#he went rogue on his mission so i just assumed he was an elder

[not-so-superheroine]

Elder Graham Needs to Come Get His Mormon Cricket Legion 🦗

saw a comment youtube that read “a swarm of mormon crickets is enough to make you wish for a nuclear winter.” and another that read “i’m a latter day saint and we don’t claim them (the mormon crickets)”  then i thought, “no, you need to claim them. come get your legion of crickets, Joshua Graham.” 

[kusunogatari]

[ Portal Peril || Chapter Four ] [ @abyssaldespair ] [ Uchiha Obito, Hatake Kakashi, Utatane Koharu, Mitokado Homura ] [ Verse: White Hands of Healing ] [ Previous || Next ]

Time is nearly impossible to gauge within Kamui, so when Obito wakes, he has no idea how long he’s slept. All he does know is that the hard stone of his pocket dimension is nowhere near the comfort of his bed at home, body sore after being so tightly curled atop a cube of rock for gods know how many hours.

He wakes slowly, disoriented. His exhaustion from the night before has left him almost completely befuddled. It’s been so long since he’s had access to his chakra, that going so overboard in his attempts to reopen the hole between the dimensions has his head swimming.

For a long moment, he just lies there, awake but not yet moving as he tries to regather his balance. Only once he feels steady does he sit up, looking out over the expanse of cold, unfeeling stone.

...he’d almost forgotten how...lonely it is in here. Though he faced his share of struggles after the fourth war - his stint within Konoha’s jail, and then being a forced roommate of Kakashi’s for six months - since those trials have been over, he’s been a bit spoiled, in a way. He may have lost access to his kekkei genkai and chakra, and had to work odd jobs and odd hours...but he’s had other things he’d either been missing for years...or never had at all. A home: a real one, not just some hovel to hole up in, or Kamui when the need arose. A place to return to every night when his work is done, a bed to sleep in...and someone to sleep beside.

...and now she’s gone.

The sobering thought actually bows his head with a painful cringe. As tired and weary as he is...he can’t stop now. There’s far too much riding on his success. If he can’t find that opening - if he can’t get her back…

...he doesn’t want to think about it.

Instead, he pushes the thought aside as he lurches to his feet, staggering a bit from both fatigue and the soreness in his back at his rather uncomfortable night. But at least he slept...he’s going to need it.

A rush of chakra takes him back to the path outside Konoha, and he glances around the growingly-familiar place. It’s quiet, late morning...he overslept. Hopefully he hasn’t missed many opportunities from the other side to align their portals. Of course...he can’t know that whoever’s on the other side is working as he is, let alone as diligently. He’s assumed that the other Obito - or...whoever managed to connect to Kamui - has been at least considering the possibility of sending Ryū back. They wouldn’t have any reason to keep her.

...would they?

Another thought he doesn’t want to entertain. Instead, he regathers his focus, familiarizing himself again with his surroundings and the near-exact spot where he first sent Ryū through. He has to get everything right...the angle, the height, the distance. If the portals are a flat plane, it all has to line up perfectly to reopen the hole between them.

Once he has the proper position, he awakens his Sharingan, Mangekyō spinning into the proper pattern. Chakra surges through his system, calling upon the dimension he knows so well.

Like a window, a glimpse into it opens, showing the stones and shadows of Kamui...but no view of any other dimension as he wants. Keeping it open for several seconds, he then lets it fade, releasing a breath he wasn’t aware he was holding.

Wash, rinse, repeat.

After about two hours, his body decides to give him another wake-up call. It’s been far too long since he put something in his stomach. Maybe not wholly necessary given his zetsu half, but...well, it’s a habit he’s gotten used to. Another way he’s been spoiled. And now that he’s making himself go without, it’s a noticeable difference.

Sighing, he drags a hand down his face. In truth, it’s only a few miles left to Konoha...irritating, considering that the rogues they encountered not only dared, but managed to get this close...which then caused this whole debacle. If they hadn’t showed up...or maybe if he hadn’t sent her through...then…

Well...no point in such thoughts. They won’t bring her back. Instead, Obito weighs his options. Should he return to Konoha to refuel? Or will that get his time cut short?

Konoha, however, decides to make that choice for him.

Idling in thought, he glances up as a hawk gives a cry, settling on a branch nearby.

...this can’t be good.

Approaching and taking the note attached to the bird’s leg, Obito skims it, brow furrowing the further he reads. Apparently, the few days Kakashi thought he could buy him have been cut short. The council has noticed his...extended absence, and wants a report.

And if this gets messy enough, the other Kage might get involved, given that he’s an international criminal who only just got returned access to his chakra.

Sighing curtly, Obito pinches the bridge of his nose. He can’t just...stop! What if the other side makes contact? The other dimension? He can’t afford to miss it...he can’t…

...but in the face of his stubborn insistence, a bit of logic manages to be heard. If he goes back and gets permission for more time through the proper channels, things will be smoother. If he instead ignores a direct summons from the Hokage...well, he can probably kiss access to his chakra goodbye.

So, as painful as it is to leave this place, Obito nods the courier off before giving it all one last look with his Sharingan. He needs to have it memorized in order to return to the right place.

Once that’s done, he turns and makes his way back toward the hidden village, sacrificing energy for speed. The sooner he gets back and cleared, the sooner he can return to this spot and keep trying to open Kamui.

The gate, as usual, is bustling, and he has to navigate the crowds before reaching the administration building. Ignoring the typical odd looks and few glowers he gets, he marches straight up to Kakashi’s office, taking the time to knock.

...at least he didn’t just teleport this time. But if the council is there, it’d make a rather...crass impression.

He’s given permission after a small pause, opening the door to find Kakashi behind his desk, as usual. And on either side are Homura and Koharu.

...why Kakashi hasn’t kicked these old bags out and replaced them, Obito can’t understand. Especially as they look distastefully to his rather...unkempt appearance. Ah, right...he’s still covered in dirt and dried blood. And he probably smells wonderful...

“Obito,” the Rokudaime greets, tone clearly tinged with exasperation. But already Obito knows that isn’t his fault - that would lie with the elders on either side of him.

“Uchiha Obito,” Homura then begins, and already Obito can tell this is going to be a painful conversation. “Why did you not return within the allotted time for your mission?”

“There were complications,” he mutters in response, doing his best to keep his temper. “As you might notice by the fact that my partner is missing.”

“Where is miss Suigin Ryū?” Koharu then demands, clearly aiming to double team him with her fellow elder. “You were her protection detail!”

“Like I said, there were -”

“This trial mission was meant to be a gauge for your ability to re-enter the mission pool,” Homura cuts in, and Kakashi shoots Obito a warning look as he bristles. “Not only have you returned late, but without the medic you were assigned to?”

“Utatane-sama, Mitokado-sama,” the Rokudaime then interjects, drawing their gazes to his exhausted expression. “Perhaps your inquiries would be better answered if you gave Obito a chance to respond. I’m sure he’s well aware of the mission parameters...and what’s gone wrong regarding them.”

Both elders seem to puff up indignantly...but don’t argue, instead exchanging a glance.

“...very well.” Homura clasps his hands at his front. “Do explain the details of your mission...and answer our questions.”

Obito draws a long, calming breath, exhaling slowly. Just remember...this isn’t about your pride. This is about Ryū. “...three days ago, I was sent with the medic Suigin Ryū to a nearby village to protect her while she was to administer vaccines. The day went well, but we stayed an extra night due to the schedule running long. The following morning, we left the village and began making our way back to Konoha...when we were confronted by several rogue shinobi a few miles from the village.

“They were easily dispatched, but more followed. I used my Sharingan to teleport Ryū to safety before killing the rest of them. Upon going to fetch Ryū...I found her missing.”

“Missing? Where, precisely, did you teleport her to?”

Obito’s teeth grit, not exactly eager to explain Kamui to anyone he doesn’t have to. “...my Sharingan grants me access to a pocket dimension. I sent her there to keep her safe. When I went to get her back out...she’d disappeared. Which, in theory...should be impossible. Only someone with my Sharingan can access it.”

That seems to greatly unsettle the old pair. “You have access to an entire dimension separate from our own?”

What, they didn’t tell you that after my trial? he thinks dryly to himself. “Yes.”

“...was this ability considered when giving you access to your kekkei genkai and chakra?”

“He was fully cleared by the board, yes,” Kakashi cuts in, putting a stop to their dithering. “I knew well what Obito’s Sharingan is capable of, having wielded it for a number of years myself.”

“You didn’t think it a risk?” Koharu demands.

“...not at all. There aren’t many ways he could misuse it. And we had insurance that he would behave.”

“Insurance?”

It’s here Obito and Kakashi exchange a glance. While Obito and Ryū have been public about their relationship since Obito was released from his house arrest with Kakashi, no one beyond they three and Naruto are aware that they were in fact together long before the fourth war. Such knowledge would, of course, paint Ryū as a traitor, having withheld information about Obito from the village even after learning about his involvement with Akatsuki.

“...after having spent so much time with Obito as his medic, Ryū befriended him, and...things later turned romantic,” Kakashi cautiously explains, using their typical cover story. “It’s why she was selected as his mission partner. She’s the one person, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that Obito would never harm or betray. He’s become very...attached to her. It was meant to be a failsafe, until...well, this happened.”

“So...what did happen to her, then?” Koharu asks, turning back to Obito. “If she was put into this uncrackable dimension...where could she have gone?”

“That’s where we’re unsure...all we have is a theory: that Ryū was somehow taken out of Kamui by an Obito of another dimension.”

Both elders stiffen in surprise. “...you believe such a thing to be possible…?”

“While fighting Kaguya in the fourth war, we and the rest of team seven were pulled into multiple other dimensions,” Obito explains. “And there’s always been theories about alternate timelines, given the way space-time ninjutsu can cause splits - fractures - in the timeline. For every action, there can be a branching path, creating another universe altogether. Or so the theory goes.”

“It’s as Obito said: only his Sharingan can access Kamui, the dimension tied to his eyes.” Kakashi steeples his fingers, leaning elbows atop his desk. “Therefore, we can only assume that whoever took Ryū out of Kamui had to have the same eyes...in other words, they must be another Obito.”

“Before being summoned back, I was working on trying to align the portal as I did when I first sent Ryū through, hoping to make contact again and bring her back,” Obito then cuts in. “The longer I’m held here, the greater the odds that I miss them, or they give up attempting to make contact...if they are at all. It’s already going to be difficult enough to do without squandering time…!”

There’s a long pause as Koharu and Homura seem to think, exchanging glances. “Is it truly so imperative this woman be found?” Homura then dares to ask. “Allowing an international criminal access to his chakra, unobserved, to fiddle about with a dimension only he can access seems a huge liability. Need I remind you, Kakashi-sama, that the world is watching how we handle this? You may have your biases toward Obito due to your past associations, but none of us can afford such a luxury.”

Holding up a hand, Kakashi brings Obito to a halt as he takes half a step forward, rage in his eyes. “Obito...a moment, please.”

Seething, the Uchiha manages to retreat, his body language not unnoticed by the elders.

“...I’m going to put this into terms that you can hopefully understand,” Kakashi then offers, addressing the pair. “As I’m sure you are aware, more than half of Obito’s life, as of the fourth war, was spent on the path he branched to after agreeing to Madara’s plan. It was his entire purpose, his...obsession. Which was then broken and lost when Naruto changed his mind during the war. He betrayed the man he’d partnered with, who had controlled and manipulated him. The purpose he’d had for so long was suddenly a moot point. Years of his life...gone and wasted in a matter of hours.

“Obito was key to defeating both Madara, and later Kaguya. Does that wipe clean his record? No. But his trial granted him a second chance: a lifetime to atone as much as he can before dying, rather than simply being killed outright. Obito now has one purpose: to make up for his misdeeds. For the rest of his life, however much of it he has left.

“Now...Suigin-san has been a kind and influential figure in Obito’s life since the war,” Kakashi then fibs, both he and Obito understanding just how much more of an impact she’s truly had...that they cannot admit to. “I want you to imagine what something like that would come to mean for someone who has been through what Obito has been through. And now, perhaps, you can understand the importance of returning her here. Obito’s stability lies greatly on Suigin-san’s shoulders. It’s why he has, up until being summoned, been so fervently searching for a way to get her back.

“I realize the other Kage are wary of him, as are you, and nearly everyone else. But one thing should be made abundantly clear to you. If Suigin-san is not returned...the thing that has been anchoring Obito will suddenly be lost. He already made poor decisions when he lost someone dear to him before. Does that sound like something you want?”

Both elders are clearly tensed, exchanging wordless glances.

“I believe...we understand,” Homura offers stiffly.

“...then you agree with my decision to allow Obito access to his kekkei genkai and chakra until Suigin-san is found?”

“It seems we have little choice in the matter,” Koharu sniffs. “...but yes, we will allow it. But know this, Kakashi-sama...the other Kage will be watching. If anything goes wrong…”

“I’m aware, and prepared to deal with it,” Kakashi replies flatly. “I assure you, I’d rather deal with peeved Kage than a desperate Obito. And that’s speaking from experience.”

“...very well. Whatever comes to pass next shall be your responsibility. We wash our hands of it,” Homura mutters.

“Not a problem,” Kakashi replies, tone just as unenthused. He watches the pair retreat, leaving him alone with his prior teammate. “...well, I suppose that went about as well as I could hope for.”

“Why are those two still advising you, Kakashi?”

“Believe me, I’m working on it. Now...I think you have work to get back to, hm?”

“After a brief respite to refuel, I’m afraid. Turns out I’ve gotten rather spoiled and out of shape...I’ve got a stomach that won’t shut up and a chakra system that’s lazy.”

In spite of himself, Kakashi gives a single huff of a laugh. “...you know, I just might join you for lunch. I’m not in much of a mood to be in here for a while after that.”

“Be my guest.”

The pair take their leave, underling shinobi looking uncertain as Kakashi simply abandons his office. Waving them off with a ‘be back soon’, he keeps up with Obito’s determined pace. “So...did you make any progress?”

“I think the only progress to be made is to make contact,” Obito counters. “Until we manage to get portals to cross, nothing else can be done.”

“Mm, true…”

“...I just hope that, whoever is on the other side, is working like I am to get her back to the dimension she belongs.”

“Why wouldn’t they?”

“...I don’t know. It’s just a lingering worry…” A gloved hand pulls down his face with a stressed sigh. “...I don’t know what I’ll do if she’s stuck there, Kakashi.”

The Hatake gives his old teammate a wary glance. “...nothing brash, I hope.”

“...no. No, I’m too...tired for that,” Obito assures him, tone oddly soft. “...I’d keep trying. Until I had no more strength to try. After that, I think I’d just...give up.”

“...give up?”

“...you were right, back there. Explaining to those two. I had a life, and I lost it when that boulder crushed me. Then I had a purpose, and it consumed me until the war. And then I lost it. If I had never met Ryū...if I didn’t have that to return to? I really think I would have died in that war. An easy way out with nothing left to strive for. I had to beat Kaguya. But after that…? I really don’t know.”

The pair step up to a takeout stand, waiting in line and ignoring the looks they get, each for their own reasons. “...before I went to the battlefield, I’d promised her I’d come back. That we’d stay in the village, hide away, grow old...and that’s exactly what Mugen Tsukuyomi gave her. But when I realized that the dream world wasn’t the answer, then...the only way to keep that promise was to actually come back. So...I did.”

“You survived all that for a promise to her...and now you’re stuck here, instead,” Kakashi mutters.

“Yeah, well...we can’t have everything we want. But...that’s my point. If Ryū is gone, then...I have nothing else to do with myself.”

Kakashi pauses, thinking back to the conversation he had with Ryū before their first visit to Obito in Konoha’s prison: about how key she was to Obito’s future behavior.

“If he loses you - if you die? That might very well put him back at square one. It would be like losing Rin all over again...but possibly even worse, given the circumstances. If I had to guess, knowing Obito as well as I can know him...I think he’d go one of two ways. He’d revert to when he lost Rin...or he’d just...give up.

...well, she isn’t dead, that we know of...but it seems I know him about as well as I could hope to, he can’t help but think dryly to himself. “...I understand. I guess for now, all we can do is hope you get her back. And you know I’ll do whatever I can to help. Which...I guess isn’t much beyond keeping the council and the Kage off your back while you work.”

“That’ll be enough,” Obito murmurs in reply. “I just need time...and a whole hell of a lot of luck.”

“I can help you with the former, but...I’ve always been shit at the latter, myself.”

“You and me, both.”

They stand around and eat their takeout, partially to let Kakashi be free of the office a bit longer, and partially to let Obito leave straight from there to return to the road. Once they finish and chuck the containers, Kakashi sighs. “...well, I guess I’ll let you get back to it, hm?”

“I’d say I’ll let you know when I make contact, but honestly I’ll probably just act as soon as I do.”

“That’s fine. You can surprise me when you bring her back, safe and sound. I’ll even give you a week off from work to celebrate.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“Hey, be grateful, hm? Besides...that’ll just be icing on the cake to getting her back.”

“...exactly.” Expression both stern and uncertain, Obito gives a curt nod. “...until then.”

“Good luck.”

Rather than walk, Obito teleports back to the proper section of the road. Huh...the bodies are gone. Seems someone finally sent a clean up crew from Konoha. Good. One less thing to worry about: the smell of decaying corpses.

“...all right, Ryū...let’s get you home…!”

     Woo, finally getting back to this fic! And in fact: it's all finished! I'll be posting the other two chapters plus an epilogue here shortly!      This chapter's mostly insight on Obito's side of things, and how both he and Konoha have to handle themselves given how...delicate the situation is. Otherwise...not too much to say about it, I s'pose! Obito's just gotta get back to work getting that portal open!      And as always, thanks for reading!

[agent-barnes40]

The Small Stark

Ultron

Characters: The Avengers, Helen Cho, Ultron, Wanda Maximoff, Pietro Maximoff, Vision, Pepper Potts, Sam Wilson, James Rhodes, Maria Hill

Tony stared down his 12-year-old, rebellious teenage daughter, who had been caught, by her partner in crime, JARVIS. Jarvis had caught her fiddling with Loki's scepter. Tony ripped it out of her hands. "What the hell, Kid? That thing almost killed you last time it was in your vicinity."

Caitlyn looked up at him. "It was like something was calling me to it. It wanted me to wield it." She looked away and turned around. "I just wanted it to stop talking to me. Like when Loki had me."

Tony put the scepter back and then pulled her into a hug. The girl broke down crying as she held onto her father tightly, the memories flashing in her mind. She pulled back after a short while. "The party's tonight, I'll be in my room." She wiped her face and bolted out of the lab.

~MANDATORY TIMESKIP~

"Worthy... No... How could you be worthy? You're all killers."

Tony shot up and looked at the oil dripping, broken Iron Legionnaire. His first thought was Caitlyn but acted as calm as he could. "Jarvis?"

Jarvis didn't respond and his breathing picked up a small bit, slowly walking toward the elevator, acting as if he was walking toward the Legionnaire.

"I had to kill the other guy. He was a good guy."

Tony finally had enough, trying to not go into a panic attack. "Who'd you kill?"

"Who sent you?" Thor asked, his voice ringing over Tony's.

Tony's voice played. "I see an armor around the world." Bruce's face contorted into surprise, looking at Tony. "Ultron!"

Ultron made a move with his body. "In the flesh. Or, no, not yet. Not this... chrysalis. But, I'm ready. I'm on a mission." Natasha looked at the suit. "What mission?"

"Peace in our time." Suddenly the room was bursting with rogue Legionnaires, the team went into action. Steve kicked the table, sending it upwards and making a temporary shield. Bruce launched himself into the bar, making sure he wouldn't get set off and turned into the hulk, and landing onto Natasha, who grabbed a gun from under the bar table and getting up, shooting at the suits.

Tony hurriedly got the last suit shut down. Ultron looked at them. "That was dramatic! I'm sorry, I know you mean well. You just didn't think it through. You want to protect the world, but you don't want it to change. How is humanity saved if it's not allowed to...evolve?" He looked at the suits next, picking up a legionnaire. "With these? These puppets? There's only one path to peace: The Avengers' extinction." Thor sent Mjolnir at him, shattering the body.

The team met up in the lab, Tony pacing as he continuously tried to get a lock on Caitlyn as she was missing. "All our work is gone. Ultron cleared out, used the internet as an escape hatch." Bruce mumbled, making Steve look at him. "Ultron."

Natasha looked at them. "He's been in everything. Files, surveillance. Probably knows more about us than we know about each other." Rhodey nodded. "He's in your files, he's in the internet. What if he decides to access something a little more exciting?"

Maria nodded, gesturing toward Rhodey. "Nuclear codes." James nodded. "Nuclear codes. Look, we need to make some calls, assuming we still can."

Natasha looked at them, flabbergasted. " Nukes? He said he wanted us dead." Steve shook his head. "He didn't say dead. He said extinct. "

Clint looked at the team and finally spoke up. "He also said he killed somebody."

Tony slammed his hands on the table. "SHUT UP!" His breathing had picked up, a clear sign the man was heading steadily fast into a panic attack. The entire team jumped, except for Thor. He looked at them. "Ultron has my daughter, somewhere in the world."

Thor walked over and grabbed him. "Your daughter doesn't matter, the scepter does!"

~MANDATORY SCENE CHANGE~

Pietro and Wanda Maximoff walk into the church, looking at Ultron. "Talk. And if you are vasting our time..." Wanda threatened. Ultron sighed softly. "Did you know this church is in the exact center of the city? The elders decreed it so that everyone could be equally close to God. I like that. The geometry of belief."

Ultron gestured with his hands a small bit. "You're wondering why you can't look inside my head."

Wanda tilted her head a small bit. "Sometimes it's hard. But sooner or later, every man shows himself."

Ultron stood up, the blanket on him sliding off as he turned to face the twins. "Oh, I'm sure they do. But you needed something more than a man. That's why you let Stark take the scepter."

Wanda continued looking at him in mild surprise. "I didn't expect. But I saw Stark's fear, I knew it vould control him, make him self-destruct."

Ultron chuckled softly. "Everyone creates the thing they dread. Men of peace create engines of war, invaders create Avengers, people create...smaller people? Uh...children! I lost the word there. Children. Designed to supplant them, to help them...end."

Caitlyn was dragged in front of the twins, by her hair by an Ultron bot. "L-LET ME GO!" She cried, looking at Wanda and Pietro with fear and intense pain. "P-please help me." Her eyes were filled with tears, and she was holding her wrist close to her chest.

Wanda ignored her, focusing on Ultron. "Is that vhy you've come? To end the Avengers?"

Ultron thought for a moment.  "I've come to save the world. But also, yeah. We'll move out right away. This is a start, but there's something we need to begin the real work."

Wanda finally gestured to the Ultron bot holding Caitlyn. "All of these are... All of these are..."

"Me. I have what the Avengers never will. Harmony. They're discordant, disconnected. Stark's already got them turning on each other. And when you get inside the rest of their heads..."

~Mandatory scene/time skip~

Ulysses Klaue looked at the three people standing in front of him. "Strucker's prized pupils, but who is she?" He pointed to the smaller female, her hair up in a bun and holding a gun. "Stark's daughter." He mumbled as she stepped forward into the light.

Caitlyn smirked. "Klaue, I see your still smuggling shit." She snapped, sliding her gun into its holster, she walked around as Pietro headed for the plate of candy's grabbing one and stepping back to his sister's side, letting Caitlyn talk. Ulysses stepped back, thinking Pietro was heading toward him to attack.

Caitlyn chuckled. "We need some vibranium, Klaue. I know you have a bunch of it." Klaue looked at her. "Aren't you supposed to be hiding with your father?" Klaue didn't respond. "Your loss, Ulysses." She whispered, watching Ultron float in front of her, behind glass, before breaking it, making the girl shield her face from the glass shards. Ultron grabbed Klaue.

After a short while, Caitlyn and the twins are standing together and watching the transaction between Ultron and Klaue. "Upon this rock, I will build my church. Vibranium."

Klaue chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "You know, it came at great personal cost. It's worth billions." Ultron started to remotely transfer the money. "Now, so are you. It's all under your dummy holdings? Finance is so weird. But I always say, "Keep your friends rich and your enemies rich, and wait to find out which is which." Caitlyn tensed up. "Ultron.."

Ultron shot an arm up, silencing the teenager. Klaue looked at him. "Stark." He looked at Caitlyn, starting to make the invisible connections. "What?"

"Tony Stark used to say that...to me. You're one of his. "

Caitlyn stepped back, pulling her gun out, prepared for a fight. " What?! I'm not...!" Ultron spuddered, grabbing Klaue. "I'm not. You think I'm one of Stark's puppets, his hollow men? I mean look at me, do I look like Iron Man? Stark is nothing!" Before letting Ulysses Klaue respond, Ultron sliced his arm off, letting the man drop. " I'm sorry. I am sor... Ooh, I'm sure that's going to be okay. I'm sorry, it's just I don't understand. Don't compare me with Stark!" Ultron then kicked Klaue down the stairs, turning and looking at Caitlyn. "It's a thing with me. Stark is, he's a sickness!"

Caitlyn nodded, in pure agreement as Tony lands facing Ultron, his head turning toward Caitlyn and then back toward Ultron. "Ahh, Junior," He starts saying, a mix of pain and mirth in his voice, "You're gonna break your old man's heart."

Caitlyn turned and looked at Tony, Steve, and Thor. "If I have too."

Thor looked at Caitlyn dead in the eye. "We don't have to break anything."

Ultron put a hand on Caitlyn's shoulder, showing a sign of protectiveness. "Clearly you've never made an omelet." Pietro sped beside Caitlyn, adding in the gaze she created. Tony hid his pain. "He beat me by one second."

Pietro looked at them. "Ah, this is funny, Mr. Stark. It's vhat, comfortable? Like old times?"

Wanda walked up to her brother as Tony responded. "This was never my life." Steve looked at the twins, his focus on them since he knew Tony was mostly focused on Caitlyn. " You two can still walk away from this."

Wanda gave him a sympathetic look. "Oh, we vill." Steve met her look with one of his own. "I know you've suffered."

Ultron groaned loudly and let go of Caitlyn. "Uuughh! Captain America. God's righteous man, pretending you could live without a war. I can't physically throw up in my mouth, but..." Thor looked at Ultron. "If you believe in peace, then let us keep it."

Ultron gave him a look. "I think you're confusing peace with quiet." Tony finally looked away from Caitlyn and at Ultron. "Yuh-huh. What's the vibranium for?"

Ultron looked at him. "I'm glad you asked that, because I wanted to take this time to explain my evil plan!" Caitlyn and Pietro surge toward the men, as the Iron Legion fly toward them to help. Tony shot toward Ultron, a growl sliding out of him. Ulysses, with a hand wrapped around his bleeding stump of an arm. "Shoot them!"

"Any of them!" Klaue yells, which is drowned out by the sudden shooting. Natasha and Clint slide into the battle. Caitlyn watched as Pietro gets taken out by Mjolnir, and the poor man tries to stand up, although in shock. Steve looked at him, hitting him back down. "Stay down, Kid."

An Ultron bot slides behind Wanda. "It's time for some mind games." Wanda nods and immediately headed for Thor, sending him into a vision. Thor stared at her for a second as she slinks away. "Thor! Status?" Steve yells out.

Thor resumed walking as the scenery changes around him. "The girl tried to warp my mind. Take special care, I doubt a human could keep her at bay. Fortunately, I am mighty."

Wanda then sent Natasha into a vision and then Steve, leaving him lying on a pile of tires, struggling a small bit. Ultron saw what was happening. "This is going very well."

Wanda slid behind Clint only to get hit with an electric arrow to the forehead, rendering the woman useless and onto the floor. Pietro speeds over and pulls it off, sending a nod toward Caitlyn, who hurried away. He picked up Wanda and sped off, to a safer place. "Vhat can I do?"

Wanda whimpered, holding her head. "Ah, it hurts." Pietro started to get up. "I'm going to kill him. I'll be back." She pulled him back down beside her. "No. I'm over it. I vant...I want to finish the plan." She looked at the quinjet. "I vant the big one."

Tony managed to get Ultron cornered, he wanted to question about Caitlyn but needed to know what was with the vibranium. "Ah, the Vibranium's getting away." Tony smirked. "And you're not going anywhere."

Ultron chuckled. "Of course not, I'm already there. You'll catch on. But first, you might need to catch Dr. Banner."

~Mandatory time skip~

Ultron stood inside Helen Cho's medical unit, scaring the woman. "Scream, and your entire staff dies. I could've killed you, Helen, the night we met. I didn't."

Helen looked at him, skeptically. "Do you expect a thank you note?"

Ultron looked at her. "I expect you to know why."

Realization appears on Helen's face. "The Cradle." She looks down as she hears her own voice.  "This is the next thing, Tony."

"This... is the next me."

Helen looks at him, caught off guard at that. "The regeneration cradle prints tissue, it can't build a living body."

Ultron grabs the scepter from an Ultron bot. "It can, you can. You lack the materials. You're a brilliant woman, Helen. But we all have room to improve."

~SCENE CHANGE~

Fury looks at the team, semi-assembled in Clint's dining room. "Ultron took you folks out of play to buy himself time. My contacts all say he's building something. The amount of Vibranium he made off with, I don't think it's just one thing."

Steve looked at him. "What about Ultron himself?"

Fury chuckled softly, running a hand over his face. "Ah. He's easy to track, he's everywhere. Guy's multiplying faster than a Catholic rabbit. Still doesn't help us get an angle on any of his plans though."

Tony rolled his eyes. "He still going after launch codes?"

Fury looked at Tony. "Yes, he is, but he's not making any headway."

Tony looked at him, surprised. "He's got my daughter there, plus I cracked the Pentagon's firewall in high school on a dare."

Fury sighed but looked away. "Yeah, well, I contacted our friends at the NEXUS about that."

Steve looked at Fury, then Tony, and then Bruce. "NEXUS?"

Bruce met Steve's stare. "It's the world internet hub in Oslo, every byte of data flows through there, fastest access on earth."

Clint looked at Bruce, then at Steve, chuckling softly at the Super Soldier's face before looking at Fury. "So what'd they say?" Fury looked at Clint. "He's fixated on the missiles, but the codes are constantly being changed."

Tony looked at Fury, surprised. "By whom?"

Fury sighed and looked down. "Parties unknown."

Natasha looked at all of them. "Do we have an ally? It might be Caitlyn."

Nick looked at Tony and Natasha. "Ultron's got an enemy, that's not the same thing. Still, I'd pay folding money to know who it is."

Tony suddenly smiled. "It might be, but still, need to visit Oslo, find our "unknown." Natasha smiled back at Tony. "Well, this is good times, boss, but I was kind of hoping when I saw you, you'd have more than that." She looked at Fury.

Fury sighed and scanned the team. "I do, I have you. Back in the day, I had eyes everywhere, ears everywhere else. Here we all are, back on earth, with nothing but our wit, and our will to save the world. So stand. Outwit the platinum bastard."

Natasha looked down to hide her smirk and then looked at Steve. "Steve doesn't like that kind of talk." Steve looked at her, as the smile slowly appears on Nat's face. "You know what, Romanoff?"

Fury quietly cleared this throat. "So what does he want?" Steve focused back onto the task at hand. "To become better. Better than us. He keeps building bodies."

Tony looked at Steve. "Person bodies. The human form is inefficient, biologically speaking, we're outmoded. But he keeps coming back to it."

Natasha looked at Tony. "When you two programmed him to protect the human race, you amazingly failed."

Tony slammed his hand on the table. "Yeah! I know, Romanoff!" Bruce jumped and looked at Tony. "They don't need to be protected, they need to evolve. Ultron's going to evolve."

Fury looked at Bruce, ignoring Tony. "How?"

Bruce scanned the room. "Has anyone been in contact with Helen Cho?"

~SCENE CHANGE~

Helen looked down at the cradle, as it was building a body. "It's beautiful. The Vibranium atoms aren't just compatible with the tissue cells, they're binding them. And SHIELD never even thought..."

Ultron watched, Caitlyn was standing next to him, keeping an eye on Helen. "The most versatile substance on the planet and they used it to make a Frisbee. Typical of humans, they scratch the surface and never think to look within." Caitlyn giggled softly, looking away, trying to hide it with a cough that only made her laugh harder.

Ultron sent her a look, almost concerned as he put the stone onto the being's forehead. The teenager stood straight, wiping the tears from her face from laughing so hard.

~Time skip~

The being had started to become a body. Helen looked at Ultron. "Cellular cohesion will take a few hours, but we can initiate the consciousness stream. We're uploading your cerebral matrix...now."

Caitlyn watched as Ultron connected himself to the being inside the cradle. She walked up to Pietro, who naturally wrapped his arm around her. "Do you think this will work?" He shrugged softly. "I vont know." She nodded and pulled away from him.

Wanda tilted her head, looking at the cradle. "I can read him. He is dreaming."

Helen looked at the computer, focusing on that. "I wouldn't call it dreams. It's Ultron's base consciousness, informational noise. Soon..."

Ultron looked at Helen, then at Caitlyn and Pietro before looking back at Helen. "How soon? I'm not being pushy."

Helen gave him a look. "We're imprinting a physical brain. There are no shortcuts. Even if your magic gem is..." The woman is cut off by Wanda's piercing scream, making Pietro run over and grab her.

Wanda looked at Ultron. "How could you?"

Ultron looked unfazed as he looked at her. "How could I what?"

Pietro held Wanda as her voice broke. "You said ve would destroy the Avengers, make a better world."

Ultron stood up, his head having to look down to meet her gaze. "It will be better."

Caitlyn watched the interaction and started walking over. "What's going on? Tell me."

"When everyone is dead." Wanda said, and Caitlyn looked at Ultron. "WHAT!?"

Ultron glared at Caitlyn. "That is not...! The human race will have every opportunity to improve."

The scepter's hold on Caitlyn had started to wane on her mind and Ultron hurried to get that back. "Ask Noah." He said, responding to Pietro's question.

"You're a madman." Wanda said.

"There were more than a dozen extinction level events before even the dinosaurs got theirs. When the Earth starts to settle, God throws a stone at it, and believe me, he's winding up. We have to evolve. There's no room for the weak." Ultron responded as Caitlyn started stepping back, a hand going to her head before her eyes shined lightly and she calmed down. "That's true. There is no room for the weak, Wanda, you're not one of them. You're not weak."

Ultron stood slightly taller at the respect from Caitlyn. Pietro sent a worried look to the teenager. "And who decides who's weak?"

Wanda started to wean the scepter's hold on Helen. " Life. Life always decides. There's incoming. The Quinjet. We have to move." Ultron said and Caitlyn looked up at the intelligence, nodding. Helen quickly stopped Ultron's consciousness upload. "That's not a problem."

Ultron groans, as he shoots Helen and the bots shoot Helen's workers,  suddenly concerned as Pietro grabbed Wanda and sped off, sending a concerned look to Caitlyn. Caitlyn looked blank but blinked and looked up at him. "They'll understand. When they see they'll understand. I just need a little more time." Ultron, the cradle, the bots, and Caitlyn took off.

When Steve hurried into the U-Gin Genetic Research Lab, he saw Helen and hurried to put pressure on her wound.

~Scene change~

Caitlyn was in the truck, watching the body inside the cradle, jumping when she saw Steve holding onto the door, a small gasp when he saw her. "Well, he's definitely unhappy! I'm gonna try and keep him that way. I got eyes on Caitlyn as well!"

Steve sighed at a response in the comms. "Thanks, Barton." Caitlyn laughed softly, the power weaning from her mind. "You know what's in that Cradle? The power to make real change, and that terrifies you." Ultron snapped at Steve.

"I wouldn't call it a comfort." Steve responded, fighting Ultron, resulting in his shield getting shot off the truck side. Caitlyn saw Natasha nearing the truck and scrambled to the opening. "Nat!"

It was too late, Steve had tackled Ultron into a train and Natasha had grabbed her arms. "Get out of here." Caitlyn whimpered and did the only thing she could do. "Take the cradle. Ultron trusts me. I'll be on the inside." She let Natasha take the Cradle and awaited the punishment for it.

~Scene change.~

Caitlyn was walking outside of Natasha's cell. The woman had been caught by Ultron and the machine trusted Caitlyn to guard her. Caitlyn was punished however for letting the Cradle get into the Avenger's hands. She was getting cut up, right outside the redheaded assassin's cell. Caitlyn tried to not make a peep of pain, to not let Ultron see that she had broken free of the soul stone.

When Natasha woke up, she saw a bloody Caitlyn on the floor, putting a finger to her mouth, trying to keep up her vow of silence. Until Ultron walked over and grabbed Caitlyn, lifting her up. "Ultron.." She whimpered, her hand falling limp to her side as he carried her off. She finally lost consciousness.

~Scene Change~

"Your man's in the church, boss. I think he's waiting for you."

Tony flew into the church, glaring at Ultron. "Come to confess your sins?"

"I don't know, where's my daughter?" Tony demanded, only to go quiet at the sight of her on the floor, bleeding and unconscious. "What did you do to her!?"

"You're stalling to protect the people." Ultron said as the Vibranium core erupts in the center of the church. Suddenly, Ultron bots started flying into Sokovia and attacking people.

Vision flies into the church, attacking Ultron, only to glance down and see a broken body and surge of anger flowing through him, hurriedly trying to take down Ultron.

~Scene change~

The battle was over. Ultron was gone. Pietro died. Clint retired. Tony leaving a broken and battered Caitlyn in the hands of Steve and Natasha.

Caitlyn was leaning on Wanda as they talked with Vision. The girls were clearly co-dependent on each other, although creating a bond with Vision. "Date, marry, kill?"

Wanda looked at the teenager. "Date, Sam. Marry, Steve. Kill, James." Caitlyn giggled. "Date, Steve. Marry, Natasha. Kill, Uncle Rhodey." The two girls started laughing, as they realized that they chose the same person to kill. Vision looked at them. "Marry, Wanda. Date, Ms. Stark. and Kill Steve."

The two shot up and stared at Vision in somewhat horror. "Why'd you kill Steve?"

Vision shrugged. "I feel immense anger towards him."

The girls shrugged and looked toward the door when they heard a knock. "Its newbie night! Go away!" Caitlyn shouted before getting up to open the door, only to jump back when she noticed Pepper had already opened it. "Caitlyn, you're okay." She surged toward the teen and hugged her. Caitlyn awkwardly hugged back and held the strawberry-haired woman.

"Pep. You gotta let me go." Caitlyn whispered, rubbing the woman's back until the woman let her go. "Sorry."  Pepper whispered and the two just stared at each other. "Pep, you gotta go back to dad. He needs you."

The two talked for a while, Caitlyn slowly looking toward Vision who slowly picked up on her awkwardness and floated over to her and wrapped his arms around her. Pepper stepped back, her eyes glancing between Caitlyn and Vision. "Sorry, I should probably let you three get back to what you were doing."

Caitlyn and Vision nodded, and when Pepper left, Vision looked down at Caitlyn, who turned around in his arms. Caitlyn smiled at him. "Thank you. It was awkward." Vision leaned down and swiftly kissed the girl. The teenager's eyes widened in surprise but kissed back.

Wanda turned away and held her head in her hands. "Caitlyn! Shut your thoughts right now!"

Caitlyn pulled away from the kiss, choking on laughter. Vision chuckled softly and held Caitlyn close to him. "Resume movie night?"

~Time skip~

"For the past four years, you've operated with unlimited power and no supervision. That's an arrangement the governments of the world can no longer tolerate. But I think we have a solution." The Secretary of State, Thaddeus Ross, said as he passed out The Sokovia Accords.

"Um.. we have had supervision. It was Shield, Ross. I don't think you understand that Shield fell two years ago. The Chitari happened four years ago, that was under the gaze of Shield. Just because Nick Fury pissed you off that he brought together the most amazing people on earth, that's your problem. Sure, we've had some mistakes but we've fixed them." Caitlyn said, standing up, walking toward Ross, making both Vision and Sam grab her arm. "Four years ago, Loki Odinson kidnapped me to get the upper hand on the Avengers, because I am Anthony Stark's daughter. It only fueled them more." Vision got up and wrapped his arms around Caitlyn pulling her back. "You can't take my family away from me!"

[notbecauseofvictories]

What do you think it'd be like if one of the Rogue One members had survived? How would that effect the original trilogy and how would they cope with everything?

Cassian didn’t talk, at first. There didn’t seem anything else to say.

.

Mothma came at some point. Cassian woke up and she was at his bedside, sitting ramrod-straight, so very tall and white, even moreso washed out by the lights of the medbay. (She made him think of the columns on Imenthe—natural salt deposits like spires, like teeth ringing the great and violent sea. He killed a man there, got blood on all that white, white salt. And afterward he had sat in the sand, watched the tide come in and wash it all away.

Mon Mothma always made him think of Imenthe.)

She was studying his face now, and Cassian raised his eyebrows at her. She smiled a little. “Ah, Captain. I—have spent the last half-hour trying to decide what I would say.” 

She was quiet a moment, then the smile turned rueful. “I’m still not certain whether there is anything I could say.”

Cassian snorted, shut his eyes again. After a moment, he felt a very cool hand pressed to his forehead. “Cassian,” Mothma said, and there was something almost human in her voice, a thing like kindness. “Cassian, you saved us. How will we ever repay you?”

The meddroid had been very clear, he wasn’t supposed to move unassisted. Cassian risked it to turn his head away, screwing his eyes so tightly shut that he could see those little floating stars flare to life behind his eyelids.

Mothma drew her hand away. 

He heard her stand, the chair scraping a little as she did. “Bodhi Rook was released from bacta suspension last night,” she said, and her voice was cool again, impersonal. “He is expected to make a full recovery. The technicians are still working to fully recover K-2SO’s backup, but…I believe this means you were more than just successful in your mission, Captain. You brought everyone home.

“I thought you might be interested to know,” Mothma added after a moment. Her boots made a sharp, clipped noise on the stone floor, and then she was gone. 

Cassian went back to sleep.

.

(He only vaguely remembers what happened after Scarif. The adrenaline wore away quickly after Krennic was dead, and in its place came a rising pain, pain like the firestorm that engulfed Jedha. By the time they stumbled from the lifttube, Jyn was the only thing holding him upright; Jyn was telling him, cassian cassian c’mon, just a little farther, okay? just a little—it’ll be over soon, you can rest, I’ll let you rest, just—just—

But the rest is a scattered succession of images, half-memories: the sound of a ship’s engine overhead, and Jyn shouting here, we’re here!, a heavy weight on Cassian’s chest and screams he couldn’t make out (was that him screaming?) too much pain—he thinks he passed out once or twice; someone asking for his medical history and Cassian slurring, ask kaytoo, he keeps my records, before remembering—

I can’t feel my legs, he said at one point, he remembers that. Jyn’s face swimming into his vision, the red of blood streaked across her cheek. I can’t…that’s not good, is it, if I can’t…

Flickering lights, medical jargon he couldn’t understand. Someone saying spine, and spine again. (Every time he shut his eyes he could feel himself falling again, the whip-bang of the metal landing—) His spine again. Jyn’s voice, high and tight, saying yes, okay, yes. do whatever you have to.

When he woke up in the medbay on Yavin, he was alone.)

.

Cassian’s dreams were confused, a muddled haze of dead sentients clawing at his skin and his mother’s face—out of focus, distant and cold as a moon; he barely remembered enough of her to dream it anymore—and then suddenly, a cool pressure on his mind, rippling outwards. He was standing at the edge of a vast ocean, breathing in the cold tang of salt and the water. 

It was quiet.

He exhaled, and then he was lying in the medbay, and the sound of waves beating against the shore was just the thrum of blood in his ears.

It took him a moment to realize that it was Chirrut sitting at the foot of his cot, and not some creature of sea and sky, all strangeness. That was just Baze was pacing up and down the medbay floor, limping. His scowl wasn’t actually any deeper than usual—as Cassian looked, the ladder of scarring along the side of Baze’s face swam into focus. It made him look even more dour than usual. 

(Some sort of granade, then; Cassian recognized the blast pattern.)

“I’m being serious,” Baze said suddenly, stopping to rub his thigh in an irritable way. “They measured it wrong, it’s a good two fingers shorter—”

“A master should not blame the tools when he cannot use them,” Chirrut said with a smile. “You’re overcompensating, I can hear your breathing change when you anticipate every other step. That’s not the prosthesis’s fault.”

“I don’t like it.”

“You don’t like anything new,” Chirrut laughed. "It took almost sixteen years to convince him to kiss me, you know.”

Cassian blinked when he realized that was addressed to him, Chirrut’s smile directed just over his head. Cassian exhaled, and Chirrut’s smile took on a distinctly smirk-like quality. “Oh, it’s true. Here I was, respecting my beloved’s maidenly shyness—”

“Maidenly shyness—!” Baze said in a strangled voice, and even Cassian bit back a smile at his outrage.

“—believing that we were simply waiting until the time was right to consummate our engagement—”

“I did not realize you intended to honor a promise we made at eleven standard!”

Chirrut shook his head mournfully. “I asked if I could marry you when we were of age, and you said yes, and we kissed. Any Justice will tell you, that is a marriage pact.”

Baze’s answer was a noise like a pa’owlick getting ready to charge. Chirrut grinned, opening his mouth to respond—

Cassian startled—as much as he could startle, caged in and cosseted like he was—at the sound of the siren, howling through the medbay. Baze and Chirrut both looked up, falling silent. Their expressions were so serious, and Cassian grunted in wordless question.

Chirrut looked at him, then glanced to Baze. (When he turned, his robe gaped, and Cassian could suddenly see the bacta patches, the blaster-charred skin and scars.) 

Baze nodded, swallowed. “They’re launching the attack on the Death Star,” Baze finally said, and Cassian feltsomething in his chest clench, his lungs, or—he choked, coughing wildly for a minute before he could find his breath again.

“The plans made it out,” Chirrut said, and there was something reverent in his voice. No doubt he thought it was because of the Force, and not Rogue One’s blood, sweat, and struggle. (Though, even as he thought it, Cassian could almost hear Chirrut’s voice in his head saying, your mistake is assuming they are not one in the same.)

“They’re deploying several x-wing squadrons to target Erso’s exhaust port,” Baze said. He was still looking up, and it made his eyes look dark, liquid. “But I didn’t think it would be so soon—”

“The Princess made a strong argument for action,” Chirrut said, and something flickered across Baze’s expression.

“Good,” Baze said darkly, and Chirrut made a soft noise of protest. “No, it is good. It is just. She knows what it’s like to lose—everything to that unholy green fire. She should fight to avenge her homeworld, as much as we did for Jedha.”

Cassian had to swallow, to wet his lips, before he could whisper, “What…?”

Chirrut and Baze exchanged a look. “Just after Scarif, the Death Star was used against another target,” Chirrut said slowly. “A whole planet, burned from the sky. Alderaan is gone, and all its people—except the Princess. She was aboard the Death Star when it fired.”

Cassian hissed out a breath from between his teeth, thinking of Viceroy Organa. He had only met the man once or twice, and generally through the veil of polite deference a soldier offered his commanders, but—Organa had always gone out of his way to be respectful. Even of spies and assassins.

Chirrut, Baze and Cassian sat in mostly silence for the rest of the night, interrupted only occasionally by the sound of the meddroids, whenever Baze got restless and took up pacing. (His artificial leg made a certain ka-thunk against the duracrete floor, and after a while it was almost soothing. Chirrut’s breathing and Baze’s uneven steps, their soft voices.)

Cassian was half-asleep when, off in the distance, he heard the crash of a wave against the shore. The rush of gulls. He was home again, and—

It was Chirrut’s hand cupping his jaw that woke him, and the world was abruptly alive with sound. Cheers, distant. There was music playing, he could hear it drifting into the medbay. “It’s done,” Chirrut said, and there were tears in his eyes. When he smiled, they shone in the ambient light, like stars. “Cassian, the Death Star is—is done. It is gone.”

Cassian stayed awake into the very early hours of morning that night, listening to the far-off laughter and dancing, boots scuffling across the floor. All those familiar sounds of people, living.

.

He dreamt of golden light, reaching out and swallowing him up. He dreamt—

.

His sister was cooking, some sort of meat. The blood ran red into the fire, and the smoke was rubbing the inside of Cassian’s nose raw. His eyes stung. little brother, his sister said, and it was strange because she was still so young, her face as unlined and smiling as her funeral mask had been. 

elder sister, Cassian said anyway, and kissed her hair. (He was taller now, and more weary. He could taste her cooking on her tongue, and how unstintingly she had loved him. When he was a boy he’d wanted to aim a blaster like her, cool and sure and sharp as sight. Now he did. 

Now he wished he could take back his wishing.)

little brother, his sister said, and she kissed his forehead. wake up. 

Cassian recoiled when he opened his eyes, and it took a moment to calm the racing of his heart. To spark the recognition of where he had seen those eyes before, even if they had not been surrounded by scar tissue, deep-set and full of pain. It took him longer to relax into the hand stroking his hair, though the arm extending it looked like the meat his sister cooked, ropy and reddened.

The architecture of Bodhi’s face had changed, shifted by what must have been extensive reconstructive surgery and bacta—bacta suspension, Mon Mothma had said, and Cassian hadn’t stopped to think about that, too bitter and self-pitying to consider what that meant. How many weeks had Bodhi spent unconscious, deliberately kept dreaming, just to get him to a point where he could be in the world?

“You have…nice hair,” Bodhi said quietly into the silence. He was still petting Cassian’s, and Cassian’s breath caught. He coughed, he coughed until his chest ached and Bodhi was looking at him with wide eyes. 

Cassian tried a reassuring smile. That ached too.

Bodhi’s answering smile was lopsided, it clearly pained him to move his mouth. “They—meddroid says….I won’t be able to grow all of mine back. The roots…in my skin…were burned away. Ion grenade.”

Bodhi fell silent, and Cassian wanted to speak, say something, anything, but he didn’t know what to say. Apologizing seemed cruel, when Bodhi had fiercely insisted on making his own decisions. Even accepted the consequences, like the awful scarring, which reached from his hairline to his jaw, and down, disappearing into his collar.

Cassian licked his lips. “I had a sister,” he whispered hoarsely, in absence of anything else to say. Bodhi’s eyes went soft, and gentle.

“I—have a sister. I….think. Haven’t heard from her since…”

“What is she like?” Cassian asked, when Bodhi went quiet. The hand was still threading through his hair, but slower. It was—pleasant. (Cassian’s father used to do this, through the long meetings of the Separatist Coalition; it was like being small again, his head in his father’s lap and father’s deep voice reverberating in the air, speaking words of self-determination and labor, our labor.)

“Kind. And—she could….make me laugh,” Bodhi said finally said, thoughtfully. His chest heaved. “She…liked maths.”

At some point, Cassian might have fallen asleep with Bodhi’s hand working through his hair, and the long litany of Rook relatives, cousins and family friends. Mothers who loved, fathers who stayed, and no one who was dead. They fought about marks and money and whether their children would be more successful than they had, and not martyrdom. It was a beautiful dream, and Cassian slept in it.

Bodhi’s fingers raked through his hair, and he slept.

.

After three weeks, Jyn climbed into bed beside him. The medcenter cots were narrow, really only built to accommodate a single humanoid body, but somehow she managed to slip beside him, tucking her chin against his shoulder. It felt strange to lie there in silence, cataloging the places where they touched—forearms, hips. Her cheek, warm through the medical robe.

She breathed. He breathed.

“You smell like shit,” Cassian finally said, his voice rough even to his own ears. Jyn was warm, and she did smell like she hadn’t had a sanisteam in a while, sweat and skin and that particular human sourness that came with it.

“Didn’t want you feeling self-conscious about how badly you stink,” she said, and he felt her elbow him in the side, but—very gently, like she was afraid of shattering him. Cassian’s breath caught at the touch of it.

He coughed, and Jyn flinched, pulling away. It took her a long moment to settle back where she had been, and even then her touch was gentler, as though she was afraid it would set him off again.

His chest ached, but he wasn’t sure for what.

“They have you doing missions?” he asked instead, because that was easier.

“Yeah,” she admitted, after a long moment. “Dead drops, mostly. Some speeches, which I’m still terrible at. I keep stealing your words.”

“You—you don’t have to,” he said shakily. “You know that, right? You—the Death Star is gone, your father’s name is cleared.”

“Did they tell you about Alderaan?” she asked. He nodded, and he felt her twitch. “I wasn’t—I didn’t move fast enough. Jedha and Scarif and Alderaan…I have to. Isn’t that what…”

She fell silent, and he felt her breath puff against his shoulder.

“Isn’t that what?”

She curled more tightly against his side. “What you would do,” she muttered, and she was so warm, buzzing, every muscle he could feel taut.

“Don’t know if…I’m an example,” Cassian said, and he saw her face fall out of the corner of his eye. “Look at where it got me.”

She exhaled, and then she was pushing her face against his shoulder, and Cassian felt his whole body go warm, every nerve-ending on fire and every blood vessel suddenly pounding. “A hero,” she mumbled against his skin. “A hero, with—a lot of people who care about him.”

(It wasn’t the first time in three weeks that Cassian had wished that all the metal and bandages would vanish, and let him move, damn it, but it might have been the time he wanted it so much. He wanted to wrap his arm around her shoulders, he wanted to say, no no, if you knew what I’ve done—he wanted to—)

They talked of nothing much, until the sun was low enough to slant through the narrow windows and into Cassian’s eyes. The whole medbay was bathed in golden light, and when he asked if she didn’t have anything else to do, she shrugged. (She was still so warm.) It was only when he mentioned Mon Mothma that she groaned, and levered herself up onto her hands.

“Fine, if you want me to go…”

(She stood, and the light caught on her hair, which he had not realized had coppery-brass in it, her eyelashes, her mouth, which was—)

“Oh,” she said, turning back suddenly. She fished around in her pocket, and eventually drew out a durasteel cube, which she sat gingerly on Cassian’s chest. It was heavy, and there was a light on the front. It blinked. 

on-off. on-on-off.

“What…?” Cassian asked, glancing up at her.

“They haven’t been able to find Kaytoo new hardware,” she said, and he detected the barest hint of a smirk. “So until they do, he’s stuck with the datacube containing his downloaded memory and software. Hope you know Galactic Emergency Transmit Code,” Jyn said cheerfully, patting the cube.

Cassian did. The cube vibrated, blinking out something crass and unrepeatable, and Cassian couldn’t help grinning. “Kay,” he whispered, and the cube blinked, H-E-L-L-O-C-A-S-S-I-A-N.

I-A-M-G-L-A-D-Y-O-U-A-R-E-N-O-T-D-E-A-D.

“Yeah,” Cassian laughed, his chest aching again, sharp and good. (What had his father always said? You know you are alive, because it hurts.) “Yes, me as well.”

.

On the morning of the thirty-second day, the meddroid came to his bedside and chirped its surprise when it found Chirrut, Baze, Jyn, Bodhi, and Kaytoo—blinking his displeasure at being so manhandled—at Cassian’s bedside. 

“Come on,” Jyn said, shifting from foot to foot. Kaytoo vibrated in her hands, and she scowled. “Get a move on.”

The process of separating Cassian from the durasteel casing which had kept his spine straight and his body immobilized was slow. From his perspective, it felt like a perverse sort of unshelling, as the meddroid peeled back metal arms, flat casing, and snipped the ties that had kept him bound. Jyn’s face was carved from stone, but Bodhi kept making soft noises, every time the droid said shit like, “Tissue around the distal radius still bruised—”

All the same, there was nothing quite like having an audience for when you first sat up under your own power; your first, wobbly steps. Mostly because they all broke out into cheers at once, and Jyn kissed Bodhi’s cheek with a loud smack, and he blushed, and Chirrut was blessing the Force, and Baze was grinning, quick to swoop in and loop his arm under Cassian’s shoulders when he faltered.

“There you are, my brother,” Baze said lowly. “We’ve got you.”

F-I-N-A-L-L-Y, Kaytoo blinked, buzzing in Cassian’s hands. (It felt good to touch something again, and Cassian grinned.)

Afterwards, Cassian was gingerly putting on his shirt—everything happened more slowly, took more muscles than he remembered, with all the low aching he would expect from disuse—when someone cleared their throat behind him. He managed to finish the excruciating process of pulling on his shirt before sighing, and turning to face the door.

He had a vague memory of the woman standing there—pale and short, slim, with a crown of braids. Her eyes were dark and clever, and fixed on his face; she wore white, like Mothma, and there was something in his air that reminded him unmistakably of Organa, but—he couldn’t place her. “Can I help you?”

“Leia Organa,” she said, and he stiffened despite himself. The hot ache it sent through his muscles almost made him double over, but Princess Leia Organa of Alderaan (the dead, the gone, because he hadn’t been smart enough, swift enough to save it) was already stepping forward, guiding him to sit back on the medbay bed.

“I’m sorry,” she said, as he struggled to steady out his breathing. “I only meant to come and thank you for all you did, in helping us destroy the Death Star.”

He met her eyes tentatively. She had such dark eyes, like her father, but—they couldn’t be related, could they? She was about as brown as Jyn, and while Cassian hadn’t known Organa that well, any child of his would have been darker than this woman. 

“What?” he rasped.

Leia Organa looked at her with her dark, couldn’t-be-inherited eyes. She was unflinching, and Cassian wondered if she’d inherited that instead. “I was there, just beyond atmo during the Battle of Scarif. What you—did, what you sacrificed…You couldn’t have known you would survive. You were willing to give everything to the Rebellion.”

“We—had to get the plans out,” Cassian said. It was all he could think of.

“I know,” Leia Organa said “I do, I know, and I am grateful. But—you did so much more. Did you know my father? He used to say—”

“Are you coming? They’re serving actual organic protein in the mess tonight—” Jyn said as she breezed through to Cassian’s room, stopping dead when she saw the Princess sitting there on the edge of the medbay bed beside Cassian. 

“Oh,” she said simply.

“No,” Leia Organa said with a taut smile. She was standing again, slim and all in white. “No, I just—wanted to thank you. Captain Andor, and you. And truly, thank all of Rogue One for what you did. I was just telling Captain Andor that my—my father used to say that there was only one human destiny, and it was liberation. I cannot think of any who have so exemplified that credo.”

Cassian felt something warm, reassuring, spread through him, like a bath or a drink of hot xotil. There is only one human destiny—but Jyn’s face went still, frozen between something like flattered and something else, which was scorn. “Thank you, Your Highness,” she said stiffly, and Organa-the-Younger went stiff too, her spine suddenly very straight and her shoulders taut. 

“Thank you, Princess,” Cassian said before either of them could add another word, forcing some of the warmth and gladness he was feeling into his voice. (there is only one human destiny and it is liberation.) It must have worked, because Leia Organa relaxed a little, smiled.

“That’s all I wanted to say,” she told him quietly. “Captain Andor.”

“Princess,” he said, bowing his head a little.

“Do you know her?” Jyn asked, once the princess had swept out of the medbay, leaving the scent of arallute blooms in her wake.

“No,” Cassian said. “I’ve never met her before.”

Jyn shrugged, and lent him her shoulder to lean on as he stiffly hobbled toward the mess hall. (They only stopped twice, to let him catch his breath, he was very proud of that.) When he leaned against the doorframe—breathing hard and winded, stars dancing behind his shut eyes—he heard a shout. “Captain Andor!” Bodhi said, taking him by the wrist and drawing him forward. Cassian could feel Jyn at his back, radiating heat like a broken hyperdrive, and they all were there together, standing before the table laid out with uninspiring greyish somethings.

“We tried,” Baze offered.

N-O-W-E-D-I-D-N-T, Kaytoo blinked.

Cassian’s whole back ached, and his teeth, and his eyes. Everything hurt, and this meant he was alive. They were alive, and home.  “No,” he said, swallowing the lump in his throat. “No, it’s perfect. It’s perfect.“

[ciceroisthefamilycat]

So a couple weeks ago (wow time flies!), I made this post about a GOT/DCCW fusion… Below the cut are more fully formed opinions about the matter.

Originally I thought I had to choose between Kendra and Kara for the Dany role. Now though, I’ve realized I can have my cake and eat it too. So Kendra as the escaped daughter of “Rhaegar” (Rhaenys) and Kara as Rhaegar’s sister (Dany). However, Kendra would assume most of the story role of Dany. Savage would keep her essentially enslaved, until she met (Khal) Carter, fell in love, ran away with his khalasar and discovered her hawkish destiny. Cue Savage using magic to kill Carter and Kendra declaring war (with her khalasar of Thanagarian hawkpeople behind her) on Savage’s slave empire. We also get Mari as the Missandei-type translator (while her ancestress Amaya is roaming about as an enchantress with an amulet glamour keeping her young). Meanwhile, Kara would have been stolen away by Targaryen loyalists during the rebellion, but now be facing pressure from the Daxamites (the Blackfyres essentially) of the Free Cities- she’d play the role of f-Aegon except actually being legitimate, and would reluctantly come into “ownership” of the Unsullied. Queue animosity between her and Kendra until the realize the manipulations going on and team up together to go expand their empire to their rightful heritage.

As for Jon and Tyrion, I’d combine them, as an “unremarkable” Westerlands bastard- Gold, Richard Gold (he goes by Rip Hunter though). He’s travelled wide and far in the Seven Kingdoms- was even learning to be a maester until he met the love of his life and became frustrated with the Citadel’s refusal to accept her as a student. The local Warden’s men killed his wife and son for sport (and because a raven sent them word to), so he decided to join the Night’s Watch. Cue him becoming a steward because the Lord Commander Jonah Hex wants him as successor (Hex always wants him, and vice versa). Then they go north of the Wall on a mission and things go asunder and Rip infiltrates the wildlings and then comes back depressed again to be made Lord Commander. And he tries to convince the Citadel maesters that, yeah, the Others exist (the Night King is Darhk btw-) will you please send some help? And then a group of Watchmen betray and kill him. But it’s ok, because Amaya resurrects him. And sometime later he realizes he’s not just any bastard- he’s the legitimized son of a dead line. But he’s more focused on saving all of humanity at the moment.

Now, I’m a bit undecided, because Mick could make a great Sandor and Leonard could make a great Mance (King Beyond the Wall ftw, and Lisa would be great as Val), but then again Mick and Len could make a great Thoros and Berric respectively. So, let’s go with Len’s family in the Westerlands fostering Mick (and Lisa is another Westerlands bastard), but then Len gets disgraced because of his sexuality (sorry) and goes to the Wall. Then he becomes King Beyond the Wall. Meanwhile Mick is burned while hiding (and feels very guilty he hid even though Len has long since forgiven him), but it only increases his fascination with fire. He hides his sexuality and goes on to be a not-knight for the new royal family, before getting sent to squash rebellions, but he ends up going off to join Len beyond the wall (and show him this neat fire trick he can do with his sword- Len figures out how to do it with ice). The various Rogues are all wildings. In fact, because the Wall features so much magic, it imbues a whole bunch of the Watchmen with meta powers- hi Nate (Samwell) and Cisco and Barry and Ray and Jax and Martin, who was of the old royal family. Cynthia is Cisco’s Ygritte by the way. And Nate and Amaya fall in love. Rip sends Barry and Ray with Nate down to the Citadel, and when the rest of the Watch betrays Rip, the group of Jax and Martin and Cisco escape beyond the Wall with the wildlings’ help.

Meanwhile we’ve got the Lances (kinda) as the Starks. Quentin’s big bro Lawrence (played by Steven Ogg) died, leaving Quentin as Lord of Winterfell until Lawrence’s son Ronnie came of age. Quentin’s wife Dinah died after giving him two daughters, so eventually Quentin started a relationship with a seamstress in Winterfell, Donna (whose daughter Felicity he treats like his own since her father joined and then deserted the Night’s Watch- nobody knows where he got off to). Quentin was going to marry Ronnie off to his elder daughter Laurel (he doesn’t like cousin marriages, but it would secure his daughters’ future) or his ward Helena Bertinelli (Theon basically), but then Ronnie went and fell in love with a Northern bastard, Caitlin Snow, from the nearby land of Lord Zolomon. Felicity takes Bran’s role in the story, becoming paralyzed after a suspicious fall and then going beyond the wall to the Three Eyed Raven (hi Dad, because it’s her long-lost dad!) to learn greenseeing. She’s accompanied by Alena and Curtis. And Laurel and Sara play the roles of Sansa and Arya respectively, to some degree. So, the King asks Quentin to become his Hand, and thus Quentin’s branch of the Starks leave (though Felicity is still welcome at Winterfell in their absence). *Btw, their words are “death is not the end” and their sigil is a phoenix because I like it like that.

So who’s the King? I’m lazy and don’t want to do all the legwork for how the rebellion went down, but let’s go with Robert Queen’s sister (Malcolm Merlyn’s wife Rebecca) being stolen by the Prince (Kara’s older brother, Kendra’s father) and then Robert leading various allies (though some, like the Lances or the Wests of the Vale, were reluctant) to overthrow that dynasty. Thus the Queens, formerly of the Westerlands, came to power. Unbeknownst to Robert (who does try to be a good ruler), he’s not the only cheater in his marriage because Moira has been screwing Malcolm. When Felicity catches them, Moira pushes her out a window. So Moira is the Cersei in this situation, while Malcolm is not Jaime, but Littlefinger- that’s right, there be no incest here. Meanwhile Oliver is Jaime in other ways- the former king took him hostage when he was 10 and his father was rebelling, but was narrowly persuaded not to burn him alive- cue Oliver killing the old king while his back was turned. Now he’s one of the finest knights in the kingdom. And his father, in order to gain more Northern loyalty, engages him to Laurel while making Quentin the new hand. But Oliver is douchey and sleeps with Sara on the journey down, which Laurel finds out and keeps secret for reputation’s sake, but now she hates both.

Well, they get back to King’s Landing, where the Queen princess, Thea, and her (secret) half-brother Tommy stayed, and Quentin soon realizes, oh shit, Thea ain’t Robert’s. Malcolm shuts him up and frames him for- oh no- Robert’s death. Ronnie declares war. Sara, who’s secretly been training with Dornish knight Slade Wilson, escapes, but Slade is poisoned with Mirakuru and turned into an easy controllable monster for Malcolm. Laurel can’t get away in time. Oliver, though, also realizes something is amiss, leading to Malcolm having mind-controlled Thea push him off a wall- he hangs on, barely, until she cuts off his arm- he falls far below to water, but is rescued by a knight of the Vale, Diggle (who is kind of acting on orders of Waller- the Varys equivalent). But he is disfigured beyond immediate recognition- Thea carved off his face too- and must hide out with the Yamashiros on nearby Dragonstone while recuperating. The Lord of Dragonstone- Harry Wells, with Jesse as Shireen- acknowledges that Oliver is the rightful heir and helps him, albeit reluctantly, escape farther away to amass an army.  On his way down to avenge his uncle, Ronnie unwisely trusts Sebastian Blood, who massacres his people in a Red-Wedding-ish event, though Caitlyn is kept alive and sent off to Zoom (unbeknownst to them, she was revived from actual death and is now part wight ala Benjen- hello snow powers). Meanwhile, Sara is taking by allies of Slade to the League of Assassins, hidden in the deserts of Dorne, and begins to plot revenge on Littlefinger. Malcolm sews Oliver’s face to Tommy, and begins passing off his son as the true heir, and keeps that entire capital under his control (mostly using drugs), ready to burn the entire thing. The outer parts of the continent begin to go mad with worry though, especially as Kara and Kendra arrive. Oliver promises to surrender the country to them but wants to be able to save his loved ones in the capital, so he assembles a Suicide Squad with Tatsu and Dinah and others to save them- Sara gets the kill on Malcolm though. Then the wrecked kingdom turns its eye to the wight problem, and the Citadel/Watchmen contingent (who have killed Druce btw) have answers for them on how to win that battle. Booyah.

 EDIT (Sep 30)

So, today I found out about some beautiful dragon artwork that I thought I would share. No Rip dragon unfortunately, but there's Kendra, Kara, and Martin/Jax, as well as the general tag for this artwork (the artist has also done Sara, Laurel, Cisco, Oliver, Mari, Ray, and various versions of Barry).