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melloeyed · 11 months

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Double Trouble

Johnathan Ohnn (The Spot) X GN! Reader

A/N: The reader has the same superpowers as The Polka-Dot Man from The Suicide Squad only with a few added cosmic quirks. Enjoy!

On the busy streets of Brooklyn, The Spot and Y/N walk past the oblivious citizens, donning their ‘inconspicuous’ disguises. Spot only had on a loose grey gym jacket, green sunglasses, and a brown wrinkled fedora, while Y/N wore a orange bucket hat, purple glasses, and an oversized red Hawaiian shirt.

Their disguises barely even covered the multiple spots on their pale skin. How the hell did they even go unnoticed?

The disguised duo walked towards the convenience store window, cupping their hands on the window in sync as they lean their heads in to get a better view.

“Ok, remember the plan?” Spot whispered.

“This is so stupid…” Y/N muttered.

“It’ll work, trust me!”

“Yeah, right. My idea was better!”

“Oh, just shut up and follow my lead!”

Y/N rolls their multicolored dot eyes as they follow Spot in the convenience store, re-running his plan in their head.

‘Distract the cashier while I steal the money from the ATM machine. Got it?’

Y/N sighs, walking towards the food isles. They clutch onto their rainbow backpack straps in anticipation as they peek over one the food isles, glancing at Spot, waiting for the signal.

“Excuse me, do you have uh, an ATM machine?” The Spot asked the cashier. “Yeah, around here in the back.” The cashier replied, barely looking at Spot.

“Preferably not chained to the wall…?” Spot muttered.

“What?”

“Uh, nothing!”

Y/N’s dot eyes lit up when the Spot looked at them, gesturing his head towards the cashier while walking towards the ATM. Y/N clenched their spotted fists as they take a deep breath, squeezing their eyes shut.

‘You got this, Y/N. You got this!’ They whispered to themself.

Y/N slowly jogs towards the cashier, rolling their shoulders in preparation. They clear their throat, trying to think of a distracting conversation to start.

“Uh, hi! I, uh…heard there was this…beverage…snack that uh…just came out. And I was wondering uh, where…do you sell it here…? If you do sell it here… can you, uh…tell me…where you…sell it? Which is…here…?” Y/N asked, sheepishly. The cashier just kept his eyes glued to the phone as a short pause passed.

Real clever, Y/N.

“What? I have no idea what you mean, man.” The cashier said, not even bothering to look at them. Embarrassment and frustration began to bubble in Y/N’s chest as they quickly tried to think of another distraction. Looking towards Spot’s direction, they tried their best not to facepalm when they see him struggling with the ATM.

Y/N though that this plan was the most ridiculous! It was boring, slow-paced, and embarrassing! They glance back towards the cashier, partially relieved that he didn’t bother to look up. Looking around quickly, Y/N tries to distract the cashier again. They burst out into fake laughter.

“Hahahaha! Hahaha! Y-You’re so funny! You don’t…know what I mean! Hahaha! You’re a…funny guy!” They said, with the most ‘convincing’ laughs.

Y/N was not good at this.

They quickly stopped their laughing and tried to think of another diversion, clearing their throat again.

“Uh… w-what I mean is-“

“Hey, who left this ATM on the sidewalk?” Someone said outside.

Oh, shit.

Y/N heart began to quicken when the cashier finally looked up. They both turn towards the loud banging noise from the back of the store along with the frustrated grunts that came with it. The Spot was trying to forcefully push the whole ATM through the smaller portal by bouncing on top of it. Repeat, tried. Y/N couldn’t take it anymore.

“Are you fucking serious?!” They shouted.

“Yo, what you doing back here, man?” The cashier said, picking up a bat and surprisingly ignoring Y/N. (Which offended them.)

“Nothing, nothing. Everything’s cool, man. All good.” Spot said, jumping on top of the ATM to push it even further into the portal, “Just forgot my PIN number-“

“Get yourself out of here!”

The cashier tries to hit Spot with the bat, but thankfully he dodges it in time. On instinct, Y/N runs towards the cashier, balling their fists preparing to attack. The multicolored polka dots on their skin quickly began to glow along with their dot eyes.

Before quickly flickering off like a lightbulb.

Y/N looks at their hands, baffled by the failed attempt to use their powers.

“What?! No! Not now!” They shouted.

“Uh, Y/N a little help here!” Spot shouted, cowering away from the cashier’s swings. Y/N runs after the two trying to land a blow on the back of cashier’s head, only to end up slipping on a soda can and falling hard on their butt. On the ground, Y/N rolls their eyes when they hear Spot’s pathetic comments towards the aggressive man while he dropped different products from the isles.

“Sir, please just let us rob you!”

“There’s no reason to bring wood into this!”

“We’ve never robbed anybody in our life, please don’t make this a bad experience for us!”

“Bad experience? I’m trying to run a business here!” The angry cashier replied.

“With your goddamn head in the clouds?!” Y/N snarked at him, getting back on their feet.

Only to end up slipping and falling on their face.

“Why is the floor so slippery?!”

This was the duo’s very first robbery attempt. Obviously, Spot and Y/N didn’t have the best resources at hand when it came to being bad guys, but they were never the type of criminals to give up easily. Especially, Spot.

Y/N had a strong feeling that her partner in crime was a whole lot nervous than they were for their first robbery. Y/N was already fed up at the soft attempts of beginning their villainy, but can you blame them? They just wanted to get dangerous, kick some ass, and burn down buildings! But, the Spot was always there to dial them down.

Ever since the explosion incident that happened a year ago, the duo agreed to stick together and began to get ahold of their newfound cursed powers. They had pretty awesome powers too! I mean what could be better than having ability to make portals that can go to anywhere and anyplace you desire or summon glowing multicolored polka dots with omnipotent destructive powers?

There were a few gimmicks of their powers here and there, but to be honest, they could barely control it!

And now here the two were.

One running away from an angry cashier with a bat, while the other continues to slip and fall on the cluttered slippery floor with each step they take.

After the longest 23 seconds of their lives, Spot finally managed to trap the cashier in a nearby portal and Y/N finally gets up without slipping. Y/N helps Spot get his foot unstuck from one of the shelves. After the two quickly run towards the ATM, they place soda cans on the ground to push the large machine more easily.

“I told you this was a bad plan!” Y/N spat.

“Oh, yeah, that figures considering how much of a big help you were back there!” Spot spat back.

“Hey, the floor was already slippery before and if you weren’t such a klutz back there, I would’ve already handled him!” Y/N said.

“Well, what was I supposed to do?! Just sit there and let him hit me?!” Spot fired back.

“Hmm, I dunno maybe teleport him outta here! I’m sure it doesn’t take a genius!”

“Hey, I can’t think straight when I’m under pressure! You’ve known that since the day we met! Stop treating me like I’m a wuss!”

“That’s because you are one, when it comes to situations like this! Plus, my plan would’ve been a whole lot better!”

“Your plan was nuts!”

“I just said that we should walk into the store, knock out the cashier, time him up, lock him in the janitors closet, get the money, and get rid of the evidence by burning down the building!”

“With the cashier inside?!”

“…Yeah!”

“You are a very violent person and a bad sidekick.”

“What? I like violence! Plus, my powers are more cooler than yours so who the hell are you callin�� a sidekick?”

“Whatever, let’s just hurry up and get this ATM machine out of here before the police-“

“Why do people say ATM machine?” A voice said.

Spot and Y/N jolt up, looking around in surprise. “Huh? Who said that?” Spot asked.

The duo looked behind them and see Spider-man himself, hanging upside-down from the ceiling, casually eating a beef empanada. “The ‘M’ stands for ‘machines’!“ He finished.

“Spider-Man!” Spot and Y/N said in sync.

The duo felt the floor disappearing beneath their feet as they fell through an accidental portal, only to end up reappearing in the next isle, falling harshly from the ceiling to the floor. Spot and Y/N’s disguises only end up coming off during the fall, revealing their bare, pale, and spotted bodies.

The Spot only had black spots of different sizes covering his pale lanky body, his face being completely blank with only the largest black spot plastered across his face resembling a scribbled eye.

Y/N had multicolored polka dots covering their body, the bright colors contrasting from their light grayish skin. Their face is completely blank as well, with only two mismatched color dot eyes to show their expressions.

They groan in pain as Spot helps them up from the floor, nearly slipping again, but regains balance. They dust themself off as they look forward, seeing Spot jumping around in preparation as Spider-Man walks in front of them.

“Ah! Spider-Man, wow,” The Spot began, before he hit his foot against a box, yelping in pain, “This is real!”

Y/N tilts their head in exasperation at their partner’s action. “Johnathan, what are you-“

“Alright, Y/N, prepare your introduction.” He whispered back.

“My what?” Y/N whisper-shouted.

Spider-Man glances back and forth between the spotted duo, baffled, yet immersed by their bizarre and wacky appearance. “So are you like a cow or a dalmation?” He asked gesturing at Spot. He then glanced at Y/N and gestured at them, “And are you like supposed to be a clown or a painting?”

“I am…The Spot.”

Y/N looks at Spot with a, ‘you’ve got to be kidding me’ face. “I’m sure that sounded a lot cooler in your mind.” They address. Spot just ignored them and stretched his arms out to them in a presenting manner.

“And this is my trusty sidekick…The Dot.”

“I never agreed to…never mind.” Y/N said.

Spot leans against the isles, propping his elbow on it, while placing his hand on his hip. Bread begins to spill out of the holes in his torso.

Y/N looks at him and quickly folds their arms leaning against the other side of the isle, nearly slipping in the process, trying to look cool and intimidating.

“We meet again, Spider-Man.” Spot began, ‘menacingly’.

“And we have a lot to catch up on.” Y/N finished, ‘menacingly’.

Spider-Man just laughs, pointing his empanada at the duo in an amused manner.

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valentine--dupont · 3 months

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WHO: Open! WHERE: The Rabbit Hole

Val's never felt so fortunate as they are, sitting comfortably at the bar-top with a little grin. Pale eyes only see blurs around them so they turn to the shifting shapes that spell out a person by their side. "So I scored a free drink because both bartenders made the same order by accident... I dunno, y'think I can continue my stroke of good luck? Anyone else out there who looks like they would pay for a lovely psychologist's next fruity cocktail?"

#lfl.starter #!!!#have a lil val starter #pronouns are they/them

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areyoucooolorjustrain · 2 months

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elllo soooo... can someone call me rain and they/he pronouns cause people around me in school (friends family don't count) have been using my dead name way too much helppp i need. gender euphoria plssss

#lgbtq #help #dacky #nonbinary #nonbinary artist #genderfluid #trans #genderqueer #pronouns #pronouns are they/them #gender #gender identity

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surpirate · 1 month

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MASQUE

#ocs #oc art #.#..#…#pronouns are they/them #facade #fawn #powers au #this is what they look like when they’re being a dickhead. lmfao #jorts

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shining-latios · 1 year

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yippee!! (ko-fi)

#kirby #kirbysona #my art #pronouns are they/them #yeah the paws were a great idea this was so much better to draw than the old design #also texture brushes rule I've determined

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wu-kongs · 5 months

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彩云 • rosy clouds

spun at the hands of the heavenly maiden, zhi nu, cai yun was her loyal companion and servant for years upon years. when their lady fell in love with the mortal cowherd, niu lang, cai yun would dutifully cover for zhi nu by taking up her weaving duties in her place, fooling the zhi nu's father, the jade emperor, for many years. upon the discovery for this forbidden love and cai yun's role in it, zhi nu and niu lang were separated by the milky way that the queen mother forced cai yun to weave, and when the deed was done, cai yun was banished to the mortal realm, never to see their beloved lady again.

when sunlight casts a certain light across the clouds, the iridescence is said to resemble rainbows raining from them.

#lego monkie kid #lego monkie kid oc #lmk oc #lmk art #finito! i didn't feel like shading! i'm ready to push this out of my wips! i'm exhausted!#this is my baby cai yun nice to meet you #pronouns are they/them #like mine! haha #ask me anything about them i have no answers #mickey's doodles #drawing is exhausting for me but i can't believe i'm even remotely capable of it

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goomergrubby · 4 months

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Doodle of my skrinkle and their bug

#Nash Flintlocke #my art #my oc #doodle #very messy and lazy yes BUT hey its a good step to a proper ref sheet after #wait how long have i had them #over? 4 years at least i think??#the fuck #anyways. casual clothing idea Nash be upon ye #pronouns are they/them

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mildmanneredking · 11 months

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Quick doodle of Luis and my re4 self insert~

#self insert #luis sera #re4 #self insert x canon #pronouns are they/them #an ex umbrella scientist meets a cryptographer cryptozoology enthusiast at the wrong place at the wrong time #tale as old as time #kingly art

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robotic-maid · 10 months

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An angel?

#my art #I like drawing my angel persona a whole lot #pronouns are they/them

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windmill-ghost · 8 months

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Also I have a new guy for Doublebent... an NPC, Bearen Scuzza. These were the concept sketches.

#pronouns are they/them #gender is 'threw it out to make more room in their giant sweater pockets'#'what do you mean NPC' like literally theyre not a character who's a player #(bearen voice): XxIxHAVExDIED #XxBADLY #homestuck #fantroll #wg creates

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amygdalae · 7 months

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we're having sex and you pull out at the end to discover your cock is entirely gone, dissolved (ive digested it like a pitcher plant). bye!

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melloeyed · 11 months

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Double Trouble (Pt. 2)

Johnathan Ohnn (The Spot X Reader)

Now, where were we?

Ah, yes. We’re introduced to the new chaotic little duo, The Spot and his sidekick, The Dot. After one long year, four months, and an unsuccessful robbery, they were finally face-to-face with their (so-called) arch-nemesis, the Spider-Man…

…who is now laughing their villain names while eating a empanada.

…And their poor attempt of trying to look intimidating.

“Oh, that’s funny to you?” Spot said, still in his ‘villainous’ position.

“Of course not! No.” Spider-Man lied, throwing his hands up. Y/N sighed out of frustration as they unfolded their arms with Spot following suite.

“So, is that a costume?” Spider-Man asked, finishing the rest of his free lunch. Spot places his hands on each side of his body, pulling on his flat, yet paunchy belly. “Unfortunately, for all of us, this is skin.” He replied, stretching his gut out. Y/N raises their hands at Spider-Man and turns them, showing them off. “Yeah, same here.” Y/N groaned, “All skin.”

“Oh. Dang.” Spider-Man replied, disgusted.

Offended by his reaction, Y/N began to growl under their breath as they clench their fists. “I’m sure you’re wondering where we’ve met before…considering your rude reaction…” Y/N said, gritting their teeth on the last part.

“My sidekick is correct!” Spot began, “You see…we’re from your past...one year ago-“

Ding!

“Oh! Hold up…”

Spider-Man quickly pulls out his phone, holding up his index finger. Spot and Y/N gaze at Spider-Man with exasperated looks.

“Oh, come on!” Spot groaned, placing his hands on his hips, while shaking his head.

“Are you freaking-” Y/N hissed, raising their hands up out of confusion, squinting their eyes.

“Uh, oh…we’ll, this has been fun…but, um…” Spider-Man man began.

“Who are you talking to?!” Spot said in a annoyed tone.

“…but, I really gotta wrap this up!”

“No, no, no, no! Go on, go ahead, take the call!”

Spider-Man shoots out webs from his wrists at the duo after quickly pulling his mask down. Spot yelps in shock as he slips backwards, pulling Y/N down with him through a portal behind the two.

The two end up reappearing outside, falling onto the concrete street as people nonchalantly walked past them (with very few taking notice of them).

“Hey, Johnathan? Word of advice? Less talking��more fighting!” Y/N shouted.

“Hey, you agreed with helping me out with our introduction!” Spot shouted back.

“Since when?!”

“When you started to live with me, Y/N!”

Spider-Man bolts out of the small store, ripping off the rest of the sticky webs that were deflected onto his face.

The duo looked at him before gazing at each other.

“This is the part where we run.” Spot said.

“Yep.” Y/N replied.

The Spot and The Dot.

Two goofball criminals with silly simple powers and schemes.

The black, white, and rainbow!

The bark and the bite!

The doubled troubled duo of Manhattan!

The new villains in town!

For a year and four months, they’ve dubbed themselves as the new criminals of Manhattan, taking extra time on planning their crimes (much to Y/N’s disapproval). After a horrible nuclear explosion, the two have gained their newfound powers and were brought together by fate from after their convenient transformation.

And so far…it was a mess. These two were definitely not fit to be the criminals, but they both had one thing in common, they never quit. They were more than willing to show to world what they were capable of and that they could never be defeated!

…Even though they’re nearly killing themselves by somersaulting through portals on a busy street while flying through the air like ragdolls.

Y/N giggles like a child as they spin through the air along with Spot after flying out of a mid-air portal. Adrenaline rushes through their veins when they see a huge taxi jet towards their direction from another portal.

“Woo!” Spot yelped, flying out of another portal.

“Oh shit!” Y/N shrieked as they dodged the taxi as it flew only a few centimeters away from their head.

“Woah, hey, hey, hey! You could hurt somebody!” Spider-Man exclaimed. He shoots his webs towards the taxi, latching it onto the nearest building before it fell to the ground, immediately pursuing Spot and Y/N. While running on the sidewalk side-to-side, Spot glanced at Y/N with hysterical concern.

“Uh, are you okay?!” He asked.

Y/N guffaws with joy, looking at him.

“Yeah! Why?” Y/N replied, excitedly.

“You-you nearly died and you’re laughing like it’s a normal day for you! Wha-why…?”

“I’m just having fun! That’s all!”

“You almost died!”

“I know! Isn’t that amazing?!”

“You’re insane.”

“And you’re soft as heck!”

“Hey, I’m just concerned for your well-being! I swear you’re so obsessed with-“

Spider-Man appears in front of the spotted duo, halting their escape. He immediately runs towards Spot and throws his fist towards his face, only for it to teleport through his chest, accidentally punching himself. Y/N sees this and immediately bursts out laughing…

…before realizing this is when they attack and that Spider-Man tried to hurt Spot.

“Oooh, hahahaha! Hahaha-hey, wait a minute, don’t punch my partner!” They shouted.

Running towards them, Y/N tries to punch Spider-Man ,who was latched onto Spot’s back, but they lose their balance and fall on their face again.

Yep, again.

“Can’t you two just act like regular supervillains so I could catch you?!” Spider-Man asks, exasperated. During their fight, Spider-Man kept getting stuck into the portable spots on Spot’s body. He was stuck inside of him in the weirdest positions, to the point where even Y/N tried to help pulling him out (while weakly punching him). There were people down the sidewalk watching them deal with their silly fiasco. This was so humiliating!

Y/N snaps their head towards them, polka dots glowing with fury as they blush with embarrassment.

“The fuck are you guys looking at!?” They spat at the group.

Eventually, the three end up teleporting on top of a moving truck. Spot weakly tries to punch him along with Y/N as Spider-Man effortlessly dodges the blows, texting on his phone. The utter disrespect!

“You’re looking at your text? You understand this is the fight of our lives, right?” Spot asked, offended. He tries to punch him again a couple of times along with Y/N being more fast and fierce with their punches.

“Sorry, man.” Spider-Man replied, “Just-just a second!”

“No, no, no, no! Go ahead, take one call!” Spot exclaimed, throwing another punch. “You turn off your phone in a movie theater, you don’t turn it off when you’re fighting us?”

“Spot, stop talking and punch him already!” Y/N huffed.

“I am! Can’t you see that?”

“You’re punching too slow! Faster!”

“I don’t see you punching any faster, Dot!”

“That’s because I’m so fast, you can’t see me!”

“I can see you.” Spider-Man quoted.

“Shut the fuck up, Spider-Man!” Y/N shouted.

Spider-Man punches Spot in the chest, his fist projecting out of his face, not punching himself this time. Bending his arm backwards, he grasps the back of Spot’s neck and throws him at Y/N, knocking them both off of the truck. They fall on a public table, crashing the chairs and scaring away pigeons.

Y/N sits up and shakes their head, trying to recollect themself after the large fall. They look at Spot and see that he’s rolling on the ground, holding his face. “Spot, are you okay?” They asked. “Oh, my nose!” Spot said, dramatically. Spider-Man jumps from the truck and lands in front of the two, still texting on his phone. The blatant disrespect!

“Sorry!” He said, coyly. “It’s just, I really gotta be somewhere-“

“Psych!”

A portal forms beneath Spider-Man’s feet as he falls in with a surprised yelp. Y/N helps Spot up on their feet. Before they could let each other go, Spot and Y/N get pulled into the portal by Spider-Man after he latched a line of web on Spot head. One portal led to another and the fight was beginning to get tiring.

After falling in a car wash, the fighting trio portal into coffee shop bringing bubbles and a…wild goose with them?

“We’ve been waiting for this moment for a really long time so…hey, where’d this goose come from?” Spot asked. Y/N tries to stand up and power up again, only to end up slipping and falling on their face…once again!

Y/N had more bruises than dots now.

While Spider-Man was finishing his text, he nonchalantly puts his hand on a livid Y/N’s face, squishing their cheeks as he softly pushed them away from him as they tried to throw blind and angry punches at him, missing him by a hair.

Spot tries to stand up straight on the slippery floor as an angry goose flies over his head, merely attacking him.

If this day couldn’t get any more frustrating and humiliating, it certainly did for Spot and Y/N.

“Ah! Get it off me, get it off me, get it off me!” Spot said, flailing his arms in panic while the goose attacked him. Spider-Man uses his webs to latch onto Spot and Y/N, falling down another portal.

This time the duo landed on a rooftop, falling clumsily in sync. They try to run away, but Spider-Man lands behind them, and pulls them back with webs to make them face him. Spot and Y/N look at each other and nod as they prepare for attack. Portals spew from the dark spots on Spot’s body while the dots on Y/N’s body begin to glow brightly, their dot eyes following.

On instinct, Spider-Man dodges all of Spot’s punches and kicks through fast portals, holding his fist on the last blow through one portal. Spot chuckles.

“I got you right where I-“

“You’re dead, Spider-Man!” Y/N roared. The glowing polka dots on their body began to shift and flicker as they charge towards him.

Raising up their left fist preparing to strike, Y/N shouts;

“Taste the rainbow, sucker! Polka-Dot Punch!”

Spider-Man dodges Y/N’s glowing left hook, the momentum causing their fist to go into the portal…

…accidentally punching Spot in the face through the other end.

Y/N turns around and covers their (non visible) mouth in shock and embarrassment. Spot falls to the ground clutching onto his face as he rolls around in pain with muffled screams.

“Ohmygosh, Spot! I’msosorryareyouoka-“

In a black and red blur, Spider-Man instantly kicks down Y/N. He then shoots web at the duo, tying them up back-to-back with the sticky substance while also tying their limbs together through various portals, keeping them from moving.

“Unbelievable…” Spot said, in disbelief.

Patting them both on the head, Spider-Man leaves the two bound and trapped on a giant artificial spider web associated with small portals projecting their trapped limbs. Y/N struggled against the webs angrily as Spider-Man ran away.

“Come back here, nemesis!” Spot called.

“This isn’t over!” Y/N shouted.

“You two behave and don’t escape!” Spider-Man said, pointing his finger at them in a parental manner.

“Your costume’s too tight and the back, by the way!” Spot said, insulting him.

“Yeah! And your breath smells like…like…beef!” Y/N followed.

Spider-Man was already gone.

Y/N angrily tries to break free of the webs, growling like an animal while Spot just sighs while dropping and shaking his head.

After no avail to break free, Y/N stops struggling and begins to sulk in defeat. A long silence passed by.

“This is all your fault!” Spot and Y/N said in sync.

@one-green-frog @moanutt

#funny #across the spiderverse #chaotic duo #gender neutral reader #gn reader #spot x reader #the reader has powers #the spot spiderverse #the spot x reader #across the spider verse x reader #johnathan ohnn #johnathan ohnn x reader #pronouns are they/them #they/them #atsv x reader #spiderman atsv #atsv spoilers

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catskullery · 4 months

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#posted on my uhhhh side art account on twitter and thought i should make it clear here too #since they've been coming out of the woodwork lately #carry on #the terfs are really in their feelings about this one <3 #really down in their hurt little ugly feefees <3 #my they pronoun scares them soooo bad too #awww it's okay little dumb dumb the pronoun can't hurt you here have a binkie

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brightlotusmoon · 8 months

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#pronouns motherfucker do you have them #oy vey the melodrama #conservatives want to be crushed under a giant boot don't they

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tjtaylors · 4 months

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An Unlikely Ascension by T.J. Taylor

-This is Starlight News live from Riannon-12, where a massive conflict between the new team of Nova Knights and an unknown enemy has now led to the start of a city-wide evacuation. Orion Officers now urge you all to pleas-

“Can you turn that shit off?” a figure is seen lying on the cot of a cell, seemingly looking at the ceiling. “I need my beauty sleep, and your chewing isn’t helping either.” Both hands behind their head, the voice then mumbles, “It’s not like we'll be in any trouble anyhow.”

“Yeah, like I'll listen to a delinquent like you,” he said while munching on a mouthful of chips; an officer is seen leaning their chair back with their legs on their desk. “Plus, this is important news! Lives are at stake!” Spreading their hands to their sides rapidly, some chips escaping their plastic confinement.

Closing their eyes despite the rejection, the prisoner whispers to themself, “Psh-like I care about lives at stake; they never cared about me anyway.”

The TV broadcast continues to play in the background. Finally, curiosity seems to win over the delinquent in the cell, and they glance toward the drone projecting the live feed. The feed shows a massive robotic sentinel engaged in combat with the Nova Knights. Despite its monstrous size, it moves undeniably fast, grabbing the snake mecha, Viper Vanguard, and tossing it towards the rest of the team of mechas rushing towards it. The leader lion mech, Roaring Titan, barely manages to stay upright as Viper gets thrown and knocks into the team. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said for Mako Mayhem and Iron Behemoth, who take the brunt of the force and fall, destroying some nearby buildings in the process.

“Pst-” just then a hand waves around frantically in front of the bars of the cell. Clearly trying to get the attention of the person on the other side. “Hey, kid!” Inescapably, the “kid” seems to accept defeat and gets up from their semi-comfortable metal cot. Letting out a sigh, they begrudgingly walk closer to the bars.

“For the millionth time my name’s Than, not ‘kid’.” Gesturing the air quotations around the word even though the other can’t see.

“Thannotkid? That’s a long name, have anything shorter?” Tink. Than then let their head hit the metal bars in exasperation. With another sigh, they raise their head from the cool metal and wrap their hands around the iron bars for support.

“Ha-funny,” Keeping an eye on the Orion Officer and seeing his attention still on the projection, Than then whispers, “Have you figured out a way to get us out of here yet?”

“Huh? No, I was gonna ask you to pick up one of those chips for me.” He pointed his hand at the sprawled potato chips that now littered the floor from the officer’s earlier aggressive gesture.

“The chips on the floor?”

“No, the chips on the ceiling.” he teases and finally settles with a bleak and simple, “Yes, the chips on the floor.”

“Well, aren’t you a ray of sunshine? It's a mystery why they even have you locked up here in the first place.”

“Listen, kid. That’s no way to speak to your elders-”

Blam! “…shit.” Both of them turn their attention to the Officer and see that he is now standing ramrod straight, with his chair lying in solidarity with the chips on the floor, a far cry from his relaxed position a while ago. They focus on the news broadcast and see that it appears to be a losing battle for the Nova Knights.

-Folks, this is not looking good; the Nova Knights have not landed a single hit into this unknown assailant. So far, we have no idea who or what this is or what it wants, perhaps a negotiatio-

“W̷͕͐͌̐E̶̡̮̊͝ ̸̥̕A̷̓̔͗͜R̴̨͈̅̄̅È̴̲ ̵̩̼̠̽̋Ű̷̗̭͘N̷̒̏̆͜I̸̥̽͝͝T̵̡͚̿͗Ỹ̵̙͝”

-What you just heard, folks, are the first words that this…thing has spoken.-

“W̴̤̾͌E̶̢̔̇͜ ̸̻̐̑Ǎ̷͇̅I̶̯̲͂M̵̟̣͑ ̴͔͋ͅT̴͖͈̾̈́Ò̸͔̖̿ ̷̮͖̾C̷̯͇͑Ȏ̴̡͘͜N̷̞̋Q̶̫̾́U̸͖̹̾E̵̠͒R̸̆̃ͅ”

Instantaneously, an invigorated Roaring Titan runs head-first into combat.

“As long as we’re alive, we won’t give up. Either turn yourself in peacefully or say your last goodbyes.”

Caught off guard by the sudden outburst, Unity staggers backward into a defensive position as Titan unleashes a flurry of attacks. But just as Titan begins to regain its footing, Unity charges forward with renewed ferocity and hurls Titan further and farther than ever before, sending shockwaves through the battlefield.

-And Roaring Titan has just been launched towards-

Than doesn't have time to prepare for anything before-

CRASH

. . .

Disoriented and struggling to regain their composure, they are enveloped in a cloud of dust, their vision obscured as they try to steady themselves. Their equilibrium fails them as they lurch forward from the sudden collision. Finally, lifting their head to see what carnage awaits, they are met with a building sporting a huge gaping hole and a slim silhouette emerging from the light. Humanoid in shape, it starts walking, shrouded in a haze of smoke and debris. It isn't until Than fully recovers that they see the figure limping forward, drawing nearer, clutching its side. As it advances ever so slowly, its entire appearance finally comes into view. Emerging from the cloud of debris, a red power-armored figure approaches Than's cell. Looking closer, Than has a startling realization - this is a Nova Knight and not just any Nova Knight, but THE Nova Knight, the one they just saw getting their ass beat and thrown...apparently towards them. Shuffling closer towards the surprisingly still intact bars and sagging their tired body on them, Than watches as the Nova Knight slides down in exhaustion.

“Huff…huff…huff. You alright?” The armored head snaps towards Than, startled by any sort of voice. “...I mean, you don’t look so hot.”

With a gentle hiss, the helmet slides off with surprising ease, revealing a pale, delicate face. Although marred with bruises and scratches, it's still breathtakingly beautiful. Black hair cut close to her face, perfectly framing piercing violet eyes that meet Than's warm, brown gaze. At that moment, something electric transpires, and the air around them seems to crackle with energy. Finally, she speaks as soft as a whisper on the breeze.

“Listen, I don’t know how long I have…” Quietly gasping in between, the unknown woman fights to get her words out, “Do you want…to live?” Calculating, Than thinks of an answer. Is their life worth living? Worth their continued suffering?... Maybe life can be more than just surviving.

“What do I have to do?”

“You must become a Nova Knight.” They rapidly blink their eyes in confusion until what was said is fully processed, Than physically recoils in shock.

“What?!”

“Take my stone, and you’ll be judged if you’re fit to be Roaring Titan,” She says with a heavy heart. “I don’t know if this will work, but there’s nothing else I can think of…” screwing her face up in pain, she continues, “And my team…I don’t want them to die for my mistakes.” Looking around, Than sees the unconscious body of the guard and can only guess the same fate of the other prisoner. With a heavy sight, Than returns their gaze to the woman before them, her eyes brimming with unshed tears.

“Give me that stone, Titan.” Than outstretches their hand openly; the Nova Knight answers and reaches their hand out, and in their grasp is a stone of power. And they hand it over with no regrets.

“My name is not ‘Titan.’ It's June Deadwood.” Feeling inspired, Than then replies.

“I’m Than Ryder,” grasping the stone in their hand; maybe they can finally make it out of this place alive. “I don’t get it. It is something sup-” An overwhelming cold creeps into their body, so cold it starts burning.

I HAVE CHOSEN, YOU ARE WORTHY

Getting up from what feels like an extended slumber, Than looks down to see their body now covered in the same armor that June was in, but instead of red, it is a noir black.

“All right,” Than beams, studying their hands. “This isn’t so bad.” Hopping up and down on the tips of their toes, they roll their head around, releasing any sort of knots or kinks they have. “First things first,” they grip the iron bars and pull them apart; effortlessly, the bars bend with enough room for Than to squeeze through them. Upon kneeling down next to June, Than notices a deep side gash on her, bleeding profusely. As June slowly lifts her head to meet Than's gaze, she suddenly notices their helmet armor, and her eyes widen in shock as she splutters.

"Leave me and go save my team," June said. Before Than could even question how a message appeared on their visor: "WILD HUNT ONLINE." Suddenly, something moved the Roaring Titan off the building, causing the offline mech to fall limply. Just as soon as it fell, another mech took its place, with a magnificent wolf head barely visible. Inspecting the people inside and seemingly satisfied with what it had found, the front head of the mech opened up, inviting Than. Slowly walking forward, Than ungracefully climbed in and sat down, faced with various buttons.

“Alright…How the fuck do I use this?” Pushing down a lever, the mech lurches forward, “Woah!.. Ok, this will take…some getting used to.” Sucking in a breath and slowly exhaling, they ready themselves.

-People of Riannon-12, this may very well be the end of the Nova Knights. Roaring Titan is still not up from that harrowing launch; the rest of the team seems to be struggling without their leader….Wait a minute… There seems to be an unknown mech heading towards the battle…is that? It’s Wild Hunt! Having no pilot for over two decades, it seems Wild Hunt has finally chosen a new successor.-

Hearing over the radio, a chorus of voices make themselves known, “Who the FUCK is that?!” “Who the-” “Any of you know who that is?”

“The person who’s gonna save your ass, that's who.” Arriving in the thick of battle with movement as calculated as a dance, Than quietly sneaks behind buildings as cover. The noise of the conflict helps cover their tracks. The element of surprise will be what really shifts the tide of battle around. After countless years of running from Orion Officers and angry gangs alike, Than has lived a life full of brutality. Realizing quite quickly that they needed to find a way to defend themself, they learned firsthand how to fight and fight dirty at that. Seeing that Unity has its hands full and its attention elsewhere, the wolf mech lunges and grabs ahold of its nape. Jumping off with a chunk between its jaws, the others finally see their opening and strike.

The cleanup started almost immediately, with the Burn Brigade and Rapid Rescue rapidly taking action, accessing the damage, and looking for any possible casualties.

It’s in this quiet moment that a voice radios over, “You’ll have to follow us…Commander Zinoe would want to speak to you.” Recognizing that there isn’t gonna be a way out of this, Than follows reluctantly. Eventually making it towards their base of operations, they all descend down from their own mechs and congregate in the middle.

Taking off all their helmets, Than is met with a lineup of new faces. As they slowly meet every pair of eyes, a certain pair makes them pause. An angry scowl and sneer are aimed right at them.

"You!" The word was a snarl, and before Than could even react, a fist connected with their jaw, and Than staggers back, stunned. The others leap to Than's defense or, perhaps more likely, to restrain their enraged friend. The green and blue-suited knights both held the yellow one back.

"Tell me what you did to June!" The yellow knight's voice was furious. "You have her stone! She would never give it away like nothing!" Than could feel the anger radiating off the other knight, but they remained calm.

“Easy, Jiro,” the blue knight pushes him back, “There’s probably a reasonable explanation for all of this.” Wiping the blood that now trickles down their lips, Than smiles.

“You can say what you want, but MY ass just saved all YOUR asses!”

"Why you-" The knight lunged forward, ready to strike, but their attack was interrupted by a sudden throat clearing. The pink-suited individual jumped before Than's vision, their tanned face and warm brown eyes cutting through the tension like a knife.

"Nice to meet you! I'm Lora Raleigh, the pilot of the Sky Guardian." Lora's happiness radiated off her face as she introduced herself. Suddenly, she realized her companions were holding one of their own back. "And this is Ichiro Mori, pilot of the Mako Mayhem." The blue-uniformed individual holding back the yellow knight turned to Than, smiling sheepishly.

Struggling to hold back their friend, the yellow knight, they decided to introduce themselves properly.

“Haha, Hello…” waving their hand in a small greeting while pushing the yellow knight back. Circling back towards the angry person sneering at Than, Lora encircled her arms around him.

“And this cheery person, whose fist you just met earlier, is Daijiro Mori, or Jiro for short.” a growl is heard in tandem, “Ha…,” Lora stepping a safe distance away. “And, as you’ve probably guessed, the pilot of Iron Behemoth.” Dusting their green uniform, the last person who had yet to be introduced stepped forward confidently.

“Emory Jaeger, pilot of Viper Vanguard.” Reaching their hand out for a greeting, an awkward pause occurs. Before anything else can happen, a voice booms out with authority.

“Knights!” A military suit-clad unknown man, tall and with muscles the size of Than’s head, strode towards the group with an air of dominance. Causing them to straighten out and fall into an assembly line, saluting in respect. His blue skin pigmentation is a rare but not uncommon thing to see in Riannon-12. “Stand down.” Turning his attention to Than, he motions for them to follow. Rather than stay with that crazy lot, Than decides it’s best to follow. Trying desperately to catch up to his brisk walk down the corridor, eventually, the man speaks.

“I am Commander Zinoe, and we, Than Ryder, have much to discuss.” Zinoe continued their stride until they reached a metal door, inputting a code to open it. “But before we do, someone wants to speak to you.” The door slid open, and Than’s heart started to race. The familiar face of June turns to the new visitors. There she lay, bandages wrapping all around her body and a prominent one covering her eye. It seems June’s condition was worse than Than initially thought. Perhaps They were to blame…That power couldn’t have come from nowhere. June starts, not allowing Than to delve deeper into their guilt and, more importantly, their debt to them.

“They said I should make a full recovery in a few days…perks of the trade, I suppose,” her gaze traveling down to the bed, “Listen…I just want to say thank you.” Her amethyst eyes traveled the room, an excuse not to meet their warm amber eyes. “I’m sorry. No one should ever be put in a situation like that,” she looks down in shame, still grappling with the aftermath of the ordeal.

Before June can get another word out, Than interrupts. “Idiot.” Looking up to meet his eyes, she sees something unexpected, not overwhelming anxiety but…determination. “ I CHOSE to take the stone. No one made me do anything.” Looking away briefly, they add, “Plus…it would be embarrassing to see you guys lose again.” Than locks onto her, and smiles cheekily.

“You’re undeniably annoying.”

“Well, I guess you’ll have to get used to my annoying self.” Than grins in response.

“Well then, I guess I should formally welcome you to the team then.” Holding her hand out, Than grasps it tightly. “Welcome to the Nova Knights, Than Ryder.”

Smiling at each other, June and Than both felt a sense of relief and excitement. After all the chaos and uncertainty they had experienced, it was finally starting to feel like things were falling into place. Maybe, Than can make a life here.

Fade to black

Thank you so much for reading this far! <3 I hope it at least entertained you! :) I made this short story for school a while ago, and I thought I should just post it here to get more feedback. I am currently working on a book, which has been surprisingly fun! Hopefully, you'll stick around to see my improvement :D

-TJT

P.s. Today by Q is a masterpiece and heavily inspires me for the sci-fi book I'm writing. so plz give them some love or at least a listen ;)

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