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split-n-splice · 5 years

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Oh hey! Cover image comes from a scene in this chapter. ;P Also I may have exaggerated about the dialogue. Hang in there? What can I say. :T I'm sharing this now while I’m still OK with it.

[Chapter Guide]

3. Hospitality – 2

Shego’s breath caught in her throat and her jaw went slack. Her hands trembled to her midriff as she finally faced the ugly bruise spread across her belly for the first time.

Her fingers feathered over her stomach to test just how sore it was, and suddenly she was a hundred times more tender than she had been moments ago. These days, she was accustomed to being sore and persevering through it, and until now she hadn’t acknowledged how bad her injury really was.

She’d seen such marks before and recognized the webby tendrils radiating out from the blotch splashed over her midsection, discoloring her skin to grisly shades across the spectrum, and she wondered with a cold wave of panic if she had more serious injuries like internal bleeding to worry about.

She was hardened to her own fire these days and she could take a hit – but being superhuman didn’t mean she was impervious to the deadly force.

She’d given herself this bruise.

Through her brother’s thick head, she’d managed to bruise herself with her own energy blast.

Extensively.

Her eyes stung suddenly. Frowning and fighting back tears, she squirmed and tripped out of her boots and pants and undergarments, barely holding back a torrent until she was sitting in the shower where she couldn’t distinguish if the hot liquid running down her face came from her or the showerhead.

Hot water wasn’t soothing for once, and it did nothing to ease her aches and pains today.

If she’d done this to herself…then what it did to Hugo’s brain was something too horrible to imagine. Her own brother – and she’d bet her life that she’d killed him by accident. What were his chances of surviving that? He was thick-skulled, sure, but could he withstand a blow like that? He wasn’t under any medication though to keep his superhuman qualities suppressed, so maybe – no. She’d be a sucker to get optimistic now.

As Shego miserably coerced herself into washing up as intended before the water could run cold, she reflected on her brothers left without her for the umpteenth time since running away – but now she considered the likelihood of being down a brother. Milo, in charge of the twins? That was a disaster waiting to happen. That boy would have to grow up fast, just like she’d had to. It wasn’t fair, but that was life.

She almost considered going home – but no, there was bad blood now. After what she’d done, how could they ever trust her again? She was no one’s hero anymore. Community service wouldn’t fix this.

Returning now would be to give herself up anyway, and that rotten Global Justice overseeing Team Go might never let her see the light of day again for taking down a star pupil – and that was if the government didn’t get a hold of her first to ship her to some obscure laboratory somewhere to figure out how to harness her glow to weaponize it or something. Laying low and staying here as a fugitive, she decided, may be her best bet if she wanted to keep her freedom. Not that it felt like she had much at the moment.

At some point while toweling off, Shego managed to battle her persistent sniffles into submission. Her chest ached, but she felt better otherwise. Clean, at least. It was shameful to think about, but crying herself out until the water ran icy had been relieving somehow, she acknowledged bitterly.

Out of sight, out of mind, she was glad when she could finally dress and hide the ugly blemish on her stomach. A baggy green pullover kept the pressure off. Equally baggy black sweatpants replaced the rest of her uniform, save for her sole pair of boots.

With the sore reminder hidden away, she felt ready to go on pretending she was fine, and moseyed back into the lab once she was sure her eyes weren’t so red as to betray her.

Dr. Drakken was still at his supercomputer, but he’d pulled up a seat now as he busied himself with salvaging whatever data he was after from the stolen hard drive.

Shego drifted closer until she was standing beside him, watching him read in between rapidly swapping windows, typing, pounding buttons, and shuffling around digital material. She couldn’t make heads or tails of any of it. It was pure gibberish to her. A Rosetta stone couldn’t help decipher the pages of coding written in what might as well have been a lost language. It was understandable he was glaring at it.

“I’m bored,” she announced, seeking distraction once more. She grimaced and rubbed her throat, not liking the sound of her own voice yet.

The man was too distracted himself to respond right away. Just as she began to suspect she’d been tuned out, he grunted. “Not my problem. Go paint your nails or something.”

Nail polish hadn’t been on her list of go-bag essentials, so that wasn’t an option.

Shego turned her focus down to the man’s unwavering deadpan for a minute, and tried not to smirk when he finally flicked an unnerved glance back at her as she moved to stand behind him, folding her arms on the back of his creaky desk chair.

He made another irritated noise as she plopped a hand onto his greasy hair and gave it a ruffle, and he ducked a little as if her hand weighed a ton. He was otherwise unmoved. If he thought he could ignore her, he had another thing coming.

For the moment, Shego willfully forgot he was a felon and boldly wove her fingers in and out of the shaggy mop he denied was a mullet, again working braids into it to alleviate her boredom. This time she got some satisfaction out of it, now that he was awake to grudgingly bear it.

He tried leaning forward out of her reach, but she only stooped over the back of his chair and gave him a yank that could be passed as an accident.

Dr. Drakken figured out soon enough that pretending the problem wasn’t there didn’t make it go away.

Finally he’d had enough of it and swatted her away as if she were a fly. “Mess up your own,” he hissed. “You have plenty of it.”

“It’s still damp,” she declared dismally, as if it would explain everything. Making her point, she picked up a soggy handful and gave it a flick, splattering droplets on his glasses when he made the mistake of turning to glare back at her.

“I’m working here,” grouched Dr. Drakken. “Go find something else to do.”

Shego settled for folding her arms on the back of the chair again, willingly abandoning the braiding endeavor. “You did say I can’t play with the henchmen,” she reminded.

The man grumbled something indiscernible as he wiped his glasses clean. “If I amend the rules, will you go away?”

“Maybe,” said Shego dryly.

She leaned further forward with a dreary hum, resting her chin on her folded arms as she stared over the top of his head at the giant monitor. It was still a bunch of nerd nonsense to her, but she gathered he must have located what he was after in the time it had taken her to shower, and was backing it up now.

“Is there a TV around here?” she wondered.

Dr. Drakken rubbed his eyes and sat back while the lagging computer processed his commands. In wordless reply, he heaved a heavy sigh and pointed. To the left of his desk, opposite from the corridor that lead to Shego’s room, was a simple nondescript door camouflaged against the brown stone wall.

She took the cue as permission to go see for herself, and so she finally let him be in favor of exploring a bit.

Shego prepared herself again to walk into a trap. This was a crook’s lair after all, and like it or not she was hardwired from experience not to invest much trust in his kind. She was content that there were no dirty surprises waiting for her here either though, and she relaxed just a little more.

If it weren’t for the polished stone floor and carved earthen walls with metal supports holding up the ceiling, this next hollow could have passed as an ordinary apartment. No amount of décor could detract from the fact it was a cave though, even if it appeared the man at least tried to give it a homey touch.

There were bookshelves and a few house plants, and a lamp on an end table beside a recliner. A brown corduroy couch sat before a mahogany coffee table, facing a big flat screen television ahead of its time. The entertainment center wasn’t complete without a stereo system and collection of media in the form of VHS tapes, vinyl, 8-tracks, and cassettes.

On the other end of the room was the kitchen with too much counter space and bar stools stationed around an island. Cookware hung from the back wall, but a layer of dust indicated it had been some time since more than a favorite frying pan had been used. Unless Dr. Drakken had a roommate, the dirty dishes in the sink had been sitting for maybe a week or more, a dehydrated sponge being the incriminating evidence. She sure as hell wasn’t about to roll up her sleeves and wash them, as was once her duty back home.

She scrutinized a basket of fruit on the counter, realizing she was pretty hungry, but decided not to risk it even if the apples and oranges still looked pretty good.

Shego returned to the living room, giving the couch a suspicious once over before sinking into it and sighing in relief to find it was heavenly soft. It was a pleasant surprise it didn’t smell musty at all like she might expect, and a throw pillow tempted her to lay her head down, but she resisted.

After a minute of slouching with her head thrown back, she roused herself to sit upright and pluck the remote from the coffee table. A force of habit, she whacked it on the heel of her hand for good measure before trying the buttons.

Shego spent the next half hour or so channel surfing with sinking hope, searching for news broadcasts that mentioned anything about Go City. Heck, even the east coast in general would have been comforting, but there was really nothing on this time of night. She found a weather station giving a brief update for the early-early birds, but all she could gain from that was the understanding that they were hidden away somewhere in a state shaped like a damn tortilla chip – Nevada – but northern or southern or east or west, she didn’t know.

Pang of longing twanged in her chest upon realizing just how far from home she was.

She almost left the television playing reruns of Scamper and Bitey to give herself some familiarity she hoped would soothe her, but it only served to remind her of her baby brothers, so she switched it back to paid advertisement for some once-size-fits-all diet plan that guaranteed results.

Hunger lured her back to Dr. Drakken’s desolate kitchen. She found the cabinets contained just about nothing but Vienna sausages and an absurd quantity of pickles that made her chuckle incredulously and shake her head. While the freezer was full of TV dinners and other microwavable quick fixes, the fridge held eggs and expired milk, as well as a few beakers containing colorful frothy fluids she wasn’t about to touch.

“Dude really knows how stock the place,” she grumbled to herself, letting the fridge door slam, beakers rattling inside. She eyeballed the bowl of fruit again, but again passed it up, because another door hidden in a dark crevice drew her eye.

Shego wound up sneaking out of the scientist’s personal living quarters a minute later, her cheeks flushed with a newfound unease.

A natural spring running like a brook through his room had been interesting, but it had paled in comparison to the crown jewel of the room, standing like a big square ruby. She couldn’t very well look his way now after finding a big king-sized, decked out with red satin that had made her backpedal so fast she’d slammed the bedroom door. She really wanted to believe he just liked sleeping like a starfish in luxury.

Despite her disquiet, she hazarded a glance his way, only to catch herself watching him work. He was oblivious to her perturbed stare as she wondered silently how many young women he suckered into this place. She wondered how many left.

She had a moment of doubt what she was here for.

Shego shook her head, reassuring herself that he’d yet to prove himself to be such a slimy guy. Testy and pushy, maybe – but sleazy, no. Not to mention, the rest of his digs wasn’t exactly a chick magnet, and she was sure there were brothels in Nevada if he needed a fix that desperately.

She relaxed a little. Even now, the man was all business, too absorbed in reviewing endless coding gibberish to notice her. She managed to convince herself she had nothing to worry about. If the nerd had the balls to turn on her, she wouldn’t be bashful to let him know he’d chosen the wrong gal to screw with.

It made her feel just a little better that Dr. Drakken was in his own little world at present, failing to acknowledge her even as she walked her fingers along the back of his chair as passed by behind him.

Content to be ignored for a change, she kept her unnerved curiosities to herself and left it at that.

Shego wandered back to the hall to find her bedroom. She rifled through her belongings, hoping in vain that she still had a pack of crackers left in the bottom of her bag, but no leftover car snacks were found.

She flopped down on the secondhand mattress with a huff to frown at the fanged ceiling, left to wonder when she’d be given something to do. He’d said he wanted a thief, didn’t he? So why wasn’t she out looting? This was downtime, she supposed, but that didn’t make her any less restless.

Antsy was an understatement.

Left to her own devices to occupy herself, she wasted little time before she began peeking into the other rooms.

Although it could be assumed they were off limits, Dr. Drakken hadn’t explicitly told her to stay out of them. Only to stay on this level. Besides the bathroom and her room, she found a couple cluttered storage rooms with shelves piled high from floor to ceiling and mountains of junk stacked on the floor. It was so packed full of boxes and scrap metal, papers and rolled-up plans in disarray, that she didn’t dare to step foot inside in fear of a junk avalanche. She had a hunch much of it had been simply thrown inside from the room now allocated to her.

She discovered the only other door in the corridor, a simple archway located at the very end, lead directly down a crude flight of stairs. The other floors Dr. Drakken had warned her to stay off tempted her, the echo acting as a siren’s song reeling her in. After a moment of hesitation and a cagey glance over her shoulder toward the lab, she descended.

As she wandered down the eerie staircase lit by more sconces, she wondered inwardly if the architect had put any thought into the floor plans or if he’d just utilized caverns and crevices as he found them. She supposed probably the latter.

The steps were carved into the stone, sloping through a winding fissure, and after some ways she came around a bend that opened up to a spacious office with walls lined in hefty tomes, shelves of dusty literature from floor to ceiling. A crescent Hench Co. brand office desk and matching chair sat at one end with some filing cabinets behind it, and at the other, tucked into a niche, was an unmanned surveillance system. Between them, a well-fed fireplace blazed to keep the chill off despite the fact it was still summer. The main door was just an arch carved into the stone, leading out to a dark empty corridor.

While exploring deeper was tempting, the CCTV grasped her attention instead. She zeroed in on the array of monitors, squinting up at grainy black and white feedback.

After a moment of scanning them, Shego was content to find that no security cameras overlooked private areas like bathrooms or bedrooms.

There were some henchmen about in a cafeteria, some starting their day early and others ending it. A couple were busy spit-polishing boots and hefty batons. One brute jabbed another in jest in much the same way one might snap a twisted towel in a locker room, and it became clear the sticks were more like cattle prods than something a majorette would twirl. Shego made a mental note to be wary of them.

In another grainy image, she found herself, and she almost looked back to search for the camera behind her like a kid in a grocery store.

Finally, the lowest screens were filled with feed from a handful of outdoor cameras watching the perimeter, and in one in particular, she could make out scarce white dots of a town just beyond the fence and spindly pine. It was still dark out.

She reckoned the burrow lair had been built into a hillside. If she had to, she’d guess Dr. Drakken’s first conquest would be the town it overlooked. In her short career as a hero, she’d seen the scenario play out about several times before, in Go City and in neighboring metropolises. It never worked. The longest she’d seen a city in lockdown under a madman’s rule was one week, tops.

There wasn’t much going on at this hour, vacant corridors and rooms bearing little interest, so Shego drifted away from the CCTV system. Wandering deeper into the lair was still alluring – if only for the sake of doing something she was told not to – but as she passed Dr. Drakken’s desk on her way, the stack of mail persuaded her to swing around and plop into his chair instead.

At least when it came to his creature comforts, he wasn’t so stingy. It still didn’t make up for the risky construction that could come caving in at the slightest tremor though.

Shego eyeballed the accumulation of mail and newspapers, and bit her lip as she wrangled with her self-restraint, but then she decided that an address could give her an idea where she was, so it was worth snooping a little.

The mail was originally delivered to a P.O. box. She’d expected that much. It was a shot in the dark, but she’d still held out the hope she might recognize a name. She didn’t of course. Nevada was a big state, and Las Vegas and Reno were the only places to come to mind anyway.

With a puff, she tossed the stack of bills unceremoniously back on the desk.

She almost got up and left, but something else caught her eye and made her stomach lurch. She deliberately locked her gaze on the other end of the desk, staring intently away from the newspapers screaming for her attention.

Biting down hard on her lip, Shego wove her fingers in her lap and squeezed her eyes shut tight, giving herself a stern talking-to that didn’t help settle her heart or the queasy tumult in her belly. Glimpsing Go City on the headline of a newspaper clear across the continent didn’t bode well. Her brother was dead and gone. She was ready to accept that as a fact. At least she tried to tell herself so.

She felt her chest tighten as a pesky sob tried to bubble up – dammit, she thought she was done with that – and she gulped it back and drew a deep breath.

Shego kept her eyes lowered as she reached across the desk for the unread newspaper. She looked anywhere but at the damn paper as she unfolded it, keeping her eyes on the ceiling, the fireplace, the staircase, herself on the CCVT feed across the room.

She was trembling.

She needed to know.

Her eyes darted down almost involuntarily – she caught the word stable – but she didn’t dare give herself false hope.

Breathing deep and bracing herself, she finally let her eyes focus down on the paper laid out on the desk, because she couldn’t risk holding onto it anymore without incinerating it. She still felt sick, but she was glad she found the guts to face facts.

Go City Hero Bounces Back, read yesterday’s headline of a national newspaper.

As big as the words were, it instantly became a blur as Shego set eyes on the photo featured across the front page. Although Hego was in a wheelchair, and despite an ugly welt and half his face being engulfed in bruising peeking out from his bandages, the knucklehead was grinning. Dressed in matching red harlequin uniforms, the Wego twins sat in his lap wearing weak smiles for the camera. Mego was left to push the chair, looking extra unhappy.

Shego didn’t have to read the article. She didn’t need to know anymore about the status of his recovery or what therapy he’d be undergoing. She didn’t have to read her brother’s quote pleading the public to keep their eyes peeled for the missing member of Team Go to help bring her home, or that there was an investigation underway to find the suspicious man she was last seen with, or about the search parties that were sure to be sweeping the tri-state area for the body of a young woman they’d never find.

The headline alone had told her all she needed to know.

She didn’t look at the photo of her family for more than a moment before skewing her eyes shut again, as if that would be enough to stop the tears from welling up. She couldn’t stand to see her brother looking the way he did, knowing she’d done it to him, and she hated herself that it even bothered her. How was she supposed to be expected to become a hardened criminal accomplice if she couldn’t handle a little backstabbing? He’d lived. It could have been worse. He’d deserved it anyway, hadn’t he?

She couldn’t stand another minute of feeling as if her brothers were looking up at her in betrayal from the photograph, and with a sound of footsteps coming to her attention, she folded the tear-blotched newspaper in a hurry and rubbed her eyes on her sleeve.

If she’d hoped to sneak back to her room before she was caught, she was sorely disappointed, because it happened the footsteps belonged to none other than Dr. Drakken.

And he was already halfway across the office, wearing a deep displeased frown as he caught her behind his desk. “What did I say about—oh no,” he groaned, pausing before he reached his desk. His face twisted into a grimace. “If you’re going to be having issues, take them to your room.”

“Thanks for the support,” Shego tartly grumbled past her sleeves as she patted her damp cheeks dry. Her throat was too tight to say more.

He snorted as if in disgust, but it faded to a look of akin to concern as she sulked by. “Alright, I give,” he huffed impatiently to her back. “What, pray tell, is the matter with you now?”

“Nothing.”

“What?” Dr. Drakken squawked as he followed her to the stairs, miffed and baffled. “But you were just—”

He needed to keep his stupid nose out of her personal issues before she broke it. “It doesn’t matter,” she explained, and hurried up to put distance between them. The man on her heels might have seen her at her rock-bottom lowest in the past, that didn’t mean she wanted him catching her with bloodshot eyes now.

“Women,” he scoffed in flippantly under his breath, just a few steps behind her. “One of life’s great mysteries.” He didn’t back off.

Emerging into the corridor at the top, Shego spun around to face him as she shuffled backwards. She’d had a moment to ease the tightness in her throat and will away the tears, and was keen to change the subject before he could push it. “So anyway, Doc,” she said, voice still hoarse, “anywhere I can get some grub around here?”

Dr. Drakken tripped on the top step and fixed her in an incredulous stare. His mouth opened and closed, and it looked like he was about to ignore her inquiry in favor of demanding answers to his, but he wisely gave up. “Well, usually…” he mumbled, and scratched his neck with a frown casting over his mug as he glanced back down the stairwell. He hummed uneasily to himself.

Shego surmised he was accustomed to passing off new recruits to the senior henchmen in the lower levels, letting them show newcomers the ropes. But after her wily behavior in the car with his crew, she’d blown her chances of associating with them anytime soon. Given the dubious criminal records of henchmen in general, she didn’t question the decision to keep her separate as precaution. He could have given accommodating her a little more thought, but then again, this had all been rather sudden.

“You’re hungry,” he said bluntly, requesting clarification but sounding more like he was speaking to a new unexpected pet he was realizing he was wholly unprepared for. He looked back down the stairwell, mumbled, “mess hall,” to himself and shook his head. “I have some—,” he began, but Shego was quick to interrupt.

She’d seen his pantry, and she wasn’t interested.

“Can I borrow the car?” she brazenly asked, failing to sugarcoat it. “Is there a 24-Seven around here? I could really go for something icy.”

Dr. Drakken surveyed her through narrowed eyes. “Yes to the convenience store, no to borrowing my wheels,” he said, and strutted ahead with hands clasped behind his back as if he was ready to go back to ignoring her.

“Come on,” she whined, following close behind.

“What collateral do I have? If I hand you my keys, there’s no guarantee you’ll come back,” he reasoned. “If you leave, that’s your choice, but I would like to not lose my car in the process.”

“Dude, if I wanted to steal it, I wouldn’t be asking permission,” she scoffed.

“You can go. You just aren’t going alone.”

Shego frowned at him for giving her a runaround as she followed him to the exit, the suspicion rising that he intended go with her himself rather than send a henchman to babysit her. Which she couldn’t really complain about.

Letting him lead, she was quiet all the way back to the oversized garage before she finally piped up. “You know, you’re going to have to actually trust me eventually.”

Dr. Drakken didn’t spare her a glance, but he barked a single incredulous laugh that echoed throughout the warehouse and made her jump. “You turned your back on countless people who believed you to be a hero, including your own family.” Rubbing salt in her wounds was indeed evil, but Dr. Drakken ignored her glare boring into him and he shook his head. “Whatever you did to earn that trust, I’m afraid you may have to work harder to earn mine.”

He patted down the pockets of his trousers then, finding his keys, and held them out toward Shego. She took the set with a look of suspicion replacing her scowl. She racked her brains to figure out what trickery Dr. Drakken was up to as he took the passenger seat and she climbed in behind the wheel.

“Um…I don’t know this town,” she noted as the oversized garage door groaned open at the press of a button on some remote Dr. Drakken tossed back under the seat. “So you’ll have to point for me.”

With an arrogant snort, Dr. Drakken crossed his legs and folded his arms behind his head. “No, thank you,” he said airily, and a wicked grin cracked across his face for a moment. “I think I’ll watch you figure it out yourself.”

Shego glared incredulously at him for a second, but groaned and rolled her eyes and didn’t argue. She could threaten him into compliance, but using her glow on another person right now was the last thing she wanted to do.

A henchman patrolling the perimeter met them at the main gates to open up. He must not have met her yet, because he greeted her with alarmed gawp and reached for a radio on his belt. But then Dr. Drakken leaned over and waved, and the bumbling goon proceeded to roll open the chain-link gate in haste.

Shego had to follow her intuition to decide which direction to go when she reached the road, and she was pleased with herself when she discovered she’d made an acceptable choice. Nonetheless, Dr. Drakken judged her wordlessly in the dark, his only cues being quiet hums and grunts. They rolled into town within minutes, and although Shego asked him twice and even shoved him in an attempt to bully directions out of him, he only chuckled and told her, “You’re on your own, kid.”

He was of absolutely no help, and let her drive around the sleeping town for a good ten or twenty minutes with heat rising in her face. Locating a damn 24-Seven convenience store wasn’t the most difficult task Shego had ever accomplished. It was just among one of the most recently trivially frustrating things.

She’d almost left the store without paying, but Dr. Drakken snatched her by the arm to drag her back to the register. The clerk gave the strange duo, the blue man in particular, a funny look when he rang them up, and Shego elbowed her escort to remind him that she’d paid for the last tank of gas, so he owed her. He narrowed his eyes at her, but returned the favor nonetheless.

As they left, he explained it was better not to cause a stir in one’s town of residence, particularly important when it was such a small town where everyone supposedly knew everyone.

Dr. Drakken provided directions back to the lair, but Shego took them with a grain of salt, taking an “accidental” detour and passing his driveway. She found the shoulder room to pull over, and cut the engine. She wasn’t ready to trap herself back in that stuffy burrow he called a lair just yet.

“What are you doing now?” Dr. Drakken griped as she unbuckled.

Shego ignored him, pushing open the sunroof and climbing out, taking her frozen drink and sub sandwich with her. He scowled up at her perching above him, but seemingly accepted where she’d chosen to have her meal. He didn’t drag her back down by an ankle, anyway. The whole trip, he’d been fairly consistent in his objections to eating in the car, so he broke into his own plastic-wrapped turkey sub with great reluctance.

Sipping a cold fruity drink that reminded her of home, Shego shut her eyes and imagined the briny sea breeze was blowing instead of an arid Nevada wind. Without the distant sound of waves and gulls and boats and the ever-present white-noise of metropolitan traffic, she had a hard time picturing it.

She nibbled her food and pretended she was only looking out at Go City from a different angle than she was used to, but it simply wasn’t vast enough. The sleepy town below her was nothing but a puddle of light. She quickly became disappointed because she couldn’t find any substitutes for the landmarks, and the newly-constructed Go Tower was nowhere to be seen either of course.

For a moment, it stung deep inside to accept that this wasn’t Go City. She couldn’t just walk into town and let homing instinct kick in to guide her home and back to her own room, her own bed, where she would wake up in the morning to her father telling her to drive the twins to school. She wouldn’t see her big brother’s smiling face tomorrow, wouldn’t be forced to put up with her pompous little brother’s attitude, or her baby brothers’ need for a substantial parental figure.

Her breath hitched as grief tried to catch up to her and drown her again.

A voice below her cut through the thoughts of her brothers in the next moment.

“Shego?” Dr. Drakken called up tentatively, but she had a hard time tearing her eyes off the pathetic puddle of glitter to look down at him. “Is there something you need to get off your chest?”

She swallowed thickly. “You’re not my psychiatrist,” she retorted, and took a long sip of her melting drink, but it did nothing to ease the choking sensation. She shook her head anyway and huffed, “Nah.”

“Well, something is the matter,” he acknowledged sourly below her. “I need you in working order. So if there’s anything you need to tell me, then spill it already.”

But Shego was silent. Even if she wasn’t too guarded to open up just like that, she didn’t know how to begin. As she chewed it over between bites of her sandwich, she could feel him watching her in the dark with a withering glare for the longest time.

After another moment, Dr. Drakken spoke again. “Maybe you can answer questions better,” he grumbled. “This whole thing – you taking me up on my offer and coming with me, I mean – it wasn’t just done for no good reason. So what really made you decide to come with me? And – and why were you handcuffed? What mess did you get yourself into—?” He shut his trap as she tensed under his pressing questions, and silenced himself with a dry mouthful of turkey sub.

“I’d rather not say,” Shego muttered eventually from above. “It’s personal.” A lump in her throat still threatened to choke her and her eyes still stung.

Dr. Drakken washed down the bite with his coke. “I can understand that,” he said reluctantly with a slow nod. “I just hope it doesn’t follow you here.”

It was bound to, sooner or later, but she wasn’t ready to warn him about it.

He grunted a warning for her to watch out as he stood up then, shoving her knees aside to make her move so he could awkwardly squeeze out to join her. He took a spot on the edge of the sunroof across from her to analyze her, his eyes skewed against the dark.

Then he turned his frown to the puddle of town glitter and blew a pathetic raspberry. “I really did try to honor your wishes in Go City by not prying into your personal life, but I need to know, for peace of mind, why you ran away,” he explained, but she was silent, denying him answers. “More importantly, if you regret it.”

The bruising on her wrists told her no. The ache in her heart and the bruising on her stomach however screamed yes.

She was slow to reply, but before she did, she reached across the distance. He jerked back, but not quick enough to dodge her fingers hooking into his hair. She grimaced as she pictured where she had struck her brother. It took her a moment to realize he had her fixed in a perturbed stare, and she withdrew her curious hand and sheepishly averted her eyes.

It was stupid, but somehow it eased the ache in her chest a little to be reassured that she could still touch somebody without accidentally killing them with a plasma blast. Any normal human would have been toast after what she’d done.

The lump in her throat made it impossible to sound fine. She hung her head and shook it. “I did something really bad that I didn’t mean to,” she muttered under her breath. It felt like a big secret leaving her lips, but it was probably plastered all over the news back home. “It just shook me up is all. But – y’know – he deserved it.”

Her lips zipped shut before anything else could slip out. Her melting slushy did little to cool her down.

Dr. Drakken didn’t need the play by play or every reason why. He didn’t need to know about overeager Hugo jumping the gun and signing her up for the whole ordeal in his excitement to form a superhero team, or about the months she’d spent as GJ’s little lab rat being stuck with needles and trained before being thrown to the wolves at the tender age of fifteen. She didn’t need to lament on how the whole hero scene was a thankless job and a load of bullshit. He didn’t need to hear about her withdrawals, and he certainly didn’t need to see her shaking and holding herself together now.

He only needed to know she most definitely wasn’t having second thoughts.

After a moment, she sensed a smirk had come over Dr. Drakken, and shot a glare up at him. “Something bad, hmm?” he crooned, as though genuinely interested, and then jokingly asked, “What was it? Did you kill someone?” His chuckles faded fast when he picked up on her guilty silence. If the quip was meant to cheer her up, it backfired.

“Dr. Drakken, if you just let me take my secrets to my grave, I’ll do anything you ask,” she practically begged.

The man sipped his coke and sized her up before cocking his head at her, a wry smirk back on his face. “Really? Anything, you say?” he teased, making another attempt to lighten the mood. She could sure use some cheering up, but he didn’t seem to know how to do it. She wasn’t even sure how he could do it. But one thing was for sure – using that tone of voice wasn’t it.

Shego realized quickly what the bargain could entail, but was comforted with the knowledge that she always had the willpower to deny the most ridiculous requests. She hadn’t yet signed any binding contracts, and even if she had, she’d break it. “Almost anything.”

“How do you feel about stealing a radioactive power cell from a military base?” Dr. Drakken wondered, grinning.

It threw her for a loop, and she stared at him in a stupor for a long moment before an incredulous smirk found its way onto her face. Maybe he did know how to cheer her up. It was a far better absurd request than she could have hoped for anyway. “This military base wouldn’t be Area 51, would it?” she wondered with a small laugh.

Dr. Drakken leaned back on a hand, smirking as he raised his bottle of coke to take another swig. He shrugged nonchalantly, as if such an undertaking was no big deal. He was undoubtedly insane if he thought so. “Possibly.”

Shaking her head, the ex-hero couldn’t help laughing quietly to herself. Was this man really that nuts? He had some big dreams, alright. “Sounds fun,” Shego said amicably. She wasn’t sure if she was joking. She’d need more details.

“You’re up to it?” He almost sounded surprised, but maybe he was more delighted by her consideration than anything.

“Possibly,” she threw back at him.

He blinked away the shock. “Oh. Alright. Uhh…” He sat forward again, rubbing his neck, and laughed feebly before his smile fell. “It’s not Area 51, but I’ve lost a couple of men to it,” he clarified apathetically. “They couldn’t fit through ventilation ducts. But I imagine there are certain things a woman with magic hands could do that the average henchman can’t. I could stand a chance with you.”

“You sure you can keep up with me?” she jeered with a wry smile. “Because if you think I’m putting my life on the line alone, you have another thing coming.”

Dr. Drakken threw her a dirty look, but rolled his eyes and scoffed. “I think you and I are going to get along splendid.”

“Good,” said Shego, swinging her legs and taking a stab at her frozen drink. “I was beginning to think you couldn’t handle a teenager.”

“Yes, well, you won’t be one for much longer,” he dismissed, flapping a hand. “At least you’re not jailbait.”

In an impish effort to put him back in his place before he got too high on his horse, she kicked his shin, not enough to hurt, but enough he shot her a glare. “Hey, Dr. D?” she called over between sips of her icy drink. “Thanks for taking a chance on me.”

“Likewise,” he replied, and moved his legs safely out of the way of another swing. “Now about that power cell. I’d like to have it by Thursday.”

A/N:

I just wanna mention that "I would like to not lose my car in the process" bit absolutely alludes to something that happens later. aaahahaha

#screams into oblivion.#The Company You Keep fic

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purplesurveys · 5 years

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446

Do you like shopping alone? I don’t like shopping at all unless I’m with someone who can judge if something looks good on me. I don’t really trust myself. Does your best girlfriend have any talents that you don't? Sure. Gabie is so good at Photoshop and making videos; Angela’s really good at drawing. Have you ever written a song? No. Does anybody send you money in the mail for your birthday? We don’t do ~mail, and no not really. Do you own any shirts that have a year on it? Yeah, old high school shirts that have Batch 20XX on them.

What do you think about mullets? I dunno, I just learned all about them from Hannah Montana lmaoooo. Would you rather date an actor or an athlete? Athlete. I feel like that’d be cooler to watch. Who is your shortest friend? Oh I’m not sure. It’s probably Jane. Do you have any scratches on your cell phone? Yes, bottom right part of the screen from the one time it hit the floor particularly hard. What grade would you never want to repeat? YEAR I. Had no friends, was lonely, and was failing algebra every quarter. When was the last time you blushed? Probably yesterday while with Gab. Who is one person you met and automatically didn’t like? This girl named Marielle from Gabie’s school, but it’s only because Gab already told me some nasty things that this Marielle girl did to her before we had met. Do you know anybody who has a birthday in November? My cousin Bree and Gab’s youngest sister. Is there anything you need to buy at the store right now? Not strictly need, but I kinda want a bag. Like a real, ~lady~ bag. I’m 21 and never had one of those, so it’s one of those things I kinda need to start having but like it’s not a necessity. Do you have any video game systems in your room? Which one(s)? Not in my room. The consoles and the games are all in the living room. Is it true that you hurt the ones you love the most? It can be true. What monster would you be most afraid to have in your closet? Unfolded clothes. Did you do anything productive today? I did for the last five months throughout the semester, but now I just passed my last requirement and I’m stuck doing nothing. It feels so weird and SPACIOUS How do you usually wear your hair? I just wear it down, but when I feel that it’s getting frizzy I tie it up in either a low ponytail or a high bun. What movie coming out do you really want to see? TOY STORY 4!!! Is your skin tone lighter or darker than your Mom’s? She’s a little darker. My dad’s light, so I kinda got that from him as well. What is the best thing about the beach? Oh my god, everything. The stress relief, the quiet (if it isn’t a crowded beach), sunbathing, the coldness of the water, the peace, the chance to think, the feeling of wet sand, just the refreshing feeling of staying in the water and wanting to think about anything. Having seafood is an honorable mention too lol but I feel awful broadcasting that. I’d rather be at the beach than anywhere else, except when it comes to museums. Have you ever done another person’s make-up? I can’t even do my own. Do you get snow days off of school/work? We get typhoon days when the storm gets too hard. But we don’t have snow. Have you ever spied on your neighbor? No, that’s creepy. Do you think they’ve ever spied on you? I mean I’m always paranoid so I make sure my windows are always closed and my blinds are down. What color eyes does the last person you kissed have? Brown. When was the last time it rained? Yesterday. Honestly, do you double dip? Yeah, unless I’m sick. Why do Americans (and probs other people from the other side of the world) love to throw bitchy fits about this? It’s the same thing as biting into someone’s sandwich or using someone’s spoon and we do all three all the time here where I live and we’re all still alive.

Unless it’s a valid point about being sick and/or contagious and not contaminating the food, double dipping is just one of those small things people blew up to be such a big, overrated deal.

What color is your birthstone? I’ve always thought of diamond as clear. Do you save your old school work? The ones I’m particularly proud of, yeah. What is one thing you don’t like sharing? My ballpens. Where on your body would you NEVER get a piercing? Nipples and genitalia. Do you dress to impress? When the situation calls for it. Which Adam Sandler movie do you like the most? 50 First Dates! Who was one of your first celebrity crushes? Ashley Tisdale. Did your parents ever read stories to you before bed? I don’t recall if they did. Would you be considered more of a teacher’s pet or a class clown? Neither. Do you have any family members who are mean to you for no reason? My mom. Have you disappointed anybody recently? Probably my mom for anything I do always??? Have you ever been hit on through text message? No. What color are your nails painted right now? They aren’t. Do you have to do any yard work? Nope. When was the last time you had ice cream? What kind was it? Last Sunday. It was my tita’s homemade keto avocado ice cream.

#survey #surveys

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dailyexo · 7 years

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[NEWS] EXO - 170728 Vogue magazine: “Is EXO the Most Stylish K-Pop Band of All Time?”

It is a 90-degree July day in Seoul, and the air is thick with unfallen rain. Still, the concrete steps leading up to the World Cup Stadium are swarming with boys and girls in black baseball jerseys armed with clear plastic ponchos and posters, paper boxes packed with sweet fried chicken and sour pickles. It is the sixth edition of SM Town Live, a summer concert series put on by SM Entertainment to showcase the company’s impressive roster of K-pop stars—icons such as BoA and Yunho of TVXQ, Girls’ Generation and Shinee. Yet the main event is without a doubt EXO, the reigning kings of K-pop, who are there to close one chapter of their career and kick off the next with a new album and look to match.

Calling them kings is controversial. It stirs up rival factions (the band’s new album is titled The War), and internationally, that designation is up for debate. But in Korea, the beating heart of K-pop fandom, the nine-member boy band remains at the top. Last year they won five daesangs (Korea’s biggest music award, roughly equivalent to album or artist of the year), one of which they had won for the fourth consecutive time. The band celebrated its five-year anniversary in April with a live video broadcast that drew 80,000 viewers in less than two minutes. The next month, they played two nights at Seoul’s Olympic Stadium; seating some 70,000, it is the country’s largest venue and only four K-pop groups, including EXO, have ever played there. Both shows sold out in under 30.

For years, their status has remained relatively unchallenged, but it is difficult for anyone at the top to stay there. EXO also struggles with the perception that they are too perfect, a manufactured pop act without much personality. Korean boy groups also have to deal with the country’s mandatory military enlistment policy, which effectively puts a two-year pause on their careers that is hard to bounce back from. It is one reason why this particular comeback is so crucial for EXO, and why they chose to dramatically change course. “Ko Ko Bop,” the lead single and sole video to be released from The War, is the aesthetic opposite of the band’s previous summer single, “Monster.” Musically, it combines EDM and reggae. It is a sun-soaked song with a distinct “tropical” vibe, and that sharp tonal shift is most clearly communicated through the clothes.

The starting point for the video’s style was The Talented Mr. Ripley, specifically the rich, disaffected Dickie Greenleaf, played by a young Jude Law, as he lazes about the Italian coast. “Ko Ko Bop” reimagines the eight singers (Lay, the group’s only remaining Chinese member, was unable to participate in this album due to his “schedule”) as younger, more fashion-forward versions of Dickie. Sehun wears a Saint Laurent Hawaiian shirt from Spring 2017, covered in retro pop surfboards and station wagons; his hair has been dyed and spiked to resemble a Bird of Paradise. Chanyeol has hair the color of tropical punch and has thrown a white Céline blouse with watercolor blooms over a Saint Laurent logo tee; Baekhyun appears in Valentino, a mustard ikat Etro blazer, and a red mullet. A matching pair of palm tree–dotted All Saints shirts make the rounds on almost all members, loosely swapped around to convey the shoot’s trippy, drug-fueled vacation vibe (a bit odd, considering Korea’s anti-drug culture). All said, it continues EXO’s tradition of slowly pushing the boundaries of K-pop men’s fashion.

The band began honing their singular take on style two years ago with the song, “Call Me Baby.” Before that, they were generally clothed in matching suits or tees plucked off the racks of Boon the Shop and other local boutiques, a one-size-fits-all solution that emphasized their uniformity. In 2015, however, they found a way to bring out each member’s personality by tailoring what they wore in each shoot. More importantly, they began to source designers that K-pop stars were not wearing at the time. Back then, when singers wore high-end fashion, they generally went with big name, easily shoppable brands—Saint Laurent, Louis Vuitton. EXO reached instead for labels fashion people love: Pieces by Raf Simons, Dries Van Noten, archival Helmut Lang. These were mixed with Korean designers, including custom suits from Heich Es Heich, and eventually, a few items from their personal collections—a surprising move. K-pop bands, EXO included, are known for casting off and slipping on new identities with each album. To let a bit of their personal taste shine through, no matter how small, felt like a change.

It is a sartorial mix that has influenced the rest of the industry and reflects the country’s growing emphasis on individual style, which took centerstage on their Exo’rdium world tour, where the above photos were shot. Below, they reflect on the band’s evolution and their own. Kai prefers simple pieces from A.P.C.; D.O., all-black workwear from American heritage brands. Chanyeol is passionate about streetwear—Vetements, Balenciaga, Supreme, Gosha—and he recently confessed to keeping the tags on his clothes for a month, unable to tear them off. Moments like this are thrilling; they feel intimate and authentic, a real flash of expression through fashion. There’s no better way to begin again.

Sehun

Whose style has changed the most? Kyungsoo [D.O.]. Just look on the Internet—you'll see. Which MV had your favorite look? “Monster.” The music, concept, everything really, really fit me well. Who is your style icon at the moment? I'm really interested in Chris Brown’s fashion.

Kai

Whose style has changed the most? I think we’ve all changed a lot. In my case, since I personally love clothes, I think my personal style has changed to match my age, as time goes on. Which MV had your favorite look? I loved what we wore back in “Call Me Baby.”

Chanyeol

Whose style has changed the most? Sehun. Compared to his style from before we debuted and our early days, it's gotten a lot better, and every day, he puts a lot of thought in it. So much as doing fashion research, and his sense is good, too. Which MV had your favorite look? I think what we wore in “Lotto” was really nice. Who is your style icon at the moment? Kanye West.

D.O.

Whose style has changed the most? Overall, I think everyone’s personal taste has changed. Our members have gotten cooler, bit by bit. Who is your style icon at the moment? The heroes from the Avengers? I guess I want to try that once (laughs).

Xiumin

Whose style has changed the most? D.O. Every day, he goes around in head-to-toe black, but now, he’s moved away from wearing only black—slightly. Which MV had your favorite look? I liked “Lotto” the most. Who is your style icon at the moment? Captain America (laughs).

Baekhyun

Whose style has changed the most? I think it’s me. Because I want to challenge myself by trying different styles. It’s not that I plan to, but I think I do change things up a bit each year. Which MV or performance had your favorite look? I liked what we wore to perform at Mama 2016 [awards show] and to shoot “Lotto.” Who is your style icon at the moment? Because I really like Chris Brown, I want to try his look—he mixes different cuts and fits, and they all look good. I want to be like that.

Suho

Whose style has changed the most? Kyungsoo’s [D.O.] style has changed me a bit. Usually, I don't wear all black clothes like he does. I pay a lot of attention to fashion, and I like to play around with a lot of different brands, shoes, and clothes. But our schedules have gotten so hectic, and I realized that when I don’t have time to sleep, I just reach for simple, comfy, black things (laughs). Which MV had your favorite look? In our “Monster” video, the military-inspired style. It looked a bit more manly, it was comfortable, and the clothes were a bit oversize, which made them easy to dance in. It looked cool. Who is your style icon at the moment? I loved Colin Firth’s look in Kingsman. Once I get a little older, I want to walk around with that kind of clean, gentlemanly style.

Chen

Whose style has changed the most? I think we’re all pretty consistent now. Since we have each found our own personal style and know what we like, I think it’s natural. Which MV had your favorite look? The clothes from “Call Me Baby.” There were so many fun ones. Who is your style icon at the moment? Let’s see . . . I think I don’t know yet. I’ll have to widen my circle!

Photo links: 1, 2

Credit: Vogue.

#EXO #EXO K #EXO M #170728 #exo im #exo k im #exo m im #t:news #p:news #magazine #magazine:vogue #fs:vogue #comeback:War

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eddycurrents · 7 years

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For the week of 21 August 2017

As I write this, the gulf coast of Texas is being battered by hurricane Henry. I can only hope that everyone was able to evacuate and that those who couldn’t, or were and are caught in unexpected turns of the storm, are able to stay safe and sound. My thoughts go out to everyone effected by this disaster.

My two favourite books of the week were Hi-Fi Fight Club #1 by Carly Usdin, Nina Vakueva & Irene Flores and War Mother #1 by Fred Van Lente & Stephen Segovia. Published by BOOM!/Boom! Box and Valiant Comics respectively.

Hi-Fi Fight Club is essentially Empire Records or Nick Hornby’s High Fidelity recast with an all-female staff. And, well, the staff also has a secret, but it’s not revealed until the end of the issue really, so I’ll leave that out for you to figure out.

The first issue is from the point of view of Chris, Vinyl Mayhem’s newest and youngest employee, as she struggles with her identity and finding her place in the world/at work. Carly Usdin does a good job of presenting the setting and characters through Chris’ eyes.

One of the main draws, though, is the art. The art team of Nina Vakueva & Irene Flores with colours by Rebecca Nalty are a joy. Vakueva has a style that reminds me a lot of Veronica Fish mixed with a bit of Terry Moore, leading to some fairly expressive faces and overall some very pleasant art to convey the story.

I’m really looking forward to how this series deepens.

And then there’s the return of War Mother.

I’ve been waiting for a follow-up to the War Mother one-shot that was part of the 4001 AD crossover from last year by Fred Van Lente and Tomás Giorello, and this doesn’t disappoint. Van Lente is back for this new mini while he’s joined by Stephen Segovia for the artwork.

Van Lente does a good job of getting the reader up to speed on what occurred in the previous one-shot, while giving a concrete introduction (or re-introduction depending on if you’re a new reader or not) to the characters. I’d have liked a little more about the time’s overall current state, but I’m sure that will be addressed whenever Valiant gets back to a new Rai series, and isn’t really necessary to enjoy this issue.

War Mother (Ana) and her people’s biome, The Grove, is failing and she’s searching for something new before they run out of food completely. In doing so, she investigates a broadcast of a safe haven and goes to check out its source and the viability of the building claiming protection. This leads her to a confrontation with a couple other factions fighting to survive in this world, and a revelation that perhaps not everything is as it seems. It’s fairly compelling to find out what happens next.

Stephen Segovia also is a great addition to the book, giving the futuristic world a distinct lived-in feel. His depiction of the Urbanites is a suitably creepy addition to the world.

Quick Bits:

Archie #23 is kind of an “after the big event” episode of Star Trek: The Next Generation, focusing more on character ramifications and fallout of the horrible accident in the previous issue. It’s rather morose, but Mark Waid tries to alleviate that a bit through some of Archie’s natural clumsiness.

| Published by Archie Comics

Black Hammer #12 reminds me that David Rubín really deserves to be a household name. His panel transitions and page layouts are gorgeous. His art just flows. It also helps that Jeff Lemire’s story is quite compelling as well.

| Published by Dark Horse

Doctor Strange #24 concludes the Secret Empire tie-in story-arc from Dennis Hopeless and Niko Henrichon. Overall, the arc was decent, even if the victory is less than satisfying. I would have liked to have seen more from Hopeless & Henrichon, because they seem to have a good grasp on Doctor Strange himself and his magical world, but I’ve liked what they’ve given to us. Henrichon’s art is joyful in itself.

| Published by Marvel

Edge of Venomverse #5 closes out the prequel mini-series of mostly one-shots before the Venomverse event can start proper. Every issue of this series has been incredibly well done and this issue is no exception.

This may be the best, not necessarily due to the story of Deadpool working to stop an alien worm parasite from invading Earth--although Clay McLeod Chapman’s altered “Sound of Silence” lyrics are fairly humorous--but because of the truly incredible artwork of James Stokoe. I think there’s probably nothing that Stokoe can’t elevate with his art.

| Published by Marvel

Generation Gone #2 still feels like a new take on Akira to me. I don’t know if it will shape up to have nearly as much impact as that, but it’s very good so far. Aleš Kot and André Lima Araújo are doing something interesting here.

| Published by Image

Generations: The Thunder #1 is another that reminds me that they’ve never quite lain out what Generations actually is, how or why the modern heroes are being thrust wherever or whatever this “Vanishing Point” is in what’s mostly been various pasts, but still manages to deliver a decent story. Mostly winding up feeling like annuals or possibly an extended version of those old fifth-week events where every one-shot special followed a specific theme; like everyone was turned into an ape or all of the heroes rocked ‘80s mullets and big hair. Okay, maybe that last one didn’t happen, but you get my point.

The other three (Hulks, Jean Greys, & Wolverines) haven’t been bad, by any means, but they do feel kind of inconsequential with character points that have either already popped up in their source series or look to be brought more to the fore in upcoming issues. Jason Aaron’s work here with the Thors feels a little bit more like another important wrinkle in his ongoing Thor saga, as well as laying some groundwork for the upcoming Marvel: Legacy #1.

It also has some great art from Mahmud Asrar and Jordie Bellaire.

| Published by Marvel

The Hard Place #1 is a solid first issue, very nearly rising to one of my favourites of the week. Doug Wagner pens a fairly standard man-out-of-prison story that you see in film and television, complete with the temptation to get back into crime, but he does a great job of making AJ Gurney feel like a fully realised character.

Nic Rummel’s art is also compelling. He has a style similar to Shawn Martinbrough’s with angular features and heavy use of thick lines and solid black shading. The muted colour scheme from Charlie Kirchoff adds greatly to the feel and atmosphere of the issue.

This one comes highly recommended if you like crime dramas.

| Published by Image / 12 Gauge

Incidentals #1 is the first of the Catalyst Prime series that I’ve read since picking up the Free Comic Book Day issue back in May. I gravitated toward this one solely because Larry Stroman’s name was attached and I was in no way disappointed by his work here with Rob Stull inking his pencils and Snakebite Cortez providing the colours.

I’m not as sold on the story. The concept is fine, one of a team being gathered out of those transformed by “The Event”, but Joe Casey’s execution leaves a little to be desired. He’s got several plates spinning in following the different characters, but he provides very little in terms of exposition and narrative context. It leaves you wondering a bit as to who some of these people are and in some cases what exactly is going on. I normally tend to like Casey’s work, so I’ll give it a chance to grow on me, but I can’t say that I was won over by the story in this first issue.

| Published by Lion Forge / Catalyst Prime

Redneck #5 gives us the revelation of what really happened in the first issue and, well, all I can really say is “Ah, hell.” Donny Cates and Lisandro Estherren can really do no wrong here.

| Published by Image / Skybound

ROM vs. Transformers: Shining Armor #2 is every bit as dense as the first issue, even as we focus more on the initial battle between the Autobots, Decepticons, Space Knights, and Dire Wraiths. We also get to see what happens when a Cybertronian is taken over by a Dire Wraith, depicted in all its terrifying glory by Alex Milne.

| Published by IDW

X-O Manowar #6 closes out the “General” story-arc, but, like “Soldier” before it, it’s less a hard story break, and more of an end of an act. There’s some nice forward momentum in regards to the monoliths causing havoc on the planet Gorin, who’s behind them or at least allied with them, that looks like it’s going to come to a head in the next arc.

This issue also has some very beautiful shots of the landscape and the monoliths from Doug Braithwaite that break up the pace of the action and intrigue.

| Published by Valiant

Other Highlights: Conan: The Slayer #12, Daredevil #25, Dept. H #17, The Dying & The Dead #5, Eternal Empire #4, First Strike #2, I Am Groot #4, Lazarus: X+66 #2, Letter 44 #35, Lumberjanes #41, Mighty Morphin’ Power Rangers #18, Plastic #5, The Punisher #15, Red Sonja #8, Renato Jones: Season Two #3, Shipwreck #5, Shirtless Bear Fighter #3, Sisters of Sorrow #2, TMNT: Dimension X #4, Underwinter #6

Recommended Collections: The Beauty - Vol. 3, The Few, Guardians of the Galaxy: Mother Entropy, Sif: Journey Into Mystery Complete Collection, & Snowfall

d. emerson eddy is really, really bad at Quake Champions. Like “your grandma is probably better at this” level of bad.

#This Week in Comics #Hi-Fi Fight Club #War Mother

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