#wrtiing | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

13tinysocks · 2 months ago

Text

My Dead Girlfriend

You're different, more than all of them expected. It's saddening for some, boner inducing for others. He likes the way you try to blow his brains out. The head of the GDA sees an opportunity. [Invincible Variants x reader]

[Part one] [2] [Ao3] [4]

3 * Narcan Blues [6.4k]

"I'm tired of walking away to lose you,

I take my Adderall with milk and sugar,

I'm gonna be okay,

get the fuck out of my way."

Alcohol - FIDLAR

The defense wing was gone. All the engineers were sliced through. Only a handful of staff left compared to the hundreds stuffed into the Pentagon. So much blood he could taste the metal. So much death and destruction and all from one person. Now smashed into his floor. Re-animen called off. Donald hovered behind him, mechanical body exposed.

If one Invincible could do that and there were how many of these little bastards? The world was bent over, spanked, and properly fucked.

Communications with most world leaders had been cut due to death or satellites being smashed. Plan B through Z had been used and flicked aside like flies. But then, there was this very unexpected and hopefully fortunate turn of events.

Cecil Stedman leaned over the desk. Dozens of screens showing him the few remaining CCTV feeds of the area in question. The few living staff busted their asses, tracking the variants. Six of them converged on one singular location. They hadn't been together since they'd first zapped into reality. No portals opened and it didn't seem like one would anytime soon.

He watched, listening to the crackling feed from the cheapest cameras business owners could afford. At first, he thought the prison-smashing, New York flattening freak was going to kill you on his lonesome. Then the rest came, one after another. Couldn't forget the one watching in the sky.

They didn't converge on you like hungry wolves. They spoke and then the strangest, best thing happened. One of them dropped dead. Killed himself on a whim, at your say so.

"I need everything we've got on her, now." He said to no one in particular, but heard the remaining staff scramble behind him.

"You should sit down Sir," Donald said. "You're running on fumes." He held out an alcohol soaked rag.

Cecil took it, pressing it hard to the bleeding slit in his head. A sliver of his skull was exposed to the air, blood gushing and rolling into one of his eyes. Not that he could see out of it, his vision was spotty and limited to begin with, his orbital had to be fractured. Flaxan bastard.

"Can't, so you better get to teaching me on how to run on fumes."

Donald didn't smile. Cecil hated himself for the jab but apologies were for later, way, way later.

He watched the newcomers rush in. Dog Girl, Psychopomp, Mercy, Running Man, and The Amazing Kidult. A handful of nobody scraps that surrounded his one and only hope for the planet. They were going to be torn to shreds.

Cecil was counting on that.

"How's the teleporter?" He asked.

"Almost online, sir!" Someone shouted across the room. "I dunno if it'll be stable-"

"Define almost." He didn't care about stable.

"Three minutes!"

"God damn it." These nobodies weren't going to distract them that long. But his staff was doing all they could, fast as possible. He had to move onto the next step in the hasty plan he was gluing together with popsicle sticks.

***

They waited, though the action had already started. When one is a Viltumite- so fast, so powerful- watching lesser beings run at them felt like slow motion. Not from fear, but from the monotony of it all. Waiting for something interesting or challenging, but the best they get is a punch that doesn't even tickle.

The Amazing Kidult was a stretch of a contingency plan. He was more useful if you had to pretend to be somebody's mom, trust, the situation had arisen before. If you have to get into a preschool to kill one of the teachers, who was actually a drug runner who didn't deliver on the goods, he was useful. Nobody would let some random adult in, so Kidult would shift from his thirty-year-old self to whatever age you needed.

Freaky, sure, but he could've done a lot worse with his powers.

You hadn't wanted him to answer the phone, but here he was. Throwing himself first into the fray. Thirty going on five to duck under an unenthusiastic punch thrown by Mohawk. Soon as he was in the clear, under the guy's legs, he was five going on thirty. Growing with a fist aimed straight for Mohawk's balls.

He was freshly twenty when Mohawk grabbed him by the throat, snapped his neck with a twitch of the hand. He dropped Kidult, cringing, "Weirdest dude I've killed in awhile." He kicked Kidult away, sending his corpse into the smoke of New York.

Dog Girl lunged for Shoulder Pads. Going from your everyday Twitter-scrolling, Contrapoints watching, EDM mixing t-girl, to ginormous fucking werewolf. Maw open wide enough to bite him in half. Shoulder Pads isn't even a blur, one second, he's about to die, the next he's behind her.

When shot, a dog does one of two things. Die quietly or let out such a pathetic sound it makes you want to kill. But when a Dog Girl's head is separated from a Dog Girl's body? That sound made you want to throw up.

"Pathetic." He says, "But I'm not surprised (Y/n) enlisted the likes of you."

You didn't have time to unpack what that meant. Your finger shoots towards Lensless-or as you now thought of him, Boner Boy- too busy holding his suit out above his dick so no one could see the outline of his arousal.

"Kill him!" You say, eyes locked onto Running Man's goggles.

Instead of looking horrified at the idea of fighting with a hard-on, Lensless grins. Running Man, a C-tier hero at best, zipped forward. Nowhere near quick or strong as the late Red Rush, but that didn't matter. He had what Red Rush didn't. An energy shotgun, so powerful he blasted straight through a kaiju last fall. Honestly, the only reason he was so high in your book was because of that gun but you couldn't tell him that- he's got a temper.

Round and Round Lensless he ran, a gray blur. Shotgun powering up and up and up.

Mohawk made his way toward you. "Look, babe, you know I appreciate a good ass-kicking, but this is just so lame; it's unnecessary! You know you can't fight me."

"Cover me!" You tell Mercy. She's in front of you, solar-powered caduceus staff spinning in hand.

Round and round and round. Lensless head spun following his to-be attacker, laughing, "So are you gonna hit me or what?"

You blinked. Just blinked, but when you opened your eyes, Mercy's blood was shooting out of her esophagus like a fountain. Top half of her head splattered God knows where. Tongue twitching, bottom jaw pooling with blood as she fell to her knees then to the ground.

Mohawk stepped over her into your personal space. You stagger back, head reeling, stomach churning. You should've done this earlier, but got too preoccupied with the contingencies. With the backup plan that was blowing up spectacularly in your face. "Kill Yo-"

You feel it coming. Your head whips to the side as vomit forces it's way out of your throat. Bitter as it was going down. You sway, head pulsing.

"Does being near me make you that sick?" Mohawk laughs but there's little humor in it.

"Yes." You gaggle out, spitting out the last of the bile. Hand in pocket, cracking the top off another bottle of codeine. It was a bad idea shotgunning one, puking it out, and shotgunning another. Some of the first had been absorbed into your system. Adding onto that absorption was prime real estate for death by overdose. You had no other options. Overdose or be tortured to death by a guy with your ex's face.

Ker-ack!

The top of Running Man's body sails over head. Going splat on a building behind you. His legs are still moving around Lensless, who just held out his arm and cut the guy in half.

"Why do they never think that I can just do that and it's over?" He scoffed, running the hand that had just killed Running Man through his hair. Blood clinging to the locks like gel. "So boring."

You see the mass coming in hot. Running Man's gun barreling toward your head. You drop the bottle, half drunk, and hold your hands out to catch it. Mohawk is too busy trying to get his fingers under your chin to notice. The Phantom was busy liberating Psychopomp's arms from her body. Others noticed, Lensless raced, followed by Shoulder Pads. In the sky, the Viltrumite watches. Interested in you and your well-being, of course, but if you couldn't handle a gun flying toward your head- you couldn't handle him.

To his pleasure, you catch the thing. Fumbling before twisting the gun into the right position, ready to fire at will. The thing pulses with purple energy, humming.

Lensless stops, chest centimeters from the shotgun barrel. "Whew, thought I'd be picking your teeth up off the ground!"

Mohawk is shoved out of the way as Lensless came in way too hot, spitting a, "Watch it, dipshit."

Shoulder Pads stops behind him. Aware of the gun buzzing, vibrating in your hands. He wasn't afraid, more so curious. Watching you tilt the barrel up, aimed straight for Lensless's head. You really were different. Daring enough to point a gun a version of him (again), any version of him, despite his royal linage, despite his power. The sight was like a slap across the face, but he did nothing to stop what was coming. If Lensless died to you and his own foolishness- he deserved death.

In another universe, one with a Mark Angstrom hadn't taken- the same energy crystal slapped into the gun was fired straight at Omni-man. Sending him crashing through concrete. Hurting him, even just a little, was no small feat. Something that could hurt him? Imagine would it could do to his son, not yet fully grown into his powers. But you didn't know that, none of them did. If Lensless knew, he wouldn't have moved anyway.

"Reminds me of old times." As the gun's power apexed, Lensless smiled and leaned down. Putting his left eye into the barrel hole, his hips undulating. "I've got an itch actually, mind pulling the trigger for me real quick?"

Blammo.

You fall back, hands burning, shoulders aching, gun launching itself out of your hands, clattering thirty feet back and breaking useless against the concrete. Lensless shoots back as well, five, six, feet- holding a hand to his left eye, blood seeping between his fingerless gloves.

"Man-" His laughs are breathy, wanton, "Oh man, I think you really got me there." His hand falls away, "Is it bad?"

The light brown of his eye had split in two. Oozing vitreous tissue down and around the exposed bone of his cheek and lower eye socket. All the flesh and fabric around his eye had singed away. Leaving a pulsing, angry chasm. Blast so hot it'd cauterized most of his blood vessels. The few that remained open bled like rivers into the sea.

He pokes at one half of his eye, "I can still kinda see." He hums.

"You asked for that one dude," Mohawk said.

"Don't call me, dude, dude." Lensless says, though he's smiling. Shreds of eyelids twitching, trying to close around the mess.

"See, this is why you should be wearing goggles." Shoulder Pads commented. "Look at you. What use are you to my empire half blind?"

Phantom let Psychopomp drop, still screaming, rolling on the ground, legs kicking like a de-winged butterfly. He stepped closer but not too close. He felt hot, too hot, just being on the same planet as you. Too close and he'd burn to a crisp. Too far again and his heart would ice over.

He knew you weren't the same person. You just looked like it, moved like it, sounded like it. He didn't believe in second chances either but still, if there was a second chance for you and him- how could he pass it up? Angstrom had made a good argument. "You miss her, I can see the loss has hit you hard." He'd thrown a punch, though Angstrom was already gone. Behind him. "Do you even remember what it was like to hold her?" Another punch. "Do you want to remember?"

He did. So very badly.

Because he didn't recall the taste of your lips. It'd been so long. Five years, two months, three days without you felt like the thousands of years his father said he'd live. Being near you now, reversed time. The reveal of you, this you and your truth, was violently fast, too quick to process. It felt like a joke, like the rug had been pulled from under his feet. But he could fix it. Could make you whole again the same way you'd do for him once he got you alone.

"You know you're not the only emperor of Viltrum here, right?" Mohawk said.

Shoulder Pads stiffened, pouting slightly, "I assumed we all were. I wasn't aware so many of us were weak enough not to take the throne." He shot a disgusted glance toward Lensless, who was still poking at the remnants of his eye.

Talking like you weren't here, like they hadn't just shredded through your contingencies like cheese to grater. Your mouth screws into a sneer. Fingers digging into rubble so small it felt like sand. You rose, albeit wobbly. "Hey, pirate, come'ere."

They stared in confusion a moment. "Oh! Are you talking to me?" Lensless pointed at himself. "Are you giving me a nickname already?" He was in front of you but you hadn't seen him move. The damage was worse up close. You could smell the burnt flesh. He leaned in for a kiss or just to violate your personal space. "Would should I call you? Sweetums? Hot lips? Babygi-"

You shoved gravel into his eye socket. Pressing, twisting, scissoring your fingers to get the dirt in all the cracks and open veins.

"You like that?" You snarled, though it sounded slurred. Stomach churning with sick. Head throbbing from the drugs.

"Fuuuck!" Lensless stumbled back a pace. "Fuck, fuck, fuuuckkk." He's moaning, groaning, in pain. Good. Satisfaction rises in your chest. "I think I just came."

***

Cecil's lips pushed in. Ninety seconds was all the distraction they got. All he could hope for was the degenerate version of the planet's strongest hero didn't snap her neck for that. He'd call on Mark for help if he could, but Mark was busy fighting off two versions of himself in downtown Tokyo. One in red and white, the other in the classic yellow and blue. He watched on split screens as the other Marks surrounded you. As their Mark fought for his, Eve's, and the people of the city's lives.

Tokyo was the first city hit. They came out of green portals above Japan and got right to work. Mark and Eve were on a date in Osaka when this whole mess started. Just flown in after a job well done in New York. Tired from super speed, ready to get down to relaxing.

It had been a good thing in Cecil's eyes, the kid was a loose canon these days, but he still saved hundreds at the time. All those people he saved were definitely dead now, based on how things went. The destruction was too catastrophic to contain. The other versions of him were too quick, too bloodthirsty. New York was practically defenseless with the people currently on his payroll.

Cecil couldn't help either of them like this. Even when he could, he'd have to choose who to go to first. (Y/n) seemed like decent shot. Still, Mark was Mark, he was practically Invincible. Not going for him first would be one hell of a gamble he'd have to be absolutely sure about. "How much longer?"

"Ninety seconds!" A tech called.

A minute and a half to make a decision that could make or break the planet. Just another Tuesday.

"Sir," Donald shifted behind him, fingers fast on a keyboard as he pulled up the file, "That's (Y/n) (L/n). File says her and Mark used to date, sir." He swallowed. As the GDA it was their job to know everything about everyone important. Superheroes and villains top of the list, terrorists, politicians, and importantly, their connections. Dangling a husband or child in front of any one of those people could get them to do damn near anything. So the database was kept, a background thing, a backup.

Though everyone who worked in that department thought it was useless and hated working on it- today they'd earn that paycheck.

"Tell me more," Cecil said, because to be honest, he had no idea who this girl was.

"They were together before Mark developed his powers. Very briefly after. It's likely they split after she started working for Machine Head." Donald said.

Everyone thought the government couldn't possibly know and see everything. They could. Machine Head was a thorn in Cecil's side, but so small and insignificant when it came to the matter of the entire planet, he'd done nothing about it. Local criminal empires were for local heroes to deal with, not Cecil Stedman.

Cecil's finger tapped his bicep, arms crossed over his chest. He watched the battle between Mark, Mark, and Mark shift. Eve's leg was snapped like a twig, she went down hard and useless. Their Mark was on her, trying to carry her away while local heroes stepped into the fray. He broke through the atmosphere, screaming for help. Leaving just in time to see the local talent get shredded right through.

He hadn't killed a single one of them, whereas the city gutter rat had. Cecil swallowed, eyes switching back and forth, "Great. I'm sure his ex'll wanna work with us."

"Probably not, but Sir, what those versions of Mark are saying implies they're not exes in their universe." Donald nodded to the screen. The Mark's surrounding her in a semicircle. Bloodied. One screaming about cum.

The decision was made. The bait was too good to pass up. Eve would live without immedatate medical attention.

His fingers curled into his sleeves. "Someone not working on the teleporter- get me powercuffs, Narcan, the most noise proof headphones we can find, and a muzzle, preferably the same we used on the first re-animen, I like not killing myself."

***

"Get away from me."

He does, you wish he hadn't. Up close you couldn't see his bottom half so well. But as soon as he stepped back, you can see the imprint of his dick softening. See the wet stain on his lower abdomen.

The sight is... you don't know. You felt sick in a way that couldn't be from the codeine overdose or the life or death situation in front of you. Guts twisting in disgust, a disgust you had seen in others. You were unsavory to people around you, but interesting, like a pet they could discipline. Something they desired against their best interests. But the way he was looking at you with his one good eye, was beyond desire. He looked like he wanted to crawl into your chest and rut on your ribs.

You didn't know how to feel, but his companions not being cool with it certainly helped.

"Dude, what the fuck?" Mohawk said. "That is- wow, dude. Do you have brain damage?"

"A little." Lensless eyes unfogged from your control, but not from lust.

"A little?" Shoulder Pads questioned. "You've just been disrespected and you've come in your pants- what do you mean a little?"

Lensless shrugs. "Means what it means, dude."

The Phantom edged closer. Fingers twitching. Tempted, very, very tempted to rid Lensless of his other eye.

You hear a meow, he comes out at the worse time. Caligula bounding from the rubble, meowing and curling himself around your ankles. You bend to grab him. A rush of wind and Lensless is in front of you, holding your cat. Stupid thing is purring with a hand ready to snap his tiny neck.

"Will you use your powers on me if I kill 'im?" He gasps, realizing something with a grin, "Would you cry too?"

He'd gone from lustful to violent in a millisecond. Actually, scratch that- he was both at once. He just saw another way to get his rocks off.

To answer he question, yes and yes. He can see it in your eyes. He's going to do it.

Until a fist cracks his jaw, loosening his hold enough for Mohawk to take the cat.

"Jesus, dude! Relax."

Lensless laughs, rubbing his jaw, the punch barely fazing him. "Don't act like you care about that thing."

"I don't," Mohawk says, Caligula rubbing on his arms. "Killing something this weak is below us."

"Maybe below you but not me." Lensless reaches for the cat. Mohawk jerks back. You can only watch. Scared if you say something he'll kill your sweet, idiot baby. "Aww come on, you're no fun. Don't you wanna see her cry?"

Mohawk's gaze slides over you. Considering. Then he's gone in a crack. Returning just as fast, but without Caligula. He opens his mouth just before you start to scream, "Your ugly pet is fine. We'll get it back before we leave, okay babe?"

You don't know if you believe him. You want to but you're stuck on the promise of 'when we leave'.

Blood was rushing in your ears, you could barely hear yourself say, "Psychopomp, get up." She did. Balance wavering, blood spurting out where her arms should be connected to her body, pulsing to the beat of her heart. "Revive the others."

"Hell no." She said. You'd forgotten.

A note about mind powers. Generally, they don't work well on other people with mind powers. Even if it's mind powers to raise the dead. And another thing that was working against you- you'd dated, very briefly, four years ago. Two months of sex and coping with your new life. Not finishing high school because of your jail sentence and your new role as Machine Head's grunt. Not going to college, not being with Mark.

She wanted to go the distance. Go clean, build a life together. Lesbians are fast with those sorts of decisions. You couldn't, wouldn't. You tried to force her to forget you on your two-month anniversary. Just to find out, psychics have a hard time controlling other psychics. The breakup was a huge blowout. Her calling you every name in the book. Unbelieving that she wanted to move in with you. Demanding you give her Caligula because she was the who wanted him in the first place.

You kept the cat. Cleansed your phone of her number. Didn't cry over the loss in your life because she wasn't shit. She was a nobody grunt The Order sometimes called on. It made missions with her tense, but you dealt with it.

Until.

You'd almost died too many times to count. One of which was a deal gone wrong where your bodyguard wound up dead. Your head was next on the concrete chopping block, still dripping with the blood from his neck. You escaped with quick wit, but it scared the shit out of you so bad you redialed her number as a contact. Saved it as contingency twenty-seven. Assumed if you'd call she'd come. Another thing about lesbians, they have a horrible time getting over an ex. Then you never called or texted, forgot about her and who contingency twenty-seven was besides a panic alarm.

She hadn't said anything today when you called, just came to where you said. Everything had gone so quick you hadn't had time to process that she hadn't been controlled. That she was who she was and somehow, even though years had separated your relationship like the grand canon, she came for you.

"You're letting yourself die because I didn't take you back?" Usually, you kept relationships, even one night stands, under wraps. You didn't kiss and tell. Except, being ridiculously high was not your usual.

That gave the bickering between the Mark's pause.

Her lip twitched. "You killed my brother, asshole." Oh. She didn't come for you in a romantic sense. She came for revenge, first for the city, then for you.

The dark cracks in Phantom's heart deepen. Mohawk smirked, still getting used to the idea that Dregs was not a cute hero name. Shoulder Pad's legs flexed, ready to move, to slice off Psychopomp's head for how she spoke to his pet. The Viltrumite in the sky lowered a degree to hear the drama that much better.

Guilty as charged. "No, I didn't." You lie, because her little junkie brother didn't pay what he owed so yeah, Machine Head had you kill him. "Multi-Paul did."

"Multi-Paul was in prison when he went missing." She was swaying. Soon to die if she didn't do something.

"Not every Multi-Paul." You counter, absolutely full of shit. "Are you really going to let yourself die over an assumption?"

Her knees looked ready to give when she said, "Up n'attem."

Light blinded you. Made Lensless groan and fall on his ass. The light was gone soon as it'd come.

The dead rose. Bodies not healed, still dripping and oozing, but crackling with the anger of the recently deceased. "Mercy, fix me."

The headless body rose her caduceus staff high before slamming its end to the ground. More light. Your headache worsened despite the codeine supposed to be suppressing it.

When the light faded, Psychopomp had arms again. She'd gone pale from blood loss, still staggering. She held out her arms, sleeveless and baby-skin smooth, hands glowing as brought back more of the dead.

Dog Girl was first to rise, blood still spilling out of her neck. Kidult stood, body facing forward, head facing back. Running Man hobbled forward using arms as legs, guts trailing behind him like streamers. Then there were the civilians. Wes and his coworkers, innocent streetwalkers, alley lurkers, anyone and everyone within a hundred food radius.

The pièce de résistance? Seventeen, shambling to his feet, fists twitching shut.

"You're kidding me." Emperor Shoulder Pads sneered, launching forward to put a hole through Psychopomp. "You're seriously making us kill you again?"

But you'd though ahead, you started speaking the second Psychopomp stared necromancing. The word, "Stop," out of your lips before he could move more than two inches.

He stills. Hovering an inch off the ground. Body shaking with effort to throw off your control. Eyes wild on you, animal angry.

Lensless let out a whooping cackle. "Oh thank God! I thought we were already done! This is gonna be awesome, I've never killed a zombie before!" His muscles tense under his suit, weight shifting as he decides who to pounce on first.

His yelling makes your ears twitch.

"Be still." You tell him and he is. You turn to the next, "Stay," and the next, "Don't move." You leave out the one in the sky. He hadn't posed a threat yet.

You flex your fingers, telling Psychopomp to bring the troops in. Let the zombies get in their first hits before your hold weakens. Which it already was. Nose bleeding, balance wavering, you were so sleepy and heavy-limbed despite the situation. Your heart slowing and vision blurring at the very edges. You knew what it meant.

The dead move like a wave. Slipping past you, leaving brushes of blood where they made contact. Fists and feet and bloody stumps came down on the versions of your ex. You refreshed your hold with the same turns of phrase. Bending down to grab the half-drunk bottle and finishing it to hopefully help.

Throat roadkill raw. Ready to puke again, but you force your stomach to steel. You could puke when they were dead.

Except, the zombies, superpowered or not, leave no marks on the Mark's. Save for Seventeen, currently walloping the everloving shit out of Lensless. Socking him again and again, twisting his head side to side with every punch. Jiggling bits of his remaining eyeball falling to the ground.

You'd have to step in more. Despite the sleepiness washing over you. The blur worsening. Your lips feel slow, tongue heavy, "Hey you," You say to none of them in particular, "Kill eachother."

The first command you'd set snaps. Lensless is first to move, lunging to Phantom with a cat's yowl. Leaving Mohawk and Emperor Whatever to duke it out. They shear through bodies of the dead. Leaving them deader than before as they move. Throwing punches, kicks and tossing each other into buildings.

It lasts about nine seconds before your hold is gone. The command too taxing, too much, too many people at once.

They stop all at once. Expressions varying from pissed to entertained.

He's on you in an instant. Hand on your throat, holding you feet above the ground. "You-" Shoulder Pads snarls. You kick at the air. Choking around his hand. "Fucking-" Vision goes from blurry to blackening. You hold onto his wrist for support. "Dare?"

You try to command him, but you can't. Voice box pressed firm to your larynx. His grip is bruisingly hard, but you know it's absolutely nothing for the likes of him. "I should kill you for that."

The others were coming. Fists raised. Snarls tight. Even the holier-than-thou angel in the sky was going to touch down. All of them, ready to punch the shit out of him. Not thinking it'd kill their precious in the process.

Zombies clawed at your feet. Psychopomp reached out, grabbing your ankle, trying to pull you down but only making you feel like a rubber band. Death came from all sides, it'd be quick, but man it'd hurt.

***

His people met up with Mark. He and Eve were en route. One problem solved.

"How much longer?" He shouted, standing over the teleporter. Techie's arms like blurs.

Donald returned, holding only souped-up headphones. "The light room is ready with everything, sir."

"Forty-five seconds!"

Cecil threw the headphones on. Speaking loud because he couldn't even hear himself, "We don't have that much time, send me now!" He stepped onto the teleporter platform, hitting the big red button on its side before the techies could protest.

***

Everything happened so fast you couldn't register it. One second four guys were about to hit the guy choking you out so hard it'd shatter your body- the next- you were in a while room falling on your ass. Psyhopomp still holding to your ankle, both of you breathing heavy. The zombies that were touching either of you dropped instantly dead- again. Parts of them that were there seconds ago melted to the floor.

"Good." A cool voice said, "I was worried it'd do that to you guys instead."

A hand you hadn't noticed falls from your shoulder. Wrinkled and pale. He steps away, giving you much needed personal space. "Cecil Stedman, head of the GDA." He's tall, frail, and wearing the chunkiest headphones you'd ever seen. "We need your help."

You move slowly, like you were moving through the same syrup you'd just drank. "Fuck you." You don't know who he is, what's going on, but you didn't want to hear it. You wanted to kill. You wanted to see the fucker who threatened your life die. You didn't want to be here. "Send me back."

Your threat is a lot less impactful as Psychopomp almost vomits on your shoes. You scoot back with a snarl, though Cecil doesn't seem to mind.

"I can see your lips moving kid, but I can't hear you." He taps the headphones. "Got a look at what you can do and I don't want that pointed at me any day."

Psychopomp scrambled to her knees then to her feet. "You-!"

Cecil held up a hand, "There's no one to raise from the dead here, save it. I'm not your enemy."

She swayed, foot to foot, still reeling from blood loss. "You better not be lying."

"Still can't hear you. I'm gonna go out on a limb and guess you're angry. You can be, at them, not me. We need your help, the both of you, to take these Invincible's down. Can't say we'll let you go after that, but you'll have jobs working for us." His gaze slides meaningfully over you, "And not on the streets."

In your increasing stupor, you slur, "No, send me back. I've got- I've got to kill 'em all."

He watches your lips move but does nothing to act on your behalf. "Look kid, we're really low on options here, so do me a favor and stop scowling. This'll go a lot easier for you if you cooperate."

Your vision goes blacker and blacker. "Send me back." You can't even put power behind your words anymore. Arms going limp by your side. You lay back, heaving, feeling yourself trying to duck and bob the effects of the overdose, "Send... send me..." You pull a bottle from your pocket, fingers too weak to uncap it.

"Jesus." Cecil says, "You're going blue. Narcan her, now."

There are hands on you, though you can't see them. All you see is white, Cecil, and Psychopomp.

Your head is tilted back, neck supported in a gloved palm. Something plastic is shoved into your nose. The spray shoots down your nasal passage, burning all the way. A scream ripping through your throat before the plunger is all the way down.

Bone deep. The ache is in everything. Behind your eyes, inside your marrow. You're lying on your side, vomit spewed out on the floor in front of you. Esophagus on fire. The world comes back into focus with your heart beating erratically.

Cecil is crouched in front of you. "I know now's not the best time," he says, voice gentle but face hard set, "but I'm really gonna need you to work with me."

You feel Psychopomp behind you, holding you steady on your side in case you seize. The hands on you are gone.

You peel your face off the floor, lucky it wasn't sticky with puke. Cecil holds out a hand to help you up. "Kill him." You say.

Psychopomp lunges over your body. Hands posed to wring Cecil's neck. "I was hoping you wouldn't do this." A gun flies out of a hidden torso holster and connects with Psychopomp's temple. You don't hear the crack, but she crumples. "Get the muzzle."

There's an order on the tip of your tongue, before you can look to find out who you're ordering, before the words can come out, a monstrosity of a muzzle is thrown over your jaw. A rubber stopper shoved between your teeth. Leather straps pulled tight as the muzzle is locked tight around your head. You claw, trash, kick but the invisible hands hold you down.

"I'm sorry we have to do this," he says, not looking sorry at all.

He touches your shoulder. "Take us there." He says to the emptiness.

You are gone.

Then back, in a different place. Green everywhere. Clear blue sky ahead. A quaint town all around you. Abandoned.

You're on the ground. Grass soft under your bloodstained sweats. Cecil stands over you, his invisible men holding your hands behind your back.

Cecil looked down at you, "Tristan De Cunha." He says, "Most remote island on the planet. Used to be a town before the US Government bought it back in twenty-twelve. The safest place on the planet to be- for now."

You writhe, uncaring about geography.

Cecil lets the headphones slide down to his neck. He presses a finger to his ear, "Muscle and bone density?" He asks.

"That of an average human," comes a flat reply. Nothing special about you.

Cecil nods to himself, suspicion confirmed. "Good." He nodded his chin toward something behind you. "Don't let her hands free while you lock 'er up."

You're pulled ass backwards. Heels dragging, the only part of you touching the ground. It's no use. They're strong, and though you can't see them, they outnumber you three to one. Cecil follows, frowning.

You're pressed to a cold pole, moss crawling up the sides. At night its bulb used to come alive after sunset but now, on this southern island God knows where, it does not. Your arms are thrown behind your back. Something heavy is locked around one wrist. Secured so tough it nearly cuts off the circulation. You try to free your other arm, but just like the other, it is locked into the device. The pieces are sealed together in a massive metal cuff made for a berserker- not you.

The invisible soldiers step back. Their boots pressing imprints to the grass. "Thanks, boys." Cecil nods as they zap away. "Teleporter's fully online now." He says to himself more than you. "Look kid, I'm gonna do something you're not gonna like." If you could talk you'd ask 'more than you already have?' Reading your eyes, he says, "Things'll get worse before they get better. Just remember, after this you'll have a job with us."

From his pocket comes a phone. He taps to the camera app and starts recording, only his face in frame.

"Invincible, the people of Earth surrender." It's a lie, through and through, "No more military might will be sent your way. All governments are to stand down effective immediately. The planet is yours." The message could've ended there but instead he pans he camera down. To you muzzled, cuffed to a pole, uselessly fighting against metal and concrete. "As a show of good faith, we have (Y/n) (L/n) waiting for you on Tristan De Cunha island. Two thousand five hundred miles east of Buenos Aires, one thousand five hundred miles west of Cape Town. We will make contact within the hour after she's been collected for negotiations." He ended the recording, pulled his hand through his remaining hair and sighed. "It's about the most obvious trap I've ever set but it just might work."

He sent the recording off. "That'll be playing on loop on every speaker and screen round the whole world in two minutes." His smile is wry, tired, uneven with scar tissue. "Don't let the fame get to your head." The smile drops as soon as appeared, "If they unmask you, don't do anything stupid. I'm sure I don't have to tell you twice, but these people are dangerous." You glare up at him, willing his head to explode. It doesn't. Your breathing is heavy. Saliva pooling around the muzzle bit. "You've got about ten minutes before they're all here so uh, brace yourself. We'll be watching."

He disappears in a bolt of white-blue. You are alone, but not for long.

#invincible x reader #invincible variants #invincible variants x reader #mohawk invincible #viltrum mark #phantom invincible #emperor mark #emperor invincible #lensless mark #mohawk mark x reader #emperor mark x reader #lensless invincible x reader #rea wrties #mdgf #header is an unfinished piece of mine lol #gotta get me some of that old man cecil... im a lesbian but yeah...#anyway you are now bisexual i dont make the rules i CAN NOT write a heterosexual mc

238 notes · View notes

penvisions · 2 years ago

Text

return the favor {chapter 13}

Pairing: Joel Miller x Reader

Summary: The end of the tunnels brings a short-lived moment of relief, but all of that quickly changes as a sniper awaits on the edge of the city limits.

Word Count: 9k

Warnings: canon typical violence, canon typical gore, panic, fighting, gunfire, ambush, active shooter scenario, active fight scene, threats, casual talk of killing, graphic descriptions of injuries

Notes: i've had the ending to this chapter written for the longest time and i am so excited to finally share it with you all. i like to think i find good ways to end chapters but this one, whew, it's a doozy and i am HERE for it haha

can't thank y'all enough for checking out my story, for all the attention on ao3 and on here as well! all if it makes me so happy and grateful to be a part of this fandom ♡

ao3 link || series masterlist || main masterlist

A shuffling sound from above had you ducking without a thought, hand going to the colt in its holster at your hip. You aimed it and your flashlight up, everyone freezing around you as they dared to look up. It was hard to see in the small tunnel, the ceiling still lower than it had been when there were still hatches and pipes lining the walls of the entrance that you had taken down here. There was a rather large crack that stretched out ahead of you, some rubble falling from it as the shuffling sounded again. Joel urged everyone back, tone sharp. There was an even louder scrabbling sound as a result of his order. It sounded like something was moving around above the ceiling.

There was a sickening crack that had you shoving Ellie and Sam ahead of you, trying to quickly get them to further down the tunnel. The ground was quaking underneath your feet, the entire tunnel shaking as you tried to close the distance between the kids and the bits of concrete that were beginning to crumble from the ceiling.

“It’s gonna collapse!”

Henry shouted, trying to move right behind them as larger rocks and pieces of the tunnel started to rain down, using his body to try and shield them from getting hit. As you pushed him forward you felt something too close to you. You felt large hands shove you to the side as something fell among the debris, sending you crashing into the wall, the last thing you saw was Ellie’s panicked face as she shouted out for you and Joel through the cascade of debris before the tunnel went completely dark.

You gasped, trying desperately to pull air into your lungs but dust was heavy in the air. You started coughing, the sound harsh even to your ringing ears. It was pitch black all around you, your flashlight having flown from your hands along with your colt. The sounds of debris settling around you had you flying up from your spot, thankfully not having been crushed by anything large enough to do any lasting damage. You were half leaning against what remained of the side of the tunnel. You crawled away as another large chunk of concrete came tumbling down, hands and knees scraping along the ground.

“Joel!” You called into the darkness, breath shuddering as you were met silence. You were sure he had been behind you, or at least close to you before you had tumbled into the wall. You worried he had gotten caught underneath the concrete, your mind racing as coughs racked your body, gasping as you tried to clear your lungs of dust. It was too heavy in the air.

Heaving, you pulled your pack from your back once you felt safe enough, digging blindly into the ground around you in a desperate attempt to find the colt. It hadn’t been yours; it had been his and it was one of the last things you had after fifteen years. When you couldn’t find it in the space around you, you felt tears sting in your eyes. Completely overwhelmed by the prospect of having lost a part of him, not being able to get a response from Joel, the cave in separating you from Ellie and potentially trapping you within the city, having to backtrack alone and find another way out from under Kathleen’s militia. You didn’t have another second to think before there was a clicking sound followed by a sudden gasp from beneath the rubble.

“Joel!” You shouted again, reaching for the smaller flashlight in the pocket hugging your thigh. You clicked it on in time to see a twisted body crawling from underneath the rubble, twisting its head in an unnatural display. You tried not to breathe too loudly, but it wouldn’t have mattered as you did. You spied a smudge of brown that was moving about among the white dust that covered everything, it had to be Joel. When he started coughing harshly, you felt relief flood your veins but only for a moment. Your heart leapt into your throat as you saw the clicker amble out of where it had been buried and made its way toward him, leaving your precious pack behind on the ground without a thought.

“Hey!” You shouted, pushing yourself up, grit underneath your boots making you trip. Your shoulder hit a large chunk of concrete jutting up, but you just pushed off it and scrambled over to where Joel was stuck in the debris. He was groaning, coming to, making far too much noise as he did so. You felt your foot get caught as you rushed, heart thudding hard as you tried to keep your flashlight on the clicker moving around, it wasn’t as fast as it could’ve been, one of its arms was nearly torn from the shoulder socket, cordyceps slowly reaching out from it and making your stomach lurch.

You heard your name, Joel suddenly shooting up from his spot in a slight crevice as he regained his awareness. He groaned, his back hurt like hell where the large sheet that had been about to fall directly on you had grazed him when he threw himself at you to get you out of the way. You had been too focused on the kids getting to safety you hadn’t seen it. He tried to sit up but was quickly leaning back against the rubble around him, a strangled sound getting stuck in his throat. His noise spurred the clicker on, it picked up speed, the inhuman shrieking filling the collapsed tunnel, and you managed to get your foot out from where it was stuck in time to throw your body over Joel.

He shouted your name, the flashlight having landed to shine the beam up at the ceiling from somewhere in the rubble, lighting up the whole space enough to see. The site of a clicker hurdling right toward him had him scrambling but your figure flashed before him, blocking his view completely. His hands had come up to catch you, to help you, to shove you, whatever he could’ve managed to do in that spare second. You felt the clicker reach out for you as you hovered over Joel, its good hand reaching to claw at the front of your jacket, its teeth snapping harshly as it tried to crane its neck and get a hold on you. You grunted with the effort it took to fight off its hand, kicking out your legs at its body despite the bad footing you had. It managed to get some footing itself among the debris, and it lunged.

You screamed as its wide mouth appeared right in front of your face, hands coming up in a last-ditch effort to keep it away. There was a loud squelching sound followed by the thing screeching so loud you went to cover your ears, Joel doing the same below you. Yours and Joel’s harsh breathing sounded in the air, though everything was still for a second. You pried your eyes open, not realizing you had shut them as the clicker had lunged. It was scrabbling to reach for you still, though it’s good hand couldn’t quite reach you. You looked up to see it had been impaled on a piece of rebar sticking up over where Joel had been trapped. It was struggling to free itself, the ugly sound of its old flesh ripping as it thrashed about.

Joel shoved at you, urging you to move to the side and give him some space to stand. He pushed to sit up despite the stab of pain in his back and the tug of his ankle freed it from where it had been lodged, twinging as he did so. He stumbled as he tried to gain some footing and raised the knife he had freed from his belt. He grunted with each harsh stab he made to silence the clicker once and for all. His shoulders heaving underneath his jacket.

“You’re so goddamn stupid!” He shouted as he rounded on you, scrambling back over to you, your name falling from him in a biting tone. His hands were trembling as he brought them up to cradle your dusty face, fingers tangling in your hair. It hurt when his chest collided with yours and he knocked his head into yours in a searing kiss. “Don’t you ever think of jumping in front of me again! You hear me?”

“I wasn’t about to let that thing tear into you!” You shouted back, pulling him to you as his arms came around you in a crushing embrace. You dug your own shaking fingers into his shoulders, lips bruising against his. Nose throbbing as his own nudged as yours. The flashlight flickered, the space pitch black once again, and the sound of the rubble shifting had you both twisting to see a large chunk tumble down from where it had nearly been touching what was once the ceiling. Muffled shouts of yours and Joel’s names squeezed through the opening that had cropped up.

The flashlight flickered off completely, the thing too worn down to keep operating as more debris shifted toward the top of the collapse.

After what seemed like hours of working in the limited light from two flashlights, there was finally enough of the debris cleared to crawl through. Joel had insisted you move through as soon as it had been large enough for you to safely fit, but you argued you weren’t moving until he could follow after you. He was frustrated, still, that you had thrown yourself in front of him. But he knew he was nothing but a hypocrite because he would’ve done the same.

He was frustrated further when you were insistent that your pack was the first thing to make the move through the opening.

You had won the minor argument of there being enough supplies, minus food, for the three of them on the other side to survive off of for days should the rubble give way and you two were caught. You and Joel could handle yourselves, you had pointed out, could find and fight for survival and supplies. While Henry would need all the help he could get if he were left to watch over Sam and Ellie alone. Joel had shut up at your words, a mix of emotions swirling in his mind, but knowing that you were ultimately making the most sensible call.

The second you were through the questionable opening and on your feet, something slammed into you hard enough to make you stumble back. Dust flew to the air at the contact.

“All we heard was the clicker and you screaming, we thought it got you.” Ellie’s voice was muffled where her face was buried in your chest. Her hands were tight around your ribs, squeezing the air out of your lungs. She pushed from you as quickly as she had launched herself at you. Joel let out a loud ‘oof’ as she had moved to do the same to him, her arms not quite going around his form but still squeezing him tight around his middle. “We didn’t hear anything from you until you started hollerin’ at her. I thought you got crushed.”

He hesitantly brought his arms down to loosely return the embrace, his face a weird mix of emotions you couldn’t quite make out. He didn’t say anything, but he didn’t need to. They were blocked from view when Sam suddenly stepped up to you and curled his arms around your waist, looking up at you with tears in his eyes. You felt your heart melt, kneeling down to bring him into a proper embrace. He was shaking, his small form quaking as he tried to sign something to you but couldn’t quite make it out with the proximity. You pulled away a little to see better, he was gushing that he was glad you were okay. Over his shoulder, Henry nodded at you, reaching over to place a hand on your shoulder.

“This was on our side.” Ellie spoke up, having let go of Joel as quickly as she had done with you. The man was standing with a hand on his hip, turned away with a slightly pinched look about him. She was holding out her hand, but you couldn’t see what was in it over Sam’s shoulder. The young boy released himself from you with a shy smile and went back to Henry’s side.

The gleam of silver in her hands caught the ray of Joel’s flashlight and you felt a shuddering breath fall from your lips. The detailed inlay along the handle had you surging forward and bringing Ellie into a tight embrace. She yelped at the sudden move, not having expected you to crush her to your body. Shaking hands came up to cradle her head, the gun wedged between your bodies a comforting sensation.

“Thank you, thank you, thank you.” You let her go to take the missing colt from her hands when you realized your own were shaking. The gun rattled in your grip; it was scuffed from sliding along the concrete, but it was still in one piece.

“I see the way you clean it whenever we have a moment of peace. Figured it was important.” She offered you a lopsided smile, a blush on her cheeks as she realized she liked the feeling of hugging you, of hugging Joel. It felt like something she had only ever had with one other person, it was comfort. She wanted more of it with you both, but she knew that was a dangerous thought. Attachment always ended in being hurt, either due to unspoken expectations or when it was taken forcefully from you without a moment's notice. Joel’s eyes were on you both, a question in his mind that he didn’t dare ask. He glanced down at the broken watch on his wrist before urging everyone into motion once again.

The night air was cool on your heated skin as you emerged from the depths of the tunnel. The door that you had entered led into the lower levels of a building had indicated that you could go through one more into the building itself or the one that led out into a parking garage. The stagnant air of the building was marginally better than that of the tunnel, but the cool air of the outside as you walked into the open level of the structure was heavenly. The brisk fall air settling around you and you breathed deep despite the sting to your broken nose.

You had not been a fan of the tunnels, traveling so far underground in such a cramped space. You closed your eyes and took a moment, the rest of the group walking past you and into the open space. You could feel eyes on you, but they didn’t linger. You brought up your hands to wipe at the sweat on your forehead, being mindful not to graze the scab there.

“Do you know where we are?”

“Yep. On the other side.” Henry's words weren't clipped, but they were did have a weird tone. You chocked it up to the way things were progressing, surely he was experiencing an overwhelming amalgamation of emotions with leaving the city he had once called home. Being chased from his home for just trying to protect his brother the only way he knew how. You couldn't fathom what he was going through. While not being one yourself, you could understand how people ended up in positions that demanded they be collaborators. Thankfully, you hadn't been cornered or targeted in such a way, FEDRA needing proper medical knowledge but your QZ not being so far gone as to test the murky waters with demanding too much of you. They had paid you well in vouchers and supplies, certain soldiers looking the other way when you went beyond the walls to retrieve more. It hadn't been for you, none of it had been for you, it had always been about helping people as best you could with what you knew. But you were aware that no everyone was so lucky.

The mood was somber as the group walked through the parking garage, through the last bit of the main city. The streets you were now making your way through were lined with houses, abandoned vehicles parked in both normal spots as if someone had just come home from work and had walked into their home for dinner as well as haphazardly left in the middle of the street in a rush. It was another mark of a panicked time when the world had fallen so swiftly, so suddenly. You were grateful to be away from the denseness of the city, it had been suffocating the second it had turned into more than a simple drive through.

Joel led the way, Ellie following closely behind him. Henry and Sam were a few steps behind her, and you were still on alert behind them. There was enough moonlight to guide the way, flashlights would only draw attention in the open environment, should someone be waiting or watching. A sure-fire way to gather attention you really didn’t want. Feeling the same way about gunfire, you paused and holstered your gun. You kneeled into a crouch as you removed your pack from your shoulders. You felt a twinge in them as you did so, the harness helping to alleviate some of it but not all.

A few strides ahead of you, Joel stopped when he heard the hush of your pack zipper. He watched as you carefully pulled the machete he hadn’t known was in there until he had been looking for medicine earlier in the day. It gleamed dully in the moonlight cascading down, the silver of it clean and polished, well taken care of. He was curious as to how that had come to be your choice of backup weapon, but as you stood and slipped your pack back on his eyes took in the way you twirled it in your right hand. You had a good sense of the weapon, balancing it perfectly with your fluid movements as if stretching an old muscle seemed unnervingly natural. He wouldn't want to end up in a close quarter scuffle with you, you were no doubt faster than it would take to aim and fire a gun.

The slight muscle tone to your arms made a lot more sense, he mused as he turned back around. The phantom feel of your hands on him, your arms around his shoulders sparking something in him that he quickly tried to shake off. His steps hadn’t faltered but Ellie had noticed his attention on you and looked back herself. She took in the way you were maneuvering the machete easily, as if it were nearly a broadsword one of her favorite comic book characters wielded and she couldn’t help the excited smile that broke out on her lips. She was so going to ask you to show her how to use that.

A patting noise pulled her attention from you and toward the two boys beside her. You, too, had come up to make a line behind Joel. It was Ellie, Henry, Sam, and you. The younger of the boys was signing, trying to quell his curiosity of what happened next.

‘Why can’t we use our lights?’

‘He says so we don’t draw attention.’

‘But no one’s out here?’

‘Someone could be on patrol out here,’ You signed, mouthing the words as well in case your hands weren’t precise enough in your lack of efficiency with the language. You smiled down at the boy, hoping he felt safe being outside the city, despite it being a new experience for him. ‘Just to be extra safe.’

“No. No one is here.” Henry spoke as he signed, a bit of his frustration at still being talked at and told what to do seeping through. You had trusted him enough to shove both Sam and Ellie at him when the tunnel collapsed but Joel was still holding them at a safe distance. He felt like you and him had come to an understanding, the children come first, they are the most important thing. But Joel was still hard to read, indecipherable in how he felt about everything and how to move forward from here. “No one’s gonna be here because my plan worked.”

“So much god damn talkin’.” Joel’s voice didn’t hold any contempt or malice, just mild annoyance. And while you and Henry had come to an agreement with each other, an understanding, that didn’t negate the fact that he needed to learn to be more careful. He still had that air about him that if something small worked out, everything would follow. You had too much experience in this world that contested that type of thinking, though you had always been overtly cautious of things even Before.

“I’m just saying,” Henry pointed ahead to his right. I delivered. Make this right, go down the street, embankment behind the last house and we’re out.”

Joel pivoted in the direction the younger man was pointing to, head on a swivel. You were doing the same, there was a gnawing feeling in your gut, telling you something was off about the stillness and the quiet air about the neighborhood. It almost felt like you were being watched, eyes following your movements through the streets causing your back muscles to twitch and goosebumps to raise up on your arms underneath your jacket.

“So we cross the river and then what?” Ellie spoke up, a cautious almost hopeful tone to her voice that had you looking toward her. You had promised Henry you would help him to keep Sam safe, but she couldn’t have overhead that while loudly playing tag earlier. Joel too, hadn’t quite heard everything, but had to have a hunch as to your thoughts on the matter. You wanted to keep that promise, Sam was too young to be out here in the expanse of wasteland. And while you were sure Henry would do what was needed to provide for and protect him, he was young as well. He had a lot to learn and learn quickly in order to not get taken advantage of or trapped, killed. “Where you gonna go?”

“Don’t know yet.” He cut his eyes toward you, taking in the way you were watching the back of Joel’s head as he led the way.

“Well, we’re goin’ to Wyoming.” Joel’s head turned so fast it was a wonder his neck hadn’t popped. He was training a warning look at Ellie, his eyes shifted to you. You raised an eyebrow, a silent argument that he felt was already futile. Ellie was hard enough to deter, and she had made a friend, a connection that seemed to excite her and make her feel a little more like the child that she was. And if you were to back her up in your sensible, matter-of-fact manner, he was sure he would crumble. Ellie dug her feet in and began the first stages that would eventually break him down into agreeing it was the best move for everyone. “What? It’s a huge state. It can fit two more people.”

“Yeah…” Henry looked to you, wanting to believe that you would hold true to your promise. But he was unsure now, in the open air outside the city. Joel, again, would be the one to make the final call and he couldn’t see you splitting off from him in order to uphold it. The looks you two shared, whether it be to communicate thoughts you didn't say aloud or when the one didn't think the other was looking, and the comfortability between you two was obvious to him and he had only just met you. The way that is was obvious you would both do whatever it took to keep the other safe, to keep Ellie safe. “Maybe we just call this one a success and say our fond farewells.”

“No, he’ll change his mind. Trust me.” Ellie nodded over to you, a cheeky smile pulling at her lips. She put on a deep voice in an imitation of Joel’s timbre, an over exaggerated twang in an effort to capture his accent. “This is how it goes. He like, ‘No, Ellie. Never, ever happening.’”

You stifled a bark of laughter at the absurd expression she made in order to do so, tucking her chin in and scrunching up her face. You could practically feel him roll his eyes as he glanced back at her, not amused in the slightest by her breakdown of how she thought decisions were made within your little trio.

“And then I’m like, ‘I’m gonna ask you a million more times.’ And then she’s gonna point out all the reasons why it would be better to travel-“

Sudden gunshots had you all ducking, Ellie shouting out in surprise.

“Move, move!” Joel’s hands were on Ellie in a second, guiding her by her shoulder to seek shelter behind the car just a few paces in front of her. It was one of the cars that was in the middle of the road, you watched as the rest of your group crouched down underneath the already shattered windows. You hadn’t had time to follow after them after making sure Henry had a good hold on Sam before a second shot buzzed past your head and you had skidded to your knees behind another vehicle. You could see them, but you were on the other side of the street, the cars perpendicular to the lanes that made it up.

“Ellie?” You called, not able to see her. She peeked out from where she was practically tucked into Joel’s right side. She was nestled with Sam between the two men, where the body of the car was largest, to provide them with more protection. She shakily called out that she was okay and let out the breath you had been holding. You had seen Joel reach for her but in the haste to get yourself safely out of sight you hadn’t seen them hunker down together.

A third shot rang out, shattering the taillight of the car that Joel had ushered everyone behind.

“Where the fuck is that comin’ from?”

“Shut up.” Joel immediately demanded. He looked across the street to you, seeing the way that you were reaching up to touch a tentative hand to your left ear. The bullet hadn’t grazed you, but it had been too close for comfort. He turned to raise his head over the trunk of the car, just barely getting his eyes over the top of it to survey the street. As he did so another shot fired straight from the higher story of a house facing down the street. Henry dared to look through the driver’s side window, prompting another loud shot to hit the broken window and shattering what was left of it.

“Fuck. Let’s move. Let’s go.”

Before you could even begin to argue, mouth pursed to open, Henry was gripping Sam by the hand and shoulder, ushering him away from the relative safety of the car.

“What’re you doin’?” Joel’s shout was edging on frustrated, truly not understanding the younger man’s train of thought. The lack of preservation even in the face of what’s he’s already done to ensure the safety of his brother.

“Henry, wait!” You moved to stand but at a harsh glare and click of Joel’s tongue you lowered yourself back down. Ellie watching everything with a pinched expression.

“Getting’ the fuck outta here!” They barely made it a few yards before a shot landed on the car they were running past. You could only watch as they stumbled and skidded, nearly falling on their backs as they tried to avoid another should it follow. Frantically turning back and rushing toward where they had just been crouched beside Joel and Ellie. Sam was tucked under him where he kneeled, the boy curling his face into his brother’s shoulder. Finally registering the severity of the situation, Henry looked over at you and then trained his gaze on Joel, who was leaning his back against the trunk. He peered over the top of it again only to duck back down as a shot landed unnervingly close to where he had just been.

He shifted to lean more of his weight back on the car, lifting his hips to holster his gun. He muttered something to himself that was lost in the tense air.

“Stay here.” It was quiet, like he wasn’t sure it was the right move, or he was worried about how you were going to react. He had just told you to not dive headfirst into danger to save him not even two hours ago, and here he was doing exactly that.

“What?” Ellie’s response was quiet, unbelieving. Joel shifted on his feet, facing away from you and toward Ellie, giving her his full attention. Urging her to listen to his words. He could feel your eyes heavy on his back, knowing you weren’t going to be fond of this plan in the slightest.

“If you don’t move, he’s not gonna hit you. I’m gonna go around, try to get in the house through the back, and then I’ll take him out.”

“But if you go out there, he’s gonna kill you.” Ellie maintained eye contact with him, her face open and earnest, pleading with him. Her tone as firm as his was.

“It’s dark and he has shit aim. Nobody’s gonna kill me.” Joel raised his voice above a whisper, urging her to hear him, to hear what he was really saying. That he’d be damned if someone was going to hurt either of you. Hurt any of you as long as you were with him.

“Then he’s gonna kill us.”

Joel furrowed his brow, knocking his head down to stare at her, eyes glinting with something behind the serious tone he was exhibiting.

“Do you trust me?”

She reeled back at the question, tears shining in her eyes as she came to a startling realization. That for the way that this had started, the gruffness, the snarky comments about his hearing and the way his knees popped, the way he insisted she wasn’t family, knowing that he had other things – other people in his life, she unequivocally did trust him. She nodded. She trusted him to do everything in his power to keep her safe. He looked away, not able to handle how vulnerable she looked, how raw he felt with the exchange. He was a swirl of emotions, some he hadn’t even known were stored deep in who he was, who he had become. But he knew he wouldn’t be able to handle seeing another child being taken out by a gun if there was something he could’ve done to prevent it.

"You good with that?"

He turned to you, wanting to close the gap or to usher you over to where they were. But he didn’t. He took in the way you were leaning your head back against the metal of the vehicle you were hiding behind. Your knees up to your chest as you crouched to make yourself as small as possible. Machete gripped tight in your hands and ready for whatever may come next. Your eyes were closed, mouth open as you pulled in air to even out the heaving of your chest. He knows you heard him, heard his plan to try and take out the person targeting them. When you opened your eyes and turned to look at him, you nodded, letting him know you were going to follow his lead.

"Copy that."

Joel moved to the front of the car and with a final pat on each of their arms, he made a mad dash across the street and toward the house. You watched him as he went, worry settling into your chest. As soon as he was up, you were standing with a shout, machete shielding your head as you hoped to distract the shooter. It seemed to work for a second, a shot buzzing past you before they caught sight of Joel beyond a fence line and adjusted their aim to him.

You bobbed on your feet for a second of thought before you made a dash to cross the distance between the cars, Ellie’s hands grasping at your sleeve the second you were couched beside her. You reached out to offer a hand to Henry and Sam, both of them gripping your other arm as you nestled in between them and Ellie.

“We’re gonna be okay, I promise.”

Shots bounced around you. Loud in the night air. Hitting the vehicle you had just been using as a shield, hitting the one you were all behind. But when one flew through the window and landed too close for comfort in the dirt at your feet, you were pushing yourself up, lips set into a firm line. You felt Ellie’s grip on your arm, her feet skidding on the ground as she tried to pull you back down. You did so, right hand tucking the machete close to you and the left coming up to cradle her face.

“I’m gonna draw his attention away, you’ll be safe, I swear it. Just stay, like Joel said, okay?” It was different than with Joel, the reassurance. You weren’t asking her to trust you, you were asking her to be brave, to hold her own ground while you lead the way. No less important as she grasped that you were willing to do whatever it would take to keep her safe just as he would. She was nodding her head, her fingers loosening their grip on your arm.

You made a run for the vehicle just ahead, a shot going over your head just as you ducked behind it. You hoped it had been enough time for Joel to get up to that higher level in the house. Enough time to sneak up on the shooter, to convince them to stop this madness. Another shot ringing out and then abrupt, heavy silence was your only answer. You glanced over the top of the car, still cautious. Just in case…

You spied a single figure in the dark window, but no shots came after you. You sighed in relief, hoping there hadn’t been a struggle. Joel raised his hand to you in the window, knowing you would only be able to see his outline or shadow but at the way your shoulders relaxed he felt a bit of relief as well. You brought up a hand as well and he let out a chuckle at the triviality of it. The others were looking to you across the distance of the street and you nodded as you spoke to them. You were about to stand at full height when the sound of a roaring engine had your heart beating hard in your chest and fear welling up in your stomach. You weren’t fond of loud sounds, especially when they announced that you were about to be ambushed.

“Run!” Joel’s loud shout was muffled due to the distance, but you still heard the urgency in his voice. He kept shouting twice, three, four more times. The desperation in his voice became more apparent as bright lights flashed from down the street where you had been traveling from. You were the closest, having backtracked in an attempt to get the gunfire to rain down further away from the kids. Engines growled loudly in the night air as a group of them could be seen moving right toward you.

The suddenness of a giant tank of a vehicle with a dozer on the front of it speeding down the street toward you had pushing off the vehicle you were still behind. Spurred into motion by the bight spotlights casting blinding rays across the street and surrounding area. Henry was quick to usher the kids in front of him, spurred into action just as quickly as you. The crash of metal as the dozer forced is way down the street was loud, every thud of a car being hit reverberating in your chest.

Ellie fired a shot behind her with her handgun as Joel did the same from his perch in the house. She was up ahead of you, Henry and Sam ahead of her by a few paces. Frantic, weaving desperately through the littered street.

“Veer off!” You shouted, sweeping your arm to indicate what you meant despite your body tensing as the vehicle was only a few cars behind you. Just as a shot landed to crack the windshield of the impending vehicle, you heard Ellie’s gun click to signal that she was out of ammo. You weren’t sure if it was one of her hits or Joel’s from the house at the head of the street, but she went tumbling down just a few paces further. Picking up speed despite the burn in your legs you jutted the handle of the machete into your belt, the blade facing down and away from you, the length of it lining up with your left leg. You reached down and pulled Ellie up by her bag, but the vehicle skidding around as it lost speed had her crawling away.

Without thinking you folded your body over her to shield her.

There was a loud splintering of wood and metal as the vehicle veered off the road completely and into one of the abandoned houses. Trucks and jeeps were quickly filled up the street in its absence to make a barricade, the blinding lights on top of them making it hard for you to see straight. The spots of light decorating your vision even as you diverted your gaze. You were pulling Ellie up, ushering her to move but she was nearly frozen in fear and panic. Your hands were rough on her as you dragged her a few steps before lifting her in your arms completely. She wasn’t much smaller than you so it was a struggle, her body held tight to you as you tried to move as quickly as possible from the people emerging from the vehicles.

The sounds of the doors slamming shut behind them and the crunch of their feet on the ground seemed to shake her out of her stupor. She stumbled as she regained feeling in her legs and tried to get a foot down on the ground, her hands gripping your arms and back tightly as you had to cradle her nearly bridal style in your arms. You tried to help her right herself but kept moving at the same time and she tripped, sending you both tumbling to the ground.

“Shit! I’m so sorry!” She cried out. You both gripped each other as you managed to get back up on your feet, you pulled her along, letting her know it was okay. She was okay, she was going to be okay. A few more paces was all the distance you managed before an explosion lit up the street. The sound of it deafening, the brightness of yellow and orange blinding as it reached high into the sky where the large vehicle with the dozer had settled halfway into a house. You threw yourself over Ellie again, both of you hitting the ground on pure instinct. Pieces of debris rained down all around you, some of it still on fire. Smoke billowed up and filled the air.

You coughed as you lifted off her a bit, getting onto your hands and knees to hover over her where she began to shift. She was sucking in air, having been winded from the fall. Everything was still as a fire raged far too close for comfort. The street was littered with smaller fires, mostly debris but some bushes were going up in flames as well, adding more smoke to the air.

Footsteps were approaching you, some from up ahead and some from where the vehicles had come to a screeching halt just a few yards behind you. Hands were suddenly on you, but they were accompanied by a friendly voice.

“You guys okay?” Henry was kneeling down, hands checking you both for any injuries.

“Yeah.” Was all Ellie managed before you were hauling her up again and shoving her at Henry, the two stumbled at your rough treatment and were about to ask what was wrong when they looked up to see your back to them and your machete raised. The gleam of it was threatening in the light of the fire all around.

“Get her the fuck out of here.” Your voice was low, tempered into a warning. But it wasn’t aimed at them. You didn’t glance back at them as they noticed the three figures ahead of you and retreated.

As soon as one of the figures moved to go after them, a shot ringing through the air from their handgun, you lunged. You didn’t think twice before bringing your blade down on their arm, severing it at the elbow and quickly silencing their screams with a second swipe to their chest. The other two figures fanned out and tried to surround you, but the part of the street you were on was too crowded with cars and flaming debris.

You shifted on your feet, turning the blades handle in your hand in anticipation. They were afraid to fire on you as if they were low on ammo and needed to be more cautious about its usage. Something you were going to use to your advantage. You took a measured step toward them, both of them stepping back to keep the same distance.

“You don’t even know me.”

“We know you killed our people.”

“Your people attacked mine. We were just trying to pass through.”

“This is our city.”

“Your city is shit, wouldn’t recommend it.” They closed in on you at once, one on your right side and one on your front. They both fired but you were more suited for close range and ducked. Surging forward you moved in a wide sweep, blade aimed down toward their legs, shouts falling from them as slices blossomed on their skin. It was a blurring of gunfire and metallic tashikaze that sounded in the air before the two figures dropped to the ground. Not wasting another second, you took off down the street and ducked behind a vehicle, skidding to a halt on your knees in your haste.

“He’s up there.” The shadow of a large man spoke, seeming to be the lead of the second wave of people that emerged from the line of vehicles and began to advance down the street. You looked up over the hood of the car you were behind, spying on Henry peeking over the trunk of one on the other side of the street. You didn’t like being so far from them, but it was good you weren’t all grouped together. It meant that at least some of you would be able to get out of this. It was not a good situation, they knew where Joel was, by himself up in that house. They knew where you had scurried too, surely the general vicinity, through the smoke. But they hadn’t seen where Henry had retrieved too with the kids.

“Two and two! Around the back, take him out!”

“Dead end, Henry.” A high-pitched voice announced, so confident in their observation. “Gonna step on out? Save us some time?”

You could hear as well as see the shadows of people advancing down the street, the group led by the large figure’s orders having dipped around off the street toward Joel. Now it was a woman who led a smattering of people, her frame getting closer and closer. Her voice was in a pitch that grated on your ears, too sweet for the words and venom she was spitting out. You could only assume it was Kathleen.

You lowered yourself to the ground in a crouch, peering underneath the car to get a look at the situation. Kathleen was standing in the middle of the street, gun in her hand but down by her hip, not up and ready to fire. She was an average looking woman, probably close to your age, stockier than her voice sweet voice alluded to. She was in a pair of loose jeans and a zipped-up jacket that you would bet was concealing a bullet proof vest. Her dark hair was pulled back in a braided updo that trailed between her shoulders. The large figure from earlier was beside her. He was a tall man, sturdy looking with his wide chest and thick legs covered in protective gear. His silver white hair was straight as it fell to his shoulders, his full beard much the same color. He was on guard with a rifle pulled up to rest on one shoulder, ready to shoot anyone who came close to Kathleen.

“That’s alright. Doesn’t matter.”

“I’ll come out.” Henry’s voice was loud, though you could hear a slight waver to it even across the street from where he was tucked. You straightened up at his words, no longer crouching low but ready to reveal yourself to give him the opportunity to take the kids and run. “Just let the kids go!”

“No. Sorry. The girl is with the couple who killed Bryan. And Sam…” Kathleen came to a stop in the middle of the street, just in front of your hiding spot. You tried to keep your breathing even so as to not give it away, but there was still a lot of smoke in the air that was making it hard to temper. You heard the crunch of steps followed by the hush of grass against fabric. “Well, Sam’s with you.”

“You don’t understand!”

“But I do.” She sounded as if she was merely having a discussion, not actively hunting down and cornering people to execute them in revenge. “I know why you did what you did. But did you ever stop to think that maybe he was supposed to die?”

“He’s just a fucking kid!” Henry was no doubt seething, you certainly were. How could this woman stand here after managing to successfully free her city and immediately put it all on the line for revenge? You were so caught up in your thoughts and trying to figure out the best way to give Henry a chance to get away when you heard a boot scuff behind you.

“Well, kids die, Henry. They die all the time. You think the world revolves around him? That he’s worth…everything? Well, this is what happens when you fuck with fate.”

You could barely make out what she was saying as the butt of a rifle came down hard between your shoulders. You spun around, standing quickly despite the pain fanning out along your back and prickling in your shoulders. Machete coming up and out to catch the man’s forearm where his shirt sleeve was rolled up. He hissed at the sting as blood dripped down to the ground before swinging the rifle out and knocking the blade from your hand.

As soon as it was flying through the air you reached for the colt safely tucked into its holster and aimed at the man’s leg, hoping to down him. When it jammed, you swore. He descended on you, the rifle was slung over his shoulder, and he was hauling you up by your hair. His large hands were rough as he gripped your loose hair tight in his fist, the other coming to wrangle the colt out of your own.

“Nice try, sweetheart, but we got you outnumbered.” His voice was smooth as he had you standing, your legs kicking out at him in an attempt to free yourself.

“Get your fuckin’ hands off me!” Your shout was loud even from behind the car, cutting off the conversation between Kathleen and Henry.

Joel dared to take his eyes off Ellie to search for your figure, the desperation in your voice enough to make his entire body go numb. He had lost you in the haze of smoke, in the frantic aftermath of you taking out that trio of people. He had seen you run closer to where he was but had lost track when you had ducked behind a car. His eyes found you again, gripped tight in the hold of a tall man. He was dragging you by your hair from around where you had been seeking safety, arms up to encompass his to try and loosen his grip, legs kicking up dust as you struggled to try and get footing on the ground. He was easily more than a foot taller than you and about a hundred pounds heavier. There was no way you could get free with just your bare hands, especially with the way he dragged you behind him as he walked briskly back to Kathleen’s side. He felt himself tense, a feeling of dread settling heavy in his middle, as he noticed there was no gun in your holster and the machete was nowhere to be seen.

“If we hurt her, it’ll draw the man out. Then we can end some of this.” Kathleen’s sickly-sweet voice sounded close to you, the gun she aimed at you not stopping you from continuing to try and fight out of the grip on you. You were confident that you could tackle her and take her out just before a bullet would find it's home in your skin. Joel felt his grip tighten on the rifle he held, daring to move in front of the window. He wouldn’t be able to land a hit without putting you at risk, the man was so close to you, and you were thrashing about too frantically. It was too risky, even if all he wanted to do was shoot the motherfucker dead. “Perry, restrain her.”

You tried to fight against the strong arms that came around you. Perry was crouching down, his grip still tight in your hair and forced you on your back. The force of you hitting the ground hurt, but you continued to struggle, not liking the how easily the man was throttling you about. He released the grip on your hair to pull both your hands in front of you, holding them steady while he patted you down for weapons. Some of the people gathered around her started to share looks with each other, unsure if they agreed once you had started shouting. You hadn’t personally done anything to them. It was one thing to go after the man who sold out her brother.

“No, no, no!” The man’s hands were rough on you. Your voice angry at being handled, Joel felt his knuckles crack around the rifle as he could do nothing but watch from above. Perry was hauling you up a bit to reach into the holster and make sure it was empty, his hands coming up to your chest and feeling around for where the harness was concealing your second gun. When his hand brushed underneath your chest, the callouses of his fingertips finding it, the fabric of his gloves rubbed the buttons open on your Henley. At the feeling of cold air on the exposed skin of your chest you sucked in a breath to scream but a hand clamped down over your mouth. Perry found your eyes and shook his head, but you couldn’t see the expression on his face through the blur your vision had taken on.

Once he had relieved you of all your weapons, he hauled you back up on your feet. His arms were tight around you, keeping your arms pinned to your sides as he pulled your hands behind your back with one of his own. He pulled your back to his front to try and keep his grip on your frame, but you continued to fight against him, your heart hammering in your chest and your head throbbing.

With all your thrashing, Perry’s hold tightened impossibly on you, the movement causing the back of one of his hands to brush against the waistband of your pants. The clinking sound of your belt buckle against his watch made you go stock still, tears filling your eyes and speeding down your face. The sound of it triggering something ugly and terrified in you. You quickly tried to shake the fear from clouding your mind, body humming but you couldn’t.

“Don’t! Don’t touch me, you motherfucker!” Your voice was trembling despite the volume, the fear all too real and you knocked your head back hard and made contact with his face. The crunch of his nose didn’t affect the hold he had on you, save for causing him to stumble a bit. His foot caught a piece of debris and you both crashed to the ground. The shriek you let out was so loud people flinched. Up in the attic of the house, Joel was sure his heart had stopped for a beat at the sound tearing through your throat.

Perry’s body was heavy on top of yours, but even if he hadn’t fallen on top of you, you wouldn’t have been able to move. There was a sharp pain shooting through your left arm, the sickening feeling of a broken bone churning your stomach. You dry heaved, nothing in your stomach to throw up after having given all your food to Sam earlier in the day. Perry was quick to scramble up on his knees, though he kept you pinned down to the ground, straddling your thighs between them and holding your shoulders down with his hands. His eyes were wide as he took in the damage the fall had caused. You were panting beneath him, chest heaving as pain seared in your body and sweat began to pill along your skin.

The scrape on your forehead had opened up, blood spotting along the deeper parts of it. Your nose, similarly, had begun to throb as the already broken cartilage had been jostled, blood trickling down over your lips. But your arm…your left arm lay still at your side. There was the bright white of bone where it ripped through the flesh on the outside of your forearm. You could feel the tight pull of it on your skin, causing more blood to gush from the wound. Your vision swam as tears stuck to your lashes and pain overwhelmed your nerves.

“Ah, fuck! Oh no. No, no, no, no, no!” Your desperate pleas turned into snarls, trying to move about but being unable to. You glanced down at where you couldn’t feel your arm, the sight making your anxiety spike. You thrashed your head about, seeking out Perry above you. Seeking out Kathleen’s figure still standing close but now over you both, her gun aimed should she need to stop you from getting up and away. “You did not just break my fucking arm!”

“Maybe if you had just come willingly with us, it wouldn’t have happen-“

“Shut the fuck up, you self-righteous bitch!” You growled out, anger taking over any fear that had been in your body. You brought a thigh up hard, using your heel to get momentum behind it and connected It with Perry’s groin, your other knee hitting him low on the back too. The man’s grip left you and you scrambled out from underneath him. You took the gun in the holster on his hip, cocked it, and brough it up to aim right at her, her own having been lowered at the sheer volume of your voice and the vehemence of your words. You put your foot down on the man’s neck, forcing him to the ground. You ground your boot into him until he raised his hands out and placed them atop his head in surrender, a choking sound coming from him.

Your hair was loose and wild about you, but the strands didn’t hide the rage in your eyes, the tear stains that broke up the grime and dirt on your face. Your broken arm was tucked close to your chest, shoulder tense with the effort it took to hold it there and not just let it dangle at your side. You were overtly aware that you were surrounded, that Henry had the kids hiding behind a car far too close, that Joel was up in that house with limited ammo, that you were all so thoroughly fucked.

previous chapter || next chapter

71 notes · View notes