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greycappedjester · 3 years

Note

If it’s ok, could we get a small clip of the next chapter?

Sure!....which story?

Um, here’s one for all of them. It’s long (very, very long) so I’m putting it under “Read More”

(All story segments are not fully edited and may change)

Tooru Oikawa and the Triwizard Tournament

Yamaguchi squinted towards the other side of the Great Hall. “So have they….made up now?”

A few tables down, Kageyama and Hinata seemed to be in the middle of a very loud and very spirited argument on whether condiments could ever count as side dishes. Grievous insults to intelligence had been made and threats of murder were likewise issued.

“I think so.” Ennoshita didn’t sound confident.

Hinata attempted to tackle Kageyama off of his bench.

“But, they’re still not playing together for Quidditch,” Yamaguchi confirmed

Kageyama shoved an apple in Hinata’s face.

Asahi watched wide-eyed. “They said they couldn’t yet.”

A resulting debate over the term 'breakfast fruit’ emerged. It was somehow even more heated.

“But, they’re not fighting?” Yamaguchi had to confirm.

“Suga says they aren’t,” Daichi said.

They had now decided to share the apple. Yachi beamed from beside them. Lev booed.

Yamaguchi decided there and then. “I’m never going to understand their relationship.”

“They’re idiots,’ Tsukishima concluded.

And, thus, the most watched and highly contentious fight of the entire school year--Tournament included--finally came to its baffling end.

--------

After the Fall of Olympus

(Sorry, it’s a depressing one--partly because I can’t take out much from the chapter without giving away a really major spoiler that’s revealed in the first scene)

Dick and Donna have this thing they do.

It started maybe three years after the invasion, before Kory’s ship landed, and when everything was still raw but finally slowly trying to get better.

They’d been in the tower alone, both on monitor duty, when Donna had turned to him and out of the blue asked, “Dick, tell me about Wally West?”

“What,” Dick had asked, too surprised even to feel the pain that sharply.

“You and Roy mention him every now and then. He was your best friend, right? I want to know more about him.”

Dick had just stared. Stared until Donna had admitted in a too quiet voice. “I’m tired of not being able to talk about them.”

So Dick had talked. At the start, it wasn’t even about anything important. Just about what a huge chemistry nerd Wally was. How he flirted with girls non-stop. The time he’d tried to phase through a wall and got half way through before panicking. And then, slowly, Dick moved on to important things. When Dick first told him his secret identity. How Wally had wanted to grow up to be just like his uncle. What Dick had felt when he saw his body.

Donna talked, too. About her sister. About growing up with Diana, about the numb shock watching her death on the news, about wondering if her sister would be proud of her and the a million and one times she was scared of living up to the reputation.

It became a routine. Not every day. Not even every few months. But, now and again, one of them would seek the other out and Donna would talk about Diana or some of her other Amazonian teachers lost in the invasion and Dick would talk about Wally and M’gann and Artemis and Connor and Kaldur and….and Bruce. One time, Dick even talked about Superman.

They talked and the pain didn’t go away--not fully, not ever--but eased until they felt like they could breathe again, until they could remember a past that was colored by more than just the pain of their deaths.

-------

Walking With My Eyes Open

Gen wasn’t a kind man; he was pragmatic. And he’d long decided he’d do absolutely anything, sink to any kind of low, be however ruthless he needed if it meant saving Senkuu’s life.

So….

Decisions, decisions.

He shredded a petal under his nails and tossed it down.

“Gen?” A blonde head popped up beside him. “What are you doing?”

He smiled, making sure it was a soft one despite his mood. Because he absolutely believed in playing favorites and when it came to the village--to his entire life, actually--it wasn’t hard to guess the people that rested on top.

Suika smiled back, a glimpse of bright blue eyes shining through the shadows of her mask. Then, she tilted her head and lowered her voice. “Are you hiding from work?”

Gen laughed, pressing a finger to his lips. “Maybe a bit. Don’t tell on me, okay?” He winked. “Besides, I was considering some options. Thinking counts as work, too, doesn’t it?”

Suika nodded, glancing down at the growing pile of mangled petals then to the daisy Gen was still steadily demolishing. “And the flowers are helping you think?”

Actually, Gen had just been feeling murderous towards flowers lately. Call it enacting justice vicariously.

“Not particularly.” He picked up another flower from beside him and instead of shredding it, started to fold. “You’re right. I think there’s a better use for these.”

A few more quick movements and he wove a flower bracelet, just small enough to slip over Suika’s wrist.

Her grin brightened, looking at it like it was the next great marvel--so, at least Gen had accomplished one thing today.

“It’s so pretty,�� Suika said, looking up to see it closer. “And the flowers are so close together. Can you teach me?”

“Sure, once we get some more flowers.” He picked up the last one, winding his fingers around the stem. “You know, now that you mention it. There is an old game about flowers and decisions. Want to hear it?”

Suika sat patiently in front of him, eyes fixed on the daisy because of course, she wanted to learn. What other village could this be?

“It’s very simple.” Gen counted off with one hand, flower in the other. “Two phrases, you pick a petal on each and the one you land on is your answer.” Gen picked a petal. “He loves me.” Another petal. “He loves me not….”

Suika gave a small gasp. “Flowers can tell you if someone’s in love?”

Gen didn’t laugh because he knew it would be bitter.

“No,” he said quietly. “It’s just a game. Back before--ah, before even me and Senkuu, that is--ladies would play it to see if their beloved would ever return their affections. It’s silly.”

“So…,” Suika thought a bit, “it’s like a wish, then?”

“I think I’m using it more as a hex,” Gen muttered as he got to the last petal and glared.

He loves me.

Well, fuck.

Gen supposed that’s what he deserved for trusting flowers.

He gave his largest, most theatrical sigh for Suika’s sake. “Ahhh, Suika-chan, look at that! It seems like I lost. More’s the pity for me!”

Suika grinned up at him, hopping to her feet and wrapping her arms around his hips. “It’s okay! I still love you.”

Gen patted her head, smiling despite himself.

“Maybe you were using the wrong flower,” Suika told him.

“Could be.”

“I’ll go get more,” Suika promised. “Then, you can find one that’ll work.”

“More flowers is a good idea,” Gen agreed. “But, I think I’m tired of this game. Why don’t I teach you how to make the best flower crowns in the entire stone world? Then, we’ll both have to be the most beloved people in the whole village, won’t we?”

Immediately, Suika ran off to the woods and Gen watched her go.

At least, flowers could do good somewhere.

He looked down at the mangled flowers. A daisy, purity and innocence.

With a shift of his heel, he ground them a little further into the ground..

Flowers were an awfully pointless thing to blame; but, Gen was petty and they were easier than the alternative.

Still. He taught Suika how to make flower crowns and when she pressed one last bloom into his hand, so excited to find the last one of the season, he took it like his heart hadn’t plunged to his feet.

It was hard to look at black nightshade and forget it was a poison.

-------

Call Me Your Home At Night

(Note: very, very subject to edit. Part of the reason this one has taken awhile is rewrites while I work on tone)

Atsumu was shouting--voice tinny over the phone speakers--and Hinata’s blender was doing its best impressions of death throes while Hinata frantically tried to keep both the chord at the one angle it worked and hold the blender’s lid down so the entire kitchen didn’t end up coated in a weird grey mix of protein shake and bananas. Again. For the fifth time.

In other words, it was a normal morning.

From the part of his mind that noticed these things, Hinata thought it was kinda funny that Atsumu had learned to time his complaining to coordinate with the aggressive disaster that was Hinata’s morning routine.

Like the world’s weirdest symphony, the opposite of harmonizing. A disharmony! That was it!

“Seriously, what the fuck is a ward court and how is it different than a family court? Why do we even need two courts for divorce? Huh? Why not just shove a paper at us and have it done!” Atsumu’s voice got increasingly petulant. “Shouyou, it’s like the entire country is trying to keep good, decent people married! Why does it hate us?”

It was a close call; but, in a competition between one aggravated setter on speaker phone and the relentless whirring of the cheapest blender Hinata could find on the internet, Atsumu still managed to fight his way through.

Hinata gave the phone a sympathetic look even if he knew Atsumu couldn’t see it. He turned off the defeated foe and mentally crowned Atsumu the winner of Disharmony 2016: Blender vs. Atsumu edition. Not that he had much doubt.

“Find anything you like with grounds for divorce?”

Atsumu grumbled which meant no.

Then, Atsumu huffed which meant no and the world wasn’t fair!

So, apparently, divorce was harder than it looked. Actually, a lot of things about this “being married” thing were more complicated than they thought and, in the month since they’d been technically married, Hinata had frequently and strongly fantasized about grabbing his past self by the shoulders and shaking him while screaming ‘WHY?!’ right at his face.

Like taxes!

Who knew how to do taxes? Who knew that taxes were apparently due this month? Including married people taxes which apparently were more complicated and had things like joint filing or separate and dependants and a bunch of other words that Hinata still didn’t understand completely. It wasn’t like he could ask his Mom for help after everything or even beg Yachi or Kenma like usual because that would bring up the whole marriage thing and, ugh, no, no, no, no.

Hinata was pretty sure he and Atsumu had figured it out. Enough, at least. Getting arrested for tax evasion seemed like something that only happened on the news so it was probably fine.

Uh, so, yeah, between the whole moving to Brazil thing and figuring out stuff like rent and utilities and meeting the indoor volleyball team he’d be working with plus some of the beach volleyball players and trying to get his new roommate Pedro to talk to him about things other than laundry and groceries and trying to remember the difference between bolo and bola and finding a job and Atsumu dealing with MSBY promotion stuff and interviews and getting ready for pro-volleyball next season and then them both having to deal with stuff like taxes and still being weirded out about all the accidental wedding stuff in general, they…..well, they hadn’t gotten much done about the whole divorce thing.

Okay, more like they’d gotten exactly one thing done and that was figuring out a time to freak out about all the things they hadn’t gotten done. The good news was that the exactly twelve hour time difference was sorta perfect since it meant Hinata got back from his morning jog about the same time Atsumu came home for dinner, which meant that quickly became their agreed time to call with updates.

….which usually tailed off into both of them talking about volleyball instead because volleyball was a whole lot more fun.

Hinata very carefully pushed aside the resulting mental montage of sand scraping along his arms on a missed receive and feet sinking into the ground and landing face first in burning sand that was happening way more than he’d expected.

Hinata shook his head, scraping the not-very-blended protein shake out of his blender. “I’ll try to look some stuff up this afternoon.”

“Isn’t your laptop still being screwy?”

“...Maybe.” It was more like Hinata’s ancient laptop had given a sudden death kneel--complete with hisses and the screen flashing--and Hinata was sorta scared he’d get electrocuted if he even touched it. “I’ll use my phone.”

“I could just buy you a laptop, you know,” Atsumu muttered. It wasn’t the first time; Hinata even knew his next line.

Hinata grinned. “That’s really sweet, Atsumu. Absolutely not, you’re already doing enough of the research anyway.”

“Shut up,” Atsumu grumbled. “I am not sweet, this is a trade. Your laptop’s a piece of crap, like actually the worst and I--like any normal human being--am doing my part in putting it out of its misery. Basic compassion right here.”

“But, I don’t need a new laptop,” Hinata insisted like he always did. “I’ve got my phone. That’ll work until I get a job.”

Which he was totally going to get. Soon, too. It was just a little harder than he thought when he didn’t really have a great grip on the language yet.

“Hinata, I’m begging you as a friend here, please don’t resort to selling your organs on the black market.”

Hinata rolled his eyes. “I would never do that. I need them for volleyball.”

“Is that seriously the only reason?”

“Think about how long surgery recovery would take,” Hinata teased. “I only have two years here.”

“I worry about you. Like fundamentally.”

Hinata tilted his head. “But what if I could get like super organs instead.”

“Like Terminator?”

“Yeah! I’m pretty sure I read a manga where that happened once.” He paused. “Oh my gosh, Atsumu, imagine how amazing volleyball would be with superpowers!”

“There’s no way the V.League would approve that.” Atsumu breathed in. “But, what if…”

“I’d get super speed,” Hinata broke in excitedly, “or maybe flying. Oh, or super strength! Imagine hitting a spike with super strength!”

“Awesome!” Atsumu’s voice was speeding up. “What if I had one of those specialty powers like super precision or something! It could get around so many blockers; Suna would be so pissed off! I could set the ball anywhere!”

Hinata huffed. “You already do that.”

Atsumu broke off, sounding pleased. “Really?”

“Of course,” Hinata said. “Hey, wait, how was practice? You got to meet the new libero, right?”

“Yeah, Inunaki--he’s pretty cool. He was mainly working with--” Atsumu cut off, “Fuck, Shou, I gotta tell you about this thing Barnes and I did!”

Atsumu started rambling--words choppy and quick as he got deeper into the retelling of practice in a way that had Hinata hanging off every word. In an abstract sense, Hinata knew that he himself was a people person; he’d always been good at making friends and deeply appreciated every single one he was able to hang onto.

He’d never had a friend like Atsumu.

-------

Shuffling the Deck

(Since it’s late, have an entire opening scene)

ooooooo- 30 Years Prior -ooooooo

Once there was a girl who grew up with her grandmother in a barely patched house, closed in by cliffs.

She was a quiet girl, a pretty face and delicate hands always kept clean despite the threadbare clothes that hung more like rags. The girl did not like to play with the other children which was fitting as they didn’t much like to play with her either.

Instead, she liked to read.

And, more than that, she liked to watch the garden.

Which is what she chose to do, one day at eight years old on the same morning a prominent merchant staggered in to see her grandmother--a terrible illness spreading through his veins and blood in his cough.

The girl was fine with blood but didn’t care for coughing so she stayed exactly where she was, laying on her stomach with head propped in hands while she took in the delicate threads of a spider web.

She always thought the webs were the prettiest part of the garden. They were so very thin and frail that one could barely notice them until they got up close. And, then, once they saw them, they could see the patterns and shapes so carefully woven as if by an artisan.

Sometimes, she even saw the spider.

Sometimes, she tried to get it to crawl to her hand.

It never did though. No matter what she did. The spider was too cautious, too scared of what it believed had power over it.

That was how spiders worked, really. They spun their masterpieces with so much care and precision and, then, they waited patiently for the art to be observed.

The girl was not the only one who found the spider web this morning.

A fly had come across the threads first--likely by accident but the girl liked to imagine that it was the beauty that had drawn the fly in the same as it had done her.

She wondered if the fly still appreciated the art of the web.

It was still alive.

She watched it struggle. Its wings beat uselessly, its many legs trapped in the delicate threads, and a buzzing cry sounding so frantic for such a small creature.

For a moment, she debated on saving it.

She could, of course.

But, that would mean tearing down the gorgeous web that she adored.

But, that would mean the spider may starve and there would be no new web tomorrow.

And, besides, why did she care about dirtying her hands for the sake of a dying fly.

The door of the cottage opened and the girl glanced up idly.

The merchant was stumbling out, gratitude and lavish promises on his breath and a healthy glow back in his cheeks. Her grandmother was smiling kindly, accepting the praise yet turning down the offers same as she always did until eventually the merchant went away.

The girl looked back to the web.

The fly was dead, quickly being wrapped up by the spider to save for later.

She turned back to her grandmother. “He was rich, you know? I heard the other kids talking about him in town. His shipping business goes all the way up to the wealthy islands in the north. If you let him do even half the things he offered, we could live in a mansion and you wouldn’t have to hurt your fingers so much mending clothes.” The tone wasn’t accusing, merely curious. “Why did you say no?”

“Oh, my dear,” Her grandmother leaned down to kiss her hair and the girl allowed it, “because our powers are a gift. They’re not meant to be hoarded and offered for a price. They’re meant to be shared. Besides,” the woman sighed as she watched the road, “what kind of price would that be? Who would I be to demand it? Those who are desperate--for their lives, for those they love--would pay anything. They’d do anything. Who could ever put a price on such a weight? It’s beyond human measure.”

She smiled down at her granddaughter. “Do you understand, my darling Mimi?”

Maemi frowned before nodding, looking down at the spider web.

“Yes, I understand.”

There was no way to know what would have happened if the old woman took up the merchant’s offer. Likely she never would have. She was not that type of person. All that there was to know is that the grandmother and the little girl remained at the patched up cottage, just like they had the girl’s whole life and her grandmother’s life before hers.

They were there six months later when the oceans swelled and brought the waves into shore.

They were not both there after.

Six months later, a man and a girl waded through water as they searched a broken down cottage for survivors.

Well, the man searched at least.

The girl had stopped beside a tree, tall and strong enough to survive a tsunami.

On the bottom branch, at the lowest hanging twig, was a spider’s web just barely managing not to be swept into the water.

The spider was still alive.

But, it wouldn’t be for long.

It struggled, trying to climb up faster even as the bottom of its beautiful web was destroyed by the current.

For a moment, she debated on saving it.

She could, of course.

So, she did.

She snapped a twig from another branch and held it out for the spider to crawl, too. It did willingly, anything to avoid the water below.

It had never crawled to her hand before.

Not like it did now when it was desperate for life.

Maemi watched her dear spider crawl into her open hand.

And, then, she plunged her hand into the water and watched her dear spider drown.

“Yes, grandmother, I understand completely.”

#hq at hogwarts #atfo #cards #walking with my eyes open #call me your home at night #shuffling the deck #triwizard tournament #hq #dcst #dc #atsuhina #wow #okay i think i'm finally done with tags

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inkdemonapologist · 4 years

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What's going on with Wally Franks in your AU? I had trouble following the game, and the wiki seems to say that he quit the studio and retired without ever learning its darkest secrets, but I think you have him as one of the escapees (turned into a Boris?)

Okay I have a lot of rambling thoughts about the ending of the game if youre curious but I'll stick those at the end. As far as Escape AU goes:

Yes, Wally was a Boris clone! He did not fully get outta there; he's the murdered Boris at the very beginning of the game. Dying doesn't really seem to stick for ink creatures in the Studio, so he was able to come back -- but since he spent most of his time in the Studio [glados voice] really busy being dead, he doesn't have the years of trying to survive an inky hell that the others have; he just has that one really bad time where he was turned into a cartoon and murdered, and some weird and probably equally upsetting memories of briefly waking up from death. He never wandered the studio and was never sent to the puddles, so he has some real bad nightmares/insomnia now but is otherwise doing okay in his day-to-day life, and has no trouble speaking. He's probably able to hold down a job before too long!

Mostly Wally is there because I wanted Wally to be there, and I haven't fully sorted out the LORE for him in Escape AU (I don’t know if he never left or if he got lured back), but if you're interested in trying to sort out some of the canon associated:

So basically what I've gathered as someone who is obsessed with bendy and has watched all the cutscenes and all that but hasn't actually played the game and was real late to the fandom, TAKE WITH A GRAIN OF SALT:

- The game leaves things a bit ambiguous

- There were, in the original game, a lot of hints that the Boris you befriend in the Studio is Wally. (He’s sorta handy, kinda cowardly, likes food -- and we get an audiolog dedicated specifically to letting us know that Wally will straight up steal your cake off your desk; they’d be a good match!) There's several reasons it makes a kind of narrative sense and it was the prevailing theory before DCTL came out, but it was never confirmed one way or another.

- Two smaller things I’ve seen connecting Wally to Boris: the wrench you pull out of a Boris' chest, and the "Who's Laughing Now" written on the wall beside him being a really neat hint once you get to the audiolog where Wally complains that everyone is acting too serious for a cartoon studio and should crack a smile now and again. (this is most of why I went for the dead Boris as Wally)

- in Dreams Come To Life, Buddy is (spoilers) transformed into a Boris at the end, and it's commented on how perfect he is, implying he may be the "perfect Boris" you befriend in the game. The Boris in Boris and the Dark Survival is referred to outside the game as "Buddy Boris" and, since he has a safehouse, there's an implication that BatDS bridges the gap between DCTL and BatIM. The fact that Henry keeps affectionately referring to Boris as "buddy" becomes a fun retroactive “coincidence,” but also all the various implications that Wally sure would have made a good Boris now go nowhere. It ended up feeling like a retcon.

- in the end of the game you can see letters to Joey from Allison and Wally, implying they (and Tom) are alive and well and continued their lives after the Studio shut down, which is interesting since, uh, Allison and Tom are also now toons???

- there's a popular interpretation (called the Story Theory I think?) which I encountered in Adobe-Outdesign's analysis, that what this apparent contradiction means is that the "sketch dimension" (the cartoony world where most of the game takes place) is actually a story created by Joey using the Ink Machine, populated with alternate/fictional versions of the employees of the studio. So the Real Allison left, but in this story Joey’s writing, she didn’t. Henry-the-protagonist might not be the real Henry Stein; instead he's just one of Joey's characters, based on his IRL friend. Etcetera! So in real life, Wally retired, as his letter indicates. But those fictional versions are still real people, real consciouses, because the real ink machine that Joey really has hidden in his apartment is bringing Joey's story to life. I like the interpretation a lot as a take that fits the game well but also I have no idea where DCTL fits in this. IS DCTL PART OF JOEY'S STORY OR DID ALL OF THAT REALLY HAPPEN IN REAL LIFE??? IF THERE'S A LOOP IN DCTL (as slightly implied by Dot) ITS A STORY RIGHT??? WHAT IS HAPPENING IN THIS FRANCHISE

- the alternative interpretation to this is that somehow Allison and Tom (at least, if not others) got lured back to the Studio after she sent her letter -- after all, she's still keeping in touch. I tend to assume this is what’s going on in most fanfiction and AUs that have any possibility of escape, since you’d presumably want the employees to actually be themselves rather than Joey Drew's Weird Friendfiction brought to life. The impression I've gotten in this version is that sending them to the Bendy Dimension gives Joey control over the script there, so instead of creating people for his fictional retelling, he's forced his actual employees to play out this story, but I don't know that I've seen this fully spelled out

SO THATS, UH, SOME OF THE RELEVANT BACKGROUND INFO I THINK

Before running into the much more coherent Story Theory, my own attempts to make sense of the ending went in the exact opposite direction; that rather than Joey's apartment being a brief step out of the Story and into the Real World, that Joey's apartment is something of a dream, where Henry and Joey, of course, imagine the world that they know, even if they're not actually in it anymore.

I also REALLY liked the theories linking Joey to Bendy -- Bendy may have been created without a soul, but that doesn't mean one can't get, y'know, shoved in there... or that maybe a soul could be possibly stolen and absorbed by a creature who lacks one........ yknow..... it could happen. I like the idea that Ink Bendy's shifts in behaviour towards Henry reflect Joey's conflicted feelings towards his old friend (which is still there in the Story Theory version, it's just symbolic instead of literal).

So you defeat Beast Bendy and suddenly Joey is there, finally, in a place that looks like the real world but certainly doesn't feel real. The calendar in Joey's apartment cycles through the month of August but never moves past it, and I can't shake the idea that Joey could be just as trapped in the cycle as Henry, also never quite deviating from his own script, only briefly appearing in a memory of his own apartment when Henry releases his soul from the demon he created.

I don't know that this could ever shake out enough to be any sort of Actual Theory, but in my brain it's still kind of the background of Escape AU because it's a premise that makes it possible for the employees to actually be themselves. So, the cartoon studio is real, but the things that show up in Joey's apartment might be hit or miss as to whether they're a memory from Joey's real apartment, or if they're imagined wishful thinking on Joey's part.

#i know you have questions you always do #we all write on the walls #IM SORRY FOR SO MANY WORDS IM INCAPABLE OF BEING SUCCINCT #Escape AU #wally franks #i am not 100% sure i know what im talking about but that's okay

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meanstreetspodcasts · 3 years

Text

Wolfe in Sheep's Clothing

“I rarely leave my house. I do like it here. I would be an idiot to leave this chair, made to fit me.” (Rex Stout, Before I Die)

Nero Wolfe made his first appearance in 1934, and his adventures are still being enjoyed nearly eighty years later in books, TV shows, and - beginning on April 10, 1943 - radio dramas. Not bad for a man who hated leaving his house more than nearly anything in the world.

Wolfe, the eccentric genius who weighs a seventh of a ton, was created by writer Rex Stout. Stout made a tidy sum inventing a system to track the money school children saved in their accounts, and he used his earnings and royalties to travel the world and embark on a career as a writer. His first Wolfe novel, Fer-de-Lance, was published in 1934, and Stout would go on to write 33 novels and 39 stories featuring Wolfe until his death in 1975. Over the course of the novels and stories, Stout fleshed out the character, who enjoyed fine food and good beer, tended to his orchids, and solved mysteries when he had to earn a fee, always with the aid of his assistant (and the narrator of the stories), Archie Goodwin.

Stout’s brilliant stroke was to combine two archetypes of detective fiction into one duo. Nero Wolfe was a classic refined detective in the mold of Sherlock Holmes, right down to his eccentricities, anti-social personality, and acute agoraphobia. He could listen to clues as they were presented to him in his drawing room and deduce the solution to a crime without ever leaving the chair especially designed for his massive weight. At his side was Archie, a more streetwise sleuth in the mold of (though not nearly as hard-boiled) Sam Spade and Philip Marlowe. Archie carried a gun and had an eye for a blonde like his brethren, but he drank milk instead of bourbon and he had a playful demeanor - particularly with his boss and their frequent foil on the police force, Inspector Cramer.

Wolfe came to the screen in 1934 and 1937, but it would take almost ten years for the character to make his radio debut. From 1943 to 1944, ABC aired The Adventures of Nero Wolfe which starred J.B. Williams, Santos Ortega, and Luis Van Rooten as Wolfe during various points in the run. A falling out between ABC and Stout’s representatives prevented the series from continuing, but a new version would premier on the Mutual Network in 1946. Francis X. Bushman starred as Wolfe, with Elliott Lewis, a veteran radio actor who would soon take the director’s chair on Suspense, as Archie.

But it is the 1950 NBC series The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe that is most fondly remembered and which came the closest to capturing the essence of Stout’s stories. First and foremost, they found an actor who could fully embody Wolfe’s larger than life persona - Sydney Greenstreet.

A longtime theater actor, Greenstreet’s big break came as Kasper Gutman (“The Fat Man”) opposite Humphrey Bogart’s Sam Spade in The Maltese Falcon in 1941 at age 62. After receiving an Academy Award nomination for the role, Greenstreet appeared in films like Casablanca, The Mask of Demetrios, and Across the Pacific. At age 71, he was cast as Wolfe, and his trademark characteristics - arched speech, droll laugh, deliberate intonation - perfectly fit Nero Wolfe’s larger than life personality.

Over the course of the series, no fewer than six actors were heard as Archie Goodwin. Each of the first three episodes featured a different Archie: Wally Maher (October 20); Lamont Johnson (October 27); and Herb Ellis (November 10). Beginning on November 24, actor Larry Dobkin assumed the role. Dobkin had previously been heard as Louie the cab driver on The Saint and as Detective Lt. Matthews on The Adventures of Philip Marlowe. After eight episodes, Dobkin left and his old co-star Gerald Mohr voiced Goodwin for the next four episodes. Mohr was on a radio detective roll; he had just wrapped his two-year run as Marlowe and would return for a Marlowe summer series a few months after his gig as Archie came to a close. Harry Bartell, a veteran of Escape and Dragnet as well as the Petri Wine announcer for The New Adventures of Sherlock Holmes, stepped into Archie’s shoes for the final ten episodes of the series.

Why so many Archies to one Nero? There’s no definite answer. Some have said it was because Greenstreet was difficult to work with; others speculate the revolving door of co-stars was a sign of retooling to see if the ratings would improve.

And while the series was well done, with even Rex Stout praising Greenstreet’s performance (he was less complimentary of the program itself), it did not fare well enough in the ratings to earn a second year. The New Adventures of Nero Wolfe wrapped up its run on April 27, 1951. Fortunately for fans, the entire series run are available in great condition. One can listen to the full run and hear Greenstreet lend his one-of-a-kind voice to Wolfe, and even with so many actors playing Archie Goodwin, none is sub-par. Each brings his own style to the character while staying true to Stout’s creation. And backing up Greenstreet and his Goodwins every week are a great cast, including Bill Johnstone as Inspector Cramer, Howard McNear, Betty Lou Gerson, Peter Leeds, and Barney Phillips.

Since the radio era came to an end, Nero Wolfe has continued to entertain fans outside of the books. Several TV shows have aired, including one single-season program starring radio veteran William Conrad as Wolfe and an absolutely delightful but criminally short-lived production on A&E with Timothy Hutton as Archie and Maury Chaykin as Wolfe. And for fans who want more audio adventures of the pair, the CBC mounted an impressive series of adaptations in 1982.

Check out this episode!

#old time radio #golden age of radio

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doyelikehaggis · 5 years

Text

So, are you going to shoot me, or...?

(This is a rewrite of one of my earlier and first Olivarry fics, "Don't let speedsters play laser tag" because I'm already missing them too much.)

AO3

Laser beams zip past as Barry swiftly dodges each one, using his speed to his advantage. He can see every shot coming at him ten seconds before it happens as if in slow motion, able to find his safest path and take it in the blink of an eye.

He tucks himself behind a pillar and breathes out a laugh as a curse rings through the echoing room.

"You're an ass, you know that?" Cisco shouts. "I felt that damn breeze, Barry Allen—we agreed no speedster powers!"

"Does this mean I can use mine as well?" Wally asks.

"Yeah, me too," Jesse chimes in. "Laser Tag's almost...boring without them now."

Barry grins as Cisco scoffs, equal parts exasperated and frustrated.

"No, it's not boring. Not using your powers is the challenge—that's the fun part!" Cisco's argument seems to fall flat, and Barry peeks out from behind the pillar, still hearing footsteps despite the slight halt in the game. "You speedsters just need to relearn the definition of good ole' fashioned fun. Without cheating."

A laser beam shoots across the room with a loud zap. Cisco yelps and just barely dodges, incidentally backing closer to Barry's current hiding spot. He keeps himself out of view, readying himself to move if need be. Cisco's too busy cursing anyway to notice.

"Jesse—you're on my team!"

"Oh, didn't we tell you?" Barry catches sight of Thea, a grin similar to her brother's when he decides to lighten up every now and then, her laser gun held in one hand with a smug look on her face. "We swapped teams. Jesse and I are gonna take you down."

"You see what you've done, Barry?" Cisco shouts, waving his gun haphazardly. "You've started a rebellion! Now the kids are rioting and are gonna kill me! Thanks a lot!"

"Hey, you're the one who just tried to shoot me!" Barry points out.

He moves faster than Cisco can whip around. Lightning crackles behind him as he zips behind another pillar, further away from Cisco.

"Aha!" A shot of bright green goes flying at the spot he has just been in as soon as his connection fo the speed force ends. "Oh, you sneaky—I hate you! We are never playing Laser Tag again, you hear me?!"

Barry just laughs, and he's not the only one, catching a couple others in between lasers being fired. He slowly moves around to the other side of the pillar, keeping Cisco in his sights as he goes back to the game, gun up and at the ready. With Jesse and Thea on a team of their own, the plan of Team Flash versus Team Arrow seems to be off. Which means every person for themselves.

Another shot goes off. A shout goes up from Felicity, followed by cursing, then laughter. Barry quickly slides along to the next pillar as Cisco hurries off in the opposite direction, catching the barest glimpse of Caitlin sneaking past.

He grins, forming a new plan. If he can get to Caitlin first then it'll be easy to get her on his side. She's strangely good at dodging.

Before Barry can move, he picks up the sound of footsteps. Light, precise, moving with the intention of being as quiet as possible. Energy crackles around him, filling his head. His grin widens and he lets the lightning spark his veins and guide him.

In the blink of an eye, he moves, dodging the slow-motion sneak attack. The speed force sizzles away and Barry has Oliver pinned to the pillar, the barrel of his laser gun poking into his vest. Oliver's is turned around, now pointing the completely opposite direction.

"What the—" Oliver's brow furrows as he's yanked back into reality, but as Barry grins at him, the dots quickly connect. His jaw clenches and he looks a little bit murderous with a small smile at the corners of his mouth. "Okay. Probably had that coming for trying to sneak up on you."

"Definitely did," Barry agrees, keeping his voice down, and okay, maybe he feels a little smug about getting the upper hand on him for once.

Oliver hums, nodding slowly. His eyes dart down to the laser gun pressed into his chest.

"So, are you going to shoot me, or...?" He looks back up at him with questioning eyes.

Barry considers it, weighing his options. It doesn't seem to impress Oliver, that's for sure. His lips part in a grin again and he shakes his head, even as he presses the gun a little harder into his vest.

Oliver's eyes flicker, staring into his own too intensely, too guarded, too fixed on one spot.

"No, I think I'd rather team up," Barry says. "We're usually pretty good together, right?"

Oliver huffs out a soft noise of amusement now. "I think teaming up to take down murderers and metahumans is a little different from laser tag, isn't it?"

"Both require good aim, which you have, fast speed, which I have, and us working together." He raises his eyebrows at him. "So?"

"You know I could easily have shot you already," Oliver says. "Your little trick with my gun was pointless. And we're still on opposing teams."

"Then why haven't you done it yet?" Barry asks, tilting his head, his grin widening again.

Oliver hesitates. Falters, seems at a loss for an answer. Except that something is still flickering in his eyes, telling Barry otherwise, and his eyes are so fixed on his. Until they're not, and they move the tiniest bit, just a couple inches down.

He makes a noise as if clearing his throat and chuckling quietly at the same time, and averts his eyes entirely.

Barry stares. It's so rare to see Oliver caught like this. Flustered. Nervous, almost. He's aware that maybe he's a little closer than necessary, and Oliver's always had a thing about personal space. He learned that through too many attempts to hug him.

But he doesn't seem annoyed, and he still hasn't turned his laser gun on him.

"I'm...weighing my options," Oliver says in the least convincing tone. "You made a good point about us being a good team."

"I actually said we're good together," Barry quickly corrects, shrugging.

"Do you want me to shoot you?" Oliver quips back.

There's something else that Barry thinks he would rather he did. Maybe pinning him wasn't the smartest idea on his part. Now he's too close and he can't move without it looking like a retreat, and he doesn't want to lose this game.

His eyes dart down to Oliver's gun, then his own. He tries to look back up at him but his mouth is in his line of sight before Oliver's eyes are, and he's definitely too close.

"Barry?" Oliver's voice is still quiet to avoid being caught by any other opposing teammates.

"Yeah," Barry responds without really thinking about it, then quickly looks back up to meet his gaze, his eyes widening. "I mean...no?"

Oliver doesn't seem to pay much attention to his answer aside from the flicker of amusement that flashes in his eyes, clearer than the rest of his emotions. Aside from his obvious scrutinizing. Searching for something without asking a question. At least Barry doesn't think there was a question.

It feels like there are little hands in his brain, poking, prodding, like they're trying to literally push him. He can't. The little hands have a little voice and they're certainly persistent when paired together, but he can't.

Just because it's been in his head every time he sees Oliver, which seems to be a lot more often lately, doesn't mean he has to do anything about it. Just because Oliver's looking at him the way he is, and is very close with no protests for once, and because his own heart is starting to beat a little faster—

"Feel free to shoot me if I'm being an idiot," he blurts before he can think, because he is most certainly an idiot.

He just barely catches a tiny crease appearing between Oliver's eyebrows, confused. Barry's already leaning in, and he doesn't see Oliver's expression when he kisses him.

He feels him go stiff, tensing up completely at Barry's lips pressing carefully against his own.

This is a terrible idea, this is a terrible idea, this is a terrible idea. He likes Felicity, doesn't he? He's straight. He's Oliver Queen.

Barry's admittedly a little slow to pull back. He presses his lips together when he does. His thoughts are a strung-together mess of oh god, and why would you do that, and he's a professionally trained assassin, who just surprise kisses one of their closest friends who just so happens to also be a freaking professionally trained assassin?

"Barry?" Oliver asks again, but much more softly, his voice strange, unusual.

His eyes open just as slowly as he pulled back, staring at first at the tip of his laser gun still against Oliver's chest, then flicking up to meet Oliver's gaze. First thing he notices is that he doesn't look angry in the slightest.

His eyes are a little wider than usual, and he's just watching him with this look on his face. He thinks it might be one in a very small handful of times he's seen him without some sort of guard up.

"So," Barry swallows, raising his eyebrow as he jokingly asks, "are you going to shoot me, or...?"

There's a twitch at the corner of Oliver's mouth.

"No," he says, and shakes his head. "I'm not. And you're not an idiot."

Barry's about to breathe out in relief, but Oliver's already leaning his head forward with a slight angle and capturing his lips in a kiss.

He's the one to tense up this time from the shock of it. Not being mad and wanting to kiss him are two very different things. It only lasts for the briefest of moments before he's kissing him back, pressing forward, mouth moving with his.

His heart is racing in his ears, too fast, too erratic, verging on vibrating right out of his chest. He can feel the rest of his cells trying to follow suit, too, exciting themselves way too much for just one kiss.

Except it's Oliver, and he's had a crush on the guy since the day he met him. Maybe even before that in all honesty. Oliver's kissing him like it's something he's been holding back on for too long.

Just the thought makes Barry press harder, try and lean closer only to remember the gun between them, then try to move it so he can—

The sound of a laser being fired bounces off the walls and breaks them apart with a start. Extra-quick reflexes accidentally pull the trigger for him and a laser shoots just two inches to the left of Oliver's vest, hitting the pillar with a dull zyoom sound.

Barry's eyes still widen all the same as shouts go up right after, and he lifts his gaze to meet Oliver's equally as wide eyes.

"Move," he whispers, then hisses, "now!"

Barry hurries to do so as footsteps quickly approach their now revealed location. He flashes himself and Oliver away from the pillar and right across the room just as another laser goes off, missing them by a hairbreadth as they come to a stop behind one of the cardboard shields, blocking them from sight.

"I will catch you, Barry Allen!" Cisco shouts. "If it's the last thing I do!"

"I swear, Oliver, you're like a freaking ninja!" Diggle's voice follows, that same edge of frustration to it.

Barry looks over at Oliver, both of them grinning. He shrugs.

"What do you say?" he asks quietly. "Us against them?"

Oliver nods without even a moment's hesitation, holding his gun up. "Let's do it."

#olivarry #oliver queen #barry allen #the flash #arrow #barry x oliver #fanfiction stuff

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starcityhq · 4 years

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WHAT: The Avenging League finalizes a plan to move against NOVA. This time, the X-Men join them.

WHO: Batman, Captain America, Cyclops, Wonder Woman, Superman, Iron Man, Loki, Bucky Barnes, Emma Frost, Blue Beetle, Iceman, Zatara, Batwoman, Gambit, Moxie, Signal, Black Widow, Supergirl, Flash (Barry Allen), Flash (Wally West), Spiderman, Nightcrawler, Huntress, Hawkeye, Bruce Banner, Rogue, Human Torch, Zatanna, Beast Boy, Green Arrow, Speed, Cable, Nightstar, Polaris, Marvel Girl, Wolverine, Honey Badger, Raptor, Oracle, Batgirl, Stinger, Wiccan, Scarlet Witch, and Red Robin.

WHEN: August 30th, 2020.

BATMAN: The meeting was called in light of new information received from Tony Stark, a man Bruce could take or leave, given the choice, but it provided them with enough to make a move. In the recent weeks he knew some of the burden had fallen on Steve's shoulders. There were other things going on within his own family that needed to be addressed and taken care of, but he didn't even know where to start. Damian and Dick's absence from the large table was strange, discomforting, and his expression was more grim than usual.

Also notable was the addition of the X-Men. He'd never worked with them before in this capacity, but he knew what they were capable of. Over the years, he'd built up a mutual respect with Scott Summers and, perhaps to a lesser extent, Emma Frost, but the others he was much less familiar with. Scott was already in the know.

"The X-Men have joined us because we have a plan. One that will involve every person in this room." No greeting and no small talk. He wanted to get straight to the point.

CYCLOPS: Scott didn't conduct things in quite the same removed fashion that Bruce usually addressed people, but they weren't there for greetings and small talk. If there had ever been a time for that, it was long since passed. "All of us in this room have a part to play in eradicating a threat that is becoming so ingrained and systemic in our world, that if we fail to address it now we may not get another chance. The X-Men," he glanced briefly toward the faces who had accompanied him there from District X, "will do it standing beside the League. Whatever ills mutants have faced alone in the past, we don't need to face NOVA alone. We can't."

"Several weeks ago, a NOVA detention facility was destroyed outside the city." His gaze flickered briefly to Lorna, masked entirely by his visor, "There are others like it. Mutants, metahumans, and other enemies of NOVA are being held there illegally. I won't go into detail about the things being done to them in captivity. Whatever your imagination tells you, it's likely worse. We need them removed, the facilities shut down and reduced to be non-operational. My X-Men and I will assist the League in making sure this is done. Many of you have asked me when we would make our move, what I was waiting for. Here it is."

He had the information that Tony would be presenting and he already knew what part he meant his people to play. X-Force had been reconvened for a reason. They could handle the unknown and the half-known. "Iron Man has uncovered something disturbing that we can't ignore. Our X-Force team will be going alongside members of the League to investigate. We expect resistance. Beyond that..." he spread his hands, "be ready."

CAPTAIN AMERICA: Steve looked first at Bruce and then at Scott, wondering what it was like to lead large groups with little to no inclination to speak to the members like people and to just regurgitate information. He just... had never functioned that way. Maybe it was because he wasn't some kind of super genius, or maybe it was because he had gotten his start in the army rather than alone or at fifteen on a team of child soldiers assembled with little to no prior training before they were flung out into the world. He was used to talking to people as just another person. As someone who had to connect and convey urgency. "I think a little bit of context is necessary here," he said simply. While they could all just cut to the chase, he was sure it would eliminate questions to fill people in on what the hell they were talking about.

"As you all know, several months ago we had our first meeting of the Avenging League, wherein teams were assigned and objectives were given. X-Men, to fill you in, we have been working on NOVA on five fronts. Bruce and Scott are referring to the findings from some of those teams. The patrol team, meanwhile, has been discrediting NOVA and diffusing violent patrols on the streets whenever possible. I'll leave Bruce to explain the findings, but suffice it to say that our more technical side of things, particularly Oracle and Red Robin, have been working on hacking in to NOVA's systems for all those months as well. However, as Bruce said, it was Tony who discovered something urgent enough to call us all to order."

He glanced at several members seated around the massive table before continuing, "Last meeting, we were interrupted by Robin coming in with what we now know to be a prototype of one of NOVA's inhibitors, the effects of which were what caused the city-wide loss of powers during the Joker's crime spree. Tony, Bruce Banner, and formerly Princess Shuri had done work on figuring out what we were dealing with and Tony came to me last week with a... disturbing hypothesis on how they managed to pull all of it off. That's a big part of why we're here. It's time to start acting, as Scott has said."

He knew that the X-Men hadn't necessarily carried the same ideas as the League or the Avengers in the past, but he wanted to make it perfectly clear that they were allies this time around. "The X-Men and their X-Force will be invaluable help in dealing with this. For all intents and purposes, we're all on the same team. Scott, Bruce, and I are going to make sure the efforts are evenly divided to get the job done, but we need to deal with this threat quickly and efficiently. This is what we've been waiting for. I'm gonna pass the floor to Tony to explain further what we're dealing with. Tone?" He looked to his friend, knowing he could definitely articulate things more clearly.(edited)

IRON MAN: Cyclops wasn't as dry as Batman, but it was a close call. Tony didn't exactly mind, because he wasn't in the mood to listen to a bunch of small talk when he was eager and ready to share what he knew with the rest of the league. He'd never been the best at teamwork or collaboration, but he'd come a long way from where he started. By now, he was smart enough to realize that there were plenty of capable people working around him, even if they weren't on the same team, and he was especially impressed by those working the digital side of things. They were also the only team he had regular communication with.

He was out of his seat before Steve finished talking. Pressing a button illuminated a blue, 3-D model of the city above the center of the table. "Caught some footage from my suit during a flyover." It didn't occur to him to explain that this happened only because Hulk had split the concrete. He breezed by that point, instead changing the view so the ground lit up in yellow criss-crossing lines. "There's a whole grid system underneath the city. The inhibitors are all underground." He pointed at each intersecting line. "We're talking far. The grid goes as far down as a mile areas with a higher elevation. It was lucky for us that the portion I caught was high enough to be unearthed at all. There are thousands of them, all connected, which means they likely have the same power source."

Changing the view, he rotated the city so they were looking at it from above. The yellow color was brighter along the water. "I also picked up an area, near the harbor, that is giving off much stronger radiation. Energy. Much too strong to be just an inhibitor. My hypothesis is that they have an underwater facility. Connecting underground tunnels that gave them the ability to set up this entire grid without any of us being the wiser. They did it all right under our nose."

ORACLE: Babs sure did have a time not cutting over people, eyes mostly just focused on Tony once she heard that he had things to share. It wasn't that she was uncaring about the X-Men, quite the opposite. She was happy they were here, but she wanted to know the news more than anything else. She almost smirked as Tony rose from his chair, sensing the same impatience in him. Keen eyes inspect the model before them, even rising from her chair and leaning forward silently to get a full look. At the news of the same power source though, she smirked. That's something they can deal with, even if it was underwater.

"Well, that big of an energy reading means that they're leaving a nice bread crumb trail for me," she'd already had her laptop out at this point, and she goes from looking at the model to typing quickly, though doesn't break her thought process, "Give me time and I can get a rough estimate of where the power source specifically should be. A layout will take more time, their systems are tricky but not impossible. Any entrance would help in that department." Unlike most everyone else, she could start her work right away.

BLUE BEETLE: Teddy had been working on the same team as Tony so far, so the news he was sharing wasn’t a surprise. He’d never been the most confident when it came to situations like this, usually his input was ignored or not even asked for. But he had been given a job as part of the Tech group and had some less than thrilling news to share. “We’ll likely need one. In fact any way we could try and get a head of this would be smart.” Ted said, his voice quieter than his usual boisterous nature as he rose to his feet. “See, Tony charged me with working a kind of Faraday Cage, something we could use to block any kind of electromagnetic fields. It would stop the pulses their technology sends out and render it useless in the affect it has on anyone with enhanced abilities.” He explained. “Ideally this could’ve been equipped on someone like Stinger,” he nodded at Cassie, “But it’s just not feasible.”

“Despite having a great deal of experience in this area,” his damn backpack could fly off and produce one, “Every prototype I’ve been able to create just isn’t strong enough to effect the web they’ve already weaved.” He adjusted his goggles, a little nervously and continued, “I could eventually make something strong enough to neutralise it but I’d need time, weeks, maybe even months to make a finished, reliable piece of tech that I’d be confident in risking someone going in with.” Ted wasn’t about to put someone’s life at risked with a rushed piece of equipment. “And… given who we’re dealing with, I don’t think we have that much time to waste.” ICEMAN: As Teddy returned to his seat Bobby spoke up from the other side of the room “We don’t.” His voice certain. Bobby’s bottom jaw jutted forwards a little bit, as though thinking hard on what he was going to say (a rare thing for him) “I dunno all the work you’ve been doing. But I’ve been doing recon on behalf of the X-Men. I’ve gotten a look deep inside NOVA’s workings and the shit they’re doing to people… to children-“ he cut off and swallowed, going quiet while the temperature around him dropped by several degrees, his emotions getting the better of him like they almost always did. He cleared his throat, “We don’t have months. We don’t have weeks. We don’t even have days.” He looked around at the other faces in the room. “They need to be stopped and they need to be stopped now. Whatever it takes. Go in guns blazing get the damn media involved if helps.” He shook his head slightly, running a hand through his hair, obviously agitated.

ZATARA: “That won’t help.” Zach hadn’t gone into this affair planning to say a thing, he was new to the group, one of the younger members and probably disliked by several of the others in the room. But he could offer one insight the rest of them probably lacked. “That one article the paper got out the first time hurt them some and the fallout of that was NOVA coming down hard on the political powers in the city. I’m pretty close to the Mayor and his wife so believe me when I say they’ve got their claws embedded deep into the politics and the papers. Even if we went public with this information, gave it over to reputable journalists anyway? They’d have a hell of a time getting it out in any official way and even if they did NOVA has the influence to spin it any way they like. Doesn’t help that that Nabel woman’s got enough PR skills to make my agents jealous.” He added wryly. “We’re on our own here.”

FLASH: "We need an opening." Barry spoke up from another part of the room. He had been biting his tongue - trying to contain his natural urge to meet-and-greet with all of the new faces that were there since their last official meeting. "We have been making steady process, but without an opening to exploit we aren't going to be getting anywhere. Inhibitor networks miles underground or inside mountains... that isn't an issue. Normally, speedsters like myself or Wally could just phase ourselves through the ground to get to them. It's tricky phasing downwards instead of forwards, but it could be done. Underwater, however? We can run on top of the water - but not through it." He shook his head. "Zach and---I don't know your name, sorry; I'm not the one with the files on everyone--" Barry grins playfully and shoots a look a Bruce before clearing his throat and continuing. "They're right though. We don't have the time to plan things out any long than this meeting. We need to come up with a course of action and we need to do so in a speedy manner."

SUPERMAN: The sheer number of people in that room would have been enough to give anyone hope, surely. Had there ever been a larger, better equipped, more motivated group ready to take action? He couldn't recall one. He knew little of the X-Men, though he'd been into District X a handful of times, but they seemed as eager and prepared to make their move as the League. Moreso, maybe. Their struggles had gone on long before NOVA was in the picture.

He opened his mouth to say something to that effect, but Zach's mention of the papers turned his attention elsewhere. "NOVA doesn't have their hands in everything. The Gazette has been standing against them for months. We do have a voice, and we're using it when we can. Taking direct action against NOVA is only one step. We need the people on our side, and we've been working since the day the League reformed to make sure that's happening. The Gazette is doing it with us. But even without that..." he made a broad gesture with one hand around the room that had seemed so large but with all the teams present was nearing capacity, "are we really that few?"

"For those of us heading underwater who can't manage it naturally, I have plenty of confidence that our tech team can compensate. Anyone here taken scuba lessons?" The grin he wore wasn't at all because he wasn't taking it seriously. He was. He knew everything they stood to lose, everything that inaction had cost them and so many other people, but when he looked around that room he knew that it would finally be dealt with. It was worth smiling about.

NIGHTCRAWLER: Kurt had stationed himself in a proper vantage point in the room - nestled quite comfortably up in one corner near the ceiling; hands and feet clinging him to the walls with ease. There were so many people, it was astounding when you got them all together in one room. It really opened his eyes to just how many people were working to help keep the people of this City safe and to help rid them of the NOVA situation that plagued them all. The mutant recognized only a handful of non-mutants; most by reputation and name alone and others by former relations - such as the faces of several Avengers team members. The man couldn't help but frown as Bobby spoke from another part of the room. He wanted to comfort him - seeing his expression change as his emotions took hold of him - but there was a time and place for that and this wasn't one of them. Once 'Superman' had finished speaking about his confidence in the teams they had assembled, Kurt took the opportunity to speak - keeping his pace slow so his accent wouldn't make it too hard to understand him.

"I personally haf followed efery story ze Gazette has put out regarding mutant relations or ze situation ve haf vis NOVA. Zey are expertly written and judging from ze online forums of various chat groups sroughout ze city, zere is a large amount of support backing ze ideologies zey are composed of." He explained. "I cannot speak so much on tactical advice as I can on my own matters - I am a teleporter; ze X-Men's 'Nightcrawler' and vherefer ve need to get into; I am my Bamfs are at your disposal." He gave a nod of respect to their 'leaders'.

RED ROBIN: Tim listened, knowing better than to get involved until he had more information. "Babs and I have nailed down the coordinates of the detention facilities outside the city like the one Magneto attacked. We have all those official locations." It had taken months to crack their system, but once they had, it had come easily.

He moved his spot to settle next to Babs, pulling out his own machine to begin working with her. "We'll help however we can, including zeroing in on a signal for this new underwater facility." He didn't have too much more to add. He had been so busy with nailing down things about Dick's assault that he hadn't focused on the League as much as he should, but now that he was close to cracking that, too, he could put much more effort in.

BRUCE BANNER: Bruce was momentarily grateful for Tony's focus on certain details while completely ignoring others. It wasn't as if everyone in that room wouldn't have known what happened, what Hulk had done, and Bruce did struggle to compartmentalize it enough to accept something good coming of it. It had though, at least in this case. Minimal injuries, maximum and unexpected information. Not that he was going to take any kind of credit for smashing holes in the ground.

"What you're looking for is similar to gamma radiation, but it's not..." he spread his hands, and looked between Barbara and Tim, "it's not like anything I've seen before. If you find the focal point, wherever that's strongest, that's where we'll need to be."

SUPERGIRL: Kara squirmed in her seat at the mention of the media. Both Lois and Clark worked for the Gazette and had been producing articles shining the light on NOVA's terrible actions. Even though she knew what they knew, it didn't prepare her to hear the details from both Scott and Bobby. Wincing, she looked down at her hands. "How long?" She directed the question at Bruce, Steve, and Scott. "Before we make a move, I mean." They said there was a plan. It didn't seem likely, given the circumstances, that they would sit around longer than they had to.

NIGHTSTAR: M'gann paid close attention. This was her first official hero meeting and she intended to remember every detail of it. Down to the cookies Supergirl had brought. There were far more heroes than she'd expected, many of them familiar faces. She took great comfort in that.

"I might be of some use in finding these underground facilities. My telepathy extends out like a globe. It would be easier if I had a specific person to track." An exact telepathic signature. "But people being kept underground is unusual. I should be able to sense them without too much trouble." The rest of what she could do, the team leaders already knew.

HONEY BADGER: This is the first time Gabby has ever seen so many different people in the same room that were like her! It was kind of amazing if she was being honest with herself but this is a serious meeting. This wasn’t the first time Gabby had been in one but it was the first time when it was for something good. She took a handful of cookies — four of them laid out on a napkin in front of her as her feet kicked back and forth while listening to everyone else speak first.

“We have to help everyone in those facilities, I agree with Bobby. We should be doing everything that it takes. I know what it’s like to be poked and prodded at in places exactly like where NOVA is operating. I’m willing to take the risk so we don’t leave those people in there because they might not have much time.” She crushes a piece of the cookie she broke off in her hand so crumbs fall into her lap. Gabby tries to collect herself, looking over at her family for a moment then back to everyone else in the room. “I don’t care what someone has done, treating anyone like an experiment isn’t okay.”

She takes a quick bite of whatever is left of the sweet in her hand, trying to calm herself down. “I’m sorry. I’m just really passionate about this sort of thing. I just want the world to better for everyone — Mutants, Meta-Humans, and animals too. Whatever plan we come up with, I want to be part of it.” Her mind trying to ignore flashbacks to her upbringing.

POLARIS: Lorna couldn't help the guarded look she wore, arms crossed firmly across her chest as she peers around. Sure, one could argue that she had reason to trust those around them now, but she only trusted those she knew. Her eyes dart between the people talking tech, and if Bobby hadn't burst out she would have. Still, she takes a breath. It's quite difficult in the moment, not to snap, not to break in, but hearing the sentiment of brute force makes her shake her head as people speak. She choses her words carefully, more than aware that it's possible others here may know she was with Magneto, more than the couple that did. Still, she wasn't about to shy away from saying her thoughts, and if it came up, then it came up.

"If Magneto showed us one thing, it's that brute strength will backfire on us. The short term saving mutants will be a success, yes, but at this point the long-term repercussions could be catastrophic. Think a mob of civilians descending on District X-- people we don't want to fight." her eyes go to Gabby and Bobby, but land on the man who spoke just before him, "My powers work with the Earth's magnetic fields, and metal. Is there something that I could help with? I know how to create electromagnetic pulses. I... can feel what they have. The web, and I could feel an underground facility if I had time," her eyes turn to Tony Stark, trying to explain, "If you can help me narrow down any materials they're using in construction I may be able to get a better sense, too.... but it may involve concentrating in a very obvious area... like in the air above it. Not sure if that's helpful. " she shrugs with a sigh, turning to her teammates particularly. Normally ready to go in guns blazing with NOVA, she's trying to take a moment.

"If we repeat what happened, we'll have more fallout to deal with. The brief amount of time that it takes to get a layout and a plan together is worth it. Unless we want to be grouped with Magneto some more."

ROGUE: Anna stiffened, her gloved hands folded on the table, but she didn't say anything at first. She hadn't been involved in what happened at the first facility, or fully supportive of the move in the first place, but that was exactly why she'd stayed out of it. Her gaze went to Wanda, as if to see if she were at all affected by the topic of her father being raised at the table.

Normally she was all for going in hard and strong. All the tech talk wasn't her style and she didn't really know what any of them were talking about, so it wasn't something she could offer help on. "Dunno if that's such a good idea, sugah," she said to Lorna under her breath, but she was looking at Scott. Erik had worked with the X-Men plenty of times in the past, but she couldn't imagine him willing to take orders from a group that included so many non-mutants.

MOXIE: She was told to keep her words concise and professional. This was not a time to mince friendly words with others, though she could barely contain her excitement to be a part of something greater than anything she had ever seen in her life.

“Well, first of all,” she started, standing from her seat when it was her turn to speak, blueprints in hand. “Thank youse for bringing me on board. I ain’t much of a hero myself but if I’ve been invited here, that must mean I’m bringing something to the table, right?“

Without another moment’s pause she presented one of the blueprints, unfurling it on the table. She would gesture a hand towards the different aspects of her design as she spoke.

“Sorry it’s on this silly little blue paper. I like to keep things old fashioned, ya know? Feel free to pass it around to the higher ups over there. I understand youse need extra support under the water. I myself did some digging on the currents here. They’re not any more pleasant to the kinda waters I’ve experienced back home. Taking that into consideration with my daddy’s notes on the conditions of the water he had left before he passed, I’ve been working on some deflector technology that could be attached to anyone’s suits, which could provide extra support while you’re lookin’ for these facilities. I used my Heart of Gold as a reference, but because some of it is influenced by magic and I’m not magic at all, I substituted that with a modified magnetic wave field that serves a similar purpose to “Nyx’s Blessing,” which will deflect any projectiles coming towards you on land or underwater, in this case. It’s activated by your heartbeat and breathing patterns so if you sense something is wrong, it’ll give you a small barrier to protect you.”

An anxious grin followed, swallowing the forming lump in her throat.

“But y’know, if that’s not suitable, I’ve got other plans I’m willing to share with the technology team to provide my experience on the kinda conditions and obstacles we’ll have to look out for if we’re going underwater. I have access to all my daddy’s old notes. Seeing as he was an Atlantean, I’m sure the materials would still be useful and their technology is more advanced, from what he told me.”

BLACK WIDOW: Natasha sat by Logan rather than James this go around. It wasn’t all that often that the X-Men and the Avengers were in the same room together and it wasn’t for some fight. So she was pleased that she could actually settle beside her friend. Since the incident with the inhibitors and leaving Clint, they had been meeting up semi-regularly just to drink and talk. Not much beyond that. Now here they were about to take down NOVA. She bit her lip as she listened, taking in the influx of information. “Wanda and Billy could help those of us who need help with the breathing underwater issue, right?” She had, in fact, taken scuba lessons, but it didn’t seem pertinent to bring it up.

She was also aware of the heightened emotions in the room and she ignored them for the most part. This was a mission briefing. “I’m sure that Cap, Batman, and Cyclops have a plan, and I’m sure it won’t include mass destruction of the facilities and every living thing inside that doesn’t ping for mutant, meta, or enhanced.” If it did, she’d still do what she was told, but it would still shock her. Cap didn’t work like that and neither did Batman. She didn’t speak for Cyclops. The X-Men had done their share of death. Not that she blamed them. Sometimes it was the best way to go about things. “Let’s give them a minute to tell us what we need to be focusing on. A lot of us have been running recon, so we’re aware of what’s going on on the inside. I’m sure that’s why we’re here.”

She listened to the new girl speak, blinking at how she sounded like she was from an mafia movie about Capone. She’d been around in the 20s, but she didn’t remember it. Surprising. “It seems like a good idea,” she said. “So we aren’t completely relying on powers in case the inhibitors pop.

ZATANNA: "I've enchanted charms to grant glamours and certain physical protections before. I wouldn't even need to be near them or concentrating on the spell. Water breathing wouldn't be much of a problem. But," As much as she hated to admit any shortcomings, Zatanna obviously had the foresight to plan in situations like this. Recalling her very similar conversation with Barry, the corners of her mouth turned down a smidge. "They haven't been tested near inhibitors. And relying on them underwater isn't exactly the safest test run."

Zee shifted her weight from one foot to the other, glancing at Bruce, at Clark, at Diana, at the rest of the most familiar faces. It felt less like failure directing her statements to people who already knew. "I can provide heavy combat power until the second they decide to turn on the inhibitors. If we beat them to it, though, I can portal a good number of the people trapped there out."

GREEN ARROW: Oliver Queen had finally managed to return to Star City after well over a year's absence, and what he was met with was...worse than it had been. NOVA and The Justice--The Avenging League (he still needed to get used to that) were locked in an all out war, and it held Star City, HIS city, in a stranglehold. He wouldn't have it. Not at all. So, he jumped right back in, with briefings from both Clark and Bruce, and was finally back in the meeting. There were...a lot of personalities in the room. Some he knew well. Many he'd never even seen before. It was refreshing, in an odd way. Gave him hope that they may just pull this shit all off.

As he listened to the people talking, he couldn't help but feel like people were just...rattling stuff off. It felt structureless, like a city hall town meeting instead of a game plan. But, he was sure that Bruce had a plan. Bruce had a detailed plan for how he ate breakfast in the morning. "Alright, everyone," Oliver spoke up, putting his feet off the table he currently had them resting on. "I'm sure they know exactly what all of us are supposed to be doing. Just give the big guys a chance to speak. You all know what I can do, just point me and my bow in the direction of the bastards who are ruining my home."

BATWOMAN: This was a ridiculous amount of people. Kate was used to flying solo and only occasionally pairing up with maybe a handful of other heroes and heroines at most. Even as a part of the old Justice League, she had never really had to worry about dealing with the entirety of their membership. Here in Star City, however, under this - Avenging League - and now with the addition of the X-Men from District X, it was honestly a little overwhelming. Yet, she outwardly showed little expression - her jaw locked into a sharp frown and her body poised with a rigidness that mimicked Bruce's own. She listened to each person in turn as they spoke up, taking in the words they sad - no matter how heartfelt or generic the information they held seemed to be. Everyone has a part to play, no matter how small, and the only way they were going to deal with this NOVA group was by putting everything together into one solid plan.

To that end, the woman leaned forward - the brilliant red of her cowl's attached wig draping over her shoulders as she waited for Oliver to finish what he had to say. "Look," She began - her tone low and just slightly off-pitch thanks to the slight modulation tech incorporated into her cowl. "I'm rather new to everything going on here in Star City, so I've had to play catch up in an extremely short amount of time." She prefaced. "We need to look at this from a more tactical perspective. Yes, we each have bits and pieces of information to share, but we should be focusing our efforts on the biggest problem at hand - how do you assail an underwater fortification with possible inhibitor technology in place? We still don't know if they actually have inhibitors in place around the power core or not, right? All our planning and preparations aren't going to do a damn bit of good if only a tiny fraction of us can even make a stand." Kate finished her statement with a sigh. "We need plans - and we need contingencies for that plan; and more for those."

HUMAN TORCH: “Whatever the plan is, I’d like to officially unassign myself from computer duty and underwater mystery investigations.” Johnny wasn’t the “come up with a plan” guy. He was the “ball of fire and great hair” guy, and lately he’d only been the latter. Peter wasn’t going to go off the rails, and if he was tucked behind a screen with Oracle and Red Robin then it wasn’t like he was going to cause another scene. Johnny didn’t need to be there, and he definitely had no place in the ocean. That left the other thing. He was pretty sure in all the many many words that had been spoken, somebody had said a team would be going after the other NOVA detention centers. He wanted a spot. With a small shrug, he leaned back in his chair. “That’s all I got.”(edited)

SPEED: His first impression had been that everyone talks so much. it was almost enough for Tommy to try hiding under the table to sleep until it would be over. Although the only aspect that keeps him actually paying attention is the fact they’re talking about a topic familiar to him. His fingers grip onto the armrest of his chair as they vibrate just enough to disintegrate them into ash while everyone talks. You just might miss it if you weren’t paying attention but at least Tommy didn’t blow anything up.

He spent his entire childhood in and out of detention centers. It wasn’t until his powers came in that they slapped an inhibitor collar around his neck and threw him in a high security prison. He knows what if’s like to be treated like an animal and experimented on everyday.

“You should always plan on scum like that having inhibitor technology built into everything. They’re prepared even if it doesn’t appear like they are. It could be in every wall they build.” His voice finally fills the room as he leans forward, memories of his own torture playing on repeat in his mind. It doesn’t stop him from getting a word in though. He doesn’t have much else to add because Tommy knows they wouldn’t like hearing what he would like to do. If it were up to him every facility would be vaporized with the scientists with it.

BATGIRL: Stephanie had five cookies left, but none of them were chocolate chip, and suddenly that was the one she actually wanted. Her gaze darted over to the plate once or twice as she pondered whether or not it was worth calling attention to herself just for another cookie. Ultimately, the answer was yes.

But she was quick. It was just a coincidence that she got back to her seat just as it suddenly seemed to be her turn. Was she supposed to say something? Her gaze darted to Bruce, Tim, and Cass - in that order - but then she shrugged. "...Sounds good to me. Anything that's not circling the same city block twelve times in one night." Patrol was getting a little repetitive, even though she enjoyed making the embarrassing NOVA tweets and TikToks. The one trending right now was one showing an agent reaching for his weapon only to discover that it'd been replaced with a very large churro.

HUNTRESS: Helena knew this was serious talk, and she was taking it seriously, but she had never been one for good posture, or for being a leader, for that matter. She was more than comfortable listening to the plans form around her, her foot slung up on the edge of her seat, chin propped against her knee, messing with the hoop in her conch piercing. She was paying close attention, even if it didn't appear that way. It was a strategy she used often: if no one took her seriously or thought she wasn't paying attention, they'd let slip information they'd otherwise hide.

So she was prepared when the discussion rolled around and it seemed to be her turn to talk, and sat up straighter, dropping her hand from her ear. "I'm with Green Arrow. Give me a direction to point some arrows, and I'm good. If you need to keep someone in my ear for on-the-fly instructions, my only request is that it's Oracle, Blue Beetle, or Red Robin," she dropped a wink in their direction. She knew enough to know that they'd most likely describe her as the 'problem child' of the Birds and want to keep track of her so she didn't take things into her own hands if things started to go south."Beyond that, I just wanna take these fuckers down." She shrugged. "However you want to use me to do it, I'm willing to do. But uh... I do agree with Bat-chick over there," she nodded towards the redhead, "We need some contingency plans. Something tells me NOVA isn't gonna have just one line of defense." With that, she sat back again, hand moving almost subconsciously back to the earring, twisting it back and forth.

HAWKEYE: Kate had technically led people before. She didn’t love it. It hadn’t even actually been on purpose. Regardless, it had happened (somehow) and given her a newfound appreciation for what it was like to be at the head of the metaphorical (or in this case very big and literal) table. She could just sit there and take direction, but...

“I don’t mean to pop the power bubble or anything, but I’m pretty sure that we shouldn’t be relying on anybody’s extra abilities to get or find or detect anything. It’s you guys,” she made a vague gesture at a random assortment of her fellow League-ers who were more than just baseline human, “that they’re trying to get rid of. This is just a shot in the dark,” except it wasn’t really, “but I’m guessing that means it’s probably also you guys that they’re prepared for. If they’ve got a super secret lair under the ocean, we should probably count on getting in the old fashioned way. Isn’t that like, somebody’s job? Your job, probably?” The final remark was directed toward Tony Stark at the front, though it probably didn’t rest squarely on his shoulders.

SCARLET WITCH: Wanda sat listening for the most part. She wasn't passive, per se, but she certainly wasn't going to interrupt. However, she didn't particularly appreciate the insinuation that she and the others in this room--mutant, meta, or enhanced--were not capable of infiltrating without their abilities. "If I'm not mistaken, mutants are not useless even with the inhibitors. All of the Avengers have been trained to fight by Captain America. As I understand it, so have the X-Men by Cyclops. While it is wise not to rely solely on our powers, we don't know what NOVA will do. Regardless, I'm sure it will be taken into account that powers may be lost." It made her uncomfortable to be seated in the same room as the X-Men discussing the loss of powers, but it was what it was. She was who she was. "As it is, however, we shouldn't do nothing with them on the chance NOVA will see fit to remove them again. We should use what we have while we have it."

She didn't even entertain the notion of grouping with Magneto and frankly couldn't help the look she shot Lorna in spite of herself. Fortunately, Anna spoke before that and she kept her tongue. Whether their reasons were the same was hardly the point. What did matter was that they surely didn't think her father was the right fulcrum for these plans. Rather than commenting, however, she instead turned her attention to the newcomer. She was old world, much like Steve and Bucky, but what she said did make sense. "A failsafe, as it were," she agreed, nodding to Gladys. "It makes sense. If it can be pulled off quickly enough." She glanced to Tony on reflex. He was, after all, the tech genius she was most familiar with. As Tommy spoke, Wanda could sense his discomfort with the scientists. She felt her jaw tense. Of course her child was uneasy. Without a thought, one long-fingered hand reached out to catch her son's, giving it a reassuring squeeze. She wanted to provide a quiet strength for him, and a grounding one. After all, he was always poised to bounce off the walls. And when he was uncomfortable, she knew it would be worse. He'd want to run off the extra energy.

MARVEL GIRL: Prior to the initial start of the meeting, Jean had caught sight of some faces, familiar and unfamiliar. There was hardly any time for any mingling, as it was serious business. But still, she made the effort to ensure her son was sitting right next to her. She had reached over and patted the top of his hand, leaning down to kiss his cheek before taking her seat.

There had been quite the amount of opinions, both formidable and perhaps, a bit disconcerting. She exhaled quietly right after Wanda had finished speaking and she stood from her chair to address the crowd.

“I for one, agree with Wanda,” she said, gesturing her sentiments towards the woman, “Though I myself have been out of commission for quite some time, I wouldn’t dismiss the idea that us mutants can’t continue to fight back even with the Inhibitors in play.”

She turned her gaze briefly towards Scott. She had worked with him for many years as well as most of the X-Men in the room. Though he was not perfect, he was someone she admired and to know that he was putting in his efforts on behalf of the X-Men was worth praising. “Scott is a formidable leader. He is very capable of consolidating our strategies as well as an excellent negotiator. If need be, I would like to echo his sentiments on dispersing us to work in tandem with the rest of the League.

The young lady with the underwater devices does have a point about observing the currents of the water, provided it is confirmed they do have an underwater facility. It would be far too dangerous to go in there unless we know what exactly is in there. If it’s deep enough, they could be using the darkness of the water as a disguise to hide various traps and mines. Not to mention water currents can be as aggressive underneath than just on the surface. If that’s the case, perhaps if there is someone willing to scan the area by sonars, we needn’t worry about losing any additional numbers in our rankings. As for the various ground teams, I would take advantage of those who are able to easily detect things by smell, such as my colleague, Logan and his daughters, who have an enhanced sense of smell. Surely, even if certain chemicals didn’t have a particular smell on the surface, I’m sure it could still be detected. If not, if there are any samples of such Inhibitors obtained, I’d recommend anyone with a strong knowledge of chemistry observe the ingredients to see if they react to certain elements such as fire or magic.”

Her gaze flickered in Logan’s direction, pursing her lips. “But of course, that is all pre-planning as I wouldn’t want anyone to be put at risk in those stages alone. I think it’s important to find out exactly what we’re dealing with other than the threat of a potential underwater facility. NOVA surely has information on some of us and may be more than prepared and if we don’t have the contingency plan, things will surely turn sour.”

WOLVERINE: This wasn't the first time Logan had worked with the Avengers and he'd been much less reticent than the others to attend the meeting, despite not always being the most reliable team player. The so-called Justice League he didn't know much of anything about. He wasn't exactly eager to end up on a team with a bunch of strangers, but it wasn't his call to make. There were a lot of things he could say about Scott, was perfectly willing to say about Scott, even, but he was here because he believed in his leadership. That was the whole point.

Everyone was just talking so damn much.

Seated between Natasha and Gabby made it a little harder to show that annoyance. He'd met Gabby recently, it took adjusting to, but he was already letting himself get involved in her training. He didn't doubt she was fully capable of holding a position on the team, but he hadn't seen her in action, not like he'd seen Laura or Daken, and she was different. Even Laura he didn't completely want on the X-Force.

He watched Jean as she spoke, giving a slight nod, and realized suddenly it was time for him to say something. Instead he made a nondescript hand motion. "I like the cookies. Next."

BUCKY BARNES: “The odds of figuring out exactly what’s in there ahead of time are probably zilch,” Bucky pointed out. He wouldn’t be heading to that facility, regardless, as the recon team had been working for months to be ready to take down the remaining detention centers. They were as ready as they were going to be for that, though. It wasn’t the thing that needed discussing. “Nothing is ever that easy. But given what we know about NOVA, whatever they’ve got isn’t something any of us want them to keep having.” He shifted in his seat and lifted his left hand as he looked to the three up front. ”However you get in, just make sure you’re ready not to leave anything behind. That’s what you need to do the old fashioned way.” Besides, an underwater explosion, by nature, was more easily contained.

LOKI: Loki nodded at Bucky’s assessment. He didn’t particularly understand the issue with mutants versus non, and he wasn’t at all uncomfortable to be sitting in a room with both. He considered for a moment. He had been trying to find out more about the inhibitors, but it was a slow process. June headed that up and he could get too deep in her science because of how territorial she was. Still... if they had some time, perhaps Loki could get Jihl to talk to him about it. He had had dinner in her office a few times and he could tell she was warming to him even more. He could get information about the facility maybe, if not the actual inhibitors.

“I should hope that the Media isn’t corrupt any longer,” he remarked. Though he would have been able to tell if Lois was a liar. “As for what goes on with NOVA, many of us are aware. Is that not why we’re here?”

He looked over to Batman and Captain America. “Your inside man,” he pointed out, knowing it was prudent to keep his name out of people’s heads specifically but aware that they had discussed the concept itself in the past. “Could he or she not try to tease out some information on this facility?”

SIGNAL: This was the first chance he'd had to really see everyone together. The past couple weeks had just been weird. Duke didn't really know how to process everything yet. He gave a short clap at the end of Gladys' presentation, grinning at her, and leaned over to whisper, "good job." Even though he hadn't seen the finished product until now, he still knew how long and hard she'd worked on it. She was clearly proving to be a good asset to the team. He was glad Bruce had trusted him enough to give her that chance, even though that undoubtedly meant he had a file on her now. That had been the only reason he'd hesitated in getting her involved.

"I don't think anyone in here would be useless without their powers," he offered mildly. With Bruce's rigorous training, he knew he would be able to keep up with the others. His abilities were completely separate from that. Judging from how competent Steve and Scott had proved to be as leaders, he had no reason to think they wouldn't have trained their teams similarly, or at least prepared them for that possibility in light of recent events. "I think the point she was trying to make was that plans shouldn't have us rely on enhancements if there is a chance of them being taken away."

CABLE: War never changes.

Nathan learned that lesson a long time ago. He rose up against Lord Apocalypse once, a vicious dictator from two thousand years into the future. He doesn’t know how to feel about the likelihood of him trying to rise up into power again but that isn’t what this meeting is about. The point of these thoughts is that Nathan has led armies before —and worked alongside others to strategize the best plan of action to take.

He might not be a leader anymore but maybe some mannerisms never really leave you. His messiah complex still deeply embedded into his actions. However, Nathan just wants to try helping out not just his fellow Mutants but anyone they needs his help. He has always fought for everyone and it was important to come together now.

He felt honored to be part of the meeting but maybe being part of the X-Men and X-Force meant playing his part by offering his expertise. It makes Nathan happy to have guaranteed a chair next to his mother — sitting up straight while everyone is talking their piece. He was even taking notes and scribbling in his own ideas between the lines. His attention focused on every gesture and expression while everyone spoke. It finally comes down to his turn so Nathan does what he happens to do best — public speaking.

His chair is pushed back silently, only a slight squeak before Cable is on his feet. Everyone else might have spoken while sitting down but that’s never how he addressed his associates in an environment like this. One hand made of flesh and bone pressed against the table while the cybernetic one is on his hip.

“If any of our efforts are going to work we have to unite as one. Some of us have never worked with each other but we’re here to change that. We don’t have much time but what we can’t afford to do is rush in without a plan.“ His left eye glowing yellow while speaking as wisps of energy flow out of it. “While I’m always in favor of using our abilities to our advantage, I agree with the others that we have to put into consideration that NOVA will develop creative ways to prevent us from using them. We can’t rely on just that if we’re going to succeed but you’re all brilliant so I trust that you know this already.” He’s not always this serious but Nathan takes meetings like this seriously and always will. “If there’s a chance that we can make this world a better one for all of us then who would turn it down? We’re taking these facilities down either with our enhancements or without them.” Nathan could do both — he’s an expert marksman after all and also pretty good with a sword too.

Deep breath. “Nobody is useless without their powers but maybe that’s not what they’d expect out of us. I look forward to investigating as part of X-Force. We should keep in mind that communication and cooperation will be a must going forward. This is about freeing those people and reuniting children with their parents. I take it very personally when families are ripped apart, maybe more than most but this isn’t about my personal feelings right now when there’s so much at risk. We know what NOVA is capable of but we can’t eliminate the potential for the unexpected. It won’t be easy but taking down any threat is always going to have it’s challenges. If we work together I know that we can come out on top in the end. This won’t be without bumps and bruises along the way but I have faith in us.” He takes a moment to look around the room.

“That’s all I got unless anyone wants to hear my potential tactics after we’re done here.” Nathan slowly sits down in his chair and his eye stops glowing finally. His gaze looks at who was next with a nod of his head as if to signal that it was their turn.

STINGER: Though Cassie took in every word that people said, she was otherwise slightly occupied. She was suddenly keenly aware of Tommy's presence, wanted to go something when he spoke, but the helmet and Stinger costume meant he didn't know who she was. Well, what she was about to say was going to be a dead giveaway in combination with the (very clear, very purposeful) Wasp designs in her costume. Still, she'd keep her cool in this moment, and find him the moment they finished. "Those of us with tech or no powers may be able to get inside, but it's still risky. As long as I have the suit, the pym particles will keep working for me, and I should be able to get small enough to avoid security sensors." no doubt, since the bank, Cassie hadn't gone anywhere without her suit stored somewhere on her person, terrified of being caught powerless again. Still, the suggestion was gentle as she even began to find flaws in it after a moment. Her helmet turns to the head of the table instead, trying not to stare at Tommy.

BEAST BOY: Gar sat quietly, looking from person to person as they spoke. He wasn't even sure he should be here, really. He hadn't taken on any real hero role (animal rescues didn't count) since he left the Titans, so to be at the table with everyone here was... wild. Still, he can't dent the way his heart tugs towards the people lamenting what NOVA could really do. He knew he'd be among the first to be picked out himself, but too much violence in response wasn't the answer. They needed a plan, and he's go with it, but for now he sat quietly, awaiting to see what those he was used to following would say.

FLASH: Contrary to his normal demeanour, Wally had elected to keep his mouth shut unless absolutely necessary. Seeing all the unfamiliar faces sat around the table had made him painfully aware of how long he'd been out of the game, and how much their world had changed since he'd taken his sabbatical from hero work. The experience was giving him flashbacks to when he was first introduced to the Teen Titans: young and naive, suddenly seeing a whole new world that he was suddenly a part of. AS the presentation started he reached down and gave M'ann's hand a squeeze, glad that she'd saved him a seat. The comfort didn't manage to stop the nervous machine-gun tempo of his heart as the reality of the situation seeped in. He was here, in costume, with Barry, and Megs, and Bats. Swap out M'gann for Dick and it was almost like the old days. Including a really ostentatious, expensive and largely impractical secret facility for the bad guys.

He leaned forward on the table, resting his chin on steepled fingers in thought. "Barry's right, our powers really don't gel with water all that well. We're still pretty fast, but the heat build up we generate evaporates all the water around us. So not exactly subtle. Get us close enough however..." He shrugged, knowing full well how difficult that would be. But who knows, maybe there was someone here whose powers could get them to a wall of a facility that was god knows how deep beneath the ocean. "There's not a lot of things that we can't phase through, and we probably have enough brain cells between us to unlock the doors." He became aware that he was breaking his no-talking rule by a significant amount. "You know, if possible. Not saying we have to, just thinking out loud."

BATMAN: Everyone deserved a chance to speak. For that reason Bruce was silent, his gaze shifting to each person as they said their piece, and he didn't once move to interject. The suggestions for contingencies were acknowledged with a slight nod. He never did anything without thorough planning. That included back-up plans and back-up plans for those back-up plans. Even if he hadn't been a vigilante for as long as others at this table, he knew nothing ever went according to plan.

Once it came back around to him, he was quick to make one thing clear, even though he'd stated it in no uncertain terms at the very start of the meeting: "A plan is already in place." This was a league and he knew that meant collaboration, but responsibility fell on the leaders' shoulders when it was all said and done. "What Iceman has said is correct. We do not have weeks. There is no time to test and redesign shields that could effectively protect against the inhibitors. We do not even know if it can be done. As Bruce Banner said, this radiation is nothing like what we've seen before." Although others had suggested using their powers to find the inhibitors, it was Lorna he addressed. He knew she'd attacked the NOVA facility from a distance with Erik, but that was before the inhibitors had been upgraded. At that point they had only affected mutants. "You will not be able to use your powers. Even when the inhibitors are shut off, they give off enough radioactive energy to effectively cloak themselves to metahuman, mutant, or alien abilities. We will not be able to rely on enhancements, which is why I would encourage everyone to brush up on their training. That is why," he directed his next statement to Gladys, "your deflector technology will be helpful. Red Robin, Oracle, and Spider-Man will be on the comms. They make up the first team. There will be three more. We've split them based on your individual abilities and where you're best suited to help. The first team is charged with detecting and infiltrating the underwater facility. Superman, Iron Man, Dr. Banner, Blue Beetle, Moxie, Cyborg, Tempest, Flash." He looked at Wally to indicate which Flash. "Wiccan, Scarlet Witch, Nightstar, Wolverine, Gambit, Polaris, Cable, and Raptor. Red Robin will be on your team's comms and help direct you, along with Moxie's technology. The second team will be large. There are multiple facilities involved. From my understanding, Cyclops will further split you up. This group will include Supergirl, Speed, Human Torch, Iceman, Nightcrawler, Zatara, Flash." Barry this time. "Black Widow, Rogue, Stinger, Black Bat, Captain America, Sergeant Barnes, Cyclops, Ms. Frost, Huntress, Marvel Girl, and Honey Badger. Oracle will be with you on the comms." He sighed. "As you know, we are unable to leave the city vulnerable. The final team will remain here - prepared, willing, and able to respond to any location at any given time. I will be on that team, along with Wonder Woman, Green Arrow, Batwoman, Loki, Batgirl, Signal, Black Canary, Hawkeye, and Beast Boy. Spider-Man will be assisting us on the comms. The city will need us to be visible in the case that something goes wrong."

CYCLOPS: “It’s not lost on us how much is at stake here,” Scott began, looking toward Bobby, Nathan, and the others who had accompanied him there. It was the kind of fight that they’d been intimate with for most of their lives, a ceaseless monster of a thing that grew a new head every time one was removed, but it was a fight they could never give up on. By extension, it was one he never stopped planning for. A major reason he’d allied them with the League was the expectation that they could not lean too heavily on the abilities that came naturally for them, and that no amount of training could entirely prepare for that. They needed other resources, technology, and just sheer numbers - all things that the League and its members could provide. “We have to go into this with the intention and plan to use everything available to us. When it comes to NOVA, consider any powers you have to be a liability, not an advantage, and in any situation where we might rely on them we’ll have a second option.” And given the way both Scott and Bruce thought, probably a third and fourth one, too.” “X-Force will be going with the first team to the underwater facility. All of you are in this room with the exception of Kid Omega, and the assignment will be relayed to him as necessary.” There were enough dissenting voices and disruptions without including Quentin when it wasn’t required. “For the facilities outside the city, we have every reason to believe they’re structured similarly to the one taken down a few months ago. That mission didn’t end as we expected,” thanks to Erik and Lorna, which he didn’t point out, “but it let us know what to expect inside. Three six person teams will infiltrate these bases, liberate the people that NOVA is holding captive within them, and render the buildings unusable. We are not there to take the lives of the agents. This is a non-lethal mission, and anyone unwilling to abide by that rule...” he lifted a hand toward the door, “remove yourself. We can’t allow anyone to jeopardize this operation, the lives of your teammates, or the freedom of NOVA’s prisoners because you’d rather exact justice a different way. Is this clear?” He continued on, willing to address opposing opinions once they’d covered the basics of what he meant to occur. “You’ll be given your team assignments once this meeting has adjourned, and in the short window of time between this and when we take action, we’ll spend most of it training. Many of you in this room don’t know one another and trust doesn’t always come easily, but we’re all going to have to find it. We have a way into these facilities that we expect to work, a way to skirt around the inhibitors and get one person inside each of them to shut the system down and give the other team members a window. This has to happen simultaneously, or close to it, at all three locations. We don’t want NOVA to have time to compensate or react, if we can help it, and to do that we have to give them as little warning as possible. Execution in the beginning has to be as flawless as we can make it.” And for the X-Men in the room, they’d know Scott’s standards for that were particularly high. “That means working together and doing your part, but believing in the rest of us to do ours, too. I know this may seem like a situation where there’s too many cooks in the kitchen, but if we move in tandem and follow the plans that are being laid out, we can win here. We all know what’s at stake if we don’t.”

“That said...with most of the X-Men out of District X, the people on the other side of the wall are counting heavily on the League members remaining in the city to keep NOVA in check. We have our own defenses in place, but it’s a responsibility I normally take on myself. I’m taking...an enormous leap of faith.”

He nodded toward Steve, then. “Captain America, Emma, and I will be heading out to these detention centers with you and training with you to do it. We plan to be there every step of the way. X-Force, you’ve been told who you’ll have on your side, and you’ll hear more from Iron Man how you’ll be getting into the facility. Your mission is less predictable. I have faith in you all to complete it.“

CAPTAIN AMERICA: A while back, I said that some of you could train with Wanda and Dick on how to figure things out without the use of your powers. My team has been specifically trained in hand to hand as well as with their powers and it's been invaluable in times like these." They didn't have time anymore to recommend training. He could only hope people had taken Dick and Wanda up on the offer that had been made at the first meeting. He wasn't sure how Scott trained his people, but he didn't ask right now. They had already placed emphasis on being sure to be ready to use them as a last resort.

He waited to see if anyone left on the non-lethal stipulation, hoping they didn't lose anyone. He was glad when his team and the X-Men proved them all right by not leaving before he continued on. "Avengers, we've done things like this before. You know how goes. Tony's got briefings on the detention facilities, like Scott said. With any luck and a lot of strategy, we'll be able to get in, do what we need to do, and get out without much fuss and this'll be a huge hit against NOVA. We can manage this kind of thing without bloodshed. I know we're capable of that."

He glanced to some of the people around the table before adding, "If you see anything while you're on this mission that could be useful in the future, I absolutely suggest you take note of it. Maps, plans, et cetera. That's not the main focus of the mission, but you'd be amazed what kinds of things you can run across." That had been how he had managed so many years ago to help take down HYDRA. Just one glance at a map when he was on a rescue mission for Bucky. It had been invaluable.

IRON MAN: It had taken an enormous amount of effort to sit there and wait until everyone finished talking. Tony had to force himself not to interrupt at least half a dozen times, particularly to explain the pointlessness of using abilities to locate devices that canceled out abilities, but even he recognized that not everyone in the room was up to date on the technology. It had undergone a massive enhancement once it was upgraded to include mutants. He managed to relax when that was explained, at least as much as he could relax with frayed patience. "The silver lining is that there's a lot of gray area between alive and dead, for those of you not morally reticent."

Nodding, he stole a quick glance around the table at those named to be in their group. A click of a button displayed a 3-D map of a NOVA facility that had been provided to him prior to the meeting. "All of their above ground facilities are laid out the exact same way. Guess NOVA doesn't budget for style. As Cyclops pointed out, my team, the one that's going underwater: we're at a disadvantage. I have a plan, but it'll be touch and go. We don't know that the layout will match this. We have to rely on constant and consistent communication with each other and, more importantly, Robin. Right? ...No. You're one of them though, I know that - wait, don't tell me." He snapped his fingers. "Red Robin. We'll go over the details later." Unlike the other team, they weren't fortunate enough to have actual 3D blueprints. Most of their information would be reliant on Gladys and Tim and what they would pull from their respective technologies. For Steve's sake, he was attempting to trust that everyone knew what they were doing - but seeing firsthand how the bat cult offered some comfort.

CYCLOPS: “You have your assignments,” Scott interjected after Tony. “Those of you heading to the detention centers, convene with me and I’ll split our teams. Use what little time we have wisely, find a way to trust the people you’re going in with. Whatever differences we’ve had, leave them at the door for now. We’ve got too many people counting on us.”

He glanced toward Steve and Bruce to see if they had any parting words, and for his part ended on a simple, “Good luck to all of us.”

CAPTAIN AMERICA: Steve nodded as Scott spoke, pleased by how well this had gone. "Remember that it takes teamwork for an undertaking like this one, but it's what we've been working towards for months now. This is the first step in finally getting these guys outta here. Familiarize yourselves with one another as much as you can. Trust that we'll have each other's backs." He shook his head. "The last thing we want is for a man to get left behind if we can help it, and we want to get the people suffering out of harm's way. But this is what we do best."

With a little playful grin, he added, "I'd say 'Avengers assemble', but we're so much bigger than that this time around. Just like this is so much bigger than any one team." He looked around at every face around the table before speaking up. "Heroes," he said in that authoritative tone, because that's what they were. First and foremost, beyond teams, beyond friendships, and their grievances of the past between one another. They were sworn to protect, to save those who could not save themselves. And perhaps there wasn't need for pomp and circumstance for them. So he spoke to them like a man speaking to his equals, fist curling in front of him to assert the point. "Let's get it done."

#starcevent #starcplotdrop #starcadmin #dc rp #marvel rp

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youllallriseintheink · 5 years

Text

Thieves’ Gambit

Hey. So, I wrote a chapter for the body-swap to the death AU. I don’t know if I’ll make a whole thing of this, but what the heck. This is going to be the “day five” chapter. It’s an uplifting chapter, sort of the calm before the storm (assuming I make a whole thing of this), so to speak. If I do decide to write the whole thing, well, it’s not all going to be this fluffy. It’s gonna involve self-mutilation as a form of revenge, and lots and lots of demonic magic. Alright, now let’s get to it.

---

Henry Stein slid the tape recorder onto the top shelf of the break room and pressed record, as he’d done with another five tape recorders he’d hidden around the room. While he was glad that he’d soon be back in his own body, he was thanking his lucky stars for the power that came with the one he currently inhabited. As Joey Drew, he could make the employees do whatever he needed them to do in order to get more information out of them. Like now.

The twelve body-swapped employees filed in a few minutes later and sat down in the chairs that Henry had set up.

“You’re probably wondering what I brought you all here for,” Henry announced in his best dramatic, upbeat voice. “Well, I’m here to give you the whole afternoon off! The only thing that I need you to do first is fill out a little survey for me. You’ll all have to stay in this room for thirty minutes. I don’t want any of you give incomplete answers just so you can leave early! Understood?” Henry’s speech was replied with a chorus of nods, and so Henry passed out the surveys and headed for the door. Before leaving he paused to wonder if Joey would have stayed longer to watch them. Henry supposed it didn’t matter. This whole scenario was already pretty weird, and between the surveys and the tape, and everything else that he’d done to secure information that week, Henry felt entirely confident that he was going to live even if he did a mediocre job at selling his role.

Everyone in the room was done their survey within less than fifteen minutes. Most just sat, still and expressionless, after they were done. It was easier than acting. Some, however, were on the hunt for answers.

Norman Polk, in the body of Shawn Flynn, ran up to Wally Franks (or rather, whoever was piloting him) and exclaimed, “Hey, Wally, my boy! Let’s do something crazy after we get out of here!” He didn’t bother to try and fake an Irish accent. No one but Shawn had one, so not having one wouldn’t have narrowed down anyone’s quarry at all. He was, however, ratcheting up the speed, pitch and volume of his normally deep, heavy voice.

Grant, who was currently piloting Wally’s body, just wanted to go home and collapse. He’d already taken a sick day this week because, as a person who barely had the energy to make it through the day as was, doing so while analyzing every action he and others around him made, and while pretending to be a bundle of zany energy and incompetence, was all but impossible.Soon, he promised himself, summoning the all the vigor he could to act like the boundless ball of energy he was inhabiting. “Oh, boy! I love me something crazy! What exactly are we gonna do?”

“Gee, I don’t know Wally. You’re my idea man, why don’t you come up with somethin'?”

Grant had no time to think. “Let’s roll down the biggest set of stairs we can find in a garbage can!” Of all things to come out of my mouth, it just had to be that, he snapped at himself. But, surely whoever was piloting Shawn would have the sense to shut it down.

“Now we’re talking! I know just the place!”

“Yeah! And, uh, so do I!”

“Let’s ride down every damn staircase in New York! We’ve got nothing but time!”

From the corner, Lacie was resisting the urge to fall over laughing. These two men were looking at each other with these big, pained, ridiculous smiles, curled fists and nervous looks in their eyes, and had devolved into chattering about absolutely nothing, probably because they figured that Wally and Shawn wouldn’t have just let the conversation die down. “Someone’s overselling your role,” she whispered teasingly to Shawn. Shawn was in her body, so he was allowed to laugh, a luxury she, in Norman’s body, did not possess.

Shawn began scribbling on a piece of paper. To anyone else, Shawn would have had to actually speak, producing a painful-sounding attempt at an American accent. Not to Lacie, though. The day before, Lacie had heard Shawn speaking in that strained voice, taken him into the ink machine room where no one else could hear, and stomped hard on his foot. The Irish cursing that had earned her was proof enough that she’d found Shawn. The two had agreed to a thieves’ gambit- neither would guess the other when the time arrived. They’d decided that Bertrum and Wally would be a part of the thieves’ gambit as well, if they ever found them.

Shawn handed Lacie the scrap of paper. Looks like he’s not the only one overselling it, it read. Shawn, a goofy smile on his face, pointed at a despondent-looking Grant Cohen who was sitting huddled in the corner. Lacie watched as the little man brushed tears from his eyes. That doesn’t look like acting, Lacie wrote. I’m going to go see if that’s one of the thieves’ gambit.

All in all, Lacie was fairly indifferent to Norman Polk. Barely knew a thing about him, which made playing him pretty difficult. But Grant had spoken at length about their friendship while the two of them (plus Shawn) had gone out drinking, so it was clear to her that being friendly to him was perfectly in character.

“Hey. Everything alright?” she asked.

“Grant,” who was really Wally Franks, stopped crying momentarily and looked over to “Norman” and “Lacie.” Wally generally found those two intimidating, but right now even their company was more than welcome. “Oh, yes,” Wally answered, trying to put the appropriate pretentious air into his tearful voice. “Joey is overspending again, what else is new? Don’t worry about me, I just want to be alone awhile.”

“Fair enough,” “Norman” replied. She didn’t see any way to force the truth out of him. They turned to go back to their own corner of the room.

Wally felt like a starving man who had just shoved a plate of food into a trash compactor. And for what? He was dead no matter how well he sold his role, and he knew it. “Wait,” he called after them as he met them in the center of the room. He wasn’t even trying to hide his real voice anymore. “Can I tell you what’s really botherin’ me?”

“Yes, go ahead!” “Norman” said.

“I don’t know how well I’m playin’ this role, and I still don’t know who anyone is, and I’m sure the opposite isn’t true, and I’m just tryin’ to accept that I’m gonna die and I really needed to talk to someone but I know he wouldn’ta done that, and I-“ Wally started sobbing. He felt like everyone could see who he was now. He might as well give every clue of it away. “I’m worried about my dogs. I don’t know if Norman’s eatin’ em or Joey’s sacrificin’ em to the Gods or what. I just wanna see my dogs, make sure they’re okay!”

Shawn looked awkwardly over to Lacie. It was pretty obvious that this was Wally, but he wasn’t about to let anyone into the thieves’ gambit without her consent. Lacie gave Shawn a little nod of permission, and Shawn put an arm around his crying friend. “Hey. Stick with us after they let us out of here, alright? We’re here for you.”

“Okay,” Wally choked out.

A few minutes later, everyone was allowed out. Shawn led the way, and the trio followed “Shawn” and “Wally.” Shawn tapped “Shawn” on the shoulder to get his attention, then put on his best annoyed-but-playful Lacie voice. “Hey, dumbass. You forgot to lock up the storage closet.” The strain to hide his accent aside, he was doing one hell of an impression.

“Oh no. I don’t know about any storage closet. Can you help me?”

“Of course. I’ll cover for ya, buddy. Just hand me the key.”

“Thank you,” “Shawn” said. He dug in his pocket and pulled out a key ring. Shawn grabbed it and quickly removed a small, round key before handing it back.

“I’ll get it back to you at Henry’s party on Sunday, alright?”

“Yeah, perfect! Thanks Lacie!” “Shawn” beamed before turning to go.

The second the three were a safe distance from the studio, Shawn spoke up in full Irish accent. “Wally my boy, do you know what just happened?”

Wally’s eyes lit up as he realized the identity of his cohort. “Shawn!”

“That’s right, my laddie! And your favourite dogsitter just nabbed the spare key to your apartment from his own body! I can’t solve all yer problems, but hey, at least we can see your dogs while “you” are busy rolling down stairs with “me”.”

Speechless, Wally squeezed the life out of Shawn. On the walk over, Lacie explained the thieves’ gambit to him. It didn’t encourage him any about his chances of living, but it still felt nice to have two people he didn’t have to act for.

—

Norman was good at this game, owing mostly to his ability to read people like a book. He’d already guessed the identity of seven players of the game, and he would have guessed “Wally’s” identity as well, if he hadn’t been trying to handle some harder cases first, and if “Wally” hadn’t been absent from work the day before. Even then, there were only so many people he could be, and Norman had narrowed it down to four potential candidates: Susie, Grant, Thomas, and Lacie. This trial they were marching towards (lord knows what staircase “Wally” was leading him to) would make a perfect test. Susie and Grant, Norman knew, were both fairly nervous people, and they both had their nervous ticks. Susie tended to play with her hair, and Grant preferred torturing his hands. Put “Wally” in between physical danger and acting out of character, and all it would take is a little observation.

Finally, they arrived at a steep set of stairs on the edge of a hill. The steps looked to descend at least a good fifteen feet, and Norman could see “Wally” wringing his hands at the sight of it. He’d already suspected it was Grant- had the same shifty eyes and the same manner of walking- but now he was fairly sure of it. For the sake of the act, though, the two fetched an empty trash can from an alleyway. At very least, Norman had convinced “Wally” to go first.

“Can I do the hill first?” “Wally” asked, looking back at Norman with a big, obviously fake smile.

“Sure, if you wanna be a coward!” He yelled without thinking. Another talent of Norman’s was entering another person when he was acting. In this moment, he was Shawn Flynn, and his unthinking instinct was to act like Shawn Flynn.

“Wally” mumbled an okay, climbed into the filthy trash can while trying to hide his hesitation, and tried to wrack up the courage to roll himself down the stairs. This is ridiculous,was all he had time to think before he felt a push against the side of the can and he was tumbling down, watching the world spin and praying for his physical safety.

Thankfully, Grant emerged from the can unhurt except for a few cuts and bruises and started making his way up the stairs to hand the can over to “Shawn” for his turn.

“Woo! That was amazin’! Sorry, but I’ll have to head home and walk the dogs after this. But first, I wanna see you go!”

“Wally’s” eyes trained on Norman as he handed him the trash can. Was he actually going to do this? Hurt someone else’s body to perform for one person? Heck, was he really going to increase his best friend’s chances of dying at the end of the week? He already had so many identities figured out, so how much extra protection would that even give him?

Norman tossed the garbage can aside. “Grant, this is stupid. We got through the workweek, let’s just stop acting already. This is Norman talking.”

Within about five seconds, Grant’s face phased through shock and anger before landing on relief. “Well, I admire your courage,” he replied, a snarky tone in his voice. “Next time though, maybe find it before making me crawl into a musty trash can and pushing me down the stairs?”

Norman chuckled. “Well, it was your idea.”

“Here’s a better idea. Let’s go back to my place, have some coffee, and play some cards. It’s been a week.”

“Good plan. It has been a week,” Norman replied.

—

Lacie, Norman and Wally had made their way to Wally’s apartment. Lacie went ahead to knock first, just in case “Wally” had changed his mind and come home. The coast was clear.

The second Wally was through the door, he was kneeling on the floor as a golden retriever bounded towards him. “Goldie!” he shouted in delight. After Goldie came a Jack Russell Terrier. “Clover! Oh, who’s a good girl?” two little white and black chihuahuas followed. “Oh, and it’s the twins!” Wally scratched each of their sides, both as sign of affection and because it was the easiest way to make sure they were being adequately fed. They all seemed as healthy as they seemed happy to see them. “I think they recognize me!” Wally chirped. Then Goldie tried jumping into Wally’s arms and ended up bowling him onto the floor, where he was helpless to the licking of his four dogs. Wally was laughing. “Guess she doesn’t see how much smaller I am now!”

Just then, the door creaked open again, and “Wally” and “Shawn” stepped in.

“What is going on here?” “Wally” asked calmly.

“Uh...” Wally sat up, realizing that he had absolutely no idea what to say. “Well, you’ve probably already guessed who I am, so I guess I’ll tell the truth. I wanted to see my dogs, and Shawn is my number one dogsitter, so I had Shawn-“

“Lacie” face-palmed. So much for staying hidden.

“Uh, sorry. I had Shawn get the spare key to my apartment. That’s what happened. So, uh, thanks for looking after my dogs. We’ll just be going, I guess.”

“Hold it,” Shawn said. “Have you all ever heard of a thieves’ gambit?” Shawn knew it was a long-shot, but this could be his only chance to save Wally’s life.

“I’ve heard of it, but I’m not familiar with it,” Norman replied.

“Care to explain it, Lacie?”

Lacie did explain it. “Imagine that two thieves are brought in for questioning. The police separate em’ and tell em’, ‘we’ll give you half the usual sentence, but only if you admit to being a thief, and tell us who your partner is.’ Now, obviously, the thieves shouldn’t tell. But that’s only true if they can be sure the other person is trustworthy.”

“Interesting,” “Wally” said, “But what does that have to do with us?”

Shawn spoke up. “The three of us are in a thieves’ gambit. We know each other’s identity and we aren’t selling each other out. It’s in all of our best interest if you join us.”

Lacie made a face. “Shawn, a thieves’ gambit needs trust. We don’t even know their identities. One of them could be Joey for all we know.”

“Well, if I can suggest something,” Grant said, “The goal of this game is to guess more people than we are guessed by. So, if we can’t trust each other not to guess each other, well, it’ll lead to the exact same result if we all collectively agree to share our identities and rat each other out when the time comes.”

“Now that I can trust,” Lacie said.

“Also, I have a list of nine identities I’ve figured out,” Norman added. “Let us into your thieves’ gambit, and I’ll share them.”

“Wait, nine?” Shawn exclaimed, looking to Wally with excitement in his eyes. “Wally, you’re going to live!” He turned back to face the others with a sharp, serious face. “We’ll all agree to rat each other out, sure. But nobody is ratting out Wally! There are eight people not in this room, and there’s nine names on that list. If Wally dies, I’ll know one of you ratted him out, and I’ll kick all three of your asses into next Tuesday, ya hear?”

“We hear,” Grant replied. Honestly, though, with Norman’s list, no one would have any reason not to listen to Shawn. They’d won. And with the workweek over, the bulk of their acting was done. That night, Grant and Wally even slept in their own homes. All they had to do was to get through “Henry’s” party on Sunday and they were going to live.

#Bendy and the Ink Machine #my fanfiction #wally franks #shawn flynn #norman polk #grant cohen #lacie benton #Henry Stein

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lucky-dreamfisher · 5 years

Text

BATIM Chapter 2 - Detailed Analysis #2

We enter the main hall of the Music Department. As the first light comes on, we can hear the sound of a Searcher's moan - probably the ones hiding in the pipe up above our heads. We can also notice that fresh candles have been set up to provide light to the department. It's hard to tell why the ink creatures preferred the use of candles over activating the light switch. Furthermore, they attack Henry as soon as he turns on the lights, suggesting that it somehow displeased them.

The audio log implies that the ink machine must have been operational for at least a month, and that it would leak on a regular basis. It's interesting that Joey's solution for the problem was one that was not permanent. It's either a sign of his poor management skills, or a hint that the floods troubling the music department were somehow to his advantage. Note that Sammy's voice sounds uncharacteristically sane in this recording.

The wall is also interesting. We can learn from it that Sammy was the director of the Music Department, who has earned multiple awards during his career (presumably with Joey's name on them). Sammy is the only person inside the studio, other than Joey himself, who has earned himself a title, which may hint that Joey had more respect for him than for the other workers.

Notice the missing record - there's an ink-covered record player right next to it. It would seem that an ink creature with very messy hands took a record off the wall and put it inside the player. There are two ink splatters behind each of the speakers as well - the creature used ink to attach them to the wall. As the music only begins to play after we kill the searchers, the record player and the speakers may have been set up as an alarm - warning the ink creatures of an intruder poking around the place, or attempting to hide the sounds they are making from Bendy's ears. That would explain how we can run around the area without getting his attention.

There's a board standing right over another ink splatter. The entrance was boarded up from the inside, and the splatter implies that an ink creature was responsible. It put the board down right next to a conveniently placed audio log. It seems that the boards and the audio log were set up by the same creature, which has also Ink Demon-proofed the Music Hall.

This looks like Bender's work - he seems to have quite a lot of audio logs at his disposal, and we can hear wet, inky footsteps at the end of the audio log with his voice.

There's another board left next to the now-locked door to the Music Department's break room. We can also see another splatter of ink in the corner, too. Bender may have gone inside, after preparing the alarm.

One of the posters gives us our first look at Alice Angel. As we know from the audio logs on the JDS youtube channel, she was created in 1932. There are no posters with the Butcher Gang in this area, which suggests that the Music Hall was built before they were created, probably around the time of the studio's first expansion in 1931. Wally's tape from 1933 also mentions the bins - a reference to the Music Hall's fetch quests.

We can find a freshly lit candle inside this room. It's the first bacon candle we find in the game, and the only one such candle in this chapter - all others are the long, white ritual candles. Whoever was here set up a pool table. Looking closely, we'll notice that one of the balls resembles an eyeball. More One-Eye symbolism? If so, it must be metaphorical, because I don’t think the eyeball is real.

There is a gate on the opposite wall. Considering the lack of mysterious splatters of ink, whoever has just unlocked the door to this room may have left via the gate. Or came in here specifically in order to lock it.

We can also find a Bacon Soup advertisement. Notice that the ad claims it was made from a traditional family recipe. Some of the achievements for collecting bacon soup cans in the game are called "The Taste of Home" and "Just Like Mom Used to Make", which suggests that the recipe may have belonged to Henry's family.

After turning the lights back on, we are attacked by 7 searchers. But if we retrace our steps back to the utility shaft, we can find another searcher in the flooded corridor, and yet another in the ritual circle. That's 9 searchers in total - one per each member of the band. Those must have been Music Department's band members. That would explain why they obey Sammy's command.

Notice that all of them are searchers - there are no Lost Ones, or characters from Bendy cartoons. Considering that at least one of them spawns inside a flooded corridor, it may be that some of the band members used to possess more complex bodies, until they were swept away by the ink flood of our making. It's no wonder they are angry with us!

he searchers leave a large splatter at the place of their death. It's worth keeping a note of that, as some of the splatters we will encounter in the game may have been left by dead ink creatures.

As soon as we finish the massacre, music begins to play, hiding the noise we’ve been making from Bendy’s ears.

After turning the projector on, we can see images of Tombstone Picnic, which suggests that this was the last cartoon that the Music Department was working on. One of Joey's notes in the textures for Chapter 5 also suggests that music for the cartoon was created after Susie was replaced by Allison.

That's strange! According to the JDS channel, Tombstone Picnic was, in fact, one of the very first cartoons the studio has ever created. Could it be that Joey was trying to re-shoot the missing ending? That certainly didn't make the Ink Dmeon very happy! Could this have been the final straw that caused him to go on a rampage?

Norman's audio log doesn't contain anything interesting, aside from the mention of Joey's "peculiarities". As Norman was known to be sneaky, we have to wonder what kind of secrets did he discover, that made him so wary of his boss.

If the new ending of Tombstone Picnic was the last cartoon the Music Department was working on, then "The Lighter Side of Hell" would be one of the songs intended for the soundtrack to it.

It's interesting that we never hear Sammy singing it. He appears to be preoccupied with Sheep Songs. Jack Fain was likely hired as the studio's lyricist after its expansion, and Sheep Songs appears to have been created at the time the studio was still rather small. It's possible that the lyrics to Sheep Songs were created by Sammy personally, which is why he feels deeper attachment to it, than he does to the songs he created together with Jack.

Up on the wall we can see two mysterious splatters of ink right above two conveniently placed chairs, which reveal Sammy's shortcut from the projectionist's booth down to the recording room. This gives us some idea of how he managed to get these Bendy cutouts between the two places. Why does he bother to move the cutouts around? Perhaps he's tired of us repeatedly destroying them?

Susie's audio log was made two months after she was hired to work at the studio, at around the same time Alice Angels' character was created, which we now know happend in 1932. Her first impression of the studio is very positive, so there was a time when Joey was not such a bad boss and the studio was actually a good place to work at.

It's interesting that Sammy is hoping that Alice Angel will rival Bendy in popularity. It's almost as if Joey is trying to one-up Henry by creating a character that would overshadow the one created by his friend.

If we play the organs in this room 4 times, we can obtain the "Johnny's Broken Heart" Achievement. However, there is another file named "johnnysreturn", which refers to Bendy's spawnpoints, so it's possible that Johnny is not a name of an employee, but merely a pop culture reference.

Still, someone had to be using this organ, and someone has to be making these moans we can hear every time we push the keys. We may as well call him Johnny. The sound of the moans is very faint and distant, though, so it may be coming from another room. Maybe they don't like the noise?

Moving on to the room next to Johnny's, there are two things of note here. The first is this painting hanging on the wall, which is strikingly similar to one of the paintings in Joey's apartment. It's either a copy, or a hint of Joey's influence over the cartoon reality inside the studio.

The second thing of note in the room is this picture. The note attached to it suggests that Joey was unusually defensive over Bendy's design - specifically the part of Bendy's design contributed by himself.

Who could have drawn this sheet? The room doesn't seem to belong to any named character in the game and it's pretty far from the Art Department. The description of the Bendy novel implies that Sammy is going to be a major character, so Buddy has presumably spent a lot of time in the Music Department. As an aspiring artist, this may have been his work.

There's a burning candle right above the sheet. It seems that someone was looking at it not long ago, or perhaps they left it for us to see.

Right outside the room we find the puch card stand. It's curious for two reasons:

It's attached to an ink pipe, similarly to the pedestals back in Chapter 1

The card has Henry's name on it. This is true for every such stand we find in the game, even though Henry left long before the lower levels were built. The canonicity of the stands is dubious though, so I’m not going to theorise about them.

#bendy and the ink machine #sammy lawrence #joey drew #susie campbell #henry stein #one eyed bendy #batim #batim chapter analysis

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satanicsanity · 1 year

Note

Hi darling! Can you do an audio where opposite wally takes care of Y/n?(Y/n is sick btw!)

You got it! <3 💕💕💕

Important Credits!!! And tws!:

First, The Au: This alternative universe was made and created by @henneysilly over on tiktok!! If you can, please go give them a follow and check out they're stuff!! They're a very neat lad!

Second, the Art: The art used in this video for the audio, was done by the wonderful @/cutepotatook right here on tumblr!! Go check out their stuff and artwork, they're amazing! (here's a link to their og art post!)

Tw: Rudeness & insults

‼️please go support OG wally's ACTUAL voice actor, @DaFrankiestein!🩷🩷🩷‼️

Subtitles, opposite-Wally speaking: ...Eh? Neighbor, are you... What's wrong with you? Why are you all hunched over like that? Are you.. Good?? What? You're not- you're not feeling well... Why's that? You don't know, his could you not know?! [pause] I-...oh. Alright well... You idiot. Of course it's like you to get sick. [Opposite Wally picks you up, beginning to carry you home] Don't fight me! I'm carrying you home. You shouldn't be out of you're feeling sick like this. [Wally takes you into your home] Here we are, alright just... Lay down or something. I'll get you something for your stomach and.. I'll get you some medicine for your head. N- no I-I'm not 'caring' for you! I-im- i just- [stammering] okay fine. Maybe I want to take care of you! [pause] I'll be right back. Do you want any water or anything?? Alright. Y- don't- just.. Shut up, don't even worry about it. It's... Whatever. Don't expect me to take care of your ass all the time though.

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fullmetaldevil-blog · 5 years

Text

Batim Stitched AU Ch.6

Ok this one took quite a bit to work out, but nevertheless I hope you all enjoy the AU thus far and I will warn you, there may be a part or two that might be viewed as 'offensive' do keep in mind that some of the descriptions are period correct but followed loosely. The other part might be a bit graphic (depending on how squeamish you are) but for the most part kept PG13.

Now on with the show~

Ch. 6 A little light Went Out.

Silence was the only bed fellow of the studio and the facility had yet to wake and open it's arms to welcome it's staff to start the day's operations, yet a lone figure drifted within it's sleeping halls coming to a stop at one it's many hall way doors. The person jiggled the handle to the doorway several times growing frustrated that the room had been locked and disturbed a sleeping occupant within.

Benny looked up from his crate to hear the jiggling of the handle to the room, but it didn't sound like the normal sounds of Allison or Norman opening up the door upon arriving. The way the door knob violently shock and rattled sounded like whomever was outside was struggling with the key. With a small hope that Tom had returned, Benny gingerly hopped back up on top of the desk and laid against the wall keeping a hopeful watch on the wall, his grin wide. He truly hoped that Tom simply forgot that he was supposed to bring him home yesterday and had returned in the morning to fetch him. Benny quickly gave himself a once over making sure he looked his best before he resumed his watch on the door. His smile faded and was replaced with confusion when the jiggling on the handle continued for quite sometime, it shouldn't take this long to open a door. Right? His face morphed into one of anger when he heard a feminine voice uttering small curses as she struggled with the door. This wasn't Alison, it sounded like that woman Susie that Norman had warned him about. He slipped off the desk and quietly crossed the room to a corner hiding within the shadow of the shelving out of the doors line of sight. Small growls escaped the toon, he didn't like this woman at all, and if he needed to he would defend himself. The stitching on his stomach slowly came undone as small white protrusions lined the rim resembling small teeth and the void opened slightly. His teeth took on a slight triangular appearance and the tips of his gloved hands had small protrusions on the ends resembling small claws. This was not his angel.

Susie cursed her rotten luck that Allison locked her dressing room, figures that the woman would lock a room that she felt didn't belong to her. Frustrated at the inability to open the door she wandered down the hall towards Wally's janitorial closet. The man always had random junk stashed in his closet and despite his large ring of keys he could never seem to lock his own closet. She tested the closets door nob and to her pleasure it was unlocked. She gingerly opened the door and dug around the closet till she found a fireman's ax, not sure what the man needed it for but it would suit her needs just fine. With weapon in hand she nearly skipped with glee back to Allison's dressing room. 'Oh I'm gonna love this' Susie chuckled to herself as she gently ran her fingers along the edge of the tools blade with tender love. She raised the weapon high above her head and brought it down harshly upon the the base of the door's handle.

The rattling of the door had fallen silent for a time and Benny hoped that the woman had given up and gone home, but that hope was dashed by a loud banging against the door. She was trying to break in! Benny scooted back further into the corner within the shadows preparing to pounce if he needed to. This was his room that belonged to Allison, not this woman. He stilled as he listened to the door cry from the blows being done to it and heard fragments of it break away. He didn't have to wait long as the door let out a crack for the last time and slowly swung open. Benny's bravado instantly died and was replaced by fear by her silhouette. The woman stood within the doorway with the dull yellow light behind her, now why she herself wasn't particularly frightening it was her weapon of choice that glistened in the dull light. An ax. The toon made a small whisper of a whimper at the weapon while gently grasping onto his stomach which was rapidly sealing itself back up, he remembered all to well what damage a weapon like could do. The only thoughts that raced through his mind was that he had been somehow found out and needed to escape.

Susie scowled as she looked over the room, it wasn't anything impressive, nor special. It was just an old office that had a long mirror installed and a desk, nothing more and nothing less. Well perhaps if the room was trashed a little then maybe Allison would get scared and leave. After all her husband is only a contractor for Joey and therefore isn't part of the official roster for the staff, he's isn't an obstacle like she is. How dare that woman take away her claim to fame. Susie bitterly remembered all the previous roles she had of voicing everything from objects to chickens, all roles that were either demeaning or lack luster. This new role of Alice Angel, that was her ticket to fame and it righteously belonged to her. She worked hard to get where she was and they didn't have the right to take Alice away from her, she was Alice Angel not Allison. She couldn't wait till she finally got a proper meeting with Joey, that blasted man had been ducking and dodging her for a little over a week now. He will hear her opinion on the matter cause after all Alice doesn't like people who lie to her. Susie took one last loving look at the ax in her hand before she strode across the room and slammed the blade into the mirror shattering it, the glass falling to the floor like a silvery waterfall.

Benny could only watch in horror as Susie proceeded to bury the weapon into the remains of the mirror laughing manically as she worked, a joyous, twisted grin splitting her face. Once the mirror was nothing more then shards of glass upon the floor and the wall boards broken she turned her attention to desk itself taking it apart board by board. The chair had been upended and the back and seat completely broken and splintered. While she was decimating the opposite of the room Benny glanced at the open doorway and then back at Susie destroying the room. He didn't want to leave, but he feared that if he stayed he too would be taken apart like all the other inanimate objects within the room. Taking that last glance and ensuring that Susie had yet to turn her attention to his hiding spot he mustered up his courage and fled the room he once called his own, his last thoughts were that he would 'find his angel' before he disappeared down the dark halls of the studio.

------------ An hour Later at the Connor's --------------

The sounds of creaking bones and groans of a worn out man drifted through the house as Tom slowly got out of bed. He felt like he had slept, but at the same time didn't. His sleep had been fitful with his thoughts drifting to Allison's previous outburst and how she had avoided him thereafter. He didn't know why such a small thing as a toy was so important to her, but the least he could do was to try and get the toy before the staff showed up at the studio. He grabbed his robe and covered himself up before sliding into his bedroom slippers and slowly groaned into the kitchen, his body fighting him every step of the way. He turned the corner leading into the kitchen fully expecting to see an empty room, but standing at the stove was Allison. His eyes were wide at the mere fact that she was up, let alone up before him. He had grown used to leaving the home long before Allison woke and would only see her during the lunch break and her sleeping face when he got home.

'M-Morning.” Tom dryly choked out. He didn't know what else to say, he could only hope Allison had calmed down.

'Morning” Allison's eyes widened at seeing him, but she briefly smiled back at him before returning her attention to the stove. Tom taking that as a good sign that she was feeling better.

A small glance past Allison revealed the kitchen table covered in various food items. Tom was completely gobsmacked at the amount, it was just like the previous night except it was a mix of breakfast, lunch and dinner. “Umm...Honey? What's with all the food?”

“It's for the band.” Allison replied without skipping a beat. “We were planning a small picnic after recording later today, so I'll be home late.”

“Oh, ok.” Tom's eyes looked over the foods, he eyed some cookies and turned to look at Allison watching her carefully as a hand drifted towards a cookie. His hand didn't get far as Allison turned around and swatted his hand away from the cookie with precision.

“Not for you” Her stern eyes met his and he took the hint and vamoosed away from the pile of food and sat at the opposite end of the table that wasn't all cluttered.

The man didn't wait long as Allison presented a plate of eggs, bacon and a bagel with cream cheese. Tom uttered a small 'Thank you' while he gingerly accepted the plate and slowly started eating, savoring each and every bite of one of the many things he enjoyed from Allison; her cooking. While he ate he watched her carefully pack all the food items into 2 wicker baskets and stow them away in her day pack before taking up her own breakfast and ate in front of him.

The shared meal was primarily quiet, for Tom feared really trying to ask her about the previous day's event's lest she would get upset at him again. Once they both finished their breakfast Tom offered to wash the dishes to give Allison time to get dressed for work. He watched her disappear down the hall to their bedroom and his mind drifted to the previous day with her outburst. It felt like she wasn't quite giving him the cold shoulder, but it was obvious she wasn't in the mood to talk about it. A long sigh escaped him as he placed the last plate into the dish rack to dry and dried his hands before finally turning to the hallway to the bedroom. He stood in the doorway and noticed that Allison was already dressed and was packing a large coat with her. She looked up at him and smiled briefly before she hefted her pack and coat and walked past him before stopping and gave him a small peck on the cheek whispering 'see you at work'.

Tom stood still as he watched her head out the door before him. He wished they could have both gone together but with the wall that Allison had put up it was perhaps for the better that she goes alone. He ran his fingers down the side of his face before heading to his room to get dressed himself. His mind drifting to the phone call he had received and how that he had no choice but to go back to the accursed hell hole of a facility known as Joey Drew Studios. He never wanted to put a singe toe back in that place, it had done nothing for him except give him a horrid sense of foreboding and hatred. He truly hated Joey with every fiber of his being and wanted nothing more to see the man's downfall, but that pleasure he wanted to see sooner then later. For now Tom had no choice but to swallow the bile of loathing that was building within him and had to report back to his 'former' boss.

The grumpy mechanic retreated to his workroom and retrieved his tool box and drafts, and box by box loaded them into his truck. He pondered over his luggage making sure all was accounted for and sat at the drivers seat glaring holes into the steering wheel. He didn't want to start the truck, he didn't want to drive down the same stretch of road he's taken over and over to get to the studio. He didn't even want to look at the building itself, but against his better judgment he edged the key into the ignition and started the truck with a low grumble. He could only chuckle and the seemingly annoyed groan the truck made and couldn't help but agree with the noise. With the removal of the parking break and the slow release of the break pedal Tom eased out the drive and slowly made his way of the stretch of road towards the studio.

--------- At Joey Drew Studios ----------

Tom pulled up in the studio lot to see that Allison's car was already there along with several other vehicle's that he recognized as the other staff members. He sighed and got out of the truck and grabbed his pack and headed for the doors. As soon as he walked in the staff was hustling and bustling as usual but there were many oddly huddled in small groups whispering to each other and the minute they saw him looking at them would either stop talking and look away, or leave all together. He couldn't hide the confusion on his face as he was normally greeted a few of the animation crew members that he had grown friendly with, but even they were avoiding him. What on earth happened? He tried to approach a few to say good morning and the minute they saw him they all scattered like ants. OK. Something was definitely up.

Tom's thoughts were ground to a halt when he spotted a young ball of energy running down one of the hallways, Leonard. Tom hastily hid behind a stack of crates and carefully peaked around the corner. Right when he knew the boy was in range he swiftly raised his arm up and felt something ram into it. The young mans neck and chin caught Tom's upper arm and and elbow letting out a loud yelp as he fell backwards slamming onto the floor with his feet strait up in the air in a almost comical way. After all they always say to never run in the halls for you never know what may come around the corner. The musician groaned from the impact and tried to catch his breath which abandoned him the minute he looked up and saw Tom looming over him. A small squeak escaped the man before Tom grabbed him by the front of his shirt hefting him like a toy and pinning him behind the stack of crates. Only one word that escaped Tom's gritted teeth, 'Talk'.

Leonard was sweating bullets under Toms frigid glare, he didn't know what he did to get the man upset at him this time. He hadn't been playing and 'accidentally' bust any pipes this time, so what had the GENT engineers goat this early in the morning? “M-Morning Thomas. H-How are you this fine morning?” He squeaked to try and lighten the mood giving a shaky grin. Tom pressing him further into the wall served as a strong indicator that the man was by no sense of the word in the mood for small talk.

Tom sharpened his glare and slowly started lifting Leonard off the ground bit by bit. “Talk, what's going on?”

“S-Someone broke into Allison's dressing room and r-ransacked the place, the room was completely busted up by a blunt object and she's crying in the music department. N-Norman's there now t-trying to comfort her along with the band, but she is beyond w-words sir!” Leonard shrieked in the mans grasp.

Tom's eyes went wide at the information and it explained why everyone was dodging him. He dropped Leonard on the floor the young man immediately nestled himself behind the crates to keep Tom from throttling him. Tom turned on his heel ignoring Leonard and dashed down the hall towards the music department. Everyone was a mere blur as the staff quickly got out of the locomotive of a mechanics way for fear of being run over. The man clearly on a mission and was not tolerant of any obstacles, be it a object or a person. Tom saw the familiar sight of the music department logo and a cluster of people all muttering amongst themselves. Heads turned upon heading Tom's thundering footsteps and all hastily cleared a path for the man, some nearly tripping over themselves or each other. The sight before him made him stop in his tracks and his heart ache.

Allison was sitting on a chair absolutely beside herself, large tears streamed down her face as she was curled in on herself. Norman was sitting next to her trying to comfort her the best he could, trying to talk to her while gently rubbing her back with Aaron and Giovanni both talking to Norman in hushed tones. Edgar and Earl were in the corner both wearing a worried and somber expression neither boy approaching the distraught woman. Aaron and Giovanni both looked at Tom and a small scowl graced their faces before they turned to give Allison and her husband some much needed space leaving the room. Earl and Edgar both watched the older men leave and decided to do the same. Norman briefly looked up at the mechanic and he too had a small scowl before returning his attention back to Allison. Tom stayed silent and slowly made his way to his grieving wife, he had never seen her this upset before. The previous day's emotional episode was nothing in comparison to how she was now and a little voice in the back of his mind told him that it is more then just a simple break in and the ransacking of a dressing room, if the strange looks of disappointment from the band members where anything to go by.

Tom just barely opened his mouth to talk to her when Norman looked at him dead in the eye and shook his head telling him 'no', shutting him up immediately. He looked at the projectionist with worried eyes and Norman's stern look didn't budge and the man had no choice but to back down and give his wife some space. The projectionist looked down at Allison then back up and spotted Leonard whom had carefully edged into the hall, he gestured for the man to come over. The young man was confused at first since Norman didn't say anything, but firmly pointed at him and waggled his finger to come over. Not wanting to question the man, Leonard obeyed and Norman got up from his seat and had Leonard replace him in trying to comfort Allison while Norman gestured for Tom to follow him. Tom was confused why Norman didn't want him to talk to his wife, but decided to hear the man out.

Norman rounded the stairs and went up to his projection booth with Thomas in tow, he unlocked the door and motioned for the man to enter and once he did he followed in closing the door behind him and securely locking it. Norman turned around and let out a deep sigh looking up at tom “ Ah take it ya heard 'bout da missus room gettin' wrecked?”

Tom glanced down out the window at his wife and then back at Norman “Yeah I heard, but she can easily get a new room, god knows there are plenty of them here. I don't think she had anything important or valuable in the room.”

Norma's eyes went wide at the gruff mechanics statement. It truly confirmed what Allison managed to choke out in between her sobs 'Tom left Benny behind', and now her room had been destroyed and Benny was nowhere to be found. He pinched the bridge of his nose to keep his own temper from flaring up, but needed to find out how much or how little Tom knew.

“Well th' only thin' she had that would be considered valuable was her Bendy plush, but da little toy's turned up missin'” he leaned against the door studying Tom's body language to try and figure him out.

Tom hung his head in shame “Well that blew that idea.” he scowled and Norman gestured for him to continue. “See yesterday I forgot to bring the stupid little toy home and Allison blew up on me. I understand that the darn thing was a gift, but for her to get so upset baffles me. If she wants one so badly I'm sure I can swindle one out of Shawn easy enough, plus he owes me a favor anyways for fixing the belts in his factory.” he had thrown his hands up in the air as he vented to Norman whom patiently listened. He had no clue why something so simple mattered so much.

Norman simply watched the man rant, it was clear that he had no clue about the true nature of the 'toy' as he called Benny. He let out a sigh making Thomas still after his venting. “How much did she tell ya?” his face very serious which was unusual for the normally relaxed projectionist.

Tom looked at him and rifled through his memories of the past few days and could think of anything significant. “She just asked me to bring home a toy she had gotten as a gift. I know I promised, but it was an honest mistake. There's no reason to have a full blown meltdown.” he scratched the back of his head in frustration.

“That's not how e'll see it.” Norman uttered softly looking at Tom with eyes full of pity and sadness.

“That's twice now I've heard that phrase.” Tom steadily growing frustrated pointing a finger sternly at Norman “what does that mean!?” The man nearly shouting at the top of his lungs throwing his arms up into the air.

Norman waved his hand nonchalantly and looked down at Tom “That lil dolly that Mrs. Allison done asked ya t' bring home was countin' on ya on doin' so. Lil Benny ain't welcomed dis place he was born in, an' I woulda thought you would 'ave known 'bout him considerin' ya done built th' machin' that made 'em. Th' lil toons been hidin' in 'er room waitin' fer ya t' show up and take 'im home.” Norman's words died down as he looked past the mechanic at his grieving wife below. “Now someone don' broke in 'er room an' he ain't no where t' be found. 'Er precious lil one disappeared. We don' even know if 'es alive or dead.” His sorrowful eyes drifted back to Thomas. “She's like a mother who lost 'er child.”

As soon as Norman's words left his mouth Tom felt his throat dry up and a pit formed within his stomach as he processed the man's words. The little toon was alive, the first one that had been made by the prototype ink machine was alive. He was living in Allison's room the entire time under her care while he had to refine the machine to make Bendy. His little body was fabric not ink, that's how he was able to survive the injury Joey had dealt him, the fabric softened the blow. The little one whom gave him a childlike thrill when he looked at a living toon that was responding to his interactions and was so infant like in response. The little light that had been accidentally brought to life and proved the theory was true, and brought nothing but joy upon creation. A light believed to have been snuffed out for not meeting the standard and for simply existing.

Tom lowered his arms and slowly looked at his hands, he remembered the feel of what he assumed was a stuffed animal in his hands that day he had a meltdown in Allison's room while hugging the plush 'Bendy'. The plush toy that felt oddly warm and solid. His mind drifted to that moment. He had been sobbing and after pulling the toy into an embrace someone was gently rubbing his back to try and comfort him, he had assumed it was Allison, but that couldn't be right she was at the bathroom at the time. It was the little 'Bendy', he was trying to comfort him as best he could. How could he have missed it? He held the little toon he thought had been killed by his monstrous boss in his hands and had promised to take him home. Tom's legs nearly gave out on him as the grim reality hit prompting Norman to grab his arm to keep him steady. He broke his promise. He lied to the little toon whom he brought into the world and the little one had been counting on him to get him out.

“I-I broke my promise. I broke my promise to the little toon, I broke my promise to my wife.” Tom's dryly choked as his mind was still trying to process all the things he missed. Allison's need for a bigger bag was for her to transport him around the studio safely. The two wicker baskets, it wasn't food for the band, it was extra food to feed the toon whom had no other food source. The dried ink all over her original bag, it was from his injury and he leaked ink everywhere. Tears started forming at the edges of his eyes and he slowly turned to look Norman in the eye “What have a I done?”

Norman could feel the regret coming of Tom in waves, the severity of what he had failed to do hitting him like a ton of bricks. He pondered over what would be best for the situation and slowly and carefully started to speak. “'Fer starters apologize t' Mrs. Allison. Then try t' find Benny, the lil boy is alone an' scared. You need t' find 'em before someone else does.” he held Tom's shoulders while looking him sternly in the eyes. “Find 'em.”

“B-Benny?” Tom looked at Norman slightly confused as to the name.

Norman chuckled “The lil toon's name is Benny, Mrs. Allison gave 'em the name since it's similar to Bendy but not. The lil boy is 'off-model', I'm sure you'd recognize 'em as soon as ya see 'em. You did make 'em after all.”

Tom nodded his head, he couldn't ever forget how 'off-model' the toon now named 'Benny' was in comparison to his now living counterpart Bendy. He could only hope he could find the little toon in a facility so large. Norman released his shoulders allowing the man to venture back to the window to look down at his wife below. He let out a sigh and turned back towards the door letting himself out and slowly made his way down the stairs. Step by step felt like an eternity as he tried to figure out his wording when he would approach her. He himself felt like his stomach abandoned him the closer he got and wanted to turn away to compose himself, but he needed to be strong for her, and to let her know it will be all right. He will find their little toon and Joey could go strait to hell for all he cared, Benny belonged with them not to that heinous man. Tom stopped briefly at the doorway at the bottom of the stairwell and was met by the Leonard looking at him with worry. He nodded slightly and the young man slowly edged himself away from Allison and Tom gently took his place and pulled Allison closer to himself.

The mechanic looked down at his wife and was thankful she had calmed down. Her sobs were soft as she was pulled into his chest and he rocked back and forth gently. “Honey.” he softly spoke while running his fingers through her hair pulling them away from her face. “Sweetheart.”

Allison slowly looked up at Tom with tired glassy eyes making the man's heart clench, she looked so exhausted and worn out. Tom uttered 3 small words that made her smile slightly and lean into him. 'I'll find him'.

Norman stood in the doorway and watched the couple in silence, it was heartbreaking that the lack of communication can cause such heartache, but at the same time it wasn't like they could freely tell each other what was going on. With Thomas's sense of professionalism and dedication to his job they feared that he would have turned Benny in if he knew he was still alive, or worse try and kill him like Joey had tried. The man was big on logic and reasoning which at times made them wonder if he had a heart under his stern and stiff demeanor. Allison on the other hand was nearly his exact opposite, while she was very much a professional she was far more compassionate about the people around her. It was obvious she loved Benny like he was her own, but because of the fact that Benny was so off-model she feared that her husband's sense of duty to his job would somehow override his sense of compassion for a toon that was 'only an accident'.

Leonard quietly stood in the corner catching Norman's eye and he motioned for the young man to leave for which he needed no encouragement, it seemed he too knew when to give people some much needed space. Once Leonard was gone the projectionist returned his attention back to the couple and smiled. He didn't know what they were saying but he could see the burning determination in Tom's eyes and how Allison had relaxed into him. He didn't know what all happened between Thomas and Benny at the start of it all, but watching the man slowly get up from his seat and leaving a few small words with Allison the look in his eyes said it all. He will find Benny. Tom turned to face Norman briefly and nodded before making a purposeful stride out of the Music department and disappeared down the hallway and up the stairs.

Norman was very much thankful Thomas left when he did, Sammy had arrived a short time after him carrying one of the Bendy cutouts and placed it in the corner of the room along with a small collection of them. It struck him as odd. While Sammy jokingly commented about appeasing Bendy the man only bothered with the film version of the toon if he wasn't swamped with multiple cartoons at once that all needed music by the end of the day. Sammy had eluded that he hated the smile given to the Bendy cutouts and other homages to the toon devil, saying that they were creepy and wrong, but yet here he was openly carrying one of them around.

Once the cutout had been placed Norman watched Sammy walk up to Allison and have a brief chat with her before she was excused to rest in the corner of the room away from the band. 'Huh' Norman thought to himself as he watched the man motioning to the band to enter the department and take their seats while he stood at his podium. 'Looks like he heard 'bout Mrs. Allison's meltdown and is givin' 'er a break to recoup'. He tipped his cap to Sammy and retreated to his projection booth to set up when he saw a figure standing in the doorway of the department. Susie Campbell. The former actress sashayed up to Sammy clearly pouring on the charm, the man seemed neither impressed nor amused by whatever she was saying. He shook his head and uttered a few words to the woman which seemed to outrage her. Norman didn't know what was said but he could see her face morph into pure anger as she was clearly shouting at him and gesturing angrily at Allison, even the Band seemed to withdraw away from the scene. Sammy placed his hands on the former actresses shoulders and spoke for awhile and whatever he said seemed to calm the woman down somewhat. She shot another heated glare at Allison before giving a sweet look to Sammy before leaving the department as quickly as she came. Norman made a mental note to ask Allison what was said later.

Sammy stared at the doorway for a time to make sure Susie had left and let out a long tired sigh. It wasn't his idea to switch out the actresses, he kinda liked Susie, but at times she seemed very hollow and distant. A stark contrast to her normally sassy and confident woman she carried herself as. He didn't know what Joey was doing with all the sudden changes, but in the end he had to admit he liked Allison's voice for Alice Angel better. He could only hope that Allison got over her distress soon since they had to record another song later in the evening. It was a total shock that someone had to audacity to completely trash the young woman's room, and he had a sinking suspicion that it was Susie, but wasn't in the position to openly confront the woman about the matter. Allison was loved by many in the studio and he couldn't think of anyone whom had any grievances with her, say for Susie whom is thoroughly convinced that Allison went out of her way to steal the role of Alice Angel from her. The former actress would be the only one with a solid reason to go after Allison.

'Ah, well.' Sammy thought to himself. 'I'll worry about this nonsense later, but for now I need to get these songs done and to get Joey off my back'. He tapped his baton on the podium catching the bands attention and raised his arms in the air making sure all eyes were on him, once he had confirmation of attention he struck up the band.

While the band was playing and thankfully only rehearsing to familiarize themselves with the sheet music, Norman quietly slipped out of his projection booth after setting up the projectors for the later recordings. He eased down the stairs as to not be a distraction and quietly crept up to Allison whom sat quietly in the corner of the room studying her sheet music. A gentle nudge broke her out of her concentration and she looked up at Norman who whispered 'I'm gonna go look fer 'em for a bit, I'm not needed fer a lil while so I got a moment'. Allison smiled at the man and whispered a small 'good luck'. He tipped his cap and quietly snuck out of the music department stopping at its entrance. Norman took a glance over his shoulder at Allison who never took her eyes off him and at the small glimmer of hope in her eyes. He could only hope to find her little one, and since Benny hid in dark places, the best place to look was below the studio.

The projectionist knew he was one of the few that not only had proper access to the newer sections of the studio being constructed below, but also of the few who knew about it. It was one of Joey's little secrets that was still in the works and since Benny shy-ed from any excessive amounts of noise and people the toon may have accidentally gone deeper into the studio where it was dark and quiet. Norman paced the halls and thought it was funny how he had grown used to constantly bumping into the various GENT staffers whom would be working on something in the studio, but now it was only the main studio staff. It was strange to not have them fluttering about tapping and banging on some extension of the Ink machine or fixing leaks. However none of that mattered now as the Ink machine was completed and now only Tom remained. He felt pity for the man, it was obvious by his earlier actions that Benny meant a lot to the man even if he may not have been with him long. He wish he better knew Tom's side of the story in regards to Benny's creation it would help fill in the gaps to what was really going on behind the scenes of the studio, he could only hope things don't get worse.

Norman set aside his thoughts for now and knew his focus was to try and find Benny. The rehearsals only last for a few hours and he would have to somehow get to the bottom of the studio and back again within that time frame, and could only hope he finds Benny in the process.

---------Meanwhile----------

Thomas carried a purposeful stride as he hurried down the halls of the studio. There were many places a 3 foot tall living doll could hide, and it wasn't like he can just wander down the halls shouting his name. People would think he was crazy for starters and the toon wasn't supposed to exist so that will put the little one at risk. He stopped at every doorway checking each and every room systematically, he felt ridiculous checking in small crevasses and crates, but the toon was the size of a small child and children can hide in the damnest places. Once Tom was certain the hallway and floor was cleared he turned his attention to the to hallway leading to the stairs for the next level. The man once again resembling an angry locomotive charged down the invisible tracks of the hall to the stairwell when an animator ran up to him shouting his name.

“Mr. Connor! Mr. Connor wait!” The young redheaded man ran up to him clearly out of breath. Tom stopped to hear the young man out, the man grasping his knees trying to catch his breath. “Mr. Drew is demanding to see you. He is raising one hell of a storm in the animation department trying to find you.”

Tom internally scowled, it was just a matter of time before Drew took out his frustrations on the staff in some manner. He let out a long sigh and rest his hand on the tired out animator. “Why don't you go take a break, I'll go deal with Joey. Ok?” The young animator nodded his head and wandered towards the break room with Tom escorting him, and once he was sure the kid was relaxing he steeled himself and turned towards the animation department to seek out the tantrum throwing tyrant.

Tom's trip was by no sense of the word a long one as he neared the animation department he could hear Joey bellowing at the overworked animators. The staff cowering under the dictator director and hurrying their sketches and cells as fast as their hands would allow. The man inhaled deeply and slowly exhaled preparing himself for a tirade and calmly entered the department well within Joeys line of sight smiling calmly at the man.

“Ah, Good morning sir.” Tom sauntered over to the red faced Joey “I heard you wished to see me.” Tom was thoroughly enjoying seeing Joey looking a bit worse for wear.

Joey glared back at Tom with a clear scowl on his face as he stopped looming over a terrified staffer and turned his attention to GENT engineer in full. The older man's clothes looked like they hadn't been ironed and pressed in a week and his hair which was normally slicked back was down and fluffy looking. Joey's normally tall and firm stance was now stooped over as he seemed to be clinging to his cane for dear life rather then making it look like a mere accessory. His eyes were wild and he looked like he was loosing his mind, and clear dark patches were underneath them like he hadn't slept in days.

“My Office. Now.” Joey growled out to the smug mechanic and turned to the department shouting at them to get back to work before he hobbled out of the department and down the hall towards his office with Tom in tow.

Tom watched Joey clearly struggling with walking as the man occasionally pushed off a wall to try and re-balance himself. The last time he saw him he wasn't this bad, it was like the older man was injured or exhausted. Certainly dealing with Bendy for a full day couldn't have taken this much out of the man can it? Sure Joey was always the frail sort, but he couldn't have been this fragile. Speaking of the toon where was he? He fully expected Joey to be proudly parading the little cartoon demon all around the studio boasting about the ink machine's 'great achievement' and how that all the efforts of the staff weren't in vain, but that wouldn't explain why he was forced to come back. Did something go wrong? God he hoped not,cause something about bendy felt a little off. Tom's mind went abuzz with countless possibilities while he followed the man into the office, not noticing the small ink splatters that stained the wall and corner by the door.

Joey slowly hobbled to his desk grasping onto it like it was his life line and edged around it till he was able to reach his chair and pulled it close to himself. He eased his worn body into the chair with a small groan, his joints protesting even the smallest movements and rest his cane on the edge of the desk. He folded his hands together on the desk leaning forward and rest his chin on his hands staring holes in the the still contemplating mechanic. “Now, do you know why I brought you here?” His tone cold and firm as his Grey eyes bore holes into Tom.

Joey's voice reminding the man of another matter, Tom looked up from his thoughts to face the director. “Oh probably you throwing a tantrum about Bendy and the Ink machine, thinking that I somehow screwed up again.” Tom shot back a heated glare. He was by no sense of the word appreciative of being forced to come back to the studio lest he lose his job.

“Precisely!” Joey's sudden shout startling Tom “That damn abomination of a toon doesn't act like Bendy at all!” Joey threw his arms up in the air in rage. “We have never had a voice actor for Bendy and yet that little shit was not only talking, but had the nerve to talk back to me! He didn't recognize the music from his own show and he sure as hell didn't recognize his other toon friends! The way he talks and moves around, he's acting like that pathetic excuse of a animator that left! You screwed up that machine for a second time now and I. Demand. Answers!” Joey slammed his fists down onto the desk at the end of his tirade, his breath coming out hard and labored.

Tom pinched the bridge of his nose taking slow deep breaths to try and school his own temper “Look for as much as you seemingly hate to admit it, he is Bendy. Perhaps maybe not the way you see him, but maybe way his creator saw him. Last I looked you didn't design the toon, you only own him. So maybe, just maybe a bit of how his creator viewed his toon somehow got into the toon upon creation. After all sir what you put in is what you get out-”

“ I don't get what you mean by that! We put in all the reels, cells, sketches and anything we could find of bendy to make him! He should act how he is on the blasted screen, not in the imagination of his maker! ” Joey all but screamed at Tom, the mans eyes wild and filled with anger.

“Its as it means. We put is so much material into the damn machine I was surprised it was able to even handle the intake. What we put in merely provided a mold, it is up to him to fill it. Bendy is still a infant toon barely a day old and you're already pitching fits just like you did with the last one. What is it in your thick skull you don't get? Huh?!” tom waved his arms in annoyed disbelief “We created a mold and empty shell with the machine and the ink and information provided gave him his personality, but he lacks experience with his surrounding cause he has never been in reality. He has to learn what it is to be a living toon and what he is expected to do. We don't even know what all he is capable or incapable of doing cause he is only 1 day old. Why don't you actually spend time with him to get to know him before you condemn him!” Tom's face was flush with anger. This pathetic excuse of a human being had no patience for anything that is still developing. Bendy and Benny both were like children that needed the helping hand of a adult figure to navigate the ways of the world and this man had the gall to think that they would just pop out of a mechanical device 100% perfect with no strings attached. Life doesn't work that way. Everything has a string attached and you have to be willing to sort them out and work with them.

Joey's cold calculating eyes bore holes into Tom, the man had said that the machine was merely a mold maker and it was up to something to fill it? That the toon needed to be taught? Fine, he'll play this little game. For now. “Fine I'll do that, I'll give the toon a chance and try to teach him how he is supposed to behave. For now I want you to return to the machine and make sure everything is in working order Mr. Connor then go back to maintaining it's workings with Wally.” He waved a hand towards the door “You're dismissed.”

Tom scowled not budging an inch. “Where's Bendy?”

Joey grinned “He's fine and is in my care. You have nothing to worry about, he's just fine.”

“Then bring him out here. I want to see for myself.” Tom growled, balling his hands into tight fists. He knew with Joey's little outburst about already not liking the toon that there was no way for the toon to be in good health. He hadn't seen the man parading him like a trophy at all, nor had he heard any additional noises indicating that the toon was nearby. Not only that but to agree so easily without a full blown argument, something was wrong.

“Like I said, he is just fine and is resting from his birth. He is quite energetic and wore himself out. After all toons are surprisingly energetic, more so then on the big screen.” Joey coolly smiled as he leaned back into his chair, chuckling even like it was amusing about the nature of toons.

Tom glared at him and knew he wasn't going to get an answer as to what befell the young toon. “Fine.”

With a quick turn on the heel, Tom turned around and marched up to the door stopping briefly noticing small splatters of ink on the wall and the floor next to the door. Something had been thrown or struck in this spot, and it wasn't very high. Joey's office was always impeccable regardless of the countless pipe ruptures and spills. Something must have happened in the office. He briefly glanced over his shoulder and Joey whom was still watching him coldly, he let out a small huff and walked out the office closing the door roughly behind himself. Tom leaned against the door taking a deep breath before narrowing his eyes down the halls that surrounded him. He now had two lost toons to find.

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

Joey made sure Tom was long gone before he left his office slowly and carefully as to not attract attention from any nearby staff. He cursed his uncooperative body, it was already bad enough that he suffered from weak joints and pain dealt to him from polio he got as a child, but any physical activity didn't help. Restraining that pathetic excuse of a toon wore him out more so then he would have liked, and on top of that the toon struck him during the struggle crippling him. His silent curses were broken by a smooth southern voice.

“Ya alright Mr. Drew? Ya look like yer havin' a bit o' trouble there.”

Joey turned to look up at Norman Polk whom had a worried look on his face. “Ah, just having an off day Mr. Polk. My body isn't exactly old, but I certainly feel old right now.” He lightly chuckled smiling faintly, he was always neutral towards the dark skinned man. Norman was a hard worker, well worth his pay and wasn't a problem child unlike some of the staff. He kept to himself and his projectors. 'Wait' Joey thought to himself. 'Thomas said that the toon needed to be taught. Perhaps he can be educated from watching his own films.' Joey lightly cleared his throat gaining Norman's full attention. “Hey Mr. Polk?”

“yes sir?” The projectionist looking down at him.

“You once told me that you have a little sister correct?”

Norman flashed a big proud grin. “Yes Sir. She's a lil bitty thin', all but 8 years old.” He took pride in his little sister and had to help his mother raise her since their father was no longer in the picture. “She absolutely love's the cartoons we make 'ere.”

Joey smiled listening to Normans answer, children like Norman's sister were the target audience for the cartoons and they would know the best shorts to pick that would describe the toon. After all children know their favorite shorts by heart. “Say if you had to pick all of your sisters favorite shorts, what would they be?”

Norman tilted his head the mans question, but thought back to the memories of his sister happily sitting in his lap at the movie theater cheering and pointing at the toons and their antics on the silver screen. A warm smile crept across his face as he reminisced at all the shorts he himself put together and seeing his sister's loving response. Naturally all the shorts that Henry made and that he put together were her favorites. He never missed a chance to take her to the theater so they could see the latest movie and to see the shorts. While they always had to sit in the back since the theater was segregated it never damped her mood at all. She always commented how she felt a connection to the little devil, always judged by her looks. That no matter how someone looks it was whats inside that counts.

Norman faced Joey and happily gave him a lengthy list of all the shorts that he sister adored, while Joey quickly jotted them down on a piece of paper. Once Joey wrote the last of the titles on the page he looked back up and Norman and smiled while patting the man on the shoulder “Thank you.”

Norman looked surprised by Joey's kindness towards him and seemingly earnest respect. “Yer welcom' sir, but if ya don' mind mah askin' what did ya need the list fer?”

Joey was caught off guard by the sudden inquiry, but was quick with his answer. “I got a group of investors coming later in the week and I needed to showcase some of our best films.” He flashed a warm grin at Norman “After all children know best.”

A chuckle escaped Norman's lip “Ya, that they do sir.”

“well if you'll excuse me I need to start rounding up those reels.” Joey nodded in farewell and started to try and limp down the hall but he got nowhere when a firm hand grasped his arm. He turned to see Norman holding onto his arm, the man lifted his arm up and slung it over his shoulder supporting his weight. “Wh-what are you doing?” Joey stammered out surprised by the sudden movement.

“Givin' ya a hand. Yer not gonna get far with yer legs so I'm gonna help ya. Yer headin' to the vault fer the reels right? I'm headin' that way anyway so might as well help ya along.” Norman laughed.

Joey lowered his head and chuckled softly to himself. “fine have it your way.”

With amused silence Norman shouldered the mans weight and with slow and steady stride he helped carry the older man to the elevator to take to the lower levels. They idly chatted about little things like Norman's family and the different cartoons as the elevator creaked and groaned on it's decent. When they reached the new administration level they disembarked the elevator and stopped to take a break. Joey was worn out just from reaching the elevator so Norman let him rest on a crate until the man was able to steady himself again and then resumed their trip to the vault. At the vault door Joey showed Norman how to open the door since at the moment he lacked the strength to stand for the duration and open the door. Once the door opened Norman was handed the list of desired shorts and the man gingerly rummaged through the collection pulling out the desired reels.

Norman fingered through the shelving of reels and various other items that had been stored in the vault and noticed a door in the far right corner of the room partially hidden by a shelf. He peered over his shoulder to make sure Joey wasn't looking and edged closer to the corner to get a better look. The door was large and partially hidden by an empty book case like someone didn't want anyone to see the door. A large ink splatter was at the base of the door and on the walls. The whole thing seemed wrong, he could only hope Benny didn't somehow make it this far down.

“Did you get them all?” Joeys voice sounded out from outside the vault room.

Norman scrambled away from the corner and grabbed the pile of reels needed. “yes sir! I got 'em right 'ere.” The man strode out of the vault carrying the pile in his arms.

Joey eyed the stack double checking that all was present and accounted for. “Good man. I almost thought you weren't even there for a minute and was gonna lock you in there.” He laughed while patting Norman on the back. The projectionist was slightly disturbed by the notion but chose to chuckle going along with the gag.

Carrying the reels in his arms Norman offered his shoulder to Joey whom quietly accepted and they both slowly made the trip back to the upper levels of the studio. Norman picked up a few additional reels along the way that were needed by the music department for later in the evening, and dropped Joey and his stack of reels off at his office. Joey gave the man his thanks and with the tip of his cap Norman resumed his route down the hall disappearing out of sight leaving Joey to his own devices. He hated having to stop to help the man whom hurt his little friend, and now the time he could have spent looking for Benny got used up by Joey and he had to go back to the music department.

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

Joey glanced at the reels that Norman has stacked on the edge of his desk in his office letting out a deep annoyed sigh. He seriously doubted that playing the reels for Bendy would work in any fashion, but anything was worth a shot. He already spent too much on the ink machine and as much as he hated to admit it the damn thing had produced a proper living toon with the aid of the Illusion of Living and the sacrifices. He'll try Thomas's suggestion of letting the toon learn from his own reels, but he needed a back up plan in case Bendy doesn't behave the way he is supposed to. But what?

Joey subconsciously pulled out the Illusion of Living and glanced through it's contents. The mysterious book had aided in the creation of the living toon and helped provide the Ink machine with it's ability to create life, may something within could help guide the toon as it did with the machine. Joey mindlessly flipped through the pages of rituals and summonings until a small excerpt caught his attention:

A human can be divided into two distinct portions: the soul, and the body. The body is merely a vessel, a husk that the soul fills and in turn brings the empty husk to live by providing the life needed. The soul is the heart of the body and the very essence of what makes up the individual. The body cannot function without a soul and the soul cannot be without a body. It is intangible unless given a physical form to be contained within. In rare instances the body can move without a soul housing it by means of magic imitating the likeness of a soul, a personality. An illusion of a living individual and what made that individual unique. In short a doll given magic to imitate the life around it and pass off as a living creature, a golem with a power source of magic. Magic is not infinite making golems only temporary, a soul however is. While it is not recommended and highly dangerous it is possible to give a golem or doll a soul. It requires sacrifices and a ritual.

Joey's eyes lit up at the passage. He saw many similarities to Tom's rough description of the ink machine. It was made a mold in the shape of the toon that the ink filled with information to make a living toon. However once his eyes rest upon the final portion of the paragraph it made his heart race. He had infused the Ink machine with dark magic he gained from the book and the grim fact that the magic was not infinite. How long would it last? Was it a few days? Weeks? Years? There was no time frame given. How long would the toon last? He was certain that Bendy didn't have a soul since he is a cartoon and has no person within him as a 'energy source', but that didn't seem right.

The man rest his head on his hands as he leaned forward on his desk laying the book down and skimming the passage again trying to better comprehend the wording. Bendy claimed that he had some of Henry's essence in his ink from his creation using that as an excuse as to how he somehow knew the man. Was the blood mixed in the ink and acted as a temporary source keeping the toon going, but how long will that last? His mind also drifted to the toon that Sammy has spotted in the music department, the false Bendy. That toon somehow was still alive despite being made from the experimental Ink machine. Was somehow some of Tom's blood mixed in with the dolls fabric when he gave it to the machine? He was the only one to handle the toy prior to handing it over and his hands were banged up from working all day. Bendy claimed he had Henry in him so under that logic the rejected toon must have some of Tom in him as well. Blood must be a energy source for them somehow, but that cannot last forever.

Joey reread the passage again 'Magic is not infinite making golems only temporary, a soul however is. It is possible to give a golem or doll a soul. It requires sacrifices and a ritual.' This caused the man to chuckle and burst into a raucous laughter. He already had the sacrifices and knew how to perform rituals with ease all he needs is the man in question and he will have a soul for the empty husk known as Bendy the Dancing Demon. With a swift motion Joey opened up his desk and pulled out some stationary laying it out, a few strokes of a pen later and he wrote a simple letter of invitation:

Dear Henry,

It's been awhile since we worked on cartoons together, time seems to be slipping away faster and faster.

At your earliest convince come visit the old shop, there's something I want to show you.

Your best pal,

Joey Drew

Joey held up the letter with pride before a hint of concern shot through him turning his smile into a scowl. What if something goes wrong? Would any soul work as a source rather then the creator himself? Bendy already has a personality given to him from the material used in the machine so wouldn't he just need an energy source? This warrants investigation, but first he needs to be educated by his own cartoons to ensure success. If all goes as planned then any random insignificant person will do, he owns the entire staff of the studio so it wouldn't matter if a person or two disappeared. A smile crept across his lips and he slid the paper and address back into the drawer the only thought that crossed his mind 'just in case'.

--------Meanwhile at the Music Department---------

Sammy couldn't help but scowl at the entire band, often losing his temper and nearly snapping his baton from how hard he struck the podium shouting for the band to cease playing. Every last one of them was not playing to the best of their abilities, and most of all Allison. Her singing didn't have that normal heavenly feel to it like it would normally have. It was like an angel who had her wings broken. He understood that her dressing room had been broken into but unfortunately this was a studio and they lacked the luxury of waiting for someone to get their act together after a incident. It was cold but it was a grim truth. It was as if her distraught mood had affected the band. They were playing halfheartedly and that lively energy wasn't there. The feel of the room didn't match the film being played behind them.

After the 5th attempt at the piece Sammy slammed his hands and baton on the podium. “Stop, Stop, Stop! I don't know what is wrong with the lot of you today, but we don't have all day for you to get your acts together.”

The irate musical director pointed a finger at Leonard. “Your violin playing is everywhere, but where the sheet music dictated. You're hitting too many flats and you're off key. Re-tune your violin and watch your damn finger placement.”

“You two Aaron and Giovanni, I don't who spit in your corn flakes, but you both are playing too aggressively for the piece and the notes are coming out too harsh for the piece. Both your respective pieces have many parts that dictate a decrescendo and yet you are blatantly ignoring it. If it says to lighten up then lighten the hell up.” Sammy bellowed at the two men from across the room making Leonard flinch since he was taking the brunt of Sammy's tirade.

“And you blasted twins, your playing sounds like your dragging your feet down the road to your funeral, you're supposed to be playing a lively tune with a skip in your step. Pick it up!” Both Edgar and Earl winced from the mans heated glare and bellowing.

“Most of all you. Mrs Connor.” Sammy took a deep breath to calm himself down. “Look I understand that someone broke into your dressing room and completely trashed the place, but I need you to find your voice. You are singing so softly I can barely hear you and your voice sounds cracked and broken. I'm sorry, but I need an joyous Angel, not a weeping one.” Allison looked at him and nodded at him slightly before bowing her head not looking at him in the eye.

“All right everyone take a 15 and we will try again. Keep in mind we don't have a luxury of mistakes or it's our paychecks.” Sammy shouted out to the band excusing them for a moment, he picked up a handful of the sheet music and left the department.

Norman came out of his projection booth letting out a loud sigh. “Man it's been awhile since I seen Sammy get that worked up.” he grabbed an empty chair and pushed aside the Bendy cutout facing it away from himself.

Allison sat on her stool holding her bag close to her chest. “I'm having a hard time feeling it. I would feel him nudging me and would often try and sing along to where I would have to pat him to get him to stop, but now I don't feel anything. He isn't there by my side. I know Tom promised to go look for him, but this place it huge and Benny is small. He could be anywhere.” The woman curled around the bag gently as if it were her lifeline.

Leonard looked at her worriedly until a little idea popped into his head “Hey It's not all that bad.” his chipper mood causing Allison to look up at him. “See Edgar, Earl and I.” the young man grabbed the twins pulling them close so all three can face her. “The three of us know the studio like the back of our hands, I'm sure with the three of us all running 'round we can find the little bundle of joy in no time.” the three young men all flashed huge mischievous grins at Allison, making her laugh.

Edgar and Earl both spoke in unison sounding in stereo “Yeah! We'll find our little devil in no time!”

“Thanks boys.” Allison chuckled at them. It was no secret that the unholy trio treated the studio like it was a playground and were probably more mischievous then the little devil darling himself. They had this uncanny ability to get into places that most of the older staff cursed their child like nature. Perhaps it took one with a child like personality to find a child.

Giovanni stepped forward and ruffled his hand on Leonard's hair messing it up. “With our little pocket nuisances running around being the local terrors that they are, I'm gonna see if I can lay some of those can of Bacon soup around for the boy. We all know he likes food so maybe if some food is left sitting around he might go for it. That way we can narrow down where he ran off to. With his appetite he is bound to get hungry sooner or later.”

“Oh god no, do you plan on poisoning the boy?” Aaron joked from across the room. “We all know how bad that soup tastes and it will only make the little one sick. If you're gonna leave food lying around you might as well leave something that tastes better.”

“Hate t' break it t' ya Aaron, but those are th' only things that can be lyin' round that Joey ain't gonna suspect. Th' man is pround o' th' soup and 'as no problem wit' them lyin' all over th' place. Anythin' else be obvious and raise an alarm. Plus thay got a shelf life that won't quit, them damn thin' 'ill last ferever” Norman commented from his chair.

“Beside those canned soups actually taste pretty good!” Leonard beam over at Aaron. The man grumbled and commented about how something must be either wrong with Leonard's taste buds, his brain or both.

The group burst into laughter at Aaron's commentary and everyone agreed that now they needed to find their little lost friend for their Angel's sake. With Tom now in the mix looking for the toon the man was like a determined hunting dog, he doesn't let up till he gets his prize. The atmosphere seemed to lighten with the group and the weight on all of their shoulders and hearts a little lighter. The small Bendy cutout collection in the corner all smiling at the lighter mood the small team had found themselves in.

Sammy entered the music hall after the break prompting the group to break apart and resume their positions back at their instruments, mic and projector. Sammy glanced around and it seemed that everyone's faces were brighter and more focused. With the wave of a hand and baton he stuck up the band and the sound that followed was the sound that he was used to, perfection. Whatever happened through the course of the 15 minute break seemed to be enough to help the band get back on their feet, Allison found her voice and the band was playing like normal.

Once the day wrapped up Sammy laid out the new music for the band to collect and wandered off in search of more cutouts. Once Sammy was out of sight and the band confirmed he was gone they all looked at Allison with determined eyes and all split up to begin their search of a little plushdemon whom had gone missing. The group searched for hours until some got caught by Joey and was urged to go home for the day and come back in the morning. While Joey was fussing at Leonard, Edgar and Earl for once again running around the halls like little hell spawns Giovanni had secured a stash of Bacon Soup cans and with Aaron and Norman's help had slowly started leaving small shelves worth of the stuff in random places. Taking mental note of where they had been placed and hoped to check on them in the morning to narrow down the search.

-------late that night within the studio--------

Joey was more then frustrated and exhausted from the day, but at the least he had little 'loose ends' to wrap up. He found his reining in the nuisance trio from the music department a mere setback, god he wished those three had better things to do then run around the studio like it was a playpen. They were adults for gods sake and Leonard was worst of them being the clear ring leader. That one was just as energetic as the little devil darling himself. That mere thought gave him pause. Leonard was just as energetic as Bendy and knew the cartoons like the back of his hand. The man was a known musician, dancer and overall entertainer hence why he was recommended for hiring. He might be a good candidate to offer to Bendy, after all the two were similar.

'First things first' Joey thought to himself as he cradled the collection of film reels in his arm 'I need to give Bendy a proper education after all'. The man strode down the dark halls of the studio with only a few of the pale yellow emergency lights lighting his way. He went down several halls and entered the elevator descending into the depths of the studio. The elevator's decent was slow and creaky leaving the man to be a bit nervous as to whether or not it would suddenly give out on him, but with it's protesting it arrived at the desired destination. Joey swiftly exited the elevator not wanting to be in the cursed contraption any longer then necessary and vowing to take the stairs upon returning to the top floors.

He strode past the new additions to the studio feeling a sense of pride in knowing how his precious studio was progressing faster then he could ever believe. He had an amusement park being developed within its newer walls, the completion of the Ink machine and the production of the living toons which will soon freely roam the park and be living attractions, something that the competitors couldn't ever dream of having. He and he alone had the ambition to make the impossible possible. He just has a small speed bump to take care of and soon Joey Drew studios will reach new heights that no one else could ever hope to achieve.

Joey adjusted the reels in his arms as he slowly unlocked the vault door pulling it open just enough to squeeze through. He briefly set the reels down and moved the shelving that masked the hidden door to the heart of the Ink machine. Though small curses escaped the man as he moved the heavy shelving. He wished he could have just have Norman pull out the reels and left them sitting out to retrieve later, but then that would let on that something was amiss on these floors and the last thing he wanted was for someone to discover the truths within the walls. Few people were allowed this far down and he wanted to keep it that way while the areas were still in development. However with Bertrum's constant boasting about his park development and the little mechanical toy Bendy he had been developing eating up the finances that should go into finishing the new administrative areas and offices, he had to bite his tongue. That man can boast till the cows come home about his fame and prowess in development and design, but he Joey Drew has a living toon. That little mechanical toy that is supposed to be Bendy can never be him cause he had the real one once he has all that he needs to be perfect. So for now he will let Bertrum have his little fun and as long as his staff assists with completing the park and the lower levels along side GENT, then he will be satisfied with that.

The man traversed the short halls and entered the 'Belly of the Beast' that housed the ink lake. He cursed the fact that a proper bridge or platform had not been made yet to allow access to the heart of the machine without walking away like someone lost a fight with an ink well. Yet another little delay that needed GENT's or Bertrum's team's attention. With caution he slowly waded across with his eyes watching the ink as it seemed to grab at his closing like a lake of cursed souls begging for freedom. He was silently thankful that the natural well for the ink wasn't any deeper lest he fall and drown in the ebony substance.

He finally reached the shore and set the reels down to wipe off the excess ink that stubbornly clung to his clothes. Once he got the majority of the excess ink off he scooped up the reels and with a sing song voice that would scare more sane folk, waltzed into the 'throne room' where Bendy sat limp at the chair and to Joey's relief still bound in chains.

“Oh Beeeeeendy~” Joey hummed out reaching his hand under the toons chin lifting his head to face him. “Look what I got for you.” the man held up a film reel reading 'The Dancing Demon' on it's side.

Bendy was unresponsive and didn't even seem to be looking at the man, Joey ran his fingers down the side of Bendy's face marveling at the feel of the living ink demon and then noted that the toons frown was twitching. Bendy lunged at him bearing teeth that were off-model as he tried to bite his hand, Joey thanking his reflexes at pulling away before the toon could bite down on him. The man took in the toons off model teeth, the base of the teeth were the normal blocky look but the ends of the teeth which should be flat were triangular and sharp. Bendy's pie cut eyes glaring at the man and small growls seemed to be escaping is gritted teeth.

“Oh come now Bendy, temper ,temper.” Joey subconsciously rubbed his hand that barely escaped being bitten. “I brought you a little present and this is how you thank me?”

Bendy didn't say anything except small low warning growls every time the man got near him while Joey seemed to be pulling out boxy looking items around the base of the chair. Joey whistled Bendy's theme song for the show while he worked all the while the toon trying his best to once again free himself, but failing since the only thing he could move was his floating head. His hands occasionally grazed Joeys clothes trying to grab a hold on him while he worked earning a frown from the man.

Joey grew tired of the toons rattling around in the chains while he worked, and drifted over to the pile of clasps that still lay in the corner. He found 2 smaller ones and pulled out the small bottle of acetone he carried and coated the rings in the liquid. He turned around to face Bendy and the toons growls ceased when he saw the look in the mans eyes, cold and void of life. His desire for escape escalated more and more as Joey approached him opening each ring, even restoring to begging for forgiveness and he'll behave if he just let him go. The toons begging fell on deaf ears as Joey grabbed Bendy left hand and with assistance from the acetone drove the ring through the button on his hand and then curled the ring around coming out the adjacent button clamping it around the chains holding his hand in place. The toon screamed in agony and pain at the sudden motion, he sobbed loudly with large inky tears staining his face as he begged for forgiveness and that he was sorry for trying to bite the man let alone trying to grab him. The director didn't seem to care for the toons pleas and repeated the same actions to the toons right hand earning more screams and sobs.

“Now that I have your undivided attention” Joey sneered as he grabbed Bendy's head lifting it up to meet his own. “I want you to watch these films and be a good little boy.” He released Bendy's head and the toon quietly sobbed as Joey resumed working on the projectors. One by one each projector came to life showing off the various shorts of the Bendy cartoon. The little smiling devil was a far cry different from the one whom sat crucified to the throne and was forced to watch. “And look! You won't be in a dark room anymore, so have fun.”

The last thing Bendy heard was Joey's raucous laughter as the man slammed the door behind himself. The toon silently vowing to someday wipe that man's smile off his face, he'll have the final laugh.

Authors Notes:

Poor little Benny has disappeared into the depth of the studio, driven away by the false angel. Tom finally learned the truth of the little toon he thought was dead and the severity of his lack of action, but how was the poor guy to know? It is amazing how lack of communication and trust can create so many problems. Now they have to try and find Benny in hopes that they aren't too late and now it seems that Joey Drew is on the move with poor Bendy as his play thing.

#benny the stitched demon #benny the stitch devil #benny the stitched devil #benny the stitch demon #benny #allison pendle #allison connor #thomas connor #joey drew #bendy the demon #bendy the dancing demon #bendy the devil #bendy the dancing devil #batim stitched au #norman polk #batim ocs #sammy lawrence

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youngjusticeslut · 6 years

Text

and with you I’m whole again

Fandom: Young Justice Links: FF.net // AO3 Characters: Roy Will Harper, Kaldur’ahm Ships: N/A Summary: Will meets Kaldur for the first time since returning from being undercover.For Kaldur’Bomb appreciation month. Rating: T Word Count: 1769 Disclaimer: I don’t own any of these characters.

There were a few things that Will could still pride himself in.

Fatherhood was one of them. From the moment he’d first held her in his shaky arms, he was smitten. The baby wasn’t even a year old and she had him wrapped around every one of her tiny fingers. Will had made many mistakes in his life, but none of them seemed to matter when he was with Lian. So long as she continued to smile up at him, he would be just fine.

Will could still shoot an arrow with pinpoint accuracy. That was something that hadn’t changed, and probably never would. Even when he was in the thick of his depression, he could still count on his marksmanship to take care of a few worthless thugs. On nights Lian fell asleep early, Jade would put her in a carrier and let her sleep as they sparred in a warehouse. His hand-to-hand still needed work, but he couldn’t deny the rush of satisfaction when an arrow just grazed his wife’s head. Even she had looked amused.

There were a couple other things, too. Honesty. A dry sense of humor. The ability to cook. Those came and went, but the one that did always stay was his penchant for timeliness. Until today, that was.

He glanced down at his phone and cursed, checking the time. Lian had started crying just minutes before he was due to leave the apartment. Jade had promised to calm her, but his daughter seemed adamant on wanting him. By the time she’d settled, Will was already ten minutes late to his meeting with Kaldur. While Jade distracted Lian with some well-timed cookies, he snuck out the door and all but ran to the address Kaldur had texted him.

When he was just minutes away, Will slowed. He’d make a terrible impression if he showed up panting within an inch of his life. While Kaldur had spent the past few years training and becoming stronger, Will had done the opposite. As soon as he’d thought it, he wished he hadn’t. Will couldn’t even imagine what Kaldur had been through.

When news of Kaldur’s true plan spread, Will had expected a call. A message. Anything, really. But the Atlantean maintained radio silence from his former friend, and Will didn’t press. He had an inkling of what Kaldur was going through, so he chose to let things happen as they were. They met for the first time at Wally’s funeral. Briefly, but it was enough for Kaldur to extend an invitation. A few days later, and the invitation was cemented in text with a time and an address of a cafe in Star City.

Will smoothed his hair back before he opened the door to the cafe. He didn’t even need to look, he knew Kaldur would be there waiting for him. Brushing past the hostess, Will found him in the back, already holding a mug in his hands.

“Chamomile or Jasmine?” Will asked as he slid into the booth.

Kaldur didn’t startle, instead he raised a brow. “Common decency is to apologize when one is so late.”

“I know,” Will sighed. “I’m sorry. I got a little tied up,” he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck. “I understand.” Kaldur drank from his mug before meeting his friend’s eyes. “Neither, by the way. It is coffee.”

“Coffee?” Will crossed his arms. “I thought you hated the stuff.”

Kaldur shrugged, tugging at the turtleneck he wore to hide his gills. “It was all we had on the submarine.”

If it were any person other than Will, they might have made a face. They might have tried to console Kaldur, or even ask if he wanted to talk about it. But Will knew better. He knew what it was like to make mistakes, to make impossible decisions that would forever haunt him. So instead of doing any of that, he just nodded and grabbed a menu. “I could use a coffee.”

Kaldur didn’t speak again until Will had his coffee in front of him and they’d both ordered some lunch. Tuna melt for Will, turkey on rye for Kaldur. Despite the time that had passed, Will was glad that some things had stayed the same.

“I am sorry.”

Will added sugar to his coffee, debating on whether or not to add creamer. “For?”

“For everything. The deceit. The betrayal. For not helping you find Speedy. Of all people, I should have been by your side. I promised that I would help you, instead I just… I was so focused on myself, and the mission that I… I am sorry, Roy,” Kaldur choked, his voice strained.

The former arched exhaled, stirring his coffee until the sugar dissolved. He’d known the apology was going to come up at some point, and it bothered him that he still hadn’t thought up an appropriate response. A long time ago, Will had blamed him for giving up. Fueled on no sleep and copious amounts of heroin, he’d said some horrible things to him, things he would never be able to take back. And yet here Kaldur was, apologizing to him.

“Kal,” he said, his voice as soft as if he were talking to his daughter. “If there’s anyone you don’t need to apologize to, it’s me.”

“I was not there for you.”

“I didn’t let anyone be there for me. It wasn’t your fault,” Will swore. “There’s nothing to apologize for. Not to me, anyways. Jade… might require a bit more apology,” he admitted, trying to smile. His wife still hadn’t completely forgiven the Atlantean for faking her sister’s death.

Kaldur squeezed his mug. “Not just Jade. I do not think I could ever stop apologizing for what I did in my absence.”

“You and me both, Pal. And by the way, it’s not Roy anymore,” Will admitted. “I am afraid I do not follow.”

“I changed my name. Didn’t feel right anymore, now that Roy is walking around. At least, I assume he’s walking around. The kid has more anger issues than a volcano in Hawaii,” Will muttered into his coffee.

Kaldur allowed himself to smile. “Sounds familiar.”

Will rolled his eyes but smiled. With Kaldur smiling, how could he not? “Yeah, I’ll give you that. Just this once, though, so don’t get used to it, Kal.”

The waiter arrived with their sandwiches. Will started eating before Kaldur, having realized just how hungry he’d gotten. He’d been so busy feeding Lian this morning that he’d forgotten to eat anything himself. Will was so lost in his sandwich that he barely heard Kaldur’s next question. “Sorry?” he mumbled, trying to swallow a mouthful of tuna salad.

“You did not tell me what you go by, now. How am I to address you?”

“Oh. Yeah, that’s probably important.” He swallowed whatever remained in his mouth and then grinned. “Will.”

“Will?”

“Yeah, William is Roy’s middle name. I don’t know, I liked it, and I figured it was a way to keep him a part of who I want to be,” he explained, cheeks tinging pink. “Jade thought it was a good idea.”

“No, I agree,” Kaldur said, plucking a french fry from his plate and swirling it in ketchup. “Will. It suits you.” He popped the fry in his mouth and hummed in satisfaction.

“When’s the last time you’ve had fries?” Will asked, unable to keep the amusement off his face as he watched his friend.

“Far too long. Far, far too long,” Kaldur groaned, years melting off his face from the simple action. Will chuckled but let him eat, both of them enjoying each other’s silent company in the way that always seemed so natural to them. Will had gotten along with Dick and Wally because he could play the older and wiser one, the one they could look up to. But he didn’t have to play anything with Kaldur; with him, he could just be.

“So,” Kaldur began again, dabbing his mouth with a napkin once he’d had his fill. “Is it true?”

Will knew exactly what Kaldur was referring to, and yet he played oblivious anyway. He’d make him work for it a little bit. “Is what true?”

“That you have a daughter.” Will wanted to continue the act, and yet the moment he thought of the baby he left at home, a smile betrayed him. Instead of answering, he dug out his phone from his pocket and pulled up a picture. He’d taken it yesterday, while Lian was playing with her blocks. He handed the phone to Kaldur, resting his chin in his palm. “Lian.”

Kaldur’s face softened. “She looks just like you.”

“You think so? Everyone says she looks like Jade.”

“I can see both of your resemblances in her,” Kaldur mused before handing the phone back. “I cannot believe it. You are a father.”

“I am,” Will grinned. “She changed my life, Kal.”

“So it seems someone finally got through to you,” Kaldur said. “I am happy for you, Will. Lian is a lucky girl.”

“Well, time will tell on that matter,” Will admitted, chuckling nervously. “I’m still not the perfect dad. Pretty sure I’ve given her diaper rash more times than I can count. Jade swore she’d strangle me if I did it again.”

“Nobody is perfect.”

“Yeah. I love her, more than anything. Figured that has to count for something.” Will pushed his plate away and crossed his arms. “You can meet her, if you want.”

“Oh, I do not think-”

Will waved him off. “She’ll love you, Kal. It’s about time she met her Godfather.”

“Godfather?”

“Yeah, who else would I have picked?” Will asked, raising a brow. “Jade wasn’t happy with it, but she picked the Godmother, so.”

“Artemis, I presume.”

“Naturally.”

“Well…” Kaldur hummed. “Artemis and I worked well together before.”

“That’s the spirit,” Will said. His phone vibrated on the table and he glanced at it. “Shit, that’s the time? I really am running behind today. Lian and I have parents’ group today.” “Parents’ group?”

“Yeah, Iris started it,” Will explained. “Just somewhere all the parents with kids can gather to hang out for a little while. Lian loves seeing the other kids, we never miss it.” His face dimmed, realizing how rude he was probably being. “We could miss it this one time, though.”

“Absolutely not. I will now allow it,” Kaldur scoffed. “We shall see each other again soon enough.”

“You promise?” Will asked, already pulling out some cash from his wallet. “You can’t go disappearing on me again, Kaldur.”

“I won’t,” he promised. “I am here to stay.”

#young justice #roy harper #kaldur #kaldur'bomb #young justice fanfiction

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chronicbatfictioner · 6 years

Text

A Real Boy - Chapter 11

Conner was killed two weeks later.

They didn't get to have another meeting by the next week. Tim's dad had demanded that he should come and visit him in Central City. The visit itself was... angering Tim so much. Dad wanted him to move his college transcripts to Central City University. If it was not for his new wife, Dana, who explained that CCU didn't have the studies Tim was taking for his Microbiology degree, he might have had a hard time to tell his dad 'no'. Even with Jason by his side.

The only good thing that came out of the two-day visit was that Dana, dad's new wife, was impressed at Jason and right away demanded that Jason "take care of Tim." She might have thought that Jason was Tim's boyfriend, and neither of them corrected her. Even Tim was slowly realizing that Jason's demeanor toward him - as was his toward Jason - could definitely be seen as a closer relationship than 'buddy'-hood; or housemates.

With the success of determining Szazs' next victim, and consequently preventing a murder from being committed and presenting enough evidence for Bruce's team and the GCPD in arresting Victor Szazs; Tim was given another task by Bruce on Monday. The task was to find evidence that Lex Luthor has created another life effigy. One that is less Clark and more... something else; using the same materials and methods that had created Conner.

On Tuesday, Tim had found the evidence and told Bruce; and then he'd told Conner over a video call. Conner had laughed and told him that it would be funny if he'd have to fight his own face.

Tim was glad he had the video call recorded out of habit.

On Wednesday, Tim found himself running through a pile of debris, courtesy of the fight between Conner and his clone in Metropolis City. Toward Cassie, who was kneeling and cradling Conner in her arms; Bart, barely clinging to life after dragging the clone through the speedforce realm with his cousin, Wally West; Rachel trying to hold Bart's life together; and Conner. Lifeless, bloodied, beaten, and broken.

Tim never wailed. Tears might have streamed freely from his eyes as he slumped right next to Cassie, watching the lifeless body of one of his best friends. Cassie sobbed openly, and Bart and Rachel managed to reach over and held Cassie's shoulder.

But the battle raged on, and there were others who were fighting for their lives around him. The clone that Luthor had made might have been the strongest there was. It had incapacitated Clark, who was secretly flown out to the Wayne Manor. Diana, Donna, Bruce, Dick, and many others were still trying to... well, not get dead, mostly.

He slowly stood up and looked at Wally. "I'm not gonna ask Bart just yet. Wally, can you make an amplifying tornado?" he asked.

"What are you gonna do?" Wally asked back, a little trepidation in his voice. Apparently Wally might have heard some things that Bart had done with said 'amplifying tornado', because he added, "You can't..."

"Just do it, please. Now. Bruce, if you can hear me. Tell every Kryptonian to get out of the range. Make them go to the moon, if necessary." Tim gritted, hoping that his commlinks still worked. "Jason." he called, knowing that he didn't even have to speak his command to Jason.

Jason exhaled slowly. "Wally, just do as he said..." Jason said quietly. "We need this to stop at all cost, before it cost us all."

He could see Wally gulped, but he nodded. "Just tell me when." he said, raising his hand to make the small, targeted tornadoes that would amplify whatever spell Tim would make.

And this one would target Conner's Kryptonian blood that's heavily smeared on Tim's hands. Clark Kent's DNA.

A red-and-blue blur landed behind him. "Hold on a second," a voice said. "I'm getting us out of here. I'm sorry, Cassie..." Kara, Clark's cousin - technically Conner's, too - said, as she wrapped her cape around Conner's body and flew away.

"Cassie," Tim started. Cassie's eyes were red and hard, tears still streaming down from them.

"Do it, Tim. Destroy them." she commanded.

Tim nodded. He could feel the anger building up within him, added with Jason's boost, and building, and building; he barely managed to tell Wally "now," before a burst of energy zapped out of his palm into Wally's tornadoes. His anger twisted every bit of the copies of Conner's DNA out of the clones and they screamed. He could hear them scream in pain and would have prolonged the screams, if only to let them know of the pain Conner had; make Conner's DNA pushed themselves out of the clones through every vein and orifice - if Jason hadn't pushed and boosted his energy more.

They blew up right where they stood, scattered all over their surrounding area and opponents. The world felt quiet for a good second, and Tim didn't even realize that Wally had stopped the tornadoes while his own energy still spritzing out of his fingers. He snapped out of his reverie only when a hand landed on his wrist and Bruce's voice said, "it's enough, Tim..." softly.

He blinked owlishly. He'd thought of targeting the other set of DNA that would have destroyed Lex Luthor as well; and it was only a split-second decision - and the realization that there could also be another human being or some innocent relatives of Lex's who could be destroyed along - that made him decide on Conner's less-common Kryptonian DNA, instead.

"I didn't kill any humans." Tim said, almost defensively.

"No, you didn't." Bruce acknowledged. "Rachel, please help with the clouding; Wally, take Bart out of here; Cassie, if you're up for it, please help Donna and Diana with the cleanup and checkup, see if there is any bystanders were harmed." he commanded, gently, but authoritatively. Everyone around them promptly left, leaving Tim standing there just with Bruce and Jason. "Jason, can you carry us both back home?"

"Approximate home, only, man. Your house is more protected than the Presidential Palace, remember?" Jason replied, one of his arms already wrapped around Tim's shoulder, practically supporting him.

"Front yard would be just divine, lad," Bruce replied.

By the time Tim managed to croak, "Conner..." Jason had already teleported them into the Wayne Manor's front gate. Alfred stood there, right next to a golf cart, as he opened a small door on the massive gate.

"...Conner is being... cared for by Kara, Tim." Bruce said, obviously choosing his words carefully. "I'm... sorry."

"I should've done the spell sooner." Tim concluded. "I'm sorry... I didn't think of it before."

"You do the spell sooner, you'd have decimated Conner as well." Jason reminded.

Tim blinked. "I could have just..." he started, and then drew a blank. There was no other option. To destroy the clones, he'd needed Conner's blood. Conner's DNA. To get Conner's DNA, Conner would have to bleed. And died.

He sobbed, ignoring the fact that they have reached the Manor's front door; or that Clark was limping out of the door with questions in his eyes. Tim just sobbed and wept, leaning heavily on Jason. He didn't care that Jason had lifted him out of the cart and carried him into the Manor like a baby. He didn't care for Clark's questions, or that Bruce had pulled Clark to the side to make way for Jason. He just closed his eyes and wept.

By the afternoon, it was clear that the clones have made a lot more damage than anyone could ever see. Dick reported that two of his teammates were killed, too, Lilith Clay and Don Hall - both were much, much more powerful in their magick than Conner. Lilith was a pure homo-magi and telepath; Don Hall was a mortal granted the powers of Terataya, a cosmic God of Order.

Hank Hall, Don's brother and the opposite of Don as he was granted powers by T'Charr, god of Chaos; was on screen, demanding why the clones were destroyed because he'd wanted to singlehandedly destroy them all. It was anger speaking, Tim could tell, because Hank was looking worse for wear himself - both hands shattered, leg was nearly cut right off, a lot of ribs broken. Plus he wasn't exactly invulnerable, and Conner was.

Or so they all believed.; Tim thought bitterly. But hey, then again, even Clark was looking worse for wear. Tim has gotten away with a few bruises, because Jason had taken the brunt of the magickal attacks. Jason looked peachy, but Tim could tell that his energy was pretty much bruised and battered. He knew, he could feel it. Alfred was busy tending to the lot of people under this roof; and on the other side of the country, at the JL's headquarter - where Hank showed through the videocall he was making to Bruce - there were people tending to each other. Tim could see Zatanna Zatara, the most powerful magi of all time, hunched over a stove; definitely creating massive amount of concoction to heal people.

He looked around, found Cassie and Rachel, Bart, and Wally at one end of the living room. Wally was moving around, helping Alfred. Cassie was glaring angrily at a wall a few feet off the big videocall screen, and Rachel tried to just be there for her, not moving, but not holding her, either. Bart was surprisingly still, and quiet.

Before he could finish the thought of whether or not he should approach them, Bart zipped up to his side and hugged him tight. It took Tim a few heartbeats to realize that Bart was crying, and for him to hug back.

So he did. Cassie eventually got to them and wrapped her arms around the two of them. Rachel approached them timidly, and Tim waved her in. "Just let us cry a while, Rach..." he warned, because Rachel has the ability to 'cleanse' emotions - not just physical pains - and he didn't want that. Not yet. Not now.

Right now, Tim knew that they all needed a good, long cry. For Conner.

#Tim Drake #Jason Todd #JayTim #no-capeAU #Magi!AU #Conner Kent #Clark Kent #Cassie Sandsmark #Bart Allen #Rachel Roth #Dick Grayson #bruce wayne #Kara Zor-El #Wally West #not sorry that adulting happened #just... bah @ adulting

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danceswithseatbelts · 6 years

Text

Handsome Devil

‘Handsome Devil’

Fandom: The Flash

Snowells (Caitlin Snow x Harry Wells)

Rating: mildly mature? Implied shenanigans

Word Count: 3019

Trying to improve public relations for STAR Labs, Team Flash throws a Halloween party. Coerced into attending, Dr. Wells is his usual intractable self and Caitlin is assigned as his keeper. The devil may be in the details but…this devil, as Caitlin discovers, was capable of unraveling her hard-fought peace of mind. There's no better job for a Snow Angel after all…

Set roughly in season 4, pre-wedding - as canon feeling as I could manage. I tried dammit. Ah, the feels Snowells gives me. <3

><><><

Caitlin stifled a sigh and kept her smile in place for Iris, nodding as the other woman read off every item of the Halloween party list they'd both worked on last week. Impressed with the amount finished, but anxious to get back to work, Caitlin had stopped actively listening. She gave an occasional 'hmm' or 'okay' in acknowledgment only to be brought back to earth when Iris became super excited. What the hell had she agreed to?

"I knew you'd be the one to make sure Dr. Wells comes and wears a costume!" Iris clapped her hands and closed her notebook. "I gotta go talk Barry out of us dressing up as Superman and Supergirl."

Despite herself, Caitlin giggled. "His heart is in the right place at least."

Iris rolled her eyes. "We don't need any more reminders we were basically raised as siblings."

"Good luck!" Caitlin waved goodbye to Iris and wished for her own mega-sized portion of luck; getting Harry to attend and wear a costume was going to be an uphill battle. Well, no time like the present to distract and attack. Guilt, would that work on her favourite grumpy scientist? Ah, no matter. If all else failed, she'd go quiet and sad - that ought to bring him 'round to her wishes.

><><><

Knocking softly on Harry's lab door, Caitlin waited almost a full minute before slowly letting herself into his lair. He might be engrossed in an experiment or tweaking a piece of tech, but Cait knew he'd allow her inside. But it was his lair, his lab was his first home - and if he wasn't here, then she'd just hunt him down to his actual set of quarters.

Empty.

No Harry, no machines busy with esoteric tasks, no activity save one Caitlin Snow walking the perimeter, checking for her own interest the last experiment Harry had been enthusing about.

Plan B then, perhaps Harry was already holed up for the night in his set of rooms. Caitlin couldn't stop herself from letting her fingers caress the stack of books to the right of the computer station. The top tome fell and she hurried to pick it off the floor. Always curious, Cait opened it and flipped through. It was one she'd recommended to Harry - not even two days ago. Interesting.

><><><><

This time, surer of finding Harry, Caitlin knocked with confidence, loud and authoritative; as if her alter ego Killer Frost was telling Harry she was there. No meek miss asking for entrance -rather, telling the occupant there was company to be had. The idea had her grinning and as Harry opened the door, it was her grin that Harry reacted to first.

"Good news?"

"Yes?"

"I'm thinking, no." Despite the negative words, Harry's tone wasn't - he was curious about exactly why the woman he'd been thinking about had shown up on his doorstep. Reality gave him a hard slap and Harry sucked air over his teeth. This had to be a trick or something else - something unpleasant. Caitlin was a delight, but the universe wasn't in the habit of giving him presents. "Come in, you're letting the warm air out." He smirked. Of course that was a lie, but it suited his sense of humour.

"Thank you." Ever the polite and attentive guest, Caitlin hurried over the threshold and shut the door. "I hope I haven't interrupted you doing anything important." She let her eyes dance over everything she saw - she'd been wanting to visit his rooms for the longest time, but she'd never had a good excuse. Today though, she had a reason. Caitlin smiled. "I've come to help you!"

Taken aback, Harry almost dropped the book he was holding. Snow couldn't know of his personal plans; the lubricant waiting in his shower, could she? No, of course not, it was just wishful thinking. "With what?"

"As you know, Team Flash agreed to throw a Halloween party for the fine citizens of Central City in the environs of STAR labs." Caitlin could feel her natural enthusiasm rise to the occasion. "It's my pleasure to assist you with deciding on a costume and attending!"

Harry wondered briefly if he'd become senile. Snow was prattling about a Halloween party? "I’m far too old to play dress-up."

"Don't be such a party pooper, mister!"

"It's doctor, Dr. Snow."

Caitlin gave a rueful smile at the snide comment. "Noted." She chewed her lips and tried to jam her hands into non-existent pockets on her skirt. "It would mean a lot to the team if you showed up and joined us."

"I have experiments to plan and more important issues to take care of than helping inspire the plebian public to feel any sort of indebtedness towards even this Earth's STAR labs." Harry winced as Snow blanched. "Not that it isn't a worthy effort…"

"No, I understand." Caitlin looked at her feet and mentally girded her loins. Resolute, she moved further into Harry's room - closer to his rumpled bed. She'd pegged him as a ship-shape type of man. If he wasn't in bed it should have been pristine. Covers smooth and pillows arranged with military precision. What an odd random thought. Back to the matter at hand. "You're afraid."

Incredulous, Harry did drop the book he'd been cradling. "Don't be ridiculous. Me? Afraid? Of what?"

"Having fun, relating to people, not being a grump, and having fun," Caitlin rejoined quickly. "You're especially scared of having fun. You don't have to pay for your mistakes until the end of time - we know you're a solid member of the team. We all want you to be there. You deserve to have fun."

Harry stared at Snow - such a lady, but right now spitting fire and ire as if that would be enough to bow him to her will. "Crowds aren't fun. Costumes and stupid heathenish rites aren't fun. Halloween is a waste of time."

"You're wrong!" Cait actually stomped her foot. "It's a chance to hide your regular self and have fun exploring any avenue of behaviour you want."

"Oh?" The timbre of Harry's voice dropped.

Caitlin felt the hairs on her arms stand to attention; that raspy voice was sinfully sexy. Without considering her words further, Caitlin said, "A costume is both armour against the world and expression of one's deepest self."

"Unless it's one of those sexy, mass-marketed costumes," said Harry drily, "then it's all about making money from a postage sized scrap of fabric. The people who buy those are foolish, deluded souls."

Aghast at Harry's cruel words, Caitlin blinked and stood frozen. A sharp look entered her eyes. "I bet I can prove you wrong." Not letting Harry speak, Caitlin strode over to him and poked him in the chest. "Why don't you wear a sexy costume and I'll wear something that matches you, but innocent. You stay at the party until I give you permission to leave and I'll --"

"Do whatever I demand?"

"Yes!" Caught up in the moment, Caitlin agreed. "Doesn't matter what! Any of your experiments at all! Whatever you want - I will deliver."

"I accept."

"Y-y-you do? I mean, good!"

"Meet me here tomorrow night and we'll discuss your half of our couple's costume." Harry inwardly screamed. Heaven and hell; both god and the devil had to be laughing. Snow was too innocent even with Killer Frost's influence. "Even as excellent an experiment partner as you are, I may not require that as my fee."

Resolute, Caitlin shook her head. "Doesn't matter. I know you won't take advantage, I'm not scared of you."

><><><><

Caitlin nodded dumbly. Harry had just told her his costume and it was indeed sexy. There were few things that revved her engine as much as a man in a fine suit - and to whit, Harry, in an immaculately tailored suit, even garnished with horns, tail and pitch-fork... That was a recipe for a perfect lust storm.

"--You'll be my Snow Angel of course." Taking it for granted, Harry smirked, arms crossed. "Covered from neck to toes, you'll be pure and pristine to match my evil and loathsome attitude."

"Much like beauty is in the eye of the beholder, so must be evil." Caitlin snapped back her rejoinder and stood defiant in front of Harry. "Even angels fall." She flushed but refused to retract any of her words. "Be ready to have fun Friday night dammit!"

Head held high, Caitlin stomped out of Harry's private set of rooms.

><><><

Loud music and a steady stream of guests entering and winding about the decorated rooms of STAR labs had most of Team Flash excited. Cisco's spirits were high and only getting higher while Joe pessimistically lamented the chances of criminal activity only spiking. Iris and Barry held hands and gazes. Wally rolled his eyes. Jesse tugged the neckline of her costume higher - suddenly freezing as the last two members of Team Flash entered the designated main party room of STAR labs.

"Lookin' fine you two!" Iris jumped in excitement. "You do know most people dress opposite to people's expectations?"

Barry snorted and then looked immediately apologetic. "Oh, I bet lots of people who don't know Dr. Wells wouldn't think of him as Satan."

"Yeah," Cisco gave Barry the 'okay' symbol, "only the people who don't know he's a dick might think he's unsuited to be the devil." In response to Caitlin's moue of dismay, Cisco made an overblown bow and took her hand. "You make a lovely angel."

”A snow angel, dolt." Harry took pleasure in being even more blunt than usual. "She's obviously a snow angel. Look at her voluminous and icy white gown, snowflakes on her cape and icicle halo." Tossing his own red satin cape over his shoulder, Harry gazed coolly at his co-workers. "You'll be lucky if tonight doesn't bite you all in the ass."

"Good talk!" shouted Cisco as Harry dragged Caitlin towards one of the refreshment tables. Cisco cupped his hands around his mouth and continued to sass Harry. "Remind me never to use the phrase 'bite me' with you." Cisco exchanged high-fives with the rest of his team. "Stage one, complete."

><><><

"Thank you." Caitlin accepted a cup of mystery punch and tentatively sipped. It was boozy but sweet and therefore pretty good. "This is nice, isn't it?"

Harry scowled. "Has the definition of nice been changed? I hate crowds and I dislike them more when they're drunk and disorderly."

A man wearing a Captain Marvel costume stumbled into Harry and reached out to steady himself on Caitlin's shoulders. "Ooh, an angel!"

Harry gave the man an evil look. "Keep your hands off the snow angel. If you can't handle your drinks, you ought not be drinking." He detached the offending fingers and glared. "Go away."

"Way to keep in character dude!" Drunk Captain America clapped his hands and smiled lopsidedly. "I'd keep my wife safe too - if I had one!" He laughed as if he'd delivered the wittiest joke. "I gotta go find my own Peggy Carter and Bucky." As fast as he'd interrupted, the stranger staggered away, disappearing into the partying crowd.

"My hero."

"Only you, Snow, would ever have the brass tacks to say that like you meant it." Harry looked down and away before draping Caitlin's free hand into the crook of his arm. "I should keep you close. There's a lot more drunk idiots who might accost you."

"I'll allow it." Caitlin looked at Harry from under her lashes. She wanted to say so much more. Something like, 'I'd rather be with you than without.' God have mercy, how strong had the punch been?

"Excellent." Despite himself, Harry's grin was warm; Caitlin had the ability to rev his engines and soothe. "Hungry?"

"Not just yet." Caitlin giggled. "I was thinking about drinking more before dulling any alcoholic haze with food."

"Then let's indulge."

Caitlin shivered. Harry might not have intended to sound like pure carnality - but he had. Indulge? Oh, there were so many things that Caitlin wanted to do and have done to her. Instead of pouring out her dark desires, Caitlin nodded then drained her cup of punch. "Let's get some real drinks."

><><><

Cisco adjusted his turban. "The amazing Carnac votes we go to the karaoke room!"

"Really?" Joe breathed even heavier into his Vader mask. It was hella fun, making his speech into the notable sound of James Earl Jones. "Make it so, number one."

"Wrong!" Iris shook her head. "Dad! You're mixing up Star Wars and Star Trek!"

"Yeah, 'fraid so, Joe!" Barry flipped his Iron Man mask up to look with worry at his foster father - slash - soon-to-be father-in-law. "Can't you keep D.C. and Marvel separate?"

"Tch! Star Trek is Paramount!"

"Then what am I confusing with D.C.?"

Several voices shouted and began arguing with immense fervour.

><><><

Several shots of tequila later, Caitlin smiled at Harry. He'd kept the worst of the drunken revellers from her as well as staying right next to her side. This might be the best day of the year as far as Caitlin was concerned. Nothing else could compare with being escorted by a tall and handsome devil. Caitlin snorted sudden laughter.

"What's got you amused?"

Harry's gravelly tone stoked Caitlin's hormones.

Harry scowled, but his deep blue eyes betrayed his curiosity. "What else do you need?"

"Don't ask something like that if you don't want an honest answer." Caitlin reached up to adjust her icicle halo. "And before you say anything else, I do understand the difference between need and want."

"Of course." Harry masked his sudden confusion by withdrawing the red silk handkerchief from his suit pocket, tucking it back with more care. "I've always been impressed with your intelligence, Snow. You're remarkable."

"Maybe it's the drinks talking, but why don't you call me your Snow Angel?"

Harry wanted to say so much but settled for a quick nod. There were worse things Caitlin could have asked of him. Sidestepping her last question, Harry decided to guide her back to the bar area. "How's about a few more drinks?"

"Such a naughty, handsome devil. Trying to get me drunk and take advantage? I mean, way to get into the festive feel tonight!"

"If only you were my Snow Angel." Harry muttered this louder than he'd intended - making Caitlin clutch his arm and stand still.

"Are you going to give me a Christmas miracle gift on Halloween?"

"We're both a bit drunk. I don't know what you mean." Harry made the mistake of looking into Caitlin's eyes. Warmth rocketed from the pit of his stomach. "What sort of gift were you wanting?"

"Honesty would be a great start."

"Well, I honestly think I've attended this party long enough," Harry smirked. "I know you like to keep a clean slate. You up for your end of our bargain?"

"More than you know." Caitlin raised her chin. "Let's blow this popsicle stand."

><><><

And very much like a Christmas miracle, the crowd had parted for both Harry and Caitlin; the escape to his private set of rooms at Star Labs was quick and uneventful.

Closing the door, Harry dropped his pitchfork and detached the cheap red horns of his costume. "Ahhhh."

"Not to be rude, but I kind of liked the horns." Caitlin removed her halo, holding onto it with twisting hands. "They didn't look wrong."

"Thanks." Harry drew out the 'ess'. "Your halo - I'd imagine a flower crown would be the only thing to suit you more."

Touched by his sincerity, Caitlin blushed. "What's with the compliments?"

"That's actually tied in with our little wager." Harry stalked further inside his rooms, jamming his hands into his pants pockets. "You've agreed to anything I demand - and even dressed as the devil, I can't imagine forcing my true wants."

"Which is why it was so easy to agree to your demands." Caitlin flopped onto Harry's bed in a boneless display. "I know you and you're much kinder and sweeter than you present yourself." She kicked off her shoes and giggled as they made a god-awful racket. "You're not even close to devil-status, Harry."

"I might be afraid to do the thing I want, but it remains the thing I want."

The sincerity in Harry's voice made Caitlin sit still. Her intellect, only slightly slowed and addled by tonight's alcohol made sense of his words. "I freely agreed to your terms."

"That you did." Wonderment glowed in Harry's eyes. "Are you sure?"

"Are you?"

Harry stalked closer, grinning as he pinned Caitlin to the side of his bed. "What I want is your active participation. If you can't join me, then there's no point."

"Didn't I tell you earlier that even angels can fall?" Caitlin licked her lips. "I'm no angel for all that everyone seems to believe that." She kept smiling at Harry. "Why don't you elaborate exactly what you want?"

"Lots of heat, sweat, and passion." Harry swooped in, connecting his lips to Caitlin's - delving his tongue deep, coaxing a moan from his Snow Angel's lips. Harry plunged his fingers into Caitlin's hair, closing his eyes as he deepened his kiss. He slanted his mouth and panted harshly.

Long minutes passed as the couple writhed on the bed. For her part, Caitlin could only react with delight - and Harry poured his considerable ardour into their lip-lock. Harry groaned, lifting his weight from Snow's body. "This is moving rather fast. I, ah, you don't have to stay."

"I know. I want to be here. Now, let's get rid of these clothes." Caitlin slid her hand from Harry's hair onto his chest and deftly popped several buttons of his dress shirt. "They're cramping my style."

"We can't have that."

“Not when we can have the heat, sweat, and passion you mentioned earlier.” Caitlin smiled up at Harry and winked. “Don’t hold back.” She ripped Harry’s shirt open the rest of the way. “This Snow Angel is very inspired by her personal handsome devil.”

#danceswithseatbelts #snowells #fanfic #the flash #Caitlin Snow x Harry Wells #my new fav OTP #snow x wells #one-shot #handsome devil

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