to do. 

He took a deep, shuddering breath, and pressed it down, back into the box he’d slammed it in all those years ago. 

“I’d leave the keys to Robin here, but unfortunately, someone failed their drivers test.” Steve said instead, jamming his finger over his shoulder and blatantly attempting to pass the buck. 

Robin, who absolutely knew that was what he was doing, faked a gasp and kicked at his ankles. 

“That crotchety asshole failed me on purpose!” She protested, spinning to face Nancy. “He made like, three misogynistic comments before we even got in the car!” 

“Pointing out that he knew the car wasn’t yours wasn’t misogynistic, he was just surprised to see me letting you use the Beemer.” Steve shot back, rolling his eyes. “I don’t exactly let a lot of people drive it.” 

Unspoken was that Steve’s BMW was one of the town’s more unique cars, and thus easily identifiable by the locals at large. 

“How is that better!?” Robin returned, but Nancy cleared her throat before they could successfully get the Steve-and-Robin show on the road. 

“The point is that we--but really, the kids, were counting on you.” Nancy said, dipping into her patented “I’m upset with you” tone. 

A year ago it would have cut Steve to the bone, even if he didn’t show it. 

Now he just stared tiredly at her back. 

“I’m sorry, Nance, but it is what it is.” He said simply, hoping the apology (even if he knew it wasn’t so much a real apology as it was something he said to keep the rage from breaking out and wrecking havoc via his mouth) would soften his ex. “I don’t know what else to tell you.”

Given the abrupt narrowing of her eyes, it very much did not help his case. 

“For someone who was so vocal about trying to change I have to say this is pretty disappointing.” Nancy said simply, but with just enough of a tone that Steve had to close his eyes for a second. 

Feel the way that old anger, the one that had powered King Steve, hit the bars of its cage.

Robin stilled immediately next to him, her head ping-ponging between Steve and Nancy both as she too, clocked that Nancy was pissed, and here to chew Steve out about it. 

“Um.” She said, voice going high in discomfort. 

Steve grit his teeth. “I don’t exactly get a say in these things, Nancy. You know that.” 

He had to work to keep his voice even, fighting against the ice that wanted to sharpen his own tone. 

It was just---Nancy did know. 

Steve had told her all those years ago, in the safety of her arms, about his parents' expectations. Their predetermined path, the way they dictated large swathes of his life. 

How they’d allowed him to pick which sports he played, but required that he play a sport no matter the time of year. 

That the pool they had installed wasn’t for him, he just got to use it as much as he did in part because he’d joined the swim team, and the kind of mental mind games he and his parents played about things like that. 

Apparently either Nancy had forgotten, or simply hadn’t taken it in to begin with because she wasn’t backing down. 

(Not that Steve had ever seen Nancy Wheeler back down.) 

“I know you have trouble juggling your parents' plans with your own.” Nancy said, and her tone was absolutely icy now. “I certainly remember waiting for a date that never happened.” 

Steve sucked in a breath through his teeth, knowing immediately what Nancy was referring to. 

“I told you they came home unexpectedly.” He said, arms now crossed against his chest, nails digging into his arms as a way to help himself stay grounded. “They wouldn’t let me use the phone until the next day and I apologized.”

“And I recall having a lovely conversation with your mother where she said otherwise.” Nancy said, her words punctuated by another high pitched “Uhhhh.” from Robin. 

“Funny how you believe my mom over me.” Steve said and whoops, yup, he definitely sounded mad now. 

So much for all the effort he’d put in to staying calm. 

“Because I look at actions, Steve. Patterns. The same ones you kept repeating.” Nancy was clearly about to escalate, and Robin, bless her, had had enough. 

“He-eeey.” She said, wedging herself in between Steve and the counter Nancy was starting to lean over. “I totally get it, you’re both upset, but this maybe isn’t the venue to fight about it? There are customers in the store and--sorry Nancy--but I do kinda need Steve for work, so…” 

She trailed off, glancing nervously between the two of them. 

Nancy took a breath, blasting it out of her mouth like an academically inclined dragon. “You’re right. I’m sorry Robin.”

She then turned on her heel, making her way to the doors. She paused before them, and Steve prepared himself because he knew whatever she was going to say next, it was going to hurt. 

“I wouldn’t care if it was just me, Steve, but the kids don’t deserve you pulling this shit. Not after all they’ve been through.” With that, Nancy pushed through the door, head held high as she stormed to her car. 

As was typical for Nancy’s aim, she scored a direct hit. 

Steve, somehow, resisted throwing things. 

“Can you believe her!?” He said, the second the doors were closed and Nancy safely out of eyeshot. “Coming in here like that!?” 

He ran his hand through his hair, once, twice. 

A third time for good measure. 

“Yeah, that was seriously public for her.” Robin agreed, sliding up next to him. “Like really public.” 

Steve shrugged, because well. Not really. 

Not anymore. 

But Robin didn’t know that, just like Robin wasn’t entirely familiar with the depths Steve’s parents went to save face. They hadn’t exactly had time to really dig into it all, given how fast the Vecna situation had hit after Starcourt and the sheer PTSD both incidents had caused. 

Most nights they spent together was spent trying to avoid reliving nightmares, not discussing ones they were currently still living in. 

A fact that Steve was more than happy to bring her up to speed on, but to do so involved a lot of backstory, and backstory involved Nancy, and God, he was fucking pissed at Nancy. 

Soon it was an hour into his rant and he hadn’t actually gotten around to the sheer level of shit his parents would pull, too busy with Nancy and old echoes of ‘bullshit.’ 

 He only stopped when Robin put a hand on his shoulder, shaking him ever so slightly. 

“Dingus. You know I love you, and I know you’ve changed, but you do gotta admit, canceling at the last minute is kinda shitty and I get why they’re upset.” 

It was like the carpet had been pulled right out from under Steve, yanked so quickly he’d have to pinwheel to keep his feet. 

“What?” He said, eyes round in sheer surprise. 

“I just mean like, I get your parents are dicks but,” Robin’s face screwed up, looking like she’d sucked a lemon. It was her “I’m going to say something you don’t like face” and it hit Steve like a punch to the gut. 

“Our shift’s almost over and no offense, you’ve started to repeat yourself about Nance, and I get it! I do, memory shit is hard!” Robin’s hands moved as she talked, her bracelets jingling as if punctuating her point. 

“But I also think admitting you double booked yourself on accident and just taking responsibility for it would help smooth things over. Middle ground, you know?” Robin waggled her hands in a gesture that, for the first time in a long time, Steve didn’t understand. 

He found himself suddenly struggling to breathe. 

“Are you--are you saying you think I didn’t tell them I had a trip already planned?” 

Steve wasn’t sure how he managed to get it out. Wasn’t sure how he was doing anything, given the heat that was shooting through him, a hot mix of confusion and betrayal as Robin fidgeted to his left. 

“No! Okay well,” The lemon face got worse for a second. “I’m just saying you did kinda forget to pick me up that one time, and you do kinda blame your parents when stuff like that happens.” She bit a nail, peering at him out of the corner of her eyes.  

“I don’t--” Steve said, completely knocked adrift. “I…”

Robin didn’t believe him.

His Robin. 

Who wasn’t--wasn’t exactly siding with Nancy, but wasn’t saying she was wrong either, or that she understood that this shit was out of his control, and in fact, was kind of implying that Nancy was right more so than Steve was and---and--

There was a ringing in Steve’s ears he wasn’t sure actually existed. 

“I’m sure a lot of it is your brain injury. The doctors said your short term memory can take a while to fully come back and I totally get why you don’t wanna say that, I just, I think it would be better if--Steve?” Robin jumped back as Steve finally found his footing, swiping his jacket and punching out before she could catch how badly his hands were shaking. 

“I’m leaving.” Steve told her, his own words a million miles away, entirely uncaring if Keith fired him. 

Keith was likely going to fire him anyway, given Steve was about to ask for a week-long vacation not even four months after the whole Vecna ordeal. 

“Wait, Steve, hey--Dingus! I wasn’t done, I mean, I had more to say I, dammit Steve--!” Robin called after him frantically as Steve bolted for the door. 

Steve ignored her, aiming for the Beemer and swinging himself numbly into the driver's seat when he got it open. 

Put the car in park and avoided Robin’s face entirely as he backed it out, punching the gas far harder than he needed to. 

The Beemer roared in response, nose rising as it shot forward. 

Robin was his best friend. His fucking--platonic soulmate, as she kept calling him. The very idea that she agreed with Nancy in general was a blow but in this?

Against his parents? 

Nausea rolled angrily in Steve’s stomach, matching the sudden wetness that coated his eyes. 

Angry and needing an outlet, Steve stomped hard on the gas, taking the next corner far too sharp and making the beemer fishtail, tires squealing . 

He didn’t know where he was going.

He figured he’d find out when he got there. 

xXx 

Given what Steve knew about the universe at large, (nevermind Hawkins) it probably wasn’t the smartest thing to hang around the Quarry at night.

But then, summer was in full swing. Kids were home from college and itching to find a place to party without parental overhead. 

Deep to the left side of the water, around a few bends and tucked oh so neatly out of sight, was a place where one could do just that. 

Party.

This stretch had long been claimed by the college kids of Hawkins, and guarded zealously for it. 

With the sheer number of drunk people whooping and hollering around the bonfires below the ridge where everyone parked their cars, Steve figured he was safe enough. 

Even if he was up with said cars, sitting alone. 

Not like it mattered. If a demodog or demogorgan or demo-fucking-dragon decided to come along, Steve had half a mind to just let it have him. 

It felt easier than trying to fix the current mess his life was in. 

So he sat up here, blowing through the alcohol he’d purchased from the one gas station that never carded, drinking his problems away. 

(That also wasn’t the best course of action but with his parents home to spring the whole “vacation” ordeal on him, it wasn’t like Steve had a choice.) 

He hadn’t grabbed a lot--had been so damn upset and struggling to hide it that he’d picked up a four pack of wine coolers instead of the intended beer he’d wanted. It was all he had though, and so he chugged the last bottle with a wince and wished he was a hell of a lot drunker than he felt.

Then promptly caught sight of the person walking towards him, and wondered vaguely if he was drunker than he felt. 

Of all the people to come and offer him a can of beer, Steve would have never expected Tommy Hagan. 

He eyed it and his old friend both, before slowly reaching out and taking the can. 

“Heard you and your parents are doing CoHo this year.” Tommy said casually, leaning up against the front of the Beemer like it was old times. 

“Yup.” Steve replied, drawing the word out. 

“Angie Tideman’s parents are going, they’re bringing her ith .” Tommy said it casually, and had the good graces not to grin when Steve audibly groaned.

“Oh god.”

Tommy sucked on a lip, nodding absently. “Yeah.” 

Then; “It gets worse.” 

Steve, who now knew what this conversation was about, instantly began tearing into the beer can. “How can it get worse? You know what Angie’s like.”

Angie, whose full name was Angelina, lived a few towns over. Born to wealthy parents who doted on their beloved only child, Angie had more in common with your average shark than she did her fellow humans. 

A comparison that, frankly, was unkind to sharks.

She was without a doubt the most selfish person Steve had ever had the misfortune of encountering, and the mere idea of being trapped in a room with her made his skin crawl. 

Their parents were business buddies though, and god forbid he ever insult a business buddies kid, 

“She goes to Purdue, you know, with me and Carol.” Tommy said, instead of answering directly. “We cross paths a lot, party wise.” 

Steve stayed silent. 

Knew how Tommy talked, how his stories meandered. Especially the juicy ones. 

“She’s been talking a lot recently. Given you don’t look all that informed, I’m gonna assume the one person she hasn’t talked to is you.” 

Steve gripped the can of beer, a sudden, sick fear blooming in his gut. 

“Tommy.” He said mildly, not loud enough to really interrupt, but with enough force to let his former friend know to get to the point, now. 

“Got all super fancy right before we left for summer break. Hair done, whole new wardrobe, nails, you know.” Tommy waggled his fingers playfully, but dropped them when Steve just stared. “Went full whore on us. I swear she was making out with any guy who even looked at her--” 

“Tommy.” He repeated, this time a hell of a lot firmer. 

Done pushing, Tommy let go of the proverbial bombshell. “Apparently you’re planning on proposing to her this summer. She’s gonna return next year as an engaged woman, with you in tow, because apparently, you got into Purdue. Congrats by the way.” 

Tommy clapped him on the shoulder, right as Steve’s mouth went dry. 

For the second time that day, he found himself fighting the burning heat of embarrassment and fury as it rolled through him. 

“I’m proposing.” Steve said, as if saying it out loud would scare the very idea away. “To Angie.” 

“Yeah we kinda figured you didn’t know.” Tommy said with a snide little grin. To the average outsider it was mocking, but Steve knew better.

Tommy was uncomfortable, because Tommy had understood what Steve’s parents had done. 

“What I’d like to know is just how much Angie’s parents paid to get you into Purdue. That’s gotta be a minimum fifty thousand dollar donation at least.” Tommy removed his hand, to instead lean his shoulder against Steve’s. Like this was the old times, before they’d fought. “ I didn’t think they had that kind of money to throw around.”  

A past conversation with his father struck Steve, running through the front of his mind like a bad horror movie. 

“They sold the estate.” Steve said vacantly, the implications not quite hitting. “The one they’ve been trying to get rid of forever, over in Cape Cod.” 

“Oh shit.” Tommy said, blinking as he too, recalled what was likely his father telling him the very same news. 

“They sold the place on Cape Cod, and they used part of the funds to fucking buy me like a toy.” And yeah, saying it out loud, it definitely sounded bad. “I didn’t think Angie even liked me.”

“Does Angie like anyone?” Tommy asked, incredulously, but nudged Steve’s shoulder again when his joke didn’t net him the laugh he wanted.. “I mean, you had to know your old man had plans to straighten you out. He keeps getting mad at my dad, because the ass won't stop making jokes that I’m going to take over the company instead of you.” 

“And this is it. Attaching me to Angie.” Steve said vacantly. “Because they know if I get married…” 

He’d put his wife first. His family, first. 

The one he’d wanted, dreamed of, since he first realized he didn’t have one. 

He’d been playing checkers the entire time, too busy fighting fucking monsters and Russians to realize his parents had upgraded to chess. 

In a dizzying array of mental connect-the-dots, Steve replayed the last years worth of conversations. All the odd little things they’d said. All the dumb things Steve had just ignored. 

 They’d warned him. 

Had told him he better shape up, or they’d be forced to do something drastic. 

That his parents hadn’t wasted all this time, effort, money on him, for him to throw away his life like he was. 

“You better start acting right and figuring out how to get your life back on track, because you won’t like what happens if I have to fix it for you. You get a month Steven, and after that? Well. Just remember you forced my hand, Steven.” 

They knew. They knew him, and what made him tick.

“I think the real question is what Angie’s parents see in you.” Tommy teased, but then they both knew the answer to that puzzle. 

For all that Steve’s mom complained about her husband, the guy was a shrewd and calculating businessman. Those weekends, then weekdays, then more and more time away hadn’t just been so he could go screw his secretary. 

Richard Harrington had fast tracked his business to the point where it was now getting attention. The business journal, ‘Top 50 Companies to Watch’ kind. 

Even if Steve fucked up entirely, he was set to inherit a fortune and a business that would continue adding to it, for some time to come. 

Provided he did what his parents wanted.

Such as marrying Angie. 

Thing was, if his parents did what they always did, and held their wealth (his car, his home, his life and all the little things in it) against him like a gun to his head, if Angie got that ring around her finger? 

 Steve would bow to their whims. 

 Because they could fluster him into proposing so he didn’t embarrass Angie, and her parents and anyone else who’d undoubtedly be watching. They’d make a spectacle of it. 

Because once he did propose, they wouldn’t let him back out, burying him under guilt trips and veiled threats until he was marched down the aisle in a groomsman suite and told to stand. 

Because against all common sense, Steve wanted a family who loved him so desperately he’d chase it like a dog if he was presented with the opportunity and told to make it work. 

It didn’t matter that Angie was selfish. 

Steve would try anyway. 

His parents were maneuvering him as easily as they had back when he was a kid, using love as a tool to get him to do what they wanted and even seeing the nose hanging from the rafters, they knew just the right words to get him to place it around his neck. 

“Thought you’d wanna know.” Tommy finished, pushing himself off Steve’s car. “Before your parents sprung it on you.” 

“Sonofabitch.” Steve hissed angrily, a million thoughts racing through his head, the heat of being caught in a trap blasting down his spine. 

“Yeah.” Tommy added, rather unhelpfully. “But hey, given that you’re about to go on vacation to propose, why don’t we consider this,” here Tommy swept his hand, gesturing to the party below, “your proposal party?” 

It was a downright horrible idea.

But then, Steve didn’t exactly have a better one. 

Not  when the world itself seemed against him, grinding its heel into his back and laughing about it. 

He knew the drill. If he went down there, arm in arm with Tommy, then it wouldn’t matter that half those kids were from a few towns over, driven in by new college buddies.  

They’d see him as a reason to get wild, absolutely uncaring that they didn’t know who the hell he was. 

Steve needed that.

People who weren’t mad at him, buying into the easy lies his parents wove, or who didn't understand the games played against him. 

“Fuck it.” He announced, standing up from the hood of his car as Tommy’s grin morphed into something he used to see in the days of old, back when they were sneaking drinks from their parents' alcohol cabinets. “This way at least I get a party.”

Not like his parents were going to let him have an engagement party. Or a bachelor party, or likely let his ass back into Hawkins. 

No matter how long the engagement. 

Tommy cheered, raising his arms to the sky and Steve grinned wildly with him. 

He’d figure out how to get out of all this later--but for now, he wanted just a few damn hours where he didn’t have to think. 

Not about his parents, or Angie, or possible attempts to force him into marriage, like this was the yee olden days and Steve was a Victorian maiden who needed to be brought to heel. 

Likewise he didn’t want to think about the Party, or Russian torture, or how Nancy could be so damn smart in some things and downright stupid in others. 

He absolutely didn't want to think about Robin. 

“Hey boys and girls, look who I drug up!” Tommy yelled as they approached and soon, word had spread.

This was Steve’s proposal party, and he was here to get absolutely smashed (while encouraging everyone else to do the exact same, in his honor.) 

Which would be how Eddie found him a few hours later.

Still at the quarry, crossfaded off his ass, a forty in one hand and a lawn dart in the other. 

“Are you kidding me, Steve?” Eddie grit out, desperately trying to wrestle the lawn dart out of his hand. “You’re fucking partying with Tommy Hagan!?” 

Steve blinked at him a few times, finally catching on that Eddie was in fact, actually there. 

“When did you show up?” He asked, though given the wince on Eddie’s face and just how hard it had been to move his lips, Steve correctly assumed he’d slurred the shit out of the question. 

Somehow, Eddie understood him anyway. 

“Robin called me a while ago, gave me a list of places you might be. Almost skipped this one until I stepped out of my van to take a piss and heard the party.” Eddie explained, and somehow while doing so, he’d successfully gotten a hold of the dart. 

He was now working on removing the 40 ounce. 

Steve frowned, using his newly freed hand to grip it closer to his chest. 

“Harrington.” Eddie warned, and oh, wow, they were back to last names huh?

Well why not, it wasn't like his night could get worse. 

“This is mine, Munson.” Steve fired back, putting as much vitriol into Eddie’s last name as he could.

This did not detour the metalhead. 

“Come on man, give me the bottle.” Eddie said firmly. 

Steve shook his head stubbornly, enjoying the way his hair whipped at his face. “No.”

Another man stumbled over, a guy Steve absolutely did not know. He frowned, looking between Eddie and Steve. 

For two seconds, Steve thought they might have trouble, and given the way Eddie was tensing, he clearly thought so too. 

Instead, New Guy just kind of rocked on his heels. “Hey, shove off it, buddy. It’s this guy's bachelor party, let the man drink!” 

Eddie’s face did something complicated then, pulling the sort of expressive looks only he could manage.

It was both adorable and hilarious, and if Steve hadn’t just been reminded of the very reason he was drinking, he’d have told Eddie so. 

“Yeah!” He said instead, raising his hand in the air, toasting his bottle of forty against the other guy’s red solo cup. “It’s my proposalengagmentbachelor party!” 

Given the second, adorable-slash-hilarious look on Eddie’s face, Steve assumed those words hadn’t come out right either. 

“Okay.” Eddie said hands on his hips in a stance Steve was pretty sure Eddie had gotten from him. “Here’s what's going to happen. You’re going to put the bottle away. Then you’re going to give me your car keys, and then the two of us are going to my house to sleep whatever is happening here, off.” 

At least, that's what Steve thought he heard. It was a pretty un-Eddie like speech, and Steve maybe, might have been the one to say it, because he maybe, might have been mocking what Eddie had actually said.

Maybe.

It was hard to know, given that Steve’s thoughts were a thick soup on a bit of a time delay, and he was having a hard time figuring up from down, let alone what Eddie had been actually saying. 

Speaking of; 

 “When did I get into your car?” Steve asked, blinking as the van’s passenger seat appeared before him.

“Just now.” Eddie said, helping him in.

“Huh.” Said Steve, and then he maybe passed out a bit, because once again, he found himself awake and alert at a place that wasn’t where he’d just been. 

“Come on.” Eddie said gently, one of Steve’s arms over his shoulder as Steve leaned heavily into him, guiding the jock up the stairs and into the small house he and Wayne now called a home. 

The guy might have muttered a few things about bachelor parties along the way, but Steve was too focused on walking straight to really take notice. 

Part Two

[caradmelly]

One Piece chapter 1100 Spoilers //

No, because imagine being a pirate at the time. You hear news about this Tyrant King Kuma. The man who single handedly overthrew a rightful king to take Sorbet Kingdom for himself. When the king came back with reinforcements from the World Government, the tyrant took them all down at once.

Then he joined the Revolutionary Army whose goal is to overthrow the world powers in their entirety; something only those who are exceptionally strong (or stupid) would even think of attempting.

Not only that, but you then learn he had joined forces with the World Government to become one of the Warlords of the Sea. Placing him among the ranks of the worlds strongest swordsman, a man who went toe to toe with Kaido, and the king of Dressrosa.

Safe to say you were be terrified of this man and his power and bloodlust.

//

You are now sailing the seas with your startup pirate crew, you are nothing special, just a run of the mill band of adventurers. You don’t think that you are ready to face the perils of the Grand Line, so you stay back in your home of the East Blue- After all, it is called the safest sea.

Your crew is drinking sake and partying, enjoying your life of freedom, when your lookout cries that a ship is approaching.

Sure enough, you cast your eyes to the horizon and a ship draws ever closer. Your heart skips a beat as you read the name “Kuma” on the mainsail.

Kuma, the violent and tyrannical King, the Revolutionary, the Warlord. He is in the East Blue approaching your ship. Your crew mere ants when compared to his sheer strength and notoriety.

But wait… is that… a child’s drawing as the Jolly Roger? Not the most intimidating of signs to send out to your adversaries. Perhaps it is a different Kuma, no way the monster you read about would waste his time on some no-name pirate crew in the East Blue. Right?

You grab a spyglass and peer onto the ship. Sure enough, the tyrant is standing there. There are no emotions on his face as the ship draws nearer and nearer.

Your crew prepares the canons, something you know will be futile. No warlord could be taken down that easily. But, it seems that Kuma’s ship is not preparing to attack. Perhaps, through some stroke of luck, he decided that it is not even worth the waste of resources to attack you. That must be it.

Soon your ships are mere years from one another, the Tyrant stares you down, he can tell you are the captain from his years of killing and pillaging from other crews no doubt.

You prepare to grab your sword, not that it would do anything against the man who took down a whole kingdom.

Before you can react, the tyrant is on your ship. Towering above you, he is holding a book but does not appear to have any weapons. Is he mocking you? Does he really think he can take down your whole crew with his bare hands?

He open the book and in an uncharacteristically gentle voice asks you how much of the East Blue you have traveled.

You are taken aback, but not one to pass up the chance to impress a Warlord stutter out: “Well… we have been all around here, we basically run this sea.”

The tyrant pauses, thinking. Then he breaks into the biggest smile you have ever seen, and not just because of his size. “Perfect!” he bellows “Then you must tell me, what are the best places to visit?”

You stand there, stupefied, one of the most dangerous men in the world, asking you for tourist destinations. Fearing what might happen if you don’t, you list off the islands you have visited, even mentioning a floating restaurant you encountered some months ago.

The Tyrant furiously writes this all down in his book, as though his life depended on it.

He thanks you profusely and as quickly as he had appeared, he warps back to his own ship. A few moments pass and then two barrels of sake appear where he once stood.

“For your troubles!” Booms the voice that would have given you a heart attack at any point before today (although your heart still does skip a beat).

The ships sails off and disappears over the horizon. Your crew is silent, absorbing what had just been the most terrifying and confusing 10 minutes of any of your lives.

The silence is only broken when the musician of the ship starts to play a familiar tune. Before long, the entire crew is back to partying, having survived an encounter with the Tyrant King Kuma.

One Piece 1100 // Kuma's Jolly Roger

[my2phetaliaheadcanons]

How would Yandere! 2p! america, england, italy, romano and austria react to learning that their is to marry another nation because of an alliance?

My rules are set to four nations, but since I had the week off I was able to make an exception."I’m sorry, but I’ve been promised to another."

Those eight words shouldn’t have been shocking. They shouldn’t have cut his heart the way they did. Yet, he couldn't be surprised. She was beautiful. And a marriage alliance would cement it better than just a piece of paper.

Yet, his mind couldn’t process it. She was MEANT for HIM! No one was supposed to get between their love.

Maybe it was time the bosses listened to him.

America: Allen stormed through the beige halls of the White House like an angry bull. His harsh breathing coming out in nearly visible puffs.

His quick pace led him to the soft cream door in the corner of the hall. Allen reached out and gripped the silver doorknob with enough force to cause it to warp.

The door opened with a harsh bang as it bounced back from hitting the wall. The presiding President’s head shot up from the paperwork in front of him. His face took on a nervous smile making his wrinkles more pronounced.

 The President’s voice shook as he greeted the angered 2p. Questioning him on his current emotional state and the reason for his visit.

Allen chuckled darkly and slammed his hands on the desk, “Well, Prez. My babydoll’s been promised to someone and it's NOT ME!”

If you hadn’t guessed it, Allen’s gonna rely on intimidation at first. Threatening his own boss to fix this issue. Once he has his own government under his thumb, Allen’s gonna force them to go after both his Doll’s and her fiancé’s governments.

His world power influence should help unless it’s another world power. At that point, Allen’s going to continue pressuring his doll’s government, but also look for ways to kill this soulmate stealer. Sure, it won’t stick because it's another nation but it's gonna get terrifying real fast.

Each death is going to get more violent and tortuous until Allen’s patience erupts. Once that happens, his next plan is entombment.

The entombment would be a simple process. Firstly, challenging his rival in love. Ensuring that they duel in a deserted area, yet one that Allen already prepared in advance.

If Allen is successful, his rival would fall into a rough, deep pit. Hopefully with a broken leg. While the nation curses his name, Allen will start to add cement. Burying his enemy alive.

After all, it's til death do they part.

England: Oliver sat in a beautiful office. Warm wooden furniture complimented the neutral color of the walls and floor. He relaxed into the white cotton couch, a cup of earl grey resting on his lap.

A gentle click from behind alerted Oliver that the owner of the office had finally arrived.

A gasp came from behind Oliver and a rasped masculine voice spoke. “Mr. England?! What are you doing here?”

Oliver’s mouth widened into a Cheshire smile and stood to face the older man behind him.

“Prime Minister, please take a seat. We have much to discuss.”

Oliver’s gift for manipulation would shine here. He would be direct with his boss about his concern for the match of his darling and that brute, but he would ensure that it did not seem personal. Rather Oliver would frame their union as a hazard to the United Kingdom. Claiming various criminal organizations were planning on using the union to create a force to act against them.

Each claim would be backed with fake evidence and testimonies. It would terrify his boss, leaving him wondering what could be done.

Almost gleefully, Oliver would answer that a union between the UK and her country would solve it all. Carefully clearing away all doubts.

This would leave Oliver with one more target. His rival.

The rivaling nation would suffer curses and monsters. Their screams of confusion and terror gave Oliver true delight. He would hope for these magical tools to drive his rival insane and their economy to trash.

None of it would let up, until Oliver was sure her hand was locked in his.

Italy: The tense atmosphere in the formal office felt like a whale resting on the old Italian man. His eyes were wide as he watched Luciano play with a simple silver switchblade.

“Signore Presidente, it seems my-a simple request hasn’t been-a fulfilled.”

The President swallowed thickly, “Wh-what-a do you mean Mr. Vargas? I have-a ensured that your requests had-a been fulfilled.” He flinched when Luciano’s glowing magenta eyes snapped to his. The clicking of the switchblade silenced.

“No signore.” Luciano’s voice was cold as he shook his head, seemingly disappointed in his boss. “The ONE I NEEDED-A MOST WAS NOT!”

Luciano has a gift for getting exactly what he wants. Usually using fear and the threat of neglecting his job to ensure that his wants are met. When his own boss would fail to fulfill his request, Luciano take matters into his own hands.

He would use his men to find all the necessary information on his rival and their government officials. Luciano has a file created containing blackmail sent to each person with a letter of demands to ensure the destruction of said secrets. If they are compliant, then Luciano ushers a simple punishment. Release of the blackmail and destroy a couple of things.

Disobedience to his simple list of demands will result in massive violence, the release of the blackmail, the creation of worse rumors, and the destruction of each potential marriage site.

If none of the previous methods work, Luciano will go after Tesoro, herself if all else fails. Pressuring her with promises of hellfire and death. Telling her that it would all end if she just gave in.

Romano: Hums of the Wedding March filled the white studio, along with many colorful outfits. Some were finished while others hung half done on the life-like mannequin.

Fabrizio moved around one mannequin. This one was headless, covered in pearlescent lace, with a solid white chiffon base. He stepped back; a single sewing needle stuck between his lips. A look of concentration stuck on his face.

The ringing of his black and silver rotary phone broke his train of thought. Fabrizio reached it in a few steps and held the refurbished phone to his ear.

“Pronto?”

“Mr. Vargas, this is Signore Presidente. I was informed by my-a secretary that we-a needed to speak.”

Fabrizio responded with a soft ah as his face twisted into a sneer. “Si, we’ve needed to-a speak. It seems that mia bambola has been taken by someone unworthy.”

A gulp softly crackled through the speakers. “What-a would you like-a me to do?”

“Simple, get rid-a of the obstacles.”

“It-a won’t be that easy! There are-“

“I DON’T-A CARE! If you can’t secure her, then I’ll-a do it myself!”

Fabrizio would have struggled with the news from the get-go. Mainly because of the amount of time and money he’s spent on preparing for their wedding. He would refuse to let that go to waste.

So, first Fabrizio would call his boss. Leaving a vicious voicemail about how he failed as a boss and how his inability to act left him hurting.

Their conversation would be similar to the above snip. Ending with Fabrizio enraged and seething. He would give his boss until their wedding was finalized. If he could not deliver, then Fabrizio will go rogue.

Taking his men and interrupting the wedding. Appearing to steal the show at the dramatic “Does anyone object” part.

After spiriting away the bride, his men will destroy the venue. Leaving the happy day in ruins like his rival’s claim to his bambola will be.

Austria: The Austrian Parliament Building seemed to vibrate. No one noticed as they were used to the tingling that came from the floor. It wouldn’t be until one went into the basement that the officials would realize that it was music that rocked the building.

The music was played by Jonathan. His cords sang of his fury at his Queen being stolen. His voice carried his current thoughts and plans throughout the grey halls and bounced off the iron pipes.

All of it drowned out the footsteps of a professionally dressed woman stormed down the halls. Her face contorted into a mix of annoyance and rage.

Once the woman reached the singing Austrian Goblin King, she pulled the plug of his black amp. Finally silencing the practically keening man.

Realizing his thought process had been interrupted. Jonathan whipped his head toward his amp, briefly wondering if he had blown it out again. The short woman behind him was not what he expected but it was what he wanted.

Before he could utter a word, she yelled.

“Herr Edelstein! I understand that jou are upset about jour ‘Queen of die Nacht’, as jou zo elegantly put it. But zhat is no excuse for shaking the building!”

With a sly smile, Jonathan responded, “Frau Präsidentin. No true musician could keep zuch a deep pain to zhemselves. It iz ezpecially neczzary for me. Or vho knowz vhat kind of old habitz may resurface.”

The Präsidentin shivered. She remembered the stories he had recounted of his habits. They scared her beyond the point of nightmares, but all the way to therapy. It was even mandated that Jonathan would refrain from talking about such things, unless asked.

Frau Präsidentin shook her head to regain focus. “Look, Herr Edelstein. Vhat vould it take for jou to pleaze play zomevhere elze?”

Jonathan hummed and placed his hand to his chin. There was no real reason for him to appear lost in thought, for Jonathan had already made up his mind.

His carmine eyes gleamed darkly, “Bring me mine Queen and enzure that no one can take her. Not even her own government.”

As shown above, Jonathan would use his music to gain control of the situation. Writing ballads about his Queen, formulating his plans, and just expressing his emotions until his boss can’t stand it any longer.

Once she storms in, then he goes about his business. Explaining his wants in exchange for some piece of silence. The want for the sweet silence would cause his boss to contemplate, but not guarantee submission. That’s why, the second Jonathan is sure she is back in her office, he repeats the torture.

This could go on for weeks. Until he’s sure that she has begun working on challenging the marriage. Once the formal challenge is sent, Jonathan changes targets.

It is now time for the rival to suffer. Since it's not war, almost no one can stop him. Sure, the rival nation could take steps to ensure that Jonathan can not bother them, but he’s not gonna care.

He will break any local law until the rival’s boss intervenes. At this point, both his government and his rival’s would get together to discuss Jonathan’s behavior. If all goes to plan, Jonathan’s gonna find himself married by week’s end.

[ambssssssssss]

ao3 link

Kara soared high above the city she had called home for the last several years, just as she had done every morning since she first arrived in National City. Her first flights around the city had been thrilling, the adrenaline of using the abilities she had denied to herself for so long filling her being with the same sunlight that powered those special abilities. She had used the flights for an escape while she’d been in college, a way to remove herself from the pressure or fitting in and taking tests and trying to act human. It was all too much sometimes. Kara needed a moment to herself to just breathe in, to close her eyes and listen to the sound of the city she loved and pretend that she didn’t feel like there was something missing. 

As Kara got older, and her presence in National City was noticed more, the nature of her flights changed. No longer was flying over the city too high up for anyone to see an escape but rather a commitment. She couldn’t slip into dark jeans and a black hoodie to disappear against the night sky anymore, especially not after she saved that plane. Now she dons a blue suit and red cape and flies just high enough that the people below can see her and take comfort in the symbol she wore on her chest. Kara took these flights so that the city could be safe, could feel safe. 

It was a habit more than anything else to patrol the city now. When Supergirl had first arrived on the scene, it seemed like there was a new villain in the city every week and all of them had some kind of vendetta against Supergirl, or against her mother or father. Kara fought against them all, absorbed the words of hate that they spewed on her family name and tucked the anger and pain away until she was sure that no one could tell how much of those emotions she carried around with her. Then she stepped out of her Supergirl persona, slipped on a carefully constructed silver ring with a band of red on the inside, and went about her day as Kara Danvers, the longest-running assistant to Cat Grant ever and current reporter attempting to make her way in the world. 

Kara’s days were planned out almost to the minute. She woke up with the sun, basked in the glow of the golden lights for a moment to let her body absorb the strength of its rays, and then slipped her special ring on to go about her day. She arrived at CatCo just early enough to make people think she had to rush to get there on time, made her way into the daily content meetings with acting CEO of CatCo, and Kara’s ex, James and the various heads of departments. Around mid-morning, Kara would duck out of CatCo in the name of a coffee run or chasing down a lead to complete her daily morning patrol, and then she would go back to work and try to act like she didn’t miss the power she felt when she wasn’t wearing her ring. 

Kara’s ring was the first and only time she had applied her vast scientific knowledge to a project on earth. She had made it in the name of fitting in as a normal teenage girl, not an alien from a dead planet who was stronger than almost any other person on earth. The list of people who were stronger than Kara shrank just a little bit each time she was able to use her powers without restraint. The ring was made out of an aluminum alloy mixed with a very small amount of lead that was intended to keep Kal from looking too closely and seeing what the ring housed. 

The inside of the band was hollow to allow for an amount of material very carefully constructed to keep Kara appearing as a normal human without causing her any pain. To get the material, Kara had very carefully extracted the radiation from a sliver of kryptonite Jeremiah had stolen for her, and then separated the radiation generated from the piece of Krypton reacting to earth’s yellow sun from the residual solar energy of Rao that was left in the ore. Kara then tested the amount of red solar radiation she could withstand before she was left completely powerless. Inside the ring she had enough of this modified kryptonite to render her mostly human, unable to fly or use her freeze breath or heat vision, and leaving her as strong as the average gym goer. Most importantly, the modified kryptonite didn’t affect her senses so that Kara could still see, hear, or smell danger coming from far enough away that she could take her ring off in time to be prepared for whatever was coming. The substance only worked if it was pressed directly against her skin, which was why the underside of the ring was covered in it. After being on Earth for so long, as long as she spent a good amount of time each day without the ring on, her powers would return almost instantly. 

Kara’s life was...predictable. The most interesting thing she encountered most days, baring an alien induced apocalypse, was the increasingly awkward flirtatious encounters that Mike seemed to find her in. Mon-El, Mike now that he was mostly settled on Earth, had landed outside of National City in a Kryptonian pod three years ago. Kara had found his pod and taken him to the DEO, the secret government agency where Kara’s sister Alex and their friend J’onn worked. When Mon-El awoke a few days later, he was immediately enamored by Kara, but Kara never returned his feelings. 

Mon-El wasn’t very accepting when Kara informed him that her efforts to help him settle on Earth, getting him a job, teaching him to control his powers, and helping him find an apartment, were simply examples of Kara being friendly and not Kara expressing any sort of attraction to Mon-El. Part of his confusion stemmed from the fact that he was the Prince of Daxam and as such had never been rejected before in his life. Kara told herself that the rest of his confusion came from a misunderstanding of human dating practices. 

Kara might have been tempted to give him points for persistence if she believed that she was the only one Mon-El was pursuing, but Mike was well known as the office flirt. It wouldn’t have changed anything for Kara either way. Every encounter with Mike left Kara wishing that she had gotten him a job literally anywhere else in the city, maybe even in a different city all together. Their encounters were stifled and always lasted too long in Kara’s opinion. 

In everything that she did, Kara felt like she was simply drifting through her life. She wasn’t flying anymore, no direction to go in and no light in the distance for her to set her sights on. She simply hovered and let the motions of her life flow through her. 

The longer this went on, the harder it was for Kara to ignore that feeling that there was something missing. 

“Supergirl, we need you at the DEO.” J'onn voice sounded in the comms device Kara had in her ear. Kara pressed her finger to the device and replied in an affirmative before changing her course to take her to the DEO city base. 

“What’s going on?” Kara asked as she approached where J’onn and Kara’s best friend Winn were standing around the wide table in the center of what Kara had always thought of as the command center. She looked for the third member of the team who usually awaited Kara’s arrival there as well, but there was no sign of her sister. “Where’s Alex?”

A look passed between J’onn and Winn that immediately had Kara’s nerves standing on edge. 

“What happened?” Her voice was as strong as the steel that she was often credited as being made of. 

“Alex went on a reconnaissance mission late last night.” J’onn crossed his arms over his chest as he made eye contact with Kara. “She missed her 3 o’clock check in, and every check in since.” 

“Where is she?” 

“We last tracked her signal approaching a half mile away from the target of her mission,” Winn directed Kara’s attention to the map that was up on the monitors before them. Two markers were shining on the screen, one red and one green. Kara’s eyes narrowed as she looked at the map. 

“Kryptonite?” she asked. The green marker was rarely used to indicate anything else as most enemies were marked in black. “She was tracking a kryptonite signature.” 

“She was, which was why we didn’t call you before now,” J’onn supplied. “But I’m afraid there’s more.” 

“The signature came from the old Luthor Mansion 15 miles outside of the city.” Winn said regretfully. Kara felt her spine stiffen. 

“There aren’t any Luthors anymore.” 

Her voice was cold with regret and guilt and blame, both for herself and for Mon-El, at the reminder of the greatest loss Kara had suffered since coming to Earth. 

Three years ago, Lena Luthor had come to National City with the ambitious dream of turning her family name and company into a force for good. She felt like she had to make up for all the damage that her brother had caused in his one-man war against Superman. Kara had been drawn to her from the moment they met. Professional interviews had turned to casual cups of coffee, and then brunches, and then lunches that lasted so long they ended up having dinner as well. Then it was Lena on her couch at game nights and Lena in her kitchen in the mornings and Kara falling hard and fast for the woman that every thought was a monster simply because of her last name. 

Then it was the Daxamite invasion and Lena was the only reason that Mon-El survived the atmosphere irradiated with lead. Lena was the only reason that the city had survived that attack and she was the only person that Kara couldn’t save. 

In the chaos of the invasion and Kara’s fight against Superman and then Queen Rhea, Lillian Luthor had kidnapped Lena, again. Kara had searched high and low, checking every known Luthor property and even a few that she only knew about because she was Lena’s best friend. Kara searched for two years without finding even a hint of the Luthors until Lex showed up in National City. 

Kara had fought him off, driven by a desperate need to find Lena and save her because it had been two years but Kara’s hadn’t diminished in the slightest. Lex had mocked her, picked at her failure to save Lena before it was too late. Kara’s blood boiled at the realization that Lena was well and truly gone, somewhere that Kara couldn’t hope to bring her back from. The dead could only be mourned, not rescued. 

Kara had taken her anger out on Lex, his experimental powers no match for the force of Kara’s rage and regret. He didn’t stand a chance against her. Kara didn’t regret anything about that encounter, but she wished that it could have done something to bring Lena back to her. Six months ago, Kara had finally accepted the truth and stopped looking. 

“Alex, she wanted to clear it before she brought you in on this,” J’onn explained. “She wanted to have an answer for what was happening before she brought up the Luthors. With Lillian in jail, Lex gone, and Lena…” He trailed off as Kara looked away. “Her signal went out exactly half a mile from the Mansion and the kryptonite signature is gone.” 

“So, you think she found it but, what? Set off a boobytrap and got stuck?” Kara knew her tone wasn’t one that she should take with her boss but she didn’t really care at that moment. She’d apologize later. 

“We don’t know.” J’onn looked at the map again. “But we do know that you are the only one who ever had any real success against the Luthors. If something is going on there, you’re the only one who can stop it.” 

“I need to set up a cover with James,” Kara said, turning and striding towards the window to take off towards CatCo. “I’ll be back in half an hour, ready to go.” 

~

After establishing an alibi with James, narrowly avoiding another flirting attempt by Mike, Kara returned to the DEO. She double checked the coordinates for the Mansion and set off in the direction, intent on getting her sister back safe and sound. She’d already lost too much to the Luthors, she wouldn’t lose the other person who mattered most to her. 

Kara flew to the point where Alex’s signal had gone out and found only the empty driveway that led to the doors of the Mansion. She landed and pulled her day clothes on as she approached the house proper. Alex’s motorcycle was parked outside the front door, the black helmet hanging off the handle bars. Kara frowned at the sight. Alex clearly wasn’t expecting to find anything worthy of taking back to the DEO, otherwise she would have brought a car, but she had found something. There wasn’t any evidence of a fight where Alex’s signal dropped off the map and it looked like Alex had been able to walk into the Mansion perfectly unharmed. 

Curious, Kara pressed her finger to the comms device in her ear. She heard only static. 

Keeping her modified ring in her pocket so that she would go into the Mansion fully powered, Kara moved past her sister’s bike and stepped through the door. 

The inside of the Mansion was...cleaner than Kara was expecting it to be. This had been one of the first places Kara had checked in her search for Lena years ago and she clearly remembered that the Mansion had been covered in layer upon layer of dust and crime. The furniture had been covered in dirty white sheets and Kara’s feet had left a path through the grime on the floor. Now, the floor was so clean that Kara could see her reflection on the polished marble and the sheets draped over the furniture were a pristine, sharp white. 

Kara concentrated her hearing but she couldn’t hear anything around the Mansion at all. A quick scan with her x-ray vision showed that the walls were lined with lead. That was different than the last time Kara had been there. How had she been unaware of such a major renovation of a Luthor property this close to her home city? Shaking off the unnerving feeling that she was being watched, Kara continued further into the house. 

She checked all the rooms on the first floor and found no evidence of life in all but the kitchen. The kitchen was fully stocked and furnished with gleaming state of the art fixtures. Kara’s anxiety about this situation increased even more as she reached the top of the grand staircase and her ears picked up on a faint buzzing noise coming from down the hall. It was the soft hum of electricity overlapping with the louder hum of some kind of machinery. Kara followed the sound down the hall until she found a partially open doorway. 

After checking to see if she could see through the door - she couldn’t - Kara gently pushed the door just a little bit until it opened enough that she could see inside. 

“Alex!” Kara called out as she saw her sister laying on a cot  just inside the room. She looked unharmed, a quick scan over her revealing no cuts of broken bones. Her heart rate was normal, not shallow or elevated and she stirred as Kara called her name. 

“Kara?” Alex blinked sleepily and then sat up right, suddenly wide awake. “Kara, you can’t be here.” 

“Alex, c’mon, of course I was going to come for you,” Kara attempted to move closer to her sister and was barred from getting too close by a shimmering blue forcefield that Kara collided with. “What the hell?” 

“Kara, it’s-it’s too much to explain but I need you to trust me and go.” Alex stood up and placed her hand on the forcefield that separated them. “Please, Kara. Go.” 

“I’m not leaving you here, Alex. You’re a prisoner!” Kara attempted to push the forcefield but was forced back with surprisingly gentle pressure. 

“I’m not, really. She wouldn’t hurt me, Kara. And I know she doesn’t want to hurt you and that’s why you have to go.” 

“No, I’m not going anywhere without you!” 

“Kara-” Alex cut herself off and turned away like she was bracing herself for something awful a second before Kara felt the power of true kryptonite wash through her being, stronger than she had ever felt it before. 

The force of the radiation on her skin brought Kara to her knees and then further to the ground as she released a series of high pitched grunts and groans. She was dimly aware of Alex calling her name, apologizing for something, before her mind registered another sound. A voice that she hadn’t heard in almost three years but one that sent Kara’s heart racing in a way that had nothing to do with the pain wracking her body. 

“Hope, activate the cleansing protocol.” 

“Yes Miss Luthor.” 

There was a shimmer of blue tinted light around Kara and then she felt the warmth of artificial sun rays casted over her body but she ignored both in favor of lifting her head to find the source of that voice. When her eyes finally found their target, Kara was helpless against the tears that welled. 

“Lena…” Her name escaped Kara as barely more than an astonished whisper. Lena was standing on the other side of Kara, barely in the room past the doorway and yet Kara felt as if Lena was the only one in the room. “It’s really you?” 

“Hello, Kara,” Lena said and it was her voice, yes, but it was empty. There was no warmth in Lena’s eyes, no fondness in the way her lips formed Kara’s name. Lena’s face was carefully blank as she gazed at Kara, eyes roaming like she was trying to take in every inch of Kara at once. 

“Lena,” Kara repeated her name. There were so many things that she wanted to say, secrets that she had wanted to tell Lena three years ago but thought she would never get the chance to say, but still Kara hesitated. This was Lena, casual Lena that Kara only got to see once Lena had deemed her trustworthy enough. Lena with her hair down in its natural waves and wearing a cardigan and sweats rather than her work attire. Lena in socks instead of heals and with her natural pink lips on display. This was Kara’s favorite Lena. 

But this was also Lena with green veins running along her skin and glowing eyes that were so close and yet so far away from her natural color. 

This Lena was Kara’s kryptonite in every sense of the word. 

“Kara,” Alex called out, making Kara suddenly remember that it wasn’t just her and Lena in the room staring at one another in silence. Kara turned to her sister. She didn’t know what expression was on her face but it was one that seemed to cause Alex’s concern to rise. “Kara, I’m going to help her.” 

“Alex, she’s…” Kara couldn’t even begin to describe what she thought was happening with Lena. 

“I know, Kara, I know.” Alex looked at her sister with the same gentle understanding that she had two years ago, when Kara finally broke down and admitted that she had been in love with Lena and never told her. “But she’s going to be okay. We found her in time.” 

Kara didn’t like the implications of Alex’s statement and turned back to where Lena was still lingering in the doorway. 

“The kryptonite signature that the DEO picked up,” Kara said in a shaking voice. “That was you?” 

Lena nodded once, short and sharp like the movement hurt. “I’ve been trying to break through the dome Lex placed over me for months. I could only hold the breach for thirty seconds before it closed again.” 

“Lex, he used really advanced alien technology here.” Alex chimed in with a wide gesture at the dome that covered her and the one that covered Kara. 

“He didn’t want anyone finding me and he knew I wouldn’t leave like this,” Lena took a step back so she was standing in the doorway. Kara took an instinctive step forward like she was going to keep Lena from leaving. “Not when I would be hurting you just by being in the same room as you.”

“You could never hurt me, Lena.” Kara said certainly. Lena scoffed softly. 

“I think the kryptonite poisoning you just endured proves that I can,” Lena smiled sadly. “Even when I don’t want to.” 

“That isn’t your fault, Lena.” Kara tried to take another step forward but was thwarted by the dome around her. She put her hands against the surface and clenched her fists in frustration. “Please, Lena, take this down.” 

“I can’t, Kara,” Lena shook her head and took an involuntary step forward. Kara could see the same desire that she had, to take Lena in her arms and never let her go, reflected in Lena’s eyes. “I won’t hurt you like that. Lex has already killed me, I won’t let him do the same to you.” 

“You aren’t going to die from this.” Alex said fiercely. “We can figure out what Lex did to you.” 

“We don’t have enough time Alex,” Lena spoke sharply and then nearly doubled over as an intense coughing fit ripped through her lungs. “I called you here to say goodbye, not to save me.” 

“You should have known that I wouldn’t accept that,” Alex replied and then looked pointedly at Kara. “And neither would she.” 

“You are not going to die, Lena. I won’t let you.” 

“Kara, it’s only a matter of ti-” 

“No! No, I’m not losing you again, Lena.” The tears that had been building in Kara’s eyes since she set her sights on Lena again began to fall. Kara didn’t bother trying to wipe them away. “I’ve already lost you twice. When your mother took you and then again when Lex attacked National City and said that you were…” Kara swallowed harshly, unable to say the word. “I’m not doing that again. I won’t fail you again.” 

Silence reigned for a long moment after Kara’s proclamation. Tears still fell from Kara’s eyes but she refused to tear her gaze away from Lena. She was certain that for the first time in her life, Kara’s expression matched the brokenness she felt inside. She was sure that Alex was wearing that concerned older sister expression that she always wore when Kara revealed even a hint of the pain she carried, but Kara only cared for Lena’s expression. Lena who looked just as broken as Kara felt. 

“Kara, no, none of this is your fault.” Kara almost smiled at seeing that the first thing Lena chose to address was Kara’s very last statement. “There was no way you could have found me, Lex made sure of that. He was even crazier than he was before.” 

“I should have looked harder, searched more. I should have found you.” 

“You did find me,” Lena’s smile was watery. “I don’t have much time left, I know that, but I’m glad I got to spend some of it with you, even like this.” 

“I can help you, Lena,” Kara reached into her pocket and pulled out her power dampening ring. “I’ve removed the radiation from kryptonite before. I can do it again.” 

“What is that?” Lena asked, taking a hesitant step forward. Kara offered a reassuring smile. 

“Let me send it through the barrier and you can see for yourself.” Kara waited until Lena had nodded, moved a few paces back so she wasn’t entirely in the room, and then ordered Hope to drop the barrier for less than a second. The barrier was back up a moment later and Lena came into the room again to pick up the ring that Kara had slid in her direction. 

As she walked, Kara studied Lena’s movement. Every motion was followed by a concealed grimace. It was clear that every second Lena was upright was another second that she was in pain. Kara felt the anger and guilt swell within her to previously unreached levels. Anger at Lex for doing this to his sister and anger at herself for letting it happen, guilt that she hadn’t found Lena sooner. 

“Is this kryptonite?” Lena asked after a few moments of examining the ring. 

“It used to be,” Kara answered. “I needed something to help dampen my powers so I could blend in better.” That was another web to untangle, the fact that Lex had probably told Lena her secret, but they could deal with that after all this was over. “Jeremiah got some kryptonite for me to work with and I removed the radiation, leaving the ore raw. I used simulated red sunlight to replicate the power of Rao and played around with solar energy and radiation until I found a level that would dampen my powers but not remove them.” 

“I knew you were brilliant, Kara, but that is…” Lena trailed off. Despite the tenseness of the situation, Kara felt herself blush at the praise. “Amazing.” 

“I can remove the radiation from the kryptonite that’s in your veins,” Kara said confidently, forcing her voice not to shake. “From there, you should be able to flush the residue out with a blood transfusion.” 

“I’m afraid it won’t be that simple,” Lena said, fingering the ring in her hand like it was a precious item. “Lex didn’t just inject me with kryptonite, Kara. He injected something into my bone marrow. I don’t have kryptonite in my blood, my blood is kryptonite.” 

“Well, fuck.” Kara surprised everyone in the room, including herself, with the expletive. “Sorry, I just-” 

“No, fuck about sums it up,” Lena joked softly. 

“I can still help you,” Kara said after a moment. Lena offered her a smile that was almost as warm as the ones she used to send Kara’s direction on a daily basis. Kara ached at the thought. 

“It’s nice to see that your optimism hasn’t faded.” Kara had half a mind to tell Lena that it was stubbornness that was fueling her, not optimism. “But I’m not sure what you could do. I’ve done every test I can think of, and there’s been a lot of them, but nothing has worked. I’ve tried to neutralize the kryptonite with red sunlight, but that didn’t affect anything. I tried to flush it out with yellow sun light, and again nothing. I’ve taken every sample, and run every test, but nothing has worked.” 

“And you don’t metabolize things like Kryptonians, and even though kryptonite isn’t inherently deadly to humans, it is still radiation.” Alex picked up, obviously having heard Lena’s explanation before. “Too much of anything can hurt a human.” 

“This kryptonite blood that I’m producing, it’s flawed somehow. Lex’s formula didn’t rewrite all of the blood cells correctly. My working hypothesis is that the kryptonite he put in my bone marrow is basically acting like a fast growing cancer. I don’t have enough normal blood cells to fight it off.” 

“And the longer you’re exposed, the worse it gets.” 

“How long have you been like this?” Kara asked, halfway afraid of the answer. 

“A year.” Lena answered. Kara looked away from her, unable to stand the guilt that washed over her. That’s what Lex had meant, six months ago during their battle. When he said that Kara had been too late, he hadn’t meant that Lena was dead but that she was dying and there was nothing Kara could do to save her. “I don’t think I’ve got more than a month left.” 

“There has to be something we can do,” Alex was pacing furiously across her dome. For a moment, Kara wondered why Alex was in a protective dome as well but then she realized that Lena wouldn’t be willing to expose her kryptonite laced self to anyone who might come into contact with Kara. She had already said that that was the reason that she hadn’t attempted to leave the mansion. 

“There’s nothing. I can’t flush it out of my system with a little sunlight, Alex.” Lena’s tone was biting but her shoulders dropped immediately and Alex accepted her silent apology with a barely there nod. 

Lena was right. Her body was producing the kryptonite, not just fighting it off.  They couldn’t target the symptoms to get rid of it like an infection. Lena described it as a cancer and cancers had to be attacked at the source. But wouldn’t a Kryptonian cancer require a Kryptonian cure? 

A sudden thought struck Kara. A very, very risky idea came to mind, one that Kara wasn’t sure would work but if it did...it had to be worth a try, at least. 

“If the problem is in your bone marrow,” Kara said, breaking up the argument that Alex and Lena had gotten into. Both women turned to look at her. “Then maybe my bone marrow is the solution.” 

“Kara, what are you talking about?” Alex asked. Kara stared at Lena and could almost see the moment that Kara’s idea struck Lena’s brain. 

“A bone marrow transplant.” Lena said. “My human blood, if there’s any of it left, can’t fight off the kryptonite because I can’t process the solar energy to expel it from my body. But if I had Kryptonian blood…” 

“Would that work?” Kara directed the question to Alex, as the only medical doctor in the room. 

“I don’t know,” Alex answered. “We’d need to test it before we did any kind of transplant, pull samples from you both and see how they interact and even if it does work, it’ll be painful.” Alex knew that Lena already understood how painful kryptonite poisoning was to Kara, so she didn’t bother to elaborate on that. 

“I’m already in pain,” Lena said, resigned. “I can handle it.” 

“But there could be side effects to a transplant like this,” Alex said warningly. “Human and alien blood generally don’t mix well, not to mention trying to type match the two of you.” Alex bit her lip. 

“I can have Hope run a simulation on possible side effects after we have samples,” Lena said. Her gaze was focused on Kara, her eyes filled with so much longing that it took everything in Kara to keep her from fighting her way out of her little bubble. “It’s worth looking into, at least.” 

“If we go to the Red Lab, I should be able to get the samples from both of you without putting myself or Kara at risk.” Alex said to Lena, waiting until she nodded. 

“Hope, activate mobile protection.” 

“Yes Miss Luthor.” The same robotic voice that Kara had heard earlier but not really paid attention too spoke again. The bubble around Kara wavered for a moment and then repositioned around Kara so she was standing in the direct center of it. 

“The dome will move with you now,” Lena said to the Danvers sisters. “Follow me.” 

~

The Red Lab turned out to be a room with lighting fixtures that all simulated red sunlight. It didn’t seem to have much of an effect on Lena, but Kara was completely powerless for the first time in a long while. She had blown out her powers in an effort to vent her frustration right after Lena was taken but had been careful not to do so again since. A part of her would always be ready to fly to Lena’s aide, even when Kara didn’t think Lena would be calling for her. 

Alex collected the bone marrow sample from Kara first before donning the protective suit that Lena insisted she wear to collect the sample from Lena. Lena had opted to take something that would knock her out for the collection process while Kara had simply switched to yellow sun lamps to recover after Alex had withdrawn the needle. Collecting the sample hurt like hell but Kara wasn’t willing to let Lena out of her sight for even a moment. 

“She’s strong Kara,” Alex said as she began analyzing the samples she had taken from both women. “She’ll make it through this.” 

“She’s been through so much, Alex. If I hadn’t left her alone that day, she would never have to go through this.” 

“You don’t know that.”  Alex turned from the samples to look at her sister, who was lying on a medical bed and staring across the space that separated her and Lena as if it were a great chasm that even Supergirl didn’t dare attempt to cross. “Lex would have found some other way to get to her. He is the one that did this to her, he deserves the blame.” 

Kara didn’t respond. Alex knew that her sister didn’t believe her but she let the matter drop for now. They could all play the blame game when Lena wasn’t in danger of dying and Kara finally worked up the courage to tell her how she felt. 

Alex had always known that there was something different about Kara’s friendship with Lena. Different in a good way, Alex knew that even before she fully trusted Lena. Lena had breathed a new life into Kara. Lena with Kara was warmth and light and such a strong sense of rightness that Alex wouldn’t have been able to disapprove even if she wanted to. She and Maggie had once made a bet that Kara and Lena would get together eventually. Before they lost Lena, Maggie had said that she would be surprised if Kara and Lena weren’t already together and were just keeping it a secret for the time being. Alex had laughed at the time but after Lena disappeared she had started to wonder about that. 

She wondered what Maggie would say if she were there with them. Last Alex had heard, Maggie was working as a detective in Gotham, on the fast track for lieutenant. Alex was proud of her and it didn’t hurt to think about her so much anymore. 

Alex had plenty of time to observe her sister over the last three years that Lena had been away. She saw that light in Kara growing dimmer each day as another search for Lena led to nothing but empty estates. She watched Kara become a shell of herself. Sister nights happened less frequently. Game nights were basically a thing of the past these days. Kara worked at CatCo but some of her drive was gone. She saved the day as Supergirl but the city had noticed that their shining beacon of hope had lost some of her rigor. It was easy to see the signs once Alex had started to look for them and so she was unsurprised when Kara broke down in her arms on the one year anniversary of Lena’s kidnapping.  

Kara had such a capacity for love and she had met her equal in that endeavor in Lena. Alex would make sure that both of them got the chance to share their love with one another. Even if she had to resurrect Lex Luthor to do it, she would find a cure for Lena. 

As Alex set about working on the solution and instructed Hope to begin running her simulation, Lena’s pain medication began to wear off and she opened her eyes to find Kara looking directly at her from across the room. 

Truthfully, when Lena had managed to break through the protective dome Lex had created over her, she wasn’t expecting such a quick response. She wasn’t expecting any response really, the message that she had intended to send to the DEO remained unsent. The dome had closed before Lena could manage a direct pathway to the three people that she wanted to receive the message. She had no idea that the DEO had satellites that constantly scanned the globe for kryptonite until Alex showed up at the front door of the Mansion. 

She should have known that it would only be a matter of time before Kara showed up as well. Where one Danvers sister went, the other inevitably followed. 

Lena had been thinking about the day she would see Kara again for so long that it had seemed an impossibility. Lena rarely got what she wished for and she wanted to see Kara again more than anything. Kara had been a constant, grounding present in Lena’s life three years ago even with the secret of Kara’s alter-ego hanging between them. Whenever Lena needed an escape from the pressure of being Lena Luthor, CEO of L-Corp, the Good Luthor, the Bad Luthor, or any other moniker that people bestowed on her, she knew she could find a safe haven with Kara. 

With Kara, Lena didn’t have to fit herself into any specific mold. There were no expectations with Kara. Lena could just be. Lena had realized how much she had come to rely on such a reprieve until it was ripped from her. This past year had been especially bad, knowing that she was only a half hour away from the person she wanted to see most but also knowing that she couldn’t go to Kara even if the protective dome wasn’t in place. She wouldn’t subject Kara to that kind of pain if she could avoid it and she hated that their first interaction in three years was marred with the pain of kryptonite poisoning inflicted on Kara by Lena’s mere presence in the room. 

Lena met Kara’s eyes across the gap that separated them and if she wasn’t lying down, the force of Kara’s emotions would likely have brought Lena to her knees. Kara’s eyes had always been so expressive, the one thing that Kara couldn’t school into a certain look even when she approached Lena as Supergirl. Kara’s eyes gave her away every time which is why Lena hadn’t been surprised when Lex revealed Kara’s secret. She had known for a long time and was simply waiting for Kara to trust her enough to reveal it herself. Kara’s eyes had not lost their intensity in the past three years. If anything, all the emotions that Lena used to tell herself were just wishful thinking on her part where there in spades. 

Before, Lena could only see the barest hints of the feelings she had for Kara being returned. Just a moment where it looked like Kara wanted to kiss Lena just as much as Lena wanted to kiss Kara. Then the moment would pass and Lena was positive that she had imagined that the moment was ever there in the first place. Now, Lena could see everything in Kara’s eyes. 

The blue of Kara’s iris was clouded in pain and guilt, so much of it that Lena was certain that there would always be a part of Kara who would never forgive herself for not protecting Lena. Lena would have to work on that with her, she needed Kara to understand that Lena didn’t blame her in the slightest, nor does she hate Kara for not finding her before. She’ll tell Kara everything, will be relentless in her love until Kara accepts that she hasn’t lost Lena. Because behind the pain and guilt, Lena can see the longing that Kara holds within. There’s so much in Kara’s eyes but the most powerful of all is the love there and that’s the part that gives Lena the strength to make it through the next part of all of this. She needs to get better, she needs to be able to touch Kara again. She needs to show Kara how she feels. Words won’t be enough, but they’re all she has at the moment. 

“Kara,” Lena says in a whisper. It’s almost too low, she thinks, for Kara to hear without her powers, but Kara seems to come alive at the sound of her name coming from Lena. “Kara…” 

“I know,” Kara replies just as soft. Lena wonders what Kara can see in her own eyes. Lena knows that she’s not holding anything back, the effort of doing so would take too much out of her and she doesn’t want to sleep through this. Not if there’s a chance that this is the last time she’ll see Kara. “I know, Lena. Me too.” 

It’s not enough to encompass the strength of Lena’s emotions, but she feels the relief wash over her anyhow. Kara knows, she sees in Lena all the things that Lena sees in Kara and if Lena doesn’t make it through her treatment, that would be enough to send her to the next life with a smile on her face. 

“Tell me something,” Lena requests a moment later. She and Kara are still gazing at each other, both refusing to look away. 

“What do you want to hear about?” 

“Everything,” Lena says. “I’ve missed so much. I want to hear it all.” 

Kara starts talking then, telling Lena all about what she had missed in the last three years. Kara’s stories are varied and not always connected to one another but Lena hangs on to every word. She smiles when Kara speaks with pride in her voice about the articles that she had written, about her continued fight for alien amnesty. She glares when Kara mentions Mon-El and then finds herself smiling at Kara’s obvious annoyance with the man and resolves that if she ever sees Mon-El again, she’ll let him know exactly where he can shove his unwanted affections. She laughs when Kara talks about some of the more ridiculous saves she had made as Supergirl and feels her heart clench painfully when Kara glosses over the encounters that were actually a threat to her life. Kara talks about songs that have come out and shows that she thinks Lena would like and every part of Lena aches to hold this amazing woman close to her and breath her in. 

Alex and Hope are still running tests by the time Kara finishes her stories of the last three years, so Kara switches tracks to talking about all the things they could do in the next three years. 

It seemed that Kara had accumulated quite the bucket list in the time that Lena had been gone. They were going to travel the world together, Kara decided, first this world and then they’d hop on over to Earth-1 and do it all over again. Kara would take a sabbatical from both CatCo and Supergirl so she could just be with Lena. Then after their travels, they’d come back to National City and Kara would pick back up as a reporter but maybe not for CatCo anymore. Maybe she’d want to branch out by then. It wouldn’t matter so much because she’d be well on her way to winning a Pulitzer so she could get a job anywhere. And Lena, she could go back to the labs again. L-Corp was barely a shadow of its former glory but Lena could restore it and make it even better than before. Then she’d win a Nobel Prize. 

Then, once Kara and Lena’s careers were both where they wanted it to be, they’d get married and settle down in a house outside the city. One with huge windows and lots of space for family and friends to be there. It would have to be well protected because Kara didn’t think she could simply walk away from being Supergirl, but it would be theirs. Somewhere they could raise a family if they wanted too, or somewhere they could simply be together. 

“I think we should at least go on a date before we start talking about marriage,” Lena said with a watery chuckle. Her body was exhausted, as it normally was after a year of having kryptonite for blood, but she forced herself to stay awake. “No need for such a rush.” 

“We’ve wasted enough time already,” Kara disagreed but she was smiling warmly. Lena felt the ever present desire to reach for Kara tug painfully at her heart. “But you’re right. We could get married tomorrow or ten years from now. I’d be happy either way as long as I get to be with you.” 

“Me too,” Lena felt her eyes begin to close and forced them back open. 

“It’s okay, honey,” Kara told her and Lena practically melted at the pet name that rolled off Kara’s tongue. “Rest, we’ll talk more later.” 

“Promise?” Lena didn’t need to open her eyes to know that Kara was wearing that soft smile that Lena had only ever seen directed at her. 

“I promise.” 

Eased by the knowledge that Kara was only a few feet away, Lena fell into her first easy sleep in three years. 

~

Lena awoke sometime later when Hope’s electronic voice filled the Red Lab. 

“Simulation successful. Ratio for Kryptonian to Human bone marrow donation found. Side effects: temporary Kryptonian blood cells will result in temporary Kryptonian abilities. Including sensitivity to kryptonite.” 

“Will we be able to flush the kryptonite from Lena’s blood stream without harming her?” Alex asked the artificial intelligence as she looked at the simulation results that Hope had brought up on the monitor before her. 

“Affirmative,” Hope answered. “Exposure to yellow solar radiation will extrapolate the kryptonite from Miss Luthor just as it would for any natural born Kryptonian. Warning: this process is likely to be extremely painful due to the amount of kryptonite currently within Miss Luthor’s bloodstream.” 

“How long would it take?” Kara asked. Lena searched for Kara around the room and found that the other woman was standing close to her sister. They must have merged their bubbles together. The thought nearly made Lena giggle in her exhaustion. 

“Full decontamination will take approximately 48 hours under a constant yellow sun.” 

“We’ll be able to do that here?” 

“Yes,” Lena spoke up, alerting both Davers sisters to her waking. They both turned to her, Kara taking an instinctive step forward until she remembered that she wouldn’t be able to reach Lena and she halted her motions. “The lights around the whole room can switch from red to yellow with a command.” 

“Lena,” Kara said softly. Their eyes met and Lena was hit with the sudden realization that she was seeing all of Kara in that moment. Kara was wearing her day clothes but her hair was down and she didn’t have her glasses on. Even the silver ring that she always wore was gone. This wasn’t Kara Danvers or Supergirl but the woman who inhabited them both. Kara Zor-El. 

“I’m okay,” Lena replied. “Better than okay, if this works.” 

“It will,” Alex and Kara said at the same time, both of their voices ringing with confidence. Lena smiled at the unfailing faith of the Danvers and wondered what she did to deserve such heroes coming to her rescue. She wouldn’t dwell on it though, she would just be happy that they were here and that they had found a way to save her. 

“Okay,” Lena smiled. “Then let’s do it.” 

“Lena, are you sure?” Kara asked, her concern written plainly across the delicate features of her face. “This isn’t going to be an easy process. It’s going to hurt.” 

“It’s worth it,” Lena said surely. 

“It’s dangerous.” 

“I’m already dying, darling,” Lena said. She almost wanted to take it back when she saw Kara flinch at the word but she pressed on. “If this is my only chance to get to...to live again, I’m going to take it.” Even if the kryptonite wasn’t slowly killing her, Lena wouldn’t have really been alive. Not without Kara, who made her feel like life was worth living, who made her feel like love was worth it. Without Kara, Lena was simply surviving. 

“Okay,” Kara agreed after a moment of staring into Lena’s eyes. “Alex, what do you need to do this?” 

“Another bone marrow sample from you Kara,” Alex said. “I have enough of Lena’s left to get the ratio right, but I’ll need more of yours. The ratio isn’t quite even but since Lena’s human, after the kryptonite is gone her blood should return to normal on it’s own.” 

“Okay, let’s do it.” Kara moved back over to the bed that she had used before and removed her top before settling on her side again, facing Lena’s bed. Despite the skin on display, Kara’s modesty only protected by the bra covering her chest, Lena kept her gaze focused on Kara’s face as Alex extracted another sample of bone marrow from the base of her spine. 

The extraction process took longer the second time around because Alex needed a larger sample than she had before, but Kara hardly flinched from the pain. It made Lena wonder just how Kara’s pain tolerance truly was. There was no denying that Kara was physically strong but Lena wasn’t sure how that translated to the pain she endured. She’d seen Supergirl stumble back from a blow before and grit her teeth as she called upon her strength, but she can’t remember ever seeing any outward evidence to suggest that Kara was in pain unless there was kryptonite involved. 

“Okay,” Alex said minutes later, after Kara’s sample had been added to the bone marrow that would be injected back into Lena. Kara had pulled her top back on and was sitting up on her bed now with her gaze still fixed surely on Lena. “We’ll need to give you about an hour to generate enough Kryptonian blood cells to start the process and then we’ll switch the lights to yellow to start the decontamination.” 

Lena nodded her understanding of the procedure and held still while Alex donned the protective suit and left her bubble of protection to approach Lena. The miracle cure administered, the only thing the three women could do was wait. 

They didn’t speak during the first hour while they waited for Lena to be able to flush the poison from her system. Kara had many things that she wanted to say, but they were things meant for only Lena to hear. Apologies and declarations and promises that Kara would do anything in her power to keep. Alex simply kept quiet while she monitored Lena’s vitals while occasionally checking on her sister. Lena didn’t speak because everything she thought about saying sounded like a goodbye and she knew that Kara would refuse to listen to anything that resembled Lena giving up. 

There was no sound in the room that wasn’t mechanical in nature until Lena let out a pained groan. It was just past the hour mark and the kryptonite in her system was finally reacting to the new blood cells she was generating. Her green veins were glowing stronger now and Lena curled in on herself. 

“Hope, activate the yellow lights.” Kara’s order was followed in an instant and the room was bathed in yellow light. Lena continued to write in pain on her bed and Kara placed her hands on the dome that held her in place. “Hope, let me out.” 

“Negative. Kryptonite levels around Miss Luthor -” 

“I don’t care, let me out.” Kara repeated the order, pushing harder against the force field that kept her from getting to Lena. 

“Kara-” the name escaped Lena in a sharp gasp of pain. “Kara it hurts.” 

“I know, honey, I know,” Kara said soothingly. “I’m right here, Lena. You’ll be okay.” 

Kara was on her feet then, standing with her hands pressed against the inner wall of the boundary that kept her from Lena. She clenched her fists and beat them against the unforgiving surface, helpless to the tears that fell from her eyes. She knew it would be agony for Lena to go through this process but she hadn’t accounted for the torture it would be to watch Lena suffer and be unable to comfort her. Kara beat against the wall again and then abruptly, the wall was gone. 

Kara stumbled forward and caught herself on the edge of Lena’s bed. There was still ambient kryptonite around Lena, but it was nothing that Kara couldn’t withstand since the yellow sun lamps were on. 

“I’m here, Lena. I’m right here,” Kara lifted Lena’s body from the bed and moved her over just enough that Kara could lay beside her. Her own pain from the kryptonite coursing through Lena’s body increased but Kara pushed it away and drew Lena close against her chest. “I’ve got you, honey.” 

“Kara, you can’t be here,” Lena protested with a feeble attempt to pull away. 

“Shush, I’m not going anywhere. Just let me hold you, Lena. Please.” 

Lena wanted to protest but it felt so good to be in Kara’s arms again. Kara still smelled like sunshine and vanilla and Lena wanted to drown in her. Kara’s arms were firm around her and she spoke with her lips pressed against Lena’s forehead as she begged Lena to let her stay and Lena realized that Kara needed this just as much as Lena did. She wouldn’t let Lena suffer through this alone, not if there was something she could do to help her, even if it was just to hold Lena’s trembling body in her arms until the pain was gone. 

Lena relented with a nod and settled into Kara’s embrace, hiding her face in the crook of Kara’s neck in an attempt to muffle her cries as her body finally began to fight back against the poison within her bones. 

The next 48 hours were the longest of Kara’s life. Lena had succumbed to the pain in her body two hours after they switched to the yellow sun lamps and had been limp in Kara’s arms ever since. She would shift occasionally as the aches and pains in her body shifted, always pressing closer to Kara like she thought that if she could get close enough, all her pain would go away. Kara held Lena close through all of it, alternating between rubbing soothing circles on Lena’s back and carding her fingers through Lena’s hair. Sometimes when Lena shifted against, Kara would whisper soothing words into her hair or press kisses to her hairline until Lena settled again. Most of the time, Kara held Lena silence and prayed to Rao, begging him to end Lena’s pain as soon as possible. 

She was dimly aware of Alex setting up some sort of alert system and then leaving the lab for several hours, but Kara was too focused on Lena to really care about anything else going on. The green was fading from Lena’s skin at an excruciatingly slow pace, but fading nonetheless. After six hours, the ambient kryptonite around Lena had decreased enough that Kara couldn’t feel it affecting her anymore, which she took as a good sign. Kara considered getting out of the bed at that point so that Lena could be better exposed to the yellow sun lamps, but whenever Kara tried to move out of their embrace Lena would stir and pull her closer. Kara stayed awake for the first 24 hours, not letting herself go to sleep until Alex was back in the lab so that she could be sure there was someone there, just in case. 

“Winn and J’onn are working on bringing down the dome from the outside,” Alex said once she had returned from the lab. “I’ve got Hope helping them where she can but I think the dome was meant to keep the kryptonite from being discovered, not Lena. She should be able to walk out of here once all the kryptonite is gone.” 

“Thanks, Alex,” Kara said to her sister. 

“You love her,” Alex said in response, moving closer to the bed that currently held Kara and the still unconscious Lena. “I saw how much losing her the first time destroyed you. I wasn’t about to let that happen again.” 

“I’m sorry I’ve kinda disappeared on you for the past few years,” Kara apologized. Sure, Kara had been around, but she and Alex were both aware that just because Kara was physically with her sister didn’t mean she was mentally there as well. 

“You were grieving, I understood, and you were still there when I needed you,” Alex swallowed against the emotion in her throat. “She’s got a long way to go Kara, and she’s going to need you every step of the way.” 

“I’ll be here, even when she tried to push me away.” 

“But will you let her be there for you?” 

“What?” Kara’s brow furrowed in the familiar crinkle. Alex rolled her eyes and nudged her sister’s shoulder gently, the one that Lena wasn’t using as a pillow. 

“Don’t give me that, Kara. You’ve blamed yourself for her disappearance from the beginning and I know you’ve been thinking about all the pain she could have avoided if you’d just kept looking.” Kara looked away, unable to meet her sisters’ eyes. “But we both know that none of this is your fault. You won’t be able to help Lena until you accept that she doesn’t blame you.” 

“How do you know she doesn’t?” 

“We talked about it,” Alex shrugged. “I was here for like six hours before I even realized that I had missed a check in. Lena knew she was dying and all she wanted to do was make sure that you wouldn’t blame yourself for it. That woman would give you the moon if you asked for it.” 

“I just want her,” Kara admitted softly. “I always have, but I was too scared to admit it before.” 

“Given what the two of you were talking about earlier, I’m certain she wants you too,” Alex smirked as her sister blushed. “I was literally two feet away for that entire conversation, of course I heard.” 

“You don’t, y’know, disapprove?” Kara asked nervously. 

“Lena is so much more than her family name, I couldn’t see that in the beginning but I do now. And even if I did still have a problem, I’d get over it. You love her and I trust your judgement.” 

“You’re the best sister ever,” Kara said seriously. Alex smiled and smoothed Kara’s hair with her hand. 

“I know,” Kara chuckled. “Now get some sleep. It’s been three years since you got a decent night of sleep.” 

Kara nodded and shifted slightly so she could tuck her nose against Lena’s hair, filling her senses with everything Lena before she let her eyes drift closed safe in the knowledge that Alex wouldn’t let anything happen to them. 

When Kara awoke sometime later, it was to the sound of quiet chatter around her and the smell of pizza wafting through the lab. 

“Hey, Kara,” Winn smiled at her from where he and Alex had been looking at something on the monitor when he noticed that she was awake. “We were able to bring down the dome from the outside. Lena left a backdoor that we could use when she first hacked it.” 

“Good,” Kara smiled back and then turned her gaze to where Lena was still resting against her side. “How long was I asleep?” 

“About 8 hours, Lena’s got another 16 to go before she’ll wake up, we think.” Alex gestured to the monitor that she and Winn were looking at. Kara squinted slightly to use her enhanced vision to read the monitor without getting out of the bed. She breathed a sigh of relief when she noticed that Lena’s vitals had improved greatly and the projected decontamination percentage was hovering around 60. “Most of the kryptonite has been replaced with regular Kryptonian blood which should hopefully repair any internal damage that she sustained over the past year.” 

“How long will she have the Kryptonian blood in her system?” 

“We estimate about three days past the decontamination is when her blood will start to go back to normal. Her body is only producing the Kryptonian blood cells because it’s being forced to thanks to an isotope that Lena invented while attempting to cure herself.” 

“So, roughly five days and her body will be back to normal?” Kara looked back down at Lena, taking in the movement of her chest with every breath and listening to the way their hearts almost beat in tandem. 

“I don’t think she should move before then, just in case, but yes.” Alex smiled as Winn moved over to grab a paper plate loaded with pizza and presented it to Kara like one might hand over an Olympic medal. 

“Five days, and then I can take her home.” Kara spoke softly, mostly to herself and Lena alone. She ducked her head down low to press a kiss against Lena’s forehead. Lena shifted slightly at the contact, nuzzling closer to Kara. 

Winn, recognizing that Kara wouldn’t be moving from the bed anytime soon, rolled a convenient tray nearby over to the bed and arranged it so that Kara would be able to eat her pizza without letting go of Lena. 

“I can’t wait until she wakes up,” Winn said softly, excitement burning in his eyes. Kara had almost forgotten that Lena and Winn had been well on their way to being good friends without Kara in the middle when Lena had been taken. “I’ve missed her.” 

“Me, too.” Kara offered her friend a warm smile as he squeezed her shoulder and then backed away. 

Kara ate her pizza slowly and then returned to studying Lena in the quiet of the lab. Alex and Winn both retreated to nearby rooms to get some sleep, with instructions given to Hope to alert them if anything changed in the lab. Kara remained in the bed with Lena, softly stroking over her hair and back in random patterns until sleep eventually claimed her again as well. 

When Kara next awoke, it was to the feeling of soft fingertips brushing across the features of her face. Kara’s eyes opened and she was met with what was possibly the most beautiful sight in any universe, Lena awake and sitting up enough to lean over Kara slightly, her eyes naturally bright and her lips pulled into a soft smile. 

“Lena,” Kara said the name on an exhale, one hand finding Lena’s waist and the other reaching to cup her face. Lena’s smile brightened. 

“Hello, darling,” Lena returned. “I missed you.” 

“I missed you, too,” Kara felt the tears forming in her eyes and was once again helpless against them. She swore that she hadn’t cried this many times in the span of three days since she first arrived on Earth, but she just couldn’t help it. Lena was here, alive, in her arms and looking at Kara like she was the most precious object Lena had ever seen and Kara’s entire being sobbed with relief. “You’re really here?” 

“I am,” Lena promised. “I’m so sorry I left you, Kara. I never wanted to.” 

“It’s not your fault,” Kara said vehemently. “I shouldn’t have left you alone.” Lena frowned and brought their foreheads to rest together, stroking Kara’s cheek with her thumb and catching the stray tears that fell. 

“If I don’t get to blame myself, neither do you,” Lena said with quiet determination. “I don’t blame you for any of this. It was my mother and Lex who did this to me, to us.” 

“I promised that I would always protect you,” Kara said desperately. 

“You did, you’re the reason they didn’t kill me outright. Lex knew how I felt about you and he was more than willing to use it against me.” Lena continued softly stroking Kara’s cheek as she lifted her head and kissed Kara’s forehead. “Don’t you dare think about pulling away from me now, Kara Zor-El.” 

“I should have told you about that, too,” Kara admitted softly. “You deserved to hear it from me.” 

“If it makes you feel better, Lex didn’t tell me that. I already knew.” Lena chuckled softly as Kara pulled away slightly and looked at Lena in surprise. “Darling, you told me that you flew to my office on a bus.” 

“That...wasn’t my best moment.” 

“No kidding,” Lena had the very strong urge to connect their lips but she stomped it down. There would be time for that later and she didn’t want their first kiss to be tainted by the memory of Lena’s time away. “But that wasn’t really what gave it away.” 

“What did then?” Kara asked curiously. She was moving her thumb in a circle against Lena’s hip in a motion that was absent minded but one that Lena was acutely aware of. 

“There were a lot of little things that had me wondering, but I knew for sure when you rescued me from Lillian and Cyborg Superman.” Lena offered Kara a warm smile. “You were the only one who believed in me no matter what, and when you showed up as Supergirl with that same certainty, I just knew.” 

“Why didn’t you say anything?” Kara asked, her tone curious and absent any hint of accusation. 

“I wanted you to trust me enough to tell me yourself.” Lena looked away, suddenly shy. “I was hoping that when you did finally come clean, we would talk about us.” 

“We would have,” Kara said surely. “I think that’s part of why I was still waiting. I already felt so strongly about you but I was scared that you wouldn’t feel the same way. I used my secret identity as a way of avoiding us being anything more than friends.” 

“I would say it was effective, but I think we’ve always been more than friends.” Lena said with a soft smile. Kara chuckled and nodded in agreement. There had always been a sense of something more between them, even if they’d never acknowledge it before. 

“I was going to tell you, after the invasion force was gone. I went to your office right after it was over, but you were already gone.” Kara leaned into the touch when Lena shifted her grip slightly to cup Kara’s cheek. “I’m glad that you know. I don’t want to have any secrets from you.” 

“I feel the same,” Lena blinked sleepily at Kara for a moment. “I don’t want to go back to sleep.” 

“But you need to,” Kara guided Lena back into her arms, positioning them so that they lay side by side, facing one another. Kara rested one arm across Lena’s hip and wound the other one beneath the pillow. Lena shuffled closer and tucked her nose into the crook of Kara’s neck, returning Kara’s embrace. “So sleep, I’ll be here when you wake up.” 

“Promise?” Lena smiled against Kara’s neck when she felt the lips pressed against her forehead slip into a soft smile. 

“Promise.” 

~

Just as Alex predicted, it was another five days before Lena was strong enough to leave the mansion. She still felt fairly weak now that both the kryptonite and Kryptonian blood had left her system so she had leaned heavily on Kara as they made their way out of the mansion. Lena wanted to walk out of the mansion on her own and then get to the boundary that Lex had set before she let Kara fly them back into the city. Whether it was a matter of pride or of Lena showing herself that she was stronger than whatever Lex had done to her, Kara didn’t know, but she supported Lena the whole way. Once they reached the boundary, Lena all but collapsed into Kara’s arms. Kara picked up Lena and cradled her to her chest to fly them back to Kara’s loft without bothering to change into her Supergirl seat. It was the middle of the night, she probably wouldn’t be seen and even if she was, Kara didn’t care. All she cared about was getting Lena home. 

Kara placed Lena back on her feet after they landed in Kara’s living room and stood quietly as Lena observed her home. She knew that Lena was looking for anything that was different from the last time she had been there and wondered what she saw. Kara stayed silent when Lena carefully moved away from her and ran her hand along the soft blanket that rested across the back of Kara’s couch. Kara smiled at the action. The blanket was one that Lena had gotten as a bit of a joke, claiming that Kara didn’t have a soft enough blanket for her delicate sensibilities. Lena had taken to snuggling in that blanket with Kara when they’d had movie nights together, the soft material covering both of their laps as they sat closer together than friends strictly should. 

“You kept it,” Lena said softly. 

“Of course,” Kara stepped up behind Lena and wrapped her arms around Lena’s waist from behind. Her smile turned soft when Lena leaned back into the embrace and covered Kara’s hand on her stomach with one of her own. “I was hoping we’d get to have another movie night.” 

“We will,” Lena promised. Kara kissed her forehead. “Kara?” 

“Hmm?” 

“I need a shower.” 

“Okay,” Kara agreed easily, pressing another kiss to Lena’s forehead. 

“I…” Lena hesitated for a moment. The truth was that she could probably manage a shower on her own but she wasn’t ready to be away from Kara for that long. The longer she was around Kara, the more scared Lena became that she hadn’t been rescued at all. “Can you help me?” 

“Of course,” Kara agreed immediately. “Whatever you need Lena, I’m here for you.” 

Lena nodded and stretched up to kiss Kara’s cheek rather than voice her thanks. Kara understood anyway and offered Lena a smile as she took her hand and led her towards the bathroom. They paused in the bedroom long enough for Kara to grab both of them clean clothes to sleep in and then they were in Kara’s small bathroom with the door closed. 

Kara reached to turn on the shower and had Lena test the temperature before helping Lena undress. Her hands were soft and sure as they moved across Lena’s body, her eyes never lingering for long enough to make Lena uncomfortable even Lena was unable to offer the same courtesy to Kara. Kara undressed herself quickly and Lena drank in the sight of every inch. Her eyes roamed over Kara’s form unabashedly and she saw the flush rise along Kara’s chest as she noticed. 

“Come here, baby,” Kara requested softly, holding her hand out to Lena. Lena placed her hand in Kara’s and let herself be pulled closer until their bare bodies were pressed together. “You can touch me, Lena,” Kara whispered in her ear. “I won’t disappear.” 

“What if none of this is real?” Lena asked in a voice softer than a whisper. “It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve dreamed of seeing you like this.” 

“It is real, Lena. I’m here and I’m as real as you are.” Kara promised. “Listen to my heart beat, feel the warmth of my body.” 

Lena placed her ear against Kara’s chest and closed her eyes, soaking in all that Kara had to offer, from the sound of the heart beat in her ear to the softness of Kara’s skin against hers to the warmth that filled her being. This had to be real. It had never felt like this in a dream before. 

“You’re real?” 

“I’m real,” Kara said. “I’m real and I’m yours.” 

“I love you, Kara.” Lena said, pulling away so she could look Kara in the eyes as she spoke the words that had been threatening to burst from her chest since she first saw Kara again at the mansion. 

“I love you, too, Lena.” Kara returned the words with a smile. “I will always be madly in love with you.” 

Lena leaned up, closing the miniscule distance between them. Her words danced across Kara’s lips when she spoke again. 

“Show me.” 

Kara did. 

She pressed their lips together reverently, pulling Lena closer until they were one and the same. Her hands traced gentle paths against Lena’s skin, pressing her love deep until Lena was sure that she could feel it in her bones. Their lips moved together in a dance that seemed to be second nature, as if it was something that they were always meant to share with one another. Lena whimpered against Kara’s mouth, overwhelmed by the promises Kara whispered into her skin. She wasn’t aware that she was crying until Kara was pulling away to wipe her tears from her cheeks. 

“I’ve got you, Lena. I’m here and I’m not going anywhere.” 

Lena nodded mutely and let Kara pull her into the shower. The hot beat against Lena’s skin soothingly, no match for the heat that left trails of fire and goosebumps across the surface as Kara gently washed Lena’s body. Kara’s hands massaged the soap into Lena’s skin, massaging her tired muscles at the same time. Lena had to brace a hand against the wall to keep her knees from buckling under the weight of Kara’s devotion. 

Kara showed the same love and care as she washed Lena’s hair. Lena then leaned against the shower wall as Kara quickly washed her own hair and body and then stepped into Kara’s space before Kara could reach to turn off the water. She didn’t say anything as she wrapped her arms around Kara and pressed close, shivering as their bodies slid together under the water. Kara returned the embrace without a moment of hesitation, pressing soothing kisses into Lena’s hair and whispering assurances in her ear as Lena silently cried against her shoulder. 

They stayed like that until the water ran cold and Lena was shivering in Kara’s arms, both from the temperature and from her building desire to return the gentle affections Kara bestowed on her. Kara led them from the shower and tried Lena’s body with a towel before wrapping her up. Before Kara could reach for the clothes to help Lena get dressed. 

“Don’t please,” Lena requested, hating the way her voice trembled. “I need to feel you.” 

“Okay,” Kara set the clothes back down and finished drying herself and Lena off before leading them into the bedroom. 

Lena dropped her towel and settled into Kara’s bed, taking comfort knowing that she was surrounded by Kara's scent as the woman herself went around the apartment to turn off lights, close the windows, and make sure the door was locked. Lena had no idea how late it was but she didn’t care much. She’d been in a near constant state of exhaustion since she’d been rid of the kryptonite in her body. 

Kara climbed into bed after what seemed like hours to Lena but had probably been only a matter of seconds. She pulled Lena into her arms and kissed her softly, moving their lips languidly together. Lena revelled in the pressure of their bodies pressed together. Being like this with Kara felt more like home than anything else ever had. 

Kara doesn’t protest when Lena angles her head to deep their kiss or when Lena sits up and shifts to straddle Kara’s waist. She simply holds Lena’s hips and kisses back until Lena pulls away, breathless, with desire pooling low in her belly. 

“Are you sure?” Kara asks, chest heaving. Lena doesn’t even think about saying no. She’s wanted this, wanted Kara for so long that even though she’s certain that she’s not dreaming anymore, it still feels like a dream come true. 

“I’m sure,” Lena responds. “I love you.” 

“I love you.” 

Kara’s bright smile is pressed against Lena’s lips and they lose themselves to each other. Lena runs her hands along Kara’s body, learning the places that make Kara sigh when she runs her fingers over them and the ones that make her gasp when her lips and teeth follow the same paths. She listens to her own name falling from Kara’s lips like a prayer and is helpless to the way her body trembles when Kara worships her in kind. 

They move together through the night, learning all the things about each other that they should have learned three years ago. Lena climbs higher and higher under Kara’s ministrations, her only thought dedicated to making sure Kara feels the same euphoria until they both collapse into each other’s embrace just as the sun rises. 

“I wouldn’t have waited so long if I’d known it would be that good,” Kara jokes softly, her head pressed against Lena’s neck. Lena chuckles and presses her fingers into Kara’s hair, scratching lightly at her scalp. 

“We have plenty of time now, don’t we?” 

Kara’s smile is pressed into the soft skin above Lena’s pulse point as she answers. 

“We do. We have forever.” 

“Forever,” Lena hummed softly, running her free hand across Kara’s arm. She liked the sound of that, Lena thought, as she watched the sky outside the window fade from pink to blue. 

Forever in the arms of the woman she loved most. That was better than anything Lena could have ever dreamed up on her own. 

[trashmenofmarvel]

Branded - Chapter 40

Pairing: Demon!Bucky Barnes x Reader

Summary: Your captor reveals what he wants with Bucky, and with you.

(This is a fan AU of Falling’s Just Another Way to Fly by araniaart​ . Please check out this incredible series for all of your demon Bucky needs.)

Chapter Warnings: Witnessing past noncon (mildly graphic), psychological torture, isolation, captivity

AO3

Fear was a constant in the semi-darkness. Despite the man’s words that he would eventually let you go, you didn’t trust him an ounce. You remained hypervigilant, poised on the edge of flight, though you were more than ready to fight for your escape. It turned out, bond active or not, the thought of Bucky being used and enslaved was enough to move you to violence.

But between the dizzying seesaw of fear and anger, you were crushed with a deep sadness. You were worried about your mom noticing your absence. You worried about Monster being left alone, even though he was no ordinary cat and could fend for himself.

Most of all, you missed Bucky. You were grateful he was safe, even though hours before you’d been resentful of his situation. It had been a blessing in disguise, because no matter what he was out of reach of this madman.

But it didn’t mean you didn’t miss him terribly, and that you didn’t wish someone would hurry up and find you, wherever you were.

As you lay on the stone bench, you continually touched the marks on the wall, a reminder that Bucky had been there. It made you feel less alone, but it did nothing to ease the ache in your chest. You’d caught a glimpse of his life under HYDRA’s control, and you didn’t want to think about the things that might have occurred in this very cell.

You had time. Too much of it. Enough to play back the memories of the last three months and how they led you to this moment.

Bucky had been so reticent at the beginning. Distant, aloof and impenetrable wall you couldn’t climb. But you’d caught moments, glimpses past the armor into the man inside. Despite his grouchy demeanor, he’d been as lonely as you were. It had taken so long for him to let you past his walls, and it had been so worth it. Even the moments that would leave their scars, the memories that kept you up at night, it had been bearable with Bucky there.

Now, all you had was yourself. Alone in a prison that smelled of damp earth and forgotten things. At least… that’s what you thought.

You very carefully turned your head, trying to catch the thing you’d spotted earlier in the corner of the room. A flash of green, like the slitted pupils of a cat reflecting the harsh light from the single bulb overhead.

Heart leaping, you sat up and faced the darkness, about to call out Monster’s name… but then you shut your mouth. They were the wrong shade of green, and they were too high off the ground.

Not to mention Monster would never hide from you. No… this was something different. A second set of sickly green eyes you recognized.

“Did he tell you to watch me?” you asked, voice cracking painfully. You cleared it, and nudged the water pitcher with your sock-covered toe. “Make sure I don’t drown myself in this?”

The Alp didn’t respond except to blink its reflective eyes, not unlike the way Monster would when he was listening to you ramble on about your long day at work.

You frowned and chewed on the inside of your cheek. What did you know about this demon? You had assumed it was the same one that had attacked you on Halloween night, but Bucky had killed it, hadn’t he? Then again, you knew from experience that death wasn’t quite so permanent for demons.

Same demon or not, this one had abducted you at the man’s command. That much was true. And what you had also managed to recall just before you’d slipped into unconsciousness was the pained howls of the Alp being punished.

So, in conclusion, it was possible you had more in common with the Alp than you’d first realized. And from the way the man had been talking about wanting to enslave Bucky, it wasn’t a stretch to think this demon wasn’t a willing participant.

Okay. You could work with that.

“I don’t blame you for abducting me,” you said. “Maybe you didn’t even want to, but he made you. You didn’t have a choice.”

The demon said nothing, but it was no longer blinking.

You lowered your voice to a soft, understanding level, hoping the Alp would realize you weren’t the enemy.

“I know he hurt you. Punished you. Probably not for the first time, right?”

No response, but that was all right. The demon only had to listen.

“I can help you,” you whispered, leaning toward the bars. “There are sorcerers in New York, powerful ones who know all about demonic magic. They could free you from this man, or at least protect you. You could be free. We both could be free.”

You took a deep breath, putting all your sincerity into your words.

“All you have to do is get me out of there. Take me back. We could go to the Sanctum together, and—“

The demon finally reacted, or rather, it made a low, saddened noise that sounded suspiciously like a no. And then it vanished with a popping sound, black tendrils of smoke curling in the air where it had been, and then disappearing and leaving the faint but pungent scent of sulfur.

Sighing, you sat back against the wall and tried not to let the discouragement or the cold get to you. Your captor had slipped you a blanket between the bars, but it provided little warmth, metaphorical or otherwise.

You only had to hope you could survive long enough, either to be rescued or to escape. One thing was for certain: it would only be a matter of time until your abductor realized Bucky wasn’t coming.

***

It became a waiting game, one neither of you were going to win.

Time flowed in unpredictable lurches, but you could give a rough estimate from how often the man came back to the room with a pitcher of water and a tray of food. It was clearly prepackaged, maybe even from some kind of military ration, but you still ate it because you needed the energy and he wasn’t going to poison you. Not if he wanted Bucky to be caught in a trap with living bait.

If the man was feeding you three meals a day, then you’d been down here for a day and a half already. You would be missed by now. Strange would be searching for you, and while you didn’t know who this man was, you knew he wouldn’t stand a chance against the head sorcerer.

Or so you thought. On his eighth visit, he returned to the room and put down the folded chair. There was something in his hands. A book. Red, with a black pentagram on the cover.

Horror shot through your mind. You remembered that book: it had belonged to the Russian officer who had once enslaved Bucky. The Colonel. He’d been a high-ranking member of HYDRA, so how had this man gotten ahold of it?

“From your expression, you recognize this tome. But do you know what it is?”

The man, whose name you still didn’t know because he refused to give it to you, watched you with a patient smile. Almost as if you were a child he was teaching at his knee.

“No.” Your voice was hoarse from disuse, and it was a testament to your isolation that you were talking to him at all. But after being trapped in the semi-darkness, cold and alone, you were willing to talk to anyone. Even him.

“I do not know the book’s name,” he said, turning it over reverently in his hands. You noticed a thin, gold wedding band on one finger. He was married? “But I know its purpose. It’s an instruction manual, of sorts. A guide in all things demonic. It predates HYDRA, a stolen relic as many things were, and one must have proficient knowledge in Latin to read it.”

His voice was faint, far away as he mused, “A sacred text, written in a dead language, coveted by a doomed cult. There is a lesson to be learned there, I think.”

You let the man speak, the more he did the better it was for you. The last thing you wanted was for the effects of isolation to make you reveal something you shouldn’t.

“With this book, you will be freed.” He leaned forward, his soft voice taking on an eager quality. “Sergeant Barnes will no longer hold sway over you, but that’s not all I offer. With a new master, I can protect him from HYDRA, whatever little of them is left. Or I can protect him from the next group which attempts to use demons. There will always be men who lust for power wherever it resides, and your demon has quite a lot of it.”

You said nothing, resentful that he wasn’t wrong about Bucky in this regard.

“It was quite a journey to find the latest owner of this book,” he continued, apparently not discouraged by your lack of interaction. “It was in the hands of Colonel Vasily Karpov: Sergeant Barnes’ last master. He was in the Russian Armed Forces and one of HYDRA’s top men. Do you know where I found him?”

The man sneered distastefully.

“Cleveland.”

He looked down at the book and slowly shook his head.

“The man who enslaved and humiliated the demon you wish to protect was living not too far from your own home. I’m the one who found Karpov. I’m the one who killed him. Don’t you see? We are allies in this.”

A noise finally escaped you. A dismissive snort.

“You want to make Bucky your slave, and you have the nerve to think… what, that you’re his friend?”

“A friend? No. One does not make friends with a weapon.”

You looked away, grimacing in disgust.

“How are you any better than HYDRA?” you growled out.

“Because I will put Sergeant Barnes to a nobler purpose. He will not be used for cruel or evil intentions.”

“So you admit, you would use him.”

It was a terrible idea to engage with his dangerous man, to nurse his delusions, but you couldn’t stop yourself from letting him antagonize you, either.

He gave you a pitying look.

“Sergeant Barnes has been used his entire life, and the US Government was his first master. Drafted into the army, trained to be a sniper, he killed Nazis without compunction. Your sergeant has always been a killer; HYDRA simply unleashed him on their enemies. And I will unleash him onto mine.”

You opened your mouth, the urge to spit venom on the tip of your tongue… and then you shut it. Intentionally or not, he was revealing quite a lot of information, such as what he really wanted with Bucky.

“What kind of enemies?” you asked, tone carefully even. But the man merely stared at you, gave a small smile, and stood from his chair.

“I estimate that Sergeant Barnes should be here soon,” he said. “A demon master without its slave is vulnerable, and if the human inside him still exists and has compassion for you… then he will come even swifter.

“In the meantime…”

He approached the projector in the corner, and your stomach clenched, even as you weren’t sure why. His next words confirmed your instincts were right.

“I have something that will hopefully enlighten you.”

The man flicked a switch and the clicking of the old projector accompanied a square of light cast onto the wall. Distorted images from empty bits of film bubbled up onto the screen until it formed into a coherent picture. An image of the very room you were in, though the camera was facing toward the cell you currently occupied.

The image showed a horrific scene. A ring of men were surrounding someone, their boots and batons striking his curled body. You were sure the man must be dead after a beating like that, but once they stopped and backed away, the bruises and abrasions faded away… and your stomach sank as the man propped himself up.

You almost didn’t recognize him. His muscles were much leaner and less bulky, his face rounder and younger, his hair cut short. He was almost entirely human except for the demonic left arm and a smaller version of his current tail. The wings, the horns, his clawed feet and tapered ears—none of those existed yet.

“I can do this all day,” Bucky said, giving a smile stained red. He was entirely naked, stripped of his clothing, but he showed no signs of intimidation. Even through the tinny quality of the audio you recognized that stubborn tone of voice, and your heart ached at hearing him again, especially in such a dire situation.

“Good, Mister Barnes,” a voice responded from out of frame. His accent was heavily Russian, but he he spoke in English. “Because I am curious as to how much punishment your body can take before it runs out of its stored energy.”

Bucky cursed, and the man behind him laid him flat on the ground with a kick to his spine. Bucky wheezed and curled into a ball again as the men continued to beat him.

You were sure he was going to die. You knew he wouldn’t, but every instinct in you screamed to stop something had had happened over seventy years ago.

The man on the film was speaking as if documenting an experiment, noting Bucky’s healing ability as it slowed, leaving his wounds open and painful-looking.

“If you want to learn about demons,” Bucky cut him off with a snarl, “you can go to Hell.”

Pride surged in your chest. Bucky was a fighter, he would never give up—

The same man who had kicked him in the back now struck the side of Bucky’s head with a baton, and he collapsed hard. Bucky groaned on the ground, his claws digging into the concrete. It took you a moment to realize he wasn’t groaning from pain.

“Sufficient injury past the point of healing appears to drive the subject into heat,” the man behind the camera observed. “Note the expanded pupils giving the appearance of solid black eyes. Does pain turn you on now, Sergeant?”

Bucky didn’t answer. He only eyed the circle of men as they drew closer, and there was something other than wariness in his gaze.

“Turn it off,” you said, voice small and laden with horror. You didn’t want to watch. Didn’t want to see. You’d witnessed enough of Bucky’s humiliation without his consent. It wasn’t right.

“Not yet,” the man said. You couldn’t see his face, covered in shadow as he watched you watch the film. “Not until you truly understand.”

“And when the subject is in the throes of heat,” the cameraman continued, crackling from the old audio, “he produces pheromones that have a drastic effect on men near him.”

Bucky remained silent, glaring up at the men pulling closer. They rubbed themselves obscenely through their pants, clearly affected by the pheromones, but you doubted those pieces of shit needed much encouragement in that regard.

“Perhaps these fine men will assist you with what you need, if you ask them nicely, Sergeant.”

You could see it in Bucky’s eyes. How hard he fought, to resist the urges pulsing through him, and you knew the moment when he gave into them.

Bucky lurched to his knees, grabbed onto the nearest HYDRA soldier, and ripped open his pants.

You shut your eyes tight and turned your head away. If this bastard wanted you to watch, he’d have to force you to do that himself.

But he didn’t come into your cell and force you to watch, and unfortunately, you could still hear the sounds all too clearly. The heated grunts, the obscene wet noises that were uncannily familiar, in a way. You considered covering your ears, but leaving more of your senses blind with your captor wouldn’t be wise, either.

So you opened your eyes and stared at the floor, praying it would be over soon.

It wasn’t. The same man who was filming this torture, who seemed to be the man in charge, taunted Bucky. Mocked him that he wanted to be fucked by HYDRA soldiers until he was senseless.

He was their prisoner, helpless in so many ways, and still this man, whoever he was, chose to be even more cruel than he had to be.

“Who are you thinking of, Sergeant?” he eventually asked. “Your dear Captain, perhaps?”

You curled your hands next to your face, nearly covering your ears. You shouldn’t be hearing this, you shouldn’t!

There was an awful chuckle of laughter at however Bucky had reacted.

“You do hunger for your Captain?” the man continued. “Did he know what you were? Did he debase himself with you?”

You didn’t expect Bucky to answer; you’d seen him caught in the middle of a heat firsthand, and experienced something similar yourself and knew how difficult it was to think, let alone talk.

But he still managed to growl out, “F-fuck you… Lukin. Ste-Captain Rogers… never…”

“Perhaps we will send him a copy of this film: of you reduced to HYDRA’s whore,” the man called Lukin said, a sneer in his voice. “Do you think he would come for you knowing the things you think about him?”

Bucky’s voice was flat, defeated when he finally answered.

“No.”

The rapid clicking of the projector slowed to a crawl until it went silent.

“Do you see now?” your captor asked, his soft voice floating to you from the darkness. “Do you understand what I would be shielding him from? With Sergeant Barnes under my power, he will never suffer from such humiliation again.”

You said nothing and stared resolutely at the stone floor just before the bars. It gave you a decent peripheral view of the room without having to actually look at the man. You despised him. Hated him. More for him using Bucky’s pain to manipulate you than because of your own abduction.

“I won’t help you,” you finally answered, flat but final.

He sighed, taking the reel of film from the projector.

“You will,” he eventually said. “How uncomfortable you are in the process is up to you.”

The swing of the wooden door on its hinges left you in unbroken silence, but in that silence, you could still hear the terrible echoes of sharp gasps and pained whimpers.

Next Chapter

[royaimonopoly]

To Hear His Voice by cyborgartalchemist

Tumblr | AO3

Time Period-Canon Era:

Riza lets Hayate go and answers the phone “Hello?”

The breath she was holding came out in a sigh of relief as the familiar voice of Roy Mustang emanates from the receiver. His warm, pretend intoxicated voice cuts through the encroaching darkness like a beacon. She would never comprehend how he could embody his chosen element so well. From a destructive force to be reckoned with, to a light that seared through the darkest places, even to the idea that the flame represents passion; Roy Mustang was fire incarnate. 

“Good evening Madame. The flowers you ordered are ready for delivery.” Roy was putting a bit of emphasis on his vowels, a clear sign he was faking drunkenness. Riza held back a sigh of exasperation. Of course he would call now of all times. When she was still reeling from the revelation that innocent looking Selim Bradley was numbered amongst the homunculi threatening the entire country. 

“I didn’t order any flowers,” she replies crisply. She couldn’t let him know how grateful she was to hear his voice. How she desperately wanted to hear him assure her she was safe and everything was alright. Because tonight had been quite the shock to her system. And now to hear his voice after meeting Pride was like a balm to the lingering fear. It soothed her soul to hear the voice of her colonel after she had faced such an enemy alone. A warmth replaces the cold pit in her stomach as she smiles to herself. Only he can make her feel like this right after the overwhelming dread that Pride had filled her with.

“All right sorry,” he says still playing drunk. “I got drunk and bought a ton of flowers. I’d be really grateful if you’d help me get rid of some.” He sounds like he’s having a rough night, but she knows he probably paid for information and got the flowers in the bargain.

Riza pauses, he was asking to see her. Using his drunken ruse as a cheat to find a moment to speak with her. And oh, Riza had never wanted to succumb to her feelings for Roy more than she did right now. She wanted to let him put his arms around her and just hold her tightly. She needed to let his warm, ever-present glow chase away her fear and unease. But the words of Pride echoed in her ears and mind. ‘Watching from the shadows.’ She couldn’t be seen with him tonight, no matter how badly she wanted to see him face to face. 

Pride would see it as her attempting to get Roy the information. He would assume she was already making a move to out him to her colonel. 

And what then? Would Pride do as he threatened and hurt Roy? Would he strike them now physically, or would they perhaps suffer another setback? Would they take Roy prisoner? He was a sacrifice candidate after all, whatever that meant. Would she cost him his chance to make moves against their enemy by letting him come to her door? Roy’s plans were finely detailed and complex, with intricacies no one else could replicate. They all needed him capable of continuing to conspire against their homunculus run government.

And yet she hesitates, hanging between desperately wanting to invite him to her door even if it was just to hand over a bouquet or two, and her need to protect him. She failed him once, and Lust had nearly killed him. It still burned her pride to know Lust had done that to her beloved Colonel. The homunculus bitch had gravely wounded Roy and then gloated about it. Lust had reminded Riza of a schoolgirl then, kissing another girl’s crush and then boasting about it to said girl. And Riza had reacted in kind, she had let her temper get away from her and lost her cool. Lost her ability to think just long enough to put Alphonse Elric in danger.

And Roy had scolded her for her failure. For letting that bitch get under skin like she did. Riza sighs as she tries to get herself under control. She won’t fail him again like that. She won’t let the enemy win against her a second time.

Roy notices her confliction, “What’s wrong? What happened?” He asks soberly, his voice laced with concern. Even over the phone it’s cute how much he cares. It’s endearing to know he is so concerned with her wellbeing. She feels something fuzzy settle in her chest at his words. It’s nice to know he worries about her, that he cares enough to call at all. And it makes it harder to do her duty.

She has to lie to him. Has to pretend she is okay so he will leave her alone. She has to protect him from Pride and his promise. So she sucks it up, she’ll suffer tonight in the darkness so he remains unharmed. Because despite how much she will deny it when asked, she loves him. Riza loves him enough to suffer a lifetime of only being his faithful adjutant if it means he is safe and reaches his goal. She loves him enough to watch him flirt with his Aunt’s girls for information, loves him enough to put all her effort into making sure he reaches his goal, loves him enough to not accept his flowers tonight.

“Nothing Sir, it’s nothing,” she answers in an even voice. Her heart clenches at the lie. She hates to be dishonest with him, no matter the reason. 

“Really, are you sure?” He presses. She wants to say no. Riza longs to beg him to come over flowers or not and just dispel the darkness, even for a few minutes. What would it feel like to have his hands on her in a way that was not professional? Would she smell ash and smoke or aftershave if she leaned in close to him? Would his breath tickle her ear if he whispered something flirty to her?

“Yes Sir, I’m sure.” I’m not sure, I’m not alright. “About the flowers, Sir… I don’t own a vase.” I have a jar though. “Thank you for calling Colonel.” I needed to hear your voice, Roy. 

She hangs up the phone and covers her face with her hands. How had that been the hardest thing to do to tonight? Hell, turning Roy down was more upsetting to her than learning Selim was a monster.

She slumps to the floor again and Hayate comes to her side. She pets him and smiles to herself. “How does he have such uncanny timing?”

[dragonrajafanfiction]

The Cage

Somewhere just outside the Mexico Border

It is a rusty metal warehouse in the desert in front of which is a vast gravel parking lot filled with trucks left running with the high beams on. Kingpins as well as landowners wearing button down shirts and jeans file past burly looking men in muscle shirts, flashing their credentials. A short man had his arm around the waist of a model as he flashed his. “She’s with me.” He said of the model who kissed him on his balding head.

There is no visible security. This area is an agreed neutral zone, a privileged spot where the turf wars and smuggling routes could be forgotten in favor of sport and fun, and yet was not a haven where these criminal masterminds would ever admit existed to their families. It was protected by both a silent agreement of non-violence, and the fact that it was every low level drug dealer’s dream to be here.

The Warehouse is a fighting arena that only opens once a year and sends out invitations to its exclusive clientele. Even these Kingpins saved up money to come and bet on the fighters here and there was no limit to their wagers. It was not unheard of for millions and even a billion to be lost in a single match. Land was negotiated here. Trade routes were negotiated here. The existence of entire gangs were negotiated here. War and peace between violent factions were negotiated here.

People in the small border towns had a feeling that the government and the police weren’t really what changed the situation on their street. But they could never guess that what did change things was the winner of a match in an arena in the middle of nowhere.

As for the fighters themselves, no one knew where they came from. They had names like Cobra, Diablo, Demonio, and La Muerte. Their identities were a mystery. But their appearances seemed to suggest that they came from all over the world. Those who had the privilege of coming here, would whisper about these fights, saying that the fighters seemed like animals, something beyond human, or like monsters. They would compare them to famous action heroes like ‘The Hulk’ or ‘Superman.’ While it was true that regular MMA fighters could do amazing things, they were limited by their humanity.

These fighters… they didn’t stop fighting, even if they were gasping out their last breath.

Francisco Pererra had somehow stumbled on one of those fighters. He was just appointed as head of a cartel in Aguascalientes and had come upon a small fortune in the form of a free and open water route up through Corpus Christi. It wasn’t just the route, but also his method, using a combination of decoy boats and submarines to constantly distract the meager Coast Guard and keep them away from the actual cargo -- fentanyl and cocaine. He’d gotten rich very quickly, but before he spent on anything else, he wanted to spend on this gambling ring. This was his debut on the world stage.

When he was approached by a young man in his private residence, introducing himself as a fighter, he thought it was too good to be true. The owners of those who fought were the upper of the upper class. He was doing well as a startup Surely, this man wanted something.

“I just need entry into the Arena. The rest does not concern you and it's best you not get involved any further.” The young man opened three large briefcases. “This should be more than enough to cover the entry fee, plus compensation for your cooperation.” The young man was stiff but polite and spoke fluent Spanish with an American accent.

“Is this a bust? I won’t be responsible for it…” He shook his head. “I won’t live very long if I am responsible for something like that.”

“I have nothing to do with any government or law enforcement.”

Francisco Pererra did not believe him. He smiled and said, “Oh of course and of course.”

As the young man was leaving, Francisco pointed a pistol at the back of his head. Before he could pull the trigger however, the gun glowed red hot and exploded in his hand, taking off two of his fingers. When the young man looked back at him, his eyes were glowing gold. 

He calmly helped Francisco collect his severed fingers and put them in ice and drove him to the nearest hospital for reattachment surgery. When the nurses asked what happened, Franciso just said he had an accident with a firework.

That young man was no law enforcer. He was a true Demon Fighter.

Now Francisco Perrera came in, not from the front, but from the back. Wheeled horse trailers backed into a garage door and ramps were brought to them as they opened. Wheeled cages meant to house zoo animals rolled down the ramps and attached to a four-wheeler. Each cage was covered with a double layer of black fabric. Francisco’s champion was in one of those cages, but once they were in the arena, there could be no further contact between the sponsor and the fighter.

Francisco presented his entry fee in the suitcases on a cheap white plastic fold out table. Large men with assault rifles stepped forward and took the suitcases while Francisco waited. They were counting the money. He cleared his throat of dust and stood there, watching as one especially huge cage was rolled off the trailer. It was so heavy that it bent the ramp.

“Perrera!” 

Francisco turned around, his heart rate jumping. 

“Your entry fee is sufficient.”

Feeling validated, Francisco straightened his tie and tipped his cowboy hat and made his way to the VIP stands through a white door in the sheathing wall. The whole area smelled of alcohol and smoke. A group of big shots looked up from their game of cards. He gave them a proud greeting. “Good evening, I’m…”

They all turned their backs on him and continued their game. He let out a breath. Of course, they wouldn’t humor his attention. He was a newcomer after all. But maybe, with this fighter, he might actually get on their radar. Securing a treaty with a larger cartel had its risks and benefits, much like gambling but if you hit the jackpot you were set for life.

He sat down in a cracking folding chair. The arena was huge. Built for rodeos, it was temporarily reconfigured to house what could only be described as a gladiatorial contest. Bullet proof glass protected him from the rest of the lower level seats. And a double layer fence that stretched all the way to the roof protected the rest of the guests from the contestants themselves.

“Welcome Mr. Perrera.” A sweet young female voice greeted him and lowered a shot glass with a bottle of black label tequila in front of him. She was dressed in a tight red shiny vinyl dress. Her black hair spilled over her shoulders, looking quietly seductive. “Good luck on your first entrant.”

“Because you are a newcomer, you should be lower on the ranks, however, many in the crowd have thrown welcome money in the pot in your support.”

“Oh really?” Francisco had good instincts and didn’t rush to sip on the tequila.  “Sit and drink with me. Tell me more about this.”

She obliged and he took his glass and poured a cup for her and handed it to her. She gave a knowing chuckle. “You really are new. All the death and violence is restricted to the Cage. But if you’re still nervous…” She tossed back the tequila and then slid the cup back to him.

“One can never be too careful. If I disappear it's not a big thing, no matter where I am.”

“It’s rare to get a new fighter and a newcomer. People are betting on you because they’re excited and want to encourage more fresh blood. No one wants to see the same fighters every year from the same people they’ve known for years. What’s more… the name of your fighter… they like it.” Her lips turned up. “Caimán!”

“I had heard these fighters had the look of a devil, but I found out this was… something more grounded than I realized. The first thing I thought when I looked at him was ‘Caimán!’ He looks at me like an alligator! He’s not some boogeyman. He looked like he could actually eat me.” 

She didn’t leave his side as the PA system announced that the matches were going to begin. She slid a paper roster to him. “This is the line up.”

Caimán was going to be up against ‘Gigante’ in the first match! For the first time, Francisco felt upset to be here. How could they put a newbie up in the first match in an elimination contest and give him a chance to win? Even in the case of a champion, such fights were exhausting. He would have to defeat everyone of the beasts in the ring to have a shot at winning.

He stilled his expression and looked over the arena. Well, of course he wouldn’t have a chance at winning. The truth is, he shouldn’t be here at all. He was here on a stroke of luck. Winning was not in the cards for him. He should just enjoy his time and make the most of his good fortune. It was a shame this young man had to sacrifice his life. Despite his crocodile look, he had kindly expressed regret about the gun blowing up in his hand. He’d personally and quickly driven him to the hospital and then paid the bill. He even left him a wound care spreadsheet after the nurses forgot. It wasn’t the behavior of a tough as nails fighter or an alligator. More like a neglectful son come home to bother his father again. Much like he was once, years ago. Perhaps why he had taken a liking to him so quickly?

A roar interrupted his reverie. A roll up metal garage door clattered open and a giant of a man nearly eight feet tall of pure muscle, painted near black with tattoos, ran out, howling like a vicious animal. The crowd screamed and banged on the lids of garbage cans. The noise was deafening. The man clapped his hands over his ears and rushed the chains. Bright sparks like the sun snapped and popped.

The Cage was electrified!

Francisco reflexively crossed himself as the man didn’t react at all to the electrical current. When he let go of the fence, his hands were smoking. He rushed to the other side to menace the other spectators. Francisco saw it. The golden eyes!

Gigante suddenly stopped and turned. Another metal cage door was opening. Francisco could scarcely contain his grin! He pulled a napkin from his shirt and wiped his sweaty face. 

Caimán was acting true to his name. He was slight in figure, hilariously shorter than Gigante. Despite the heat and humidity in the air and the dusty dirty surroundings, he wore a black Burburry trench coat that reached near the floor. In his hand was a long sword that shined with a blue tinged light even though it wasn’t dark inside the arena. Weapons were allowed in the arena so long as they weren’t heavy firearms. Especially given the size difference of these contestants, having a bit of an equalizer was viewed as permissible. He took two steps into the arena with the air of a mother who had caught her children doing something naughty.

Gigante and Caimán faced each other. Gigante was panting, his mouth running with drool, his eyes bloodshot. He looked rabid, but didn’t rush towards his much smaller opponent and rip him in two. The crowd murmured with the suspense of the wait. Francisco felt the hairs rise on his back. He didn’t know why he got this feeling, but the thought came into his head that Gigante was being suppressed, that the whole crowd was being suppressed! It was like a pall had been cast over the entire crowd. Everyone was afraid to move, afraid to breathe, weighted down by a strange fear they didn’t understand.

Caimán walked around the edge of the Cage taking the longest route to his opponent, strolling with a slow, measured gait. He took his time, looking Gigante up and down.

“What is going on?” The woman next to him was shocked. “Gigante never acts like this.”

Her kind welcoming demeanor had vanished, she now glared at Francisco fiercely. 

Francisco sipped his tequila. “Ah… so Gigante is yours. No wonder you wanted to talk to me!”

She sat back and crossed her arms over her chest. Had this been any other place, she would have drawn a pistol and shot him in his smugly smiling face. Her nervousness grew as Caimán approached a still and silent Gigante. “Where did you find him?”

Francisco was silent. His intent was to use this opportunity to gain advantage for his business. The fighter had his own agenda beyond him and he shouldn’t be involved any further. This young man had walked into a room full of the highest ranking cartel members and had taken ownership of the entire space.

Gigante chuckled. “So… you’re finally here to put us out of our misery?”

Caimán didn’t answer for a long time. The crowd was getting restless in the silence, but that terrifying aura prevented anyone from speaking. “It’s my intent to free you.”

“Free? No one ever… gets free.”

When Gigante raised himself to his full height, Caimán raised his blade and that aura became more intense. He pointed it at him, like a knight facing off against an ogre. “Don’t.”

Gigante leaned back a bit as though struck by a strong wind.

“How are they controlling you? Answer.”

Gigante looked at Caimán, his eyes suddenly stopped glowing. “Get out… Get out while you c-”

A tattoo that hadn’t appeared before suddenly flashed red in the shape of an eye, right on his forehead, and the glow of his eyes lit up again. All humanity in those eyes froze, his pupils dilated wide until they became black save an eclipse ring of gold. Caimán for the first time in the match showed a touch of emotion, his eyes widening slightly as his Aura suddenly collapsed.

Gigante took a strong leap and closed the distance between them. Caimán reacted with a powerful thrust that slid the metal blade between the bones of the giant’s large knee. That leg was rendered useless in an instant but Gigante did not so much as flinch or cry out in pain. His arm whipped around and seized Caiman around the throat. That blade flashed again, neatly severing the hand. He didn’t have a choice. If he had waited more than that instant his windpipe would have been crushed. He rolled and staggered away from Gigante’s remaining fist. It slammed into the ground with skull-crushing force.

The crowd regained its former noise, cheering “Gigante! Gigante!”

At his tiny size and miniature build, one would think that they would have cheered Caimán as the underdog, but Caimán had walked in like a tyrant, barking orders like he owned the place. He’d humiliated not only Gigante but also all the spectators who were all predators in their own right and had been forced into silence by this newcomer. The sight of him fleeing Gigante was galvanizing. They wanted Gigante to smash this newcomer into a pulp!

Gigante was faster than a man his size should have been, it was like an ancient giant wolf, running his opponent down and forcing him to retreat or die. Even though he was running with blood, lame in one leg an missing a hand, he grinned and licked his lips in an intense desire to kill. Caimán however danced around every attack, not returning a blow if he didn’t have to.

Francisco was confused. Why didn’t Caimán go in for the kill? He had more fights after this. Why waste so much energy running his opponent around the ring? His female companion was only annoyed with Gigante. “Hit him! Hit him you bastard!” 

He then noticed her ring. It was red and glowing. 

The eye appeared on Gigante’s head again and the man suddenly screeched in a high voice. Caimán closed the distance and split the skin of the man’s forehead right through the middle.

The man’s eyes suddenly rolled back and he sank to his one knee. He went from a massive intimidating fighter to a hunk of empty flesh in an instant. Caimán who was still anticipating another motion suddenly lowered his sword and rushed forward, putting his fingers on the man’s neck. But there was no need to check his pulse. Gigante was dead.

The woman banged her fist on the table and stood up. “Spy! He’s a spy!”

Guns were suddenly pointed at Francisco. “Why are you saying this? You’re just angry that you lost! Put those guns away, this place is a place of non-violence!”

Her eyes turned cold. “You have no idea. You don't know anything.”

“He’s right.” Another voice came from the table to his right. An old man in a suit sat one leg crossed over the other, his white hair long down his back, his dark eyes like empty holes in his face. “Put the guns away. No need.”

The guns were put away and hackles lowered. 

Caimán stepped away as a worker arrived with a forklift to carry Gigante’s body away.

“Perrera. I will buy this fighter from you. Name your price.” The old man said.

Francisco didn’t know what to say. The truth is the fighter didn’t belong to him, it was the other way around. The fighter had bought him with the intent to enter the fight for his own agenda.

“My price? You know I have a route, sir. I would like your protection on that route. Your protection of my assets. I am a small operation. Even with a lot of money, I can’t buy what you already have.”

“You are a very smart man! That humility has brought you here. Then… Welcome to the club, Pererra.” The old man raised his hand and again, he was wearing one of those rings, just like the woman. He waved his hand twice and Caimán’s reaction was instant. He clutched his head and fell on his knees.

“Oh… he is a strong one.” The old man continued to wave and stood up, walking up to the bullet proof glass. “He will make excellent food for my Tigre.”

Caimán turned his head, his golden eyes blazing, he started to speak, snarling like an animal. That voice generated dark waves of black heat that ignited the sawdust. The heat was enough to melt the chain links on the Cage. The heat was so intense that the spectators started screaming and fleeing. Even at this distance, all the people in the VIP area started backing away.

The saw dust arena had turned into a pit of flames but Caiman was kneeling in all of it. Clutching his head.

Francisco had no choice. He turned and ran from the arena, leaving him behind.

[vivithefolle]

“Oh great, it’s the Harry stans again” I’m a wolfstar stan my dude

“So Harry’s desire is a family” yes, and what comes with having a family? Love, also Harry didn’t have his found family yet, just a few friends, and he can have his found family and still want his parents

Fred and George don’t bully him, they tease him like all big brothers do. And Ron went to them when “Scabbers” “died” so he doesn’t hate being vulnerable in front of them

“Let’s think deeper than just “hurr durr rawn wants powur” That is why though. Even at the end of DH he says “the unbeatable wand, Harry?!” Meaning he wants it for its power and is shocked Harry doesn’t

Also, Harry didn’t tell Ron to go with him to save Malfoy, and he only wanted Ron to come to the Ministry because he didn’t want to put his friends in danger. The only reason he was ok with Ron going is that Ron said he would. Why do you think Harry and hermione are selfish and don’t deserve him? That ain’t true

Harry got glimpses in to Voldy cause thats influence. Harry can’t be controlled because he is so full of the “force (Voldy) detests”. It is said multiple times that’s why. And he is so “purely and strongly” associated with love. It’s what makes Harry, Harry. Despite what he’s been through, he remains “pure of heart” as Dumbledore put it, he sacrifices himself and it sets off a protection charm for everyone, he tries to save Voldy, etc. and we do see it shown from him more than Ron. I could bring up countless examples but I’ll just leave it at: Harry felt bad for Hagrid when Aragon died and wanted to be there for Hagrid, despite Aragon nearly eating him. Ron did not. I love your blog btw, I just don’t agree with you on this lol

[Previous]

I’m a wolfstar stan my dude 

Ah yes, Wolfstar, the pairing where one guy weaponized his friend’s most important, life-changing secret in order to play a “prank” that could have ended in manslaughter, because the one guy gave his friend’s feelings as much consideration as a plastic bag’s. Also said guy later believed that said friend could be a traitor. A love story for the ages surely.

“So Harry’s desire is a family” yes, and what comes with having a family? Love, also Harry didn’t have his found family yet, just a few friends, and he can have his found family and still want his parents 

Yes. And Ron’s desire is also tied around love. Because Ron believes that he needs to accomplish things to stand out and be “worthy” of loving. That’s his whole thing during the entire books, that’s what drives him to sometimes put his foot in his mouth up to his thigh and make stupid mistakes, because he’s trying to earn love, he’s going out of his way to earn the love of his friends when they already love him but are just pants at showing it.

Fred and George don’t bully him, they tease him like all big brothers do. And Ron went to them when “Scabbers” “died” so he doesn’t hate being vulnerable in front of them 

Fred and George absolutely bullied Ron. That’s just fact. Look at Order of the Phoenix, look at how they treat him through the books. Fred and George may be popular characters but as big brothers they are AWFUL.

And who’s to say Ron went directly to them? We see them “““comfort”““ Ron but maybe Ron was just sitting with Harry and Ginny and lamenting Scabbers’ death then Fred and George came in and decided to add their five cents. Also in spite of how horrible Fred and George can be to him Ron still loves and admires them greatly - case in point, how he still trusted them about the bogus spell to turn Scabbers yellow.

“Let’s think deeper than just “hurr durr rawn wants powur” That is why though. Even at the end of DH he says “the unbeatable wand, Harry?!” Meaning he wants it for its power and is shocked Harry doesn’t 

Yeah, because Ron’s pragmatic still. Imagine what you could do with such a powerful wand. What’s the point of the Invisibility Cloak when you have a super-powerful wand that may cast the best Invisibility Charm ever? How about enchanting stuff with that wand? What of that wand’s ability to heal people? Imagine all you could do if you had that thing up your sleeve.

Also, Harry didn’t tell Ron to go with him to save Malfoy

No he didn’t. Ron turned back of his own will. Because Ron loved Harry and was willing to endanger not only his life, but also the one of the woman he loved, to save Harry from a fiery death trap. Ron chose to go back because he knew Harry was gonna try to save everyone like the idiot martyr he is.

he only wanted Ron to come to the Ministry because he didn’t want to put his friends in danger. 

You greatly overestimate Harry’s niceness.

Harry’s  eyes  met  Ron’s.  He  knew  that  Ron  was  thinking  exactly  what he was: If he could have chosen any members of the D.A. in ad-dition  to  himself,  Ron,  and  Hermione  to  join  him  in  the  attempt  to  rescue Sirius, he would not have picked Ginny, Neville, or Luna. - Order of the Phoenix

He’s not thinking that because he’s nice and ~doesn’t want to put them in danger uwu~: he’s thinking that because he thinks Ginny, Neville and Luna aren’t good enough to rescue Sirius. To be fair, that’s also quite pragmatic: Neville has indeed great trouble with magic due to his father’s wand, and Luna has never participated in an adventure to fight Voldemort, while Ginny’s participation was that of his victim.

Why do you think Harry and hermione are selfish and don’t deserve him? That ain’t true 

Because yes, that’s true. They’re fundamentally self-absorbed. Part of it is teenage immaturity, of course, and Ron can be similarly self-centred, but Harry is often going around thinking “me me me”. Like, when Arthur Weasley got bitten by Nagini he was thinking about how he was going to look crazy if he said he dreamed he was the snake, what the fuck Harry.

Similarly, Hermione often prioritizes herself and her feelings above Ron’s. She treats Harry very delicately because poor wee Harry is a poor orphan and that’s so sad but she has no such qualms with Ron since she doesn’t realize that his baggage amounts to a little more than just “I feel overshadowed by everyone that came before me”: it’s legit “I feel that nobody will ever love me because who’d care for a loser like me when there are all those great people around me?”. To be fair Hermione is not a psychologist, and she’s not under obligation to help Ron cope with his feelings, but when you’re friends with someone you usually try to support them a bit.

Look at how Harry and Hermione reacted to the bullying campaign against Ron in OOTP. Not. One. Fucking. Thing. Ron left to trudge alone in the snow for maybe hours after his first match, and they didn’t fucking try to find him, they stayed holed up in the common room, just staring at each other and feeling sorry for themselves. I don’t know if it’s a Brit thing to leave a friend alone with their own dark thoughts for company after a terrible public humiliation but it’s certainly not a good friend thing.

Harry got glimpses in to Voldy cause thats influence. Harry can’t be controlled because he is so full of the “force (Voldy) detests”. It is said multiple times that’s why. And he is so “purely and strongly” associated with love. It’s what makes Harry, Harry. Despite what he’s been through, he remains “pure of heart” as Dumbledore put it, he sacrifices himself and it sets off a protection charm for everyone

Yeah because bullshit plot device magic blah blah blah, really it ain’t shit. It’s mostly an excuse. Because how offensive it is to imagine that had Harry just gone to Voldemort a bit earlier, then the “““Love Charm”““ would save everyone? Fred, Lupin, Tonks, Colin, had Harry moved his fucking ass and just surrendered he’d have saved them all. Hell, when you already consider that the Battle of Hogwarts happened at Hogwarts because fucking Harry absolutely HAD to be the one to get one of Voldemort’s Horcruxes you see, couldn’t have summoned Kreacher and asked him to search the place, couldn’t have remained hidden and entrusted the other students with the search, nooo, absolutely HAD to go to Hogwarts aka the place where every child is held hostage by a fascist government that could decide to kill them all for “hiding Undesirable Number One in their midst so they deserved their fate”... Genius move Harry, truly. +50 people dead thanks to you, fucking dumbass.

he tries to save Voldy, 

Um, not really, he just told Vold to try and feel some remorse. Then bullshit space magic about the Elder Wand so Harry is technically not a murderer because he just Disarmed his opponent, you see, he’s still pure yall, cause killing someone quickly and painlessly (= Avada Kedavra) is worse than torture (= Crucio), ysee?

Harry felt bad for Hagrid when Aragon died and wanted to be there for Hagrid, despite Aragon nearly eating him. Ron did not.

............................... um, no.

“Hagrid!”  cried  Hermione,  leaping  up,  hurrying  around  the  table  the  long  way  to  avoid  the  barrel of maggots, and putting an arm around his shaking shoulders. “What is it?”  “It’s...him...”  gulped  Hagrid,  his  beetle-black  eyes  streaming  as  he  mopped  his  face  with  his  apron. “It’s...Aragog...I think he’s dyin’...He got ill over the summer an’ he’s not gettin’ better... I don’ know what I’ll do if he...if he...We’ve bin tergether so long...”  Hermione patted Hagrid’s shoulder, looking at a complete loss for anything to say. Harry knew how  she  felt.  He  had  known  Hagrid  to  present  a  vicious  baby  dragon  with  a  teddy  bear,  seen  him  croon  over  giant  scorpions  with  suckers  and  stingers,  attempt  to  reason  with  his  brutal  giant  of  a  half-brother, but this was perhaps the most incomprehensible of all his monster fancies: the gigantic talking spider, Aragog, who dwelled deep in the Forbidden Forest and which he and Ron had only narrowly escaped four years previously.  “Is there — is there anything we can do?” Hermione asked, ignoring Ron’s frantic grimaces and head-shakings.  “I  don’  think  there  is,  Hermione,”  choked  Hagrid,  attempting  to  stem  the  flood  of  his  tears.  “See, the rest o’ the tribe...Aragog’s family...they’re gettin’ a bit funny now he’s ill...bit restive...”  “Yeah, I think we saw a bit of that side of them,” said Ron in an undertone.  “...I  don’  reckon  it’d  be  safe  fer  anyone  but  me  ter  go  near  the  colony  at  the  mo’,”  Hagrid  finished, blowing his nose hard on his apron and looking up. “But thanks fer offerin’, Hermione...It means a lot.”  After  that,  the  atmosphere  lightened  considerably,  for  although  neither  Harry  nor  Ron  had  shown any inclination to go and feed giant grubs to a murderous, gargantuan spider, Hagrid seemed to take it for granted that they would have liked to have done and became his usual self once more. - Half-Blood Prince

Then

“Excellent,” he said. “Really excellent. Right...I’m going down to Hagrid’s.”  “What?” said Ron and Hermione together, looking aghast.  “No, Harry — you’ve got to go and see Slughorn, remember?” said Hermione.  “No,”  said  Harry  confidently.  “I’m  going  to  Hagrid’s,  I’ve  got  a  good  feeling  about  going  to  Hagrid’s.”  “You’ve got a good feeling about burying a giant spider?” asked Ron, looking stunned.  “Yeah,”  said  Harry,  pulling  his  Invisibility  Cloak  out  of  his  bag.  “I  feel  like  it’s  the  place  to  be  tonight, you know what I mean?”  “No,” said Ron and Hermione together, both looking positively alarmed now.  “This  is  Felix  Felicis,  I  suppose?”  said  Hermione  anxiously,  holding  up  the  bottle  to  the  light.  “You haven’t got another little bottle full of — I don’t know —”  “Essence of Insanity?” suggested Ron, as Harry swung his cloak over his shoulders.  Harry laughed, and Ron and Hermione looked even more alarmed.  “Trust me,” he said. “I know what I’m doing...or at least” he strolled confidently to the door — “Felix does.” - Half-Blood Prince

Harry doesn’t want to go to Hagrid’s out of the goodness and lurve of his heart. He’s going because it’s convenient. Because Felix Felicis.

Harry really isn’t anything special. Anyone with basic math skills can realize that dying to save possibly hundreds of people is better than you living and possibly hundreds dying. That’s nothing to do with purity of the heart or shit, that’s just math.

[nitewrighter]

Heya, Mun!! :Dc

I absolutely adored the Thing fic with the fankids!!! And I was wondering if there would be a continuation/part 2/sequel to that fic? Or was the gang's leaving through the elevator them leaving to safety? I was just imagining them just unwittingly sinking deeper into the bowels of that lab for more terrifying encounters! I hope you're doing well!!! :DDD

(Referring back to this fic)

The elevator was supposed to be them going up to safety, but I think followup would be interesting...

----

Winston, Jack, Mei, and Mercy were all seated at the conference table, opposite of Marti, Aedan, Jaime, and Samir. A part of Aedan was relieved that the people looking at their debrief was mostly scientists, but it still made his stomach turn as Jack frowned at his tablet.

“...a blob,” said Jack Morrison, glancing up from the tablet that held the team’s debrief, “...you went into the Talon lab, and you were attacked by a blob.”

“A mass of nanites and human tissue, yes,” said Samir.

“A blob,” said Jaime.

“It’s unclear if it was attacking or attempting to communicate,” said Marti, not fully making eye contact with him. Jack’s wrinkled brow furrowed wincingly at her own words, lending further reality to the events described to him. Jaime had bullshitted him before, and Aedan and Samir both had a habit of launching off into multiple tangents that suggested muddled observation, but Marti had eyes on a mission that he could count on as his own--probably better than his own, with his age.

“Was--was this like back at Urdr, or--?” said Jack.

“You have to understand, this wasn’t a nanite amalgam,” said Aedan, “It had human DNA. In all likelihood, it had your DNA.”

“And Reyes’s,” Samir added in as Jack paled.

“So, what, this was a failed attempt before they made the woman that attacked you back in Japan?” said Jack.

“Andrea,” said Aedan.

Jack gave him an odd look, mulling over the name.  

“Her name is Andrea,” said Aedan.

“From the Greek ‘Andros,’ ‘of man,’” Winston chimed in, “Quite a clever name considering her--” Jack shot a look at Winston and Winston cleared his throat.

“Yes--We’re pretty sure the lab was the site, or a site, where they were attempting to clone you and Reyes,” said Marti.

“And you said you sealed the lab behind you?” said Winston, looking at Marti.

“We could open it again, with decryption,” said Marti.

“Don’t really want to do that anytime soon though...” said Jaime.

“And you said it apparently ‘fed’ on biotics and... biomass?” said Mercy, looking at her own tablet.

“Our working theory is that it must have consumed several scientists, forcing Talon to abandon the site,” said Samir.

“If it made it out, it could spell ecological disaster for the surrounding area,” murmured Mei.

“Well, that might be dependent on how... resilient it is,” said Aedan, “I mean, just outside that lab is unforgiving snowy peaks and glacial ocean. If it has human DNA, it might be subject to similar limitations.”

“So it can be killed,” said Jack.

Aedan paled.

“If it’s sealed in the lab, it could just... starve to death on its own, right?” said Jaime.

“With the artificial aging on clones and biotics basically shutting down decomposition on the clones that were still in their amnio-tanks, it’s not actually clear how long its been down there,” said Aedan. His gaze had become fixed on the wood of the table, “But based on how it reacted to our presence...”

“I think it was hungry,” said Jaime.

Aedan could feel Mercy’s eyes on him, studious, discerning, and he wanted to shrink into his chair and disappear.

“If the lab is sealed, I think we can assume it doesn’t currently present a threat to the surrounding area,” said Winston.

“So, we just stick a pin in the secret lab in Cordillera Darwin that has a cannibalistic human-nanite blob lurking around in it?” said Jack.

“Well, we could call in Interpol,” said Winston.

Aedan tensed in his seat at the mental image of a wall of armed agents of some unknown country fixing their sights on the blob.

“We still don’t know the extent of how much Talon may have infiltrated the UN or different governments,” said Jack.

Mercy shuddered, “Just as well, if the existence of such an organism becomes mainstream knowledge, it could kick off a biological arms race. Even governments who abhor Talon’s biological experiments may see the need to create their own... projects... to try and counter it.”

“Keeping secrets never went particularly well for us, either,” said Jack.

“Mei and I could test the waters with other scientists in our correspondence,” said Mercy, “Get a gauge on how desperate other countries might be with regards to Talon’s research...”

“We could have Athena re-direct one of our satellites to send us more regular updates of imagery of the area if anything changes,” suggested Mei, “I could set up cryo-mines to stop it without too much damage to the lab...”

“If it could be frozen...” said Winston.

“if I had some samples of it... just to get a better idea of what we’re up against...” Mercy started.

“Why are we against it?” said Aedan, his voice came out as a flinch. “It didn’t ask to be made, but now we’re talking about killing it like it’s--it’s-- some sort of infection!”

“We didn’t say we would kill it,” said Winston.

“Only that it could be killed--” Aedan argued.

“It’s not an infection--” Mei started calmly.

“You said it was an ecological threat!”

“It consumes biomass---” Mei started.

“It has human DNA---” Aedan’s voice was overlapping with hers, “What, because it’s ugly? Because it’s a blob?”

“Even if it has intelligence, it’s highly likely that intelligence was also shaped by Talon’s brainwashing. If it’s smart, it could be as hell-bent on destroying us as that other cl--Andrea,” said Jack.

“But LaCroix came back from it!” said Aedan, “What, it comes into the world with no context except what Talon pumped into it and we just decide it’s a monster!? Let it be locked away in that lab or--?”

Aedan felt a hand on his shoulder and he glanced sharply over at Marti. “What?!” he snapped.

“...it tried to eat us,” said Marti.

“I--” Aedan inhaled and found his breath was short. Aedan wasn’t sure what he was arguing. He could remember the sheer terror of that thing pursuing him, the sheer horror that it came from an amnio-tank like he did. For a few mad flailing seconds he wondered if this was some instinct his mother implanted in him--an unconscious kinship with the monstrous, some mental building block for the world she wanted to build--no, no, too much speculation, too much spiraling. “I’m emotionally compromised,” Aedan said, standing up, “If you require further details on the debrief, you can call me but--I--I need some air.”

“Aedan--” Samir started as he stood up but Aedan was already out the door.

“...so... putting a pin in it?” said Winston, after a long pause.

----

David Bowie’s ‘Quicksand’ warbled through Aedan’s earbuds as he listened to the song on his comm and sat on the small bench in the Watchpoint garden. Aedan closed his eyes and took in the smell of upturned earth and orange blossoms on the ocean air. The sunlight glowed red through his eyelids, but he opened his eyes as he felt a shadow pass over him and startled slightly to see Mercy blocking the sun. He tensed a bit. “...is... there something you need, Doctor Ziegler?” he said warily.

“May I sit?” said Mercy.

Aedan scooted over and she took a seat next to him on the garden bench. A long silence passed between them.

“You know, we planted that olive tree over there when Rei was born,” Mercy said, pushing brightness into her voice and pointing at an olive tree with some canvas spread beneath it to catch the falling olives.

“Yes, she, um... told me when she gave me the tour,” said Aedan.

“Oh,” said Mercy. And they sat in silence a while longer. Aedan couldn’t recall a time when Mercy had ever actively sought him out, and she seemed too awkward to have any malice in her actions--not that it was really in character for her to go out of her way to be malicious to him, but he knew his presence in general made her uncomfortable, especially with regards to Rei. Mercy clasped her hands together in her lap.

“Aedan--” she started.

“Look--” Aedan started speaking at the same time but he caught himself and glanced down, “Sorry. You go first.”

“I... wanted to apologize for that debriefing,” said Mercy, “Of course it was standard procedure that those on the mission be present, and given the nature of the mission, it was important that you were there, but we should have taken more care.”

“I know... time sensitive,” said Aedan, slouching his elbows onto his knees.

“And... I apologize for the precedent I’ve set in how I’ve treated you,” said Mercy.

Aedan blinked. “What?”

“You threw all security and your entire future with Talon away to save Rei, but I still viewed you as a potential threat to us for months,” said Mercy.

“Well... that’s fair,” Aedan said a little helplessly, not really sure what to say, “I mean, given the history with LaCroix---”

“And we all rationalized it as that for all that time when it must have been incredibly lonely to you,” said Mercy.

“I was scared of it, too,” Aedan blurted out.

“What?” said Mercy.

“I--I was scared Mum put something in me. Something in my head. Some unconscious set of automatic orders that I would follow just when we’d all let our guard down,” his breath shook a little, “I even looked for it--Master Zenyatta helped me search for it in my head--some Shambali hypnosis thing--but it wasn’t there. But a part of me’s still scared of it,” Aedan threaded his thin fingers into his red hair, “Zenyatta said, maybe this fear is some... manifestation of having this-this consciousness just... propped up within me all at once. Like... I don’t have... the physical chronology so my brain keeps thinking there has to be something more and then jumping to the worst conclusion---” he curled his knuckles against his forehead, “Seeing that thing in that lab--Mum made me to prove that nanite organisms can survive infancy--and once Talon knew they could do that, they just started making....” His other hand unconsciously went over the point on his solarplexus where Andrea’s fist had torn out of him, “They just... started making...” He drew a steadying breath before letting his hand drop from his solarplexus.

He felt a gentle hand on his back and his head jerked over to look at Mercy. She was looking at him gently.

“I don’t know what I could say that could comfort you,” Mercy said quietly, “I wish I did.”

“Honestly I’m still kind of processing the fact that you’re even listening to me right now,” said Aedan.

Mercy snorted. “Fair,” she said with a slight nod before looking over at him, “Have you... mentioned any of this to Rei?”

“I’ve heaped enough clone hangups on her,” muttered Aedan, “And she’s scared enough about Mnemosyne nearly being used on her back in Urdr without me adding my anxieties to the list.”

“You shouldn’t think like that,” said Mercy.

“Like what?”

“Making yourself smaller and living with a problem rather than working through it,” said Mercy, “But... you could talk to me, or Genji, or Zenyatta about it. There was a time when Genji had a lot of anxieties about how human he was, as well.”

“Oh--Uh, thank you,” said Aedan, honestly more than a little intimidated at the prospect of talking to Rei’s father.

“You’re a part of this team, and you’ve proven that plenty of times,” Mercy went on, “And... we wanted you in that debriefing not just because you were on the mission, but I think... we thought you might know better than anyone how to deal with..”

“A giant cannibalistic human tissue nanite blob that we’re not even sure is sentient?” said Aedan.

“Yes,” Mercy caught herself, “But I don’t mean ‘deal with’ like--”

“I understand,” said Aedan. He paused, “I--I don’t want to kill it. Or hurt it. Not unless we have to, and not until we understand it more.”

“I agree,” said Mercy.

“Maybe it could even help you find that cure for Reyes,” Aedan mentioned offhandedly.

Mercy gave him a slightly shrewd look.

“I knew it crossed your mind,” said Aedan, he caught himself, “But--it can’t be a lab rat, either...” his voice trailed off a little, “I wonder if it’s in pain right now...Maybe it had been down there so long, the nanites in it couldn’t distinguish between loneliness and hunger...” 

A softness filled Mercy’s eyes and she tilted her head at him slightly. 

“What?” said Aedan.

“You know... your mother was always trying to push humanity to something... beyond human. I just think it’s very special that you try to see humanity in what we don’t understand.”

Aedan scratched at his temple blankly, weighing her words for a few long seconds. “Uh... thank you.”

Another pause passed between them, not uncomfortable, but both ruminating on passing over a threshold of mutual discomfort into a sort of cautious familiarity. 

“Does loneliness sometimes feel like hunger to you?” said Mercy, her brow crinkling slightly with some amused curiosity, “With your nanites?”

“Well, I don’t know if the connection is that direct, but sometimes I feel them... perking up when I’m with Rei, and I wonder if they’re responding to the biotics her body naturally--” Aedan realized he said the words ‘perking up’ and ‘her body’ regarding Rei to Rei’s mother, instantly caught himself, and noted that Mercy’s face had shifted from gentle curiosity to maternal alarm. He cleared his throat. “Er--I mean... it’s probably psychosomatic---It’s not like I feel the same around a biotic rifle---That is---nanites are--You know what? I’m going to stop talking.”

“Mm,” Mercy forced a nod, “Yes. I think this is a good point to stop.”

“Good talk?” said Aedan.

“Good talk,” Mercy huffed before standing up. 

“And--Doctor Ziegler?” Aedan said as Mercy started to walk away. She glanced over her shoulder at him.

“Thank you,” said Aedan, “Really.” 

Mercy smiled a little. 

[mingtiddies]

prince!jihoon

genre: fluff at some point, a little funny??, prince au

word count: 2470

warnings: blood, gun violence (one shot fired), (it’s not very detailed but it’s there), mentions of sex

a/n: for some reason everytime i write for jihoon it’s super long jzhgdzjhg

● jihoon wished you would shut up

● which you’d understand if you were blabbing like prince soonyoung

● but your job made it kinda hard NOT to talk to jihoon

● you were the daughter of a high government official

● and you were following in the footsteps of your mom, by overseeing laws made by the royal family

● and also by advising the crown of laws they could make to improve the life of the kingdom

● and since prince jihoon was getting ready to be crowned king, he was already given the responsibility of making laws

● you’d seen first hand what some of the people were going through

● although crimes weren’t that big of a problem (your mom and the king had passed enough laws for the people to think twice about committing any crime)

● poverty was one that broke families apart and even started to take a toll on the economy of the kingdom

● and you had so many ideas to try and improve their lives

● the downside was that you had to talk to jihoon so he’d provide insight and actually submit the laws

● and prince jihoon hated it so much

● jihoon likes to be alone

● all the time

● so he avoided his staff as much as he could

● and jihoon loves to sleep

● and he’s also a terrible morning person

● but as future king, there’s no such thing as sleeping in

● the entire staff dreaded waking him up

● pls save them

● they thought it was a literal chore

● “rock, paper, scissors, the loser wakes up prince jihoon”

● so when you started barging into his room at 7am while the staff was deciding who would go in and wake the prince up, they felt so relieved

● so now you woke up jihoon on a daily basis

● “okay so i was thinking...”

● and the prince is irritated to no end

● one day you came to your mother’s office to review a few law requests

● and there was one from jihoon !!!

● (he rarely submits any)

● “y/n cannot speak nor approach prince jihoon for five to twenty minutes of his choosing each day”

● you laughed, albeit bitterly

● but boy almost hates you as much as soonyoung

● which is funny because soonyoung is a good friend of yours as you’ve helped his kingdom for a few months

● he has so much trouble trying to get rid of other princes

● for some reason??? they think jihoon’s kingdom is a good place to chill

● received a snap from prince seungcheol, from just outside the palace at the window

● creepy mf

● has once locked you in the dungeon

● the staff was so confused but so conflicted because your mom scares them but jihoon is the prince and his parents are the king and queen

● but you found it funny

● because you once locked jihoon in the dungeon too

● no one even noticed because he hides so much from the staff that they assumed he was hiding again

● has also locked you and prince soonyoung in the dungeon at the same time

● “WHY DO YOU EVEN HAVE A DUNGEON”

● “for annoying people like YOU”

● worst decision he ever made

● because that’s when soonyoung became your best friend

● (you also befriended soonyoung’s future wife who had so much trouble keeping him in his own kingdom)

● soonyoung now texts jihoon privately too

● he mostly told him to listen to you

● another reason jihoon wanted to lock you in the dungeon:

● you always kept finding him????

● how????

● not even the staff could find him

● at some point (none of you notice) he stops being irritated when you come see him

● he still wouldn’t talk to you but at least he wouldn’t grumble and groan at everything you said

● sometimes he’d smile !!!!

● and if you pointed it out he’d scowl and go back to being expressionless

● while all of this occurs

● tension grew between the wealthy class and the poor class

● so jihoon had to listen to you now

● and so one day you were walking the public royal garden with jihoon

● (which now seems like it was a terrible idea but the people knew who you were so being seen with jihoon was a good move when public relations had purposely spread rumors of the crown working on laws to improve the life of the lower class)

● suddenly someone in the garden screamed at the two of you

● they were clearly angry and they were talking about laws to help people like him

● and before the guards accompanying you could react, the man fired a weapon in your direction

● which was originally aimed at jihoon

● but hit you instead

● the bullet hit you in the arm near the shoulder, went right through

● panic spread so fast that it took them a second to realize it was you who’d been shot

● the screams from everyone had kinda drowned yours

● jihoon was the first to hear you and he almost flipped

● just as a guard laid eyes on you (and all the blood dripping down your arm)

● (finally)

● so they rushed you to the nearest hospital

● whatever went through jihoon’s mind, his entire demeanor changed

● you think you blacked out because you can’t really remember anything from after being shot

● like it was so surreal to you

● so now you’re in a hospital bed, your arm hurt as fuck and you still don’t understand how tf this happened

● jihoon was sitting next to your bed when you woke up, on his phone trying to calm down all the princes who had seen the news

● “you look like someone died”

● (for a second prince jihoon imagined his life without you in it, and not only was it boring but it was also lonely)

● “you almost did”

● “but i didn’t”

● “but you almost did”

● “but i didn’t”

● he wanted to kill you for a hot second

● “yeah well you still got shot”

● and it’s so obvious that it bothered and affected jihoon

● but before you could say anything else, prince soonyoung barged in

● a nurse tried to stop him because “prince soonyoung you can’t risk startling a patient”

● but soonyoung barely heard the poor nurse

● “OH MY GOD Y/N YOU’RE ALIVE”

● he hugged you but it hurt you so he apologized

● and then he started hitting jihoon????

● lightly hitting because well soonyoung doesn’t really have a death wish

● still very brave of him to even touch prince jihoon

● the prince’s patience was running so thin

● “HOW COULD YOU DO THIS TO HER YOU MONSTER”

● to get him off jihoon’s case, you pretended your arm hurt more

● and it worked lmaoo

● because soonyoung immediately came to dote on you and make sure you were okay

● jihoon didn’t know and even he glanced at you worriedly before seeing your face

● your “i’m up to something” face

● and then you have like five princes in your room

● two of them being soonyoung and jihoon

● and the others were princes you’d advised on some laws

● prince minghao, prince wonwoo and prince chan

● you made one joke about being shot and everyone scolded you

● “who do we kill”

● “i need a name and a description”

● “i have royal hitmen on speed dial”

● “i already ordered his execution”

● jihoon said it so calmly?????

● it’s when he said it that you realized you were looking at him and him at you

● all the princes turned to him

● because

● that’s not really how it works here and even they know that

● the shooter would definitely be charged, but there was a protocol to follow

● and by ordering the man’s death, prince jihoon completely overlooked that

● (cough he did it for you cough)

● the princes tried to tell him

● but all jihoon replied was “he’s lucky i’m not the one executing him”

● and well it’s jihoon so would he ever admit he did it because he was angry because he almost lost you

● well surprise !!!! because he did admit to it

● the man was long found and killed 

● you had joked about prince jihoon killing to avenge/protect his people

● and he had muttered that it was just you and that he’d do it again

● which shouldn’t have been such a big surprise to you since you’d seen the look in his eyes when he had said he had ordered the execution

● oh and jihoon’s parents were pissed like seriously pissed

● a struck of luck would have it that the shooter’s actions had been so dangerous (not just for the crown and the royal court but also the people) that public relations released an immediate statement about executing the shooter as soon as he was found

● anyway so like “it’s just you though, and i’d do it again for you”

● !!!!!!!!!

● he then submitted a law that stated you should never be allowed outside of the palace’s premises without at least two royal bodyguards

● which your mother approved of, but not as a law lmaoo

● but it touched you that he cared enough to give you big men to protect you

● you teased him so much for hinting at him liking you

● and he tried to submit another law that said you weren’t allowed to talk about his feelings for you

● which !!!! actually proved to you that he did have feelings

● “you do realize my mother’s office deals with important laws right?”

● and you had the request for the law in your hand, neatly written, with the prince’s seal at the bottom

● he sat at his desk, nose buried in paperwork

● and you had a shit-eating grin on your face, leaning against his desk

● “i’m glad you’re admitting you like me though”

● the prince blushed madly and you tore up the official paper

● jihoon was almost offended as he watched the pieces dropping on his desk

● but that was okay

● because you then leaned across his desk and pecked his cheek

● it was funny because while your mother was very wary of the relationship you two began to share, the king and queen actually supported it

● your family was well respected across many kingdoms

● and it would be a plus for them to have you stay as your mother moved on to another kingdom

● it’s when the queen started pressing you and jihoon into making an announcement about getting engaged that jihoon thought

● ‘i do wanna marry her’ and that no one could be a better future queen than you

● so he did what he thought would make you both laugh at how ridiculous it was but also make you happy

● he submitted a law stating that he was to marry you at the date and location of your choice

● the squeal you let out scared tf out of your mom lol

● and she was even more confused when you ran out of the room but you’d tell her later

● it was morning

● and prince jihoon did not expect you to be reading it so early in the morning

● so when you barged into his room at like 7am he just groaned and told you to go away

● “prince jihoon, prince jihoon, prince jihoon, prince jihoon, prince jihoon”

● “let me sleep or i’ll call the guards on you”

● to be fair, you were extra annoying on purpose, bouncing on his bed and everything haha

● “jihoon~”

● he groaned again and covered his head with his covers

● which you found adorable

● your grumpy prince

● “come back in five hours”

● so unreasonable

● so you got up to leave and you were about to

● but who would you be if you didn’t tease him more? haha

● “hm i don’t know if i’ll still want to marry you in five hours, but suit yourself”

● and of course you were out of his room before he had time to process your words

● you greeted the staff on your way back to the office

● behind you people gasped and you could hear running?

● (i mean the staff hadn’t seen the prince running since he was a kid and some had never seen him run at all)

● so your words did have an impact

● although you did not expect the prince to trap you into his arms in the middle of the hallway

● “nevermind the five hours, please marry me”

● you were going to tease him a bit more

● but hearing the words coming out of his mouth rather than being written on paper kinda did things to you

● honestly you almost squealed again

● but you kept your cool and told him you’d marry him right now if he wanted to

● which he almost took to heart because he said let’s go

● you stopped him because there was no way the two of you would be getting married right now

● so he invited you to breakfast

● you had already eaten

● but you said yes regardless

● on your way to breakfast, you stopped by your mom’s office, leaving prince jihoon outside for a second

● “I’M GONNA GET MARRIED, I’M GETTING MARRIED”

● jihoon totally heard you and so did the staff walking past the prince

● he was so red lmaoo

● it was a tiny bit worth it

● you talked less and he hid less

● well at least he hid less from you

● the staff still struggled to find him, and he usually was with you

● as for you talking his ear off, it started to become a telltale sign for your nervousness and stress

● e.g when your work was stressing you out

● when you were trying to make surprises for him (birthdays were Not surprises rip)

● or when you got pregnant

● which is how he found out

● you had started advising him more than usual about laws

● just nervous blabbing about the future of children

● most of them were about protecting children, laws for orphans, laws for school

● and he kinda just put two and two together

● jihoon’s parents found it so funny that you got pregnant before the two of you were even king and queen

● parenthood had its ups and downs and both you and jihoon were relieved that you could raise your little one before being crowned

● jihoon didn’t think he could handle being a king and raising a baby

● by the time you were crowned your little prince was almost 10 years old and the two of you tried to avoid making a second one lol

● at the end of the day, if you were to be pregnant again, jihoon would be happy regardless

● around his third or fourth year of being king, jihoon developed baby fever

● him and his son both being only sons played a huge part in wanting to have another kid

● (he literally brought it up when you were having sex)

● “wouldn’t the gap be too wide between the two?”

● “let’s have two more then”

● you grumbled about being the one carrying the children for nine months

● but you ended up having two children anyways lmao

seungcheol ║ jeonghan ║ joshua ║ junhui ║ soonyoung ║ wonwoo ║ jihoon ║ seokmin ║ mingyu ║ minghao ║ seungkwan ║ vernon ║ chan

[death-himself]

Hidden in Shadows—Chapter 10

Summary: Virgil wakes up and musters up the courage to talk to Mr. Sanders. It's just as awkward as you'd expect.

Word Count: 1,590

Warnings: Panic, fear, Virgil over-thinking things, food

previous next (AO3 Link)

Virgil slowly awoke, his eyes flickering open a few times before looking around his surroundings. He was still in the pillow fort, and by the three small bodies around him, the kids were still there as well, likely still asleep. He looked over at Roman, his nose scrunching a bit as he saw the dark circle of drool on his jacket, very slowly and gently shifting Roman’s head off his arm. Note to self: Roman drools in his sleep. Fun.

Virgil looked over at the TV, surprised to see it had been turned off. He didn’t remember doing that.

That’s when he began to pick up on the noise in the kitchen, the sound of a man humming to himself, feet going across the tile, and the occasional clatter of pots or pans.

His throat constricted immediately, the hand that had been absent-mindedly running through Patton’s hair beginning to tremble.

Mr. Sanders was here. He was here and he had seen and he must be scared, right? Or maybe he hadn’t seen. Maybe he was still somehow completely oblivious to Virgil’s presence. 

No, that couldn’t be it. He would have checked on his kids, which meant he had seen Virgil’s face, then realized he was the bogeyman, and is therefore scared.

But then why is he humming?

The only explanation Virgil could come to was that Mr. Sanders had called the police, or the FBI, or some kind of man in black, or whatever kind of government agency was in charge of killing bogeymen. Did the government even have an agency like that? Virgil didn’t want to know. All he knew was that Mr. Sanders was calm enough to be humming, which meant he had found a way to deal with the problem. The problem being Virgil existing around his kids.

The problem himself swallowed down a lump in his throat. His whole body was trembling at this point, and he slowly detached his hand from Patton’s head, beginning to worry that his gentle strokes would quickly turn into straight up clawing. He listened closely as Mr. Sanders continued to hum.

His humming had always been one of the most soothing sounds he had ever heard. He would always listen if Mr. Sanders began humming one of his kids to sleep, every once in a while almost falling asleep right then and there in the shadows listening to it.

But now that sound terrified him to no end. Mr. Sanders being calm enough to hum, when he knew that a dangerous monster was in the other room with his kids; in Virgil’s mind at least, it meant the father had a plan to get rid of him. Virgil thought over his options, realizing he didn’t really have any except to flee if the father really had called for help, and no other options came up for if he hadn’t.

But then that small, hopeful part of his mind—the part he had had locked away up until the kids had begun calling him their big brother—spoke up, and made a new idea. He hated it with every fiber of his being, and it scared him even more than this whole situation, but...it was better than running.

He was gonna talk to Mr. Sanders. As he carefully tried to slither out of the three kids’ grips, his mind and body screamed that this was a horrible idea. Would he even listen to him? Sure, he had seen Virgil already, and he was aware that he was there, but that was while Virgil was asleep, and defenseless, and vulnerable.

Having a nine foot tall horrific soul-stealing monster appear in the shadows behind you would definitely be a bad introduction. And that’s exactly what Virgil did.

Mr. Sanders continued to hum as he poured a pot full of noodles into a strainer, the boiling hot water filtering through. He didn’t notice Virgil still standing behind him, awkwardly shifting from one foot to the other as his mind screamed There’s still time to back out of this! Move your ass out of here!

The father poured the noodles back into the pot, turning around to grab the sauce off the burner. He stared at Virgil’s jacket for a moment, before allowing his gaze to trail up and meet Virgil’s eyes.

His eyes were blank for a surprisingly long time, his brain seeming to be processing what was going on at .5 speed. Virgil just stood there, staring back at him. It was only when he glanced away for a millisecond that Mr. Sanders reacted. His eyes shot wide and he scrambled back, tripping on nothing and falling on his butt, never looking away from Virgil as he began to hyperventilate.

“Uh...” Virgil glanced around the kitchen frantically, unsure of what to do or say. “Good to meet you too.” Never has he wanted to punch himself more than in this moment.

Mr. Sanders blinked up at him, his gaze not seeming to decide what set of eyes he was meant to look at, before deciding to simply focus on Virgil’s claws. Virgil quickly shoved his hands into his pockets.

“S-So...you’re Virgil, huh?” Mr. Sanders stuttered out, his voice trembling slightly with fear. Virgil tried his best to ignore it.

“Yeah...hey.” The father answered back with a breathless “hey” as he forced himself to his feet, watching Virgil for a moment longer, before forcing his eyes away to finish off the pasta.

“Sorry, I was just...surprised, is all.”

“It’s fine.”

“I mean...it’s not really every day you see a, well...a bogeyman just...standing there...behind you...”

“I already said it’s fine, I get it, you don’t have to elaborate.” Mr. Sanders flinched at the annoyed tone. Virgil bit back a curse, sliding down to the ground, sitting with his knees up to his chest as he watched the father go back to his business.

Mr. Sanders glanced back at him every few seconds as he mixed the sauce into the pasta. His fear shone through every glance. Virgil tried to make himself as least intimidating as possible, curling his arms around his legs and hugging them to his chest, dropping his chin onto his knee and hiding the bottom half of his face behind his arms. He couldn’t help but continue to watch Mr. Sanders, though.

Clearly, his whole “talking” plan was going along great.

“The garlic bread’ll be done soon.” Mr. Sanders peeped out awkwardly.

“...Cool.” The father nodded in some sort of affirmation, and that was our conversation. Virgil tapped his claws against the tile, the quiet clicking sound calming him somewhat. It only seemed to make Mr. Sanders even more nervous, so he quickly stopped, biting at his lip instead.

He watched as the father glanced back at him again, opening and closing his mouth a couple times, as if he wanted to say something but didn’t know how to phrase it. Finally he spoke.

“My kids seem to like you.” Virgil hummed. “I guess so.”

“How’d you meet them?”

“How do you think?”

“Oh, uh…” Mr. Sanders stumbled over his words, clearing his throat. “Well, uh...I mean I just figured that you had...tried to take one of their souls and they saw you before you could.” He then muttered, “And maybe they managed to put some sort of spell on you to make you docile.” 

Virgil bit down harder on his lip at that, tasting his blood as it began slowly seeping out. He wanted to defend himself, to tell him that that wasn’t what happened. But it wasn’t like the father would believe him. Even if he did, it would probably freak him out knowing that Virgil had been watching him long before anyone had seen him.

“I won’t ever try to hurt them.” He spoke quietly, pulling his jacket tighter around himself. “I promise.”

Mr. Sanders looked back over to him, before shrugging and turning away again. “I believe that.” The oven’s timer went off, and he began pulling out the pan of garlic bread, setting it on a cutting board and taking out a knife. He seemed somewhat calmer, in a way.

“You...actually believe me with that?” Mr. Sanders nodded. “I’ve known you were here for three hours, I’ve had some time to think.” He began plating up the food onto four separate plates, continuing to speak.

“Roman has some trust issues. Logan too, but not as extreme. Roman was forced into the foster system because of something his parents did, and that thing they did—I won’t go into it—but it broke Roman, in a way. It took him forever to even give me a chance. He does have a pretty good radar for who’s good or bad now, though, so...I trust his judgement of you. Well, kinda.”

Mr. Sanders paused for a moment, before taking out an extra plate, looking over to Virgil. “You wanna stay for dinner? I’m gonna be honest and say that I don’t really trust you being around my kids without me around, except when you’re asleep, at least. But...I do wanna get to know you, and form my own opinions.”

When Virgil didn’t respond immediately, too surprised to do anything but blink, the father looked him over a bit, before furrowing his brow and asking, “Wait, are you able to eat things? Other than souls, I mean?” Virgil stared at him for a moment, before smirking and standing up from the ground.

“I can, yeah. And...dinner would be nice, I guess.”

[f4liveblogarchives]

Fantastic Four Vol 1 #182

Wed Aug 21 2019 [11:24 PM] Wack'd: Strap in because we've got seven straight issues of Len Wein [11:24 PM] Bocaj: The LenWeinening [11:26 PM] Wack'd: So when last we saw our heroes Counter-Reed, who is Reed from Counter-Earth, had stranded Reed, who is Counter-Reed from Earth, in the Negative Zone, and then Annihilus was like "hey we need to team up" so he and Reed teamed up against the Mad Thinker who is some kind of green lion now [11:26 PM] Wack'd: Also Sue is on to Counter-Reed so she and Alicia have teamed up to find a plan to counter Counter-Reed [11:27 PM] Wack'd: Also according to the letters page, which I neglected to mention, the Editor-in-Chief door with all the names crossed out? A real thing that hung on Archie Goodwin's door for a while. The more you knoooooooow [11:28 PM] Wack'd: Anyway Ben, Tigra, Thundra, Impossible Man, and Johnny come back with the hot robot from last issue and try to get Counter-Reed to figure out who's behind it [11:29 PM] maxwellelvis: That's "hot" as in wanted or possibly stolen [11:29 PM] maxwellelvis: they don't, like, find the robot physically attractive. [11:29 PM] Wack'd: No, that's "hot" as in "generates a fuckton of heat" [11:29 PM] maxwellelvis: Ahh [11:29 PM] Umbramatic: why not both [11:29 PM] Bocaj: Por que no- dammit [11:29 PM] Umbramatic: or all three [11:29 PM] Wack'd: But also it might've been stolen because last issue the government was demanding to hold onto it, so [11:30 PM] Wack'd: Anyway Counter-Reed covers for his inadequacies by ordering Thundra, Greer (trying to use given names), and Impy to go double-check the bank for clues. As they leave Greer is like "hey, did anyone else notice we don't work for him, what the fuck is going on" [11:31 PM] Wack'd: She also had suspected Counter-Reed is not Reed but is in fact Counter-Reed [11:31 PM] Wack'd: God I hate imposter plots [11:31 PM] Bocaj: This is a lot smarter than people tend to be in imposter plots [11:31 PM] Bocaj: Like three people already onto him [11:31 PM] Wack'd: True [11:32 PM] Wack'd: Anyway Counter-Reed then tells Johnny and Ben that actually he's positive the robot came from the Negative Zone and they should go check it out [11:33 PM] Wack'd: In what I think is the biggest sign Roy Thomas' attempt to rehabilitate Reed has gone horribly wrong, Ben immediately leaps to the conclusion Counter-Reed shooed out Thundra and Greer because he's a patriarchal git [11:33 PM] Wack'd: And didn't want to send them on a dangerous mission [11:34 PM] Wack'd: To Ben's credit, he's also noticed Counter-Reed incessantly watching the Negative Zone monitor, but thinks it's because he wants to rescue his doppleganger because he's such a nice guy [11:34 PM] KarkatTheDalek: Does Ben this that’s good or bad? [11:34 PM] Wack'd: He does not make a judgement call, only acknowledges it as a known facet of Reed's character [11:34 PM] KarkatTheDalek: Ah [11:34 PM] KarkatTheDalek: Neutral Guy Ben Grimm [11:35 PM] Wack'd: Anyway Agatha also kidnapped Franklin recently. Remember that? We have like fifteen plots going on right now [11:36 PM] Bocaj: I do remember [11:36 PM] Wack'd: So apparently Agatha needs Franklin's powers to deal with something otherworldly invading her home [11:36 PM] Bocaj: Sure [11:37 PM] Wack'd: Anyway Franklin is like "I won't let anyone hurt you, Auntie Agatha" which is usually the part where the adult would say something patronizing about how brave they're being [11:37 PM] Wack'd: But Agatha is like "yes, obviously, that's the entire reason you're here" [11:38 PM] Bocaj: Agatha Harkness has always been patronizing but in a different way [11:38 PM] Bocaj: She's older than everyone and knows everyone is dumber than she is [11:38 PM] maxwellelvis: In the same way Animated Madame Webb is [11:38 PM] Bocaj: Also sometimes she's a ghost. And everybody knows ghosts are jerks [11:38 PM] Wack'd: ONLY. TOONAMI.

[11:39 PM] maxwellelvis: You thought that sounded like a soundbyte they'd grab for one of those rad promos, eh? [11:39 PM] Bocaj: They had that one about not being intimidated that played all the time [11:39 PM] Bocaj: I don't even remember what show it was from [11:39 PM] Wack'd: The joke is "we won't be intimidated by criminal threats" from the Fleischer Superman cartoons [11:39 PM] maxwellelvis: Ahh [11:39 PM] Wack'd: That soundbyte far outlived those cartoons, duration-on-Toonami-wise [11:40 PM] Wack'd: Anyway Agatha tries to do a magic battle with these shadowy figures but one of them has a gun that when fired locks Agatha's hands in heavy metal gauntlets [11:41 PM] Wack'd: And by the time Sue and Agatha arrive to collect Franklin, whoever these shadowy figures are teleport away with Agatha and Franklin [11:41 PM] Wack'd: They kidnapped a kidnapping [11:41 PM] Wack'd: Some kind of kidnap turducken [11:41 PM] Bocaj: Guns that shoot handcuffs? [11:41 PM] Bocaj: Ridiculous [11:41 PM] Bocaj: Only arrows can shoot handcuffs [11:41 PM] Wack'd: Not just handcuffs, they're like--I really should screencap this [11:41 PM] Wack'd:

[11:42 PM] maxwellelvis: He has a MAGIC GUN! [11:42 PM] Wack'd: Where'd he purchase that [11:42 PM] maxwellelvis: (Where'd he - dammit [11:42 PM] Wack'd: Meanwhile! Ben and Johnny finally catch up with the rest of the plot [11:43 PM] Wack'd: See, back in issue 51, Reed designed a thing that was basically just a rope attached to a belt to tether folks to the...Positive Zone?...while they were in the Negative Zone [11:43 PM] Wack'd: But he nearly got stranded, decided they were too dangerous, and replaced them with a more Kirbyish full-body rig [11:44 PM] Wack'd: Ben and Johnny are well inside the Negative Zone by the time they realize haha, whoops! Reed strapped them into the early version [11:44 PM] maxwellelvis: "Roy's not the only one who can pull out ancient continuity, I'll show him!" -- Len Wein, probably [11:45 PM] Wack'd: So yeah, Ben and Johnny are about to turn back around and kick Counter-Reed's ass, but by miraculous coincidence, just as they figure out the plot, they find Reed and Annihilus [11:46 PM] Wack'd: Mad Thinker must've been thrilled when he found out he could possess a monster in the Negative Zone with his exact facial hair

[11:46 PM] Wack'd: I wonder if that's true for all Negative Zone beings. Maybe that's why Reed has a beard now [11:47 PM] maxwellelvis: You know, Kiko wasn't anywhere near as tall as his old man, technically speaking. [11:47 PM] maxwellelvis: I wonder if Ben's throwing that out there because Dino DeLaurentiis' King Kong had come out in the previous year. [11:48 PM] Wack'd: Probably [11:48 PM] maxwellelvis: Also, yes, "Kiko" is the name of the Son of Kong. [11:48 PM] Wack'd: So Reed, Johnny, Ben, and Annihilus beat a hasty retreat, and Ben and Johnny are like "hm, our Reed would never team up with Annihilus, maybe we were wrong" [11:48 PM] Wack'd: And then it turns out their tether cables have been cut [11:48 PM] Wack'd: Which settles the issue [11:50 PM] Wack'd: OKAY SO [11:50 PM] Wack'd: You wanna talk ancient continuity? [11:50 PM] Wack'd: This giant beast is not, in fact, a native of the Negative Zone, but one of Mad Thinker's robots that got chucked in there back in #69 and got mutated or something [11:51 PM] Wack'd: ...why did I think Mad Thinker had a beard?

[11:51 PM] Wack'd: Dude still dresses like a high school track coach, I remembered that much right [11:51 PM] Bocaj: He might look less ridiculous with a beard [11:51 PM] Wack'd: He might! [11:51 PM] Bocaj: His hair sure is a decision he made [11:51 PM] Bocaj: And continues to make [11:51 PM] maxwellelvis: He's still built like a high school track coach, too. [11:53 PM] Wack'd: I enjoy the fact that back when Buscema and Buckler were revising everyone's hair styles Mad Thinker wasn't around and so now he's stuck like this [11:54 PM] Wack'd: Back in...I'm just gonna keep calling it the Positive Zone until someone objects [11:54 PM] Wack'd: Back in the Positive Zone Sue tells Reed that their son has been double-abducted [11:54 PM] Wack'd: And he takes a long. Long time to figure out how he should react to that. [11:54 PM] Wack'd: So now the gig is officially up. Sue's worst fears are confirmed [11:55 PM] Wack'd: So Counter-Reed goes into Brute mode because now he has no choice but to kick Sue's ass [11:55 PM] Wack'd: He also calls her "the weakest member of the Fantastic Four" and you know whenever anyone says that with a straight face, and are not written by Stan Lee, a major ass-kicking is about to happen [11:56 PM] Bocaj: Look, Lincoln had a mom [11:56 PM] Bocaj: and therefore now slavery is illegal [11:56 PM] Wack'd: Right, yes [11:56 PM] Wack'd: ...oh goddammit [11:56 PM] Wack'd: So instead Counter-Reed kicks Sue's ass thoroughly and tosses her out the top-story window of the Baxter [11:56 PM] Bocaj: 😐 [11:57 PM] Wack'd: I forgot this was "Cripple the B****" Wein we were dealing with for a moment [11:57 PM] Bocaj: OH SHIT [11:57 PM] Bocaj: THATS WHERE I KNOW THE NAME FROM?? [11:57 PM] Wack'd: Yeeeeeeeeeeep [11:59 PM] Wack'd: In the letters page: someone tries to puzzle out what Ben is made of ("I miss when everyone assumed it was 'orange rocks'," moans Thomas); and apparently Len Wein plans to explain why there's not a much greater mass of cosmic-ray-powered superbeings now that space travel is business as usual [12:00 AM] Wack'd: Oh! And an ad for Ms Marvel's first ongoing. Exciting! [12:01 AM] Wack'd: Somehow I can't imagine Kamala Khan being hyped to wear this

[12:01 AM] Bocaj: Love Kamala [12:01 AM] Bocaj: Ew they changed her costume [12:02 AM] Bocaj: I took too long to type and now my joke misunderstanding your words is belated to oblivion [12:02 AM] Bocaj: "Never before has a FIGHTING FEMALE cpatured the imagination of the reading public so DRAMATICALLY" [12:02 AM] Bocaj: why are you like this, comics

[cassandra-acton]

RUSSIANS REVISITED [2 of 2]:

Monkey puppet meme. This is not what I intended, but I’m going to roll with it.

Date: November 10th, 2019. Warnings: My usual bullshit.

“Is the kid yours?”

The metal was like ice. Radiating through her body.

Numbing her from the inside out.

Cassie found herself wanting to look downward; to see the knife, or the calloused hand holding it against her throat so forcefully she could’ve choked. Anything was better than the steely eyes boring into her soul. That smirk pulling at the corner of his mouth as though he was enjoying every moment. But she couldn’t look down. She dared not move. Each outward breath came as a staccato of fear and panic until he forced her back into her living room wall with enough power to wind her.

She was sure she wasn’t breathing at all after that.

“It’s a simple question,” the man repeated coolly, adjusting his grip on the handle of the blade like he was fucking testing her. “Answer it.”

The little boy was cowering under the hand of a shadowy figure across the room; familiar features marred with enough fear and confusion that her heart hurt. It was only when he whimpered that she finally tore her watery eyes away from the attacker. To see him that way was all hurt and dread and regret. What she wouldn’t have given to reach out to him. To tell him it would be okay, even if a part of her was assuring her that it definitely wasn’t.

“No. No, it’s—”

If they were asking, then they didn’t know.

Maybe it was better for the both of them if it stayed that way.

“I’m just babysitting for a neighbor,” she said, voice cracking. “Please. I’m just babysitting. He has nothing to do with this. With me.”

---

“Looking forward to the fireworks, kiddo?”

The way his face lit up, grinning from ear-to-ear, suggested yes.

“Okay good, because same…”

Luckily for Cassandra, spending time with Arno had never been a rare occurrence. Where the fuck her sister had found the time to birth four sons—let alone look after them when she was done—was absolutely beyond her, but damn, she was glad. Things might not have always been easy with Elizabeth, but no matter where they stood, or what kind of petty argument had arisen between them, they never let it affect her relationship with the boys.

Of course, Cassie loved them all, but she definitely had a soft spot for the youngest.

“How come you didn’t want to go with your dad?”

The six-year-old wrinkled his nose up as though repulsed by the question.

He might’ve been young, but he already had his mother’s attitude toward Alistair, apparently.

“Because he doesn’t like me or William or Andrew, he just likes Laughton.”

When she’d been expecting a childish rant about pocket money, or his mum and dad fighting again, or the man being away with work too much, to hear those words struck a little close to home. Enough that her smile faltered. Enough that her grip on his tiny hand tightened just a little in an attempt to reassure him. It would have been easy to brush the comments aside as the dramatic ranting of a child if she hadn’t once felt exactly the same way about her mother and Elizabeth.

“That’s not true,” she said sternly. “I promise it’s not.”

The boy huffed out a sigh as they reached her front gate, blissfully unaware that it wasn’t askew when Cassie had departed that morning. Arno didn’t say anything after that. Instead, he simply let go of her hand and held up an open palm for her keys.

---

Her heart started pounding as though it’d only just remembered she was alive.

There.

Staring back at a man who seemed far too suspicious to have believed her words.

Cassie swallowed hard.

Was it strange that faced with a man who seemed, at the very least, intent on hurting her, she was more concerned with whether or not her sister would blame her for this?

“Lock him in the room with the dog.” The hand that he’d been using to pin her to the wall moved upward slowly; creeping against her skin. Lingering as it reached her neck. He didn’t speak again until it replaced the blade with an unforgiving hold on her throat. “Make sure he stays quiet until we’re done here.”

Done here.

The finality of the words was a slap in the face.

“Keep nice and quiet, kiddo,” she said gently, her eyes following her nephew as the lackey dragged him to her bedroom. “It’s going to be okay.”

Arno nodded silently, rubbing at his eyes.

And then he was gone and she once again faced a monster.

The way his grip tightened around her neck—eliciting a strangled choke as she fought to breathe—suggested he hadn’t much appreciated her attempt at comfort.

“Not for you it isn’t.”

The blonde didn’t have time to react to the threat before the knife was in her face.

“I should cut out your fucking tongue,” he hissed, the point digging into her cheek. There was a fire in his eyes; as though he wanted to hurt her, badly, but for some reason was forcing restraint. “How hard is it to keep your damn mouth shut? You were warned.”

It took a second for the penny to drop, but when it did, her heart fell right along with it.

This had been too organized for a robbery from the start. The man on the balcony had threatened that if she didn’t stop pushing forward with her crusade against the Russian mob—drawing to light their connections with the Korshunov administration and the HCA in the process—she would face the repercussions. It wasn’t as though she hadn’t taken him seriously. The exchange had haunted her ever since. But whilst Cassie knew that when these people threatened you, it meant something, there was no way that she could, in good conscience, give up on the only meaningful thing she’d done since taking office. There was no way that she could give up on punishing the people who had armed and funded those responsible for taking Harrison away.

They could bring their words and they could bring their fucking knives.

If they wanted her to stop, they’d have to make her.

And maybe that’s exactly what this was.

Maybe they knew it, too.

“You’ve pissed off a lot of the wrong people,” he continued, dragging the knife slowly down to her jawbone. It was then he leaned forward to whisper: “If you knew how high up this conversation went, your empty head would fucking spin.”

Reflexively she reached up to the hand on her throat, still desperate to loosen his grip.

She couldn’t even swallow.

“If you hurt me,” she spluttered, sinking her nails into his skin with a burning desire to make him bleed, “you’ll be starting a war with my sister.”

This seemed to amuse him, and that was almost as unsettling as the fucking knife.

He was grinning as he continued: “Sweetheart, if we could get to her instead, we would.”

Wait.

What?

Was the Vorshevsky family suicidal?

Whilst she didn’t know nearly enough about them to be able to judge whether or not behavior like this was out of character, it seemed fucking moronic to be picking a fight with the government when they had hardly even set down their roots yet.

They would be finished before they even began.

“If you think she can’t deal with a bunch of mobsters, you’re sorely mistaken.”

Elizabeth would eat them alive.

To see him shaking his head had her frowning. Irrationally and bizarrely defensive. These people were fucking brain dead. They were—

His laugh was so cold that she was sure it was the stuff of nightmares.

“We’re not mobsters,” he corrected, face so close to hers now she could feel his breath against her skin. “They just told us where to find you.”

And that was all it took to send her brain into shutdown.

For her breath to catch somewhere in the back of her throat.

For her hands to still, and her eyes to lose focus so swiftly she couldn’t even see him anymore.

We’re not mobsters.

“You’re—“

But words escaped her.

The Russian’s hand let go of her throat in a final act of mercy. For a moment, he simply stared at her in silent contemplation; dark eyes skimming her face as though he was waiting for something. Slowly, his hand crept up to the side of her head. His fingers threaded into her hair and the act alone made her feel as nauseous as the realization that’d come before it. Even though he wasn’t holding her against the wall anymore she couldn’t move. Didn’t know how.

“You don’t remember me, but I remember you.”

Oh she remembered.

That hand in her hair, dragging her through the screaming crowds.

His knife at her throat.

“I remember you.”

The laugh wasn’t just stuff of nightmares. It had haunted hers.

“It’s a real shame. You would have been a prize back in Belgravia, but things have changed.”

All she could do was stare back at him.

“I’m not here to start a war with your sister. I’m here to punish her.”

The words landed so heavily, all she could do to stop the tears from welling up in her eyes was to close them. How was this happening? After everything, how was this what she deserved?

“I was going to come here right after your panel on Friday evening. We were all watching,” he continued, and even though she couldn’t see him anymore, Cassie could tell that he was still grinning like a fucking maniac. “But I decided to wait. There’s one good thing about you guys and your fucking fireworks.”

If she made it out the other side, Cassie would regret forever opening her eyes.

To see what had replaced the knife.

To see the twisted look on his face as he reveled in her fear.

“They do a damn good job at masking gunshots.”

All one, two, three, four of them…

[atopearth]

Shall we Date? Wizardess Heart Part 23 - Alfonse Goldstein Route

Well, it’s Alfonse’s route and we haven’t even seen him yet, but the heroine is investigating some disease that turns people into monsters…and nope, those are zombies!! I hate zombies!!😥😫😫 Nice to see Alfonse come to her rescue out of nowhere haha. Ahh, he came to save these sick people, glad he had a potion that could return them all to normal😥 It was very kind of Alfonse to offer her his shoulder if she ever felt sad from thinking about her parents again☺️ Not sure why Alfonse doesn’t reveal who he actually is and why he’s on bad terms with Klaus, but I wonder if he’ll be at that big party? Since Klaus is in some media trouble with some girl, he asked the heroine to be his pretend girlfriend at the party and for a while so that he can get these girls off of him, and it does sound like a great deal to get to be Klaus’ girlfriend even if it’s only for a bit! Hahaha, I wonder how Alfonse will react though? Goldstein love triangle for a poor girl sounds like a great headline~

Oh wow, Alfonse runs a free clinic as a doctor in somewhere that’s like the slums part of town? That’s so admirable. Nice that the heroine wants to help him. I wonder if Alfonse pushes others away and doesn’t want them to sacrifice themselves for him because he sacrificed his family to do all this or something? Lmao when a reporter was following the heroine (since Klaus publicly announced at the party that the heroine was his girlfriend) at the academy and Caesar comes to the rescue in his pig form attacking the reporter hahahah. Omggg when she tripped and fell on top of him, and then Alfonse asked if they could stay like that a bit longer because he thinks that having her close makes him feel calm hahaha. It’s nice that they’re bonding nicely, but I wonder why he thinks he doesn’t deserve to be loved?

Alfonse wanted to protect the heroine from reporters and told them the bigger scoop that is, he’s actually a Goldstein. Tbh, I can’t see why the heroine has such strong feelings for Alfonse. They hung out a bit and chatted and ate stuff together etc, but I feel like it’s all on the assumption that they’ve been good friends for the past two years already and this is just the extra topping on the cake that made her realise she likes him, which is awkward because I don’t see why they’re into each other. I also found it unnecessary for Klaus to show that he might like her and that’s why he wants to stop her for drama, since Alfonse will apparently “hurt” her. But I guess maybe they’ll go more into that when they talk about Elaine? Heroine is just happy to help Alfonse. I can’t say whether Alfonse was right or wrong when he decided to discard his family to travel around and help people as a doctor and do research on these diseases etc, since it’s definitely admirable of him to do that, and I’m sure he must have saved a lot of people’s lives for the better. However, at the same time, because of that, he discarded his brothers to face the family and support it themselves and all this in his stead. Well, technically Klaus had to become the responsible one since he’s the second oldest. I guess the good thing is that Klaus does live up to the expectations of the Goldstein family so he doesn’t suffer as much as those who can’t live up to their families, but I’m sure it’s stressful and tiring all the same even though he doesn’t show it, and even though I’m sure he’s proud of his family as well. And I guess, even if Klaus doesn’t mind this life as the “eldest”, it doesn’t change the fact that Alfonse abandoned them and their family, albeit for a good reason, since he’s still following his beliefs and dreams to cure people even to this day.

Loll when they went to the underground graveyard place and Zeus kept scaring the heroine. The scariest thing was when zombies came out and Elias was one of them! Well, he’s technically not dead but still.. Thankfully Alfonse saved him in time, it seems like Elias really misses Alfonse though. I don’t blame Klaus for being so harsh towards Alfonse, especially since Klaus probably knows that Elias wouldn’t be mad at Alfonse no matter how much he has suffered all these years. Honestly, I find it hard to acknowledge that Elaine is happy now just because she’s married to another Baron. And the heroine thinking that she understands Elaine’s feelings just because they’re both “women”. I think I’d find better closure to it if she actually got to talk to Elaine, since regardless, the fact was that Elaine and Alfonse were going to get married in 3 months before he left for his journey and didn’t come back for like years. She’s probably happy that in the end, he chose what he really wanted to do but I’m sure she was at least a bit sad!

I can see why Klaus would reject the heroine’s plea for help. The core is supposed to be used to eradicate all if not most diseases and she wants to use it to save a minimal amount of people in the academy. Also, Alfonse never said that this will eliminate the Black Robe Plague, so in the end, this is just a band-aid solution. Andddd yet Alfonse and the heroine are going to steal the core that took Klaus and them years upon years to cultivate that amount of magic for their cause. Okay…. I’m not sure if the heroine really recognises the consequences she thinks she can take. Does she realise that if this supposed core can cure so many diseases that in essence, if other people know about it, then there would be crying families and people who could have been saved that would blame her for prioritising these few over like the whole world? Aaaand I find it difficult to comprehend why Glenn and Vincent would let them go through so easily just because they think that it’s easier to comprehend saving people in the academy against the world because they “know” the people in the academy. Honestly, considering their jobs, I thought they would be more logical and quite frankly, I’m disappointed. Obviously everything will work out in the end, but still, just seeing them go along with this with no regards to the consequences kills me. The repercussions don’t only include the people that could have been saved within these decades that diseases could be cured (assuming that what Klaus says is true about it), they’re practically going against the government and what if they have deals with others about this? I’m probably just overthinking (like I usually am) and I can understand that they want to save their friends, but I still stand by what I think, curing them doesn’t eradicate the Black Robe Plague, so unless they can cure the root of it, they’re sacrificing future lives that can be saved for temporary relief.

SO not surprised that Hugo popped up just to steal the Elixir Seed. Like as if he was nice enough to give them a map to get it lol. Aaand I am disappointed in this “eradication of disease” plan Klaus was planning to do, I knew it was probably too good to be true but it was still disappointing lol. Well, now no one benefits since they lost the seed~ and lol, just because Alfonse thinks Elias doesn’t like him doesn’t mean he wouldn’t come to give his magical power to save the people in the academy, like umm Elias is like the softest guy ever, he wouldn’t do that even if he really didn’t like Alfonse. I’m uh kinda surprised they so conveniently had a spare Elixir Seed because they made one just in case something happened to the first, it kinda detracts from the idea that this thing is super hard to make etc. Also makes me wonder why everyone can’t tell the teachers to tell the government and pressure them into doing something about this disease killing people in a renowned academy with a lot of students that probably come from well off families as well. Then maybe the first seed wouldn’t have ended up like that. Sigh. I don’t want to be picky but I just think there were a lot of options they could have explored first before doing what they did, and of course since it’s a story everything works out in their favour (e.g. those Mikhail cells that Klaus wanted to make with the seed was already made by Alfonse before blah blah), but I feel like if everything really did weigh on curing all diseases etc, then I feel like the heroine and Alfonse were very rash and irresponsible. Klaus wasn’t the only one they could talk to in convincing that they need the seed. Oh well, I’m probably just nitpicky lol, but you can probably tell I don’t like this route at all and find no endearing romance between the two because I feel like the heroine just makes the silly and rash decisions for Alfonse because he can’t make them, and he feels happy that she would do so.

Okay yay, they finally decided to tell the media about how to cure the disease and now they’re practically done curing everyone. Nice that Klaus acknowledged Alfonse again and they all happily go their merry way again lol, except the heroine plans to follow Alfonse from now on~ Anyway, I’m glad it ended lol. I honestly didn’t like the route and thought it was boring and I don’t think it resonated with me. Alfonse’s story was pretty much what you would think it is from what you get in the beginning of the story. He left the family to find cures for diseases and so Klaus is mad and Alfonse himself doesn’t think he has the right to face them. I guess one of the problems I have with it is that Alfonse is always afraid to face his brothers, but he doesn’t regret what he’s done. He feels bad and he feels that what he did was wrong to them and he would probably still do it if he had the choice again, which is perfectly fine, but I guess I was annoyed that he never really did anything about it? Nor do I feel like he ever changed as a person? It felt like, the whole route was just the heroine doing what he felt he couldn’t do and him appreciating that and reaping from her efforts lol. I guess I just feel that he never really stood up for what he did properly to his brothers and showed them how passionate he was about his choice. Everything was shown through the heroine or the existence of those cells, so I always felt that his personality and character was lacking? It never really felt like as a reader that I ever felt close to him. So yeah, not a fan, didn’t help that I did kinda have high expectations of this route too haha, oh well~

[geek-gem]

Rampage 2 Monster Ideas Or Possibilities

Because this is something well I wanted to make a joke at first of how Davis would react in the situation I’ve thought of for a sequel to Rampage 2018. But over time I started to think more. Basically more details, and changes to my ideas. Spoilers from the 2018 film just in case.

Including I wanted to make this list of ideal monsters. Because the video games have a huge roster that a franchise can use for the games. Along with I wanted to write my own twist on them. Considering the direction the movie took with George, Ralph, and Lizzie. If your a fan of the games you might like these ideas. But give me your thoughts on these. Especially I intend to some how Ralph and Lizzie back. Because along with George are the main trio of the franchise.

This isn’t all for one movie. But again I’m just giving out ideas. In fact I decided to study and look into stuff. Mostly about wolves because I’ve thought more in depth about Ralph 2.0. Including looked up some stuff on Crocodiles, but mostly looked up stuff about wolves. Along with I looked on the Rampage wiki on some characters. Again give me your thoughts, this is all fan fiction. Especially it seems weird with the Ralph one.

1. Ralph or humorously called Ralph 2.0 by Harvey Russell. A 7 month old Grey Wolf taken in by the Wolf Watch UK. Named Ralph by a woman who works there after she found him as a pup laying next to his dead mother who was killed by poachers. Ever since then, even being a wild animal he’s looked towards the woman as sort of mother after his died.  

Actually considered a, “Sweetheart” despite his protective nature of the woman. Especially is rather good at protecting itself when aggressive or threatened. After being affected by the same pathogen some how that affected the other animals. Growing in size, and gaining certain abilities. But compared to the original Ralph in 2018, Ralph 2.0 while aggressive, seems to be less violent than the original. Mostly because of being taken care of by humans, and his relationship with the woman who rescued him. Especially he still retains his memories.

But growing in size and other symptoms have caused him to become scared, confused, and angry. Only listening to the woman who saved him, and eventually Davis as well. He’s in a weird way a giant dog. Yet he will become violent and attack who hurts the woman who nurtured him growing up.

Is able to fly like the original Ralph, and use the needles it grew on it’s back. 

Notes: Originally I wanted this new character this woman to be played by Karen Gillian, but decided Emilia Clarke. Especially I want a joke where Harvey calls her the, “Mother Of Wolves”. Including Ralph 2.0 has a relationship to this woman similar to Davis and George. But with the woman even calling Ralph that he’s kind of like her son. Along with this Ralph is supposedly the youngest of the trio. 

2. Lizzie or humorously called Lizzie 2.0 by Harvey Russell as well. Including actually named Lizzie by Davis. A 5 year old American Crocodile that resides in the San Diego Wild Life Sanctuary, that Davis saved as well. While she doesn’t mind Davis at all. She would rather be left alone. While the American Crocodile may not be as aggressive as other species, Lizzie can be aggressive if agitated.

Affected by the pathogen that made it’s way to the sanctuary, she gained similar abilities like the original Lizzie. She’s the biggest of the three, able to breathe underwater, and has the tusks and more teeth. Especially in a similar situation as Ralph 2.0, confused, and some what scared, but angry as well.

Yet still even growing bigger, she still retained that loner behavior. Even though she’ll follow Davis because he’s the only one she can trust. Later during the film while still aggressive, realizes that her help is needed offers to help the other two against a bigger threat. Especially it’s to protect Davis from harm or any monsters threating to hurt him. Including can get very violent as well.

Notes: There’s this theme for the movie while it sounds ridiculous. Considering the situations with Ralph 2.0 and Lizzie 2.0, especially Ralph 2.0. Davis tries to convince George even if they are different species, and they may not get along. But Davis tells him that Ralph and Lizzie are not like the other two he faced. Along with the fact they are in the same situation they were in 2018. With Davis asking George to see them as like a younger brother and sister or friends, that they are part of his troop, his family, to protect them like they were one of his own. Over the film George understands and risks his life for the other two. Following this, the other two especially Ralph do the same.

Including have a cute scene of George petting Ralph 2.0 or something.

3: V.E.R.N. considered an abomination. A monster that absorbs radiation. Originally a uncomplete monster that was mixed with bat DNA and other animals before Claire was killed by George. But it was mainly top secret and but kept close to the Rampage project. Yet it was stolen by some sort of company who’s name when shortened was titled SCUM. They tried to complete it. But realized there was a reason it was never completed. It was too out of control, It couldn’t be controlled. Especially what’s more shocking and twisted.

The surprise came from the fact during the process of discovering what was in the blood of the abomination. Some how Claire Wyden’s blood was in it. The reveal was possibly one of the parts of DNA was human blood, which was Claire herself. As if VERN could of been a clone. But later revealed Claire wanted to make the ultimate weapon she could sell. But the results were too unstable. Which was possibly the reason why Claire didn’t bother continuing with it. Because it would of proved disastrous, worse than what happened with Project Rampage. While Claire was pleased with how that project went. Vern was something else. 

Including the name V.E.R.N. meant “Violently Enraged Radioactive Nemesis”.

A angry and diabolical monster, a creature that’s very feral and seems to enjoy what it’s doing. It’s as VERN if she was a clone of Claire, this would of been her after she had been killed. Angry after everything that happened. Especially Vern actually being intelligent and understanding what humans can say. That human blood was used to make it more smarter, a terrible choice indeed. Learning of the original Claire’s death, realizing they were almost the same.

Vern is the embodiment of animalistic evil. If Claire was even more unleashed in her wrong doing, proud of her work, and willing to kill anyone to get in her way. It was almost like the original Claire came back from the dead but more worse, as a giant monster. Including with her size and power, she’s a challenge for any monster.

Notes: I kind of went too far with Vern. Because Vern didn’t have more personal info. Especially last year I thought of this idea of I would of liked it if Claire had become this Bat like creature like Vern. As if this final boss so she get her ass kicked by George. Honestly Claire’s fate was well deserved. Including I understand why they didn’t take the human turning into the monster direction.

But yeah I took the route that Vern is some how Claire 2.0. But as some sort of monstrous clone mixed with a lot of animal DNA. Including as a callback Vern is female in Total Destruction. I know Claire isn’t a very good villain, or whatever she was an asshole. I guess I wanted to make a more in depth monster.

I wanted to make the, “King Ghidorah” and I thought now, “Black Hat(From Villainous)” of Rampage. Even though Vern didn’t have like this huge role in the games. But I decided to add more depth to the character. You can be critical of me if you want.

4. Myukus, a one eyed alien monster. For many years has been kept at Area 51 for many decades ever since the 1950′s. Been kept asleep and experimented on. Now with his alien superiors returning to invade the Earth. He is released by them. Angered by the American government capturing him, and keeping his on Earth for many decades. He decides to take vengeance on Earth, by destroying everything he possibly can, while aiding the aliens who freed him.

Originally a monster created by the aliens to take over the Earth. But crashing down towards the Earth weakened him and put him into a coma. Including the American government made sure he couldn’t wake up. Which fueled Myukus with rage even more. Now free, he can do what he was made for again, now with his people.

Notes: I still feel I wanna do the aliens storyline first but I liked what I did with Vern. No wait Vern came first but you can do a trilogy with so many monsters and other shit man.

5: Cal, a giant squid, born in the Florida Keys in what was considered the safest reef in the world. Transformed by massive amounts of the pathogen on the Athena-1. At first he was a small squid now, but now he’s a massive and angry squid, able to take down boats, eat people, and doing much more damage. Literally a horror underwater come to life. 

Including to make it worse, he is able to breathe air for an hour. But still needing to breathe underwater. Making him a threat not to be messed with.

Notes: Yes I’m keeping the end with the squid canon because that was amazing.

6: Larry, a large rat. Including funny enough, the same rat Harvey got from Brett Wyden. Some how the rat got into contact with the pathogen, making it grow larger and more aggressive. Especially with more time, larger than the rat on the Athena-1.

But what’s rather strange about Larry, he has a huge fondness for Harvey. Honestly a good thing. After getting the rat back from the solider later. He took care of the rat as his own. Especially Larry is mainly a annoyance rather than dangerous. 

Yet he can still fight as he’s gotten bigger near George’s size.

Notes: It’s not Curtis but found out from Brad Peyton if there was a sequel, he’ll use that name. So I decided to do just that. :)

7: Ruby, a giant lobster, it’s strangely funny in a way. How does something like a lobster that’s very small, get so big? In a similar situation to Cal, tons of the pathogen got in the water, and she got a huge dose of it. Able to snap metal with her claws, and also pretty strong for a creature like her.

She’s a big nasty bugger that gets pissed real easily if angered. 

Notes: I weirdly wanna see a giant mutated lobster, it be amazing looking to me personally.

8: Boris, a giant rhino, originally a Africian Rhinoceros, again affected by the pathogen. Becoming very large and hostile. Yet after being captured by the government and Davis trying to help. He’s gotten less aggressive over time. But still he’ll get pissed if someone attacks him, and he’ll use his giant body and horns to kill any human or monster. Basically a giant batting ram.

Notes: Not much on Boris, I’ll have him more chill when shit is doesn’t need to be done.

I wrote a lot I apologize, but for anyone interested in ideas for a sequels. We can talk and I hope you enjoy reading this. Again and I’m sorry that I keep repeating this, I want a sequel to Rampage 2018, whatever direction they go with, I’ll probably be happy. But again these are ideas because they have a lot of material mainly monsters they can use. Along with the fact the Rampage games aren’t very lore based so they can do what they want or whatever. Just hope it’s an enjoyable movie like the first one too. 

[finestcreation]

Holy

@fetishdcll liked this post for a starter

‘In the beginning, God created the Heaven and the Earth... And He saw it was good.’ 

That’s how the verse went wasn’t it? But that wasn’t all that happened in the beginning. That wasn’t the whole story. In the beginning there was no man... there was no humanity... there was hardly any life to begin with. In the beginning there was the destructive culture of Heaven divided so vastly that angels began to diverge into different sub species altogether. Upon the Earth there were monsters beyond comprehension, beasts that roamed among the dinosaurs, creatures that were living bio-weapons capable of destroying everything if given enough time. In the beginning... there was a young primary angel, the last created divinely by God’s hand, the last to not be born of an Irea (mother) or Krisea (father). He grew to love the demons like his children, one like his lover, and two like his sisters, and in the end was persecuted for it by the archangel Michael. In the beginning... there was war and tragedy. In the beginning Lucifer fought for his belief and was punished severely for it... An eternal looping bit of time, repeated so long as he shall remain trapped there. Experiencing the death of the one he loved over and over again. The one that sparked feelings of rebellion in him. However God gave him a way out. God made a deal with Michael.

‘Should Lucifer ever break out of his punishment, then he shall be redeemed and set free. He will no longer be chased by your sword and will be free to have dominion over the dimension of Hell and a residence upon Earth. Should he become free, then he will be saved.’ Without Michael’s knowledge, God placed a human in Lucifer’s path, a human that would be the punishment’s undoing. A human that would teach him how to create a miracle... This human was tied to his love, and this human awoken the hibernating powers within him...

~~

Ryo would be lying if he said he never missed Heaven, but at the same time he would be telling the truth if he said he never wanted to go back there. He spent the majority of his childhood up in the Kingdom of God, in the palace that God himself lived in... He never saw him, in fact Ryo could hardly remember his creator’s face... All he remembered was that the deity was always so incredibly hard at work. On what? He couldn’t tell... There was always something he was sure. What could God possibly be doing up in that palace? Regardless, it was a lonely childhood, but one he missed somewhat. He missed the simpler times... But in Heaven all he was, was an ornament. Something for other angels to gawk over. A symbol of divine power. At the time of his creation he was the only Seraphim and to this day he still remained God’s most beautiful and powerful angel...  Part of him wished to pray to God, to reach out and talk to him, rebuild the relationship that was lost during the wars... But at the same time he felt a guilty pain and throbbing rage at just the thought. He didn’t need to apologize for what he did-- what he did was justified! Angels shouldn’t have tried to hunt demons down! Demons were living too, they deserved to survive... And yet he’s done so many terrible things that part of him knew that he was somewhat wrong...

If only he knew that he didn’t need to apologize... That he was already forgiven.

Now that he was free of his punishment, his new life was easily created. Modeled after his old life, he was known as Doctor Ryo Asuka-- an Archaeologist who both does scientific research among the scientific community and teaches at universities and schools. He has something of a media presence as well, with a talk show and a bit of buzz around him. However most would describe him in the tabloids as being quiet, reserved, and somewhat aloof. It was nigh impossible for anyone to get far enough into his life to dig up any dirt. There were no sex scandals, no drug scandals, no anything... He was seemingly perfect on the outside. Many individuals conspired that perhaps he wasn’t human, perhaps he was created by the government, to which they’d be partially correct. If only they knew he was Satan himself... How would the world react to the biblical villain of humanity living among them so peacefully and quietly. Just trying to find a way to make demons and humans coexist. Just looking to find a way to bring back the human and demon he had grown to love-- Akira and Amon, merged together by his own hand, dead before he could even confess his feelings. He could imagine that humans would shy away from him, terrified of what he’d do, unknowing that he was just trying to live on with the pain of loneliness that always bit at him.

It wasn’t uncommon for Ryo to detect demons or spirits in this world. So long as he existed, demons would continue to thrive, and malignant spirits would continue to persist so long as humans were around. With his senses as heightened as they were, due to being an angel, he could quite literally sniff out these creatures... However, angels were not common in this world. Angels hardly wanted to get their hands dirty in a place like this. It seemed only his former caretakers ever came down here, either to start a fight, or to check up on him... Some of them seemed to still care. Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel... He wondered how disappointed they were in him now... Because of this, however, angels were not common around these parts. That’s why when he saw the news feed he was baffled. Two angels were fighting a spirit. They weren’t of the ‘Divine’ subspecies like he was, they were from one of the outer villages. If he looked close enough, they seemed to be of either the ‘Radiant’ subspecies or the ‘Starlight’ subspecies. Regardless, he found himself staring at the television in awe and surprise. His demonic secretary Jenny at his side. Rising up to his feet, he paced about for a spell contemplating what he should do.. until he decided nothing at all. Those angels weren’t hurting anyone, they weren’t hunting demons, and they weren’t pursuing him... He didn’t care.

And yet, when he was given the opportunity to meet Panty through ties in the media, he took it without halt.

As soon as he stepped into the same room as the blonde he knew immediately she was an angel. She looked angelic, even if she didn’t act like it, and the smell upon her was definitely the perfumed odor of angels intermingled with the musk of humanity. He wondered if she could sense that he was an angel too-- or would she sense that he was a demon? Michael had said once that he reeked of demon, that because he lived so long among them that he might as well be a beast himself. He even married Amon during the Mesozoic era, going as far to bare his child which was miscarried long before it could even begin to grow limbs inside the womb... Proving the theory angels had that an angel and a demon could theoretically have a child. A twang in his stomach... that was an eternity ago and he loathed to think  about it. He forced everything else melt away in his mind as he returned his focus back to Panty. His expression remained stoic and calm as he began to talk, a formal greeting befitting one as highly educated as him. He was half tempted to slip into the language of Heaven but decided against it.

“Hello miss Anarchy.” Ryo began. “I don’t think we’ve ever met in person, however I have seen you on the news and in magazines quite a bit, the stories surrounding you are quite fascinating and your beauty is hardly something to scoff at.” Of course he was going to open up with compliments, he wasn’t fond of making enemies. “I am professor Ryo Asuka.” He used his human name, he wouldn’t give away he was an angel if she didn’t know. “Thank you for joining me on my talk show as a guest, it truly does mean a lot and I’m sure my fans would love to learn more about you.” He looked to the live studio set, it was so strange to be asking another angel to appear on television with him... It was strange to be talking to another angel to begin with. “Is there anything you would like to ask me before shooting starts?”