#[ modifiedcode feat. root. ]

[silencedrage]

“You wanted to be the hero. I get it.” - root/john

Her voice crackled through the earpiece, and John let out a low, slightly irritated hum. His gun was raised at the ready, and he peered around the corner at the men who were patrolling the hallway. “Do you think we can discuss this later, Root? I’m kind of busy at the moment.” He breathed out the words as he slipped past two more men, merely a shadow to their tired eyes. 

The number was supposed to be easy, though John should have learned by now that the ones that were “supposed to be easy” often ended up the ones that came with the most headaches. His ribs were already protesting as he slunk up the stairs from a few hits he’d taken earlier.

Pausing as he heard footsteps coming his way, John ducked into a doorway, taking advantage of the few milliseconds of surprise that he had on the guard. His movements were sharp and clean. One, two, a sweep of the leg, and a gruesome crunch as the man’s face hit the concrete wall. Root was still chattering away in his ear, clearly not respecting his request for some peace during these strenuous times. 

“What is it to you anyways? I didn’t know you cared.”

[silencedrage]

[ possessive ] your muse resting their hand on mine’s leg or the small of their back while they’re sitting beside each other . - whiskey

@modifiedcode

She knew what it looked like to others. A hazy, smoke-filled room, the idle chatter of rich idiots, the clink of ice cubes in fine drinkware, and less than savory characters milling about. The stares that lingered on the scars on her face. She had long since learned how to tune them out, though sometimes when she was in a good mood, she liked to look them in the eyes and watch them blush and stutter. 

A finger trailed along the nape of her neck and she barely suppressed the shiver it sent down her spine. The woman next to her, identical other than the fact that her face was flawless, lounged beside her like a cat, a glass of club soda in her hand. The way they were wound together was intimate, difficult to tell where one ended and the other began. 

Whiskey shivered once more as Root continued to brush her fingers along the nape of her neck, a very clear warning to others to stay away. Hand reaching up to grasp Root’s wandering fingers, she turned her head to face her and raised an eyebrow. 

“If you hate the staring, then why do you insist on coming here?”

[silencedrage]

@modifiedcode​ ||  “let’s go somewhere. i’m tired of this town.”

     Hannah wasn’t surprised when Root abruptly announced their departure. She had picked up on the pattern after a few months of traveling with her. Small towns, particularly the ones in the middle of nowhere, made her boss itchy in a way that was uncharacteristic for the normally confident hacker. Usually when Root was unsettled, there was reason for everyone to be unsettled. She had learned that the hard way.

Tucking her hands into the pockets of her coat, Hannah turned, just a half step behind Root. She didn’t ask questions or pepper her with inane comments like the others might have. Men just didn’t have the same understanding of conversation etiquette than most women did. Besides, Root was more than adept at articulating what she wanted, when she was in the mood to at least. 

“I’ll drive first shift if you figure out a place we can get something to eat?”

[silencedrage]

“Given the severity of the situation, I figured you’d want to meet personally.” - for alex

Alex stared, rage simmering in her chest. Over 14 months of tracking down this threat, watching as the world fell to shambles at the behest of an AI that cared very little for humanity. Superman fell early on in the siege, as Omega was quickly able to artificially synthesize kryptonite to bring him down. And despite the DEO’s and Lena’s extravagant efforts, Kara didn’t last much longer. It had been almost ten months since she lost Kara, and the world grew dimmer each day.

So when her computer in the lab was hacked, with a cryptic message signed only with the name “Root”, Alex couldn’t take any more chances. She was tired of losing people and if this Root was the way to fix the issue, then she would do whatever it took. And if she died trying, well then at least she could see Kara again.

Her aim didn’t waver even as she took in the hacker that had been waiting for her. “No, I don’t think you appreciate the severity of the situation at hand,” she said tersely. “So unless you have some kind of kill switch or back door to this thing, tell me why I shouldn’t put you down right now?”

[silencedrage]

“ i didn’t think you’d care. ”

Alex kept her eyes trained on the road as Root sat bleeding in the passenger seat. Her stupid, reckless fuck of a partner had gone off and gotten herself shot. Again. And then! She had the audacity to act like Alex was the bad one here, as though Root hadn’t just run off to do something idiotic again in the name of her Machine. Alex knew that she was second to Root’s calling, had learned to accept it as she’d fallen in love with this complex, complicated person. She had even learned to move past the sting that she wouldn’t ever be first because the most important people in her life had these higher purposes.

But to act like she didn’t care, that hurt the most.